Daily Los Angeles herald., 1879-01-16
8os Su9tles aleralA.
xhs rnser-oosanio Canal Routes.
lsan FRANCISCO bulletin. ]

V11oh has been enlisted in behalf
y such work within the last few
vcors. There have been number
q surveys made, both under the
patronage Of our own Government
INA under fereign patronage. The
Ifench have taken great interest
n the project Of an Isthmus canal,
md it was reported not long ago
hat De Lesseps, the protector, of
Sues canal, was engaged in pro-
mating the enterprise OF canal
noroes the Isthmus, known as the
AlEetro route. Lieutenant Wyse,
pf the French navy, made sur
xoy and report Of this route which |
attracted considerable attention at |
ele time. II we remember rightly |
ho favored the shortest route which
had ever been surveyed, and his
included two tunnels
IN the place of locks. Such a route
ought to have great advantages.
The absence OF locks and the few
eet number of miles would seem to
be almost controlling considera-
ttons.
But the Nicaragua route has al
ways had considerable number of
ehthusIastic advocates. The survey
OF that route was made by our Gov
eminent many yeare ago, since
which time nearly all the observa-
ttons then made have been con-
flrmed.
The United Service Quarterly for
January ecntains an account of
the survey Of the Nicaragua route
made under ommander Lull of the
Navy. We have Also before US n
paper read before the American
Geographical Society recently, by
Rear-Admiral Ammen, of the
United States Navy, In which the
advantages Of the Nicaragua route
are carefully summed up. Some of
the facts collated are of special in
terest !:
1.-THE most important physical
feature IL the existence OF Lake
Nicaragua, which, when full, is
107.6 g feet above the oceans level.
This 10 designed to be the summit
level Of the canal. The lake has a
surrerf1ce Of $500 miles, with a sur
face draipage falling into it, rough
~ estimited at 9, ,45O miles, which
furnish m outflow of water by the
San . uan river twenty times AS
CREST asthe commerce Of the world
could require In the lockage of ves-
seIss passing through the canal.
"Even this superabunjant water
supply without the cost of n feeder
10 not the most beneficent feature;
II ID In tho equaiization of foods
from SO large q superfice, SO that in
reality the surface level of the lake
may be said to change almost i'm
perceptlbly from day to day. In
this lies the pracficability Of util-
txing the upper pari "fthe San Juan
river for slack water navigation.
The river itself favors this, by rea-
son Of it's singularly small water
shed, other than that Of and through
the lake. On the one side it is
flanked bt the Rio Frio, which
runs In almost the opposite direc.
ton, aud empties its waters into
ths lake, and on the other by very
narrow water-ehed above the mouth
Of the San Carlos, below which it
is not designed to use the bed of
the stream"
The mean annual rainfall at
Cairo, lees than one hundred miles
from the Suez canal, is one and
three tentbs of an inch. The mean
annual rainfall at Aspinwall is
124. % inches.
The following summary of dis
tances and cost is given by Civil
Engineer Menocal:
Western Division-From Port
Brito to Take. Distance. 1858
miles; estims sted cost. S21 ,C81,777
Middle Division-Eake Mica
ragua. Distance, $3.50 miles;
esfimated cost. t............. 715, ,65S
Eastern Division-From Lake
to Gxeytown. Distance, 108.43
miles, stimHted cost. ......... 25,020, ,9i4
Construction Of Greytown Har-
bor.. 2oZ2 63O
Construction of Brito Harbor.. 2.337, ,7S9
Totat- Distance. .1s1 &c ;cost $52. .577 ,7ls
Admiral Ammen, however, con-
slderss that 500, ,000,000 will be
nearer the mark. The actual line
Of the transit is 18l miles. OF
this distance 56.5 miles are navi-
woh1a uIrpA Tho river M v ua tiop