INCA LAND

Explorations in the Highlands of Peru

By

Hiram Bingham

1922

------FIGURE

"Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind theRanges--Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting foryou. Go!"

Kipling: "The Explorer"------

This Volume

is affectionately dedicated

to

the Muse who inspired it

the Little Mother of Seven Sons

Preface

The following pages represent some of the results of four journeys intothe interior of Peru and also many explorations into the labyrinth ofearly writings which treat of the Incas and their Land. Although mytravels covered only a part of southern Peru, they took me into everyvariety of climate and forced me to camp at almost every altitudeat which men have constructed houses or erected tents in the WesternHemisphere--from sea level up to 21, 703 feet. It has been my lot tocross bleak Andean passes, where there are heavy snowfalls and lowtemperatures, as well as to wend my way through gigantic canyons intothe dense jungles of the Amazon Basin, as hot and humid a region asexists anywhere in the world. The Incas lived in a land of violentcontrasts. No deserts in the world have less vegetation than those ofSihuas and Majes; no luxuriant tropical valleys have more plant lifethan the jungles of Conservidayoc. In Inca Land one may pass fromglaciers to tree ferns within a few hours. So also in the labyrinthof contemporary chronicles of the last of the Incas--no historiansgo more rapidly from fact to fancy, from accurate observation togrotesque imagination; no writers omit important details and giveconflicting statements with greater frequency. The story of the Incasis still in a maze of doubt and contradiction. 

It was the mystery and romance of some of the wonderful pictures ofa nineteenth-century explorer that first led me into the relativelyunknown region between the Apurimac and the Urubamba, sometimes called"the Cradle of the Incas. " Although my photographs cannot compete withthe imaginative pencil of such an artist, nevertheless, I hope thatsome of them may lead future travelers to penetrate still fartherinto the Land of the Incas and engage in the fascinating game ofidentifying elusive places mentioned in the chronicles. 

Some of my story has already been told in Harper's and the NationalGeographic, to whose editors acknowledgments are due for permissionto use the material in its present form. A glance at the Bibliographywill show that more than fifty articles and monographs have beenpublished as a result of the Peruvian Expeditions of Yale Universityand the National Geographic Society. Other reports are still in courseof preparation. My own observations are based partly on a studyof these monographs and the writings of former travelers, partlyon the maps and notes made by my companions, and partly on a studyof our Peruvian photographs, a collection now numbering over eleventhousand negatives. Another source of information was the opportunityof frequent conferences with my fellow explorers. One of the greatadvantages of large expeditions is the bringing to bear on the sameproblem of minds which have received widely different training. 

My companions on these journeys were, in 1909, Mr. Clarence L. Hay;in 1911, Dr. Isaiah Bowman, Professor Harry Ward Foote, Dr. WilliamG. Erving, Messrs. Kai Hendriksen, H. L. Tucker, and Paul B. Lanius;in 1912, Professor Herbert E. Gregory, Dr. George F. Eaton, Dr. LutherT. Nelson, Messrs. Albert H. Bumstead, E. C. Erdis, Kenneth C. Heald, Robert Stephenson, Paul Bestor, Osgood Hardy, and Joseph Little;and in 1915, Dr. David E. Ford, Messrs. O. F. Cook, Edmund Heller, E. C. Erdis, E. L. Anderson, Clarence F. Maynard, J. J. Hasbrouck, Osgood Hardy, Geoffrey W. Morkill, and G. Bruce Gilbert. To these, mycomrades in enterprises which were not always free from discomfort ordanger, I desire to acknowledge most fully my great obligations. Inthe following pages they will sometimes recognize their handiwork;at other times they may wonder why it has been overlooked. Perhapsin another volume, which is already under way and in which I hope tocover more particularly Machu Picchu [1] and its vicinity, they willeventually find much of what cannot be told here. 

Sincere and grateful thanks are due also to Mr. Edward S. Harkness foroffering generous assistance when aid was most difficult to secure; toMr. Gilbert Grosvenor and the National Geographic Society for liberaland enthusiastic support; to President Taft of the United States andPresident Leguia of Peru for official help of a most important nature;to Messrs. W. R. Grace & Company and to Mr. William L. Morkill andMr. L. S. Blaisdell, of the Peruvian Corporation, for cordial anduntiring coöperation; to Don Cesare Lomellini, Don Pedro Duque, and their sons, and Mr. Frederic B. Johnson, of Yale University, for many practical kindnesses; to Mrs. Blanche Peberdy Tompkins andMiss Mary G. Reynolds for invaluable secretarial aid; and last, butby no means least, to Mrs. Alfred Mitchell for making possible thewriting of this book. 

Hiram Bingham

Yale UniversityOctober 1, 1922

Contents

I. 		Crossing the Desert	1II. 		Climbing Coropuna 23III. 	To Parinacochas 50IV. 		Flamingo Lake 74V. 		Titicaca 95VI. 		The Vilcanota Country and the Peruvian Highlanders 110VII. 	The Valley of the Huatanay 133VIII. 	The Oldest City in South America 157IX. 		The Last Four Incas 170X. 		Searching for the Last Inca Capital 198XI. 		The Search Continued 217XII. 	The Fortress of Uiticos and the House of the Sun 241XIII. 	Vilcabamba 255XIV. 	Conservidayoc 266XV. 		The Pampa of Ghosts 292XVI. 	The Story of Tampu-tocco, a Lost City of the First Incas 306XVII. 	Machu Picchu 314XVIII. 	The Origin of Machu Picchu 326

		Glossary 341		Bibliography of the Peruvian Expeditions of Yale University		and the National Geographic Society 345		Index	 353

Illustrations

"Something Hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges"FrontispieceSketch Map of Southern Peru 1Mt. Coropuna from the Northwest 12Mt. Coropuna from the South 24The Base Camp, Coropuna, at 17, 300 Feet 32	Photograph by H. L. TuckerCamping at 18, 450 Feet on the Slopes of Coropuna 32	Photograph by H. L. TuckerOne of the Frequent Rests in the Ascent of Coropuna 42	Photograph by H. L. TuckerThe Camp on the Summit 42	Photograph by H. L. TuckerThe Sub-Prefect of Cotahuasi, his Military Aide, and Messrs. Tucker, Hendriksen, Bowman, and Bingham inspecting the Local Rug-weavingIndustry 60	Photograph by C. WatkinsInca Storehouses at Chichipampa, near Colta 66	Photograph by H. L. TuckerFlamingoes on Lake Parinacochas, and Mt. Sarasara 78Mr. Tucker on a Mountain Trail near Caraveli 90The Main Street of Chuquibamba 90	Photograph by H. L. TuckerA Lake Titicaca Balsa at Puno 98A Step-topped Niche on the Island of Koati 98Indian Alcaldes at Santa Rosa 114Native Druggists in the Plaza of Sicuani 114Laying Down the Warp for a Blanket; near the Pass of La Raya 120Plowing a Potato-field at La Raya 120The Ruins of the Temple of Viracocha at Racche 128Route Map of the Peruvian Expedition of 1912 132Lucre Basin, Lake Muyna, and the City Wall of Piquillacta 136Sacsahuaman: Detail of Lower Terrace Wall 140Ruins of the Aqueduct of Rumiccolca 140Huatanay Valley, Cuzco, and the Ayahuaycco Quebrada 150Map of Peru and View of Cuzco 158	From the "Speculum Orbis Terrarum, " Antwerp, 1578Towers of Jesuit Church with Cloisters and Tennis Court of University, Cuzco 162Glaciers Between Cuzco and Uiticos 170The Urubamba Canyon: A Reason for the Safety of the Incas inUilcapampa 176Yucay, Last Home of Sayri Tupac 186Part of the Nuremberg Map of 1599, showing Pincos and the AndesMountains 198Route Map of the Peruvian Expedition of 1915 202Mt. Veronica and Salapunco, the Gateway to Uilcapampa 206Grosvenor Glacier and Mt. Salcantay 210The Road between Maquina and Mandor Pampa, near Machu Picchu 214Huadquiña 220Ruins of Yurak Rumi near Huadquiña 225	Plan and elevations drawn by A. H. BumsteadPucyura and the Hill of Rosaspata in the Vilcabamba Valley 238Principal Doorway of the Long Palace at Rosaspata 242	Photograph by E. C. ErdisAnother Doorway in the Ruins of Rosaspata 242Northeast Face of Yurak Rumi 246Plan of the Ruins of the Temple of the Sun at Ñusta Isppana 248	Drawn by R. H. BumsteadCarved Seats and Platforms of Ñusta Isppana 250Two of the Seven Seats near the Spring under the Great White Rock 250	Photograph by A. H. BumsteadÑusta Isppana 256Quispi Cusi testifying about Inca Ruins 268	Photograph by H. W. FooteOne of our Bearers crossing the Pampaconas River 268	Photograph by H. W. FooteSaavedra and his Inca Pottery 288Inca Gable at Espiritu Pampa 288Inca Ruins in the Jungles of Espiritu Pampa 294	Photograph by H. W. FooteCampa Men at Espiritu Pampa 302	Photograph by H. L. TuckerCampa Women and Children at Espiritu Pampa 302	Photograph by H. L. TuckerPuma Urco, near Paccaritampu 306The Best Inca Wall at Maucallacta, near Paccaritampu 312The Caves of Puma Urco, Near Paccaritampu 312Flashlight View of Interior of Cave, Machu Picchu 320Temple over Cave at Machu Picchu; suggested by the Author as theProbable Site of Tampu-tocco 320Detail of Principal Temple, Machu Picchu 324Detail of Exterior of Temple of the Three Windows, Machu Picchu 324The Masonry Wall with Three Windows, Machu Picchu 328The Gorges, opening Wide Apart, reveal Uilcapampa's Granite Citadel, the Crown of Inca Land 338

Except as otherwise indicated the illustrations are from photographsby the author. 

------FIGURE

Sketch Map of Southern Peru. ------

INCA LAND

CHAPTER I

Crossing the Desert

A kind friend in Bolivia once placed in my hands a copy of a mostinteresting book by the late E. George Squier, entitled "Peru. Traveland Exploration in the Land of the Incas. " In that volume is amarvelous picture of the Apurimac Valley. In the foreground is adelicate suspension bridge which commences at a tunnel in the faceof a precipitous cliff and hangs in mid-air at great height above theswirling waters of the "great speaker. " In the distance, towering abovea mass of stupendous mountains, is a magnificent snow-capped peak. Thedesire to see the Apurimac and experience the thrill of crossing thatbridge decided me in favor of an overland journey to Lima. 

As a result I went to Cuzco, the ancient capital of the mighty empireof the Incas, and was there urged by the Peruvian authorities tovisit some newly re-discovered Inca ruins. As readers of "AcrossSouth America" will remember, these ruins were at Choqquequirau, aninteresting place on top of a jungle-covered ridge several thousandfeet above the roaring rapids of the great Apurimac. There was somedoubt as to who had originally lived here. The prefect insisted thatthe ruins represented the residence of the Inca Manco and his sons, who had sought refuge from Pizarro and the Spanish conquerors of Peruin the Andes between the Apurimac and Urubamba rivers. 

While Mr. Clarence L. Hay and I were on the slopes of Choqquequirau theclouds would occasionally break away and give us tantalizing glimpsesof snow-covered mountains. There seemed to be an unknown region, "behind the Ranges, " which might contain great possibilities. Ourguides could tell us nothing about it. Little was to be found inbooks. Perhaps Manco's capital was hidden there. For months afterwardsthe fascination of the unknown drew my thoughts to Choqquequirau andbeyond. In the words of Kipling's "Explorer":

". .. A voice, as bad as Conscience, rang interminable changesOn one everlasting Whisper day and night repeated--so:'Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges--Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go!' "

To add to my unrest, during the following summer I read Bandelier's"Titicaca and Koati, " which had just appeared. In one of theinteresting footnotes was this startling remark: "It is much to bedesired that the elevation of the most prominent peaks of the westernor coast range of Peru be accurately determined. It is likely . .. ThatCoropuna, in the Peruvian coast range of the Department Arequipa, is the culminating point of the continent. It exceeds 23, 000 feetin height, whereas Aconcagua [conceded to be the highest peak inthe Western Hemisphere] is but 22, 763 feet (6940 meters) abovesea level. " His estimate was based on a survey made by the civilengineers of the Southern Railways of Peru, using a section of therailroad as a base. My sensations when I read this are difficult todescribe. Although I had been studying South American history andgeography for more than ten years, I did not remember ever to haveheard of Coropuna. On most maps it did not exist. Fortunately, on oneof the sheets of Raimondi's large-scale map of Peru, I finally found"Coropuna--6, 949 m. "--9 meters higher than Aconcagua!--one hundredmiles northwest of Arequipa, near the 73d meridian west of Greenwich. 

Looking up and down the 73d meridian as it crossed Peru from theAmazon Valley to the Pacific Ocean, I saw that it passed very nearChoqquequirau, and actually traversed those very lands "behindthe Ranges" which had been beckoning to me. The coincidence wasintriguing. The desire to go and find that "something hidden" was nowreënforced by the temptation to go and see whether Coropuna really wasthe highest mountain in America. There followed the organization of anexpedition whose object was a geographical reconnaissance of Peru alongthe 73d meridian, from the head of canoe navigation on the Urubambato tidewater on the Pacific. We achieved more than we expected. 

Our success was due in large part to our "unit-food-boxes, " a devicecontaining a balanced ration which Professor Harry W. Foote hadcooperated with me in assembling. The object of our idea was tofacilitate the provisioning of small field parties by packing in asingle box everything that two men would need in the way of provisionsfor a given period. These boxes have given such general satisfaction, not only to the explorers themselves, but to the surgeons who had theresponsibility of keeping them in good condition, that a few wordsin regard to this feature of our equipment may not be unwelcome. 

The best unit-food-box provides a balanced ration for two menfor eight days, breakfast and supper being hearty, cooked meals, and luncheon light and uncooked. It was not intended that the menshould depend entirely on the food-boxes, but should vary theirdiet as much as possible with whatever the country afforded, whichin southern Peru frequently means potatoes, corn, eggs, mutton, and bread. Nevertheless each box contained sliced bacon, tinnedcorned beef, roast beef, chicken, salmon, crushed oats, milk, cheese, coffee, sugar, rice, army bread, salt, sweet chocolates, assorted jams, pickles, and dried fruits and vegetables. By seeing that the jam, driedfruits, soups, and dried vegetables were well assorted, a sufficientvariety was procured without destroying the balanced character ofthe ration. On account of the great difficulty of transportation inthe southern Andes we had to eliminate foods that contained a largeamount of water, like French peas, baked beans, and canned fruits, however delicious and desirable they might be. In addition to food, we found it desirable to include in each box a cake of laundry soap, two yards of dish toweling, and three empty cotton-cloth bags, to beused for carrying lunches and collecting specimens. The most highlyappreciated article of food in our boxes was the rolled oats, a dishwhich on account of its being already partially cooked was easilyprepared at high elevations, where rice cannot be properly boiled. Itwas difficult to satisfy the members of the Expedition by providingthe right amount of sugar. At the beginning of the field season theallowance--one third of a pound per day per man--seemed excessive, andI was criticized for having overloaded the boxes. After a month in thefield the allowance proved to be too small and had to be supplemented. 

Many people seem to think that it is one of the duties of an explorerto "rough it, " and to "trust to luck" for his food. I had found onmy first two expeditions, in Venezuela and Colombia and across SouthAmerica, that the result of being obliged to subsist on irregularand haphazard rations was most unsatisfactory. While "roughing it"is far more enticing to the inexperienced and indiscreet explorer, I learned in Peru that the humdrum expedient of carefully preparing, months in advance, a comprehensive bill of fare sufficiently varied, wholesome, and well-balanced, is "the better part of valor, " The truthis that providing an abundance of appetizing food adds very greatlyto the effectiveness of a party. To be sure, it may mean troubleand expense for one's transportation department, and some of theyounger men may feel that their reputations as explorers are likelyto be damaged if it is known that strawberry jam, sweet chocolate andpickles are frequently found on their menu! Nevertheless, experiencehas shown that the results of "trusting to luck" and "living as thenatives do" means not only loss of efficiency in the day's work, butalso lessened powers of observation and diminished enthusiasm forthe drudgery of scientific exploration. Exciting things are alwayseasy to do, no matter how you are living, but frequently they produceless important results than tasks which depend upon daily drudgery;and daily drudgery depends upon a regular supply of wholesome food. 

We reached Arequipa, the proposed base for our campaign againstMt. Coropuna, in June, 1911. We learned that the Peruvian "winter"reaches its climax in July or August, and that it would be folly totry to climb Coropuna during the winter snowstorms. On the otherhand, the "summer months, " beginning with November, are cloudyand likely to add fog and mist to the difficulties of climbing anew mountain. Furthermore, June and July are the best months forexploration in the eastern slopes of the Andes in the upper AmazonBasin, the lands "behind the Ranges. " Although the montaña, or junglecountry, is rarely actually dry, there is less rain then than in theother months of the year; so we decided to go first to the UrubambaValley. The story of our discoveries there, of identifying Uiticos, the capital of the last Incas, and of the finding of Machu Picchu willbe found in later chapters. In September I returned to Arequipa andstarted the campaign against Coropuna by endeavoring to get adequatetransportation facilities for crossing the desert. 

Arequipa, as everybody knows, is the home of a station ofthe Harvard Observatory, but Arequipa is also famous for itslarge mules. Unfortunately, a "mule trust" had recently beenformed--needless to say, by an American--and I found it difficult tomake any satisfactory arrangements. After two weeks of skirmishing, the Tejada brothers appeared, two arrieros, or muleteers, who seemedwilling to listen to our proposals. We offered them a thousand soles(five hundred dollars gold) if they would supply us with a pack trainof eleven mules for two months and go with us wherever we chose, we agreeing not to travel on an average more than seven leagues[2] a day. It sounds simple enough but it took no end of argumentand persuasion on the part of our friends in Arequipa to convincethese worthy arrieros that they were not going to be everlastinglyruined by this bargain. The trouble was that they owned their mules, knew the great danger of crossing the deserts that lay between usand Mt. Coropuna, and feared to travel on unknown trails. Like mostmuleteers, they were afraid of unfamiliar country. They magnified theimaginary evils of the road to an inconceivable pitch. The argumentthat finally persuaded them to accept the proffered contract was mypromise that after the first week the cargo would be so much less thatat least two of the pack mules could always be free. The Tejadas, realizing only too well the propensity of pack animals to get sorebacks and go lame, regarded my promise in the light of a factor ofsafety. Lame mules would not have to carry loads. 

Everything was ready by the end of the month. Mr. H. L. Tucker, a member of Professor H. C. Parker's 1910 Mr. McKinley Expeditionand thoroughly familiar with the details of snow-and-ice-climbing, whom I had asked to be responsible for securing the proper equipment, was now entrusted with planning and directing the actual ascentof Coropuna. Whatever success was achieved on the mountain wasdue primarily to Mr. Tucker's skill and foresight. We had no Swissguides, and had originally intended to ask two other members of theExpedition to join us on the climb. However, the exigencies of makinga geological and topographical cross section along the 73d meridianthrough a practically unknown region, and across one of the highestpasses in the Andes (17, 633 ft. ), had delayed the surveying party tosuch an extent as to make it impossible for them to reach Coropunabefore the first of November. On account of the approach of the cloudyseason it did not seem wise to wait for their coöperation. Accordingly, I secured in Arequipa the services of Mr. Casimir Watkins, an Englishnaturalist, and of Mr. F. Hinckley, of the Harvard Observatory. Itwas proposed that Mr. Hinckley, who had twice ascended El Misti(19, 120 ft. ), should accompany us to the top, while Mr. Watkins, who had only recently recovered from a severe illness, should takecharge of the Base Camp. 

The prefect of Arequipa obligingly offered us a military escort inthe person of Corporal Gamarra, a full-blooded Indian of rather morethan average height and considerably more than average courage, whoknew the country. As a member of the mounted gendarmerie, Gamarra hadbeen stationed at the provincial capital of Cotahuasi a few monthspreviously. One day a mob of drunken, riotous revolutionists stormedthe government buildings while he was on sentry duty. Gamarra stoodhis ground and, when they attempted to force their way past him, shotthe leader of the crowd. The mob scattered. A grateful prefect madehim a corporal and, realizing that his life was no longer safe in thatparticular vicinity, transferred him to Arequipa. Like nearly all ofhis race, however, he fell an easy prey to alcohol. There is no doubtthat the chief of the mounted police in Arequipa, when ordered by theprefect to furnish us an escort for our journey across the desert, was glad enough to assign Gamarra to us. His courage could not becalled in question even though his habits might lead him to becometroublesome. It happened that Gamarra did not know we were planningto go to Cotahuasi. Had he known this, and also had he suspected thetrials that were before him on Mt. Coropuna, he probably would havebegged off--but I am anticipating. 

On the 2d of October, Tucker, Hinckley, Corporal Gamarra and I leftArequipa; Watkins followed a week later. The first stage of thejourney was by train from Arequipa to Vitor, a distance of thirtymiles. The arrieros sent the cargo along too. In addition to thefood-boxes we brought with us tents, ice axes, snowshoes, barometers, thermometers, transit, fiber cases, steel boxes, duffle bags, anda folding boat. Our pack train was supposed to have started fromArequipa the day before. We hoped it would reach Vitor about thesame time that we did, but that was expecting too much of arrieroson the first day of their journey. So we had an all-day wait nearthe primitive little railway station. 

We amused ourselves wandering off over the neighboring pampa andstudying the médanos, crescent-shaped sand dunes which are common inthe great coastal desert. One reads so much of the great tropicaljungles of South America and of wellnigh impenetrable forests thatit is difficult to realize that the West Coast from Ecuador, onthe north, to the heart of Chile, on the south, is a great desert, broken at intervals by oases, or valleys whose rivers, comingfrom melting snows of the Andes, are here and there diverted forpurposes of irrigation. Lima, the capital of Peru, is in one of thelargest of these oases. Although frequently enveloped in a damp fog, the Peruvian coastal towns are almost never subjected to rain. Thecauses of this phenomenon are easy to understand. Winds coming fromthe east, laden with the moisture of the Atlantic Ocean and thesteaming Amazon Basin, are rapidly cooled by the eastern slopes ofthe Andes and forced to deposit this moisture in the montaña. Bythe time the winds have crossed the mighty cordillera there is norain left in them. Conversely, the winds that come from the warmPacific Ocean strike a cold area over the frigid Humboldt Current, which sweeps up along the west coast of South America. This cold beltwrings the water out of the westerly winds, so that by the time theyreach the warm land their relative humidity is low. To be sure, thereare months in some years when so much moisture falls on the slopesof the coast range that the hillsides are clothed with flowers, butthis verdure lasts but a short time and does not seriously affect thegreat stretches of desert pampa in the midst of which we now were. Likethe other pampas of this region, the flat surface inclines toward thesea. Over it the sand is rolled along by the wind and finally builtinto crescent-shaped dunes. These médanos interested us greatly. 

The prevailing wind on the desert at night is a relatively gentlebreeze that comes down from the cool mountain slopes toward theocean. It tends to blow the lighter particles of sand along in aregular dune, rolling it over and over downhill, leaving the heavierparticles behind. This is reversed in the daytime. As the heatincreases toward noon, the wind comes rushing up from the ocean tofill the vacuum caused by the rapidly ascending currents of hot airthat rise from the overheated pampas. During the early afternoon thiswind reaches a high velocity and swirls the sand along in clouds. Itis now strong enough to move the heavier particles of sand, uphill. Itsweeps the heaviest ones around the base of the dune and depositsthem in pointed ridges on either side. The heavier material remainsstationary at night while the lighter particles are rolled downhill, but the whole mass travels slowly uphill again during the gales ofthe following afternoon. The result is the beautiful crescent-shapedmédano. 

About five o'clock our mules, a fine-looking lot--far superior to anythat we had been able to secure near Cuzco--trotted briskly into thedusty little plaza. It took some time to adjust the loads, and it wasnearly seven o'clock before we started off in the moonlight for theoasis of Vitor. As we left the plateau and struck the dusty trailwinding down into a dark canyon we caught a glimpse of somethingwhite shimmering faintly on the horizon far off to the northwest;Coropuna! Shortly before nine o'clock we reached a little corral, where the mules were unloaded. For ourselves we found a shed witha clean, stone-paved floor, where we set up our cots, only to beawakened many times during the night by passing caravans anxious toavoid the terrible heat of the desert by day. 

------FIGURE

Mt. Coropuna from the Northwest------

Where the oases are only a few miles apart one often travels by day, but when crossing the desert is a matter of eight or ten hours'steady jogging with no places to rest, no water, no shade, the packanimals suffer greatly. Consequently, most caravans travel, so faras possible, by night. Our first desert, the pampa of Sihuas, wasreported to be narrow, so we preferred to cross it by day and seewhat was to be seen. We got up about half-past four and were offbefore seven. Then our troubles began. Either because he lived inArequipa or because they thought he looked like a good horseman, or for reasons best known to themselves, the Tejadas had givenMr. Hinckley a very spirited saddle-mule. The first thing I knew, her rider, carrying a heavy camera, a package of plate-holders, anda large mercurial barometer, borrowed from the Harvard Observatory, was pitched headlong into the sand. Fortunately no damage was done, and after a lively chase the runaway mule was brought back by CorporalGamarra. After Mr. Hinckley was remounted on his dangerous mule werode on for a while in peace, between cornfields and vineyards, overpaths flanked by willows and fig trees. The chief industry of Vitor isthe making of wine from vines which date back to colonial days. Thewine is aged in huge jars, each over six feet high, buried in theground. We had a glimpse of seventeen of them standing in a line, awaiting sale. It made one think of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, who would have had no trouble at all hiding in these Cyclopean crocks. 

The edge of the oasis of Vitor is the contour line along whichthe irrigating canal runs. There is no gradual petering out offoliage. The desert begins with a stunning crash. On one side isthe bright, luxurious green of fig trees and vineyards; on the otherside is the absolute stark nakedness of the sandy desert. Within theoasis there is an abundance of water. Much of it runs to waste. Thewine growers receive more than they can use; in fact, more landcould easily be put under cultivation. The chief difficulties arethe scarcity of ports from which produce can be shipped to the outerworld, the expense of the transportation system of pack trains overthe deserts which intervene between the oases and the railroad, and the lack of capital. Otherwise the irrigation system might beextended over great stretches of rich, volcanic soil, now unoccupied. 

A steady climb of three quarters of an hour took us to the northern rimof the valley. Here we again saw the snowy mass of Coropuna, glisteningin the sunlight, seventy-five miles away to the northwest. Our view wasa short one, for in less than three minutes we had to descend anothercanyon. We crossed this and climbed out on the pampa of Sihuas. Therewas little to interest us in our immediate surroundings, but in thedistance was Coropuna, and I had just begun to study the problem ofpossible routes for climbing the highest peak when Mr. Hinckley'smule trotted briskly across the trail directly in front of me, kickedup her heels, and again sent him sprawling over the sand, barometer, camera, plates, and all. Unluckily, this time his foot caught in astirrup and, still holding the bridle, he was dragged some distancebefore he got it loose. He struggled to his feet and tried to keepthe mule from running away, when a violent kick released his holdand knocked him out. We immediately set up our little "Mummery"tent on the hot, sandy floor of the desert and rendered first-aid tothe unlucky astronomer. We found that the sharp point of one of thevicious mule's new shoes had opened a large vein in Mr. Hinckley'sleg. The cut was not dangerous, but too deep for successful mountainclimbing. With Gamarra's aid, Mr. Hinckley was able to reach Arequipathat night, but his enforced departure not only shattered his own hopesof climbing Coropuna, but also made us wonder how we were going to havethe necessary three-men-on-the-rope when we reached the glaciers. Tobe sure, there was the corporal--but would he go? Indians do not likesnow mountains. Packing up the tent again, we resumed our course overthe desert. 

The oasis of Sihuas, another beautiful garden in the bottom of ahuge canyon, was reached about four o'clock in the afternoon. Weshould have been compelled to camp in the open with the arrieros hadnot the parish priest invited us to rest in the cool shade of hisvine-covered arbor. He graciously served us with cakes and sweetnative wine, and asked us to stay as long as we liked. The desertof Majes, which now lay ahead of us, is perhaps the widest, hottest, and most barren in this region. Our arrieros were unwilling to crossit in the daytime. They said it was forty-five miles between waterand water. The next day we enjoyed the hospitality of our kindly hostuntil after supper. 

So sure are the inhabitants of these oases that it is not going torain that their houses are built merely as a shelter against the sunand wind. They are made of the canes that grow in the jungles of thelarger river bottoms, or along the banks of irrigating ditches. On theroof the spaces between the canes are filled with adobe, sun-driedmud. It is not necessary to plaster the sides of the houses, for itis pleasant to let the air have free play, and it is amusing to lookout through the cracks and see everything that is passing. 

That evening we saddled in the moonlight. Slowly we climbed out of thevalley, to spend the night jogging steadily, hour after hour, acrossthe desert. As the moon was setting we entered a hilly region, andat sunrise found ourselves in the midst of a tumbled mass of enormoussand dunes--the result of hundreds of médanos blown across the pampaof Majes and deposited along the border of the valley. It took usthree hours to wind slowly down from the level of the desert to apoint where we could see the great canyon, a mile deep and two milesacross. Its steep sides are of various colored rocks and sand. Thebottom is a bright green oasis through which flows the rapid MajesRiver, too deep to be forded even in the dry season. A very largepart of the flood plain of the unruly river is not cultivated, andconsists of a wild jungle, difficult of access in the dry season andimpossible when the river rises during the rainy months. The contrastbetween the gigantic hills of sand and the luxurious vegetation wasvery striking; but to us the most beautiful thing in the landscapewas the long, glistening, white mass of Coropuna, now much largerand just visible above the opposite rim of the valley. 

At eight o'clock in the morning, as we were wondering how long it wouldbe before we could get down to the bottom of the valley and have somebreakfast, we discovered, at a place called Pitas (or Cerro Colorado), a huge volcanic boulder covered with rude pictographs. Furthersearch in the vicinity revealed about one hundred of these boulders, each with its quota of crude drawings. I did not notice any ruins ofhouses near the rocks. Neither of the Tejada brothers, who had beenpast here many times, nor any of the natives of this region appearedto have any idea of the origin or meaning of this singular collectionof pictographic rocks. The drawings represented jaguars, birds, men, and dachshund-like dogs. They deserved careful study. Yet not even theinterest and excitement of investigating the "rocas jeroglificos, "as they are called here, could make us forget that we had had nofood or sleep for a good many hours. So after taking a few pictureswe hastened on and crossed the Majes River on a very shaky temporarybridge. It was built to last only during the dry season. To constructa bridge which would withstand floods is not feasible at present. Wespent the day at Coriri, a pleasant little village where it was almostimpossible to sleep, on account of the myriads of gnats. 

The next day we had a short ride along the western side of the valleyto the town of Aplao, the capital of the province of Castilla, calledby its present inhabitants "Majes, " although on Raimondi's map thatname is applied only to the river and the neighboring desert. In 1865, at the time of his visit, it had a bad reputation for disease. Nowit seems more healthy. The sub-prefect of Castilla had been informedby telegraph of our coming, and invited us to an excellent dinner. 

