CHAPTER XXXIV.

INTEROCEANIC COMMUNICATION.

1801-1887.

ANCIENT IDEAS ON THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE—FROM PERU TO LA PLATA—CAPE HORN DISCOVERED—ARCTIC REGIONS—MCCLURE'S SUCCESSFUL VOYAGE—CROZIER'S DISCOVERY—FRANKLIN'S ATTEMPTS—FINDING BY NORDENSKIÖLD OF THE NORTH-EAST PASSAGE—PROJECTS TO UNITE THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC OCEANS ACROSS THE ISTHMUSES—PLANS ABOUT TEHUANTEPEC—EXPLORATIONS FOR A SHIP-CANAL ROUTE IN NICARAGUA, PANAMÁ, AND DARIEN—THE NICARAGUA ACCESSORY TRANSIT COMPANY—CONSTRUCTION OF THE PANAMÁ RAILWAY, AND ITS GREAT BENEFITS—FURTHER EFFORTS FOR A CANAL—ORGANIZATION OF A FRENCH COMPANY—A SHIP-CANAL UNDER CONSTRUCTION ACROSS THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMÁ—DIFFICULTIES AND EXPECTATIONS—CENTRAL AMERICAN RAILROADS AND TELEGRAPHS—SUBMARINE CABLES.

No sooner had lands been discovered to the westward of Europe than the minds of cosmographers became fixed in the idea of short routes to India in that direction;[XXXIV-1] nor would they abandon it until long after both shores of the western continent had been explored from the Arctic sea to Cape Horn.[XXXIV-2]

[Sidenote: EARLY EXPLORATIONS.]

I have elsewhere presented a full account of explorations by land and sea to establish communications between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans prior to the opening of the present century.[XXXIV-3] The most important of the earlier discoveries, since Magalhaes' time, was that of the open polar sea south of Cape Horn, which was named by the Dutch navigators Le Maire and Van Schouten.[XXXIV-4] The north-west passage, so long the object of search, was at last found in 1851 by an English expedition. The discovery was effected by Robert Le Mesurier McClure, who, in command of the _Investigator_, sailed, together with the _Enterprise_ under Richard Collinson, from England in 1850. Before the close of the year, McClure passed Point Barrow, pushed along the continent, doubled the south end of Banks Island, and sailed through Prince of Wales' Strait, where he wintered near Melville Sound. In 1851, the west side of the peninsular part of Wollaston Island to Prince Albert's Sound was surveyed. By finding the strait connecting the continental channel with Melville Sound, McClure became the discoverer of the north-west passage, and was the first navigator to pass from Bering Strait to Baffin Bay.[XXXIV-5] Yet he gave to Captain Crozier, second in command of Franklin's expedition, the credit of prior discovery. McClure with the _Investigator_ was shut in during the winters of 1851-2, and 1852-3. In the spring of 1853 he resolved to abandon the ship and seek Mackenzie River and Lancaster Sound in two parties, a journey which would have been disastrous. At this moment, April 6th, Lieutenant Pym of the _Resolute_ appeared.[XXXIV-6] The McClure party were taken to the _Resolute_, and reached England in 1854.

[Sidenote: NORTH-EAST PASSAGE.]

The north-east passage was discovered by Adolf Erick Nordenskiöld in 1879, after 326 years from the first attempt by Hugh Willoughby in 1553.[XXXIV-7]

* * * * *

The necessity of shorter communication between the two oceans becoming more evident from day to day, with the increase of traffic with the western coast of America, with China, and with the numerous islands of the Pacific, various projects were entertained to establish such communication either by canal or railway. At Tehuantepec, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the isthmus of Panamá were formed the most favorable conditions for a forced or artificial transit.[XXXIV-8]

[Sidenote: TEHUANTEPEC ISTHMUS.]

The breadth of the isthmus of Tehuantepec between the bays of Campeche and Tehuantepec at the narrowest point is 130 miles. It is drained by the rivers Coatzacoalcos and Tehuantepec, the former running northward, discharging its waters into the first-named bay, and extending over three fourths of the width of this isthmus; the latter flowing into the bay of Tehuantepec. There are several lakes and lagoons. At one time it was proposed to cut a canal across this isthmus, and to improve the navigation of the Coatzacoalcos, to which end surveys were made.[XXXIV-9] But no action having been taken toward constructing a canal by the parties to whom franchises had been given, the scheme of a railroad across this section has been also contemplated,[XXXIV-10] and finally a grant was made to James B. Eads, to construct a ship railway between the two gulfs, capable of having transported over it the largest ships with their cargoes.[XXXIV-11] The scheme has been declared by Eads, and by other engineers of high repute in Europe and America, to be practicable. His opponents deride it. He applied, without success, to the United States government for assistance.[XXXIV-12]

[Sidenote: NICARAGUA ISTHMUS.]

The idea of uniting the two oceans, by means of a canal across the isthmus of Nicaragua, occupied the attention of the Spanish court from a very early day after the conquest to the last years of its occupation of the country.[XXXIV-13] Since the separation of Central America from the crown, the canal scheme has ever been uppermost in the minds of her rulers and thinking men, and many scientific engineers and capitalists of Europe and America have taken a deep interest therein. But for divers reasons nothing was accomplished toward establishing an adequate interoceanic communication, in any form, down to 1849.[XXXIV-14] This year a new arrangement was made with Cornelius Vanderbilt and Joseph L. White of New York, in which the government of the United States, through its representative, E. George Squier, became concerned. This arrangement gave rise to complications with Great Britain, which were finally settled by the Clayton-Bulwer treaty to perpetually guarantee the neutrality of the canal to be constructed. The contractors failed to carry out their agreement as regarded the construction of a canal, but established the Accessory Transit Company, and by means of steamers on the two oceans, and on the river San Juan and Lake Nicaragua, rendered valuable service in the transportation of passengers. The matter was given in detail, in connection with the relations of that company with the Nicaraguan government, including its history from the date of the foundation till 1869, when it ceased to exist. However, their engineer, O. Childs, made a survey of the route for a canal in 1851, and recommended one from the mouth of Lajas River to Port Brito, traversing the Rio Grande Valley.[XXXIV-15] Since that time many schemes have been contemplated, and contracts entered into, but none of them have given the desired result.[XXXIV-16]

[Sidenote: ACROSS MOSQUITIA.]

I have yet to mention Pim's scheme, advanced in 1853, of building a railway from Punta Mico on the Atlantic to San Miguelito, on the eastern shore of the lake, traversing Mosquitia. A company was formed, but the project was soon found to be impracticable.[XXXIV-17]

No efforts have been spared ever since by Nicaragua and American citizens to bring about the accomplishment of the long-expected canal, under the impression that it is the most desirable, feasible, and least expensive route. The assistance of the United States government has been solicited, and treaties made to afford facilities, but the American congress has thus far refused to do anything, except send commissions to explore the several lines, and their reports seem to be favorable.[XXXIV-18] The last treaty concluded between the two governments with reference to a canal was rejected by the United States senate. The last survey made under the auspices of the American government was that of Engineer Menocal, of the United States navy, who, with other officers, visited Nicaragua in January 1885. His report was presented in November of that year. The plan of this commission had been at first to convert the river San Juan above its junction with the Sarapiqui into an extension of the lake by constructing a dam 74 feet high, but it was found impracticable. The proposed route extends from San Juan del Norte to Brito. The total length is 169.8 miles, of which 38.98 miles will be excavated canal, and 130.82 navigation by Lake Nicaragua, the river San Juan, the basin of the river San Francisco, and seven locks. Lake Nicaragua will be connected with the Pacific by a canal, and with the Atlantic by slackwater navigation in the river San Juan, by a short section of canal from the San Juan to the basin of the San Francisco, by navigation through this basin, and by a canal thence to the Caribbean Sea. The route has been divided into three divisions, the western, eastern, and middle.[XXXIV-19] The cost was carefully estimated, including a contingent of 25 per cent, at $64,043,697. De Lesseps is of opinion, however, that a canal with locks would be inadequate to pass the traffic that will frequent it, and would suffer from uncertainty of sufficient water to supply the lockage and evaporation.[XXXIV-20]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: PANAMÁ ISTHMUS.]

One of the four routes suggested by Antonio Galvao to the king of Spain, for cutting a canal to join the two oceans, was the Isthmus of Panamá.[XXXIV-21] Soon after New Granada threw off the Spanish yoke, several surveys of Panamá and Darien were made, and canal projects recommended;[XXXIV-22] two of them, deemed the most important, were that of Lloyd's to build a railroad from Panamá or La Chorrera to the Trinidad River, a tributary of the Chagres; and that of a sluiced canal recommended in 1843 by Garella and Courtines, who studied the Isthmus under a commission of the French government. And there were other projects.[XXXIV-23]

The attention of the United States government was directed to the subject of interoceanic routes as early as 1825. In 1835 the executive was requested by the senate to enter into negotiations with the Central American states and New Granada, conducive to treaties for the protection of Americans who might attempt opening the communication between the two oceans. A treaty was made by the United States with New Granada on the 12th of December, 1846, under which the latter guaranteed to the former "the right of way or transit across the Isthmus of Panamá, upon any modes of communication that now exist, or that may be hereafter constructed." The United States government on its part guaranteed to New Granada the neutrality of the Isthmus, and the rights of sovereignty and property over its territory.[XXXIV-24] At last an American company, being stimulated by the great traffic across the Isthmus, took up the matter of a railway.[XXXIV-25]

[Sidenote: PANAMÁ RAILWAY.]

The termini resolved on were Colon on the Atlantic, and on the Pacific, a little to the eastward of the city of Panamá, quite clear of the suburbs. The work was begun in January 1850, and finished on the 28th of January, 1855. Its total length is 47 miles, 3,020 feet. The line is a single one, but has four very commodious sidings; namely, Gatun, 7½ miles from Colon; one near Barbacoas, 22 miles; one at Matachin, 30 miles; and one at the summit, 37 miles. There are stations at every four miles. The undertaking was a bold one, and was successfully carried out under the able and energetic superintendence of George M. Totten.[XXXIV-26] The actual cost, as per construction account, was eight million dollars. The road has been improved from year to year. Articles of the coarsest and heaviest description, as well as ordinary merchandise, have been constantly conveyed over it. The road began to yield some income since 1852, when it had reached Barbacoas. I give in a note some statistics on receipts and expenditures.[XXXIV-27] The company from the beginning of its operations had a line of telegraph between Panamá and Colon. In 1881 the railway was sold to the company organized to construct a canal for $17,500,000, being at the rate of $250 per share. Adding other items, and interest on annual instalments, the share-holders received about twenty million dollars.[XXXIV-28]

A survey made by United States officers in 1866, through Chiriquí, showed that it was practicable to build a railway through the cordillera. The harbors of Chiriquí and Sheperd on the Atlantic, and of Golfito in Golfo Dulce, were favorably reported upon by Commodore F. Engle.[XXXIV-29]

[Sidenote: VARIOUS SCHEMES.]

But the idea of an interoceanic canal was ever present.[XXXIV-30] Nothing was practically done, until the whole subject was discussed in 1875 at the congress of geographical sciences held in Paris, and a company was organized under General Türr for effecting the requisite explorations. Lucien N. Bonaparte Wyse, a lieutenant of the French navy, assisted by other engineers, was sent out to the Isthmus. The exploring commission effected their work thoroughly, and the section from Colon to Panamá was given the preference.[XXXIV-31] The Colombian government granted on the 18th of May, 1878, to the Civil International Interoceanic Association, residing in Paris, the exclusive privilege for ninety-nine years of constructing a canal between the two oceans, at the same time establishing the neutrality of the ports at the termini, and of the canal itself.[XXXIV-32]

De Lesseps, of Suez Canal fame, undertook in 1879 the task of constructing the canal, and the first meeting of the company, now called Compagnie Universal du Canal Interocéanique de Panama, took place in 1881. It was calculated that six hundred million francs, or be it $120,000,000, would cover the expense of construction and completion. One of the company's first acts was to establish in New York a branch board of directors, and another was to purchase the Panamá railway.[XXXIV-33] The works were commenced in October 1881.[XXXIV-34] The canal in course of construction follows the route of the railway, though keeping closer to the bed of the Chagres, which it is to cross again and again; on the Pacific side it will descend the Rio Grande Valley, and continue seaward to the island of Perico, a total length of fifty-four miles.[XXXIV-35]

[Sidenote: DIFFICULTIES TO OVERCOME.]

The works have been prosecuted with more or less vigor, by the use of powerful dredges, until the capital became exhausted, and their operations declined for many months, seeming to confirm predictions of failure.[XXXIV-36] However that may be, De Lesseps and his friends are confident that the opening of the canal will become an accomplished fact within eight years from the time of commencement.[XXXIV-37] There can be no doubt that a large portion of the original capital was wasted, and if rumor is not at fault much was misappropriated. But public confidence in De Lesseps remains unshaken in France, and he has been able to obtain by subscription abundant funds to continue the work,[XXXIV-38] and it is now being vigorously pushed. His calculation is that there will be business for the canal to the extent of 7,250,000 tons, yielding 6 or 7 per cent on 2,000 million francs, or 108,000,000 francs, equivalent to $21,600,000.

* * * * *

This is not the place in which to speak of the several northern railways across the continent. The Central American states—exclusive of Panamá, which has had that benefit since 1855—have made some progress in late years toward establishing railway communication between the two seas. Guatemala has one line from Port San José, on the Pacific, to the capital,[XXXIV-39] and another from Port Champerico, also on the Pacific, to Retalhuleu.[XXXIV-40]

[Sidenote: CENTRAL AMERICAN RAILWAYS.]

Measures had likewise been taken to communicate the capital by railroads with the northern sea, contemplating at the same time to build another line from Coban to the Polochic River. However, these projects, so far as I know, have been, since President Barrios' death, in abeyance. The Spanish court was repeatedly urged to open communications between Puerto Caballos and the bay of Fonseca.[XXXIV-41] Traffic on mule-back was carried on between both seas in colonial times; but what we know of the isthmus of Honduras is derived from the surveys made by the British Honduras Interoceanic Railway Company, and reported by their agent, E. G. Squier. As a practicable route for a ship canal, Honduras is out of the question; but the construction of a railroad was begun between Puerto Caballos or Cortés, on the Caribbean Sea, and Amapala in the bay of Fonseca,[XXXIV-42] through the valley of the Goascoran and Humuya rivers—232 miles. The road was graded, and a narrow-gauge track was built from Port Cortés to San Pedro, of about 37 miles in length. The work was suspended in 1871, and abandoned in 1873. Civil disturbances and lack of means have prevented its resumption. Several franchises have been granted in later years for continuing it; but nothing of a practical nature has resulted.[XXXIV-43]

Salvador has no territory on the Atlantic slope. She has a railroad between San Miguel and Port La Union; another line is being built from Port Acajutla to the heart of the coffee region of Santa Ana. It is possible that in the future the republic may be placed in communication, by railway, with the Atlantic, through the territory of her neighbors.

In Nicaragua the line between Corinto and Chinandega, and hence to Leon, was in operation in 1881-2. The work steadily progressed. The western section was opened to public service in 1884, connecting it with the steam-ship line on the lake. Thus was Managua, the capital, placed in rapid and cheap communication by steam with Corinto, the chief port of the republic. The whole line from Momotombo to Corinto was yielding six and four fifths per cent on the capital invested. In the eastern section the work was going on rapidly at the end of 1884, and 20 miles to Masaya would soon be finished. The government contemplated to have a direct railway line from Villa de la Paz to Managua, thus establishing a continuous communication between Managua and Granada.[XXXIV-44]

Costa Rica, thus far, has three lines, or rather divisions or sections; namely, the Central, running between San Jose and the interior provinces, via Cartago, Heredia, Alajuela, Tres Rios, and San Joaquin; the Atlantic, from Limon to the interior, which is the route through which most of the country's foreign trade is carried on; and the Pacific which runs from Puntarenas to Esparta.[XXXIV-45]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: TELEGRAPH LINES.]

The five Central American republics are intersected by telegraph lines belonging to their respective governments, and communicating their chief towns with one another within themselves, and with the sister republics.[XXXIV-46] The isthmus of Panamá has a communication by submarine cable with Central America and Mexico at the port of La Libertad and Acapulco. The cities of Panamá and Colon are in direct communication by wire. The Isthmus is further connected by cable, on the Pacific, with Peru, via Buenaventura, which also places it in telegraphic communication with Bogotá and the rest of Colombia. A cable to Jamaica affords another connection, via Cuba, with the United States and Europe.[XXXIV-47]

The question of interoceanic communication by ship-canal across the isthmuses of Central America occupying, as it does, general attention, I have concluded to append hereto information on the subject by several competent authorities; namely, the British explorer, Dr Edward Cullen, and E. George Squier.

IGNORANCE RESPECTING DARIEN.—It is a very singular circumstance that the coast of Darien, the first settled in America (Santa Maria having been founded in 1509, and Acla in Caledonia Bay in 1514), within eighteen days' steaming from England, close also to such frequented ports as Chagres, Carthagena, and Kingston, Jamaica, should be at the present day as unknown as the coasts of Patagonia or of New Guinea, and that the vast advantages of this tract of country, for a canal, should have escaped the penetration of the great Humboldt, who, after having examined all the maps in the Depósito Hidrográfico of Madrid, appears to suggest the Chuquanaqua. He says: 'On the Pacific coast, also, the deep Golfo de San Miguel, into which falls the Tuyra with its tributary, the Chuchunque, runs far into the Isthmus; the river Chuchunque, too, in the upper part of its course, runs within sixteen geographical miles of the Antillean shore of the Isthmus, westward of Cape Tiburon.' _Views of Nature_, Potsdam, June 1849, p. 432 of Bohn's translation.

The Atrato route labors under the disadvantage of a bad harbor, on the Pacific side, Cupica being of very small extent, and open to the S. W.; and the Atrato has a bar with only five feet of water on it, while the rise of tide in the Gulf of Darien is only two feet.

The Chagres, or Limon Bay and Panama route, surveyed in 1829 by Col Lloyd and M. Falmarc, under a commission from the Liberator, Simon Bolívar, and subsequently by M. Garella, has such bad harbors that the idea of a canal by that line has been totally abandoned.

The route from Chepo mouth to Mandinga Bay, proposed by Mr Evan Hopkins,[XXXIV-48] who attempted to survey it in 1847, for the New Granada government, although the narrowest line across the Isthmus, being only twenty-seven miles across from Chepo to Carti, has the disadvantages of bad coasts, a very high cordillera, of from 2,000 to 6,000 feet elevation, and a large population of Indians.

The bar at the mouth of Chepo River is quite dry at low water, as is also a sand bank which extends several miles out into the bay of Panamá; the part of the Atlantic coast on the other side is beset with reefs, shoals, and kays, and is dangerous of approach.

Capt Fitzroy, R. N., in his _Considerations upon the Great Isthmus of Central America_, suggests a line from the upper course of the Tuyra to the Atrato, or the coast of Darien above its mouth, as an improvement of the route proposed by me; but this would be nearly twice the distance of the Port Escocés, and gulf of San Miguel route; there would be the mountain of Chacargun or the Sierra de Maly to cross, and should the canal open into the Atrato, there would be the very formidable obstacle of the bar to remove, while of the coast above the Atrato mouth, the _Columbian Navigator_ says: 'All this coast from Tarena Kays to Cape Tiburon is high and precipitous, with deep water off it; and it is very wild in the season of the breezes. It is very advisable, therefore, at these seasons, to shun it.' Any route, however, in this direction, would be included in the privilege granted, on the 1st of June, 1852, by the New Granada government, to Edward Cullen, Charles Fox, John Henderson, and Thomas Brassey, for cutting a canal from Port Escocés to the gulf of San Miguel, which gives power to select any place from the west mouth of the Atrato to Punta Mosquitos, for the Atlantic entrance of the canal.

[Sidenote: DISCOVERY OF THE SAVANA RIVER.]

DISCOVERY OF THE SAVANA RIVER AND THE ROUTE FOR THE SHIP-CANAL. I imagine that the river Savana was not delineated in the maps which Humboldt saw.[XXXIV-49] Such, indeed, was the case with the map which I had on my first journey into Darien in 1849, so that I was totally ignorant of its existence until I actually saw it, after entering Boca Chica, when, finding the great depth of water at its mouth, and that it flowed almost directly from the north, I became convinced that I had at last found the object of my search, viz., a feasible route to the Atlantic, and thereupon immediately ascended it, and crossed from Cañasas to the sea-shore at Port Escocés and back, and subsequently, in 1850 and also in 1851, crossed and recrossed, at several times and by several tracks, the route from the Savana to Port Escocés and Caledonia Bay, notching the barks of the trees as I went along, with a _machete_ or cutlass, always alone and unaided, and always in the season of the heaviest rains. I had previously examined, on my way from Panamá, the mouths of Chepo, Chiman, Congo, and several other rivers, but found them all obstructed by bars and sand banks, and impracticable for a ship passage, so that upon seeing the Savana, I had not the least hesitation in deciding that that must be the future route for interoceanic communication for ships.

