BOLIVIA—CUZCO TO LA PAZ
From Cuzco the tourist will return to Juliaca, the junction on the
main line, where he should arrive in time to take the train at 6.15
p.m. for _Puno_ on Lake Titicaca, a ride of an hour and a quarter.
The time table should be carefully studied in Arequipa and the
journey planned to avoid a stop-over at Puno. Should this occur,
notwithstanding, one may look about the town, which, founded in the
seventeenth century, is an important center of trade in alpaca and
vicuña skins and wool. One may therefore inquire for _rugs_, as
these either of _white alpaca_ or _vicuña_ are valuable souvenirs,
also purchasable in La Paz. The shorter vicuña fur from the necks
and legs is considered more desirable; though the longer is
preferred by some. The rugs vary in price according to buyer and
seller, as well as the quality of the fur, from 25 or 30 _soles_ to
100 or more for a special order. In La Paz they are sold at from 40
to 80 _bolivians_ each. Alpaca rugs are more rare and cost about the
same as the better vicuñas. They are quite double the weight.
Llamas, sometimes called the camels of the Andes, are prized chiefly
as burden bearers, though their long coarse wool is serviceable. The
vicuña and alpaca are never used as pack animals, being smaller and
of lighter build. The fine quality of the vicuña wool and its
scarcity makes it expensive and desirable. A poncho or any other
article of this wool is something to be valued. The Indians alone
manage all of these animals successfully; though the vicuña is
hardly domesticated. A profitable industry in which to engage would
be the culture if possible of these animals for the wool. The llamas
are of various colors, black, brown, white, and mixed; the alpacas
are oftener black or white, the vicuñas a tawny or fawn shade,
fading almost to white on the belly. None of these animals have
horns, and spitting is their only weapon of defense. They range
mostly from 12,000 to 15,000 feet in Peru and Bolivia.
=Puno= is quite a town with a large plaza, several churches, many
nice homes, a college, a hospital, and, in the vicinity, many
ancient monuments; one famous round tower, called a _chulpa_, at
Sallustani, of unknown origin, is by some believed to be a burial
structure. Puno on the frontier of Peru is a meeting place between
the two tribes, the Quichuas and Aymarás, the latter, residents of
northern Bolivia, while the Quichuas occupy the plateau region of
the greater part of Peru and of the central and southern portions of
Bolivia.
=Lake Titicaca=, halfway between Panama and Cape Horn, is on a great
plateau more than two miles vertically above the level of the sea.
About 135 miles long and 66 wide it has, with a very irregular
outline, an area of more than 5000 square miles. Although at so
great an altitude the waters never freeze, being slightly warmer
than the atmosphere, the temperature of which in winter is often as
low as 30° Fah. Snowstorms are no rarity. The glacier-covered
mountains on the southeast have some effect upon the climate. A
number of small streams flow into the lake which has a single outlet
at the southwest corner, the Desaguadero River, 180 miles long,
emptying into Lake Poopo. For a distance of 30 miles from Lake
Titicaca the river is navigable for boats of 500 tons. So high that
one Mt. Washington piled upon another would not rise above the
surface of the water, and the loftiest mountain in the United States
proper would appear but as one of the grassy hills around, this
sheet of water, 12,500 feet above the sea, nearly as large as Lake
Erie, is the most elevated in the world where steamboats regularly
ply.
In the winter months, June, July, and August, it is quite dark
before Puno is reached, but in the gloomy dusk one will have on the
left glimpses of the Lake. At the Puno Station an animated throng
will be waiting for the many who descend from the train; but the
majority of first-class passengers, if it is the right day, will
remain in the car for the half-mile ride to the docks, where they
embark on a 1000 ton steamer for the sail to Guaqui in Bolivia.
Formerly the steamer lay at the wharf until morning, the passengers
sleeping on board. Then a delightful all day’s sail was enjoyed with
continually charming views of deep bays, irregular hilly shores,
rugged picturesque promontories and islands, and after a few hours,
the splendid Cordillera Real at the east. Towards sunset, the line
of snowclad giants, stretching from imposing Illampu to Illimani,
presented a spectacle of extraordinary magnificence.
