Sacramento daily record-union., 1890-09-20


, tain seasons, defy the skill of modern Ell
gineers. Strong cables of twisted rawhid,
were stretched from one bank to the other
Issmething after the style of the great sus
pension bridge at Niagara. Poles wert
lashed across traverseiy, covered with
branches, and these were covered with
earth and stones so as to form solid floor
A kind of wicker balustrade was made by
extending other cables along the sides
which were interviewer with branches Of
trees. Some of these old bridges still exist
which are known to be over four hundred
years old. Another way, yet used in many
parts of South America for crossing deep
! ravines and mountain torrents, was to sus-
pend wicker-work basket, or car, on a
single cable, to be drawn by ropes from
side to side
To these conveniences were added sys.
TEN of posts, by which messages and small
packages could be transmitted from one
extremity of the Incas' domain to the
other in an incredibly short time, though
| the Indians of those days possessed no do
mestic animals feeter of foot than man.
The service of these posts was performed
| by runners, stationed in small buildings
erected at easy distances all along the
principal roads, Many of these post
| houses may still be seen, and as a proof
| that these runners were swift, though the
| course was often rugged, it is asserted that
fresh fish caught one day on the sea coast
used to be eaten by the Inca the next day
in Cuzco, more than 800 miles away The
messengers were especially trained for the
service, and wore distinctive uniform.
Each had his allotted station, between
which and the next it was his duty TO
speed along at certain pace and when
near the station at which he had to trans
nit the dispatch or parcel to the next
courier he had to give signal of his ap-
proach, so that the other who was to carry
it farther might be in complete readiness
and no time be lost In these respects
the old times must have been an improve
ment on the present, for letters are fre-
quently lost in the postal service of to-day,
and dispatches going from one part of Bo-
livia to another are liable to be rendered
useless by long delay.
A few years ago, when the Government
extended the Inca road beyond La Paz in
the direction of Obrajes, the work was
begun with religious ceremonies, presided
over by the Bishop, assisted by the priests,
the President, the diplomatic corps and
other prominent personages. In cutting
through hill close to the city the work.
men came upon number of crushed and
buried houses, skeletons, household uten-
sis, ETC., doubtless the work of an earth
quake at some forgotten period.
Along this wonderful mountain high
way the degenerate descendants of those
who built it are everywhere to be seen,
with faces which, in shape and feature,
closely resemble those on the ancient
water,jars dug from the tombs. 1t is
always cool at this altitude, and the In
dians have queer way of warming them
selves by piling all the available covering
upon their heads, leaving the lower ex-
tremities entirely bare. Though nature
has provided each with heavy shock of
coarse hair, like name, he draws a knit
ted cap tightly over his head and ears, and
puts a folded blanket on top of that Both
men and women perambulate the earth
with naked feet, the former with legs also
much exposed to the weather, their short
black trousers slit up above the knee, and
the loose cotton drawers beneath tapping
like patent fans when the wearer walks.
Their adobe huts, brown, solemn and ex-
pressionless, seem of the same piece as
the brown, silent and solemn owners, who.
cultivating their poor farms, driving their
llamas, or sitting by the wayside with
eyes fixed upon vacancy, do not deign to
bestow passing glance upon the traveller
Alternating with acres of stones are
fields of barley, now yellow and ready for
cutting, though at this altitude the stalks
are headless. Other fields, freshly planted
or Just being plowed, are covered with
clouds of blackbirds, industriously search
ing for worms and seeds. Women and
children are digging potatoes that resem-
bic chestnuts in size and color. There is
considerable snow in places between the
potato-hills, but as those tiny bulbs are all
to be frozen before being considered fit to
eat, an extra frost-biting will not make
much difference.
Somewhere toward noon we stop at
wayside tambo for breakfast, an adobe casa
of comfortable size, the corral for mules
and cattle in front, all inciosed, like fort,
within walls of adobe as high as the house.
There are no chairs in the inn, but boxes
turned up on end, with. planks laid across,
serve well enough for seats. The floor of
the eating room is only Mother Earth, I'M
disguised and unadorned; the wall, close
overhead, is a thatch of clean straw, and
the plank table is covered with a strip of
coarse sheeting; but, what is most to the
point for hungry travellers, who have been
riding five hours in the chilly weather on
nothing but a cup of coffee, the breakfast
is much better than might be expected. 1t
consists of cabbage soup, hot though watery;
beef, for which dentists ought to pay
premium, with fried eggs on top; BUTTERFLIES
bread, trifle sour, and coffee; each dish
served with ceremony in separate courses,
to the tune of dollar a head Displayed
for sale, on shelves around the dining
room walls, are tin cans of salmon, sardines,
pickles, ETC., and bottles of native beer,
cognac and other liquors, for the benefit of
those who are willing to pay about ten
prices for inferior articles.
At this typical tambo the horses are
changed; and after half an hours rest we
again tuck our blankets about us and go
bowling along toward Titicaca. On one
side the mountains follow us all the way, a
nearby wall of snowy peaks, their tops
piercing the clouds. Midway between
Illimani and Sorrato, those stupendous
sentinels that stand one at each end of
this journey, rises Potosi, so famous in
the past for its silver mines, whose lesser
hight attains something over q 900 feet.
1t is said that the marvellous richness of
Potosi was first discovered by accident.
Early in the sixteenth century, an In
dian, named Diego Icualca, was chasing a
vicuna on the mountain side, when, hap
pening to slip on the steep ascent, he seized
hold of shrub to steady himself The
bush tore loose from the ground, and what
was the Indians amazement to see a guam
tity of pure silver clinging to its roots
Knowing the rapacity of the Spaniards,
who had already possessed themselves of
the country and were searching it for
treasure, he determined to keep his find a