THE ROAD TO BOLIVIA 219 



to protect them from the rain and wind. On almost every farm is a 

 circular corral built of boulders, with a stone floor, in which the 

 wheat is trampled out of the straw by the hoofs of the animals ; and 

 many other curious and interesting objects are seen on every hand. 



Arequipa is a quaint and queer old town, and has the reputation of 

 being the most religious city in the world. Freemasons are not al- 

 lowed to live there, Protestants are ostracized, and the people devote 

 a great part of their time to religious ceremonies. Again, it is equally 

 famous for the purity of its atmosphere. The air is said to be clearer 

 and the sk}^ bluer than anywhere else. Being surrounded by deserts, 

 every breeze that reaches Arequipa is sapped of moisture. Nothing 

 putrefies ; decay is arrested in animate as well as inanimate life, so 

 that everything dead dries up and blows away. 



Arequipa has been celebrated, too, for several centuries as a seat of 

 learning and a center of literary life. The most influential citizens 

 are the monks. It has produced many famous ecclesiastical scholars 

 and statesmen, and, although its universit}^ is not so much sought by 

 students as it used to be, mau}^ young men are sent there from all 

 parts of South America to be educated. 



Another source of satisfaction is that the old Spanish families have 

 kept their blood pure and can trace their pedigree back further, it is 

 claimed, than those of any other part of South America. Therefore 

 the}'' are proud — very proud — and exclusive. But pure air and pure 

 blood are about all they have to brag of, for in the preservation of 

 their dignity and the contemplation of their virtues they have little 

 time to devote to their other pursuits, and poverty prevails to a most 

 painful degree among some of the oldest and most aristocratic fam- 

 ilies. The women are beautiful; the men are reserved and austere. 

 Progress and modern ideas are looked upon as an evidence of vul- 

 garity, and the fact that Arequipa is so slow and old-fashioned is a 

 matter of congratulation rather than regret. 



Arequipa is the home of Senor Don Eduardo Lopez de Romana, 

 the second civilian who has been president of Peru. A civil engi- 

 neer by profession, he takes little interest in politics, which is a dis- 

 tinguishing characteristic in a country where politics has absorbed 

 tlie attention of the people to a degre(i that lias been seriously detri- 

 mental to its material interests. But what distinguishes Romana still 

 more is that he did not seek tiie ])residency — a fact absolutely uni(jue 

 in the history of the South American Ro|>ul)lics. 



liecause of the arid climate and the absence of clouds, the city of 



