Nature herself had wished to get ready for man's work, the soil, as at Darien, has for a long time been free from earthquakes. The study for a lock-canal was made in 1845 by Garella, Engineer-in-Chief of Mines, sent there on a mission by the French Government. I desire to bring to your attention this name, which has been too much forgotten, because-this mission, courageously and conscientiously performed, honors not only the man who carried it out, but also the administration which confided it to him, and because his splendid studies seem still to be the best that have been made there, and which should now be taken, in part at least, if it should be desirable to connect the two oceans by a lock-canal.
Condensing this too long exposé, of the situation, I conclude by saying that, of all the lock-canals studied or proposed, the least objectionable is that which would go from the Bay of Limon to the Gulf of Panama.[1]
Comparison of the Tide-level Canals.—Let us now examine the different plans for level-water canals which have been presented to our consideration.
The one which is called Atrato-Napipi would have our entire sympathy if we could thus adequately express our appreciation of the devotion of Commander Selfridge, who for several years has been exploring that part of the country, so wild and difficult of access; and yet, interesting as this plan seems to be, we must absolutely refuse to accept it.
The Atrato is neither the Mississippi nor the Amazon, but it is, nevertheless, a very powerful river, with heavy overflows, which bring to its mouth immense deposits, forming a great bar. To make artificially across this bar, and to keep it always open, a channel wide enough and deep enough for the largest vessels, is a very great undertaking, the success of which, however, should not be regarded as impossible or even as improbable. But still there is no instance of a work of such importance, and we find ourselves facing a problem the solution of which—a very laborious and very expensive matter—is by no means certain.
With such an obstacle before us, and with no certainty of overcoming it, would it be prudent to undertake a canal, the expense of which is estimated at more than eleven hundred million francs?
On the other hand, the canal, properly considered, would be on the Pacific side a branch of the Atrato, and, to a great degree, unless it was entirely shut off by a sluice-gate, subjected to the variations of the Atrato. Would it be, moreover, easy to keep up, where it branches from the river, a channel with a depth always assured of eight and a half metres? Would not the point of branching, under any circumstances, be liable to be filled up with sand, which doubtless it would be difficult and expensive to keep continually removed?
- ↑ This also is the plan recommended by General Totten.
