Over Darien by a ship canal : reports of the mismanaged Darien expedition of 1854, with suggestions for a survey by competent engineers, and an exploration by parties with compasses.

  • Cullen, Dr.
Date:
1856
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Over Darien by a ship canal : reports of the mismanaged Darien expedition of 1854, with suggestions for a survey by competent engineers, and an exploration by parties with compasses. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    from their depth of water, freedom fi'om shoals, and great secu- rity, safe anchorage in all weathers, and that each is admirably adapted for tlie terminus of a gi-eat ship canal, as proved by the Survey of Caledonia Harbour and Port Escoces, by Com- mander Parsons, of her Majesty's ship Scorpion, published by the Hydrographic Office in 1854. Captain Hollins, of the Cyane, has also spoken highly of their capabilities. The existence of those noble harbours, which had never been entered by British, French, or American men-of-war before the anival of the late expedition, was almost unknown to navigators until I directed attention to their merits. 2. That the Gulf of San Miguel, on the Pacific side, is only excelled on the West Coast of North and South America, by the ])ort of San Fi'ancisco, as will appear on reference to Captain Kellett's Chart. 3. That Darien Harboui', as they have recently named the magnificent estuary formed by the confluence of the Savana and Tuyra, previous to their opening into the Gulf of San Miguel, by the mouths of Boca Chica and Boca Grande, is perfectly land- locked, has great depth of water, and perfectly safe entrances, as verified by Captain Kennish and Mr. Nelson, C.E., who accom- panied Commander Prevost, and took soundings. 4. That tlie Savana river is navigable for several miles above its mouth, which is fi-ee from bars, and has nine fathoms of water at low tide, as results from the observations of Messrs. Bennett, Devenish, Ai-mstrong, and Bond, who found my soundings to be correct. 5. That, from the Savana to the Chuquanaqua, the ground is low, with the exception of a single ridge of from fifty feet to sixty feet elevation, as stated in the Official Report of Commander Prevost of R.M.S. Virago, read before the Royal Geographical Society of London, April 24, 1854. 6. That according to the same Repox-t, beyond the Chuquanaqua there is one hill 80, and another 120 feet high, and that from the summit of the latter the Atlantic was seen, bearing N.W.; so, that in a N.W. direction between the hill and the Atlantic there is no elevation of importance, but on the contrary a depression occurs in the fine of the Cordillera. A N.W. line, drawn from that hill to the Atlantic, would terminate in the channel of Sassardi, a little west of Sassardi village. This cor- responds precisely with the statement I have made in page 73 of the Isthmus of Darien —viz., that A little west of Sassardi, there is a deep valley in the Cordillera of the coast. 7. That, according to the medical reports of Dr. M'Dermott, of the Espiegle, and Dr. Brownlow, of the Cyane, Caledonia Bay is healthier than any station in Central America, no sickness having occurred in any of the ships or amongst any of the parties on shore. . 8. That no hostility need be apprehended from the Indians, it