Show Dri Drifting i g S Sand d' d Dunes I Menace to Railroads As one makes the ascent of the th Andes from the Pacific port of Mollendo Mol Mot lendo In Peru fo following lowIn th the line of the Southern Pacific railway the climb I I to the tine divide Is broken by hy t two to o great i steps or wide-spreading wide shelves of oft 1 t desert or pampa On the first of these steps about abou two hours hours' steep climb from the sea I null at an nn altitude of from toj toi to j i feet are located the famous I j drifting sand hills of Peru The j plateau Is here about 20 miles wide the air nIl thin and dry and no trace truce of or vegetation to be seen only these thes gigantic shaped crescent sand dunes unes dotting the pampa as far as the e eye e can see Composed of fine One gray crys crystal tal tai sand they gleam white against t the brown of the desert and their horns point tow toward ld the prevailing south wind of f this region They are from I 15 to 25 5 or even eyen 30 feet high 20 feet in III breadth across the thick part of the crescent and sometimes feet from II horn 0 ID I'D to horn So tightly Is the sand packed that the feet of the horses or mules make little Impression on it ft There sand hills called travel with almost slow slow- lies nes and ami when they threaten the rail rull way track they can cnn sometimes be he dl eli by piling up blocks of stone In hi their paths otherwise the r railway bed hasto has baR to be altered to go around them themAn themAn themAn An anal analysis sis of the soil of this region shows that it t would be beery very ery fertile li i. I Irrigated from the available snow now field of the Andes Audes so that It is possible there will come a day when its deso desolate desolate desolate late sand dunes will cease to be |