AN IMPOSSIBLE DREAM: CONNECTING TWO OCEANS BY DIGGING A CANAL THROUGH DENSE JUNGLE AND SAVAGE HEAT, POISONOUS SNAKES, AND MALARIAL MOSQUITOES. IT KILLED TENS OF THOUSANDS. IT COST BILLIONS. IT NEARLY TOPPLED THE GOVERNMENT. BUT IN THE END, IT WAS A TECHNOLOGICAL TRIUMPH THAT TOUCHED EVERY ASPECT OF OUR MODERN LIVES. <i> THE PANAMA CANAL,</i> NEXT ON<i> MODERN MARVELS.</i> [tropical birds calling] [fast-paced drumming] >> narrator: EARLY EXPLORERS FEARED THAT THE VERY EDGE OF THE WORLD LAY IN THE UNCHARTED WATERS OF THE ATLANTIC; THAT THERE WAS A GREAT ABYSS THAT WOULD SWALLOW SHIPS WHOLE, PLUNGING MEN INTO A LIVING HELL OF NIGHTMARES AND MYTHIC MONSTERS. SO WHEN COLUMBUS STUMBLED ONTO THE NEW WORLD, WHEN HE CAME TO PLACES LIKE PANAMA IN 1502, HE WAS SURPRISED TO DISCOVER SEEMING PARADISE-- <i> SEEMING PARADISE.</i> BUT IN A WAY, THE OLD STORIES WERE TRUE, FOR THERE WERE MONSTERS IN THIS PARADISE. THERE WERE FRUSTRATION, DISEASE, AND BROKEN DREAMS, AND CONQUERING THOSE WOULD BE ONE OF THE GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE 20th CENTURY. IT STARTED WITH THE INCREDIBLE NOTION OF CHALLENGING THE PLANET'S NATURAL BALANCE BY LINKING THE TWO GREATEST OCEANS ON EARTH, TO SLICE A WATERWAY ACROSS THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE OF PANAMA, AND BYPASS THE NAVIGATIONAL GAUNTLET OF SOUTH AMERICA. THERE WAS MORE AT STAKE THAN IMPROVED SHIPPING LANES. THIS WOULD BE MOTHER NATURE'S LAST STAND. PEOPLE WOULD HAVE TO DECLARE DOMINION OVER THE VERY FORM AND FUNCTION OF THE LAND. IT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT ENGINEERING PROJECT OF ITS TIME, INVOLVING THE LARGEST EARTHEN DAM EVER BUILT, THE LARGEST MAN-MADE LAKE EVER CREATED. THE EPIC EFFORT WAS ACCOMPLISHED ONLY THROUGH THE GRUELING LABOR OF 100,000 WORKERS, WHIPPED BY THE AMBITIONS OF POWERFUL MEN WHO ENJOYED BREAKING ALL THE RULES. >> narrator: PANAMA HAS ALWAYS ATTRACTED EXPLORERS AND ADVENTURERS. IN 1534, SPANISH ENGINEERS SURVEYED THE ISTHMUS AND PROPOSED A PLAN FOR A CANAL THAT WOULD LINK THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC OCEANS. IT WAS A BOLD IDEA THAT WAS QUICKLY DISCARDED. THE JUNGLE WAS TOO DENSE, THE WEATHER TOO OPPRESSIVE, THE TASK TOO ENORMOUS FOR THE LIMITED TECHNOLOGY OF THE TIME. BUT A SEED HAD BEEN PLANTED IN THE IMAGINATION OF EXPLORERS WHICH WOULD BEAR BITTER FRUIT FOR THE NEXT 3 1/2 CENTURIES. AMBITIOUS PROJECTS DEMAND AMBITIOUS MEN. THERE WAS NOTHING MEEK ABOUT FERDINAND DE LESSEPS, A CELEBRATED ENTREPRENEUR WHO PROMOTED THE FRENCH EFFORT TO CARVE THE 105-MILE SUEZ CANAL IN 1869. DE LESSEPS' CELEBRATED SUCCESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST WAS THE PRIDE OF FRANCE. SO 10 YEARS LATER, WHEN HE FOCUSED ON BUILDING A CANAL TO SPAN THE 50-MILE WIDTH OF PANAMA, THERE WAS NO DOUBT THAT HE WOULD AGAIN SUCCEED. BUT THERE WERE TWO PROBLEMS WITH HIS PLAN. ONE: DE LESSEPS WAS A GREAT PROMOTER, NOT A GREAT ENGINEER. TWO: HE HAD NEVER BEEN TO PANAMA. UNLIKE THE SUEZ, PANAMA WAS A SAVAGE TROPICAL TERRAIN, A SWAMPY, OVERGROWN LAND THAT WOULD NOT EASILY BEND TO THE WILL OF MAN. BUT WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE FRENCH PEOPLE AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN INVESTMENT CAPITAL, DE LESSEPS AND HIS TEAM OF EAGER YOUNG MEN BEGAN THEIR NINE-YEAR EXERCISE IN FUTILITY. PROBLEMS BEGAN IMMEDIATELY. DUE TO AN EIGHT-MONTH RAINY SEASON, THE JUNGLE GROWS AT AN OUTSTANDING RATE, WITH RAZOR-SHARP GRASSES AND FERNS, WHICH EASILY CUT THROUGH THE SKIN. THIS ALL HAD TO BE CLEARED BY HAND. AND THE JUNGLE WAS HOME TO A SAVAGE VARIETY OF INSECTS, SPIDERS, TICKS, MOSQUITOES, POISONOUS SNAKES. THE FRENCH ENGINEERS AND THEIR LABORERS FROM LOCAL CARIBBEAN ISLANDS WERE DYING IN RAPID FASHION. 