We have already referred to the several railroads which start from the
little ports on the Pacific coast and run up the valleys toward the
Andes. Three of these, among the most remarkable roads in the world,
ascend to a greater elevation than any others, and to a height which
in Europe or the United States, would be above the snow level. They
were intended to reach the gold and silver mines between the Andes and
Cordilleras.
The first, called the Oroya or Central railroad, 111 miles in length,
starts from Callao on the Pacific, and crosses the Andes, at an
elevation of nearly 15,000 feet, to the plateau between the Andes and
the Cordilleras. It is expected that this road will be extended to the
navigable waters of the Amazon.
Three hundred miles southward, the second road runs from Mollendo,
Peru, by Arequipa to Puno on Lake Titicaca, and thence northward on
the plateau 407 miles to San Rosas, on the route to Cuzco. The road
from Mollendo to Arequipa runs through a country so destitute of water
that the only supply for {26} the engines and stations is by an iron
pipe 8 inches in diameter, and 50 miles long, running from an
elevation of 7,000 feet to the sea-coast.
Seven or eight hundred miles south of Mollendo, a line runs from
Valparaiso in Chili to Buenos Ayres, 870 miles. It crosses the Andes
through a tunnel two miles long, at an elevation of 10,568 feet above
the sea; after leaving the mountains it runs over the pampas two
hundred miles, without a curve or a grade over three feet above or
below the plain, and will soon be completed from ocean to ocean.
From Rio de Janeiro several roads have been constructed over the
mountains west of that city to different parts of Brazil. One of these
runs westwardly toward Bolivia.
Bolivia has recently granted concessions for the construction of a
road from La Paz to connect on the west with the Peruvian roads at
Lake Titicaca, and on the east with the Brazilian lines on the
Pacific; and thus ultimately a road will run from Mollendo on the
Atlantic ocean by Lake Titicaca and La Paz to Rio de Janeiro.
There are now from 6000 to 7000 miles of road in operation in the
Argentine Republic, 5000 to 6000 in Brazil, and 3000 to 4000 miles in
the other states, making a total of about 15,000 miles of railroad in
operation.
A proposition is now before the public for the construction of the
Pan-American railroad, from the Caribbean sea southward to the
Argentine Republic to connect with the Peruvian, with the Brazilian,
and ultimately with the Argentine roads.
The route that seems to be most feasible starts at Cartagena, where
there is a splendid bay and harbor, within three days sail from
Galveston and six days from New York. It follows the valley of the
Magdalena river 800 miles to Dividal, 1700 feet above the sea. Here,
near the head waters of the Magdalena, the route crosses the eastern
Cordilleras at an elevation of about 6,500 feet to the head waters of
the Caqueta, or Yapura, a branch of the Amazon, and thence runs down
that river 375 miles to the mouth of the Engarros, only 550 feet above
tide-water. From the Caqueta river, the route passes through Ecuador
to Iquitos, Peru, crossing fourteen tributaries of the Amazon. From
Iquitos the route ascends the Amazon and the Ucayle, one of its
southern tributaries, 500 miles to Napal, then continues across the
montaña {27} and the numerous valleys of the Amazon about 600 miles,
to Santa Cruz in Bolivia, or 2400 miles from Cartagena; while a branch
will run up the Apurimac to Cuzco.
This road would run for 2000 miles along the foot hills of the
Cordilleras, and in these mountains is probably the richest mining
region in the world; here gold, silver, copper, lead and coal mines
are found. The gold and silver mines do not seem to have been
thoroughly explored, although untold millions of the precious metals
have been extracted from them. These mines are generally in cold and
treeless regions, where coal, labor and food are difficult to obtain;
where freights are high and machinery of all kinds most expensive.
This road would greatly facilitate the opening and working of these
mines, and not only make them profitable but develop a large and
lucrative traffic.
Much of Bolivia is above the navigable waters of the Amazon, and many
of its provinces are now land-locked and almost isolated from
communication with the outer world. The proposed road would cross many
branches of the Amazon, and thus connect with fifty thousand miles of
navigable waters, at least 9000 of which are above Iquitos; and it is
claimed that the business from 20,000 miles of navigable waters would
find by this route a nearer outlet to Europe and America than by Para.
There is every variety of climate on the route. The valley of the
Magdalena is sultry; every afternoon the water grows tepid, and the
stones burning hot, in the sun's rays. In crossing the Cordilleras the
cool breezes of the mountains are met. The road then descends into the
valley of the Amazon, through a rich and not unhealthy region, though
it has the damp, hot, climate of a tropical country, and thence passes
through the montaña district, which is generally high, healthy and
fertile.
This country, under a wise government, is capable of sustaining an
immense population and giving abundant support to such a railroad; but
it is now unexplored, excepting the valleys of the navigable rivers,
and is uninhabited save by wild and savage Indians, though these are
not numerous.
The route up the Magdalena may be expensive by reason of the climate,
but not otherwise. The road in the mountain district will necessarily
be costly, and also in the sierras, because it must {28} cross the
numerous branches of the Amazon, and the precipitous mountains between
the valleys, and from the difficulty of obtaining labor and material
for construction. Mr. Orton, who crossed from one branch of the Napo
to another, says:
"We crossed the stream and the intervening ridges, and their name is
legion; sometimes we were climbing up an almost vertical ascent, then
descending into a deep dark ravine to find a furious river, while on
the lowlands the path seemed lost in the dense bamboos, until the
Indians opened a passage with their machetes and we crept under the
low arcade of foliage."
Even if the railroad were built, almost all the produce of the Amazon
and montaña country could be carried more cheaply by water to Para
than by rail to Cartagena; while goods from England and America would
be carried cheaper by steamer to the Isthmus of Panama, and thence to
all ports on the Pacific ocean, than by steamer to Cartagena and up
the Magdalena across the Andes to the valley of the Amazon, and then a
second time across the Andes to the Pacific ocean. The greater part of
the business to and from the mines would be by the railroad.
At present, as there could not be sufficient business to pay the
operating expenses of such a road, it must rely on government
subsidies to build and operate it.
Those who have given the most consideration to the subject say that
the road need not be an expensive one to operate, and in the important
element of time it would have a great advantage over the route via
Para. As a means of promoting the settlement of the country and
developing commerce, which cannot exist without population, the
railroad would seem to be a necessity, for navigation has neither
opened the country nor brought in emigrants and we may fairly assume
that it will not suffice in the future.