distance of 167 miles (268.76 kilometers), has been estimated at $5,217,112, or about $31,240 per mile ($19,412 per kilometer).

Near the junction of the rivers just mentioned, the location enters the Province of Azuay-a tributary of the Azogues, the Río Sarampallo, forming at this place the boundary between the provinces of Cañar and Azuay. The latter Province is said to contain a population of about 132,000 people. It comprises the important interandean basins of Cuenca and the Jubones or Oña. Its principal industries are agriculture, stock-raising, commerce, some good placer-mining, hat manufacture, and the extraction of quinine. Cuenca is the capital of the Province as well as that of the canton in which it is situated, holding the second place among the cities of the interior and the third among those of the Republic. The population of the city and its vicinity has been estimated as high as 40,000 inhabitants. The surrounding neighborhood is better cultivated and more pleasant than that of Quito, and the climate somewhat milder. The appearance of the town is said to produce an agreeable impression, although neither the public nor private buildings are notable from an architectural point of view. Besides a cathedral, it possesses seven churches, a seminary, a national college, a university, a lazaretto, hospital, etc. The engineers of Corps No. 3 were elegantly entertained at this place-a full description.of the festivities can be found in the report of that Corps. The climb out of Cuenca Basin is readily effected, on easy gradients, by ascending the valley of the Río Tarqui, which carries the location to the Nudo de Portete, which is likewise crossed, without a tunnel, at a point 265 miles (426.47 kilometers) from Quito, or 424 miles (682.36 kilometers) from the Río Carchi, and at an elevation of about 9,340 feet, 30 feet below the summit.

The descent of the southern declivity of the Nudo de Portete y Tinajillas into the Oña Basin requires an expensive and troublesome development, the proposed location following the mountain-side above Masta and Jirón-3,000 souls-not far from the valley of the river of the same name, the gradient varying from level stretches to that requiring a fall of 3.3 per 100 feet, until the Río Oña is crossed at a point 312 miles (502.11 kilometers) from Quito; elevation 6,240 feet. Thence an ascending gradient soon carries the line to within three miles (4.83 kilometers) of the village of Oña-equal in size to Jirón—and twisting around the spur projecting into the space formed by the union of the Oña and Zaraguro rivers, the line follows the valley of the latter stream for some distance, the town of the same name being situated about two miles (3.22 kilometers) to the right of the proposed location. Zaraguro is the head of its canton, is a fair-sized town of about 5,000 inhabitants, mostly robust and hard-working Indians. It is the first town met

after entering the Province of Loja, which is said to have a population of about 66,000 people. The terrain here is mountainous but quite varied, the Province comprising regions ranging in climate from the arctic to the torrid. The principal industries are agriculture, stock-raising-especially the breeding of mules-extraction of quinine, and commerce.

Crossing the headwaters of the Río Zaraguro, the line attains the Nudo de Ramos-urcu, which is crossed by tunneling, at an elevation of 9,900 feet above sealevel and 347 miles (558.44 kilometers) from Quito, the location having ascended, since crossing the Río Оña, some 3,660 feet in a distance of 35 miles (56.33 kilometers).

Descent is now made into the Loja Basin, by means of a steep gradient, a tributary of the Río Zamora being generally followed, and near San Lucas another tunnel through a projecting spur, some six miles (9.66 kilometers) after crossing the Nudo de Ramos-urcu, is needed. Continuing to follow the valley of the tributary just spoken of, to its junction with the Río Zamora, the Río Loja is crossed a short distance above this junction and some 10 miles (16.09 kilometers) before reaching the town of that name. Thence ascending the Río Loja, which is a tributary of the Zamora, and tunneling through three projecting spurs, the town of Loja, situated at an elevation of 7,138 feet, is attained at a distance of 379 miles (609.94 kilometers) from Quito, the proposed location and the town being on opposite sides of the river, the town lying about 100 feet below the grade of the line. Loja is the capital of the Province and also the head of its canton, is regularly laid out, but contains no noteworthy edifices. Its population, and that of its immediate neighborhood, is about 18,000. It enjoys a mild and salubrious climate; has a cathedral, four churches, a hospital, a seminary, and a college.

