Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-07-05

| hlIu 10 the marrow. IN auUlllOQ 10 the
usual programme thunderstorm was
| thrown in for our entertainment, lightning
playing in the clouds below and hollow
echoes reverberating from peak to peak
OF course our animals suffered severely and
were obliged to halt every few moments,
painting painfully; while we, between the
wet and bitter cold, had not breath to
spare with which to urge them onward.
To add to the general melancholy of this
most desolate spot, we passed the body of
dead man lying prone across the road, with
CLASSY eyes staring up to the cherries sky.
| Whether he had been murdered or had
| died from natural causes, we dared not
| pause to investigate, for if the former the
| finders of the corpse might be held for
months in La Paz to give testimony in the
slow process of the Bolivian Courts. A
number of Indians had just discovered the
unfortunate and to their care we left him.
| From time immemorlal these lonely
mountains have been infested with bands
of highwaymen who murder even the poor
Indian on his return to Yungas from the
sale of his little crop of cocoa, for the sake
of the few dollars his half-year's work has
gained. The Indian highwaymen, though
less numerous than those of lighter color
and more cowardly, are much more to be
dreaded, tor they do not fight openly, but
skulk like snakes behind the rocks and
throw a stone at your head from a sling
with unerring accuracy of aim. Their
own battles with one another are always
fought with stones and slings la David
and Goliath and very seldom does an In
dian fail to bring down his man. Some
times, after unusual atrocities have been
perpetrated, troops are sent out to hunt
down the assassins, and then for time
comparative safety is insured A general
robber-hunt had been made shortly before
our journey, in which large number
were captured, and, as soldiers were still
continuing the search, we had no occasion
for fear. In the prison at Chulumani we
saw nine of the newly-captured banditti,
three of whom were women, and a more
Misunderstanding group it were hard to
| find.
On the first days ride from La Paz,
though one is unused to the saddle, the
extraordinary altitude, and the terrible
roads, thirty-three miles must be made to
reach sleeping place, the only alterna-
tive being night in the open air. At in
tervals all along the uninhabited part of
the highway the Government has caused
| places of shelter for man and beast to be
erected. These are called tambos fac
SMILES of the misons of Mexico), and each
in charge of family, who, if well paid
for it, will supply food Tor the mules and
generally something edible for the human
guests. But in every instance the mules
get the best of it. OF course the traveller
has brought his own mattress and blankets.
and store of provisions, and some sort OF
amateur cooking contrivance by which he
can at least make cup of tea. But you
can easily imagine that after long DAYS
ride in the mountains the average ex-
plorer does not feel much in the mood for
| cooking, his first impulse being to tumble
! a mattress down anywhere roll himself up
in blanket, and make mental calcula-
lions Of his blisters ahd bruises, while the
tambo people proceed to prepare for him
whatever they please.
The evening meal, which is called by
courtesy dinner" consists of two things,
viz, coffee and chupe the latter a kind of
thick soup, made of dried sheep which has
been stewed to the tenderness of an old
boot top, mixed with good deal of rice,
various seeds End vegetables, prominent
among which are onions, all made hotter
than SO many spoonfuls of live Goals by
means of red peppers and qjji. 1t is the
national dish of Bolivia, among all classes.
high and low, and thousands of families
s2bsist entirely upon it. OF course the
chupe varies from bad to worse. according
to what the cook is able to put into it. but
is really "not half bad" as the English saw.
when one gets use to it.
Sometimes another dish is added to
The menu; but as rule, if you are so un-
| reasonable as to initiate Oliver Twist in
calling for more, you must supply it from
| your own stores.
Now and then one finds a tambo which
boasts the rare luxury lin these parts) of
| wooden floors; but generally Mother Earth
serves that purpose. Each room is fur
| nlshed with a dirt-coated deal table. a
bench or two, and perhaps a chair may be
| had FOR the asking. Most of them contain
| the barest outlines of bedstead, made of
| poles lashed together and corded up" with
rawhide thongs. But these are such
| denominations in the way of rolling toward
the middle, and of being infested with
every species of bugs known to beds, that
the experienced travele prefers the floor.
with nothing worse than fleas for company,
| 1t Is generally long after dark before one
has reached his tambo and thrown himself
down, thoroughly exhausted while the
mozo and muleteer attend to the animals
and bring inside the luggage, saddles and
all. By and by an Indian slouches in
ragged and dirty beyond degree: or a
bare.le legged boy who has apparently all
his life entertained the aversion of a mad
dog for water-who proceeds to haul out
the dirty table, and tospread.upon it, with
out cloth between, whatever may have
| been prepared in the line of food. The
big bowl of chupe is sure to be steaming
hot, not to mention its all; and if any
other dish is furnished, it is served as a
separate course, with all the ceremony of
Presidential banquet, coffee coming in
after the rest is removed. Bread you
must bring, or go without; butter is not
to be thought of; and it will be well if
your hamper contains few such luxuries.
by waysof change, as canned beet, deviled
ham, and dulcies. Throughout the valley
OF the Iungas boiled bananas are ex-
tensively used in place of bread, and
make a palatable and nourishing SUBJ
stitute.
Soon as the meal is concluded nothing
is to be thought of but needed rest. The
ladies retire to their apartment, the gen
tlemen TO theirs; the arriero and mozo
lay themselves down on guard outside the
door; the mules are tethered not MANY
yards away they probably occupy an adj
joining apartment, precisely like your own,
barring the beds and tables; and eyery
body sleeps the dreamless sleep of the
weary, until aroused next morning bv the
watchful arriero at the first glimmer of
dawning.
Then ones troubles begin afresh. For
example, such an article as washbowl is
an unknown quantity on the road to Yum
gas. After raising sufficient riot In Span
ish, English and Indian a wooden bowl