75% OF ALL WORKERS WHO ENTERED THE HOSPITAL FOR TREATMENT OF SMALLPOX, TYPHOID, YELLOW FEVER, FOOD POISONING, OR SNAKEBITE DIED PAINFULLY, PREMATURELY. MOST OF THE ILLNESS WAS BLAMED ON MALARIA, WHICH THE FRENCH BELIEVED WAS CAUSED BY DEADLY VAPORS SEEPING FROM THE ROTTING JUNGLE. DESPITE SOLID MEDICAL EVIDENCE, THE FRENCH REFUSED TO ACCEPT THE FACT THAT MANY TROPICAL DISEASES ARE CARRIED PRIMARILY BY MOSQUITOES. DE LESSEPS AND THE FRENCH HAD THE WILL, BUT NOT THE WAY. THEIR PLAN TO CARVE A SEA-LEVEL CANAL HAD NEVER BEEN PRACTICAL. THE UNSTABLE EARTH OF THE PANAMANIAN MOUNTAINS IS PRONE TO SUDDEN SLIDES AND COULD NEVER BE TAMED BY THE PRIMITIVE FRENCH CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT. BY 1889, THE EUROPEANS HAD RUN OUT OF MONEY. THEY LEFT BEHIND RUSTING HARDWARE AND THE CORPSES OF 20,000 MEN. THOSE WHO SURVIVED WERE CREDITED WITH CAUSING THE WORST FINANCIAL FAILURE OF ITS TIME, A $300 MILLION CATASTROPHE WHICH NEARLY TOPPLED THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT. BUT THE DREAM OF BUILDING A PANAMA CANAL WAS NOT DEAD. >> Dill: EVERY MAN HAD A JOB TO DO, AND HE WAS TO DO IT TO THE BEST OF HIS ABILITY, BECAUSE THE FRENCH HAD FAILED AND WE WERE DETERMINED TO MAKE A SUCCESS OF BUILDING THE CANAL, NOT ONLY FOR OURSELVES, BUT FOR THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND FOR THE PRESIDENT. >> narrator: AT 104 YEARS OF AGE, ROBERT DILL WAS THE LAST MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN TEAM THAT BUILT THE PANAMA CANAL. WHEN HE ARRIVED ON THE ISTHMUS IN 1911, THE CANAL SYMBOLIZED AMERICA'S EMERGENCE AS A WORLD POWER, AND PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT WAS THE EMBODIMENT OF THAT SPIRIT. TEDDY'S ADVICE WAS TO "SPEAK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG STICK," BUT<i> HE</i> NEVER SPOKE SOFTLY. HIS MYTHIC IMAGE HAD BEEN FORGED IN 1898 DURING THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR, WHEN, AS ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, HE HAD LED THE ROUGH RIDERS ON A BLOODY CHARGE UP SAN JUAN HILL. THE PUBLIC APPLAUDED THE VICTORY, BUT TEDDY WAS UPSET THAT BADLY NEEDED SUPPORT FROM WEST-COAST BATTLESHIPS WAS NOT AVAILABLE FOR HIS CARIBBEAN CAMPAIGN. HE SAW AN IMMEDIATE STRATEGIC NEED FOR A CANAL THAT WOULD FACILITATE A TWO-OCEAN NAVY. AFTER THE FIGHTING, TEDDY BECAME VICE PRESIDENT ON THE WINNING REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL TICKET IN 1900. A YEAR LATER, WHEN WILLIAM McKINLEY WAS SHOT TO DEATH BY AN ASSASSIN, ROOSEVELT BECAME PRESIDENT. HIS FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS WAS THE PANAMA CANAL. NEWSREELS ACCLAIMED HIS EARLY ADDRESSES TO CONGRESS, WHERE HE DECLARED: "NO WORK WHICH REMAINS TO BE UNDERTAKEN ON THIS CONTINENT IS OF SUCH CONSEQUENCE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AS THE PANAMA CANAL." THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA WAS THE NORTHERN PROVINCE OF COLUMBIA, AND COLUMBIA HAD NO INTEREST IN GRANTING THE U.S. THE RIGHT TO BUILD A CANAL. SO ROOSEVELT ENCOURAGED A HANDFUL OF PROMINENT PANAMANIANS, WHO STARTED A REVOLUTION IN 1903 AND DECLARED THE REGION INDEPENDENT. THE BLOODLESS COUP TOOK LESS THAN 24 HOURS. AND, TO BE CERTAIN IT WOULDN'T FAIL, TEDDY SENT U.S. BATTLESHIPS TO THE ISTHMUS WITH ORDERS TO SHOOT DOWN ANY COLUMBIAN EFFORTS TO KEEP ITS TERRITORY. ROOSEVELT DENIED ANY INVOLVEMENT WITH THE REVOLUTION UNTIL RELENTLESS QUESTIONS FROM REPORTERS PROVOKED HIM INTO SAYING, "I TOOK THE ISTHMUS." THOSE FOUR WORDS WERE TO PROVE COSTLY. COLUMBIA DEMANDED $25 MILLION FROM THE UNITED STATES AS REPARATIONS FOR THE ILLEGAL SEIZURE. BUT TEDDY COULD FINALLY BUILD HIS CANAL, THANKS TO A HASTILY DRAWN AGREEMENT IN WHICH THE UNITED STATES WOULD GIVE THE NEW NATION OF PANAMA $10 MILLION FOR THE RIGHT TO BUILD AND OPERATE A TRANSCONTINENTAL WATERWAY. NO PANAMANIANS EVER SIGNED THAT AGREEMENT. STILL, PREPARATIONS FOR BUILDING THE DAM BEGAN. IN 1905, JOHN STEVENS BECAME THE CHIEF ENGINEER OF THE PROJECT. >> Dill: I WOULD SAY THAT STEVENS WAS REALLY THE ARCHITECT, BECAUSE WHEN HE TOOK OVER THE BUILDING OF THE CANAL IN 1904, THEY STILL DIDN'T KNOW WHETHER IT WAS GOING TO BE A SEA-LEVEL CANAL OR JUST WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO. >> narrator: STEVENS CONVINCED ROOSEVELT OF THE PLAN TO DAM PANAMA'S MIGHTIEST RIVER AND CREATE WHAT WAS THEN THE WORLD'S LARGEST MAN-MADE LAKE, THEN USE A SYSTEM OF LOCKS TO RAISE AND LOWER SHIPS 85 FEET TO THE LEVEL OF THE LAKE FOR THEIR TRANSIT ACROSS THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. BUT PROBLEMS STILL LINGERED. HOW WOULD STEVENS PROTECT HIS WORK FORCE FROM THE RAVAGES OF DISEASE, WHICH HAD ALREADY CLAIMED 20,000 LIVES DURING THE FRENCH EFFORT? THE