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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (April 5, 1914)
THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: APRIL 5. 1914. 5--B Through Darkness and Dawn on Toboggan (Copyright, 1914, by Frank a. Carpenter.) IMA, Peru. A toboggan tilde LI down the Andes! I Coasting on a gravity car uuiii int nignesi mountains, over tho steepest railroad of the world to tho level of the seal Dashing out of the clouds to find clouds below yout J Now In the bllziard, where the hall and enow are so thick you cannot see a stono's throw in front, and now under tho blue sky with the air clear all about you! Hanging to precipices, flying on splder web bridges of steel over frightful chasms, whirling about curves In tho midnight darkness of winding tunnels and coming out Into the light of day with a shudder as you look at the depths far below you. This, In a nutshell, Is the story of my trip from tho glacial snows, threo miles straight above where I am writing. It gives onj'a faint Idea of the Journey, Tho (Saucers were awfully real, and as I look hack it seems a miracle that I am hero today to describe them. It Is a mira cle. The ordinary ride of this kind, taken with a dry track and the sunlight, is so dangerous that travelers who risk It are made to sign a paper, swearing that their heirs will claim no damages If they are killed' on the way. I signed such a document before I got on the car: and an hour later It seemed to mo that tho railroad authorities were sensi ble to require such protection. Three Allien High. We started at Tlcllo, at the very top of the pass, where tho Andean waters di vide, some running down the western slorvj Into the Pacific, and others making their way across the continent through the Amazon, Into tho Atlantic. We were almoM. at the level of 16.000 feet. We wpre fully three miles above the sur face of the ocean, and wo were to slide down over the rails, through a winding distance of 100 miles clear to the sea. The Central railway goes to tho top of the Andes without one Inch of down grade. Tho most of the way the ascent I about four feet In 100, and you can start a car at the glaciers, and it will fly straight to the waters of the tropical ocean. Our toboggan was the private gravity car of Mr. Feehan, tho general manager of tho Central railroad. It was a low platform on "wheels about two feet In diameter. It had no motive power, and It was controlled only by two brakes, one on each aide of the front. Upon the platform were seats wide enough for three, persons, and as we took our places 1 tat In tho middle, with my stenographer at the left and Mr, Russell of the oper ating department of the railway ut my right. We had also a Peruvian Cholo who understood the business to act as a brakpman. We hall to run upon sched ule time, for the track is a slngic ono and we had to pass trains going up and down on the way. We were to get our orders from the telegraph operators at the prin cipal stations. ' plateau. Thry are comparatively smalt ) In comparison with that of some other and not very fat. There Is au Italian named Kcrnandlnl, who Is experimenting In bringing In fancy stock, lto has a number of large haciendas and expects to supply the meat market of the coast. This any man Is said to own thousands of llamas and donkeys and to largely control the freighting about Cerro tie Pasco. I inderstnnd that the govern ment Is experimenting with tho grasses of tho high Andes and that attempts are being made to Improve them. Cllmnto In Not fold. The cllnmte at 11,000 feet Is not cold sheep countries. It Is warm during the day and even In the coldest weather the nights do not fall brtow zero. The hcp and cattle can feed out of doors all the year round. The snow falls but .the sun Is so hot that It never lies more than an hour or so at a time. About the most dangerous features of the weather are the big thunder storms, with the accompanying llchtning. The latter often strikes, killing people and sheep, An to the general features of the climate, the plateau has two seasons, dry and wet. The wet season begins In September or Oclobcr, and lasts until April or May, At that time It la usually clear In lh(f morning with rain or snow In the after noon. The dry season, which Is from May to September, Is delightfully clear,. The sky Is always blue and 'the tropical sun makes the weather much like In dian summer In tho Virginia mountains, which I believe Is the very best weather on earth. FKANK O. CAItPENTER first Known Ooimh Itrmnlr. Dr. King's New Discovery st for coughs, colds, hoarseness and all lung; troubles. First doso helps. EOo and U All druggists. Advertisement Is Thrilling. Trip. We started amid the glaciers. The sky was clear, and we could see tho great masses of ice as they were Imperceptibly moving down tho mountain. Just above us wttft Mount Melggs, over 17,000 feet high, and, all around were mighty peaks klsslrig the clouds. Tho sun shone