NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE 



205 



seventy tunnels and crosses innumerable bridges before reaching 

 the divide at an altitude of almost 16,000 feet. 



Long before this, the passengers have begun to show signs of 

 mountain sickness. Some are complaining of splitting headaches ; 

 others find themselves out of breath when they merely walk 

 across the station-platform; and the train-physician is busy going 

 from car to car with an oxygen tank to relieve those most seriously 



The Primitive Wooden Plow 



Still used by the Indians of the Peruvian sierra — note the buildings of the Huancayo 

 Magnetic Observatory in the distance. 



affected. The railway company keeps special trains in readiness 

 to send anyone back to Lima who shows signs of heart-failure. 



After passing the tunnel through the topmost peak, the train 

 descends gradually to Oroya. In this city are located the great 

 smelters of the Cerro de Pasco Copper Company. The poison- 

 ous fumes from these plants kill all the vegetation for miles around. 

 On the way up the mountain many trains of flat cars are passed 

 which carry the unrefined metal to the coast. 



There is still a long journey down the Mantaro River before 



