CHAPTER XIII.

LEAVING PUNO.--CROSSING LAKE TITICACA.--RESOURCES OF BOLIVIA.--SILVER MINING.--PRIMITIVE LODGINGS.--BEGINNING THE JOURNEY TO THE EASTWARD.

It was the intention of our friends to leave Puno on the morning following the conversation recorded in the last chapter, but there was a slight hitch in their plans. Manuel, the guide who had been engaged to accompany them, said it was advisable to purchase provisions and other necessaries before starting, as there was doubt about finding them along the road. Acting under his advice, a day was spent in the shops, and another in putting the articles into packages suitable for mountain travel. When all was completed it was found that the steamboat was absent on a trip up the lake, and another day was lost in waiting for her.

On the fourth morning everything was ready, and the baggage was sent on board in charge of Manuel. The travellers said good-bye to their American acquaintance, who regretted he could not accompany them; they were equally sorry he could not do so, as they had found him a most agreeable and intelligent companion during their stay. A foreigner in an interior town of South America has a dreary existence, and welcomes with delight the advent of a countryman.

Just as they were leaving the landing-place they were introduced to the manager of one of the silver mines in the neighborhood of Puno, who was about crossing the lake on business connected with his enterprise. Acquaintance is quickly made under such circumstances, and the time of the voyage passed quickly in the society of this intelligent gentleman.

"The silver mines of Peru," said he, "are yielding very little at present, owing to bad management and slovenly methods, and the same is the case with the mines of Bolivia. During the last two and a half centuries the mines of Peru alone have yielded five hundred million dollars worth of silver; the mines near Puno are famous in history, and are enormously rich, but for a long time little has been done beyond reducing by modern processes the refuse of the old miners. When the country becomes tranquil, and capital can be securely invested, the mines will be reopened, American and other machinery introduced, and the world can again be supplied with silver from the Andes.

"Potosi, in Bolivia, is probably the richest silver region of South America and of the whole world, but its mines are now almost neglected. In the seventeenth century the city had more than a hundred thousand inhabitants, while it has barely twenty-five thousand to-day. Between 1545 and 1789 the mines of Potosi yielded one thousand million dollars' worth of silver, but of late years the product has not exceeded two and a half millions annually. The word 'Potosi' signifies 'an eruption of silver,' and the place is certainly well named. It is in a province of the same name, which produces also gold, copper, iron, lead, tin, quicksilver, zinc, antimony, and other minerals, but silver is its principal yield.

"Potosi suffers for lack of modern methods, as much as do the mines of Peru and other South American countries; nearly all the mining is done by Indians, who adhere to the processes that have been in use for centuries; the spirit of enterprise does not prevail here, and until it does there will be no revival of the business."

One of the youths asked a question which led to a description of the primitive ways of mining at Potosi.

"Take, for example," said their entertainer, "the mill in which the ores are crushed. It is a rude affair, with two wheels of stone at the end of a horizontal bar moved by an upright shaft. The propelling force is an ox, a mule, or possibly a stream of water, and sometimes the mill is worked by the power of men. The apparatus somewhat resembles an old-fashioned cider-mill in the Northern States of America, but the roughest cider-mill you ever saw is a piece of cabinet-maker's work compared with a Bolivian _arastra_. The broken ore is placed in a trough in which the stone wheels move slowly around, crushing, perhaps, half a ton of ore daily. Modern mills, such as are used by the miners of California and Nevada, would crush twenty times as much ore at little more than the same cost!

"From the beginning to the end of the work the whole business is very slow and primitive. The ore is broken out of the veins by sheer force of labor, powder or other blasting material being rarely employed. It is carried on the backs of men to the surface of the ground; the _tanateros_, or ore-carriers, load the substance into baskets or bags of rawhide, and climb patiently upwards along perpendicular logs that are notched to give holding-places for the feet.

"With a hammer a native breaks the ore into pieces suitable for the crushing-wheels; then it is reduced to mud by the slow operation I have described; it is roasted or treated with quicksilver according to its requirements; and finally the pure silver is obtained, and smelted into bars for transportation to the coast.

"Now, here is the difference between this way of working and the modern methods. The American or English miner would hoist the ore from the mine by machinery instead of carrying it out by man-power. Then he would use machinery for reducing it to powder, allowing none to be wasted, and after the reduction he would extract the silver from the rock in such a way as to save every grain of metal it contained, and preserve all the quicksilver to be used over and over again. A great part of the silver is lost at present, together with much of the quicksilver used in the work of amalgamation. Where there is a profit of ten dollars by the old process in working a ton of ore there would be fifty dollars of profit under the new. And yet it is hard to convince these people that it is worth their while to try the new system!

