268 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



guavas, and empanadas, or meat pies smelling strongly of 

 onions. They were an unkempt, wild-looking lot and had 

 apparently come from the green vale below. At seven 

 o'clock we were up seven thousand feet, having ascended 

 to that height from sea-level in six hours, and drew in at 

 the station of Arequipa. 



There was no train for Puno the following day, so ample 

 time was at our disposal in which to see the city and its 

 immediate environs. 



We found Arequipa to be a most delightful place. It 

 was cool enough to permit the wearing of top-coats with 

 comfort. The people were well dressed and healthy ap- 

 pearing. Electric trains provided adequate means of jour- 

 neying from one part of the city to another, and if one pre- 

 ferred a carriage it also was obtainable. Beautiful plazas, 

 ancient churches, and wooden buildings are distributed pro- 

 miscuously among the rabble of low adobe or stone huts 

 which predominate, and herds of llamas thread their way 

 through the stone-paved streets. The atmosphere is so 

 clear the year around that a spot near the city has been 

 chosen for the site of the Harvard Observatory. One has a 

 good view of the great snow-capped Mount Misti from 

 every part of the city; the peak is conical in shape and 

 nineteen thousand two hundred and fifty feet in height. 



Continuing the trip from Arequipa, the first stage of the 

 route passes over barren, gently rolling country. Small 

 irrigated plots are not uncommon where some rivulet 

 trickles down from the upper world of snow and ice; they 

 support a limited population of Indians, which must lead a 

 forlorn and miserable life among their desolate surround- 

 ings. Farther on, the slopes assumed a friendlier appear- 

 ance; sparse vegetation in patches appeared and grew 

 denser toward the snow-line, where there was naturally 

 more moisture. Life followed closely in the wake of the 

 grass and bush covered areas. Native hovels became more 

 numerous, and flocks of llamas, sheep, and goats, with a 

 sprinkling of horses and cattle ; fed on the herbage. 



