the valleys of the San Francisco, Chanchos, and Danta. The channels streams were also cleared and made available for canoe traffic from Juan River.

Numerous camps and depots of supplies were constructed and stocke ever necessary, and fleets of light steel canoes were employed as means munication and supply.

At the site of all important works, such as dams, embankments, an as well as at the points where heavy cuttings will be required, subt examinations have been made in great numbers. Earth augers were us there was no rock, and when this was encountered, the annular diam was used and cores of the rock itself brought up and preserved for futu ence and examination by engineers and contractors proposing to submi for work. Owing to the transportation difficulties, steam drills were i cable and the work was accomplished with hand power.

The necessity of securing at once a safe entrance to the old harbor ized as indispensable to economical and rapid progress, and the first actual construction begun was in execution of the engineers' plans for the harbor. One of the means to this end was the erection of a br for protection of the entrance.

As the pier advanced, it afforded a partial shelter to the beach to and also served as a barrier to the moving beach sand, which, impelle waves and prevailing winds, had formerly been driven constantly to t ward, and so built up and maintained the sand spit that thirty years ag the old port San Juan.

This artificial interruption to the operation of the winds and curren were always active in bringing sand to build and renew the beach, p countervailing forces of nature to come into play, and the result was the time the pier had been pushed out 600 feet, the sand beach und was swept away and an open channel formed, communicating from t ocean to the old harbor, now restored to the extent of permitting the of light-draft seagoing vessels, and this at a point where, six months be

a sand bank 3 or 4 feet above the sea level. The outer end of the pier is in 20 feet of water, and a force is constantly engaged in filling in the spaces between the piles with mattresses, rock, and concrete. The depth of the channel under its lee reached 10 feet when the structure had been extended to 800 feet. In the winter of 1890-'91, a dredge increased this depth to about 15 feet, and this has been maintained since, except in very restricted areas, which are easily deepened by the dredging machines, if necessary.

During the summer of 1889, permanent buildings were begun, and building constructions have been in progress ever since. The structures are all of wood (pine from the United States) and roofed with corrugated galvanized iron. The offices, quarters, and hospitals are all ceiled and painted inside, have wide verandas outside, and are neat and comfortable. All the permanent buildings so far erected are in the immediate vicinity of San Juan, for at this point, is located the general headquarters, and here have been concentrated the most important operations.

The buildings now occupied consist of five groups, as follows: Headquarters, 8 buildings; hospital, 10 buildings; La Fé depot, 8 buildings; railroad headquarters, 9 buildings; Camp Cheney, 4 buildings; in all, 39 buildings.

Besides the above, there have been constructed numerous and extensive wharves equipped for unloading freight, sheds, small outhouses, water tanks, etc. The machine and smiths' shops are equipped with a varied and extensive assortment of modern machine tools, and a tramway connects the more important of these establishments.

Work in clearing the canal line of forest growth was begun in January, 1890, and for a distance of about 10 miles back from the coast, the clearing has the full width of 486 feet. The same work was commenced on the west side of Lake Nicaragua in the month of November, 1890, and for a distance of 9 miles, this ground is made ready for the active construction work.

The necessity for a telegraph line reaching to the interior, connecting with the telegraph system of the country and the ocean cables, very soon became apparent. The construction of a line was commenced and soon pushed through to Castillo, with its loops amounting to 60 miles.

As the heaviest body of work to be accomplished on the whole line is concentrated within a distance of 3 miles, at what has been designated as the “Eastern Divide," and as the time that will be required to complete the canal is measured by the time spent in the opening of this deep cut, it was felt to be important to install a plant for heavy rock-cutting at the earliest date possible. But so great were the difficulties of transporting heavy machinery, etc., from the harbor to the site that it was at once apparent there was no alternative to be considered but the immediate construction of a railroad. The road was begun

The road is equipped for construction work, and supplied with four tives, fifty cars, steam shovel, ballast unloader, jacks, and other requisi ances. All the cross-ties and bridge timbers are of Northern pine and with 16 pounds creosote oil to the cubic foot. At the railroad termin harbor is a fine wharf 264 feet long, built in the best manner of creosote and equipped with modern steam conveniences for handling freight rapi The survey for the remainder of the line, extending to the San Juan Ochoa, has been completed; in fact, there have been two lines surv profiles prepared in sufficient detail to enable a close estimation of cost.

In the summer of 1890, there was purchased from the American Co and Dredging Company the very extensive and valuable plant used so fully on the eastern end of the Panama Canal from the year 1881 to the of that enterprise in 1888. It consisted of seven dredges, the most ever built; two fine tugboats, twenty lighters, several launches, and quantity of tools, spare parts, materials for repair and renewals, a machine shop, stationary engines, pumps, etc. Many of the article abundance sufficient for completion of the canal. During the autumn this property was transferred to San Juan del Norte. Upon its arrival, of it were immediately equipped for work, and three of the dredges h been in use for various periods-twò upon the line of the canal prop third in increasing the depth of the water at various points in the ha upon the bar. The canal line, to the width of 280 feet and depth of 17 been opened for 3,000 feet inland from the harbor, the material excava sand almost wholly. No buried wood or other obstructions to free has been found.

Under a provision of the concession, the Canal Company has the expropriate private lands found requisite for its uses. It also possesso rights as against a company which held the exclusive privilege of navig San Juan River and Lake Nicaragua with steam vessels. In 1889, struction Company, became the purchaser of the rights and proper steamboat company, and since the purchase has opened the line in th