carcely biennial, that there were
no fire engines. A bucket brigade was formed and tried to quench the
roaring furnace by dipping water from one of the azequias, or canals,
that run through the streets. The fire continued to belch forth dense
masses of smoke and flame. In any American city such a blaze would
certainly become a great conflagration.

While the fire was at its height I went into the adjoining building
to see whether any help could be rendered. To my utter amazement
the surface of the wall next to the fiery furnace was not even
warm. Such is the result of building houses with massive walls of
stone. Furthermore, the roofs in Arequipa are of tiles; consequently
no harm was done by sparks. So, without a fire department, this
really terrible fire was limited to one warehouse! The next day
the newspapers talked about the "dire necessity" of securing fire
engines. It was difficult for me to see what good a fire engine
could have done. Nothing could have saved the warehouse itself once
the fire got under way; and surely the houses next door would have
suffered more had they been deluged with streams of water. The facts
are almost incredible to an American. We take it as a matter of course
that cities should have fires and explosions. In Arequipa everybody
thought it was an earthquake!

A day's run by an excellent railroad takes one to Puno, the chief
port of Lake Titicaca, elevation 12,500 feet. Puno boasts a soldier's
monument and a new theater, really a "movie palace." There is a good
harbor, although dredging is necessary to provide for steamers like
the Inca. Repairs to the lake boats are made on a marine--or, rather,
a lacustrine--railway. The bay of Puno grows quantities of totoras,
giant bulrushes sometimes twelve feet long. Ages ago the lake dwellers
learned to dry the totoras, tie them securely in long bundles, fasten
the bundles together, turn up the ends, fix smaller bundles along the
sides as a free-board, and so construct a fishing-boat, or balsa. Of
course the balsas eventually become water-logged and spend a large
part of their existence on the shore, drying in the sun. Even so,
they are not very buoyant. I can testify that it is difficult to use
them without getting one's shoes wet. As a matter of fact one should
go barefooted, or wear sandals, as the natives do.

The balsas are clumsy, and difficult to paddle. The favorite method of
locomotion is to pole or, when the wind favors, sail.