El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-01-10

in area from one acre to IS acres, and
Lhelr mass is incOnceivabIe Two hundred
ana my acres would make good sized
tdrLl' ana lhe volume of earth is estimated
by the tens Of millions of cubic yards Al
ready enough slide material has been taken
out OF the canal to make a wall as high
as Two story house and more than three
1eet IN thickness. reaching from Boston
almost to Chicago, and by the time the
from the slides alone, a mass equal to a
mali dozen pyramids as big the biggest
In Egypt. with still some earth to spare
AahIIdi rousseau tells me that there is
no doubt that the time Of dangerous slides
is rapidly coming to an end There has
been a dim1nutiOn Of them since the water
came in. and the breaks or the pumping up
OF the bottom OF the canal has altogether
disappeared. We have now 40 feet Of
water in Culebra cut, and we shall have
40 shortly after the first of January. If
II were not for the CucUracha slide yes
sells drawing SO feet could now go through
the canal. rms is the draft Of the Olym-
pic and the Mauretania and vessels of that
class but they draw that much only when
heavily loaded and they are seldom so
loaded
The Lake of Gatun.
Turning our launch toward the Allan
tic. we steam back through the cut and
out into the Lake Of Gatun- This sheet
Of water is artificial one 1t has been
made altogether by the Gatun dam which
runs across the outlet and between two
great hills about "a mc1es away. The Lake
IS supplied by numerous little rivers, OF
which the greatest is the Chsgres 1t has
been steadily rising for more than year
and its surface is now over so feet above
the level Of the ocean. The water has
spread out over the valleys, and the lake
now covers an area as large as 1000 SO-aCre
farms all patched together
Coming from Gamboa, We first enter the
valley Of the Chagres. This is narrow
near the end Of Culebra cut, but it soon
Wldens out to a half mile or more, wind
ing IN and about among hills that are
growing the edge Of the water, and
see them standing out against the sky, on
N he
Farther out on the lake we sail about
the shores Of beautiful islands, and we now
and then pass floating islands. consisting Of
tropical sWamps which have been hIted
from their foundations by the water and
are carried by the winds here and there
over the lake some OF these ISLANDS are OF
several acres in area, and they rise and
fall with the waves made by our launch as
See Floating Islands.
On some Of the floating Islands are birds,
and on one I saw an iguana, the giant
lizard Of this part Of the world which is
as big as a cat and whose meat tastes
like young chicken Some Of the islands
have bambOOs upon them, and upon some
are beds Of papyrus, similar to the famous
bulrushes of Egypt in which the cradle Of
the baby Moses was laid
During our journey we attempted to go
down to BOhio, to the spot where the
French built their locks. but a floating
island had closed I'D the entrance and we
had to turn back
Among the queer features OF Lake Ca
tun are the dead forests that are to be seen
wherever the waters have risen and covered
the land Many varieties Of tropical trees
viii not stand firm embedded in water.
and such have died the lake risen.
There are some valleys covered with dead
thickets, and in places there are so many
dead trees that it makes one think Of the
Dismal swamp. Some of these trees are as
white as the bones Of a skeleton, and are
naked Of bark Others are already loaded
with orchids Of many varieties Some have
only their tops out Of the water, and we
now and then see green palm, the trunk
Of which is in the bed Of the lake and
only the leaves showing out The palms
seem to last longest, and there are many
buried to the roots Of their branches. the
latter looking like punches Of gigantic ferns
on the bed Of the lake
Another striking feature OF Gatun lake
is the floating plants which cover its wa
tiers There are great beds OF water let
tuCe and masses Of water hyacinths float
ing ABOUT as well as spots where green
plant like a scum covers the surface The
water lettuce has very short roots. and III
VIII not impede navigation The hyac1nrns
are different Some Of their roots are 10
and u feet in length and they viii have
10 be destroyed before. the canal IS in use
Many AIligators in the Lake.
There are many aligatOrs in part OF
Lake Gatun. although most Of them are
small Still they are so dangerous that
the natives viii not go swimming in the
lake, and they are very careful to keep
out Of their way while fishing along the
shores There are some tapirs on the
banks Of the lake and IL may be that a
few may be found upon the islands. We
saw many Wild birds and among others the
white heron. from which the aigrets for
our ladies' hats come. There are also
Wild ducks. and several peliCans fly up
We ride about among the floating islands.
Requires Several Hours to Cross
The big steamers viii be several hours
in crossing Lake Gatun The tropical
islands. with their palms and bamboos.
their great fern trees and their magnifi-
cent forest giants, bound together with the
Aanas VIII be IN plain view The lake
which is now slightly muddy from the
vegetation and the floods. viii then ne
clear as crystal. and the tourist viii look
over a mirror Of silver at the emerald
wonders of the tropics. Off to the south
as he nears the Gatun dam he viii see a
range Of mountains which some claim to
he part of South America Tt is. IN fact.
the beginning Of the Andes. which are here
volcanoes which wall the western side OF
that continent
As the ships cross the lake travellers will
nave good sight OF the dam and the
locks The dam is already. becoming grass
grown and IL viii be little more than
great mound or windrow Of earth holding
back the water AT the left hand is the
spillWay. consisting of ten great black steel
gates which move up and down between
structures of concrete. This spillway is in
the shape Of the segment OF a circle. 1t
has an iron walk on the top. One does
not realize its immensely until he comes
close to It, but then it is very impressive.
There is gOod sized island right in
front Of the dam, and in going from the
spiuWay 70 the locks on the opposite side
we sail between the island and the dam
The dam has wide approach or channel
between concrete walls and the ships 20
from this right into the locks
Everything is Massive
Everything connected with the locks IS OF
the most massive description and still the
machinery is SO delicate that a child could
operate them The great gates. which are
in fact mighty double doors Of iron.
swing like the folding doors Of an old
fashioned country barn. They move as
smoothly as though they were as light as
feathers or SO many sheets of newspaper
Nevertheless, one of the doors or leaves Of
the larger gates is seven feet thick and SO
heavy that it would take 1900 horses to
haul it if it were broken up and put on
tWo-hOrse wagons
When these gates are shut they do not
require to be locked or fastened in any
way to keep out the water They just
come together. and that so tightly that q
piece of metal thinner than the silky hair
of your baby girl or one less than one four
thOusandths of foot thick could not be
wedged i'm between them There is not
drop of water that oozes through. There
are 80 doors or leaves of this kind in the
locks and they weigh altogether about So
600 tons, which would be a good sized load
Tor 10000 horses. or enough TO load a
tWo-horse wagon train So miles in length.
Many Columns of Concrete.
me most characteristic features Of the
canal locks 10 be seen as one looks at them
over the water are the many columns OF