Evening star., 1915-01-03

men and clerks. Nearly every one wore
a duster. 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 dustiest known to the world In
the second class were chiefly Chilean
peasants.
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 Panama. 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 pro-
lection in the past two years. 1t Is
only by such protection that trains are
able to run throughout the winter. The
labor used upon the railway Is Chilean
ami Argentinian. Each country furnishes
the laborers for it's own part o. the track.
The ordinary wages are from 10 cents to
sl.10 a day, according to the time OF
year and the labor market. tt high OF.
ficials of the road are Englishmen. and
SO are the engineers. The conductors are
natives.
our first station in the Argentine Re
public was at Las Cuevas. the station at
the eastern end of the tunnel. The frst
official l met was a soldier. one OF inc
guards of the Argentine frontier. ana
came into the cars and examined our
baggage He was very lenient and the
passengers had no trouble whatever.
Leaving Cuevas, we had a dining car en-
good meal at price equal to about sl.lo
of our money. The meal started win an
appetizer of cold ham and bologna
sausage. and this was followed by a
cabbage soup. We then had an excellent
omelette hot from the steve, and the
next course was roast chicken After
that came an entree of cold boiled tongue;
served with a sauce. and the meal ciose',
with a dessert of canned peaches ana
coffee. Bread and butter were served.
The scenery on the Argentine side of
tie 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 rocky and sterile. Shortly after
leaving Las Cuevas 1 caught sight of
Aconcagua, about fifteen miles away. Its
peak is a mighty irregular mass Of snow,
with ragged black rock reaching from
the snow line down to the rocky valley
through which it is seen. It's top is
almost % 900 feet above the sea, and 1t
rises several hundred feet above any
has by far the highest peak Of the new
world Some distance away to the south
ward can be seen Mount Tupungato. which
is 30 900 reet high. and all along the way
down the Andes We are in sight of mag
nificent mountains. We passed the III :
NOUS Inca bridge, and still farther down
crossed the narrow Plain of Lspallata.
over which the Old mule pass ran Our
yy;,y lid the Chilean side of the mountains
vas through the valley of the swift
dcwiny Aconcagua. We climbed down
towards the Atlantic along another glacial
stream that ragged and canned as IT
forced its way through the stones. The
latter river is that which goes through
Mendoza forming the great frult-growlng
oasis that lies in the desert at the foot
of the Argentine Andes The river car
ries down great loads of SILT which, by
mes and countless fruit trees and gar
,lens II is the father Of the city of
Mendoza where this letter is dated. and
it has built up about it some of the most
valuable soil of the world. But that is
another story
The first scheme for making a rail-
way across the Andes was originated
by an American. This was William
Wheelw right, of whom l have already
written in my het1 letters a NeWburvpor Sfem
Mass, in 1898. At the age of twenty
six he became United States consul to
Guayaauil. Ecuador; and three years
later went to Valparaiso, where he es-
along the west coast. He was the
founder of the first steamship service
Of that coast, and about seVenty-hve
wears ago he had a line of steamers
going from Chile to the 1sthmus OF
Panama. William Wheelright planned
a railway that should cross the noun
tains from Caldera. on the Paclhc, TO
Rosario on the Rio de la Plata. sew