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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 59396 ***
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Book Cover]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: MAP OF SOUTH AMERICA]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN
+SOUTH AMERICA
+
+ADVENTURES OF TWO YOUTHS IN A JOURNEY THROUGH
+ECUADOR, PERU, BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, PARAGUAY, ARGENTINE REPUBLIC, AND CHILI
+WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF PATAGONIA AND TIERRA DEL FUEGO, AND
+VOYAGES UPON THE AMAZON AND LA PLATA RIVERS
+
+BY
+THOMAS W. KNOX
+
+AUTHOR OF
+"THE YOUNG NIMRODS IN NORTH AMERICA" "THE YOUNG NIMRODS AROUND THE
+WORLD"
+"THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE FAR EAST: ADVENTURES OF TWO YOUTHS IN
+A JOURNEY TO JAPAN AND CHINA--TO SIAM AND JAVA--TO CEYLON AND
+INDIA--TO EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND--TO CENTRAL AFRICA"
+"THE VOYAGE OF THE VIVIAN" ETC., ETC.
+
+Illustrated
+
+NEW YORK
+HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE
+1886
+
+
+
+
+By THOMAS W. KNOX.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE FAR EAST. Five Volumes. Copiously Illustrated.
+8vo, Cloth, $3.00 each. The volumes sold separately. Each volume
+complete in itself.
+
+ I. ADVENTURES OF TWO YOUTHS IN A JOURNEY TO JAPAN AND CHINA.
+ II. ADVENTURES OF TWO YOUTHS IN A JOURNEY TO SIAM AND JAVA. With
+ Descriptions of Cochin China, Cambodia, Sumatra, and the
+ Malay Archipelago.
+ III. ADVENTURES OF TWO YOUTHS IN A JOURNEY TO CEYLON AND INDIA. With
+ Descriptions of Borneo, the Philippine Islands, and Burmah.
+ IV. ADVENTURES OF TWO YOUTHS IN A JOURNEY TO EGYPT AND PALESTINE.
+ V. ADVENTURES OF TWO YOUTHS IN A JOURNEY THROUGH AFRICA.
+
+THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN SOUTH AMERICA. Adventures of Two Youths in a
+Journey through Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentine
+Republic, and Chili; with Descriptions of Patagonia and Tierra del
+Fuego, and Voyages upon the Amazon and La Plata Rivers. Copiously
+Illustrated. 8vo, Cloth.
+
+THE VOYAGE OF THE "VIVIAN" TO THE NORTH POLE AND BEYOND. Adventures of
+Two Youths in the Open Polar Sea. Copiously Illustrated. 8vo, Cloth,
+$2.50.
+
+HUNTING ADVENTURES ON LAND AND SEA. Two Volumes. Copiously Illustrated.
+8vo, Cloth, $2.50 each. The volumes sold separately. Each volume
+complete in itself.
+
+ I. THE YOUNG NIMRODS IN NORTH AMERICA.
+ II. THE YOUNG NIMRODS AROUND THE WORLD.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK.
+
+_Any of the above volumes sent by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of
+the United States or Canada, on receipt of the price._
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Copyright, 1885, by HARPER & BROTHERS.--_All rights reserved._
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+The plan of this volume is almost identically that of "The Boy
+Travellers in the Far East." Frank Bassett and Fred Bronson, with their
+accomplished mentor, Doctor Bronson, have traversed the length and
+breadth of the South American Continent from the Isthmus of Panama to
+the Strait of Magellan. Twice have they crossed the Andes; they have
+descended the Madeira and the Amazon rivers; navigated the La Plata and
+the Paraguay; visited the principal cities of the continent, and studied
+the manners and customs of the many people whom they encountered on
+their way. For the information of their friends and schoolmates at home
+they recorded the results of their travels and observations, and it is
+the author's pleasure to tell the story of their journey.
+
+The characters of the story are fictitious, but the descriptions of
+everything coming under the observation of the Boy Travellers, or
+learned in their wanderings, are intended to be as nearly exact as
+possible. The author has not relied alone upon his personal knowledge of
+South America, but has drawn from the narratives of others who preceded
+or have followed him. It has been his earnest endeavor to present a
+realistic picture of South America; its lofty mountains, magnificent
+rivers, luxuriant forests, and fertile pampas, together with the many
+varieties of people that form its populations; their governments as we
+find them to-day, and an epitome of their history from ancient times. He
+earnestly hopes for the same kindly reception by press and public that
+was accorded to his volumes of a similar nature concerning Asia and
+Africa.
+
+Many works of travel have been examined in the preparation of this book.
+Some of these are mentioned in the narrative, but it has not been
+practicable to refer to all. The author acknowledges his great
+indebtedness to that prince of travellers, Alexander Von Humboldt, whose
+graphic description was the first adequate picture of the South American
+continent ever presented to the world. He is specially indebted to the
+admirable work of the Hon. E. George Squier, upon "Peru and the Land of
+the Incas," not alone for information about the country and people, but
+for several illustrations which have been kindly loaned for this volume.
+He is also under obligations to the following books: "The Andes and the
+Amazon," by Professor James Orton; "Brazil and the Brazilians," by J. C.
+Fletcher and D. P. Kidder; "Life in Brazil," by Thomas Ewbank; "Fifteen
+Thousand Miles on the Amazon," by Brown and Lidstone; "Brazil, Amazons,
+and Coast," by H. H. Smith; "Wanderings in Patagonia," by J. Beerbohm;
+"Across Patagonia," by Lady Florence Dixie; and, "The War between Peru
+and Chili," by Clements R. Markham. The reports of the surveys and
+explorations of the various proposed routes for an inter-oceanic canal
+have supplied important data, and the officers of the company engaged in
+cutting the Panama Canal have cheerfully answered the author's
+interrogatories concerning that enterprise.
+
+The publishers have kindly allowed the use of illustrations from their
+previous publications on South America, in addition to those specially
+prepared for this work, or obtained from Mr. Squier's "Peru." As a
+consequence of their courtesy the author has been able to present a
+"copiously illustrated" book, which is always a delight to the youthful
+eye.
+
+ T. W. K.
+ NEW YORK, _July_, 1885.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+ CHAPTER I. PAGE
+
+ FROM NEW YORK TO THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA.--INCIDENTS OF THE
+ VOYAGE.--OLD TIMES AND THE PRESENT.--ASPINWALL.--A TROPICAL
+ CITY.--THE TEREDO.--ENTRANCE OF THE PANAMA CANAL. 13
+
+ CHAPTER II.
+
+ FIRST DAY ON THE ISTHMUS.--THE PANAMA CANAL.--HISTORY OF THE
+ CANAL ENTERPRISE.--PLANS OF BALBOA AND OTHERS.--THE VARIOUS
+ ROUTES PROPOSED.--STRAIN'S SURVEY OF DARIEN.--VISITING THE
+ WORKS AT PANAMA. 27
+
+ CHAPTER III.
+
+ OVER THE ISTHMUS.--A PROFITABLE RAILWAY.--ISTHMUS FEVER.--
+ TROPICAL TREES, FLOWERS, AND ANIMALS.--SIGHTS IN PANAMA.--THE
+ CATHEDRAL.--A STROLL ON THE BEACH.--THE PARADISE OF
+ CONCHOLOGISTS. 43
+
+ CHAPTER IV.
+
+ "THE PLACE OF FISH."--AN EXCURSION TO OLD PANAMA.--VISITING A
+ HERMIT.--DRINKING CHICHI.--RUINS OF THE CITY.--MORGAN THE
+ BUCCANEER.--HIS HISTORY AND EXPLOITS.--HOW HE CAPTURED PANAMA. 65
+
+ CHAPTER V.
+
+ FROM PANAMA TO GUAYAQUIL.--VASCO NUNEZ DE BALBOA.--HIS
+ ADVENTURES AND DEATH.--SCENES IN GUAYAQUIL.--FIRST EXPERIENCE
+ WITH SOUTH AMERICAN EARTHQUAKES. 85
+
+ CHAPTER VI.
+
+ THE PARADISE OF EARTHQUAKES.--FROM GUAYAQUIL TO QUITO.--A RIDE
+ OVER THE MOUNTAINS.--ALL CLIMATES UNITED IN ONE.--THE PLAINS
+ OF ECUADOR.--CHIMBORAZO AND COTOPAXI. 105
+
+ CHAPTER VII.
+
+ DESCRIPTION OF QUITO.--VISIT TO THE VOLCANO OF PICHINCHA.--THE
+ DEEPEST CRATER IN THE WORLD.--ROUTE OVER THE ANDES TO THE
+ AMAZON.--RETURN TO THE COAST. 122
+
+ CHAPTER VIII.
+
+ FROM GUAYAQUIL TO CALLAO.--LANDING AT PAITA.--THE SITE OF OLD
+ CALLAO.--ARRIVAL AT LIMA.--SIGHTS OF THE PERUVIAN CAPITAL.--
+ GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY AND ITS INHABITANTS. 141
+
+ CHAPTER IX.
+
+ EQUESTRIANS AND THEIR COSTUMES.--LADIES OF LIMA.--EXCURSIONS
+ AMONG RUINS.--PACHACAMAC, A HOLY CITY.--THE ANCIENT PERUVIANS.--
+ ORIGIN OF THE INCA GOVERNMENT. 160
+
+ CHAPTER X.
+
+ RAILWAYS OVER THE ANDES.--FROM LIMA TO MOLLENDO, AREQUIPA, AND
+ LAKE TITICACA.--THE CHINCHA ISLANDS AND THE SODA DESERTS.--UP
+ THE ANDES BY STEAM.--IN A RAILWAY CARRIAGE FOURTEEN THOUSAND
+ FEET ABOVE THE SEA. 177
+
+ CHAPTER XI.
+
+ PUNO AND LAKE TITICACA.--COCA AND ITS PROPERTIES.--THE LLAMA
+ AND HIS KINDRED.--EXCURSION TO THE SACRED ISLAND OF THE INCAS. 193
+
+ CHAPTER XII.
+
+ COATI ISLAND AND THE RUINS OF TIAHUANACO.--RETURN TO PUNO.--
+ CUZCO, AND THE TEMPLES, PALACES, AND FORTRESSES OF THE INCAS.--
+ PLANS FOR DEPARTURE. 212
+
+ CHAPTER XIII.
+
+ LEAVING PUNO.--CROSSING LAKE TITICACA.--RESOURCES OF BOLIVIA.--
+ SILVER MINING.--PRIMITIVE LODGINGS.--BEGINNING THE JOURNEY TO
+ THE EASTWARD. 229
+
+ CHAPTER XIV.
+
+ OVER THE EASTERN ANDES INTO THE AMAZON VALLEY.--AN EXCITING
+ JOURNEY.--ADVENTURES BY THE WAY.--TROUBLES OF TRAVELLING WITH
+ A TIGER. 243
+
+ CHAPTER XV.
+
+ DOWN THE RIVER.--ARRIVAL ON THE BENI.--BIRDS OF THE AMAZON
+ VALLEY.--BUILDING A HUT.--HUNTING WITH POISONED ARROWS.--
+ TURTLES, AND TURTLE-HUNTING. 258
+
+ CHAPTER XVI.
+
+ DOWN THE BENI.--PRODUCTS OF THE VALLEY.--PLANS FOR DEVELOPING
+ COMMERCE.--OBSTRUCTIONS TO NAVIGATION.--VOYAGE ON THE MAMORÉ. 275
+
+ CHAPTER XVII.
+
+ HUNTING THE TAPIR.--AMONG THE CARIPUNA INDIANS.--ARRIVAL AT
+ THE FALLS OF THE MADEIRA.--MAKING INDIA-RUBBER. 290
+
+ CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+ SLOW TRANSIT.--PASSING AROUND THE FALLS.--ANCIENT
+ INSCRIPTIONS.--THE MADEIRA TO THE AMAZON.--THE JANUARY
+ RIVER.--THE AMAZON FOREST. 306
+
+ CHAPTER XIX.
+
+ FROM THE MADEIRA TO THE RIO NEGRO.--OTHER TRIBUTARIES OF THE
+ AMAZON.--NOTES ON THE GREAT RIVER.--MANAOS.--DOWN THE AMAZON
+ TO PARA. 322
+
+ CHAPTER XX.
+
+ PARA.--ITS BUSINESS AND CHARACTERISTICS.--THE ISLAND OF
+ MARAJO.--DOWN THE COAST.--PERNAMBUCO.--THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 337
+
+ CHAPTER XXI.
+
+ BAHIA AND ITS INDUSTRIES.--RIO JANEIRO.--THE BAY AND THE
+ CITY.--SIGHTS OF THE CAPITAL.--EMPEROR DOM PEDRO II. 354
+
+ CHAPTER XXII.
+
+ THE SIGHTS OF RIO.--PUBLIC BUILDINGS, AQUEDUCT, CHURCHES,
+ MIRACLES, AND FUNERALS.--VISIT TO TIJUCA AND PETROPOLIS.--THE
+ SERRA. 373
+
+ CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+ RAILWAYS IN BRAZIL.--COFFEE PLANTATIONS.--MANDIOCA AND ITS
+ CULTURE.--TERRIBLE FAMINES.--SLAVERY AND EMANCIPATION. 390
+
+ CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+ RETURN TO THE CAPITAL.--INTRUDO SPORTS.--MUSEUM AT RIO.--
+ MONTEVIDEO AND BUENOS AYRES.--THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC.--
+ ASCENDING THE RIVER PLATE. 404
+
+ CHAPTER XXV.
+
+ VISITING A CATTLE ESTATE.--THE LASSO AND BOLAS.--ASCENDING
+ THE PARAGUAY AND PARANA RIVERS.--ROSARIO AND ASUNCION.--
+ PARAGUAYAN WAR.--INDUSTRIES OF THE COUNTRY.--MATÉ. 420
+
+ CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+ RETURN TO BUENOS AYRES.--DIVIDING THE PARTY.--TWO ROUTES TO
+ VALPARAISO.--FRANK'S JOURNEY OVER THE PAMPAS.--MENDOZA.--AT
+ THE FOOT OF THE ANDES. 437
+
+ CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+ INCIDENTS OF A RIDE OVER THE ANDES.--CONTRACT WITH THE
+ ARRIERO.--PASSES BETWEEN CHILI AND THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC.--
+ NIGHT SCENES.--DANGERS OF THE ROAD.--A PERILOUS POSITION.--
+ USPALLATA.--AT THE CREST OF THE ANDES. 453
+
+ CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+ DOWN THE WESTERN SLOPE OF THE ANDES.--A LONG IMPRISONMENT IN
+ THE SNOW.--"THE SOLDIER'S LEAP."--SANTA ROSA.--SANTIAGO.--
+ ARRIVAL AT VALPARAISO. 469
+
+ CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+ STRAIT OF MAGELLAN.--FALKLAND ISLANDS.--A PENGUIN CITY.--SANDY
+ POINT.--HUNTING THE OSTRICH AND GUANACO.--PATAGONIAN GIANTS. 485
+
+ CHAPTER XXX.
+
+ MUTINY AT SANDY POINT.--TIERRA DEL FUEGO.--MISSIONARY
+ ENTERPRISES THERE.--CAPTAIN GARDINER.--CRUISE OF THE
+ "WATEREE."--SIDE-WHEEL DUCKS.--UP THE PACIFIC COAST.--THE
+ MEETING AT VALPARAISO.--THE END. 498
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+ At the Foot of the Andes _Frontispiece._
+ On the Sea Again 13
+ The Fog Clearing away 14
+ Sandy Hook Light-ship 15
+ A Stranded Ship 17
+ Weighing Baggage 18
+ The Shipworm and his Work 19
+ The Donkey's Descent 21
+ The Wharf at Aspinwall 22
+ Departure for Panama 23
+ Native Market, Aspinwall 25
+ Preparing for a Boat Excursion 26
+ Balboa taking Possession of the Pacific 28
+ The Isthmus of Darien 29
+ Rescue of the Survivors of Strain's Expedition 30
+ Strain's Arrival at the Coast 31
+ View on the Chagres River 32
+ Beach near Aspinwall 34
+ In the Rainy Season 35
+ A Hand-car Journey on the Panama Railway 36
+ Surveying under Difficulties 37
+ Native Village on the Isthmus 38
+ Native Idea of the Locomotive 39
+ The Espiritu Santo Flower 40
+ Gatun Station 41
+ A Tropical Harbor 42
+ Map of the Panama Railway 43
+ Crossing the Isthmus in 1849 45
+ A Bongo 46
+ Bridge Across the Chagres River at Barbacoas 47
+ Meeting a Train 48
+ The Humming-bird at Work 49
+ The Singing Hummer 49
+ The Iguana 49
+ A Centipede 50
+ A Scorpion 50
+ Exhibiting a Tarantula 51
+ Hills near the Railway 52
+ Map Showing how Ocean Routes are Shortened by the Panama Canal 53
+ Basaltic Cliff 55
+ Panama in the Distance 56
+ Station at Panama 57
+ Cathedral at Panama 58
+ Ramparts, with Old Cannon 59
+ Water-carrier and Native Woman 60
+ Gate of the Monks 61
+ Ruins of Church of San Domingo 62
+ A Remarkable Archway 63
+ Ruined Church 64
+ View from the Ramparts at Panama 65
+ On the Northeastern Beach 66
+ Watch-tower of San Jerome 68
+ A Hermit at Home 70
+ Making Chichi 71
+ Bridge at Old Panama 72
+ Slaughter of Priests by Buccaneers 74
+ Pirates' Rendezvous 75
+ Buccaneers Embarking on an Expedition 76
+ Morgan's Reception at Chagres 78
+ Morgan's Men Dining on Leather 79
+ Death of the Indian Chief 80
+ Moving Through the Forest 81
+ Capture of Old Panama by Morgan. (Fac-simile of an old print) 83
+ The Lucky Arrow 84
+ Bay of Panama, from the Southeastern Rampart 85
+ Coast Scene Below Panama 86
+ Cave Near Limon River 87
+ Vasco Nunez De Balboa 89
+ Balboa Carried on Shipboard 90
+ Balboa Makes his Appearance 91
+ Village on a River of Darien 93
+ Balboa and the Indian Princess 94
+ Quarrel for the Gold 95
+ Marching Through the Forest 97
+ Discovery of the Pacific 98
+ Cutting Timber for the Ships 99
+ Death of Balboa 100
+ Cathedral of Guayaquil 102
+ Street Scene and Ruins 103
+ In the Land of the Earthquake 104
+ The Central Part of Ecuador 106
+ Las Bodegas, Guayas River 107
+ A House in the Tropics 108
+ Cacao 109
+ Arriero and Traveller 110
+ In Holiday Costume 111
+ A Pack-train Under Way 112
+ A Mountain Cascade 115
+ Baron von Humboldt in 1802 116
+ Native Huts Near Guaranda 117
+ Among the Lava Beds 118
+ View of Cotopaxi 119
+ View of Quito and the Volcano of Pichincha 120
+ Inca Gateway and Fortress in the Andes 121
+ Crossing the Mountains 122
+ A Street in Quito 123
+ Palacio de Gobierno (Government House), Quito 124
+ Water-carriers 125
+ Priests and Monks 126
+ Laundresses of Quito 128
+ Balcony View of the Andes 130
+ The Crater of Pichincha 131
+ El Altar, Volcano, Ecuador 133
+ View of Ibarra, Ecuador 135
+ Napo Indian Porter 137
+ Descending the Napo 138
+ Mountain Pass in the Andes 139
+ Rapids in a Mountain Stream of South America 140
+ Water-carrier and Donkeys 141
+ Desert Scene 142
+ A Wolf Emigrating 143
+ Ships in a Fog 145
+ A Garden on the Rimac 147
+ A Claimant for the Sidewalk 148
+ View of Lima from the Steps of the Cathedral 149
+ Lima and the Surrounding Country 150
+ Wearing the "Saya y Manto" 151
+ A Lady of Lima 152
+ Interior Court, Lima 154
+ Bridge over the Rimac, Lima 155
+ One Use for Chickens 156
+ Ladies of Lima at Home 157
+ Peruvian Infantry and Cavalry 158
+ A Passage of Politeness 159
+ A Peruvian Cavalier 160
+ Horse-breakers at Work 161
+ Native Women of Lima 163
+ Ruins of Pachacamac 164
+ Head of Peruvian Statue 165
+ Terraced Space on a Hill-top 165
+ Peruvian Mummies 166
+ Sepulchral Tower 167
+ Golden Vase Found in a Tomb 167
+ Silver Vase 168
+ Peruvian Idol 168
+ Peruvian Copper Knives 169
+ Ruins on Titicaca Island 169
+ Part of Temple of the Sun, Cuzco 170
+ Outer Wall of Fortress of Cuzco 171
+ Stones in the Wall of Cuzco 171
+ Part of Wall of Fortress 172
+ Peruvian Vases 173
+ Ornaments of Peruvian Walls 174
+ Ancient Palace at Huanco 175
+ Doorway Cut Through a Single Stone 175
+ Central Figure over Doorway 176
+ Deep Cutting on a Railway 177
+ Among the Foot-hills 178
+ Guano Islands 181
+ Sea-birds at Home 182
+ Scene on a Coolie Ship 183
+ On the Edge of the Desert 185
+ Indians of Arequipa 186
+ Arequipa, and the Volcano of Misti 187
+ The Old Way of Travel 189
+ View of Lake Titicaca 190
+ The Nevada de Sorata, Crown of the Andes 191
+ View on Lake Titicaca 193
+ Peruvian Heads, Ancient and Modern 194
+ Cathedral of Puno 195
+ Quichua Woman (from a photograph) 196
+ Coca Plant 197
+ Llama 199
+ Ancient Gateway near Puno 200
+ The Vicuna 201
+ Indians and Llama Among the Ruins 202
+ Cattle Feeding on Rushes, Lake Titicaca 203
+ Tortora Bridge Over the Outlet of Lake Titicaca 204
+ Head-dress of Aymara Women 205
+ Aymara Men, Puno 205
+ Aymara Woman, Puno 206
+ A Ride on a Balsa, Lake Titicaca 207
+ Closed Doorway, Titicaca Island 207
+ Palace of the Inca 208
+ Bath of the Inca 209
+ Room in the Inca's Palace 210
+ The Sacred Rock of Manco Capac 210
+ Ground-plan of "Palace of the Inca," Titicaca Island 211
+ Bridge and Custom-house at the Frontier 212
+ Ruins on Coati Island 213
+ Indians Celebrating the Chuno, or Potato Festival 214
+ Head-dress of Indian Female Dancers 215
+ Plan of Part of Ruins of Tiahuanaco 216
+ The American Stonehenge 216
+ Front View of Monolithic Doorway 217
+ Symbolical Slab 218
+ Terrace Walls and Scattered Blocks of Stone 219
+ Remains of Palace at Cuzco 220
+ Inca Doorway, Cuzco 221
+ Old Bridge at Cuzco 221
+ Court of Convent, with Ancient Fountain 222
+ Church and Convent of Santo Domingo, Cuzco 223
+ Terra-cotta Figures, Cuzco 224
+ Ancient Stone Sculpture, Cuzco 224
+ Section of Walls of the Fortress 225
+ Salient Angle of Fortress 225
+ Road Leading to Fortified Hill 226
+ Ancient Dwelling-house 227
+ Specimen of Cyclopean Wall 227
+ Ancient Sun Circle, Sillustani, Peru 228
+ Tanatero (ore-carrier) 229
+ Section of a Silver Mine 230
+ A Primitive Mill 231
+ Arastra, with Mule-power 232
+ Breaking Ore 233
+ Indians Extracting Silver from Ore 234
+ Galleries in a Silver Mine 235
+ Caving in 236
+ Wild Indian of Bolivia 237
+ Limited Accommodations 239
+ Aymara Skull 240
+ Turf House near Lake Titicaca 241
+ Chulpas, or Burial-towers 241
+ Ancient Sepulchre 242
+ Manuel 243
+ Loading the Mules 244
+ The Start 245
+ A Mountain Trail 247
+ Hacienda among the Mountains 248
+ Travelling by Silla 250
+ Dead Whale on Shore 251
+ Shot at a Condor 252
+ Puma, Cougar, or American Lion 252
+ Capybara 253
+ Jaguar 254
+ Game for the Jaguar 255
+ Steamer Leaving Para 256
+ Head of Navigation 257
+ A Chance Acquaintance 258
+ A Landing-place 260
+ Humming-birds of the Andes 261
+ Humming-bird's Nest 262
+ Pair of Toucans and their Nest 263
+ Tanagers and Nest 264
+ Toucan 265
+ Parrots 265
+ An Amazonian Dwelling 266
+ Near the Village 267
+ Agave, or Sisal Hemp 269
+ Hunting with the Blow-gun 271
+ A Giant of the Forest 272
+ Turtle-shooting in South America 273
+ Turtle-turning 274
+ South American River Scene 276
+ South American Monkey with Prehensile Tail 277
+ Howling Monkey 278
+ A Monkey Robbing Birds'-nests 279
+ Hunting the Monkey 280
+ Amazonian Mosquitoes at Home 282
+ An Indian of Northern Bolivia 283
+ Breakfast Scene on the River Bank 285
+ Plaza and Church at Exaltacion 287
+ Mojos Indians Celebrating Mass 288
+ The Cherimbita 289
+ A Mojos Indian 289
+ The Agouti 290
+ Hunting the Tapir 292
+ Water-snakes at Home 294
+ Rattlesnake Disturbed by a Wildcat 295
+ Visiting the Caripunas 296
+ A Caripuna Indian 298
+ A Walk in the Forest 299
+ Branch of the India-rubber Tree 300
+ India-rubber Making on the Madeira 301
+ Leaves, Fruit, and Flowers of the Cow-tree 303
+ Milking the Cow-tree 304
+ Dragging a Boat Around Teotonio 307
+ Inscriptions on the Rocks at Ribeirao 308
+ Cuttings on Stones near the Rapids 308
+ Buried in the Tropical Forest 310
+ Banana in Blossom 311
+ Rubber Tree and Parasites 312
+ Station of a Rubber Collector 313
+ A River Town 315
+ Pira-rucû, a Fish of the Amazon 317
+ Deposits in the Amazon Valley 318
+ Wasp-nest, Showing Interior Construction 319
+ Leaves, Nut, and Flowers of Sapucaya, an Amazon Tree 320
+ Ferns, Trees, and Creepers 321
+ Natives on the Middle Amazon 323
+ In an Igaripé 325
+ Fruit Pedlers 326
+ Arrival at Manaos 327
+ Giant Fig-tree 328
+ Natives of the Banks of the Ucayali 329
+ A Brazilian Landing-place 331
+ The Ant-eater Asleep 334
+ The Mouths of the Amazon 335
+ Para, from the River 336
+ Environs of Para 337
+ A Tropical Plant 338
+ A Dealer in Monkeys 339
+ Street in Para with Silk-cotton Trees 340
+ Nazareth Square, Para 341
+ A Para Belle 342
+ The Market at Para 343
+ Theatre of Our Lady of the Peace 344
+ The Government Palace at Para 345
+ Sourré and Salvaterra 347
+ A Snake Merchant 348
+ Going Ashore in a Jaganda 349
+ Street Scene in Pernambuco 350
+ Pernambuco 351
+ Pack Horses Laden with Sugar 352
+ Ox-cart 353
+ View of Bahia 354
+ Diamond-washing in Brazil 355
+ "Star of the South" 356
+ Porters Asleep 357
+ Brazilian Humming-birds 358
+ Market Scene, Bahia 359
+ Porters and Cask 359
+ Sedan Chair 360
+ Frame of Sedan 360
+ Entrance to the Harbor of Rio 361
+ View of Rio Janeiro from the Sea 362
+ Front View of the City 364
+ Coffee-carriers 365
+ Coal-carriers 366
+ Modern Innovations 366
+ Pedlers of Dry-goods 367
+ Poultry Dealer 367
+ Fruit Vender 368
+ View in the Bay of Rio de Janeiro 369
+ An Imperial Palace 370
+ Statue of Pedro I. 371
+ Scene in a Brazilian Suburb 372
+ Votive Offerings in a Church at Rio 374
+ View in the Bay 374
+ Alms-box 375
+ Religious Festival in Front of a Church 376
+ Monk in a Procession 377
+ The Aqueduct 378
+ A Brazilian Forest, with Characteristic Mammalia 379
+ Coffin Closed 380
+ Coffin Opened 380
+ Cemetry of the Paula Church 381
+ View of Rio from Boa Vista 382
+ Hotel at Tijuca, near Rio 383
+ Cascade at Tijuca 385
+ The Armadillo 386
+ Road over the Serra, near Petropolis 387
+ The Palace at Petropolis 388
+ Religious Procession in Brazil 389
+ Negro Hut near the Railway 391
+ Entrance to a Coffee Plantation 392
+ Victims of the Famine 394
+ Dying for Lack of Food 395
+ A Tropical Railway Station 396
+ Mandioca Plant 397
+ Plantation Negro 398
+ Punishment 399
+ In the Fields 400
+ Slaves with Collars 400
+ Slave with Mask 401
+ Mask 401
+ Shackles 401
+ Household Servant 402
+ Slaves Gathering Sugar-cane 403
+ At Home with the Sugar-cane 404
+ Intrudo Sports Thirty Years Ago 406
+ Intrudo Balls and Bottles 407
+ Wooden Cannon 407
+ The Condor and the Bull 408
+ Embalmed Head 408
+ Ancient Musical Instruments 409
+ Ancient Comb 409
+ Brazilian Basin 409
+ Montevideo from the Sea 410
+ View in the Capital of Uruguay 411
+ Ox-cart of Buenos Ayres 412
+ Soldiers of the Argentine Republic 413
+ A Guacho 414
+ A Guacho on Horseback 415
+ Post-station on the Pampas 417
+ A Steamer on the River Plate 418
+ A Refuge from Mosquitoes 419
+ Branding Cattle on an Estancia 421
+ Use of the Lasso and Bolas 422
+ Costumes of Paraguay 424
+ Indians of the "Gran Chaco" 425
+ Battle with Chaco Indians 427
+ Indians of the Lenqua, River Plate 428
+ Indians Shooting Fishes 429
+ A River Port during the War 430
+ Headquarters of General Lopez 431
+ Paraguayan Mother and Daughters 432
+ A Landed Proprietor 433
+ Cups and Tubes for Maté 434
+ Paraguayan Cart 435
+ Carlo Antonio Lopez, former President of Paraguay 436
+ Olive Branch from the Banks of the Parana 437
+ Map of Chili, Argentine Confederation, and Uruguay 439
+ In the Strait of Magellan 440
+ Arrival of Travellers at a Guacho Village 442
+ A Dance at San Luis de la Punta 444
+ The Police-office at Mendoza 446
+ The Birlocha 448
+ The Pampa Coach 449
+ Ox-carts near Mendoza 450
+ Coming to Town 451
+ Exercising the Mules 452
+ A Start under Disadvantages 454
+ Pass of Uspallata 455
+ Near the Base of the Andes 457
+ A Dangerous Road in the Mountains 459
+ Peons at Rest 460
+ A Mountain Cañon 462
+ Snow-slide on the Trail 463
+ Hanging Bridge in the Andes 465
+ Deep Chasm in the Mountains 466
+ A Victim of the Storm 467
+ A Chilian Ox-cart 468
+ The Condor 469
+ Travelling in the Snow 470
+ A Natural Highway 471
+ Cutting Steps Along the Mountain 472
+ Bridge of the Apurimac 474
+ Looking Across the Bridge 475
+ By the Roadside 476
+ Court-yard of the Posada 477
+ A Pedler of Forage 478
+ The Alameda 480
+ A Street Scene 481
+ Customs Guard-house, Valparaiso 483
+ Spanish-American Costumes 484
+ Seal of the Falkland Islands 486
+ Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego 487
+ The Penguin 488
+ The Home of the Sea-birds 489
+ The Cormorant 489
+ A Steamer Entering the Strait of Magellan 490
+ Chilian Settlement at Sandy Point 491
+ Patagonian Dress 492
+ A Patagonian Belle 493
+ The Guanaco 494
+ Seeking Safety 495
+ The Ostrich and his Hunters 496
+ Skeleton of the Ostrich 497
+ Captain Smiley 498
+ Mountains and Glaciers in Magellan's Strait 499
+ Jemmy Button's Sound 500
+ Fuegians Visiting a War Steamer 501
+ The "Allen Gardiner" at Banner Cove 502
+ Starvation Beach 503
+ A Fuegian and his Food 504
+ A Fuegian Feast 505
+ Ruins at Port Famine 506
+ Borgia Bay 507
+ Inscriptions at Borgia Bay 507
+ "H" Cliff, Wateree Bay 508
+ The Yankee Wood-dealer 509
+ Near the Coast of Patagonia 509
+ Map of South America, with Route of the Boy Travellers _Front Cover._
+ Physical Map of South America _Back Cover._
+
+
+
+
+THE BOY TRAVELLERS
+IN
+SOUTH AMERICA.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+FROM NEW YORK TO THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA.--INCIDENTS OF THE VOYAGE.--OLD
+TIMES AND THE PRESENT.--ASPINWALL.--A TROPICAL CITY.--THE
+TEREDO.--ENTRANCE OF THE PANAMA CANAL.
+
+
+"Is everything ready?"
+
+"Yes," was the reply. "The trunks are packed and strapped, and the
+carriage will be at the door at ten o'clock."
+
+"That is quite early enough. The steamer leaves the dock at noon, and we
+can easily be settled on board by eleven o'clock."
+
+"Quite easily," was the response. "And here comes Frank, who has been to
+see the porter about the heavy baggage."
+
+"It's all arranged," said the latter; "the baggage-wagon will take our
+trunks, chairs, and other heavy things, and have them ready at the pier,
+so that we shall have only our satchels and rugs for the carriage."
+
+"An excellent plan," was the reply; "and the next business before us is
+to go to breakfast."
+
+The conversation recorded above took place not many months ago in the
+corridor of the Fifth Avenue Hotel, in New York. The parties to the
+dialogue were Dr. Bronson, his nephew, Fred Bronson, and Frank Bassett,
+a cousin of Fred. Some of our readers have met this trio of travellers,
+or, at all events, have read of their wanderings in Asia and Africa.
+When we last saw them they were on their homeward journey from Zanzibar,
+after making the ascent of the Nile, visiting the equatorial lakes of
+the Dark Continent, and reaching the Indian Ocean at Bagamoya. Those who
+have perused the narrative of the travels of Frank and Fred with the
+amiable doctor will need no further introduction.[1]
+
+[1] "The Boy Travellers in the Far East." Adventures of Two Youths in
+Japan, China, Siam, Java, Burmah, Sumatra, the Philippine Islands,
+Borneo, the Malay Archipelago, and Central Africa. Five Volumes.
+Published by Harper & Brothers, New York.
+
+The Doctor and his young friends had planned a journey to South America,
+and at the time our present story begins they were just starting on
+their new adventure. With their experience in former travels they
+realized the wisdom of going to the steamer in ample season to take
+everything leisurely, and be comfortably settled before the hour of
+departure.
+
+[Illustration: ON THE SEA AGAIN.]
+
+Promptly at the advertised time the steamer left the dock, followed by
+the cheers of the crowd that had come to witness her departure or say
+farewell to friends on board. As she moved slowly into the river there
+were dozens of handkerchiefs fluttering over her rail, and other dozens
+waving answer from the shore. Steadily the distance between ship and
+pier increased, and it soon became impossible to distinguish friends
+from one to the other, even with the aid of glasses. With her engines at
+half speed the great vessel moved majestically down the channel, passed
+the Narrows, and entered the lower bay. A fog blowing in from seaward
+compelled the pilot to order the anchor dropped, and the chain rattled
+through the hawse-hole with a vehemence that seemed to threaten the
+safety of the steamer's bows.
+
+[Illustration: THE FOG CLEARING AWAY.]
+
+For two hours the fog continued; then it lifted, and the way to the
+ocean was revealed. Up came the anchor, round went the ponderous screw,
+the outer bar was passed, the pilot, his pocket filled with letters, the
+last messages to friends on shore, descended to his boat and was safely
+deposited on the light-ship at Sandy Hook, and then the steamer took her
+course for more southern waters.
+
+[Illustration: SANDY HOOK LIGHT-SHIP.]
+
+The flag of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company fluttered at the
+main-truck, and it needed little observation to show that the craft on
+which our friends had embarked belonged to that famous organization.
+When the project for visiting South America was first discussed, the
+Doctor told his young friends that their best plan would be to proceed
+from New York to Aspinwall by one of the Pacific Mail Steamers. "We will
+then," said he, "have the whole of the continent before us; we can go
+down the western coast to any point we choose to visit, or we can travel
+along the northern and eastern coast, and make our way westward by one
+of the overland routes, or through the Strait of Magellan. We can ascend
+the Amazon, or descend it, or we may cross the Andes in the vicinity of
+Santiago. We will leave our plans incomplete till we reach Panama, and
+there be guided by circumstances."
+
+As our friends were by no means novices in ocean travel they speedily
+dropped into the ways of the ship and made acquaintance with the
+passengers and officers. The passengers were a polyglot collection,
+numbering some fifty or more, and including about a dozen nationalities.
+There were Americans, on their way to California or Central America;
+Englishmen, with similar destinations, or bound for Callao and
+Valparaiso; Frenchmen, who were interested in the work on the Panama
+Canal; Peruvians, Chilians, Nicaraguans, and other natives of Central
+and South America; Germans, commercially engaged in the republics beyond
+the Equator; besides, as Fred expressed it in his note-book, "several
+districts to hear from." But in spite of their difference of nationality
+they were entirely harmonious, and the voyage proved a most agreeable
+one.
+
+"Things are not now what they were before the overland railways were
+built," said one of the officers in conversation with Frank; "in those
+days we carried three or four hundred passengers in the first cabin, and
+twice or three times as many in the steerage. Now, the travel between
+the east and west goes by railway, and comparatively few persons make
+the sea trip between New York and San Francisco. But it's as pleasant as
+it ever was, and if people would only think they could spare the
+additional time there would be more of them going by steamer than by
+rail. There's no more delightful voyage in the world than from Panama to
+San Francisco. You are in sight of the coast nearly all the way; the
+ocean is so calm that you might suppose yourself on an inland lake,
+except on rare occasions; and before you begin to be weary of the trip
+you are entering the Golden Gate, and making fast to the dock, at your
+journey's end."
+
+Dr. Bronson confirmed the assertion of this ancient mariner, as he had
+made the voyage to California in the manner described; "and we used to
+think," said he, "that we were getting along finely when we went from
+New York to San Francisco in twenty-three days. Now we can go in a week
+by the railway, and it is contrary to the American temperament to make
+the longer journey."
+
+Frank and Fred were agreeably disappointed in the expectation of a storm
+before reaching the Caribbean Sea. In looking up the accounts of
+previous travellers they had found an old couplet:
+
+ "If the Bermudas let you pass,
+ You must beware of Hatteras."
+
+They questioned the captain on the subject, and found that the poetical
+assertion was not without basis, as many a ship sailing on her course
+had encountered a gale in the neighborhood either of Cape Hatteras or
+the Bermuda Islands. "But in marine verses, as in every other sort," the
+captain continued, "you must allow for the poet's license, which often
+requires a very large margin to include it."
+
+[Illustration: A STRANDED SHIP.]
+
+Hatteras and "the vexed Bermoothes" permitted them to pass without a
+semblance of a gale. They sighted one of the islands of the Bahama
+group, and there was great excitement on board the steamer when it was
+discovered that a ship was stranded on the shore. Fred and Frank rushed
+below to tell the Doctor, and that worthy ran on deck as soon as he
+could don his hat and coat. The captain scanned with his glass the
+unfortunate craft, and relieved the general anxiety with the
+information that she had sent a line to the land, and there was no
+danger to the lives of her people, whatever might be the risk to the
+property. "If anybody was in peril," said he, "I would do all I could to
+save him; but when it comes to a mere question of ship and cargo, none
+of us care to take any risk, or even go out of our course for a minute.
+It is a serious matter to stop a great steamer like this, and, besides,
+it is a peril to her passengers and crew. We will save life always, and
+the property of our own company, but when it comes to the ships of other
+people, who would, quite likely, refuse to pay anything for the service
+without a lawsuit, we mind our own business and keep on our way."
+
+The correctness of his reasoning was apparent to all the listeners, and
+before the day was over the stranded ship was well-nigh forgotten.
+
+[Illustration: WEIGHING BAGGAGE.]
+
+They passed the eastern end of Cuba, and then steered between that
+island and Jamaica. The sight of the palm-trees that fringed parts of
+the shores reminded the youths of their journeyings in Ceylon and the
+Malay Archipelago, and increased their eagerness to be once more in
+tropical lands. In the Caribbean Sea they renewed their acquaintance
+with the flying-fishes, that darted from wave to wave, and were
+sometimes so numerous that hundreds of them could be seen at once. On
+the seventh day of the voyage the heavy baggage was brought from below
+and piled on deck, each piece being carefully weighed, and checked off
+on the purser's books. The Doctor explained to the youths that each
+passenger was entitled to free transportation of one hundred pounds of
+baggage across the Isthmus, but all above that amount was subject to an
+extra charge.
+
+At daybreak the next morning the steamer entered the harbor of Aspinwall
+and made fast to her dock. The city was named in honor of William H.
+Aspinwall, of New York, but the French persist in calling it Colon,
+which was its appellation before the Panama Railway was thought of. It
+was a place of little consequence until the discovery of gold in
+California, in 1848, called attention to the necessity for a route of
+speedy travel between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of our continent.
+
+Frank and Fred were up early on the morning of their arrival at
+Aspinwall, and as soon as the gang-plank was out they hurried on shore,
+accompanied by the Doctor. Tropical verdure greeted their eyes as they
+looked inland, and the open sheds and slightly built houses told very
+plainly that they had reached a region where frosts were unknown.
+
+The wharf where the steamer lay was more than a thousand feet in length,
+and, on inquiry, they learned that it was built on a coral reef, which
+formed an excellent foundation. "You observe," said Dr. Bronson, "that
+the piles resting in the water are covered with copper, to resist the
+teredo, a tropical worm which is very destructive to wood. Perhaps you
+would like to know something about him.
+
+[Illustration: THE SHIPWORM AND HIS WORK.]
+
+"Well," the Doctor continued, "the teredo is better known as the
+ship-worm, a name he has obtained from his habits of attacking the
+timber of ships in tropical countries, and also in the warmer parts of
+the temperate zones. He is a long worm with a boring head; imagine an
+auger endowed with life, and you have a very good idea of what the
+teredo is. He enters the wood when young, and keeps on boring all his
+life; he goes in the direction of the grain of the wood, and only turns
+aside for hard knots or for a fellow-worm, whose presence he seems to
+detect by the sound of his work. The teredo attacks wood immersed in
+salt water, and hence his destructiveness to ships and to the piles that
+support docks and other marine structures. The timber is perforated and
+riddled so much that it crumbles to pieces in the course of time, and
+not a very long time either. Millions of dollars have been lost in
+consequence of the worm's performance, and not a few human lives. Ships
+lying in tropical harbors have been ruined by the teredo, and the injury
+has remained unknown until the vessels went to sea and were lost in the
+first gale that blew.
+
+"But he has not been without his uses," said the Doctor, with a smile.
+"It was the teredo that gave Brunel his idea of a machine for tunnelling
+under the Thames River, and since his time most of the machines for
+tunnelling in soft earth have been made on the teredo principle. The
+head of the worm has a series of cutting disks that eat away the wood;
+Brunel made a gigantic worm with windows in front, and each window was
+occupied by a man who removed the earth before him and thus made way for
+the machine to be pushed forward. The progress of Brunel's worm under
+the bed of the Thames was exactly like that of the teredo in a piece of
+wood."
+
+[Illustration: THE DONKEY'S DESCENT.]
+
+The Doctor delivered his improvised lecture amid the rattle of boxes
+that were sliding down the sloping gangway from the side of the steamer,
+as the process of unloading began almost immediately on her arrival. The
+lecture was suddenly terminated by the inattention of the audience, the
+antics of a donkey in a portable stall having caught their eyes. The
+animal did not relish the rapid descent along the gangway, as his
+progress easily averaged a mile a minute, and the momentum acquired in
+the slide carried him far out upon the wharf. He reared and plunged as
+he was going downwards, and in his struggles one of the upper slats of
+his cage was torn off. But at this point he became discreet, and carried
+his protests no further than to lift up his voice in its loudest tones.
+
+[Illustration: THE WHARF AT ASPINWALL.]
+
+Threading their way through the mass of bales and boxes that covered the
+wharf, our friends were soon on solid earth at the end of the coral reef
+already mentioned. Here the tropical forest was visible in all its
+luxuriance, and not very far away, as the city does not cover a large
+area, and the trees grow luxuriantly wherever they are not kept down by
+the hand of man. Dr. Bronson explained to the youths that Aspinwall is
+built upon the island of Manzanillo, which is about three miles long by
+a mile in width; the harbor was formerly known as Navy Bay, and is said
+to have been discovered by Columbus on his third voyage.
+
+In spite of the commercial importance of the place, Aspinwall contains
+little to interest the ordinary sight-seer. "You observe," said the
+Doctor, "that everything is designed for use, and not for ornament; the
+buildings are of a practical character, and many of them are not even
+intended to be permanent. There are only a few hundred houses in the
+city, most of them of wood, and very loosely constructed. Some of the
+buildings of the railway company are of iron or brick, partly as a
+precaution against fire, and partly to secure immunity from tropical
+insects and the rapid deterioration of wood in the damp climate of the
+Isthmus. The canal company has followed the same plan in the
+construction of its shops and sheds, but as these structures will be of
+no further use when the canal is completed there is no attempt to make
+them ornamental. In the ordinary parlance of the tourist, Aspinwall can
+be 'done' in half an hour."
+
+Following the Doctor's suggestion, they strolled along the street of
+hotels and shops near the head of the wharf, passed in front of the
+stone church, the first Protestant edifice ever erected in New Granada,
+gave a hasty glance at the iron buildings of the Panama Railway, and
+then returned to the steamer for breakfast. After that meal was
+concluded they went on shore again, arranged for temporary quarters in
+one of the hotels, and immediately transferred their baggage to it.
+
+As soon as they were settled at the hotel a carriage was ordered for a
+drive around the island by the "Paseo Coral," as the encircling road is
+termed. For much of the way the drive was through, or close upon, the
+tropical forest, and the youths were more than once reminded of their
+excursion in Singapore, and the ride in Ceylon from Point de Galle to
+Colombo. On one side of the island there was a view of the ocean, while
+on the other the scene included the dense swamp and series of islands
+lying between them and the mainland, with an occasional glimpse of the
+mountains that form the dividing ridge between the Atlantic and Pacific.
+The Doctor's scientific ardor was roused by the numerous shells with
+which the beach was strewn, and several times he stepped from the
+carriage to gather specimens for his cabinet of conchology. The youths
+looked longingly at the bananas and other fruits which grew in
+abundance, but they heeded the advice of their mentor, and abstained
+from indulging. Aspinwall is not a healthy place at best, and the
+dangers of a stay there are greatly increased by an intimate
+acquaintance with the products of its gardens, when one has freshly
+arrived from a sea-voyage.
+
+[Illustration: DEPARTURE FOR PANAMA.]
+
+On returning from their excursion our friends went to deliver letters to
+one of the officials connected with the canal company's works, but, not
+finding him, they went to the railway terminus to witness the departure
+of the train for Panama. The passengers, mails, express matter, and
+"fast" freight had been loaded as expeditiously as possible into a train
+of eight or nine cars, and when all was ready the usual signals were
+given, and the locomotive moved off with its burden. One of the officers
+of the steamer had joined our friends, and explained that it was the
+custom of the company to despatch a special train on the arrival of a
+steamer, whether from Europe or America, in addition to the regular
+trains that were sent each way daily. Sometimes five or six trains were
+sent off in a single day, but such occurrences were unusual.
+
+"In the old times," he continued, "when this was the principal route of
+travel between New York and San Francisco, the arrival of a steamer made
+a busy scene. Several hundred passengers were to be transferred,
+together with a large amount of mail and express matter; the passengers
+were packed into the cars as closely as possible, and when there was an
+unusual rush it took two or perhaps three trains to carry them all. In
+such cases the steerage passengers were sent away ahead of the others,
+while the cabin passengers and mails followed an hour or two later. Most
+of the passengers were encumbered with several articles of hand-baggage,
+together with oranges, bananas, and other fruits bought from the natives
+that swarmed around the station; you would have thought they were
+setting out for a journey of a week or more, and provisioning themselves
+accordingly, instead of a continuous ride of three or four hours over a
+railway. There was often a contest for places in the carriages, and many
+an impromptu fight has occurred on the spot where we are so peacefully
+standing."
+
+Soon after the departure of the train Dr. Bronson and the youths
+returned to the hotel, where they found the official from the canal
+company awaiting them. He was accompanied by Mr. Colné, the secretary of
+the American committee of the company, and after the formalities of
+introduction were completed the party set out for the Atlantic entrance
+to the promised waterway from the Caribbean Sea to the Bay of Panama.
+
+The entrance to the canal is on the mainland, just behind the island on
+which Aspinwall is situated. The island has been enlarged in this
+direction, and, when the great ditch is completed, Aspinwall will be its
+Atlantic terminus in much the same way that Suez is the Red Sea terminus
+of the Suez Canal.
+
+Our friends were surprised at the magnitude of the works of the canal
+company, as they walked through the miniature city which has sprung up
+since the work of cutting the waterway was undertaken. There were acres
+and acres of warehouses and workshops, dwellings for the laborers, and
+residences of the officers, together with other edifices connected with
+the enormous enterprise. There was a scene of activity around the
+machine-shops, where engines and dredges were undergoing repairs, and it
+was difficult to believe that all this life had been infused into the
+tropical languor of the Isthmus in the past few years.
+
+[Illustration: NATIVE MARKET, ASPINWALL.]
+
+Mr. Colné told the strangers that the new town had received the name of
+Christopher Columbus, in honor of the great navigator, who was believed
+to have visited the spot on his third voyage, at the time he discovered
+the bay in which Aspinwall is situated. "And here," said he, as they
+reached a row of neat cottages, "is the street called Charles de
+Lesseps; these houses were made in New York and then brought here and
+put together, and we have houses at other places of the same character.
+Most of our dredges were made in the United States, and an American
+company has taken the contract for a large part of our excavating. Part
+of the land on which the city is built was reclaimed from the bay by
+filling in with the earth dredged out for the canal and its approaches.
+Before we get through with the work we shall have changed the appearance
+of this part of the coast so that its friends will hardly know it.
+
+"When we came here," he continued, "one of the first things we
+determined upon was the deepening of the harbor of Aspinwall up to the
+point where the canal is entered. As soon as the dredges were ready they
+went to work and made a channel that permits the largest ships to come
+up to the shore. We might have left it till the end of the enterprise,
+but it was better to have it done at the outset, as it facilitates the
+landing of our material."
+
+[Illustration: PREPARING FOR A BOAT EXCURSION.]
+
+At the suggestion of Mr. Colné the party entered a boat, and spent a
+half-hour or more in an excursion around the harbor. While they were
+being propelled by the strong arms of six negro boatmen from the West
+Indies, their entertainer told them about the history of the canal
+enterprise. Frank and Fred listened eagerly to the narration, and the
+former made notes of its most important points. With the aid of these
+memoranda we will endeavor to repeat the story.
+
+ NOTE.--This book was written and in the hands of the publishers
+ previous to the burning of Aspinwall by insurgents, in March, 1885.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+FIRST DAY ON THE ISTHMUS.--THE PANAMA CANAL.--HISTORY OF THE CANAL
+ENTERPRISE.--PLANS OF BALBOA AND OTHERS.--THE VARIOUS ROUTES
+PROPOSED.--STRAIN'S SURVEY OF DARIEN.--VISITING THE WORKS AT PANAMA.
+
+
+"The idea of a waterway across the narrowest part of the American
+Continent, or, rather, of the isthmus connecting North and South
+America," said Dr. Bronson, "is almost as old as the discovery of the
+New World."
+
+[Illustration: BALBOA TAKING POSSESSION OF THE PACIFIC.]
+
+"Quite right," replied their host. "In 1513, or twenty-one years after
+the discovery of America by Columbus, Vasco Nunez de Balboa, having
+taken possession of the Pacific Ocean, proposed making a passage through
+the rivers of Darien, but his death shortly afterwards caused the
+project to be dropped.
+
+"Ten years afterwards, or in 1523, Fernando Cortez had conquered Mexico,
+and proposed a waterway through the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. He employed
+Gonzalo Sandoval to make a very careful survey of the route, and
+continued to urge his proposition after the Emperor Charles V. had
+removed the government of Mexico from his control. But the emperor was
+not favorably impressed with the scheme, which contemplated the
+expenditure of a vast amount of money, and, besides, he was more
+interested in obtaining a revenue from Mexico than in doing exactly the
+reverse. The proposal of Cortez was rejected as emphatically as was that
+of Balboa, but it is a remarkable circumstance that these two routes are
+the northern and southern extremes of the lines proposed for
+inter-oceanic canals.
+
+"By reference to a book by a celebrated Portuguese navigator of the
+sixteenth century, Antonio Galvao, it appears that, up to the year 1550,
+four routes had been discovered and examined, though none of them had
+been surveyed with care. Galvao states in his book that a maritime canal
+can be cut in four different places: First, between the Gulf of Uraba
+and the Gulf of San Juan; second, through the Isthmus of Panama; third,
+along the San Juan River, and through Lake Nicaragua; and, fourth,
+through the Mexican Isthmus. Several explorers were sent to examine
+these routes, but they encountered many difficulties, and none of them
+brought back any exact information. So, you perceive, the principal
+routes for an inter-oceanic canal were known to the geographical world
+three hundred years ago."
+
+[Illustration: Map.]
+
+There was a pause to enable Frank and Fred to examine the map which was
+spread before them, showing the routes which Mr. Colné had mentioned.
+When the examination was completed their entertainer continued:
+
+"Very little attention was given to the subject for about two hundred
+years from the time I have mentioned. In the latter part of the
+eighteenth century the idea was revived again; England thought it would
+be of great value to her if she could obtain control of a passage from
+ocean to ocean, and in 1778 she sent an expedition against Nicaragua in
+order to obtain possession of the country. The enterprise was
+unsuccessful, and the commander, Lord Nelson, narrowly escaped with his
+life.
+
+"In 1780 and '81 surveys were made of the Panama and Nicaragua routes,
+the former by order of King Charles III. of Spain, and the latter by
+Antonio de Bucareli, Viceroy of Mexico. These were the first technical
+surveys of the routes, all previous examinations having been made
+without the aid of engineering instruments, and unaccompanied by
+calculations as to the amount of earth to be removed, and the probable
+cost of the work.
+
+"In 1804, Alexander Von Humboldt and Admiral Fitzroy, the former having
+made a personal examination of the Darien route, declared in its favor.
+This route has had many adherents, and a large amount of money has been
+expended in its examination. I will not weary you with the names of all
+the explorers and engineers who have examined the various Isthmus
+routes. The catalogue is a long one; many valuable lives have been
+sacrificed in this work, and the most of those who returned alive were
+able to present only unsatisfactory reports. The climate was fearfully
+unhealthy; the natives were either hostile to the enterprise or
+indifferent, and would rarely give assistance; and though the
+governments through whose territory the routes lay were generally well
+disposed, they could not always control their subjects."
+
+"Probably the most thorough explorations," remarked Dr. Bronson, "were
+those ordered by the government of the United States in 1870. Several
+ships were fitted out, and the Darien, Nicaragua, Tehuantepec, and
+Panama routes were examined. Commodore Shufeldt went to the Isthmus of
+Tehuantepec; Commanders Hatfield and Lull went to Nicaragua, the latter
+visiting Panama, to complete the exploration of that route. Commander
+Selfridge and Lieutenant Collins examined the Darien route, and also
+some of the rivers entering the ocean a little farther to the north. The
+whole exploration occupied about three years, and the reports are very
+voluminous. They are more interesting to the engineer than to the
+general reader, and I did not bring them along as part of my baggage."
+
+"I have read," said Fred, "about the expedition of Lieutenant Strain.
+Please tell us what route he examined."
+
+[Illustration: RESCUE OF THE SURVIVORS OF STRAIN'S EXPEDITION.]
+
+"Strain's expedition was to survey the Darien route," replied the
+Doctor. "It ended disastrously, as the party lost its way, and also its
+instruments and provisions, and wandered for many days in a dense forest
+where the men were obliged to cut their path at nearly every step. More
+than half the party perished in the wilderness, and Lieutenant Strain
+died soon after his return to the United States.
+
+[Illustration: STRAIN'S ARRIVAL AT THE COAST.]
+
+"The misfortunes of Strain's expedition were due in great measure to
+information which proved to have been almost entirely false. An English
+engineer, named Gisborne, had published a book containing a pretended
+survey of the country, which he claimed to have surveyed; in consequence
+of this report the governments of England, France, New Granada, and the
+United States of America sent expeditions, all of which failed
+disastrously. Strain's was the only one of the number that succeeded in
+crossing from ocean to ocean, the rest having turned back on account of
+the many unexpected difficulties, and the hostility of the Indians, who
+attacked them repeatedly. It turned out that Gisborne had never crossed
+the Isthmus, and his map of the Darien region was almost wholly
+imaginary.
+
+"Several companies have been formed at different times," the Doctor
+continued, "for the construction of a canal from the Atlantic to the
+Pacific, but the most of them have existed only on paper. The first of
+these companies was based on Gisborne's imaginary surveys, and was
+organized in England, with a capital of seventy-five million dollars.
+Sir Charles Fox and other heavy capitalists were the promoters of this
+company, and they confidently expected to complete their work before the
+year 1860. The preliminary operations showed that the canal, if built at
+all, would cost several times that amount, and the enterprise was
+abandoned.
+
+"Concessions have also been granted on other routes, but no serious work
+has been performed; the concessions were limited in the time of
+commencing and completing the work, and one after another the limit of
+time expired without anything having been accomplished. The Panama route
+is the only one on which there has been an attempt to make a canal; the
+government of the United States has made a treaty with Nicaragua for the
+construction of a canal through that country, but, up to the present
+time, the scheme has not gone beyond the surveys and the reports of the
+engineers."
+
+"We are confident," said Mr. Colné, with a smile, "that our canal from
+Aspinwall to Panama will be completed, and that large ships will pass
+through it before the 1st of January, 1890. Indeed, some of our
+engineers promise it for the New Year of 1889. Thus far the work has
+progressed quite as fast as we expected at the outset, and if no
+unforeseen difficulties arise, we shall have the canal completed before
+1890."
+
+One of the youths asked how much the canal was likely to cost, and how
+it would compare with the Suez Canal, which they had visited on their
+return from the Far East.
+
+"Not to trouble you with details," replied the Doctor, "the estimate of
+the cost was originally six hundred millions of francs, or one hundred
+and twenty millions of dollars. Very few enterprises come within the
+original estimates, and it is probable that not less than thirty
+millions of dollars, and perhaps another hundred millions, must be added
+to these figures, and some engineers say three hundred millions will be
+required. The cost of the Suez Canal was about one hundred millions, and
+the work at Suez was very light compared with that at Panama."
+
+"I remember," said Fred, "that the Suez Canal is practically a great
+ditch through a sandy country, with no elevation of more than sixty
+feet, and but very little rock to be cut away. Nearly half the length of
+the canal was made by filling up depressions in the desert, which were
+turned into lakes by allowing the water to run into them. Is there
+anything of the kind here?"
+
+"Not by any means," was the reply; "the Panama Canal is being cut
+through a region where the difficulties are enormous by comparison with
+those at Suez. Instead of a waste of sand, there is a tropical forest
+for the greater part of the way, and in place of the depressions which
+were converted into lakes to form part of the Suez Canal, we have a
+chain of hills which are nearly three hundred feet high at the lowest
+points. The summit level of the Panama Railway is two hundred and
+sixty-three feet above the level of tide-water on the Atlantic coast,
+and the canal must have the enormous depth of three hundred feet, and at
+some points more than that."
+
+"That is quite correct," replied their host. "It will be the deepest
+canal cutting in the world when it is completed. On the section of
+Culebra, in a distance of little more than a mile, we must remove
+twenty-five million cubic metres of earth and pile it up elsewhere.
+Fortunately, our work is rendered easy in this respect, as there are
+many valleys close to the canal where the earth can be disposed of. Do
+you know how much is represented by twenty-five million cubic metres?"
+
+Fred made a calculation on a slip of paper, roughly converting metres
+into yards by adding one fifth. Then he reduced the yards into cubic
+feet, and announced that, with the earth to be removed from the Culebra
+section of the canal they could build a wall nine feet thick and twenty
+feet high for a distance of twenty-eight miles, and have a good many
+car-loads to spare.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW ON THE CHAGRES RIVER.]
+
+"This will give you an idea of the work to be performed here," replied
+Mr. Colné, "and you must remember that it is only one single section of
+the entire line. Then, too, there are great difficulties in the way on
+account of the rains, and the sudden overflows of the Chagres River,
+which crosses the line of the canal. Instead of being a depression to be
+filled with water, it is liable to pour out at any moment much more
+water than we want."
+
+[Illustration: BEACH NEAR ASPINWALL.]
+
+"The average rainfall of this part of the Isthmus," said Dr. Bronson,
+"according to the official reports, is over twelve feet. This is not
+distributed through the year, but is confined to about seven months.
+During a single rain-storm six and a half inches of water have fallen.
+
+"The consequence is that there are excessive floods in the rivers; the
+Chagres River, which you see represented on the map as crossing the
+canal, is, in the dry season, a stream about two hundred and fifty feet
+wide and two feet deep. During a heavy flood it is fifteen hundred feet
+wide, and over forty feet deep, and it has been known to rise thirty or
+forty feet in a few hours. In these floods it brings down trees, rocks,
+and earth, and sometimes houses, and the sides of hills. In one freshet,
+an iron tank, that stood seventeen feet above the railway track, was
+washed away, and on several occasions considerable portions of the road
+have been destroyed."
+
+[Illustration: IN THE RAINY SEASON.]
+
+"We get over that difficulty," said Mr. Colné, "by making a _barrage_,
+or dam, across the river, and between two hills, to retain the waters
+during the freshets, and let them out gradually by lateral sluices. The
+capacity of the reservoir formed by the dam will be much more than
+enough to hold all the water coming down in the greatest rise that has
+ever been known since the railway was completed, in 1855. Mr. De Lesseps
+says that there are three reservoirs in the world of greater capacity
+than this: one is at St. Etienne, France; one at La Gillappe, Belgium;
+and one at Alicante, in Spain. They have stood for three centuries, and
+are as good and strong as they ever were. Science has improved since the
+great retaining walls of Alicante were erected, and the dam of the
+Chagres River will be perfectly safe, and do justice to the science
+which constructs it."
+
+By this time the boat had reached the line of the breakwater which was
+being constructed to protect the harbor from the strong "northers" that
+sometimes blow at Aspinwall, and make anchorage unsafe. The earth
+dredged from the canal and from the shallow portions of the bay was
+partly used for forming the ground already mentioned, and partly for
+constructing the breakwater. For the latter purpose it was piled
+between walls of rock, and it was expected that the work would be
+completed long before the canal was ready for use.
+
+[Illustration: A HAND-CAR JOURNEY ON THE PANAMA RAILWAY.]
+
+From the breakwater they were taken to the entrance of the channel
+opened by the dredges for the canal, and the location of the proposed
+new port was pointed out. Then they proceeded up the great ditch for two
+or three miles, and landed where the canal and railway were close
+together. Two hand-cars were standing on the track and evidently waiting
+for them. The gentleman to whom they had brought the letter was there,
+and also one of the officials of the railway. At the invitation of the
+latter, the party was soon distributed on the vehicles, three on one and
+three on the other. Comfortably seated on the front of the hand-cars,
+which were propelled by natives in very scanty dress, our friends rolled
+easily over the level track, in the direction of the high ground, and
+also of Panama.
+
+Frank and Fred thought they had never taken a more delightful ride. The
+air was delicious; there was the luxuriant vegetation of the tropics
+all around them; birds were abundant in the trees; monkeys occasionally
+chattered above them, or swung from the limbs, as if inviting the
+strangers to stop and visit their relatives; the speed was just enough
+for comfort; their vision was unimpeded, and there was no locomotive in
+front of them to poison the air with fumes of burning coal or shower
+them with cinders. Then, too, their guide was a cyclopædia of knowledge,
+as he had been for a long time connected with the railway and was
+thoroughly conversant with its history.
+
+[Illustration: SURVEYING UNDER DIFFICULTIES.]
+
+"It was one of the most difficult roads to build that I ever heard of,"
+said he, "and three times the work was suspended on account of the
+impossibility of getting enough laborers or bringing forward the
+necessary material. Everything had to be brought from New York or some
+other American or European city, as there was no labor worth having to
+be found on the Isthmus itself. Between Aspinwall and Monkey Hill the
+engineers had sometimes to wade up to their waists while laying out the
+line, and after the road was completed the track repeatedly sank down
+out of sight. It happened several times that two or three hundred feet
+of road would thus disappear in a single night, and then the whole force
+of the road was put to work to fill up the cavities. There are some
+places that were filled two or three times before the road-bed was solid
+enough to stay. Since the canal company began operations here it has
+built some new tracks, and occasionally meets with the same trouble, but
+the old part of the line is all right now.
+
+[Illustration: NATIVE VILLAGE ON THE ISTHMUS.]
+
+"There is a good story of how the natives of the country around Gatun
+had their first view of a locomotive. The track was completed to that
+point, and a day was set for running an engine over it. People came for
+long distances; they had heard wonderful stories of the witchcraft of
+the strangers, and there was great curiosity to know about it. There was
+an immense crowd, and at the appointed time the locomotive came in
+sight, puffing vigorously, and emitting clouds of steam and smoke. There
+was great excitement, which reached the pitch of terror when the
+creature came into the midst of the crowd, and the whistle was blown.
+The whole crowd fled to the river, and many of them jumped in, expecting
+they would be pursued, and possibly devoured.
+
+[Illustration: NATIVE IDEA OF THE LOCOMOTIVE.]
+
+"Finding the monster did not follow them, they gathered courage and
+reassembled, but stood at a safe distance, ready to run again if
+necessary. They sent forward their priest to examine the animal; he
+surveyed it carefully, and then informed his followers that it was not
+an animal, but a machine, in which there was a veritable demon chained,
+and compelled to work the crank which propelled it. The explanation was
+sufficient; the good priest knew it was hopeless to attempt to enlighten
+them on the uses of steam, and found the demon story the shortest way
+out of the difficulty. It is just possible, though, that he was not
+versed in natural philosophy, and his explanation may have been the
+honest result of his observation."
+
+At several points, as they passed along, Fred observed men cutting away
+the bushes by the roadside, and, in reply to a question, he learned that
+the growth of the tropical forest was so rapid that men were kept busy
+all along the route in keeping it down, so that it would not touch the
+passing trains. "But it is not without its advantages," said their
+informant; "what it costs to keep down the rapid vegetation is more than
+compensated by the interlacing of the roots through the road-bed so that
+it makes a powerful resistance to the water which rushes down the slopes
+after the heavy rains. Many a serious injury to the road has been
+prevented by this mass of roots."
+
+Their attention was called to flowers that grew in the forest, and the
+eyes of the youths were constantly occupied with the varieties of trees
+and plants that they passed in their ride. There were palms and
+mangroves, canes, ferns, orchids, and creeping, climbing, and hanging
+plants almost without number. There was hardly a tree without a
+parasite, and many trees were covered from the base to the topmost limb
+with foliage that was not their own. In some cases the trees were
+actually killed by the parasites that clung to them, and reminded our
+friends of the picture of a deer strangled by a serpent.
+
+[Illustration: THE ESPIRITU SANTO FLOWER.]
+
+Fred asked for the famous product of the Isthmus, a member of the orchid
+family, _Peristera Elata_, known as "Flor del Espiritu Santo," or
+"Flower of the Holy Spirit." It was pointed out to them, and, at the
+youth's request, they stopped long enough to gather a few specimens.
+
+The youths greatly admired the flower, and when they saw it neither of
+them wondered at its name nor the reverence with which it is regarded in
+Central American countries. It has a white blossom resembling the tulip,
+and in the inside of the blossom is the figure of a dove. It needs no
+imagination to show the form of the bird; there it rests, with its wings
+drooping at its sides and its head bent forward so that the bill almost
+touches the breast; the body of the dove is of a snowy white, while the
+bill is tipped with red. The flower has a perfume resembling that of the
+magnolia, and it blooms in the latter part of the summer months.
+
+Frank wanted to send home some of the plants, and was told that he could
+do so with ease, but the bulbs would not live unless they were procured
+in May or June, when the stalks had been sufficiently developed to
+produce the flower. It is said that the early Spanish explorers of the
+Isthmus bowed before this flower and worshipped it, and the reverence
+that was then developed has never been lost. Down to quite recently it
+was very difficult to procure specimens of the Espiritu Santo flower,
+owing to this reverential feeling, and it is only since the colonization
+of the Isthmus by Americans that the stranger has been able to obtain
+all he wants. The flower is now cultivated in hot-houses, and has been
+transported to other tropical countries, where it is successfully grown.
+
+[Illustration: GATUN STATION.]
+
+Fred called attention to several trees resembling some they had seen in
+Java and Ceylon, and Frank picked out three or four varieties of
+mahogany which he could recognize. Occasionally there was a clearing
+devoted to bananas and other fruits, and at Gatun Station, where the
+road was close to the bank of the Chagres River, several natives offered
+the fruits for sale. The old village of Gatun was on the opposite shore
+of the river, and consisted of a group of huts half concealed by the
+foliage. In the old days of California travel, before the construction
+of the railway, the inhabitants of Gatun drove a prosperous trade with
+the gold-seekers; according to one writer, "eggs were sold for
+twenty-five cents apiece, and the ground-rent for a hammock was two
+dollars a night."
+
+An excavating machine was in operation not far from the railway, and
+huge mounds of earth had been thrown up on either side of the line of
+the canal. Hundreds of laborers were at work, and the scene was, in many
+respects, a repetition of what they had encountered at Aspinwall, or,
+rather, at the new city which has risen near it. "This is an American
+machine," said their guide, as he pointed to the excavator, "and it will
+interest you to know that the excavators and dredges from New York have
+proved more satisfactory than those of French construction. They are
+very effective, and rarely get out of order; the French machines were
+admirably adapted to the Suez Canal, but the soil here is much harder
+than that at Suez, and requires a more powerful engine for its removal."
+
+From Gatun the party returned to the canal entrance, and thence to their
+hotel in Aspinwall. Later they dined with their new friends, and when
+they retired for the night they felt that they had crowded a good deal
+of sight-seeing into their first day on the Isthmus.
+
+[Illustration: A TROPICAL HARBOR.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+OVER THE ISTHMUS.--A PROFITABLE RAILWAY.--ISTHMUS FEVER.--TROPICAL
+TREES, FLOWERS, AND ANIMALS.--SIGHTS IN PANAMA.--THE CATHEDRAL.--A
+STROLL ON THE BEACH.--THE PARADISE OF CONCHOLOGISTS.
+
+
+[Illustration: MAP OF THE PANAMA RAILWAY.]
+
+Next morning our friends arranged to leave for Panama by the regular
+train. Just as they were about starting from the hotel they were met by
+the manager of the railway, who invited them to occupy the directors'
+car, which was to be drawn by a special locomotive, and would follow the
+train an hour or more later. They accepted the invitation, sending
+their baggage by the train, with the assurance that it would be found
+at the station at Panama on their arrival. The directors' car afforded
+superior facilities for seeing the objects of interest along the route,
+and, besides, they were to be accompanied by the manager, and also by
+the official who had been of such practical assistance on the previous
+day.
+
+They were joined by some of the officials connected with the
+construction of the canal, and altogether the party was a most agreeable
+one. Dr. Bronson explained to the youths that when the canal company was
+organized it was deemed advisable to have command of the railway in
+order to facilitate the work. A controlling interest in the line was
+bought by the canal company, and it is fair to suppose that the owners
+of the shares received a good price for their property.
+
+"The Panama Railway has been the most profitable thing of the kind in
+the world," said the Doctor, "or, at any rate, one of the most
+profitable I ever heard of. The managers have generally kept their
+affairs as much as possible to themselves, and would, doubtless, assure
+you that they had lost money by their investment, which is often the
+case with men who have a remunerative business of any kind. The local
+fare over the line between Aspinwall and Panama was established at
+twenty-five dollars, and remained at that figure for nearly twenty
+years. Twenty-five dollars for a ride of forty-eight miles, or more than
+fifty cents a mile! Thousands of passengers were carried over the road
+every month, and every thousand passengers meant twenty-five thousand
+dollars to the railway. At one time the steamships were carrying
+steerage passengers from New York to San Francisco for eighty dollars,
+including the transit of the Isthmus; the steamship company thus
+received fifty-five dollars for carrying a passenger five thousand five
+hundred miles, including his board and lodging for twenty-three days,
+while the railway company received almost half as much for carrying him
+forty-eight miles, lodging him four hours in rickety cars, and giving
+him no board whatever.
+
+[Illustration: CROSSING THE ISTHMUS IN 1849.]
+
+"But bygones are bygones," continued the Doctor, "and if any traveller
+disliked the price of the railway journey he had the privilege of going
+by the old route. This involved a tedious journey up the Chagres River
+by bongoes or native boats as far as Gorgona, and a ride thence over the
+hills and through the mud to Panama. The riding was done on the backs of
+mules, as there was no wagon-road; travellers were often obliged to pass
+the night in the open air, as there were very scanty accommodations in
+the few villages along the road; a week or more was generally consumed
+in the trip; the prices of everything were exorbitant; and the tourist
+generally reached the end of his journey feeling very much as if he had
+been passed through a patent wringing-machine. Not a few fell ill and
+died on the way, and many a fevered sufferer in California, years
+afterwards, could trace the beginning of his ills to his exposure on the
+Isthmus. 'Isthmus fever' became known almost as a distinct malady, and
+it was often very difficult of cure. It is pretty well forgotten now,
+thanks to the rapid transit afforded by the railway. Under all the
+circumstances, the enterprising men who constructed this road deserve
+every cent they received from it; it has saved thousands of lives to the
+population of the United States and other countries, and has added
+materially to the commercial facilities of the world. It was built under
+many discouragements, and the energy displayed in its construction was
+worthy of a liberal reward."
+
+[Illustration: A BONGO.]
+
+They rolled merrily over the track and in a little while had passed
+Gatun Station, and the point they visited in their excursion to inspect
+the work on the canal. They wound among the low hills and along the
+bank of the Chagres River, catching pretty views here and there, and
+passing several unimportant stations without stopping. One of the
+officials pointed out the cottage which was the favorite residence of
+Mr. John L. Stephens during his connection with the railway, and also a
+gigantic tree which has long been known as "Stephens's tree." Other
+objects of interest were indicated, and there was not an idle moment in
+the whole journey.
+
+[Illustration: BRIDGE ACROSS THE CHAGRES RIVER AT BARBACOAS.]
+
+The railway crosses the Chagres River at Barbacoas, where there is a
+fine bridge, which has withstood the shocks of that capricious stream in
+a manner that reflects creditably upon its builders. A little beyond
+Barbacoas they met a train bound eastward, and waited a short time on a
+siding to enable the locomotive and its burden to get out of the way.
+The delay gave an opportunity for a brief excursion into the tropical
+forest, which came close up to the railway, as it does for the greater
+part of the distance between Aspinwall and Panama.
+
+[Illustration: MEETING A TRAIN.]
+
+Frank and Fred were accompanied by one of their new friends, who seemed
+to be well versed in the botany of the country. The first tree to meet
+their gaze was a palm, and while they were noting its peculiarities
+their guide told them there was no place in the world where so many
+varieties of the palm could be found together as on the Isthmus. "There
+are," said he, "twenty-one different species of palm-trees; I am
+informed that three or four more have been found in the vicinity, but I
+have not seen them. From one of the well-known varieties is extracted
+the palm-oil of commerce; another produces a sweet sap from which the
+natives distil a wine they use freely as a beverage; there is the 'sugar
+palm,' from which sugar is made; the 'sago palm,' which produces sago,
+but of a quality inferior to that of the Malay Archipelago; the 'ivory
+palm,' which supplies vegetable ivory; the 'cabbage palm,' whose stalks
+resemble the cabbage in appearance and taste; and the 'glove palm,' from
+which bags for holding grain or kindred things are readily obtained.
+Houses, weapons, domestic utensils, and many other things are made from
+the leaves, stalks, fruit, bark, or wood of the palm, and the tree is
+quite as necessary to the existence of the natives of the Isthmus as is
+the bamboo to the inhabitants of tropical Asia."
+
+[Illustration: THE SINGING HUMMER.]
+
+It was impossible to penetrate far into the forest, owing to the network
+of hanging and creeping plants that blocked the way, and the youths were
+not long in realizing the difficulties encountered by the surveyor who
+laid out the line of the railway. Their guide described many of the
+vegetable growths that were visible, and the number was so great that
+Frank was fairly bewildered with them. So he called attention to the
+birds darting among the thick foliage, and asked about the animal
+kingdom of the country.
+
+[Illustration: THE HUMMING-BIRD AT WORK.]
+
+"There are birds, beasts, reptiles, and insects here in great number,"
+was the reply. "There are parrots of several kinds, some of which will
+learn to talk while others will not; there are toucans, with enormous
+beaks especially designed for the disposal of fruits; humming-birds of
+gorgeous hues and hardly bigger than bees; and there are orioles,
+trogons, tanagers, and other birds whose names are only known locally
+or in scientific works. There are wild turkeys and grouse among the
+hills; the latter are shy and not easily taken, and the hunter is always
+at a disadvantage on account of the thickness of the shrubbery; the
+tapir abounds in the low ground and marshes near the rivers, and his
+flesh is not unlike pork in taste and appearance. You have already seen
+monkeys, and if you could go into the forest a dozen miles from the
+settlements you might see hundreds of them in a single day. They go in
+large parties oftentimes, and whenever they make a raid on a banana
+plantation they destroy in a few hours the labor of a whole season.
+There is a tradition that in the old days the natives used to serve up
+monkey flesh to the California emigrants under the name of 'opossum.'
+The opossum is found here, but he is not easily taken, and a man from
+the States would have no hesitation in eating its flesh, though he might
+seriously object to dining on monkey.
+
+[Illustration: THE IGUANA.]
+
+"Besides the animals I have mentioned," he continued, "we have the
+ant-eater, peccary, sloth, deer, cougar, bear, and tiger-cat; the
+peccary is also known as the 'wild hog,' and is closely allied to the
+tapir. There is a lizard called the _iguana_, which is sometimes five or
+six feet long, and is as delicious as lobster or chicken; its eggs are
+much prized by the natives, and frequently seen in the markets.
+Americans who come here are generally chary of eating iguana, because it
+is a lizard; we have got over this difficulty by naming it 'Panama
+lobster,' and thus silencing all objections. There's a great deal in a
+name."
+
+[Illustration: A CENTIPEDE.]
+
+The youths admitted the evident truth of the assertion. Suddenly, Frank
+espied almost under his feet a crab about the size of a half-grown
+chicken, and asked if it was a "Panama beetle."
+
+[Illustration: A SCORPION.]
+
+"Not exactly," replied their guide, with a smile. "It is a land-crab,
+which is very abundant on the Isthmus, and considered an excellent
+article of food. It is rapacious, like the crab generally, and comes
+fearlessly into the presence of man in search of a breakfast. These
+crabs devour the flesh of animals, and will often reduce a horse or ox
+to a heap of polished bones in a few hours. It will be well for you to
+tread carefully on the ground in the vicinity, as you never know when
+you will encounter a scorpion, tarantula, or centipede, or even a
+venomous snake. Occasionally we find large serpents of the constrictor
+species, but they are not as dangerous as the smaller reptiles and
+insects. The tarantula is a sort of hairy spider, quite pretty to look
+at, but so venomous that his bite causes death in a few hours. The
+natives have a belief that if a tarantula simply walks over the flesh
+without biting there is left a poisonous trail which causes rheumatic
+and other pains, lasting for years or perhaps for a lifetime. Catch one
+of these spiders and show it to a group of natives, and they will run
+shrieking away from you."
+
+[Illustration: EXHIBITING A TARANTULA.]
+
+The whistle of the locomotive put an end to the conversation, and
+recalled the young naturalists to the train. Fred observed a native with
+one foot bandaged across the toes, and asked what was the matter with
+him.
+
+"Probably jiggers," was the reply.
+
+"And please tell us what jiggers are?"
+
+"Its native name is _chigoe_," answered their guide, "and this has been
+anglicized into 'jigger.' Its scientific name is _Pulex penetrans_; it
+is a species of flea which deposits its eggs in the human body,
+especially under the skin of the foot or the nails of the toes. Its
+presence is indicated by a slight itching and subsequently by a
+membranous sac, like the head of a pin. This sac can be removed with a
+needle or by washing the feet with tobacco juice; if allowed to remain
+it causes an ulcer, and the victim will quite likely lose his toes. It
+is necessary to keep close watch to one's feet, and wash them frequently
+with strong soap or decoction of tobacco."
+
+[Illustration: HILLS NEAR THE RAILWAY.]
+
+Natural history gave place to more immediate matters as the train passed
+one of the points where excavations for the canal were going on. The
+scene was a repetition of that at Gatun, and needs no special
+description, but it naturally led to further conversation upon the great
+enterprise which was intended to unite the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
+
+Fred asked how it happened that a canal through the Isthmus connecting
+North and South America was being constructed by Frenchmen and with
+French capital?
+
+[Illustration: MAP SHOWING HOW OCEAN ROUTES ARE SHORTENED BY THE PANAMA
+CANAL.]
+
+"For the very simple reason," the Doctor answered, "that Americans were
+unwilling to risk their money in the work and the French were ready to
+do so. The final surveys were made by Lieutenant Bonaparte Wyse of the
+French navy, and the expense was paid by French capitalists. M. De
+Lesseps, whose name has become known throughout the world for his energy
+in making the Suez Canal, caused an international congress to be
+assembled at Paris in 1879; this congress decided in favor of the
+present location, and for a canal without locks. Under his leadership
+the company was formed, and the work is going on as you see it.
+
+"It is quite likely that diplomatic questions will arise concerning the
+use of the canal by the great nations of the globe; meantime, we need
+not disturb ourselves about it, but wait patiently for the day when
+ships will be able to pass from ocean to ocean. To understand the
+advantages to commerce which will result from the construction of the
+canal you have only to look at this map and observe the difference
+between the proposed routes for ships and those which are at present
+followed."
+
+The Doctor unfolded a map which we give on page 53. While Frank and Fred
+were glancing at the routes marked upon it, Dr. Bronson read the
+following array of figures:
+
+ Miles.
+ The distance from New York to Sydney, Australia, _via_ Cape
+ Horn, 12,870
+ The distance from New York to Sydney, Australia, _via_ Panama 9,950
+ ------
+ In favor of Panama 2,920
+
+ The distance from New York to Honolulu, Sandwich Isl., _via_
+ Cape Horn 13,560
+ The distance from New York to Honolulu, Sandwich Isl., _via_
+ Panama 6,800
+ ------
+ In favor of Panama 6,760
+
+ The distance from New York to Hong Kong, _via_ Cape Horn 17,420
+ The distance from New York to Hong Kong, _via_ Panama 11,850
+ ------
+ In favor of Panama 5,570
+
+ The distance from New York to Yokohama, Japan, _via_ Cape Horn 16,710
+ The distance from New York to Yokohama, Japan, _via_ Panama 10,220
+ ------
+ In favor of Panama 6,490
+
+ The distance from England to Sydney, Australia, _via_ Cape of
+ Good Hope 12,828
+ The distance from England to Sydney, Australia, _via_ Panama 12,730
+ ------
+ In favor of Panama 98
+
+"Between England and Sydney they don't save much distance," Fred
+remarked; "but on all the other routes there is a great difference in
+the figures. We will all hope for the speedy completion of the canal,
+and on the opening day we'll fling our hats in the air and cheer as
+loudly as possible in honor of Ferdinand De Lesseps."
