The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-07-24


and there is no chance for the man out of
money to make money by his muscle in
competition with these Indians, who live
like dogs and will work for about 20 cents
of our money per day. Many of them are
good mechanics, and as to bookkeepers and
clerks the markets are overStocked. 1t
takes a large amount of money to travel
here, and without proper supplies the hard
ships are inconceivable. / met last week
two Americans who had been prospecting
in the Benz region Of Bolivia and in the
Carabaya district of Peru. They were the
hardest looking Yankees l have seen, and
their story was harder than their looks.
They had attempted to live off the country,
and had had little more than corn-meal
mush for three months. Some of the time
they were almost starving Notwithstanding
the fact that they had plenty of money with
them For weeks they had to walk through
the rain and sleep at night without fire
in rude Indian huts where at times they
were only admitted because they forced
their way in. There is absolutely no chance
for man to make his expenses as he goes
along, and as for trying to wash enough
gold out of the streams to support him,
this is an impossibility, for the surface
washings. and, in fact. all gold-bearing
been worked over and over by the Indians,
first in the days of the Incas later on when
they were under their Spanish taskmasters,
and since then from year to year for them
selves. The gold regions on the eastern
sides of the Andes are in many cases ma
larious. and those about here are so high
that many cannot stand the rarifed air,
and have soroche. No American can work
9c he oan af nd 0f
who attempt to do so soon give it up. AS
TO the roughness of travel here and in the
Rockies there is no comparison. The passes
of the Andes are over the ridges of the
mountains rather than through valleys, and
passes of 5000 and 1900 feet are common.
Mr.. Bellows told me he crossed the noun
tains in one place at 1900 feet, and that
when he got to the top the other side
seemed straight down, and his trip from
there on was like climbing down the side
of a wall. Some of the roads over the
mountains are by series of steps, and
mules are trained to climb and jump UP
from step to step. In some places the
mules will sit down upon their hind legs
and slide down the mountains, and you are
often in such situation that if you or your
mule makes a misstep you are lost.
TROUBLES OF THE MINER.
Let us look at what it will cost the ordi-
nary American to come here to mine We
will suppose that his purse is lean and that
he travels in the cheapest way If he goes
by steerage from New York to Panama it
will cost him $780, and will need $50 more
for his Storage passage to Moilendo. Il
will cost him $22 for actual expenses from
Mollendo to La Paz, and so far nothing
whatever has been allowed for extras. At
La PaZ he must outfit and here everything
is high. sack of flour will cost him ST.
He will find no baking powder and no ba-
con, and he will have to stock up with such
canned goods as he can find at the highest
prices. The chances that he will de-
eide to live off of the country, and that his
stomach will be turned upside down as soon
as he gets outside of the settled regions
What he will have to eat if he can buy it
will be cholona. This is a sheep, split and
dried whole in the sum- He packs this on
his mule or burrow, and it forms his s:a-
pie food. 1t is exposed to the rain and
then becomes soft A terrible stelch rises
from it, and it looks like putrid meat, as it
really is. Another food that is a staple is
chuno or frozen potatoes dried. These are
much liked by the Indians, but are not rel
isEed by foreigners. Outside of these two
articles you can buy nothing on the road.
At the Indian villages you may sometimes
be able to get vegetables, but no meats.
Game is very scarce, and there is little
wood for cooking except in the regions on
the eastern slopes of the mountains There
is absolutely no fuel for warmth in what
are some of the coolest of climates If you
carry an oil stove you will have to pack
along kerosene for it, and this will cost you
for the Peruvian variety more than 81 per
gallon. Many people cannot realize that it
is cold in South America. 1 am wearing
two suits of underclothing at this moment,
and my feet are in a fur foot warmer like
that we sometimes when out sleighing.
l am only little over 1900 feet above the
sea, in a hotel built of sun-dried brick.
Many of the mining regions are 1900 and
more feet above the sea- there are no
houses whatever and at certain seasons the
winds of the Andes are damp, cold and
bone-breaking. The wind and sun tan you,
and as a result of my rides in the high
lands my face and neck are now the color
of a boiled lobster, while my rosy nose is
peeling off in scales 1 now wear the knit
mask which the natives wear on cold jour
neys. 1t is of brown yarn and so made
that it covers the whole head leaving holes
for the eyes, nose and mouth 1t serves its
purpose, but it makes one look a very
Mephistopheles.
The rainy season is serious time for the
American prospector. The grass on these
high pampas is of a soft, spongy nature It
holds the water, so that going over it is
like walking on wet sponges, and no boots
can keep your feet dry. Rubber cracks and
peels when exposed to it. In the gold re-
gions of the Benz river, where it is warm
er, the rains are heavier, and the vegeta-
ton is so dense that at times you have to
cut your way through with machetes. Some
times it is impossible to make more than
two or three miles a day, and in some re-
gons you find savage Indians who think
you are trespassing upon their territory and
treat you accordingly Most of the above
evils, however, can be materially modified
if not removed. if one has plenty of money,
and for such the opportunities are, l be-
lieve. worthy of serious investigation
FRANK G. CARPENTER.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
What is the population of Monett, Mo-,
and that of Springfield, Mo. ?-J. f.
According to the census of $780, the pop