Across South America / An account of a journey from Buenos Aires to Lima by way of Potosí, with notes on Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru

by Hiram Bingham

ACROSS
SOUTH AMERICA

AN ACCOUNT OF A JOURNEY FROM BUENOS
AIRES TO LIMA BY WAY OF POTOSÍ
WITH NOTES ON BRAZIL, ARGENTINA,
BOLIVIA, CHILE, AND PERU
BY
HIRAM BINGHAM
YALE UNIVERSITY
WITH EIGHTY ILLUSTRATIONS
AND MAPS

BOSTON AND NEW YORK
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
The Riverside Press Cambridge
1911

COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY HIRAM BINGHAM
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Published April 1911

THIS VOLUME IS
AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED
TO
THE MOTHER OF
SIX LITTLE BOYS

PREFACE

In September, 1908, I left New York as a delegate of the United States Government and of Yale University to the First Pan-American Scientific Congress, held at Santiago, Chile, in December and January, 1908-09. Before attending the Congress I touched at Rio de Janeiro and the principal coast cities of Brazil, crossed the Argentine Republic from Buenos Aires to the Bolivian frontier, rode on mule-back through southern Bolivia, visiting both Potosí and Sucre, went by rail from Oruro to Antofagasta, and thence by steamer to Valparaiso. After the Congress I retraced my steps into Bolivia by way of the west coast, Arequipa, and Lake Titicaca. Picking up the overland trail again at Oruro, I continued my journey across Bolivia and Peru, via La Paz, Tiahuanaco, and Cuzco, thence by mules over the old Inca road as far as Huancayo, the present terminus of the Oroya-Lima Railroad. At Abancay I turned aside to explore Choqquequirau, the ruins of an Inca fortress in the valley of the Apurimac; an excursion that could not have been undertaken at all had it not been for the very generous assistance of Hon. J. J. Nuñez, the Prefect of Apurimac, and his zealous aide, Lieutenant Caceres of the Peruvian army. I reached Lima in March, 1909.

The chief interest of the trip lay in its being an exploration of the most historic highway in South America, the old trade route between Lima, Potosí, and Buenos Aires. The more difficult parts of this road were used by the Incas and their conqueror Pizarro; by Spanish viceroys, mine owners, and merchants; by the liberating armies of Argentina; and finally by Bolivar and Sucre, who marched and countermarched over it in the last campaigns of the Wars of Independence.

Realizing from previous experience in Venezuela and Colombia that the privilege of travelling in a semi-official capacity would enable me to enjoy unusual opportunities for observation, I made it the chief object of my journey to collect and verify information regarding the South American people, their history, politics, economics, and physical environment. The present volume, however, makes no pretence at containing all I collected or verified. Such a work would be largely a compilation of statistics. The ordinary facts are readily accessible in the current publications of the ably organized Pan-American Bureau in Washington. Nevertheless, I have included some data that seemed likely to prove serviceable to intending travellers.