,vol4 ,i4 ,no4 #d4    ,,the ,,national  
,,geographic ,,magazine4                
,,published ,,by ,,the    ,,national    
,,geographic ,,society4    ,,washington1
 ,d4 ,c4      ,price #ej ,cents4        
,,contents4      ,irrigation in         
,california1 by ,wm4 ,hammond ,hall1    
,state ,engineer of    ,california      
,round about ,asheville1 by ,bailey     
,willis      7,illustrated by one ,map  
and ,profile47    ,a ,trip to ,panama   
and ,darien1 by ,richard ,u4 ,goode     
7,illustrated by one ,map and ,profile47
    ,across ,nicaragua with ,transit and
 ,machte1 by ,r4 ,e4 ,peary1 ,civil     
,engineer1 ,u4 ,s4 ,n4                  
7,illustrated by one ,map and three     
,views47      ,october1 #ahhi4          
,,press ,,of ,,tuttle1 ,,morehouse      
,,taylor1 ,,new ,,haven1 ,,conn4        
,,the ,,national ,,geographic           
,,magazine4    ,vol4 ,i4 #ahhi4 ,no4 #d4
          ,,irrigation ,,in             
,,california4    ,,by ,,wm4 ,,hammond   
,,hall4      ,mr4 ,president and        

,gentlemen of the ,society3    ,when ,i 
was invited to address this society ,i  
had no material at hand on  the subject4
 ,i have come to the east without any   
notes or memoranda  whatever1 from which
 to prepare a lecture or address1 no    
statistical  data which would make a    
paper valuable1 no notes of             
characteristic  facts to render an      
address interesting1 and no time to     
write anything  to guide me in any way  
to a proper treatment of the subject4   
,some of  your members have thought that
 ,i have written something worthy of    
being  read1 and hence this invitation  
to address you4 ,but1 even if they are  
right1 people who can write cannot      
always talk1 so if ,i fail in this      
address1 ,i shall hope1 on the basis of 
their opinion1 that you will  find in   
the reports ,i have written something   
worthy of reading4 ,the  subject has    
been announced as the ,problems of      
,irrigation in the ,united  ,states4 ,i 
should like very much to speak broadly  

on that subject1 but  ,i am unable to do
 so1 for the reasons ,i have given1 and 
shall have to  speak rather of          
irrigation in ,california1 trusting that
 something which  is said1 may1         
perchance1 be valuable in relation to   
the subject at  large4 ,irrigation in   
the far west1 generally1 is attracting a
 vast deal  of attention4 ,this is      
particularly the case on the ,pacific   
,coast--the  field with which ,i am     
specially acquainted4 ,i apprehend that 
although  many gentlemen present have a 
far-reaching and definite appreciation  
of  the subject at large1 many others do
 not appreciate the value and           
importance of irrigation4 ,in the arid  
parts of ,california 7for we do  not    
admit that ,california is as a whole    
arid7 it is a vital matter4  ,there it  
is a question of life1 for the people4  
,not more than one-sixth  of the        
tillable area in the ,state can sustain 
a really dense  population1 without     
irrigation2 two thirds of it will not   

sustain even  a moderate population1    
without irrigation2 while one third will
 not  sustain even a sparse population1 
without such artificial watering4       
,think well over these facts4 ,they are 
very significant4 ,i doubt whether  they
 are generally appreciated in           
,california itself4    ,i have no doubt 
many persons are familiar with the      
geography of the  ,state1 but1          
doubtless1 some are not4 ,california has
 a coast line of #hjj  miles and a width
 of from #adj to #bdj miles4 ,it is     
traversed almost  throughout its length 
by a great mountain chain extending     
along near  the eastern boundary1 which 
is called the ,sierra ,nevada1 and by a 
lesser range1 more broken and less      
unified1 running parallel to the  coast1
 called the ,coast ,range1 the southern 
extension of which1 after  joining the  
,sierra ,nevada1 is called the ,sierra  
,madre1 and at the  further extremity1  
the ,san ,jacinto and ,san ,diego       
mountains4 ,within the  interior of the 

,state1 looked down upon by the ,sierra 
,nevada on the  east1 and closed in by  
the ,coast ,range on the west1 is the   
great  interior basin--the valley of the
 ,san ,joaquin and ,sacramento          
rivers--forming a plain #dej miles long1
 with an average width of from  #dj to  
#fj miles4 ,outside of the ,sierra      
,madre in the southern part of the      
,state1 and within the ,coast ,range1 is
 another interior valley1 nearly  #ajj  
miles in length and from #bj to #cj     
miles in width1 and outside of  the     
,coast ,range1 and lying next to the    
ocean1 is a plain whose length  is from 
#fj to #gj miles1 and width #ae to #bj  
miles4 ,these three  areas--the great   
interior valley1 the southern interior  
valley1 and the  coast plain of the     
south--are the principal irrigation     
regions of the  ,state4 ,numbers of     
smaller areas1 as those in ,san ,diego  
county1 come in  as irrigation regions  
of less importance1 and the scattering  
valleys  along the ,coast ,range farther

 north1 as the ,salinas1 etc41 will come
  forward in the future as important    
irrigable districts of the ,state4      
,still further north1 in the interior1  
there are the great plains of  ,lassen  
and ,mono counties1 and some scattering 
valleys in ,shasta county1  where       
irrigation is also practiced or is being
 introduced1 and these  are on a par    
with the districts of ,san ,diego       
county1 in the matter of  rank as       
irrigation regions4 ,east of the ,sierra
 ,nevada1 and at their  base1 lies the  
,owen's river country1 an area suitable 
for irrigation1  where irrigation is    
necessary and where it is being         
introduced4 ,upon  the great ,mojave    
desert and the ,colorado desert1 there  
is at present no  irrigation4 ,the water
 supply is very scanty4 ,this is an     
irrigation  region of the future1 but it
 is not regarded by ,californians as a  
practicable one at present4    ,with    
this general idea of the ,state1 we will
 now look at the rainfall  and water    

supply4 ,the ,state contains #aeg1ddj   
square miles of territory1  of which    
#ag1gdg drain into the ocean north of   
the ,golden ,gate1 #ba1ffe  drain into  
the ocean south of the ,golden ,gate1   
#ee1idb drain into the  interior basins1
 and #fb1jhf drain out at the ,golden   
,gate4 ,of this  territory which drains 
out by the ,golden ,gate1 #bf1ahg square
 miles  comprise the ,sacramento valley1
 #ca1hie square miles the ,san ,joaquin 
valley1 and #d1jjd the country draining 
directly to the bays1 making the        
#fb1jhf given above as the whole area4  
,the necessity for irrigation in        
,california1 and the relative necessity 
in different parts of the ,state1 are   
shown by the distribution of  rainfall4 
,the ,san ,joaquin valley has an average
 of less than #aj inches  of rainfall1  
the ,sacramento has an average of       
between #aj and #bj inches4  ,the great 
deserts of the ,mojave and ,colorado    
have an average of less  than #aj       
inches1 and in certain localities only  

#c to #f inches4 ,the  ,salinas valley1 
a small portion of the coast above ,los 
,angeles1 and a  portion of the interior
 valley of the south1 have also an      
average of  less than #aj inches4       
,so1 we may say1 that the great         
irrigation regions of ,california have  
average amounts of rainfall varying from
 about #f up to #bj1 but  generally less
 than #aj inches4 ,this rain is         
distributed in four or five  months of  
each year1 with some slight showers in  
one or two months  other than these2 the
 remainder of the year being absolutely 
dry1 with  no rainfall whatever4 ,hence1
 you will see at once1 the necessity for
  the artificial application of water in
 ,california4 ,in the older  countries  
of ,europe1 where irrigation has been   
practiced for centuries1  for instance1 
in ,spain1 where water is used more     
extensively than in  ,california1 the   
annual mean rainfall ranges between #aj 
and #be inches4  ,in the irrigation     
regions of ,france1 the mean rainfall   

ranges from #aj  to #dj inches2 in the  
irrigation regions of ,italy1 the       
rainfall is  between #bj and #ce        
inches--for instance1 in the valley of  
the ,po1 the  classic land of           
irrigation1 the annual precipitation is 
from #be to #ce  inches4 ,there are none
 of these ,european irrigation regions  
where the  rainfall is less than #aj1   
and generally it is over #bj inches4    
,but you  will see that the most of the 
,californian irrigation regions have    
less  than #ae inches1 some less than   
#aj1 and the greatest rainfall of any   
large irrigable region in ,california is
 #ah inches1 or1 exceptionally1  for    
smaller regions1 #be inches2 while in   
,europe1 the maxima are from #be  to #dj
 inches in countries where irrigation   
has long been practiced4 ,it  follows1  
then1 that there is no place in ,europe 
where it is so much  needed as over a   
large part of ,california4 ,another     
reason why the  necessity is felt in our
 ,pacific ,coast ,state1 is found in the

 character  of our soils2 and not alone 
the surface soils1 but the base of the  
soil--the deep subsoils4 ,we have soils 
exceptionally deep2 soils which  extend 
below the surface to #ej feet1 underlaid
 by loose sand and open  gravels1 so    
that the rainfall of winter is lost in  
them4 ,the annual  rain seldom runs from
 the surface4 ,it follows that these    
lands are  generally barren of          
vegetation without the artificial       
application of  water4    ,considering  
now the sources of water-supply3 we have
 in the southern  part of the ,state    
many streams which flow only for a few  
weeks after  rainfall1 and other streams
 which run two or three months after the
  rainy season4 ,but there is not a     
stream in all ,california south of the  
,sierra ,madre 7except the ,colorado1   
which has it sources of supply  outside 
of the ,state7 which flows during the   
summer with a greater  volume than about
 #gj to #hj cubic feet per second--a    
stream #ae feet in  width1 #b feet deep1

 and flowing at the rate of #b to #c    
feet per  second--a little stream that1 
in the eastern part of the continent1   
would be thought insignificant4 ,the    
largest stream for six months in  the   
year1 in all southern ,california1 is   
the ,los ,angeles river4 ,the  ,santa   
,aa river1 the next largest1 flows from 
two sevenths to one third  as much2 the 
,san ,gabriel1 the next largest1 has    
perhaps two thirds or  three fourths as 
much as the ,santa ,aa2 and so1 a stream
 which will  deliver as much water as   
will flow in a box #d feet wide and #a  
feet  deep1 at a moderate speed1 during 
summer months1 would be regarded as a   
good-sized irrigation feeder in that    
southern country4 ,in the greater       
interior basin or central valley1 we    
find other conditions4 ,here we  have a 
different class of streams4 ,the great  
,sierra ,nevada receives  snow upon its 
summits1 which does not melt till ,may  
or ,june and ,july4  ,the melting of    
these snows is the source of supply of  

the streams2 so  that1 while in far     
southern ,california1 with two or three 
exceptions1  the greater flow of water  
in the streams is almost gone by ,june1 
in  this central region it is the period
 of the height of irrigation1 and  the  
streams are flowing at their maximum4   
,kern river presents about  #bjjj to    
#cjjj cubic feet of water per second2   
,king's river presents in  the maximum  
flow of the season about twice to three 
times as much as  ,kern river2 the      
,tuolumne river about as much as        
,king's4 ,as we go  farther north1 the  
,sacramento river presents more than    
three times as  much as the ,tuolumne1  
so that in the northern part of the     
great valley1  where the rainfall on the
 valley itself is greatest1 and1        
consequently1  the necessity for        
irrigation is least1 the irrigation     
supply increases2  and conversely1 the  
greatest area of irrigation in the      
valley and the  greatest necessity for  
it1 is1 in general1 where the water     

supply is  least4    ,about #ajj years  
ago irrigation was commenced in         
,california4 ,the ,roman  ,catholic     
priests1 coming from ,mexico where      
irrigation had long been  practiced1    
introduced it4 ,they established        
missions among the ,indians1  started   
cultivation1 and by the labor of these  
,indians built the  original irrigation 
works4 ,the practice of irrigation was  
extended in  ,san ,diego county1 as far 
as we are able to trace1 to several     
thousand  acres2 in ,san ,bernardino    
county in the southern interior valley1 
they  thus cultivated and watered1      
perhaps #bjjj acres2 and in ,los        
,angeles  county there were possibly    
#cjjj acres irrigated under ,mexican    
rule4  ,traces of the old mission works 
are found in ,san ,diego1 ,san          
,bernardino  and ,los ,angeles counties1
 and as far north as ,monterey county4  
,then came the gold fever1 when canals  
were dug throughout the  foot-hills of  
the western slope of the ,sierra        

,nevada1 for the supply of  water for   
the mining of gold2 and these canals    
have since1 in many  instances1 been    
turned into feeders for irrigation4     
,several thousand  miles of irrigation  
ditches have thus been created from old 
mining  ditches4 ,in #aheb1 a band of   
,mormons came from ,salt ,lake into the 
,san  ,bernardino valley2 they bought a 
,mexican grant rancho there1 took       
possession of some old mission works1   
constructed others and started          
irrigating4 ,that was probably the first
 irrigation colony1 on a large  scale1  
composed of others than ,mexicans1 in   
,california4 ,in #ahef1 some  ,missouri 
settlers went into the valley of ,kern  
river1 diverted water  from that stream1
 and commenced irrigation upon a small  
scale4 ,in #aheh1  the waters of ,cache 
creek1 in the ,sacramento valley1 were  
taken out for  irrigation4 ,in #ahei1   
the waters of ,king's river were taken  
out and  utilized for irrigation4 ,these
 instances represent in general outline 

the commencement of irrigation in the   
,state4 ,now we have in the             
neighborhood of #gej1jjj or #hjj1jjj    
acres actually irrigated each year1  and
 that represents what would ordinarily  
be called an irrigation area  of        
#a1bjj1jjj acres2 and there are         
commanded by the works--reasonably      
within the reach of existing canals--an 
area of about #b1ejj1jjj acres4    ,in  
the organization of irrigation          
enterprises there is great diversity4   
,commencing with the simplest form1 we  
have a ditch constructed by the         
individual irrigator for his own use2 we
 have then successively ditches         
constructed by associated irrigators    
without a definite organization1  for   
the service of their own land only2     
ditches constructed by  regularly       
organized associations of farmers1 with 
elected officers2  works constructed by 
farmers who have incorporated under the 
general  laws of the ,state and issued  
stock certificates of ownership in the  

properties1 for the service of the      
stockholders only2 works where          
incorporations have been formed for the 
purpose of attaching water  stock to    
lands that are to be sold1 bringing in  
the element of  speculation2 then works 
where the organization has been effected
 with a  view of selling water-rights2  
and finally1 organizations that are     
incorporated for the purpose of selling 
water4 ,there is a great  difference    
between the principles of these methods 
of organization1 and  the practical     
outcome is a great difference in the    
service of water and  in the duty of    
water furnished by them4 ,in selling    
water1 measurement  of volume is made by
 modules--the actual amount of water    
delivered is  measured--or it is sold by
 the acre served1 or in proportional    
parts of  the total available flow of   
the season4    ,the general character of
 the irrigation works of the ,state     
varies very  much with the varying      
conditions under which it is practiced4 

