A brilliant past still casts its glamour over the historic city of Potosí. Romance lingers about its wonderful old palaces, fascinating in their antiquated style, with their exquisitely carved doorways and curiously wrought miradores. Unwritten history is suggested in every varying design, and in a thousand indefinable touches of the elaborate art that constructed them in centuries gone by. Imagination revelling in the presence of these charming old edifices, pictures with vivid pleasure the scenes and events of their past, long since forgotten by the people, except as preserved in many enchanting traditions. As the traveller rides up the steep, narrow streets, they appear silent and deserted, except in the main thoroughfare, where busy vendors exhibit their wares in gayly decorated booths in front of their little shops, and exchange the gossip of the day across the pebble-paved calle. The scarlet, yellow, and green ponchos, blankets of a gorgeous mixture in hue, and bright articles of every description, which hang outside the shops, give a welcome dash of color and warmth to the otherwise rather triste, though wonderfully picturesque, little city at the base of the great silver mountain. There is an attractiveness about it all which few cities of the New World possess. A heritage of fanciful legends and traditions, supported by artistic relics of architectural grandeur and historic records of daring patriotism, makes the quaint old town rich in treasure more valuable than the precious metal of its famous Cerro. There is hardly a house without its tradition, or some story of a great event which occurred on the spot where it is built.

In the quaint fashion of the chronicles of the period, it is recorded in September, 1545, that Captain Villarroel, Don Diego Centeno, and other Spanish nobles founded the city of Potosí, and that “the building continued so rapidly the two following years that houses were put up without digging proper foundations or levelling the streets,” which is not surprising when one reads that the population increased by twelve thousand inhabitants during that short time. One of the first large edifices completed was the cathedral in 1547, the churches of San Francisco, San Lorenzo, and Santa Barbara being constructed the following year. The interesting chronicle gives a chapter to the story of the miraculous arrival at the church of San Francisco, the same year, of the image of the Holy Christ of the True Cross. To use the enthusiastic description of the chronicler: “That wonder of sculpture, that prodigy of marvels, that amazing power of miracles, that true father of mercies, from which Potosí experiences singular and daily favors, I say, and I do declare it once for all, the Holy Christ of the True Cross, appeared in the door of San Francisco, without anyone knowing whence it came, who sent it, or who brought it hither; it was found in a box in the form of a cross, and, as I say, without its being known whence it came or who was the artificer, though it appears not to have been made by human hands, for it is all a miracle. In this way was it found, though it is said by some that it was first discovered in one of the ports of the Indies, with an address on the box which read ‘for San Francisco de Potosí.’” As stated elsewhere, the literary chronicles of those days were chiefly the work of the clergy, which no doubt accounts for the importance given to this event, only one of many of like character.

Within five or six years after the city of Potosí was founded, the fame of the Cerro began to bring fortune seekers and all classes of adventurers from Europe, while the importance of his Catholic majesty’s possessions here required that the highest representatives of the government should be sent to supervise the collection of the royal funds. Spanish nobles were charged with the management of the royal treasury and the mint in the new country, and their residence in Potosí made that city the centre of great display and luxury. Magnificent palaces were built, special architects being brought from Spain to superintend the construction, and, in recognition of the importance of the new city, the Emperor Charles V. bestowed upon it the title of Villa Imperial de Potosí. In 1565 Philip II. presented the city with a coat of arms, representing the royal arms of Spain on a silver field, an imperial eagle; in the middle of this were two castles and two lions counterpoised; and marking the centre of the royal arms was the great Cerro de Potosí; the ne plus ultra column appears on each side; the imperial crown is the crest, and the columns are ornamented by the Collar of the Golden Fleece. The wealth of the city grew so rapidly that the extravagance of its citizens became renowned throughout the world. The most ordinary utensils for household use were made of silver wrought in exquisite designs. A lady’s gown cost five thousand dollars, which, three centuries ago, was not the dressmaker’s bagatelle that it is to-day, but represented a very fine fortune; Queen Isabella was thought recklessly munificent when she spent twenty thousand dollars on the fleet that brought Columbus to America. There were some Lucullan feasts in the city of the Cerro in those days, if the chronicles are to be relied upon which tell us that gay companies of revellers drank whole casks of wine at a supper and paid for their patrician taste at the rate of thirty dollars a bottle. When in 1559 the news arrived that the Emperor Charles V. was dead, the city became as extravagant in its grief as it had been in revelry, and the royal obsequies which were celebrated in the church of San Francisco cost one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, which the record says “is not surprising, as wax candles cost twelve dollars a pound.” There appeared to be something intoxicating in the atmosphere of so much wealth, and the people lived in an excitement of spendthrift follies that verged on mania.

