Evening star., 1914-03-15

1t was not until we reached Tam
boraque. at a titude of almost two
miles. that we found our first sprink-
ling of green. There the rocks seemed
busted with emeraids. and the green
grew fresher and more abundant from
there TO the tops of the mountains. A.
two miles and a half found the Andes
covered with thin grass, and where
/ am now. at the beginning of the great
plateau that is upheld by two OF the
ranges which run through Peru. there
is plenty of feed for llamas and sheap
Within the last three or four hours
we have passed many wild flowers.
At one place / encountered forty
I can see buttercups without numbersS
and great yellow dande ions are looking
at me through their yellow eyes seGt-
of the rocks. 50.
IL Il
The greater part of the way up the
mountains We were near TO or high
above the Rimac river. The valley mar
rows and widens. In some places YOU
could jump from one side of 1t to the
other. and again it is so wide that IL
would take half an hour to cross H. All
along through the valley there are
patches OF crops. There are little fields
of alfalfa, not as big as bed quilt
and terraces which run step by step UP
the sides OF the mountains, all covered
with green. Every bit OF available land
is used. The stones are picked or and
the walls are built round little patches
OF soil not as large as the hotel dining
table
The valley Of the Rimac is quite wide
near the ocean, and there you see cattle
and sheep. There are some large fields
with mud walls about them. and also
haciendas with comfortable buildings
ftt.H tv.t~ 49,
the fields grow smaller and smaller
All the farming is by irrigation. and
that in terraces where the strips Of cult
walton are often only three or four feet
In width Nevertheless. these little
farms run far up the mountains. / am
told that workman fell out Of field
yesterday and rolled down fifty feet
Above these terraces are the marks OF
other terraces which were once used by
the Incas They titled a hundred acres
where modern Peru tills one
All the way from the ocean to the tops
of the Andes We passed towns and vii
lagos. At the sea is the port Of Callao.
on one of the finest harbors OF the west
coast. Seven miles further inland lies
the city of the kings. the Peruvian capital
OF Lima, and going on up the valley at
an attitude of 1900 feet, you stop at
Chosica- a summer resort, where a score
and shawls and white Panama hats.
stand on the station platform. selling
oranges. tomatoes. peaches. watermeions
and strawberries. / there bought six
oranges at three cents apiece, and an
alligator pear that weighed a pound for
a nickel Higher still we came to the
towns of the Indians. Here the houses
were all of one story. the most Of them
being rude stone huts thatched with
straw. The people do not build In the
fields, for the land Is too valuable there.
They huddle together out on the edges
OF the valley or on the rocky places close
to the river. They go out to work on
the terraces and patches Of soil. and you
r1amas loaded with burdens over the
trails. Here they are herding sheep.
standing UP and spinning wool as they
do SO, and there bending over digging the
soil. They are short and copper colored.
and they look worked to death.
We stopped at Matucana for dinner.
being served with plates OF soup con-
taining chunks of meat as big as your
fist, and a half dozen vegetables all
stewed together. We had also beefsteak
and eggs, and red strawberries fresh
from the vines.
Here and there along the trip we passed
mining towns. and We stopped a while at
Casapalca, where the great smelter
Of Backus & johnson sends volumes
of sulphur into the air. Much Of the ore
IS DrOuBnl IN Dy lldhnds, dIlu we SAW
dreds of these little camel-like beasts
trotting along with their loads Of silver
and copper.
Casapalca is 1900 feet high. and the
climb from there to Ticlio is more than
1000 feet. Just below Ticlio is the Ga
lera tunnel that goes through Mount
Meiggs to the other slope Of the noun
tains. At that point you can see the
streams flowing both ways. and can stand
on one place and throw chips into waters
that flow to both oceans. | knew of this.
and had prepared two small bottles with.
messages in them. They were tightly
corked. I put one in each stream and set
them adrift. One of those bottle foated
away down the eastern side of the Andes
1t may reach the Ucayali. one of the
tributaries of the Amazon, and go on it's
long voyage Of three or four thousand
miles into the salt water Of the Atlantic:
The other fioated rapidly toward the
Pacific. 1t will soon reach the Rimac
river. and il it can Withstand the rocks
it will be at Callao in something less
than a one-hundred-milej Journey.
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