To those who delight in ancient myths and archæological research,
perchance to all who know the legend of Manco Ccapac and Mama Oclla,
children of the Sun, it would be a privilege to call at the sacred
islet _Inti-Karka_ or _Titicaca_, now commonly referred to as the
Island of the Sun, whence these two set forth on their wonderful
mission and career. It was reserved for the fourth Inca, Maita
Ccapac, to return with an army to this region, then entitled
Collasuyo, and to reduce the people to submission; and for his
successor, Ccapac Yupanqui, to complete the conquest. The Incas were
greatly impressed with the more ancient monuments at Tiahuanaco,
evidences of superior civilization; and on the island from which his
ancestors were supposed to have issued on their beneficent,
civilizing mission, Tupac Yupanqui erected a splendid palace and a
temple to the Sun, the richest in his entire empire. A temple also
was built to Thunder and Lightning, a monastery for the sons of
nobles, a sanctuary for vestal virgins, and dwellings for his
courtiers. The island is said to have been paved with gold and
silver. A smaller island near by is called _Coati_ from Coya, the
Moon, wife of the Sun, where temples to the Moon were erected. On
both islands many remains still exist, but to visit them is
difficult, as the regular steamers sail direct from Puno to Guaqui,
at the south end of the lake. These boats which were built in
Scotland, brought up in pieces and here put together, have
comfortable staterooms with electric lights and afford good enough
meals. The curious native boats, the _balsas_, one must try to get a
glimpse of near the dock at Puno, or in the early morning. These are
made of reeds, which grow in the water near the lake shore and are
bound together in rolls. The broad sails also are of reeds. After a
while they become water-soaked, lasting only about six months. The
boats are propelled from shore with a long pole. Before the coming
of the steamships these boats transported much freight among the
various lake ports, but are now little used except by the Indians
who are adept in their management and seldom wrecked, though often
severe storms suddenly arise. August is the month of best weather,
though the coldest. Warm clothing and wraps are indispensable.
Thunderstorms may occur at any time, especially in summer when
waterspouts are not infrequent; but in my seven crossings the
weather has always been good and everything comfortable; berth and
meals are provided without extra cost.
=Copacabana.= In 1903 the steamer called at the town of Copacabana,
on the west shore of the lake, where there is a far-famed shrine to
the Virgin, once the richest and most renowned in all South America.
The story goes that the image of the Virgin is the work of a
converted Indian, who, ignorant and unskilled, from pious zeal
devoted many years to the task. Aside from the face and hands, the
entire image is covered with gilt upon which are colored designs so
applied as to give the effect of an elaborate robe. The gold crown
and the many priceless jewels with which the image is decorated
possess a value indeed amazing to find in a town largely Indian in
this remote corner of the globe. Candles are ever burning before the
sacred shrine. Besides the church, a cupola on columns of Moorish
style is notable. At the time of the great festival to the Virgin in
July, this usually quiet town is thronged with Indians who come from
all directions, a distance of 100 leagues. Mingled with Catholic
ritual and ceremonies are primitive Indian rites and beliefs, and
the religious exercises are followed by grotesque dances and songs,
drunkenness and bestial excesses, as happens generally on the great
feast days elsewhere among Quichuas and Aymarás. In an earlier
period there was here a city with accommodations for the pilgrims
who annually came to visit the Temple of the Sun on Inti-Karka and
to pay homage to the Inca. Pilgrims still come from Mexico and
Europe to be healed. The tourist has now no opportunity to visit the
place except by chance, or with an outlay of considerable time,
trouble, and expense, by chartering a special _balsa_ or by making
use of the small coasting steamer.
One should rise early the morning after leaving Puno, in order to
enjoy the imposing sight of the great mountain range from _Illampu_
to _Illimani_, a distance of 100 miles. No more splendid vision,
some maintain, may be witnessed on the whole round earth. As one
beholds the glistening glaciers which, pierced by bristling ramparts
of rock, in immense masses clothe the vast and towering peaks, with
the brown plain and the blue waters of the lake as a contrasting
foreground, it is difficult to realize that one is two miles above
the sea and still within the Torrid Zone. After passing through a
very narrow strait, the ship sails west into a considerable bay, at
last along a narrow, artificial channel to the port of _Guaqui_ near
the southwest corner of the lake. It is a bustling place with plenty
of Indian men and boys to assist in transporting hand baggage to the
train 30 or 40 rods distant. A trifle bleak, maybe, in winter,
exercise and sunshine promptly dispel discomfort. There is not much
of Guaqui save the dwellings connected with the port and railway
terminal. It has been growing with the increase in traffic ever
since the opening of the railway in 1903; but its progress may now
be retarded by the new railway from the Pacific recently opened
between Arica and La Paz. Life on this desolate plain which might
seem a dreary lot to many is yet enjoyed by civilized Englishmen and
their families, who find the climate agreeable and are content in
the possession of all essential comforts.
