The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-07-03
and the policeman was bringing the
corpse and the criminals to La Paz
THE STORES OF Ia pAz

ano the policeman was bringing the
corpse and the criminals to La Paz
THE STORES OF LA PAZ.
The stores of La Paz are many and
some carry large stocks Of goods
These are, however, chiefly in the
hands of the Germans, who, here, as
elsewhere, seem to have monopolized
the trade in all foreign goods. The
most OF the smaller stores are in the
hands of the Cholos, or half-breeds.
the offsprirgs Of the Indians and the
whites. These people do the real bust
ness of the city Most of their estab-
hshments are little more than boxes
or holes in the walls. In a space from
SIX to ten feet square a tailoring, a
oressmak1ng, or saddlery store will
be carried on. There are no windows
to these stores. The light comes in
through the door, and you can look
In and see the employer and his hands
at their work. Nearly every merchant
is manufacturer as well. Many Of
the Establishments are managed by
women. All of the fruit of the city is
sold by them, and I doubt if there is a
ch1cha beer saloon in La Paz which
has not it's Cholo woman as proprie-
tor. Chica is, you know, the beer of
the Bolivians
IN THE MARKETS OF LA PAZ.
A vast deal OF the business Of La Paz
Is done in the markets. There is one
square in the center of the city which
is filed with stalls and in which all
week long tine buying and selling goes
On. On Sundays the streets outside Of
this for many blocks are taken up with
market women and everything under
the Bolivian sun Is bought and sold.
1t is Sunday that is the chief market
day of La Paz. Upon that day the In
CLANS come from miles around They
buy little outside of that which they
purchase In the markets, and here we
shall see all the characters of La PaZ,
and its life, better than anywhere else.
We leave our hotel ON the Plaza in the
center of the city and walk past the
police station, down the hill to the point
Where Market street crosses our way at
right angles The streets are filled with
buyers and sellers, and we pick our way
In and out of three blocks of Bolivian
humanity before we take our stand in
the center of living cross of all the
hueS Of thu rainbow made by the
market people and their customers. In
'front.' and behind us, on our right and
On our left, the streets are filled with
these curious people moving to and fro
in waving lines of Kaleidoscope colors
such as you will see nowhere else in the
world.
We talk Of the Oriental hues of
Cairo and Calcutta. La Paz has
dozen different colors to Cairo's one.
and the costumes Of Calcutta would
seem tame if mixed with these about
Us. Reds, yellows, blues and green's
are ever mixing one with the other.
making new combinations every sec
end. The most delicate tints of the
Andean sunsets seem to have been
robbed to furnish the dresses for the
Cholito girls. There are hundreds of
them clad in shawls of rose red and
skirts Of sky blue. There are hun
dredS who wear skirts of sea green
and not few with skirts as red as
the sun at it's setting. Their skirts
ere propped out with hoops, and they
reach only to the full curve Of the
calf. Some of the Cholitos wear shoes
OF bright yellow kid, with Partisan
heels under the insteps, and with high
tops which end, in some cases, in
rose-colored stockings, but more often
the bare skin of a rOSe-colOred leg
There are scores of Indian women in
still brighter dresses carrying bundles
on their backs in striped blanket Of
red, blue, yellow and green, and there
are Indian men and boys wearing
ponchos Of the same gorgeous hues
There are ladies in black, with crepe
shawls wound tightly about their olive
skinned faces, with fur prayer mats
and prayer books in their hands
They have stopped at the markets
on their way home from church, and
some are accompanied by the men of
their families dressed in high black
hats, black clothes and black gloves.
How quiet it is! There Is the hum of
conversation, the chatter of gossip,
and now and then the jangle Of bar
gaining; but the crowd moves in and
out without friction, and though there
are thousands about you hear scarcely
football. buTake a look downward.
Most Of thenfeet about you are bare,
and large number of the Indians
wear leather sandals, which make
hardly sound as their owners pass
over the streets.
THE BOLIVIAN BABY.
What lot of babies there are all
about US. We have to pick our way