The Republican journal., 1903-08-06

III IlSICC lSoSahl SAiNeS 80
ladv's laxative. Nothing equals them
for gentleness and thoronghness.
quite SO broad as Titicaca, was former
ly the Siberia, or Dry Tnrtugas of Peru,
to which criminals were banished for
life, or for stated periods. Besides a
large colony of prisoners, there was,
and still is. an Indian village at one end
of the island. This cramped, but bleak
and barren spot must have been a per
feet Sheol upon earth, in those days
when criminals of all sorts, young and
old, male and female, were herded like
beasts together \ few cents per cap
tia was distributed every morning
among them, with which they might
purchase food enough to sustain life
from the Indians: paying the highest
prices for everything. They were al
lowed to build huts for themselves, the
rudest materials being furnished; but
no provision for fires was made at this
freezing altitude, and as nothing grows
Oh the island, fuel for cooking purposes
had also to be bought of the Indians.
MANS inhumanity to man was never
more forcibly illustrated. 1t is said
that scenes of robbery, murder and
violence were of daily occurrence, the
young and weak having little chance
of retaining tile pittance given by the
government Sometimes number Of
convicts pooled their issues and cooked
over one fire, but more frequently it
happened that the strongest did not
buy fuel at all, but drove away those
who needed it most from the little blaze
they had scrimped themselves of food
to purchase-so true it is that common
suffering does not tend to make good
COMPANIONS, nor WretchedneSS soften
the human heart. So great was the
penalty for assisting prisoner from
the island that it was never attempted:
and to swim any distance in these icy
waters is impossible.
On the mainland nearest to this Tor
tugas is an Aymara village, which few
wears ago numbered nearly a thousand
Indians. A philanthropic English ply
sician, filled with a desire to elevate
the condition of the Aymaras, went,
with his wife and family to live in this
settlement. The Indians, however, re-
scented the intrusion, and one night
murdered the whole family in their
beds. The atrocity was not discovered
for several weeks; not until distant
friends failing to hear from the good
doctor as usual, came over to see how
he was getting along. AS the most dill
gent search failed to discover just who
were the murderers, the Indians shield
ing one another, the governments settled
the matter by sending out body OF
troops who massacred about thirds
of the people of the village, to teach
them better manners in the line of
hospitality.
The saddest of all the islands in Lake
Titicaca is one very near to Puno, call
ed San Estevan Saint Stephen, which
has become Protestant graveyard. 1t
came about in this way: Many years
ago. for some unknown reason, Span
lard who fell during the war for indie
pendence, was buried here. Perhaps
he chose the site himself. A queer old
monument marks the spot, built up of
small. rough stones, in the shape of a
somewhat short and fat Cleopatra S
needle. Close beside this is the grave
of Captain Pemberton, an English skip
per who commanded the first boat on
the lake, and who, being a hereto,
could not be buried in consecrated
ground. 1t is said that even this barren
rock was begrudged him for a burial
place, the pious natives of the vicinity
threatening to dig him up and scatter
his bones abroad, which they doubtless
would have done had he lain in a more
accessible place.
The next addition to this desolate
cemetery was made when Professor
Orion died. The we'll known author
and scientist, from Poughkeepsie,
N. Y. died of consumption brought on
by overwork and the inhospitable eli
mate of this far-away land; and when
he knew that the end was near, re-
ouested that his remains be laid on top
of San Estevan. We made pilgrim
~f l.;
ory, going out from Puno in a canoe,
against the protests of the villagers,
who assured us that we could not pos
sibly land anywhere on the island, it be-
ing completely surrounded by an i'm
passable marsh.
But as a number of Protestant for
eigners have been buried there since
poor orion was laid away for lack of
70 mt thnn1 in tho vi.