History of the Panama canal; its construction and builders

Front matter

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FROM SEA TO SEA

The S. S. .-ttuon passing through the Pedro Miguel lock — the first steamer through the canal.

Preface

IN THE ensuing pages an effort has been made to tell the plain, unvarnished story of Panama and the Panama Canal. The information contained herein has been gathered from many publications and from public and private persons. The records of the Government have been available at all times, to the writer, thanks to the courtesy of the authorities at Washington and of Major-General Goethals. Special acknowledgments are due to the Hon. William H. Taft, who, as Secretary of War and President of the United States, from 1904 to 1913, directed the affairs of the Panama Canal from its beginning to its virtual completion. In 1 9 12 President Taft wrote to the author as follows:

The White House, Washington, March 25, 1912 My dear Mr. Bennett:

I am very glad to hear from you that you contemplate publishing a history of the construction of the Panama Canal. There is a great deal of detail connected with it which is forgotten and yet which is interesting to know with respect to the great work. There are a good many facts, indeed, that have never been brought to the public attention, that are of record and ought properly to be put in an historical form.

I shall be very glad myself to furnish you with all the data that I have in my correspondence, which covers the whole life of the Canal from the very day that the Canal Zone was turned over by the Republic of Panama to the United States.

I am glad that such an enterprise is on foot.

Sincerely yours, Wm. H. Taft.

Cordial encouragement was extended, also, by the Hon. Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of War, and Col. George W. Goethals, Chairman and Chief Engineer of the Isthmian Canal Commission. Mr. Stimson wrote: "I think it is very important that a full and careful history of the construction of the Panama Canal should be written while people are still alive in whose memories many of the most important events will rest, and I am very glad to hear that you are contemplating publishing such a history. I should be glad to put at your disposal all the data that I properly can while in office here in the Department which has had supervision to a certain extent over the work."

Col. Goethals wrote: "I am very glad to hear from you that you contemplate publishing a history of the construction of the Panama Canal. To facilitate you in the enterprise I will take pleasure in authorizing you to collect information from any reliable source and give you access to the records for verification of such information or any additional data that may be available."

The author is indebted to Prof. Patrick J. Lennox, Professor of English Language and Literature at the Catholic University of America, for valuable assistance in preparing the history of the Isthmus of Panama. A master of the subject, his aid in critical researches through an extensive bibliogviii HISTORY OF THE PANAMA CANAL

raphy served to bring out what is believed to be a clear and concise account of the romantic developments that followed the discovery of Tierra Firme.

Equally important was the assistance rendered by Mr. William Joseph Sho waiter in the preparation of the history of canal construction. In conversation with the writer, Col. Goethals expressed his pleasure upon being informed that Mr. Showalter was engaged in this task, and he added: "Mr. Showalter knows more about the Panama Canal than any other man except myself. I wish some of my engineers knew as much."

No doubt many details of canal history cannot be ascertained or accurately weighed at this time; but it has been deemed wise to obtain from some of the makers of this history their own version of their activities, for the information of future historians. In this regard the chapters contributed by Messrs. John F. Wallace and John F. Stevens, respectively chief engineers of the Canal, are especially notable.

To the Associate Editors, contributors, and numerous American engineers, contractors, and industrial corporations cordial thanks are extended for co-operation and advice.

Although care has been taken to insure the accuracy of technical descriptions of equipment, machinery, and operations, it is hoped that the reader will bear in mind, when errors are noted, that the construction of the Panama Canal involved the energies of almost all branches of American industry, and that a review of these operations is almost equivalent to a description of a ten years' war.

Happily, however, the campaign conducted at Panama was constructive, not destructive; for the benefit of mankind, not for the killing of men and the conquest of nations; and more permanent glory was won by the gallant soldier who lost his life in the struggle at Panama than by those who count their triumphs in the number of men slaughtered in Europe. The name of the late Lieutenant-Colonel David DuBose Gaillard is perpetuated, not only by the renaming of Culebra Cut, but by the record of his own devotion, which will endure even if Gaillard Cut should be swept away.

