NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE 203 



A tense feeling of apprehension on the part of our friends in 

 Peru had been created before we arrived. We were two weeks 

 later than had been expected; furthermore, our short-wave wire- 

 less communication had failed about that time. Paul's mother, 

 who had come down from Washington laden with letters and 

 Christmas gifts for the personnel, and Forbush, one of the ob- 

 servers at the Huancayo Observatory, had become so alarmed 

 that they had requested the vessels of the Peruvian Navy to 

 broadcast daily calls for us. It seems difficult in these days of 

 steam to realize that a sailing-ship like the Carnegie may be delayed 

 so long, and may all the time be enjoying fine weather. 



All hands were glad of the change in routine which port-life was 

 to offer. However, there was to be little relaxation for most of the 

 men, since there were extensive repairs to supervise; new equip- 

 ment to install; magnetic observations to make ashore; and an 

 endless series of reports to prepare covering the long cruise just 

 completed. Nevertheless, several members of the staff had an 

 opportunity to leave the vessel and to make a trip into the Andes. 



The first few days were spent on board the ship, completing 

 computations and in making repairs to the scientific equipment. 

 Shortly after our arrival we had been moved to a wharf, which 

 greatly facilitated the reprovisioning of the vessel. Parkinson 

 at once developed the moving-picture film which had been taken 

 during the last three months. Soule and Paul overhauled the 

 meteorological instruments. And Captain Ault went ashore 

 to make his official calls. 



By January 19, the program of work in port had been well 

 laid out, and Captain Ault, together with Soule, found it possible 

 to make a visit to the Huancayo Magnetic Observatory. Paul 

 had applied for a week's leave of absence and had already left, 

 with his mother, for Huancavo. 



To reach this city, one takes the Central Railroad of Peru, 

 which is the highest standard -gage railroad in the world. The 

 train follows the Rimac River for several hours, passing through 

 many towns noted for their beautiful orchards and flower gardens. 

 The grades then become so steep that the train must zigzag 

 back and forth on a series of switch-backs. One passes through 



