Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1914-03-19
THE NE'ER-DO-WELL
OF THE PANAMA CANAL
REX BEACH
BEACH
Copyright 1910. 1911. by Harper & Brother

Their
records every week.. while we railroad
/ men take care of the whole shooting
match. OF course. there are other de
partme engineering. COM
share. but that is the general scheme.
Everybody is trying to break records.
Lord! It's fierce"
why didn't you quit?" suggested An
thony.
Quit. What for? Good Lord. We
like it, Here we are at Pedro Miguel.
by the way. Well be into the cut
shortly"
To his left Anthony beheld another
scene somewhat similar to the one Mt
Gatun. Other movable steel cranes
with huge wide flung arms, rose out of
another chasm in which We're extensive
concrete workings. From a distance
the towers resembled parts of u half
constructed cantilever bridge of ire
mendous height. Another army was
toiling at the bottom of the pit, more
cars shunted back and FORTH more
rock crushers rumbled; but, before
Kinks eye had photographed more
than small part, the motor car had
sped past and was rolling out upon IL
bridge spanning the canal itself. To
the northward appeared an opening
cut through the hills and Runnels said
simply:
"Culebra!"
A moment later he announced: I'VE
leave the p. Il. r. tracks here and
switch in on the l. G. 9. Now you'll
begin to see something"
Down into the cut the little car went.
and at last Anthony saw the active
pulsating heart of this stupcndous nm
dertaking. The low range was severed
by gorge blasted out by human hands.
1t was a mountain valley in the max
ing. High up ON it's sides Were dirt
and rock trains. dozens of compressed
air drills, their spars resembling the
masts of feet of catboats at anchor
behind these grimy, powerful steam
shovels which rooted and gruntcd quite
1
rious levels flowed constant current
of traffic; long lines of empty cars
crept past the shovels. then. filled to
overlooking. sped away northward up
! the valley, to return again and again.
Nowhere was there any idlencss. no
where cold machine or a man at rest
On every hand was smoke and steam
and sweat The drills chuggcd stead
lily. the hungry iron hogs gougcd out
the trails the drills had loosencd. the
trains rolled past at intervals of a mo-
ment or So Lines of electric wire. carr
ried upon low wooden Shears" paral-
leled the tracks, bearing the white hot
sparks that rent the mountain. AT ev-
cry switch a negro fireman, croucled
beneath slanting sheet of corrugated
iron. seeking shelter alike from flying
fragments and the blazing sun. From
beneath the drills came occasional sub
terrnnean explosions; then geysers of
| muddy water rose in the air. Under
4 the SHOUTS of the steam shovels "dobe"
| shots went off as powders were riven
into smaller fragments. Now and then
/ an excited footing of whistles gave
warning Of a bigger blast as the flag
men checked the flow of traffic, indi-
cating With arms appraised that the
ground was Coming up" Thereupon a
brief lull occurred; men hid themselves
the work held it's breath, as it We're.
But while the detonations still echoed
and before the flying missiles had
! ceased to shower the human ants Were
moiling at their hills once more, the
/ wheels We're turning again, the jaws OF
the iron hogs We're clanking.
Through this upleaval the motorcar
penetrated, lodging trains of FLATS.
which moved sluggishly to afford them
passage up and down over the volcanic
burrows at the bottom of the gorge
or along some shelf beneath which the
foundations were being dug. at times
a shovel reached out its five yard steel
4 jaw and gently cleared the rails of
debris or boosted some bowlder from
the path with all the skill of giant
hand and fingers. Up and down the
canyon rolled spasmodic rumbings, like
broadsides from feet of battlcships.
Mile after mile the sightsecrs rolled
on, past scenes Of never varying ac-
tivity-past more shovels, more groups
of drills. more dirt trains. more regi-
ments of mcn-RunneIs explaining
Kirk malveling until he was forced tc
eXclaim:
81 had no idea it was so big. II
doesn't seem as If they'd ever finish
It,"
ooh, well finish it If we're let alone
You see there is too much politics In
IT. we never know how long our jobs
will last II some senator whose vote
is needed on an administration matter
wanted my position for his wife's
brother, he could get it..
81 suppose Pm an example"
Runnels looked ut him sqnarcly be
fore answering. "You are" said he
"ulthougE / wasn't thinking of yot
when l spoke. It's something we al
feel, however"
Anthony flushed as he answered: al
don't remember ever taking anything
wasn't entitled to, and | didn't think
when ! was showed in here that Ia
shove some other fellow out. suppose
| there Is room at the bottom and fel