CHAPTER 75 (1923—continued) Visit Lima, Cusco in Peru—Pass through Bolivia to Chile—Experience in Valparaiso— Important Meetings in Santiago—Cross the Andes Mountains—Sojourn in Argentina. Wed., Mar. 7. We met a Mr. Lind, a fellow-passenger on the “Santa Luisa,” and took breakfast together. We then visited the great cathedral on the beautiful Plaza de Armas, in Lima, where we saw the bones or mummified remains of Pizarro, the conqueror of Peru. We next took an automobile ride to places of interest and then called on Dr. Alehandro Puente, who received us very kindly and immediately set to work to obtain audience for us with His Excellency Augusto B. Leguia, president of the Republic of Peru. He saw the president who in the midst of some special meeting with representatives of Central American republics could not receive us until the next day, which of course would be too late for our itinerary; but he dictated letters of introduction to the prefects of Cusco and Arequipa, which Dr. Puente gave us as we called on him again at noon. We also called to see Hon. Alberto Salamon, Peruvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, but failed to make connections with him. But this gentleman afterwards sent a special messenger on board the “Santa Luisa” with letters of introduction to the prefects of Cusco and Arequipa and another officer at Molindo. This messenger came on board just before the ship sailed. While in Lima we visited the office of “The West Coast Leader,” the only English newspaper published at that time in South America between Panama and Valparaiso. Finally we visited the Museum and then returned to Callao. There we took a walk and then went back to the ship, which lifted anchor at 6.00 p.m. After sailing past the barren island of San Lorenzo we were once more on the broad face of the Pacific. We had enjoyed our short visit in Lima, which is one of the oldest cities in America, being founded by Pizarro in 1535 and at the time we were there had a population of nearly 250,000. Callao, the seaport of Lima, had about 50,000 inhabitants in 1923. Thurs., Mar. 8. We cast anchor for a short time off the seaport town of Pisco and after that found ourselves sailing between the mainland on our left and some barren yet pic- turesque island on our right. The weather was cool and pleasant. A heavy mist hung over the land looking east so that the Andes Mountains were hardly visible, although not so very far away. The coast was still barren, and looked like a continuous desert. Only where a river puts into the ocean, or where irrigation had been resorted to, was there anything green in sight. In the evening Captain Dexter invited Bro. Page and me into his cabin and chart room and took great pains to give us information about navigation, showing us the different CHAPTER 75 559 uses to which the nautical or astronomical instruments on board were put in steering and managing the ship’s machinery. Capt. Dexter was a native of Nova Scotia, about 40 years old. He was sociable and well posted in regard to affairs generally. Without entering into a religious discussion, we explained briefly some of the fundamentals of “Mormonism.” Fri., Mar. 9. About sunrise we were sailing a few miles from the Peruvian shore, which at this point was skirted with lofty but barren desert hills. The sky was clear, but every day the weather seemed to get colder as we got further away from the equator and reached the point where the cold Humboldt current strikes the coast nearer the Antarctic south. About 11 o’clock a.m. the ship cast anchor off Mollenda, and about an hour later we bade farewell to the “Santa Luisa” and landed, being hoisted from the launch (which took us ashore from the ship) in a chair to the top of the wall. After attending to mail matters and taking a walk through the town which contained about 10,000 inhabitants, we boarded a Southern Peru Railway train and started for the inland town of Arequipa, 107 miles away. This railway journey was very interesting as we climbed the mountains to an elevation of 7,750 feet above sea level, most of the way through a genuine desert where the only green spots were a few cultivated acres by the various railway stations, and these spots were irrigated from a pipe line built in connection with the railway from Arequipa to Mollenda. The building of the railway exhibits great engineering skill indeed, the climbing being made over a somewhat easy grade all the way. We arrived at Arequipa at 8 o’clock p.m. and hired an automobile to take us to the “Quinta Bates Home” at 604 Jerusalem St., where we engaged lodging and board for four days as it was considered best to stop in Arequipa a few days in order to become used to the high altitude, instead of going still higher at once. After taking a walk to the “Plaza,” and back, we returned to the “Home” but the high altitude would not grant us sound slumber. Arequipa has about 60,000 inhabitants and is in point of population the second city in Peru. It lies near the foot of Mount Mista, whose snow-capped summit is 18,960 feet above sea level. We found the atmosphere cold and invigorating at Arequipa and our heavier clothing comfortable. Sat., Mar. 10. Elder Page and I spent the forenoon visiting cathedrals, churches, gov- ernment buildings, and other places of interest at Arequipa. In the afternoon we took street car rides to Tingo Miroflores. We also waited on Dr. Juan Manuel de la Torre, the prefecto of the Department of Arequipa, to whom the president of Peru had given me a letter of introduction. As the prefect could not speak English and we could not speak Spanish, we had to converse through an English-speaking Peruvian. Sun., Mar. 11. Together with four other persons (two men and their wives) Bro. Page and I walked about four miles across the Chili River and through the village of Yanaguara to the Harvard University Observatory which is situated on elevated ground overlooking Arequipa and the whole basin in which it is situated. Here we were kindly received by Prof. Bailey, who had charge of the observatory. He made explanations to us concerning the telescopes and other instruments, and permitted us to look through one of the power- ful telescopes at Mount Mista, 11 miles distant, on which an iron cross, 30 feet high, had been erected by the observatory men. Two other mountains, namely, Chachani, 20,000 feet high, and Pechu Pichu, 18,967 feet high, raise their snowy summits heavenward near Arequipa as parts of the Andes range. In the afternoon we took an automobile ride to the so-called Jesus Springs (mineral water) and thus had another splendid view of the Arequipa Basin from a point high up on the mountain side. These springs are about eight miles from Arequipa. On this trip we saw the first llamas which we had seen in South America. 560 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ANDREW JENSON Mon., Mar. 12. We purchased railway tickets for La Paz, via Cusco, and changed some of our American currency for Peruvian money. Tues., Mar. 13. We left Arequipa and started on our long railway journey further inland. As we proceeded up a heavy grade, we saw beautiful fields and gardens as long as irrigation was continued, but after that there was nothing but badlands with an occasional plot of irrigated spots, at the base of the foot hills of the Andes Mountains. After traveling 44 miles we had reached an altitude of 12,000 feet above sea level and crossed the summit of the Andes at an elevation of 14,688 feet. The descent on the east slope was quite steep, and we soon passed between two large mountain lakes, and after crossing another divide we found ourselves following a river, and thence across a broad pampas or plain, until we reached Juliaca, a small railroad town. Here we lodged at the Ratti Hotel for the night. Both the room we occupied and the food served us were miserable. We also felt the alti- tude quite oppressive, that of Juliaca being 12,550 feet above the level of the sea. The least exertion made us pant for breath and in order to sleep we had to place a very high pillow under our heads. Our hearts beat unusually fast and we began to feel concerned about our physical condition, but while we did not sleep soundly during the night, we breathed more freely after relaxing from all physical exertions. During the day, as we traveled along, we saw numerous herds of llamas and alpacas and a number of Indian villages and ranches, where the habits and industries of the inhabitants were most interesting to us. Some of the country through which we passed reminded us of our mountain country in Utah. Juliaca is 189 miles by rail from Arequipa. Wed., Mar. 14. After partaking of a very poor breakfast we boarded the semi-weekly train for Cuzco and rolled out of Juliaca. Our course was northward up the Rio Pucaro and its tributaries until we reached the summit of the mountains, 14,153 feet above sea level, at Santa Raya, 99 miles from Juliaca. This summit divides the waters draining into Lake Titicaca from those falling into the Atlantic Ocean through the great Amazon River system.