+
+[Illustration: BASALTIC CLIFF.]
+
+Meantime the train had left the valley of the Chagres River and was
+ascending among the hills towards the summit level, two hundred and
+sixty-eight feet above the ocean. Many of the hills were sharply
+conical and showed that they were of volcanic origin; high embankments
+and heavy cuttings followed each other in rapid succession, and at one
+point the road wound round the side of a hill composed of basaltic
+crystals about twelve inches in diameter and eight or ten feet long. It
+was explained that this was one of the few instances in the world where
+basaltic columns were found in any but upright positions: at Fingal's
+Cave, in Staffa, the Giant's Causeway, in Ireland, and the Palisades of
+the Hudson they are upright, but on this hill of the Panama Isthmus they
+are in all sorts of positions, and indicate very clearly that there has
+been a great convulsion of nature since their formation.
+
+The _Cerro de Los Bucaneros_, or "Hill of The Buccaneers," was pointed
+out. It receives the name from the fact that from its summit the
+buccaneer, Morgan, had his first view of ancient Panama in 1668, and he
+encamped at the base of the hill on the night before his attack upon the
+city.
+
+[Illustration: PANAMA IN THE DISTANCE.]
+
+Soon after passing this memorable hill the city of Panama was visible in
+the distance. Entering the railway station, they came to a halt, and in
+a few moments Frank and Fred were gazing on the waters breaking on the
+beach just outside the spacious building. A long pier jutted into the
+bay at the end of the station; a steamboat was being laden there with
+freight, intended for one of the large steamers grouped together two or
+three miles away. Dr. Bronson explained that the bay of Panama is quite
+shallow for a long way out, and only boats of light draft can come close
+to shore. The canal company is dredging a channel from the deep parts of
+the bay up to the shore, which will form an approach to the mouth of the
+canal, when that work is completed. The tide rises and falls about
+fifteen feet on the average, varying with the season and the phases of
+the moon; and consequently a lock will be necessary at Panama to prevent
+the formation of a current through the canal.
+
+The mouth of the canal is at La Boca, some distance from the railway
+station. Engineering reasons caused the selection of this spot, as it
+possessed considerable advantages over the railway terminus. It is the
+intention of the company to dredge out a large basin near La Boca, where
+ships can lie in safety while waiting their turn to pass through to the
+Atlantic Ocean. Until this basin is completed, the anchorage for large
+ships will be in the vicinity of the islands where the Pacific Mail, and
+other large companies, have their docks and coaling-stations.
+
+[Illustration: STATION AT PANAMA.]
+
+Our friends found their baggage at the station; they had telegraphed for
+accommodations in the principal hotel of Panama, and the runner of the
+house was waiting to meet them. Confiding their baggage to his care,
+they proceeded at once to the establishment; breakfast had been served
+in the directors' car during the ride from Aspinwall, and consequently
+they were ready to start at once to look through the city. We are
+permitted to make the following extract from Frank's note-book:
+
+[Illustration: CATHEDRAL AT PANAMA.]
+
+"Panama contains about eleven thousand inhabitants, and is very
+substantially built of stone. There is nothing particularly attractive
+about it, but it is quaint and interesting; the houses are built with
+court-yards, in the Spanish style, and you might easily imagine yourself
+in a part of Cordova or Cadiz, or even in Madrid. The cathedral is a
+fine building for this part of the world, though it would not be
+regarded as of much account in any prominent city of Europe. The bells
+are old and not very tuneful; they are rung at frequent intervals,
+beginning at an early hour of the morning, and it is not advisable for a
+nervous traveller to take lodgings in the immediate vicinity of the
+venerable building.
+
+"The city is in north latitude 8° 57', and received a royal charter from
+King Charles I. of Spain, in 1521. 'Panama' is an Indian word which
+means 'a place abounding in fish;' the old city was about six miles
+northeast of the present one, which dates from 1670. Old Panama was
+destroyed in 1668, by Morgan, the buccaneer, and for a long time the
+present city was known as 'New Panama,' to distinguish it from its
+predecessor.
+
+[Illustration: RAMPARTS, WITH OLD CANNON.]
+
+"The builders of the new city surrounded it with strong walls as a
+defence against invaders, but these walls have been allowed to go to
+ruin. They would be of no use against modern artillery, as a few cannon
+could batter them down in half a dozen hours. In many places, bushes and
+trees grow among the stones; at one time the inhabitants were allowed to
+help themselves to building material from the walls, but the practice
+was not long continued. Originally the walls were from twenty to forty
+feet high, with battlements and towers at frequent intervals; they cost
+so much that the Spanish government wrote to the commander of the city,
+and wished to know 'whether the walls were builded of silver or of
+gold.' We saw some of the cannon that were sent from Spain for the
+defence of the walls; they have not been fired for many years, and would
+probably explode at the first attempt to use them.
+
+"We went along the principal street, looking into the cathedral, which
+is probably two hundred feet long by a hundred and fifty in width, and
+is divided in the interior by four rows of massive columns which
+support the roof. It contains numerous shrines and altars; the floor is
+of brick, and when we entered it was being swept by half a dozen
+dark-skinned natives, one of whom offered to show us through the
+building. We declined the proposal, as there did not appear to be much
+worth seeing, and our time was limited.
+
+[Illustration: WATER-CARRIER AND NATIVE WOMAN.]
+
+"In the plaza or square in front of the cathedral there were little
+groups of people, a few on horseback, but the most of them on foot.
+There were a few women whose veils of rich lace showed that they
+belonged to the upper classes, and others, more numerous, who wore the
+_reboza_ or mantle of the descendants of the aborigines. There were
+water-carriers mounted on mules, and on each side of every mule was a
+couple of kegs of water, with a sprig of grass or a bunch of leaves
+stuck into the opening on top. Panama has no system of public
+waterworks, and the inhabitants are supplied from house to house, in the
+manner of two hundred years ago. The occupation of a water-carrier is
+said to descend from father to son; nobody gets rich at the business,
+but it affords a living to a good many people.
+
+"There were many natives riding, or leading mules laden with garden
+produce from the neighborhood, and also other natives who were their own
+beasts of burden, and carried baskets or bags on their heads. There were
+priests in flowing robes and shovel-shaped hats, some hurrying along as
+if on important business, while others were idling among the people, and
+evidently enjoying themselves. The cathedral is on the western side of
+the plaza, and on the southern side is the _cabildo_ or Government
+House, corresponding to our City Hall. It is a plain building of stone,
+two stories high, and with wide porticoes or balconies on both stories.
+Here all the business of the city is conducted.
+
+"On the other side of the square there were several plain-looking
+buildings, with dwellings on the upper stories and stores below; some of
+them were old, while others were new, and there were two or three gaps
+where nothing but ruins was visible. Panama has suffered severely from
+fires. It was almost entirely destroyed in 1737, but was quickly
+rebuilt, as its business was then prosperous. In 1784 there was another
+serious fire, and since 1864 there have been three extensive
+conflagrations whose traces are still visible. The gaps around the plaza
+are the result of these later disasters.
+
+[Illustration: GATE OF THE MONKS.]
+
+"We crossed the plaza and continued on to the _Postiga de las Monas_, or
+'Gate of the Monks,' which is crowned by a watch-tower, and leads
+through the ruined wall to the beach. A woman and child were sitting
+under the shadow of the gateway, and people were coming and going, on
+foot or in the saddle. When we reached the beach the tide was out and
+there was a large expanse of coral reef visible; it was alive with
+crabs, shrimps, cuttle-fishes, and other marine products, and we picked
+up lots and lots of shells of curious form and color. It is a splendid
+place for conchologists, and if the sun had not been so hot we would
+have stayed there an hour or two.
+
+[Illustration: RUINS OF CHURCH OF SAN DOMINGO.]
+
+"We came back through the gateway, and met one of our late companions of
+the train. He took us to see the ruins of the Church of San Domingo,
+which was built soon after the founding of the city, and burned more
+than a hundred years ago. In its time, it was the finest church in
+Panama, and was said to possess a great store of silver and gold images
+and other treasures.
+
+[Illustration: REMARKABLE ARCHWAY.]
+
+"Dr. Bronson was anxious to see a remarkable arch which was said to
+exist in the ruins of the church, and our friend offered to point it
+out. We passed among the walls, which were thickly overgrown with vines
+and bushes, and finally came to the archway. It is forty feet long, and
+has a perpendicular radius at the keystone of only two feet; it is made
+of brick, and is said to be a wonderful piece of work. Our friend said
+he had never heard of anything like it, and that many architects
+passing through Panama in the last twenty years had seen and admired it.
+
+"Some of the bells of the church were lying where they fell at the time
+of the fire, and others were hung upon timbers a few feet from the
+ground, where they could be rung as in the olden time. Our guide told us
+an interesting story about the way these bells were made and given to
+the church.
+
+"Soon after Panama was founded, the Queen of Spain invited the ladies of
+her court to come and bring whatever money they could afford, for the
+founding of the Church of San Domingo. She gathered a large amount,
+which was used for building the church. When the time came to prepare
+the bells, people of all classes were invited to make donations, and
+witness the operation of casting. They came in great crowds; the queen
+threw in handfuls of gold, the ladies and gentlemen of the court did
+likewise; the poor contributed silver or copper, and so the amount of
+metal in the crucibles increased. Then the queen threw in the golden
+ornaments that she wore; her ladies did the same; the excitement became
+great; rings, bracelets, and other valuables--many of them precious
+relics or family heirlooms--were contributed to the pious work, and thus
+the bells for the church in the New World were made. Their tone was said
+to be of the purest, and they are held in great reverence by the priests
+who have them in charge. High prices have been offered for these bells,
+but invariably refused."
+
+[Illustration: RUINED CHURCH.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+"THE PLACE OF FISH."--AN EXCURSION TO OLD PANAMA.--VISITING A
+HERMIT.--DRINKING CHICHI.--RUINS OF THE CITY.--MORGAN THE
+BUCCANEER.--HIS HISTORY AND EXPLOITS.--HOW HE CAPTURED PANAMA.
+
+
+[Illustration: VIEW FROM THE RAMPARTS OF PANAMA.]
+
+From the ruins of the church the youths and their companions strolled to
+the ramparts of the city, where they watched the sunset gilding the
+distant hilltops and lighting up the waters of the beautiful Bay of
+Panama. The wall is here enlarged into a wide promenade, which overlooks
+a level space containing the arsenal, the military barracks, and the
+prisons of the city government. The Esplanade is the favorite
+lounging-place of the people at the close of the day, and our friends
+had an excellent opportunity to study the local dress and manners.
+Nobody appeared to be in a hurry, and there was a tendency to divide
+into groups and couples, very much as in other lands and under other
+skies. Some sauntered slowly up and down the promenade, while others
+leaned over the parapet, or reclined on the grass which covered a
+considerable part of the Esplanade. Ships and steamers were anchored in
+the distance, while the foreground of the bay was dotted with native
+boats, which seemed to be drifting aimlessly in the gentle breeze.
+Altogether, the picture was delightful, and long to be remembered.
+
+On the next morning our friends were up early for an excursion to Old
+Panama, which we have already mentioned. As we drew on Frank's note-book
+for the modern city, we will rely upon Fred for our information about
+the ancient one.
+
+"We had a delightful ride on horseback," said Fred; "leaving Panama by
+the northwestern gate, which brought us to the fish-market on the beach.
+To judge by what we saw, Panama is justly named 'a place of fish,' as
+there seemed to be a supply three times as large as could possibly be
+wanted for the use of the inhabitants. There were Spanish mackerel,
+oysters, bonito, and a good many other fishes, and all of the very best
+quality, with the possible exception of the oysters. We asked if these
+oysters were the ones from which pearls are obtained, and they told us
+the pearl-fisheries were about a hundred miles down the bay, and the
+oysters not at all like those sold in the market. There was formerly a
+fine revenue from the pearl-fisheries, but the beds are practically
+exhausted, and of late years very little attention has been given to the
+business.
+
+[Illustration: ON THE NORTHEASTERN BEACH.]
+
+"From the market we galloped along the beach for a couple of miles, and
+then turned inland. We came out to the shore again, after winding among
+rocks and thick foliage, and followed along the bay till we reached the
+ancient city.
+
+"Everything is in the most complete ruin; what was left by Morgan has
+been vigorously attacked by the tooth of time. And I remark, by the way,
+that the tooth of time is much more effective in its work in the tropics
+than in the colder north, where the vegetation is less rapid and
+aggressive. Walls and towers are so overgrown with mosses and creepers
+that, in many instances, the structures are completely hidden from
+sight, and their positions are only indicated by their shape. Seeds
+carried by the birds, or wafted by the winds, fall into crevices between
+the stones; they are warmed into life by the temperature, and nourished
+by the moisture that prevails at all seasons of the year. They grow and
+flourish in spite of the inconveniences of their position, and after a
+time they force the stones apart, and the structure is weakened, and
+hastened to its overthrow.
+
+"Everywhere in Old Panama you can see evidences of this great force of
+nature. Much of the stonework of the city has been thrown down by the
+roots of the trees and plants, and in several places we saw stones of
+great weight resting entirely upon the roots of the trees that had
+lifted them up. Evidently the city was built to last, and it is a sad
+commentary upon the work of its founders that it was so soon destroyed.
+The walls were massive, and the stones carefully cut. The old Spaniards
+came to America to plant colonies, and make a permanent home, if we may
+judge by the way they constructed this important city, which was
+intended to command the commerce of the Pacific seas.
+
+[Illustration: WATCH-TOWER OF SAN JEROME.]
+
+"One of the most interesting relics of Old Panama is the watch-tower of
+San Jerome, which is said to have been built only six years before the
+city's capture and destruction. It is a square tower, and we estimated
+its height to be about eighty feet; it is covered with mosses and vines,
+and there are trees and bushes growing on its top. The staircase on the
+inside has been thrown down by the roots of the trees, as far as we
+could judge from the position of the stones, though it may have been
+destroyed by the famous buccaneer. The whole of the inside space was
+full of roots, and we could not have climbed to the top even if the
+stairs had remained.
+
+"The tower was intended as a signal-station, from which vessels
+approaching Panama could be descried, and tradition says a light was
+burned there at night. It is now the only visible part of the old city
+as you look from the beach or from a boat on the water; everything else
+is covered up with the tropical forest, which has been undisturbed for
+two hundred years. The only way to see the ruins is by clambering
+through the mass of vegetation; we did so, and were thoroughly wearied
+with our exertions, though amply repaid for them.
+
+"Not the least interesting part of the sights were the fantastic shapes
+which the trees and vines had taken; in some places the trees were on
+the tops of walls thirty or forty feet high, and had thrown down roots
+on each side reaching into the ground. At every crevice in the walls
+little twigs were thrown off to hold the roots in place, and it almost
+seemed as though these vegetable growths had been endowed with human
+intelligence. Two or three times we were deceived by the appearance of
+the roots, and mistook them for snakes. Even when assured of their
+harmless character, Frank paused and deliberated before moving nearer,
+and I'm free to confess that I followed his example.
+
+[Illustration: A HERMIT AT HOME.]
+
+"We were accompanied on our excursion by a gentleman who lives in
+Panama, but had not been in the old city for two or three years. He said
+the place had two or three inhabitants, or, rather, there were that
+number of negroes who lived there, and acted as guides to visitors. With
+some difficulty he found the hut of one of them, and luckily for us its
+owner was at home. His only clothing was a strip of cloth around the
+waist and a pair of sandals on his feet, and the entire furniture of the
+place would have been dear at ten dollars. He had a few baskets and
+earthen jars, an old hammock, a rough bench to sleep on, an iron pot for
+cooking purposes, and a pair of rollers for crushing sugar-cane. He had
+a small patch of sugar-cane, another of bananas; the bay supplied him
+with fish, the beach afforded plenty of oysters, shrimps, and mussels,
+and the money obtained from visitors was enough for buying his tobacco
+and a few other trifles which made up the sum of his necessities, and
+were procured in a semi-annual trip to Panama. He declared that he was
+perfectly satisfied with his way of life, and as he had been there for
+twenty years and more, I have no doubt he spoke the truth.
+
+"A prince in his palace could not have been more polite than was this
+dark-skinned hermit. He had no chairs to offer, but asked us to sit down
+on his bench; we accepted the invitation, and after handing us a gourd
+of water, which we found very refreshing, he put on his hat in order to
+be more fully dressed. Then, with true Spanish politeness, he told us
+that the house and all it contained were ours, but we couldn't see that
+we should have been much richer if we had taken him and his belongings
+at his word. We rested perhaps a quarter of an hour, talking with him
+about his solitary life, and then asked him to guide us through the old
+city.
+
+"'_Sí, Señores_,' he replied, touching his hat in a most dignified
+manner, 'but would we drink some _chichi_ before starting.'
+
+[Illustration: MAKING CHICHI.]
+
+"_Chichi_ is the juice of the sugar-cane, and is a favorite beverage in
+this region; of course we consented, and he immediately picked up his
+_machete_ (hatchet) and went out. In a little while he returned with an
+armful of sugar-cane, which he proceeded to pass through the rollers,
+after first bruising the canes with a mallet to make the work of
+crushing easier. Our Panama friend took one end of the machine, and got
+himself into quite a perspiration before the job was finished; I fancy
+he did not relish it, but our entertainer did not seem to mind it in
+the least. The machine was a rude construction, and not to be compared
+with the polished rollers that are to be found in sugar-manufactories on
+a large scale, but it was entirely adequate to the wants of our sable
+host.
+
+[Illustration: BRIDGE AT OLD PANAMA.]
+
+"We drank the _chichi_, which was most refreshing, and then were shown
+through what is left of the city. Here and there we found portions of
+paved streets, and it was only by following the lines of the streets
+that we were able to get around at all. Then there were two or three
+groves with very little undergrowth, which are thought to have been
+public squares; evidently they were not paved, but macadamized, and
+trodden so hard that the undergrowth has obtained no hold, though the
+trees have not been so easily restrained. Our guide showed us a bridge
+over a stream in the southern part of the city; it is called the _Punta
+de Embarcadero_, and is said to have been the point where boats came to
+discharge or receive their cargoes, and the stream it crosses is about
+thirty feet wide. It is full only at high tide, and is more an arm of
+the sea than a flowing river. The bridge is of hewn stone, and was
+constructed with a single arch.
+
+"When we had finished our wanderings among the ruins we went back to
+the hut, drank some more _chichi_, then mounted our horses, and returned
+to modern Panama by the way we went. We were thoroughly tired, but we
+voted unanimously that the day was well spent."
+
+The excursion to Old Panama naturally roused the curiosity of the youths
+to know something of Morgan the buccaneer, and his exploits. The readers
+of this narrative may have a similar interest in the events of two
+hundred years ago, and we will briefly give them.
+
+The rumors of the abundance of gold in the New World, which reached
+Spain after the discovery of America by Columbus, led to the conquest
+and settlement of the islands of the West Indies, and also of the
+mainland for a considerable distance north and south of the Isthmus.
+Within the fifty years following the first voyage of Columbus many
+colonies were planted, forts were built, soldiers were brought out in
+great numbers, and many ships laden with treasure were sent home from
+the New World. The stories grew with each repetition, and in a little
+while it was currently believed that there was sufficient gold in the
+cities of Mexico, Peru, and the other countries of South and Central
+America to enrich the entire population of Europe.
+
+[Illustration: SLAUGHTER OF PRIESTS BY BUCCANEERS.]
+
+The Spanish conquerors were relentlessly cruel, and subjected the rulers
+and people of the conquered countries to all manner of tortures, in
+order to obtain their gold. The rumors of the vast treasures of the New
+World passed beyond Spain and reached England and France. Piracy was
+fashionable in those times, and it was not long after the Spanish
+treasure-ships began to traverse the ocean that the waters of the
+Caribbean Sea were thronged with piratical craft. Their crews were known
+as buccaneers, freebooters, pirates, or sea-robbers, and one name is as
+good as another. We will follow the example of the old historians and
+call them buccaneers, out of respect for their descendants, who dislike
+the word "pirate."
+
+[Illustration: PIRATES' RENDEZVOUS.]
+
+They had plenty of hiding-places among the islands and along the coast
+of the mainland, and their numbers increased so rapidly that they formed
+colonies, tilled the soil, and in many cases established something like
+local government, though it was not always very orderly. In some of
+their colonies the more peaceably inclined buccaneers lived on shore,
+raised crops, hunted for wild cattle or other game, and not infrequently
+they brought their families from the Old World or found wives among the
+natives. The rest of the community roved the seas in search of plunder,
+returning occasionally to the colony to refit their vessels, and deliver
+their proper share to the settlers on land, from whom provisions were
+obtained.
+
+Sometimes prisoners were brought to the colonies and kept as slaves, but
+this was not the general practice, as it was not altogether safe; an
+escaping slave might reveal the rendezvous of the buccaneers, and, in
+spite of the greatest vigilance, escape was possible. Consequently, it
+was the custom to release prisoners on payment of a heavy ransom, or to
+sell them to be carried into slavery, where they could do no harm to
+their captors. If they could not be disposed of in either of these
+ways, or made useful in some manner, they were generally put to death.
+Sometimes a chief released his prisoners unconditionally, and without
+obtaining anything for them, but such action was not favorably received
+by his followers, as they considered it a loss of property and an
+indication of weakness totally inappropriate to his proper character.
+Human life was held at little value in those days, not only by
+freebooters, but by kings and princes in all parts of the world.
+
+After all, there was little difference between the buccaneers, or
+pirates, and the people against whom their exploits were directed.
+Cortez, Balboa, Pizarro, and other leaders in the Spanish conquest of
+the New World were simply the heads of legitimate marauding expeditions,
+directed against the inhabitants of the countries they invaded. The
+buccaneers endeavored to rob these legalized marauders; they stole what
+had been already stolen, and their thievery was directed against
+thieves. They adopted the same practices of torture and cruelties that
+had been used to extort gold from the rulers and people of the conquered
+countries; the buccaneers felt that the condemnation of their practices
+was unjust, and their sensibilities were wounded when they saw that the
+conquerors of the New World were sustained and honored by their king,
+whose treasury was enriched by their plunderings.
+
+[Illustration: BUCCANEERS EMBARKING ON AN EXPEDITION.]
+
+Sometimes there was a period of war between Spain and England, and then
+the king of the latter country would give commission to a well-known
+buccaneer, and exalt him to the dignity of a privateer. He was to fit
+out an expedition at his own expense, enlist his own men, and do pretty
+much as he pleased; in return for the royal protection he was to give a
+certain part of his gains into the king's treasury; though quite often
+this condition was not exacted, since the destruction of the enemy's
+commerce was considered a sufficient compensation for his commission.
+This was the character of Morgan's enterprise against Panama.
+
+Morgan had obtained an excellent reputation as a buccaneer; he had
+captured several cities, murdered many people, often under circumstances
+of great cruelty, and had been almost universally successful in his
+expeditions. Priests, women, and children were indiscriminately
+slaughtered along with his other prisoners, when they could not find a
+market as slaves; and the stories of his barbarities would fill a
+volume. At one time he had two thousand men and a fleet of thirty-seven
+ships under his command. His piracies were directed against the
+Spaniards; the English looked upon his performances with a kindly eye;
+and when he organized his expedition which ended with the capture of
+Panama the governor of Jamaica ordered an English ship of thirty-six
+guns to assist him, and gave him authority to act in English interest.
+There was a French ship in the harbor of Jamaica, also carrying
+thirty-six guns, which Morgan desired; and he soon found reason enough,
+to his mind, for her capture.
+
+A short time before, this French ship had stopped an English vessel at
+sea and taken provisions from her without paying for them. Morgan made
+this a pretext for seizing her; accordingly, he invited her officers on
+board the English ship and there made them prisoners. Then he seized
+their craft, but, unfortunately for his plans, she blew up a few hours
+afterwards and was totally destroyed. It was not known how the accident
+occurred, but Morgan said it was caused by the French prisoners, who set
+the ship on fire.
+
+[Illustration: MORGAN'S RECEPTION AT CHAGRES.]
+
+The fleet sailed away a week after this incident and proceeded to
+capture Maracaibo, Saint Catherine's, and one or two other places,
+before proceeding to Panama. From Saint Catherine's Morgan sent four
+ships to capture the fort at the mouth of the Chagres River; the
+expedition was successful, and when Morgan arrived and saw the English
+flag flying over the fort he fired all his cannon in honor of the
+victory. When he landed he was carried into the fort on the shoulders of
+his fellows amid many demonstrations of delight.
+
+An old nursery song has it that "Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a
+thief." Substitute "Morgan" for "Taffy" and the description is exact, as
+the hero of this story was born in Wales. Many of his followers were
+from that country or from other parts of the British Isles, and his
+second, who captured the fort at Chagres, was Captain Brodely, an
+officer of English birth.
+
+Morgan repaired the fort, gave it a garrison of five hundred men, left a
+hundred and fifty to take care of the ships, and with twelve hundred men
+started across the Isthmus for Panama. They ascended the Chagres River
+in boats as far as they could go, and then marched overland through the
+forest. All the boats but one were sent back; a guard remained with
+this single boat, with orders never to leave it for a moment.
+
+The journey to Panama was a terrible one, and showed the power of the
+commander over his men. They had expected to find plenty of provisions
+in the country, and consequently did not burden themselves with any on
+their departure from Chagres. At the first landing-place they found the
+people had fled, leaving nothing behind them, and this was the case at
+nearly every other point. For three entire days the men were without
+food, and many of them wanted to turn back; partly by persuasion and
+partly by threats Morgan kept them together, though they were so much
+reduced that they were forced to eat some leather sacks found at an
+abandoned plantation on the way.
+
+[Illustration: MORGAN'S MEN DINING ON LEATHER.]
+
+The manner of preparing this food is interesting, but it is to be hoped
+none of our readers will ever be obliged to put it in practice. Some of
+the men devoured the leather raw, cutting it into small pieces, and
+swallowing it with water. Others, more fastidious, cut it into strips,
+moistened it with water, and then rubbed it between two stones until it
+was flexible. Then they scraped off the hair with their knives and
+broiled the strips over the fire. When the leather was thoroughly done
+it was cut into small pieces and washed down with water. After this
+frugal meal the men fasted two days, till they reached a plantation
+where they found a storehouse full of corn. All order and discipline
+were lost until the fellows had eaten all they wanted and loaded
+themselves with as much as they could carry. When they were assembled
+again they cheered their commander, and shouted "_To Panama_!"
+
+[Illustration: DEATH OF THE INDIAN CHIEF.]
+
+Their plenty did not last long, as they soon encountered a small force
+of Indians who had been sent out to intercept them. The men threw away
+their loads of corn and prepared to fight. The battle was a short one,
+as the Indians were overpowered by the superior weapons of the
+buccaneers, though the latter lost several of their number. The chief of
+the Indians fought bravely, and thrust a spear through one of his
+assailants before they succeeded in conquering him.
+
+They were starving again, but as they came near Panama they found a herd
+of cattle, which supplied excellent material for food. Here Morgan
+ordered a halt till the men were fed, and their strength was restored;
+the camp was full of joy at the prospect of a speedy termination of
+their sufferings, and on the next morning the attack was ordered; the
+invaders had seen the city from the "Hill of the Buccaneers," and were
+now in front of it.
+
+[Illustration: MOVING THROUGH THE FOREST.]
+
+Morgan captured some Indians, and forced them to act as guides, under
+the penalty, often exacted in war, of being shot if they gave false
+information. Morgan had ordered the march to be taken directly to the
+city, but his guides told him the road was lined with artillery, and the
+whole Spanish force was concentrated there. Satisfied that the
+information was correct, he turned into the forest, and endeavored to
+move to the right without being discovered. The Spanish commander found
+out what the buccaneers were doing; he could not move his artillery, but
+he marched his soldiers, and drew them up on the open plain in front of
+the position for which his assailants were aiming.
+
+[Illustration: CAPTURE OF OLD PANAMA BY MORGAN. (_Fac-simile of an old
+print._)]
+
+When the invaders came in view of the plain they found three thousand
+soldiers ready to meet them, while their own number was little over a
+thousand. They were disheartened with the prospect, but Morgan told them
+it would be certain death in the wilderness to turn back, while a
+well-fought battle would give them the city with all its riches. Thus
+doubly induced, they determined to fight; the battle was begun by the
+buccaneers, and, certainly to the surprise of the Spaniards, it resulted
+in the dispersal of the defenders, and the possession of the city by
+Morgan and his followers, within three hours after firing the first
+shot.
+
+The buccaneers plundered the churches and the houses of the merchants,
+and they tortured many of the priests, and other inhabitants, to compel
+them to tell where their treasures were concealed. In anticipation of
+disaster, much of the treasure of the churches, and also of the
+wealthiest merchants, had been sent on board a ship which sailed for
+Spain a few hours after the surrender of the city. It might have been
+captured with ease, but a party which Morgan had sent to intercept any
+departing vessel did not do their duty, and so the richest of all the
+prizes slipped through their hands.
+
+Morgan and his party remained in Panama for three weeks, and then
+returned to Chagres. Before leaving they burned the city, and carried
+away six hundred prisoners, and one hundred and seventy-five beasts of
+burden laden with plunder. The division of the spoils was made at
+Chagres; it amounted to only two hundred dollars apiece, very much to
+the disappointment of the men. Morgan was openly accused of keeping very
+much more than belonged to him; the accusations became so serious as to
+threaten open revolt; and Morgan secretly embarked for Jamaica, and
+sailed away, with two ships besides his own.
+
+He reached Jamaica in safety, and as the war between England and Spain
+was then over, his occupation as a legal freebooter was at an end. His
+services were promptly recognized by the British government, and he
+was appointed a marine commissary, and knighted by King Charles II. It
+is to be hoped that he led a less disreputable life as Sir Henry Morgan
+than when he was simply known as Morgan the buccaneer.
+
+[Illustration: THE LUCKY ARROW.]
+
+A curious incident is narrated by Morgan's biographer in the account of
+the capture of Chagres. The fort was surrounded by a palisade which the
+assailants repeatedly tried to set on fire, but each time failed. Just
+as they were about to give up the attack and retire, an arrow from the
+fort passed completely through the body of one of their number and
+protruded from his breast. The man was mad with pain; he seized the
+arrow and pulled it through, then wrapped it with cotton, rammed it into
+his gun, and fired it back again at the fort. The powder ignited the
+cotton, and this in turn set fire to the leaves with which the fort was
+thatched. The Spaniards were so busy in beating back their assailants
+that they did not discover the fire until too late to stop it. The
+flames spread to a barrel of powder, which blew a great hole in the side
+of the fort, and made an entrance for the buccaneers; meantime they took
+advantage of the confusion to open the palisade, and soon had the fort
+in their possession.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+FROM PANAMA TO GUAYAQUIL.--VASCO NUNEZ DE BALBOA.--HIS ADVENTURES AND
+DEATH.--SCENES IN GUAYAQUIL.--FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH SOUTH AMERICAN
+EARTHQUAKES.
+
+
+[Illustration: BAY OF PANAMA, FROM THE SOUTHEASTERN RAMPART.]
+
+Our friends spent another day in Panama, devoting part of the time to
+arrangements for their departure, and the rest to strolling around the
+city, and taking a short sail on the bay. They visited the island where
+the Pacific Mail Steamship Company has its coaling-station, and its
+wharves for receiving and discharging freight, and saw the docks where
+ships needing repairs can be accommodated. Fred made the following notes
+concerning the steamship connections from Panama:
+
+"There are two American lines of steamers running northward to
+California, and to Mexican and Central American ports, and there are
+English, French, German, Chilian, and Peruvian lines reaching to all the
+ports of the west coast of South America. The most important of all
+these lines are the Pacific Mail (American), running northward, and the
+Pacific Steam Navigation Company (English), running to the south. When
+the Isthmus route was the favorite way of travel between the Atlantic
+and Pacific coasts of the United States there were sometimes two or
+three American lines between Panama and California, but at present there
+is only one.
+
+"There was formerly a line between Panama and Australia, but it was
+discontinued long ago, and a line from here to the Sandwich Islands,
+Japan, and China has been talked of, but never established. When the
+Panama Canal is completed it is probable that the business of this port
+will be greatly increased, and the number of daily arrivals and
+departures will far exceed those of the most active times of the 'rush'
+for California."
+
+Dr. Bronson and the youths left the hotel about two o'clock in the
+afternoon, and proceeded to the dock whence the tender was to carry them
+to their steamer. The ships of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company run
+in connection with the Royal Mail Line from England to Aspinwall; the
+arrival of the English steamer at Aspinwall had been announced by
+telegraph, and the train with the passengers and mails was due in Panama
+about half-past two. While they were seated on the tender, and engaged
+in studying the beautiful panorama of the bay, the whistle of the
+locomotive was heard, and soon the train rolled into the station, and
+its burden was transferred to the boat. The passage to the steamer was
+quickly made, and by four o'clock the great craft was on her southerly
+course.
+
+[Illustration: COAST SCENE BELOW PANAMA.]
+
+As our friends leaned over the rail, Dr. Bronson gave the youths some
+reminiscences of the old days of California travel.
+
+"On the voyage from New York to Aspinwall," said he, "passengers became
+pretty well acquainted with each other; and it generally happened that
+there were some practical jokers among them, who indulged in tricks for
+creating amusement. One of the standing jokes of the departure from
+Panama was, to create alarm among those who were making the voyage for
+the first time, by spreading a report that they had embarked on the
+wrong steamer, and were being carried to Callao."
+
+"How could they do that?" Fred inquired.
+
+"By looking at the map, you will see that the Bay of Panama is enclosed
+between the mainland and the Peninsula of Azuero, the latter extending
+to the southward about seventy-five miles; consequently a steamer going
+to California must proceed in that direction, until she can turn the
+point of the peninsula. Most of the novices were not aware of this; the
+rumor was started, and, if incredulous, they were told to look at the
+compass and be convinced. The compass corroborated the assertion of the
+jokers, and many a traveller was seriously disturbed in mind until the
+joke was explained."
+
+"He was probably more careful in his study of geography after that
+experience," Frank remarked.
+
+"Sometimes," continued the Doctor, "the California steamers sailed at
+the same time as the ships of the English line for South America, and
+occasionally there was an international race as long as their courses
+were nearly the same. The routes diverge very soon, so that the races
+were brief, but, with a large number of passengers on board of each
+steamer, there would be great excitement while the competition lasted,
+and much money was wagered on the result. On one occasion, owing to the
+carelessness of somebody, one steamer ran into another, but no serious
+damage was done; at another time a steamer hugged the shore too closely
+in order to shorten her running distance and get an advantage over her
+rival. These accidents called attention to the racing, and the managers
+of the different companies issued a very stringent order against any
+more trials of speed. I have not heard of a repetition of these affairs
+for a good many years, and there is rarely any opportunity for rivalry,
+if we may judge by the time-tables of the various lines running from
+Panama. When steamers are to leave on the same day there is generally an
+hour or two between their departures, and the later one does not attempt
+to over-haul her predecessor."
+
+[Illustration: CAVE NEAR LIMON RIVER.]
+
+As the great ship moved steadily through the blue water of the Bay of
+Panama our young friends regarded with close attention the beautiful
+panorama that passed before their eyes. The land was on both sides of
+their course, the peninsula on the right, and the mainland of South
+America on the left; the horizon to the eastward was filled with the
+chain of the Cordilleras, which increase in height farther to the south,
+and form the lofty line of the Andes. One of the passengers who was
+familiar with the coast indicated to our friends the Gulf of San Blas,
+and other indentations which have come into prominence during the
+discussions about an inter-oceanic canal, and a good deal of
+geographical knowledge was imbibed in the first few hours of the
+voyage.
+
+The Bay of Panama is about one hundred and ten miles long, and its width
+at the mouth is a little more than that distance. The course of the
+steamer carried her away from the peninsula, and before they had been
+long under way the latter was only dimly visible. It vanished with the
+sun, and by the following morning was far behind them. The placid waters
+of the Pacific Ocean filled the horizon, south, north, and west, but the
+mountains on the east were in full view. Smoke issuing from some of
+these mountains showed that they were volcanic, and the youths readily
+understood that they were approaching the region of eruptions and
+earthquakes.
+
+[Illustration: VASCO NUNEZ DE BALBOA.]
+
+Guayaquil, in Ecuador, was the first stopping-place of the steamer, four
+days from Panama. Frank suggested that it was a good time to refresh
+their memories, or add to their knowledge, of the history of this part
+of the world; Fred agreed with him, and thought they would do well to
+begin with Vasco Nunez de Balboa, the discoverer of the Pacific Ocean.
+The Doctor gave his approval, and the principal part of the second day
+at sea was devoted to that enterprising explorer. While Frank read from
+Balboa's biography, Fred took notes of the most important parts of the
+story, which were as follows:
+
+"Vasco Nunez de Balboa was a Spanish nobleman, who dissipated his
+fortune, and ran away from home to avoid imprisonment for debt. He was
+born in 1475, and sailed for the New World soon after the return of
+Columbus from his fourth voyage.
+
+"In 1510, Martin Fernandez De Enciso sailed for the colony of
+Carthagena, which had been established a few years earlier. He found in
+its harbor a brigantine which contained the remnants of a colony
+established farther down the coast, but abandoned in consequence of the
+hostility of the natives and the difficulty of procuring food. The
+leader of this party was Francisco Pizarro, whose name is known to every
+reader of South American history, in connection with the conquest of
+Peru.
+
+[Illustration: BALBOA CARRIED ON SHIPBOARD.]
+
+"After a short delay in Carthagena, Enciso sailed for St. Sebastian,
+accompanied by Pizarro's brigantine. An hour or two before the vessel
+was to leave port some men brought a cask on board, and it was lowered
+into the hold with the rest of the provisions. When the ship was fairly
+out at sea the end of the cask was pushed out, and, instead of edibles
+for the crew, there appeared the form and figure of a man!
+
+[Illustration: BALBOA MAKES HIS APPEARANCE.]
+
+"The man was Balboa, who had been living in Carthagena. He had so loaded
+himself with debts in his new home that his creditors were about to
+arrest him and he was closely watched to prevent his running away. He
+determined to sail with Enciso, and caused himself to be headed up in a
+cask and carried on board in the manner described."
+
+Frank and Fred had a hearty laugh over this part of the story. One of
+them asked the Doctor if this mode of travel was in fashion at the
+present time.
+
+"Not often," was the reply, "but it is sometimes practised by those who
+wish to do exactly like Balboa, escape from their creditors. I have
+known of a man being carried on board a steamer at New York in a large
+trunk, which was ostensibly the baggage of his wife, and there have been
+instances of criminals escaping from prison by being shut up in boxes
+and carried out as merchandise.
+
+"In the days of slavery the friends of freedom used to assist slaves to
+escape from bondage in a variety of ways. One of the favorite modes for
+a fugitive to cross the line from south to north was to be shut up in a
+box and sent as a freight or express package. I once knew a negro in
+Philadelphia who was sent in this way from Richmond to the Quaker City;
+he was about thirty hours on the way, and almost dead from suffocation
+when his prison was opened. Though his conveyance was conspicuously
+labelled, 'This side up with care!' he was twice left standing on his
+head for two or three hours. His name was Henry Brown; in memory of his
+adventures, and to distinguish him from other Henry Browns, he was ever
+afterwards known as Henry Box Brown.
+
+"And now let us return to Balboa," said the Doctor. The hint was
+sufficient, and the narrative was resumed.
+
+"Enciso was angry at the deception practised by Balboa in securing
+passage as a stowaway, but soon had reason to be glad he had such a bold
+adventurer on his ship. At first he threatened to leave Balboa on a
+desert island, but when the latter offered his services and promised to
+be a good soldier the leader relented. Expeditions like those of the
+Spaniards are not made up of the best materials of society, and events
+afterwards proved that Balboa was more than the average adventurer of
+the sixteenth century.
+
+"On the way to St. Sebastian Enciso's ship ran upon the rocks and was
+lost, with all its cargo, only the crew escaping to the brigantine of
+Pizarro. Enciso did not know where to go; and while he was pondering
+upon the best course to pursue Balboa came before him and said he knew
+of an Indian village on the bank of a river called Darien; the country
+near the village was fertile, and the natives had plenty of gold.
+
+[Illustration: VILLAGE ON A RIVER OF DARIEN.]
+
+"Enciso sailed for the village, which he captured with ease, and
+compelled the inhabitants to deliver up fifty thousand dollars' worth of
+gold ornaments. He established a colony there, and forbade any one to
+traffic with the natives for gold, under penalty of death. This
+arbitrary order was opposed by Balboa, who remembered the threat to
+leave him on a desert island; as the followers of Enciso were quite as
+covetous as their leader, the prohibition was easily made the basis of a
+revolt.
+
+"Balboa managed matters so well that Enciso was forced to leave for
+Spain, while the former became governor, with absolute authority over
+all the colony. He immediately sent Pizarro to explore a neighboring
+province, but the expedition was unsuccessful; Pizarro was driven back
+by the Indians, who attacked him in great force. Balboa then headed an
+expedition in person, and while sailing along the coast he picked up two
+Spaniards in the dress of natives. They were deserters from another
+colony, and had been living with Careta, the chief of the province of
+Coyba; they had been kindly treated by this chief, but promptly offered
+to pilot Balboa to his village, which was said to contain great
+quantities of the precious metal desired by the Spaniards.
+
+"Balboa accepted their offer and started for Careta's capital,
+accompanied by the deserters and one hundred and fifty soldiers. Careta
+received him kindly, and after a short stay Balboa pretended to leave.
+In the night he attacked the village and made prisoners of the chief,
+together with his family, and many of his people. Careta made peace with
+the Spaniards by giving up a large amount of gold, and offering the hand
+of his daughter in marriage to Balboa. The historians say she had much
+influence over Balboa, and on one occasion saved his life.
+
+[Illustration: BALBOA AND THE INDIAN PRINCESS.]
+
+"Balboa promised to help Careta against his enemies, and in compliance
+with his promise he took eighty men and went on an expedition against
+Ponca, who was an enemy of Careta, and, what was more to the point with
+Balboa, was said to have a great amount of treasure. Ponca was attacked
+and his village was burned, but the victors obtained very little gold.
+Then they went to the neighboring province of Comagre, whose chief was
+friendly with Careta, and received them kindly. The chief came out to
+meet the strangers and escort them to the village, where he gave them
+food and comfortable lodgings, and did everything he could to make their
+stay agreeable.
+
+"The people at this village were the most advanced in civilization that
+the Spaniards had thus far found in America. The chief's palace was a
+frame building, four hundred and fifty feet long and two hundred and
+forty wide, and it was divided into numerous apartments for the chief
+and his family and officers. Underneath it there was a cellar for
+storing provisions, and in one part of the building was a mausoleum,
+where the bodies of the chief's ancestors were preserved. Balboa
+examined this mausoleum, and found that the bodies were first dried by
+fire, to prevent decay, and then wrapped in great quantities of cloths
+which were interwoven with threads of gold. Pearls and pieces of gold
+were fastened around the wrappings, and then the bundles were hung
+against the walls of the room.
+
+"It did not take long for the Spanish avarice to show itself, and to
+meet it the eldest son of the chief brought four thousand ounces of
+gold, which was distributed among the men, after a fifth of the whole
+had been reserved for the crown. During the division a quarrel arose
+between two of the men, about the weight of two pieces of gold.
+
+[Illustration: QUARREL FOR THE GOLD.]
+
+"They drew their swords and were about to fight, when the young chief
+seized the scales and dashed their contents to the ground.
+
+"'Why do you quarrel about such trash as this?' said he. 'If you come
+here for gold, go beyond those mountains, where there is a great sea on
+which sail vessels like your own. The streams that flow into it are
+filled with gold; the people who live on its coast eat and drink from
+vessels of gold.'"
+
+Balboa was present at this incident; he had not interfered in the
+quarrel, but when the chief spoke he became interested. He talked long
+and earnestly with the chief, who represented the dangers and
+difficulties of the way, but offered to show it to the adventurer, if he
+was determined to go there.
+
+"Balboa returned to the colony at Darien to make preparations for an
+expedition to discover the great sea beyond the mountains, and obtain
+the gold of the people along its coast. He sent to Spain for the men he
+required for the journey, but after he had waited long and anxiously a
+ship arrived with news that his enemy Enciso had obtained a favorable
+hearing before the king, and was coming back to assume command, while
+Balboa was to be sent to Spain to answer a charge of treason.
+
+"He determined to make a bold stroke, and called for volunteers to
+accompany him on the expedition, as he could not expect the men he had
+asked for from the king. One hundred and ninety men volunteered, and on
+the 1st of September, 1513, he sailed with a brigantine and ten canoes.
+He reached the dominions of his father-in-law, Careta, near the modern
+village of Careto, about twenty miles from the mouth of the Caledonia
+River, on the route taken by Lieutenant Strain.
+
+[Illustration: MARCHING THROUGH THE FOREST.]
+
+"Here the inland march began. The men toiled over rocks and among the
+thick undergrowth, and suffered from sickness and hunger and from the
+opposition of the Indians. They could not find the young chief who had
+offered to guide them over the mountains, but they captured some of the
+Indians and forced them to show the way. At one village the chief called
+out his men to attack the strangers, but they were quickly dispersed by
+the guns of the Spaniards. The Indians had never heard the report of
+fire-arms, and were paralyzed at what they believed to be thunder and
+lightning in human hands.
+
+"Beyond this village was a mountain, from whose top the guide assured
+Balboa the great ocean was visible. Halting a day for the benefit of his
+sick and wounded, he pushed on till he reached the foot of the mountain,
+and stood there with his faithful followers. There they rested until
+another morning; he ordered every man to be ready to move at daybreak
+and then he lay down to sleep. His example was followed by his men; they
+slept, but he did not, as his mind was too full of what the morrow might
+disclose to allow of slumber.
+
+"At the first sign of day he roused his men, and prepared for the march.
+The sick and wounded were left in the camp, and with sixty-seven
+followers he pushed forward. It was nearly noon when they emerged from
+the forest, and stood at the foot of the stony peak from which the guide
+said the sea was visible. Here Balboa ordered his men to remain till he
+had reached the summit; he wished that his eyes should be the first to
+look upon the great ocean, of whose existence he still had lingering
+doubts.
+
+[Illustration: DISCOVERY OF THE PACIFIC.]
+
+"He reached the summit, and there, spread before him and filling the
+horizon, were the blue waters of the Pacific. Balboa gazed for several
+minutes, in the enthusiasm of his discovery, and then beckoned for his
+followers to join him.
+
+"The men dashed forward, Pizarro among them, and soon were at the side
+of their chief. One of the party was a priest, and as they came to a
+halt he began to chant _Te Deum Laudamus!_ The chant was taken up by the
+whole band of adventurers, and as soon as it was ended they proceeded to
+build a mound of stones on which they erected a cross, in honor of the
+discovery.
+
+"Balboa then descended the mountain to the shores of the Pacific, where
+he took possession of the waters in the name of his king. He attempted
+to explore the country, but travelled only a short distance along the
+coast; passing through many hardships, he returned to Darien, whence he
+despatched a ship to Spain, bearing the news of his discovery, and the
+royal share of the gold he had taken.
+
+[Illustration: CUTTING TIMBER FOR THE SHIPS.]
+
+"Already a new governor had been appointed, and shortly after Balboa's
+messenger had sailed the governor arrived. Balboa was tried on the old
+charges, and acquitted, and he then started to carry out his intention
+of exploring the Pacific. Crossing the mountains, he built vessels on
+the banks of the Valsa River, visited the Pearl Islands in Panama Bay,
+and explored parts of the coast. It was reported that he intended to
+establish a colony on the Pacific Ocean, and set up in opposition to the
+newly appointed Governor of Darien--or, rather, independently of him.
+
+[Illustration: DEATH OF BALBOA.]
+
+"The governor summoned Balboa to Darien to meet him in friendly
+consultation, and the latter went, in spite of the advice of his
+comrades, who suspected that official's intentions. The governor
+arrested him on a charge of treason, and went through the form of a
+trial, which resulted in Balboa's conviction and condemnation to death.
+When he was led forth to execution a crier preceded him, proclaiming him
+a traitor to the crown. 'It is false!' exclaimed Balboa with great
+indignation; 'I have sought to serve my king with truth and loyalty, and
+no such crime as treason has ever entered my mind.'
+
+"Balboa was only forty-one years of age when he perished, the victim of
+the same jealousy and hatred which caused Columbus to be carried in
+chains to the prison where he died. There is no doubt that his career
+was marked by many acts of cruelty, but nothing in his history indicates
+other than the most devoted loyalty to his sovereign and to the country
+of his birth."
+
+The study of the history of Balboa was followed by a careful inspection
+of the map of the Darien Isthmus, in the effort to determine the
+identity of the mountain from which the Pacific Ocean was first seen by
+the eyes of a European. The Doctor told the youths that the mountain had
+not been identified, but was thought to lie between the rivers which
+Strain attempted to follow in his explorations for a canal. All the
+peaks in this region are difficult of access, and few of them have been
+ascended by white men.
+
+The steamer reached Guayaquil on the morning of the fourth day from
+Panama. Our friends secured a boat for themselves and their baggage, and
+went on shore immediately; it was their intention to spend a fortnight
+in Ecuador, and then take steamer again to Callao.
+
+At the landing-place they were beset by beggars, pedlers, guides, and
+donkey-owners, all desirous of receiving tokens of remembrance in the
+shape of money, selling articles of use or uselessness, or otherwise
+rendering real or imaginary services. All were shaken off in a little
+while, with the exception of the most prepossessing of the guides, who
+was engaged to take them to the hotel and show them around the city.
+
+A rickety carriage was obtained, but, as it showed signs of weakness, it
+was exchanged at the hotel for one of a more substantial character. The
+streets and the buildings that lined them greatly resembled those of
+Panama, and indicated that the builders of both were of the same
+nationality. The cathedral was visited, but there was nothing remarkable
+in its appearance, and a very brief examination sufficed.
+
+Frank said the most interesting part of the city was the river which ran
+through it; it is called the Guayaquil, and also the Guayas; its name
+has been given to the city, which is really "Santiago di Guayaquil." All
+the provisions for the city are brought in canoes and on _balsas_ or
+rafts, and every morning the river is almost covered with these crafts.
+They were laden with all sorts of things produced in the
+country--bananas, plantains, pineapples, cocoanuts, guavas, melons,
+oranges, zapotes, mangoes, and kindred fruits that grow in the tropics,
+and there was also a goodly array of tropical vegetables.
+Poultry-dealers were numerous, and the fowls with which their cages were
+filled kept up a vigorous cackling; there were fish of many varieties,
+some of them quite new to our young friends, who regarded them with much
+interest. In their eagerness to get about the boatmen frequently ran
+their craft against those of their neighbors, but there was the utmost
+good-nature, with one or two exceptions. Probably the people find it
+does not pay to quarrel where the climate is so warm, and the effort of
+getting into a passion is too much for every-day life.
+
+[Illustration: CATHEDRAL OF GUAYAQUIL.]
+
+The city has a population of twenty-five or thirty thousand, and is a
+little more than two degrees south of the equator, consequently it is
+very hot, and quite unhealthy, in spite of the sanitary precautions that
+have been taken by its authorities. The Bay, or Gulf, of Guayaquil has a
+tide of about twenty feet, so that any accumulation of impurities is
+prevented by the great flow of water in and out of the channel every
+day. It has one of the best harbors on the west coast of South America,
+and would have a considerable commerce were it not that the prosperity
+of the country is restricted by earthquakes.
+
+[Illustration: STREET SCENE AND RUINS.]
+
+Our friends found that some of the streets were narrow and crooked, but
+the most of them were comparatively straight, and crossed at right
+angles. They drove past the principal buildings, the governor's
+residence, City Hall, and several churches, and then into the suburbs,
+where they saw some pretty gardens full of tropical flowers.
+
+As the forenoon advanced the heat increased, and they returned to
+breakfast at their hotel. The table was set on the veranda, which
+afforded a fine view of the lofty peaks of the Andes. The manager of the
+establishment was a stout and dreamy Spaniard, who went to sleep if his
+attention was not wanted for a minute, but waked immediately when he
+was spoken to. The waiter was of aboriginal descent, and seemed to have
+copied the habits of his master in the matter of deliberation, as he
+paused after each step, as though uncertain about the next.
+
+They had a breakfast of tortillas, or Spanish griddle-cakes, a chicken
+broiled over the coals, which were still adhering in places, and an
+omelette in which various peppery things were very apparent to the
+palate.
+
+When they were nearing the end of their repast, and just as Fred was
+helping himself to more of the omelette, there was a trembling of the
+floor that brought the youths out of their chairs and caused the Doctor
+to assume an upright position. The movement lasted perhaps a quarter of
+a minute, and then ceased.
+
+"Take your seats again," said Dr. Bronson, "and finish your breakfast.
+We are in the land of the earthquake, and this is an every-day
+occurrence."
+
+He suited the action to his word, and sat down. The youths followed his
+example, and a moment's reflection told them that they ought not to be
+disturbed by such a trifling shake at the very beginning of their South
+American experience.
+
+[Illustration: IN THE LAND OF THE EARTHQUAKE.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE PARADISE OF EARTHQUAKES.--FROM GUAYAQUIL TO QUITO.--A RIDE
+OVER THE MOUNTAINS.--ALL CLIMATES UNITED IN ONE.--THE PLAINS OF
+ECUADOR.--CHIMBORAZO AND COTOPAXI.
+
+
+The incident of the breakfast naturally drew their attention to the
+earthquakes that frequently shake the mountainous parts of South
+America, and render life and property more uncertain than in regions
+which are not subject to these disturbances.
+
+"Ecuador may be considered the paradise of the earthquake," said the
+Doctor, "though it is not much ahead of Peru and Chili in that respect.
+To give a list of the earthquakes that have destroyed life and property
+in this country since it first became known to the Spaniards would be to
+recite a long series of dates; Guayaquil has been shaken up a great many
+times, but it has suffered less than the capital. Here, at the
+sea-coast, we are somewhat removed from the centre of the disturbance,
+but by no means out of its reach."
+
+"We will hope," said Fred, "that the violent earthquakes will postpone
+themselves until our departure."
+
+Dr. Bronson and Frank emphatically approved Fred's suggestion, and the
+Doctor proceeded with his comments.
+
+"The central portion of Ecuador," said he, "is at an elevation of
+several thousand feet, and contains many active volcanoes. The valleys
+in which are the cities and cultivated part of the country are rarely
+less than 6000 feet above the level of the sea, and some of them rise to
+10,000 or 12,000. The highest of the mountains is Chimborazo, 21,422
+feet high; it was for a long time supposed to be the highest mountain of
+America, but modern surveys have shown that it has several superiors. It
+is the sixth in elevation of the chain of the Andes, and these in turn
+are surpassed, in the Old World, by several of the Himalayas. The best
+known of the active volcanoes is Cotopaxi, nearly 19,000 feet high, but
+there are others that rival it in destructive energy.
+
+"We shall have opportunity to study these volcanoes quite nearly,"
+continued the Doctor, "as we go to Quito and the region around it. There
+does not appear to be any danger of an eruption at present, and if we
+allow our minds to be constantly filled with dread of a catastrophe we
+shall not enjoy the journey. So we'll let the earthquakes take care of
+themselves, as they generally do."
+
+[Illustration: THE CENTRAL PART OR ECUADOR.]
+
+In the afternoon they arranged for the storage of such baggage as they
+did not wish to take with them. Trunks were left behind, and the whole
+trio was reduced to light marching order, in accordance with their
+custom when making the excursions of which we have read in "The Boy
+Travellers in the Far East." Toilet bags, with a small stock of
+underclothing, an extra suit of clothes for a change in case of being
+drenched with rain, and overcoats, rugs, wraps, and blankets, for the
+cold weather at great elevations, comprised the equipment for the
+journey to Quito.
+
+Travellers must carry their own bedding and provisions while journeying
+in the interior of Ecuador, and, in fact, in most of the South American
+countries. This was the custom adopted by the old Spaniards, and customs
+change here very slowly. Hotels are scarce, and the lodging-houses along
+the road give little more than a roof for shelter, and sometimes not
+even that. If a man ventures to travel without carrying his own supplies
+he will often go hungry; but, on the other hand, he may be sure of the
+most uniform kindness from the people of the country. They will give him
+the best they have, but very often they have literally nothing to offer.
+
+[Illustration: LAS BODEGAS, GUAYAS RIVER.]
+
+The Guayas is navigable by small steamers from Guayaquil to Bodegas, a
+distance of seventy miles. Our friends took passage upon one of the
+steamers plying on the river, and were safely landed at Bodegas after a
+pleasant run of eight or nine hours. Frank recorded in his note-book
+that the river is not a swift one, and flows through a flat country in
+which there is not much of interest beyond the vegetation. "The banks,"
+said he, "are lined with groves of bananas and plantains; the fruit of
+these trees forms an important article of food with the inhabitants, and
+it is no wonder they are not disposed to hard labor when they can supply
+themselves without it.
+
+"The banana can be eaten raw, but the raw plantain is considered
+unhealthy. Both plantains and bananas are cooked in a variety of ways,
+baked, boiled, fried, or roasted; they can be formed into a paste after
+cooking, and then dried, and in this condition the article can be kept
+for a long time. Humboldt estimated that four thousand pounds of bananas
+can be produced in the same area as thirty-three pounds of wheat or
+ninety-nine pounds of potatoes. They are cultivated with very little
+labor, and there is nothing which the soil produces that gives so great
+an amount of food from a given area of land. If a man will live only on
+bananas he can take things very easily.
+
+[Illustration: A HOUSE IN THE TROPICS.]
+
+"In addition to the banana and plantain forests we saw many plantations
+where coffee and cacao are grown, and some of them were of great extent.
+Then there were orange and lemon groves, fields of pineapples, mango and
+bread-fruit trees, and great numbers of cocoa palms. There were many
+canoes and _balsas_ on the river; the balsas are nothing but rafts made
+of the trunks of the balsa trees. Half a dozen logs are lashed together
+with withes and cords, and braced with cross-pieces of wood so that
+there is no danger of separation. On the top of the raft a flooring of
+bamboos or split palms is laid, and on this flooring they build a hut in
+which the people live, often for weeks at a time.
+
+[Illustration: CACAO.]
+
+"Some of these balsas are larger than others, in consequence of the logs
+being longer and more numerous. The huts on the larger rafts contain
+several rooms, and are equipped with conveniences for living quite equal
+to those of huts on shore. There are places for cooking, coops for
+fowls, pens for pigs, and nooks among the rafters where edibles can be
+stored, out of the reach of the four-footed inhabitants. A whole family
+will live comfortably on a balsa, and few of them are destitute of pets
+in the shape of monkeys and parrots. Some of the rafts carried such an
+abundance of monkeys and parrots that it was not easy to say if they
+were not the possessors of the establishment, carrying the men, women,
+and children to a market in Guayaquil. The monkeys and children appeared
+on the most familiar terms, and as the latter were unencumbered with
+clothing they were not to be readily distinguished from their tailed
+associates.
+
+"Balsa wood is as light as cork, and remains a long time in the water
+without any tendency to absorption. The balsa raft was in use long
+before the visit of the Spaniards, and the craft we have seen are
+probably identical with those that met the eyes of Pizarro at the time
+of the conquest.
+
+"Occasionally we saw monkeys among the trees on the shore, but they
+evidently did not like the steamer, and were careful to keep at a
+respectful distance. There were birds of brilliant plumage, but we did
+not hear a song from one of them; a gentleman who was our
+fellow-passenger says that most of the birds of this part of the world
+have no knowledge of music. There were plenty of alligators lying on the
+banks; we took several shots at them, but soon desisted, as we bagged no
+game, while the alligators seemed to enjoy the sport and the waste of
+our ammunition. Many of them were lying with their mouths open, waiting
+for the flies to settle in their throats; when they judged that a
+sufficient number had assembled they suddenly closed their jaws,
+swallowed the flies that were caught, and set themselves for more. They
+make splendid fly-traps, and Fred suggests that they should be
+introduced into New York and other cities to take the place of the many
+patent machines that are now in use for catching flies."
+
+Down to quite recently the route from Bodegas to Quito was simply a mule
+path; a wagon road has been completed for a part of the way, and is
+ultimately intended to reach the capital. A railway is projected from
+Guayaquil to Quito, but for the present the mule path must be the
+reliance of travellers. A wagon was obtained, for carrying our friends
+and their baggage to the end of the road which traverses the level
+country up to the foot of the mountains. It was a rickety affair, but
+served its purpose, which is all that can be expected of a wagon under
+ordinary circumstances.
+
+At the end of the road our friends were deposited in a village which is
+chiefly inhabited by _arrieros_, or muleteers, and their families,
+together with a sprinkling of other natives more or less interested in
+the traffic passing between the capital and the seaport. The arrieros
+are a very important part of the mountain population of Ecuador, as
+there is no travel or transportation away from the rivers and wagon
+roads without them.
+
+[Illustration: ARRIERO AND TRAVELLER.]
+
+Fred made the following note concerning the arrieros, and the journey
+towards Quito:
+
+"The business is entirely in the hands of the natives or the
+half-breeds, as no genuine Spaniard would consider it high enough for
+his dignity. Some of the arrieros possess many mules, but the most of
+them have but half a dozen, or perhaps ten or twelve, and travel
+personally with their trains. The _peons_, or servants of the arrieros,
+are likewise of the native race, and accustomed all their lives to
+hardship and toil. Their wants are few, as they live on food that can be
+easily transported; their general outfit for the road is a cotton shirt
+and trousers, a straw hat, and a _poncho_, or blanket with a hole in the
+centre, through which the head is thrust. This poncho is striped with
+gay colors, and is very often quite attractive to the eye. Each arriero
+or peon carries his own food, which usually consists of a few red
+peppers, a bag of parched corn, and another of barley meal. With this
+slender nourishment they pass their lives on the rough roads among the
+mountains, and immediately on arriving from one hard journey they are
+ready for another.
+
+[Illustration: IN HOLIDAY COSTUME.]
+
+"We were surrounded by half a dozen arrieros at once, and there was no
+difficulty in making a bargain, as several trains had just arrived from
+the mountains, and were anxious to return. We engaged five mules, three
+for ourselves, and two for our baggage; the owners endeavored to
+convince us that another animal was needed for the baggage, but as we
+had less than three hundred pounds of it altogether, we were not to be
+convinced. Our arriero promised to be ready to start early the next
+morning, but it was nearly noon before we got away. We tried to hurry
+him, but it was of no use; he was anxious enough before making the
+bargain, but now that it was settled, and competition was out of the
+way, his anxiety had ceased.
+
+"The baggage was piled on the mules that were to carry it, and when all
+was ready we mounted our saddle animals. They were not very
+prepossessing in appearance, and looked as though the mountain journey
+would be too much for them, but they were the best in the train, and we
+concluded to be content with the situation. Mules are considered better
+than horses for this sort of work, as they are surer in their footing,
+and will venture in places where a horse refuses to go. Bulls and
+donkeys are also used here for carrying burdens along the mountain
+roads, but they are not equal to mules.
+
+[Illustration: A PACK-TRAIN UNDER WAY.]
+
+"We filed out of the village, accompanied by several travellers who were
+going in the same direction, so that altogether we formed a long
+cavalcade. As we ascended the hills the road became very rough, and
+frequently the path was blocked by trains going in the opposite
+direction. In spite of all the good-nature that the arrieros displayed
+towards each other, there were several serious detentions; we found the
+donkeys more obstinate about holding the track to themselves than the
+other animals, though none of the latter were to be praised for their
+courtesy.
+
+"Some of the trains we met were laden with coffee and cacao on its way
+to the seaport, while others carried potatoes, barley, pease, fowls,
+and other produce intended for consumption in the country. The people
+were, without an exception, civil and obliging, but they could not
+always induce their beasts to follow their example. Many of the men were
+accompanied by their wives and daughters, but whether the latter were
+going for a pleasure-trip or formed a part of the working force I am
+unable to say.
+
+"The road increased in roughness as we advanced; properly speaking, it
+was not a road, but simply a track worn in the rocks by the feet of the
+animals that had travelled there for hundreds of years, and by the water
+that sweeps down in torrents during the rainy season. In some places the
+way was a sort of rocky staircase, and our mules placed their feet in
+steps which had been worn to a depth of five or six inches. It was often
+so steep that if we had not leaned well forward we should have been in
+danger of a backward somersault, and the consequences of such a fall,
+especially if the man should carry his mule with him, are fearful to
+think of.
+
+"Accidents are frequent here, and the great wonder is that there are no
+more of them. Fortunately, we did not meet any of the descending trains
+in the most dangerous spots, where the path wound around precipices or
+through narrow defiles; there are many places where it does not seem
+possible for two animals to pass in safety, and I can well understand
+that there is a foundation for stories about men engaging in fights for
+the right of way. The unprogressiveness of the Spanish people in Ecuador
+is shown by their being content to get along with this kind of road
+between their seaport and their capital city during three centuries!
+
+"Night came upon us while we were climbing the hills, and as it is very
+dangerous to travel after dark, we halted where there were a couple of
+rude huts, not sufficient for sheltering our party. The arrieros and
+their peons slept outside with their animals, while the travellers were
+made as comfortable as their blankets would permit on the floor of the
+huts. There was the solid earth to sleep on, and we were relieved from
+monotony by the presence of innumerable fleas. In the morning, each of
+us felt sure he had been bitten at least three thousand times, and Fred
+thought he could count not less than four thousand distinct and
+well-defined bites. Fleas are even cheaper than bananas to cultivate and
+much more abundant to the acre; it is certain they are not destructive
+to life, for if they were there would be no living thing in Ecuador.
+
+"Before going to bed we supped from some of our provisions, aided by a
+dish of stewed potatoes prepared by the owner of the hut where we slept.
+A favorite dish among the mountaineers is potato stew or soup, which is
+known as _locro_; sometimes it is prepared plain, while at others it
+contains chicken, beef, or any other obtainable meat. The presence of
+meat adds materially to the dish for European palates, and when well
+prepared a dinner of locro is not to be despised.
+
+"Our surroundings were not conducive to late sleeping, and we were off
+soon after daybreak. The morning was very cold, but as the sun ascended
+in the heavens the air grew warmer, and we ceased shivering. In a little
+while we reached the summit of a ridge several thousand feet above the
+level of the sea, and had a magnificent view.
+
+[Illustration: A MOUNTAIN CASCADE.]
+
+"There was a mist when we started, but it rolled away when we came to
+the top of the sierra; on one side we had the lofty mountains far above
+us, and on the other the country dropped away at our feet till it was
+lost in the distant shore of the Pacific. The great snowy peak of
+Chimborazo was in full view, and we longed to ascend to its summit and
+look out upon the wide stretch of land it commands. One traveller says
+the view from its top would embrace an area of fully ten thousand square
+miles, and I can readily believe him. Nobody has yet been there, and the
+name of the man who first ascends it is destined to be remembered.
+
+[Illustration: BARON VON HUMBOLDT IN 1802.]
+
+"Humboldt and his companions endeavored, in 1802, to ascend to the top
+of Chimborazo, but were obliged to stop short when they had yet two
+thousand and more feet above them.
+
+"They were stopped by an immense chasm that stretched across the line
+they were ascending, and by the inconveniences that are generally
+experienced at high altitudes. Blood spurted from their eyes and lips,
+and they breathed with great difficulty. According to barometrical
+observations, Humboldt was within 2138 feet of the summit when he turned
+back.
+
+"Boussingault and Hall have since ascended to within 1729 feet of the
+top of the giant mountain, by taking a route different from that
+followed by Humboldt. They experienced the same difficulties in
+breathing and in the rush of blood to the lips and eyes; both of them
+were enfeebled for some time after making the journey, and their
+experiences were altogether such as to deter any but the hardiest of men
+from attempting the ascent of Chimborazo.
+
+"But though we cannot climb to the top of this kingly mountain, we may
+look at it as much as we please, and very beautiful it is in the
+contemplation. It is a sharp cone, sharper and more pointed than
+Fusiyama or Etna, sharper even than Tacoma or Ranier in our own country,
+and sharper again than magnificent Avatcha, the great landmark of
+Kamtchatka. Its summit is covered with perpetual snow; it stands within
+less than two degrees of the equator, and the palm groves of the tropics
+are spread almost at its feet. Eternal winter wraps its head, but
+eternal summer smiles below. Standing where Humboldt stood, all the
+seasons of the year and all climates of the globe may be passed in
+review.
+
+"But I'm stopping you on the sierra while telling you about Chimborazo.
+Well, the mules have had a chance to breathe, and we'll move on.
+
+"From the top of the sierra we descended the slope to the valley of the
+Chimbo; the road is steep, and in many places slippery, and more than
+once we thought we would not get down without a serious accident. Here
+and there our mules put their feet together, and slid with a velocity
+that made our hair rise under our hats, and our teeth shut closely
+together; we shall hereafter have more respect for the intelligence of
+the mule than we ever had before. One of the baggage mules tumbled, and
+was pitched together in a heap, but he gathered himself together, and
+rose again as though nothing had happened.
+
+"We passed many places that reminded us of the northern states of our
+own country; the valley is elevated eight or nine thousand feet above
+the sea, and the climate is quite unlike that of the region around
+Guayaquil. Wheat, barley, potatoes, and turnips are cultivated, instead
+of the tropical products which we saw along the banks of the Guayas; at
+a little distance the dwellings of the people have a substantial
+appearance, but a closer acquaintance shows that they are built of mud
+and are anything but attractive on the inside.
+
+[Illustration: NATIVE HUTS NEAR QUARANDA.]
+
+"We stopped for the night at Guaranda, which is on the west bank of the
+Chimbo River, and is said to be a healthy place of residence throughout
+the year. It has a population of about two thousand, but there is hardly
+a decent house in the place. The buildings are low huts of _adobe_, or
+sun-dried bricks; the streets are made lower in the centre than at the
+sides, and when the rains fall there is no danger that the foundations
+of the houses will be damaged by water.
+
+"Dr. Bronson said that we were in the centre of the region which
+produces the celebrated _Chinchona_, or Peruvian bark, which has such a
+great reputation in curing fevers. It takes its name from the Countess
+of Chinchon, who was cured of intermittent fever by its use at Lima,
+about the middle of the seventeenth century. It was then taken to
+Europe, and the knowledge of it was spread through the civilized world."
+
+"Quinine is produced from this bark, is it not?" Frank inquired, when
+Fred read the note quoted above.
+
+"Yes," replied the latter, "quinine is an alkaloid, made from Peruvian
+bark, and was discovered in 1820. There are several other alkaloids in
+the bark, but none are as important as the one you have just mentioned.
+Any doctor can tell you of its qualities, and a great many people who
+are not doctors are familiar with its uses.
+
+"No traveller will venture into a malarious region without a good supply
+of quinine, and in some countries it is almost as important to have it
+as to be provided with food."
+
+Having answered Frank's interrogatory, Fred continued with his
+observations upon the trees that produce the valuable bark.
+
+"There are no less than twenty-one varieties of trees producing the bark
+from which quinine is made," said Fred, "but some of the most valuable
+of them are extinct, owing to the reckless way in which they have been
+stripped. The trees grow on the slopes of the Andes, in Peru, Ecuador,
+and other countries; they have been successfully transplanted to India,
+Java, Algeria, and the United States; and the future supply of quinine
+for a feverish world will probably come from other countries than South
+America.
+
+"The _cascarilleros_, or bark-collectors, are obliged to go far into the
+forests in search of trees, and they suffer many hardships and
+privations in pursuing their industry. The best of the trees have been
+destroyed; we asked if we could see one, and were told we must make a
+journey of several days to do so, as none now grow in the neighborhood
+of Guaranda. A gentleman who lives in Quito told us he had seen a
+chinchona tree sixty feet high, and six feet in circumference; it
+yielded two thousand pounds of green bark, or about one thousand pounds
+when dry. Another tree that he saw gave three thousand dollars' worth of
+quinine; but such trees are rare.
+
+[Illustration: AMONG THE LAVA BEDS.]
+
+"We left Guaranda very early in the morning," Fred continued, "and when
+we jumped into our saddles we could hardly see where they were. There
+is a ridge to cross, after getting out of the valley of the Chimbo,
+which it is desirable to pass in the forenoon, as the wind blows
+violently there after the sun has passed the meridian, though it is
+quiet enough in the morning. We crossed the ridge, with the great
+mountain rising before us, and then descended to another valley to the
+city of Ambato, which has nothing in particular to recommend it.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW OF COTOPAXI.]
+
+"To describe the dreary road from here to Quito would be tedious
+reading. It passes through a region of volcanic origin, where the rocks
+are piled everywhere in great confusion, vegetation is restricted, and
+the miserable villages of the natives are repulsive in every aspect. It
+winds over hills and ridges, or through valleys and along the banks of
+streams; it rises in some places ten or twelve thousand feet above the
+sea-level, and nowhere is it less than eight thousand feet in elevation.
+The latter part of the journey is over a wagon road, passing in full
+view of the volcano of Cotopaxi, and crossing a ridge that suddenly
+brings us in sight of the capital city, nestling at the foot of
+Pichincha, the volcano which more than once has threatened to ingulf it
+in total ruin.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW OF QUITO AND THE VOLCANO OF PICHINCHA.]
+
+"The country improves as we approach Quito. There are farms in great
+number, and the fertile slopes of the hills appear to be well
+cultivated. Before we reach the ridge which reveals it, we traverse a
+valley that might be made far more productive than it is, and when we
+come to the banks of the Machangara, the river that flows past Quito, we
+can hardly realize that we are nearly two miles up in the air. But it is
+really so, as the elevation of the city is little less than ten thousand
+feet; and people afflicted with pulmonary complaints would do well to
+stay away from it."
+
+[Illustration: INCA GATEWAY AND FORTRESS IN THE ANDES.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+DESCRIPTION OF QUITO.--VISIT TO THE VOLCANO OF PICHINCHA.--THE DEEPEST
+CRATER IN THE WORLD.--ROUTE OVER THE ANDES TO THE AMAZON.--RETURN TO THE
+COAST.
+
+
+[Illustration: CROSSING THE MOUNTAINS.]
+
+The journey from Bodegas to Quito had exhausted the strength of our
+friends, and they were quite willing to rest in the hotel during the
+first evening of their stay in the capital. The time was improved by a
+study of the history of the city, and when they started out the next
+morning they were well stocked with information.
+
+"Nobody now living can tell how old Quito is," said the Doctor; "it was
+founded many centuries ago by the Quitas or Quichas, and its early
+history is buried in obscurity. According to some traditions it is
+nearly two thousand years old. It is positively known to have existed
+about 1000 A.D., when it was captured by the Cara nation, who were more
+civilized than the Quitas.
+
+"About the year 1475 it was conquered by Peru, and was made the capital;
+it retained that honor until captured by Pizarro in his famous conquest,
+and the glory of Atahnalpa, then its ruler, was extinguished forever. If
+you wish to know in detail of the romantic history and tragic fate of
+Atahualpa, the son of Huayna-Capac, you can find it in Prescott's
+'Conquest of Peru.'"
+
+"I remember, in my school history," said Fred, "it was said that
+Atahualpa was imprisoned by Pizarro, and offered to fill with gold the
+room where he was confined, on condition of receiving his liberty. He
+filled the room as agreed, but was afterwards put to death by order of
+Pizarro."
+
+[Illustration: A STREET IN QUITO.]
+
+"The story does not rest on very good authority," said the Doctor; "but
+the conduct reported of Pizarro is quite in keeping with the character
+of the Spanish conquerors of the New World. Pizarro's biographer says he
+was guilty of the greatest cruelties and perfidies in the acquisition of
+gold, but he distributed it freely among his followers, and spent most
+of the vast treasures obtained from the Incas in the erection of public
+buildings and other improvements for the general benefit. That he was a
+brave man is shown by the fact that the conquest of Peru was undertaken,
+and successfully accomplished, with a force of three vessels, one
+hundred and eighty men, and twenty-seven horses."
+
+"And all this country was captured with such a mere 'handful of men!'"
+exclaimed Frank.
+
+"Yes," replied Dr. Bronson, "that was the force with which Pizarro left
+Panama, though it was afterwards increased by the arrival of recruits.
+Pizarro received a royal commission from the King of Spain, with a title
+of nobility. His descendants may now be found at Truxillo, in Spain, and
+they point with pride to their great ancestor, whose education was so
+neglected that he was unable to read or write.
+
+[Illustration: PALACIO DE GOBIERNO (GOVERNMENT HOUSE), QUITO.]
+
+"Quito was a more magnificent city under the Incas of Peru than it has
+ever been since the Spanish conquest. The extent of its population is
+not known, but it was certainly larger than to-day. The palace of
+Atahualpa was one of the finest in South America, and its roof is said
+to have been covered with gold. All the gold of the city was seized by
+the Spaniards, and the palace was destroyed. A convent now occupies its
+site, and we will look at its gloomy walls to-morrow. The magnificent
+Temple of the Sun is reduced to a few stones which mark the spot where
+it stood."
+
+With a running conversation concerning the history of Ecuador the
+evening went on until it was time to go to bed. All retired early, and
+were up betimes to inspect the wonderful city they had toiled so hard to
+see.
+
+"We are not in the highest city of the globe," said Fred in his
+note-book, "but we are two thousand feet farther above the sea than is
+the Hospice of St. Bernard, the most elevated spot in Europe which is
+inhabited all the year round. According to our barometers, and those of
+other travellers, we are 9520 feet above the beach of the Pacific Ocean
+at its nearest point, or only 1040 feet less than two miles.
+
+"Cooking is performed under difficulties, as water boils at 194°
+Fahrenheit; potatoes, beans, and similar things require much longer time
+for cooking than in the lowlands, and somebody says it is an excellent
+provision of nature that the potatoes are small. Frank suggests that
+when a traveller among mountains has no thermometer or barometer he can
+ascertain his elevation by observing how long it takes to boil a potato
+of a given size.
+
+[Illustration: WATER-CARRIERS.]
+
+"We started out of the hotel escorted by a guide who was to show us the
+sights of Quito. The streets are not crowded, and nobody seems to be in
+a hurry; there are many beggars, and some of them were very persistent,
+as is generally the case with beggars all over the world when strangers
+come within their reach. The water-carriers seem to form quite a class,
+and we were forcibly reminded of the same professionals of Cairo. There
+was this difference, however, that the latter transport their
+merchandise in skins, while those of Quito carry enormous jars on their
+shoulders or backs. They fill these jars at the public fountains, and
+then start off at a slow trot to supply the houses that employ them. We
+met a great many monks and priests, whose calling could be recognized at
+a considerable distance by their peculiar robes and the enormous hats
+which covered their heads. Quito is eminently a city of priests, and is
+liberally provided with churches and convents for its population of
+forty or fifty thousand.
+
+[Illustration: PRIESTS AND MONKS.]
+
+"Donkeys and mules are the beasts of burden, and occasionally some of
+them brushed against us with their loads, that projected far on each
+side. But they do not have a monopoly of the carrying trade, as we saw a
+good many Indians laden with baskets of vegetables and fruit from the
+neighboring country, and they appear to be as strong as the donkeys, if
+we may judge by their great loads. Many of these porters are women, and
+in some instances we saw men, without burdens, walking by the side of
+women carrying baskets large enough to be a load for two persons.
+Evidently the aborigines of Ecuador are no believers in the exemption of
+women from hard work.
+
+"There is probably little resemblance between the Quito of to-day and
+that of Atahualpa and the Spanish conquest. The city had suffered much
+from earthquakes, and was partially destroyed by fire; the Spanish
+conquerors founded a new Quito in 1534, and laid out the streets on
+lines of their own, and, since their advent, the earthquakes have again
+shaken it to its foundations. There were severe and destructive shocks
+in 1797 and 1859, and another in 1868. In the one last mentioned many
+lives were lost, numerous buildings were thrown down, and, according to
+the official report, every house in the city was so shaken and weakened
+that not one was fit to live in. Half a dozen churches, the government
+buildings, and the archbishop's palace were wholly or partially
+demolished, such of them as were not thrown down being so weakened as to
+render their removal necessary.
+
+"In almost every street there are piles of ruins, and it is a wonder
+people will continue to live here with the effects of the earthquake so
+constantly before them. Nearly all the houses are of but a single story,
+and the most ambitious of the edifices rarely exceeds two stories. Most
+of the streets are narrow and have channels in the centre, through which
+streams of water flow during and after a rain. We observed a great
+variety in the costumes of the people, and were told that every district
+had its distinct way of coloring its garments, so that its inhabitants
+could be distinguished from others. Occasionally we saw people with
+hardly any clothing whatever; but the absence of wardrobe was made up by
+a free use of paint. The natives thus decorated were from the eastern
+slopes of the Andes, but they did not appear to be numerous.
+
+"The common houses have no fireplaces or chimneys; fires are built
+almost anywhere on the earthern floor, and the smoke is allowed to get
+out the best way it can. Even in our hotel the kitchen is little more
+than a dark hole, where the pots and kettles are so indiscriminately
+assembled that the cooks are liable to mix things up fearfully, while
+preparing a meal. Neatness is not fashionable, and there is no country
+in the world where the appetite would suffer more discouragement than
+here by a revelation of the culinary mysteries.
+
+"Our guide called attention to the distinction among the men on the
+streets, some of them wearing cloaks and others _ponchos_. No gentleman
+would wear a poncho in public any more than a Frenchman of the middle or
+upper classes would don a blouse for a promenade. The poncho is far the
+more picturesque of the two garments, and I am inclined to think its
+wearers are more comfortable than the genteel part of the population.
+Ladies wear the _panuelon_, which corresponds to the Spanish mantilla,
+and they eschew hats and bonnets altogether. The only head-covering
+beyond the hair is a lace veil or a fold of the panuelon; but its use is
+by no means obligatory. It is said that when the daughter of an
+American minister-resident wore a bonnet in the cathedral on the Sunday
+following her arrival, she was criticised as severely as she would be
+for wearing a masculine 'stove-pipe' in a New York church.
+
+"A gentleman who has lived here for some time says there are about eight
+thousand people of Spanish origin in Quito, ten or twelve thousand
+Indians of pure blood, and perhaps twenty thousand _cholos_ or mixed
+races. Then there are a few foreigners and negroes, and other few who
+cannot be readily classified. The whites are the aristocracy or ruling
+race, and, owing to the numerous revolutions which have reduced the male
+population, women outnumber the men. For a white man to work would be
+degrading, and many a gentleman will not hesitate to beg for a dinner or
+a cup of coffee, though he would scorn to earn the money to pay for it.
+The poverty-stricken hidalgo of Spain is no more proud of his lineage
+than is the Spanish-descended resident of Quito, who wraps his tattered
+cloak around him, and comforts himself with reflections upon the past
+glories of his family.
+
+[Illustration: LAUNDRESSES OF QUITO.]
+
+"In the course of our wanderings we came to the bank of the river which
+flows past Quito. It is an insignificant stream, ordinarily, but swells
+to a torrent at certain seasons of the year, when the rains fall in the
+neighboring mountains. Laundresses were at work at their trade, and from
+the way the linen of Quito is washed, it is certain to need frequent
+renewal. The garments are dipped in the river, and then spread on the
+rocks, where they are pounded with mallets or bowlders until the desired
+condition of cleanliness is attained. It reminded us of the way the
+Bengalee _dhobies_ at Madras washed our clothing, and accounts for the
+large importation of cotton goods into Ecuador in proportion to the
+population.
+
+"While we were passing a potato-field Dr. Bronson reminded us that we
+might consider ourselves near the birthplace of an intimate friend.
