El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-07-18

A PAZ, Bolivia, July 1S--BeIOre
leaving Washington, I had talk
- with the minister from Bolivia to
the United States. with regard to my
trip 10 this country. Among the other
things he asked me to investigate and
report TO the American people were
the efforts that are now being made TO
start an industrial mission among the
Aymara indians about Lake 1llcaca-
! have been making inquiries as 70
this IN my travels about the 4ahe anu
La Paz, and have found the beginning
Of a work that may form the opening
wedge for the civilization Of millions
You have all heard Of the semi civil
liZed nations who inhabited TINS An
dean plateau shortly after columbus
discovered America at the time the
SpauiarCs came. The whole country
was then peopled with semi civilized
tribes. There were the Chibchas N
Colombia, the Caras and Cnancas OF
Ecuador, the Quichuas Of Peru, lne
Aymaras in Bolivia, and farther souln
the brave Araucanians, who are sara
TO have never been conquered.
The Chibchas were skilled IN WeaV-
ing and the making OF pottery. Iney
had paved highways, and their farming
was carried 10 q high degree OF sue
cess. They had weights ana measures,
and a currency in the form OF gold
disks. The Araucanians had a con-
federacy, and they met In grand coun-
els to decide their public affairs. The
Caras had a high CIVILIZATION Win a
military and tribal organization ana
the Aymaras, who formed the chleL
race OF Bolivia were AKIN 20 ne
Quichuas, those wonderful indians OF
Peru, the subjects Of the meas.
EnsIaVed By Spaninrds-
At the tine the Spaniards came, II
is estimated that there were from ~
TO 40 millions of these indians on the
high plateau Of the Andes 1ney were
enslaved by our Christian white race
and the life was ground out OF tneIn-
As late as 1873 the peruvian lnllahs
are said TO have numbered e,eOOiyvU,
but 200 years later this number had
dropped 10 100000, while mat OF the
whole Incas empire, which mad num- num-
bered 20,00O,0O0, had been cut down
70 less than 100000.
Few Can Read or Write.
Today the CRATER part OF the pOpuia-
ton Of Ecuador is made up OF lnola ans
There are about 100000 Aymaras ana
Quichuas here in Bolivia and there are
more than twice as many, mostly Jul
chuas. in the Peruvian republic All OF
these indians are In low state OF
civilization.
Not one in a hundred Of them can
read or write, and the great majority
are more like animals than like civil
lied men They are mere heWers OF
wood and drawers Of water. Nearly
all are the slaves Of the alcohol habit;
all soak their brains with cocaine, py
chewing the coca leaf, and altogether
tally seems to have departed
They are nominally Catholci but
allied TO their Catholicism are many
superstitiOns connected with the WOr-
ship Of the sun. They have also strange
customs such as eating the dead bodies
Of their enemies, and carrying written
messages 70 the gods when they de- as
! shall describe later on.
These indians live in mud huts scat
tered over the high plateau OF the
Andes. Their nuts are without win
dows. and are lighted only BY the doors,
which are so low that one mas TO stoop
to go in They have matched roofs
made Of the grass Of the pampas- Their
only furnishings are the skins OF alpa-
cas-, uamaS and sheep upon which they
sleep at night, ana IN some cases. a
ledge Of mud, built up across one side
Of the hut as a bed They cook IN clay
pots over a fire Of the droppings Of
uamas- There are no chlmneys ana
the smoke gets out Is II can
Some Of the indians have Locks OF
sheep and own alpacas and llamas- Now
and then you find one who has horses
or donlzevs and cattle. Some are indie
pendent sQuatuers having their nuts
out on the pampas, but many more are
the poems or debt slaves Of the whites
and the half breeds. or Cholos, VINO
own most Of the good land OF the
Andes I have already described the
condition OF these poems in one prov
tnce Of Peru.
some OF the other provinces and also IN
parts Of Bolivia But everywhere the
most OF the indians are little better
than the slaves Of the landowners and
so far as 1 can learn but little attempt
has been made TO elevate them The
Roman Catholic church, which is such
q great force in our country, Is practi-
cally dead as far as any civiliziHg work
is concerned on the Andean plateau,
and its priests have either despaired
Of doing anything with these indians
or they do not care to attempt it
Supported by italian Bequest
The industrial school is supported
by money left by an Italian, one An
tonic Chuiotto, who was converted to
Christianity in the Pencil hall mission
in Los Angeles. He had gone TO the
United States as a young man, had set
tied in California, and had. as under
stand IL, there made little fortune in
milling Later on he emiErated to Ar
gentina, where he lived for a number
Of years He there became interested
IN the uplifting OF the indians Of South
America and when he saw he had not
much longer to live, decided to leave
his money for that purpose, giving il
to the Argentiuians.
There was some difficulty, however,
as to the laws Of Argentina that pre-
vented his making q will TO this end,
he