"Some of the mines are in the sides of the mountains, where no hoisting is required, and the ore is brought directly to the open air without the necessity of climbing. Such mines are more profitable than the others, as they can be readily drained, and the expense of carrying the ore upwards is saved.

"The ore of Potosi is very rich, but, for that matter, so are the ores of Puno and Cerro de Pasco. Some deposits yield as high as two hundred dollars a ton. When you bear in mind that the miners of California find a profit in working mineral at ten dollars a ton you can realize the wealth of the silver deposits of the Andes.

"When I first came here," he continued, "I was fresh from the mines of Nevada. The rudeness of the Bolivian work was in very marked contrast to what I was so lately familiar with.

"Near the entrance of the first mine I visited I saw some specimens of rich ore lying on the ground. There was a group of three natives lounging around the place, a man, a woman, and a boy. The mine had been deserted for some time, and I found these people helped themselves to the mineral whenever they wanted it. Telling them I wished to see how they operated, and promising a reward for their trouble, I induced them to go to work.

"The man entered the mine, carrying a bar of iron and a rawhide bag. In a little while I heard the blows of the bar, and in the course of half an hour he returned with about twenty pounds of ore in the bag. Then the man and the woman pounded the ore upon flat stones, and reduced it to a coarse dust, which was placed in an earthen pot over a fire. The fire was fed and tended by the boy, while the man and woman looked on; they had performed their share of the toil, and were willing to give the youth a chance.

"A smaller pot was brought, in which the ore was placed after half an hour's roasting in the large one. This pot was filled with the dust, deposited on the bed of coals, and covered with a loosely fitting lid. The wood was piled over it and the fire burned fiercely. The whole mass became red-hot, and the fumes of sulphur filled the air as they rose from the smelting-pot.

"The fire was allowed to burn down, and when it was reduced to ashes and embers the pot was lifted out, and its contents were poured on the ground. There was a confused mass of slag and ashes, and in a few moments the man who had taken the ore from the mine pushed from the slag a button of silver weighing something more than an ounce. It was thrown into water to cool, and when in a condition to be handled it was passed over to me. I gave the man a dollar, together with some smaller coins to the woman and boy, and then walked away with my trophy."

Frank and Fred were much interested in this account of the silver mines of Bolivia, and the primitive ways of working them. As soon as the conversation was over they wrote it out, as nearly as they remembered it, in order that none of the information should be lost.

Then followed a technical account of the character of the ores, but it might be tedious to the general reader, and we will omit it. Their informant further told the youths that a good many of the natives support themselves by melting the ores in the manner just described, and selling the buttons for what they will bring. The silver thus obtained is not chemically pure, but is good enough for purposes of sale.

Fred asked if accidents were common in the mines at Potosi.

"Of course they have accidents there," was the reply, "but probably no more on the average than in mines in other parts of the world. Most of them are due to carelessness, either in failing to support the roof properly after the ore is taken out, or not taking proper hold of the ladders while ascending or descending. Sometimes the roof of a mine falls in, but there is generally sufficient warning to allow the men to escape. Rocks occasionally become dislodged and fall upon the workmen; I was one day walking in a mine when a stone weighing at least a ton fell behind me, right in my tracks. If I had been three or four seconds later it would have crushed me.

"The weight of rock and earth becomes too great for the timbers along the sides and across the roof, and they are crushed and broken. But before falling they groan and crack and settle, but rarely give way suddenly. The Indians can tell from long experience when there is any real danger, and are generally quick enough to escape."

From mining the conversation turned to general subjects relating to Bolivia. The substance of what the youths learned may be set down as follows:

Silver is found in many parts of the republic, and some of the mines are said to yield ore as rich as of Potosi. The Potosi mines are mainly in a single mountain, which has been pierced with more than five thousand tunnels and openings. Gold is found in many places, but it has not been extensively mined. Occasionally large nuggets or masses of pure gold are found, and they bring a higher price as curiosities than when reduced to bullion. One of these masses was detached from a mountain by a stroke of lightning, and sold at an enormous price to the royal museum at Madrid.