+
+"We tried to think what friend of ours was born in Quito, but could not
+remember any. We said so to the Doctor, and he then explained that the
+one he referred to was the potato.
+
+"'Certainly,' exclaimed Frank, 'I remember, now you mention it, that the
+potato was found at Quito by the Spaniards and taken by them to Europe
+early in the sixteenth century. From Spain it was carried to Germany,
+France, Belgium, and Italy, and last of all to Ireland, where it was
+introduced by Sir Walter Raleigh on his estate near Cork.'
+
+"'You are quite right,' said the Doctor. 'The so-called "Irish potato"
+is really a native of South America.'
+
+"'The descendant is worthier than the parent,' Frank remarked, as he
+pointed to the potato-field we were passing. 'The potato of Ireland and
+of the United States is much larger and finer than that of Ecuador.
+Cultivation in a foreign land has done a great deal for this vegetable.'
+
+"We both agreed with him, as we had already remarked the diminutive size
+of the potatoes of Quito. The same comment applies to the cherries,
+pears, peaches, strawberries, and tomatoes, which do not seem to enjoy
+the climate, but there are other fruits and vegetables that get along
+better. The finest fruit here is the _chirimoya_; its name comes from
+_chiri_ (cold), and _moya_ (seed). It grows in Peru and other parts of
+South America as well as in Ecuador; the fruit often reaches a weight of
+sixteen pounds, and has a thick green skin enclosing a snow-white pulp,
+in which about seventy black seeds are imbedded. Professor Orton says
+its taste is a happy admixture of sweetness and acidity; Hamke calls it
+'a masterwork of nature;' and another traveller describes it as 'a
+spiritualized strawberry.' We have tried to find a description of it,
+but must fall back upon that of our predecessors. Dr. Holmes says all
+the pens in the world cannot tell how the birds sing and the lilacs
+swell; no more can we give in words a satisfactory account of this
+prince among fruits.
+
+[Illustration: BALCONY VIEW OF THE ANDES.]
+
+"But all the time, during our walk through and around Quito, we find
+ourselves every few minutes fixing our eyes on the great peaks of the
+Andes and Cordilleras that rise around us. We are in the centre of the
+most volcanic region of the globe; there are fifty-one volcanoes in the
+chain of the Andes, and out of this number no less than twenty surround
+the valley where Quito stands. Three of the twenty are active, five are
+dormant, and twelve are extinct; they are all in a space two hundred
+miles long and thirty wide, and in addition to these volcanoes there are
+many other peaks not strictly volcanic. There are twenty-two mountains
+whose tops are covered with perpetual snow, and fifty that are each more
+than ten thousand feet high. Do you wonder that while looking at the
+city our thoughts are drawn towards the mountains in whose midst it is
+built?"
+
+In the evening our friends arranged to visit the summit of Pichincha,
+the volcano which towers above Quito, and is easily reached. Mules can
+be ridden to the very edge of the crater, but there are not a dozen
+gentlemen of Quito who have ever made the journey to it; they are
+intending to do so at some future time, and this future never comes.
+Apart from the guides, it is probable that the mountain has been
+ascended more frequently by strangers than by native-born residents of
+the city.
+
+Our party started from Quito in the afternoon, accompanied by two
+guides, and rode to a Jesuit monastery in the valley of Lloa, where they
+passed the night. Rising at daybreak the next morning, they rode through
+the forest which surrounds the mountain, up to the timber line, twelve
+thousand feet above the sea; the path was intricate and very difficult,
+as it was frequently blocked by fallen trees and obstructed by huge
+stones, which it was necessary to pass around. From the timber line they
+passed into a belt of stunted bushes, and then reached the point where
+vegetation ceases.
+
+Here it was less laborious travelling, but by no means easy. By nine in
+the forenoon they were at the foot of the cone, where they left the
+mules in the care of one of the guides and finished the ascent on foot.
+
+[Illustration: THE CRATER OF PICHINCHA.]
+
+Frank and Fred were of different opinions; the former declared the cone
+easier of ascent than that of Vesuvius, while the latter thought it was
+not. But they agreed that there was less of it than of the cone of
+Vesuvius, and therefore it was preferable; it was little more than two
+hundred feet high, and covered with sand and cinders at an incline of
+about thirty-five degrees. They had many slips and falls, but nothing of
+consequence; Frank was a few feet in advance of Fred when they reached
+the edge of the crater, and both gave a loud hurrah by way of
+encouragement to the Doctor, who was lagging behind.
+
+They wanted to descend into the crater, but the guide refused to
+accompany them, and the Doctor counselled prudence, as the crater of
+Pichincha is the deepest in the world, and the descent is dangerous.
+Humboldt pronounced it inaccessible, from its great depth and
+precipitous descent, but since his time it has been explored. The first
+who ventured there were Garcia Moreno and Sebastian Wisse, in 1844; and
+next after them was Professor Orton, in 1867. The latter says he was
+obliged to use the greatest caution, and a single misstep would have
+sent him tumbling to the bottom of the abyss. At times he was almost
+paralyzed with fear, and felt that death was staring him in the face.
+
+"To give you an idea of the crater of Pichincha," said the Doctor, as
+they stood on its edge and watched the clouds of smoke and steam curling
+upwards, "let me give you some figures. This crater is 2500 feet deep;
+that of Kilauea, in the Sandwich Islands, is 600; Orizaba is 500; Etna
+is 300; and Hecla 100. Professor Orton says Vesuvius is a portable
+furnace by comparison with this crater, which is a mile wide and half a
+mile deep. We are standing nearly 16,000 feet above the level of the
+sea, 5000 feet higher than Etna, almost four times the height of
+Vesuvius, and five times that of Stromboli, the 'lighthouse of the
+Mediterranean.'"
+
+"I cannot do better," said Fred, afterwards, in describing the view from
+the summit of Pichincha, "than quote the words of Professor Orton in
+'The Andes and the Amazon.' Here they are:
+
+"'Below us are the smouldering fires, which may any moment spring forth
+into a conflagration; around us are the black, ragged cliffs--fit
+boundary for this gateway to the infernal regions. They look as if they
+had just been dragged up from the central furnace of the earth. Life
+seems to have fled in terror from the vicinity; even lichens, the
+children of the bare rocks, refuse to clothe the scathed and beetling
+crags. For some moments, made mute by the dreadful sight, we stood like
+statues on the rim of the mighty caldron, with our eyes riveted on the
+abyss below, lost in contemplating that which cannot be described.
+
+[Illustration: EL ALTAR, VOLCANO, ECUADOR.]
+
+"'The panorama from this lofty summit is more pleasing, but equally
+sublime. Towards the rising sun is the long range of the Eastern
+Cordilleras, hiding from our view the great valley of the Amazon. To
+right and left are the peaks of another procession of august mountains,
+from Cotocachi to Chimborazo. We are surrounded by the great patriarchs
+of the Andes, and their speaker, Cotopaxi, ever and anon sends his
+muttering voice over the land. The view westward is like looking down
+from a balloon. Those parallel ridges of the mountain chain, dropping
+one behind the other, are the gigantic staircase by which the
+ice-crowned Chimborazo steps down to the sea. A white sea of clouds
+covers the peaceful Pacific, and the lower parts of the coast. But the
+vapory ocean, curling into the ravines, beautifully represents little
+coves and bays, leaving islands and promontories like a true ocean on a
+broken shore. We seem raised above the earth, which lies like an opened
+map below us; we can look down on the upper surface of the clouds, and,
+were it night, down too upon the lightnings.'"
+
+After an hour had been passed in contemplation of the awful crater, and
+the grand view from the summit of the mountain, the Doctor suggested
+that it was time to descend. Finding a place where the cinders were
+unbroken from top to bottom of the cone the youths slid quickly
+downward, as they had done at Vesuvius, years before. They were
+followed by the Doctor, and then the trio sat down to a dinner, which
+had been left in care of the guide who remained with the mules. It was
+seasoned with the best of sauces, hunger, which had been developed by
+the exertions of the morning, and the pauses in the progress of the meal
+were brief indeed.
+
+Dinner over, they mounted, and returned by the road which they followed
+in the ascent. Evening found them again in Quito, and in the wretched
+_posada_ which is the only hotel of the capital of Ecuador.
+
+During the evening conversation naturally turned to volcanoes and
+earthquakes; one writer has said facetiously that earthquakes are the
+principal productions of Ecuador, and he certainly is not far out of the
+way. Most of the South American earthquakes appear to have their origin
+in Ecuador, as the shocks are generally felt there first, and with the
+greatest severity. The great disturbance of 1868 was an exceptional
+occurrence, as it had its commencement in Peru, on the 13th of August,
+causing great loss of life and destruction of property. The shock in
+Ecuador was three days later; it was more fatal to life than in Peru,
+but less destructive to property. The Peruvian earthquake occurred in
+the afternoon, and was preceded by premonitory shocks, while the
+Ecuadorian one was in the night, and gave no warning of its approach.
+
+"According to the accounts," said the Doctor, "the first shock of the
+earthquake in Quito was felt a little after midnight on the 16th of
+August, another at four in the morning, and two others in the course of
+the day. One, in the afternoon, was accompanied by a shower of rain and
+hail, which fell with great violence; there had been a similar shower on
+the afternoon of the 15th. It was noticeable that for two months before
+the earthquakes there were serious disturbances of the atmosphere, and a
+catarrhal fever had prevailed, which swept off thousands of people. The
+whole country was in mourning for those who had died of the pestilence,
+when the earthquake came, to cause additional sorrow.
+
+"The amount of the destruction in Quito has been mentioned already. The
+earthquake was more severe in the northern provinces of Ecuador, where
+the ground sank, cliffs were thrown down, lakes appeared, great chasms
+opened in the earth, and the whole face of the country was changed. The
+province of Imbaburu, which was the most fertile and productive in the
+republic, as well as the most populous and prosperous, suffered more
+than any other. It contained several towns and small cities, and the
+rural districts were in an excellent state of cultivation for this part
+of the world. The earthquake totally destroyed several of these places,
+as it came in the night, when most of the inhabitants were asleep in
+their houses. Two towns in the canton of Catuchi were completely wiped
+out of existence, and no sign was left to show where they stood. Not
+five per cent. of the people escaped with their lives!
+
+[Illustration: VIEW OF IBARRA, ECUADOR.]
+
+"In another town seven tenths of the inhabitants were killed by the
+falling of the buildings, and the sinking of the earth into a great
+chasm, which opened beneath the place. The city of Ibarra, the capital
+of the province, was beautifully situated in the centre of a fertile
+plain; it was surrounded by orchards, gardens, and fields, so that the
+place only became visible on a very near approach, or from the distant
+hills. It had a population of about ten thousand, though generally
+estimated at a higher figure. Nearly one half of its inhabitants lost
+their lives in the earthquake, and it was said that hardly a dozen
+houses remained standing after the shocks were ended.
+
+"The subject is an unpleasant one," continued the Doctor, after a pause.
+"Let us turn to something else.
+
+"To-morrow we will prepare for our return to the coast. The guide has
+been trying to persuade me to go over the Andes to the head-waters of
+the Amazon, whence we can descend to the Atlantic. I have told him our
+plans would not permit our doing so, but he desires to talk further on
+the subject. Let us call him, and hear what he has to say; at any rate,
+we can learn something about the country to the east of us."
+
+Francisco, the guide, was waiting in the court-yard of the hotel, and
+came promptly when told that he was wanted. He was an intelligent native
+of a village near Quito, and had been several times over the mountains,
+between the capital and the Napo River, one of the tributaries of the
+Amazon. He spoke Spanish fluently, and told his story without a moment's
+hesitation. We will render it into English, and give it as it was
+remembered by our friends.
+
+"The journey from here to the Napo will take about fifteen days," said
+Francisco, "and down the Napo to where the steamers come on the Maranon,
+or Upper Amazon, will take fifteen or twenty more. You will need to
+carry the most of your provisions, as game cannot be relied on, and the
+people are scattered, and have very little to sell. Professor Orton had
+three persons in his party, the same number that you have, and he
+calculated his provisions so closely, that when he reached the first
+village on the Maranon he had just enough left for one grand farewell
+dinner."
+
+Fred asked what the Professor carried in the way of provisions.
+Francisco drew from his pocket a faded and crumpled paper, and read as
+follows:
+
+"One hundred pounds each of flour and crackers; ninety pounds of sugar;
+fifty pounds each of rice and dried beef; thirty each of corn-meal,
+pea-flour, and chocolate; fifty of _mashka_ (roasted barley-meal); ten
+each of salt, lard, and ham; one hundred and seventy eggs; and one or
+two pounds each of tea, _maté_, soda, and cream of tartar. They bought
+eggs, chickens, rice, syrup, and other things from the Indians, whenever
+they had the opportunity, and when they reached the river they
+occasionally obtained fish, game, and turtles' eggs.
+
+[Illustration: NAPO INDIAN PORTER.]
+
+"All these things were sealed up in tin cans," continued the guide;
+"partly as a precaution against injury from the dampness of the climate,
+and partly to save them from theft by the Indian porters. The atmosphere
+of the Napo is like a steam bath, and keeps everything wet, and the
+Indians have a fondness for helping themselves when they have a chance.
+You can't get along without the Indians, as they are your only porters.
+From here to the foot of the mountains you can go on horseback, but the
+rest of the way to the Napo you must travel on foot, and the Indians
+carry your baggage."
+
+[Illustration: DESCENDING THE NAPO.]
+
+This announcement caused a shake of the head on the part of the trio of
+listeners, and it became very evident that they were not inclined to
+make the journey from Quito to the Amazon in that way.
+
+[Illustration: MOUNTAIN PASS IN THE ANDES.]
+
+"You will cross the Andes at an elevation of fifteen thousand feet,"
+said Francisco, not noticing the sign of disapproval; "and, therefore,
+must carry thick clothing to shield you from the cold, and rubber
+ponchos to keep off the rain in the day and spread on the ground at
+night as a foundation for your beds. You want two suits of clothes; one
+to wear in the daytime, and the other to put on dry at night. When you
+go into camp you must remove the suit you have worn since morning, as it
+will generally be wet through by the rain, or by fording streams and
+passing through marshy ground."
+
+"How many pairs of boots will be wanted for each of us?" inquired Fred.
+"It seems to me there will be a fearful destruction of foot-gear."
+
+"Yes," replied the guide, "but your American boots will not answer for
+the journey. Buy plenty of _alpargates_, or native sandals made from the
+fibre of the aloe plant, and be sure and have enough of them, as a pair
+will not last more than two days. They are better than boots, as they do
+not keep the feet uncomfortably warm, and no leather boots can keep out
+the moisture through which you will constantly travel.
+
+"Then you want a stock of _lienzo_, or cotton cloth, which is the
+currency of the Indians, just as it is of the wild people of Africa.
+Then add knives, fish-hooks, thread, beads, looking-glasses, and some
+other trifles, and you will have an outfit for the trip. Of course you
+will suit yourselves about guns, pistols, cooking utensils, scientific
+apparatus, and the like, and remember to have no package weighing more
+than seventy-five pounds, which is the load of an Indian porter.
+Professor Orton had thirteen horses to carry himself and party as far as
+the horses could go, and from there to the Napo he had twenty Indian
+porters, which is probably what you would need. The whole expense for
+horses and porters will be about one hundred and fifty dollars; at Napo
+you will hire canoes to descend the river, and the hardships of your
+journey will be over.
+
+[Illustration: RAPIDS IN A MOUNTAIN STREAM OF SOUTH AMERICA.]
+
+"There are many rapids in the Napo River, and the voyage will be an
+exciting one; the rapids look very dangerous, but the Indians are
+excellent boatmen, and, if you let them alone, they will carry you
+safely along with the current. At Pebas, on the Maranon, it may be
+necessary to wait a few days for a steamboat, as the navigation is not
+regular, but you can be reasonably sure of no further trouble on your
+way down the Maranon and Amazon to the Atlantic."
+
+The Doctor thanked Francisco for his information, and told him they
+would think the subject over, and have a further talk with him the next
+morning.
+
+When he appeared again before them Dr. Bronson reiterated his previous
+assertion, that they could not change their plans, but the guide was
+rewarded for his information by a present of money that put him
+immediately in good-humor. He assisted them in their preparations for
+the return to the coast, and accompanied them as far as Guaranda, where
+new animals were engaged to Bodegas.
+
+We will now seat our friends on the enchanted carpet of the Arabian
+Nights' Entertainment, and with the swiftness of thought place them on
+board a steamer leaving Guayaquil for Callao.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+FROM GUAYAQUIL TO CALLAO.--LANDING AT PAITA.--THE SITE OF OLD
+CALLAO.--ARRIVAL AT LIMA.--SIGHTS OF THE PERUVIAN CAPITAL.--GENERAL
+DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY AND ITS INHABITANTS.
+
+
+Paita, in Peru, was the first stopping-place of the steamer, but the
+delay was only for a few hours, and our friends had no opportunity for a
+lengthened visit to the shore. But they voted unanimously that they had
+seen all that was worth seeing, as the place contained very few
+attractions.
+
+[Illustration: WATER-CARRIER AND DONKEYS.]
+
+Paita is on a bay affording good anchorage for ships; it is the seaport
+of the city of Piura, which lies at the foot of the mountains, on the
+other side of the desert of Sechura. There is no sign of vegetation in
+and around Paita, and the water which supplies the wants of the
+residents is brought from a point thirty miles inland. Formerly it was
+transported on the backs of donkeys, but recently a pipe has been laid
+for the entire distance, and the inhabitants are no longer dependent
+upon the vagaries of the long-eared animal for their aqueous supply.
+
+[Illustration: DESERT SCENE.]
+
+As soon as the steamer dropped her anchor the Doctor and the youths
+went on shore. They landed at an iron pier in front of a beach of gray
+sand, where there was a single street of houses, mostly very frail in
+construction. Some of the shops and dwellings were solidly built, but
+the majority were of a sort of basket-work covered with plastered mud,
+presenting many impromptu loop-holes through which the occupants could
+gaze on the outer world. Back of the town is a cliff of volcanic stone,
+rising rather steeply; Frank and Fred climbed to the top of the cliff,
+while the Doctor remained in conversation with one of the English
+residents. The youths could hardly say if they had been repaid for their
+exertions, as they saw only the distant range of mountains beyond the
+desert, which was said to be about fifty miles across. The desert was of
+the same color as the beach and the cliffs behind it, and the landscape
+of Paita may be set down as monotonous.
+
+"Whether you are repaid or not," said the Doctor, when they returned,
+"may be an open question, but you have had a view of Peru, and certainly
+that is worth something."
+
+"I hope the rest of Peru is different from what we have just seen,"
+replied Frank, with a laugh.
+
+"You have had a fair sample of it here," answered the Doctor. "From this
+point to the southern boundary of Peru there is little else than a strip
+of desert between the Andes and the sea. In some parts of it rain never
+falls, and the whole expanse is barren of vegetation. Here and there
+rivers come down to the ocean, but none of them are large, and the
+majority are dry for the greater part of the year. The Guayas, which we
+ascended from Guayaquil to Bodegas, is the largest river on the whole
+Pacific coast of South America."
+
+"I understand," said Fred, "that the strip between the mountains and the
+ocean on the western side of South America is very narrow, and therefore
+the rivers cannot be large; but how does it happen that there is so
+little rain, and, in some places, none at all?"
+
+"I will endeavor to explain it," replied Dr. Bronson, "and in doing so
+will call your attention to the fertile regions of the Amazon, Orinoco,
+and La Plata, on the eastern side of the Andes, in contrast with the
+arid desert on the west. The tropical winds from the Atlantic Ocean are
+laden with moisture; they blow with great regularity from east to west,
+and thus sweep over the country drained by the rivers I have mentioned.
+Rain is frequent and copious all through that region; it varies with the
+seasons of the year, but is always sufficient to keep the channels of
+the streams well filled.
+
+"The rains continue up to the foot of the Andes and along their eastern
+slopes. The mountains condense the moisture from the warm winds, and up
+to the very crest of the dividing ridge there is an abundance of rain.
+But by the time the winds have crossed the Andes all the water they
+carried has been wrung from them, and when they reach the Pacific slope
+they have no more to give out. Thus it happens that the eastern slopes
+of the Andes and the great plains intervening to the Atlantic have an
+abundance of water, while there is little or none at all for the west.
+
+[Illustration: A WOLF EMIGRATING.]
+
+"There is a part of Peru and Bolivia where rain never falls," continued
+the Doctor. "It is known as the '_Despoblado_' or 'The Uninhabited,' in
+consequence of the severity of its climate, and the great difficulty of
+existing there. In the language of a once-famous statesman of America,
+it is 'so poor that a wolf couldn't make a decent living there.'"
+
+"Does this condition of dryness extend all along the western coast to
+the end of the continent?" one of the youths inquired.
+
+"No," was the reply. "As we go south through Chili we encounter more
+moisture in the climate, and on reaching Patagonia we find the western
+slopes of the Andes drenched by frequent rains, and the tops of the
+mountains almost constantly covered with clouds. This condition is due
+to the trade-winds, which blow from the south Pacific Ocean to the land;
+the plains east of the Andes in Patagonia are comparatively dry, and
+swept by cold winds from the snow-tipped summits of the mountains.
+Remember, we are south of the equator, and the farther south we go the
+more cold do we find."
+
+In conversations like this, and in the examination of books relating to
+Peru and other parts of South America, the time passed during the voyage
+from Paita to Callao. Frank was busy with Prescott's "Conquest of Peru,"
+while Fred carefully conned the pages of "Peru, or Travel and
+Exploration in the Land of the Incas," by Hon. E. G. Squier. Frank
+declared that the work of Prescott "read like a romance," while Fred was
+equally enthusiastic over the book which claimed his attention. It is
+quite likely that they will rely upon these volumes for much of their
+information concerning the antiquities of Peru, and the story of its
+occupation by the Spanish conquerors.
+
+The steamer kept far out to sea, and very little of the coast between
+Paita and Callao was visible. Finally, on a misty morning, her head was
+turned towards the land; passing a high, rocky island on the right, and
+leaving a low shore on the left, she entered the harbor of Callao, and
+dropped anchor among a miscellaneous assemblage of steamers and
+sailing-ships, bearing the flags of at least a dozen foreign nations,
+together with a liberal array of Peruvian and Chilian craft. The Doctor
+explained that there is generally a mist hanging over the harbor of
+Callao in the morning, owing to the condensation of the tropical
+moisture by the cold current of air sweeping northward from the
+Antarctic regions. The ships at anchor were revealed through this mist,
+and so were the towers of the castle that commands the harbor and the
+town at its base. Beyond the shore was a line of hills backed against
+the snowy mountains in the distance. The shore formed a pleasing
+contrast to the one they left at Paita, as it was covered with trees,
+and indicated a break in the desert that the Doctor had described.
+
+The steamer was immediately surrounded by boats, and the boatmen hailed
+the passengers in a perfect polyglot of languages; they endeavored to
+make bargains previous to the arrival of the captain of the port,
+without whose authority the ship could not hold communication with the
+shore. That official took his time, and made everybody impatient; he was
+visiting a steamer that had just arrived from the south, and was not
+disposed to hurry.
+
+Frank and Fred relieved the monotony of waiting by studying the outlines
+of the shore, taking note of the heterogeneous array of boatmen,
+listening to their appeals for patronage, and attempting a sketch of the
+fort which defended the city and harbor. But their artistic efforts were
+so frequently interrupted that the sketches were unsatisfactory, and we
+are not permitted to reproduce them.
+
+"The harbor of Callao is nothing to boast of," said the Doctor, "but it
+is better than most others on the Pacific coast. The prevailing winds
+are from the south and southwest, and protection is afforded from those
+winds by the island of San Lorenzo and the tongue of land where Old
+Callao stood."
+
+"Why was the city moved from its former position?" Fred asked. "What was
+the difference between Old Callao and the present one?"
+
+"It was an earthquake that moved it," replied Dr. Bronson. "Callao was
+submerged, with all its inhabitants, in 1746, and when the water is calm
+you can row over it in a boat, and see the ruins down below you. At
+half-past ten o'clock one night the sea receded to a great distance,
+and then rolled back with such violence as to sweep the town and its
+fortifications out of existence. Five thousand persons perished;
+nineteen ships were foundered, and four others, including a Spanish
+man-of-war, were carried far up on the land. Modern Callao had a narrow
+escape from a similar fate in 1825 and again in 1868, and at any moment
+it is liable to be engulfed like its predecessor."
+
+[Illustration: SHIPS IN A FOG.]
+
+The captain of the port came, and then the passengers were at liberty to
+land. The landing-place is at the side of a mole which protects the
+harbor on its northern side from the swell of the Pacific. Frank and
+Fred were surprised to see large piles of grain in the open air,
+together with other merchandise, but their wonder ceased when they were
+told that it never rains at Callao, the only moisture being from the
+mists and fogs already mentioned. The absence of rain renders the place
+unhealthy, as the drainage is not good, and the heat is great. Frank
+thought Callao was an excellent rival to Cologne in the way of bad
+odors, and both the youths were disinclined to make a prolonged stay.
+
+The party went immediately to the railway station, followed by porters
+with their baggage, and in less than half an hour were on their way to
+Lima, six miles distant. There is nothing worth seeing in Callao, which
+has a population of some twenty-five or thirty thousand, and is
+important only from a commercial point of view. The railway skirts the
+shore for a short distance, then passes through a suburb of the town,
+and ascends an acclivity of about five hundred feet, which lies between
+the ocean and the capital city. For nearly the whole distance it is
+close to the _Camino Real_ or Royal Road, the old route established by
+the Spaniards to connect Lima with its seaport. The train toiled slowly
+up the incline, and accomplished the journey in little less than half an
+hour. This travelling would be considered slow in other countries, but
+it is satisfactory to the inhabitants, as nobody in Lima ever thinks of
+hurrying.
+
+[Illustration: A GARDEN ON THE RIMAC.]
+
+Much of the country between Callao and Lima is under cultivation, by
+means of irrigating canals brought from the Rimac River. The Rimac
+dwindles to a small brook in the dry season, but in the period of rains
+it swells into quite a river, and furnishes more water than is needed.
+In the absence of rain it is the sole reliance for the gardens and
+fields around Lima; it is as necessary to this region as is the Nile to
+Lower Egypt. Without the Rimac, Lima would dry up and disappear; with it
+the city stands in a surrounding of luxuriant gardens and smiling
+fields.
+
+[Illustration; A CLAIMANT FOR THE SIDEWALK.]
+
+The baggage was intrusted to an employé of the hotel, who had been
+telegraphed for, and met our friends at the station; guided by a servant
+from the same establishment, they walked the short distance intervening
+between the station and their lodging-place, narrowly escaping
+collisions with troops of laden donkeys, that rushed along the streets
+as though they possessed the sole right of occupation. They seemed to
+prefer the sidewalks to the middle of the street, probably because the
+latter was less smooth than the sidewalks, and their drivers didn't care
+where they went as long as they kept moving in the right direction. Few
+carriages were visible, and these few were not attractive in appearance.
+
+For a description of Lima we will quote from Frank's letter to his
+mother, which was sent by the next steamer northward from Callao:
+
+"Here we are, in the 'City of the Kings,' as it was named by Pizarro.
+According to the histories, it was on the 6th of January, 1535, Old
+Style, that the Spanish conqueror designated it as the capital of his
+dominions. That day happened to be the festival of the Magi, or Three
+Wise Men of the East, who came to Bethlehem to adore the Saviour; in old
+chronicles they are styled 'The Three Kings,' and hence Pizarro called
+his capital _Ciudad de los Reyes_, or 'City of the Kings.' Charles V.
+designated the arms of the city to be three golden crowns on a blue
+field, with a rayed star to indicate the Star of Bethlehem, which
+guided the kings. The name Lima is a modification or adaptation of the
+native word _Rimac_, which formerly belonged to the plain or valley
+where the city is built, and is still borne by the river which supplies
+it with water.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW OF LIMA FROM THE STEPS OF THE CATHEDRAL.]
+
+"In many respects Lima is one of the most interesting cities of South
+America; certainly we have found it full of attractions, and have not
+had an idle minute since our arrival. We have been trying to imagine
+what it must have been when surrounded by the walls which the Spaniards
+built at great expense. These walls have proved useless in modern times;
+they have been completely destroyed, and the space they occupied is
+converted into promenades, or laid out in gardens or building-lots. The
+walls enclosed an area about three miles long by one and a half broad,
+on the left bank of the Rimac; they were twenty feet thick, and
+somewhat more in height, and were made of _adobes_, the favorite
+building-material of this part of the world. The city is about ten miles
+in circumference, but a large part of its area is laid out in gardens
+and public squares, so that the whole is by no means occupied.
+
+[Illustration: LIMA AND THE SURROUNDING COUNTRY.]
+
+"I send you a map of Lima and the surrounding country, which will give
+you an excellent idea of its position. Unhappily for Peru, much of the
+beautiful region around its capital was laid waste by the invading army
+during the late war between Chili and Peru; Chili was completely
+victorious, and also unmerciful, and in the battle which decided the
+fate of Lima many of the country-houses and villages in the neighborhood
+were burned. This was the sad lot of Chorillos, the Long Branch or
+Coney Island of Lima, and also of Miraflores, which lies between
+Chorillos and the great city.
+
+"There is a railway from Chorillos to Lima, passing through Miraflores;
+the invading army landed at Chorillos, and marched along the line of
+railway to Lima. They destroyed nearly everything on the route, and were
+only prevented from burning and plundering the city by the energy of the
+British minister and other members of the diplomatic corps, backed by
+the English and French admirals, with their ships of war in the harbor
+of Callao.
+
+"So much for the horrors of war, which this country will long remember.
+The population of Lima is variously placed at from one hundred thousand
+to one hundred and twenty thousand; there are about fifteen thousand
+foreigners and six thousand priests among them, so that you cannot go
+far on the streets without meeting either a foreigner or a priest. In
+all the cities we have ever seen there does not appear to be a more
+mixed lot of inhabitants than here; Constantinople and Cairo are not
+more kaleidoscopic than Lima, and I think the American city is somewhat
+ahead of them.
+
+"There are English, French, German, Spanish, Belgian, and North American
+residents here; there are Chinese and Negroes, white, black, yellow, and
+all other complexions among the natives of the country, besides, as Fred
+says, 'several wards to hear from.' Professor Orton says there are at
+least twenty-five varieties of people in Lima; the upper classes are
+educated and polite, while the lowest of the population are among the
+most dangerous in the world. During the night before the occupation of
+Lima by the Chilian army the dangerous class had possession of the city
+for some hours, and committed many depredations. The foreigners
+organized a temporary police, and stopped the disorder; if they had not
+done so the whole city would have been plundered.
+
+[Illustration: WEARING THE "SAYA Y MANTO."]
+
+"We used to read in our school-books that the ladies of Lima covered
+their faces with the _saya y manto_, or veil, when out walking, so that
+only one eye could be seen. We saw a few veils worn in this way, and the
+Doctor said the wearers were probably old, and not pretty; the most of
+the ladies have dropped the old fashion, and permit their faces to be
+seen, using the veil only as a covering for the top of the head. I
+enclose a photograph of a lady of Lima to-day, and a sketch which shows
+the old style of wearing the _saya y manto_.
+
+[Illustration: A LADY OF LIMA.]
+
+"We spent the first evening of our visit in strolling through the Plaza
+Mayor, or Great Square, which covers nine acres of ground, and listening
+to a band of music which played several national and other airs. There
+is a bronze fountain in the centre of the square, and a garden around
+the fountain where tropical plants and trees seemed to flourish. The
+cathedral is on one side of the square; it is a fine building, and its
+corner-stone was laid by Pizarro twelve days after the city was founded.
+Our guide took us from the cathedral to an alley leading from the south
+side of the square, and pointed out the house where the great conqueror
+was assassinated. 'But he killed three of his assailants before they
+could overpower him,' said the guide, proudly, as if in reverence of the
+memory of Pizarro. We thought he might claim to be a descendant of one
+of the Spanish conquerors, and make his noble blood an excuse for
+demanding increased pay for his services, but he did not.
+
+[Illustration: INTERIOR COURT, LIMA.]
+
+"The government palace fronts on the plaza, and the rest of the space
+surrounding the square is occupied by shops, principally filled with
+European goods; American products may be seen here, but not as often as
+we wished to find them. In two of the shops we observed that the
+weighing was done on Fairbanks' Scales, and our guide said the same
+apparatus could be found all through Lima, and elsewhere in Peru. Of the
+agricultural machinery used in Peru the greater part is said to be of
+American manufacture.
+
+[Illustration: BRIDGE OVER THE RIMAC, LIMA.]
+
+"One of the sights of Lima is the stone bridge over the Rimac; it was
+built by the old Spaniards, and has stood bravely against all the
+earthquakes that have shaken the city for the last three centuries. The
+bridge is five hundred and thirty feet long, and rests on stone arches;
+at the entrance there is a splendid arch bearing the inscription 'Dios y
+La Patria' ('God and Country'). We walked over the bridge, and from its
+parapet looked upon the river, which was not over two feet deep in its
+principal channel, while a large part of its bed was bare. The Rimac
+resembles the Manzanares at Madrid, and some of the foreign residents
+say the bottom has to be sprinkled at times to keep it from flying away.
+When the rain falls in the mountains the Rimac swells to a considerable
+stream, and rushes along with great violence.
+
+"Speaking of the stone bridge reminds me that the founders of the city
+used stone for the construction of the public buildings, and their
+example has been followed to some extent in modern times. But the common
+buildings are of _adobe_, which does very well in a climate where there
+is so little rain, and lasts a long time. The roofs are nearly all flat;
+it never snows here, and it never rains more than a few drops at a time.
+Consequently the chief use of a roof is to exclude the sun. The
+temperature ranges from 60° to 88°, stoves and other heating apparatus
+are unknown, and the only fires are for cooking purposes. From November
+to March the weather is dry and delightful, but from March to November
+it is damp and unhealthy, owing to the continuous fogs that roll in from
+the ocean.
+
+"But in spite of its even climate the deaths exceed the births in Lima,
+and if the city were not constantly recruited from other parts of the
+country and the world it would be depopulated. I am told that the
+mortality among infants is three times as great as in London or New
+York. It is attributed to the dampness of the climate for a part of the
+year, and the bad drainage consequent upon the absence of rain. Regions
+where rain never falls may be pleasant for those who do not like
+umbrellas and rubber clothing, but there are disadvantages which more
+than outweigh the comforts.
+
+"The buildings cover a large area, and are nearly always constructed
+with central court-yards. They are rarely of more than two stories, and
+the roofs would be of little use in Boston or New York. The roofs are
+generally of a single thickness of boards, or of poles covered with
+matting, supporting a layer of sand or ashes, to absorb the moisture of
+the fogs. A summer shower such as we are familiar with on the banks of
+the Hudson or Connecticut would soak the whole of Lima so that hardly a
+house would be inhabitable.
+
+[Illustration: ONE USE FOR CHICKENS.]
+
+"We were roused early in the morning by the crowing of chickens above
+our heads, and on looking around to find the cause of the disturbance we
+found that the roofs of the houses in Lima are the favorite places for
+keeping poultry. The flat surface and the absence of rain adapt the roof
+to this purpose, and the people are evidently too lazy to maintain their
+fowls elsewhere. You would think chickens might be cheap, when there are
+such facilities for rearing them; but they are not, and the same is the
+case with beef, mutton, and other animal food. A good many of the
+chickens are kept for fighting purposes, and not to be eaten;
+cock-fights are a common amusement among the people, and a great deal of
+money changes hands at one of these performances.
+
+"We had a pleasant walk through the central market, which is in a large
+building covering an entire square; or, rather, built around the square
+with a court in the centre.
+
+"On the sides of the square there are stalls for the larger dealers; the
+galleries and the open space in the centre are occupied by women who
+sit beside the articles they have to sell, and keep up a perpetual
+conversation with each other, like market-women all over the world.
+Lying only 12° south of the equator, Lima has a tropical climate; with
+the outlying range of the Andes sixty miles away, she is within a short
+railway ride of a temperate region. The result is that you can find in
+the market the vegetable products of two zones; those of the torrid,
+from the neighborhood of Lima, and those of the temperate, from the
+mountains.
+
+"Here are tomatoes, green corn, cucumbers, radishes, parsnips, and other
+growths of New England or New York, side by side with oranges, peaches,
+chirimoyas, grapes, mangoes, and other tropical things whose names are
+not familiar to you. Flowers are in great abundance, and roses are
+everywhere grown in the gardens. You see them in great variety and
+profusion, and it is claimed for Lima that she can show more kinds of
+roses than any other city in the world. There are vases of growing
+flowers in nearly all the court-yards and on the balconies, and the
+women of all classes use the flowers for decorating their hair. At one
+time there was almost a craze for the cultivation of roses, and many a
+man spent a large part of his income in the experiment.
+
+"We cannot say much for the cookery of Lima, if we are to judge by what
+we have seen. The hotel is managed by a Frenchman; his table is mainly
+French, but he has adopted some of the native dishes and customs. One
+article that may be called the national dish of Peru is a part of his
+bill of fare, and known as _puchero_. I have obtained the recipe for it,
+and here it is:
+
+"'Have a kettle according to the size of your puchero; put in this
+kettle a large piece of beef or mutton, some cabbage, sweet potatoes,
+salt pork, sausage-meat, pigs' feet, _yucas_, bananas, quinces, pease,
+and rice, with spices, salt, and plenty of red pepper for seasoning. Add
+sufficient water, and stew the whole gently for five or six hours; then
+serve in a tureen or deep dish.'
+
+"Puchero is patterned somewhat after the _olla podrida_ of Spain, the
+chowder of New England, and the _bouillabiasse_ of southern France, but
+it has more ingredients and more flavors than all of them; I cannot say
+I dislike it, but could get along better if they would make it with less
+red pepper. They seem to think that the more pepper they put in the
+better; our taste has become hardened to hot things in our experience
+with Oriental curries and African stews, but it is not yet quite up to
+the mark with these Spanish American preparations.
+
+[Illustration: LADIES OF LIMA AT HOME.]
+
+"Another stew, simpler than puchero, is called _chupe_; it is a favorite
+dish for breakfast, but not often served at dinner. The lower classes
+are fond of _picantes_, compounded of meat, fish, crabs, meal, potatoes,
+bananas, and red peppers, mixed with the juice of bitter oranges, and
+stewed with water. We have tasted of this wonderful mixture, but could
+not get to the second spoonful in consequence of the fiery nature of the
+peppers. Fred says they use a pound of peppers to a pound of all the
+other ingredients, water included, and I can believe it. Swallowing a
+torchlight procession would be preferable to a dinner of picantes.
+Around the landing-place at Callao we saw women, with little braziers of
+charcoal, ladling out the steaming picantes to the idlers and laborers
+of the port, and we are told it is their only article of food. In the
+poorer parts of Lima there is a _picanteria_ every few yards, and each
+establishment has its patrons among the porters, water-carriers, and
+negro laborers of the neighborhood. The many varieties of picantes have
+distinct names, but all are flavored with red pepper in abundance.
+
+[Illustration: PERUVIAN INFANTRY AND CAVALRY.]
+
+"There was formerly a custom in Peru, on occasions of formality, for the
+host and hostess to eat by themselves, beforehand, and take nothing
+during the progress of the ceremonious meal. They sat at opposite ends
+of the table, and were supposed to be attending to the wants of their
+guests. The same custom prevails in some parts of Russia, but is passing
+away there as it is here.
+
+"Another bit of table etiquette formerly prevailing in Peru, and not yet
+entirely unknown, was to select some delicate morsel from the dish
+before you, and hand it on your fork to a lady of the party. She would
+return the compliment, and sometimes it was made rather surprising to
+the stranger when she took the morsel in her fingers, and placed it in
+the mouth of the one who had paid her the compliment. I am told that
+this latter part of the ceremonial, based on the correctness of the
+adage that fingers were made before forks, was confined to the interior
+provinces, and was not fashionable in Lima."
+
+[Illustration: A PASSAGE OF POLITENESS.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+EQUESTRIANS AND THEIR COSTUMES.--LADIES OF LIMA.--EXCURSIONS AMONG
+RUINS.--PACHACAMAC, A HOLY CITY.--THE ANCIENT PERUVIANS.--ORIGIN OF THE
+INCA GOVERNMENT.
+
+
+[Illustration: A PERUVIAN CAVALIER.]
+
+Horseback riding is a fashionable amusement in Lima, to judge by the
+number of mounted men that are seen in the streets and in the
+surrounding country. Our friends learned, somewhat to their
+disappointment, that it has declined a good deal in the past twenty
+years, and the gentlemen of Lima are now less renowned than formerly for
+their equestrianism. Still, there are many excellent riders in Lima, and
+occasionally one can be seen dressed in the costume that was once
+universally worn by the Peruvian cavaliers. The fashions of Paris have
+been adopted by society people in Lima, and the picturesqueness of the
+old style of dress is fast disappearing.
+
+Lima contains many professional horse-breakers, and they are among the
+best of their class. Peruvian horses are easily instructed, and many of
+them perform surprising tricks; one of their feats is to turn around
+rapidly on the hind-legs when going at full gallop, and another is to
+jump over a wall, and immediately back again, with their riders on their
+backs. It is said that an English circus company once came to Lima, but
+the proprietor and performers were disgusted, and made haste to leave
+the country, when they found there were many horsemen in the city who
+could fully equal all the equestrian feats of the ring.
+
+[Illustration: HORSE-BREAKERS AT WORK.]
+
+One of the performances of the horse-breakers is to make a horse jump to
+the top of a broad wall, and describe a segment of a circle while
+standing on his hind-feet, and holding his fore-feet over the edge of
+the wall. He will do this repeatedly, and thus convince the spectator
+that it was not accidental.
+
+Fred made the following note of the costume of the Peruvian cavalier,
+uncontaminated by foreign influences:
+
+"He wears a _poncho_, smaller than that of the country muleteer, and
+more gaudy in its appearance; it is a fringed shawl reaching to the hips
+when the wearer is standing upright, and just covering the knees when he
+is in the saddle. A hole in the centre admits the head, and the shawl
+hangs gracefully over the shoulders of its wearer; it is more convenient
+than a jacket, or any other riding-garment, as it leaves the arms
+perfectly free to move in any direction, and there are no buttons to get
+loose.
+
+"The colors of the poncho are as varied as the tastes of the owners.
+Sometimes they are pure white, without any ornamentation, but much
+oftener they are richly embroidered, or made in varieties of stripes,
+embracing all the colors of the rainbow. The trousers are close-fitting;
+they have a stripe on the outside of the leg, and are held by a strap
+beneath the foot. No horseman would consider himself properly equipped
+without a pair of enormous spurs, the rowels standing out three or four
+inches from the heel, and the spurs containing altogether fully a pound
+of silver. A broad-brimmed hat and a riding-whip complete the cavalier's
+costume, and he is rarely without a cigar between his lips. In mounting,
+he generally scorns to put his feet in the stirrups, but springs on the
+horse without their aid. The stirrups are huge blocks of wood, shielded
+with fully a square foot of leather. The saddle and other trappings of
+the horse are richly ornamented with silver, and sometimes with gold,
+and occasionally the bridle, head-gear, and crupper are made of silver
+rings linked closely together."
+
+The decline of Peruvian horsemanship was shown in the late war between
+Chili and Peru. The Chilian cavalry was admirably managed, and in
+several battles it performed a large share of the work; the cavalrymen
+were well mounted, and understood their business thoroughly, while the
+Peruvians were inefficiently drilled, and their horses were far inferior
+to those of the Chilians. One of the mounted detachments of the Peruvian
+army was surprised and captured during the advance upon Lima, and the
+whole available force of cavalry for the defence of the capital did not
+exceed six hundred men.
+
+[Illustration: NATIVE WOMEN OF LIMA.]
+
+Frank and Fred were quick to remark the difference between the feminine
+part of the population descended from the Spanish conquerors, and those
+whose ancestry were the native possessors of the land. The complexion
+was as distinctive as the dress; the Spanish race is fair in feature,
+while the women of Peruvian descent have a tinge of copper or bronze in
+their faces. The latter wear short skirts, and leave the hair uncovered
+by a veil; sometimes the hair is braided in long tresses, and it is
+frequently topped with a hat of almost gigantic proportions. Many of
+these native women are excellent riders; they use the ordinary saddle of
+the cavalier instead of the side-saddle of more northern lands, and wear
+the Peruvian spur.
+
+Our friends passed a fortnight in Lima very pleasantly, making
+excursions in the neighborhood, and trying the baths at Chorillos, where
+the fashionable population goes for its seaside sports. Two days were
+devoted to a visit to Pachacamac, which is in the valley of the Lurin
+River, about twenty miles south of Lima, and overlooking the sea. What
+they saw and did is best told in Fred's account of the journey.
+
+"We went from Chorillos," said Fred, "and had a ride that was not
+particularly pleasant, over the dusty road leading to the seaport of
+Pisco, farther down the coast. Between Chorillos and the valley of the
+Lurin is a stretch of desert, and the sun beat pitilessly on our heads
+as we toiled along. Reaching the valley, we turned up the banks of the
+stream, and a short ride near its welcome waters brought us to the place
+we sought.
+
+[Illustration: RUINS OF PACHACAMAC.]
+
+"Pachacamac is a famous spot in Peru, or, rather, it was so in ancient
+times. Its ruins cover a considerable space along a line of hills on the
+edge of the desert. The sand has drifted over some of the buildings and
+completely buried them, and we were forcibly reminded of the ruins at
+Thebes, and other places in Egypt, not forgetting the grand temples that
+stood near the pyramids of Gizeh.
+
+[Illustration: HEAD OF PERUVIAN STATUE.]
+
+"Pachacamac was the sacred city of the inhabitants of this part of the
+coast before they were conquered by the Incas; their chief divinity,
+whose name is preserved in the city, had his shrine here, and when the
+Incas conquered the place they built a Temple of the Sun, and a House of
+the Virgins of the Sun, quite near the shrine of Pachacamac. It was
+their object to destroy the worship of the old divinity by building a
+grander temple to the new, but they were not altogether successful.
+There was an enormous amount of gold and silver used in the construction
+and adornment of the temples; the Spaniards took away twenty-seven
+_cargas_ of gold (a carga weighs sixty-two and a half pounds), and
+sixteen thousand ounces of silver, but they were unable to discover the
+place where four hundred cargas of these metals had been concealed just
+previous to their arrival.
+
+"We had quite a scramble among the ruins, as the walls are considerably
+broken, and the footing is often very insecure. We visited the shrine of
+Pachacamac, or, rather, the temple which contained it, and then went to
+the temple near it, erected by the Incas. The first is called 'El
+Castillo,' or The Temple, and the other is known as Mamacuna. The temple
+is on a hill, or headland, five hundred feet above the ocean, and the
+front of it extends down to the shore. It has been considerably shaken
+by the earthquakes, of which there must have been many since the time of
+its erection, and the wonder is that it is so well preserved.
+
+[Illustration: TERRACED SPACE ON A HILL-TOP.]
+
+"There was evidently a wall around the base of the hill; the slope of
+the hill was formed into terraces, and its upper part is supported by a
+terrace thirty-two feet high. In the centre of this upper part was the
+shrine of the deity, enclosed in a sanctuary which had a door of gold
+set with precious stones. But if the outside was beautiful, the inside
+was the reverse, as the Spaniards found only an idol of wood there,
+together with a flat stone where the priests performed their sacrifices.
+The old historians say that only the priests were allowed to go inside
+the sanctuary; when the Spaniards arrived there was no objection to
+their entering, as it was believed the deity would strike them dead for
+their sacrilege. The fact that they were not harmed, but proceeded
+without hesitation to plunder the place of its wealth, was a serious
+shock to the faith of these confiding natives.
+
+"Mr. Squier's book contains an excellent description of the place, and
+we sat down on the top of the hill and read his account of his visit to
+Pachacamac. He says that in ancient times it was the Mecca of South
+America, and pilgrims came here from all parts of the country to worship
+at the shrine of the divinity who was called 'The Creator of the
+World.' So great was the reverence in which it was held, that these
+pilgrims were allowed to pass unharmed through tribes and people with
+whom their own might be at war; the sacredness of their mission was an
+ample protection.
+
+[Illustration: PERUVIAN MUMMIES.]
+
+"The natural result of this pilgrimage was that there was a large town
+around the temple, and in course of time many thousands of people died
+here, and were buried on the consecrated spot. The whole ground, for
+many acres around the temple, seems to have been one vast cemetery; the
+soil is dry, and contains a good deal of nitre, which possesses
+excellent preservative qualities. There are thousands and thousands of
+what are generally called mummies now lying in this soil, where they
+have lain for centuries; they were not submitted to any mummifying
+process, like the bodies of the ancient Egyptians, but are preserved by
+the action of the salts of the earth and the aridity of the atmosphere.
+
+"Some men who came with us from a sugar plantation in the valley offered
+to find a grave, and reveal its contents. We assented, and they selected
+a spot, and began to dig.
+
+"We had a suspicion that they had dug in the same place before, and the
+grave they discovered had been opened many times previously for the
+benefit of visitors like ourselves. We remember that the same trick is
+practised in Egypt, especially at the temple in the neighborhood of the
+Great Pyramids, and saw no reason why it should not be adopted here.
+With this belief we had less compunction at disturbing the resting-place
+of the dead than we might have had otherwise.
+
+[Illustration: SEPULCHRAL TOWER.]
+
+"The men dug four or five feet through the dry soil, and then came to a
+flat stone which they uncovered with great pretence of not knowing how
+large it was. It was about three feet square, and, perhaps, four inches
+thick, so that two of them had no difficulty in turning it over. Under
+the stone was a cavity measuring a trifle over a yard each way, and
+containing two bundles that had little resemblance to the human form.
+These were lifted out so that we might examine them; the outside
+wrappings were removed from one of them, and we then found that they
+covered a human figure, doubled so that the hands were clasped around
+the knees, and the head rested upon them. Our guide said this is
+invariably the position in which the mummies are found, and they are
+generally contained in a wrapping of coarse matting made of rushes, and
+bound with ropes or cords of the same material.
+
+[Illustration: GOLDEN VASE FOUND IN A TOMB.]
+
+"It was the custom of the ancient Peruvians to bury with their dead the
+implements to which they were accustomed in life, and this may be taken
+to indicate their belief in a resurrection. Household utensils, combs,
+needles, wallets, spindles for spinning, knives, fishing-hooks and
+lines, spools of thread, knitting-needles, toilet articles, spoons,
+pottery, and many other things are found here, and the same is the case
+in excavations in other parts of Peru. We discovered only a few pieces
+of pottery and two knives of copper, and then we left the grave to be
+re-filled, or treated according to the taste of the inhabitants of the
+place.
+
+"The character of the wrappings, and the articles found in the graves,
+indicate the condition in life of the occupants of this Peruvian
+cemetery. Mr. Squier says the burial-place at Pachacamac contains three
+series of graves one above the other, indicating that the spot was for a
+very long while dedicated to sepulture. He opened one of the second
+series of tombs, which evidently belonged to a family in middle
+circumstances, neither rich nor poor.
+
+"The bodies were all wrapped as I have described, but underneath the
+covering of coarse rushes were many yards of fine cloth, similar to
+that which the Egyptians placed around their mummies. The tomb contained
+the bodies of a man, his wife, and two children; the play-things of the
+children were buried with them, and between the feet of the girl was a
+dried parrot, which was doubtless her pet. Near the bodies were several
+pieces of pottery, and every pot contained something. One was filled
+with maize or corn, another with ground-nuts, and the rest with edibles
+of different kinds. The collection of pots and pans was quite
+interesting, and revealed some of the domestic ways of the people.
+
+[Illustration: SILVER VASE.]
+
+"You will naturally ask how long these bodies have been lying here where
+we find them.
+
+"The question is easier asked than answered. Unfortunately for us, the
+Peruvians had no system of writing, like the ancient Egyptians, and
+therefore there are no records by which we can learn their history. To
+get at the antiquity of the people we must judge by the traditions that
+have come down to us and by the effect of time upon the monuments they
+have left. This enables us to guess at the date of the construction of
+their temples, and it is proper to remark that the guesses of
+archæologists who have studied the subject have been very far apart.
+
+[Illustration: PERUVIAN IDOL.]
+
+"The government of the Incas, which the Spaniards found and destroyed,
+is supposed to have existed not less than five hundred years, though
+some writers give it twice or three times that duration. When the
+Spaniards came here they found nearly all of what is now Peru, Ecuador,
+Bolivia, and a part of Chili united under one form of government, under
+three great tribes or families: the _Aymaraes_, the _Chinchas_, and the
+_Huancas_. The first of these, the Aymaraes, was the ruling race, and
+from it came the Incas or emperors. They occupied the high lands of
+Peru and Bolivia, and were said to have been more advanced in
+civilization than either of the others; the Chinchas dwelt mostly along
+the coast, while the Huancas were scattered through the mountain region
+between the Aymaraes and the Chinchas.
+
+[Illustration: PERUVIAN COPPER KNIVES.]
+
+"Gradually the Aymaraes conquered the other great tribes, and their
+system of conquest and colonization is an interesting study.
+
+"The tradition is that the tutelary divinity, the sun, sent his own
+children to instruct and govern the people, who were at war with each
+other, and had sunk into a condition of barbarism. These children of the
+sun were Manco Capac and his sister and wife, Mama Oello; they appeared
+first on an island in Lake Titicaca, and the island was ever afterwards
+regarded as holy. There are many temples around the lake and on the
+island to which they descended from heaven; we shall have more to say
+about these temples at another time.
+
+[Illustration: RUINS ON TITICACA ISLAND.]
+
+"From Lake Titicaca, Manco Capac travelled northward, carrying a golden
+staff; during his travels his staff sank into the ground at a certain
+spot, and there he founded the city of Cuzco. Manco Capac was the first
+of a long line of powerful kings, who gradually subdued the surrounding
+people and replaced the old religions with the worship of the sun. They
+built magnificent temples, forts, and palaces, and the ruins of these
+works, as they are seen to-day, excite the admiration of every
+traveller.
+
+[Illustration: PART OF TEMPLE OF THE SUN, CUZCO.]
+
+"To appreciate the wisdom of the Incas, let us consider their manner of
+ruling a conquered province.
+
+"From Cuzco, the capital, there were roads leading to the four cardinal
+points, and the city was divided into four quarters, which were
+respectively named, 'North,' 'South,' 'East,' and 'West.' When their
+armies had reduced a nation or a province, they brought the idols of the
+conquered people to Cuzco, and treated them with every mark of respect.
+Then they summoned the chiefs and their families to the capital, where
+they showed them every kindness and distinction. When these chiefs had
+been thoroughly instructed concerning the power of the Inca and the
+spirit of his government, they were sent to their homes, and very often
+they were restored to their official positions as representatives of the
+government of Cuzco.
+
+[Illustration: OUTER WALL OF FORTRESS OF CUZCO.]
+
+"In the conquered region the taxes were reduced, the poor were cared
+for, and the language of the empire was taught to the children. They
+were instructed in the religion of the Incas in place of their own, but
+always with the greatest respect for the old form of worship.
+
+[Illustration: STONES IN THE WALL OF CUZCO.]
+
+"To make sure that there would be no rebellion of the conquered people a
+colony of eight or ten thousand Aymaraes was sent there to live, while a
+similar number of the subjugated nation was brought to the towns whence
+these colonists were taken. Both of the transferred colonies were given
+great advantages; they had many privileges of exemption from taxation,
+received large grants of land, and were made to feel in every way that
+the transfer had been for their benefit. But while the Inca government
+was liberal it was severe; it was the iron hand under the velvet glove,
+and when its kindness was refused or the conquered people rebelled they
+were made to understand, in the most practical manner, that disobedience
+and rebellion were useless.
+
+[Illustration: PART OF WALL OF FORTRESS.]
+
+"The four great divisions of the empire were each governed by a viceroy,
+appointed by the central power at Cuzco; the inhabitants were divided
+into groups of ten thousand, under a native chief and an Inca governor,
+acting together, and these were again subdivided into groups of one
+thousand, one hundred, and ten, each having an official who was
+responsible to the one above him. Every man received an allotment of
+land for the support of himself and family, children were obliged to
+follow the occupations of their fathers, no one could change his
+residence without permission, idleness was severely punished, robbers
+were put to death, those who sinned against religion or the majesty of
+the Inca were burned or buried alive with their families, while their
+houses were destroyed and their fields devastated. When a province
+rebelled all the men and boys in it were put to death, and the remainder
+of the population was scattered.
+
+[Illustration: PERUVIAN VASES.]
+
+"There; I've given you quite a lecture on the ancient Peruvians, and
+hope you've not found it dull. Of course I realize that a large part of
+our enthusiasm on the subject comes from our having seen the monuments
+of this wonderful people, and read and heard of the way they built their
+nation and extended its power."
+
+"'History repeats itself,'" said Dr. Bronson, as our young friend read
+the account we have just quoted. "In the descent of the children of the
+sun we have a repetition of the story of divine origin which has existed
+in many countries and lands since the beginning of governments. Manco
+Capac bears an exceedingly close resemblance to the Egyptian Osiris, the
+Chinese Fohi, the Hindoo Buddha, and the Scandinavian Odin. The same
+idea is preserved to-day in the 'divine right of kings,' which is so
+often quoted, and in which millions of people have implicit faith."
+
+"History is repeated, too, in another way," said Frank. "The system of
+colonization and government under the Incas reminds me of what we saw
+in Java, the most successful European colony in the eastern hemisphere.
+The government of the people by their own chiefs, supervised by an
+official of the ruling power, the punishment of idleness, and the
+distribution of land so that everybody can earn a living for himself and
+family, might almost have been borrowed from the ancient Peruvians by
+the Dutch possessors of Java and the islands of the Malay Archipelago."
+
+"It is not very likely the Dutch troubled themselves about ancient
+Peru," replied the Doctor; "they probably formed their system to suit
+the character of the people they were to govern; and when we remember
+the natural shrewdness with which their nation is credited we need not
+wonder that they established such an excellent government. It has its
+features of severity, like that of the Incas, but it has been decidedly
+beneficial to the subject race."
+
+"Is the tradition correct that the people were sunk in barbarism when
+Manco Capac came on earth?" Frank inquired.
+
+[Illustration: ORNAMENTS OF PERUVIAN WALLS.]
+
+"It is a pleasant fiction," replied the Doctor, "invented by the Incas
+as an excuse for their subjugation of the neighboring provinces and
+kingdoms. The evidences are that some of the finest monuments of Peru
+are older than the Inca empire, and several of the conquered nations
+were well advanced in civilization, and understood many useful arts and
+occupations. Manco Capac began with Cuzco, and then with the country a
+few leagues around it; his rule and that of his descendants was
+gradually extended until, at the coming of the Spaniards, it embraced
+forty degrees of latitude and a population of ten millions of people.
+Since the Spanish conquest the native population has diminished, and
+there are now little over four millions of inhabitants in the old
+dominions of the Incas."
+
+[Illustration: ANCIENT PALACE AT HUANCO.]
+
+Our friends passed the night at a sugar plantation about two miles from
+the ruins of Pachacamac, and returned the next day to Lima. There is now
+only a small village where once was a large city; the inhabitants are
+employed on the sugar plantations and in the cultivation of their
+gardens, which are watered by careful irrigation from the Lurin River.
+The village was burned by the Chilians during the late war, and the
+traces of their devastations will long remain. The inhabitants fled for
+safety, and some of them never found their way back again to their
+birth-places.
+
+[Illustration: DOORWAY CUT THROUGH A SINGLE STONE.]
+
+Pachacamac does not contain the only ruins in the neighborhood of Lima.
+At Magdalena, not far from the railway between Callao and the capital,
+is an extensive ruin which was in good condition at the time of the
+Spanish conquest; the material has been taken for building purposes, so
+that the spot is hardly worth visiting at present. The temple contained
+an idol known as Rimac, whose name is preserved in the river. The idol
+used to speak, after the manner of the oracles of the Egyptian and Greek
+temples, and in exactly the same way; a priest was concealed in the
+statue, which was hollow, and thus the confiding populace was deceived.
+The deceptions of paganism were as well known in the New World as in the
+Old.
+
+[Illustration: CENTRAL FIGURE OVER DOORWAY.]
+
+There are ruins near Chorillos which have also undergone demolition for
+the sake of their brick and stone, and in the valley of the River
+Chillon, ten miles northwest of Lima, is a fortification enclosing a
+hill about five hundred feet high. There is a wall at the base of the
+hill, another about half-way up, and a third around a level space at the
+top, where there is a watch-tower, with several ruined buildings. The
+upper wall is fourteen feet high and made of stones set in tough mortar.
+As the ancient Peruvians had no knowledge of gunpowder, a fortress of
+this sort was an excellent protection for a garrison.
+
+Following up the valley of the Rimac, twelve or fifteen miles from Lima
+we come to a side valley which contains the ruins of Cajamarquilla. It
+was a city about three miles square, laid out into streets and blocks
+and containing many massive walls which the earthquakes have not been
+able to destroy. The history of this city is not even known in
+tradition, and the natives shake their heads when inquiry is made
+concerning it. The ruins were there when the Spaniards came to Peru.
+
+The buildings of this American Baalbec were extensive and connected by
+narrow passages and subterranean vaults, that seem to have been used for
+storage purposes. The doorways were low and curiously shaped, and there
+are no signs of windows in the houses.
+
+Frank and Fred desired to visit the place, but as it was said to be the
+haunt of robbers, and not particularly safe, the idea of an excursion
+was abandoned. Mr. Squier had an encounter with a noted robber while
+inspecting these ruins, but a display of his commission from the
+government of the United States secured the good-will of the brigand,
+and the stranger was saved from harm.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+RAILWAYS OVER THE ANDES.--FROM LIMA TO MOLLENDO, AREQUIPA, AND LAKE
+TITICACA.--THE CHINCHA ISLANDS AND THE SODA DESERTS.--UP THE ANDES BY
+STEAM.--IN A RAILWAY CARRIAGE FOURTEEN THOUSAND FEET ABOVE THE SEA.
+
+
+Within the last twenty years Peru has made earnest efforts to connect
+her inland cities with the Pacific Ocean by means of railways. There are
+several private lines, the oldest being the short one connecting Lima
+with Callao; it was completed in 1851, and has paid handsomely to its
+projectors. Of the lines built by government there are seven in all;
+five of them are finished and the remainder are in course of
+construction (or suspension), with considerable uncertainty as to the
+date of their completion.
+
+One of the unfinished lines, the Oroya Railway, starts from Callao, and
+is intended to connect that seaport with the silver mines of Cerro de
+Pasco, by a branch from Oroya, and to extend to Fort San Ramon, or
+Mairo, where it will connect with steamboats on the Amazon. It was
+undertaken by an American contractor under government guarantee; it has
+cost many millions of dollars, and many other millions will be required
+before the locomotive can make the journey from Callao to Mairo and
+Cerro de Pasco.
+
+At the time our friends were in Lima the work was suspended, and Dr.
+Bronson learned, in answer to his inquiries, that the terminus was at
+an insignificant town among the mountains. Trains did not run regularly,
+as there was no business to pay the expenses of running them; the
+government was waiting for the country to recover from the effects of
+the war before proceeding with the work.
+
+One day there was an opportunity to make an excursion to the terminus,
+about ninety miles from Lima, and the Doctor at once arranged for the
+trip. They were to leave the capital about nine in the morning, spend
+the night at the terminus, and return early the next day. The programme
+was carried out to the satisfaction of the wandering trio, as we shall
+see by referring to Fred's note-book.
+
+[Illustration: DEEP CUTTING ON A RAILWAY.]
+
+"We ascended the valley of the Rimac," said Fred, "and in the first
+forty-six miles gained an elevation of five thousand feet. We had only
+two carriages in the train, but the locomotive puffed and tugged as
+though it was drawing three or four times that number. At every mile of
+our advance the route became more and more intricate; we passed through
+narrow gorges and along the brink of fearful precipices, and time and
+time again we seemed to be in danger of toppling over and falling into
+the abysses below. We were reminded of the passage of the Sierra Nevadas
+by the Central Pacific Railway, in our own country, and of the line
+between Colombo and Kandy, in Ceylon.
+
+"The engineering difficulties here are greater than on either of the
+routes I have mentioned, and greater than anything we have seen in the
+European Alps. The Oroya line is certainly one of the railway wonders of
+the world, and every visitor to Lima should make a point of seeing this
+enormous work. It is doubtful if the government will ever find it
+profitable, owing to the great cost of construction and the expense of
+running the trains.
+
+"Here are a few figures about this railway. I take some of them from
+Professor Orton's book,'The Andes and Amazon,' and others have been
+given me by the conductor who accompanies us.
+
+"Eighty-seven miles of the road had been finished when the war between
+Chili and Peru caused a suspension of work. There are sixty-three
+tunnels, with an aggregate length of twenty-one thousand feet, and there
+are thirty bridges of iron or stone. Some of the bridges are of French
+or English manufacture, and others, considered the best, were made in
+America. The Verrugas bridge spans a chasm five hundred and eighty feet
+wide, and rests on three piers of hollow columns of wrought iron. It was
+made at Phenixville, Pennsylvania, at a cost of $63,000; the middle pier
+is two hundred and fifty-two feet high and fifty feet square at its
+base, and the deflection of the bridge is five-eighths of an inch.
+
+"The sharpest curve of the road is 395 feet radius, and the maximum
+grade is four per cent. While the work was going on they used two
+hundred and fifty tons of powder every month for blasting the rock! The
+tunnel to carry the line through the Andes is at an elevation of 15,645
+feet above the sea, the highest railway tunnel in the world, and some
+say the highest point where a piston-rod is moved by steam.
+
+[Illustration: AMONG THE FOOT-HILLS.]
+
+"To describe our ride would be to give a long succession of exclamations
+of wonder, admiration, and enthusiasm, with an occasional sigh of relief
+when dangerous points were passed without accident. It is quite possible
+that our cheeks may have paled at times and flushed at others, but of
+course we could not admit anything of the sort. We were glad when the
+terminus was reached, and the sensation of the journey was over.
+
+"We crawled slowly upward on our eastward way and found it exciting
+enough; what shall I say of the return ride, when we had the downward
+grade to take us along, and the only use of the steam in the locomotive
+was to hold us back? The brakes were screwed tightly down, and so great
+is the pressure upon them that their shoes must be renewed at the end of
+every second round trip from Callao and back again. In four hours from
+the terminus we were on the shores of the Pacific, and at the end of a
+journey we shall long remember."
+
+Two weeks from the time our friends landed at Callao they embarked on
+the southern-bound steamer from that port, having taken their tickets
+for Mollendo.
+
+[Illustration: GUANO ISLANDS.]
+
+The first landing was at Pisco, about one hundred miles south of Callao,
+and connected by a short line of railway with the cotton regions of Iça.
+As they approached the port they passed the Chincha Islands, which have
+become famous as the place whence millions of tons of guano have been
+brought to Europe and America. Frank and Fred wished to know something
+about the guano trade, and the Doctor kindly informed them.
+
+[Illustration: SEA-BIRDS AT HOME.]
+
+"The guano was deposited here," said Dr. Bronson, "by the sea-birds, and
+the accumulations have been going on for thousands of years. No rain
+falls here, and consequently there was no water to wash the substance
+away. Mixed with the deposits of the birds were their decomposed bodies
+and eggs, and the bodies of seals; the seals climb to the highest places
+on the rocks when they are about to die, and as they were very abundant
+here, it is safe to say that millions of them have died on the Chincha
+Islands. Guano is of great value as a manure; the ancient Peruvians were
+well aware of its qualities, and by the laws of the Incas everybody was
+forbidden, under pain of death, to land on the islands during the
+breeding season, and the same penalty was affixed to killing the birds
+at any time.
+
+"The guano deposits were first made known to Europe in 1804," the Doctor
+continued, "through a description by Baron von Humboldt. He said the
+islands were covered to a depth of fifty or sixty feet with pure guano;
+the long ages that had been consumed in the accumulation may be
+understood when he says that during the three centuries since the coming
+of the Spaniards the growth had been only a small fraction of an inch!"
+
+"Was it brought to Europe in Humboldt's time?" one of the youths
+inquired.
+
+"No," was the reply; "the first shipment was made in 1840, and consisted
+of twenty barrels, which were taken to Liverpool. It was tried on a farm
+near that city, and resulted so favorably that large orders were
+immediately sent for more. In the following year several cargoes were
+sent from the islands, and from that time the trade increased rapidly.
+Farmers in Europe and America learned the value of guano in making a
+wonderful increase of the producing power of their fields, and the
+demand for it became general.
+
+"From 1851 to 1860 nearly three million tons were shipped from the
+Chincha Islands, and between 1853 and 1872 it is estimated that eight
+millions tons were sent away. In that year the Chincha Islands were
+practically exhausted. The Peruvians had acted as though they were to
+last forever as a source of revenue, and the discovery of the great
+value of the deposits may be considered the cause of the present
+bankruptcy of the country. They had abolished the taxes and relied upon
+the Chincha Islands for all money needed by government, including the
+immense sums expended in the construction of railways. They appointed
+agents in London and New York for the sale of the guano, and as long as
+the business was prosperous, a great many men grew rich out of the
+transactions.
+
+"As the Chincha Islands gave out other deposits were worked, some on the
+Lobos Islands, others on the Guanape Islands, and others in Tarapaca,
+but none of them are as rich or extensive as was the original source of
+supply."
+
+The youths looked carefully at the islands with their glasses as the
+steamer proceeded on her course. Dr. Bronson called their attention to a
+solitary ship that was lying close to the cliff of one of the islands,
+and said that in the days of the prosperity of the guano trade there
+were sometimes a hundred ships receiving cargoes or waiting their turns
+to be laden.
+
+"You observe," said he, "that the sides of the islands are quite bold,
+and in some places precipitous; ships used to lie close to the shore and
+receive their cargoes through long chutes or spouts through which the
+guano was poured from the top of the cliff. The air was full of guano
+dust, and the men engaged in the work suffered greatly from the dust
+entering the throat and lungs. Ammonia (hartshorn) is an important
+ingredient of guano; imagine yourselves breathing an atmosphere heavily
+charged with ammonia, and you can realize the disagreeable features of
+working on a guano island.
+
+[Illustration: SCENE ON A COOLIE SHIP.]
+
+"Convicts were employed here, and also coolies from China; the horrors
+of the coolie trade with Peru have never been fully told, and the
+narration would be most sickening. Thousands of the coolies threw
+themselves into the sea to escape the terrible life on these islands;
+other thousands died here as a result of their toil, and the number was
+only kept up by frequent arrivals of ships from Macao, the seat of the
+coolie trade in China."
+
+"There are three islands," said Fred, "but they do not seem to be large
+ones. I should judge that the most northerly is the largest, and it is
+not more than half a mile long by a third in width."
+
+"You have estimated very well," was the reply. "The northern island is
+called Chincha, and gives the name to the group, and it is about the
+length and width you mention. The other two are smaller, but are of the
+same formation as Chincha, a bright red granite composed of red
+feldspar, white quartz, and a little mica. The group is evidently of
+volcanic origin, and perhaps it may one day disappear beneath the waves
+as other volcanic islands have done.
+
+"Guano can only accumulate where there is no rain," continued their
+mentor, "and there is another source of wealth here that comes from the
+rainless district."
+
+"What is that?"
+
+"It is the nitrate of soda," answered the Doctor, "which comes from
+several desert regions in the southern part of Peru, chiefly in the
+province of Tarapaca, which has been annexed to Chili since the war, and
+is Peruvian territory no longer. It has many uses in industrial arts,
+and is largely employed as a fertilizer; the deposits have been worked
+since 1830, and the chief points of export are Iquique and Pisagua. In
+twenty years from 1830 the exports were 240,000 tons, and in 1875 no
+less than 326,000 tons were exported. In 1877 there were 253 ships that
+cleared from Iquique alone with cargoes of nitrates. Several of the
+railways constructed by the Peruvian government, or on private account,
+were built partly or wholly for the transportation of this article."
+
+The steamer stopped very briefly at Pisco, and there was not time to go
+on shore. From Pisco to Mollendo they were almost constantly in sight of
+the coast, and sometimes hugging it closely; the mountains of the
+western cordillera of the Andes filled the eastern horizon, and
+occasionally the snowy peaks of the great central chain were visible.
+The principal chain of mountains in South America is called the Andes,
+and sometimes the _Nevadas_ (white), to distinguish it from the
+cordillera (cor-de-_yer_-ra), by which the lateral and lower chains,
+generally parallel to the Andes, are designated. _Sierra_ (from the
+Spanish word for saw) is a spur, or irregular line, of mountains
+stretching from the Andes to the cordillera, or pushing out from the
+latter into the flat _Parama_, or desert.
+
+[Illustration: ON THE EDGE OF THE DESERT.]
+
+Mollendo is the ocean terminus of the railway to Arequipa and Lake
+Titicaca, the present destination of the boy travellers and their elder
+companion. The town is on the edge of the desert, and the harbor is an
+open roadstead, like most of the ports of the western coast. An old
+captain sarcastically remarked, "the harbor of Mollendo is entered as
+soon as the ship turns Cape Horn." The town is supplied with water by an
+iron pipe eighty-five miles long, which starts from near Arequipa, and
+is capable of discharging 430,000 gallons of water every twenty-four
+hours. Enormous tanks have been constructed, to maintain a supply for
+several days, in case of accident to the aqueduct, and these tanks are
+the principal sights of the place.
+
+The surf was breaking on the rocky shore, and our friends had a narrow
+escape from a drenching in going from the ship to the land. Fortunately
+they arrived in the morning, about an hour before the time for the
+departure of the train for Arequipa, and had not long to wait.
+
+The railway followed the coast for a short distance, and then turned
+northeastwardly, and began climbing the hills which formed the outward
+barrier of the lofty Andes. Up and onward zigzagged the train, through
+the barren hills that lead to the desert of Islay, and then out upon the
+dusty stretch of the desert, which it crossed in a line whose directness
+was in marked contrast to its tortuous course among the hills. At
+regular intervals there were tanks which supply the locomotives with
+water; they are fed from the aqueduct already mentioned, and wherever
+they have leaked, and moistened the dust, the grass grows luxuriantly.
+It is sixty miles across the desert; before the railway was constructed
+the journey was made on the backs of donkeys, and it was customary to
+cross it in the night, in consequence of the great heat and glare when
+the sun is shining.
+
+Frank copied into his note-book the following account of a traveller who
+crossed the desert from the coast to Arequipa, which he failed to reach
+before sunrise:
+
+"About five o'clock a clear whiteness appeared in the sky, the stars
+paled their lustre, and the day began to break. Soon a ruddy orange tint
+spread over the soil of the pampa, now become firm and compact. In a few
+minutes the disk of the sun appeared above the horizon; and as we
+marched full in the front of the god of day, we found ourselves in the
+midst of a luminous torrent, which so dazzled and incommoded us that to
+escape from this new torture we doubled ourselves up like hedgehogs.
+This anomalous and inconvenient posture rendered us unjust to the claims
+of the rising sun. Instead of welcoming his appearance we were inclined
+to wish he had remained out of sight, and it was not till eight o'clock
+that the sun, now high above the horizon, permitted us to raise our
+heads."
+
+[Illustration: INDIANS OF AREQUIPA.]
+
+"We did not suffer any of this inconvenience," said Frank, in his
+description of the journey, "as we were protected by the carriages, and
+could take any position we liked. When the sun passed the meridian we
+could look ahead without receiving the glare in our eyes; it was a great
+relief when we saw the peaks of the snow-clad mountains, and in a little
+while the eastern horizon was filled with them. Back of Arequipa was the
+lofty summit of Misti, one of the grandest of the South American
+volcanoes, then came Chichani, with its precipitous sides, and beyond
+it, farther to the north, was Coropuno.
+
+[Illustration: AREQUIPA, AND THE VOLCANO OF MISTI.]
+
+"As we entered Arequipa ('Place of Rest') we thought of Damascus, to
+which it has been compared by more than one traveller. Like Damascus, it
+stands on the edge of the desert, and, also like that Oriental city, it
+is watered by a river which nourishes its gardens, and creates a spot of
+living green in the midst of an arid waste. It stands in a valley ten
+miles long by five in width, but all around the valley is a desert.
+There is not sufficient water for purposes of irrigation; land that is
+well irrigated is worth a thousand dollars an acre, as it is wonderfully
+fertile and produces abundantly.
+
+"We spent a day in Arequipa, which was a station under the Inca
+government before the city was founded by Pizarro, in 1540. At every
+step we saw traces of the terrible havoc wrought by the earthquake of
+1868; there was not a block without its pile of ruins, and some of the
+streets reminded us of Pompeii, or of Old Delhi. Churches were reduced
+to a mass of rubbish, the towers of the cathedral were demolished, the
+university was a heap of ruins, and hundreds of the houses were still
+unoccupied.
+
+"According to the accounts written at the time, the first shock of the
+earthquake was felt about five o'clock in the afternoon. There was a
+slight tremor of the ground, which increased at intervals of fifteen or
+twenty seconds; it was not until fully a minute after the first shock
+that the buildings began to fall, and consequently the inhabitants had
+time to escape to the streets. Compared with Ibarra and other cities,
+the loss of life was small. The sick in the hospital and prisoners in
+the _carcel_ were unable to flee, and were buried in the falling ruins,
+and it was estimated that about three hundred others were killed. Before
+the earthquake the city had a population of not far from fifty thousand;
+it is now estimated at forty thousand, with the probability of an
+increase to the old figure in consequence of the revival of commerce by
+the opening of the railway.
+
+"Our attention was drawn to the use of galvanized iron for the domes of
+the buildings in place of stone, which was the material formerly
+employed. It is thought the next earthquake will have less effect than
+former ones, since iron can withstand what stone cannot. There is a
+great scarcity of wood here, or it would be popular in the construction
+of houses. Wooden houses can hold out against earthquakes better than
+those of more solid materials, as they can be twisted a great deal
+before falling. The best material I have ever seen for this purpose is a
+network of bamboo, plastered on both sides to fill the chinks between
+the poles and withes.
+
+[Illustration: THE OLD WAY OF TRAVEL.]
+
+"We asked for the manufactures of Arequipa, but we asked in vain. There
+was formerly a considerable commerce with the interior, but at present
+there are no industries beyond the trade in alpaca wool which is the
+support of the city. There are only a few mercantile houses, and these
+are mostly German or English, and the chief occupation of the
+inhabitants is to do nothing. We saw only two men displaying anything
+like activity; they had quarrelled, and one was pursuing the other with
+a knife in his hand, but though he ran fast he did not overtake his
+intended victim.
+
+"The altitude of Arequipa is 7650 feet above the sea; the summit of
+Misti, a most picturesque volcano, rises behind the city to a height of
+18,500 feet, very much as Etna rises behind Catania. It is now silent,
+but it was fearfully active in 1868, and is liable again to burst forth
+as the accompaniment of another earthquake.
+
+"The population is as uncertain, politically and socially, as the ground
+on which their city stands, if we may judge by the frequency with which
+they indulge in revolutions and insurrections. In three hundred years
+there have been ten or twelve severe earthquakes and innumerable smaller
+shocks; in the same time there have been at least a dozen revolts, while
+plots against the peace and dignity of the state are said to be
+constantly going on. In 1867 the city was bombarded for three days by
+the president of the republic, who failed to capture it, and it has
+several times been shaken by war as well as by earthquakes."
+
+[Illustration: VIEW OF LAKE TITICACA.]
+
+After their day in this famous city our friends started by railway for
+Punno, on the shore of Lake Titicaca, two hundred and eighteen miles
+away. Crossing an iron bridge as it left the city, the train soon began
+to ascend among the desert hills, and through masses of volcanic rock
+and cinders which gave plain proof that the mighty Chichani had not
+always been as quiet as at present. Dr. Bronson called the attention of
+the youths to the magnificent engineering, and the conductor informed
+them that on this one division of the road the excavations and fillings
+amounted to ten millions of cubic yards. "They are said to be the
+deepest cuttings and fillings in the world," said he, "and I certainly
+have never heard any one say they were not. The deepest cutting is one
+hundred and twenty-seven feet, and the deepest filling one hundred and
+forty-one."
+
+"And bear in mind," said the Doctor, "that this work was performed far
+up in the mountains, where exertion is very fatiguing, and water boils
+before it is much more than scalding hot. Beans and other articles of
+food can only be cooked in closed cans to increase the pressure, and
+consequently the temperature."
+
+On and up they went among the mountains, and over the dreary pampas
+stretching between them, crossing deep ravines, winding around
+precipices, threading the valleys, darting through tunnels, now on a
+level with the banks of snow on the sides of the giant mountains, or
+looking down upon the clouds that rolled at their feet. Ten, twelve,
+thirteen, and fourteen thousand feet of elevation were reached, and at
+length they halted at Vincamayo, 14,443 feet above the level of the sea.
+It is the creation of the railway, with an American hotel, and all the
+adjuncts of a relay and repairing station. It is the highest village in
+the world, higher than famous Potosi, and higher, too, than Cerro de
+Pasco. Place another Mount Washington on the top of the present one, and
+its summit would be nearly two thousand feet lower than Vincamayo.
+
+Professor Orton passed a night at Vincamayo; he says he did not sleep,
+but spent the time in panting for breath. Our friends had the same
+experience with the rarefied air; the least movement caused them to
+breathe with difficulty, and they wisely refrained from stirring from
+their places. In a little while the train reached Alto del Crucero, the
+highest point of the line, and 14,660 feet above the Pacific at
+Mollendo. The surrounding land was simply a bog covered with short
+grass, and sprinkled in places with snow. It affords pasture for alpacas
+and vicunas, and as they looked from the windows of the carriage and
+shivered in the chilly atmosphere they saw numerous herds of these
+animals feeding on the plain.
+
+[Illustration: THE NEVADA DE SORATA, CROWN OF THE ANDES.]
+
+From the summit the descent was gradual, among hills and over desert
+plains, passing between two lakes of brackish water, and along the banks
+of a river that had its source among the clouds. By and by the waters of
+Lake Titicaca were in sight, and beyond them rose the grand old peak of
+the Nevada de Sorata, sometimes called "the crown of the Andes."
+
+The train ended its journey at Puno, on the shore of the lake, and the
+three travellers stepped again to the earth, with more than twelve
+thousand feet of perpendicular distance below them to the level of the
+sea!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+PUNO AND LAKE TITICACA.--COCA AND ITS PROPERTIES.--THE LLAMA AND HIS
+KINDRED.--EXCURSION TO THE SACRED ISLAND OF THE INCAS.
+
+
+[Illustration: VIEW ON LAKE TITICACA.]
+
+Puno is not an attractive spot. Lying at a great elevation, it has a
+cool climate, and its inhabitants pass a good part of the time in trying
+to keep warm. There are no trees in the neighborhood; before the opening
+of the railway the only fuel was the dried dung of llamas and other
+animals, and a small shrub known as tola. The nights are always cold,
+the thermometer sometimes descending fifteen degrees below the
+freezing-point, and even touching zero; people retire to bed very early,
+and remain there till after sunrise, as the best means of escaping the
+cold. Frank and Fred were obliged to follow the local custom, in spite
+of their overcoats and rugs. Notwithstanding the severe temperature of
+the place, the means of warming the houses do not receive much
+attention. Since the railway came, and rendered it possible to have
+coal, a few stoves have been set up, but they are not in general use.
+
+[Illustration: PERUVIAN HEADS, ANCIENT AND MODERN.]
+
+Nine tenths of the five thousand inhabitants of Puno are of the native
+races; the Aymaraes occupy the southern part of the town, and the
+Quichuas the northern, the former being the most numerous. The rest,
+which includes the wealthier and more intelligent fraction of the
+population, is made up of people of Spanish descent, a few German and
+English merchants, and two or three American _attachés_ of the railway.
