The Second Canal Across Central America!

The Panama Canal was completed by the United States in 1914; traffic through it was so great that in the late 1920s, the United States was considering building a second canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific across the Central American country of Nicaragua.  Lieut. Col Dan I. Suttan (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) describes the two years he spent there surveying in An Army Engineer Explores Nicaragua: Mapping a Route for a New Canal Through the Largest of Central American Republics, National Geographic Magazine, May, 1932.

We cannot imagine the hazards in an undeveloped country of mostly jungle so dense "that you can rarely see ten feet in any direction," the daily rain, the threats of bandits, plus the ever-present mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, and snakes.  "The troops were never dry; but fortunately, although being wet constantly is not comfortable, in Nicaragua his condition does not lead to colds and pneumonia, as would be the case in the United States" (p. 592).

The idea for a canal to shorten the ocean route was not new.  When first proposed, the choice was between Panama and Nicaragua.  Panama was chosen probably because it had no smoking volcanoes, as did Nicaragua.  In 1931, Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, was almost destroyed by an earthquake and fire.

As I've been reading about countries of this era since the National Geographic Magazines of 1926, I find Nicaragua to be among the most primitive, in terms of culture, communication, trade, politics, and infrastructure (few passable roads, few railroads).  Most of the population was native Indian and Spanish, with a few wealthy individuals of Spanish descent.

Here's an interesting geological feature: "Once Lakes Nicaragua and Managua were parts of the upper end of a large salt-water bay, a portion of the Pacific Ocean.  In the course of time, volcanoes ejected huge quantities of lava, which closed the entrance to the bay. . . swordfish, shark, and tarpon, all salt-water fish. . . were entrapped in the lake and as the water freshened, gradually they were able to adapt themselves to the changed conditions" (p. 613).  The natives were terrified by the sharks!  (So would I be!)  A quick internet search reveals that these oceanic fish in Lake Nicaragua are the only oceanic fish in the world in a freshwater lake.

American Marines were invited by the military leader to keep the peace in the country from 1912 to 1925, then asked to come back in 1927.  They were supposed to leave after an election in 1932.  Sound familiar?

Our soldiers are extremely adaptable in the countries around the world.  What a wonderful attitude: "We made numerous friends in Nicaragua and left the country with many regrets. We hope to return with steam shovels and dredges to dig a new interoceanic canal, but we are happy to have known Nicaragua and the Nicaraguans with all their charm of to-day, untouched by the outside world."