Covering an area of about seven hundred thousand square miles, and presenting a variety of geographic and geologic conditions unsurpassed by any other country of the globe, the problem of transportation, upon the satisfactory solution of which so much depends in the promotion of national progress in any country, has been one of paramount importance in Bolivian politics ever since the organization of the republic. Large sums have been paid by the government for the improvement of roads, the building of bridges, and the maintenance of communication between the principal cities, but the country’s finances have always been taxed to the limit by efforts which proved more or less inadequate to the task, with the result that although the budget continually shows large amounts spent in roadways and bridges, the problem of transportation in Bolivia is only now, for the first time, giving promise of a satisfactory solution. There are, nevertheless, evidences of excellent road building on all the principal highways, especially those connecting the departmental capitals, and in some instances, as along the route from Sucre to Potosí, and in the environs of Cochabamba, massive stone parapets and bridges are seen, which compare favorably with the best examples of work done by expert engineers in this branch of construction in any part of the world. But nearly all the highroads pass through the cañons of the Cordilleras in some part of their course, and during the rainy season, from November to March, a flood frequently rushes down these quebradas with such destructive force that every vestige of road building is swept away in a day. For this reason, wagon roads are abandoned during the wet months and all travel in the interior is done on muleback, usually by a route more precipitous than the coach road, but safer because it passes chiefly along the higher ledges, with only an occasional descent into the bed of the cañon. As stated elsewhere, the only railways now in operation are the lines connecting La Paz with Guaqui, on Lake Titicaca, and Oruro with the seaport of Antofagasta, though surveys have been made and the work of construction has commenced on a new railway system, which will completely change industrial and commercial conditions in Bolivia.

The history of railroad building in Bolivia dates from the year 1887, when the government issued a decree calling for proposals for the construction of railways throughout the republic. The following year a proposal was received from the mining company Huanchaca de Bolivia to build a railroad from the Chilean frontier to the city of Oruro, passing by the mining establishment of Huanchaca. The national Congress approved the proposal, with slight modifications, in a decree issued on November 29, 1888. The rights acquired by the company were transferred the next year to the Antofagasta and Bolivia Railway Company, Limited, an English corporation, which now operates the line. This company has a guarantee from the government of six per cent per annum for twenty years on the capital invested in the construction of the line, which guarantee became effective on the delivery of the railway at Oruro on May 15, 1892, amounting to forty-five thousand pounds sterling, though this is only nominal so far as the Bolivian government is concerned, the revenues derived from the line more than covering the guarantee. The railway is five hundred and fifty-five miles long, from Antofagasta to Oruro, and ascends from about twenty feet above sea level at Antofagasta to more than twelve thousand feet, crossing the high plateau from Uyuni to Oruro with little variation from its greatest altitude. It is the longest single line track in the world of such a narrow gauge, only two feet six inches wide, throughout its entire length. The Huanchaca company owns and operates for its exclusive benefit a branch road from Uyuni to Pulacayo and Huanchaca, the centre of its mining industry, nine miles distant. The Bolivian section of the Antofagasta and Oruro railway is under the direction of Mr. Hugh Warren, a railroad manager of large experience and mature judgment. He has his headquarters at Oruro, the present Bolivian terminus of the road. The line will soon be extended to La Paz. Passenger trains leave Oruro every day for Challapata and Uyuni, and three times a week for Antofagasta. They run at an average speed of twenty-five miles an hour, the entire trip having frequently been made, on a special through train, in twenty-three hours. The roadbed is excellent, and the maximum gradient does not exceed two and ninety-eight one hundredths per cent. The locomotives are of American manufacture, from the Baldwin, the Rodgers, and the Stevenson locomotive works. The passenger cars are modern, well built and extremely comfortable. The scenery along this road is magnificent, and some of the bridges which cross the great ravines are counted among the highest in the world. The construction work of this road was done under the direction of an English engineer of eminent talent, Mr. Josiah Harding, who built one of the greatest incline railways of the world at Junín, Chile, and who is now engaged in studying the route of the proposed Arica and La Paz railway. From Uyuni to La Paz, the traveller seems to be always within close distance of the snow-covered summits of the Andes, which rise above the horizon of the high plain like great white temples overtopping the clouds. As seen from the car window, the mining towns of Poopo and Machacamarca, and others which lie along the route, present a very picturesque appearance. But the beautiful scenery of this road hardly surpasses that of the railway from La Paz to Guaqui, on Lake Titicaca, which has in view the majestic Illimani and Sorata and a whole range of lesser peaks clothed in perpetual snow.

