Part 9

A COMMUNICATION WITH CHINA AND NEW SOUTH WALES WESTWARD THROUGH IT.

A ready and safe communication with these important places, and at the same time with all the most eastern parts of Asia, with all the Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and with all the western coasts of the great continent of America, it will be readily allowed, is of the utmost importance to Great Britain and to the whole civilized world.

Through the isthmus of central America only, a short, safe, and easy passage from Europe to the eastern parts of Asia and the Pacific Ocean, can be effected. That a passage over the Pole exists, is extremely probable, nay, it may be said, is certain. This passage, when found, will be obtained by standing north between Nova Zembla and Spitzbergen, and thence over the Pole, inclining first eastward above Europe, and thence westward for some distance, to Behring's Straits. But admitting that there is a passage open by this route, it can only be so from the end of May to the middle of September, and during this period only comparatively safe; a period much too short to accomplish a voyage out and back from China, and scarcely sufficient to perform the voyage out and back between Great Britain and her territories on the west coast of America situated to the north of Columbia River. Moreover, even if a passage this way was open for a period sufficient to enable the navigator to accomplish the voyage to either of the quarters alluded to, still it will appear, when the distances come (p. 084) to be noticed and contrasted, that, considering the winds and the weather which ships would encounter in passing over the North Pole into the Pacific, as contrasted with those which they would most certainly meet with in sailing westward through tropical seas, by the Isthmus of America; that the latter route would, upon the whole, be the best, and in all respects preferable and most expeditious.

A communication by the latter quarter may be advantageously and speedily opened up, both for steamers and for sailing vessels; and in the conveyance of mails, both or either may be employed, as shall appear to be most eligible and most advisable. To lay open such a communication as this would prove, is an object of the first importance, worthy of the attention of any body of men, and of any nation, but more especially of a nation like Great Britain, to support and to patronize in every way. By this route, all vessels, mails, and merchandise could reach the more distant and wealthy parts of Asia and Australasia, sooner and safer, and through seas comparatively always tranquil, borne by winds scarcely ever varying, and always favourable, than these can do by any other course that is known, or that remains to be discovered. In an especial manner, this would be the case as regards all the western coasts of America, North and South, the Islands in the Pacific, New South Wales and Van Dieman's Land, Japan, China, Eastern Siberia, &c. The perpetual trade-winds would bear vessels before them from Madeira to Canton, and almost to Sydney, while in returning they would merely have to run through these trade-winds, with a steady breeze on the beam, until they reached the latitude of 30° to 32° north, when the steady and certain, and strong westerly and south-west winds, would bear them in these parallels first, to the west coast of America; from which point winds off the land, and north-easterly trade-winds, would carry them, in the second place, to the point of communication with the Atlantic, through the Isthmus of central America; from which they, in the third place, would run to the north, carried by the trade-winds and the Gulf stream, into and through the Gulf of Florida, into the variable winds, which would quickly bear them to all the eastern ports of North America, and (p. 085) to all the ports in Europe, or along the coasts of the Mediterranean.

By this channel, namely, through the Isthmus of central America, the valuable, but almost unknown, British territory on the west coast of North America, would be brought near, and cleared, and cultivated. So also would the whole remaining western coast of America, from Nootka Sound to the southern extremity of Chili, be brought near to the civilized world, and become, in consequence, also peopled, cleared, and cultivated. Without such a communication is opened up, these coasts, and states upon them, can scarcely ever be brought to this state, but to which it is most desirable for the general interests of the world, and of the human race in it, that they should be brought. Situated as they are, there is no produce of their soil which their inhabitants can raise that can bear the expense of carriage to enable it to come into competition in the general markets of the world, with similar articles raised in other countries, which are all more accessible and placed nearer markets; and unless the soil of the western coasts of America and the islands in the Pacific are brought into cultivation, and peopled by people more civilized and industrious, it is obvious that these countries and the states and population at present in them, must remain in the poor, ignorant, miserable, and uncultivated state and condition in which they are, of little service to themselves or to the remainder of the world.

