File:Chile and her people of to-day - an account of the customs, characteristics, amusements, history and advancement of the Chileans, and the development and resources of their country (1912) (14761022061).jpg

Identifier: chileherpeopleo00wint (find matches)
Title: Chile and her people of to-day : an account of the customs, characteristics, amusements, history and advancement of the Chileans, and the development and resources of their country
Year: 1912 (1910s)
Authors: Winter, Nevin O. (Nevin Otto), 1869-1936
Subjects: National characteristics, Chilean
Publisher: Boston : L. C. Oage
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto

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y legends, andsome of them believe that the souls of the lostenter the bodies of the condor and are thuspoised between heaven and earth, so as to seethe glories of both and be able to enjoy neither,like the doom of Tantalus. At last Caracoles, the name given to the lit-tle station at the Chilean end of the interna-tional railroad, is reached, at an elevation ofa little more than ten thousand feet above sealevel. The tunnel is just about the same lengthas the altitude, for it is ten thousand three hun-dred and eighty-five feet from entrance to exit.Near the centre of this hole bored through theAndean rock the international boundary ispassed, and, when the train emerges at LasCuevas, the other terminus, the travellercatches his first glimpse of Argentina. It isa scene of vast desolation that meets his gaze.It is a picture of solitude, with nothing to re-lieve it in the way of vegetation. The vividcolourings of the stratas of rock and the whitesummits of the many peaks in sight, however,
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The Backbone of the Continent 157 make it a scene of wild glory that uplifts thesoul at the majesty of nature. One standsaghast at the marvellous richness of colouringthat is revealed on every hand. The traveller may be thankful that he hasnot been obliged to traverse this pass in thewinter time. Nothing can surpass these vastridges clad in their winter dress. White andcold, they form a veritable valley of desolation.It is the cold of death, the white mantle ofannihilation — something that the brain canscarcely compass. The feeling of solitude inthe midst of the whiteness everywhere almostoverwhelms the traveller with despair. Inplaces the snow is frequently as much as fif-teen feet in depth, deep enough to bury a horseand rider. Sudden storms are likely to over-take the traveller, and he would be snowed inin one of the casuchas. These are shelters thatwere built at intervals along the pass for theprotection of travellers. They are dome-shaped structures which remind one of lime-kil

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