The Panama Canal was completed at a time when war enveloped Europe. The story of its construction is offered in the hope that it will aid in

reminding the world that

"Peace hath her victories.

No less renowned than war."

Washington,

Table Of Contents

Chapter

I The Discovery of Panama

II Early Settlements

Chapter I The Discovery Of Panama

Discoveries of Christopher Columbus — Other Expeditions: Ojeda, Nino, Pinzon, Lepe, and Bastidas — Discovery of Panama by Bastidas^Columbus's Third and Fourth Voyages — Discovery of South America — Search for the Strait — Discovery of Western Panama — Exploration of Veragua — Establishment of the Colony of Belen — Its Abandonment — Return OF Columbus to Spain — His Death.

c iHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS'S discovery of previously unknown lands lying in the western sea, on his celebrated first voyage in 1492, naturally attracted the attention of adventurous spirits to the glorious possibilities of fame and fortune which the New World seemed to offer. Hence we find that expedition after expedition was fitted out in rapid succession to explore and exploit the territory which the intrepid admiral from Genoa had added to the dominions of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Most interest was at first taken in the islands of which Columbus had actually acquired possession, and in the surrounding islands; but soon wider vistas opened before the gaze of the navigators, when what was at first vague, if hopeful, impression deepened into the certainty that a great continent was at hand for the enrichment and aggrandisement of courageous explorers.

Already while Columbus was absent from Spain on his second voyage (1493- 1496), there was issued, on April 10, 1495, a royal proclamation giving Spaniards permission to settle in Hispaniola, and allowing private voyages elsewhither for discovery, exploration, and barter. Under licenses granted in accordance with this proclamation five different expeditions left Spain for the new lands during 1499 and 1500.

The first of these was led by Alonso de Ojeda, who had been with Columbus on his second voyage. With Ojeda there went at least two men of note. One was Juan de la Cosa, the celebrated pilot, who, accompanying Columbus in 1493, made the earliest map of the western world. The other, a native of Florence, was Amerigo Vespucci, from whom, by a strange freak of fortune, all America was destined to take its name. Ojeda had four ships, and setting sail from Santa Maria, near Cadiz, on May 20, 1499, he reached the coast of South America, some two hundred leagues east and south of the river Orinoco. He then skirted the coast in a northwesterly direction until he reached Cape de la Vela, from which point he appears to have left the mainland and steered for Hispaniola. A claim is sometimes made ^ for Ojeda that he was the first to sight the country now known as Panama. This^ claim rests on the assumption that his coasting cruise did not stop at Cape de la Vela, but that he continued his course as far as Cabo Tiburon in Darien; but this opinion is not now generally held. He returned to Spain in June, 1500, arriving at Cadiz with a great number of Indian slaves.

The second expedition was in command of Pedro Alonso Nino, who had also been with Columbus on his second voyage. With Nino, there also went Cristobal Guerra. With only one small caravel of fifty tons, and thirty-three men, they sailed from Palos on or about June i, 1499, and, like Ojeda, successfully made the South American coast. Nino also sailed in a north-westerly direction, trading as he went for guanin and pearls. He returned to Spain in April, 1500, with a goodly number of pearls; but, on a charge of not fully accounting for his treasure, he was cast into prison, from which he was not freed for some time.

The next to try his fortune was Vicente Yanez Pinzon, who had been captain of the Niiia on Columbus's first voyage. Sailing from Palos in December, 1499, Pinzon had four caravels, with which he reached the coast of Brazil, at a point now known as Cape St. Augustine, on January 20, 1500. He took possession of the country in the prescribed form for Spain, giving it the name of Santa Maria de la Consolacion, but, as we shall see later, this act of his was of no avail, and Brazil was subsequently ceded to Portugal. To Pinzon belongs the distinction of being the first to cross the equator in the western part of the Atlantic. He, like the others who had preceded him, sailed north and west and discovered the Amazon. In the Gulf of Paria he landed and cut a cargo of Brazil-wood. On the way home he had the misfortune to lose two of his vessels and many of his men, so that when he arrived back at Palos his welcome was none too cordial.