The people of Majes are largely of mixed white and Indianancestry. Many of them appeared to be unusually businesslike. Theproprietor of one establishment was a great admirer of American shoes, the name of which he pronounced in a manner that puzzled us for along time. "W" is unknown in Spanish and the letters "a, " "l, " and "k"are never found in juxtaposition. When he asked us what we thought of"Valluck-ofair', " accenting strongly the last syllable, we could notimagine what he meant. He was equally at a loss to understand how wecould be so stupid as not to recognize immediately the well-advertisedname of a widely known shoe. 

At Majes we observed cotton, which is sent to the mills at Arequipa, alfalfa, highly prized as fodder for pack animals, sugar cane, fromwhich aguardiente, or white rum, is made, and grapes. It is said thatthe Majes vineyards date back to the sixteenth century, and that someof the huge, buried, earthenware wine jars now in use were made as farback as the reign of Philip II. The presence of so much wine in thecommunity does not seem to have a deleterious effect on the natives, who were not only hospitable but energetic--far more so, in fact, than the natives of towns in the high Andes, where the intense coldand the difficulty of making a living have reacted upon the Indians, often causing them to be morose, sullen, and without ambition. Theresidences of the wine growers are sometimes very misleading. A typicalcountry house of the better class is not much to look at. Its long, low, flat roof and rough, unwhitewashed, mud-colored walls give itan unattractive appearance; yet to one's intense surprise the insidemay be clean and comfortable, with modern furniture, a piano, anda phonograph. 

Our conscientious and hard-working arrieros rose at two o'clock thenext morning, for they knew their mules had a long, hard climb aheadof them, from an elevation of 1000 feet above sea level to 10, 000feet. After an all-day journey we camped at a place where forage couldbe obtained. We had now left the region of tropical products and comeback to potatoes and barley. The following day a short ride brought uspast another pictographic rock, recently blasted open by an energetic"treasure seeker" of Chuquibamba. This town has 3000 inhabitants andis the capital of the province of Condesuyos. It was the place whichwe had selected several months before as the rendezvous for the attackon Coropuna. The climate here is delightful and the fruits and cerealsof the temperate zone are easily raised. The town is surrounded bygardens, vineyards, alfalfa and grain fields; all showing evidenceof intensive cultivation. It is at the head of one of the branchesof the Majes Valley and is surrounded by high cliffs. 

The people of Chuquibamba were friendly. We were kindly welcomed bySeñor Benavides, the sub-prefect, who hospitably told us to set up ourcots in the grand salon of his own house. Here we received calls fromthe local officials, including the provincial physician, Dr. Pastór, and the director of the Colegio Nacional, Professor AlejandroCoello. The last two were keen to go with us up Mt. Coropuna. Theytold us that there was a hill near by called the Calvario, whence themountain could be seen, and offered to take us up there. We accepted, thinking at the same time that this would show who was best fitted tojoin in the climb, for we needed another man on the rope. ProfessorCoello easily distanced the rest of us and won the coveted place. 

From the Calvario hill we had a splendid view of those white solitudeswhither we were bound, now only twenty-five miles away. It seemedclear that the western or truncated peak, which gives its name to themass (koro = "cut off at the top"; puna = "a cold, snowy height"), was the highest point of the range, and higher than all the easternpeaks. Yet behind the flat-topped dome we could just make out anortherly peak. Tucker wondered whether or not that might prove tobe higher than the western peak which we decided to climb. No oneknew anything about the mountain. There were no native guides to behad. The wildest opinions were expressed as to the best routes andmethods of getting to the top. We finally engaged a man who said heknew how to get to the foot of the mountain, so we called him "guide"for want of a more appropriate title. The Peruvian spring was now welladvanced and the days were fine and clear. It appeared, however, thatthere had been a heavy snowstorm on the mountain a few days before. Ifsummer were coming unusually early it behooved us to waste no time, and we proceeded to arrange the mountain equipment as fast as possible. 

Our instruments for determining altitude consisted of a specialmountain-mercurial barometer made by Mr. Henry J. Green, ofBrooklyn, capable of recording only such air pressures as one mightexpect to find above 12, 000 feet; a hypsometer loaned us by theDepartment of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institutionof Washington, with thermometers especially made for us by Green;a large mercurial barometer, borrowed from the Harvard Observatory, which, notwithstanding its rough treatment by Mr. Hinckley's mule, wasstill doing good service; and one of Green's sling psychrometers. Ourmost serious want was an aneroid, in case the fragile mercurialsshould get broken. Six months previously I had written to J. Hicks, the celebrated instrument maker of London, asking him to construct, with special care, two large "Watkins" aneroids capable of recordingaltitudes five thousand feet higher than Coropuna was supposed tobe. His reply had never reached me, nor did any one in Arequipa knowanything about the barometers. Apparently my letter had miscarried. Itwas not until we opened our specially ordered "mountain grub" boxeshere in Chuquibamba that we found, alongside of the pemmican andself-heating tins of stew which had been packed for us in London byGrace Brothers, the two precious aneroids, each as large as a big alarmclock. With these two new aneroids, made with a wide margin of safety, we felt satisfied that, once at the summit, we should know whetherthere was a chance that Bandelier was right and this was indeed thetop of America. 

For exact measurements we depended on Topographer Hendriksen, who wasdue to triangulate Coropuna in the course of his survey along the 73dmeridian. My chief excuse for going up the mountain was to erect asignal at or near the top which Hendriksen could use as a station inorder to make his triangulation more exact. My real object, it mustbe confessed, was to enjoy the satisfaction, which all Alpinists feel, of conquering a "virgin peak. "

CHAPTER II

Climbing Coropuna

The desert plateau above Chuquibamba is nearly 2500 feet higher thanthe town, and it was nine o'clock on the morning of October 10thbefore we got out of the valley. Thereafter Coropuna was always insight, and as we slowly approached it we studied it with care. Theplateau has an elevation of over 15, 000 feet, yet the mountain stoodout conspicuously above it. Coropuna is really a range about twentymiles long. Its gigantic massif was covered with snow fields from oneend to the other. So deep did the fresh snow lie that it was generallyimpossible to see where snow fields ended and glaciers began. We couldsee that of the five well-defined peaks the middle one was probablythe lowest. The two next highest are at the right, or eastern, end ofthe massif. The culminating truncated dome at the western end, with itssmooth, uneroded sides, apparently belonged to a later volcanic periodthan the rest of the mountain. It seemed to be the highest peak ofall. To reach it did not appear to be difficult. Rock-covered slopesran directly up to the snow. Snow fields, without many rock-falls, appeared to culminate in a saddle at the base of the great snowydome. The eastern slope of the dome itself offered an unbroken, if steep, path to the top. If we could once reach the snow line, it looked as though, with the aid of ice-creepers or snowshoes, we could climb the mountain without serious trouble. 

------FIGURE

Mt. Coropuna from the South------

Between us and the first snow-covered slopes, however, lay morethan twenty miles of volcanic desert intersected by deep canyons, steep quebradas, and very rough aa lava. Directed by our "guide, "we left the Cotahuasi road and struck across country, dodging thelava flows and slowly ascending the gentle slope of the plateau. Asit became steeper our mules showed signs of suffering. While waitingfor them to get their wind we went ahead on foot, climbed a shortrise, and to our surprise and chagrin found ourselves on the rim of asteep-walled canyon, 1500 feet deep, which cut right across in frontof the mountain and lay between us and its higher slopes. After themules had rested, the guide now decided to turn to the left instead ofgoing straight toward the mountain. A dispute ensued as to how much heknew, even about the foot of Coropuna. He denied that there were anyhuts whatever in the canyon. "Abandonado; despoblado; desierto. " "Awaste; a solitude; a wilderness. " So he described it. Had he beenthere? "No, Señor. " Luckily we had been able to make out from the rimof the canyon two or three huts near a little stream. As there was noquestion that we ought to get to the snow line as soon as possible, wedecided to dispense with the services of so well-informed a "guide, "and make such way as we could alone. The altitude of the rim of thecanyon was 16, 000 feet; the mules showed signs of acute distress frommountain sickness. The arrieros began to complain loudly, but didwhat they could to relieve the mules by punching holes in their ears;the theory being that bloodletting is a good thing for soroche. Assoon as the timid arrieros reached a point where they could seedown into the canyon, they spotted some patches of green pasture, cheered up a bit, and even smiled over the dismal ignorance of the"guide. " Soon we found a trail which led to the huts. 

Near the huts was a taciturn Indian woman, who refused to furnish uswith either fuel or forage, although we tried to pay in advance andoffered her silver. Nevertheless, we proceeded to pitch our tentsand took advantage of the sheltering stone wall of her corral forour camp fire. After peace had settled down and it became perfectlyevident that we were harmless, the door of one of the huts openedand an Indian man appeared. Doubtless the cause of his disappearancebefore our arrival had been the easily discernible presence in ourmidst of the brass buttons of Corporal Gamarra. Possibly he who hadselected this remote corner of the wilderness for his abode had aguilty conscience and at the sight of a gendarme decided that he hadbetter hide at once. More probably, however, he feared the visit ofa recruiting party, since it is quite likely that he had not servedhis legal term of military service. At all events, when his wifediscovered that we were not looking for her man, she allowed hiscuriosity to overcome his fears. We found that the Indians kept afew llamas. They also made crude pottery, firing it with straw andllama dung. They lived almost entirely on gruel made from chuño, frozen bitter potatoes. Little else than potatoes will grow at 14, 000feet above the sea. For neighbors the Indians had a solitary old man, who lived half a mile up nearer the glaciers, and a small family, a mile and a half down the valley. 

Before dark the neighbors came to call, and we tried our best topersuade the men to accompany us up the mountain and help to carrythe loads from the point where the mules would have to stop; but theydeclined absolutely and positively. I think one of the men might havegone, but as soon as his quiet, well-behaved wife saw him waveringshe broke out in a torrent of violent denunciation, telling him themountain would "eat him up" and that unless he wanted to go to heavenbefore his time he had better let well enough alone and stay where hewas. Cieza de Leon, one of the most careful of the early chroniclers(1550), says that at Coropuna "the devil" talks "more freely" thanusual. "For some secret reason known to God, it is said that devilswalk visibly about in that place, and that the Indians see them and aremuch terrified. I have also heard that these devils have appeared toChristians in the form of Indians. " Perhaps the voluble housewife washerself one of the famous Coropuna devils. She certainly talked "morefreely" than usual. Or possibly she thought that the Coropuna "devils"were now appearing to Indians "in the form of" Christians! Anyhow theIndians said that on top of Coropuna there was a delightful, warmparadise containing beautiful flowers, luscious fruits, parrots ofbrilliant plumage, macaws, and even monkeys, those faithful denizensof hot climates. The souls of the departed stop to rest and enjoythemselves in this charming spot on their upward flight. Like mostprimitive people who live near snow-capped mountains, they had anabject terror of the forbidding summits and the snowstorms that seemto come down from them. Probably the Indians hope to propitiatethe demons who dwell on the mountain tops by inventing charmingstories relating to their abode. It is interesting to learn that inthe neighboring hamlet of Pampacolca, the great explorer Raimondi, in 1865, found the natives "exiled from the civilized world, stillpreserving their primitive customs. .. Carrying idols to the slopesof the great snow mountain Coropuna, and there offering them as asacrifice. " Apparently the mountain still inspires fear in the heartsof all those who live near it. 

The fact that we agreed to pay in advance unheard-of wages, tentimes the usual amount earned by laborers in this vicinity, that weadded offers of the precious coca leaves, the greatly-to-be-desired"fire-water, " the rarely seen tobacco, and other good things usuallycoveted by Peruvian highlanders, had no effect in the face of theterrors of the mountain. They knew only too well that snow-blindnesswas one of the least of ills to be encountered; while the advantagesof dark-colored glasses, warm clothes, kerosene stoves, and plentyof good food, which we freely offered, were far too remote from therealm of credible possibilities. Professor Coello understood all thesematters perfectly and, being able to speak Quichua, the language ofour prospective carriers, did his best in the way of argument, notonly out of loyalty to the Expedition, but because Peruvian gentlemenalways regard the carrying of a load as extremely undignified andimproper. I have known one of the most energetic and efficient businessmen in Peru, a highly respected gentleman in a mountain city, so todislike being obliged to carry a rolled and unmounted photograph, little larger than a lead pencil, that he sent for a cargador, anIndian porter, to bear it for him!

As a matter of fact, Professor Coello was perfectly willing to dohis share and more; but neither he nor we were anxious to climb withheavy packs on our backs, in the rarefied air of elevations severalthousand feet higher than Mont Blanc. The argument with the Indianswas long and verbose and the offerings of money and goods were mademore and more generous. All was in vain. We finally came to realizethat whatever supplies and provisions were carried up Coropuna wouldhave to be borne on our own shoulders. That evening the top of thetruncated dome, which was just visible from the valley near our camp, was bathed in a roseate Alpine glow, unspeakably beautiful. The air, however, was very bitter and the neighboring brook froze solid. Duringthe night the gendarme's mule became homesick and disappeared withCoello's horse. Gamarra was sent to look for the strays, with ordersto follow us as soon as possible. 

As no bearers or carriers were to be secured, it was essential topersuade the Tejadas to take their pack mules up as far as the snow, a feat they declined to do. The mules, Don Pablo said, had already goneas far as and farther than mules had any business to go. Soon afterreaching camp Tucker had gone off on a reconnaissance. He reported thatthere was a path leading out of the canyon up to the llama pastures onthe lower slopes of the mountains. The arrieros denied the accuracyof his observations. However, after a long argument, they agreedto go as far as there was a good path, and no farther. There was noquestion of our riding. It was simply a case of getting the loads ashigh up as possible before we had to begin to carry them ourselves. Itmay be imagined that the arrieros packed very slowly and grudgingly, although the loads were now considerably reduced. Finally, leavingbehind our saddles, ordinary supplies, and everything not consideredabsolutely necessary for a two weeks' stay on the mountain, we set off. 

We could easily walk faster than the loaded mules, and thought itbest to avoid trouble by keeping far enough ahead so as not to hearthe arrieros' constant complaints. After an hour of not very hardclimbing over a fairly good llama trail, the Tejadas stopped at theedge of the pastures and shouted to us to come back. We repliedequally vociferously, calling them to come ahead, which they didfor half an hour more, slowly zigzagging up a slope of coarse, black volcanic sand. Then they not only stopped but commenced tounload the mules. It was necessary to rush back and commence aviolent and acrimonious dispute as to whether the letter of thecontract had been fulfilled and the mules had gone "as far as theycould reasonably be expected to go. " The truth was, the Tejadaswere terrified at approaching mysterious Coropuna. They were sureit would take revenge on them by destroying their mules, who would"certainly die the following day of soroche. " We offered a bonus ofthirty soles--fifteen dollars--if they would go on for another hour, and threatened them with all sorts of things if they would not. Atlast they readjusted the loads and started climbing again. 

The altitude was now about 16, 000 feet, but at the foot of a steeplittle rise the arrieros stopped again. This time they succeeded inunloading two mules before we could scramble down over the sand andboulders to stop them. Threats and prayers were now of no avail. Theonly thing that would satisfy was a legal document! They demandedan agreement "in writing" that in case any mule or mules died asa result of this foolish attempt to get up to the snow line, Ishould pay in gold two hundred soles for each and every mule thatdied. Further, I must agree to pay a bonus of fifty soles if theywould keep climbing until noon or until stopped by snow. This document, having been duly drawn up by Professor Coello, seated on a lava rockamidst the clinker-like cinders of the old volcano, was duly signedand sealed. In order that there might be no dispute as to the time, my best chronometer was handed over to Pablo Tejada to carry untilnoon. The mules were reloaded and again the ascent began. Presently themules encountered some pretty bad going, on a steep slope covered withhuge lava boulders and scoriaceous sand. We expected more trouble everyminute. However, the arrieros, having made an advantageous bargain, did their best to carry it out. Fortunately the mules reached thesnow line just fifteen minutes before twelve o'clock. The Tejadaslost no time in unloading, claimed their bonus, promised to returnin ten days, and almost before we knew it had disappeared down theside of the mountain. 

We spent the afternoon establishing our Base Camp. We had three tents, the "Mummery, " a very light and diminutive wall tent about four feethigh, made by Edgington of London; an ordinary wall tent, 7 by 7, offairly heavy material, with floor sewed in; and an improved pyramidaltent, made by David Abercrombie, but designed by Mr. Tucker afterone used on Mt. McKinley by Professor Parker. Tucker's tent had twoopenings--a small vent in the top of the pyramid, capable of beingclosed by an adjustable cap in case of storm, and an oval entrancethrough which one had to crawl. This opening could be closed to anydesired extent with a pucker string. A fairly heavy, waterproof floor, measuring 7 by 7, was sewed to the base of the pyramid so that a singlepole, without guy ropes, was all that was necessary to keep the tentupright after the floor had been securely pegged to the ground, orsnow. Tucker's tent offered the advantages of being carried withoutdifficulty, easily erected by one man, readily ventilated and yetgiving shelter to four men in any weather. We proposed to leave thewall tent at the Base, but to take the pyramidal tent with us on theclimb. We determined to carry the "Mummery" to the top of the mountainto use while taking observations. 

The elevation of the Base Camp was 17, 300 feet. We were surprisedand pleased to find that at first we had good appetites and nosoroche. Less than a hundred yards from the wall tent was a smalldiurnal stream, fed by melting snow. Whenever I went to get water forcooking or washing purposes I noticed a startling and rapid rise inpulse and increasing shortness of breath. My normal pulse is 70. AfterI walked slowly a hundred feet on a level at this altitude it rose to120. After I had been seated awhile it dropped down to 100. Graduallyour sense of well-being departed and was followed by a feeling ofmalaise and general disability. There was a splendid sunset, but wewere too sick and cold to enjoy it. That night all slept badly and hadsome headache. A high wind swept around the mountain and threatenedto carry away both of our tents. As we lay awake, wondering at whatmoment we should find ourselves deserted by the frail canvas shelters, we could not help thinking that Coropuna was giving us a fair warningof what might happen higher up. 

------FIGURE

The Base Camp, Coropuna, at 17, 300 Feet------

------FIGURE

Camping at 18, 450 Feet on the Slopes of Coropuna------

For breakfast we had pemmican, hard-tack, pea soup and tea. Weall wanted plenty of sugar in our tea and drank large quantitiesof it. Experience on Mt. McKinley had led Tucker to believeheartily in the advantages of pemmican, a food especially preparedfor Arctic explorers. Neither Coello nor Gamarra nor I had evertasted it before. We decided that it is not very palatable on firstacquaintance. Although doubtless of great value when one has to spendlong periods of time in the Arctic, where even seal's blubber is adelicacy "as good as cow's cream, " I presume we could have done justas well without it. 

It was decided to carry with us from the Base enough fuel andsupplies to last through any possible misadventure, even of a week'sduration. Accounts of climbs in the high Andes are full of failuresdue to the necessity of the explorers' being obliged to return tofood, warmth, and shelter before having effected the conquest ofa new peak. One remembers the frequent disappointments that cameto such intrepid climbers as Whymper in Ecuador, Martin Conway inBolivia and Fitzgerald in Chile and Argentina, due to high winds, the sudden advent of terrific snowstorms and the weakness caused bysoroche. At the cost of carrying extra-heavy loads we determined totry to avoid being obliged to turn back. We could only hope that nounforeseen event would finally defeat our efforts. 

Tucker decided to establish a cache of food and fuel as far up themountain side as he and Coello could carry fifty pounds in a singleday's climb. Leaving me to reset the demoralized tents and do otherchores, they started off, packing loads of about twenty-five poundseach. To me their progress up the mountain side seemed extraordinarilyslow. Were they never going to get anywhere? Their frequent stopsseemed ludicrous. I was to learn later that it is as difficult at ahigh elevation for one who is not climbing to have any sympathy forthose suffering from soroche as it is for a sailor to appreciate thesensations of one who is seasick. 

During the morning I set up the barometers and took a series ofobservations. It was pleasant to note that the two new mountainaneroids registered exactly alike. All the different units of thecargo that was to be taken up the mountain then had to be weighed, so that they might be equitably distributed in our loads the followingday. We had two small kerosene stoves with Primus burners. Our grub, ordered months before, specially for this climb, consisted of pemmicanin 8 1/4-pound tins, Kola chocolate in half-pound tins, seeded raisinsin 1-pound tins, cube sugar in 4-pound tins, hard-tack in 6 1/2-poundtins, jam, sticks of dried pea soup, Plasmon biscuit, tea, and a fewof Silver's self-heating "messtins" containing Irish stew, beef à lamode, et al. Corporal Gamarra appeared during the day, having foundhis mule, which had strayed twelve miles down the canyon. He did notrelish the prospect of climbing Coropuna, but when he saw the warmclothes which we had provided for him and learned that he would geta bonus of five gold sovereigns on top of the mountain, he decidedto accept his duties philosophically. 

Tucker and Coello returned in the middle of the afternoon, reportedthat there seemed to be no serious difficulties in the first partof the climb and that a cache had been established about 2000 feetabove the Base Camp, on a snow field. Tucker now assigned our packsfor the morrow and skillfully prepared the tump-lines and harnesswith which we were to carry them. 

Notwithstanding an unusual headache which lasted all day long, Istill had some appetite. Our supper consisted of pemmican puddingwith raisins, hard-tack and pea soup, which every one was able toeat, if not to enjoy. That night we slept better, one reason beingthat the wind did not blow as hard as it had the night before. Theweather continued fine. Watkins was due to arrive from Arequipa ina day or two, but we decided not to wait for him or run any furtherrisk of encountering an early summer snowstorm. The next morning, after adjusting our fifty-pound loads to our unaccustomed backs, we left camp about nine o'clock. We wore Appalachian MountainClub snow-creepers, or crampons, heavy Scotch mittens, knit woolenhelmets, dark blue snow-glasses, and very heavy clothing. It will beremembered by visitors to the Zermatt Museum that the Swiss guideswho once climbed Huascaran, in the northern Peruvian Andes, had beenmaimed for life by their experiences in the deep snows of those greataltitudes. We determined to take no chances, and in order to preventthe possibility of frost-bite each man was ordered to put on four pairsof heavy woolen socks and two or three pairs of heavy underdrawers. 

Professor Coello and Corporal Gamarra wore large, heavy boots. Ihad woolen puttees and "Arctic" overshoes. Tucker improvised whathe regarded as highly satisfactory sandals out of felt slippers andpieces of a rubber poncho. Since there seemed to be no rock-climbingahead of us, we decided to depend on crampons rather than on theheavy hob-nailed climbing boots with which Alpinists are familiar. 

The snow was very hard until about one o'clock. By three o'clock itwas so soft as to make further progress impossible. We found that, loaded as we were, we could not climb a gentle rise faster than twentysteps at a time. On the more level snow fields we took twenty-fiveor thirty steps before stopping to rest. At the end of each stintit seemed as though they would be the last steps we should evertake. Panting violently, fatigued beyond belief, and overcome withmountain-sickness, we would stop and lean on our ice axes until ableto take twenty-five steps more. 

It did not take very long to recover one's wind. Finally we reached aglacier marked by a network of crevasses, none very wide, and nearlyall covered with snow-bridges. We were roped together, and althoughthere was an occasional fall no great strain was put on the rope. Thencame great snow fields with not a single crevasse. For the most partour day was simply an unending succession of stints--twenty-five stepsand a rest, repeated four or five times and followed by thirty-fivesteps and a longer rest, taken lying down in the snow. We pegged alonguntil about half-past two, when the rapidly melting snow stopped allprogress. At an altitude of about 18, 450 feet, the Tucker tent waspitched on a fairly level snow field. We now noticed with dismay thatthe two big aneroids had begun to differ. As the sun declined thetemperature fell rapidly. At half-past five the thermometer stoodat 22° F. During the night the minimum thermometer registered 9°F. We noticed a considerable number of lightning flashes in thenortheast. They were not accompanied by any thunder, but alarmed usconsiderably. We feared the expected November storms might be ahead oftime. We closed the tent door on account of a biting wind. Owing tothe ventilating device at the top of the tent, we managed to breathefairly well. Mountain climbers at high altitudes have occasionallyobserved that one of the symptoms of acute soroche is a very annoying, racking cough, as violent as whooping cough and frequently accompaniedby nausoa. We had not experienced this at 17, 000 feet, but now itbegan to be painfully noticeable, and continued during the ensuingdays and nights, particularly nights, until we got back to the Indians'huts again. We slept very poorly and continually awakened one anotherby coughing. 

The next morning we had very little appetite, no ambition, and amiserable sense of malaise and great fatigue. There was nothing forit but to shoulder our packs, arrange our tump-lines, and proceed withthe same steady drudgery--now a little harder than the day before. Webroke camp at half-past seven and by noon had reached an altitudeof about 20, 000 feet, on a snow field within a mile of the saddlebetween the great truncated peak and the rest of the range. It lookedpossible to reach the summit in one more day's climb from here. Theaneroids now differed by over five hundred feet. Leaving me to pitchthe tent, the others went back to the cache to bring up some of thesupplies. Due to the fact that we were carrying loads twice as heavyas those which Tucker and Coello had first brought up, we had notpassed their cache until to-day. By the time my companions appearedagain I was so completely rested that I marveled at the snail-likepace they made over the nearly level snow field. It seemed incrediblethat they should find it necessary to rest four times after they werewithin one hundred yards of the camp. 

We were none of us hungry that evening. We craved sweet tea. Beforeturning in for the night we took the trouble to melt snow and makea potful of tea which could be warmed up the first thing in themorning. We passed another very bad night. The thermometer registered7° F. , but we did not suffer from the cold. In fact, when you stow awayfour men on the floor of a 7 by 7 tent they are obliged to sleep soclose together as to keep warm. Furthermore, each man had an eiderdownsleeping-bag, blankets, and plenty of heavy clothes and sweaters. Wedid, however, suffer from soroche. Violent whooping cough assailedus at frequent intervals. None of us slept much. I amused myself bycounting my pulse occasionally, only to find that it persistentlyrefused to go below 120, and if I moved would jump up to 135. I don'tknow where it went on the actual climb. So far as I could determine, it did not go below 120 for four days and nights. 

On the morning of October 15th we got up at three o'clock. Hot sweettea was the one thing we all craved. The tea-pot was found to befrozen solid, although it had been hung up in the tent. It took anhour to thaw and the tea was just warm enough for practical purposeswhen I made an awkward move in the crowded tent and kicked over thetea-pot! Never did men keep their tempers better under more aggravatingcircumstances. Not a word of reproach or indignation greeted myclumsy accident, although poor Corporal Gamarra, who was lying on thedown side of the tent, had to beat a hasty retreat into the colder(but somewhat drier) weather outside. My clumsiness necessitateda delay of nearly an hour in starting. While we were melting morefrozen snow and re-making the tea, we warmed up some pea soup andIrish stew. Tucker and I managed to eat a little. Coello and Gamarrahad no stomachs for anything but tea. We decided to leave the Tuckertent at the 20, 000 foot level, together with most of our outfit andprovisions. From here to the top we were to carry only such thingsas were absolutely necessary. They included the Mummery tent withpegs and poles, the mountain-mercurial barometer, the two Watkinsaneroids, the hypsometer, a pair of Zeiss glasses, two 3A kodaks, six films, a sling psychrometer, a prismatic compass and clinometer, a Stanley pocket level, an eighty-foot red-strand mountain rope, three ice axes, a seven-foot flagpole, an American flag and a Yaleflag. In order to avoid disaster in case of storm, we also carriedfour of Silver's self-heating cans of Irish stew and mock-turtle soup, a cake of chocolate, and eight hard-tack, besides raisins and cubesof sugar in our pockets. Our loads weighed about twenty pounds each. 

To our great satisfaction and relief, the weather continued fineand there was very little wind. On the preceding afternoon the snowhad been so soft one frequently went in over one's knees, but noweverything was frozen hard. We left camp at five o'clock. It wasstill dark. The great dome of Coropuna loomed up on our left, cutoff from direct attack by gigantic ice falls. To reach it we mustfirst surmount the saddle on the main ridge. From there an apparentlyunbroken slope extended to the top. Our progress was distressinglyslow, even with the light loads. When we reached the saddle there camea painful surprise. To the north of us loomed a great snowy cone, thepeak which we had at first noticed from the Chuquibamba Calvario. Nowit actually looked higher than the dome we were about to climb! Fromthe Sihuas Desert, eighty miles away, the dome had certainly seemedto be the highest point. So we stuck to our task, although constantlyfacing the possibility that our painful labors might be in vain andthat eventually, this north peak would prove to be higher. We began todoubt whether we should have strength enough for both. Loss of sleep, soroche, and lack of appetite were rapidly undermining our endurance. 

The last slope had an inclination of thirty degrees. We should havehad to cut steps with our ice axes all the way up had it not been forour snow-creepers, which worked splendidly. As it was, not more thana dozen or fifteen steps actually had to be cut even in the steepestpart. Tucker was first on the rope, I was second, Coello third, andGamarra brought up the rear. We were not a very gay party. The highaltitude was sapping all our ambition. I found that an occasional lumpof sugar acted as the best rapid restorative to sagging spirits. It wasastonishing how quickly the carbon in the sugar was absorbed by thesystem and came to the relief of smoldering bodily fires. A singlecube gave new strength and vigor for several minutes. Of course, one could not eat sugar without limit, but it did help to tide overdifficult places. 

We zigzagged slowly up, hour after hour, alternately resting andclimbing, until we were about to reach what seemed to be the top, obviously, alas, not as high as our enemy to the north. Just thenTucker gave a great shout. The rest of us were too much out of breathto ask him why he was wasting his strength shouting. When at last wepainfully came to the edge of what looked like the summit we saw thecause of his joy. There, immediately ahead of us, lay another slopethree hundred feet higher than where we were standing. It may seemstrange that in our weakened condition we should have been glad tofind that we had three hundred feet more to climb. Remember, however, that all the morning we had been gazing with dread at that aggravatingnorth peak. Whenever we had had a moment to give to the considerationof anything but the immediate difficulties of our climb our heartshad sunk within us at the thought that possibly, after all, we mightfind the north peak higher. The fact that there lay before us anotherthree hundred feet, which would undoubtedly take us above the highestpoint of that aggravating north peak, was so very much the less oftwo possible evils that we understood Tucker's shout. Yet none of uswas lusty enough to echo it. 

With faint smiles and renewed courage we pegged along, resting onour ice axes, as usual, every twenty-five steps until at last, athalf-past eleven, after six hours and a half of climbing from the20, 000-foot camp, we reached the culminating point of Coropuna. Aswe approached it, Tucker, although naturally much elated at havingsuccessfully engineered the first ascent of this great mountain, stopped and with extraordinary courtesy and self-abnegation smilinglymotioned me to go ahead in order that the director of the Expeditionmight be actually the first person to reach the culminating point. Inorder to appreciate how great a sacrifice he was willing to make, it should be stated that his willingness to come on the Expeditionwas due chiefly to a fondness for mountain climbing and his desireto add Coropuna to his sheaf of victories. Greatly as I appreciatedhis kindness in making way for me, I could only acquiesce in so faras to continue the climb by his side. We reached the top together, and sank down to rest and look about. 