The cars for the journey to La Paz, 60 miles distant, are of
ordinary American style. A seat on the left will afford the finer
prospects, though at the start the hills on the right are higher.
These are often covered with a thin coating of snow which at times
spreads over the plain. Near the lake the land is well covered with
brown bunch grass, good food for cattle, many of which with long
rough hair may be seen from the car window. Trains of donkeys,
mules, and llamas are often in evidence, and many Indian men and
women, not very prepossessing in appearance, the Aymarás, who are of
more churlish manner than the Quichuas of Peru. Along the line are
Indian villages and solitary dwellings of sun-dried bricks, the
latter surrounded by thick walls of the same material, though walls
of stone are used to separate the cultivated fields. Fifteen miles
from Guaqui is _Tiahuanaco_, the seat of a wonderful prehistoric
civilization. Beyond the railway station may be seen at the left
great stones of a sacred enclosure, a mound showing evidences of
excavations, perhaps a colossal statue. No time is given to examine
these marvellous ruins, for which purpose one must make an especial
excursion from La Paz.
[Illustration:
BALSAS, LAKE TITICACA
]
[Illustration:
LA PAZ, FROM THE HILLS
]
After an hour or so the Cordillera comes again into view, when the
great Illampu will excite profound admiration, until the Alto
Station is approached. Two hours from Guaqui the train reaches the
station _Viacha_, a junction from which a road leads south to Oruro,
and the newer road west over the mountains, to the sea at Arica.
Often there is here a long wait, which begins with much bustle and
animation, women offering for sale fruits, rolls, and a variety of
curious concoctions. The village is at some distance on the right; a
church is conspicuous on a hilltop. A half hour beyond at the Alto
Station another pause is made. The train is divided into sections
and with a special engine attached the car proceeds in reverse
direction. For a moment it continues on the practically level plain,
but keep a sharp look out! Presto! You begin to descend and suddenly
perceive that you have passed the brink of an enormous cañon, its
vicinity hitherto unsuspected, and you gaze in astonishment at the
steep enclosing walls and far below in the distance on the red roofs
of the city of _La Paz_ more than 1000 feet beneath. A remarkable,
astonishing, and delightful ride is before you. One wishes to look
all ways at once, to admire the long curves of the winding track,
the strangely carved walls of the cañon, the troops of llamas or
burros with their Indian drivers, the steep pathways up which they
toil, the patches of bright green in the midst of the brown slopes,
and the gradually approaching city. The descent is on the sloping
head wall of the curiously carved oval basin, the sides of which
appear in places perpendicular and converge at the farther end in
such a way as to leave no opening visible, though an outlet is
really there. The upper edge of this great basin is called the
_alto_ or height by the people dwelling below. Thus concealed in the
very heart of the Andes is the unique city of La Paz, with its
80,000 inhabitants, over 12,000 feet above the sea, the highest
capital on the globe, a curious, fascinating place, surrounded by
these strange walls; while brilliant, snow-crowned Illimani,
towering in majesty 9000 feet above, adds a charm comparable to that
which the Jungfrau gives to Interlaken. But La Paz itself is as high
as the shoulders of that glacier-robed Alpine summit; an altitude
which in other regions signifies perpetual snow here bringing only a
temperate clime, where flowers blossom in the open throughout the
year, and the rare inch or two of winter’s snow quickly vanishes in
the morning’s sunlight.
