!

One Way of Getting a Job.

141

Do you think there is any one in these parts that can do it?

Let them try it.

"Then," Baldwin said, "I want you to go to Frijoles Station, get in a row with the track master, give him rough beating and kick him out. You can then have bis

job." The offer was at once accepted.

a

On the following morning the new arrival found himself at Frijoles, and met the by-no-means courteous and refined charge d'affaires. The latter was The latter was ready to pick a quarrel with the newcomer, and soon both got warm and agreed to fight it out in accordance with the rules of the ring. They staked off the ring, and dispensing with the seconds went at it. After several rounds in which both showed signs of heavy punishment, the stranger gained the victory and expelled his antagonist from the place.

This occurrence is perfectly true and illustrates some of the rough and ready events of those times on the Panama Railroad. As an afterword we might add that the hero of this affair was Tom Sharp who later fought his way to success in the railroad world.

From start to finish the company Was beset with labor troubles. The laborers that were brought to the Isthmus under contract would melt away in the stream of people bound for the California gold-fields. In February 1851, the work was brought to a stop by a wholesale desertion of these men, but with the assistance of the Colombian authorities a large number were apprehended and kept in jail until they signified their readiness to return to work. Another factor in the labor question was the Isthmian fevers which at times made severe inroads on the men and gave rise to the report that "The Panama Railroad cost a man for every tie."

WITHOUT “PA-NOR-MA.”

Why are all that live outside the city like orphans?
Because they are without Pa-nor-ma.

The Black Swamp.

Probably the largest obstacle met with in the construction work of the road was the stretch through the swamps between Colon and Gatun, and particularly over the famous "Black Swamp". This swamp is located between Lion Hill and Ahorca Lagarto and has been giving trouble at intervals ever since the opening of the road. The constructors dumped thousands of tons of rock, wood and other material into the swamp before a foundation was secured firm enough to be used for the passage of trains. During the period of the French canal companies train service was frequently interrupted at this point and on each occasion tons of machinery and scrap were dumped into the place. The Isthmian Canal Commission has twice experienced trouble during the past year from the "bottom falling out" in this locality. The last occurrence was in September, 1907, when sixty feet of track sank out of sight soon after a passenger train had passed. The Commission has adopted the method of driving piles as a support to the track and where this has been done no further trouble has resulted. It is the intention however, to build a "gauntlet" track around the spot to avoid a recurrence of this nature.

First Train Into Panama.

The company had trains running from Aspinwall to Gatun in 1852, and to Barbacoas bridge in 1853. On January 28, 1855 the first train reached Panama and the Star & Herald two days later writes of the event lows:

as fol

"The whistle of the railroad engine has at length woke up the slumbering echoes of Panama, away through the hills and dales, over the quiet bay and amidst the ruins of the ancient city, the first wild shriek has gone forth proclaiming the advance of commerce and civilization on the Pacific coast of South America. The great connecting

First Train Into Panama.

143

Cathedral Drug Store

ARTURO KÖHPCKE.

No. 73 Central Avenue, Panama.

THE OLDEST Drug STORE IN THE CITY. Importer of Drugs, Chemicals, Patent Medicines and Perfumery.

Prescriptions Carefully Prepared by Skilled

and Competent German Pharmacists.

English, French, German and Spanish Spoken,

link of the Atlantic and Pacific is completed, the Panama Railroad is finished, and the first train has made its appearance amongst us, opening up a new era of prosperity for the people of the Isthmus of Panama".

"On Sunday afternoon about half past three o'clock thousands of people gathered along the line to witness for the first time the appearance of the iron horse as it rattled over the tracks to the station, and many were the expressions of surprise and wonder at its appearance, and the facility with which the wild creature was managed. Mules and pack saddles are now forever supplanted by the steam engine, and the mud of the Cruces trail is exchanged for a comfortable seat in a railroad coach. The twenty-five cents per pound charged for transporting freight across the Isthmus is now reduced to a mere nominal cost, and the long tedious journey over the Isthmus has been transformed into a pleasure trip of a couple of

hours".

First Train Into Panama.

145

"What will follow the opening of the railroad it is hard to foretell, but we can see great things looming up in the distance for Panama. Doubtless there are those that will suffer a temporary loss in their business by the opening of the railroad, but this must be expected as a natural consequence and will be of short duration. Far away to the confines of the Pacific the opening of the Panama Railroad will be hailed with delight. From north to sonth; from east to west of this mighty ocean will its beneficent influences be felt. From Cape Horn to Oregon, from Kamschatka to Japan, the Panama Railroad will tend toard commercial development. Australia and all the isles of the sea are brought by it into immediate contact with the old world, and the colonies will now look upon Panama as a bridge over which the traffic with their mother country must pass".

"But what British money and French ingenuity could not accomplish in upwards of a quarter of a century, Yankee enterprise has undertaken and carried through in five years, and has given to the world an enduring monument of what a few determined spirits of the United States can do".

"The names of William H. Aspinwall and his associates who headed this great scheme of Col. Totten, and those who with him carried out the work, are worthy to be immortalized, and it is to be hoped that such men may long be spared to witness the benefits which they have conferred on the world by their indefatigable zest and unflinching determination in building the Panama Railroad".

In November, 1866 the Legislative Assembly of Panama adopted a resolutio'n honoring the builders of the railroad, and authorized the placing of a portrait of each in the reception room of the government palace in Panama, the expense thereof to be paid out of the public treas

ury.