50 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



THROUGH THE HEART OF PERU. 



In Twd parts.— Part I. 



AccOMPAKiED by two friends one May morning I sailed 

 for Colon, sometimes called Aspinwall, on the steamer 

 Crescent City. The aim of our journey was to cross South 

 America at its widest part, and to this we were impelled 

 by no motives geographical or scientific, but rather, 

 weary of the life of clubs, we wished for a change to en- 

 dure a certain amount of hardship and privation. As to 

 the gratification of our desii-es in this respect later on, we 

 had no reason to complain. 



The idea of the trip had originated with one of my 

 friends, who had somewhere read an account of a journey 

 from the Argentine Republic to Chile, which, entaihng a 

 many days' ride across the pampas, is a monotonous but 

 no means dilficult undertaking. When at Lima we found 

 how widely our proposed journey differed from what we 

 had supposed it to be; but we were committed, and no 

 one suggested a change of programme. 



Nine uneventful days took us to Colon where some of 

 our sailors, having become somewhat disorderly under the 

 influence of drink, were escorted on board by the local 

 police, colored men, barefooted, with tattered uniforms, 

 carrying in their hands drawn sabres, the nicked and rusty 

 appearance of which gave them anytliing but a formida- 

 ble look. The next morning we started for Panama. On 

 the train was a physician, who many years before had 

 served in his professional capacity during the building of 

 the road. According to him the number of deaths among 

 those employed in its construction had been grossly over- 

 estimated, some having put the number at no less than 

 70,000. The true figures, he stated, were fever 300, cholera 

 150, felo de se among the Chmese 800, other causes 250, 

 in aU 1,500. 



At Panama we passed three days waiting for the de- 

 parture of our steamer, part of the time being employed 

 testing our firearms on the beach, where we saw num- 

 bers of crabs of a bright red color looking quite ready for 

 the table. The steamer upon which we took passage for 

 Lima was comfortable in the extreme, each of our party 

 havmg a large and airy deck-cabin. On the morning of 

 the third day we sighted the coast of South America, 

 having previously crossed the equator and later were able 

 to distinguish Plata Island, the former rendezvous of the 

 Buccaneers, and especially of the famous Morgan. The 

 next day we reached Guayaquil. This Ecuadorean port is 

 not very inviting and the walk through it (during which 

 we were asked to buy monkeys, parrots and bananas over 

 a foot in length) quite suflSiced to satisfy our curiosity. 

 "We left for Payta after taking on board a great number 

 of deck passengers, who occupied squares marked off in 

 chalk on the deck. With them were their goods and 

 chattels, consisting of pots and kettles, great quantities 

 of pineapples and bananas, with ant-eaters, monkeys, 

 paroquets and various gay-plumaged birds. 



The next day we reached Payta and visited the 

 cathedral, where among the pictm-es of saints and other 

 devotional works of art we noticed a colored lithograph 

 of Washington at Trenton and the flags of aU nations. 

 At this place the cemetery is surrounded by a white- 

 washed wall, upon which a native artist, who, I was told, 

 had never seen any vegetation whatever, Payta lying in 

 a desert, had painted some blue trees. Oui- next stopping 

 place was Caliao, the seaport of Lima, our destination. 



At Lima we passed eighteen days making preparation 

 for our journey and sight-seeing. Notable among the 

 sights of Lima are the cathedral, the bull fights of Caliao 

 and the amateur bull fights of Magdalena del Mar, where 

 ambitious novices face bulls wiiose horns are tipped 

 with ruboer. It is worthy of remark that in all Lima no 

 statue of Pizarro can be found, since even at the present 

 day any honor to the conqueror would give deep oft'ense 

 to the Indian population. 



