222 THE ROAD TO BOLIVIA 



In the whirlpool near the center of Lake Popo, which receives the 

 waters of Lake Titicaca, hundreds of men have lost their lives. 

 Boats that are drawn into the current are whirled swiftly around a 

 few times and then disa})pear. For the i)rotection of navigators the 

 government of Bolivia has anchored a lot of buo^^s in Lake Popo, 

 and boatmen who observe them are in no danger. 



There is supposed to be an underground outlet from all of these 

 lakes into the ocean. Articles which have been thrown into their 

 waters have afterward been picked up on the seacoast near Arica, 

 and on the beach in that locality are frequently found cornstalks, 

 reeds, and other debris which do not grow on the coast, but are found 

 in great abundance among the interior lakes. 



After crossing the grand divide at Crucero Alto, you enter the great 

 basin that lies between the two ranges of the Andes, and is known to 

 the natives as Puna, 500 miles in length and from 20 to 300 miles in 

 width. Before the conquest it was the most populous and jn-oductive 

 part of Peru and the center of the great Lica empire. On either side 

 this mighty table-land is supported by the l)uttresses of the Andes 

 and the Cordillera, and tlie ranges of snow-covered peaks can be seen 

 to the east and to the west from every eminence, a vast chaos of 

 mountains, ranges, and cross-ranges, bleak, barren, and lifeless. 



In no part of the world does nature assume more imposing forms 

 or offer more striking contrasts. The deserts and the mountains are 

 as bare and repulsive as the Sahara, but the valleys are as luxuriant 

 and productive as those of Italy. Eternal summer sits side by side 

 with everlasting winter, and the perfume of flowers and fruits is 

 borne across repulsive wastes of sand and rock. Under these condi- 

 tions the Incas maintained a government, the first known to the world 

 in which the equal rights of every human being were recognized ; a 

 community that anticipated the ideas of modern socialism; that 

 worshipped a god whose instincts and attributes were almost parallel 

 with those of Jehovah. Men who have shivered in the snowy moun- 

 tains recognized the sun as the source of heat and light, the greatest 

 blessing they enjoyed, and gave it the chief place in their pantheon. 



The railway through the mountains of Peru is said to be the best 

 in South America. It has a fine track, quite as smooth as any we find 

 in the United States. Most of the freight is furnished by the mines — 

 silver, cop})er, and gold ores. A considerable quantity of wool is ex- 

 ported ; also a few hides. The inward freight is merchandise for 

 Bolivia and Cuzco, and supplies for the mines. The greater part of 



