Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1914-12-27
CcOpyrisht, 1914. BY FRANK Q. carpenter)

greatest bread and meat lands Of the
future. ] am now on the roof OF tho con-
tlnent. right in the shadow OF Mount
Aconcagua and within plain sight Of the
highest peak on our heirispA--- To the
north OF me this mighty range extends as
far as the distance from Boston 10 San
Francisco. II rises ana falls in a mighty
wall. whose average height Is more than
two and one-half miles, and whose width
is greater in many places than the dis
tsnoe between Philadelphia ana Boston.
in some places there are two mighty
parallel ranges that uphold plateaus as
great in area as some OF our largest
states. and at the far north there are three
ranges. from one OF which branches off
the spur which drops down into the
Culebra cut at the Isthmus Of Panama.
The Andes run southwark from here 90
the Strait of Magellan. and. jumping
that strait, are found again in the noun
tains OF TERRA del Fuego. ending at last
in Cape Horn, a mighty rock which is az
high a. Mount Washington. In q sc
southern ranges there are many low
passes. and in half dozen places Chile
In planning to build railroads connecting
the oceans. The mountains gradually fall
as they near the strait. but the seas on
each side OF them are OF great depth. and
the Andes with their rocky heads stlll
tower high above tho waters
During the last year my travels have
been largely confined 20 the Andes. and
in this and in other trips I have made TO
south America ] have Travelled through
them from one end to the other. have
never SGT foot on Cape Horne. but ] have
seen the mountains OF Tiera del Fuego.
and in a coasting steamer have wound
my way In and out among tile glacial
peaks OF Patagonia and through the
Strait OF Magellan at the southern
end OF the continent.
Pass Through Mountains.
The strait OF Magellan Is merely pass
through the mountains Cape Pillar, which
marks its western end. terminates in two
massive rocks i,5oO feet high, and the
great archipelago Of TERRA del Fuego
consists Of mighty mountains. which are
more than half under the sea. / know OF
no finer scenery than that OF the islands
which border the western coast Of south
ern Patagonia. II is like riding In ship
amid the snowy peaks Of the highest
mountains. ] wound my way through In
a small vessel. going through passes at
night The distance was 800 or 400 miles.
these mighty fiords walled on the lower
slopes with stunted pine forests and
crowned with glaciers which hero and
there plowed their way through the green
and came down 10 the water. Darwin
compared the glaciers Of Mount sarmiento
in TERRA del Euego 60 100 frozen Mag
aras. The waters OF western Patagonia
made me think OF 100 Lake Comos, Lake
TAl IA
gether In an evar-wfnding, ever-changing
river. The mountains above compared
with the Alps. Here a giant rock, ca
thedrai-shaped. covered with moss, rose
straight upward for 1000 feet, ana further
on mountains. with their heads lost in
the clouds dropped almost precipitously
into the sea- There were narrow gorges
in which our steamer had to tack this
way and that 10 get through. We piowed
fields of floating ice. and went through
canyons walled with ice several thousand
feet deep.
See Several Icebcrgs.
remember we passed several floating
icebesgs during the trip. and that now
and then we could hear the boom OF q
great Ice block that had broken from q
glacier. We had 10 sail carefully 90 az
not 70 be struck by the bergs. ana at one
place we stopped and anchored beside ona
in order 90 break off q chunk OF Ice
weighing several tons. which by means Of
derrick we loaded on to the ship. This
Ice was Of a beautiful opalescent green
with cover OF frosted silver. We wrap
ped q log chain around IT, and the steam
engine holsted IL TO the deck A little
later the butcher killed fat pig which
our vessel was carrying. and for the re-
mainder OF our voyage we Toasted on
sausage. pork chops, spare ribs ana
scrapple
/ have referred TO the pine forests OF
the far south. The vegetation on this
west coast OF the Andes Il peculiar
From the Strait of Magellan to almost
1.ooO miles northward the mountains are
heavily wooded. There Is a dense jungl,
also at the north. running from PanamG
to the southern boundary OF Ecuador
Between these two places II 10 all desert
and the foothills OF the mountains hav,
a country as sandy and barren as tn.
mighty Sahara between them and tn.
sea. There the rain never falls, and Il d
only on the eastern slope that you fin.
dense vegetation.
In the southern Andes there Is a heav,
rainfall. This comes from the winds O
the Pacific. which blow In that direction
little farther north the winds ooml
from the east. They are loaded with IN,
waters OF the Atlantic. They drop .
part Of their burden on their way acros
South America. and the rains pour Al
along the eastern side of the Andes. b,
the time the winds set TO the top the,
are dry and there II nothing but SNOW
water. which meta on the high peaks an,
flows down In a stream here and Their
through the great western desert Far
Their north I'm Ecuador there IL q heav,
rainfall and the rivers that flow dow
the steep western slopes often flood tn
country for miles.
Get Plenty OF Rata.
l was surprised about the rain neA
the Strait of Magellan In some part
0: western Patagonia the ground is GOV
cred with moss as deep a. your. walls
and there are mighty ferns with frOnd
81 long as your arm and longer. tn
most OF the trees are evergreons. The
are small but are so thick on the Eroun
that you can walk on their tops In snow
shoes The ground there Is saturate
With moisture. and when tried to mai
my way through the woods / sank
as though ! were on oua Of The hos ,