That which excites the greatest wonder and interest 

 aroimd Lima is beyond question the Oroya Railroad. This 

 wonderful road, begun by Henry Meiggs, an American 

 whose enormous wealth and stupendous enterprises once 

 excited the wonder of the world's ablest financiers, had 

 for its proposed terminus Oroya, 15,645ft. above the level 

 of the sea and 130 miles distant from Lima, It is related 

 of Don Henry, for so the Peruvians used to call him, that 

 on the afternoon of the day on which the contract was 

 awarded hand-bills caUing for laborers were circulated in 

 every part of Lima, and that on the succeeding morning 

 two thousand men were at work. The contract price of 

 the road was 37,000,000 soles, the silver sol being at that 

 time equal to our dollar, but the bad faith or poverty of 

 the Peruvian government virtually brought the work to a 

 standstill, it having been completed to Anchi, at an alti- 

 tude of between 12,000 and 13,000ft, Don Henry died 

 leaving his affairs much embarrassed, and with him ended 

 for many a long year all work of extension upon the 

 Oroya Railroad. 



This wonderful road ascends the moimtain side by a 

 marvelous system of tunnels and inclined planes, the grade 

 sometimes reaching as much as 4^ft. in 100, a chasm at 

 one place being bridged by means of a pier a58ft. in 

 height, then the highest in the world. 



It may not be out of place here to relate an anecdote 

 illustratmg the character of him who tmdertook so great 

 a work. After leaving San Francisco Henry Meiggs went 

 to Chile where he laid the foundation of his enormous 

 fortune by the construction of various railroads. It was 

 before his departure for Peru that he made this character- 

 istic proposition to the Chilean government. The Arau- 

 canian Indians had successfully defied the early Spanish 

 conquerors and even up to Don Henry's time the flower 

 of the Chilean army had been imable to accomplish more 

 than yearly to wrest from them about half a mile of the 

 territory, which was fortified and held. The lands of 

 these Indians were rich in the precious metals, and Don 

 Hemy proposed to the Congress of Chile to subjugate the 

 entire territory of the Araueanians at his own expense, 

 putting up $4,000,000 as a forfeit in case of failure and 

 asking no compensation for all this beyond ea^ch alternate 

 quarter section of the conquered land. 



The Chilean ministry, desiring further information, in- 

 quired as to the methods of which he proposed to make 

 use. To this Don Henry replied that the matter was 

 simple enough. His plan was to visit California, to make 

 knovra the extreme metallic richness of the land, to 



secure the services of 10,000 minej-s and to let them 

 loose upon the territory, Don Henry's offer was carefully 

 considered, and finally declined with thanks, it being 

 furthermore stated ' 'that the Chilean ministry preferred 

 the Araueanians." Had the proposition been accepted, 

 not Araucania alone but Chile would have been essen- 

 tially American to-day. 



At 9 A. M. on the morning of the 3lst of June, accom- 

 panied by an oSicer of the Oroya Railroad, we started in 

 a private compartment to inspect this wonderful feat of 

 engineering. The upward course began at once, follow- 

 ing the valley toward the base of the distant Andes. At 

 10 we breakfasted in our compartment and about noon, 

 having reached the mountains, began the steep ascent 

 over terraces where looking out of the car windows one 

 could drop an orange hundreds of feet on portions of the 

 track below, through tunnels drilled into the solid rock, 

 and over bridges spanning yawning chasms, until at 

 about 3 P.M. our destination was reached at an altitude 

 of nearly 10,000 feet. 



Beyond a slight quickening of the pulse none of our 

 party suffered from sorroche, an attack from which, how- 

 ever, the height attained could hardly have led us to ex- 

 pect. This malady, of which so much is heard among the 

 Andes, has for its symptoms palpitation of the heart, 

 blueness of the face and violent vomiting. As in the case 

 of sea-sickness, many are totally exempt from it, while 

 others are alwa.ys affected. That this affection is so much 

 better known in South America than in other moun- 

 tainous coimtries is probably accoxmted for by the fact 

 that greater altitudes are there more readily reached. 