,in the  ,san ,joaquin valley1 ,king's  
river1 for instance1 comes out of the   
mountains nearly on a level with the    
surface of the plain1 cutting down  not 
more than a few feet below its banks2   
and hence but little labor is  required 
to divert its waters out upon the lands 
to be irrigated2 but  farther north1 the
 ,tuolumne1 as another example1 comes   
out of the  mountains in a deep caon1   
and the foot-hills extend far down the  
plain  on each side4 ,it is easily seen1
 then1 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' work1 by  a
 small force of the farmers themselves4 
,on ,king's river1 individual  and      
simple coperative effort is sufficient  
to bring water enough upon  the plains  
to irrigate thousands of acres1 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 valley4 ,in discussions  on the
 subject of irrigation some people have 
advanced the idea that  the works should
 be undertaken by the farmers1 and that 
capital should  have nothing to do with 
them4 ,that may do very well where the  
physical  conditions will admit of such 
a course1 and where nothing but the     
farmers' own service depends upon it2   
but the great majority of the  streams  
of ,california are of such a character  
that the work of the  farmers can avail 
nothing4 ,there must be strong          
associations and large  capital4 ,for   
this purpose special laws are required4 
,on the ,santa ,aa1  in ,san ,bernardino
 county1 water has been easily diverted1
 and such is  the case with every stream
 in the interior valley of ,san         
,bernardino and  ,los ,angeles counties4
    ,capital for the first works was not

 required4 ,the water was procured by   
primitive methods and the works were    
simple4 ,but in ,san ,diego1 an         
entirely different condition of affairs 
prevailed4 ,there the waters are  back  
in the mountains1 twenty or twenty-five 
miles from the coast1 and  the irrigable
 lands are close along the coast1 or    
within ten or twelve  miles of it4 ,to  
bring the water out of these mountains  
requires the  construction of ditches   
following the mountain sides for #bj to 
#ce  miles4 ,but simple ditches do not  
answer1 because of the great quantity   
of water lost from them4 ,so the        
companies have resorted to fluming1 and 
even to lining the ditches with cement4 
,thus in ,san ,diego1 individual  effort
 is out of the question4 ,farther north 
again1 in the great  interior valley1   
,king's river is a stream where         
coperative and  individual effort have  
been efficient1 although it requires a  
greater  amount of capital there than in
 the southern interior valley4 ,in the  

southern interior valley1 perhaps1      
#aj1jjj would often build a ditch  and  
divert all the water that the supply    
would furnish4 ,on ,king's river  the   
works have cost from #ae1jjj to #hj1jjj 
each2 on ,kern river the  works have    
cost from #ae1jjj to #bej1jjj each2 and 
on the ,tuolumne they  will cost from   
#a1jjj1jjj to #a1bjj1jjj apiece4 ,on    
,merced river1 the  cost has been       
#hjj1jjj for one work4 ,taking the      
streams from ,san  ,joaquin river north1
 that come out of the ,sierra ,nevada1  
up to the  northern end of the valley   
where the ,sacramento river enters it1  
every  important stream comes into the  
valley within a deep gorge4 ,the beds of
  several of the northern streams are so
 filled up with mining debris  that     
diversion from them would be            
comparatively easy1 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 amount4 ,on the west  
side of this great  valley the tillable 
strip is comparatively narrow4 ,it is on
 the lee  side of the coast range of    
mountains4 ,precipitation is made first 
on  the seaward face of the ,coast      
,range1 and then crosses the valley1    
dropping upon the inland face of the    
outer range very little more than  upon 
the valley itself1 where the            
precipitation is only about #aj  inches4
 ,so that we have no streams coming out 
of the ,coast ,range into  the southern 
part of the interior valley specially   
noteworthy as  irrigation feeders4 ,but 
as we go northward the ,coast ,range    
becomes  wider1 and the big mountain    
basin containing ,clear ,lake furnishes 
a  large supply of water to ,cache      
,creek1 probably enough for #aj1jjj     
acres4  ,stony ,creek flows between two 
ridges of the ,coast ,range1 and out on 
to  the plains1 furnishing about the    
same amount of water2 but still there   
are no streams from the ,coast ,range   

into the valley that are comparable     
with those of the ,sierra ,nevada4 ,in  
the northeastern corner of the  ,state1 
on the great plains of ,modoc1 we have  
the ,pitt river1 a stream  of very      
considerable volume1 but its waters are 
in comparatively deep  channels1 not    
very well adapted to diversion1 and the 
consequence is1  they have been utilized
 to a very small extent1 only on small  
bottom-land farms4 ,the whole stream can
 be utilized1 however1 and the  country 
is thirsting for water4    ,the practice
 of irrigation in ,california is as     
diverse as it could well  be4           
,california1 as you know1 covers a very 
large range in latitude1 but  a greater 
range in the matter of climate and      
adaptability to the  cultivation of     
crops4 ,in the southern portion of the  
,state1 the orange  and the banana and  
many other semi-tropical fruits         
flourish4 ,in some  localities along the
 foot-hills of the ,sierra ,nevada1     
also1 those  fruits flourish1           

particularly the orange and the lemon4  
,in the valley  of ,san ,joaquin1 wheat 
is grown by irrigation1 and in some     
places  profitably1 and in ,kern county 
quite profitably 7were it not for high  
transportation charges71 because the    
cost of distributing and applying  water
 has been reduced to a minimum4 ,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 them4        
,irrigation is  conducted in some ,kern 
river districts with the greatest ease1 
scarcely  requiring the use of the      
shovel4 ,the lands are so laid off with 
the  check levels that by simply opening
 gates in the proper order1 as the      
irrigation superintendents know how1 the
 waters flow out and cover the          
successive plats or checks in their     
order1 without leaving any  standing    
water1 and finally flowing off without  
material waste4 ,this is  the perfection
 of irrigation by the broad or          

submerging system1--a  method wherein   
the slope of the ground is first        
ascertained1 platted by  contours1 and  
the checks to hold the water1           
constructed with scrapers1  are then run
 out on slight grade contours--not      
perfectly level1 but on  very gentle    
slopes4    ,there is no portion of the  
far southern part of the ,state where   
the  check method is applied as it is in
 ,kern county4 ,the practice in ,san    
,bernardino is to irrigate entirely by  
running water in rills between  the rows
 of plants4 ,orange trees planted #bd to
 #cj feet apart are  irrigated by rills 
in plough furrows1 #e to #h between     
rows1 down the  slope of the orchard1   
which slope varies from about #a foot in
 a hundred  to #d or #e in a hundred4   
,in ,los ,angeles county they make banks
 about a  foot high around each         
individual tree1 forming basins #e or #f
 to #aj or  #ab feet in diameter        
according to the size of the tree4 ,into
 these the  water is conducted by a     

ditch1 and the basin being filled1 the  
water is  allowed to remain and soak    
away4 ,the low1 nearly flat valley      
lands1  when irrigated1 are generally   
divided into square checks1 without     
respect to the slope of the ground1 and 
the surface is simply flooded  in water 
standing #f inches to a foot in depth4  
,in the northern part of the ,state1 in 
,placer and ,yuba counties1 clover  is  
grown on hills having side slopes of #aj
 to #ae feet in a hundred1 and          
irrigated in plough furrows cut around  
on contours--which furrows are  about #e
 to #aj feet apart horizontally--and the
 water is allowed to soak  into the     
ground from each such furrow4    ,these 
are the five principal methods of       
applying water3 by the check  system2 by
 rills2 by the basin method2 by the     
basin method as applied  to low valleys2
 and by contour ditches on hill sides4  
,the method  selected for any particular
 locality is determined not alone by the
  crop to be cultivated1 but also by the

 slope of the land and the  character of
 the soil4 ,for instance1 on lands where
 oranges are  cultivated1 in the        
southern part of the ,state1 where rills
 are most  generally used1 water cannot 
be applied by the flooding system1 for  
the  reason that irrigation would be    
followed by cracking of the soil1 so    
that the trees would be killed4 ,it is  
necessary on such land to  cultivate    
immediately after irrigation1 and the   
method of application  is governed more 
by the soil than by the character of the
 crop4    ,we find in ,california very  
marked and important effects following  
irrigation4 ,for instance1 taking the   
great plains of ,fresno1 in the ,san    
,joaquin valley3 when irrigation        
commenced there twenty years ago1 it    
was #gj to #hj feet down to soil        
water--absolutely dry soil for nearly   
#hj  feet--and it was the rule          
throughout the great plain1 #bj miles in
 width  and #be miles in length1 that   
soil water was beyond the reach of the  

suction pump2 now1 in places1 water     
stands on the surface1 rushes grow1     
mosquitos breed1 malarial fevers abound1
 and the people are crying for          
drainage2 and lands1 whose owners paid  
from five to twenty dollars per  acre   
for the right to receive water1 now need
 drainage1 and irrigation  is considered
 unnecessary4 ,the amount of water taken
 from ,king's river  which was1 a few   
years ago1 regarded as not more than    
sufficient for  one tenth of the land   
immediately commanded and that seemed to
 require  it1 is now applied to a fourth
 of the whole area2 so that if          
irrigation  keeps on1 the time will come
 when the whole country will require    
draining4    ,in a district1 where water
 is applied by the broad method1 ,i saw 
in  #ahgg enough water1 by actual       
measurement of flow1 put on #bj acres of
  land to cover it #ah feet deep1 in one
 season1 could it all have been         
retained upon it4 ,it simply soaked into
 the ground1 or flowed out under  the   

great plain4 ,taking cross sections of  
this country1 north and south  and east 
and west1 ,i found that where the depth 
to soil water had1  before irrigation1  
been about #hj feet1 it was then #bj1   
#cj1 #dj or #fj and  more feet down to  
it4 ,the soil water stood under the     
plain in the form  of a mountain1 the   
slope running down #dj to #ej feet in a 
few miles on  the west and north4 ,on   
the south and southwest the surface of  
this  water-mountain was much more      
steep4 ,in the ,kern river country1 we  
have  a somewhat similar phenomenon4    
,irrigation1 in the upper portion of the
  ,kern delta1 affects the water in the 
wells #f or #h miles away4 ,as ,i       
remember the effect is felt at the rate 
of about a mile a day1 that is  to say1 
when water is used in irrigating the    
upper portion of the  delta1 or of ,kern
 island1 as it is called1 the wells     
commence to rise a  mile away in        
twenty-four hours1 and five miles away  
in perhaps five  days4    ,in the       

southern portion of the ,state1 in ,san 
,bernardino county1 at  ,riverside1 we  
find no such effect at all4 ,there it   
was #gj to #ij feet to  soil water      
before irrigation and it is1 as a       
general rule1 #gj to #ij  feet still4   
,water applied on the surface in some   
places has never even  wet the soil all 
the way down1 and wells dug there1 after
 irrigation  had been practiced for     
years1 have pierced dry ground for #be  
or #cj feet  before getting down to     
where soil waters have wetted it from   
below4 ,the  consequences of these      
phenomena are twofold4 ,in the first    
place1 in the  country that fills up    
with water1 the duty of water--the      
quantity of  land which a given amount  
of water will irrigate--has increased4  
,starting with a duty of not more than  
#be acres to a cubic foot of water  per 
second1 we now find that1 in some       
localities1 this amount irrigates  from 
#ajj to #afj acres2 and that some lands 
no longer require  irrigating4 ,in the  

southern portion of the ,state1 however1
 the cubic  foot of water irrigates no  
more than at first1 and it is scarcely  
possible that it will ever irrigate much
 more4 ,the saving1 as  irrigation goes 
on in the far southern portion of the   
,state1 will be  effected chiefly       
through the better construction of      
canals and  irrigation works of delivery
 and distribution4 ,in ,tulare valley1  
the  duty of water will increase as the 
ground fills up4    ,in ,fresno1 a      
county which was regarded as            
phenomenally healthy1  malarial fevers  
now are found1 while in ,san            
,bernardino1 at ,riverside1  such a     
thing is rarely known4 ,coming to       
,bakersfield1 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 #ae feet of
 the surface1 irrigation has almost     
entirely rid it of  the malarial        
effects4 ,chills and fever are rare now1

 where before  irrigation they were     
prevalent4 ,what is the reason that     
where chills  and fever prevailed1      
irrigation has made a healthful country1
 while  where chills and fevers were not
 known1 irrigation has made it          
unhealthful8 ,i account for it in this  
way3 in the ,kern river country  before 
irrigation was extensively introduced1  
there were many old  abandoned river    
channels and sloughs1 overgrown with    
swamp vegetation  and overhung by dense 
masses of rank-growing foliage4         
,adjacent lands  were in a more or less 
swampy condition2 ground waters stood   
within #aj  or #bj feet of the surface1 
and there was no hard-pan or impermeable
  stratum between such surface and these
 waters4 ,in other words1 general       
swampy conditions prevailed1 and        
malarial influences followed by chills  
and fevers were the result4 ,irrigation 
brought about the clearing out  of many 
of these old channel ways1 and their use
 as irrigating canals4  ,the lands were 

cleared off and cultivated1 fresh water 
was introduced  through these channels  
from the main river throughout the hot  
months1  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 it2 and the result1 as ,i have  
said1 was one happy in  its effect of   
making the climate salubrious and       
healthful4    ,considering now the case 
of the ,king's river or the ,fresno     
country1 the  lands there were a rich   
alluvial deposit1 abounding in vegetable
 matter  which for long ages perhaps had
 been1 except as wetted by the rains of 
winter1 dry and desiccated4 ,soil water 
was deep below the surface4 ,then       
irrigation came4 ,owing to the nature of
 the soil1 the whole country  filled up 
with the water4 ,its absorptive         
qualities being great and its  natural  
drainage defective1 the vegetable matter
 in the soil1 subjected  to more or less
 continued excessive moisture1 has      

decayed4 ,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 surface1  and at other times #e  
or #f feet lower--has contributed to the
 decaying  influences which the presence
 of the waters engendered4 ,the result  
has  been1 when taken with the general  
overgrowth of the country with          
vegetation due to irrigation1 a         
vitiation of the atmosphere by          
malarious outpourings from the soil4    
,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             
neighborhood1 with  the results1 as     
affecting human healthfulness1 of which 
,i have already  spoken4 ,the remedy is 
of course to drain the country4 ,the    
example is  but a repetition of         
experiences had in other countries4 ,the
 energy and  pluck of ,californians will
 soon correct the matter4    ,george ,p4

 ,marsh1 in his ,man and ,nature1 laid  
it down as a rule that  an effect of    
irrigation was to concentrate land      
holdings in a few  hands1 and he wrote  
an article1 which was published in one  
of our  ,agricultural ,department       
reports1 in which he rather deprecates  
the  introduction of irrigation into the
 ,united ,states1 or says that on this  
account it should be surrounded by great
 safeguards4 ,he cited instances  in    
,europe1 as in the valley of the ,po1   
where the tendency of irrigation  had   
been to wipe out small land holdings1   
and bring the lands into the  hands of a
 few of the nobility4 ,he cited but one 
country where the  reverse had been the 
rule1 which was in the south and east of
 ,spain1  and pointed out the reason1 as
 he conceived it1 that in south and     
southeastern ,spain the ownership of the
 water went with the land and  was      
inseparable from it1 under ancient      
,moorish rights4 ,it is a fact1  that   
where the ownership of water goes with  

the land1 it prevents  centering of land
 ownership into few hands1 after that   
ownership is  once divided among many   
persons1 in irrigated regions4 ,but ,mr4
 ,marsh  overlooked one thing in        
predicting harm in our country2 that is1
 that  it will be many years before we  
will get such a surplus of poor as to   
bring about the result he feared4 ,in   
,california1 the effect of  irrigation  
has not been to center the land in the  
hands of a few4 ,on  the contrary1 the  
tendency has been just the other way4   
,when irrigation  was introduced it     
became possible for small land holders  
to live4 ,in  ,fresno county1 there are 
many people making a living for a       
family1 each  on #bj acres of irrigated 
land1 and the country is divided into   
#bj and  #dj-;acre tracts and owned in  
that way4 ,in ,san ,bernardino the same 
state  of things prevails4 ,before      
irrigation1 these lands were owned in   
large  tracts1 and it was not an        
uncommon thing for one owner to have    

#aj1jjj  to #bj1jjj acres of land4 ,so  
that the rule in ,california1 which is  
the  effect of irrigation1 is to divide 
land holdings into small tracts1 and  in
 this respect1 also1 irrigation is a    
blessing to the country4 ,it  enables   
large owners to cut up their lands and  
sell out to the many4  ,land values have
 advanced from #a4be in this great      
valley to #ej1 #aej  and even #bej per  
acre1 simply by attaching to the land   
the right to  take or use water1 paying 
in addition an annual rental3 in the    
southern  portion of the ,state1 they   
have advanced from #e and #aj to #ejj   
and  even #ajjj an acre1 where the land 
has the right to water2 and many        
calculations have been made and examples
 cited by intelligent and  prominent    
people1 to show that good orange land or
 good raisin-grape  land with sufficient
 water supply is well worth #ajjj an    
acre4 ,water  rights run up             
proportionately in value4 ,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   
,state1 is held at  values ranging from 
#ejj to #ejjj4 ,such a little stream has
 changed  hands at #ejjj1 and not at    
boom prices either4 ,in the interior    
prices  are much less1 being from about 
a quarter to a tenth of those in the    
far southern part of the ,state4        
,fully one fourth of the ,united ,states
 requires irrigation4 ,when ,i say      
that1 ,i mean that fully one fourth the 
tillable area of our country  requires  
irrigation1 in order to support such a  
population as1 for  instance1 ,indiana  
has4 ,the irrigated regions of ,italy   
support  populations of from #bej to    
#cjj people to the square mile2 of south
  ,france1 from #aej to #bej people to  
the square mile2 of southeast ,spain1   
from #bjj to #cjj4 ,when we have #ej to 
#ajj to the square mile in an           
agricultural region we think we have a  
great population4    ,the great interior

 valley of ,california will not support1
 without  irrigation1 an average of more
 than #ae to #bj people per square mile4
  ,irrigate it and it will support as   
many as any other portion of the        
country--reasonably it will support #bjj
 to the square mile4 ,i have no  doubt  
that the population will run up to ten  
or twelve millions in that  one valley1 
and there are regions over this country 
from the  ,mississippi to the ,pacific1 
millions of acres1 that can be made to  
support a teeming population by the     
artificial application of water4  ,and  
why has it not been done before8 ,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 enterprises4    ,the      
government has recently placed at the   
disposal of the ,united ,states         
,geological ,survey an appropriation for
 the investigation of this  subject1 to 
ascertain how irrigation can be secured1
 the cost of  irrigation works1 and     

point out the means for irrigation1 in  
the arid  regions4 ,it is one of the    
wisest things ,congress ever did2 wise  
in the  time and in the subject4 ,the   
time will soon come when the question   
would have been forced upon the country1
 and the wisdom of preparing  for that  
time cannot be too highly commended4    
,,round ,,about ,,asheville4    ,,by    
,,bailey ,,willis4      ,a broad        
amphitheatre lies in the heart of the   
,north ,carolina mountains  which form  
its encircling walls2 its length is     
forty miles from north  to south and its
 width ten to twenty miles4 ,at its     
southern gate the  ,french ,broad river 
enters2 through the northern gate the   
same river  flows out1 augmented by the 
many streams of its extensive watershed4
    ,illustration3 ,,geological         
,,survey4 ,,north                       
,,carolina_/,,tennessee4 ,,asheville    
,,sheet4 ,contour interval #ajj feet4   
#ahhh4    ,illustration3 ,,section      
,,from ,,the ,,cumberland ,,plateau ,,to