The Guaqui and La Paz railroad was the first constructed by the Bolivian government out of public funds. Its successful inauguration was due to the initiative of ex-President General José Manuel Pando, who, in 1900, authorized an expert Bolivian engineer, Señor Mariano Bustamente y Barreda, to make the necessary studies and plans. When these were finished, they were approved by Congress; and a law was passed in the same year, authorizing the construction of the road and appointing a board of directors to supervise its management. In order to meet the expenses of building, it was provided that all revenues from the alcohol monopoly and from rubber taxes in the department of La Paz should be set aside for three years for this purpose. The line was completed and opened to traffic on October 25, 1903. Its total length is fifty-nine miles, from the port of Guaqui to the Altos, or, more correctly, to El Alto de La Paz, the road ascending from twelve thousand five hundred feet at Guaqui to fourteen thousand feet at Viacha and descending not more than two hundred and fifty feet to El Alto station. The gauge is three and one-third feet wide, and throughout the entire distance the tracks cross what appears to be almost a level plateau, with Lake Titicaca behind and the wonderful white mountain peaks in front glistening in the sun. The total cost of the line, including interest during its construction, amounted to one hundred and seventy thousand nine hundred and eighty-one pounds sterling. On May 31, 1904, a contract was signed by the government with the Peruvian Corporation, Limited, which owns and operates the Southern Railway of Peru from the port of Mollendo to Lake Titicaca, as well as the lake steamers that cross from the Peruvian border to the Bolivian port of Guaqui, the terms of the treaty giving to the Peruvian Corporation control and administration of the railway under a seven years’ lease, thereby affording it a through system of transportation from Mollendo to La Paz. The corporation loaned the government fifty thousand pounds sterling at six per cent interest, for the purpose of constructing an electric car line to connect El Alto de La Paz with the city, and in addition to this sum the government recognizes a previous indebtedness of about twenty thousand pounds sterling, all of which will be charged against an amortization fund of forty per cent to be reserved from the revenues of the railway, the corporation retaining sixty per cent of the railway revenues for operating expenses during the term of its lease. If at the end of seven years the total obligation has not been covered by this amortization fund, the government agrees to extend the lease or pay the balance.

The history of this railway during the three years that it has been in operation is one of continued and increasing prosperity. It has been a paying investment from the first, never having yielded less than seven per cent dividends since its inauguration. Statistics furnished by the acting director of public works of Bolivia, Mr. Pierce Hope, under whose management the road was finally completed, show that the receipts for the month of January, 1906, were sixty-four thousand two hundred and eighty bolivianos. The increase in the freight receipts of 1905 was fifty per cent over the year previous. The electric line from El Alto terminal down the incline, or La Bajada, to the city station of Challapampa was completed and opened to traffic on December 1, 1905. It is five miles long, and has the same gauge as the main line from Guaqui, with a grade of six per cent. The locomotives used on the railway and the electric cars for the incline were purchased in the United States. The revenue from traffic over this part of the line for the month of January, 1906, was fourteen thousand four hundred and eighty bolivianos. The trip from Guaqui to the city takes about two hours, and will no doubt be a feature of one of the famous tourist routes of the world some day. Not only does it offer the grandest scenery on the picturesque road from Mollendo to La Paz, one of the most beautiful routes in the world, but it possesses especial interest in the wonderful ruins of Tiahuanaco, which are situated at about an hour’s ride from Lake Titicaca. It affords also the novel experience of travelling by rail and steamer above the clouds and of enjoying a trolley ride down La Bajada to one of the most interesting and foreign-looking cities in America, La Paz, standing radiant in the sunlight just below the highest peaks of the Andes.

