
53 
The Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway Company runs 
through sleeping and restaurant cars three times a week to 
Mendoza, where a change is made on to the narrow-gauge 
Transandine Railway, which goes up through some magnifi- 
cent mountain scenery to Las Cuevas. From Las Cuevas they 
proceed in coaches by the summit pass over the Cumbre into 
Chile to Juncal, the present terminus of the Chilian Transan- 
dine Railway, thence by railway to Los Andes, the terminus 
of the Chilian State Railway; and from Los Andes it is only 
a few hours’ ride to Valparaiso ; and thus the Southern Pacific 
is reached. 
Many splendid views were thrown on the screen giving some 
idea of the grandeur of the mountain scenery in the Andes ; 
but “ views, however fine, and word pictures, however bril- 
liant,” said the lecturer, ‘“‘ cannot convey to you the magnitude, 
the vastness of the Andes. The eye can grasp the whole view, 
the camera sees only that which is immediately in front of it ; 
the eye sees at one glance what it would require four plates in 
photography to depict ; and then the colouring, the awful 
stillness, the ! But why go on? The Andes must be 
visited, and then you will realise how poverty-stricken are 
words and pictures.” 

The lecturer exhibited, at the close, a number of curiosities, 
including a mammoth Brazilian nut. These nuts, great hard 
pods, he explained, would have from twenty to forty 
nuts inside. By shaking the pods they could hear the nuts 
within rattle. These nuts were so beautifully placed by 
nature within the pod, that if a single one was taken out it 
would be impossible to put the whole together again, so that 
it was something like a case of humpty-dumpty. He also 
showed flowers made from the undyed plumage of birds, 
flowers of the everlasting type ; and also a small bottle which 
had become encrusted with a substance similar to sandstone 
by being placed in some of the mineral springs. These curl- 
osities were inspected with much interest. 
-DSo<e 
