Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-06-14
yer Highest Navigabl@ Lake of the World

of Copocabana, we skirted its shores, and
with our glasses could see the ruins that
still stand on the hillsides. Here was the
Temple of the Moon and the palace Of tho
wife OF the Inca, and here also was the
great convent where lived the virgins Of
the sun. The ruins show the remains Of
many rooms. surrounding a court They
are high upon terraces, the walls OF
which are put together without cement.
The stones join as closely as those In the
Notifications of Sacsahuaman, or in the
temples of CuZco. =
1t was inside that convent that were
kept the loves of the Incas, who also act
ed as priestesSes to the sun. According
to tradition, none could be admitted to
this life except maidens of royal descent.
who in their earliest youth had been
placed under the care of aged matrons
and trained for the purpose. AS the girls
reached maturity they were obliged to
take s-n oath of perpetual secluson and
were supposed to be the spouses of the
sun. Some of the records say that not
even the emperor was admitted to see
them, but others allege that they are sup
posed to have been his secondary wives
and, in short, his harem.
The Lake Titicaca of today is more In
teresting than the traditional lake of the
past. 1t is now the halfway station on
one of the chief high roads of traffic from
the capital of Bolivia out to the ocean
and northward to the Panama canal
Right here at Guaqui they are now I'M
loading flour from California. That flour
has come up the Andes and over the
lake. and it is now being put on the rail-
road train that will take it from here to
La Paz. On the wharves are stacks OF
Oregon pine. and our ship. the Yavari. Is
loaded with mining machinery and other
goods for Bolivia. The purser of the boat
tells me that the steamers always run
full. and that during his last trip he car
ried 10000 pounds of tin across to Puno
on its way to the sea On our steamer
We had rolls of paper from the United
States for the dailies of the Bolivian
capital, and also the boiler of railroad
locomotive destined for an interior rail.
road.
The greater part of the freight of Boz
livia is now going this way out 10 thu
ocean. The distance from La PaZ to MOI
lendo on the Pacific is about 800 miles,
and the passenger trip from one place t.r
the other costs just $40. There is an ads
ditional charge for the chair car fron
Mollendo to Lake Tit!caca. The trip cap
now be made very comfortably and with =
considerably less than two days The hrsc
stage of the journey is to Arequipa, whose.
altitude is about that of Mexico lily
Here one stays over night. The nexI
stage is an all-day ride, during which Noa
cross a pass almost three miles in heirht.
and then slide down to Lake Titlcac1.
where YOU are still over i2>nJ feet apo
the ser. The third sage IS the trip aero
the lake, and the fourth IS tomr-nour
ride over the high plateau of Bolivia q
the great basin III which La Paz lies.
doubt whether there is a Journey on Carte
that will show as great variety OF.
travel and so mach magnificent scenery :.
Added to this is the side trip to GuZcos.
That is one of the wonder tours OF tno
age. 1t requires two or three days adoi.
tional but it is We'll worth it. and when
our canal is completed it will be under.
taken by thousands of American touristsS
1t seems strange to think of hunting
and fishing in these bleak regions of the
high Andes Nevertheless, this is one oil
the game preserves of the continent.
am told that there are millions of duck
that frequent these lakes. / saw thou
sands from the deck of my steamer as
rode across it. There were teal, snipJ
and mud hens, and several other varie1
ties of wild fowl. all SO close that coulo
have shot them with my revolver One OF
the chief hunting resorts is at the mouth
of the Desaguadero river, and L am told
that the Americans who live in La Paz
frequently go there to hunt, and that
they bring back all the way from S0i
to 1880 ducks at one trip. There is plenty
of deer in the mountains near the lake..
and other fine hunting. -.
Titicaca has some fish, but none game.
enough to attract sportsmen. Mr.. Horace.
G. Knowles. our former minister to Boz.
livia, has taken up the stocking of the.
lake with new varieties, and our fish conn.,
mission expects to send here the spawn.
whitefisla and river salmon. The Bolivian
government is interested in the matter.
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