The points where the communication between the Atlantic and the Pacific are most feasible and practicable, is at one point on the southern boundaries of the Republic of Mexico, and the others within the territories of the Republics of Guatemala and Venezuela. The neck of land, or isthmus, which connects North and South America together, may be taken to extend from 8° N. lat., in the meridian of 77° W. long., to the parallel of 18° or 19° N. lat. in the meridian of 100° W. long. Narrow as the continent of America is in all this space, but more especially in the southern portion of this space, recent surveys have reduced it still more; and it is not improbable that, when the late surveys of the west coasts within the tropics are published, that it will be found to be still narrower, and more contracted than is (p. 086) supposed, or than the late accurate surveys by Captain Owen, under the orders also of the British Government, of the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, have shown it to be; and consequently the communication between the Atlantic and the Pacific will be found to be still shorter and more easy than it has been, or is even now considered to be.

The first two points within the limits above mentioned, where communications are most practicable, are the following:--_First_, in the territory of Mexico, from the mouth of the river Guazacoalcos, on the Gulf of Mexico, to the mouth of the Chimalapa, in the Gulf of Tehuantepec, on the Pacific, between the parallels of 16-1/2° to 18-1/2° N. lat. The distance from sea to sea at this part is 92 geographical miles, in a south-west direction. The sources of the streams which flow, the one eastward into the Gulf of Mexico, and the other westward, into the Pacific, come within the short distance of 20 miles of each other. _Secondly_, The channel from the Gulf of Dolce, which communicates with the Gulf of Mexico, to the southward of Honduras or the Balize, to Trinidad, situate on a bay in the Pacific, to the north of Point Remedios. The distance of the Gulf of Dolce to the Pacific, at the point just mentioned, is 60 geographical miles, with the advantages of the courses of rivers which bend their courses to the opposite oceans. But if it is correct that the River Balize is, as it has been stated to be, navigable upwards in its course to a distance of 200 miles, then it must penetrate so deeply into the continent, that its sources must approach to points still nearer to the Pacific than the Gulf of Dolce, or its tributary streams. It is doubtful, however, if any canals could be cut in either of the lines mentioned, because the land rises very considerably, forming in the central parts what is denominated Table Land, and is in general studded with ridges and high volcanic mountains, while the ports on either shore are neither very commodious nor of safe approach. There has been of late years also a tolerable good road constructed in the first-mentioned line, which will tend greatly to facilitate the communication from sea to sea, so far as the interests of Mexico are immediately concerned.

These points adverted to are the only probable channels of (p. 087) communication to the northward of the River St. Juan and Lake Nicaragua, which, like the last-noticed line, are situated in the territory of the Republic of central America, the capital of which is San Salvador. For reasons which will subsequently be adduced, the consideration of this important position is left until those points in the Isthmus of Panama and Darien have been particularly noticed and examined.

The first points to examine are those which are situated to the southward and eastward of Panama, and which are immediately connected with, and contiguous to, the Gulf of Darien. These are as follow:--In the province of Choco, famous for its gold mines, there is a ravine called Rapsadura, extending between a head branch of the River St. Juan, which, after a course from N. E. by N. to S. W. by S., falls into the Pacific in lat. 4°5' N.; and the river of Quito, one of the head branches of the River Atrato, which flows in nearly a due north course into the Gulf of Darien. Through the ravine just mentioned, the parish priest of Novita dug a small canal in 1778, which was navigable during the rainy season, and by which canoes, laden with coffee and other produce, passed from one sea to another, a distance of 250 miles; as they found it requisite and convenient.