------FIGURE

The Camp on the Summit of Coropuna Elevation, 21, 703 Feet------

------FIGURE

One of the Frequent Rests in the Ascent of Coropuna------

The truncated summit is an oval-shaped snow field, almost flat, having an area of nearly half an acre, about 100 feet north andsouth and 175 feet east and west. If it once were, as we suppose, avolcanic crater, the pit had long since been filled up with snow andice. There were no rocks to be seen on the rim--only the hard crust ofthe glistening white surface. The view from the top was desolate inthe extreme. We were in the midst of a great volcanic desert dottedwith isolated peaks covered with snow and occasional glaciers. Notan atom of green was to be seen anywhere. Apparently we stood ontop of a dead world. Mountain climbers in the Andes have frequentlyspoken of seeing condors at great altitudes. We saw none. Northwest, twenty miles away across the Pampa Colorada, a reddish desert, rosesnow-capped Solimana. In the other direction we looked along therange of Coropuna itself; several of the lesser peaks being only afew hundred feet below our elevation. Far to the southwest we imaginedwe could see the faint blue of the Pacific Ocean, but it was very dim. 

My father was an ardent mountain climber, glorying not only in thedifficulties of the ascent, but particularly in the satisfaction comingfrom the magnificent view to be obtained at the top. His zeal hadled him once, in winter, to ascend the highest peak in the Pacific, Mauna Kea on Hawaii. He taught me as a boy to be fond of climbingthe mountains of Oahu and Maui and to be appreciative of the viewswhich could be obtained by such expenditure of effort. Yet now Icould not take the least interest or pleasure in the view from thetop of Coropuna, nor could my companions. No sense of satisfactionin having attained a difficult objective cheered us up. We all feltgreatly depressed and said little, although Gamarra asked for hisbonus and regarded the gold coins with grim complacency. 

After we had rested awhile we began to take observations. Unslingingthe aneroid which I had been carrying, I found to my surprise anddismay that the needle showed a height of only 21, 525 feet abovesea level. Tucker's aneroid read more than a thousand feet higher, 22, 550 feet, but even this fell short of Raimondi's estimate of22, 775 feet, and considerably below Bandelier's "23, 000 feet. " Thiswas a keen disappointment, for we had hoped that the aneroids wouldat least show a margin over the altitude of Mt. Aconcagua, 22, 763feet. This discovery served to dampen our spirits still further. Wetook what comfort we could from the fact that the aneroids, whichhad checked each other perfectly up to 17, 000 feet, were now soobviously untrustworthy. We could only hope that both might proveto be inaccurate, as actually happened, and that both might nowbe reading too low. Anyhow, the north peak did look lower than wewere. To satisfy any doubts on this subject, Tucker took the woodenbox in which we had brought the hypsometer, laid it on the snow, leveled it up carefully with the Stanley pocket level, and took asquint over it toward the north peak. He smiled and said nothing. Soeach of us in turn lay down in the snow and took a squint. It wasall right. We were at least 250 feet higher than that aggravating peak. 

We were also 450 feet higher than the east peak of Coropuna, anda thousand feet higher than any other mountain in sight. At anyrate, we should not have to call upon our fast-ebbing strength forany more hard climbs in the immediate future. After arriving atthis satisfactory conclusion we pitched the little Mummery tent, set up the tripod for the mercurial barometer, arranged the boilingpoint thermometer with its apparatus, and with the aid of kodaks andnotebooks proceeded to take as many observations as possible in thenext four hours. At two o'clock we read the mercurial, knowing thatat the same hour readings were being made by Watkins at the Base Campand by the Harvard astronomers in the Observatory at Arequipa. Thebarometer was suspended from a tripod set up in the shade of thetent. The mercury, which at sea level often stands at 31 inches, nowstood at 13. 838 inches. The temperature of the thermometer on thebarometer was exactly +32° F. At the same time, inside the tent wegot the water to boiling and took a reading with the hypsometer. Waterboils at sea level at a temperature of 212° F. Here it boiled at 174°F. After taking the reading we greedily drank the water which had beenheated for the hypsometer. We were thirsty enough to have drunk fivetimes as much. We were not hungry, and made no use of our provisionsexcept a few raisins, some sugar, and chocolate. 

After completing our observations, we fastened the little tentas securely as possible, banking the snow around it, and left iton top, first having placed in it one of the Appalachian MountainClub's brass record cylinders, in which we had sealed the Yale flag, a contemporary map of Peru, and two brief statements regarding theascent. The American flag was left flying from a nine-foot pole, which we planted at the northwest rim of the dome, where it couldbe seen from the road to Cotahuasi. Here Mr. Casimir Watkins sawit a week later and Dr. Isaiah Bowman two weeks later. When ChiefTopographer Hendriksen arrived three weeks later to make his survey, it had disappeared. Probably a severe storm had blown it over andburied it in the snow. 

We left the summit at three o'clock and arrived at the 20, 000 foot camptwo hours and fifteen minutes later. The first part of the way downto the saddle we attempted a glissade. Then the slope grew steeper andwe got up too much speed for comfort, so we finally had to be contentwith a slower method of locomotion. That night there was very littlewind. Mountain climbers have more to fear from excessively high windsthan almost any other cause. We were very lucky. Nothing occurredto interfere with the best progress we were physically capable ofmaking. It turned out that we did not need to have brought so manysupplies with us. In fact, it is an open question whether our acutemountain-sickness would have permitted us to outlast a long storm, or left us enough appetite to use the provisions. Although one doesget accustomed to high altitudes, we felt very doubtful. No one inthe Western Hemisphere had ever made night camps at 20, 000 feet orpitched a tent as high as the summit of Coropuna. The severity ofmountain-sickness differs greatly in different localities, apparentlynot depending entirely on the altitude. I do not know how long we couldhave stood it. It is difficult to believe that with strength enoughto achieve the climb we should have felt as weak and ill as we did. 

That night, although we were very weary, none of us slept much. Theviolent whooping cough continued and all of us were nauseated againin the morning. We felt so badly and were able to take so littlenourishment that it was determined to get to a lower altitude asfast as possible. To lighten our loads we left behind some of oursupplies. We broke camp at 9:20. Eighteen minutes later, withouthaving to rest, the cache was reached and the few remnants were pickedup. Although many things had been abandoned, our loads seemed heavierthan ever. We had some difficulty in negotiating the crevasses, butGamarra was the only one actually to fall in, and he was easily pulledout again. About noon we heard a faint halloo, and finally made out twoanimated specks far down the mountain side. The effect of again seeingsomebody from the outside world was rather curious. I had a chokingsensation. Tucker, who led the way, told me long afterward that hecould not keep the tears from running down his cheeks, although wedid not see it at the time. The "specks" turned out to be Watkinsand an Indian boy, who came up as high as was safe without ropes orcrampons, and relieved us of some weight. The Base Camp was reachedat half-past twelve. One of the first things Tucker did on returningwas to weigh all the packs. To my surprise and disgust I learned thaton the way down Tucker, afraid that some of us would collapse, hadcarried sixty-one pounds, and Gamarra sixty-four, while he had givenme only thirty-one pounds, and the same to Coello. This, of course, does not include the weight of our ice-creepers, axes, or rope. 

The next day all of us felt very tired and drowsy. In fact, I wasalmost overcome with inertia. It was a fearful task even to lift one'shand. The sun had burned our faces terribly. Our lips were painfullyswollen. We coughed and whooped. It seemed best to make every effortto get back to a still lower altitude for the mules. So we broke camp, got the loads ready without waiting, put our sleeping-bags and blanketson our backs, and went rapidly down to the Indians' huts. Immediatelyour malaise left us. We felt physically stronger. We took deep breathsas though we had gotten back to sea level. There was no sensationof oppression on the chest. Yet we were still actually higher thanthe top of Pike's Peak. We could move rapidly about without gettingout of breath; the aggravating "whooping cough" left us; and ourappetites returned. To be sure, we still suffered from the effectsof snow and sun. On the ascent I had been very thirsty and foolishlyhad allowed myself to eat a considerable amount of snow. As a resultmy tongue was now so extremely sensitive that pieces of soda biscuittasted like broken glass. Corporal Gamarra, who had been unwillingto keep his snow-glasses always in place and thought to relieve hiseyes by frequently dispensing with them, now suffered from partialsnow-blindness. The rest of us were spared any inflammation of theeyes. There followed two days of resting and waiting. Then the smilingarrieros, surprised and delighted at seeing us alive again after ouradventure with Coropuna, arrived with our mules. The Tejadas gave ushearty embraces and promptly went off up to the snow line to get theloads. The next day we returned to Chuquibamba. 

In November Chief Topographer Hendriksen completed his survey andfound the latitude of Coropuna to be 15° 31' South, and the longitudeto be 72° 42' 40'' West of Greenwich. He computed its altitude to be21, 703 feet above sea level. The result of comparing the readings ofour mercurial barometer, taken at the summit, with the simultaneousreadings taken at Arequipa gave practically the same figures. Therewas less than sixty feet difference between the two. Although Coropunaproves to be thirteen hundred feet lower than Bandelier's estimate, and a thousand feet lower than the highest mountain in South America, still it is a thousand feet higher than the highest mountain inNorth America. While we were glad we were the first to reach the top, we all agreed we would never do it again!

CHAPTER III

To Parinacochas

After a few days in the delightful climate of Chuquibamba we setout for Parinacochas, the "Flamingo Lake" of the Incas. The late SirClements Markham, literary and historical successor of the author of"The Conquest of Peru, " had called attention to this unexplored lakein one of the publications of the Royal Geographical Society, and hadnamed a bathymetric survey of Parinacochas as one of the principaldesiderata for future exploration in Peru. So far as one could judgefrom the published maps Parinacochas, although much smaller thanTiticaca, was the largest body of water entirely in Peru. A thoroughsearch of geographical literature failed to reveal anything regardingits depth. The only thing that seemed to be known about it was that ithad no outlet. General William Miller, once British consul general inHonolulu, who had as a young man assisted General San Martin in theWars for the Independence of Chile and Peru, published his memoirsin London in 1828. During the campaigns against the Spanish forcesin Peru he had had occasion to see many out-of-the-way places in theinterior. On one of his rough sketch maps he indicates the location ofLake Parinacochas and notes the fact that the water is "brackish. " Thisstatement of General Miller's and the suggestion of Sir ClementsMarkham that a bathymetric survey of the lake would be an importantcontribution to geographical knowledge was all that we were able tolearn. Our arrieros, the Tejadas, had never been to Parinacochas, but knew in a general way its location and were not afraid to try toget there. Some of their friends had been there and come back alive!

First, however, it was necessary for us to go to Cotahuasi, thecapital of the Province of Antabamba, and meet Dr. Bowman andMr. Hendriksen, who had slowly been working their way across theAndes from the Urubamba Valley, and who would need a new supply offood-boxes if they were to complete the geographical reconnaissanceof the 73d meridian. Our route led us out of the Chuquibamba Valleyby a long, hard climb up the steep cliffs at its head and then overthe gently sloping, semi-arid desert in a northerly direction, aroundthe west flanks of Coropuna. When we stopped to make camp that nighton the Pampa of Chumpillo, our arrieros used dried moss and dung forfuel for the camp fire. There was some bunch-grass, and there werellamas pasturing on the plains. Near our tent were some Inca ruins, probably the dwelling of a shepherd chief, or possibly the remainsof a temple described by Cieza de Leon (1519-1560), whose remarkableaccounts of what he saw and learned in Peru during the time of thePizarros are very highly regarded. He says that among the five mostimportant temples in the Land of the Incas was one "much venerated andfrequented by them, named Coropuna. " "It is on a very lofty mountainwhich is covered with snow both in summer and winter. The kingsof Peru visited this temple making presents and offerings . .. . Itis held for certain [by treasure hunters!] that among the giftsoffered to this temple there were many loads of silver, gold, andprecious stones buried in places which are now unknown. The Indiansconcealed another great sum which was for the service of the idol, and of the priests and virgins who attended upon it. But as thereare great masses of snow, people do not ascend to the summit, nor isit known where these are hidden. This temple possessed many flocks, farms, and service of Indians. " No one lives here now, but there aremany flocks and llamas, and not far away we saw ancient storehousesand burial places. That night we suffered from intense cold and werekept awake by the bitter wind which swept down from the snow fieldsof Coropuna and shook the walls of our tent violently. 

The next day we crossed two small oases, little gulches watered fromthe melting snow of Coropuna. Here there was an abundance of peatand some small gnarled trees from which Chuquibamba derives part ofits fuel supply. We climbed slowly around the lower spurs of Coropunainto a bleak desert wilderness of lava blocks and scoriaceous sand, the Red Desert, or Pampa Colorada. It is for the most part between15, 000 and 16, 000 feet above sea level, and is bounded on the northwestby the canyon of the Rio Arma, 2000 feet deep, where we made our campand passed a more agreeable night. The following morning we climbedout again on the farther side of the canyon and skirted the easternslopes of Mt. Solimana. Soon the trail turned abruptly to the left, away from our old friend Coropuna. 

We wondered how long ago our mountain was an active volcano. To-day, less than two hundred miles south of here are live peaks, like ElMisti and Ubinas, which still smolder occasionally and have beenknown in the memory of man to give forth great showers of cinderscovering a wide area. Possibly not so very long ago the greattruncated peak of Coropuna was formed by a last flickering of theancient fires. Dr. Bowman says that the greater part of the vastaccumulation of lavas and volcanic cinders in this vicinity goesfar back to a period preceding the last glacial epoch. The enormousamount of erosion that has taken place in the adjacent canyons andthe great numbers of strata, composed of lava flows, laid bare bythe mighty streams of the glacial period all point to this conclusion. 

My saddle mule was one of those cantankerous beasts that are gentleenough as long as they are allowed to have their own way. In hercase this meant that she was happy only when going along close toher friends in the caravan. If reined in, while I took some notes, she became very restive, finally whirling around, plunging andkicking. Contrariwise, no amount of spurring or lashing with a stoutquirt availed to make her go ahead of her comrades. This morning Iwas particularly anxious to get a picture of our pack train joggingsteadily along over the desert, directly away from Coropuna. Sincemy mule would not gallop ahead, I had to dismount, run a couple ofhundred yards ahead of the rapidly advancing animals and take thepicture before they reached me. We were now at an elevation of 16, 000feet above sea level. Yet to my surprise and delight I found that itwas relatively as easy to run here as anywhere, so accustomed had mylungs and heart become to very rarefied air. Had I attempted sucha strenuous feat at a similar altitude before climbing Coropuna itwould have been physically impossible. Any one who has tried to runtwo hundred yards at three miles above sea level will understand. 

We were still in a very arid region; mostly coarse black sand andpebbles, with typical desert shrubs and occasional bunches of toughgrass. The slopes of Mt. Solimana on our left were fairly well coveredwith sparse vegetation. Among the bushes we saw a number of vicuñas, the smallest wild camels of the New World. We tried in vain to getnear enough for a photograph. They were extremely timid and scamperedaway before we were within three hundred yards. 

Seven or eight miles more of very gradual downward slope broughtus suddenly and unexpectedly to the brink of a magnificent canyon, the densely populated valley of Cotahuasi. The walls of the canyonwere covered with innumerable terraces--thousands of them. It seemedat first glance as though every available spot in the canyon had beeneither terraced or allotted to some compact little village. One couldcount more than a score of towns, including Cotahuasi itself, its longmain street outlined by whitewashed houses. As we zigzagged down intothe canyon our road led us past hundreds of the artificial terracesand through little villages of thatched huts huddled together on spursrescued from the all-embracing agriculture. After spending severalweeks in a desert region, where only the narrow valley bottoms showedany signs of cultivation, it seemed marvelous to observe the extentto which terracing had been carried on the side of the CotahuasiValley. Although we were now in the zone of light annual rains, itwas evident from the extraordinary irrigation system that agriculturehere depends very largely on ability to bring water down from thegreat mountains in the interior. Most of the terraces and irrigationcanals were built centuries ago, long before the discovery of America. 

No part of the ancient civilization of Peru has been more admiredthan the development of agriculture. Mr. Cook says that there is nopart of the world in which more pains have been taken to raise cropswhere nature made it hard for them to be planted. In other countries, to be sure, we find reclamation projects, where irrigation canals serveto bring water long distances to be used on arid but fruitful soil. Wealso find great fertilizer factories turning out, according to properchemical formula, the needed constituents to furnish impoverished soilswith the necessary materials for plant growth. We find man overcomingmany obstacles in the way of transportation, in order to reach greatregions where nature has provided fertile fields and made it easy toraise life-giving crops. Nowhere outside of Peru, either in historic orprehistoric times, does one find farmers spending incredible amountsof labor in actually creating arable fields, besides bringing thewater to irrigate them and the guano to fertilize them; yet thatis what was done by the ancient highlanders of Peru. As they spreadover a country in which the arable flat land was usually at so greatan elevation as to be suitable for only the hardiest of root crops, like the white potato and the oca, they were driven to use narrowvalley bottoms and steep, though fertile, slopes in order to raise theprecious maize and many of the other temperate and tropical plantswhich they domesticated for food and medicinal purposes. They wereconstantly confronted by an extraordinary scarcity of soil. In thevalley bottoms torrential rivers, meandering from side to side, wereengaged in an endless endeavor to tear away the arable land and bearit off to the sea. The slopes of the valleys were frequently so verysteep as to discourage the most ardent modern agriculturalist. Thefarmer might wake up any morning to find that a heavy rain duringthe night had washed away a large part of his carefully plantedfields. Consequently there was developed, through the centuries, a series of stone-faced andenes, terraces or platforms. 

Examination of the ancient andenes discloses the fact that they werenot made by simply hoeing in the earth from the hillside back of acarefully constructed stone wall. The space back of the walls wasfirst filled in with coarse rocks, clay, and rubble; then followedsmaller rocks, pebbles, and gravel, which would serve to drain thesubsoil. Finally, on top of all this, and to a depth of eighteeninches or so, was laid the finest soil they could procure. Theresult was the best possible field for intensive cultivation. Itseems absolutely unbelievable that such an immense amount of painsshould have been taken for such relatively small results. The needmust have been very great. In many cases the terraces are only a fewfeet wide, although hundreds of yards in length. Usually they followthe natural contours of the valley. Sometimes they are two hundredyards wide and a quarter of a mile long. To-day corn, barley, andalfalfa are grown on the terraces. 

Cotahuasi itself lies in the bottom of the valley, a pleasant placewhere one can purchase the most fragrant and highly prized of allPeruvian wines. The climate is agreeable, and has attracted manylandlords, whose estates lie chiefly on the bleak plateaus of thesurrounding highlands, where shepherds tend flocks of llamas, sheep, and alpacas. 

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

One day the sub-prefect offered to have his personal barber attendus. It was some time since Mr. Tucker and I had seen a barber-shop. Thechances were that we should find none at Parinacochas. Consequently weaccepted with pleasure. When the barber arrived, closely guarded by agendarme armed with a loaded rifle, we learned that he was a convictfrom 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 ofclippers from an unspeakably soiled and oily rag, I wished I was ina position to decline to place myself under his ministrations. Thesub-prefect, however, had been so kind and was so apologetic as tothe inconveniences of the "barber-shop" that there was nothing for itbut to go bravely forward. Although it was unpleasant to have one'shair trimmed by an uncertain pair of rusty clippers, I could nothelp experiencing a feeling of relief that the convict did not have apair of shears. He was working too near my jugular vein. Finally theperiod of torture came to an end, and the prisoner accepted his feeswith a profound salutation. We breathed sighs of relief, not unmixedwith sympathy, as we saw him marched safely away by the gendarme. 

We had arrived in Cotahuasi almost simultaneously with Dr. Bowman andTopographer Hendriksen. They had encountered extraordinary difficultiesin carrying out the reconnaissance of the 73d meridian, but were nowpast the worst of it. Their supplies were exhausted, so those which wehad brought from Arequipa were doubly welcome. Mr. Watkins was assignedto assist Mr. Hendriksen and a few days later Dr. Bowman started southto study the geology and geography of the desert. He took with himas escort Corporal Gamarra, who was only too glad to escape from themachinations of his enemies. It will be remembered that it was Gamarrawho had successfully defended the Cotahuasi barracks and jail at thetime of a revolutionary riot which occurred some months previous toour visit. The sub-prefect accompanied Dr. Bowman out of town. ForGamarra's sake they left the house at three o'clock in the morningand our generous host agreed to ride with them until daybreak. In hisimportant monograph, "The Andes of Southern Peru, " Dr. Bowman writes:"At four o'clock our whispered arrangements were made. We openedthe gates noiselessly and our small cavalcade hurried through thepitch-black streets of the town. The soldier rode ahead, his rifleacross his saddle, and directly behind him rode the sub-prefect andmyself. The pack mules were in the rear. We had almost reached theend of the street when a door opened suddenly and a shower of sparksflew out ahead of us. Instantly the soldier struck spurs into hismule and turned into a side street. The sub-prefect drew his horseback savagely, and when the next shower of sparks flew out pushedme against the wall and whispered, 'For God's sake, who is it?' Thensuddenly he shouted. 'Stop blowing! Stop blowing!' "

The cause of all the disturbance was a shabby, hard-working tailorwho had gotten up at this unearthly hour to start his day's work bypressing clothes for some insistent customer. He had in his handan ancient smoothing-iron filled with live coals, on which he hadbeen vigorously blowing. Hence the sparks! That a penitent tailorand his ancient goose should have been able to cause such terrificexcitement at that hour in the morning would have interested our ownOliver Wendell Holmes, who was fond of referring to this picturesqueapparatus and who might have written an appropriate essay on The Goosethat Startled the Soldier of Cotahuasi; with Particular Reference toHis Being a Possible Namesake of the Geese that Aroused the Soldiersof Ancient Rome. 

------FIGURE

The sub-perfect of Cotahuasi, his military aide, and Messrs. Tucker, Hendriksen, Bowman, and Bingham inspecting the local rug-weavingindustry. ------

The most unusual industry of Cotahuasi is the weaving of rugs andcarpets on vertical hand looms. The local carpet weavers make the warpand woof of woolen yarn in which loops of alpaca wool, black, gray, or white, are inserted to form the desired pattern. The loops are cutso as to form a deep pile. The result is a delightfully thick, warm, gray rug. Ordinarily the native Peruvian rug has no pile. Probably theindustry was brought from Europe by some Spaniard centuries ago. Itseems to be restricted to this remote region. The rug makers are asmall group of Indians who live outside the town but who carry theirhand looms from house to house, as required. It is the custom for theperson who desires a rug to buy the wool, supply the pattern, furnishthe weaver with board, lodging, coca, tobacco and wine, and watch therug grow from day to day under the shelter of his own roof. The rugweavers are very clever in copying new patterns. Through the courtesyof Señor Viscarra we eventually received several small rugs, wovenespecially for us from monogram designs drawn by Mr. Hendriksen. 

Early one morning in November we said good-bye to our friendly host, and, directed by a picturesque old guide who said he knew the road toParinacochas, we left Cotahuasi. The highway crossed the neighboringstream on a treacherous-looking bridge, the central pier of whichwas built of the crudest kind of masonry piled on top of a giganticboulder in midstream. The main arch of the bridge consisted of twolong logs across which had been thrown a quantity of brush held downby earth and stones. There was no rail on either side, but our muleshad crossed bridges of this type before and made little trouble. Onthe northern side of the valley we rode through a compact little towncalled Mungi and began to climb out of the canyon, passing hundredsof very fine artificial terraces, at present used for crops of maizeand barley. In one place our road led us by a little waterfall, an altogether surprising and unexpected phenomenon in this aridregion. Investigation, however, proved that it was artificial, aswell as the fields. Its presence may be due to a temporary connectionbetween the upper and lower levels of ancient irrigation canals. 

Hour after hour our pack train painfully climbed the narrow, rockyzigzag trail. The climate is favorable for agriculture. Wherever thesides of the canyon were not absolutely precipitous, stone-facedterraces and irrigation had transformed them long ago into arablefields. Four thousand feet above the valley floor we came to a veryfine series of beautiful terraces. On a shelf near the top of thecanyon we pitched our tent near some rough stone corrals used byshepherds whose flocks grazed on the lofty plateau beyond, and neara tiny brook, which was partly frozen over the next morning. Ourcamp was at an elevation of 14, 500 feet above the sea. Near by wereturreted rocks, curious results of wind-and-sand erosion. 

The next day we entered a region of mountain pastures. We passedoccasional swamps and little pools of snow water. From one of thesewe turned and looked back across the great Cotahuasi Canyon, to theglaciers of Solimana and snow-clad Coropuna, now growing fainterand fainter as we went toward Parinacochas. At an altitude of 16, 500feet we struck across a great barren plateau covered with rocks andsand--hardly a living thing in sight. In the midst of it we came toa beautiful lake, but it was not Parinacochas. On the plateau it wasintensely cold. Occasionally I dismounted and jogged along beside mymule in order to keep warm. Again I noticed that as the result of myexperiences on Coropuna I suffered no discomfort, nor any symptomsof mountain-sickness, even after trotting steadily for four or fivehundred yards. In the afternoon we began to descend from the plateautoward Lampa and found ourselves in the pasture lands of Ajochiucha, where ichu grass and other little foliage plants, watered by rainand snow, furnish forage for large flocks of sheep, llamas, andalpacas. Their owners live in the cultivated valleys, but the Indianherdsmen must face the storms and piercing winds of the high pastures. 

Alpacas are usually timid. On this occasion, however, possiblybecause they were thirsty and were seeking water holes in the uppercourses of a little swale, they stopped and allowed me to observethem closely. The fleece of the alpaca is one of the softest inthe world. However, due to the fact that shrewd tradesmen, findingthat the fabric manufactured from alpaca wool was highly desired, many years ago gave the name to a far cheaper fabric, the "alpaca"of commerce, a material used for coat linings, umbrellas, and thin, warm-weather coats, is a fabric of cotton and wool, with a hardsurface, and generally dyed black. It usually contains no real alpacawool at all, and is fairly cheap. The real alpaca wool which comes intothe market to-day is not so called. Long and silky, straighter thanthe sheep's wool, it is strong, small of fiber, very soft, pliable andelastic. It is capable of being woven into fabrics of great beauty andcomfort. Many of the silky, fluffy, knitted garments that command thehighest prices for winter wear, and which are called by various names, such as "vicuña, " "camel's hair, " etc. , are really made of alpaca. 

The alpaca, like its cousin, the llama, was probably domesticated bythe early Peruvians from the wild guanaco, largest of the camels of theNew World. The guanaco still exists in a wild state and is always ofuniform coloration. Llamas and alpacas are extremely variegated. Thellama has so coarse a hair that it is seldom woven into cloth forwearing apparel, although heavy blankets made from it are in use bythe natives. Bred to be a beast of burden, the llama is accustomed tothe presence of strangers and is not any more timid of them than ourhorses and cows. The alpaca, however, requiring better and scarcerforage--short, tender grass and plenty of water--frequents the mostremote and lofty of the mountain pastures, is handled only when thefleece is removed, seldom sees any one except the peaceful shepherds, and is extremely shy of strangers, although not nearly as timid as itsdistant cousin the vicuña. I shall never forget the first time I eversaw some alpacas. They looked for all the world like the "woolly-dogs"of our toys shops--woolly along the neck right up to the eyes andwoolly along the legs right down to the invisible wheels! There wassomething inexpressibly comic about these long-legged animals. Theylook like toys on wheels, but actually they can gallop like cows. 

The llama, with far less hair on head, neck, and legs, is also amusing, but in a different way. His expression is haughty and superciliousin the extreme. He usually looks as though his presence near one isdue to circumstances over which he really had no control. Pride ofrace and excessive haughtiness lead him to carry his head so highand his neck so stiffly erect that he can be corralled, with othersof his kind, by a single rope passed around the necks of the entiregroup. Yet he can be bought for ten dollars. 

On the pasture lands of Ajochiucha there were many ewes and lambs, both of llamas and alpacas. Even the shepherds were mostly children, more timid than their charges. They crouched inconspicuously behindrocks and shrubs, endeavoring to escape our notice. About five o'clockin the afternoon, on a dry pampa, we found the ruins of one of thelargest known Inca storehouses, Chichipampa, an interesting reminderof the days when benevolent despots ruled the Andes and, like thePharaohs of old, provided against possible famine. The locality isnot occupied, yet near by are populous valleys. 

As soon as we left our camp the next morning, we came abruptly to theedge of the Lampa Valley. This was another of the mile-deep canyonsso characteristic of this region. Our pack mules grunted and groanedas they picked their way down the corkscrew trail. It overhangs themud-colored Indian town of Colta, a rather scattered collection ofa hundred or more huts. Here again, as in the Cotahuasi Valley, arehundreds of ancient terraces, extending for thousands of feet up thesides of the canyon. Many of them were badly out of repair, but thosenear Colta were still being used for raising crops of corn, potatoes, and barley. The uncultivated spots were covered with cacti, thornbushes, and the gnarled, stunted trees of a semi-arid region. In thetown itself were half a dozen specimens of the Australian eucalyptus, that agreeable and extraordinarily successful colonist which oneencounters not only in the heart of Peru, but in the Andes of Colombiaand the new forest preserves of California and the Hawaiian Islands. 

------FIGURE

Inca Storehouses at Chinchipampa, near Colta------

Colta has a few two-storied houses, with tiled roofs. Some of themhave open verandas on the second floor--a sure indication that theclimate is at times comfortable. Their walls are built of sun-driedadobe, and so are the walls of the little grass-thatched huts of themajority. Judging by the rather irregular plan of the streets andthe great number of terraces in and around town, one may concludethat Colta goes far back of the sixteenth century and the days ofthe Spanish Conquest, as indeed do most Peruvian towns. The citiesof Lima and Arequipa are noteworthy exceptions. Leaving Colta, we wound around the base of the projecting ridge, on the sides ofwhich were many evidences of ancient culture, and came into thevalley of Huancahuanca, a large arid canyon. The guide said that wewere nearing Parinacochas. Not many miles away, across two canyons, was a snow-capped peak, Sarasara. 

Lampa, the chief town in the Huancahuanca Canyon, lies on a greatnatural terrace of gravel and alluvium more than a thousand feetabove the river. Part of the terrace seemed to be irrigated andunder cultivation. It was proposed by the energetic farmers atthe time of our visit to enlarge the system of irrigation so as toenable them to cultivate a larger part of the pampa on which theylived. In fact, the new irrigation scheme was actually in process ofbeing carried out and has probably long since been completed. Ourreception in Lampa was not cordial. It will be remembered thatour military escort, Corporal Gamarra, had gone back to Arequipawith Dr. Bowman. Our two excellent arrieros, the Tejada brothers, declared they preferred to travel without any "brass buttons, "so we had not asked the sub-prefect of Cotahuasi to send one ofhis small handful of gendarmes along with us. Probably this was amistake. Unless one is traveling in Peru on some easily understoodmatter, such as prospecting for mines or representing one of thegreat importing and commission houses, or actually peddling goods, one cannot help arousing the natural suspicions of a people to whomtraveling on muleback for pleasure is unthinkable, and scientificexploration for its own sake is incomprehensible. Of course, if theexplorers arrive accompanied by a gendarme it is perfectly evidentthat the enterprise has the approval and probably the financialbacking of the government. It is surmised that the explorers arewell paid, and what would be otherwise inconceivable becomes merelyone of the ordinary experiences of life. South American governmentsalmost without exception are paternalistic, and their citizens areled to expect that all measures connected with research, whether it bescientific, economic, or social, are to be conducted by the governmentand paid for out of the national treasury. Individual enterprise isnot encouraged. During all my preceding exploration in Peru I hadhad such an easy time that I not only forgot, but failed to realize, how often an ever-present gendarme, provided through the courtesy ofPresident Leguia's government, had quieted suspicions and assured usa cordial welcome. 

