Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-03-26

the United States. 1t is a golden monu-
mcnt to American pluck and energy.
Ihe concession for II was granted to an
American syndicate in 1850 and this
include all the rights of way across
The lsthnus uf Panama, which it,. as I
told you, 400 miles long. No one can
make even wagon road across tn.
isthmus without this cumpuny's per
mission. and "a far no road OF any kind
his been attempted. As we went over
IN railroad COlonc! Shalet, the super
iutcndent, told me TINT the natives
whom we found walking or riding on
the edge Of the track were able To do
g" only by the sufferance of the COM
pAny. The original grant gave. the
company all the public lands on the
line of the track, and provided that the
ports OF Pnnamn and Colon were to be
free ports This last is the case today.
The original concession was for only
forty nine years, but 1t has since bren
extended. with some modification. to
ninety-nine years, during which the
company pays the government $3.50, 900
year for the privilege.
II took five years to build the road.
When 1t was begun the isthmus was a
inlasmatic wilderness, and the line ran
through the swamps and along the vail
leys of the Chagrcs ana Rio Grandc
rivers. crossing the mountain range at
an elevation Of 2GS feet. Forty seven
miles Of such road could be easily and
comparatively cheaply built in the
United States. Here 1t cost. by the time
It was completed. $1,000. 600. 1t hogan
To earn money as soon as the first few
miles of track were laid, and when the
road was opened for traffic In 1865, 1t
had already received over $1,000. 900 for
transportation. and within four years
It's earnings were more than its original
cost, and the owners were walking ON
..4.4t.. 4
l,2oO,0O0 passengers receiving $50 900. 600
from that source alone. 1t has carried
as much as 100000 tons of freight IN a
year, and within twelve years after 1t
was finished $3.50, 900, 900 worth of specie
passed over It on it's way from san
Francisco to New York. IT got all the
gold passengers Of the early sos who
crossed the lsthmus. and made them
pay heavily for carrying their gold
mining outfits In addition to the S25
fare.
A DEAD MAN FOR EVERY TIE.
Even at these rates the trip was Il
cheap one, for II shortened the danger
of the fevers which often caught these
gold hunters who crossed ON foot. The
ride by rail Is less than four hours. By
mule or on foot 1t took two or more
days. The health OF the isthmus was
then worse than 1t Is now. During the
building OF the road the company ran
funeral train. and II IL said that there
were more deaths than there are ties
in the entire line. | was talking yes
terday with an American who ran the
funeral train. He says they put the
dead in rows, piling one row crosSwise
on the top OF that beneath 1t. until the
big hole made for the days burial was
nearly filled. when earth was thrown
in to I'LL up. one thousand Cinnamon
were imported for the work Within
II month number OF them had died,
and hundreds of the remainder com
mitted suicide, so that the station
where they worked is now called Mato-
chine, which means Kill Chinaman.
We brought down IA Brooklyn boy with
us who has the Job of station agent at
this place. I would not take the place
for the isthmus | met yesterday n
graduate of the Boston school Of
technology. who has come here to work
on the railroad. He told me he received
$50 a month, which was better than
he could do IN the states, but that he
had Just gotten up from an attack of
malariai fever. ] met a Baltimore man
a Mr.. Hodges-who Is employed In the
general offices. who told me he had had
a siege OF yellow fever last year, and
in short | have found but few Ameri-
cans who have not been fever-strioken
at some time or other during their
stay here. Many of them say, how
ever. that the isthmus Is no worse
than some of our southern ports. and
that II one takes good care OF himself
there is not much danger. l am told