The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-06-14

Incas looked upon the solidifed
tears Of the sun.
About six miles from Titicaca Is the
Island ofthe Moon. Tits island IS now
called Coar. In coming to Guaqui. rs
we wound our way around the PENN
sula Of Copocahana, we skirted its
shores. and with our glasses could sec
Tho ruins that still stand on the hill
sides. Here was the Temple OF the
Moon and the palace OF the wife Of
tho Inca, and here also was the great
convent whore lived the virgins of the
7un. The ruins show the remains of
many rooms, surrounding court. They
are high npon terraces. the walls Of
which are pat together without cement.
The stones join as closely as those in
the Notifications of Sacsahuaman. or
In tho temples of Cuzco.
II was inside that convent that were
Kept tho loves of the 1ncas, who also
acted as priestcsscs to the sun AC-
cording to tradition, none could he
admitted 10 this life except maidens
of royal descent, who in their earliest
youth had been placed under the care
OF aged matrons and trained for the
purpose. AZ the girls reached maturi-
" they were obliged TO take an oath
Of perpetual seclusion. and were sup
posed to be the spouscs OF the sun.
Sor,e OF tho records Soy that not even
he emperor was admitted to see them.
but others allege that they are sup
posed TO have been HIS secondary wives
and IN short, his harcm.
The Lake Tit!caca OF to-day is more
interesting than the traditional lake
Of the past. II Is now the halfway
station on one OF the chief high roads
Of traffic from the capital of Bolivia
out to the ocean and northward 70 the
Panama Canal Right here at Gueaui
they are now unloading -four from
California. That -four has come IN the
Andes and over tho lake, and II Is now
being put on the railroad train that
viii take st from here to La Pa3 on
The wharves are stacks of Oregon pine.
ana our ship, tho avari. Is loaded with
ginning machinery and other goods for
Bolivia. The purser Of the boat tells
III" THAT the steamers always run full.
ana that during his last trip he carried
t2".ooo pounds OF tin across to Puno
on its way TO the sea. On our steamer
We had rolls Of paper from tho Unit
cd States for the dailles of the Bolivian
.'*pital. and also the boiler of n rail-
road locomotive destined for an In
terror railroad
The greater part of the freight of
pol:vja is now going this way out 10
the ocean. The distance from La Paz
to Mollcndo on the Pacific Is about
800 miles. and the passenger trip from
one place TO the other costs just 500.
Tlcre IS an additional charge for the
chair car from Mollendo TO Lake IT.
,icacl The trip can now he made very
comfortably and within considera bly
less than two days. The first stage of
the Journey Is to Areauipa, whose al =.
iitud, is about that OF Mexico City.
Here ono STAYS over night. The next
stage is an all-da% ride. during which
YOU cross = pass almost three miles in
height. and then slide down TO Lake
Ttticaca. where you are still over l2,-
50" feet above the sea The third
stage is the trip across the lake, and
the fourth is a four-hour ride over tho
nigh plateau of Bolivia TO tho great
basin I'm which La Paz lies. I doubt
Whether there Is a journey on Garth
that Will show rs great variety of
travel and so much magnificent seen
cry.
Added to this is the side trip to
Cuzco. That's one of the wonder tours
OF the age. II requires two or three
days additional. but II is we'll worth
Il. aHd when our canal Is completed
II viii he undertaken by thousands of
american tourists
|; seems strange to think OF hunt
Ing and fishing in these bleak regions
ot'thc high Andes. Nevertheless. this