Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1908-09-09

riage is legal in Bolivia other than
that OF the Roman Catholic church.
Then the Pope rushed his represen-
tative back for fear he would lose
his hold entirely on the country. SO
this reform, for the time being, is
held in allegiance.
The priests have charge Of the
cemeteries here. They divide them
into three parts, one for those going
to Hades, one for those bound for
Purgatory, the other for those who
deserve heavenly home, and it de-
pends entirely on the price paid the
priest as to which section the body
Of the deceased is laid. The govern
ment has recently put a stop to this
practice in La Paz cemeteries, but
the custom still prevails in the re-
mainder Of the country. The church
is as corrupt in Bolivia as it was in
Europe during the middle ages
This Is certainly land Of manana
so far as labor Is concerned. Every
thing is to-morrow-never do it to-
day-and to try to get one Of these
fellows to do anything for you GER
tainly causes one to use language
scriptural in sound though not in
spirit. unless you have the patience
Of Job. All the labor in the country
is worked on the force principle, the
government requiring each Indian
to work two weeks during the year.
Were 1t not for this fact the sections
on the railroads and the mines could
not be operated at all. The labor of
the country is further demoralized
by the great number of fiesta days.
| think they must celebrate the natal
day Of every priest Of note that ever
lived in the country. The drunken
debauchery Of one fiesta day is hard
ly over until another is on. / feel
certain that One-half of the days of
the year are taken up with these
carOuSals. On these days the In
dianS will roast Llamas whole, and
after curious forms Of Carbou's cere-
monies they eat the Llama meat with
their hands (no knives and forks,
every one helping himself, it being
free, the while drinking chicha, a
mild alcoholic drink, at the same
time playing their tom-toms, blow
ing their whistles, and dancing until
they become so intoxicated that they
can no longer stand. The sQuaws on
these occasions, and all others for
that matter, are dressed in the gay
est colors they can obtain. There
must be some distinction Of caste in
wearing a great number of skirts,
for they all wear from six to twelve,
and even more. An acquaintance of
mine was over in Cochabamba some
time ago and heard two young girls
quarreling as to which had the
greater number of skirts. Finally
each one, to prove her contention,
began to remove her skirts. He said
he stood and watched them until
each one had taken off seventeen,
and then turned his face away. The
first statement l do not doubt at all;
the latter l would not vouch for.
This took place on the Plaza Of the
city. but this is not at all unusual,
for these people as whole have no
idea Of ethics, decency or morality
Commercially, La Paz Is quite a
distributing point for Paraguay tea,
while the eastern section Of Bolivia
Is covered with great forests Of Ca
chouch trees, which are just begin
ming to be worked. She also ships
considerable quantities OF cinchona
bark, and | see trains of burros daily
loaded with cocoa leaves. Both Of
these trees are also natives of the
low country. Practically all the ma
tives have formed the habit of chew
ing cocoa leaves. BY adding a little
lime to them they extract the CO.
caine, and OF course they are moth
ing more nor less than cocaine fiends
to a moderate extent
Bolivia's mineral wealth, however,
is decidedly her chief asset; in fact,
she is dependent upon 1t, for as the
price of tin ore varies so does the
price of her money vary. Gold, sill
yer, copper, tin--in fact, every
known mineral-are found here,
some Of them in great quantities,
with one glaring exception, coal. The
railroad company ships coal here
from Australia at a cost of about
$50 per ton. Now since she has her
railroad in operation | believe that
Bolivia Is destined to become the