THE CAMBRIAN'S CRUISE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 13991, 24 August 1909, Page 4

THE CAMBRIAN'S CRUISE.

SIX MONTHS IN THE PACIFIC. JUK PANAMA CANAL (( 'mi limed trom yostrnln\ )

'I'm- ciin.il proper will he -H miles lniUCi iMiininif in ii iioitb-castorlx clucclioi' T!iru- aiv 41,000 «-«ii>l«>y«»cl on il.c aoi'.vs All these people live in villages jiml towns alou^ the route. t' 1 )- !",<> |»i incipal tow ii.s btMDj; Holno anil dorm ii.i. 1 lies* 1 towns i'lul \ illa^es will lie iiuiiel under water « lien the <,niii! k I1(.(kI<m!. us n vast lake oi over luO V|iirie miles is to ho ereati'd. The ehannei tl'roiifih 'he lake will he mclieate 1 !>\ ium\t, the depth winnu trom 41 to N~) tei I. To hold all tins water back :x huiio ilan) is Id he « onsmirti'd with lo< ks at I'eilro Miyu<l, n<;ii - I'-i-iiania, and (iatim, near C.iion. The locks in the former arc to he donMo and in two steps, while tl-oM< at Hatmi will he doubl<> hut in tlinv .stej s. Each siep will raise 01 lower i.\.> .it onef 28ft. 4nt.. <t a total 101 ihiec steps ol Bj)i., that is. I/0111 sea le.ol at Colon to the lak*- level, or vice vc:ii. V.'c saw the (jatun dam 1:1 pnue^j, of const nut ion. It i"5 e.stiniatod to take '22,000,1)00 cubic yards or dirt and roc Us to complete it. 'it will be loSOit. loiik, 1150 ft. thick at the base, and BoOH. thick at tho top, and some peoi'c t.itiik I even this will not be strong enough to resist the pressuit 1 ot water. I iia'e I )me dciots masol'. At any ratr. I 1 Oionld not raiv to live either at C'bris- • to'>al or Colon, as both lie alon<; tho ] haulms ot the canal, and should the J I d.iin ever burst they would he rni^hty 1 I in.- places to live far away •from. A h.-illoon would he preferred as a place 101 icsidence. However, you msiv won1 der wiiv they h.ive a dam at all. instead , ot dinumji straiyht through like the I Suez. Like the lii^er, 1 answer. i"• Mekas." " This is tho reason, or part ot it, anyhow. The land at the Colon side is much lower than at the Pacific side, also the ocean levels differ, I and another < urious tiling about the (m'imi's is that the rise and fall of the 1 tides dit for considerably. The rise and 1 fall at Colon is only 2ft., while at , I'anan-a it is 2(]ft. So to <n-t level 1 w ith the rise and fall at Panama it I w onld bo necessary to cut to an enormous depth, and they are having enough of that now. Besides, as the elm him 1 ! would be narrow the rush of water would prevent a ship nettinn I through, and the country would be j deluuod ; in fact, there's no telling what would happen exactly. so the easiest plan was to make a dam. There are hundreds of married em1 ployees along the route, who have their ! families with them, and consequently . there are 2100 children of. school ago. white and coloured. These are forced t.i attend school, but the whites to one school and the coloured to an- ' other. For these children there are 31 teachers, jaid by the U.S.A. Govorn- , ment, which provides books and train . transport free. They are taught in I English. Six men can now do m a day, with present machinery, what a few years a<jo it took 3000 men a week •to do. A mile of railroad can be shifted and relaid in a day. Each steam shovel I clears a path 40ft. wide and fills a train of cars standing beside it. The cars are filled in 3 to 4 scoops and the ' whole train in about 30 to 40 minutes. It then moves off to where it is to be unloaded, where special machinery scoops the cars clean, pushes the rocks and dirt clear of the track, levels the stuff, and packs it hard down. At Christoba! there is a group in bronze, representing Columbus pointing out the route of the canal to an Indian girl. It looks very striking, the attitudes being very suggestive. One could almost fancy him describing the ranal to her. The group was presented to the French Government by the ex-Empress Eugenic, when everyone in France though De Lesseps would succeed. Christoba! is a pretty place. Colon is built on a low, marshy islilnd, though now the place is filled in and it is part of the mainland. The ground i< being drained and raised, and in time it w ill he a l>ig place. The European pnrt of the town is. of course. th<» cleanest and best, and there cocoa nuts and shrubs planted everywhere. The Chinese are in strong numbers, i and their portion of the town is easily found by the smell. Select the worst smell and follow it up, and there are the. Chinese. We stopped and had a look at the Gatun dam on the way 1 a '.