The next point, and more to the north beyond Cape St. Francisco de Solano, in about 7°30' N. lat. is, from the mouth of the Cupica, or Tupica, as it is denominated in some maps, along that stream, which descends from the eastward into the Pacific, through a break in the mountains to the head of the river Naipi, a distance of from 15 to 20 miles only. The latter river is deep and navigable, and flows through a lake of considerable magnitude, nearly due east, into the River Atrato, a little below the village of Zitara, about 60 miles from the mouth of the latter stream, in the Gulf of Darien. The distance from the Pacific to the Atrato, through the channels mentioned, is only 60 geographical miles. The Atrato springs (its farthest branch the Rio Chame) in the rising ground, in 5°40' N. lat. and 75° 15' W. long., and runs almost due north, a distance of 200 miles, into the Gulf of Darien. At this point, the western and secondary chain of the (p. 088) Andes is broken and interrupted, and there is good reason to believe that they continue to be so in several places more to the northward: in fact, that they cease, and are succeeded through all the Isthmus of Darien and Panama, by a low range, broken into fragments in different places. At the point under consideration, namely, by the Cupica and the Naipi, the Spanish Government had it in contemplation, about forty years ago, to open a communication from sea to sea, by means of a canal; but the events in Europe, and the decay of their power, prevented the important enterprise from being undertaken. The Gulf of Darien, and the course of the Atrato, were rigidly guarded and concealed by the Spanish Government, so much so, that by special decrees the punishment of death was denounced against every one who should either permit or attempt the exploration of the country in these parts. This showed clearly that their practical knowledge gave them to know, that a communication between the Atlantic and the Pacific was easy and practicable in more places than one in this quarter of their dominions.

The next point where the communication is practicable, either by water or a short distance by land, where a canal could be cut, or a road made, is between the Gulf of St. Miguel on the Pacific, to the bottom of the Gulf of Darien, due east, and also to the Port de Escoces, or _New Edinburgh_, more to the N. (N. E. by E. from St. Miguel) in the upper part of the Gulf of Darien, on the Atlantic. The distance from the head of the Gulf of St. Miguel to the latter point is 30 miles, and to the former 45 to 50 miles, but with river communications to within 16 miles of the latter, and 10 miles of the former. The Gulf of St. Miguel opens to the Pacific from 8°8' to 8°17' N. lat., and runs E. N. E. and N. E. by E., fully 22 miles into the country, its centre crossing the meridian of 78° W. long. As has been shortly adverted to, the rivers which seem to form the Gulf of St. Miguel run deeply into the country, both to the S. E. and to the N. E., one particularly, the Chuqunaque, with an extremely zigzag course between ridges of mountains, is laid down to within 10 miles of New Edinburgh; which, by the last Admiralty charts, drawn from the best Spanish authorities, is (p. 089) placed in 8° 55' N. lat. and 76° 45' W. long. To the S. E. the source of streams which run into the Gulf of San Miguel spring within 15 miles of the mouth of the Atrato, while branches of each approach within half that distance of each other. The land in this quarter is clearly low, because, for a considerable distance from its mouth, the Atrato runs through a very marshy and flooded country. New Edinburgh, or Port de Escoces, is an excellent port, commodious, and well sheltered, and is the celebrated spot where, in 1699 (one hundred and thirty-eight years ago), the Scotch colony, under the direction of a Scotch clergyman, named Paterson, a most intelligent and enterprising man, was established, in order to open up a communication between both seas, and which was afterwards so shamefully, disgracefully, stupidly, and unguardedly abandoned by the then Government of Great Britain, spurred on to the act by the miserable and contracted commercial rivalry of England and Holland; and afterwards by the jealousies, the fears, and the representations of the Government of Spain, which at that time had really no right to the country, the natives thereof being independent of, and at war with, Spain. The Gulf of Darien is of easy entrance, and penetrates southward to a little beyond the 8° of N. lat., and to the southward of the principal mouth of the Atrato; the centre of the bottom of the Gulf being in the meridian of 76° 55' W. longitude.

