The Dickinson press., 1888-01-07
THE PANAMA CANAL.
A RESIDENT LOCKER ON TALKS
OF THE SITUATION.

Hilli"n> of Dollars Thrown Away and
Other Millions I.avi>hly Squanleret.
Funeral C"remomie>-.h the Hospital.
Building il Dam-folon.
io IN" weary and sc;iSick traveller no more
enchanting scene can bc viewed from the
sea than the city of Colon, with its surround
in@s "f tall palm trees waving in the breeze.
IL seems like Il glimpse of fairylaml: but let
tie tourist once land and he is soon discn-
chalitcd The air seems to be full Of pcsti-
lencr, and if Cologne is said to have had
seventy distinct stinks,'' am sure Colon
ha. ''' TIN. least three times us many. In fact
il Is Il wonder that the inhabitants have not
all "i them turned up hoses. The front street
ln., u lanknd over sidewalk under which the
Water stands and p,ltrciies after rainfall.
I'll" back streets "f til" city are mud holes,
and II Green scum is their principal lccora-
'l"ii. The majority of the houses are built
upon sticks with II bed Of stcamins mud he
heath to add to their sanitary advantages
Generally the Panama Railroad company
run two funeral trains daily out to the Gem
rt"lN at Monkey Hill. and carry lots of
"dcadhca,ls
Inc funeral ceremonies are conducted on n
most economical plan. y poor man dies in
the street. y box is brought and he is tum-
hlcd INTO ii and whirlel away 10 the place of
sepnlturp. On arrival the body is pitched
int" Il hole When there are four or five
bodies in this hole it is closed up. The boxes
are, however, always brought back for fur
tlrr us" There is no hospital or aid for the
sick and destitute For the sick man there is
no aid, for the dead no religious services 1t
is said that all are not dead who are thrown
int" these pits. This is immaterial, of course,
''s they soon die after the red mud is shoveed
i'll upon them. There are hospitals, of course,
III Colon, both American and French, the
latter under the auspices of the canal com
IflnN whose head Is NJ. dc lcsscps. I have
personally given the French hospital q trial
of nearly Il year, aud cannot recommend il
ns first elias, hotel Poor coffee and tough
beef are not, in my estimation, the most
n"lri>llins food for an invalid These hos
litals are under the control of my distin-
suishcd friend NJ. lie LesscI,s, but he never
boards at them when he chances to be in
Colon. The Sisters of Charity-nolle women
-anl staff of some educated doctors of
French extraction have the management of
affairs, The principal medicines used are
compound catlnrtic pills and quinine, varied
occasionally hy n fly blister or an enema
one, as is evidenced by the collins going out
every day. In the hospitals, as in everything
else, the French have the preference, except
IN graveyard privileges. They get chicken,
etc., when an American or Englishmun is
gwen tough bccf-thc meat cut ont between
the horns of hullorks whose ancestry dates
hacE beyond the reign of William the Con-
lueror, who himself is old enough To be his
own grundfathcr
LENGTH WHEN COMPLETED
| Tho Panama canal, or rather The Inter
'neiniIuc, will he, when completed, about
'lity-livc miles long. So far about eighteen
miles have been 'lrrlged out on tho Chugres
and :. portion of the mountainut Cucbrn has
been blasted ont. This is all the work of COP
tractors. not of the French The American
Dredging company have done their work
hobiH, While the French drcdges have lain
idlc ANA rnstcd along the shores of the
Chagfrs The chief aim of a French cmplovc
seems I" hc 10 drink absinllc cpsliac and
riafcl, ana wear cork hat and top boots
| lhcy are extremely clannisI, and view Amer
lr;tlis us an inferior race of animals The
''i'iiii company purpose lhllding Il dam
| across between two mountains near Gambo;
This they calculate will give them n lake of
some marvellous capacity, 50 if the Atlantic
tlt! Pacific oceans e"cr dry up they can turn
on faucet and fill tho canal without soiIine
their Kid gloves. rh, is all very fine in the
"lY Ilc Lcs>ci,sI, hut thu thagrcs river rises
sometimes twenty-srycn feet in twcntv-fot;r
hours, and should it take IL notion to do so
after his mythical lake is completed, it would
soon SHOW that Gambia wis not worth dam
N"pr"fanity intended. NJ ,le LcSseps is an i'm
aSinativ" man; he is u man of great ideas,
J
i'ut he did not look before he eaped" Judg-
| liS by present prospects the canal may he
completed by the year 1876, when the second
centennial Oh this grnmlrcpublic will be cec-
hrat"d Surprising, for example only, that
TN" canal could bc completed by the French
| company III ton years, an investor in its
bonds would be II centenarian before he re-
''lN"l decent return on his Investment, pro-
Sid'd Ii" wa, II years of age TODAY. By
'r"kihs up favorlblo reports on gas stove
the French management llnve bagced mil
li"nS of dollars, bat the game is nearly
! played out
| W. d. lt'>s"l, has built town on u negro
graveyard at Colon. which he call, Cristoval
| Colon He has taken possession OF the bronze
| statue "i christopher Columbus which was
| presented lJ Empress Eugcn!c, uf France, 10
Colon i'H"!f as being one of the first places
VISITED III the nea world by tie great dis
covcrcr. This he has erected in front of his
palace. facing seward, so Us To welcome him
Ni!"n Ia" Nc''s fit to cross the waters Here.
IT !rist".nl C"on are collected his faith
! ig' abilities. Most Of them are like the
| lIiN', h> 'n} grow: they neither toll. nor do
| the; >p!n, yet tlIo;' US" NJ lots of brandy.
Hw"wui!i and gin. AS an old resident Oh
III" !5i!inta pf l,.i!ainu and /; locker on at
al tt" '"In'sS OF the 50 called canal company,
| ID not hesitate 4" s'iGinatizc the thing it,
.elI :" lar, us Il deceit and snare. Doubt
i'S' the company hope to complete the canal
at some future day b., aid of the rainy
/ seasons, but that will take some centuries
| What is required is cool American brains,
american energy, American capital and the
'hlnS VIII ''c a success, q thing of today, not
i,s At proinire> now, to be regarded in years
tocp!:le rs a failure and fossil enterprise
! Colon Cor. New Orleans Times Democrat