mining and agricultural regions of the Andean highlands. Under Meiggs the grade was prepared for practically the entire distance and tracks were laid as far as Chicla, within ten miles of the pass. The distance was multiplied by the difficulties of the terrain, for few, if any, railroads have been built through more rugged country. The canyons through which it passes are so steep in some places that platforms for the surveyors had to be cut right out of the solid-rock walls. In all, 61 bridges and 65 tunnels had to be built. Lack of room for curves made necessary 21 V's or simple switchbacks and five zig-zags, or compound switchbacks, so that during much of the run the passenger scarcely knows whether he is going forward or backward. Some of the stories told of incidents that occurred during the construction of this line serve to give an idea of its builder. According to one of these, a young engineer working a particularly difficult section. complained to Meiggs, "We can't run a railroad along there in that sliding shale!" Don Enrique (as he was called by his Latin American friends) answered "Can't, eh? Well, young man, that's just where she's got to go, and if you can't find room for her on the ground, we'll hang her from balloons." To appreciate fully what Meiggs and his men achieved, one must realize that the entire region was barren and treeless, and all provisions, iron, coal, timber, tools, grain, and fodder had to be brought over the mountain trails on mules or llamas. And what was worse, many of these supplies had to be imported from foreign countries. Accidents and disease killed many of the workers. As on the Arequipa-Mollendo road, large numbers of Chilean workers were used, and, in addition, Meiggs imported thousands of Chinese. However, at the higher altitudes Peruvian Indians were employed almost exclusively. Work on this and all the other unfinished projects Meiggs had on hand were paralyzed in August 1875 by his own and the Government's financial difficulties. During the remaining two years of his life Meiggs worked feverishly to save himself from bankruptcy and was barely able to do so. He never got his projects going again. Broken in body and spirit, he died in Lima on September 30, 1877. No public monument has been erected to honor Henry Meiggs, but he needs none besides the great railroads he built. Whatever may have been his misdoings, there is no denying that he possessed a measure of greatness and that he left his mark on South America. Minor Cooper Keith-Another Railroad Pioneer The saga of Henry Meiggs' achievements in Chile and Peru has a worthy sequel in the story of those of his nephew, Minor Cooper Keith, in Central America. In 1871 Henry Meiggs signed a contract with the Government of Costa Rica providing for the construction of that country's first steam railway, which was to link Limón on the Caribbean coast with the highland towns of Cartago, San José (the capital), Heredia, and Alajuela, a total of 117 miles. Unable to go to Costa Rica himself, he sent his nephew Henry Meiggs Keith, who had worked with him in Peru, to take charge of the project. Young Henry lost no time in persuading his 23-year-old brother Minor to come to Costa Rica and work with him. Operations were begun early in 1872, with Henry concentrating on the highland end where the climate was agreeable at 4,000-5,000 feet and poor Minor starting from the steaming Limón end. The first locomotive as well as cars and other equipment were brought the 50 miles from Punta Arenas on the Pacific to Alajuela on the highland plateau, 3,000 feet above sea level, by trains of oxcarts. Henry's end of the line reached San José in December 1872, and Cartago, 26 miles from Alajuela, in November 1893, and its arrival at each point was observed with much feasting, dancing, and music. In order to push the other end through, Minor and his men had to drain swamps, clear dense jungle, and wage an eternal battle against snakes, alligators, mosquitos, and sandflies. The rain fell incessantly, the heat was stifling, and, worst of all, malaria, dysentery, and other diseases broke out among the workers. Hundreds of these men, who had been gathered from the four corners of the earth, died before the job was done. Yet, in spite of all this, Minor Keith got his line as far as Matina, about 20 miles from Limón, as soon as the first train from the Pacific end reached Cartago. Unfortunately, Costa Rica's funds ran out in late 1873 and work had to be temporarily abandoned. Matters im1 proved somewhat by 1875 and in that year John Myers and Andrew Douglas were entrusted with taking the railroad from Matina to the Reventazón River. In 1879 Minor C. Keith, then 31 years of age, returned from his temporary retirement and undertook to build the section