davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-25

see thousand mules being loaded and I'M
loaded here In 1895 more than $1,000, 900
worth of imports came into Bolivia by way
of Lake Tticaca, and more than $50 UW,
worth of Bolivian goods were shipped out.
There are now steamers once week from
Puno to Chililaya and return, and nearly
all passengers and freight to and from La
Paz, which is, you know, the biggest city
and the commercial capital of Bolivia go
over this route. | am now on my way to
La Paz The city is about forty-five miles
or almost days ride by stage, from here
and all baggage, freight and passengers
are carried there by horses or mules The
United States mail for Bolivia is brought
across Lake Titicaca and carried with
other foreign mail, on a wagon to La Paz.
/ tried to bride the mail carrier to take me
bags was 1.6O0 pounds. and he said that
this was all his eight-horse team could
haul on the gallop, and that must walt for
the stage of tomorrow.
Carried on Mems Backs.
The ship in which 1 crossed Lake Titi-
caca is the largest and finest of the fleet
There are three other steamers belonging
to the Peruvian corporation or English
syndicate which has the monopoly of the
traffic, and in addition they have littI,
steamers which bring copper, silver and
tin up the Desaguadero river from the rich
mining region of Oruro. The Titicaca
steamer line was founded by the Peruvian
government as a part of it's transportation
system, which as l have said before was
the most expensive ever planned or built.
The first steamers cost more than their
weight in silver. They were made in Eng
land and shipped to the Peruvian coast and
thence carried on the backs of men and
mules over the Andes. 1t was ten years
after the ships were landed on the coast
before they got to the lakes, and the En-
gilsh engineers drew salaries during the
delay while bossing the job. One of the
larger ships was afterward cut in two aid
a section of hull fifty feet long inserted.
This work was done by the railroad shops
at Arequipa, and the ship so heightened is
used on the lake today. The smaller steam
eIs ply to and from the lesser ports They
visit most Of the towns upon the coast and
carry freight ana passengers to the numer-
Gus islands.
The Sacred Isles of Lake Tftfcaca.
Lake Titicaca has many beautiful
islands. The most of them are rocky, rag
ged mountain peaks, which have their
bodies under the water and a thin coating
of soil on the rocks above 1t. Eight of
the Islands are Inhabited, and these are
cultivated to the very tops of the noun
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-25

pleted Of all mules with vestige of train
ing. The mass left consisted Of mules who
kicked, mules who lit, mules who didn't
know anything, and a small number of the
half lame and blind
Every old westerner, mule packer and
wagon-train master in the United States
and even down into Mexico, has-c come to
the front under the urgent call for men
who know how to handle four-legged ami
mails. and who could pack with diamond
hitch, or drive big strings of six-mule
wagons. Through the efforts Of these griz-
Fled. sun-tanned westerners, working al
most night and day. not only is the army
of unframed animals becoming efficient
but the army itself has been shaped in
such manner as to be ready to move any
where and at any moment.
The big corrals, with their thousands of
wild and hayward animals, and with typ
tcal cowboys, wearing big hats and big
spurs. astride Of little COW ponies who
whiri and turn and hold back. stin-legged.
as their riders deftiy swing their lariats.
bring back strongly "reminiscences of the
early days Of the west. and one almost
feels the old excitement OF great cattle
roundup.
There has been no time for experimental
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-25

ouracy a seeing mule can land his feet in
the pit of a packers stomach. The first
few times a saddle touches one of these
animated backs IL flies through THE air like
a bomlshell, but IL gets there in ;ine and
stays there. "Cinchirg" or girthing Is dons
by two men: one takes in the slack Of the
strap, and the ether apparently tries. with
his foot planted against the mules weak
ribs. to cut him In two. He only partially
weil-saddled mule always has a fascinating
waist. In experimental packing. tentage.
grain bags something else soft FOR tho
mule to roll on is used. and he makes use
of his opportunities in nine cases out OF
ten.
There comes time when all the work
and worry and fuss are over and the pack
train docilely allows Itself to he packed.
liking a stray kick on the anatomy OF the
packer now and then. to keep in practice.
But for all that. ii is a well-behaved train,
each animal ready to move with a 3ir1-
pound pack twenty or thirty miles a day.
A packers camp Is quite well disci-
plined and orderly a military camp. Tho
men feed and carry the mules to water.
curry them. pack them, take practice
marches. unpack again. care for the sad
dlery, and do hundred things which
mean close application and arduous. hard
work on the part OF every man in the
corps.
The Famous Diamond Hitch.
Tho ability to throw we'll the diamond
and double diamond hitch, with which the
pack is held in position. is the crucial test
for a new packer desiring a job. II can't
be explained IL has to be learned: but q
pack well thrown and hitched wouldn't
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-25
WHY THE SPANISH LIE,
1t Comes Natural to Them, and They
Think They Are Truthful.

