464 



CHILI. 



and before the revolution, there were 3 or 4 houses in Oruro, that could boast of having quite 

 as much." Oruro is 180 miles north of Potosi, in a barren and level plain, bounded west by 

 the snow-covered Andes. 



Sicasica is 63 miles north of Oruro, and is a neat, respectable town, capital of a large 

 district of the same name, once containing about 4,000 inhabitants, but now not as many hun- 

 dreds, being ruined by the revolution. In its vicinity are several silver mines, which have 

 been worked, and still may be worked, to great advantage. Flocks and herds, which before 

 the revolution grazed in the valleys and sides of the mountains, have disappeared, and desola- 

 tion and poverty are everywhere manifest. It stands near the sources of the Beni. 



Tupisa is a little town on the road from Potosi to Buenos Ay res, where a traveler can sup 

 ply himself with everything he requires, and is also the southern frontier of the Bolivian repub- 

 lic, where duties are levied on goods and the baggage of travelers is inspected. It is situated 

 150 miles to the south of Potosi, at the base of the lateral ridge of the Andes. 



3. Commerce. The most important commerce of Bolivia consists in the export of gram 

 to Peru ; but the roads are bad, and communication is therefore greatly impeded. The only 

 port of Bolivia is the small harbor of Cobija or Lamer, on the Pacific. 



4. Inhabitants. The inhabitants are similar to those of the other States. Provisions are 



cheap and abundant. The potato is in 

 general use, as in Peru. It is the prin- 

 cipal food of the Indians, though they 

 mix it with milk, and other things. There 

 are vineyards which produce good wines. 

 There is little society in the towns. 

 There is such a similarity of character 

 and customs with those of Peru, that it is 

 unnecessary to describe them. The 

 people are extremely hospitable. The 

 traveler arrives at a house and says to the 

 master, " With your permission I will 

 lodge with you." At Potosi the carni- 

 val is a season of rejoicing. The nwrn- 

 ing dress of the ladies is represented 

 as shabby and heterogeneous ; but the 

 evening dress is worthy the almeda of 



any Spanish city. The religion is the Roman Catholic. 



5. History ; Government. The Bolivian territories, or, as they are commonly called, the 

 provinces of Upper Peru, were detached from the Spanish vice-royalty of Peru, and annexed 

 to that of the Plata, in 1778. In 1824 the Spanish authority was overthrown by the victory 

 of Ayacucho, and in the succeeding year the people of Upper Peru determined to remain a 

 separate State, under the name of Bolivia. The constitution of government is republican. 



CHAPTER LXIII. CHILI. 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



1. Boundaries and Extent. Chili is bounded N. by Bohvia ; E. by Buenos Ayres and 

 Patagonia ; S- by Patagonia, and W. by the Pacific. It lies between longitude 69° and 74° ; 

 and latitude 24° and 45°. It is 1,260 mdes long, and 300 wide, and has an area of 175,000 

 square miles. 



2. J\Iountains. The great chain of the Andes traverses the country from north to south, 

 and presents a number of sununits, the height of which has been estimated at upwards of 

 20,000 feet. The roads that lead across these mountains are impassable except in summer, 

 and the passage is even then so difficult and hazardous, that a horseman can scarcely accom- 

 plish it. The melting of the snow in these high regions forms innumerable torrents, which 

 quickly accumulate and dash along the glen and precipices till they break out and extend over 

 the plains. Among the Chihan Andes there are said to be 14 volcanoes, in a stale of con- 

 stant eruption, and a still greater number, that discharge smoke at intervals. Efrthquakes are 

 common in the vicinity of these mountains. 



Inkabiants of Bolivia. 



