says Admiral Fitz Roy. "200 feet deep and 300 feet wide for nearly a thousand yards, and above 100 feet deep, through an extent of 3,000 yards, (making altogether two miles of distance, in which that vast excavation would be capable of concealing the masthead of a first rate man-ofwar,) executed within the last three centuries within Central America, should induce us to listen respectfully to the plans of modern engineens, however startling they may appear at first.

A ship canal twenty-six or twenty-seven miles in length, on such a line as that described by Dr. Cullen (pp. 24 et seq.), with a cut of two miles only through hard rock, would, in all respects of time, money and difficulty fall far short of that tunnel which is now in progress under the Alps at Mont Censis, for the purpose of connecting France and Italy by a continuous railway. The length of this tunnel is seven miles and 1,044 yards. At Mont Cenis it is, in section, twenty-six feet three inches, and twenty feet eight inches high above the rails. Throughout the whole line it passes through rock, and in some places very hard rock. This, by far the greatest and boldest work of the kind ever yet undertaken, with its covered drain throughout, its lining of masonry, its recesses at the distance of every fifty metres (164 feet), and its chambers ten or twelve feet square, at intervals of 1,650 feet, may well spur us on to engage in this enterprise, which has for its object the union not of two adjacent countries, but of remote continents; the promotion, not of interior traffic in one or two districts, but of commerce and intercourse between all the people of the habitable globe. I say this because the construction of an interoceanic ship canal is to borrow the thought of an eloquent writer on this subjectthe same thing as if by some revolution of our globe the eastern shores of Asia and the southern continent were brought nearer to us.

Such are the prospects which the statements of Dr. Cullen offer to us. But it is with extreme reluctance I am compelled to say that these statements stand in Dr. Cullen's book as mere assertions, unaccompanied by notes or measurements. I cannot but join with Admiral Fitz Roy in his regret that Dr. Cullen has not given to the world the journals and details of his repeated explorations; such, for example, as are given by Gisborne and Prevost on or about the same line. However, it is a great satisfactiou to observe that Admiral Fitz Roy gives Dr. Cullen credit for "valuable information gleaned from archives, maps, books, oral accounts and his own personal observation, and for being the first to ascertain the existence of a low summit level." He adds that Dr. Cullen's statement "is corroborated by Gisborne;" and ascribes to Dr. Cullen the merit "of recommending from personal observation the Savana as preferable to the Chuquanaque on account of its nearer approach to the north coast."

It is also gratifying to perceive that Airiau, who has made a careful study of this subject, has arrived at the same conclusion; that is, that the proper line for an interoceanic canal is from the Bay of San Miguel up the river Savanna to its junction with the Lara, and from this point straight across the plain to the foot of the Cordileras. (Prevost's route, approximately.) With regard to the Cordillera, in proportion as it advances, proceeding from the base of the Isthmus, it descends a good deal, and is only, so to speak, a range of hills or isolated peaks, the bases of which are intersected by ravines which point out to the engineer the true route of the canal. The Indians in the neighborhood of Caledonia Bay make use

of these passages. One of them is elevated about fifty metres (164 feet), and is covered with a luxuriant growth of mahogany, palm, ebony and other trees."

The same writer describes the country on the north of the Cordillera as a slope, gradually descending to the water's edge. No special authority is given for this description of the Cordillera, though Gisborne and other travellers are generally quoted; and it is further to be remarked that Airiau's estimates-(chap iv.)-are based upon probabilities, not on actual measurement, and those probabilities are deduced from Garella's survey, as from the statements of Gisborne and others.

Besides Cullen and Airiau, there are other high authorities who have regarced the Isthmus of Darien as the place where we are to look for the consummation of our wishes. Admiral Fitz Roy, who at the period when he last wrote, 1853, had made a more careful and accurate study of the whole subject than any man then living, and whose opinions no one experienced in the hydrography of the globe will lightly question, has said: "A strong conviction remains on all our minds that Darien should be surveyed without delay. The illustrious Humboldt declares himself thoroughly satisfied that the Isthmus of Darien is superior to any other portion of the entire neck for a canal."

But we can go further back in our authorities. The incursions of the old buccaneers, Dampier, Ringrose, Sharp, Wafer and Davis, which can be followed on the old Spanish maps, have made us strangely familiar with some parts of this region, abounding in the gold that was the object of their search. The well known ard productive mines of Cona and Espiritu Santo, partly on account of these very incursions, were long since abandoned. We also follow without difficulty the direct route (1788) of the Spanish officer, Don Manuel de Milla Santa Ella, from Caledonia harbor to El Principe, thence down the Savana river to the harbor of Darien, up the Tuyra, and again up the Chuquanaque to the sources of its upper tributaries, whence he crossed to his station at Caledonia Bay. (Cullen, pp. 192 et seq.)

