The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1891-05-30
THE NICARAGUA CANAL.

The progress of the Nicaragua canal
must always be matter OF interest to
these islands until the day when the
first heavy-laden ocean steamer shall |
have passed through the thirty-foot |
canal and over the thirty-foot bar Of |
Honolulu.
Letters recently received in New York
from the scene Of the work at the canal
has re-awakened public interest in the
matter.
A correspondent OF the Times writing
from Greytown early in April, says that
though a visitor is impressed by the
amount and effective character of the
work done, yet the visible results are
really only small portion of the work
done. For each mile of the canal,
eighty-five miles of surveying had to be
done in order to ascertain the lay of the
ground and the line of least expense.
The difficulties of the survey were very
great. The forest, which reaches to
within a few yards of the sea, consists
not only of the huge timber of tropical
growth and tangled vegetation that the
surveyors had literally to hew their way
through. In fact natives of the country
never stir hundred PAGES from their
huts without the machete," something
like large caneknife, in their hands,
and the ground is SO soft with decayed
vegetable matter and MOSES that one
sinks to the knees at every step.
However, the survey was begun in
December, 1887, and has been carried
on ever since. Each surveying party
consisted of five officers and seventeen
men, and completed on the Pacific slope
in April last.
The Atlantic terminus, Greytown, is
situated on lagoon, and forty years ago
the mouth of the river San Juan had a
fine harbor where heavy ships could
come up to the wharves, but the diver
sion of the river into the channel of the
Colorado, caused the harbor of Greytown
to become silted up, and Greytown be-
came an inland village, a sand bar
closed the entrance to the harbor, and a
narrow creek was the only outlet to the
sea. The company's machinery had at
first to be unloaded into lighters in the
open sea off the mouth of the Colorado
and transported with difficulty across
the sand bars.
The first thing to be done was to open
passage to the sea across the beach
800 to 800 feet wide, which divides the
lagoon from the ocean.
A strong current sets from south te
north along this coast, and with the
steady N. E. wind which blows half s
gale for the greater part of the year
heavy breakers roll in upon the beach
and the anchorage outside was neithe
safe nor convenient.
A breakwater was begun about mile
from Greytown 1t was to be AZ fee
wide and 100 feet (nearly third of
mile) long. When only a short length
of this breakwater was completed, tn
action of the eddy and the breakers be
gan to cut into the beach, and by tin
time 500 feet were completed, the beacl
was cut through and passage forme,
between the lagoon and the sea. Thi
has been dredged out to IA feet; tn
breakwater now is over one thousan
feet long, and it is intended to dredge t
80 feet, which will be the standard dept
of the canal.
A considerable amount of work ha
been done on the canal proper and min
miles OF railway run parallel to the bank
a few hundred feet from it. This raj
way will be run about thirty-seven mile
from Greytown and is intended in tn
first place for the transportation of ms
terial and supplies, but will eventual
be needed for bringing the produce
the interior, rubber, coffee, etc.
The entire length of the canal will
about 10 miles of which only abol
thirty will have to be excavated, as IL
channels of rivers and the great lal
Nicaragua which is lao miles long wi
be utilized. The lake being 1874 fe
above the level of the Pacific whie
itself is few feet above the Caribbes
Sea,a necessity arises for series of sh
canal locks, and six of these will
needed to lift and lower the vessels pas
ing through the canal.
The clearing for the canal on ii
Greytown side has been cut eleven mil
to the foothills, and is 4S6 feet wild
The canal excavation itself is 27O fe
wide and is cut as yet 1900 feet inlal
from the bank of the lagoon and h
twenty feet of water. Six great dred
ing machines formerly working on t
Panama Canal are now here and adva
cling twenty-five feet day. When t
advance dredges are somewhat farth
along, two others will be set to work |
hind them to dredge out the other t
feet.
Supreme Court-At Chamber