El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-12-26
copyrighted. 1914. by Frank G. Car


mountains from the Pacific &C the Al {
lantic slope Of the continent I am now
on the roof of the continent right II
the shadow Of MOUNT Aconcagua ana
within plain sight tOf the highest peak
on our hemisphere.
To the north this mighty range eX-
tends as far as the distance from Boz
ton to San Francisco. It rises ana ~
in a mighty wall whose average helgnt
is more than two and one-nan nl lleS
and whose width is greater in many
places than the distance between Phll-
adelphia and Boston.
Andes Jump the Strait
In some places there are two mighty
parallel ranges that Uphold p iaI.el,..s
as great in area as some of our largest
states and at the far north there are
three ranges, from one Of whlch
branches off the spur which drops down
into the Culebra cut at the lsthmus
OF Panama.
The Andes run southwark from here
20 the Strait Of Magellan, and, jump
ing that strait. are found again IN the
mountains Of TERRA del Fuego, ending
at last in Cape Horn, mighty rock
which is as high as Mount Washlhs-
In these southern ranges there are
many low passes. and in half dozen
places Chile is planning to build ran
roads connecting the oceans. Inc
mountains gradually fall as they near
the strait but the seas on each side OF
them are Of great depth, and the An
des with their rocky heads still tower
high above the waters.
The Strait of Magellen is merely
mass through the mountains. Cape
Pillar. which marks its western end,
terminates in two massive rocks 1,oOU
feet high, and the great archipelago OF
TERRA del FuegO consists Of mighty
mountains, which are more IMAM man
know Of no finer scenery than that
Of the islands which border the western
coast of southern Patagonia IL Is HlNe
riding in a ship amid the snowy peahs
Of the highest mountains. L Wounu my
way through in small Vessel. COINS
through passes so dangerous lnal we
dared not travel at night me us
and we coasted slowly along through
these mighty fiords walled on the low
er slopes with stunted pine forests anu
crowned with glaciers which here anu
there plowed their way through Ihe
green and came down to the wafer
There were narrow gOrges IN Whlcn
our steamer had to tack this way ana
that to get through. We ploWeu IleIuS
Of floating ice, and went through can
vons walled with ice several thousanu
Careful Sailing Required.
We passed several floating icebergs
during the trip, and now ana men len
we could hear the boom OF q BIe1L -
block that naQ DIOhHA AADt-A "a
We had to sail carefully so as not 70
he struck by the berss. and at one
Mace we stopped and anchoIeu DSSluo
one in order to break off cnunh
of ice weighing several tons winch ~
means of a derrick we loaded on 10
the shin This ice was OF DeauIllui
opaiesceut green with a cover Oh LL ,,
ed silver. We wrapped a log, c naIli
around It, and the steam engine nolS ~
a. ID the deck. A little later the
butcher killed a fat pig which our yes
81 vas carrying, and for the remainder
OF 0ur VOYAGE we Toasted on sausage
pork chops. spare ribs and scrapple.
The vegetation on the west codsL u
the Andes is peculiar. From the STRAIT
Of Magellan to almost thousand hll!Ss
northward the mountains are heaVlIy
wooded There is a dense jungle also
at the north, running from Panama u
the southern boundary of Ecuador.
Between these two places It IS an
desert and the foot hills of the noun
tains have a country as SANDY anu
barren as the mighty Sahara between
never falls and it is only on the east
ern slope that you find dense vegeta-
ton.
In the southern Andes there IS
heavy rainfall. This comes from lne
winds of the Pacific. which blow IN
that direction little farther nortn
fhe winds come from the east. Ihey
are loaded with the waters OF the Al
Iantic. They drop a part Of their our-
- on their vyav across South America
and the rains pour all along the east
ern side Of the Andes By the time
the winds get to the top they are dry
and there is nothing but snow water,
which melts on the high peaks anu
flows down in a stream here and there
through the great western desert
FARTHER north in Ecuador there IS
heavy rainfall and the rivers that TOW
down the steep western slopes Ol'eH
flood the country for miles.
was surprised about the rain near
the strait of Magellan. In some par Is
of western Patagonia the ground -
covered with moss as deep as yCul
waist and there are mighty ferns Win
f-onds as long as your arm and longer.
The most Of the trees are eYerBIee.lilo ems
They are small. but are so thick on lne
ground that you can walk on -.
tons in snow shoes. The GROUND lIeIo
is saturated with moisture and Wnen
tried to make my way through She
woods 1 sank in as though were on
one of the boys Of old Ireland II
rains there every few days. Indeed, l
am told that it rains l3 months every
year. s,
ReautifuI Lake On Western Slopes.
The western slopes in southern Chlie
have bodies Of fresh water tnaC VIZ ~
compare in beauty with the lahes "
the AIMS Lake Manuel Huapl, Wnlcu
lie about 25OO feet high, is like NOT
7yegian ford, with waterfalls flowing
down the steep walls Of the basin III
which il lies. Lake Esmeralda IS an
other beautiful sheet, and Lake Ian
ouihue is an inland sea second only 70
Titicaca in size. All Of these lakes ne
IN ravine or along a pass when
will some day be one OF the routes
over the Andes. They are in southern
chile and are sometimes called the
ey1yitzerland Of the south.
The Andes in north Chile have no
water except alkaline deposits some
~ which are so bitter that they woulo
poison the man who tried to drink
fbem. Among these are the great
i,orax lakes. one Of which is "a miles
IN length 1t skirts the railroad track
which runs from La Paz, Bolivia, down
70 Antofagasta, and it contains enough
borax TO wash all the heads Of the
b1n7an race. I saw this lake on my
nav from Bolivia down to the coast
and the crust Of boraX upon it was Sc
hard that one could have skated over
If as though upon ice. The crust looked
like ice and the boraZ ] saw taken oul
vas for all the world like the finest
of white spun silk wadded or woven
into Jumps.
ETirnEes on the Lakes.
sv4