The railway down to the city, by many pronounced impossible of
accomplishment, was opened in October, 1905, through the initiative
and agency of Mr. T. Clive Sheppard, then Superintendent of Public
Works. The road, 5½ miles long, has an average grade of six per cent
with curves on a radius of 100 meters. The power is electricity
obtained from mond gas, an explosive mixture compounded of coal gas,
steam, and air, cheaper than either gas or steam; a consideration of
importance where coal from Australia in 1908 was selling at retail
for $50 a ton.
At the station are porters who for modest fees will transport to
your hotel your baggage, both large and small. Big trunks they carry
on their backs with apparent ease. Carriages may be at hand, costing
one _bolivian_, 40 cents; or on the other side of the station an
electric car, fare 20 _centavos_, first class, will soon be passing.
This will bring you to the Hotel Guibert, half a mile distant, the
oldest and best of the hostelries of the city, unless a new one,
long promised, should be already completed. 20 _centavos_ is an
ample fee for the boy who takes a bag to the car or even to the
hotel, and 50 _centavos_ to the man who brings the trunk.
Of the early history of Bolivia, little is known. At the time of
the Spanish invasion the country was under the sway of the
Incas. These being overthrown, no resistance was here offered to
the advance of Diego de Almagro, who chose this route for his
southward march for the conquest of Chile. After this unhappy
adventure Gonzalo Pizarro invaded the country; the city of
Chuquisaca was founded (at times called Charcas, and La Plata),
now known as Sucre. Quarrels among the invaders culminated in a
victory near Cuzco by the Viceroy Pedro de la Gasca over Gonzalo
Pizarro, who was put to death. As a memorial of the peace thus
secured, La Gasca ordered Captain Alonso de Mendoza to found a
city in the valley of Chuquiapu, where an Indian village already
existed, and October 25, 1545, the first anniversary of the
battle, the foundations were laid of a city named Nuestra Señora
de La Paz. The city of Potosí had been founded a few months
earlier, after the discovery of the wonderful silver mines which
soon made the city and _cerro_ famous throughout the world.
The country now known as Bolivia, formerly Alto Peru, was a part
of the province of New Toledo granted to Almagro, who was
beheaded after his party was defeated in a conflict with
Pizarro’s forces near Cuzco, subsequent to his return from his
unfortunate expedition to Chile. In 1542 the Viceroyalty of Peru
was created with authority over all the Spanish American
possessions. Under the Viceroy were later two _Audiencias
Reales_, Royal Audiences, of Lima and of Charcas, the latter
covering the former New Toledo and having jurisdiction over the
provinces of Tucumán, Paraguay, and Buenos Aires. The
_Audiencias_ were supreme courts possessing also executive
functions, and were responsible to the Crown. The _Audiencia_ of
Charcas, created in 1559, had its chief seat at Chuquisaca, the
site also of the bishopric of Charcas, and of the University of
San Francisco Xavier, renowned in Spanish America for its
learning, and ranking with Salamanca in Spain. La Paz became a
Cathedral city in 1605, and Chuquisaca in 1609 was made the seat
of the archbishopric of La Plata. Other cities were founded;
explorations were made east and north of the Andes Mountains;
the work of christianizing the Indians was prosecuted by the
Jesuit, Franciscan, and other _padres_. At the same time great
abuses were practiced upon the natives, who both in Peru and
Bolivia were compelled to work in the mines, and suffered such
hardships and cruelties as rapidly to diminish their numbers. In
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries there were many
struggles and conflicts, chiefly between the native born
Americans of Spanish ancestry and the rulers who were for the
most part Spanish born; several insurrections occurring with
intent to throw off the Spanish yoke. In 1776 the Viceroyalty of
Buenos Aires was established, to which the _Audiencia_ of
Bolivia was transferred. In 1780 occurred an Indian rising
instigated and directed by three brothers named Catari, for
whose heads 2000 _pesos_ each were offered by the _Audiencia_.
Thus they were betrayed. The Indian revolt in Cuzco led by Tupac
Amaru occurring about this time incited the Bolivian Indians to
further efforts. The Indian Ayoayo with 80,000 men for three
months besieged the city of La Paz until dispersed by an army
from Chuquisaca. The town of Sorata was destroyed, but in the
end, after 50,000 lives had been lost among the Spanish
Americans and many more of the Indians, they were finally
crushed.