But though the railways from Antofagasta to Oruro and from Mollendo to La Paz take the tourist through wonderful and varied scenes, a more rapid route is being built in the new railway from Arica to La Paz, which will bring the metropolis of the Altaplanicie within fourteen hours of the coast, instead of three days, the time now required by the most rapid route. Chile has already begun the construction of the Arica and La Paz line in accordance with the recent treaty between the two countries. It will pass through the rich copper region of Corocoro, thus facilitating the shipment of the valuable ores of this district, and will connect with the Guaqui and La Paz road at Viacha. Either Corocoro or Viacha will be the junction of a line which is proposed to connect La Paz with Oruro, in conformity with the arrangements made by the government for the construction of a general railway system. A decree passed by the national Congress on November 13, 1905, shows that the government has determined to carry into immediate effect extensive plans for railway expansion, some of which have been under consideration from time to time during previous administrations, but have never until now been practically developed to the degree necessary for their successful consummation. The decree referred to declares: that the executive is authorized to contract for and execute with all possible simultaneity the construction of the following railways: from Viacha or Corocoro to Oruro, from Oruro to Cochabamba, from Uyuni to Potosí, from Potosí to Tupiza, and the first section of one hundred miles of the line from La Paz to Puerto Pando, at the head of navigation on the Beni branch of the Madeira River, employing for the purpose the funds derived from the indemnity paid by Brazil and the guarantees stipulated in the treaty of peace celebrated with Chile. The executive is equally authorized to carry out any financial operations that may be deemed indispensable, in the event that the funds above named are not sufficient for the construction of the railways indicated, but without compromising more than the said railways in the responsibility of such operations. As soon as the railways above determined are constructed, the following lines will be built: from Oruro to Potosí, from Cochabamba to Chimoré at the headwaters of the Mamoré branch of the Madeira, from Macha or from Potosí to Sucre, and the second section of the railway from La Paz to Puerto Pando. For the construction of the railway from La Paz to Puerto Pando the funds derived from the increased tax on coca will also be employed, as the object of this road is to serve the interests of the coca producing region.

For the construction of the proposed new railways the Bolivian government has already completed negotiations with the well-known firm of New York capitalists, Messrs. Speyer and Company, whereby, in conformity with the decree of Congress, a general system of railways will be built, to connect the principal Bolivian cities with one another, with the chief river ports of the Amazon and the Paraguay, and with such railways of neighboring republics as have a direct seaport terminus. By this practical method the country will be opened up to industrial and commercial development, which could never be hoped for under existing circumstances, as the obstacles to communication presented by the mountainous character of western Bolivia and the unsettled conditions of eastern Bolivia are apparently insurmountable by any other means than the establishment of railway connection. The importance of this enterprise on the part of the government can hardly be estimated. It means practically the launching of Bolivia into the full tide of modern progress, with no turning back to the old ways of muleback travel and other seventeenth-century systems of transportation. When the interior becomes more accessible through a regularly established schedule of trains, which will bring the chief cities within a few hours of one another and within a reasonable distance from the seacoast, the rapid evolution of industrial activity will no doubt see the building up of many large fortunes in the rich mining districts, on the vast cattle plains, and in the farming communities, to say nothing of the inexhaustible possibilities of the rubber country. Foreigners are not slow to appreciate this fact. As soon as it became known that Bolivia intended to spend millions of pounds sterling in the construction of railways, not only railway, mining, and rubber syndicates began to seek larger investments than formerly, but new enterprises, involving the development of cattle raising and other neglected industries, turned in this direction, and the outlook is already growing brighter than it has ever been before in the history of the country.

For more than a year active preliminary work has been in progress throughout the entire route of the proposed system, at first under the direction of an American engineer, Mr. W. L. Sisson, and then under his successor, Mr. W. L. Gibson, who is the present directing engineer of the enterprise. Señor Jorge E. Zalles, as secretary of the Commission of Studies, has made himself master of every detail connected with the work. Surveys have been completed between Viacha and Oruro, one hundred and thirty-eight miles; Oruro and Cochabamba, one hundred and thirty miles; Uyuni and Potosí, one hundred and twenty miles; Potosí and Tupiza, one hundred and fifty miles; Oruro and Potosí, one hundred and ninety-five miles. By an examination of the map it will be seen that, in the extensive system proposed, railway communication will be established, through Bolivian territory, between the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards, and, by means of the great Amazon and La Plata river systems, with the whole vast region of eastern South America. Argentina has been authorized to extend her Central Northern Railway as far as Tupiza; and as soon as Bolivia completes her lines from Tupiza to Potosí, from Potosí to Oruro, from Oruro to Viacha, and from Viacha to Arica, there will be established a trunk line across the continent which will bring the Pacific port of Arica within five days’ distance of Buenos Aires. By extending north to Santa Cruz the branch line now under construction from the Argentine Northern Central Railway to the Bolivian border at Yacuiba, and by building another line to Santa Cruz from the Paraguay River at Puerto Suarez, opposite the Brazilian port of Corumbá, over a route which has already been reconnoitred and approved, both lines to be joined and pushed on further to a river port of the Beni, an easy outlet will be gained for the whole of eastern Bolivia, and the flourishing capital of the department of Santa Cruz will quickly develop into the Chicago of what may some day be one of the richest agricultural and cattle-raising countries in the world. Eastern Bolivia presents no such difficult problems of railway construction as the western part of the republic, and the lines projected through this region can be completed at much less cost. When the various South American continental lines are joined to cross Bolivian territory, this country, which has been most difficult of access up to the present time, will become the great central highway for South American traffic, increasing in commercial importance as its own trade with other nations is developed with greater facility.

