The old and the new Peru : $b A story of the ancient inheritance and the modern growth and enterprise of a great nationWright, Marie Robinson
History
The old and the new Peru : $b A story of the ancient inheritance and the modern growth and enterprise of a great nation
Wright, Marie Robinson
Peru; Peru -- History
The province of Tarata has also two capitals, the Chilean
authorities occupying Tarata, and the Peruvian government being centred
at Candarave, sixty miles from Locumba.
[Illustration: CALLE SAN MARTIN, NEAR PARK ENTRANCE, TACNA.]
The Sama valley is a rich agricultural district, its products including
sugar, cotton, maize, wine, and an abundance of pasturage for cattle and
horses. Ascending the valley from the coast, the scene is one of
continually increasing verdure and beauty. The Sama River receives its
chief tributaries, the Chaspaya, Tarata, and Estique, as it crosses the
province of Tarata, this region being also drained by the tributaries of
the Locumba,—the Curibaya and Ilabaya. In this valley are grown grapes
of a quality and flavor especially suitable for the sweet wines that are
manufactured here as well as in the neighboring valleys of Moquegua. On
the green uplands and along the banks of these rivers, cattle and horses
find pasture all the year round; and in the sierra, especially on the
high plateau near Puno, may be seen the alpaca and vicuña, from the
glossy coat of which are made fine and beautiful fabrics. The Cordillera
del Barroso, the name given to that part of the Andean range which
crosses Tacna and Arica, is described by Carlos Cisneros in his atlas of
Peru as _sui generis_ in configuration, not presenting the aspect of a
series of mountains sloping from lofty peaks to lower levels, but
forming rather a high plateau, fourteen thousand feet or more above sea
level, with colossal _cerros_, or peaks, rising here and there in
solitary grandeur. Their crests, once burning volcanoes, are now covered
with a perpetual mantle of snow. Here the vicuña loves to make his
haunts, far from the disturbing fears that drive him from inhabited
districts to find a home in the highest and coldest regions of the
sierra. Tutupaca, Chipicani, Sahama, and other extinct volcanoes of this
region present a wonderful sight in their sublime solitude.
[Illustration: VIEW OF THE SUMMIT OF THE SIERRA, TACNA.]
The completion of the new railway from Ilo to Moquegua is of importance
not only to the Littoral Province of Moquegua, but also to northwestern
Tacna and Tarata, which are thereby placed in closer and easier
communication with maritime traffic. The extension of this line to
Desaguadero would undoubtedly prove a strong competitor to the Arica and
La Paz route, as it would be shorter and over a less broken country. The
people of Peru strongly resent the continued postponement of the
plebiscite, feeling that Chile has taken unfair advantage of that
“possession which is nine-tenths of the law;” but it is hoped that in
the greater unity which has become a feature of the international policy
of South American countries—and which is particularly evident in the
readiness shown by all these republics to settle their disputes through
arbitration—a solution of this vexed question will be made satisfactory
to both of the governments concerned.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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