Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-10-27
THE PANAMA CANAL
NEW SURVEYS AND GEOLOGICAL
EXPLORATIONS.
Novel Hydraulic EOgIneerIDg-SOme
New Developments that Make Ihe
First Estimated Cost too Large.
Mem York HernId-

in which he told the reporter some interest
ing facts relative to the progress of work on
the Panama interOceanic ship canal. Mr..
Elssler, who ID a mining engineer from the
Golden State, said that he had been down
on visit to Panama in the interest of sew
eral California; capitalists who are anxious
to ascertain through him what inducements
there might be presented for investments
In connection with the canal project, either
by way of ira de with the contractors of that
great work or in stock, should a chance of
making money present itself The gentle
man arrived at Panama from San Francisco
on September 3, and stayed at the Isthmus
for the period of seventeen days. During
the time he had visited every section along
the line of the proposed canal, and availed
himself of unusually good facilities to note
what was going on. He made copfous memo
randa OF everything that seemed to him of
interest, so tia his report might be written
al! the more intelligentlY.
When the reporter asked how MANY men
the canal company had at work Mr.. Eissler
referred 70 his notes and said hat he could
state the rumber on the pay roll. These
were: Ia February last, $50 men; March,
425; April, 4S5; Nav, 554; June, SIS; July,
los; August, l, $50, and otherwise were
being put on as occasion required. He also
said, with reference to the death rate among
the workmen, that twenty-seven of the
personnel had died between the months of
February and August last. In June the
death rate was highest on account OF some
sporadic cases of yellow fever which had
occurred then on the Isthmus.
THE WORK THAT IS BEING DONE.
AS to the nature Of the work going on, it
consists in the sinking Of shafts and making
borings along the line at such places as had
not formerly been tested. Four shafts are
being driven by steam power. These are:
Ferdinand de Lesseps, at the Cerro de
Culebra, ~ metres above sea level;
Couvreaux ct Hersant, also at the Culebra,
SO metres above the sea level; Thompson, 90
metres above the sea level, on the right
bank of the Chsgres, near Gamboa and
Ismaelia, at BarbacOas. All these shafts
are now 80 metres or more down from the
surface. The borings, which are being
sunk by manual labor, are: Bian-
chet, 100 metres, to the right of
the road leading to Emperador:
Reclus, midway between Enperador and
the Culebra; Sosa, on the western slope of
the Culebra; the shaft at the fftieth kilo-
metre from Colon; one at the Rio Obispo,
on the line Of the great projected cut, and
two at the Chagres river, near where the
great dam will be constructed. There are
fourteen shafts between a place which Mr..
Eissler calls Lion Hill and Aspinwall. He
also mentioned three shafts near Panama
and one at San Miguel. The deepest shaft
is that known by the name of Ferdinand de
Lesseps, having prOfundity of over forty
metres. At Gstun an eXcaVatOr is at work
and cutting by hand has been commenced.
1t appears, from Mr.. Elssler's conVersa-
tion, that new surveys and geological
explorations which were never cOntem-
plated when NJ. de Lesseps' Technical
Commission made the estimates for the
work are now going forward. A new line
Is being run from ABOVE the valley of the
Rio Grande, so as TO avoid the rivers bed
and carry the canal into Panama Bay at a
point further away from the city than the
railroad track, Snd in the same direction.
It will be remembered by the readers of the
Herald that the disembouchure now chosen
had been selected by Commander Lull.
of the United States Navy, in 1875. But
when NJ. de Lesseps and his Technical Com
mission arrived at Panama that part of the
canal route was pooh-pOohed, and the great
French canal digger announced that he
would save many millions of francs by fol-
lowing the Rio Grande valley from above
Paraiso to the Pacific. So much was NJ. de
Lesseps prepossessed with this idea that
on January 2, 1880, he went with his engi-
neers and large party of visitors to inau-
gurate the work at the mouth of the Rio
Grande, where the tide gate was to be placed
TO prevent JQe llgQ LlQeS IN Panama b AV
from flooding the canal. The Rio Grande
and its valley were geographically and
geologically surveyed at the time, and upon
that survey the estimates were calculated,
but Mr.. Eissler says that the new eXpl1ra-
tiOns will change all that, and the mouth of
the canal is to rest near where Commodore
Lull located it. 1t was pointed out to that
gentleman that change SO radical as this
in the tracing OF he waterway would render
;
Technical Commission, upon the credit of
which he went before the public to ask for
subscriptions in stock, but Mr.. Eissler ex-
cused himself, on the ground of not know
ing he question sufficiently, from express
ing definite opinion upon it.