brightly. The rails were dry, and. Mr. Russell said wo would 'have no trouble controlling the car, as the only danger camo from tho rain or the snow, which make it difficult for the wheels to hold to the track. This was the case at the start Wo shot out of Tlcllo, and flew at the rate of tweh'y miles an hour down tho road. Wo had hardly started, however, before the sky changed, and the winds began to roll up tho gorges. Tho air grew cold, and within five minutes we were in the midst of a snowstorm. A moment later tho snow turned to "frail. The stones were as big as marrowfat peas, and they bounced like rubber as they fell on the track. With tho hall camo thunder, and flashes Jlghtnlng. The air was so rare that our Cars fairly cracked with sound, and and the lightning made more visible the dan gers about us. Storm BrlnK llnxnrds. As we went on the rails became white and the rocks were hidden in snow. Our car was half full of hall, and the wheels were flying over slippery tracks. Then tho wind increased to a blizzard, and Floeekber, who was sitting beside me, taking his notes on wet paper, notwith standing the storm, all at onco cried out that his hat had blown off. Very foolish ly wo stopped the toboggan, and started our Cholo conductor back up tho track. At this time we had only ten minutes leeway of a train that was coming be hind. We waited five minutes and the Cholo 'did not appear. Then Floeckler went back arid found the hat on the edge of a cliff 1C0 fect high and about 200 The King and -the Sentinel from -ike Andean Garden of -the G.od.6 yards from tho toboggan. The Cholo had disappeared. We waited for him two minutes longer, and then, hearing tho whistle of tho down-coming train, wo knew wo should have to manage tho ttboggan ourselves. Mr. Itussell took hold of otto brako and Floeckhor grabbed tight on the other, and we be gan to coast down through tho storm. The cold was piercing. Tho winds wont through our bones . and tho great hail stones cut our faces. At times when tho c!ouds were the blackest wo could seo only a few fect at tho front, but could look down the sides of the cliff to which tho track hung and sec tile snow-clad walls far below us. Now wc would co flying Into a tunnel, and here wcro ths safest of places, for tho rails wcro dry and tho brakes made tho wheels grip tho track. Indeed, we almost prayed for the tunnels and were glad when we daahol over a bridge through tho blinding slcot ir.to tho darkness. ays sent live minuics in ;lne to flal it for slides, tnery In Vonderf ill. RRITATNG D D SHGURING PIMPLES On Fare, Also Blackheads. Pimples Red and Inflamed. Cuticura Soap arA Cuticura Ointment Cured. It. F. D. No. 2. Advance, Mo. "I had a vfrqr btClc&se of pimples on my face which wci'4 1sxy troublcjome, as they would get soro and would leave red spots where they healed. I also had blackheads la my skin. The pimples were red and Inflamed and would tome to a head. They would run yellowish pus and each one had a hard core-like lump In It. They were very Irritating and disfiguring. "I vas troubled with them six months and liad tried several remedies which did no' itxd. C lluura Soap and Ointment did tt war!;. I would wash my faco with tho Soap and hot water then apply the Oint ment. In about half an hour I would wash again with tho Soap. In two months I was cwved and tho red spots havo gone." (Signed) Miss Olllo Richmond. Oct. 17,1013. A generation of mothers has found no soap so well suited for cleansing and purifying tho skin and hair of infants and children as Cuticura Soap. Its absoluto purity and re freshing fragrance alono are enough to recommend it above ordinary skin soaps, but there are added to these qualities delicate yet affective emollient properties, derived from Cuticura Ointment, which render It most valuable in overcoming a tendency to distressing eruptions and promoting a nor mal condition of skin and hair health. Cuticura Soap (25c.) and Cuticura Ointment SOc) sold everywhere. Liberal sample" of each mailed free, with 32-p. book. Address post-card "Cuticura. Dept T, Boston." GTMen who shavo and shampoo with Cu ticura Soap will find It best for skin and scalp. Meet Trains. We had mado eight or nine miles when we met two trains standing at ono of tno switchbacks on a siding. Thty were wnlting for us, and tho engineers said another train must pass coming up be fore we started down. At that time we wcro chilled to our bones. Mr. Russell's face was blue with tho Blcet and the cold, and Floeckhcr's hands were frozen hold ing tho brake. Wo climbed out of our car and into the cab of one of th oil burning engines. The heat of the boiler, soon thawed our blood, and within a short time our clothes,' which had been wot by tho snow, had dried off. Wo were still in the storm when wo left the switchback. The rails were cov ered with sleet and we could not be sure of the tracks. At one place we passed a gang- of trainmen who were working on the road, and at another tlmo narrowly