Potosí had its astrologers, the same as the European courts in those days, and when the mines failed to yield their usual amount, or plagues afflicted the people, as was the case in the sixteenth century, these wise men were called upon to “read the stars.” The Anales de la Villa Imperial de Potosí gives an entertaining paragraph from one of the chief astrologers: “In 1555 the influence of the planets Jupiter and Mercury dominate Potosí, the latter inclining the people to prudence and intelligence in their manners and business affairs, while Jupiter makes them magnanimous and liberal in spirit. The signs Venus and Libra incline those born in Potosí to be affectionate and fond of music and feasting, as well as devoted to the acquisition of wealth and the affairs of gallantry.” Evidently the astrologer knew his Potosí! Less lenient are the judgments passed upon the pleasure-loving Spanish nobles of Potosí by some authorities, who condemn their cruelty to the unfortunate Indians, and their reckless contempt for all social laws. The mediæval practices of jealous knights, which were beginning to fall into disrepute at that time in Europe, reigned in all their intensity in the city of the Cerro, and the priest was constantly being dragged from his convent, blindfolded and tied, and taken to the Palacio Encantado of the Knights of Santiago, or to some other remote and lonely palace to shrive the unhappy victim of a tragic crime. But those were the darker features of life in the imperial city, and they gradually faded out as the laws became better established. The great Viceroy Toledo, who visited Potosí in 1573 did much to advance the well-being of the city and to correct the abuses of his too powerful countrymen. He ordered the streets widened and the city divided into separate quarters for the Spaniards and the Indians. As may be imagined, the viceroy’s visit was the occasion of splendid fiestas, pageants and banquets succeeding one another for fifteen days without intermission. It was soon after his departure that the feud between Vascongado and Vicuña began to threaten the peace of the community, and it developed rapidly into a terrible war. The Criollos of Potosí joined the Vicuñas, and the last few years of the century saw many sanguinary battles between the two forces. Their hatred of each other became a motive of rivalry even in the fiestas. A description of one of these entertainments, as given in the chronicles of the period, reads like a tale of the Middle Ages: “The sports began with six days of comedies, eight of bull fights, three of soirées, two of tournaments and other fiestas; six nights were given up to the masquers, the Potosinos appearing in magnificent style, their persons and horses covered with jewels and precious stones. The master of ceremonies for the award of premiums was Don Francisco Nicolás de Arsans, a Knight of Calatrava, and grandson of the Duke of Alba, a young man whose income represented more than five million dollars. On the day of the contest of skill, Don Francisco, accompanied by forty young nobles, rode into the plaza, where the spectators were assembled, mounted on a magnificently caparisoned horse, wearing over his armor a cape embroidered in blue damask and sprinkled with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds; his plumed helmet glittered with jewels. In his right hand he carried a lance, and in the left a shield on which was painted his coat of arms, also richly jewelled, with the device Desde el Alba vine aqui. His saddle was of finely wrought gold, as were his stirrups, and the bridle