Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-05-14

DESERET EVEN
inches thick and about that wide was
nailed. and at the back was seat
much like that on farm wagon. The
seat had railing two inches high and
1t was just Wide enough for three. The
conductor. "A bruwn-faced Indian. sat
in the middle with his hand on a brake
extending down through the center OF
the platform. Mr. Sherman and sat
on the right and left, our feet braced
against the strip on the bed of the car
and our hands on the side and back
of the seat, holding on for dear life
as we rushed down The mountains. Our
only means OF stopping the car was
by the brake, and the danger as we
rushed through the tunnels was not
only that of the car jumping the track
in going around the curves. but also
the possibility of meeting donkey or
an Indian coming through. The rocks
In many places are loose, and the
danger of landslide Is such at this
time of the year that n hand car is al
ways sent five minutes ahead of the
regular passenger train TO see that the
road is free. AT one time we chased
a COW for about mile and at another
two lamas blocked the track for n
few moments. At times the road
seemed to us TO go down Mt an angle
Of forty-five degrees, and many of the
severcst grades were along the edges
Of the preciplces or where we seemed to
be clinging to the walls OF rock
cannot say that 1 was not afraid nor
that my heart was not often In my
throat, but / will say that the exper-
fence was such that, knowing what |
now do ] would take the journey
again to feel the same exhllaratlng
sense of pleasure and danger com
blned.
ON THE TOP OF THE ANDES.
The sensation of standing on the top
of the Andes was worth having. As
we climbed up and up above Casapalca
the air grew colder and rarer. We
rode out of heavy rain into dense
snowstorm. Soon we were in banks of
snow Now the mist and clouds sur
rounded us so that we could not see
twenty feet beyond the car, We rode
through the storm and saw the clouds
sweep down the Andes below us. AS
the mist disappear we caught a glimpse
of the country through which we had
been passing and shuddered ut the pre-
cipices over which we had gone. Mount
Meiggs was also straight above us, and
we stopped the engine a moment In
front of the black mouth of the Galera
tunnel on the very roof of the South
American continent. Behind us all the
waters were flowing into the Pacific
ocean. On the opposite side of the
tunnel all of the waters find their way
through the Amazon into the Atlantic.
The dividing of the waters is, In fact,
within the tunnel itself, and you could
readily stand at a certain point in the
Galera tunnel and spit on both oceans
without taking n step to one side or
the other. | did not do this. for the
interior was as dark as pitch, and l
was too anxious to see the other side
of the Andes. We went through the
tunnel and stopped the Favorita at the
other side among some of the grandest
scenery of the trip The mountains
all about us were capped with snow.
over us Observation-Disclosures ,575 feet
hight top a half mile above where
We stood. Our altitude was more than
three miles above the sea. We We're on
the highest railroad point in the world.
Think Of 1t! We were far above the
height of Fuglyama, the snow-capped
mountain of Japan, far nearer the
heavens that the top OF Mount Blanc
or any point in Europe, a thousand feet
higher than Pixies Peak or any noun
tain in Colorado. above Mt. Whitney,
and, in fact, higher than any other
mountain in the United States outside
of Alaska. As i looked at the grand
eur about me, / felt like the express
sive, but not the irreverent, cowboy,
who awoke one morning in the midst
of the Alps. His method of showing
his appreciation had always been by
hurrah, and when he looked up at
snow-capped peaks rising one above
another as far as his eye could reach
he could contain himself no longer.
and he threw his hat into the air, and
"Hurrah for God!"
THE TERRORS OF SOROCHE.
This was how felt. l acted far diff
ferently. My voice was 50 weak from
the rarity of the air that l could not
have whistled "A dog. At about ten
thousand feet above the sea conversa-
ton began to lag in our party. 1t was
almost impossible to talk to one an
other on the outside platform of the
Favorita, and l found myself again and
again Weighing my thoughts to decide
whether they We're worth the breath
1t would take to utter them. All sorts
of exertions took triple strength to
perform them. l found my boots grow
suddenly heavy, and l changed my
step to that of an old man. At the
eastern end of the Galera tunnel we
stopped amid banks Of snow, and Mr..
Sherman and myself had now-ball-
ing fight away up there in the clouds.
1t was not an exciting contest, how
ever Every throw sent our hearts into
our throats, and we had to stop and
pant for breath. When we walked at
all after this we had to go very slowly
and in climbing up the hills we crawled.
As the day went on the uncomfortable
feeling from the extraordinary height
and our quick Jump from the sea to the
tops of the mountains Increased. We
descenede about 1000 feet and stopped
for the night at Casapalca, where there
is big silver and copper smelter
owned by Backus, Johnson and COM
pany, an enterprising firm which l
shall describe In another letter treating
of the mines of Peru. We We're re-
ceived here by the vice president of the
company, Captain II. Guyer, an Idaho
mining engineer, who made us at home
and put us up for the night. Before
we got to the house the Frenchman
and Mr.. Pierson were attacked with
soroche, or the mountain sickness, a
disease common to strangers in high
attitudes, and later on the whole of the
party were more or less affected. My
attack did not come until midnight.
l awoke feeling as though the top of
my head was rising into the air.
had a terrible pain in the temples,
cramps in my legs and at the same
time n strong inclination to vomit. /
lay on my back all night to give my
lungs as full play as possible and hard
ly slept wink. / managed to get up
at daybreak. and although there was
a coat on my tongue as thick as the
fur of an Alaska seal, 1 drank some
coffee and by keeping out of doors was
sufficiently recovered to take my hand
car ride down the mountains Mr.
Sherman Jared even better than 1, but
Secretary Neal said that between the
smell of the sulphur from the smelt-
tp0 fnrpanaa uud fha cn,nnha h.