from the Reventazón to the Sucio. In the meantime both Henry Meiggs and Henry Meiggs Keith had died, so he was entirely on his own. In spite of the labor shortage caused by the construction of other public works in Costa Rica and by the French attempt to build a Panama Canal, he managed to gather together 1,000 workers of assorted nationalities. Again the men died by the hundreds but Courtesy of the United Fruit Co. MINOR COOPER KEITH The saga of Henry Meiggs' achievements in Chile and Peru has a worthy sequel in the story of those of his nephew, Minor Cooper Keith, in Central America. the work went on. Keith also had a contract to build a highway from Sucio to San José, and by mid-1882 both this road and the railroad from Limón to Sucio were ready to go into service. Keith was by that time a man of no small renown. Not content with merely building the railroad, Keith looked ahead to its future need for freight, and while it was being constructed he was active in encouraging the growing of bananas along its route. Eventually, he opened a steamship company of his own and carried on the production and sale of bananas on a large scale. Later he helped form the United Fruit Company and became its vicepresident. Shortly after the completion of the Limón-Sucio section of the railroad, Keith began a three-year period of working under contract with the Government to scale down the old foreign debt, float new bonds, and form a British railroad company to back the laying of the 50 miles of track needed to complete the LimónCartago section of the line. Once this company was formed, Keith obtained the construction contract and the work was taken up again in August 1886. Four years later the Limón-Alajuela railroad, which had cost so greatly in "blood, sweat, and tears" since it was started 18 years before, was finally finished. At the celebration festivities Keith was given unlimited praise and called a "modern Hercules" for whom life was synonymous with struggle and achievement. Costa Rica was not the only Central American country to benefit from the abilities of Minor Keith. In 1904 he and a partner named William Van Horne undertook to complete the Guatemala Northern Railroad, which was to run the 200 miles from Puerto Barrios, the chief port on the Caribbean, to Guatemala City, the capital of the country, 4,900 feet above sea level. This railroad had been a thorn in the side of the government and of the long series of contractors who had been involved in its construction since work on it was started twenty-one years before. All eyes were turned on Keith and his partner. Could they succeed when so many others had failed? Could they push the ill-fated line through when so many cards were stacked against them? Owing to Guatemala's current financial status, it was hard to raise capital, and the partners were forced to cut deeply into their own reserves. Then there was the labor shortage, which they had to get around by importing workers from the United States and the West Indies. By 1906 they had hundreds of men on the job-reconstructing the old sections, building bridges, and laying the 50 miles of new track. This new section had to be built over mountain barriers, and many tunnels had to be cut through solid rock. In January 1908 the sceptics got their answer when the road was opened for service. President Estrada Cabrera drove the last spike and, with his cabinet and the diplomatic corps, travelled on the first passenger train to Puerto Barrios. Keith dreamed of eventually linking his railroads in a great trunk line that would connect the Central American Republics with both North and South America, but when he died in 1929 his dream was still unfilled. Spanish Pages El Lenguaje de los Animales UN arriero iba un día con su recua de burros por un camino, cuando oyó un silbido que salía de la selva cercana; no sabiendo lo que aquello pudiera ser, penetró en la espesura, con cuidado, siguiendo el ruido para descubrir la causa. Muy pronto vió que la yerba y las hojas se habían prendido en fuego y en medio de un círculo de llamas distinguió a una serpiente silbando. El hombre se paró a ver lo que haría la serpiente, pues todo era fuego en su derredor y las llamaradas se le iban acercando. En cuanto el reptil divisó al arriero le gritó: -¡ Buen arriero, amigo mío! ¡Líbrame de este fuego! El arriero alargó su garrote por encima de la llama; la serpiente se enroscó en el palo y subió hasta la mano del hombre y de la mano se deslizó hasta el cuello y se enroscó en la garganta. El arriero tuvo miedo y dijo a la serpiente: -¡ Pero, cómo es posible! ¡Te he salvado la vida, y ahora quieres ahogarme! El animal respondió: -Nada temas; pero llévame a casa de mi madre, que es la reina de las serpientes.... Cuando mi madre te ofrezca todo