Omaha daily bee., 1898-06-19
N The HEART OF THE ANDES
Pictures Of Earth and Sky Taken in the Attic
Of South America.
HARVARD OBSERVATORY At ARtouIPA
Description of the Loftiest Scientific
station In the worId-Life and
Love In the CnpitaI OF
Southern Peru.

copyright, 1898, by Frank @. Carpenter)
PUNO, Peru, May 2~0.-(Special Corre-
spondence OF The Bee.)-I write this letter
In the attic Of the South American continent.
I am In the heart OF the Andes mountains,
on what, with the exception Of Thibet, Is
the Hottest tableland OF the globe. At my
feet is the western shore OF Lake Titicaca,
The highest water OF the earth upon which
steamboats, sail, and looking down upon me
fs the snowy peak OF 1llampu, which, next
to Aconcagua, in Chill, is the highest Of
the Andes. During the past week l have
been travelling among the most wonderful
mountains of South America, and I am now
In a region which has not It's counterpart
upon the planet. Here and In other parts
OF the mountains OF Peru are the highest
places where people live. During my trip
up the Oroya railroad I found a village OF
about 200 souls at an altitude Of more than
three miles above the sea. There is a min
fng camp In the Peruvian Andes which is
more than 16, 900 feet high, and in crossing
the desolate plain known as the Pampa De
Arrieros I stopped some time at Vincocya,
where there is a locomotive roundhouse
higher UP in the air than the top Of Pixies
Peak. In coming here l travelled for two
days over one OF the steepest railroads of
u WI dHu uOWt ~ u ulSlduCt VI InOIe
than 800 miles from the Pacific, l am on
the great plateau which lies between the
two ranges OF the Andes, varying in altitude
from IL, 900 to IL, 900 feet above the sea. l
am hundreds of miles south of the point
where I crossed the great mountains from
Lima, and in a region where the Andes are
more grand than at any point in the 1000
miles OF their length. Think Of a mountain
which towers lin iut0 the skies an that ite
ragged, snowy summit is four miles above
the level of the ocean. Imagine II you can
others which are over 2 $1,000 feet high. Make
q wall Of such mighty hills and paint them
in the wonderful colors, shades and tints OF
the Andean skies and you can get a faint
idea of my surroundings. I have with me
many books upon South America, but l fail
to find In them any descriptions OF the
scenic effects Of these mountains. This is
the region of all others for the artist, and
as yet no great artist has attempted to
transfer these wonderful pictures to can
vas.
Pictures from the Andes
My trip over the Andes was a continuous
panorama. Let me give you my notes of
the scenes along the route as 1 jotted them
down on the way. / begin at Mollendo on
the Pacific ocean. 1t is a ragged town on
the jagged coast of the Peruvian desert.
The ship lies out in the harbor and the
surf rolls in with great force, striking the
rocks and sending it's diamond spray fifty
feet upward into the air. The harbor is
rougher than that of Jaffa, and my bag
gage is lowered into a bounding boat over
the side of the steamer. / have to jump
into the boat when 1t Is on the crest of the
waves, and / feel my stomach rise as /
sink down into the deep. The landing is so
bad that men and baggage are often
thrown into the water, and 1 am told that
the insurance companies always charge
one-eighth of l per cent more on all goods
shipped to Mollendo. I am rowed to the
shore by brawny, coffee-colore boatmen
through huge rocks. Now we run into a
lighter which is bringing out cargo for the
steamer and are nearly capsized. Now We
Craze a great boulder and at the wharf |
have to jump when the boat is on the crest
of the wave to get a footing on the steps.
My baggage canno be landed except by
means OF a crane, and ] pay four men
81 to carry my heavy trunks up the
hills to the custom house. A little later on
I am seated in the car on my way to Are
quipa, which, though only about 100 miles
from the coast, is higher up in the air than
the top of Mount Washington. Our train
first skirts the coast, and then shoots off into
the bare hills of the desert. There is not O
shrub, not a vestige OF green. We climb UT
a 4 per cent grade, winding about in horse.
shoe curves. At places We see the tracks
over which we have passed running paral
lei with. but far below us. Now we are on
a side of the mountain facing the ocean
The sky-blue Pacific, hazy and smoky,
stretches out toward the west until Its
delicate blue fades into that of the sky. A
patch Of reddish gray sand skirts the foo,
OF the brown velvet hills. and this Is d.
vided from the sky-blue water by the silvery
strip OF surf which Is dashing its waves
upon the shore. The scenery changes a
almost every turn OF the wheel. There IL
no place where nature clothes the earth IN
such royal garments as here. At times thu
Andes are great masses of blue and brown
plush. The clouds OF the sky. though of
heecy Wilderness, paint velvet spots of man,
colors upon the hoary hills, and at times
II seems as though all the ink bottles o.
the heavens had been scattered over tn,
mountains. At other times the sun tint!
the mountains with the most delicate blues
which fade into lighter tints Of blues II