El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-08-31

n IRAFLORES. Canal Zone. Pana-
MI ma, Aug. 81 am writing
these notes this bright Sunday
morning in the great locks at Mira
flores. I am within eight miles Of deep
water in the Pacific ocean and at the
two first great steps up which the
20 the Atlantic. Beyond this IS Mira
flores lake, and at its end the lock OF
Pedro Miguel which, with its boost
Oe 80 feet, ShoVes the vessels 10 the
level of the Culebra cut, where the
canal wiz be IS feet above the surface
Of the sea below.
It is quiet here today. for Uncle sam
keeps the sabbath The men have
stopped work the mighty cranes are
at rest and long lines OF cars toaded
with spoil stand on the TRACKS Inat
steam shovel down there at the right
Is black and dirty and 1t gives no m
dication OF the work II has done the
past week
How hot the SUMS and now dazzling!
The concrete which walls the lock IS
made Of white sand and where II eaten
es the rays il Is binding HOW nlgh
the walls arei am in mighty cham
Der in which you could drop two CITY
blocks Of six story houses and there
would be still room to spare.
I walk over the. ore side and look up
with NV chin touching the concrete
wall. The whole earth IS shut OH: ana
the wall reaches the SKY. II looks IKE q
smooth white sandstone put together
in blocks bigger than those OF the py-
ramids. but far smoother and more
closely laid II is a solid wall ana was
nodded as such, the appearance OF
blocks coming from the joints IN the
n,olds Midway in the wall Is an iron
ladder about two feet in width. Ia
boriously climb to the top and It seems
as though the ladder would never enc.
The Locks OF the Canal.
These locks are about the most inter-
esting features of Uncle sans mighty
Panama works. The ditch itself Is won
derful. but its cons truction has been
merely matter OF blasting out earth
and rock and carrying them into the hoI-
lows or down 10 the sea The locks
are rernarkab bic creations in that here
man tries to initiate nature and he mas
built these gigantic rock masses, moIo-
ing sand, cement and rock into stone.
There are six SreaL locks on the
canal It does not sound big as L write
il. but these locks con%g5n cement by
the millions of barrels They nave
brought from the Atlantic and Pacific,
and mountains of rock have been blast
ed out and crushed to form their con-
crete. The materials are now SO united
that they are one solid stone Let me
give YOU some idea of the extent OF the
concrete alone They contain over FOUR
million cubic yards, or enough OF ,i ms Is
artificial rock TO make a solid WalI ~
feet high, 10 feet thick and over 90
miles long Such a wall would reach.
from Washington to Baltimore ana nave
10 miles TO spare.
ach Of these locks has a twin The
whole consists OF two mighty cnam-
bers the side walls Of which are about.
50 feet wide at the bottom ana grow
narrower and narrower as they come
to the top, where the width IS eight
feet. They are about so feet hIgh-
which is so feet wide, and within
these walls are the two mighty cham
bers which are closed at each end by
n SIT Wafer in Canal.
So much for the outlines of the struc-
ftzre The foundations of the locks are
as complicated as catacom9- Trey ne;
have tunnels and galleries running TINS
way and that. and in their floors are
many great holes as big as flour bar
rel where the water comes into the
chamber so fast that they can De filled
or emptied in the space of eight min
utes. The water is admitted by mighty
culYerts or condu1tS Whlch run aIonB
the side. These are tunnels through the
concrete construction and they VII
carry rivers from Lake Gatun to htt.
and lower the vessels
You often hear it said that We are
bringing the waters Of the Atlantic and.
the Pacific together This IS so only
fIguratfvely speaking There will be
no salt water in the canal except at the
ends The locks will be filled with fresh
water from Lake Gatun and il viii
the Chagres which We shall harness.
and make pull up and let down the
steamers from ocean TO ocean
But let me tell you more about these
big tunnels, into which the water first
flows. They are so huge that you could
drive a caravan of elephants and 81
RATES. through them, and the elephants
might walk four abreast and not touch
the sides, while a monkey seated on
the head of one Of the CRATES would
not reach the ceiling They would
easily hold q Pullman train, and
brakeman might stand on the top and
not ruffle his hair.
These great tunnels or culVerts are
connected by pipes which run down to
the bed or floor Of the lock chamber,
and which are so arranged that when
the water is let in it rushes up through
the opening and fills the chamber, the
water being held in by the gates.
Raising the Ships From the Pacific.
There are only two locks here at Mi
roflOres. The steamer comes straight
in from the Pacific when the water in
the lock is at sea level This water is
salt Then the gate at the Pacific end
is closed, and in from the tunnel comes