Evening star., 1898-05-14

est order. IL was merely a platform five
feet long and little wider than the
track. upon four ordinary car wheels on
the 'front.' part of the platform a strip
OF wood two inches thick and about that
wide was nailed. and at the back was a
seat much like that on farm wagon.
The seat had railing two inches high
and ii was just wide enough for three
The conductor, a brown aced 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 sides and back Of the seat. holding
on sor dear life as we rushed down Tho
mountains. Our only means of stopplne
the ear was by the brake, and the danger
as We rushed through The tunnels was not
ohiy that or the car jumping the track in
going around the curves. but also the posst-
p.4lty OF meeting a donkey or an Indian
coming through. The rocks i'm many piaces
are loose, and the danger OF a landslide,
Is such at this time Of the year that a hand
car Is always sent five minutes ahead Of the
regular passenger train To see that the
road is free. At one time We chased "A cow
Tor about a mile ard at another two llamas
blocked the track for few moments. Al
times the road seemed to us 10 go down at
an angle OF ~ degrees. and many of the
seNerest grades were along the edges OF
the precipiCcs where we seemed to he
ciihsing TO the walls of rock. | cannot say
that was not afraid nor that my heart
was not OFTEN in my throat, but | will saw
tiiht i've experience was such that. knowing
what now do, would take the journey
again to feel the same exhilarating sense OF
pleasure and danger combined.
On the Top Of the Andes
The sensation of standing on the top OF
The Andes was worth having. As we climb
ed up and up above Casepalca the air grew
colder and rarer. We rode out of a heavy
rain into dense snow storm. Soon we
were il banks of snow. Now the mist and
the clouds surrounded us so that We could
not see twenty feet beyond the car We
fode through the clouds and saw the storm
sweep down the Andes below us As the
mist disappeared We caught a glimpse of
the country through which we had bee n
passing and shuddered at the pracipices
over which we had gone. Mount Mexggs
was almost straight above us, and we stop
ped the engine a moment in front of the
black mouth of the Galera tunnel on th.
very roof of the South American continent.
Benlnd 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 really stand
at certain point in the Galera tunneIsaud
spit in both oceans without taking a step
TO one side or the other. | did not do this.
for the interior was dark as pitch, and
l was too anxious to see the other side OF
the Andes. We went through the tunnel
ana stepped the Faveritl at the other side
among some of the grdndcst scenery of the
trip. The mountains all about US were cap
ped with snow. over us lowered Mount
Meiggs, 11,515 feet high, Its top a half mile
above where We sto0d. our altitude was
more than three miles above the sea. We
were on the highest railroad point in tas