Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-10-25
FROM TITIClCA 10 THE SKA.
CROSSING THE ANDES BY THE HIGHEST
RAILROAD IN THE WORLD.
ns,ipbts of Travelling Above the CLOUDS
The Great Desert oil
Islay-Ete.
From RrcoRD-UN1oS's Special Correspon dent
XXXIII.

From RECORD UNIONS Special Correspon dent
XXXIII.
MoLLENDo PERU, August, 1890.
From Lake Titicaca to the sea is rail
road journey of 325 miles, all in Peru
over the Andes and across desert. Start
inc at an elevation of 1880 feet, the road
rises by gradual ascent to the extraordl'
nary altitude of 1866 feet, the highest
that wheels turned by steam have ever at
tanned. This is at point called Crucero
Alto, about midway between Puno and
Arequipa, and by the way, some OF the
recent books on South America confound
Crucero Alto with the pass IN Bolivia
known as Alto del Crucero. The latter is
more than 10000 feet high and many
miles farther inland on another range of
the Andes not crossed by any railroad, but
by the solitary mule-trail which we ira
versed some months ago, going from La
Paz to the Yungas valley.
This Puno and Mollendo Railway was
built for the Peruvian Government about
fourteen wears ago by Henry Meiggs, and
it cost more than S45,000,000 for the 325
miles, or the enormous average OF Sl3O,UO0
per mile! But railroad building in the
Andes is by no means what the same thing
might be in the United States. This is
really wonderful work and though it
has few tunnels no railway in the world
can show so much excavating or such
massive entertainments. There is another
Peruvian 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 ANA
zon, designed to connect with that great
fuvial highway and thus make transit to
the Atlantic shorter and cheaper than by
the old routes-which, at some points, will
be even higher than this one.
While John Thorndyke, late of Boston,
was manager of the Puno and Mollendo
road, its affairs were conducted strictly on
the American plan; but since this rail
way, in common with all others in Peru,
now comes under the celebrated "Grace
Dononghmore contract" the leaders being
the weIl-known banker and ex-Mayor of
New York city and Lord Dononghmore, of
London, backed by plenty of English and
United States capital, its business is man
aged by an odd but polite mixture of meth
DDS, notably North American, South
American, Peruvian and English. Its
present Superintendent, Victor H. Mac
Cord, formerly from San Francisco, is a
typical Westerner, combining the most cor
dial courtesy with great business energy.
He has experienced some strange "ups and
downs" in his connection with this rail
road, which serve as sample Of what
most foreigners may expect who have the
boldness to engage in business in many por-
tions of this revolution-ridden continent.
Coming here first as telegraph operator,
Mr.. MacCord soon worked his way up to
the SUPPLEMENTARY of the road. Then
came on the war between Peru and Chile;
and it happened one day, by some accident
wholly unforeseen, that an engine on its
way to Mellendo was seized and run in"
by the Chileans, who seem to have made 1t
a point during that short but sanguinary
struggle to steal everything they could lay
hands on, even TO locomotives under full
steam Though in no way to blame for the
occurrence, Mr.. MacCord was held directly
responsible by the local authorities Of Are
quipa, that city, which has always been
the headquarters of the railway manage
ment, being then under military rule. He
was at once arrested and without hearing
of any sort imprisoned in gloomy dun
geon of the quartet, which had not so much
as chair or bed, nothing but the bare,
damp walls. Neither food nor water was
supplied to him, and his repeated demands
for trial, or at least the chance to make
statement in his own behalf, were answered
by counter-demands for large amount of
money. The latter not being forthcoming,
he was led out enc night without mo
ment's warning, oslensibly to be shot, and
told to prepare for instant death.
Probably it was not intended to kill
him, merely to terrify him into enriching
the impecunious local Jefe Politico Fail
ing in this, after he had been placed in
position and the soldiers had raised their
rifles to fire, knowing that nothing could
be gained by his death and possibly some
thing might be wrung out of him if he
were allowed to live, the half-drunken
officer remanded him back to prison.
Friends brought him food and finally
raised the sum to $4,000 for his release,
which they paid over to the Jefe, who GER
tainly had no right to it beyond that of
temporary military power, and The illegally
imprisoned gentleman was set at liberty.
A few months ago Mr.. MacCord was
again made superintendent of this same
road to the satisfaction of all concerned
and affairs are now going on as smoothly
as anything can be expected to in Peru.
A few miles from Crucero Alto is Vim
cocaya, the very Hottest village in all the
world, unless it may be some of those in
Central Asia, 1860 feet above the sea. 1t
is higher than the celebrated mines of
Cerro del Pasco, higher even than famous
Potosi higher than Quito, Ecuador or
Leadville, Colorado; nearly twice as high
as the Alpine Hospice of Saint Bernard,
and if one were to put Mount Washington
on top Of the present one, its summit
would still be almost 1000 feet lower
down than Vincocaya This Andean viii
lage is purely creation of the railroad
and boasts of all the adjuncts of relay
and repairing station, as well as a so-called
American inn, FL Hotel Expresa. Why
american" l do not know, as the land
lord and his wife are rosy-cheeked, hardy
looking Germans; and hardy indeed one
needs to be to live so near the stars. Pro-
fessor Orion, of Vassar College, was
obliged to pass a night here, and, accus-
toned 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.
Long before we arrived at Vincocaya,
coming from either end of the line, nearly
everybody is suffering from slrroche, in
greater or less degree. Strange to say,
frequent passing over the same nights does
not exempt one from the distressing COM
plant, and the strongest and healthiest
seem to be more Frustrated by it than the
sickly, with the exception of one Of our
immediate party, consumptive young
Chilean, travelling to prolong his span of
life, whose sunken chest heaves painfully
in the effort of respiration, and whose pale
'fa.a hoe faIa III L. 6l,,a