THE GEOGRAPHIC BASIS OF HUMAN CHARACTER 97 



sneak, and he confirmed this impression by his frank disdain for 

 his full-blooded townsmen. "How ragged and ugly they are! 

 You people must find them very stupid," etc. When he found that 

 we had little interest in his remarks, he asked us if we had ever 

 seen Lima. We replied that we had, whereupon he said, "Do you 

 see the gilded cross above the church yonder? I brought that on 

 muleback all the way from Lima! Think of it! These ignorant 

 people have never seen Lima!" His whole manner as he drew 

 himself up and hit his breast was intended to make us think that 

 he was vastly superior to his neighbors. The sequel shows that 

 our first estimate of him was correct. 



We made our arrangements with the Governor and departed. 

 To inspire confidence, and at the Governor's urgent request, we 

 had paid in advance for our four Indians and our fresh beasts — 

 and at double the usual rates, for it was still winter in the 

 Cordillera. They were to stay with us until we reached Cota- 

 huasi, in the next Department beyond the continental divide, 

 where a fresh outfit could be secured. The Lieutenant Governor 

 accompanied us to keep the party together. They appeared to 

 need it. Like our Indian peons at Lambrama the week before, 

 these had been taken from the village jail and represented the 

 scum of the town. As usual they behaved well the first day. On the 

 second night we reached the Alpine country where the vegetation 

 is very scanty and camped at the only spot that offered fuel and 

 water. The elevation was 16,000, and here we had the lowest tem- 

 perature of the whole journey, + 6° F. ( — 14.4° C). Ice covered 

 the brook near camp as soon as the sun went down and all night 

 long the wind blew down from the lofty Cordillera above us, bring- 

 ing flurries of snow and tormenting our unprotected beasts. It 

 seemed to me doubtful if our Indians would remain. I discussed 

 with the other members of the party the desirability of chaining 

 the peons to the tent pole, but this appeared so extreme a measure 

 that we abandoned the idea after warning the Teniente that he 

 must not let them escape. 



At daybreak I was alarmed at the unusual stillness about 

 camp. A glance showed that half our hobbled beasts had 



