there are no accurate figures for the number of lives lost during the construction of the railroad. in his book "brazil", novelist errol lincoln uys puts the number between 7000 and 10,000. the brazilian government estimates 6,000 workers lost their lives. fiorelo picoli in his book, "o capital e a devastação da amazônica", puts the figure at more than 30,000. the loss of life may seem low compared to other complex constructions projects in difficult terrain. by comparison, construction of the panama canal claimed 30,609 lives (5609 workers died during the 10 year us management, the remainder perished while under the jurisdiction of france) because of yellow fever. however, much of the "devil's railroad" legend is based on the much deadlier failed attempts by george church, and on the brazilian rubber boom itself, which cost tens of thousands of lives.