The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1889-10-03

banana Trees Growing I'm the Canal
Machinery Busting.

Panama Letter in New York Times.
For % cents in Colombian silver one may
hire a small one-horse Victoria, with
negro driver, to take you to he mouth of
the canal at Panama. The drive is about
two miles. on a road well shaded with all
varieties of tropical trees, and is well worth
taking, even ii you do see nothing but q
dirty ditch at the other end. The work at
this "show point 50 to speak. was so
slovenly done that il is difficult TO distin-
guish the lines OF the canal at high water,
and at low tide IL has no more water than q
New Jersey mud fiat. Further inland,
passing few dredges, the bed OF the cut
becomes a pasture for the cattle in the
vicinity, and a few steps further along
bring you TO banana trees growing in the
track of the commerce OF the world. On
the entire line there are now regularly em-
ployed 100 men. They are watchmen, who
guard the company's property and others
who carry paint-pots to paint the humid
reds of rusting engines. Near the Culebra
cut there must be fifty odd fine engines,
which, with their fresh coats of paint, pre-
sent quite prosperous appearance, in
strong contrast to that OF two years ago.
when everything was going to rack and
ruin through criminal neglect The en-
gines and iron work | formerly saw half
buried in the mud at the foot OF the mount
ain are now out Of sight, probably to be un-
earthed by future generations OF canal
builders, and to be regarded as evidence Of
the ingenuity of their ancestors as far back
as the Nineteenth century.
Except the few Frenchmen who still re-
ceive salaries, found no honest believers
in the future success of the canal beyond
some half-breed French and Spanish
youngsters who were formerly salaried
also by De Lesseps, but who now have
minor positions as freight clerks for the
steamship lines, and their belief is strongly
aided by their desire to again secure the
sinecures they have lost Even the press
of the isthmus has dropped off in its zeal
Gus support of De Lesseps since the sums
OF money he sent from France have
dwindied 10 nothing.
One OF the best indications Of the ahan-
donment of the enterprise is the immense
falling off in the importation of all food
supplies. The Pacific Mail formerly
brought great quantities OF rice, but their
steamers now carry less than one-sixth of
the amount carried FIVE years age. The
large firms on the isthmus still hold on.
concers are either closing ont or going to
the wall Chinese shops along the works
are gradually closing up. and when
Chinaman leaves ship, she must be
sinking.
The American Dredging Companv
skinned the richest cream, and is now
sending its machinery =. be- used on the
Nicaragua route. How the French store.
-
terial Is q mystery even 10 an army quar-
termaster. Engines here on their backs
ana engines there on their sides may all he
accounted for. even IL the chaos Of C,,Iehra
cut does not remind one OF the JohnStown
disaster: bat for the buried ironwork ard
machines he has only one recourse. ~ 10
DIG down 10 them uow while they are M,
deep under ground attach chain 10 then,
having on the UPPER or the surface end an
automatic sounding buoy, To determine
their position in the next overflow Of the
Charres. and To continue the same nIan
with those that will te buried annually as
the yesrs roll by.
Great Waste spots.
Roston Euagct
The N2hsra desert. according TO Mr.
Joseph +. James. is s diversified area Ie
miles long by ca vide. Summer is It's onlv
season, its days searching its nights cold.
Its soll Is chiefly gravel and coarse sand
Its o.sesssnah.e caravans to cross il. al.
though much Of the area Is otherwise water.
less and desilt.te g all vegetation, and
animal lte. The Desert az Goh4 the
AsIatie sahara. - more than Is 800 miles
long and 80 wide 1t Is plateau go feet
h,gh aad waste of sand ami rock. with
iew Gases. ard only I'VE trees in a distance