El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-04-06


pipes sucks in mighty streams of mud.
gravel and rock and pOurs them into
the mud bins which form part Of its
construction. II is just like its sister,
the Ancon, which is at work on the
other side OF the isthmus. These dredEes
The prettiest girl I ever saw
Was sucking cider through a straw"
Each has two gigantic straws Of
steel which extend down at the sides
and pierce the mud flats or gravel bed,
and suck at everything that is small
enough 10 pass through the six by nine
inch holes in their shoes; The best ma
terial for them is gravel and the most
difficult is heavy clay or rock Solid
rock cannot be eEcavated. but Jumps as
big as a mans head are carried through
the pumps without harming them
Not long ago the Culebra drew about
go feet Of steel chain from the bay ana
threw IL into the bins, and on the other
side Of the isrhmus the AncOn lifted =
bay quantities Of fish. cells and shells
are taken UP in these pipes and thrown
with the mud and rock into the stOm-
ach-like bins The Culebra came with
its own steam an the way from Chesa-
peake bay into the Pacific through the
Straits OF Magellan, and the AncOn. the
Atlantic suction dredge. steamed down
from Norfolk in the same way.
her first 10 months the Culebra suckeu
almost 1000, 600 cubic yards out of the
ocean, and the AnCOn did even better.
Four million cubic yards would be
enough 10 make mighty prism 3UU
feet square and higher than the Eitrel
tower r Z Paris. The base Of that prism
would cover 10000 square feet almost
three-fourths Of an acre. and il would
be solid all the way up TO the top.
which would reach twice as high as
that OF the Washington monument.
Multiply that by two and you will see
what these two dredges did IN 10
months
Among the other dredges we see as
We go on are some brought IN by the
French They lay for 20 years in the
mud, but Uncle sam has cleaned them
up and they are doing noble work to-
day
The sand of the Works.
As one OF the French machines IS
pointed out to us. Mr.. Comber tells me
that a French dredge is now taking out
all the sand needed for the concrete
work on the Pacific division. There IS
no good sand on the isthmus proper.
but about 25 miles from here up the
coast the engineers have discovered
bed OF almost pure silicon 1t IS a
white sand which is easily dredged and
which is being brought down in barges.
Already more than 1.0O0.0 600 cubic yards
Of Il have been used, and this has all
been gouged out by the French maChin-
cry
Entering the Canal From the Pacific.
But we are now well out in the canal,
where the ships viii steam in from the
Pacific ocean What a beautiful en-
trance! The sea here is spotted with
Islands which stand like sentinels
guarding Uncle Sans mighty construc-
ton. They are covered with green, and
they rise out Of a vast silvery eNpanse
which under the sun is now sparkling
Ike diamonds. There are three islands
fah de-
at the island Of Naos. The largest Of
these Is Flamenco. 1t is about three
1ifths the height Of the Washington
monument but its head is now being
cut OF and great road has been made
up the side through the green. Ihat
VIII De the site Of one Of our cher iOr-
Ultcauons- 1t viii be the Gibraltar OF
this end Of the canal and wiz be honey
combed with batteries Upon its top
VIII be IA and 16-inch guns-gus as
long or longer than a passenger car
and so big that they viii carry steel
proJectles as large around as flour
barrel One Of those guns viii send its
great masses Of steel for Il miles OF
more at a shot. and any vessel within
Ihat radius could be sunk by It, me
batteries will be. 1 should say. nine or
10 miles out from the nearest masonry
or the canal mean the locks at Mira
Ilores-and they will certainly be most
efticlent defences for this part or the
work. Engineers are now making these
lol tlLlEallouS- Inc plans nave al otcH
prepared. and before the canal is COM
pleted they viii be well under way.
The Lights Of the Canal.
As we turn our steam launch to go
back TO the wharf. we pass the ugnJ-
keeper. He is In a little skitf and Is
making for that red buoy when lies
perhaps a quarter Of a mile from the
Island OF NaOs and an equal distance
from the breakwater. II you viii look,
you can see other buOys at intervals
bobbing their red heads upon the water
all the way into the shore, and, turn
ing. see a similar line OF black buoys
on the opposite side Of the channel
The nghtkeeper is lighting these ouoys.
The canal is to be kept open both night
and day. and the buOys viii be always
alight after dark.
Further inland along the shores OF
the canal we can see the light towers
or lighthouses which viii mark the line
Of the canal all the way through They
have now been built on both sides or
this end Of it. They are made OF con-
crete. so that they look like stone and
are artistic They are from 30 to a
feet in height and are equipped with
acetylene In such a way that they will
burn for six months without recharg-
ing.
Joshua Outdone.
Each Of these towers is automatic as
far as turning on and off the light IS
concerned 1t was Joshua the prophe,