Panama Canal: The Eighth Wonder of the World1998

Narrator:
In 1850, the difficulty of crossing Panama on foot prompts New York financiers to begin building a railroad. Right from the outset, the country resists civilization. Solid ground to build on is hard to find. Panama's terrain is a mixture of massive quicksands & swamps. Working conditions for railroad laborers are terrible. The country is cursed with disease & swarming with mosquitoes. And the men begin to die. Cholera, Malaria, Dysentery, fever and Smallpox. Diseases that seem to seep from the jungle without cause or cure.

F. N. Otis, Railroad Surveyor:
We were in the densest jungle, reeking with Malaria. And abounding with almost every species of wild beast, noxious reptile and venomous insects known in the tropics.

Narrator:
The human cost is extraordinary. Legend has it that there is a dead man for every railroad tie between the Pacific & Atlantic coast. At least 6000 people will die during the construction of the railroad-a number that will pale in comparison to what lay ahead.