Still ascending the valley of the Río Loja, the Nudo de Cajanuma is reached at a point 385.5 miles (620.40 kilometers) from Quito, and is crossed by a short tunnel; elevation about 8,160 feet.

Descent is next made into the Vilcabamba Basin, a very tortuous development and four tunnels being required to carry the line to the neighborhood of the small village of Vilcabamba, population 600 souls, lying opposite the 407th milepost (655.00 kilometers) from Quito, and some 1,300 feet below the proposed location. Thence continuing with a development equally crooked, but on easier gradients, the neighborhood of Yangana, 200 souls, is passed at 420 miles (675.92 kilometers) from Quito, and the ascent made, at first gradually but later more steeply, to the Nudo de Sabanilla, which is passed by means of a tunnel at a point 433 miles (696.84 kilometers) from Quito, elevation about 8,500 feet, the nudo.

rising some 900 feet above the level of the tunnel. A crooked development and a steep gradient are necessary to carry the location into the Valladolid Basin, the town of that name being touched at a point about 449 miles (722.59 kilometers) from Quito. Thence, taking advantage of the valleys of the Río Chinchipe and its tributaries, the line passes by Lúrdez, crosses the Río Palanda, and running near the town of the same name, with many ups and downs and several tunnels, crosses the Río Simanche 479 miles (770.87 kilometers) from Quito, and continuing via Zumba, over rough country, finally reaches the Río Canchis, a tributary of the Chinchipe and the boundary line between Ecuador and Perú, at a point 499 miles (803.06 kilometers) from Quito, 658 miles (1,058.94 kilometers) from the Río Carchi; elevation 3,300 feet.

The cost for grading, masonry and bridges between Cuenca and the Río Canchis, a distance of 252 miles (405.55 kilometers), has been estimated at $15,062,878, or an average of $59,773 per mile ($37,142 per kilometer).

The cost between Quito and the Río Canchis, a distance of 499 miles (803.06 kilometers), has been estimated at $21,746,257, or an average of $43,579 per mile ($27,079 per kilometer).

The cost for the entire line through Ecuador, from the Río Carchi to the Río Canchis, 658 miles (1,058.94 kilometers), has been placed at $26,863,855, or an average of $40,827 per mile ($25,369 per kilometer).

The total distance from Ayutla, across the seven republics of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Colombia and El Ecuador, to the crossing of the Río Canchis, is 3,055.04 miles (4,916.57 kilometers), of which 211.3 miles (340.05 kilometers) are built, and 2,843.74 miles (4,576.51 kilometers) remain to be constructed, at an estimated cost for grading, masonry and bridges of $77,756,796.84.

VIII.

EL PERÚ.

The Republic of Perú is bounded on the north by Ecuador, on the east by Brazil, on the south by Chile and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. In common with the other countries of South America, its boundaries are more or less in dispute, and consequently it is impracticable to definitively determine its extent; however, the area of the Republic is generally accepted as comprising about 464,000 square miles, and according to the last census available, viz., that of 1876, the population was 2,621,844, exclusive of about 350,000 uncivilized Indians who

