thought that the Coropuna "devils"
were now appearing to Indians "in the form of" Christians! Anyhow the
Indians said that on top of Coropuna there was a delightful, warm
paradise containing beautiful flowers, luscious fruits, parrots of
brilliant plumage, macaws, and even monkeys, those faithful denizens
of hot climates. The souls of the departed stop to rest and enjoy
themselves in this charming spot on their upward flight. Like most
primitive people who live near snow-capped mountains, they had an
abject terror of the forbidding summits and the snowstorms that seem
to come down from them. Probably the Indians hope to propitiate
the demons who dwell on the mountain tops by inventing charming
stories relating to their abode. It is interesting to learn that in
the neighboring hamlet of Pampacolca, the great explorer Raimondi,
in 1865, found the natives "exiled from the civilized world, still
preserving their primitive customs... carrying idols to the slopes
of the great snow mountain Coropuna, and there offering them as a
sacrifice." Apparently the mountain still inspires fear in the hearts
of all those who live near it.

The fact that we agreed to pay in advance unheard-of wages, ten
times the usual amount earned by laborers in this vicinity, that we
added offers of the precious coca leaves, the greatly-to-be-desired
"fire-water," the rarely seen tobacco, and other good things usually
coveted by Peruvian highlanders, had no effect in the face of the
terrors of the mountain. They knew only too well that snow-blindness
was one of the least of ills to be encountered; while the advantages
of dark-colored glasses, warm clothes, kerosene stoves, and plenty
of good food, which we freely offered, were far too remote from the
realm of credible possibilities. Professor Coello understood all these
matters perfectly and, being able to speak Quichua, the language of
our prospective carriers, did his best in the way of argument, not
only out of loyalty to the Expedition, but because Peruvian gentlemen
always regard the carrying of a load as extremely undignified and
improper. I have known one of the most energetic and efficient business
men in Peru, a highly respected gentleman in a mountain city, so to
dislike being obliged to carry a rolled and unmounted photograph,
little larger than a lead pencil, that he sent for a cargador, an
Indian porter, to bear it for him!

As a matter of fact, Professor Coello was perfectly willing to