The Coolidge examiner., 1934-04-27

Prepared By National Geographic Society.
Washington. u. C.-WNu Service
TIME Andes. rooftops OF the
Western hemisphere. have fire.
quently stirred the imagina-
tlons OF engineers. The building of
early Spanish trails across these
mountains was among the feats OF
colonial days: the TransAndean
railroad was one OF the outstanding
engineering achievements OF its
time: and more recently the laying
Of the cable that links Argentina
and Chile by voice added another
chapter TO engineering progress In
South America.
Bravlng Ice. accident and ava
lanches, North American and Chill
can engineers. by sheer strength
and persistence dragged the heavy
cable up and over the freezing.
wlnd-swept mountain passes, blocked
with drifts for months each year.
Deep snow here causes frequent
slides. or ayalanches. before which
even the stoutest poles are as wheat
straw In a Kansas cyclone. So. 10
keep the cable from being swept
away. workmen dug a ditch many
miles long. over the higher Andean
wastes. and buried the cable In 1t.
Near the tiny hamlet OF Las Cue
vas. on the Argentine side OF the
Andes. the line reaches a point
1890 feet above sea level. BY
contrast, the submarine telegraph
cable of the coast of Chile rests on
sea bottom in 2l,000 feet OF water.
showing the amazing physical geog-
raphy In this part OF the world.
Dangerous and difficult though
these lonely Andean passes are,
stubborn man has long used them
In his restless transit across South
America. Toiling on foot or shout
Ing and stoning their lazy llama
pack trains. native races OF long
ago Travelled the worn trails that
parallel the winding Aconcagua
river. up ever-narrowIng canyons,
under cliffs and along the edges OF
dizzy precipIces.
In the glitterlng days OF Span
fish viceroys, when the king OF Spain
ruled much OF South America
through his agents at Santiago de
Chile. pack trains and soldiers used
these same Andean trails to reach
Tucuman. Cordoba, and ancient
Cuyo country.
Broke of From Spain.
In these same bleak passes where
the big cable now carries spoken
words. once echoed the shouts OF
San Martins famous Army Of the
Andes" when Chile and the Argen-
tine. more than a century ago,
wrested independence from Spain.
For much Of its length the cable
parallels the well-known rack" rail
road crossing the Andes. 1t took
years TO build this difficult railway,
whose maximum grade is s per
cent.
At Mendoza, on the Argentine
side OF the Andes, you leave the
standard track and transfer TO mar
row-gauge coaches. For several
hours a locomotive of the "adhe-
sion" type draws the train. Finally
when grades grow sleeper, your en-
gine crawls on the toothed rails Of
the rack" system. AS you climb
slowly higher and higher, tunnels
and snowsheds increase in number
and length. Vegetation disappears
To make this trip in June or July,
which Is midwinter there, is to see
the Alps Of South America in all
their glistening glory. Sometimes
snowplows precede your train. In
July, 1880, scores of passengers
were delayed many days at each
end of the Trans-Andean line, wait
ing for 25-foot drifts to be cleared.
Up IN IneSe passes resort notelS
have risen, and holiday seekers come
from Valparaiso, Santiago. Buenos
Aires, and Montevideo for winter
sports. One even sees soldiers
training on skis.
Winding ever upward, the road
runs in the shadow of Mount Tupun-
cato, 21,550 feet high. and past an
odd rock formation known as THE
Penitents," from Its resemblance to
a procession. of cowled monks. Then
you stop at Puente del Inca,
strongly formed natural bridge
which gives the district it's name.
Just beyond this bridge, If the day
is clear, you can glimpse great