Panama and the canal . e appeared to be 3 114 THE CANAL BUILDER not over fifty years old. Certainly no one would have guessed that he had passed his seventy-sixth birthday. We are told that he would often ride a fiery De Lesseps horse all day over rough country,—then danceall night like a boy, and the next day be as fresh as adaisy. He seemed now to be the chief in command of all the work. This man was none otherthan Count Ferdinand deLesseps, and the work actu-ally going on was the dig-ging of a French canalacross Panama. The company was as-sembled to witness theformal opening of the greatwor
Panama and the canal . e appeared to be 3 114 THE CANAL BUILDER not over fifty years old. Certainly no one would have guessed that he had passed his seventy-sixth birthday. We are told that he would often ride a fiery De Lesseps horse all day over rough country,—then danceall night like a boy, and the next day be as fresh as adaisy. He seemed now to be the chief in command of all the work. This man was none otherthan Count Ferdinand deLesseps, and the work actu-ally going on was the dig-ging of a French canalacross Panama. The company was as-sembled to witness theformal opening of the greatwork. The Bishop was togive it his blessing, anda tremendous charge ofdynamite was to be ex-ploded, to show how easywas to be the task of cut-ting through the rock. An eye-witness has described thescene for us. The blessing had been pronounced, thechampagne, duly iced, was waiting to cool the swelter of thattropic sun, as soon as the explosion went off. There thecrowd stood, breathless, ears stopped, eyes blinking, half. Count Ferdinand de Lesseps. ISTHMUS OF SUEZ S
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidcu3192401401, bookyear1910
