The west shore., October 19, 1889, Page 173, Image 13

WKST SIHUSK.
THE NICARAGUA SHIP CANAL.
IINITKD STATES Minister Min.r. nt Managua,
(J Iiiih finally Hucm'dt-d in settling the dispute Im
twecn those (wo (Vntml American states, Costa
Hica and Nicaragua, in regard to the boundary
Is-tween them in ease an inter-m-nnie canal should Ik
constructed across the latter country on t route that
is generally conceded to In- tho most feasible. Thin
would involve the building of a canal into which the
San Juan river would In turned a nninlier of miles
iiIh.vc it i mouth. Ah that river is the boundary line
U tween the two states a uestion wan rained an to the
ownership of the land between the present and the
promised channel of the stream. The settlement of
that international ditliculty leaven the field clear for
the construction of the ship canal across the isthmus,
and it is likely that netive ocriitions toward the con
summation of the enterprise will s.s.n he undertaken.
The scheme of constructing a ship canal across the
isthmus originated shortly ufter the discovery of the
Panama harrier to a direct route from Kuropc to the
Kast Indcs. Columbus was searching for a shorter
mute to India when he discovered America, and he
thought he had reached the Asiatic const. The ora
tions of Italboa. however, dispelled that illusion ami
the old problem again prcscnti-d itself. As early as
I.V.'S (lalvao, a Spanish engineer, promised to Charles
V. an artilicial waterway across the isthmus, and six
years later that sovereign directed Cortei to U ate a
Mute, which was subsequently done, In I V. (iomara
suggested three routes, one of which was by way "f
Nicaragua. In the two centuries following a numlsr
of explorations and plans were made, but without any
practical results. The publication in SM of the able
discussion of the merits of the various mutes by Hum
lsil.lt aroused new interest in the matter, and since
then the growing inisirtance of the problem has
manded wide attention. The abandonment of the
search for a northwest pns-uge, or. rather, its em..n
strated uselcssuess, revived the id. a of cutting through
the land that communication ImIw.tii Kur nod
India might ! establish! by water without the n-r. .
shy of doubling (i.ssl IIos-. hi.h Has a tedious and
dangerous voyage, Then the Sun canal
c-ived by that celebrated Kren. h engineer. M dc
', who recently wrought such a gig.mtic f.olor.
I'anama. nml it was carried to si Wul i-ic I"
measure that drew attention from the Ni. arsgua . anal
Isrause it relieved tl Id world of ll." prevM.-ly ex-
isting dilViculty..f-.mniui.icationUti.rniis.Ur.ioi-
li.n. Hut the rapidly growing m-a world "iM "
s-rn.it the .,uestion of cutting through Ho- isll.mu. t
retire from consideration. It f of"'"1 "'"'j
lner.v and the development .f the '. if.c .l..
as of the eastern portion, esjsvially of North America,
made more urgent each year some means for trans
ferring ships Is'twccu the Atlantic and Pacillc oceans
without making the long voyage through the tropics
ami around Cao Horn. The failure of the de .essep
canal enterprise on Panama dinvt more attention to
the Nicaragua route, and, now that all international
complications likely to in any manner interfere with
the consummation of that enterprise have Ui-n amica
bly adjusted, there is a probability amounting almost
to certainly that the Nicaragua ship canal will be a
living agent in the commercial world within a few
years.
The route in nnt general favor may I brielly de
scribed as follows : Starting from Hrito harlsir on the
I'acillc a canal sixteen miles long will eonmvt with
lake Nicaragua, which is i7 feet alve the mean The
vertical ditance could Is- overcome by ten lift hska
Thence the course sill lie in a southeasterly direction
through the lake, pausing the volcanic island of Made-
ru-0 tapec, in a straight line to the nutllw of the
San Juan river. The lake varies in depth Ulwcen
five and sixteen fathoms At the milllow of the Sn
Juan tle re is a considerable shoal that will have to U
removed. Passing down the river it has a natural
navigable channel for a distance of aUait twenty-live
miles. Then a series of rapids W ill lieed to I overcome
by artilicial means and near th nth of the San
Juan it will Ixi necessary to construct a hrlr, which
is the most dillirult engineering feat presented In the
entire scheme. In order to avoid the silt that wahe
down from the mouth of the Itio lirandc (mt the one
that forms the U.undary Is-tween the I'nited Slates
and Mexico) revetment must U .unslrm td, and It
is also considered roentlal to the complete icce.s of
the Atlantic end of the ent-rprine that the Han Juan
river I turned from its course some twenty or thirty
miles sU.ve its mouth aid c..ndu. t-l In a anal to tide
water a few miles northward of the present mouth of
the stream Itctoring the harl.r of tireylown is the
jtrealest dilleulty to be omcoioe Hut that Is. on
sideml of small im.rlaiHT in comparison wlthme
f, at lire of the ether route suggested
Another rout- a r-s Ni. aragoa is to go up the San
Juan river to Lake Nicaragua, through that lake and
to lake Maragua a short di-taise to the norlhwiM,
through that lake and t" tb" ""-an by mean, of a
eanal forty live miles ..i.g acr- the great plain of
l.n This Is longer limn the one rt .1. criUd, but
,1 is said to U mm h more ranly innlnt. ted. mile f,.r
,,!,., snd for that rra-ni it Is lrw.d with favor by
many engim-cr Mill, the our-through Uk Mana
gua I littl'- Utl. r than it w..t,ld I- if the laks were
iwl tie rs, it Uiug nrary to dn-lg" and blast the
ii. I marly the wlede liUnr.f al-.ut fifty miU