Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1924-09-17


water in the Pacific. Gatun dam
raises the ''water bridge" to the height
of a seven-story building
New Flood Water Reservoir.
President Coolidge by Executive or
der recently gave the deserving Pa
mama canal birthday present. Alba
juela sounds very much like a paean
of Christmas time; in Panama it is a
tiny community on the Chagres river
where it enters Gatun lake. Here
the Executive order sets aside %
square miles of additional territory
for the Canal zone. This acquisition
will be converted into a large reser-
voir to save up the Chagres floods,
which would otherwise go over the
Gatun. dam spillway. 1t is estimated
that this new reservoir will store up
a supply of water which would be suf-
ficient to satisfy the needs of New
York city, including Brooklyn, at the
present rate of consumption for Al
years. With this additional water
horded up, Canal Zone. engineers be-
lieve there will be assured a supply
to meet demands until 1855, based on
a normal growth of trade.
Although it is now surrounded for
the most part by dense tropical jungle,
Gatun lake is destined to become the
Lake Champlain of Panama. Because
Gatun lake has filed up the mouths
of many tributaries, it has, like Chesa-
peake bay, an enormous shore line.
Modest calculatOrs put it at 1600
miles, while the more ambitious say
that the lakes coast line is almost as
long as an air line between New York
and San Francisco. The broad waters
of the lake, 165 square miles in area,
the largest artificial lake in the world,
afford cooling breeZes to be priced in
that tepid climate. It's mean annual
temperature is "a degrees, but what is
more important, it affords access to
mountains on the southwest, 1000
feet high. On their SUBMITS the tenn
perature hovers about so degrees.
President Porras of Panama has pur-
chased large estate on the lake and
many Of the American colony are
picking out sites and erecting bun
galows.
Gatun lake, incidently, is a paradise
for hunters, fishermen and naturalists.
Among the animals frequently seen
on its shores are the big tapir, the
iaguar, the mountain lion and deer.
Even monkeys, the black panther, the
sloth, the armadillo and other tropical
animals are to be found near by. All
manner of brilliant birds are seen in
the trees.
Marine Service Station.
In ten years the Panama canal has
become more than a long-sought 'route
to Cathay"; it is a service station for
ships. The Canal Zone is q division
point in sea transportation lines. Its
coaling machinery can pour 100 to 500
tons of coal an hour into a vessels
hold. 1t keeps huge supplies of oil
| and gasoline on tap. Balboa claims
the worlds oil bunkering record it
has put 1854 barrels Of oil in a hold
in one hour Steam laundries for
| ships convenience are operated at
| Colon and Panama, where a ship en-
tering the canal can deposit its mate
rails to be Numbered, proceed through
| the canal, and find them waiting at
| the other end of the "water bridge"
! spick, span and clean. AS many as
200 head of cattle are often slaugh-
tered daily to supply ships with fresh
beef. The United States government
maintains $4,000 acres of pasture along
Gatun lake to fatten the cattle for
sale to ships. In addition, the govern
| ment operates two fine hotels, ice fac
tories, dry dock, capable of receiving
the largest ship now afioat, a we'll
equipped railroad and a telephone
system.
One of the advantages to ships go
ing through the Panama Canal is that
they lose the thousands of barnacIes
which they pick up on the seven seas.
barnacles collecting on a ships bottom
and as the ships pass along Gatun
lake and through the Gaillard cut these
mollusks drop off. This fact is of
inestimable value to shipping because
barnacle collecting on a ships bottom
greatly retard the speed of a boat.
| General Goethals once said that he
expected the channel would eventually
be paved with barnacles.