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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d6490c9 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50704 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50704) diff --git a/old/50704-8.txt b/old/50704-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f94bd22..0000000 --- a/old/50704-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2851 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The National Geographic Magazine, Vol. I., -No. 4, October, 1889, by Various - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The National Geographic Magazine, Vol. I., No. 4, October, 1889 - -Author: Various - -Release Date: December 16, 2015 [EBook #50704] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, OCTOBER 1889 *** - - - - -Produced by Ron Swanson - - - - - -Vol. I. No. 4. - -THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE. - - - - -PUBLISHED BY THE - -NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY. - -WASHINGTON, D. C. - - -Price 50 Cents. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - -Irrigation in California, by Wm. Hammond Hall, State Engineer of - California - -Round about Asheville, by Bailey Willis - (Illustrated by one Map and Profile.) - -A Trip to Panama and Darien, by Richard U. Goode - (Illustrated by one Map and Profile.) - -Across Nicaragua with Transit and Machéte, by R. E. Peary, Civil - Engineer, U. S. N. - (Illustrated by one Map and three Views.) - - October, 1889. - - - - -PRESS OF TUTTLE, MOREHOUSE & TAYLOR, NEW HAVEN, CONN. - - - - -THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE. - -Vol. I. 1889. No. 4. - - - - -IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA. - -BY WM. HAMMOND HALL. - - -_Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Society:_ - -When I was invited to address this society I had no material at hand on -the subject. I have come to the east without any notes or memoranda -whatever, from which to prepare a lecture or address, no statistical -data which would make a paper valuable, no notes of characteristic -facts to render an address interesting, and no time to write anything -to guide me in any way to a proper treatment of the subject. Some of -your members have thought that I have written something worthy of being -read, and hence this invitation to address you. But, even if they are -right, people who can write cannot always talk, so if I fail in this -address, I shall hope, on the basis of their opinion, that you will -find in the reports I have written something worthy of reading. The -subject has been announced as the "Problems of Irrigation in the United -States." I should like very much to speak broadly on that subject, but -I am unable to do so, for the reasons I have given, and shall have to -speak rather of irrigation in California, trusting that something which -is said, may, perchance, be valuable in relation to the subject at -large. Irrigation in the far west, generally, is attracting a vast deal -of attention. This is particularly the case on the Pacific Coast--the -field with which I am specially acquainted. I apprehend that although -many gentlemen present have a far-reaching and definite appreciation of -the subject at large, many others do not appreciate the value and -importance of irrigation. In the arid parts of California (for we do -not admit that California is as a whole arid) it is a vital matter. -There it is a question of life, for the people. Not more than one-sixth -of the tillable area in the State can sustain a really dense -population, without irrigation; two thirds of it will not sustain even -a moderate population, without irrigation; while one third will not -sustain even a sparse population, without such artificial watering. -Think well over these facts. They are very significant. I doubt whether -they are generally appreciated in California itself. - -I have no doubt many persons are familiar with the geography of the -State, but, doubtless, some are not. California has a coast line of 800 -miles and a width of from 140 to 240 miles. It is traversed almost -throughout its length by a great mountain chain extending along near -the eastern boundary, which is called the Sierra Nevada, and by a -lesser range, more broken and less unified, running parallel to the -coast, called the Coast Range, the southern extension of which, after -joining the Sierra Nevada, is called the Sierra Madre, and at the -further extremity, the San Jacinto and San Diego mountains. Within the -interior of the State, looked down upon by the Sierra Nevada on the -east, and closed in by the Coast Range on the west, is the great -interior basin--the valley of the San Joaquin and Sacramento -rivers--forming a plain 450 miles long, with an average width of from -40 to 60 miles. Outside of the Sierra Madre in the southern part of the -State, and within the Coast Range, is another interior valley, nearly -100 miles in length and from 20 to 30 miles in width, and outside of -the Coast Range, and lying next to the ocean, is a plain whose length -is from 60 to 70 miles, and width 15 to 20 miles. These three -areas--the great interior valley, the southern interior valley, and the -coast plain of the south--are the principal irrigation regions of the -State. Numbers of smaller areas, as those in San Diego county, come in -as irrigation regions of less importance, and the scattering valleys -along the Coast Range farther north, as the Salinas, etc., will come -forward in the future as important irrigable districts of the State. -Still further north, in the interior, there are the great plains of -Lassen and Mono counties, and some scattering valleys in Shasta county, -where irrigation is also practiced or is being introduced, and these -are on a par with the districts of San Diego county, in the matter of -rank as irrigation regions. East of the Sierra Nevada, and at their -base, lies the Owen's river country, an area suitable for irrigation, -where irrigation is necessary and where it is being introduced. Upon -the great Mojave desert and the Colorado desert, there is at present no -irrigation. The water supply is very scanty. This is an irrigation -region of the future, but it is not regarded by Californians as a -practicable one at present. - -With this general idea of the State, we will now look at the rainfall -and water supply. The State contains 157,440 square miles of territory, -of which 17,747 drain into the ocean north of the Golden Gate, 21,665 -drain into the ocean south of the Golden Gate, 55,942 drain into the -interior basins, and 62,086 drain out at the Golden Gate. Of this -territory which drains out by the Golden Gate, 26,187 square miles -comprise the Sacramento valley, 31,895 square miles the San Joaquin -valley, and 4,004 the country draining directly to the bays, making the -62,086 given above as the whole area. - -The necessity for irrigation in California, and the relative necessity -in different parts of the State, are shown by the distribution of -rainfall. The San Joaquin valley has an average of less than 10 inches -of rainfall, the Sacramento has an average of between 10 and 20 inches. -The great deserts of the Mojave and Colorado have an average of less -than 10 inches, and in certain localities only 3 to 6 inches. The -Salinas valley, a small portion of the coast above Los Angeles, and a -portion of the interior valley of the south, have also an average of -less than 10 inches. - -So, we may say, that the great irrigation regions of California have -average amounts of rainfall varying from about 6 up to 20, but -generally less than 10 inches. This rain is distributed in four or five -months of each year, with some slight showers in one or two months -other than these; the remainder of the year being absolutely dry, with -no rainfall whatever. Hence, you will see at once, the necessity for -the artificial application of water in California. In the older -countries of Europe, where irrigation has been practiced for centuries, -for instance, in Spain, where water is used more extensively than in -California, the annual mean rainfall ranges between 10 and 25 inches. -In the irrigation regions of France, the mean rainfall ranges from 10 -to 40 inches; in the irrigation regions of Italy, the rainfall is -between 20 and 35 inches--for instance, in the valley of the Po, the -classic land of irrigation, the annual precipitation is from 25 to 35 -inches. There are none of these European irrigation regions where the -rainfall is less than 10, and generally it is over 20 inches. But you -will see that the most of the Californian irrigation regions have less -than 15 inches, some less than 10, and the greatest rainfall of any -large irrigable region in California is 18 inches, or, exceptionally, -for smaller regions, 25 inches; while in Europe, the maxima are from 25 -to 40 inches in countries where irrigation has long been practiced. It -follows, then, that there is no place in Europe where it is so much -needed as over a large part of California. Another reason why the -necessity is felt in our Pacific Coast State, is found in the character -of our soils; and not alone the surface soils, but the base of the -soil--the deep subsoils. We have soils exceptionally deep; soils which -extend below the surface to 50 feet, underlaid by loose sand and open -gravels, so that the rainfall of winter is lost in them. The annual -rain seldom runs from the surface. It follows that these lands are -generally barren of vegetation without the artificial application of -water. - -Considering now the sources of water-supply: we have in the southern -part of the State many streams which flow only for a few weeks after -rainfall, and other streams which run two or three months after the -rainy season. But there is not a stream in all California south of the -Sierra Madre (except the Colorado, which has it sources of supply -outside of the State) which flows during the summer with a greater -volume than about 70 to 80 cubic feet per second--a stream 15 feet in -width, 2 feet deep, and flowing at the rate of 2½ to 3 feet per -second--a little stream that, in the eastern part of the continent, -would be thought insignificant. The largest stream for six months in -the year, in all southern California, is the Los Angeles river. The -Santa Aña river, the next largest, flows from two sevenths to one third -as much; the San Gabriel, the next largest, has perhaps two thirds or -three fourths as much as the Santa Aña; and so, a stream which will -deliver as much water as will flow in a box 4 feet wide and 1½ feet -deep, at a moderate speed, during summer months, would be regarded as a -good-sized irrigation feeder in that southern country. In the greater -interior basin or central valley, we find other conditions. Here we -have a different class of streams. The great Sierra Nevada receives -snow upon its summits, which does not melt till May or June and July. -The melting of these snows is the source of supply of the streams; so -that, while in far southern California, with two or three exceptions, -the greater flow of water in the streams is almost gone by June, in -this central region it is the period of the height of irrigation, and -the streams are flowing at their maximum. Kern river presents about -2000 to 3000 cubic feet of water per second; King's river presents in -the maximum flow of the season about twice to three times as much as -Kern river; the Tuolumne river about as much as King's. As we go -farther north, the Sacramento river presents more than three times as -much as the Tuolumne, so that in the northern part of the great valley, -where the rainfall on the valley itself is greatest, and, consequently, -the necessity for irrigation is least, the irrigation supply increases; -and conversely, the greatest area of irrigation in the valley and the -greatest necessity for it, is, in general, where the water supply is -least. - -About 100 years ago irrigation was commenced in California. The Roman -Catholic priests, coming from Mexico where irrigation had long been -practiced, introduced it. They established missions among the Indians, -started cultivation, and by the labor of these Indians built the -original irrigation works. The practice of irrigation was extended in -San Diego county, as far as we are able to trace, to several thousand -acres; in San Bernardino county in the southern interior valley, they -thus cultivated and watered, perhaps 2000 acres; and in Los Angeles -county there were possibly 3000 acres irrigated under Mexican rule. -Traces of the old mission works are found in San Diego, San Bernardino -and Los Angeles counties, and as far north as Monterey county. - -Then came the gold fever, when canals were dug throughout the -foot-hills of the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, for the supply of -water for the mining of gold; and these canals have since, in many -instances, been turned into feeders for irrigation. Several thousand -miles of irrigation ditches have thus been created from old mining -ditches. In 1852, a band of Mormons came from Salt Lake into the San -Bernardino valley; they bought a Mexican grant rancho there, took -possession of some old mission works, constructed others and started -irrigating. That was probably the first irrigation colony, on a large -scale, composed of others than Mexicans, in California. In 1856, some -Missouri settlers went into the valley of Kern river, diverted water -from that stream, and commenced irrigation upon a small scale. In 1858, -the waters of Cache creek, in the Sacramento valley, were taken out for -irrigation. In 1859, the waters of King's river were taken out and -utilized for irrigation. These instances represent in general outline -the commencement of irrigation in the State. Now we have in the -neighborhood of 750,000 or 800,000 acres actually irrigated each year, -and that represents what would ordinarily be called an irrigation area -of 1,200,000 acres; and there are commanded by the works--reasonably -within the reach of existing canals--an area of about 2,500,000 acres. - -In the organization of irrigation enterprises there is great diversity. -Commencing with the simplest form, we have a ditch constructed by the -individual irrigator for his own use; we have then successively ditches -constructed by associated irrigators without a definite organization, -for the service of their own land only; ditches constructed by -regularly organized associations of farmers, with elected officers; -works constructed by farmers who have incorporated under the general -laws of the State and issued stock certificates of ownership in the -properties, for the service of the stockholders only; works where -incorporations have been formed for the purpose of attaching water -stock to lands that are to be sold, bringing in the element of -speculation; then works where the organization has been effected with a -view of selling water-rights; and finally, organizations that are -incorporated for the purpose of selling water. There is a great -difference between the principles of these methods of organization, and -the practical outcome is a great difference in the service of water and -in the duty of water furnished by them. In selling water, measurement -of volume is made by modules--the actual amount of water delivered is -measured--or it is sold by the acre served, or in proportional parts of -the total available flow of the season. - -The general character of the irrigation works of the State varies very -much with the varying conditions under which it is practiced. In the -San Joaquin valley, King's river, for instance, comes out of the -mountains nearly on a level with the surface of the plain, cutting down -not more than a few feet below its banks; and hence but little labor is -required to divert its waters out upon the lands to be irrigated; but -farther north, the Tuolumne, as another example, comes out of the -mountains in a deep cañon, and the foot-hills extend far down the plain -on each side. It is easily seen, then, that it will require a million -or more dollars to divert from the latter stream the amount of water -diverted from King's river by the expenditure of a few months' work, by -a small force of the farmers themselves. On King's river, individual -and simple coöperative effort is sufficient to bring water enough upon -the plains to irrigate thousands of acres, while in the case of the -Tuolumne river it is absolutely necessary to have associated capital in -large amount--an entirely different principle of organization from that -which was originally applied on King's river and the Kern and other -rivers in the southern part of the great central valley. In discussions -on the subject of irrigation some people have advanced the idea that -the works should be undertaken by the farmers, and that capital should -have nothing to do with them. That may do very well where the physical -conditions will admit of such a course, and where nothing but the -farmers' own service depends upon it; but the great majority of the -streams of California are of such a character that the work of the -farmers can avail nothing. There must be strong associations and large -capital. For this purpose special laws are required. On the Santa Aña, -in San Bernardino county, water has been easily diverted, and such is -the case with every stream in the interior valley of San Bernardino and -Los Angeles counties. - -Capital for the first works was not required. The water was procured by -primitive methods and the works were simple. But in San Diego, an -entirely different condition of affairs prevailed. There the waters are -back in the mountains, twenty or twenty-five miles from the coast, and -the irrigable lands are close along the coast, or within ten or twelve -miles of it. To bring the water out of these mountains requires the -construction of ditches following the mountain sides for 20 to 35 -miles. But simple ditches do not answer, because of the great quantity -of water lost from them. So the companies have resorted to fluming, and -even to lining the ditches with cement. Thus in San Diego, individual -effort is out of the question. Farther north again, in the great -interior valley, King's river is a stream where coöperative and -individual effort have been efficient, although it requires a greater -amount of capital there than in the southern interior valley. In the -southern interior valley, perhaps, $10,000 would often build a ditch -and divert all the water that the supply would furnish. On King's river -the works have cost from $15,000 to $80,000 each; on Kern river the -works have cost from $15,000 to $250,000 each; and on the Tuolumne they -will cost from $1,000,000 to $1,200,000 apiece. On Merced river, the -cost has been $800,000 for one work. Taking the streams from San -Joaquin river north, that come out of the Sierra Nevada, up to the -northern end of the valley where the Sacramento river enters it, every -important stream comes into the valley within a deep gorge. The beds of -several of the northern streams are so filled up with mining debris -that diversion from them would be comparatively easy, but in their -natural state there is not an important stream north of the San Joaquin -which could be utilized for irrigation by any other means than through -the agency of capital in large amount. On the west side of this great -valley the tillable strip is comparatively narrow. It is on the lee -side of the coast range of mountains. Precipitation is made first on -the seaward face of the Coast Range, and then crosses the valley, -dropping upon the inland face of the outer range very little more than -upon the valley itself, where the precipitation is only about 10 -inches. So that we have no streams coming out of the Coast Range into -the southern part of the interior valley specially noteworthy as -irrigation feeders. But as we go northward the Coast Range becomes -wider, and the big mountain basin containing Clear Lake furnishes a -large supply of water to Cache Creek, probably enough for 10,000 acres. -Stony Creek flows between two ridges of the Coast Range, and out on to -the plains, furnishing about the same amount of water; but still there -are no streams from the Coast Range into the valley that are comparable -with those of the Sierra Nevada. In the northeastern corner of the -State, on the great plains of Modoc, we have the Pitt river, a stream -of very considerable volume, but its waters are in comparatively deep -channels, not very well adapted to diversion, and the consequence is, -they have been utilized to a very small extent, only on small -bottom-land farms. The whole stream can be utilized, however, and the -country is thirsting for water. - -The practice of irrigation in California is as diverse as it could well -be. California, as you know, covers a very large range in latitude, but -a greater range in the matter of climate and adaptability to the -cultivation of crops. In the southern portion of the State, the orange -and the banana and many other semi-tropical fruits flourish. In some -localities along the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada, also, those -fruits flourish, particularly the orange and the lemon. In the valley -of San Joaquin, wheat is grown by irrigation, and in some places -profitably, and in Kern county quite profitably (were it not for high -transportation charges), because the cost of distributing and applying -water has been reduced to a minimum. There the lands have been laid out -with as much care and precision as the architect would lay out the -stones in a building and the mason would place them. Irrigation is -conducted in some Kern river districts with the greatest ease, scarcely -requiring the use of the shovel. The lands are so laid off with the -check levels that by simply opening gates in the proper order, as the -irrigation superintendents know how, the waters flow out and cover the -successive plats or "checks" in their order, without leaving any -standing water, and finally flowing off without material waste. This is -the perfection of irrigation by the broad or submerging system,--a -method wherein the slope of the ground is first ascertained, platted by -contours, and the checks to hold the water, constructed with scrapers, -are then run out on slight grade contours--not perfectly level, but on -very gentle slopes. - -There is no portion of the far southern part of the State where the -check method is applied as it is in Kern county. The practice in San -Bernardino is to irrigate entirely by running water in rills between -the rows of plants. Orange trees planted 24 to 30 feet apart are -irrigated by rills in plough furrows, 5 to 8 between rows, down the -slope of the orchard, which slope varies from about 1 foot in a hundred -to 4 or 5 in a hundred. In Los Angeles county they make banks about a -foot high around each individual tree, forming basins 5 or 6 to 10 or -12 feet in diameter according to the size of the tree. Into these the -water is conducted by a ditch, and the basin being filled, the water is -allowed to remain and soak away. The low, nearly flat valley lands, -when irrigated, are generally divided into square "checks," without -respect to the slope of the ground, and the surface is simply flooded -in water standing 6 inches to a foot in depth. - -In the northern part of the State, in Placer and Yuba counties, clover -is grown on hills having side slopes of 10 to 15 feet in a hundred, and -irrigated in plough furrows cut around on contours--which furrows are -about 5 to 10 feet apart horizontally--and the water is allowed to soak -into the ground from each such furrow. - -These are the five principal methods of applying water: by the check -system; by rills; by the basin method; by the basin method as applied -to low valleys; and by contour ditches on hill sides. The method -selected for any particular locality is determined not alone by the -crop to be cultivated, but also by the slope of the land and the -character of the soil. For instance, on lands where oranges are -cultivated, in the southern part of the State, where rills are most -generally used, water cannot be applied by the flooding system, for the -reason that irrigation would be followed by cracking of the soil, so -that the trees would be killed. It is necessary on such land to -cultivate immediately after irrigation, and the method of application -is governed more by the soil than by the character of the crop. - -We find in California very marked and important effects following -irrigation. For instance, taking the great plains of Fresno, in the San -Joaquin valley: when irrigation commenced there twenty years ago, it -was 70 to 80 feet down to soil water--absolutely dry soil for nearly 80 -feet--and it was the rule throughout the great plain, 20 miles in width -and 25 miles in length, that soil water was beyond the reach of the -suction pump; now, in places, water stands on the surface, rushes grow, -mosquitos breed, malarial fevers abound, and the people are crying for -drainage; and lands, whose owners paid from five to twenty dollars per -acre for the right to receive water, now need drainage, and irrigation -is considered unnecessary. The amount of water taken from King's river -which was, a few years ago, regarded as not more than sufficient for -one tenth of the land immediately commanded and that seemed to require -it, is now applied to a fourth of the whole area; so that if irrigation -keeps on, the time will come when the whole country will require -draining. - -In a district, where water is applied by the broad method, I saw in -1877 enough water, by actual measurement of flow, put on 20 acres of -land to cover it 18 feet deep, in one season, could it all have been -retained upon it. It simply soaked into the ground, or flowed out under -the great plain. Taking cross sections of this country, north and south -and east and west, I found that where the depth to soil water had, -before irrigation, been about 80 feet, it was then 20, 30, 40 or 60 and -more feet down to it. The soil water stood under the plain in the form -of a mountain, the slope running down 40 to 50 feet in a few miles on -the west and north. On the south and southwest the surface of this -water-mountain was much more steep. In the Kern river country, we have -a somewhat similar phenomenon. Irrigation, in the upper portion of the -Kern delta, affects the water in the wells 6 or 8 miles away. As I -remember the effect is felt at the rate of about a mile a day, that is -to say, when water is used in irrigating the upper portion of the -delta, or of Kern island, as it is called, the wells commence to rise a -mile away in twenty-four hours, and five miles away in perhaps five -days. - -In the southern portion of the State, in San Bernardino county, at -Riverside, we find no such effect at all. There it was 70 to 90 feet to -soil water before irrigation and it is, as a general rule, 70 to 90 -feet still. Water applied on the surface in some places has never even -wet the soil all the way down, and wells dug there, after irrigation -had been practiced for years, have pierced dry ground for 25 or 30 feet -before getting down to where soil waters have wetted it from below. The -consequences of these phenomena are twofold. In the first place, in the -country that fills up with water, the duty of water--the quantity of -land which a given amount of water will irrigate--has increased. -Starting with a duty of not more than 25 acres to a cubic foot of water -per second, we now find that, in some localities, this amount irrigates -from 100 to 160 acres; and that some lands no longer require -irrigating. In the southern portion of the State, however, the cubic -foot of water irrigates no more than at first, and it is scarcely -possible that it will ever irrigate much more. The saving, as -irrigation goes on in the far southern portion of the State, will be -effected chiefly through the better construction of canals and -irrigation works of delivery and distribution. In Tulare valley, the -duty of water will increase as the ground fills up. - -In Fresno, a county which was regarded as phenomenally healthy, -malarial fevers now are found, while in San Bernardino, at Riverside, -such a thing is rarely known. Coming to Bakersfield, a region which -before irrigation commenced was famed for its malarial fevers--known as -unhealthful throughout all the State--where soil water was originally -within 15 feet of the surface, irrigation has almost entirely rid it of -the malarial effects. Chills and fever are rare now, where before -irrigation they were prevalent. What is the reason that where chills -and fever prevailed, irrigation has made a healthful country, while -where chills and fevers were not known, irrigation has made it -unhealthful? I account for it in this way: in the Kern river country -before irrigation was extensively introduced, there were many old -abandoned river channels and sloughs, overgrown with swamp vegetation -and overhung by dense masses of rank-growing foliage. Adjacent lands -were in a more or less swampy condition; ground waters stood within 10 -or 20 feet of the surface, and there was no hard-pan or impermeable -stratum between such surface and these waters. In other words, general -swampy conditions prevailed, and malarial influences followed by chills -and fevers were the result. Irrigation brought about the clearing out -of many of these old channel ways, and their use as irrigating canals. -The lands were cleared off and cultivated, fresh water was introduced -through these channels from the main river throughout the hot months, -and the swamp-like condition of the country was changed to one of a -well-tilled agricultural neighborhood with streams of fresh water -flowing through it; and the result, as I have said, was one happy in -its effect of making the climate salubrious and healthful. - -Considering now the case of the King's river or the Fresno country, the -lands there were a rich alluvial deposit, abounding in vegetable matter -which for long ages perhaps had been, except as wetted by the rains of -winter, dry and desiccated. Soil water was deep below the surface. Then -irrigation came. Owing to the nature of the soil, the whole country -filled up with the water. Its absorptive qualities being great and its -natural drainage defective, the vegetable matter in the soil, subjected -to more or less continued excessive moisture, has decayed. The -fluctuation of the surface of the ground waters at different seasons of -the year--such surface being at times very near to the ground surface, -and at other times 5 or 6 feet lower--has contributed to the decaying -influences which the presence of the waters engendered. The result has -been, when taken with the general overgrowth of the country with -vegetation due to irrigation, a vitiation of the atmosphere by -malarious outpourings from the soil. The advantage of the pure -atmosphere of a wide and dry plain has been lost by the miasmatic -poisonings arising from an over-wet and ill-drained neighborhood, with -the results, as affecting human healthfulness, of which I have already -spoken. The remedy is of course to drain the country. The example is -but a repetition of experiences had in other countries. The energy and -pluck of Californians will soon correct the matter. - -George P. Marsh, in his "Man and Nature," laid it down as a rule that -an effect of irrigation was to concentrate land holdings in a few -hands, and he wrote an article, which was published in one of our -Agricultural Department reports, in which he rather deprecates the -introduction of irrigation into the United States, or says that on this -account it should be surrounded by great safeguards. He cited instances -in Europe, as in the valley of the Po, where the tendency of irrigation -had been to wipe out small land holdings, and bring the lands into the -hands of a few of the nobility. He cited but one country where the -reverse had been the rule, which was in the south and east of Spain, -and pointed out the reason, as he conceived it, that in south and -southeastern Spain the ownership of the water went with the land and -was inseparable from it, under ancient Moorish rights. It is a fact, -that where the ownership of water goes with the land, it prevents -centering of land ownership into few hands, after that ownership is -once divided among many persons, in irrigated regions. But Mr. Marsh -overlooked one thing in predicting harm in our country; that is, that -it will be many years before we will get such a surplus of poor as to -bring about the result he feared. In California, the effect of -irrigation has not been to center the land in the hands of a few. On -the contrary, the tendency has been just the other way. When irrigation -was introduced it became possible for small land holders to live. In -Fresno county, there are many people making a living for a family, each -on 20 acres of irrigated land, and the country is divided into 20 and -40-acre tracts and owned in that way. In San Bernardino the same state -of things prevails. Before irrigation, these lands were owned in large -tracts, and it was not an uncommon thing for one owner to have 10,000 -to 20,000 acres of land. So that the rule in California, which is the -effect of irrigation, is to divide land holdings into small tracts, and -in this respect, also, irrigation is a blessing to the country. It -enables large owners to cut up their lands and sell out to the many. -Land values have advanced from $1.25 in this great valley to $50, $150 -and even $250 per acre, simply by attaching to the land the right to -take or use water, paying in addition an annual rental: in the southern -portion of the State, they have advanced from $5 and $10 to $500 and -even $1000 an acre, where the land has the right to water; and many -calculations have been made and examples cited by intelligent and -prominent people, to show that good orange land or good raisin-grape -land with sufficient water supply is well worth $1000 an acre. Water -rights run up proportionately in value. A little stream flowing an inch -of water--an amount that will flow through an inch square opening under -four inches of pressure--in the southern part of the State, is held at -values ranging from $500 to $5000. Such a little stream has changed -hands at $5000, and not at boom prices either. In the interior prices -are much less, being from about a quarter to a tenth of those in the -far southern part of the State. - -Fully one fourth of the United States requires irrigation. When I say -that, I mean that fully one fourth the tillable area of our country -requires irrigation, in order to support such a population as, for -instance, Indiana has. The irrigated regions of Italy support -populations of from 250 to 300 people to the square mile; of south -France, from 150 to 250 people to the square mile; of southeast Spain, -from 200 to 300. When we have 50 to 100 to the square mile in an -agricultural region we think we have a great population. - -The great interior valley of California will not support, without -irrigation, an average of more than 15 to 20 people per square mile. -Irrigate it and it will support as many as any other portion of the -country--reasonably it will support 200 to the square mile. I have no -doubt that the population will run up to ten or twelve millions in that -one valley, and there are regions over this country from the -Mississippi to the Pacific, millions of acres, that can be made to -support a teeming population by the artificial application of water. -And why has it not been done before? Simply for the reason that there -is a lack of knowledge of what can be done and a lack of organization -and capital to carry out the enterprises. - -The government has recently placed at the disposal of the United States -Geological Survey an appropriation for the investigation of this -subject, to ascertain how irrigation can be secured, the cost of -irrigation works, and point out the means for irrigation, in the arid -regions. It is one of the wisest things Congress ever did; wise in the -time and in the subject. The time will soon come when the question -would have been forced upon the country, and the wisdom of preparing -for that time cannot be too highly commended. - - - - -ROUND ABOUT ASHEVILLE. - -BY BAILEY WILLIS. - - -A broad amphitheatre lies in the heart of the North Carolina mountains -which form its encircling walls; its length is forty miles from north -to south and its width ten to twenty miles. At its southern gate the -French Broad river enters; through the northern gate the same river -flows out, augmented by the many streams of its extensive watershed. - -[Illustration: GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. NORTH CAROLINA/TENNESSEE. ASHEVILLE -SHEET. Contour interval 100 feet. 1888.] - -[Illustration: