Showing results by author "Harry A. Franck" in All Categories

Harry A. Franck was an American travel writer. After publishing Vagabond Journey Around the World, he spent 3 months in the Canal Zone of Panama as a census-taker and police officer. This work is a series of vignettes of the Panama Canal under construction, with plenty of color and dialect. NOTE: There are racial terms and attitudes expressed in this work that will be objectionable today. - Summary by TriciaG

Sometime in the latter half of 1911, Harry A. Franck jumped out of a box-car and crossed the Rio Grande, from Laredo. Thus began a journey, often afoot, that Harry estimated would take him 8 months. It ended up occupying four years of his life. The first leg of his Latin American epic is recorded in "Tramping Through Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras; Being the Random Notes of an Incurable Vagabond" (The Century Company, 1916). He then headed south to the Canal Zone, Teddy Roosevelt's grand experiment in socialism, and applied within the Zone police force for a position as a census taker (...

Immerse yourself in the vivid world of the Panama Canals construction through the eyes of Harry A. Franck, an American travel writer who spent three months as a census-taker and police officer in the Canal Zone. This captivating series of vignettes offers rich detail and authentic dialect, bringing to life the experiences of those who worked on this monumental project. Please note that some racial terms and attitudes reflected in this work may be considered objectionable today. - Summary by TriciaG