LA PAZ 



3330 



LAPIS LAZULI 



him and crushed him to death. Vergil's de- 

 scription of the death of Laocoon, given in the 

 second book of the Aeneid, was probably in- 

 spired by the marble group of the Trojan priest 

 and his two sons, 

 which was found in 

 Rome in 1506. This 

 is one of the most re- 

 markable sculptured 

 groups which time has 

 spared to us. 



THE LAOCOON GROUP 

 In the Vatican, Rome. 



LA PAZ, lahpahz', a plateau city of 80,000 

 people in 1915, the legislative and executive 

 capital of the republic of Bolivia. It is 12,120 

 feet above the sea level. It 'is 719 miles from 

 Antofagasta, Chile, and 496 miles from Mol- 

 lendo, Peru. Originally named in 1548 to 

 commemorate the reconciliation between Pi- 

 zarro and Almagro (for the name means the 

 peace), it was rechristened LA PAZ DE AYUCHO 

 in 1825 to commemorate the decisive battle for 

 independence. The latter is its legal name 

 to-day. 



La Paz has been called the most cosmopoli- 

 tan city of a mining country in all the world; 

 people of all nations are there. Describing its 

 approach, Charles M. Pepper says, "La Paz 

 spreads along the inner sides of a rocky amphi- 

 theater, a panorama of red roofs, blended blue 

 and white buildings, church towers and parks 

 of willow and eucalyptus trees." The city has 

 public squares and a boulevard, and the River 

 La Paz winds through it. 



Much unfriendly comment has been made 

 upon its daily extremes of temperature, its nar- 

 row, ill-paved streets, its defective drainage, im- 

 perfect sanitation and its high death rate. La 



Paz is not the seat of either the supreme court 

 or the archbishopric, both of which are at 

 Sucre. However, popular interest attaches to 

 its cathedral, dating from the seventeenth cen- 

 tury, the University of San Andres, the na- 

 tional college, the national museum, a famous 

 statue of Bolivar, the panoramic scenery of 

 the approaches and the wireless communica- 

 tions established in 1915. The American In- 

 stitute, begun in 1912, conducted by a fac- 

 ulty from the United States under patronage 

 of the state government, is well attended. 

 The university includes a modern commercial 

 college. There is a lyceum for girls, founded 

 in 1907. 



LAPIDARY, lap'idari, from the Latin word 

 lapis, meaning stone, is the name applied to 

 one who cuts and polishes gems. Over sixty 

 centuries ago lapidaries flourished in Assyria, 

 Babylonia and Egypt, the earliest work in 

 st9necutting being done with the sapphire 

 point. About 3000 B. c. the bow drill was in- 

 troduced, a device employed also by the 

 American Indians. Previous to the fourteenth 

 century gems were for the most part cut en 

 cabochon; that is, polished smooth, with the 

 original size and color of the stone retained as 

 far as possible. The practice of cutting on 

 the surface of the gem flat faces having a geo- 

 metrical arrangement, or faceting, is of modern 

 origin. Transparent gems, such as diamonds, 

 are usually jaceted because the reflection and 

 refraction of light on their surfaces give them 

 additional brilliancy. Opals, moonstones, tur- 

 quoises and other opaque and translucent stones 

 are cut en cabochon. Modern gemcutters use a 

 lathe carrying a point or disk of soft iron, 

 coated with diamond dust and oil. See GEMS. 



LAPIS LAZULI, la' pis laz'ulie, or LAZU- 

 RITE, laz'urite, a mineral whose beautiful 

 azure-blue color makes it of value for orna- 

 mental purposes. It is composed chiefly of 

 aluminum, sodium, silica and sulphur, and is 

 found both in massive form and in crystals, in 

 granite and in limestone. Some varieties show 

 green, violet or red tints, and occasionally 

 lapis lazuli is found which is flecked with bril- 

 liant spots suggesting the stars shining in the 

 blue firmament. The Egyptians made use of 

 . this mineral in their jewelry, and the Romans 

 called it sapphire. Modern nations have em- 

 ployed it in ornamental and mosaic work, and 

 in the construction of altars and shrines. For- 

 merly, it was the only source of the paint 

 ultramarine, but it has been replaced for that 

 purpose by an artificial product. The ancients, 



