Latin America and Colombia 



705 



there are large sections that have a tem- 

 perate climate in the real sense of the 

 word, where are raised all the products 

 of the temperate zone and where men live 

 and work under as healthful conditions 

 as they do in the northern part of the 

 United States. The Andean mountains, 

 or Cordillera, on entering Colombia from 

 Ecuador divide into three ranges, respec- 

 tively the Eastern, Central, and Western 

 Cordillera. On these are numerous high 

 plateaus, where the principal cities of the 

 interior are located and whose population 

 is prosperous and progressive. There 

 are numerous level and rolling highlands 

 in Colombia where the thermometer 

 seldom goes above 75 degrees Fahrenheit 

 or below 55 degrees. At elevations of 

 between 5,000 and 10,000 feet, this tem- 

 perature and agreeable climate is found, 

 and the area of this section would cover 

 that of the New England States with 

 New York and Pennsylvania combined. 



The traveler who visits either the At- 

 lantic or Pacific coasts of Colombia with 

 their sea-level altitude and their tropical 

 heat gains an entirely wrong impression 

 of what he would find if he journeyed 

 into the interior. Colombia will never be 

 fully appreciated or understood until it is 

 gridironed with railroads, so that visitors 

 can go immediately from the seacoast to 

 the higher sections in the shortest possible 

 time. 



Speaking of the conformation of Co- 

 lombia reminds me to comment on the 

 marvelous scenery that charms one's eyes 

 as he travels over the different parts of 

 the Republic. It has been my privilege to 

 view the best panoramas of the United 

 States and Canada, of Switzerland, and 

 the Himalayas in India, but I have never 

 seen anything to equal the variety, 

 grandeur, and exquisite beauty of the 

 vistas of the Colombian Andes. When, 

 by the construction of the Panama Canal 

 and by favorable conditions of steamboat 

 and railway travel, it will be possible for 

 American tourists to go there with facil- 

 ity and comfort, Colombia will become 

 one of the most-visited countries, both on 

 account of the scenerv and climate. 



A THOUSAND MILES ON MULE BACK 



Perhaps it is possible for me to speak 

 on this matter with some authority be- 

 cause of the recent overland journey 

 which I made, accompanied by Mr Mah- 

 lon C. Martin, a prominent American of 

 Bogota, from the capital of Colombia via 

 Quito to Guayaquil, Ecuador. Although 

 the first object of this journey was to 

 meet Mr Root on the west coast of South 

 America, a secondary purpose was to 

 study, and be able to report upon, an 

 important section of South America never 

 before traveled or visited by a North 

 American official, but which will have a 

 vast material and industrial development 

 upon the opening of the Panama Canal. 



We traveled in all 1,500 miles, of which 

 1,100 miles were on mule back. We 

 spent 31 continuous days in the saddle 

 and four days on railroads, in steamboats, 

 and in automobiles. The details of this 

 trip along the "ridge pole of the world" 

 will be reserved for another address 

 which your society has asked me to de- 

 liver. 



HOW TO GET TO COLOMBIA 



Naturally one of the first questions 

 asked in regard to Colombia is how one 

 gets there and how he reaches the capital. 

 The regular route is as follows : One goes 

 from New York to either Barranquilla 

 or Cartagena, on the Caribbean coast. 

 There are at present no steamers running 

 direct to these places without stopping at 

 other ports, but there are two or three 

 lines, notably the Hamburg-American, 

 with the Atlas service, and the Royal Mail, 

 which touch en route south at Kingston, 

 Jamaica, and either at Colon, Panama, or 

 Port Limon, Costa Rica, as well as at 

 Kingston, returning north. The trip 

 usually requires, on account of stops, 

 about nine days. 



At Barranquilla the river steamer up 

 the river can be taken, or, as some prefer, 

 it is possible to go to Cartagena, and then 

 by rail across to a town called Calamar, 

 on the Magdalena river, where the river 

 boat, in turn, is boarded. Many persons 