+Puno owed its origin to the rich silver mines in the neighborhood, which
+were discovered and operated about two hundred years ago. A romantic
+story is told concerning these mines, and the romance is by no means
+free from tragedy.
+
+Jose de Salcedo, a Spaniard, was in love with an Indian girl, and was
+beloved in return. She revealed to him the secret of the mines, and he
+worked them with enormous profit; his wealth attracted the attention of
+the royal officers, who found a pretext for arresting him, and taking
+him to Lima. He was condemned to death, and his property was
+confiscated to the government, which meant that the officials expected
+to transfer his wealth to their own pockets. Salcedo offered to pay a
+thousand marks of silver a day if they would wait until he could appeal
+to the king, but his offer was refused.
+
+He was executed in the public square at Lima, and the governors
+proceeded to take possession of his property. He was well liked by the
+tribe to which his Indian maiden belonged, and as soon as the natives
+heard what had been done they stopped the drains of the mines, and
+flooded them with water. There is now a small lake over the entrance of
+the mine, and the Indians have ever since refused to give any
+information concerning the extent of the deposit, or the direction of
+the veins. These people will keep a secret with the utmost fidelity;
+torture cannot wring it from them, and they are indifferent to bribes or
+any other inducement. At the present time they know of rich deposits of
+silver in various parts of the country, but absolutely refuse to give
+any information concerning them.
+
+[Illustration: CATHEDRAL OF PUNO.]
+
+"The Cathedral of Puno," said Fred, in his note-book, "is the most
+elevated building of its size in the world. It was begun in 1757, and is
+an imposing structure, with a specially handsome front; it is at one
+side of the grand plaza, where every morning is held the market for the
+sale of provisions. We visited the market the morning after our
+arrival, and were greatly interested in what we saw and learned there.
+
+[Illustration: QUICHUA WOMAN (FROM A PHOTOGRAPH).]
+
+"Most of the sales are managed by women, who sit on the ground in rows
+stretching away from the fountain in the centre of the plaza, each with
+little heaps of dried potatoes, fish, _charqui_ (dried beef), peppers,
+beans, pease, maize, barley, and similar things for sale. Each heap has
+a price fixed for it, and the rise and fall of the market are regulated
+by the size of the heap, the price remaining the same. Pease, beans, and
+pepper come from the coast, as they do not grow at the altitude of Puno;
+flour is too dear to be used by the lower classes, though it has fallen
+somewhat since the opening of the railway. Beans and pease must be
+reduced to powder before cooking, at this altitude, and potatoes are
+frozen, and then dried and pulverized, like the beans and pease.
+
+[Illustration: COCA PLANT.]
+
+"We were guided through the market by one of the English-speaking
+residents, who called our attention to coca, which was sold as an
+article of food, in the form of dried leaves. We had already seen the
+leaves, and heard of their qualities, but this was the first time we had
+seen them for sale at the side of the usual articles for supplying the
+table. Our informant said that coca possessed wonderful properties; I
+will give his words as nearly as I can remember them:
+
+"'Coca is the dried leaf of the shrub _erythroxylon_, and is called
+_cuca_ by the natives. It grows in the mountainous parts of Peru and
+Bolivia, at elevations varying from two to six thousand feet, and is a
+shrub or small tree about six feet high. Its leaves are gathered, and
+dried in the sun, and are chewed with a little quicklime, in much the
+same way that the natives of India and the Malay regions chew the leaf
+of the betel or areca palm, and certain Americans chew tobacco. Its
+effect is narcotic and stimulating, and the most remarkable stories are
+told of the endurance of the people who use it.
+
+"A Peruvian or Bolivian Indian will travel for days without any sign of
+weariness, with only a small supply of coca and some dried maize; he
+chews the coca while walking, and it really seems to be his chief
+reliance. He will work or travel for twenty or thirty hours
+continuously, without sleep or rest, if he is allowed plenty of coca;
+Indians have been known to travel seventy miles a day for three days
+with no other sustenance than this article. In the silver mines, where
+the employers feed their laborers, they limit the quantity of other
+supplies, but give the Indians all the coca they want.'
+
+"I asked if there were no unpleasant after-effects from the use of this
+drug, as in the case of opium and other narcotics.
+
+"'Unhappily there are,' was the reply, 'but they are usually less
+serious than in the case of opium. Sometimes the habit increases to such
+a degree that the stomach cannot retain other food, and there is a
+constant craving for coca. The system cannot be sustained by this
+stimulant alone; the victim is reduced to a skeleton, becomes feverish
+and restless, and ultimately dies in consequence of his passion. But, as
+far as I have been able to learn since my residence in the country, the
+deaths from coca are not near as numerous, in proportion to those who
+use it, as those from opium, in China and other parts of the far East?
+
+"Dr. Bronson said that an extract or alkaloid of coca, called cocaine,
+had recently come into use in Europe and America as an anæsthetic, for
+operations on the eye, and other sensitive parts of the human
+organization. The patient is fully conscious of what is going on, but
+does not experience the least pain. Its properties as a local anæsthetic
+were discovered in 1884, by Dr. Koller, of Vienna; and it is freely used
+by oculists in New York and elsewhere. It is a very costly substance,
+being worth some hundreds of dollars an ounce, but the quantity used for
+paralyzing the nerves of the eye during an operation is surprisingly
+small. One or two drops of a solution containing from two to four per
+cent. of cocaine are generally sufficient for a short operation, and
+twice or three times that quantity, at intervals of five or ten minutes,
+for a longer one.
+
+"Thirty million pounds of coca are annually consumed in South America.
+The finest is grown in the Yungas district, in Bolivia, where it is
+cultivated somewhat as tea is cultivated in China. Its properties were
+known to the ancient Peruvians, and it was used in their religious
+ceremonies; it received divine honors, and under some of the Incas its
+use was reserved for the nobility. Even at this day the Indians
+sometimes put coca in the mouths of their dead, just as the ancient
+Greeks placed an obolus in the mouth of a corpse to insure its ferriage
+over the Styx. The miners of Peru throw quids of coca against the veins
+of silver, under the belief that it causes them to be more easily
+worked.
+
+[Illustration: LLAMA.]
+
+"So much for coca. Another curiosity of Puno is the large number of
+llamas we see in the streets, either running at large or used as beasts
+of burden. The llama, guanaco, alpaca, and vicuna were 'the four sheep
+of the Incas,' according to Professor Orton; the first clothing the
+common people, the second the nobles, the third the royal governors, and
+the fourth the Incas. Llamas and alpacas are domesticated; guanacos and
+vicunas are wild. They all go in flocks, and, in their wild state, one
+of their number always keeps watch; if danger threatens he stamps his
+feet, and gives the alarm, and it must be a very swift pursuer that can
+overtake them.
+
+"The four animals belong to the same family, and some naturalists say
+the llama is nothing more than the domesticated guanaco. The llama is
+found all through South America, from northern Peru to the Strait of
+Magellan; it has been well described as having the head of a camel, the
+body of a deer, the wool of a sheep, and the neigh of a horse. It
+prefers a cold climate to a warm one; in the torrid zone it lives at a
+high elevation, while on the cool plains of Patagonia, near the level of
+the sea, it is found in great numbers. In Patagonia it is not
+domesticated, but in Peru, Bolivia, and Chili it is used as a beast of
+burden; it is about three feet high at the shoulder, and its head five
+feet when the animal stands erect. It can carry a burden of not more
+than a hundred pounds, lives on very scanty food, endures cold without
+suffering, and requires no drink as long as it can find succulent
+herbage. The pens where the animals are shut up at night have no shelter
+against the cold winds, which they do not mind in the least, and they
+are said to require very little care from one year's end to another.
+
+[Illustration: ANCIENT GATEWAY NEAR PUNO.]
+
+"Those that we saw in the streets seemed to have things their own way,
+and to be indifferent to the presence of men; but when we tried to
+approach one he refused our acquaintance and walked away. When angry the
+llama stamps his feet, and ejects a saliva that causes a burning
+sensation if it falls on the unprotected skin; we did not care to make
+the experiment, and therefore refrained from irritating one of the
+animals.
+
+"The alpaca is not used as a beast of burden, but is reared for its wool
+flesh, and skin, especially the former. You know that the alpaca wool is
+fine; so is that of the vicuna, which closely resembles the alpaca. The
+wool of the llama is about six inches long, and its fleece often weighs
+ten pounds. The llama is interesting from being the only native
+domesticated animal in South America. The horse, ox, sheep, hog, and all
+other animals useful to man, came from other countries.
+
+"The principal sport of some parts of South America, especially of
+Patagonia, is the chase of the llama or guanaco. The hunters go on
+horseback or on foot, and 'stalk' their game by moving slowly towards
+them, being always careful not to alarm the animals. In this way they
+may get near enough for a shot with their rifles, but very often the
+guanacos are wary, and decline close acquaintance. Every hunter who can
+afford it keeps a lot of dogs trained to the chase, and it is
+interesting to see how well they understand their work.
+
+"If the guanacos are grazing singly on the plains the chances of
+overtaking them are doubtful, even for the swiftest and strongest dogs.
+But when a herd is being chased each animal tries to crowd into the
+centre of it, and so much confusion is caused that the aggregate speed
+is considerably diminished. Knowing this, the dogs are always eager to
+pursue a herd, while they look with indifference upon a solitary
+guanaco."
+
+[Illustration: THE VICUNA.]
+
+When the subject of llamas and their kindred was under discussion, Frank
+suggested that it would be a good plan to introduce the llama into the
+United States, and wondered why it had not been done. Visions of a Llama
+Stock Company filled his mind, but they were dispelled by Dr. Bronson,
+who said the experiment had been tried, and was a failure.
+
+"When was it made?" the youth inquired.
+
+"In 1857," was the reply; "and the singular fact is that the difficulty
+in adapting the llama to our country is that the food he obtains is too
+good for him. What we give to our cattle and sheep does not seem to
+agree with him; he prefers inferior grasses, together with pea-vines,
+bean-stalks, straw, and such things, which our cattle would starve upon;
+and where he has been turned out to graze in low regions he invariably
+suffers from disease of the skin. In 1857 somebody shipped seventy-two
+of these animals from Peru to New York; only thirty-eight lived to reach
+the city, and were wintered on a farm on Long Island. In the spring
+those that remained were sold for museums and menageries, and some of
+them were sent to Australia. It is quite possible that the llama would
+thrive on the great plains between the Missouri River and the Rocky
+Mountains; the only difficulty would be in protecting the herds from the
+lawless hunters until they had become sufficiently numerous and wild to
+take care of themselves as the antelopes do."
+
+[Illustration; INDIANS AND LLAMA AMONG THE RUINS.]
+
+After a glance at the town, with its open market and massive cathedral,
+our friends strolled to the shore of the bay on which Puno is built. It
+is a sluggish body of water, fringed all around with _tortora_ or
+rushes, which grow profusely, and serve many purposes. They are used for
+making baskets, lining the walls of houses, filling beds, thatching
+roofs, and in other ways are of material advantage to the inhabitants of
+the region bordering the lake. They are an important item of fuel,
+though they burn too quickly to give off much heat; cattle feed upon
+these rushes, and as our friends stood on the shore of the bay they saw
+cows and oxen in the water nearly up to their backs, making their
+breakfasts on tortora.
+
+[Illustration; CATTLE FEEDING ON RUSHES, LAKE TITICACA.]
+
+Some distance out from the shore a steamboat was lying at anchor. The
+guide said there were two steamboats on the lake, but the shallowness of
+the water prevented their coming up to Puno; they were obliged to
+communicate with the land by means of small boats, which were rowed or
+pushed along the narrow channel through the bed of reeds. These
+steamboats were placed on the lake before the construction of the
+railway; they were brought in pieces on the backs of mules, and put
+together on the shore. Other steamboats were promised, and it was
+expected that the railway would lead to a considerable commercial
+development which might require a dozen boats in the next decade.
+
+Lake Titicaca is about one hundred and twenty miles long by fifty or
+sixty in breadth, and its greatest measurement is nearly north and
+south. It stands in an immense basin, roughly estimated to be six
+hundred miles long by two hundred broad, or three times the area of the
+State of New York. It receives several large streams, and discharges
+into Lake Aullagas; the latter lake has not been carefully surveyed, and
+though our friends made diligent inquiry they could learn very little
+about its size, or the nature and direction of its outlet. The lake is
+very deep in places; it never freezes over, but ice forms sometimes in
+the bays and shallow places.
+
+[Illustration: TORTORA BRIDGE OVER THE OUTLET OF LAKE TITICACA.]
+
+Arrangements were made for a trip on the lake to visit Titicaca and
+Coati islands, for an inspection of the monuments of the Incas and their
+predecessors. Through the influence of the officials to whom he brought
+letters of introduction, Dr. Bronson engaged the steamboat for a
+moderate compensation, which included the wages and board of the crew,
+but left the passengers to take care of themselves. A supply of canned
+and other provisions was readily obtained from a merchant of Puno, and
+in a few hours the party was under way. The captain wanted to wait until
+the next morning, but the Doctor realized that one delay would be an
+excuse for another, and wisely insisted upon leaving the same afternoon.
+
+[Illustration: HEAD-DRESS OF AYMARA WOMEN.]
+
+While they were waiting for the small boat to carry them to the steamer
+Frank made a sketch of the head-dress of one of the Aymara women who was
+looking on at their proceedings. It had a cap fitting close to the head,
+and held in place by strings under the chin; near the top of the cap was
+a horizontal piece of stiff pasteboard, oval in shape, and extending far
+out from the head on every side. Around the edge was a valance of black
+silk, or some similar material, which partially protected the face of
+the wearer from the sun and wind. It was not unlike a small parasol in
+appearance, and has been worn here from time immemorial.
+
+The rest of the dress of the Aymara women includes a gown of blue,
+brown, or black material, and a shawl which is fastened at the neck with
+a large pin, shaped somewhat like a spoon. Sometimes a handkerchief is
+fastened around the neck, but it is rarely worn except on gala days.
+
+[Illustration: AYMARA MEN, PUNO.]
+
+The Aymara men wear short trousers, very broad in the legs, and incase
+their feet in sandals, or shoes of rawhide. They wear ponchos over their
+shoulders, and on their heads they constantly have skull-caps, which are
+covered, when out of doors, with broad hats of braided grass. Men and
+women keep the hair long; it is invariably black, except in extreme age,
+when it assumes the frost that never melts, like the hair of people in
+other parts of the world.
+
+[Illustration: AYMARA WOMAN, PUNO.]
+
+Though living side by side for centuries the Aymaraes and Quichuas
+preserve their distinctness, rarely associating, and never uniting in
+marriage. The Aymaraes hold their market at Puno in the plaza in front
+of the cathedral, as already described, but the Quichua market is held
+in another square. A Quichua woman can be distinguished from an Aymara
+one at a glance, as she is without the remarkable head-covering, but the
+dress of the men has only some slight points of difference, that cannot
+be observed by a stranger. The Aymaraes are thought to represent an
+older race than the Quichuas; the men are larger and more powerful, but
+the women are less inclined to good looks.
+
+Though the two people remain distinct they are perfectly friendly, and
+their huts are often quite near each other. In their resistance to the
+Spanish conquest they made common cause, and in every revolt against
+their oppressors they have fought side by side. Both are grave,
+dignified, silent, and sad, and as we look at them they seem to be
+musing over the misfortunes of the last three centuries, and the
+degradation that has followed the occupation of their land by the
+avaricious invaders.
+
+These musings of Frank and Fred were cut short by the announcement that
+the boat was ready. Pushing along the tortuous channel through the reeds
+they made slow progress; but all journeys have an end, and in due time
+they reached the steamboat. Steam was already up, and as soon as the
+party was on board, with its belongings, the paddles were put in motion,
+and the prow turned in the direction of Titicaca Island.
+
+[Illustration; A RIDE ON A BALSA, LAKE TITICACA.]
+
+Lake Titicaca is the largest body of water on the surface of the globe
+at an elevation exceeding twelve thousand feet, and probably the most
+elevated lake navigated by steam. Before the introduction of steamboats
+the only mode of water transit was upon balsas, or rafts, made of the
+tortora or rushes already mentioned; the lake is liable to be swept by
+sudden winds, and the party who ventures upon it in one of these frail
+craft runs a good chance of a wetting. The steamboats have not by any
+means driven the balsa from the lake, but they have rendered it less
+obligatory on strangers to trust themselves to its limited
+accommodations and its certainty of discomfort.
+
+It was after dark when the steamer reached Titicaca Island, and ran into
+a little bay where there was a shelter from the wind. As nothing could
+be seen on the land, during the night, it was decided to sleep on board,
+and make an early visit to the shore in the morning. The Doctor and the
+youths made a hearty supper from their provisions and some hot tea, and
+then spread their beds on the floor of the cabin, which had no berths or
+other sleeping accommodations.
+
+Several balsas came from shore in the morning, and afforded means for
+landing on the sacred island of Peru. Titicaca Island is about six
+miles long by four in width; it is high and rugged, and the shores are
+deeply indented in many places. It contains the ruins of a Temple of the
+Sun, a palace of the Incas, and several other buildings, which have
+sadly gone to decay. Frank and Fred ascended the steep acclivity at the
+landing-place, closely followed by the Doctor, and were soon at a little
+village near by, where they obtained a guide to show them through the
+ruins.
+
+[Illustration: CLOSED DOORWAY, TITICACA ISLAND.]
+
+Near the village there were the remains of a building; tradition says it
+was the place where pilgrims to the sacred islands were required to
+remain for several days after their arrival in order to go through
+certain ceremonies of purification. There was a broad platform in front
+of the building, the latter being divided into two parts, measuring
+thirty-five feet one way by twenty-seven the other. The upper part of
+the walls had fallen, but the lower portion was well preserved. The
+walls were of limestone, carefully cut, and set in tough clay, which
+seems able to resist the ravages of the climate.
+
+[Illustration: PALACE OF THE INCA.]
+
+About half a mile from the landing-place is "the Palace of the Inca" on
+a cliff overlooking the lake. Its walls are broken at the top, but
+enough remains to show the style of the ancient architecture, and the
+forms of the windows and doorways. Frank wondered that the earthquakes
+had not destroyed the palace long ago; the Doctor said this part of
+Bolivia is rarely visited by disturbances of the earth, the whole basin
+of Titicaca being singularly free from them. The home of the South
+American earthquake is practically confined to the western side of the
+Andes.
+
+[Illustration: BATH OF THE INCA.]
+
+Near the palace they were shown "the Bath of the Inca," at the base of a
+hill which was evidently terraced at great expense. The walls of the
+terraces were made of cut stone, and the whole work was laid out with
+the skill of a surveyor. Here the Incas had their gardens, but the
+ground is not now cultivated, and little more than the terraces remain
+to show what it once was. The bath is a tank or basin of stone about
+five feet deep, and measuring twenty feet by forty on its surface. Vines
+and other plants grow over the walls, and at one end of the tank there
+are three streams of water each about two inches in diameter. The
+sources of these streams is unknown; they come through subterranean
+channels, and are flowing to-day exactly as they flowed during the time
+of the Incas and their imperial splendor.
+
+[Illustration: ROOM IN THE INCA'S PALACE.]
+
+At the farther end of the island is the sacred rock of Manco Capac, but
+there is little to be seen there except a high wall surrounding a
+natural dome of sandstone. The Doctor did not think the sight would
+compensate for the time and fatigue of the journey, and the stone was
+left to take care of itself. The youths consoled themselves by studying
+the engraving in Mr. Squier's work and reading the tradition concerning
+the rock.
+
+[Illustration; THE SACRED ROCK OF MANCO CAPAC.]
+
+It was here that Manco Capac is said to have descended to earth, and
+down to this day the natives approach the place with great reverence. It
+was formerly believed that no bird would alight upon it, and no animal
+would dare to set his foot there. The presence of mortal man was
+forbidden. It was here that the sun rose to dispel the mists around the
+mountains and over the land, and for many years none but the priests
+could even come within sight of the rock. At one time it was plated with
+gold and silver and covered with a veil, which was never removed except
+on the occasion of religious festivals.
+
+The sloping sides of the hill crowned by the rock are terraced and
+walled off into platforms; these platforms contain the remains of small
+buildings, which are supposed to have been the residences of the priests
+and attendants upon the worship of the founder of the line of Incas.
+There was formerly a garden on the terraces, and the earth for its
+construction was said to have been brought on the backs of men a
+distance of four hundred miles!
+
+Doubtless the work of the Incas was performed under the same oppression
+as that of the rulers of ancient Egypt. The latter built the Pyramids by
+the unpaid labor of their subjects; the former terraced the rugged sides
+of Titicaca Island, and erected their temples and palaces with little
+thought of the lives that were lost in the toil. The history of the Old
+World is repeated in the New.
+
+[Illustration: GROUND-PLAN OF "PALACE OF THE INCA," TITICACA ISLAND.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+COATI ISLAND AND THE RUINS OF TIAHUANACO.--RETURN TO PUNO.--CUZCO, AND
+THE TEMPLES, PALACES, AND FORTRESSES OF THE INCAS.--PLANS FOR DEPARTURE.
+
+
+[Illustration: BRIDGE AND CUSTOM-HOUSE AT THE FRONTIER.]
+
+The party spent the day on Titicaca Island, examining the ruins which
+attested the power of the Incas and their predecessors, and studying the
+magnificent views that were presented in almost every direction. In the
+east lay the Andes of Bolivia, while to the west was the chain of the
+cordillera they had crossed on their way from the coast to Puno. Lake
+Titicaca lies between Peru and Bolivia, the western shore belonging to
+the former country, and the eastern to the latter. The outlet of the
+lake is the dividing-line, and at each end of the bridge which crosses
+the river there is a custom-house, where officials of the respective
+countries are stationed. The bridge is built on rafts, or balsas, made
+of the reeds growing in the lake; the footway is composed of these
+reeds, and supported by the balsas beneath it.
+
+They returned to the steamboat at nightfall, and gave orders for the
+captain to move to Coati Island, about six miles distant, as soon as
+daylight permitted. Weary with their tramp, they slept soundly; when
+they waked in the morning the steamer was at anchor at its destination,
+and as soon as breakfast was over they went on shore.
+
+Titicaca Island was specially consecrated to the sun, while Coati was
+dedicated to the moon. The former is steep and rugged; the latter is
+only moderately elevated, and capable of cultivation from one end to the
+other. It is about half as large as Titicaca Island, and is occupied by
+a few families of Indians, who cultivate potatoes and other things, and
+look after a flock of sheep which is pastured there. Judging by the
+appearance of the sheep, Frank and Fred were of opinion that the pasture
+was a good one.
+
+[Illustration: RUINS ON COATI ISLAND.]
+
+Coati contains a Temple of the Moon and a Palace of the Virgins; both
+are greatly ruined, but sufficiently preserved to indicate their
+original extent and character. Near the ancient landing-place there are
+gates, and temples of purification similar to those on Titicaca Island,
+and doubtless used for the same purposes. About midway of the island is
+the principal group of ruins, and our friends spent several hours in
+examining the walls and terraces, and studying what is left of the
+architecture of the buildings. Only the lower story of the edifice
+remains; the upper part appears to have been made of wood, and
+disappeared long ago.
+
+An inner court of the building is now used by the Indian shepherds as an
+enclosure for their sheep at night, and when Frank and Fred entered it
+one of the guardians of the flock was driving his charges out to
+pasture. According to tradition, this court-yard was the corral where
+the sacred llamas and vicunas were kept in the days of the Incas; from
+their wool the royal garments and the hangings of the temple were made,
+by the women who inhabited the palace near by.
+
+The temple is elevated some distance above the lake; between the temple
+and the edge of the water the ground slopes off in a series of terraces
+carefully built of stone. Each terrace has a wall about breast-high
+around its edge, and a person walking there ran no risk of falling down
+the declivity. From one terrace to another there is a series of stone
+steps, so that the ascent and descent were easy.
+
+Sitting on the front of the upper terrace the travellers mused upon the
+scenes of the past, and endeavored to picture the appearance of the
+island in the days when the Incas were in the height of their power, and
+the temples were crowded with pilgrims from all parts of the empire.
+
+"These temples and palaces," said the Doctor, "are by no means the
+finest monuments of the ancient Peruvians in the Titicaca basin. A
+little beyond the southern extremity of the lake is the village of
+Tiahuanaco, where the ruins are far more extensive than on either of the
+islands."
+
+"Mr. Squier calls Tiahuanaco the Baalbec of America," said Fred. "To
+judge by his description of the remains he found there, the name is well
+merited."
+
+Frank had not yet read the account which Mr. Squier gives of his visit
+to the spot. At his request Fred made a brief synopsis of the story.
+
+"On his arrival," said Fred, "he was impressed with the great number of
+finely cut stones that were built into the rudest edifices, or were used
+for pavements. The church is mainly constructed of them, and the cross
+in front of it stands on an ancient stone pedestal, which far surpasses
+it in the excellence of its workmanship. On all sides are the relics of
+antiquity adapted to the uses of the present time; Tiahuanaco has been
+used as a quarry, from whence have been taken the finely cut and
+polished stones for building all the churches and villages of the
+valley, and even for the roads and bridges.
+
+[Illustration: INDIANS CELEBRATING THE CHUNO, OR POTATO FESTIVAL.]
+
+"He happened to arrive at the time the Indians were engaged in
+celebrating the _chuno_, or potato festival; they were dancing in the
+public square, beating on drums or tambourines, and wearing
+head-coverings that resembled enormous umbrellas. Each group of men was
+accompanied by several female dancers, the latter wearing hats with
+broad, stiff brims, and ornamented above the brims with semicircular
+representations of the rays of the rising sun, that closely resembled an
+open fan. There were three of these semicircular pieces above the brim
+of the hat, and each of the dancers wore a scarf over the left shoulder;
+the scarf was of variegated colors, but the rest of the costume was
+blue.
+
+[Illustration: HEAD-DRESS OF INDIAN FEMALE DANCERS.]
+
+"The dance was kept up all day and all night, and, as the whole
+population took part in the festival, it was impossible for Mr. Squier
+to hire the laborers he desired to assist in making his explorations.
+The festival is a curious mingling of the customs of the ancient
+Peruvians and of the modern church; it was under the control of the
+priests of Tiahuanaco, and the ceremonials were so closely blended that
+it was impossible to draw a dividing-line between them. The chuno dates
+far back before the conquest by the Spaniards, and it is probable that
+the early settlers found it to their advantage to combine it with some
+of their own ceremonials.
+
+"The ruins are about fifteen minutes walk from the village, and cover an
+area of two or three miles. They are on a level plain, and consist of
+several mounds of earth, one of them larger than any of the others, and
+the remains of numerous buildings and enclosures. The most conspicuous
+part of the ruins is about a mile square, and includes the large mound
+just mentioned.
+
+[Illustration: PLAN OF PART OF RUINS OF TIAHUANACO.]
+
+"This mound is generally called 'The Fortress,' and was originally
+terraced, each terrace being supported by a massive wall of cut stones,
+and the top of the mound covered with stone structures of which
+considerable portions are in their original places. Close by the mound
+are the ruins of a building or enclosure known as 'The Temple,' which
+was 445 feet long by 388 feet wide. The stones composing it are sunk
+into the ground like gate-posts; the part that appears above the earth
+varies from nine to fourteen feet in height, and the blocks are about
+thirty inches thick. Mr. Squier calls this enclosure 'The American
+Stonehenge,' from its resemblance to Stonehenge, one of the famous
+monuments of England.
+
+[Illustration: THE AMERICAN STONEHENGE.]
+
+"Scattered in the vicinity are many highly finished stones, which seem
+never to have been placed in the walls for which they were intended."
+
+"How much like Baalbec!" exclaimed Frank. "You remember we found the
+people using the stone from the temple for constructing their buildings,
+and the greatest stone of all was in the quarries, and not quite
+detached from the bed where it was hewn."
+
+"Yes," chimed in the Doctor, "and we may compare this Peruvian
+Tiahuanaco to the Egyptian Thebes and Karnak. What we find here is very
+much like what we found in those old cities of the East."
+
+"But I'm coming to a still closer comparison to Thebes and Baalbec,"
+said Fred. "You remember the great stones of Baalbec, and how much we
+wondered at them?"
+
+Frank nodded assent.
+
+[Illustration: FRONT VIEW OF MONOLITHIC DOORWAY.]
+
+"Well, here in Peru," was the reply, "we find there was a doorway made
+of a single stone, which is still standing, though it has been broken by
+an earthquake, or by lightning--the natives say by the latter. Here are
+the figures of its measurement, as given by Mr. Squier:
+
+"Thirteen feet five inches long, seven feet two inches high above the
+ground, and eighteen inches thick. Through the centre is a doorway,
+four feet six inches high, and two feet nine inches wide. The upper
+part is carved with figures in low relief, much like the sculpture we
+saw in Egypt, and Mr. Squier says he does not believe there is a finer
+piece of cutting in the same kind of stone on this or any other
+continent.
+
+[Illustration: SYMBOLICAL SLAB.]
+
+"In another enclosure is a horizontal slab of stone about fourteen feet
+square, with a deep cutting in the centre, which is supposed to have
+something to do with the religious observance of the people who made it.
+The building that contained it was constructed of blocks of stone
+fourteen feet long, and of corresponding depth and thickness, and all
+the work was performed with great care."
+
+Frank asked what the Peruvians used for hewing the stone of which these
+buildings were made.
+
+"As far as we can learn," replied the Doctor, "they were unacquainted
+with iron or steel; they were familiar with bronze, and some implements
+of this metal have been found. They had no knowledge of gunpowder, or
+other explosives, and it is not at all probable that they had any other
+power than that of men. The blocks found at Tiahuanaco must have been
+brought a considerable distance; they are of red sandstone,
+slate-colored trachyte, and dark basalt, none of which are found in the
+vicinity. There are cliffs of red sandstone about fifteen miles away,
+while the other stones are not less than forty miles distant. The
+conclusion is inevitable that the huge blocks in the ruins were
+transported from the cliffs I have mentioned."
+
+"Egypt again," said Frank. "The stone for the Great Pyramids was carried
+across the Nile from the present site of Cairo, and the red granite
+blocks at Thebes, Sakhara, and other places were floated down on boats
+or rafts from the first cataract of the Nile."
+
+[Illustration: TERRACE WALLS AND SCATTERED BLOCKS OF STONE.]
+
+The conversation was brought to an end by a proposal from the Doctor to
+descend the terraces to the shore of the lake, and return to the
+steamer. With a few slips and falls they made their way down the broken
+stairways, and were soon at the edge of the water. A balsa was obtained
+from one of the Indians, and as there was no wind blowing they made the
+trip over the water without mishap. Just at sundown they anchored as
+near Puno as the steamer could go; the row-boat was waiting for them at
+the anchorage, and, after a tortuous passage among the reeds, as before,
+they were back again at their starting-point.
+
+The morning after their arrival was naturally devoted to a discussion of
+plans for continuing their journey. Frank and Fred wished to visit
+Cuzco, the ancient capital of the Incas. Their journey to Titicaca
+Island had roused their interest in the antiquities of Peru, and they
+wished to learn more about them. Dr. Bronson said it would not be
+feasible for them to go to that city in the time they had at their
+disposal, as the distance was long and the roads were primitive. "It is
+more than two hundred miles," said he, "from Puno to Cuzco; the route is
+not practicable for wheeled vehicles, and I think we are hardly
+enthusiastic enough to undertake the journey on mules or horses, for the
+sake of seeing the remains of the Inca Empire."
+
+The youths agreed with him, but determined to inform themselves
+concerning the sights of the ancient capital of Peru. The Doctor went
+out to make arrangements for their departure from Puno, and was gone two
+or three hours. By reading the descriptions at hand, and from subsequent
+conversations with persons who had been at Cuzco, they prepared the
+following:
+
+[Illustration: REMAINS OF PALACE AT CUZCO.]
+
+"After Manco Capac founded the temples on Titicaca Island he went north
+and founded the city of Cuzco. It is in a beautiful valley, elevated
+about eleven thousand feet above the level of the sea, and is said to
+have at the present time not far from fifty thousand inhabitants. It has
+a large square in the centre, and the streets cross each other at right
+angles. There are many fine buildings in Cuzco, but they are mostly of
+modern construction; the old dwellings of the people exist no longer,
+but some of the temples were converted into churches and convents. A few
+of the ancient gateways were kept by the conquerors, and occasionally a
+doorway and part of the wall of a house have been reserved for modern
+uses.
+
+[Illustration: INCA DOORWAY, CUZCO.]
+
+"The great square of the ancient city was practically the _Plaza Mayor_
+of the modern one, though a portion of it has been built upon. Two
+small rivers running through ancient Cuzco were enclosed between high
+walls and crossed by bridges formed of projecting stones; some of these
+bridges are still in use, and the walls have not been displaced. Modern
+engineers say the walls could not easily be improved, and the fact that
+they have stood unharmed through centuries shows their substantial
+character. At intervals there are steps leading down to the water, and
+some of them have been deeply worn by the many thousands of feet that
+have trodden there.
+
+[Illustration: OLD BRIDGE AT CUZCO.]
+
+"The city was on rough ground, and its builders were obliged to make
+many terraces and remove inequalities in order to provide suitable sites
+for their structures. In building their terraces they constructed walls
+of the kind known as 'cyclopean,' and many of these walls form the lines
+of the streets of to-day. We will explain that a 'cyclopean' wall is
+made of stones of irregular shape and size, but all carefully fitted
+together, like the scraps that form the pattern of a so-called
+'crazy-quilt.' The resemblance to the Inca architecture in these walls
+and in many other things is very noticeable, but there is no reason to
+suppose that the two systems had a common origin.
+
+[Illustration: COURT OF CONVENT, WITH ANCIENT FOUNTAIN.]
+
+"The Convent of Santa Catalina was established on the site of the Palace
+of the Virgins of the Sun; the nuns of the modern edifice may be said to
+replace the vestals of the old. Part of the walls of the old palace were
+retained, and enough remains of the building to indicate its character
+very distinctly. The church and convent of Santo Domingo occupy the
+Temple of the Sun, but the greater part of the walls have fallen, and
+the present structure is without shape or intelligible design. Inside
+the court-yard is preserved the fountain of the Incas, which ornamented
+the ancient temple, but in these latter times has been consecrated to
+baptismal purposes by the church.
+
+[Illustration: CHURCH AND CONVENT OF SANTO DOMINGO, CUZCO.]
+
+"And what do you suppose was once on the site of the great Cathedral of
+Cuzco?
+
+"It was here that the eighth Inca of Peru erected a building dedicated
+to the festivals of the people; it was so large that the ancient
+chronicles say a whole regiment could exercise beneath its roof. In this
+building the troops of Gonzalez Pizarro barricaded themselves for a
+battle with the Peruvians, which was to decide the fate of their
+campaign; it was the last hope of the invaders, who had encountered
+unexpected resistance, and defeat was equivalent to death.
+
+"The battle was won by the Spaniards, and the Inca power was broken
+forever. According to a legend sculptured over the doorway, St. James
+descended from heaven, on a milk-white horse, and took part in the
+contest for the overthrow of the heathen dominion and the establishment
+of Christianity in South America.
+
+[Illustration: TERRA-COTTA FIGURES, CUZCO.]
+
+"A curious circumstance connected with the antiquities of Peru is the
+extreme rarity of statues of stone or other material. Some have been
+found, but not many; in Cuzco there are a few figures in terra cotta and
+also in stone, but probably not twenty in all. The few that exist are
+quite rude in character, and not at all comparable to the admirable
+works of art which abounded in ancient Egypt. Two stone figures
+representing animals in a sitting posture were taken from the ruins of
+the Garden of the Sun; they are each about twenty-four inches high, and
+the shape of the pedestals seems to indicate that they were originally
+placed on the coping of a wall. If the sculptor made a true
+representation of his model, it is easy to believe that the animal could
+walk down his own throat without difficulty.
+
+[Illustration: ANCIENT STONE SCULPTURE, CUZCO.]
+
+"Cuzco was defended by a fortress on a high hill just in the rear of the
+city. The fortress was a remarkable piece of work, and is said to have
+been built in the twelfth century; it held the same relation to Cuzco
+that 'The Rock' does to Gibraltar, or the Acropolis did to Athens. It
+consists of terraces near the summit of the hill, seven hundred and
+sixty-four feet above the grand square of the city, and of zigzag roads
+leading from below. All the roads are made so that they can be easily
+defended; the terraces are three in number, and have a total height of
+sixty feet.
+
+[Illustration: SECTION OF WALLS OF THE FORTRESS.]
+
+"Military men who have examined the fortress say that the walls were
+constructed quite in accordance with the best engineering science of
+modern times; on its only assailable side the walls are provided with
+salients, so that every point could be covered by a parallel fire from
+the weapons of the defenders. The walls are composed of immense blocks
+of blue limestone, and each salient has one of these at its end. In
+some places the great stones are piled one above the other; one stone,
+twenty-seven feet high, fourteen broad, and twelve in thickness, lies
+upon another of almost the same dimensions. Blocks measuring fifteen
+feet in length, twelve in width, and ten in thickness are common in the
+outer walls!
+
+"Turn to the description of the Temple of the Sun, at Baalbec, and see
+how much the work of the Peruvians resembles that of the people of
+ancient Palestine.
+
+"Some of these stones were hewn from the hill not far from where they
+are found, while others were brought from the cliffs three fourths of a
+mile away. In the quarries at the cliffs there are several stones partly
+hewn, and there are two roads still to be traced, along which the
+blocks were drawn. The evidences are that the stones were roughly cut
+at the quarries, then drawn along the roads, and fitted in their places
+on arriving at the fortress.
+
+[Illustration: SALIENT ANGLE OF FORTRESS.]
+
+"To have a realizing sense of the size of the stones used in building
+the fortress of Cuzco, look at the picture of one of the salient angles
+of the wall, and the figure of the man leaning against it. Consider the
+man to be of ordinary stature, and you can readily compute the height of
+the stone.
+
+[Illustration: ROAD LEADING TO FORTIFIED HILL.]
+
+"In the neighborhood of Cuzco there are many other remains of palaces,
+temples, and fortresses, but we have said enough to give you an idea of
+what the ancient Peruvians left behind them. In some of the native
+villages the houses are the same that were inhabited four or five
+hundred years ago; the roofs have been renewed, but the walls remain
+unchanged. In many instances the natives have erected hovels by the side
+of the ancient houses, through their unwillingness to take the trouble
+to renew the roofs, which had been destroyed by time and the elements.
+
+[Illustration: ANCIENT DWELLING-HOUSE.]
+
+"The roads which the Incas built have been mostly allowed to go to
+decay, by their successors, though some parts of them are still in use.
+The new ones are far inferior to the old, and nothing better
+demonstrates the slovenly character of the invaders than a comparison of
+their wretched paths through the mountains with the paved tracks of the
+original possessors of the land. The Spaniards came in search of gold,
+and did not intend remaining; circumstances kept them here, but they
+were always looking for a speedy return to their native land, and made
+no effort to improve or even to preserve what they found on their
+arrival. Their descendants are still searching for treasures among the
+palaces of the Incas, and a visitor to the ruins in and around Cuzco can
+see, almost any day, men digging among the rubbish for the gold which is
+supposed to be concealed there."
+
+[Illustration: SPECIMEN OF CYCLOPEAN WALL.]
+
+As the youths finished their account of the wonderful city of Cuzco and
+its surroundings, the Doctor returned from his walk. They read to him
+what they had written; he gave his approval, with an intimation that it
+might be dull reading to some of their schoolmates, but was a necessary
+part of a narrative of travels in Peru.
+
+Fred suggested that anybody who did not like it was at liberty to skip a
+few pages, till he reached something more interesting. Frank was of the
+same opinion, and with this the manuscript was folded and laid away.
+
+"I cannot obtain very definite information about the route we are to
+travel," said Dr. Bronson, "as I can find nobody who has been over it.
+Bolivia is without good roads, and though several plans have been
+proposed and undertaken for making them, they have not amounted to much.
+We shall have a rough journey, but I think we may get through without
+accident or detention.
+
+"We are to cross Lake Titicaca," continued the Doctor, "and enter
+Bolivian territory. I have engaged a man to accompany us as far as we
+wish him to go; he knows a part of the region we are to traverse, though
+not all of it, but thinks he can learn enough as he goes along. Our
+route will be through northern Bolivia, past the base of Sorata, the
+grand mountain we have admired so much, and then down the eastern slope
+of the Andes till we reach the waters of the Beni River.
+
+"The Beni is a tributary of the Madeira, and the Madeira flows into the
+Amazon. When we leave Puno to-morrow our watchword will be,
+
+"TO THE AMAZON!"
+
+[Illustration: ANCIENT SUN CIRCLE, SILLUSTANI, PERU.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+LEAVING PUNO.--CROSSING LAKE TITICACA.--RESOURCES OF BOLIVIA.--SILVER
+MINING.--PRIMITIVE LODGINGS.--BEGINNING THE JOURNEY TO THE EASTWARD.
+
+
+It was the intention of our friends to leave Puno on the morning
+following the conversation recorded in the last chapter, but there was a
+slight hitch in their plans. Manuel, the guide who had been engaged to
+accompany them, said it was advisable to purchase provisions and other
+necessaries before starting, as there was doubt about finding them along
+the road. Acting under his advice, a day was spent in the shops, and
+another in putting the articles into packages suitable for mountain
+travel. When all was completed it was found that the steamboat was
+absent on a trip up the lake, and another day was lost in waiting for
+her.
+
+On the fourth morning everything was ready, and the baggage was sent on
+board in charge of Manuel. The travellers said good-bye to their
+American acquaintance, who regretted he could not accompany them; they
+were equally sorry he could not do so, as they had found him a most
+agreeable and intelligent companion during their stay. A foreigner in an
+interior town of South America has a dreary existence, and welcomes with
+delight the advent of a countryman.
+
+Just as they were leaving the landing-place they were introduced to the
+manager of one of the silver mines in the neighborhood of Puno, who was
+about crossing the lake on business connected with his enterprise.
+Acquaintance is quickly made under such circumstances, and the time of
+the voyage passed quickly in the society of this intelligent gentleman.
+
+[Illustration: TANATERO (ORE-CARRIER).]
+
+"The silver mines of Peru," said he, "are yielding very little at
+present, owing to bad management and slovenly methods, and the same is
+the case with the mines of Bolivia. During the last two and a half
+centuries the mines of Peru alone have yielded five hundred million
+dollars worth of silver; the mines near Puno are famous in history, and
+are enormously rich, but for a long time little has been done beyond
+reducing by modern processes the refuse of the old miners. When the
+country becomes tranquil, and capital can be securely invested, the
+mines will be reopened, American and other machinery introduced, and the
+world can again be supplied with silver from the Andes.
+
+"Potosi, in Bolivia, is probably the richest silver region of South
+America and of the whole world, but its mines are now almost neglected.
+In the seventeenth century the city had more than a hundred thousand
+inhabitants, while it has barely twenty-five thousand to-day. Between
+1545 and 1789 the mines of Potosi yielded one thousand million dollars'
+worth of silver, but of late years the product has not exceeded two and
+a half millions annually. The word 'Potosi' signifies 'an eruption of
+silver,' and the place is certainly well named. It is in a province of
+the same name, which produces also gold, copper, iron, lead, tin,
+quicksilver, zinc, antimony, and other minerals, but silver is its
+principal yield.
+
+[Illustration: SECTION OF A SILVER MINE.]
+
+"Potosi suffers for lack of modern methods, as much as do the mines of
+Peru and other South American countries; nearly all the mining is done
+by Indians, who adhere to the processes that have been in use for
+centuries; the spirit of enterprise does not prevail here, and until it
+does there will be no revival of the business."
+
+One of the youths asked a question which led to a description of the
+primitive ways of mining at Potosi.
+
+[Illustration: A PRIMITIVE MILL.]
+
+"Take, for example," said their entertainer, "the mill in which the ores
+are crushed. It is a rude affair, with two wheels of stone at the end of
+a horizontal bar moved by an upright shaft. The propelling force is an
+ox, a mule, or possibly a stream of water, and sometimes the mill is
+worked by the power of men. The apparatus somewhat resembles an
+old-fashioned cider-mill in the Northern States of America, but the
+roughest cider-mill you ever saw is a piece of cabinet-maker's work
+compared with a Bolivian _arastra_. The broken ore is placed in a trough
+in which the stone wheels move slowly around, crushing, perhaps, half a
+ton of ore daily. Modern mills, such as are used by the miners of
+California and Nevada, would crush twenty times as much ore at little
+more than the same cost!
+
+[Illustration: ARASTRA, WITH MULE-POWER.]
+
+"From the beginning to the end of the work the whole business is very
+slow and primitive. The ore is broken out of the veins by sheer force of
+labor, powder or other blasting material being rarely employed. It is
+carried on the backs of men to the surface of the ground; the
+_tanateros_, or ore-carriers, load the substance into baskets or bags of
+rawhide, and climb patiently upwards along perpendicular logs that are
+notched to give holding-places for the feet.
+
+[Illustration: BREAKING ORE.]
+
+"With a hammer a native breaks the ore into pieces suitable for the
+crushing-wheels; then it is reduced to mud by the slow operation I have
+described; it is roasted or treated with quicksilver according to its
+requirements; and finally the pure silver is obtained, and smelted into
+bars for transportation to the coast.
+
+"Now, here is the difference between this way of working and the modern
+methods. The American or English miner would hoist the ore from the mine
+by machinery instead of carrying it out by man-power. Then he would use
+machinery for reducing it to powder, allowing none to be wasted, and
+after the reduction he would extract the silver from the rock in such a
+way as to save every grain of metal it contained, and preserve all the
+quicksilver to be used over and over again. A great part of the silver
+is lost at present, together with much of the quicksilver used in the
+work of amalgamation. Where there is a profit of ten dollars by the old
+process in working a ton of ore there would be fifty dollars of profit
+under the new. And yet it is hard to convince these people that it is
+worth their while to try the new system!
+
+"Some of the mines are in the sides of the mountains, where no hoisting
+is required, and the ore is brought directly to the open air without the
+necessity of climbing. Such mines are more profitable than the others,
+as they can be readily drained, and the expense of carrying the ore
+upwards is saved.
+
+"The ore of Potosi is very rich, but, for that matter, so are the ores
+of Puno and Cerro de Pasco. Some deposits yield as high as two hundred
+dollars a ton. When you bear in mind that the miners of California find
+a profit in working mineral at ten dollars a ton you can realize the
+wealth of the silver deposits of the Andes.
+
+"When I first came here," he continued, "I was fresh from the mines of
+Nevada. The rudeness of the Bolivian work was in very marked contrast to
+what I was so lately familiar with.
+
+"Near the entrance of the first mine I visited I saw some specimens of
+rich ore lying on the ground. There was a group of three natives
+lounging around the place, a man, a woman, and a boy. The mine had been
+deserted for some time, and I found these people helped themselves to
+the mineral whenever they wanted it. Telling them I wished to see how
+they operated, and promising a reward for their trouble, I induced them
+to go to work.
+
+[Illustration: INDIANS EXTRACTING SILVER FROM ORE.]
+
+"The man entered the mine, carrying a bar of iron and a rawhide bag. In
+a little while I heard the blows of the bar, and in the course of half
+an hour he returned with about twenty pounds of ore in the bag. Then
+the man and the woman pounded the ore upon flat stones, and reduced it
+to a coarse dust, which was placed in an earthen pot over a fire. The
+fire was fed and tended by the boy, while the man and woman looked on;
+they had performed their share of the toil, and were willing to give the
+youth a chance.
+
+"A smaller pot was brought, in which the ore was placed after half an
+hour's roasting in the large one. This pot was filled with the dust,
+deposited on the bed of coals, and covered with a loosely fitting lid.
+The wood was piled over it and the fire burned fiercely. The whole mass
+became red-hot, and the fumes of sulphur filled the air as they rose
+from the smelting-pot.
+
+"The fire was allowed to burn down, and when it was reduced to ashes and
+embers the pot was lifted out, and its contents were poured on the
+ground. There was a confused mass of slag and ashes, and in a few
+moments the man who had taken the ore from the mine pushed from the slag
+a button of silver weighing something more than an ounce. It was thrown
+into water to cool, and when in a condition to be handled it was passed
+over to me. I gave the man a dollar, together with some smaller coins to
+the woman and boy, and then walked away with my trophy."
+
+Frank and Fred were much interested in this account of the silver mines
+of Bolivia, and the primitive ways of working them. As soon as the
+conversation was over they wrote it out, as nearly as they remembered
+it, in order that none of the information should be lost.
+
+Then followed a technical account of the character of the ores, but it
+might be tedious to the general reader, and we will omit it. Their
+informant further told the youths that a good many of the natives
+support themselves by melting the ores in the manner just described, and
+selling the buttons for what they will bring. The silver thus obtained
+is not chemically pure, but is good enough for purposes of sale.
+
+Fred asked if accidents were common in the mines at Potosi.
+
+[Illustration: GALLERIES IN A SILVER MINE.]
+
+"Of course they have accidents there," was the reply, "but probably no
+more on the average than in mines in other parts of the world. Most of
+them are due to carelessness, either in failing to support the roof
+properly after the ore is taken out, or not taking proper hold of the
+ladders while ascending or descending. Sometimes the roof of a mine
+falls in, but there is generally sufficient warning to allow the men to
+escape. Rocks occasionally become dislodged and fall upon the workmen; I
+was one day walking in a mine when a stone weighing at least a ton fell
+behind me, right in my tracks. If I had been three or four seconds later
+it would have crushed me.
+
+[Illustration: CAVING IN.]
+
+"The weight of rock and earth becomes too great for the timbers along
+the sides and across the roof, and they are crushed and broken. But
+before falling they groan and crack and settle, but rarely give way
+suddenly. The Indians can tell from long experience when there is any
+real danger, and are generally quick enough to escape."
+
+From mining the conversation turned to general subjects relating to
+Bolivia. The substance of what the youths learned may be set down as
+follows:
+
+Silver is found in many parts of the republic, and some of the mines are
+said to yield ore as rich as of Potosi. The Potosi mines are mainly in a
+single mountain, which has been pierced with more than five thousand
+tunnels and openings. Gold is found in many places, but it has not been
+extensively mined. Occasionally large nuggets or masses of pure gold are
+found, and they bring a higher price as curiosities than when reduced to
+bullion. One of these masses was detached from a mountain by a stroke of
+lightning, and sold at an enormous price to the royal museum at Madrid.
+
+There are some valuable mines of tin and copper in Bolivia; the tin
+mines of Oruro are said to be the richest in the world, and copper is
+said to be as abundant in the mountains of Corocoro as silver is at
+Potosi. The other mineral wealth of Bolivia is well known, but none of
+it is available on account of the lack of transportation. The country
+has no outlet by which it can reach the markets of the world.
+Transportation to the Pacific coast is over the passes of the Andes and
+across deserts, while the ocean ports are lacking in facilities for
+landing or discharging cargoes. There is a route through Buenos Ayres,
+and another through Brazil; both are long and expensive, and the greater
+part of the products of the country will not bear the cost of removal.
+There will be occasion for referring to this subject again.
+
+[Illustration: WILD INDIAN OF BOLIVIA.]
+
+Bolivia has a little more than two millions of inhabitants, about one
+fourth of them whites. There are several varieties of the native and
+mixed races, from the civilized Indians of La Paz and other cities to
+the wild tribes of the upper waters of the Amazon. The latter lead a
+wandering life, and wear no clothes; they have resisted all attempts to
+civilize them, and until recently they were hostile to the white people
+who passed along the river in boats. A curious story is told of the
+incident by which their hostility was suppressed.
+
+In a survey made by the Bolivian government of the falls of the Madeira
+River a camp was established on the banks of that stream. Soon after it
+was located one of the men of the exploring party was taken ill, and his
+disease proved to be small-pox. He was immediately isolated from the
+rest of the camp, and carefully attended by the doctor.
+
+Recovery was impossible. One day, while the doctor was at the side of
+the dying patient, these warlike natives attacked the hut, and barely
+gave the doctor time to escape. The death of the sufferer was hastened
+by the Indians, and they triumphantly carried away his clothes and
+bedding. Nearly the whole tribe died in consequence; the few that
+survived have ever since regarded the occurrence as a manifestation of
+divine wrath, and let the white men carefully alone.
+
+Frank and Fred heard so much about the undeveloped sources of wealth in
+Bolivia that they were inclined to form stock companies for various
+enterprises out of which enormous amounts of money could be made. But as
+their previous dreams of this sort had amounted to nothing, they wisely
+forbore even going so far as to put their ideas on paper.
+
+They heard of vast numbers of cattle on the _pampas_, or plains of
+eastern Bolivia, which could be bought for a few shillings each, and
+converted into beef and leather, at a great advance on the original
+cost. Their informant said they would yield a profit on their hides
+alone, while the beef could be sent to London, or other places of large
+demand, by some of the preservative processes that have been recently
+invented. Then they learned that Bolivia could supply fine woods for
+cabinet purposes, in inexhaustible quantities, from the forests on the
+lower slopes of the Andes, and the banks of the Beni and other rivers.
+They found, on consulting the statistics, that the country could export
+the following articles if it only had the means of transporting them:
+
+Gold, silver, tin, copper, lead, quicksilver, chinchona bark, rubber,
+coffee, cacao, sugar, vanilla, balsams, copal, wax, dyes, sarsaparilla,
+tobacco, farina, cotton, llama and alpaca wool, cattle, hides, horns,
+tallow, dried meat, tiger and deer skins, furs, feathers, hammocks, and
+hats.
+
+Glancing at the history of the country, Frank found that Bolivia was
+formerly a province of Peru, under the Spanish domination. It joined in
+the revolution in the early part of the present century, and, in common
+with the other dependencies of Spain on the west coast of South America,
+achieved its independence. In 1825 it was made a separate republic, and
+named Bolivia, in honor of General Bolivar, the leader of the
+revolution. It has had the usual checkered career of South American
+republics, with perhaps fewer insurrections than some of its fraternity.
+It formerly had a strip of sea-coast, but at present it has none; its
+coast possessions were annexed to Chili as one of the results of the
+late war, and for the future its must seek its commercial outlet through
+another country or by way of the Amazon River.
+
+The steamer carried our friends across the lake in a northeasterly
+direction and entered the Bay of Huancané. They were landed at the
+little village of Vilquechico, whence there is a route through the
+eastern Andes to the head-waters of the Amazon. The _alcalde_ of the
+village welcomed them to his dominions, and in true Spanish politeness
+announced that the village and all it contained were theirs. They didn't
+want the village, nor anything in it, except the means of getting out of
+it.
+
+The Doctor explained that their desires could be gratified with mules
+and llamas for continuing their journey; for these they would pay
+promptly, and would likewise pay for everything they chose to buy. As
+for the village, they would be content to let it remain in its
+delightful position on the shore of Lake Titicaca.
+
+It was easier to say "mules and llamas" than to obtain them. The alcalde
+issued orders for the people to bring all their spare animals; four
+saddle mules were needed for the journey, one for each of the party to
+ride, and a dozen mules or their equivalents in llamas were wanted for
+carrying the baggage and provisions. The offers of beasts of burden
+came in slowly, and it was necessary to send to Huancané, a town twelve
+miles away, to find a sufficient number. Most of the provisions for the
+party had been brought from Puno, as already stated, but there were
+still a few purchases to be made; it was decided to take matters
+leisurely, and accordingly the departure was fixed for the morning of
+the third day after their arrival.
+
+Manuel was kept busy acting as an aid to the alcalde in collecting the
+animals; in the intervals of looking after them he bought whatever
+provisions were needed, and made bargains with the men who were to
+accompany the train. The supplies were almost identical with those for
+the journey from Quito to Napo, and therefore will not need repetition
+here.
+
+[Illustration: LIMITED ACCOMMODATIONS.]
+
+Lodgings at Vilquechico were not equal to the Palace Hotel at San
+Francisco, or, in fact, to any other hotel of civilized cities. Dr.
+Bronson and Frank were assigned to a hut about six feet wide by eight or
+nine in length, while Fred was quartered in another hut along with the
+most of the baggage, on which Manuel slept by way of security. The beds
+were spread on what was literally the ground-floor, and there was just
+room enough for the two beds, and a few of the equipments of the
+travellers. At the end of the single apartment there was a mud altar
+with a crucifix, before which a candle was burning; the door was wanting
+altogether, and the doorway was closed by hanging a blanket across it.
+
+The night was cold, but, shielded by their coverings, the trio slept
+well; they were out early, as there was nothing in the luxury of their
+quarters to lead to late sleeping. They endeavored to find more
+commodious lodgings for the other nights of their stay, but were unable
+to do so, and quickly determined to be content with what they had, which
+was certainly philosophical.
+
+"We are better lodged now than we shall be for most of the nights of our
+journey to the Amazon," explained the Doctor; "and too much luxury would
+be bad for us."
+
+Frank and Fred agreed with this intelligent suggestion, when they found
+it was impossible to improve upon the situation. Fred said they should
+remember how the fox consoled himself for his failure to obtain the
+fruits of the vine, by reflections upon their acidity.
+
+[Illustration: AYMARA SKULL.]
+
+It was nearly noon on the day fixed for the departure that the baggage
+train moved out of the village and took the road to Huancané, where the
+first night was to be passed. Dr. Bronson and Frank had started early in
+the morning, leaving Fred and Manuel to look after the baggage animals,
+and bring them forward. There were one or two purchases which could not
+be made at Vilquechico on account of the limited stock of supplies;
+Huancané could supply the deficiency, as it is a larger place and has
+more extensive stores. It is occupied almost exclusively by Aymara and
+Quichua families, who live as distinctly, but on the same terms of
+amity, as their kindred in Puno.
+
+[Illustration: TURF HOUSE NEAR LAKE TITICACA.]
+
+The road winds along the shore of the lake for a large part of the way.
+The ground is destitute of trees, and the only vegetation is the grass,
+which furnishes nourishment to the sheep and other animals, and the
+_tola_ or _tortora_ that fill the shallow waters, and often extend long
+distances from the shores. The houses of the shepherds are made of turf,
+which is thin, but tough, and serves admirably for building purposes.
+Not only the houses are made of it, but the corrals for sheep, and any
+other needed edifices. At a little distance these houses resemble
+haystacks, as they are nearly always conical in shape; there is a hole
+near the apex of the cone, where the smoke finds its way outward after
+leisurely traversing the whole interior of the building.
+
+Fred entered one of these huts, but he did not stay long. The interior
+was extremely dirty; Manuel said, that when it became so bad that the
+owners could not longer endure it they deserted the hut and built
+another. "But they don't move often," he added, "and the huts must be
+very bad indeed before their owners will take the trouble to put up new
+ones."
+
+[Illustration: CHULPAS, OR BURIAL-TOWERS.]
+
+There are some ruins in the neighborhood of Huancané, but it was not
+considered worth while to visit them. They consist mostly of _chulpas_,
+or burial-towers, which are nothing more than towers, either round or
+square, with interior spaces for the reception of the remains of the
+dead. A description of one will suffice for all.
+
+It is seventeen feet square, and twenty-four feet high, and rises from a
+platform of cut stones twenty-two feet on each side, and raised a foot
+above the ground. Three feet below the top there is a cornice two feet
+deep, which projects about twelve inches on every side, and is the only
+external ornament. There is a door or opening eighteen inches square on
+the eastern face, and level with the platform on which the chulpa
+stands. Inside there is a vault or chamber eleven feet square and
+thirteen feet high; its sides rise vertically for about eight feet, and
+then come together to form a pointed arch. On each of the sides of the
+interior there is a niche three feet high and eighteen inches wide, and
+the entrance is directly under one of these niches.
+
+The round chulpas have a close resemblance to the turf huts of the
+shepherds; some of the huts have cornices, in imitation of the
+architecture of the chulpas, and it is possible that the form of the
+dwelling was taken from that of the burial-towers.
+
+On the road to Huancané Dr. Bronson and Frank turned aside to look at a
+sepulchre built of flat stones piled irregularly together. It is thought
+to be the earliest form of the chulpa, before the Inca architects had
+learned to shape their structures like the one just described. The
+stones were flat, some of them being five or six feet long, and
+correspondingly broad, with a thickness of twelve or fifteen inches.
+Frank made a sketch of the monument, and introduced the figure of a man
+standing beside it, so that its proportions could be readily seen.
+
+[Illustration: ANCIENT SEPULCHRE.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+OVER THE EASTERN ANDES INTO THE AMAZON VALLEY.--AN EXCITING
+JOURNEY.--ADVENTURES BY THE WAY.--TROUBLES OF TRAVELLING WITH A TIGER.
+
+
+[Illustration: MANUEL.]
+
+The lodgings of the travellers on their night at Huancané were an
+improvement upon their quarters at Vilquechico. They had a stone floor
+to sleep upon in place of the bare ground, and the room was large enough
+to accommodate all three of them without crowding. They rose early, and
+managed to get out of the place in good season, in spite of the desire
+of their drivers to linger in the town, and the evident willingness of
+Manuel to accommodate them.
+
+It was deemed prudent to see the baggage-train on its way before
+venturing outside the limits of the town, and consequently our friends
+waited until the last of the burden-animals had received his load before
+they ordered the saddles placed on their mules. Under the eye of his
+employers Manuel worked vigorously, when he made up his mind that
+further delay was impossible.
+
+Immediately on leaving town the road began to ascend, and in a little
+while they were winding among the mountains in a way that recalled the
+journey from Guayaquil to Quito. The western shore of Lake Titicaca is
+comparatively low, but on the east the mountains come pretty close to
+the water, and in places fall off into precipices. In the region of
+Huancané the snowy peaks rise in full view, and seem but a few miles
+distant; Sorata, the Crown of the Andes, fills the horizon in the
+south, and there are other peaks that continue the chain far as the eye
+can reach.
+
+Up and down the hills wound the path, but, until the summit of the pass
+was reached, the ups were far more numerous than the downs. Four or five
+miles from Huancané the train halted at a hacienda where a train from
+the eastward had just arrived. The animals became a good deal mixed up,
+and as each of the trains was composed of mules and llamas in about
+equal proportions there was a prospect of trouble in sorting them out.
+The Doctor suggested to Manuel the possibility of a trade, whereby they
+could send back all the llamas, and have the train consist entirely of
+mules. Somewhat to his surprise it was quickly arranged, through the
+offer of a small premium to the owners on each side. The loss of time in
+the transaction, and the changing of the loads, was more than made up by
+the superior speed of the mules. The llama cannot travel as far in a day
+as a mule can; he carries less weight, and consequently a train of
+llamas is longer than a train of mules with the same amount of baggage,
+and more difficult to manage.
+
+[Illustration: LOADING THE MULES.]
+
+Occasionally a load slipped or there was a kicking-match among the
+beasts of the train, but on the whole they got along very well. The mule
+of South America is much like his fellow in the North, but Frank was of
+the opinion that he is not so active with his heels. High altitudes may
+possibly render him more docile, and he may have the good sense to
+understand the folly of expending his energy against the air. The mules
+on these mountain paths follow their leaders with great fidelity; the
+foremost of the train wears a bell, and its tinkling is the magic sound
+which draws them on. If the bell is silenced the drivers have far more
+difficulty in managing their charges than when it is audible.
+
+[Illustration: THE START.]
+
+But all is not smooth travelling with the hybrid beast of burden. The
+saddle mules were the best and strongest of the entire collection
+engaged by our friends, and on several occasions they manifested their
+sportiveness in a way that was far from reassuring. The second morning
+of the journey one of them began to dance just as his rider was putting
+a foot in the stirrup; the others caught the contagion, and in a very
+few seconds all the saddles were empty, and the travellers were
+scattered on the ground or surveying the scene with feelings the reverse
+of amiable. Fortunately, the incident took place in the corral, and the
+unruly beasts were not able to escape. One after another they were
+secured and held until the mount could be successfully accomplished. In
+the evening Frank made a sketch of the scene, which contained a good
+deal of action to the square foot of paper.
+
+[Illustration: A MOUNTAIN TRAIL.]
+
+The road increased in roughness as they ascended to the crest of the
+pass, and the descent down the eastern slope of the mountains was
+equally steep. As they crossed the pass, 14,750 feet above the level of
+the sea, the air was thin and cold, and the glittering crests of the
+snow-covered mountains seemed to be close at hand. Far in the east the
+Cordilleras filled the horizon; the party halted a few minutes, and
+Manuel indicated the route they were to follow among the mountains while
+descending into the valley of the Beni. It was too cold to stay long,
+and they were soon winding down the slippery path.
+
+[Illustration: HACIENDA AMONG THE MOUNTAINS.]
+
+Before nightfall they reached a hacienda, which was kept by an Indian
+for the accommodation of travellers. It was a sorry establishment, but
+as it was far better than no accommodation at all they passed the night
+there. The sleeping-quarters were open to the winds almost as much as
+the corral where the animals were secured; a cold blast blew from the
+mountains, and the temperature hovered in the neighborhood of zero.
+There was no fire, or even a fire-place, but by a judicious use of all
+their wraps and coverings the travellers managed to sleep fairly. By the
+next night they were considerably farther down the slope, and
+experienced no more trouble with the cold.
+
+As they descended the mountains they entered the region of moisture,
+much like that encountered on going down to Napo from the crest of the
+Andes, near Quito. Clouds swept over them, the rains fell, vegetation
+was everywhere about them, and the indications of a change of climatic
+conditions were plainly to be seen. By and by the wooded district was
+reached, and with each mile of advance the density of the growth
+increased.
+
+It is interesting to watch the changes as one descends eastward from
+high elevations in the Andes. At the crest all is sterile--nothing but
+bare rocks, with possibly a few mosses clinging to their sides. No water
+is visible, but by and by we find a tiny thread formed by the melting
+snows, or the condensed vapor from the eastern winds. The thread
+enlarges; after a time it grows to a brook, with little pools here and
+there in which a cup can be dipped, or our tired animals can drink. Most
+of the mountain trails follow the valleys and ravines which form the
+natural channels of the water, and so hour by hour the brook increases
+in width and volume. The mosses on the rocks grow more dense, they give
+place to shrubs, and the shrubs in turn give place to bushes. Then come
+stunted trees, only a few inches in height, but having the form and
+appearance of perfect trees, gnarled and twisted by the wintry blasts.
+
+The stunted trees are less and less dwarfed, and from inches they
+increase in height to feet. The ground is covered with grass, at first,
+in stray bunches, as though life was a struggle under the low
+temperature constantly surrounding them. The bunches increase in number
+till they become a carpet, and the rich verdure covers the open ground
+where the trees are absent. Bogs and swamps take the place of arid
+wastes. Pines and larches are larger and larger; after a time they
+disappear to make way for foliferous trees. The way of the traveller is
+devious and full of toil; it is blocked by fallen trunks mingled in
+perplexing confusion, and unless he is where a road has been opened the
+progress of an hour is counted by feet or yards, in place of the miles
+left behind in the open country.
+
+Especially in the mountain ravines, where the trees have been swept down
+by the torrents, is the way thus obstructed. Trees and great stones are
+piled closely together, and sometimes they form an arch beneath which
+the stream meanders during the dry season.
+
+The first part of the downward journey is generally along the valley of
+a river flowing from the mountain, but after some thousands of feet of
+descent it is necessary to follow a larger stream, and cross one by one
+its numerous tributaries. There are fresh and great difficulties in this
+part of the route. After crossing a stream its bank must be ascended,
+sometimes almost precipitously, then a dividing ridge is traversed, and
+then comes the descent into the next valley. In this way the main valley
+is descended until the lower country is reached, where the river becomes
+tranquil, and suited to navigation by canoes or other craft.
+
+Dr. Bronson and his young companions travelled thus down the eastern
+slope of the Andes into the valley of the Beni. Ten days after their
+departure from Huancané they reached the point where it was necessary to
+leave the mules; the drivers were paid off and discharged, and were
+ready to start back to the shore of Lake Titicaca. Fortunately, they
+found an engagement with a merchant who had some goods to transport over
+the mountains, and was glad to secure their services.
+
+For the next thirty miles the way was so steep and rough as to be
+impracticable for even the sure-footed mule. Travellers have the choice
+of the _silla_ or to go on foot, while their baggage is carried on the
+backs of men.
+
+Frank and Fred looked doubtingly at the silla, and so did the Doctor.
+They preferred to walk, but at the suggestion of Dr. Bronson each of the
+party engaged a silla, to be used whenever he was inclined to it.
+
+Perhaps you are wondering what the silla is. It is thus described by
+Fred:
+
+[Illustration: TRAVELLING BY SILLA.]
+
+"A bamboo chair is strapped to the back of the _sillero_, or porter, by
+means of belts going around his chest and another which crosses his
+forehead. The traveller sits in this chair, with his feet supported on a
+step which forms part of the conveyance. He must sit perfectly still
+while the sillero is in motion, as the least change of position might
+cause the porter to stumble and fall, and a fall among the rocks is
+liable to be a very serious affair for both parties.
+
+"Mr. Horton, in his 'Twenty Months in the Andes,' tells of a Spanish
+officer who was travelling in this way, and wore a pair of spurs with
+which he occasionally prodded the porter, to urge him to greater speed.
+The latter took a fearful revenge.
+
+"Maddened with the pain produced by the cruel spurs, he pitched his
+rider headlong over a precipice, where there was a sheer fall of two or
+three hundred feet. The officer was killed instantly, and before his
+companions could secure the sillero the latter fled into the forest and
+escaped. The scene of this occurrence is pointed out, and there is
+little doubt of the truth of the story. It is easy to see that the
+traveller is entirely at the mercy of his carrier; knowing this, we were
+careful to secure the good-will of our silleros by promising an extra
+payment if they went through without accident.
+
+"We walked the greater part of the distance; it may surprise you to know
+that we walked over the easiest part of the route, and rode where the
+way was dangerous, except in a few places. Manuel told us that these men
+were accustomed to this work from the time they were able to carry
+burdens, and they knew every inch of the way. It was really safer for us
+to ride on their backs, in the dangerous places, than to attempt to
+walk; they knew exactly where to put their feet at every step, while we
+did not. We followed his advice and found it correct, and we were very
+careful, you may be sure, not to move a muscle when ascending or
+descending the steep slopes of the ravines."
+
+Three days were consumed in this journey of thirty miles. The porters
+with the baggage led the caravan, and sometimes they were an hour or
+more in advance of the travellers. At night they spread a small tent,
+which formed a part of their equipment, and were thus sheltered from the
+weather. It was necessary to wear rubber clothing, as the rains were
+frequent, and even with this precaution the evening generally found them
+wet through to the skin. But a change to dry clothing and several cups
+of steaming hot tea with their supper drove away all suggestions of
+rheumatism and kindred ills resulting from the dampness, and they
+finished the novel ride without a mishap.
+
+Fred took note of the changes in the animal life as they descended from
+the crest of the great Andean chain. In the mountains they frequently
+saw the condor, the giant bird of South America, whose range extends
+from the Isthmus of Darien to the Strait of Magellan. Both the youths
+were disappointed in the size of the condor, which had been grossly
+exaggerated in the tales of travellers and the accounts of the old
+historians. He has been represented as having wings spreading fifteen or
+twenty feet from tip to tip. The largest they could hear of measured
+thirteen feet, and even this was not entirely authentic; the largest
+they _saw_ was nine feet across the wings; Humboldt never found one of
+more than nine feet, and the largest specimen seen by Darwin measured
+eight and a half feet. The body from the tip of the beak to the end of
+the tail is from three to three and a half feet in extreme length.
+
+[Illustration: DEAD WHALE ON SHORE.]
+
+Equally exaggerated were the stories about the condors attacking men or
+carrying away children; they belong to the vulture family, and though
+they sometimes carry off small animals, they greatly prefer to feed upon
+carcasses of horses, cattle, or similar beasts. They live usually in the
+mountains, but on the west coast they come down to the sea to feed upon
+dead whales, and they serve as scavengers on some of the cattle estates
+of Peru and other South American countries.
+
+[Illustration: SHOT AT A CONDOR.]
+
+Frank tried a shot at a condor one day, but the bird flew away unharmed.
+After his excitement was over the youth wondered what he would have done
+with his prize if the shot had been successful. An Indian offered to
+capture one alive for a couple of dollars; Frank declined the proposal,
+but gave the man a small present to tell how it was done.
+
+"Easy enough," was the reply, "I should watch near a cattle estate for
+the first dead ox, and immediately build a pen around him. The condor
+cannot rise from the ground without running a short distance to get a
+headway, and this is the reason why I make the pen.
+
+"When my pen is done I go away. The condors come down to eat the flesh
+of the ox, and when they have gorged themselves full I come around
+again. They cannot fly because they are so filled with food, and,
+besides, they cannot get the short run they want to rise in the air,
+because they are in the pen. I throw a lasso around one of them; he
+fights; I throw another lasso and another; he tires himself out
+fighting; then I tie more ropes around him, put him in a cage, cut the
+ropes, and you have him safe for two dollars."
+
+Frank thought he would like a condor's egg, and would pay a good price
+for it. He was told that few persons had ever seen an egg of the condor,
+partly for the reason that the nests of this bird are built on high
+cliffs, almost if not quite inaccessible, and partly because the Indians
+have a superstitious fear of going in search of them. And besides their
+superstition there is the dread of the bird itself, which will fight in
+defence of its nest, and is a match for a full-grown man, unless his
+assailant is armed with a gun. It is no easy matter to shoot a condor,
+as the skin is very tough and protected by a dense mass of feathers.
+
+[Illustration: PUMA, COUGAR, OR AMERICAN LION.]
+
+They looked for wild vicunas among the mountains, but saw none. Manuel
+said there were lions farther down, and when they descended below the
+timber line he pointed out some tracks which he declared were made by
+that beast. The lion is better described as the puma, or cougar, and it
+has a range from the lowlands up to an elevation of ten or twelve
+thousand feet. It is not a courageous animal, and will flee from danger
+if it has the opportunity.
+
+[Illustration: CAPYBARA.]
+
+A more dangerous beast than the puma is the jaguar, or _onca_, which is
+not infrequently called tiger. He is the most savage and the strongest
+animal in the South American continent, and in some regions is very
+destructive to cattle, though he rarely attacks man unless pursued and
+assailed. He is spotted like the leopard, but his spots are angular
+instead of rounded, and there are dots in the centre of the spots.
+Humboldt says he saw a jaguar "whose length surpassed that of any of the
+tigers of India which he had seen in the collections of Europe." He
+haunts the borders of rivers and lagoons, and his favorite food is the
+capybara; the latter is the largest of living rodents, and resembles a
+greatly overgrown guinea-pig. The capybara is amphibious and gregarious,
+and is found all through the valley of the Amazon and its tributaries;
+he is sometimes called the water-hog, from his general resemblance to
+the animal which supplies us with pork. His length often exceeds three
+feet, and the naturalists say he is a connecting link between the
+rodents and the pachyderms.
+
+The first game secured by our friends was a capybara. It was resting
+comfortably on the bank of a river, where it was seen by the sharp eyes
+of Manuel. The guide made the motion of bringing a gun to his shoulder,
+and then beckoned for Frank to advance; the latter took his rifle from
+its sling, and cautiously crept forward in the direction indicated.
+Considerable manoeuvring was required to get a good position for a
+shot, as Manuel had previously explained that it was necessary to kill
+the animal instantly, or it would dart into the water and be lost.
+
+The rest of the party remained quietly in the rear until Frank had
+gained the place he wanted. Then a well-directed bullet crashed through
+the capybara's brain; Manuel ran forward and secured the prize, which
+furnished fresh meat for the next meal. It was a welcome addition to
+their stores, as the flesh proved excellent eating; the good taste of
+the jaguar was commended, and Fred said he wondered that the beast of
+prey should condescend to kill cattle as long as capybara meat was
+obtainable.
+
+Elated with his success in the hunting-field, Frank desired to try his
+skill upon a jaguar, but was advised to be careful. Manuel said there
+was very little probability of his having the chance to shoot at one, as
+the jaguar rarely shows himself. He prefers seeing to being seen, and
+unless you catch him swimming in the rivers or lagoons there is not much
+likelihood of ever setting eyes on him.
+
+[Illustration: JAGUAR.]
+
+"It sometimes happens," said the Doctor, "that the jaguar is seen in the
+water from a steamer on the river. A friend of mine was ascending the
+Amazon some years ago on one of the Brazilian boats. Just as they
+rounded a bend in the river the pilot saw a jaguar swimming from one
+bank to the other and nearly in mid-stream. The boat was turned in his
+direction; the jaguar increased his speed, but could not escape. The
+odds of steam against muscle proved too much for the muscle; the animal
+turned for the side whence he started, but the boat turned too and
+pressed him closely. Then he was forced out into the middle of the river
+again; a small boat was lowered, as it could follow his turnings much
+more readily than the unwieldy steamer. A few vigorous strokes of the
+oars brought the boat near him; a lasso was thrown over his head, and
+then he wheeled about and attacked his pursuers.
+
+"They had him at an advantage, as he could not sustain himself in the
+water and maintain a vigorous fight at the same time. Just as his paws
+touched the side of the boat he was killed by a bullet from a revolver;
+his body was towed to the steamer and taken on board, where the skin was
+removed and carefully preserved. He was one of the largest of his race,
+and estimated to be only an inch or two less than three feet high at the
+shoulder when standing erect. He could have slaughtered and dragged off
+an ox easily. The jaguar's method of killing horses or oxen is to spring
+on the back, and break the animal's neck by a single blow of his
+powerful paw."
+
+[Illustration: GAME FOR THE JAGUAR.]
+
+"The jaguar will dig in the sand for turtle's eggs," said Manuel, "and
+he will also kill and devour turtles of good size; he can scoop out
+their shells as easily as though he had all the implements of a skilful
+cook, and he will stand in the water, where he seizes fish with his paws
+and tosses them on shore. If captured when very young he can be made as
+docile as a kitten, but when he gets his growth and strength he is a
+dangerous pet. I had one once," continued the guide, "and didn't realize
+what he was until he one day came near eating up one of my friends while
+playing with him. I concluded he was not good to have about a family,
+and sold him to a collector of curiosities."
+
+Fred asked what the collector did with him.
+
+"I heard that he had a hard time with the beast," said Manuel. "He went
+down the Amazon, and was several months on the voyage. By the time he
+reached Para the animal was nearly full-grown, and though perfectly
+submissive was averse to familiarity on the part of strangers. He bit
+the hand of a passenger on one of the steamers, and it was necessary to
+shut him in a cage; this made him ill-natured, and he refused to be
+quiet except in the presence of his owner.
+
+"When the collector reached Para he received letters that called him
+down the coast, and compelled him to part with his pet. He tried to sell
+the beast, but nobody in Para wanted to buy a tiger; then he tried to
+give him away, but nobody would accept a tiger as a gift; next he
+offered him to the city to start a menagerie with, but the city didn't
+propose starting one; he tried to hire somebody to kill the beast, but
+nobody would take the contract; then he caged him for shipment to
+England, but the agent of the steamer refused the freight; the
+hotel-keeper wouldn't accept the tiger as security for the gentleman's
+board, and altogether he was in an awkward predicament.
+
+[Illustration: STEAMER LEAVING PARA.]
+
+"When the southward-bound steamer arrived he took the tiger and cage
+along as part of his personal baggage, having placed a large stone in
+the bottom of the cage for the animal to 'scratch his claws upon.' The
+captain of the steamer demanded extra payment for such a package, the
+passenger refused it, and during the altercation the cage and contents
+were thrown overboard. The stone carried the whole thing to the bottom,
+and there it rested."
+
+"That was the end of the jaguar, I suppose?" queried Fred.
+
+"The end of the animal," was the reply, "but not of the owner's
+troubles. When the steamer returned to Para the authorities presented
+the captain with a bill for violating an ordinance relative to
+obstructing the harbor by throwing things overboard. He escaped
+responsibility on the ground that the animal was the personal luggage
+of the passenger; when the latter came again to Para he was presented
+with the account, and had to pay it."
+
+"He was glad to get out of the scrape," remarked Frank, "and didn't
+hesitate to pay the final bill."
+
+"Quite likely," answered Manuel. "But somebody had fished up the drowned
+beast, and stuffed the skin. When the traveller had settled with the
+authorities the skin was brought to him. He paid for the work of
+preservation, and then sent the specimen to a friend in England, in care
+of a taxidermist. It arrived in bad condition, at least the taxidermist
+said so, as he sent a bill for repairs, and explained that he supposed
+the gentleman wanted to have the skin in proper shape when presented to
+his friend.
+
+"He paid this bill, and happily it was the last. I don't believe he will
+buy another jaguar in a hurry."
+
+Manuel's story was voted a good one, and worthy of preservation--like
+the hide of the animal whose adventures it recorded. Frank agreed to be
+the taxidermist of the story, without charge; he rendered Manuel's
+fluent Spanish into the vernacular of the United States, wherein it is
+here presented.
+
+[Illustration: HEAD OF NAVIGATION.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+DOWN THE RIVER.--ARRIVAL ON THE BENI.--BIRDS OF THE AMAZON
+VALLEY.--BUILDING A HUT.--HUNTING WITH POISONED ARROWS.--TURTLES, AND
+TURTLE-HUNTING.
+
+
+[Illustration: A CHANCE ACQUAINTANCE.]
+
+All were heartily glad to terminate the journey by mule and on foot, and
+there was sound sleep in their little tent on the night following their
+arrival at the village on the river's bank. They were up early, and for
+two or three hours were occupied with paying the carriers, and
+negotiating for canoes for the voyage down the stream. The settlement
+with the carriers was less difficult than the engagement of the canoes.
+The price for land transportation had been agreed upon beforehand, so
+that there was little occasion for dispute; the porters of the sillas
+had exaggerated ideas of the value of their services in bringing their
+charges through without accident; but the question did not rise to
+anything like a serious misunderstanding.
+
+The Indians of the village were disinclined to move, as it happened to
+be a period of festival, and they resented the idea of stopping their
+rejoicings in order to make a voyage down the river. Manuel argued that
+it was a downward voyage, and they would have no hard work to do; by the
+time they were at their journey's end the festival would be over, and
+consequently the proposed trip would not really interfere with their
+amusements. They admitted the force of his suggestion, and when this was
+fairly conceded the negotiations proceeded, with some hitches, to a
+happy termination.
+
+In spite of all efforts to secure an early departure, they did not get
+away until the morning of the third day following their arrival from the
+Andes. Four canoes were engaged; two for the baggage, and two for the
+three travellers and their guide. The canoes were each about twenty feet
+long, and two in width; they were hollowed from the trunks of trees, and
+closely resembled the American "dugout." In fact they were literally of
+that type of craft, and reminded Frank and Fred of the boats they had
+seen in the Malay Archipelago, and at Singapore and Point de Galle.
+
+Each canoe had four rowers, and a _popero_, or pilot; the latter was an
+important personage, as the safety of the boat in the rapids depended
+upon his watchfulness, and his prompt action in moments of peril. The
+baggage was placed in two of the canoes; the third was occupied by
+Doctor Bronson and Frank, while the fourth held Fred and the guide. The
+Doctor and Frank led the advance, while Fred and the guide brought up
+the rear, the baggage canoes being in the centre of the column. After an
+affectionate parting of the Indians with their friends on shore the
+canoes were manned, and the flotilla was under way. The leave-taking of
+the Indians was peculiar; they clasped hands, then kissed the hands
+alternately, and then kissed each other. As each Indian was obliged to
+go through this ceremony with every one whom he left behind, the
+osculation consumed considerable time.
+
+The canoes were to take them to the point where the river they were
+descending unites with the Beni; it was estimated that the downward
+journey would occupy two days, while the Indians would be eight or ten
+days in returning. In descending they keep the canoes in the middle of
+the stream, and take advantage of the current, but in ascending they hug
+the banks, and propel the boat by means of poles, or by dragging it
+around the rapids. The current is swift, as there is a considerable fall
+to the river; nowhere was the flow less than three miles an hour, and in
+many places it amounted to five miles. Several rapids were passed which
+had a dangerous appearance, and undoubtedly they would have been full
+of peril to any one unaccustomed to them.
