1854 – A newly arrived young railroad engineer hired by Chile sends a letter home to his mother raving about life in Santiago

Unbound. Very good. This four-page letter was written by David W. Cunnningham on October 10, 1854, from Santiago, Chile to his mother in Boston. Its mailing envelope is not present, but an old photocopy (included) shows the letter was forwarded to Mrs. Andrew Cunningham.of Boston by Loring Brothers & Company.

David W. was a Harvard-trained engineer known for his work on the Cochituate Aqueduct, the Manchester and Lawrence Railroad, the Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain Railroad, the Lowell Waterworks, the Stillwater Water Works, and the Tarkio Valley Railroad. This letter was written after Chile hired him to begin evaluating the best way to (truncated) construct a railroad across the Andes. (Some sources claim incorrectly that he supervised the building of the road, but work on the Ferrocarril Trasandino was not started until 1887, over 25 years after Cunningham had departed. Regardless, David was captivated by life in Santiago.

“I have left the River Maule and am now making my first visit to the Capital of this Republic, which is properly my headquarters, since all instructions & payments are rec’d here. I am favorably disappointed in finding such a great city, where I had expected but an extensive collection of Adoba one story buildings. The City has a population of . . . 120,000, is situated on an immense plain at the foot of the Codilleras, whose high peaks covered with perpetual snow, rise up in majestic grandeur 18,000 ft: which from their immense size appear to be hanging over our heads, when in reality, they are many leagues distant. At sunrise and sunset, nothing can be compared to them . . . in the evening they take the most exquisite pink & rose colored hues. Thay also serve as a fast refrigerator for the whole country, for no matter how hot the day may be, the nights are always deliciously cool. . .. The river Maipacho . . . runs through the city and it affords crystal water. . ... On its banks is built a dike, which protects the city . . . during flood [and] forms an admirable walk, nicely paved, and three miles long, & planted the whole distance with beautiful Poplars. At sunset you find many of the fashionable here. . .. Although Called a Republic, this is really an aristocracy, and there are many exceedingly rich people, whose wealth is millions, consisting of mines [and] Estates, which are not measured by acres, but by square miles. . .. Nothing can exceed the magnificences of the interior of their houses, the richest stuffs that Europe can produce, and all their table service of silver & gold, even to that article which is kept under the bed [and] their carriages . . . are like carriages of princes, frequently having two or three footmen. . .. It would amuse you to see the ladies walking on the Alamada . . . dressed as though they were in a ball room. . .. The young ladies . . . are very agreeable. I get smitten with one every evening but my love lasts only until I see another. . .. I have not failed to see some finely educated & beautiful angels who have left a more permanent impression. . ..“ . Upon returning the United States, Cunningham moved to Texas following the U. S Civil War, farmed in North Dakota, and finally retired in California in 1895 where he lived until his death in 1916. . (Inventory #: 010367)