Omaha daily bee., 1914-03-01

extension OF the railroads IN Ecuador
to the Amazon valley. so that II will be
seen that the vast region OF the east
ern Andes may some time be accessible
to us through the Panama canal. Al
most all of trans-Andean Peru lies with
in 800 miles OF the Pacific ocean, and
when the railroads are built Il can be
reached from New York within fifteen
days after leaving. As II Is now II takes
three weeks or more to get to the near
est port, that OF Iquitos. which is more
than 1000 miles from the mouth OF the
Amazon. and this means connection with
only the northern part Of the Peruvian
Amazon.
The potential value OF such connec-
ton can hardly be estimated. Trans
Andean or Amazonian Peru, as II might
be called, comprises an area equal to
fifty states the size OF Massachusetts,, or
ten as big as Ohio or Kentucky, and the
region has proportionately more good
land than either state mentioned.
Rich in Many Products.
The value OF the Amazon region 10 not
confined to its agricultural possibilities.
II has great resources In rubber, and 1t
is known to be enormously rich in the
precious metals. 1t was from the head
waters OF the Amazon tributaries that
the Incas got much of their gold, and in
the last number OF the Peruvian Maya
zine, in an article entitled peru OF To-
day." which has Just come to hand,
see that Raymond MoCune, the civil en-
gineer. who has surveyed the railway
route from Cerro da Pasoo to the head
waters OF the Amazon, is about to open
up placer deposits along the upper
stretches Of the Maranon river. In this
article he says that the new mine Is
the largest and richest placer deposit In
the world today" 1t is credited with
having produced in the past most of the
sl25, 10000 In gold that the spaniards
took from the natives, and the total
| value OF the gold still to be mined Is
said to be twice as great as that taken
out by the Incas The gold 10 In dust and
small nuggets, and there in more thar
100, 10000 cubic yards OF gravel above tho
bed rock, which, It Is estimated. will
average over 80 per cent per cubic yard
These placers are almost two miles above
sea level. but the rainy season makes II
impossible TO carry on the hydraulic
workings for more than ten months oi
the year.
Part Can ne Irrigated.
The desert region Of Peru has a large
amount of desert land that II susceptible
OF irrigation. This has been brought fortl
| by recent surveys, and II will probably
be developed when the canal is com
pIeted. l have written of this regiol
in former letter It consists of a striI
OF arid land 1000 miles long and from
sixty to ninety miles wide, running from
the Pacific ocean back TO the mountains
It is nearly everywhere as dry as bone
but there are ffty-five little rivers fe,
by the SHOWS OF the Andes which give
as many valleys. where they can -ais'
sugar. rice and cotton and which arr
now producing millions OF dollars wortl
OF these staples today. The amount o
sugar already grown Is worth in th'
neighb0rhood OF s1O,0o0,O0o per annum
the rice ls worth more than 100000 ans
the cotton sells for s67 10000. There ar
over 200, 900 acres in cane, and the sugal
costs to raise II IA cents a pound. rher'
are about 5000 men employed in the cot
ton plantations. and in some Of the val
leys they are raising from 900 to 100
pounds to the acre.
| studying Conservation.
The government Is studying the cou
servation OF the water with view q
Increasing the irrigated area OF tn
desert. and 1t is estimated that NOR
than 1,25O.OO0 acres OF crops can be grow
by the building OF additional reservoir
and dams in the mountains. Mr.. Sut
ton. the American civil engineer. who Z
the chief OF the Peruvian governmen
irrigation survey. estimates that the an
uual flow OF water through this costa
region Is 24.OOo.Ooo acre feet. and that 4
per cent Of II would give these additlona
farms. The government is now maxim
neurological studies all along the eoas
from Ecuador to Chile. and most OF tn