 ,,the ,,blue ,,ridge4  ,natural        
profiles4    ,from these water-courses  
the even arena once arose with gentle   
slope to  the surrounding heights and   
that surface1 did it now exist1 would   
make  this region a very garden1 marked 
by its genial climate and adequate      
rainfall4 ,but that level floor exists  
no longer2 in it the rivers first  sunk 
their channels1 their tributaries       
followed1 the gullies by which  the     
waters gathered deepened1 and the old   
plain was thus dissected4 ,it  is now   
only visible from those points of view  
from which remnants of  its surface fall
 into a common plane of vision4 ,this is
 the case  whenever the observer stands 
upon the level of the old arena2 he may 
then sweep with a glance the profile of 
a geographic condition which  has long  
since passed away4    ,asheville is     
built upon a bit of this plain between  
the ravines of the  ,french ,broad and  
,swannanoa rivers1 now flowing #chj feet
 below the  level1 and at the foot of   

the ,beau-catcher hills2 toward which   
the  ground rises gently4 ,the position 
is a commanding one1 not only for the   
far reaching view1 but also as the      
meeting place of lines of travel  from  
north1 south1 east1 and west4 ,thus     
,asheville became a town of  local      
importance long before railroads were   
projected along the lines  of the old   
turnpikes4 ,the village was the center  
of western ,north  ,carolina1 as well of
 the county of ,buncombe1 and was       
therefore  appropriately the home of the
 district ,federal court4 ,a ,may       
session of  the court was in progress   
nine years ago when ,i rode up the muddy
  street from the ,swannanoa valley4    
,several well-known moonshiners were  on
 trial1 and the town street was crowded 
with their sympathizers1 lean           
mountaineers in blue and butternut      
homespun4 ,horses were hitched at  every
 available rack and fence1 and horse    
trading was active4 ,whiskey  was on    
trial at other bars than that of the    

court1 and the long rifle1  powder-horn 
and pouch had not been left in the      
mountains4 ,to a  tenderfoot 7who had   
the day before been mistaken for a      
rabbit or a  revenue officer67 the      
attentions of the crowd were not        
reassuring4    ,the general opinion was1
 ,i felt1 akin to that long afterward   
expressed  by ,groundhog ,cayce3 ,it air
 an awful thing ter kill a man by       
accident2  and ,i staid but a very short
 time in ,asheville4    ,riding away    
toward the sunset1 ,i traversed the old 
plain without seeing  that it had had a 
continuous surface4 ,i noted the many   
gullies1 and ,i  lost in the multitude  
of details the wide level from which    
they were  carved4 ,that the broader    
fact should be obscured by the many     
lesser  ones is no rare experience1 and 
perhaps there is no class of            
observations of which this has been more
 generally true than of those  involved 
in landscape study4 ,but when once the  
,asheville plain has been  recognized1  

it can never again be ignored4 ,it      
enters into every view1  both as an     
element of beauty and as evidence of    
change in the  conditions which         
determine topographic forms4 ,seldom in 
the mountains  can one get that distance
 of wooded level1 rarely is the         
foreground so  like a gem proportioned  
to its setting2 all about ,asheville one
 meets  with glimpses of river and      
valley1 sunken in reach beyond reach of 
woodland which stretch away to the blue 
mountains4 ,the even ridges form        
natural roadsites1 and in driving one   
comes ever and anon upon a fresh  view  
down upon the stream far across the     
plain and up to the heights4  ,and to   
the student of ,appalachian history1 the
 dissected plain is a  significant      
contradiction of the time honored       
phrase1 the everlasting  hills4 ,that   
plain was a fact1 the result of definite
 conditions of  erosion2 it exists no   
more in consequence of changes4 ,what   
were the  original conditions8 ,in what 

manner have they changed8 ,let us take  
account of certain other facts before   
suggesting an answer4 ,of the  mountains
 which wall the ,asheville amphitheatre1
 the ,blue ,ridge on the  east and the  
,unaka chain on the west are the two    
important ranges4 ,the  ,blue ,ridge    
forms the divide between the tributaries
 of the ,atlantic and  those of the     
,gulf of ,mexico1 and the streams which 
flow westward from  it all pass through 
the ,unaka chain4 ,it would be          
reasonable to suppose  that the rivers  
rose in the higher and flowed through   
the lower of the  two ranges1 but they  
do not4 ,the ,blue ,ridge is an         
irregular1  inconspicuous elevation but 
little over #djjj feet above the sea2   
the  ,unaka mountains form a massive    
chain from #ejjj to #fejj feet in       
height4  ,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         

convulsions2 but that vague guess       
marked the early and insufficient       
appreciation of the power of streams  as
 channel cutters1 and it has passed     
discredited into the history of  our    
knowledge of valley-formation4 ,that    
rivers carve out the deepest  caons1 as 
well as the broadest valleys1 is now a  
truism which we must  accept in framing 
hypotheses to account for the courses of
 the ,french  ,broad and other similar  
streams4 ,moreover1 since waters from a 
lower  ,blue ,ridge could never of their
 own impulse have flowed over the higher
  ,unaka1 we are brought to the         
question1 was the ,blue ,ridge once the 
higher1 or have streams working on the  
western slope of the ,unaka range  7when
 it was a main divide71 worn it through 
from west to east1  capturing all that  
broad watershed between the two mountain
 ranges8  ,either hypothesis is within  
the possibility of well established     
river  action1 and both suggest the     
possibility of infinite change in       

mountain  forms and river systems4      
,without attempting here to discriminate
  between these two hypotheses1 for     
which a broader foundation of facts  is 
needed1 let us look at the channel of   
the ,french ,broad below  ,asheville1 in
 the river's course through the range   
that is higher than  its source4        
,descending from the old plain into the 
river's ravine1 we  at once lose all    
extended views and are closely shut in  
by wooded  slopes and rocky bluffs4 ,the
 river falls the more rapidly as we     
descend1 and its tributaries leap to    
join it1 the railroad scarce  finding   
room between the rocks and the brawling 
current4 ,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      
,asheville4  ,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 ,springs4 ,beyond the        

limestone cove in which the springs     
occur1 the valley1 though narrow still1 
is wider and bottom lands  appear4 ,thus
 the water gap of the ,french ,broad    
through the ,unakas is  narrow and      
rugged1 the river itself a tossing      
torrent2 but had we  passed down other  
streams of similar course1 we should    
have found them  even more turbulent1   
their channels even more sharply carved 
in the  hard rocks4 ,on ,pigeon river   
there are many cliffs of polished       
quartzite1 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 vertical4 ,where  the river  
valleys are of this sharp cut character 
in high mountains1  the abrupt slopes1  
cliffs and rocky pinnacles are commonly 
still more  sharply accented in the     
heights4 ,the ,alpine tourist or the    
mountaineer  of the ,sierras would      
expect to climb from these caons to     

ragged combs  or to scarcely accessible 
needle-like peaks4 ,but how different   
from the  heights of the ,jungfrau are  
the balds of the ,unakas6 like the      
ice-worn granite domes of ,new ,england1
 the massive balds present a  rounded   
profile against the sky4 ,although      
composed of the hardest rock1  they yet 
resemble in their contours1 the low     
relief of a limestone  area4 ,broad1    
even surfaces1 on which rocky outcrops  
are few and over  which a deep loam     
prevails1 suggest rather that one is    
wandering over a  plain than on a great 
mountain2 yet you may sweep the entire  
horizon  and find few higher peaks4 ,the
 view is often very beautiful1 it is    
far-reaching1 not grand4 ,no crags tower
 skyward1 but many domes rise  nearly to
 the same heights1 and dome-like1 their 
slopes are steepest  toward the base4   
,the valleys and the mountains have     
exchanged the  characters they usually  
bear2 the former are dark and           
forbidding1 wild  and inaccessible1 the 

latter are broad and sunlit of softened 
form1  habitable and inhabited4 ,all    
roads and villages are on the heights1  
only passing travelers and those who    
prey upon them frequent the  depths4    
,these facts of form are not local1 they
 are general3 all the streams of  the   
,unaka mountains share the features of  
the ,french ,broad ,caon1 while  peaks  
like ,great ,roan1 ,big ,bald1 ,mt4     
,guyot1 are but examples of a  massive  
mountain form common throughout the     
range4    ,thus the ,unaka chain        
presents two peculiar facts for our     
consideration2  it is cut through by    
streams rising in a lower range1 and its
 profiles  of erosion are convex upward 
not downward4    ,if we follow our      
river's course beyond the ,unaka chain  
into the valley  of ,east ,tennessee we 
shall still find the channel deeply cut2
 here and  there bottomlands appear1 now
 on one side1 now on the other1 but the 
banks are more often steep slopes or    
vertical cliffs from fifty to one       

hundred feet high4 ,the creeks and      
brooks meander with moderate fall       
through the undulating surface of the   
valley1 but they all plunge by a  more  
or less abrupt cascade into the main    
rivers4 ,it is thus evident  that the   
tributaries cannot keep pace with the   
rivers in  channel-cutting1 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 streams4    ,if from          
topographic forms we turn to consider   
the materials1 the rocks1  of which they
 are composed1 we shall find a general  
rule of relation  between relative      
elevation and rock-hardness4 ,thus the  
great valley of  ,east ,tennessee has a 
general surface #cjjj feet below the    
mean height of  the ,unakas3 it is an   
area of easily soluble1 often soft1     
calcareous  rocks1 while the mountains1 
consist of the most insoluble1 the      
hardest1  silicious rocks4 ,east of the 

,unakas the surface is again lower1     
including the irregular divide1 the     
,blue ,ridge2 here also1 the            
feldspathic gneisses and mica schists   
are1 relatively speaking1 easily        
soluble1 and non-coherent4 ,what is thus
 broadly true is true in detail1  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 rocks2 where a 
more soluble1 less coherent stratum     
crops out in  the mountain mass1 a      
hollow1 a cove1 corresponds to it4 ,of  
valley  ridges1 ,clinch mountain is the 
most conspicuous example2 of mountain   
hollows the ,french ,broad valley at    
,hot ,springs1 or ,tuckaleechee ,cove   
beneath the ,great ,smoky mountain1 is a
 fair illustration4    ,but impassive   
rock-hardness1 mere ability to resist1  
is not adequate to  raise mountains1 nor
 is rock-softness an active agent in the
 formation  of valleys4 ,the passive    
attitude of the rocks implies a force1  

that is  resisted1 and the very terms in
 which that attitude is expressed       
suggest the agent which applies the     
force4 ,hardness1 coherence1            
insolubility1--these are terms          
suggestive of resistance to a force     
applied to wear away1 to dissolve1 as   
flowing water wears by virtue of  the   
sediment it carries and as percolating  
waters take the soluble  constituent of 
rocks into solution4 ,and it is by the  
slow mechanical  and chemical action of 
water that not only caons are carved but
 even  mountain ranges reduced to gentle
 slopes4    ,if we designate this       
process by the word degradation1 it     
follows from  the relation of resistance
 to elevation in the region under       
discussion  that we may say3 ,the       
,appalachians are mountains of          
differential  degradation2 that is1     
heights remain where the rocks have been
 least  energetically acted on1 valleys 
are carved where the action of water    
has been most effective4    ,in order   

that the process of degradation may go  
on it is essential that  a land mass be 
somewhat raised above the sea1 and1     
since the process is  a never-ceasing   
one while streams have sufficient fall  
to carry  sediment1 it follows that1    
given time enough1 every land surface   
must  be degraded to a sloping plain1 to
 what has been called a base level4     
,with these ideas of mountain genesis   
and waste1 let us consider some  phases 
of degradation in relation to           
topographic forms2 and in doing so  ,i  
cannot do better than to use the terms  
employed by ,prof4 ,wm4 ,m4  ,davis4    
,when a land surface rises from the     
ocean the stream systems which at  once 
develope1 are set the task of carrying  
back to the sea all that  stands above  
it4 ,according to the amount of this    
alloted work that  streams have         
accomplished1 they may be said to be    
young1 mature or  aged2 and if1 their   
task once nearly completed1 another     
uplift raise  more material to be       

carried off1 they may be said to be     
revived4 ,these  terms apply equally to 
the land-surface1 and each period of    
development  is characterized by certain
 topographic forms4    ,in youth simple 
stream systems sunk in steep walled     
caons are  separated by broad areas of  
surface incompletely drained4 ,in       
maturity  complex stream systems extend 
branches up to every part of the        
surface2  steep slopes1 sharp divides1  
pyramidal peaks express the rapidity    
with  which every portion of the surface
 is attacked4    ,in old age the gently 
rolling surface is traversed by many    
quiet  flowing streams2 the heights are 
gone1 the profiles are rounded1 the     
contours subdued4 ,in the first         
emergence from the sea the courses of   
streams are determined by accidents of  
slope1 it may be by folding of  the     
rising surface into troughs and arches4 
,during maturity the process  of        
retrogressive erosion1 by which a stream
 cuts back into the  watershed of a less

 powerful opponent stream1 adjusts the  
channels to  the outcrops of soft rocks 
and leaves the harder strata as         
eminences4  ,in old age this process of 
differential degradation is complete and
  only the hardest rocks maintain a     
slight relief4    ,suppose that an aged 
surface of this character be revived3   
the rivers  hitherto flowing quietly in 
broad plains will find their fall       
increased  in their lower courses2 their
 channels in soft rock will rapidly     
become  caons1 and the revived phase    
will retreat up stream in the same      
manner  that the caons of youth extended
 back into the first uplifted mass4 ,if 
the area of soft rocks be bounded by a  
considerable mass of very hard  rocks1  
it is conceivable that a second phase of
 age1 a base level1  might creep over   
the valley while yet the summits of the 
first old age  remained unattacked1 and 
should perchance revival succeed revival
 the  record of the last uplift might be
 read in sharp cut channels of the      

great rivers1 while the forms of each   
preceding phase led like steps to  the  
still surviving domes of that earliest  
old age4    ,is there aught in these    
speculations to fit our facts8 ,i think 
there  is4 ,we have seen that our       
mountains and valleys are the result of 
differential degradation1 and that this 
is not only broadly true but  true in   
detail also4 ,this is evidence that     
streams have been long at  work         
adjusting their channels1 they have     
passed through the period of  maturity4 
,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          
chiseled2 but we see them gently        
sloping1 as a plain4 ,these summits are 
very1 very old4    ,we have recognized  
that dissected plain1 the level of the  
,asheville  amphitheatre1 now #b1djj    
feet above the sea2 it was a surface    
produced  by subaerial erosion1 and as  
such it is evidence of the fact that the

