PERU  97

the  profits  to  go  to  the  State,  and  another  portion ­
  to  be  utilized  in  railway  extension.
The  Peruvian  Corporation,  it  should  be
stated,  was  organized  by  Europeans  holding
Peruvian  bonds  on  which  it  was  impossible  to
collect  the  guaranteed  interest,  due  to  the  mismanagement ­
  of  the  government  as  well  as  the
outcome  of  the  war  with  Chile.  This  corporation ­
  took  over  and  cancelled  the  indebtedness ­
  in  return  for  certain  privileges  among
which  was  the  right  to  exploit  the  railways. ­

To  Henry  Meiggs,  an  American  from  San
Francisco,  Peru  and  the  world  is  indebted  for
the  completion  of  what  are  the  most  marvelous
railways  on  the  globe.  By  a  series  of  twists
and  turns,  which  include  65  tunnels  and  67
bridges,  it  climbs  to  the  highest  point  in  the
world  ever  reached  by  a  railway,  15,665  feet
above  sea  level  in  a  distance  of  138  miles,  to
what  is  locally  called  “the  roof  of  the  world.”
Some  idea  of  the  rapidity  of  the  ascent  may
be  gained  when  I  state  that  in  the  first  twentyfive
  miles  from  Lima  the  train  ascends  2800