72 



BOLIVIA. 



as well, cannot be too highly rated. His or- 

 chestral compositions far excel those of any 

 other writer, and, in his development of the re- 

 sources of instrumentation, he was thoroughly 

 original. The last years of his life were passed 

 in comparative retirement, although he came 

 indirectly before the public ten years ago, 

 when "Alceste" was revived at the Grand 

 Opera. The managers of that institution fixed 

 upon him as the man most capable of any in 

 France to restore the traditions and recall the 

 exact spirit of Gluck's noble work. " Alceste " 

 was superbly produced, under his exclusive di- 

 rection. Aside from the Treatise on Instru- 

 mentation, already mentioned, M. Berlioz's 

 principal literary works were: "A Musical 

 Tour hi Germany and Italy: Studies of Bee- 

 thoven, Gluck, and Weber," 2 vols., 8vo, 1845 ; 

 " Orchestral Soir6es," 18mo, 1854; and "Musi- 

 cal Comicalities," 18mo, 1859. 



BOLIVIA, a republic in South America. 

 President, in consequence of the successful rev- 

 olution of December, 1864, Mariano Melgarejo 

 dictator, after the abolition of the constitution 

 in February, 1869. The ministry, in Septem- 

 ber, 1869, was composed as follows: M. D. 

 Mufioz, head of the Cabinet, Minister of State and 

 of External Affairs ; M. de la Lastra, Minister 

 of Finances ; M. J. Ribera, Minister of Justice 

 and Public Instruction; General G. Lanza, 

 Minister of War; M. Montero, Minister of 

 Worship and Industry. The area of the re- 

 public is estimated at from 22,500 to 30,000 

 geographical square miles (1 geographical 

 square mile=21.26 English square miles). The 

 republic is divided into eleven departments, 

 which had, in 1858, 1,742,352 inhabitants, to 

 which must be added about 245,000 Indians, 

 giving a total population of 1,987,352. Later 

 statements give the population, exclusive of 

 Indians, as 1,811,368. In point of ecclesias- 

 tical jurisdiction the republic is divided into 

 the archdiocese La Plata or Charcas (embracing 

 the departments of Chuquisaca, Potosi, Oruro, 

 Tarija, Atacama), and the dioceses La Paz 

 (departments of La Paz, Megillones), Santa Cruz 

 (departments of Santa Cruz, Beni), and Cocha- 

 bamba (departments of Oochabamba, Melga- 

 rija). The standing army, consisting of 31 

 generals, 359 officers of higher grade, 654 sub- 

 altern officers, and 3,034 men, annually costs 

 the republic two million pesos. 



Bolivia is, on the west, almost cut off from 

 the Pacific, while on the east Brazil interposes 

 a vast territory between her and the Atlantic. 

 The great chain of the Andes here branches 

 out into mighty parallel ridges. A great ele- 

 vated table-land, about 13,000 feet high, and held 

 between the two grand ridges of the Andes, ex- 

 tends almost from the northern confine of the 

 Argentine Republic northwest to the frontier 

 of Peru. All the water-courses to the east of 

 this table-land flow into the Atlantic. The 

 three larger streams are affluents of the river 

 Madeira; their names are the Beni, Mamore, 

 and Gnapore. The Mamore, nearly 900 miles 



long, flows through the very heart of Bolivia. 

 The Guapore, forming the boundary-line be- 

 tween Brazil and Bolivia, has its head- waters 

 almost in sight of the head- waters of the Rio 

 de la Plata. The aggregate length of the afflu- 

 ents of the Madeira with their tributaries can- 

 .not fall short of 5,000 miles, for at least 4,000 

 of which it is suited to steamboat navigation. 

 The banks of these rivers afford excellent nat- 

 ural landing-places. All travellers attest to 

 the climate being one of the healthiest in the 

 world. 



The population is in great part upon the 

 Amazon slope. Many populous centres are 

 found upon the banks of the rivers far in the 

 east and northeast. Among these towns are 

 Santa Cruz, containing some 12,000 inhab- 

 itants, and Trinidad, capital of the great Beni 

 province, having 6,000. Cochabamba is a city 

 of 35,000 inhabitants; it is already the trade 

 centre of 500,000 people, and will eventually 

 become the great commercial emporium of 

 Bolivia, furnishing La Paz, with its 83,000 in- 

 habitants, Chuquisaca, with its 36,000, and 

 Potosi, with its 40,000, the luxuries of other 

 nations. The canoe-trade, which has sprung 

 up since Brazil opened the Amazon, is aston- 

 ishing. The Indian canoemen are tough, do- 

 cile, and of great endurance. 



The people may be divided into two great 

 sections mining and agricultural. One-half 

 of the people are of the Quichua and Aymara 

 Indian races. The latter have their centre of 

 population at La Paz. The Spanish is the 

 dominant race, and is gradually gaining ground 

 over the Indian. The Bolivian people are 

 among the most hardy, energetic, and indus- 

 trious, of Spanish South America. 



The most valuable products are the potato, 

 banana, Indian corn, wheat, barley, and rice, 

 and almost every variety of fruit. The finest 

 Peruvian bark is cut in northwest Bolivia, and 

 three-fourths of the entire crop of the world 

 come from this district. Cinnamon of excel- 

 lent quality grows wild in great abundance. 

 Tobacco is extensively grown. Cocoa or betel 

 is sold in the La Paz market to the amount of 

 about $4,000,000 annually. The chocolate of 

 the Beni has no superior in the world. Coffee 

 is largely cultivated for home use. Sugar is 

 produced and largely manufactured from the 

 cane in the Santa Cruz district ; its quality is 

 excellent. Cotton grows wild in great abun- 

 dance ; it is of two kinds white and yellow 

 both of a fine, long staple. With the vast wild- 

 indigo fields it covers an immense extent of 

 the Bolivian territory. Dye-woods and dyes 

 are numerous. The cochineal is found in its 

 native state, and abundant. Vanilla, wild sar- 

 saparilla, wild almonds, saffron, laurel, and 

 white wax, yellow and black beeswax, rhu- 

 barb, gentian, jalap, aloes, and ipecacuanha, 

 are also abundant. A great variety of balsams 

 are found. Sixty-four different kinds of forest- 

 trees are counted on the banks of the great 

 rivers. Vast herds of cattle and horses roam 



