Aeequipa Railroad. 451 



sharpest curve, 395 feet radius ; aud the average consump- 

 tion of coal, 65 pounds per mile. Mules and gunpowder 

 are indispensable in advance of the locomotive, and to- 

 gether make quite an item ; $115,000 are invested in the 

 quadrupedal means of transportation, and 500,000 pounds 

 of powder are used monthly for blasting. 



My fearfully grand ride down the Andes on a hand-car 

 drawn by gravity, under the superintendence of Mr. Cilley, 

 will never fade from memory. To fly along the edge of 

 a precipice at the rate of forty -five miles an hour, and 

 whip around a curve till every hair of the head stands on 

 end, is glorious — when over. Once is enough for a life- 

 time. 



Oroya, the terminus, is only a point of divergence. In 

 time, branches will run to silvery Cerro de Pasco; to 

 Tarma, destined to be the Mecca of consumptives; and to 

 Fort San Ramon or to Mairo, the head of navigation on 

 the Amazons. This will probably be the first interoceanic 

 road in South America, as the link necessary to connect it 

 with the Great River is very short. It will also serve to 

 colonize and civilize the mountain regions of Peru. 



The Aeequipa Railroad. — Situated in lat. 17°. Ter- 

 mini, MoUendo and Arequipa. Length, 107 miles; finish- 

 ed. Contract taken by Mr. Meiggs, at $12,000,000 cash. 

 Commenced in 1868 ; completed in 1870. 



The Puno Railroad. — Situated in lat. 16° 30'. Termi- 

 ni, Arequipa and Puno, on the west shore of Lake Titica- 

 ca. Length, 218 miles ; finished. Contract taken by Mr. 

 Meiggs, at $32,000,000 in bonds at 79. Commenced 

 July, 1870 ; completed June, 1874. 



These two roads, the Arequipa and Puno, are practi- 

 cally one (for it is a continuous line), and may be treated 

 together. 



At present, this is the longest railway south of the equa- 



