El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-01-02

ond class cars. My fellow passengers
of the first class were chiefly business
men and clerks. Nearly every one wore
a buster, but this was to avoid the dirt
of the lowlands rather than that of
the mountains A large part of the
Argentine pampas is covered with sand,
and the trip across them is one Of the
busiest known to the world. In the
second class were chiefly Chilean peas
ants.
Constant Repair Work Required.
As we crossed the high Andes I could
see the enormous cost Of construction
and maintenance. We passed many
gangs of men repairing the track and
everywhere the track had to be watched
for dirt slides such as we have at Pana-
ma In the winter there is danger also
from the avalanches, although the
higher sections have been protected by
the snow sheds, 100000 having been
spent for snow protection in the past
two years
It is only by such protection that
trains are able to run throughout the
winter. The labor used upon the rail-
way is Chilean and Argentinian. Each
country furnishes the labOrerS for It's
own part of the track. The ordinary
wages are from rs cents to S1.1O a day.
according to the time of year and the
labor market. The high officials of the
road are EngIishmen, and so are the
.
Our first station in the Argentine re-
public was at Las Cuevas, the station
at the eastern end Of the tunnel The
first official 1 met was a soldier, one
of the guards of the Argentine frontier,
and the next was the customs officer,
who came into the cars and examined
our baggage. He was very lenient and
the passengers had no trouble what
ever. Leaving Cuevas, we had dining
car on the train, and were served with
a very good meal at price equal to
about $1.15 of our money.
The scenery on the Argentine side OF
the mountains is not so bold as 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 rock and sterile.
Shortly after leaving Las Cuevas,
caught sight of Aconcagua, about IS
miles away. Its peak is a mighty ir-
regular mass of snow, with ragged
black rock reaching from the snow
line down to the rocky valley through
which it is seen. Its top is almost 49,
900 feet above the sea, and it rises sew
eral hundred feet above any other
mountain of the Andean chain. It has
by far the highest peak of the new
world. Some distance away to the
southwark can be seen Mount TuDun-
cato, which is $4,000 feet high. and all
along the way down the Andes we are
in sight Of magnificent mountains.
The famous Inca Bridge.
We passed the famous Inca bridge,
and still farther down crossed the mar
row Plains of Uspallata, over which the
old mule pass ran. Our way up the
Chilean side of the mountains was
through the valley Of the swift flowing
Aconcagua- We climbed down towards
the Atlantic along another glacial
stream that ragged and foamed as it
forced its way through the stones. The
latter river is that which goes through
Mendoza. forming the great fruit grow
ing oasis that lies in the desert at the
foot of the Argentine Andes. The river
carries down great loads of silt which.
by irrigation, feeds tens of millions of
grape vines and countless fruit trees
and gardens. It is the father OF the city
Of Mendoza, where this letter is dated,
and it has built up about it some of