388 SOUTH AMERICA— THE ANDES REGIONS. 



CiNTi — Tarija — Trinidad. 



Cinti, Tiipiza, and Tarija, standing at a lower altitude and a higher temperature 

 in South Bolivia, are surrounded by far more productive plains. Cinti, the ancient 

 Camargo, on a secondary affluent of the Pilcomayo, is embowered in verdure amid 

 the reddish walls of bare rocks, and its vineyards produce one of the best wines in 

 America. 



Tupiza, on a tributary of the upper San Juan, a main branch of the Pilaya, 

 is the chief riverine port for the trade with Argentina, North of this place a 

 mine in the Sierra de Chorolque is worked at the tremendous altitude of 17,420 

 feet, that is, 1,640 higher than Mount Blanc. 



Tarija (5,810 feet), on an affluent of the Bermejo, is famous throughout all 

 the land for its fertile soil, yielding corn, fruits, vegetables, fodder, all of prime 

 quality, with little care on the part of the growers. Tarija recalls Southern 

 Italy with its blue skies, rugged mountains, fertile valleys, and excellent produce 

 of all kinds. During the revolutions in the neighbouring republic of Argentina 

 it has often served as a place of refuge for the politicians of the vanquished 

 party. Here, as at Cinti and Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the women greatly 

 predominate over the men, who are usually widely scattered over the surrounding 

 haciendas. 



East of the Andean spurs the only groups of habitations in the valleys and on 

 the plains of the Chiquitos territory are the villages attached to the missions and 

 the camping-grounds of the Indians. One of these, Trinidad, near the right bank 

 of the Mamore, serves as capital of the department of Beni, which comprises all 

 the north-eastern part of the republic. A few military stations line the banks 

 of the Paraguay on the eastern frontier of Bolivia. 



VIL 



Material and Social Condition of Bolivia. 



Till recently the relatively sparse j^opulation of Bolivia received but slight 

 additions from immigration. Even still, European and North American settlers 

 are rare, numbering certainly less than a thousand altogether. But the con- 

 terminous districts receive a large number of immigrants from Peru, Chili and 

 Argentina, chiefly miners, traders and labourers. The Chilians, especially, have 

 poured like invaders into the mining district of Huanchaca. 



On the other hand, the Bolivians are easily tempted to descend from their 

 plateaux to the more temperate or more fertile lands belonging to the neighbouring 

 states. Thus a natural equilibrium is established between the inflow and the 

 outflow. Apart, therefore, from some great social changes modifying the system 

 of land tenure and throwing open the boundless eastern plains to wholesale immi- 

 gration, Bolivia will have to depend upon her own resources for the gradual 