  ,french ,broad ,river1 and such of its
 tributaries as drain this area1 at  one
 time completed their work upon it1     
reached a base level4 ,that they  should
 have accomplished this the level of    
discharge of the sculpturing  streams   
must have been constant during a long   
period1 a condition which  implies      
either that the fall from the ,asheville
 plain to the ocean was  then much less 
than it now is1 or that through local   
causes the ,french  ,broad was held by a
 natural dam1 where it cuts the ,unaka  
chain4    ,if we should find that other 
rivers of this region have carved the   
forms of age upon the surfaces of their 
intermontane valleys1 and there  is now 
some evidence of this kind at hand1 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 does4
  ,furthermore1 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 
it2 the ravines  themselves prove that  
the level of discharge has been lowered1
 the  streams have been revived2 and the
 wide ramification of the brooks is  the
 characteristic of approaching maturity4
    ,we have also glanced at the        
topography of the valley and have found 
the  rivers flowing in deep-cut simple  
channels which are young1 and the       
smaller streams working on an undulating
 surface that is very sensitive  to     
processes of degradation4    ,the minor 
stream systems are very intricate and   
apparently mature1 but  they have not   
yet destroyed the evidence of a general 
level to which  the whole limestone area
 was once reduced1 but which now is     
represented  by many elevations that    
approach #a1fjj feet above the sea4     
,here then in  the valley are young     
river channels1 mature stream systems   
and faint  traces of an earlier base    
level1 all of them more recent than the 

,asheville level1 which is in turn less 
ancient than the dome-like  summits of  
the ,unakas4    ,what history can we    
read in these suggestive topographic    
forms and  their relations8    ,the     
first step in the evolution of a        
continent is its elevation above  the   
sea4 ,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       
arches2 upon these erosion at once began
 and  these formed our first mountains4 
,where they were highest the geologist  
may infer from geologic structure and   
the outcrops of the oldest rocks2  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 chain4 ,the  positions of rivers 
were determined by the relations of the 

arches to  each other and1 as they were 
in a general way parallel1 extending    
from  northeast to southwest1 we know   
that the rivers too had                 
northeast-southwest courses4 ,from that 
first drainage system the  ,tennessee   
river1 as far down as ,chattanooga1 is  
directly descended1 and  when the       
geologic structure of ,north ,carolina  
and ,east ,tennessee is  known1 we may  
be able to trace the steps of adjustment
 by which the  many waters have been    
concentrated to form that great river4  
,at present  we cannot sketch the       
details1 but we know that it was a long 
process  and that it was accompanied by 
a change in the raison d'tre of the     
mountain ranges4 ,the first mountains   
were high because they had been         
relatively raised2 they gave place to   
hills that survived because they  had   
not been worn down4 ,a topography of    
differential uplift gave place  to one  
of differential degradation4 ,and to the
 latter the dome-like  balds of the     

,unakas belong4 ,those massive summits  
of granite1  quartzite and conglomerate 
are not now cut by running waters2 they 
are  covered with a mantel of residual  
soil1 the product of excessively slow   
disintegration1 and they are the        
remnants of a surface all of which has  
yielded to degradation1 save them4 ,in  
time the streams will cut back  and     
carve jagged peaks from their masses1   
but standing on their heights  my       
thought has turned to the condition they
 represent--the condition  that is past4
 ,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  sea4 ,that1 ,i     
conceive1 was the first base level plain
 of which we have  any evidence in the  
,appalachians and from that plain our   
present  valleys have been eroded4 ,the 
continental elevation must then have    
been  #c1jjj or #d1jjj feet less than it

 is now1 and the highest hills were     
probably not more than #b1ejj feet above
 the sea4 ,this was perhaps a  period of
 constant relation between sea and land1
 but it was succeeded  by one during    
which the land slowly rose4 ,the rivers1
 which had  probably assumed nearly     
their present courses1 were revived2 the
  important channels soon sank in caons1
 the tributaries leaped in  rapids and  
cut back into the old base level4 ,the  
region continued to  rise during a      
period long enough to produce the       
essential features of  the mountain     
ranges of to-day2 then it stood still in
 relation to the  sea or perhaps        
subsided somewhat1 and the ,french      
,broad and probably  other rivers made  
record of the pause in plains like that 
about  ,asheville4 ,again the land rose 
slowly2 again it paused1 and rivers1    
working always from their mouths        
backward1 carved a base-level in the    
limestones of the great valley2 but     
before that level could extend up       

through the gorges in the ,unakas1 the  
continent was raised to its  present    
elevation1 the streams responded to the 
increased fall given  them and the      
rivers in the valley began to cut their 
still incomplete  caons4    ,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 age8   
,let us sum up the history we have      
traced4 ,there is  reason to believe    
that3    #ast4 ,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   
degradation4    #b;d4 ,the balds of the 
,unakas represent the heights of that   
first-known  approach to a base-level4  
#c;d4 ,the topography of the region has 
been revived by a general1 though  not  
necessarily uniform1 uplift of #c1jjj   
feet or more1 divided by two  intervals 
of rest2 during the first of these the  

,asheville base-level  was formed2      
during the second1 the valley alone was 
reduced4    #dth4 ,the latest movement  
of the uplift has been1 geologically    
speaking1  quite recent1 and the revived
 streams have accomplished but a small  
part of their new task4    ,these       
conclusions are reached on the          
observation of a single class of  facts 
in one district2 they must be compared  
with the record of  continental         
oscillation on the sea coasts1 in the   
deposits of the  coastal plain1 and in  
the topography of other districts4      
,the history of the ,appalachians is    
written in every river system and on    
every mountain range1 but in characters 
determined for each locality by  the    
local conditions4 ,only when the        
knowledge1 to which every tourist  may  
contribute1 is extended over the entire 
region shall we know  conclusively the  
whole story4          ,a ,,trip ,,to    
,,panama ,,and ,,darien4    ,,by        
,,richard ,u4 ,,goode4      ,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 #ejj1jjj      
hectares of land4    ,some of the       
conditions attached to this grant were1 
that the land  should be selected within
 certain limits and surveyed by the     
,canal  ,company2 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 ,government4 ,it was also    
further agreed that it would not be     
necessary to complete the canal  before 
any of the land should be granted1 but  
that it would be given at  different    
times in amounts proportional to the    
amount of work  accomplished4    ,thus  
in #ahhg1 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    
#bej1jjj hectares of land1 upon the     
completion of the  necessary surveys1   
etc4    ,the land was eventually chosen 
partly in ,darien and partly in         
,chiriqui  as follows3    ,in ,darien   
three lots1 one between the ,paya and   
,mangle rivers1 one  between the ,maria 
and ,pirri rivers1 the two amounting to 
#ajj1jjj  hectares1 and one lot of      
#be1jjj hectares between the ,yape and  
,pucro  rivers4    ,in ,chiriqui1 which 
is a ,province of ,panama just east of  
,costa ,rica1 two  lots were chosen     
amounting to #abe1jjj hectares1 one     
between the ,sigsola  and ,rabalo       
rivers1 and the other between the       
,catabella and ,san ,pedro  rivers4     
,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       
corporation1 and the ,colombian         
,government was doubtless very willing  
to  let the ,canal ,company have this   

amount or as much more as was wanted1   
both parties being equally aware of the 
valueless character of the land  for any
 practical purposes4    ,my services    
were engaged in #ahhh in connection with
 the astronomical  work incident to the 
survey of these grants and it was       
intended that ,i  should visit both     
,darien and ,chiriqui1 but the contract 
term expired  about the time of the     
completion of the work in ,darien1 which
 was taken  up first1 and it was deemed 
prudent for various reasons1 the chief  
of  them being the unhealthiness of the 
locality at that season of the  year1   
about the middle of ,april1 not to      
remain longer on the ,isthmus4  ,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 surveys1 and without      
understanding men and  methods peculiar 
to a tropical country ,i started out    
with this  expectation1 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 efforts4  ,thus it was     
nearly the first of ,march before ,i    
reached ,darien1 having  sailed from    
,new ,york a month previously4 ,passage 
was had from ,panama to  ,darien in a   
steamer chartered for the purpose4      
,sailing across the ,bay  of ,panama and
 entering the ,tuyra ,river at ,boca    
,chica1 we ascended the  river as far as
 the village ,real de ,st4 ,marie4 ,at  
this point the  steamer was abandoned   
and further transportation was had in   
canoes4    ,darien is a province of the 
,state of ,panama and its boundaries as 
given  by ,lieut4 ,sullivan in his      
comprehensive work on ,problem of       
,interoceanic ,communication1 are as    
follows3 ,the ,atlantic coast line  is  
included between ,point ,san ,blas and  
,cape ,tiburon2 that of the  ,pacific   
extends from the mouth of the ,bayano to

 ,point ,ardita4 ,the  eastern boundary 
is determined by the main ,cordillera in
 its sweep  across the ,isthmus from a  
position of close proximity to the      
,pacific1  near ,point ,ardita1 to a    
similar position near ,tiburon1 on the  
,atlantic4  ,the valleys of the         
,mandinga and ,mamoni-,bayano determine 
its western  limit4    ,the ,darien     
hills as seen from the ,atlantic side   
present to the view an  apparently solid
 ridge of mountains1 although there are 
in reality many  low passes which are   
concealed by projecting spurs4    ,the  
dividing ridge hugs close to the        
,atlantic1 and the rivers1 of which     
there are a great many on this side1    
plunge abruptly to the sea4 ,on the     
,pacific side the rivers have a much    
longer distance to flow before  reaching
 the sea1 and the territory bordering on
 the ocean is low and  swampy4 ,the     
tidal limit of the ,tuyra ,river is     
nearly fifty miles from  its mouth1 and 
on this river and many of its           

tributaries one can travel  many miles  
inland before ground sufficiently solid 
to land upon can be  found4 ,the        
vegetation within this low lying area is
 thick and closely  matted together1 and
 this fact taken in connection with the 
swampy  character of the ground1 makes  
travel on foot through any portion of it
  exceedingly difficult4 ,therefore the 
various rivers1 which form a very       
complex system and penetrate everywhere 
are the natural highways of the         
country4 ,the chief rivers on the       
,pacific side are the ,tuyra and ,boyano
  with their numerous tributaries and on
 the ,atlantic watershed is the         
,atrato4    ,a peculiarity noticed at   
,real de ,st4 ,marie1 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    
feet1 was that at low tide it was       
impossible  to enter the mouth of the   
,pyrrhi with a boat1 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 torrent4    ,outside of the    
swampy area the character of the country
 is rough and  mountainous4 ,the valleys
 are narrow and the ridges exceedingly  
sharp1  the natural result of a great   
rain fall4 ,the hills are able to resist
  the continued wasting effect of the   
vast volumes of descending water  only  
by their thick mantle of accumulated    
vegetation1 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 strait4
    ,the ridges are sometimes level for 
a short distance1 but are generally     
broken and are made up of a succession  
of well rounded peaks4 ,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  country4 ,the highest  
point climbed was about #b1jjj feet     
above sea level  and the highest peak in
 ,darien is ,mt4 ,pyrrhi which is       
between three and  four thousand4       
,darien has been the scene of a great   
deal of surveying and exploration  from 
the time that ,columbus1 in #aejc1      
coasted along its shores1 hoping  to    
find a strait connecting the two oceans1
 up to the present time4  ,balboa1 in   
#aeaj1 discovered the ,pacific by       
crossing the ,darien  mountains from    
,caledonia ,bay4 ,this discovery taken  
in connection with  the broad           
indentations of the land noted by       
,columbus1 led the old world  to believe
 in the existence of a strait1 and the  
entire coast on each  side of the new   
world was diligently searched4 ,the     
,cabots1 ,ponce de  ,leon and ,cortez   
interested themselves in this search and
 it was not  until about #aecb that all 
expectations of finding the strait were 
abandoned4 ,the idea of a direct natural

 communication between the  oceans being
 thus dispelled1 the question of an     
artificial junction  arose1 and in #aeea
 a ,spanish historian recommended to    
,philip ,,ii4 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 drawn1 that is1 ,tehauntepec1     
,nicaragua and  ,panama4 ,from this time
 up to the commencement of the work of  
the  ,isthmian expeditions sent out by  
the ,united ,states1 and which lasted   
from #ahgj to #ahge1 but little         
geographical knowledge relative to      
,darien  was obtained4 ,the ,united     
,states expeditions undoubtedly did a   
great  amount of valuable exploration   
and surveying1 and while the names of   
,strain1 ,truxton1 ,selfridge and ,lull 
will always be held in high esteem  for 
what they accomplished in this          
direction1 still it is to be  regretted 
that with all the resources at their    

command they did not  make a complete   
map of the country4 ,and just here ,i   
want to bring  forward the suggestion   
that all that has been accomplished and 
more1  could have been accomplished if  
the various explorers had known1 or     
practically utilized1 a fact that my own
 experience and that of other           
topographers1 in this country and       
,darien1 has impressed upon me2 and     
that is1 that it is easier in a rough   
and mountainous country to travel  on   
the ridge than in the valley4 ,in       
,darien they were looking for a low     
pass in the ,cordillera and this was    
what should have first been sought1     
directly4 ,having found the low passes  
the valleys of the streams  draining    
therefrom could have then been examined1
 and thus all  necessary information    
could have been obtained and the subject
  exhausted4 ,the plan followed by the  
,isthmian expeditions was to ascend  a  
stream with the hope of finding a       
suitable pass4 ,the pass might be  found

 or it might not1 and if not1 so much   
labor as far as the direct  solution of 
the problem was concerned was lost4 ,a  
pass of low altitude  was of primary    
importance and should have been sought  
for in an  exhaustive way4    ,humboldt 
said in substance1 ,do not waste your   
time in running  experimental lines     
across4 ,send out a party fully         
equipped1 which  keeping down the       
dividing ridge the whole length of the  
,isthmus1 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 world4 ,but strange to say this  
plan suggested by such an  eminent      
authority as ,humboldt and so strongly  
recommended by common  sense1 has never 
been followed1 and to-day after all the 
money that has  been spent and the lives
 lost in explorations in ,darien1 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 known4 ,it 
is true the dividing ridge would  be    
difficult to follow on account of the   
great number of confusing  spurs1 but ,i
 think ,i am safe in saying that        
starting from the summit of  the main   
ridge at ,culebra pass on the ,isthmus  
of ,panama1 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 rivers1 embracing with each     
their respective  tributaries4    ,i    
traveled on some of the high dividing   
ridges in ,darien1 and did not  find    
that progress was at all difficult1 and 
especially noted the fact  of the       
absence of tangled undergrowth and      
matted vines which is so  characteristic
 of the ,darien forests generally4      
,now a few words about the inhabitants  
of ,panama and ,darien1 and in          
referring to these ,i mean the native   

inhabitants and not the  indiscriminate 
gathering of all nationalities that were
 attracted by  the ,panama ,canal4      
,in ,central and ,south ,america1 as in 
,north ,america1 the aboriginal         
inhabitant was the ,indian4 ,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       
,massachusetts1 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  interior4       
,they resemble our ,indians in          
appearance1 but are smaller4 ,they are  
averse to manual labor and live almost  
entirely by hunting and fishing1        
although they sometimes have small      
plantations of plantains1 bananas1      
oranges and lemons4 ,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 blood1 and has many  of the    
characteristics of each race4 ,in       
addition to the ,indian and  ,colombian 
there are in ,panama and ,darien a      
comparatively large number  of negroes1 
who were originally imported as slaves  
by the early  ,spaniards1 and who now   
constitute by far the larger portion of 
the  inhabitants of ,darien1 being found
 usually in villages along the  valleys 
of the larger streams4 ,in contrast to  
the ,colombian and ,indian  they are    
large in stature and make excellent     
laborers4    ,the principal villages in 
,darien1 as ,yovisa1 ,pinagana and ,real
 de ,st4  ,marie1 are inhabited         
exclusively by the negroes1 with the    
exception of  a ,spanish judge in each1 
who exercises great authority4 ,besides 
being a  judge in civil and criminal    
cases1 he practically controls          
everything  in his particular village1  
as all contracts for labor are          
negotiated  with him and settlement for 

