Whatever may be the true origin of the Children of the Sun, the legends of their sacred lake are purely Oriental in character, and might have come direct from the sources of Hindoo lore, so closely do they resemble the traditions of the East. The story of the mysterious birth and divine antecedents of the first Inca, Manco-Ccapac, suggests that of Vaivasouta, the Son of the Sun among the Hindoos; Manco-Ccapac’s sister-wife, Mama Ocllo, has also a counterpart in Oriental mythology. Out of the foam of the sea have risen Mongolian, Hindoo, Egyptian, and Greek gods and goddesses from remote antiquity, in the same mysterious way as Viracocha, and their first appearance has usually been on a sacred island. The ancient inhabitants of the Lake Titicaca region evolved little new in legendary story to account either for their ancestry or their religion, unless theirs is the original version. The lake is particularly fitted to be the cradle of myths and traditions, its situation high above the clouds seeming to set it apart for some peculiar destiny, as sacred mountains, lakes, and rivers have in all ages possessed a unique feature to mark them as divinely chosen. Popular lore has been well guided in placing here the site of the American Garden of Eden. In the strange stillness that reigns around, in the clear atmosphere and cloudless skies through which the Alpine glow of the encircling summits spreads with unrivalled splendor, in the varied beauty of its islands, promontories, and bays, and its broad expanse, sparkling in the sunlight, contemplation is enthralled and the imagination transported, even in this prosaic age, with visions of the supernatural, as, under the full light of day, Nature appears to make strange transformations, and the islands, floating calmly at one moment, at the next take on curious shapes and present mysterious illusions, under inexplicable lights and shadows. What more natural than that such phenomena should be magnified to the wondering gaze of the primitive inhabitants of this region!

Lake Titicaca occupies a position on the South American continent about midway between the Isthmus of Panamá and Cape Horn, and in the midst of the nudo, or knot, which the Andes Mountains form where the coast range is separated from the Cordillera Real, or Royal Range, by the Lake Titicaca plateau. By air line it is about three hundred miles from the Pacific and two thousand miles from the Atlantic coast. It crosses the boundary between Peru and Bolivia, the limits of which have not yet been definitely settled by these countries. The altitude of the lake, which is the highest navigable body of water on the globe, is twelve thousand five hundred and fifty feet above sea level, and its area is more than five thousand square miles, measuring at its greatest length one hundred and thirty-five miles, and in average width sixty-six miles. The waters of the lake are four per cent warmer than the atmosphere, and never freeze, though the thermometer sometimes registers as low as thirty degrees Fahrenheit in the winter months, the proximity of the snow range contributing to increase the severity of this season. The water of the lake is brackish and disagreeable to the taste. Its depth varies from two hundred and fifty to one thousand five hundred feet, and there are places where it is unfathomable. Around the island of Titicaca—the famous Inti-Karka of the Inca legend—the depth is very great, though generally it ranges elsewhere between seven hundred and eight hundred feet.

In addition to the sacred islands of Titicaca and Coati, better known as the Island of the Sun and the Island of the Moon, there are twenty-three of smaller area, of which Cumaná, about nine miles long, is noted for its excellent marble. On the Island of the Sun are still to be seen the ruins of the wonderful palace which was occupied by the Incas when they visited Collasuyo, and there are remains also of the celebrated Temple of the Sun and of the Vestal Virgins. This island is the largest in the lake, and is situated about midway between the Peruvian port of Puno and the Bolivian port of Guaqui, in the line of steamers passing over this route. It is six miles long and four wide, and is surrounded by seven small islands, forming what is known as the Titicaca archipelago. Coati, the Island of the Moon, lies a little to the east of Titicaca Island, and close to the peninsula of Copacabana. Its chief interest is found in the famous ruins of the Temple of the Moon, which are still in a remarkable state of preservation.