escaped a drove of llamas that was crossing the track In the storm. As they taw our toboggan tho animals began to run and they went along on kangaroo jumps with their Indian drivers trotting behind. At every hamlet along the way wo had to look out for tho dogs. The scurvy curs ran out and barked at the car and snapped at us as we flew by. The great danger was that a dog might get In front of tho car and by being rue over throw us down the sides of the mountain. Wc were going too fast to watch out for slides. When It rains In the Andes this track has to bo watched dally for the masses of earth and rock that fall down upon It, and for this reason a hand car Is always sent five minutes In front of the cngl See By and by we passed Casapalca, and there lost the storm. The sun came out, and the sky straightway was blue with white clouds. We could now see for miles. The track dried, and we coasted alcng at great speed through some or the most wonderful scenery on earth. Now we would ride for mites between ii walls of rock that extended upwards for thousands of fect, and now hang over gorges, below which, a' thousand feet down, the rushing Rimac flowed foam ing. Now we would enter a tunnel high up on the side of a cliff and, looking down, see another tunnel almost directly below us. We rushed out of one tunnel Into the Infernlllo, a slender bridge of iron which Joins two great walls of rock. On the other side of the bridge wo would seo tho blaak hole pierced by the, trade. Above us, through the narrow silt of tho rocks, was the blue sky of heaven, and below waa the gorgo which these people call tho Little Hell. The bridge there spans a chasm which is 2.000 feet deep, and we trembled at the thought that ! there might be a train in the tunnel be yond. The whole of this wonderful road seems blasted out of tho sldes-ot the mountains. Hero It hungs to the cliffs, there it bores through the rocks, and again it zigzags In great Va as It climbs. Some of the tunnels are so close together that they made me think of the road between Monte Carlo and Nice, which has beon described as riding through, a flute and locking out of the. holes. The only "dif ference between that and this road up the Andes Is that each of these holes gives you a moving picture show of mag nificent grandeur, SuriiiK Ilocklea and Alps. I wish I could show you some of the formations of the Andes. They surpass in their wonders the Alps and the Rock ies, and I have seen nothing UHe them In the Himalayas. We have a little patch of 400 acres In Colorado at tho foothills of the Rockies which wo call 'the Garden of tho Gods. Not far from Oiru de Pasco In the heart of the Andes, looked down upon by mountain peaks from 17,000 to SO.000 feet high, is a Umllur garden, which covers tons of thousands of acres, and with a hundred formations where the Colorado garden has but one. In the Andes there Is one rock called the King, a gigantic figure as tils us a house, w.th a crown on its top poised upon a neck not more than three feet In diameter, and jSistviing -the -6hogga.ri "thcee -miles a.bovo -tho sea . high above all Its surroundings. There Is another rock known as tho Turtle, a gigantic block the shape ot a tortoise, that Is believed to uphold the world, A third looks, like a great steamboat perched on a pedestal, and a fourth Is a mighty tower chiseled out by tho gods. In this tamo region Is the Rock Forest, consist ing of hundreds of acres of columns Which stand Individually out on tho plain and which in the distance look like a great woods. Anythlnir (lie Ilenrt Desires. And then there aro castles, palaces and grand fortifications. With a llttlo Im agination you can find almost any. kind of architecture or the model of any great structure. I have seen u table rock which hangs over tho harbor at Cape Town In South Africa. There are table rocks of marble hero In the Andes which look as though they had been cut by a sculptor. Going to Cerro de Pasco I saw frocks like those of tho Giant's Causeway, al though they were not of hexagonal share, and In riding through the moun tains I have seen castles of tho purest whlto marble; whfch In their grandeur excel those mighty ruins, tho work of man, on the Rhine. These mountains have all the colors of tho Colorado can yon. Now the rock Is blazing white above and a marble palace seems to have risen out of the golden rocks below, which In turn remind one of tho raised marbles of the Parthenon nt Athens. Here the rocks are brown, further on they nro blue, red or gray: The gray is the most prominent color close to the son. Much of tho formation Is limestone. Here the mountains are ragged and rough. Fur ther on they rls.e Into ruined cities. I saw. some the color of old red sandstone. Thoy made mo think of the grand fortifi cations of Delhi In India. I saw others which had spires like tho cathedrals of Cologne and Milan. These spires were as white as Carrara marble, and they glistened like snow under the sun. Other rocks