services made through him4    ,upon     
reaching ,darien the first work assigned
 me was the survey and  exploration of  
the ,pyrrhi river4 ,this survey was made
 for two purposes3  primarily1 to       
determine if any of the country         
bordering upon it was of  a sufficiently
 desirable character to include it      
within the grant1 and  secondly1 to     
secure data for the general             
topographical map4 ,my  instructions    
were to proceed as far south as latitude
 #g #cj'4 ,the  ascent of the river was 
made in canoes until the frequency of   
rapids  made it necessary to abandon    
them1 and then the journey was continued
  on foot1 generally wading in the      
middle of the stream1 as the            
undergrowth was too thick to admit of   
progress along the banks4  ,sometimes   
the water was very shallow2 at other    
times1 where it had been  backed up by  
dams of porphyritic rock1 it reached    
above the waist1 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  caon4    ,the survey of this     
river was satisfactorily accomplished in
 about a  week4 ,the method adopted for 
the survey was to take compass bearings 
and to estimate distances4 ,these       
courses and distances were plotted as   
they were taken and thus the            
topographical and other features could  
be  readily sketched in connection with 
them4 ,to check and control this  work1 
observations were taken every day at    
noon with a sextant1 on the  sun1 for   
latitude and time1 and at night         
circum-meridian altitudes of  stars were
 obtained when possible4    ,thus a     
number of rivers were surveyed--the     
,maria1 ,tucuti1 ,yovisa and  other     
tributaries of the ,tuyra4 ,when it was 
found that a sufficiently  correct idea 
of the country for topographical        
purposes could not be  obtained by      
simply meandering the water courses1    
lines or trochas  were cut through the  

forest from stream to stream1 and where 
two  streams thus connected were        
tributaries of a common river1 all of   
which  had been previously surveyed1 a  
closed figure was obtained1 an          
adjustment for errors of closure made1  
and by putting together the             
topographical data obtained by the four 
lines1 there was generally  found to be 
sufficient information to give a        
satisfactory though of  course a crude  
delineation of the included area4       
,after a number of rivers had been      
examined with more or less accuracy  in 
this way1 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 river1 and that the       
portion of the river which  lay between 
the mouths of two of its tributaries1   
the ,rio ,yape and the  ,rio ,pucro1    
should be one of the boundaries of the  
grant4 ,the ,yape and  ,pucro have      
courses approximately parallel to each  

other and at right  angles to the ,rio  
,tuyra1 and these streams were also     
chosen as boundary  lines1 so that the  
grant would have the three rivers as    
natural  boundaries1 and the fourth and 
closing boundary was to be a straight   
line from a certain point on the ,yape  
to the ,pucro1 so located as to  include
 within the four boundaries an area     
approximately equal to the  amount of   
the grant1 which in this particular case
 was #be1jjj hectares4  ,the problem    
then presented was3 given three rivers  
for three boundaries  of a figure to    
establish a fourth and artificial line1 
completing the  figure in such a way    
that it should contain a given area1 and
 also to  procure data for a            
topographical map of the country        
surveyed4    ,this survey was put under 
my direction and ,i was instructed to   
proceed  to a point overlooking the     
,tuyra river1 between the ,rio ,yape and
 the  ,rio ,pucro1 near the mouth of the
 ,rio ,capite1 for the purpose of       

establishing a base camp4 ,leaving ,real
 de ,st4 ,marie on the evening of       
,march #aeth1 with a fleet of twelve    
canoes and about thirty native          
laborers1 we reached the site for the   
camp in two days4 ,after landing        
everything1 the work of clearing away   
trees and underbrush over an area       
sufficiently large for the camp was     
commenced4 ,the men worked willingly    
with axe and machte1 and soon the forest
 receded and left bare a  semi-circular 
space facing the river4    ,two houses  
were needed and without saw1 nail or    
hammer the construction  was commenced  
and prosecuted rapidly4 ,straight trees 
about six inches  in diameter and twenty
 feet long were cut and planted         
vertically in  holes dug out with the   
machte1 and horizontal pieces of a      
smaller  diameter were securely fastened
 on with long tough strips of bark1 and 
thus a square or oblong frame was       
fashioned4 ,the horizontal pieces were  
placed at a distance of about three feet

 from the ground1 on which a  flooring  
was eventually laid1 and at the top of  
the frame where the  slope of the roof  
began4 ,on the top pieces other poles   
were laid and  fastened across and      
lengthwise1 and on these the men stood  
while making  the skeleton of the roof4 
,the latter was made very steep for     
better  protection against the rain4    
,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 squares1 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-proof4 ,for our purpose no        
protection on the sides of the          
structures other than the projecting    
eaves was considered necessary4 ,a floor
 of poles laid very close  together was 
put in one house1 the one used for      
sleeping purposes1 and  in the other a  
table for eating1 writing1 draughting1  

etc41 was made4  ,thus in two or three  
days the place was made thoroughly      
habitable1 and  men were detailed to see
 that the grounds1 etc41 were always    
kept  thoroughly clean and in a good    
sanitary condition1 a very necessary    
precaution in a tropical country4 ,the  
forest afforded game1 the river  an     
abundance of fish2 bananas1 oranges1    
lemons and pineapples were  easily      
procured from the natives1 who also     
furnished material for a  poultry yard1 
and thus while located at camp ,capite1 
situated as it was  on a picturesque    
spot overlooking two swiftly flowing    
rivers1 with good  drinking water1 a    
commissary department well stocked1 a   
,french cook who  would have done       
himself credit anywhere1 ,i could not   
but think that  heretofore pictures of  
life in ,darien had been too somberly   
drawn1 and  that where so much suffering
 and sickness had prevailed among the   
early  explorers it was because they had
 gone there not properly outfitted1  and

 because carried away with ambitious    
enthusiasm their adventurous  spirit had
 caused them often to undertake that    
which their calmer  judgment would not  
have dictated2 and that to these causes 
as much as  to the unhealthy condition  
of the locality was due their many      
hardships4 ,several days were spent here
 getting time and latitude  observations
 and in mapping out plans for the work4 
,it was decided that  the mouths of the 
,yape1 ,capite and ,pucro and other     
points along these  rivers1 such as     
mouths of tributary streams1 etc41      
should be  astronomically located1 that 
these points should be connected by     
compass lines1 and also that cross lines
 should be run at various  points from  
the ,yape to the ,capite and from the   
,capite to the ,pucro4 ,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 grant1  as the country      
around the headwaters of the streams was

 known to be  exceedingly rough and     
mountainous1 and to follow any straight 
line  would necessarily involve a great 
amount of laborious cutting and         
climbing4    ,furthermore1 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 rivers2
 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 side4    ,instead of this it was 
considered best and sufficient to       
arbitrarily  adopt a certain waterfall  
on the ,rio ,yape1 the location of which
 was  approximately known from a        
reconnoisance previously made1 as the   
initial point of the line connecting the
 upper ,yape with the ,pucro and        
closing the figure4 ,thus it only became
 necessary1 as far as the  boundaries   
were concerned1 to run a line along the 
,tuyra1 joining the  mouths of the ,yape

 and ,pucro2 to run a line from the     
mouth of the ,yape  to the waterfall    
above referred to2 and to run up the    
,pucro  sufficiently far to be certain  
that when the work was completed and    
plotted1 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       
surveyed4 ,i have not time  to go into  
the details of the various trips by land
 and water necessary  to carry out these
 plans4    ,before starting it was known
 exactly what was necessary to be done2 
each assistant engineer had his work    
clearly mapped out before him1 and  each
 one faithfully performed the task      
allotted to him1 so that the  whole     
survey was brought to a successful      
completion4 ,this brought to a  close   
all the work in ,darien1 the other      
tracts having been surveyed  before my  
arrival and consequently the whole      
expedition returned to  ,panama1 and    

soon afterwards ,i returned to this     
country4    ,in going to and returning  
from ,darien1 ,i passed twice over the  
,panama  railroad and along the line of 
the ,panama canal1 and ,i have thought  
that a few facts relative to the canal  
and railroad might prove of  interest to
 the ,geographical ,society4            
,published herewith is a sketch showing 
the location of the railroad1  canal and
 tributary drainage1 and a profile along
 the axis of the  canal4                
,illustration3 ,,sketch ,,showing       
,,location ,,of ,,panama ,,rail ,,road1 
,,panama  ,,canal ,,and ,,tributary     
,,drainage4 ,n4 ,peters1                
,photo-,lithographer1  ,washington1 ,d4 
,c4    ,illustration3 ,,profile ,,of    
,,the ,,panama ,,canal4 ,black indicates
 work  executed2 stipple1 work to be    
executed to complete a lock-canal2      
white1  additional work to be executed  
to complete a sea-level canal4    ,the  
first surveys for the railroad were made
 in #ahdi1 and it was  probably the     

excitement of the ,california gold fever
 that brought about  its construction at
 this particular time4 ,ground was      
broken in ,january1  #ahej1 and the last
 rail was laid in ,january1 #ahee4      
,the length of the road is #dg4f miles  
and it crosses the dividing summit  at  
an elevation of #bfc feet above the mean
 level of the ,atlantic ocean4  ,the    
maximum grade is #fj feet to the mile4  
,soon after the road was built  accurate
 levels were run to determine the       
difference1 if any1 between  the        
,atlantic and ,pacific oceans1 and it   
was found that the mean levels  were    
about the same1 although there are of   
course variations owing to  local       
causes1 and considerable differences of 
height at times1 owing to  differences  
of tides in the ,atlantic and ,pacific4 
,at ,aspinwall the  greatest rise is    
only #a4f feet1 while at ,panama there  
is at times a  difference of over #ba   
feet between high and low water4 ,the   
cost of the  railroad was #ge1jjj1jjj4  

,the existence of the railroad was      
probably the deciding cause that led    
,lesseps to the adoption of this        
location of the proposed canal4    ,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    
place2 and it certainly seems that if   
sound engineering  principles had been  
adopted at least some of these          
difficulties could  have been understood
 and properly combatted4 ,the whole     
scheme1 however1  from an engineering   
standpoint1 seems to have been conducted
 in the  most blundering manner4        
,lesseps is a diplomat and financier1   
but in no sense a great engineer4  ,in  
the construction of the ,suez canal1 the
 questions of diplomacy and  finance    
were the most difficult to settle1 while
 the engineering  problems were         
comparatively simple4 ,in ,panama the   
opposite conditions  prevailed4         
,concessions were freely given him by   

the ,colombian  government and money    
freely offered him by the ,french       
people1 but he  never grasped or        
comprehended the difficulties that      
nature had planted  in his way1 and     
these only seemed to occur to him when  
they blocked  progress in a certain     
direction4 ,the ,paris ,conference1     
controlled by  ,lesseps1 decided on the 
#bith of ,may1 #ahgi1 that the          
construction of an  interoceanic canal  
was possible and that it should be built
 from the  ,gulf of ,limon to the ,bay  
of ,panama4    ,the tide-level scheme   
was adopted and the following dimensions
 decided  upon1 viz3 ,length1 #de4e     
miles2 depth1 #bh feet2 width at water  
line #afd  feet1 and width at bottom #gb
 feet4    ,the route determined upon was
 about the same as that of the railroad1
  that is along the valleys of the      
,chagres and ,obispo1 crossing the      
divide at the ,culebra pass and then    
descending to the ,pacific along the    
course of the ,rio ,grande4 ,the profile

 which is reproduced from  ,science1    
shows the state of progress on ,january 
#ast1 #ahhh1 and the  amount of         
excavation that has been done since that
 time would make but  a slight          
difference in the appearance of the     
profile4 ,the portion shown  in black is
 what has been removed along the axis of
 the canal and  represents an           
expenditure of over #che1jjj1jjj and    
seven years' labor4  ,the reasons that  
make the scheme impracticable are       
briefly these1 some  of which were known
 before the work was commenced1 and all 
of which  should have been understood4  
,the first great difficulty is in       
cutting through the ridge culminating   
at ,culebra where the original surface  
was #ced feet above the bed of the      
proposed canal4 ,it was never known what
 the geological formation of  this ridge
 was until the different strata were    
laid bare by the  workman's pick1 and   
the slope adopted1 #a to #a1 was found  
to be  insufficient in the less compact 

formations1 even at the comparatively   
shallow depth that was reached1 and many
 and serious landslides were of         
frequent occurrence4    ,another serious
 difficulty was the disposition of the  
excavated  material1 for upon the       
completion of a sea-level course this   
channel  would naturally drain all the  
country hitherto tributary to the       
,chagres  and ,rio ,grande1 and any     
substance not removed to a great        
distance would  eventually be washed    
back again into the canal4 ,but perhaps 
the  greatest difficulty was in the     
control of the immense surface drainage4
  ,the ,chagres river during the dry    
season is1 where it crosses the line  of
 the canal near ,gamboa1 only about two 
feet deep and #bej feet wide1  but      
during a flood the depth becomes as much
 as forty feet1 the width  #a1ejj feet1 
and the volume of water discharged      
#afj1jjj cubic feet per  second4 ,the   
bed of the river is here #db feet above 
sea level1 or #gj  feet above what the  

bottom of canal would have been4 ,now   
add to this a  #dj-;foot flood and we   
have a water surface one hundred and ten
 feet  above the bed of the canal4      
,in order to keep this immense volume of
 water from the canal it was  proposed  
to build a large dam at ,gamboa1 and to 
convey the water by an  entirely        
different and artificial route to the   
,atlantic4 ,it is  impossible to show on
 the map the whole drainage area of the 
,chagres1  but a rough calculation shows
 it to be about #ejj square miles4 ,this
  seems a small total drainage area1 but
 when it is considered that the  annual 
rainfall is about #ab ,,feet1 that this 
rainfall is confined to  about one half 
the year1 and that in six consecutive   
hours there has  been a precipitation of
 over six inches of rain1 some idea of  
the  amount of water that finds its way 
through the ,chagres river during the   
wet season may be formed4    ,as ,i said
 before it was proposed to protect the  
canal from the waters  of the upper     

,chagres by an immense dam at ,gamboa1  
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  canal4 ,thus1 as the river is very
 tortuous and the axis of the canal     
crossed it twenty-five or thirty times1 
many deviations of the former  became   
necessary4 ,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 drainage4 ,the difficulty in         
retaining the  floods in these          
constructed channels would of course be 
immense1  especially in some of the     
cases where the water rushing along its 
natural channel is suddenly turned at   
right angles into an artificial  one4   
,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     
canal1 that granting all this           

accomplished1 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 up4    ,the     
canal company finally came to the       
conclusion that the sea-level  scheme   
was impracticable and it was abandoned1 
and plans were prepared  for a lock     
system4 ,as seen on the profile there   
were ten locks  proposed1 five on each  
side of the summit level4 ,the summit   
level was  to be #aej feet above sea    
level and consequently each lock would  
have a  lift of thirty feet4 ,the       
profile was constructed especially to   
show the  amount remaining to be        
executed to complete the lock system1   
and a mere  inspection will show the    
relative amount of completed and        
uncompleted  area along the axis of the 
canal4 ,to complete the summit cut it is
  still necessary to excavate #aaa feet1
 #ic feet having already been           
excavated1 through a horizontal distance

 of #ccjj feet4 ,the width of cut  at   
top surface for the required depth at a 
slope of #a to #a would be  #gej feet1  
but as ,i said before1 at this slope    
landslides were of  frequent occurrence 
and the slope would probably have to be 
increased  to at least #b to #a4        
,granting the necessary excavations     
made1 there would be still the  problem 
of the control of the ,chagres river and
 the water supply for  the summit level 
to provide for4 ,at first it was thought
 that the water  supply could be        
obtained from the storage of the waters 
of the ,chagres  and ,obispo1 but this  
idea was eventually abandoned1 either   
from a  belief in the insufficiency of  
the water supply during the dry season1 
or from difficulties in the way of      
conveying the water to the summit       
level4    ,then it was that the advice  
of ,mr4 ,eiffel1 a noted ,french        
engineer1 was  sought1 and after a visit
 to the ,isthmus he proposed that the   
summit  level should be supplied by     

pumping from the ,pacific4 ,a contract  
was  immediately made with ,eiffel1 who 
was heralded all over the world as  the 
man who would save the canal1 and       
immediately a positive day1 the  seventh
 that had been announced1 was fixed for 
the opening of the great  canal4    ,i  
do not know just how much work was done 
towards perfecting the system  for      
pumping1 but probably very little was   
ever accomplished in this  direction1 as
 soon after this scheme was thought of  
the available funds  of the canal       
company began to be very scarce1 and    
there has been since  then a general    
collapse of work all along the line     
until now it is  entirely suspended4    
,from what ,i have said and from what   
can be seen  from the profile1 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 surface1 relatively     
speaking1 and that what has been  done  
is in places where the obstacles were   

