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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



darken the ponds as far as the eye can 

 reach. 



After leaving Villa Mercedes we are 

 on "The Argentine and Great Western" 

 until we reach Mendoza, where we 

 change to the narrow gauge of "The 

 Argentine Transandine." If we have 

 anticipated any discomfort, thus far we 

 are agreeably disappointed. We have 

 journeyed in a comfortable "sleeper" 

 and have voted the "diner" excellent. 



Mendoza is a hustling little town in 

 the heart of the wine industry. Many 

 Italians come here annually from the 

 mother country to work in the vineyards, 

 returning to Europe when the season is 

 over. 



In the past much Chilian wine has 

 found its way across the border, but this 

 export is decreasing with the remarkable 

 development of the wine industry in the 

 Argentine province of Mendoza. The 

 export from Argentina into Chile is 

 mainly, that of cattle. Many of the 

 staple commercial products of the two 

 republics are now identical, and it is 

 feared that the producers on either fron- 

 tier will clamor for protection against 

 one another, now that there is an easier 

 method of transportation. Argentina's 

 important exports of grains, hides, and 

 beef, and Chile's nitrates and copper will 

 be sent abroad by sea as heretofore, but 

 the manufactured goods imported into 

 these countries from Europe and Amer- 

 ica will probably cross the continent by 

 rail. 



The; christ of the ande;s 



Leaving Mendoza, we begin to climb, 

 and the temperature falls as the altitude 

 increases. At Puente-del-Inca there is a 

 natural bridge spanning the mountain 

 torrent. Here ere situated the famous 

 medicinal baths (more accessible to Chil- 

 ian invalids since the opening of the 

 Summit tunnel). Arriving at Las Cue- 

 vas, we leave the train, an army of be- 

 ponchoed guides and sturdy mules await- 

 ing us. We and our heterogeneous 

 belongings are to be borne by the patient 

 little beasts up over the Cumbre. 12,605 

 feet above sea-level. Great trunks and 

 hat - boxes bearing flaring European 



labels, golf clubs, tennis rackets, bags, 

 and boxes of all sorts and descriptions 

 are loaded on panier-wise, and off we all 

 jog on a trot for Chile. 



A good-natured crowd of passengers 

 usually, these who cross the Andes, mak- 

 ing light of cold and of unaccustomed 

 mounts. It is a different story in the 

 Andean passes farther north, where the 

 occasional wayfarer endures extreme 

 hardships. The Pass of Uspallata has 

 been a highway for so many years that 

 its rugged walls no longer look formid- 

 able to the summer traveler. 



Less than an hour after leaving Las 

 Cuevas we reach the summit and pause 

 to marvel at the panorama. The guides, 

 meanwhile, arrange saddles and tighten 

 girths for our slide down the Chilian 

 wall. Snow-crowned mountains rise on 

 every side, salient rocky peaks here and 

 there piercing the blue. Dominating the 

 heights, yet ruling through the power of 

 love rather than of might, "The Christ 

 of the Andes" stands on the summit, on 

 the borderland of the two republics. 



Cast from the cannon of the two na- 

 tions, this symbol of peace and fraternity 

 was erected at the time of the border 

 dispute, when the King of England acted 

 as arbitrator. On a gigantic column, sur- 

 mounted by a globe on which the con- 

 figuration of the earth is outlined, this 

 colossal figure, 26 feet in height, stands 

 holding a cross in one hand, extending a 

 blessing with the other. 



The conception of such a monument 

 came from the hearts of two natives of 

 Argentina, Bishop Benavente and Sehora 

 de Costa. It was the splendid woman, 

 Senora de Costa, who, as president of 

 the Christian Mothers' Association of 

 Buenos Aires, undertook the work of 

 securing funds for the creation of the 

 statue. The Argentine and Chilian au- 

 thorities were later interested in the work 

 and, in March, 1904, three thousand 

 Argentinos and Chilians assembled to 

 witness the unveiling of the monument. 

 The venerable Bishop Benavente himself 

 offered up a solemn mass and blessed the 

 peace flag, which embodies the colors of 

 all the flags of the Americas. 



