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the map of South America, Bolivia is large enough to contain France, Germany, Switzerland, Greece

and Great Britain together. The entire population of the Republic, however, does not exceed 2,500,000, of whom seventy-five per cent. are Indians.

Bolivia, the Hermit Republic, is the fifth largest country in the New World. It lies wholly within the tropics, yet altitude, rather than latitude, determines climatic conditions. From the lofty plateau on the west marked by the highest peaks of the Andean range, the republic's vast domain terraces down through smiling temperate valleys to the dense tropic jungle of the Amazonian plain. No greater contrast can be pictured than that of the Titicaca basin and the Eastern frontier. The one, treeless, windswept, encircled by the mightiest mountains of the Americas; the other, a sea of tangled verdure in the heart of the world's greatest wilderness. In a land so varied the products naturally cover a wide range. Precious metals, wrested from the Titanic strongholds of the Andes, rival Nature's most lavish forest gifts.

Two-thirds of the country lies in the lowlands, yet 88 per cent. of the people live on the plateau. The life of the Bolivian highlander is as dreary as his environment, yet he can not often be tempted down into the garden places just over the Andean wall.

Bolivia is now spending $30,000,000 on railway expansion, or $12 for every man, woman, and child within

The

railway will soon have rivals. hermit republic is destined to become South America's great central highway when her rails link the roads of Peru and Chile with those of Argentina and Brazil.

To what extent has the civilizing influence of missionary work so far touched this gigantic native-born population? Of recent years, more freedom and better facilities have been afforded to the labors of missionaries other than Roman Catholic. There are at a rough computation about 300 district tribes of Indians. scattered through the vast wilderness of the Latin continent, and in nu

merous instances no real attempt has been made to reach them with the Gospel. It is true that there are now sundry grammars of vocabularies of Quechua tongue, and that the New Testament has been translated into that language but it is estimated that some three and a half millions of these Indian races, scattered along the great Andine ranges, are as yet practically untouched by missionary influences. It has to be borne in mind, when considering this condition of backwardness, that Bolivia has no seacoast since the war of 1879-83, tho, to be sure, its eastern boundry includes a portion of mighty Paraguay River.

Canadian and American Missions

Seventeen years ago (in 1895), The American Bible Society employed a missionary with headquarters at La Paz, and a little later the Canadian Baptist Mission started operations. A prominent worker for the latter body, Mr. R. Routledge, thus writes of the natural beauties of La Paz: "The glory of the scene is much enhanced by the fact that the previous day's travel is over one of most dreary and uninteresting of plains. As the coach stops at the Alto (edge of the cliff) and we look down upon the city 800 feet below, we see a very compact, pretty little city about one mile wide, filled with red-tiled houses and surrounded by high hills. The only opening is the beautiful valley at the bottom directly in front of us, which leads to the great Ama

Every league you go in that direction means a complete change of climate, but Nature is thriving on every side, flowers, shrubs and trees growing in profusion.

"You would think we were not a league from the snow, but Illimani is forty miles from La Paz. From the Alto above the city, you can see, 100 miles distant, Sorato peak-21,286 feet above sea-level!"

Mr. Routledge claimed, by the by, that in a short while he was preaching regularly to 300 people, including doctors, lawyers, etc, "not to speak of throngs of working men." It was in La Paz, too, that the heroic Robert Lodge of Hartley House Mission passed away, and to-day visitors to the Bolivian city may see his humble grave adorned with simple inscription, "The blood of Christ cleanseth us from sin."

To the westward of La Paz, with its curious relics of the old Inca civilization, you may see that extraordinary sheet of water-Lake Titicana-3,600 square miles in extent, 80 miles long by 40 wide, and 12,545 feet above sea level! The only known outlet to the other end of this marvelous expanse of water is the River Desaguadero which flows through upper Bolivia to Oruro and thence into Lake Poopo.

Very many years ago the British and Foreign Bible Society made a tentative attempt to propagandize some wilder portions of the Andine interior, while as far back as 1883 the Rev. A. M. Milne, the veteran. agent of American Bible Society, managed to dispose of some five thousand Bibles on a Bolivian tour. That the work has not been without its perils is evidenced by the circumstance that a missionary of this Society was murdered by the Indians some years since. In 1895, and again in 1900, a party led by Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Payne pushed on considerably

farther than the pioneers of Protestantism had previously penetrated. Their experience of at least three of the Indian tribes-the Chiriguanos, the warlike Tobas, and the Matacos --was on the whole satisfactory.

