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The National Geographic Magazine 



mountains seem an unsurmountable wall 

 9,000 or 10,000 feet high. But American 

 engineers have found a way and have ac- 

 complished one of the most difficult feats 

 known in railroad construction. A sugar- 

 loaf peak stands out in front of the tow- 

 ering hills. Cut zigzag in the sheer face 

 of the granite, a switchback of four levels 

 has solved the problem of i-ising to 9,000 

 feet. This level attained, the line ad- 

 vances through volcanic country, seamed 

 with ravines and surrounded by sulphur- 

 covered hills, until a similar cul-de-sac is 

 reached. This in turn is surmounted by 

 means of a similar switchback loop with 

 a grade of 7 per cent, and we reach 

 the Pass of Palmyra, on the roof of the 

 world, at 12,000 feet. Wild wastes of 

 shifting sand surround the track. Stiff 

 grass, like rushes on the sea-shore, is the 

 only vegetation. Fossil shells are found 

 here, and the general appearance of the 

 country is; that of the sea-coast. 



Frorn this point there is a gradual de- 

 scent until the present end of the road is 

 reached at Cajabamba, 11,000 feet above 

 the level of the sea and at the foot of 

 mighty Chimborazo. At this place there 

 are some of the few existing remains of 

 buildings erected by the ancient Incas. 

 They are built of great masses of stone 

 fastened together with cement. The 

 stone can be broken, but it is impossible 

 to make any impression upon the cement. 

 Strange to relate, I found living here a 

 former Rough Rider, whom I had known 

 in Cuba. He is engaged in the purchase 

 of hides for the New York market. 



It is necessary to spend the night in 

 this village and to set out for Quito early 

 next morning by automobile or diligence. 

 I have always found it more satisfactory 

 to travel by diligence. In this way bag- 

 gage can accompany the traveler and a 

 long wait at the journey's end is avoided. 



The wagons are drawn by teams of five 

 or six miles. Sixty mules, with changes, 

 are used to reach Quito. Two drivers 

 occupy the box seat, one furnished with 

 a long-handled whip for the leaders, the 

 other with a short whip for the wheelers. 

 The animals are urged on with whistles 



and shouts without intermission. It is 

 the most thrilling, exciting, and hair- 

 raising locomotion I know. The mules 

 are kept at full gallop down the long 

 slopes of the Andes. It is often as much 

 as they can do to keep ahead of the coach. 

 However, I never heard of an accident. 

 The drivers are men long trained in the 

 business and do not know what fear is. 



Formerly, before the days of the rail- 

 road and carriage road, it took ten days 

 on mule back from Guayaquil to Quito; 

 now by rail and coach the time is three 

 days. I have made the journey with au- 

 tomobile and train in 20 hours. 



A LAND made; FOR GIANTS 



The country is on a colossal scale. It 

 seems a land made for giants. High in 

 the air, the tops of the rounded hills are 

 one patchwork of cultivated fields. At 

 the foot of the hills lie smiling green val- 

 leys. There is abundant water and the 

 dry places are well irrigated. Along the 

 roadside water is carried for long dis- 

 tances by means of tunnels cut in the vol- 

 canic soil, with arched openings at cer- 

 tain intervals. The scarlet wool ponchos 

 worn by the Indian laborers make it pos- 

 sible to pick them out, in the marvelous 

 clear atmosphere, on the hills and in the 

 valleys at surprising distances. 



It is necessary to spend the night at 

 the city of Ambato (8,000 feet). The 

 town lies in a deep cauldron. The cli- 

 mate is delightful. Here apples, plums, 

 and peaches flourish as well as the vege- 

 tables and cereals of the Temperate Zone. 

 Ambato has several cotton mills, produc- 

 ing the coarse white cotton cloth uni- 

 versally used by the Indians for shirts 

 and wide baggy trousers. Water power 

 is abundant and the mills pay well. Am- 

 bato is also the headquarters for the trade 

 from the Oriente, or the lowlands 

 towards the east stretching to the valley 

 of the Amazon. A line for a railroad to 

 tap this district, rich in rubber and gold, 

 has been surveyed and work will begin 

 soon. 



Leaving Ambato in the early morning, 

 we can see one of the most srlorious 



