Evening star., 1922-11-16

COplapO. COQulmOO ana NaleHdI >
Chile. shaken by earthquakes. are de-
scribed in bulletin from head9uar-
ters of the National Geographic So
ciety..
"Copiapo is Chile's most historic
town." says the bulletin. which is
based on a communication to the So
ciety by Harriet Chalmer Adams.
William Wheelwfight. an Amefi.
can. In 1851 built the hrst railroad in
dera fifty miles inland to Copiapo.
The little stream which borders It.
now nearly dry. now in full flood. was
our first oasis after crossing the
parched desert of Atacama. To trav-
elers of old, as to US. this strip of
meadow land was God-given sight.
ITO Copiapo, in the fifteenth CEN
tury. marched the Incan ruler. Tupac
Yupanqui.' with his victorious army.
to subjugate the tribes OF northern
Chile.
Down Backbone Of Andes.
THE Inca's trail from Peru led
down the backbone Of the snow-clad
Andes and across the burning desert.
In 1885 Diego de Almagro. a colleague
Of Pizarro' Travelled the same road
with a great army Of Spaniards and
Peruvians, horses and llamas, two In
can princes acting as guides.
"Old Spanish chronicles tell of the
terrible suffering from cold and thirst
endured by Almagro's men on the six
month march The desert was strewn
with their bones. Alluring were Co.
piapo's meadows to those who sur
vived.
"Almagro failed to subdue the south
ern natives. and five years later a
Spanish army was again encamped in
Copiapo. led this time by Pedro de
Valdiva. who kept on south to found
Santiago.
Valparaiso Becomes Mart.
In the halcyon days OF '4s. when
Ca1ifornia's gold lured men round the
Horn, Valparaiso became the great
mart of the Pacific coast. supplying
flour and other commodities to the
California miners. My pioneer grand
father used to tell me of those event
full days. When he was in Chile, In the
early fifties. Copiapo was an impor-
tant town. sharing the European
opera season with Santiago and VAL
pareiso.
transcontinental railway across the
Andes TO Tinosasta. In Argentina. and
on to the Atlantic: but the road never
got far beyond Copiapo.
This great American also gave
Chile its telegraphic systems. and.
capital in steamship line between
Valparaiso and New York. turned to
England. and inaugurated, in the early
sixties. the first steamer service be-
tween the west coast and Europe.
Sits ON Rock Of silver:
'1n 1882 donkey driver. Juan
Godoy. discovered 4 silver deposit
near Copiapo and put the long-neg-
lected town on the map.
o.
nance Tired of loading his train of
donkeys with scanty brushwood for
town customers, he started across the
pampa to hunt the rowing Euanaco.
Sitting on a rock to rest, he discov-
cred that his seat was Of silver. Re-
shared the knowledge of his discov-
cry with an educated acquaintance.
who aided the ignorant man to make
the most of his find. Godoy became
the silver king of that period.
Sss pas ara spenaop ar us to the ororn
little town that we found. Half the
buildings were still in ruins. after
the disastrous earthquake of the pre-
vious year. The hotel. kept by a sad
faced EnElishman. had a decided tilt.
Doors and windows were jammed and
ogized for candle light. saying that
the gas pipes were still out of COM
mission. The stone bathtub. reached
by rickety flight Of steps, had a.
somewhat tipsy appearance.
Good Omen in Quakes.
But the Copiapinos have not lost
courage. More than once earthquakes
have completely demolished the town.
In this land where the extreme in.
frequence of showers is . hardship.
they have come to believe that EARTH
quakes are forerunners Of much.
needed rain. Between qnakes they
look to the east, watching for heavy
fall of snow in the Andes. Then the
river runs full and the fields smile.
From Copiapo a trail across the
desert leads to the mountains, so
sterile. gaunt and forbidding. yet
there is q majesty In the Andean con-
four. From our bleak. upland camp
at the sunset hour the coloring of
slopes and crags was gorgeous beyond
adjestives to describe. Pink deepened
to rose, rose to terra Gotta, terra
Gotta to purple. Then each towering
peak became a sentinel guarding a