Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-10
WOMEN OF BOLIVIA
STURDIEST IN THE WORLD, SAYS
AN AMERICAN TRAVELLER.
Little Meat Eaten in the Republic
Fruit and Grain Principal
Food

| From the New York Tribune.
The sturdest women of the world are
probably the women of Bolivia" said a
traveller yesterday who, with a party of
young men, recently returned from visit
to that country. THE people of Bolivia are
| or necessity mainly vegetarian in their diet
1or beer is scarce, and consequently very
expensive. In fact. the beef to be had there
is not good. for the country is mountain
Gus and all OF the cattle develop hard mus
cles. This is especially true of the sheep,
which are trained athletes The mutton
has the consistency Of rubber and is as
tough as leather. Northerners who are in
i the habit of depending on meat find no
satisfaction in steaks, chops and roasts in
Bolivia. We Jared we'll without meat after
beef which was at all possible was the ten
derloin, and even that was not so palatable
as the fruits and vegetables.
How Fruits Are Prepared.
Delicious fruits at low prices abound in
the markets of Bolivia. The breakfasts
consist of fruit, and plenty of it. We had
bananas, prickly pears, or tunas, which are
| the best of the native fruits, and of which
one can buy ten for a cent; peaches, grapes.
luscious Strawberries. fresh figs, fragrant
pineapples. alligator pears, chirimoyas
pepinos and star apples.
Chirimoyas have a soft, sweet pulp and
large black seeds, and are inclosed in
thick skin. They are broken in halves and
eaten with spoon. Pepinos grow on palm
| trees, and look like cucumbers on the out
side, but inside are much like muskmeons
with thick, very sweet pulp These must
be cut first to let the milky juice out. They
are then eaten like a cantaloupe. The star
apple is a fine fruit. 1t is beautiful to look
at. about the size of an apple. and has a
smooth and shining skin, graduating in
color from light purple at one end to
DARK shade at the other. When the thick,
leathery skin Is broken open the center is
found to be pure white, the pulp becoming
darker toward the outer skin until it is a
deep purple next to it. The pulp is soft and
milky.
most popular are quinua and canagua The
former Is white and the latter black. The
grains are smaller than rice. but somewhat
like it. Qunua is washed and boiled in
milk 1t is considered very wholesome
Canagua is toasted and ground into black
flour and eaten after it is soaked in water
or made into drink resembling coffee An
other cereal, sort of barley appears in ALI
the shades of the rainbow, q phenomenon
no one seems able to explain. Potatoes
grow In the same varied tints.
Coffee Like Oil.
"All kinds Of vegetables grow luxuriantty
In the fertile valleys. and the people seem
to live wholly on them, the cereals and the
fruits. Coffee is made exceedingly strong
and is almost like Oil in character. It has
a different color and different aroma
from the coffee known here. In the course
of time one grows to like 1t, although the
only milk to be had to drink in it is
American condensed milk.
Chickens and ducks, native fish and i'm
ported corned beef are the popular meat
and fish courses Of dinner Mutton stew
or broth Is about the only thing to be had
as a soup. Chickens are the special feast
day piece de resistance and are raised by
all classes of people. The bread Is coarse
and made of dark wheat. The imported
canned meats and fish are more popular
than the home products Of the same kind
The ice crop never fails, and there is no
lee trust In Bolivia. Ice is obtained in
abundance from the immense glacier fields
In the upper ranges Of the mountains
which supply the markets throughout the
year from their solid beds and columns of
Ice. Living in Bolivia is cheap. We lived
luxuriously in La Paz the capital of the
country, at the best hotel for SIS a week
each for room and board Most of the ma
tives have gardens. and their expenses
must be reduced to the minimum
Women in business.
1.-The women keep the shops and the mar
kets. and some Of them are rich. owning
their own plantations. on which they raise
fruit vegetables, chickens, ducks, rabbits
etc. They have the right to acquire their