Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1871-04-08
William III. Aspinw,lll.

III l'lliIcN' Nl'i"oilo VI AN'N VI WY
stands the gentleman whose nam
heads this article. An enterprfsin!
merchant, importer and ship owner
as soon as the news reached the grea
city of the Knickerbockers in 1913 40
Of the gold discoveries in California
the rush of the gold seekers and nation
makers to the FL Dorado Of the new
world-than to avoid the pcrils an,
disasters attending the dangerous
route around Cape Horn and through
the Straits of Magellan, the storms
| the ice bound cliffs, the boisterou
ocean and high winds Of that turbulen
Cape and narrow Strait, and the long
tedious and wearisome trip overland
| from the Missouri River to San Fran
cisco and the Valleys of the Sierr'
Nevada, he at once conceived and pu
into execution the grand idea Of con
Meeting New York and San Francisco
by q line of Steamships and Railway
via the Chagres River, the lsthmus o
Panama, the Bay of Bolivar, and the
Northwest coast Of California anc
Oregon. He never stopped to coun
the cost, but at once placed himsel
in communication with Gen. Thomas
Gyprian de la Mosluera, the president
of the Republic of New Granada, an"
Jose de Oballia, Governor of the State
of Panama, to carry out his purpose
In 1870 he dispatched John l.. Ste
phcns, the great Oriental and Central
American travelerand Spanish scholar
and Vice President of the Pacific Mail
Steamship Company, to visit Panama,
and hold conference with it, citizens.
and thence to Bogota the capital of the
Republic, to arrange the prelimanarles
of a treaty with the Congress of the
Equatorial attitudes, for the grant of
certain franchises on the Atlantic and
Pacific side, and the construction of a
Railroad across the Isthmus. In full
hllmcnt of this design, Mr., Stephens
arrived at Panama in December, 1919,
and at once gave his time and atten-
ton to the objects Of his great mission
As soon as he arrived in the city he
the Hon. Jose De Obaldia, the
Senator from the State Of Panama and
Governor of that city. He closely eX
anincd the old castles and buildings
in and outside Of the walls, the Par
ishcs Of Santa Anna and san Felipe.
and the site Of old Panama, and the
islands and Bay Of the modern com
mcrcial ontrepot. II" done more--h,
visited Gale and the State of Bona
ventura, and explored the Valley Of
the Cauca and the great State Of
TUNA, said to possess the finest climate
in the world, where the orange and
apple grow together in the sam"
"AliIpas" or fields; whore, (according
to the published account Of Col. vii
liam Duane, who visited and wrote
and published the history Of Columbia
in the days of Simon Bolivar>, he never
before behcId such magnificent Yer
dure and nxuriant growth Of cereals
and fruit--a perfect Paradise on earth.
1t was not long before he concluded a
treaty with the authorities of New
Granada, the most liberal Republic in
South America. This treaty was sat
isfactory to Mr. Vim. II. AsplnwaIl
and his colleagues, and it lead at once
to the construction of the Railroad
across the Isthmus. The late Col.
Edward D. Baker, of Illinois, and at
forwards of California, and Oregon,
and who fell at the Battle of Ball :
Bluff, was one of the earliest contrac-
tors in 1851 80, to build the road
It has been completed and will remain
a monument to the public spirit, en-
terprise, sagacitv and indomltable per
severance of William II. Aspinwall.
It connects AspinwaIl city, on the
Atlantic, with Panama, on the Pacific.
And now we rejoice to hear that
Mr.. Aspinwa!l, the millionaire ship
builder and ship owner and Railroad
Engineer Of New York, intends to lend
his influence, his name and means, to
construct the Western Maryland Rail
road from Williamsport to Cumberland
and the coal regions of the Allegaly
With the name Of Aspinwall to back
it, his great "material aid and moral
power, the road will be built. There
is no calculating when this takes place
when the road is finished the i'm.
mense amount Of coal which will be
transported over the W. NJ. r. Il. from
! Cumberland to Baltimore and thence
to Philadelphia and New York. How
many manufactures will it set il
motion in Mechanicstown? That il
the question for our shrewd capitalists
and workers in iron, copper and othe
mineral, etc, to determine.
DEATH OF AN OLD CITIzEN,---W
roorat 10 record tho death of Mr.