THE DARIEN CANAL ROUTE.—Port Escocés, or Scotch Harbor, and the bay of Caledonia, on the Atlantic coast of the Isthmus of Darien, present an extent of six nautical miles, from S. E. to N. W., of safe anchorage in all winds. These harbors are situated between Carreto Bay and the channel of Sassardi, and are 140 miles E. S. E. of Limon Bay, and twenty-one miles W. N. W. of Cape Tiburon, the N. W. boundary of the Gulf of Darien. Port Escocés extends to the S. E. to lat. 8° 50´ and long. 77° 41´; and Golden Island, or Isla de Oro, or Santa Catalina, which forms the N. W. boundary of Caledonia Bay, is in lat. 8° 54´ 40´´, and long. 77° 45´ 30´´.

The channel of Sassardi, also, extending from Caledonia Bay N. W. five miles to the Fronton, or point of Sassardi, is sheltered from the winds and seas of both seasons, and has good depth of water.

Twenty-two miles S. W. of Port Escocés is the site of the old Spanish settlement of Fuerte del Príncipe, on the river Savana, established in 1785, and abandoned in 1790. From thence the river Savana has nearly a S. by E. course for fourteen miles to its mouth, which opens into the river Tuyra, Santa Maria, or Rio Grande del Darien, three miles above Boca Chica and Boca Grande, the two mouths by which the latter discharges itself into the Gulf of San Miguel on the Pacific.

Thus the distance from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, by the route from Port Escocés or Caledonia Bay, to the gulf of San Miguel, by way of the river Savana, would be thirty-nine miles. In a direct line, from Port Escocés to the gulf, the distance is thirty-three miles.

In _Considerations on the Great Isthmus of Central America_, read before the Royal Geographical Society of London, on the 11th and 25th Nov., 1850, Captain Fitzroy, R. N., says: 'Any route that could be made available between San Miguel Gulf and Caledonia Bay, or the Gulf of Darien or Choco, would have the advantage of excellent harbors at each end, and a great rise of tide in one of them (San Miguel). The river Savana is recommended by Dr Cullen from personal examination, as being more navigable (for canoes[XXXIV-50]), and approaching nearer the north coast than the Chuquanaqua does; though this does not appear in the Spanish maps. From the head of the Savana, a ravine, about three leagues in length, extends to Caledonia Bay, and there (Dr Cullen says, having passed through it) _he_ thinks a canal might be cut with less difficulty than elsewhere, if it were not for the opposition of the natives. He also speaks of the Indians transporting their canoes across at this ravine, and of the comparative healthiness of this part of the Isthmus.'

The whole work to be done, in order to make a ship-canal communication between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by this route, would be to cut from Príncipe or from Lara mouth to Port Escocés or Caledonia Bay, a distance of from twenty-two to twenty-five miles, of which there would be but three or four miles of deep cutting.

The canal, to be on a scale of grandeur commensurate with its important uses, should be cut sufficiently deep to allow the tide of the Pacific to flow right through it, across to the Atlantic; so that ships bound from the Pacific to the Atlantic would pass with the flood, and those from the Atlantic to the Pacific with the ebb tide of the latter. Such was the plan recommended in my report to Lord Palmerston. By such a canal—that is, one entirely without locks—the transit from sea to sea could be effected in six hours, or one tide.[XXXIV-51]

For the engineering details, and estimates of the cost of the work, I beg to refer to the valuable report of Mr. Lionel Gisborne, C. E., who, with his assistant, Mr. Forde, was commissioned, last April, by Messrs Fox, Henderson, and Brassey, to survey this route, which they found to be perfectly feasible for a ship-canal communication, and fully as eligible as I had represented it.

[Sidenote: PASSAGE FOR THE PACIFIC TIDE.]

It is needless to say that, under the auspices of Messrs. Fox, Henderson, and Brassey, who, with that clear discernment and prompt decision, which have placed them in the elevated position which they occupy, adopted this route in December 1851, after a careful examination of my statements, the great work of an interoceanic canal is sure, erelong, to be accomplished.

I trust that an attentive consideration of the advantages of this route—viz., its shortness, the excellence of its harbors, the low elevation of the land, the absence of bars at the Savana and Tuyra mouths, the depth of water and great rise of tide in the former, its directness of course and freedom from obstructions, the healthiness of the adjacent country, the exemption of the coasts from northers and hurricanes, the feasibility of cutting a canal without locks, and the absence of engineering difficulties—will fully justify me in asserting it to be the shortest, the most direct, safe, and expeditious, and in every way the most eligible route for intermarine communication for large ships.

An examination of the physical aspect of the country from Port Escocés to the Savana—presenting, as it does, but a single ridge of low elevation, and this broken by gorges, ravines, and valleys, and grooved by rivers and streams, with a champaign country extending from its base on each side—will prove the feasibility of making the canal entirely without locks, a superiority which this route possesses over others, which all present insurmountable physical obstacles to the construction of such a canal.

In fact, a glance at the map ought to convince the most sceptical that nature has unmistakably marked out this space for the junction of the two oceans, and the breaking of the continuity of North and South America; indeed, so narrow is the line of division, that it would almost appear as if the two seas did once meet here.

DETAILS OF THE ROUTE PROPOSED.—I shall now enter into a more detailed description of this route, which I discovered in 1849, and proposed for a ship-canal communication between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in the _Panamá Echo_ of February 8, 1850, in the _Daily News_ and _Mining Journal_ of May 1850;[XXXIV-52] in a paper presented to the Royal Geographical Society, and read at the Edinburgh meeting of the British Association in July 1850; and in a report to Lord Palmerston, of January 15, 1851.

PORT ESCOCÉS.—Of Port Escocés, Caledonia Bay, and the channel of Sassardi, the _Columbian Navigator_, vol. 3, p. 218, says:

'Port Escocés, or Caledonia, lat. 8° 51´, long. 77° 44´, is a noble harbor; very safe, and so extensive that a thousand sail of vessels may enter it.

'Punta Escocés is the S. E. point of Caledonia Bay, the greater islet of Santa Catalina, or de Oro (gold), being the N. W. Between point and point the distance is four miles, and the points lie N. W. and S. E. (N. 40° W., and S. 40° E.), from each other; and in respect to this line the bay falls in one mile and two thirds. In the S. E. part of this bay is Puerto Escocés (or Scottish Harbor), which extends inward two miles in that direction, and forms good shelter. There are various shoals in it, which are represented in the particular plan of the harbor, by which plan any vessel may run in, for the depths are five, six, seven, and eight fathoms of water over a bottom of sand.

'Between Piedras Islet to the north, the west point of Aglatomate River to the south, and that of San Fulgencio to the S. W., is formed the Ensenada, or bay of Caledonia, and the channel of Sassardi.

CALEDONIA BAY.—'The Ensenada, or cove of Caledonia, is, strictly speaking, formed by the points already mentioned, which lie with each other N. N. W. ¾ W., and S. S. E. ¾ E. (N. 25° W., and S. 25° E.), one mile distant. This bay is clean, and has good deep water; the greater part of its coast is a beach, and near the middle of it disembogues the river Aglaseniqua. The point of San Fulgencio is salient, scarped, and clean, and it also forms an indent with little depth of water, bordered by mangroves and various kays at its western part.

THE CHANNEL OF SASSARDI.—'Between San Fulgencio point, the great Oro Island, Piedras Islet, and the Mangrove Kays, which are to the west of them, the channel of Sassardi is formed; the S. E. entrance to this channel is off and on, with four cables' length in extent, from edge to edge, and with from nine to twelve fathoms depth on oaze; and farther in, from eight to ten fathoms; as also between the turn of the bank off Piedras Islet, and the bay of Caledonia, the depth is from seven to fifteen fathoms; and the piece of sea which intervenes between this bay and the Puerto Escocés is of a good depth of water; but at a short mile S. E. by E. ½ E. (S. 55° E.), from Piedras Islet the sea breaks when the breeze blows fresh.'

From its entrance the channel of Sassardi extends N. W. five miles.

The engineer has here, then, a wide scope for selecting a locality for the Atlantic mouth of the canal, which may thus open anywhere from the S. E. end of Port Escocés to the N. W. entrance of the Channel of Sassardi, an extent of eleven nautic. miles.

Along a great extent of Port Escocés and Caledonia Bay, vessels can lie so close in shore that no boats would be necessary in the taking in or discharging cargo; the same great advantage also presents itself at several points in the channel of Sassardi.

[Sidenote: SOURCES OF FRESH WATER.]

Good fresh water may be obtained in abundance from any of the numerous streams which fall into these harbors, particularly from the Aglaseniqua or Aglatomate.

Port Escocés is entirely uninhabited, nor is there any settlement in and of it; at Caledonia, near the mouth of the Aglaseniqua, there are five huts, inhabited by a few Indians of the Tule tribe, and about two leagues up the river is another small settlement; this, however, is at a considerable distance westward of the projected line of canal.

From the sea-shore a plain extends for nearly two miles to the base of a ridge of hills, which runs parallel to the coast, and whose highest summit is about 350 feet. This ridge is not quite continuous and unbroken, but is divided by transverse valleys, through which the Aglaseniqua, Aglatomate, and other rivers have their course, and whose highest elevations do not exceed 150 feet.

The base of this ridge is only two miles in width; and from its south side a level plain extends for thirteen miles to a point on the river Savana, called Cañasas, which is about twenty miles above its mouth.

The river Savana, at Cañasas, has a depth of six feet of water, but is obstructed by ledges of a slate, called _pizarra_, or _killes_, for four miles, down to the mouth of La Villa, up to which the tide reaches. At Cañasas, there is a forest of a species of bamboo, so dense as to be impenetrable; and above it there is a fall of two feet, when the river is low, but after rains this entirely disappears. The first fall, in ascending the river, occurs at Caobano, a little above La Villa.

From La Villa, where there is a depth of ten or twelve feet, the river is perfectly free from obstructions down to Príncipe.

At Fuerte del Príncipe, two miles below La Villa, there is a single ledge of slate, visible only in a very low state of the river, which has here a depth of three fathoms, and a rise of tide of six feet. The banks of the river are elevated about ten feet above the level of the water, and are quite free from swamp. The site of the old Spanish settlement is here indicated by a patch of very dense scrubby bush, without high trees, on the west bank of the river; but the only remains to be met with are some fragments of _botijas_, or water-jars. Príncipe is in lat. 8° 34', and long. 77° 56', by my observations; it is only two or three hours' journey from the mouth of the river.

The Savana River, called by the Indians Chaparti, is very direct in its course, from Príncipe to its mouth, and free from sinuosities, _playas_, deep elbows, shoals, rocks, snags, or other obstructions.

Its banks, elevated several feet above the level of the water, are quite free from swamp and malarious miasmata, consequently the endemic fevers caused by these in Chagres, Portobello, Limon, and Panama, would not prevail in any settlements that may be formed in the neighborhood of the Savana. Indeed, it cannot be inferred that the Isthmus of Darien is unhealthy, because the towns on the Isthmus of Panama have all been settled in swampy localities, and in the most unfavorable positions in a sanatory point of view. A convincing proof of the freedom from swamp of the whole tract of country, from Port Escocés to the gulf of San Miguel, is the total absence of musquitoes, which invariably infest all swampy grounds in the tropics. The great longevity of the people of Darien, and the large proportion of very old men, also attest the healthiness of the climate.

From Príncipe to the mouth of Matumaganti, one mile S. S. W., the river increases greatly in width and depth; there are some islands in this reach; and on the west bank a very large cuipo-tree stands conspicuous, towering above the adjacent forest.

From Matumaganti to the mouth of Lara, two miles, the river has a depth of four fathoms, and a rise of tide of ten feet.

From Lara mouth to the islands in the second reach, four miles, the river is very direct in its course, with a depth of five or six fathoms. A ridge of hills runs parallel to each bank, at about two miles' distance. Just below this mouth, and above a widening of the river, called Revesa de Piriaki, is Cerro Piriaki, a hill of about 400 feet elevation, and above this there is no hill near either bank of the Savana. Above the islands, Estero Corotu, Rio Corredor, and other streams fall into this, the Calle Larga, or Long Reach.

From the islands to Areti mouth, S. S. E., three miles, the river has great width and depth; a ridge of hill here runs along each bank, at about two miles' distance.

[Sidenote: RELATIVE WATER DEPTHS.]

JUNCTION OF THE SAVANA AND TUYRA.—From Areti mouth to the junction of the Savana and Tuyra rivers, S., four miles, the river has a uniform width of two miles, and a depth of from eight to nine fathoms.

On the west bank of this reach is Punta Machete, with a small shoal above it, called Bajo Grande, and one below it, Bajo Chico. Both of these are close in shore, and oysters are found on them.

THE SAVANA MOUTH.—From the west point of the Savana mouth, in lat. 8° 21', long. 77° 54', the land rises into a ridge of hills of about 309 feet elevation, running N. for about four miles parallel to the river, from which it is separated by a strip of level land half a mile wide. There is a quebrada, or rivulet, in the ridge, called Laguadilla, which has plenty of fresh water in the driest season.

Behind Nisperal, the east point of the Savana mouth, there is a low ridge of hills; from the north bank of Iglesias, also, a narrow ridge follows the course of the Savana for about three miles. This is the Cerro Titichi, which gave its name to a mission of Indians at the mouth of the Chuquanaqua, the last survivor of whom is a man named Marcellino, who resides at Pinogana, on the Tuyra. On the north bank of Iglesias is Quebrada de Tigre, and on the Savana, above its mouth, is Quebradita la Monera, where fresh water may be obtained.

At the mouth of the Savana there are nine fathoms, at low water, and the tide rises from twenty-one to twenty-seven feet.

Boca Chica and Boca Grande, the mouths of the Tuyra, are perfectly safe entrances, and have a depth of thirteen to twenty fathoms of water respectively.

The gulf of San Miguel has good depth of water, and would hold the shipping of the world. Its mouth, between Cape San Lorenzo on the north, and Punta Garachiné on the south, is ten miles across, and opens into the Pacific, quite outside the bay of Panama. Its direction inward is N. E. fifteen miles to Boca Chica. Inside the bay of Garachiné, the shores of the gulf approach each other, and the width diminishes to four miles, between Punta Brava and Morro Patiño, with a depth of from nine to twenty fathoms, but again increases, and then diminishes to Boca Chica.

Close to Cape San Lorenzo is a small shoal, called El Buey, which may be easily avoided. There are several islands in the gulf, as Iguana, Cedro, Islas de San Diego, etc., etc., which are all safe of approach. On the north side, the rivers Congo, Buenavista; and on the south the Moguey, Guaca, Taimita, and Sambú, open into the gulf; while the Tuyra and Savana fall into its eastern end, the Ensenada del Darien, called by the Granadians 'Boca de Provincia,' or Mouth of the Province. _Cullen's Isth. of Darien._

* * * * *

From what has been said, it sufficiently appears that Nicaragua is a country of great beauty of scenery and vast natural resources. She has, however, attracted the attention of the world less on these accounts than because she is believed to possess within her borders the best and most feasible route for a ship-canal between the two great oceans. The project of opening such a canal began to be entertained as soon as it was found that there existed no natural communication between the seas, as early as 1527. Since that period it has furnished a subject for much speculation, but beyond a few partial examinations, until very lately, nothing of a practical or satisfactory character had been attempted. In 1851 a careful survey was made of the river San Juan, Lake Nicaragua, and the isthmus intervening between this lake and the Pacific, by Colonel O. W. Childs, previously engineer-in-chief of the state of New York, under the direction of the now extinct Atlantic and Pacific Ship-canal Company. Until then, it had always been assumed that the river San Juan, as well as the lake itself, could easily be made navigable for ships, and that the only obstacle to be overcome was the narrow strip of land between the lake and the ocean. Hence, all the so-called surveys were limited to an examination of that part of the line. One of them was made under the orders of the Spanish government, by Don Manuel Galisteo, in 1781; another, and that best known, by Mr. John Baily, under the direction of the government of Central America, in 1838. An intermediate examination, quoted by Thompson,[XXXIV-53] seems to have been made early in the present century. The following table will show the results of these surveys as regards this particular section:

Greatest Greatest Elevation Elevation Authorities. Distance from Lake above above to ocean. Ocean. Lake. Galisteo, 1781 17 miles, 200 feet. 272 feet. 134 feet. Quoted by Thompson, 17 miles, 320 feet. 296 feet. 154 feet. 1829 Baily, 1838 16 miles, 730 feet. 615 feet. 487 feet. Childs, 1851 18 miles, 3,120 feet. 159 feet. 47½ feet.

As the survey of Colonel Childs is the only one which can be accepted as conforming to modern engineering requirements, it will be enough to present the detailed results to which he arrived. The line proposed by him, and on which all his calculations and estimates were based, commences at the little port of Brito, on the Pacific, and passes across the Isthmus, between the ocean and lake, to the mouth of a small stream called Rio Lajas, flowing into the latter, thence across Lake Nicaragua to its outlet, and down the valley of the Rio San Juan to the port of the same name on the Atlantic. The length of this line was found to be 194⅓ miles, as follows:

Miles. WESTERN DIVISION.—Canal from the port of Brito on the Pacific, through the valley of a small stream called Rio Grande, falling into the Pacific, into that of the stream called Rio Lajas, to Lake Nicaragua 18.588

MIDDLE DIVISION.—Though Lake Nicaragua, from mouth of Rio Lajas to Fort San Carlos, at the head of San Juan River 56.500

EASTERN DIVISION.—_First Section._—Slack-water navigation on San Juan River from San Carlos to a point on the river opposite the mouth of the Serapiqui River 90.800

_Second Section._—Canal from opposite mouth of Serapiqui to port of San Juan del Norte 28.505 ------- Total, as above 194.393

ORIGIN OF THE CANAL GRANT.—The charter of this company under which Colonel Childs carried on his investigations is dated September 22, 1849, and was obtained for a term of eighty-five years from the completion of the proposed canal. The surveys were to be commenced within one year, and the whole to be completed in twelve years. The canal, by the terms of the charter, was to be of dimensions sufficiently great to admit and pass vessels of all sizes with speed and safety. The company was to pay to the state, during the period assigned for the construction of the work, the annual sum of $10,000; to give to the state $200,000 of stock in the canal, on the issue of stock; the state to receive, for the first twenty years, twenty per cent annually out of the net profits of the canal, after deducting the interest on the capital actually invested, at the rate of seven per cent; and for the remaining sixty-five years, twenty-five per cent of the profits. The company, on the other hand, were to receive fifteen per cent annually out of the net profits of the canal for the first ten years after it should revert to the state, provided it did not cost over $20,000,000; but if it should cost more than that sum, the company to receive twenty per cent for twenty years. During the period of constructing the canal (twelve years), the company had the exclusive right of navigating the waters of the state by steam, and also the privilege of opening a transit route through its territories, upon the principal condition of paying ten per cent of the net profits to the state. There were some other provisions as to lands, tolls, etc., of no special importance.

Under this charter, the company perfected its organization. It divided its original shares into a considerable number, called 'canal rights,' which were sold, and their holders brought into the organization. The first instalment was paid, and in August 1850, just in time to meet the stipulation providing that the surveys should be commenced within one year from the date of the contract, a party of surveyors was sent out to Nicaragua. They were under the direction (as already said) of Colonel O. W. Childs as chief engineer. He arrived in Nicaragua on the 27th of August, 1850, and so far as his report is concerned, we are left to infer that he at once commenced the surveys for the canal. His report is dated March 9, 1852.

[Sidenote: DIVERSIONS OF THE CANAL.]

THE LINE OF SURVEY.—In the various projects for uniting the two seas, the line of the river San Juan has always been contemplated as that by which the great lake of Nicaragua is to be reached. From that lake to the Pacific, various routes have been suggested:

1. From Lake Nicaragua via the river Sapoa to the bay of Bolaños, in the gulf of Salinas, on the Pacific.

2. Via the Rio Lajas to the port of San Juan del Sur, or some point not far from it, on the Pacific.

3. Via the Rio Tipitapa into the superior lake of Managua, and from this lake to the Pacific at the little port of Tamarindo, the port of Realejo, or into the magnificent gulf or bay of Fonseca.

By his instructions, Colonel Childs was limited to a survey of the direct routes from Lake Nicaragua to the Pacific, provided either of them should prove practicable. As a consequence, finding a route which, in his opinion, was practicable, he made no surveys from the superior lake of Managua to the Pacific. He, however, made some observations on the line of the connection between the two lakes by the river Tipitapa—if a channel dry for most, if not all, of the year can be called a river. This is a source of great regret, especially in view of the deficiency, on the surveyed routes, of a good harbor on the Pacific, while both Realejo and the gulf of Fonseca are all that can be desired as ports.