SECTION FROM THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU TO THE BLUE RIDGE. -Natural profiles.] - -From these water-courses the even arena once arose with gentle slope to -the surrounding heights and that surface, did it now exist, would make -this region a very garden, marked by its genial climate and adequate -rainfall. But that level floor exists no longer; in it the rivers first -sunk their channels, their tributaries followed, the gullies by which -the waters gathered deepened, and the old plain was thus dissected. It -is now only visible from those points of view from which remnants of -its surface fall into a common plane of vision. This is the case -whenever the observer stands upon the level of the old arena; he may -then sweep with a glance the profile of a geographic condition which -has long since passed away. - -Asheville is built upon a bit of this plain between the ravines of the -French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, now flowing 380 feet below the -level, and at the foot of the Beau-catcher hills; toward which the -ground rises gently. The position is a commanding one, not only for the -far reaching view, but also as the meeting place of lines of travel -from north, south, east, and west. Thus Asheville became a town of -local importance long before railroads were projected along the lines -of the old turnpikes. The village was the center of western North -Carolina, as well of the county of Buncombe, and was therefore -appropriately the home of the district Federal court. A May session of -the court was in progress nine years ago when I rode up the muddy -street from the Swannanoa valley. Several well-known moonshiners were -on trial, and the town street was crowded with their sympathizers, lean -mountaineers in blue and butternut homespun. Horses were hitched at -every available rack and fence, and horse trading was active. Whiskey -was on trial at other bars than that of the court, and the long rifle, -powder-horn and pouch had not been left in the mountains. To a -"tenderfoot" (who had the day before been mistaken for a rabbit or a -revenue officer!) the attentions of the crowd were not reassuring. - -The general opinion was, I felt, akin to that long afterward expressed -by Groundhog Cayce: "It air an awful thing ter kill a man by accident;" -and I staid but a very short time in Asheville. - -Riding away toward the sunset, I traversed the old plain without seeing -that it had had a continuous surface. I noted the many gullies, and I -lost in the multitude of details the wide level from which they were -carved. That the broader fact should be obscured by the many lesser -ones is no rare experience, and perhaps there is no class of -observations of which this has been more generally true than of those -involved in landscape study. But when once the Asheville plain has been -recognized, it can never again be ignored. It enters into every view, -both as an element of beauty and as evidence of change in the -conditions which determine topographic forms. Seldom in the mountains -can one get that distance of wooded level, rarely is the foreground so -like a gem proportioned to its setting; all about Asheville one meets -with glimpses of river and valley, sunken in reach beyond reach of -woodland which stretch away to the blue mountains. The even ridges form -natural roadsites, and in driving one comes ever and anon upon a fresh -view down upon the stream far across the plain and up to the heights. -And to the student of Appalachian history, the dissected plain is a -significant contradiction of the time honored phrase, "the everlasting -hills." That plain was a fact, the result of definite conditions of -erosion; it exists no more in consequence of changes. What were the -original conditions? In what manner have they changed? Let us take -account of certain other facts before suggesting an answer. Of the -mountains which wall the Asheville amphitheatre, the Blue Ridge on the -east and the Unaka chain on the west are the two important ranges. The -Blue Ridge forms the divide between the tributaries of the Atlantic and -those of the Gulf of Mexico, and the streams which flow westward from -it all pass through the Unaka chain. It would be reasonable to suppose -that the rivers rose in the higher and flowed through the lower of the -two ranges, but they do not. The Blue Ridge is an irregular, -inconspicuous elevation but little over 4000 feet above the sea; the -Unaka mountains form a massive chain from 5000 to 6500 feet in height. -That streams should thus flow through mountains higher than their -source was once explained by the assumption that they found passage -through rents produced by earth convulsions; but that vague guess -marked the early and insufficient appreciation of the power of streams -as channel cutters, and it has passed discredited into the history of -our knowledge of valley-formation. That rivers carve out the deepest -cañons, as well as the broadest valleys, is now a truism which we must -accept in framing hypotheses to account for the courses of the French -Broad and other similar streams. Moreover, since waters from a lower -Blue Ridge could never of their own impulse have flowed over the higher -Unaka, we are brought to the question, was the Blue Ridge once the -higher, or have streams working on the western slope of the Unaka range -(when it was a main divide), worn it through from west to east, -capturing all that broad watershed between the two mountain ranges? -Either hypothesis is within the possibility of well established river -action, and both suggest the possibility of infinite change in mountain -forms and river systems. Without attempting here to discriminate -between these two hypotheses, for which a broader foundation of facts -is needed, let us look at the channel of the French Broad below -Asheville, in the river's course through the range that is higher than -its source. Descending from the old plain into the river's ravine, we -at once lose all extended views and are closely shut in by wooded -slopes and rocky bluffs. The river falls the more rapidly as we -descend, and its tributaries leap to join it, the railroad scarce -finding room between the rocks and the brawling current. The way is -into a rugged and inhospitable gorge whose walls rise at last on either -hand into mountains that culminate some thirty miles below Asheville. -At Mountain Island the waters dash beautifully over a ledge of -conglomerate and rush out from a long series of rapids into the deep -water above Hot Springs. Beyond the limestone cove in which the springs -occur, the valley, though narrow still, is wider and bottom lands -appear. Thus the water gap of the French Broad through the Unakas is -narrow and rugged, the river itself a tossing torrent; but had we -passed down other streams of similar course, we should have found them -even more turbulent, their channels even more sharply carved in the -hard rocks. On Pigeon river there are many cliffs of polished -quartzite, and on the Nolichucky river a V-shaped gorge some eight -miles long is terraced where the ledges of quartzite are horizontal and -is turreted with fantastic forms where the strata are vertical. Where -the river valleys are of this sharp cut character in high mountains, -the abrupt slopes, cliffs and rocky pinnacles are commonly still more -sharply accented in the heights. The Alpine tourist or the mountaineer -of the Sierras would expect to climb from these cañons to ragged combs -or to scarcely accessible needle-like peaks. But how different from the -heights of the Jungfrau are the "balds" of the Unakas! like the -ice-worn granite domes of New England, the massive balds present a -rounded profile against the sky. Although composed of the hardest rock, -they yet resemble in their contours, the low relief of a limestone -area. Broad, even surfaces, on which rocky outcrops are few and over -which a deep loam prevails, suggest rather that one is wandering over a -plain than on a great mountain; yet you may sweep the entire horizon -and find few higher peaks. The view is often very beautiful, it is -far-reaching, not grand. No crags tower skyward, but many domes rise -nearly to the same heights, and dome-like, their slopes are steepest -toward the base. The valleys and the mountains have exchanged the -characters they usually bear; the former are dark and forbidding, wild -and inaccessible, the latter are broad and sunlit of softened form, -habitable and inhabited. All roads and villages are on the heights, -only passing travelers and those who prey upon them frequent the -depths. - -These facts of form are not local, they are general: all the streams of -the Unaka mountains share the features of the French Broad Cañon, while -peaks like Great Roan, Big Bald, Mt. Guyot, are but examples of a -massive mountain form common throughout the range. - -Thus the Unaka chain presents two peculiar facts for our consideration; -it is cut through by streams rising in a lower range, and its profiles -of erosion are convex upward not downward. - -If we follow our river's course beyond the Unaka chain into the valley -of East Tennessee we shall still find the channel deeply cut; here and -there bottomlands appear, now on one side, now on the other, but the -banks are more often steep slopes or vertical cliffs from fifty to one -hundred feet high. The creeks and brooks meander with moderate fall -through the undulating surface of the valley, but they all plunge by a -more or less abrupt cascade into the main rivers. It is thus evident -that the tributaries cannot keep pace with the rivers in -channel-cutting, and the latter will continue to sink below the surface -of general degradation until their diminished fall reduces their rate -of corrasion below that of the confluent streams. - -If from topographic forms we turn to consider the materials, the rocks, -of which they are composed, we shall find a general rule of relation -between relative elevation and rock-hardness. Thus the great valley of -East Tennessee has a general surface 3000 feet below the mean height of -the Unakas: it is an area of easily soluble, often soft, calcareous -rocks, while the mountains, consist of the most insoluble, the hardest, -silicious rocks. East of the Unakas the surface is again lower, -including the irregular divide, the Blue Ridge; here also, the -feldspathic gneisses and mica schists are, relatively speaking, easily -soluble, and non-coherent. What is thus broadly true is true in detail, -also where a more silicious limestone or a sandstone bed occurs in the -valley it forms a greater or less elevation above the surface of the -soft rocks; where a more soluble, less coherent stratum crops out in -the mountain mass, a hollow, a cove, corresponds to it. Of valley -ridges, Clinch mountain is the most conspicuous example; of mountain -hollows the French Broad valley at Hot Springs, or Tuckaleechee Cove -beneath the Great Smoky mountain, is a fair illustration. - -But impassive rock-hardness, mere ability to resist, is not adequate to -raise mountains, nor is rock-softness an active agent in the formation -of valleys. The passive attitude of the rocks implies a force, that is -resisted, and the very terms in which that attitude is expressed -suggest the agent which applies the force. Hardness, coherence, -insolubility,--these are terms suggestive of resistance to a force -applied to wear away, to dissolve, as flowing water wears by virtue of -the sediment it carries and as percolating waters take the soluble -constituent of rocks into solution. And it is by the slow mechanical -and chemical action of water that not only cañons are carved but even -mountain ranges reduced to gentle slopes. - -If we designate this process by the word "degradation," it follows from -the relation of resistance to elevation in the region under discussion -that we may say: The Appalachians are mountains of differential -degradation; that is, heights remain where the rocks have been least -energetically acted on, valleys are carved where the action of water -has been most effective. - -In order that the process of degradation may go on it is essential that -a land mass be somewhat raised above the sea, and, since the process is -a never-ceasing one while streams have sufficient fall to carry -sediment, it follows that, given time enough, every land surface must -be degraded to a sloping plain, to what has been called a base level. - -With these ideas of mountain genesis and waste, let us consider some -phases of degradation in relation to topographic forms; and in doing so -I cannot do better than to use the terms employed by Prof. Wm. M. -Davis. - -When a land surface rises from the ocean the stream systems which at -once develope, are set the task of carrying back to the sea all that -stands above it. According to the amount of this alloted work that -streams have accomplished, they may be said to be young, mature or -aged; and if, their task once nearly completed, another uplift raise -more material to be carried off, they may be said to be revived. These -terms apply equally to the land-surface, and each period of development -is characterized by certain topographic forms. - -In youth simple stream systems sunk in steep walled cañons are -separated by broad areas of surface incompletely drained. In maturity -complex stream systems extend branches up to every part of the surface; -steep slopes, sharp divides, pyramidal peaks express the rapidity with -which every portion of the surface is attacked. - -In old age the gently rolling surface is traversed by many quiet -flowing streams; the heights are gone, the profiles are rounded, the -contours subdued. In the first emergence from the sea the courses of -streams are determined by accidents of slope, it may be by folding of -the rising surface into troughs and arches. During maturity the process -of retrogressive erosion, by which a stream cuts back into the -watershed of a less powerful opponent stream, adjusts the channels to -the outcrops of soft rocks and leaves the harder strata as eminences. -In old age this process of differential degradation is complete and -only the hardest rocks maintain a slight relief. - -Suppose that an aged surface of this character be revived: the rivers -hitherto flowing quietly in broad plains will find their fall increased -in their lower courses; their channels in soft rock will rapidly become -cañons, and the revived phase will retreat up stream in the same manner -that the cañons of youth extended back into the first uplifted mass. If -the area of soft rocks be bounded by a considerable mass of very hard -rocks, it is conceivable that a second phase of age, a base level, -might creep over the valley while yet the summits of the first old age -remained unattacked, and should perchance revival succeed revival the -record of the last uplift might be read in sharp cut channels of the -great rivers, while the forms of each preceding phase led like steps to -the still surviving domes of that earliest old age. - -Is there aught in these speculations to fit our facts? I think there -is. We have seen that our mountains and valleys are the result of -differential degradation, and that this is not only broadly true but -true in detail also. This is evidence that streams have been long at -work adjusting their channels, they have passed through the period of -maturity. - -We have climbed to the summits of the Unakas and found them composed of -rocks as hard as those from which the pinnacle of the Matterhorn is -chiseled; but we see them gently sloping, as a plain. These summits are -very, very old. - -We have recognized that dissected plain, the level of the Asheville -amphitheatre, now 2,400 feet above the sea; it was a surface produced -by subaerial erosion, and as such it is evidence of the fact that the -French Broad River, and such of its tributaries as drain this area, at -one time completed their work upon it, reached a base level. That they -should have accomplished this the level of discharge of the sculpturing -streams must have been constant during a long period, a condition which -implies either that the fall from the Asheville plain to the ocean was -then much less than it now is, or that through local causes the French -Broad was held by a natural dam, where it cuts the Unaka chain. - -If we should find that other rivers of this region have carved the -forms of age upon the surfaces of their intermontane valleys, and there -is now some evidence of this kind at hand, then we must appeal to the -more general cause of base-levelling and accept the conclusion that the -land stood lower in relation to the ocean than it now does. -Furthermore, we have traversed the ravines which the streams have cut -in this ancient plain and we may note on the accompanying atlas sheet -that the branches extend back into every part of it; the ravines -themselves prove that the level of discharge has been lowered, the -streams have been revived; and the wide ramification of the brooks is -the characteristic of approaching maturity. - -We have also glanced at the topography of the valley and have found the -rivers flowing in deep-cut simple channels which are young, and the -smaller streams working on an undulating surface that is very sensitive -to processes of degradation. - -The minor stream systems are very intricate and apparently mature, but -they have not yet destroyed the evidence of a general level to which -the whole limestone area was once reduced, but which now is represented -by many elevations that approach 1,600 feet above the sea. Here then in -the valley are young river channels, mature stream systems and faint -traces of an earlier base level, all of them more recent than the -Asheville level, which is in turn less ancient than the dome-like -summits of the Unakas. - -What history can we read in these suggestive topographic forms and -their relations? - -The first step in the evolution of a continent is its elevation above -the sea. The geologist tells us that the earliest uplift of the -Appalachian region after the close of the Carboniferous period was -preceded or accompanied by a folding of the earth's crust into -mountainous wave-like arches; upon these erosion at once began and -these formed our first mountains. Where they were highest the geologist -may infer from geologic structure and the outcrops of the oldest rocks; -but the facts for that inference are not yet all gathered and it can -only be said that the heights of that ancient topography were probably -as great over the valley of Tennessee as over the Unaka chain. The -positions of rivers were determined by the relations of the arches to -each other and, as they were in a general way parallel, extending from -northeast to southwest, we know that the rivers too had -northeast-southwest courses. From that first drainage system the -Tennessee river, as far down as Chattanooga, is directly descended, and -when the geologic structure of North Carolina and East Tennessee is -known, we may be able to trace the steps of adjustment by which the -many waters have been concentrated to form that great river. At present -we cannot sketch the details, but we know that it was a long process -and that it was accompanied by a change in the _raison d'être_ of the -mountain ranges. The first mountains were high because they had been -relatively raised; they gave place to hills that survived because they -had not been worn down. A topography of differential uplift gave place -to one of differential degradation. And to the latter the dome-like -"balds" of the Unakas belong. Those massive summits of granite, -quartzite and conglomerate are not now cut by running waters; they are -covered with a mantel of residual soil, the product of excessively slow -disintegration, and they are the remnants of a surface all of which has -yielded to degradation, save them. In time the streams will cut back -and carve jagged peaks from their masses, but standing on their heights -my thought has turned to the condition they represent--the condition -that is past. And thus in thought I have looked from the Big Bald out -on a gently sloping plain which covered the many domes of nearly equal -height and stretched away to merge on the horizon in the level of the -sea. That, I conceive, was the first base level plain of which we have -any evidence in the Appalachians and from that plain our present -valleys have been eroded. The continental elevation must then have been -3,000 or 4,000 feet less than it is now, and the highest hills were -probably not more than 2,500 feet above the sea. This was perhaps a -period of constant relation between sea and land, but it was succeeded -by one during which the land slowly rose. The rivers, which had -probably assumed nearly their present courses, were revived; the -important channels soon sank in cañons, the tributaries leaped in -rapids and cut back into the old base level. The region continued to -rise during a period long enough to produce the essential features of -the mountain ranges of to-day; then it stood still in relation to the -sea or perhaps subsided somewhat, and the French Broad and probably -other rivers made record of the pause in plains like that about -Asheville. Again the land rose slowly; again it paused, and rivers, -working always from their mouths backward, carved a base-level in the -limestones of the great valley; but before that level could extend up -through the gorges in the Unakas, the continent was raised to its -present elevation, the streams responded to the increased fall given -them and the rivers in the valley began to cut their still incomplete -cañons. - -Are we not led step by step from these latest sharply cut channels up -stream through the chapters of erosion to the still surviving domes of -an early old age? Let us sum up the history we have traced. There is -reason to believe that: - -1st. The consequent topography of the earliest Appalachian uplift was -entirely removed during a prolonged period of erosion and was replaced -by a relief of differential degradation. - -2d. The balds of the Unakas represent the heights of that first-known -approach to a base-level. - -3d. The topography of the region has been revived by a general, though -not necessarily uniform, uplift of 3,000 feet or more, divided by two -intervals of rest; during the first of these the Asheville base-level -was formed; during the second, the valley alone was reduced. - -4th. The latest movement of the uplift has been, geologically speaking, -quite recent, and the revived streams have accomplished but a small -part of their new task. - -These conclusions are reached on the observation of a single class of -facts in one district; they must be compared with the record of -continental oscillation on the sea coasts, in the deposits of the -coastal plain, and in the topography of other districts. - -The history of the Appalachians is written in every river system and on -every mountain range, but in characters determined for each locality by -the local conditions. Only when the knowledge, to which every tourist -may contribute, is extended over the entire region shall we know -conclusively the whole story. - - - - -A TRIP TO PANAMA AND DARIEN. - -BY RICHARD U. GOODE. - - -The Government of the United States of Colombia in its act of -Concession to the Panama Canal Company provided that it should give to -the latter _"gratuitement et avec toutes les mines qu'ils pourront -contenir"_ 500,000 hectares of land. - -Some of the conditions attached to this grant were, that the land -should be selected within certain limits and surveyed by the Canal -Company; that a topographical map should be made of the areas surveyed -and that an amount equal to that surveyed for the canal should also be -surveyed for the benefit of the Colombian Government. It was also -further agreed that it would not be necessary to complete the canal -before any of the land should be granted, but that it would be given at -different times in amounts proportional to the amount of work -accomplished. - -Thus in 1887, the Government agreed to consider that one-half of the -work on the canal had been finished and that the canal was consequently -entitled to 250,000 hectares of land, upon the completion of the -necessary surveys, etc. - -The land was eventually chosen partly in Darien and partly in Chiriqui -as follows: - -In Darien three lots, one between the Paya and Mangle rivers, one -between the Maria and Pirri rivers, the two amounting to 100,000 -hectares, and one lot of 25,000 hectares between the Yape and Pucro -rivers. - -In Chiriqui, which is a Province of Panama just east of Costa Rica, two -lots were chosen amounting to 125,000 hectares, one between the Sigsola -and Rabalo rivers, and the other between the Catabella and San Pedro -rivers. - -The Canal Company wanted the title to the land in order that it might -be used as collateral security in bolstering up the finances of the -corporation, and the Colombian Government was doubtless very willing to -let the Canal Company have this amount or as much more as was wanted, -both parties being equally aware of the valueless character of the land -for any practical purposes. - -My services were engaged in 1888 in connection with the astronomical -work incident to the survey of these grants and it was intended that I -should visit both Darien and Chiriqui, but the contract term expired -about the time of the completion of the work in Darien, which was taken -up first, and it was deemed prudent for various reasons, the chief of -them being the unhealthiness of the locality at that season of the -year, about the middle of April, not to remain longer on the Isthmus. -If it had been possible to work as expeditiously as in this country -there would have been ample time to have completed the necessary -astronomical work for both surveys, and without understanding men and -methods peculiar to a tropical country I started out with this -expectation, but soon found out that any efforts looking towards -expediting any particular matter were not only useless but were -detrimentally reactive upon the person putting forward such efforts. -Thus it was nearly the first of March before I reached Darien, having -sailed from New York a month previously. Passage was had from Panama to -Darien in a steamer chartered for the purpose. Sailing across the Bay -of Panama and entering the Tuyra River at Boca Chica, we ascended the -river as far as the village Real de St. Marie. At this point the -steamer was abandoned and further transportation was had in canoes. - -Darien is a province of the State of Panama and its boundaries as given -by Lieut. Sullivan in his comprehensive work on "Problem of -Interoceanic Communication," are as follows: "The Atlantic coast line -is included between Point San Blas and Cape Tiburon; that of the -Pacific extends from the mouth of the Bayano to Point Ardita. The -eastern boundary is determined by the main Cordillera in its sweep -across the Isthmus from a position of close proximity to the Pacific, -near Point Ardita, to a similar position near Tiburon, on the Atlantic. -The valleys of the Mandinga and Mamoni-Bayano determine its western -limit." - -The Darien hills as seen from the Atlantic side present to the view an -apparently solid ridge of mountains, although there are in reality many -low passes which are concealed by projecting spurs. - -The dividing ridge hugs close to the Atlantic, and the rivers, of which -there are a great many on this side, plunge abruptly to the sea. On the -Pacific side the rivers have a much longer distance to flow before -reaching the sea, and the territory bordering on the ocean is low and -swampy. The tidal limit of the Tuyra River is nearly fifty miles from -its mouth, and on this river and many of its tributaries one can travel -many miles inland before ground sufficiently solid to land upon can be -found. The vegetation within this low lying area is thick and closely -matted together, and this fact taken in connection with the swampy -character of the ground, makes travel on foot through any portion of it -exceedingly difficult. Therefore the various rivers, which form a very -complex system and penetrate everywhere are the natural highways of the -country. The chief rivers on the Pacific side are the Tuyra and Boyano -with their numerous tributaries and on the Atlantic watershed is the -Atrato. - -A peculiarity noticed at Real de St. Marie, which is at the junction of -the Pyrrhi and Tuyra rivers and at which point the tide has a rise and -fall of twelve or fifteen feet, was that at low tide it was impossible -to enter the mouth of the Pyrrhi with a boat, while five or six miles -up the stream there was always a good supply of flowing water and at -double that distance it became a mountain torrent. - -Outside of the swampy area the character of the country is rough and -mountainous. The valleys are narrow and the ridges exceedingly sharp, -the natural result of a great rain fall. The hills are able to resist -the continued wasting effect of the vast volumes of descending water -only by their thick mantle of accumulated vegetation, and were it not -for this protection the many months of continuous annual rain would -long ago have produced a leveling effect that would have made -unnecessary the various attempts of man to pierce the Isthmian -mountains and form an artificial strait. - -The ridges are sometimes level for a short distance, but are generally -broken and are made up of a succession of well rounded peaks. These -peaks are always completely covered with trees and from the top of the -sharpest of them it is impossible to get a view of the surrounding -country. The highest point climbed was about 2,000 feet above sea level -and the highest peak in Darien is Mt. Pyrrhi which is between three and -four thousand. - -Darien has been the scene of a great deal of surveying and exploration -from the time that Columbus, in 1503, coasted along its shores, hoping -to find a strait connecting the two oceans, up to the present time. -Balboa, in 1510, discovered the Pacific by crossing the Darien -mountains from Caledonia Bay. This discovery taken in connection with -the broad indentations of the land noted by Columbus, led the old world -to believe in the existence of a strait, and the entire coast on each -side of the new world was diligently searched. The Cabots, Ponce de -Leon and Cortez interested themselves in this search and it was not -until about 1532 that all expectations of finding the strait were -abandoned. The idea of a direct natural communication between the -oceans being thus dispelled, the question of an artificial junction -arose, and in 1551 a Spanish historian recommended to Philip II. of -Spain the desirability of an attempt to join the oceans by identically -the same routes to which the attention of the whole civilized portion -of the world is now being drawn, that is, Tehauntepec, Nicaragua and -Panama. From this time up to the commencement of the work of the -Isthmian expeditions sent out by the United States, and which lasted -from 1870 to 1875, but little geographical knowledge relative to Darien -was obtained. The United States expeditions undoubtedly did a great -amount of valuable exploration and surveying, and while the names of -Strain, Truxton, Selfridge and Lull will always be held in high esteem -for what they accomplished in this direction, still it is to be -regretted that with all the resources at their command they did not -make a complete map of the country. And just here I want to bring -forward the suggestion that all that has been accomplished and more, -could have been accomplished if the various explorers had known, or -practically utilized, a fact that my own experience and that of other -topographers, in this country and Darien, has impressed upon me; and -that is, that it is easier in a rough and mountainous country to travel -on the ridge than in the valley. In Darien they were looking for a low -pass in the Cordillera and this was what should have first been sought, -directly. Having found the low passes the valleys of the streams -draining therefrom could have then been examined, and thus all -necessary information could have been obtained and the subject -exhausted. The plan followed by the Isthmian expeditions was to ascend -a stream with the hope of finding a suitable pass. The pass might be -found or it might not, and if not, so much labor as far as the direct -solution of the problem was concerned was lost. A pass of low altitude -was of primary importance and should have been sought for in an -exhaustive way. - -Humboldt said in substance, "Do not waste your time in running -experimental lines across. Send out a party fully equipped, which -keeping down the dividing ridge the whole length of the Isthmus, by -this means can obtain a complete knowledge of the hypsometrical and -geological conditions of the dam that obstructs the travel and commerce -of the world." But strange to say this plan suggested by such an -eminent authority as Humboldt and so strongly recommended by common -sense, has never been followed, and to-day after all the money that has -been spent and the lives lost in explorations in Darien, there is not -sufficient data collected to prove conclusively that there does not now -exist some route for an interoceanic canal that possesses merits -superior to any at present known. It is true the dividing ridge would -be difficult to follow on account of the great number of confusing -spurs, but I think I am safe in saying that starting from the summit of -the main ridge at Culebra pass on the Isthmus of Panama, the dividing -ridge extending to the pass at the head waters of the Atrato could be -exhaustively followed and studied with as much facility as could either -the Tuyra or Atrato rivers, embracing with each their respective -tributaries. - -I traveled on some of the high dividing ridges in Darien, and did not -find that progress was at all difficult, and especially noted the fact -of the absence of tangled undergrowth and matted vines which is so -characteristic of the Darien forests generally. - -Now a few words about the inhabitants of Panama and Darien, and in -referring to these I mean the native inhabitants and not the -indiscriminate gathering of all nationalities that were attracted by -the Panama Canal. - -In Central and South America, as in North America, the aboriginal -inhabitant was the Indian. When the Spaniards first attempted to -colonize Darien they were met and resisted by the native Indian just as -our forefathers were in Virginia and Massachusetts, and as with us so -in Panama and Darien the Indians have been driven back by degrees from -the shores of both oceans until now they are found only in the far -interior. - -They resemble our Indians in appearance, but are smaller. They are -averse to manual labor and live almost entirely by hunting and fishing, -although they sometimes have small plantations of plantains, bananas, -oranges and lemons. The Spaniards in settling in the new country -brought very few women with them and the Colombian of to-day is the -result of the admixture of the Indian and Spanish blood, and has many -of the characteristics of each race. In addition to the Indian and -Colombian there are in Panama and Darien a comparatively large number -of negroes, who were originally imported as slaves by the early -Spaniards, and who now constitute by far the larger portion of the -inhabitants of Darien, being found usually in villages along the -valleys of the larger streams. In contrast to the Colombian and Indian -they are large in stature and make excellent laborers. - -The principal villages in Darien, as Yovisa, Pinagana and Real de St. -Marie, are inhabited exclusively by the negroes, with the exception of -a Spanish judge in each, who exercises great authority. Besides being a -judge in civil and criminal cases, he practically controls everything -in his particular village, as all contracts for labor are negotiated -with him and settlement for services made through him. - -Upon reaching Darien the first work assigned me was the survey and -exploration of the Pyrrhi river. This survey was made for two purposes: -primarily, to determine if any of the country bordering upon it was of -a sufficiently desirable character to include it within the grant, and -secondly, to secure data for the general topographical map. My -instructions were to proceed as far south as latitude 7° 30'. The -ascent of the river was made in canoes until the frequency of rapids -made it necessary to abandon them, and then the journey was continued -on foot, generally wading in the middle of the stream, as the -undergrowth was too thick to admit of progress along the banks. -Sometimes the water was very shallow; at other times, where it had been -backed up by dams of porphyritic rock, it reached above the waist, and -near