And, lastly, we must adduce the testimony of that very remarkable man, William Patterson, who crried with him in his settlement at Caledonia Harbor ample stores of information collected from the Buccaneers, who, during his long residence, had leisure and opportunity to make himself acquainted with the surrounding district, and who made at least one journey into the interior, the journal of which is given in his papers. One hundred and seventy years ago the far-reaching mind of Paterson had contemplated the Isthmus of Darien with the same enlightened views as the statesmen and political economists of the present time. He originated and partly executed the project of settling a great colony in this then remote region for the purpose of "removing distances and drawing nations nearer to each other." In one of his letters to the Darien Company, he says (which is as true now as it was then), "the time and expense of navigation to China, Japan, the Spire Islands and the greater part of the East Indies, will be lessened more than one-half, and the consumption of European commodities and manufactures will soon be more than doubled * Thus this door of the seas and key of the universe, with anything of a reasonable management, will, of course, enable its proprietors to give laws to both oceans and become arbitrators of the commercial world."

*

*

This, however, is not said in any narrow spirit of selfishness; for, he adds, “You may easily perceive that the nature of these discoveries are such as are not to be engrossed by any one nation or people to the exclusion of others." And he denounced the contrary policy as being no less ruinous then niggardly.

I might extend these and similar quotations almost indefinitely. A glance at the list of authorities on this subject of interoceanic communication, appended to this report, will suffice to show how easy it would be to so stretch out this paper to any extent by historical, geographical hydrographical, statistical and descriptive passages and illustrations. I am however, free from any temptation to do so; for I am well aware that I shall best answer the end of the call under which I am writing by confining myself as strictly as possible to the actual state of our knowledge of the great isthmusses, and to the channels into which new attempts are to be directed. But I will not forbear to mention that it is interesting to the American statesman of the present day to see in what light the possession of the isthmus was regarded by a British statesman of the latter part of the last century. (Vide Dairymple's Memoirs, vol. 2, page 111.)

I have still one more exploration in this region to mention, the last one of which we have any accurate knowledge, but by no means the least interesting and profitable. I refer to the expedition of M. Bourdiol, civil engineer, who was employed in 1864, by a French society, to conduct a new exploration on the Isthmus of Darien. For the greater convenience of supplies for his party, he found it expedient to begin on the Pacific side. His expedition comprised twenty-five persons, of whom one was an Indian and nine were negroes. M. Bourdiol's course lay from the mouth of the Lara across the isthmus to the river Chuquanaque, which he reached at a point a little below the Sucubti. Here he was obliged to turn back, all the natives having abandoned him through fear of the hostile aborigines (the bravos) on the northern slope of the Cordilleras. This expedition of M. Bourdiol is full of instruction for the future surveyors of the isthmus, not only on account of the manner in which it was conducted, but on account of its failure to reach the Atlantic shore. M. Bourdiol had made better preparation than any of his predecessors. He introduced. into his work, accuracy, zeal and laborious industry. He encountered great hardships, and yielded only when the obstacles to his progress became insurmountable.

His narrative in the Bulletin of the Geographical Society of Paris 1864, will be attentively read by every one who is to follow in his track' But the principal lessons to be derived from it may be summed up as fol lows:

First, The imperative necessity of taking provision in a concentrated form, on which I dwell more than once in this report, is very clearly shown. The want of provisions was one of the insurmountable obstacles that obliged him to turn back. It appears to have been impracticable to supply the party from the vessel when they had reached the interior.

The second and equally important lesson is that the proper season is to be selected. Bourdiol attempted to make his exploration in the month of May. At one time he was in danger of having his retreat cut off by the enlargement of the streams, and by the torrents created by the abundant rains. At another time he was wading up to his waist in water; and, in

order to make sure of a safe return across an inundated plain, he left, as he advanced, his people stationed at intervals like live beacons. But for this precaution he might never have found his way back; and, in spite of it, he came near losing one of his men.

Thirdly, I speak elsewhere of the necessity of providing the means of clearing the way through the dense and matted undergrowth by steel and by fires. (Pages 18-19.) M. Bourdiol's experience on this point is exceedingly instructive. The native may be employed with their machetes. They are strong, active and enduring, but they are very timid, and not to be relied upon.

Fourth and lastly, Suitable preparation must be made for encountering the hosttlity of the Indian bravos who inhabit the Atlantic declivity.

This is the proper place to call special attention to the benefits which have been conferred upon the world by all previous explorers, whether their labors have been carried on systematically and to an end, or have been cut short by accident, hostility, or a want of proper equipment.

