"It has not been built as yet," was the reply, "though a portion of the work has been done. A company was formed in England, principally on paper, with important concessions from the governments interested. Engineers were sent out, together with a small force of laborers, but the project came to nothing. Then the enterprise was taken up by some Americans, who sent Colonel George E. Church, of New York, to complete the surveys and supervise the construction of the line. He reported favorably upon the prospects of business for the completed railway, which would be less than two hundred miles long. The line leaves the Madeira just below the first fall, and comes again to the Mamoré above the last one. It avoids the windings of the stream, and thus saves a considerable distance. "Colonel Church sounded the Mamoré for six hundred miles above the rapids, and found always a depth of at least fifteen feet, a width of six hundred feet, and an average current of two miles an hour. He visited Santa Cruz, Trinidad, Exaltacion, and some other Bolivian towns and cities, and was everywhere cordially welcomed. I am sorry that our time and facilities will not permit us to repeat his journey, as it is through a region rarely seen by travellers. Colonel Church was preceded by Mr. Keller, a German engineer; and the stories they tell are full of interest. [Illustration: PLAZA AND CHURCH AT EXALTACION.] "They describe Exaltacion as a dull, and, at first glance, a deserted town, standing a mile or more from the river. Many of its buildings are in ruins, and the walls of the houses are without paint or other ornament. The streets are wide, and the plaza is at least three hundred feet square; the church, with an isolated bell-tower, occupies one side of the plaza, while the other three sides are lined with the dwellings of the Indians, rarely more than a single story in height. The church is a large and well-constructed building; it is more than a century old, and has received very few repairs since the day of its completion. "The Indians living in the towns of Bolivia are nearly all devout Catholics, and have been carefully trained in the observances of the Church. It is said that when the first Jesuit missionary penetrated the Beni districts of Bolivia, from the frontier of the country, that had been partially civilized, he was immediately killed. Another followed soon after, and met the same fate, and then came another. "The Indians were astonished beyond description, as it appeared to them to be the same man they had twice put to death. He was identical in dress, appearance, and words, and evidently he was immortal. It would do no good to kill him a third time, and they held a consultation, and concluded he was a god. Thus concluding, they worshipped him, listened to his teachings, and adopted his religion, to which they have ever since remained faithful. [Illustration: MOJOS INDIANS CELEBRATING MASS.]