A fellow townsman of Pinzon's, Diego de Lepe, sailed from Palos early in 1500 with two vessels. He went farther south along the American coast than any of his predecessors, and in this respect set up a record that stood for more than ten years.

In 1500 Cristobal Guerra made a second voyage to the Pearl Coast, which had some financial success. He was back in Spain before November i, 1501.

From the point of view of this history the most important of the five expeditions was the last. Its leader was Rodrigo de Bastidas, a notary of Triana, a suburb of Seville. He was a man of position and education, and in character formed a strong contrast to most of the explorers who had preceded him, or were to come after him. Taking with him Juan de la Cosa, who had just returned with Ojeda, and accompanied also by Vasco Nunez de Balboa, of whom we shall hear more presently, Bastidas set out from Cadiz in two ships in October, 1500. He reached that portion of

South America which is now known as Venezuela, and, steering westward, he passed Cape de la Vela, explored the Gulf of Darien and the mouth of the Atrato River, and sailed along the northern shore of the isthmus as far as El Retrete, perhaps even as far as the site of Nombre de Dios, and possibly as far as Porto Bello. To Bastidas, thereiore, yi^ belongs the credit of the discovery of the country now called Panama. He had great success in trading for guanin, pearls, and gold, and he also took a number of the natives as slaves. His career of exploration was brought to an end by the leaky condition of his ships, caused by the ravages of the teredo. He accordingly proceeded to Hispaniola, intending to sail thence for Spain, but his two ships sank in the port of Jaragua, and most of his slaves were drowned and some Brazil-wood, gold, and pearls were also lost. He managed to save the most precious and portable part of his cargo, and, placing it on the backs of the surviving slaves, he started to march for Santo Domingo, which was about seventy leagues distant in an easterly direction. Arrived there, he was seized and thrown into prison by the governor of Hispaniola on the charge of illicit trading with the Indians. Francisco de Bobadilla, the retiring governor, who had recently been superseded by Don Nicolas de Ovando, was about to return to Spain with the large fleet that had brought out his successor. Accordingly, Bastidas was ordered to accompany him thither to have his case tried. Those who are familiar with the career of Columbus will remember that he was just then in the vicinity of Santo Domingo, on his fourth voyage. His former experience enabled him to predict a hurricane, and he begged of Ovando not to allow the fleet to start on the homeward voyage for at least eight days. He was laughed to scorn for his pains, and the fleet set out (July, 1502), but it had no sooner cleared the island than a fierce storm broke, which sank more than twenty of the ships. Among those lost was Bobadilla, who, in

LAST VOYAGES OF COLUMBUS

1500, had sent Columbus home to Spain in chains. The Admiral's own little fleet of four vessels, being handled with superior seamanship, managed to ride out the storm. It is a curious fact that only one vessel of Bobadilla's fleet, and that the worst, La Aguja, with gold and other goods belonging to Columbus aboard, survived the hurricane in sufficiently good shape to proceed onward to Spain. All the circumstances considered, it is no wonder that the ordinary seamen believed that their Admiral had used "art magic" to confound and destroy his enemies and at the same time save himself, his ships and crews, and his possessions.

Out of the great Ovando-Bobadilla fleet a few badly battered vessels crawled back to Santo Domingo, and on one of them was Bastidas. When he ultimately reached Spain, he had no trouble in establishing his innocence before Ferdinand and Isabella. From the salvage he had made when his two vessels sank in Jaragua Harbour, he paid a goodly royalty into the Spanish treasury, and he and Cosa were each granted a yearly pension of 50,000 maravedis, Cosa, in addition, receiving the appointment of alguacil mayor of Urabd. As an inducement to other intending explorers, three chests of gold and pearls, which Bastidas had collected, were displayed by royal order in all the towns through which he passed.

