Wichita eagle., 1890-03-07

| ENTRANCE 10 TEE CANAL
tons of the earth--a seething, turbulent
vicious mob Of Cauaasians, Mongolians and
Africans. Today that picturesque and reck-
less army is marching across the Nicaragua
| line, and the little railway from Colon to
! Panama is deserted. What a marvellous mob
| that was, to be sure, Who that has crossed
! the iSthmus during recent years can forget
the singular scene they presented. Made up
! of the scum OF nations, the refuse of the
! earth, they, in the concrete, recalled one of
! Dores weird pictures. Their motto was "A
/ short life and merry one"
/ And they bravei the horrors Of the pitiless
! Chagres fever, lived fast and furiously, and
! either died within the marshes of Lion Hill
or lived to prey upon mankind elsewhere.
! One would imagine the orderly people of the
| isthmus would look with favor upon the de-
parture Of this motley herd Of adventures
and outlaws gathered from the four quarters
of the world. Not at all Their presence
meant abundance and great material pros
perity. If they pillaged and outraged they
kept well within themselves, and really
secured nothing but the crumbs which fell
from the rich mans table. The canal COM
pany had expended the enormous sum of
$500, ,OG0, 900 in putting what some Americans
term "a scratch upon the surface of the
isthmus," and this sum, freely dispensed, had
made fat and greasy citizens of half the peo-
pie of Panama. Why should they not regret
the by gone days and look hopefully forward
to the return of the wayward wanderersi
One cannot find man, woman or child in
the United States Of Colombia today who is
not positive the Panama canal will yet be
finished and the halcyon days return. In
this particular they are rainbow chasers be-
yond compare, and one cannot remain long
among them without being affected more or
less by their confidence.
This is the Colon or Atlantic end The
railway tracks only separate the ocean
from the artificial waterway From this
point the finished canal, at its full width and
depth, runs, with one short break, distance
of eleven miles. Across the isthmus is forty
seven miles. The claim is made that much
of the dredging has been done along the en-
tire distance, while all the measurements and
the difficult engineering work have been ac-
complished-in a word, that the canal is two
thirds done. On the other hand, so far as
one can superfcially see, the canal is less
than one-fourth completed, and the very diff
ficult lock building at Colebra has yet to be
carried out OF course, the cessation of work
has taken all the life out of the two cities
Not only have the 10000 or 1900 workers
and hangers on on the istbmus departed, but
half the stores in ASpinwall and many in
Panama are closed in consequence. The pre-
railing QUIET, however, is regarded as merely
temporary. "ln less than year the big
crowd will come Gathering back" laughed a
group of Panamanians 20 one who had been
their guest for a week and who taking the
Pacific steamer for Ecuador, received this
affectionate; "Veyo usted con Dios' God be
with YOU.
Panama, having lost for the time being its
principal source of revenue, is beginning to
cultivate again what was once an important
industry--the traffic in Panama hats. The
Panama hat is not made in Panama far from
it; but it IS from this port they are distributed
throughout the world. They come from
Ecuador, a pleasant sea journey of two days
and one of the strangest countries the South
American traveller can visit In no section Of
this singular hemisphere are there such strik-
ing climatic conditions, and one Dlarwels how
the people live and move and have their be-
ing. The town Of Mangler-Alto High Jun
GLE is the one noted for the making of fine
hats. There it is forever raining. For the
entire twelve months OF the year it is either
a continuous drizzle or a generous down
pour.
In this hot, moist atmosphere the palm
thrives luxuriantly. The natives take the
first sprouts when grown some two or thres
feet and cut them down as we cut asparagus.
These they make into strips and carry them
to St Helena, distance of fourteen leagues, !
where it is continuous sunshine, rain being /
unknown more than once in a year or two.
After cur7lg it in the sun it IS toted back to Z
Mangiar- Alto and worked. the dampneSs be- I
ing an essential for the proper manipulation /
of the fibers. The natives work deftlv. and /
after two or three days of labor a very good /
sort Of Panama hat is produced. No sooner /
is it finished than il is taken TO the trader.
who can tell at a glance just how much tins /
has been taken in making il. he pays for it |
At The ESfe of fnrtE cents Gnx