The crowning glory of Lake Titicaca is the snow range of the Andes, the highest peaks of which, reflected in its mirror-like surface, are not more than twenty-five miles away. They form a noble chain, from bold Sorata to Huayna Potosí and Illimani, the massive white pillars rising to a height of from twenty thousand to twenty-two thousand feet. Like the lake itself, these mountains have their legends, the Indians peopling them with good and bad spirits, about which marvellous tales are related. From their heights several rivers find their way to Lake Titicaca, unimportant as a rule, and of little volume, but serving as means of communication with the lake for many towns and cities of the Altaplanicie. The largest ports on the Bolivian side of the lake are Chililaya and Guaqui, the former having been the terminus of a coach road over which passengers were taken to La Paz upon their arrival from Peru, before the Guaqui and La Paz Railway was built. It is still a station of importance on the line from La Paz to Achacachi and Sorata, through a part of Bolivia which is celebrated for its marvellous scenery. Sorata is a famous health resort, and was once a rival of Potosí in opulence, through the enormous yield of its rich placer mines. In 1781 the town was destroyed by the army of Tupac-Amaru, and the gold fields were abandoned; but it has been rebuilt in a more modern style, and is to-day a flourishing little city. At the great elevation of twelve thousand five hundred feet there is very scant vegetation even in the tropics, little being seen except coarse Puna grass and short, thin shrubs. In every sheltered nook, however, flowers grow in abundance and are of brilliant colors, giving a warm tone to the grays and browns of the bleak Altaplanicie. In the flower market of La Paz exquisite blossoms of the richest hues are offered for sale, not only those gathered in the valley of Obrajes, but from the sheltered places of the high plateau, the prices being the cheapest in the world. A few beautiful birds, as the gulls and divers which cross the lake, and the flamingoes on its shores, give a little life to the silent scene, and fish of an agreeable flavor are caught in its waters. There is an old tradition of a wildcat inhabiting the Island of the Sun, and some authorities derive the name of the lake from titi, which means a “lynx,” and karka, a “rock,” but no animals of this species are seen on Titicaca now. Many of the islands are inhabited, and the extent to which the Indians have cultivated them is truly wonderful, their sloping hillsides being furrowed from the margin of the water to the highest summits, while the land all around the border of the lake is carefully tilled, producing harvests of barley and potatoes. The potato is a staple food of the plateau and all mountainous regions of Bolivia, and is prepared by a peculiar process, which consists of first freezing it, then pressing out every trace of moisture and freezing it again, until it is proof against cold and humidity. In this condition it is cooked and eaten, under the name of chuño, familiar to all travellers in these regions.

Though Lake Titicaca receives many rivers, it has apparently only one outlet, that of the Desaguadero—“drainage”—River. The tradition which accounts for the existence of this river is particularly interesting, as it introduces into the history of this part of South America a personage famous in religious records as Saint Thomas, one of Christ’s apostles. The first scene of the story is laid in the town of Carabuco, on the eastern border of the lake, near Sorata, close to which is located a fountain called the Saint’s. It is related that, centuries ago, in a cave by the side of this fountain lived a wonderful man, tall, fair, and bearded, who spoke a language different from anything the tribes of this region had ever heard before, and who proclaimed a new religion, teaching the worship of one God, and preaching the virtue of self-sacrifice. With the stranger came six disciples, who were all tortured to death by the ferocious Carabucos. Not content with this demonstration of cruelty, the savages seized and beat the holy teacher himself, and, after tying his hands and feet, threw him into a balsa,—a boat made of reeds such as is still navigated on this lake by the Indians,—and turned it adrift on the water, to be upset by the winds and storms. As the little craft with its saintly burden floated out from the shore, suddenly there appeared on the lake a woman of marvellous beauty, dressed in magnificent robes and wearing a starry crown, who, as the canoe drifted toward her, entered it, and turned its course to the southeast, leaving an open track behind which still exists among the reeds along the margin, and a long, luminous wake on the surface of the water, which remained for many years, clear and resplendent as the rays of the sun. When the opposite bank was reached the ground opened to make a pathway for the balsa, forming a river, broad, tranquil, and many leagues in length, which is to-day called the Desaguadero. Thus the apostle mocked the persecution of the savages, and was able to continue his civilizing mission, until he finally suffered martyrdom in Copacabana. On the island of Titicaca is shown the mark of his footprints, and in Carabuco is still preserved the crucifix which he carried throughout his pilgrimages. The same legend, with variations, is related in every part of South America, and in all these countries the natives have traditions handed down to them by their forefathers, regarding the arrival, many centuries ago, of a wonderful man who preached an unknown religion. In the history of the Jesuits, whose missionaries travelled throughout these regions teaching and preaching Christianity, one of the priests gives an interesting account of the Charrúa Indians of Uruguay. He says that he found them possessing clear ideas of the Christian religion, which they had absorbed from the teachings of a man they called Paz Tumé, but who was really Saint Thomas, everything appearing to prove that the apostle was an evangelist in these countries. Another Jesuit missionary relates that, upon being received with great kindness by the Indians of Paraguay, he asked the reason, to which they replied that when Paz Tumé passed through their country, centuries before, he had said to their ancestors: “The doctrine which I preach to you, you will forget in time, but when after many years other priests come, carrying crucifixes such as the one I wear, your descendants will hear and believe this doctrine. They and their children and their children’s children will never forget it, for it will bring to them the assurance of eternal happiness and salvation.” And it was this tradition, handed down for generations, which, they explained, had obliged them to give a friendly welcome to the wearer of the crucifix.