the end of the journey where the river ran between vertical walls -of great height it was necessary to swim in order to get beyond this -cañon. - -The survey of this river was satisfactorily accomplished in about a -week. The method adopted for the survey was to take compass bearings -and to estimate distances. These courses and distances were plotted as -they were taken and thus the topographical and other features could be -readily sketched in connection with them. To check and control this -work, observations were taken every day at noon with a sextant, on the -sun, for latitude and time, and at night circum-meridian altitudes of -stars were obtained when possible. - -Thus a number of rivers were surveyed--the Maria, Tucuti, Yovisa and -other tributaries of the Tuyra. When it was found that a sufficiently -correct idea of the country for topographical purposes could not be -obtained by simply meandering the water courses, lines or _trochas_ -were cut through the forest from stream to stream, and where two -streams thus connected were tributaries of a common river, all of which -had been previously surveyed, a closed figure was obtained, an -adjustment for errors of closure made, and by putting together the -topographical data obtained by the four lines, there was generally -found to be sufficient information to give a satisfactory though of -course a crude delineation of the included area. - -After a number of rivers had been examined with more or less accuracy -in this way, it was finally decided that the area for one portion of -the grant best suited for the purposes of the Canal Company lay on the -right bank of the Tuyra river, and that the portion of the river which -lay between the mouths of two of its tributaries, the Rio Yape and the -Rio Pucro, should be one of the boundaries of the grant. The Yape and -Pucro have courses approximately parallel to each other and at right -angles to the Rio Tuyra, and these streams were also chosen as boundary -lines, so that the grant would have the three rivers as natural -boundaries, and the fourth and closing boundary was to be a straight -line from a certain point on the Yape to the Pucro, so located as to -include within the four boundaries an area approximately equal to the -amount of the grant, which in this particular case was 25,000 hectares. -The problem then presented was: given three rivers for three boundaries -of a figure to establish a fourth and artificial line, completing the -figure in such a way that it should contain a given area, and also to -procure data for a topographical map of the country surveyed. - -This survey was put under my direction and I was instructed to proceed -to a point overlooking the Tuyra river, between the Rio Yape and the -Rio Pucro, near the mouth of the Rio Capite, for the purpose of -establishing a base camp. Leaving Real de St. Marie on the evening of -March 15th, with a fleet of twelve canoes and about thirty native -laborers, we reached the site for the camp in two days. After landing -everything, the work of clearing away trees and underbrush over an area -sufficiently large for the camp was commenced. The men worked willingly -with axe and machéte, and soon the forest receded and left bare a -semi-circular space facing the river. - -Two houses were needed and without saw, nail or hammer the construction -was commenced and prosecuted rapidly. Straight trees about six inches -in diameter and twenty feet long were cut and planted vertically in -holes dug out with the machéte, and horizontal pieces of a smaller -diameter were securely fastened on with long tough strips of bark, and -thus a square or oblong frame was fashioned. The horizontal pieces were -placed at a distance of about three feet from the ground, on which a -flooring was eventually laid, and at the top of the frame where the -slope of the roof began. On the top pieces other poles were laid and -fastened across and lengthwise, and on these the men stood while making -the skeleton of the roof. The latter was made very steep for better -protection against the rain. After the ridge pole was put in position -other smaller poles were fastened on parallel and perpendicular to it -so that the whole roof was divided up into squares, and it was finally -completed by weaving in thick bunches of palm and other leaves in such -a way as to make it thoroughly water-proof. For our purpose no -protection on the sides of the structures other than the projecting -eaves was considered necessary. A floor of poles laid very close -together was put in one house, the one used for sleeping purposes, and -in the other a table for eating, writing, draughting, etc., was made. -Thus in two or three days the place was made thoroughly habitable, and -men were detailed to see that the grounds, etc., were always kept -thoroughly clean and in a good sanitary condition, a very necessary -precaution in a tropical country. The forest afforded game, the river -an abundance of fish; bananas, oranges, lemons and pineapples were -easily procured from the natives, who also furnished material for a -poultry yard, and thus while located at camp Capite, situated as it was -on a picturesque spot overlooking two swiftly flowing rivers, with good -drinking water, a commissary department well stocked, a French cook who -would have done himself credit anywhere, I could not but think that -heretofore pictures of life in Darien had been too somberly drawn, and -that where so much suffering and sickness had prevailed among the early -explorers it was because they had gone there not properly outfitted, -and because carried away with ambitious enthusiasm their adventurous -spirit had caused them often to undertake that which their calmer -judgment would not have dictated; and that to these causes as much as -to the unhealthy condition of the locality was due their many -hardships. Several days were spent here getting time and latitude -observations and in mapping out plans for the work. It was decided that -the mouths of the Yape, Capite and Pucro and other points along these -rivers, such as mouths of tributary streams, etc., should be -astronomically located, that these points should be connected by -compass lines, and also that cross lines should be run at various -points from the Yape to the Capite and from the Capite to the Pucro. It -was further decided that as time was limited it would be impracticable -to run out the fourth side of the figure that would contain the grant, -as the country around the headwaters of the streams was known to be -exceedingly rough and mountainous, and to follow any straight line -would necessarily involve a great amount of laborious cutting and -climbing. - -Furthermore, in order to know just what direction this line should -follow it would be first necessary to make a connected preliminary -survey of the three rivers; to plot this survey and then by inspection -of the map and consideration of various starting points to decide on -the most available location of the fourth side. - -Instead of this it was considered best and sufficient to arbitrarily -adopt a certain waterfall on the Rio Yape, the location of which was -approximately known from a reconnoisance previously made, as the -initial point of the line connecting the upper Yape with the Pucro and -closing the figure. Thus it only became necessary, as far as the -boundaries were concerned, to run a line along the Tuyra, joining the -mouths of the Yape and Pucro; to run a line from the mouth of the Yape -to the waterfall above referred to; and to run up the Pucro -sufficiently far to be certain that when the work was completed and -plotted, a line drawn from the position of the waterfall on the map in -such a way as to include the desired area would intersect the Pucro at -some point within the limit of what had been surveyed. I have not time -to go into the details of the various trips by land and water necessary -to carry out these plans. - -Before starting it was known exactly what was necessary to be done; -each assistant engineer had his work clearly mapped out before him, and -each one faithfully performed the task allotted to him, so that the -whole survey was brought to a successful completion. This brought to a -close all the work in Darien, the other tracts having been surveyed -before my arrival and consequently the whole expedition returned to -Panama, and soon afterwards I returned to this country. - -In going to and returning from Darien, I passed twice over the Panama -railroad and along the line of the Panama canal, and I have thought -that a few facts relative to the canal and railroad might prove of -interest to the Geographical Society. - -Published herewith is a sketch showing the location of the railroad, -canal and tributary drainage, and a profile along the axis of the -canal. - -[Illustration: SKETCH SHOWING LOCATION OF PANAMA RAIL ROAD, PANAMA -CANAL AND TRIBUTARY DRAINAGE. N. Peters, Photo-Lithographer, -Washington, D. C.] - -[Illustration: PROFILE OF THE PANAMA CANAL. Black indicates work -executed; stipple, work to be executed to complete a lock-canal; white, -additional work to be executed to complete a sea-level canal.] - -The first surveys for the railroad were made in 1849, and it was -probably the excitement of the California gold fever that brought about -its construction at this particular time. Ground was broken in January, -1850, and the last rail was laid in January, 1855. - -The length of the road is 47.6 miles and it crosses the dividing summit -at an elevation of 263 feet above the mean level of the Atlantic ocean. -The maximum grade is 60 feet to the mile. Soon after the road was built -accurate levels were run to determine the difference, if any, between -the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and it was found that the mean levels -were about the same, although there are of course variations owing to -local causes, and considerable differences of height at times, owing to -differences of tides in the Atlantic and Pacific. At Aspinwall the -greatest rise is only 1.6 feet, while at Panama there is at times a -difference of over 21 feet between high and low water. The cost of the -railroad was $75,000,000. - -The existence of the railroad was probably the deciding cause that led -Lesseps to the adoption of this location of the proposed canal. - -Now that the scheme has practically failed it is very easy to see and -appreciate the difficulties that lay in the way of building a canal at -this particular place; and it certainly seems that if sound engineering -principles had been adopted at least some of these difficulties could -have been understood and properly combatted. The whole scheme, however, -from an engineering standpoint, seems to have been conducted in the -most blundering manner. - -Lesseps is a diplomat and financier, but in no sense a great engineer. -In the construction of the Suez canal, the questions of diplomacy and -finance were the most difficult to settle, while the engineering -problems were comparatively simple. In Panama the opposite conditions -prevailed. Concessions were freely given him by the Colombian -government and money freely offered him by the French people, but he -never grasped or comprehended the difficulties that nature had planted -in his way, and these only seemed to occur to him when they blocked -progress in a certain direction. The Paris Conference, controlled by -Lesseps, decided on the 29th of May, 1879, that the construction of an -interoceanic canal was possible and that it should be built from the -Gulf of Limon to the Bay of Panama. - -The tide-level scheme was adopted and the following dimensions decided -upon, viz: Length, 45.5 miles; depth, 28 feet; width at water line 164 -feet, and width at bottom 72 feet. - -The route determined upon was about the same as that of the railroad, -that is along the valleys of the Chagres and Obispo, crossing the -divide at the Culebra pass and then descending to the Pacific along the -course of the Rio Grande. The profile which is reproduced from -"Science," shows the state of progress on January 1st, 1888, and the -amount of excavation that has been done since that time would make but -a slight difference in the appearance of the profile. The portion shown -in black is what has been removed along the axis of the canal and -represents an expenditure of over $385,000,000 and seven years' labor. -The reasons that make the scheme impracticable are briefly these, some -of which were known before the work was commenced, and all of which -should have been understood. - -The first great difficulty is in cutting through the ridge culminating -at Culebra where the original surface was 354 feet above the bed of the -proposed canal. It was never known what the geological formation of -this ridge was until the different strata were laid bare by the -workman's pick, and the slope adopted, 1½ to 1, was found to be -insufficient in the less compact formations, even at the comparatively -shallow depth that was reached, and many and serious landslides were of -frequent occurrence. - -Another serious difficulty was the disposition of the excavated -material, for upon the completion of a sea-level course this channel -would naturally drain all the country hitherto tributary to the Chagres -and Rio Grande, and any substance not removed to a great distance would -eventually be washed back again into the canal. But perhaps the -greatest difficulty was in the control of the immense surface drainage. -The Chagres river during the dry season is, where it crosses the line -of the canal near Gamboa, only about two feet deep and 250 feet wide, -but during a flood the depth becomes as much as forty feet, the width -1,500 feet, and the volume of water discharged 160,000 cubic feet per -second. The bed of the river is here 42 feet above sea level, or 70 -feet above what the bottom of canal would have been. Now add to this a -40-foot flood and we have a water surface one hundred and ten feet -above the bed of the canal. - -In order to keep this immense volume of water from the canal it was -proposed to build a large dam at Gamboa, and to convey the water by an -entirely different and artificial route to the Atlantic. It is -impossible to show on the map the whole drainage area of the Chagres, -but a rough calculation shows it to be about 500 square miles. This -seems a small total drainage area, but when it is considered that the -annual rainfall is about 12 FEET, that this rainfall is confined to -about one half the year, and that in six consecutive hours there has -been a precipitation of over six inches of rain, some idea of the -amount of water that finds its way through the Chagres river during the -wet season may be formed. - -As I said before it was proposed to protect the canal from the waters -of the upper Chagres by an immense dam at Gamboa, and for the purpose -of controlling the water tributary to the lower Chagres two additional -canals or channels were to be constructed on either side of the main -canal. Thus, as the river is very tortuous and the axis of the canal -crossed it twenty-five or thirty times, many deviations of the former -became necessary. In some places the canal was to occupy the bed of the -river and in others it cut across bends leaving the river for its -original natural purpose of drainage. The difficulty in retaining the -floods in these constructed channels would of course be immense, -especially in some of the cases where the water rushing along its -natural channel is suddenly turned at right angles into an artificial -one. Thus it is clear that aside from the enormous expense incident to -the removal of the immense amount of earth and rock necessary to -complete the canal, that granting all this accomplished, it would be -practically impossible to maintain a sea-level canal by reason of the -difficulty in controlling the Chagres and preventing the canal from -filling up. - -The canal company finally came to the conclusion that the sea-level -scheme was impracticable and it was abandoned, and plans were prepared -for a lock system. As seen on the profile there were ten locks -proposed, five on each side of the summit level. The summit level was -to be 150 feet above sea level and consequently each lock would have a -lift of thirty feet. The profile was constructed especially to show the -amount remaining to be executed to complete the lock system, and a mere -inspection will show the relative amount of completed and uncompleted -area along the axis of the canal. To complete the summit cut it is -still necessary to excavate 111 feet, 93 feet having already been -excavated, through a horizontal distance of 3300 feet. The width of cut -at top surface for the required depth at a slope of 1½ to 1 would be -750 feet, but as I said before, at this slope landslides were of -frequent occurrence and the slope would probably have to be increased -to at least 2 to 1. - -Granting the necessary excavations made, there would be still the -problem of the control of the Chagres river and the water supply for -the summit level to provide for. At first it was thought that the water -supply could be obtained from the storage of the waters of the Chagres -and Obispo, but this idea was eventually abandoned, either from a -belief in the insufficiency of the water supply during the dry season, -or from difficulties in the way of conveying the water to the summit -level. - -Then it was that the advice of Mr. Eiffel, a noted French engineer, was -sought, and after a visit to the Isthmus he proposed that the summit -level should be supplied by pumping from the Pacific. A contract was -immediately made with Eiffel, who was heralded all over the world as -the man who would save the canal, and immediately a positive day, the -seventh that had been announced, was fixed for the opening of the great -canal. - -I do not know just how much work was done towards perfecting the system -for pumping, but probably very little was ever accomplished in this -direction, as soon after this scheme was thought of the available funds -of the canal company began to be very scarce, and there has been since -then a general collapse of work all along the line until now it is -entirely suspended. From what I have said and from what can be seen -from the profile, it will be readily understood that as far as the -sea-level project is concerned the amount done is not much more than a -scraping of the surface, relatively speaking, and that what has been -done is in places where the obstacles were fewest. - -In regard to the lock canal about one third of the necessary excavation -has been made along the axis of the canal, but taking into -consideration other requirements necessary for the completion of the -scheme, I should estimate, roughly, that probably only one sixth of the -whole amount of work had been accomplished. The question now naturally -arises as to what will be the probable future of this great enterprise. - -The French people have seen the scheme fail under Lesseps in whom they -had the most unbounded confidence, and it is not likely that they will -raise any more money to be put in it as a business enterprise under any -other management. Saddled as it is with a debt of nearly four hundred -millions of dollars, it would be difficult to convince any one that it -could ever prove to be a paying investment. Nor do I think that any -American or English corporation can be organized that could obtain such -concessions from Lesseps as would make the scheme an inviting field for -capitalists, and thus my opinion is that the _"Compagnie Universelle du -Canal Interocéanique de Panama"_ has irretrievably collapsed, and that -the canal will remain, as it is now, the most gigantic failure of the -age. - - - - -ACROSS NICARAGUA WITH TRANSIT AND MACHÉTE. - -BY R. E. PEARY. - - -The action of this National Society, with its array of distinguished -members, in turning its attention for an hour to a region which has -interested the thinking world for more than three centuries gives me -peculiar pleasure and satisfaction. - -I propose this evening to touch lightly and briefly upon the natural -features of Nicaragua, to note the reasons for the interest which has -always centered upon her, to trace the growth of the great project with -which her name is inseparably linked; to show you somewhat in detail, -the life, work, and surroundings of an engineer within her borders; and -finally to show you the result that is to crown the engineer's work in -her wide spreading forests and fertile valleys. - -That portion of Central America now included within the boundaries of -our sister republic Nicaragua, has almost from the moment that European -eyes looked upon it attracted and charmed the attention of explorers, -geographers, great rulers, students, and men of sagacious and far -reaching intellect. - -From Gomara the long list of famous names which have linked themselves -with Nicaragua reaches down through Humboldt, Napoleon III., Ammen, -Lull, Menocal and Taylor. - -The shores were first seen by Europeans in 1502, when Columbus in his -fourth voyage rounded the cape which forms the northeast angle of the -state, and called it "Gracias á Dios," which name it bears to-day. -Columbus then coasted southward along the eastern shore. - -In 1522, Avila, penetrated from the Pacific coast of the country to the -lakes and the cities of the Indian inhabitants. Previous to this the -country was occupied by a numerous population of Aztecs, or nearly -allied people, as the quantities of specimens of pottery, gold images, -and other articles found upon the islands and along the shores of the -lakes, prove conclusively. - -In 1529 the connection of the lakes with the Caribbean sea was -discovered, and during the last half of the eighteenth century a -considerable commerce was carried on by this route between Granada on -Lake Nicaragua and the cities of Nombre de Dios, Cartagena, Havana and -Cadiz. - -In 1821 Nicaragua threw off the rule of the mother country and in 1823 -formed with her sister Spanish colonies, a confederation. This -confederation was dissolved in 1838, and since then Nicaragua has -conducted her own affairs. In point of advancement, financial solidity -and stability of government she stands to-day nearly, if not quite, at -the head of the Central American republics. - -Nicaragua extends over a little more than four degrees each of latitude -and longitude, from about N. 11° to N. 15° and from 83° 20' W. to 87° -40' W. - -Its longest side is the northern border from the Gulf of Fonseca -northeasterly to Cape Gracias á Dios, two hundred and ninety miles. -From that cape south to the mouth of the Rio San Juan, the Caribbean -coast line, is two hundred and fifty miles. Nearly due west across the -Isthmus to Salinas Bay on the Pacific, is one hundred and twenty miles. -The Pacific coast line extends thence northwest one hundred and sixty -miles. - -In point of size Nicaragua stands first among the Central American -republics having an area of 51,600 square miles. It is larger than -either the State of New York or Pennsylvania, about the size of -Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland combined, and is -one-fourth as large as France or Germany. Its population numbers about -300,000. - -The Gulf of Fonseca, at the northern, and Salinas Bay at the southern -extremity of the coast line are two of the finest and largest harbors -on the Pacific coast of Central America. About midway between them is -the fine harbor of Corinto, and there are also several other ports -along the coast, at San Juan del Sur, Brito and Tamarindito. On the -Caribbean coast no harbors suitable for large vessels exist, but -numerous lagoons and bights afford the best of shelter for coasting -vessels. - -The central portion of Nicaragua is traversed, from north to south, by -the main _cordillera_ of the isthmus, which, here greatly reduced in -altitude, consists merely of a confused mass of peaks and ridges with -an average elevation scarcely exceeding 1,000 feet. - -Between this mountainous region and the Caribbean shore stretches a low -level country, covered with a dense forest, rich in rubber, cedar, -mahogany and dye woods. It is drained by several large rivers whose -fertile intervales will yield almost incredible harvests of plantains, -bananas, oranges, limes, and other tropical fruits. - -West of the mountain zone is a broad valley, about one hundred and -twenty-five feet above the level of the sea, extending from the Gulf of -Fonseca, southeasterly to the frontier of Costa Rica. The greater -portion of this valley is occupied by two lakes, Managua and Nicaragua. -The latter one hundred and ten miles long by fifty or sixty miles wide -is really an inland sea, being one-half as large as Lake Ontario and -twice as large as Long Island Sound. These lakes, with the rainfall of -the adjacent valleys, drain through the noble San Juan river, which -discharges into the Caribbean at Greytown, at the southeast angle of -the country. - -Between the Pacific and these lakes is a narrow strip of land, from -twelve to thirty miles in width, stretching from the magnificent plain -of Leon with its cathedral city, in the north, to the rolling indigo -fields and the cacao plantations which surround the garden city of -Rivas, in the south. - -[Illustration: LEON CATHEDRAL. _Julius Bien & Co._] - -The lowest pass across the backbone of the New World, from Behring's -Strait to the Straits of Magellan, extends along the San Juan valley -and across the Lajas--Rio Grande "divide," between Lake Nicaragua and -the Pacific; the summit of this divide is only one hundred and -fifty-two feet above the sea and forty-two feet above the lake. - -Nicaragua presents yet another unique physical feature. Lying between -the elevated mountain masses of Costa Rica on the south and Honduras on -the north, the average elevation of its own mountain backbone hardly -one thousand feet, it is the natural thoroughfare of the beneficent -northeast Trades. These winds sweep in from the Caribbean across the -Atlantic slopes, break the surface of the lakes into sparkling waves, -and then disappear over the Pacific, aerating, cooling and purifying -the country, destroying the germs of disease and making Nicaragua the -healthiest region in Central America. - -The scenery of the eastern portion of the country is of the luxuriant -sameness peculiar to all tropical countries. - -In the vicinity of the lakes and between them and the Pacific, the -isolated mountain peaks which bound the plain of Leon on the northeast; -the mountain islands of Madera and Ometepe; the towering turquoise -masses of the Costa Rican volcanoes; and the distant blue mountains of -Segovia and Matagalpa, visible beyond the sparkling waters of the -lakes, feast the eye with scenic beauties, unsurpassed elsewhere in -grandeur, variety and richness of coloring. - -The products of the country are numerous despite the fact that its -resources are as yet almost entirely undeveloped. - -Maize, plantains, bananas, oranges, limes, and indeed every tropical -fruit, thrive in abundance. Coffee is grown in large quantities in the -hilly region in the northwest; sugar, tobacco, cotton, rice, indigo and -cacao plantations abound between the lakes and the Pacific; potatoes -and wheat thrive in the uplands of Segovia; the Chontales region east -of Lake Nicaragua, a great grazing section, supports thousands of head -of cattle; and back of this are the gold and silver districts of La -Libertad, Javali and others. - -Numerous trees and plants of medicinal and commercial value are found -in the forests. Game is plentiful and of numerous varieties; deer, wild -hog, wild turkey, manatee and tapir; and fish abound in the streams and -rivers. The temperature of Nicaragua is equable. The extreme variation, -recorded by Childs, was 23° observed near the head of the San Juan in -May, 1851. - -The southeast wind predominates during the rainy season. Occasionally, -in June or October as a rule, the wind hauls round to southwest and a -_temporal_ results, heavy rain sometimes falling for a week or ten -days. - -The equatorial cloud-belt, following the sun north in the spring, is -late reaching Nicaragua, and the wet season is shorter than in regions -farther south. The average rainfall, based on the records of nine -years, is 64.42 inches. The "trades" blow almost throughout the year. -Strong during the dry season and freshening during the day; the wind -comes from the east-northeast, and blows usually for four to five days, -when, hauling to the east or southeast for a day or two, it calms down, -then goes back to northeast and rises again. - -The Spanish discoverers of the great Lake Nicaragua, coming upon it -from the Pacific, and noting the fluctuations of level caused by the -action of the wind upon its broad surface, mistook these fluctuations -for tides and felt assured that some broad strait connected it with the -North Sea. Later, when Machuca had discovered the grand river outlet of -the lake, and the restless searching of other explorers in every bay -and inlet along both sides of the American isthmus had extinguished -forever the ignis fatuus "Secret of the Strait," Gomara pointed this -out as one of the most favorable localities for an artificial -communication between the North and South Seas. - -[Illustration: THE NICARAGUA CANAL. _Julius Bien & Co._] - -It was not until 1851, however, that an accurate and scientific survey -of a ship canal route was made by Col. O. W. Childs. - -This survey which showed the lake of Nicaragua to be only one hundred -and seven feet above the sea, and the maximum elevation between the -lake and the Pacific to be only forty-one feet, exhibited the -advantages of this route so clearly and in such an unanswerable manner -that it has never since been possible to ignore it. - -In 1870, under the administration of General Grant and largely through -the unceasing efforts of Admiral Ammen, the United States began a -series of systematic surveys of all the routes across the American -isthmus from Tehuantepec to the head waters of the Rio Atrato; and six -years later, with the plans and results of all these surveys before it, -a commission composed of General Humphreys, Chief of Engineers, U. S. -Army; Hon. Carlile Patterson, Superintendent U. S. Coast Survey; and -Rear-Admiral Daniel Ammen, Chief of Bureau of Navigation, U. S. Navy; -gave its verdict in favor of the Nicaragua route. - -The International Canal Congress at Paris, in 1879, had such convincing -information placed before it that it was forced, in spite of its -prejudices, to admit that in the advantages it offered for the -construction of a lock canal, the Nicaragua route was superior to any -other across the American isthmus. - -In 1876, and again in 1880 Civil Engineer A. G. Menocal, U. S. N., the -chief engineer of previous governmental surveys, resurveyed and revised -portions of the route, and in 1885 the same engineer, assisted by -myself, surveyed an entirely new line on the Caribbean side, from -Greytown to the San Juan river, near the mouth of the San Carlos. - -On the eastern side of Nicaragua, all these surveys (except the last), -were confined almost entirely to the San Juan river, and its immediate -banks; and the country on either side beyond these narrow limits was, -up to 1885, almost entirely unknown. Between Lake Nicaragua and the -Pacific, however, every pass from the Bay of Salinas to the Gulf of -Fonseca had been examined. - -In 1885 the party of which I was a member pushed a nearly direct line -across the country from a point on the San Juan, about three miles -below the mouth of the Rio San Carlos, to Greytown, a distance of -thirty-one miles by our line, as compared with fifty-six miles by the -river and forty-two miles by the former proposed canal route. - -In December, 1887, I went out in charge of a final surveying -expedition, consisting of some forty engineers and assistants and one -hundred and fifty laborers, to resurvey and stake out the line of the -canal preparatory to the work of construction. - -The information and personal experience gained in previous surveys made -it possible, without loss of time, to locate the various sections of -the expedition in the most advantageous manner, and push the work with -the greatest speed consistent with accuracy. - -The location lines of the previous surveys were taken as a preliminary -line and carefully re-measured and re-levelled. Preliminary offsets -were run; the location made, and staked off upon the ground; offsets -run in from three hundred to one hundred feet apart, extending beyond -the slope limits of the canal; borings made at frequent intervals; and -all streams gauged. - -The result of this work was a series of detail charts and profiles, -based upon rigidly checked instrumental data, and covering the entire -line from Greytown to Brito, from which to estimate quantities and -cost. - -As may be imagined by those familiar with tropical countries, the -prosecution of a survey in these regions is an arduous and difficult -work, and one demanding special qualifications in the engineer. His -days are filled with a succession of surprises, usually disagreeable, -and constant happenings of the unexpected. Probably in no other country -will the traveler, explorer, or engineer, find such an endless variety -of obstacles to his progress. - -Every topographical feature of the country is shrouded and hidden under -a tropical growth of huge trees and tangled underbrush, so dense that -it is impossible for even a strong, active man, burdened with nothing -but a rifle, to force himself through it without a short, heavy sword -or _machéte_, with which to cut his way. - -Under these circumstances the most observant engineer and expert -woodsman may pass within a hundred feet of the base of a considerable -hill and not have a suspicion of its existence, or he may be entirely -unaware of the proximity of a stream until he is on the point of -stepping over the edge of its precipitous banks. - -The topography of the country has to be laboriously felt out, much as a -blind man familiarizes himself with his surroundings. In doing this -work the indispensable instrument, without which the transit, the -level, and indeed the engineer himself is of no use, is the national -weapon of Nicaragua, the _machéte_, a short, heavy sword. - -As soon as he is able to walk, the son of the Nicaraguan _mozo_ or -_huléro_ takes as a plaything a piece of iron hoop or an old knife, and -imitates his father with his _machéte_. As he gets older a broken or -worn-down weapon is given him, and when he is able to handle it, a full -size _machéte_ is entrusted to him and he then considers himself a man. -From that day on, waking or sleeping, our Nicaraguan's _machéte_ is -always at his side. With it he cuts his way through the woods; with it -he builds his camp and his bed; with it he kills his game and fish; -with it at a pinch he shaves himself, or extracts the thorns from his -feet; with it he fights his duels, and with it, when he dies, his -comrades dig his grave. - -When in the field the chief of a party, equipped with a pocket compass -and an aneroid barometer, is always skirmishing ahead of the line with -a _machétero_, or axeman, to cut a path for him. A pushing chief, -however, speedily dispenses with the _machétero_ and slashes a way for -himself much more rapidly. - -As soon as he decides where the line is to go the engineer calls to the -_machéteros_ and the two best ones immediately begin cutting toward the -sound of his voice. They soon slash a narrow path to him, drive a stake -where he was standing and then turn back toward the other _machéteros_, -who have been following them, cutting a wider path and clearing away -all trees, vines and branches, so that the transit man can see the flag -at the stake. The moment the leading _machéteros_ reach him the chief -starts off again and by the time the main body of axemen have reached -his former position the head _machéteros_ are cutting toward the sound -of his voice in a new position. - -As soon as the line is cleared the transit man takes his sight and -moves ahead to the stake, the chainmen follow and drive stakes every -hundred feet, and the leveller follows putting in elevations and cross -sections. In this way the work goes on from early morning until nearly -dark, stopping about an hour for lunch. - -After the day's work comes the dinner, the table graced with wild hog, -or turkey, or venison, or all. After dinner the smoke, then the day's -notes are worked up and duplicated and all hands get into their nets. -For a moment the countless nocturnal noises of the great forest, -enlivened perhaps by the scream of a tiger, or the deep, muffled roar -of a puma, fall upon drowsy ears, then follows the sleep that always -accompanies hard work and good health, till the bull-voiced howling -monkeys set the forest echoing with their