 Monte Meiggs is comparatively not difficult of ascent, and 

 yet it cannot be far from 30,000 feet in height. 



After a very substantial dinner, -which the keen moun- 

 tain air rendered doubly acceptable, we prepared for our 

 return. The descent was to be made in a hand-car and 

 by gravity, since a car started on any portion of the Oroj a 

 Railroad can, without any other motive power, run into 

 the station at Lima. This hand-car had been brought up 

 with us on the train, and upon putting it together it was 

 noticed that the fastenings of two of the wheels were 

 broken. After a hurried consultation, for it was growing 

 late, some telegraph wire was found by the men who were 

 to conduct the descent, and the broken portions were tied 

 together. They hoped this would answer, they said. 



"And if it does not?" I asked. They shrugged their 

 shoulders. 



I looked askance at my companions, but they stood by 

 in silence. Probably, like myself, they would willingly 

 have seconded a proposition" to return by the regular 

 train, but were too proud to make it. Without a word we 

 took our seats on the car. Silently one of the employees 

 opened a bag, from which he took three Colts revolvers, 

 and keeping one handed the others to his two companions. 

 These they cocked and placed between their feet. 



"It is not uncommon," one thoughtfully explained, 

 "for desperadoes, since this car is used by the paymaster, 

 to throw it off the track and open fire with Winchesters 

 upon the survivors, I got a tumble and a bullet myself 

 not so very long ago." 



Again I looked at my companions. It was perhaps 

 owing to the high altitude that each seemed to exhibit the 

 preliminary signs of sorroche. As for myself, my heart 

 was in my mouth; but it did not trouble me long, for of a 

 sudden the brakes were taken off and with a spring the 

 car shot forward, apparently leaving at the point of de- 

 parture my entire internal economy, Down we rashed 

 with ever increasing speed, the car swaying from side to 

 side, on one hand the mountain wall, on the other a drop 

 of perhaps a thousand feet, through tunnels of midnight 

 darkness, around sharp curves where the broken wheels 

 fairly creaked with the strain, whizzing across the Puente 

 del Infiernillo— the bridge of hell — while the shades of 

 evening were thickly gathering. The starless night closed 

 in aroimd us, shutting from our straining eyes all view of 

 the track in front. It was now simply a question of 

 chance as we plunged into the darkness. 



"We ought to have started sooner," muttered one of 

 the men, "a stick or stone or even a dog on the track 

 would throw us into the valley." All talk, difficult 

 enough before on account of the rushing wind, now 

 ceased, and in silence we watched the sparks fly from the 

 wheels. Thoughts of the armed outlaws and of the 

 broken fastenings kept running through my mind, and 

 the journey seemed almost endless. At length the sudden 

 twists around the sharp curves ceased. We were in the 

 valley. Presently a big light burst upon us. 



"Down brakes, Sykesey," cried one of the men. The 

 station was before us. Thank God! 



Before leaving Lima we finally engaged a man speaking 

 Spanish and EngUsh to accompany us as interpreter, sev- 

 eral others who had been suggested having decided not to 

 make the journey with us. Each member of our party 

 had two small bags containing a change of clothing and 

 a few necessities. These bags were arranged to balance 

 on either side of the back of a mule. We had alto 

 ponchos* of rubber and wool, and om- arms consisted of 

 two shotguns, a Winchester carbine and four heavy re- 

 volvers. Our stores were packed in three small wooden 

 boxes with hinged tops and fastening with padlocks. 

 These boxes were mauily filled with canned meats to be 

 used only in case of necessity. Cooking utensils were 

 cai'ried in a bag and were supposed to balance one of the 

 boxes of provisions. Tents we had none, owing to the 

 great difficulty of transportation, though blankets of 

 course were taken. One member of the party in addition 

 started with a spring overcoat, a silk umbrella and a 

 bottle of cologne, but these outgrowths of civiUzation did 

 not form a portion of our outfit upon om- arrival at the 

 other side. About the heaviest part of our impedimenta 

 was our silver coin, carried in bags, since the paper money 

 of Peru circulated but a comparatively short distance be- 

 yond the coast. 



