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.
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.
EL CHUPIQUIÑA, AN EXTINCT VOLCANO IN TACNA.
A GOLD TRAIN EN ROUTE FROM SANTO DOMINGO TO TIRAPATA WITH BULLION IN BARS.
CHAPTER XXVI
MINES OF THE SIERRA AND OTHER REGIONS
