Demolition, disease, and death: Building the Panama Canal - Alex Gendler

翻译人员: Meiqi Jia 校对人员: Helen Chang

In the middle of the 19th century,

19 世纪中期，

the California gold rush brought thousands of settlers to America’s west coast.

加利福尼亚淘金热为美国的西海岸 带来了数千定居者。

But finding gold may have been easier than transporting it back east.

但是寻找黄金可能比运输 金子回东部容易。

The only hope for avoiding a grueling six month wagon journey

避免六个月舟车劳顿的唯一办法是

was to travel the narrowest portion of the continent—

去到美洲大陆最窄的地方——

the 48-kilometer Isthmus of Panama.

48 公里长的巴拿马地峡。

By 1855, a railroad spanning the region significantly shortened to the trip,

直到 1855 ，横跨这个区域的铁路 极大程度上缩短了旅行时间，

but unloading and reloading ships at each port cost time and money.

但是在码头装载与卸载这些船只 耗费了很多时间和金钱。

To truly connect these two bodies of water shipping interests needed a canal—

想真正的连接这两片水域， 航运业需要一个运河——

a continuous maritime passage through the isthmus.

一个通过地峡的连续海上通道。

The first attempt at this colossal construction project was taken up in 1881

1881 年，在法国外交官 费迪南德·德·雷赛布的带领下

进行了这个庞大工程的第一次尝试。

by French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps.

De Lesseps had supervised construction of Egypt's Suez Canal,

德·雷赛布监督了埃及 苏伊士运河的建造。

but his success made him overconfident.

但是他的成功使他过于自信。

He insisted on digging the canal at sea level,

他坚持在海平面上修凿运河，

even though it required boring directly through

即便此举需要直接通过 大陆分水岭钻孔。

the Continental Divide mountain range.

Futile excavation efforts were buried under constant landslides.

无效的开采被持续的塌方所掩埋。

And since the diplomat had only visited the site briefly

还有，由于外交官仅在巴拿马的 干旱期参观过开采场所，

during Panama’s dry season,

his workers were unprepared for torrential storms, venomous jungle fauna,

他的工人们并没有为暴雨、 有毒的丛林动物，

和热带疾病作准备。

and tropical diseases.

After spending $287 million and losing a staggering 22,000 lives,

在花费了 287 百万美金 和失去了 22,000 生命的情况下，

the French abandoned the project.

法国人放弃了这个项目。

The United States had been considering building a canal through Nicaragua,

美国一直在考虑修建一个 穿过尼亚加拉的运河。

but at this point, the chance to succeed where France failed was tempting.

但是在这样的情况下， 在法国失败的地方成功是吸引人的。

Panamanian leaders were also eager to complete a canal

巴拿马的领导们也希望建造一个

which would bring their country business and prestige.

可以给国家带来商机和威望的运河。

However, Panama was still a part of Colombia at the time,

即便如此，当时巴拿马仍旧是 哥伦比亚的一部分，

and the country was stalling negotiations with the U.S.

哥伦比亚仍旧暂缓了与美国的谈判。

Sensing an opportunity,

察觉到机会，

President Teddy Roosevelt went straight to the Panamanians.

泰迪•罗斯福总统直接找到了巴拿马人。

With encouragement and military support from the U.S.,

美国的鼓励和军事帮助

Panama launched a coup in 1903.

使得巴拿马在 1903 年 发动了军事政变。

Within days, they became an independent nation

几天之内， 巴拿马便成为了独立的国家，

and signed a treaty to begin construction of the canal.

并且签署了条约， 开始了运河的建设。

Just over a decade after the French left, the Americans were ready to dig in—

就在法国离开的十年后， 美国人便准备介入——

and they were determined to avoid their predecessor’s mistakes.

并且决心避免前任的问题。

Instead of cutting the mountain down to sea level,

与其把山降到海平面，

they would raise the sea up the mountain.

他们把海提高到了山的高度。

The plan was to build massive steel gates

计划是修建巨大的钢闸门，

separating the canal into multiple chambers with different water levels.

把运河分成拥有不同 水位的不同室。

As a ship passed through each successive gate would open,

当船只经过， 每个连续的闸门便会开启，

lowering the water level in the next chamber,

使另一个分割室的水位下降，

while raising the ship and allowing it to move on.

与此同时把船只变高，让其行驶。

The design called for five of these so-called canal locks—

这样的设计名为运河闸门——

three on the Atlantic side and two on the Pacific,

大西洋那边有三个， 太平洋那边有两个，

raising traversing ships 26 meters above sea level.

让船只比海平面高 26 米。

Operating this lock system would require a massive reservoir of water.

运营这个闸门系统 需要极大储备的水。

And fortunately, the low-lying Chagres river valley provided a natural solution.

幸好，低洼的查格雷斯河 提供了一个自然的解决方法。

By building a dam across the gap where the river flowed out to sea,

在河流流出大海的空隙处修建 一个大坝，整座山谷都可能被淹。

the entire valley could be flooded.

At 32 meters high and over 800 meters wide,

32 米高，超过 800 米宽，

the Gatun Dam would be larger than any built before.

加通大坝会比以往的任何大坝都大。

With this innovative plan,

有了这个创新的计划，

the Americans didn’t need to excavate the entire mountain,

美国人不需要撤离整座山谷，

but rather, just the pathway for the canal itself.

相反，只需要撤离运河的途径处。

Still, the work was staggering.

但是，工程仍旧停滞不前。

Even after progress made by the French, it took over nine years for 24,000 workers

即便接续法国人已完成的部分，

仍然花费了超过九年时间， 由 24,000 工人

to blow up, shovel, and drill out the Culebra Cut—

引爆、铲除和钻穿库莱布拉水道——

a roughly 14 kilometer passageway through the Continental Divide.

一个约 14 公里长， 跨越大陆分水岭的通道。

The railway, now upgraded and rerouted to follow the canal,

升级与改道过后的铁路跟随运河，

carted away over 76 million cubic meters of excavated rock

运走了超过 76 百万 立方公尺的挖掘岩石，

to be used at the Gatun Dam site.

用于加通大坝的修建。

Construction was only half the battle.

建设只是奋战的一半。

Leading army officials struggled to maintain infrastructure and sanitation,

带队的军队官员艰难地维持 基础设施与卫生，

but accidents and diseases took the lives of 5,000 workers—

但是事故和疾病带走了 5,000 名工人的生命——

mostly Black Caribbean migrants.

大部分是加勒比的黑人移工。

Then, in the fall of 1913, the moment finally came.

然后，在 1913 的秋天， 胜利时刻终于到来了。

A telegraph signal from President Woodrow Wilson triggered a dike explosion,

总统伍德罗•威尔逊的一则电报 引起了堤坝爆炸，

flooding the Culebra Cut and joining the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

淹没了库莱布拉水道， 并且连接了大西洋和太平洋。

Today, nearly 14,000 vessels travel through the isthmus annually—

今天，每年大约有14,000 支船舶行驶过地峡——

each in under 12 hours.

行驶时间低于 12 小时。

The canal remains Panama’s chief source of revenue;

运河成为了巴拿马的主要收入来源；

and since the country gained ownership of the passage in 1999,

自巴拿马在 1999 年 得到了运河的所有权，

it has also become a source of national pride.

它也变成了提升民族自豪感的来源。