The whole city is lit up by electricity, and it just seems as if one
were gazing _down_ on another firmament, if such a thing can be
imagined. I repeat, that to fully appreciate this special scenery words
fail me.
Allow me to transgress once more. On the first occasion that I reached
the top of the entrance to La Paz it was under rather "sporting"
circumstances, which, I think, I may be excused for interpolating here.
I had come on horseback and _alone_ from the mining town of Coro Coro,
sixty-six miles off, and it is a very hard and tiring journey. The
elevation above the sea varies from about 14,000 feet to 12,000 feet at
the La Paz end, and therefore great speed is impossible on account of
the rarity of the air. Apparently I had journeyed too fast for my horse,
as the poor animal died when I was still eighteen miles from La Paz.
Here was a nice "kettle of fish." It was all right enough as long as
daylight lasted, but when darkness overtook me I was fairly "in the
soup." Not knowing the road, and there being nothing to guide me and no
one to consult, I simply walked along slowly, hoping to strike up
against some Indian settlement, and pass the night somehow or other. I
trudged along for goodness knows how long until I eventually did hear
some sounds indicating that at any rate I was nearing some encampment or
habitation.
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