Since the supernatural opening of the Desaguadero River to make a passage for Saint Thomas and his divine rescuer, who, tradition says further, was the patron protectress of Copacabana, Our Lady of Candelaria, it has been a highway for many a craft directed by less sacred hands and bent on the more worldly mission of conducting war or commerce. It has been the scene of many a fierce battle between armies encamped on its borders, and during the dreadful encounters between the patriots of the Independence and the armies of Spain, a tide of blood many times marked the course first opened by the little balsa containing the rescued Saint Thomas under the direction of the Holy Virgin. It is to-day one of the most important waterways in Bolivia, not only balsas, but steamers plying between its ports. The scientific facts regarding its origin are not established, beyond the indication that it was formed by an unknown process, at a very remote period. It is one hundred and eighty miles in length from its source in Lake Titicaca southeastward to Lake Poopo, into which it empties a volume of six thousand cubic mètres of water per minute, having a fall of four hundred and seventy-five feet throughout its entire length. It is navigable for ships of five hundred tons as far south as Nazacara, thirty miles down the river, within a few miles of the copper mines of Corocoro, and considerable freight passes over this route to and from the great mining centre. Lake Poopo, which receives the Desaguadero River, is the second in size of Bolivian lakes, being sixty miles long and thirty miles wide. It has subterranean outlets, but on the surface not more than sixty cubic mètres are discharged per minute of the six thousand cubic mètres which it receives within that time. The Desaguadero is the most notable river of the Altaplanicie.

The peninsula of Copacabana, which lies within the disputed territory between Bolivia and Peru, is celebrated as the site of a shrine erected in honor of Our Lady of Candelaria. It is popularly called the shrine of the Virgin of Copacabana, and was at one time the most famous as well as the richest sanctuary in South America. It is related that soon after the conquest an Indian of the family of the Incas, called Yupanqui, a native of Copacabana, who had been converted to Christianity, felt such great reverence for the Virgin of Candelaria that he decided to make a sacred image to be devoted to her worship, with the idea also of founding a brotherhood. It was at a time when pious Catholics of South America were particularly zealous in their devotion to the Virgin of Candelaria, and everything seemed propitious for his purpose; but he was ignorant and unskilled, and it was necessary for him to spend years of consecrated effort in Potosí and La Paz in order to make an image, even of medium value, worthy to be venerated by the public. At last, however, the work was finished as described by a friar of the convent: “The bust of the image is of maguey, so compactly made as to appear like wood. It is gilded, with the exception of the hands and the face, and over the gilding curiously flowered and striped designs have been applied in rich colors to give the desired effect of an elaborate robe, a graceful tunic, and the customary headdress, over which is worn a magnificent crown. The crown of gold, and the great jewelled crescent which embellishes the robe, are the conspicuous emblems of her sovereignty and virginity. One hand, covered with rings, clasps the image of the infant Jesus, who also wears a gold crown. A collar of priceless pearls, earrings of diamonds, brooches of rare and costly gems, and rings of great value, are a few of the more striking adornments, a large fortune being represented in these jewels. The entire robe is studded with precious stones, and from the wrist of the hand which holds the image of the infant Jesus hangs a gold staff, the present of the Conde de Lemos, one of the viceroys of Peru. The altar of the Virgin is embowered in lilies, and candles burn constantly in the sacred shrine.” Marvellous are the miracles attributed to the Virgin of Copacabana, and ancient chronicles abound with records of her beneficence. During the colonial period the shrine was in charge of the order of Saint Augustine, but after the Independence it passed into the hands of the parochial priests, and later was committed to the supervision of the Franciscan fathers, being at the present time under the administration of the parish of Copacabana. The church is built in accordance with the colonial style of Spanish architecture, its white cupolas giving it the appearance of an imposing cathedral, as seen at a distance. It occupies a conspicuous situation on the peninsula of the same name, and is visited at all times of the year by devout pilgrims. In front of the church are three crosses, cut out of solid rock, which attract special attention.