From the Pittsburg Times.
1t may thus be entirely possible that
those Spaniards who telling about the
victories at Manila and along the Cuban
coast, and of the distress which the war
is producing in this country, really think
that they are telling the gospel truth and
are lying with clear consciences. 1t is
pretty hard for us to realize this, but anal
ogous reasoning goes far to show that it
is possible. What purports to be the his
tory of all ancient peoples is full Of the
baAdest and most astonishing exaggerations
and the most impossible assertions as TO
their own prowess and the cowardice and
reverses of their enemies. Nearly the whole
business of the modern historian, who I'M
dertakes to present TO us the facts of the
past, is to eliminate the lies.
What is all mythology but a tissue of
poetic lies, and what is all the history OF
the ancient nations but a series of chapters
of hyperbole? Why, even in the books of
Moses and in what we denominate the sa-
! cred writings of the prophets the incredible
slaughter which they allege was inflicted
upon their enemies in the constant wars of
Israel against her enemies surpasses any,
thing that ever occurred in modern times.
though we have the advantage of improved
weapons, and though modern wars have
been fought between countries of vastly
the annals of our own country, we find
that in its earlier history lying about public
affairs was much more prevalent than II is
now. George Washington is now regarded
as a saint, but in his day he was lied about
much more virulently than any modern
statesman.
1t is related that on one occasion a friend
of Gen. Grant read to him a particularly
abusive article, which made the hero of Ap-
pomattox vince, and caused him to wonder
whether really, after all, he had rendered
any worthy services to his country; but
when he learned that II was written not
about him. but about George Wash ington,-
he concluded that he might take some COM
fort in the fact that the old-time liars were
more virulent than those of his generation.
1t is true that the Spaniards bolster them
selves up with lies. and they are very sur
prfsing lies to us; but in measuring them
we must hear in mind that they are built
that way; that they have not arrived at
that stage of enlightenment when they can
realize that the sort of lying. they indulge
in Is useless and that, moreover there is
that In their makeup which often leads
them to imagine that to be the truth which
they wish to be SO.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-25

blocks of black stone, each thirty inches
thick. The stones, like those of the famed
buildings Of Cuzco, were fitted together
without mortar and were so carefully laid
that it was impossible to insert a knife
blade between them. From these ruins
some of the most curious archaeological
relics have been taken, many of the most
valuable having been secured by Prof.
Adobe Bandolier, who is spending his life
In this region as the collector for the New
York Museum.
Professor Bandelier has made many new
discoveries and Investigations about Lake
Titcaca and he is inclined to believe that
the most Of what has been published about
some parts of this region is almost pure
| fiction. He has spent months upon Titicaca
Island. Which some authorities claim was
the Garden of Eden of the Inca mythology,
the spot on which their Adam and Eve first
lived upo1 earth and from which they
started out to found Cuzco and build up
the race. According to this theory our
first parents were the children Of the sun.
There were two of them, Nance Capac
and Mama Oello, his sister-wife. On this
account. SO says Squier, VINO is one Of the
authorities on Lake Titicaca, the Incas
considered this lake and especially Titicaca
Island holy. They built their temples here,
had wonderful palaces, and even brought
soil to the island from the mainland in or
der that corn might be grown upon the
island. This corn, so says one Of the cid
chroniclers, who Professor Bandolier thinks
had very lively imagination, was con-
sacred SO sacred that when grain OF 1t
was put in one OF the public warehouses 1t
sanctified and preserved all other grains
and 1t was also said that a man who could
have as much as one grain of Titicaca
Island corn in his storehouse would not
lack for food during his lifetime. There
are today many ruins on Titicaca Island,
ard the very rock on which Nance Capac
ard his sister-wife stepped when they first
landed from the sun is shown. This rock.
says the same chronicler, was once plated
with gold and kept covered with veil.
The inhabitants of the island are now
chiefly Aymara Indians, who are said to be
descendants Of the tribes who were SO
numerous about Lake Titicaca years ago.
They live in little huts of mud or stone
matched with straw, and show no signs CT
having had gorgeous temples or the more
extensive civilization which they possessed
when the Incas were their masters. They
are Catholics and are superstitious in the
extreme.
Boats of Straw.
How would you like to sail over Lake
Erie in d boat made of straw. I can see a
dozen straw boats from where I am writing.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-25

