THROUGH PANAMA.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 July 1918, Page 6

THROUGH PANAMA.

A TAUANAIU .SOLMIJIIVi IIIITJiSSIOXS. Private .10. J. Wilton, who was fanning «n the .Yioki r< ' at Uruli prior to enlistment, writin; lit h\s brother, Air A. Wilton, Vrenui gives an interesting' account of his ir.v.'essions of Hie Panama canal. Tlie Wiltons, by the way, have an excellent war record, two of the other brothers serving at the front having' been wounded, H. 10. going' with 14th and L. 0. witli t!ie lflth Reinforcements. Their father, Mr .T. Wilton, lives at Paraparaumu. lie says:—As we ncared tlte entrance to the canal we watched with groat interest the features of this new land unfolding to our sight. As we ncared it, we saw that il. was mountainous and bush clad- The weather .was hot, and sleeping on deck was popular, so that before (lie day was far advanced we were getting well in, and "began passing small islands, and were able to see the very rank green vegetation right down to high water mark. The bush here as a whole is not unlike a lot I've seen in Taranaki, but very green, with a lot of broad-leaved palms of different t-pecies, also a mass of stuff

that resembled the little minature flax of Xew Zealand. .Signals hade us stop, and after a while a Yankee motor launch came cleaving the water, being manned by two niggers, who lost no time in putting a pilot on board. We passed side fortifications and steamed for the canal, having the town of Panama on our right, or at least we believed it to be. The United States own what is known as the canal zone, which does not include Panama or Colon. After dinner we found ourselves well up to the entrance, and in fresh water which looked warm and of" uncertain color. The officials wasted no time in starting ua in, and on either side of the channel the water, trees ami scrub were all mixed up in a swampy looking mess, which did not savor of health. However, we soon got in between concrete walls and the scpne of the great work began to open up. We went in slowly, and then shut off our engines, as ships do not go through the locks under steam. These locks are double stairways, one side for ingoing vessels and one for the out-

going. On either side of the ship, on ton cf the concrete platforms are tramways, which have a centre deeply notched, as en the Rimutaka incline, and four powerfa! little engines, like armoured trucks, take charge of the ship, two in front and two behind, with cables fast to ship, which both tow and steady the vessel from bumping. Well now, just in front, the platforms suddenly rise up steeply, so that the engines have to climbhard to gain a higher level, while the ship goes in on the old level, and then a great double door closes from each side

until nearly straight across, when it meets, and holds fast, you sec, the centre thus advanced inward, to resist a good pressure. The ship is now in a great oblong well, which looked about thirtv feet from the surface of the water to the top. Then suddenly, some where

from under the centre platform, water , rushes in, oozing and boiling like a »eyeor, and the ship rises quite fast until ( the second deck is about level with the , top, then a door, similar to that behind, , opens just ahead, and the process is re- ] peated three times, and the passengers 1 find themselves well above the sea level, and in a great dam, which did the trick < of flooding the locks, and which in turn ■ gets its water from a lake, artificial also. ' There is another lock between the dam and the lake. Nigger s are much in evi- ' dence *> far as work is concerned, and i their costumes for the most part are rather shabby. There were a few U.S.A. ' soldiers here, for the safety of the • works no doubt, and we held "disjointed '■ conversation with them, and also exchanged a few souvenirs. Once half a dozen had a ding-dong scramble for a New Zealand coin. Sometimes we threw a penny or a threepenny bit to the kiddies, but they had to be' mighty quick to beat the niggers, who grabbed at everything. A few American women brought some fruit for us, and that caused a bit of a scramble on board, but it would not go round SOO of us. When we had passed the last lock, we had to pass through the part that is cut through between the hills, wherY the famous Culebra cut is, and where the land slides take place. The sides are not mountainous, as some think, there being several chains of steep slope that is faulty in formation. The forest or* jungle has been cleared back from the canal for health's sake, about thirty chains in most places, but the second growth appears to spring up very quickly, the ground being overgrown again, except where the clearing is of very recent nature. There is no cultivation about, at least not as far as we could see. Now we come # to the lake in the hills. It was once a swampy s low flowing river, amongst what we cali easy hills, all very dense forest, and plenty of long valleys running' off on each side. Now it in % lake. A canal was dug or cut throughout its length, before damming the vcl- , ley. and now buoys mark the channel, which ships follow. A pilot is required , to take a vessel through. The most . noticeable thing at present is the forest , of dead trees poking ' up out of the , water throughout the flooded area, es- . peeially in the valleys that run hacfv ( from the canal channel itself, some of which appeared back a great distance. There are numerous islands, which were once little hills, and the jungle reaches right to the water itself! We found the weather, pretty hot here, although near the coolest season for Panama, but everyone was in good form. We saw some pelicans on the lake. Rummy things they are. I would have been delighted to have gone for a ramble in the j hush to take sto'sk of specimens. The forest did not appear lofty generally, but I could see that there Was some tall timber in places, and some large trees visible, though one never knows what t bush is until one gets in under it.

We ar? now nearly out. and the profit' Oatum dam flood gates are in sight.' This is the key to the canal, and is where the valley was flooded from. In an extreme rase the canal coold be rendered useless by tlie opening or destroying of this barTier. Well, we pass this'on the left and proceeo" to the lock that let us down to tho eastern coast of America. The process of going dawn is just the reverse of coming up. Three deep Iqcks and we arc out in the waters of that sweltering, circling Oarribean sea,' but there is still a 'breakwater ahead and a warship cruising to and fro still firrther out. This is the port of Qvristabel and is si coaling Station with un-to-datc appliances. It does not tak'e long to coal, if there is coal to be got True?; loads of coal are .joaadJa ttm I**. ag so » great tfati

structure. This is a very busy spot, and the warmest plaee I have been in so fat. It is a strange place, this Panama. There seems to be a magnet.ic attraction about it, although there seems to be nothing to cause it. The air is heavy and an odor always seems to be present.