The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-05-15

LIMA, Peru, April 1s.-DoWn the
Andes on a hand car.
Coasting over the steepest railroad
of the world.
Dashing through clouds to find clouds
below you. -.-'--.-'''. '-''' - -
Hanging to precipices, flying on
bridges over frightful chasms, whlri-
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 a faint Idea OF
the last part of trip from which l
have lust returned. During 1t have
assembled TO the very top OF the noun
+ains and have come back again TO
this point, which is just six miles from
the sea My trip was over the Famous
Oroya railroad, the most wonderful
piece of railroad engineering ever con-
structed or planned. The road Is all
Apld only 1873 miles long, but it climbs
40 the steepest mountains Of the GLOBE
In less than 100 miles it ascends more
than three miles above where it starts
at the port of Callao, on the Pacific
ocean. At the top it is still 1000 feet
below the summit of Mount Meiggs.
1t cuts right through this peak by
tunnel which carries it to the other
side of the Andes. 1t then descends 10
the valley of the Jauja, through the
rich silver mining region of Yauli, and
finally ends ct Oroya, an Indian market
town 12,17S feet above the sea. 1t Is
one of the most expensive, roads ever
built 1t was dear in both money and
men. Seven thousand lives We're, it IS
said, lost during it's construction, and
the first eighty-six miles Of it cost $27,-
100000, 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 it was only regulated by the pres
sure on the brake n 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 a letter
S. 1t is of the standard gauge, Its
track is we'll laid and is in excellent
condition.
Built by an American.
This road was built by an American,
though 1t was suggested by Peruvian
The man who constructed 1t was Henry
Meiggs. Meiggs laid out the road, act
ed as It's engineer-in-chie raised the
money to build it, and, in fact, is en-
titled to all the credit of it's construc-
ton. The road was originally intended
to reach the Cerro de Pasco silver
mines, but the $27, Co., 900 gave out when
about eighty-siX miles were built and
the extension is still some forty-odd
miles away from these famous noun
tainS of copper and silver
The portion of the road above where
Meiggs left off was constructed by the
Peruvian corporation under what is
known as the Grace contract. The ulti-
mate intention is to extend it farther
on into the Perene, rich coffee-rais-
ing district, and to the head of the
steam navigation of the Amazon ut
Chanchacayo. The preliminary surveys
for this have already been made. The
total distance from the sea to the nav
isable Amazon is, I am told, not more
than 210 miles, but there is at present
no sign of the road being soon COM
pleted. 1t is doubtful whether the rail-
road now pays much more than its
operating expenses, ana 1t will be long
before it will give dividends in proper