+
+Dr. Bronson certainly looked very serious while passing the first of the
+rapids, and the face of Frank wore an expression of anxiety. But their
+possible doubt as to the result was removed when they saw the skill with
+which the popero swung his long paddle, dexterously brought the canoe
+around when it seemed about to go headlong on a rock, and let it glide
+past a whirling eddy which threatened to swamp it. They were only a few
+minutes in the rapid, but it seemed at least an hour to the travellers.
+
+[Illustration: A LANDING-PLACE.]
+
+The trees on the banks of the river showed that they were in the
+tropics. Palms of several varieties were visible, bamboos grew
+luxuriantly, banana bushes were numerous, while papayas, plantains, and
+similar vegetable growths were everywhere to be seen. Frank had his
+rifle ready for use in case of large game, but none was discovered;
+birds rich in plumage flew among the trees, but, like most of the birds
+of the tropics, they were seen rather than heard. Few tropical birds
+have the power of song, and it is possible that their brilliant feathers
+are given in compensation for their deprivation.
+
+But do not understand that all the birds of South America are unmusical.
+On the borders of Guiana is a rare bird, known as the Uruponga or
+Campanero, which may be rendered into English as "the tolling-bell
+bird." It is white, and somewhat smaller than a dove, and has a black
+tubercle under the beak. One traveller, Waterton, says of this bird,
+"Orpheus himself would drop his lute to listen to him, so sweet, so
+novel, and romantic is the toll of the pretty, snow-white campanero."
+Sydney Smith, in reviewing Waterton's narrative, says "The campanero may
+be heard three miles! This single little bird being more powerful than
+the belfry of a cathedral ringing for a new dean! It is impossible to
+contradict a gentleman who has been in the forests of Cayenne, but we
+are determined, as soon as a campanero is brought to England, to make
+him toll in a public place, and have the distance measured."
+
+Professor Orton says the most remarkable songster of the Amazonian
+forest is the Realejo, or organ bird. Its notes are as musical as the
+flageolet. Another authority says it is the only songster which makes
+any impression on the natives. The umbrella bird has a deep, loud, and
+long fluty note, which can be heard a great distance through the forest.
+He is black as a crow, and has a crest of waving plumes above his head,
+while there is a long lobe below his neck covered with blue feathers so
+glossy that they shine at every movement he makes.
+
+[Illustration: HUMMING-BIRDS OF THE ANDES.]
+
+Before reaching the river our friends had seen a good many
+humming-birds, and Frank tried in vain to secure specimens of these
+tiniest members of the feathered race. On the river he was more
+fortunate, and he made sketches of some of the most remarkable, after
+fixing them upon wires, to give the greatest possible resemblance to
+life. There is one variety that has two long feathers forming the tail;
+each of these feathers has a broad tuft at the end, and when the bird
+darts among the leaves and flowers the tail seems like a flash of bright
+color among the varied hues of the foliage.
+
+[Illustration: HUMMING-BIRD'S NEST.]
+
+A little past noon the foremost boat drew up at the bank, and the others
+followed its example. Here they remained an hour, while the boatmen
+partook of their repast of bananas and parched corn, and the civilized
+travellers regaled themselves upon provisions better suited to American
+tastes. Frank and Fred endeavored to take a stroll in the forest, but
+the way was blocked by vines and thick undergrowth, so that their
+advance was slight.
+
+[Illustration: PAIR OF TOUCANS AND THEIR NEST.]
+
+Frank saw a toucan, one of those comical birds, with an enormous beak
+which seems specially made for devouring bananas; the bird was seated on
+the sloping trunk of a tree, and close observation showed the head of
+another bird of the same kind protruding from the wood. Frank guessed
+rightly that he had come upon a pair of toucans and their nest. The
+toucan makes his home in a hollow tree, as his bill is quite unadapted
+to nest-building after the manner of the robin or the oriole. Think of a
+toucan endeavoring to weave a nest like the graceful structure the
+oriole hangs from the tree! As well expect to see a lace collar wrought
+with a crowbar.
+
+[Illustration: TANAGERS AND NEST.]
+
+On they went through the tropical forest, along the swiftly flowing
+river, passing now and then little stretches of open pampas or grassy
+plain, where there is excellent pasturage for cattle. At night they
+halted at an island; the boatmen always prefer to pass the nights on
+islands when journeying along the river, as they are then much more
+secure against the wild Indians who might do them harm. Most of the
+hostiles are without boats, and even when possessing them they are
+cautious about venturing on the islands for the purpose of making an
+attack. They greatly prefer to have a safe line of retreat behind them
+in the shape of the forest, where pursuit is next to impossible.
+
+At their second day's nooning it was Fred's turn to make a discovery in
+ornithology. Several times they had heard the shrill voice of the
+parrot, but had not succeeded in detecting the bird that made it; at the
+halting-place we have just mentioned Fred saw two or three parrots among
+the trees just as his boat swung to the shore, but they flew away at the
+approach of their disturbers and disappeared. As soon as they had
+landed, the youth followed in the direction the birds had taken, and was
+fortunate enough to see them again; evidently they were near their
+nesting-place, but they did not manifest any willingness to invite the
+stranger to see them at home.
+
+[Illustration: TOUCAN. PARROTS.]
+
+The hooked bill of the parrot is as inconvenient in nest-making as the
+great beak of the toucan; the philosophical bird accepts the situation,
+and rears its young in a hollow tree, like its huge-billed friend.
+Parrots are more numerous than toucans and also more noisy; probably for
+these reasons they are seen quite frequently, while the discovery of a
+toucan is not easily made. The Doctor said a traveller might make the
+descent of the Amazon without seeing one of the latter birds, while he
+would encounter the parrot very often. Consequently Frank might feel
+proud of what he had seen the day before, and but for the accident of
+stumbling upon the locality of the nest he would not have been thus
+favored. Occasionally parrots and toucans are found together; both are
+gregarious, and the same may be said of most of the birds of South
+America.
+
+To the parrot family belong the true parrots, paroquets, and macaws.
+Paroquets go in flocks, while the parrots always fly in pairs, though
+they flock together in large numbers on the trees. A few Indian tribes
+consider the macaw sacred, and it is called by some of them "the bird of
+the sun."
+
+It was near evening when they reached their destination, a village of
+perhaps fifty huts, on the tongue of land forming the junction between
+the Beni and the river they had descended. Half the payment for the
+boats and boatmen had been made before starting; the balance was now
+due, but by common consent the settlement was postponed till morning.
+All the huts were so intolerably dirty that the travellers refused to
+occupy one of them; the little tent was spread near the cleanest of the
+huts, the baggage being piled in the latter, in charge of Manuel, while
+the Doctor and his young companions slept under canvas.
+
+The boatmen were paid off in the morning, and started at once on their
+homeward journey. The prospects for an immediate departure down the Beni
+were not brilliant, as most of the Indians were away, and nobody could
+say when they would return. They were absent on a turtle-hunting
+expedition along the Beni; they might be back in a day or not for a
+week. _Quien sabe?_
+
+"Never mind," said the Doctor; "what can't be cured must be endured. We
+will build a hut for ourselves, and study the Beni and anything else
+that comes in our way. We can make excursions into the forest and learn
+something of the country. The time will not be wasted, by any means."
+
+Frank and Fred assented readily to the proposal; in fact, they never did
+anything else when the Doctor gave advice or suggestions.
+
+But it was easier to agree to build a hut than to build it. Labor was
+not easy to obtain.
+
+[Illustration: AN AMAZONIAN DWELLING.]
+
+The forest supplied the material, but it was difficult to induce the
+Indians to do anything. After considerable argument they prevailed upon
+some of the men to cut the requisite bamboos, and bring them to the spot
+selected for the temporary dwelling. Under the supervision of the youths
+and their guide, the walls were put up by driving some of the bamboos
+into the ground; a space was left for a doorway; the roof was put on,
+and thatched with leaves of the Pandanus palm; and by nightfall the new
+house was completed. It measured about twelve feet by fifteen, and was
+admirably ventilated; the total cost was estimated at six dollars and a
+half, and it was pronounced one of the handsomest structures in the
+village. The Indians were well paid for their labor, according to the
+rates of the local trades union; and it was understood that the building
+was to become the property of the alcalde, or chief man of the village,
+after the departure of the strangers.
+
+The alcalde surveyed the edifice with evident pride, and the Doctor
+thought he discovered an avaricious expression on the fellow's face.
+Frank and Fred thought likewise.
+
+"I tell you what it is," said Fred, "we have 'builded wiser than we
+knew.' He will be anxious enough to get us away in order to take
+possession of his new residence."
+
+"I was thinking the same thing," said Frank, "and we shall save more
+than the cost of the building when we make our bargain with the alcalde
+for boats, to go down the river."
+
+[Illustration: NEAR THE VILLAGE.]
+
+It was the first new house erected in that village for several years,
+and the alcalde was covetous. The prediction of the youths was correct,
+and the old fellow was quite active in speeding the parting guests. When
+the Indians returned from their turtle-hunt the bargains were easily
+made and the necessary boats and men obtained. But they did not return
+for a week, and while we are waiting for them we will take a glance at
+the Beni and observe its peculiarities.
+
+The Beni is formed by several head streams, that rise in the Andes east
+and northeast of the plain of Titicaca. It flows to the northwest for
+about three hundred miles, receiving numerous tributaries, and then in a
+northeasterly direction to the frontier of Brazil. Here it enters the
+Madeira, which is formed by the Mamoré and Iténez Rivers, and from the
+point of junction its name and identity are lost. It is the largest of
+the affluents of the Madeira, and is thought to be equal to both the
+other streams combined. It is half a mile wide at its mouth, and fifty
+feet deep, and is estimated to discharge at an ordinary stage five
+thousand cubic yards of water every second.
+
+The Beni and its tributaries are navigable for many hundreds of miles in
+the interior of Bolivia; how far this navigation may be carried is not
+known, as no complete survey has been made. With a fleet of steamboats
+on the Beni and its kindred streams, and a railway around the falls of
+the Madeira, the resources of Bolivia could be developed with ease;
+until that work is accomplished the foreign commerce of the country can
+never be extensive.
+
+Through much of its course the Beni runs through forests, but there is
+also a wide extent of pampas or grassy plains, where millions of cattle
+and horses might find pasturage. So abundant and cheap are the cattle at
+the present time that they are killed for their hides alone, the flesh
+being left to rot on the ground. The other rivers that form the Madeira
+traverse a similar country, but have their sources farther east than
+those of the Beni. They are fed by the rains brought from the Atlantic
+by the easterly winds, which are heavily charged with moisture.
+
+Frank and Fred were not slow to win the confidence of the Indians during
+their stay at the village; through the aid of Manuel, who understood the
+language of this people, they learned some of the ways of native life on
+the tributaries of the Amazon. They did not hesitate to ask questions
+about anything they saw; sometimes the answers were evasive, while at
+others the information sought was readily obtained.
+
+While visiting one of the huts Fred espied some reeds, ten or twelve
+feet long and perfectly straight, among the rafters of the building.
+Pointing to them, the youth asked what they were for.
+
+"They are guns," answered Manuel; "the guns that the Indians kill game
+with."
+
+"How can they kill game with guns like these?" queried the astonished
+visitor. "They would explode with the lightest charge of powder."
+
+"But they don't use powder at all," was the reply; "they blow arrows
+through the reeds, and shoot in that way."
+
+Fred expressed a desire to see how it was done, and Frank joined in the
+wish. Manuel talked a moment with the owner of the implements, and at
+Fred's suggestion agreed to pay a good price for a chicken if the Indian
+would kill it with the blow-gun. The Indian consented, and the party
+adjourned to the open space near the new house.
+
+The Indian placed a small arrow in one of the reeds. The missile had a
+sharp point of iron, and was fitted with a tuft of cotton at its other
+end, to prevent the air from passing it during the act of shooting. Thus
+equipped, the man took a position behind a bush, and the unsuspecting
+chicken was placed on the ground about twenty yards away.
+
+The bird walked around a few moments, uncertain where to go. The Indian
+raised the reed to his lips, took aim, and "fired."
+
+The arrow went true to the mark, and pierced through the chicken from
+side to side. The man offered to repeat the experiment as long as the
+visitors would pay for fresh game, but they had seen enough to satisfy
+them, and declined his proposal.
+
+"But can they kill large animals in this way?" said Frank. "I understand
+how they can shoot birds by concealing themselves in the trees, and
+watching for them to come near, but when it comes to large game, I
+wonder how they can give force enough to the arrows, especially where
+the animals have tough skins, like the capybara and the tapir."
+
+"For killing large game," replied Manuel, "they use arrows poisoned with
+_curari_ or _woorara_. The name has several pronunciations in different
+parts of South America, and there are at least half a dozen kinds of the
+poison."
+
+"What is that?"
+
+"If you should ask the Indian he would not tell you. The Indians have
+long guarded the secret of its origin and preparation, but it was
+obtained from them some years ago by Sir Robert Schomburgh, I believe.
+It is made from the juice of the _Strychnos toxifera_, a tree or shrub
+resembling that which supplies the St. Ignatius bean; the St. Ignatius
+bean is familiarly known as the 'Quaker button,' and yields the
+strychnine or nux vomica of commerce."
+
+"But it is more powerful even than strychnine," said the Doctor, who had
+just joined them; "in fact, it is considered the most active narcotic
+known to science. It acts on the nervous system and produces paralysis,
+with convulsive movements followed by death. It has been tried with some
+success in the treatment of lockjaw and hydrophobia, but it is too
+dangerous for general use.
+
+[Illustration: AGAVE, OR SISAL HEMP.]
+
+"If introduced into a wound its effect is almost instantaneous, but when
+taken through the stomach in minute quantities it is comparatively
+harmless. Now let us hear from Manuel how it is used by the Indians."
+
+[Illustration: HUNTING WITH THE BLOW-GUN.]
+
+"They dip the points of the arrows in curari," said the latter, "and
+project the arrows at the game. If it punctures the skin enough to let
+the poison enter the blood the work is done. In a few seconds or a few
+minutes at farthest the animal falls to the ground and dies in
+convulsions, and it is a curious fact that the flesh is in no way
+tainted with the deadly substance. A bear or a tapir has died within
+five minutes after being wounded, and smaller animals in less than one
+minute. Great care is necessary in using it, as the least scratch with
+the point of a poisoned arrow may prove fatal to the hunter.
+
+"These Indians will kill more birds in a day with the blow-gun than the
+most experienced hunter could bring down with a rifle. When they go out
+for birds they use arrows only a few inches long. Taking a position in
+the top of a tree, an Indian will often empty his quiver, bringing down
+bird after bird as fast as he can load and shoot. The weapon is
+noiseless, and the man remains in concealment till he has finished his
+work and is ready to pick up his game."
+
+Frank and Fred thought they did not care to practise with these weapons,
+however effective they might be, and they determined to keep on the
+friendly side of the Indians, and thus avoid being aimed at with the
+deadly blow-gun. The Indian was paid for his chicken, and the party
+separated.
+
+[Illustration: A GIANT OF THE FOREST.]
+
+They made a short excursion into the forest, and were greatly impressed
+with the size of the trees, and the great extent of arboreal
+productions. Travelling was difficult, owing to the thickness of the
+under-brush and the vast number of vines that covered the ground and
+hung in festoons from the trees. Several varieties of mahogany were
+observed; a rubber-tree was pointed out by Manuel; there were half a
+dozen kinds of palms, and they were told that many more were to be seen
+farther down the river; and there were several giant trees with soft
+wood, whose names are not known to the English language.
+
+One day Manuel took a skiff and rowed out into the river with the avowed
+intention of bringing in a turtle for dinner; he was accompanied by an
+Indian, the one who had experimented with the blow-gun, but this time
+the fellow was armed with a spear, and an ordinary bow and arrow.
+
+Fred wondered how the turtle was to be taken with these implements, but
+he had not long to wait before ascertaining.
+
+The Indian stood in the bow of the skiff with the bow and arrow ready,
+while Manuel paddled slowly along, taking the direction indicated by the
+marksman. Keeping where the water was shallow, they traversed quite a
+distance before anything worth shooting was found. After a while the
+Indian spied a turtle, and the boat was rapidly rowed in his direction.
+
+[Illustration: TURTLE-SHOOTING IN SOUTH AMERICA.]
+
+The arrow was skilfully projected, and pierced the turtle through the
+neck. He tried to get away, but his progress was impeded by the arrow,
+which gave an opportunity for using the spear; then a cord was passed
+around the turtle's neck and he was brought triumphantly to land.
+
+On the lower Amazon the hunters have a cord wound around the shaft of
+the arrow, to which it is fastened; the other end of the cord is tied to
+the head, which fits loosely in the shaft. When a turtle is struck he
+dives; the head detaches from the shaft, the cord unwinds, and the
+stick floats on the water. The hunter can then follow his game, and
+easily secures it by hauling in the cord.
+
+Our friends supped on turtle as the result of Manuel's hunting
+adventure. They found it palatable, especially when served up in steaks,
+though Frank was of opinion that it could not be surpassed in a stew.
+The next day the hunting-party returned, and the market of the little
+village was abundantly supplied with turtle meat.
+
+Frank interested himself in the history and statistics of the Amazonian
+turtle, with the following result:
+
+"Turtles are the most important product of the Amazon and its
+tributaries, and furnish the sustenance of the majority of the natives
+of the great valley. Seven kinds of turtles are known to the natives,
+but only two of them, the tartaruga or charapa, and the charapilla, are
+eaten. The charapa is the largest, being often found three feet long and
+broad in proportion, but the charapilla is considered the best.
+
+"The eggs of the turtle are used for making oil or butter, and also for
+cooking in various ways. They are found along the banks of the rivers or
+on sand-bars; the charapa lays from one hundred and fifty to two hundred
+eggs, and the charapilla from thirty to forty. The turtle comes up at
+night, digs a hole two or three feet deep in the sand with its hind
+flippers, and then deposits its eggs. It covers them with sand again and
+returns to the water, unless, as too often happens, it is caught by the
+native who has been on the watch for it. I say 'too often,' as the
+indiscriminate slaughter of the turtle and the destruction of the eggs
+are fast reducing the number and raising the price. The hunters turn the
+turtles on their backs and there leave them till the next day, when
+they return and collect them. Once on its back the poor turtle is
+helpless.
+
+[Illustration: TURTLE-TURNING.]
+
+"The natives hunt for turtle eggs by pushing sticks in the sand; if the
+stick enters easily it reveals the locality of the deposit, and a little
+digging brings it to light. It is estimated that not fewer than fifty
+millions of turtle eggs are taken every year on the Amazon and its
+tributaries, and some authorities think the number is much larger.
+
+"The wonder is that any turtles remain. They are shot in the water or
+caught when returning from the banks where they have deposited their
+eggs; young turtles by the thousand are eaten by alligators and large
+fishes; jaguars and pumas seize them when they are travelling overland,
+to or from their nesting-places; and the birds of prey by no means let
+them alone. But they could get along well enough were it not for their
+human foes, which are the worst of all. The turtles of the Amazon will
+follow the fate of the buffalo and the salmon of North America whenever
+the country becomes fully peopled and the demand increases in
+proportion.
+
+"The Indians have brought back many gallons of oil from turtles' eggs,
+which they made during their absence. The eggs are thrown into a canoe,
+and then trampled and beaten up by the feet of men and boys till the
+mass resembles a Brobdingnagian omelette ready for cooking. Water is
+poured into the canoe and mixed with the stuff; the oil rises to the
+surface and is skimmed off. Then it is purified over the fire and put
+into jars holding about three gallons each, for transportation to
+market."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+DOWN THE BENI.--PRODUCTS OF THE VALLEY.--PLANS FOR DEVELOPING
+COMMERCE.--OBSTRUCTIONS TO NAVIGATION.--VOYAGE ON THE MAMORÉ.
+
+
+Negotiations for descending the river could not proceed with rapidity,
+as the Indians were in no hurry to get away after their return from the
+turtle-hunt. Everything among these people is connected in one way or
+another with a festival, and it was necessary to celebrate the success
+of the expedition with a period of rejoicing. The alcalde did his best,
+but though he possesses great power, an alcalde is not absolute in his
+authority at all times; it was finally arranged that the festivity would
+continue two days, and on the morning of the third our friends could
+hope to depart.
+
+The morning came, but there were still many things to be done, and it
+was fully noon before the boats were ready. As there were no rapids to
+pass, it was decided to lash two boats together side by side and connect
+them with a platform. The tent could be spread on this platform, in
+addition to an awning of palm-leaves, to shelter the travellers from the
+heat of the sun and the not infrequent rains. Two of the largest
+attainable boats were taken and connected in this way. It proved an
+excellent arrangement, and the party was unanimous in recommending it to
+all future travellers descending the tributaries of the Amazon where
+they are not navigated by steamboats.
+
+The rowers and pilots had little to do beyond keeping the raft (as we
+will call the combination of boats and platform just described) in the
+middle of the stream, where the current was strongest. There was a good
+deal of drift-wood in the river, but it was far less troublesome than if
+their course had been up the stream. Dr. Bronson explained to the youths
+that Madeira means "wood," and the Madeira River, into which the Beni
+flows, was so named by the Portuguese in consequence of the great number
+of floating trees that were met by the early explorers. The Beni
+contributes more than its share of this floating material, as the
+forests extend far along its banks, which are constantly crumbling away
+through the action of the current. In many places the Beni resembles the
+Missouri, and seems to be subject to the same forces of nature.
+
+[Illustration: SOUTH AMERICAN RIVER SCENE.]
+
+Forests and pampas, pampas and forests, succeeded each other as the raft
+followed the course of this affluent of the mighty Amazon. Parrots and
+toucans and other birds flew among the trees, monkeys stared in
+astonishment, jumped from limb to limb, swung by feet and tail, and kept
+up a continual chattering as the raft floated by their haunts. Frank
+made note of the difference between the South American monkey and his
+Asiatic brother; he had never seen the latter using his tail for
+anything but ornamental purposes, while with the South American monkey
+it gave the advantage of an extra hand or foot.
+
+[Illustration: SOUTH AMERICAN MONKEY WITH PREHENSILE TAIL.]
+
+"The Asiatic monkey's tail is not prehensile," said the Doctor, "and all
+monkeys of South America have not this advantage. In the words of a
+famous naturalist," he continued, "all monkeys with prehensile tails are
+American, but all American monkeys do not have prehensile tails. The
+Asiatic monkey does not seem to have heard of such a thing, though some
+of the varieties of monkey in the far East occasionally use the tail in
+a bungling sort of way. Professor Wallace lived four years in South
+America, and in that time he saw twenty-one species of monkey, seven
+with prehensile and fourteen with non-prehensile tails. All the American
+monkeys are climbers, and live in the trees, while such is not the case
+in the old world."
+
+While they were talking on the subject of monkeys a most unearthly yell
+was heard in the forest to the right of the raft. Both the boys turned
+in amazement to Manuel, and asked what it was.
+
+[Illustration: HOWLING MONKEY.]
+
+"It's a guariba," said Manuel, "as the natives call it."
+
+"And what is a guariba?" Fred inquired.
+
+"A guariba is a howling monkey," the guide answered, "and that is the
+noise he makes. You can hear him a long distance, and he howls night and
+day without seeming to get tired of the amusement."
+
+"There are three kinds of howling monkeys in South America," said the
+Doctor, "but the difference is more observable in their appearance than
+in their voices. The braying of a mule is like the note of a violin,
+compared to the noise of a howling monkey in good health and condition,
+accompanied by his friends. The howlers, like most others of the Simian
+family, are gregarious, and if we happen to have our camp near a village
+of them we shall not sleep much."
+
+Frank thought he would buy one of these brutes and take him home, but
+Manuel said the howlers could not be tamed.
+
+"A wise provision of nature," remarked Fred. "Imagine your neighbor
+having a pet howler; it would be worse than all the cats in a dozen
+blocks of New York city."
+
+Frank agreed with him, and changed his views on the subject of
+domesticating one of these curiosities. Manuel said further that the
+natives had repeatedly tried to tame the howlers, but could not; they
+were the only members of the monkey family in South America that utterly
+refused to be converted into pets.
+
+They fell into the monkey-market sooner than they had expected. While
+passing an island, an hour or two before sunset, they saw two or three
+canoes drawn up on the shore, and at the Doctor's suggestion Manuel
+told the pilot to run in and see who and what the owners were. They
+proved to be a hunting-party of Indians from the other side of the
+river; they had been successful in killing several monkeys, and offered
+some of the meat for sale.
+
+Frank and Fred thought it would be too much like cannibalism to eat of
+monkey meat, and the Doctor agreed with them. Manuel said the flesh of
+the howler was not to be recommended, as it was dry and tough, but there
+were some varieties on the lower Amazon which were not to be despised.
+He particularly mentioned the white-whiskered coaita, one of the
+thumbless "spider-monkeys," which was held in high repute among the
+natives. Another variety called the maquisapa was said to be good
+eating, but he could not speak from personal knowledge. Monkey flesh is
+an important article of food in many parts of the Amazon valley, and
+there are certain districts where it is the only meat to be had.
+
+But monkey in its live form was not declined, at least in limited
+quantity. One of the Indians offered a marmoset, a pretty little
+creature about eight inches long, and with a soft, silky fur covering
+its skin. It was restless and timid; at first it shrank from the youth,
+but quickly seemed to understand that it would find him a better master
+than the Indian. He took it in his hand and gently stroked its back; in
+a few moments it clung to him, and when the Indian reached for his
+property the little creature struggled to remain.
+
+Frank's sympathies were awakened by the affection displayed by the
+marmoset, and a bargain was quickly made. Manuel conducted the
+negotiation, and the monkey became the property of the youth for an
+outlay of fifty cents. He paid a high price, as he afterwards
+ascertained, but at that time he was not familiar with the market
+quotations for this kind of live-stock.
+
+Marmosets are the smallest members of the monkey family. The name is
+confined to the American varieties, and is sometimes restricted to the
+striated monkey of Guiana or Brazil. This last-named monkey has a tail a
+third longer than the body, the latter rarely exceeding eight or ten
+inches. Its fur is long and soft, and of a yellowish-gray color; both
+tail and body are banded with black, and there is a long tuft of white
+hairs on each side of the head, which is of a deep black or brown.
+
+The new purchase received the name of Gypsy, and soon became a general
+favorite with the party, though it always recognized Frank as its
+master. It was a well-behaved pet, and, contrary to Frank's expectation,
+it never indulged in mischievous tricks. Manuel said the marmosets were
+rarely destructive, but the same could not be said of the rest of the
+monkey tribe in South America. The sapajous, he pronounced the worst of
+the lot; they are distributed through Brazil, and, though affectionate
+enough as pets, are too mischievous to be kept in a house or camp.
+
+[Illustration: A MONKEY ROBBING BIRDS' NESTS.]
+
+"Three or four years ago," said Manuel, "I was on the Mamoré River with
+an English gentleman who had bought a sapajou while ascending the
+Amazon. He kept the fellow in a cage for a while, and then allowed him
+the run of the boat. The first day he was at liberty he threw overboard
+two of the dinner plates, and was punished by being shut up again.
+
+"When he was free once more, he picked up a book that was lying on the
+deck, and when discovered he had torn out at least half the leaves, and
+tossed them into the water. He was again caged, and after a time was let
+out, but they fastened a chain about him so that he could not run
+around.
+
+"Under this restraint he behaved very well, and displayed, or pretended
+to display, a fondness for his owner. The gentleman was one day working
+at the notes of his journey, and the monkey was chained close to his
+table, under the awning in the centre of the boat.
+
+"He had a large map on the table, and had been marking his route with
+red ink along the course of the river. He was called suddenly from the
+table, leaving the map and the ink-bottle within the monkey's reach.
+
+"As soon as he had gone, the monkey, doubtless in a spirit of imitation,
+climbed to the table, pulled the map towards him, and with his paw,
+dipped in the ink, made an imaginary survey of a railway or a steamboat
+route, at least a thousand miles long, according to the scale of the
+drawing. Just as he was finishing the performance the master returned,
+and caught him at it."
+
+"What happened to the monkey?" Fred asked.
+
+"I don't know exactly what became of him," was the reply. "He was given
+to one of the boatmen, who sold him to an Indian at the next landing. It
+wasn't safe to mention monkey to that gentleman for the rest of the time
+he stayed in the country."
+
+[Illustration: HUNTING THE MONKEY.]
+
+Sunset came, and they stopped for the night. The raft was tied up at a
+small island, where there was little prospect of disturbance by hostile
+Indians; the tribe occupying this part of the country did not have a bad
+reputation, and there was no real danger, but the pilot was cautious on
+general principles. Watch was kept through the night, but nothing
+happened to disturb the slumber of those whose duties did not require
+them to be wakeful, if we except the visits of the mosquitoes.
+
+Mosquitoes are the pests of the upper part of the entire valley of the
+Amazon. They are found wherever the rains fall, from the foot of the
+Andes, eastward, until within a few hundred miles of the Atlantic coast,
+from which they are kept in great measure, though not entirely, by the
+force of the trade winds. The middle Amazon swarms with them, and the
+Maranon, Madeira, and other tributaries are almost uninhabitable at
+certain seasons of the year, in consequence of these nuisances. They are
+always on duty, and no manner of objecting to their presence will induce
+them to leave.
+
+[Illustration: AMAZONIAN MOSQUITOES AT HOME.]
+
+There are several varieties of mosquitoes, some working at night, and
+others in the daytime; between them they divide the hours, and give
+their victim no chance for rest. The Indians say they always come in
+greater swarms than usual when a traveller is approaching, and evidently
+they can scent blood from afar. Frank said "the mosquitoes fairly danced
+with joy at the arrival of our party." A mass meeting was called, which
+was attended by some millions of mosquitoes, "very hungry and very
+thirsty." This mass meeting was kept up as long as they were in the
+region of the upper and middle Amazon. After passing Manaos, on their
+way down the river, there were few mosquitoes, and these few were not as
+voracious as their more uncivilized brethren.
+
+Parts of Brazil and Bolivia will long remain unsettled, owing to the
+perpetual annoyance caused by the mosquitoes. Their powers were tested
+by one traveller, Dr. Spruce, who, in the interest of science, allowed
+the insects to feed upon him without interruption, and found they took
+three ounces of blood daily!
+
+Our friends were provided with mosquito nettings, and brought them into
+use on entering the mosquito-haunted region. At night they surrounded
+their beds with them, and by day kept their heads enveloped in the small
+nets made for that purpose; in this way they managed to keep from being
+devoured bodily, or bled to death, but could not escape the annoyance
+and constant inconvenience of the presence of the dreaded carapana, as
+he is called by the Brazilians.
+
+The mosquito is not the only insect pest of the Amazon valley. Professor
+Orton says the pium, or sand-fly, is almost as bad as the better-known
+tormentor. He has two triangular, horny lancets, which leave a small
+circular red spot on the skin. There are several species, all working by
+day, and relieving the mosquito from sunrise to sunset. Then there is
+the maruim, which resembles the pium, and inhabits some, but not all, of
+the valleys; Humboldt estimated that there was a million of them to a
+cubic foot of air where he was. There is also the mutuca, which
+resembles a horse-fly; one variety has a lancet half an inch long, and
+he knows how to use it to advantage.
+
+There is a carapato, or tick, which mounts to the tips of the blades of
+grass, and attaches himself to any one brushing against them. The
+carapatas bury themselves so deeply that their heads break off at any
+attempt to pull them out; their bite is painless, but it often causes
+sores and ulcers. Happily, their range is less extensive than that of
+the mosquito, and some parts of the country are wholly free from them.
+
+Frank asked Manuel how the natives, who had no nets, managed to get
+along in the height of the mosquito season.
+
+[Illustration: AN INDIAN OF NORTHERN BOLIVIA.]
+
+"They get along very badly," was the reply. "One plan is to cover their
+bodies with oil, which the mosquitoes don't like, but it does not drive
+them away. Smudging or smoking keeps them down, but then it is almost as
+bad for the people as for the mosquitoes. Sometimes they bury themselves
+in the sand, leaving only the head exposed; this they cover with a piece
+of wetted cloth, either wrapped around the head, or supported above it
+like a miniature tent. Some of the Indians plaster their bodies with
+mud, laying it on like varnish, and allowing it to dry, but it has to be
+pretty thick to keep the mosquitoes from penetrating it. Some of the
+insects will pierce through any ordinary clothing; I have heard of their
+going through ordinary shoe-leather, but never saw with my own eyes a
+mosquito that could do it."
+
+Sheltered by their nettings, they passed the night in comparative
+comfort, and were off early in the morning. In fact, the raft was in
+motion before the youths had risen; the Indians were so silent in their
+movements that they did not disturb the slumber of the travellers. Frank
+made a comparison with the noisy boatmen of the Nile which was very much
+in favor of the Indians of the Beni.
+
+[Illustration: BREAKFAST SCENE ON THE RIVER BANK.]
+
+About seven o'clock they stopped for breakfast and the scene was so
+picturesque that Frank made a sketch of it.
+
+The spot they chose was under some lofty trees covered with climbing
+plants, where previous visitors had removed enough of the undergrowth to
+render the place suitable for a temporary camp. A fire was kindled, and
+over it they placed a pot for the concoction of a porridge of meat and
+mandioca flour mingled with water. A hammock was stretched between two
+of the trees, and a large fish that had been caught early in the morning
+was hung up by way of ornament.
+
+While the soup was in preparation, one of the men busied himself with
+pounding a piece of bast, or the inner bark of a tree, with a wooden
+hammer. Much of the clothing of the Amazonian Indians is made in this
+way; the material resembles the famous tappa-cloth of the South Sea
+Islands, and though not very serviceable, it has the merit of great
+cheapness.
+
+The breakfast, when ready, was distributed by the _capitano_ or first
+mate, who served each man in turn. It was devoured with a good appetite,
+and in a little while the crew was ready to resume the journey. The
+travellers amused themselves by studying the peculiarities of the
+forest, and took their own breakfast while the boat was floating down
+the stream.
+
+"If all goes well," said the Doctor, "we shall not be long in reaching
+the junction with the Madeira, and the falls of that stream."
+
+"Then we have some falls to pass, have we?" Frank asked.
+
+"Yes," replied the Doctor, "and they are a serious hinderance to
+navigation. In descending we can 'shoot' some of them, though not all;
+but if we were ascending the river it would be different. The boats must
+be dragged around the falls, or their cargoes unloaded and transported
+to other boats beyond the falls.
+
+"The Madeira drains an area of forty thousand square leagues," he
+continued, "and but for the falls would furnish water communication to
+the very heart of Bolivia. It is the natural waterway of the country,
+and its upper affluents traverse the richest agricultural region of
+South America. They have been partially but not wholly explored, and the
+actual number of miles open to steamboats is not yet known.
+
+"There are nineteen falls and rapids, having a descent of nearly three
+hundred feet altogether. They are scattered along a distance of two
+hundred and thirty miles. Above and below there are no impediments to
+navigation, with a single exception in the shape of a rapid, which may
+be passed by a steamboat when the river is high.
+
+"The governments of Bolivia and Brazil have endeavored to overcome these
+falls by building a canal or a railway around them, and spent
+considerable money in the preliminary work. It was found that a canal
+would cost a great deal of money, far more than a railway, and so it was
+decided to build the latter."
+
+"Did they build it?"
+
+"It has not been built as yet," was the reply, "though a portion of the
+work has been done. A company was formed in England, principally on
+paper, with important concessions from the governments interested.
+Engineers were sent out, together with a small force of laborers, but
+the project came to nothing. Then the enterprise was taken up by some
+Americans, who sent Colonel George E. Church, of New York, to complete
+the surveys and supervise the construction of the line. He reported
+favorably upon the prospects of business for the completed railway,
+which would be less than two hundred miles long. The line leaves the
+Madeira just below the first fall, and comes again to the Mamoré above
+the last one. It avoids the windings of the stream, and thus saves a
+considerable distance.
+
+"Colonel Church sounded the Mamoré for six hundred miles above the
+rapids, and found always a depth of at least fifteen feet, a width of
+six hundred feet, and an average current of two miles an hour. He
+visited Santa Cruz, Trinidad, Exaltacion, and some other Bolivian towns
+and cities, and was everywhere cordially welcomed. I am sorry that our
+time and facilities will not permit us to repeat his journey, as it is
+through a region rarely seen by travellers. Colonel Church was preceded
+by Mr. Keller, a German engineer; and the stories they tell are full of
+interest.
+
+[Illustration: PLAZA AND CHURCH AT EXALTACION.]
+
+"They describe Exaltacion as a dull, and, at first glance, a deserted
+town, standing a mile or more from the river. Many of its buildings are
+in ruins, and the walls of the houses are without paint or other
+ornament. The streets are wide, and the plaza is at least three hundred
+feet square; the church, with an isolated bell-tower, occupies one side
+of the plaza, while the other three sides are lined with the dwellings
+of the Indians, rarely more than a single story in height. The church is
+a large and well-constructed building; it is more than a century old,
+and has received very few repairs since the day of its completion.
+
+"The Indians living in the towns of Bolivia are nearly all devout
+Catholics, and have been carefully trained in the observances of the
+Church. It is said that when the first Jesuit missionary penetrated the
+Beni districts of Bolivia, from the frontier of the country, that had
+been partially civilized, he was immediately killed. Another followed
+soon after, and met the same fate, and then came another.
+
+"The Indians were astonished beyond description, as it appeared to them
+to be the same man they had twice put to death. He was identical in
+dress, appearance, and words, and evidently he was immortal. It would do
+no good to kill him a third time, and they held a consultation, and
+concluded he was a god. Thus concluding, they worshipped him, listened
+to his teachings, and adopted his religion, to which they have ever
+since remained faithful.
+
+[Illustration: MOJOS INDIANS CELEBRATING MASS.]
+
+"In the church they had an organ which was played during mass by one of
+the Indians, while another performed on a sort of pan-pipe of enormous
+proportions. Several tubes were arranged side by side, and fastened
+together; the largest was about six feet in length, and the opening at
+its end measured at least four inches. The performer kept his eye on the
+music before him, and blew into one pipe after another with great
+facility. The instrument compassed two octaves, and the sound it gave
+resembled that of a trombone.
+
+"The church contains several relics, among them a piece of the True
+Cross, which was brought here by the Jesuits nearly two centuries ago.
+That the people have degenerated somewhat from their old-fashioned
+honesty is revealed by a little incident of Mr. Keller's visit to the
+church.
+
+[Illustration: A MOJOS INDIAN.]
+
+"In the pedestals of two of the columns he saw some enormous nails, and
+asked their use. It was explained that in the time of the _Padres_ all
+articles found in the streets were hung on these nails, so that anybody
+who lost anything would know where to find it. 'But to-day,' said the
+sacristan, 'these nails rust in their places, for no one thinks of
+returning what he finds.' Colonel Church thinks Exaltacion must be an
+exception to the rest of Bolivia, as he found everywhere the most
+scrupulous honesty on the part of the people among whom he travelled.
+The Mojos Indians who inhabit the valley of the Mamoré are an
+inoffensive race, and have a high reputation for honesty and integrity.
+
+[Illustration: THE CHERIMBITA.]
+
+"Some of them wear a curious ornament, known as the _cherimbita_. It is
+a little rod with a head, and has a general resemblance to an ordinary
+screw. It is made of white quartz, or some other hard material, and is
+worn in the under lip, which is pierced for its admission, just as
+ladies in America, and other countries, have their ears pierced for the
+wearing of ornaments.
+
+"The other towns that were visited did not materially differ from the
+one already described. They had the same kind of population, the same
+dilapidated churches, and the same devout worshippers who adhered to the
+religion taught by the Jesuit fathers two hundred years ago. There was
+said to be a great abundance of silver in all these Bolivian towns, but
+it is far less than formerly. Everything imported from other parts of
+the world is enormously dear, while the products of the country are
+correspondingly cheap. At Exaltacion, English iron was worth four
+hundred dollars a ton, while gold at ten dollars an ounce was much
+easier to obtain."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+HUNTING THE TAPIR.--AMONG THE CARIPUNA INDIANS.--ARRIVAL AT THE FALLS OF
+THE MADEIRA.--MAKING INDIA-RUBBER.
+
+
+One day was much like another in the descent of the river, as the party
+was not disturbed by hostile natives, and met with no accidents of
+consequence. Frank was disappointed in his hopes of hunting-adventures,
+as the jaguars and pumas persisted in keeping out of sight, and utterly
+deprived the young gentleman of an opportunity to try his weapons.
+
+[Illustration: THE AGOUTI.]
+
+Less powerful game abounded, however, since the tapir and the agouti
+were frequently encountered. The agouti is about the size of a rabbit,
+which it greatly resembles both in appearance and habits. When pursued
+it runs rapidly for a short distance and then tries to conceal itself;
+if it is captured it makes no resistance beyond a plaintive cry.
+
+The tapir deserves a more extended notice than the agouti, as he is much
+larger, and resists the attacks of his enemies with a good deal of
+vigor. Fred's account of a fight with a tapir will give an idea of the
+characteristics of this animal.
+
+"The tapir is very widely distributed through tropical South America,
+and is probably more generally hunted than any other denizen of the
+country. His favorite haunts are narrow gorges and moist ravines, and
+the forests on the banks of all streams, whether large or small, though
+he prefers the latter. He is like an Englishman in desiring a cold bath
+in the morning, and the first tapir we saw was seated up to his neck in
+the water, at a bend of the river. We had told Manuel to call us when a
+tapir was discovered, and early one morning he roused us.
+
+"Frank threw on his garments very hastily, and seized his rifle for a
+shot at the beast. As he emerged from the tent our pilot whispered,
+'anta' (the native name for tapir), and pointed directly ahead of our
+course. The men had stopped rowing, and were silently urging the raft
+towards the shore, where it would be concealed from what we hoped to
+make game of, by an intervening bush.
+
+"The desired position was gained without disturbing the animal at his
+bath, and under cover of the bank we drew quite near. Only his head was
+visible; Frank aimed and fired, and the head disappeared. Soon it came
+to the surface, and there was a loud snort which showed that the beast
+had been thoroughly alarmed.
+
+"The rowers now did their best, as further concealment was unnecessary.
+With loud cries they urged the raft forward, but the unwieldy concern
+could not be turned as quickly as the tapir was able to double on us.
+Fortunately for us, he only tried two or three times to double, or he
+would have escaped altogether; after these efforts he struck straight
+across the river, where we came up to him and were able to throw a
+harpoon into his back. He had been severely wounded by Frank, and after
+the harpoon was thrown he was easily secured. It is always desirable to
+harpoon a tapir after shooting him in the water, as he dives to the
+bottom, and if he dies there his body does not rise.
+
+"We had tapir steaks for breakfast, and found them very good. They
+resembled beef, though they were rather more dry than that well-known
+article of food; we had been rather limited in our supply of fresh
+provisions, and consequently the tapir steak was not to be despised. The
+flesh of this animal is highly prized by the natives; it is eaten fresh,
+like beef or pork, and is preserved by drying or salting.
+
+"But this is not the fight I was going to tell about. One day we stopped
+at a village where there was a tame tapir running among the houses; it
+was perfectly docile, and allowed the boys to ride on its back as often
+and as long as they liked. The alcalde of the village told us how it was
+caught, a few months' before, in a hunting-excursion, only a few miles
+from the place.
+
+[Illustration: HUNTING THE TAPIR.]
+
+"The alcalde kept several dogs especially for hunting the tapir. The
+hunter takes his position in a canoe carefully concealed in the bushes
+near the end of a tapir's road. The tapir lays out his own path with the
+skill of an engineer; he goes along this path regularly every morning,
+from his haunt to his bath in the river, and then from the river to his
+haunt again. The dogs are let loose near the tapir's retreat, and the
+frightened animal runs to the river for safety.
+
+"He dives and swims with great rapidity, but the hunter is generally
+successful in capturing him. He is shot or speared as he takes to the
+water, evading the dogs only to fall into the hands of his human enemy.
+
+"On the occasion I speak of the alcalde had gone for his customary
+sport, and roused a tapir. The keeper of the dogs was with these
+animals, while the alcalde was waiting at the river ready to shoot the
+game when it appeared. But it happened to be a female anta, this time,
+and she had a young tapir with her. The male flees before the dogs, but
+the female with a cub does nothing of the sort; she remains in her lair
+and defends the little fellow, who crouches beneath her and indicates
+his alarm by short, shrill whistles. She never yields, and is a terrible
+foe for the dogs. Her teeth do effective work on any of them that come
+too near, and her powerful fore-legs crush their ribs as though they
+were made of paper.
+
+"The alcalde waited, but the tapir did not come. At length one of his
+men appeared, and said that two of the six dogs had been killed by the
+tapir and another was severely hurt. They were young dogs, and had not
+shown proper caution; the old and experienced ones had refrained from
+venturing within reach of jaws or feet, and confined their attentions to
+barking at a safe distance.
+
+"The alcalde hastened to the spot, and with his gun soon laid low the
+desperate animal. The young tapir was secured unhurt and brought home
+to the village. It was kindly treated, and in three days it followed its
+master around like a dog, and was perfectly domesticated. The animal
+lives on vegetable food (grass, fruit, and roots), and consequently he
+is easy to keep. This was the tame tapir that we saw; he was perfectly
+amiable in disposition, but his great size rendered him unsuitable to be
+maintained as a house pet, and he had been turned into the street to
+make his own living. I was told that the tame tapir never shows any
+disposition to return to his native wilds. In this respect he resembles
+the elephant, and I believe the naturalists class him in the elephant
+family.
+
+"The alcalde had a houseful of pets, including several birds and
+monkeys, and, strangest of all, a snake. It was perfectly free, and was
+kept for killing rats, mice, lizards, and other things that were more
+destructive of the owner's property than is the snake. Manuel said it
+was a giboia, a species of boa constrictor; it is not poisonous, and
+when taken young is easily tamed. Frank was reminded of the rat-snake
+they had seen in Ceylon, and thought it must be the first cousin of the
+giboia."
+
+[Illustration: WATER-SNAKES AT HOME.]
+
+Snakes are less common in South America than is generally supposed,
+though they are numerous enough for all practical purposes. There are
+one hundred and fifty species in all, while a similar area in tropical
+Asia contains three hundred varieties. Most of them are non-poisonous,
+but the proportion of venomous snakes is greater than in India or
+Ceylon.
+
+The largest member of the serpent family is the boa; it has been found
+twenty-six feet long, though it rarely exceeds twenty feet. The largest
+of the boas can kill and swallow a small horse, while a goat or sheep
+forms only a comfortable mouthful. One of the most venomous is the
+coral, which haunts the cacao plantations, and has a fatal bite. Ammonia
+is used as an antidote to snake-bites, but the application must be made
+in a few minutes, before the poison is diffused in the blood. Doses of
+strong coffee, brandy, or some other stimulant will sometimes keep up
+the action of the heart and neutralize the effect of the poison until
+the victim is out of danger.
+
+[Illustration: RATTLESNAKE DISTURBED BY A WILDCAT.]
+
+The alcalde showed some of the venomous snakes that he kept as
+curiosities, but wisely restrained of their liberty. Among them was a
+rattlesnake, which appeared to be identical with the rattlesnake of
+North America; a "parrot-snake" of a dull green color, which makes it
+difficult to discover among the grass and leaves, and a "surucucu,"
+which does not belong to the valley of the Mamoré, but inhabits the
+lower Amazon and the Rio Negro. The coral snake, already mentioned, was
+among them; he was a pretty serpent (if serpents can be called pretty),
+of a vermilion hue striped with black bands. The youths stood at a
+respectful distance while surveying the collection, and did not care for
+a near acquaintance.
+
+Manuel said that serious accidents from the bites of snakes were far
+less frequent than might be supposed. Natives are the principal
+sufferers, partly for the reason that the number of Europeans is not
+large, and partly because they go constantly clothed, which is not the
+case with the natives. It is the same as in India and Ceylon, where
+thousands of natives die every year from snake-bites, while not half a
+dozen deaths of Europeans from this cause have occurred during the
+century.
+
+They passed from the Beni into the Madeira, and found the river
+increased to double its former volume. Frank and Fred looked anxiously
+up the Madeira, and wished they could explore the stream to its source;
+but as the wish could not be gratified, they quickly dismissed it from
+their thoughts. Their pilot said they were in the country of the
+Caripuna Indians, and it was quite possible that some of these
+aboriginals would pay them a visit at their next halting-place.
+
+"The Caripunas were formerly quite hostile to the white men," said
+Manuel, "and used to attack the boats that went up or down the river.
+With boats going down stream they could not do much, as the pilots keep
+in the middle of the current and float along with it, but in ascending
+the river it is necessary to keep close to the bank, and this was the
+opportunity for them to make trouble. They had a spite against the Mojos
+Indians, and the latter had great fear of the Caripunas, who had the
+reputation of roasting and eating their victims, whether they did so or
+not. But since the surveys were made for the railway, and trade on the
+river has increased, they have made no trouble; they have found that
+they can do better by being friendly to the white man, and begging what
+he has to give them."
+
+[Illustration: VISITING THE CARIPUNAS.]
+
+While they were halted for breakfast three canoes put out from a nook on
+the opposite shore; two of them paddled across to where the raft was
+tied up, while the third went a little way up the stream and stopped
+near the bank, as if waiting to see what reception would be given to
+their friends. Each canoe contained two men and one woman, all wearing
+very little clothing, and having their hair thick and long, so as to
+cover the shoulders. They had bows and arrows in their canoes, but did
+not offer to use them or even to pick them up, with the exception of one
+Indian, who took his weapons over his shoulder and stepped on shore.
+
+[Illustration: A CARIPUNA INDIAN.]
+
+In spite of his scanty costume he was rather picturesque in appearance,
+as he had ornaments in his ears and a necklace of jaguar's claws hanging
+on his breast. By signs, he invited the party to visit their camp on the
+other side of the river; the rowers were timid about venturing there,
+but the Doctor quieted their fears by intimating, through Manuel and the
+pilot, that the weapons of the party were sufficient to defend them in
+case of trouble.
+
+The Caripunas were given to understand that the visit would be made as
+soon as breakfast was over; they seemed perfectly satisfied with this
+arrangement, and returned to their canoes, where they sat until the meal
+was finished. The return of the boatmen to their oars was the signal for
+the Caripunas, who paddled on ahead and indicated the best place for
+landing.
+
+The landing was made without difficulty, and the whole population of the
+village, some twenty or thirty men, women, and children, came out to
+meet the strangers. For fear of treachery, Dr. Bronson gave orders that
+none of the rowers should leave their places; Manuel was to remain
+standing by the side of the boat, and the three Americans were not to go
+more than a few yards from the shore, where the huts of the Indians
+stood about ten feet above the water's level.
+
+An old man, who was evidently the chief of the tribe, came forward and
+led the way to an open shed between the two principal huts. It was
+evidently a place of public resort, and corresponded to the city hall or
+court-house of civilized lands. All the rest of the natives followed,
+and the conversation soon became as animated as it is possible to make
+it where neither party understands a word the other says. Frank observed
+that the skins of the natives were of a reddish-brown color, and the
+tallest of them did not exceed five feet eight inches in height.
+
+Beads, small mirrors, fish-hooks, and similar barbaric goods were
+distributed in the shape of presents, and then our friends tried to make
+a bargain for whatever the Indians had to sell. Unfortunately they had
+only a few bows and arrows and some feathers from the birds of the
+forest; beyond these nothing was in the market; and as the natives were
+unwilling to part with their weapons, it required a good deal of
+persuasion and the display of the glittering baubles to secure their
+consent. With these trifles the strangers were compelled to be
+satisfied, and after a visit of an hour or more they returned to their
+boat and continued the voyage.
+
+A curious fact was ascertained by Mr. Keller in his visit to the
+Caripunas, that they bury their dead in their houses, removing the earth
+of the floor for that purpose. When a space beneath a hut is occupied
+with graves the place is abandoned, and a new dwelling is erected
+elsewhere. This is deserted in its turn, under the same conditions.
+
+The Caripunas are skilful hunters and fishermen; they cultivate the soil
+occasionally, but not often, depending for their vegetable food upon the
+products of the forest. Some attempts have been made to civilize this
+people, but they have not succeeded, except in convincing them that it
+is better to be on friendly terms with their neighbors than in open
+hostility.
+
+When the travellers reached Guajara-Merim, the first of the falls of the
+Madeira, their contract with their boatmen terminated. The men were paid
+off, each one receiving a small present in addition to his wages, and
+the pilot a larger one, in proportion to his importance. There is a
+small village of Mojos Indians just above the falls, and their special
+occupation is to transport travellers and their property up or down the
+stream. Manuel opened negotiations, but they could not be rapidly
+pushed, as it is not the custom of this people to do anything in a
+hurry.
+
+It took an entire day to finish the transaction. A "garitea," a boat of
+about four tons' burden and having a crew of twelve men, was engaged for
+the voyage to San Antonio, at the foot of the lowest rapid. In addition
+to the crew there was a thirteenth man as pilot or captain, one of the
+twelve being second in command. Some of the rapids may be passed without
+danger in descending the river, and without the necessity of unloading
+the cargo; at others the cargo must be taken out, and the empty boat
+navigated down the rapids; while at others both boat and cargo must be
+taken around over the land. The whole distance where the boats must be
+drawn overland is nearly three miles, while for more than two miles the
+cargoes must be taken out in order to save them from possible damage or
+loss.
+
+[Illustration: A WALK IN THE FOREST.]
+
+Frank and Fred had plenty of time for studying the falls of the Madeira
+and making a short excursion into the forest in the vicinity, as
+another day was required for getting ready to start after the bargain
+had been concluded for the hire of the boat and its crew. We will refer
+to Fred's note-book for an account of what they saw and learned.
+
+"There is a village of Caripuna Indians," wrote Fred, "a little way
+inland from the falls, and we paid it a visit. Most of the men were away
+on a fishing excursion, and the few that remained did not have anything
+we could buy. We made them some presents, but did not stay long, as we
+wanted to see a rubber-tree, and the manner of collecting the
+India-rubber of commerce.
+
+"We had a guide from the Mojos village at the falls; he had been a
+collector of rubber, and spoke enough Spanish to enable us to understand
+his explanations. Since the surveys were made for the railway a good
+many Mojos Indians have settled here, and they do quite a business in
+collecting rubber and sending it down the river to market.
+
+[Illustration: BRANCH OF THE INDIA-RUBBER TREE.]
+
+"The rubber-trees are abundant on both sides of the river for a long
+distance in either direction. How far inland they may be found is not
+definitely known. The scientific name of the tree is _Siphonia
+elastica_, or _Siphonia cachucha_, but there are several other trees
+that produce the gum which is so largely used in American and European
+industry. An incision is made in the side of the tree, and a cup made of
+leaves and clay is so placed as to catch the juice which flows from the
+cut. In a few hours the cup is filled, and a man comes around with a
+large jar in which the juice is collected.
+
+"The liquid is about the consistency of milk, and contains from ten to
+twenty per cent. of gum. It is poured into shallow basins, very often
+into empty turtle-shells, and allowed to stand in the sun, by which a
+good deal of the liquid is evaporated. When it is about the thickness of
+ordinary cream it is poured into a turtle-shell, and an Indian sits down
+to convert the liquid into rubber.
+
+[Illustration: INDIA-RUBBER MAKING ON THE MADEIRA.]
+
+"He has a small fire made of palm nuts, and over the fire is an inverted
+jar with a hole in the bottom, through which the smoke ascends. He dips
+a paddle into the cream, and then holds it over the hole in the jar
+until it is dried by the heat, which must always be gentle, through fear
+of spoiling the rubber. When the gum is hardened he dips the paddle
+again, and again dries it; he repeats the process until the desired
+thickness is secured.
+
+"When the rubber is thick enough it is cut off and is ready for market.
+Instead of a paddle he sometimes uses a mould of clay; formerly they
+made moulds resembling the human foot, and thus fashioned the rubber
+shoes that were worn in America forty or fifty years ago. Fantastic
+figures were traced on the shoes with the end of a hot wire, and the
+mould was generally soaked in water till it fell to pieces, and the clay
+could be washed out. The modern processes of working rubber have driven
+these shoes from the market, and very few of them are made at present.
+
+"A good day's work for one man is six pounds of rubber. Another way of
+hardening the gum is to place it in a kettle and suspend it over a small
+fire, taking care not to burn the material. When it is sufficiently
+reduced, and is still warm and plastic, it is shaped into balls or
+bricks, weighing several pounds each; the buyers prefer to have it dried
+on the paddle, as the natives occasionally commit frauds by putting sand
+or lumps of clay inside the masses while shaping them. The deception can
+only be detected by cutting carefully through the mass, and dividing it
+into small pieces. Frank suggests that the natives have probably heard
+of some of the tricks attributed to Connecticut Yankees, but I think he
+must be mistaken.
+
+"The rubber of the Amazon valley is considered the best in the world,
+and the amount of the product is rapidly increasing. I am told it is not
+far from six thousand tons a year, and will be increased to ten thousand
+tons as soon as the means of transportation from Bolivia are made more
+practicable. This does not include the rubber sent from the northern
+part of the continent, from the country not drained by the Amazon.
+
+"We call this substance 'India-rubber,' because it was first brought
+from the Indies, but, properly speaking, the name does not belong to it
+at the present day. The greater part of the rubber of commerce is from
+South America, which produces more than all other countries together."
+
+"And why is it called _rubber_?" Frank asked.
+
+"Because," replied Fred, "it was first used in England for rubbing out
+pencil-marks. It was imported into England for that purpose about the
+end of the last century, and was greatly esteemed by artists, who paid
+high prices for it; it was popularly called 'lead-eater,' and in some
+parts of England it is yet known by that name. It was not until 1820
+that its use extended much beyond the erasure of pencil-marks; its first
+important use was in the manufacture of water-proof clothing, and about
+the same time it was employed for the formation of flexible tubes, and
+for other purposes.
+
+"It is a curious fact that the uses of rubber which have been discovered
+in England and America in the present century were known in South
+America nearly three hundred years ago. In a book published in Madrid in
+1615, Juan de Torquemada describes a tree in Mexico yielding a gum from
+which the natives make shoes and other things, and he also says that the
+Spaniards used this gum for waxing their canvas cloaks to make them
+resist water. Herrara's account of the second voyage of Columbus
+mentions balls which the natives of Hayti use in their amusements; he
+says they are made from the gum of a tree, and are lighter and bounce
+better than the wind-balls of Castile."
+
+When the above notes were read over to the Doctor he suggested an
+addition, which was made at once.
+
+"By far the most extensive uses of this material at present are in its
+vulcanized form, as the pure India-rubber can only be employed to a
+limited extent. The process of vulcanizing was discovered by an
+American, Charles Goodyear, in 1843, and consists in mixing rubber with
+sulphur and heating it to a high degree. There are two kinds of
+vulcanized rubber, one hard and horny, and the other soft and elastic;
+for the first the rubber is cut into small shreds, mixed with a third of
+its weight of sulphur, and heated for several hours, the final heat
+being not less than 300° Fahrenheit. For the elastic rubber the
+proportion of sulphur and the degree of heat are much less. An endless
+variety of articles is made from the two kinds of vulcanized rubber."
+
+"While we are on this subject," said Frank, "I wonder if there is a
+cow-tree in this region. The cow-tree is a South American production, is
+it not?"
+
+"Yes," answered the Doctor, "but it is not in this part of the
+continent, or, at any rate, the most famous of the family does not grow
+in the lowlands. There are several trees known by that name, but the
+_Palo do Vaca_ is found principally in Venezuela and the northern part
+of the continent, generally at an elevation of three or four thousand
+feet."
+
+"Please tell us what it is like."
+
+[Illustration: LEAVES, FRUIT, AND FLOWERS OF THE COW-TREE.]
+
+"It is a tall, slender tree, with leaves resembling the laurel in shape,
+but ten or twelve inches long. It grows in rocky places where there is
+very little moisture, and during the dry season its leaves are withered
+and the branches appear dead. But as soon as the trunk is pierced it
+gives forth a rich, nourishing juice that resembles milk in appearance,
+taste, and qualities, though it differs materially from the milk of
+animals. It contains a good deal of wax and fibrin, a little sugar and a
+salt of magnesia, the rest being water."
+
+[Illustration: MILKING THE COW-TREE.]
+
+"And does it make cream like the milk of a living cow?"
+
+"Yes; after standing a short time it becomes yellow and forms a sort of
+cream on the surface; this cream will gradually thicken into a semblance
+of cheese before it begins to putrefy. And the tree further resembles
+the cow in having its best milking-time in the morning; it yields more
+juice at sunrise than at any other time, and before daylight the natives
+gather at the trees to fill their bowls with the milk. The negroes and
+Indians drink freely of this milk, but the white inhabitants generally
+care little for it."
+
+Frank fell to meditating upon the feasibility of introducing the
+cow-tree into his father's orchard, and having a supply of milk where it
+did not need to be driven up at night. His calculations were suddenly
+interrupted by the announcement that dinner was ready, and his practical
+nature, backed by a good appetite, put an immediate end to his
+enterprise.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+SLOW TRANSIT.--PASSING AROUND THE FALLS.--ANCIENT INSCRIPTIONS.--THE
+MADEIRA TO THE AMAZON.--THE JANUARY RIVER.--THE AMAZON FOREST.
+
+
+[Illustration: DRAGGING A BOAT AROUND TEOTONIO.]
+
+The garitea was placed on rollers, and dragged along the ground, over a
+road that was by no means smooth. It was hard work for the Indians,
+particularly as the day was warm, but they toiled steadily, and did not
+once pause till they had launched the boat into the river below
+Guajara-Merim. Then they returned for the baggage, which was distributed
+among them, under the watchful eyes of Dr. Bronson and Frank. Fred and
+Manuel had preceded the baggage, and were ready to superintend its
+reception and stowage in the boat.
+
+In spite of the difficulties of this rude mode of transportation there
+is a considerable traffic between Bolivia and the lower Amazon, around
+the falls of the Madeira. Colonel Church says it amounts to more than a
+thousand tons a year, and many bulky and heavy articles are carried
+through safely. Pianos have even been sent from Brazil to the interior
+of Bolivia by this route, and, what is strangest of all, they have
+arrived in perfect order, and were ready for use after a little
+attention from the tuner.
+
+The same gentleman, in speaking of the Mojos Indians of the department
+of the Beni, says their imitative powers are wonderful. The law requires
+that all voters shall be able to write. On the day of election an Indian
+comes to the polls to vote for a president or a deputy to congress;
+without knowing a letter of the alphabet he copies in a clear and
+legible hand the name of the one for whom he votes. He will also copy an
+entire manuscript in any language, without knowing a word of it.
+
+When everything was ready the boat was pushed off, and the voyage
+continued to the next rapid, where the same process was repeated. As
+before stated, some of the rapids were passed without the necessity of
+unloading, while at others the cargo, and sometimes both cargo and boat,
+required to be carried overland. Once the boat was run upon a rock and
+considerably injured, but happily none of the cargo was damaged, and
+neither passengers nor crew suffered harm.
+
+[Illustration: INSCRIPTIONS ON THE ROCKS AT RIBEIRAO.]
+
+During one of their halts, while passing the falls, Frank and Fred
+amused themselves by copying some curious inscriptions on the rocks.
+These were more numerous at the falls known as the Ribeirao than at any
+other place, and were evidently the result of long and patient work.
+
+[Illustration: CUTTINGS ON STONES NEAR THE RAPIDS.]
+
+The inscriptions are nearly all in regular lines, and were made with
+great care. They are certainly not the work of the people now occupying
+this region, and their signification is unknown. They were made ages and
+ages ago, judging by the appearance of the stones, and it is supposed
+that the cutting was done with chisels of flint or quartz. The stones
+bearing the inscriptions are very hard and smooth, and not far from the
+edge of the river at the low stage of water. In the season of floods
+they are covered, and the action of the water has worn away some of the
+lines so that they are barely visible.
+
+Near another fall there are some deep lines cut in one of the granite
+rocks; they are nearly half an inch in depth, and cross each other at
+different angles. Whether they were made at the same time and by the
+same people as the others it is impossible to ascertain.
+
+On the eighth day the passage around Teotonio, the last of the falls,
+was safely accomplished, and the garitea floated in front of San
+Antonio. This is a small town, which was founded when the surveys of the
+railway were begun, and has had a somewhat checkered existence. The
+boatmen were paid off and discharged; the baggage of the party was
+stored in a little house temporarily hired for its reception, and for
+the accommodation of the travellers.
+
+San Antonio owes its existence to the railway enterprise. At one time
+several hundred men were gathered there, principally laborers from Spain
+and the West Indies, and it was expected that the work of opening the
+railway line would be vigorously prosecuted. But the men died off so
+rapidly as to seriously impede the undertaking; those that survived
+became alarmed and deserted the spot, and down to the visit of our
+friends all attempts to make a permanent settlement at San Antonio had
+failed.
+
+There was but one white man in the place--a Brazilian, in charge of the
+property that belonged to the railway company. His haggard features and
+sallow complexion told that he was suffering from fever, and he promptly
+confirmed what had been said of the unhealthiness of the region.
+
+"The obstacle which has prevented the construction of the railway," said
+he, in answer to Dr. Bronson's question, "was one not easy to foresee.
+The engineers who visited the place, and made a preliminary examination
+of the route, did not remain long enough to suffer from the pestilential
+atmosphere, and consequently they did not know of it. But when the labor
+actually began the case was different, the men died off very fast, and
+it soon took all the time of those who could get about to care for the
+sufferers and bury the dead.
+
+"There are no engineering difficulties to prevent the construction of
+the line, as the country is only slightly undulating, and there are but
+few rivers to cross. But it appears that there are terrible fevers
+lurking wherever cataracts in tropical countries fall over granite
+rocks. There are hollows between the rocks that retain the waters when
+the rivers fall from their highest levels, and these waters become
+stagnant pools. Vegetation decays in these pools, and they give off
+miasmatic vapors under the heat of the tropical sun. Europeans die
+rapidly in consequence, and even the negroes and natives cannot long
+endure the poisonous atmosphere.
+
+[Illustration: BURIED IN THE TROPICAL FOREST.]
+
+"Mr. Davis, the English engineer who came here to superintend the work,
+endeavored to improve the place by blowing up the rocks at the pools,
+and where this could not be done he set his men to pumping out the water
+in order to drain off the surplus and arrest the decay. He accomplished
+a good deal in this way, but fell a victim to the fevers, and died in
+spite of all the efforts of the doctor to save him. His grave is in the
+forest, just behind the village.
+
+"The loss of the chief disheartened his subordinates, and all who could
+leave made haste to do so. The Mojos Indians and the Caripunas do not
+appear to be affected by the climate, but they cannot be induced to work
+at railway building, preferring employment in transporting goods and
+boats around the falls."
+
+The information thus obtained made the little party of strangers
+desirous of leaving San Antonio as soon as possible. The Indians took
+advantage of their desire by demanding a high price for carrying them
+down the river. A steamer was expected to arrive in a few days, but they
+were unwilling to wait there, wisely preferring to spend the time in a
+less unhealthy locality. Dr. Bronson told Manuel to engage a boat at any
+price, on the condition that it would leave at once, and the negotiation
+was speedily made.
+
+Three hours after the conversation with the Brazilian the boat with our
+friends and their baggage pushed off from shore, and floated on the
+current of the Madeira. The fever-stricken residents of San Antonio
+gazed sadly after them, and mourned the fortune that detained them in
+that deadly place.
+
+Night came an hour or two after their departure, but the boat did not
+stop, as it had been agreed that the rowers would not rest until
+reaching the mouth of the January River, about fifty miles below San
+Antonio. The January joins the Madeira from the east, and at the point
+of junction there is a large house occupied by the Bolivian consul, who
+has charge of the Madeira district, extending from the mouth of that
+river to the falls. It was about nine in the forenoon when the boat
+reached this point and drew up to the bank.
+
+Dr. Bronson had no official letters from the Bolivian authorities, as he
+had not visited the capital of the country, or any of its important
+towns, but he was cordially received by the consul, and invited to
+remain until the return of the steamboat, which was expected to pass up
+the river the same day on its way to San Antonio. His family was away,
+and he had an abundance of room, and after repeated assurances of
+welcome the invitation was accepted.
+
+The boatmen were retained for an excursion up the January, and the
+baggage of the party was carried to the rooms they were to occupy
+during their stay. The rest of the day was spent in the society of the
+consul, who told them many things of interest concerning the Madeira and
+its tributaries. The steamboat passed in the afternoon, making a brief
+stop at the landing, and it was arranged that she should return to take
+them away in a week or ten days at farthest.
+
+[Illustration: BANANA IN BLOSSOM.]
+
+The consul's house was a large two-story building, and the upper floor
+commanded fine views of the two rivers; his reception-room on this floor
+was open on three sides, but could be closed by curtains whenever
+required. A fine breeze blew during the afternoon, and both Frank and
+Fred declared they had not, in months, found such an agreeable
+lounging-place. All the sleeping-rooms were provided with
+mosquito-nettings; mosquitoes are abundant and persistent throughout the
+year, and every precaution must be taken against them.
+
+The next morning the party went up the January with their boat, and were
+absent three days. They visited a camp of rubber collectors, which was
+controlled by a Bolivian who had obtained a grant of land, with the
+exclusive right of gathering rubber thereon for a term of years. He had
+some forty or fifty men in his employ, all Indians from Bolivia. Frank
+learned something about the business which he had not ascertained in
+their previous visit to the rubber collectors, and we are permitted to
+copy it from his note-book.
+
+"The whole rubber trade of the Amazon is run upon the credit system. The
+employer keeps his men constantly in debt, and as long as they are owing
+him for goods he can claim their work. They are engaged for a term of
+years, but in consequence of their debts are practically never released
+from their contract.
+
+"Next, the employer is in debt to the small traders in the river towns,
+to whom he sells his rubber; he pays very dear for his goods, and gets a
+low price for the products of his enterprise. Then the small trader is
+in debt to the wholesale dealer at Para, and the wholesalers are in debt
+to London and New York, where the rubber goes for a market. Heavy
+profits are made in every transaction, and the result of it is that the
+Indian who collects the gum and prepares the crude rubber works for very
+low wages, and is paid in goods at very high prices. The annual
+exportation from Para is said to be twenty million pounds of rubber,
+worth from six to eight million dollars.
+
+[Illustration: RUBBER TREE AND PARASITES.]
+
+"Rubber trees begin to yield when they are fifteen years old, and it has
+been proposed to cultivate rubber by planting large areas with trees,
+and conducting the business like that of a coffee or sugar plantation.
+But the necessity of waiting fifteen years before any return can be
+obtained for the outlay will naturally deter capitalists from making
+investments."
+
+[Illustration: STATION OF A RUBBER COLLECTOR.]
+
+While on the January our friends saw a new way of catching turtles. An
+Indian stood on the bow of his canoe, watching the water, with bow and
+arrow ready.
+
+Suddenly he aimed the arrow at the sky, drew it to the head, and fired.
+It rose to a great height, then made a graceful curve, and descended. It
+struck the water within twenty feet of the Indian, pierced the shell of
+a turtle, and the creature was secured in the manner already described.
+Manuel explained that this was the only way in which the shells of the
+large turtles could be pierced, the arrow obtaining great penetrative
+force through the momentum it acquires in descending. The Indians are so
+expert in this difficult mode of shooting that they rarely miss their
+mark.
+
+The January is not an important river, and the only settlements along
+its banks are those of the rubber collectors. Some of them have made
+clearings, and established banana and mandioca groves, but none of these
+groves rise to the dignity of plantations.
+
+The return to the consul's house was safely made, and the rest of the
+time of waiting for the steamer was passed in writing up the story of
+the journey and preparing letters for home. They did not expect to make
+any delay in their journey down the Amazon, and if the boat kept to her
+schedule she would reach Para just in time for the outward mail for New
+York.
+
+The steamers leave Manaos, on the Amazon, for San Antonio on the 27th of
+every month, and in the busy seasons of the year there is generally an
+extra steamer about the middle of the month. Between Manaos and Para
+there is always a fortnightly and generally a weekly service each way,
+and from Manaos most of the tributaries of the Amazon have a monthly
+service as far as they are navigable. Steam navigation on the Amazon had
+its beginning in 1852, but its growth has not been rapid, owing to the
+slow development of commerce.
+
+In 1867 Brazil declared the Amazon open to the ships of all nations, but
+practically the navigation of the river is under the Brazilian flag.
+Steamers of any nationality may ascend to Manaos, one thousand miles
+above Para; from that point Brazilian steamers run to the frontier of
+Peru, where they connect with Peruvian steamers navigating almost to the
+base of the great Andean chain. At present the entire service is
+performed by about fifty steamers, some of large size and others light
+enough for the fancy of the western captain who desired a craft that
+could run where a heavy dew had fallen. The smallest of the steamers is
+less than twenty tons' burden, while the largest exceeds a thousand
+tons.
+
+The following note by Colonel Church will give an idea of the extent of
+the navigable waters of the Amazon:
+
+"South America contains seven millions of square miles. The Amazon River
+drains over one third of this vast area. Its basin is more than twice
+the size of the valley of the Mississippi. It would hold forty-nine
+countries the size of England. Only by floating on the majestic tide of
+the Amazon does one get an idea of its mass of waters. The Mississippi
+River, poured into it near its mouth, would not raise it six inches. In
+Bolivia, on the Beni branch of its Madeira affluent, two thousand miles
+from its outlet, it is one hundred and seventy feet deep! It presents
+still more astonishing soundings the same distance up the main stream.
+With its branches it offers not less than fifteen thousand miles of
+waters suitable for steamboat navigation. The Bolivian affluents of its
+main branch alone count three thousand miles of river navigation. One
+half of this is suitable for steamers drawing six feet of water, and the
+other half for craft drawing three feet."
+
+The great lack of the Amazon Valley is in population; until it is
+peopled it will be impossible to develop commerce to any great extent.
+There are not fifty thousand inhabitants on the banks of the great river
+from a point one hundred miles above Para to the base of the Andes;
+Professor Orton says the Amazon Valley is the most thinly peopled region
+on the surface of the globe, with the exception of the great deserts and
+the polar zones. Even including the savage Indians who dwell away from
+the rivers, the number of inhabitants is not great.
+
+Raimondi, who is considered an excellent authority, gives the Peruvian
+province of Loreto, which stretches from Ecuador to Cuzco, and from the
+crest of the Andes to the Brazilian frontier, a population of less than
+seventy thousand. He puts the wild Indians at forty thousand, and allows
+thirty thousand for all other races and kinds of men!
+
+[Illustration: A RIVER TOWN.]
+
+In their voyage down the river, Frank and Fred found that many of the
+towns marked on the map had no existence whatever, and some of the most
+pretentious could not boast half a dozen huts. Several towns had each
+but a single dwelling, and one was only to be recognized by a post set
+in the bank to uphold a sign-board bearing the name of the place. Dr.
+Bronson said he was reminded of the days of land speculations in the
+West, when elaborate maps were printed of so-called "cities," which
+never had any existence beyond the paper one of the speculative
+founders.
+
+Back from the river the population is as scattered and scanty as upon
+its banks; there is room for millions of people in the valley of the
+Amazon, and but for the great density of the forests, the fevers and
+other diseases, and the pestiferous insects that fill the air from
+beginning to end of the year, the country would doubtless attract
+emigration from the overcrowded cities and rural districts of Europe.
+Brazil has made repeated efforts to attract emigration, but thus far
+they have amounted to very little; a few thousand Germans and others
+have gone there, but their experience has not been such as to encourage
+the coming of others. It will doubtless be a long time before the
+Amazon Valley can honestly claim half a dozen inhabitants to the square
+mile.
+
+In due time the steamer returned from San Antonio, and our friends
+continued their journey.
+
+They were the only passengers, and had things their own way. The steamer
+had a large upper saloon, open on all sides, but capable of being closed
+in by curtains in bad weather. There was a long table in the centre at
+which meals were served, and at each corner of the saloon stood an
+earthen jar filled with drinking water which had been carefully
+filtered. The water of the Amazon and its tributaries contains many
+vegetable impurities; it should not be drank without filtering, and the
+prudent traveller will also have it boiled.
+
+Between the table and the sides of the saloon there were hooks for
+suspending hammocks; Manuel explained that they could hang their
+hammocks in any unoccupied places, sleeping there by night and reclining
+during the day. They could have private cabins on the main-deck if they
+preferred, but the private rooms were less airy, and not to be desired.
+By a party just from the trip over the Andes and down the Beni such a
+proposal was naturally laughed at; the youths and their mentor swung
+their hammocks where they liked, and enjoyed the beautiful panorama that
+was unfolded to their eyes as the steamer moved on her course.
+
+Frank declared it the perfection of travelling comfort to lie in a
+hammock and study the scenery with hardly the motion of a muscle; it
+surpassed the indolence of a chair on the deck of a transatlantic
+steamship, or the fauteuil of a Pullman car from New York to San
+Francisco. But it is proper to add that neither of the young gentlemen
+adhered closely to his hammock during the daytime, in spite of any
+theories in that direction. They were here, there, and everywhere on the
+steamboat; now studying the magnificent forest that passed before their
+eyes, or gazing into the dark waters through which they ploughed their
+way. Turtles and great fishes were their delight, and of the former at
+least there was no lack. When a sand-bar was approached they eagerly
+scanned it with their glasses in search of alligators, and as these
+products of the river were abundant and sand-bars were numerous, they
+had plenty of amusement in this line.
+
+The ordinary life on the steamboat, so far as meals were concerned, was
+as follows: coffee was served as soon as the passengers were out of
+their hammocks, and if they were specially inclined to laziness they had
+it before they rose. Breakfast was served at ten o'clock, dinner at
+five, and tea at eight. At breakfast and dinner there was a plentiful
+supply of meat, sometimes half a dozen courses being served of meats
+alone. Live turtles and fowls were kept on board for the wants of the
+table; on the large steamers on the lower Amazon there are always a few
+bullocks carried along and slaughtered when wanted, in addition to
+chickens and turtles. Rice and farina are abundantly supplied at every
+meal, and the cook (a Chinaman) brought back recollections of Java and
+India in his skill in making curries and _pilaufs_. The captain of a
+steamer on the Amazon has an allowance for feeding the passengers and
+crew; sometimes he delegates the purchases to the cook, but quite as
+often he takes the matter into his own hands and does his buying in
+person. By so doing he avoids extravagance, and escapes the inevitable
+"squeezes" of the cook.
+
+[Illustration: PIRA-RUCÛ, A FISH OF THE AMAZON.]
+
+The captains are usually paid a salary, and commissions on the freight
+and passengers; in a prosperous season the commissions will amount to
+more than the salary, and if the captain has an inclination to
+dishonesty his opportunities are excellent. Most of the steamboats
+receive a subsidy from the government, which guarantees them against
+loss, and altogether their business shows a very good profit.
+
+With stoppages at the various landings where real or imaginary villages
+existed, the voyage from the mouth of the January River to the junction
+of the Madeira and the Amazon occupied four days. It was enlivened by
+several incidents of an amusing character, and one or two that
+threatened to be serious.
+
+[Illustration: DEPOSITS IN THE AMAZON VALLEY.]
+
+Once the boat ran hard aground on a sand-bar, and for some time it was
+feared that the whole cargo would need to be removed to lighten the
+craft sufficiently to get her off. But by pulling hard upon ropes
+fastened to anchors placed in the rear of the boat, and a vigorous
+backing of the engines at the same time, they managed to get afloat. One
+morning, while crawling along through a fog, they crashed into the bank,
+but happily with no great force; some of the lighter work of the boat
+was broken, but the hull remained uninjured.
+
+When near the Amazon the boat struck hard against something that was
+supposed to be a log. The engines were stopped, and an examination
+showed that instead of a log it was a huge turtle, that had evidently
+been taking a nap on the surface, and was unconscious of the steamer's
+approach.
+
+One afternoon, as they were turning a point under the overhanging
+branches of an immense tree, the upper works of the boat brushed against
+a wasps' nest; the disturbed insects came on board without invitation,
+and for some minutes they made things very lively. Frank was stung on
+the nose, and that ornament of his face began to swell almost
+immediately; it was assuming gigantic proportions when the Doctor made
+an application of ammonia that soon neutralized the effect of the
+poison, though not until the youth had suffered considerable pain.
+
+[Illustration: WASP-NEST, SHOWING INTERIOR CONSTRUCTION.]
+
+Manuel explained that the particular kind of wasp which had caused the
+trouble was known as the "Yessi Marabunta," a large black wasp with a
+powerful sting. His nest in the limbs of a tree resembles a Dutch
+cheese, and it is generally inhabited by a large family. There are
+several varieties of wasp on the Amazon; all of them are troublesome,
+and some are actually dangerous to life. Away from the rivers they are
+numerous in the neighborhood of springs, and cause great annoyance to
+cattle going to drink; in the towns and villages they take possession of
+the upper part of the houses, building their nests under the eaves and
+beneath the roof. Woe betide the individual who disturbs them in their
+occupations, unless he is protected by coverings their lances cannot
+penetrate.
+
+While they were passing under another tree a snake dropped on board,
+close to where the captain was standing on the upper deck, engaged in
+giving directions to the man at the wheel. It was a member of the boa
+family, about six feet in length; though he was classed as "harmless,"
+there was a manifest desire of the captain to get out of the reptile's
+way, and both Frank and Fred, who were in the vicinity, showed similar
+inclinations. The intruder was equally frightened, and wriggled towards
+the edge of the deck, whence a push with a pole sent him spinning
+overboard.
+
+The beauty of the forest that bordered the river was a never-ending
+source of attraction to our friends. Giant trees and trees of lower
+stature covered the banks, and extended back from the shore as far as
+the eye could reach. Their trunks were almost concealed by the profusion
+of climbing plants, and their foliage was intermingled with bright
+orchids, some of immense size, and with colors rivalling those of the
+rainbow. The variety of the trees and plants was bewildering, and as our
+friends gazed hour by hour upon the ever-changing panorama, with its
+ever-sameness, they realized that it would be a labor of years for a
+botanist, to number and classify the vegetable growths comprised in the
+limits of a single day's travel.
+
+[Illustration: LEAVES, NUT, AND FLOWERS OF SAPUCAYA, AN AMAZON TREE.]
+
+Fred copied into his note-book the following, from Professor Orton's
+narrative:
+
+"No spot on the globe contains so much vegetable matter as the valley of
+the Amazon. In it we may draw a circle a thousand miles in diameter,
+which will include an evergreen forest broken only by the rivers and a
+few grassy _campos_. There is a most bewildering diversity of grand and
+beautiful trees--a wild, unconquered race of vegetable giants--draped,
+festooned, corded, matted, and ribboned with creeping and climbing
+plants, woody and succulent, in endless variety.
+
+[Illustration: FERNS, TREES, AND CREEPERS.]
+
+"The flowers are on the top. On many of the trees not a single blossom
+is to be found at a height less than one hundred feet. The glory of the
+forest can be seen only by sailing in a balloon over the undulating
+flowery surface above. There, too, in that green cloud, are the insects
+and birds and monkeys. You are in 'the empty nave of the cathedral, and
+the service is being celebrated aloft in the blazing roof.' In place of
+mosses and lichens, the trunks and boughs are bearded with orchids,
+ferns, tillandsias, and cactuses, frequently forming hanging gardens of
+great beauty. The branches are so thoroughly interwoven, and so densely
+veiled with twiners and epiphytes, that one sees little more than a
+green wall. He might roam a hundred years in the Amazon thicket, and at
+the end find it impossible to classify the myriad crowded, competing
+shapes of vegetation. The exuberance of nature, displayed in these
+million square miles of tangled, impenetrable forest, offers a bar to
+civilization nearly as great as its sterility in the African deserts."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+FROM THE MADEIRA TO THE RIO NEGRO.--OTHER TRIBUTARIES OF THE
+AMAZON.--NOTES ON THE GREAT RIVER.--MANAOS.--DOWN THE AMAZON TO PARA.
