Among the thirty-six islands in Lake Titicaca, some belong to Peru, others to Bolivia.  Two of the latter, Titicaca and Koati, were peculiarly venerated in Inca days.  They are covered with artificial terraces, most of which are still used by the Indian farmers of to-day.  On both islands there are ruins of important Inca structures.  On Titicaca Island I was shown two caves, out of which, say the Indians, came the sun and moon at their creation.  These caves are not large enough for a man to stand upright, but to a people who do not appreciate the size of the heavenly bodies it requires no stretch of the imagination to believe that those bright disks came forth from caves eight feet wide.  The myth probably originated with dwellers on the western shore of the lake who would often see the sun or moon rise over this island.  On an ancient road that runs across the island my native guide pointed out the “footprints of the sun and moon”—­two curious effects of erosion which bear a distant resemblance to the footprints of giants twenty or thirty feet tall.

The present-day Indians, known as Aymaras, seem to be hard-working and fairly cheerful.  The impression which Bandelier gives, in his “Islands of Titicaca and Koati,” of the degradation and surly character of these Indians was not apparent at the time of my short visit in 1915.  It is quite possible, however, that if I had to live among the Indians, as he did for several months, digging up their ancient places of worship, disturbing their superstitious prejudices, and possibly upsetting, in their minds, the proper balance between wet weather and dry, I might have brought upon myself uncivil looks and rough, churlish treatment such as he experienced.  In judging the attitude of mind of the natives of Titicaca one should remember that they live under most trying conditions of climate and environment.  During several months of the year everything is dried up and parched.  The brilliant sun of the tropics, burning mercilessly through the rarefied air, causes the scant vegetation to wither.  Then come torrential rains.  I shall never forget my first experience on Lake Titicaca, when the steamer encountered a rain squall.  The resulting deluge actually came through the decks.  Needless to say, such downpours tend to wash away the soil which the farmers have painfully gathered for field or garden.  The sun in the daytime is extremely hot, yet the difference in temperature between sun and shade is excessive.  Furthermore, the winds at night are very damp; the cold is intensely penetrating.  Fuel is exceedingly scarce, there is barely enough for cooking purposes, and none for artificial heat.