Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-11-14
TRADE WITH UYUN I
NO PLACE HAS SHARPER CON-
TRAsTs OF TEMPERATURE.
Tombs Four Centuries Old - Indians
That Antedate the Incas-Never
Dislodged From Around La Paz.
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.

| life, with crust of the old Spanish civil
| ization. The crust is thin In continuing
| my journey through the interior from Tu-
! piza northward have felt that it was TAX
| ing me pretty close to the native races.
Tupiza itself Is more than a pretty vii
| lage. 1t is town of commercial impor-
| lance, the distributing center Of southern
Bolivia. No traveller who chances that way
| ever will forget it's foliage. The banks Of
| the river and the whole valley are lined
| with weeping willows of the brightest green
| that 1t is possible to conceive. The velvet
verdure of the tropics, of which so much is
heard, is dull drab compared with it.
| Some day the artist with his brush will find
| his way into those remote regions and pic
| ture those willow trees against the back
| ground of the brown granite tanks of the
mountains. II he also have the inspiration
| to transfer to canvas one of those sunsets
| changing from silver gray to azure and
| then bursting into a flaming prairie fire in
| the skies, he surely will have fame.
The town las a government building in
very good taste, and barn of church in
| very bad taste. The. government building
contains the custom house, post office, ma
tional telegraph and barracks for the SOL
dlers. The latter are chunky Indian lads, in
| plaid gray uniforms faced with scarlet. In
| spite of their stolid looks, they are alert
and attentive.
Business Transacted Under a Tree.
During the day the public business is
| transacted under. a spreading tree in the
plaza opposite the custom house. The foun-
| tain in the middle Of the plaza gives the
best means of seeing the natives. for they
| throng it with their water jars and the Cos
| sip of the day is exchanged by the women
while the men shamble along. Some of the
natives of the pure Indian but more
aDDear to he of mixed blood
rode from TupiZa to Uyuni in four days,
pushing the mules hard all the time, and
wishing to meet the American mining en-
g1neer who told me few months ago on
Pacific coast steamer that the trip was an
ea sy one and could be made comfortably in
+ three days. The compensation for the hard
ship is the variety and grandeur of the
mountain scenery though there are also
dispiriting plains to be crossed, sandy and
barren of vegetation except for stunted
growth of fir brush.
Large Trade Carried On.
Notwithstanding the difficulties of transit
a large trade is carried on between Uyuni
end Tupza. was constantly meeting or
passing freight trains. These freight trains
are composed of mules. burros or llamas
The mule carries 200 to go pounds even in
these attitudes, and makes the quickest
time, but has to have good fodder and
plenty of it, so the animal is too expensive
the favorites. They browse on the almost
invisible vegetation. One of them can carry
100 pounds. They are slow, but they have
great endurance Two well-grown boys, or
often d father and son, sometimes a hus-
band and wife, trudge along with a troop
of them.
With the natives the preference is decid-
edly for the llamas. These animals-cousins
to the camelS-are a marked contrast to
the Flooding, detected burros. A troop or
drove, of them presents a most lively ap
pearance. l have seen them all the way
from Argentina and never have ceased to
admire them Their bodies are as large as
ponies. 1t is their long, graceful necks that
give them their characteristics. They have
heads like the deer With their eyes dlated
their nostrils distended they are all anima-
ton. They have the curiosity of a woman
Their attitude always is attention" Only
the natives can manage them. AS with the
mules, the leaders or guides wear bells.
Once under way they move with military
precision, like company of soldiers on the
march. The llama carries from sixty to
seventy-fve pounds. He can't be overload
ed, for when the burden is too much he lies
down and refuses to move until it is light
ened. He seems to travel rapidly but on
long journey the burro beats him by one
half. Two natives will manage a drove of
fifty llamas.
From the tambo, or night lodging place,
at Amachuma, which lies in hollow
there was two hours ride up and across
chalk-white hills. and then a dark ribbon
stretched out on vast white plain below.
THAT is Uyuni." The great salt plain and
lake beyond appeared on the horizon like
frozen, SnOw-covered sea.
A Fine Prospect.
For the first time in a fortnight my ar
riero showed enthusiasm. See, senior" he
exclaimed, there Ito the south 400 miles)
is Antofagasta; there Ito the north) is
Oruro; up there Potosi (silver mines);
here Huanchaca (tin mines) but there is
no water in Uyuni for my mules"
The cemetery and the railroad yards are
the most prominent features of the town.
The railroad is inclosed within a CORFU
gated tin fence. The streets at all times
are filled with droves of burros and llamas
| loading and unloading freight Uyuni is a
kind of staked plains metropolis with a
permanent population of 2,5OO and is of
recent growth. It exists because there had
to be town to supply the mines and the
surrounding population. The warehouses
are extensive and carry many American
goods.
Climate of Uyuni.
Uyuni is almost 10000 feet above sea
level, but is cold enough to be in the re-
gion Of perpetual snow. 1t is said that no
place in the world presents sharper con-
trasts of temperature, and I can readily
credit this. My thermometer had been
broken day or two before my arrival and
l took no local observations, yet though
the spring was we'll advanced the nights
were uncomfortably cold.
A mining engineer told me that in July
| (midwinter) he had noted temperature
of 81 degrees centigrade, or nearly % de-
grees Fahrenheit, in the afternoon, and IS
degrees below zero centigrade, or just
about zero Fahrenheit at o'clock the
next morning. They tell many stories of
people taking hot-water bottles to bed at
night and being awakened by freezing feet
to fnd that the glass is shattered and
solid ice bottle remains. I do not vouch
for these stories, but between the cold air
which sweeps down from the snow-covered
mountains and the freezing winds from
the salt plains Uyuni certainly never will
be summer resort
The district is purely a mining one. The
Huanchaca tin and silver mines are the
best known, but others are profitable The
local judge, who is an enthusiast on min
| eral resources, drew a rough map for me
| and marked 1t off with his index finger.