announcement of the breaking -dawn. - -In reconnoissance and preliminary work the experienced engineer, is -able, in many cases, to avoid obstacles without vitiating the results -of his work, but in the final location, in staking out absolute curves -and driving tangents thousands of feet long across country, no dodging -is possible. - -On the hills and elevated ground the engineer can, comparatively -speaking, get along quite comfortably, his principal annoyances being -the uneven character of the ground, which compels him to set his -instrument very frequently, and the necessity of felling some gigantic -tree every now and then. - -In the valleys and lowlands there is an unceasing round of obstacles. -The line may run for some distance over level ground covered with a -comparatively open growth, then without warning it encounters the wreck -of a fallen tree, and hours are consumed hewing a passage through the -mass of broken limbs and shattered trunk, all matted and bound together -with vines and shrubbery. A little farther on a stream is crossed, and -the line may cross and recross four or five times in the next thousand -feet. The engineer must either climb down the steep banks, for the -streams burrow deep in the stiff clay of these valleys, ford the stream -and climb the opposite bank, or he must fall a tree from bank to bank -and cross on its slippery trunk twenty or twenty-five feet above the -water. - -Either on the immediate bank or in its vicinity is almost certain to be -encountered a _"saccate"_ clearing. This may be only one or two hundred -feet across or it may be a half a mile. In the former case the -_"saccate"_ grass will be ten or fifteen feet in height and so matted -and interwoven with vines and briars that a tunnel may be cut through -it as through a hedge. If the clearing be large, the tough, wiry grass -is no higher than a man's head, and a path has to be mowed through it, -while the sun beats down into the furnace-like enclosure till the blade -of the _machéte_ becomes almost too hot to touch. - -But worse than anything thus far mentioned are the _Silico_ or black -palm swamps. Some of these in the larger valleys and near the coast are -miles in extent. - -Occupied exclusively by the low, thick _Silico_ palms, these swamps are -in the wet season absolutely impassable except for monkeys and -alligators, and even at the end of the dry season the engineer enters -upon one with sinking heart as well as feet, and emerges from it tired -and used up in every portion of his anatomy. It is with the utmost -difficulty that he finds a practicable place to locate his instrument, -generally utilizing the little hummocks formed by the trunks of the -clusters of palms, and in moving from point to point he is compelled to -wade from knee to shoulder deep in the black mud and water. - -General reconnaissances from high trees in elevated localities, simple -enough in theory, are by no means easy in a country so miserly with its -secrets as this, nor are their results reliable without a great -expenditure of time, labor, and patience. - -On level, undulating and moderately broken ground, the tops of the -trees, though they may be one hundred and fifty feet from the ground, -are level as the top of a hedge. Even an isolated hill if it be rounded -in shape presents hardly better facilities, the trees at the base and -on the sides, in their effort to reach the sunlight grow taller than -those on the summit, and there is no one tree that commands all the -others. - -If however an isolated hill of several hundred feet in height be found, -its steep sides culminating in a sharp peak, one day's work by three or -four good axmen, in cutting neighboring trees, will prepare the way for -a study of the general relief and topography of the adjacent country. -If after these preliminaries have been completed the engineer imagines -that he has only to climb the tree and sketch what he sees, to obtain -reliable knowledge of the country, he is doomed to serious surprises in -the future. If he makes the ascent during the middle of the day, he -will, after he has cooled off and rested from his exhausting efforts, -see spread out before him a shimmering landscape in which the uniform -green carpet and the vertical sun combined, have obliterated all -outlines except the more prominent irregularities of the terrene, and -have blended different mountain ranges, one of which may be several -miles beyond the other, into one, of which only the sky profile is -distinct. Naturally under these conditions estimates of distance may be -half or double the truth. - -There are two ways of extracting reliable information from these -tree-top reconnaissances. If it be in the rainy season the observer -must be prepared to make a day of it, and when he ascends the tree in -the morning he takes with him a long light line with which to pull up -his coffee and lunch. - -Then aided by the successive showers which sweep across the landscape, -leaving fragments of mists in the ravines, and hanging grey screens -between the different ranges and mountains, bringing out the relief -first of this and then of that section, an accurate sketch may -gradually be made. The time of passage of a shower from one peak to -another, or to the observer, may also be utilized as a by no means to -be despised check upon distance estimates. - -If it be the dry season, the observer may take his choice between -remaining on his perch in the tree from before sunrise to after sunset, -or making two ascents, one early in the morning and the other late in -the afternoon. In this case the slowly dispersing clouds of morning, -and the gradually gathering mists at sunset, together with the reversed -lights and shadows at dawn and sunset, bring out very clearly the -relief of the terrene, the overlapping of distant ranges, and the -course of the larger streams. - -This kind of work cannot be delegated to anyone, and besides the -arduous labor involved in climbing the huge trees, there are other -serious annoyances connected with it. The climber is almost certain to -disturb some venomous insect which revenges itself by a savage sting -which has to be endured; or he may rend clothes and skin also, on some -thorny vine, or another, crushed by his efforts, may exude a juice -which will leave him tattooed for days; then, though there may not be a -mosquito or fly at the base of the tree, the top will be infested with -myriads of minute black flies, which cover hands and face, and with -extremely annoying results. On the other hand the explorer may as a -compensation have his nostrils filled with the perfume of some -brilliant orchid on a neighboring branch; and there is a breezy -enjoyment in watching the showers as they rush across the green carpet, -and in listening to the roar with which the big drops beat upon the -tree tops. - -The special phase of field work which fell to my personal lot was -entirely reconnaissance, consisting of canoe examinations of all -streams in the vicinity of the line of the canal, to determine their -sources, character of valley, and approximate water shed; of rapid -air-line compass and aneroid trails, to connect one stream, or valley -head with another, or furnish a base line for a general sketch plan of -a valley; and of studies of the larger features of the terrene, from -elevated tree tops. - -The last has been already described; in the second the experience was -very similar to that of the parties in running main lines. On these -occasions three or at most four hardy _huléros_ (rubber hunters) -comprised the party, two carrying the blankets, mosquito bars and -provisions for several days, and one or two cutting the lightest -possible practicable trail and marking prominent trees. - -In a day's march of from five to eight miles, and this was the utmost -that even such a light, active and experienced party could cover in one -day, every possible and some almost impossible kinds of traveling was -encountered, and thoroughly exhausted men crept into their bars every -night. - -The canoe reconnaissances were more agreeable, though some most -unpleasant as well as most enjoyable memories are connected with them. - -The innumerable large fallen trees which obstruct the streams and over -or through which the canoe must be hauled bodily, the almost inevitable -capsizing of the canoe, the monotonous red clay banks on either side -and the frequent necessity of lying down at night in a bed of mud into -which the droves of wild pigs which inhabit these valleys have trampled -the clayey soil, are among the disagreeable incidents. - -From the head of canoe navigation to their sources the character of -these streams is entirely different, and both in 1888 and in 1885 I -have followed them far up into mountain gorges, the beauty of which is -as fresh in my memory as if I had been there but yesterday. - -The crew of the canoe on these reconnaissances usually consisted of -three picked men, and when the canoe had been pushed as far up stream -as it was possible for it to go, two of the men were left with it while -the third and best, slinging the blankets, bars, and a little coffee, -sugar, and milk, upon his back pushed on with me. Wading through the -shallow water up the bed of the stream, taking bearings and estimating -distances, while my _huléro_ followed, ever alert to strike some drowsy -beauty of a fish in the clear water; the source of the stream was -generally reached in a day, and never did we make preparations to sleep -on some bed of clean, yellow sand washed down by the stream in flood -times, but what I had a plump turkey hanging from my belt, and my -_huléro_ several fine fish. - -Much has been written about the climate of Nicaragua and its effect -upon the inhabitants of more northerly countries when exposed to it. - -It would seem that the experience of the numerous expeditions sent out -by the United States, and the reports of the surgeons attached to those -expeditions would have long since settled the matter. To those who -cannot understand how there can be such a difference in climate between -two localities so slightly removed as Panama and Nicaragua, and the -former possessing a notoriously deadly climate, the experience of the -recent surveying expedition must be conclusive. - -Only five members of that expedition had ever been in tropical climates -before, and the rodmen and chainmen of the party were young men just -out of college who had never done a day's manual labor, nor slept on -the ground a night in their lives. Arriving at Greytown during the -rainy season, the first work that they encountered was the transporting -of their supplies and camp equipage to the sites of the various camps. -This had to be done by means of canoes along streams obstructed with -logs and fallen trees. Some parties were a week in reaching their -destination, wading and swimming by day, lifting and pushing their -canoes along, and at night lying down on the ground to sleep. - -One party worked for six months in the swamps and lagoon region -directly back of Greytown, and several other parties worked for an -equal length of time in the equally disagreeable swamps of the valley -of the San Francisco. Several of these officers are down there yet, as -fresh as ever. In making tours of inspection of the different sections -I have repeatedly, for several days and nights in succession, passed -the days traveling in the woods through swamps and rain, and the nights -sleeping as best I could, curled up under a blanket in a small canoe, -while my men paddled from one camp to the next. - -In spite of all this exposure not only were there no deaths in the -expedition but there was not a single case of serious illness, and the -officers who have returned up to this time, were in better health and -weight than when they went away. - -Of course the men had the best of food that money could obtain and -previous experience suggest, and the chiefs of all parties were -required to strictly enforce certain sanitary regulations in regard to -coffee in the morning, a thorough bath and dose of spirits on returning -from work, and mosquito bars and dry sleeping suits at night; yet the -climate must be held principally responsible for a sanitary result -which I believe could not be excelled in any temperate zone city, with -the same number of men, doing the same arduous work under conditions of -equal exposure. - -The forests everywhere abound in game and every party which included in -its personnel a good rifle-shot was sure of a constant supply of wild -pig, turkey, quail and grouse, varied by an occasional deer, all -obtained in the ordinary work of reconnoissance and surveying. For the -men's table there was abundance of monkey, iguana and macaw. - -Parties in the lower valleys of the various streams had no trouble in -adding two or three varieties of very toothsome fish to their bill of -fare, though these fish were rarely caught with the hook, but usually -shot, or knifed by an alert native, as they basked in the shallows. -These parties also obtained occasionally a _danta_ (tapir) or a -manatee. - -On the river it was possible to obtain a fine string of fish with hook -and line, then there was the huge tarpon to be had for the spearing, -and fish pots sunk in suitable places were sure to yield a mess of -fresh water lobsters. Ducks were also occasionally shot. - -The forms of life are even more numerous in the vegetable than in the -animal kingdom. The effect of these wonderful forests is indescribable, -and though many writers have essayed a description, I have yet to see -one that does the subject justice. Only a simple enumeration of -component parts will be attempted here. First comes the grand body of -the forest, huge almendro, havilan, guachipilin, cortez, cedar, -cottonwood, palo de leche trees, and others rising one hundred and -fifty or two hundred feet into the scintillant sunshine. The entire -foliage of these trees is at the top and their great trunks reaching up -for a hundred feet or more without a branch offer a wonderful variety -of studies in types of column. Some rise straight and smooth, and true, -others send out thin deep buttresses, and others look like the -muscle-knotted fore-arm of a Titan, with gnarled fingers griping the -ground in their wide grasp. - -But whatever the form of the tree trunks may be, the shallow soil upon -the hills and the marshy soil in the lowlands, has taught them that -there is greater safety and stability in a broad foundation than in a -deeply penetrating one, and so almost without exception the tree roots -spread out widely, on, or near, the surface. Beneath the protecting -shelter of these patriarchs, as completely protected from scorching sun -and rushing wind as if in a conservatory, grow innumerable varieties of -palms, young trees destined some day to be giants themselves, and -others which never attain great size. Still lower down, luxuriate -smaller palms, tree ferns, and dense underbrush, and countless vines. -These latter, however, are by no means confined to the underbrush, many -of them climb to the very tops of the tallest trees, cling about their -trunks and bind them to other trees and to the ground with the toughest -of ropes. With one or two exceptions these vines are an unmitigated -nuisance. To them more than to anything else is due the -impenetrableness of the tropical thicket. Of all sizes and all as tough -as hemp lines, they creep along the ground, catching the traveler's -feet in a mesh from which release is possible only by cutting. They -bind the underbrush together in a tough, elastic mat, which catches and -holds on to every projection about the clothes, jerking revolvers from -belts, and wrenching the rifle from the hand, or, hanging in trap-like -loops from the trees, catch one about the neck, or constantly drag -one's hat from the head. The one exception noted above is the _bejuco -de agua_ or water vine. This vine, which looks like an old worn manilla -rope, is to be found hanging from or twined about almost every large -tree upon elevated ground, and to the hot and thirsty explorer it -furnishes a most deliciously cool and clear draught. - -Seizing the vine in the left hand, a stroke of the _machéte_ severs it -a foot or two below the hand, and another quick stroke severs it again -above the hand; immediately a stream of clear, tasteless water issues -from the lower end and may be caught in a dipper or _á la native_ -directly in the mouth. A three-foot length of vine two inches in -diameter will furnish at least a pint of water. The order of cutting -mentioned above must invariably be adhered to, otherwise, if the upper -cut be made first, the thirsty novice will find he has in his hand only -a piece of dry cork-like rope. - -It is practically impossible to judge of the age of the huge trees in -these forests. Mighty with inherent strength, stayed to the ground and -to their fellows by the numerous vines, sheltered and protected also by -their fellows from the shock of storms, their huge trunks have little -to do except support the direct weight of the tops, and they rarely -fall until they have reached the last stages of decay. Then some day -the sudden impact of a ton or two of water dropped from some furious -tropical shower, or the vibrations from a hurrying troop of monkeys, or -the spring of a tiger, is too much for one of the giant branches heavy -with its load of vines and parasites, and it gives way, breaking the -vines in every direction and splitting a huge strip from the main -trunk. With its supports thus broken and the whole weight of the -remaining branches on one side, the weakened trunk sways for a moment -then bows to its fate. The remaining vines break with the resistless -strain, and the old giant gathering velocity as he falls and dragging -with him everything in his reach, crashes to the earth with a roar -which elicits cries of terror from bird and beast, and goes booming -through the quivering forest like the report of a heavy cannon. A patch -of blue sky overhead and a pile of impenetrable debris below, mark for -years the grave of the old hero. - -As regards the insect and reptile pests of the country it has been my -experience that both their numbers and capacity for torment have been -greatly exaggerated. Mosquitoes, flies of various sizes, wasps and -stinging ants exist, and the first in some places in large numbers; yet -to a person who has any of the woodsman's craft of taking care of -himself, and whose blood is not abnormally sensitive to insect poisons, -they present no terrors and but slight annoyances. At our headquarters -camp on San Francisco island, we had no mosquitoes from sunrise to -sunset, and even after sunset they were not especially numerous. At -another camp only a few miles away there were black flies only and no -mosquitoes, at another both, while at the camps up in the hills there -were neither. It was only at camps in the wet lowlands and near swamps, -that they became an almost unendurable annoyance. Even here it was -those who remained in camp that suffered most. Men out in the thick -brush were but little annoyed by them, and when on their return to camp -they had finished their dinner and gotten into their mosquito bars they -were out of their reach. As to snakes, the danger from them even to a -European, is practically nothing. Not a man of the several hundred that -have been engaged in the various expeditions in that country has ever -been bitten, and in hundreds of miles of tramping through the worst -forests of the country, either entirely alone or if accompanied by -natives, with them some distance in the rear, I have never fancied -myself in danger. The poisonous snakes are invariably sluggish, and -unless actually struck or stepped upon are apt to try to get out of the -way, if they make any move. The only snake that is at all aggressive, -as far as my observations go, is a long, black, non-poisonous snake. -This will sometimes advance upon the intruder with head raised a couple -of feet from the ground, or if coiled about a tree will lash at him -with its tail. - -The floral exhibit of these forests is apt to be disappointing to one -whose ideas have been formed by a perusal of books. An occasional -scarlet passion flower; now and then the fragrant cluster of the _flor -del toro_; a few insignificant though fragrant flowering shrubs; and in -muddy sloughs near the streams, patches of wild callas; are about all -that meet the eye of the non-botanical wanderer in the deep forest. - -There is not light enough for flowers beneath the dense canopy of -trees, and they, like the smaller birds, seek the tree tops and the -banks of the river where sunlight and air are abundant. In the tree -tops the orchids and other flowering parasites run riot. Many of the -trees are themselves flowering, and if one can look down upon the tree -tops of a valley in March or April, he sees the green expanse enlivened -by blazing patches of crimson, yellow, purple, pink, and white. - -The river banks are the favorite home of the flowering vines, and there -they form great curtains swaying from the trees in bright patterns of -yellow, pink, red and white. The grassy banks and islands, and the -shallow sand spits also bring forth innumerable varieties of aquatic -plants. - -So much for the Atlantic slope of the country. - -On the west side between the Lake and the Pacific the work is very -different. There it is possible to ride mule-back to the top of a -commanding hill, sit down and make the reconnaissance sketch at -leisure. The secondary reconnaissances may also be made mule-back, and -everywhere the rolling country and the cleared and cultivated fields, -permit the engineer to see where he is going and how he is going. - -His surroundings are also different. He moves camp in an oxcart instead -of a canoe. His eyes instead of being confined by the impenetrable veil -of the tropical thicket, feast upon views of the distant mountains, the -crisp waves of the Lake, and the blue expanse of the Pacific. During -the day he meets black-eyed and brown-limbed señoritas, instead of wild -hogs and turkeys, and at night as he turns in, he hears, not the scream -of tigers, but the songs of the _lavandera's_ ecru daughters floating -across the stream which supplies their wash-tubs and his camp. - -The first grand natural feature which arrests attention in the most -cursory examination of the map of Nicaragua is the Great Lake. This -lake with an area of some three thousand square miles and a water-shed -of about eight thousand square miles, is unique in the large proportion -of its own area to that of its water-shed. A result of this large -proportion of water surface to drainage area, at once evident, is the -very gradual changes of level of the lake and their confinement within -very narrow limits. The difference between the level of the lake at the -close of an abnormally dry season and its level at the close of an -abnormally wet season is not more than ten feet, and the usual annual -fluctuation is about five feet. - -The next features that arrest attention are, first, the very narrow -ribbon of land intervening between the western shore of the Lake and -the Pacific, and second, the entire absence of lateral tributaries of -any size to the upper half of the San Juan River. The river is in fact, -as it was originally most aptly named, simply the "Desaguadero" or -drain of the Lake. - -[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO HIGHLANDS--RIVER SAN JUAN. _Julius Bien & -Co._] - -The length of this river is one hundred and twenty miles, from the Lake -to the Caribbean Sea, and its total fall from one hundred to one -hundred and ten feet. Nature has separated the river into two nearly -equal divisions, presenting distinct and opposite characteristics. - -From Lake Nicaragua to the mouth of the Rio San Carlos, a distance of -sixty-one miles, in which occur several rapids, the total descent is -fifty feet, quite irregularly distributed however. The surface slopes -of the river vary from as much as 83.38 inches per mile for a short -distance at Castillo rapids, to only .90 inch per mile through the Agua -Muerte, the dead water below the Machuca rapids. - -The average width of the river through this upper section is seven -hundred feet, the minimum four hundred and twenty. In some parts of the -Agua Muerte the depth varies from fifty to seventy-five feet. - -There are very few islands in this section of the river, the banks are -covered with huge trees matted with vines, and throughout the lower -half of the division, from Toro rapids to the mouth of the San Carlos, -the river is confined between steep hills and mountains. - -[Illustration: UPPER CASTILLO--RIVER SAN JUAN. _Julius Bien & Co._] - -As a result of the absence of considerable tributaries already noted, -the fluctuations of this portion of the river conform closely to those -of the Lake, and consequently take place gradually and are limited in -range. - -Below the Rio San Carlos the San Juan changes its character entirely. -Its average width is twelve hundred and fifty feet, its bottom is -sandy, there are numerous islands, and the slope of the river is almost -uniformly one foot per mile. - -The discharge into this section of two large tributaries, the San -Carlos and the Sarapiqui, descending from the steep slopes of the Costa -Rican volcanoes, causes much more sudden and considerable fluctuations -of level than in the upper river. - -While the lower portion of the river and especially the delta section -presents very interesting features, yet the peculiar charm of the river -is in the upper section, and the exceptional advantages it offers for -obtaining miles of slack water navigation. This portion of the river -with the lake and the narrow isthmus between it and the Pacific forms a -trio of natural advantages for the construction of a canal, the -importance of which it would be difficult to over estimate. - -About three miles below the mouth of the San Carlos, the Caño Machado -enters the San Juan on the north bank. This stream, about one hundred -feet wide and from eight to ten feet deep, is the last of the mountain -or torrential tributaries of the San Juan. It can scarcely be said to -have a valley, but occupies the bed of a rugged ravine extending for -several miles northerly and northwesterly up into the easterly flank of -the cordillera. Every variety of igneous rock, from light porous pumice -to dense metallic green-black hypersthene andesite, may be picked up in -the bed of this stream. Agates also are common and there are occasional -masses of jasper. Farther up, frequent outcrops of trap in situ occur, -interspersed in some localities with numerous veins of agate. - -Twelve miles below the Machado the San Francisco enters the San Juan. -This stream, with its several tributaries, drains a large swampy valley -sprinkled with irregular hummocks and hills. For several miles from the -San Juan it is a sluggish, muddy stream between steep slippery banks; -higher up, flowing over a gravelly and then a rocky bed, it finally -disappears in steep ravines filled with huge bowlders. The main San -Francisco comes from the northwest, but a large tributary has its -source to the eastward in a range of hills which separates the San -Francisco basin from the immediate Caribbean water-shed. This range, -unlike the ones already noted, is at heart an uninterrupted mass of -homogeneous hypersthene andesite, and with one exception nothing but -fragments of trap or trap _in situ_, is to be found in any of the -streams descending from either its western or eastern slopes. The one -exception is the Cañito Maria, a tributary of the San Francisco, -entering it but little more than a mile from the San Juan. In the bed -of this stream were abundant specimens of agates, jasper, and petrified -woods of several varieties in a wonderfully good state of preservation. - -This range of hills ends at the Tamborcito bend of the San Juan, four -miles below the mouth of the San Francisco, and is the last easterly -projecting spur from the mountain backbone of the interior. Between it -and the coast there are, however, mountain masses of equal or greater -elevation, notably "El Gigante" and the Silico hills, the former some -fifteen hundred feet high, but these are simply isolated mountain -ganglia, their innumerable radiating spurs speedily giving way to -swamps or river valleys. - -The streams that flow down the eastern slope of the Silico hills are, -from their sources to the lowlands, of almost idyllic beauty. Beginning -as noisy little brooks tumbling over black rocks in a V-shaped ravine -near the summit of the hills, they rapidly gather volume and slide -along in a polished channel of trap, tumbling every now and then as -sheets of white spray over vertical ledges forming here and there deep -green pools, and then after they have passed down among the foot-hills, -rippling in broad shallow reaches over sunlit beds of bright yellow -gravel. The water of these streams is clear and sparkling as that of an -Alpine stream and apparently almost as cool. The insect pests of the -tropics are unknown in the elevated portions of their valleys, and I -have slept more than once beside one of these streams, several hundred -feet above sea level, without a mosquito bar, while the delightful -"trades," rustling through the trees above me, brought the murmur of -the Caribbean surf miles away, to mingle with that of the stream. - -The soil of this range consists, to a depth of ten to forty feet, of -clay of various grades and colors, red prevailing. In the valleys this -clay is almost invariably of a very dense consistency, and deep, dark -red in color. - -From the foot-hills of the range to the coast, is a low level stretch -of country, a dozen miles wide, interspersed with lagoons and swamps. -Near the hills, where the elevation of the ground will average about -fifteen feet above sea level, the soil is composed almost entirely of -the before mentioned red clay, which occasionally assumes the form of -hummocks. Within about six miles of the coast this stratum of clay -gradually disappears under a layer of sand, which is in turn covered, -by a vegetable mould, to a depth of a few feet. From this point to the -sea the average elevation is barely five feet above the sea level, and -the sand and mould above mentioned are the only materials met. A short -distance from the ocean the vegetable earth-covering disappears and -only the sand is left, extending to an unknown depth and reaching out -into the sea. - -West of Lake Nicaragua, from the Rio Lajas to Brito, as we leave the -lake shore, the ground rises almost imperceptibly to the "Divide" among -cleared and gently undulating fields. Then we drop into the sinuous -gorge of the Rio Grande only to emerge, a few miles farther on, into -the upper end of the Rio Grande and Tola basin. - -To the right the Tola valley stretches to the northward, and all around -high and wooded hills encircle the valleys except directly in front -where a narrow gateway in the coast hills opens to the Pacific. In the -bottom of this valley are a few farms and through it wander devious -roads. Beyond the narrow gateway in the hills, less than three miles of -level swampy _salinas_ reach to the surf of the Pacific. - -The views from the hills which flank the gateway of the Rio Grande, at -La Flor, are wonderfully attractive. I well remember one camp on the -hillside, from which in one direction the eye takes in the fertile -valley of the Tola and Rio Grande, backed by the rolling hills of the -"Divide" and over them the symmetrical peak of Ometepe, its base washed -by the waves of the great lake. In the other direction the Pacific lies -apparently but a stone's throw below, the little port of Brito at one's -very feet. - -This same camp inspired one young engineer and enthusiast to express -himself something as follows: - -"What if, in this camp, we should, like Rip Van Winkle, sleep for ten -years, and then awakening look about us? We are still at Brito, but -instead of being in the wilderness, we look down upon a thriving city. -In the harbor are ships from all ports of the world. Ships from San -Francisco, bound for New York, about to pass through the canal and -shorten their journey by 10,000 miles. Ships from Valparaiso, headed -for New York, which will take the short cut and save 5000 miles and the -dread storms of Cape Horn. At many a masthead floats the British flag, -and vessels from Liverpool, with their bows turned towards San -Francisco, have shortened their journey by 7000 miles." - -"We go aboard one of the many steamers flying the 'stars and stripes' -and start eastward. All along the line the face of the country has -changed; the fertile shores of the Tola basin are occupied by cacao -plantations, fields have replaced forests, villages have grown to -towns, and factories driven by the exhaustless water power furnished by -the canal have sprung up on every available site." - -"Along the shore of the lake are immense dry docks, and vessels are -resting in this huge fresh water harbor before setting out again on -their long voyages. The broad bosom of the noble San Juan is quivering -with the strokes of tireless propellors. The roar of the great dam at -Ochoa is heard for a moment and then the eastern section of the canal -is entered. Here the country is scarcely recognizable so greatly has it -changed. Wilderness and marsh have disappeared, and only great fields -of plantains and bananas and dark green orange groves are to be seen. A -day from Brito and the steamer's bow is rising to the long blue swell -of the Caribbean at Greytown." - -Well is this picture calculated to excite enthusiasm, for it means the -dream of centuries realized, the cry of commerce answered, and our -imperial Orient and Occident-facing Republic resting content with -coasts united from Eastport to the Strait of Fuca. - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The National Geographic Magazine, Vol. -I., No. 4, October, 1889, by Various - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, OCTOBER 1889 *** - -***** This file should be named 50704-8.txt or 50704-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/7/0/50704/ - -Produced by Ron Swanson -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - diff --git a/old/50704-8.zip b/old/50704-8.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index f6c9108..0000000 --- a/old/50704-8.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50704-h.zip b/old/50704-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 6ba5dd5..0000000 --- a/old/50704-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50704-h/50704-h.htm b/old/50704-h/50704-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index ea56765..0000000 --- a/old/50704-h/50704-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2927 +0,0 @@ - -<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> - -<html> -<head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> - <title>The Project Gutenberg e-Book of The National Geographic Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 4, by Various</title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/img-cover.jpg"> - <style type="text/css"> - <!-- - body {margin:10%; text-align:justify} - h1 {text-align:center} - h2 {text-align:center} - h3 {text-align:center} - h4 {text-align:center} --> - </style> -</head> - -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The National Geographic Magazine, Vol. I., -No. 4, October, 1889, by Various - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The National Geographic Magazine, Vol. I., No. 4, October, 1889 - -Author: Various - -Release Date: December 16, 2015 [EBook #50704] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, OCTOBER 1889 *** - - - - -Produced by Ron Swanson - - - - - -</pre> - -<center><img src="images/img-cover.jpg" alt="cover"></center> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h3>CONTENTS.</h3> -<hr align="center" width="25%"> -<br> -<p><a href="#chap1">Irrigation in California</a>, by Wm. Hammond Hall, State Engineer of California</p> - -<p><a href="#chap2">Round about Asheville</a>, by Bailey Willis<br> - (Illustrated by one Map and Profile.)</p> - -<p><a href="#chap3">A Trip to Panama and Darien</a>, by Richard U. Goode<br> - (Illustrated by one Map and Profile.)</p> - -<p><a href="#chap4">Across Nicaragua with Transit and Machéte</a>, by R. E. Peary, Civil Engineer, U. S. N.<br> - (Illustrated by one Map and three Views.)</p> - -<blockquote>October, 1889.</blockquote> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<center><small><small>PRESS OF TUTTLE, MOREHOUSE & TAYLOR, NEW HAVEN, CONN.</small></small></center> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>THE</h4> -<h2>NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE.</h2> -<hr align="center" width="100%"> -<center>Vol. I. -1889. No. 4.