The Jackson herald., 1910-08-25

Amazon azd Madeira rivers on the
map two-thirds across South
America you will finally como to
- San Antonio. from which a black
line marked 'R. r. under con-
,truction" stretches southwest for
10 miles. Thirty years ago that
black line was put on the map at the
I price Of the lives OF more than two
hundred United States citizens and OF
millions of dollars. The commercial
life of nation hangs on the building
of this railroad. but three times the fe
vers of the district have killed or dis
persed expeditions which have tried to
build It. For fifty years this 210 miles
,f tropical forest has stood OF man.
kind. But at last the railroad builders
are about to conquer II. and II Is flt.
Ting that these men who are succeed
Ing are from the United States, for
from first to last the United States has
played a prominent part in the attack
on this stubborn district.
II 1852 Lieutenant Gardner Gibbon.
U. S. ". advocated the building OF
this railroad for commercial and dip
lomatlc reasons. After much CORE
spondence. in 1878 an expedition un.
der Col. George Church Earl set sail
from New York. The main contribu.
tors to the work were P. and T. Col.
lins, and 1t was known as the Collins
expedition. The construction gang was
COO strong when II embarked. Fifty.
six are IN the graveyard there now.
War is childs play to what these men
encountered. They went in ships M.
teen hundred miles out of sight Of the
sea and landed in the fever-ridden
town OF San Antonio, on the upper
Madeira In Brazil. Insects and reptiles
plagued them by day and night. They
pushed their grading into tho forests.
and men began to die. Reinforcements
sent from New York were wrecked of
Hatteras and nearly all drowned. 9th
ers followed. the scum of the cities. lis
strong. When they reached San An
tonic they struck. stole. and murdered.
adding only trouble to those already
there. Then the fight for the mastery
of the country failed. Men left their
tools and engines In the forests; left
unburied dead where tho construction
camps had worked; left fifty-six OF
their number in the little graveyard
OF San Antonio; and even this was not
all. for OF those who tried TO escape
into Bolivia seventy.fvs died on the
trail.
tried TO build the railroad. and now
another force from the United States
Is pushing steel rails into this deadly
forest. The reason for this persist
ence is that this railroad will open up
the trade OF nation. The northeast.
ern half OF Bolivia Is by far the most
productive part OF the country. yet
it IL out of reach. North and east is
the unsettled, impossible Brazilian
hinterland. To the west the sea is not
far, but the Andes lie between. The
way south is open. but there is no
railroads and no navigable river for
hundreds Of miles. Except for the lit.
tie trade which trickles over the noun
tains on muleback. Bolivia Is cut of
from the world. But there is one pos.
sible outlet. From Para the Amazon
aSAonb Nh' hi1p oVV W
the mouth OF the Madeira, and the
black line of the Madeira reaches the
northeast corner Of Bolivia. This Is
the thread which Is to connect Bolivia
with the world. for there is enough
water for q 4,0o0-ton steamer all the
way from Para to San Antonio. From
San Antonio south for 200 miles are
rapids. Once the railroad rounds the
rapids, the products Of this land-locked
country can flow uninterruptedly to
the sea and across to Europe.
The products OF O great and fertile
country lie blocked up behind these
200 miles Of stubborn swamp and for
est. This is why. after the awful de-
feat in the seventies. and after the
two later attempts had failed, work
ers are again at work south OF Sar
Antonio, building the Madeira-Mamore
railroad.
In the treaty Of Petropolis between
Bolivia and Brazil, In 1908. the latter
agreed to build the railroad. The con
tract was given TO a New York Arm
So far this attempt follows the Col
Inns effort, but no further. The pre-
liminary party sent by the contractor
was made up OF doctors and engineers
They studied the health conditions
with the same care that was bestowed
upon the topography.
Next, preparatory force OF work
ers went to Porto Velho. point OF
the Madeira about seven hundred
miles from the Amazon and six miles
from San Antonio. which had beer
chosen as the base Of operations. Tn,