National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1884-04-21


bons Their body looks like that of large
goat, the long neck and head like n camels,
except that the nose is pointed and the lips
thin. They movo gracefully, holding
their heads erect and turning them TO
either sido as IL enjoying the Wow.
They are hardy and capable of making
long journeys with very llttlo food,
but strangers arc not inclined to approach
them too closely, as they arc said to spit at
any one they do not know and to BIO certain
in their aim. There were several hocks Of
them upon tho mountain side, resting or
wandering about. ] was just seriously con-
templating q trip ofa few yards TO blue
lupin bush, in full bloom, and thinking of
Miss Cary's poem in which she says,
one ,swcetly solemn thought comes to me DER
] am nearer heaven to day than ever was
before.
when we were warned that it was time TO
begin tho descent as we were to meet the
regular train upward bound at MatuCnna.
We were soon again in our seats and full
steam up in the engine, which was used rs
soon as wo started in applying tho brakes,
that are kept hard on oil tho way, and even
then the speed is unComfortably fast, espe-
cially when you skip over bridges and past
the precipices, the highest Of which has n
sheer fall of LOO feet, but several of the
smaller ones are enough to interest one when
you seem hanging on their upper edges.
Soon we came to Matucana and here we
found the train waiting to pass us, SO got out
and walked about while the switching was
going on. The village evidently had been
small ono, and the houses stood close together
on the narrow streets; there was large
church that had been temporarily rooted in
and was used for barracks, beside IL was the
inevitable plaza, and VIC were told that tho
place used to be quite n fashionable summer
resort; a valley close by was pointed out
where there are great quantities of wild
heliotropo bushes, but having no time for II
walk we returned to the car and continued
our mad career downward until we reached
again the bridge of Ncrrugas, when wc
alighted and walked over It, IL Is of iron
made in the United States, and is 252 feet
above the little river which flows through
the bottom Of the gorge, called Verrugas.
Verrugas means warts, aud the river was SO
named by the workmen on tho road, who
believed that drinking its water brought
upon them the dreadful scourge Of which so
many, about 5000 in all. died in the hos
pitals The engineers seom to think that 1t
came from turning over the earth, which
liberated some poisonous gas, as 1t has never
been epidemic since tho road was finished,
and it was virulent only between the alti-
tudes of 5000 and 6,000 feet. 1t consisted of
warts, sometimes seven or eight inches
long and two or three through,
that would bleed when tuched
and were terribly painful. They came any
where upon the body, even upon the eyeballs,
but did not destroy the sight, and We're not
generally fatal unless they came internally,
which they often did, especially in the throat.
Below the bridge were many holes that had
been made by treasure seekers, who believed
in the old legend that large train of llamas
had reached this valley loaded by his loving
subjects with treasure for the ransom of
Atahualpa the Inca sovereign, when their
owners, hearing of his assassination at the
hands Of Pizarro, killed their llamas, buried
tho treasure, and fled The seekers found
some curious ruins but no treasure.
One Of the old highways runs near the
railroad for long way up the valley, and
we occasionally saw some natives upon it,
but the majority, who are upon foot, seem to
prefer tho railroad track. The highway is
hardly more than bridle-path, as carts never
attempt il, and it is sometimes changed in
an unexpected manner by landslides. We
were shown one place where several people
were surprised by one and buried beneath it,
In several of the valleys you SEQ the up-
doubted traces of floods and you are con-
vinced that this region must at some time
have been visited by refreshing rains.
We made only one moro stop, which was ut
Chosica for water for the engine, and as soon
as that was secured we continued on to Lima,
where we arrived at dusk and alighted
there, delighted with our trip and charmed
with oil wo had seen. having spent day we
shall always remember as an oyentful one,
yet our nocks ached and SO did our eyes, and
we were glad to be back where we could
move and breathe freely. The railroad,
while not yet finished is still pay ing one,
and it is grand monument to tho Pole and
the American who conceived and executed
the idea. Don Henry is dead, and the Polo
is at present an exile from his adopted
country. MARGUERITE DICKINs,