The Republican journal., 1903-09-24
IN CENTRAL BOLIVIA.
ruF YOUTHFUL CURE OF CHULUMANI.
FORGOTTEN WEALTH IN ANCIENT
sANCTUARIES


III have visited the Capital of Bolivia,
, mining region or two, and to have
made tour Of observation into one OF
,pe iutorior valleys, is equivalent to
.3,ing seen every rod of the republic:
.,- throughout its vast extent are few
nations, except those caused by al
a,ude in changes of climate and diff
t.rtnt industries pursued by the people.
,s1ery cold is the atmosphere of La
r,1 at an elevation of over $1,000 feet,
,.3t the traveller finds it difficult to be-
ar,e himself really within the tropics
..d 10 realize that were it not for these
n5uutain ranges topped with eternal
snow. the whole country would be like
lungas valley, filled with sunshine
., uXuriant vegetation.
ONulumani, capital of the province
of tngas, is a typical town of interior
e9iyia. With a population of only
uult $500, it covers nearly as much
.,tte as the city of Philadelphia. Hav-
e- been built haphazard up and down
III. Hillside, bird s-eye view makes its
-6..s Of ancient tiles, long since turned
BIS me from dull red to messy green
ra gray, appear to be piled directly on
.G of one another AS in all Spanish
Nh rrica the building material is
h.ue. stone and plaster, very little
wood being used, even the floors being
,-neraly of tiles, brick or cement.
Except the huts of the Indians, all are
-lo.m0us structures, sometimes ram
t,a1 around two or three inner courts;
and though many of them contain
,,tral shops and shelter number of
.udlies, one finds nowhere those com
uY,able little houses, so much in de-
reld in the North which can be fur
Shed at small cost and easily kept in
rler. Here the newly pair
must take a casa large enough for a
arrson. or live in rooms above some
,.op. or remain with the old folks,
ac5rding to their taste and means.
aeIhaps that accounts for the fact
pat most of the great houses are
,saatily furnished, their long and lofty
ailments looking as bare and cheer
-.> as so many town-halls, without a
-up of that cozy home-look which
luerican housewives delight to pro-
ate. Though the Spanish language is
said to be the richest of all that are
spoken. it has no such word as "home,
ANYTHING nearer to it than hogan
-.rthl which really signifies nothing
lat direction, since i'll all South
}erica, among rich and poor, in the
- ands and the lowlands, there is not
arth to sit by, nor stove, CRATE or
... c0ntrivance in which fire may
quilt Tor warmth and cbeerfulness.
.ough Chulumani is the capital OF
important province, it contains
-.er hotel nor tambo: therefore all
-.lers must depend upon private
-utality. Through letters of intro
-tIon our party was received with
... arms into the house of strangers,
s l- several rooms were assigned to
and the best food the land affords
led for our entertainment. The
of it is that ones generous en-
liners would feel grieyouSly insult
. money were offered in return for
Hospitality. Gifts are received,
yer, under the guise of regalos or
.F-nirs of friendship, and one needs
t any about the country regular
lahee peddlar's stock of motions"
ustribute in payment for his board.
I- arrival of strangers, especially OF
M IN these isolated communities, and
Vr walks abroad, though escorted
z .Tefe PoliticO, whose office CORE
sAds to that of Mayor in the United
>.a.es besides the local doctor and the
II the three most influential per-
sas n the district-we were followed
'y gaping crowd which increased at
very turn. Outside of own party
1rle was not an English-speaking per-
"Aiu the whole department of Yungas.
There is nothing of greater interest to
be- seen in Chulumani than the quaint
ea Town itself. The only mandatory,
4 sy it may be called, is an establish
Ment where coca leaves are pressed into
Hluy y-tiye-pound bales by primitive
machine in the hands of four Indians.
t-rle is but one sign board in the city,
and hat is where it is least needed-on
T.t Institute" or Catholic College: a
blue painted strip, whose golden letters
ait II the form of books, with an ink
and stuck full of pens for period.
The girls occupy the lower floor, the
Boy, the upper, and precisely at O'Clock
on very day of the week but Sunday,
school begins, and holds till five in the
'i'rrnoon. The Institute being across
'Ae narrow street directly opposite our
led-Ioom window, we are awakened
every morning by childish voices piping
Catholic hymn; and all day long we
lave the full benefit of the lessons, as
altording to universal custom in these
southern countries, the children study
aloud this one ShOltinp his arithmetic