Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1914-06-14
Streaming Through the Clouds on the Tops Of the
Andes Over the His hest NaVgableL Lake Of the World

and within considerably less than two days
The first stage of the journey is to Are
quipa, whose altitude is about that of Mex
leo City Here one stays over night The
next stage is an all-day ride, during which
you cross pass almost three miles in
height, and then slide down to Lake Tit
caca, where you are still over 1890 feet
above the sea. The third stage is the trip
across the lake, and the fourth is four-hour
ride over the high plateau of Bolivia to the
great basin in which La Paz lies. doubt
whether there is journey on earth that
VIII show as great variety of travel and SO
much magnificent scenery.
Added to this is the side trip to Cuzco.
That is one of the wonder tours of the age.
1t requires two or three days additional.
but it is well worth it, and when our canal is
completed it will be undertaken by thous-
ands of American tourists.
1t seems strange to think of hunting and
fishing in these bleak regions of the high
Andes. Nevertheless, this is one of the
game preserves of the continent. am told
that there are millions of ducks that fire.
quent these lakes. / saw thousands from
the deck OF my steamer as rode across it.
There were teal, snipe and mud hens, and
several other varieties of wild fowl, all so
close that l could have shot them with NV
revolver. One of the chief hunting resorts
is at the mouth of the Desaguadero river.
and am told that the Americans who live
in La Paz frequently go there to hunt, and
that they bring back all the way from 800
to 1900 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 Horace G..
Knowles, our former minister to Bolivia,
has taken up the stocking of the lake with
new varieties, and our fish commission ex-
poets to send here the spawn and young Of
some OF our lake trout, whitefsh and river
salmon. The Bolivian government is inter-
ested in the matter, and it may be that these
high waters will eventually be populated
with the best Of our fnny tribes
AS it is now Titicaca has two varieties
that are especially fine. One is little fish
with an oily flesh that is almost homeless.
Another is somewhat like the sardine, rang
ing in size from six or eight inches to that of
whitehall. This is called the bogus. It
runs in great schools and is caught by the
Indians in nets, much like herring These
fish are cured by means of ovens built of the
little powders gathered from the shores of
the lake. The ovens are heated with the
droppings of the 1lamas as fuel until they
are red hot. They are then thrown down
and the fish are built up in layers of hot
stones. First there is a layer of hot stones
and then layer of fish Next comes a sec
ond layer of hot stones and then second
layer of fish. The pile goes on upward
until the whole catch is one mass of steam
ing flesh After the fish are thoroughly
cured they are carried on the backs of
llamas to La Paz and other faraway
markets.
The boats now used by the natives upon
Lake Titicaca are called balsas. They are
exactly the same as those which were here
when the Spaniards conquered the country,
shortly after Columbus discovered America.
They are made of certain reeds that grow
near the shores in the bed of the lake. These
reeds reach height of 10 or IL feet, and
thickness of a mans finger. They are gath
Sieu W SoAS out III podl anu using long
pole to which knife is attached This is
thrust down to the root of the reed so that
it cuts the reed free from the bed Of the
lake. The reeds are carried to the shore
and there bound with strings of long grass
into rolls which are often Is or 20 feet long.
The rolls are sewed or tied together, form
ing the sides and bottoms of the balsas.
These boats are shaped like a canoe. They
have beautiful curve, and their walls are