While these smaller men were thus engaged, the great high admiral himself was making his third and fourth voyages. On his third expedition he discovered the mainland of South America on August i, 1498, and, in the belief that it was an island, he named it La Isla Santa, or Holy Island. A few days later he explored the land around the cape and gulf of Paria and, still in the same belief, called it Isla de Gracia, or Island of Grace. A coasting cruise of about 150 miles westwardly along the northern coast of Paria at length convinced him that he was dealing, not with an island, but with a Tierra Firme or continent. He had now, as he thought.

discovered two continents: Cuba on the north with its western coast extending indefinitely to the south, and Paria on the south with its shores extending indefinitely to the west. The object of his fourth voyage therefore was to discover a narrow water-passage, running between these two mainlands, through which, as he imagined, the waters of the Atlantic flowed into the Indian Ocean. This strait once discovered, he could sail around the world and get back to Spain by way of the Cape of Good Hope.

Accordingly, armed with credentials to the eastern potentates whom he hoped to encounter, carrying interpreters versed in Arabic, with provisions for two years, and trinkets and other goods to barter with the Indians for gold, Columbus sailed, on his fourth and last voyage, from Cadiz on May II, 1502. His little fleet consisted of four ships, ranging from 70 to 50 tons. His brother Bartolome, the Adelantado, was captain of one of them, and the crews numbered, all told, one hundred and fifty. Among them was Columbus's second son, Fernando, then not quite fourteen years old, who in later years wrote a life of his father, in which he gave a detailed account of this fourth voyage. After putting in at Arcila on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, at the Canaries, at Martinio (which is perhaps Martinique), at Santo Domingo and other ports of Hispaniola, at the Morant Keys off Jamaica, and at the Queen's Gardens off the southern shore of Cuba, they steered south-south-west in the direction of the supposed strait, which Columbus felt confident was about Veragua and Nombre de Dios, as those places came subsequently to be known.

Towards the end of July they arrived at an island called Guanaja (the modern Bonacao or Bonacca). Near this island they captured two large canoes, the property of a cacique, evidently out on a trading voyage, for they contained an assortment of articles the like of which no Spaniard had previously seen in those parts. There were cups, bells, and hatchets made of copper, cloaks and tunics of dyed cotton beautifully worked, knives of obsidian, wooden swords edged with flint, bread and beer, and cacao or chocolate beans. The men and women wore clothing, and were evidently more highly civilized than any Indians Columbus had previously seen. He began to think that at last he was about to get into touch with the strange races of the East. By using signs and the native dialect of Hispaniola, the Spaniards learned that their captives had come from a westerly land distant several days' journey, and that there gold, pearls, and spices were to be found in plenty. On learning this intelligence Columbus allowed them all to go, except one old man whom he kept for a guide.

From Guanaja the admiral continued his southerly course and found a cape, which he named Caxinas, and which is now known as Cape Honduras. Here the land ran east and west, and when Guimba, as the guide was called, was asked from which direction the gold came, he lied like a gentleman and pointed to the east. That gesture changed the history of the western world. Had he pointed the other way, where Yucatan, his own country, lay, Mexico would probably have had a more merciful conqueror than Cortes, and the Isthmus of Panama might never have become, as it subsequently did, the great entrepot for the commerce of the east and the west. Guimba was dismissed with presents, and the fleet proceeded, in the direction he had indicated, along the coast of Honduras, meeting with the most terrible storms, until they reached a narrow point, from which the land turned south, and the weather improved. To this point they gave the appropriate name of Gracias d Dios, or Thanks to God. They then sailed along the coast of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, stopping at various points to barter with the natives, and on October 6 dropped anchor in Almirante Bay within the confines of the modern Panama. Thus Bastidas, sailing from South America to the west, and Columbus, sailing from Honduras to the east and south, discovered at different times different parts of Panama.

