Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1913-11-11

/ was handled. to 1,3oo yards in 1911.
when rock predominated. The cost In
the central division has ranged from
10 cents yard to 91 cents yard.
with an average Of 81 cents, from 1904
to 1909 and fell to 81 cents in 1911-12.
Rains interferred with the excava.
ton work in the cut, reducing the out
put In the rainy season several hundred
thousand yards month. During the
downpours operations were suspended,
but the cut was dug at slant on both
sides of the mountain system, 30 that
water was drained out Of It by gravity.
running out at both ends. Rivers
which crossed the line Of the canal
were diverted by digging new chan
nels for them.
Almost ut the windup Of operations
the canal diggers made the highest rec
ords for excavation. On April II, 1912.
forty -four steam shovels took out 8S,.
6O6 yards in the cut. which is the rec.
ord for one day In that division.
Steam shovel No. 257 working at Ca
tun took out 1854 yards in one day.
the highest record In the canal zone
for one shovel. the date being May 2,
1912. and In August. 1912. the same
shovel made a record by removing &c.
S44 yards in twenty-six working days.
That part Of the central division
| which Is little mentioned extends from
the Gatun locks to the entrance Of the
Culebra cut. about twenty-three miles.
Only about 12,4O0.O00 yards had to be
excavated to complete this channel, us
1t follows the Chagres river valley
from about sea level to Bohio; then
the level rises unit. It teaches forty
eight feet above sea levnl at the cut.
From Gatun to Obispo the Chagres
crossed the line Of the canal twenty
three times. In the same distance the
Chagres river has twenty-six tr1buta-
ries, the more important ones being the
Gatun and Trinidad rivers. All con-
tribute to the great Gatun lake.
The slides, which have been accu-
rately and inaccurately exploited In
the press, represented the steep sides
Of the Culebra cut breaking Off and
falling down into the excayated part.
Even where the cut. has been sunk
through solid rock these slides occur.
red. as the rock formations Of the.
isthmus are brittle and dissolve to dust
after exposure to the atmosphere. An
attempt was made to prevent slides By
plastering the sides Of the cut with
concrete. but the experiments were
futile. There were between fifteen
and twenty important slides on both
sides Of the nine mile cut, the largest
being on the west side Of the canal
near the town of Culebra and embrac-
ing slxty-three acres. Around the
towns OF Culebra and Empire were
many smaller slides that gave much
trouble to the engineers. Steam shov-
els. locomotives and fat cars have been
caught in these slides, but. singularly.
few lives have been lost.
Sometimes the pressure on the sides
of the canal operated to make the earth
bulge up In the bottom Of the cut. d.
vision Engineer Gaillard devised the
plan of terracing the sides Of the cut
to relieve this pressure, with the result
that much extraneous material has
been prevented from sliding into the
cut. Engineers who formerly stood
stanchly for the sea level type OF ca
nal after seeing the slides OF the pres
ent eighty-fve foot level lock type
were forced to admit that the attempt
to sink cut through the isthmus for
a sea level channel would be attended
by such prodigious earth movements.
necessitating such an inestimable ad-
ditional excavation. as to make 1t well
nigh impossible For sea level canal
the Culebra cut would have to go
eighty-Ave feet deeper than IN the
present plan. which would require both
wider bottom and indefinitely wider
surface opening. and then the slides
would be immeasurably greater than
at present. The best years work ln
the Culebra cut was 16,5s8,S91 yards.
Slides first and last have added more
than that amount to the total estimate
of excavation for the division. Yet the
increase In efficiency Of the organiza-
ton has enabled the workers to handle
the extra amount within the time and
cost estimated Tor taking out the orig
inal yardage.
Three methods Of excavation have
been employed In digging the seven
miles Of sea level channel on the At
lantic side and the eight miles Of sim-
liar channel on the Pacific side Steam
shovels dug down on the Atlantic side
to forty feet below seu level with great
dikes to hold out the water, and dredges
have done the remainder Of the exca-
waiting. On the Pacific side. In addi-
ton to dredges and shovels, the by.
draulic method has been used. This
method consists Of playing a powerful
stream Of water on the earth and drain
ing the water with the soil in fluid
state to a selected dump which has
been boarded. the water being drained
Of when the mud has deposited. The
Atlantic entrance required an excava-
ton Of 47,528,O 900 cubic yards and the
Pacific entrance 5s,2S7. 900 yards.
1t is planned to take the great dredge
Corosal through the channel and locks
up into the Culebra cut for the work
Of handling slides and silt after the
water Is turned into the cut
Terminal works at Balboa requiring
more than 100000 yards excavation
and finishing details Of the canal chan
mel proper will bring the total excava-
ton by March, 1914. when the canal
Is expected to be In regular CONNER
cial use, to 221 100000 cubic yards.
In the late spring Of 1912 the press
In the United Suites exploited the dis
covery Of volcanic formations In the
bottom Of the Culebra cut. The engi-
neers have not been alarmed by these
vaporous emissions. which were caus-
ed, according to the commission geol-
ogist, by the warm atmospheric effect
upon pyr1te material.
CHAPTER XIII.
Labor.
~.N ER NcISCO'S exDositiOn In