+
+
+Entering the Amazon from the Madeira, the steamer turned her prow to the
+westward and ascended the great river for sixty miles, to the mouth of
+the Rio Negro. The yellow waters of the Amazon and Madeira had reminded
+Frank and Fred of the Mississippi; there was some dispute between them
+as to which of the two streams was dirtier in color, but they finally
+agreed that the Madeira was the worse of the two.
+
+"We will compare the Madeira to the Missouri," said Fred, "and the
+united stream to the Mississippi as we see it below the mouth of the
+Ohio." Frank agreed to this distinction, and there the discussion ended.
+
+The Amazon brings down a vast amount of alluvial matter which it
+receives from its tributaries, in addition to what it breaks away from
+the banks on its own account below the mouth of the Madeira. The
+sediment is carried far into the sea, and there is no proper delta at
+its mouth, as with the other great rivers of the world.
+
+Frank made some notes concerning the great river, which we will now
+introduce.
+
+"The Amazon," said he, "is undoubtedly the largest river on the globe,
+but it is not the longest. Lieutenant Herndon estimates its length,
+considering the Huallaga as the head-stream, at three thousand nine
+hundred and forty-four miles; another authority makes it three thousand
+miles; another two thousand seven hundred and fifty, and other
+travellers give various figures up to three thousand six hundred miles.
+The differences arise from disputes as to which of the tributaries
+should be called the head-stream.
+
+"The Amazon is rather a vast system of rivers than a river by itself.
+More than three hundred and fifty branches and tributaries unite to form
+the Amazon; all the rivers flowing from the eastern slope of the Andes
+from three degrees north latitude to nineteen degrees south latitude, a
+distance of two thousand miles, as we follow the windings of the
+mountain chain, pour into the Amazon and contribute to its immense
+volume. It is three hundred and twelve feet deep at its mouth, and
+where it crosses the Brazilian frontier at Tabatinga it is sixty-six
+feet deep! The _Great Eastern_ steamship might navigate it for more than
+a thousand miles from the sea.
+
+[Illustration: NATIVES ON THE MIDDLE AMAZON.]
+
+"Half a million cubic feet of water flow out of the Amazon every second,
+or thirty million cubic feet in a minute. The ordinary current is three
+miles an hour. Two thousand three hundred miles from the sea it is three
+fourths of a mile wide, at the mouth of the Madeira it is three miles
+wide, and below Santarem it is ten miles from side to side. Its mouth is
+said to be one hundred and eighty miles wide, but this is hardly a fair
+statement of the case, as the island of Marajo occupies a large portion
+of the mouth, and the river reaches the ocean through many channels.
+
+"The tide is perceptible five hundred miles from the sea; it does not
+carry the salt water up with it, but there is simply a rise and fall of
+the fresh water. So great is the volume of the Amazon where it enters
+the sea that ships can dip up fresh water while yet out of sight of
+land."
+
+"In speaking of the tide," said the Doctor, "don't forget to mention the
+_piroróco_ or 'bore' of the Amazon."
+
+"I was just coming to it," replied the youth, "and cannot do better
+than quote a description by La Condamine, written more than a hundred
+years ago. Here it is:
+
+"'During three days before the new and full moons, the period of the
+highest tides, the sea, instead of occupying six hours to reach its
+flood, swells to its highest limits in one or two minutes. The noise of
+this terrible flood is heard five or six miles, and increases as it
+approaches. Presently you see a liquid promontory, twelve or fifteen
+feet high, followed by another and another, and sometimes by a fourth.
+These watery mountains spread across the whole channel, and advance with
+a prodigious rapidity, rending and crushing everything in their way.
+Immense trees are instantly uprooted by it, and sometimes whole tracts
+of land are swept away.'"
+
+"It must be a terrible thing for boats to encounter, especially the
+small ones," Fred remarked, as Frank concluded the above description.
+
+"It is," Dr. Bronson answered, "and many of them are lost every year.
+But those engaged in navigating the river know when to expect the bore,
+and take precautions against it. They have _esperas_, or resting-places,
+where they are sheltered from its force, and wait until it has passed.
+
+"The bore is not confined to the Amazon," continued the Doctor; "it is
+known in other rivers, especially in the Hoogly, below Calcutta, but the
+bore of the Amazon is undoubtedly the largest."
+
+[Illustration: IN AN IGARIPÉ.]
+
+"Another curious feature of the Amazon," said Frank, resuming, "is the
+great number of lateral channels, which are technically called
+_igaripés_, or canoe-paths. Boats may go for hundreds of miles along the
+lower Amazon in the _igaripés_ without once entering the main stream.
+They remind us of the bayous of the lower part of the Mississippi
+Valley."
+
+"Don't forget," said Fred, "that the Amazon rises within sixty miles of
+the Pacific Ocean, and touches every country of South America except
+Chili and Patagonia. The Madeira rises close to the sources of the La
+Plata, while the Negro, the great northern tributary of the Amazon, is
+connected with the Orinoco by a navigable canal called the Cassiquari.
+The navigation of this network of waters is favored by nature; the
+current is eastward, while the trade wind blows west from the Atlantic,
+so that ships going either way have the stream or the wind to help them
+along."
+
+"And another thing," said the Doctor, "that should be mentioned, is the
+annual rise and fall. There is a succession of freshets in the
+tributaries of the Amazon, so that the main stream can never run low.
+Most of its affluents are in the southern hemisphere, and consequently
+the river has its greatest flood when the sun is south of the equator.
+The rise is gradual, beginning in September or October, and increasing
+not more than one foot daily, and often less than that. The difference
+between the highest and lowest levels is about forty-five feet, and at
+the time of the flood vast areas of land are covered with water. Once in
+every six years the flood is greater than usual."
+
+"The Amazon is too large to be content with one name," said Frank. "From
+its mouth to the junction with the Negro it is called the Amazon, or the
+Amazons; from the Negro to the Peruvian frontier it is the Solimoens;
+and the part in Peru is the Marañon. But these distinctions are passing
+away since the river was opened to universal navigation; the Solimoens
+is now generally called the Middle Amazon and the Marañon the Upper
+Amazon. Probably another twenty years will see the old names disappear
+altogether."
+
+Manaos is on the Rio Negro, ten miles above the junction of the latter
+stream with the Amazon. Frank and Fred observed with interest the change
+from one river to the other, which was as marked as that from the
+Mississippi to the Missouri, near Alton, Illinois. The Amazon is yellow,
+while the Negro, as its name indicates, is black. For miles the line
+between the two waters is sharply defined; they hold apart from each
+other, as if unwilling to mingle, but the greater river at length
+absorbs the smaller, and henceforth, to the sea, the yellow color is
+retained.
+
+The youths dipped some water from the two rivers and placed it in
+glasses side by side. That of the Amazon was like milk, as sometimes
+seen in boarding-houses or cheap restaurants, while the water of the
+Negro was clear, with a tinge of red. The difference in the banks of the
+rivers was as marked as that of their waters, those of the Amazon being
+low and broken, as on the Mississippi. The banks of the Negro gave no
+indication of alluvial washings, but presented many sandy beaches,
+backed by low hills covered with dark forests, in which few palms or
+similar trees were visible.
+
+The steamer anchored in front of Manaos, and the little party went on
+shore. They found a town resembling some of the river-landings in
+Arkansas or Missouri, with the addition of tropical surroundings. It
+straggled along the shore and back over the undulating hills for a
+considerable distance, and at first glance resembled a city of no small
+importance. It had about four thousand inhabitants, but there is room
+for many times that number when all the "lots" are occupied with
+well-filled dwellings. On an elevation in the centre is the cathedral,
+which was unfinished at the time of Dr. Bronson's visit, and has been a
+work of very slow growth since its foundation.
+
+Facing the river is a large open square with a few palm-trees on its
+borders, and near the water there are several buildings variously
+occupied as custom-house, hotel, and steamboat offices. A long avenue
+known as Brazil Street runs through the town, with its ends on two
+_igaripés_, or canals; these canals run back from the river, so that
+Manaos is surrounded on three sides by water. The houses are by no means
+crowded, as in most European cities, but each has a comfortable area of
+ground around it, affording good ventilation and plenty of moving space.
+
+[Illustration: FRUIT-PEDLERS.]
+
+Manaos is destined to be the St. Louis of the Amazon Valley, as it is
+the diverging and converging point for a great deal of commerce. Freight
+up or down the Amazon and its tributaries is generally transshipped
+here, and at some seasons of the year the river front is a scene of much
+activity. The population is a mixed one, and includes negroes, Indians,
+Brazilians, Portuguese, Italians, and half a dozen nationalities of
+Europe, together with a few Chinese and East Indians, and occasionally
+Englishmen and North Americans. As the commerce of the Amazon Valley
+develops, Manaos will grow in population and wealth, and the day may not
+be far distant when ocean steamers will receive their cargoes at its
+docks instead of at Para.
+
+[Illustration: ARRIVAL AT MANAOS.]
+
+Frank and Fred wished to make some purchases, and sallied out for that
+purpose. They returned with the declaration that Manaos was like home in
+one respect, according to the old song, as it was "The dearest spot on
+earth." Hardly anything they saw was the product of the country;
+everything was imported, and the importers held their goods at high
+prices. An American whom they met said there was little agriculture in
+the surrounding region; beef came up the Madeira; sheep, and other
+meat-supplying animals were imported, and so were hams and all other
+preserved edibles; while manufactured articles were from New York,
+Liverpool, or other Atlantic ports.
+
+[Illustration: GIANT FIG-TREE.]
+
+Fred asked what were the industries of Manaos, and was told there were
+none at all.
+
+"Brazilians and Indians will not work," said his informant. "The
+immigrants from Europe live by trading. Since their emancipation, the
+negroes prefer fishing to any other mode of existence, and the Americans
+that came here as colonists have mostly gone back disappointed. There is
+really no laboring class here, and until there is we can have no
+agriculture. The land would produce abundantly, but there is nobody to
+cultivate it. I doubt if there are five hundred acres of tilled land on
+the Amazon, between this point and the foot of the Andes."
+
+The exports of Manaos are rubber, coffee, sarsaparilla, Brazil nuts,
+pissaba, chinchona, fish, and turtles. The imports are cotton cloth,
+beads, and other "Indian goods" for the natives, and various articles of
+necessity or luxury for the European inhabitants. The surrounding
+country is diversified with valleys, hills, and ravines, and not far
+from the place is a pretty cascade ten feet high and fifty feet wide,
+falling over a precipice of red sandstone. The sheet of water resembles
+Minnehaha in its general outline, but its peculiarity is in its deep
+orange color, obtained from the soil through which the streams flows.
+
+The youths wished to ascend the Rio Negro, but circumstances did not
+permit the excursion. The Negro rises in Colombia, and is twelve hundred
+miles in length; at one place it is ten or twelve miles in width, and at
+Manaos not less than two miles. During the flood of the Amazon the dark
+waters of the Negro are dammed and held back, for hundreds of miles, by
+the rise of the giant stream. The natural canal, the Cassiquari, which
+connects the Negro with the Orinoco, is half a mile wide, and drains off
+the superfluous waters which go to swell the lower part of the
+last-named river.
+
+[Illustration: NATIVES OF THE BANKS OF THE UCAYALI.]
+
+Other great tributaries of the Amazon are the Huallaga and the Ucayali;
+both rise on the Peruvian Andes, the latter near ancient Cuzco. Either
+can be compared to the Ohio, and both are navigable for long distances.
+Like the other streams that flow into the Amazon, they run through
+regions with few inhabitants, and consequently there is little commerce
+along their banks. There are many rivers as large as the Hudson or the
+Connecticut, that are unknown to geographers, and not named on the maps.
+
+Glad enough were our friends to leave Manaos, after a day's detention,
+and descend the Amazon. The heat was severe, the thermometer mounting to
+ninety-two degrees Fahrenheit, with a damp atmosphere, which made the
+temperature very oppressive. Manaos has the reputation of being the
+warmest spot on the Amazon; the mercury mounts very often to the
+nineties, and can touch ninety-eight without apparent effort. There are
+few amusements, and the most comfortable occupation is to do nothing.
+The European residents indulge in balls and parties, but more as a
+matter of form than for the sake of enjoyment.
+
+Aided by the current, the steamer made the sixty miles between Manaos
+and the mouth of the Madeira in a trifle over four hours. The boat
+resembled the one on which they had descended the Madeira, but was more
+than twice as large; the arrangement of the cabins and decks was the
+same, and each traveller hung his hammock between the decks, and took
+advantage of the cooling trade wind that blew up the river.
+
+[Illustration: A BRAZILIAN LANDING-PLACE.]
+
+Frank's inquiring mind led him among the boxes, bales, and bags which
+comprised the freight of the steamer; he was accompanied by Manuel, who
+answered the youth's questions to the best of his ability. Where he did
+not know the correct answer he followed the custom of the country in
+giving the first that his imagination suggested.
+
+Frank's first question related to pissaba.
+
+"Pissaba comes from the Pissaba palm," said the guide, "and is a fibre
+which is manufactured into cables and ropes, and is exported to Europe
+and America to be made into brushes and brooms. It is stronger than
+hemp, and more elastic, and if the people were enterprising it could
+drive hemp out of the market for many uses."
+
+"Please tell me about Brazil nuts," was the next suggestion.
+
+"Brazil nuts grow on one of the tallest trees of the forest," was the
+reply. "There are eighteen or twenty nuts in a hard shell like a cannon
+ball, and they are packed in so wonderfully that when once taken out no
+man is ingenious enough to put them all back again. I have seen
+Brazil-nut trees two hundred feet high, and fourteen feet through at the
+base, and not a branch within a hundred feet of the ground."
+
+Frank asked how the nuts were gathered.
+
+"They are allowed to ripen and fall to the ground," answered the guide,
+"partly because they will not keep if picked from the tree, and partly
+because it is difficult and dangerous to climb for them."
+
+"It must be equally dangerous to stand under the tree, and risk being
+hit by one of the falling nuts."
+
+"It is," was the reply. "The large shells or cases are five inches in
+diameter, and weigh two or three pounds; in their descent they attain a
+momentum resembling that of a cannon-ball, and often bury themselves out
+of sight in the ground. A nut falling on a man's head will certainly
+break the shell, and this has happened in many instances.
+
+"The nut-gatherers build their huts among the trees, or more often a
+little distance from them; if under the trees, they give the roof a
+sharp incline, so that nuts falling upon it will slide off and do no
+harm. The wind blows in the morning, and at that time the gatherers stay
+at home, employing their time in breaking open the shells of the
+previous day's collection, and getting the nuts ready for packing in
+sacks. When the wind ceases they go out and collect what have been
+shaken off by the breeze.
+
+"It is a hard life," continued the guide, "and many of the people die in
+consequence of the fatigue and exposure. They must tramp through the
+forest, and bring in heavy loads of nuts; they have scanty food; and the
+swamps and forests are full of malaria. They suffer from fevers and
+rheumatism, and are without medicines; they receive very low wages, and
+are constantly in debt to their employers; they lose their way, and
+starve to death; and sometimes their canoes laden with nuts are
+overturned, and the occupants drowned. But all these dangers combined
+are less than the peril from the falling nuts, and not a year passes
+without the death of nut-gatherers from this cause.
+
+"The trade is conducted on the credit system, very much like that of the
+rubber-collecting industry. The annual shipment of Brazil nuts from Para
+is about eleven million pounds; and the nut trade is the third in
+importance among foreign exports, rubber and cacao being the first and
+second."
+
+"Who eats the nuts?" was the next interrogatory.
+
+"I don't exactly know," answered Manuel, "but am told that more than
+half of the nuts sent from Brazil are eaten by schoolboys in England,
+France, and the United States."
+
+"Yes, I remember now," said Frank, "but had forgotten for the moment the
+hard, black, triangular nuts we used to buy in our school-days. They are
+favorites with boys, but the taste for them seems to disappear as we
+grow older. Now, please tell me about cacao."
+
+"Cacao is cultivated in Brazil and other lowland countries of South
+America," replied Manuel, "but I can't tell you much about it. You must
+ask Dr. Bronson."
+
+At this moment the Doctor happened along, and Frank repeated his
+question.
+
+"Cacao is the substance from which chocolate is made," he explained,
+"and it is the same as the French '_chocolat_' or '_coco_.' It is
+cultivated in tropical countries, twenty-five degrees each way from the
+equator, and sometimes the forests of cacao are miles and miles in
+extent. It grows to a height of twenty-five or thirty feet, and
+resembles a black-heart cherry-tree in size and shape. It is an
+evergreen, and has a smooth, oblong leaf, terminating in a sharp point.
+The fruit resembles a short, thick cucumber; it is from five to nine
+inches long, and contains from twenty to forty, or even fifty, beans
+which resemble the pit of an almond. From these beans the chocolate of
+commerce is made."
+
+"Do they make it here or export the bean to other countries?" Frank
+inquired.
+
+"The beans are separated from the pulp that surrounds them, and when
+dried are ready for market. Sometimes they undergo a fermentation to
+remove certain acrid qualities, but, except for local use, no attempt is
+made to manufacture the chocolate here. The manufacturing is done in
+England, France, and other countries, by means of delicate but powerful
+machinery. The shells of the seeds are of a dark-brown color, quite thin
+and brittle; they are the cocoa-shells which are sold in American
+grocery-stores to be used in making 'cocoa' for our tables.
+
+"A rich oil is made from the seeds, but its manufacture is less
+profitable than the sale of the seeds for making chocolate or cocoa. The
+trees begin to bear when four years old, and the harvest season is in
+July and August; the industry is said to be profitable when properly
+managed, as the expense of maintaining a plantation is not great, and
+the harvest season occurs when other industries are at a standstill. The
+pulp that surrounds the seeds is made into a refreshing drink for
+immediate use, and some of the planters make from it a jelly which is
+said to equal the famous guava jelly. The outer shell is burned, and its
+ashes are the basis of a strong brown soap, like the home-made soap of
+New England."
+
+[Illustration: THE ANT-EATER ASLEEP.]
+
+Fred interrupted the conversation by calling attention to an ant-eater,
+the property of one of the passengers, which was secured in a cage
+containing an upright branch of a tree for its accommodation. Manuel
+said the beast made his home in the trees, and lived on the tree-ants,
+which were numerous in Brazil. He sleeps by day, and roams at night,
+and when he sleeps he gives his whole mind to it. He has strong claws
+and a prehensile tail; by the use of these, and by placing his head in
+the fork of a limb, he can slumber without any fear of falling out of
+bed.
+
+The fellow was taking his afternoon nap, and the youths did not disturb
+him. Fred make a sketch of the ant-eater in repose, and pronounced him a
+model drawing-model, as he did not move a muscle during the time
+required for taking his portrait.
+
+The first stopping-place of the steamer was at Serpa, thirty miles below
+the mouth of the Madeira; it was a town of about one hundred houses,
+with as mixed a population as that of Manaos, though not as numerous.
+The proportion of negroes seemed larger than at Manaos, and Manuel said
+they would find this the case in each of the river towns as they
+approached Para. They took on board a considerable quantity of rubber,
+and then steamed onward.
+
+[Illustration: THE MOUTHS OF THE AMAZON.]
+
+One hundred and fifty miles farther on they stopped at Villa Nova, the
+twin brother of Serpa in size and general appearance. Here the Amazon
+began to contract its banks, and the current increased in strength
+until, at Obidos, one hundred miles beyond Villa Nova, they found it
+narrowed to about a mile in width. The river is here two hundred and
+fifty feet deep, and its velocity, according to Professor Orton, is 2.4
+feet per second. All the water of the Amazon does not go through this
+passage, as there are lateral channels which carry off a considerable
+quantity. Obidos is on a high bank of hard clay, and presents a bold
+front to the river. There are many cacao plantations in the vicinity;
+from Villa Nova to Para these plantations are numerous, and the industry
+is more important than anything else.
+
+The river widened again as they moved on to Santarem, which is fifty
+miles below Obidos, and occupies a healthy position at the mouth of the
+Rio Tapajos, five hundred miles from the ocean. This river sends to
+market rubber, sarsaparilla, Brazil nuts, farina, and copaiba, and there
+are several cattle estates along its banks. Colonists from the southern
+states of North America settled here after our civil war; some of them
+established a prosperous business, but the greater number went away
+disappointed. Those who remain cultivate the sugar-cane and make sugar;
+some are engaged in commerce, and others have gone to rearing cattle and
+making butter. The latter industry was formerly unknown here, all
+butter used in Para, and elsewhere on the Amazon, being imported from
+Europe or the United States.
+
+Below Santarem the river increased in width so greatly that at times
+both banks were not visible from the steamer. Several unimportant points
+were visited; rubber, cacao, and other products were received at the
+landings; and the horizon of tropical forest along the banks retained
+its luxuriance and monotony. There were few signs of animal life beyond
+an occasional hut of a rubber-maker, or a group of natives gazing idly
+at the steamer.
+
+After stopping a little while at Breves, on the southwest corner of the
+island of Marajo, the steamer next entered the part of the Amazon known
+as the Para River. Eighteen hours after her departure from Breves she
+dropped her anchor in the harbor of Para, and ended the journey of our
+friends across the South American continent.
+
+[Illustration: PARA, FROM THE RIVER.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+PARA.--ITS BUSINESS AND CHARACTERISTICS.--THE ISLAND OF MARAJO.--DOWN
+THE COAST.--PERNAMBUCO.--THE SUGAR INDUSTRY.
+
+
+[Illustration: ENVIRONS OF PARA.]
+
+Para is an important seaport, and has regular communication with Europe
+and America by several lines of steamers. Naturally, the trade of the
+Amazon Valley centres here; Para is nearer to Europe and North America
+than is Rio Janeiro, and therefore it possesses great commercial
+advantages over the capital. It has a population of little less than
+fifty thousand, and but for the political troubles which have fallen
+upon it at different times, and the laws which hamper commerce, it would
+have more than double that number of inhabitants.
+
+[Illustration: A TROPICAL PLANT.]
+
+We will read what Frank and Fred had to say of their visit to this
+_entrepot_ of the Amazon.
+
+"It was a great pleasure to us to reach this place, the first real city
+we had seen since we left Lima months ago, and thousands of miles away.
+Here we find gas and street railways; theatres and hotels; paved
+streets, and markets with roofs; houses elegantly furnished, and built
+as though intended for something more enduring than the thatched huts of
+the interior; public and private carriages, though not many of the
+latter; well-dressed men and women; churches and schools; prosperous
+merchants and extensive commercial houses, together with many other
+attributes of a permanent city. Several visitors have remarked that it
+was founded in the year that saw the death of Shakespeare, and we will
+follow their example. Its history dates from 1616, when Francesco
+Caldeira laid the foundations of a fort which was intended to close the
+Amazon River to foreigners who had begun trading with the Indians. Its
+full name is Santa Maria do Belem do Gram Pará, but nobody in this busy
+nineteenth century thinks of stopping to pronounce it; it is called
+simply 'Pará,' with the accent on the last syllable.
+
+"It has had several insurrections, which have retarded its prosperity
+and caused the death of many of its citizens. In one of these
+insurrections two hundred and fifty of the most prominent participants
+were carried on board a ship in the harbor, and confined in the hold.
+There was no ventilation, and the prisoners struggled and fought for
+air; those who came near the hatches were shot, and finally the hatches
+were nailed up. They remained closed until the next morning, when only
+four persons were found alive! It was the Black Hole of Calcutta of the
+western hemisphere!
+
+"In a later revolt, thirteen war-ships that had been sent from Rio
+Janeiro were sunk by the guns of the fort, but a land force of soldiers
+succeeded in restoring the national authority and suppressing the
+insurrection. Since that time the city treasury has been plundered by
+successive 'rings,' resembling the Tweed organization in New York, and
+altogether Para has had a hard experience. At present it is said to be
+in honest hands, and we hope it may always remain so.
+
+[Illustration: A DEALER IN MONKEYS.]
+
+"Our first walk was through the commercial quarter, where we found most
+of the buildings solidly constructed, and generally two stories high;
+they are of brick or stone, plastered on the outside, and either painted
+or whitewashed so that the exact nature of their material is not readily
+ascertained. Formerly most of the merchants lived above their offices,
+but of late years they have established residences in other parts of the
+city, and the old fashion of living is generally abandoned.
+
+"We entered the first tram or street-railway car that we saw, and rode
+out nearly five miles along the beautiful Rua de Nazareth, or Nazareth
+Avenue, to Marco da Legua, the terminus of the line. Here we found the
+public wells of the city, and a great crowd of negro laundresses,
+besides the water-carriers, with their water-hogsheads mounted on
+wheels. They were as noisy as they were numerous, and so loud and
+animated was the conversation that we looked around every moment,
+expecting a fight with a free use of knives. Happily they confined
+themselves to words and gesticulations, and we have no scene of
+bloodshed to record.
+
+"The water-carriers are generally known as _Gallegos_; the term is a
+contemptuous one, applied by the Portuguese to the Spanish emigrants
+from Galicia, who go to the cities of Portugal and embrace the
+occupation of carrying water. The Brazilians have adopted the word, and
+apply it to the Portuguese; a good deal of enmity is kept alive by its
+use, which is as offensive to an inhabitant of Para as the term 'Paddy'
+applied to an emigrant from the Emerald Isle, in an American city.
+
+"For the first two miles of its course the Rua de Nazareth is lined with
+pretty dwelling-houses, and every year there is an addition to the
+number. Few avenues that we have seen are more picturesque than this.
+The sidewalks are shaded with tropical trees, and the air is filled with
+the odor of lemon and orange blossoms, together with similar floral
+perfumes. In our morning's ride we saw, on this avenue, and on some of
+the streets leading from it, not less than a dozen varieties of trees
+peculiar to the region of the equator, and we needed to shut our eyes
+only for a moment to imagine ourselves again in Singapore or beneath the
+tropical sky of Ceylon.
+
+[Illustration: STREET IN PARA WITH SILK-COTTON TREES.]
+
+"Orange and lemon trees alternated with traveller's palms and
+silk-cotton trees, and these again with the producers of the almond and
+cocoa-nut. One of the most attractive of the arboreal ornaments is the
+silk-cotton tree; it has a broad base, tapering rapidly towards the top,
+where it spreads out into a leafy tuft like that of the palm. It is an
+evergreen, and the changes of the seasons make no difference in its
+foliage. The product that gives the name to the tree is a species of
+cotton, as soft as silk; it can be spun and woven, and is used by the
+Indians for wrapping the arrows of their blow-guns to prevent the escape
+of air when the weapon is discharged.
+
+[Illustration: NAZARETH SQUARE, PARA.]
+
+"We came to the Largo de Nazareth, or Nazareth Square, which must have
+been named by a Hibernian, as it is round, and not rectangular. It
+contains the church and chapel where Our Lady of Nazareth is
+worshipped; on our return from the end of the railway we stopped at the
+square and visited the revered place. What struck us particularly was
+the great number of votive offerings on the walls of the church and
+chapel; they represent heads and limbs of the faithful who have been
+cured of diseases through the interposition of the patron saint of the
+edifice. We had seen the same sort of things in European churches, but
+the large number at Para seems to indicate that the cures have been as
+numerous as they are miraculous.
+
+"The festival of Our Lady of Nazareth occurs in October, and the event
+draws great numbers of people to Para from all the provinces of the
+Amazon. It lasts for two weeks, and during that time the square is
+crowded, especially at night, and many of the scenes that are witnessed
+at that period are anything but pious. There are many festivals during
+the course of the year, somewhat to the inconvenience of visitors, as it
+is the rule to close the government offices on these days, and no
+business of an official character can be transacted. Many of the
+laboring classes refuse to work on saints' days, and only those who are
+in debt to their employers can be required to do so.
+
+"It is proper to remark here that our street-car was drawn by a mule,
+this animal being generally preferred to the horse. He is said to endure
+the heat better than the nobler beast, and certainly he has a good deal
+of it to endure. The average temperature of Para is not far from eighty
+degrees, and there is very little variation. Overcoats, except for rain,
+are of no use here, and thick clothing is at a discount. We find
+ourselves entirely comfortable in blue serge by day, and do not require
+blankets at night.
+
+"It is hottest about two o'clock in the afternoon, but the heat is
+always tempered by the breeze from the ocean. Five days out of six there
+is an afternoon shower, and as the air is laden with moisture taken up
+from the sea the streets of Para are never dry and dusty. The paved ones
+are not the best in the world; they are full of ruts and hollows, and
+any one who rides in a carriage is pretty certain to be shaken violently
+in every joint before reaching his journey's end. As for the unpaved
+streets, they are often deep with sandy mud which makes very
+disagreeable walking.
+
+[Illustration: A PARA BELLE.]
+
+"We have voted unanimously that most of the ladies of Para that we have
+seen are pretty, but unfortunately they are not many. The women of the
+upper classes are quite secluded; they rarely appear on the street
+except on their way to or from church, and they do not often receive
+company. Their features are Portuguese, with black hair, and a decidedly
+brunette tinge to their complexions. We have bought a photograph of one
+of the belles of Para and enclose it in this letter.
+
+"But though we have seen few of the ladies of Para, we have not been
+deprived of a sight of the people of the lower classes. The wealthy and
+commercial population includes Portuguese and native Brazilians,
+together with English, German, French, Italians, and a few North
+Americans from the United States. The great mass of the inhabitants are
+Indians, negroes, Chinese, and some others who cannot be readily
+classified.
+
+[Illustration: THE MARKET AT PARA.]
+
+"The best place to study the lower classes is at the market, which is an
+active place in the early hours of the day. We went there on our second
+morning, and our attention was at once drawn to the piles of bananas,
+pineapples, oranges, lemons, and all other tropical fruits you could
+think of, besides a great number you could not possibly name. Then there
+were garden vegetables and tobacco, baskets of flowers, heaps of fish,
+cages of chickens and other fowls, and a lot of monkeys and parrots that
+made noise enough for a menagerie. We have a suspicion that the parrots
+are disposed of as chickens to the restaurants, while the monkeys are
+useful as a substitute for spring lamb.
+
+"The Indian and negro women sat or stood in the vicinity of their
+stalls, and chatted freely with each other in the intervals of waiting
+on their customers. Most of the chatting was done by the negresses; the
+Indian women manifested a good deal of the taciturnity for which Indians
+are famous through both North and South America. Two or three priests
+wandered through the market, occasionally stopping to say a word to the
+peasant women, whose bright garments made a marked contrast to the
+ecclesiastical black robes. The market is held in a large building which
+surrounds an open square; the centre of the square is devoted to the
+sale of meat and fish, while the roofed portion contains the stalls
+where other edibles are displayed.
+
+[Illustration: THEATRE OF OUR LADY OF THE PEACE.]
+
+"It is an easy step from the market to the theatre, and it may surprise
+you to know that this city of fifty thousand inhabitants has one of the
+finest theatres on the American continent. The interior reminds us of
+the Scala at Milan, or the San Carlo at Naples; it has five tiers of
+boxes, and each box has a little anteroom where the occupants receive
+and entertain their friends between the acts. And if no friends are
+calling, the ladies and gentlemen promenade in the corridors and through
+a large ball-room which fills the front of the building. Everybody likes
+this part of the entertainment better than the performance on the stage,
+and in order to accommodate them the waits between the acts are very
+long.
+
+"The outside of the theatre has deep alcoves on three sides supported by
+massive pillars, affording shelter from the rain and furnishing a
+delightful promenade. When performances are given the square in front of
+the theatre is crowded with people and carriages, and the lights
+flashing from the interior illumine the scene with a brilliant glow. The
+building was erected just after the close of the war with Paraguay; to
+commemorate that event it was named "The Theatre of Our Lady of The
+Peace." That the city can afford such a theatre and support it is an
+indication of the commercial prosperity of Para.
+
+[Illustration: THE GOVERNMENT PALACE AT PARA.]
+
+"There are six large churches in Para, and there are a post-office and a
+custom-house, together with the other public buildings of a first-class
+seaport. The government palace would do honor to any city in the world,
+and it has a marble staircase which is the perfection of architectural
+beauty. Then comes the Portuguese Hospital, which has few superiors
+anywhere; Dr. Bronson says it is a model of neatness and order, and
+bears every indication that it is admirably managed. A student of skin
+diseases would find a good field for observation in Para. The hot and
+damp air of the Amazon causes numerous sores, and they are very
+difficult to heal; the hospital is full of cases of this kind, and they
+tax to the utmost the skill of the physicians in charge.
+
+"So much for Para, and now for its environs.
+
+"Para is at the edge of a swamp, and so luxuriant is the vegetation in
+the rear of the city that it is said to be necessary to keep a sergeant
+and a squad of police constantly on guard to prevent encroachments. We
+are seventy-five miles from the sea, and the way thither is through the
+great estuary, or Para River, which is so wide that both banks are not
+visible at the same time.
+
+"Para is on the southern side of this estuary; opposite is the island of
+Marajo, one hundred and fifty miles in length, and about one hundred
+miles wide in its broadest part. Half of it is covered with forest, and
+the other, the northeastern half, with an extensive _campos_ or prairie,
+dotted here and there with clumps of trees. The forests are the haunt of
+rubber collectors, as the rubber-trees are abundant; the campos is an
+immense grazing land, with a curious history, which is told in this
+wise:
+
+"The advantages of the island for raising cattle and horses were
+recognized by the early settlers, who founded _estancias_, or ranches,
+there, some of them of immense extent. At the end of the last century
+there were a million horses, and half as many oxen and cows, on the
+island; the horses were nearly or quite wild, and drove the cattle to
+the swamps where many of them died. About the year 1825, the settlers
+complained so much about the ravages of the horses that the government
+gave licenses permitting enterprising men to slaughter these animals for
+their hides, and the work of destruction went on rapidly. In a few years
+hundreds of thousands of horses had been killed off; the bodies were
+left to rot on the ground, and bred a pestilence which destroyed most of
+the remaining horses and cattle. Its effects still continue, and the
+farmers have sought the assistance of government to protect the
+remaining animals, and stop the ravages of the disease.
+
+[Illustration: SOURRÉ AND SALVATERRA.]
+
+"We were not able to visit any of the estancias, but confined our
+inspection of Marajo to the villages of Sourré and Salvaterra, on the
+southern side of the island, at the entrance of the Igarapé Grande. They
+are picturesquely situated on opposite banks of the igarapé, Sourré
+being a little farther inland than its sister place with the longer
+name. We crossed the Para River on a steamer that rolled viciously under
+the effect of the wind blowing in from the Atlantic, and long before we
+reached the other shore more than half the passengers were overcome with
+sea-sickness and unable to move.
+
+"The accommodations were not of the best, but we were accustomed to
+rough life, and had no reason to complain. Both these places are filled
+from August to January by many people from Para, to whom Sourré and
+Salvaterra are as Newport or Long Branch to New-Yorkers. The tide brings
+in a fine flow of sea-water, and the breezes are stronger and cooler
+than at the capital city. There is a good beach for bathing, and when it
+is not occupied by the fashionables it is the scene of a great deal of
+activity on the part of the natives. We hired a boat and a couple of
+Indians to paddle us two or three miles up the igarapé and back again.
+The banks are lined with gardens, from which many vegetables are sent to
+the market of Para.
+
+"In the interior of the island there are farms and plantations where
+sugar-cane, cacao, cotton, rice, and mandioca are grown, but the
+greatest industry of Marajo is in the exportation of cattle. The trade
+is said to reach about ten thousand head every year; horses are scarce,
+and a good riding animal brings a high price.
+
+"We returned from Sourré by the way we went, and reached Para one day
+before the steamer was due which would carry us down the coast. This
+letter will go to New York by the next steamer, and so for the present
+we will say good-bye.
+
+ "FRANK AND FRED.
+
+"P. S.--Our account of Para would be incomplete without an allusion to
+snakes. In many houses they have snakes of the boa-constrictor
+family--of the kind we saw on the Amazon--to keep the place clear of
+rats and mice. They do their work very well, and live on terms of quiet
+friendship with the biped inhabitants. At Sourré we saw the household
+snake coiled up in a corner very much as we might see a cat in a New
+England dwelling; when we manifested a curiosity to look at it one of
+the servants took the reptile by the neck and held it up to full view
+until we declared ourselves satisfied with the inspection. The creature
+did not seem at all angry at his treatment, for as soon as he was
+released he returned to his corner and resumed his nap.
+
+[Illustration: A SNAKE MERCHANT.]
+
+"We have just visited Monkey Joe's establishment, which is devoted to
+the sale of monkeys, parrots, snakes, and other Amazonian live-stock. We
+made no purchases, in spite of the tempting offers at low prices, as we
+have found one monkey quite as much as we wish to carry in our travels.
+Outside of the shop a man was standing with a barrel by his side; when
+we left the place he followed us a short distance and emptied his barrel
+on the ground. He was a snake-merchant, with a choice selection of
+rat-killers that he vainly urged us to buy. We left him and his wares;
+as he was perfectly at home among the wriggling serpents, and had no
+fear of them, he was unable to understand why we departed so suddenly.
+
+ "F. AND F."
+
+Before leaving Para our friends had an experience at the custom-house
+which was the reverse of pleasing. They had bought some curiosities they
+wished to send to New York; the formalities of the tariff required them
+to pay an export duty of seventeen per cent. on the cost of the goods at
+Para prices, and they learned that on some articles the duties were
+much larger. This is particularly the case with fine cabinet woods,
+which are abundant in Brazil, but are very little in demand for shipment
+to foreign countries, in consequence of the high export tariff.
+
+"Foreign trade can never be prosperous in Brazil," said Dr. Bronson,
+"until these export duties are removed. In addition to the custom-house
+tariff at Para, there is a duty on goods carried from one province to
+another, so that all articles of Brazilian manufacture or production are
+heavily burdened before they get out of the country. Brazil may become
+enlightened one of these days, and adopt the practices of other nations
+in this respect, but for the present she ranks with Turkey and other
+semi-barbarous countries in keeping a burden upon her home industries."
+
+Frank asked about the import duties on foreign goods.
+
+"They are from five to eighty per cent. on the valuation," replied the
+Doctor, "and a general average of the duties on importations is about
+forty per cent. They vary according to the caprice of the official
+through whose hands the articles may pass, so that one importer may pay
+twice as much as another on the same kind of goods. Bribery is said to
+be practised with very little effort at concealment, and an importer may
+be highly favored in his business by an 'arrangement' with an officer.
+As long as this state of things continues there will be no great
+increase in business.
+
+"The Brazilian plan of collecting the revenues is full of absurdities.
+For example, shoes pay according to the length of the sole, and
+ready-made clothing is taxed by its weight. The people who came here
+from the United States to settle in Brazil were required to pay enormous
+duties on their wagons, farming implements, and other personal property,
+and in some cases the duties amounted to more than the original cost of
+the articles they brought. Many of them had invested all their means in
+farming implements, and found on arrival that they could not remove
+their property from the custom-house until every cent of the heavy duty
+had been paid. This was one cause of the discouragements of the
+emigrants at the beginning, and has deterred others from coming."
+
+From the latest reports at hand Frank ascertained that, of the import
+trade into the whole of Brazil, England had forty-five per cent., France
+seventeen per cent., Buenos Ayres seven per cent., the United States
+five per cent., and Portugal three and one half per cent. Of all the
+exports from Brazil the United States took forty-five per cent. and
+Great Britain nine per cent., the rest going principally to France,
+Germany, and Portugal. England and the United States each take about two
+thousand five hundred tons of rubber annually, France has most of the
+cacao, and the other products are about equally divided among the
+various nations, the United States having probably the largest share.
+Brazil supplies more than half of the coffee consumed by the rest of the
+world; it is well known that thousands of tons of Brazilian coffee are
+sold every year as "Government Java," while Java coffee in its turn is
+sold as "best Mocha."
+
+In due time the little party embarked on one of the English steamers
+bound to the southward; in a few hours they had passed out of the
+estuary of the Para River and were floating on the broad Atlantic. Their
+first stopping-place was Pernambuco, a distance of fifteen hundred
+miles, and for much of the way there they were in sight of the coast. A
+few towns were visible with the aid of glasses, but for the most part
+there were no more signs of human activity than on the banks of the
+Amazon.
+
+[Illustration: GOING ASHORE IN A JAGANDA.]
+
+They had a day at Pernambuco, which has a harbor inside of a long reef
+affording secure anchorage for small ships. Large steamers anchor
+outside, and transfer their cargoes by means of lighters. A steam tender
+came alongside, but as the wind was fair to the shore, and there was
+likely to be some delay in transferring the mails and express freight,
+Manuel negotiated for a _jaganda_, which seemed to the youths a twin
+brother of the _balsa_, whose acquaintance they made on the western
+coast.
+
+It is a raft with a sail, and the most of the jagandas have a cabin,
+where a passenger is sheltered from the spray. Frank and Fred greatly
+enjoyed the sail to the shore, and had the satisfaction of landing at
+least half an hour in advance of their companion travellers who waited
+for the tender.
+
+[Illustration: STREET SCENE IN PERNAMBUCO.]
+
+The _recife_ or reef which forms the front of Pernambuco is connected
+with the city by an iron bridge; at its upper end it is joined to the
+land by a sand-spit, and the principal business of the place is centred
+there. As their time was limited, the youths confined their attentions
+to the old city and the sights of the streets of the newer portion.
+
+[Illustration: PERNAMBUCO.]
+
+Pernambuco stands in an enclosure of mountains that sweep in a
+semi-circle around a fertile plain. _Recife_ is the business part; _San
+Antonio_ is the middle district; and _Boa Vista_ may be called the
+suburb. The city has about one hundred and twenty thousand inhabitants,
+and is the third in commercial importance in Brazil. It is the greatest
+sugar-market of South America, its exportation often reaching twelve
+hundred thousand tons in a single year. Most of the sugar sent from
+Pernambuco is of a low grade, and must be refined in the United States
+or England before going into the market for consumption.
+
+[Illustration: PACK HORSES LADEN WITH SUGAR.]
+
+Frank and Fred were not long in finding by observation the chief
+industry of the city. At every step they saw sugar; it was on the
+lighters going to the ships in the harbor; it was in the warehouses,
+where the negro porters were handling sacks filled with it; it was on
+the backs of pack-horses, coming from the country in great droves; it
+was heaped on ox-wagons, which filled the streets; in fact, it was here,
+there, and everywhere. The very atmosphere was redolent with sugar, and
+the pavements were sticky with molasses. Pernambuco without sugar would
+be Hamlet without Hamlet.
+
+[Illustration: OX-CART.]
+
+The streets of the business portion are narrow, and there are traces of
+Flemish architecture in the buildings erected during the time when Count
+Moritz of Nassau and his followers were domiciled in Pernambuco. There
+are houses of many stories, such as we see in cities of Holland, but
+rarely find in the tropics, where the effort of ascending a stairway is
+one of the trials of existence. Farther on the streets are wide, and
+run in straight lines, and they have broad sidewalks, tracks for street
+cars, and handsome dwellings that might have come from Philadelphia or
+Baltimore. There are several public edifices that would be creditable
+anywhere; the market is a model of beauty and good arrangement, and the
+squares and gardens are handsome and spacious. Time did not permit an
+excursion into the country nor a visit to one of the sugar plantations
+in the neighborhood.
+
+Frank learned that within the last few years the most enterprising of
+the sugar-planters have gone to refining the product of their
+plantations by means of machinery, much to the consternation of the
+refiners of England and the United States. The sugar, after being boiled
+to crystallization, but containing a good deal of molasses, is placed in
+a cylinder perforated with thousands of small holes that seem to have
+been made with a pin. The cylinder is whirled around two thousand times
+a minute; the molasses is thrown off by centrifugal force and the sugar
+remains. Then a jet of water is introduced, and afterwards a jet of
+steam; water and steam wash the sugar perfectly clean, and it is then
+dried and broken into coarse powder. The whole work with the cylinder
+occupies only a few minutes; the molasses that is thrown off is boiled
+to make brown sugar, and the second molasses which comes from it is
+utilized for distillation.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+BAHIA AND ITS INDUSTRIES.--RIO JANEIRO.--THE BAY AND THE CITY.--SIGHTS
+OF THE CAPITAL.--EMPEROR DOM PEDRO II.
+
+
+[Illustration: VIEW OF BAHIA.]
+
+Bahia was the next city visited by the youthful travellers. For two days
+the steamer kept near the coast of Brazil, which presented a more
+picturesque appearance than near the mouth of the Amazon. There was a
+background of hills filling the western horizon, and occasional
+headlands jutting into the sea; in several places the hills rose to the
+dignity of mountains, and formed an agreeable contrast to the stretches
+of sandy beach, backed by low forests, which extend much of the way from
+Para to Pernambuco.
+
+Bahia takes its name from the Bay of All Saints (Bahia de Todos os
+Santos), on which it stands. It is a magnificent sheet of water,
+thirty-seven miles long from north to south, and twenty-seven from east
+to west, and its depth varies from eight to forty fathoms. It has two
+entrances from the south, and is an admirable shelter for ships of all
+possible tonnage.
+
+The bay also gives its name to a province with an area of two hundred
+thousand square miles; the province of Bahia contains some of the
+richest land of Brazil, especially along the coast, where there are many
+plantations, and a liberal sprinkling of towns and villages. Sugar,
+tobacco, rice, cotton, and coffee are the principal products; the coffee
+is inferior to that of Rio, but the tobacco is good enough to be made
+into "Havana" cigars and sold as such in England and the United States.
+
+[Illustration: DIAMOND-WASHING IN BRAZIL.]
+
+Diamonds were discovered in the province of Bahia in 1844, and since
+that time their fame has spread through the world. The celebrated
+diamond "Star of the South" came from the mines of Brazil, and in the
+few years following the discovery the yield was so great as to seriously
+disturb the diamond market of Europe, and cause a heavy decline in the
+prices of the gems. At present the product has greatly diminished.
+
+[Illustration: "STAR OF THE SOUTH."]
+
+The steamer entered the bay and anchored in front of the city, which is
+beautifully situated, partly on a series of hills, and partly at their
+base. The old, and business, portion is near the water; its streets are
+narrow, and the buildings are four or five stories high, very solidly
+built of stone. The great business street is the Praya, which runs for
+about four miles along the water front, and contains, among other public
+edifices, a church built of stone imported from Europe in the ships that
+came out in ballast to carry away the produce of Brazil.
+
+Altogether there are about sixty churches in Bahia, and some of them are
+among the finest on the South American continent. Bahia was the first
+settlement of Europeans in Brazil, and a flourishing city before Rio
+Janeiro was known to the world. The bay was discovered by Americus
+Vespucius in 1503, and the city was founded seven years later. From 1549
+until 1763 it was the capital of the Portuguese possessions in South
+America; in the last-named year the honor was transferred to Rio
+Janeiro, and the city has suffered a great deal during the various
+political commotions to which Brazil has been subject.
+
+[Illustration; PORTERS ASLEEP.]
+
+The population of more than one hundred and fifty thousand is as
+variously composed as that of Para or Pernambuco. The whites, blacks,
+and mixed races are about equally divided; among the former there are
+many English and German merchants, the Germans predominating. The
+foreign commerce is chiefly with England and Germany, but there is a
+considerable trade with the United States, in which the Brazilian
+exports vastly exceed the importations.
+
+"We were saved the exertion of walking to the upper town," said Fred, in
+his note-book, "as there is a steam elevator which performs the work
+much more cheaply than human muscle could do it. From the top of the
+hill, about four hundred feet above the bay, we had a magnificent view
+that we will never forget.
+
+"In front was the ocean, with the deep blue of the tropics, and its
+horizon line, which seemed rising to meet the sky. The bay was dotted
+with sails and row-boats; out on the ocean there was here and there a
+stipple of white which told of a sail, or a stream of smoke denoting the
+course of a steamer; on either side of our position were streets and
+squares of handsome houses, standing in rows and groups of palm or other
+trees of the equatorial regions; and in the background of the picture
+was a setting of everlasting hills, interspersed with bits and patches
+of prairie or undulating ground. We have nowhere seen a prettier spot
+than this, and endorse the assertion of previous visitors that Bahia is
+one of the most picturesque cities of the South American continent.
+
+"When we landed we were pestered by pedlers who wanted to sell the
+famous feather-flowers of Brazil, and this reminded us that Bahia is the
+centre of the industry. After we had enjoyed the view from the upper
+part of the city we engaged a carriage and drove to the convent where
+the finest of these flowers are made. Formerly the convent had a
+monopoly of the business, and derived a handsome revenue from the work
+of the nuns; but of late years there have been many rivals, and the
+convent trade has not been as prosperous as of yore.
+
+"You never saw anything more perfect than these imitations of natural
+flowers. Put a cluster of them side by side with a bouquet of genuine
+flowers and you will have to guess 'which is which.' It would be nothing
+more than a guess so far as the eye is concerned, as the imitation is
+perfect in color, shape, size--in everything but smell. Here are lilies,
+budding, half-opened, or in full bloom; hyacinths with their delicate
+purple; orange-flowers that seem just crystallized from the snow;
+violets shrinking in their modest hue of blue; roses, in all the colors
+for which the rose is famed, and in all conditions of growth and bloom;
+together with buds and blooms and blossoms of many and many a flower
+unfamiliar to our eyes.
+
+[Illustration: BRAZILIAN HUMMING-BIRDS.]
+
+"They showed us admirable collections of humming-birds flying among
+leaves and flowers. The birds were the natural bodies, carefully
+preserved, and so poised in their positions as to present the appearance
+of life; the flowers and leaves were formed of the feathers of other
+birds, and simulated to perfection the growth of the forest. One
+collection embraced nearly five hundred humming-birds of all colors and
+combinations of colors, but we were told that it did not include all the
+varieties of humming-bird in South America.
+
+"We bought several dollars' worth of these flowers, and it was well that
+our time was limited, or we might have been tempted to spend more money
+than we could afford. The feather-flowers are made by the nuns in the
+convent; they have the natural flowers before them, or carefully drawn
+and tinted representations upon paper, to serve as models. Practice
+makes perfect in this as in everything else, but I imagine that those
+who achieve success in the work must have a natural aptitude for the
+selection of colors. We were assured that all the colors of the feathers
+were natural, though we have our suspicions that the establishment makes
+use of dyes. Whether our suspicions are correct or not it is certain
+that the birds of South America are blessed with brilliant plumage.
+
+[Illustration: MARKET SCENE, BAHIA.]
+
+"There is a fine market-house at Bahia, which we visited, and another
+which may be called 'the open market,' on the shore of the bay. Most of
+the frequenters of the latter market were negroes and other people of
+very dark complexions; there were a few planters on horseback, and from
+the way they remained close to their steeds when not sitting upon them
+we inferred that it would compromise their dignity to appear as
+pedestrians. Many of the negroes carried burdens on their heads; those
+who rolled casks or moved heavy bales acted as though they would prefer
+to transport them in the other fashion, but a barrel is too unwieldy to
+be carried on the summit of the skull.
+
+[Illustration: PORTERS AND CASK.]
+
+"Most of the heavy work of Bahia is performed by negroes, as at Para or
+Pernambuco, and the effort to domesticate Chinese coolies has not been
+successful. The planters complain that since the decree of emancipation
+they cannot get as much work out of the negroes as formerly. This is
+more than probable, as the slaves were treated with great cruelty; a
+Brazilian slave-owner was a type of all that was barbarous, though there
+were doubtless many owners who treated their human property with
+kindness. To judge by the faces of some of the planters we have seen, I
+would not like to be in their power, and incur their displeasure. There
+is little compassion visible in the hard lines of their features.
+
+[Illustration: SEDAN CHAIR.]
+
+[Illustration: FRAME OF SEDAN.]
+
+"Modern modes of travel have not abolished the sedan chair, which
+flourishes in Bahia, Rio Janeiro, and other cities of Brazil. It is less
+comfortable than the sedan chair of Hong Kong and Canton, but preferable
+to the palanquin or the _dhoolie_ of India. Like the Chinese chair or
+the Indian palkee, it is slung on a pole, and carried by porters; the
+latter are generally a couple of stalwart negroes, who make the best
+porters in the world, especially where the climate is as warm as that of
+Bahia. Every respectable citizen must have his sedan; the vehicle is
+richly decorated, according to the taste and wealth of the owner, and
+when it is no longer serviceable it is sold for public use. Not
+infrequently a public sedan bears the crest of a private citizen; the
+decayed and faded curtains, and the general air of dilapidation
+pervading the concern, tell very plainly what has been its former state.
+Some of the porters are arrayed in solemn black, including dress coats
+and stiff hats, and their appearance has a suggestion of the grotesque.
+But it is the fashion of the country, and we do not propose to interfere
+with it.
+
+"Evening found us back on the steamer, and at sunset we passed through
+the southern entrance of the bay and were once more on the ocean. Our
+prow was turned to Rio, eight hundred miles away, and we steamed gayly
+along on our course. Sometimes we kept far out to sea, to avoid
+dangerous reefs, on which many a ship has gone to pieces, and at others
+we swept close in shore, and had fine views of the land. The hills grow
+in size as we increase our distance from the equator, and after a time
+the mountains of the coast range fill the western horizon. With our
+glasses we can distinguish many houses and villages, and are not
+surprised to learn that the region is a fertile one.
+
+"The coasting steamers make half a dozen stoppages on the way from Bahia
+to Rio, but we do not halt. None of the way ports are of great
+consequence, but if the country behind them could be developed to its
+proper capacity there would be a heavy business at places now unknown to
+the commercial world. Some of the mountain slopes may be difficult of
+cultivation on account of their dryness, but there is a vast area of
+country that only waits the work of the colonist to enable it to produce
+abundantly."
+
+[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE HARBOR OF RIO.]
+
+Four days from Bahia brought the steamer in sight of "The Sugar-Loaf,"
+the sharply conical peak nearly two thousand feet high which is the
+landmark of the magnificent bay of Rio Janeiro, pronounced by many
+visitors the finest in the world. Some there are who claim pre-eminence
+for the Bay of Naples; others, but they are few in number, who have
+entered Avatcha Bay, in Kamtchatka, say it surpasses the Bay of Rio; and
+others again give preference to the Bay of Yokohama, in Japan. Among our
+three friends there were no less than three opinions: Naples, Avatcha,
+and Yokohama had each an advocate, but all agreed in giving the second
+honor to Rio. With this honor it must remain content.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW OF RIO JANEIRO FROM THE SEA.]
+
+Its general shape is that of a triangle, and it is nearly a hundred
+miles in circumference. There is but a single entrance, and that a
+narrow one, so that a ship once inside is in water as smooth as that of
+a lake. It is set in mountains whose sides are thickly covered with
+foliage, and its surface is studded with islands, nearly a hundred in
+all. The name of the bay, "Rio de Janeiro," was given under the
+supposition that it was not a bay, but the mouth of a large river. There
+is no stream of consequence entering the ocean at this point, and the
+"River of January" exists only in the imagination.
+
+Not wholly in the imagination, however, as it belongs to the city which
+is the capital of Brazil, and has a population of three hundred
+thousand; to the municipality containing the city, and having an area of
+five hundred and forty square miles; and to the province containing city
+and municipality, with an area of eighteen thousand square miles, and a
+population of a million and a quarter, of many races, colors, and kinds.
+In the bay, city, municipality, and province we have Rio de Janeiro four
+times over. Perhaps in some future day the empire will cease to be known
+as Brazil, and adopt the name of its capital.
+
+The larger islands in the bay are occupied, and cultivated wherever
+possible; many of them are fortified, and several are surmounted by
+churches or chapels. The entrance to the bay is only two thousand feet
+wide, and defended by forts, one at the base of the Sugar Loaf and the
+other nearly opposite. Together they would make it very tropical for a
+hostile fleet, and just inside the entrance is another fort, which is
+intended to take care of anything that escapes the outer defences.
+
+As the steamer came to her anchorage she was surrounded by a swarm of
+boats, which kept at a respectful distance until the arrival of the
+health officer, without whose authority there could be no communication
+between ship and shore. If the doctor and the youths had been unaware of
+their latitude the merchandise of the boats would have told them,
+without the aid of the hot sun in the sky overhead. There were monkeys
+and parrots in great abundance; an assortment of snakes and other
+creeping things; bananas, pineapples, and other tropical fruits; yams,
+sweet potatoes, mandioca root, and other "garden truck" of the country;
+tobacco and cigars in all conditions of badness; and other merchandise
+only to be designated by native names. The boatmen kept up an incessant
+talk, mingled with many gesticulations, and the half-hour spent in
+waiting for the health officer was by no means lost.
+
+By and by that official came, the ship was pronounced "clean," and the
+passengers were free to land. From the anchorage the city does not
+present an imposing appearance, as it is only partially visible;
+portions of it are screened by the hills, which break its front and
+divide it into several quarters. In consequence of these hills it
+straggles over a considerable area, and is really made up of a series of
+suburbs; from the centre of the city to Botofago is a good three miles,
+and it is the same distance the other way to another suburb or district
+of equal importance. Like our Washington, it is a city of magnificent
+distances; in order to see it all at once you must climb the hills in
+the rear, and look at the metropolis nestling at your feet. Only till
+you do this can you realize its greatness.
+
+[Illustration: FRONT VIEW OF THE CITY.]
+
+Rio was evidently built with a view to permanence. At least Frank and
+Fred thought so, as they landed at the piers of solid granite, with
+steps leading down to the water and facilitating debarkation at every
+stage of the tide. Near the landing-place was a market, where they found
+groups of negroes waiting for work, or possibly waiting to avoid having
+work to do. There were heaps of fruit and vegetables, similar to what
+they had seen in Para and Pernambuco, and the same chatter and commotion
+prevailed among the venders and their patrons.
+
+We depended upon Fred for an account of the visit to Bahia, and will ask
+Frank to tell us about Rio de Janeiro.
+
+"From the landing-place we went first to the hotel," said Frank, "under
+the guidance of a runner, who had met us at the steamer. We went without
+our baggage, which was taken directly from the ship to the custom-house.
+Nobody is in a hurry in this country; we knew there would be a delay in
+bringing the trunks and bags from the steamer, and that we could utilize
+it by securing our quarters. We made all arrangements for our stay, and
+then went to the custom-house, which we reached just as Manuel arrived
+with our impedimenta.
+
+"The officials were polite but slow. We managed to get the attention of
+one of them, who promised to 'expediate' our business; as he took at
+least an hour for accomplishing what might have been done in five or ten
+minutes, I shudder to think what would have been our fate without any
+'expedition.' Porters were ready to seize upon the parcels as they were
+released from the custom-house, and it was a comical spectacle that
+Manuel presented as he marched at the front of a column of
+scantily-dressed negroes, each of whom bore some part of our personal
+effects on his head.
+
+[Illustration: COFFEE-CARRIERS.]
+
+"Down to a few years ago nearly all the transportation of Rio was
+conducted in this way. Coffee, sugar, and other merchandise was placed
+on the heads of negroes, who trotted nimbly along, carrying sacks
+weighing one hundred and sixty pounds as though they were only a tenth
+of that amount. Articles that were too much for one man were slung on
+poles, or balanced on the heads of two, four, or possibly eight or ten
+porters; it was no uncommon sight to see a piano or a large box poised
+on the heads of four or six men, and the stranger could not help
+thinking what might be the result if one of the number should make a
+misstep and fall to the ground.
+
+[Illustration: COAL-CARRIERS.]
+
+"The negroes had almost a monopoly of the carrying trade, and when
+carts were introduced there was very nearly a riot in consequence.
+Danger was averted by placing a limit to the number of carts, and a
+continuance of the old system without a reduction of prices. The
+business of transportation still requires a great deal of head-work on
+the part of the negroes, and there is no likelihood that they will be
+altogether superseded. We met several groups of coffee-carriers, each
+with a sack on his head, and near the landing-place was a line of
+coal-carriers with their appropriate burdens.
+
+[Illustration: MODERN INNOVATIONS.]
+
+"Many of the trucks and carts are drawn by hand, and consequently the
+mule and the negro may be regarded as rivals in this department of
+labor. But there seems to be perfect friendship between them, if I may
+judge by a scene I witnessed of a mule and a negro lying down together,
+and the negro using the mule as a pillow.
+
+"The leader of a gang of coffee-carriers has a rattle in his hand, and
+keeps time with it for his followers. They step to the music, and aid it
+by a low, monotonous chant, in words quite unintelligible to our ears.
+Sometimes the rattle gives place to a small flag, which is waved in
+unison with the step; the men who propel carts or trucks have no use for
+flags or rattles, though sometimes they stick a flag in front of the
+vehicle as an indication of ownership.
+
+[Illustration: PEDLERS OF DRY-GOODS.]
+
+"All things considered, I have never seen a city where so many things
+were carried on the head as in Rio Janeiro. Pedlers of dry-goods go from
+house to house, followed by negroes bearing boxes or bales of the finery
+which they offer for sale; the practice saves the ladies the trouble of
+going to the shops when they want to buy anything, and enables the
+dealers to work off a great many things that would not be easy to
+dispose of otherwise. Before we had fairly landed at the hotel we were
+besieged by pedlers, and forcibly reminded of our experience at
+Singapore, Calcutta, and other cities of Asia.
+
+[Illustration: POULTRY DEALER.]
+
+"Fruit and poultry are borne on the heads of the market men and women,
+the former in open baskets and the latter in covered ones. We met a
+poultry dealer with a huge basket on his head, and at least a dozen
+chickens were craning their necks out of the spaces between the slats.
+He was farther weighted with a goose and a couple of turkeys swinging at
+his side, and I have no doubt he would have added another dozen of
+chickens without hesitation.
+
+[Illustration: FRUIT VENDER.]
+
+"Water-carriers balance casks and buckets on their heads; cooks,
+chambermaids, and servants of all kinds and descriptions follow the
+universal custom; and it would be interesting to know what Mr. Darwin
+thinks of the development of species under such circumstances. The skull
+of the Brazilian porter a thousand years hence ought to be not less than
+an inch in thickness, and have a resisting power equal to that of a
+mortar shell.
+
+"Sedan chairs abound, but they are less numerous than formerly, as a
+good many people now indulge in carriages who once relied upon chairs
+for their locomotion. They are of the same model as the chairs of Bahia,
+and the bearers have a kindred complexion and dress. For public
+conveyances there are carriages, omnibuses, and street cars; the street
+railways of Rio Janeiro are patronized by everybody, and it is said that
+the original company has made a dividend of three hundred per cent.
+every year on the amount of capital invested! The concession was
+obtained by some New-Yorkers, and the Brazilians have been much
+chagrined at the ease with which they allowed the foreigners to take
+possession of such an excellent bonanza as this.
+
+"The omnibus is here called a gondola, and we have been told how the
+name originated. It may not be true, but you know the old Italian
+proverb, '_Si non é vero é ben trovato._'
+
+"An omnibus company had a monopoly of the business indicated by its
+name; the government and people were much dissatisfied with the way its
+business was conducted, as the vehicles were small, dirty, and
+insufficient in number, and the fares were very high. The government
+could not break its word by giving privileges to another company, and
+the monopolists felt secure.
+
+"But an enterprising genius suggested that a company could be licensed
+to run gondolas in the streets of Rio, and the hint was taken at once.
+The gondola company placed its vehicles in operation, and, though the
+old company protested, the protests were of no avail. Who shall say
+hereafter that there's nothing in a name?
+
+"While I've been writing the foregoing, Fred has been looking up the
+history of the city, and is prepared to tell you about it. I will rest a
+while and let him have the floor."
+
+[Illustration: VIEW IN THE BAY OF RIO DE JANEIRO.]
+
+"Rio is a younger city than Bahia," wrote Fred, "as it was not
+permanently settled until 1555. There were two temporary settlements
+previous to this--in 1531 and 1552--but they lasted only a short time,
+the first being abandoned in less than four months after its formation.
+
+"The first settlers were French Huguenots, who prospered so well that
+the king of Portugal ordered them driven out in ten years from the
+founding of the colony. The governor of Bahia executed the order, and
+established a Portuguese colony in place of the French one.
+
+"The Huguenots got along very well with the natives, but the Portuguese
+were constantly at war with them; the history of the first hundred years
+of the colony is full of bloodshed, not only in conflicts with the
+Indians, but in quarrels among the settlers. Assassinations were
+frequent, and on several occasions it seemed as though the local
+dissensions would bring the colonization of the country to an end.
+
+"In 1763 Rio was made the viceregal capital, much to the annoyance of
+the inhabitants of Bahia, which had hitherto held the honor. The
+transfer of the capital was a piece of good fortune for Rio, which it
+has maintained without interruption. Its glory was increased in 1808,
+when the Prince-Regent of Portugal arrived with the intention of making
+his home in Brazil until the declaration of a general peace in Europe.
+
+"The residence of the royal family at Rio was the occasion of public
+rejoicing, and the people readily surrendered their houses for the
+accommodation of the sovereign and the retainers of his court. After the
+declaration of peace, and the return of the king to Europe, their
+loyalty cooled very materially, and in 1821 came the revolution, which
+made Brazil independent of Portugal.
+
+[Illustration: AN IMPERIAL PALACE.]
+
+"In 1822, the son of the King of Portugal was declared Emperor of
+Brazil, with the title of Dom Pedro I. The present occupant of the
+throne, Dom Pedro II., is the son of the first Emperor of Brazil, and
+ranks among the enlightened rulers of the nineteenth century. The
+country is indebted to him for much of its material progress; it is no
+fault of the emperor that Brazil is not yet in a foremost position among
+the nations of the globe.
+
+[Illustration: STATUE OF PEDRO I.]
+
+"We had a glimpse of the emperor to-day, as he drove rapidly along the
+principal street of the city, about four o'clock in the afternoon. He
+was born in 1825, and is therefore well along in years, as you can see
+by his full beard, which is of almost snowy whiteness. He has a keen,
+sharp, commanding eye, and an expression that proclaims him 'every inch
+a king.' We had a glance only, and then he was out of our sight, but we
+cannot soon forget the impression it left behind. He was in civilian
+dress, and if we had looked for his crown and sceptre we should have
+looked in vain. He is said to maintain comparatively little of the pomp
+and vanity of an imperial court, and would like to banish them
+altogether, if it were possible and judicious to do so.
+
+"He is probably the most industrious imperial ruler in the world, as he
+devotes from twelve to fifteen hours daily to official work in one form
+or another. He examines state papers, sits with the officers of his
+cabinet, listens to reports and suggestions, visits schools, hospitals,
+and other public institutions, is present at ceremonials, entertains
+strangers, and can talk well on almost any topic of the day. He has a
+taste for music, science, and geography, and can discuss the last new
+opera, the researches of Darwin, or the explorations of Stanley, with
+intelligence and discrimination.
+
+"You may remember his visit to the United States at the time of our
+Centennial; how rapidly he moved from place to place, and with what
+interest he went on sight-seeing expeditions. The officers of his staff
+who accompanied him were exhausted by their exertions, while the emperor
+was always fresh, and ready for something new. He avoided public
+demonstrations wherever he could do so without giving offence, and
+devoted his limited stay of four months to an inspection of the country,
+and a study of its institutions. From America he went to Europe for a
+longer tour. His return to Rio was the occasion of great rejoicing, and
+the demonstrations were as sincere as they were elaborate."
+
+[Illustration: SCENE IN A BRAZILIAN SUBURB.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+THE SIGHTS OF RIO.--PUBLIC BUILDINGS, AQUEDUCT, CHURCHES, MIRACLES, AND
+FUNERALS.--VISIT TO TIJUCA AND PETROPOLIS.--THE SERRA.
+
+
+The party remained several days in Rio, and had abundant occupation for
+eyes and ears. One of the days was devoted to a religious festival;
+there were processions on the streets and services in the churches, and
+the whole population seemed to give itself to idleness in honor of the
+saint to whom that date of the almanac belonged. Rio Janeiro is a
+Catholic city, but less intense in its religious feeling than Bahia.
+Many adherents of the Catholic Church regard Bahia as an American Rome,
+from which all religious dogmas and teachings affecting the continent
+are expected to proceed.
+
+Rio is well provided with churches, and some of them are admirable
+specimens of ecclesiastical architecture. The youths visited the
+cathedral and perhaps half a dozen of the principal churches, but did
+not take the trouble to go through the entire list. The churches of Rio
+are never closed; at almost any hour service is going on in one of the
+chapels of the cathedral, and the stranger who desires to see the people
+at worship has no lack of opportunity.
+
+Votive offerings are as numerous in the churches of Rio as at Para, if
+we may judge by the accounts of the youths. Frank made a sketch of one
+collection of these offerings, while Fred recorded the inscriptions
+relating to them.
+
+[Illustration: VOTIVE OFFERINGS IN A CHURCH AT RIO.]
+
+The sketch included busts, arms, legs, hands, and faces, moulded in wax
+or carved in wood, perhaps twenty in all. There was a representation of
+a large tumor on the neck of one of the faithful, who was cured by the
+interposition of the saint, and below it was a painting of a ship being
+driven on the rocks at the base of a steep cliff. The ship and crew
+seemed doomed to certain destruction, but though the ship was lost all
+the crew escaped, in consequence of an appeal to the patron saint.
+
+Another painting showed the saint appearing in the form of an angel, to
+an invalid sitting in an arm-chair; the inscription says he had not been
+able to walk for years, but by following the direction he received he
+was a well man on the following day. Another picture represented a
+similar visit to a man lying on a sick-bed, and the legend below it
+records a similar miraculous result.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW IN THE BAY.]
+
+The abundance of these votive offerings shows the trusting faith of the
+pious Brazilians, and their conscientious belief in saintly power. The
+religion of the country is Catholic; the emperor is a devout worshipper,
+and a careful observer of the feasts and fasts ordained by the Church,
+but he is a firm believer in the fullest toleration of all religions,
+and sternly represses any demonstrations of bigotry.
+
+There are Protestant churches in most of the cities of Brazil. The
+United States Board of Foreign Missions has an establishment in the
+empire, which receives a small allowance from the Brazilian government;
+the ministers of the German and Swiss colonies of emigrants are paid by
+the imperial government; and, altogether, the adherents of other
+religions than that of the state run no risk of persecution "for
+opinion's sake." The constitution says that religionists other than
+Catholics shall restrict their worship to buildings "without the
+exterior form of temples."
+
+For religious purposes the empire is divided into twelve dioceses,
+comprising one metropolitan province, under the archbishop at Bahia. The
+diocese of Bahia is presided over by the archbishop, and each of the
+other eleven is under the control of a bishop. The empire is further
+divided into twelve hundred and ninety-nine parishes; the vicars are
+mostly foreigners, and among these foreign vicars the Portuguese
+predominate.
+
+[Illustration: ALMS-BOX.]
+
+Some of the votive offerings and relics are very old, bearing dates of
+two or three centuries ago. In one church our friends were shown an
+alms-box which was anciently used for collecting donations for "Our Lady
+of the Good Voyage." It was suspended by a strap from the neck of the
+collector, who went among the sailors on the arrival of ships from any
+part of the world, and especially from Portugal, in the days of the
+viceroyalty. The honesty of the collector was insured by a lock, which
+is a curious, three-cornered affair closing with a key. Key and lock are
+now heavily rusted from long disuse. The front of the box has a picture
+of Our Lady standing on the deck of a ship; the halo around the head of
+the figure indicates its saintly character.
+
+The fronts of the altars were adorned with candles, many of them set in
+candlesticks of solid silver, of great original cost. They were the
+gifts of wealthy worshippers in times gone by. One of the attendants
+sighingly remarked to Fred that people didn't give such magnificent
+candlesticks to the church nowadays. Even the candles seemed to be
+yellow with age, and from the dust collected on them it was evident they
+were not often renewed.
+
+[Illustration: RELIGIOUS FESTIVAL IN FRONT OF A CHURCH.]
+
+It was formerly the custom to offer the sails of a ship, or some one of
+them, as a votive tribute to Our Lady of the Good Voyage, or to some
+other saint, for protection in time of peril. The following story is
+given by Mr. Ewbank in "Life in Brazil."
+
+"A lady told me that some years ago she came from Rio Grande in one of
+her father's vessels. The passage was pleasant till within a day's sail
+of the Sugar-Loaf. A small cloud then rose rapidly from the horizon,
+darkness settled over them, the sea began to swell, and other
+indications of a storm so alarmed the captain that he called the men
+aft, and asked them to join him in offering the mainsail to St. Francis
+de Paula, on condition of his carrying them safe in. The lady remembers
+them standing around the commander, and with loud voices calling on the
+saint, reminding him of what they had promised, each man confirming the
+gift so far as his proportion of the cost went.
+
+[Illustration: MONK IN A PROCESSION.]
+
+"On arriving safe in port they paid for a mass, and a few days
+afterwards went to the saint's quarters in procession, barefoot, bearing
+the sail through the streets, with the captain at their head. The
+offering was deposited in front of the church. A fair value was put upon
+it in presence of the priest; the captain laid down the money, and was
+handed a receipt stating the amount which the pious commander, Antonia
+Martinez Bezerra, had paid into the treasury of the saint--the value of
+his mainsail--in fulfilment of a vow made at the approach of a storm
+(naming the day), as an acknowledgment of the saint's miraculous
+interposition in behalf of himself, his ship, and his crew."
+
+The same writer says that auctions of ships' sails which have been vowed
+to the saints for interposition are not yet obsolete. The captains
+always buy them in, and frequently the priests have some one to run them
+up to prevent their going too cheaply.
+
+Our friends visited one of the hospitals, accompanied by a doctor to
+whom they had been introduced. Dr. Bronson was greatly pleased with the
+appearance of the place, and commended the excellence of its
+arrangements, its perfect cleanliness, and the evidence of careful
+training on the part of the physicians and nurses. Their escort told
+them that the cases most often under treatment in Rio were diseases of
+the respiratory organs, caused by the dampness of the climate and the
+prevailing heat. The mean annual temperature is 82° Fahrenheit, and the
+annual rainfall averages about forty-six inches. There is hardly a year
+without yellow fever; it is not usually fatal, but in some seasons there
+is great mortality from it. People from Europe and the northern cities
+of the United States suffer greatly from the heat for months after their
+arrival, and many of them flee to the mountains at the first
+opportunity.
+
+From the hospital they drove to the Paseo Publico, a pretty garden
+within the city limits, and much resorted to as a promenade. There are
+gravelled walks shaded by tall palms and other tropical trees, and on
+the water front is a marble pavement, which is crowded on pleasant
+evenings by groups of well-dressed people, listening to the music, and
+indulging in conversation, which is never boisterous.
+
+Hospitals, asylums, theatres, colleges, academies, schools, and similar
+institutions appropriate to a great city are not lacking in Rio, and
+their abundance and good management speak well for the administration
+of the government. Beyond the Botofago suburb is the Botanic Garden,
+which no visitor should neglect; it contains an avenue of palms not
+surpassed in any similar garden in the world, and there are other
+stately trees which tell of the tropical situation. The place is on the
+plan of the Experimental Gardens of the English colonies, or the
+_Jardins d'Essai_ of the French, and forcibly reminded our young friends
+of what they had seen in Ceylon, Singapore, Algiers, and other places or
+countries on the other side of the world.
+
+Most of the trees and plants of the continent of South America are
+cultivated in the Botanic Garden, and there are rare exotics from all
+parts of the globe. Frank espied a grove of cinnamon and clove trees at
+the same moment that Fred called his attention to a collection of
+tea-plants from China and Japan; Dr. Bronson pointed out a bread-fruit
+tree side by side with cacao and camphor trees, while not far off were
+maples and pines that seemed like old friends from the home of their
+boyhood. Many trees from tropical Asia have found a home in Brazil
+through the instrumentality of the Botanic Garden, which has
+demonstrated their fitness for the climate of South America.
+
+[Illustration: THE AQUEDUCT.]
+
+Water is brought to the city through an aqueduct which was built a
+hundred years ago, and is in good condition; some of the best modern
+houses are supplied through pipes from the aqueduct, but the greater
+part of the inhabitants rely upon the water-carriers, who are similar to
+their fellow-craftsmen whom we have already seen at Para. In the early
+morning the streets abound with these men, and with numerous
+house-servants, bearing buckets or small casks of water on their heads.
+The fountains are the great meeting-places for gossipers, as similar
+places have been since the days when the New Testament was written, and
+sometimes the scenes at the fountains of Rio are animated to a degree
+bordering on commotion. Of course, the aqueduct is one of the sights of
+the city, and the drive along the road leading past it was greatly
+enjoyed by the youths.
+
+[Illustration: A BRAZILIAN FOREST, WITH CHARACTERISTIC MAMMALIA.]
+
+The aqueduct is twelve miles long, and at one place it crosses a valley
+seven hundred and forty feet wide and ninety feet deep, on double
+arches. It is insufficient for the wants of the city, and a new one is
+likely to be completed before long.
+
+People die in Rio as well as in other cities, and the cemetery is one of
+the institutions of the place. The old cemeteries of Rio adjoin the
+churches; since 1850 no interments have been allowed in them, and new
+cemeteries have been established in the suburbs. The foreign cemetery is
+at Gamboa, on the shore of the bay.
+
+[Illustration: COFFIN CLOSED.]
+
+"We went to one of the cemeteries," said Frank, "and happened to arrive
+at the entrance chapel just as a funeral was going on. The coffin was so
+shallow that the body lying within it was distinctly visible above the
+sides as it stood on a stand resembling a sarcophagus; the lid is shaped
+like the roof of a house, and is made of two sloping boards meeting and
+forming a ridge. The Catholic service for the dead was performed, and
+then a procession of priests and mourners formed, and the coffin was
+borne from the chapel to the cemetery.
+
+[Illustration: COFFIN OPENED.]
+
+"This was an enclosure with four thick walls, in which there were niches
+for the coffins, in the same manner as in a receiving tomb at Greenwood
+or Mount Auburn. The coffin was placed on a stand near one of the
+niches, the cover was opened, a handkerchief was spread over the face of
+the corpse, and one of the priests sprinkled the body with holy water,
+and threw a scoopful of quicklime upon it.
+
+[Illustration: CEMETERY OF THE PAULA CHURCH.]
+
+"The other priests and the friends of the deceased followed his example
+one by one, the sprinkler and scoop being passed to them by a sacristan.
+The lime was thus heaped on until there was at least a bushel of it,
+completely concealing the body; the coffin was slid into its niche; the
+door was closed and locked, the key was delivered to one of the friends
+of the deceased, and then the attendants proceeded to close the space in
+front of the door with brick and plaster. Orations were pronounced by
+those who chose to speak, and the ceremonies were over.
+
+"We were told that the bodies do not decay, in the ordinary acceptation
+of the word. The flesh is consumed by the quicklime; at the end of two
+years the niche is opened, the bones are removed and placed in a funeral
+vase, and the niche is then ready for another tenant. No names are
+placed above the niches, but each one is numbered, and a reference to
+the register of the cemetery will show by whom and for how long a
+particular place is occupied. Fees are exacted for the funeral services
+and the rent of the niches; in fact, there is hardly anything in life or
+death in Brazil in which the Church does not have a place.
+Christenings, baptisms, marriages, death, and burials are all within its
+supervision."
+
+[Illustration: VIEW OF RIO FROM BOA VISTA.]
+
+Rio de Janeiro has beautiful surroundings, and there is no prettier spot
+among them than Tijuca, a favorite resort of the residents who seek to
+escape the heat of the city. Other retreats are Petropolis, Boa Vista,
+Constantia, Nova Friborga, and Teresopolis, all of them at elevations of
+from one to three thousand feet above the water front of the city. Boa
+Vista offers a fine view of Rio as it nestles on the shore of the bay;
+all these resorts are reached by carriage-roads, and some by railway,
+and in whatever way the journey is made it is sure to be enjoyed.
+
+It was decided to visit Tijuca first of all, and for this purpose a
+carriage was engaged for a drive of less than two hours, over a
+magnificent road. They started late in the afternoon, panting with the
+heat, but within an hour each of the party had donned his overcoat, and
+found its warmth acceptable. Frank thought he could perceive a fall of
+the temperature with every foot of the ascent, and regretted that he had
+not held a thermometer in his hand during the journey.
+
+Tijuca beautifully is situated among the hills and in the midst of
+dense forests and groves. There is a waterfall which has a local
+reputation, something like that of Niagara; it possesses quiet beauty
+rather than grandeur, and is in a charming retreat where the thickness
+of the foliage keeps out the rays of the tropical sun. There are several
+similar cascades in the neighborhood, and the sound of the water pouring
+among the rocks is very gratifying to the ear of one just escaped from
+the heat of the city.
+
+[Illustration: HOTEL AT TIJUCA, NEAR RIO.]
+
+Foreign residents of Rio have their summer residences at Tijuca, Boa
+Vista, and other places within easy reach of the capital, and a liberal
+expenditure has been made by them in the construction of houses and in
+laying out gardens and lawns. There are several hotels at Tijuca, and
+the stranger can be reasonably sure of satisfactory quarters during his
+stay. Dr. Bronson and his young companions were highly pleased with what
+they found there, and wrote a line of commendation in the register of
+the hotel.
+
+Frank had wearied of carrying a monkey as part of his baggage, but was
+so much attached to his purchase on the Madeira that he was unwilling to
+part with it except to some one who would treat it well. With some
+trouble to the youth, and more to Manuel, Gypsy had been tenderly cared
+for during all their travels, from the day of her purchase until they
+reached Tijuca, where the tiny animal found a genuine admirer.
+
+The daughter of the landlord was mourning the loss of a pet which she
+declared was "the very image" of Gypsy. Frank was touched by her grief,
+and with the permission of the proprietor of the establishment the
+ownership of Gypsy was transferred to the child.
+
+Frank rejoiced that his pet had found a good home; the girl was
+delighted with the possession of the duplicate of the animal she
+mourned; the father was pleased at the daughter's joy; and it is to be
+presumed that the monkey was contented to give up travelling, and settle
+down amid the pure air and charming scenery of Tijuca. But our record
+closes without a distinct avowal from Gypsy of the sentiments that
+swelled her simian breast.
+
+Frank and Fred were up early in the morning after their arrival at
+Tijuca, and ready for a horseback excursion to the top of a neighboring
+mountain. Dr. Bronson concluded to remain at the hotel, and satisfy
+himself with a promenade among the trees, and so the youths departed
+without him.
+
+[Illustration: CASCADE AT TIJUCA.]
+
+They had an exhilarating ride, and came back about ten o'clock full of
+enthusiasm concerning it. There is a carriage-road nearly to the top of
+the mountain, and a bridle-path the rest of the way, so that they had no
+occasion to leave their saddles. At every step they had beautiful views
+of mountain and valley, thick forest and open lawn, and there were
+frequent glimpses of the bay and the distant ocean. From the top of the
+mountain the view embraces a considerable extent of country, backed by
+the higher mountains of the Serra, which fills the horizon to the west.
+
+[Illustration: THE ARMADILLO.]
+
+Breakfast was served soon after their return, and they sat down to the
+meal with good appetites. After breakfast they busied themselves with
+letters and journals, and with the contemplation of a happy family of
+monkeys and other Brazilian animals in a large cage in the court-yard
+of the hotel. One occupant of the cage was an armadillo; as nature had
+not adapted him for climbing, he wisely remained on the floor and
+allowed the monkeys a monopoly of acrobatic feats. The upper half of him
+was protected with scales like plates of mail, and when alarmed he
+closed himself together till he resembled a cocoa-nut. At such times
+there was little else than the mail-plates presented to outside view,
+and he could be tossed around with impunity, at least to the tosser. The
+monkeys had a way of rolling him from side to side of the cage, and
+occasionally they carried him to the top and let him fall. This
+application of the laws of gravitation did not affect his gravity, and
+when they wearied of the performance he opened out his iron-clad coating
+and looked as serene as ever.
+
+Frank wished to know the uses of the armadillo; Manuel told him it was
+an excellent article of food, and was liked by both native and foreign
+residents of Brazil. The youth was sceptical until he had the
+opportunity of tasting the new diet, whereupon he declared that he would
+be a friend of the armadillo as long as he remained in South America.
