The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-10-12


their heads and bore them away to the
corral of the purchaser.
A group of Indians in front of the house
was repairing bit of broken pavement;
and though the workmen numbered half a
dozen and the piace to be mended was
scarcely two yards square, it took all day
TO do it. First they sat down on the ground
and hallowed out the space with short
handled wooden shovels which looked much
like butter ladies, collecting the dirt in
their blanket aprons. This they leisurely
carried away somewhere, returning after
While, their aprons tlled with small stones.
Taen they sat on the ground again and
carefully laid the stones in place, remoy
ing them many times to make them all fit
suugly. and at last pounded each one down
with another stone of the same size. They
have no use here for hammers or mallets
or wheelbarrrows.
One day when acclimatization had some
what ahated
TEE TERRoRs OF slRRocHE
] made pilgrimage through tho town to
an antique arch Oh hilltop, which had
commanded ny admiration from distance.
The most crowEed street of Puno leads
thereto up a sharp deeline, lined on either
side with adobe cottages, whose inmates
focked 10 their doors in amazement. it
takes 3 good deal TO arouse especial inter
est in these constitutionaly sleepy people,
but the rare spectacle Of woman walking
abroad and ulone without the Gust nary
mdato enveIoping her head, will do nore in
that direction than an earthquake could,
being a less common occurrence.
BY dint OF considerable effort and STOP
ping often to recover breath, though the
little hill would hardly he minded were it
not for the altitude of Puno, the goal was
finally reached. How WISH could make
you see that quantity peaceful scene as it
lay spread out in the August sunshine !!
The very tail Old arch, builg of painted and
plastered adobe over The highway leading
to Lima, serves The triple purpose of a gate
TO mark the incorporate limit of Puno, a
monument to some local heroes, who fell in
| the war for Independence, and to advertise
the patriotism of the Jefe Politico under
whose administration it WAS erected. An
Inscription near the top says it was built
in the year 1S4T, in honor of the heroes
aforesaid, whose names are Inscribed to
gether with the battles in which they
inquired. On either side of the road an
adobe wall pulges outir semi-circular form,
with y seat, or high step, all around its
outer edge. Above this, on ootn sides, is q
very wide terrace. also half-moon shaped,
backed By higher wal. with two rows OF
seats, one above the other. The crescent
SNAPPED terrace was originally paved with
small stones, but grass has sprung up
thickly between them, and even found root
IN The dust of years collected on the adobe
seats and walls. Built into the center of
the outer wall, one one side is Il SLAB TO the
memory of the good Jefe Politico.
! WHO FLoURIshED NEARLY FIFTY YEARS AGO:
and in the opposite wall is queer old foun
/ tain, with water running into its adobe
basin from some unknown source.
| Presently BOY came along, leading G
donkey 10 the fountain trough. The little
/ beast scrambled up over the high seats US
! if accucustomed 10 it and drank tflrstily
while the urchin rested himself by lying
/ lat on his stomach and kicking up his bare
+ brown heels. a young chola, with baby
in his aims and another olive branch tag
ging at her heels, sat down near me. The
older child, whom she called Guillermt
/ Spanish for William) in common with all
Peruvian small boys, carried sling with
which he continually SHED pebbles at birds
! beasts, passing pedestrians. or whatever
Glanced TO attract his attention, generally
J hitting the mark amazingly well. Nobody
paid the slightest attention to him, how
ever, and endured the pelting quite as
matter OF course I tried To talk with the
mother, VINO seemed to be inclined to be
an odG mixture Of Indian aud Castilian
was unable to get much information except
such as smiles, shrugs and gestures coulC
convey.
Indians were constantly coming and go
ing-silent, picturesque figures, hurryiol
along bare-footed behind their troops o.
llamas, the latter shy and voiceless a.
! themselves. There is never any stir o.
sound Of labor here as in other countries
Tr,li ora -t.x.rr. rl;J
ing noiselessly on their errands, like tn
stars, ''pnhasting vet unresting.n Close b,
the fountain another road branches off, al
| ancient Inca thoropghfare, as shown by tn
carefully stoned terraces or steps leedin,
up the hillside. Along the highway I
Lima
STRANGE LANDMARKS ARE VISIBLE
at intervals in the distance, each-hal
ceirn, half shrine-built so long ago that o.
whom or for what purpose nobody nov
living can tell us. To this day the moder
Indians decorate them with garlands o
flowers on the recurrence of an annue
fiesta, with some superstitious notion @
pleasing the spirits of their departed al
cestors.
In the outskirts of Puno there is moo
ern monument not unlike those of til
alicieDts in outward appearance, but wit
iiio1Oly- VI years dS
some rascal stole the crucifixes, candle
sticks and other ornaments OF the catht
dral, intending to enrich himself by mel
ing them up into one solid lump of silver
But 10 his infinite disgust they would nc
melt at all, being largely composed of alloy
To get rid of the worthless things he burie
them in the vacant field where they wer
afterwards founn; and by order of til
priests shrine was built over the spot, S
that the sacrilege to the church propert
might be atoned for by the prayers OF til
faithful and money deposited with whic
10 buy new candlesticks.
This mid summer time a. home is th
mid-winter season Of Peru and though IS
within the tropic OF Capricorn the night
and mornings at this altitude are yer
chilly. But between 10 q. m. and 4 o'cloc
p. N. the weather IS perfection
Wrapped in shawls we sit on the verapd;
} taking care to keep in the well sun, thong
that luminary burns and tans one here {
seldom elsewhere. There Is a barley fiel
} in front and for the last week a lazy Cho,
has been pretending to cut it. with shol
scythe that looks like an exaggerated table
: knife, working perhaps five minutes at
time and then requiring half an hours res
Dragon flies are buzzing about and birds i
the barley field are singing short hal
notes, as II they too were subject 10 th
prevailing sirroche. In the distance lie
Lake Titcaca, with it's small amount I
shipping and sacred island and ruined tex