Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1911-07-14
The Panama Canal--A Pre-
diCtiOn Verified

! The narrow strip of land connect
| ing North and South America was
formerly called the isthmus of Darl-
Ell. The Spaniards claimed all that
part of the New World, and one OF
their earliest settlements was on
that isthmus. AS early as 1928 the
| idea CT a ship canal across the 18TH
mus was entertained.
In the year 1895 the so-called Dar-
| len Scheme was developed under the
auspices OF a wealthy and enterpris-
| ing Scotchman named Paterson. A
company was formed and large
amounts of money were contributed
| by people of Scotland, England and
several continental European cOun-
| tries.
The object was to found a settle
ment ON the eastern or Atlantic
coast of the isthmus in order to facil-
itate and control travel and trade
between the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans.
Many people of Scotland embark
ed il the enterprise. But the eli
mat proved unfavOrable and many
of the settlers died from sickness and
want of food. Finally the Spaniards
interfered to drive Off the intruders
upon their territory.
Being without government sup
port or protection, the surviving set
tiers made their escape from the
country. Many of them died on the
| !and or perished on the sea; very few
of them ever got back to Scotland.
1t was probably the most disastrous
speculative enterprise in the history
of the world.
One shipload of the miserable peo-
pie, on a frail vessel, were driven by
stormy weather into the port of
Charleston, South Carolina. Among
| the passengers was Scotch minister
named Archibald Stobo. The tradi-
lion is that he was invited to marry
a couple in the town, and, before he
could return, the vessel sailed away
and was never heard of afterwards.
| He is described as possessing all the
! talents which render a minister con-
spicuous and respected. He spent
| the remainder of his life in South
one of whom is ex-President ROOse-
velt. But l have nothing more to
say of him; what have written is
preliminary of the following.
In connection with Mr.. StObO, DR..
Howe, in his history of the Presbyter-
ian Church in South Caroline, tells
about the Darien Scheme, and also
some facts in respect to the 18TH
mus. Soon after the American Re-
l volution, historical work called
I Memoirs of Great Britain and Ire
| land," by Sir John Dalrymple, a
| Scotchman, was published, and in it
the author indulged in predictions
! which seem to be coming true at the
] present day.
He said, "The day is not very
distant when the American States
| will seize the Pass of Darien and,
| with ease from the feeble dominion
of Spain"
Their next move, or perhaps rath-
er part of the same move, will be to
take possession of the Sandwich Is
lands in the South Seas.
| stationed thus in the middle and
on The east and on the west side of
the new western world, the English
| Americas will form not only the
most potent but the most singular
empire that has ever appeared; be-
/ cause it will consist, not of the DOM
| inion of part of the land of the
globe, but /. the dominion of the
| whole ocean.
"Their ships will sail wherever
billOws roll or winds can watt them.
eff they shall be blest with arts
and letters, they will spread civiliza-
ton over the universe
There is much more to the same
effect quoted by DR.. Howe. At the
time this work was published, the
United States extended westward
only to the Mississippi river, and,
since then, California has been ac-
quired and the whole western coast.
At this time the whole civilized
world is awaiting the completion of