The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1879-05-07
THE DARIEN CANAL
Parties Interested In the Scheme-A Com
pany Being Formed Abroad.
London World 1871 g

Parties Interested In the Scheme-A Com
pany Being Formed Abroad.
london World, 1871
There IL very pretty scheme on foot in
Paris just now for floating q Darien Canal
company: which is to do for the Atlantic
ana racine what the Suez did for the Medi-
terranean and Red Seas. Nine Ratazzi and
her relations, the Napoleon wyses, are said
to be interested in it, at least as well-wish-
ers, and their good wishes ought to bring
blessing TO any undertaking. The engineers
are to cut clean through the isthmus and
unite the oceans; the rest va sans dire-it
would revo.utionIze the trade of the world.
They have obtained a concession from
the local Government and are only awaiting
the result of congress, to be held next Nav.
at the Geographical society of Paris, to begin
operations by putting their shares In the mar
ket. NJ. de Lesseps will preside, and the
congress will sit In Judgment on this and
an alternative French scheme, the piercing
OF the continent by way of the Lake of
Nicaragus, some degrees further North. This
Is the project OF q certain M. de Lesseps at
Suez, and who has been maturing the idea of
mightier work than his masters for
many years. He is a declared enemy not
only to the Darien plan in question but of
all other Darien plans, and there have been
many of them. He declares that, in spite of
appearances on the map, the American con-
tinent can not be pierced at that point. on
any estimate of outlay likely to come with
in the means of shareholders who expect a
return on their money. His Nicaraguan
scheme, he maintains, is cheaper, as being
more feasible according 10 the CONFORMATION
of the ground. He has found a number of
influential people ready to take him at his
word; Nicaraguan company is in course of
formation, chiefly with French capital;
Nicaraguan concession has been obtained,
and NJ. Blanchet, like the others, only
awaits the verdict of the congress, as TO
which he seems thoroughly confident to set
to work.
The Napoleon Wyses are said to be NOV
ing Heaven and earth to get the Congress to
pronounce for their project. and they are
powerful clan. M. de Lesseps is believed to
be in some danger of losing his freedom of
| judgment on the question through female
| influence He is peculiarly susceptible to
the destinations and batteries of pretty wo-
men of the world, and there are many such
| specially retained on one side of the case
| His good word would be almost enough to
float the Darien or another scheme.
He, however, wants to be altogether out
| OF 1t, as an advocate, and he has called the
congress as a judge. He has had enough of
canal making and enough of glory. With
all this it may be thought he can have no
weak side; but the Darenites have found
one-a horror of canal locks. There are no
| locks at SueZ; it is level passage from sea
to sea. why should there be locks in any
other maritime canal?" says M. de Lesseps
| why, ihuccu. say Tile DdTlculltS, anu
they accordingly propose to drive their
channel for miles through the solid rock.
/ The "Nicaraguans'' have another answer.
"Darien is not Suez; it is rock instead
of sand; elevated ground instead
| of land on the sea level. To
cut sheer down to the sea level through the
Cordilleras would be a labor of Hercules. 1t
would cost thousand millions of francs.
There must be locks, then, even at Darien
and since locks there must be, it is better to
make them at Nicaragua, where the ground
is more suitable for their formation -
Granted" says N. de Lesseps, '.if only the
must is absolute, there is no lock plan SO
good as the one for Nicaragua; but the con-
gress alone can settle the question" Here,
then, is the turning point.
In support of their contention that there
must be locks the Nicaraguans point to the
fact that all the schemes hitherto proposed,
even for Darien, that have borne the test OF
serious examination, have included this ar
rangement. At the lsthmus the two oceans
are separated by great ridge, miles il
! breadth, the tapering point of the Cordtllers
range. You must carry the water over THU
or through it: the first is tremendously diff
! ficult. the last nearly impossible. The mos
plausible Darien scheme, that OF Selfridge
! the American, provides for no fewer than 2
, locks, and even with this there Is to be
! great ship tunnel of such immense heigh
. and width that the work at Mont Cent
would be mere sewer to 1t, all wrough
foot by foot out of the rock. You woult
never come to the end of such an under
i, taking. it is argued, except by coming TO al
end of the patience of your shareholder
| Gogorza did, indeed, propose to do withou
: the tunnel, but it was only by sinking
channel IN the rock deep enough to holt
. two towers OF Notre Dame piled one on tn
! other. The very Pharaohs would hav
,, WINGED at such labor. No matter wha
| l.f q oh al hxyn fhar
; fore, it Is held to be vitiated by the natur
.. of the ground. If you carry it over the rocl
by locks, you have still the rock to work in
: If you carry it through by tunnels or Al
, open cutting, you are almost everlasting tn
capacities of man.
l Now for the alternative Nicaragua
! scheme OF NJ. Blanchet. The neck of Lam
: is thicker there; but the cutting through
involves far less labor, for the work is NOR
than three parts done by nature hersell
: Look on the map, and it will be seen tina
: there is q large lake of Nicaragua in tn
7 middle of it, and that river, the San Juan
flows from this lake to the Atlantic ocean
Here then, with slight diversion of tn
mouth of the river, 30 as to bring the entr
!. to San Juan del Norte, is your canal read
made. The ship leaves the Atlantic ocea
!, for the river, the river for the lake
!. and crossing the lake there is Gu
mere wall of land to separate it from
= the Pacific on the other side, wh1c
!, wall is to be pierced at Port Brito to form
] the canal proper, nearly all the rest bein
= natural route. The route, however, wi
y bear Improvement; and this, says M. Blan
= cnet, can easily be effected by flooding tn
2 San Juan valley from the lake, SO as practl
Q cally to extend the broad lake route still
2 farther toward the ocean. The lake Is som
= 80 metres above the ocean level and IA lock
= will be required to regulate the varlou
depths and to carry the canal waters fror
sea to sea. The estimated cost
about 100000 francs, or will
In 1O,00O00O of the estimated cost I
the Suez Double it for eventualities-an
a | b.1 10 10 sxO har