DETERMINING THE COURSE OF THE CANAL
At Paraiso, Mr.. Weber, who was succeed
ed by Mr.. MarrOlle, had commenced opera
tions on a geological and Typographical sur
VeY to further determine the course of the
canal. The HerGJdS readers may recollect
that all this important work was supposed
to have been thoroughly done by Mr.. E
Bouton, an eminent engineer and geologist,
belonging to the Paris School of Mines, who
was a member of NJ. de Lesseps' Technical
Commission. Mr. Eissler has much conf
dence in the abilities of Mr.. Jose Roux, who
is charged with making the great cut
through the Culebra and with building the
dam at Gamboa. This latter is, perhaps, one
of the most formidable works In hydraulic
engineering that has ever been undertaken
in America, excepting, perhaps, the
drainage of the Valley of Mexico,
and it was set down at a cost of about
10000 600 francs. Mr.. Roux is also to di-
rect the works at Emperador. He has at the
same time be- n making additional surveys,
which are about completed. A couple of
sub brigades of workmen are clearing places
for their houses, which will be sent down
from San Francisco, where Messrs. Huerne
& Slavin have, so Mr.. Eissler says, contracts
with the canal company to the value of
81, 10000. 1t is intended to erect large
machine shops at EmperadOr for the con-
struction and repair Of such rock drills and
other tools as may be necessary at the Guile
bra cut and along the line. 1t is also intend
ed to make eight lines of railroad to carry
rock and debris from the Culebrs cut to the
dam at Gamboa. Mr.. Eissler states that
the ties for these roads have been contracted
for in San Francisco. ExcavatOrs
having a capacity OF 1900 square
metres of dirt daily are at work near As
pinwall and Gatun. The company think of
putting fifty of these dirt devOuring
monsters at work, but at present there are
only two. They believe that after getting
everything ready, the first twenty kilometres
of waterway from Aspinwall inland can be
finished in eight months. Everything is ex
pected to be ready by next month, when the
dry season will have set in. Two hospitals
are being built, one at Panama for three
hundred and another at Aspinwall for one
hundred beds. A strong medical staff is
reported on the ground, furnished with their
own drug stores and druggists. The drugs,
the druggists, machines and machtnists are
all from France. So many things from
France and so little outlay OF hard cash by
the canal men do not please the Panama
mans, who now sigh for the good old time
when the railroad was being built by those
"Yankees, ;" who made the dollars fly. Simon
bay, the Atlantic mouth of the canal, is be-
ing treated to another final survey by French
photographers.
NEW SURVEYS REDUCE THE ORIGINAL EsTI
MATED COST
The reporter observed that the amount of
work done did not seem at all commeDsur-
rate to the task Of digging canal in six or
eight years, as Mr. de Lesseps had assured
the world he would do. Mr. Eissler sgreed
that much more ought to have been accom-
plished since the work was commenced.
He added
81 I'asked them why they were not more
advanced with the work. They said that up
till last July it was absolutely impossible for
them to make any progress because OF the
Panama Railroad Company, which had the
exclusive right Of way across the Isthmus
and could stop them at any moment. The
company would not allow them to proceed
until the canal people got control of it.
This they did by purchase on July /, for the
sum OF $21 100000 and upon payment of
IS, ,000, 600 cash, by way of lnstalment.
When this was done Mr.. Wood, superin-
tendent Of the Panama Railroad, who had
n0War n stOr1 work On the canal r0uto fptPr-