A Tour Through South America

by A. S. Forrest

After these picturesque, though lurid happenings, the history of Peru, like that of all the other South American Republics, becomes monotonous. The colonial period resolves itself into a record of oppressive taxation, rigidly exacted, and patiently borne; and events do not begin to move again until the declaration of independence in the early part of the nineteenth century. For the establishment of its freedom, Peru has much to thank the great Bolivar, and that modern Peruvians have not forgotten the invaluable services which the Liberator rendered their fathers the fine equestrian statue of him in the square at Lima testifies.

But Peru has much to show the rambler in addition to the relics of its impressive past. As already intimated, it is a country of marvels, and not all of them are supplied by Incan civilisation. The Indians who preceded that regime were also possessed of quaint and curious knowledge. Amongst other things, they knew how to reduce the human head from its natural size to about four inches. The object of this strange craft was obvious. Just as the Indian of North America carried the scalps of his foes at his belt, so the Indian of North Peru carried the reduced heads of his victims strung together to show his warlike prowess.

The modus operandi of this gruesome process was as follows: The severed head was boiled in an infusion of forest plants, so as to soften the bones, which were then taken out. The head was afterwards hung up, and hot pebbles constantly placed inside until the skin was dried and the required size attained.

The custom is not confined to Peru, but is practised by savage tribes in other parts of northern South America. There is in the British Museum a reduced head from Venezuela, which was presented by Mr. Fagan, British Minister in Caracas. The human likeness of the features in these miniature heads is wonderfully retained and has a most weird appearance. It is not only savage heads that are treated in this barbarous fashion. At least one of the preserved heads which have been brought to Europe bears unmistakable evidence of its having belonged to a white man—probably some wretched adventurer who lost his way in the forest and perished at the hands of these fiendishly ingenious savages.

Railways rise steadily from sea-level with an average grade of about four per cent, clinging to, or boring through, solid rock throughout almost the entire distance, to the highest point at Ticlio, 15,665 feet. The short branch from Ticlio to the mining camp of Morococha, beautiful with its many lakes and glaciers, crosses the range at the stupendous altitude of 15,865 feet above sea-level, which is somewhat higher than the summit of Mont Blanc. The Central Railway of Peru is, therefore, the highest railway in the world. It need hardly be said that the intrepid builders of this unique mountain railway surmounted some of the greatest obstacles ever encountered in the history of engineering.

A REDUCED HUMAN HEAD.

To revert to politics, the sore feeling engendered by the war between Chili and Peru has been much embittered by the conduct of Chili in the case of the Tacna and Arica provinces.

It has often been said that treaties between nations are only made to be torn up, and this is evidently how Chili regards them. By the Treaty of Ancon, which was signed after the war on October 20th, 1883, the province of Tarapaca, which is extremely rich in nitrates, was ceded to Chili, while the provinces of Tacna and Arica were to remain in the possession of Chili for ten years as from the date of the treaty. At the end of that time, a plebiscite of the inhabitants of the provinces was to be taken on the point whether they preferred the territory to remain under the sovereignty of Chili. The clause in the treaty concludes: “The country in whose favour the provinces be annexed shall pay to the other the sum of £1,000,000.” Although twenty-nine years have passed since the signing of that treaty no plebiscite has yet been taken, and Peru charges her neighbours with always raising technical difficulties whenever the question of taking the vote is mooted. She prefers an even more serious charge than this, alleging that, as the time when the plebiscite must, owing to international pressure, be taken draws nearer, Chili is making it so hot for the Peruvians in the two provinces under dispute that they are unable to live there. The object of this is, of course, that the plebiscite shall have only one result, and that in favour of Chili.

In this country of marvels, a word must be given to coca, that wonderful plant which grows in the warm valleys of Peru and Bolivia, and will not flourish anywhere else. It grows in the form of a shrub, and seldom exceeds six feet in height. For centuries past the Peruvian Indians have recognised its dietetic value. It is at once refreshing and stimulating; it must be nutritious also, for a native can work for an extreme length of time without troubling about any other form of food. The local way of taking it is by chewing, generally with the admixture of a little lime. When infused, it makes a very refreshing beverage. Its value in medicine is also great, for it is the source of that indispensable alkaloid cocaine.