328 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



seven thousand one hundred and ten thousand feet in 

 height. There are a number of deep ravines filled with 

 low, dry woods; they form the connecting-links with the 

 lowland forest, and it is up these avenues that the new 

 fauna we were constantly observiag finds an easy means 

 of invading the uplands. Before reaching Totora we had 

 seen guans, and jays of a dark-blue color. 



There were many Indians on the trail; most of them 

 were driving burros laden with fire-wood, peppers, or sundry 

 articles. When the tired animals stopped for a moment's 

 breathing-spell, their owners beat them mmiercifully with 

 stones and clubs so that some of them dropped senseless in 

 their tracks. The drivers also used sticks with sections of 

 cactus stuck on the end as prods to urge on the worn-out 

 creatures. 



Totora is to me the most desolate and unattractive place 

 in all Bolivia, and the inhabitants are quite in keeping with 

 their town. It is frequently spoken of as the miniature 

 La Paz because, like that city, it is built in a crevice in the 

 mountains, and one does not see it until on the very brink 

 of the precipice above. The inhabitants are practically 

 aU Quechuas, or Cholos of a low type who spend most of 

 their time drinking, swearing, and fighting; then they un- 

 burden their souls of guilt by celebrating a religious fiesta. 

 We witnessed one such performance the day after our 

 arrival. Indians and Cholos formed the inevitable proces- 

 sion, headed by members of the clergy; they halted at each 

 comer and sang a hynrn to the tune of a few blaring brass 

 horns. The gente decente stood on the upper balconies of 

 their mud huts and showered home-made confetti and 

 firecrackers on the heads of the sacred statue and the 

 marchers. 



The Indians of Totora make some of the loveliest blankets 

 found in all Bolivia and— since the introduction of cheap 

 German dyes— some of the most atrocious. They are 

 woven of coarse yam, are thick and heavy and of large size, 

 being about seven or eight feet square. Usually there are 



