New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-04-14

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hundssd. s1;d 10y nil16 11oalilg source.
The Nsiripi IN i one o. il tributaries
and i large and powerful mountain
stream which supplies tho Atrnto and
keepsit full to high water mark through
out the larger portion Of the year. This
will be the proposed Atlantic terminus of
the great canal.
The Tuyra river, which is the pro-
posed Pacific terminus, empties into the
Gulf of San Miguel, and is admirably
suited for the purpose. At its mouth it is
upward of mile in width, and in its
waters the largest ships may float up to
point about six miles above Chepigana, a
place located. some five miles above the
mouth Of the river. It has been explored
as far as Pinogana, distance Of forty
five miles from Chepigana by the river
route. Midway between Chepigana and
Pinogana the Chuquanaqua river forms
junction with the Tuyra, thus making
large and easily navigable stream.
From Alligator Island, eighteen miles
above Chepigana, the Tuyra does not mar
row down to it's mouth and at distance
of mile above Chepigana there is rise
and fall of the tide from fifteen to twenty
inches Throughout its whole course it
runs between perpendicular banks from
ten to twenty feet in height, and with
current from three to four miles per hour.
Nearly the whole of this newly discov-
cred route Of the canal has been surveyed
and not hill of any description is met
with, Notwithstanding the fact that the
present maps of the country represent it
as traversed by range after range Of high
mountains. The country is apparently
perfectly level, but it undoubtedly has
slight elevation toward the interior. The
entire distance which it is expected the
canal will have to be cut is said to be only
about twenty-five miles to make to make
the junction of the Atrato with the Tuyra,
and the deepest cutting not to exceed one
hundred and fifty feet, and perhaps not
more than from seventy-ive to one hun
bred feet.
There are other routes under examina-
ton by the engineers which seem to bear
upon the route already indicated. For
instance, the Cue route which runs
through what is called the Cue valley.
This is route over which white man
has never passed before. Engineer
Duvon and his party entered upon its
survey. The Cue river. is tributary of
the Tuyra, and runs through the valley
which bears its name. A route up this
valley, across the divide, will connect
with the Paranchito river on the Atlantic
or Caribbean sea side, which by personal
observation is known to be much lower
than the Cacarica, another of the
rivers emptying into. the Caribbean
sea east of the Atrato. The en-
tire length of the proposed canal
is less than fifty miles. About
thirty miles of it will be through a coun-
try which is apparently dead level. The
remaining twenty miles will be through
an elevation at its highest point not to ex-
coed one hundred and fifty feet, and it is
thought point in the divide will be
found where it will not be more than We
have already stated, of from seventy-fve
to one hundred feet. From the reports
already received from the expedition I'M
der Commander Selfridg &c of the surveys
and examinations along the route of the
proposed canal, all doubts respecting the
practicability of its construction are at an
end, and at less cost than was an
ticipated. It will be work which our
government will no doubt undertake, as
it is a matter in which the commerce of
the civilized world has an interest, and
the canal when opened should be free to
the shipping of all nations.
No grander or more glorious achieve
ment of the age in the interest of peace
and progress will have been performed by
any nation, than the completion and
opening of a ship canal across the Isthmus
of Panama to connect the two great oceans.
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