ANSWER WAS A COMBINATION OF CUNNING AND COMMON SENSE. >> narrator: AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, PANAMA WAS A DEATHTRAP. FOR ROBERT DILL, IT WAS ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY TO FORGET THE PAST. >> Dill: 'CAUSE I LEARNED THAT MY FIANCEE HAD GONE OUT ON WITH ONE OF HER FORMER BOYFRIENDS. SO INSTEAD OF JOINING THE FOREIGN LEGION OR JUMPING OFF OF A BRIDGE, I DECIDED THAT I WOULD GO TO PANAMA AND WORK ON THE CANAL. I LIVED IN GORGONA IN BACHELOR QUARTERS THAT WERE PROVIDED BY THE CANAL COMMISSION. THERE WERE TWO OF US IN ONE ROOM, AND THE BUILDINGS WERE BUILT FOR CIRCULATION OF AIR. THE AGGRAVATION, I MIGHT SAY, WOULD BE THAT, DUE TO THE DAMPNESS OR THE HUMIDITY, WE WOULD GET UP IN THE MORNING AND OPEN OUR CLOTHES CLOSET, AND WE'D FIND THAT OUR SHOES WERE FULL OF MOLD. >> narrator: MOST OF THE MEN WHO BUILT THE CANAL WERE NOT AMERICANS ASSIGNED TO BACHELOR QUARTERS, BUT TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DESPERATELY POOR WORKERS FROM IMPOVERISHED CARIBBEAN ISLANDS, WHO WERE HOUSED UNDER FAR MORE PRIMITIVE LIVING CONDITIONS AND WORKED FOR FAR LESS MONEY. >> Dill: THE LABORERS WAS PAID 90¢ A DAY, AND THEIR MEALS WERE 9¢. THEIR QUARTERS WERE PROVIDED, AND THE REST, OF COURSE, WAS UP TO THEM WHETHER THEY SAVED IT OR SPENT IT. WELL, MY PAY AS A MACHINIST, I THINK, STARTED OUT ABOUT 38¢ AN HOUR, AND I RECEIVED FOUR PROMOTIONS IN THE 5 1/2 YEARS. >> narrator: THERE WAS ONLY ONE THING EQUAL BETWEEN THE AMERICANS AND THE MASSIVE BLACK LABOR FORCE: THE POSSIBILITY THAT TROPICAL DISEASES WOULD CLAIM THEIR LIVES. IT WAS A REALITY THAT ROOSEVELT HAD FACED DURING THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. >> Dill: THIRTEEN TIMES OF THE MEN THAT WERE KILLED DURING THE BATTLE HAD DIED FROM MALARIA FEVER-- FROM DISEASE. SO WHEN TEDDY ROOSEVELT KNEW THAT WE HAD A SANITATION PROBLEM TO SOLVE, DR. GORGAS WAS THE MAN FOR THE JOB. HE WAS THE MAN THAT-- ERADICATED IS THE WORD-- THE MALARIA FEVER AND TYPHOID IN CUBA. HE FELT THAT, IN ADDITION TO THE HEALTH SITUATION, WE HAD TO BUILD STREETS, BECAUSE SOME OF THE STREETS WERE DRAINAGE DITCHES, AND HE CALLED OFF ALL THE WORK ON THE CANAL UNTIL THEY GOT IN A SANITARY CONDITION TO WHERE THE MEN THEN COULD FEEL FREE TO WORK. THAT HAD TO BE DONE FIRST. >> narrator: DRAINAGE DITCHES WERE CLEANED OF STANDING WATER WHERE MOSQUITOES BREED. SWAMP GRASS WAS TRIMMED TO ALLOW SMALL FISH TO FEAST ON THE INSECT LARVAE. PONDS AND PUDDLES WERE SPRAYED WITH A FILM OF OIL TO KILL THE NEWLY HATCHED INSECTS. LIVING QUARTERS WERE FUMIGATED, AND INSECT SCREENS WERE ATTACHED TO WINDOWS. AS THE ENVIRONMENT WAS BEING CONTROLLED, MASSIVE SHIPMENTS OF SANITATION MATERIALS ARRIVED: 120 TONS OF INSECTICIDE, 8,000 POUNDS OF SOAP, THOUSANDS OF BUCKETS, BROOMS, AND RAKES. IN A FEW MONTHS, THE MEN HAD ACCOMPLISHED THE IMPOSSIBLE: BY CHRISTMAS OF 1905, YELLOW FEVER HAD BEEN ELIMINATED IN PANAMA. [fast-paced drumming] BUT HEALTH DID NOT COME CHEAPLY. EVERY MOSQUITO KILLED COST THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT $10. BUT THE GOVERNMENT WENT EVEN FURTHER TO PROTECT THE WORKERS. THE MEN WERE PRESCRIBED REGULAR RATIONS OF QUININE. >> Dill: THEY WOULD HAVE A MAN WITH LIQUID QUININE-- THE PERSON THAT WOULD GO AROUND TO THE SHOPS, THE GANGS, WHEREVER THERE WAS ACTIVITY AND MEN WORKING, AND YOU WOULD TAKE THE REQUIRED AMOUNT OF LIQUID QUININE. >> narrator: BUT QUININE WAS DISTRIBUTED TO WORKERS IN A RACIALLY SEGREGATED WAY. AMERICAN MEN WERE LABELED AS<i> GOLD EMPLOYEES,</i> AND THE BLACK CARIBBEAN LABORERS AS<i> SILVER EMPLOYEES.</i> >> AND THE GOLD WOULD DRINK OUT OF THE GOLD CUP, AND THE NONAMERICANS, OF COURSE, WOULD DRINK OUT OF THE SILVER CUP. >> narrator: WHEN CANAL CONSTRUCTION BEGAN FULL FORCE, NEW DANGERS SURFACED. THE HARDEST WORK WAS IN THE CULEBRA CUT, WHERE WHOLE MOUNTAINS WERE REMOVED TO CARVE A PATH 8 MILES LONG, 300 FEET WIDE, 50 FEET DEEP. THIS MAN-MADE GORGE WOULD LATER BE FILLED WITH THE COOL WATERS DAMMED FROM THE CHAGRES RIVER. UNTIL THEN, THE MEN WORKED IN 120-DEGREE TEMPERATURES TO BLAST AWAY SLIDING HILLSIDES AND DIG 200 TRAINLOADS OF EARTH EVERY DAY. FIFTY TO SIXTY STEAM SHOVELS WERE OPERATING AT ANY ONE TIME IN A CHOREOGRAPHED DANCE WITH