Columbus continued eastward past Chiriqui and Veragua until he reached Puerto Bello, to which he gave that name, as his son tells us, because it was "large, well peopled, and encompassed by a well-cultivated country." On November 24 he reached his farthest easterly harbor, to which he gave the name of El Retrete. Unable to contend any longer against the fierce easterly and north-easterly winds, he decided to turn back to Veragua to see for himself whether its mines were as rich as report made them. It was on December 5 that the start of the journey back to Veragua was made. He now encountered fierce westerly winds, and it was not until January 6, 1503, the feast of the Epiphany, that he anchored in Veragua, at a place to which he gave the name of Nuestra Senora de Belen, or Our Lady of Bethlehem, because that was the anniversary of the day on which the Wise Men reached Bethlehem of Judaea. In this vicinity there appeared so many evidences of mineral wealth that Columbus decided to leave a garrison to hold the country, and to go back himself to Spain to bring out reinforcements. To Ferdinand and Isabella he wrote in the following July a most glowing account of the gold in Veragua and of the fertility of its soil and the timidity of its inhabitants. The little garrison or colony was to consist of eighty men under the command of the Adelantado, and one of the ships, the Gallego, with all her stores, was to be left for their use. A storehouse was erected and huts of timber roofed with palm leaves were built. But the Quibian, or chief man of ^i the district, not liking these proceedings, I began to show signs of hostility. He and J several of his warriors were therefore seized, the intention being to bring them to Spain and hold them as hostages for the good behavior of the rest. But the Quibian escaped, and at a time when nearly all the garrison was engaged with the getting out of the Admiral's ships, and only about twenty men were at Belen with

DEATH OF COLUMBUS the Adelantado, an attack was made, which it took all the undaunted courage of Don Bartolome to repel. Another attack forced the handful of Spaniards to abandon their settlement, which was exposed to enemies concealed in the jungle, and to entrench themselves on a piece of open beach, where they were out of reach of arrows from the woods. Luckily for them the admiral had not yet sailed, and after considerable difficulty all the men and stores were safely taken aboard, the dismantled and worm-eaten hulk of the Gallego being the only thing left behind. Thus ended the first attempt to colonize or garrison Panama.

Columbus now beat up the coast eastward, past the Chagres River and Limon Bay, until he again reached Puerto Bello, where one of his three remaining ships, the Biscaina, had to be abandoned on account of her extremely leaky condition. He still continued eastward for about ten leagues, and then, on May i, 1503, from Marmora, as his son Fernando calls it, stood out to the north for Hispaniola. The identification of Marmora is difficult. Some are of opinion that Columbus went as far as Cape Tiburon and saw the Gulf of Uraba or Darien; a more probable opinion is that the most easterly point he reached in Panama was Punta Mosquito. When he headed for Hispaniola his ships were practically unseaworthy, and only the most strenuous bailing with pumps and kettles prevented them from being entirely swamped. Contrary winds and currents carried him far out of his course, and considering that he could never make Hispaniola, he steered for Jamaica, where, at

Puerto Bono, he arrived on June 24. Next day he moved into another more easterly harbor, into which he had once before put during his second voyage in 1494, and to which he had then given the name of Santa Gloria. Here he ran his two worn-out vessels aground, shored them up so that they could not move, and built sheds on them for the protection of himself and his men. In July two of his lieutenants put off for Hispaniola in canoes, and after a long delay returned with two ships. In the meantime there had been a mutiny against Columbus by fifty of his men, which was put down by the bravery of the Adelantado and fifty of his staunch supporters.

On the two ships brought from Hispaniola Columbus and the survivors set out, on June 28, 1504, for Santo Domingo, but met with such adverse winds that they did not arrive at that city until August 13. The admiral started on his last voyage from the West Indies for Spain on September 12, and, after a stormy passage, dropped anchor in the harbor of San Liicar on November 7, 1504. Here ended the active life of the high admiral of the ocean sea.

Less than two years later, on Ascension Day, May 20, 1506, with the chains in which he had once returned to Spain hanging over his bed in an inn at Valladolid, Christopher Columbus, worn out with disease and heart-broken with disappointment and ingratitude, received the last sacraments of the Church of which he was so loyal a son, and with the pious expression of faith, In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum, on his lips, brought to an end his wonderful and glorious career.