Lake Nicaragua is estimated by Colonel Childs to be one hundred and ten miles in extreme length by thirty-five in (average) width. Its nearest approach to the Atlantic is at its southern extremity, from which, on a right line, it is about eighty miles distant. The point of its nearest approach to the Pacific is near the middle of its length, where, by the shortest line, the distance is about eleven miles.

The San Juan River was found by Colonel Childs to be, following its sinuosities, 119 miles in length. It has a great number of tributaries, generally small, with the exception of the San Cárlos and Serapiqui, which come in from the mountains of Costa Rica on the south. The first of these enters the San Juan at sixty-five miles, and the second ninety miles below the lake. These streams flow through valleys transversely to that of the San Juan, which is further intersected by ranges of hills, coming in both from the north and the south, at the Rapides del Toro, Castillo, Machuca, etc.

The lake of Nicaragua lies longitudinally, nearly parallel to the Pacific Ocean, and is separated from it, for nearly two thirds of the length of the lake, by hills of comparatively moderate acclivity and elevation, in most cases capable of cultivation to their summits. Within this distance, also, are several transverse valleys, extending nearly (Colonel Childs says quite) across, with summits varying in height, and furnishing generally good opportunities for direct communications by ordinary roads or by canal.

ROUTE VIA RIVER SAPOA.—This line lies chiefly in the department of Guanacaste, now in dispute between Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and actually occupied by the latter.

The examination of this line by Colonel Childs only proved its impracticability for the purpose of a canal. He found that to pass the summit a cut 119 feet in depth would be required, and an up-lockage from the lake of 350½ feet, and a down-lockage to the Pacific of 432 feet. Water to supply the upper locks, it was ascertained, could only be obtained with difficulty, and at great cost. Besides, a long rock cut of three fourths of a mile would be required from low-tide mark in the bay of Salinas to deep water. In short, the physical difficulties on this line, if not of a nature to make the construction of a canal impossible, were nevertheless such as to make it impracticable.

ROUTE FROM MOUTH OF THE RIO LAJAS TO BRITO.—The line from Lake Nicaragua to the Pacific, to which public attention has been most directed, is one starting from the mouth of the Rio Lajas, a few miles below the town of Rivas, or Nicaragua, to the port of San Juan del Sur, or Concordia, on the Pacific. As already stated, not less than three surveys had been made over this line; one in 1781 by Galisteo, a Spanish engineer, and the last by Mr. Baily, an Englishman, under the republic of Central America, published in Stephens' _Incidents of Travel in Central America_. The line pursued by both Galisteo and Baily was governed by the circumstance of a measurably good port on the Pacific—that of San Juan del Sur, the best on the whole line of coast from the bay of Salinas northward to Realejo. Baily's line is sixteen miles and 730 feet in length, and the greatest elevation above the lake 487 feet. That of Galisteo is seventeen miles 200 feet in length, and the greatest elevation above the sea 272, and above the lake 134 feet. Baily's line, for half of its distance, involved 209 feet of average vertical cutting; that of Galisteo, for half of its length, an average vertical cutting of 108 feet. These facts, and others, among which the absolute impossibility of supplying the summit levels with water, and the necessity of tunnels, combined to make the construction of a canal on this line wholly impossible.

[Sidenote: EXPLORING FOR A LINE.]

Colonel Childs seems to have been satisfied of the impracticability of this line, after a very rapid examination, and to have devoted himself to the discovery of one more feasible. In doing this, however, it was found necessary to abandon San Juan del Sur as the western terminus.

Starting at the point on the lake to the eastward of Rivas, levelling westward, through a transverse, moderately undulating plain, he ascended, on a distance of six and a half miles, 326 feet, to the summit of a broad valley, passing between the hills (which are here of moderate height), and connecting with another valley on the west side, which extends to a place on the Pacific called Brito, where a stream, named Rio Grande, flows into the sea. The quantity of water available for this summit being entirely inadequate, and the cut altogether too formidable, on the plan of carrying through the level, this route was abandoned. Another line, not far from this, was attempted, with very nearly the same result.

Colonel Childs next started from the mouth of the Rio Lajas, the same point with his predecessors, and carried a line of levels to the summit of a transverse valley lying about six and a half miles south of Rivas, and reaching between the valley of Rio Lajas and that of the Rio Grande, already mentioned as flowing into the Pacific at Brito. This summit was found to be only forty-seven and a half feet above the surface of the lake, as it stood on the 23d day of December, 1850, at which time it was three and a half feet above its lowest stages, and one and a half feet below the level at which it ordinarily stands at the height of the rainy season. The length of this line from lake to sea is about twenty miles. This is the route, and the only direct one, between the lake and sea, regarded by Colonel Childs as feasible, and upon this all his calculations respecting the proposed canal are based. In his own language: 'The conclusion was arrived at that the line leading from the lake, at the mouth of the river Lajas to the Pacific at Brito, presented more favorable conditions for the construction of the canal than any other; it was therefore determined to survey and carefully to locate a line across upon this route.'

This line, then, runs through the valley of the river Lajas, the waters of a principal branch of which interlock with those of the Rio Grande, and, through the valley of the latter, reaches the sea. The stream first named has its origin about ten miles south-westerly from its entrance into the lake, on the eastern slope of the dividing ridge, and after running north-westerly two miles, along the base of the hills, takes a northerly direction through comparatively level savannas, a distance of six miles or eight miles, when it bends to the east, and in a mile and three fourths enters the lake. The Rio Grande rises on the eastern slope of the same range of hills, and two or three miles north-west from the sources of the Lajas, and, after flowing some three or four miles at the foot of their slope, bends to the west, and by a narrow and somewhat irregular valley passes through the ridge, and thence, in a more capacious and uniform valley, into the Pacific.

WESTERN SECTION OF PROPOSED CANAL BETWEEN LAKE NICARAGUA AND THE PACIFIC.—The entire line of the canal proposed by Colonel Childs, and upon which all his calculations and estimates are based, is therefore through the valley of the river San Juan into Lake Nicaragua, across Lake Nicaragua to the mouth of the Rio Lajas, through the valley of that stream, and across the summit of forty-seven and a half feet which separates it from that of the Rio Grande, and down the valley of the Rio Grande to Brito, where that stream enters the Pacific.

Now, in order to understand Colonel Childs' conclusions, and appreciate the data which he gives, we must know what kind of a work he proposes. He contemplates a canal but seventeen feet deep; and as he intends to supply the western section, from the lake to the sea, by water from the lake, it would be necessary to commence construction in the lake at a point where the water is seventeen feet deep at mean stage. This point is opposite the mouth of the Lajas, and twenty-five chains from the line of the shore. From this point, for a mile and a half, partially along the river Lajas, the excavation will be principally earth; but beyond this, for a distance of five and a half miles, which carries the line beyond the summit, three fourths of the excavation will be in a trap rock. That is to say, the deepest excavation, or open cut, will be sixty-five feet, and involve the removal of 1,879,000 cubic yards of earth, and 3,378,000 cubic yards of rock. The excavation and construction in this five and a half miles alone are estimated at upward of $6,000,000.

The summit passed, and the valley of the Rio Grande reached, the excavation, as a general rule, will be only the depth of the canal. Colonel Childs found that the lake, at ordinary high water, is only 102 feet 10 inches above the Pacific at high and 111 feet 5 inches above it at low tide, instead of 128 feet, as calculated by Mr. Baily. This descent he proposes to accomplish by fourteen locks, of eight feet lift each, placed at proper points in the valley of the Rio Grande, thus bringing us to Brito, the terminus on the Pacific.

The harbor of Brito, as it is called, or the point where the Rio Grande enters the sea, is at best only a bad anchorage. There is here a small angular indentation of the land, partially protected by a low ledge of rock, but nothing adequate for the terminus of an important work like the proposed canal, or capable of answering the commonest requisites of a port. To remedy this deficiency, Colonel Childs proposed to construct an artificial harbor, of thirty-four acres area, by means of moles and jetties in the sea, and by extensive excavations in the land. If, as he supposes, the excavations here would be in sand, it is obviously almost impossible to get proper foundations for the immense sea-walls and piers that would be necessary for a work of this kind. On the contrary, if these excavations should be chiefly in a rock, as seems most likely, the cost and labor would almost surpass computation. Assuming the excavations for the purpose to be in earth and sand, Colonel Childs estimates the cost of making a harbor at a little over $2,600,000.

MIDDLE SECTION OF PROPOSED CANAL—LAKE NICARAGUA.—Proceeding from seventeen feet depth of water in the lake, opposite to the river Lajas, in the direction of the outlet of the lake at Fort San Cárlos, there is ample water for vessels of all sizes for a distance of about fifty-one miles, to a point half a mile south of the Boacos Islands. Here the depth of water diminishes rapidly to fourteen feet. For the remaining five and a half miles to the fort, the water is variable, averaging only about nine feet at low and about fourteen at high water. For this distance of five and a half miles, therefore, an average under-water excavation of eight feet would be required to make the channel, at low water, of the depth of the canal, or seventeen feet. But if the lake were kept at high level, the under-water excavation would be but an average of three feet.

Colonel Childs proposed to protect this portion of the channel by rows of piles driven on each side, along its whole extent, and thinks, after the excavation were made, a sufficient current would be established to keep the channel clear.

[Sidenote: THE RIVER SAN JUAN.]

EASTERN SECTION—THE RIVER SAN JUAN.—We come now to the section between Lake Nicaragua and the Atlantic, through or along the river San Juan. Excepting a small settlement at the Castillo Viejo, at the Castillo Rapids, thirty-seven miles from the lake, the valley of the San Juan is wholly uninhabited. This section, hitherto supposed the easiest, is, nevertheless, by far the most difficult part of the proposed enterprise.

Colonel Childs carried a line of levels from the lake at San Cárlos to the port of San Juan, on the northern bank of the stream. The whole distance from San Carlos to seventeen feet depth of water in the harbor of San Juan is 119⅓ miles; and the whole fall, from the surface of high lake to the surface of highest tide in the harbor, is 107½ feet—to lowest tide, 108¾ feet.

Of the above distance, the first ninety-one miles, or from San Carlos to half a mile below the Serapiqui River, Colonel Childs proposed to make the river navigable by excavating its bed, and by constructing dams, to be passed by means of locks and short canals; the remaining twenty-eight miles of the canal to be constructed inland, or independently of the river. Of the whole fall, sixty-two and a half feet occurs on that portion which it is proposed to improve by dams, and on which there were to be eight locks, and the remaining forty-six and a quarter feet occurs on the inland portion of the canal, on which were to be six locks—fourteen locks in all.

Colonel Childs proposed to place the first dam at the head of the Castillo Rapids, a distance of upward of thirty-seven miles from the lake, and to pass the rapids by means of a lateral canal. By means of this dam he proposed to raise the water, at that point, twenty-one and a half feet, and the entire level of Lake Nicaragua five feet above its lowest stages, or in other words, to keep it at high-water mark. The fall at this dam would be sixteen feet. He proposed also six other dams, four of eight feet fall, one of fourteen and a half feet, and one of thirteen and a half feet. Between all of these there would be more or less excavation in the bed of the stream, sometimes in earth, and often in rock.

Colonel Childs proposed further to improve the harbor of San Juan by moles, etc., and to construct an artificial harbor in connection with it of the capacity of thirteen acres.

In respect of the amount of water in the San Juan, we have some interesting statistics. This amount, of course, varies greatly with the different seasons. The quantity of water that passed from the lake at its lowest stage, on the 4th of June, 1851, was 11,930 cubic feet per second. The greatest rise of the lake is about five feet. When it stood at 3.43 feet above its lowest level, the flow of water was 18,059 cubic feet per second, being an increase of about fifty per cent. Supposing the same ratio of increase, at high lake the amount of water in the river would be doubled.

The river receives large accessions from its tributaries. Below these, and above the point of divergence of the Colorado, flowing direct into the sea from the San Juan, which falls into the harbor of the same name, the flow of water was 54,380 cubic feet per second, of which 42,056 passed through the Colorado branch into the ocean, and 12,324 through the San Juan into the port.

DIMENSIONS OF THE PROPOSED CANAL.—Where the excavation is in earth, Colonel Childs proposed (and all his estimates are founded on these dimensions) that the canal shall have a depth of 17 feet; that it shall be 50 feet wide at the bottom, 86 feet wide at 9 feet above the bottom, and 118 feet wide at the surface of the water. Where the excavation is in rock, the canal is to be 50 feet wide at bottom, 77 feet at 9 feet above bottom, and 78⅓ feet at the surface of the water.

LENGTH OF PROPOSED CANAL.—The total length of the line proposed by Colonel Childs, from San Juan del Norte on the Atlantic, to Brito on the Pacific, is 194⅓ miles, as follows:

Miles.

Canal from port of San Juan to its point of intersection with the river, near the mouth of the Serapiqui 28.505

Slack-water navigation on the San Juan River, from the above point to San Cárlos, at the outlet of the lake 90.800

From San Cárlos, across Lake Nicaragua, to the mouth of the Rio Lajas 56.500

From mouth of Rio Lajas to Brito 18.588 ------- Total, as above 194.393

ESTIMATED COST.—The cost of the work is estimated by Colonel Childs in detail. The recapitulation, by divisions, is as follows:

Eastern Division (i. e., from port of San Juan to $12,502,346 lake) Middle Division (through lake) 1,025,676

Western Division (from lake to Pacific) 13,896,603 ----------- $27,424,625

Add, for contingencies, 15 per cent 4,113,693 ----------- Total estimated cost of canal $31,538,318

The canal company published a pamphlet, in which the estimates for the canal were made at New York prices, and in which the total was put down at $13,243,099. 'The prices adopted in the estimate of $31,500,000,' says Colonel Childs, 'are made up with reference to the completion of the work within six years from the time of breaking ground, and a commencement of the settlement of the country in the vicinity of the line previous to letting the contracts.'

CAPACITY OF THE PROPOSED CANAL.—The charter of the canal company provided that the capacity of the work should be sufficiently great 'to admit vessels of all sizes.' And it is obvious that a work which will not pass freely the largest vessels can but imperfectly answer the purposes of its construction, or meet the requirements of commerce. But Colonel Childs proposed only one 17 feet deep, 50 feet wide at bottom, and 118 feet wide at top—a capacity wholly inadequate to pass the larger classes of vessels, and one which fails to meet the stipulations of the charter. The larger merchant-ships, such as are generally employed in the eastern trade, have a draught of from 20 to 25 feet, and would require, to say nothing of war vessels and large steamers, a canal of from 25 to 30 feet in depth, which would involve more than double the amount of excavation proposed, and probably treble the amount of cost, and carry it up from $31,500,000 to $100,000,000. Here is the fatal deficiency in the whole proposition of Colonel Childs.

To make the canal capable of passing vessels drawing 20 feet of water, Colonel Childs says, would increase to a very great degree the amount of the excavation on the river section, and still more the expense. 'Any considerable increase in the depth proposed (17 feet) would require under-water excavations between the lake and the Toro Rapids, a distance of 27 miles, to be almost continuous; it would very much lengthen the cuts on the other portions of the river, and the liability of these artificial channels to receive deposits of earth to such an extent as to obstruct navigation would be very much greater. On the inland portion of the canal,' continues Colonel Childs, 'a depth of 22 feet of water would, with fifty feet bottom-width, give a transverse water-section about 45 per cent greater than a depth of 17 feet, with the same bottom-width; and the expense of the inland portions would also, by reason of the greater depth of excavation, be increased in a still higher ratio.'

[Sidenote: THE VIEWS OF COLONEL CHILDS.]

Colonel Childs seems sensible of the inadequacy of a canal of the proposed dimensions, but thinks that by changes in model, etc., ships of great size could be built to pass a 17-foot canal. That is to say, the world may build ships for the canal, instead of the canal company a canal for the ships of the world! He states that most steamers draw less than 17 feet, and quotes from Murray's _Treatise on Marine Engines_ to show that of 261 steam-vessels, principally English, 15 draw over 17 feet, 21 have 17 feet draught, and 225 less than 17 feet. But he neglects to tell us that experience and economy point to the construction of larger steamers than those now in use, and that such as would be used in the eastern trade, in the event of the construction of the canal, would be still larger than those of the Collins line, which draw over 22 feet. Besides, a canal of 17 feet is only adequate to the passage of vessels of 15 feet draught. No canal ought to be contemplated with a less depth than 25 feet, and with proportionate top and bottom width.

The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal has a depth of 10 feet.

The Welland Canal is 28 miles long, 9 feet deep, 35 feet wide at bottom, and 71 feet at top. It passes vessels of 350 tons.

The Caledonian Canal, between the eastern and western shores of Great Britain, is 59 miles in length, of which 21½ miles is inland and 37½ through lakes. It is 50 feet wide at bottom, 110 feet at top, and is 20 feet deep. It is capable of passing frigates of 32 guns, and merchant-vessels of 1,000 tons.

The canal from Amsterdam to New Dieppe, in Holland, is 50 miles long, 36 feet wide at bottom and 124 at top, and is 20 feet 9 inches deep.

In respect of navigating the canal, according to Colonel Childs' suggestions, steamers will propel themselves, and sail-vessels will be moved by tugs constructed for the purpose, except on the portion west of the lake, and between the river and port of San Juan, where the delay of the driving steamers in passing the locks would make the use of animal-power advisable. Calculating 24 minutes as the time required for a vessel to pass each lock, 60 vessels, it is calculated, could be passed in a day. The average rate of speed with which steamers might safely move in the inland portions of the canal is calculated at 2½ miles per hour, on the river portions 7 miles an hour, and on the lake, 11 miles an hour. Sailing vessels propelled by horse-power might move on the canal at the rate of two miles an hour, and on the river and lake with an average speed of 4 miles per hour. For steamers, therefore, the passage from sea to sea is estimated at 46½ hours, or about two days; for sailing vessels, 77 hours, or 3¼ days.

FACILITIES FOR CONSTRUCTING THE CANAL.—There are many considerations connected with an enterprise of this kind besides its feasibility in a mere engineering point of view, such as labor, materials, etc., etc. To all of these Colonel Childs seems to have devoted some attention.

_Timber._—As compared with those of the United States, the original forests of Nicaragua are inferior in size, and the kind and quantity of timber proper for use less in proportion. The tree called the 'cedro,' or cedar, is produced in considerable abundance, and can be usefully applied. It grows to a great height, and will produce timber 36 to 40 feet long, and 12 to 18 inches square. The 'roble,' a species of oak, is also a tall tree, and furnishes timber equal to the cedar in size. The 'níspero,' 'laurel,' 'madera negra,' and others, answer a very good purpose. The 'níspero' is 29 per cent stronger than white oak, and may be procured in sufficient quantities, in the opinion of Colonel Childs, to be relied on as a substitute for all the purposes in which oak is required. He thinks that, in the aggregate, the forests of Nicaragua, in the sections traversed by the canal, will probably produce all the lumber required.

_Stone._—Along the river San Juan, the rock is chiefly trap, graywacke, and shale; in many localities too friable for use, but in others, Colonel Childs thinks, it may be found fit for the purposes required. On the west side of the lake limestone quarries were found, capable of producing good lime in abundance. The stone, generally, between the lake and Pacific, on the proposed canal line, is not good, but it was thought that in case of need it might be obtained from Granada, sixty miles to the north-west, and from a lower point on the Isthmus. Very good and abundant clays were found, and a stone from which water-lime of a fair quality may be obtained.

_Labor._—Colonel Childs concedes that the prosecution of the works of the canal would be attended with vast difficulties, resulting from a lack of all the essential requisites in the shape of mills, roads, carriages, etc., etc. He thinks the oxen of the country may be obtained in sufficient numbers to do all the necessary hauling of materials. But there is yet a consideration of vastly more importance, viz., labor. Colonel Childs apprehends that it would be necessary to rely chiefly on foreigners. He says that, although the laboring population of the country, when under compulsory circumstances, are capable of great activity and of enduring much fatigue, in their ordinary avocations they are tardy and irregular in their labor. An exception is, however, made in favor of a class of boatmen employed on the river, some 400 in number, in whom we have an example of physical labor and exposure to the elements scarcely equalled in any country, endured by them with no perceptible prejudice, but apparently with advantage to their health. These men sleep on a narrow plank across their boats, with no other protection than a single blanket; yet there is probably in the world no class of men of more athletic forms, and notwithstanding their indifferent attention to the conditions of health, more capable of hard service. So far as can be gathered from Colonel Childs' observations, it seems that he would rely chiefly on foreign labor for the construction of the proposed work.

[Sidenote: CLIMATIC TRIALS.]