The next and last point to the southward and the eastward of Chagre is by the river of Chopo, about 25 miles to the eastward of Panama. Narrow as the land in this quarter has been held to be, still the charts and maps lately published by individuals, and by the authority of the Admiralty, show that it is much narrower than what has hitherto been calculated upon; and in the particular point under consideration, very narrow indeed. From the mouth of the River Chopo, opposite the little island Chepillo in the Pacific, to the bottom of the Gulf of St. Blas or Mandinga on the Atlantic, is only about 20 miles (some maps make it still less). In this space, the mountains to the eastward of the high chain S. of Point Manzanillo and Porto Bello, which give rise to the Chagres, and its tributary streams, running first (p. 090) westward and then north-west into the Atlantic, are again, according to Captain Lloyd, interrupted and broken, affording thereby a readier communication between the two great oceans, the Atlantic, and the Pacific. In an apparently good Spanish map of the Isthmus, upon a large scale, the River Chopo or Bayano is represented as being formed by two branches, one under the name of the Rio Canizas, springing to the southward of the Pico de Carti, a hill only four miles from the Atlantic, in the Bay of Mandinga; the whole course of the river to the Pacific on a general south bearing, being only 22 miles. The source of the Chagres comes within 15 miles of the lower course of the Chopo; and some good maps lay down a river which joins the Chopo, near its mouth, as coming from the N. E., its sources likewise being within a very few miles of the Atlantic. Here, certainly, is a point from which, and on which a communication could be opened up at any rate by a good road, so as to afford a speedy conveyance for passengers, mails, and goods, between the two seas; while it is also exceedingly probable that, even in this short space, great facilities and assistance could be obtained by canal navigation, and by the rivers just mentioned.

The points, however, where a canal could be cut of sufficient depth to admit the passage of large ships, and thus save the delay and the expense which loading and unloading cargoes would occasion, where roads of any description remain the only means of communication, and where the approach on either coast is safe, and interior water communication most abundant, are, certainly, the points which should be fixed upon and selected, in order to effect the object so important to the whole world. The two points hitherto the best known, and considered to be the best adapted for the purpose, are, first, the line from Chagre on the Atlantic, to Panama on the Pacific; and secondly, the line, perhaps the best of the whole, from the mouth of the River St. Juan on the Atlantic, by that river and Lake Nicaragua, to Rialejo, or Gulf Papagayo, on the Pacific.

The Panama line comes most properly the first point for consideration. Here the survey, by Lieutenant Lloyd, in 1829, gives some certain data, and some curious and important information. He tells us (p. 091) pointedly, from actual observation, that which good Spanish maps indicated, and what was more vaguely told by others. According to him, on the eastern side of the province of Veragua, the Cordillera breaks into detached mountains, their sides exhibiting only bare rock, almost perpendicular. To these, as approaching nearer Panama, succeed numerous conical mountains, arising out of savannahs and plains, and seldom exceeding from 300 to 500 feet. "Finally," says he, "between Chagre on the Atlantic side, and Chorera on the Pacific, these conical mountains are not so numerous, having plains of great extent, interspersed with occasional ranges of hills of inconsiderable height."

Such is the Isthmus of Panama, where the distance from sea to sea is, even according to the present charts, only 30 geographical miles, and from the mouth of the Chagre to Panama, 33 miles.[18] Of this distance the Chagre, which has a circuitous course, is navigable for 40 miles to Cruces--distant from the sea in a direct line 21 miles, and from Panama 14 miles. At its mouth the Chagre is one-fourth of a mile broad, and at Cruces about 150 feet: in its middle course the depth is 24 feet. The current runs at the rate of from three to four miles per hour. It is full of numerous, constantly shifting sand banks, and sunken trees, which, with the current, render the navigation (p. 092) tedious, difficult, and even dangerous. At its mouth the coast is very sickly, as indeed the country through its course also is; but when the land is cleared, it will doubtless become more healthy. When the current is very rapid, it requires four or five days to reach Cruces. The height of the land which intervenes between Cruces and Panama, has been accurately ascertained by Mr. Lloyd; and that portion of the country which he passed over in his survey along the old road to Panama, is certainly the most elevated of the whole, as is shown in the following summary of his survey.

