National Republican., 1873-12-02

lth submitted.
The return Of these expeditions, with full
,ports Of their results, seems TO leave little
'oro 10 bo done In the direction Of isthmus
ons, most credltable 10 all engaged In them,
be Department feels assured that the resolu-
ons OF Congress which led 10 tho same have
cen carried out In the spirit In which they
zero conceived.
The rcsnls Of these two last surveys may
Darien sufvey--The favorable report Of
commander Selfridge, of the survey
1 the 1sthmus Of Daricn, In 1s7f,
endered II desirable TO explore moro thor
'ughiy tho region OF the Napipi, and 10 def
ould be probably carried on In the valley o.
Commander sclfridge was accordingly or
Tered to organize another expedition, which
.rriyed In Panama In January last. Tho
ruscarora, Commander Belknap, Of tho Pa
life feet, was ordered 10 co operate with II,
md form base for the desired surveys.
# Is very gratifying that the expedition
has been so successful as TO materially i'm
prove upon the route already discovered and
surveyed, and has marked ont line for this
yrea, enterprise that can bc constructed
than could have been expected,
whom compared with the immensely Of the
and the great benefits that can
not fall, upon its completion, TO occur TO our
interests.
Briefly stated, the route selected BY Com
msndcr selfridge includes ono hundred miles
Of river navigation Of the Atrato, which has
been carefully sounded, and found TO be fully
capable Of being navigated by the largest
class OF ocean steamers. Between Atrnto
and the Pacific canal or artificial cut Ia
made but twenty-eight miles In length. The
canal for twenty-five miles Of this distance
passes through plain, with grand rise Of
30 feet. There VIII then remain elk miles 10
the Pacific, of which there are q moderate
open cut and three miles Of tunneling. It's
estimated that the work will cost between
ESQ 000. 900 aud sG0, ,000, 900, aud that II can
be completed within ten years.
A careful survey and soundlngs Of the
Atrato resulted In the fact that, though capa-
bio Of navigation for steamboats,, even In Its
lowest stage, to Qulbeto, the head Of ship
navigation was reached but O short distance
above the line selected for the canal.
Surveys of the interior settled the fact that
Il would not be profitable to explore south OF
the Napipi; not only because tho westerly
trend Of the coast made the area that would
have TO be canalized broader In extent, but
also that II was travcrsed by numerous
streams, forming the watersheds Of noun
sSgs MaoowS woua ss Ssvo 20 n cut
which present a marked depression near the
cad-waters Of the Naplpi, increase rapidly
In altitude as you proceed south.
Tho health Of the expedition has been rs
satisfactory as the preceding ones.
These surveys, which include the whole
Isthmus OF Darien, have not resulted In the
loss Of a single. life through climatic causes.
Much Of this immunity from disease In
sickly climate and an arduous duty Is due to
thcproyidennt and well-laidplans Of tho officers
In command.
Nicaragua survoy-Thc Nicaragua survey,
Ing expedition, In charge Of Com. 4. P. Luil,,
| sailed from tho United States In December,
1872, and returned In July last. The results Of
Its lab0rs prove the existence Of q practicable
| route for an interoceanic ship canal, having
Lake Nicaragua at Its summit level. II IL
proposed to connect the lake with the Pacific
by q canal 1888 miles In length, beginning at
the mouth Of the Rio del Medic, and termi-
mating at Brito. The first 7.50 miles will re-
quire an excavation averaging "a feet In
depth, and will be the most expensive part Of
the whole work. The profile for the rest Of
the distance Is lower than the proposed level
Of the surface Of The wateri embankments
will be built up with the material cxsavated.
