route, submitting to the United States Government a very full and exhaustive report; and it is upon this survey that all latter proposals in connection with this project. have been based. In 1887 he obtained the concession from the Republic of Nicaragua, and in that year relocated the entire line. It will be seen that Mr. Menocal's labours have been not only those of engineer, but of negotiator and diplomatist. And there can be no doubt that his work in the latter field, as in the former, has been performed with great ability. A Cuban by birth, he was admirably fitted for a mission requiring intimate knowledge of the SpanishAmerican character, and of the Spanish language, and great tact and finesse in dealing with the authorities. Before proceeding to a description of the route it may be noted that the greatest obstacles met with in other localities are: (1) high elevations in the Cordillera separating the two oceans, requiring tunnelling; or (2) a high summit level requiring a large number of locks for which an adequate water supply is not obtainable; or (3) torrential streams whose control within economical limits defies the skill of the engineer. Nicaragua is free from all these obstacles. CHAPTER II. THE CANAL ROUTE. CONCESSIONS AND COMPANIES. HE proposed route is from Greytown (San Juan del TH Norte), on the Atlantic, to Brito, on the Pacific, the total distance from port to port being under 170 miles, of which about twenty-seven miles will be excavated canal. Lake Nicaragua, necessarily the summit level of the canal, will be connected with the Pacific by two sections. of canal in excavation, and by the Tola basin, and with the Atlantic by slack-water navigation through the valley of the river San Juan, and a series of basins in the valleys of the San Francisco and Deseado, connected by short sections of canal. The sea level on each side is reached by three locks, which have been located as near as possible to the extremities of the canal-namely, 2 miles from Brito, and 123 miles from Greytown-thereby giving a clear summit level of 154 miles in extent out of the total length. THE LAKE. The lake, over 105 miles in length, with an average of some forty miles in width, is the controlling feature of the whole problem. It has a watershed of about 8,000 square miles, of which its water area is nearly one half, and on account of its large space, restricted catchment basin, and ample outlet, is not subject to either sudden or great fluctuation in level. Both the lake and the San Juan river are therefore free from floods, a most important feature, distinguishing this route from all others. The average yearly rise and fall, due to wet and dry seasons, is about 5 feet, its highest water-mark being 110 feet above the sea, the elevation assumed for the highest level. A direct sailing line between the outlet at Fort San Carlos, on the eastern shore, and the mouth of the river Lajas on the west-a distance of 56 miles-comprises the lake navigation proper, and here the 30 feet contour (below the assumed level) is met with about fourteen miles from the outlet, and 1,200 feet from the western shore. Between those points the depth gradually increases to 150 feet or more, the free navigable portions comprising the greater part of the lake area. Dredging in mud to an average depth of 9 feet will be required for the fourteen miles on the east, and rock-blasting and dredging in the 1,200 feet near the west shore. The eastern side of the lake being sheltered from the prevailing north-east winds, no provision is needed there to protect the channel. The western shore is exposed to the prevailing winds and waves, and the canal entrance there must be protected by two piers, projecting to deep water in the lake, to be made of crib, for which the native hard wood is well suited, filled with stone from the excavations. |