was made of ropes of pearls. His followers, all young scions of the highest nobility of Spain, among whom were Don Severino Columbus, great-grandson of the discoverer of America, and Don Nicolás Saúlo Ponce de Leon, of the ducal house of Arcos, were richly dressed and rode splendid chargers, which were caparisoned in the same costly style as that of their leader.” The grandest spectacle of the fiestas was the parade on the final day. All around the main plaza, now called Pichincha Plaza, were arranged tiers of seats for the spectators, who represented the wealth and fashion of what was at that time one of the richest cities in the world. An enormous fortune was displayed in the prizes alone, which were borne to the plaza in a gilded coach drawn by two milk-white ponies, “glittering with the costly jewels and precious stones that were to be awarded as premiums.” The procession eclipsed anything of its kind seen nowadays in elaborate style and costliness. First came twelve arquebusiers in scarlet, then twelve mousquetaires in Holland cloth bordered with white points, after which the triumphal car of gilded silver appeared, drawn by eight black horses, in the midst of which was a dais of silver, surmounted by a throne of ivory. On the throne was seated the young master of ceremonies, wearing over his armor a rich Roman toga, bordered in gold, silver, and precious stones; on his head was a wreath of emeralds, signifying the laurels of victory; the Cross of the Order of Calatrava, which he wore on his breast, was of priceless rubies. Following the triumphal car came twelve cavaliers dressed in dark green, riding horses of different colors, but all gorgeously caparisoned in gold and silver. After these horsemen followed the other participants in the parade, each bearing some symbol or emblem of his profession in gold, silver, or jewels. Don Severino Columbus appeared with a globe of silver; young Ponce de Leon, a Knight of Santiago, bore a silver image of the Cerro de Potosí; and another young nobleman’s exhibit was a unique representation of the Cerro in an electrical storm, with the sound of thunder and the play of lightning and hail ingeniously described. Millions of dollars were spent in these fiestas, the chief object of which was to give the Criollos an opportunity to break lances with the Vascongados. One of the bitterest fights ever waged between the rival parties arose out of a tourney between Don Nicolás Saúlo Ponce de Leon, a Criollo born in Potosí, and Don Sancho de Mondragon, a Vascongado, for the hand of a beautiful girl, Margarita de Ulloa, who loved Don Nicolás, but had been betrothed to Don Sancho against her will. In the tilt, Don Nicolás defeated not only the fiancé of his beloved Margarita, but also one hundred of his opponent’s followers successively; after which he seized his beautiful sweetheart, lifted her to his saddle, and fled with her to Chuquisaca. The story of the fleeing lovers, the pursuit by the defeated Don Sancho, the sanguinary duels that followed, and the final successful appeal of the lovers to the Viceroy of Lima, is one of the most thrilling romances of colonial Spain. And it is of peculiar historical interest, since the union of a Criollo with the daughter of a Vascongado resulted in a later reconciliation between the two parties, at least for a time, and the Criollo’s triumph had its influence in shaping political affairs in favor of the party which afterward won the independence of the American colonies from Spain. As it is seen, a woman had no small share in bringing about that portentous event.

