The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-02-07


the most of their surveying, has only fifty
miles of railway and its roads are bride
paths and the chief carrying trade is on
steamers and mules. Brazil has 5000 miles
OF railway and something like 5000 miles
under construction and Columbia, where
the Skunk party is now, though il is one
OF the richest countries in the world, has
only 2lS miles OF railroads. The country
has no means of communication whatever
with the exception of its rivers and its
mule paths. Still it is one of the richest
countries of South America and il is nearly
ten times as big as the state of New York.
1t has population little less then that of
New York state and its capital Bogota,
toward which Mr.. Skunk is now moving
with his surveying party, is 5000 feet
above the sea. Columbia has
SOME OF THE FINEST MINES
in South America, and these will be opened
up by this railroad. Since the Sixteenth
century 1t is estimated that 1925, 0U0, 600
worth of gold has been taken out OF Column
bia and 1T has vast areas of tlne coffee
lands.
Speaking of mineral regions, the second
South American party is now moving down
into Peru, and it will soon be in the MN
eral regions of that country and will be
cutting its way through some of the great
est mineral wealth OF the world. 1t started
at Quito, the capital of Ecuador, on June
3rd and in five months completed 5U7 miles
of careful surveying, and on October 81,
1891, 1t was at the boundary OF Peru and
within few months it must reach Cerro de
Pasco. 1t will be here in the very midst of
the Peruvian silver regions and the road,
II built, Will cause a great development In
mining. The mineral regions OF Peru are
being rapidly opened up and nearly thou
sand new mines have been worked since
1886 and in 1889 about twenty six hundred
mines were being worked. The country
produces vast quantities of cod ana silver
and gold is found in nearly every state.
This South American line which will run
from the Isthmus of Panama down through
Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chilli
to the Argentine system, runs mainly on
the plateau of the Andes mountains.
The Andes are during part of
the distance in three parallel ranges with
broken plateaus between them and it is be-
tween the two western ranges that the
road is now being surveyed. The two
parties of civil engineers who started out
on April 10, 1891, from New York, sailed
first for Panama and then went on to Quito
in Ecuador. From here one party under
William f. Skunk went northward through
the country into Columbia and on towards
the Isthmus of Panama, while the other
under J. Imbrie Miller went southwark
toward Peru and Chill. Both parties were
radically affected by the high altitude and
by the hardships of camp life, and j. I'm
brie Miller, the head of the second party,
was so afflicted with dyseutery that he had
to be carried on litter to the sea-coast and
was sent back home. His party is now
under the command of w. d. Kelley, jr.,
and it is doing excellent work. 1t reports
tn at there are no
ENGINE RING DIFFICULTIES
except high viaducts over the many deep
ravines along the mountain slopes, and 1t
gives the altitudas at the various points
along the lines and the sizes of the towns.
In 2i6 miles of road they found twenty-five
towns ranging in size from 5000 to $4,000
population and these towns were at alti
tudes ranging from 1900 to 1000 feet
above the sea. The road will run up and
down from 5000 to 1000 feet above the
sea and the character Of the country seems
TO be such that il would be locally protta-
BILE.
The letters of Mr.. Miller concerning his
camp and camp life are interesting. At
one place he says it takes forty-tiye mules
to move his camp and he states that he has
visions for use in Peru. The coun-
try of Ecuador has shown itself
very endly to the surveyors but
the pei lie among whom this sec
ond parly now ia are unciyillzed Indians
and the country is lean and sttngy and the
people will neither give nor sell. 1t is for
this reason that they have had to carry
extra provisions. The camps are far away
from the mails or telegraphs and the party
will have to GO a hundred miles or so to
cash draft. 1t is reported that the coun-
try in which they are now, is going to be
a very expensive one for the construction
of a railway The road will be ten Of
twelve thousand feet above the sea, be-
tween
RANGES OF HIGH MOUNTAINS
and over cross mountains, forming what Is
called knot of the Andes.
The party under Mr.. Skunk has been
moving northward from Quito through the
Andes and on the 10th of last December
it had surveyed 300 miles and though it
was in the rainy season, was making about
three miles day. MIR. Skunk writes that
he can make about 1 200 miles per year and
his estimate is that it would cest only
S32, 900 per mile for the sixty miles Of road
north of Quito. He says that the building
of the road over the country he has passed
is entirely practicable and he reports that
the officials and the people are very kind to
their party and are helping it along in
every way they can. The party has had
many hardships. Like the other survey
ing parties, they live in tents and carry
their camp from place to place on mules.
They have lot of Indians to help them
and the food is by no means good. In one
letter received by Mr.. Cassett shortly after
Mr. Shunks party got into Columbia, Mr..
Skunk writes:
1.-The work here is very hard. The days
are long and the nights are from nine to
four. There is a little fruit and the only
vegetables are potatoes and beans, II the
nature of the animals we eat entered into
us, we should utter by this time some
nightmare outcry betwixt a grunt, baa
and crow and have muscles like cat
gut"
The climate of the Andes during the
rainy season is terriable and the men are
working under great difficulties. Here is
day in the Andes as described by Mr..
Skunk. He says:
To-day began clear. The tremendous
bulk of the volcano LaGalera to the west
ward was cloudless except the towering
white cloud from its crater. The air was
perfectly calm, the sun rose bright and we
had every outward
TOKEN OF GOOD DAY.
AS the sun assembled the whole atmosphere
mystifed-a universal, half Transparent,
saturation came up that after a while
bulked into clouds hiding the mountain
tops, but leaving the lower earth in sight
With clouds overhead the weather was
cold, overcoats were comfortable and the
camp fire was genial neighbor. Now and
then between the clouds, the equatorial
sun whiting hot, shone out. 1t does not
heat the air the ground is its beach. 1t
trsverses space like a sea-swell unbroker
and it splashes into caloridc surf which ]
can not certify to be more than six feet
deep but which is q whitening, smothering
gusn of heat. Then clouds come again and
cold weather again, one instantly following
the other. In the afternoon we had chill
! ling showers until about three or four