Now, however, when without a gendarme we entered the smart littletown of Lampa, we found ourselves immediately and unquestionably theobjects of extreme suspicion and distrust. Yet we could not helpadmiring the well-swept streets, freshly whitewashed houses, andgeneral air of prosperity and enterprise. The gobernador of the townlived on the main street in a red-tiled house, whose courtyard andcolonnade were probably two hundred years old. He had heard nothingof our undertaking from the government. His friends urged him to takesome hostile action. Fortunately, our arrieros, respectable men of highgrade, although strangers in Lampa, were able to allay his suspicionstemporarily. We were not placed under arrest, although I am surehis action was not approved by the very suspicious town councilors, who found it far easier to suggest reasons for our being fugitivesfrom justice than to understand the real object of our journey. 

The very fact that we were bound for Lake Parinacochas, a place wellknown in Lampa, added to their suspicion. It seems that Lampa is famousfor its weavers, who utilize the wool of the countless herds of sheep, alpacas, and vicuñas in this vicinity to make ponchos and blanketsof high grade, much desired not only in this locality but even inArequipa. These are marketed, as so often happens in the outlyingparts of the world, at a great annual fair, attended by traders whocome hundreds of miles, bringing the manufactured articles of theouter world and seeking the highly desired products of these secludedtowns. The great fair for this vicinity has been held, for untoldgenerations, on the shores of Lake Parinacochas. Every one is anxiousto attend the fair, which is an occasion for seeing one's friends, anopportunity for jollification, carousing, and general enjoyment--like alarge county fair at home. Except for this annual fair week, the basinof Parinacochas is as bleak and desolate as our own fair-grounds, with scarcely a house to be seen except those that are used for thepurposes of the fair. Had we been bound for Parinacochas at the properseason nothing could have been more reasonable and praiseworthy. Whyanybody should want to go to Parinacochas during one of the otherfifty-one weeks in the year was utterly beyond the comprehensionor understanding of these village worthies. So, to our "selectmen, "are the idiosyncrasies of itinerant gypsies who wish to camp in ourdeserted fair-grounds. 

The Tejadas were not anxious to spend the night in town--probablybecause, according to our contract, the cost of feeding the mulesdevolved entirely upon them and fodder is always far more expensivein town than in the country. It was just as well for us that thiswas so, for I am sure that before morning the village gossips wouldhave persuaded the gobernador to arrest us. As it was, however, he waspleasant and hospitable, and considerably amused at the embarrassmentof an Indian woman who was weaving at a hand loom in his courtyardand whom we desired to photograph. She could not easily escape, forshe was sitting on the ground with one end of the loom fastened aroundher waist, the other end tied to a eucalyptus tree. So she covered hereyes and mouth with her hands, and almost wept with mortification atour strange procedure. Peruvian Indian women are invariably extremelyshy, rarely like to be photographed, and are anxious only to escapeobservation and notice. The ladies of the gobernador's own family, however, of mixed Spanish and Indian ancestry, not only had noobjection to being photographed, but were moved to unseemly andunsympathetic laughter at the predicament of their unfortunate sister. 

After leaving Lampa we found ourselves on the best road that wehad seen in a long time. Its excellence was undoubtedly due to theenterprise and energy of the people of this pleasant town. One mightexpect that citizens who kept their town so clean and neat and wereengaged in the unusual act of constructing new irrigation works wouldhave a comfortable road in the direction toward which they usuallywould wish to go, namely, toward the coast. 

As we climbed out of the Huancahuanca Valley we noticed no evidencesof ancient agricultural terraces, either on the sides of the valleyor on the alluvial plain which has given rise to the town of Lampaand whose products have made its people well fed and energetic. Thetown itself seems to be of modern origin. One wonders why there are sofew, if any, evidences of the ancient régime when there are so manya short distance away in Colta and the valley around it. One cannotbelieve that the Incas would have overlooked such a fine agriculturalopportunity as an extensive alluvial terrace in a region where thereis so little arable land. Possibly the very excellence of the landand its relative flatness rendered artificial terracing unnecessaryin the minds of the ancient people who lived here. On the other hand, it may have been occupied until late Inca times by one of the coasttribes. Whatever the cause, certainly the deep canyon of Huancahuancadivides two very different regions. To come in a few hours, fromthickly terraced Colta to unterraced Lampa was so striking as to giveus cause for thought and speculation. It is well known that in theearly days before the Inca conquest of Peru, not so very long beforethe Spanish Conquest, there were marked differences between the tribeswho inhabited the high plateau and those who lived along the shoreof the Pacific. Their pottery is as different as possible in designand ornamentation; the architecture of their cities and temples isabsolutely distinct. Relative abundance of flat lands never led themto develop terracing to the same extent that the mountain people haddone. Perhaps on this alluvial terrace there lived a remnant of thecoastal peoples. Excavation would show. 

Scarcely had we climbed out of the valley of Huancahuanca andsurmounted the ridge when we came in sight of more artificialterraces. Beyond a broad, deep valley rose the extinct volcanic cone ofMt. Sarasara, now relatively close at hand, its lower slopes separatedfrom us by another canyon. Snow lay in the gulches and ravines nearthe top of the mountain. Our road ran near the towns of Pararcaand Colcabamba, the latter much like Colta, a straggling village ofthatched huts surrounded by hundreds of terraces. The vegetation onthe valley slopes indicated occasional rains. Near Pararca we passedfields of barley and wheat growing on old stone-faced terraces. Onevery hand were signs of a fairly large population engaged inagriculture, utilizing fields which had been carefully preparedfor them by their ancestors. They were not using all, however. Wenoticed hundreds of terraces that did not appear to have been undercultivation recently. They may have been lying fallow temporarily. 

Our arrieros avoided the little towns, and selected a camp site on theroadside near the Finca Rodadero. After all, when one has a comfortabletent, good food, and skillful arrieros it is far pleasanter to spendthe night in the clean, open country, even at an elevation of 12, 000or 13, 000 feet, than to be surrounded by the smells and noises of anIndian town. 

The next morning we went through some wheat fields, past the townof Puyusca, another large Indian village of thatched adobe housesplaced high on the shoulder of a rocky hill so as to leave thebest arable land available for agriculture. It is in a shallow, well-watered valley, full of springs. The appearance of the countryhad changed entirely since we left Cotahuasi. The desert and itssteep-walled canyons seemed to be far behind us. Here was a region ofgently sloping hills, covered with terraces, where the cereals of thetemperate zone appeared to be easily grown. Finally, leaving the grainfields, we climbed up to a shallow depression in the low range at thehead of the valley and found ourselves on the rim of a great uplandbasin more than twenty miles across. In the center of the basin wasa large, oval lake. Its borders were pink. The water in most of thelake was dark blue, but near the shore the water was pink, a lightsalmon-pink. What could give it such a curious color? Nothing butflamingoes, countless thousands of flamingoes--Parinacochas at last!

CHAPTER IV

Flamingo Lake

The Parinacochas Basin is at an elevation of between 11, 500 and12, 000 feet above sea level. It is about 150 miles northwest ofArequipa and 170 miles southwest of Cuzco, and enjoys a fair amountof rainfall. The lake is fed by springs and small streams. In pastgeological times the lake, then very much larger, had an outlet notfar from the town of Puyusca. At present Parinacochas has no visibleoutlet. It is possible that the large springs which we noticed as wecame up the valley by Puyusca may be fed from the lake. On the otherhand, we found numerous small springs on the very borders of the lake, generally occurring in swampy hillocks--built up perhaps by mineraldeposits--three or four feet higher than the surrounding plain. Thereare very old beach marks well above the shore. The natives told us thatin the wet season the lake was considerably higher than at present, although we could find no recent evidence to indicate that it hadbeen much more than a foot above its present level. Nevertheless arise of a foot would enlarge the area of the lake considerably. 

When making preparations in New Haven for the "bathymetric survey ofLake Parinacochas, " suggested by Sir Clements Markham, we found itimpossible to discover any indication in geographical literature asto whether the depth of the lake might be ten feet or ten thousandfeet. We decided to take a chance on its not being more than tenhundred feet. With the kind assistance of Mr. George Bassett, I secureda thousand feet of stout fish line, known to anglers as "24 thread, "wound on a large wooden reel for convenience in handling. While wewere at Chuquibamba Mr. Watkins had spent many weary hours insertingone hundred and sixty-six white and red cloth markers at six-footintervals in the strands of this heavy line, so that we might be ablemore rapidly to determine the result in fathoms. 

Arrived at a low peninsula on the north shore of the lake, Tuckerand I pitched our camp, sent our mules back to Puyusca for fodder, and set up the Acme folding boat, which we had brought so many mileson muleback, for the sounding operations. The "Acme" proved easyto assemble, although this was our first experience with it. Itslightness enabled it to be floated at the edge of the lake even invery shallow water, and its rigidity was much appreciated in the lateafternoon when the high winds raised a vicious little "sea. " Rowingout on waters which we were told by the natives had never beforebeen navigated by craft of any kind, I began to take soundings. LakeTiticaca is over nine hundred feet deep. It would be aggravating ifLake Parinacochas should prove to be over a thousand, for I had broughtno extra line. Even nine hundred feet would make sounding slow work, and the lake covered an area of over seventy square miles. 

It was with mixed feelings of trepidation and expectation that I rowedout five miles from shore and made a sounding. Holding the large reelfirmly in both hands, I cast the lead overboard. The reel gave a turnor two and stopped. Something was wrong. The line did not run out. Wasthe reel stuck? No, the apparatus was in perfect running order. Thenwhat was the matter? The bottom was too near! Alas for all the painsthat Mr. Bassett had taken to put a thousand feet of the best strong24-thread line on one reel! Alas for Mr. Watkins and his patientinsertion of one hundred and sixty-six "fathom-markers"! The bottom ofthe lake was only four feet away from the bottom of my boat! Afterthree or four days of strenuous rowing up and down the eighteenmiles of the lake's length, and back and forth across the seventeenmiles of its width, I never succeeded in wetting Watkins's firstmarker! Several hundred soundings failed to show more than five feet ofwater anywhere. Possibly if we had come in the rainy season we mightat least have wet one marker, but at the time of our visit (November, 1911), the lake had a maximum depth of 4 1/2 feet. The satisfaction ofmaking this slight contribution to geographic knowledge was, I fear, lost in the chagrin of not finding a really noteworthy body of water. 

Who would have thought that so long a lake could be soshallow? However, my feelings were soothed by remembering the story ofthe captain of a man-of-war who was once told that the salt lake nearone of the red hills between Honolulu and Pearl Harbor was reportedby the natives to be "bottomless. " He ordered one of the ship's heavyboats to be carried from the shore several miles inland to the saltlake, at great expenditure of strength and labor. The story told mein my boyhood does not say how much sounding line was brought. Anyhow, they found this "fathomless" body of water to be not more than fifteenfeet deep. 

Notwithstanding my disappointment at the depth of Parinacochas, Iwas very glad that we had brought the little folding boat, for itenabled me to float gently about among the myriads of birds whichuse the shallow waters of the lake as a favorite feeding ground;pink flamingoes, white gulls, small "divers, " large black ducks, sandpipers, black ibis, teal ducks, and large geese. On the bankswere ground owls and woodpeckers. It is not surprising that thenatives should have named this body of water "Parinacochas" (Parina ="flamingo, " cochas = "lake"). The flamingoes are here in incrediblemultitudes; they far outnumber all other birds, and as I have said, actually make the shallow waters of the lake look pink. Fortunatelythey had not been hunted for their plumage and were not timid. Aftertwo days of familiarity with the boat they were willing to let meapproach within twenty yards before finally taking wing. The coloring, in this land of drab grays and browns, was a delight to the eye. Thehead is white, the beak black, the neck white shading into salmon-pink;the body pinkish white on the back, the breast white, and the tailsalmon-pink. The wings are salmon-pink in front, but the tips andthe under-parts are black. As they stand or wade in the water theirgeneral appearance is chiefly pink-and-white. When they rise from thewater, however, the black under-parts of the wings become strikinglyconspicuous and cause a flock of flying flamingoes to be a wonderfulcontrast in black-and-white. When flying, the flamingo seems to keephis head moving steadily forward at an even pace, although the ropelikeneck undulates with the slow beating of the wings. I could not be surethat it was not an optical delusion. Nevertheless, I thought the heavybody was propelled irregularly, while the head moved forward at uniformspeed, the difference being caught up in the undulations of the neck. 

------FIGURE

Flamingos on Lake Parinacochas, and Mt. Sarasara------

The flamingo is an amusing bird to watch. With its haughty Romannose and long, ropelike neck, which it coils and twists in a mostincredible manner, it seems specially intended to distract one's mindfrom bathymetric disappointments. Its hoarse croaking, "What is it, ""What is it, " seemed to express deep-throated sympathy with thesounding operations. On one bright moonlight night the flamingoeswere very noisy, keeping up a continual clatter of very hoarse"What-is-it's. " Apparently they failed to find out the answer in timeto go to bed at the proper time, for next morning we found them allsound asleep, standing in quiet bays with their heads tucked undertheir wings. During the course of the forenoon, when the water wasquiet, they waded far out into the lake. In the afternoon, as windsand waves arose, they came in nearer the shores, but seldom leftthe water. The great extent of shallow water in Parinacochas offersthem a splendid, wide feeding ground. We wondered where they allcame from. Apparently they do not breed here. Although there werethousands and thousands of birds, we could find no flamingo nests, either old or new, search as we would. It offers a most interestingproblem for some enterprising biological explorer. Probably Mr. FrankChapman will some day solve it. 

Next in number to the flamingoes were the beautiful white gulls (orterns?), looking strangely out of place in this Andean lake 11, 500feet above the sea. They usually kept together in flocks of severalhundred. There were quantities of small black divers in the deeperparts of the lake where the flamingoes did not go. The divers werevery quick and keen, true individualists operating alone and showingastonishing ability in swimming long distances under water. The largeblack ducks were much more fearless than the flamingoes and werewilling to swim very near the canoe. When frightened, they raced overthe water at a tremendous pace, using both wings and feet in theirefforts to escape. These ducks kept in large flocks and were aboutas common as the small divers. Here and there in the lake were a fewtiny little islands, each containing a single deserted nest, possiblybelonging to an ibis or a duck. In the banks of a low stream nearour first camp were holes made by woodpeckers, who in this countrylook in vain for trees and telegraph poles. 

Occasionally, a mile or so from shore, my boat would startle a greatamphibious ox standing in the water up to his middle, calmly eatingthe succulent water grass. To secure it he had to plunge his headand neck well under the surface. 

While I was raising blisters and frightening oxen and flamingoes, Mr. Tucker triangulated the Parinacochas Basin, making the firstaccurate map of this vicinity. As he carried his theodolite from pointto point he often stirred up little ground owls, who gazed at him withsolemn, reproachful looks. And they were not the only individuals toregard his activities with suspicion and dislike. Part of my work wasto construct signal stations by piling rocks at conspicuous points onthe well-rounded hills so as to enable the triangulation to proceed asrapidly as possible. During the night some of these signal stationswould disappear, torn down by the superstitious shepherds who livedin scattered clusters of huts and declined to have strange gods setup in their vicinity. Perhaps they thought their pastures were beingpreempted. We saw hundreds of their sheep and cattle feeding on flatlands formerly the bed of the lake. The hills of the ParinacochasBasin are bare of trees, and offer some pasturage. In some places theyare covered with broken rock. The grass was kept closely cropped bythe degenerate descendants of sheep brought into the country duringSpanish colonial days. They were small in size and mostly white incolor, although there were many black ones. We were told that thesheep were worth about fifty cents apiece here. 

On our first arrival at Parinacochas we were left severely alone by theshepherds; but two days later curiosity slowly overcame their shyness, and a group of young shepherds and shepherdesses gradually broughttheir grazing flocks nearer and nearer the camp, in order to gazestealthily on these strange visitors, who lived in a cloth house, actually moved over the forbidding waters of the lake, and busiedthemselves from day to day with strange magic, raising and loweringa glittering glass eye on a tripod. The women wore dresses of heavymaterial, the skirts reaching halfway from knee to ankle. In lieu ofhats they had small variegated shawls, made on hand looms, foldedso as to make a pointed bonnet over the head and protect the neckand shoulders from sun and wind. Each woman was busily spinning witha hand spindle, but carried her baby and its gear and blankets in ahammock or sling attached to a tump-line that went over her head. Thesesling carry-alls were neatly woven of soft wool and decorated withattractive patterns. Both women and boys were barefooted. The boyswore old felt hats of native manufacture, and coats and long trousersmuch too large for them. 

At one end of the upland basin rises the graceful cone ofMt. Sarasara. The view of its snow-capped peak reflected in theglassy waters of the lake in the early morning was one long to beremembered. Sarasara must once have been much higher than it is atpresent. Its volcanic cone has been sharply eroded by snow and ice. Inthe days of its greater altitude, and consequently wider snow fields, the melting snows probably served to make Parinacochas a very muchlarger body of water. Although we were here at the beginning of summer, the wind that came down from the mountain at night was very cold. Ourminimum thermometer registered 22° F. Near the banks of the lake atnight. Nevertheless, there was only a very thin film of ice on theborders of the lake in the morning, and except in the most shallowbays there was no ice visible far from the bank. The temperature of thewater at 10:00 A. M. Near the shore, and ten inches below the surface, was 61° F. , while farther out it was three or four degrees warmer. Bynoon the temperature of the water half a mile from shore was 67. 5°F. Shortly after noon a strong wind came up from the coast, stirringup the shallow water and cooling it. Soon afterwards the temperatureof the water began to fall, and, although the hot sun was shiningbrightly almost directly overhead, it went down to 65° by 2:30 P. M. 

The water of the lake is brackish, yet we were able to make ourcamps on the banks of small streams of sweet water, although ineach case near the shore of the lake. A specimen of the water, taken near the shore, was brought back to New Haven and analyzedby Dr. George S. Jamieson of the Sheffield Scientific School. Hefound that it contained small quantities of silica, iron phosphate, magnesium carbonate, calcium carbonate, calcium sulphate, potassiumnitrate, potassium sulphate, sodium borate, sodium sulphate, and aconsiderable quantity of sodium chloride. Parinacochas water containsmore carbonate and potassium than that of the Atlantic Ocean or theGreat Salt Lake. As compared with the salinity of typical "salt"waters, that of Lake Parinacochas occupies an intermediate position, containing more than Lake Koko-Nor, less than that of the Atlantic, and only one twentieth the salinity of the Great Salt Lake. 

When we moved to our second camp the Tejada brothers preferred to lettheir mules rest in the Puyusca Valley, where there was excellentalfalfa forage. The arrieros engaged at their own expense a packtrain which consisted chiefly of Parinacochas burros. It is thecustom hereabouts to enclose the packs in large-meshed nets made ofrawhide which are then fastened to the pack animal by a surcingle. TheIndians who came with the burro train were pleasant-faced, sturdyfellows, dressed in "store clothes" and straw hats. Their burroswere as cantankerous as donkeys can be, never fractious or flighty, but stubbornly resisting, step by step, every effort to haul themnear the loads. 

Our second camp was near the village of Incahuasi, "the house of theInca, " at the northwestern corner of the basin. Raimondi visited itin 1863. The representative of the owner of Parinacochas occupiesone of the houses. The other buildings are used only during the thirdweek in August, at the time of the annual fair. In the now desertedplaza were many low stone rectangles partly covered with adobe andready to be converted into booths. The plaza was surrounded by long, thatched buildings of adobe and stone, mostly of rough ashlars. Afew ashlars showed signs of having been carefully dressed by ancientstonemasons. Some loose ashlars weighed half a ton and had baffledthe attempts of modern builders. 

In constructing the large church, advantage was taken of a beautifullylaid wall of close-fitting ashlars. Incahuasi was well named; there hadbeen at one time an Inca house here, possibly a temple--lakes were onceobjects of worship--or rest-house, constructed in order to enable thechiefs and tax-gatherers to travel comfortably over the vast domainsof the Incas. We found the slopes of the hills of the ParinacochasBasin to be well covered with remains of ancient terraces. Probablypotatoes and other root crops were once raised here in fairly largequantities. Perhaps deforestation and subsequent increased ariditymight account for the desertion of these once-cultivated lands. Thehills west of the lake are intersected by a few dry gulches in whichare caves that have been used as burial places. The caves had at onetime been walled in with rocks laid in adobe, but these walls hadbeen partly broken down so as to permit the sepulchers to be rifled ofwhatever objects of value they might have contained. We found nine orten skulls lying loose in the rubble of the caves. One of the skullsseemed to have been trepanned. 

On top of the ridge are the remains of an ancient road, fifty feetwide, a broad grassy way through fields of loose stones. No efforthad been made at grading or paving this road, and there was noevidence of its having been used in recent times. It runs from thelake across the ridge in a westerly direction toward a broad valley, where there are many terraces and cultivated fields; it is not far fromNasca. Probably the stones were picked up and piled on each side tosave time in driving caravans of llamas across the stony ridges. Thellama dislikes to step over any obstacle, even a very low wall. Thegrassy roadway would certainly encourage the supercilious beasts toproceed in the desired direction. 

In many places on the hills were to be seen outlines of large andsmall rock circles and shelters erected by herdsmen for temporaryprotection against the sudden storms of snow and hail which comeup with unexpected fierceness at this elevation (12, 000 feet). Theshelters were in a very ruinous state. They were made of rough, scoriaceous lava rocks. The circular enclosures varied from 8 to 25feet in diameter. Most of them showed no evidences whatever of recentoccupation. The smaller walls may have been the foundation of smallcircular huts. The larger walls were probably intended as corrals, tokeep alpacas and llamas from straying at night and to guard againstwolves or coyotes. I confess to being quite mystified as to the ageof these remains. It is possible that they represent a settlementof shepherds within historic times, although, from the shape andsize of the walls, I am inclined to doubt this. The shelters mayhave been built by the herdsmen of the Incas. Anyhow, those on thehills west of Parinacochas had not been used for a long time. Nasca, which is not very far away to the northwest, was the center of oneof the most artistic pre-Inca cultures in Peru. It is famous for itsvery delicate pottery. 

Our third camp was on the south side of the lake. Near us the tracesof the ancient road led to the ruins of two large, circular corrals, substantiating my belief that this curious roadway was intended to keepthe llamas from straying at will over the pasture lands. On the southshores of the lake there were more signs of occupation than on thenorth, although there is nothing so clearly belonging to the time ofthe Incas as the ashlars and finely built wall at Incahuasi. On top ofone of the rocky promontories we found the rough stone foundations ofthe walls of a little village. The slopes of the promontory were nearlyprecipitous on three sides. Forty or fifty very primitive dwellingshad been at one time huddled together here in a position which couldeasily be defended. We found among the ruins a few crude potsherdsand some bits of obsidian. There was nothing about the ruins of thelittle hill village to give any indication of Inca origin. Probablyit goes back to pre-Inca days. No one could tell us anything aboutit. If there were traditions concerning it they were well concealedby the silent, superstitious shepherds of the vicinity. Possibly itwas regarded as an unlucky spot, cursed by the gods. 

The neighboring slopes showed faint evidences of having been roughlyterraced and cultivated. The tutu potato would grow here, a hardyvariety not edible in the fresh state, but considered highly desirablefor making potato flour after having been repeatedly frozen and itsbitter juices all extracted. So would other highland root crops of thePeruvians, such as the oca, a relative of our sheep sorrel, the añu, a kind of nasturtium, and the ullucu (ullucus tuberosus). 

On the flats near the shore were large corrals still kept in goodrepair. New walls were being built by the Indians at the time of ourvisit. Near the southeast corner of the lake were a few modern hutsbuilt of stone and adobe, with thatched roofs, inhabited by droversand shepherds. We saw more cattle at the east end of the lake thanelsewhere, but they seemed to prefer the sweet water grasses of thelake to the tough bunch-grass on the slopes of Sarasara. 

Viscachas were common amongst the gray lichen-covered rocks. Theyare hunted for their beautiful pearly gray fur, the "chinchilla" ofcommerce; they are also very good eating, so they have disappearedfrom the more accessible parts of Peru. One rarely sees them, althoughthey may be found on bleak uplands in the mountains of Uilcapampa, a region rarely visited by any one on account of treacherous bogs anddeep tams. Writers sometimes call viscachas "rabbit-squirrels. " Theyhave large, rounded ears, long hind legs, a long, bushy tail, and dolook like a cross between a rabbit and a gray squirrel. 

Surmounting one of the higher ridges one day, I came suddenly uponan unusually large herd of wild vicuñas. It included more than onehundred individuals. Their relative fearlessness also testified to theremoteness of Parinacochas and the small amount of hunting that is donehere. Vicuñas have never been domesticated, but are often hunted fortheir skins. Their silky fleece is even finer than alpaca. The morefleecy portions of their skins are sewed together to make quilts, as soft as eider down and of a golden brown color. 

After Mr. Tucker finished his triangulation of the lake I told thearrieros to find the shortest road home. They smiled, murmured"Arequipa, " and started south. We soon came to the rim of theMaraicasa Valley where, peeping up over one of the hills far to thesouth, we got a little glimpse of Coropuna. The Maraicasa Valley iswell inhabited and there were many grain fields in sight, althoughfew seemed to be terraced. The surrounding hills were smooth andwell rounded and the valley bottom contained much alluvial land. Wepassed through it and, after dark, reached Sondor, a tiny hamletinhabited by extremely suspicious and inhospitable drovers. In thedarkness Don Pablo pleaded with the owners of a well-thatched hut, and told them how "important" we were. They were unwilling to giveus any shelter, so we were forced to pitch our tent in the very rockyand dirty corral immediately in front of one of the huts, where pigs, dogs, and cattle annoyed us all night. If we had arrived before darkwe might have received a different welcome. As a matter of fact, the herdsmen only showed the customary hostility of mountaineers andwilderness folk to those who do not arrive in the daytime, when theycan be plainly seen and fully discussed. 

The next morning we passed some fairly recent lava flows and noted alsomany curious rock forms caused by wind and sand erosion. We had nowleft the belt of grazing lands and once more come into the desert. Atlength we reached the rim of the mile-deep Caraveli Canyon and our eyeswere gladdened at sight of the rich green oasis, a striking contrastto the barren walls of the canyon. As we descended the long, windingroad we passed many fine specimens of tree cactus. At the foot of thesteep descent we found ourselves separated from the nearest settlementby a very wide river, which it was necessary to ford. Neither of theTejadas had ever been here before and its depths and dangers wereunknown. Fortunately Pablo found a forlorn individual living in atiny hut on the bank, who indicated which way lay safety. After anexciting two hours we finally got across to the desired shore. Animalsand men were glad enough to leave the high, arid desert and enterthe oasis of Caraveli with its luscious, green fields of alfalfa, its shady fig trees and tall eucalyptus. The air, pungent with thesmell of rich vegetation, seemed cooler and more invigorating. 

We found at Caraveli a modern British enterprise, the gold mine of"La Victoria. " Mr. Prain, the Manager, and his associates at thecamp gave us a cordial welcome, and a wonderful dinner which I shalllong remember. After two months in the coastal desert it seemed likehome. During the evening we learned of the difficulties Mr. Prainhad had in bringing his machinery across the plateau from the nearestport. Our own troubles seemed as nothing. The cost of transporting onmuleback each of the larger pieces of the quartz stamping-mill wasequivalent to the price of a first-class pack mule. As a matter offact, although it is only a two days' journey, pack animals' backsare not built to survive the strain of carrying pieces of machineryweighing five hundred pounds over a desert plateau up to an altitude of4000 feet. Mules brought the machinery from the coast to the brink ofthe canyon, but no mule could possibly have carried it down the steeptrail into Caraveli. Accordingly, a windlass had been constructedon the edge of the precipice and the machinery had been lowered, piece by piece, by block and tackle. Such was one of the obstacleswith which these undaunted engineers had had to contend. Had the manwho designed the machinery ever traveled with a pack train, climbingup and down over these rocky stairways called mountain trails, I amsure that he would have made his castings much smaller. 

------FIGURE

Mr. Tucker on a Mountain Trail near Caraveli------

------FIGURE

The Main Street of Chuquibamba------

It is astonishing how often people who ship goods to the interiorof South America fail to realize that no single piece should be anyheavier than a pack animal can carry comfortably on one side. Onehundred and fifty pounds ought to be the extreme limit of a unit. Evena large, strong mule will last only a few days on such trails asare shown in the accompanying illustration if the total weight ofhis cargo is over three hundred pounds. When a single piece weighsmore than two hundred pounds it has to be balanced on the back of theanimal. Then the load rocks, and chafes the unfortunate mule, besidescausing great inconvenience and constant worry to the muleteers. As amatter of expediency it is better to have the individual units weighabout seventy-five pounds. Such a weight is easier for the arrieros tohandle in the loading, unloading, and reloading that goes on all daylong, particularly if the trail is up-and-down, as usually happensin the Andes. Furthermore, one seventy-five-pound unit makes a fairload for a man or a llama, two are right for a burro, and three foran average mule. Four can be loaded, if necessary, on a stout mule. 

The hospitable mining engineers urged us to prolong our stay at"La Victoria, " but we had to hasten on. Leaving the pleasant shadetrees of Caraveli, we climbed the barren, desolate hills of coarsegravel and lava rock and left the canyon. We were surprised to findnear the top of the rise the scattered foundations of fifty littlecircular or oval huts averaging eight feet in diameter. There wasno water near here. Hardly a green thing of any sort was to be seenin the vicinity, yet here had once been a village. It seemed tobelong to the same period as that found on the southern slopes ofthe Parinacochas Basin. The road was one of the worst we encounteredanywhere, being at times merely a rough, rocky trail over and amonghuge piles of lava blocks. Several of the larger boulders were coveredwith pictographs. They represented a serpent and a sun, besides menand animals. 

Shortly afterwards we descended to the Rio Grande Valley at Callanga, where we pitched our camps among the most extensive ruins thatI have seen in the coastal desert. They covered an area of onehundred acres, the houses being crowded closely together. It gaveone a strange sensation to find such a very large metropolis in whatis now a desolate region. The general appearance of Callanga wasstrikingly reminiscent of some of the large groups of ruins in ourown Southwest. Nothing about it indicated Inca origin. There wereno terraces in the vicinity. It is difficult to imagine what such alarge population could have done here, or how they lived. The wallswere of compact cobblestones, rough-laid and stuccoed with adobe andsand. Most of the stucco had come off. Some of the houses had seats, or small sleeping-platforms, built up at one end. Others containedtwo or three small cells, possibly storerooms, with neither doorsnor windows. We found a number of burial cists--some square, othersrounded--lined with small cobblestones. In one house, at the foot of"cellar stairs" we found a subterranean room, or tomb. The entranceto it was covered with a single stone lintel. In examining thistomb Mr. Tucker had a narrow escape from being bitten by a boba, a venomous snake, nearly three feet in length, with vicious mouth, long fangs like a rattlesnake, and a strikingly mottled skin. At oneplace there was a low pyramid less than ten feet in height. To itstop led a flight of rude stone steps. 

