hich 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.

We came to a steep ascent over a high pass, where the cold wind was
fierce. On reaching the pass I found myself on a grassy plateau in which
were to be seen two circles of stones by the side of each other.

The partition of the waters flowing into the River Mantaro and the River
Tarma took place at the point called Ricran, not far from the high pass
we had crossed. It was always advisable when taking the journey between
Tarma and Oroya to start early in the morning, so as to be on that pass
before noon. In the afternoon the wind was intensely cold and frequently
accompanied by violent storms of hail and rain.

I arrived in the evening at Oroya, the distance from Tarma being 30 kil.
236 m. The journey between the two places could be accomplished on a good
mule in five or six hours. Oroya was an important point for me, as it was
there that I saw the first railway since leaving Araguary in Brazil
nearly a year before.

Oroya is perhaps one of the highest railway stations in the world, its
accurate elevation by boiling-point thermometers being 12,156 ft.

The town, like all termini of railway lines, was not an attractive place.
There were two or three hotels, all extremely bad. One began to feel the
effects of civilization in the dishonesty of the people.

Early the next morning, thanks to arrangements made by Mr. D. T. Lee, I
was allowed to take the journey to Lima in a "gravity car," in the
company of the engineer, Mr. Beverley R. Mayer, instead of by the usual
train, which ran twice a week. Of course it was only possible to go by
"gravity car" from the highest point of the railway, which is not at
Oroya, but at the tunnel of Galera, 5,356 m. (17,572 ft.) above the
sea-level as measured by the railway surveyors.

[Illustration: a Toboggan Slide of Rock.]

[Illustration: An Inca Grave, Bolivia.]

The scenery was magnificent on that railway. Having gone through the
Galera tunnel, Mr. Mayer and I got on the small "gravity car," keeping
all the time just in front of the train. It was quite an exciting
journey, the incline being so great that we soon acquired a vertiginous
speed--in fact