Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-02-18

concession was granted by the Colon.
bian government to Aspinwall, Steph.
ems and Chauncey. and this was modi.
fed to the advantage Of the company ir
April, 1850. The concessionaires had
In view the handling Of the immigrant
trade bound to California and Oregon
then recently opened to settlement
and Aspinwall had already, in 1S4S, es-
tablished a steamship service between
San Francisco and Panama. The dis
covery Of gold in California made II
possible to raise the money to begin
the undertaking. The promoters tool
the first steps on general principles;
they believed that road across the
isthmus would pay; but 1t did not en-
ter their minds, or the mind of any
other living mortal, that their scheme
would prove the dazzling bonanza
which 1t did. ........
AS Mr.. Aspinwall had been promi-
nent in everything relating to the sue
cess Of the undertaking, It was propos-
ed to name the Atlantic terminus after
him. 1t had been called Navy Bay, or
The Bay. The suggestion was adopted
with enthusiasm, and It was supposed
that the name would be permanently
established. But the Columbian gov
ernment decided that the place should
be called Colon, arguing, no doubt
that Christopher Columbus was a
much greater man than William H.
Aspinwall. The former had visited the
bay in November, 1902, and had named
1t Bahia de los Navios; and although
Aspinwall was used very generally the
world over, especially by Americans,
for good many years, Colon became
the legal name.
Even when the commission of an
American consul for Aspinwall was
made out at the state department in
Washington the Bogota government
refused an exequater on the ground that
there was no such place in the coun-
try. 1t was perhaps an ungracious act
on the part Of friendly state; and II
is probable that Secretary Fisher so
regarded 1t, since he would not have a
new commission made out for the con-
sui, preferring to send the official out
as a commercial agent, for whom an
exequatur would not be required. But,
of course, all subsequent commissions
were made for Colon, as the right of
Colombia to label all towns within her
territory had to be conceded.
For a time Colon-Aspinwall and Co
lon (AspinwalD were written and
printed; and a funny thing happened,
II wreck can be called humorous. A
captain, strange to the port, came sail
ing in one day before the strong trade
winds. and, to the surprise Of all who
saw him, held his course straight away
past the lighthouse and the wharves,
under full sail. People looked and won
dered, and said beneath their breath.
""Tis our belief Tat you will soon be
piled up on the reef!" And, sure enough
he was! The vessel became total
wreck, and the cargo was lost The
captain and crew were saved with
great difficulty. It was thought that the
skipper must be insane; but after he
had been questioned the cause Of his
strange conduct was made plain. On his
chart was marked "Colon-Aspinwall, y
and was not Aspinwall. after Colon?
wat ish der madder?" he said; and he
could not be convinced Of his error. He
had found Colon all right, and was
simply steering for the other place
when he struck! He was an honest
old chap; the disaster was put down
as a peril Of the sea, and his insurance
paid. .... ..... ...
Later the Colombian postal authori-
ties gave notice that all correspondence
addressed to Aspinwall would not be
delivered, but would be sent back to
the places whence 1t came. Thus n
nally, the present name was adopted;
although for long time, In the united
States especially, the old name was
better known. Curiously enough both
Columbus and Aspinwall will shortly
be honored in another way IN Colon
The statue Of the former, beautirul
production in bronze, Is shortly to De
set up in the garden in front OF the
new Washington hotel, now IN course
of construction on Colon Beach, and 8
bust of Aspinwall Is to be placed IN the
grounds at the back Of the hotel. The
latter Is just as ugly as the former IL
beautiful, and since they were landeo
en- the isthmus both monuments nave
passed through many vicisitudes
which almost eclipse the adventurous
lives of the notable men they repre-
sent. Like the Tivoli hotel at Ancon
tho washington hotel is being erected
on behalf of the United States govern
ment and will cater for tourists as wei
os accommodate official visitors to the
canal zone.
At the time of the building OF the
original line, railways were In their IN
fancy, and the project of a line nlts
miles across a notoriously unheaith'
country was regarded as a distinc.
hazard. Money was scarce In 1851 ano
the progress of the work was not en-
couraging, as the ,line had been COM
pleted only to Gatun. seven miles IN
land. In November Of that year snil
unable to land its passengers at the
mouth of the Chagres river, as some
times happened. landed them at Colon
and at once the railway came into use
The rates charged were exceedingly
high, but the service was prompt com
pared with the canoes on the river
From 1852 to the present time the line
has paid q dividend of from to 81 pei
cent annually.
Clearing was begun in May. 1850 ano
the first train crossed the isthmus on
January 2s, 1855. AS originally con-
structed the line was AZ miles and :
02O feet long, and the summit was 26s
feet above sea level. From the begin
ming the traffic in passengers and goods
was heavy, as the route was used py
neonIa oil over the west coast or NortH