Among the ruins we found a number of broken stone dishes, rudelycarved out of soft, highly porous, scoriaceous lava. The dishes musthave been hard to keep clean! We also found a small stone mortar, probably used for grinding paint; a broken stone war club; and abroken compact stone mortar and pestle possibly used for grindingcorn. Two stones, a foot and a half long, roughly rounded, witha shallow groove across the middle of the flatter sides, resembledsinkers used by fishermen to hold down large nets, although ten timeslarger than any I had ever seen used. Perhaps they were to tie downroofs in a gale. There were a few potsherds lying on the surface ofthe ground, so weathered as to have lost whatever decoration they oncehad. We did no excavating. Callanga offers an interesting field forarcheological investigation. Unfortunately, we had heard nothing ofit previously, came upon it unexpectedly, and had but little time togive it. After the first night camp in the midst of the dead city wemade the discovery that although it seemed to be entirely deserted, itwas, as a matter of fact, well populated! I was reminded of ProfessorT. D. Seymour's story of his studies in the ruins of ancient Greece. Wewondered what the fleas live on ordinarily. 

Our next stopping-place was the small town of Andaray, whose thatchedhouses are built chiefly of stone plastered with mud. Near it weencountered two men with a mule, which they said they were takinginto town to sell and were willing to dispose of cheaply. The Tejadascould not resist the temptation to buy a good animal at a bargain, although the circumstances were suspicious. Drawing on us for six goldsovereigns, they smilingly added the new mule to the pack train; onlyto discover on reaching Chuquibamba that they had purchased it fromthieves. We were able to clear our arrieros of any complicity in thetheft. Nevertheless, the owner of the stolen mule was unwilling to payanything for its return. So they lost their bargain and their gold. Wespent one night in Chuquibamba, with our friend Señor Benavides, the sub-prefect, and once more took up the well-traveled route toArequipa. We left the Majes Valley in the afternoon and, as before, spent the night crossing the desert. 

About three o'clock in the morning--after we had been jogging steadilyalong for about twelve hours in the dark and quiet of the night, theonly sound the shuffle of the mules' feet in the sand, the only sightan occasional crescent-shaped dune, dimly visible in the starlight--theeastern horizon began to be faintly illumined. The moon had long sinceset. Could this be the approach of dawn? Sunrise was not due for atleast two hours. In the tropics there is little twilight precedingthe day; "the dawn comes up like thunder. " Surely the moon couldnot be going to rise again! What could be the meaning of the rapidlybrightening eastern sky? While we watched and marveled, the pure whitelight grew brighter and brighter, until we cried out in ecstasy asa dazzling luminary rose majestically above the horizon. A splendor, neither of the sun nor of the moon, shone upon us. It was the morningstar. For sheer beauty, "divine, enchanting ravishment, " Venus that daysurpassed anything I have ever seen. In the words of the great Easternpoet, who had often seen such a sight in the deserts of Asia, "themorning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. "

CHAPTER V

Titicaca

Arequipa is one of the pleasantest places in the world: mountain air, bright sunshine, warm days, cool nights, and a sparkling atmospheredear to the hearts of star-gazers. The city lies on a plateau, surrounded by mighty snow-capped volcanoes, Chachani (20, 000 ft. ), ElMisti (19, 000 ft. ), and Pichu Pichu (18, 000 ft. ). Arequipa has onlyone nightmare--earthquakes. About twice in a century the spirits ofthe sleeping volcanoes stir, roll over, and go to sleep again. Butthey shake the bed! And Arequipa rests on their bed. The possibilityof a "terremoto" is always present in the subconscious mind of theArequipeño. 

One evening I happened to be dining with a friend at the hospitableArequipa Club. Suddenly the windows rattled violently and we hearda loud explosion; at least that is what it sounded like to me. Tothe members of the club, however, it meant only one thing--anearthquake. Everybody rushed out; the streets were already crowdedwith hysterical people, crying, shouting, and running toward the greatopen plaza in front of the beautiful cathedral. Here some dropped ontheir knees in gratitude at having escaped from falling walls, othersprayed to the god of earthquakes to spare their city. Yet no wallshad fallen! In the business district a great column of black smokewas rising. Gradually it became known to the panic-stricken throngsthat the noise and the trembling had not been due to an earthquake, but to an explosion in a large warehouse which had contained gasoline, kerosene, dynamite and giant powder!

In this city of 35, 000 people, the second largest of Peru, fires areso very rare, not even annual, scarcely biennial, that there wereno fire engines. A bucket brigade was formed and tried to quench theroaring furnace by dipping water from one of the azequias, or canals, that run through the streets. The fire continued to belch forth densemasses of smoke and flame. In any American city such a blaze wouldcertainly become a great conflagration. 

While the fire was at its height I went into the adjoining buildingto see whether any help could be rendered. To my utter amazementthe surface of the wall next to the fiery furnace was not evenwarm. Such is the result of building houses with massive walls ofstone. Furthermore, the roofs in Arequipa are of tiles; consequentlyno harm was done by sparks. So, without a fire department, thisreally terrible fire was limited to one warehouse! The next daythe newspapers talked about the "dire necessity" of securing fireengines. It was difficult for me to see what good a fire enginecould have done. Nothing could have saved the warehouse itself oncethe fire got under way; and surely the houses next door would havesuffered more had they been deluged with streams of water. The factsare almost incredible to an American. We take it as a matter of coursethat cities should have fires and explosions. In Arequipa everybodythought it was an earthquake!

A day's run by an excellent railroad takes one to Puno, the chiefport of Lake Titicaca, elevation 12, 500 feet. Puno boasts a soldier'smonument and a new theater, really a "movie palace. " There is a goodharbor, although dredging is necessary to provide for steamers likethe Inca. Repairs to the lake boats are made on a marine--or, rather, a lacustrine--railway. The bay of Puno grows quantities of totoras, giant bulrushes sometimes twelve feet long. Ages ago the lake dwellerslearned to dry the totoras, tie them securely in long bundles, fastenthe bundles together, turn up the ends, fix smaller bundles along thesides as a free-board, and so construct a fishing-boat, or balsa. Ofcourse the balsas eventually become water-logged and spend a largepart of their existence on the shore, drying in the sun. Even so, they are not very buoyant. I can testify that it is difficult to usethem without getting one's shoes wet. As a matter of fact one shouldgo barefooted, or wear sandals, as the natives do. 

The balsas are clumsy, and difficult to paddle. The favorite method oflocomotion is to pole or, when the wind favors, sail. The mast is anA-shaped contraption, twelve feet high, made of two light poles tiedtogether and fastened, one to each side of the craft, slightly forwardof amidships. Poles are extremely scarce in this region--lumber hasto be brought from Puget Sound, 6000 miles away--so nearly all themasts I saw were made of small pieces of wood spliced two or threetimes. To the apex of the "A" is attached a forked stick, over whichrun the halyards. The rectangular "sail" is nothing more nor lessthan a large mat made of rushes. A short forestay fastened to thesides of the "A" about four feet above the hull prevents the mast fromfalling when the sail is hoisted. The main halyards take the place ofa backstay. The balsas cannot beat to windward, but behave very wellin shallow water with a favoring breeze. When the wind is contrary theboatmen must pole. They are extremely careful not to fall overboard, for the water in the lake is cold, 55° F. , and none of them know howto swim. Lake Titicaca itself never freezes over, although duringthe winter ice forms at night on the shallow bays and near the shore. 

------FIGURE

A Lake Titicaca Balsa at Puno------

------FIGURE

A Step-Topped Niche on the Island of Koati------

When the Indians wish to go in the shallowest waters they use a verysmall balsa not over eight feet long, barely capable of supportingthe weight of one man. On the other hand, large balsas constructedfor use in crossing the rough waters of the deeper portions of thelake are capable of carrying a dozen people and their luggage. OnceI saw a ploughman and his team of oxen being ferried across the lakeon a bulrush raft. To give greater security two balsas are sometimesfastened together in the fashion of a double canoe. 

One of the more highly speculative of the Bolivian writers, SeñorPosnansky, of La Paz, believes that gigantic balsas were used inbringing ten-ton monoliths across the lake to Tiahuanaco. Thistheory is based on the assumption that Titicaca was once very muchhigher than it is now, a hypothesis which has not commended itselfto modern geologists or geographers. Dr. Isaiah Bowman and ProfessorHerbert Gregory, who have studied its geology and physiography, havenot been able to find any direct evidence of former high levels forLake Titicaca, or of its having been connected with the ocean. 

Nevertheless, Señor Posnansky believes that Lake Titicaca was once asalt sea which became separated from the ocean as the Andes rose. Thefact that the lake fishes are fresh-water, rather than marine, formsdoes not bother him. Señor Posnansky pins his faith to a small driedseahorse once given him by a Titicaca fisherman. He seems to forgetthat dried specimens of marine life, including starfish, are frequentlyoffered for sale in the Andes by the dealers in primitive medicines whomay be found in almost every market-place. Probably Señor Posnansky'sseahorse was brought from the ocean by some particularly enterprisingtrader. Although starfish are common enough in the Andes and a seahorsehas actually found its resting-place in La Paz, this does not alter thefact that scientific investigators have never found any strictly marinefauna in Lake Titicaca. On the other hand, it has two or three kindsof edible fresh-water fish. One of them belongs to a species found inthe Rimac River near Lima. It seems to me entirely possible that theIncas, with their scorn of the difficulties of carrying heavy burdensover seemingly impossible trails, might have deliberately transplantedthe desirable fresh-water fishes of the Rimac River to Lake Titicaca. 

Polo de Ondegardo, who lived in Cuzco in 1560, says that the Incasused to bring fresh fish from the sea by special runners, and that"they have records in their quipus of the fish having been broughtfrom Tumbez, a distance of more than three hundred leagues. " Theactual transference of water jars containing the fish would haveoffered no serious obstacle whatever to the Incas, provided the ideahappened to appeal to them as desirable. Yet I may be as far wrongas Señor Posnansky! At any rate, the romantic stories of a giganticinland sea, vastly more extensive than the present lake and actuallysurrounding the ancient city of Tiahuanaco, must be treated withrespectful skepticism. 

Tiahuanaco, at the southern end of Lake Titicaca, in Bolivia, is famous for the remains of a pre-Inca civilization. Unique amongprehistoric remains in the highlands of Peru or Bolivia are its carvedmonolithic images. Although they have suffered from weathering andfrom vandalism, enough remains to show that they represent clothedhuman figures. The richly decorated girdles and long tunics arecarved in low relief with an intricate pattern. While some ofthe designs are undoubtedly symbolic of the rank, achievements, or attributes of the divinities or chiefs here portrayed, there isnothing hieroglyphic. The images are stiff and show no appreciationof the beauty of the human form. Probably the ancient artists neverhad an opportunity to study the human body. In Andean villages, evenlittle children do not go naked as they do among primitive peopleswho live in warm climates. The Highlanders of Peru and Bolivia arealways heavily clothed, day and night. Forced by their climate toseek comfort in the amount and thickness of their apparel, they havedeveloped an excessive modesty in regard to bodily exposure whichis in striking contrast to people who live on the warm sands of theSouth Seas. Inca sculptors and potters rarely employed the humanbody as a motif. Tiahuanaco is pre-Inca, yet even here the images areclothed. They were not represented as clothed in order to make easierthe work of the sculptor. His carving shows he had great skill, wasobservant, and had true artistic feeling. Apparently the taboo against"nakedness" was too much for him. 

Among the thirty-six islands in Lake Titicaca, some belong toPeru, others to Bolivia. Two of the latter, Titicaca and Koati, were peculiarly venerated in Inca days. They are covered withartificial terraces, most of which are still used by the Indianfarmers of to-day. On both islands there are ruins of important Incastructures. On Titicaca Island I was shown two caves, out of which, say the Indians, came the sun and moon at their creation. These cavesare not large enough for a man to stand upright, but to a peoplewho do not appreciate the size of the heavenly bodies it requiresno stretch of the imagination to believe that those bright diskscame forth from caves eight feet wide. The myth probably originatedwith dwellers on the western shore of the lake who would often seethe sun or moon rise over this island. On an ancient road that runsacross the island my native guide pointed out the "footprints of thesun and moon"--two curious effects of erosion which bear a distantresemblance to the footprints of giants twenty or thirty feet tall. 

The present-day Indians, known as Aymaras, seem to be hard-working andfairly cheerful. The impression which Bandelier gives, in his "Islandsof Titicaca and Koati, " of the degradation and surly character of theseIndians was not apparent at the time of my short visit in 1915. It isquite possible, however, that if I had to live among the Indians, ashe did for several months, digging up their ancient places of worship, disturbing their superstitious prejudices, and possibly upsetting, in their minds, the proper balance between wet weather and dry, I might have brought upon myself uncivil looks and rough, churlishtreatment such as he experienced. In judging the attitude of mindof the natives of Titicaca one should remember that they live undermost trying conditions of climate and environment. During severalmonths of the year everything is dried up and parched. The brilliantsun of the tropics, burning mercilessly through the rarefied air, causes the scant vegetation to wither. Then come torrential rains. Ishall never forget my first experience on Lake Titicaca, when thesteamer encountered a rain squall. The resulting deluge actuallycame through the decks. Needless to say, such downpours tend to washaway the soil which the farmers have painfully gathered for field orgarden. The sun in the daytime is extremely hot, yet the differencein temperature between sun and shade is excessive. Furthermore, thewinds at night are very damp; the cold is intensely penetrating. Fuelis exceedingly scarce, there is barely enough for cooking purposes, and none for artificial heat. 

Food is hard to get. Few crops can be grown at 12, 500 feet. Somebarley is raised, but the soil is lacking in nitrogen. The principalcrop is the bitter white potato, which, after being frozen and dried, becomes the insipid chuño, chief reliance of the poorer families. TheInca system of bringing guano from the islands of the Pacific coasthas long since been abandoned. There is no money to pay for modernfertilizers. Consequently, crops are poor. On Titicaca Island Isaw native women, who had just harvested their maize, engaged inshucking and drying ears of corn which varied in length from one tothree inches. To be sure this miniature corn has the advantage ofmaturing in sixty days, but good soil and fertilizers would doubleits size and productiveness. 

Naturally these Indians always feel themselves at the mercy of theelements. Either a long rainy season or a drought may cause acutehunger and extreme suffering. Consequently, one must not blame theBolivian or Peruvian Highlander if he frequently appears to be sullenand morose. On the other hand, one ought not to praise Samoans forbeing happy, hospitable, and light-hearted. Those fortunate Polynesiansare surrounded by warm waters in which they can always enjoy a swim, trees from which delicious food can always be obtained, and cocoanutsfrom which cooling drinks are secured without cost. Who could notdevelop cheerfulness under such conditions?

On the small island, Koati, some of the Inca stonework is remarkablygood, and has several unusual features, such as the elaboration of thelarge, reëntrant, ceremonial niches formed by step-topped arches, onewithin the other. Small ornamental niches are used to break the spacebetween these recesses and the upper corners of the whole rectanglecontaining them. Also unusual are the niches between the doorways, made in the form of an elaborate quadrate cross. It might seem at firstglance as though this feature showed Spanish influence, since a Papalcross is created by the shadow cast in the intervening recessed courseswithin their design. As a matter of fact, the cross nowy quadrant isa natural outcome of using for ornamental purposes the step-shapeddesign, both erect and inverted. All over the land of the Incas onefinds flights of steps or terraces used repeatedly for ornamental orceremonial purposes. Some stairs are large enough to be used by man;others are in miniature. Frequently the steps were cut into the sacredboulders consecrated to ancestor worship. It was easy for an Incaarchitect, accustomed to the stairway motif, to have conceived thesecurious doorways on Koati and also the cross-like niches between them, even if he had never seen any representation of a Papal cross, or across nowy quadrant. My friend, Mr. Bancel La Farge, has also suggesteda striking resemblance which the sedilia-like niches bear to Arabicor Moorish architecture, as shown, for instance, in the Court of theLions in the Alhambra. The step-topped arch is distinctly Orientalin form, yet flights of steps or terraces are also thoroughly Incaic. 

The principal structure on Koati was built around three sides ofa small plaza, constructed on an artificial terrace in a slightdepression on the eastern side of the island. The fourth side isopen and affords a magnificent view of the lake and the wonderfulsnow-covered Cordillera Real, 200 miles long and nowhere less than17, 000 feet high. This range of lofty snow-peaks of surpassing beautyculminates in Mt. Sorata, 21, 520 feet high. To the worshipers of thesun and moon, who came to the sacred islands for some of their mostelaborate religious ceremonies, the sight of those heavenly luminaries, rising over the majestic snow mountains, their glories reflected in theshining waters of the lake, must have been a sublime spectacle. On suchoccasions the little plaza would indeed have been worth seeing. We mayimagine the gayly caparisoned Incas, their faces lit up by the colorsof "rosy-fingered dawn, daughter of the morning, " their ceremonialformation sharply outlined against the high, decorated walls ofthe buildings behind them. Perhaps the rulers and high priests hadspecial stations in front of the large, step-topped niches. One maybe sure that a people who were fond of bright colors, who were ableto manufacture exquisite textiles, and who loved to decorate theirgarments with spangles and disks of beaten gold, would have lost noopportunity for making the ancient ceremonies truly resplendent. 

On the peninsula of Copacabana, opposite the sacred islands, a greatannual pageant is still staged every August. Although at presentconnected with a pious pilgrimage to the shrine of the miraculousimage of the "Virgin of Copacabana, " this vivid spectacle, themost celebrated fair in all South America, has its origin in thedim past. It comes after the maize is harvested and corresponds toour Thanksgiving festival. The scene is laid in the plaza in frontof a large, bizarre church. During the first ten days in Augustthere are gathered here thousands of the mountain folk from far andnear. Everything dear to the heart of the Aymara Indian is offeredfor sale, including quantities of his favorite beverages. Traders, usually women, sit in long rows on blankets laid on the cobblestonepavement. Some of them are protected from the sun by primitiveumbrellas, consisting of a square cotton sheet stretched over a bambooframe. In one row are those traders who sell parched and popped corn;in another those who deal in sandals and shoes, the simple gearof the humblest wayfarer and the elaborately decorated high-lacedboots affected by the wealthy Chola women of La Paz. In another roware the dealers in Indian blankets; still another is devoted to suchtrinkets as one might expect to find in a "needle-and-thread" shop athome. There are stolid Aymara peddlers with scores of bamboo flutesvarying in size from a piccolo to a bassoon; the hat merchants, withpiles of freshly made native felts, warranted to last for at least ayear; and vendors of aniline dyes. The fabrics which have come to usfrom Inca times are colored with beautifully soft vegetable dyes. AmongInca ruins one may find small stone mortars, in which the primitivepigments were ground and mixed with infinite care. Although the modernIndian still prefers the product of hand looms, he has been quick toadopt the harsh aniline dyes, which are not only easier to secure, but produce more striking results. 

As a citizen of Connecticut it gave me quite a start to see, carelesslyexposed to the weather on the rough cobblestones of the plaza, bright new hardware from New Haven and New Britain--locks, keys, spring scales, bolts, screw eyes, hooks, and other "wooden nutmegs. "

At the tables of the "money-changers, " just outside of thesacred enclosure, are the real moneymakers, who give nothing forsomething. Thimble-riggers and three-card-monte-men do a briskbusiness and stand ready to fleece the guileless native or theunsuspecting foreigner. The operators may wear ragged ponchos andappear to be incapable of deep designs, but they know all the tricksof the trade! The most striking feature of the fair is the presenceof various Aymara secret societies, whose members, wearing repulsivemasks, are clad in the most extraordinary costumes which can beinvented by primitive imaginations. Each society has its own uniform, made up of tinsels and figured satins, tin-foil, gold and silver leaf, gaudy textiles, magnificent epaulets bearing large golden stars on abackground of silver decorated with glittering gems of colored glass;tinted "ostrich" plumes of many colors sticking straight up eighteeninches above the heads of their wearers, gaudy ribbons, beruffledbodices, puffed sleeves, and slashed trunks. Some of these strangecostumes are actually reminiscent of the sixteenth century. The wearersare provided with flutes, whistles, cymbals, flageolets, snare drums, and rattles, or other noise-makers. The result is an indescribablehubbub; a garish human kaleidoscope, accompanied by fiendish clamorand unmusical noises which fairly outstrip a dozen jazz bands. It isbedlam let loose, a scene of wild uproar and confusion. 

The members of one group were dressed to represent female angels, their heads tightly turbaned so as to bear the maximum number oftall, waving, variegated plumes. On their backs were gaudy wingsresembling the butterflies of children's pantomimes. Many wore coloredgoggles. They marched solemnly around the plaza, playing on bambooflageolets, their plaintive tunes drowned in the din of big bassdrums and blatant trumpets. In an eddy in the seething crowd was aplacid-faced Aymara, bedecked in the most tawdry manner with gewgawsfrom Birmingham or Manchester, sedately playing a melancholy tune ona rustic syrinx or Pan's pipe, charmingly made from little tubes ofbamboo from eastern Bolivia. 

At the close of the festival, on a Sunday afternoon, the costumesdisappear and there occurs a bull-baiting. Strong temporary barriersare erected at the comers of the plaza; householders bar theirdoors. A riotous crowd, composed of hundreds of pleasure-seekers, well fortified with Dutch courage, gathers for the fray. All areready to run helter-skelter in every direction should the bull takeit into his head to charge toward them. It is not a bullfight. Thereare no picadors, armed with lances to prick the bull to madness; nobanderilleros, with barbed darts; no heroic matador, ready with shiningblade to give a mad and weary bull the coup de grace. Here all is funand frolic. To be sure, the bull is duly annoyed by boastful boys ordrunken Aymaras, who prod him with sticks and shake bright ponchosin his face until he dashes after his tormentors and causes a mightyscattering of some spectators, amid shrieks of delight from everybodyelse. When one animal gets tired, another is brought on. There isno chance of a bull being wounded or seriously hurt. At the time ofour visit the only animal who seemed at all anxious to do real damagewas let alone. He showed no disposition to charge at random into thecrowds. The spectators surrounded the plaza so thickly that he couldnot distinguish any one particular enemy on whom to vent his rage. Hegalloped madly after any individual who crossed the plaza. Five orsix bulls were let loose during the excitement, but no harm was done, and every one had an uproariously good time. 

Such is the spectacle of Copacabana, a mixture of business andpleasure, pagan and Christian, Spain and Titicaca. Bedlam is notpleasant to one's ears; yet to see the staid mountain herdsmen, attiredin plumes, petticoats, epaulets, and goggles, blowing mightily withpuffed-out lips on bamboo flageolets, is worth a long journey. 

CHAPTER VI

The Vilcanota Country and the Peruvian Highlanders

In the northernmost part of the Titicaca Basin are the grassy foothillsof the Cordillera Vilcanota, where large herds of alpacas thrive onthe sweet, tender pasturage. Santa Rosa is the principal town. Herewool-buyers come to bid for the clip. The high prices which alpacafleece commands have brought prosperity. Excellent blankets, renownedin southern Peru for their weight and texture, are made here on handlooms. Notwithstanding the altitude--nearly as great as the top ofPike's Peak--the stocky inhabitants of Santa Rosa are hardy, vigorous, and energetic. Ricardo Charaja, the best Quichua assistant we ever had, came from Santa Rosa. Nearly all the citizens are of pure Indian stock. 

They own many fine llamas. There is abundant pasturage and the llamasare well cared for by the Indians, who become personally attached totheir flocks and are loath to part with any of the individuals. Once Iattempted through a Cuzco acquaintance to secure the skin and skeletonof a fine llama for the Yale Museum. My friend was favorably knownand spoke the Quichua language fluently. He offered a good price andobtained from various llama owners promises to bring the hide and bonesof one of their "camels" for shipment; but they never did. Apparentlythey regarded it as unlucky to kill a llama, and none happened to dieat the right time. The llamas never show affection for their masters, as horses often do. On the other hand I have never seen a llama kickor bite at his owner. 

The llama was the only beast of burden known in either North or SouthAmerica before Columbus. It was found by the Spaniards in all parts ofInca Land. Its small two-toed feet, with their rough pads, enable itto walk easily on slopes too rough or steep for even a nimble-footed, mountain-bred mule. It has the reputation of being an unpleasant pet, due to its ability to sneeze or spit for a considerable distancea small quantity of acrid saliva. When I was in college Barnum'sCircus came to town. The menagerie included a dozen llamas, whosesupercilious expression, inoffensive looks, and small size--they areonly three feet high at the shoulder

tempted some little urchins to tease them. When the llamas feltthat the time had come for reprisals, their aim was straight and theresult a precipitate retreat. Their tormentors, howling and rubbingtheir eyes, had to run home and wash their faces. Curiously enough, in the two years which I have spent in the Peruvian highlands I havenever seen a llama so attack a single human being. On the other hand, when I was in Santa Rosa in 1915 some one had a tame vicuña which wasperfectly willing to sneeze straight at any stranger who came withintwenty feet of it, even if one's motive was nothing more annoying thanscientific curiosity. The vicuña is the smallest American "camel, "yet its long, slender neck, small head, long legs, and small body, from which hangs long, feathery fleece, make it look more like anostrich than a camel. 

In the churchyard of Santa Rosa are two or three gnarled trees whichhave been carefully preserved for centuries as objects of respect andveneration. Some travelers have thought that 14, 000 feet is above thetree line, but the presence of these trees at Santa Rosa would seemto show that the use of the words "tree line" is a misnomer in theAndes. Mr. Cook believes that the Peruvian plateau, with the exceptionof the coastal deserts, was once well covered with forests. When manfirst came into the Andes, everything except rocky ledges, snow fields, and glaciers was covered with forest growth. Although many districtsare now entirely treeless, Mr. Cook found that the conditions of light, heat, and moisture, even at the highest elevations, are sufficientto support the growth of trees; also that there is ample fertility ofsoil. His theories are well substantiated by several isolated tractsof forests which I found growing alongside of glaciers at very highelevations. One forest in particular, on the slopes of Mt. Soiroccocha, has been accurately determined by Mr. Bumstead to be over 15, 000 feetabove sea level. It is cut off from the inhabited valley by rock fallsand precipices, so it has not been available for fuel. Virgin forestsare not known to exist in the Peruvian highlands on any lands whichcould have been cultivated. A certain amount of natural reforestationwith native trees is taking place on abandoned agricultural terracesin some of the high valleys. Although these trees belong to manydifferent species and families, Mr. Cook found that they all havethis striking peculiarity--when cut down they sprout readily fromthe stumps and are able to survive repeated pollarding; remarkableevidence of the fact that the primeval forests of Peru were long agocut down for fuel or burned over for agriculture. 

Near the Santa Rosa trees is a tall bell-tower. The sight of apicturesque belfry with four or five bells of different sizes hangingeach in its respective window makes a strong appeal. It is quiteotherwise on Sunday mornings when these same bells, "out of tune withthemselves, " or actually cracked, are all rung at the same time. Theresulting clangor and din is unforgettable. I presume the Chinese wouldsay it was intended to drive away the devils--and surely such noisemust be "thoroughly uncongenial even to the most irreclaimable devil, "as Lord Frederick Hamilton said of the Canton practices. Church bellsin the United States and England are usually sweet-toned and intendedto invite the hearer to come to service, or else they ring out injoyous peals to announce some festive occasion. There is nothinginviting or joyous about the bells in southern Peru. Once in a whileone may hear a bell of deep, sweet tone, like that of the great bell inCuzco, which is tolled when the last sacrament is being administeredto a dying Christian; but the general idea of bell-ringers in thispart of the world seems to be to make the greatest possible amountof racket and clamor. On popular saints' days this is accompanied byfirecrackers, aerial bombs, and other noise-making devices which againremind one of Chinese folkways. Perhaps it is merely that fundamentalfondness for making a noise which is found in all healthy children. 

On Sunday afternoon the plaza of Santa Rosa was well filled withQuichua holiday-makers, many of whom had been imbibing freely ofchicha, a mild native brew usually made from ripe corn. The crowd wasremarkably good-natured and given to an unusual amount of laughterand gayety. For them Sunday is truly a day of rest, recreation, and sociability. On week days, most of them, even the smaller boys, are off on the mountain pastures, watching the herds whose woolbrings prosperity to Santa Rosa. One sometimes finds the mountainIndians on Sunday afternoon sodden, thoroughly soaked with chicha, and inclined to resent the presence of inquisitive strangers; not sothese good folk of Santa Rosa. 

------FIGURE

Indian Alcaldes at Santa Rosa------

------FIGURE

Native Druggists in the Plaza of Sicuani------

To be sure, the female vendors of eggs, potatoes, peppers, and sundrynative vegetables, squatting in two long rows on the plaza, did notenjoy being photographed, but the men and boys crowded eagerly forward, very much interested in my endeavors. Some of the Indian alcaldes, local magistrates elected yearly to serve as the responsible officialsfor villages or tribal precincts, were very helpful and, armed withtheir large, silver-mounted staffs of office, tried to bring theshy, retiring women of the market-place to stand in a frightened, disgruntled, barefooted group before the camera. The women were dressedin the customary tight bodices, heavy woolen skirts, and voluminouspetticoats of the plateau. Over their shoulders were pinned heavywoolen shawls, woven on hand looms. On their heads were reversible"pancake" hats made of straw, covered on the wet-weather side withcoarse woolen stuff and on the fair-weather side with tinsel andvelveteen. In accordance with local custom, tassels and fringes hungdown on both sides. It is said that the first Inca ordered the dressesof each village to be different, so that his officials might knowto which tribe an Indian belonged. It was only with great difficultyand by the combined efforts of a good-natured priest, the gobernadoror mayor, and the alcaldes that a dozen very reluctant femaleswere finally persuaded to face the camera. The expression of theirfaces was very eloquent. Some were highly indignant, others lookedfoolish or supercilious, two or three were thoroughly frightened, notknowing what evil might befall them next. Not one gave any evidenceof enjoying it or taking the matter as a good joke, although thatwas the attitude assumed by all their male acquaintances. In fact, some of the men were so anxious to have their pictures taken thatthey followed us about and posed on the edge of every group. 

Men and boys all wore knitted woolen caps, with ear flaps, which theyseldom remove either day or night. On top of these were large felthats, turned up in front so as to give a bold aspect to their huskywearers. Over their shoulders were heavy woolen ponchos, decorated withbright stripes. Their trousers end abruptly halfway between knee andankle, a convenient style for herdsmen who have to walk in the long, dewy grasses of the plateau. These "high-water" pantaloons do notlook badly when worn with sandals, as is the usual custom; but sincethis was Sunday all the well-to-do men had put on European boots, which did not come up to the bottom of their trousers and produceda singular effect, hardly likely to become fashionable. 

The prosperity of the town was also shown by corrugated iron roofs. Farless picturesque than thatch or tile, they require less attentionand give greater satisfaction during the rainy season. They can alsobe securely bolted to the rafters. On this wind-swept plateau wefrequently noticed that a thatched roof was held in place by ropespassed over the house and weights resting on the roof. Sometimes tothe peak of a gable are fastened crosses, tiny flags, or the skulls ofanimals--probably to avert the Evil Eye or bring good luck. Horseshoesdo not seem to be in demand. Horses' skulls, however, are deemedvery efficacious. 