[Footnote 18: From the mouth of the Chorera to the Bay Lemon, the distance is 27-1/2 geographical miles. There is, however, reason to believe, that the distance from sea to sea is still less. Ulloa, who was an accurate and scientific observer, places, and from actual observation, Chagres in 9° 18' 40" N. lat., and Panama in 8° 57' 41" N. lat. Not being able to observe an eclipse of Jupiter's satellites, owing to the obscuration of the atmosphere, he was obliged to calculate the longitude from bearings and distances. In these, however, he could not be far wrong; and by these he places Cruces 21' east of Chagre, and Panama 9'30" east of Chagre, which, if he is correct, brings the breadth of the land from the Castle of Chagre to Panama, to be only 23 geographical miles!!

Since the preceding pages were written, Captain Washington, secretary to the Royal Geographical Society, has favoured me with the longitudes of the places adverted to, as ascertained by Captain Forster, and in February 1837 by Captain Belcher, R.N. Porto Bello is in 79° 30' West long.; Chagre, 79° 55'; and Panama in 79° 29' 20". This gives the distance from Chagre to Panama 33 geographical miles. Porto Bello is in lat. 9° 32' North. From thence to the Pacific, a little to the east of Panama, is 30 miles. From Chagre to the mouth of the Caymito will be 30 miles. Ulloa's calculations of longitudes would thus appear to be wrong.]

This survey commenced from the eastern suburb of Panama, at high-water mark, and ran along the old road to Porto Bello, unto the point where it crossed the Rio Chagre,--a distance of 1828 chains, 22-3/4 miles. The highest land passed over was the ridge Maria Henrique, 12-3/4 miles from Panama, and 10 from the Chagre. Its height is 633.32 feet. The point where the road approaches the river, is 169.840 feet above the level of high-water mark at Panama; and the bed of the river from whence the survey commenced downwards, is 152.55 feet. Descending the river 1545 chains, 19-1/2 miles, Mr. Lloyd came to the village of Cruces, after a descent of 114.60 feet; thus making Cruces to be 37.96 feet above high-water mark at Panama. From Cruces to Gorgona 410 chains, 5-1/4 miles, the fall is 16.13 feet; and thence to a small gravel bank, named "_Playa los Ingenieros_" distant from Cruces 1302 chains, 16-3/4 miles, the fall is 21.82 feet, precisely level with the high-water mark at Panama. At 2682 chains, 33-1/2 miles below Cruces, Mr. Lloyd first observed the effects of the tide from the Atlantic, the level of the river at this point being 13.65 feet below the level of high-water mark on the Pacific. At 507 chains, 12 miles, further down, reached La Bruja, where the water became brackish; the level of the surface of the river being 13.55 feet below the high-water mark at Panama. From La Bruja there was no perceptible descent to the Atlantic. The whole distance gone over in levelling from sea to sea, was 82 miles.

The tide at the mouth of the Chagre rises only one foot, or 1.16 feet; but at Panama the spring-tide in the Pacific rises in a mean level (p. 093) to the height of 21.22 feet, though high winds and currents occasionally raise them to the height of 27.44 feet. At low water the sea sinks proportionally at Panama below the level of the Atlantic: the reason for this difference is obvious. The current towards the Gulf of Mexico, and which afterwards forms the famous gulf stream, carries off rapidly the waters in the Atlantic; while, on the contrary, the current which flows northward along the western coast of South America, and the tide which flows into the bay of Panama, from the south-west from the Pacific, heaps, as it were for a moment, the waters into the bay and on the shores of Panama, and occasions the tides alluded to, and differing so greatly from those which are seen in the Atlantic at the short distance on the opposite coast.