The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-04

o. Cerro de Pasco. which is now being
operated by American capital, and also
of the silver mountains at Potosi in Bo-
ltvia. As to gold, Bolivia is one of the
treasure vaults of the universe. It has
already yielded over 81 900 100000 in gold.
and 1t is said TO have tin enough to srrp-
ply the world. In some parts of the
Andes there are also precious stones. CO.
iumbia gives us our most beautiful eIner-
aios, and Brazil was the chief source
OF our diamond supply before the great
mines OF South Africa came to be known.
The Indians of South America
Another field of investiga ton will be
the Indians of South America. We are
prone to look upon our own land as tn,
chief home of the red man. The truth
is, the United States was never thickly
populated before the white man CAM,
and its Indians never surpas assed in num-
bel, 1t is said, more than 100000 Some
authorities put the population at 25000j.
South America has always had millions OF
Indians and they are of as many dit
ferent kinds as we have peoples in Amer
ics. There were the Incas, who were
highly civilized, and who were the rulers
of many other tribes, some of whom
served as hewers of wood and drawers or
water In the north lived The Chibchas.
who had an organized government and
considerable civilization. They Were
they had paved highways and suspension
bridges. They lived in hoases and erect
ed temples, and were also expert at tilliug
the soil
in southern Chile were the Araucanians.
tribe SO brave it is said that it has
never been conquered. And in northern
Peru or Ecuador were the Caras, another
Marlike tribe which had a high civiliza
ton. Today the descendants of these In
dians are mostly in servitude. l shall
some of them in the plateau of Bolivia.
in the Aymaras who Use llamas as their
beasts of burden and who raise the al
pacas from which we get the fine wool
of that name. In Paraguay / shall see
the Guaranis, who have mixed with the
whites and become largely civilized, and
who now own farms and ranches. and in
Pats gonia | may come into contact with
the Tehueiches the 1allest of the rea
men, many of whom are over six feet
and of mighty proportions.
In addition to these there are-sayage
tribes in the Paraguay and Amazon ba>-
,ins, many of whom 90 almost naked
ana some of whom are head hunters.
have had chances to buy heads cured by
Il .ese Indians several times before on
m. travels. and | am told that one can
get a human head, shrtinii to the size OF
fist in some parts of interior Ecuador
for 500.
Big Cities of South America
Wien | Travelled ovar South America
IS years ago the biggest town on the
ctl. .tinent was not larger than the Balt;
moIe OF today. Since then many of the
cities have been incfeas sing more rapidly
than any United States municipality, ana
now there are two cipes of over 1G00.
900. The largest LaJin city of the world
is Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina
and there are few places i'll the word
-.
beauty. At the last census it was largec
than Philadelphia, and 1t is now esti-
mated to contain more than 100000 AT
it, present rate of growth it VIII soon
surpass Chicago. and 1t promises to be
ore of the most beautiful cities of this
hemisphere. Within the past few years
tens of millions of dollars have been
spent upon city improvcner is. The con-
sc sted business sections, have been cut
through to make wide avenues, and mag
nitcent public buildings have been erect
ed. The city has one newspaper building
which is said to have cost s5,OO0,0o0, and
Ii has fine residences and palaces ga
lore.
Rio de Janeiro has now more than
006 600 population, and it has wlthin u
very few years spent more than Sl01.-
Co, 900 or municipal improvements. 1t has
taken advantage of our health work at
Panama and has wiped out every vestise
of yellow fever, so that 1t is now as sa1e
for the traveller as any town of the
world.
Santiago de Chile is growing, and IT'S
famous public park, situated on little
table mountain in the heart of \the CITY,
is one of the wonders or landscape gar
dcning Montevideo is a gem, and there
arc other cities whicn can give points 10
ms in modern civic improvements and in
municipal government
Great Natural Wonders
1t would take more thaa letter TO even
mention the natural wonders oil the eouth
American continent. There is no noun
tain system except the I1inalayas wnieh
compares in grandeur with the mighty
Andes and there is no river which Is
equal in volume and IN IS vast numper
OF navigable tributaries to the Amazon
South America has the highest lakes III
the world. Take Titicaoa, which lies pc
tween Peru and Bolivia. That lake Is TWO
niles straight up in the air above the
level of the sea, and it Is as big s Lake
Erie. 1t has snow-caoped mountains
about it, and its islands are filled with
the ruins of unknown civilizations Ihe
talls of the Parana in eastern Brazil are
ssio to surpass the Niagara in their Won
dcrful features, and the branches oil the
Amazon have mighty casradcs almost uh-
known
Inc (rateWay 10 Suutu h"CiiS
I am sailing tomorrow for the lsthmus
OF Pana "a to see the canal as it looks at
its completion | saw Il lirst more than
IL years ago. Then the French We're IN
charge and they had Sood negroes ~
work. | visited it again when Uncle
Sam began to organize his force under
Engineer Wallace. and Fave peeh on
40 prornd from time to time while the
greatest army of laborers the worio mas
ever known. under Colonel Goethais' mas
been blowing down the mountains ana
a.. '.,,,,,;nc the streams. Tie great ditch
los now separated the continents, but at
the same time it has tied their peoples
ana the countries more closely together,
a,,d r. will for the future be the great
s..teway from one to the ether. My next
,stter will describe it as it looks today
and as it will look when the ships so
through.
Men and Dogs
From the New York Evening Tcle-
grain.
- I~rx -