Chap. VI. CHIEF PEOPLE OF PUNO. 103 



cials, without counting the expenditure for the troops ; and 

 it is calculated that more than half this sum eventually finds 

 its way into the hands of the Indians, who bury it. Thus, in 

 considering the mineral wealth of Peru, the enormous quan- 

 tities of coined money, and vases or other articles made of the 

 precious metals, which have been buried by the Indians, must 

 be taken into consideration ; for this practice has been going 

 on since the time of the Incas. Now that the currency consists 

 almost entirely of the debased half-dollars of Bolivia, if a 

 Spanish dollar or any other good coin is accidently received 

 by an Indian, it is immediately buried. 



The principal people in Puno, during my visit, were 

 General San Roman, in command of the army of the South, 

 an old man with the face and head of a pure Indian, and 

 plenty of white hair brushed off his forehead, who has been 

 mixed up in all the wars since 1822, and from whom I 

 received much information respecting the Indian rebellion 

 of Tupac Amaru in 1780, and of Pumacagua in 1815 ; Senor 

 Garces, the Prefect ; Don Juan Francisco Oviedo ; Don 

 Manuel Costas ; and Don Manuel Ferrandis, the proprietor of 

 the mine on the Laycaycota hill. Every evening there was 

 a party assembled at the house of the latter to drink coffee, 

 and talk over the news of the day. On these occasions, 

 amongst other topics of conversation, the possibility of form- 

 ing a company for the navigation of lake Titicaca was 

 frequently discussed. Costas had fii-st been struck by the 

 immense good that steam navigation on the lake would bring 

 to the department of Puno in 1840, and in 1846 he purchased 

 a smaU steamer called the ' Titicaca,' and had her sent out 

 in pieces. He sold her to the Government, on condition 

 that they would defray the expense of sending her up to the 

 lake ; but this was never done. It is considered that any 

 steamers which may hereafter be ordered for this purpose 

 should be about forty tons, di-awing four and a half feet, with 