The formal inauguration of the new railway system took place in Oruro on July 4, 1906, when the supreme government went in a body to Oruro to initiate the work of construction from that point. It was an occasion of general rejoicing, all patriotic Bolivians recognizing the important significance of the ceremony, which was brilliant and imposing. The programme of the day was worthy of so memorable an occasion, being distinguished by impressive solemnity. The ceremonies began with the celebration of the Te Deum in the cathedral at nine o’clock. His Grace Archbishop Pifferi officiated, assisted by high dignitaries of the church. The president of the republic, accompanied by his ministers of state and the foreign diplomatic corps, attended the service, at which were present important government authorities from every city of Bolivia. The learned archbishop of La Plata, in pronouncing a benediction upon the great work, alluded in gracious terms to “the coöperation of the generous inhabitants of North America” in the new enterprise, and paid a high tribute to the progressive spirit manifested by President Montes and his ministers, to whom its successful inauguration was due, praying that the earthly blessings to be derived from its material benefits “may serve as a motive and stimulus to elevate the thoughts to the incomparable, unlimited, and eternal riches of the Kingdom of Heaven.” After the benediction, President Montes received at the hands of Señor Francisco Lopez Chavez, the Bolivian representative of the construction company, a handsome silver shovel, which was presented to his excellency with an appropriate address. In a firm voice, which thrilled the vast audience by its magnetic eloquence, President Montes made the address of inauguration, which was characterized throughout by sentiments of practical patriotism, expressed in such sentences as: “The greatness and strength of nations is not proved by declaiming ideals and aspirations which they have neither the knowledge nor the energy to realize, but by the degree of effective force which is exercised in a practical way in the civilization and exaltation of mankind.” In closing, his excellency applied to the present act the famous prophecy of Pedro Domingo Murillo, with a slight variation: “The initial step made to-day toward the resurrection of Bolivia shall never be detained.” The Act of Inauguration was signed with a gold pen, presented to the president by Dr. Isaac Aranibar, ex-prefect of Cochabamba, in the name of “La Patria.” The president turned the first shovelful of earth with the significant words: Que el arma del caudillaje sea reemplazada con el arma del trabajo—“May the arms of war be replaced by the arms of labor.” At the official banquet which closed the programme of the day, the American minister, Hon. Wm. B. Sorsby, in an eloquent response to a toast in honor of his country’s anniversary, referred to “the singularly appropriate coincidence that Bolivia should solemnize the inauguration of her industrial independence on the same day as that which commemorates the political and industrial independence of the first American republic.” It was, indeed, peculiarly fitting that a date which is celebrated the world over as the anniversary of the first Declaration of Independence in the New World should have been chosen to commemorate an event which sets the seal of commercial freedom upon a country that has struggled for nearly a century against the oppression of limited trade facilities. The Fourth of July will henceforth signify to the Bolivian patriot the inauguration of a new era in the life of his country, an era not less glorious in its history than that which was established in the land of his North American cousin on July 4, 1776. For political independence can do little toward bringing about national greatness without its practical counterpart, commercial independence; and national liberty finds its highest development in the friendly intercourse of countries bound together by ties of mutual interest. It commemorates the victory of a patriotic people determined to reap the full reward of national independence; and it marks the last struggle against conditions that belong to centuries gone by, and which have been forever overcome by the spirit of modern enterprise.