Chapter II Early Settlements

TiERRA Firme: Its Meaning — Tierra Firms Divided into Two Provinces — Ojeda Appointed Governor of Nueva Andalucia — Nicuesa Appointed Governor OF Castilla del Oro — Death op Juan de la Cosa — Ojeda and Nicuesa Join Forces to Attack the Indians — Foundation op the Colony of San Sebastian — Sad Plight of the Settlers — Adventures of Ojeda — 'His Death — Pizarro in Command at San Sebastian — Arrival of Enciso — Balboa Embarks as a Stowaway — Foundation op the Colony op Santa Maria de la Antigua del Darien — Deposition op Enciso — Balboa and Zamudio Appointed Alcaldes — Arrival of Colmenares — 'Wanderings and Sufferings of Nicuesa — He Founds the Colony of Nombre de Digs — He Goes to Antigua by Invitation and is Refused Admission — His Sad Fate.

TIERRA FIRME, or continent, was at first a general term applied to the whole of a vaguely known mainland which Columbus had discovered; but gradually that phrase received a narrower and more definite meaning by being applied particularly to the land which lay between Cape de la Vela on the east and Cape Gracias a Dies on the west. The report made by Columbus of the fertility and mineral wealth of Veragua, and the pearls and gold found by Bastidas in a more easterly direction, as well as the fact that no one had yet discovered a limit to the continent, helped King Ferdinand to realize more clearly the riches and magnitude of the country which the recent explorations had added to his dominions. He resolved therefore not to revive the office of Viceroy of the Indies vacant on Columbus's death, and to treat all his western dependencies as an appanage of the crown to be administered by governors or other officials appointed directly by himself. In 1509, in accordance with this policy, he divided Tierra Firme, in its narrower sense, into two provinces, to one of which was given the name of Nueva Andalucia, or New Andalusia, and to the other that of Castilla del Oro, or Golden Castile. Nueva Andalucia occupied the east, and Castilla del Oro the west, of Tierra Firme. Alonso de

Ojeda, who had sailed with Columbus in 1493 and had undertaken two other western voyages on his own account in 1499 and 1502, was appointed governor of Nueva Andalucia. The government of Castilla del Oro was given to Diego de Nicuesa, a favorite at court, who had accompanied Nicolas de Ovando when the latter went out to supersede Bobadilla as governor and judge of Hispaniola in 1502. In this way Ferdinand hoped to colonize and develop a section of territory that promised so well.

At Santo Domingo, in Hispaniola, where the two governors met before making a final start for their respective provinces, it was agreed, mainly on the arbitration of the pilot and cartographer Juan de la Cosa, but not without much antecedent friction, that the dividing line between the two governments should be the middle of the Gulf of Darien and the Atrato River.

Ojeda sailed from Santo Domingo on November 10, 1509, with three hundred men and twelve brood mares on two ships and two brigantines. Among those who accompanied him was Francisco Pizarro, destined in after years to become famous by his conquest of Peru. An associate of Ojeda's, Martin Fernandez de Enciso, remained behind to follow after the interval necessary to secure more recruits and additional supplies. About ten days later than

I. Pedrarias Davila 3. Alonso de Ojeda 6. Hernando de Soto

SPANISH EXPLORERS

4. Vasco Nunez de Balboa 8. Bartolome Colon

2. Rodrigo de Bastidas 5. Christopher Columbus 7. Francisco Pizarro

OJEDA'S ADVENTURES

II

Ojeda, Nicuesa sailed with seven vessels, eight hundred men, and six horses.

Ojeda was unfortunate from the first. Contrary to the advice of the sage and experienced Juan de la Cosa, who sailed with him as his lieutenant and alguacil mayor, he went ashore from what is now Cartagena Bay with seventy men, all of whom save himself and one other were killed by the warlike natives. Among those slain was the veteran Juan de la Cosa. Ojeda owed his safety to his bulldog courage, his swiftness of foot, and his smallness of stature, which enabled him to keep well behind his shield. The shield bore the marks of three hundred arrows after the engagement. The two survivors made their way back to the ships, and there they were found by Nicuesa, who put into the same harbor, and gladly joined his forces to those of Ojeda to avenge the fall of their fellow-countrymen. With about four hundred men they attacked the Indians at night and slew great numbers of them. They also secured plenty of booty, of which Nicuesa and his followers received a goodly portion, said to amount to 7,000 castellanos, as their share. Nicuesa then took his departure for Castilla del Oro.