< a> ri :t: t was dark when wo reached Panama again ; but we all agreed it wa-* a most interesting trip, and we are very grateful to the United States Government for its kindness. DOWN THE PACIFIC COAST. \W left Panama for Callao, but did not call at Buonaventura, nor Gutiyaoijjj, as fever was raging in both places. Callao lies at the foot of the Andes, and is a very busy port. Lima, the capital, is not far inland, and it can easily be reached by electric tram from Callao. Lima is a very famous old t-'.'f» It was the head centre for the Sj"ai.i«i(U in years gone by when th«*y (ct'-illrl ]' mj and used to rob the \i tives of all the gold and silver they r«i?iM lay lirii'i- on. The pirates in t'l .» it. '.c- 1 llem when they n c! unco, ar,. 1 tl 0 English ships robbed «mU'»t. cr both ii' those had old ilsts «,f \--re. In Lima tl-ere is a beautiful ea'hodiat. wi ere tin l.c-nes of the foim- (!«; of Limp are supposed to rest. Statuary and pictures on sacred subjeciw are very plentiful around the •vills of thf> cathedral ; most of them glitter with peeious stones and jevvol- • ' Pry - 1 ! A iHIP IT THE MOUNTAINS. Ac 11a'! a trip to Oroya. 10,000 ft. up j t'»e moiinlvn: by rail. Eighteen men j from eo- M Miip" were invited at the British Con mi's invitation, I believe, 1 rhougl 1 I am not sure. However. w»> started very early for shore, and went %• Lima by tram, and from there by 1 train to Oroya. It is a most thrilling I sensation, riding by rail up these mountains 1 , and we all heaved a sigh of relief to think we had got back safely. 1 though I don't suppose there was ii'iich > danger. The track corkscrews and 1 HtrzaL's up the mountains in a, tearful end v/ondorful manner, runs through tunnels under cliffs, and along the edges of precipices hundreds of feet deep. It would make your hair stand on end to look down. It took eight hours to izo up, hut only five to come down. We had not much time to spare at Oroya, but managed to get a bit of silver ore from tho famous mines. We : aw the Hamas of Prru bringing down sacks of |x>tatoos to Lima. They look part camel, part goat, and have the viciousn"ss of both, being savage to ' .strangers, and will bite if they got a chance. IN T CHILIAN PORTS. Wo left Callao for Iquique. where we rolled pretty heavily all the time we were there, and Callao was not much hotter. We wpre glad to leave for Valparaiso, but the Flora parted from u« at sea and went on to Taleahauno. as that is near Santiago, the capital. Valparaiso is one ot the most important towns on the coast, as it is connected with Buenos Avres on the East, hut it is unfortunately a great place lor earthquakes, which cause a lot of damage and loss of life. The effects, of the last one can be seen everywhere; the houses are cracked in all directions, the P'ning and kerbstones are in all sorts of attitudes, and the streets very uneven. The town is built on the tops and slopes of the Andes Mountains, which form a semi-circle round the harbour, though the harbour js, like New Plymouth, an open roadstead, and h_» this is frequently visited by dost ruetive gales called Northers, all ships on arrival are made to moor to buoys, with their heads to sea, so that on the firing of a signal gun on shore (which is a warning that the gale is reaching a dnngeron, height) all ships can roadilv >-lip and go to sea till the weather model ates. So Valparaiso is not a very deMrable place to live in. We had to clear out when a Norther came on. so we went 011 to Coquiniho to coal and lor the Flora, and from Coquimho \vp started on our long homeward trip arrows tlie South Pacific. f'oduimho is a pretty place, and tiie town ol Serena is about four miles away a< the head ol the harbour. That also is a pretty little place. They both lie at the toot of the Andes, but there is plenty ot level ground at Serena, wfueh in well cultivated. Th ground at the hack of Coquimbo is bare rocks, which look picturesque if they are not useful. There were eight Chilian nien-o'-war present and their famous tlaj< t-hip. the O'Hignins. Her hand was sent on board otir ship to phiv from 3 to o one afternoon, mid on lowering the colours at sunset they played, on our quarter dock, our National Anthem, followed by their own. It is customary in «11 navies to play their own anthem tii'-t and then that ot e\ery ship present in order of seniority of command, but this rc,\s unique ns far as I know, as it w.is ] the I'n-vt time I e\ir heard a foieijjn h.ind play oui «i;;theni on a British man-u'-wiir: hut at the .^..'le time through nav.il courtesy tho bi«ud reyjly was ours pio teni. HOMEWARD BOUND. Wo left Coqirinibo tor uiir trip honiewaids. the Flora leading down the life ol ships. All the Chilians manned tln« rigging anil yards and we did tin* ><«im» jind as wo passed euc-h >-hi[> they yai'c us throo cheers which we returned. The last cheer wo got wns 1101111 10111 a British lour-nuistcd merchant ship, the Falls ot l)ee, from Newcastle, England, and wo gave her three good ouca in return.

