The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-05-24
the QuchuasQueer Features Of Life i'm Andean Plateau

roso leaf or liko our wintergroen.
They are picked green. dried and put
up In packages OF twenty-five pounus
each. Such package sells for $2.60.
I bought 10 cents worth to-day mnd
took It home In order to try 1t. Tho
senorita who managed the store
brought out pair of brass scales,
balanced on tho end of beam, and
weighed me out full pound.
chewed some, but 1t had no pcrccpu-
bio effect. probably because ! had not
the ashes or limo TO go with It. l then
made some into n tea. 1t tasted liko
u connection OF hay. and made mo feel
good
AS see how tho Indians live and
work on these cold highlands or tho
Andes, I do not wonder That they are
driven to coca and alcohol to keep off
the blues. Lot me describe Some OK
their houses, scattered over tho PAM
pas They are huts made Of mud. so
rude and squalld that thcy would
hardly be lit for a hog or as stable
for II good American COW. Tho typical
dwelling is about eight or ten feet
In width ana perhaps ten or nftecn
feet long. II Is SO low that rs you
stand outside It your head reaches
above where the matched roof begins.
This building has walls m:.de of cod
or mud, and its roof Is OF straw. tied
to poles or canes 1t has no windows.
and the only DIOR is a holo in tho
wall. so low that You have to stoop
down to go In. In some OF tho hut5
there Is a framework at tho back,
upon which tho family sleep at night.
but in the most Of them, both grown
ups and children lie down on tho
ground and huddlc together to keep
themselves warm. There Is no furni-
ture To be seen, except few llama
skins, which are spread on the floor.
The people sleep In tho Same cloth
Ing that they wear in the daytime, and
they cover themselves with their
ponchos or with the coarse blankets.
tho women weave for the purpose.
The cooking is done on little clay
stove In one corner OF tho hut. and
cattle. which are gathered up and driod
for the purpose. Sometimes a kind OF
peat Is used. and sometimes the stunt
ed vegetation or the pampas Is
chopped out and burnt. The stove
has no chimney, and tho smoke black
ems the roof of the hut and gets out
through the door. There Is no sign
or comfort about such home. There
arc no tables or chairs. 1t IS. In fact.
about az bad as any dog kennel or
pioneer stable we have in America
Indeed. II Is difficult TO believe that
hundreds OF thousands OF human
beings arc born, live and die In these
squalld huts OF the Quichuas. Their
dwellings are the same now that they
nave been for generations, and tho
only difference OF conditions among
them is that some families have SOW
-rai houses. while others have only
one. Where man ls rich he may
nave an extra hut to store his produce
and his Implements for the farm, but
az rule, he has no more comforts
than the poor.
Many OF the huts on tho pampas
nave small corrals. made of stone or
mud. about them, into which the
sheep. llamas and donkcya arc driven
at night Some havo little patches OF
potatoes and barley and quinua near
by. Qulnua Is kind OF n grain about
as big as the head OF a pin, that Is
grown TO make mush or Cruel. 1t Is
second cousin OF the ordinary pig
weed OF the United States. and our
Department Of Agriculture expects
to experiment with IT. as staple
American plant.
| And this brings mo 10 the food Of
tho Indians. They live very simply.
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