El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-02-28

nection can hardly be estimated.
Transandean or AmaZOnian Peru, as it
might be called, comprises an area
equal to fifty states the size of Mas
sachusetts, or ten as big as Ohio or
kentucky, and the region has proper
tionately more good land than either
state mentioned.
Has Much Desert Land.
The desert region of Peru has a
large amount of desert land that is
susceptible of irrigation. This has
bee brought forth by recent surveys,
and it will probably be developed when
the canal is completed. I have written
of this region in a former letter. 1t
consists of a strip of arid land, a
thousand 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 fifty five little
rivers fed by the SHOWS Of the Andes
which give as many valleys, where they
can raise sugar, rice and cotton and
which are now producing millions OF
dollars, worth of these staples today.
The amount of sugar already grown IS
worth in the neighbOrhood OF SIV'UOU,-
600 per annum, the rice is worth more
than 81. OOO.OOy and the cotton sells for
$4,000, 600.
There are over zoo, 900 acres in cane,
and sugar costs to raise 1 II cents
pound. There are about 10000 men
employed in the cotton pla llll.t ,lli5,
and in some of the valleys they are
raising from 500 to 1000 pounds to the
acre.
The government is studying the con-
serVatiOn Of the water with a view 70
increasing the irrigated area of the
desert and it is estimated that more
than million and a quarter acres OF
crops can be grown by the bulldlng OF
additional reservoirs and dams IN the
mountains Mr. Sutton, the American
civ hn &c chief of the Peru
Wan government irrigation survey, es-
Inmates that the annual How OF wafer
through this coastal region IS z4,UVO,OUO
acre feet. and that 10 percent OF II
would give these additional farms me
government is now making hydrologic
al studies all along the coast from
Ecuador to Chile, and most of the val
leys are being considered with a view
to the extension of their farms.
AS it is now all of these valleys are
producing. We took on cargo at every
port on our way down the coast, ana
at each barge loads of rice, sugar or
cotton were brought out to the steamer.
Has Nearly 100000 People.
This desert region contains the bulk
of the white population of Peru The
country has altogether very close to
5000, 600 inhabitants. The average
density is about seven to the square
mile. The great bulk of the people are
indians, of whom more than 100000
live on the high plateau of the Andes.
The Amazonian region is populated
almost entirely by indians. About one
fourth of the inhabitants are Cholos, or
halfbreeds, a cross between the indians
and the whites, and there are alto
gether perhaps less than a million who
are of pure Caucasian descent
A great part of the coast population
lives in the cities and towns. Lima
and CalaO have together perhaps 20O,-
600. Arequipa, the chief city of the
south, has about $4,000, and there are
several cities of 5000 and upward in
the small river valleys
PacasmayO looks like a little city of
Arabia It is made up of low, white
buildings, with flat roofs. Tt lies right
on the shore with desert mountains be
hind it; and it has a steel pier which
was built by the American civil engi-