On the rim of the Titicaca Basin is La Raya. The watershed is so levelthat it is almost impossible to say whether any particular raindropwill eventually find itself in Lake Titicaca or in the AtlanticOcean. The water from a spring near the railroad station of Ararancaflows definitely to the north. This spring may be said to be one of thesources of the Urubamba River, an important affluent of the Ucayaliand also of the Amazon, but I never have heard it referred to as"the source of the Amazon" except by an adventurous lecturer, CaptainBlank, whose moving picture entertainment bore the alluring title, "From the Source to the Mouth of the Amazon. " As most of his picturesof wild animals "in the jungle" looked as though they were taken inthe zoölogical gardens at Para, and the exciting tragedies of his canoetrip were actually staged near a friendly hacienda at Santa Ana, lessthan a week's journey from Cuzco, it is perhaps unnecessary to censurehim for giving this particular little spring such a pretentious title. 

The Urubamba River is known by various names to the people who live onits banks. The upper portion is sometimes spoken of as the Vilcanota, a term which applies to a lake as well as to the snow-covered peaksof the cordillera in this vicinity. The lower portion was called bythe Incas the Uilca or the Uilcamayu. 

Near the water-parting of La Raya I noticed the remains of aninteresting wall which may have served centuries ago to divide theIncas of Cuzco from the Collas or warlike tribes of the TiticacaBasin. In places the wall has been kept in repair by the owners ofgrazing lands, but most of it can be but dimly traced across thevalley and up the neighboring slopes to the cliffs of the CordilleraVilcanota. It was built of rough stones. Near the historic wallare the ruins of ancient houses, possibly once occupied by an Incagarrison. I observed no ashlars among the ruins nor any evidence ofcareful masonry. It seems to me likely that it was a hastily thrown-upfortification serving for a single military campaign, rather than anypermanent affair like the Roman wall of North Britain or the Great Wallof China. We know from tradition that war was frequently waged betweenthe peoples of the Titicaca Basin and those of the Urubamba and Cuzcovalleys. It is possible that this is a relic of one of those wars. 

On the other hand, it may be much older than the Incas. Montesinos, [3] one of the best early historians, tells us of Titu Yupanqui, Pachacuti VI, sixty-second of the Peruvian Amautas, rulers wholong preceded the Incas. Against Pachacuti VI there came (about 800A. D. ) large hordes of fierce soldiers from the south and east, layingwaste fields and capturing cities and towns; evidently barbarianmigrations which appear to have continued for some time. Duringthese wars the ancient civilization, which had been built up withso much care and difficulty during the preceding twenty centuries, was seriously threatened. Pachacuti VI, more religious than warlike, ruler of a people whose great achievements had been agriculturalrather than military, was frightened by his soothsayers and priests;they told him of many bad omens. Instead of inducing him to followa policy of military preparedness, he was urged to make sacrificesto the deities. Nevertheless he ordered his captains to fortify thestrategic points and make preparations for defense. The invadersmay have come from Argentina. It is possible that they were spurredon by hunger and famine caused by the gradual exhaustion of forestedareas and the subsequent spread of untillable grasslands on the greatpampas. Montesinos indicates that many of the people who came upinto the highlands at that time were seeking arable lands for theircrops and were "fleeing from a race of giants"--possibly Patagoniansor Araucanians--who had expelled them from their own lands. On theirjourney they had passed over plains, swamps, and jungles. It is obviousthat a great readjustment of the aborigines was in progress. Thegovernors of the districts through which these hordes passed were notable to summon enough strength to resist them. Pachacuti VI assembledthe larger part of his army near the pass of La Raya and awaited theapproach of the enemy. If the accounts given in Montesinos are true, this wall near La Raya may have been built about 1100 years ago, by the chiefs who were told to "fortify the strategic points. "

Certainly the pass of La Raya, long the gateway from the TiticacaBasin to the important cities and towns of the Urubamba Basin, was thekey to the situation. It is probable that Pachacuti VI drew up hisarmy behind this wall. His men were undoubtedly armed with slings, the weapon most familiar to the highland shepherds. The invaders, however, carried bows and arrows, more effective arms, swifter, moredifficult to see, less easy to dodge. As Pachacuti VI was carriedover the field of battle on a golden stretcher, encouraging his men, he was killed by an arrow. His army was routed. Montesinos states thatonly five hundred escaped. Leaving behind their wounded, they fled to"Tampu-tocco, " a healthy place where there was a cave, in which theyhid the precious body of their ruler. Most writers believe this tobe at Paccaritampu where there are caves under an interesting carvedrock. There is no place in Peru to-day which still bears the nameof Tampu-tocco. To try and identify it with some of the ruins whichdo exist, and whose modern names are not found in the early Spanishwriters, has been one of the principal objects of my expeditions toPeru, as will be described in subsequent chapters. 

------FIGURE

A Potato-field at La Raya------

------FIGURE

Laying Down the Warp for a Blanket: Near the Pass of La Raya------

Near the watershed of La Raya we saw great flocks of sheep and alpacas, numerous corrals, and the thatched-roofed huts of herdsmen. TheQuichua women are never idle. One often sees them engaged in themanufacture of textiles--shawls, girdles, ponchos, and blankets--onhand looms fastened to stakes driven into the ground. When tendingflocks or walking along the road they are always winding or spinningyarn. Even the men and older children are sometimes thus engaged. Theyounger children, used as shepherds as soon as they reach theage of six or seven, are rarely expected to do much except watchtheir charges. Some of them were accompanied by long-haired sunccashepherd dogs, as large as Airedales, but very cowardly, given tobarking and slinking away. It is claimed that the sunccas, as wellas two other varieties, were domesticated by the Incas. None of themshowed any desire to make the acquaintance of "Checkers, " my faithfulAiredale. Their masters, however, were always interested to see that"Checkers" could understand English. They had never seen a dog thatcould understand anything but Quichua!

On the hillside near La Raya, Mr. Cook, Mr. Gilbert, and I visiteda healthy potato field at an elevation of 14, 500 feet, a recordaltitude for potatoes. When commencing to plough or spade a potatofield on the high slopes near here, it is the custom of the Indians tomark it off into squares, by "furrows" about fifteen feet apart. TheQuichuas commence their task soon after daybreak. Due to the absenceof artificial lighting and the discomfort of rising in the bitter coldbefore dawn, their wives do not prepare breakfast before ten o'clock, at which time it is either brought from home in covered earthenwarevessels or cooked in the open fields near where the men are working. 

We came across one energetic landowner supervising a score or moreof Indians who were engaged in "ploughing" a potato field. Althoughhe was dressed in European garb and was evidently a man of means andintelligence, and near the railroad, there were no modern implementsin sight. We found that it is difficult to get Indians to use anyexcept the implements of their ancestors. The process of "ploughing"this field was undoubtedly one that had been used for centuries, probably long before the Spanish Conquest. The men, working in unisonand in a long row, each armed with a primitive spade or "foot plough, "to the handle of which footholds were lashed, would, at a signal, leapforward with a shout and plunge their spades into the turf. Facingeach pair of men was a girl or woman whose duty it was to turn theclods over by hand. The men had taken off their ponchos, so as tosecure greater freedom of action, but the women were fully clothed asusual, modesty seeming to require them even to keep heavy shawls overtheir shoulders. Although the work was hard and painful, the toil waslightened by the joyous contact of community activity. Every one workedwith a will. There appeared to be a keen desire among the workers tokeep up with the procession. Those who fell behind were subjected togood-natured teasing. Community work is sometimes pleasant, even thoughit appears to require a strong directing hand. The "boss" was rightthere. Such practices would never suit those who love independence. 

In the centuries of Inca domination there was little opportunity forindividual effort. Private property was not understood. Everythingbelonged to the government. The crops were taken by the priests, the Incas and the nobles. The people were not as unhappy as weshould be. One seldom had to labor alone. Everything was done incommon. When it was time to cultivate the fields or to harvest thecrops, the laborers were ordered by the Incas to go forth in hugefamily parties. They lessened the hardships of farm labor by villagegossip and choral singing, interspersed at regular intervals withrest periods, in which quantities of chicha quenched the thirst andcheered the mind. 

Habits of community work are still shown in the Andes. One often sees ascore or more of Indians carrying huge bundles of sheaves of wheat orbarley. I have found a dozen yoke of oxen, each a few yards from theother in a parallel line, engaged in ploughing synchronously smallportions of a large field. Although the landlords frequently visitLima and sometimes go to Paris and New York, where they purchasefor their own use the products of modern invention, the fields arestill cultivated in the fashion introduced three centuries ago by theconquistadores, who brought the first draft animals and the primitivepointed plough of the ancient Mediterranean. 

Crops at La Raya are not confined to potatoes. Another food plant, almost unknown to Europeans, even those who live in Lima, is cañihua, a kind of pigweed. It was being harvested at the time of our visitin April. The threshing floor for cañihua is a large blanket laidon the ground. On top of this the stalks are placed and the flailapplied, the blanket serving to prevent the small grayish seeds fromescaping. The entire process uses nothing of European origin and hasprobably not changed for centuries. 

We noticed also quinoa and even barley growing at an elevation of14, 000 feet. Quinoa is another species of pigweed. It often attainsa height of three to four feet. There are several varieties. Thewhite-seeded variety, after being boiled, may be fairly comparedwith oatmeal. Mr. Cook actually preferred it to the Scotch article, both for taste and texture. The seeds retain their form after beingcooked and "do not appear so slimy as oatmeal. " Other varieties ofquinoa are bitter and have to be boiled several times, the waterbeing frequently changed. The growing quinoa presents an attractiveappearance; its leaves assume many colors. 

As we went down the valley the evidences of extensive cultivation, both ancient and modern, steadily increased. Great numbers of oldterraces were to be seen. There were many fields of wheat, some of themgrowing high up on the mountain side in what are called temporales, where, owing to the steep slope, there is little effort at tillage orcultivation, the planter trusting to luck to get some kind of a cropin reward for very little effort. On April 14th, just above Sicuani, we saw fields where habas beans had been gathered and the dried stalkspiled in little stacks. At Occobamba, or the pampa where oca grows, we found fields of that useful tuber, just now ripening. Near bywere little thatched shelters, erected for the temporary use of nightwatchmen during the harvest season. 

The Peruvian highlanders whom we met by the roadside were differentin feature, attitude, and clothing from those of the Titicaca Basinor even of Santa Rosa, which is not far away. They were typicalQuichuas--peaceful agriculturists--usually spinning wool on thelittle hand spindles which have been used in the Andes from timeimmemorial. Their huts are built of adobe, the roofs thatched withcoarse grass. 

The Quichuas are brown in color. Their hair is straight and black. Grayhair is seldom seen. It is the custom among the men in certainlocalities to wear their hair long and braided. Beards are sparse orlacking. Bald heads are very rare. Teeth seem to be more enduringthan with us. Throughout the Andes the frequency of well-preservedteeth was everywhere noteworthy except on sugar plantations, wherethere is opportunity to indulge freely in crude brown sugar nibbledfrom cakes or mixed with parched corn and eaten as a travel ration. 

The Quichua face is broad and short. Its breadth is nearly the sameas the Eskimo. Freckles are not common and appear to be limited toface and arms, in the few cases in which they were observed. On theother hand, a large proportion of the Indians are pock-marked andshow the effects of living in a country which is "free from medicaltyranny. " There is no compulsory vaccination. 

One hardly ever sees a fat Quichua. It is difficult to tell whetherthis is a racial characteristic or due rather to the lack offat-producing foods in their diet. Although the Peruvian highlanderhas made the best use he could of the llama, he was never able todevelop its slender legs and weak back sufficiently to use it forloads weighing more than eighty or a hundred pounds. Consequently, forthe carrying of really heavy burdens he had to depend on himself. Asa result, it is not surprising to learn from Dr. Ferris that whilehis arms are poorly developed, his shoulders are broader, his backmuscles stronger, and the calves of his legs larger and more powerfulthan those of almost any other race. 

The Quichuas are fond of shaking hands. When a visiting Indianjoins a group he nearly always goes through the gentle ceremony witheach person in turn. I do not know whether this was introduced bythe Spaniards or comes down from prehistoric times. In any event, this handshaking in no way resembles the hearty clasp familiar toundergraduates at the beginning of the college year. As a matter offact the Quichua handshake is extremely fishy and lacks cordiality. Intesting the hand grip of the Quichuas by a dynamometer our surgeonsfound that the muscles of the forearm were poorly developed in theQuichua and the maximum grip was weak in both sexes, the averagefor the man being only about half of that found among American whiteadults of sedentary habits. 

Dr. Ales Hrdlicka believes that the aboriginal races of Northand South America were of the same stock. The wide differencesin physiognomy observable among the different tribes in North andSouth America are perhaps due to their environmental history duringthe past 10, 000 or 20, 000 years. Mr. Frank Chapman, of the AmericanMuseum of Natural History, has pointed out the interesting biologicalfact that animals and birds found at sea level in the cold regions ofTierra del Fuego, while not found at sea level in Peru, do exist atvery high altitudes, where the climate is similar to that with whichthey are acquainted. Similarly, it is interesting to learn that theinhabitants of the cold, lofty regions of southern Peru, living intowns and villages at altitudes of from 9000 to 14, 000 feet above thesea, have physical peculiarities closely resembling those living atsea level in Tierra del Fuego, Alaska, and Labrador. Dr. Ferris saysthe Labrador Eskimo and the Quichua constitute the two "best-knownshort-stature races on the American continent. "

So far as we could learn by questions and observation, about onequarter of the Quichuas are childless. In families which have childrenthe average number is three or four. Large families are not common, although we generally learned that the living children in a familyusually represented less than half of those which had been born. Infantmortality is very great. The proper feeding of children is notunderstood and it is a marvel how any of them manage to grow up at all. 

Coughs and bronchial trouble are very common among the Indians. Infact, the most common afflictions of the tableland are those of thethroat and lungs. Pneumonia is the most serious and most to be dreadedof all local diseases. It is really terrifying. Due to the rarityof the air and relative scarcity of oxygen, pneumonia is usuallyfatal at 8000 feet and is uniformly so at 11, 000 feet. Patients arefrequently ill only twenty-four hours. Tuberculosis is fairly common, its prevalence undoubtedly caused by the living conditions practicedamong the highlanders, who are unwilling to sleep in a room which isnot tightly closed and protected against any possible intrusion offresh air. In the warmer valleys, where bodily comfort has led thenatives to use huts of thatch and open reeds, instead of the air-tighthovels of the cold, bleak plateau, tuberculosis is seldom seen. Ofcourse, there are no "boards of health, " nor are the people bothered bybeing obliged to conform to any sanitary regulations. Water suppliesare so often contaminated that the people have learned to avoiddrinking it as far as possible. Instead, they eat quantities of soup. 

------FIGURE

The Ruins of the Temple of Viracocha at Racche------

In the market-place of Sicuani, the largest town in the valley, andthe border-line between the potato-growing uplands and lowland maizefields, we attended the famous Sunday market. Many native "druggists"were present. Their stock usually consisted of "medicines, " whoseefficacy was learned by the Incas. There were forty or fifty kindsof simples and curiosities, cure-alls, and specifics. Fully halfwere reported to me as being "useful against fresh air" or the evileffects of drafts. The "medicines" included such minerals as ironore and sulphur; such vegetables as dried seeds, roots, and theleaves of plants domesticated hundreds of years ago by the Incas orgathered in the tropical jungles of the lower Urubamba Valley; andsuch animals as starfish brought from the Pacific Ocean. Some of themwere really useful herbs, while others have only a psychopathic effecton the patient. Each medicine was in an attractive little particoloredwoolen bag. The bags, differing in design and color, woven on miniaturehand looms, were arranged side by side on the ground, the upper partsturned over and rolled down so as to disclose the contents. 

Not many miles below Sicuani, at a place called Racche, are theremarkable ruins of the so-called Temple of Viracocha, described bySquier. At first sight Racche looks as though there were here a rowof nine or ten lofty adobe piers, forty or fifty feet high! Closerinspection, however, shows them all to be parts of the central wall ofa great temple. The wall is pierced with large doors and the spacesbetween the doors are broken by niches, narrower at the top than atthe bottom. There are small holes in the doorposts for bar-holds. Thebase of the great wall is about five feet thick and is of stone. Theashlars are beautifully cut and, while not rectangular, are roughlysquared and fitted together with most exquisite care, so as to insuretheir making a very firm foundation. Their surface is most attractive, but, strange to say, there is unmistakable evidence that the buildersdid not wish the stonework to show. This surface was at one timeplastered with clay, a very significant fact. The builders wanted thewall to seem to be built entirely of adobe, yet, had the great claywall rested on the ground, floods and erosion might have succeededin undermining it. Instead, it rests securely on a beautifully builtfoundation of solid masonry. Even so, the great wall does not standabsolutely true, but leans slightly to the westward. The wall alsoseems to be less weathered on the west side. Probably the prevailingor strongest wind is from the east. 

An interesting feature of the ruins is a round column about twentyfeet high--a very rare occurrence in Inca architecture. It alsois of adobe, on a stone foundation. There is only one column nowstanding. In Squier's day the remains of others were to be seen, but I could find no evidences of them. There was probably a doublerow of these columns to support the stringers and tiebeams of theroof. Apparently one end of a tiebeam rested on the circular columnand the other end was embedded in the main wall. The holes where thetiebeams entered the wall have stone lintels. 

Near the ruins of the great temple are those of other buildings, alsounique, so far as I know. The base of the party wall, decorated withlarge niches, is of cut ashlars carefully laid; the middle course is ofadobe, while the upper third is of rough, uncut stones. It looks veryodd now but was originally covered with fine clay or stucco. In severalcases the plastered walls are still standing, in fairly good condition, particularly where they have been sheltered from the weather. 

The chief marvel of Racche, however, is the great adobe wall of thetemple, which is nearly fifty feet high. It is slowly disintegrating, as might be expected. The wonder is that it should have stood solong in a rainy region without any roof or protecting cover. It isincredible that for at least five hundred years a wall of sun-driedclay should have been able to defy severe rainstorms. The lintels, made of hard-wood timbers and partially embedded in the wall, are allgone; yet the adobe remains. It would be very interesting to find outwhether the water of the springs near the temple contains lime. Ifso this might have furnished natural calcareous cement in sufficientquantity to give the clay a particularly tenacious quality, able toresist weathering. The factors which have caused this extraordinaryadobe wall to withstand the weather in such an exposed position forso many centuries, notwithstanding the heavy rains of each summerseason from December to March, are worthy of further study. 

It has been claimed that this temple was devoted to the worshipof Viracocha, a great deity, the Jove or Zeus of the ancientpantheon. It seems to me more reasonable to suppose that a primitivefolk constructed here a temple to the presiding divinity of the place, the god who gave them this precious clay. The principal industryof the neighboring village is still the manufacture of pottery. Nobetter clay for ceramic purposes has been found in the Andes. 

It would have been perfectly natural for the prehistoric potters tohave desired to placate the presiding divinity, not so much perhapsout of gratitude for the clay as to avert his displeasure and fendoff bad luck in baking pottery. It is well known that the best potteryof the Incas was extremely fine in texture. Students of ceramics arewell aware of the uncertainty of the results of baking clay. Bad luckseems to come most unaccountably, even when the greatest pains aretaken. Might it not have been possible that the people who were mostconcerned with creating pottery decided to erect this temple to insuresuccess and get as much good luck as possible? Near the ancient templeis a small modern church with two towers. The churchyard appears to bea favorite place for baking pottery. Possibly the modern potters usethe church to pray for success in their baking, just as the ancientpotters used the great temple of Viracocha. The walls of the church arecomposed partly of adobe and partly of cut stones taken from the ruins. 

Not far away is a fairly recent though prehistoric lava flow. Itoccurs to me that possibly this flow destroyed some of the claybeds from which the ancient potters got their precious material. Thetemple may have been erected as a propitiatory offering to the godof volcanoes in the hope that the anger which had caused him to sendthe lava flow might be appeased. It may be that the Inca Viracocha, an unusually gifted ruler, was particularly interested in ceramics andwas responsible for building the temple. If so, it would be naturalfor people who are devoted to ancestor worship to have here worshipedhis memory. 

------FIGURE

Route Map of the Peruvian Expedition of 1912------

CHAPTER VII

The Valley of the Huatanay

The valley of the Huatanay is one of many valleys tributary to theUrubamba. It differs from them in having more arable land located underclimatic conditions favorable for the raising of the food crops of theancient Peruvians. Containing an area estimated at less than 160 squaremiles, it was the heart of the greatest empire that South America hasever seen. It is still intensively cultivated, the home of a largepercentage of the people of this part of Peru. The Huatanay itselfsometimes meanders through the valley in a natural manner, but atother times is seen to be confined within carefully built stone wallsconstructed by prehistoric agriculturists anxious to save their fieldsfrom floods and erosion. The climate is temperate. Extreme cold isunknown. Water freezes in the lowlands during the dry winter season, in June and July, and frost may occur any night in the year above13, 000 feet, but in general the climate may be said to be neitherwarm nor cold. 

This rich valley was apportioned by the Spanish conquerors tosoldiers who were granted large estates as well as the labor ofthe Indians living on them. This method still prevails and one mayoccasionally meet on the road wealthy landholders on their way to andfrom town. Although mules are essentially the most reliable saddleanimals for work in the Andes, these landholders usually prefer horses, which are larger and faster, as well as being more gentle and bettergaited. The gentry of the Huatanay Valley prefer a deep-seated saddle, over which is laid a heavy sheepskin or thick fur mat. The fashionablestirrups are pyramidal in shape, made of wood decorated with silverbands. Owing to the steepness of the roads, a crupper is considerednecessary and is usually decorated with a broad, embossed panel, from which hang little trappings reminiscent of medieval harness. Thebridle is usually made of carefully braided leather, decorated withsilver and frequently furnished with an embossed leather eye shade orblinder, to indicate that the horse is high-spirited. This eye shade, which may be pulled down so as to blind both eyes completely, is moreuseful than a hitching post in persuading the horse to stand still. 

The valley of the Huatanay River is divided into three parts, thebasins of Lucre, Oropesa, and Cuzco. The basaltic cliffs near Oropesadivide the Lucre Basin from the Oropesa Basin. The pass at Angostura, or "the narrows, " is the natural gateway between the Oropesa Basin andthe Cuzco Basin. Each basin contains interesting ruins. In the LucreBasin the most interesting are those of Rumiccolca and Piquillacta. 

At the extreme eastern end of the valley, on top of the pass whichleads to the Vilcanota is an ancient gateway called Rumiccolca (Rumi ="stone"; ccolca = "granary"). It is commonly supposed that this wasan Inca fortress, intended to separate the chiefs of Cuzco from thoseof Vilcanota. It is now locally referred to as a "fortaleza. " Themajor part of the wall is well built of rough stones, laid in clay, while the sides of the gateway are faced with carefully cut andesiteashlars of an entirely different style. It is conceivable that somegreat chieftain built the rough wall in the days when the highlandswere split up among many little independent rulers, and that later oneof the Incas, no longer needing any fortifications between the HuatanayValley and the Vilcanota Valley, tore down part of the wall and builta fine gateway. The faces of the ashlars are nicely finished exceptfor several rough bosses or nubbins. They were probably used by theancient masons in order to secure a better hold when finally adjustingthe ashlars with small crowbars. It may have been the intention of thestone masons to remove these nubbins after the wall was completed. Inone of the unfinished structures at Machu Picchu I noticed similarbosses. The name "Stone-granary" was probably originally applied toa neighboring edifice now in ruins. 

On the rocky hillside above Rumiccolca are the ruins of many ancientterraces and some buildings. Not far from Rumiccolca, on the slopesof Mt. Piquillacta, are the ruins of an extensive city, also calledPiquillacta. A large number of its houses have extraordinarily highwalls. A high wall outside the city, and running north and south, was obviously built to protect it from enemies approaching from theVilcanota Valley. In the other directions the slopes are so steep asto render a wall unnecessary. The walls are built of fragments of lavarock, with which the slopes of Mt. Piquillacta are covered. Cacti andthorny scrub are growing in the ruins, but the volcanic soil is richenough to attract the attention of agriculturists, who come here fromneighboring villages to cultivate their crops. The slopes above thecity are still extensively cultivated, but without terraces. Wheatand barley are the principal crops. 

As an illustration of the difficulty of identifying places in ancientPeru, it is worth noting that the gateway now called Rumiccolca isfigured in Squier's "Peru" as "Piquillacta. " On the other hand, the ruins of the large city, "covering thickly an area nearly asquare mile, " are called by Squier "the great Inca town of Muyna, "a name also applied to the little lake which lies in the bottom ofthe Lucre Basin. As Squier came along the road from Racche he sawMt. Piquillacta first, then the gateway, then Lake Muyna, then theruins of the city. In each case the name of the most conspicuous, harmless, natural phenomenon seems to have been applied to ruins bythose of whom he inquired. My own experience was different. 

------FIGURE

Lucre Basin, Lake Muyna, and the City Wall of Piquillacta------

Dr. Aguilar, a distinguished professor in the University of Cuzco, whohas a country place in the neighborhood and is very familiar with thisregion, brought me to this ancient city from the other direction. Fromhim I learned that the city ruins are called Piquillacta, the namewhich is also applied to the mountain which lies to the eastwardof the ruins and rises 1200 feet above them. Dr. Aguilar lives nearOropesa. As one comes from Oropesa, Mt. Piquillacta is a conspicuouspoint and is directly in line with the city ruins. Consequently, it would be natural for people viewing it from this direction togive to the ruins the name of the mountain rather than that of thelake. Yet the mountain may be named for the ruins. Piqui means "flea";llacta means "town, city, country, district, or territory. " Was this"The Territory of the Fleas" or was it "Flea Town"? And what was itsname in the days of the Incas? Was the old name abandoned because itwas considered unlucky?

Whatever the reason, it is a most extraordinary fact that we havehere the evidences of a very large town, possibly pre-Inca, long sinceabandoned. There are scores of houses and numerous compounds laid outin regular fashion, the streets crossing each other at right angles, the whole covering an area considerably larger than the important townof Ollantaytambo. Not a soul lives here. It is true that across theVilcanota to the east is a difficult, mountainous country culminatingin Mt. Ausangate, the highest peak in the department. Yet Piquillactais in the midst of a populous region. To the north lies the thicklysettled valley of Pisac and Yucay; to the south, the importantVilcanota Valley with dozens of villages; to the west the denselypopulated valley of the Huatanay and Cuzco itself, the largest cityin the highlands of Peru. Thousands of people live within a radius oftwenty miles of Piquillacta, and the population is on the increase. Itis perfectly easy of access and is less than a mile east of therailroad. Yet it is "abandonado--desierto--despoblado"! Undoubtedlyhere was once a large city of great importance. The reason for itsbeing abandoned appears to be the absence of running water. AlthoughMt. Piquillacta is a large mass, nearly five miles long and two mileswide, rising to a point of 2000 feet above the Huatanay and Vilcanotarivers, it has no streams, brooks, or springs. It is an isolated, extinct volcano surrounded by igneous rocks, lavas, andesites, and basalts. 

How came it that so large a city as Piquillacta could have been builton the slopes of a mountain which has no running streams? Has theclimate changed so much since those days? If so, how is it that thesurrounding region is still the populous part of southern Peru? It isinconceivable that so large a city could have been built and occupiedon a plateau four hundred feet above the nearest water unless therewas some way of providing it other than the arduous one of bringingevery drop up the hill on the backs of men and llamas. If therewere no places near here better provided with water than this site, one could understand that perhaps its inhabitants were obliged todepend entirely upon water carriers. On the contrary, within a radiusof six miles there are half a dozen unoccupied sites near runningstreams. Until further studies can be made of this puzzling problemI believe that the answer lies in the ruins of Rumiccolca, which areusually thought of as a fortress. 

Squier says that this "fortress" was "the southern limit of thedominions of the first Inca. " "The fortress reaches from the mountain, on one side, to a high, rocky eminence on the other. It is popularlycalled 'El Aqueducto, ' perhaps from some fancied resemblance to anaqueduct--but the name is evidently misapplied. " Yet he admits that thecross-section of the wall, diminishing as it does "by graduations orsteps on both sides, " "might appear to conflict with the hypothesisof its being a work of defense or fortification" if it occupied"a different position. " He noticed that "the top of the wall isthroughout of the same level; becomes less in height as it approachesthe hills on either hand and diminishes proportionately in thickness"as an aqueduct should do. Yet, so possessed was he by the "fortress"idea that he rejected not only local tradition as expressed in thenative name, but even turned his back on the evidence of his owneyes. It seems to me that there is little doubt that instead of theruins of Rumiccolca representing a fortification, we have here theremains of an ancient azequia, or aqueduct, built by some powerfulchieftain to supply the people of Piquillacta with water. 

A study of the topography of the region shows that the river whichrises southwest of the village of Lucre and furnishes water powerfor its modern textile mills could have been used to supply suchan azequia. The water, collected at an elevation of 10, 700 feet, could easily have been brought six miles along the southern slopesof the Lucre Basin, around Mt. Rumiccolca and across the old road, on this aqueduct, at an elevation of about 10, 600 feet. This wouldhave permitted it to flow through some of the streets of Piquillactaand give the ancient city an adequate supply of water. The slopesof Rumiccolca are marked by many ancient terraces. Their upper limitcorresponds roughly with the contour along which such an azequia wouldhave had to pass. There is, in fact, a distinct line on the hillsidewhich looks as though an azequia had once passed that way. In thevalley back of Lucre are also faint indications of old azequias. Therehas been, however, a considerable amount of erosion on the hills, and if, as seems likely, the water-works have been out of order forseveral centuries, it is not surprising that all traces of them havedisappeared in places. I regret very much that circumstances overwhich I had no control prevented my making a thorough study of thepossibilities of such a theory. It remains for some fortunate futureinvestigator to determine who were the inhabitants of Piquillacta, how they secured their water supply, and why the city was abandoned. 

------FIGURE

Sacsahuaman: Detail of Lower Terrace Wall------

------FIGURE

Ruins of the Aqueduct of Rumiccolca------

Until then I suggest as a possible working hypothesis that we have atPiquillacta the remains of a pre-Inca city; that its chiefs and peoplecultivated the Lucre Basin and its tributaries; that as a communitythey were a separate political entity from the people of Cuzco;that the ruler of the Cuzco people, perhaps an Inca, finally becamesufficiently powerful to conquer the people of the Lucre Basin, andremoved the tribes which had occupied Piquillacta to a distant part ofhis domain, a system of colonization well known in the history of theIncas; that, after the people who had built and lived in Piquillactadeparted, no subsequent dwellers in this region cared to reoccupy thesite, and its aqueduct fell into decay. It is easy to believe thatat first such a site would have been considered unlucky. Its houses, unfamiliar and unfashionable in design, would have been considered notdesirable. Their high walls might have been used for a reconstructedcity had there been plenty of water available. In any case, the ruinsof the Lucre Basin offer a most fascinating problem. 

