The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1919-02-14
SIZING UP CANAL LOCKS
YOUNG LADY FROM KAT0 WAS
AT PEDRO MIGUEL
Interesting Description of the
Scenes Along the Big Ditch
At Panama

Mr.. and Mrs. Edward Jones of
State street are in receipt of the fol-
lowing letter from their daughter,
Miss Florence Jones, who IS n teacher
III one Of the government schools in
the Panama canal zone.
Dear Folks: | don't feel much in
the mood fr writing but feel as
though I ought to write q letter
There certainly is a lot | could write
about, and thought I would get to
write some Christmas letters this
week end, and would so like to
never was in place where | felt
so rushed and on the go as here.
One of the girls who teaches in our
building has friend who is super
intendent Of the locks at Pedro Mig
uel, eight miles from here, and she
made arrangements for us TO go out
there yesterday. He had man
show us all around, and it surely was
wonderful and very interesting. We
started in at the control house. There
they have n board which shows every
thing on the locks, sort of minia-
ture because when the big gates ont
side are being closed this board also
shows il. and all the opening and
closing. etc, is done by pushing a
button or a lever on this board. It
looks so simple. but those are the
kind of things that are most won
derful. There are big chains across
the canal which are raised and low
cred. and one link weighs 155 pounds.
We went out at $40 AIM. and re-
turned at II a. m. Got there just
as one boat was leaving and another
coming in, so we were Quite FORUM
ate. One of the men who went on
the canoe trip with us is an electri-
cal superintendent there. and he said
he would call and tell us when the
hospital ship which has been at Col
on would be going through TODAY. 1t
was bound for Australia carving back
soldiers. We were told there were
100 men aboard, sixty in bed, and
we were very ANXIOUS to see it. so
when ne called and said it would be
there about p. ri. we took the j: 10
train and came back at 5:1a When
we got out we were lucky again be-
cause tug boat had Just arrived and
q big cruiser was Just coming in
followed by three submarines. so all
FIVE were in the same chamber ar
once. After those got through all
oil tanker- came the other direction,
and then came this hospital ship. No
one was allowed to go aboard and
they didn't stop except for the water
to be lowered but people could go
close by and throw things to them,
mostly magazines, tobacco and fruit.
They threw over different souvenirs,
and/I lost several by their landing in
a rail and couldn't reach them
Then the little niggerS would grab
them up il we didn't happen to catch
them | got two coins, form and
farthing, two buttons, and shoulder
insignia. A major threw over a box
with FIVE buttons in it and a note
saving they were his captains buttons
which he no longer needed. The gin
who got them gave us each one.
I am at last going to start the lot
ter I've been wanting to write for
some time will tell you first about
our trim and about our Christmas
doings later if | still have the time
and energy.
1t was Mr.. Baker. an exporter in
Panama, who made it possible for us
to have this trip. He knew the Supt
of this camp and arranged with thin
to have the yacht come up for Us the
day after Christmas. The yacht Con-
stance was and still is beautiful
thing. 1t was owned by Sen. Gard
ner of Mass. and cost 100000. The
furniture inside is of mahogany. and
there are still few pieces of haVi-
land china on board. They come up
to Panama about cnce a month. but
made the trip this time especially for
us.
We vert down to Mrs. Bakers the
day after Christmas. She lives right
by the water and we went out to the
Constance in launch because, on
account of the tide being low and her
being made for deep water, she could
come only within three miles of the
shore Her dimensions are 140 by
twenty four feet. Some yacht! The
launch had to make several trips to
take us out, so it was eight p. m.
when we sailed away. They brought W
mattresses and we made our beds at
the bow Of the boat, seven of us girls.
I'll never forget that night, sleeping
under the stars a1.l sailing away
from the city. We arrived at the
camp at $50 The next morning, 60
ing about 1Sy miles down the western
coast to San Miguel Bay.
We had hired a cook ard planned
to eat and sleep aboard the yacht,
but the superintendent and one of the
other men wouldn't hear to. that, so
in the afternoon our things, chairs
and tables were brought ashore and
we ate where the men did, and they
'let our cook work in there. They
sure treated us royalty and it seemed
as though we were eating all the time.
| In the afternoon we walked out into
| the woods or through jungles on 4
trail TO where the company has big
/ Holt tractor hauling mahogany logs
| 10 The river from where they are float
cd down to the bay and then to the saw
mill. The present superintendent was
sent down TO get mahogany for Curtis
aeroplanes. but is going to use it for
commercial purposes. They own
J 100000 acres of land there, so much
! that they don't yet know all the
boundaries.
! In the evening all the men came, up
and we sat or the front porch where
1--WE talked and sang good deal. We
/ had a ukalale, and it was always i'll