Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-05-14
,copyrlghted, 1898. by Frank G. Carpen-
ter.)

Lima, Peru, April ~, 1875.
pown the Andes on hand car.
casting over the steepest railroad
Of the world.
r,oshlng through clouds to find clouds
below you.
Hanging to precipices, flying on
bridges over frightful chasms, whirl-
ing about curves now in the midnight
darkness of winding tunnels and now
where the light of day makes you shud-
der at the depths below YOU
This will give you faint idea Of
,he last part of trip from which 1
have Just returned. During it ! have
assembled to the very top of the noun
tains and have come back again to this
polnt, which is just six miles from the
sea. My trip was over the famous
Oroya railroad, the most wonderful
niece of railroad engineering ever con-
structed or planned. The road is all
told only 1875 miles long, but it climbs
I'm the steepest mountains of the globe.
In less than 100 miles 1t ascends more
than three miles. and at its highest
point 1t is 1866 feet above where 1t
starts at the port of Callao, on the Pa
clic ocean. At the top 1t is still 1000
feet below the summit of Mount
Meiggs. 1t cuts right through this peak
bv n tunnel which carries 1t to the other
side of the Andes. 1t then descends to
Inc valley of the Jauja, through the
rich silver mining region OF Yaull, ana
finally ends at Oroya, an Indian mar
ket town 12,17S feet above the sea. 1t
il one OF the most expensive roads
ever built II was dear in both money
and men. Seven thousand lives were,
IL is said, lost during its construction,
and the first eighty-six miles of 1t cost
III 900 900, or over 100000 per mile. Be-
tween the coast and the summit there
is not an inch of down grade. and the
speed Of our hand car in my journey
over II was only regulated by the pres
sure on the brake In the hands of the
Indian who acted as conductor On
many parts of the road the grade is
over per cent, and at such grades the
track winds about and up the Andes,
passing through cuts in the solid rock
and through sixty-three tunnels, some
OF which are of the shape of letter
g. 1t is OF the standard gauge, Its track
IL well laid and is in excellent condi-
ton.
BUILT BY AN AMERICAN.
This road was built by an American,
though 1t was suggested by Peruvian.
The man who constructed 1t was Hen
~ Meiggs. Meiggs laid out the road,
acted as its engineer-in-ch chief, raised
he money to build 1t. and, in fact. Is
entitled to all the credit OF Its construc-
ton. The road was originally intend
ed to reach the Cerro de Pasco silver
mines, but the s27 100000 gave out when
about eighty-six miles were built and
axrta t,0tAt To at
miles away from these famous noun
tains Of copper and silver. The por-
ton of the road above where Meiggs
left on was constructed by the PERU
Wan corporation under what is known
as the Grace contract. The ultimate
intention Is to extend 1t farther on into
the Perene, a rich coffee raising dis
trict. and to the head OF the steam
navigation of the Amazon at Chan
chacayo. The preliminary surveys for
this have already been made. The to-
tai distance from the sen to the nav
igable Amazon is, ! am told. not more
than 2lO miles but there is at present
no sign OF the road being soon COM
pleted 1t is doubtful whether the
railroad now pays much more than its
operating expenses. and II Will be long
before II will give dividends in proper
ton to its enormous cost. Only two
passenger trains are run over 1t n week,
and the chief freight down the noun
tans is ore.
CLIMBING THE ANDES WITH AN
ENGINE.
The usual trip over this road is taken
on the regular passenger train, which
carries the traveller up the mountains
one day and brings him back the next
Though tho kindness of the influential
American firm of Grace & Co, was
taken up on little engine and had my
ride down on the hand car thus had
n, wonderful opportunity for studying
both the railroad construction and the
mighty mountains up which It climbs.
our special engine was called La Fa-
Vorita." II was composed Of the en-
flhe proper and cab walled with glass
and htted up with comfortable seats.
this observation compartment was
part OF the engine itself, taking the
pace that the ordinary engine uses for
coal. our little engine burned coal oil,
and II was Peruvian petroleum that
pulled us up the Andes. The party con-
sisted OF the American minister Mr..
dudley; the secretary of our legation,
AIT Neal; Mr.. Sherman, the manager
Of the house of Grace at Lima. n
rrienchman named Piper and Mr.
flerson. an electric street railway man
IRON Ohio, who Is out here to see
Nhether the Lima tramways are worth
nuying. The engineer and his helper
We're Peruvians. We left at seven In the
morning and spent the whole day on
'ne road, stopping to take photogra phs
~ inc most interesting points, and going
9n as fast or as slow as we wished,
ihina' you know, Is situated in the
Naliey OF the Rimac river. 1t is right
az the loot of the Andes, and our trim
was up the mountains along the course
s Su ms river TO Its very cource on the
summit. At Lima the Rimac Is what In
america would be called good-sIzed
gIeek. II IL nowhere navigable, and Is.
~ fact, stream of foamlne white
water from the top of the Andes to the
"a; The descent Is so steep that quiet
pools are nowhere to be found, and the
river is succession OF waterfalls,
ipSaIhlns churns and rushing rapids.
Dutlhg the ride we could often see the
,ner above and below us at the same
s she, and we went up. up. climbing the
Mo-. oi me mountains. cheered on our
way by the rushing of the waters.
AMONG THE SUGAR CANE AND
COTTON.
We first passed through the sugar
a a cotton plantations which filed the
,r'cy above Lima. The fields look
an an gardens gotten up for show They
cro,, suIrounded by mud walls. and the
Iiens are as green as those of the
a on,ted States in June Now we pass
~ .sdr hacienda, In which on one side
n,,iinne track two steam engines are
iba a cable pillow through
NY nSiu, while on the other side men
NJ, puWlng with oxen and wooden
rVGs' urging their beasts onward with
deo,nsnns hfteen feet long. In the cotton
wo,n gangs OF Indian worimen are