lo que puedas desear, plata, oro, joyas, todo lo más precioso de la tierra, no aceptes nada de eso, y pide únicamente que te haga comprender el lenguaje de los animales. Hablando así llegaron al interior de la caverna, y la reina de las serpientes preguntó a su hija con mucha ansiedad: -Pero, hija mía, ¿en dónde has estado? La llamas y el arriero le salvó la vida. -¿Qué quieres por lo que has hecho? -Enséñame el lenguaje de los animales-respondió el arriero,-pues quiero conversar, como tú, con toda la tierra. Si deseas pagarme haz lo que te pido; si no, me marcharé; no quiero ninguna. otra cosa. Y se dispuso a salir. Entonces la reina le detuvo diciéndole: -Vamos, ven aquí y cumpliré tu voluntad puesto que no puedo pagarte de otro modo. Abre la boca. El arriero abrió la boca y la reina de las serpientes sopló dentro de ella. Luego dijo al hombre: -Ya sabes el lenguaje de los animales; ahora, si quieres conservar tu vida, guárdate de descubrir este secreto, porque morirás a la primera palabra que pro nuncies. El arriero se volvió y cuando cruzaba por el bosque oyó lo que decían los pájaros y la yerba y todo lo que estaba sobre la tierra. Llegó junto a sus burros y viendo que no faltaba ninguno y que todos estaban echados, descansando, se tendió en el suelo a dormir un rato. Apenas se había tendido, vinieron dos zamuros a posarse en un árbol y en su lenguaje dijeron lo siguiente: -¡Si ese arriero supiera que en el sitio en que está echado su burro campanero, hay debajo de la tierra una cueva llena de oro y plata! Así que el arriero escuchó esto, corrió a cavar en el lugar que los zamuros indicaron, y encontrando el tesoro, cargó con él sus burros y se lo llevó. Siendo ahora el arriero hombre rico, se edificó una casa, y se casó, viviendo alegre y contento con su esposa. Compró tierras y haciendas, y llegó a tener en abundancia vacas, caballos y grandes siembras. Un día, justamente la víspera de Navidad, dijo a su esposa: -Prepara comida en abundancia, bebidas y todo lo demás que haga falta, pues mañana vamos a la granja y llevaremos todo eso a los trabajadores para que se diviertan. La mujer lo dispuso todo; y al día siguiente, cuando estuvieron en la granja, el amo dijo a los trabajadores: -Amigos míos, coman, beban y diviértanse, que yo, por hoy, cuidaré de la hacienda. Preparáronse para volver a casa y marido y mujer se pusieron en camino, él montado en un brioso caballo y ella en una hermosa yegua. Andando sucedió que el marido tomó la delantera y la mujer se quedó rezagada. El caballo se volvió y dijo a la yegua: -¡Vamos! ¡Apura el paso! ¡Que te quedas atrás! La yegua respondió: -Tú puedes andar ligero porque llevas al amo que es un hombre delgado; pero yo, que tengo que llevar a esta vieja gorda y además cargada de collares, brazaletes y trapos, tengo que andar despacio para no reventarme. El hombre se echó a reir, la mujer lo notó, y haciendo apretar el paso a la yegua, se acercó a su esposo y le preguntó por qué se había reído. -Por nada, mujer; una tontería que me pasó por la cabeza. La mujer no quedó satisfecha con la contestación, y volvió a preguntar; pero cuanto más preguntaba, más se negaba él, y más volvía ella a insistir. Por fin el marido exclamó: -Ten entendido que si revelara lo que me ha hecho reír, quedaría muerto en el acto. Pero ni esto fué suficiente para contentar a la mujer, que siguió atormentando al pobre hombre. Llegaron a casa. Al apearse del caballo, el marido mandó que le hicieran un ataúd, y una vez que se lo trajeron, se metió dentro de la caja y dijo a su mujer: —Ahora, si aún lo deseas, te diré lo que me hizo reír; pero ten en cuenta que a la primera palabra dejaré de vivir. Echaba el infeliz la última mirada en su derredor, cuando el fiel perro viejo, que habían hecho llevar a la casa, se acercó a él y se puso a mirarlo con los ojos llenos de lágrimas. El pobre hombre, al ver esto, dijo a su mujer: -Da un pedazo de pan al perro. La mujer arroja un mendrugo al perro, que ni siquiera lo mira; y entre tanto el gallo de la casa acude a toda prisa y picotea el mendrugo. -¡Gallo sin sentimientos!-le dice el perro. ¡Tienes alma de ponerte a comer cuando ves que va a morir el amo! Y el gallo responde: -Bien merecido lo tiene, ya que es tonto. Yo gobierno cien gallinas y todas me obedecen. Si alguna de ellas necesitara enmienda, la corregiría a fuerza de picotazos; y el amo, que sólo tiene que gobernar a su mujer, ¡no tiene valor para reprenderla! Cuando el marido escuchó esto, saltó fuera de la caja de madera, y cogiendo un bastón, llamó al cuarto a su esposa. -Ven aquí y te diré lo que tienes tantos deseos de saber. Y viendo la mujer la forma amenazadora en que el hombre empuñaba el bastón, guardó prudente silencio y nunca más volvió a preguntar a su esposo por qué se había reído. |