Possible South American Trade. 25 



surely find a large and new market for our breadstuffs. It is 

 wortli while to make the experiment at least, to give our vessels 

 the same subsidj^ and protection that has been given to the 

 European lines, and to our merchants and bankers, an oppor- 

 tunity to regain the trade with South America. At first the 

 odds will be greatly against us ; but if we show the same energy 

 and ability in cultivating trade with South America that our 

 fathers exhibited, and that we have shown in other directions, we 

 must ultimately succeed. 



It is now proposed to tax the products of South America, unless 

 the South American states reciprocate and admit our bread- 

 stuffs and manufactures free. If this scheme can be carried out, 

 a large and prosperous commerce will be established between 

 North America and South America, and American houses will 

 be started in the large cities to dispose of our manufactures and 

 ship the products to South America. By this interchange, our 

 manufacturers and fanners will find a market for their goods and 

 products, our mercantile navy freight for its vessels, and our 

 bankers and merchants a profitable business in the large cities of 

 South America. 



Railroads. 



We have already referred to the several railroads which start 

 from the little ports on the Pacific coast and run up the valleys 

 toward the Andes. Three of these, among the most remarkable 

 roads in the world, ascend to a greater elevation than any others, 

 and to a height which in Europe or the United States, would 

 be above the snow level. They were intended to reach the 

 gold and silver mines between the Andes and Cordilleras. 



The first, called the Oroya or Central railroad, 111 miles in 

 length, stai'ts from Callao on the Pacific, and crosses the Andes, 

 at an elevation of nearly 15,000 feet, to the plateau between the 

 Andes and the Cordilleras. It is expected that this road will be 

 extended to the navigable waters of the Amazon. 



Three hundred miles southward, the second road runs from 

 Molendo, Peru, by Arequipa to Puno on Lake Titicaca, and 

 thence northward on the plateau 40*7 miles to San Rosas, on the 

 route to Cuzco. The road from Mollendo to Arequipa runs 

 through a country so destitute of water that the only supply for 

 4— Nat. Geog. Mag., vol. Ill, 1891. 



