60 THE ANDES OF SOUTHERN PERU 



sheep. In one district this change takes place in a distance that 

 may be covered in five hours. Generally it is at least a full and 

 hard day's journey from one end of the series to the other. 



Wherever these features are closely associated they tend to be 

 controlled by the planter in some deep valley thereabouts. Where 

 they are widely scattered the people are independent, small 

 groups living in places nearly inaccessible. Legally they are all 

 under the control of the owners of princely tracts that take in the 

 whole country, but the remote groups are left almost wholly to 

 themselves. In most cases they are supposed to sell their few 

 commercial products to the hacendado who nominally owns their 

 land, but the administration of this arrangement is left largely to 

 chance. The shepherds and small farmers near the plantation are 

 more dependent upon the planter for supplies, and also their 

 wants are more varied and numerous. Hence they pay for their 

 better location in free labor and in produce sold at a discount. 



So deep are some of the main canyons, like the Apurimac and 

 the Cotahuasi, that their floors are arid or semi-arid. The fortunes 

 of Pasaje are tied to a narrow canal from the moist woodland and 

 a tiny brook from a hollow in the valley wall. Where the water 

 has thus been brought down to the arable soil of the fans there are 

 rich plantations and farms. Elsewhere, however, the floor is quite 

 dry and uncultivated. In small spots here and there is a little 

 seepage, or a few springs, or a mere thread of water that will not 

 support a plantation, wherefore there have come into existence 

 the valley herdsmen and shepherds. Their intimate knowledge of 

 the moist places is their capital, quite as much as are the cattle and 

 sheep they own. In a sense their lands are the neglected crumbs 

 from the rich man's table. So we find the shepherd from the hills 

 invading the valleys just as the valley farmer has invaded the 

 country of the shepherd. 



The basin type of topography calls into existence a set of rela- 

 tions quite distinct from either of those we have just described. 

 Figure 34 represents the main facts. The rich and comparatively 

 fiat floor of the basin supports most of the people. The alluvial 

 fans tributary thereto are composed of fine material on their outer 



