The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1924-08-01
Adonis Nelson Writes of
t h e Panama a c ANA |

itaOhCu thc range anu SlSuttu tut
Father of Waters-the mighty Pa
cific, and on thetwenty-ninth he ar
rived upon the shore and formal,
took possession of the Great Soutf
sea" in the name of the Spanish
monarch.
Later when the hope of a natural
strait had been abandoned, the mar.
rowness of the Isthmus made the
shortest route for Cortez, Pezarra
and the other famous Spanish rob
bers and marauders who followed
I in their quest for the gold of the In
cas-.
Spain, ! remembered, did not play
the sole part in this small country's
history, for the rising power of Eng
land, later to become mistress of the
sea, was being brought about by har-
dy, reckless mariners whose first in
stinct was to fill their own purses,
either by honest trade if 1t might be
OF by piracy, if that seemed more
Profitable. Perhaps the noblest of
these mariners was Sir Francis
Drake. who became sickened by the
experiences of the slave trade, and.
refusing to take any farther part in
it, flew at the wealth of the Spanish
government. In 1872 he sailed for
Nombre de Dios. on the Atlantic side
of the ls.hmus; for at this place
We're brought once a year gold and
silver from the mines of Peru. This
voyage of Brakes proved unsuccess-
full However, before he returned to
his native land, some Indians showed
him from a high tree the waters CT
the great Western ocean," which up
to that time no civilized peopeIe ex-
cept the Spaniards had ever naviga
ted. 1t is said that this fearless ad-
venturer threw himself on his knees
praying to God to give him life and
at sometime allow him to sail an
English vessel on those seas.
If our mother countrys history is
to be spoken of at all, there is an
other bold sea rover, whose name
should be mentioned. that was Sir
Martin Frobisher who visited Pana-
ma sometime in the latter part of
the sixteenth century This expedi-
ton of his was OF little importance
as writers of history have not given
HIM a place along with other explor-
ers of this tropical land.
Then / thought of how Spain had
It first entire dominion over Cen
trail America and how reientlessly
hey had treated the simple, unciviI-
zed natives. and how this control
was only minimized for time by a
scotch enterprise. However this ex-
,editiou, if it might be called such.
ended in the expulsion of the Scotch
md the domination of the country
~ the Spaniarcs was never again
seriously menaced by any foreign
iower. Later on the central part of
'ur hem sphere was lost by Spain
trough the revolt of their own peo-
Ne against a government which was
&c the time inefficient and tyranni-
-. For the French revolution and j
he Napoleonic upheaval in Europe
cund their echo in these snail
american Countries ~-1 e'--.
Mother, fired with the enthusiasm
I thar ola worIo spiait !
n the yoke of Spain. Then followed
he small bloody civil wars. the VIC 4;
grious heroes of which have their
ames. so l am told, frescoed on the I
uaint walls of the palaces at Pana- c
Ia City and in similar palaces in all '
he capitals of these strange, turbu- 4,
mt little half-caste civilizations.
IL is known in history that the
>rch for the natural waterway to '
ne east had already been abandoned [
hen discussion arose as to the
iActicability of crea ting an artifi-
al one. II SENS that it was a chap i,
in to CorteZ, the great explorer. :
no first suggested canal to Philip
of Spain, in words which had I
eadv ring when the purpose was
troduced by the United States =,
eds of years later. at is true" he :.
rote, that mountains obstruct q
ese passes, but If there be noun
-4-s ehe4e are also hands" This v
sorffon seems to be the spirit with -;
hich Uncle Sam approached the
Big Job as it was called in the ear
o4ys OF. It's history. But the piety ID
the church which then swayed tr
lrope and to whom King Philip re-
rred the subject ruled according to
e biblical text, What God hath 81
under" for they feared the chas-
cement of high heaven for wishing ,,,
correct the works of the creator,
t thankful be thta such supersti- III
IN has been to some extent eradi- M
led from humanity and today we tn
ok more to the well beinr OF man -,
nd for in that we must find Gods ).
lie spirit and wish. II
Seeing that a canal would be in
? distant future, the Panama rail ho
I'd was built by Americans over nij
rec quarters OF ia century ago. M.
is undertaking wee f'~~-'
shed with an appalling loss Of life, ="
it has been said, of course with q
iggeratinn, IL
PRESENTED the death of a man. 10
is does not seem ai10ge ~. ~,
,bable when one thinks of the ma w
l.. infested regions and the lack
nj
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