From Lima to Pacasmayo is a two days' journey north 

 by sea. The steamer was bound for Payta, and was 

 crowded with passengers for the various intermediate 

 ports. The cax^tain of the steamer informed me that this 

 was called the "hog route," owing to the very uncleanly 

 habits of the local passengers, and added that he had 

 frequently seen Peruvians while leaning over the bul- 

 warks turn and eject tobacco juice upon the deck. 



At Pacasmayo we remained three days the guests of 

 the olficials of the raUi-oad. The first day we visited on 

 horseback the adobe ruins of the Temple of the Sun at 

 Jecquetipec, now hardly more than immense mounds of 



♦ Poncho, a blanket with a slit in the center through which the head 

 passes; a garment much in vogue in South America, 



earth. Near by was a hiU. which had served as a cemetery, 

 and on the surface in every direction lay skulls^ bones, 

 fragments of huacas* (clay vessels for food or water often 

 placed with the dead), shrouds and hair, while under 

 ground the relics of mortality were in such profusion that 

 the butt of a riding whip readily brought them to view. 

 The next day we went up the road about sixteen miles on 

 a special train, taking a couple of peons armed with 

 spades, and opened a burial mound. After half an hour's 

 digging we were rewarded by the discovery of two huacas 

 and a number of earthen potsj one still partly filled with 

 corn. Subsequently we unearthed a pau- of bronze 

 tweezers and later a skeleton, the teeth slightly green 

 from a bit of copper held in the mouth, perhaps to pay 

 toll over some sub-Peruvian styx. The next day was 

 passed at a large hacienda where hundreds of Chinese 

 were employed in the manufacture of sugar. IFour hours 

 by rail on the succeeding morning took us to Lavifla. 



Here began a twenty-day journey on mule back, ex- 

 clusive of time spent in waiting at various points since 

 the arrieros or mule drivers declined to accompany the 

 traveler with their beasts for a period longer than five 

 or six days. Our route lay over the mountains to Caja- 

 marca, where Atahualpa, the Inca, was taken; from there 

 to Celendin, thence to Chachapoyas, the capital of the de- 

 partment of the Amazonas, where that delicious fruit, 

 the chirimoya, is found at its best; and on by way of 

 Molino Pampas to Moyabama. During this time we were 

 thrown with all sorts and conditions of arrieros or mule 

 drivers, some intelligent (compai'atively speaking) and 

 some of the densest ignorance. Upon one occasion an 

 Indian boy attached to the partj'', picked from the ground 

 a paper ring from a cigar which had been thi-own away. 

 This he strung around his neck for a talisman. Another 

 time we had an arriero, whose idea of Peru was of the 

 most exalted kind. According to him it produced every- 

 thing. "Any beai-s here?" we once asked. "Plenty," "Any 

 Uuiis'i'" "I'es indeed," Any elephants?" (After a long 

 pause during which his truthfulness was evidently strug- 

 gling with his patriotism) "No, but there are foxes." 



The mules were at times more inteUigeht than the 

 arrieros who accompanied them. So steep were the 

 mountain paths that the saddle was fastened by a loop 

 under the tail to prevent its slipping over the animal^ 

 head, Fhghts of steps on the mountain's side often re- 

 quured the wary beast first to plant the fore and then the 

 hind feet upon one flat stone, so that all four hoofs were 

 included in a space hardly larger than a man's handker- 

 chief, and this many times repeated at length achieved a 

 descent at first seemingly impossible. Again the path 

 lay over 20 or 30ft. of hmestone rock, down which trickled 

 a tiny stream, the descent being too steep and slippery to 

 walk, and accomplished only by the mule drawing aU 

 four feet together and sliding down. Once near Chacha- 

 poyas on a very narrow way, skirting the mountain wall, 

 our path led directly over an ugly rock having about 3ft. 

 of level earth on the outer side. Wishing if possible to 

 avoid passing over the slippery surface, I turned the ani- 

 mal's head toward the margin referred to. The mule 

 advanced very slowly, and keeping its weight mainly 

 upon three feet, pressed with the other upon the part 

 indicated; when all of a sudden the entire mass of earth 

 and stone fell crashing into the valley, 1,000ft. below. 

