Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1880-08-05
Peruvian vilIage Life.

Ernest Morris. the young American
naturalist, who is on an exploring tour
along the banks OF the Amazon, draws
this interesting picture of Peruvian
village: The Iquitos of today has a
population of2 800, and il quiet, sleepy
place, AS are all villages on the great
Amazon. The principal business Of the
place is conducted by foreigners, and
their stores are stocked with foreign
articles. all of which, however, are very
dear. For example: Flour is worth
twenty-five dollars per barrel; butter,
in cans, one dollar per pound; coffee,
thirty cents per pound; tea, in cans,
three dollars per pound; shoes, French,
seven 10 ten dollars per pair U never
have seen Il pair OF American-made
shoes on the Amazon); coarse prints,
thirty cents TO fifty cents per yard;
rice, three dollars for twenty. nine
pounds. House rent is very dear,
from ten 10 twenty dollars per
month, but liquors and onions are
cheap. II may be said without exagger-
alton that the Indian population OF
Iquitoes subsists on the last mentioned
articles-onions by day and liquor by
night. The inhabitants amuse them
selves by dancing the fandango. When
a scLoolboy read often Of the Spanish
dance called the fandango, and always
associated with ii a bright starlit night
in the tropics. j dance in open air
under the shadow of the great palms:
young girls with countless fire-fies in
their hair; dark. swarthy-loOking men.
with broad-brim bats. smoking large
cigarettes-all this did | read of. and |
longed TO see this Spanish dance. Since
| have been in Peru ! have witnessed
many of the dances of these people. and
the fandango so called Is, / regret 20 say.
nothing more or Ices in my opinion lhan
a drunken orgy. / have witnessed no
dances under the palms, seen no swaTthy
men, but ! am bound TO say that fire
flies are not wanted 10 set off the beauty
of these Indian girls. Though IquitOs
has no inn, yet two billiard ana gam.
bling saloons are 10 be found, in one Of
which the walls are decorated with
most ianciiul likeness of Columbia sur
rounded by the eagle and shield; her
robe is most gracefully pinned up, and
in her hand she holds bottle which
sets forth on It's label the excellences Of
American champagne. ! mention the
above, as the picture always attracts
great deal of attention, and | have been
repeatedly asked if the senoritas OF my
country were as pretty rs Columbia. I
always answer in the affirmative. The
majority of the inhabitants of Iquitos
are OF Indian OF mixed blood, and in
general appearance differ greatly from
the Indian population of the villages OF
the Lower Amazon. The men are g..
below the average stature, with pale.
sallow compilations, coarse black hair,
and whose deeply sunken eyes tell too
plainly of nights spent in drunken rev.
elry. In all the Brazilian villages on
the Amazon combined / have never seen
one-tenth part of the drunkenness that
witnessed during my stay in Iquitos
As to women, will say but little, lest
| should be called second Gibbon.
who, you will remember, was constantly
writing OF the pretty girls be met with
during his journey through Peru and
Bolivia. Those of 1quitos are beautiful.
and the ease with which they can roll
and smoke a cigarette, drink glass of
liquor and assume modesty will astonish
a stranger. II must be remembered
that the above remarks apply only 70
the Indians and creoles. OF the higher
class | wish TO saw nothing.