Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1868-09-19
THE PANAMA RAILROAD.

i:d 8. A BIT OF GOSSIP BY MARK TWAIN.
We took the train at Panama, clat-
tered for two or three hours through a
-stangled wilderness of Tropical vegetation,
os5andI discharged ourselves in Aspinwall.
:, It is only .forty-fve miles. Going and
iSifh coming, that little road has carried about
G 100000 passengers for the California
bIsteamers during the past twelve months,
oo and charged every soul Of them twenty
u fiYe dellafs ry.I fare. About .70, 900 of them
is paid twenty-five dollars apiece in gold
the thirty thousand paid twenty-five
imapiece, also, but whether It was in gold
,or greenback Ks, I cannot say One could
o0frayel by rail from New York to vChica-
-1AeoAaboat one thousand one hundred
5H Iiiles,,9 think it oiisAior less money, j
when went over the route last. -fhe.
bneadichargedethem for extraIbHggage,to too.
ndtehaFgeslike smoke for freighta likewise
4en cents a pound for ordinary feigRts,I
"a ] am told 1T does a heavy freight and
passenger business, for the French and
oiEnslish lines of steamers in addition. !
ibsthe New OK, board: md It is is probably
ItsYasc a. hard d-FFQada rto build. The
ssItropieaL feyers sllau sllaugghhtefed g hhtef tie 5aborers
by wholesale; e5tis al popular saying,
seIthat EVERY railroad tie. from Panama to-
il9AspinWsh fsstsP 1pon ) agieorpse! TT Ought
to Be Substantial road being 60 well
saIprevided with Isleepersraeterpab0 ONES
Grand otherwise. % It IA claimed that this
.osl1allRBa aiIroaR enterprise Cost the 1iyes
"'of fif6,O00 men. It is possible. =, ~ :
-aoIo I9hageb been told some thingswhichI I,
will lot down here sn6t9 Yohchingn for.
% 18th or Panama railroad was
! an American prof st, il the jffirst place /
:,yTheni the English got "a commandmg in
II tetest in itj aanaa it, became an English
enterprise. They grew somewhat Sick
of itsaua it beganftu swap back until it
MISUNDERSTANDING again The Ameri-
cans finished it, It proved a. good qin in :
0" vnesstment.a But the right of Of way grant
ed bythe olombian States was limited
to only a few'dy years.; 1AFhe- -Ameficans
tried to get the term extended!l 4 But
they were Ne not particularly popular with
the governmentsn Of the Oisthmus,I /. and
could not succeed. Delegations Of heavy
sefgdffs were sent down, but they could not
prevail. They offered a few millions of
dollars and0gopernment transportation
Free. President Mosquiera declined. -
The English saw an Pportunity now. II
They made an effort to secure to them J
selves sthe9right Jofcway whose term was
SO soon to expire They. were popular :
with, the Isthmian chiefs. They made
the central governments some valuable
presents-gunboats and such things =
SGI'hey were progressing handsomely, l.
Thingslooked gloomy for the American s.
Possibly you know that tbey have al
...rsyelution'' in Central America ever ~ b
:lotime the moon changes Al yeqhaye to-
dois TO get out in the Istfeet in Panama
or AspinwaH andsgive q whoop, and the :.
Thing Is lohe..o Shout, down with the raa-fI
ministration d and ups with -somsbody y 8
else, and revolution follows, Ninee1tenth hs J.
81 f6ea people break for home, slam the o
-hdd Doors behind them, ,and get under the bed 81
ut The zothar asnth goiaud 0vertlirn the :,
government and Danish the officials: from 4
rfprssident down to notagypablic g1Ihsn O
fop the, next rtyndays they inquire z
obanxioasly Of all coneFs' what sort of a 8
stir their little universe made IN Europe