Show A VISIT TO SOUTH AMERICA the death dealing fever of that country evidence of auriferous gavel deposits biff mountains wonderful lakes fatal bites of snakes As seen by a denver man denver coa july 8 ed 6 wilson assistant foreman of the news comper ing room has returned from an extended trip through the eold regions of south america mr wilson went to south america as the representative of a denver syndicate to examine and report upon the gold fields his traveling companion william argall died of yellow fever contracted on the trip a few days ago at quarantine in new york harbor mr wilson had some interesting experiences ol 01 which he talks entertainingly in speaking of the trip last night be eaid 1 I belt here with three companions january 25 for the purpose of examining and reporting on the gravel deposits in the river section in bolivia we went from denver to new orleans thence by rail to mobile where we embarked for bocal del literally the mouth of the bull on the coast of honduras we stayed at that port five days looking over the country while we waited for transportation to colon I 1 found in my peregrinations around this section a finely mineralized country the greatest drawback being fever the fever ia bad there it would be extremely difficult for american miners to prospect or work at all any length of time feeling ealis fied this was the case 1 gave up all idea of further investigation in that section at that time the isthmus was hoe from fever the trip south was made without incident we arrived at callao peru during the carnival season here we were detained five days aking advantage of the enforced delay we made a trip to lima eight miles from callao where we spent two or three days while there we heard a great deal about the new eldorado called the garabaya Ca country in northeast tin peru I 1 heard fabulous tales of gold finds there I 1 believed as much of tales as I 1 chose and rejected the rest still I 1 determined to investigate thoroughly in a trip further south after seeing the siahs in lima we proceeded to mollendo Mol lendo un the southern coast where we disembarked at a most and dangerous landing passengers gera in the email boats are frequently upset if they escape that they are at least sure of a calf water bath from the spray and breakers from this point we went by rail miles to arequipa over a road remarkable for the engineering feats achieved in its construction ie a city of about inhabitants chiefly amarra indians while in arequipa we met several prospectors returning from the Ca country with tales of hardships and tribulations it was generally conceded that gold existed iu the country hut that it was extremely difficult to get the rivers were said to be nearly all gold bearing but thu currents were all so swift that little could be accomplished some remarkable fine auriferous leads have been discovered among them the santo domingo the ore of this lead is remarkably rich in gold the general report from the parties who had been there was that it was not a country for poor minere it is exceedingly difficult ot accas supplies have be packed on the backs of Indi aoe no mules can ba taken in there from arequipa we proceeded to lake over a continuation of the railroad over which we had traveled from Mo liendo a distance of miles from puno the terminus of the road is mhd western shore of the lake we greeted by a american rain storm in its fullest leosa j staying over night we proceeded by a j dinall steamer the lake to carl ctrl dayi lake la n moat body of water it ie long and mile at he widest point at an of feet atler a alria ant trip consuming day and we arrived at and proceeded in an old stale tumbledown tumble down american stage coachi through a very fertile finely cultivated country to la paz a dirance dia ance frn Cbill aya of forty seven miles 1 I noticed en route large deposit of gravel which I 1 waa lait eily informed was very rich in gold but being owned mostly by ludi ace I 1 found it difficult to control any of it to adan tare nearing la we suddenly came upon a depression upward of 1 de pa here we were told to aad proceed a distance of alty yards on foot all at once the city of la pai buist upon our view words fail to convey an adequate idea of the magnificence of that view the driver allowed us to enjoy the incorporable view tor ten minutes Remon ntine the coach we swung around into an grade which by ins led down to the center ot the city la paz was a city of inhabitants we spent a week at la paz visiting the adjacent mineral sections where I 1 found bome very good prospects we then procured our outfits and started for the tipuani section three days of travel through rainy and disagreeable weather via the indian tillage of brought us to sorata at the base of one of the most remarkable peaks of south america called illampu of sorata mountain then wo commenced a tedious climb crossing to the northeast of the an elevation of over feet the mountains of colorado are ant bills in comparison comp arieon with the majestic sorata ranee we commenced the descent of the eastern elope by a rugged irregular indian trail to the tipuani river after eix daye and nights of continual rain we arrived at the village of tipuani ani fortunately the next day the sun shone for two or three hours which gave us a chance to dry out taking possession oi grass but we made our selves comi wable for the night with the determination of commencing our investigation the following day I 1 found the country in this ejection of an eurizer oua nature the the terraces and the elevations would all show colo r after considerable bard work I 1 found the best showing in the stream gravel but was soon eatie fled it was mans country in order to make myself eure on this point I 1 projected ted over fifteen miles of the river I 1 boand no place where wages could be made by the ordinary methods of placer mining on further investigation I 1 found that in places the deeper the gravel in the river bed was penetrated the better it panned but the difficulties of extracting the gravel owing to the rapid accumulation of water put a stop to deep work 1 I satisfied myself that proper appliances gold could be obtained in paying quantities but the difficulty of obtaining supplies and trane portion would not warrant me in advising anyone of small mean sto try to work these deposits I 1 had not been in the country long untie I 1 became pretty well acquainted with a lew of the local inhabitants these seemed to be principally snakes they are of enormous size why some ot them are bigger than the steeple of trinity church er well perhaps not qui teso bg as that but ill take my oath two or three of looked that big to me for a few until I 1 could get away from them a mile or two I 1 killed one in front of the of which I 1 brought home as a trophy which measured over nine feet in length occasionally one is teen that will measure fifteen or twenty feet in length the hobt venomous reptile is a green snake eighteen inches to two feet in length nearly the color of the grass and foliage one never sees them until one is right upon them thesa snakes make no effort to get away they have a peculiar way of turning preparatory to striking so that their tails are toward the victim their bite is fatal within two boars unless an antidote is applied immediately the natives when bitten seek a certain herb which they chew and apply to the wound if this is not done within five minutes death ensues I 1 always carried a Eo lution of permanganate of potash and a hypodermic aged in water so as to have it ready for instant use in case I 1 was bitten but bad no occasion to usa it |