NONSTOP LOCOMOTIVES. >> Dill: SO THEY ARRANGED THE TIMING THAT THE TRAIN WOULD MOVE VERY SLOWLY. THE STEAM SHOVEL WOULD COME OVER AND PUT A LOAD, AND IT WOULD MAKE A LOAD, AND THE TRAIN WOULD MOVE FAR ENOUGH THEN AHEAD FOR IT TO PUT THE SECOND DIPPER THERE. IN ORDER WORDS, THERE WAS NO LOST MOTION BY THE STEAM SHOVELS. >> narrator: SPECIAL DUMPING DEVICES ALLOWED THE TRAINS TO BE UNLOADED WITH ONE GIANT SWEEP, DEPOSITING MILLIONS OF TONS OF SOIL TO CREATE A HUGE EARTHEN DAM ONE AND A HALF MILES LONG, A HALF MILE THICK AT THE BASE. IT WOULD TAKE THAT MUCH VOLUME TO HOLD BACK THE WATER OF THE HUGE MAN-MADE LAKE. MEANWHILE IN THE CUT, 61 MILLION POUNDS OF DYNAMITE WAS THE PRIMARY TOOL FOR MOVING EARTH. THE EXPLOSIVE FORCE WAS EQUAL TO ALL THE FIREPOWER USED IN ALL THE WARS THE UNITED STATES HAD FOUGHT UP UNTIL THAT TIME. OFTEN, THE TROPICAL HEAT WOULD MAKE THE DYNAMITE UNSTABLE. IT WOULD EXPLODE UNPREDICTABLY. A SUDDEN BLAST KILLED 27 MEN IN A SINGLE BLINDING INSTANT. OTHER WORKERS WERE KILLED OR INJURED BY FLYING DEBRIS. FUNERALS WERE AS REGULAR AS RAIN. SOMETIMES THE BLASTS SPARKED DEADLY FIRES. A PANAMANIAN FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS FORMED TO RESPOND BUT WAS LARGELY UNTRAINED IN THE TECHNIQUES OF FIGHTING FIRES. >> Dill: THE PANAMANIAN FIRE DEPARTMENT, INSTEAD OF GOING AROUND, YOU KNOW, AND FIGHTING IN BACK OF IT, THEY JUST FOLLOWED WITH IT, AND WHEN IT EXPLODED, I THINK THERE WERE SIX OR SEVEN FIREMEN THAT WERE JUST BLOWN TO BITS. >> narrator: IT WAS NOT UNCOMMON FOR WORKERS TO BE GROUND UNDER THE WHEELS OF THE SPEEDING TRAINS, CAUGHT UNAWARE DUE TO THE DEAFENING NOISE AT THE SITE. BUT TEDDY ROOSEVELT WAS PLEASED WITH THE PROGRESS. THE AMERICAN EFFORT WAS DIGGING IN A SINGLE DAY WHAT THE FRENCH HAD TAKEN A MONTH TO MATCH. IN 1906, ROOSEVELT DECIDED TO SEE THE WORK FOR HIMSELF AND ARRIVED IN PANAMA FOR AN INSPECTION TOUR: THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY A PRESIDENT HAD LEFT THE UNITED STATES WHILE IN OFFICE, AND THE FIRST TIME A WORLD LEADER HAD EVER POSED FOR PHOTOS IN THE SEAT OF A STEAM SHOVEL. >> Dill: IT WAS IN NOVEMBER, WHICH WAS THE WORST MONTH OF THE RAINY SEASON, AND WHEN HE SAW THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THE MEN WERE WORKING, THEIR SINCERITY, THEIR DETERMINATION TO GET THE JOB DONE, HE FELT THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE A PIN OR A BADGE OR SOMETHING. SO HE HAD FRENCH JUNK SENT TO THE PHILADELPHIA MINT, AND THERE WERE OVER 7,400 MEDALS THAT WERE STRUCK AND WERE GIVEN TO THOSE WHO HAD SERVED TWO YEARS OR MORE DURING THE CONSTRUCTION DAYS. >> narrator: THE MEDALS, STRUCK FROM THE STEEL OF DISCARDED FRENCH CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT, FEATURED A CAMEO OF ROOSEVELT. >> Dill: MY MEDAL-- NUMBER 6,726-- THERE'S A LOT OF HISTORY BETWEEN NUMBER 1 AND 6,726. >> narrator: DIGGING THE WATERWAY THROUGH THE PANAMANIAN MOUNTAINS WAS A MONUMENTAL FEAT, BUT THAT WAS ONLY PART OF THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS. THE LOCKS WHICH WOULD LIFT AND LOWER SHIPS FROM THE ELEVATED CANAL WERE EQUALLY MAMMOTH STRUCTURES. THEIR JOBS WOULD BE TO RAISE THE WORLD'S LARGEST SHIPS TO THE HEIGHT OF A SEVEN-STORY BUILDING. BUILT IN 36-FOOT SECTIONS, THEY WERE THE LARGEST CONCRETE STRUCTURES ON EARTH. A THOUSAND FEET LONG, 110 FEET WIDE. EACH OF THE SIX LOCKS COULD HOLD AN OBJECT THE SIZE OF THE EIFFEL TOWER. THEY WERE DESIGNED TO FILL WITH WATER FLUSHED IN FROM THE LAKE THROUGH PIPES THE SIZE OF RAILROAD TUNNELS, WITH TWO VALVES WEIGHING TEN TONS EACH. EVEN THOUGH THE LOCK DOORS WEIGHED 700 TONS, THEY WERE SO PERFECTLY BALANCED THAT THEIR OPENING AND CLOSING REQUIRED ONLY THE POWER OF A 40-HORSEPOWER MOTOR, THE SAME POWER USED BY MANY INDUSTRIAL LAWNMOWERS. THE LOCKS OPERATED EXCLUSIVELY FROM ELECTRICITY, A RADICAL NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR THE TIME, AND THEIR POWER WAS TO BE GENERATED BY GATUN DAM, A ONE AND ONE-HALF MILE LONG EARTH BARRIER MADE FROM THE SOIL OF THE CALEBRA CUT. BECAUSE OF THE ENORMOUS VOLUME OF WATER IN THE MAN-MADE LAKE, THE DAM IS DESIGNED TO PROCESS IN A SINGLE DAY THE WATER EQUIVALENT OF TWO NIAGARA FALLS. THE PANAMA CANAL REPRESENTS A PERFECT BALANCE BETWEEN TECHNOLOGY