26 Gardiner G. Hiibbard — South America. 



the engines and stations is by an iron pipe 8 inches in diameter, 

 and 50 miles long, running from an elevation of 7,000 feet to the 

 sea-coast. 



Seven or eight hundred miles south of Mollendo, a line runs 

 from Valparaiso in Chili to Buenos Ayres, 870 miles. It crosses 

 the Andes through a tunnel two miles long, at an elevation of 

 10,568 feet above the sea ; after leaving the mountains it runs 

 over the jjampas two hundred miles, without a curve or a grade 

 over three feet above or below the plain, and will soon be com- 

 pleted from ocean to ocean. 



From Rio de Janeiro several roads have been constructed over 

 the mountains west of that city to different parts of Brazil. 

 One of these runs westwardly toward Bolivia. 



Bolivia has recently granted concessions for the construction of 

 a road from La Paz to connect on the west with the Peruvian 

 roads at Lake Titicaca, and on the east with the Brazilian lines 

 on the Pacific ; and thus ultimately a road will run from Mollendo 

 on the Atlantic ocean by Lake Titicaca and La Paz to Rio de 

 Janeii'o. 



There are now from 6000 to 7000 miles of road in oi^eration in 

 the Argentine Republic, 5000 to 6000 in Brazil, and 3000 to 4000 

 miles in the other states, making a total of about 15,000 miles of 

 railroad in operation. 



A proposition is now before the public for the construction of 

 the Pan-American railroad, from the Caribbean sea southward to 

 the Argentine Republic to connect with the Peruvian, with the 

 Brazilian, and ultimately with the Argentine roads. 



The route that seems to be most feasible starts at Cartagena, 

 where there is a splendid bay and harbor, within three days sail 

 from Galveston and six days from New York. It follows the 

 valley of the Magdalena river 800 miles to Dividal, 1700 feet 

 above the sea. Here, near the head waters of the Magdalena, the 

 route crosses the eastern Cordilleras at an elevation of about 

 6,500 feet to the head waters of the Caqueta, or Yapura, a branch 

 of the Amazon, and thence runs down that river 375 miles to the 

 mouth of the Engarros, only 550 feet above tide- water. From 

 the Caqueta river, the route passes through Ecuador to Iquitos, 

 Peru, crossing fourteen tributaries of the Amazon. From Iquitos 

 the route ascends the Amazon and the Ucayle, one of its southern 

 tributaries, 500 miles to Napal, then continues across the montaiia 