+
+From Tijuca they went to Petropolis, a summer resort higher in the
+mountains and more distant from the sea than is the former place. They
+took the carriage-route by the Union and Industry road, a magnificent
+highway, which was built by private enterprise, and is a model of
+engineering skill. It penetrates the coffee district back of Rio, and
+until the railway was built from the capital to and beyond the mountains
+of the Serra it had almost a monopoly of transportation. It still has a
+large business, and the company which controls it runs a line of stages
+and freight wagons, in addition to collecting tolls on every private
+wagon and every pack animal that passes over it.
+
+[Illustration: ROAD OVER THE SERRA, NEAR PETROPOLIS.]
+
+The scenery along the road, where it crosses the Serra, elicited the
+warmest expressions of admiration from the Doctor and his young
+companions. Frank said it was a combination of the Corniche road from
+Nice to Genoa and the mountain journey from Colombo to Kandy, in Ceylon.
+Fred was reminded of the passage of the Alleghenies in Pennsylvania, and
+the Simplon in the Alps, though he missed the snow-clad peaks of the
+latter, and the pines and other northern trees of the former. They
+unanimously agreed that the engineers who made the road understood their
+work thoroughly, and had constructed a route which would endure through
+everything except the demolition of the mountains by an earthquake, or
+the outbreak of a volcano beneath them.
+
+They were caught in a storm while ascending the Serra; one is generally
+caught in a storm in some part of the day in the mountains near Rio. The
+rain falls in such quantities as to drive the wayfarer to the nearest
+shelter, and if he is not quick to reach it he is drenched to the skin.
+Rain falls every afternoon at Tijuca, and so certainly may it be
+expected that the sojourners so time their excursions that they may be
+indoors when the showers come. The moisture from the ocean is driven
+against the mountains, where it is condensed into rain, and by this
+daily rain the streams around Tijuca have an unfailing source of supply.
+The morning is clear and comfortable; from ten or eleven in the
+forenoon until three hours after the meridian it is too warm to stir
+about; and at three o'clock the clouds gather, and the rain falls an
+hour or so later. At sunset the clouds roll away, and the night sees the
+canopy of the heavens glistening with stars.
+
+The storm on the Serra had the peculiarity of rolling below their route
+and leaving them travelling above the clouds. It began at the summit of
+the mountain and then descended; it wrapped them in its misty folds;
+lightning played about them; they met wagons and pack-mules looming
+suddenly out of the fog as though literally dropping from the clouds;
+then the mist became less and less dense; and at length they emerged
+from it into the open sky, and looked upon the storm sweeping over the
+valley below. From the Alto do Serra, the highest point of the road,
+they had a view of immense extent. The mountains rose above and around
+them; the valley, visible through occasional breaks in the clouds, was a
+picture of serene loveliness, disturbed only by the lightnings and the
+rain that fell copiously. Far off was the Bay of Rio de Janeiro, dotted
+with its many islands, dominated by the mountains that encircle it, and
+lighted by the afternoon sun.
+
+[Illustration: THE PALACE AT PETROPOLIS.]
+
+Petropolis lies in a beautiful valley among the mountains; it was
+founded by Dom Pedro I., who built a palace there and established a
+colony of Swiss and Germans, which were imported from Europe at
+considerable cost to the government. The plan was continued by his son
+and successor, and of late years the place has become a fashionable
+resort of no small importance. It has fifteen thousand inhabitants, and
+many of the wealthy residents of Rio have their summer homes in
+Petropolis; the imperial palace is an extensive building with beautiful
+grounds, and the situation is certainly an attractive one.
+
+The German settlers brought the names of their fatherland when they came
+here to live, and also retained many of their home customs. Some of them
+have become wealthy coffee-planters, and a good deal of business passes
+through their hands. Many of the hotels are kept by Swiss or Germans,
+and not infrequently the buildings are perfect copies of the chalets we
+have seen in the Alps, or among the lowlands of Switzerland. Petropolis
+has several Lutheran and other churches, and the government makes an
+annual appropriation for schools, in which the children of the colonists
+are educated. There are several hotels, and the stranger can pleasantly
+pass a few days in this attractive spot.
+
+[Illustration: RELIGIOUS PROCESSION IN BRAZIL.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+RAILWAYS IN BRAZIL.--COFFEE PLANTATIONS.--MANDIOCA AND ITS
+CULTURE.--TERRIBLE FAMINES.--SLAVERY AND EMANCIPATION.
+
+
+There are several railways running out of Rio de Janeiro, of which the
+longest and probably the most important is the Dom Pedro Segundo, so
+named in honor of the emperor. The first section of the line was opened
+in 1857; it was started by a private company, with a government
+guarantee of seven per cent. interest, but the capital was speedily
+absorbed, owing to the enormous extent of the outlay beyond the
+estimates. Instances of this last have happened in other countries than
+Brazil, and will probably continue to happen until railways are
+superseded by other modes of travel and transportation. The first
+hundred miles took all the capital of the company, and then more money
+was needed. In 1865 the government bought out the stockholders, and
+since then the railway has been run as an imperial concern, like many of
+the railways on the continent of Europe.
+
+The present length of the railway is about four hundred miles. The main
+line is extended every year or two, and branches are built whenever
+their value as feeders can be demonstrated. The road has been of great
+benefit to the coffee planters in the region it penetrates; in fact, the
+line was built for the transportation of coffee, and the people or goods
+dependent upon it. Nearly every passenger is in some way connected with
+the coffee interest, and nineteen twentieths of the freight has some
+relation to it. Take away the coffee business and the road would require
+government aid to pay the cost of the fuel for its locomotives. At
+present it returns to the government about five per cent. upon the
+capital invested in the line, without counting the indirect benefits of
+the development of the country's industries.
+
+The other railways of Brazil are less profitable than the Pedro II., and
+some of them would be given up altogether were it not for the aid
+received from the government. Freight and passenger tariffs are very
+high, and the limited amount of business renders it impossible to fix
+low rates. The passenger fares are from four to five cents a mile,
+first class, and about half these figures for second class, while
+excursion tickets, limited in time, and not transferable, are sold at
+twenty-five per cent. discount from the double tariff. Every pound of
+baggage beyond that carried in the traveller's hand is charged extra,
+and a fair-sized trunk costs as much as a passenger's ticket. Live-stock
+may be said to "ride their heads off" if carried by railway in Brazil,
+and for this reason horses, oxen, cows, and goats are rarely shipped by
+the trains.
+
+[Illustration: NEGRO HUT NEAR THE RAILWAY.]
+
+The freight on a sack of coffee (133 pounds) is about one cent a mile;
+coffee coming from the end of the Dom Pedro railway must pay four
+dollars a sack, which is about one third of its value, when delivered in
+Rio. From Rio to New York the freight rarely exceeds sixty cents a sack,
+and is often no more than twenty-five. Fifty miles of railway
+transportation in Brazil costs more than five thousand two hundred miles
+on the ocean.
+
+A few of the planters send their coffee to market by mule trains, and
+say it is cheaper than by railway, and there have been several schemes
+proposed for organizing a system of mule transportation on a large
+scale, in the hope of making a material saving of money. Of course, the
+government would not favor such an enterprise; and as it could not be
+extensively conducted without imperial sanction, the experiment is not
+likely to be tried.
+
+Our travelling trio made a journey over the great railway line, and had
+an interesting ride. The engineering was found worthy of the praise that
+has been given by others; the passage of the mountains near Rio
+presented many obstacles which were successfully met by the English and
+American builders of the road. The line was begun by Englishmen, but
+since the first section was opened the work has been in charge of
+engineers from the United States.
+
+Frank and Fred were disappointed in the amount of business over the
+road, as they had been told it drained a large district which produced
+coffee in abundance. The Doctor came to their relief with the following
+explanation:
+
+"You must bear in mind," said he, "that there is a vast difference in
+the producing power of land, according to what is raised upon it. You
+cannot raise more than five hundred pounds of coffee from an acre of
+ground under the best conditions, while you can get five or ten times
+that weight in corn or wheat, especially the former. One gentleman who
+has studied the subject (Mr. Herbert H. Smith) says, the coffee district
+drained by the Dom Pedro railway and another line near it does not give
+one thirtieth as much freight as would come from the same area of ground
+in the western states of North America. The large plantations are very
+widely scattered, and their products do not afford sufficient business
+for the railways; much of the land held by the planters is uncultivated,
+and, besides, their laborers are mostly slaves, or people who have very
+few wants beyond what the country around them will meet.
+
+[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO A COFFEE PLANTATION.]
+
+"A coffee plantation requires nothing but the machinery for tilling the
+land and preparing the coffee for market, the furniture, and some
+provisions for the house of the owner, and possibly a few bales of cloth
+for the garments of the slaves. The food of the negroes is grown on the
+place, their houses are built of bamboos, also grown there, and they
+raise enough mandioca and corn for their food. Those who have looked
+carefully into this matter say that long lines of railway in Brazil
+could not pay their running expenses if they were built for nothing.
+There have been several schemes for extending railways into the Matto
+Grosso province; at the present rate of freight it would cost eight
+dollars to bring a sack of coffee to Rio, which would be two-thirds of
+its value. The product of the land would not pay the cost of exporting
+it to a market."
+
+"But why don't they raise corn or wheat instead of coffee?" one of the
+youths asked.
+
+"They have talked of doing so," the Doctor answered, "and some parts of
+the interior provinces are well adapted to the culture of our American
+staples. But they have not the right kind of a population for such work,
+and even if they had it, the cost of bringing grain or flour to Rio
+would be greater at the present railway tariffs than transporting it
+from the United States. I am told it has been carefully figured out that
+wheat from Wisconsin or Minnesota could be laid down in Rio cheaper than
+wheat from the end of the Dom Pedro railway.
+
+"While we are on the subject of railways," the Doctor continued, "you
+may be interested in knowing that Brazil owes some of her railway lines
+to a calamity."
+
+"To a calamity! how can that be?"
+
+"In the past hundred years," Dr. Bronson explained, "there have been
+several famines in some of the interior and coast districts,
+particularly in the Ceara. One of the worst began in 1790; it lasted
+three or four years, and when it ended the province of the Ceara was
+nearly depopulated. Another followed in 1824-25, and another in
+1844-45, the latter being less severe than its predecessor.
+
+[Illustration: VICTIMS OF THE FAMINE.]
+
+"The next, and thus far the most terrible, _secca_ or famine was in
+1877-78. There was an excess of rain in 1875 and 1876 which caused great
+losses in consequence of the floods. Lands could not be tilled, as they
+were buried in water, and many cattle on the estates were drowned.
+
+"The excess of rain was followed by a drought that dried up the streams
+and withered the grass and trees. The seed placed in the ground did not
+sprout, as there was no moisture to give it life, and month after month
+passed without rain. All this time the tropical sun poured its heat over
+the land, and you can easily imagine how it could change the rich forest
+into a desert of withered and blasted trunks, and the open country to a
+desert.
+
+"The people left the plantations and flocked to the villages, many of
+them dying of hunger on the way. Thousands perished at their homes; they
+remained there hoping for rain until too weak and famished to move. As
+long as the cattle lasted there was no hunger; the herdsmen killed the
+animals for their hides, and meat was abundant for all who would come
+and take it. Of course this could not last long, and when the herds were
+killed the people began to perish of starvation.
+
+[Illustration: DYING FOR LACK OF FOOD.]
+
+"In a little while all the produce of the country was gone, and an
+appeal came to the government for aid. There was little law and order in
+the midst of the famine, and many people were killed in the struggle for
+existence; thieves were numerous, and desperate men wandered about
+taking food wherever they could find it; when they met the trains of
+provisions going to the relief of the famished district they exercised
+the right of might, and even killed the horses and mules that were laden
+with food.
+
+"When the horrors of the famine became known in the cities of Brazil an
+appropriation was voted by the government for the relief of the
+sufferers. Fairs were held, subscriptions raised, and a large amount of
+money was obtained, which went for supplying food to the survivors. The
+government sent engineers to lay out lines of railway and employ the
+people; in this way they obtained relief, and the country was provided
+with iron roads that will develop the country and be of practical use in
+transporting provisions in case of another drought.
+
+"That was the way the calamity helped the building of railways," said
+the Doctor, "just as famines have led to similar public works in India
+and other countries. In the beginning of the distress the government and
+the public contributions supplied food to the people free of charge; the
+result was that they soon looked upon it as their right, and refused
+work when it was offered. When the government began operations on the
+railways it was ordered that no one who declined to work should receive
+either money or rations, and in this way the indolent were compelled to
+do something."
+
+Frank asked what was the mortality in consequence of this famine?
+
+"According to the figures at my command," said the Doctor, "there were
+in 1876 about nine hundred thousand inhabitants in Ceara. In 1877 and
+1878 five hundred thousand people died, or more than half the whole
+population!"
+
+"Did they all die of famine?"
+
+"Not all; but the greater part of the mortality was the result of the
+famine. Fifty thousand died of starvation and disease in 1877, and about
+two hundred thousand in the first four months of 1878. Then small-pox,
+fevers, and other diseases appeared, and numbered their victims by many
+thousands, in addition to those who perished directly for want of food
+in the remaining months of the second year. Many persons moved away to
+other provinces and will not return to Ceara; the periodic occurrence of
+droughts will make life there very uncertain, and the probabilities are
+that it will never be prosperous.
+
+"But enough of this sad subject," said the Doctor, with a sigh; "let us
+talk of something else." His suggestion was adopted, and Fred called
+attention to a patch of mandioca near the station where the train was
+coming to a halt.
+
+[Illustration: A TROPICAL RAILWAY STATION.]
+
+"That is one of the staples of Brazil," said Dr. Bronson, "and it
+figures in her exports in the shape of tapioca. Mandioca is as necessary
+to the native of Brazil as the potato to the Irishman, or beef to the
+Englishman; mandioca flour, in this country, fills the place occupied by
+wheat flour or corn meal among ourselves."
+
+They had repeatedly seen mandioca growing in patches near the villages,
+and in their journey down the Madeira and Amazon they had found it an
+excellent article of food. Ascertaining that the train would be nearly
+half an hour at the station, they strolled over to the little garden and
+learned how mandioca is cultivated.
+
+[Illustration: MANDIOCA PLANT.]
+
+"The plant has several names," said the Doctor, as they were walking to
+the garden; "the one most generally used is mandioca, but it is also
+called manioc, mandioc, yucca, and cassava, while its scientific
+appellation is _Jatropha manihot_. It is a native of South America, but
+has been introduced into Africa and other tropical countries, where it
+is extensively cultivated. There are two kinds of the plant; one is
+called the sweet cassava or sweet yucca, and its roots are eaten raw,
+but are more commonly roasted or boiled, and they are as nutritions as
+their South American brother, the potato. The other, which produces the
+tapioca of commerce and the mandioca flour of South America, contains a
+poison so deadly that thirty-five drops of it were sufficient to kill in
+six minutes a negro convicted of murder."
+
+"And this poisonous plant is used as an article of food?" Fred asked, in
+astonishment.
+
+"Yes. The juice contains hydrocyanic acid; but it is removed by pressure
+and by the action of heat, so that the dried flour is perfectly
+harmless. It is still a mystery how the unlettered Indians learned the
+virtues of the plant, which was in universal use when the Spaniards and
+Portuguese first came here.
+
+[Illustration: PLANTATION NEGRO.]
+
+"The Indians have a pretty fable concerning the origin of mandioca," the
+Doctor continued. "They say that long ago, in one of their tribes, a
+child was born which walked and talked precociously. It was named Mani,
+and died when it was only a year old. It was buried in the house where
+it died, according to the custom of the tribe; the roof of the building
+was removed, and the grave was watered daily. An unknown plant sprung
+from the grave; and when it ripened the earth cracked open and revealed
+the root. The Indians ate this root, and thus learned the uses of
+mandioca. Believing it to be the body of Mani, they gave it the name
+_Mani-oca_, the house of Mani."
+
+"A very pretty story, indeed," said Frank. "I will make a sketch of the
+plant in remembrance of it."
+
+By this time they had reached the garden, and Frank busied himself with
+his pencil, while Fred made note of the appearance of the bush, which
+was about five feet high, and had long, pointed leaves at the extremity
+of the branches.
+
+One of the plants was dug from the ground in their presence; the roots
+were in a cluster, and resembled large turnips, and the aggregate weight
+of the half-dozen roots that were taken out was from twenty-five to
+thirty pounds. In a shed close by a native was preparing the substance
+for use; the process may be thus described:
+
+The roots are washed, and then scraped, with a shell or knife, into a
+fine pulp. This pulp is placed in a loosely-woven bag of palm-fibre,
+which is suspended from a pole; a weight at the lower end of the bag
+brings a pressure upon the pulp, by which the juice is forced out. While
+the substance is still damp it is spread on metal plates, and dried
+over a fire; and great care must be taken to drive off every drop of the
+poisonous juice. During the drying it is stirred and broken into coarse
+grains, and this forms the _farina_, or meal of mandioca.
+
+The poisonous juice is placed in a vat, where it deposits a fine
+sediment after standing a few hours. This sediment is the tapioca which
+is extensively used in Europe and America for the manufacture of
+puddings and other articles of food. Arrow-root is another form of the
+same substance.
+
+The whistle recalled them, and they returned to the train. From tapioca
+the conversation turned to slavery; a very natural turn, as a good deal
+of the tapioca which comes from Brazil is grown by slave labor.
+
+"Slavery is in process of extinction here," said the Doctor, "as a
+system of gradual emancipation was adopted in 1871. There will be
+nothing left of the institution after the year 1892. Many slaves have
+been freed already, and it is thought that the northern provinces of
+Brazil will anticipate the enforcement of the law, and give freedom to
+everybody before that date. Most of the slaves are on the plantations in
+the southern part of the empire; some of the coffee-carriers in Rio are
+still held in bondage, and pay their masters a certain amount daily for
+their time. All they earn beyond that they retain for themselves."
+
+"How does the system of gradual emancipation affect the slaves at the
+present time?" one of the youths inquired.
+
+[Illustration: PUNISHMENT.]
+
+"It affects them unfavorably," was the reply, "as you can readily see.
+If a man has a lifelong interest in his slaves, he is apt to treat them
+well out of regard to his own pocket, by making them useful as long as
+he can. But if they are to be free in a given number of years, he is
+tempted to get as much work from them as possible during that time, and
+leave them broken down and quite worn out at the end. Sell a yoke of
+oxen to a man, and he will work them much less than if he had hired them
+for a year, and was not bound to return them in good condition, would he
+not? This is exactly the position of the slaveholder in Brazil; there
+are many humane masters who treat their slaves well, but, unhappily,
+they are in the minority. These people have been accustomed to regard
+the negroes as their property, and they use them as they would property
+of any other kind. Whether the slaves will be well or harshly used
+depends very much upon the temperaments of their owners.
+
+[Illustration: IN THE FIELDS.]
+
+"On a coffee or sugar plantation the slaves are required to work about
+seventeen hours out of the twenty-four. Some masters are satisfied with
+fifteen or sixteen hours, and others exact eighteen hours at least. Here
+is the ordinary routine:
+
+[Illustration: SLAVES WITH COLLARS.]
+
+"The slaves are called to work at four o'clock in the morning; coffee is
+given to them at six, and their breakfast at nine in the forenoon. The
+breakfast consists of dried beef cooked with mandioca-meal and beans,
+together with corn-bread; and it is eaten in the field, in an
+intermission of not more than fifteen minutes. At noon they have a small
+drink of rum, and at four in the afternoon they have a dinner which is
+exactly like the breakfast, and eaten in the same way and time. At seven
+o'clock they leave their field-work, and go to the mill or the household
+until nine o'clock, when they are locked in their quarters, and can
+sleep until roused for the next day's toil."
+
+"But do they have no holidays?"
+
+[Illustration: SLAVE WITH MASK.]
+
+"Yes, they have a holiday on Sunday, but it simply amounts to a
+cessation of labor for three or four hours; in busy seasons the Sunday's
+rest is reduced to one or two hours, and with many masters to nothing at
+all. They have no allowance of Christmas holidays, as was the custom in
+the United States in the slavery days, and in many respects the life of
+the Brazilian slaves is harder than was that of the slaves in most of
+the Southern States of North America before the emancipation.
+
+[Illustration: MASK.]
+
+"But, with all the toil of the Brazilian plantations, the life of the
+slave is a great improvement upon what it was twenty or more years ago.
+The blacksmiths' shops in Rio used to expose slave-shackles for sale as
+freely as those of our own country exhibit horseshoes, and the demand
+for these things was not small. There were collars to be locked around
+the neck, made of round iron an inch in diameter, and provided with
+prongs to prevent the unfortunate wearer from turning his head to either
+side; there were masks, through which no food or drink could be taken;
+shackles for fastening the ankles together, or for binding the wrists to
+the ankles; chains to be fastened to the waist or ankles, and attached
+to logs of wood, which the wearer was obliged to drag around wherever he
+moved; and numberless other devices of cruelty.
+
+[Illustration: SHACKLES.]
+
+"A picture of slavery, drawn by an English clergyman in British Guiana
+before England had freed the slaves in her colonies, will apply to
+Brazil as it was twenty years ago, and as it may now be on some of the
+country plantations. Remember, it is a picture of English slavery as it
+existed in an English colony.
+
+"'The cruelty of the lash, which was often steeped in brine, or pickle
+and pepper, is something very dreadful to think of. Twenty-five was the
+number of lashes laid on the bare back of the slave when a dry leaf or
+piece of the boll was found in the cotton, or a branch was broken in the
+field; fifty for all offences of the next grade; a hundred for standing
+idle in the field; from a hundred and fifty to two hundred for
+quarrelling with fellow-slaves; and five hundred, laid on with the
+greatest possible severity, for any attempt to run away or escape from
+an estate or plantation. The overseers and gang-drivers made the slaves
+work with the greatest possible rigor, and their lives bitter with hard
+bondage. Up to the day before the slaves were emancipated, or proclaimed
+free, the lash was freely used on a plantation near Georgetown, and on
+the morning of the emancipation several freed slaves walked up to their
+overseer and asked if they were not to be whipped for obtaining their
+freedom.'[2]
+
+[2] "British Guiana," by Rev. H. V. P. Bronkhurst.
+
+[Illustration: HOUSEHOLD SERVANT.]
+
+"Emancipation in Brazil is largely due to the humanity of the present
+emperor," continued the Doctor. "He urged the suppression of the
+slave-trade, and was considerably in advance of his cabinet on the
+subject. When this was accomplished, he presented plans for the
+emancipation of the negroes held in bondage. He repeatedly sent messages
+to the Brazilian parliament on the subject. Progress in the movement was
+slow, as four fifths of the members of that body were slave-owners, and
+more than half of them planters. But he never gave up the struggle, and
+in 1871 the law was passed. He had set the example by freeing his own
+slaves, and inducing the members of his family and many wealthy citizens
+to do the same. Slaves were allowed to purchase their own freedom, and
+in other ways the humane movement was accelerated. In 1855 there were,
+in round figures, three million slaves in Brazil. Twenty years later the
+number had been reduced nearly one half, and it has been further
+diminished since that time. Year by year the number of bondmen is
+growing less, and it is by no means impossible that, when the day comes
+for the final proclamation of freedom, there will be no one to set
+free."
+
+"Let us hope it will be so," said both our young friends. Every reader
+of this narrative will echo the sentiment, and give all honor to Dom
+Pedro II., the enlightened Emperor of Brazil.
+
+[Illustration: SLAVES GATHERING SUGAR-CANE.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+RETURN TO THE CAPITAL.--INTRUDO SPORTS.--MUSEUM AT RIO.--MONTEVIDEO AND
+BUENOS AYRES.--THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC.--ASCENDING THE RIVER PLATE.
+
+
+[Illustration: AT HOME WITH THE SUGAR-CANE.]
+
+Our friends remained several days among the coffee and sugar planters to
+whom they had letters of introduction, and then returned to Rio. They
+found the planters exceedingly hospitable, and it was no easy matter to
+bring their visit to an end. They were pressed to remain indefinitely,
+and Frank and Fred were half inclined to accept the invitation, and
+become growers of Brazilian staples, but when they reflected what a life
+of isolation they would be compelled to lead they abandoned the idea,
+and were ready to depart at the appointed time.
+
+"It is no wonder," said Fred, when they left the house of Señor J----,
+"that he urged us to stay longer. I know we must make allowances for
+Spanish and Portuguese politeness, but in this case it was not
+altogether politeness, but a genuine desire for society. Think what it
+must be to be cooped up in this plantation with no one but your family
+and the servants for weeks together. If I were he I should hail with
+delight the arrival of an intelligent visitor, and would shed genuine
+tears when he announced his intention to move on."
+
+Frank shared the opinion of his cousin, and the youths resolved that
+they would not entertain the thought of becoming Brazilian planters.
+
+Their return to the capital was timed to correspond very nearly with the
+departure of a steamer for the south. They had a day to spare, and
+devoted it to a few farewell calls, and a visit to the museum, to
+inspect some of its antiquities and other curiosities. They had already
+seen the collection, but their first visit was unsatisfactory, as it was
+on a day when the place was altogether too crowded for comfort in
+sight-seeing.
+
+As they came out of the hotel on their way to the museum several urchins
+in the street were pelting each other with balls filled with water, one
+of which accidentally struck against Frank. The youth frowned and then
+laughed; for the moment he could not understand the situation, but
+suddenly remembered that it was "Intrudo Day."
+
+The youths retreated to the balcony, and for half an hour watched the
+performance in the street. They were joined by the Doctor and a
+gentleman with whom they had become acquainted; the latter explained the
+Intrudo, which corresponds to the carnival of Italy in some respects,
+but differs widely from it in others.
+
+"The Intrudo festival begins on the Sunday previous to Ash Wednesday,"
+said their informant, "and lasts three days; the carnival has special
+reference to abstinence from eating flesh, but the Intrudo has no such
+significance. In the carnival of Naples and other Italian cities, dust,
+flowers, confectionery and its counterfeits, are the missiles used in
+the mimic combats, while the Intrudo is devoted to throwing balls filled
+with water, emptying small bags of flour and starch, and to playing
+jokes more or less practical in their nature.
+
+"As you are strangers in the hotel you are exempted from the tricks
+connected with the Intrudo, but you must expect an occasional attention
+of the kind you have already experienced. When I rose this morning I
+found that one leg of my trousers had been sewn up near the bottom, and
+on placing my foot inside in the effort to dress myself half a dozen
+Intrudo balls were crushed. Fortunately I had some clothing in a trunk
+of which I alone held the key, and the trunk was in a locked closet in
+sole charge of my butler. All clothing that was accessible had been
+removed; it was probably done while I was busy late the previous evening
+in despoiling the apartment of a friend.
+
+"Of the two boiled eggs I had for breakfast one was raw and the other
+hard enough to be used as a bullet; my tea was sweetened with salt;
+slices of boiled tongue were really pieces of soaked leather; and the
+cold chicken had evidently been run through a sewing machine, to judge
+by the number of threads in it. Pranks had been played with everything
+on the table; while you were laughing at the perplexities of your
+neighbor you found yourself the victim of a kindred deception.
+
+[Illustration: INTRUDO SPORTS THIRTY YEARS AGO.]
+
+"Ladies are the greatest lovers of the Intrudo sports, and if you have
+any lady acquaintances here I warn you not to make any formal calls on
+them to-day, if you wish to preserve your dignity unruffled. It is a
+proverb here that 'Intrudo lies are no sin;' and while a lady is
+inviting a friend to a chair, and promising not to molest him in any
+way, she is getting ready to crush an Intrudo ball in his neck, or upon
+his shoulder, or arranging for him to sit down upon a dozen of them."
+
+[Illustration: INTRUDO BALLS AND BOTTLES.]
+
+The gentleman sent a servant for some Intrudo balls and bottles, and
+gave the youths an opportunity to examine them. They were composed of
+wax thin enough to be easily broken in the hand or when striking an
+object a few feet away, and were filled with scented water. "They were
+formerly," said their informant, "made much larger than at present, and
+immense quantities were sold and used. At present they are small. The
+throwing of Intrudo balls in the streets is forbidden by the police, but
+occasionally the unruly urchins will embrace the opportunity to use them
+on each other, as you have already discovered. In many houses the balls
+are filled with flour instead of water, and the sport of the season
+resembles that of Naples and Venice. Thirty years ago every negro boy on
+the street was armed with a large 'squirt-gun,' which he used freely
+upon those of his own color; white people were at liberty to pelt any
+one of their complexion, and the sport became so riotous that its
+suppression was a public necessity."
+
+[Illustration: WOODEN CANNON.]
+
+Among the curiosities in the museum they found a fine collection of
+living and stuffed specimens of the wild animals of Brazil. It included
+several jaguars and other carnivora from the interior provinces; a large
+cage filled with monkeys of every sort; another of snakes, among which
+was an anaconda seventeen feet long--at least, so said the attendant,
+and they were willing to take his word for it without personally
+measuring the reptile. There were stuffed humming-birds of many kinds;
+eagles, and their kindred, the vulture and condor; beautiful specimens
+of the ibis, which recalled the sacred bird of Egypt; together with many
+other winged creatures that have no names in our vocabulary. One of the
+condors had been recently used in a bull-baiting; the attendant
+narrated, with great animation, how the bird had been chained to the
+back of a young bull, and then turned into a ring. Bird and beast were
+maddened by the explosion of fireworks fastened to the animal's head;
+in his efforts to escape the condor tore great gashes in the flesh of
+his companion in misfortune. It is pleasant to record that these
+amusements are every year less and less appreciated in South America,
+and it is to be hoped the day is not far distant when they will cease
+altogether.
+
+[Illustration: THE CONDOR AND THE BULL.]
+
+There was a wooden cannon which was captured from the rebels in one of
+the northern provinces in the last revolution. It was made of slabs of
+wood bound together with hoops of iron, and appeared to have been used;
+it was a type of the earliest known cannon, and carried the thoughts of
+the spectators back to the days when artillery was first used on the
+battlefield. Horrible in appearance were embalmed heads from the country
+of the Tapajos; Dr. Bronson explained that this tribe used to preserve
+the heads of their enemies, and wear them on their necks as trophies of
+their valor. A string through the mouth was used for suspending such a
+prize; the eyes were filled with wax and cement, and the whole face was
+built out with this material, to make it as lifelike as possible. On the
+top of the head was a tuft of hair, and the positions of the ears were
+indicated by rosettes.
+
+[Illustration: EMBALMED HEAD.]
+
+Close to these preserved heads was a case containing musical
+instruments resembling flutes and horns, and said to be of great
+antiquity; they were from the upper part of the Amazon Valley, and
+coeval with the incas of Peru. One trumpet attracted the attention of
+the youths; it was about three feet long, tapering regularly from end to
+end, and provided at the larger extremity with a fringe of feathers,
+which modulated the sound when the instrument was used. The attendant
+asked Frank and Fred to guess what it was made of; they named everything
+they could think of, but without success, and were finally told it was
+an alligator's tail!
+
+[Illustration: ANCIENT MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.]
+
+There were ancient combs, household utensils, and other things in the
+collection; Frank made a sketch of a comb which consisted of thin strips
+of a very hard wood set in transverse bars, and firmly bound with fine
+threads of a fibre resembling silk. One edge of the comb was straight,
+and the other curved; between the transverse strips that held the teeth
+in place, the flat space was covered with a closely woven mass of
+binding material, and a careful inspection showed the tracery of figures
+so delicate as to require very strong eyesight on the part of the
+operator.
+
+[Illustration: ANCIENT COMB.]
+
+Among the specimens of pottery was a basin about eighteen inches in
+diameter, and perfectly preserved. The outside was quite plain, and
+somewhat blackened by smoke, but the inside was decorated with a great
+variety of lines that resembled serpents twisted together; the glazing
+was broken in many places, and did not seem to be well put on, while the
+shape of the basin indicated that it was made without the assistance of
+the potter's wheel.
+
+[Illustration: BRAZILIAN BASIN.]
+
+Space will not permit us to name all the objects which occupied the time
+of the youths in their visit to the museum; we will drop the basin, at
+the risk of breaking it, and accompany the party on board the steamer
+which is to carry them southward.
+
+[Illustration: MONTEVIDEO FROM THE SEA.]
+
+They left the bay of Rio Janeiro as they had entered it, passing near
+the base of the Sugar-Loaf, and keeping their eyes fixed on its lofty
+peak until it dwindled to a mere point on the horizon. Southward and a
+little to the westward they took their course, and six days after
+leaving Rio were in front of Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW IN THE CAPITAL OF URUGUAY.]
+
+They found it a clean and well-built city, consisting largely of
+flat-roofed houses a single story in height, though there were many
+modern structures of two or three stories. It is on a point of land
+extending into a bay which affords shelter from all winds except the
+southwest; the harbor is well provided with docks and other conveniences
+for shipping purposes, and the city has half a dozen street railways, is
+lighted with gas, and has several steam railways into the interior of
+Uruguay. The business of the place is principally in the exportation of
+hides, wool, horse-hair, and other products of Uruguay and the
+surrounding country, and the importation of machinery, lumber, and
+numerous articles which may be classified as "assorted goods." Frank
+investigated the statistics, and found that Montevideo has a population
+of more than one hundred thousand, while Uruguay, of which it is the
+capital, has half a million inhabitants, and an area of seventy thousand
+square miles. The party had about five hours on shore at Montevideo, and
+then returned to the steamer to cross the mouth of the Rio de la Plata
+to Buenos Ayres, one hundred and thirty miles distant. From the
+anchorage, about six miles from the city, they were taken ashore in a
+steam tender which came puffing out to meet them.
+
+They landed with all their baggage, and after a delay in port of some
+twenty hours the steamer proceeded to the Strait of Magellan and the
+Pacific Ocean. In a subsequent chapter we will know more about her
+course. Most of the foreign steamers going southward from Montevideo do
+not visit Buenos Ayres, but go direct to the strait without stopping.
+
+Twice as large as Montevideo, and with many evidences of wealth and
+prosperity, Buenos Ayres impressed our young friends as second only to
+Rio Janeiro among the cities of the South American continent, as far as
+they had seen them. Its streets are parallel to each other; it contains
+many fine buildings, both public and private; has ten daily newspapers
+in Spanish, French, English, German, and Italian, besides several weekly
+or monthly publications; can boast of banks, theatres, hospitals,
+churches, convents, public libraries, museums, and the like; has several
+good hotels; and is, in fact, a comfortable place to be in. So thought
+our friends as they settled in their hotel and afterwards took a stroll
+through one of the principal streets.
+
+"If only Montevideo had a country back of it like that which feeds
+Buenos Ayres it would get the most of the business at the mouth of the
+River Plate. Montevideo has a good harbor and Buenos Ayres a poor one;
+the former has safe anchorage and is well sheltered, while the latter is
+shallow, and open to half the winds that blow. In the easterly gales the
+estuary at Buenos Ayres is apt to overflow its banks, and when there is
+a strong wind from the west the water is so blown out that ships of deep
+draught have to change their moorings. But Montevideo has no important
+country behind it, while Buenos Ayres sweeps all the way westward to the
+Andes, south to Patagonia, and north into Paraguay."
+
+So spoke the captain of the steamer as they were crossing the broad
+estuary of the La Plata. As they looked on the evidences of prosperity
+in Buenos Ayres, and learned that the city had grown up under many
+disadvantages, they expressed their admiration for the energy and
+enterprise of its merchants in no stinted terms.
+
+[Illustration: OX-CART OF BUENOS AYRES.]
+
+Only small vessels can come close to the water-front of the city; ships
+drawing more than eighteen feet must anchor several miles out, and all
+freight and passengers come to the shore in lighters. Two piers, each
+fifteen hundred feet long, have been built, for the use of small
+steamers and other boats of light draught; before these piers were
+constructed it was necessary to land in flat-bottomed boats, or in carts
+with wheels ten or twelve feet in diameter, which were pushed out into
+the water, where they could receive their loads. Even at present the
+carts must be used occasionally, when an extremely low tide prevents
+boats from reaching the piers. Frank and Fred were reminded of the
+harbor of Madras, and their adventures in going ashore there in a
+masullah boat; on the whole they thought the cart preferable to the
+masullah boat, but would risk a brief delay rather than intrust
+themselves to it if a gale happened to be blowing.
+
+Water for drinking purposes was formerly as scarce in the city as that
+for anchoring ships in front of it. Down to a few years ago the
+inhabitants depended upon wells within the city limits, and carts which
+brought water from the river, where it was not affected by the tide from
+the sea. The well water was brackish and hardly drinkable, while the
+river water was sold at a high price. Now the city has been provided
+with waterworks and the old troubles have ceased. The drainage has been
+improved, and altogether it is a cleanly place, though less so than
+Montevideo. The latter owes its name to the mountain or hill on which
+it is partly built, and from which there is a fine view; while the
+former is named for its "good air." It is certainly a healthy place,
+according to the reports of residents, though it is liable to sudden
+changes of temperature. The thermometer rarely exceeds ninety degrees or
+descends below eighteen degrees; yellow fever comes occasionally, but
+not often, and there are no other epidemics.
+
+Two days in Buenos Ayres were sufficient to exhaust the characteristic
+features of the place, and give the youths an insight into the history
+of the country of which it was the seaport. We will again exercise our
+privilege of peeping into Fred's note-book for information which will
+interest our readers.
+
+[Illustration: SOLDIERS OF THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC.]
+
+"Buenos Ayres," the record says, "is the capital of the province of the
+same name, and also of the Argentine Republic, or Argentine
+Confederation, of which the province forms a part. The country has been
+through a series of wars which it is not necessary to describe here;
+from present indications it has a destiny of peace before it, though a
+revolution may break out at any moment. The Argentine Confederation
+includes fourteen provinces; it has a president, who is elected for six
+years, a cabinet of five ministers, a congress of two houses, a national
+debt, an army and a navy, together with other paraphernalia of
+government. It has two thousand miles of railway, and another thousand
+is in process of building; it has frequent disputes with Chili as to its
+rights in Patagonia; a population of about two millions; and herds of
+cattle, sheep, and horses too large for careful enumeration.
+
+"Of late years it has encouraged emigration from Europe, and there are
+probably half a million people of European birth now living in the
+country. One fourth of these are Italians, and the rest are Spaniards,
+Irish, English and Scotch, Germans, Portuguese, and a few other
+nationalities; in the province of Buenos Ayres there are seventy
+thousand Italians, forty thousand of whom are in the city of that name.
+At every step we hear the Italian language spoken, and the signs over
+the shop doors bear more Italian than Spanish names. The Spaniards were
+the original settlers of the country, but their identity is rapidly
+disappearing under the influx of immigration from Europe.
+
+[Illustration: A GUACHO.]
+
+"It is interesting to note the occupations of the various nationalities
+as they settle in this new country. The descendants of the original
+conquerors are generally known as _Guachos_, or 'countrymen;' they
+rarely live in the cities, preferring the wild life of the interior,
+where they dwell in rude huts, subsist on the flesh of cattle or wild
+game, and have an existence little better than semi-civilized. They are
+the finest horsemen in the world, if half the stories we hear of them
+are true, and a group of guachos ought to put to shame the best circus
+troupe that was ever organized.
+
+[Illustration: A GUACHO ON HORSEBACK.]
+
+"Apropos of this, I am told that a circus company came to Buenos Ayres,
+years ago, when the place was the resort of the guachos, and gave a
+performance. Just as the show ended a group of guachos rode into the
+ring and completely outdid the circus men in every one of their tricks,
+besides several that were not down in the bills. The circus company
+sailed away for Valparaiso, but it had no better luck there than at
+Buenos Ayres. The Chilians are splendid horsemen, and defeated the
+professional performers at their own game. It was probably the same
+company we heard about at Lima.
+
+"The Italian emigrants engage in building houses and in raising
+vegetables in the market-gardens surrounding the principal cities; those
+from Genoa have almost a monopoly of the boating business on the rivers,
+and they man the coasting ships and other craft. The Catalonian
+Spaniards are mostly wine-merchants; the Andalusians are shop-keepers
+and cigar dealers; and the Galicians are employed as domestics, porters,
+watchmen, and railway servants of the lower grades. Emigrants from the
+Basque provinces are the most numerous, next to the Italians, and their
+employments are similar to those of the Galicians, in addition to
+bricklaying, sheep-tending, and farm-work in general. The Irish are the
+sheep-farmers of the country, and it is said there are thirty millions
+of sheep in the Argentine Republic owned by Irish settlers. The English,
+Scotch, and Germans are generally occupied with commerce, though some of
+them have gone into cattle and sheep farming, like the Irish; the French
+are commercially inclined, some branches of trade being almost
+monopolized by them, and they assimilate with the native Argentines more
+readily than do the English and Germans. The aboriginal Araucanians
+generally retain their independence, leading a nomadic life, and keeping
+large herds of cattle and horses, which furnish their subsistence.
+
+[Illustration: POST-STATION ON THE PAMPAS.]
+
+"There you have a picture of the population, which is as heterogeneous
+as that of the United States of North America, and has good promise for
+the future. The country is as diversified as the people; it consists of
+dense forests and vast pampas or plains, in which the herds of countless
+cattle and horses, and flocks of equally countless sheep, find a
+nutritious pasture. The pampas are far more extensive than the forests,
+and there are places where you may travel miles and miles without seeing
+a tree, or even a bush. Altogether, the Argentine Republic contains a
+million square miles of land between latitude 21° and 41° south, and
+from the Atlantic Ocean to the Andes, which separate it from Chili. The
+southern part of the territory is a vast desert; it is certainly a
+foolish quarrel between Chili and the republic, for the possession of
+this inhospitable region. The whole area in dispute is not worth the
+lives of the men who have died there while trying to hold on to it."
+
+While Fred was writing the foregoing notes on the country, and Dr.
+Bronson and Frank were occupied with letters for home, Manuel was sent
+to engage passage on a steamer bound up the River Plate. Frank will tell
+us the story of the voyage.
+
+[Illustration; A STEAMER ON THE RIVER PLATE.]
+
+"Navigation on the River Plate is free to all nations," wrote the youth
+in his journal, "the same as on the Amazon. The river is variously
+called 'Rio de la Plata,' 'River Plate,' and 'Plate River,' and,
+strictly speaking, it is an estuary rather than a river. It is formed by
+the junction of the Parana River with the Uruguay almost within sight of
+the ocean; the broad estuary is full of shoals and intricate channels
+which render the navigation difficult. Large steamers can ascend the
+Parana a thousand miles from the sea; the basin of the River Plate is
+estimated to contain a million and a quarter square miles of land, and
+the inland navigation which terminates at Buenos Ayres and Montevideo is
+said to be not less than ten thousand miles. The Paraguay may be
+considered the head and principal stream of the Plate system; its
+sources are only a few miles from those of the Madeira, and the two
+streams might be easily united by means of a canal.
+
+[Illustration: A REFUGE FROM MOSQUITOES.]
+
+"We left Buenos Ayres on a boat drawing about ten feet of water, and
+rigged like an ocean steamer; we wondered what could be the use of the
+masts in river navigation, but found out before the voyage was over.
+Mosquitoes were thick and thirsty, but, like mosquitoes in other
+countries, they did not fly high in the air; when they were too numerous
+on deck for comfort, we climbed into the rigging and escaped their
+attentions. We advise all travellers who may follow us to provide
+themselves with mosquito nettings; and if they have preference in
+steamers, to choose one that has rigging in which they can find shelter.
+The cabins are apt to be disagreeably warm, and, besides, one does not
+like to be shut up there in the evening, when he can find a spot where
+the night air can be enjoyed without the presence of the winged pests of
+South America."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+VISITING A CATTLE ESTATE.--THE LASSO AND BOLAS.--ASCENDING THE PARAGUAY
+AND PARANA RIVERS.--ROSARIO AND ASUNCION.--PARAGUAYAN WAR.--INDUSTRIES
+OF THE COUNTRY.--MATÉ.
+
+
+"The terms Argentine Republic and River Plate are misnomers," said
+Frank, in his journal; "Argentine Republic means 'Republic of Silver,'
+and 'Rio de La Plata' has the same significance applied to the great
+stream. There is no silver on the banks of the river or anywhere near
+it; argentiferous deposits have been found in the mountainous parts of
+the country, but they have not been worked to any extent. The wealth of
+the republic is in the fertility of the soil, and its grazing
+facilities. Precious or other metals do not figure in the exports, which
+are almost entirely confined to hides, beef, horns, tallow, and wool.
+
+"After passing the mouth of the Uruguay we were frequently quite near
+the shore, and could see great herds of cattle grazing wherever the
+country was open. We stopped at one of the _estancias_, or cattle
+estates; an accident to the machinery detained us several hours, and we
+accepted the invitation of one of the guachos to ride out about a mile
+from the landing and witness the operation of branding cattle.
+
+"It was conducted without any regard to the feelings of the animal which
+received the brand. He was singled out from his fellows by one of the
+_vaqueros_, or herdsmen, who was mounted on a swift horse and equipped
+with a lasso, a long rope with a noose at the end. The lasso was thrown
+over the horns of the victim, or, perhaps, over one of his fore-legs; in
+either case it brought him to the ground, or enabled the vaquero to lead
+him to where several men stood ready for their share of the work.
+
+[Illustration: BRANDING CATTLE ON AN ESTANCIA.]
+
+"They held him firmly on the earth, and then the branding-iron, which
+had been heated to redness, was applied to his hide, and held there with
+such force that it burned in deeply. The bellowing of the poor brute was
+unheeded; when the iron was removed he was allowed to rise and gallop
+off to his companions, and he lost no time in doing so. Then the iron
+was returned to the fire and made ready for the next victim, and so the
+operation went on with great rapidity. The mark of the brand is
+indelible not only while the animal lives, but after his hide has
+passed through the hands of the tanner.
+
+[Illustration: USE OF THE LASSO AND BOLAS.]
+
+"Another weapon of the vaquero is the _bolas_, which consists of two
+balls joined by a leather thong six or eight feet in length; they are
+usually round stones, or balls of iron or lead, and in either case are
+covered with leather, which is attached to the thong. They are swung
+round the head until they attain great velocity, and then hurled at the
+animal; they twist around his legs, and bring him to the ground, or, at
+all events, hamper his speed so that he can be overtaken.
+
+"Another kind of bolas consists of three balls united by thongs to a
+common centre; they are more difficult to handle than the other sort,
+and are chiefly used for hunting the guanaco and ostrich on the plains
+in the southern part of the republic, and in Patagonia. Fred and I tried
+to use the bolas, the ordinary kind, but we found that it went
+generally in the opposite direction from what we intended. One of the
+guachos showed us how to do it, and set us to trying to 'bolear' a stake
+driven in the ground ten yards away. We didn't hit the stake a single
+time, but we should assuredly have brought each other down if we had not
+stood at safe distances apart. When a novice is practising, the guachos
+require that he shall be far out of any possibility of reaching them by
+a stray shot.
+
+"'Now see how I'll do it,' said one of the guachos, as he started in
+pursuit of a steer that was escaping from the herd.
+
+"While the animal was at full gallop the bolas went twining around his
+hind-legs, bringing him to a dead halt, but without injuring him in the
+least. The guacho repeated the performance two or three times in
+succession, and showed that he was thoroughly skilled in the use of the
+weapon, which he launched with terrible swiftness and unerring accuracy.
+
+"The hunters in Patagonia generally carry no other weapons than the
+lasso and the bolas in their pursuit of the guanaco and ostrich. Wild
+horses are tripped up with the bolas and then secured with the lasso,
+and sometimes the leaden ball, hitting a horse fairly on the forehead,
+will bring him to the ground as lifeless as though shot through the
+heart.
+
+"When the repairs to the engines were completed a gun was fired by the
+steamer, and we galloped back to the landing. We steamed on until late
+in the evening, passing alternate stretches of forest and open ground,
+and on two or three occasions feeling the sand-bars with our keel. This
+mode of sounding was not to the liking of the captain and pilot, and so
+we anchored until morning.
+
+"For the first two hundred miles of its course as we ascend it the
+Parana is a labyrinth of islands and channels; they are so numerous as
+to bewilder the novice, and even the old pilots say they are often
+perplexed by the multiplicity of ways open to them. The islands are
+covered with fruit trees, from which the markets of Buenos Ayres and
+Montevideo are supplied, and they overhang the water so that in some
+places a boat may be loaded without its occupant stepping on shore. The
+forests are gay with flowers in bloom, the air is filled with fragrance,
+little pools and nooks in the islands are covered with aquatic plants,
+and the luxuriance of vegetation is so great that we were continually
+reminded of the lower Amazon.
+
+"If only the mosquitoes had let us alone we should have found the journey
+one of the most interesting we have ever made.
+
+"The country is rapidly filling up with inhabitants, who come from all
+parts of Europe, as already mentioned, but there is yet an immense area
+that awaits settlement. We ask for the Indians, but have difficulty in
+finding them; at various times they have had quarrels with the
+settlers, but soon found it was better to remain on terms of peace. As
+the country has been occupied with farms and cattle-ranches, they have
+found a scarcity of game which has led them to retire into the interior.
+They are rarely seen on the lower part of the river, except where they
+have hired out as herdsmen to the owners of the cattle estates, the only
+kind of labor they are willing to engage in.
+
+[Illustration: COSTUMES OF PARAGUAY.]
+
+"But as we go on we find the river narrower, its banks higher, and the
+islands less numerous. Two hundred miles from the mouth of the Parana
+proper, and four hundred from the ocean, we came to Rosario, and
+remained several hours. The city surprised us by its extent and
+attractive features. In 1854 it was a wretched town with a few hundred
+huts, and perhaps three thousand inhabitants; now its population numbers
+fifty thousand, and it is next to Buenos Ayres in commercial
+importance. It is a port of entry for ships of all nations.
+
+"We saw steamers from half the countries of Europe, and especially from
+England, taking in their cargoes at Rosario. It has fine and well-paved
+streets, which are provided with gas and railways, and lined with houses
+that would do honor to any city of its size in North America; ships of
+any draught may lie close up to the high bluff on which it stands, and
+there is no occasion for building expensive docks. There are several
+railways running to the interior of the republic, and one of them is
+intended to traverse the Andes, and connect with the Chilian lines to
+the Pacific coast.
+
+"The Salada, the first great tributary of the Parana from the west,
+joins the main stream about three hundred and fifty miles above its
+mouth. We made several stops at towns and cattle estates between Rosario
+and Corrientes, which is a prosperous place on the east bank of the
+Parana, just below its junction with the Paraguay River. It is a port of
+entry, like Rosario, and has a good deal of foreign commerce; many
+German and English merchants are established here, and are getting
+almost a monopoly of the foreign trade.
+
+[Illustration: INDIANS OF THE "GRAN CHACO."]
+
+"At Corrientes we saw several Chaco Indians, who are the aboriginals of
+this region. The country on the west bank is known as _El Gran Chaco_;
+and though part of it has been settled, there is a very large region
+still in the hands of the Indians. Unlike their brethren lower down,
+they remain independent or nearly so; they do not disturb the whites
+unless first interfered with, and then they are ready for battle. Many a
+soldier of Paraguay and the Argentine Republic has fallen before their
+lances and arrows in the last fifty years.
+
+"One day, when the steamer was running close to the west bank of the
+river, we saw a group of horsemen darting among the trees. Inspection
+with our glasses showed them to be Indians, and the captain confirmed
+our observation. As we went slowly on they got up a sort of race with
+the steamer, and gave us a good chance to see them. All were on
+horseback, men, women, and children; they had neither saddles nor
+bridles, but guided their horses with thongs, which were fastened around
+the lower jaws. They shouted and gesticulated for us to stop, but we had
+no business with them, as they had nothing which the steamer's people
+wanted to buy.
+
+[Illustration: BATTLE WITH CHACO INDIANS.]
+
+"They are formidable enemies in war, as they are fearless and skilled
+horsemen, quite the equals of the Comanches or other wild men of our
+western plains. In their fights with the Paraguayan troops they have
+been known to stand up on the backs of their horses to resist an attack;
+just as the attacking force was within shooting distance they dropped
+astride of their animals, and with wild whoops dashed forward, creating
+a stampede among the frightened horses of their enemies, and making a
+scene of wild disorder.
+
+[Illustration: INDIANS OF THE LENQUA, RIVER PLATE.]
+
+"Lieutenant Page of the United States Navy explored the Parana and
+Paraguay rivers and their tributaries in 1854, and visited some of these
+Indian tribes. He describes the Angaité tribe as a people of remarkable
+stature, many of them exceeding six feet in height, and all finely
+formed and athletic. The old Jesuits give wonderful accounts of the
+great age to which these people live; they say that if one dies at
+eighty he is said to have been cut off in the flower of his existence.
+Men of a hundred years old will mount fiery horses and subdue them, and
+some of these people have reached the extraordinary age of one hundred
+and twenty years! One of their chiefs, when asked how old he was, said
+he did not know, but he was married and had a son when the church at
+Asuncion was built. As the church was then one hundred and five years
+old the warrior had a ripe old age, supposing, of course, he told the
+truth.
+
+[Illustration: INDIANS SHOOTING FISHES.]
+
+"They are skilful with the lasso and bolas, and also with their spears
+and bows. The whites try to prevent their obtaining fire-arms, but
+somehow they manage to get them through traders, and are not slow in
+learning how to use them. They shoot fishes in the streams with their
+bows and arrows, and though a fish may be three or four feet under water
+they rarely fail to pierce him. As with most Indian tribes, the men
+engage in hunting and breaking horses, and leave all the drudgery to the
+women.
+
+"Passing the mouth of the Parana, we ascended the Paraguay River to
+Asuncion, the capital of the republic and its principal city. It has
+suffered terribly in the wars which Paraguay has waged with her
+neighbors, but is now fairly prosperous; if the country will not go to
+war again Asuncion may hope for a satisfactory future, as it has a good
+position, and is connected with the interior by a line of railway nearly
+two hundred miles long. We have heard many stories about the war which
+lasted from 1865 to 1870, and was very near making a complete ruin of
+Paraguay. Perhaps this is a good place to say something about it.
+
+"General Lopez, who was then president and commander-in-chief of the
+armies, revived some old disputes with Brazil and the Argentine Republic
+concerning the boundaries between Paraguay and those countries. He began
+hostilities by capturing a Brazilian steamer which was passing Asuncion
+on a peaceful mission, and seizing two Argentine steamers near
+Corrientes. Then he surrounded that town with his army and threatened
+its capture, and he sent assistance to some revolutionists in Uruguay
+who were trying to overthrow the government of that country.
+
+"The result of all this was that the three countries made war upon
+Paraguay, and they agreed not to stop fighting until they had completely
+conquered it, and made it powerless to go to war again. They carried out
+their programme completely; Asuncion was occupied, the army was defeated
+in several battles, and General Lopez was killed, in March, 1870. Then
+peace was declared, but it found the country prostrated, burdened with a
+heavy debt, and reduced in territory. Before the war the population of
+Paraguay was about half a million; it was estimated that 170,000 men
+were killed during the struggle, or died of disease consequent upon it,
+and that 50,000 women perished by famine and exposure in the forests
+and swamps. And all this for the ambition and avarice of one man,
+General Lopez!
+
+[Illustration: A RIVER PORT DURING THE WAR.]
+
+"A gentleman who was here during the war tells us that all business was
+suspended, and the river was occupied by fleets of war-ships and
+gun-boats, and defended by forts. The few ports on the river were
+converted into military stations, and the expenditure of money and
+credit, as well as the loss of life, on both sides was something
+enormous. There were countless scenes of horror, such as are witnessed
+in every war, and the stories of bravery and cowardice, honor and
+treachery, devotion and suffering, would fill volumes. Before the war
+ended the soldiers of Lopez were barefooted, and almost without
+clothing, and many of their enemies were in an equally sorry plight.
+This gentleman visited the headquarters of Lopez one day, and found a
+soldier on duty there wearing nothing but a cloth around his waist and a
+cap on his head. Thus dressed, and with his gun on his shoulder, he
+paced in front of the general with the dignity of a Prussian grenadier.
+
+[Illustration: HEADQUARTERS OF GENERAL LOPEZ.]
+
+"From all I can learn, I judge that the Paraguayan people fought bravely
+and suffered terribly, and were overpowered by superior numbers. Lopez
+appears to have been a man of pleasant manners in social life, but he
+had no care for the good of his country, and sacrificed all its
+interests to his own purposes. Before the war broke out most of the
+commerce was in his hands; nothing could be imported or exported without
+his permission, and the payment of a tax which went into his pockets. He
+provoked the war in hope of establishing a kingdom, and failed, as he
+deserved to fail.
+
+"The country has few manufactures, and the principal industries are
+agriculture and the raising of sheep, cattle, and horses. In
+agriculture, the exported articles are tobacco and yerba maté or
+Paraguayan tea; beef, mutton, hides, and wool are the products of the
+grazing lands which find their way to other countries, and there are
+some shipments of timber and fruit.
+
+"Of late years an industry of a new kind has sprung up on the River
+Plate and its tributaries, the shipment of frozen meat to England and
+the continent of Europe. On our way up the river we stopped at one of
+the estancias where this business was conducted, and had a chance to see
+some of its details. The manager kindly took us through the
+establishment, and explained the various processes.
+
+"The animals to be slaughtered and shipped--whether cattle or
+sheep--are killed and dressed in the usual way. The beeves are divided
+into quarters, but the sheep are kept whole; in either case the meat is
+taken to a large room, where it is hung on racks, so that no two pieces
+shall come in contact with each other. This room is really an enormous
+refrigerator, and when it is filled the doors are shut tight, and the
+air within is cooled below the freezing-point by an artificial process.
+
+"When the meat has been properly frozen, it is removed from the room and
+carried on board the steamer at the dock. This steamer has her hold
+arranged on the refrigerating system, with several inches of thick felt
+between double walls of planking, so that heat is conducted away very
+slowly. When the hold is filled the cooling apparatus is set in
+operation, and the temperature is lowered to about 33° Fahrenheit; the
+apparatus is kept at work during the entire voyage, and until the
+steamer delivers her cargo in Europe. The meat thus remains perfectly
+fresh, although the ship passes the equator and remains for days and
+days under a tropical sun.
+
+"Meat is very cheap in South America and very dear in Europe. The
+managers of the new enterprise claim that they have met with complete
+success, and will soon be able to feed the whole of Europe on beef and
+mutton grown on the pampas of South America. They have many prejudices
+to overcome, besides the opposition which the graziers and butchers of
+the Old World are making to the prospect of having their home industries
+ruined by these importations.
+
+[Illustration: PARAGUAYAN MOTHER AND DAUGHTERS.]
+
+"We wanted to ascend the Paraguay to its head-waters, but circumstances
+did not permit, and we turned back from Asuncion. We went to the end of
+the railway, and had a delightful ride through a diversified country;
+forest, pampas, hills, valleys, mountains, and plains alternated
+rapidly, and gave us a succession of surprises. Numerous herds of cattle
+and horses told of the wealth of the country in live-stock, and if we
+had not seen the herds we should have known of the prevailing industry
+by the piles of hides that awaited shipment at the railway stations.
+
+"We are in the land of _yerba maté_, or Paraguay tea, and have drunk
+nothing else at breakfast and other meals; of course, we have tried it
+frequently in our journeyings in South America, but have never adhered
+closely to it until now. Perhaps you would like to know more fully about
+it.
+
+[Illustration: A LANDED PROPRIETOR.]
+
+"Well, everybody drinks it, or, rather, sucks it, as the leaves are
+broken into powder while drying, and not preserved whole, like Chinese
+tea-leaves. Fred and I have provided ourselves with _bombillas_, as the
+tubes are called, after the custom of the European residents, and
+whenever the cup is circulating we come in for our share. The dry powder
+is poured into a cup or bowl and covered with boiling water; when it has
+stood long enough for the infusion to be drawn it is sucked through the
+bombilla, precisely as people in New York take lemonades through straws.
+
+[Illustration: CUPS AND TUBES FOR MATÉ.]
+
+"The natives pass the cup and tube from one to another, but the European
+residents generally carry tubes of their own, and only the cup is passed
+around. The tube may be a reed or a straw, or of metal or glass,
+according to the fancy of the owner; ours are of glass, and we carry
+them in cases to prevent their being broken.
+
+"Everybody drinks _maté_, and the Europeans who come here take to it
+with the greatest readiness. It has the same refreshing qualities as are
+found in tea and coffee; the chemists say it contains _caffeine_ and
+_theine_, together with caffeo-tannic acid, and it is sometimes
+recommended by physicians for their patients. We are told that there is
+no part of the world where Chinese tea is consumed by the inhabitants in
+as great a proportion as is maté by the South Americans. It is taken at
+meals and between meals; at all hours of the day and night, and also
+between those hours.
+
+"And now for the plant. Its scientific name is _Ilex Paraguayensis_; it
+is a species of holly, growing on the banks of rivers in Paraguay and in
+the mountains of Brazil and Bolivia. It reaches a height of fifteen or
+twenty feet, and its leaves are four or five inches long, with serrated
+edges. The leaves are dried by artificial heat on a network of small
+poles, over a hard, earthen floor; when thoroughly roasted they are
+beaten with sticks until reduced to the powder I have already mentioned,
+when they fall through the network to the floor.
+
+"This powder is collected and packed in bags of hide; each bag holds
+about two hundred pounds of maté, and in this condition it is shipped to
+market. About five million pounds of maté are sent every year from
+Paraguay to other South American countries, but very little goes to
+North America or to Europe. The outside world has not yet learned of its
+virtues to any appreciable extent.
+
+"'Do you sweeten it as you do Chinese tea?' I hear some one asking.
+
+"Generally you do not. The natives almost never do, but some of the
+Europeans, who were accustomed to sweetened tea in their old homes, put
+a little sugar in the maté. Others put in a slice of lemon, just as the
+Russians do with their tea; Fred and I have taken our maté plain, and
+like it very much."
+
+ * * * * *
+
+"During our return to Buenos Ayres," continued Frank, "we went a short
+distance up the Parana, which is longer than the Paraguay River, but
+smaller in volume. Its banks are higher and more picturesque, but the
+country bordering the two streams appears to be pretty much the same.
+The river can be ascended a long distance; in the upper part it can
+only be navigated by boats of light draught, as it spreads over
+sand-bars, and is shallow in many places.
+
+[Illustration: PARAGUAYAN CART.]
+
+"The Parana rises in the mountains back of Rio Janeiro, and its
+head-springs are not more than one hundred miles from that city. Several
+streams unite to form this river; where it leaves the mountain region it
+has a fall which is said, by many travellers, to be inferior to no other
+in the world, not even to Niagara. Here is the way it is described:
+
+"'After collecting the waters of several rivers on both banks, and
+especially those of the Tieté and Paranapanema from the east, the Parana
+increases in width until it attains nearly four thousand five hundred
+yards, a short distance above the falls; then the immense mass of water
+is suddenly confined within a gorge of two hundred feet, through which
+it dashes with fury to the ledge, whence it is precipitated to a depth
+of fifty-six feet. It is computed that the volume of water per minute is
+equal to one million tons; the velocity of the flood through the gorge
+is forty miles an hour, and the roar of the cataract is distinctly
+audible at a distance of thirty miles.'
+
+"If we can't have the pleasure of seeing the Guayrá or Salto Grande, as
+the cataract of the Parana is called, we will console ourselves with
+the reflection that we have seen Niagara, and are disinclined to
+believe it has any superior in the world. Any way, it is three times as
+high as the cataract of the Parana, and if anybody doubts that there is
+a million tons of water passing over the American and Horseshoe falls
+every minute he is at liberty to count them."
+
+[Illustration: CARLO ANTONIO LOPEZ, FORMER PRESIDENT OF PARAGUAY.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+RETURN TO BUENOS AYRES.--DIVIDING THE PARTY.--TWO ROUTES TO
+VALPARAISO.--FRANK'S JOURNEY OVER THE PAMPAS.--MENDOZA.--AT THE FOOT OF
+THE ANDES.
+
+
+[Illustration: OLIVE BRANCH FROM THE BANKS OF THE PARANA.]
+
+On the way down the river Frank and Fred were occupied with their
+journals and letters, and with many consultations of the map of South
+America. The day before their arrival at Buenos Ayres Fred made a
+suggestion to his cousin relative to their future movements, and
+intimated that he thought it would be approved by the Doctor.
+
+"I think so too," replied Frank, "and we'll go and ask him. It is a
+repetition of our scheme in Africa without half as many difficulties in
+the way."
+
+Finding Dr. Bronson engaged in nothing more absorbing than looking at
+the distant bank of the river, they unfolded their scheme.
+
+"I have thought," said Fred, "it would be a good plan for us to separate
+at Buenos Ayres to meet again at Valparaiso. There are two routes from
+one city to the other; the first by steamer, through the Strait of
+Magellan, and the second overland. One of us, accompanied by Manuel, can
+travel across the country, and the other two can go by water. We can
+time our journey so as to meet at Valparaiso, and if either expedition
+is a few days in advance of the other it would be no great hardship, as
+there is enough of interest in Chili to enable the time to pass away
+pleasantly."
+
+"You have anticipated what I was about proposing to you," said the
+Doctor, with a smile. "I have been considering the very scheme you have
+studied out, and approve it heartily. You may decide for yourselves
+which of you will go overland with Manuel while the other accompanies me
+on the steamer."
+
+The youths retired for consultation. In half an hour they returned to
+the Doctor with the announcement that Frank would make the land journey,
+while Fred would accompany Dr. Bronson through the Strait of Magellan to
+Valparaiso.
+
+The rest of the time on the Rio de la Plata was occupied with plans for
+the trip, and before they realized that the voyage was at an end they
+were anchored in front of Buenos Ayres.
+
+While they are completing their preparations for the double journey to
+the great seaport of Chili, we will consider the routes they are about
+to travel.
+
+We have already mentioned the steamers of the English company that
+perform a fortnightly service each way between Liverpool and the ports
+of the east and west coasts of South America. Their time-tables can be
+relied upon--the accidents of the ocean excepted--and their arrivals and
+departures are as closely arranged as those of the magnificent vessels
+traversing the Atlantic between New York and the ports of England and
+western Europe. The regular fortnightly steamer bound southward was due
+at Buenos Ayres two days after the return of our friends from their trip
+to Asuncion, and promptly at the designated date the smoke from her
+funnels made a dark streak on the horizon to the eastward.
+
+[Illustration: MAP OF CHILI, ARGENTINE CONFEDERATION, AND URUGUAY.]
+
+All the steamers of this line do not call at Buenos Ayres; when they do
+not visit the port the service is performed by an extra steamer from
+Montevideo. There are German, French, and Italian steamers, which ply
+through the Strait of Magellan, performing a service similar to that of
+the English company, but they only run monthly, and their accommodations
+are inferior to those of the old established line. Besides, their
+departures are largely governed by the exigencies of freight, and a
+passenger is liable to be detained an indefinite number of hours, or
+even days, for the shipment or discharge of cargo.
+
+At the time our friends were in South America the railway from the
+eastward was completed and in operation as far as Mendoza, within forty
+miles of the base of the mountains, while the line from Valparaiso was
+open to Santa Rosa, among the foot-hills of the Andes. Consequently
+Frank had in prospect a journey between Mendoza and Santa Rosa after the
+primitive manner of travelling in the Andes.[3]
+
+[3] As this book goes to press the author is informed that work on both
+sides of the Andes is being vigorously prosecuted by the Chilian and
+Argentine governments. The engineers promise to have the line in
+operation in 1886, unless hindered by difficulties now unforeseen. The
+entire length from Buenos Ayres to Valparaiso by the route surveyed will
+be 1023 miles, and the estimated cost is thirty million dollars.
+
+[Illustration: IN THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN.]
+
+As the journey over the Andes was to be made in the saddle, Frank
+determined to travel in "light marching order." Manuel was sent to
+Mendoza immediately to make preliminary arrangements for the saddle and
+pack animals, while Frank remained in Buenos Ayres to make a few
+purchases, and to be with his friends until their embarkation on the
+steamer. They were duly seen on board, and with many affectionate words
+of farewell, and good wishes expressed on both sides, Frank returned to
+shore, whence he watched the steamer until watching was no longer
+practicable.
+
+While Dr. Bronson and Fred are heading southward we will accompany Frank
+in his journey across the pampas and over the Andes.
+
+In a direct line, as a carrier pigeon might fly, Mendoza is six hundred
+and ten miles from Buenos Ayres, but by the windings of the
+carriage-road and the railway it is about seven hundred. By the old
+post route the journey required from six to nine days, but the railway
+carries the traveller from one city to the other inside of forty hours.
+When the line is completed from ocean to ocean the speed will doubtless
+be accelerated, and through trains will pass from Buenos Ayres to
+Valparaiso in forty-eight or fifty hours. Travellers who have no desire
+to spend a fortnight on the steamer, or study the scenery of the Strait
+of Magellan, will give preference to the railway route, and the cabin
+passengers of the English or other vessels between Buenos Ayres and
+Valparaiso, or vice versa, are not likely to be numerous.
+
+The railway ride over the pampas was interesting enough at first, but
+Frank soon found it monotonous. One mile greatly resembled another mile,
+as there is not much diversity of scenery on the broad plains, with
+their carpet of grass and scanty patches of trees. Several times the
+youth found himself regretting the departure of the old customs, and
+wished that he could emulate the example of Lieutenant Strain, and
+gallop across the pampas with the government courier. But the perusal of
+Strain's narrative, portraying the hardships and difficulties
+experienced by that gallant officer, brought him to his senses, and he
+was quite contented to be journeying in a railway carriage.
+
+Frank copied into his note-book the following description, by Sir
+Francis Head, of the aspect of the plains of Buenos Ayres:
+
+"This region, bordering on the Atlantic, varies with the four seasons of
+the year in a most remarkable manner. In winter the leaves of the
+thistles are large and luxuriant, and the whole surface of the country
+has the rough appearance of a turnip-field. The clover in this season is
+extremely rich and strong; and the sight of the wild cattle grazing in
+full liberty on such pasture is very beautiful. In spring the clover has
+vanished, the leaves of the thistles have extended along the ground, and
+the country still looks like a rough crop of turnips. In less than a
+month the change is most extraordinary; the whole region becomes a
+luxuriant wood of enormous thistles, which have suddenly shot up to a
+height of ten or eleven feet, and are all in full bloom.
+
+"The road or path is hemmed in on both sides; the view is completely
+obstructed; not an animal is to be seen; and the stems of the thistles
+are so close to each other, and so strong, that, independent of the
+prickles with which they are armed, they form an impenetrable barrier.
+The sudden growth of these plants is quite astonishing; and though it
+would be an unusual fortune in military history, yet it is really
+possible that an invading army, unacquainted with this country, might be
+imprisoned by these thistles before they had time to escape from them.
+The summer is not over before the scene undergoes another rapid change,
+the thistles suddenly lose their sap and verdure, their heads droop, the
+leaves shrink and fade, the stems become black and dead, and they remain
+rattling with the breeze one against another until the violence of the
+_pampero_, or hurricane, levels them to the ground, whence they rapidly
+decompose and disappear; the clover rushes up and the scene is again
+verdant."
+
+Stations were infrequent on the line of the railway, as the country is
+not densely settled. The rearing of cattle and horses is the principal
+industry, and occasionally, as Frank looked from the windows of the
+railway train, he saw the guachos pursuing their herds, which generally
+manifested an unwillingness to remain in the neighborhood of the
+snorting, puffing locomotive. Sometimes the engine-drivers added to the
+fright of the half-wild animals by sounding the whistle, which rarely
+failed to create a stampede. They did not indulge in this amusement if
+the guachos were in sight, as the latter are not friendly to the
+railway, and would greatly prefer the old state of affairs. Naturally
+they resent the frightening of their herds, and the engine-driver who
+deliberately blows the whistle and alarms horses or cattle is liable to
+be roughly handled whenever the guachos can lay hold of him.
+
+Some of the stations were the abiding-places of the guachos, and Frank
+embraced an opportunity to see the life of these denizens of the pampas.
+The result of his observation coincided with that of Lieutenant Strain,
+and he had no desire to remain among them.
+
+[Illustration: ARRIVAL OF TRAVELLERS AT A GUACHO VILLAGE.]
+
+Many of the guachos are descended from the best blood of Spain, and in
+spite of their rough ways they frequently display a great deal of
+courtly dignity. They salute each other with much formality, remove
+their hats on entering a house, are always polite to strangers passing
+through their country, though often quite the reverse to those who come
+to settle among them. Their houses are generally mud hovels of but a
+single room; beds and chairs are unknown, as the guachos and their
+families sleep and sit on the floor along with the dogs, which are
+generally quite numerous. Sometimes the skeleton of a horse's head is
+used in place of a chair, and the traveller is always bowed to it as
+though it were a velvet-covered fauteuil. Few of the guachos can read or
+write, and evidently they do not place a high regard upon education.
+
+For the first year of his life the guacho has no clothing whatever; he
+crawls around in the dirt, of which there is an abundance, as the floor
+is rarely swept, or he is hung to the rafters or the wall of the hovel,
+in a basket made of a bullock's hide. When he can walk he is provided
+with a lasso and practises upon dogs and chickens; when four or five
+years old he is put on horseback, and by his sixth year he has become
+useful in assisting with the cattle and horses. His lasso practice
+continues, and it is no wonder that he is proficient with it; throwing
+the lasso and bolas and riding on horseback complete his schooling,
+college course and all.
+
+He goes out alone, often for days together, and hunts for whatever game
+the country produces. Meat and water comprise his entire bill of fare,
+and with this simple diet and constant exposure he becomes toughened in
+all his muscles and capable of enduring any amount of fatigue. Guachos
+have been known to pass thirty or forty hours continuously in the
+saddle; on long journeys they generally drive a herd of horses before
+them; when they have wearied out a horse under the saddle they lasso a
+fresh one from the herd and mount him immediately.
+
+A guacho considers it a disgrace to be on foot, and will not walk a
+hundred yards if a horse is available. Frank was amused, at one of the
+stations, at seeing a man come out of a house, mount his steed, and ride
+to another house certainly not fifty yards distant. There he sprang to
+the ground again and entered the building, without the least thought
+that he had done anything absurd. In most countries he would have saved
+himself the trouble of springing into the saddle for a ride of such
+brevity, but not so the guacho. Frank said afterwards that he was
+reminded of a certain city in the United States where it is considered
+improper and undignified to cross a street anywhere except at the
+corners of the blocks.
+
+The most important town on the line of the railway is San Luis, or, to
+give its full name, San Luis de la Punta. It has a population of six or
+eight thousand, and is beautifully situated at an elevation of about
+twenty-five hundred feet above the level of the sea. It was founded by
+Luis Loyola in 1596, and has a considerable trade in hides, wool, skins,
+leather, and a few other things of less importance. Frank observed that
+nearly all the houses were one story in height, built of adobes or
+sun-dried brick, with earthen or tiled floors, and generally attached to
+a garden. Since the recent emigration from Europe began a good many
+Germans and Italians have settled at San Luis, and there are several
+Scotch and Irish herders living in the neighborhood.
+
+[Illustration: A DANCE AT SAN LUIS DE LA PUNTA.]
+
+Frank was invited to stop a day and attend a _tertulia_ or dance, but he
+declined the honor. The dances at San Luis are noticeable more for their
+vigor than their refinement. The guitar is usually the musical
+instrument for the occasion, and the dancers whirl rapidly around the
+room, with very little attempt to keep step, as the shouts and laughter
+of the assemblage frequently render the music quite inaudible.
+
+On arriving at Mendoza Frank was met at the station by Manuel, who led
+the way to the _fonda_ where he had secured a room for his young master.
+He had succeeded in making the needed arrangements for the journey over
+the Andes, though not without some difficulty. The proprietor of the
+fonda had recognized the advantage of keeping his patrons as long as
+possible, and interposed various hinderances to their prompt exit;
+fortunately, Manuel had brought a letter from a German shop-keeper at
+Buenos Ayres to a German shop-keeper in Mendoza, and thus was enabled to
+expedite matters.
+
+Mules and their drivers had been engaged for the ride over the Andes to
+the terminus of the railway near Santa Rosa; they were drawn up in the
+court-yard of the shop-keeper soon after Frank's arrival, and, after
+being approved by him, were immediately despatched to the foot of the
+mountains, about forty miles distant.
+
+Frank then took a ride through the streets of Mendoza, and viewed the
+lions of the place. They were neither many nor great, as the city was
+almost completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1863, when several
+thousands of the inhabitants perished. Traces of the devastation are
+still visible, but the town has been steadily recovering from the
+calamity, and is quite prosperous.
+
+Frank was impressed with the long rows of poplars, which shaded the
+streets and grew close to the walls of the numerous gardens. The poplars
+are so abundant that as one approaches Mendoza he rarely sees anything
+of it until within its limits; the poplars conceal the city in every
+direction, and their shade is welcome to everybody in the hot hours of
+the day. There are many fruit gardens in and near Mendoza. The place is
+surrounded by canals, and there is one canal which passes through the
+city and supplies an abundance of water. Mendoza was long celebrated for
+its fruits, and formerly large quantities of peaches, grapes, cherries,
+and kindred things were dried here for transportation to market. Since
+the opening of the railway several fruit-preserving establishments have
+been started, and are doing a prosperous business.
+
+The city is the capital of the province of the same name. The province
+of Mendoza has an area of sixty-five thousand square miles, and about
+seventy thousand inhabitants, or a little more than one inhabitant to
+the square mile. The state of education may be known by the fact that
+more than fifty-five thousand of the inhabitants cannot read or write,
+and out of 17,216 children, between six and twelve years of age, in a
+given year, only 2132 attended school!
+
+Most of the province is a plain; the greater part of this plain is
+fertile, but there are districts in the south where the herbage is too
+scanty for the support of cattle. Its western part includes a portion of
+the chain of the Andes; Aconcagua, the highest of the Andean peaks, is
+on the border of this province, and near it are several other mountains
+of great height and magnificence.
+
+Frank had no desire to tarry in Mendoza after completing his
+arrangements for leaving. The fonda was dirty beyond description, in
+fact, Frank declared that in all his experience he had never seen a
+hotel which surpassed it in untidiness. Manuel had swept the room
+previous to Frank's arrival, and with great difficulty obtained the
+materials for a civilized bed. The place abounded in fleas, which have
+their advantages in conducing to early rising; our young friend was up
+before daybreak, and told Manuel to get things in readiness for leaving
+town as soon as possible.
+
+[Illustration: THE POLICE-OFFICE AT MENDOZA.]
+
+It was necessary to have a passport for the frontier between Chili and
+the Argentine Republic, and accordingly they paid a visit to the
+police-office, accompanied by their German friend. Frank presented the
+necessary papers, which he obtained at Buenos Ayres, and there could be
+no reason for his detention; but it took fully half an hour to convince
+the police-master that no harm would come to either country by allowing
+the youth and his servant to pass into Chili. Tourists are so rare in
+this part of the world that the authorities cannot easily believe a man
+will undertake the hardships of a journey over the Andes, when he has
+nothing to gain by it and considerable money to pay out. Looking upon
+travel as purely a matter of business, they are quite in sympathy with
+the Chinese merchant who was invited to an English dancing-party, and
+wonderingly asked his host, "Can't you get your servants to do that for
+you?"
+
+In a light wagon, hired for the ride to the foot of the mountains, where
+the mules were waiting, Frank set out, accompanied by Manuel, who was
+seated at the driver's side and had a special eye for the baggage, that
+lay below him. The wagon was the property of an enterprising citizen,
+who had imported it from the United States since the opening of the
+railway, and he was contemplating a purchase of half a dozen similar
+vehicles during the following year. It had stout springs, and was well
+adapted to the roads around Mendoza, which are none of the best. Frank
+was given the choice of this wagon or a _birlocha_, and immediately
+chose the former. And what do you suppose a birlocha is?
+
+[Illustration: THE BIRLOCHA.]
+
+It resembles an old-fashioned chaise, and is drawn by two horses, one
+between the shafts and one outside (on the left side), and fastened by a
+single trace of rawhide or half-tanned leather. The driver is mounted on
+the outside horse, and there are seats over the wheels for two
+passengers. In hilly country a man follows with a third horse, which is
+attached to the right side of the vehicle when a steep slope is to be
+ascended. Frank took a ride through the streets of Mendoza in one of
+these vehicles, enough to satisfy himself that the wagon was preferable
+for the drive across the plain between the city and the foot of the
+mountains. Had he been in the hilly region he would have chosen the
+birlocha, for its greater facility in turning sharp corners.
+
+[Illustration: THE PAMPA COACH.]
+
+Just outside the walls they met a pampa coach containing two passengers,
+who were evidently travelling in style. The vehicle was a huge and
+clumsy affair, the rough roads of the country requiring that it should
+be very strongly constructed. It was drawn by four horses, and each
+horse carried a postilion, who was armed with a short whip or a bundle
+of stout thongs of rawhide. As they approached this nondescript concern
+its horses took fright at the apparition of the wagon, and reared and
+plunged in a way that greatly interfered with their linear progress
+along the road. When the postilions had lashed them into good behavior
+they darted off at full gallop, and were soon inside the fringe of
+poplars that surrounds the city.
+
+Before the railway was constructed, this style of carriage was employed
+on the pampas for those who could afford the expense and risk of coach
+and postilions. A passenger could carry an unlimited amount of baggage
+with the coach, and take his own time for it; by arranging for relays he
+could make very good time, but could not equal the speed of the
+government couriers, who went on horseback and made quick changes at the
+stations.
+
+When the Indians are troublesome the coach is objectionable, on account
+of the increased danger arising from its use. It is obliged to follow
+the road, where it often raises such a cloud of dust as to indicate its
+locality and character to watchful Indians miles and miles away. While
+in the region of Indians, mounted horsemen always keep on the grass at
+the side of the road, and thus avoid making a dust-cloud. Then, too, the
+coach, with its baggage and the iron of its wheels, is a valuable prize
+to a people with whom iron is a scarce commodity.
+
+[Illustration: OX-CARTS NEAR MENDOZA.]
+
+They met groups of guachos and other inhabitants of the country on their
+way to Mendoza, everybody, without exception, being mounted on horse or
+mule, or riding in a cart. The carts were the same rude affairs with
+which Frank was already familiar; the wheels consisting of single trucks
+or sections cut from logs, four or five feet in diameter. A hole in the
+centre of the truck admits the axle; there is no tire on the truck, and
+when it is worn too small it is thrown aside and a new one takes its
+place. The axles are never greased, and when a dozen carts are in motion
+across the plain the creaking is fearful. It is said the Indians take
+advantage of this creaking to guide them to trains moving along the
+road in fog or darkness, and certainly it is as clearly audible as a
+fog-horn on the sea-coast. Whether the natives have ever circumvented
+the savages by the simple expedient of greasing the wheels is not
+recorded in the local chronicles.
+
+Long before Frank reached Mendoza, on his way from Buenos Ayres, he had
+seen the magnificent chain of the Andes filling the western horizon, and
+from the plaza of the city it seemed as though he could almost reach the
+summits of the nearest peaks with a bullet from a rifle. The air is
+wonderfully clear and pure at Mendoza, and the consequent deception
+regarding distances reminded our youthful traveller of his view of the
+Himalayas from Darjeeling, and of the Rocky Mountains from Denver.
+
+He was not the first to make the same mistake in the mountains near
+Mendoza. Read the following from Gerstaecker's narrative of a journey
+from Buenos Ayres to Valparaiso:
+
+"One day we saw a fox approaching, and I determined to have a shot at
+him. Master Reynard came up the slope as carelessly as though he were
+only out for a quiet walk; judging the distance at about a hundred
+yards, just as he got scent of us, but appeared uncertain of the danger,
+I took a good and sure aim and pulled the trigger. The gun went off,
+but to my utter astonishment the ball struck the snow, as I plainly
+saw, some paces short of the fox; and Reynard, discovering all was not
+right, scampered off, leaving me to fire with as little effect as
+before.