AND TEAMWORK, DREAMS AND DETERMINATION. IT WAS BORN OF A UNIQUE CONVERGENCE OF MEN, MIGHT, AND MONEY, WHICH DEFINED A DEFIANT AGE. >> Dill: I THINK I SHOULD MENTION WHAT IT MEANT TO WORK ON THE PANAMA CANAL, AND THE ACTUAL EXPERIENCE OF WORKING TOGETHER WITH A CLOSENESS THAT YOU NEVER FELT THAT YOU WERE ALONE. AND IF YOU WERE WORKING WITH A GROUP--IF FOR SOME REASON ONE MAN FELL OUT, WHY THEN THERE WERE OTHERS RIGHT THERE TO TAKE ON HIS PART. THERE WAS NO SUCH THING AS SAYING, "WELL, THAT'S HIS JOB." IT WAS OUR JOB. >> narrator: THE EPIC NATURE OF THE PANAMA CANAL INSPIRED A SPIRIT OF CAMARADERIE AMONG THE WORKERS, BUT THE PROJECT COULD TEST THE STRONGEST OF MEN. IN FEBRUARY OF 1907, FOR PERSONAL REASONS, CHIEF ENGINEER JOHN STEVENS RESIGNED HIS POST AND LEFT PANAMA. IT DISHEARTENED THE CREWS, BUT IT ENRAGED THE PRESIDENT. PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT WAS SET ON APPOINTING A NEW MAN TO HEAD THE EFFORT WHO COULD NOT LEAVE HIS POST. THAT MAN WAS GEORGE WASHINGTON GOETHALS. HE WAS REGULAR MILITARY, DEMANDING, AUTHORITATIVE, AND, BEST OF ALL, IF HE TRIED TO QUIT, HE COULD BE COURT-MARTIALED AND SENT TO PRISON. >> Dill: EVERY DAY WAS A WORK DAY, AND, OF COURSE, SUNDAY WE WERE ALL SUPPOSED TO OBSERVE THE SABBATH, BUT THERE WAS ALWAYS NECESSARY WORK TO BE DONE THAT COULDN'T WAIT FOR MONDAY. >> narrator: THE MILITARY REGIMEN PUSHED THE PROJECT OVER THE TOP. IN THE END, 12 MILLION CUBIC YARDS OF CONCRETE WERE SET IN THE LOCKS, AND ENOUGH DIRT WAS HAULED FROM CULEBRA CUT TO EQUAL 3 1/2 TIMES THE VOLUME OF THE SUEZ CANAL. ON MAY 20, 1913, JOSEPH KIRK, IN SHOVEL 222, MET D.J. McDONALD, IN SHOVEL 230, AT THE BOTTOM OF THE EXCAVATION. THE DIGGING WAS DONE. THE CANAL WAS PREPARED TO BE FILLED. FOUR MONTHS LATER, WORKERS PLACED THE FINAL DYNAMITE IN A SMALL DIKE THAT HELD BACK THE CHAGRES RIVER. >> Dill: WE WERE VERY, VERY PROUD TO BE SUCCESSFUL, AND WHEN THE CANAL WAS COMPLETED, AND WHEN THEY BLEW UP THE DIKE AT GAMBOR, WHY, IT WAS--I'LL NEVER FORGET THE APPLAUSE OR THE NOISE, THE WHISTLING AND THE YELLING AND ALL THAT EVERYONE MADE THAT WERE STANDING ON THE BANKS OF THE CANAL WHEN THE DIKE WAS BLOWN UP. >> narrator: THE WATER STARTED FLOWING; THE LOCKS WERE FILLED; AND WHEN THE WATER LEVEL HAD RISEN, A TUGBOAT WAS DRAPED IN FLAGS AND SENT TO MAKE THE FIRST TRIP THROUGH THE GREATEST ENGINEERING ACCOMPLISHMENT OF ITS TIME. THOUSANDS CHEERED THE TRIUMPH, BUT THE CHEERING DID NOT LAST LONG. BY THE TIME THE STEAMSHIP, <i> ANCON,</i> OFFICIALLY OPENED CANAL OPERATIONS ON AUGUST 15, 1914, TEN YEARS AFTER THE WORK HAD BEGUN, THE STORY OF THE PANAMA CANAL WAS BURIED ON THE BACK PAGES OF NEWSPAPERS BECAUSE, JUST DAYS BEFORE, EUROPE HAD ERUPTED IN WAR. AT FIRST, AMERICA WAS DETERMINED TO STAY OUT OF THE CONFLICT. INSTEAD OF FIGHTING, WE PUT ON A FAIR: THE SPECTACULAR PANAMA PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION IN SAN FRANCISCO, CELEBRATING THE INGENUITY AND MAGNIFICENCE OF AMERICA AND THE CANAL AND MARKING THE EMERGENCE OF THE UNITED STATES AS A CULTURAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL WORLD POWER. BUT THE REST OF THE WORLD DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO CELEBRATE. [explosion] THE UNITED STATES FINALLY ENTERED THE WAR, AND WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE PACIFIC FLEET THROUGH THE CANAL IN 1919, TEDDY ROOSEVELT'S DREAM OF A TWO-OCEAN NAVY BECAME A REALITY. BUT TEDDY NEVER LIVED TO SEE THE TRIUMPH. HE HAD DIED A FEW MONTHS EARLIER. AFTER THE WAR, THE UNITED STATES DISASSEMBLED 1/3 OF ITS BATTLESHIPS IN THE COLLECTIVE CAUSE OF WORLD PEACE. THE NAVY'S USE OF THE CANAL DROPPED OFF, AND A WORLDWIDE DEPRESSION WAS HAVING A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE CANAL AS WELL. >> Muller: THERE WERE PERIODS OF TIME, TRAFFIC BECAME SO SLOW, SO LOW, SO MINIMAL, THAT THERE WERE LAYOFFS, AND I RECALL ONCE MY FATHER WAS WORKING TWO DIFFERENT JOBS. >> IF THEY WERE LAID OFF, THEY WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE STATES, AND WHAT WE WOULD WE DO THERE? STAND ON STREET CORNERS, SELLING APPLES AND PENCILS. >> narrator: GEORGE MULLER AND JOAN MARIE RIDGE DEGRUMMOND ARE CANAL BRATS, CHILDREN OF CANAL WORKERS WHO LIVED IN THE AMERICAN ZONE