Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1878-06-29

- tDe AD4403-
ous of the aoss inpsgtA1t and in'es
e<sise eniesrsi-~- cf mciern iinses, ."
fer q Anei c.n Interests Hse cnDreTDed.
b the building IL 'h- rAilEo.d ees;iEei
% eosrect the naviz able waters Il the
Rio Msdeira. which f"~s into the Ana
roo, With the Rio M.Sucre. THIS work
will opep . nes chanel for the trade ot
the Bolivian plateau and cause . great
saving 10 the c, ct Of transportation. Al
present the trade Of this region seeks an
outlet by the Pacific coast, and falls al
most wholly into the hands Of British
merchants. The proposed railroad. by
connecting the Rio MAimorc and the net
work of rivers which now east through
Bolivia from the Andes and fall into the
Rio Guaporc, must revolutiOhizc the
transport system of the rich and extern
sive Bolivian plateau and tu,S its vast
commerce into the Amazon, thereby en-
abling America to compete on favor able
terms with England for the carry ing
trade, giving our manufacturers an easy
access to region from which hitherto
they have been practically excluded by
q British competition. The length of the
projected line docs not exceed $50 miles,
but the way lies through dense tropical
forest, and there are good many engi-
neering difficulties to be overcome.
Some years ago the building of this
line was undertaken by an English COM
pany, but owing to the difficulties en-
counsered, and, it is said, to mismanage-
ment on the part of the contractors, the
work wAs abandoned. Nearly six hun
dred English workingmen lost their
lives during the progress of the work.
The undertaking has now fallen into
American hands, but it must be con-
fessed that its beginning has not been
suspicious. The lnss Of the Metropolis,
with workmen intended to build the
road, is too fresh in the minds Of the
public to need extended reference. and
the story told by one of the crew of the
sister ship, the Aercidita, gives reason to
fear that many more valuable lives may
be sacrificed before the project has been
successfully carried out.
SAM scoTT's STORY.
We left New York in the latter part
Of December in the steamer Mercedita, of
about 1900 tons burden, and went to
Philadelphia, where we took in freight
and passengers. The passengers num-
Der about 208, and Of theee about no
were civil engineers; The rest we're me-
chanics of various trades, employed to
work on the railroad. So great was the
desire ON the pNt of workingmen to 60
out that we were obliged to set guard
to prevent men slowing themselves away,
and the day we sailed it was necessary 10
use violence to keep back the crowd of
unemployed who sought to come on
board in the hope that they would be
carried away. 1t was on January Q, 1878,
that we sailed from Philadelphia, and
before we reached Barbados we ran short
of water and coal. It took US seventeen
days to reach Barbados, owing to the bad
sailing. qualities Of the ship, and 1t was
twelve days from the latter port before
we sighted the lightship at Para, al
though the shipowners had guaranteed to
land n in Para within eighteen days.
We were scarcely in sight Of Brazil when
our troubles began. We lost an anchor
near the Amazon light ship, but getting
. pilot next day We reached Para ali
right. Here we took two pilots ON board,
one for the Amsxon and the other for the
nadeira river, but through their blum
desisg. and the interference Of the cap
tain, ve got sgrUund on . small islssd .
little vay sbove Para Alter Q while Ne
got ID. tut osing In the blundesing ef
The pilsas cad the isserferxnce of the cap
taia similar sceiiesss became frequesf,
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