n6 SELLING LATIN AMERICA 
healthful and sparsely populated, in fact, has 
hardly been explored. There are three differ 
ent mountain systems running northeast and 
southwest, between which are rich, luxuriant 
valleys, capable of great agricultural possibili 
ties. These mountains contain many extinct 
volcanoes, of varying altitude, one being 
18,000 feet high. 
The climate ranges from tropical to temper 
ate, Bogota, the capital, having a uniformly 
cool and spring-like temperature throughout 
the year, due to its elevation of 8600 feet. In 
the lowlands, and especially along both coasts, 
the heat is oppressive and far from salubrious. 
This is also true of much of the low-lying in 
terior country. The cities on both coasts are 
notably unsanitary. 
Colombia claims a population slightly in 
excess of 5,000,000, but I doubt if it really has 
4,000,000. About one-tenth of the inhabi 
tants are pure white and there are 200,000 wild 
Indians, living primitively under tribal chiefs, 
nominally under the control of the local gov 
ernment. The remainder are mixtures of