</center> -<hr align="center" width="100%"> -<br> -<br><a name="chap1"></a> -<br> -<br> -<h3>IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA.</h3> - -<center>B<small>Y</small> W<small>M</small>. H<small>AMMOND</small> H<small>ALL</small>.</center> - -<br> -<p><i>Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Society:</i></p> - -<p>When I was invited to address this society I had no material at hand on -the subject. I have come to the east without any notes or memoranda -whatever, from which to prepare a lecture or address, no statistical -data which would make a paper valuable, no notes of characteristic -facts to render an address interesting, and no time to write anything -to guide me in any way to a proper treatment of the subject. Some of -your members have thought that I have written something worthy of being -read, and hence this invitation to address you. But, even if they are -right, people who can write cannot always talk, so if I fail in this -address, I shall hope, on the basis of their opinion, that you will -find in the reports I have written something worthy of reading. The -subject has been announced as the "Problems of Irrigation in the United -States." I should like very much to speak broadly on that subject, but -I am unable to do so, for the reasons I have given, and shall have to -speak rather of irrigation in California, trusting that something which -is said, may, perchance, be valuable in relation to the subject at -large. Irrigation in the far west, generally, is attracting a vast deal -of attention. This is particularly the case on the Pacific Coast—the -field with which I am specially acquainted. I apprehend that although -many gentlemen present have a far-reaching and definite appreciation of -the subject at large, many others do not appreciate the value and -importance of irrigation. In the arid parts of California (for we do -not admit that California is as a whole arid) it is a vital matter. -There it is a question of life, for the people. Not more than one-sixth -of the tillable area in the State can sustain a really dense -population, without irrigation; two thirds of it will not sustain even -a moderate population, without irrigation; while one third will not -sustain even a sparse population, without such artificial watering. -Think well over these facts. They are very significant. I doubt whether -they are generally appreciated in California itself.</p> - -<p>I have no doubt many persons are familiar with the geography of the -State, but, doubtless, some are not. California has a coast line of 800 -miles and a width of from 140 to 240 miles. It is traversed almost -throughout its length by a great mountain chain extending along near -the eastern boundary, which is called the Sierra Nevada, and by a -lesser range, more broken and less unified, running parallel to the -coast, called the Coast Range, the southern extension of which, after -joining the Sierra Nevada, is called the Sierra Madre, and at the -further extremity, the San Jacinto and San Diego mountains. Within the -interior of the State, looked down upon by the Sierra Nevada on the -east, and closed in by the Coast Range on the west, is the great -interior basin—the valley of the San Joaquin and Sacramento -rivers—forming a plain 450 miles long, with an average width of from -40 to 60 miles. Outside of the Sierra Madre in the southern part of the -State, and within the Coast Range, is another interior valley, nearly -100 miles in length and from 20 to 30 miles in width, and outside of -the Coast Range, and lying next to the ocean, is a plain whose length -is from 60 to 70 miles, and width 15 to 20 miles. These three -areas—the great interior valley, the southern interior valley, and the -coast plain of the south—are the principal irrigation regions of the -State. Numbers of smaller areas, as those in San Diego county, come in -as irrigation regions of less importance, and the scattering valleys -along the Coast Range farther north, as the Salinas, etc., will come -forward in the future as important irrigable districts of the State. -Still further north, in the interior, there are the great plains of -Lassen and Mono counties, and some scattering valleys in Shasta county, -where irrigation is also practiced or is being introduced, and these -are on a par with the districts of San Diego county, in the matter of -rank as irrigation regions. East of the Sierra Nevada, and at their -base, lies the Owen's river country, an area suitable for irrigation, -where irrigation is necessary and where it is being introduced. Upon -the great Mojave desert and the Colorado desert, there is at present no -irrigation. The water supply is very scanty. This is an irrigation -region of the future, but it is not regarded by Californians as a -practicable one at present.</p> - -<p>With this general idea of the State, we will now look at the rainfall -and water supply. The State contains 157,440 square miles of territory, -of which 17,747 drain into the ocean north of the Golden Gate, 21,665 -drain into the ocean south of the Golden Gate, 55,942 drain into the -interior basins, and 62,086 drain out at the Golden Gate. Of this -territory which drains out by the Golden Gate, 26,187 square miles -comprise the Sacramento valley, 31,895 square miles the San Joaquin -valley, and 4,004 the country draining directly to the bays, making the -62,086 given above as the whole area.</p> - -<p>The necessity for irrigation in California, and the relative necessity -in different parts of the State, are shown by the distribution of -rainfall. The San Joaquin valley has an average of less than 10 inches -of rainfall, the Sacramento has an average of between 10 and 20 inches. -The great deserts of the Mojave and Colorado have an average of less -than 10 inches, and in certain localities only 3 to 6 inches. The -Salinas valley, a small portion of the coast above Los Angeles, and a -portion of the interior valley of the south, have also an average of -less than 10 inches.</p> - -<p>So, we may say, that the great irrigation regions of California have -average amounts of rainfall varying from about 6 up to 20, but -generally less than 10 inches. This rain is distributed in four or five -months of each year, with some slight showers in one or two months -other than these; the remainder of the year being absolutely dry, with -no rainfall whatever. Hence, you will see at once, the necessity for -the artificial application of water in California. In the older -countries of Europe, where irrigation has been practiced for centuries, -for instance, in Spain, where water is used more extensively than in -California, the annual mean rainfall ranges between 10 and 25 inches. -In the irrigation regions of France, the mean rainfall ranges from 10 -to 40 inches; in the irrigation regions of Italy, the rainfall is -between 20 and 35 inches—for instance, in the valley of the Po, the -classic land of irrigation, the annual precipitation is from 25 to 35 -inches. There are none of these European irrigation regions where the -rainfall is less than 10, and generally it is over 20 inches. But you -will see that the most of the Californian irrigation regions have less -than 15 inches, some less than 10, and the greatest rainfall of any -large irrigable region in California is 18 inches, or, exceptionally, -for smaller regions, 25 inches; while in Europe, the maxima are from 25 -to 40 inches in countries where irrigation has long been practiced. It -follows, then, that there is no place in Europe where it is so much -needed as over a large part of California. Another reason why the -necessity is felt in our Pacific Coast State, is found in the character -of our soils; and not alone the surface soils, but the base of the -soil—the deep subsoils. We have soils exceptionally deep; soils which -extend below the surface to 50 feet, underlaid by loose sand and open -gravels, so that the rainfall of winter is lost in them. The annual -rain seldom runs from the surface. It follows that these lands are -generally barren of vegetation without the artificial application of water.</p> - -<p>Considering now the sources of water-supply: we have in the southern -part of the State many streams which flow only for a few weeks after -rainfall, and other streams which run two or three months after the -rainy season. But there is not a stream in all California south of the -Sierra Madre (except the Colorado, which has it sources of supply -outside of the State) which flows during the summer with a greater -volume than about 70 to 80 cubic feet per second—a stream 15 feet in -width, 2 feet deep, and flowing at the rate of 2½ to 3 feet per -second—a little stream that, in the eastern part of the continent, -would be thought insignificant. The largest stream for six months in -the year, in all southern California, is the Los Angeles river. The -Santa Aña river, the next largest, flows from two sevenths to one third -as much; the San Gabriel, the next largest, has perhaps two thirds or -three fourths as much as the Santa Aña; and so, a stream which will -deliver as much water as will flow in a box 4 feet wide and 1½ feet -deep, at a moderate speed, during summer months, would be regarded as a -good-sized irrigation feeder in that southern country. In the greater -interior basin or central valley, we find other conditions. Here we -have a different class of streams. The great Sierra Nevada receives -snow upon its summits, which does not melt till May or June and July. -The melting of these snows is the source of supply of the streams; so -that, while in far southern California, with two or three exceptions, -the greater flow of water in the streams is almost gone by June, in -this central region it is the period of the height of irrigation, and -the streams are flowing at their maximum. Kern river presents about -2000 to 3000 cubic feet of water per second; King's river presents in -the maximum flow of the season about twice to three times as much as -Kern river; the Tuolumne river about as much as King's. As we go -farther north, the Sacramento river presents more than three times as -much as the Tuolumne, so that in the northern part of the great valley, -where the rainfall on the valley itself is greatest, and, consequently, -the necessity for irrigation is least, the irrigation supply increases; -and conversely, the greatest area of irrigation in the valley and the -greatest necessity for it, is, in general, where the water supply is least.</p> - -<p>About 100 years ago irrigation was commenced in California. The Roman -Catholic priests, coming from Mexico where irrigation had long been -practiced, introduced it. They established missions among the Indians, -started cultivation, and by the labor of these Indians built the -original irrigation works. The practice of irrigation was extended in -San Diego county, as far as we are able to trace, to several thousand -acres; in San Bernardino county in the southern interior valley, they -thus cultivated and watered, perhaps 2000 acres; and in Los Angeles -county there were possibly 3000 acres irrigated under Mexican rule. -Traces of the old mission works are found in San Diego, San Bernardino -and Los Angeles counties, and as far north as Monterey county.</p> - -<p>Then came the gold fever, when canals were dug throughout the -foot-hills of the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, for the supply of -water for the mining of gold; and these canals have since, in many -instances, been turned into feeders for irrigation. Several thousand -miles of irrigation ditches have thus been created from old mining -ditches. In 1852, a band of Mormons came from Salt Lake into the San -Bernardino valley; they bought a Mexican grant rancho there, took -possession of some old mission works, constructed others and started -irrigating. That was probably the first irrigation colony, on a large -scale, composed of others than Mexicans, in California. In 1856, some -Missouri settlers went into the valley of Kern river, diverted water -from that stream, and commenced irrigation upon a small scale. In 1858, -the waters of Cache creek, in the Sacramento valley, were taken out for -irrigation. In 1859, the waters of King's river were taken out and -utilized for irrigation. These instances represent in general outline -the commencement of irrigation in the State. Now we have in the -neighborhood of 750,000 or 800,000 acres actually irrigated each year, -and that represents what would ordinarily be called an irrigation area -of 1,200,000 acres; and there are commanded by the works—reasonably -within the reach of existing canals—an area of about 2,500,000 acres.</p> - -<p>In the organization of irrigation enterprises there is great diversity. -Commencing with the simplest form, we have a ditch constructed by the -individual irrigator for his own use; we have then successively ditches -constructed by associated irrigators without a definite organization, -for the service of their own land only; ditches constructed by -regularly organized associations of farmers, with elected officers; -works constructed by farmers who have incorporated under the general -laws of the State and issued stock certificates of ownership in the -properties, for the service of the stockholders only; works where -incorporations have been formed for the purpose of attaching water -stock to lands that are to be sold, bringing in the element of -speculation; then works where the organization has been effected with a -view of selling water-rights; and finally, organizations that are -incorporated for the purpose of selling water. There is a great -difference between the principles of these methods of organization, and -the practical outcome is a great difference in the service of water and -in the duty of water furnished by them. In selling water, measurement -of volume is made by modules—the actual amount of water delivered is -measured—or it is sold by the acre served, or in proportional parts of -the total available flow of the season.</p> - -<p>The general character of the irrigation works of the State varies very -much with the varying conditions under which it is practiced. In the -San Joaquin valley, King's river, for instance, comes out of the -mountains nearly on a level with the surface of the plain, cutting down -not more than a few feet below its banks; and hence but little labor is -required to divert its waters out upon the lands to be irrigated; but -farther north, the Tuolumne, as another example, comes out of the -mountains in a deep cañon, and the foot-hills extend far down the plain -on each side. It is easily seen, then, that it will require a million -or more dollars to divert from the latter stream the amount of water -diverted from King's river by the expenditure of a few months' work, by -a small force of the farmers themselves. On King's river, individual -and simple coöperative effort is sufficient to bring water enough upon -the plains to irrigate thousands of acres, while in the case of the -Tuolumne river it is absolutely necessary to have associated capital in -large amount—an entirely different principle of organization from that -which was originally applied on King's river and the Kern and other -rivers in the southern part of the great central valley. In discussions -on the subject of irrigation some people have advanced the idea that -the works should be undertaken by the farmers, and that capital should -have nothing to do with them. That may do very well where the physical -conditions will admit of such a course, and where nothing but the -farmers' own service depends upon it; but the great majority of the -streams of California are of such a character that the work of the -farmers can avail nothing. There must be strong associations and large -capital. For this purpose special laws are required. On the Santa Aña, -in San Bernardino county, water has been easily diverted, and such is -the case with every stream in the interior valley of San Bernardino and -Los Angeles counties.</p> - -<p>Capital for the first works was not required. The water was procured by -primitive methods and the works were simple. But in San Diego, an -entirely different condition of affairs prevailed. There the waters are -back in the mountains, twenty or twenty-five miles from the coast, and -the irrigable lands are close along the coast, or within ten or twelve -miles of it. To bring the water out of these mountains requires the -construction of ditches following the mountain sides for 20 to 35 -miles. But simple ditches do not answer, because of the great quantity -of water lost from them. So the companies have resorted to fluming, and -even to lining the ditches with cement. Thus in San Diego, individual -effort is out of the question. Farther north again, in the great -interior valley, King's river is a stream where coöperative and -individual effort have been efficient, although it requires a greater -amount of capital there than in the southern interior valley. In the -southern interior valley, perhaps, $10,000 would often build a ditch -and divert all the water that the supply would furnish. On King's river -the works have cost from $15,000 to $80,000 each; on Kern river the -works have cost from $15,000 to $250,000 each; and on the Tuolumne they -will cost from $1,000,000 to $1,200,000 apiece. On Merced river, the -cost has been $800,000 for one work. Taking the streams from San -Joaquin river north, that come out of the Sierra Nevada, up to the -northern end of the valley where the Sacramento river enters it, every -important stream comes into the valley within a deep gorge. The beds of -several of the northern streams are so filled up with mining debris -that diversion from them would be comparatively easy, but in their -natural state there is not an important stream north of the San Joaquin -which could be utilized for irrigation by any other means than through -the agency of capital in large amount. On the west side of this great -valley the tillable strip is comparatively narrow. It is on the lee -side of the coast range of mountains. Precipitation is made first on -the seaward face of the Coast Range, and then crosses the valley, -dropping upon the inland face of the outer range very little more than -upon the valley itself, where the precipitation is only about 10 -inches. So that we have no streams coming out of the Coast Range into -the southern part of the interior valley specially noteworthy as -irrigation feeders. But as we go northward the Coast Range becomes -wider, and the big mountain basin containing Clear Lake furnishes a -large supply of water to Cache Creek, probably enough for 10,000 acres. -Stony Creek flows between two ridges of the Coast Range, and out on to -the plains, furnishing about the same amount of water; but still there -are no streams from the Coast Range into the valley that are comparable -with those of the Sierra Nevada. In the northeastern corner of the -State, on the great plains of Modoc, we have the Pitt river, a stream -of very considerable volume, but its waters are in comparatively deep -channels, not very well adapted to diversion, and the consequence is, -they have been utilized to a very small extent, only on small -bottom-land farms. The whole stream can be utilized, however, and the -country is thirsting for water.</p> - -<p>The practice of irrigation in California is as diverse as it could well -be. California, as you know, covers a very large range in latitude, but -a greater range in the matter of climate and adaptability to the -cultivation of crops. In the southern portion of the State, the orange -and the banana and many other semi-tropical fruits flourish. In some -localities along the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada, also, those -fruits flourish, particularly the orange and the lemon. In the valley -of San Joaquin, wheat is grown by irrigation, and in some places -profitably, and in Kern county quite profitably (were it not for high -transportation charges), because the cost of distributing and applying -water has been reduced to a minimum. There the lands have been laid out -with as much care and precision as the architect would lay out the -stones in a building and the mason would place them. Irrigation is -conducted in some Kern river districts with the greatest ease, scarcely -requiring the use of the shovel. The lands are so laid off with the -check levels that by simply opening gates in the proper order, as the -irrigation superintendents know how, the waters flow out and cover the -successive plats or "checks" in their order, without leaving any -standing water, and finally flowing off without material waste. This is -the perfection of irrigation by the broad or submerging system,—a -method wherein the slope of the ground is first ascertained, platted by -contours, and the checks to hold the water, constructed with scrapers, -are then run out on slight grade contours—not perfectly level, but on -very gentle slopes.</p> - -<p>There is no portion of the far southern part of the State where the -check method is applied as it is in Kern county. The practice in San -Bernardino is to irrigate entirely by running water in rills between -the rows of plants. Orange trees planted 24 to 30 feet apart are -irrigated by rills in plough furrows, 5 to 8 between rows, down the -slope of the orchard, which slope varies from about 1 foot in a hundred -to 4 or 5 in a hundred. In Los Angeles county they make banks about a -foot high around each individual tree, forming basins 5 or 6 to 10 or -12 feet in diameter according to the size of the tree. Into these the -water is conducted by a ditch, and the basin being filled, the water is -allowed to remain and soak away. The low, nearly flat valley lands, -when irrigated, are generally divided into square "checks," without -respect to the slope of the ground, and the surface is simply flooded -in water standing 6 inches to a foot in depth.</p> - -<p>In the northern part of the State, in Placer and Yuba counties, clover -is grown on hills having side slopes of 10 to 15 feet in a hundred, and -irrigated in plough furrows cut around on contours—which furrows are -about 5 to 10 feet apart horizontally—and the water is allowed to soak -into the ground from each such furrow.</p> - -<p>These are the five principal methods of applying water: by the check -system; by rills; by the basin method; by the basin method as applied -to low valleys; and by contour ditches on hill sides. The method -selected for any particular locality is determined not alone by the -crop to be cultivated, but also by the slope of the land and the -character of the soil. For instance, on lands where oranges are -cultivated, in the southern part of the State, where rills are most -generally used, water cannot be applied by the flooding system, for the -reason that irrigation would be followed by cracking of the soil, so -that the trees would be killed. It is necessary on such land to -cultivate immediately after irrigation, and the method of application -is governed more by the soil than by the character of the crop.</p> - -<p>We find in California very marked and important effects following -irrigation. For instance, taking the great plains of Fresno, in the San -Joaquin valley: when irrigation commenced there twenty years ago, it -was 70 to 80 feet down to soil water—absolutely dry soil for nearly 80 -feet—and it was the rule throughout the great plain, 20 miles in width -and 25 miles in length, that soil water was beyond the reach of the -suction pump; now, in places, water stands on the surface, rushes grow, -mosquitos breed, malarial fevers abound, and the people are crying for -drainage; and lands, whose owners paid from five to twenty dollars per -acre for the right to receive water, now need drainage, and irrigation -is considered unnecessary. The amount of water taken from King's river -which was, a few years ago, regarded as not more than sufficient for -one tenth of the land immediately commanded and that seemed to require -it, is now applied to a fourth of the whole area; so that if irrigation -keeps on, the time will come when the whole country will require draining.</p> - -<p>In a district, where water is applied by the broad method, I saw in -1877 enough water, by actual measurement of flow, put on 20 acres of -land to cover it 18 feet deep, in one season, could it all have been -retained upon it. It simply soaked into the ground, or flowed out under -the great plain. Taking cross sections of this country, north and south -and east and west, I found that where the depth to soil water had, -before irrigation, been about 80 feet, it was then 20, 30, 40 or 60 and -more feet down to it. The soil water stood under the plain in the form -of a mountain, the slope running down 40 to 50 feet in a few miles on -the west and north. On the south and southwest the surface of this -water-mountain was much more steep. In the Kern river country, we have -a somewhat similar phenomenon. Irrigation, in the upper portion of the -Kern delta, affects the water in the wells 6 or 8 miles away. As I -remember the effect is felt at the rate of about a mile a day, that is -to say, when water is used in irrigating the upper portion of the -delta, or of Kern island, as it is called, the wells commence to rise a -mile away in twenty-four hours, and five miles away in perhaps five days.</p> - -<p>In the southern portion of the State, in San Bernardino county, at -Riverside, we find no such effect at all. There it was 70 to 90 feet to -soil water before irrigation and it is, as a general rule, 70 to 90 -feet still. Water applied on the surface in some places has never even -wet the soil all the way down, and wells dug there, after irrigation -had been practiced for years, have pierced dry ground for 25 or 30 feet -before getting down to where soil waters have wetted it from below. The -consequences of these phenomena are twofold. In the first place, in the -country that fills up with water, the duty of water—the quantity of -land which a given amount of water will irrigate—has increased. -Starting with a duty of not more than 25 acres to a cubic foot of water -per second, we now find that, in some localities, this amount irrigates -from 100 to 160 acres; and that some lands no longer require -irrigating. In the southern portion of the State, however, the cubic -foot of water irrigates no more than at first, and it is scarcely -possible that it will ever irrigate much more. The saving, as -irrigation goes on in the far southern portion of the State, will be -effected chiefly through the better construction of canals and -irrigation works of delivery and distribution. In Tulare valley, the -duty of water will increase as the ground fills up.</p> - -<p>In Fresno, a county which was regarded as phenomenally healthy, -malarial fevers now are found, while in San Bernardino, at Riverside, -such a thing is rarely known. Coming to Bakersfield, a region which -before irrigation commenced was famed for its malarial fevers—known as -unhealthful throughout all the State—where soil water was originally -within 15 feet of the surface, irrigation has almost entirely rid it of -the malarial effects. Chills and fever are rare now, where before -irrigation they were prevalent. What is the reason that where chills -and fever prevailed, irrigation has made a healthful country, while -where chills and fevers were not known, irrigation has made it -unhealthful? I account for it in this way: in the Kern river country -before irrigation was extensively introduced, there were many old -abandoned river channels and sloughs, overgrown with swamp vegetation -and overhung by dense masses of rank-growing foliage. Adjacent lands -were in a more or less swampy condition; ground waters stood within 10 -or 20 feet of the surface, and there was no hard-pan or impermeable -stratum between such surface and these waters. In other words, general -swampy conditions prevailed, and malarial influences followed by chills -and fevers were the result. Irrigation brought about the clearing out -of many of these old channel ways, and their use as irrigating canals. -The lands were cleared off and cultivated, fresh water was introduced -through these channels from the main river throughout the hot months, -and the swamp-like condition of the country was changed to one of a -well-tilled agricultural neighborhood with streams of fresh water -flowing through it; and the result, as I have said, was one happy in -its effect of making the climate salubrious and healthful.</p> - -<p>Considering now the case of the King's river or the Fresno country, the -lands there were a rich alluvial deposit, abounding in vegetable matter -which for long ages perhaps had been, except as wetted by the rains of -winter, dry and desiccated. Soil water was deep below the surface. Then -irrigation came. Owing to the nature of the soil, the whole country -filled up with the water. Its absorptive qualities being great and its -natural drainage defective, the vegetable matter in the soil, subjected -to more or less continued excessive moisture, has decayed. The -fluctuation of the surface of the ground waters at different seasons of -the year—such surface being at times very near to the ground surface, -and at other times 5 or 6 feet lower—has contributed to the decaying -influences which the presence of the waters engendered. The result has -been, when taken with the general overgrowth of the country with -vegetation due to irrigation, a vitiation of the atmosphere by -malarious outpourings from the soil. The advantage of the pure -atmosphere of a wide and dry plain has been lost by the miasmatic -poisonings arising from an over-wet and ill-drained neighborhood, with -the results, as affecting human healthfulness, of which I have already -spoken. The remedy is of course to drain the country. The example is -but a repetition of experiences had in other countries. The energy and -pluck of Californians will soon correct the matter.</p> - -<p>George P. Marsh, in his "Man and Nature," laid it down as a rule that -an effect of irrigation was to concentrate land holdings in a few -hands, and he wrote an article, which was published in one of our -Agricultural Department reports, in which he rather deprecates the -introduction of irrigation into the United States, or says that on this -account it should be surrounded by great safeguards. He cited instances -in Europe, as in the valley of the Po, where the tendency of irrigation -had been to wipe out small land holdings, and bring the lands into the -hands of a few of the nobility. He cited but one country where the -reverse had been the rule, which was in the south and east of Spain, -and pointed out the reason, as he conceived it, that in south and -southeastern Spain the ownership of the water went with the land and -was inseparable from it, under ancient Moorish rights. It is a fact, -that where the ownership of water goes with the land, it prevents -centering of land ownership into few hands, after that ownership is -once divided among many persons, in irrigated regions. But Mr. Marsh -overlooked one thing in predicting harm in our country; that is, that -it will be many years before we will get such a surplus of poor as to -bring about the result he feared. In California, the effect of -irrigation has not been to center the land in the hands of a few. On -the contrary, the tendency has been just the other way. When irrigation -was introduced it became possible for small land holders to live. In -Fresno county, there are many people making a living for a family, each -on 20 acres of irrigated land, and the country is divided into 20 and -40-acre tracts and owned in that way. In San Bernardino the same state -of things prevails. Before irrigation, these lands were owned in large -tracts, and it was not an uncommon thing for one owner to have 10,000 -to 20,000 acres of land. So that the rule in California, which is the -effect of irrigation, is to divide land holdings into small tracts, and -in this respect, also, irrigation is a blessing to the country. It -enables large owners to cut up their lands and sell out to the many. -Land values have advanced from $1.25 in this great valley to $50, $150 -and even $250 per acre, simply by attaching to the land the right to -take or use water, paying in addition an annual rental: in the southern -portion of the State, they have advanced from $5 and $10 to $500 and -even $1000 an acre, where the land has the right to water; and many -calculations have been made and examples cited by intelligent and -prominent people, to show that good orange land or good raisin-grape -land with sufficient water supply is well worth $1000 an acre. Water -rights run up proportionately in value. A little stream flowing an inch -of water—an amount that will flow through an inch square opening under -four inches of pressure—in the southern part of the State, is held at -values ranging from $500 to $5000. Such a little stream has changed -hands at $5000, and not at boom prices either. In the interior prices -are much less, being from about a quarter to a tenth of those in the -far southern part of the State.</p> - -<p>Fully one fourth of the United States requires irrigation. When I say -that, I mean that fully one fourth the tillable area of our country -requires irrigation, in order to support such a population as, for -instance, Indiana has. The irrigated regions of Italy support -populations of from 250 to 300 people to the square mile; of south -France, from 150 to 250 people to the square mile; of southeast Spain, -from 200 to 300. When we have 50 to 100 to the square mile in an -agricultural region we think we have a great population.</p> - -<p>The great interior valley of California will not support, without -irrigation, an average of more than 15 to 20 people per square mile. -Irrigate it and it will support as many as any other portion of the -country—reasonably it will support 200 to the square mile. I have no -doubt that the population will run up to ten or twelve millions in that -one valley, and there are regions over this country from the -Mississippi to the Pacific, millions of acres, that can be made to -support a teeming population by the artificial application of water. -And why has it not been done before? Simply for the reason that there -is a lack of knowledge of what can be done and a lack of organization -and capital to carry out the enterprises.</p> - -<p>The government has recently placed at the disposal of the United States -Geological Survey an appropriation for the investigation of this -subject, to ascertain how irrigation can be secured, the cost of -irrigation works, and point out the means for irrigation, in the arid -regions. It is one of the wisest things Congress ever did; wise in the -time and in the subject. The time will soon come when the question -would have been forced upon the country, and the wisdom of preparing -for that time cannot be too highly commended.</p> -<br> -<br><a name="chap2"></a> -<br> -<br> -<h3>ROUND ABOUT ASHEVILLE.</h3> -<center>B<small>Y</small> B<small>AILEY</small> W<small>ILLIS</small>.</center> -<br> - -<p>A broad amphitheatre lies in the heart of the North Carolina mountains -which form its encircling walls; its length is forty miles from north -to south and its width ten to twenty miles. At its southern gate the -French Broad river enters; through the northern gate the same river -flows out, augmented by the many streams of its extensive watershed.</p> - -<center><img src="images/1.jpg" alt="geological survey map of Asheville region"></center> - -<table align="right" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Figure 2"> - <tr> - <td width="247"> - <img src="images/2.jpg" alt="Natural profiles"> - </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td width="247" align="center"> - <small>SECTION FROM THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU TO THE BLUE RIDGE.<br> - Natural profiles.</small> - </td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>From these water-courses the even arena once arose with gentle slope to -the surrounding heights and that surface, did it now exist, would make -this region a very garden, marked by its genial climate and adequate -rainfall. But that level floor exists no longer; in it the rivers first -sunk their channels, their tributaries followed, the gullies by which -the waters gathered deepened, and the old plain was thus dissected. It -is now only visible from those points of view from which remnants of -its surface fall into a common plane of vision. This is the case -whenever the observer stands upon the level of the old arena; he may -then sweep with a glance the profile of a geographic condition which -has long since passed away.