There are some valuable mines of tin and copper in Bolivia; the tin mines of Oruro are said to be the richest in the world, and copper is said to be as abundant in the mountains of Corocoro as silver is at Potosi. The other mineral wealth of Bolivia is well known, but none of it is available on account of the lack of transportation. The country has no outlet by which it can reach the markets of the world. Transportation to the Pacific coast is over the passes of the Andes and across deserts, while the ocean ports are lacking in facilities for landing or discharging cargoes. There is a route through Buenos Ayres, and another through Brazil; both are long and expensive, and the greater part of the products of the country will not bear the cost of removal. There will be occasion for referring to this subject again.

Bolivia has a little more than two millions of inhabitants, about one fourth of them whites. There are several varieties of the native and mixed races, from the civilized Indians of La Paz and other cities to the wild tribes of the upper waters of the Amazon. The latter lead a wandering life, and wear no clothes; they have resisted all attempts to civilize them, and until recently they were hostile to the white people who passed along the river in boats. A curious story is told of the incident by which their hostility was suppressed.

In a survey made by the Bolivian government of the falls of the Madeira River a camp was established on the banks of that stream. Soon after it was located one of the men of the exploring party was taken ill, and his disease proved to be small-pox. He was immediately isolated from the rest of the camp, and carefully attended by the doctor.

Recovery was impossible. One day, while the doctor was at the side of the dying patient, these warlike natives attacked the hut, and barely gave the doctor time to escape. The death of the sufferer was hastened by the Indians, and they triumphantly carried away his clothes and bedding. Nearly the whole tribe died in consequence; the few that survived have ever since regarded the occurrence as a manifestation of divine wrath, and let the white men carefully alone.

Frank and Fred heard so much about the undeveloped sources of wealth in Bolivia that they were inclined to form stock companies for various enterprises out of which enormous amounts of money could be made. But as their previous dreams of this sort had amounted to nothing, they wisely forbore even going so far as to put their ideas on paper.

They heard of vast numbers of cattle on the _pampas_, or plains of eastern Bolivia, which could be bought for a few shillings each, and converted into beef and leather, at a great advance on the original cost. Their informant said they would yield a profit on their hides alone, while the beef could be sent to London, or other places of large demand, by some of the preservative processes that have been recently invented. Then they learned that Bolivia could supply fine woods for cabinet purposes, in inexhaustible quantities, from the forests on the lower slopes of the Andes, and the banks of the Beni and other rivers. They found, on consulting the statistics, that the country could export the following articles if it only had the means of transporting them:

Gold, silver, tin, copper, lead, quicksilver, chinchona bark, rubber, coffee, cacao, sugar, vanilla, balsams, copal, wax, dyes, sarsaparilla, tobacco, farina, cotton, llama and alpaca wool, cattle, hides, horns, tallow, dried meat, tiger and deer skins, furs, feathers, hammocks, and hats.

Glancing at the history of the country, Frank found that Bolivia was formerly a province of Peru, under the Spanish domination. It joined in the revolution in the early part of the present century, and, in common with the other dependencies of Spain on the west coast of South America, achieved its independence. In 1825 it was made a separate republic, and named Bolivia, in honor of General Bolivar, the leader of the revolution. It has had the usual checkered career of South American republics, with perhaps fewer insurrections than some of its fraternity. It formerly had a strip of sea-coast, but at present it has none; its coast possessions were annexed to Chili as one of the results of the late war, and for the future its must seek its commercial outlet through another country or by way of the Amazon River.

The steamer carried our friends across the lake in a northeasterly direction and entered the Bay of Huancane. They were landed at the little village of Vilquechico, whence there is a route through the eastern Andes to the head-waters of the Amazon. The _alcalde_ of the village welcomed them to his dominions, and in true Spanish politeness announced that the village and all it contained were theirs. They didn't want the village, nor anything in it, except the means of getting out of it.

The Doctor explained that their desires could be gratified with mules and llamas for continuing their journey; for these they would pay promptly, and would likewise pay for everything they chose to buy. As for the village, they would be content to let it remain in its delightful position on the shore of Lake Titicaca.

It was easier to say "mules and llamas" than to obtain them. The alcalde issued orders for the people to bring all their spare animals; four saddle mules were needed for the journey, one for each of the party to ride, and a dozen mules or their equivalents in llamas were wanted for carrying the baggage and provisions. The offers of beasts of burden came in slowly, and it was necessary to send to Huancane, a town twelve miles away, to find a sufficient number. Most of the provisions for the party had been brought from Puno, as already stated, but there were still a few purchases to be made; it was decided to take matters leisurely, and accordingly the departure was fixed for the morning of the third day after their arrival.