dwell in the forest region to the east of the Andean chain, à section which is designated by the natives as La Montaña. It is stated that nearly 60 per cent. of the population of Perú are aborigines or Indians, and about 23 per cent. are of the mixed races, cholos and zambos; the remainder are chiefly the descendants of Spaniards. Lima has a population of over 100,000, Callao over 35,000, and Arequipa about the same as Callao. The Republic is divided into 19 departments, the area and population of which, according to the last census taken, are as follows:-Piura, 13,931 English square miles, population 135,502; Cajamarca, 14,188 English square miles, population 213,391; Amazonas, 14,129 square miles, population 34,245; Loreto, 32,727 square miles, population 61,125; Libertad, 15,649 square miles, population 147,541; Ancachs, 17,405 square miles, population 284,091; Lima and Callao, 14,760 square miles, population 226,922 and 34,492 respectively; Huancavelica, 10,814 square miles, population 104,155; Huánuco and Junín, 33,822 square miles, population 78,856 and 209,871 respectively; Ica, 6,295 square miles, population 60,111; Ayacucho, 24,213 square miles, population 142,205; Cuzco, 95,547 square miles, population 238,445; Puno, 39,743 square miles, population 256,594; Arequipa, 27,744 square miles, population 160,282; Moquegua, 22,516 square miles, population 28,786; Apurimac, 62,325 square miles, population 119,246; Lambayeque, 17,939 square miles, population 85,984. In consequence of the war with Chile, the latter annexed the Province of Tarapacá; the Chileans have also occupied the provinces of Tacna and Arica for 12 years, and a popular vote is soon to decide to which country these provinces shall finally belong.

The executive power is entrusted to a President. There are two Vice-Presidents, who take the place of the former only in case of his death or incapacity. They are elected for four years. The Cabinet consists of six ministers-Interior, War, Foreign Affairs, Justice, Finance, and Public Works. The acts of the Executive require the signature of a minister to give them force. The legislative power is vested in a Senate and House of Representatives, the former composed of deputies from the provinces, there being one for every 30,000 inhabitants, and the latter of representatives nominated by the electoral colleges of the provinces of each Department, at the rate of two when the Department has two provinces, with an additional member for every other two provinces.

The foreign commerce of Perú is chiefly with Great Britain and Germany, the principal ports being Callao, Paita, Etén, Salaverry, Chimbote, Pisco, and Mollendo. In 1896 the imports amounted to 17,500,000 soles, and the exports to 25,500,000. The chief exports are sugar, silver and silver ore, cotton, wool, rubber, cocaine and coca-leaves. The chief imports are cotton goods, woolens, iron

wrought and unwrought-and machinery. It is said that one third of the imports are from Great Britain, one sixth from Germany, the balance principally from Chile, France, and the United States, while one half of the exports go to Great Britain and one fourth to Chile. The chief productions of Perú are cotton, coffee, and sugar; the exports of the former article reached 5,500 tons in 1895. The principal coffee-growing district is that of Chanchamayo, where the Peruvian Corporation is making roads and bridges and introducing colonists. The Corporation has a concession of about 5,000,000 acres, one fourth of which lie in the valley of the Perené, which is being gradually opened so as to bring Perú into communication with Europe by means of the Ucayali and Amazonas rivers. The annual export of coffee is about 1,060 tons. The sugar industry is carried on principally in the coast region. The total area devoted to its cultivation is about 190,000 acres. In the years 1896-97 the amount produced was 65,000 tons. Cacao, rice, tobacco, wines and spirits, and maize, are also produced. There are ten factories for the extraction of cocaine. India-rubber, cinchona, dyes, and medicinal plants are products of the country, while the alpaca and vicuña furnish wool. The deposits of guano are famous for their extent and value. Among the minerals, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, quicksilver, coal, salt, sulphur, and petroleum are to be found. Important silver-mining districts are those of Cerro de Pasco, Caylloma, Castrovireina, and Recuay. In 1896, 170,000 marks of silver were produced and melted into bars at Cerro de Pasco, each mark being equal to eight ounces; the total silver production of that year is estimated at 3,300,000 ounces. In the Province of Paita there exist vast petroleum beds, and much capital has been expended in their development, but, however, without sufficiently encouraging results.

For the purpose of better understanding the difficulties involved in the railroad problem through Perú, some words upon its physical geography will be

necessary.

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Let us assume for the northern boundary the Río Canchis to its junction with the Río Chinchipe and then that stream to its union with the Marañón, the latter forming for many miles the dividing line between Ecuador and Perú. By an examination of the map accompanying this report (see Map IV), a fair idea of the topographic features of the region can be obtained. There is not as much regularity in the trend of the mountain masses in Perú as exists in Ecuador, consequently a description will not be so easy a matter.