Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1914-05-24
igent and Civilized Are Now Little Better Than Animals


man is rich he may have an extra hut to
store his produce and his implements for the
farm, but as rule he has no more comforts
than the poor.
Many of the huts on the pampas have
small corrals, made of stone or mud. about
them, into which the sheep, llamas and dom
keys are driven at night. Some have little
patches OF potatoes and barley and quinua
nearby Quinua is kind of grain about
as big as the head Of pin, that is grown to
make mush or Cruel. 1t is second cousin
OF the ordinary pigweed of the United
States, and Our department of agriculture
expects to experiment with it, as a staple
American plant.
4'-FaF $Afs IN
And this brings me to the food Of the In
dams. They live very simply, their diet
consisting of mutton or llama meat and DO
tatoes, barley and corn, which they soak
and mash and cook in a stew. They have
also cholona, which is frozen mutton. so
dried that it will last for years. Now and
then they have chicken to eat and some
times beef and pork. In most cases the
chickens and sometimes the pigs sleep in the
employ large numbers of Indians at Cerro
de Pasco and furnish quarters for them at a
low rent have to order a general cleaning
out OF the hogs from the huts every few
weeks, in order to keep the dwellings sani-
tary.
Another food that is used largely by the
Quichuas is chuno, or frozen potatoes.
Chuno looks like bits of bleached bones. but
it is really potatoes which have been frozen
and dried SO that they can be kept for wears
without spelling. The potatoes SO used are
special variety of about the size of base
ball. They are first soaked in water. This
is done at night Early in the morning be-
fore the sun rises they are taken out and
they freeze. They are then covered with
straw to keep off the sun. The next night
they are soaked again and allowed to freeze.
This process is continued from night to
night, After time they grow very soft,
and the skins are trodden off with the bare
feet. They are now white as snow and after
being dried will keep long time They
have to be soaked before cooking and are
usually served as a soup or stew. Some
times they are sliced and eaten with cheese
between the slices in the form of sandwich
wish l could show you these Indians as
| see them by the hundreds about me. They
look as though they had stepped out of the
middle ages. The men wear low-crowned
hats with brims that turn up. They have on
bright-colored ponchos or shawls with their
heads stuck through hole in the middle.
Below the ponchos you can see the short
breeches. These extend to the middle of
the calf and are slit up at one side as far as
the knee. The Indians are barefooted or
have untanned cowskin sandals. Some are
without ponchos and you can see that their
vests are gayly embroidered Not a few
have kind of a nightcap of red blue or
white wool under their hats, and this has
flaps tina; SO fit down over the ears that they
look as if they were really the ears of the
owners.
The women are even more queer. They
all wear hats of homespun of the shape of
pie pan turned up round the rim Their hats
are of bright colors and there is fringe on
each side the pie pan that hangs down over
the ears. The women have long, black hair
often worn in two long braids down the
back, or it may be twisted into a score of
fine braids. They have brght-colored
shawls, gay bodices and very full skirts that
reach almost to the ankles, but which some
times are cut off at the middle of the calf.
These skirts are of bright colors, and one
woman may have half dozen or more, the
inner ones being shorter than those with
out. The women spin and weave the cloth
for these skirts and make them at home.
They wear no stockings or other under