Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1925-01-28

OF Cuzco, is little changed since the
long ago. The people arethe Quichuas,
the remnant of the once mighty people
who prospered in this highland coun-
try. They are now of Roman Catholic
faith and church tower marks the
site Of each village, oxen and other
domestic animals have been intro
duced; but the crude huts, the home
spun dress, the primitive method of
agriculture, belong to centuries long
past. AT harvest time farming in this
roof garden of the world is most inter-
esting to the traveller. In threshing the
grain the men drive the oxen about in
a circle, encouraging the poor animals
by yanking their tails; in winnowing,
the grain and chaff are blown out
through horn, that the wind may
separate them. A crooked stick is
used in blowing, but what the Quichua
farmer lacks in modern machinery he
makes up in the decorative headdress
of his oxen.
In costume these mountaineers
are most picturesque. Throughout the
Andean highlands the headcovering
changes with the locality, and on the
road to Cuzco it consists of large,
fiat hat, usually of homespun, dyed
bright blue or red. bedecked with tin
sci "a modern innovation). Both men
and women wear this headgear. The
men are attired in knee breeches, short
jackets, and ponchOs; the women in
short skirts and low cut blouses.
They are bare-legged and seem scan
tily clad at an altitude of II 600 feet
above the sea.
In the villages the huts are built Of
mud and thatch, untanned hides cover
the dOorways. Within are no furnish
lngs save the few crude cooking uten-
sis. The head of the household, one
gathers, sleeps on the mat with the
dog and the cat, the rest of the family
close by, no better cared for than his
llamas in the nearby corral.
The graceful llamas little cousins to
the camel, are closely associated with
the Andean highlanders. Domesticat-
ed long ago, they are the best friends
VI Illc iAOunldluGSIS, luI IliSullIS WOOl
for clothing, fuel, bearing burdens pa
tiently, calling for little or no care, as
they Craze by the wayside and require
little water. AS in the days of
Atahualpa, SO today a train of laden
llamas slowly journeys toward CuzcO /;
in the rear a Quichua boy and girl,
both spinning as they walk, using prim-
tive implements. baby strapped to
the young mothers back. The llamas
turn their heads quickly to right and
left, their curious eyes ever shifting
the young man and woman constantly
chew the dried cocoa leaf, which dead
ems hunger, cold, fatigue, and watch
for the flag which cheers, which waves
triumphant on this ancient highway
the little, white flag which marks a
hut where chicha is sold.
Fiesta Days Are "Wet" Days.
Chicha is the Peruvian drink made
from fermented corn. 1t is highly in
toxicating and its victims are legion on
fiesta days. There are about seventy
feast days celebrated annually in Peru,
and the cholos and Quichuas mark
these days less by religious fervor than
by an all consuming passion for chicha.
1t is evidently an acquired taste; it is
as bitter as the Mexican pulque. An
other Peruvian drink is aguardiente, a
strong native brandy.
The fare Of the highlanders is
meager, consisting of maize, chuno, the
frozen potato. cholona, dried goat or
mutton, and quinua. cereal which
thrives at high attitudes. The many
little fields are frightened near har-
vest time by the reddening quinua; its
tall stalks waving like corn. The val
ieYS are narrow, bordered on either
side by steep mountain walls. High
up on the hiIlsides are cultivated
patches, little farms which seem in
danger of falling over into the swiftly
flowing river below. This river is the
Vilcanota cit is born back in the SHOWS
at the Pass of La Rays) beyond Cuzco
it is called the Yucay; farther on, the
Ucayali, and it is the longest formative
branch OF the Amazon. The road fol-
lows the rivers windings and crosses
bridges laid by the Colonial Spaniards
on old Inca foundations.
The travellers first view Of the mas
sive stones of Inca handwoFk is at
the ruins of the Temple of vi:acocha.
about half a mile from the highway.
One great wall alone remains of this
once splendid edifice, said to have
been erected by the eighth Inca ruler.
On this main highway Spanish Is
now the universal tongue, although the
Quichuas cling to their own express
sive language. and their sullen de-
meanor shows their hatred for the
white man and the half-breed. They
speak Spanish when they must, but
most ungraciously.