ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
several days which the journey lasted. Not only so, but 
the Peruvian Corporation kindly looked after my wel¬ 
fare in a most thoughtful way during the whole time I 
travelled on their line, for which I am indeed extremely 
grateful, as the travelling in that country otherwise would 
have been less pleasant. 
The railroad from Mollendo went along the coast 
among curious eroded rocks of great interest; then grad¬ 
ually left the sea among sand dunes and mounds upon 
the wide beach. 
As the railway began to get higher and higher upon 
the steep gradient the scenery became more and more 
beautiful. Presently we found ourselves overlooking a 
wonderful flat valley between two high hill ranges in 
lovely green patches, cut with geometrical precision, and 
well cultivated. Giant cacti of the candelabrum type were 
plentiful. Farther on we got upon an elevated plateau 
with a white surface of pumice-stone, followed by red 
volcanic sand — an immense stretch of country sur¬ 
rounded by low hills of grey tufa and red volcanic rock. 
Beyond that we came to a most interesting region of 
sand-dunes of extraordinary shapes, where the under soil 
was of a brilliant red, while the sand accumulations were 
of a grey colour. Some of the dunes were crescent-shaped. 
They stood usually in sets or rows extending from north¬ 
west to southeast. Then there were high mounds, also 
of sand, and dunes of all kinds, some with a double cres¬ 
cent, or with the inside of the crescent much indented, 
others with multiple concave curves. The concavity of 
all those dunes was on the northeast side. 
I had seen a similar formation of dunes in the Salt 
Desert of Persia; also in the southwestern desert of Af¬ 
ghanistan and in the northern desert of Beluchistan; but 
I do not remember ever having seen such a perfect 
formation of dunes as that to be seen in this part of Peru. 
Beyond that sandy zone we had before us a red plateau 
394 