AND OFTEN GREW UP TO JOIN THE WORKFORCE THEMSELVES. AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF PANAMA, THEY DEVELOPED THEIR OWN WAY OF MAKING IT THROUGH THE DEPRESSION. >> DeGrummond: THESE MEN PULLED TOGETHER, AND THEY DECIDED THAT THEY WOULD WORK MAYBE ONE OR TWO WEEKS A MONTH, AND THAT PERSON COULD WORK ONE OR TWO WEEKS A MONTH, AND THAT WAY THEY COULD KEEP THEIR HOUSING AND STILL HAVE THE JOB. >> narrator: BUT WITH THE BASIC CANAL CONSTRUCTION FINISHED, AND MOST OF THE WORKERS SHIPPED BACK HOME, THE AMERICAN PRESENCE IN PANAMA BECAME A MILITARY ONE. A STRONG DEFENSE OF THE CANAL WOULD BECOME AN IMPORTANT ASSET AS THE WORLD GREW MORE RESTLESS. [speaking in Japanese] >> narrator: DECEMBER 7, 1941. ONCE AGAIN, WAR HAD ERUPTED, AND, ONCE AGAIN, SEA POWER WOULD BE A DETERMINING FACTOR. THE PANAMA CANAL WOULD BE A VULNERABLE LINCHPIN IN THE ALLIED EFFORT. [explosions] FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT, CONCERNED ABOUT PANAMA'S STRATEGIC VALUE, EXPOSED NAZI DESIGNS ON THE WATERWAY. >> Roosevelt: THEY HAVE DIVIDED SOUTH AMERICA INTO FIVE VASSAL STATES, BRINGING THE WHOLE CONTINENT UNDER THEIR DOMINATION, AND THEY HAVE ALSO SO ARRANGED IT THAT THE TERRITORY OF ONE OF THESE NEW PUPPET STATES INCLUDES THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA AND OUR GREAT LIFELINE, THE PANAMA CANAL. THAT IS HIS PLAN. IT WILL NEVER GO INTO EFFECT. >> narrator: IN APRIL 1941, THE U.S. COAST GUARD SEIZED SEVERAL AXIS SHIPS TO PREVENT THE WIDESPREAD NAZI SABOTAGE PLOT, WHICH INCLUDED THE SCUFFLING OF VESSELS IN THE CANAL. THE FEAR WAS ROOTED IN REALITY, FOR GERMANY, IN CONQUERING ITS WEAKER EUROPEAN NEIGHBORS, HAD GAINED CONTROL OF SOME OF THEIR COLONIAL FOOTHOLDS IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE. THIS PUT THE CANAL WITHIN RANGE OF AIR ATTACK. TO PROTECT AGAINST ATTACK AND SABOTAGE, THE CANAL INSTITUTED A TOP SECRET PROGRAM CALLED<i> SIP7,</i> AN EMERGENCY DAMMING METHOD IN WHICH AN UNDERWATER BLOCKADE COULD BE LIFTED HYDRAULICALLY TO HOLD BACK THE RAGING WATERS OF GATUN LAKE, IF THE DOORS OF THE LOCKS WERE HIT BY NAZI BOMBS. >> Muller: SHOULD A GATE BE DAMAGED BY SOME WARTIME ACTIVITY, THEY COULD EASILY LOSE ALL THE WATER IN GATUN LAKE, AND THAT WAS ONE OF THEIR CONCERNS. >> narrator: IT COULD BE ACTIVATED IN MINUTES, EVEN BY HAND, IF ALL ELECTRICITY WERE CUT OFF. SIP7 PROVED TO BE AN INTEGRAL PART OF AMERICA'S WARTIME DEFENSE, BUT THE CANAL HAD ANOTHER UNUSUAL INFLUENCE ON THE WAR EFFORT. AROUND THE GLOBE, AMERICAN FIGHTING MEN WERE SUDDENLY ENCOUNTERING RARE TROPICAL DISEASES. WHAT HAD BEEN LEARNED ABOUT CONTROLLING MALARIA DURING THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CANAL, WAS NOW TAUGHT TO GIs THROUGH EDUCATIONAL CARTOONS. >> newsreel announcer: THIS IS THE STORY OF AN OUTCAST, NOW A HUNTED WANDERER OVER THE FACE OF THE GLOBE. YOU ALL KNOW HER NAME: ANOPHELES ANNIE, THE MALARIA MOSQUITO. [gulping] [spitting] >> TO LOOK AT ME NOW, YOU WOULDN'T HARDLY BELIEVE IT. [hiccup] BUT BACK IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS, I WAS REALLY SOME STUFF. YEAH. I TOOK MY DRINKS STRAIGHT; BUT THE BOYS GOT THEIRS MIXED WITH A MICKEY FINN. [wings beating] [wings whirring] [explosion] >> narrator: AS A FACILITY, AND AS A SYMBOL OF A NATION'S MIGHT, THE PANAMA CANAL HAD ESTABLISHED ITS IMPORTANCE. BUT THERE WERE SOME PEOPLE WHO FORGOT THAT DESPITE THE MONEY, BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS THE UNITED STATES HAD INVESTED IN THE TEN-MILE STRIP, PANAMA STILL BELONGED TO THE PANAMANIANS. THERE WAS AN ENFORCED SEGREGATION BETWEEN AMERICANS AND THE PANAMANIAN PEOPLE. >> Muller: IF YOU WERE NOT AN AMERICAN CITIZEN LIVING IN THE CANAL ZONE, YOU WERE EXPECTED TO BE OUT OF THE CANAL ZONE AFTER DARK IN THE EVENING, UNLESS YOU HAD BUSINESS. NOW, MANY OF US HAD DOMESTIC SERVANTS, AND THEY COULD STAY SEVERAL HOURS AFTER THE SUN SET, AND THEY WOULD NOT BE CHALLENGED AS THEY WERE RETURNING TO THEIR OWN HOMES IN PANAMA OR COMING BACK INTO THE ZONE IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. ONE THING ABOUT THE CANAL ZONE, THEY INSISTED ON EMPLOYEES-- THE PARENTS, THAT IS, WITH THEIR FAMILIES, RETURN TO THE STATES PERIODICALLY. THE IDEA BEING THAT THEY WANTED THE