Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-03-30
Life on the Isthmus.

Panama Correspondence Boston Herald.
House rents are at very high figure
both here and at Colon. The most profita-
bic form Of investment on the isthmus at
PRESENTS house property. There is a great
lack of accommodations, and each steam
er arriving from Jamaica brings 500 to 900
new recruits for the canal, mostly ne
groes, seeking employment as ''navvies"
on the excavations. The latest steamer
from Kingston, Jamaica. brought about
800 negroes to Colon. Single rooms in
Panama rent readily at 500 to $50 each
per month! The prices are about the same
at Colon. And still the tide of emigration
increases. What Will be the rental
squeezed out of us unfortunates in six
months from this date? None can tell.
L know personally men at Colon who,
from being poor three years ago, are now
bl0ated landhOlders, or, rather, house
holders, for their tenement houses are all
built on lots leased by them from the Pana-
ma Railroad Company, receiving
monthly income of $4,000 and upward
from their rents. Mr.. Field, of the bank
ing and exchange house of Field, Brodie
q Co., at Colon, is understood to receive
monthly income of $4,000, or $500, 600 per
annum, all from rentals Of his houses and
stores IN Colon. MI. Tracy Robinson, a
well-knOwn tHterdteur, resident of the
lsthmus during the past twenty years, has
an income of about 5000 per month from
his house property in Colon. Mr.. Robin
son is native Of New York, believe. A
very genial man, and highly cultured.
1t is common saying at Colon that ga
man can make money at anything there.v
but, from what have seen, should Judge
that real estate, when well covered with
tenement houses, is ''the best hold" of the
capitalist, small or large. Unfortunately
Tor the intending investors, the Panama
railroad Company has quite recently de-
clued 10 not lease any more lots for the
present, as the company needs for its own
purposes nearly all the available land in
Colon. All the cOmpany's leases are made
Tor I'VE years, with privilege of renewal
during nlnety-nne years.
nave just obtained, after much re-
search, the following important iniorma-
ton in reference to the nature of the soil
along the route of the InterOceanic Canal.
LII is statement made up from recent
surveys OF the entire route, also from
soundlngs made carefully at frequent dis
tances all the way across the isthmus by
engineers of the company, as we'll as by
Chited states naval engineers at various
tunes. The letter *" with figures fol-
loving refers TO mile posts along the ca
nal route. Thus, TX 2.500e means %
hlIometres from the starting point at Colon.
FROM Folks river, about one mile south
west Of Colon, to Gatuu, mud and coral
banks; from Gatun to X $500, the same:
from there to X 1900. mixed clay and
sand; from there to X 600, plastic and
green sand; to X 900, mud, yellow and
greenlsh, clay and black mud; to X q.
clay; from there to Behio, sand, chalk and
clay; from BOhio to San Pablo, clay and
sand; from there to Mamei, Tufa, clay
and clay stone; from Mamei to Gorgona.
clay and grit stone; Gorgona to Matachin,
clay, sand, grit stone and schist; Mata-
chin to Haut-Obispo, sand, clay, conglom-
crate and grit stone; Haut-Obispo to En-
perador, clay and clay stones in huge
Emperador to CuIebra, clay, clay
stones, schist. grit stones underlined with
a coal formation; Culebra to Paraiso
con rlOlnpratas