In the Oropesa Basin the most important ruins are those of Tipon, a pleasant, well-watered valley several hundred feet above thevillage of Quispicanchi. They include carefully constructed housesof characteristic Inca construction, containing many symmetricallyarranged niches with stone lintels. The walls of most of the housesare of rough stones laid in clay. Tipon was probably the residenceof the principal chief of the Oropesa Basin. It commands a pleasantview of the village and of the hills to the south, which to-dayare covered with fields of wheat and barley. At Tipon there is anicely constructed fountain of cut stone. Some of the terraces areextremely well built, with roughly squared blocks fitting tightlytogether. Access from one terrace to another was obtained by steps madeeach of a single bonder projecting from the face of the terrace. Fewbetter constructed terrace walls are to be seen anywhere. The terracesare still cultivated by the people of Quispicanchi. No one lives atTipon now, although little shepherd boys and goatherds frequent theneighborhood. It is more convenient for the agriculturists to liveat the edge of their largest fields, which are in the valley bottom, than to climb five hundred feet into the narrow valley and occupy theold buildings. Motives of security no longer require a residence hererather than in the open plain. 

While I was examining the ruins and digging up a few attractivepotsherds bearing Inca designs, Dr. Giesecke, the President of theUniversity of Cuzco, who had accompanied me, climbed the mountain aboveTipon with Dr. Aguilar and reported the presence of a fortificationnear its summit. My stay at Oropesa was rendered most comfortableand happy by the generous hospitality of Dr. Aguilar, whose fincais between Quispicanchi and Oropesa and commands a charming view ofthe valley. 

From the Oropesa Basin, one enters the Cuzco Basin through an openingin the sandstone cliffs of Angostura near the modern town of SanGeronimo. On the slopes above the south bank of the Huatanay, justbeyond Angostura, are the ruins of a score or more of gable-roofedhouses of characteristic Inca construction. The ancient buildingshave doors, windows, and niches in walls of small stones laid in clay, the lintels having been of wood, now decayed. When we asked the nameof these ruins we were told that it was Saylla, although that isthe name of a modern village three miles away, down the Huatanay, in the Oropesa Basin. Like Piquillacta, old Saylla has no watersupply at present. It is not far from a stream called the Kkairaand could easily have been supplied with water by an azequia lessthan two miles in length brought along the 11, 000 feet contour. Itlooks very much like the case of a village originally placed on thehills for the sake of comparative security and isolation and laterabandoned through a desire to enjoy the advantages of living nearthe great highway in the bottom of the valley, after the Incas hadestablished peace over the highlands. There may be another explanation. 

It appears from Mr. Cook's studies that the deforestation of the CuzcoBasin by the hand of man, and modern methods of tillage on unterracedslopes, have caused an unusual amount of erosion to occur. Landslidesare frequent in the rainy season. 

Opposite Saylla is Mt. Picol, whose twin peaks are the most conspicuousfeature on the north side of the basin. Waste material from itsslopes is causing the rapid growth of a great gravel fan north of thevillage of San Geronimo. Professor Gregory noticed that the streamstraversing the fan are even now engaged in burying ancient fields by"transporting gravel from the head of the fan to its lower margin, "and that the lower end of the Cuzco Basin, where the Huatanay, hemmedin between the Angostura Narrows, cannot carry away the sediment asfast as it is brought down by its tributaries, is being choked up. Ifold Saylla represents a fortress set here to defend Cuzco against oldOropesa, it might very naturally have been abandoned when the ruleof the Incas finally spread far over the Andes. On the other hand, it seems more likely that the people who built Saylla were farmersand that when the lower Cuzco Basin was filled up by aggradation, due to increased erosion, they abandoned this site for one nearer thearable lands. One may imagine the dismay with which the agriculturalresidents of these ancient houses saw their beautiful fields at thebottom of the hill, covered in a few days, or even hours, by enormousquantities of coarse gravel brought down from the steep slopes of Picolafter some driving rainstorm. It may have been some such catastrophethat led them to take up their residence elsewhere. As a matter offact we do not know when it was abandoned. Further investigationmight point to its having been deserted when the Spanish village ofSan Geronimo was founded. However, I believe students of agriculturewill agree with me that deforestation, increased erosion, and aggradinggravel banks probably drove the folk out of Saylla. 

The southern rim of the Cuzco Basin is broken by no very strikingpeaks, although Huanacaurai (13, 427 ft. ), the highest point, isconnected in Inca tradition with some of the principal festivalsand religious celebrations. The north side of the Huatanay Valley ismuch more irregular, ranging from Ttica Ttica pass (12, 000 ft. ) toMt. Pachatucsa (15, 915 ft. ), whose five little peaks are frequentlysnow-clad. There is no permanent snow either here or elsewhere inthe Huatanay Valley. 

The people of the Cuzco Basin are very short of fuel. There is nonative coal. What the railroad uses comes from Australia. Firewood isscarce. The ancient forests disappeared long ago. The only trees insight are a few willows or poplars from Europe and one or two groves ofeucalyptus, also from Australia. Cuzco has been thought of and writtenof as being above the tree line, but such is not the case. The absenceof trees on the neighboring hills is due entirely to the hand of man, the long occupation, the necessities of early agriculturists, whocleared the forests before the days of intensive terrace agriculture, and the firewood requirements of a large population. The people ofCuzco do not dream of having enough fuel to make their houses warmand comfortable. Only with difficulty can they get enough for cookingpurposes. They depend largely on fagots and straw which are broughtinto town on the backs of men and animals. 

In the fields of stubble left from the wheat and barley harvest wesaw many sheep feeding. They were thin and long-legged and many ofthe rams had four horns, apparently due to centuries of inbreedingand the failure to improve the original stock by the introduction ofnew and superior strains. 

When one looks at the great amount of arable slopes on most of thehills of the Cuzco Basin and the unusually extensive flat land near theHuatanay, one readily understands why the heart of Inca Land witnesseda concentration of population very unusual in the Andes. Most of theimportant ruins are in the northwest quadrant of the basin either inthe immediate vicinity of Cuzco itself or on the "pampas" north of thecity. The reason is that the arable lands where most extensive potatocultivation could be carried out are nearly all in this quadrant. Inthe midst of this potato country, at the foot of the pass that leadsdirectly to Pisac and Paucartambo, is a picturesque ruin which bearsthe native name of Pucará. 

Pucará is the Quichua word for fortress and it needs but one glanceat the little hilltop crowned with a rectangular fortification torealize that the term is justified. The walls are beautifully made ofirregular blocks closely fitted together. Advantage was taken of smallcliffs on two sides of the hill to strengthen the fortifications. Wenoticed openings or drains which had been cut in the wall by theoriginal builders in order to prevent the accumulation of moisture onthe terraced floor of the enclosed area, which is several feet abovethat of the sloping field outside. Similar conduits may be seen inmany of the old walls in the city of Cuzco. Apparently, the ancientfolk fully appreciated the importance of good drainage and took painsto secure it. At present Pucará is occupied by llama herdsmen anddrovers, who find the enclosure a very convenient corral. ProbablyPucará was built by the chief of a tribe of prehistoric herdsmen whoraised root crops and kept their flocks of llamas and alpacas on theneighboring grassy slopes. 

A short distance up the stream of the Lkalla Chaca, above Pucará, isa warm mineral spring. Around it is a fountain of cut stone. Near byare the ruins of a beautiful terrace, on top of which is a fine wallcontaining four large, ceremonial niches, level with the ground andabout six feet high. The place is now called Tampu Machai. Polo deOndegardo, who lived in Cuzco in 1560, while many of the royal familyof the Incas were still alive, gives a list of the sacred or holyplaces which were venerated by all the Indians in those days. Amongthese he mentions that of Timpucpuquio, the "hot springs" near TamboMachai, "called so from the manner in which the water boils up. " Thenext huaca, or holy place, he mentions is Tambo Machai itself, "a house of the Inca Yupanqui, where he was entertained when hewent to be married. It was placed on a hill near the road over theAndes. They sacrifice everything here except children. "

The stonework of the ruins here is so excellent in character, theashlars being very carefully fitted together, one may fairly assumea religious origin for the place. The Quichua word macchini means"to wash" or "to rinse a large narrow-mouthed pitcher. " It may bethat at Tampu Machai ceremonial purification of utensils devoted toroyal or priestly uses was carried on. It is possible that this isthe place where, according to Molina, all the youths of Cuzco who hadbeen armed as knights in the great November festival came on the 21stday of the month to bathe and change their clothes. Afterwards theyreturned to the city to be lectured by their relatives. "Each relationthat offered a sacrifice flogged a youth and delivered a discourse tohim, exhorting him to be valiant and never to be a traitor to the Sunand the Inca, but to imitate the bravery and prowess of his ancestors. "

Tampu Machai is located on a little bluff above the Lkalla Chaca, a small stream which finally joins the Huatanay near the town of SanSebastian. Before it reaches the Huatanay, the Lkalla Chaca joins theCachimayo, famous as being so highly impregnated with salt as to havecaused the rise of extensive salt works. In fact, the Pizarros namedthe place Las Salinas, or "the Salt Pits, " on account of the saltpans with which, by a careful system of terracing, the natives hadfilled the Cachimayo Valley. Prescott describes the great battle whichtook place here on April 26, 1539, between the forces of Pizarro andAlmagro, the two leaders who had united for the original conquest ofPeru, but quarreled over the division of the territory. Near the saltpans are many Inca walls and the ruins of structures, with niches, called Rumihuasi, or "Stone House. " The presence of salt in many ofthe springs of the Huatanay Valley was a great source of annoyanceto our topographic engineers, who were frequently obliged to camp indistricts where the only water available was so saline as to spoilit for drinking purposes and ruin the tea. 

The Cuzco Basin was undoubtedly once the site of a lake, "an ancientwater-body whose surface, " says Professor Gregory, "lay well abovethe present site of San Sebastian and San Geronimo. " This lake isbelieved to have reached its maximum expansion in early Pleistocenetimes. Its rich silts, so well adapted for raising maize, habas beans, and quinoa, have always attracted farmers and are still intensivelycultivated. It has been named "Lake Morkill" in honor of that loyalfriend of scientific research in Peru, William L. Morkill, Esq. , without whose untiring aid we could never have brought our Peruvianexplorations as far along as we did. In pre-glacial times Lake Morkillfluctuated in volume. From time to time parts of the shore wereexposed long enough to enable plants to send their roots into the finematerials and the sun to bake and crack the muds. Mastodons grazedon its banks. "Lake Morkill probably existed during all or nearlyall of the glacial epoch. " Its drainage was finally accomplishedby the Huatanay cutting down the sandstone hills, near Saylla, anddeveloping the Angostura gorge. 

In the banks of the Huatanay, a short distance below the city ofCuzco, the stratified beds of the vanished Lake Morkill to-daycontain many fossil shells. Above these are gravels brought down bythe floods and landslides of more modern times, in which may be foundpotsherds and bones. One of the chief affluents of the Huatanay is theChunchullumayo, which cuts off the southernmost third of Cuzco fromthe center of the city. Its banks are terraced and are still used forgardens and food crops. Here the hospitable Canadian missionaries havetheir pleasant station, a veritable oasis of Anglo-Saxon cleanliness. 

On a July morning in 1911, while strolling up the Ayahuaycco quebrada, an affluent of the Chunchullumayo, in company with Professor Footeand Surgeon Erving, my interest was aroused by the sight of severalbones and potsherds exposed by recent erosion in the stratified gravelbanks of the little gulch. Further examination showed that recenterosion had also cut through an ancient ash heap. On the side towardCuzco I discovered a section of stone wall, built of roughly finishedstones more or less carefully fitted together, which at first sightappeared to have been built to prevent further washing away of thatside of the gulch. Yet above the wall and flush with its surfacethe bank appeared to consist of stratified gravel, indicating thatthe wall antedated the gravel deposits. Fifty feet farther up thequebrada another portion of wall appeared under the gravel bank. Ontop of the bank was a cultivated field! Half an hour's digging inthe compact gravel showed that there was more wall underneath thefield. Later investigation by Dr. Bowman showed that the wall wasabout three feet thick and nine feet in height, carefully faced onboth sides with roughly cut stone and filled in with rubble, a typeof stonework not uncommon in the foundations of some of the olderbuildings in the western part of the city of Cuzco. 

------FIGURE

Huatanay Vallye, Cuzco, and the Ayahuaycco Quebrada------

Even at first sight it was obvious that this wall, built by man, was completely covered to a depth of six or eight feet by a compactwater-laid gravel bank. This was sufficiently difficult to understand, yet a few days later, while endeavoring to solve the puzzle, I found something even more exciting. Half a mile farther up thegulch, the road, newly cut, ran close to the compact, perpendiculargravel bank. About five feet above the road I saw what looked likeone of the small rocks which are freely interspersed throughout thegravels here. Closer examination showed it to be the end of a humanfemur. Apparently it formed an integral part of the gravel bank, which rose almost perpendicularly for seventy or eighty feet aboveit. Impressed by the possibilities in case it should turn out to betrue that here, in the heart of Inca Land, a human bone had been buriedunder seventy-five feet of gravel, I refrained from disturbing ituntil I could get Dr. Bowman and Professor Foote, the geologist and thenaturalist of the 1911 Expedition, to come with me to the Ayahuayccoquebrada. We excavated the femur and found behind it fragments ofa number of other bones. They were excessively fragile. The femurwas unable to support more than four inches of its own weight andbroke off after the gravel had been partly removed. Although thegravel itself was somewhat damp the bones were dry and powdery, ashy gray in color. The bones were carried to the Hotel Central, where they were carefully photographed, soaked in melted vaseline, packed in cotton batting, and eventually brought to New Haven. Herethey were examined by Dr. George F. Eaton, Curator of Osteology inthe Peabody Museum. In the meantime Dr. Bowman had become convincedthat the compact gravels of Ayahuaycco were of glacial origin. 

When Dr. Eaton first examined the bone fragments he was surprisedto find among them the bone of a horse. Unfortunately a carefulexamination of the photographs taken in Cuzco of all the fragmentswhich were excavated by us on July 11th failed to reveal thisparticular bone. Dr. Bowman, upon being questioned, said that he haddug out one or two more bones in the cliff adjoining our excavationof July 11th and had added these to the original lot. Presumablythis horse bone was one which he had added when the bones werepacked. It did not worry him, however, and so sure was he of hisinterpretation of the gravel beds that he declared he did not careif we had found the bone of a Percheron stallion, he was sure thatthe age of the vertebrate remains might be "provisionally estimatedat 20, 000 to 40, 000 years, " until further studies could be made ofthe geology of the surrounding territory. In an article on the buriedwall, Dr. Bowman came to the conclusion that "the wall is pre-Inca, that its relations to alluvial deposits which cover it indicate itserection before the alluvial slope in which it lies buried was formed, and that it represents the earliest type of architecture at presentknown in the Cuzco basin. "

Dr. Eaton's study of the bones brought out the fact that eightof them were fragments of human bones representing at least threeindividuals, four were fragments of llama bones, one of the boneof a dog, and three were "bovine remains. " The human remains agreed"in all essential respects" with the bones of modern Quichuas. Llamaand dog might all have belonged to Inca, or even more recent times, but the bovine remains presented considerable difficulty. The threefragments were from bones which "are among the least characteristicparts of the skeleton. " That which was of greatest interest was thefragment of a first rib, resembling the first rib of the extinctbison. Since this fragmentary bovine rib was of a form apparentlycharacteristic of bisons and not seen in the domestic cattle of theUnited States, Dr. Eaton felt that it could not be denied "thatthe material examined suggests the possibility that some speciesof bison is here represented, yet it would hardly be in accordancewith conservative methods to differentiate bison from domestic cattlesolely by characters obtained from a study of the first ribs of a smallnumber of individuals. " Although staunchly supporting his theory ofthe age of the vertebrate remains, Dr. Bowman in his report on theirgeological relations admitted that the weakness of his case lay in thefact that the bovine remains were not sharply differentiated from thebones of modern cattle, and also in the possibility that "the bluffin which the bones were found may be faced by younger gravel and thatthe bones were found in a gravel veneer deposited during later periodsof partial valley filling, . .. Although it still seems very unlikely. "

Reports of glacial man in America have come from places as widelyseparated as California and Argentina. Careful investigation, however, has always thrown doubt on any great age being certainly attributableto any human remains. In view of the fragmentary character of theskeletal evidence, the fact that no proof of great antiquity couldbe drawn from the characters of the human skeletal parts, and thesuggestion made by Dr. Bowman of the possibility that the gravelswhich contained the bones might be of a later origin than he thought, we determined to make further and more complete investigations in1912. It was most desirable to clear up all doubts and dissolve allskepticism. I felt, perhaps mistakenly, that while a further studyof the geology of the Cuzco Basin undoubtedly might lead Dr. Bowmanto reverse his opinion, as was expected by some geologists, ifit should lead him to confirm his original conclusions the sameskeptics would be likely to continue their skepticism and say hewas trying to bolster up his own previous opinions. Accordingly, Ibelieved it preferable to take another geologist, whose independenttestimony would give great weight to those conclusions should hefind them confirmed by an exhaustive geological study of the HuatanayValley. I asked Dr. Bowman's colleague, Professor Gregory, to make thenecessary studies. At his request a very careful map of the HuatanayValley was prepared under the direction of Chief Topographer AlbertH. Bumstead. Dr. Eaton, who had had no opportunity of seeing Peru, was invited to accompany us and make a study of the bones of modernPeruvian cattle as well as of any other skeletal remains which mightbe found. 

Furthermore, it seemed important to me to dig a tunnel into theAyahuaycco hillside at the exact point from which we took the bonesin 1911. So I asked Mr. K. C. Heald, whose engineering training hadbeen in Colorado, to superintend it. Mr. Heald dug a tunnel elevenfeet long, with a cross-section four and a half by three feet, intothe solid mass of gravel. He expected to have to use timbering, butso firmly packed was the gravel that this was not necessary. No bonesor artifacts were found--nothing but coarse gravel, uniform in textureand containing no unmistakable evidences of stratification. Apparentlythe bones had been in a land slip on the edge of an older, compactgravel mass. 

In his studies of the Cuzco Basin Professor Gregory came to theconclusion that the Ayahuaycco gravel banks might have been repeatedlyburied and reëxcavated many times during the past few centuries. Hefound evidence indicating periodic destruction and rebuilding of somegravel terraces, "even within the past one hundred years. " Accordinglythere was no longer any necessity to ascribe great antiquity to thebones or the wall which we found in the Ayahuaycco quebrada. Althoughthe "Cuzco gravels are believed to have reached their greatest extentand thickness in late Pleistocene times, " more recent deposits have, however, been superimposed on top and alongside of them. "Surfacewash from the bordering slopes, controlled in amount and character byclimatic changes, has probably been accumulating continuously sinceglacial times, and has greatly increased since human occupationbegan. " "Geologic data do not require more than a few hundreds ofyears as the age of the human remains found in the Cuzco gravels. "

But how about the "bison"? Soon after his arrival in Cuzco, Dr. Eatonexamined the first ribs of carcasses of beef animals offered for salein the public markets. He immediately became convinced that the "bison"was a Peruvian domestic ox. "Under the life-conditions prevailing inthis part of the Andes, and possibly in correlation with the increasedaction of the respiratory muscles in a rarefied air, domestic cattleoccasionally develop first ribs, closely approaching the form observedin bison. " Such was the sad end of the "bison" and the "Cuzco man, "who at one time I thought might be forty thousand years old, andnow believe to have been two hundred years old, perhaps. The wordAyahuaycco in Quichua means "the valley of dead bodies" or "deadman's gulch. " There is a story that it was used as a burial placefor plague victims in Cuzco, not more than three generations ago!

CHAPTER VIII

The Oldest City in South America

Cuzco, the oldest city in South America, has changed completely sinceSquier's visit. In fact it has altered considerably since my ownfirst impressions of it were published in "Across South America. " Tobe sure, there are still the evidences of antiquity to be seen onevery side; on the other hand there are corresponding evidencesof advancement. Telephones, electric lights, street cars, and the"movies" have come to stay. The streets are cleaner. If the moderntraveler finds fault with some of the conditions he encounters hemust remember that many of the achievements of the people of ancientCuzco are not yet duplicated in his own country nor have they everbeen equaled in any other part of the world. And modern Cuzco issteadily progressing. The great square in front of the cathedral wascompletely metamorphosed by Prefect Nuñez in 1911; concrete walksand beds of bright flowers have replaced the market and the oldcobblestone paving and made the plaza a favorite promenade of thecitizens on pleasant evenings. 

The principal market-place now is the Plaza of San Francisco. It iscrowded with booths of every description. Nearly all of the food-stuffsand utensils used by the Indians may be bought here. Frequentlythronged with Indians, buying and selling, arguing and jabbering, it affords, particularly in the early morning, a never-ending sourceof entertainment to one who is fond of the picturesque and interestedin strange manners and customs. 

The retail merchants of Cuzco follow the very old custom ofcongregating by classes. In one street are the dealers in hats; inanother those who sell coca. The dressmakers and tailors are nearlyall in one long arcade in a score or more of dark little shops. Theirlight seems to come entirely from the front door. The occupants areoperators of American sewing-machines who not only make clothing toorder, but always have on hand a large assortment of standard sizes andpatterns. In another arcade are the shops of those who specialize ineverything which appeals to the eye and the pocketbook of the arriero:richly decorated halters, which are intended to avert the Evil Eyefrom his best mules; leather knapsacks in which to carry his coca orother valuable articles; cloth cinches and leather bridles; rawhidelassos, with which he is more likely to make a diamond hitch thanto rope a mule; flutes to while away the weary hours of his journey, and candles to be burned before his patron saint as he starts for somedistant village; in a word, all the paraphernalia of his profession. 

------FIGURE

Map of Peru and view of Cuzco

From the "Speculum Orbis Terrarum, " Antwerp, 1578. ------

In order to learn more about the picturesque Quichuas who throng thestreets of Cuzco it was felt to be important to secure anthropometricmeasurements of a hundred Indians. Accordingly, Surgeon Nelson set upa laboratory in the Hotel Central. His subjects were the unwillingvictims of friendly gendarmes who went out into the streets withorders to bring for examination only pure-blooded Quichuas. Mostof the Indians showed no resentment and were in the end pleased andsurprised to find themselves the recipients of a small silver coinas compensation for loss of time. 

One might have supposed that a large proportion of Dr. Nelson'ssubjects would have claimed Cuzco as their native place, but this wasnot the case. Actually fewer Indians came from the city itself thanfrom relatively small towns like Anta, Huaracondo, and Maras. Thismay have been due to a number of causes. In the first place, the gendarmes may have preferred to arrest strangers from distantvillages, who would submit more willingly. Secondly, the city folkwere presumably more likely to be in their shops attending to theirbusiness or watching their wares in the plaza, an occupation which thegendarmes could not interrupt. On the other hand it is also probablytrue that the residents of Cuzco are of more mixed descent than thoseof remote villages, where even to-day one cannot find more than twoor three individuals who speak Spanish. Furthermore, the attentionof the gendarmes might have been drawn more easily to the quaintlycaparisoned Indians temporarily in from the country, where cityfashions do not prevail, than to those who through long residencein the city had learned to adopt a costume more in accordance withEuropean notions. In 1870, according to Squier, seven eighths ofthe population of Cuzco were still pure Indian. Even to-day a largeproportion of the individuals whom one sees in the streets appearsto be of pure aboriginal ancestry. Of these we found that many arevisitors from outlying villages. Cuzco is the Mecca of the mostdensely populated part of the Andes. 

Probably a large part of its citizens are of mixed Spanish and Quichuaancestry. The Spanish conquistadores did not bring European womenwith them. Nearly all took native wives. The Spanish race is composedof such an extraordinary mixture of peoples from Europe and northernAfrica, Celts, Iberians, Romans, and Goths, as well as Carthaginians, Berbers, and Moors, that the Hispanic peoples have far less antipathytoward intermarriage with the American race than have the Anglo-Saxonsand Teutons of northern Europe. Consequently, there has gone on forcenturies intermarriage of Spaniards and Indians with results whichare difficult to determine. Some writers have said there were once200, 000 people in Cuzco. With primitive methods of transportationit would be very difficult to feed so many. Furthermore, in 1559, there were, according to Montesinos, only 20, 000 Indians in Cuzco. 

One of the charms of Cuzco is the juxtaposition of old and new. Streetcars clanging over steel rails carry crowds of well-dressed Cuzceñospast Inca walls to greet their friends at the railroad station. Thedriver is scarcely able by the most vigorous application of hisbrakes to prevent his mules from crashing into a compact herd ofquiet, supercilious llamas sedately engaged in bringing small sacks ofpotatoes to the Cuzco market. The modern convent of La Merced is builtof stones taken from ancient Inca structures. Fastened to ashlars whichleft the Inca stonemason's hands six or seven centuries ago, one sees abill-board advertising Cuzco's largest moving-picture theater. On the2d of July, 1915, the performance was for the benefit of the BelgianRed Cross! Gazing in awe at this sign were Indian boys from some remoteAndean village where the custom is to wear ponchos with broad fringes, brightly colored, and knitted caps richly decorated with tasseledtops and elaborate ear-tabs, a costume whose design shows no traceof European influence. Side by side with these picturesque visitorswas a barefooted Cuzco urchin clad in a striped jersey, cloth cap, coat, and pants of English pattern. 

One sees electric light wires fastened to the walls of housesbuilt four hundred years ago by the Spanish conquerors, walls whichthemselves rest on massive stone foundations laid by Inca masonscenturies before the conquest. In one place telephone wires interceptone's view of the beautiful stone facade of an old Jesuit Church, nowpart of the University of Cuzco. It is built of reddish basalt fromthe quarries of Huaccoto, near the twin peaks of Mt. Picol. ProfessorGregory says that this Huaccoto basalt has a softness and uniformityof texture which renders it peculiarly suitable for that elaboratelycarved stonework which was so greatly desired by ecclesiasticalarchitects of the sixteenth century. As compared with the densediorite which was extensively used by the Incas, the basalt weathersfar more rapidly. The rich red color of the weathered portions givesto the Jesuit Church an atmosphere of extreme age. The courtyard ofthe University, whose arcades echoed to the feet of learned Jesuitteachers long before Yale was founded, has recently been paved withconcrete, transformed into a tennis court, and now echoes to theshouts of students to whom Dr. Giesecke, the successful president, isteaching the truth of the ancient axiom, "Mens sana in corpore sano. "

Modern Cuzco is a city of about 20, 000 people. Although it is thepolitical capital of the most important department in southern Peru, it had in 1911 only one hospital--a semi-public, non-sectarianorganization on the west of the city, next door to the largestcemetery. In fact, so far away is it from everything else andso close to the cemetery that the funeral wreaths and the moreprominent monuments are almost the only interesting things which thepatients have to look at. The building has large courtyards and opencolonnades, which would afford ideal conditions for patients able totake advantage of open-air treatment. At the time of Surgeon Erving'svisit he found the patients were all kept in wards whose windowswere small and practically always closed and shuttered, so that theatmosphere was close and the light insufficient. One could hardlyimagine a stronger contrast than exists between such wards and thoseto which we are accustomed in the United States, where the maximumof sunlight and fresh air is sought and patients are encouraged tosit out-of-doors, and even have their cots on porches. There wasno resident physician. The utmost care was taken throughout thehospital to have everything as dark as possible, thus conforming tothe ancient mountain traditions regarding the evil effects of sunlightand fresh air. Needless to say, the hospital has a high mortalityand a very poor local reputation; yet it is the only hospital in theDepartment. Outside of Cuzco, in all the towns we visited, there wasno provision for caring for the sick except in their own homes. Inthe larger places there are shops where some of the more common drugsmay be obtained, but in the great majority of towns and villagesno modern medicines can be purchased. No wonder President Giesecke, of the University, is urging his students to play football and tennis. 

------FIGURE

Towers of Jesuit Church With Cloisters and Tennis Court of University, Cuzco------

On the slopes of the hill which overshadows the University are theinteresting terraces of Colcampata. Here, in 1571, lived Carlos Inca, a cousin of Inca Titu Cusi, one of the native rulers who succeededin maintaining a precarious existence in the wilds of the CordilleraUilcapampa after the Spanish Conquest. In the gardens of Colcampatais still preserved one of the most exquisite bits of Inca stonework tobe seen in Peru. One wonders whether it is all that is left of a finepalace, or whether it represents the last efforts of a dying dynastyto erect a suitable residence for Titu Cusi's cousin. It is carefullypreserved by Don Cesare Lomellini, the leading business man of Cuzco, amerchant prince of Italian origin, who is at once a banker, an exporterof hides and other country produce, and an importer of merchandise ofevery description, including pencils and sugar mills, lumber and hats, candy and hardware. He is also an amateur of Spanish colonial furnitureas well as of the beautiful pottery of the Incas. Furthermore, hehas always found time to turn aside from the pressing cares of hislarge business to assist our expeditions. He has frequently broughtus in touch with the owners of country estates, or given us lettersof introduction, so that our paths were made easy. He has provided uswith storerooms for our equipment, assisted us in procuring trustworthymuleteers, seen to it that we were not swindled in local purchasesof mules and pack saddles, given us invaluable advice in overcomingdifficulties, and, in a word, placed himself wholly at our disposal, just as though we were his most desirable and best-paying clients. Asa matter of fact, he never was willing to receive any compensationfor the many favors he showed us. So important a factor was he inthe success of our expeditions that he deserves to be gratefullyremembered by all friends of exploration. 

Above his country house at Colcampata is the hill of Sacsahuaman. Itis possible to scramble up its face, but only by making more exertionthan is desirable at this altitude, 11, 900 feet. The easiest way toreach the famous "fortress" is by following the course of the littleTullumayu, "Feeble Stream, " the easternmost of the three canalizedstreams which divide Cuzco into four parts. On its banks one firstpasses a tannery and then, a short distance up a steep gorge, theremains of an old mill. The stone flume and the adjoining ruinsare commonly ascribed by the people of Cuzco to-day to the Incas, but do not look to me like Inca stonework. Since the Incas did notunderstand the mechanical principle of the wheel, it is hardly likelythat they would have known how to make any use of water power. Finally, careful examination of the flume discloses the presence of lead cement, a substance unknown in Inca masonry. 

A little farther up the stream one passes through a massivemegalithic gateway and finds one's self in the presence of theastounding gray-blue Cyclopean walls of Sacsahuaman, described in"Across South America. " Here the ancient builders constructed threegreat terraces, which extend one above another for a third of a mileacross the hill between two deep gulches. The lowest terrace of the"fortress" is faced with colossal boulders, many of which weigh tentons and some weigh more than twenty tons, yet all are fitted togetherwith the utmost precision. I have visited Sacsahuaman repeatedly. Eachtime it invariably overwhelms and astounds. To a superstitious Indianwho sees these walls for the first time, they must seem to have beenbuilt by gods. 

About a mile northeast of Sacsahuaman are several small artificialhills, partly covered with vegetation, which seem to be composedentirely of gray-blue rock chips--chips from the great limestone blocksquarried here for the "fortress" and later conveyed with the utmostpains down to Sacsahuaman. They represent the labor of countlessthousands of quarrymen. Even in modern times, with steam drills, explosives, steel tools, and light railways, these hills wouldbe noteworthy, but when one pauses to consider that none of thesemechanical devices were known to the ancient stonemasons and thatthese mountains of stone chips were made with stone tools and were allcarried from the quarries by hand, it fairly staggers the imagination. 

