PRESTO
SOUTH AMERICAN
September 15, 1923
OBSERVATIONS
Head of Piano Industry at New Castle, Indiana, Tells of What He Saw in
Argentine and Chili, Where Latin Antiquity
Mingles with Modern Splendor
{/Ac,
Continuation of Experiences and Impressions in the Sister Countries to
the South to Which Many of Uncle Sam's Manufactures Go
AN
ARTISTIC
By JESSE FRENCH
My last article was about Valparaiso, Chili. Here,
as in most Latin countries, you are served with eggs,
coffee and rolls in your room; if you call for anything
else, it is extra. 1 rather like it, when you are trav-
eling for pleasure, but it does not accord with my
early training—"Early to bed and early to rise,
makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."
The history of this beautiful city is so interesting
I shall not attempt to enlarge upon it. Founded in
1544, Valparaiso has passed through bombardment,
capture, earthquakes, tire and flood, but always rises
A CORNER IX CALLAO, t'KRl'.
triumphant and is today the pride of Chili's western
coast, and boasts of a progressive population of 185,-
000, and is still growing.
We left Valparaiso on the evening of February 15,
for. Santiago, by fine Pullman parlor car, up-to-date
in every respect, and arriving there, stopped at a
beautiful new hotel. I was most agreeably surprised
at the modern strides made by this charming city,
surpassing, in some ways, Valparaiso.
From our hotel window at night, we could see Ait.
Christobal in the distance, with the statue of Mary
on its top, so lighted by reflection that it appeared as
a celestial vision standing out alone in the heavens.
Of course we had to visit this statue, as well as other
places of note, but I cannot attempt even a faint de-
scription, as the beauty spots of Santiago must be
seen to be admired and to remind us that we are not
the only country that has sights worth viewing.
Beautiful Santiago.
Here is a city the wide-awake, progressive citizens
of which show their appreciation of civic improve-
ments by their beautiful parks and boulevards, dotted
here and there with magnificent monuments. Ter-
race St. Lucia is one of the most beautiful. Almost
in the heart of the city, from Santa Lucia one gets
a most charming view of Santiago and its surround-
ing hills, reminding you very much of grand views
from the lofty hills and mountains around Portland,
Oregon.
The American Embassy here is a most magnificent
building, owned by the United States. It was built
for private use by a very wealthy Spaniard at a cost
of $750,000, who later failed, and the government
bought the place for $150,000. The Agricultural Ex-
periment Station is worthy of note, as it shows to
what extent Chili is willing to go to keep abreast of
modern times. It covers hundreds of acres, beauti-
fully cultivated, and in which is to be found nearly
every known variety of plant life, with many fine
school buildings, where every opportunity is fur-
nished the student for a thorough knowledge of agri-
culture and horticulture.
In the evening we were amused, while seated in the
cathedral plaza, to see the belles and beaux walking
in opposite directions, eyeing each other affection-
ately. Upon inquiry we ascertained, this was an old
custom. If a girl particularly attracts a man, he fol-
lows his charmer to her home, and if he does this
three times her father invites him in and an engage-
ment follows. But the young man never sees his
betrothed alone, nor kisses her before marriage—a
plan that might be adopted in the United States to
advantage.
We shall always remember Santiago with feelings
of mingled pleasure and regret—pleasure of seeing
and regret of leaving—this beautiful city of 508,000
inhabitants.
In the Andes Mountains.
Our next start was for the top of the Andes, the
train passing through a lovely valley and then grad-
ually ascending until we reached Los Andes, a moun-
tain city of about 10,000 population, where we stopped
over night. At 7 a. m. we took a narrow-gauge
road and again began climbing alongside a lovely
mountain stream, passing some small but beautiful
farms. But they gradually grew less and less, until
at last we could only occasionally see a lonely cabin
lost in the mountain fastness, the dwellers living in
the most primitive fashion. At one such as these I
saw the occupants thrashing their wheat with a flail,
as in the Bible times. There is nothing in the Andes
to cause the thrill of delight one experiences in cross-
ing the Canadian or Rocky Mountains, with their
ever-changing scenes of majestic grandeur and
beauty. The 'Andes are absolutely barren and look
like huge mountains of dirt and sand, with rocky
projections.
On reaching the highest elevation, we stopped
where, just before entering a three-mile tunnel near
the station, there was a beautiful small turouoise-
blue lake. Here many tourists alight to go over
the top by mule train, to see the statue of "Christ of
the Andes," erected on the boundary line of Chile and
Argentina, to commemorate the peace pact that these
two nations should never go to war with each other.
A beautiful replica of the statue is now on exhibition
at the Peace Palace at The Hague. Nothing on the
trip impressed me more than this token of brotherly
love between two nations resolving never to resort
to the arbitrament of arms to settle real or imaginary
differences.
From here we traveled for miles along side of a
beautiful mountain stream, and many farms, fed from
its waters, were rich in vegetation of all kinds, with
flowers, fruits and tropical plants. They prove de-
lightful resorts for visitors from the lowlands who
arc able to enjoy them.
Arrive in Argentina.
We continued our descent until we arrived at the
city of Mendosa, in Argentina. Here we changed
back to the standard broad-gauge track with more
comfortable cars. This is a city of considerable
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size and importance, 65,000 population, and the mag-
nificent display of fruits at the station indicated that
we were again in the tropics.
After passing through the desert mountains, it
was truly a grand sight to see the rich plains of Ar-
gentina spread out before us. Here were immense
ranches, with thousands of ; cattle grazing in the
fields, beautiful lakes alive with game of every de-
scription. We also saw a number of wild ostriches.
Everything was a delightful contrast to the barren
mountain scenery of the past two days.
South American Metropolis.
After a dusty night's ride and a hot day we arrived
at Buenos Aires at 7 p. m., February 20, and put
up at the Savoy Hotel, where we enjoyed a good
night's rest.
(To Be Continued.)
The Heppe, Marcellus and Edouard Jules Piano
manufactured by the
HEPPE PIANO COMPANY
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When in doubt refer to
PRESTO BUYERS
GUIDE
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