The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1915-09-16
EIGHT YEARS ON
THE PANAMA CANAL
lBy Chas. Yeomanl

tion Of the Panama canal two or three
years before the actual work began.
Having previously followed up con-
struction work on irrigation projects,
naturally wanted to see something on
larger scale. made application for
position in January, 1907, and received
an appointment, but when il came time
TO 90 my friends and relatives at home
persuaded me to change my mind, as
the lsthmus of Panama at that time
had the reputation Of being the most
unhealthy spot on the face of the earth
and had noticed through the news
papers that Mr.. Wallace, Mr.. Shonts
and Mr.. Stevens had all passed it up,
and fat salary, too. ] remember see
ing a cartoon in a Chicago paper saying
they had got cold feet in the tropics.
Two months passed by and was still
thinking seriously of going to Panama.
The latter part of March packed my
trunks and started for New York, TAX
ing passage on one of the United States
steamers for Colon, lsthmus of Pana-
ma. II took seven days to make the
trip. The captain said after anchoring
in Colon that it was the toughest voy-
age he had made in IL years, and
heartily agreed with him, for ! had
only eaten one meal on the way from
New York. The fish got little to eat
from me on that trip. You can imagine
my feelings when ! landed among
strange people, not word of whose
language | could understand. had
only $3.50 in my pocket. My previous
appointment, after the lapse of time
was, of course, now no good. had to
look up a new job. But this was an
easy matter in those days; for jobs
were plentiful. and men with nerve
enough to stay we're scarce.
As there were no vacancies for an
engineer or machinist because of lack
of material and equipment, ! took a job
firing a steam shovel. In five weeks ]
was promoted to craneman. | spent
six months at this work. becoming more
dissatisfied all the time on.account of
the danger which we continually en-
countered in those days.
The tropical rains would wet US to
the skin, and we had no place in which
to dry our clothing. IL did not take
very much of this kind of exposure un-
til man began to feel the effect of the
dreaded fever. In those days we slept
in the old buildings left by the French
years before. They were not screened
in and they were full of rats, bats, mos
quitoes, centipedes, lizards and taran-
tulas. We we're given a canvas cot to
sleep on, and if we wanted a light we
had to buy candles from the Cinnamon.
We got our water wherever we could
find it, and | got my meals the first six
months with Spanish family. That's
where | had to learn Spanish or go
hungry, so | was not very long in
learning the names of the things on the
table
After six months on the steam shovel
more machinery arrived, so was noti-
fled that there was an engineer wanted.
| got my locomotive and felt pretty
well satisfied with my new position. |
could at least be in the dry. But the
heat from the boiler on one side and the
sun on the other was something to
make fellow think of the future.
| continued as a locomotive engineer
during the rest of my stay on the 18TH
mus. being stationed most of the time
at Gatun in the construction of the
locks and dam. into which were put
25, 600, 600 cubic feet of rock and earth,
the largest piece of concrete work ever
placed in the world.
was amused at an incident of the
early days before we had much machin-
cry. A gang of Jamaica negroes had
just arrived. Their foreman was as
signed some light excavation work on
which wheelbarrows were to be used.
The negroes had come from place
where everything is carried on their
heads. They had never seen a wheel
barrow. After loading one of the one
wheeled vehicles, two of the negroes
picked it up and placed it on the head
of companion, who walked away with
! it. How that foreman did curse those
English objects" as he called them.
You would have known he was no Sun
| day school teacher.
| The nergoes were used as walters in
the hotels. One day one of them
brought man some soup. The waiter S
thumb was in the liquid. The man
said, Here, you black devil, get your
thumb out of that soup" MIR. Niger
just grinned and said, That's all right,
boss the soups not hot.
The last, two years of my stay on the
Isthmus | was employed in the fortifi.
cation work on the Pacific side, hauling
all of the big Ia and l6 inch guns and
mortars and ammunition to the great
est fort in the world.
came to Hood River through the in
huence of Gus Miller, whom worked
with in Montana on irrigation work.
MIR. Miller was given an appointment
to go to Panama, too, but he being a
concrete and construction man of very
broad experience. his employers in
Montana made 1t worth his while to
remain there and take charge of their
work in several points in Montana, as
we'll as Wyoming. And Hood River
should feel proud Of having man in
their beautiful valley who is capable OF
handling any kind of construction work
that may in the future need such a man
to oversee it.
expect to make my home in Hood
River il can be fortunate enough tc
find some one can induce to sell me a
few acres.
saw by the Oregonian that Gen.
Goethals was in Portland a few days
ago. There was some talk of getting
him to run the city of Portland After
my eight years of service under him
can say that in my opinion there could
never be found better man for the
job, or any other big job, where real
man is needed. | have met great
many army and navy officers in all
ranks in my experience in life, and
have been personally acquainted with
many, but the Colonel, as we all called
him, has them all beaten. He always
had a pleasant word and smile for
everybody, every time you met him.
Whether he was showing the president
of the United States around the work
or alone, it was always the same,
Every Sunday morning between and
II o'clock he held what we called his
Sunday school class. If anybody, black
or white, had any complaint to make
regarding his work or general welfare,
he was welcomed at the Colonels Sun.
day school, He was given private
hearing and personal interview, and
the great secret of Col. Goethals sue.