Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-07-02

salem and of Seoul the capital of Corea.
None OF them is over fifty feet high. La
Paz has walls thousand feet high, and
upon ore side of It towers the famed snow
capped peak of Illimani one of the three
highest of the Andes, which kisses the
morning and evening suns at an altitude of
moro tnan four miles above the sea. Man
made the walls of other cities. God made
the walls of La Paz. The great Bolivian
plateau. which stretches away to the north
and south almost level as the waters of
Lake Titicaca, abruptly drops at La Paz
so as 10 form here basin which by actual
measurements is about 1000 feet deep In
this basin the city is built and the green
precipitous slopes form it's walls except on
one side. where the Andes. ragged and
torn. rise in rugged grandeur in all the
colors of the Colorado Canon Coming to
La Paz on the stage from Lake Titicaca
you ride for forty-ffye miles across plain,
by villages of mud huts. through little
farms of barley. quinoa and potatoes. On
one side of you is the mountain wall of the
great Sorati range. the highest of the
Andes, and you gallop on and over
seemingly endless plain. The team is one
OF eight mules. changed every three hours.
II You sit with the driver, as | did YOU
grow tired at last and look in vain through
The clear air for the city. 1t is nowhere In
sight At last on the brink of a precpice
the mules are pulled back on their
launches. tie stage stops and there below
you lies La Paz. 1t Is SO far down that
you can make out only the outlines You
see plain covered with terra cotta-roofed
houses. jumbled together along narrow
streets Here and there is a church, at one
end Is the big white building which forms
the peniteatiary. and just under you the
walled Enclosure made of white pigeon holes
IL winch the dead La Pazites are slowed
away at 50 much rent per year until their
descendants forget to pay and the holes are
wanted Tor the generations to come The
stage winds about over a road that curves
IN and out In loops and figure SIS in getting
down 10 the city. You see parallel roads
lar below you. and at last. having left the
heights. Callop over the cobble-stone pave
n-ents Of La Paz- The town you now find
10 be one OF hills and valleys. Its streets
90 ~ and down and the altitude is such
that you can walk but a very few steps
without stopping to breathe.
A Perpetual Masquerade.
The sights of La Paz form a perpetual
masquerade Of bright colors and curious
scenes. The very houses look as though
they were intended for the stage rather
than real life. The roofs of terra Gotta
tiles look 50 elan in the clear air that Won
can count every piece of which they are
made The walls of the houses are paint
ed in the most delicate tints OF pink. sky
blue. lavender. yellow, creams and green
ihey are of one and two stories so open
To the street that you can see much that
goes on within. The coIors on the streets
are even brighter than those of the houses
There are an the city at least five Indians
to every white. and these dress in the
brightest reds. yellows blues and greens
that aniline dyes combined with the Indian
taste for the gaudy can make. The es-
pecially bright garment is the poncho or
blanket. with a hole in the center for the
neck. which every Indian man and boy
wears The Sc are usually colored in stripes
and are worn almost constantly day and
night. Every Indian has also a bright-coI-
ored knit cap with knit ear flaps hanging
down ON each side OF his face, and he some
times has in addition black felt hat He
wears pantaloonS which make one think
OF the days when our girls padded their
hips and panniers Were in vogue His pam
falcons are cut full at the hips and the
tops of the pockets stick wide out at each
side. The legs of the trousers are full and
from the knee down at the back they are
slit wide apart. showing what at first seem
to be wide drawers. which flop about the
ankles. Investigate them. however. and
You ind they are drawers made on the
dickey shirt order, or merely a half leg of
white cotton sewed fast to the inside of
t.e legs of the trousers. in order that he
may the easier Foil up the latter when In
the wet grass or crossing a stream. The
Indian women wear hats and their dressec
are as gaudy as the blankets of the men,