+
+"Having no idea what could be the matter with the gun, I went to the
+place where the fox had stood, and, counting the steps in going, was
+surprised to find that what I had thought about a hundred yards was
+really two hundred and sixty! So deceptive was the pure and transparent
+snow as to distance.
+
+"Indeed, on looking back, I saw that the spur of the mountain behind
+appeared not farther off than two or three miles, though I knew the
+distance to be much greater. Then I reflected that if the sight was
+misled in this way by the thin air in judging the distance of objects so
+close, what an enormous space must lie between the mountain-ridges,
+which really looked so far apart, and to what a height the mighty peaks
+must rise, when they were so gigantic even in appearance."
+
+[Illustration: COMING TO TOWN.]
+
+As he approached the base of the mountains, Frank found them every
+moment becoming more lofty in appearance, and it was not unnatural that
+he should begin to wonder if there was really a way of passing over them
+to the other side. The plain and the mountains kept his thoughts fully
+occupied till he reached the end of the wagon-road and halted at the
+little village where the mountain-path begins.
+
+[Illustration: EXERCISING THE MULES.]
+
+The mules and their drivers were there in advance; two of the animals
+were undergoing exercise in the plaza of the village, and manifesting
+not a little obstinacy, to the great delight of the whole population,
+which had turned out to witness the sport. Frank was by no means elated
+to learn that the mule which displayed the greatest amount of
+"contrariness" was the one which he was to ride on the following day.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+INCIDENTS OF A RIDE OVER THE ANDES.--CONTRACT WITH THE ARRIERO.--PASSES
+BETWEEN CHILI AND THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC.--NIGHT SCENES.--DANGERS OF THE
+ROAD.--A PERILOUS POSITION.--USPALLATA.--AT THE CREST OF THE ANDES.
+
+
+It had been arranged that in consideration of eighty dollars, half in
+advance, and the balance on completion of the journey, Il Senhor Don
+Francisco Bassetti (which is South American Spanish for Mr. Frank
+Bassett) and his servant were to be transported from Mendoza to Santa
+Rosa, with their baggage, the latter not exceeding two hundred pounds in
+weight, exclusive of blankets and clothing. The contract was taken by
+one Don Federico, an _arriero_ who presented the most laudatory
+testimonials as to his efficiency and honesty. It was stipulated that
+Federico should provide an extra saddle-mule for Frank and another for
+Manuel, to be used in case of accident, and that he and the peon who
+accompanied him would attend to the saddling and all the care of the
+beasts. Federico was to provide food for the travellers similar to his
+own; any extra provisions they chose to carry would form part of the
+baggage, and be included in the allowance of two hundred pounds. The
+peon was to do the cooking for the party, but no objection should be
+made if Senhor Don Francisco Bassetti chose to employ his servant Manuel
+in the preparation of his dinners.
+
+Don Federico, the arriero, proved something less than fancy and his
+testimonials painted him, but, considered as a whole, he was not
+altogether utterly depraved. His first move was to reduce the number of
+extra saddle-mules to one, by suggesting that it was not probable the
+regular mules of Frank and Manuel would both be disabled at once.
+Therefore he thought one would suffice. He would have gone into a
+lengthy argument on the subject had he not been cut short by Frank, who
+insisted upon the terms of the contract. Next, he proposed to load the
+baggage on one of the extra saddle-mules, and when prevented from doing
+so, he suggested that it could be divided and carried behind the saddles
+of the travellers. Evidently he was bent on reserving one mule from the
+stipulated number. Frank and Manuel met him at every point; when he
+found it impossible to cheat them he submitted gracefully, and
+afterwards conducted himself very fairly. Later in the day Frank learned
+that the arriero came from Mendoza with the proper number of mules. One
+had become lame, and Federico was obliged to hire another to replace it.
+Instead of frankly stating his trouble, he had endeavored to "dodge" the
+difficulty by departing from his agreement.
+
+[Illustration: A START UNDER DISADVANTAGES.]
+
+Frank obtained lodgings at the house of a German, the only European
+resident of the place. His bed was a pile of hides in a corner of a room
+full of merchandise, and the youth spent a considerable part of the
+night in deliberating as to whether the hides were harder or softer than
+the floor. Don Federico was anxious to start early in the morning, and
+Frank accommodated him; he was up before daybreak, and the whole party
+had breakfasted and were in the saddle by sunrise.
+
+Provisions for crossing the Andes are limited in variety, but that they
+are adapted to the wants of travellers there can be no dispute. They
+consist of _charqui_, or jerked beef, reduced to a powder by pounding in
+a mortar or between two stones. It is baked or roasted before
+pulverization, and is therefore ready cooked. For preparing a repast of
+charqui, heat some water till it boils; throw in a few spoonfuls of
+the beef powder, one or two slices of onion, break in some bread or
+crackers, and let the whole simmer for ten minutes. Serve hot, and you
+have a dish that a king might envy.
+
+"It would hardly answer for Delmonico's or other fashionable
+restaurants," wrote Frank in his note-book, "but with the appetite
+created by exercise and the air of the mountains I have never tasted
+anything more welcome than this simple preparation. It can be easily
+carried, is not readily spoiled, and, on the whole, is the very best
+thing one could have. I brought along some tins of preserved meats and
+vegetables; they proved acceptable, but were not at all necessary for
+our existence. In a bag slung at my saddle-bow I carried some crackers,
+and whenever hungry I proceeded to nibble one of them. Charqui soup,
+crackers, raisins, figs, and maté comprised my bill of fare on the
+journey after the first day out, with the addition of the flesh of a few
+birds and rabbits we killed on the way."
+
+For the rest of the account of this trip over the Andes we will copy
+from Frank's journal.
+
+"According to the geographers," wrote our young friend, "there are ten
+passes across the Andes between the Argentine Republic and Chili; they
+vary from six to fifteen thousand feet above the sea-level at their
+highest point, and each pass has its peculiarities. The pass of Los
+Patos (The Ducks) has the advantage of good pasturage all the way, and
+is much frequented by cattle-drivers, to whom time is no object, but the
+great length of the route renders it undesirable for travellers and
+merchandise trains. The Planchon Pass lies along the Claro and Teno
+rivers; it is only six thousand feet high, and has been selected as the
+route for the railway between the two countries.
+
+[Illustration: PASS OF USPALLATA.]
+
+"The passes most used by travellers are Portillo and La Cumbre; the
+former is much travelled from the beginning of February to the end of
+April, and the latter from November to May. We are crossing by La
+Cumbre, which is also known as Uspallata Pass; it was one of the
+earliest routes known to the Spanish conquerors of Chili and the
+Argentine Republic, and is said to have been in use for centuries before
+their arrival.
+
+"This pass has two roads, which are traversable at different periods,
+according to the state of the snow; the one generally used is 12,488
+feet above the sea, while the other is 12,656 feet. At irregular
+intervals along the route there are _casuchas_, or refuges, which were
+built by the old Spaniards for the protection of couriers and travellers
+who might be caught in snow-storms. Under the Spanish rule the casuchas
+were provided with benches or shelves on which one could sleep; there
+were doors that could be closed, and a supply of food and fuel was kept
+in each building. But since the countries became independent of the Old
+World the doors and shelves of these houses of refuge have been burned,
+and the supply of provisions is not maintained. The casuchas are dirty,
+and so open to the wind that unless the weather is absolutely terrible
+it is preferable to stay outside. The traveller must rely upon himself
+for provisions, and if he has not a sufficient supply, in case of a long
+detention in the mountains, he must either starve or eat his mules.
+
+"It had been stipulated with Federico that a supply of charcoal should
+be carried, as no fuel is obtainable on the highest parts of the
+mountains. Lower down there are trees and shrubs sufficient for cooking
+purposes, and there are patches of vegetation where the animals can
+graze, but in the upper elevations the beasts must go hungry, unless a
+few rations of grain are carried for them. Federico was thoughtful
+regarding his mules, and provided for them more liberally than do many
+of the arrieros. We had a good supply of blankets and other coverings
+for sleeping purposes; the weather was fine, and there was a good
+prospect that we should be in Santa Rosa on the fifth day from setting
+out on our mountain ride.
+
+"Among the people that gathered to witness our departure there were
+several afflicted with goitre, or swelling of the glands of the neck. I
+saw many cases of this disease in Mendoza, and at different points along
+the road; to all appearances it is identical with the goitre one sees in
+Switzerland, and its origin is as mysterious here as in the Old World.
+Federico said that nine tenths of the victims were women; he added that
+few of them objected to it, as it was 'excellent for displaying
+jewelry.'
+
+[Illustration: NEAR THE BASE OF THE ANDES.]
+
+"We rode out from the little village in as much 'style' as we could
+command, in spite of the restiveness of the mules, and their tendency to
+use their heels whenever an opportunity was afforded. Federico said they
+would get over it in a little while, but for the present we must put up
+with their eccentricities. Before starting we witnessed the performance
+of a young colt which had been taken in tow by the arriero of a party
+bound for Mendoza; it surpassed any of our mules in its kicking
+propensities, and I was satisfied that our beasts were by no means the
+worst behaved in the country.
+
+"Almost immediately after leaving the village we struck into the valley
+of a river flowing from the mountains, and from this point our road was
+almost a continuous ascent. Up and up we climbed, passing two or three
+mining establishments, apparently abandoned, and an occasional hut whose
+occupant sold food and forage to the mule trains, and took advantage of
+the little patches of grass near his residence. After several hours of
+this kind of work along zigzag paths we reached the highest point of the
+Uspallata range, and halted to give our animals a breathing-spell, and
+to observe the scenery.
+
+"This spot is called 'El Paramillo,' and the view it affords is
+magnificent. To the eastward the plain and the intervening hills were
+spread like a map before us, and we could trace the course of the rivers
+and ravines for many and many a mile. North and south and west were the
+Andes; their great peaks seemed to pierce the sky, and their caps of
+purest snow reflected in almost blinding clearness the rays of the sun.
+Though we had gained an elevation of thousands of feet, the mountains
+towered far above us, and I realized more than ever before the awful
+grandeur of the Andes. Below and around us were yawning chasms, and as
+Federico pointed out the route by which we were to continue it seemed as
+though an eternal barrier stood between us and the opposite side of the
+great chain of the Andes.
+
+[Illustration: A DANGEROUS ROAD IN THE MOUNTAINS.]
+
+"From the crest of this ridge we proceeded over a table-land and along
+a gentle descent for about fifteen miles, till we reached the rancheria
+of Uspallata, where we passed the night. It consists of a series of
+adobe houses built around a court-yard; several of these houses are
+divided into rooms for the accommodation of travellers, and as soon as
+Manuel could secure one of them it was delivered into our custody. It
+was the Eastern khan or caravansary over again, and I fancy that the
+idea must have been brought from Spain by the early settlers, and
+originally obtained from the Moors during their residence in the
+Peninsula.
+
+"My room contained a chair and a table, but no other furniture. On one
+side there was a shelf of adobes four feet wide and two feet above the
+floor, which was intended for a bed, but there was not even a rawhide
+upon it. I was expected to supply my own bedding, and with the aid of
+my overcoat, blankets, saddle, and saddle-gear, I had a very comfortable
+couch under the circumstances. I was too weary to be particular, and,
+five minutes after lying down, was oblivious to all outward things.
+
+[Illustration: PEONS AT REST.]
+
+"Manuel piled our personal belongings in one corner of the room, and
+slept on the floor near them. Our mules were turned into the
+clover-fields which surround the buildings, and afford good pasturage
+for cattle and mule trains. Federico told me he was obliged to pay a sum
+equal to about twenty cents of our currency for each animal; he and his
+men had all the work of collecting and managing their beasts, and the
+proprietors had nothing to do except to collect the money. They must
+make a fine revenue from the place, as each room yields a dollar a night
+when occupied, and everybody is or has his own servant. But perhaps they
+are so heavily taxed by the government that their profits are materially
+reduced. The governments in this part of the world do not permit a
+private citizen to make money rapidly except in rare instances.
+
+"We obtained beef and eggs and a loaf of bread for supper, so that we
+were not obliged to draw upon our mountain provisions. Manuel made an
+excellent omelette from the eggs; he cut the beef into small pieces,
+through which a long stick was thrust, and then held the meat over a
+fire until thoroughly cooked. I opened a can of oysters that I brought
+from Buenos Ayres, and prepared a savory stew in a kettle borrowed from
+the kitchen of the rancheria. Oysters, fresh beef, bread, maté, and the
+hunger of a famished wolf! what more could be required for an excellent
+meal?
+
+"In the morning we had breakfast (identical with the supper, but without
+the oysters), and were ready for the road at an early hour. When I went
+into the court-yard of the rancheria there were at least a hundred
+mules, all mixed up in the wildest confusion. There were half a dozen
+trains, some bound east, and the others west; the arrieros and their
+peons were busy saddling their animals, and as soon as one had received
+his cargo he was allowed to wander among the herd at will. There was a
+chorus of braying which surpassed a Chinese band of music or the noise
+of a boiler factory, and the lack of accord was emphasized by vigorous
+kicks on the part of the animals. How I wished to photograph the scene,
+and phonograph it too, at the same time!
+
+"I wondered how it would be possible to separate the animals of the
+different trains, but soon found out.
+
+"As each arriero completed his saddling he led out his _madrina_, or
+bell-mare, and tinkled her bell. Instantly his mules followed her,
+separating themselves from the rest of the herd without the least
+difficulty. Federico told me it is the bell rather than the mare which
+forms the attraction, as the mules will follow the bell on a strange
+mare but will not follow their madrina with another bell. When the mules
+are turned out to graze they always keep near the madrina, and their
+manifestations of devotion to her are constant. When she is in danger
+they have been known to form a circle about her and, with heels outward,
+make a vigorous defence.
+
+"My saddle-mule was a perfect 'amadrinado,' in the language of the
+arrieros, or thoroughly trained to follow the madrina's bell. If I fell
+behind the train at any time, and especially if the bell could not be
+heard, the beast became restive, and was evidently much alarmed. If I
+dismounted, for even a minute, it was necessary to keep a strong hold of
+the bridle, and there would generally be so much kicking and plunging
+that I needed the aid of the arriero or a peon to mount again.
+
+"The table-land of Uspallata continues for eight or ten miles, till the
+valley of the Pichiuta River is reached. We ascended this valley, for
+several miles and then turned across an intervening ridge to the Mendoza
+River; the Pichiuta is a clear, sparkling stream of excellent water, and
+there is plenty of pasturage and fuel along its banks, while the water
+of the Mendoza is muddy and has a brackish taste.
+
+[Illustration: A MOUNTAIN CAÑON.]
+
+"Here let me remark that there is a wonderful difference between the
+rivers of the eastern and western slopes of this part of the chain of
+the Andes. On the Chilian side the streams are nearly all clear and
+pure, while on the Argentine side they are mostly muddy, and so
+impregnated with salt and lime as to be unfit for drinking or cooking
+purposes. The banks of the small streams are nearly always covered with
+an incrustation of impure saltpetre, and sometimes the water is so bad
+that cattle are poisoned by it.
+
+"On the ridge between the two rivers we had our first real dangers of
+mountain travelling. There are several _laderas_, or places where the
+road is cut into the side of a mountain, and so narrow that two loaded
+mules cannot pass. There are spaces where the path is widened a little,
+and it is customary for trains, moving in opposite directions, to watch
+for each other and avoid meeting in the narrow and most dangerous spots.
+
+"One of our baggage-mules was ahead, and right in one of the laderas he
+met a train coming the other way. I feared he would be thrown from the
+path into the great chasm, a thousand feet below, and you may be sure my
+face was full of anxiety.
+
+"To my surprise and delight the mule planted his four feet close
+together, and turned around in a space not more than a yard wide! Then
+he trotted back to join us, and I wanted to get down and hug him for his
+display of intelligence.
+
+"Federico told me to allow everything to my mule, and under no
+circumstances attempt to guide it in a dangerous spot. 'The mule knows
+every ladera on the mountains,' said he, 'and exactly where to place its
+feet. Never hurry it in the least, and never touch the reins no matter
+how much you are tempted to do so.'
+
+"This was good advice, and I remembered it, at any rate, most of the
+time. Once I forgot myself when the mule stumbled on a ladera, and for a
+few seconds was balanced on one foot on the edge of a fearful abyss. The
+side of the mountain was almost perpendicular for five or six hundred
+feet below me, and there was a wild torrent dashing along its base.
+Instinctively I threw out my hands to grasp the reins. Federico was just
+behind, and shouted for me to sit still; his voice recalled what he had
+told me, and my hands dropped to my side as though I had lost all
+strength. One foot of the mule actually went over the edge of the rock,
+but the other held its position, and I was safe!
+
+[Illustration: SNOW-SLIDE ON THE TRAIL.]
+
+"One of the perils of the road are the snow-slides. Masses of snow
+accumulate on the slopes of the mountains, and suddenly, without a
+moment's warning, sweep downward into the valley below. Men and animals
+on any part of the trail crossed by the avalanche are carried along with
+it; sometimes they are crushed to death and buried far out of sight, and
+sometimes they escape without serious injury. Generally, however, the
+snow-slides are fatal to those who happen to be caught in them, and the
+arrieros naturally hold them in great dread.
+
+"I think I hear some one asking why I did not get off and walk in the
+perilous places. The arrieros say it is more dangerous to walk than to
+ride, and certainly they ought to know. In the first place, I was
+ignorant of the road, and that is a very important consideration; and,
+secondly, the mule is accustomed to this kind of travel and I am not. He
+never takes a step without determining beforehand exactly where his feet
+are to be planted, and not until one foot is firmly in position does he
+venture to lift another. Besides, he has twice as many feet as I have,
+and, therefore, should be doubly sure-footed.
+
+[Illustration: HANGING BRIDGE IN THE ANDES.]
+
+"Some of the torrents have been spanned with rope-bridges, which are
+secure enough, but very shaky. The mules hesitate to cross these
+structures, but they generally do so after a great deal of persuasion,
+which is mostly physical.
+
+"The second night of our mountain journey was spent at the 'Casucha de
+las Puquios,' at the edge of a marsh where there was fairly good
+pasturage for our weary animals. We had a supper of charqui soup, made
+in the manner I have described, together with a partridge and a rabbit
+broiled over the coals. The rabbit was shot within a hundred yards of
+our camp, and the partridge about a couple of hours before we reached
+it. Game is not abundant in this region; rabbits, partridges, guanaco,
+and foxes are the principal products of the chase around Uspallata, and
+Federico says he has frequently made the journey without seeing a single
+wild bird or beast.
+
+"Not long after our arrival a train of twenty mules came in from the
+westward and camped close to us. The drivers fraternized with our men
+and joined them at supper, and there was a general exchange of
+information concerning the condition of the roads. There is universal
+hospitality among the arrieros, and when one party meets another there
+is an immediate proffer of food, cigarettes, or anything else that may
+possibly be wanted. Every time we met a train the arrieros would stop to
+chat a few moments, and then, with an '_Adios!_' and a graceful wave of
+the hand, hurried on to overtake their charges.
+
+"Soon after starting the next morning we passed 'The Inca's Bridge,' a
+natural causeway over a stream which flows about forty feet below it.
+The bridge is sixty feet long and averages about the same in width; and
+Mr. Darwin thinks it was formed by the river breaking through
+underneath. Lieutenant Macrae, of the United States Navy, made a careful
+examination, and thinks it was formed by the concretion of the water
+from several calcareous springs in the hillside, which went on forming
+shelf after shelf till they reached across. On a shelf under the bridge
+there are two warm springs which have been hollowed out into baths. I
+tried the temperature, and found it 97° Fahrenheit; I wanted to take a
+bath in one of the springs, but was fearful of catching cold after
+immersion in the warm water.
+
+[Illustration: DEEP CHASM IN THE MOUNTAINS.]
+
+"The arrieros do not wash their hands or faces from the beginning to the
+end of a journey; I had been strongly advised to follow their example,
+and was warned that I would suffer if I did otherwise. I dipped my hands
+in the warm water, and then yielded to the temptation to wash them; I
+was paid for my rashness by one of the worst cases of chapped hands I
+ever experienced. I retained the impurity of my face, and on reaching
+Santa Rosa my complexion was darker than that of any of my peons, and
+soiled enough for a street gamin of New York.
+
+"From the Inca's Bridge we ascended the valley of the Cuevos River for
+some distance, and then began a steep ascent. It was a steady struggle,
+and as we rose higher and higher I could see it was very trying to the
+strength of our mules. They panted for breath, and after a few minutes'
+exertion it was necessary for them to take a rest of nearly equal
+length. At Mendoza, and also in the lower country and on the table-land,
+I had observed that the arrieros and peons were very cruel to their
+animals, belaboring them severely for their insubordination, and calling
+them a great many hard names. But in the dangerous parts of the journey
+the whole state of affairs was changed. The mules were docile, and quite
+the reverse of obstinate, while the drivers were models of gentleness.
+They used neither whip nor spur, but spoke softly, and permitted the
+animals to suit themselves in going on or resting. For a good deal of
+the way our advance was very slow.
+
+"We stopped frequently, for five or ten minutes at a time; at noon we
+halted for an hour where there were a few shrubs on which the mules
+could nibble, but nothing which would make a satisfactory meal. We
+passed the night--the third of the journey--in a casucha, which Federico
+said was two thousand feet below the summit of the pass. The wind blew
+fiercely, and made the casucha, doorless though it was, preferable to
+the open air. I ordered the peons to clear it of dust and rubbish, and
+we spread our beds on the floor; we got along fairly well, and were up
+early enough to be off as soon as daylight permitted us to see the road.
+It wasn't a place for late sleeping, and a snow-squall that came on
+during the night added to our discomfort. It was only a squall though,
+not a storm, and did no real harm.
+
+[Illustration: A VICTIM OF THE STORM.]
+
+"Near our camping-place there were many skulls and skeletons of cattle;
+Federico said they were the remains of a large drove which were caught
+in a storm and perished here on their way to Chili. The great perils of
+the mountain passage are in the snow-storms, which sometimes detain the
+traveller for weeks in one spot. They rise suddenly, and the experienced
+mountaineers cannot be tempted to venture out when such storms are
+liable to come.
+
+"From here to the summit the road was like a series of zigzags directly
+up the side of the mountain. It was trying to the nerves to look down,
+and I soon found the best thing was to fix my gaze on the top of the
+mountain, or to the first visible angle of the path above me, and keep
+it there. At times we ascended at an angle of forty degrees, and I am
+not sure but that it was sometimes forty-five or fifty degrees.
+Certainly I have never climbed a steeper road, and never want to do so.
+
+"Hurrah! here we are at the top. We can toss a stone into Chili with one
+hand and into the Argentine Republic with the other. We are more than
+two miles in the air, and as we look away to the westward we can see the
+dark mass of the Pacific Ocean forming the curving rim of the horizon.
+
+"We are at the crest of the Andes, and the South American continent is
+at our feet."
+
+[Illustration: A CHILIAN OX-CART.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+DOWN THE WESTERN SLOPE OF THE ANDES.--A LONG IMPRISONMENT IN THE
+SNOW.--"THE SOLDIER'S LEAP."--SANTA ROSA.--SANTIAGO.--ARRIVAL AT
+VALPARAISO.
+
+
+[Illustration: THE CONDOR.]
+
+Several condors were wheeling in the air above the little party, but,
+besides these huge birds of the mountains, there were no visible signs
+of animal life. In the last half-hour of the ascent Frank had felt the
+effect of the rarefied atmosphere of his great elevation. He breathed
+with difficulty, and as he took the air into his lungs its lightness was
+very unsatisfying. There seemed to be a heavy pressure upon his chest,
+and several times a faintness came over him which threatened to end in
+unconsciousness. He tried to think of other things, and in this way
+preserved his senses, and kept from falling out of the saddle.
+
+But if the youth suffered from the rarity of the atmosphere while making
+no exertions, what must it have been with the animal he rode? The breath
+of the mule came quick and fast, and was expelled from the nostrils with
+a loud sound; the animal could hardly take a dozen steps without halting
+to rest; and it was the same with all the other beasts of the train.
+Frank declared afterwards that he never witnessed a more notable
+instance of patience and perseverance on the part of the much-derided
+hybrid than in that ride over the Andes. He forgave the animal for his
+eccentricities and insubordination near Mendoza, and promised never
+again to despise a mule.
+
+Before beginning the descent it was necessary to make a careful
+adjustment of the saddles, to prevent their slipping forward, as the
+road is quite as steep as the one up which they had just been climbing.
+Every strap was tightened and fastened, and when all was ready, and the
+mules had fully recovered their breathing powers, the column began its
+march into Chili.
+
+"Down, down we went," wrote Frank in his journal, "along a series of
+zigzags cut into the steep slope of the mountain at an angle of nearly
+forty-five degrees. The vast area before us, bordered by the distant
+ocean, was broken into mountains and valleys, dotted with forests and
+stretches of open country, sprinkled with towns and villages, and seamed
+and streaked with the tortuous paths of rivers which have their sources
+on the sides of the Andes, and are fed from the melting snows. The
+contemplation of such an expanse of the world's surface lying at my feet
+told more plainly than my sufferings with the rarefied air the great
+elevation I had attained. I was at a height of more than two miles, and
+the summits of mountains that would be considered lofty almost anywhere
+else were far below me. The ocean seemed near and far; its horizon
+appeared at an almost limitless distance, and at the same time I could
+half believe that a stone thrown from my hand would fall on the shore.
+
+"We halted at the first hut, and remained an hour for lunch and rest.
+While we were waiting, Federico told me how he was once caught at this
+very casucha in a _temporale_, or snow-storm.
+
+"It was rather late in the autumn, and he was going alone from Mendoza
+to Santa Rosa, having been hired by a merchant of the former place to
+take an important message over the mountains. He had passed the summit
+in safety, and reached this casucha just at sunset, when he saw a
+temporale sweeping down from the north. He dismounted in front of the
+casucha, and just as he had loosened his saddle and thrown it to the
+ground the mule sprang from him, dashed down the path, and was out of
+sight in a moment. The storm came, and he entered the building for
+safety; he afterwards ascertained that the mule tumbled over a
+precipice, and was killed by the fall into the chasm below.
+
+[Illustration: TRAVELLING IN THE SNOW.]
+
+"All night the snow whirled around the little dwelling, and in the
+morning the drifts reached to the top of the doorway. Road, cliff, and
+chasm were obliterated, and it would have been certain death to go on.
+There he remained day after day; the storm continued, and was so violent
+that, for much of the time, he could not see a dozen yards away. The hut
+was without a door, the cold was intense, and his little store of
+charcoal was of no use to give warmth to the wind-swept building.
+
+"He was threatened with death by starvation, as his stock of provisions
+was small. He ate as little as possible consistent with supporting life;
+hour after hour he sat and gazed at his possessions, wondering whether
+they would hold out until he could venture to descend from his mountain
+prison. On the seventeenth day the last mouthful was consumed, and on
+the morning of the eighteenth he had the option of dying for want of
+food or risking his life among the cliffs and chasms which lay beneath
+him and the wide stretch of forest and fertile land visible below.
+
+[Illustration: A NATURAL HIGHWAY.]
+
+"Enfeebled by his privations and trembling with the cold, he crawled
+from the hut and began the perilous descent. Slowly he crept forward,
+feeling with a stick every foot of the path, hugging closely against the
+cliff, standing sometimes on the edge of precipices, where another inch
+would have carried him sheer downwards for thousands of feet, cutting a
+pathway through the drifts, picking his way over streams covered with
+ice that threatened to crumble beneath him, fainting at times from loss
+of strength, and lying helpless for minutes which seemed like hours. He
+finally passed below the snow-line and reached the smiling valley, where
+he found relief.
+
+[Illustration: CUTTING STEPS ALONG THE MOUNTAIN.]
+
+"He tells me that once during this journey he actually slipped over the
+edge of a precipice, but caught with his hands on the rock, and saved
+himself from death. I drew the story from him with considerable
+difficulty, and his face was ashy pale as he narrated his experiences in
+those dreadful eighteen days. Since that time no amount of money could
+tempt him to venture over the mountains in the season when the
+temporales may be expected."
+
+"We halted for the night," continued Frank, "at a hut called Guarda
+Vieja, or 'Old Guard,' where we found scanty herbage for the mules and
+poor shelter for ourselves. The animals were fed with the last ration of
+grain that had been brought for their use. Federico said there was no
+further need to keep it, as the next forenoon would take us to an
+abundance of food for man and beast. We supped heartily, and rejoiced to
+think we should sleep the next night in Santa Rosa, unless prevented by
+accident.
+
+"Near this place was the scene of one of the battles in the struggle
+which made Chili independent of the mother country. Revolutionists,
+under General San Martin, crossed the mountains from the Argentine side,
+and were exhausted with the fatigue of their long march and privations,
+while the Spaniards were fresh, and had a good position. The battle
+resulted in the defeat of the Spaniards, notwithstanding the advantages
+in their favor.
+
+"Descending from this point, we found the road in some places a mere
+shelf on the side of the mountain, hanging over a furious torrent that
+rushes along far below. In one place the sides of the chasm are not more
+than fifteen feet apart; this spot is called 'The Soldier's Leap,' and
+the tradition is that, in the battle I have just mentioned, one of the
+Spanish soldiers escaped from his enemies by springing from one cliff to
+the other.
+
+"At one place we crossed a chasm by a suspension bridge that shook
+beneath us at every step. When the wind blows up the valley the bridge
+sways so much that its passage is absolutely dangerous, and the
+traveller must wait till the blast is over. There was just a gentle
+breeze when we arrived, and Federico said it was safe enough to venture
+across, but we must be careful where we placed our feet.
+
+[Illustration: BRIDGE OF THE APURIMAC.]
+
+"It was almost identical with the bridge of the Apurimac, described by
+Mr. Squier in his work on Peru, as it was constructed of the same
+materials, and was about one hundred and fifty feet wide. There were
+four cables--two of twisted withes of a very tough and flexible plant,
+and two of braided rawhide. The latter were smaller than the others, and
+served partly for supports and partly to prevent a passenger from going
+over the side. The floor is of sticks and canes laid transversely, and
+also parallel with the length of the bridge, so that it looks like a
+sort of very coarse matting.
+
+[Illustration: LOOKING ACROSS THE BRIDGE.]
+
+"I got down and walked over the bridge, partly through Federico's
+advice, but largely from my own inclination. I was uncertain what the
+mule might take into his head to accomplish during the transit, and did
+not regard it a good place for experiments. But the mules really behaved
+admirably; nothing could exceed their docility, and the most antiquated
+cart-horse was never more demure than they. A mule knows pretty well
+when and where to indulge in hilarity; he realizes that a swaying bridge
+a hundred feet above a mountain torrent is not to be used as a
+quadrupedal dancing-hall.
+
+"Turning a bend of the road beyond this bridge, we saw, far up a gorge,
+a stream that came out of a cavern, like an enormous spring. This is the
+one mentioned by Lieutenant Strain as having its source in the 'Lago
+Encantada,' or Enchanted Lake, more than a mile away. It was a mystery
+for a long time to the Indians, and a puzzle to several scientific
+visitors, what became of the water that flowed into the lake, as it had
+no apparent outlet. There was evidently a complete closing of the gorge
+which formerly drained the lake, by the fall of a vast mass of earth and
+rock, through the action of an earthquake; the water forced a
+subterranean passage and the mystery was explained. The Indians regard
+with awe everything they do not understand, and therefore concluded that
+the removal of the water was due to supernatural agencies.
+
+[Illustration: BY THE ROADSIDE.]
+
+"We soon entered a cultivated region, where the warm air was a pleasant
+relief to the chilliness of the upper elevations of the mountains. The
+descents were rapid, but no longer perilous, the bridges more
+substantial, and the roads wider. Grass and trees abounded; farms and
+farm-houses dotted the country; signs of population were everywhere
+evident; and the perils of our travels among the snow were things of the
+past. The houses grew into villages, and finally, just at sunset of the
+fifth day of our journey, we drew up in front of the posada at Santa
+Rosa and made our last descent from the patient and weary mules.
+
+"Santa Rosa is a long and rather straggling town with about five
+thousand inhabitants; like most Spanish-American towns, it has a large
+plaza, where the principal business is centred. A noticeable feature of
+the place is the stream of pure water, from the mountains, flowing in
+nearly every street; it comes from the melting snows of the Andes, and
+the supply is unfailing. The plaza was thronged with people when we
+arrived, and some of them looked curiously at the stranger within the
+gates. There was not the least sign of rudeness, but, on the contrary,
+an air of politeness which one does not always find in such an
+out-of-the-way spot as this.
+
+[Illustration: COURT-YARD OF THE POSADA.]
+
+"The lodgings of the posada were passable and endurable; they were
+excellent by comparison with the casuchas and open air of the mountains,
+but when contrasted with a good hotel, in a civilized land, they did not
+amount to much. Manuel found me a room which had a bed in it, and also a
+table and two rickety chairs. The bed was a rawhide stretched across a
+frame, when green, and then allowed to dry, so that it seemed quite as
+hard as a pine floor, if not harder. On the rawhide lay a thin mattress
+filled with straw; there was a pair of sheets on the bed, but no
+pillows, and I sent Manuel in search of some.
+
+"He returned with the announcement that all the pillows in the house
+were engaged, but I could have some the next night if I spoke for them
+at once. As I was to leave in the morning I declined the engagement,
+and used my overcoat and one of my blankets on which to rest my head
+during the night.
+
+"At dinner we said farewell to charqui, as the meal consisted of fresh
+beef stewed with onions and potatoes, with an abundance of _Chili
+Colorado_ (red peppers), followed by one of those mysterious compounds
+known as a Spanish omelette. Bread was fresh from the oven, and, though
+dark and tough, it was not to be despised; during and after dinner the
+maté-pot was produced, and I drank freely of the refreshing beverage. I
+slept soundly in spite of dreams of home, Mendoza, the Andes, the
+pampas, the Amazon, Fred and the Doctor, and all sorts of things at
+once. It was a relief to wake and know exactly where I was.
+
+"Before going to bed I settled with Federico, giving the balance of what
+was due him, and making a small present in addition. The train was to
+leave at eight o'clock; Manuel called me at six, in time for breakfast,
+and with plenty of leisure to reach the station before the advertised
+hour.
+
+[Illustration: A PEDLER OF FORAGE.]
+
+"Truth compels me to add that I saw little of the country between Santa
+Rosa and Santiago, as I intrusted my ticket to Manuel and slept nearly
+all the way. I have an indistinct recollection of glimpses of fig and
+orange orchards, farm-houses and villages, vineyards and wheat-fields,
+level plains interspersed with rolling or hilly country, and above all
+the towering peaks of the Andes, and the lower summits of the
+Cordillera. I do not wonder that I slept, as I had a good deal of
+fatigue to make up for.
+
+"Santiago, the capital of Chili, with its population of two hundred and
+odd thousand, seemed to me like a return to Paris or New York. Here is a
+city with broad and regular streets, lighted with gas, lined with
+spacious sidewalks, and equipped with horse-railways; with great squares
+ornamented with fountains and statues; with hospitals, schools, asylums,
+and other public edifices by the dozen and almost by the hundred; with a
+great cathedral; with handsome bridges over the river that supplies it
+with water; with banks, commercial houses, post and telegraph offices,
+insurance companies and other paraphernalia of trade; with a public
+library of forty thousand volumes and many rare manuscripts; in a word,
+with all the attributes of a great city. From the railway station I went
+directly to the hotel, and was welcomed with so much politeness by the
+proprietor that I was almost ready to exclaim with Shenstone:
+
+ "Whoe'er has travell'd life's dull round,
+ Where'er its stages may have been,
+ Must sigh to think he still has found
+ The warmest welcome at an inn."
+
+[Illustration: THE ALAMEDA.]
+
+"The Alameda, or promenade, is beautifully shaded, and a favorite resort
+of the population. Most of the dwellings are low, on account of
+earthquakes, but they are surrounded by spacious court-yards and
+furnished with great liberality. The city seems to exist in spite of
+disadvantages. It has had numerous earthquakes, many of them disastrous,
+in the period covered by its history, and on several occasions it has
+suffered from inundations. But it has a delightful climate, the
+thermometer averaging 68° in summer and 50° in winter, so that it is
+never very warm nor very cold. Heavy and frequent rains fall in winter,
+and any one who is not fond of rain should not come here in that season.
+
+"Aside from the earthquakes, and also the wars in which Santiago has
+suffered, one of the most tragic days it has ever known was the 8th of
+December, 1863. On that day three thousand people, mostly women, were in
+the church of La Campania; a cry of fire was raised, and there was a
+rush for the outer air. The doors opened inwardly; the assemblage
+pressed against them, and no persuasion could induce them to fall back
+and allow the doors to be swung on their hinges. Panic-stricken, they
+crowded forward; the fire increased; suffocating smoke filled the place;
+and two thirds of that three thousand were burned, trampled, or
+smothered to death. The memory of that terrible day is still fresh in
+the minds of the people, and will be long preserved.
+
+"I rode past the church where this calamity occurred, but did not care
+to enter it, as there was nothing interesting in its architecture, and I
+have no feeling of morbid curiosity. I was more interested in the
+streets and the houses, the long rows of tall poplars that lined the
+streets, and the flower-gardens visible at almost every step. The poplar
+was introduced from Mendoza; the inhabitants say that along with the
+poplar came the goitre, as not a case of the disease was known until the
+exotic shade-trees were planted and began their growth in their new
+home.
+
+[Illustration: A STREET SCENE.]
+
+"In the middle hours of the day I found the streets almost deserted, but
+they are busy enough in the morning and towards sunset. Daybreak brings
+a crowd of peons from the country with vegetables, fruit, chickens,
+milk, and other edibles for sale; their shouting is loud and continuous,
+as they cry their wares from house to house or walk up and down the
+market-places. A great quantity of freshly cut _alfalfa_ (a variety of
+clover) is brought from the country and sold for feeding stock. It is
+piled on the back of mule or horse so that the animal is completely
+covered; you might easily imagine yourself looking at a haycock which
+had suddenly acquired the power of locomotion. There are droves of
+pack-mules; trains of carts with their wheels cut from a log, and
+creaking as if in dire distress; priests in sombre black, and men and
+women in variegated garments, all combining to form an animated picture.
+As the sun rises above the Andes and ascends in the heavens the crowd
+thins away, and long before noon there is an almost painful air of
+stillness over the whole scene.
+
+"Santiago lies in a valley between two ranges of the Andes chain, and
+about eighteen hundred feet above the level of the sea. Consequently it
+has both sunrise and sunset over the mountains; the former on the great
+range and the latter over the western Cordillera. There is an
+interesting period of the sunset--beginning when the city first comes
+under the shadow of the western mountains, and ending when the last rays
+leave the snow-capped mountain peaks in the east. The colors of the
+rainbow are perceptible in a sunset under favorable conditions; the
+tints change with the shadow, and we have yellow, vermilion, violet,
+green, purple, and other hues, in succession and combination, closing
+with a bright blaze and halo from the crests of the mountains. The last
+light of day comes reflected from these mountains in the east, and not
+from the west, where we are accustomed to see it in other cities and in
+other parts of the globe. Nature seems to be reversed in this most
+southerly capital of the continent.
+
+"I found the markets not unlike those of Lima. The products of two zones
+are attainable in this Andean situation, though there are fewer tropical
+fruits and vegetables than in the capital of Peru. There are
+strawberries, grapes, figs, peaches, pears, quinces, apples, nectarines,
+cherries, apricots, plums, oranges, lemons, citrons, and chirimoyas--the
+latter far inferior to those of Lima. The fruits mostly in demand and
+largely consumed are water-melons and musk-melons; both are delicious,
+and grow to a great size, and they are as cheap as they are good.
+
+"But I fear I shall weary you with this description of the city, and,
+besides, I must be moving to Valparaiso to meet the steamer bringing Dr.
+Bronson and Fred. The time-table says the voyage occupies twelve days;
+it is now ten days since I saw them leave Buenos Ayres, and to-morrow
+will be the eleventh day. To-morrow I will go to Valparaiso by the
+railway; it is a ride of four hours, or perhaps five, if the train is
+not in a hurry, and then I can get everything in readiness to welcome
+them to the soil of Chili."
+
+Frank went by the train the next morning, and soon after noon he arrived
+at the seaport. He found a bustling, active city, with a population of
+more than one hundred thousand, of whom less than three fourths were
+native Chilians. According to the statistics Valparaiso contains 15,000
+German inhabitants, 7000 British, 4000 French, 2000 Italians, and 500
+Americans, and a great deal more than half its commerce is in foreign
+hands.
+
+The city is on a bay which opens towards the north so capaciously that
+it was formerly swept by all winds from between north-northeast and
+west-northwest; ships anchored with springs on their cables, and were
+ready to put to sea at any moment to avoid the chance of being driven on
+shore. A mole, which was incomplete at the time of Frank's visit, gives
+more security, and when finished will make a fairly good harbor for
+Valparaiso.
+
+The name of the city indicates "Vale of Paradise," but Frank was unable
+to see where the appearances justified such a pleasing title. The bay is
+bordered by rugged hills, that, for more than half of the distance
+around the semicircular beach, leave only room enough for a single row
+of houses near the water. The fronts of some of these hills are so
+steep that you may almost step to them from the back windows of the
+upper stories of the dwellings.
+
+Facing the other half of the bay is a triangular plain of sand, formed
+by the _débris_ of the streams flowing from the hills, and the washings
+of the surf on the shore. The city is built on this sand, along the
+narrow beach, and up the sides and over the tops of the hills. It
+forcibly suggests a struggle for position where nature is in a repellent
+mood.
+
+"Valparaiso makes me think of Algiers," wrote Frank in his note-book,
+"but I miss the grand archways of the _Boulevard de la République_ and
+the old castle which once sheltered the Dey and held his treasures. I
+think of Beyrout, with the Lebanon range in the background, but the
+Lebanon is dwarfed almost to insignificance by the mighty Andes; I think
+of Quebec, but the heights of Abraham and the walls of the old-time
+stronghold of France in America are not faithfully reproduced; and,
+finally, I remember Gibraltar, nestling at the base of the famous
+'Rock.' There is a resemblance to all these places, but when we study
+Valparaiso in detail we find many points of difference.
+
+"Valparaiso has suffered from earthquakes; twice it has been nearly
+destroyed by them, and there is hardly a week in the year without a
+shock. For this reason the houses are mostly of one or two stories,
+especially in the resident portion, and every inhabitant is ready to
+flee to the open air at a moment's warning. I don't want to become a
+permanent dweller in this city until earthquakes are done away with."
+
+[Illustration: CUSTOMS GUARD-HOUSE, VALPARAISO.]
+
+The city has theatres and churches, schools and hospitals, a
+custom-house and a government palace, great warehouses for the reception
+and storage of goods, street railways, gas, steam fire-engines, fine
+shops, poor hotels, and a fairly good police system. It has a large and
+increasing commerce, and is destined to grow in wealth and grandeur as
+time goes on, unless the earthquakes make an end of it--a contingency
+not pleasant to contemplate. It was bombarded by the Spanish fleet in
+1866, and, though few lives were lost, there was an immense destruction
+of property, of which nine tenths belonged to foreign merchants.
+
+[Illustration: SPANISH-AMERICAN COSTUMES.]
+
+About three o'clock on the afternoon of the day following Frank's
+arrival the flag on the custom-house signalled the approach of the
+English steamer. Our young traveller, accompanied by Manuel, engaged a
+boat, and as the great ship came to her anchorage he was rowed
+alongside, and exchanged greetings with his old companions and friends.
+
+We will now make a flying leap over the Andes, and accompany Dr. Bronson
+and his nephew in their voyage from Buenos Ayres through the Strait of
+Magellan.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+STRAIT OF MAGELLAN.--FALKLAND ISLANDS.--A PENGUIN CITY.--SANDY
+POINT.--HUNTING THE OSTRICH AND GUANACO.--PATAGONIAN GIANTS.
+
+
+The voyage southward from Buenos Ayres was uneventful, as the ocean was
+calm and the steamer kept well out to sea. There was an agreeable change
+in the temperature; it became delightfully cool on the day following
+their departure, and continued so until the coast of Patagonia was
+sighted, near the entrance of the Strait of Magellan.
+
+Fred was disappointed with his first view of Patagonia. He knew it was a
+desolate region, but was hardly prepared for the total absence of all
+vegetation on the shore which he scanned through his glass. It was the
+shore of the Red Sea without its warmth of sunshine, and the rosy tints
+for which its name was given. Coming from the rich verdure of the Amazon
+and the Rio de La Plata, he found the gray, barren landscape of
+Patagonia doubly forbidding, and his desire for a journey through the
+country was by no means great.
+
+The entrance to the Strait of Magellan is about twenty-two miles wide;
+the northerly, or, rather, the northeasterly, point around which the
+steamer took its course is called Cape Virgens, and the southeastern
+Cape Espiritu Santo. Almost due east, and about three hundred miles
+distant, are the Falkland Islands, which belong to Great Britain, and
+are of more political than practical value. There is excellent pasturage
+on the islands, and considerable numbers of cattle and sheep are raised
+there, but the climate is not favorable to agriculture.
+
+[Illustration: SEAL OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS.]
+
+Fred wanted to visit the Falklands, not so much to examine the country
+as to see the seals and penguins, which are killed there in great
+numbers. As he was unable to make the journey, he contented himself with
+a description given by a fellow-passenger.
+
+[Illustration: PATAGONIA AND TIERRA DEL FUEGO.]
+
+"The penguin is a funny-looking bird," said the gentleman, "and his
+breeding-place is as funny as he is. In the first place, he can't fly;
+he has two wings, like any other bird, but they are very short, and only
+useful for helping him over the ground when on land, and for paddling
+him about in the water. He doesn't use his wings much, though, in the
+water, as his broad feet are webbed like a duck's, and propel him very
+rapidly.
+
+"When I first came to this part of the world I was on a schooner in
+search of penguin oil. We went to one of the rocky islands where the
+birds make their home, and found a city of probably a hundred thousand
+penguins."
+
+"A hundred thousand in one city!" exclaimed Fred, in astonishment.
+
+"Yes, a hundred thousand at least," was the reply, "and I've seen a
+penguin city five times as large as that. There was a space of fifty or
+sixty acres covered with birds about as thick as they could sit
+together; it was laid off into squares by streets running at right
+angles, and a surveyor couldn't have made the lines straighter than they
+were.
+
+"And not only do they lay the ground out into squares, but they level it
+off and pick up all the stones and shells lying around, so that it is as
+smooth as a lawn. Then the birds go in pairs, and each pair picks out a
+place for a nest; it isn't a nest at all, but simply a spot on the
+ground. The hen lays one egg, and only one; the male bird brings her
+food from the sea, or if she wishes occasionally to have a swim he sits
+on the egg during her absence. He takes such good care of her that she
+is always plump and fat, and for this reason the penguins are sought and
+killed during their breeding season.
+
+[Illustration: THE PENGUIN.]
+
+"They walk up and down the streets like soldiers, standing erect all the
+time, and waddling along on their feet. The fun of the thing is that
+they divide themselves off into classes, according to their plumage and
+also according to the stages of their incubation; one class never
+disturbs another, but whether they keep order without the aid of a
+policeman or not I am unable to say."
+
+Fred asked how large the ordinary penguin is.
+
+"There are several varieties of these birds," said his informant, "the
+largest being the Emperor Penguin, which weighs twenty-five or thirty
+pounds, and I have known them to tip the scale at very nearly forty. The
+old birds are so tough and fishy that a dog won't touch them, but the
+chickens are good eating. I have tried the eggs, but didn't like 'em, as
+they resembled a hen's egg cooked in lamp-oil. Penguins only go on shore
+during the breeding season; for the rest of the time they live in the
+water, and some varieties of them are frequently found on or near cakes
+of ice two or three hundred miles from land."
+
+While this strange bird of the southern hemisphere was under discussion
+the steamer passed between the two capes we have mentioned, and entered
+Possession Bay; then she passed through the First Narrows, where the
+cliffs are not more than two miles apart. On the right was Patagonia; on
+the left lay the island of Tierra del Fuego, 'Land of Fire,' presenting
+an aspect quite as forbidding as that of the mainland of the continent.
+Desolation everywhere, and a leaden sky that threatened wind and rain.
+
+[Illustration: THE HOME OF THE SEA-BIRDS.]
+
+From the First Narrows, which are about nine miles long, they opened out
+into a broader stretch of water known as Philip's Bay, and then came to
+the Second Narrows and to Elisabeth Island. Wild birds were numerous,
+and in some places the shores were covered with them; in the narrows the
+water all around the steamer was alive with gulls, and a dozen other
+varieties of sea-fowl. Among them Fred recognized the shag, coot, and
+cormorant. The gentleman who had told him about the penguins pointed out
+a settlement of those birds on the shore, but too far away to enable
+them to see much of it.
+
+[Illustration: THE CORMORANT.]
+
+From the Second Narrows the course of the steamer swept to the southward
+until she passed Cape Froward, the most southerly point of the
+continent; at Cape Froward there is a sudden bend to the northward, and
+this course is continued to the outlet of the strait into the Pacific
+Ocean, at Cape Pillars, three hundred and fifteen miles from Cape
+Virgens.
+
+[Illustration: A STEAMER ENTERING THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN.]
+
+The navigation of the strait is easy enough for a steamer, but very
+difficult for a sailing-ship. The water is deep, and there is no danger
+of being left on sand-bars, but the tides make strong currents in
+various parts of the strait; several of the passages are tortuous, and
+require a quick change of helm even for a steamer; and the openings
+between the cliffs are liable to gusts of wind that make it dangerous
+for a vessel relying on her sails alone. The narrowest place is about
+one mile across, and is in "Crooked Reach." This point is the great
+terror of sailing captains, as a strong wind generally blows there, and
+changes its direction at frequent intervals.
+
+"This strait bears the name of its discoverer," wrote Fred in his
+note-book, "or, at any rate, it is near enough to identify him. On the
+21st of October, 1520, Fernando Magalhaens, a Portuguese navigator,
+entered the strait from the Atlantic, and on the 28th of November of the
+same year he emerged into the broad and peaceful ocean which he named
+'Pacifico.' Thus the Strait of Magellan and the Pacific Ocean were first
+navigated by one and the same individual. He may also be called the
+first circumnavigator of the globe. He sailed over the Pacific Ocean to
+the Philippine Islands, where he was killed in a fight with the natives;
+on a previous voyage he had been eastward to the longitude of the
+Philippines, and thus had been completely around the world, though not
+in a continuous journey."
+
+A hundred miles from the Atlantic Ocean the steamer came in sight of
+Punta Arenas, or Sandy Point; it is best known to English-speaking
+people by the latter name, which is a translation of the former. The
+steamer was to remain here several hours, and our friends embraced the
+opportunity to go on shore.
+
+Sandy Point was originally a convict settlement of the government of
+Chili, and was officially called "La Colonia de Magellanes." It was
+founded in 1851, and for some years contained only the convicts and the
+garrison that watched over them; when steamers began to navigate the
+strait the government, seeing that the place was destined to be of
+commercial importance, determined to establish a free colony there.
+Grants of land were given to German and Swiss settlers; several hundreds
+were brought there from the Old World; but the character of the country
+is unfavorable, and the colony has never prospered.
+
+From Cape Froward to and beyond the neighborhood of Sandy Point there
+are forests of beeches and other foliferous trees, and the hills and
+level ground back of them are covered with grass. Agriculture is
+limited, and the colonists who went to the Strait of Magellan to make
+homes and become rich have been sorely disappointed.
+
+The steamer anchored in front of the little town, and hardly had her
+anchor touched the bottom of the bay when a steam tender came alongside,
+bringing the captain of the port and the agent of the steamship company.
+Dr. Bronson and his nephew were invited to go ashore in the tender; they
+had made a bargain with a boatman, but, as the waves were dancing
+merrily in consequence of the brisk wind blowing down the strait, they
+accepted the invitation, and paid the owner of the boat for doing
+nothing. In a quarter of an hour they were landed at a little wooden
+pier, and had leisure to study the most southerly town of the western
+world.
+
+[Illustration: CHILIAN SETTLEMENT AT SANDY POINT.]
+
+"It didn't take us long to see the whole of Sandy Point," said Fred, in
+the account of their visit, "as the sights of the place can be exhausted
+in a very little while. There is a beach in front of a high ridge of
+hills, and some rising ground intervening between beach and hills. The
+town straggles along this beach, and back on the rising ground behind
+it; it consists of a fort, a church, some government barracks, a
+custom-house, and one or two other public buildings, together with a lot
+of one-story houses disposed in lines to form streets. It has a
+population of eight or nine hundred--possibly a thousand--and presents a
+woe-begone appearance, like that of a half-deserted village.
+
+"There were Germans, Swiss, French, and Italians among the people we met
+in the streets; the rest were Chilians and Patagonians, together with
+some Fuegians who had paddled over the strait from their native shores.
+The Europeans were much like the same people elsewhere, and we paid no
+particular attention to them; we were more interested in the Patagonians
+and Fuegians, and I prevailed upon some of them to stand to be sketched
+under promise of half a dollar each for their trouble. Their
+countenances are not prepossessing, and by no stretch of the imagination
+could they be called handsome. In fact, I consider them about the
+ugliest people I ever saw.
+
+[Illustration: PATAGONIAN DRESS.]
+
+"The Patagonian dress is a poncho or mantle of guanaco skins, which
+hangs from the shoulders and has a hole in the centre for the head;
+sometimes it is gathered at the waist by a belt, especially when the
+wearer is on horseback, and in cold weather those who can afford it have
+a smaller garment of nearly the same sort underneath a larger one. The
+men pluck out their beards when they have any, and as the dress is the
+same for both sexes it is next to impossible for a stranger to
+distinguish men from women in a group of natives. I made a sketch of a
+girl who was said to be about twenty years old; she was considered a
+belle, but I do not believe any belle of New York would be jealous of
+her good looks.
+
+[Illustration: A PATAGONIAN BELLE.]
+
+"This Antipodean Langtry wore a guanaco robe which was by no means new;
+her black hair was greasy and unkempt at the sides, but cut rather short
+on the top of the head; her nose was broad and flat; and her mouth
+extended almost from side to side of her face. Her eyes were black and
+piercing, and her self-satisfied smile as she stood for her picture told
+that she knew how handsome she was.
+
+"I hear some one asking about the height of the Patagonians, and if
+they are really the giants they were represented in the school-books of
+forty years ago. They are not giants in the ordinary acceptation of the
+term, but are certainly above the ordinary height. The governor of Sandy
+Point personally measured the height of a great many Patagonian men, and
+his experiments covered several years of his residence there. He reports
+the average height as between five feet eleven inches and six feet.
+
+"Mr. Beerbohm, the author of 'Wanderings in Patagonia,' says the Indians
+he travelled with possess extraordinary strength, and he tells the
+following story as an illustration of what they can do:
+
+"'An Indian was leading a horse towards the camp by a lasso, when the
+animal for some reason or other stopped suddenly short, and obstinately
+refused to stir from the spot. After a few coaxing but ineffectual tugs
+at the lasso, the Indian gave a short grunt of impatience, and then
+taking the lasso over his shoulder, bent forward, seemingly without
+effort, and dragged the horse by main force about twenty yards,
+notwithstanding its determined attempts at resistance.'
+
+"From the same writer and from other sources," continued Fred, "I
+learned a good deal about the country and the people of Patagonia, which
+consoled me for my inability to make a journey through it, and indulge
+in hunting the ostrich and the guanaco. Formerly hunting was possible
+within a few hours' ride of Sandy Point, but at present the game has
+been killed off or driven to the north, and those who would have sport
+cannot find it nearer than fifty or sixty miles away. This is too far to
+go when we wish to continue on our journey with a steamer that remains
+only a few hours in port.
+
+"Patagonia is a desolate region, comprising an area of about three
+hundred and fifty thousand square miles; its northern boundary is the
+Rio Negro, and there have been disputes between Chili and the Argentine
+Republic concerning the right to the country. It has been finally agreed
+that Chili may have the west coast and the country along the strait,
+while the republic may possess the region bordering on the Atlantic.
+Several colonies have been made in Patagonia by the two claimants, but
+none of them have succeeded.
+
+[Illustration: THE GUANACO.]
+
+"The population is very small, considering the area; some authorities
+place it as low as three thousand, and none higher than ten thousand;
+the latter figure is probably excessive. The plains are covered with a
+few shrubs and scanty grass, or with nothing at all, and the valleys are
+the only places where cattle and horses can find sufficient grazing to
+keep them alive. Some of the northern tribes have herds of cattle and
+sheep, mostly stolen from the Argentine Republic, but the southern
+natives have no cattle and but few horses. Notwithstanding their
+desolate character, the plains support countless numbers of ostriches
+and guanacos; the feathers of the former and the skins of the latter are
+articles of commerce, and their flesh serves as food. When the Indians
+are unsuccessful in hunting these animals they live upon horse-flesh,
+and many of them prefer it to any other article of food.
+
+"We met at Sandy Point a guacho from the Argentine Republic who had
+spent several years in Patagonia, and made a living by hunting. He had a
+troop of dogs which he used in the chase of the ostriches and guanaco,
+and he told us that it was his plan to start out with two or three
+Indian attendants, and be absent for weeks at a time. When he saw an
+ostrich he sent his dogs after it, and followed close behind on
+horseback; with dogs and bolas he rarely failed to bring down his game,
+and the same was the case with the guanaco. He had from six to a dozen
+horses; when one was wearied he quickly changed the saddle to another.
+When he had gathered a sufficient quantity of ostrich feathers and
+guanaco skins to pay for the journey, he came to Sandy Point, and he had
+arrived there only the day before we met him.
+
+"He told us that his greatest annoyances came from the wild horses and
+the Indians. His own horses had been attacked by the wild ones on
+several occasions, and he once lost all except those that he and his
+attendants were riding at the time. He said the wild brutes display a
+great deal of intelligence in attacking a herd of tame ones; they form a
+circle about the latter, and attempt to drive them away, and if they are
+very numerous there is great danger of their success. He said the best
+way to defeat them was to single out the leader of the attacking force,
+and pay no attention to the rest. If you can kill the leader the rest
+can be driven off without much trouble, but as long as the head of the
+herd is unharmed there is no safety.
+
+"The Indians are usually peaceable, but they had a habit of coming to
+his camp, and literally eating him out. They stayed as long as there was
+anything to eat, and had no modesty about asking for what they wanted.
+He always endeavored to keep as far from them as he could, partly
+because they 'ate him out of house and home,' and partly because game
+was always scarce and shy when they were about.
+
+"In addition to ostriches and guanacos, there are plenty of armadillos,
+pumas, foxes, and skunks. Our guacho generally killed pumas when they
+came in his way, but did not go around in search of them. He said the
+flesh was good eating, and tasted like veal, but it varied somewhat in
+quality, according to the age and condition of the animal. The puma
+lives on the ostrich and guanaco; he is very powerful, and can kill a
+guanaco with a single blow of his huge paw. He is as cowardly as he is
+strong, and when attacked by a hunter he rarely resists unless slightly
+wounded and 'cornered.' The guacho said he had frequently ridden close
+up to a crouching puma and killed him with a blow from a bolas, or a
+shot from a revolver.
+
+[Illustration: SEEKING SAFETY.]
+
+"I asked about the ostrich, and he said there were two kinds in
+Patagonia, that of the north being larger and darker than the one
+inhabiting the south. While he was talking I turned to Mr. Beerbohm's
+book and found the following:
+
+"'The ostrich of southern Patagonia (_Rhea Darwinii_) is smaller than
+the "Avestruz Moro" (_Rhea Americana_), as the species which frequents
+the country near the River Negro is called by the natives. The color of
+its plumage is brown, the feathers being tipped with white, whereas the
+moro, as its name indicates, is uniformly gray. The _R. Darwinii_ are
+extremely shy birds, and as their vision is remarkably acute, it is by
+no means an easy matter to catch them unless one has very swift dogs to
+hunt with.'
+
+[Illustration: THE OSTRICH AND HIS HUNTERS.]
+
+"The guacho said the ostrich of America has the same peculiarities that
+he is credited with in Africa. He doubles on his pursuer, and sometimes
+he will drop flat on the ground, and endeavor to escape by lying
+perfectly motionless until the dogs have passed. In some conditions of
+the wind this trick succeeds, but if it is blowing the scent towards the
+dogs they find the unhappy bird and make short work of him.
+
+[Illustration: SKELETON OF THE OSTRICH.]
+
+"The ostrich makes his nest by scooping a hole in the ground under the
+shadow of a bush, and lining it with a few wisps of dry grass to make it
+soft for the chickens. There are from ten to forty eggs in a nest; they
+are laid by several hens and not by one, as with most other birds, and
+it is a curious fact that the male bird sits on the nest, hatches the
+eggs, and looks after the young. If the weather is fine he sometimes
+grazes an hour or two in the evening in the vicinity of the nest, but he
+never goes far away; when it rains he never leaves the nest, and he has
+been known to stay there six or seven days without feeding.
+
+"After the hatching season the ostriches lay their eggs all over the
+plains without any regard to hatching them. These eggs are a prize for
+the hunters; many a meal has been made of them, and, as our guacho said,
+many a life had been saved by this habit of the great bird. They keep
+perfectly fresh for months; one ostrich egg contains as much as ten
+hen's eggs, so that it makes a good dinner for one person. This is the
+way to cook it:
+
+"Break a small hole in the top of the egg and remove some of the white.
+Beat the rest of the contents up together, and when you have done this
+thoroughly, set the egg on its end in the ashes, a little way from the
+fire, so that it will roast. Stir the contents frequently to prevent
+burning, and turn the egg occasionally to keep the shell from cracking.
+Fifteen minutes will cook it thoroughly; add pepper and salt, if you
+have any, and your dinner is ready.
+
+"I will close this bird talk by quoting a bill of fare given by Mr.
+Beerbohm, of a dinner on the plains:
+
+"SOUP.--RICE AND OSTRICH.
+"BROILED OSTRICH WINGS.
+"OSTRICH STEAK.
+"ROAST OSTRICH GIZZARD.
+"OSTRICH EGGS.
+"CUSTARD.--OSTRICH EGGS AND SUGAR.
+"MORE OSTRICH, IF WANTED."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+MUTINY AT SANDY POINT.--TIERRA DEL FUEGO.--MISSIONARY ENTERPRISES
+THERE.--CAPTAIN GARDINER.--CRUISE OF THE "WATEREE."--SIDE-WHEEL
+DUCKS.--UP THE PACIFIC COAST.--THE MEETING AT VALPARAISO.--THE END.
+
+
+Sandy Point has not been without its tragedy, in spite of its youth as a
+colony. In November, 1877, the convicts and soldiers mutinied, and for
+two days the place was a scene of bloodshed and robbery. About sixty of
+the officers, soldiers, and colonists were killed and many others were
+wounded; the arrival of a Chilian gunboat, on the third day, put an end
+to the revolt and restored order. The mutineers fled to the pampas,
+where many of them died of starvation and exposure, and the remnant of
+the band was captured near the mouth of the Santa Cruz River. Many of
+the buildings in the town were burned, and the destruction of property
+was estimated at half a million dollars.
+
+[Illustration: CAPTAIN SMILEY.]
+
+Dr. Bronson inquired for Captain Smiley, an American who was once famous
+in this part of the world; he learned that the captain died some years
+before, but not until he had reached very nearly the hundredth year of
+his age. An officer of the United States steamer _Wateree_ described the
+captain as known to everybody from Uruguay round to Chili, and says he
+rendered numerous and invaluable services to vessels shipwrecked
+anywhere within a thousand miles of the strait. One sea-captain who was
+wrecked on the eastern coast of Patagonia declared that Smiley scented
+the disaster six hundred miles away, and came to his assistance. He
+once rounded Cape Horn alone in a fifty-ton schooner, and his life was
+full of extraordinary experiences in the southern hemisphere.
+
+[Illustration: MOUNTAINS AND GLACIERS IN MAGELLAN'S STRAIT.]
+
+As the Doctor and his nephew returned to the steamer they met a
+boat-load of Fuegians on their way to Sandy Point, from the other side
+of the strait. Fred had considered the Patagonians very low in the scale
+of humanity, but on seeing the Fuegians he was inclined to rank the
+Patagonians among the _crême de la crême_. Though the weather was cold,
+they were not more than half clad, and the few garments among them were
+the merest apologies for clothing. The boat was a frame of wood covered
+with seal-skins sewn together, and was far more attractive to the eye of
+the stranger than were its occupants.
+
+The inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego are of the same race as the
+Patagonians, but smaller; they live near the sea-coast, as the most of
+their food is obtained from the water in the shape of shell or other
+fish, seals, aquatic birds, and a certain edible weed that is thrown up
+by the waves. They are reputed to be cannibals, and the crews of ships
+wrecked on their coast have been killed and eaten by these savages. They
+do not confine their cannibalism to shipwrecked mariners, if all stories
+are true; Captain Smiley said he once visited a Fuegian chief, with whom
+he was on friendly terms, and found him superintending the cooking of
+one of his wives!
+
+Missionaries have labored among the Fuegians, but to very little good
+result. The first effort was made after the return of Admiral Fitzroy's
+expedition, which is described in Darwin's "Voyage of the Beagle." Four
+Fuegians were taken to England, where one of them died, and the others
+remained for three years and were educated. One of these natives was
+named "Jemmy Button," in consequence of his having been bought from his
+parents for a button cut from an officer's coat; he was intelligent, and
+gave promise of future usefulness, and it was thought a good plan to
+send him to his native land accompanied by a missionary.
+
+Jemmy received many presents from kind-hearted people before starting
+for his old home, and when he arrived there he was cordially welcomed.
+The ship's carpenter built a house for the missionary and Jemmy; a
+garden was made and seeds were sown; the natives who flocked around the
+ship were well treated; and everything seemed to promise favorably.
+
+Hardly was the ship out of sight before the natives robbed Jemmy of all
+his treasures, and reduced him to his original condition of a savage.
+All his fine clothes were destroyed, and he was compelled to dress--or,
+rather, to undress--like his own people; it is probable that the
+missionary would have been killed had not the ship looked in again after
+a week's absence, to see how things were getting along.
+
+[Illustration: JEMMY BUTTON'S SOUND.]
+
+The next visitors to Tierra del Fuego found that the effect of
+civilization on Jemmy had not improved his morals. Captain Snow, who
+commanded a ship which touched at several places on the island, says
+Jemmy's tribe was the worst he saw, and had to be constantly watched to
+prevent thefts. They stole everything they could lay their hands on, and
+a few years later they massacred the crew of a ship that was sent there
+by the London Missionary Society, the very ship that Captain Snow
+formerly commanded.
+
+[Illustration: FUEGIANS VISITING A WAR STEAMER.]
+
+Most of the missionary work in Tierra del Fuego was through the efforts
+of Captain Allen Gardiner, formerly of the British navy. Captain Snow
+says "Gardiner was a brave and upright man, zealously religious, but
+wanting in wisdom and prudence. He deemed himself called upon to go
+about the world and bring a few of the heathen from darkness to light.
+Four times did he belt the earth, visiting the Zulus in South Africa,
+the islanders of the Pacific, the inhabitants of interior South America,
+and numerous other places. Twice he was in Patagonia and twice in Tierra
+del Fuego; the last time he went there was in a passing ship, taking two
+boats, a surgeon, a lay teacher, a carpenter, and four fishermen from
+Cornwall, with six months' provisions."
+
+Captain Gardiner's first effort in Tierra del Fuego was at Banner Cove,
+Picton Island, where he tried to establish a station. The natives
+plundered him of everything, and he left in order to save his life; he
+returned to England, where he lectured, and obtained sufficient money
+to make another trial of the inhospitable land, under the circumstances
+narrated in the preceding paragraph.
+
+Here is what he writes concerning his arrival at Banner Cove:
+
+"On Friday, the 6th of December, 1850, we erected our tents, and on the
+7th we constructed a strong fence of trees around our position, leaving
+only one small opening. This night and the next day the number of
+natives increased. Their rudeness and pertinacious endeavor to force a
+way into our tents, and to purloin our things, became so systematic and
+resolute that it was not possible to retain our position without
+resorting to force, from which, of course, we refrained."
+
+The natives became so hostile that Captain Gardiner and his party
+abandoned the place, and attempted to go along the coast to a more
+favorable spot. Three of their boats were lost in this journey, together
+with a considerable part of their stores, and they were in great
+distress. One by one the members of the party died of hunger and
+exposure, some of them at Banner Cove, and others at a point which has
+since been known as Starvation Beach.
+
+[Illustration: THE "ALLEN GARDINER" IN BANNER COVE.]
+
+A few years later a ship was built in England for missionary work in
+Tierra del Fuego, and named the _Allen Gardiner_, in honor of the
+lamented missionary. This was the ship which the natives plundered,
+after murdering her crew; she was recovered by Captain Smiley and taken
+to the Falkland Islands for repairs, and afterwards made several voyages
+to the "Land of Fire," but without advancing the condition of the
+natives to any noticeable extent.
+
+[Illustration: STARVATION BEACH.]
+
+The Fuegian is about as inhospitable as his country and climate can well
+make him. The region is subject to heavy rains and severe cold; the
+snow-line on the mountains is only four thousand feet above the sea, and
+Mr. Darwin says it is difficult to find an acre of level ground in the
+whole country. The lowland is covered with peat swamps and forests of
+beeches, and some of the scenery is quite pretty, but the general aspect
+is forbidding and desolate. There are glaciers along the sides of the
+mountains, and there are fresh-water lakes in the interior, frequented
+by great flocks of ducks and other aquatic birds. Along the coast are
+islands which are the resort of fur seals, and occasionally a rich haul
+is made by enterprising sealers.
+
+The natives live in conical huts or wigwams built from the branches of
+trees over holes dug in the ground. In addition to shell-fish and other
+sea products, they live on a fungus that grows on the beech-trees. A
+picture of a Fuegian and his food is given on the next page. The reader
+will observe the fungus growing in a cluster a few feet above the base
+of the tree and just where the limbs diverge. It is an article of food
+not adapted to the European palate, but the natives seem to be fond of
+it--perhaps because they are obliged to be.
+
+[Illustration: A FUEGIAN AND HIS FOOD.]
+
+"Why was the country named Tierra del Fuego?" Fred inquired, as he
+watched the coast of that forbidding region while the ship was steaming
+away from Sandy Point.
+
+"It was so named by Magellan," replied the Doctor, "in consequence of
+the numerous fires he saw along the coast."
+
+"But we have seen no fires there," said the youth; "and I wonder if
+there were more inhabitants then than now."
+
+"I cannot say as to that," Dr. Bronson answered. "No census has ever
+been taken in Tierra del Fuego, and from present appearances none is
+likely to be. Nobody wants the country, as it is absolutely worthless
+for all practical purposes. It would be a dear purchase at ten cents a
+square mile.
+
+"Captain Snow and others who have visited the country estimate the
+inhabitants at not more than two thousand. They are the lowest in the
+scale of barbarism of all the people of the world; they live in small
+tribes, and among them might makes right. If one native gets more
+property than another he is quickly relieved of his superfluous
+possessions and reduced to the common level. You have a good
+illustration of this state of things in the case of Jemmy Button. His
+friends in England had loaded him with presents previous to his return,
+but he was not allowed to keep them twenty-four hours after the ship
+which brought him had departed. The same treatment is visited upon the
+missionaries, and upon every one else who falls into their power. They
+have no Vanderbilts among them, and possess no ideas concerning the
+foundations of fortunes and families.
+
+[Illustration: A FUEGIAN FEAST.]
+
+"Mr. Darwin says their greatest idea of happiness is to have the carcass
+of a whale drift upon the coast where they can secure it. They remove
+the blubber in large pieces; then they cut holes in the centre of these
+pieces and thrust their heads through them, as a guacho puts on his
+poncho, in order to carry the stuff away; men, women, and children join
+in the labor of securing this supply of food, and they have an abundance
+to eat as long as it lasts. Unlike the natives of the Aleutian Islands,
+they have no means of catching whales, as their inventive genius has not
+been equal to devising anything useful."
+
+[Illustration: RUINS AT PORT FAMINE.]
+
+Three hours after leaving Sandy Point the steamer passed Port Famine,
+which owes its name to a melancholy incident in its history. In 1584 a
+Spanish colony was founded there by Sarmiento; out of three hundred men
+who formed the colony all but two died of starvation within four years.
+In the early part of this century the Chilian government made a convict
+settlement there; the convicts revolted, killed their guards, and then
+seized a trading schooner and sailed away, after killing its crew. They
+were afterwards captured and properly punished by the government
+authorities.
+
+One of the officers of the steamer called Fred's attention to a
+"side-wheel" duck, whose performance in the water resembled that of the
+steamer from which it takes its name. This bird is said to be found only
+in Patagonia; it does not use its wings for flying nor its feet for
+paddling, but when pursued it rushes through the water with great speed
+by means of its wings. The officer said he had never seen one of these
+ducks attempt to fly; an examination of its wings showed a cartilaginous
+projection at the elbow, but when in motion its movements were so rapid
+that the mode of propulsion could not be distinctly defined. The feet
+could be seen trailing behind; and there was a sort of mist at the side
+of the bird, while the wake in his rear was exactly like that left by a
+paddle steamer.
+
+Mountain peaks were visible on both sides of the strait. In many places
+the cliffs were almost perpendicular, and hundreds of feet in height.
+There were many little harbors opening out from the strait, but Fred was
+informed, by the officer who had called his attention to the ducks, that
+many of the harbors were useless, as the water was too deep to permit
+ships to anchor. But where anchorage is possible the shelter is perfect,
+the surrounding mountains completely shutting out the winds. The
+geologists say these harbors are probably the craters of volcanoes that
+were extinguished ages and ages ago.
+
+[Illustration: BORGIA BAY.]
+
+They passed near Port Gallant, Borgia Bay, and other harbors which are
+marked on the chart, but without making a pause at any of them. Before
+the days of regular steam navigation it was the custom for those passing
+through the strait to leave the names of their ships, with short records
+of their cruises, at the different anchorages. A favorite place for thus
+informing those who followed them was at Borgia Bay, where sometimes
+dozens of boards could be seen fastened to the trees. The historian of
+the cruise of the _Wateree_ says that one captain recorded his vessel as
+a "whaling skuner."
+
+[Illustration: INSCRIPTIONS AT BORGIA BAY.]
+
+The _Wateree_ explored many of the channels between the mainland and the
+islands along the west coast of Patagonia, and continued that work up to
+the Bay of Castro, where she was the first steam-vessel of war ever
+seen. One of the bays along this route bears her name, and is
+distinguished by a curious mark on a cliff in the form of the letter
+"H."
+
+[Illustration: "H" CLIFF, WATEREE BAY.]
+
+During her explorations the _Wateree_ ran short of coal and was obliged
+to take wood from the forests along the shore. This was tedious and
+discouraging work, especially as the wood was either green or
+water-soaked, and required a great deal of coaxing to make it burn.
+Imagine the surprise and delight of the officers when they were visited
+at a little Chilian village by an enterprising Yankee, who said he had a
+hundred cords of perfectly seasoned wood a few miles away, which he
+would sell at a low price. They went there at once and bought his wood,
+which helped them to the next port, where coal could be obtained.
+
+[Illustration: THE YANKEE WOOD-DEALER.]
+
+There is an abundance of bituminous coal along the western coast of
+Chili, and as far down as the strait. There are veins of coal at Port
+Famine, and others near Sandy Point, but the quality is poor. The best
+of the Chilian coal-mines are at Lota, where many thousands of tons are
+mined every month. The Chilian coal is sold in all the ports of the west
+coast of South America as far north as Panama; the veins are large, the
+mines are easily operated, and the supply may be considered
+inexhaustible.
+
+[Illustration: NEAR THE COAST OF PATAGONIA.]
+
+Passing from the Strait of Magellan to the Pacific Ocean, the steamer
+headed northward towards her destination at Valparaiso. Fred had
+occasional glimpses of the coasts of Patagonia and Chili, but for the
+greater part of the way they were generally out of sight of land. In
+some seasons of the year the steamers follow the sheltered route among
+the islands--it affords inland navigation for nearly three hundred
+miles--but when fogs prevail the captains consider it safer to take the
+open ocean.
+
+The lofty peaks of the Andes were almost continuously visible on the
+eastern horizon, after the steamer passed the latitude of the volcano of
+Corcovado. Towards the strait the mountains are less elevated than
+farther to the north, few of the peaks of the last hundred miles of the
+chain reaching above ten thousand feet in height. Aconcagua, the highest
+mountain of the Andean range, was in full view on the last day of the
+voyage, and formed a magnificent landmark, which directed the mariners
+to their destination in the harbor of Valparaiso.
+
+As the steamer came to anchor, Fred peered anxiously over the rail at
+the many boats that were dancing on the waves. From one to another he
+turned his gaze, and was about giving up the search for a familiar face
+when he saw a handkerchief waving in the stern of one of the approaching
+craft.
+
+Another glance, and then another, and the youthful face was radiant with
+smiles. Out came Fred's handkerchief to wave a response to Frank, who
+had come to meet him. As soon as the latter was permitted to board the
+steamer he sprang up the gangway, and the three friends were once more
+together.
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+INTERESTING BOOKS FOR BOYS.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN SOUTH AMERICA. Adventures of Two Youths in a
+Journey through Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentine
+Republic, and Chili. With Descriptions of Patagonia and Tierra del
+Fuego, and Voyages upon the Amazon and La Plata Rivers. By THOMAS W.
+KNOX. Copiously Illustrated. 8vo, Cloth, $3.00.
+
+THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE FAR EAST. By THOMAS W. KNOX. Five Parts.
+Copiously Illustrated. 8vo, Cloth, $3.00 each.
+
+ PART I. ADVENTURES OF TWO YOUTHS IN A JOURNEY TO JAPAN AND CHINA.
+
+ PART II. ADVENTURES OF TWO YOUTHS IN A JOURNEY TO SIAM AND JAVA.
+ With Descriptions of Cochin-China, Cambodia, Sumatra, and the Malay
+ Archipelago.
+
+ PART III. ADVENTURES OF TWO YOUTHS IN A JOURNEY TO CEYLON AND
+ INDIA. With Descriptions of Borneo, the Philippine Islands, and
+ Burmah.
+
+ PART IV. ADVENTURES OF TWO YOUTHS IN A JOURNEY TO EGYPT AND
+ PALESTINE.
+
+ PART V. ADVENTURES OF TWO YOUTHS IN A JOURNEY THROUGH AFRICA.
+
+THE VOYAGE OF THE "VIVIAN" to the North Pole and Beyond. Adventures of
+Two Youths in the Open Polar Sea. By THOMAS W. KNOX. Profusely
+Illustrated. 8vo, Cloth, $2.50.
+
+HUNTING ADVENTURES ON LAND AND SEA. By THOMAS W. KNOX. Two Parts.
+Copiously Illustrated. 8vo, Cloth, $2.50 each.
+
+ PART I. THE YOUNG NIMRODS IN NORTH AMERICA.
+
+ PART II. THE YOUNG NIMRODS AROUND THE WORLD.
+
+WHAT MR. DARWIN SAW IN HIS VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD IN THE SHIP "BEAGLE."
+Illustrated. 8vo, Cloth, $3.00.
+
+FRIENDS WORTH KNOWING. Glimpses of American Natural History. By ERNEST
+INGERSOLL. Illustrated. 16mo, Cloth, $1.00.
+
+BY CHARLES CARLETON COFFIN. Four Volumes. Illustrated. 8vo, Cloth, $3.00
+each.
+
+ THE STORY OF LIBERTY.--OLD TIMES IN THE COLONIES.--THE BOYS OF '76
+ (A History of the Battles of the Revolution).--BUILDING THE NATION.
+
+CAMP LIFE IN THE WOODS; AND THE TRICKS OF TRAPPING AND TRAP MAKING. By
+W. HAMILTON GIBSON, Author of "Pastoral Days." Illustrated by the
+Author. 16mo, Cloth, $1.00.
+
+HOW TO GET STRONG, AND HOW TO STAY SO. By WILLIAM BLAIKIE. With
+Illustrations. 16mo, Cloth, $1.00.
+
+THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY, FOR BOYS. By BENSON J. LOSSING,
+LL.D. Illustrated. 12mo, Half Leather, $1.75.
+
+THE ADVENTURES OF A YOUNG NATURALIST. By LUCIEN BIART. With 117
+Illustrations. 12mo, Cloth, $1.75.
+
+AN INVOLUNTARY VOYAGE. By LUCIEN BIART. Illustrated. 12mo, Cloth,
+$1.25.
+
+"HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE" SERIES. Illustrated. 16mo, Cloth, $1.00 per
+volume.
+
+ THE ADVENTURES OF JIMMY BROWN. Written by Himself and Edited by
+ W. L. ALDEN.
+
+ THE CRUISE OF THE CANOE CLUB. By W. L. ALDEN.
+
+ THE CRUISE OF THE "GHOST." By W. L. ALDEN.
+
+ THE MORAL PIRATES. By W. L. ALDEN.
+
+ TOBY TYLER; OR, TEN WEEKS WITH A CIRCUS. By JAMES OTIS.
+
+ MR. STUBBS'S BROTHER. A Sequel to "Toby Tyler." By JAMES OTIS.
+
+ TIM AND TIP; OR, THE ADVENTURES OF A BOY AND A DOG. By JAMES OTIS.
+
+ LEFT BEHIND; OR, TEN DAYS A NEWSBOY. By JAMES OTIS.
+
+ RAISING THE "PEARL." By JAMES OTIS.
+
+ MILDRED'S BARGAIN, AND OTHER STORIES. By LUCY C. LILLIE.
+
+ NAN. By LUCY C. LILLIE.
+
+ THE FOUR MACNICOLS. By WILLIAM BLACK.
+
+ THE LOST CITY; OR, THE BOY EXPLORERS IN CENTRAL ASIA. By DAVID KER.
+
+ THE TALKING LEAVES. An Indian Story. By W. O. STODDARD.
+
+ WHO WAS PAUL GRAYSON? By JOHN HABBERTON, Author of "Helen's
+ Babies."
+
+ PRINCE LAZYBONES, AND OTHER STORIES. By Mrs. W. J. HAYS.
+
+ THE ICE QUEEN. By ERNEST INGERSOLL.
+
+ CHAPTERS ON PLANT LIFE. By Mrs. S. B. HERRICK.
+
+ROUND THE WORLD; including a Residence in Victoria, and a Journey by
+Rail across North America. By a Boy. Edited by SAMUEL SMILES.
+Illustrated. 12mo, Cloth, $1.50.
+
+THE SELF-HELP SERIES. By SAMUEL SMILES. 12mo, Cloth, $1.00 per volume.
+
+ SELF-HELP.--CHARACTER.--THRIFT.--DUTY.
+
+POLITICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. By CHARLES NORDHOFF. 12mo, Half Leather,
+75 cents.
+
+STORIES OF THE GORILLA COUNTRY. By PAUL B. DU CHAILLU. Illustrated.
+12mo, Cloth, $1.50.
+
+THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. By PAUL B. DU CHAILLU. Illustrated. 12mo,
+Cloth, $1.50.
+
+WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. By PAUL B. DU CHAILLU. Illustrated. 12mo,
+Cloth, $1.50.
+
+MY APINGI KINGDOM; with Life in the Great Sahara, and Sketches of the
+Chase of the Ostrich, Hyena, &c. By PAUL B. DU CHAILLU. Illustrated.
+12mo, Cloth, $1.50.
+
+LOST IN THE JUNGLE. By PAUL B. DU CHAILLU. Illustrated. 12mo, Cloth,
+$1.50.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK.
+
+_Any of the foregoing works sent by mail, postage prepaid, to any part
+of the United States or Canada, on receipt of the price._
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Map of South America]
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Boy Travellers in South America, by
+Thomas W. Knox
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 59396 ***
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