Steamers make regular calls at Copacabana, and it is worth the journey to spend a day in the little town, which is as quiet as its famous church, except when the annual fiestas transform it into a scene of the wildest gayety. The population is almost entirely Indian, of Aymará origin, and the chief occupation of the people is tilling “a churlish soil.” Their stoic calm is proof against ordinary diversions; but when the great feast day of the Virgin is celebrated, they seem to make up for reticence and silence during the rest of the year. Dances, songs, and weird spectacles succeed one another in a chaos of mirth. At the beginning of the fiesta the ceremonies are impressive, and there is something quaint and picturesque in the scene, as these primitive natives of the soil appear in their gorgeously colored traje de fiesta, or holiday costumes, and join in the sacred procession, singing in the Aymará tongue the sacred songs, to which they give the triste note so characteristic of their own music, and so eloquent of their unhappy destiny. In the clear atmosphere the sound is carried far out over the lake, and echoes are repeated for miles around when the joyous exclamations of the pilgrims rend the air. As the fiesta continues, the Indians and cholos become more and more excited and noisy, and their dances and songs take on many grotesque features. In their curious carnival dress and the ludicrous character which the celebration takes before its close, the influence of primitive beliefs and customs becomes more and more visible, until the conglomeration of Indian rites and Christian ceremonies presents a unique though picturesque effect. During recent years the fiesta of Copacabana has lost some of its more marked characteristics, but it is still an interesting spectacle to travellers, as it has some features not seen in similar celebrations elsewhere in South America.

All around the border of Lake Titicaca, both on the Bolivian and on the Peruvian side, are towns celebrated for their handsome old churches and convents, which the Jesuits built in this region when they began their missionary work in Alto Peru at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Books still exist in the libraries of La Paz which were printed by them on their own printing press in 1612, and their grammars and dictionaries of the Indian languages of Spanish America, North and South, published here, are the earliest, and in many cases the most valuable, in existence. In some cases these Christian temples stand side by side with the ruins of Inca architecture, which abound not only on the islands of the lake, but along its borders. The sanctuary of Copacabana is said to occupy the site on which, centuries ago, Tupac-Inca-Yupanqui founded a city for the accommodation of pilgrims who came every year from all parts of the Inca’s empire to visit the Temple of the Sun and to pay homage to their great chief. The city must have presented a brilliant appearance when the noble vassals of the empire, representing forty-two different tribes, who acknowledged their spiritual and temporal lord in the person of the Inca, assembled with their retinues on the shore of the sacred lake. From the time of its foundation, this famous resort became a sacred city, enjoying special prerogatives by the Inca’s order. Handsome hotels, called carpahuasi, were built here, and immense storehouses were provided, which were always kept well stocked with food, so that the pilgrims should have no cause for preoccupation regarding their material comfort and well-being, but should be free to give all their time to spiritual meditation and devotion. From the peninsula to the Islands of the Sun and the Moon it was but a short distance, and the temples and palaces which adorned these sacred resorts could be plainly seen from the mainland. The story of the consecration of the temples of Lake Titicaca is romantic and fascinating, and lends an especial charm to the ruins which remain. It is related that the Inca came in person from Cuzco, attended by his nobles and vassals, to perform the ceremony, fasting a whole year from the use of meat and aji, and holding secret conferences with a spirit from the other world, who had been sent to him by his father the Sun. Many priests and more than a hundred virgins were consecrated to the service of the temple, and immense sums were levied in tribute on the vassals of the empire. Animals were sacrificed on the sacred rock of the Sun, and precious stones, gold, silver, and the fruits of the earth were afterward showered on the spot in adoration of the great deity. Finally, on the altar of the Sun was laid a huge gold disk, the image of the Sun, and on the altar of the Moon was placed the circular emblem of that sphere in silver. With these and minor ceremonies the islands were dedicated, one to the Sun, the other to the Moon, both of which were worshipped as progenitors of the divinely descended Incas.