Potosi and Oruro, of silver mining fame, are among the most interesting centers that these workers have touched. The population of the second-named town, now perhaps 20,000, is said to have once amounted to 160,000. Educational and mission work has been engaged in here by Mr. Archibald Reckie, by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Mitchell in Cochabamba, and by Mr. Archibald Baker and Mr. Routledge in La Paz. The Bolivian Indian Mission, of which the Rev. J. C. Dalrymple is secretary, has its headquarters in San Pedro and several other branches. As one of their most enthusiastic workers has phrased it in eloquent verse:

"Coming, coming from afar,
From the lofty Andine mountains,
From Bolivia's peopled plains,
They shall hear the old, old story. .

The mines of Potosi have yielded more silver than all the other silver mines in the world. Between 1545 and 1805, an amount of the precious metal roughly estimated at £14,000,000 was produced, and the output is said to have reached £2,000 per day. The legend is that in the long ago a woman, Diega Hualca, accidently discovered the existence of silver in the otherwise barren region. Now there are several thousands of mine entrances, in some instances nearly 17,000 feet above sea-level. At Potosi is the National Mint of the Bolivian Republic, in itself a very remarkable achievement. "This building," was told by an English mission

ary lately returned from Potosi, "covers twenty thousand square metres, and illustrates the extraordinary work done by the colonizing Spaniards. After about three centuries, the building still stands without any signs of decay! The beams of the roof, some of them measuring 14 inches square and 30 to 40 feet long, are of cedar, and owing to the dry atmosphere present the appearance of having been recently cut down. This timber must have been brought at least 400 miles over high mountains, across deep rivers, and along the sides of precipices, and many Indians must have laid down their lives in this work."

Times have have certainly changed somewhat for the better in the picturesque country dedicated to the name and fame of Simon Bolivar 'El Liberador. For one thing, there is much more religious toleration, for time was when the missionary influences of Anglican and other communities were not merely deprecated, but were actually penalized by the State. It follows that with greater freedom of thought higher and more civilizing factors will enter into the lives of the Bolivian people. Their country is one of richest, not merely of the South American continent but among the countries of the world. Silver, copper, tin, zinc, antimony, bismuth, and gold,-all of these are produced in increasing quantity, not to speak of the largely enhanced output in such exports as rubber and

cocoa.

One of the most interesting, and at the same time most difficult phases of any undertaking in Bolivia, be it missionary or otherwise, is that of travel. For many hundreds of miles

in any given direction, the traveler has still mainly to depend upon the nimble-footed but unamiable and even hostile mule. If such primitive means of locomotion-the same as was in use centuries ago, the same as

was in vogue when Bolivia freed this and the other South American countries only one century ago-has its discomforts for the traveler, it is also not devoid of its humorous point of view.

Putu

Immediately on the publication of the British Blue Book giving details of the horrible atrocities committed upon the Indians of the Putumayo region, an appeal was made for the establishment of a Roman Catholic mission among these Indians on the plea that a Protestant mission would not be permitted. It is to be noted that the men who make or support this appeal claim, in some cases, to be disinterested because they are not Roman Catholics, but it is also to be noted that these men are in no wise authorities on mission work. Neither can we discover that they are familiar with Peru as a whole. When they speak of Roman Catholicism as being best suited to the needs of these people, they apparently ignore the great work done throughout the world by the Protestant Churches, and when they say that Protestant missions are forbidden in Peru they show plainly that they know nothing of parts of Peru where a successful Protestant work has been carried on for many years.

It has been stated that the Peruvian Government would forbid such work, but this has to be proved. In any case we have the assurance that the Evangelical Alliance will not rest content until religious liberty is granted in Peru.

The Roman Catholic Church has not suggested the use of her power

Peruvian

and influence with the Government to ask the Government to make it possible for Protestants to share in mission work in the Putumayo, the sphere for which is large and the call urgent. and the call urgent. As usual, she stands quietly by and allows the Peruvian Government to take the blame for intolerance for which she alone is responsible.

It is true that the Peruvian Government cannot officially recognize Protestant mission work, but Britishers and others have treaty rights whereby they are permitted to carry on any work which the law does not prohibit, and certainly the law does not prohibit Protestant missionary work, medical, educational, or evangelical.

All that is prohibited to Protestants in Peru is the public celebration of the Mass (Holy Communion) or the display of images and religious symbols. This is no part of our misionary work, and would be of little use or benefit to the Indians of the Putumayo. On the other hand, the parading of crosses and images, banners and emblems, and the eelebration. of Mass in Latin form a large part of the Roman Catholic work.

It is interesting to note in this connection that the law expelling the Jesuits and prohibiting their residence in the territory of the Republic is still in force, nevertheless they are resident in force in Lima.