The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1879-12-25

III E-EN
After all, the energetic Baron DeLes-
seps seems to have the upper hand OF
the ~interoceanic canal boom. This
seems to be more clearly settled since
| Gen. Grant has declined the presidency
| of the proposed Nicaragua company.
De Lesseps is on the ground with 2OO,-
| 900, 900 francs, a little less than S4O,-
| 600, 900, and has his surveys made, N
| grants obtained. A wonderfully en-
| ergetic man is DeLesseps, although ar
rived at that period in life when a man
usually eschews the cares of business
and seeks comfort in the delightful Sc
| clusion OF his family circle. But not so
with DeLesseps. He seems to have
| overturned both time and custom, for
he has a young wife, a large family, n
is as deeply plunged in grand schemes
as ever. Only last year he was survey
ing the sandy wasteslof Algiers search
| ing for the olden time bed of the inland
| ocean that once existed there. This
year he has busted himself in further
| ing the Panama canal scheme. 1t is
| plain that he wants the fame of two in
| teroceanic canals TO rest upon his
memory-the Suez and Panama canal.
By the way, a very interesting COM
p~arison can be made IN the subject of
| these canals, including a brief history
| of the one in Africa. 1t was on Nov.
Is, 1854. just twenty-five years ago,
| that NJ. Ferdinand de Lesseps presented
to Mohammed Said, the khedive Of
| Egypt, in the Libyan desert, his plan
for constructing the Suez canal. He
was then nearly forty-nine years old, for
he was born ut Versailles, Nov. 10,
1905, and though he had been dreaming
| of the canal since his youth-from the
| time that he went to Carlo in 1881, in
| the Office of the consulate there-he was
unable t otbegin the great enterprise
until the accession of the ~above-named
ruler of Egypt. who came to the vice
royalty in 1854. 1t was only a fort
| night after their meeting in the desert
that this progressive ruler gave NJ. de
| Lesseps a concession to form a compa-
| dy and undertake the work. On Nov.
II, 1869, the canal was formally opened
| to the of the world and the
month of November has, therefore,
been an important one in the life of de
Lesseps. May &c, 1879, may be regard
ed rs the date of the beginning of the
canalsacross the American isthmus, for
then it was that the Paris congress
voted for the Panama line, and M. de
| Lesseps announced that he would take
| the leadership i'm the new enterprise.
On comparing these dates with those
| of other great works, it is interesting to
note that on March 10, 1879. Mr.. Cyrus
W. Field celebrated the twenty-ffth
anniversary of the commencement of
his Atlantic cable project, so that this
and the Suez canal were really started
in the same year. The Union and
| Central Pacific railroads were Joined
May 10, 1869, the same year that the
Suez canal was opened. Coming now
| to the American isthmus, we find that
the last rail of the Panama railroad was
laid at midnight, Ian. 81, 1855, the
work having been begun in May, 1850.
Gen. Totten, the builder of the road, is
to join NJ. de Lesseps OF the isthmus,
Dec. % of this year and when these two
veteran pioneers meet and start the
canal there, it is to be expected that
not much time will elapse before the
work will be successfully completed.
These men, including the directors
and principal stockholders of the Pana-
ma railroad company, are there now.
They will have a most important con-
sultation and the outcome will be of
great moment to the commercial world.