DOWN THE COAST OF PERU 273 



ments; half-breeds or Cholos are far more gayly clad in 

 very full skirts and shawls of bright colors, round, flat- 

 brimmed straw or felt hats, and imported shoes with high 

 heels and tops that reach almost to the knees; the number 

 of townspeople, Creoles and foreigners, seems negligible 

 compared to the throngs of Indians and Cholos; in fact, 

 some authorities state that there are one hundred of the 

 latter to one of the former. On market-days long lines of 

 llamas, burros, and mules thread their way through the 

 crowded streets, bearing fire-wood, charcoal, meat, and vege- 

 tables for the sustenance of the city. 



About the most interesting place in La Paz to us, and 

 at the same time the most repellent, was the Museo Na- 

 cional. It contained several dark, cavernous rooms crowded 

 with a wealth of specimens, mostly in the form of ceramics, 

 minerals, and mummies. They were piled promiscuously 

 everywhere in the most slovenly and disgusting manner. 

 Naturally, this treatment did not tend toward their pres- 

 ervation; rats had undermined the mounds of human re- 

 mains, gnawed holes into the bodies, and made their nests 

 in the interior; pottery had crashed from unstable shelves, 

 and bird and mammal skins were badly moth-eaten. I 

 trust that a more efficient management may rescue these 

 treasures. 



The plazas, of which there are four or five, are small and 

 not particularly attractive. The cold climate prevents 

 the growing of tropical decorative plants that are always 

 so conspicuous in cities and towns of the lower country. 

 The gente decente, or upper class, meet in the Plaza de 

 Armas on Sundays for a chat with friends, a stroll to ex- 

 hibit their finery, and to listen to the music. 



The Aymara's who inhabit the entire highlands are of a 

 treacherous disposition and have several times organized 

 their forces preparatory to making war on the Bolivians. 

 As their number is very great they are a menace that is 

 very real and serious. When an uprising is threatened, 

 the chiefs are arrested and punished, and then the rebellion 



