On the spur to Salta the first stop is Campo Santo, meaning "holy ground" or "cemetery." I am told that it is very appropriately named as the fevers here are exceedingly common and are of great virulence.
He who has been to Argentina and has failed to see the Lerma Valley is to be pitied. I have been told that the Cauca Valley in Colombia is one of nature's rare masterpieces, and I would like to have it compared with that of the Lerma by somebody who has seen both. Midway between Güemes and Salta we reach the Lerma River, and the high wooded hills narrow down to a defile, coming to the water's edge in some places which necessitates the train in some places to pass through tunnels. An occasional charcoal burner's hut is seen, but no other habitations. Suddenly the defile ends, the river is crossed, and a long valley several miles wide is entered, its whole floor in a high state of cultivation and dotted with farmhouses. Near at hand are green foothills, which afford pasture for stock. Behind are wooded mountains. The whole panorama is beautified by the high Andes to the west and north whose summits are capped with perpetual snow. The city of Salta is approached; its many towers and Gothic spires, together with its setting at the base of wooded mountains, brings to one's mind visions of cities of Central Europe.
Cathedral and Bishop's Palace, Salta
The Province of Salta has an area of 62,184 square miles and had 185,643 inhabitants according to the last census, that of 1914. It is divided into twenty-one departments which are analogous to the counties of our states. There is a great variation of soil and climate ranging from barrenness and frigidity in the high Andes to exuberant vegetation and torrid heats in the department of Oran. The principal industry is the exportation of stock into Chile. A railroad to Chile seems to be the want of the inhabitants. They say that if one were built to Antofagasta, they would need no trade with the rest of Argentina for then all their exports would be sent north by the Pacific boats, and their imports from the United States would be brought in that way, saving a great expense in freight. This is only too true. Argentina is willing that such a railroad should be built, but the Chilean Government has refused permission on the grounds that there would be a great exodus of population from their barren northern provinces to the fruitful country across the Andes, namely Salta and Jujuy. There has always been more or less enmity between Argentina and Chile over a national boundary dispute regarding the limits of the Province of Salta, whose productive soil the first-mentioned country is jealous of. The question once nearly precipitated a war and the statue of the Cristo Redentor is a monument of the pact of peace.
Whenever nature bestows opulence on a country, it invariably endows it with setbacks. This it did in Salta by giving it fevers and venomous snakes. The chuchu fever is the commonest disease and although not so prevalent as in the Province of Tucumán, it is here in a more malignant form. It is conveyed by the bite of the mosquito and much resembles ague, excepting that the body is racked by pains, each day in a different place. It is supposed never to leave the system, quinine availing but little. It weakens the heart and in this way death is caused, but only after several or more years. Some people never have it, and, by the healthy looks of the inhabitants and by the number of aged people to be seen in Salta, I do not believe its effects are as dangerous as is claimed. Among the snake family there are some venomous species, notably the viper and the cascabel. The bite of the latter is synonymous with sure death.
The city of Salta, whose population is estimated at twenty-eight thousand exclusive of a garrison of two thousand soldiers, is one of the best built cities and, for its size, one of the liveliest towns in Argentina. Its streets are paved with creosote blocks as in Paris; it has an electric car system and all the progressive improvements. Its buildings are modern two-story structures, and old houses of the Colonial period with ornate carved wood entrances. On February 20, 1813, General Arenales defeated the Spaniards on a plain north of the town, and a few years ago at a Centennial to celebrate the event, a handsome monument of stone with bronze martial bas-reliefs, surmounted by a female statue of Liberty holding aloft a cross, was unveiled on the battle ground and is regarded by the Saltenos as the pride of their town. The principal plaza of the city is named in honor of the hero, Arenales, and a monument is soon to be placed on the brick base in the center of this square which formerly was graced by a squat obelisk. The principal club of the city is likewise named after the victory, its nomenclature being the 20th of February Club. This edifice faces the plaza and is by far the most modern building in Salta; it is the only building in the city that is three stories high. Many cities of half a million inhabitants cannot boast of so fine a club regarding interior furnishings. The wood carving, which is of Salta oak and cedar is of native workmanship; the Saltenos are famous in that art and I doubt if anywhere woodcarving by hand is done better. The parquet flooring of the club ballroom makes the visitor gasp with amazement when he is told that the work and the wood are all local. On the furniture of this club, which is even equipped with a gymnasium, no expense has been spared. The ballroom chairs of Marie Antoinette style are upholstered with silk, and the massive candelabra are of the choicest Venetian glass. The toilet room, I am pleased to relate, is one of the very few that I visited in Argentina that is kept clean.
The buildings around the Plaza Arenales are all arcaded, but the only one of architectural interest is the old Cabildo, or city hall, of Spanish times. It is a low, squat, long structure of massive walls and with rounded arches forming the arcades. A low, pointed tower rises above the center. The lower floor of this building is now given up entirely to stores while the upper ones are leased for dwelling purposes.