</p> - -<p>Asheville is built upon a bit of this plain between the ravines of the -French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, now flowing 380 feet below the -level, and at the foot of the Beau-catcher hills; toward which the -ground rises gently. The position is a commanding one, not only for the -far reaching view, but also as the meeting place of lines of travel -from north, south, east, and west. Thus Asheville became a town of -local importance long before railroads were projected along the lines -of the old turnpikes. The village was the center of western North -Carolina, as well of the county of Buncombe, and was therefore -appropriately the home of the district Federal court. A May session of -the court was in progress nine years ago when I rode up the muddy -street from the Swannanoa valley. Several well-known moonshiners were -on trial, and the town street was crowded with their sympathizers, lean -mountaineers in blue and butternut homespun. Horses were hitched at -every available rack and fence, and horse trading was active. Whiskey -was on trial at other bars than that of the court, and the long rifle, -powder-horn and pouch had not been left in the mountains. To a -"tenderfoot" (who had the day before been mistaken for a rabbit or a -revenue officer!) the attentions of the crowd were not reassuring.</p> - -<p>The general opinion was, I felt, akin to that long afterward expressed -by Groundhog Cayce: "It air an awful thing ter kill a man by accident;" -and I staid but a very short time in Asheville.</p> - -<p>Riding away toward the sunset, I traversed the old plain without seeing -that it had had a continuous surface. I noted the many gullies, and I -lost in the multitude of details the wide level from which they were -carved. That the broader fact should be obscured by the many lesser -ones is no rare experience, and perhaps there is no class of -observations of which this has been more generally true than of those -involved in landscape study. But when once the Asheville plain has been -recognized, it can never again be ignored. It enters into every view, -both as an element of beauty and as evidence of change in the -conditions which determine topographic forms. Seldom in the mountains -can one get that distance of wooded level, rarely is the foreground so -like a gem proportioned to its setting; all about Asheville one meets -with glimpses of river and valley, sunken in reach beyond reach of -woodland which stretch away to the blue mountains. The even ridges form -natural roadsites, and in driving one comes ever and anon upon a fresh -view down upon the stream far across the plain and up to the heights. -And to the student of Appalachian history, the dissected plain is a -significant contradiction of the time honored phrase, "the everlasting -hills." That plain was a fact, the result of definite conditions of -erosion; it exists no more in consequence of changes. What were the -original conditions? In what manner have they changed? Let us take -account of certain other facts before suggesting an answer. Of the -mountains which wall the Asheville amphitheatre, the Blue Ridge on the -east and the Unaka chain on the west are the two important ranges. The -Blue Ridge forms the divide between the tributaries of the Atlantic and -those of the Gulf of Mexico, and the streams which flow westward from -it all pass through the Unaka chain. It would be reasonable to suppose -that the rivers rose in the higher and flowed through the lower of the -two ranges, but they do not. The Blue Ridge is an irregular, -inconspicuous elevation but little over 4000 feet above the sea; the -Unaka mountains form a massive chain from 5000 to 6500 feet in height. -That streams should thus flow through mountains higher than their -source was once explained by the assumption that they found passage -through rents produced by earth convulsions; but that vague guess -marked the early and insufficient appreciation of the power of streams -as channel cutters, and it has passed discredited into the history of -our knowledge of valley-formation. That rivers carve out the deepest -cañons, as well as the broadest valleys, is now a truism which we must -accept in framing hypotheses to account for the courses of the French -Broad and other similar streams. Moreover, since waters from a lower -Blue Ridge could never of their own impulse have flowed over the higher -Unaka, we are brought to the question, was the Blue Ridge once the -higher, or have streams working on the western slope of the Unaka range -(when it was a main divide), worn it through from west to east, -capturing all that broad watershed between the two mountain ranges? -Either hypothesis is within the possibility of well established river -action, and both suggest the possibility of infinite change in mountain -forms and river systems. Without attempting here to discriminate -between these two hypotheses, for which a broader foundation of facts -is needed, let us look at the channel of the French Broad below -Asheville, in the river's course through the range that is higher than -its source. Descending from the old plain into the river's ravine, we -at once lose all extended views and are closely shut in by wooded -slopes and rocky bluffs. The river falls the more rapidly as we -descend, and its tributaries leap to join it, the railroad scarce -finding room between the rocks and the brawling current. The way is -into a rugged and inhospitable gorge whose walls rise at last on either -hand into mountains that culminate some thirty miles below Asheville. -At Mountain Island the waters dash beautifully over a ledge of -conglomerate and rush out from a long series of rapids into the deep -water above Hot Springs. Beyond the limestone cove in which the springs -occur, the valley, though narrow still, is wider and bottom lands -appear. Thus the water gap of the French Broad through the Unakas is -narrow and rugged, the river itself a tossing torrent; but had we -passed down other streams of similar course, we should have found them -even more turbulent, their channels even more sharply carved in the -hard rocks. On Pigeon river there are many cliffs of polished -quartzite, and on the Nolichucky river a V-shaped gorge some eight -miles long is terraced where the ledges of quartzite are horizontal and -is turreted with fantastic forms where the strata are vertical. Where -the river valleys are of this sharp cut character in high mountains, -the abrupt slopes, cliffs and rocky pinnacles are commonly still more -sharply accented in the heights. The Alpine tourist or the mountaineer -of the Sierras would expect to climb from these cañons to ragged combs -or to scarcely accessible needle-like peaks. But how different from the -heights of the Jungfrau are the "balds" of the Unakas! like the -ice-worn granite domes of New England, the massive balds present a -rounded profile against the sky. Although composed of the hardest rock, -they yet resemble in their contours, the low relief of a limestone -area. Broad, even surfaces, on which rocky outcrops are few and over -which a deep loam prevails, suggest rather that one is wandering over a -plain than on a great mountain; yet you may sweep the entire horizon -and find few higher peaks. The view is often very beautiful, it is -far-reaching, not grand. No crags tower skyward, but many domes rise -nearly to the same heights, and dome-like, their slopes are steepest -toward the base. The valleys and the mountains have exchanged the -characters they usually bear; the former are dark and forbidding, wild -and inaccessible, the latter are broad and sunlit of softened form, -habitable and inhabited. All roads and villages are on the heights, -only passing travelers and those who prey upon them frequent the depths.</p> - -<p>These facts of form are not local, they are general: all the streams of -the Unaka mountains share the features of the French Broad Cañon, while -peaks like Great Roan, Big Bald, Mt. Guyot, are but examples of a -massive mountain form common throughout the range.</p> - -<p>Thus the Unaka chain presents two peculiar facts for our consideration; -it is cut through by streams rising in a lower range, and its profiles -of erosion are convex upward not downward.</p> - -<p>If we follow our river's course beyond the Unaka chain into the valley -of East Tennessee we shall still find the channel deeply cut; here and -there bottomlands appear, now on one side, now on the other, but the -banks are more often steep slopes or vertical cliffs from fifty to one -hundred feet high. The creeks and brooks meander with moderate fall -through the undulating surface of the valley, but they all plunge by a -more or less abrupt cascade into the main rivers. It is thus evident -that the tributaries cannot keep pace with the rivers in -channel-cutting, and the latter will continue to sink below the surface -of general degradation until their diminished fall reduces their rate -of corrasion below that of the confluent streams.</p> - -<p>If from topographic forms we turn to consider the materials, the rocks, -of which they are composed, we shall find a general rule of relation -between relative elevation and rock-hardness. Thus the great valley of -East Tennessee has a general surface 3000 feet below the mean height of -the Unakas: it is an area of easily soluble, often soft, calcareous -rocks, while the mountains, consist of the most insoluble, the hardest, -silicious rocks. East of the Unakas the surface is again lower, -including the irregular divide, the Blue Ridge; here also, the -feldspathic gneisses and mica schists are, relatively speaking, easily -soluble, and non-coherent. What is thus broadly true is true in detail, -also where a more silicious limestone or a sandstone bed occurs in the -valley it forms a greater or less elevation above the surface of the -soft rocks; where a more soluble, less coherent stratum crops out in -the mountain mass, a hollow, a cove, corresponds to it. Of valley -ridges, Clinch mountain is the most conspicuous example; of mountain -hollows the French Broad valley at Hot Springs, or Tuckaleechee Cove -beneath the Great Smoky mountain, is a fair illustration.</p> - -<p>But impassive rock-hardness, mere ability to resist, is not adequate to -raise mountains, nor is rock-softness an active agent in the formation -of valleys. The passive attitude of the rocks implies a force, that is -resisted, and the very terms in which that attitude is expressed -suggest the agent which applies the force. Hardness, coherence, -insolubility,—these are terms suggestive of resistance to a force -applied to wear away, to dissolve, as flowing water wears by virtue of -the sediment it carries and as percolating waters take the soluble -constituent of rocks into solution. And it is by the slow mechanical -and chemical action of water that not only cañons are carved but even -mountain ranges reduced to gentle slopes.</p> - -<p>If we designate this process by the word "degradation," it follows from -the relation of resistance to elevation in the region under discussion -that we may say: The Appalachians are mountains of differential -degradation; that is, heights remain where the rocks have been least -energetically acted on, valleys are carved where the action of water -has been most effective.</p> - -<p>In order that the process of degradation may go on it is essential that -a land mass be somewhat raised above the sea, and, since the process is -a never-ceasing one while streams have sufficient fall to carry -sediment, it follows that, given time enough, every land surface must -be degraded to a sloping plain, to what has been called a base level.</p> - -<p>With these ideas of mountain genesis and waste, let us consider some -phases of degradation in relation to topographic forms; and in doing so -I cannot do better than to use the terms employed by Prof. Wm. M. Davis.</p> - -<p>When a land surface rises from the ocean the stream systems which at -once develope, are set the task of carrying back to the sea all that -stands above it. According to the amount of this alloted work that -streams have accomplished, they may be said to be young, mature or -aged; and if, their task once nearly completed, another uplift raise -more material to be carried off, they may be said to be revived. These -terms apply equally to the land-surface, and each period of development -is characterized by certain topographic forms.</p> - -<p>In youth simple stream systems sunk in steep walled cañons are -separated by broad areas of surface incompletely drained. In maturity -complex stream systems extend branches up to every part of the surface; -steep slopes, sharp divides, pyramidal peaks express the rapidity with -which every portion of the surface is attacked.</p> - -<p>In old age the gently rolling surface is traversed by many quiet -flowing streams; the heights are gone, the profiles are rounded, the -contours subdued. In the first emergence from the sea the courses of -streams are determined by accidents of slope, it may be by folding of -the rising surface into troughs and arches. During maturity the process -of retrogressive erosion, by which a stream cuts back into the -watershed of a less powerful opponent stream, adjusts the channels to -the outcrops of soft rocks and leaves the harder strata as eminences. -In old age this process of differential degradation is complete and -only the hardest rocks maintain a slight relief.</p> - -<p>Suppose that an aged surface of this character be revived: the rivers -hitherto flowing quietly in broad plains will find their fall increased -in their lower courses; their channels in soft rock will rapidly become -cañons, and the revived phase will retreat up stream in the same manner -that the cañons of youth extended back into the first uplifted mass. If -the area of soft rocks be bounded by a considerable mass of very hard -rocks, it is conceivable that a second phase of age, a base level, -might creep over the valley while yet the summits of the first old age -remained unattacked, and should perchance revival succeed revival the -record of the last uplift might be read in sharp cut channels of the -great rivers, while the forms of each preceding phase led like steps to -the still surviving domes of that earliest old age.</p> - -<p>Is there aught in these speculations to fit our facts? I think there -is. We have seen that our mountains and valleys are the result of -differential degradation, and that this is not only broadly true but -true in detail also. This is evidence that streams have been long at -work adjusting their channels, they have passed through the period of maturity.</p> - -<p>We have climbed to the summits of the Unakas and found them composed of -rocks as hard as those from which the pinnacle of the Matterhorn is -chiseled; but we see them gently sloping, as a plain. These summits are -very, very old.</p> - -<p>We have recognized that dissected plain, the level of the Asheville -amphitheatre, now 2,400 feet above the sea; it was a surface produced -by subaerial erosion, and as such it is evidence of the fact that the -French Broad River, and such of its tributaries as drain this area, at -one time completed their work upon it, reached a base level. That they -should have accomplished this the level of discharge of the sculpturing -streams must have been constant during a long period, a condition which -implies either that the fall from the Asheville plain to the ocean was -then much less than it now is, or that through local causes the French -Broad was held by a natural dam, where it cuts the Unaka chain.</p> - -<p>If we should find that other rivers of this region have carved the -forms of age upon the surfaces of their intermontane valleys, and there -is now some evidence of this kind at hand, then we must appeal to the -more general cause of base-levelling and accept the conclusion that the -land stood lower in relation to the ocean than it now does. -Furthermore, we have traversed the ravines which the streams have cut -in this ancient plain and we may note on the accompanying atlas sheet -that the branches extend back into every part of it; the ravines -themselves prove that the level of discharge has been lowered, the -streams have been revived; and the wide ramification of the brooks is -the characteristic of approaching maturity.</p> - -<p>We have also glanced at the topography of the valley and have found the -rivers flowing in deep-cut simple channels which are young, and the -smaller streams working on an undulating surface that is very sensitive -to processes of degradation.</p> - -<p>The minor stream systems are very intricate and apparently mature, but -they have not yet destroyed the evidence of a general level to which -the whole limestone area was once reduced, but which now is represented -by many elevations that approach 1,600 feet above the sea. Here then in -the valley are young river channels, mature stream systems and faint -traces of an earlier base level, all of them more recent than the -Asheville level, which is in turn less ancient than the dome-like -summits of the Unakas.</p> - -<p>What history can we read in these suggestive topographic forms and -their relations?</p> - -<p>The first step in the evolution of a continent is its elevation above -the sea. The geologist tells us that the earliest uplift of the -Appalachian region after the close of the Carboniferous period was -preceded or accompanied by a folding of the earth's crust into -mountainous wave-like arches; upon these erosion at once began and -these formed our first mountains. Where they were highest the geologist -may infer from geologic structure and the outcrops of the oldest rocks; -but the facts for that inference are not yet all gathered and it can -only be said that the heights of that ancient topography were probably -as great over the valley of Tennessee as over the Unaka chain. The -positions of rivers were determined by the relations of the arches to -each other and, as they were in a general way parallel, extending from -northeast to southwest, we know that the rivers too had -northeast-southwest courses. From that first drainage system the -Tennessee river, as far down as Chattanooga, is directly descended, and -when the geologic structure of North Carolina and East Tennessee is -known, we may be able to trace the steps of adjustment by which the -many waters have been concentrated to form that great river. At present -we cannot sketch the details, but we know that it was a long process -and that it was accompanied by a change in the <i>raison d'être</i> of the -mountain ranges. The first mountains were high because they had been -relatively raised; they gave place to hills that survived because they -had not been worn down. A topography of differential uplift gave place -to one of differential degradation. And to the latter the dome-like -"balds" of the Unakas belong. Those massive summits of granite, -quartzite and conglomerate are not now cut by running waters; they are -covered with a mantel of residual soil, the product of excessively slow -disintegration, and they are the remnants of a surface all of which has -yielded to degradation, save them. In time the streams will cut back -and carve jagged peaks from their masses, but standing on their heights -my thought has turned to the condition they represent—the condition -that is past. And thus in thought I have looked from the Big Bald out -on a gently sloping plain which covered the many domes of nearly equal -height and stretched away to merge on the horizon in the level of the -sea. That, I conceive, was the first base level plain of which we have -any evidence in the Appalachians and from that plain our present -valleys have been eroded. The continental elevation must then have been -3,000 or 4,000 feet less than it is now, and the highest hills were -probably not more than 2,500 feet above the sea. This was perhaps a -period of constant relation between sea and land, but it was succeeded -by one during which the land slowly rose. The rivers, which had -probably assumed nearly their present courses, were revived; the -important channels soon sank in cañons, the tributaries leaped in -rapids and cut back into the old base level. The region continued to -rise during a period long enough to produce the essential features of -the mountain ranges of to-day; then it stood still in relation to the -sea or perhaps subsided somewhat, and the French Broad and probably -other rivers made record of the pause in plains like that about -Asheville. Again the land rose slowly; again it paused, and rivers, -working always from their mouths backward, carved a base-level in the -limestones of the great valley; but before that level could extend up -through the gorges in the Unakas, the continent was raised to its -present elevation, the streams responded to the increased fall given -them and the rivers in the valley began to cut their still incomplete cañons.</p> - -<p>Are we not led step by step from these latest sharply cut channels up -stream through the chapters of erosion to the still surviving domes of -an early old age? Let us sum up the history we have traced. There is -reason to believe that:</p> - -<blockquote>1st. The consequent topography of the earliest Appalachian uplift was -entirely removed during a prolonged period of erosion and was replaced -by a relief of differential degradation.</blockquote> - -<blockquote>2d. The balds of the Unakas represent the heights of that first-known -approach to a base-level.</blockquote> - -<blockquote>3d. The topography of the region has been revived by a general, though -not necessarily uniform, uplift of 3,000 feet or more, divided by two -intervals of rest; during the first of these the Asheville base-level -was formed; during the second, the valley alone was reduced.</blockquote> - -<blockquote>4th. The latest movement of the uplift has been, geologically speaking, -quite recent, and the revived streams have accomplished but a small -part of their new task.</blockquote> - -<p>These conclusions are reached on the observation of a single class of -facts in one district; they must be compared with the record of -continental oscillation on the sea coasts, in the deposits of the -coastal plain, and in the topography of other districts.</p> - -<p>The history of the Appalachians is written in every river system and on -every mountain range, but in characters determined for each locality by -the local conditions. Only when the knowledge, to which every tourist -may contribute, is extended over the entire region shall we know -conclusively the whole story.</p> -<br> -<br><a name="chap3"></a> -<br> -<br> -<h3>A TRIP TO PANAMA AND DARIEN.</h3> -<center>B<small>Y</small> R<small>ICHARD</small> U. G<small>OODE</small>.</center> -<br> - -<p>The Government of the United States of Colombia in its act of -Concession to the Panama Canal Company provided that it should give to -the latter <i>"gratuitement et avec toutes les mines qu'ils pourront -contenir"</i> 500,000 hectares of land.</p> - -<p>Some of the conditions attached to this grant were, that the land -should be selected within certain limits and surveyed by the Canal -Company; that a topographical map should be made of the areas surveyed -and that an amount equal to that surveyed for the canal should also be -surveyed for the benefit of the Colombian Government. It was also -further agreed that it would not be necessary to complete the canal -before any of the land should be granted, but that it would be given at -different times in amounts proportional to the amount of work -accomplished.</p> - -<p>Thus in 1887, the Government agreed to consider that one-half of the -work on the canal had been finished and that the canal was consequently -entitled to 250,000 hectares of land, upon the completion of the -necessary surveys, etc.</p> - -<p>The land was eventually chosen partly in Darien and partly in Chiriqui -as follows:</p> - -<blockquote>In Darien three lots, one between the Paya and Mangle rivers, one -between the Maria and Pirri rivers, the two amounting to 100,000 -hectares, and one lot of 25,000 hectares between the Yape and Pucro rivers.</blockquote> - -<blockquote>In Chiriqui, which is a Province of Panama just east of Costa Rica, two -lots were chosen amounting to 125,000 hectares, one between the Sigsola -and Rabalo rivers, and the other between the Catabella and San Pedro -rivers.</blockquote> - -<p>The Canal Company wanted the title to the land in order that it might -be used as collateral security in bolstering up the finances of the -corporation, and the Colombian Government was doubtless very willing to -let the Canal Company have this amount or as much more as was wanted, -both parties being equally aware of the valueless character of the land -for any practical purposes.</p> - -<p>My services were engaged in 1888 in connection with the astronomical -work incident to the survey of these grants and it was intended that I -should visit both Darien and Chiriqui, but the contract term expired -about the time of the completion of the work in Darien, which was taken -up first, and it was deemed prudent for various reasons, the chief of -them being the unhealthiness of the locality at that season of the -year, about the middle of April, not to remain longer on the Isthmus. -If it had been possible to work as expeditiously as in this country -there would have been ample time to have completed the necessary -astronomical work for both surveys, and without understanding men and -methods peculiar to a tropical country I started out with this -expectation, but soon found out that any efforts looking towards -expediting any particular matter were not only useless but were -detrimentally reactive upon the person putting forward such efforts. -Thus it was nearly the first of March before I reached Darien, having -sailed from New York a month previously. Passage was had from Panama to -Darien in a steamer chartered for the purpose. Sailing across the Bay -of Panama and entering the Tuyra River at Boca Chica, we ascended the -river as far as the village Real de St. Marie. At this point the -steamer was abandoned and further transportation was had in canoes.</p> - -<p>Darien is a province of the State of Panama and its boundaries as given -by Lieut. Sullivan in his comprehensive work on "Problem of -Interoceanic Communication," are as follows: "The Atlantic coast line -is included between Point San Blas and Cape Tiburon; that of the -Pacific extends from the mouth of the Bayano to Point Ardita. The -eastern boundary is determined by the main Cordillera in its sweep -across the Isthmus from a position of close proximity to the Pacific, -near Point Ardita, to a similar position near Tiburon, on the Atlantic. -The valleys of the Mandinga and Mamoni-Bayano determine its western limit."</p> - -<p>The Darien hills as seen from the Atlantic side present to the view an -apparently solid ridge of mountains, although there are in reality many -low passes which are concealed by projecting spurs.</p> - -<p>The dividing ridge hugs close to the Atlantic, and the rivers, of which -there are a great many on this side, plunge abruptly to the sea. On the -Pacific side the rivers have a much longer distance to flow before -reaching the sea, and the territory bordering on the ocean is low and -swampy. The tidal limit of the Tuyra River is nearly fifty miles from -its mouth, and on this river and many of its tributaries one can travel -many miles inland before ground sufficiently solid to land upon can be -found. The vegetation within this low lying area is thick and closely -matted together, and this fact taken in connection with the swampy -character of the ground, makes travel on foot through any portion of it -exceedingly difficult. Therefore the various rivers, which form a very -complex system and penetrate everywhere are the natural highways of the -country. The chief rivers on the Pacific side are the Tuyra and Boyano -with their numerous tributaries and on the Atlantic watershed is the Atrato.</p> - -<p>A peculiarity noticed at Real de St. Marie, which is at the junction of -the Pyrrhi and Tuyra rivers and at which point the tide has a rise and -fall of twelve or fifteen feet, was that at low tide it was impossible -to enter the mouth of the Pyrrhi with a boat, while five or six miles -up the stream there was always a good supply of flowing water and at -double that distance it became a mountain torrent.</p> - -<p>Outside of the swampy area the character of the country is rough and -mountainous. The valleys are narrow and the ridges exceedingly sharp, -the natural result of a great rain fall. The hills are able to resist -the continued wasting effect of the vast volumes of descending water -only by their thick mantle of accumulated vegetation, and were it not -for this protection the many months of continuous annual rain would -long ago have produced a leveling effect that would have made -unnecessary the various attempts of man to pierce the Isthmian -mountains and form an artificial strait.</p> - -<p>The ridges are sometimes level for a short distance, but are generally -broken and are made up of a succession of well rounded peaks. These -peaks are always completely covered with trees and from the top of the -sharpest of them it is impossible to get a view of the surrounding -country. The highest point climbed was about 2,000 feet above sea level -and the highest peak in Darien is Mt. Pyrrhi which is between three and -four thousand.</p> - -<p>Darien has been the scene of a great deal of surveying and exploration -from the time that Columbus, in 1503, coasted along its shores, hoping -to find a strait connecting the two oceans, up to the present time. -Balboa, in 1510, discovered the Pacific by crossing the Darien -mountains from Caledonia Bay. This discovery taken in connection with -the broad indentations of the land noted by Columbus, led the old world -to believe in the existence of a strait, and the entire coast on each -side of the new world was diligently searched. The Cabots, Ponce de -Leon and Cortez interested themselves in this search and it was not -until about 1532 that all expectations of finding the strait were -abandoned. The idea of a direct natural communication between the -oceans being thus dispelled, the question of an artificial junction -arose, and in 1551 a Spanish historian recommended to Philip II. of -Spain the desirability of an attempt to join the oceans by identically -the same routes to which the attention of the whole civilized portion -of the world is now being drawn, that is, Tehauntepec, Nicaragua and -Panama. From this time up to the commencement of the work of the -Isthmian expeditions sent out by the United States, and which lasted -from 1870 to 1875, but little geographical knowledge relative to Darien -was obtained. The United States expeditions undoubtedly did a great -amount of valuable exploration and surveying, and while the names of -Strain, Truxton, Selfridge and Lull will always be held in high esteem -for what they accomplished in this direction, still it is to be -regretted that with all the resources at their command they did not -make a complete map of the country. And just here I want to bring -forward the suggestion that all that has been accomplished and more, -could have been accomplished if the various explorers had known, or -practically utilized, a fact that my own experience and that of other -topographers, in this country and Darien, has impressed upon me; and -that is, that it is easier in a rough and mountainous country to travel -on the ridge than in the valley. In Darien they were looking for a low -pass in the Cordillera and this was what should have first been sought, -directly. Having found the low passes the valleys of the streams -draining therefrom could have then been examined, and thus all -necessary information could have been obtained and the subject -exhausted. The plan followed by the Isthmian expeditions was to ascend -a stream with the hope of finding a suitable pass. The pass might be -found or it might not, and if not, so much labor as far as the direct -solution of the problem was concerned was lost. A pass of low altitude -was of primary importance and should have been sought for in an -exhaustive way.</p> - -<p>Humboldt said in substance, "Do not waste your time in running -experimental lines across. Send out a party fully equipped, which -keeping down the dividing ridge the whole length of the Isthmus, by -this means can obtain a complete knowledge of the hypsometrical and -geological conditions of the dam that obstructs the travel and commerce -of the world." But strange to say this plan suggested by such an -eminent authority as Humboldt and so strongly recommended by common -sense, has never been followed, and to-day after all the money that has -been spent and the lives lost in explorations in Darien, there is not -sufficient data collected to prove conclusively that there does not now -exist some route for an interoceanic canal that possesses merits -superior to any at present known. It is true the dividing ridge would -be difficult to follow on account of the great number of confusing -spurs, but I think I am safe in saying that starting from the summit of -the main ridge at Culebra pass on the Isthmus of Panama, the dividing -ridge extending to the pass at the head waters of the Atrato could be -exhaustively followed and studied with as much facility as could either -the Tuyra or Atrato rivers, embracing with each their respective tributaries.</p> - -<p>I traveled on some of the high dividing ridges in Darien, and did not -find that progress was at all difficult, and especially noted the fact -of the absence of tangled undergrowth and matted vines which is so -characteristic of the Darien forests generally.</p> - -<p>Now a few words about the inhabitants of Panama and Darien, and in -referring to these I mean the native inhabitants and not the -indiscriminate gathering of all nationalities that were attracted by -the Panama Canal.</p> - -<p>In Central and South America, as in North America, the aboriginal -inhabitant was the Indian. When the Spaniards first attempted to -colonize Darien they were met and resisted by the native Indian just as -our forefathers were in Virginia and Massachusetts, and as with us so -in Panama and Darien the Indians have been driven back by degrees from -the shores of both oceans until now they are found only in the far interior.</p> - -<p>They resemble our Indians in appearance, but are smaller. They are -averse to manual labor and live almost entirely by hunting and fishing, -although they sometimes have small plantations of plantains, bananas, -oranges and lemons. The Spaniards in settling in the new country -brought very few women with them and the Colombian of to-day is the -result of the admixture of the Indian and Spanish blood, and has many -of the characteristics of each race. In addition to the Indian and -Colombian there are in Panama and Darien a comparatively large number -of negroes, who were originally imported as slaves by the early -Spaniards, and who now constitute by far the larger portion of the -inhabitants of Darien, being found usually in villages along the -valleys of the larger streams. In contrast to the Colombian and Indian -they are large in stature and make excellent laborers.</p> - -<p>The principal villages in Darien, as Yovisa, Pinagana and Real de St. -Marie, are inhabited exclusively by the negroes, with the exception of -a Spanish judge in each, who exercises great authority. Besides being a -judge in civil and criminal cases, he practically controls everything -in his particular village, as all contracts for labor are negotiated -with him and settlement for services made through him.</p> - -<p>Upon reaching Darien the first work assigned me was the survey and -exploration of the Pyrrhi river. This survey was made for two purposes: -primarily, to determine if any of the country bordering upon it was of -a sufficiently desirable character to include it within the grant, and -secondly, to secure data for the general topographical map. My -instructions were to proceed as far south as latitude 7° 30'. The -ascent of the river was made in canoes until the frequency of rapids -made it necessary to abandon them, and then the journey was continued -on foot, generally wading in the middle of the stream, as the -undergrowth was too thick to admit of progress along the banks. -Sometimes the water was very shallow; at other times, where it had been -backed up by dams of porphyritic rock, it reached above the waist, and -near the end of the journey where the river ran between vertical walls -of great height it was necessary to swim in order to get beyond this cañon.</p> - -<p>The survey of this river was satisfactorily accomplished in about a -week. The method adopted for the survey was to take compass bearings -and to estimate distances. These courses and distances were plotted as -they were taken and thus the topographical and other features could be -readily sketched in connection with them. To check and control this -work, observations were taken every day at noon with a sextant, on the -sun, for latitude and time, and at night circum-meridian altitudes of -stars were obtained when possible.