Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1883-06-13
The Wealth Of Peru.

Spaniards, mixtures of negroes, Chinest
and white people-a people having the
vices of every nationality and the vir
tues of hardly any. The Incas or In
dianS still preserve their simple habits
but are STEPPED in the deepest Ignorance
and kept down in every way. They
are engaged mostly in agriculture and
mining. They form but an insignifl
cant factor among the people on the
sugar plantations along the coast. Chi
nese laborers are chiefly employed, be-
ing cheaper and more reliable. Many
have been thrown out of employment
the haciendas having been destroyed by
the Chilians. In guano alone the re-
venue for twenty-five years was 81 ,000,-
900, 600. All the country has to show
for this immense wealth is few lines
of railw;ly-one towards the mines of
Cerro del Pasco, which, for want OF
funds. is left unfinished to within sixty
miles of the mines. Another line runs
from Yollendo to Puno, on Lake Titi-
caca, and is the most direct route to La
Paz, Bolivia, the road going by way of
Arequipa. There are two or three
other short lines. All these are govern
ment property. There are also two or
three short lines of rail owned by pri-
yate parties.
The debt on the government railways
is nearly 5000, 100000. Much of this
money has enriched foreign merchants,
but most of it could be found in the
pockets of runaway presidents and
other Peruvian notableS. Peculation
in official circles has ruled in Peru to
such extent that a man who, after oc-
cupying office, came out without for
tune, was called un leso (half-witted. J
Industries hardly exist in Peru. Com
merce is in the hands of foreigners
First quality of rice (chiclayo) and
large quantities of sugarcane are grown
almost without labor. Much Peruvian
bark and some caoutchoue are found in
the interior, some being sent abroad
by way of Guayaquil, but most of it
finding market by way of the Anna
Zonriyer. The immense mineral wealth
of the country is almost undeveloped
and until different race of people takes
hold OF things the mines will not rise to
the Importance they should. Of late
years immense deposits of nitrate of
soda have been discovered along the
coast of southern Peru, extending TO
the Bolivian and north coast of Chile.
They have proved a large source of re-
venue. These deposits have been the
chief cause of the war. From the nit
rates large quantities of iodine are OBJ
tanned to such an extent that this metal
has become a drug in the market.
Many experiments have been made to
discover a mordant TO iodine for dyeing
purposes, but so far without any prac-
tical result. Like Ecuador, the east
ern slope of the Andes in Peru contains
| immense forests of valuable woods, but
owing to the lack of communication
they are almost unattainable. In the
interior, near lea, the celebrated liquor
called piSco is made. Some is made
from rice and some from grapes. The
liquor is put in large conlcal earthen
jars, holding about six gallons each.
| 70 give it age it is buried i'll the sand
and Ill time becomes mellow. Much
wool Is shipped from several ports of
Peru, going by the Straits steamers to
| England.
With few exceptions from Payta, the
extreme northern port of Peru, to Cal
dera, in Chile, the country on the sea-
board is destitute of vegetation-noth-
ing but barren sand-hills, with an oc-
caSlonal oasis of vegetation. In times
past, through volcanic action, the sea
receded some miles, leaving a wide strip
of sand exposed. Our steamer remain
Ing at Payta all day, L went ashore to
take look at the place. A couple of
months before the ChileanS had landed
and destroyed the railway shops and
depot. The town looked desolate. All
who could had left. Nearly all the
houses were empty. took four MeXi-
can dollars ashore with me. We had
bottle of bear, which cost So, and L re-
turned with S3l. The explanation is
that the silver was exchanged for Pc
ruvian currency, 50 In paper money
being equal to one Mexican dollar.
This might pass as an adaptation of the
miracle OF the ''loaves and fishes" So
much for the credit of poor Peru. My
companion invited me to take some
chlcha. Here it is made from maize.
1t Is 4 fermented beveragel We en-
tered an adobe building without floor.
An old woman handed us a muddy
looking liquid i'll an old teapot. One
gulp was sufficient. 1t tasted like vine
gar bitters. The natives said it was
chicha. Tambo de Moro is an excep-
tlOnal Peruvian port. 1t is a green
spot In the desert. The finest oranges
On the west coast are grown here; also,
fruit Of all kinds. The palta, fruit
tasting like fresh butter, Is much grown
here and priced by the people of the
coast. Here the vegetation Is very rich,
showing that many places III Peru could
De made productive II the people would
take the trouble to irrigate the land, as
Is done in Chile.
Next to Callao the most important
Peruvian port is at present Iquique. 1t
Is near the frontier of Bolivia, but only
III name, Chile having gobbled the
whole territory, for the time at least
Ihls port has acquired its Importance
through the large salt deposits i'll its
immaculate vicinity. Iquique is the ca
pItal of the province of Tarapaca. Its
Importance may be understood when it
Is known that Its average monthly re-
| NOipto az thC SuotOih houoC slC OHtl
S4UO, 900. There is railway leading to
the salt fields some sixty miles dist
ant. The road, until lately, was owned
by Montero, Peruvian notable, who
turned 1t over to an English company,
but has lately been actually sold to par
ties III England connected with the Pc
ruvian bonds. A year ago an opposi-
tion road was started by this company.
Three leading firms, uniting, built and
equipped wagon-road and now get
their salt by carts. Still the railway
is kept busy all day. They do not run
at night. Iquiqueput me more in mind
of a California mining town than any
other place have seen since leaving
that country. 1t has the most go-ahead
sort of people on the coast. Burnt
down twice, shaken down by an earth
quake once, it is now rebuilt ON more
substantial basis than ever. Most all
nationalities are represented here.
This accounts for the cosmopolitan cha
racter Of the place.
English capital controls the salt
|, deposits in the north, although two or