Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1891-01-02

SINGULAR EXPERIENCE OF AN AMERI-
CAN IN BOLIVIA.

Man from the United states as Their
Redeemer-People who Are Looking
for Dciiverance from Heaven.
1t is no easy thing to move along in your
regular every day manner and be hailed as
the long looked for Messiah. Such an ex.
perience has only been vouchsafed to few
people IN all this worlds history and there
is perhaps but one of these alive to tell the
interesting story The distinguished indi
vdual referred to is Mi Hinton Rowan
Helper, author of that gigantic scheme
known as the Pan-American railway, and
his experience, never before published, was
certainly remarkable. The narrative, in
Mr.. Helpers own words, is as follows:
One of the never-to- be-forgotten and
truly bewildering adventures of my first
journey across the continent of South
America from Montevideo on the Atlantic
to Callao on the Pacific, in lSIl-2 occurred
in central Bolivia, within few hours af-
ter my entrance among one of the many
sub-trbes of Quichua Indians in that An
dream republic, where a dearly cherished
but ridiculously absurd tradition is cur
rent that the ancient rule of the Incas is
soon to be re-established in perpetuity
among all the autochthonous inhabitants
of Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Chill.
This mighty change for the better, as
they say, is to be brought about solely
through the Irresistible wisdom and PROV
ess of heavenly and most adorable being
in the form of an elderly white man with
snow white hair and blue eyes, though not
of Spanish blood.
Through the particular section of Bo-
livia, of which | am now speaking, only
two white men, not Spanish or of Spanish
descent Zone Frenchman, the other a Ger
NAM, had ever preceded me; but as both
of them were comparatively young and
short, with dark hair and hazel eyes, nei
ther was 50 fortunate, or rather unfortu-
nate, as to be mistaken for messiah, Not
so with reference to the matcrialistic and
unsuspecting protector of the Pan Ameri-
can railway, whose stature, hair, eyes and
seeming age (though he was then in fact
only in his 4lst year, but because of his
cotton resembling hair easily mistaken for
seXagenarian) answered well, in every
outward appearance at least, to all the re-
qurements of the copper colored and coun
terfet prophecy.
THE IMPULsIvE DIVINITY STUDENT
One of the most hopeful and gushing
students of divinity, who was evidently af
ilicted with a lively and egotistical ambi
ton to become the first beholder and pro
claimcr of the promised savior, was a
barefooted and barelegged fellow about %
years of age, whose sacerdotal vestments
consisted of only three articles-a coarse
hat plated of barley straw, chintz shirt
checked in pink and white squares and a
pair OF blue denim overalls that reached
less than three inches below the knees: all
of which seemed to have been worn sew
iected to any process of washing or clean
ing.
He it was, this Quichua candidate for
holy orders, who, also mounted on mule
back but without saddle and using only
a rope bride, met me in the public path
for roads in that rough region are as yet
unknown
Quickly and abruptly stopping right in
front of me, causing my own mule to halt,
the aforementioned sprig of Quichua saint
lnps+ stared me full in the face with dis
tended eyes and with Il profoundly amazed
and reverential mien. Then, hastily dis
mounting, he fell on his knees before me,
threw up both Of his hands toward heaven,
uttered several brief and spaSmodc eXcla,
nations in his own vernacular- which
could not prehend-nervously arose,
remounted his beast, and with the great
est possible speed, dashed back toward his
native village, six miles away
He eXctedly announced to his people
as ignorant and degraded and good for
nothing as himself-that their long prom
Used redeemer, whom he had but just met
two leagues distant, was coming and that
they should all join him at once in going
out to greet and adore the gracious god
who would so soon, in accordance with the
declarations of their inspired prophets, re
move from them the Spanish yoke and re-
store to all the Quichuas, us likewise to all
the inferior tribes affiliated with them, the
mild and beneficent government of the
! lncas.
FOLLOW THEIR LEADER