The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1913-10-29
ALMOST READY FOR THE WE'D.
DING SERVICE.

@%<sE(a%SN
Uncle Sam: "Now to decide on an
appropriate wedding ceremony"
-CoIumbus (O.) Evening Dispatch.
yards of rock and earth from the cut.
In the earlier days Of the work under
the Americans excavation was slow
and tedious, as only the totally made
quate French equipment vas available.
The first American steam shovel vas
placed at work on Nov. II, 1904, and
the last of the old French e~xcavators
was discontinued on June 16, 1905. On
Aug. 1, 1905, there were eleven modern
steam shovels In use, but they were
greatly handicapped in their output, as
they were served by old French dump
cars on lines Of track, which, as John
r. Stevens, the former chief engineer,
expressed 1t, "by the utmost stretch Of
the imagination could not be called
railroad tracks,"
Amount Of Material Removed.
During the period Of maximum op-
erations. 1912, upward Of forty-five
shovels were at work in the cut at n
time, which dug and loaded upon cars
10000 cubic yards Of material in an
eight hour day, representing about $780,
coo two horse wagon loads. The total
amount of material removed from
Culebra cut by the Americans to date
approximates o. 600 cubic yards,
and the amount of dynamite used in
blasting operations is in xcess Of 5O,-
100000 pounds.
Culebra cut extends from Bas Obs
po, about thirty miles from the Allan
tic entrance Of the canal, to Pedro
Miguel, a distance of about nine miles.
The channel through the cut will be
the shallowest of any part Of the canal,
being forty-fve feet deep. The width
of the channel at the bottom of the cut
will be 300 feet. except on the turns,
where it will be widened slightly.
In reality Culebra cut is n narrowed
arm of Gatun lake, and the surface Of
the water in the cut will be on a level
with the surface of the lake, there be-
ing no locks Or gates to divide the cut
and lake sections.
The greatest amount Of eXcavating
for the canal has been done in the nine
mile cut through the continental d.
vide, nearly half of the actual digging
having been done there, for the total
amount of material excavated through
out the entire length of the canal is
only a few million cubic yards more
than 200, 200.
Slides Caused Much Delay.
The deepest point of the excavation
in the canal Is In the cut between
Gold hill and Contractors hill, where
the cutting has gone down 495 feet.
The widest point in the cut Is at the
town of Culebra, where slides have
driven back the banks until they are
nearly a mile apart.
Had there been no slides Culebra cut
would have been completed a year ago.
Cucaracha slide, which first developed
In French times. again became active
In 1907, but subsequently the move
ment ceased, only to take on renewed
activity in 1912, since when it has CIV
en- trouble constantly. 1t has been the
most troublesome of all the slides OH
the canal, although in area 1t is not
equal to the slide on the east bank op-
posite Culebra village.
Excavation ut the foot Of Curaracha
slide during the fore part Of this year
made little Roadway, the material COM
Ing in about as fast as it was taken
out. After the date was fixed for
blowing up Gamboa dixie the shovels
We're removed from the slide area,
leaving the work to be completed by
dredges, which will be passed through
the locks at the earliest possible mo-
ment.
1t is believed that the dredges will
have so much of this slide out Of the
way by Jan. l rs to permit navigation.
There appears to be NJ reason in view
Of the advanced state Of the work,
both in the locks and in the channel,
why an ocean going vessel cannot be
passed through the canal by then.
Formal Opening, Jan. l, 1915.
Though the formal opening Of the
canal to the ommerce of the world
will not take place until Jan. l. 1918,
1t is expected that many vessels Of
large draft will pass through it this
fall or mt least before the end Of Jan
hary, 1914.
Quite naturally the honor of being
the first to navigate the great water
way falls to Colonel George Washing
ton Goethals. the guiding genius of the
big ditch" whose engineering skill
made it a reality. Either a tug of the
isthmian service or Il ship of the Pana-
ma Steamship line will ha chosen for