were dome-shaped, and others ex tend In great waves showing the folds In the earth, forming curving walls of wonderful beauty. Vegetation ! Extraordinary. The vegetation of the Andes Is wonder ful. I have already written of tho Rimac valley, which broadens out Into an Irri gated plain at the sea and climbs Its winding way through narrow gorges, with patches of soil hero and thero to the top ot the coastal range to a height of almost three miles. This has sugar cane, cotton and orchards at tho base. Higher up are alfalfa apd. grass, and higher still aro small grains of various kinds. Fruits can bo grown alt the way to the top. For the first two miles of altitude the mountains about are almost altogether a desert. Then comes a sprinkling of green, with many witd flowers. Higher still the green deepens, and, after going over the pass and reach ing the high plateau which is upheld by the two mighty ranges of the Andes nearest the coast, you coma Into a land which seems to be a bed of green moss with tufts of grass here and there. This is the vegetation ot the high plateaus, which covers millions of Acres and sup ports vast herds of llamas and sheep. 1 rode for about 100 miles over those plains, passing flock after flock of fat sheop, with talis as big around as my arm. To my eyes they seemed to have Some of tho sheep aro owned by rich capitalists. There Is one firm which has 36,000 and another neor Cerro de Pasco which owns 00,000 and more. There arc also hundreds ot squuttcrs, Indians or Cholos, who havo small flocks. They live In llttlo houses about fifteen feet square, away out on tho plains. Their houses arc of mud or sod, with thatched roofs held down by rocks. Near them aro corrals for the stock. They are fenced with stone, and each pen contains an acre or so. Somo of these squatters have great flocks of llamas and others of donkeys. Now and then you see a double corral with donkeys in ono pen and llamas In the other. All ot tho stock Is herded. Every flock has Its roan or woman, who standi, unit knits or BDltlB as she watches it. Some of tho hcrds'T men are children, llttlo boys and girls of 10 or 12 years of ago, wno knit or spin as they care for tho sheep. Yield Good Profits. Tho great haciendas of the high Andes yield considerable money. There is one near La Foundlcton, which produces tens of thousands of poundB of wool every year. It belongs to Duncan, Fox & Co., of Lima, and It Is managed by a, Scotch man whose name Is McKcnzio. Tho farm has 06,000 sheep, which are kept in fenced fields and handled by shepherds from Scotland. The manager Is making many experiments In introducing now blood Into the flocks; and he has Scotch collie dogs, which he has Imported and Is cross ing with tho native dogs of Peru to pro duce a breed especially fitted for sheep raising on tho high Andes. I see many cattlo feeding on the nothing to eat, but they live on the moss o long that it carries tho great head f and te thin, fuzzy grass and grow fat. Hint for Coming Maternity In a little book designed for expectant mothers more complete Instruction Is given in tho use of "Mother's Friend," This is an external embrocation applied to tho abdominal muscles for tho purpose of reducing the strain on ligaments, cords and tendons. In thus bringing; relief and avoiding pain great good Is accomplished. It serves to ease the mind, Indirectly has a most beneficial effect upon tho nervous system and thousands of women have delightedly told how they were free of nausea, had no morning sickness and went through tho ordeal with jnost re markable success. "Mother's Friend" has been growing In popular favor for moro than forty years. In almost every com munity are grandmothers who used It themselves, their daughters have used it and they certainly must know what a blesilnff It is when they recommend It so warmly. Strictly an external application tt has no other effect than to eare the muscles, cords, tendons and ligaments Involved hence is perfectly safe to use by all women. It Is used very successfully to prevent caking of breasts. "Mother's Friend" Is prepared In tho laboratory of uradfleld Regulator Co., 4UI Lamar liWZ; Atlanta, a a. Q 1TURE COMPANY 24th and L Streets, South Omaha uaBity High Prices Low 9x12 Seamless Velvet Rugs at 9x12 Seamless Brussols Rugs at S9.75 9x12 Axminster Rugs at $14.00 $17.50 Complete Line of Wilton and Body Brussels Rugs SAVE YOUR BILL With our famous Leonard (Grand Rapids) Refrigerator; 20 styles to select from. LINOLEUM in ii Special Sale of Linoleum This Week Linoleum at Price of Oil Cloth. 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Make all this benefit, your own by . arranging to take a little time to investi gate some of the real estate advertise-: , ments in The Bee today while the very best bargains of the year are to be had. Study The Bee daily until you meet the home you have pictured in your mind . at your price. Look over the advertise- ,' ments today in the Classified Section.