With the War of the Independence, and even preceding that time, the riches of Potosí began to decline and the city gradually lost its magnificence. From a population of more than one hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants, the life of the silver capital dwindled until its population became less than it is at present, about twenty-two thousand inhabitants. But the spirit of the patriotic Criollo never died out; and in the long War of the Independence some of the bravest fighters were the Potosinos, who spared nothing to achieve the freedom of their beloved country. A beautiful story is told by “Brocha Gorda” of a Potosí heroine who saved the life of the great Bolivar from a premeditated attack of the royalists on the night of his famous ascent to the Cerro to plant on its highest peak, nineteen thousand feet above the sea level, the sacred standard of liberty. Thanks to her watchfulness and warning, the liberator was enabled to outwit his enemies and to leave the city without being harmed.

In the early days of the republic the people of the city of the Cerro played an important rôle in political affairs, and Potosí was the scene of some of the most notable struggles in the history of the nation. Near this city the celebrated Argentine general, Don Bartolomé Mitre, who had charge of the Military College of La Paz under General José Ballivian’s administration, defeated the revolutionary forces arrayed against the government, in recognition of which he received a handsome shield and the title of “Well-deserving of the country in heroic and eminent degree.” The same distinguished soldier and scholar was later imprisoned and banished by Belzu, during a period of rapid changes in government, when Potosí was the chief theatre of revolt. While prefect of the department, General Campero was seized by the revolutionists and was only at the last moment rescued from the scaffold, where he was about to be put to death because at the command of the invading forces he refused to give up his authority and the protection of the National Mint. Many of the most celebrated statesmen of the republic have been natives of Potosí, which gave to Bolivia the famous dictator Dr. José Maria Linares, the ideal patriot Don Tomás Frias, and other great leaders. Among its prefects who have contributed not only to the progress of their own departments, but to the lustre of the national fame, are such distinguished men as Don Casimiro Olañeta, Don Aniceto Arce, Don Manuel José Cortés, Don Juan Crisóstomo Carrillo, Don Modesto Omiste, General José Manuel Rendón, Don Demetrio Calbimonte, and Don Carlos Torrico, all of whom are known in diplomacy and letters, as well as for their executive ability. The present intendente of Potosí, Señor Don Luis Subieta S., is a clever writer and an acknowledged authority on the history of Potosí, to which he has devoted years of careful study and research.

Although the city of Potosí does not display the splendor of the former Villa Imperial, it has many attractive features, and is, altogether, extremely picturesque. The ruins of colonial temples and palaces are marvels of preservation, considering the centuries that have passed since their construction, one of the most famous being the tower of the old Jesuit church, known popularly as the Torre de la Compañía. It was built in 1590, remodelled in 1700 by a wealthy miner, Don José de Quiroz, who spent a fabulous fortune in works of pious devotion. At his own exclusive expense, the altar of the Church of Mercy was gilded. He rebuilt the principal chapel of the convent of San Agustin, constructed two subterranean vaults and a magnificent altar, and for the rebuilding of the Jesuit tower he paid more than forty thousand dollars. The tower is built of stone and is divided into three sections, of which the two upper ones have seventeen niches for bells and a clock. The tower is about sixty feet in height, and is adorned on both sides with handsome columns. The capitals, architraves, and cornices are exquisitely carved. In the frieze of the entablature is carved in high relief the inscription “Praised be the most holy Sacrament of the Altar.” In addition to the Jesuit tower and the marvellously carved doorways of San Lorenzo and other old temples, the palace of Don José de Quiroz is hardly less an object of interest, though it has been divided up into many small houses; and the great stone doorway, above which the coat of arms of Quiroz, chiselled in marble, may still be seen, now marks the entrance to a humble bakeshop. The penitentiary in which the unfortunate Indians were punished, is now a mass of forbidding ruins, but it serves to recall the stories one has heard of the cruelties of the mita system.

The modern attractions of Potosí consist in its spacious and picturesque plazas and its public buildings. Plaza Pichincha, which is a favorite resort at all times, presents a particularly brilliant scene on feast days. On occasions of religious celebrations the entire community flocks to the plaza, from which the processions may be witnessed to the best advantage, as they leave the cathedral. The centre of the plaza is adorned by a handsome monument erected to commemorate the Independence. Facing this square are several of the most important public buildings, such as the City Hall and the celebrated Pichincha College, which was founded in 1826 by General Sucre and restored later by General Belzu. It is one of the most notable edifices of the city. The public library and museum are of especial interest for the splendid old volumes and several notable pictures to be seen there. An oil painting of Don Antonio Lopez de Quiroga, the first millionaire of the Cerro, and founder of the Franciscan Convent of Potosí, occupies a conspicuous place, though the position of honor is given to a painting of the Spanish King Charles III., which was ordered to be executed for the occasion of that monarch’s acclamation in 1760. Potosí has a social club, entertainments being given from time to time under its auspices.

