Daily Los Angeles herald., 1881-01-09
~ nsoaoas 81 Tehaansepec
Project.

144f no4Dzn9s
Ebo tsoaOas ~ Tehaansepec
RRelees.
s. Iko Telegraph advises US that
n1a. . celebrated American engi-
no6es distinguished % much by his
11ocoD In bridging the Mississippi
= - Louis ~ by increasing its
1<th At the mouth. 90 ~ to enable
(: ~ olasses Of vessels to enter it, has
E1alnsd : grant to build . ship
af&1lrsad ACROSS the Isthmus OF Te-
Huantepsc.
zhsre u something startling In
~ ldoA Of taking up q modern
&ooamsr or clipper ship and trans
Z s4eRlang u across continent and
opmitlne 1t again safely in the
oooan. that Il may pursue Its voy-
- . IT, destination. Most men
sWould - soon think Of navigating
~ Wind and Of hoistlnR ships out
~ 1he water by means Of balloons,
z6nd moving them, 20 hoisted, from
Do1nt TO point. But there are those
WAe ars 20 sanguine as to believe
$500 man 10 able to execute what
ovoE ~ may conceive; and they can
- - good reason why . ship, say
- Great Esstsrn. which 10 nearly
- fsst long, and which must have
t4ofpes depth Of hold, should
xot be coun1ertably placed In q cra-
~, supported N wheels, resting on
: oSuek, and 20 trGnsported across
ne continent We do not presume
4 - oay the thing cannot be done,
eooing what has been done, and
: knevlne the ability Of our engi'
noocs. No one would take more
D1oaaure than we would in seeing
Oapt. Eads run the Great Eastern
ooross the Isthmus Of Tehuantepsc
and more especially through the
! Ohivsla Pass, by which one descsnd'
1kom the low table lands Of the In.
toeior to the Pacific plains. L
Would be particularly interesting
- zee such . vast mass as tn
Great Eastern adapting itself t.
! ehe sharp curvatures and heav.
grsdss which would be required tc
get through that pass, with th
ease with which young maidenac
\ oommodates herself to the maze
It the dance. But, whilst we have
not the least doubt that Captain
0ads 10 far enough advanced in ar
ehitscture and marine engineering
to construct the basins int
which ships would have to enter il
order to be cradled on the cars 70
tFansportation; while we also be
Mevs he could build the road. tn
ears and the cradles required TO
the business proposed, we are at
los to understand how he will ge
6vef the natural difficulties of tn
bar ct the mouth of the Coatzaco
oloos river, upon which there i
not more than thirteen feet at tn
highest water, and which is i'm
passable one third OF the time, viz.
xtem tho Let of October to the Is
4 of March, by reason of the north
ofs that prevail during that season
ond which render the navigation
of the Mexican Gulf coast perIlou
In the extreme, more especially foI
sailing vessels.
AL navigators of the Pacifi
Coast know that all the rougl
weather found on the trip from
San francisco to Panama is me
with In crossing the mouth OF tn
Gull Of California and In crossinl
:, the Gulf Of Tehuautepec, or th
BAR Of Vsntosa, from the terrible
winds that there blow INCREASINGLY
Along the Tehuantepec coast there
10 no available harbor. Their
work can be found In abundance ce
and great breakwaters may be con
struoted, which would protec
shipping, facilitating commerce.
The isthmue 10 we'll known, hav
ing been operated for nearly year
passengers taking that route TO
New Orleans, which was thu
drought within fourteen days o
eAn Francisco. But, owing TO tn
inesnveniences Of travel, the rout
was pot made success.
Had the men who took hold O.
che enterprise Of opening the 18th
Dus In 1850, and who sent out rail
road surveying parties under Majo
y g. Barnard, now General Bar
nard Of the U. 8. Engineers, assist
- By Mr.. q. Lidsil, then q well
known railroad engineer; had
~ say, these parties been dul,
backed by capital, 1t is possibl,
that the Panama route would hav,
ben abandoned. But In those
days New York, though the frs,
city Of the United states, was no
~ power she 10 to-day, and sh
could not afford to build up a rout
@ California which would hav
ehEoWn the trade of this coast int