Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-10-25
The Trip From Lake Titicaea to the
Sea.
FAR ABOVE THE CLOUDS
~ the Highest Railroad In
tho World-Panting for Breath On
Nigh Altitudes-The sirroche-Abous
Llamas and Guanacas.
From Tn sTAl's Travelling Commissioner.

This 10 at point called Crucero Alto, about mid
way between Puno and Arequipa, and by the
way some OF the recent books on South Amer.
lea confOund Crucero Alto with the pass in
Bolivia known ~ Alto del Crucero. The latter
is more than 16, 900 feet high and many miles
further inland on another range Of the Andes
not crossed by any railroad, but by the solitary
| mule trail which We traversed some months
ago going from La Paz to the Yungas valley.
This Puno and Mollendo railway was built for
the Peruvian government about fourteen years
| ago by Mr.. Henry Meiggs, and it cost more
than e45,0O0,0O0 for the S25 miles, or the
enormous average Of e135,0OO per mile. But
railroad building in the Andes is by no means
what the same thing might be in the United
States. This IL really wonderful work, and
| though It has few tunnels, no railway in the
world can show 40 much excavatinR or such
| massive entertainments. There is another Pc
ruvian railroad, called the Oroya, also built by
| Meiggs, leading from Lima up to the mines Of
Cerro del Pasco and thence projected to the
head waters OF the Amazon. designed to con-
meet with that great fuvial highway and thus
make transit to the Atlantic shorter and
points, will be even higher than this one. This
railway. in common with all others in Peru, is
managed by an odd, but polite mixture of
methods, notably, North American, South
American, Peruvian and English.
THE LoFTIEsT VILLAGE IN THE WORLD.
A few miles from Crucero Alto is vincocaya,
the very Hottest village in all the world unless
It may be some Of those in Central Asia, II, $50
feet above the sea. 1t is higher than the cele-
brated mines Of Cerro del Pasco, higher even
than famous Potosi higher than either Quito,
Ecuador or Leadville, Col; nearly twice as
high as the Alpine Hospice Of Saint Bernard,
and IL one were to put another Mount Wash
ington on top OF the present one its summit
would still be almost 2, 900 feet lower down than
Vincocaya! This Andean village 10 purely a
creation OF the railroad, and boasts Of all the
adjuncts of q relay and repairing station, as
we'll as of q so-caled American inn, Ell Hotel
Empresa. Why American" do not know, as
the landlord and his wife are rosy-cheeked,
hardy-looking Germans, and hardy indeed one
Orton Of Vassar College was obliged to pass a
night here, and, accustomed as he was to the
mountain air from his life in Quito, wrote that
he could not sleep at all. but spent the time
painting for breath.
PAINTING FOR BREATH.
Long before we arrive at Vincocaya, coming
from either end Of the line nearly everybody
is suffering from sirrochs in greater or less
degree. Strange to say. frequent passing over
the same heights does not exempt one from
the distressing complaint, and the strongest
and healthiest seem to be more Frustrated by it
than the sickly, with the exception Of one Of our
immediate party, aconsumptive young Chiian,
travelling to proIong his span of life, whose
sunken chest heavcs painfully in the effort Of
respiration and whose pale face has taken on q
CHASTITY grayish blue. Poor little F., whose
heart is easily disturbed from its regular work,
lies helpless among the rugs and furs with
purple face and icy extremities. Several pas
sengers are relieved by copious flow of blood
from the nose, and jolly Englshman from
tina uh1~ oho 10, Il.
says he was never i'll in his life except when
passing over this road, has turned the color Of
q boiled lobster, and gasping with suffocation
holds his head with both hands, declaring that
1t is about to burst.
RELIEF FROM sIRRoCHE
The remedies commonly made use Of are
brandy and bromide Of POTASH, assisted by
various smelling salts and the odor Of raw
onions. The natives believe so implicitly in
the latter preventive that not one Of them
will travel in the higher attitudes without a
generous supply, which he cuts and shifts at
leisure, though it be strong enough to draw
tears from the eyes Of craven image. When
mules and horses are Frustrated with sirroche
the usual cure is to stuff slices OF raw onion up
the creatures nostrils. Many people cannot
make this journey at all, especially those Of
exceptionally "full habit" or who have any
chronic heart trouble. have known more
than one person to set out braveIy for Bolivia
Who was obliged to give it up before the high
est point on the road was reached. II fresh
from an ocean voyage, or after long residence
near the level Of the sea, the safer way would
be to tarry awhile midway, say at Areauipa
which has an altitude little less than 5000
feet, IN order TO accustom ones self by degrees
to the oxygenless air.
THE HEART OF THE ANDES.
The traveller on this railway is constantly re-
minded Of that celebrated painting called Tho
Heart of the Andes and realizes that he has
| found the very spot 1t is always bitterly cold
on the mountain tops, and when Mt Vincocaya,
We pick our way from the car to the Hotel En-
presa for luncheon, in driving storm Of sieet
| and snow, we console ourselves with the knowl-
edge that few hours more will bring US down
into region OF perpetual summer time, to
the ever-blooming roses and soft, warm sun
shine of old Arequipa, the Inca place Of Rest "
Far as the eye can reach, the soil of the higher
attitudes looks like q vast bog covered with
! patches OF snow and short, coarse grass grow
| ing i'll punches. As the storm increases to a
raging blizzard, whitening all the landscape in
few moments the domesticated lamas and
| alpacas run to their corrals for protection,
! while guanacos, vicunas and other wild crea-
| lures huddle together to keep warm or skurry
| away to sheltered gorges known only to them
| selves. Undoubtedly those -four sheep Of the
Andes" belong to the same family, the alpaca
being q cross between the llama and the sheep,
and the guanacos between the vicuna and the
llama.
| THE aUANAcos.
In some part Of Peru, Bolivia and Chill
| guanacos are as common as goats in Switzer-
land The animals body u somewhat OF the
GREYHOUND build, being very narrow in the
! loins but deep in the chest. IL 10 covered with
! long hair, exceedingly soft and fine. pale yell
low, shading to white underneath; combined
| with the strength and endurance OF the llama
| it has all the characteristics of the North
American deer. being as graceful as fleet
| footed, and its flesh is much like that of the
| antelope Their skins, like those of the y1cupa.
command high price in Europe, where they
are in great demand for carriage robes, cloak
Innings, &c.
In their wild state the animals roam in fiocks
and one of the herd always stands on guard. II
| danger threatens he gives the alarm by stamp
| ing his feet, and swift indeed must the pursuer
be who can overtake them. They abound in
great numbers in the less thickiy settled por-
tions Of southern Chilli and that part of the Ar
gentine Republic which used to be Patagonia,
| where they furnish the principal sport of the
pack Of dogs trained especially for this chase.
| STALKING THE GAME.
The men "stalk' the game with greatest care
and sometimes get near enough for shot with
their rides; but IL oftener happens that the
| timid creatures decline 30 close an acouaint-
| ance with their natural enemy, man. II GU
anaco is found grazing sngiy on the plain the
| chance Of getting him 10 very small; but when
| the herd il pursued each animal tries to crowd
himself into the center for greater safety, thus
considerably retardlng their speed by the con-
fusion that ensues. It il amusing ~ note how