Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-08
STRAINS EXPEDITION
Story of First Survey for an
Isthmian Canal.
1T WAS MADE BY AMERICANS
Late Admiral Truxton Was One Of the
Party.
LOST IN TROPICAL JUNGLE
Explorers Suffered Terrible Hardships
for More Than Three Months
Rescue Of the Survivors.
ST IN TROPICAL JUNGLE
Written for The Star.

SLSo BIG udo Uccil D. uuc-OI-Udltlc snip
and proudly ruled the deep. Now she is a
receiving ship and groans in the pains Of
her old age and the ignominy of her moor
ing chains at her navy yard prison. Her
officers were smoking and talking around
the ward-room table after dinner. They
spoke of Panama and of the stories which
come out of the mysterious region to the
eastward Of the canal zone-stories Of a
mountain Of virgin gold and Of hidden
sacred city.
Some one called the region UNEMPLOYED"
and the first lieutenant said: mo, not en-
tirely UNEMPLOYED. Across it in one place
American sailors have gone. You never
heard, perhaps, of Strains expedition? Lis
ten and I will tell you tale of forgotten
heroism-the story Of the first survey for an
isthmian canal.
Strain set out from Cafedonian harbor,
on the Gulf of Darien, on January 20. 1854.
The party, all told, numbered twenty-seven
officers and men, and included two Colon
bian commissioners. The late Admiral
Truxton, then midshipman, was second in
command. The party took only ten days
provisions with them, and anticipated
comparatively easy job.
1T was March 20 before the remnants Of
the party, a band of emaciated skeletons,
clothed only in a few rags, reached the
British man-of-war Virago, lying in Darien
started out five became separated from the
main party and turned back to the ship
on the third day out, four died in the will
derness, one died after reaching Yavisa.
a settlement on the Tuyra river forty miles
above its mouth. and one, Civil Engineer
Boggs, died after reaching Panama.
Lost in Tropical Jungles.
"At first they occasionally saw an In
dian, but finally the explorers were entirely
deserted by the natives and involved in a
labyrinth of mountains, forests and dense
tropical jungles. thus losing all idea of
their whereabouts. The food gave out and
suffering began. They tried to support life
upon the young shoots of palm trees. on an
acid nut which they found growing and
on what game they could shoot. They
marched with incredible labor, having to
out their way in many places through the
dense jungle. There proved to be practi
cally no game in the region.
Through days which heightened into
weeks, the men dragged themselves on.
emacia ted, dying Of starvation, their bodies
infested by an insect which burrowed be-
meath the skin, their clothing torn to shreds,
pricked and torn by thorns and brambles,
suffering all that human endurance could
suffer, but there was no thought of return
ing. Finally, on the other side of the divide,
they struck river. Strain did not forget,
which he had undertaken the expedition,
and made surveys and reconnoissances.
They built raft and tried to float down the
river, but the snags and sand bars made
that impracticable.
'At first they fished in the stream, thus
adding to their scanty fare of plain shoots,
nuts and monkey pepper-rod, strange
fruit something like a canteloupe, which
they sometimes were fortunate enough to
find. There was only one fishhook in the
party and that was taken by Strain who
ordered that no one except himself and
Truxton should use it. One day one of the
Columbian commissioners hpc9ma
tunate and was allowed to take the hook.
He broke it and all attempts to make an
other one failed. They shot and ate turkey
buZZards and even greedily devoured the
body of dead and half decompoSed iguano
which they found. When a bird was shot
the officers would suck the blood and give
the flesh to the men.
Sometimes they would hear, through the
awful stiffness Of the forests, a distant
booming. 1t was the sound Of trees falling
from their own weight in old age and de-
natural seized them. 1t seemed as If they
had entered some labyrinth in which they
were condemned to wander on and on until
death released them from their sufferings.
Yet all this time discipline was preserved
as If they had still been on board the
Cayane.
How Strain Amused Himself
1.-THE river had a most tortuous course
and in order to shorten their course they
UcSdu u cut pathways dSIooS tuc UCuuS VI
the stream In doing this one day they lost
the river entirely. 1t was only after two
days of wandering and frequent changes Of
banks Of the stream. In the meantime they
suffered from thirst as well as hunger.
Strain and Truxton used to indulge in a
peculiar pastime When at night in their
camps of misery the worn skeletons of what
had once been sturdy sailors were sleeping
their troubled sleep around them. the two
officers used to amuse themselves by de-
scribing to each other the dinners they
would have when they got back to Gods
own country once more. Each would de-
scribe to the other in minute detail a great
struggled along in the never-ending jour-
ney that day, and each dish would be dis
cussed with the utmost gravity, there being
frequent arguments as to the advsability
or in another. One of the things which
sustained the officers through the hunger,
fatigue and suffering of the day was the
anticipation of reveling in these Barmecide
feasts when they went into camp at night
''Truxton one day seeing. a toad in the
path, grabbed 1t up, cut OF the head, threw
1t away and ate the body. Maury, one Of
the civil engineers, cried out, You are get
up and ate the discarded head.
Starvation and hardships had their eff
feet upon the minds as well as upon the
bodies of the men, and they seemed to grow
an exhausted man. would sink to the ground,
unable to proceed farther, and the whole
party would wait until he had recovered
sufficient strength to go on. On such oc-
casions the stricken man would wander in
his mind and be quite crazy for the time
being.
Strain determined to take with him
three Of the strongest men. and by fore
ed marches try to reach the coast. whence
he could send back help up the river to the
rest Of the party. On February 10 Strain
officially placed Truxton in command of the
main body, and, giving him instructions to
follow down the river as fast as the con-
dition OF the men would permit, he HIM
self, with his three chosen men, started
on his forced march.
The Dash for the Coast.
1.-THE first day of Strains dash for the
coast was most discouraging one, for at
ter day of great toll he was obliged. on
account OF the swamps and 5ungles. to
make again for the rivers banks. That
night he encamped only 200 yards below
the place he had left in the morning. At
that rate the marty v7ould uerfsh before II