Omaha daily bee., 1914-05-31

w..
are numbered by the hun.
- dreds of thousands and tho
lkR3CBF most of them are in the dir
~ ~ - est of bondage. This mighty
ma afteau, between the two ranges II
y npuntains is divided into farms pr
n apiendas, owned by the whites. the de-
fndants Of the spaniards, or by the
Z Holos, a mixture of Spaniards and In
AWns. These estates are large. You may
iASe all day across many of them and
not come TO the end OF the property.
Each Of them has a large number OF
Indians upon It and these Indians are
practically the debt slaves of the own
crs. They live in villages or in huts.
scattered over the property The land
belongs to the haciendados ana the In
dans have their huts and small pieces
of land, which are leased to them under
certain conditions. One of these is that
tho Indian must work a part of each
week for his master. He may have cat
tie, llamas, alpacas and sheep, but he
has ts give a certain percentage Of the
increase to the haciendados. There are,
also. fixed rules as to how the stock
must be sold and the estate owner con-
trolls the disposition OF this and of all
the products that the Indians raise. He
practically fixes the prices and he gets
everything for a song, The haciendados
make such advances to the Indian as
keep him in a state of debt slavery. and |
this state is transmitted to his children |
The conditions are different in AZ
ferent provinces and in some places they |
are milder than in others. BIT all over |
the plateau they arc susA that the rel |
man has practically no chance of accu-
muating property or of advancing in |
THE state of civilization.
III have Just had a long talk with a !
0haclendado who lives in Cuzco He !
owns 2Ss,00o acres Of land at Cussipata,
in the province of Paucartando. but he
goes there only during a part of the sum-
mer and spends his money abroad. He !
has a house here at Cuzco, and his In |
dians bring the crops here to market
This mans estate represents about the
worst of the conditions ON the high |
Andes. He was very free in talking about |
them, and he seerns to have no shame in
the part he is taking In them. 1 shall
give our conversation as 1t occurred
Said he:
Land a. Cheap;
GLand here is cheap. The estate at
Ctipata cost us only about cents an
acr. We got the whole, including the
st9ik, which consisted OF a large num-
be- of cattle. alpacas and sheep. for
9So0 soles, or about $4,000 / think we
wfuld sell it for twice that amount to-
day Much OF the land is high. running
uF to 1900 feet above the sea. This is
fitted only for pasture. We have also
s5me which is as low as 10000 feet. upon
yhich barley, potatoes. quinua and other
Srops can be grown. We have big flocks
fof alpacss. and altogether about 5000
fsheep. We have also cattle and horses
| and llamas and donkeys
The most important possession Of the
farm, however, is our Indians. our lands
are valuable not according TO their area.
but according TO the number OF families
OF Indians who have homes upon them
and are therefore Obliged TO work for
the owners The great trouble here Is
7 labor. II we do not have the Indians on
the estates we can get no one to work
them. Therefore we hold them by keep
ing them more or less in debt to us. We
advance money for their expenses, and
also for the purchase of the cattle,
Hamas, alpacas and otherr stock that
they own. This is done from time to
time until they are 90 deep in our debt
they cannot get out We want 20 keep
them in debt, for this is the only way
We can be sure Of holding them to the
lana. The Indian seldom pays his debts.
He has been accustomed for generations
10 our system, and the only way he
could pay would be by getting some
other farmer 10 assume his obligation TO
Us In that case he could move but he
would be only going from one master TO
another"
Indians Practically Enslhved.
y But how do the Indians begin their
life on the FARM" / asked.
They come first TO get homes and
pastures for their stock, as well as to
have lands 20 cultivate. They have no
land Of their own and no money 70 buy
II. so they rent the land OF US As they
have no money, the conditions OF the
rent are that they must work a part OF
j each week for us. According TO my con-
Attracts every Indian man has 10 work
i Tive days for the estate. In his lease he
agrees 10 give all Of his Mondays, Tues
notAys, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fri
}ys to me and to have only Saturday