The only difficulty in the construction of the railway is where the Santa River breaks through the Black Cordillera to turn towards the coast, the narrow gorge being impracticable even for pedestrians. In this region and beyond are immense coal fields. These, chiefly anthracite and semi-anthracite, therefore non-coking, some people believed worthless, being ignorant that for many purposes hard coal is more valuable than soft. However there are also beds of bituminous. The coal deposits continue in the lateral valleys, where the owners use them merely for their own households. Samples run over 82 per cent carbon. A quarter of a mile from Caráz (population 8000) coal may be mined and put on trucks at $1.50 a ton. The Chuquisaca River from the north joins the Santa just before that breaks through the Cordillera. This Department is very mountainous. Besides the Santa, four rivers descend to the sea, _i.e._, they do sometimes; for, rising on the west of the Black Range, obviously so called because it has little snow on it, these rivers are often dry, yet they serve to irrigate many sugar plantations. At the mouth of the Santa River north of Chimbote is the village Santa, an occasional port of call for the _caletero_ (not express) boats, which regularly visit several ports below: Samanco, 27 miles of desert from Chimbote, Casma, after 50 miles more, and Huarmey, 55 beyond. Back of Samanco is the Nepeña River Valley with two large sugar plantations; and high in the Black Range, Colquipocro, one of the richest silver mines worked in Peru. Some of the selected ore ran as high as $2000 a ton, and large quantities averaged $200 when silver was 50 cents an ounce. Samanco and Casma are the usual ports for entering the Huailas Valley; Chimbote also serves. =Lima.= The Departments of Lima and Ica follow, in which the mountains come closer to the shore than in the greater part of the country, and the rivers except at the extreme south are nearer together. Thus the Departments exhibit much verdure, a larger proportion of the country being devoted to agriculture. A minor port of Lima is Supe, followed by Huacho, of more importance and connected with the capital by rail, 150 miles, passing Ancón, a frequented summer seashore resort. =Callao=, the port of Lima and the chief port of Peru, is with its suburbs a little Province all by itself, surrounded by the Department of Lima except on the ocean side. Cerro Azul is a more southern port in the Department of Lima, serving a very mountainous section, with fertile valleys producing sugar, cotton, vegetables, etc., and in the mountains many minerals. =Ica= is an extremely fertile Department, raising very fine grapes and other fruits, sugar cane and cotton; also corn, alfalfa, divi-divi, and ají, a kind of pepper much used in Peru and other countries. Wine making is a very important industry. Minerals exist, but are not much worked except a silver mine.