[Illustration: CATHEDRAL OF PUNO.] "The Cathedral of Puno," said Fred, in his note-book, "is the most elevated building of its size in the world. It was begun in 1757, and is an imposing structure, with a specially handsome front; it is at one side of the grand plaza, where every morning is held the market for the sale of provisions. We visited the market the morning after our arrival, and were greatly interested in what we saw and learned there. [Illustration: QUICHUA WOMAN (FROM A PHOTOGRAPH).] "Most of the sales are managed by women, who sit on the ground in rows stretching away from the fountain in the centre of the plaza, each with little heaps of dried potatoes, fish, _charqui_ (dried beef), peppers, beans, pease, maize, barley, and similar things for sale. Each heap has a price fixed for it, and the rise and fall of the market are regulated by the size of the heap, the price remaining the same. Pease, beans, and pepper come from the coast, as they do not grow at the altitude of Puno; flour is too dear to be used by the lower classes, though it has fallen somewhat since the opening of the railway. Beans and pease must be reduced to powder before cooking, at this altitude, and potatoes are frozen, and then dried and pulverized, like the beans and pease. [Illustration: COCA PLANT.] "We were guided through the market by one of the English-speaking residents, who called our attention to coca, which was sold as an article of food, in the form of dried leaves. We had already seen the leaves, and heard of their qualities, but this was the first time we had seen them for sale at the side of the usual articles for supplying the table. Our informant said that coca possessed wonderful properties; I will give his words as nearly as I can remember them: "'Coca is the dried leaf of the shrub _erythroxylon_, and is called _cuca_ by the natives. It grows in the mountainous parts of Peru and Bolivia, at elevations varying from two to six thousand feet, and is a shrub or small tree about six feet high. Its leaves are gathered, and dried in the sun, and are chewed with a little quicklime, in much the same way that the natives of India and the Malay regions chew the leaf of the betel or areca palm, and certain Americans chew tobacco. Its effect is narcotic and stimulating, and the most remarkable stories are told of the endurance of the people who use it. "A Peruvian or Bolivian Indian will travel for days without any sign of weariness, with only a small supply of coca and some dried maize; he chews the coca while walking, and it really seems to be his chief reliance. He will work or travel for twenty or thirty hours continuously, without sleep or rest, if he is allowed plenty of coca; Indians have been known to travel seventy miles a day for three days with no other sustenance than this article. In the silver mines, where the employers feed their laborers, they limit the quantity of other supplies, but give the Indians all the coca they want.'