"On the produce of his crops and his herds he lives in poverty, leaving the mountains or the plain only to exchange some of his products for coca or brandy. The woman is rarely idle; whether in the market, or loitering over her household tasks, or even as she walks, one sees her always spinning the wool of the llama or the sheep of which her garments are made.
"The Bolivian Indian in general excels in carrying loads, in spite of the lack of tolerable highways, covering daily stages of twenty to thirty miles. The average load is 66 to 80 lb. With his shoulders free his speed and endurance are amazing; he will cover fifty miles a day for several days on end, and without feeling exhausted, unless for some reason he wishes to seem so. We have seen Indians follow or accompany the coach or the mule which bore us, at the trot, shouting or blowing a pan-pipe; and at night they seemed less eager to rest than our mules or ourselves.
"The Indian is to-day little better off than he was under Spanish rule. Since the proclamation of Bolivar, which declared him capable of holding property, many Governments have passed laws intended to protect the Indian; but they have either remained ineffective or they have been overlooked and violated by the very officials whose duty it was to apply them."[39]
The Cholo, or half-breed, race of the Cordillera--or indeed the lowlands--is, after the Indian, the most numerous element in the population. These folk unite the qualities of the Spaniard and the aboriginal.
"The Cholos of Bolivia possess excellent qualities. They are robust and well-built physically; they are courteous and intelligent, rapidly acquiring all sorts of knowledge; they are, as a rule, proud and courageous, and, like the Indians, make excellent soldiers. They are good industrial workers; many become foremen and artisans. But they are also, like the Indian race from which they have sprung, avid of pleasure, with a strong inclination to idleness and alcohol. They profoundly despise the Indians, whose worst enemies they are; and they have always retained the Indian's timidity or servility toward the white man. Like the Indians, they are often lacking in energy, will-power and commercial or agricultural initiative.