The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-10-26
TITICACA TO THE SEA
Across the Andes by the Highest
Railway in the World.
TRAVEL ABOVE PIE CLOUDS.
The Great Desert of islay-A Hot and Life
less Portion of the South-Its
PeculiaIities.
TRAVEL ABOVE PIE CLOUDS

MoLLENDo, Peru, Aug. 81, $780, Especial
correspondence of The HERALD. From
Lake Titicaca to the sea is railway jour
ney of 325 miles, all in Peru, over the
Andes and across a desert Starting at an
elevation of Il, 800 feet, the road rises by
gradual ascent to the extraordinary alti
tude of 1866, the highest that wheels
turned by steam have ever attained. This
is at point called Crucero Alto, about mid
way 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 16, 900 feet high and
many miles farther inland on another range
of the Andes not crossed by any railroad,
but by the solitary mule-tral which we
traversed some months ago, going from La
Paz tn the Yungas valley.
THIS PUNo AND MoLLENDo RAILWAY
was built for the Peruvian government
about fourteen years agoby Henry Meiggs;
and it cost more than s45. 100000 for the 325
miles, or the enormous average Sl35, 900 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 won
derful 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 Amazon, designed to con-
meet with that great fluvial 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 Mr.. John Thorndyke, late of Bos-
ton, was manager of the Puno and Mollendo
road, its affairs were conducted
STRICTLY on THE AMERICAN PLAN;
but since this railway, in common with all
others in Peru, now comes under the cele-
brated ''Grace-O onongmore contract the
leaders being the well-llnown banker and
ex-mayor of New York city and Lord DON
ongmore, OF London, backed by plenty OF
English and United States capital, its bust
ness is managed by an odd but polite mix
ture of methods, notably North America.
South America, Peruvian and English. Its
present superintendent, Mr.. Victor Hugo
Mac Cord, formerly from San Francisco. is
typical Westerner. combining the most
He has experienced some strange ups and
downs in his connection with this railroad
which serve as sample of what most for
eigners may expect who have the boldness
to engage in business in many portions of
this revolution ridden continent.
Coming here first as telegraph opera
tor, Mr.. Mac Cord soon worked his way uI
to the superintendent of the road. Their
came on the war between Peru and Chill
and it happened one day, by some accident
wholly unforeseen, that an engine on its way
to Mallendo was seized and run inn by the
Chilians, who seem to have made it point
during that short but sanguinary struggl.
to steal everything they could lay hands on
even to locomotives under full steaml
THOUGH IN NO WAY TO BLAME
for the occurrence, Mr.. Mac Cord was hels
directly responsible by the local authorities
of Arequipa that city, which had Away!
been the headquarters of the railway man
Rgement, being then under military rule
He was at once arrested and without hear
Ing of any sort imprisoned in gloomy dun
geon of the quartet which had not so mucl
IS chair or bed, nothing but the bare