 The mule drew back its foot and stood trembling for full 

 a minute. 



Our journey by mule-back, while arduous, had furnished 

 but Httle of real adventure, though once I got into a very 

 unpleasant position. While riding along the narrow path, 

 having on one side the moimtain wall and on the other a 

 precipice, my foot became entangled in a small bush 

 against which the mule had borne me in its efforts to keep 

 away from a sheer drop of 1,000ft. on the other side; 

 and the beast continuing to advance, my foot was carried 

 back and the rowels of the Mexican spur were driven deep 

 into its body. The animal, wild with pain, reared on its 

 hind feet and found little difficulty in throwing me off, 

 half unseated as I was. Fortunately I fell lengthwise, as 

 the path was too narrow to allow me to he in any other 

 position. There I lay with my foot jammed into the 

 stirrup, completely at the mercy of the mule. The vicious 

 animal was not slow to avail itself of its opportunity and 

 delivered kick after kick in rapid succession, fortunately 

 with unshod feet. I never before felt so helpless. Next the 

 beast started to run. dragging me a short distance over the 

 rocky path, when finally the rusty stirrup opened at the 

 top, cutting my boot completely across, but freeing my 

 foot. I jumped up and shook myself; no bones were 

 broken, and beyond some cuts and bruises I was unhurt. 

 I found my navy revolver at fuU cock, probably from 

 contact with a stone. 



After our three weeks of muleback over roads often 

 differing in no way from inclined planes of stone, some- 

 times serving as water courses by way of variety, and 

 after days of weary waiting for lazy arrieros at wretched 

 Indian villages, we rode, my three companions and my- 

 self, into the level country around Moyabamba. We had 

 left behind us chain upon chain of the Peruvian Andes of 

 ever decreasing height; behind us the vampire bats, on 

 accoimt of which we had passed many a night booted 

 and with muffled throats, and to whose existence the 

 faint and bleeding mules bore ample witness in the morn- 

 ings; behind us the sorroche with its headache, palpitation 

 of the heart and bleeding from the nose; behmd us the 

 garapatas, small insects that bore into the skin, the cause 

 of never-ending sores and sometimes death, according to 

 the natives. We had left home "to rough it" and had 

 certainly succeeded to our hearts' desire and more, with 

 cold nights spent in moimtain tambosf or on the ground; 

 often so hungry that our dreams were of food, and we 

 awoke with jaws moving mechanically; at times drenched 

 with tropical rains, and occasionally with hardly enough 

 water to prepare our meals. 



Everything in Peru, so far, with two exceptions, had 

 surpassed our expectations; the chasms bridged by trees 

 did not equal the blood-curdling wood cuts seen in geo- 

 graphies; and the buU fights, where the bull was by no 

 means as fierce and powerful as the gaudy pictures in 

 raisin boxes would lead us to beheve. At times the 

 scenery had been superb. Once halting our mules on a 

 mountain pass, with condors soaring aroimd and trains 



* The huacas seen in collections in Lima are very interesting and of 

 various shapes and sizes. Some are modeled after men and women 

 and animals of all kinds, the chirimoya and other fruits. Curious 

 whistling huacas exist, iiaving been used to hold water. They are 

 so arranged that when their contents are poured out, the air rush- 

 mg in through a hole constructed for the piu-pose, gives a whistling 

 sound. 



tHutS, 