Injustice and oppression had been the lot, not of the Indians
only, but of the native born Spanish Americans, in spite of the
fact that especially from Peru and Bolivia fabulous wealth had
flowed into the treasury of Spain. The Revolution in North
America was a warning, but the concessions granted were too
late. July 16, 1809, conspirators at La Paz deposed and
imprisoned the Governor and proclaimed the independence of the
country, organizing a _Junta_ of which one of the leaders in the
movement, Pedro Domingo Murillo, was elected President. This
insurrection deserves especial notice as the first effort in
South America towards democratic government. A trained army sent
by the Viceroy of Peru overcame the feeble opposition of a few
patriots, and Murillo, January 29, 1810, perished on the
scaffold; yet full of confidence he exclaimed in the words of
another, “The torch which I have lighted shall never be
extinguished.” Within a few months the Viceroy at Buenos Aires
was deposed and an army from Argentina under General Belgrano
met and defeated the royalists on the field of Suipacha. From
this time on, there were various conflicts in which the
royalists were usually successful; but the patriots, in spite of
serious defeats, for years continued a persistent guerrilla
warfare in which a large number of their leaders perished. The
arrival of General San Martin with his victorious army at Pisco
in Peru, and soon after the proclamation of independence at
Lima, July 28, 1821, gave new hope to the Bolivians. The battle
of Ayacucho December 9, 1824, having ended Spanish dominion in
South America, January 29, 1825, just fifteen years after the
first patriots suffered martyrdom in the plaza, the last Spanish
authorities evacuated La Paz, which was occupied by the
Independent Army of Alto Peru under General Lanza the same day.
The victorious army under General Sucre, marching from Cuzco,
made a triumphal entry, February 7, 1825, in the midst of wild
rejoicing. With General Sucre acting as the prime organizer of
the Republic, the first National Assembly met in June at
Chuquisaca. The Act of Independence bears the date of August 6,
1825; the Republic was named for Bolivar, who was elected its
first President, while Chuquisaca was made the capital under the
name of Sucre. Nuestra Señora de La Paz became La Paz de
Ayacucho. General Bolívar, on his arrival in La Paz August 18,
was greeted with unbounded enthusiasm. In November at Sucre he
was inaugurated President, but resigned in January, 1826, to
return to Lima. The troublous times which followed, continuing
many years, must be passed over, up to the Chilian war. A
quarrel arising over the collection of an export tax on nitrate,
Chile sent troops to occupy Antofagasta, then Bolivian
territory. Peru having previously made a secret treaty with
Bolivia joined her in the declaration of war, April 5, 1879. As
the allies were altogether unprepared, Chile was completely
victorious and Bolivia lost what little coast she had previously
possessed. During the last thirty years, however, internal
dissensions have for the most part ceased, and with more stable
government there has been successful development of the rich
resources of the country. In 1898 trouble arose over the
question of the seat of government, sessions of Congress having
been held in several cities. Congress passed a law that Sucre
should be the permanent residence of the President and Cabinet.
The people of La Paz protesting, a Federation was formed and,
after several engagements, General Pando, commander of the
revolutionary forces, gained a complete victory, with the result
that La Paz was made the real seat of government although Sucre
retains the name of capital. General Pando was elected
President. During his administration occurred the Acre boundary
difficulty settled by the cession of considerable rubber
territory to Brazil, in return for which Brazil paid Bolivia
£2,000,000 to be used in building railways, while Brazil further
agreed to construct the so-called Madera-Mamoré railway around
the rapids in those rivers, thus giving to Bolivia an outlet by
the Amazon and Pará for her own rubber districts and for a large
section of her territory. Under President Montes (1904-1908) a
treaty was made with Chile according to which, in addition to
bestowing a subsidy and other considerations, Chile agreed to
build a railway from Arica to the _Altos_ of La Paz, recently
opened to traffic, and affording a shorter route to the Pacific
than those by Mollendo or Antofagasta. During the administration
of President Eliodoro Villazón progress has continued in other
directions and especially in the development of railways. The
road from Rio Mulato to Potosí has been opened and that from
Oruro to Cochabamba will probably be in operation before the
close of 1913; thus these two important cities are brought into
better communication with the outside world. The Madera-Mamoré
Railway is already in service. President Villazón is now
succeeded by former President Montes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------