He seems to think it is not unlikely that foreigners, already accustomed to hard labor, may, when thoroughly acclimated, and under no unnecessary exposure, be capable of a fair amount of labor in this country, although not as great an amount as in higher latitudes. He states that of the party engaged in the survey west of the lake, nine were unaccustomed to the climate. After a few months, a slight fever, followed by ague, prevented some of the number from continued daily exercise; but being in all cases under the control of medicine, it was of short duration. During seven months in this part of the state, illness in the party at no time interrupted a daily prosecution of the survey. Upon the San Juan River, the surveying party consisted of twelve persons, exclusive of native citizens. The survey occupied six and a half months, from March to September. 'The party generally enjoyed good health, and no individual was prevented by indisposition, beyond a day or two, from full service. Of those engaged as axemen in clearing the line, two were northern men, whose daily exercise exceeded that usual to men in canal-work, without detriment to health or constitution.'

_Soil._—From San Juan Harbor to where the proposed canal would strike the river, the soil is vegetable mould, coarse sand, and sandy loam. Along the river it is of a more mixed character, clay and loam predominating in the valleys, and a gravelly clay, with detached stones, on the hills. West of the lake, the central portion of the summit is principally clay; the remainder, together with the soil through the valley to Brito, has a very nearly uniform and equal intermixture of clay, sand, and gravel. The surface soil is generally fine, and contains enough of vegetable mould to render it capable of great production.

_Food._—Among the staple articles of food that would, during the construction of the canal, be most required for consumption, may be named maize, plantains, and beans. Of the former and latter two crops are annually raised on the same ground, and the supply of plantains is constant. Besides these are bananas, oranges, lemons, pineapples, cocoanuts, squashes, melons, tomatoes, and other garden vegetables. Colonel Childs, while considering these sources of supply in food, is nevertheless of opinion that salt meat and flour would have to be brought in large quantities from abroad. Fresh beef, pork, and poultry are abundant in the country.

OPINION OF COLONEL ABERT AND LIEUTENANT-COLONEL TURNBULL.—Although a different impression has been sought to be produced in the public mind, yet the government of the United States had no direct interest in the proposed canal, nor manifested any other than might naturally attach to any enterprise of supposed general importance. The surveys of Colonel Childs seem, nevertheless, to have been sent to the secretary of war, with a request for the opinion of the government engineers. Mr Conrad politely referred it to Colonel Abert and Lieutenant-colonel Turnbull, of the bureau of topographical engineers, who give their opinion in a brief letter, dated March 20, 1852. Proceeding upon Colonel Childs' data, they think his plan practicable, that his estimates for a canal of seventeen feet are liberal, and that some reductions might possibly be made. They think that a shorter line might be traced between the port of San Juan and the point of intersection with the river, and recommend another survey of that portion.

OPINION OF ENGLISH ENGINEERS.—The American minister in England, at the request of the company, appears to have transmitted Colonel Childs' surveys to the earl of Malmesbury, with a wish that he would submit it to competent English engineers for their opinion. James Walker, Esq., civil engineer, and Edward Aldrich, captain of the royal engineers, were named for this service. They seem not only to have examined Colonel Childs' survey, but to have subjected that gentleman, who was then in England, to a very close personal examination. Taking his plans, measurement, and statements to be correct, their opinion is, on the whole, favorable. They think that his estimates for work are ample, but regard the amount set down for 'contingencies' (fifteen per cent) too small by at least ten per cent, that is to say, that it should have been twenty-five instead of fifteen per cent. Of all the works of the proposed navigation, they regard the Brito or Pacific harbor as least satisfactory. To use their own language: 'Presuming Colonel Childs' statements and conclusions to be correct, the Brito harbor is in shape and size unworthy of this great ship navigation, even supposing the Pacific, to which it is quite open, to be a much quieter ocean than any we have seen or have any information of.'

They also object to the proposed size, and suggest a canal twenty feet deep instead of seventeen, sixty feet wide at the bottom instead of fifty, and the locks 300 feet instead of 250, as being one 'more efficient for the general purposes of trade, by steam or sailing vessels.' This would, of course, be attended with great additional cost; but, as they truly observe, 'if the junction of the Pacific with the Atlantic be worth doing at all, it is worth doing well.' They conclude that, judging from the data, without presuming to vouch for their accuracy, the work is practicable, 'and would not be attended with engineering difficulties beyond what might naturally be expected in a work of this magnitude;' that the surveys have every appearance of accuracy, and they are satisfied of the perfect fairness and candor of Colonel Childs; that the works are generally sufficient for the purpose they are intended to answer; and 'that the estimates upon the present value of money are adequate, in a general way, so far as judgments can be formed from the documents produced and the explanations of Colonel Childs.'

OPINION OF BRITISH CAPITALISTS.—We come now to a point not indicated in the report of Colonel Childs, viz., the refusal of the leading capitalists of England to engage in the projected work.

It is well known that at least two expeditions or missions to England were undertaken by agents of the canal company. At their first visit in 1851, they were unable to present any specific data upon which to solicit the aid of capitalists; they, however, made out a hypothetical case, which they submitted, and received for answer, 'Substantiate your statements by facts, and no difficulty will be experienced in securing the financial aid which you desire; until then, we can return you no definite answer.' This reply was not made public in terms, but the agents, on their return, proclaimed that the 'great European capitalists had engaged to furnish half the capital for the enterprise.' A few, and it is believed only a few, persons, considering the precise source whence this vaunt came, attached the slightest importance to it.

[Sidenote: REASONS FOR DECLINING.]

The second expedition was made in 1852, and this time the agents took out with them both Colonel Childs and his surveys. The opinion of certain British engineers (as we have seen) was procured, and the whole matter resubmitted to the great capitalists, who now, for the first time, thought it sufficiently advanced to merit their serious attention. The result of their examination was communicated to the company in a letter from Mr Bates, head of the house of Baring Brothers, in August 1852, and consisted in a declension to embark in the enterprise, for a variety of reasons, chiefly, of course, financial.

1. The dimensions of the canal were not such as, in their opinion, to meet the requirements of commerce, and the work could not be used except by medium-sized steamers and small vessels.

2. That the proposed dimensions were not in conformity with those required by the charter of the company, and that it could not be built of the proposed dimensions without securing a modification of the charter, which, in the existing state of feeling in Nicaragua, it was not likely could be effected.

3. That, supposing the work not to exceed the estimated cost of $31,000,000, the returns, to meet the simple interest of the investment at six per cent, must be at least $1,860,000 over and above its current expenses; or, to meet this interest, and the percentage to be paid to Nicaragua, it must reach, over and above its expenses, $2,269,200. Estimating the expenses of repairs, superintendence, cost of transportation, etc., at $400,000 a year (a sum regarded as too small), then the gross returns to make the work pay must be $2,670,000.

4. But it is found, by inquiry and calculation, that little, if any, of the European trade with the Orient would pass through the canal, inasmuch as the passage by the way of Cape Good Hope is, on an average, 1,500 miles nearer than by way of the proposed work.

5. That even if the distance were in favor of the proposed canal, its small size would prevent nearly, if not quite, two thirds of the vessels engaged in the Indian trade from passing it; and this objection would equally lie against most of the vessels employed in the trade with western America, the only trade in which the canal would prove serviceable to Europe.

6. That the heavy toll of $3 a ton on ships would prevent such vessels as could pass the canal from doing so, inasmuch as on a vessel of 1,000 tons the toll would be $3,000, or more than the average earnings of such vessels on their voyages.

7. That a canal of the proposed size could only be used by small passenger-steamers, the returns from which would not be adequate to pay the current expenses of the enterprise.

While unhesitatingly conceding the immense local advantages of a canal to the United States, these capitalists confessed themselves utterly unable to discover how it could prove of compensating value to the men who should invest their money in the enterprise. They therefore, for these and other reasons, declined to meet the views of the projectors and their agents.

GUARANTEE OF THE UNITED STATES, ETC.—By the convention of 1850 between the United States and Great Britain, a qualified guaranty was extended to this enterprise, in common with several others. There was also a clause inserted with direct reference to this company, which provided that it should 'have a priority of claim over every other company to the protection of the United States and Great Britain,' on condition that it should, within 'one year from the date of the ratification' of the convention, 'conclude its arrangements and present evidence of sufficient capital subscribed to accomplish the undertaking.' The treaty was ratified, and the ratifications exchanged July 5, 1850. No subscription of stock having taken place, and no evidence of capital having been presented in the time specified, or indeed at any other time, the company forfeited this special protection in July 1851; and as the twelve years within which the work was to be constructed will expire in 1861, it may be assumed that its prosecution will depend upon new conditions and combinations. Indeed, it may be questioned if the opening of railways between the oceans may not indefinitely postpone the project of a canal; for, however desirable such a work may be, its realization will depend upon precisely those practical considerations which apply to the simplest works of public utility. It will not do to foot up the commerce between Europe and Asia, and assume, as has generally been the case, that the totals will pass through the canal, if constructed. Now, the simple truth is, that, so far as Europe is concerned, that part of her trade which goes to ports on the Pacific coast of America, to the Sandwich Islands, Japan, the northern ports of China, to New Zealand and Australia, is all that will be materially benefited by the construction of a canal. As regards Australia, the principal advantage would be in having a safer, easier, and consequently quicker and surer means of communication than is afforded by the Cape of Good Hope; for the Pacific Ocean is preëminently the sea of steamers, and where steam navigation, in respect of speed at least, is destined to achieve its most brilliant success. So far as the United States is concerned, the advantages of such a work would naturally be greater than to Europe.

Assuming a canal to be built across the Isthmus of Nicaragua, the following table will illustrate the relations of Liverpool and New York with the principal ports of the east, in respect of distance:

Via Cape of Via Proposed Net Net Good Hope. Canal. Loss. Gain. From Liverpool— To Canton 12,900 13,800 900 Calcutta 11,440 15,480 4,040 Singapore 11,880 15,120 4,240 Sydney 14,980 12,550 2,320 From New York— To Canton 14,100 11,820 3,280 Calcutta 12,360 13,680 1,320 Singapore 12,700 11,420 280 Sydney 15,720 9,480 5,240

[The distances to Sydney are calculated via Torres Straits.]

[Sidenote: THE COURSE OF TRAFFIC.]

The following table will illustrate the relations of Liverpool and New York in respect to the principal western ports of America:

Via Via Gain. Cape Horn. Proposed Canal. From Liverpool— To Valparaiso 8,700 7,500 1,200 Callao 10,020 6,800 3,220 Sandwich Islands 13,500 8,640 4,860

From New York— To Valparaiso 8,580 4,860 3,720 Callao 9,900 3,540 5,360 Sandwich Islands 13,200 6,300 6,900

But it is not to be assumed that all the trade, much less all the travel, treasure, and mails to the points which I have indicated, will, under any circumstances, pass through a canal. The passengers between New York and San Francisco, amounting annually to nearly 100,000, would never consent to make a voyage of from 1,000 to 2,000 miles out of their way, to Nicaragua, Panamá, Darien, or Atrato, for the sake of passing through a canal, however grand, when by a simple transshipment at Honduras, for instance, and a transit of 209 miles by railway, they would be able to avoid this long detour, and effect a saving of from 5 to 8 days of time; for even if steamers were to run to any canal which might be opened, and supposing no detention on account of locks or other causes (calculated by Colonel Childs at 2 days), even then it would be necessary for them to stop, for coals and other supplies, more than quadruple the time that would be occupied by the passengers over the railway in effecting their reëmbarkation. And what is true of passengers is equally true of treasure, the mails, and light freight of small bulk and large value.

I do not wish to be understood as arguing against a canal; what I mean to illustrate is this: that, open a canal wherever we may, it will always stand in the same relation to a railway as does the baggage-train to the express. A canal would be chiefly, if not wholly, used by ships and vessels carrying heavy and bulky freights; but as most articles of this kind are kept in stock in all the principal ports of the world, it is not of so much consequence to have rapidity as constancy of supply, and hence, unless the canal shall be constructed so economically as to admit of a moderate tonnage rate, it is not improbable that ships of this kind would find it more economical to follow the routes now open. _Squier's States of Cent. America._

* * * * *

In tracing, or attempting to trace, the routes of recent travellers in Darien, there is extraordinary difficulty, although the locality in question does not exceed a space of 40 miles by 30. Strange to say, the routes of the old buccaneers, of Dampier, Ringrose, Sharp, Wafer, and Davis, the inland journey of that remarkable man Paterson, and of the Spanish officer Don Manuel Milla de Santa Ella,[XXXIV-54] can be followed on the old Spanish maps, but not in our modern ones, even the best; while there are no data hitherto published that afford more than a guess at the tracks of modern explorers after leaving the sea-coast. Mr Gisborne has compiled, or rather copied, the principal part of the map, on which he has shown, _in red_, those portions which he himself saw and was enabled to lay down. No surveyor who reads his _Journal_ and _Report_ can doubt that he has given eye-sketches, aided by compass bearings and estimated distances; but the estimation of a practised eye is not to be undervalued. Dr Cullen can be traced up the Tuyra to Yavisa, and up the Paya; also up the Savana, but no farther inland.

The state of our geographical knowledge of that exceedingly interesting region is the following:

All examinations, all surveys, of the Great Isthmus were made by Spain alone, while she held the country (till the years 1821-31). Very good maps of much of the Spanish territory existed at that time; but they have been copied and recopied by all manner of hands; scales and bearings have been altered, not intentionally, but by mistake; names omitted or misspelled; and absolute longitudes applied erroneously. Thus good original work came to be so deteriorated by its transmutations as to be almost useless.

No surveys need be better than some of the Spanish works undertaken toward the end of the last and during the beginning of this century. Methods and instruments were used by Tofiño, Malaspina, Espinosa, Bauza, Córdova, and others, that were not adopted, if known, by French or English surveyors until afterward. Triangulation without the compass, bases obtained by angular measurements of known objects,[XXXIV-55] and the most perfect style of plan-drawing on true principles, were practised by Spaniards before this century commenced.

The south coast of the Great Isthmus and the interior of Darien were not explored and mapped sufficiently, because of the hostile Indians, and political reasons connected with the gold mines in that district. There was also another source of error in that particular vicinity which has only recently been eliminated; namely, the great difference of longitudes, according to the maps, between places on opposite sides of the Isthmus which are really in the same meridian. This amounted to more than 30 miles along all the coast from Chiriquí to Darien with respect to the corresponding southern coast-line.

Thanks to the far-seeing and indefatigable hydrographer to the admiralty, Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort, the British surveys have included much of the coasts of Central America, and they are now placed in relatively correct positions on our latest maps. Having therefore exact coast-lines, or boundaries, we can avail ourselves more readily of much Spanish interior detail; but it is exceedingly difficult to get at the _original_ works.

A very neatly engraved and _apparently_ complete map of the Isthmus has been lately published at New Orleans by Dr Autenreith, but in reality it is only a copy of Spanish documents and recent surveys made by England; it is not an original work. There are in this country at present more materials for a map of Darien than exist elsewhere. Bauza brought copies of all the Spanish-American documents to this country, with many original maps; but there is still a great extent, nearly all the interior of the Isthmus of Darien, unexamined by the eye of a surveyor.

In the last century (1780), a Spanish party of five engineers and surveyors, under Donoso, escorted by a large body of troops,[XXXIV-56] was stopped by the Indians in the Chucunaque River, and obliged to return without executing their orders to survey the region near Caledonian harbor; and _this_ was the _last_ attempt by Spain, or by _any one_, to make a regular survey of the interior of that part of the Isthmus.

In the valuable collection of Mr Arrowsmith are many Spanish documents, among which one plan, dated 1774, shows all the Spanish establishments, military and religious, as well as mining, at that date, in Darien. Others show details of a previous century, and a few give the earliest settlements of the 16th century.

[Sidenote: INJURY TO TRUTHFUL GEOGRAPHY.]

And here allow one word to be said of the injury to _truthful_ geography, caused by copying all materials without acknowledgment, or by adding imaginary topography without explanation. The map by Dr Autenreith has much the appearance of an exact survey; there is no distinction made between those parts for which there is authority and those which are partly the results of imagination (the interior hill-work).

The public in general being unaware of the _authorities_ for a map, the mere copyist is often supposed to be the _author_ of the work. Maps or charts that are not original ought always to show from what data they have been compiled.

In order to assist in now forming a correct opinion of Darien, a retrospective historical glance at a few points is necessary.

The first settlement in all America was founded in 1509 at the mouth of the Atrato. It was called Santa Maria de la Antigua. The next settlement on the Isthmus was at Acla, or Agla, in 1514, a few miles inland[XXXIV-57] from that port or bay now famed in history and romance, called by Paterson Caledonian Harbor. It was from Agla that Balboa crossed to the South Sea, and that the earliest expeditions to Peru were despatched.

In 1532 these two settlements were abandoned, and their population transferred to Nombre de Dios and Panamá. This is said to have been done on account of the unhealthy site of Santa Maria de la Antigua, surrounded by marshes and mangrove jungles; but why Agla was abandoned does not appear, except by Paterson's narrative, whence it may be inferred that the settlers there were harassed by the Indians, and were too far from the sea-shore. Besides which, as intercourse increased with places on the Pacific coasts it became, no doubt, more convenient to have a principal rendezvous on the southern shore more accessible from the Pacific.

In those early days so famed was Darien for gold, that the province was called 'Golden Castile'[XXXIV-58] (Castilla del Oro). It was the principal portion of that 'tierra firme,' so famed afterward as the 'Spanish Main,' the real 'El Dorado' to which Sir Walter Raleigh went in 1517-18, Sir Francis Drake in 1557, troops of buccaneers in the 17th century, and the Scotch colony in 1698.

Repeated aggressions on this auriferous district, where abundance of gold was procured by black slave labor, after the aborigines had been diminished in numbers by oppressive cruelties, induced Spain to close and abandon the mines for a time (early in the 18th century)—even those famous ones in the mountains of Espíritu Santo near Cana, from which alone more gold went through Panamá in a year than from all the other mines of America taken together. These Cana mines were sacked in 1702 and 1712 by English, in 1724 by French, and by the Indians in 1727. Nevertheless, in 1774 the mining operations were again going on, having been reëstablished a few years previously.

When Cana was taken by the expedition (as narrated by Davis) sent from Jamaica by Colonel Beckford in 1702, there were about '900 houses' (probably most of them mere huts); therefore, the population could hardly have been less than 3,000 at that time. From 1719 to 1727 there was a great and general resistance of the Indians, who attacked the Spaniards in all directions, and drove them out of all the detached settlements. Some years afterward peace was made (in 1740), missions of the Jesuits advanced among the natives, and by their aid not only much topographical knowledge was acquired, but Spanish settlements in the interior were renewed and mines worked. But the Indians again rebelled; therefore, small forts were reëstablished at Yavisa, Molineca, and Santa Maria Real, with a new post (in 1780) at _El Príncipe_, or Ocubti, from which a road was cut by Arisa, leading toward Caledonian Harbor. The fort El Príncipe does not appear in the Spanish MS. map of 1774; it was built about 1785, when the Spaniards had again advanced into the interior Indian territory.

In 1788 Milla de Santa Ella, an officer of Spain, went from Caledonian Harbor to El Príncipe direct by the road then recently opened by the Spaniards; but as he did not think it advisable to return the same way, he went down the Savana, and up the Chucunaque to the Tubuganti and Chueti rivers, whence he crossed to his station at Caledonian Harbor by the same route, undoubtedly, that Paterson traversed on his visit to the Indian great chief at Ponca in 1698.

The examination of no traveller, except Humboldt, previous to 1850, induced a belief that a canal might be cut directly through Darien. Dr Cullen's personal inspection of Caledonian Harbor, and of the Savana River, with their neighborhood, added to the information he obtained orally and by reading, led him to the conclusion that the lowest summit level between those places did not exceed 300 or 400 feet, while it might be very much less. Feeling so confident that a lower level existed, he went there again to explore; but while collecting further information and arranging preliminaries, at Bogotá, the seat of government in New Granada, Mr Gisborne (an engineer employed by Messrs Fox and Henderson) made short excursions from each side of the Isthmus, which satisfied him that the lowest summit level does not exceed 160 feet above the sea.

According to the most authentic map of this district, Mr Arrowsmith's last printed, not yet published, the distance across in a direct line—between deep water on each side—is about 33 miles. The windings of a canal may require nearly a third more, and if so, the whole distance to be canalized is about 40 miles—_a shorter distance than can be found elsewhere_.

Mr Gisborne's examination of the principal features of this line across Darien, however incomplete, is a material advance toward certainty. We have his two bases of operations, at Caledonian Harbor and San Miguel (entrance), nearly determined by recent government surveys, and we have his character as a guaranty for the value of those details which he has given in his _Report_. There may be a few miles of distance to settle, and there may be doubts whether the river near his watershed, or summit level, called by him _Caledonia_, may not be another river, perhaps the Chucunaque, or one of its tributaries; and moreover, that the range of heights supposed by him to separate those rivers is not truly placed, while his river Caledonia (otherwise the Golden River, or Aglatomate) winds through a more northerly area. But these are trifles compared with his barometric measurement of the summit level, and his own overlapping eye-views of the country which he did not traverse.