Some of them are filed with people and
| one has mule, a donkey and llama in
| it in addition to its human freight. The
| captain of each boat is an Aymara Indian.
who stands up as he poles the boat along
| There is a boat over there which has a
straw sail and which is skimming along
over the waves. Those boats are of the
curious craft known as balsas They have
been in use upon this lake for more than
| four hundred years and were found here
when the Spaniards came. Until the steam
ers We're brought in they carried all the
freight on the lake, and they do a large
business today. I can hardly imagine any
thing which looks more insecure. / tried
ride on one of them yesterday and was
surprised to find that I was not turned
out into the water. These balsas are made
OF reeds. which grow in great quantities on
the banks of the lake, and they are, in fact
i RATS formed of rolls of reeds SO tied and
woven together that they keep out the
water. Only roll of reeds about the ton
OF the balsa keeps the passengers in and
they must sit fiat on the floor. These reeds
are also used for making bridges ropes
ana baskets. The people roof their houses
| with them, and they are almost as impor-
tant plants to them as the bamboo is to the
Chinese.
The Llamas of the Andes.
Much of the freight that is brought to
Lake Titicaca is on llamas. The word is
pronounced "yahmah." These animals are
to great extent the freight wagons of
'he AHues. lou see tnem by the hundreds
| everywhere on this 7Titicaca plateau, I
found them loaded with silver ore al the
mines in the mountains of central Peru
| and saw thousands of them feeding upon
the pampaS over which I crossed on nv
way here. They are the most graceful
| beasts have ever seen. They walk along
| the road with their little heads high I'D in
| the air, and seem to tread as though thew
! owned the earth. They have heads like a
camel, bodies like sheep and feet and
| legs much like deer. They are not sulky
| looking, like the camel, and are far more
aristocratic in their actions. When YOU
| load camel he cries like baby. The
| tears roll down his cheeks and as he
| marches off he pouts and pouts and groans
| and groans. The llama carries his burden
| with proud air and pricks up his ears for
| all the world like a skye terrier at every
| new thing he sees. He will carry only so
| much. and the usual load for llama is
| 100 pounds. If you put on more he does
not cry or groan, but calmly kneels down
| and will not move until the load is light
ened II you make him angry he does not
| bite you. as does the camel.
He merely shows his contempt by snit-
ting upon you. 1 would rather be kicked
by government mule than be spat upon
by llama. He chews his cud like a cow
ana has special reservoir somewhere in
his anatomy well stored for such an occa
SIGN. A Hama'S Spite smells worse than
The weapon of the polecat 1t once hit II
Is almost impossible to get the scent our of
your clothes, and no enc wants to be near
you until you have had a bath and a
Change. find, however, that most of the
llamas l have handled are gentle and I
have had good opportunities to study them
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-25

