Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1886-04-30
FROM SOUTH AMERICA.
A Trip to the Andes.--A Letter from u
Lady Correspondent.

decided that we would leave Santiago
Tuesday February %, for a four days trip
to the Andes. For days previous we were
busy making mountain dresses, masks,
etc We were to start very early, SO we
purpOsed retiring with the birds, but
found so many little extras to be done,
that eleven o'clock found us still packing.
At one n. m, awoke and went to call
my friends and at two H. m, we were seat
ed in the caretela which was to convey us
10 the bodGgd. 1t was as dark rs night
could be, and we peered into each others
faces to see who we all were. Our party
consisted of Dr. Philips of New York,
Rev. l. II. La Tetra, Rev Duncan Gamer
on of Halifax n. :, Prof. Scott Williams
of Ann Arhor Mich, Mr.. and Mrs. Wilson
with their daughter, Miss Fannie. Miss
Mabel Curtis of Rochester. n y, Miss
Fannie Freistone of New Orleans, La.
The moon soon came up, and then the
ride was pleasant. Notwithstanding the
pretty view, many of our party doHed oil,
but like all parties of the kind, we were so
unfortunate as to have some incorrigible
punsters who succeeded in Keeping us all
in bursts of laughter and aroused our
sleepers. How beautiful it was, when the
sun came peepinS mp over the mountains
and the darkness made way for dawn
Two OF our number were on horse back.
AS soon rs it grew light, we all stopped,
lighted our spirit lamps-made tea and
cook our dCSuy unO. We were quite
tired with riding IN the caretela 80 some
of us proposed Il walk | chose to ride
and mounted one of the horses. Horse
back riding has II wonderful charm fu1
me, and | rode as long as my friends
would permit me, aad then alternately
walked and rode.
Our road was like a winding stair, SO
that we could look down upon the road
over which we had just passed. The foot
hills looked like miniature mountains,
covered with luXurant growth of cactus,
many of which are fifteen and twenty feet
high, quite red with kind of fungus
growth. The MapoCho River ran along
beside us, and where the MaipO flows in
to this the water is of two distinct cOlors
divided exactly in the centre. At short
distances there are pretty cascades of
foaming water, dashng down over the brok-
enrocks. AT ten o'clock we stopped, under
the shade of IA maiten tree, to eat our break
fast. The gentlemen built a fire place for
our stoves, and we enjoyed nice meal
and some OF us sweet sleep. Alter ut
tie rest we changed our horses and start
ed on again.
1t was now very warm and the CONVEX
sation Jagged AT one point the road
wound along through a kind of canon
where the rocks lowered above us like
Icoighty sentinels. These were literally
perforated with holes, that looked as
tloGgh they had been washed out by the
ses. We all had a different theory rs to
thee origin, but none were able to explain
the l4ystery. Upon reaching Il miners,
settlement gentleman came out and in
vited us to 90 in and rest Our host was
a mine owner and we found him quite
agreeable.
The house was comfortable, and | no
ticed that on the table were Spanish books
by Chile's famous author Don Benjamin
Vecuria Mackena, who died about a month
ago. Wine was brought us, and it took
all our limited amount OF Spanish to make
him understand that we never took any
kind of liquors. He was unable to CON
ceive how we lived without them. Anxious
to be hospitable to us in some way, his
pretty Sonora substituted duIcC and cold
water. We We're told there were seven
houses and one hundred people in the
camp.
On again. and all vicing with each
other in jollity, when suddenly around the
bend in the road, we saw group of miners
walking toward Us. When they came
near enough, we saw they were bearing,
on a litter the mangled body of one of their
comrades
Suddenly chill seemed to strike us all
as we thought of the widow and little ones
and no one now felt like joking.
With Il few stoppings now and then and
horseback we finally reached the bOdegd,
at seven O'Clock, after seventeen hours,
ride. Here We were to remain for the
night. First of all we made preparations
for dinner If the subject Of eating occurs
too often in this column, remember that
the Chilenos eat five times a day, and Am
orleans soon adopt the custom. We la
dies We're furnished with quite comforta-
BILE room, but the gentlemen were obliged
to sleep ON a dirt floor, covered with cor
ugated iron. | fancy it was a hard bed,
for the next night they plead for more
blankets. We We're now ten thousand
'rpt above the level of the sea and some
= he ladies' realized it before morning.
about midnight | was awakened by one
( them enquiring for the match box, and
shortly after witnessed Il scene rarely
seen except on ship-board. Even the
horses, outside, were deathly sick. The
''puno," as it is called, affects different
people in different ways.
We got no sleep that night and there
did not feel like rising at o'clock the
next morning to begin the ascent to the
mines. Some were to walk, others to ride
for to this mine there is good coach road all
the way. We reached the mine about ~
a. m, and by this time some of the ladies
were so sick with the puno, that they sank
down IN perfect helplessness.
Here we ate the first snow ard threw
the first snow balls We had some miners
specimen searching. The minerals which
these mines produce are copper and ar
senic. We visited the LA Fransito' and
San LOrenzo.n The miner were very
generous and polite to the ladies and we
obtained many rich and beautiful speci
mems. one of the proprietors,a German, tolC
rs that AT times he had the punO SO badly h'
was Obliged 10 go, from his bed, and
plunge into snow bank. All the miner:
seemed to have rachlng cough and am
told they do not live to be very Old.
They have but very little machinery and
that Of the rudest Kind The metal i,
brought, on the backs of miners, from the
shaft. 1t is then thrown IN Il pile, broker
into peices, with heavy hammer, % N,
lastly put in bags each holding one Lun
dred and fifty pounds packed on mule
back, and carried to the smelling works
about thirty miles distant
The mules return laden with two little
bundles of small round wood, for which
the miners pay two dollars, and they then