If indeed the mouth of the Savana be not accurately laid down, or assumed by him, if it be much farther west than he supposed, his surveys may not have overlapped; and he may have looked across two different plains; in which case there may be yet another ridge or watershed beneath the rivers which he actually touched. The expedition employed by our government to survey this coast did not examine the mouths of rivers running into San Miguel. Only the western part of that gulf was examined in continuing the coast line. Hence the position of the Savana may be less accurately known than is generally supposed.

[Sidenote: A HASTY SCRAMBLE.]

It is hardly necessary to remark here that to make independent observations for latitude, longitude, distance, and accurate triangulation requires more time and instruments than can be carried in a hasty scramble through a wild country.

Mr Gisborne's examination of the geology and mineralogy is valuable. Far from discovering any remarkable impediments to cutting a canal, he states that there are _no_ particular engineering difficulties with respect to the _ground_; that there is much stratified shale-rock, easy to quarry, and fit to line a canal. There is abundance of fine timber. Mangrove forests, rather than jungles, surround the waters of the gulf. Densely matted underwood follows on drier ground; and then, on the elevated country, there are magnificent timber-trees very little encumbered by underwood.

Having thus endeavored to take a general view of this question, we may perhaps ask ourselves what are the greatest impediments to the excavation of a canal—impediments exceeding those that would attend any corresponding work in Europe.

Supposing that political arrangements are satisfactorily completed, the claims of other parties compromised or barred, and adequate funds disposable, the only peculiar and important impediments will be two—the natives and the climate. The native or Indian question, as connected with the independence and rights of the aborigines, should be considered deliberately. That the Indians may be overawed and conciliated by proper management, there is no doubt; but their reasonable claims must be satisfied, irrespective of all jurisdiction assumed over them by New Granada—a jurisdiction which the natives of Darien repudiate. Fair dealing, while an overpowering force is in sight, will prevent any attempt to have recourse to arms, or to molest the parties employed about a canal, and would therefore obviate any irritating and probably prolonged guerrilla hostilities.

It is estimated that there are about 5,000 independent Indians on the Isthmus east of Costa Rica. Of these, it may be presumed that there are not 2,000 capable of bearing arms; a small number when dispersed in the highlands between Costa Rica and Chocó, but quite enough to molest small parties of workmen very seriously.

For defensive purposes, as well as for the general order and discipline of very large bodies of laborers, in a wild country, some degree of military organization and an acquiescence in military discipline would seem to be indispensable.

Whether convicts might be employed advantageously may be a subject for grave consideration. In clearing the wood of a tropical forest, and exposing ground to the sun's rays for the first time, much pestilential sickness may be caused, as has been repeatedly proved (at Pulo Penang, Fernando Po, and many other places). It cannot be doubted that convicts would be peculiarly liable to the influence of such diseases, and therefore it might be unwise to make such an experiment. Natives of tropical climates, or Chinese, would probably be able to stand the malaria of newly cleared ground far better than Europeans.

The most formidable, because permanent and irremediable, obstacle is unquestionably the climate. There is no doubt that rain prevails about two thirds of the year, even on the higher grounds of Darien; while it is no less certain that in the gulf of San Miguel (where mangrove jungles bound low, muddy shores, and the great fall of tide exposes extensive mud-banks) there is a continued succession of rains, more or less heavy, except during short intervals. Examine any travellers' accounts, read their narratives—they themselves bear witness to the undeniable fact, although in _general_ terms they may say there is not _so much_ rain, and it is not _so_ unhealthy, as has been supposed.

Many Europeans state they did not suffer, although much and continuously exposed to the rains and heat. Active and temperate men have not found the climate very detrimental. Persons who have had many years' experience there assert that care and regularity will ward off such attacks of fever or dysentery as are common among thoughtless Europeans unaccustomed to tropical regions.

It is possible that the great rise of tide on the south side of the Isthmus may tend to purify the air on its shores, and this effect, in such a place as San Miguel Gulf, may be very beneficial.

On the Atrato, at Chagres, at Portobello, and other notoriously unhealthy places, there is little or no rise of tide; and the air among the mangrove jungles becomes at times pestilential. Seemann, in his _Voyage of the Herald_, recently published, gives so correct a description of such places that it deserves attention. He says (vol. i. p. 249): 'The sea-coast, and those parts influenced by the tides and the immediate evaporation of the sea, produce a quite peculiar vegetation, which is generally characterized by a leathery, glossy foliage, and leaves with entire margins. In all muddy places, down to the verge of the ocean, are impenetrable thickets formed of mangroves, which exhale putrid miasmata, and spread sickness over the adjacent districts. Occasionally, extensive tracts are covered with the "Guagara de puerco," its fronds being as much as 10 feet high. Myriads of mosquitoes and sand-flies fill the air. Huge alligators sun themselves on the slimy banks, lying motionless, blinking with their great eyes, and jumping into the water directly any one approaches. To destroy these dreaded swamps is almost impossible.'

Again (pp. 251, 252), he says: 'Forests cover at least two thirds of the whole territory. The high trees, the dense foliage, and the numerous climbing plants, almost shut out the rays of the sun, causing a gloom which is the more insupportable as all other objects are hidden from view. Rain is so frequent, and the moisture so great, that the burning of these forests is impossible.' 'From reading the highly colored accounts with which many travellers have endeavored to embellish their narratives, the European has drawn, in imagination, a picture of equinoctial countries which a comparison with nature at once demolishes.'

Speaking of the 'vegetable ivory,' and referring to the climate, Mr. Seemann says (p. 222): 'It grows in low, damp localities, and is diffused over the southern parts of Darien and the vicinity of Portobello, districts which are almost throughout the year deluged by torrents of rain, or enveloped in the thick vapor that constantly arises from the humidity of the soil and the rankness of the vegetation.'

Describing the appearance of one of these mangrove forests, as they may be called, the same author observes (p. 73): 'The trees were actually in the water. The tall mangroves, with roots exposed for 12 or 14 feet, formed a huge tangled trellis-work, from which the tall stems rose to a height of 60 or 70 feet.' _Fitzroy's Further Considerations on the Great Isthmus of Cent. Am._ March 1853, in _Jour. Roy. Geog. Soc._, xxiii. 176-87.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: THE LONG-SOUGHT WAY.]

The project of uniting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by a canal large enough to permit the passage of sea vessels has attracted the attention and enlisted the earnest sympathies and efforts of the Old and New World, from the discovery of the Isthmus of Panamá down to the present time. The great historian Prescott says: 'The discovery of a strait into the Indian Ocean was the burden of every order from the government. The discovery of an Indian passage is the true key to the maritime movements of the fifteenth and the first half of the sixteenth centuries.' The desire to discover this passage, which was confidently believed to exist, and thus give to Spain the dominion of the seas, and pour into her treasury all the wealth of that marvellous land of exaggeration, the Spice Islands, sent Columbus, Pizarro, Cortés, Balboa, Gil Gonzalez, and the other Spanish mariners and adventurers, upon their long, arduous, and eventful voyages, and resulted in the discovery, conquest, and settlement of the American continent.

However long the voyage; however great the discovery; however boundless and rich the new countries that were subjected to the Spanish crown; however brilliant the prowess of a chivalrous soldiery—the emperor always asked, 'Have you discovered the way to the Spice Islands?' If not, he was unsatisfied, and the discovery and conquest were robbed of half their value. He was constantly reminding his brave and adventurous mariners that he desired above all things to discover the way to the Spice Islands, and promised great honors and rewards to the fortunate adventurer who should make the discovery. In 1523 the Emperor Charles the Fifth wrote to Cortés, earnestly urging him to search for a shorter way to the 'Indian Land of Spice,' and for a shorter and more direct passage between the eastern and western coasts of Central America. In answer to the emperor, Cortés wrote: 'It would render the king of Spain master of so many kingdoms that he might consider himself lord of the world.' In 1524, in obedience to the emperor's wishes, he fitted out an expedition to discover it. Columbus wrote to the emperor: 'Your Majesty may be assured that as I know how much you have at heart the discovery of the great secret of a strait, I shall postpone all interests and projects of my own for the fulfilment of this great object.' It was for the purpose of making this discovery that Gil Gonzalez fitted out the expedition that resulted in the discovery of Nicaragua.

The interest in the interoceanic communication was not confined to the Spanish emperor, or his adventurous mariners. It extended to the learned men of Spain, and seriously engaged their attention. Francisco Lopez de Gomara, one of the earliest writers on America, in his chapter on 'the possibility of a shorter passage to the Moluccas,' in his work on the _Two Indies_, published in 1551, says: 'The passage would have to be opened across the mainland from one sea to the other, by whichever might prove the most profitable of these four lines; viz., either by the river Lagartos (Chagres), which, rising in Chagres, at a distance of four leagues from Panamá, over which space of territory they proceed in carts, flows to the sea-coast of Nombre de Dios; or by the channel through which the lake of Nicaragua empties into the sea; up and down which (the Rio San Juan) large vessels sail; and the lake is distant only three or four leagues from the sea; by either of these two rivers the passage is already traced and half made. There is likewise another river which flows from Vera Cruz to Tecoantepec, along which the inhabitants of New Spain (Mexico) tow and drag barks from one sea to the other. The distance from Nombre de Dios to Panamá is seventeen leagues, and from the gulf of Urabá to the gulf of San Miguel twenty-five, which are the two most difficult lines.' Cortés was in favor of the first of these routes, Gil Gonzalez of the second, and Pizarro of the third. Herrera, royal historiographer of Spain, writing of the events of 1527, refers to the routes via Nicaragua and Panamá, and the possibility of other connections between the two oceans. Martin Behaim, a geographer of Nuremberg, Germany, was probably the first who suggested the possibility of a natural communication between the Atlantic and Pacific. So Magellan stated in his memorial of November 28, 1520, to the court of Valladolid, asking permission to search for such a channel. It was granted, an expedition was fitted out, and he discovered the Straits of Magellan, bearing his name.

Soon after the discovery of Nicaragua by Gil Gonzalez, it was declared and believed by many that there existed a navigable channel, connecting Lake Nicaragua with the Pacific, and that vessels would be enabled to pass from one ocean to the other. But no systematic attempt was made to ascertain the truth of this conjecture until 1529, when Pedrarias de Ávila, then governor of Nicaragua, sent an expedition of soldiers and Indians, under Martin Este, to explore lakes Nicaragua and Managua; when they had penetrated into a province called Voto, a little north of Lake Managua, they were attacked by a large body of Indians, and compelled to return. They reported that they saw from a mountain top a large body of water (doubtless the gulf of Fonseca), which they supposed to be another lake. Don Diego Machuca soon afterward fitted out another expedition in the same year, which he accompanied and commanded. It resulted in the discovery of the river San Juan as the true outlet of the lakes. He sailed down that river to the Atlantic. Machuca Rapids take their name from him.

[Sidenote: OVIEDO'S ACCOUNT.]

Oviedo says that in 1540, at St Domingo, he met Pedro Cora, a pilot who had been attached to the expedition of Martin Este, and subsequently to that of Captain Diego Machuca. He gives a long and interesting account of the second expedition, as narrated to him by Cora. Cora said that at the port of Nombre de Dios he met with some old friends who had built a felucca and brigantine on the shores of Lake Nicaragua at an expense of several thousand dollars. Among them was Diego Machuca, who had been commandant of the country of the Tenderí, and of the district about Lake Masaya. They embarked on these vessels on Lake Nicaragua for the purpose of exploring it. Captain Machuca, with two hundred men, advanced along the shore, keeping in sight of the boats, which were accompanied by several canoes. After some days they entered the San Juan River, and passed down to where its waters appeared to flow into the sea. Being ignorant of their locality, they followed the sea-coast in an easterly direction, and finally arrived at Nombre de Dios, where the pilot Cora met them. They were arrested at this place by Doctor Robles, who desired to found a colony at the mouth of the San Juan River, and thus reap the benefit of their labor and discoveries, 'as is the custom,' says Oviedo, 'with these men of letters; for the use they do make of their wisdom is rather to rob than to render justice.' For this outrage he was deprived of his office. The pilot, though strongly importuned, refused to tell Oviedo where the river emptied into the ocean.

Oviedo says: 'I do not regard the lakes as separate, because they connect, the one with the other. They are separated from the South Sea by a very narrow strip of land.... This lake (Nicaragua) is filled with excellent fish. But what proves that they are both one lake is the fact that they equally abound in sea fish and turtles. Another proof is, that in 1529 there was found in the province of Nicaragua, on the banks of this lake, a fish never seen except in the sea, and called the sword-fish. I have seen some of these fish of so great size that two oxen attached to a cart could hardly draw them.... The one found on the shores of this lake was small, being only about twelve feet in length.... The water of the lake is very good and healthful, and a large number of small rivers and brooks empty into it. In some places the great lake is fifteen or twenty fathoms deep, and in other places it is scarce a foot in depth; so that it is not navigable in all parts, but only in the middle, and with barks specially constructed for that purpose.... It has a large number of islands of some extent, covered with flocks and precious woods. The largest is eight leagues in circumference, and is inhabited by Indians. It is very fertile, filled with deer and rabbits, and named Ometepec, which signifies _two mountains_. It formerly contained a population much more numerous than now, divided into eight or ten villages. The mountain in this island toward the east (Madeira) is lowest; the other (Ometepec) is so high that its summit is seldom seen. I passed a night at a farm belonging to a gentleman called Diego Mora, situated on the mainland'—probably near the site of Virgin Bay. 'The keeper told me that during the two years he had been in that place he had seen the summit but once, because it was covered with clouds.'[XXXIV-59] There are many evidences that the channel of the San Juan River was once much deeper and freer from rapids and obstructions than it is at present. At one time, sea vessels passed regularly up and down the river. It would be impossible for them to do so now. The river is too shallow, and the rapids are too many and difficult. In 1648 a Spanish brig from Carthagena (de la Indias) arrived at Granada, and discharged her cargo, reloaded, and started on her return. On her voyage back, the river was found unnavigable at one point, and the vessel returned to Granada; the cargo was taken out, and the ship laid up, and finally broken to pieces. Thomas Gage, an English monk, who visited Nicaragua in 1665, says that vessels often arrived at Granada, from South America, Spain, and Cuba, and reloaded and returned to those countries by way of the San Juan River and Lake Nicaragua.

In 1781 Manuel Galisteo, by order of the Spanish government, examined the country, and carefully surveyed a route for a canal between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific. He estimated the level of the lake above the Pacific to be one hundred and thirty-four feet. The route selected by him was from the mouth of the Rio Lajas in the lake to San Juan del Sur. Early in the present century, a survey was made by an engineer name Thompson, of which we have no details, further than that he adopted the report made by Galisteo.

In 1837 Mr Baily was employed by the federal government of Central America, and made a careful survey of a route for the canal. He spent much time and a considerable sum of money in making the surveys, but was never paid for his services. Dr Andreas Örsted, of Copenhagen, made a survey in 1848, and published a map of the country. He selected the bay of Bolaños, thirteen and a half miles from Lake Nicaragua, as the Pacific terminus of the canal. In 1851 Colonel Childs, an Englishman, made a thorough survey and estimate of the whole work. He selected Brito as the Pacific terminus. According to his estimates, the actual length of water navigation, including the San Juan River and Lake Nicaragua, would be one hundred and ninety-four and one half miles. He submitted his plan and surveys to the British government, by which it was referred to James Walker and Edward Aldrich, royal engineers, who reported unfavorably. The plan and reports were then laid before a committee of English capitalists, with the purpose of raising the necessary capital for the work. But after a careful investigation, the committee declined to recommend the enterprise, believing it would be unprofitable, and more for the benefit of the United States than of Great Britain. This survey, and the action of the British government upon it, furnish strong confirmation of the general opinion, as to the purpose of that government, in seizing Greytown and the bay of Fonseca. A survey was made in 1850 by the Central American Transit Company.

After the independence of the Central American states had been established, Manuel Antonio de la Cerda, afterward governor of Nicaragua, represented to the federal congress, in July 1823, the urgent necessity for opening the canal without delay. But no action was then taken in the matter. During the next year several propositions relative to the construction of the canal were made to the federal government by parties in Europe. Barclay & Co., of London, made a proposition, on the 18th of September, 1824, to open a canal, between the Atlantic and Pacific, by way of the San Juan River and Lake Nicaragua, at their own cost, if the government would assist them in certain particulars. On the 2d of February, 1825, Charles Bourke and Matthew Llanos addressed a communication to the government, stating that in the preceding December they had sent an armed brig with a party of engineers to Greytown, to survey the route, and praying that they might be granted: 1. An exclusive proprietorship and control of the canal; 2. An exclusive right to navigate the lakes and dependent waters by steam; 3. Free permission to use all natural products of the country necessary for the work; 4. Exemption from duty for the goods and materials introduced by the company during the pendency of the work. They offered to pay the government twenty per cent on the tolls received, and to surrender the work at the end of a certain number of years.

[Sidenote: MR. CLAY'S ASSURANCE.]

On the 8th of February, 1825, Don Antonio José Cañas, then minister from the federal government to the United States, addressed a communication to Henry Clay, then secretary of state, upon the subject of the canal, soliciting the coöperation of our government in the work, upon the ground that 'its noble example had been a model and protection to all the Americas,' and entitled it to a preference over any other nation in the 'merits and advantages of the proposed undertaking.' He proposed by means of a treaty to effectually secure its advantages to the two nations. Mr Clay instructed Colonel John Williams, U. S. chargé d'affaires in Central America, to assure that government of the great interest taken by the United States in an undertaking 'so highly calculated to diffuse a favorable influence on the affairs of mankind,' and to carefully investigate the facilities afforded by the route, and transmit the intelligence acquired to our government. Colonel Williams never made any report of his action under these instructions.

During the year 1825, many other propositions for the construction of the canal were received by the federal government from Europe. The attention of the government was thus strongly attracted to the importance and value of the proposed canal, both as affording a considerable revenue to the government, and aiding in the settlement of the country, and development of its resources. In June 1825, the federal congress passed a decree defining the terms and conditions upon which the canal might be constructed. Another decree, published at the same time, fixed the period of six months for receiving proposals for the work. The time was much too short, and but few offers were received. Among them was one from Mr Baily, the surveyor, as agent for the English house of Barclay, Herring, Richardson, & Co., which was conditional, and one from Charles Beninske for Aaron H. Palmer, of New York, which was accepted. The contractors, under the name of 'The Central American and United States Atlantic and Pacific Canal Company,' agreed to open a canal through Nicaragua, which should be navigable for large ships, and to deposit two hundred thousand dollars in the city of Granada, within six months, for the preliminary expenses of the work; to erect fortifications for its protection; and to commence work within one year. The contractors were to receive two thirds of the tolls from the canal until they had been reimbursed for the full cost of the work, with ten per cent interest; afterwards to have one half of the proceeds for seven years, with the right to introduce steam-vessels. The government agreed to place at their disposal all the documents in its possession relating to the canal; to furnish laborers at certain wages; and to permit the cutting and use of the timber in the country. If the canal was not completed, all the work done was to be forfeited to the government. This contract was dated June 14, 1826. The contractors had not sufficient capital for the construction of the canal, and failing to obtain it in New York, addressed a memorial to the United States congress, praying the assistance of the government in their work, which they represented to be of national importance. The memorial was referred to a committee, but never reported on. The enterprise excited considerable attention in New York, and the grant obtained from the federal government of Central America was believed to be valuable. Mr Palmer executed a deed of trust to De Witt Clinton, Stephen Van Renssalaer, C. D. Clinton, Phillip Hone, and Lynde Catlin, constituting them directors of the company which was being organized for the construction of the canal. Mr Palmer went to England in 1827, and endeavored, but without success, to obtain the coöperation of English capitalists. All his efforts were ineffectual, the necessary capital could not be raised, and the enterprise was abandoned. Mr Clay, then secretary of state, earnestly advocated the construction of the canal, believing it would be of great advantage to this country.

In 1828 an association of capitalists in the Netherlands, under the patronage of the king of Holland, undertook the construction of the canal. In 1829 the king sent General Verveer, as plenipotentiary to Guatemala, with special instructions relative to the canal. In October of the same year, commissioners were appointed by the federal government to confer with General Verveer, and on the 24th of July, 1830, they agreed upon a plan, which was to be laid before the federal congress for its approval. The conditions were much the same as in the contract with Mr Palmer. The revolution in Belgium, and the separation of Holland, terminated this enterprise. The federal congress had been stimulated to greater anxiety for the construction of the canal by these various proposals and contracts, and believing that there was more likelihood of its being made by the Dutch company than any other, in 1832 made ineffectual efforts to renew negotiations with Holland for reviving that company, and enabling it to complete its contract.

