The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-05-01
SURVEYING IN NICARAGUA.
Diversion Given by Big Snakes and
Miniature Warfare.

| day before she Is heading northward FOR
/ the troubled area about cuba. II the
Nicaragua Canal had been put through
| 10000 miles OF her journey would have
! been saved. She would be az Key West
before the declaration Of war but she
may not arrive, as things are. until peace
has been restored.
The Nicaragua Canal Commission, part
Of which has lust arrived on the New
! port, has declined TO give out any official
and exact report of the results Of fits ex-
pedition 10 Greytown. 10 has been
learned from various sources hy me sun
| CORRESPONDENT that there is every pros
poet that IT'S report Wnich VIII not ps
made 20 Congress until some uhc next
Julv. will present a strong array of facts
in support of the practlcaoiilly OF tn'
canal project Individual members OF the
! commission did not hesitate before they
eanarated az GreytOwu 20 say thdrthty
b1d absolutely no doubt that the canal
was not only n perfectly ieaslple thiIl-'
so far as it concerned the WORKING out
of engineering problems. but lHat il
would also De undoubtedly an ecohoHllc
surcess. The report to Congress VIII
only deal with the engineering propltIilS'
Three members of the commission nave
come back several months ahedd %. inc
rest Of the expedition because tntg nave
ACCOMPLISHED an that they set out 20 DO.
They did not go 10 make a survey OF IAe
route now being urged by an American
syndicate or OF other possible routes.
THAT work was 20 be done. and is being
done. by the large party OF assistants
chat they took with them, augmented py
a force Of $50 Jamaica negroes, VINO are
employed as brush cutters ana 10 40
other heavy manual labor. Inc tnIee
members of the comm sSlOn SIMPLY IdN-
eled over the route and its principal vari-
atoms I'm order 20 get general iamillar-
itv with the country so that they Wouid
be able to Judge the matter which VIII be
submitted no them when the surveying
parties get back. They Travelled from
Greytown % Brito on the Pacific coast
and went through the valley OF the Colo
RADIO river The force stll remaining IN
Nicaragua is employed as follows: Adml-
raj walkers son is going over that por-
ton of the route which lies between Lake
Nicaragua and Brit0; Lieut. Hannis is
working along the upper San Juan and
the lake: Mr. Truudeu is between Ochoa
and GrevtOwn. AIr. Ely is working along
ON the Costa Rican side: Mr.. Stewart is
making map Of the topography of the
upper river. and stephen Iarris.is estab-
fishing "a table of precise levels clear
across the Isthmus. Before the Newport
left Commander Tliv of the Newport
made n survey OF the harbor OF Grey
town. and Commander Lutte did the
same work At the harbor az Brito on the
other side
There have been no causalties since the
expedition left New York. and none ~
the members Of the party has been seri-
ously nl. There have been perhaps half
n dozen cases OF malaria AN told. The
principal sorrows that came 20 the eXpe-
ditiOn were seasickuess on the journey
from Brooklyn 20 GreytOwn and snakes
after they landed on the peninsula. After
the strict injudctOns for secrecy which
members or the commission are under
stood 90 have laid upon their subOrdi-
Mates. snakes are the only subject upon
which members of the expedition feel
themselves at liberty TO speak with per-
feet freedom. From the way IN which
the slightest inquiry as 10 the surface OF
the water or the climate Of the country
. is met bv an entirely new and original
snake story there is reasonable ground
for belief that a very valuable supple
mentary report on the subject could be
prepared.
The arrival ~ tho party NJ the bar out
side the mud fat sgrcastically known as
Greytown harbor was the first and only
occasion when tho practicability OF
the Nicaragua Canal as dwolt upon
by IT'S friends I'm the United States
seemed 20 have been somewhat eX-
aggerated. Greytown Harbor. as Il
now is. could not be imagined IN a con-
dtion more unsulted for the entrance Of
ships The Newport IS not a vessel OF
particularly great draft: indeed she was
designed for work I'm shallow harbors and
rivers into which more formidable war
ships could not enter. but she was so far
from entering the harbOr that her pas
sengers had 10 be transferred five times
from small boats 10 launches and from
launches back 10 small boats before they
set foot on shore. II must not be inn
agined from this that the harbor could
not be put into a different condition by
very small expenditures. Engineer
Haupt has been heard 10 say, though he
is here quoted without his knowledge
or permission. that at very small cost,
comparatively speaking. a breakwater
could be built that would ~ itself clear
the shoal sands and mud out OF the har-
Dor 10 such an extent that very little SUBJ
sequent dredging would be necessary 10
establish a ship channel right mp 20 the
mouth of the canal, should the canal be
built
Very few Of the members Of the expe-
dition were sailors. The Newport Is an
unstable as a bit OF cork. The weather
dt will be remembered that the depart
ure of the Newport was delayed a day or
two on account Of the weather. was. 20
say the least. boisterous every bit of the
way. Some Of the young landsmen on
the expedition did not eat anything that
was Of any permanent value TO them
from New York Bay 10 the Gulf. and one
or two Of them found the voyage from
Key West 20 Greytown not an unalloyed
pleasure. IL might be inferred that the
greater part OF the expedition was in very
bad physical condition when Il landed I'm
Nicaragua. but TO the agreeable surprise
Of those who had heard unkind things OF
the danger and facilitating effect OF the
Nicaraguan climate. those who were III
began 20 mend Immediately after they
landed and. as has been said before, the
only sickness that has come 20 members
OF the expedition consisted OF a few
cases OF malaria.
The general topography OF Nicaragua
IS irregular. There is no system OF
mountain ranges or plateaus or other
natural phenomena 10 assist a civil en-
cineer IN planning his work The San
Juan is the only exception 20 this gem
erai statement. The country IS covered
with irregular hillocks and hollows that
have no outlets The hollows fll up with
the frequent rains and the water he
comes stagnant. so that there IS room for
surprise that there was so little malaria
AS Regards the snake stories here u