fewest4    ,in regard to the lock canal 
about one third of the necessary        
excavation  has been made along the axis
 of the canal1 but taking into          
consideration other requirements        
necessary for the completion of the     
scheme1 ,i should estimate1 roughly1    
that probably only one sixth of the     
whole amount of work had been           
accomplished4 ,the question now         
naturally  arises as to what will be the
 probable future of this great          
enterprise4    ,the ,french people have 
seen the scheme fail under ,lesseps in  
whom they  had the most unbounded       
confidence1 and it is not likely that   
they will  raise any more money to be   
put in it as a business enterprise under
 any  other management4 ,saddled as it  
is with a debt of nearly four hundred   
millions of dollars1 it would be        
difficult to convince any one that it   
could ever prove to be a paying         
investment4 ,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        
capitalists1 and thus my opinion is that
 the ,compagnie ,universelle du  ,canal 
,interocanique de ,panama has           
irretrievably collapsed1 and that  the  
canal will remain1 as it is now1 the    
most gigantic failure of the  age4      
,,across ,,nicaragua ,,with ,,transit   
,,and ,,mach,,te4    ,,by ,r4 ,e4       
,,peary4      ,the action of this       
,national ,society1 with its array of   
distinguished  members1 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 satisfaction4     
,i propose this evening to touch lightly
 and briefly upon the natural  features 
of ,nicaragua1 to note the reasons for  
the interest which has  always centered 
upon her1 to trace the growth of the    
great project with  which her name is   
inseparably linked2 to show you somewhat

 in detail1  the life1 work1 and        
surroundings of an engineer within her  
borders2 and  finally to show you the   
result that is to crown the engineer's  
work in  her wide spreading forests and 
fertile valleys4    ,that portion of    
,central ,america now included within   
the boundaries of  our sister republic  
,nicaragua1 has almost from the moment  
that ,european  eyes looked upon it     
attracted and charmed the attention of  
explorers1  geographers1 great rulers1  
students1 and men of sagacious and far  
reaching intellect4    ,from ,gomara the
 long list of famous names which have   
linked themselves  with ,nicaragua      
reaches down through ,humboldt1         
,napoleon ,,iii41 ,ammen1  ,lull1       
,menocal and ,taylor4    ,the shores    
were first seen by ,europeans in #aejb1 
when ,columbus in his  fourth voyage    
rounded the cape which forms the        
northeast angle of the  state1 and      
called it ,gracias  ,dios1 which name it
 bears to-day4  ,columbus then coasted  

southward along the eastern shore4      
,in #aebb1 ,avila1 penetrated from the  
,pacific coast of the country to the    
lakes and the cities of the ,indian     
inhabitants4 ,previous to this the      
country was occupied by a numerous      
population of ,aztecs1 or nearly  allied
 people1 as the quantities of specimens 
of pottery1 gold images1  and other     
articles found upon the islands and     
along the shores of the  lakes1 prove   
conclusively4    ,in #aebi the          
connection of the lakes with the        
,caribbean sea was  discovered1 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 ,dios1 ,cartagena1 
,havana and  ,cadiz4    ,in #ahba       
,nicaragua threw off the rule of the    
mother country and in #ahbc  formed with
 her sister ,spanish colonies1 a        
confederation4 ,this  confederation was 
dissolved in #ahch1 and since then      

,nicaragua has  conducted her own       
affairs4 ,in point of advancement1      
financial solidity  and stability of    
government she stands to-day nearly1 if 
not quite1 at  the head of the ,central 
,american republics4    ,nicaragua      
extends over a little more than four    
degrees each of latitude  and longitude1
 from about ,n4 #aa to ,n4 #ae and from 
#hc #bj' ,w4 to #hg  #dj' ,w4    ,its   
longest side is the northern border from
 the ,gulf of ,fonseca  northeasterly to
 ,cape ,gracias  ,dios1 two hundred and 
ninety miles4  ,from that cape south to 
the mouth of the ,rio ,san ,juan1 the   
,caribbean  coast line1 is two hundred  
and fifty miles4 ,nearly due west across
 the  ,isthmus to ,salinas ,bay on the  
,pacific1 is one hundred and twenty     
miles4  ,the ,pacific coast line extends
 thence northwest one hundred and sixty 
miles4    ,in point of size ,nicaragua  
stands first among the ,central         
,american  republics having an area of  
#ea1fjj square miles4 ,it is larger than

  either the ,state of ,new ,york or    
,pennsylvania1 about the size of        
,denmark1 ,belgium1 the ,netherlands and
 ,switzerland combined1 and is          
one-fourth as large as ,france or       
,germany4 ,its population numbers about 
#cjj1jjj4    ,the ,gulf of ,fonseca1 at 
the northern1 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 ,america4 ,about midway between
 them is  the fine harbor of ,corinto1  
and there are also several other ports  
along the coast1 at ,san ,juan del ,sur1
 ,brito and ,tamarindito4 ,on the       
,caribbean coast no harbors suitable for
 large vessels exist1 but  numerous     
lagoons and bights afford the best of   
shelter for coasting  vessels4    ,the  
central portion of ,nicaragua is        
traversed1 from north to south1 by  the 
main cordillera of the isthmus1 which1  
here greatly reduced in  altitude1      
consists merely of a confused mass of   

peaks and ridges with  an average       
elevation scarcely exceeding #a1jjj     
feet4    ,between this mountainous      
region and the ,caribbean shore         
stretches a low  level country1 covered 
with a dense forest1 rich in rubber1    
cedar1  mahogany and dye woods4 ,it is  
drained by several large rivers whose   
fertile intervales will yield almost    
incredible harvests of plantains1       
bananas1 oranges1 limes1 and other      
tropical fruits4    ,west of the        
mountain zone is a broad valley1 about  
one hundred and  twenty-five feet above 
the level of the sea1 extending from the
 ,gulf of  ,fonseca1 southeasterly to   
the frontier of ,costa ,rica4 ,the      
greater  portion of this valley is      
occupied by two lakes1 ,managua and     
,nicaragua4  ,the latter one hundred and
 ten miles long by fifty or sixty miles 
wide  is really an inland sea1 being    
one-half as large as ,lake ,ontario and 
twice as large as ,long ,island ,sound4 
,these lakes1 with the rainfall of  the 

adjacent valleys1 drain through the     
noble ,san ,juan river1 which           
discharges into the ,caribbean at       
,greytown1 at the southeast angle of    
the country4    ,between the ,pacific   
and these lakes is a narrow strip of    
land1 from  twelve to thirty miles in   
width1 stretching from the magnificent  
plain  of ,leon with its cathedral city1
 in the north1 to the rolling indigo    
fields and the cacao plantations which  
surround the garden city of  ,rivas1 in 
the south4    ,illustration3 ,,leon     
,,cathedral4 ,julius ,bien  ,co4    ,the
 lowest pass across the backbone of the 
,new ,world1 from ,behring's  ,strait to
 the ,straits of ,magellan1 extends     
along the ,san ,juan valley  and across 
the ,lajas--,rio ,grande divide1 between
 ,lake ,nicaragua and  the ,pacific2 the
 summit of this divide is only one      
hundred and  fifty-two feet above the   
sea and forty-two feet above the lake4  
,nicaragua presents yet another unique  
physical feature4 ,lying between  the   

elevated mountain masses of ,costa ,rica
 on the south and ,honduras on  the     
north1 the average elevation of its own 
mountain backbone hardly  one thousand  
feet1 it is the natural thoroughfare of 
the beneficent  northeast ,trades4      
,these winds sweep in from the          
,caribbean across the  ,atlantic slopes1
 break the surface of the lakes into    
sparkling waves1  and then disappear    
over the ,pacific1 aerating1 cooling and
 purifying  the country1 destroying the 
germs of disease and making ,nicaragua  
the  healthiest region in ,central      
,america4    ,the scenery of the eastern
 portion of the country is of the       
luxuriant  sameness peculiar to all     
tropical countries4    ,in the vicinity 
of the lakes and between them and the   
,pacific1 the  isolated mountain peaks  
which bound the plain of ,leon on the   
northeast2  the mountain islands of     
,madera and ,ometepe2 the towering      
turquoise  masses of the ,costa ,rican  
volcanoes2 and the distant blue         

mountains of  ,segovia and ,matagalpa1  
visible beyond the sparkling waters of  
the  lakes1 feast the eye with scenic   
beauties1 unsurpassed elsewhere in      
grandeur1 variety and richness of       
coloring4    ,the products of the       
country are numerous despite the fact   
that its  resources are as yet almost   
entirely undeveloped4    ,maize1        
plantains1 bananas1 oranges1 limes1 and 
indeed every tropical  fruit1 thrive in 
abundance4 ,coffee is grown in large    
quantities in the  hilly region in the  
northwest2 sugar1 tobacco1 cotton1 rice1
 indigo and  cacao plantations abound   
between the lakes and the ,pacific2     
potatoes  and wheat thrive in the       
uplands of ,segovia2 the ,chontales     
region east  of ,lake ,nicaragua1 a     
great grazing section1 supports         
thousands of head  of cattle2 and back  
of this are the gold and silver         
districts of ,la  ,libertad1 ,javali and
 others4    ,numerous trees and plants  
of medicinal and commercial value are   

found  in the forests4 ,game is         
plentiful and of numerous varieties2    
deer1 wild  hog1 wild turkey1 manatee   
and tapir2 and fish abound in the       
streams and  rivers4 ,the temperature of
 ,nicaragua is equable4 ,the extreme    
variation1  recorded by ,childs1 was #bc
 observed near the head of the ,san     
,juan in  ,may1 #ahea4    ,the southeast
 wind predominates during the rainy     
season4 ,occasionally1  in ,june or     
,october as a rule1 the wind hauls round
 to southwest and a  temporal results1  
heavy rain sometimes falling for a week 
or ten  days4    ,the equatorial        
cloud-belt1 following the sun north in  
the spring1 is  late reaching           
,nicaragua1 and the wet season is       
shorter than in regions  farther south4 
,the average rainfall1 based on the     
records of nine  years1 is #fd4db       
inches4 ,the trades blow almost         
throughout the year4  ,strong during the
 dry season and freshening during the   
day2 the wind  comes from the           

east-northeast1 and blows usually for   
four to five days1  when1 hauling to the
 east or southeast for a day or two1 it 
calms down1  then goes back to northeast
 and rises again4    ,the ,spanish      
discoverers of the great ,lake          
,nicaragua1 coming upon it  from the    
,pacific1 and noting the fluctuations of
 level caused by the  action of the wind
 upon its broad surface1 mistook these  
fluctuations  for tides and felt assured
 that some broad strait connected it    
with the  ,north ,sea4 ,later1 when     
,machuca had discovered the grand river 
outlet of  the lake1 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 
,strait1 ,gomara pointed this  out as   
one of the most favorable localities for
 an artificial  communication between   
the ,north and ,south ,seas4            
,illustration3 ,,the ,,nicaragua        
,,canal4 ,julius ,bien  ,co4    ,it was 

not until #ahea1 however1 that an       
accurate and scientific survey  of a    
ship canal route was made by ,col4 ,o4  
,w4 ,childs4    ,this survey which      
showed the lake of ,nicaragua to be only
 one hundred  and seven feet above the  
sea1 and the maximum elevation between  
the  lake and the ,pacific to be only   
forty-one feet1 exhibited the           
advantages of this route so clearly and 
in such an unanswerable manner  that it 
has never since been possible to ignore 
it4    ,in #ahgj1 under the             
administration of ,general ,grant and   
largely through  the unceasing efforts  
of ,admiral ,ammen1 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 ,atrato2 and six     
years later1 with the plans and results 
of all these surveys before it1  a      
commission composed of ,general         
,humphreys1 ,chief of ,engineers1 ,u4   
,s4  ,army2 ,hon4 ,carlile ,patterson1  

,superintendent ,u4 ,s4 ,coast ,survey2 
and  ,rear-,admiral ,daniel ,ammen1     
,chief of ,bureau of ,navigation1 ,u4   
,s4 ,navy2  gave its verdict in favor of
 the ,nicaragua route4    ,the          
,international ,canal ,congress at      
,paris1 in #ahgi1 had such convincing   
information placed before it that it was
 forced1 in spite of its  prejudices1 to
 admit that in the advantages it offered
 for the  construction of a lock canal1 
the ,nicaragua route was superior to any
  other across the ,american isthmus4   
,in #ahgf1 and again in #ahhj ,civil    
,engineer ,a4 ,g4 ,menocal1 ,u4 ,s4 ,n41
 the  chief engineer of previous        
governmental surveys1 resurveyed and    
revised  portions of the route1 and in  
#ahhe the same engineer1 assisted by    
myself1 surveyed an entirely new line on
 the ,caribbean side1 from  ,greytown to
 the ,san ,juan river1 near the mouth of
 the ,san ,carlos4    ,on the eastern   
side of ,nicaragua1 all these surveys   
7except the last71  were confined almost

 entirely to the ,san ,juan river1 and  
its immediate  banks2 and the country on
 either side beyond these narrow limits 
was1  up to #ahhe1 almost entirely      
unknown4 ,between ,lake ,nicaragua and  
the  ,pacific1 however1 every pass from 
the ,bay of ,salinas to the ,gulf of    
,fonseca had been examined4    ,in #ahhe
 the party of which ,i was a member     
pushed a nearly direct line  across the 
country from a point on the ,san ,juan1 
about three miles  below the mouth of   
the ,rio ,san ,carlos1 to ,greytown1 a  
distance of  thirty-one miles by our    
line1 as compared with fifty-six miles  
by the  river and forty-two miles by the
 former proposed canal route4    ,in    
,december1 #ahhg1 ,i went out in charge 
of a final surveying  expedition1       
consisting of some forty engineers and  
assistants and one  hundred and fifty   
laborers1 to resurvey and stake out the 
line of the  canal preparatory to the   
work of construction4    ,the           
information and personal experience     

gained in previous surveys made  it     
possible1 without loss of time1 to      
locate the various sections of  the     
expedition in the most advantageous     
manner1 and push the work with  the     
greatest speed consistent with accuracy4
    ,the location lines of the previous 
surveys were taken as a preliminary     
line and carefully re-measured and      
re-levelled4 ,preliminary offsets  were 
run2 the location made1 and staked off  
upon the ground2 offsets  run in from   
three hundred to one hundred feet apart1
 extending beyond  the slope limits of  
the canal2 borings made at frequent     
intervals2 and  all streams gauged4     
,the result of this work was a series of
 detail charts and profiles1  based upon
 rigidly checked instrumental data1 and 
covering the entire  line from ,greytown
 to ,brito1 from which to estimate      
quantities and  cost4    ,as may be     
imagined by those familiar with tropical
 countries1 the  prosecution of a survey
 in these regions is an arduous and     

difficult  work1 and one demanding      
special qualifications in the engineer4 
,his  days are filled with a succession 
of surprises1 usually disagreeable1  and
 constant happenings of the unexpected4 
,probably in no other country  will the 
traveler1 explorer1 or engineer1 find   
such an endless variety  of obstacles to
 his progress4    ,every topographical  
feature of the country is shrouded and  
hidden under  a tropical growth of huge 
trees and tangled underbrush1 so dense  
that  it is impossible for even a       
strong1 active man1 burdened with       
nothing  but a rifle1 to force himself  
through it without a short1 heavy sword 
or machte1 with which to cut his way4   
,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 existence1 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 banks4    ,the topography  
of the country has to be laboriously    
felt out1 much as a  blind man          
familiarizes himself with his           
surroundings4 ,in doing this  work the  
indispensable instrument1 without which 
the transit1 the  level1 and indeed the 
engineer himself is of no use1 is the   
national  weapon of ,nicaragua1 the     
machte1 a short1 heavy sword4    ,as    
soon as he is able to walk1 the son of  
the ,nicaraguan mozo or  hulro takes as 
a plaything a piece of iron hoop or an  
old knife1 and  imitates his father with
 his machte4 ,as he gets older a broken 
or  worn-down weapon is given him1 and  
when he is able to handle it1 a full    
size machte is entrusted to him and he  
then considers himself a man4  ,from    
that day on1 waking or sleeping1 our    
,nicaraguan's machte is  always at his  
side4 ,with it he cuts his way through  
the woods2 with it  he builds his camp  
and his bed2 with it he kills his game  
and fish2  with it at a pinch he shaves 

himself1 or extracts the thorns from his
  feet2 with it he fights his duels1 and
 with it1 when he dies1 his  comrades   
dig his grave4    ,when in the field the
 chief of a party1 equipped with a      
pocket compass  and an aneroid          
barometer1 is always skirmishing ahead  
of the line with  a machtero1 or axeman1
 to cut a path for him4 ,a pushing      
chief1  however1 speedily dispenses with
 the machtero and slashes a way for     
himself much more rapidly4    ,as soon  
as he decides where the line is to go   
the engineer calls to the  machteros and
 the two best ones immediately begin    
cutting toward the  sound of his voice4 
,they soon slash a narrow path to him1  
drive a stake  where he was standing and
 then turn back toward the other        
machteros1  who have been following     
them1 cutting a wider path and clearing 
away  all trees1 vines and branches1 so 
that the transit man can see the flag   
at the stake4 ,the moment the leading   
machteros reach him the chief  starts   