</p> - -<p>Thus a number of rivers were surveyed—the Maria, Tucuti, Yovisa and -other tributaries of the Tuyra. When it was found that a sufficiently -correct idea of the country for topographical purposes could not be -obtained by simply meandering the water courses, lines or <i>trochas</i> -were cut through the forest from stream to stream, and where two -streams thus connected were tributaries of a common river, all of which -had been previously surveyed, a closed figure was obtained, an -adjustment for errors of closure made, and by putting together the -topographical data obtained by the four lines, there was generally -found to be sufficient information to give a satisfactory though of -course a crude delineation of the included area.</p> - -<p>After a number of rivers had been examined with more or less accuracy -in this way, it was finally decided that the area for one portion of -the grant best suited for the purposes of the Canal Company lay on the -right bank of the Tuyra river, and that the portion of the river which -lay between the mouths of two of its tributaries, the Rio Yape and the -Rio Pucro, should be one of the boundaries of the grant. The Yape and -Pucro have courses approximately parallel to each other and at right -angles to the Rio Tuyra, and these streams were also chosen as boundary -lines, so that the grant would have the three rivers as natural -boundaries, and the fourth and closing boundary was to be a straight -line from a certain point on the Yape to the Pucro, so located as to -include within the four boundaries an area approximately equal to the -amount of the grant, which in this particular case was 25,000 hectares. -The problem then presented was: given three rivers for three boundaries -of a figure to establish a fourth and artificial line, completing the -figure in such a way that it should contain a given area, and also to -procure data for a topographical map of the country surveyed.</p> - -<p>This survey was put under my direction and I was instructed to proceed -to a point overlooking the Tuyra river, between the Rio Yape and the -Rio Pucro, near the mouth of the Rio Capite, for the purpose of -establishing a base camp. Leaving Real de St. Marie on the evening of -March 15th, with a fleet of twelve canoes and about thirty native -laborers, we reached the site for the camp in two days. After landing -everything, the work of clearing away trees and underbrush over an area -sufficiently large for the camp was commenced. The men worked willingly -with axe and machéte, and soon the forest receded and left bare a -semi-circular space facing the river.</p> - -<p>Two houses were needed and without saw, nail or hammer the construction -was commenced and prosecuted rapidly. Straight trees about six inches -in diameter and twenty feet long were cut and planted vertically in -holes dug out with the machéte, and horizontal pieces of a smaller -diameter were securely fastened on with long tough strips of bark, and -thus a square or oblong frame was fashioned. The horizontal pieces were -placed at a distance of about three feet from the ground, on which a -flooring was eventually laid, and at the top of the frame where the -slope of the roof began. On the top pieces other poles were laid and -fastened across and lengthwise, and on these the men stood while making -the skeleton of the roof. The latter was made very steep for better -protection against the rain. After the ridge pole was put in position -other smaller poles were fastened on parallel and perpendicular to it -so that the whole roof was divided up into squares, and it was finally -completed by weaving in thick bunches of palm and other leaves in such -a way as to make it thoroughly water-proof. For our purpose no -protection on the sides of the structures other than the projecting -eaves was considered necessary. A floor of poles laid very close -together was put in one house, the one used for sleeping purposes, and -in the other a table for eating, writing, draughting, etc., was made. -Thus in two or three days the place was made thoroughly habitable, and -men were detailed to see that the grounds, etc., were always kept -thoroughly clean and in a good sanitary condition, a very necessary -precaution in a tropical country. The forest afforded game, the river -an abundance of fish; bananas, oranges, lemons and pineapples were -easily procured from the natives, who also furnished material for a -poultry yard, and thus while located at camp Capite, situated as it was -on a picturesque spot overlooking two swiftly flowing rivers, with good -drinking water, a commissary department well stocked, a French cook who -would have done himself credit anywhere, I could not but think that -heretofore pictures of life in Darien had been too somberly drawn, and -that where so much suffering and sickness had prevailed among the early -explorers it was because they had gone there not properly outfitted, -and because carried away with ambitious enthusiasm their adventurous -spirit had caused them often to undertake that which their calmer -judgment would not have dictated; and that to these causes as much as -to the unhealthy condition of the locality was due their many -hardships. Several days were spent here getting time and latitude -observations and in mapping out plans for the work. It was decided that -the mouths of the Yape, Capite and Pucro and other points along these -rivers, such as mouths of tributary streams, etc., should be -astronomically located, that these points should be connected by -compass lines, and also that cross lines should be run at various -points from the Yape to the Capite and from the Capite to the Pucro. It -was further decided that as time was limited it would be impracticable -to run out the fourth side of the figure that would contain the grant, -as the country around the headwaters of the streams was known to be -exceedingly rough and mountainous, and to follow any straight line -would necessarily involve a great amount of laborious cutting and climbing.</p> - -<p>Furthermore, in order to know just what direction this line should -follow it would be first necessary to make a connected preliminary -survey of the three rivers; to plot this survey and then by inspection -of the map and consideration of various starting points to decide on -the most available location of the fourth side.</p> - -<p>Instead of this it was considered best and sufficient to arbitrarily -adopt a certain waterfall on the Rio Yape, the location of which was -approximately known from a reconnoisance previously made, as the -initial point of the line connecting the upper Yape with the Pucro and -closing the figure. Thus it only became necessary, as far as the -boundaries were concerned, to run a line along the Tuyra, joining the -mouths of the Yape and Pucro; to run a line from the mouth of the Yape -to the waterfall above referred to; and to run up the Pucro -sufficiently far to be certain that when the work was completed and -plotted, a line drawn from the position of the waterfall on the map in -such a way as to include the desired area would intersect the Pucro at -some point within the limit of what had been surveyed. I have not time -to go into the details of the various trips by land and water necessary -to carry out these plans.</p> - -<p>Before starting it was known exactly what was necessary to be done; -each assistant engineer had his work clearly mapped out before him, and -each one faithfully performed the task allotted to him, so that the -whole survey was brought to a successful completion. This brought to a -close all the work in Darien, the other tracts having been surveyed -before my arrival and consequently the whole expedition returned to -Panama, and soon afterwards I returned to this country.</p> - -<p>In going to and returning from Darien, I passed twice over the Panama -railroad and along the line of the Panama canal, and I have thought -that a few facts relative to the canal and railroad might prove of -interest to the Geographical Society.</p> - -<p>Published herewith is a sketch showing the location of the railroad, -canal and tributary drainage, and a profile along the axis of the canal.</p> - -<center><img src="images/3.jpg" alt="Sketch of Panama region"></center> - -<table align="right" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Figure 4"> - <tr> - <td width="189"> - <img src="images/4.jpg" alt="Panama Canal profile"> - </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td width="189" align="center"> - <small>PROFILE OF THE PANAMA CANAL.<br>Black indicates work -executed; stipple, work to be executed to complete a lock-canal; white, -additional work to be executed to complete a sea-level canal.</small> - </td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>The first surveys for the railroad were made in 1849, and it was -probably the excitement of the California gold fever that brought about -its construction at this particular time. Ground was broken in January, -1850, and the last rail was laid in January, 1855.</p> - -<p>The length of the road is 47.6 miles and it crosses the dividing summit -at an elevation of 263 feet above the mean level of the Atlantic ocean. -The maximum grade is 60 feet to the mile. Soon after the road was built -accurate levels were run to determine the difference, if any, between -the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and it was found that the mean levels -were about the same, although there are of course variations owing to -local causes, and considerable differences of height at times, owing to -differences of tides in the Atlantic and Pacific. At Aspinwall the -greatest rise is only 1.6 feet, while at Panama there is at times a -difference of over 21 feet between high and low water. The cost of the -railroad was $75,000,000.</p> - -<p>The existence of the railroad was probably the deciding cause that led -Lesseps to the adoption of this location of the proposed canal.</p> - -<p>Now that the scheme has practically failed it is very easy to see and -appreciate the difficulties that lay in the way of building a canal at -this particular place; and it certainly seems that if sound engineering -principles had been adopted at least some of these difficulties could -have been understood and properly combatted. The whole scheme, however, -from an engineering standpoint, seems to have been conducted in the -most blundering manner.</p> - -<p>Lesseps is a diplomat and financier, but in no sense a great engineer. -In the construction of the Suez canal, the questions of diplomacy and -finance were the most difficult to settle, while the engineering -problems were comparatively simple. In Panama the opposite conditions -prevailed. Concessions were freely given him by the Colombian -government and money freely offered him by the French people, but he -never grasped or comprehended the difficulties that nature had planted -in his way, and these only seemed to occur to him when they blocked -progress in a certain direction. The Paris Conference, controlled by -Lesseps, decided on the 29th of May, 1879, that the construction of an -interoceanic canal was possible and that it should be built from the -Gulf of Limon to the Bay of Panama.</p> - -<p>The tide-level scheme was adopted and the following dimensions decided -upon, viz: Length, 45.5 miles; depth, 28 feet; width at water line 164 -feet, and width at bottom 72 feet.</p> - -<p>The route determined upon was about the same as that of the railroad, -that is along the valleys of the Chagres and Obispo, crossing the -divide at the Culebra pass and then descending to the Pacific along the -course of the Rio Grande. The profile which is reproduced from -"Science," shows the state of progress on January 1st, 1888, and the -amount of excavation that has been done since that time would make but -a slight difference in the appearance of the profile. The portion shown -in black is what has been removed along the axis of the canal and -represents an expenditure of over $385,000,000 and seven years' labor. -The reasons that make the scheme impracticable are briefly these, some -of which were known before the work was commenced, and all of which -should have been understood.</p> - -<p>The first great difficulty is in cutting through the ridge culminating -at Culebra where the original surface was 354 feet above the bed of the -proposed canal. It was never known what the geological formation of -this ridge was until the different strata were laid bare by the -workman's pick, and the slope adopted, 1½ to 1, was found to be -insufficient in the less compact formations, even at the comparatively -shallow depth that was reached, and many and serious landslides were of -frequent occurrence.</p> - -<p>Another serious difficulty was the disposition of the excavated -material, for upon the completion of a sea-level course this channel -would naturally drain all the country hitherto tributary to the Chagres -and Rio Grande, and any substance not removed to a great distance would -eventually be washed back again into the canal. But perhaps the -greatest difficulty was in the control of the immense surface drainage. -The Chagres river during the dry season is, where it crosses the line -of the canal near Gamboa, only about two feet deep and 250 feet wide, -but during a flood the depth becomes as much as forty feet, the width -1,500 feet, and the volume of water discharged 160,000 cubic feet per -second. The bed of the river is here 42 feet above sea level, or 70 -feet above what the bottom of canal would have been. Now add to this a -40-foot flood and we have a water surface one hundred and ten feet -above the bed of the canal.</p> - -<p>In order to keep this immense volume of water from the canal it was -proposed to build a large dam at Gamboa, and to convey the water by an -entirely different and artificial route to the Atlantic. It is -impossible to show on the map the whole drainage area of the Chagres, -but a rough calculation shows it to be about 500 square miles. This -seems a small total drainage area, but when it is considered that the -annual rainfall is about 12 <small>FEET</small>, that this rainfall is confined to -about one half the year, and that in six consecutive hours there has -been a precipitation of over six inches of rain, some idea of the -amount of water that finds its way through the Chagres river during the -wet season may be formed.</p> - -<p>As I said before it was proposed to protect the canal from the waters -of the upper Chagres by an immense dam at Gamboa, and for the purpose -of controlling the water tributary to the lower Chagres two additional -canals or channels were to be constructed on either side of the main -canal. Thus, as the river is very tortuous and the axis of the canal -crossed it twenty-five or thirty times, many deviations of the former -became necessary. In some places the canal was to occupy the bed of the -river and in others it cut across bends leaving the river for its -original natural purpose of drainage. The difficulty in retaining the -floods in these constructed channels would of course be immense, -especially in some of the cases where the water rushing along its -natural channel is suddenly turned at right angles into an artificial -one. Thus it is clear that aside from the enormous expense incident to -the removal of the immense amount of earth and rock necessary to -complete the canal, that granting all this accomplished, it would be -practically impossible to maintain a sea-level canal by reason of the -difficulty in controlling the Chagres and preventing the canal from -filling up.</p> - -<p>The canal company finally came to the conclusion that the sea-level -scheme was impracticable and it was abandoned, and plans were prepared -for a lock system. As seen on the profile there were ten locks -proposed, five on each side of the summit level. The summit level was -to be 150 feet above sea level and consequently each lock would have a -lift of thirty feet. The profile was constructed especially to show the -amount remaining to be executed to complete the lock system, and a mere -inspection will show the relative amount of completed and uncompleted -area along the axis of the canal. To complete the summit cut it is -still necessary to excavate 111 feet, 93 feet having already been -excavated, through a horizontal distance of 3300 feet. The width of cut -at top surface for the required depth at a slope of 1½ to 1 would be -750 feet, but as I said before, at this slope landslides were of -frequent occurrence and the slope would probably have to be increased -to at least 2 to 1.</p> - -<p>Granting the necessary excavations made, there would be still the -problem of the control of the Chagres river and the water supply for -the summit level to provide for. At first it was thought that the water -supply could be obtained from the storage of the waters of the Chagres -and Obispo, but this idea was eventually abandoned, either from a -belief in the insufficiency of the water supply during the dry season, -or from difficulties in the way of conveying the water to the summit level.</p> - -<p>Then it was that the advice of Mr. Eiffel, a noted French engineer, was -sought, and after a visit to the Isthmus he proposed that the summit -level should be supplied by pumping from the Pacific. A contract was -immediately made with Eiffel, who was heralded all over the world as -the man who would save the canal, and immediately a positive day, the -seventh that had been announced, was fixed for the opening of the great canal.</p> - -<p>I do not know just how much work was done towards perfecting the system -for pumping, but probably very little was ever accomplished in this -direction, as soon after this scheme was thought of the available funds -of the canal company began to be very scarce, and there has been since -then a general collapse of work all along the line until now it is -entirely suspended. From what I have said and from what can be seen -from the profile, it will be readily understood that as far as the -sea-level project is concerned the amount done is not much more than a -scraping of the surface, relatively speaking, and that what has been -done is in places where the obstacles were fewest.</p> - -<p>In regard to the lock canal about one third of the necessary excavation -has been made along the axis of the canal, but taking into -consideration other requirements necessary for the completion of the -scheme, I should estimate, roughly, that probably only one sixth of the -whole amount of work had been accomplished. The question now naturally -arises as to what will be the probable future of this great enterprise.</p> - -<p>The French people have seen the scheme fail under Lesseps in whom they -had the most unbounded confidence, and it is not likely that they will -raise any more money to be put in it as a business enterprise under any -other management. Saddled as it is with a debt of nearly four hundred -millions of dollars, it would be difficult to convince any one that it -could ever prove to be a paying investment. Nor do I think that any -American or English corporation can be organized that could obtain such -concessions from Lesseps as would make the scheme an inviting field for -capitalists, and thus my opinion is that the <i>"Compagnie Universelle du -Canal Interocéanique de Panama"</i> has irretrievably collapsed, and that -the canal will remain, as it is now, the most gigantic failure of the age.</p> -<br> -<br><a name="chap4"></a> -<br> -<br> -<h3>ACROSS NICARAGUA WITH TRANSIT AND MACHÉTE.</h3> -<center>B<small>Y</small> R. E. P<small>EARY</small>.</center> -<br> - -<p>The action of this National Society, with its array of distinguished -members, in turning its attention for an hour to a region which has -interested the thinking world for more than three centuries gives me -peculiar pleasure and satisfaction.</p> - -<p>I propose this evening to touch lightly and briefly upon the natural -features of Nicaragua, to note the reasons for the interest which has -always centered upon her, to trace the growth of the great project with -which her name is inseparably linked; to show you somewhat in detail, -the life, work, and surroundings of an engineer within her borders; and -finally to show you the result that is to crown the engineer's work in -her wide spreading forests and fertile valleys.</p> - -<p>That portion of Central America now included within the boundaries of -our sister republic Nicaragua, has almost from the moment that European -eyes looked upon it attracted and charmed the attention of explorers, -geographers, great rulers, students, and men of sagacious and far -reaching intellect.</p> - -<p>From Gomara the long list of famous names which have linked themselves -with Nicaragua reaches down through Humboldt, Napoleon III., Ammen, -Lull, Menocal and Taylor.</p> - -<p>The shores were first seen by Europeans in 1502, when Columbus in his -fourth voyage rounded the cape which forms the northeast angle of the -state, and called it "Gracias á Dios," which name it bears to-day. -Columbus then coasted southward along the eastern shore.</p> - -<p>In 1522, Avila, penetrated from the Pacific coast of the country to the -lakes and the cities of the Indian inhabitants. Previous to this the -country was occupied by a numerous population of Aztecs, or nearly -allied people, as the quantities of specimens of pottery, gold images, -and other articles found upon the islands and along the shores of the -lakes, prove conclusively.</p> - -<p>In 1529 the connection of the lakes with the Caribbean sea was -discovered, and during the last half of the eighteenth century a -considerable commerce was carried on by this route between Granada on -Lake Nicaragua and the cities of Nombre de Dios, Cartagena, Havana and Cadiz.</p> - -<p>In 1821 Nicaragua threw off the rule of the mother country and in 1823 -formed with her sister Spanish colonies, a confederation. This -confederation was dissolved in 1838, and since then Nicaragua has -conducted her own affairs. In point of advancement, financial solidity -and stability of government she stands to-day nearly, if not quite, at -the head of the Central American republics.</p> - -<p>Nicaragua extends over a little more than four degrees each of latitude -and longitude, from about N. 11° to N. 15° and from 83° 20' W. to 87° 40' W.</p> - -<p>Its longest side is the northern border from the Gulf of Fonseca -northeasterly to Cape Gracias á Dios, two hundred and ninety miles. -From that cape south to the mouth of the Rio San Juan, the Caribbean -coast line, is two hundred and fifty miles. Nearly due west across the -Isthmus to Salinas Bay on the Pacific, is one hundred and twenty miles. -The Pacific coast line extends thence northwest one hundred and sixty miles.</p> - -<p>In point of size Nicaragua stands first among the Central American -republics having an area of 51,600 square miles. It is larger than -either the State of New York or Pennsylvania, about the size of -Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland combined, and is -one-fourth as large as France or Germany. Its population numbers about -300,000.</p> - -<p>The Gulf of Fonseca, at the northern, and Salinas Bay at the southern -extremity of the coast line are two of the finest and largest harbors -on the Pacific coast of Central America. About midway between them is -the fine harbor of Corinto, and there are also several other ports -along the coast, at San Juan del Sur, Brito and Tamarindito. On the -Caribbean coast no harbors suitable for large vessels exist, but -numerous lagoons and bights afford the best of shelter for coasting vessels.</p> - -<p>The central portion of Nicaragua is traversed, from north to south, by -the main <i>cordillera</i> of the isthmus, which, here greatly reduced in -altitude, consists merely of a confused mass of peaks and ridges with -an average elevation scarcely exceeding 1,000 feet.</p> - -<p>Between this mountainous region and the Caribbean shore stretches a low -level country, covered with a dense forest, rich in rubber, cedar, -mahogany and dye woods. It is drained by several large rivers whose -fertile intervales will yield almost incredible harvests of plantains, -bananas, oranges, limes, and other tropical fruits.</p> - -<p>West of the mountain zone is a broad valley, about one hundred and -twenty-five feet above the level of the sea, extending from the Gulf of -Fonseca, southeasterly to the frontier of Costa Rica. The greater -portion of this valley is occupied by two lakes, Managua and Nicaragua. -The latter one hundred and ten miles long by fifty or sixty miles wide -is really an inland sea, being one-half as large as Lake Ontario and -twice as large as Long Island Sound. These lakes, with the rainfall of -the adjacent valleys, drain through the noble San Juan river, which -discharges into the Caribbean at Greytown, at the southeast angle of -the country.</p> - -<p>Between the Pacific and these lakes is a narrow strip of land, from -twelve to thirty miles in width, stretching from the magnificent plain -of Leon with its cathedral city, in the north, to the rolling indigo -fields and the cacao plantations which surround the garden city of -Rivas, in the south.</p> - -<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Figure 5"> - <tr> - <td width="699"> - <img src="images/5.jpg" alt="Leon cathedral"> - </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td width="699" align="right"> - <small><i>Julius Bien & Co.</i></small> - </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td width="699" align="center"> - LEON CATHEDRAL - </td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>The lowest pass across the backbone of the New World, from Behring's -Strait to the Straits of Magellan, extends along the San Juan valley -and across the Lajas—Rio Grande "divide," between Lake Nicaragua and -the Pacific; the summit of this divide is only one hundred and -fifty-two feet above the sea and forty-two feet above the lake.</p> - -<p>Nicaragua presents yet another unique physical feature. Lying between -the elevated mountain masses of Costa Rica on the south and Honduras on -the north, the average elevation of its own mountain backbone hardly -one thousand feet, it is the natural thoroughfare of the beneficent -northeast Trades. These winds sweep in from the Caribbean across the -Atlantic slopes, break the surface of the lakes into sparkling waves, -and then disappear over the Pacific, aerating, cooling and purifying -the country, destroying the germs of disease and making Nicaragua the -healthiest region in Central America.</p> - -<p>The scenery of the eastern portion of the country is of the luxuriant -sameness peculiar to all tropical countries.</p> - -<p>In the vicinity of the lakes and between them and the Pacific, the -isolated mountain peaks which bound the plain of Leon on the northeast; -the mountain islands of Madera and Ometepe; the towering turquoise -masses of the Costa Rican volcanoes; and the distant blue mountains of -Segovia and Matagalpa, visible beyond the sparkling waters of the -lakes, feast the eye with scenic beauties, unsurpassed elsewhere in -grandeur, variety and richness of coloring.</p> - -<p>The products of the country are numerous despite the fact that its -resources are as yet almost entirely undeveloped.</p> - -<p>Maize, plantains, bananas, oranges, limes, and indeed every tropical -fruit, thrive in abundance. Coffee is grown in large quantities in the -hilly region in the northwest; sugar, tobacco, cotton, rice, indigo and -cacao plantations abound between the lakes and the Pacific; potatoes -and wheat thrive in the uplands of Segovia; the Chontales region east -of Lake Nicaragua, a great grazing section, supports thousands of head -of cattle; and back of this are the gold and silver districts of La -Libertad, Javali and others.</p> - -<p>Numerous trees and plants of medicinal and commercial value are found -in the forests. Game is plentiful and of numerous varieties; deer, wild -hog, wild turkey, manatee and tapir; and fish abound in the streams and -rivers. The temperature of Nicaragua is equable. The extreme variation, -recorded by Childs, was 23° observed near the head of the San Juan in -May, 1851.</p> - -<p>The southeast wind predominates during the rainy season. Occasionally, -in June or October as a rule, the wind hauls round to southwest and a -<i>temporal</i> results, heavy rain sometimes falling for a week or ten days.</p> - -<p>The equatorial cloud-belt, following the sun north in the spring, is -late reaching Nicaragua, and the wet season is shorter than in regions -farther south. The average rainfall, based on the records of nine -years, is 64.42 inches. The "trades" blow almost throughout the year. -Strong during the dry season and freshening during the day; the wind -comes from the east-northeast, and blows usually for four to five days, -when, hauling to the east or southeast for a day or two, it calms down, -then goes back to northeast and rises again.</p> - -<p>The Spanish discoverers of the great Lake Nicaragua, coming upon it -from the Pacific, and noting the fluctuations of level caused by the -action of the wind upon its broad surface, mistook these fluctuations -for tides and felt assured that some broad strait connected it with the -North Sea. Later, when Machuca had discovered the grand river outlet of -the lake, and the restless searching of other explorers in every bay -and inlet along both sides of the American isthmus had extinguished -forever the ignis fatuus "Secret of the Strait," Gomara pointed this -out as one of the most favorable localities for an artificial -communication between the North and South Seas.</p> - -<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Figure 6"> - <tr> - <td width="561"> - <img src="images/6.jpg" alt="The Nicaragua Canal"> - </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td width="561" align="right"> - <small><i>Julius Bien & Co.</i></small> - </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td width="561" align="center"> - THE NICARAGUA CANAL - </td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>It was not until 1851, however, that an accurate and scientific survey -of a ship canal route was made by Col. O. W. Childs.</p> - -<p>This survey which showed the lake of Nicaragua to be only one hundred -and seven feet above the sea, and the maximum elevation between the -lake and the Pacific to be only forty-one feet, exhibited the -advantages of this route so clearly and in such an unanswerable manner -that it has never since been possible to ignore it.</p> - -<p>In 1870, under the administration of General Grant and largely through -the unceasing efforts of Admiral Ammen, the United States began a -series of systematic surveys of all the routes across the American -isthmus from Tehuantepec to the head waters of the Rio Atrato; and six -years later, with the plans and results of all these surveys before it, -a commission composed of General Humphreys, Chief of Engineers, U. S. -Army; Hon. Carlile Patterson, Superintendent U. S. Coast Survey; and -Rear-Admiral Daniel Ammen, Chief of Bureau of Navigation, U. S. Navy; -gave its verdict in favor of the Nicaragua route.</p> - -<p>The International Canal Congress at Paris, in 1879, had such convincing -information placed before it that it was forced, in spite of its -prejudices, to admit that in the advantages it offered for the -construction of a lock canal, the Nicaragua route was superior to any -other across the American isthmus.</p> - -<p>In 1876, and again in 1880 Civil Engineer A. G. Menocal, U. S. N., the -chief engineer of previous governmental surveys, resurveyed and revised -portions of the route, and in 1885 the same engineer, assisted by -myself, surveyed an entirely new line on the Caribbean side, from -Greytown to the San Juan river, near the mouth of the San Carlos.</p> - -<p>On the eastern side of Nicaragua, all these surveys (except the last), -were confined almost entirely to the San Juan river, and its immediate -banks; and the country on either side beyond these narrow limits was, -up to 1885, almost entirely unknown. Between Lake Nicaragua and the -Pacific, however, every pass from the Bay of Salinas to the Gulf of -Fonseca had been examined.</p> - -<p>In 1885 the party of which I was a member pushed a nearly direct line -across the country from a point on the San Juan, about three miles -below the mouth of the Rio San Carlos, to Greytown, a distance of -thirty-one miles by our line, as compared with fifty-six miles by the -river and forty-two miles by the former proposed canal route.</p> - -<p>In December, 1887, I went out in charge of a final surveying -expedition, consisting of some forty engineers and assistants and one -hundred and fifty laborers, to resurvey and stake out the line of the -canal preparatory to the work of construction.</p> - -<p>The information and personal experience gained in previous surveys made -it possible, without loss of time, to locate the various sections of -the expedition in the most advantageous manner, and push the work with -the greatest speed consistent with accuracy.</p> - -<p>The location lines of the previous surveys were taken as a preliminary -line and carefully re-measured and re-levelled. Preliminary offsets -were run; the location made, and staked off upon the ground; offsets -run in from three hundred to one hundred feet apart, extending beyond -the slope limits of the canal; borings made at frequent intervals; and -all streams gauged.</p> - -<p>The result of this work was a series of detail charts and profiles, -based upon rigidly checked instrumental data, and covering the entire -line from Greytown to Brito, from which to estimate quantities and cost.</p> - -<p>As may be imagined by those familiar with tropical countries, the -prosecution of a survey in these regions is an arduous and difficult -work, and one demanding special qualifications in the engineer. His -days are filled with a succession of surprises, usually disagreeable, -and constant happenings of the unexpected. Probably in no other country -will the traveler, explorer, or engineer, find such an endless variety -of obstacles to his progress.</p> - -<p>Every topographical feature of the country is shrouded and hidden under -a tropical growth of huge trees and tangled underbrush, so dense that -it is impossible for even a strong, active man, burdened with nothing -but a rifle, to force himself through it without a short, heavy sword -or <i>machéte</i>, with which to cut his way.</p> - -<p>Under these circumstances the most observant engineer and expert -woodsman may pass within a hundred feet of the base of a considerable -hill and not have a suspicion of its existence, or he may be entirely -unaware of the proximity of a stream until he is on the point of -stepping over the edge of its precipitous banks.</p> - -<p>The topography of the country has to be laboriously felt out, much as a -blind man familiarizes himself with his surroundings. In doing this -work the indispensable instrument, without which the transit, the -level, and indeed the engineer himself is of no use, is the national -weapon of Nicaragua, the <i>machéte</i>, a short, heavy sword.</p> - -<p>As soon as he is able to walk, the son of the Nicaraguan <i>mozo</i> or -<i>huléro</i> takes as a plaything a piece of iron hoop or an old knife, and -imitates his father with his <i>machéte</i>. As he gets older a broken or -worn-down weapon is given him, and when he is able to handle it, a full -size <i>machéte</i> is entrusted to him and he then considers himself a man. -From that day on, waking or sleeping, our Nicaraguan's <i>machéte</i> is -always at his side. With it he cuts his way through the woods; with it -he builds his camp and his bed; with it he kills his game and fish; -with it at a pinch he shaves himself, or extracts the thorns from his -feet; with it he fights his duels, and with it, when he dies, his -comrades dig his grave.</p> - -<p>When in the field the chief of a party, equipped with a pocket compass -and an aneroid barometer, is always skirmishing ahead of the line with -a <i>machétero</i>, or axeman, to cut a path for him. A pushing chief, -however, speedily dispenses with the <i>machétero</i> and slashes a way for -himself much more rapidly.