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Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing) 4 0 Browse Search
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Browsing named entities in Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing). You can also browse the collection for Ferdinand De Lesseps or search for Ferdinand De Lesseps in all documents.

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Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Morgan, John Tyler 1824- (search)
of the year, can form some faint conception, perhaps, of the amount of material which would be washed down the side of this immense cut, as well as from all other parts of the canal, and which must be continually dredged out of it to preserve its usefulness. Other statements equally worthy of credit show that no work in that locality could be maintained against the destructive floods which would suddenly rush through, what Mr. Eads describes as, the narrow and tortuous stream which Count de Lesseps proposes to locate at the bottom of an artificial cañon to be cut through the Cordilleras at Panama. These facts, and the opinions of many great engineers, eliminate all other canal projects from the necessity of further discussion, and leave us to consider alone the political and financial questions presented in the project of the Nicaraguan Canal, under the present concessions from Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Those concessions are grants of rights, privileges, and property to indi
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Panama Canal. (search)
Panama Canal. In 1881 the people of the United States and France subscribed large sums towards a French company, headed by Count de Lesseps, of Suez Canal fame, which announced its intention of cutting a canal through the Isthmus of Panama. The French government authorized the company to begin operations, and $100,000,000 was subscribed for the enterprise. Work began with great display, and continued until 1889. By that time the canal had been cut for about 12 miles on the first section. On the two other sections but little had been accomplished, and the workmen found themselves trying to level great mountains. Intense feeling was aroused over the collapse of the company. Inquiry soon developed the fact that fully $260,000,000 had been absorbed by the company. The French government ordered an investigation, and amazing proofs of bribery and fraud were discovered. De Lesseps's reputation received a great blot, and the famous engineer died Dec. 7, 1894, it is said of a brok