Until the new railway system is completed and put in operation, Bolivia will continue to depend upon the present means of transportation, which, with the exception of the two railways previously mentioned, is altogether by wagons, muleback, or river navigation. The Cordillera Real, or Royal range, of the Andes has always proved an effective barrier to easy communication between the Bolivian plateau and the great eastern plains, with their wealth of natural production awaiting development, and the few mountain passes through which wagon roads and bridle paths have been opened represent herculean efforts to overcome natural conditions with limited resources at command. Public highways are either national or municipal property, the former being built and maintained by the government from appropriations granted by Congress, while the latter are made and controlled by the municipalities. The national highroads connect the principal cities and mining centres of the republic. With the exception of the main roads, which unite the department capitals, and are used for passenger as well as freight service, these highways chiefly abound in the higher sections of the Andean range, where the valuable mining properties are located, and they are nearly all narrow, precipitous, winding paths, which have been built up by Indian labor and are maintained at great cost. Along these trails the most valuable freight is taken on the backs of mules, donkeys, and llamas, without danger even to the most costly and delicate ware, so careful are the Indians of their charge. Exquisite French mirrors, rare bric-à-brac, and the finest crystal and porcelains for the palatial administration houses, are carried across a country which is everywhere broken by ravines, and over a pathway often covered by an avalanche of rocks from the mountain sides after a heavy rain, yet a long month’s journey will be concluded without the record of a single breakage, so marvellous is the Indian’s skill in this humble task. The government provides postas, or sheltered places, at intervals of from eight to fifteen leagues, where travellers may rest and purchase forage for their animals. The posta is in charge of a government employé, who is paid a reasonable salary to take care of the place, to keep forage on hand for sale, and animals for hire, as well as to provide bed and meals at a fair price, and a postillón if required as guide. No charge is made for the use of this shelter. It is the custom of well-to-do travellers in this country to carry their own beds and provisions, except on the coach roads. Mules can be hired from posta to posta at twenty centavos, about nine cents in gold, for each mule per league, and ten centavos per league for the postillón who accompanies them. The house in which shelter is provided is usually a low solid structure of adobe, built around a courtyard, or patio, and having from five to ten or more rooms, each with a door opening on the courtyard and banks of adobe built out from the wall, to serve as beds. It has no windows. Along the coach roads the houses of the postas are more like hotels, and the traveller may journey without carrying either food or provisions, as both are furnished at the various stopping places. The coach roads are open to traffic only during the winter months, as in the rainy season it is impossible to keep them repaired without even greater expense than it costs to build a railroad, and with more uncertain results. The most important coach roads are: from La Paz to Oruro, one hundred and sixty-five miles; from La Paz to Corocoro, seventy miles; from La Paz north to Achacachi, sixty-six miles; from Oruro to Cochabamba, one hundred and forty miles; from Challapata, on the Antofagasta Railway, to Sucre, two hundred miles; from Sucre to Potosí, one hundred miles; and from Uyuni to Potosí, one hundred and ten miles. There are excellent bridle paths, or, as they are called, caminos de herradura, from Cochabamba to Sucre, three hundred miles; from Potosí to Tarija two hundred and forty miles, to Tupiza one hundred and eighty miles, and to Challapata one hundred and twenty miles; from Cochabamba to Santa Cruz, three hundred and eighty miles; and from La Paz to the various towns of the Yungas. As the statements vary regarding distances, according to the humor and endurance of the traveller, and the exact measurement has only been made in a few instances, it is impossible to do more than give an approximately correct idea of the locality of the more important cities as regards their distance from one another.

Travel in eastern and northeastern Bolivia is best undertaken at the season of the year when the waterways are navigable, as nearly all routes connecting with the towns of the Beni and Santa Cruz necessitate navigation through a great part of the distance. On the western plateau the traveller arranges his journey for the winter months, to avoid the rainy season, but in eastern Bolivia the summer months are most desirable for the trip because then the rivers are high, and navigation is an easy problem, whereas in winter the delays are sometimes very tedious on account of there being little or no water in the upper streams of the great river systems. All the branches of the Amazon River are navigable, some of them, as the Acre, Purús, Madre de Dios, Beni, Mamoré, and Guaporé, admitting steam launches and other vessels of from five to six feet draft. In the southeast, the Paraguay and the Pilcomayo Rivers are navigable for vessels of two hundred tons. Lake Titicaca and Lake Poopo, on the Altaplanicie, are both navigable. Lake Titicaca carries steamers of heavy tonnage, but Lake Poopo, and the Desaguadero River, which connects it with Lake Titicaca, are navigable only for lighter vessels. The Desaguadero River, which is one hundred and eighty miles long, is navigable for steamers of five hundred tons over part of its length, and carries good-sized vessels from Lake Titicaca to Lake Poopo. Communication is better established, both by land and water, in this part of Bolivia than in any other section.