This was the tirst occasion that we tlew our long paying-oif pennant. It was 300 feet long and had a gilt bladder on the end. The Mora also tlew hers. Ours has now been altered to 731) feet, one toot per day ot the commission. Tins is llown only In ships paying oft instead ot the usual short whip or pennant at tho mast head, which all war ships ll.v. Alter ten <in\h at hea we sighted a lump ol 100k and mud sticking up in the water^ This was Easter Island. It is about 70 iet't high along the coast line, except at one phx <•. where there* is a beach, but v.c could not land owing to rocks and hurt. The island is very mountainous, every peak being an extinct volcano; 111 tact, the whole island is nothing but a tolcano with several craters. It is 41) scjnaie miles 111 area and there are 1.0 tree-, or shrubs on it, except near tie .Natne village, and these were planted there. The whole island is covered with lava stones as thick as had. which mil.o it difficult, it not dangerous, lor walking To scatter stones so tlnckU the wliolo island must have been 111 eruption at once. I should think, though they have not been active 111 the ineinoi\ ot living man. The island is paitlv owned by a Chilian and an Englishman, as a cattle and .sheep ranch, but it was not a success, anyhow tho people who live heie (Tahitians) sn.\ tluy have not been to the island toi two >eais There are about 360 people and they are a wretchedly dirty lot. The.r houses have no beds, simply grass on tho c.nth, and as 'they run about in mud and all over the floor as well you can perhapx imagine what a state it is in Hardly any of them had much clothe-, and boys and girls up to 11 or V 2 ve.ir-. were naked. We gave them all the old clothes we had. needles,, thread, etc . in baiter tor tow Is. We went to a large extinct volcano and tound both inside and outside the crater hundreds ot statues oi men ear\ed in stone from "t to 70 feet high, but no one knows who they are supposed to be. who carved them, why the> were caned, or where the stonr came 110111.1 10111. as there is none in the island like it. It is a mystery.

We left Easter Island tor Pitt-siirn islund, onllin<t at Ducie Inland, Henderson Island, and Oeno Island on the wa\. Diifie is small, ot coral tormation, and no one lives on it. The captain ot the Flora planted the tirst cocoanut tive on it. Henderson is about 70ft. Injili around the coast Une, nearly a perfect level on the top, thickly wooded, ami is volcanic in origin, it contains phosphate deposits, but not in paying quantities, lot alone the danger of getting it. as there is no anchorage and a heavy &urt is always breaking against tbe> cliits. Oono Island is ot coral tormation, horbo-shoe in shape, very low, a large lagoon being in the centre, and a coral reel all ro^nd with only one opening in it. but calm deop water inside in plenty. It is wooded and has plenty of cocoa nnts growing. It is about SO miles from Pitcairn. which we next called at. Pitcairn is only 2J by Ii miles in extent. It is very hilly, but cocoa nuts, oranges, bananas, plaintains, yams, taro, etc., grow in abundance. The island is famous as the home ot the mutineers of- the Bounty, whose descendants, to tbe number of 160. live here (the rest being at Norfolk Island, off tbe Australian coast). They art? religious people, very hospitable, clean, and tidy. They have a nice church with a tine organ, which cost them £200. Wo saw tho grave ot John Adams and tbe cave ho first lived in when he came to the island after the mutiny. We left here for Tahiti, where we coaled and left for Suva.