Identifier: panamapersonalre00robi (find matches)
Title: Panama : a personal record of forty-six years, 1861-1907
Year: 1907 (1900s)
Authors: Robinson, Tracy, 1833-1915
Subjects: Panama Railroad Co
Publisher: New York Panama : Star and Herald Co.
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

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\_Panama CHAPTER XIV TN the year 1877 Lieutenant Lucien Napoleon-■ Bonaparte Wyse of the French navy, ac-companied by M. Reclus of the same service, andothers, came from Paris to Panama, for the os-tensible purpose of making surveys for an inter-oceanic canal. The party spent several months,during that and the following year, in allegedexaminations of the Panama Isthmus. In 1878Lieutenant Wyse obtained from the ColombianGovernment, on the strength of his so-called sur-veys, a concession for excavating a canal betweenColon and Panama, along the Chagres Valley,and through the continental divide traversed bythe Panama Railroad. Then, as part of the scheme that had beenconceived in France, the International CanalCongress of May, 1879, was called together inParis, and through the influence of M. de Les-seps, the Panama route was adopted. Ten mill-ion francs was the sum paid, or to be paid, toLieutenant Wyse and his associates, for the con-cession obtained from Colombia, and for their 138
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Chapter XIV) Isthmian surveys. A company was at onceformed, with M. de Lesseps at its head, andcalled La Compagnie Generale du Canal Oce-anique de Panama. On December 30, 1879,M. de Lesseps, accompanied by his wife, threechildren, and a large party, including sev-eral engineers of note, arrived at Colon fromParis. Preceding events had caused much excitementon the Isthmus; and when this party arrivedthere was considerable public enthusiasm. As one of a committee of reception, I went onboard the steamer to welcome the distinguishedgentleman and his associates, through whom thefortunes of the Isthmus were to be establishedupon a basis of pure gold. As is customary insuch cases, there were speeches, followed by theinformalities and cordialities of welcome. M. deLesseps responded very pleasantly, wearing thediplomatic smile for which he was noted. Hewas then over seventy years of age, but was stillactive and vigorous: a small man, French in de-tail, with winning manners, and what is called

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