Ten locks and one tide-lock will be required
between the lake and the sea. There will be
hfty-six miles of lake navigation; 30 feet Of
water can be carried within $50 feet OF the
mouth Of the Rio del Medic. On the east side
Q channel will have to be deepened, from to.
feet, for nine miles. The bottom Is arm,
mud without single rock.
slack-water navigation In the San Juan,
from Its head TO the mouth Of the San Car
los, Is considered perfectly feasiblc; and Il Is
proposed to improve the river by four dams,
one each at Castillo Rapids, Balas Rapids,
Machuca Rapids, and at tho mouth Of the
San Carlos, at all Of which places excellent
locations for dams exist. A short section OF
canal with one lock will be required TO get
| around each Of the upper three dams. From
Just above tho fourth dam to Greytown an
Independent canal will be required, 41.9O
miles In length, of which thirty-six miles viii
require an excavation less than the prism Of
the canal; the remaining four miles are made
up OF short reaches, where tho line cuts
through hills. Seven locks, besides those
abreast the dams, will DO required, and
should be located In the hills In order to take
advantage Of tho natural rock foundation.
In the river bed, for which the amount has
been computed and the cost estimated.
The total length Of the proposed canal is
IA miles, Of which 47.37 miles are In exca-
walton and embankment. The average depth
Of excavation throughout Is but 0 feet above
the prism Of the canal. No tunnel Is re-
quired. The harbor OF Greytown has been
partially destroyed by q silt which comes
from the San Carlos and others Of the lower
tributaries OF the San Juan, and the branch
Of the river leading to Greytown has become
so much hlled up that II Is now, at the lowest
stage Of the water, but 324 feet wide and
inches deep at the fork. IL Is proposed to
shut of this branch entirely and send all the
sllt-bearing water through the Colorado
mouth, which emptles into the sea eighteen
: miles from Greytown, and to admit 10 tho
harbor only the water Of the canal, which
being drawn from the main river above the
mouth Of tho San Carlos, will be perfectly
clean. The harbor then once cleared out,
J will leave nothing to deteriorate II again.
short breakwater will bc required TO pro-
!, tcct the entrance from the surf, also ono at
J Brito, both Of which are included In tho cstl-
mate for the work.
Careful gauges ut tho lowest stage show
that Lake Nicaragua will supply thirfy-cIght
times the maximum possible demand Of
water.
The climate is considered perfectly healthy
for temperate people who adopt tho simplest
sanitary precautions. Part proof OF this is
that not man has been lost In either Of the
though constantly subjected to severe labor
and exposure.
| THE PoLARIs.
In my annual report Of November 25, 1871.
! communicated the latest Information then
known OF the proceedings of the expedition
towards the north pole, In mentioning the
departure OF the Polaris from Upcrnayik,
Greenland, on the 18th August. 1871.
From that time no tidings from the Polarls
were received until the 9th Of Nav, Is7S
when, BY q telegraphic dispatch, the consul
OF the United States at Saint Johns, New
foundland, apprised the Department OF State
that nineteen persons, late Of the Polarls
had been rescued from the floating Ice IN
Bafiin's bay, by the British sealing steamer
the Tigress, and that they had safely arrived
at that port.
| The Department dispatched the United
States steamer Frollc from New York 10 81.
Johns 10 receive these persons and to bring
them TO Washington. The FrolIc accom-,
plished this mission without delay, and on
the 9th OF June arrived ut the navy ward.
having on board two Of the officers, eight OF
the crew and nine Esqulmaux, Ave Of whom
were children, all In good health.
For the reasons stated In my report TO You of
l7th Of June last, / deemed Il advisable that
should hold an examination Of these persons.
and, accordingly, with my associates named in
that report such examination was carefully
| made, and the result communicated to You In
our Joint report Of June 10. Both OF these re-
ports and the testimony OF the Witnesses.
with the diaries Of several Of them, are pub,
llshed In the appendix 10 this report, and
present most interesting history OF the vow
age and discoveries Of the Polaris up TO tia
time Of their accidental separation, from
these hardy mariners on the night Of Octo-
Der Is 1872, and of their own subsequent sui
| ferings and adventures during the one hum