Birdseye Views of Far Lands

by James T. Nichols

On talking to this young man I found that he was from Bolivia. How he heard about this mission school I have forgotten, but the story of how he tramped two hundred miles over the mountains and then across the great Argentine plains determined to reach this school and work his way through, could not be forgotten. On Sunday morning I went to the American church and this fellow was at the door as an usher and the friendly greeting and winning smile he had for everyone gave me great respect for him and his people as well.

Portions of this great Bolivian plateau are very beautiful. One noted naturalist coming from Paraguay said as he beheld this region, "If tradition has lost the records of the place where Paradise is located the traveler who visits these regions of Bolivia feels at once the impulse to exclaim: 'Here is Eden.'"

Here grows the famous chincona tree from which we get quinine. Also the coca plant from which we get cocaine. Perhaps when the dentist pulled your tooth he used cocaine that came from this country. The natives chew the coca leaf as a stimulant. It is actually said that by the use of this leaf a man can go for many hours without food and perform feats of endurance that seem to us impossible.

The cultivation of the coca plant is one of the important industries of eastern Bolivia. The plant grows as a shrub and must not be confused with the cocoa tree from the beans of which our chocolate and cocoa are made. The Bolivians produce eight to ten million pounds of coca leaves annually. The telegraph system of portions of this region is made up of fleet-footed Indians and it is said that with a supply of coca leaves and parched corn they can run fifty miles a day.

Here too grows the quinna which is not only a substitute for wheat but more nutritious and easier raised if reports are true. Cotton and sugar are produced in Bolivia as are the nutmeg and castor bean. Oranges and all such fruit are also grown in some parts of this country. But the supply and variety of medicinal plants is remarkable. The list includes aconite, arnica, absinthe, belladonna, camphor, cocaine, ginger, ipecac, opium, sarsaparilla and a lot of others.

But this great inland country is noted the world around for its rich mines. Mount Potosi is often spoken of as a mountain of silver. It is said that not only millions but billions of dollars worth of silver have been taken from this one mountain. There are said to be six thousand abandoned mines on its slopes to say nothing of the hundreds that are being worked today. The city of Potosi used to be the largest city in the western hemisphere and was ten times its present size when the early settlements of the United States were but small villages.

While the silver in this mountain is not nearly exhausted by any means, yet it was discovered that deeper down is a mountain of tin. Bolivia has been furnishing more than one-fourth of the world's supply of tin for many years.

On the hills back of the city of Potosi can still be seen the thirty-two lakes or reservoirs that used to furnish water for the city and mines. It took half a century to complete this great ancient water system. The largest of these lakes is three miles in circumference and thirty feet deep. Each lake is surrounded by five sets of walls and two of these reservoirs are sixteen thousand feet above sea level. All this mighty work was done before railroads were ever dreamed of. Only recently a railroad was built into this mining city and many of these abandoned mines are being opened again.

The capital of Bolivia used to be Sucre. In fact, it is still the nominal capital of the republic. Here live many of the wealthy mine owners of the region. The Supreme Court is held here and the new government palace is a stately building. The richest cathedral in Bolivia is here and the image of the Virgin in it is made of solid gold adorned with jewels and is worth a million dollars.