In the mean time, the efforts and representations of Mr Clay, De Witt Clinton, and other distinguished men had awakened public interest in the people and government of the United States in the proposed canal, and convinced them that it was important that our government should, if possible, control the work, and reap the benefits and advantages which it was believed would result to our commerce from it. On the 3d of March, 1835, the United States senate adopted a resolution, requesting the president to consider the expediency of opening negotiations with the Central American states and New Granada for protecting by treaty stipulations companies undertaking to open a canal across the Isthmus, connecting the two oceans, and of securing its free and equal navigation to all nations. By virtue of this resolution, President Jackson appointed Charles Biddle, and directed him to go to San Juan del Norte, and thence across the Isthmus to the Pacific, by the proposed route; to proceed to Guatemala, the capital, and with the aid of Mr De Witt Clinton, U. S. chargé d'affaires, obtain all public papers, and copies of the laws passed, and all papers and information relating to the canal. He was also to go to Panamá, and ascertain all about that route. Mr Biddle did not go to Nicaragua, and died soon after his return to the United States. His mission was a failure.

[Sidenote: ACTION OF THE GOVERNMENT.]

The government of Central America now determined to survey the route for the canal, and thus demonstrate to the world its practicability. In 1837 President Morazan employed Mr John Baily to survey the route, which he did, as already stated. In 1838 a convention between Nicaragua and Honduras authorized Peter Bouchard to make an agreement in France for the organization of a company to construct the canal. He did not succeed in accomplishing anything. Don Jorge Viteri, bishop of San Salvador, was sent as ambassador to Rome, and make like efforts, but without success. In the same year, a company of Americans in New York and New Orleans sent Mr George Holdship to Central America. He made a contract with Nicaragua, which had seceded from the federal republic, for the construction of a canal, the establishment of a bank, and the introduction of colonists. This scheme was extensive, but amounted to nothing, as the enterprise was soon abandoned.

In 1838, Aaron Clark, Herman Leroy, William A. Duer, Matthew Carey, and William Radcliff, citizens of New York and Philadelphia, addressed a memorial to congress, representing the necessity for the opening of the interoceanic canal. It was referred to a committee, of which Hon. Charles F. Mercer was chairman, who, upon the 2d of March, 1839, reported upon it, recommending the following resolution, which was adopted:

'_Resolved_, That the president of the United States be requested to consider the expediency of opening or continuing negotiations with the governments of other nations; and particularly with those the territorial jurisdiction of which comprehends the Isthmus of Panamá, and to which the United States have accredited ministers or agents, for the purpose of ascertaining or effecting a communication between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, by the construction of a ship-canal; and of securing forever, by suitable treaty stipulations, the free and equal rights of navigating such canal to all nations, on the payment of reasonable tolls.' The president and senate, acting under this resolution, negotiated and made a treaty between the United States and New Granada, by which our government guaranteed the neutrality of the Isthmus, and New Granada conceded a free transit across it. The Panamá Railroad Company was organized by virtue of this treaty; and, as we all know, the existing railroad across the Isthmus was built by them; with what labor, and cost in money and human life, it is foreign to our purpose to inquire.

Between the years 1838 and 1844, Central America was distracted by civil wars, and all action relative to the canal was suspended. In 1844, Don Francisco Castellon, minister from the republic of Nicaragua to France, made a contract with a Belgian company, acting under the patronage of the king of Belgium, for the construction of the canal. But this contract was as unsuccessful as its predecessors. In 1846, Mr Marcoleta, Nicaraguan chargé d'affaires to Belgium, made a contract with Louis Napoleon (the present French emperor), then a prisoner at Ham, for its construction. With his characteristic vanity, he stipulated that it should be called 'Canal Napoleon de Nicaragua.' Napoleon wrote and published a pamphlet in London, upon the subject, and made a feeble attempt to awaken the attention of capitalists, but without success. His pamphlet had only a limited circulation, but was afterward republished by M. Belly. On the 16th of February, 1849, William Wheelright made a proposition in behalf of an English company for the construction of the canal, but it was not acted upon.

On the 14th of March, 1849, Mr D. T. Brown, in behalf of certain citizens of New York, and General Muñoz, commissioner for Nicaragua, entered into a contract for the construction of a canal, but it was neither ratified by the executive of that republic nor by the company in New York, within the stipulated time. The seizure of Greytown by the English, in 1848, and the pretext of a Mosquito protectorate, were rightly regarded by the Nicaraguan government and our own, as directed to obtaining command and permanent control and dominion over the only possible route for an interoceanic canal.

On the 21st of June, 1849, Mr Hise, U. S. chargé d'affaires to Nicaragua, concluded a convention with commissioners appointed by that republic, giving the United States a perpetual right of way through that republic, of erecting forts, and protecting the transit. This convention was not approved by our own government, or by that of Nicaragua. On the 4th of March, 1850, General Taylor was inaugurated president of the United States, and soon after sent Mr E. G. Squier to Central America to supersede Mr Hise, as chargé d'affaires to Guatemala, with special commissions to the other states of Central America, "with full power to treat with them separately on all matters affecting their relations with this republic." Upon his arrival in Nicaragua, Mr Squier found an agent of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and others of New York, who was endeavoring to obtain a grant from that government for the construction of a canal. The government was at first indisposed to listen to his overtures, until assured by Mr Squier that the United States government would guarantee any charter, not inconsistent with our public policy, that might be granted by Nicaragua.

On the 27th of August, 1850, a contract was signed between the government of Nicaragua and the agent of the New York company, and afterward ratified on the 23d of September following, containing the following provisions, viz.:

1. That the American Atlantic and Pacific Ship Canal Company may construct a ship-canal, at its own expense, from San Juan to Realejo, or any other point within the territory of Nicaragua, on the Pacific, and make use of all lands, waters, or natural materials of the country for the enterprise.

2. The canal shall be large enough to admit vessels of all sizes.

3. The grant is for eighty-five years from the completion of the work; the surveys to be commenced within twelve months; the work to be completed within twelve years, unless interrupted by unforeseen events. If not completed within the stipulated time, the charter will be forfeited, and all work done shall revert to the state. At the end of eighty-five years the canal shall revert to the state; the company, nevertheless, shall receive fifteen per cent annually of the net profits for ten years thereafter, if the entire cost of the canal does not exceed twenty million dollars; but if it does, then it shall receive the same percentage for twenty years thereafter.

4. The company to pay the state ten thousand dollars per annum, during the progress of the work, and to give it two hundred thousand dollars of the capital stock, and to pay twenty per cent of the net profits for twenty years, and twenty-five per cent thereafter.

[Sidenote: FURTHER CONTRACT PROVISIONS.]

5. The company to have the exclusive right to navigate the interior waters of Nicaragua by steam, and within twelve years to open any land or other route, by means of transit or conveyance across the state, and pay ten per cent of the net profits of such transit to the state, and transport on such transit, and the canal, when finished, the officers and employés of the republic free of charge.

6. The canal to be open to the vessels of all nations.

7. The contract and the rights and privileges conceded by it to be held inalienably by the individuals composing the company.

8. All disputes shall be settled by commissioners appointed in a specified manner.

9. All machinery and other articles introduced by the company into the state, for its own use, to enter free of duty; and all persons in its employ to enjoy all the privileges of citizenship, without being subject to taxation or military service.

10. The state concedes to the company, for purposes of colonization, eight sections of land, on the line of the canal, in the valley of the river San Juan, each six miles square, and at least three miles apart, with the right of alienating the same under certain reservations. All settlers on these lands to be subject to the laws of the republic, being, however, for ten years exempt from all taxes and from all public service so soon as each colony shall contain fifty settlers.

On the same day Mr Squier negotiated a treaty with Nicaragua, which provided that citizens, vessels, and merchandise of the United States should be exempt from duty in the ports of Nicaragua; and that citizens of the United States should have a right of way through the republic. The government of the United States agreed to protect the company in the full enjoyment of its rights from the inception to the termination of its grant. The rights, privileges, and immunities granted to the government and citizens of the United States shall not accrue to any other government, unless it first enter into the same treaty stipulations with Nicaragua as the United States has done. This treaty was ratified by the Nicaraguan legislative chambers on the 23d of September following, but was not acted upon by the United States senate, to which it was sent by President Taylor. This treaty was opposed by the British minister at Washington, who energetically exerted himself to secure its defeat.

The Clayton-Bulwer treaty between the United States and England guaranteed the neutrality of the canal, and both governments agreed to protect any company undertaking the work. The object of our government in this convention was to put an end to the Mosquito protectorate.

In August 1850 the company sent a party of engineers from New York to Nicaragua to survey a route from Lake Nicaragua to the Pacific, near the line taken by Galisteo and Baily. Soon afterwards the steamer _Director_ was sent from New York to Lake Nicaragua, and smaller boats were sent to the San Juan River. A new road was opened to the Pacific from Virgin Bay on the lake to San Juan del Sur. A line of steamers was established from New York to Greytown, and from San Juan del Sur to San Francisco.

The new contract made with United States citizens, and ratified and enforced by treaty with our own government, was not consistent with the wishes or policy of Great Britain, but the generosity of our government in throwing open the proposed canal to all nations disarmed hostile criticism, and deprived Europe of any pretext for opposition or protest. It quickened England into new energy, in the assertion of her claims under the Mosquito protectorate. On the 15th of August, 1850, the British consular representative in Central America addressed a note to the Nicaraguan government, in which he stated the boundary claimed by his government as follows: 'The undersigned, her Britannic Majesty's chargé d'affaires in Central America, with this view, has the honor to declare to the minister of foreign relations of the supreme government of Nicaragua, that the general boundary line of the Mosquito territory begins at the northern extremity of the boundary line between the district of Tegucigalpa in Honduras, and the jurisdiction of New Segovia; and after following the northern frontiers of New Segovia it runs along the south-eastern limits of the district of Matagalpa and Chontales, and thence in an easterly course, until it reaches the Machuca Rapids, to the river San Juan.' If this boundary line had been allowed, as claimed, it would have placed the only possible route for the proposed canal in the occupation and control of Great Britain. _Daniel Cleveland's Across the Nicaragua Transit_, MS., 118-42.

INDEX.

A

Aa, P. V., works of, ii. 745-6.

Abibeiba, Cacique, domain of, invaded, 1512, i. 352.

Ábrego, F., bishop of Pan., 1569-74, ii. 474-5.

Acajutla, battle of, 1524, i. 670-3.

Acala, province, Dominicans in, 1550-5, ii. 360; invasion of, ii. 365.

'Accessory Transit Company,' mention of, iii. 341-2; iii. 667-8.

Acla, name, i. 418; founding of, 1515, i. 418; massacre at, 1516, i. 441; town of, laid out, i. 441; abandoned, ii. 396.

Acosta, J., 'Compendio,' ii. 62.

Agriculture, in Cent. Amer., iii. 650-5.

Aguado, J., commissioner of inquiry, 1494, i. 176.

Aguilar, E., president of Salv., 1846, iii. 291-2.

Aguilar, Friar G. de, shipwreck, etc., of, 1512, i. 350; rescue, 1519, i. 350.

Aguilar, G. de, bravery of, i. 688-9.

Aguilar, M., revolt of, 1811, iii. 12-13; mission of, 1828, iii. 180; jefe of C. R., 1837-8, iii. 183.

Aguilar, V., revolt of, 1811, iii. 12-13; vice-president of C. R., 1859, iii. 373.

Ahuachapan, siege of, 1876, iii. 403-5.

Ahzumanche, Prince, death of, i. 637.

Aillon, L. V. de, exped. of, 1520, i. 138; 1523, i. 142-3.

Alarcon, H. de, exped. of, 1540, i. 153.

Albites, D. de, mission to Nicuesa, 1510, i. 331-3; exped. of, 1515, i. 404-5; battle with Darien Indians, 1516, i. 425; further expeditions, i. 429-30, 471; founds Nombre de Dios, i. 471; in command at Natá, i. 508; gov. of Hond., 1532, ii. 155; death, ii. 155.

Albuquerque, A. de, voyage of, 1503, i. 121.

Alcaine, M., intercession of, 1855, iii. 261.

Alcalde, office of, i. 297-8.

Alcántara, M. de, death of, ii. 41.

Alcazaba, S. de, exped. of, 1534, i. 150.

Alcedo y Herrera, D. de, gov. of Pan., ii. 584.

Alderete, ——, gov. of Pan., 1725-30, ii. 583.

Alfaro, F., revolt of, 1842, iii. 219.

Alfaro, J. M., jefe of C. R., 1842, iii. 224, 226; 1846, iii. 227-8.

Almagro, D. de, joins Pedrarias' exped., 1514, i. 391; character, etc., of, ii. 3-4; Pizarro's exped. to Peru, ii. 4-8, 19, 35-40; death, ii. 40.

Almagro, D. de jun., assassination of Pizarro, ii. 40-1; execution of, ii. 42.

Almansa, F., mention of, iii. 38.

Altamirano, Friar D., advice to Cortés, i. 580-1.

Altamirano, J. C., bishop of Guat., 1611-15, ii. 664.

Alvarado, D. de, exped. of, 1530, ii. 121.

Alvarado, G. de, battle of Tacuxcalco, 1524, i. 673; capture of Mixco, 1525, i. 687; conquest of the Mames, 1525, i. 695-702; revolt caused by, ii. 79-80.

Alvarado, J. de, gov. of Guat., 1527, ii. 95, 104-5; executor of P. de Alvarado, ii. 207-8.

Alvarado, P. de, conquest of Guat., 1522-4, i. 617-62; of Itzcuintlan, 1524, i. 663-5; invasion of Salv., i. 669-76; the Cackchiquel revolts, 1525-6, i. 681-92; ii. 74-85; conquest of the Mames, i. 695-702; exped. to Peru, ii. 38-9, 122-30; return to Mex., ii. 85-6; trial of, ii. 100-4; marriage, ii. 102; return to Guat., 1530, ii. 116-17; residencia, etc., of, ii. 131-2; exped. to Hond., 1535-6, ii. 160-5; 1539, ii. 296-9; departs for Spain, ii. 165; crown grant to, 1538, ii. 203; exped. of, 1539-41, ii. 203-7; death, ii. 207; will, ii. 207-9; character, ii. 209-11; offspring, ii. 211-12.

Álvarez, Gen. M., capture, etc., of Walker, 1860, iii. 364.

Alzayaga, J. de, exped. of, 1696, ii. 685-6.

Alzuru, Col, revolt, etc., of, 1831, iii. 514.

Amar y Borbon, A., viceroy of New Gran., 1803, iii. 491.

Amatique Bay, discovery of, ii. 650.

Amedzaga, J. H. de, gov. of Pan., 1711-16, ii. 583.

America, aborigines of, i. 59-68; sighted by Biarne, 986, i. 76; discovery of claimed by Arabs, 1147, i. 78; name of, i. 291-2.

'American Coast Pilot', ii. 758.

Amézqueta, B. de, exped. of, 1696, ii. 686-7.

Anacaona, Queen, execution of, i. 259-60.

Añaquito, battle of, 1546, ii. 254.

Andagoya, P. de, exped. to Birú, 1522, i. 139, 502-3; joins Pedrarias, i. 391; works, etc., of, i. 503-4; ii. 247.

Andrés, Cacique, guide to Sharp's exped., 1680, ii. 520-3.

Angel, Doña M., imposture, etc., of, 1712, ii. 697-701.

Angulo, Father, bishop of Vera Paz, 1559, ii. 374.

Añino, U., gov. of Pan., 1854, iii. 518; protest of, iii. 518-19.

Aniñon, F. de, memorial of, ii. 398-9.

Anson, Capt. G., exped. of, 1739-44, ii. 592-3.

Antigua, founded by Enciso, 1510, i. 327-8; Balboa in command at, i. 328-30, 338-57; Nicuesa at, i. 334-5; factions in, i. 338-40; growth of, i. 341; prosperity of, i. 385; ranked as a city, 1514, i. 391; scarcity at, i. 396; Indian outbreaks near, 1522, i. 476; abandoned, 1521-4, i. 499.

Antonelli, Surveyor J. G., rept of, ii. 399.

Apaneca, battle of, 1876, iii. 403-4.

Apochpalon, Cacique, meeting with Cortés, etc., 1524, i. 547-50, 557.

'Appendix to Sharp's South Sea Waggoner,' MS., ii. 758.

Aquino, A., revolt of, 1833, iii. 168.

Arada, battle of, 1850, iii. 279-80.

Arana, Licentiate T. I. de, rept of, ii. 707.

Aransivia y Sasi, S. de, gov. of Nic., 1721, ii. 607.

Arbolancha, P. de, Balboa's envoy to Spain, 1514, i. 384-5; delay of, i. 392; reception, i. 393.

Arce, M. J., imprisonment of, iii. 20; defeats Padilla, iii. 58; president of Nic., 1825, iii. 80; rule, iii. 82-94; 'Memoria,' iii. 107; defeat of, 1832, iii. 113; pacification of Nic., 1825, iii. 172; invasion of Salv., 1844, iii. 190-1.

'Archives of the Indies,' i. 195-6.

Arellano, J. R. de, bishop of Guat., 1601, ii. 663-4.

Argüello, F. de, aids Balboa, i. 441, 450; execution of, 1517, i. 457-9.

Argüello, J., vice-jefe of Nic., 1825, iii. 173; contest with Cerda, iii. 174.

Aguilar, V., execution of Mora, 1860, iii. 376; death of, iii. 376.

Arias, C., provis. president of Hond., 1872-4, iii. 457-60.

Arias, G., exped. of, 1529, ii. 109.

Aristocrats, attitude, etc., of, in Guat., 1848, iii. 274-6, 281.

Ariza, Don A. de, 'Comentas,' ii. 481; gov. of Pan., 1774, ii. 582.

Ariza y Torres, Capt. R., revolt of, 1823, iii. 72-3.

Aizpuru, Gen. R., revolt of, 1873, iii. 538; revolution of, 1875, iii. 541-2; 1878, iii. 543; president of Pan., iii. 542; occupation of Pan., 1885, iii. 554; arrest, etc., of, iii. 554-5.

Armies, of Cent. Amer., iii. 645-9.

Arosemena, M., works, etc., of, iii. 489.

Arrazola, affair at, 1827, iii. 91.

Arteaga, B. de, storming of Mixco, 1525, i. 691.

Arteaga y Avendaño, J. de, bishop of Chiap., etc., 1538, ii. 330; death, ii. 330.

Arzú, Brigadier M., exped. of, 1822, iii. 60-1; operations of, 1828, iii. 94.

Asamblea Nacional Constituyente, see Congress, Central American.

Aspinwall, see Colon.

Astaburuaga, F. S., 'Repúblicas de Centro-América,' iii. 361.

Atahualpa, Inca, Pizarro's invasion, ii. 19-20; capture, etc., of, ii. 21-32; ransom, ii. 32-6; execution, ii. 36-8.

Atiquipac, Alvarado at, 1524, i. 666.

Atitlan, enslavement of natives in, ii. 234-5.

Atlacatl, King, submission of, 1524, i. 674.

Audiencias, description of, i. 270-3.

Audiencia of the Confines, establd. 1543, ii. 241; jurisd. ii. 241; personnel, ii. 301; seat of the, ii. 301, 310, 370, 400; iii. 326; dispute with Las Casas, etc., ii. 303-7; dissensions, 1696-1702, ii. 661-3.

Audiencia of Los Reyes, establd. 1543, ii. 241; jurisd. ii. 241.

Audiencia of Panamá, establd. 1533, ii. 57; jurisd., etc., ii. 57-8, 585; abolished, 1533, ii. 241; reëstabld. ii. 464.

Audiencia of Santo Domingo, establd. 1526, i. 269; personnel, i. 269-70; jurisd. i. 270.

Aury, Commodore, capture of Trujillo, 1820, iii. 24-5.

Ávalos, J. de, exped. of, 1525, i. 571-2.

Avendaño, Father A. de, mission to the Itzas, 1695, ii. 689-90.

Avendaño, D. de, president of Guat., 1642-9, ii. 653.

Aycinena, M., jefe of Guat., 1827, iii. 150-2.

Aycinena, P., acting president of Guat., 1865, iii. 413.

Ayora, J. de., exped. of, 1514, i. 396-402; outrages of, i. 399-402; escape, i. 402.

Ayuntamientos, functions, etc., of, iii. 8-10; votes of on union with Mex., 1821, iii. 53-4.

Ayza, J. de, gov. of Nic., ii. 608.

Azmitia, J. A., cabinet minister, 1845, iii. 268-9, 272.

B

Bacalar, fort built at, ii. 625.

