DOWN THE COAST OF PERU 275 



dreds of feet on one side; in places the top of the huge 

 masses seems to hang over the track in a tottering position 

 and one expects the rumble of the train to set it in motion 

 and bring an avalanche of destruction down upon one's 

 head. 



A small stream flows through the bottom of the gorge. 

 During the greater part of the year it is a mere rivulet that 

 trickles harmlessly over the shallow, pebbly bottom of its 

 course; but when the torrential rains of winter fall it rises 

 rapidly to the proportions of a mighty river and sweeps 

 away sections of the railroad. Long rows of breakwater 

 have been placed alongside the base of the road-bed to pro- 

 tect it from the ravages of the flood; they consist of loaf- 

 shaped piles of stone bound together with wire netting; 

 these would be effective against the water alone, but they 

 cannot resist the demolishing force of the huge boulders 

 that are rolled down from the mountains by the strong 

 current. 



A number of breaks in the line had been made by land- 

 slides just before our visit, so the train could not proceed 

 beyond Changollo, a settlement of half a dozen Quechua 

 Indian huts and a good-sized station, the elevation of which 

 is ten thousand feet. We were met by a representative of 

 the railway company and given quarters in the station 

 buildings; the other passengers immediately engaged mules 

 and llamas and started for Cochabamba. The reason for 

 our delay was that we had just received a shipment of am- 

 munition and supplies from New York, and some time 

 would be required to repack them in parcels of equal weight 

 suitable for transportation by pack-train. 



Changollo was headquarters for the construction-gangs 

 working on the line. About half a dozen Englishmen and 

 Scotchmen were in charge of the work, and they showed 

 us every possible courtesy and attention during our brief 

 stay there. I regret constantly that it is not possible to 

 give detailed credit to all the people, South Americans and 

 foreigners alike, who treated us with such unfailing cour- 



