The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-11-12
DE LEssEps,s PANAMA CANAL.
Engineer Menocal Says 1t Is Making Little
Progress-Difliculties of the Project.

Engineer Menocal Says 1t Is Making Little
Progress-Diniculties of the Project.
New York STAR
Chief Engineer Menocal, United States navy
talked yesterday Of the Panama canal In May
of last year he visited the canal line and care
fully examined the works. He thought. from
reports Of naval officers recently returned from
the Isthmus, that little progress had been made
since his visit.
what was the condition of the works at the
time you saw them!" was asked.
mot so far advanced as Ihad reason to expect
after four years of steady work and an expendi-
tnre Of more than 800 000 900, or four-sixths
of NJ de Lessepss total estimated cost of the
canal Work had been attacked only on twenty
three out of the seventy-fve kilometers
comprising the canal proper and the
dredging of the bay at Panama, leaving
70 per cent of the whole distance as yet
untouched. A narrow channel of an average
depth of about twelve feet was nearly cut
through between Colon and Gatun. the first in
tersectlon of theIcanal with the River Chagres.
ard some heavy cutting, in both earth and rock
had been done at Bohio, between kiometers %
and %, and in the sections of GorgOna, Ma
tuchin, Obisp and Emperador, comprised be-
tween kilou2eters 80 and SO. At all other places
the sork done was confined to cutting the hill
sides and the removal of the top soil
Eat Culebra, by far the most important Sec
ton of the canal, on account of lis enormous
depth and the cube to be removed, little more
had been done than to accumulate the plant and
start the work. The extreme width Of this cut
is 1000 feet, and the maximum depth at the
crest Of the northern slope $50 feet, while at the
axis of the canal the depth of the excavation
above the level of the water will be 33l feet the
area of the water prism being but O. OF of the
sectional area of the cut. The cube to be re-
moved in a lineal distance of 1000 meters
is estimated at 25,000000 cubic meters,
and of this amount not more than
800. 900 cubic meters had been removed at the
time of my visit. During the last year the work
here has been pushed with more vigor, and it is
possible that 800, 900 additional cubic meters
have been extracted to date. The output of ey-
cavation at the time of my visit was estimated
at 5000, 000 cubic meters, out of total of l28
900 reported by the company, or about per
cent. of the whole cube. But as that material
had been removed from the top of the excava-
lions, and large portion of it free from the
drainage of the land, the excavations being yet
above the bed of the streams and greatly as
sisted by gravity its relative cost should not be
estimated at more than per cent of the total
1T has been reported that, owing to the last
copious rainy season and to financial difficulties,
| the work, with the exception of the dredging at
Panama and near Colon and the excavations at
the deep cuts of Bohio, Emperador and Culebra.
| had been partly totally suspended for some
| time In fact, an engineer who was at the 18TH
| mus at the time l visited the works, and has
! just returned from Panama, has told me that