</p> - -<p>As soon as he decides where the line is to go the engineer calls to the -<i>machéteros</i> and the two best ones immediately begin cutting toward the -sound of his voice. They soon slash a narrow path to him, drive a stake -where he was standing and then turn back toward the other <i>machéteros</i>, -who have been following them, cutting a wider path and clearing away -all trees, vines and branches, so that the transit man can see the flag -at the stake. The moment the leading <i>machéteros</i> reach him the chief -starts off again and by the time the main body of axemen have reached -his former position the head <i>machéteros</i> are cutting toward the sound -of his voice in a new position.</p> - -<p>As soon as the line is cleared the transit man takes his sight and -moves ahead to the stake, the chainmen follow and drive stakes every -hundred feet, and the leveller follows putting in elevations and cross -sections. In this way the work goes on from early morning until nearly -dark, stopping about an hour for lunch.</p> - -<p>After the day's work comes the dinner, the table graced with wild hog, -or turkey, or venison, or all. After dinner the smoke, then the day's -notes are worked up and duplicated and all hands get into their nets. -For a moment the countless nocturnal noises of the great forest, -enlivened perhaps by the scream of a tiger, or the deep, muffled roar -of a puma, fall upon drowsy ears, then follows the sleep that always -accompanies hard work and good health, till the bull-voiced howling -monkeys set the forest echoing with their announcement of the breaking dawn.</p> - -<p>In reconnoissance and preliminary work the experienced engineer, is -able, in many cases, to avoid obstacles without vitiating the results -of his work, but in the final location, in staking out absolute curves -and driving tangents thousands of feet long across country, no dodging -is possible.</p> - -<p>On the hills and elevated ground the engineer can, comparatively -speaking, get along quite comfortably, his principal annoyances being -the uneven character of the ground, which compels him to set his -instrument very frequently, and the necessity of felling some gigantic -tree every now and then.</p> - -<p>In the valleys and lowlands there is an unceasing round of obstacles. -The line may run for some distance over level ground covered with a -comparatively open growth, then without warning it encounters the wreck -of a fallen tree, and hours are consumed hewing a passage through the -mass of broken limbs and shattered trunk, all matted and bound together -with vines and shrubbery. A little farther on a stream is crossed, and -the line may cross and recross four or five times in the next thousand -feet. The engineer must either climb down the steep banks, for the -streams burrow deep in the stiff clay of these valleys, ford the stream -and climb the opposite bank, or he must fall a tree from bank to bank -and cross on its slippery trunk twenty or twenty-five feet above the water.</p> - -<p>Either on the immediate bank or in its vicinity is almost certain to be -encountered a <i>"saccate"</i> clearing. This may be only one or two hundred -feet across or it may be a half a mile. In the former case the -<i>"saccate"</i> grass will be ten or fifteen feet in height and so matted -and interwoven with vines and briars that a tunnel may be cut through -it as through a hedge. If the clearing be large, the tough, wiry grass -is no higher than a man's head, and a path has to be mowed through it, -while the sun beats down into the furnace-like enclosure till the blade -of the <i>machéte</i> becomes almost too hot to touch.</p> - -<p>But worse than anything thus far mentioned are the <i>Silico</i> or black -palm swamps. Some of these in the larger valleys and near the coast are -miles in extent.</p> - -<p>Occupied exclusively by the low, thick <i>Silico</i> palms, these swamps are -in the wet season absolutely impassable except for monkeys and -alligators, and even at the end of the dry season the engineer enters -upon one with sinking heart as well as feet, and emerges from it tired -and used up in every portion of his anatomy. It is with the utmost -difficulty that he finds a practicable place to locate his instrument, -generally utilizing the little hummocks formed by the trunks of the -clusters of palms, and in moving from point to point he is compelled to -wade from knee to shoulder deep in the black mud and water.</p> - -<p>General reconnaissances from high trees in elevated localities, simple -enough in theory, are by no means easy in a country so miserly with its -secrets as this, nor are their results reliable without a great -expenditure of time, labor, and patience.</p> - -<p>On level, undulating and moderately broken ground, the tops of the -trees, though they may be one hundred and fifty feet from the ground, -are level as the top of a hedge. Even an isolated hill if it be rounded -in shape presents hardly better facilities, the trees at the base and -on the sides, in their effort to reach the sunlight grow taller than -those on the summit, and there is no one tree that commands all the others.</p> - -<p>If however an isolated hill of several hundred feet in height be found, -its steep sides culminating in a sharp peak, one day's work by three or -four good axmen, in cutting neighboring trees, will prepare the way for -a study of the general relief and topography of the adjacent country. -If after these preliminaries have been completed the engineer imagines -that he has only to climb the tree and sketch what he sees, to obtain -reliable knowledge of the country, he is doomed to serious surprises in -the future. If he makes the ascent during the middle of the day, he -will, after he has cooled off and rested from his exhausting efforts, -see spread out before him a shimmering landscape in which the uniform -green carpet and the vertical sun combined, have obliterated all -outlines except the more prominent irregularities of the terrene, and -have blended different mountain ranges, one of which may be several -miles beyond the other, into one, of which only the sky profile is -distinct. Naturally under these conditions estimates of distance may be -half or double the truth.</p> - -<p>There are two ways of extracting reliable information from these -tree-top reconnaissances. If it be in the rainy season the observer -must be prepared to make a day of it, and when he ascends the tree in -the morning he takes with him a long light line with which to pull up -his coffee and lunch.</p> - -<p>Then aided by the successive showers which sweep across the landscape, -leaving fragments of mists in the ravines, and hanging grey screens -between the different ranges and mountains, bringing out the relief -first of this and then of that section, an accurate sketch may -gradually be made. The time of passage of a shower from one peak to -another, or to the observer, may also be utilized as a by no means to -be despised check upon distance estimates.</p> - -<p>If it be the dry season, the observer may take his choice between -remaining on his perch in the tree from before sunrise to after sunset, -or making two ascents, one early in the morning and the other late in -the afternoon. In this case the slowly dispersing clouds of morning, -and the gradually gathering mists at sunset, together with the reversed -lights and shadows at dawn and sunset, bring out very clearly the -relief of the terrene, the overlapping of distant ranges, and the -course of the larger streams.</p> - -<p>This kind of work cannot be delegated to anyone, and besides the -arduous labor involved in climbing the huge trees, there are other -serious annoyances connected with it. The climber is almost certain to -disturb some venomous insect which revenges itself by a savage sting -which has to be endured; or he may rend clothes and skin also, on some -thorny vine, or another, crushed by his efforts, may exude a juice -which will leave him tattooed for days; then, though there may not be a -mosquito or fly at the base of the tree, the top will be infested with -myriads of minute black flies, which cover hands and face, and with -extremely annoying results. On the other hand the explorer may as a -compensation have his nostrils filled with the perfume of some -brilliant orchid on a neighboring branch; and there is a breezy -enjoyment in watching the showers as they rush across the green carpet, -and in listening to the roar with which the big drops beat upon the -tree tops.</p> - -<p>The special phase of field work which fell to my personal lot was -entirely reconnaissance, consisting of canoe examinations of all -streams in the vicinity of the line of the canal, to determine their -sources, character of valley, and approximate water shed; of rapid -air-line compass and aneroid trails, to connect one stream, or valley -head with another, or furnish a base line for a general sketch plan of -a valley; and of studies of the larger features of the terrene, from -elevated tree tops.</p> - -<p>The last has been already described; in the second the experience was -very similar to that of the parties in running main lines. On these -occasions three or at most four hardy <i>huléros</i> (rubber hunters) -comprised the party, two carrying the blankets, mosquito bars and -provisions for several days, and one or two cutting the lightest -possible practicable trail and marking prominent trees.</p> - -<p>In a day's march of from five to eight miles, and this was the utmost -that even such a light, active and experienced party could cover in one -day, every possible and some almost impossible kinds of traveling was -encountered, and thoroughly exhausted men crept into their bars every -night.</p> - -<p>The canoe reconnaissances were more agreeable, though some most -unpleasant as well as most enjoyable memories are connected with them.</p> - -<p>The innumerable large fallen trees which obstruct the streams and over -or through which the canoe must be hauled bodily, the almost inevitable -capsizing of the canoe, the monotonous red clay banks on either side -and the frequent necessity of lying down at night in a bed of mud into -which the droves of wild pigs which inhabit these valleys have trampled -the clayey soil, are among the disagreeable incidents.</p> - -<p>From the head of canoe navigation to their sources the character of -these streams is entirely different, and both in 1888 and in 1885 I -have followed them far up into mountain gorges, the beauty of which is -as fresh in my memory as if I had been there but yesterday.</p> - -<p>The crew of the canoe on these reconnaissances usually consisted of -three picked men, and when the canoe had been pushed as far up stream -as it was possible for it to go, two of the men were left with it while -the third and best, slinging the blankets, bars, and a little coffee, -sugar, and milk, upon his back pushed on with me. Wading through the -shallow water up the bed of the stream, taking bearings and estimating -distances, while my <i>huléro</i> followed, ever alert to strike some drowsy -beauty of a fish in the clear water; the source of the stream was -generally reached in a day, and never did we make preparations to sleep -on some bed of clean, yellow sand washed down by the stream in flood -times, but what I had a plump turkey hanging from my belt, and my -<i>huléro</i> several fine fish.</p> - -<p>Much has been written about the climate of Nicaragua and its effect -upon the inhabitants of more northerly countries when exposed to it.</p> - -<p>It would seem that the experience of the numerous expeditions sent out -by the United States, and the reports of the surgeons attached to those -expeditions would have long since settled the matter. To those who -cannot understand how there can be such a difference in climate between -two localities so slightly removed as Panama and Nicaragua, and the -former possessing a notoriously deadly climate, the experience of the -recent surveying expedition must be conclusive.</p> - -<p>Only five members of that expedition had ever been in tropical climates -before, and the rodmen and chainmen of the party were young men just -out of college who had never done a day's manual labor, nor slept on -the ground a night in their lives. Arriving at Greytown during the -rainy season, the first work that they encountered was the transporting -of their supplies and camp equipage to the sites of the various camps. -This had to be done by means of canoes along streams obstructed with -logs and fallen trees. Some parties were a week in reaching their -destination, wading and swimming by day, lifting and pushing their -canoes along, and at night lying down on the ground to sleep.</p> - -<p>One party worked for six months in the swamps and lagoon region -directly back of Greytown, and several other parties worked for an -equal length of time in the equally disagreeable swamps of the valley -of the San Francisco. Several of these officers are down there yet, as -fresh as ever. In making tours of inspection of the different sections -I have repeatedly, for several days and nights in succession, passed -the days traveling in the woods through swamps and rain, and the nights -sleeping as best I could, curled up under a blanket in a small canoe, -while my men paddled from one camp to the next.</p> - -<p>In spite of all this exposure not only were there no deaths in the -expedition but there was not a single case of serious illness, and the -officers who have returned up to this time, were in better health and -weight than when they went away.</p> - -<p>Of course the men had the best of food that money could obtain and -previous experience suggest, and the chiefs of all parties were -required to strictly enforce certain sanitary regulations in regard to -coffee in the morning, a thorough bath and dose of spirits on returning -from work, and mosquito bars and dry sleeping suits at night; yet the -climate must be held principally responsible for a sanitary result -which I believe could not be excelled in any temperate zone city, with -the same number of men, doing the same arduous work under conditions of -equal exposure.</p> - -<p>The forests everywhere abound in game and every party which included in -its personnel a good rifle-shot was sure of a constant supply of wild -pig, turkey, quail and grouse, varied by an occasional deer, all -obtained in the ordinary work of reconnoissance and surveying. For the -men's table there was abundance of monkey, iguana and macaw.</p> - -<p>Parties in the lower valleys of the various streams had no trouble in -adding two or three varieties of very toothsome fish to their bill of -fare, though these fish were rarely caught with the hook, but usually -shot, or knifed by an alert native, as they basked in the shallows. -These parties also obtained occasionally a <i>danta</i> (tapir) or a manatee.</p> - -<p>On the river it was possible to obtain a fine string of fish with hook -and line, then there was the huge tarpon to be had for the spearing, -and fish pots sunk in suitable places were sure to yield a mess of -fresh water lobsters. Ducks were also occasionally shot.</p> - -<p>The forms of life are even more numerous in the vegetable than in the -animal kingdom. The effect of these wonderful forests is indescribable, -and though many writers have essayed a description, I have yet to see -one that does the subject justice. Only a simple enumeration of -component parts will be attempted here. First comes the grand body of -the forest, huge almendro, havilan, guachipilin, cortez, cedar, -cottonwood, palo de leche trees, and others rising one hundred and -fifty or two hundred feet into the scintillant sunshine. The entire -foliage of these trees is at the top and their great trunks reaching up -for a hundred feet or more without a branch offer a wonderful variety -of studies in types of column. Some rise straight and smooth, and true, -others send out thin deep buttresses, and others look like the -muscle-knotted fore-arm of a Titan, with gnarled fingers griping the -ground in their wide grasp.</p> - -<p>But whatever the form of the tree trunks may be, the shallow soil upon -the hills and the marshy soil in the lowlands, has taught them that -there is greater safety and stability in a broad foundation than in a -deeply penetrating one, and so almost without exception the tree roots -spread out widely, on, or near, the surface. Beneath the protecting -shelter of these patriarchs, as completely protected from scorching sun -and rushing wind as if in a conservatory, grow innumerable varieties of -palms, young trees destined some day to be giants themselves, and -others which never attain great size. Still lower down, luxuriate -smaller palms, tree ferns, and dense underbrush, and countless vines. -These latter, however, are by no means confined to the underbrush, many -of them climb to the very tops of the tallest trees, cling about their -trunks and bind them to other trees and to the ground with the toughest -of ropes. With one or two exceptions these vines are an unmitigated -nuisance. To them more than to anything else is due the -impenetrableness of the tropical thicket. Of all sizes and all as tough -as hemp lines, they creep along the ground, catching the traveler's -feet in a mesh from which release is possible only by cutting. They -bind the underbrush together in a tough, elastic mat, which catches and -holds on to every projection about the clothes, jerking revolvers from -belts, and wrenching the rifle from the hand, or, hanging in trap-like -loops from the trees, catch one about the neck, or constantly drag -one's hat from the head. The one exception noted above is the <i>bejuco -de agua</i> or water vine. This vine, which looks like an old worn manilla -rope, is to be found hanging from or twined about almost every large -tree upon elevated ground, and to the hot and thirsty explorer it -furnishes a most deliciously cool and clear draught.</p> - -<p>Seizing the vine in the left hand, a stroke of the <i>machéte</i> severs it a -foot or two below the hand, and another quick stroke severs it again -above the hand; immediately a stream of clear, tasteless water issues -from the lower end and may be caught in a dipper or <i>á la native</i> -directly in the mouth. A three-foot length of vine two inches in -diameter will furnish at least a pint of water. The order of cutting -mentioned above must invariably be adhered to, otherwise, if the upper -cut be made first, the thirsty novice will find he has in his hand only -a piece of dry cork-like rope.</p> - -<p>It is practically impossible to judge of the age of the huge trees in -these forests. Mighty with inherent strength, stayed to the ground and -to their fellows by the numerous vines, sheltered and protected also by -their fellows from the shock of storms, their huge trunks have little -to do except support the direct weight of the tops, and they rarely -fall until they have reached the last stages of decay. Then some day -the sudden impact of a ton or two of water dropped from some furious -tropical shower, or the vibrations from a hurrying troop of monkeys, or -the spring of a tiger, is too much for one of the giant branches heavy -with its load of vines and parasites, and it gives way, breaking the -vines in every direction and splitting a huge strip from the main -trunk. With its supports thus broken and the whole weight of the -remaining branches on one side, the weakened trunk sways for a moment -then bows to its fate. The remaining vines break with the resistless -strain, and the old giant gathering velocity as he falls and dragging -with him everything in his reach, crashes to the earth with a roar -which elicits cries of terror from bird and beast, and goes booming -through the quivering forest like the report of a heavy cannon. A patch -of blue sky overhead and a pile of impenetrable debris below, mark for -years the grave of the old hero.</p> - -<p>As regards the insect and reptile pests of the country it has been my -experience that both their numbers and capacity for torment have been -greatly exaggerated. Mosquitoes, flies of various sizes, wasps and -stinging ants exist, and the first in some places in large numbers; yet -to a person who has any of the woodsman's craft of taking care of -himself, and whose blood is not abnormally sensitive to insect poisons, -they present no terrors and but slight annoyances. At our headquarters -camp on San Francisco island, we had no mosquitoes from sunrise to -sunset, and even after sunset they were not especially numerous. At -another camp only a few miles away there were black flies only and no -mosquitoes, at another both, while at the camps up in the hills there -were neither. It was only at camps in the wet lowlands and near swamps, -that they became an almost unendurable annoyance. Even here it was -those who remained in camp that suffered most. Men out in the thick -brush were but little annoyed by them, and when on their return to camp -they had finished their dinner and gotten into their mosquito bars they -were out of their reach. As to snakes, the danger from them even to a -European, is practically nothing. Not a man of the several hundred that -have been engaged in the various expeditions in that country has ever -been bitten, and in hundreds of miles of tramping through the worst -forests of the country, either entirely alone or if accompanied by -natives, with them some distance in the rear, I have never fancied -myself in danger. The poisonous snakes are invariably sluggish, and -unless actually struck or stepped upon are apt to try to get out of the -way, if they make any move. The only snake that is at all aggressive, -as far as my observations go, is a long, black, non-poisonous snake. -This will sometimes advance upon the intruder with head raised a couple -of feet from the ground, or if coiled about a tree will lash at him -with its tail.</p> - -<p>The floral exhibit of these forests is apt to be disappointing to one -whose ideas have been formed by a perusal of books. An occasional -scarlet passion flower; now and then the fragrant cluster of the <i>flor -del toro;</i> a few insignificant though fragrant flowering shrubs; and in -muddy sloughs near the streams, patches of wild callas; are about all -that meet the eye of the non-botanical wanderer in the deep forest.</p> - -<p>There is not light enough for flowers beneath the dense canopy of -trees, and they, like the smaller birds, seek the tree tops and the -banks of the river where sunlight and air are abundant. In the tree -tops the orchids and other flowering parasites run riot. Many of the -trees are themselves flowering, and if one can look down upon the tree -tops of a valley in March or April, he sees the green expanse enlivened -by blazing patches of crimson, yellow, purple, pink, and white.</p> - -<p>The river banks are the favorite home of the flowering vines, and there -they form great curtains swaying from the trees in bright patterns of -yellow, pink, red and white. The grassy banks and islands, and the -shallow sand spits also bring forth innumerable varieties of aquatic plants.</p> - -<p>So much for the Atlantic slope of the country.</p> - -<p>On the west side between the Lake and the Pacific the work is very -different. There it is possible to ride mule-back to the top of a -commanding hill, sit down and make the reconnaissance sketch at -leisure. The secondary reconnaissances may also be made mule-back, and -everywhere the rolling country and the cleared and cultivated fields, -permit the engineer to see where he is going and how he is going.</p> - -<p>His surroundings are also different. He moves camp in an oxcart instead -of a canoe. His eyes instead of being confined by the impenetrable veil -of the tropical thicket, feast upon views of the distant mountains, the -crisp waves of the Lake, and the blue expanse of the Pacific. During -the day he meets black-eyed and brown-limbed señoritas, instead of wild -hogs and turkeys, and at night as he turns in, he hears, not the scream -of tigers, but the songs of the <i>lavandera's</i> ecru daughters floating -across the stream which supplies their wash-tubs and his camp.</p> - -<p>The first grand natural feature which arrests attention in the most -cursory examination of the map of Nicaragua is the Great Lake. This -lake with an area of some three thousand square miles and a water-shed -of about eight thousand square miles, is unique in the large proportion -of its own area to that of its water-shed. A result of this large -proportion of water surface to drainage area, at once evident, is the -very gradual changes of level of the lake and their confinement within -very narrow limits. The difference between the level of the lake at the -close of an abnormally dry season and its level at the close of an -abnormally wet season is not more than ten feet, and the usual annual -fluctuation is about five feet.</p> - -<p>The next features that arrest attention are, first, the very narrow -ribbon of land intervening between the western shore of the Lake and -the Pacific, and second, the entire absence of lateral tributaries of -any size to the upper half of the San Juan River. The river is in fact, -as it was originally most aptly named, simply the "Desaguadero" or -drain of the Lake.</p> - -<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Figure 7"> - <tr> - <td width="703"> - <img src="images/7.jpg" alt="The Nicaragua Canal"> - </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td width="703" align="right"> - <small><i>Julius Bien & Co.</i></small> - </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td width="703" align="center"> - ENTRANCE TO HIGHLANDS—RIVER SAN JUAN - </td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>The length of this river is one hundred and twenty miles, from the Lake -to the Caribbean Sea, and its total fall from one hundred to one -hundred and ten feet. Nature has separated the river into two nearly -equal divisions, presenting distinct and opposite characteristics.</p> - -<p>From Lake Nicaragua to the mouth of the Rio San Carlos, a distance of -sixty-one miles, in which occur several rapids, the total descent is -fifty feet, quite irregularly distributed however. The surface slopes -of the river vary from as much as 83.38 inches per mile for a short -distance at Castillo rapids, to only .90 inch per mile through the Agua -Muerte, the dead water below the Machuca rapids.</p> - -<p>The average width of the river through this upper section is seven -hundred feet, the minimum four hundred and twenty. In some parts of the -Agua Muerte the depth varies from fifty to seventy-five feet.</p> - -<p>There are very few islands in this section of the river, the banks are -covered with huge trees matted with vines, and throughout the lower -half of the division, from Toro rapids to the mouth of the San Carlos, -the river is confined between steep hills and mountains.</p> - -<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Figure 8"> - <tr> - <td width="695"> - <img src="images/8.jpg" alt="The Nicaragua Canal"> - </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td width="695" align="right"> - <small><i>Julius Bien & Co.</i></small> - </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td width="695" align="center"> - UPPER CASTILLO—RIVER SAN JUAN - </td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>As a result of the absence of considerable tributaries already noted, -the fluctuations of this portion of the river conform closely to those -of the Lake, and consequently take place gradually and are limited in range.</p> - -<p>Below the Rio San Carlos the San Juan changes its character entirely. -Its average width is twelve hundred and fifty feet, its bottom is -sandy, there are numerous islands, and the slope of the river is almost -uniformly one foot per mile.</p> - -<p>The discharge into this section of two large tributaries, the San -Carlos and the Sarapiqui, descending from the steep slopes of the Costa -Rican volcanoes, causes much more sudden and considerable fluctuations -of level than in the upper river.</p> - -<p>While the lower portion of the river and especially the delta section -presents very interesting features, yet the peculiar charm of the river -is in the upper section, and the exceptional advantages it offers for -obtaining miles of slack water navigation. This portion of the river -with the lake and the narrow isthmus between it and the Pacific forms a -trio of natural advantages for the construction of a canal, the -importance of which it would be difficult to over estimate.</p> - -<p>About three miles below the mouth of the San Carlos, the Caño Machado -enters the San Juan on the north bank. This stream, about one hundred -feet wide and from eight to ten feet deep, is the last of the mountain -or torrential tributaries of the San Juan. It can scarcely be said to -have a valley, but occupies the bed of a rugged ravine extending for -several miles northerly and northwesterly up into the easterly flank of -the cordillera. Every variety of igneous rock, from light porous pumice -to dense metallic green-black hypersthene andesite, may be picked up in -the bed of this stream. Agates also are common and there are occasional -masses of jasper. Farther up, frequent outcrops of trap in situ occur, -interspersed in some localities with numerous veins of agate.</p> - -<p>Twelve miles below the Machado the San Francisco enters the San Juan. -This stream, with its several tributaries, drains a large swampy valley -sprinkled with irregular hummocks and hills. For several miles from the -San Juan it is a sluggish, muddy stream between steep slippery banks; -higher up, flowing over a gravelly and then a rocky bed, it finally -disappears in steep ravines filled with huge bowlders. The main San -Francisco comes from the northwest, but a large tributary has its -source to the eastward in a range of hills which separates the San -Francisco basin from the immediate Caribbean water-shed. This range, -unlike the ones already noted, is at heart an uninterrupted mass of -homogeneous hypersthene andesite, and with one exception nothing but -fragments of trap or trap <i>in situ</i>, is to be found in any of the -streams descending from either its western or eastern slopes. The one -exception is the Cañito Maria, a tributary of the San Francisco, -entering it but little more than a mile from the San Juan. In the bed -of this stream were abundant specimens of agates, jasper, and petrified -woods of several varieties in a wonderfully good state of preservation.</p> - -<p>This range of hills ends at the Tamborcito bend of the San Juan, four -miles below the mouth of the San Francisco, and is the last easterly -projecting spur from the mountain backbone of the interior. Between it -and the coast there are, however, mountain masses of equal or greater -elevation, notably "El Gigante" and the Silico hills, the former some -fifteen hundred feet high, but these are simply isolated mountain -ganglia, their innumerable radiating spurs speedily giving way to -swamps or river valleys.</p> - -<p>The streams that flow down the eastern slope of the Silico hills are, -from their sources to the lowlands, of almost idyllic beauty. Beginning -as noisy little brooks tumbling over black rocks in a V-shaped ravine -near the summit of the hills, they rapidly gather volume and slide -along in a polished channel of trap, tumbling every now and then as -sheets of white spray over vertical ledges forming here and there deep -green pools, and then after they have passed down among the foot-hills, -rippling in broad shallow reaches over sunlit beds of bright yellow -gravel. The water of these streams is clear and sparkling as that of an -Alpine stream and apparently almost as cool. The insect pests of the -tropics are unknown in the elevated portions of their valleys, and I -have slept more than once beside one of these streams, several hundred -feet above sea level, without a mosquito bar, while the delightful -"trades," rustling through the trees above me, brought the murmur of -the Caribbean surf miles away, to mingle with that of the stream.</p> - -<p>The soil of this range consists, to a depth of ten to forty feet, of -clay of various grades and colors, red prevailing. In the valleys this -clay is almost invariably of a very dense consistency, and deep, dark -red in color.</p> - -<p>From the foot-hills of the range to the coast, is a low level stretch -of country, a dozen miles wide, interspersed with lagoons and swamps. -Near the hills, where the elevation of the ground will average about -fifteen feet above sea level, the soil is composed almost entirely of -the before mentioned red clay, which occasionally assumes the form of -hummocks. Within about six miles of the coast this stratum of clay -gradually disappears under a layer of sand, which is in turn covered, -by a vegetable mould, to a depth of a few feet. From this point to the -sea the average elevation is barely five feet above the sea level, and -the sand and mould above mentioned are the only materials met. A short -distance from the ocean the vegetable earth-covering disappears and -only the sand is left, extending to an unknown depth and reaching out -into the sea.</p> - -<p>West of Lake Nicaragua, from the Rio Lajas to Brito, as we leave the -lake shore, the ground rises almost imperceptibly to the "Divide" among -cleared and gently undulating fields. Then we drop into the sinuous -gorge of the Rio Grande only to emerge, a few miles farther on, into -the upper end of the Rio Grande and Tola basin.</p> - -<p>To the right the Tola valley stretches to the northward, and all around -high and wooded hills encircle the valleys except directly in front -where a narrow gateway in the coast hills opens to the Pacific. In the -bottom of this valley are a few farms and through it wander devious -roads. Beyond the narrow gateway in the hills, less than three miles of -level swampy <i>salinas</i> reach to the surf of the Pacific.</p> - -<p>The views from the hills which flank the gateway of the Rio Grande, at -La Flor, are wonderfully attractive. I well remember one camp on the -hillside, from which in one direction the eye takes in the fertile -valley of the Tola and Rio Grande, backed by the rolling hills of the -"Divide" and over them the symmetrical peak of Ometepe, its base washed -by the waves of the great lake. In the other direction the Pacific lies -apparently but a stone's throw below, the little port of Brito at one's -very feet.</p> - -<p>This same camp inspired one young engineer and enthusiast to express -himself something as follows:</p> - -<blockquote>"What if, in this camp, we should, like Rip Van Winkle, sleep for ten -years, and then awakening look about us? We are still at Brito, but -instead of being in the wilderness, we look down upon a thriving city. -In the harbor are ships from all ports of the world. Ships from San -Francisco, bound for New York, about to pass through the canal and -shorten their journey by 10,000 miles. Ships from Valparaiso, headed -for New York, which will take the short cut and save 5000 miles and the -dread storms of Cape Horn. At many a masthead floats the British flag, -and vessels from Liverpool, with their bows turned towards San -Francisco, have shortened their journey by 7000 miles."</blockquote> - -<blockquote>"We go aboard one of the many steamers flying the 'stars and stripes' -and start eastward. All along the line the face of the country has -changed; the fertile shores of the Tola basin are occupied by cacao -plantations, fields have replaced forests, villages have grown to -towns, and factories driven by the exhaustless water power furnished by -the canal have sprung up on every available site."</blockquote> - -<blockquote>"Along the shore of the lake are immense dry docks, and vessels are -resting in this huge fresh water harbor before setting out again on -their long voyages. The broad bosom of the noble San Juan is quivering -with the strokes of tireless propellors. The roar of the great dam at -Ochoa is heard for a moment and then the eastern section of the canal -is entered. Here the country is scarcely recognizable so greatly has it -changed. Wilderness and marsh have disappeared, and only great fields -of plantains and bananas and dark green orange groves are to be seen. A -day from Brito and the steamer's bow is rising to the long blue swell -of the Caribbean at Greytown."</blockquote> - -<p>Well is this picture calculated to excite enthusiasm, for it means the -dream of centuries realized, the cry of commerce answered, and our -imperial Orient and Occident-facing Republic resting content with -coasts united from Eastport to the Strait of Fuca.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The National Geographic Magazine, Vol. -I., No. 4, October, 1889, by Various - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, OCTOBER 1889 *** - -***** This file should be named 50704-h.htm or 50704-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/7/0/50704/ - -Produced by Ron Swanson -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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