The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-01-05
officials of the road are Engiishmen,
and so are the engineers. The con,
ductOrs are natives.

tion AZ the eastern end of the tunnel.
The first official l met was a soldier,
one Of the guards Of the Argentine
frontier, and the next was the GUS
~ officer. who came into the cars
and examined our baggage. He was
very ienient and the passengers had
no trouble Whatever. Leaving CuevaS.
We had a dining car on the train, and
were served with a very good meal
at a price equal to about s115 of
our money. The meal started with ar
appetizer of cold ham and bologna
sausage. and this was followed bv q
cabbage soup. We then had an excel
lent omelet hot from the stove, and
the next course was roast chicken.
After that came an entree Of old
boiled tongue, served with a sauce,
and the meal closed with q dessert of
canned peaches and coffee. Bread
n butter were served.
The scenery on the Argentine side
of the mountains is not SO bold IN
that on the Chilean side. The first
part Of the way is through a bleak
and bare desert, and on the higher
levels the mountains are rocky and
sterile. Shortly after leaving Las
Cuevas, I caught sightof A~concagua,
about fifteen miles away. It's peak is
a mighty irregular mass Of snow. with
ooo@NA - AoSA Tie
snow line down to the rock valley
through which it is seen. It's top is
almost $4,000 feet above the sea, and
it rises several hundred feet above
any other mountain of the Andean
chain. 1t has by far the highest
ance away TO the southwark can be
seen Mount Tupungato, which is 22,
600 feet high and all along the
way down the Andes we are in sight
Of magnificent mountains. We passed
the famous nca narrow Plain OF
Uspallala. over which the old mule
pass ran. Our way up the Chilean
side of the mountains was through
the valley Of the sWift-floWin
Aconcagua. We climbed down to
wards the Atlantic along another
glacial stream that ragged and foamet
as it forced it's way through tn,
stones. The latter river is that which
goes through Mendoza. forming TIL
great f~ruit-growing oasis that lies il
the desert at the foot Of the Argen
tine Andes. The river carries az WI
great loads Of silt which, by irriga
ton. feeds tens Of millions Of crap
vines and countless fruit trees an,
; gardens. 1t is the father Of the cit
? of Mendoza , where his letter i
: dated, and it has built up about
I some Of the most valuable soil @
the world. But that is another story
= The first scheme for making a raj
. way across the Andes was originate
e by an American. This was Williar
t ready written in my letters fro1
t Chile. Wheelwright was born 6
8 NeWburyport, Mass, in 1898. AT tn
s age Of twenty-six he became Unite
States consul to Guayaquil, Ecuador
s and three years latter went to Va
e paraiso, where he established a lir
IS Of passenger vessels along the we!
n coast. He was the founder Of tn
IS first steamship service Of hat coas
IS and about seventy-flve years agO /
h had a line of steamers going fro
d Chile to the Isthmus Of Panama. w:
l. liam Wheelwright planned a railWs
that should cross the mountains fro
a Calderar on the Pacific, to Rosario. {
le the Rio de la Plata, several hundre
miles from it's mouth at the Atlanti
He started this road way back
; the fifties, but it never reached Il
= mountains, and did little more ths
- connect the silver mines Of Copial
q American, also had schemes for GRO:
20 ing the mountains, but his chief VIC
VI was done farther ~northward in ce
~ trail and southern Peru. The prese
~ road originated with two brothel
Juan and Mateo Clark, who got
=, concession along pack IN the SeVe
rs ties, and who started building on DO
X. the Chilean and Argentine sides abo
1889. The work went slowly, bel
stopped again and again. but it W
g finally completed as far as the en-
<. Of the TUNE on both sides of t
q Andes. about 1899. Then the ct
he struction stopped. The enginee
seemed afraid Of the tunnel. and
C money could not be raised until
rs r. Grace & Co. Of New York, to
,ss the contract and began to work
both sides Of the mountains. 7
I'D gangs pushed their ways in from t
an frontiers of the two countries, a
Of late in 1910 they came together. 7
til plans were SO carefully made IL
ne for some time the workmen in Oh
Id. could hear the workmen in Argent
il digging the way through the IL
veil Of rock that vas left. Then
I dynamite charge was set off, the "
m fell and the mountains were conqu