off again and by the time the main body 
of axemen have reached  his former      
position the head machteros are cutting 
toward the sound  of his voice in a new 
position4    ,as soon as the line is    
cleared the transit man takes his sight 
and  moves ahead to the stake1 the      
chainmen follow and drive stakes every  
hundred feet1 and the leveller follows  
putting in elevations and cross         
sections4 ,in this way the work goes on 
from early morning until nearly  dark1  
stopping about an hour for lunch4       
,after the day's work comes the dinner1 
the table graced with wild hog1  or     
turkey1 or venison1 or all4 ,after      
dinner the smoke1 then the day's  notes 
are worked up and duplicated and all    
hands get into their nets4  ,for a      
moment the countless nocturnal noises of
 the great forest1  enlivened perhaps by
 the scream of a tiger1 or the deep1    
muffled roar  of a puma1 fall upon      
drowsy ears1 then follows the sleep that
 always  accompanies hard work and good 

health1 till the bull-voiced howling    
monkeys set the forest echoing with     
their announcement of the breaking      
dawn4    ,in reconnoissance and         
preliminary work the experienced        
engineer1 is  able1 in many cases1 to   
avoid obstacles without vitiating the   
results  of his work1 but in the final  
location1 in staking out absolute curves
  and driving tangents thousands of feet
 long across country1 no dodging  is    
possible4    ,on the hills and elevated 
ground the engineer can1 comparatively  
speaking1 get along quite comfortably1  
his principal annoyances being  the     
uneven character of the ground1 which   
compels him to set his  instrument very 
frequently1 and the necessity of felling
 some gigantic  tree every now and then4
    ,in the valleys and lowlands there  
is an unceasing round of obstacles4     
,the line may run for some distance over
 level ground covered with a            
comparatively open growth1 then without 
warning it encounters the wreck  of a   

fallen tree1 and hours are consumed     
hewing a passage through the  mass of   
broken limbs and shattered trunk1 all   
matted and bound together  with vines   
and shrubbery4 ,a little farther on a   
stream is crossed1 and  the line may    
cross and recross four or five times in 
the next thousand  feet4 ,the engineer  
must either climb down the steep banks1 
for the  streams burrow deep in the     
stiff clay of these valleys1 ford the   
stream  and climb the opposite bank1 or 
he must fall a tree from bank to bank   
and cross on its slippery trunk twenty  
or twenty-five feet above the  water4   
,either on the immediate bank or in its 
vicinity is almost certain to be        
encountered a saccate clearing4 ,this   
may be only one or two hundred  feet    
across or it may be a half a mile4 ,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 hedge4 ,if the clearing 

be large1 the tough1 wiry grass  is no  
higher than a man's head1 and a path has
 to be mowed through it1  while the sun 
beats down into the furnace-like        
enclosure till the blade  of the machte 
becomes almost too hot to touch4    ,but
 worse than anything thus far mentioned 
are the ,silico or black  palm swamps4  
,some of these in the larger valleys and
 near the coast are  miles in extent4   
,occupied exclusively by the low1 thick 
,silico palms1 these swamps are  in the 
wet season absolutely impassable except 
for monkeys and  alligators1 and even at
 the end of the dry season the engineer 
enters  upon one with sinking heart as  
well as feet1 and emerges from it tired 
and used up in every portion of his     
anatomy4 ,it is with the utmost         
difficulty that he finds a practicable  
place to locate his instrument1         
generally utilizing the little hummocks 
formed by the trunks of the  clusters of
 palms1 and in moving from point to     
point he is compelled to  wade from knee

 to shoulder deep in the black mud and  
water4    ,general reconnaissances from 
high trees in elevated localities1      
simple  enough in theory1 are by no     
means easy in a country so miserly with 
its  secrets as this1 nor are their     
results reliable without a great        
expenditure of time1 labor1 and         
patience4    ,on level1 undulating and  
moderately broken ground1 the tops of   
the  trees1 though they may be one      
hundred and fifty feet from the ground1 
are level as the top of a hedge4 ,even  
an isolated hill if it be rounded  in   
shape presents hardly better facilities1
 the trees at the base and  on the      
sides1 in their effort to reach the     
sunlight grow taller than  those on the 
summit1 and there is no one tree that   
commands all the  others4    ,if however
 an isolated hill of several hundred    
feet in height be found1  its steep     
sides culminating in a sharp peak1 one  
day's work by three or  four good axmen1
 in cutting neighboring trees1 will     

prepare the way for  a study of the     
general relief and topography of the    
adjacent country4  ,if after these      
preliminaries have been completed the   
engineer imagines  that he has only to  
climb the tree and sketch what he sees1 
to obtain  reliable knowledge of the    
country1 he is doomed to serious        
surprises in  the future4 ,if he makes  
the ascent during the middle of the day1
 he  will1 after he has cooled off and  
rested from his exhausting efforts1  see
 spread out before him a shimmering     
landscape in which the uniform  green   
carpet and the vertical sun combined1   
have obliterated all  outlines except   
the more prominent irregularities of the
 terrene1 and  have blended different   
mountain ranges1 one of which may be    
several  miles beyond the other1 into   
one1 of which only the sky profile is   
distinct4 ,naturally under these        
conditions estimates of distance may be 
half or double the truth4    ,there are 
two ways of extracting reliable         

information from these  tree-top        
reconnaissances4 ,if it be in the rainy 
season the observer  must be prepared to
 make a day of it1 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 lunch4    ,then     
aided by the successive showers which   
sweep across the landscape1  leaving    
fragments of mists in the ravines1 and  
hanging grey screens  between the       
different ranges and mountains1 bringing
 out the relief  first of this and then 
of that section1 an accurate sketch may 
gradually be made4 ,the time of passage 
of a shower from one peak to  another1  
or to the observer1 may also be utilized
 as a by no means to  be despised check 
upon distance estimates4    ,if it be   
the dry season1 the observer may take   
his choice between  remaining on his    
perch in the tree from before sunrise to
 after sunset1  or making two ascents1  
one early in the morning and the other  
late in  the afternoon4 ,in this case   

the slowly dispersing clouds of morning1
  and the gradually gathering mists at  
sunset1 together with the reversed      
lights and shadows at dawn and sunset1  
bring out very clearly the  relief of   
the terrene1 the overlapping of distant 
ranges1 and the  course of the larger   
streams4    ,this kind of work cannot be
 delegated to anyone1 and besides the   
arduous labor involved in climbing the  
huge trees1 there are other  serious    
annoyances connected with it4 ,the      
climber is almost certain to  disturb   
some venomous insect which revenges     
itself by a savage sting  which has to  
be endured2 or he may rend clothes and  
skin also1 on some  thorny vine1 or     
another1 crushed by his efforts1 may    
exude a juice  which will leave him     
tattooed for days2 then1 though there   
may not be a  mosquito or fly at the    
base of the tree1 the top will be       
infested with  myriads of minute black  
flies1 which cover hands and face1 and  
with  extremely annoying results4 ,on   

the other hand the explorer may as a    
compensation have his nostrils filled   
with the perfume of some  brilliant     
orchid on a neighboring branch2 and     
there is a breezy  enjoyment in watching
 the showers as they rush across the    
green carpet1  and in listening to the  
roar with which the big drops beat upon 
the  tree tops4    ,the special phase of
 field work which fell to my personal   
lot was  entirely reconnaissance1       
consisting of canoe examinations of all 
streams in the vicinity of the line of  
the canal1 to determine their  sources1 
character of valley1 and approximate    
water shed2 of rapid  air-line compass  
and aneroid trails1 to connect one      
stream1 or valley  head with another1 or
 furnish a base line for a general      
sketch plan of  a valley2 and of studies
 of the larger features of the terrene1 
from  elevated tree tops4    ,the last  
has been already described2 in the      
second the experience was  very similar 
to that of the parties in running main  

lines4 ,on these  occasions three or at 
most four hardy hulros 7rubber hunters7 
comprised the party1 two carrying the   
blankets1 mosquito bars and  provisions 
for several days1 and one or two cutting
 the lightest  possible practicable     
trail and marking prominent trees4      
,in a day's march of from five to eight 
miles1 and this was the utmost  that    
even such a light1 active and           
experienced party could cover in one    
day1 every possible and some almost     
impossible kinds of traveling was       
encountered1 and thoroughly exhausted   
men crept into their bars every  night4 
,the canoe reconnaissances were more    
agreeable1 though some most  unpleasant 
as well as most enjoyable memories are  
connected with them4    ,the innumerable
 large fallen trees which obstruct the  
streams and over  or through which the  
canoe must be hauled bodily1 the almost 
inevitable  capsizing of the canoe1 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 soil1 are among the disagreeable
 incidents4    ,from the head of canoe  
navigation to their sources the         
character of  these streams is entirely 
different1 and both in #ahhh and in     
#ahhe ,i  have followed them far up into
 mountain gorges1 the beauty of which is
  as fresh in my memory as if ,i had    
been there but yesterday4    ,the crew  
of the canoe on these reconnaissances   
usually consisted of  three picked men1 
and when the canoe had been pushed as   
far up stream  as it was possible for it
 to go1 two of the men were left with it
 while  the third and best1 slinging the
 blankets1 bars1 and a little coffee1   
sugar1 and milk1 upon his back pushed on
 with me4 ,wading through the  shallow  
water up the bed of the stream1 taking  
bearings and estimating  distances1     
while my hulro followed1 ever alert to  
strike some drowsy  beauty of a fish in 

the clear water2 the source of the      
stream was  generally reached in a day1 
and never did we make preparations to   
sleep  on some bed of clean1 yellow sand
 washed down by the stream in flood     
times1 but what ,i had a plump turkey   
hanging from my belt1 and my  hulro     
several fine fish4    ,much has been    
written about the climate of ,nicaragua 
and its effect  upon the inhabitants of 
more northerly countries when exposed to
 it4    ,it would seem that the         
experience of the numerous expeditions  
sent out  by the ,united ,states1 and   
the reports of the surgeons attached to 
those  expeditions would have long since
 settled the matter4 ,to those who      
cannot understand how there can be such 
a difference in climate between  two    
localities so slightly removed as       
,panama and ,nicaragua1 and the  former 
possessing a notoriously deadly climate1
 the experience of the  recent surveying
 expedition must be conclusive4    ,only
 five members of that expedition had    

ever been in tropical climates  before1 
and the rodmen and chainmen of the party
 were young men just  out of college who
 had never done a day's manual labor1   
nor slept on  the ground a night in     
their lives4 ,arriving at ,greytown     
during the  rainy season1 the first work
 that they encountered was the          
transporting  of their supplies and camp
 equipage to the sites of the various   
camps4  ,this had to be done by means of
 canoes along streams obstructed with   
logs and fallen trees4 ,some parties    
were a week in reaching their           
destination1 wading and swimming by day1
 lifting and pushing their  canoes      
along1 and at night lying down on the   
ground to sleep4    ,one party worked   
for six months in the swamps and lagoon 
region  directly back of ,greytown1 and 
several other parties worked for an     
equal length of time in the equally     
disagreeable swamps of the valley  of   
the ,san ,francisco4 ,several of these  
officers are down there yet1 as  fresh  

as ever4 ,in making tours of inspection 
of the different sections  ,i have      
repeatedly1 for several days and nights 
in succession1 passed  the days         
traveling in the woods through swamps   
and rain1 and the nights  sleeping as   
best ,i could1 curled up under a blanket
 in a small canoe1  while my men paddled
 from one camp to the next4    ,in spite
 of all this exposure not only were     
there no deaths in the  expedition but  
there was not a single case of serious  
illness1 and the  officers who have     
returned up to this time1 were in better
 health and  weight than when they went 
away4    ,of course the men had the best
 of food that money could obtain and    
previous experience suggest1 and the    
chiefs of all parties were  required to 
strictly enforce certain sanitary       
regulations in regard to  coffee in the 
morning1 a thorough bath and dose of    
spirits on returning  from work1 and    
mosquito bars and dry sleeping suits at 
night2 yet the  climate must be held    

principally responsible for a sanitary  
result  which ,i believe could not be   
excelled in any temperate zone city1    
with  the same number of men1 doing the 
same arduous work under conditions of   
equal exposure4    ,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  pig1 turkey1 quail and  
grouse1 varied by an occasional deer1   
all  obtained in the ordinary work of   
reconnoissance and surveying4 ,for the  
men's table there was abundance of      
monkey1 iguana and macaw4    ,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  fare1 though these    
fish were rarely caught with the hook1  
but usually  shot1 or knifed by an alert
 native1 as they basked in the shallows4
  ,these parties also obtained          
occasionally a danta 7tapir7 or a       
manatee4    ,on the river it was        

possible to obtain a fine string of fish
 with hook  and line1 then there was the
 huge tarpon to be had for the spearing1
  and fish pots sunk in suitable places 
were sure to yield a mess of  fresh     
water lobsters4 ,ducks were also        
occasionally shot4    ,the forms of life
 are even more numerous in the vegetable
 than in the  animal kingdom4 ,the      
effect of these wonderful forests is    
indescribable1  and though many writers 
have essayed a description1 ,i have yet 
to see  one that does the subject       
justice4 ,only a simple enumeration of  
component parts will be attempted here4 
,first comes the grand body of  the     
forest1 huge almendro1 havilan1         
guachipilin1 cortez1 cedar1  cottonwood1
 palo de leche trees1 and others rising 
one hundred and  fifty or two hundred   
feet into the scintillant sunshine4 ,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 column4 ,some rise  
straight and smooth1 and true1  others  
send out thin deep buttresses1 and      
others look like the  muscle-knotted    
fore-arm of a ,titan1 with gnarled      
fingers griping the  ground in their    
wide grasp4    ,but whatever the form of
 the tree trunks may be1 the shallow    
soil upon  the hills and the marshy soil
 in the lowlands1 has taught them that  
there is greater safety and stability in
 a broad foundation than in a  deeply   
penetrating one1 and so almost without  
exception the tree roots  spread out    
widely1 on1 or near1 the surface4       
,beneath the protecting  shelter of     
these patriarchs1 as completely         
protected from scorching sun  and       
rushing wind as if in a conservatory1   
grow innumerable varieties of  palms1   
young trees destined some day to be     
giants themselves1 and  others which    
never attain great size4 ,still lower   
down1 luxuriate  smaller palms1 tree    
ferns1 and dense underbrush1 and        

countless vines4  ,these latter1        
however1 are by no means confined to the
 underbrush1 many  of them climb to the 
very tops of the tallest trees1 cling   
about their  trunks and bind them to    
other trees and to the ground with the  
toughest  of ropes4 ,with one or two    
exceptions these vines are an           
unmitigated  nuisance4 ,to them more    
than to anything else is due the        
impenetrableness of the tropical        
thicket4 ,of all sizes and all as tough 
as hemp lines1 they creep along the     
ground1 catching the traveler's  feet in
 a mesh from which release is possible  
only by cutting4 ,they  bind the        
underbrush together in a tough1 elastic 
mat1 which catches and  holds on to     
every projection about the clothes1     
jerking revolvers from  belts1 and      
wrenching the rifle from the hand1 or1  
hanging in trap-like  loops from the    
trees1 catch one about the neck1 or     
constantly drag  one's hat from the     
head4 ,the one exception noted above is 

the bejuco  de agua or water vine4 ,this
 vine1 which looks like an old worn     
manilla  rope1 is to be found hanging   
from or twined about almost every large 
tree upon elevated ground1 and to the   
hot and thirsty explorer it  furnishes a
 most deliciously cool and clear        
draught4    ,seizing the vine in the    
left hand1 a stroke of the machte severs
 it  a foot or two below the hand1 and  
another quick stroke severs it again    
above the hand2 immediately a stream of 
clear1 tasteless water issues  from the 
lower end and may be caught in a dipper 
or  la native  directly in the mouth4 ,a
 three-foot length of vine two inches in
  diameter will furnish at least a pint 
of water4 ,the order of cutting         
mentioned above must invariably be      
adhered to1 otherwise1 if the upper  cut
 be made first1 the thirsty novice will 
find he has in his hand only  a piece of
 dry cork-like rope4    ,it is          
practically impossible to judge of the  
age of the huge trees in  these forests4

