The times., 1899-12-26


Engineers Searching for Canal
Route-Irvndcrs Frightened Away
by the United states Flag - A
Mountain Tribe OF White savuEes.
NEW YORK. Dec 25.-A despatch from
Colon. Isthmus OF Panama saying that a
delegation OF Indians had arrived there 20
protest against the presence at Caledonia
Bay CC party OF American Army en-
Einecrs. engaged in looking for a new
route for an intproceanic canal, was shown
the other day to William Willard Howard,
general manager of the Cuban Industrial
Relief Fund. who visited the eastern coast
OF the Isthmus Of Panama in his yacht
Exile during the summer of 1895
Those are undoubtedly some of my old
friends the san Bias Indians. said Mr.
Howard. i had very interesting time
among those gentle savages during the
summer OF lSgS. They are queer lot, but
perfectly friendly and amiable if you only
observe their peculiar customs. ] have
known a good many savage and semi-civ-
ilized peoples IN one corner or another Of
the world and I must say that the san
Bias Indians are by no means the least in
teresung.
Afraid OF Strangers.
There are two distinct bodies OF these
Indiaus-those who live on the san Bias
Coast and those who live in the noun
taius some distance back from the sea
The coast Indians can make some claim
10 civilization, through more or less con
tiuuous intercourse with the crews Of
American and Canadian sailing vessels
which go 10 the san Bias Coast Tor cocoa
nuts The Indians of the mountains are
shy, afraid OF strangers. and in no way
desIrOus OF learning the ways Of civiliza-
liOn. ANY party OF engineers going into
the interior OF their country to survey a
canal route viii get into trouble.
The chief characteristic Of ih= san Bias
and mountain Indians is the JCna Is with
which they resist the endorsements OF
civilized races. No man lives who can
truthfUlly cay that he has 6Xp. .Ored the
interior q their country. There is a ira
diliou that the interior OF the country IS
fsbulOusly rich in gold silver, ard Othe-
metals but that Is mere COME ture. No
man knows OF his own knOW-e5 a and he
Indians viii not say anything about it.
Men have tried 10 get into the country
70 hunt for gold and rubb=r but they have
never returned 10 tell what they found
Their bones are there yet cove ed from
sight by rank tropical vegetation. Years
ego d party Of forty men from the is and OF
Jamaica went into the interior 10 hunt for
rubber The coast Indians let them go in,
after making q protest against the Intru-
sion no one ever knew what beC3me OF
them for they never came back. It is sup
poeed that they were killed by the Indians,
ard that instrument OF death was tte
poisoned arrow. All that ] was able 10
learn from The various CHIEFS with whom
! established frieT>'ly relations on the coast
was ttat the Jsmsicans went up into The
eternal mists and clouds and fogs and a rs
O The mountains, and were never seen
again.
Years ago the Colombian Government
grown tired of the assumption Of independ-
ence which these Indians had always main
tsIned. sent a surveying party Of sixty men
into he interior TO survey the land and
Fet it ready for settlement. II is known
that The eu.Ire party came 10 speedy
death al the hands Of the Indians. and that
Is about all. Il is supposed, from the little
Information thaL the Indians did give CUT
thar The members Of the surveying party
were followed by Indian archers armed
wiki poisoned arrows and that each mem
ber OF the party dropped dead without so
much as catching sight Of his foe
We'll THE Colombian Government TOOK
matters iu hand In earnest Il fitted out
an expedlti0u OF several hundred men,
Ioaded lie whole party into d Government
vessel viii rot cali il man-of-waT--
and sent II over 10 the San Bias coast TO
chastise the Indians When the expedition
arrived aL SassarGl. the home Of The head
chief Of all the tribes. there was q lofty
flagstaff in front Of the chiefs house and
from the TOP Of that staff waved The Stars
and Stripes The head chief know the
old fellow Well-auuounced that the san
Bias Indians were under the protection Of
the American flag and defied the Colon
bisu expedition 10 fire OF that flag.
We'll the expedition was not firing on
the American flag al that time Of year. and
the Indians were left in peaceful possession
OF their country and OF the secret Of The
death q the members Of tho surveying
party Their country and their secrets are
81 their own possession 20 this day and No
man lifts hand against them.
The Colombian Government however
patched up sort Of truce with the Indians
after that They invited the head chief %
BogOta. the capital and there they APP
pointed him q colonel in the Colombian
army and made him Governor of his coun-
try The chief took the commission and
the uniform that went with it and returned
20 his own place. no worse of than when
be went. lie had lost none Of the freedom
Of his people and he had gained q very
gsudy uniform which he wears upon oc-
casions of unusual importance.
Whatever the secrets that remain hid
den behind the banks of clouds and mists
that forever shroud the mountains. I dc
not believe that anyone would care TO take
possession Of the country IL he could.
have never seen a place Of so little climati,
attractions IN the interior II rains con.
tinually. and the sun does not get q chsuc,
st the earth very often. Then there ar,
snakes. There is the deadly mspana, fo
instance the bite of which means deatl
within twenty-four hours. There AT,
others but the mapana Is quite sufhceu
FOR me. hsve avoided enough mspansl
To establish q complete snake show iu Mad
ison Square Garden.
Possible Canal Route.
"But this question Of a possible cana
route from Caledonia Bay to The Pacin
side Is not a new one. There is goo,
ossi o. romance IN connection with Jha
country. and Caledonia BAY has It's share
a long time ago a MT Patterson. di
rector OF The Bank q England establishe.
Scotch colony al Caledonia BAY. with IN
object Of trading with the natives am
ultimately building an interoceanic canal
Possibly the Indians had no learned d
repal tae encrCschments of white men u
those days. But Mr. Patterson's enter
prise, excellent 90 Itself failed through
lack Of support from the British Govern
ment u was a. tba tine when Grea
Britain was az war with Spain. and IN