what 1 have been doir for the last day
and night upon Lake Titicaca. As you read
this letter you will be sweltering under the
hot sun of an American summer 1t is al
ways winter upon Lake Titicaca, a cold
wet winter during half the year and a cold
dry winter during the remainder. At some
times the winds from the Andes sweep
over the waters like a blizzard. and at
others it is calm as the Dead sea in mid
summer. The air is now as fresh as a sea
breeze. 1t is cold and bracing but so rare
that L cannot walk fast without my heart
jumping up into my throat Some of you
will soon be going to Mount Washington to
avoid the heat of the city. This great lake
Is more than twice as high up in the air
as the top of Mount Washington and it is
situated amid scenery which is infinitely
more grand Some of you will spend your
vacations Upon our great lakes. This lake
is almost as big as Lake Erie. 1t has a
greater average depth than Lake Superior
ana Its scenery is combina ton of that of
Lakes Lucerne and Geneva in Switzerland
and of our own beautiful Lake Champlain
Our great lakes freeze over during the win
Ter. I1ticaCa never freezes.
nave written of the skies of the Andes
Inose OF Titfcaca have all of the beauties
OF the Andean heavens combined with 9th
ers peculiarly their own. l cannot give vol,
the sense of loftiness one feels here The
SLOuuS use uP ABOUT the SHORES of Titicaca
Ike walls upon which canvas of heavenly
blue hts closely down, so that YOU feed that
beyond those walls there are mighty depths
and that II you should sail through them
you would drop into space. The air is so
clear that you can see for miles Leaving
Puno, Peru, 1 was shown the sacred btue
Island OF TIticaca, fifty miles away and
soon other Islands came into view which
seemed TO noat upon the waters as though
they were balloons or balls and not the out
groupings of the highest mountain chain
rose out of the waters in the shape of a
gigantic mushroom of soft blue yeIve4. an
other looked like a mammoth whale whose
mead and tail stood out high above the
water These were optical illusions due to
lhe popularity of the atmosphere but thew
were phenomena which have never seen
upon other waters
An Unknown Inland Sea-
You know of Lake Titicaca from vour
Biographies They tell you it lies in the
Andes, about half way between the 18th
mus of Panama and Cape Horn u $50 feet
above the sea They represent the lake as
oval in shape and state that it is 100 miles
long, hfty-seven miles wide, and that ii has
an area OF 1000 square miles Some of
these statements are true. Others are all
conjecture The lake has in reality never
been carefully surveyed. 1t has great bays
which have never been sounded and il
winds In and out in places like a river Civ
ing succession of beautiful scenes Of is
lands, mountains and coast. In crossing
from Peru TO Bolivia sailed a distance
of 10 miles over water which was in many
places, the captain said, more than 1 900
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-25
From Invention.

IDvehtfon.
Thanks to the inventors of compact cases
and condensed delicacies, the soldier ana
the soldiers nurse will be able to take
many OF the comforts and conveniences of
civilization with them when they go to the
war. A leather wallet, not much larger
than the ordinary pocketbook. which closes
with a snap lock and lies submissively nat
when closed, is one of these wartime lux
ur1es. 1t has five compartments or ex-
panding pockets for letters, papers, photo
graphs and other things precious to SOL
der and exile. In addition to these are
ten pockets for notepaper, envelopes, tele-
graph blanks, blotters. stamps and elastic.
bands. Each case Is fitted With lock and
key.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-25

tremendous difficulties which confronted
every man from the army quartermaster
down to the wagon driver. Into the great
mule markets of the west and south the
buyers went, and there purchased every
mule that could squeeze through the army
standard. AS fast as they were rounded up
in the corrals, in punches of several hun
dred, they were shipped to coast points,
New Orleans, Mobile and Tampa, until now
the army has quite 1000 mules at it's dis
posal at points of Decentralization.
The vast majority of these mules are as
green as the pastures upon which they
have fed. and the tug of mule war came
with the breaking them in. Every bridle-
wise animal. every one that understood
the yank of a. headline, was instantly in
demand, and the corrals were soon de-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-25

but cooking. and none Of the cities of this
part of the world have chimneys, furnaces.
heating stoves or firepiaces.
On the plateau OF Bolivias In which TIT
caca lies there are got even bushes, and
almost the sole fuel Is composed OF the
droppings OF the llama Every hut has a
pile of this fuel beside lis fireplace, and
the better classes Of houses have special
quarters for 1t. La Baz.. which is city Of
nearly $1,000 people. depends entirely on
the llamas for its fuel, and the steam
which moves the dynamos of the electric
light plant of the city is created by fire
Of llama manure. -
The flesh of the llama iszspongy and not
of agreeable flavor. Stiil, # is eaten by the
Indians and llama stew forms a favorite
dish. There are other animals of the same
class as the llama which live on these
highlands, such as the vicuna pronounced
vicunya), which runs wild, and which is
not SO large but more beautiful than the
llama, and the ALPACA. grown chiefly for
Its wool, and which is herded in fiocks as
we herd our sheep. -
FRANK G. CARPENTER
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-25