Manuel was kept busy acting as an aid to the alcalde in collecting the animals; in the intervals of looking after them he bought whatever provisions were needed, and made bargains with the men who were to accompany the train. The supplies were almost identical with those for the journey from Quito to Napo, and therefore will not need repetition here.

Lodgings at Vilquechico were not equal to the Palace Hotel at San Francisco, or, in fact, to any other hotel of civilized cities. Dr. Bronson and Frank were assigned to a hut about six feet wide by eight or nine in length, while Fred was quartered in another hut along with the most of the baggage, on which Manuel slept by way of security. The beds were spread on what was literally the ground-floor, and there was just room enough for the two beds, and a few of the equipments of the travellers. At the end of the single apartment there was a mud altar with a crucifix, before which a candle was burning; the door was wanting altogether, and the doorway was closed by hanging a blanket across it.

The night was cold, but, shielded by their coverings, the trio slept well; they were out early, as there was nothing in the luxury of their quarters to lead to late sleeping. They endeavored to find more commodious lodgings for the other nights of their stay, but were unable to do so, and quickly determined to be content with what they had, which was certainly philosophical.

"We are better lodged now than we shall be for most of the nights of our journey to the Amazon," explained the Doctor; "and too much luxury would be bad for us."

Frank and Fred agreed with this intelligent suggestion, when they found it was impossible to improve upon the situation. Fred said they should remember how the fox consoled himself for his failure to obtain the fruits of the vine, by reflections upon their acidity.

It was nearly noon on the day fixed for the departure that the baggage train moved out of the village and took the road to Huancane, where the first night was to be passed. Dr. Bronson and Frank had started early in the morning, leaving Fred and Manuel to look after the baggage animals, and bring them forward. There were one or two purchases which could not be made at Vilquechico on account of the limited stock of supplies; Huancane could supply the deficiency, as it is a larger place and has more extensive stores. It is occupied almost exclusively by Aymara and Quichua families, who live as distinctly, but on the same terms of amity, as their kindred in Puno.

The road winds along the shore of the lake for a large part of the way. The ground is destitute of trees, and the only vegetation is the grass, which furnishes nourishment to the sheep and other animals, and the _tola_ or _tortora_ that fill the shallow waters, and often extend long distances from the shores. The houses of the shepherds are made of turf, which is thin, but tough, and serves admirably for building purposes. Not only the houses are made of it, but the corrals for sheep, and any other needed edifices. At a little distance these houses resemble haystacks, as they are nearly always conical in shape; there is a hole near the apex of the cone, where the smoke finds its way outward after leisurely traversing the whole interior of the building.

Fred entered one of these huts, but he did not stay long. The interior was extremely dirty; Manuel said, that when it became so bad that the owners could not longer endure it they deserted the hut and built another. "But they don't move often," he added, "and the huts must be very bad indeed before their owners will take the trouble to put up new ones."

There are some ruins in the neighborhood of Huancane, but it was not considered worth while to visit them. They consist mostly of _chulpas_, or burial-towers, which are nothing more than towers, either round or square, with interior spaces for the reception of the remains of the dead. A description of one will suffice for all.

It is seventeen feet square, and twenty-four feet high, and rises from a platform of cut stones twenty-two feet on each side, and raised a foot above the ground. Three feet below the top there is a cornice two feet deep, which projects about twelve inches on every side, and is the only external ornament. There is a door or opening eighteen inches square on the eastern face, and level with the platform on which the chulpa stands. Inside there is a vault or chamber eleven feet square and thirteen feet high; its sides rise vertically for about eight feet, and then come together to form a pointed arch. On each of the sides of the interior there is a niche three feet high and eighteen inches wide, and the entrance is directly under one of these niches.

The round chulpas have a close resemblance to the turf huts of the shepherds; some of the huts have cornices, in imitation of the architecture of the chulpas, and it is possible that the form of the dwelling was taken from that of the burial-towers.

On the road to Huancane Dr. Bronson and Frank turned aside to look at a sepulchre built of flat stones piled irregularly together. It is thought to be the earliest form of the chulpa, before the Inca architects had learned to shape their structures like the one just described. The stones were flat, some of them being five or six feet long, and correspondingly broad, with a thickness of twelve or fifteen inches. Frank made a sketch of the monument, and introduced the figure of a man standing beside it, so that its proportions could be readily seen.