The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-11-29

E&uee Liter nIgDlau, IL shere mas peSA
1ne sngn,est Iau OF ram, or Ii the a.
A4ospneGe Is al al damp. II Is DEAN TO
40 So. Mltnln TWO hours OF sucn e4'
/ Ltsuae, or OF getung tie 4east Wei, the
GIeaa never Commences, ana De!o:e mla
nsat the victim mas passed away.
! II crossed Inc Islnmus 1iom ocean tc
ocean on 1907, WANING along the trach
| OF the Panama ralnoaG. In no otnel
way could / nave crossed. The interior
! IS e mass OF underprusn so timex mat
! nothing but reptIIe3 can penetrate II.
| Ihc nachete OF the uat'Ye sometimes
enables nm to go snort distances, but
| to an American OF higher and more evil
/ lied latItudes IA passage is Impossible.
! OnIy q path about q 1901 WIDE Alongside
! the track OF Inc ralroad affords Ioot
! passages across the isthmus. Ihls jungle
| Is broken by spaces covered with water,
the very appearance OF which provokeB
| Il ehlyer in the breast OF the bcholder
| Green, it's surface notified with shiny
darting creatures, stagnant, repulsive
with reptiles OF ioathsome character sun
ming on the higher spots. one glance al
the sight tells the history OF the fate
OF the workingmcn who tried to dig The
canal.
The country is one grand insect nur-
sery. Everthlng is named tor an insect or
! & reptile. Cockroaches attain size and
| ferocity that is wonderful. IT IS neces-
sary to- protect the hands and feet dur
ing sleep to prevent these creatures eat
ing off the nails 10 the quick. All other
| varieties flourish, md their nocturnal
visits render the life of the visitor u
! burden.
at took four days 10 walk across TIE
| ~ miles of the isthmus. In that journey
! / became thoroughly familiar with the
country and with the proposed route of
| the canal and the work that had been
cone on 1t by the French company.
Il was entertained at Coon by Colonel
Alfred c. Rives, the eminent engineer anG
the father of Amelie Rives, the novelist
| Colonel Rivcs was regarded as one OF
| the greatest members of his profession
| that the United States ever produced, aud
| he had been employed by the French
! government TO look after the canal work.
! I also met there son OF Captain Berk-
| Icy OF this city. He was conductor on
! the Panama railroad Many other Amer
cans were there at that time. and sup
! pose there are even more now. 1t was
| the idea of Colonel Rives TO use the
| Chggres river to fill a system OF locks
across the isthrnus and thus ohviate the
difficulty of cutting down the Cu.cbr;t
mountains, but the people in charge dl3
| not undertake to carry out his plans
ADVANTAGE OF NICARAGUA,
/ In my opinion, there Is no question
as 10 the superiority of the Nicaragua
route over the Panama route. IT is iui-
n;tely preferable. That part Of NicGra-
! gla is healthy land, where coffee pl0H-
tations are numerous and where the pee
! PIE can live in health and security.
Where the Panama canal will be l have
ready tried to tell you; ii is a perfect
death trap.
| cat Colon the buzzaris are so thick
| they interfere with the people. They
walk sedately along the streets with the
passers, they sit on the fences, they perch
On the roofs of the houses. and they arc
| in evidence wherever the eye turns. Pee
/ pie are buried there twenty in grave,
and it is o common practice for the lfam-
| ily OF deceased person to rent a coffin
! and take the dead enc to the cemetery
| i'll it, and when the funeral Is concluded
| to return the coffin to the undertaken
Panama - better than Colon IN some
respects. II IS pleaSauter there when
! the breezes blow, and il is perhaps q
| little healthier. At both places all the
stores close ct IL o'clock in the morning
! and remain closed until in the after
room. while the inhabitants take their
/ siesta. No work is ever done In the
middle of the Day, and If it is at all damp
| there is none done during the eutire day.
| ITO return TO tho immediate subject
of tho canal, l will say that parts of it
| hat are already completed could be made
ready FOR use III a short time and with
| little expense What is dono was done
in mastery way. There is nothing
! shoddy about it; X is a standard
construction n every respect. But it will
require Mt the lowest estimate Sl00 ,000-
! 0OG 10 reduce Culebra to tho level of the
, sea ana cut q passage through its base.
| I am MT an engineer, but it is apparent
| to any saue observer that an enormous
amount Of money will be required to
complete he task so d'sastrouSly under
/ taken by Franco.
| "And / want TO say that there was
never such a Belshs gzar's feast seen in
/ tbs world as went on at the isthmus dur
| Ing the vine work was being carried on
there. II passes human belief Why.
one cot;.d scarcely walk upon the coast
near Panama for the broken fragments
| Of champagne Bottles thrown there by
/ the reckless and spendthrift officers who
were supposed TO be soberiy attending TO
| their duties as supeIIntendons of the
ca nal construction. For hundreds AMI
| hundreds OF yards along the beach near
the city the ground Is literally covered
with these evidences OF wastefulness aud
extravaganza. And that was only a grai
OF sand i'll The desert, when al their
orgies are taken into consideration
ORGY OF THE FRENCH.
The very dredges that were used 70
carry the dirt from the excavations out
| to be dumped IN The sea. were atted II,
with cabins on the roofs, and there under
silken awnings tho officers Of the cora
pany sat and slipped their wine and err
| joyed the breezes in company with scar
ler women especially imported from Paris
for their pleasure. The putting of the
dredge engines was mingled with tba
sound of merriment and drunken laueh.
ter, and the invested savings OF a nation
we're being surrendered by recreant officers