Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-02-25

An Interesting Talk BEFORE the National
Geographic society.

SURVEYING RAILWAY.
Al Interesting Talk Before the National
Geographic Society.
There was good attendance OF the National
Geographic Society and IDS friends 81 NE spe-
eia meeting held at Builders Exchange Hall
last evening TO hear q lecture BY Mr.. W. ID.
Kelly. C. f., in regard TO his portion Of the
work Of the intercontinental railway commis-
sioa In making . survey on muleback OF ]. 100
miles q the tndesn plateau in ECUADOR and
PerI- Mr.. kdlv was introduced By Prof.
Powell, and. with the assistance OF seventy
beautiful lantern slide view. had no trouble I'm
entertaining bis hearers FOR the hour aud one
quarter allotted 20 his lecture he aid the
Project Tor ar ail-land communication between
Sor.h and South America va. the outgrovth Of
the fsn-American congress in 1889 resulting In
the organization o. the NORTHUMBERLAND r.iIv.y
commission. composed Ct REPRESENTATIVES, from
AL The republics % the American hemi.pher~
Inc oblect o. the commission vas the estab-
hsnment o. INK between the great railway
system OF the north with those O. the south ard
TO insure a closer commercial union between
TIE respective countries He said the survey.
ALREADY made had already demonstrated III,
feasibility OF such an undertaking and demon
s'rsied by statistics that IL would eventually DO
. financial success.
NS-AEhSs eHOtLD CHI.
The commerce Of the Spanish American
countries now amounts 20 ssoo. 900 600 . wear.
Of which under the present system the intel
States gets but one-tfth. whereas b, the pro
posed railroad IL would certainly have at least
tour-fifths Of the trade which nov goes TO
Europe. The work OF construction while Diff
cult offered no obstacles than those overcome
by engineering skill in the construction OF the
irst railroad 20 the Pacific.
Their first camp, said Mr.. Kelly. Was near the
equator, fe miles north OF Quito. {. $50 feet
above sea level in . valley OF the Andes sur
rounded by eleven volcanoes. which have been
on their good behs FOR over ten years and
are now capped with snow. A view was given
Of the scene with the plateau Of cotopsni in the
distance showing perfectly symmetrical cone
OF 5000 feet Of perpetual snow. This 10 prob
ably the moot mischievour Of the bad son. OF
the Andes, having 90 late ~ 1878 an unbroken
record for burying towns and Indian villages
and having for three consecutive DAYS Kept
Quito seventy-fve miles awsy in dark ness by Q
constant shower Of ashes. He described Quite
the capital OF Ecuador, ~ . well-built city Of
1000 inhabitants.
NOT A CHIMNEY TO BE SPIN
There are lots Of fine buildings. hut not .
single chimney can be seen anywhere. Re
ligious professions are ince.sant day snd night
causing an everlasting jingling % bell. and
blowing OF bugles but the sound Of a steam
whistle Is unknown In regard to the Indian.
OF the Quito valley he said that they made Il .
practice-men, women and children TO travel
leagues from their forest huts to Quito, sleep
ing on the roadside at night. 90 sell less than q
dollars worth Of bamboo and fruite. The In
dams are short in stature. but broad chested
and strong. In going south from Quito they
came TO several adobe casa pasadas. wayside inns,
all Of which contained q rum shop kept by
an Indian. The people gather at these place.
TO gossip IN the sun and csrouse at night.
-.
and infested with feas. Sheets, towels. soap
and water are unheard of luxuries in these
places The surveyors were camped nearly
the entire march and lived principally on what
the country produced in preference to eating
their canned food. A regular transit back
sight line Was run throughout the entire !. 200
miles. Owing 10 the extreme clearness Of the
atmosphere at the attitudes traversed. sights Of
2 900 or 5000 feet could be read with equal ia
cility to q sight Of half the distance in the
United states. The whole survey was made in
fourteen months, an average Of 100 miles per
month. Tho maximum distance ran was Ia &
miles on level pampas without trees to OBJ
| struct the sight.
TOWN DESTROYED BY EARrHQuAKEs
A view was given Of the town Of Ambato.
seventy-fve miles south Of Quito, having 10. 600
inhabitants. 1t has been DESTROYED many times
by earthquakes and volcanic and political
eruptions In the distance Is the untrodden
oome OF SDlfnDOraZa, xl,UOO 1eet above
level Humboldt attempted the ascent. but
failed The Indian merchants a curious
lot They seem to be Just learning the first
rudiments Of trade. They will sell you many
pennies worth Of peppers as You pleased. but
II you asked for q dollars worth you would be
suspected Of robbery. They can't understand
large transactions. The llama used by them
is q sacred animal. thoroughly domesticated-
and cannot be killed under penalty OF law
The women carry their children In hood on
their backs, some Of them carrying two OF thres
| in this way. The Indians OF southern Ecuador
| the north The goiter is said TO be common
among the people Of the mountainous districts
and is attributed to the drinking OF snow water.
The Indian women attend to the household du-
ties and do all the work, while the men usually
| get drunk and lounge around
HARD LINES FOR FooD.
During portion Of the survey the party
were without bread, potatoes or ordinary food
for period Of two months The DAYS were
warm and the nights cold. They usually slept
on cots with wooden and rubber blankets for
covering. Received hospitable treatment at all
the towns visited and the people seemed in fun
sympathy with the movement to bring them In
closer communication with the great republic
Of the north. There were ten persons m tbe
original party. but only three we've able to get
through to the end. The Ecudarian govern
ment furnished a cavalry escort 20 the
Peruvian frontier, and that government fur
nished . cavalry escort through the coun-
try OF the Huanta Indiana During the
journey from Ecuador into the primitive forests
Of the head waters Of the Amazon the erpedi-
ton camped four days in the rain without tent
or cover.
PECULIAR VEGETABLE ANIMAL IrFr
Mr.. Kelly said that the great variety OF ele-
walton which they passed through in the Sierra
showed vegetable and animal life peculiar q,
every zone. There was tropical dora in the
deep gorges with their delicious pears banan.
and sugar cane. higher up we're splendid
crops of maize. Then they reached a tempera-
ture with grapes, apples and peaches. Next
they reached the subarctic, where the timber
ceases and the pastures consist Of tufts Of
coarse grass. and finally onlyan arctic fora with
its line Of perpetual snow, where the only bird
to be seen is the condor.
In the MAYO Corongo in Peru they crossed .
plateau where the attitudes varied from $500
feet to IA. 400 feet. representing also every de-
gree Of climate and vegetation Tropical vsge-
tation was found in the deep gorges the pro-
ducts Of Spain and Italy in the valleys and the
crops in northern Europe in the more elevated
plains and rayines Still higher mp were the
pasture lands Of the Alps. until at last they
reached the bleak arid mountains with their
peaks Of everlasting snow. Views were given
Of mountain haciendas. plazAs, churches, &c..