Lloyd’s Casualty Week for December 10 just arrived this morning at the library. Along with the usual information about vessels grounded, stranded, disabled, sunk, captured by pirates, or embroiled in civil unrest or labor disputes, there was an interesting note about the Panama Canal. Lloyd’s reports that for the first time in 20 years, the Canal has been closed down. Heavy rains filled up the Gatun and Alhajuela lakes, making the transit through them unsafe and forcing traffic to a halt. They are expecting a backlog of 60 ships by Friday, and as much as a two-day wait for vessels arriving without a booking.
This is a bit more than a blip in worldwide sea traffic. The Canal handles up to 5% of the world’s seaborne commerce, according to Lloyd’s. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP), through its vice-president Manuel Benitez, says they are “planning to open flood gates to relieve one of the lakes.”
This closing of the Canal reminded me of an intriguing letter we have in the Archives, part of MS 243, the Clinton Havill Papers. In this July 1915 letter, Havill, then a Junior Officer of the Deck during the midshipmen cruise of USS俄亥俄州(BB 12), describes the passage of俄亥俄州与USSMissouri(BB 11) and USSWisconsin(BB 9) through the Canal. His sketch of a sectional view of the Canal is below. In his letter, he writes, “All along the Culebra Cut the bank was lined with people, mostly soldiers and marines, who were down to see thefirst American battleships go through the Canal(his emphasis).”
自95年前的第一次通行以来，运河确实证明了它的价值，不仅是商业舰队，而且还向美国海军证明了其价值。
我想在建造运河时访问死亡清单。我相信我的堂兄菲利普·卡塞拉（Philip Kassela）于1912年通过，他正在运河工作。我今年80岁，真的很感谢您能给我的任何帮助。非常感谢你。
I have just seen your note, Ms. Petersen, and I am happy that you wrote. I think the Panama Canal workers were some of the most courageous people I can imagine. The chief engineer, John F. Stevens, says this about the working conditions: “Colon at the northern, and Panama at the southern terminus of the Canal, were, up to 1907, two of the most forbidding, dirty, unhealthy places on the earth.” And in that environment, almost all the foremen and the higher grades of skilled labor had to come from the United States. They were completely lacking in Central and South America at the time. Did your cousin come in the first wave in 1905, or after 1908? I gather many went back home from the first wave, as living conditions were so bad.
到目前为止，我还没有看到死亡名单，佩德森女士，但图书馆中可能存在一个。如果您愿意，我们可以继续尝试找到一个。我们的任何读者都可以通过与图书馆联系在特定问题上获得研究帮助[电子邮件保护]. We are only too happy to oblige!
我对您将分享的有关理查德·梅特卡夫（Richard L. Metcalfe）分享的任何信息感兴趣，他是1913年至1914年的巴拿马运河州长。理查德是我丈夫的曾祖父。
谢谢。
Hi Beverly, and thanks for your comment! I will make sure to forward your request to our researchers, who will get back to you. Indeed, any time you have a request, do not hesitate to email us at[电子邮件保护]and we’ll be happy to try to find whatever we can.