Every successful and complete survey, like those of Tehuantepec, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, &c., which has proved the unfitness of the route for an interoceanic communication by canal, has benefited us by eliminating these points from our consideration, and thus narrowing down our field of inquiry. Every unsuccessful attempt has conferred a benefit by teaching us the precautions we are to observe and the errors we should avoid.

FROM SAN MIGUEL TO GULF OF URABA, OR DARIEN.

The remaining line on this part of the Isthmus is that which ascends the Tuyra and crosses to the valley of the Atrato. It is satisfactory to know that a plan for a survey of this route is already on foot. Mr. Gogerza, a resident of New Granada, has recently communicated the discovery of a short and easy transit across the Cordillera at this point. According to his statement the monntain is depressed to an elevation of 58 metres (190 feet) above the level of tidewater; the distance between the waters, navigable by canoe, on two sides of the mountain is only three miles.

Since the verification of these estimates is about to be undertaken by competent authority, it is not expedient to say anything further on this route than this, that it is expressly pointed out by Fitz Roy, and drawn on his general map, and that it is also mentioned at length by Trautwine. A regular survey by the government would be desirable, whether the present private enterprize on foot should make any important discoveries.

or not.

THE ATRATO ROUTE.

For many years explorations have, from time to time, been carried through the valley of the Atrato to various points on the pacific coast, in search of a suitable path for effecting a union of the two oceans by a ship canal without locks. These explorations have, in one respect, been satisfactory. They have been conducted by able engineers who enjoyed the confidence of the public, and they have been given to the world in the most useful and intelligible form. We are now sure that we are well acquainted with the region, especially in those particular parts over which the surveyors have passed. Whoever will take the pains to study the

maps and reports of Trautwine, Kennish and Col. Michler, of the United States Engineers, will be able to form an independent opinion with regard to the practicability of finding in this direction the means of fulfilling the world's expectation of a passage through the great American isthmus. It is well known that we are indebted to one gentleman, principally, for all these trustworthy contributions to our geographical knowledge.

In the year 1852, Mr. Kelley, of New York, influenced by the early reports of Humboldt (who, however, it must be remembered, does not here speak from his own knowledge, but merely recites what is communicated by others), and inspired by the grandeur of the object, commenced a series of surveys, beginning at the mouth of the Atrato River, and crossing the Cordilleras at several points. Of these surveys I will here give a brief account, in order to show precisely where we stand in regard to this region. What is here said concerning the early history of these undertakings is taken, in part, from a paper communicated to the Royal Geographical Society of London, by its Secretary, Dr. Norton Shaw, in 1856. The first expedition, undertaken at the expense of Mr. Kelley and other gentlemen, was placed under the direction of Mr. J. C. Trautwine, an engineer of Philadelphia, who had already acquired distinction in Honduras and in the work of the Panama Railway. Mr. Trautwine surveyed the mouth of the Atrato, and then ascended the river to Quibdó, examining several of its tributaries in passing. Above Quibdó he followed first the tributary Quito, and then the tributary Pato to its source; here he crossed the dividing ridge of the Cordilleras and took a canoe on the river Baudo, which he traced to its mouth on the Pacific. Returning on his steps, he turned off from the Baudo at the mouth of the Pepé, which river he ascended to its source, and crossed the mountains on a second track to the river Surucco, one of the headwaters of the San Juan, and proceeded along the last named river on a third track. He crossed from San Juan to Quibdó, which track leads across the water-shed said to have been intersected by the famous Raspadura Canal. The existence of this canal is now disproved, if the word canal is intended to signify a practicable artificial water course constructed and employed for the passage of boats or vessels.

This route was again traversed by Mr. Trautwine when he returned from Quibdó, and navigated the river San Juan throughout its length to the Bay of Chirambria, on the Pacific coast. Thus it will be seen that Mr.. Trautwine during his expedition crossed the Cordillera at three different places. A copy of Mr. Trautwine's map is included in the appended series and numbered 10; it embraces his plan and elevation of thedividing ridge between the Atrato and San Juan rivers.

In 1853 another expedition was fitted out by Mr. Kelley, at his own expense, and placed in charge of Mr. Lane and Mr. Porter, civil engineers,. of New York, with instructions to extend and follow up the investigations of Mr. Trautwine. Mr. Porter pursued the route previously taken by Mr. Trautwine, ascending the Atrato, and crossing over the dividing ridge. to San Pablo, on the San Juan. His observations harmonized entirely with those of his predecessors. Mr. Lane, after examining the Atrato to Quibdo, took the eastern course along the Atrato to the Andagueda, whence he crossed the dividing ridge to the San Juan. He also examined. the supposed Raspadura canal. Throughout his expeditions his results. agree with those previously reported by Mr. Trautwine.