Omaha daily bee., 1914-08-16

NCopyrlght, 1918, by Frank G. Carpenter }
IA PAIL am amazed at the ais
coveries now being made IN
the baclwoods OF Bolivia.
AlslI Lying in the middle of the
South American continent. sep
arated from the Pacific ocean by a
trackless desert, which belongs to
Chile, with a great wall Of noun
tains and plateaus running through
1t from north to south, Bolivia, until now,
has been practically a hermit land. 1t
has no seaport, and until within the
past generation It had no railway con-
nections with che rest of the world. To-
cay the best part of 1t is unknown
refer to that on the eastern slope OF the
Andes The discoveries so far have been
confined to the high plateau, upheld be-
tween the two ranges of mountains. This
plateau is on the roof of the world. IL is
a great plain as big as tire state of Ohio,
situated at a height of from two and a
half to three miles above the sea. 1t is
walled in by mountains, and is so poorly
watered that it produces only the scanty
grass upon which the alpaeas and liamas
feed. 1t is bleak and barren and the
winds that sweep over It are so cutting
that often wear a face mask to protect
my complexion. This is knitted OF alpaca
wool 1t covers the whole Of my head.
having only small holes for my eyes and
mouth.
Treasure Vault of World.
Nevertheless, this platcu is one OF the
treasure vaults of the world. containing
vast deposits Of silver and gold copper
and tin. West Of this plateau is the
desert, descending into the borax lakes
and nitrate fields Of Chile, and east Of it
is the main wall of the Andes, on the
other side of which are vast plains that
slope gently to the Amazon and Parana
river systems.
Bolivia is a wonderful country. It has
all-told an area of more than 100000
square miles. You could put New Eng
land and all of the middle states and all
the southern states except Texas inside
1t, and there would still be room to spare.
Nevertheless, it has only about as many
people as Chicago and its pure whites
do not number more than the population
of either Memphis, Tenn, or Blrming-
ham, Ala. The country has altogether
something like 100000 SEINE civilized In
dams and some hundreds of thousands of
Cholos or half-breeds. These people all
live on the high plateau of the Andes, a
region that has all the cities and towns,
and that practically includes the whole Of
Bolivia as the world knows 1t today.
Frontier of Country.
East of the Andes is another Bolivia.
This is the frontier or backwoods of the
country. 1t is Inhabited only by a few
thousand savages. Nevertheless 1t con-
tains half of the area of the republic, and
is said to be one of the richest lands in
the world Eastern Bolivia is one-tenth
as large as the United States proper 1t
is equal to six states the size of Illinois,
and is one-third larger than Germany or
France The most Of this vast territory
is well fitted to be the home of a civilized
people. The land consists of fertile plains
that slope from the Andean wall toward
the east, south and north, and gradually
fall to a general level, where the highest
points are only about 900 feet above the
sea- The plain fades away at the north
into the Amazon valley. and at the east
Parana. The country is in fact a con-
tinuation of the great cattle fields Of Ar
gentina, Paraguay and Motto Crosse, and
1t may eventually be one of the great
meat baskets of the United States. The
land already swarms with wild cattle,
and great herds are now feeding along
the banks of the Pilcamayo and on the