On a fine day, when the air is clear and the sky wears a deep, beautiful blue, such as is seen only at great altitudes where the variety of the atmosphere gives it a peculiar brilliancy, the most delightful pastime is a ride on the heights around the city, first, of course, to the famous Cerro and then to other points of interest in the neighborhood. Hours may be spent enjoyably in visiting the artificial lakes, which were built by the Spaniards for the purpose of securing a constant and permanent water supply for the ingenios, and which are still in use. The enormous scale on which these establishments were conducted may be judged from the statement that they extended in a continuous line from the upper part of the city to a distance of more than a league below it. From the artificial lakes above came surging down the mountain side the great stream of water, equivalent to a river in volume, which, after flowing through these ingenios to operate the machinery and wash the metal, was so deeply colored in transit that it carried a rich red tide all the way to the Pilcomayo, leagues below, into which it was discharged. The work of building the lakes was begun in 1574 and completed in 1621 at a cost of two million five hundred thousand dollars. The first to be finished were those of the Cerro of Cari-cari, called San Ildefonso and San Pablo, after which followed San Sebastian, Illimani, and the rest, thirty-two in all, though only twenty-two remain. The largest of these is Chalviri, three miles in circumference, and about thirty feet in average depth, which is filled with water six months of the year and supplies the city fountains as well as the mining establishments. The lakes are all located at great altitudes, those of Illimani and San Sebastian being sixteen thousand feet above sea level, and they are surrounded by a series of walls, the first of which is of stone, to receive the shock of the suddenly checked torrent which pours into the lake from the neighboring summits. The second wall is of clay, the third of limestone, and the fourth and fifth are of limestone and clay, the thickness of the five walls being from thirty to forty feet. A system of ditches connects the lakes with one another, and the water is brought down to the city through a conduit more than fifteen miles in length. By the system in use at the present time, each of the lakes has a sluice which controls the amount of water discharged from it. San Sebastian is the receiving medium for the water from all the lakes, and from it the current is carried down to the city, as required.

Before the artificial lakes of Potosí were constructed, the problem of supplying water for mining establishments was brought to the attention of the Viceroy Toledo, as up to that time it had been necessary to use the most inadequate machinery, worked by Indians and mules, in pulverizing the metals. The viceroy, in company with leading miners, reconnoitred the neighboring country, and decided that the quebrada of Tarapaya offered the only solution of the question, as here was abundance of water. Accordingly, the first ingenios were established in this cañon, twelve miles west of the city. The fame of Tarapaya antedates that of the Cerro de Potosí, its marvellous thermal springs having been a favorite resort long before the Spaniards came to America. The principal spring is a deep, round pool, which has been called the “swallower of men,” because of the many drowned in its deceptive depths. Maita-Ccapac, when on a visit to the mines of Porco, stopped at Tarapaya, and first made the spring famous by giving it the royal favor. He beautified the place, making the spring a perfectly circular lake, as it remains to this day. The thermal waters in the vicinity of Potosí are of a very healthful quality, and wonderful cures have been effected at Miraflores and Don Diego, and other springs.

Potosí is on the direct transportation highway northward and southward, and by the system of railways under construction it will be connected with all the chief cities and brought several days nearer the coast. Then every tourist to South America can visit the famous Cerro and enjoy one of the grandest sights in the whole realm of Nature, as unfolded to view from its heights. At one’s feet lies the quaint old city, with its Spanish calles and its picturesque miradores, its colonial ruins and the more modern edifices, and beyond, the view appears to stretch to infinity; far away is the scintillating Cordillera de los Frailes, reflecting the sun’s rays as if every separate peak were a huge diamond flashing under the strong white light; nearer are the peaks of the many serranias that cling like fringe to the great Royal Range. Wherever the gaze is turned, the vision is a succession of mountain summits, purples, dark reds, lighter grays, and snow white. There is still another potent attraction—the kind and hospitable people of Potosí have a pleasant welcome for all who visit their city.