FAMILIES TO REMAIN AMERICANIZED, RATHER THAN TO ASSIMILATE TOO MUCH OF THE PANAMANIAN CULTURE, TO THE EXTENT THAT THEY WOULD FORGET THEIR IDENTITY AS AMERICANS. >> narrator: AS PANAMA GREW INTO THE 20th CENTURY, PANAMANIAN NATIONALISM INCREASED. IN 1964, THE UNITED STATES REFUSED TO ALLOW THE PANAMANIAN FLAG TO BE RAISED ALONGSIDE THE U.S. FLAG IN THE CANAL ZONE. ENRAGED CITIZENS TOOK THEIR ANGER TO THE STREETS IN A VIOLENT RIOT THAT CLAIMED THE LIVES OF 22 PANAMANIANS AND 4 U.S. SOLDIERS AND INJURED MORE THAN 350 PEOPLE. MANY IN THE U.S. BLAMED A SUBVERSIVE COMMUNIST ELEMENT FOR INFLAMING THE PANAMANIANS, BUT THE PANAMANIAN GOVERNMENT DIDN'T AGREE THAT NATIONALISM WAS SUBVERSIVE, AND IMMEDIATELY SEVERED DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES. THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES CALLED AN EMERGENCY MEETING TO URGE NEGOTIATION. >> man: HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF FRANCE EXERCISED JURISDICTION OVER A SWATH OF LAND TEN MILES WIDE ALONG THE BANKS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, FROM NEW ORLEANS TO CANADA? NOTHING IN THE 1903 TREATY, OR ITS AMENDMENTS, INDICATES THAT PANAMA EVER CEDED THE CANAL ZONE TO THE UNITED STATES. >> narrator: SO PRESIDENT JOHNSON PROMISED TO RENEGOTIATE THE TREATY OF 1903 AND RECOGNIZE THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE ISTHMUS. THAT WAS THE FIRST STAGE IN A PROCESS THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY TURN CONTROL OF THE WATERWAY OVER TO THE COUNTRY THAT HAD BEEN CREATED SO THE PANAMA CANAL COULD BE BUILT. >> narrator: THE ECONOMIC ADVANTAGES OF THE PANAMA CANAL ARE OBVIOUS. ITS UNIQUE GEOGRAPHY FACILITATES TRADE WITH A DIRECT WATER LINK BETWEEN EUROPE AND THE PACIFIC, AND TRIMS NEARLY 8,000 MILES OFF THE SHIPPING ROUTE BETWEEN NEW YORK AND SAN FRANCISCO. THE ENGINEERING BEHIND THIS MODERN MARVEL IS INGENIOUS, AND THE TRANSIT OF SHIPS, A MASTERPIECE OF CHOREOGRAPHY. THE ROUTE BEGINS ON EITHER THE ATLANTIC OR PACIFIC ENTRANCE, WHERE VESSELS MAKE THEIR REQUESTS TO CANAL TRAFFIC CONTROL, FOR PERMISSION TO PASS THROUGH THE LOCKS. THE LOCKS ARE DOUBLE-SIDED, PERMITTING TRAFFIC TO FLOW IN EITHER OR BOTH DIRECTIONS AT ONCE. EXPERIENCED CANAL PILOTS BOARD THE SHIPS TO NAVIGATE THEM THROUGH THE NARROW WATERWAYS, HELPED INTO THE LOCKS THEMSELVES BY SPECIAL ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES CALLED<i> MULES,</i> WHICH PULL THE SHIPS INTO THE CHAMBERS. EXCEPT FOR THE OPENING AND CLOSING OF THE MASSIVE LOCK DOORS, AND THE TOWING OF SHIPS INTO THE LOCK CHAMBERS, THE ENTIRE RAISING AND LOWERING OPERATION WORKS FROM GRAVITY. PANAMA'S JUNGLES RECEIVE 100 INCHES OF RAINFALL EACH YEAR AND FLUSH BILLIONS OF POUNDS OF WATER FROM THE HIGH REGIONS OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TO THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC. AS THE WATER FILLS THE LOCK CHAMBERS ON ITS WAY TO THE SEA, SHIPS FLOAT ON ITS SURFACE AND RISE WITHOUT MECHANICAL ASSISTANCE. WHAT IS MIND-BOGGLING ABOUT THE OPERATION IS ITS OVERWHELMING SIZE, WHICH CAN BEST BE APPRECIATED WHEN THE LOCKS ARE DRAINED FOR MAINTENANCE. REPAIR AND UPKEEP IS AN ONGOING DEMAND, WITH OVER $100 MILLION SPENT IN THE LAST 10 YEARS ON IMPROVEMENTS. THE DIFFICULT HANDWORK IS ACCOMPLISHED IN LARGELY THE SAME FASHION AS IN 1915. A HUMAN TOUCH IS REQUIRED ON EVERY SQUARE INCH OF THE LOCKS. THE LOCK CHAMBERS ARE MASSIVE: THEIR LENGTH, LONGER THAN THREE REGULATION FOOTBALL FIELDS, THEIR VOLUME, THE EQUIVALENT OF NEARLY 500 SCHOOL BUSES. FOUR SPACE SHUTTLES COULD BE PARKED WITHIN EACH OF THE LOCKS. WHEN THESE GIANT CHAMBERS WERE FIRST DESIGNED, THEY COULD EASILY ACCOMMODATE THREE OCEAN-WORTHY VESSELS AT A TIME. TODAY SHIPBUILDERS BASE THE DIMENSIONS OF THEIR<i> PANAMAX</i> CARGO SHIPS SO THAT ONE ENORMOUS CRAFT CAN PERFECTLY MATCH THE CONTOURS OF THE LOCK. ONCE THROUGH THE LOCK, SHIPS ENTER THE MAN-MADE GATUN LAKE FORMED BY THE WATERS OF THE CHAGRES RIVER. THE LAKE ALSO CONTAINS HUNDREDS OF TINY ISLANDS WITH ECOLOGICAL MICROSYSTEMS, WHICH ARE NATURAL LABORATORIES FOR VALUABLE RESEARCH BY UNIVERSITIES AND SCIENTISTS. BUT THE LAKE DOES NOT EXTEND FROM ONE COAST TO THE OTHER. THE CULEBRA CUT MEANDERS FOR NINE MILES THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TO LINK THE SYSTEM. CARVING THIS PIECE OF THE PUZZLE WAS THE DEADLIEST PART OF THE CANAL CONSTRUCTION, AS UNSTABLE HILLS AVALANCHED INTO THE WORK AREA TO BURY MEN AND EQUIPMENT. EVEN TODAY, THE MOST INTENSIVE CANAL MAINTENANCE EFFORTS ARE FOCUSED ON THE TREACHEROUS CULEBRA CUT. SINCE ITS ORIGINAL CONSTRUCTION, THIS CHANNEL HAS BEEN WIDENED FROM 300 FEET TO 500 FEET TO ALLOW PASSAGE OF WIDER MODERN VESSELS. MORE EARTH HAS BEEN REMOVED IN THIS EXPLOSIVE PROCESS OF WIDENING THAN WAS EXCAVATED ORIGINALLY TO BUILD THE CANAL. [explosions] THE ENORMITY OF CONTEMPORARY SHIPS CONTRIBUTES TO THE EROSION OF THE CANAL'S NARROW BANKS, AS THE CHURNING OF THEIR GIANT PROPELLERS SCOUR THE CANAL'S SHALLOW BASE, DISLODGING SILT. MORE THAN 500 MEN LABOR 365 DAYS A YEAR, IN A CONSTANT DREDGING OPERATION TO REMOVE 2.5 MILLION CUBIC YARDS OF SOIL EACH YEAR. THE SLUDGE IS PUMPED INLAND TO DRAIN AND DRY, BUT THE PANAMANIAN WEATHER OFTEN SABOTAGES THAT EFFORT. AT NINE DEGREES ABOVE THE EQUATOR, THE TROPICAL SUN BAKES A THIN CRUST ON THE SURFACE OF THE SOIL, KEEPING THE THICK, GLUTINOUS SOUP PROTECTED UNDERNEATH, UNABLE TO DRAIN. DURING THE RAINY SEASON, WATER COLLECTS IN THE CRACKS AND BECOMES A BREEDING GROUND FOR DISEASE-CARRYING MOSQUITOES. THESE CRUSTS MUST ROUTINELY BE BROKEN FOR DRAINAGE, BUT THE WEIGHT OF MEN AND EQUIPMENT WOULD EASILY CRACK THE SURFACE AND CAUSE THEM TO BE SUCKED INTO THE SLIME. THE SOLUTION IS CALLED<i> EXPLOSIVE DITCHING,</i> A PROCESS IN WHICH MEN RACE ACROSS THE PITS TO DEPOSIT DYNAMITE CHARGES, THEN BLAST AWAY CHANNELS IN THE CRUST TO ALLOW STANDING WATER TO DRAIN BACK INTO THE CANAL. THE RESULTS ARE IMMEDIATE. BLASTS ARE MONITORED WITH SPECIAL HIGH-SPEED CAMERAS, SO THE SHOCKWAVES FROM THE EXPLOSIONS CAN BE MEASURED FROM A SAFE DISTANCE AND STUDIED. [explosions] AS IN THE ORIGINAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE CANAL, A MASSIVE FULL-TIME CREW OF MORE THAN 8,000 PEOPLE ARE CONSTANTLY BLASTING, DIGGING, AND DREDGING TO MAINTAIN THE CANAL. >> Tekosky: A PROJECT LIKE THE PANAMA CANAL CAN NO LONGER BE BUILT. IN FACT, IT WOULD BE MIND-BOGGLING TO ASSUME THAT THAT PROJECT COULD GET THROUGH ALL THE ENVIRONMENTAL HURDLES THAT ARE NECESSARY IN ORDER TO HAVE A PROJECT LIKE THAT PROPOSED, CIRCULATED, AND BUILT TO COMPLETION. >> narrator: WHEN TEDDY ROOSEVELT BULLIED THE PANAMA CANAL INTO EXISTENCE, HE DIDN'T HAVE TO CONTEND WITH THE LEGAL CHALLENGES WHICH WOULD TODAY PREVENT THE FIRST SHOVEL FROM EVER BREAKING EARTH. IN THAT SENSE, THE CANAL IS THE LAST HURRAH FOR THE KIND OF AMBITIOUS PROJECT WHICH WOULD DARE TO CHANGE THE SHAPE OF THE WORLD. YET THE WATERWAY HAS FOUND A PERMANENT PLACE IN THE IMAGINATION OF MAN. OVER HALF A MILLION SHIPS HAVE MADE THE NINE-HOUR VOYAGE FROM SEA TO SEA OVER THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE SPANNED BY THE PANAMA CANAL. THE OPERATION IS FUNDED BY TOLLS FOR USING THE LOCKS, RANGING FROM $142,000 FOR MAJESTIC CRUISE SHIPS TO 38¢ FOR ONE DARING MAN WHO SWAM THE DISTANCE. BUT THE REAL VALUE OF THE CANAL CANNOT BE MEASURED IN DOLLARS. THE PANAMA CANAL IS A WORKING MONUMENT TO MAN'S NATURE. AT TIMES, STUBBORN AND HARSH, BUT ALWAYS LONGING FOR GREATNESS AND CRADLED IN BITTERSWEET GLORY. >> Knight: AS WE PASS THROUGH THE CANAL DURING THE DAY, WE GET TO A SPOT WHICH IS THE DEEPEST CUT. IT'S CALLED THE GALLARD CUT AND THAT WAS THE SCENE OF THE BIGGEST DIGGING AND, OF COURSE, BIGGEST CASUALTIES WHILE THEY WERE DIGGING THROUGH. AND, AS WE GO THROUGH, THERE'S A BIG PLAQUE ON THE SIDE OF THE HILL TO COMMEMORATE ALL THE LIVES THAT WERE LOST DURING THE CONSTRUCTION. >> narrator: THE THOUSANDS OF WORKERS WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES WHEN THIS NARROW SLIVER OF LAND WAS WRENCHED FROM NATURE WERE ALSO BUILDING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN MEN AND CREATING A DOOR WHICH WOULD LEAD THE WORLD INTO THE 20th CENTURY. >> Dill: IT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF MY EDUCATION. I LEARNED THINGS THERE THAT CANNOT BE WRITTEN, SOME THAT YOU CAN'T LEARN FROM TEXTBOOKS, AND THAT NO ONE CAN TEACH YOU. YOU MUST PARTICIPATE AND OBSERVE AND WORK WITH PEOPLE. I WISH NOW I HAD STAYED, BUT THAT'S ANOTHER STORY.
