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Cornugaya Directory 07
Page 03
The geological formation of the Andes in that particular region was
remarkable, and more remarkable still was the British engineering triumph
of constructing a railway from the sea to so high an elevation. In one or
two places there were iron bridges of great height and ingenious
construction. You felt a curious sensation as you flew over those bridges
on the tiny car, and you saw between the rails the chasm underneath you;
nor did you feel extraordinarily comfortable when, hundreds of feet down,
down below, at the bottom of one chasm, you saw a railway engine which
had leapt the rails and lay upside down in the middle of a foaming
torrent.
I left Tarma on January 29th, following a well-cultivated valley, fairly
thickly inhabited. We were travelling over a good mule-track, swarming
with Indians, donkeys, mules, and horses. The mud houses and land on
either side were enclosed by hedges of cacti, or by walls. We were
between barren mountains of a brownish colour, against which the quaint,
brightly-coloured costumes of the many people on the road were thrown out
in vivid contrast. Most of the houses were constructed of large mud
bricks, sun-dried. The crops seemed to consist chiefly of Indian corn. As
we went farther, among dark brown rocks and limestone, we came to
grottoes and rock habitations. At some remote period there must have been
a great upheaval in that country--at least, judging by the sedimentary
foliated rock, the strata of which were from one to three feet thick, and
which had originally been deposited horizontally by water. These
accumulations or sediments now stood up at an angle of 45 deg.. We were now
in a region where llamas were plentiful--most delightful animals, with
their pointed ears pricked up, their luxuriant coats, and stumpy curled
tails.
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