The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-12-06

The exploration of the mysterious ruins
of Lake Titicaca. in Bolivia, has been the
object of one of the expeditions sent out
by the Pennsylvania Museum, and the
collections representing the first years.
work, from February, 1895, are now dis
played in American Hall, says Stew
art Culin in the Philadelphia Times. This
undertaking, planned by Mis-. Cornelius
Stevenson, supported by small commit
tee, of which DR.. William Pepper has
acted as chairman, and executed by DR..
Max Uhle, trained and skillful explorer
OF the most distinguished reputation, has
yielded the most valuable results.
Lake Titicaca, or Chuquito. occupies
valley or plateau, which forms the most
elevated tableland in the globe, with the
exception of that of Thibet. The lake is
actually $500 feet above the level of the
sea. II has an extent of 1920 square miles
and within it lie several islands, from one
of which, called Titicaca, Nance Capac
and his consort, the great founders OF the
empire OF the Incas, are tabled to have
issued to spread civilization, industry and
government among the surrounding ma
lions. It's irregular shores are lined with
ruins, and near the southern shore, at
Tiahuanaco. are cyclopean remains OF
vast edifices, apparently never ompleted.
In this basin of Lake Titlcaca lived
race known as the Aymara, differing from
the natives southwark. Their language
survives, still spoken by the Indians of the
lake, where also are found remnants of a
savage tribe called Urus, who live among
the reed beds and islam s. Few spots in
the world offer more tempting opportuCi-
ties to both the archaoiogist and eIhnolo-
gist or even the general traveller. The
scenery is wild aud beautiful beyond de-
scription. The inhabitants-a mixture of
various races, chiefly Spaniards with the
Indian natives preserve many traditions
of the past. The ruins are among the most
stupendous on the American continent,
and the soil is so rich in remains of prehis-
toric antiquity that implements, arms and
pottery are yielded by every touch of the
spade. But exploration in this remarka-
BILE land is not without its drawbacks.
Transportation is difficult, the inhabitants
suspicious of exp.o rer>, and the most self
denying effort has been necessary to ac-
cumulate the rich scientific treasures that
are now shown at the university.
Above the long rows of fat cases con-
tanning the objects are a series of photo
graphs illustrating the lake, its ruins and
the existing Indians. The first picture
represents the construction of balsa or
straw boat on the island of Paco. These
are the boats with which the ancient
Indians used to navigate the dangerous
waters of the lake. In the case beneath
are numbers of rounded stones grooved
for straw rope, tie anchors of the balsas
used in the early time. This boat of straw
is nearly identical with boat constructed
by the African natives, to which it fur
nishes curious and interesting parallel.
Among the many arts possessed by the
people of Titicaca was that of working in
metal. Gold, silver, copper, bronze, and
even lead were wrought by casting and
hammering into many useful and orna-
mental forms, as are attested by the
specimens SHOWN. Most numerous are
kind of needle or hairpin called a ''topo,"
usually with hattened head, sometimes
made to represent the head of llama or
bird. One of gold has beaten head three
inches in diameter, with an embossed hG-
man face. These same ornaments are still
made and worn by the Indians in Bolivia
and Peru.
Gold is found very plentifully in the
mountains of Bolivia. but the mines are
not extensively worked through the ex-
pense of reducing the ore. There is shown
in the Royal Museum at Madrid a mass
of native gold found by an Indian near
La Paz that was sold for $11, 269, and it
was doubtless from native gold that the
specimens shown were manufactured.
Silver, however, is the staple product OF
the country, and from Poosi alone, from
the middle OF the sixteenth century down
TO the year 1900, no less than $S23, $50 500
were coined, while the total product of
the Bolivian mines down to that time is
estimated at $1,6I7 ,90l, 018 in 255 years.
The silver specimens comprise many