Letter, William Gleason to Gleason family

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Panama March 19 1906
My dear family I have been three days
on the Isthmus, and have been quite
busy. I hustled around as mutch
as I dared. the heat is pretty near
as it would be on one of those record
breaking hot ones in New York
96 in the shade I have seen the canal
at both ends and the middle. Sunday
I spent the day at Culebra as guest
of one of the Engineers we went

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went over the ground where the
deepest cutting has been done, and
has yet to be done the French cut
a gap out of Culebra about 75 to
100 foot deep and about 250 to 300
broad. if a Lock canal there wil
be about 100 foot deeper to go if
Sea level about 250 the Americans
are digging, but not anything like

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the quantity they expect to as soon
as every thing is prepared at present
they are engaged in makeing the
place Sanitary. they are doing
a great work they already have a fine
Waterworks system the whole lenth
of the line but the problem that
is confronting the officers is the
labor they dont find any dificulty
about Clerks Engineers or Mechanics
but the labourers they are a

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poor weak lot of creatures. Natives
of the Islands in the Caribean. all
claim that there must be different
labor if they ever expect to finish
it they only pay them 13c per hour
I believe that they can get good
labor if they pay about 30c per hour
I dont see any reason why they
cant get them

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5
I had a very pleasant trip from
New York to Colon. I met some
very nice people. Some of them
are going to be on the same
Ship all the way to Portland. We
sail on the 20th on the Catapulca
a nice Steamer of about 3500 tons
I have been assigned very
nice quarters on the promenade
deck and every loocks favorable
for a pleasant trip| My love to all
Wm Gleason