We were cordially welcomed by Señor Viscarra, the sub-prefect, and
invited to stay at his house. He was a stranger to the locality, and,
as the visible representative of a powerful and far-away central
government, was none too popular with some of the people of his
province. Very few residents of a provincial capital like Cotahuasi
have ever been to Lima;--probably not a single member of the Lima
government had ever been to Cotahuasi. Consequently one could not
expect to find much sympathy between the two. The difficulties of
traveling in Peru are so great as to discourage pleasure trips. With
our letters of introduction and the telegrams that had preceded us
from the prefect at Arequipa, we were known to be friends of the
government and so were doubly welcome to the sub-prefect. By nature a
kind and generous man, of more than usual education and intelligence,
Señor Viscarra showed himself most courteous and hospitable to us in
every particular. In our honor he called together his friends. They
brought pictures of Theodore Roosevelt and Elihu Root, and made a
large American flag; a courtesy we deeply appreciated, even if the
flag did have only thirty-six stars. Finally, they gave us a splendid
banquet as a tribute of friendship for America.

One day the sub-prefect offered to have his personal barber attend
us. It was some time since Mr. Tucker and I had seen a barber-shop. The
chances were that we should find none at Parinacochas. Consequently we
accepted with pleasure. When the barber arrived, closely guarded by a
gendarme armed with a loaded rifle, we learned that he was a convict
from the local jail! I did not like to ask the nature of his crime,
but he looked like a murderer. When he unwrapped an ancient pair of
clippers from an unspeakably soiled and oily rag, I wished I was in
a position to decline to place myself under his ministrations. The
sub-prefect, however, had been so kind and was so apologetic as to