Closely connected with the various systems of transportation are the telegraph lines of the country, which constitute an important feature of intercommunication by serving as the means of determining the condition of roads in various sections, thus making it possible to keep them in repair and to promote the interests of traffic generally. The director-general of telegraphs, Señor Don Carlos Torrico, has made a careful study of the telegraph system, and several reforms have been inaugurated under his administration. Señor Torrico has served his government in many important capacities, having been Prefect of Potosí prior to accepting his present office. Under his able direction the telegraph system has not only been improved, but important new lines have been put in operation with perfect satisfaction. The system now covers an extent of three thousand miles, of which eight hundred miles are under private ownership, and the annual receipts have increased from eighty-three thousand bolivianos in 1904 to one hundred thousand bolivianos in 1905, with an equal average, about one hundred and fifty thousand each, of despatches sent and received from the various offices of the republic. These offices are established in all the chief cities and along the principal highways, a long-distance telephone system operating in connection with the telegraph; so that more remote towns have communication with the main line. An appropriation has been asked of Congress for the sum of one hundred and forty-four thousand bolivianos, with which to reorganize and repair the entire system and to place it on a more efficient basis. The international telegraph service has been recently improved by the extension of a line from Uyuni to Ollagüe, in Chile, and by the reconstruction of the existing line between Tupiza and La Quiaca, in Argentina. Communication with Peru is established by a telegraph line through Guaqui, controlled by the Peruvian Corporation. Connection with Europe is made by way of Argentina, and with the Pacific and North American ports through Guaqui or by Ollagüe and Antofagasta.

A new era has dawned for Bolivia. It comes in answer to the abounding faith and unfailing confidence of Bolivians in the possibilities of their country and in their persistent determination and indefatigable efforts to overcome all obstacles in its development. To the world at large, ignorant of the real conditions which have combined to militate against progress and prosperity in this country of unlimited natural wealth, the retarded growth in industrial and commercial importance which statistics seem to prove can hardly be fairly considered. It is necessary to gain accurate knowledge by a visit to the country and a study from actual observation, as well as from information to be secured only in the country itself.

Bolivia is not so far away, either from Europe or North America, as many people imagine. A very pleasant trip may be arranged to Bolivia, starting from European ports or from New York, on one of the commodious steamers of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company or the Hamburg-American Line, and direct from New York by a steamer of the Panamá Railroad Steamship Company, all of which make the trip in six days to Colón. The rapid increase in the earnings of these lines to the Isthmus of Panamá shows the growth of interest in this part of the world, and a tendency of travel to turn elsewhere than to Europe and Japan, as formerly, especially in the case of tourist trade. According to the latest report which the board of directors of the Panamá Railroad Company made to the Isthmian Commission,—the United States government now being sole owner of the capital stock of the company,—this route is rapidly becoming an important ocean highway between North and South America, destined to increase the social as well as political relations between countries hitherto more widely separated than those of any other continents. The balmy climate of the southern waters makes a trip from New York to Panamá an additional pleasure, and every year marks an increase of travel over this popular route.