Bachicao, H., exped. to Pan., ii. 254-5.

Bachiller, definition, etc., of word, i. 297.

Badajoz, Capt. G. de, joins Pedrarias' exped. 1514, i. 390; exped. of, 1515, i. 412-17; defeat, i. 415-17; meeting with Espinosa, i. 420-1.

Badillo, J. de, exped., etc., of, 1537, ii. 54-7.

Balboa, V. N. de, character, i. 324, 454-5; early career, i. 324-5; gov. of Antigua, i. 329-30, 338-56; diplomacy, etc., of, i. 338-40; exped. against Careta, i. 354-6; visit to Comagre, i. 347-9; Panciaco's story, i. 347-8; exped. to Dabaiba, 1512, i. 351-2; defeats confederated tribes, i. 353; charges against, i. 356-7; crosses the Isthmus of Darien, i. 358-74; defeats Porque, i. 363-4; discovers the South Sea, etc., 1513, i. 129, 364-73; encounter with Chiapes, i. 369; canoe voyage of, i. 374-5; Tumaco's story, etc., i. 375-7; return to Antigua, i. 378-84; pacifies Teoca, i. 378; cruelty to Poncra, i. 379-80; Pocorosa's statement, i. 381; captures Tubanamá, i. 381-3; sickness at Comagre, i. 383; spoils of exped., i. 384-5; superseded by Pedrarias, 1514, i. 393-4; trial of, i. 395; exped., 1515, i. 406-7; feud with Dávila, i. 432-3, 437; capt.-gen. of Coiba and Pan., i. 435; betrothal, i. 439; reëstablishes Acla, 1516, i. 441; ship-building on the Balsas, 1517, i. 441-5; at the Pearl Islands, i. 445-52; fate of, forecast, i. 447-8; arrest of, i. 452-3; trial, i. 456-7; execution, 1517, i. 457-9.

Balsas, Rio de las, ship-building on the, 1517, i. 442-5.

Barahona, Admiral J. de, naval combat off Pan., 1680, ii. 535-7.

Barbacoas, Morgan at, 1671, ii. 499.

Barillas, M. L., president of Guat., 1886, iii. 451-2; cabinet, iii. 452.

Barker, A., exped. to Hond., 1576, ii. 637-8.

Barranco, ——, bishop of Hond., 1811-19, iii. 631.

Barrientos, Vicar P. de, mention of, 1576, ii. 374.

Barriere, P., proceedings of, iii. 45.

Barrionuevo, Capt. F. de, gov. of Castilla del Oro, ii. 46, 51.

Barrios, Gen. G., defence of Leon, 1844, iii. 199; at San Miguel, iii. 201; operations of, 1857, iii. 300; pronunciamiento, etc., of, iii. 301; coup d'état, iii. 302; president of Salv., iii. 302; operations, 1863, iii. 304-6; besieged at San Salv., iii. 306; capture and execution, 1865, iii. 307.

Barrios, J. R., revolution of, 1871, iii. 419-24; president of Guat., 1873-85, iii. 429-49; invasion of Salv., 1876, iii. 402-5; 1885, iii. 409-10; efforts for confed. of Cent. Amer., 1883-5, iii. 442-9; quarrel with Soto, 1883, iii. 467-8; character, iii. 431-2; attempted assassination of, iii. 443-4; death, 1885, iii. 410, 449.

Barrios y Leal, president of Guat., 1688-95, ii. 659-61; exped. of, 1695, ii. 682-4; death, ii. 685.

Barroeta, R., vice-president of C. R., 1872, iii. 381-2.

Barrundia, J. F., imprisonment, etc., of, iii. 18-19; revolutionary measures, iii. 33, 86-7; jefe of Guat., 1824, iii. 146; rule, iii. 146-8; president, 1829, iii. 102; rule, iii. 102-12; negotiations with Carrera, iii. 129-30.

Baskerville, Sir T., defeat of, 1595, ii. 422.

Bastidas, R. de, exped., etc., of, 1500-2, i. 114, 183-94; biog., i. 195.

Battles, Tonalá, 1524, i. 628; Xelahuh, 1524, i. 639-41; Acajutla, 1524, i. 670-3; Tacuxcalco, 1524, i. 673-4; Iztapa, 1524, ii. 216-17; Canales, 1526, ii. 83; Patinamit, 1526, ii. 84; Panamá, 1671, ii. 504-6; Villanueva, 1838, iii. 135-6; Arada, 1850, iii. 279-80; Santa Ana, 1871, iii. 395-6; Apaneca, 1876, iii. 403-4; Pasaquina, 1876, iii. 404; Naranjo, 1876, iii. 462.

Bay Islands, colony of, establd. 1850, iii. 319.

Bayano, ——, campaign of, ii. 387-8.

Bazan, J. de V., gov. of Pan., ii. 479; rule, ii. 479-80.

Beatriz, Doña, grief of, ii. 311-12; gov. of Guat., 1541, ii. 312-13; death, ii. 317.

Becerra, F., exped. of, destroyed, 1515, i. 403.

Behaim, M., map of globe, 1492, i. 93.

Belen River, Columbus at, 1503, i. 218-19.

Belen, village, Nicuesa's exped. at, 1510, i. 305-6.

Belgium, colonization scheme in Guat., iii. 589-90.

Belize, origin of name, ii. 624; woodcutters in, ii. 624-35; Figueroa's exped. to, ii. 624-8; map, ii. 627; English claims, ii. 629-31; treaties concerning, ii. 632-4; O'Neill's exped. to, 1798, ii. 635; iii. 314; rights of settlers in, iii. 313-14; commerce, etc., of, iii. 317.

Belly, F., works of, iii. 263.

Benalcazar, Capt. S. de, joins Pedrarias' exped., 1514, i. 391; conquest of Peru, ii. 15, 26, 38-9.

Bienvenida, Friar L. de, mission to C. R., 1540, ii. 185.

Benzoni, G., exped. to C. R., 1545, ii. 192-9; works, etc., of, ii. 232-3.

Berenger, 'Collection,' ii. 751-2.

Berlanga, Friar T. de, alleged miracle, etc., of, 1537, ii. 59.

Bermejo, J., the Contreras revolt, 1550, ii. 274-86; defeat at Pan., ii. 284-6; death, ii. 286.

Berrospe, G. S. de, president of Guat., 1696-1701, ii. 661-2.

Betanzos, D. de, convent founded by, 1529, ii. 135-6.

Betanzos, Father P. A. de, labors of, 1555-70, ii. 432-3.

Bethlehemites, in Guat., ii. 666-7.

Biamonte y Navarra, J. B. de, gov. of Pan., ii. 480.

Birú, Andagoya's exped. to, 1522, i. 502-3.

Birues, de, exped. of, 1515, i. 407.

Blanco, M., pronunciamiento of, 1868, iii. 378.

Blewfields, population, etc., of, 1847, iii. 249.

Bobadilla, Commissioner F. de, proceedings of, at Española, 1500-2, i. 180-1, 248-9; enslavement of natives, i. 266.

Bobadilla, Friar F. de, labors of, in Nic., ii. 184-5.

Bobadilla, J. F., gov. of C. R., 1780, ii. 622.

Bogran, Gen. L., president of Hond., 1883, iii. 468.

Bolivar, S., congress at Pan., 1826, iii. 511-12; at Angostura, iii. 513.

Bonnycastle, R. H., 'Spanish America,' iii. 248.

Bordone, B., map of, 1528, i. 144.

Borland, S., U. S. minister, interference of, iii. 255.

Bosch, L. van der, writings of, ii. 745.

Botello, L., execution of, 1517, i. 457-9.

Boucher, G., 'Bibliothèque Universelle,' ii. 760.

Bourbourg, B. de, 'Histoire des Nations Civilisées du Mexique,' i. 201.

Bradley, Capt., foray on the Hacha, 1670, ii. 491; captures San Lorenzo, ii. 494-6.

Brigantine, picture of, i. 189.

Briones, Capt., exped. to Hond., 1524, i. 525; treachery of, i. 526; Olid's assassination, i. 531-3; execution of, i. 534.

Briones, J. A. L. de, gov. of Nic., 1744, ii. 607.

Buccaneering, origin of, ii. 451-3.

Buccaneers, name, ii. 452; mode of life, ii. 454-6; excesses, etc., of, ii. 489-90.

Buena Esperanza, founding of, 1535, ii. 157; abandoned, 1536, ii. 161-2.

Buitrago, P., director of Nic., 1841-3, iii. 238-9.

Bure, G. F. de, 'Bibliographique Instructive,' ii. 760.

Burnaby, Sir W., mission to Belize, ii. 630.

Burney, J., works of, ii. 753.

Bustamante y Guerra, Gen. J., capt.-gen. of Guat., 1811, iii. 6; biog., iii. 6-7; rule, iii. 6-21.

C

Caballon, Licentiate J. de, defeats Gaitan, 1554, ii. 425; exped. of, 1560-2, ii. 425-6.

Caballos, Puerto de, name, i. 519; L'Olonnois' raid on, ii. 458.

Cabañas, T., siege of Leon, 1844, iii. 199; at San Miguel, iii. 201; defeat at Quelepa, iii. 202; president of Hond., 1852-5, iii. 321-2; character, etc., iii. 321.

Cabello, D., gov. of Nic., 1766, ii. 608.

Cabezas Islands, Drake at, ii. 407-8, 414, 416.

Cabezas, R., jefe of Guat., 1830, iii. 153; biog., iii. 153-4.

Cabot, J., voyage of, i. 98-9.

Cabot, S., voyages of, i. 98-9, 108-9, 143.

Cabral, P. A., voyage of, 1500, i. 113-14.

Cabrera, P., surprised by Verdugo, ii. 263.

Cáceres, Capt., captures Lempiras's stronghold, 1537, ii. 291-2; treachery of, ii. 291-2.

Cackchiquel, map of, i. 629.

Cakchiquels, power, etc., of the, i. 621; subjugation, 1524, i. 652-7; revolt of the, 1524-5, i. 681-92; 1526, ii. 79-85; 1534, ii. 130.

Cacos, party, iii. 26-7; revolutionary movements, iii. 33; policy, iii. 42-3.

Caibil Balam, Cacique, submission of, 1525, i. 702.

Caicedo, J. de, mention of, i. 333.

Calancha, J. L., president of Pan., 1864-5, iii. 533.

Cáldas, S. A. A. R. de, president of Guat., 1667-70, ii. 658-9.

Cáldas, President, 'Copia de Carta,' ii. 761-2.

Calderon, A., bishop of Pan., ii. 475.

Calimaya, Conde S. de, president of Guat., 1654, ii. 657.

Calvo, B., gov. of Pan., 1856, iii. 527-8.

Camachire, Cacique, torture, etc., of, ii. 194-5.

Cámara y Raya, bishop of Pan., 1614, ii. 477-8.

Camargo, A. de, exped. of, 1539, i. 151.

Camargo, M. de, gov. of Nic., ii. 607.

Cambranes, F., bishop of Guat., ii. 378.

Campbell, Capt., the Scots' colony, ii. 578-9.

Campo, R., president of Salv., 1856, iii. 300-2.

Campoy, F. de P., bishop of Hond., 1841, iii. 631.

Camus, A. G., works of, ii. 760.

Can, M. F., embassy of, 1695, ii. 689.

Cana, sack of, ii. 586.

Canales, battle of, 1526, ii. 83.

Cañas, A. J., minister to U. S., 1825, iii. 81.

Cañas, J., ruler of Salv., 1840, iii. 143.

Cañas, Gen. J. M., mention of, iii. 345-6; execution of, iii. 376.

Cancer, Friar L., labors in Vera Paz, etc., ii. 353-5; exped. to Flor., ii. 355-6; martyrdom, 1549, ii. 356; biog., ii. 357.

Cancuc, revolt at, 1712, ii. 697-704.

Candia, P. de, conquest of Peru, ii. 11, 13.

Cano, Friar A., mission of, 1685, ii. 680.

Capac, M., inca of Peru, ii. 38; revolt of, ii. 39; defeat of, ii. 40.

Carabajal, D. de, naval combat off Pan., 1680, ii. 535-7.

Caravel, picture of, i. 187.

Carbajal, Friar A. de, bishop of Pan., 1605-11, i. 476-7.

Carbajal, R. de, mission to Pan., ii. 256-7; gov. of Pan., 1779, ii. 584.

Cárcamo y Rodriguez, bishop of Salv., iii. 632.

Cárdenas, A., president of Nic., 1883, iii. 485.

Cárdenas, Father T. de, bishop of Vera Paz, 1565, ii. 374-5.

Cardona, J. de L., founds Quezaltenango, 1524, i. 638.

Careta, Cacique, capture, etc., of, 1511, i. 343-6; friendship for Balboa, i. 359, 399; cruel treatment of, i. 399-400.

Caribs, of Hond., iii. 609-10.

Carrillo, B., revolt at Leon, 1812, iii. 14.

Carrillo, Capt. L., Pedrarias' exped., 1514, i. 390; Balboa's exped., 1515, i. 406; death, i. 407.

Carranza, B., provis. president of C. R., 1870, iii. 379-80.

Carrasco, Licentiate, bishop-elect of Nic., ii. 434-5.

Carrascosa, A., mention of, ii. 15.

Carreño, J. M., intendente of Panamá, 1822, iii. 508-9.

Carrera, R., insurrection of, 1837, iii. 124-8; biog., iii. 125; negotiations with, iii. 129-30; captures Guat., iii. 131-2; defeat at Villanueva, iii. 135-6; capitulation, iii. 137-8; pronunciamiento of, 1839, iii. 140; defeats Morazan, iii. 141-2; negotiations with Guzman, iii. 203; manifesto of, iii. 207-8; despotism of, iii. 264-7; president of Guat., 1844, iii. 267; plot against, iii. 268; attempted assassination of, iii. 269; revolution against, 1847-8, iii. 271-3; resignation, 1848, iii. 274; return to Guat., 1849, iii. 277-8; commander-in-chief, iii. 278; proscription, iii. 279; operations, 1850, iii. 280; president for life, 1854, iii. 282; rule, iii. 283; campaigns of, 1863, iii. 304-7; death, iii. 283-4.

Carrillo, B., jefe of Costa Rica, 1835, iii. 181; 1838, iii. 183; rule, iii. 182-4, 215-17.

Carrillo, Capt. L., defence of Granada, 1550, ii. 277.

Carrion, Oidor J., mention of, iii. 494.

Cartagena, Ojeda's defeat at, 1509, i. 298-9; Enciso at, 1510, i. 322-3; Heredia at, 1532, ii. 47-8; Drake at, 1572, ii. 407-9; captured by Drake, 1586, ii. 420; description of, ii. 579-80; captured by filibusters, 1697, ii. 580; bombarded by Vernon, 1740, ii. 591; revolt at, 1810, iii. 493; 1812, iii. 494-5.

Cartago, description of, ii. 445; Mansvelt's raid on, ii. 461-2; conspiracy at, 1823, iii. 66; revolt at, 1835, iii. 182; 1875, iii. 385.

Casa de Contratacion de las Indias, origin of, 1493, i. 168; description of, i. 282-3.

Casas, F. de las, exped. against Olid, 1524, i. 528-34; Olid's assassination, i. 531-3; departure for Mex., i. 533.

Casas, B. de las, see Las Casas, B. de.

Casaos, P. de, capt.-gen. of Pan., 1545, ii. 258-9.

Casaus y Torres, R., archbishop of Guat., iii. 29-30; biog., iii. 30.

Cascaras, Brigadier F., campaign of, 1827, iii. 92-3.

Casillas, Friar T., mention of, ii. 345.

Casillas, Father P., bishop of Chiap., 1550, ii. 373.

Casorla, J. R., president of Pan., 1878, iii. 543.

Castañeda, D. de, exped. of, 1548, ii. 186.

Castañeda, F. de, gov. of Nic., 1531, ii. 166-7; misrule, ii. 167-9; flight, etc., ii. 169.

Castañeda, Col V., vice-president of Guat., 1886, iii. 451.

Castañon, C., gov. of Chiap., iii. 38.

Castellanos, F. de, campaign of, 1530, ii. 111-13.

Castellanos, J. de, works of, ii. 60-1.

Castellanos, V., president of Hond., 1862, iii. 324-5.

Castellon, F., revolt of, 1854-5, iii. 259-61.

Castile, kingdom of, i. 10.

Castilla, Dr A. C. de, president of Guat., 1598-1609, ii. 649-51.

Castilla del Oro, (see also Panamá), name, i. 294-5; Nicuesa's exped. to, 1509-10, i. 294-308; maps of, i. 323; ii. 49.

Castillo, Friar B. del, adventures, etc., of, ii. 172-5.

Castillo, M. S. del, president of Salv., iii. 302.

Castillo, N. del, president of Nic., 1856, iii. 351-2.

Castro, J. A., mediation of, iii. 219-20; minister-gen. of C. R., 1843, iii. 224.

Castro, J. M., president of C. R., 1847, iii. 228-30; 1866, iii. 377; resignation, iii. 236.

Castro, V. de, mission to Peru, ii. 250-1.

Caxamalca, Pizarro at, ii. 21-38.

Cebaco, Cacique, dealings with Hurtado, 1516, i. 427.

Célis, D. G. de, mission to Alvarado, 1835-6, ii. 161-2; complaints against, ii. 163-4.

Cemaco, Cacique, defeated by Enciso, 1510, i. 326-7; by Pizarro, 1511, i. 344; victory of, i. 352-3.

Central America, enslavement, etc., of natives in, ii. 232-9; the new laws, 1543, ii. 240-4; historical review of, ii. 733-5; revolution in, 1818-21, iii. 23-41; union with Mex., 1821-2, iii. 42-59; confederation, iii. 60-78; seal of, iii. 71; constitution, iii. 75-7; treaty with Colombia, 1825, iii. 81; with U. S., iii. 81; designs of Fernando VII., iii. 105-6; Spaniards excluded from, iii. 106; republic of, dissolved, 1837-40, iii. 127-44; attempted unification of, 1883-5, iii. 442-9; physical features, etc., iii. 560-5; population, 1883-5, iii. 587-8; colonization in, iii. 588-94; castes, iii. 594-6; diseases, etc., in, iii. 619-20; education in, iii. 621-7; church and clergy, iii. 627-37; administr. of justice, iii. 638-45; military affairs, iii. 645-9; agric., iii. 650-5; mining, iii. 655-60; manufact., iii. 660-2; commerce, iii. 663-7, 675; navigation, iii. 667-8; roads, iii. 669; currency, iii. 669-70, 675-6; mails, iii. 671-2; finances, iii. 677-87; debt, iii. 677-87; railroads, iii. 700-2, 706-8; telegraphs, iii. 708-9.

Cenú, treasure found at, ii. 48.

Cerda, C. de la, capitulation, etc., of, iii. 86.

Cerda, M. A. de la, jefe of Nic., 1825, iii. 173; contest with Argüello, iii. 174; execution, iii. 174.

Cereceda, A. de, gov. of Hond., ii. 146-7, 155-64; imprisonment, etc., of, 1531, ii. 151-3; counter-revolution of, ii. 154; exped. to Naco, ii. 156-7; dispute with Cueva, ii. 158-9; appeal to Alvarado, ii. 160-1; complaints of, ii. 163.

Cerna, V., president of Guat., 1865-71, iii. 413-23.

Cerrato, A. L. de, juez de residencia, ii. 183-4, 308-9; president of the audiencia of the Confines, ii. 308-10; administr., ii. 326-7.

Cervera, D., president of Pan., 1880-4, iii. 544-9.

Cesar, F., mention of, ii. 50-1; exped., 1536, ii. 52; 1537-8, ii. 53-5; death, ii. 56.

Chacon, J. M., president of Guat. constituent congress, 1824, iii. 145.

Chacujal, Cortés at, 1525, i. 569-70.

Chagre River, Cueto at, 1510, i. 305.

Chahúl, capture of, 1530, ii. 112.

Chalchuapa, assault on, 1885, iii. 410.

Chamorro, F., suprema delegado, 1844, iii. 189, 194, 196.

Chamorro, F., director of Nic., 1853, iii. 256; provis. president, 1854, iii. 258; revolt against, iii. 259; death, iii. 259-60.

Chamorro, P. J., president of Nic., 1875-9, iii. 481-2.

Chamula, capture of, 1524, ii. 221-5.

Charles V., the rebellion in Peru, ii. 265.

Chatfield, Consul, F., mediation of, requested, 1839-40, iii. 186-7; the Mosquito, difficulty, iii. 251; demands on Salv., iii. 297-8; negotiations, etc., of, iii. 318-19.

Chaves, F. de, death of, ii. 41.

Chaves, H. de, battle of Xelahuh, 1524, i. 139; exped. to Zacatepec, 1527, ii. 89; capture of Copan, 1530, ii. 113-15.