Lake Titicaca possesses a remarkable variety of claims to general interest, its natural scenery being only one of many charming attractions. Scientists find the study of its formation and the investigation of its wonderful ruins a fascinating subject. Travellers of romantic temperament are enchanted by its legends and traditions, apart from any historical significance they may possess or any relation they may bear to scientific facts. The more practical and matter-of-fact visitors to this wonderful spot see in it the glorious possibilities of modern development, and are no less delighted at the unlimited prospect it presents as a great entrepôt for the distribution of traffic throughout a vast territory hitherto closed to outside communication. To everyone it presents an aspect different from any other lake in the world. Its situation is unique, the towns on its borders are not like lake villages elsewhere, its people are distinct in character and feature even from their neighbors a few leagues distant, and its native boats, the curious-looking balsas, are not quite like those of other waters. They are made of reeds or rushes, called totora, found growing near the banks, which are first woven into watertight rolls and then bound together with an extra roll at the top to serve as a protection. They have broad, flat sails, also of reeds, and are pushed through the water by means of a long pole. They formerly carried a great deal of freight between the lake ports, but since the inauguration of the present steamship line they are used only by the Indians. It is entertaining to look at them as they float idly on the water, with their miscellaneous cargoes of chuños, llamas, and Indians, or scud before a sharp breeze with astonishing rapidity. They are managed with great dexterity; and as the Indian is a good weather prophet, he is seldom wrecked, though the storms on the lake are at times very destructive. Professor A. F. Bandelier, of the Hispanic Society of America, New York, spent several months on the islands of Lake Titicaca studying their archæology, and he gives a very interesting description of the natural phenomena of the lake: “During winter the sky is mostly of an intense blue, the air chilling, while the sun’s rays scorch and burn the face and hands. Still, thunderstorms occur every month, and snowfalls are not uncommon. In summer a lowering sky often covers the mountain ranges, thunderstorms are of almost daily occurrence, thunderbolts very frequent, and waterspouts not rare. We saw two together, in the middle of the lake, and reliable informers state that as many as five have been observed at the same time. During tempestuous nights St. Elmo’s fire gleams on the steamers’ masts. And yet, rare is the evening when, for a few hours at least, the Bolivian cordillera does not shine out, even if thin vapor rises before it from the deep gorges at its foot, and seldom is the whole chain, from the Carabaya range in the north to Illimani in the south, completely shrouded. In August when winter is at its height and the skies are cloudless, the Bolivian Andes display an Alpine glow of unrivalled splendor.”

Whatever secrets the islands and rivers of Lake Titicaca conceal in their mysterious past, science will no doubt bring them to light some day, when the spirit of modern progress directs the study of their origin and history with more interest than at present. It seems incredible that in this advanced age there should exist a region so rich in scientific problems and so generally unknown to scholars. The few who have visited its shores and studied on its islands have found material for wide speculation, and have expressed very conflicting theories concerning its antiquity. But all have agreed as to the many attractions offered by this picturesque lake to the traveller, whether tourist or scientist; and as the South American route grows more popular, Swiss lakes and Scottish highlands will be neglected for the more marvellous charms of Lake Titicaca.