After a six days’ trip, including many charming features, the traveller may spend a few days in Colón and Panamá, enjoying their tropical scenes and the atmosphere of industrial activity which has become so marked since the inauguration of the canal construction, or he may proceed at once southward on one of the steamers of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company, or of the South American Steamship Company, both of which lines have comfortable and well-appointed steamers, from Panamá to Guayaquil, Callao, Mollendo, Arica, Iquique, Antofagasta, Coquimbo, Valparaiso, and other South American ports. The Pacific Steam Navigation Company has its head offices in London, with its chief South American office in Valparaiso, under the direction of Mr. J. W. Pearson, who has made the company’s line to Panamá as commodious and desirable a means of travel as an ocean voyage can be under the most favorable conditions. Even nervous passengers find little to disturb the pleasure of a trip from Panamá to the South American ports as far as Valparaiso, for the sea is nearly always as smooth as glass and the weather superb. From four to five days are required to make the voyage from Panamá to Guayaquil, and the same time is taken from Guayaquil to Callao, the port of Lima, Peru, as many stops are made along the route, though direct, fast steamers could easily make the trip from Panamá to Callao in four or five days. From Callao to Mollendo requires from three to four days, according to the delays in intermediate ports. To the traveller making his first trip along this route it is particularly interesting to watch the loading and unloading of fruits and other products of this tropical region. Everything is brought out to the steamer in lanchas, or lighters, and sometimes the harbor swarms with purveyors of merchandise. Disembarking at Mollendo to go to Bolivia by what constitutes the shortest route, at least until the Arica and La Paz Railway is completed, the traveller is conveyed by train over the Peruvian Southern Railway to Arequipa, a charming old city situated at the base of the famous volcano Misti, where the University of Harvard has a meteorological observatory. Everyone spends a day or two in Arequipa before proceeding to Puno, the terminus of the road, on the Peruvian border of Lake Titicaca. The director of the company, Mr. George Clarke, has spared no effort to improve the railway facilities of this line and to provide every possible comfort for those who take the trip. People having cardiac troubles may suffer a disagreeable experience for a short time while crossing the greatest altitude, nearly fifteen thousand feet above sea level. But the recompense is great, the scenery being imposing in grandeur. From Puno a steamer transfers passengers to Guaqui on the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca, and the trip, whether made at night or in the daytime is, under favorable circumstances, the most charming experience imaginable. The new steamers, appropriately named the Inca and Coya are of five hundred or more tons, the older ships, of which the Yavary is one of the best, being much smaller. Sometimes the lake is rough, and no sea is more irritating to those who suffer from mal de mer than this beautiful lake when the surface loses its mirror-like calm. The rough seas of the English Channel, the Bay of Biscay, and the Caribbean do not disturb one’s comfort half so much as the staccato movement of this mysterious body of water, which seems to be unsettled as often from subterranean as from atmospheric causes. If the steamer makes a day trip the passengers land at Guaqui at about nine o’clock in the evening, and if a night trip, a little later than that hour in the morning. The remainder of the journey, as elsewhere described, takes one to the city of La Paz, from which various interesting journeys may be made to the other cities.

If preferred, the traveller wishing to visit Bolivia need not go ashore at Mollendo, but, continuing down the Pacific coast as far as Antofagasta, may take a train from that port to Oruro, finishing the journey to La Paz by diligence, or may choose one of the numerous routes by diligence or muleback leading from Oruro, Challapata, and Uyuni, the principal stations of the railway, to the interior cities of Cochabamba, Sucre, and Potosí. A delightful trip, which includes visits to all the South American countries, may be made by the Pacific Steam Navigation Company’s line from Liverpool, which has a fortnightly service between Liverpool and Valparaiso, with connecting steamers from Valparaiso up the west coast to Panamá. All these steamers are elegantly fitted up for the passenger service, and carry a band of musicians for the entertainment of those on board. They are large twin-screw steamers, four of the transatlantic line being of ten thousand five hundred tons, while those of the Pacific coast service are of six thousand tons. The steamers from Liverpool call at Brazilian, Uruguayan, and Argentine ports on their way to Valparaiso. At least a dozen different steamship lines connect Europe and North America with South American ports, the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company and the Hamburg-American Line having handsomely appointed ships to Brazil and Argentina; while the Lamport and Holt steamers from New York to Brazil and Argentina are commodious, and the service provided on board is constantly improving in character. All these lines permit of the passengers making connections at Buenos Aires to continue the trip to Bolivia, either by railway over the Argentine Northern Central to Tupiza, and thence to Potosí on muleback, a novel treat in these days of universal rapid transit, or from Buenos Aires across the Andes, also by railway, to Valparaiso and thence to Antofagasta and Oruro; it is possible to take an all sea route, by the Pacific Steam Navigation Company’s line from Buenos Aires through the Straits of Magellan as far as Antofagasta, or Mollendo. By whatever itinerary, the journey is worth while, and aside from the novel features it presents, it is sure to prove more restful than the average summer outing to popular European resorts. As a means of escaping the vigorous northern winters it is as desirable as for a relief from the excessive heat of the summers, the South American winter corresponding to our summer, which makes the trip a particularly pleasant change, especially in Bolivia where the winters are comparatively mild. The best seasons in which to visit Bolivia are spring and autumn, when the weather is modified from the extremes of either winter cold or summer heat.