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T is not necessary here to speak of the importance to the whole civilized world of a ship canal across the Isthmus of Darien, nor of the different surveys that have been made.

The route of the following Expedition, beginning in Caledonia Bay and ending in Darien Harbor, had not been passed over since 1788. and was a terra incognita. In 1849, an Irish adventurer published a book, which went through several editions, in which he declared that he had "crossed and recrossed it several times and by several tracks," and that only "three or four miles of deep cutting" would be necessary for a ship canal the entire distance. Aroused by this report—which proved to be a mere fiction—Sir Charles Fox and other heavy English capitalists took up the subject, and sent out Mr. Gisborne, a civil engineer, to survey the route. He pretended to do so. and also published a book. mapping down the route, and declaring that it was only "thirty miles between tidal effects" and the "summit level one hundred and fifty feet." An English company was immediately formed with a capital of nearly $75,000,000.

Without following the progress of this scheme in England and on the Continent, it is necessary, in this connection, to state only that Mr. Gisborne's favorable report resulted in enlisting England, France, the United States, and New