 ,mighty with inherent strength1 stayed 
to the ground and  to their fellows by  
the numerous vines1 sheltered and       
protected also by  their fellows from   
the shock of storms1 their huge trunks  
have little  to do except support the   
direct weight of the tops1 and they     
rarely  fall until they have reached the
 last stages of decay4 ,then some day   
the sudden impact of a ton or two of    
water dropped from some furious         
tropical shower1 or the vibrations from 
a hurrying troop of monkeys1 or  the    
spring of a tiger1 is too much for one  
of the giant branches heavy  with its   
load of vines and parasites1 and it     
gives way1 breaking the  vines in every 
direction and splitting a huge strip    
from the main  trunk4 ,with its supports
 thus broken and the whole weight of the
  remaining branches on one side1 the   
weakened trunk sways for a moment  then 
bows to its fate4 ,the remaining vines  
break with the resistless  strain1 and  
the old giant gathering velocity as he  

falls and dragging  with him everything 
in his reach1 crashes to the earth with 
a roar  which elicits cries of terror   
from bird and beast1 and goes booming   
through the quivering forest like the   
report of a heavy cannon4 ,a patch  of  
blue sky overhead and a pile of         
impenetrable debris below1 mark for     
years the grave of the old hero4    ,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 exaggerated4
 ,mosquitoes1 flies of various sizes1   
wasps and  stinging ants exist1 and the 
first in some places in large numbers2  
yet  to a person who has any of the     
woodsman's craft of taking care of      
himself1 and whose blood is not         
abnormally sensitive to insect poisons1 
they present no terrors and but slight  
annoyances4 ,at our headquarters  camp  
on ,san ,francisco island1 we had no    
mosquitoes from sunrise to  sunset1 and 
even after sunset they were not         

especially numerous4 ,at  another camp  
only a few miles away there were black  
flies only and no  mosquitoes1 at       
another both1 while at the camps up in  
the hills there  were neither4 ,it was  
only at camps in the wet lowlands and   
near swamps1  that they became an almost
 unendurable annoyance4 ,even here it   
was  those who remained in camp that    
suffered most4 ,men out in the thick    
brush were but little annoyed by them1  
and when on their return to camp  they  
had finished their dinner and gotten    
into their mosquito bars they  were out 
of their reach4 ,as to snakes1 the      
danger from them even to a  ,european1  
is practically nothing4 ,not a man of   
the several hundred that  have been     
engaged in the various expeditions in   
that country has ever  been bitten1 and 
in hundreds of miles of tramping through
 the worst  forests of the country1     
either entirely alone or if accompanied 
by  natives1 with them some distance in 
the rear1 ,i have never fancied  myself 

in danger4 ,the poisonous snakes are    
invariably sluggish1 and  unless        
actually struck or stepped upon are apt 
to try to get out of the  way1 if they  
make any move4 ,the only snake that is  
at all aggressive1  as far as my        
observations go1 is a long1 black1      
non-poisonous snake4  ,this will        
sometimes advance upon the intruder with
 head raised a couple  of feet from the 
ground1 or if coiled about a tree will  
lash at him  with its tail4    ,the     
floral exhibit of these forests is apt  
to be disappointing to one  whose ideas 
have been formed by a perusal of books4 
,an occasional  scarlet passion flower2 
now and then the fragrant cluster of the
 flor  del toro2 a few insignificant    
though fragrant flowering shrubs2 and in
  muddy sloughs near the streams1       
patches of wild callas2 are about all   
that meet the eye of the non-botanical  
wanderer in the deep forest4    ,there  
is not light enough for flowers beneath 
the dense canopy of  trees1 and they1   

like the smaller birds1 seek the tree   
tops and the  banks of the river where  
sunlight and air are abundant4 ,in the  
tree  tops the orchids and other        
flowering parasites run riot4 ,many of  
the  trees are themselves flowering1 and
 if one can look down upon the tree     
tops of a valley in ,march or ,april1 he
 sees the green expanse enlivened  by   
blazing patches of crimson1 yellow1     
purple1 pink1 and white4    ,the river  
banks are the favorite home of the      
flowering vines1 and there  they form   
great curtains swaying from the trees in
 bright patterns of  yellow1 pink1 red  
and white4 ,the grassy banks and        
islands1 and the  shallow sand spits    
also bring forth innumerable varieties  
of aquatic  plants4    ,so much for the 
,atlantic slope of the country4    ,on  
the west side between the ,lake and the 
,pacific the work is very  different4   
,there it is possible to ride mule-back 
to the top of a  commanding hill1 sit   
down and make the reconnaissance sketch 

at  leisure4 ,the secondary             
reconnaissances may also be made        
mule-back1 and  everywhere the rolling  
country and the cleared and cultivated  
fields1  permit the engineer to see     
where he is going and how he is going4  
,his surroundings are also different4   
,he moves camp in an oxcart instead  of 
a canoe4 ,his eyes instead of being     
confined by the impenetrable veil  of   
the tropical thicket1 feast upon views  
of the distant mountains1 the  crisp    
waves of the ,lake1 and the blue expanse
 of the ,pacific4 ,during  the day he   
meets black-eyed and brown-limbed       
seoritas1 instead of wild  hogs and     
turkeys1 and at night as he turns in1 he
 hears1 not the scream  of tigers1 but  
the songs of the lavandera's ecru       
daughters floating  across the stream   
which supplies their wash-tubs and his  
camp4    ,the first grand natural       
feature which arrests attention in the  
most  cursory examination of the map of 
,nicaragua is the ,great ,lake4 ,this   

lake with an area of some three thousand
 square miles and a water-shed  of about
 eight thousand square miles1 is unique 
in the large proportion  of its own area
 to that of its water-shed4 ,a result of
 this large  proportion of water surface
 to drainage area1 at once evident1 is  
the  very gradual changes of level of   
the lake and their confinement within   
very narrow limits4 ,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 feet1  
and the usual annual  fluctuation is    
about five feet4    ,the next features  
that arrest attention are1 first1 the   
very narrow  ribbon of land intervening 
between the western shore of the ,lake  
and  the ,pacific1 and second1 the      
entire absence of lateral tributaries of
  any size to the upper half of the ,san
 ,juan ,river4 ,the river is in fact1   
as it was originally most aptly named1  
simply the ,desaguadero or  drain of the

 ,lake4    ,illustration3 ,,entrance    
,,to ,,highlands--,,river ,,san ,,juan4 
,julius ,bien   ,co4    ,the length of  
this river is one hundred and twenty    
miles1 from the ,lake  to the ,caribbean
 ,sea1 and its total fall from one      
hundred to one  hundred and ten feet4   
,nature has separated the river into two
 nearly  equal divisions1 presenting    
distinct and opposite characteristics4  
,from ,lake ,nicaragua to the mouth of  
the ,rio ,san ,carlos1 a distance of    
sixty-one miles1 in which occur several 
rapids1 the total descent is  fifty     
feet1 quite irregularly distributed     
however4 ,the surface slopes  of the    
river vary from as much as #hc4ch inches
 per mile for a short  distance at      
,castillo rapids1 to only 4#ij inch per 
mile through the ,agua  ,muerte1 the    
dead water below the ,machuca rapids4   
,the average width of the river through 
this upper section is seven  hundred    
feet1 the minimum four hundred and      
twenty4 ,in some parts of the  ,agua    

,muerte the depth varies from fifty to  
seventy-five feet4    ,there are very   
few islands in this section of the      
river1 the banks are  covered with huge 
trees matted with vines1 and throughout 
the lower  half of the division1 from   
,toro rapids to the mouth of the ,san   
,carlos1  the river is confined between 
steep hills and mountains4              
,illustration3 ,,upper                  
,,castillo--,,river ,,san ,,juan4       
,julius ,bien  ,co4    ,as a result of  
the absence of considerable tributaries 
already noted1  the fluctuations of this
 portion of the river conform closely to
 those  of the ,lake1 and consequently  
take place gradually and are limited in 
range4    ,below the ,rio ,san ,carlos  
the ,san ,juan changes its character    
entirely4  ,its average width is twelve 
hundred and fifty feet1 its bottom is   
sandy1 there are numerous islands1 and  
the slope of the river is almost        
uniformly one foot per mile4    ,the    
discharge into this section of two large

 tributaries1 the ,san  ,carlos and the 
,sarapiqui1 descending from the steep   
slopes of the ,costa  ,rican volcanoes1 
causes much more sudden and considerable
 fluctuations  of level than in the     
upper river4    ,while the lower portion
 of the river and especially the delta  
section  presents very interesting      
features1 yet the peculiar charm of the 
river  is in the upper section1 and the 
exceptional advantages it offers for    
obtaining miles of slack water          
navigation4 ,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 canal1 the  importance
 of which it would be difficult to over 
estimate4    ,about three miles below   
the mouth of the ,san ,carlos1 the ,cao 
,machado  enters the ,san ,juan on the  
north bank4 ,this stream1 about one     
hundred  feet wide and from eight to ten
 feet deep1 is the last of the mountain 
or torrential tributaries of the ,san   

,juan4 ,it can scarcely be said to  have
 a valley1 but occupies the bed of a    
rugged ravine extending for  several    
miles northerly and northwesterly up    
into the easterly flank of  the         
cordillera4 ,every variety of igneous   
rock1 from light porous pumice  to dense
 metallic green-black hypersthene       
andesite1 may be picked up in  the bed  
of this stream4 ,agates also are common 
and there are occasional  masses of     
jasper4 ,farther up1 frequent outcrops  
of trap in situ occur1  interspersed in 
some localities with numerous veins of  
agate4    ,twelve miles below the       
,machado the ,san ,francisco enters the 
,san ,juan4  ,this stream1 with its     
several tributaries1 drains a large     
swampy valley  sprinkled with irregular 
hummocks and hills4 ,for several miles  
from the  ,san ,juan it is a sluggish1  
muddy stream between steep slippery     
banks2  higher up1 flowing over a       
gravelly and then a rocky bed1 it       
finally  disappears in steep ravines    

filled with huge bowlders4 ,the main    
,san  ,francisco comes from the         
northwest1 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-shed4 ,this range1     
unlike the ones already noted1 is at    
heart an uninterrupted mass of          
homogeneous hypersthene andesite1 and   
with one exception nothing but          
fragments of trap or trap in situ1 is to
 be found in any of the  streams        
descending from either its western or   
eastern slopes4 ,the one  exception is  
the ,caito ,maria1 a tributary of the   
,san ,francisco1  entering it but little
 more than a mile from the ,san ,juan4  
,in the bed  of this stream were        
abundant specimens of agates1 jasper1   
and petrified  woods of several         
varieties in a wonderfully good state of
 preservation4    ,this range of hills  
ends at the ,tamborcito bend of the ,san
 ,juan1 four  miles below the mouth of  

the ,san ,francisco1 and is the last    
easterly  projecting spur from the      
mountain backbone of the interior4      
,between it  and the coast there are1   
however1 mountain masses of equal or    
greater  elevation1 notably ,el ,gigante
 and the ,silico hills1 the former some 
fifteen hundred feet high1 but these are
 simply isolated mountain  ganglia1     
their innumerable radiating spurs       
speedily giving way to  swamps or river 
valleys4    ,the streams that flow down 
the eastern slope of the ,silico hills  
are1  from their sources to the         
lowlands1 of almost idyllic beauty4     
,beginning  as noisy little brooks      
tumbling over black rocks in a ,v-shaped
 ravine  near the summit of the hills1  
they rapidly gather volume and slide    
along in a polished channel of trap1    
tumbling every now and then as  sheets  
of white spray over vertical ledges     
forming here and there deep  green      
pools1 and then after they have passed  
down among the foot-hills1  rippling in 

broad shallow reaches over sunlit beds  
of bright yellow  gravel4 ,the water of 
these streams is clear and sparkling as 
that of an  ,alpine stream and          
apparently almost as cool4 ,the insect  
pests of the  tropics are unknown in the
 elevated portions of their valleys1 and
 ,i  have slept more than once beside   
one of these streams1 several hundred   
feet above sea level1 without a mosquito
 bar1 while the delightful  trades1     
rustling through the trees above me1    
brought the murmur of  the ,caribbean   
surf miles away1 to mingle with that of 
the stream4    ,the soil of this range  
consists1 to a depth of ten to forty    
feet1 of  clay of various grades and    
colors1 red prevailing4 ,in the valleys 
this  clay is almost invariably of a    
very dense consistency1 and deep1 dark  
red in color4    ,from the foot-hills of
 the range to the coast1 is a low level 
stretch  of country1 a dozen miles wide1
 interspersed with lagoons and swamps4  
,near the hills1 where the elevation of 

the ground will average about  fifteen  
feet above sea level1 the soil is       
composed almost entirely of  the before 
mentioned red clay1 which occasionally  
assumes the form of  hummocks4 ,within  
about six miles of the coast this       
stratum of clay  gradually disappears   
under a layer of sand1 which is in turn 
covered1  by a vegetable mould1 to a    
depth of a few feet4 ,from this point to
 the  sea the average elevation is      
barely five feet above the sea level1   
and  the sand and mould above mentioned 
are the only materials met4 ,a short    
distance from the ocean the vegetable   
earth-covering disappears and  only the 
sand is left1 extending to an unknown   
depth and reaching out  into the sea4   
,west of ,lake ,nicaragua1 from the ,rio
 ,lajas to ,brito1 as we leave the  lake
 shore1 the ground rises almost         
imperceptibly to the ,divide among      
cleared and gently undulating fields4   
,then we drop into the sinuous  gorge of
 the ,rio ,grande only to emerge1 a few 

miles farther on1 into  the upper end of
 the ,rio ,grande and ,tola basin4      
,to the right the ,tola valley stretches
 to the northward1 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
 ,pacific4 ,in the  bottom of this      
valley are a few farms and through it   
wander devious  roads4 ,beyond the      
narrow gateway in the hills1 less than  
three miles of  level swampy salinas    
reach to the surf of the ,pacific4      
,the views from the hills which flank   
the gateway of the ,rio ,grande1 at  ,la
 ,flor1 are wonderfully attractive4 ,i  
well remember one camp on the  hillside1
 from which in one direction the eye    
takes in the fertile  valley of the     
,tola and ,rio ,grande1 backed by the   
rolling hills of the  ,divide and over  
them the symmetrical peak of ,ometepe1  
its base washed  by the waves of the    
great lake4 ,in the other direction the 
,pacific lies  apparently but a stone's 

throw below1 the little port of ,brito  
at one's  very feet4    ,this same camp 
inspired one young engineer and         
enthusiast to express  himself something
 as follows3    ,what if1 in this camp1 
we should1 like ,rip ,van ,winkle1 sleep
 for ten  years1 and then awakening look
 about us8 ,we are still at ,brito1 but 
instead of being in the wilderness1 we  
look down upon a thriving city4  ,in the
 harbor are ships from all ports of the 
world4 ,ships from ,san  ,francisco1    
bound for ,new ,york1 about to pass     
through the canal and  shorten their    
journey by #aj1jjj miles4 ,ships from   
,valparaiso1 headed  for ,new ,york1    
which will take the short cut and save  
#ejjj miles and the  dread storms of    
,cape ,horn4 ,at many a masthead floats 
the ,british flag1  and vessels from    
,liverpool1 with their bows turned      
towards ,san  ,francisco1 have shortened
 their journey by #gjjj miles4    ,we go
 aboard one of the many steamers flying 
the 'stars and stripes'  and start      

eastward4 ,all along the line the face  
of the country has  changed2 the fertile
 shores of the ,tola basin are occupied 
by cacao  plantations1 fields have      
replaced forests1 villages have grown to
  towns1 and factories driven by the    
exhaustless water power furnished by    
the canal have sprung up on every       
available site4    ,along the shore of  
the lake are immense dry docks1 and     
vessels are  resting in this huge fresh 
water harbor before setting out again on
  their long voyages4 ,the broad bosom  
of the noble ,san ,juan is quivering    
with the strokes of tireless propellors4
 ,the roar of the great dam at  ,ochoa  
is heard for a moment and then the      
eastern section of the canal  is        
entered4 ,here the country is scarcely  
recognizable so greatly has it  changed4
 ,wilderness and marsh have disappeared1
 and only great fields  of plantains and
 bananas and dark green orange groves   
are to be seen4 ,a  day from ,brito and 
the steamer's bow is rising to the long 

blue swell  of the ,caribbean at        
,greytown4    ,well is this picture     
calculated to excite enthusiasm1 for it 
means the  dream of centuries realized1 
the cry of commerce answered1 and our   
imperial ,orient and ,occident-facing   
,republic resting content with  coasts  
united from ,eastport to the ,strait of 
,fuca4