The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-08-12
From the Philadelphia North American.
The Nicaragua Canal,

The feasibility Of this great work may be deemed
a settled thing, but every thing illustrating the
| questions of difficulty and expense will now be
deemed OF interest and examined with attention.
We find IN the English periodicals notices of now
writer, traveller, George Byam, formerly an Of
hcer OF the British army, who has published two
works, one OF them recent one, in relation 10 Cen
trail and South America containing more or lcss
information on the subject alluded 10. He is a
nervous writer, with the faculty of sezing and pre-
senting points of interest; and he spcaks of the in
tended canal, which he believes can be accom-
plished only by particular kind of labor and of
the route some portions of which he describes in
very graphic manner. The following is his ac-
count OF the river valley of the San Juan dc Mica
ragua:
. On each side of the river San Juan" says he
g an immense dense forest, composed Of the most
enormous trees, which overshadow as thick and
impenetrable jungle of matted underwood as can
be met with in the whole world. For almost the
whole length Of the river, doubt that any man
has been twenty yards into the forest on either
hand and am pretty sure he could not have been
one hundred. This forest is full of wild beasts and
snakes of all sorts, and Indian report says that
some OF the larger snakes arc far more powerful
than those near the western coast The vapors
that arise from the banks Of the river where the
leaves have been rotting for Thousands of years,
are pestilential and deadly even 10 Central Ameri-
cans. The wood and forest must be cleared away
for some distance each eide OF the river and that
work may be very much aided by the native labor
ers who are first rate axcmen and bill. hook work.
men, The roots must be extracted, and the whole
burnt, when believe the ground each side of
the river will prove very nearly on "A level, and
only few feet above the river. judge from the
tops OF the trees appearing 50 level in long reaches
of the river"
The immediate river valley is level cnough-no
doubt Of that since the whole ascent in its length
OF one hundred and three four miles, s less than
one hundred and twenty nine feet, or only about
one and quarter foot per mile; but MIR. Byam il
In error in expatiating the peculiarly unwhoe-
some tol and air OF the valley The San Juan re-
glon 10 in no wise more unhealthy than any other
O a IL 10,
gcrous 10 clear and cultivate the land there than in
any other district. All the lowlands of that coun-
try, and of all tropical America, have their siclly
seasons, when levers prevail, generally very bad
intermittcnts or agues aud from such fevers of
course, the natives suffer like, but not so much as
strangers. Ii is not the country in which northern
or European labor be expected to be very oifi-
cient; but the disability is perhaps as much owing
TO the heat as the insalubrty OF the region, al
though Mr.. Byam Is decidedly of opinion that the
climate Is mortal to northern constitutions.
'lou cannot says he, "depend upon native
labor for week; and even when they DO work, il
is kInentable TO see how little they do You can
not depend upon English or North American labor,
for the work would kill the laborers in week
You cannot depend upon work from the West In
dams" (meaning the West India ncgroes) "be-
cause they would not go to work, and would be
great fools if they did, for they arc pretty nearly
at present, in possession Of their late owners es-
tatts."
Mr. Byam declares that the principle depend
ance for digging the canal must be upon ''volunta-
that plenty of volunteer laborers can be picked up
along the coast; and, says he, "if they are made
Comfortable during the passage, and faithfully
and well treated after their arrival they are lust
the class of men TO do the work, not only with
out injury to themselves, but With much advan-
tage."
Mr. Byam, we may add, is very much exercised
upon the question whether the Americans will
build large or asmall canal-one adapted to "frst
class ships, "big enough only for vessels of tive
hundred tons at ia for the interest Of the North
Americans" hc says, " that the canal should he
SMALL just acccsrible ~ their coasters, but not to
our large East India and Cinnamon" We pre-
sumo this question will be decided by where the
money for building the canal comes from. If Eng
llsh capitalists contribute, the canal will be az
large as they desire. II they hold back, they must
not DC disappointed should the necessity of the
North Americans concur with their interest to Gre.
ate 9 small canal, the whole transit trade OF
which would fall into the hands Of the Amer-
cans"