IL Il wv 1ANAN <A ASAN l.
mule and his proverb-
ial cussedness are
with us again. The
sight of the heavily
laden wagon trains
moving through the
suffocating dust like
fantastic serpents a
mile long, or the gro
tesque pack-mule
t r a l ms shambling
along with huge and
bullying burdens on
their backs. brings to
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-25

t h A NJ d - A TING
above the clouds.
Floating calmly over
the highest naviSable
waters Of the globe.
Sailing under the
glacial SHOWS of the
loftiest peaks of the
Andes. so near the
sky that heaven ami
earth meet close
around you and
make you think you
are on the very roof
of the world. This is
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-25

Deed no, sab, dom have to go to no
wah." -, ss
But you are liable5:,, SO
mot much amt, sch. JIdone fixed that.
No, sab, it's just impossible for me to do
any fightin'. I gotsmy old woman to 20
ovah to de police csit AM put me unner
dey don't git no fightin' oft O. dis coon. -
Cleveland Plain Dealer ~
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-25
Travelling by Steamboat Way Up in
the Mountains.
some WONDERS OF LAKE TITICACA
A People Who Are Heavily in
Debt to the Llamas.


Special Core dependence of The Evening Star.
Copyrighted. 1898. by Frank c. Carpenter.)
CHILILAYA, Bolivia, May ~, 1898.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-25

come off a mule if il rolled off Pixies Peak
itself Two different saddles are used upon
which the pack is placed: the "apareto."
which consists ri two big rectangular bags
of leather. with little cross-sticks inside,
arranged like baby corduroy road to
hold the bags out to their full distention.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-25
WITH THE LONG EARS
Training the Mule Pack Trains for
the Invasion of Cuba.
TEE Big CORRAL At TAMPA
Selecting the Teams and Breaking
in the Animals.
THE FAMOUS DIAMOND HITCH

Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
TAMPA Fla June 10 1903. |
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-25

and a saddler-who are mounted, and, on
the march, act as a small armed escort.
CeaSelesS ROund of Work.
Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-12-03
soALrEns RrrALlArn.
suits for Libel are Now fiied bv Leading
Ticket Hrokrrs.

st. Louis. Dec. 2.-suks were nled In
she circul, court today by Tleke:
Brokers Fred Manget, Simon Steiner
and Max sehubaok. against John A.
Lee. A. NJ. Compton and Lafayette NJ.
Williams Of the Merchants association
for libel. Each OF ihe deferdaD.s asks
damages In the sum Of 10000.
This IL the heginnlns 81 a united war
nv tleket brokers agiinat what shsy
term the Illegal methods OF railroads
and others 90 drive them out OF bust
The men named US defendants are
memhers Of the central anti-ticke,
scaIplnG committee Of the 81. Louis
Merchars association.
Ex.Judge Chester a. Kfum IL the az.
,orney Tor the plaintiffs.
"The action IL based On the eiatemen,
In an open letter issued by the Central
anti.tlcket scalpers' committee" said
Judge Krum, THE letter was sent out
from Chicago under date OF Nov. 90
Among other things the letter contain.
shr following statements. Mckee
sealpers buy and sell counterfeit ran.
rad gickeis. Ticket snilpers forge and
us. railway Join, agents signature
for the purpose OF MANIPULATING return
portlons OF round trip tickets. Ticket
scalpers encourage theft VI mileage
hooks, clerFymen's permss and ali
sorts of railway passenger transporta.
tIon, Ticket soalpers are constantly
selling stolen, frauiulert aud counter.
fsn alckets across their cour.ers.''
The defendants Compton and Ne.
Williams are located In Chicago.