petticoats of the plateau.  Over their shoulders were pinned heavy woolen shawls, woven on hand looms.  On their heads were reversible “pancake” hats made of straw, covered on the wet-weather side with coarse woolen stuff and on the fair-weather side with tinsel and velveteen.  In accordance with local custom, tassels and fringes hung down on both sides.  It is said that the first Inca ordered the dresses of each village to be different, so that his officials might know to which tribe an Indian belonged.  It was only with great difficulty and by the combined efforts of a good-natured priest, the gobernador or mayor, and the alcaldes that a dozen very reluctant females were finally persuaded to face the camera.  The expression of their faces was very eloquent.  Some were highly indignant, others looked foolish or supercilious, two or three were thoroughly frightened, not knowing what evil might befall them next.  Not one gave any evidence of enjoying it or taking the matter as a good joke, although that was the attitude assumed by all their male acquaintances.  In fact, some of the men were so anxious to have their pictures taken that they followed us about and posed on the edge of every group.

Men and boys all wore knitted woolen caps, with ear flaps, which they seldom remove either day or night.  On top of these were large felt hats, turned up in front so as to give a bold aspect to their husky wearers.  Over their shoulders were heavy woolen ponchos, decorated with bright stripes.  Their trousers end abruptly halfway between knee and ankle, a convenient style for herdsmen who have to walk in the long, dewy grasses of the plateau.  These “high-water” pantaloons do not look badly when worn with sandals, as is the usual custom; but since this was Sunday all the well-to-do men had put on European boots, which did not come up to the bottom of their trousers and produced a singular effect, hardly likely to become fashionable.

The prosperity of the town was also shown by corrugated iron roofs.  Far less picturesque than thatch or tile, they require less attention and give greater satisfaction during the rainy season.  They can also be securely bolted to the rafters.  On this wind-swept plateau we frequently noticed that a thatched roof was held in place by ropes passed over the house and weights resting on the roof.  Sometimes to the peak of a gable are fastened crosses, tiny flags, or the skulls of animals—­probably to avert the Evil Eye or bring good luck.  Horseshoes do not seem to be in demand.  Horses’ skulls, however, are deemed very efficacious.

On the rim of the Titicaca Basin is La Raya.  The watershed is so level that it is almost impossible to say whether any particular raindrop will eventually find itself in Lake Titicaca or in the Atlantic Ocean.  The water from a spring near the railroad station of Araranca flows definitely to the north.  This spring may be said to be one of the sources of the Urubamba River, an important affluent of the Ucayali