Some of the difficulties to be overcome are suggested by Mr. Marsh in
the following excerpt--

"The most colossal project of canalization ever suggested, whether we
consider the physical difficulties of its execution, the magnitude and
importance of the waters proposed to be united, or the distance which
would be saved in navigation, is that of a channel between the Gulf of
Mexico and the Pacific, across the Isthmus of Darien. I do not now
speak of a lock-canal, by way of the Lake of Nicaragua, or any other
route,--for such a work would not differ essentially from other canals
and would scarcely possess a geographical character,--but of an open
cut between the two seas. The late survey by Captain Selfridge, showing
that the lowest point on the dividing ridge is 763 feet above the
sea-level, must be considered as determining in the negative the
question of the possibility of such a cut, by any means now at the
control of man; and both the sanguine expectations of benefits, and the
dreary suggestions of danger from the realization of this great dream,
may now be dismissed as equally chimerical."--_Vide The Earth as
Modified by Human Action_, by George P. Marsh, New York, 1874, p. 612.

24. A translation of Champlain's Voyage to the West Indies and Mexico was
made by Alice Wilmere, edited by Norton Shaw, and published by the
Hakluyt Society, London, 1859.

25. No positive evidence is known to exist as to the time when Champlain
was ennobled. It seems most likely to have been in acknowledgment of
his valuable report made to Henry IV. after his visit to the West
Indies.

26. Amyar de Chastes died on the 13th of May, 1603, greatly respected and