Chaves, Capt. J. de, exped. of, 1836, ii. 164-5.

Chiapas, ancient inhabitants of, ii. 214; conquest of, 1524-6, ii. 215-27; settlement, etc., of, ii. 228-31; church affairs in, ii. 229-30, 328-39, 373-5, 712-13; maps of, ii. 331; iii. 39; the new laws, ii. 332-3, 338; prosperity of, ii. 669; character of population, ii. 669-70; govt, etc., of, ii. 670-1; the Tzendal revolt, 1712-13, ii. 696-705; population, 1813, iii. 36; education, iii. 37; industries, iii. 38; revolution in, iii. 38-41.

Chiapas, city, coat of arms, ii. 330.

Chiapas de los Indios, founding of, 1526, iii. 227.

Chiapas, stronghold, capture of, 1524, ii. 217-20; 1526, ii. 226-7.

Chiapes, Cacique, encounter with Balboa, 1513, i. 369.

Chepo, Cacique, execution of, 1515, i. 404.

Cherino, D. de A., gov. of C. R., etc., 1573, ii. 430; exped. of, 1575, ii. 430-1.

Chignautecs, defeat of the, 1525, i. 688-9; submission, i. 690.

Chilapan, Cortés at, 1524, i. 542.

Chilun, captured by Tzendales, 1712, ii. 698.

Chinameca, treaty of, 1845, iii. 203-4.

Chinandega, pacto de, iii. 187-90; convention of, iii. 187-8; capture, etc., of, 1845, iii. 241-2.

Chiracona, Cacique, torture, etc., of, 1516, i. 429-30.

Chiriquí, revolt in, 1526, i. 509; province of, organized, 1849, iii. 516-17.

Chiriquita, captured by freebooters, 1686, ii. 556.

Chirú, Cacique, capture of, i. 423.

Choles, attempted conversion of, 1675-88, ii. 679-80.

Choluteca, affair at, 1844, iii. 194.

Chroniclers, early, credibility of, discussed, i. 317-20.

Church, tithes, ii. 139-40; affairs of in Hond., ii. 299-301, 641-2, 712-13; in Chiap. ii. 328-39, 373, 712-13; in Guat., ii. 341-8, 663-9, 710-12, 728-33; in Vera Paz, ii. 353-4, 374-5; in Soconusco, ii. 372; in Nic., ii. 612-17; religious orders suppressed, 1870-4, iii. 425-7; history of the, iii. 627-37.

Cihuatlan, Cortés in, 1524, i. 542-3.

Cimarrones, depredations, etc., of, ii. 366-9; Drake's exped., ii. 407-17; Oxenham's exped., ii. 418.

Ciudad Real, founding, etc., of, 1528, ii. 229-30; a cathedral city, 1538, ii. 329; revolt, etc., at, 1712-13, ii. 705; flood at, 1785, ii. 706; revolution at, iii. 39-40.

Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, 1850, iii. 252.

Clergy, expatriation of, 1829, iii. 103-4; immorality of, iii. 472-3; privileges, etc., of, iii. 627-9, 636-7.

Climate of Cent. Amer., iii. 561-2.

Coatepeque, Carrera's repulse at, 1863, iii. 304.

Coats of arms, Chiap., ii. 330; Guat., iii. 147; C. R., iii. 229.

Coco, affair at, 1885, iii. 410.

Cocori, Cacique, seizure, etc., of, ii. 194-5, 197.

Code, organic, iii. 8-10.

Codro, M., forecasts Balboa's fate, i. 447-8.

Coiba, reported wealth of, i. 343-5.

Cole, B., mention of, iii. 328.

'Coleccion de Documentos Inéditos,' i. 200.

Colindres, M., mention of, iii. 339.

'Collection of Voyages and Travels,' ii. 746.

Colmenares, R. E. de, exped. to Veragua, 1510, i. 331; relieves Nicuesa, i. 331-2; exped. to Dabaiba, 1512, i. 351-2; mission to Spain, 1514, i. 388.

Colombia, insurrection in, 1820, iii. 24-5; treaty with, 1825, iii. 81; C. R. boundary question, iii. 233-5; Pan. annexed to, 1821, iii. 506-8; republic of, organized, 1819, iii. 513; severed, iii. 519.

Colon, disturbances at, 1885, iii. 551-3; destruction of, iii. 553.

Colon, D. de, mention of, i. 174-5; gov. of Española, 1509, i. 268; rule, etc., i. 268-9, 273; death, 1526, i. 274.

Colon, L., suit, etc., of, 1538-40, ii. 64.

Columbus, B., adelantado, 1494, i. 173; character, i. 175-6.

Columbus, C., voyages of, i. 86-97, 109-11, 119-20; theory of, i. 92-3; biog., etc., i. 155-7; character, i. 156-7, 171-2, 181, 232-8; agreement with the crown, i. 157-8; exped. of, 1492-3, i. 158-64; 1493-5, i. 168-76; 1498-1500, i. 177-82; 1502-4, i. 202-31; charges against, i. 176; arrest, etc., of, i. 181-2; enslavement of natives, i. 253-5, 262, 265-6; death, 1506, i. 231.

Columbus, F., biog., i. 203-4; 'La Historia,' i. 204.

Colunje, J., president of Pan., 1865-6, iii. 533-4.

Comagre, Cacique, Balboa's visit to, 1512, i. 347-9.

Comayagua, founding of, 1539, ii. 293-4; capture of, 1827, iii. 162; description of, iii. 570-1.

Commerce, of Guat., ii. 383-4; of Pan., ii. 390-3, 587, 594; Asiatic, ii. 391-2; of Nic., ii. 438; contraband, ii. 473-4; of Cent. Amer., iii. 663-7.

Compañon, F., mention of, ii. 442-5; at the Pearl Islands, 1517, i. 452, 467; gov. of Natá, i. 508-9; dispute with Córdoba, i. 586.

'Compendium of Authentic and Entertaining Voyages,' ii. 750.

Concepcion, founding, etc., of, ii. 67, 70.

Concepcion, convent, founded at Granada, 1528, ii. 184.

Concepcion, R. de la, conspiracy of, iii. 18.

'Confederacion Centro Americana,' established 1844, iii. 188-9.

Congress, Central American, installed, 1823, iii. 67-8; measures, iii. 68-78; parties, iii. 69-70.

Congress, federal, measures, iii. 79-85, 118-19; dissolved, iii. 88; reassembled, iii. 102; last session, 1838, iii. 134.

Contreras, H. de, revolt of, 1550, ii. 274-88; death of, ii. 287-8.

Contreras, Brigadier J. T. de, defection of, 1821, iii. 46; revolution against, iii. 46.

Contreras, P. de, revolt of, 1550, ii. 274-88.

Contreras, R. de, gov. of Nic., ii. 169-71; exped. to El Desaguadero, ii. 170-1, 175-6; arrest, etc., of, ii. 177; residencia of, ii. 178-9, 183-4; charges against, ii. 180-2; dispute, etc., with Gutierrez, ii. 190.

Copan, capture of, ii. 113-15.

Córdoba, F. H. de, voyage of, 1517, i. 132; exped. to Nic., 1524, i. 512-14.

Córdoba, G. F. de, bishop of Nic., 1535, ii. 435; of Guat., 1574, ii. 378-80.

Córdoba, H. de, defection of, i. 578-80, 584; Pedrarias' exped. against, i. 587-9; execution of, 1526, 589.

Cornejo, J. M., intrigues of, iii. 115-16; rebellion, 1832, iii. 116; defeat of, iii. 117-18; jefe of Salv., 1829-32, iii. 167.

Coronado, A. de, gov. of Pan., 1604, ii. 464.

Coronado, F. V. de, exped. of, 1540, i. 152.

Coronado, J. V., exped. of, ii. 427-30; gov. of C. R., 1565, ii. 430.

Corpus, affair at, 1844, iii. 310.

Corral, D. del, mission to Nicuesa, 1510, i. 331-3; intrigues, etc., of, i. 341; gov. of Antigua, 1522, i. 476.

Corral, Gen., negotiations of, 1855, iii. 260; capitulation with Walker, 1855, iii. 335; execution of, iii. 337-8.

Corregidor, jurisd., etc., of, i. 297.

Corregimientos, suppression of, 1660-1790, ii. 715-16.

Correoso, B., president of Pan., 1868-72, iii. 537-8; 1878, iii. 543; works of, iii. 559.

Cortereal, G., voyage of, 1500, i. 114; 1501, i. 117.

Córtes, decree of, iii. 5; memorial to, iii. 7; proceedings, iii. 30-1.

Cortés, H., exped. of, 1519, i. 133-4; popularity, etc., of, i. 522-3; Olid's exped., i. 524-8; exped. to Hond., 1524-6, i. 537-81; rumored death of, i. 544; machinations against, i. 572-5, 580-1; return to Mex., i. 582; Alvarado's exped., 1523-4, i. 627; Pizarro's, ii. 12, 14, 40.

Cortés, Archbishop, administr. of, 1778-9, ii. 726.

Cortés y Larraz, Dr P., archbishop of Guat., 1768, ii. 730-2.

Corzo, Pilot, explorations of, ii. 246.

Cosa, J. de la, map of, i. 115-16; friendship for Ojeda, i. 294; death of, 1509, i. 299.

Cosigüina, volcano, eruption of, 1835, iii. 176-7.

Cosío y Campa, T. J. de, president of Guat., 1712-16, ii. 703-6; the Tzendal campaign, 1712-13, ii. 704-5.

Costa Rica, Gutierrez exped. to, 1540-5, ii. 187-99; maps of, ii. 188; iii. 184, 234; Franciscans in, 1555-90, ii. 432-3; secession, 1821, iii. 49; union with Mex., iii. 66; assembly, iii. 178-9, 217-18, 224-5, 228, 374, 378-86; Nicoya incorporated with, 1825, iii. 179; location of capital, iii. 181; a state, iii. 183-4; secession, 1848, iii. 208-9; Morazan's invasion, 1842, iii. 216-17; Alfaro's revolt, iii. 219-22; constitution, iii. 225, 228, 374, 378, 381; arms of, iii. 229; a republic, iii. 230; treaties, iii. 230; boundary question, iii. 231-6; Walker's exped., 1855, iii. 342-5; 1856-7, iii. 354-61; war with Nic., 1857, iii. 362; Mora's invasion of, iii. 387; independence of, threatened, 1885, iii. 389-90; difficulty with Nic., 1873-5, iii. 478-82; extent, iii. 565-6; polit. divisions, etc., iii. 566; cities, iii. 566-7; population, iii. 587-8; colonization schemes, iii. 593; character of population, iii. 596-7; dwellings, iii. 597; food, etc., iii. 597-8; markets, iii. 598; dress, iii. 598-9; amusements, iii. 599; education, iii. 622; church affairs, iii. 634-5; administr. of justice, iii. 643-4; army, iii. 646; agric., iii. 653-4; mining, iii. 658; revenue, etc., iii. 683-4; debt, iii. 684-5; railroads, iii. 708.

Council of the Indies, description of the, i. 280-2; decree of the, 1519, ii. 237.

Coxon, Capt., commander-in-chief of pirates, 1680, ii. 527; defection of, ii. 537-8.

Creoles, condition, etc., of the, iii. 595-6.

Crowe, F., 'The Gospel in Cent. Amer.,' iii. 709.

Cruces, pillage of, 1550, ii. 281; captured by Drake, 1572, ii. 413-14; Morgan at, 1671, ii. 500.

Cruz, Gen. S., rebellion of, 1867-70, iii. 414-18.

Cruz, Brigadier V., vice-president of Guat., 1845, iii. 269; revolt of, 1848, iii. 276-7; death, 277.

Cruz, Col V. M., revolt of, 1872, iii. 428-9.

Cuba, Columbus at, 1492, i. 162-3; character of inhabitants, i. 165-6.

Cueva, C. de la, exped. to Hond., 1535, ii. 157-8; dispute with Cereceda, ii. 158-9.

Cueva, F. de la, lieut.-gov. of Guat., 1541, ii. 312-13; gov., 1542, 319.

'Curious Collection of Travels,' ii. 750.

'Curious and Entertaining Voyages,' ii. 755.

Cuzcatlan, Alvarado's occupation of, 1524, i. 675-6.

D

Dabaiba, name, i. 351; fabled temple of, i. 351, 406-7; ii. 51; Balboa's exped. to, 1512, i. 351-2; other expeds., 1515, i. 406-7; cacique, ii. 51; sierra of, ii. 52.

Dalrymple, A., works of, ii. 754.

Dampier, Capt. W., defection of, ii. 541; march across the Isthmus of Pan., 1681, ii. 544-8; raid on Realejo, 1684, ii. 548; off coast of South Amer., 1684-5, ii. 549-50; 'A New Voyage round the World,' ii. 568-9.

Dardon, J. P., campaign of, 1529, ii. 107-8.

Darien, discovered by Bastidas, 1501, i. 190-2; maps of, i. 362, 400, 405; mining in, iii. 659-60.

Darien River, see Atrato River.

Dávila, G. G., see Gonzalez, G.

Dávila, P., see Pedrarias.

Davis, C. H., 'Report,' iii. 709.

Davis, Capt. J., raid on Realejo, 1684, ii. 548; off coast of South Amer., 1684-5, ii. 549-50; out-manœuvred off Pan., ii. 551-3; capture of Leon, ii. 554.

De Brosse, 'Histoire des Navigations,' ii. 754.

De Bry, T., works of, ii. 741-2.

Debt of Cent. Amer. states, iii. 677-87.

De Costa, B. F., 'The Pre-Columbian Discovery,' i. 70.

Delaporte, M. l'Abbé, works of, ii. 754.

De Lesseps, F. de, the Panamá canal, iii. 704-6.

Delgado, J. M., revolt of, 1811, iii. 12-13; party leader, iii. 27; president of congress, iii. 67.

'Derrotero de las islas Antillas,' ii. 759.

Despard, Col, exped. to Mosquitia, 1782, ii. 605-6.

Diaz, B., joins Pedrarias' exped., 1514, i. 390; Cortés' exped. to Hond., 1525-6, i. 540, 549; ii. 78; Marin's exped. to Chiap., 1524, ii. 215-19, 224.

Diaz, J. J., president of Pan., 1868, iii. 535-6.

Diaz, M., imposture, etc., of, 1712, ii. 701.

Diaz, President P., correspondence with Barrios, 1885, iii. 448-9.

Diaz, Father P., quarrel with Córdoba, ii. 379-80.

Diego, Father D., martyrdom of, 1623, ii. 675.

Diriangen, Cacique, meeting with Gonzalez, 1522, i. 490-1; battle with, i. 491-2.

'Documentos para la Historia de México,' i. 201.

Domas y Valle, J., president of Guat., 1794-1801, ii. 728.

Dominguez, V., defeat, etc., of, 1832, iii. 114.

Dominicans, in Española, i. 275; in Cuba, i. 276; in Guat., ii. 135-7, 344-5, 666; in Nic., ii. 168-71, 436-7, 180-2; in Chiap., ii. 339; rivalry with Franciscans, ii. 347-8; provincia establd. by, etc., 1551, ii. 376-7; missionary labors, ii. 672, 680.

Dovalle, G., exped. to Lacandon, 1559, ii. 363.

Drake, E. C., works of, ii. 751.

Drake, Admiral Sir F., early career of, ii. 404-5; attack on Nombre de Dios, 1572, ii. 405-6; on Cartagena, 407-9; captures Cruces, ii. 413-14; captures treasure-train, ii. 415; return to England, ii. 417-18; voyage round the world, 1577-80, ii. 418-19; exped. of, 1585-6, ii. 419-21; 1595, ii. 422; death, 1596, 423.

Dueñas, F., president of Salv., 1852, iii. 299, 308; 1868-71, iii. 393-6; biog., iii. 392-3; surrender of, iii. 396; exile, iii. 397.

Dunlop, R. G., 'Travels in Cent. Amer.,' iii. 223.

Dururua, Cacique, defeats Gutierrez, etc., ii. 68-9.

E

Eads' ship railway, iii. 694.

Earthquakes in Guat., 1575-87, ii. 384-5; 1607-89, ii. 656; 1751, 1757, ii. 719; 1773, ii. 720-3; at Santiago, 1830, ii. 707-8; iii. 154; in Nic., 1835, iii. 175-6; in Salv., 1854, iii. 300; 1873, iii. 399-400; in Cent. Amer. 1575-1885, iii. 563-5.

Echever y Suvisa, P. A. de, president of Guat., 1724, ii. 709.

Education, in Pan., iii. 583-4; in C. R., iii. 622; in Nic., 622-4; in Salv., 624; in Hond., 624-5; in Guat., 625-7.

El Desaguadero, exped. to, ii. 170-1, 175-6.

El Espinal, affair at, iii. 58.

El Infierno de Masaya, adventure at, 1537, ii. 172-5; eruption of, 1670, ii. 444.

El Sauce, affair at, 1855, iii. 330.

Encinas, D. de, compilations of, i. 286-7.

Encinasola, P. de, exped. to Veragua, 1535-6, ii. 65-71.

Enciso, Bachiller M. F. de, Ojeda's exped., i. 297-8; at Cartagena, i. 322-3; defeats Cemaco, i. 326-7; founds Antigua, 1510, i. 327-8; deposed, i. 329-30, 339; works of, i. 339-40; denounces Balboa, i. 357, 386-7; alguacil mayor of Antigua, 1514, i. 390.

Encomendero, system, description of, i. 262-6.

England, the Scots' colony, 1695-1700, ii. 570-9; trading factories of, ii. 587; reprisals, ii. 587-8; war with, 1739-44, ii. 588-93; treaties with Spain, 1670-1721, ii. 598-600; 1783, ii. 606; war with Spain, 1769-80, ii. 608-11; claims of, in Belize, ii. 629-31; mediation of, sought, 1839-40, iii. 186-7; claims on Nic., iii. 239-40; protectorate over Mosquitia, iii. 244-51; hostilities with Nic., 1848, iii. 251-2; Clayton-Bulwer treaty, 1850, iii. 252; Zeledon-Wyke treaty, 1860, iii. 252-3; difficulty with Salv., iii. 297-8; relations with Hond., iii. 317; claims on Hond., iii. 317-19; usurpation in Hond., iii. 319-20; treaty with Hond., 1859, iii. 320; difficulty with Guat., 1874, iii. 433-4; MacGregor's exped. to Panamá, 1818-20, iii. 498-501; difficulty with New Gran., 1836, iii. 518.

Epidemics in Guat., 1558, ii. 360; 1565, ii. 369-70; 1601, 1686, ii. 656.

Escobar, J. B., president of Guat., 1848, iii. 276-7.

Espino, Missionary F. de, labors of, 1667-8, ii. 644.

Española, Columbus at, 1492-3, i. 164-5; 1493-5, i. 169-77; 1498, i. 179; 1502, i. 203-6; character of inhabitants, i. 165-6; natives of, destroyed, i. 276.

Esparza, sack of, 1680, ii. 541.

Espínola, Capt., capitulation, etc., of, iii. 86.

Espinosa, Licentiate G. de, alcalde mayor of Antigua, 1514, i. 390; exped. to the South Sea, 1516-17, i. 418-31; atrocities of, i. 422-3, 429-30; spoils, i. 431; trial of Balboa, 1517, i. 457; promotion of, i. 461; jealousy of Pedrarias, i. 464-5; other expeds., i. 468-9, 472, 504-5; founds Natá, i. 505-6.

Espíritu Santo, name, i. 642.

Esquivel, A., president of C. R., 1875, iii. 384-5.

Esquivel, J. de, cruelty of, i. 260.

Estachería, Brigadier J., gov. of Nic., 1783-89, ii. 608.

Estete, M., expeds. of, i. 667-8, 611; ii. 113.

Estrada, J. M., provis. president of Nic., 1855, iii. 260; negotiations, etc., of, iii. 260-1; appeal to Carrera, iii. 339; death, 1856, iii. 351.

Estrada, T. D. de, gov. of Nic., 1728, ii. 607.

Europe, condition of, 1475-1525, i. 1-5.

Exquemelin, A. O., works of, ii. 567-8.

F

Fábrega, F., gov. of Pan., 1855, iii. 526-7.

Fábrega, J. de, comandante of Pan., 1821, iii. 504, 508-9.

Fería, P. de, bishop of Chiap., 1575, ii. 373.

Fernandez, J., exped. to Peru, ii. 126-7.

Fernandez, Gen. P., president of C. R., 1882-5, iii. 388-90; biog., iii. 388-9; death, iii. 390.

Fernando VII., manifestoes, etc., of, iii. 20-22; designs on Cent. Amer., iii. 105-6.

Ferrera, F., president of Hond., 1841, iii. 309; biog., iii. 309.

Figueredo y Victoria, Dr F. J. de, archbishop of Guat., 1753-65,