National Geographic : 1916 May
FURTHER EXPLORATIONS IN THE LAND OF THE INCAS 473 agriculture, which is below 7,000 feet in altitude. "The occupations of the highland In dian are stockherding and potato raising." Writes Mr. Hardy, "the stock belongs to the owner of the finca, but the Indian is allowed to pasture his own sheep and cattle with the rest. These are not many, although I found one Indian who claimed to own forty sheep, fifteen cows, and two pigs. He paid ten soles, or $4.80 gold, a year rental and had to work one week each year for the finca owner. They move as lack of pasture may demand, but always to some spot as wild and desolate as that from which they came. AN HONEST RACE "The Indians of the highlands have the purest blood and are much more attract ive than those of the montafia or slopes. Bronze skinned, of medium height, but with huge chest expansion and wonderful leg development, some of the men of the highlands present a striking appearance. Those of the lowlands, although lighter in color, are generally more ill-favored and lack the ruggedness of feature pos sessed by those of purer blood. They are smaller, less healthy, and show more marks of dissipation. The pure-blooded women are rarely attractive, yet in Uru bamba they are more attractive than the men and have more regular features. Practically all the natives have dark hair and eyes. "In the uplands both men and women keep to their old styles of clothes, but as one goes down modern styles ap pear, until in the tropical belt the stiff, broad - brimmed hat and hand - woven poncho have disappeared entirely. Skirts get higher along with the altitude, until at some places they scarcely reach the knee, and give a decidedly fashionable effect. "In the highlands the woman's hat closely resembles the man's (usually a bit smaller in circumference), but she never wears the woolen skull-cap. To match the poncho she has a lliclla, or shawl, the upper corners fastened in front with a silver pin or topo, usually possessing the shape of the bowl of a soup spoon. "I found the Indians quite honest. Only two or three small articles were lost during the construction of our house at Yankihausi. It was the custom to pay their wages in advance, and we never met with very much disposition on their part to fail us. "The Indians' only pleasures are beastly carousals. The children have no toys and are almost never engaged in play. As soon as they are able to walk they are set to work. They are early taught to collect firewood and forage wherever they can. Several times in Ollantaytambo I saw a little girl, who could not have been over three years old, driving home a sheep loaded with small branches which the child had collected for firewood." The result of our four expeditions leads me to conclude that the Peruvian Indian is worth study and development. While it must be admitted that they sel dom bathe and have some filthy habits, this is partly the result of living in the cold of the Andes and partly due to ignorance. If the government of Peru would fol low the example of the United States government in making it a crime to sell alcohol and cocaine to the Indians, its revenue would be greatly curtailed; but there is no question that ultimately the country and the Indians would both be far better off.