The ruins of Sacsahuaman represent not only an incredible amount ofhuman labor, but also a very remarkable governmental organization. Thatthousands of people could have been spared from agriculturalpursuits for so long a time as was necessary to extract the blocksfrom the quarries, hew them to the required shapes, transport themseveral miles over rough country, and bond them together in such anintricate manner, means that the leaders had the brains and abilityto organize and arrange the affairs of a very large population. Sucha folk could hardly have spent much time in drilling or preparing forwarfare. Their building operations required infinite pains, endlesstime, and devoted skill. Such qualities could hardly have been calledforth, even by powerful monarchs, had not the results been pleasingto the great majority of their people, people who were primarilyagriculturists. They had learned to avert hunger and famine by relyingon carefully built, stone-faced terraces, which would prevent theirfields being carried off and spread over the plains of the Amazon. Itseems to me possible that Sacsahuaman was built in accordance withtheir desires to please their gods. Is it not reasonable to supposethat a people to whom stone-faced terraces meant so much in the wayof life-giving food should have sometimes built massive terraces ofCyclopean character, like Sacsahuaman, as an offering to the deitywho first taught them terrace construction? This seems to me a morelikely object for the gigantic labor involved in the constructionof Sacsahuaman than its possible usefulness as a fortress. Equallystrong defenses against an enemy attempting to attack the hilltopback of Cuzco might have been constructed of smaller stones in aninfinitely shorter time, with far less labor and pains. 

Such a display of the power to control the labor of thousands ofindividuals and force them to superhuman efforts on an unproductiveundertaking, which in its agricultural or strategic results was outof all proportion to the obvious cost, might have been caused by thesupreme vanity of a great soldier. On the other hand, the ancientPeruvians were religious rather than warlike, more inclined to worshipthe sun than to fight great battles. Was Sacsahuaman due to the desireto please, at whatever cost, the god that fructified the crops whichgrew on terraces? It is not surprising that the Spanish conquerors, warriors themselves and descendants of twenty generations of a fightingrace, accustomed as they were to the salients of European fortresses, should have looked upon Sacsahuaman as a fortress. To them the militaryuse of its bastions was perfectly obvious. The value of its salientsand reëntrant angles was not likely to be overlooked, for it hadbeen only recently acquired by their crusading ancestors. The heightand strength of its powerful walls enabled it to be of the greatestservice to the soldiers of that day. They saw that it was virtuallyimpregnable for any artillery with which they were familiar. In fact, in the wars of the Incas and those which followed Pizarro's entryinto Cuzco, Sacsahuaman was repeatedly used as a fortress. 

So it probably never occurred to the Spaniards that the Peruvians, who knew nothing of explosive powder or the use of artillery, didnot construct Sacsahuaman in order to withstand such a siege as thefortresses of Europe were only too familiar with. So natural did itseem to the first Europeans who saw it to regard it as a fortressthat it has seldom been thought of in any other way. The fact thatthe sacred city of Cuzco was more likely to be attacked by invaderscoming up the valley, or even over the gentle slopes from the west, or through the pass from the north which for centuries has beenused as part of the main highway of the central Andes, never seemsto have troubled writers who regarded Sacsahuaman essentially as afortress. It may be that Sacsahuaman was once used as a place wherethe votaries of the sun gathered at the end of the rainy season tocelebrate the vernal equinox, and at the summer solstice to pray forthe sun's return from his "farthest north. " In any case I believethat the enormous cost of its construction shows that it was probablyintended for religious rather than military purposes. It is morelikely to have been an ancient shrine than a mighty fortress. 

It now becomes necessary, in order to explain my explorations northof Cuzco, to ask the reader's attention to a brief account of thelast four Incas who ruled over any part of Peru. 

CHAPTER IX

The Last Four Incas

Readers of Prescott's charming classic, "The Conquest of Peru, "will remember that Pizarro, after killing Atahualpa, the Inca whohad tried in vain to avoid his fate by filling a room with vesselsof gold, decided to establish a native prince on the throne of theIncas to rule in accordance with the dictates of Spain. The youngprince, Manco, a son of the great Inca Huayna Capac, named for thefirst Inca, Manco Ccapac, the founder of the dynasty, was selectedas the most acceptable figurehead. He was a young man of abilityand spirit. His induction into office in 1534 with appropriateceremonies, the barbaric splendor of which only made the farce themore pitiful, did little to gratify his natural ambition. As mighthave been foreseen, he chafed under restraint, escaped as soon aspossible from his attentive guardians, and raised an army of faithfulQuichuas. There followed the siege of Cuzco, briefly characterizedby Don Alonzo Enriques de Guzman, who took part in it, as "the mostfearful and cruel war in the world. " When in 1536 Cuzco was relievedby Pizarro's comrade, Almagro, and Manco's last chance of regainingthe ancient capital of his ancestors failed, the Inca retreated toOllantaytambo. Here, on the banks of the river Urubamba, Manco made adetermined stand, but Ollantaytambo was too easily reached by Pizarro'smounted cavaliers. The Inca's followers, although aroused to theirutmost endeavors by the presence of the magnificent stone edifices, fortresses, granaries, palaces, and hanging gardens of their ancestors, found it necessary to retreat. They fled in a northerly direction andmade good their escape over snowy passes to Uiticos in the fastnessesof Uilcapampa, a veritable American Switzerland. 

------FIGURE

Glaciers Between Cuzco and Uiticos------

The Spaniards who attempted to follow Manco found his positionpractically impregnable. The citadel of Uilcapampa, a giganticnatural fortress defended by Nature in one of her profoundest moods, was only to be reached by fording dangerous torrents, or crossingthe mountains by narrow defiles which themselves are higher thanthe most lofty peaks of Europe. It was hazardous for Hannibal andNapoleon to bring their armies through the comparatively low passesof the Alps. Pizarro found it impossible to follow the Inca Mancoover the Pass of Panticalla, itself a snowy wilderness higher thanthe summit of Mont Blanc. In no part of the Peruvian Andes are thereso many beautiful snowy peaks. Near by is the sharp, icy pinnacleof Mt. Veronica (elevation 19, 342 ft. ). Not far away is anothermagnificent snow-capped peak, Mt. Salcantay, 20, 565 feet above thesea. Near Salcantay is the sharp needle of Mt. Soray (19, 435 ft. ), while to the west of it are Panta (18, 590 ft. ) and Soiroccocha (18, 197ft. ). On the shoulders of these mountains are unnamed glaciers andlittle valleys that have scarcely ever been seen except by some hardyprospector or inquisitive explorer. These valleys are to be reachedonly through passes where the traveler is likely to be waylaid byviolent storms of hail and snow. During the rainy season a large partof Uilcapampa is absolutely impenetrable. Even in the dry season thedifficulties of transportation are very great. The most sure-footedmule is sometimes unable to use the trails without assistance fromman. It was an ideal place for the Inca Manco. 

The conquistador, Cieza de Leon, who wrote in 1550 a graphic accountof the wars of Peru, says that Manco took with him a "great quantityof treasure, collected from various parts . .. And many loads ofrich clothing of wool, delicate in texture and very beautifuland showy. " The Spaniards were absolutely unable to conceive ofthe ruler of a country traveling without rich "treasure. " It isextremely doubtful whether Manco burdened himself with much gold orsilver. Except for ornament there was little use to which he couldhave put the precious metals and they would have served only toarouse the cupidity of his enemies. His people had never been paidin gold or silver. Their labor was his due, and only such part of itas was needed to raise their own crops and make their own clothingwas allotted to them; in fact, their lives were in his hands and thecustom and usage of centuries made them faithful followers of theirgreat chief. That Manco, however, actually did carry off with himbeautiful textiles, and anything else which was useful, may be takenfor granted. In Uiticos, safe from the armed forces of his enemies, the Inca was also able to enjoy the benefits of a delightful climate, and was in a well-watered region where corn, potatoes, both whiteand sweet, and the fruits of the temperate and sub-tropical regionseasily grow. Using this as a base, he was accustomed to sally forthagainst the Spaniards frequently and in unexpected directions. Hisraids were usually successful. It was relatively easy for him, witha handful of followers, to dash out of the mountain fastnesses, cross the Apurimac River either by swimming or on primitive rafts, and reach the great road between Cuzco and Lima, the principal highwayof Peru. Officials and merchants whose business led them over thisroute found it extremely precarious. Manco cheered his followers bymaking them realize that in these raids they were taking sweet revengeon the Spaniards for what they had done to Peru. It is interestingto note that Cieza de Leon justifies Manco in his attitude, for theSpaniards had indeed "seized his inheritance, forcing him to leavehis native land, and to live in banishment. "

Manco's success in securing such a place of refuge, and in usingit as a base from which he could frequently annoy his enemies, ledmany of the Orejones of Cuzco to follow him. The Inca chiefs werecalled Orejones, "big ears, " by the Spaniards because the lobes oftheir ears had been enlarged artificially to receive the great goldearrings which they were fond of wearing. Three years after Manco'sretirement to the wilds of Uilcapampa there was born in Cuzco in theyear 1539, Garcilasso Inca de la Vega, the son of an Inca princessand one of the conquistadores. As a small child Garcilasso heardof the activities of his royal relative. He left Peru as a boy andspent the rest of his life in Spain. After forty years in Europehe wrote, partly from memory, his "Royal Commentaries, " an accountof the country of his Indian ancestors. Of the Inca Manco, of whomhe must frequently have heard uncomplimentary reports as a child, he speaks apologetically. He says: "In the time of Manco Inca, several robberies were committed on the road by his subjects; butstill they had that respect for the Spanish Merchants that they letthem go free and never pillaged them of their wares and merchandise, which were in no manner useful to them; howsoever they robbed theIndians of their cattle [llamas and alpacas], bred in the countrey. .. . The Inca lived in the Mountains, which afforded no tame Cattel;and only produced Tigers and Lions and Serpents of twenty-five andthirty feet long, with other venomous insects. " (I am quoting from SirPaul Rycaut's translation, published in London in 1688. ) Garcilassosays Manco's soldiers took only "such food as they found in the handsof the Indians; which the Inca did usually call his own, " saying, "That he who was Master of that whole Empire might lawfully challengesuch a proportion thereof as was convenient to supply his necessaryand natural support"--a reasonable apology; and yet personally I doubtwhether Manco spared the Spanish merchants and failed to pillage themof their "wares and merchandise. " As will be seen later, we foundin Manco's palace some metal articles of European origin which mightvery well have been taken by Manco's raiders. Furthermore, it shouldbe remembered that Garcilasso, although often quoted by Prescott, left Peru when he was sixteen years old and that his ideas werelargely colored by his long life in Spain and his natural desire toextol the virtues of his mother's people, a brown race despised bythe white Europeans for whom he wrote. 

The methods of warfare and the weapons used by Manco and his followersat this time are thus described by Guzman. He says the Indians had nodefensive arms such as helmets, shields, and armor, but used "lances, arrows, dubs, axes, halberds, darts, and slings, and another weaponwhich they call ayllas (the bolas), consisting of three round stonessewn up in leather, and each fastened to a cord a cubit long. Theythrow these at the horses, and thus bind their legs together; andsometimes they will fasten a man's arms to his sides in the sameway. These Indians are so expert in the use of this weapon that theywill bring down a deer with it in the chase. Their principal weapon, however, is the sling . .. . With it, they will hurl a huge stone withsuch force that it will kill a horse; in truth, the effect is littleless great than that of an arquebus; and I have seen a stone, thushurled from a sling, break a sword in two pieces which was held ina man's hand at a distance of thirty paces. "

Manco's raids finally became so annoying that Pizarro sent a smallforce from Cuzco under Captain Villadiego to attack the Inca. CaptainVilladiego found it impossible to use horses, although he realizedthat cavalry was the "important arm against these Indians. " Confidentin his strength and in the efficacy of his firearms, and anxiousto enjoy the spoils of a successful raid against a chief reportedto be traveling surrounded by his family "and with rich treasure, "he pressed eagerly on, up through a lofty valley toward a defile inthe mountains, probably the Pass of Panticalla. Here, fatigued andexhausted by their difficult march and suffering from the effectsof the altitude (16, 000 ft. ), his men found themselves ambushed bythe Inca, who with a small party, "little more than eighty Indians, ""attacked the Christians, who numbered twenty-eight or thirty, andkilled Captain Villadiego and all his men except two or three. " To anyone who has clambered over the passes of the Cordillera Uilcapampait is not surprising that this military expedition was a failure orthat the Inca, warned by keen-sighted Indians posted on appropriatevantage points, could have succeeded in defeating a small force ofweary soldiers armed with the heavy blunderbuss of the seventeenthcentury. In a rocky pass, protected by huge boulders, and surroundedby quantities of natural ammunition for their slings, it must havebeen relatively simple for eighty Quichuas, who could "hurl a hugestone with such force that it would kill a horse, " to have literallystoned to death Captain Villadiego's little company before they couldhave prepared their clumsy weapons for firing. 

------FIGURE

The Urubamba Canyon

A reason for the safety of the Incas in Uilcapampa. ------

The fugitives returned to Cuzco and reported their misfortune. Theimportance of the reverse will be better appreciated if one remembersthat the size of the force with which Pizarro conquered Peru was lessthan two hundred, only a few times larger than Captain Villadiego'scompany which had been wiped out by Manco. Its significance isfurther increased by the fact that the contemporary Spanish writers, with all their tendency to exaggerate, placed Manco's force at only"a little more than eighty Indians. " Probably there were not eventhat many. The wonder is that the Inca's army was not reported asbeing several thousand. 

Francisco Pizarro himself now hastily set out with a body of soldiersdetermined to punish this young Inca who had inflicted such a blow onthe prestige of Spanish arms, "but this attempt also failed, " for theInca had withdrawn across the rivers and mountains of Uilcapampa toUiticos, where, according to Cieza de Leon, he cheered his followerswith the sight of the heads of his enemies. Unfortunately for accuracy, the custom of displaying on the ends of pikes the heads of one'senemies was European and not Peruvian. To be sure, the savage Indiansof some of the Amazonian jungles do sometimes decapitate their enemies, remove the bones of the skull, dry the shrunken scalp and face, and wear the trophy as a mark of prowess just as the North AmericanIndians did the scalps of their enemies. Such customs had no placeamong the peace-loving Inca agriculturists of central Peru. There wereno Spaniards living with Manco at that time to report any such outrageon the bodies of Captain Villadiego's unfortunate men. Probably theconquistadores supposed that Manco did what the Spaniards would havedone under similar circumstances. 

Following the failure of Francisco Pizarro to penetrate to Uiticos, his brother, Gonzalo, "undertook the pursuit of the Inca and occupiedsome of his passes and bridges, " but was unsuccessful in penetratingthe mountain labyrinth. Being less foolhardy than Captain Villadiego, he did not come into actual conflict with Manco. Unable to subduethe young Inca or prevent his raids on travelers from Cuzco to Lima, Francisco Pizarro, "with the assent of the royal officers who werewith him, " established the city of Ayacucho at a convenient pointon the road, so as to make it secure for travelers. Nevertheless, according to Montesinos, Manco caused the good people of Ayacucho quitea little trouble. Finally, Francisco Pizarro, "having taken one ofManco's wives prisoner with other Indians, stripped and flogged her, and then shot her to death with arrows. "

Accounts of what happened in Uiticos under the rule of Manco arenot very satisfactory. Father Calancha, who published in 1639 his"Coronica Moralizada, " or "pious account of the missionary activitiesof the Augustinians" in Peru, says that the Inca Manco was obeyedby all the Indians who lived in a region extending "for two hundredleagues and more toward the east and toward the south, where therewere innumerable Indians in various provinces. " With customary monasticzeal and proper religious fervor, Father Calancha accuses the Inca ofcompelling the baptized Indians who fled to him from the Spaniards toabandon their new faith, torturing those who would no longer worshipthe old Inca "idols. " This story need not be taken too literally, although undoubtedly the escaped Indians acted as though they hadnever been baptized. 

Besides Indians fleeing from harsh masters, there came to Uilcapampa, in 1542, Gomez Perez, Diego Mendez, and half a dozen other Spanishfugitives, adherents of Almagro, "rascals, " says Calancha, "worthyof Manco's favor. " Obliged by the civil wars of the conquistadoresto flee from the Pizarros, they were glad enough to find a welcomein Uiticos. To while away the time they played games and taughtthe Inca checkers and chess, as well as bowling-on-the-green andquoits. Montesinos says they also taught him to ride horsebackand shoot an arquebus. They took their games very seriously andoccasionally violent disputes arose, one of which, as we shall see, was to have fatal consequences. They were kept informed by Manco ofwhat was going on in the viceroyalty. Although "encompassed withincraggy and lofty mountains, " the Inca was thoroughly cognizant ofall those "revolutions" which might be of benefit to him. 

Perhaps the most exciting news that reached Uiticos in 1544 was inregard to the arrival of the first Spanish viceroy. He brought theNew Laws, a result of the efforts of the good Bishop Las Casas toalleviate the sufferings of the Indians. The New Laws provided, amongother things, that all the officers of the crown were to renouncetheir repartimientos or holdings of Indian serfs, and that compulsorypersonal service was to be entirely abolished. Repartimientos givento the conquerors were not to pass to their heirs, but were to revertto the king. In other words, the New Laws gave evidence that theSpanish crown wished to be kind to the Indians and did not approveof the Pizarros. This was good news for Manco and highly pleasingto the refugees. They persuaded the Inca to write a letter to thenew viceroy, asking permission to appear before him and offer hisservices to the king. The Spanish refugees told the Inca that bythis means he might some day recover his empire, "or at least thebest part of it. " Their object in persuading the Inca to send sucha message to the viceroy becomes apparent when we learn that they"also wrote as from themselves desiring a pardon for what was past"and permission to return to Spanish dominions. 

Gomez Perez, who seems to have been the active leader of the littlegroup, was selected to be the bearer of the letters from the Inca andthe refugees. Attended by a dozen Indians whom the Inca instructedto act as his servants and bodyguard, he left Uilcapampa, presentedhis letters to the viceroy, and gave him "a large relation of theState and Condition of the Inca, and of his true and real designsto doe him service. " "The Vice-king joyfully received the news, and granted a full and ample pardon of all crimes, as desired. Andas to the Inca, he made many kind expressions of love and respect, truly considering that the Interest of the Inca might be advantageousto him, both in War and Peace. And with this satisfactory answerGomez Perez returned both to the Inca and to his companions. " Therefugees were delighted with the news and got ready to return to kingand country. Their departure from Uiticos was prevented by a tragicaccident, thus described by Garcilasso. 

"The Inca, to humour the Spaniards and entertain himself with them, had given directions for making a bowling-green; where playing one daywith Gomez Perez, he came to have some quarrel and difference with thisPerez about the measure of a Cast, which often happened between them;for this Perez, being a person of a hot and fiery brain, without anyjudgment or understanding, would take the least occasion in the worldto contend with and provoke the Inca . .. . Being no longer able toendure his rudeness, the Inca punched him on the breast, and bid himto consider with whom he talked. Perez, not considering in his heatand passion either his own safety or the safety of his Companions, lifted up his hand, and with the bowl struck the Inca so violently onthe head, that he knocked him down. [He died three days later. ] TheIndians hereupon, being enraged by the death of their Prince, joinedtogether against Gomez and the Spaniards, who fled into a house, and with their Swords in their hands defended the door; the Indiansset fire to the house, which being too hot for them, they sallied outinto the Marketplace, where the Indians assaulted them and shot themwith their Arrows until they had killed every man of them; and thenafterwards, out of mere rage and fury they designed either to eatthem raw as their custome was, or to burn them and cast their ashesinto the river, that no sign or appearance might remain of them; butat length, after some consultation, they agreed to cast their bodiesinto the open fields, to be devoured by vulters and birds of the air, which they supposed to be the highest indignity and dishonour thatthey could show to their Corps. " Garcilasso concludes: "I informedmyself very perfectly from those chiefs and nobles who were presentand eye-witnesses of the unparalleled piece of madness of that rashand hair-brained fool; and heard them tell this story to my motherand parents with tears in their eyes. " There are many versions ofthe tragedy. [4] They all agree that a Spaniard murdered the Inca. 

Thus, in 1545, the reign of an attractive and vigorous personalitywas brought to an abrupt close. Manco left three young sons, SayriTupac, Titu Cusi, and Tupac Amaru. Sayri Tupac, although he had notyet reached his majority, became Inca in his father's stead, and withthe aid of regents reigned for ten years without disturbing his Spanishneighbors or being annoyed by them, unless the reference in Montesinosto a proposed burning of bridges near Abancay, under date of 1555, is correct. By a curious lapse Montesinos ascribes this attempt tothe Inca Manco, who had been dead for ten years. In 1555 there cameto Lima a new viceroy, who decided that it would be safer if youngSayri Tupac were within reach instead of living in the inaccessiblewilds of Uilcapampa. The viceroy wisely undertook to accomplish thisdifficult matter through the Princess Beatrix Coya, an aunt of theInca, who was living in Cuzco. She took kindly to the suggestion anddispatched to Uiticos a messenger, of the blood royal, attended byIndian servants. The journey was a dangerous one; bridges were downand the treacherous trails were well-nigh impassable. Sayri Tupac'sregents permitted the messenger to enter Uilcapampa and deliver theviceroy's invitation, but were not inclined to believe that it wasquite so attractive as appeared on the surface, even though broughtto them by a kinsman. Accordingly, they kept the visitor as a hostageand sent a messenger of their own to Cuzco to see if any foul playcould be discovered, and also to request that one John Sierra, a moretrusted cousin, be sent to treat in this matter. All this took time. 

In 1558 the viceroy, becoming impatient, dispatched from Lima FriarMelchior and one John Betanzos, who had married the daughter of theunfortunate Inca Atahualpa and pretended to be very learned in hiswife's language. Montesinos says he was a "great linguist. " Theystarted off quite confidently for Uiticos, taking with them severalpieces of velvet and damask, and two cups of gilded silver aspresents. Anxious to secure the honor of being the first to reach theInca, they traveled as fast as they could to the Chuquichaca bridge, "the key to the valley of Uiticos. " Here they were detained by thesoldiers of the regents. A day or so later John Sierra, the Inca'scousin from Cuzco, arrived at the bridge and was allowed to proceed, while the friar and Betanzos were still detained. John Sierra waswelcomed by the Inca and his nobles, and did his best to encourageSayri Tupac to accept the viceroy's offer. Finally John Betanzos andthe friar were also sent for and admitted to the presence of the Inca, with the presents which the viceroy had sent. Sayri Tupac's firstidea was to remain free and independent as he had hitherto done, so he requested the ambassadors to depart immediately with theirsilver gilt cups. They were sent back by one of the western routesacross the Apurimac. A few days later, however, after John Sierrahad told him some interesting stories of life in Cuzco, the Incadecided to reconsider the matter. His regents had a long debate, observed the flying of birds and the nature of the weather, butaccording to Garcilasso "made no inquiries of the devil. " The omenswere favorable and the regents finally decided to allow the Inca toaccept the invitation of the viceroy. 

Sayri Tupac, anxious to see something of the world, went directlyto Lima, traveling in a litter made of rich materials, carried byrelays chosen from the three hundred Indians who attended him. Hewas kindly received by the viceroy, and then went to Cuzco, wherehe lodged in his aunt's house. Here his relatives went to welcomehim. "I, myself, " says Garcilasso, "went in the name of my Father. Ifound him then playing a certain game used amongst the Indians . .. . Ikissed his hands, and delivered my Message; he commanded me to sitdown, and presently they brought two gilded cups of that Liquor, made of Mayz [chicha] which scarce contained four ounces of Drink;he took them both, and with his own Hand he gave one of them to me;he drank, and I pledged him, which as we have said, is the custom ofCivility amongst them. This Ceremony being past, he asked me, Why Idid not meet him at Uillcapampa. I answered him, 'Inca, as I am but aYoungman, the Governours make no account of me, to place me in suchCeremonies as these!' 'How, ' replied the Inca, 'I would rather haveseen you than all the Friers and Fathers in Town. ' As I was goingaway I made him a submissive bow and reverence, after the manner ofthe Indians, who are of his Alliance and Kindred, at which he was somuch pleased, that he embraced me heartily, and with much affection, as appeared by his Countenance. "

Sayri Tupac now received the sacred Red Fringe of Inca sovereignty, was married to a princess of the blood royal, joined her in baptism, and took up his abode in the beautiful valley of Yucay, a day'sjourney northeast of Cuzco, and never returned to Uiticos. His onlydaughter finally married a certain Captain Garcia, of whom moreanon. Sayri Tupac died in 1560, leaving two brothers; the older, Titu Cusi Yupanqui, illegitimate, and the younger, Tupac Amaru, his rightful successor, an inexperienced youth. 

------FIGURE

Yucay, Last Home of Sayri Tupac------

The throne of Uiticos was seized by Titu Cusi. The new Inca seems tohave been suspicious of the untimely death of Sayri Tupac, and to havefelt that the Spaniards were capable of more foul play. So with hishalf-brother he stayed quietly in Uilcapampa. Their first visitor, so far as we know, was Diego Rodriguez de Figueroa, who wrote aninteresting account of Uiticos and says he gave the Inca a pair ofscissors. He was unsuccessful in his efforts to get Titu Cusi to goto Cuzco. In time there came an Augustinian missionary, Friar MarcosGarcia, who, six years after the death of Sayri Tupac, entered therough country of Uilcapampa, "a land of moderate wealth, large rivers, and the usual rains, " whose "forested mountains, " says Father Calancha, "are magnificent. " Friar Marcos had a hard journey. The bridges weredown, the roads had been destroyed, and the passes blocked up. The fewIndians who did occasionally appear in Cuzco from Uilcapampa said thefriar could not get there "unless he should be able to change himselfinto a bird. " However, with that courage and pertinacity which havemarked so many missionary enterprises, Friar Marcos finally overcameall difficulties and reached Uiticos. 

The missionary chronicler says that Titu Cusi was far from gladto see him and received him angrily. It worried him to find that aSpaniard had succeeded in penetrating his retreat. Besides, the Incawas annoyed to have any one preach against his "idolatries. " TituCusi's own story, as written down by Friar Marcos, does not agreewith Calancha's. Anyhow, Friar Marcos built a little church in a placecalled Puquiura, where many of the Inca's people were then living. "Heplanted crosses in the fields and on the mountains, these being thebest things to frighten off devils. " He "suffered many insults atthe hands of the chiefs and principal followers of the Inca. Someof them did it to please the Devil, others to flatter the Inca, andmany because they disliked his sermons, in which he scolded them fortheir vices and abominated among his converts the possession of fouror six wives. So they punished him in the matter of food, and forcedhim to send to Cuzco for victuals. The Convent sent him hard-tack, which was for him a most delicious banquet. "

Within a year or so another Augustinian missionary, Friar DiegoOrtiz, left Cuzco alone for Uilcapampa. He suffered much on theroad, but finally reached the retreat of the Inca and entered hispresence in company with Friar Marcos. "Although the Inca was nottoo happy to see a new preacher, he was willing to grant him anentrance because the Inca . .. Thought Friar Diego would not vexhim nor take the trouble to reprove him. So the Inca gave him alicense. They selected the town of Huarancalla, which was populousand well located in the midst of a number of other little towns andvillages. There was a distance of two or three days journey from oneConvent to the other. Leaving Friar Marcos in Puquiura, Friar Diegowent to his new establishment and in a short time built a church, a house for himself, and a hospital, --all poor buildings made in ashort time. " He also started a school for children, and became verypopular as he went about healing and teaching. He had an easier timethan Friar Marcos, who, with less tact and no skill as a physician, was located nearer the center of the Inca cult. 

The principal shrine of the Inca is described by Father Calancha asfollows: "Close to Vitcos [or Uiticos] in a village called Chuquipalpa, is a House of the Sun, and in it a white rock over a spring of waterwhere the Devil appears as a visible manifestation and was worshippedby those idolators. This was the principal mochadero of those forestedmountains. The word 'mochadero' [5] is the common name which theIndians apply to their places of worship. In other words it is theonly place where they practice the sacred ceremony of kissing. Theorigin of this, the principal part of their ceremonial, is that verypractice which Job abominates when he solemnly clears himself of alloffences before God and says to Him: 'Lord, all these punishments andeven greater burdens would I have deserved had I done that which theblind Gentiles do when the sun rises resplendent or the moon shinesclear and they exult in their hearts and extend their hands towardthe sun and throw kisses to it, ' an act of very grave iniquity whichis equivalent to denying the true God. "

Thus does the ecclesiastical chronicler refer to the practice inPeru of that particular form of worship of the heavenly bodieswhich was also widely spread in the East, in Arabia, and Palestineand was inveighed against by Mohammed as well as the ancient Hebrewprophets. Apparently this ceremony "of the most profound resignationand reverence" was practiced in Chuquipalpa, close to Uiticos, inthe reign of the Inca Titu Cusi. 

Calancha goes on to say: "In this white stone of the aforesaidHouse of the Sun, which is called Yurac Rumi [meaning, in Quichua, a white rock], there attends a Devil who is Captain of a legion. Heand his legionaries show great kindness to the Indian idolators, butgreat terrors to the Catholics. They abuse with hideous cruelties thebaptized ones who now no longer worship them with kisses, and manyof the Indians have died from the horrible frights these devils havegiven them. "

One day, when the Inca and his mother and their principal chiefs andcounselors were away from Uiticos on a visit to some of their outlyingestates, Friar Marcos and Friar Diego decided to make a spectacularattack on this particular Devil, who was at the great "white rockover a spring of water. " The two monks summoned all their convertsto gather at Puquiura, in the church or the neighboring plaza, andasked each to bring a stick of firewood in order that they might burnup this Devil who had tormented them. "An innumerable multitude" cametogether on the day appointed. The converted Indians were most anxiousto get even with this Devil who had slain their friends and inflictedwounds on themselves; the doubters were curious to see the result;the Inca priests were there to see their god defeat the Christians';while, as may readily be imagined, the rest of the population cameto see the excitement. Starting out from Pucyura they marched to "theTemple of the Sun, in the village of Chuquipalpa, close to Uiticos. "

Arrived at the sacred palisade, the monks raised the standard ofthe cross, recited their orisons, surrounded the spring, the whiterock and the Temple of the Sun, and piled high the firewood. Then, having exorcised the locality, they called the Devil by all the vilenames they could think of, to show their lack of respect, and finallycommanded him never to return to this vicinity. Calling on Christ andthe Virgin, they applied fire to the wood. "The poor Devil then fledroaring in a fury, and making the mountains to tremble. "

It took remarkable courage on the part of the two lone monks thusto desecrate the chief shrine of the people among whom they weredwelling. It is almost incredible that in this remote valley, separated from their friends and far from the protecting handof the Spanish viceroy, they should have dared to commit such aninsult to the religion of their hosts. Of course, as soon as theInca Titu Cusi heard of it, he was greatly annoyed. His mother wasfurious. They returned immediately to Pucyura. The chiefs wished to"slay the monks and tear them into small pieces, " and undoubtedlywould have done so had it not been for the regard in which FriarDiego was held. His skill in curing disease had so endeared him tothe Indians that even the Inca himself dared not punish him for theattack on the Temple of the Sun. Friar Marcos, however, who probablyoriginated the plan, and had done little to gain the good will of theIndians, did not fare so well. Calancha says he was stoned out ofthe province and the Inca threatened to kill him if he ever shouldreturn. Friar Diego, particularly beloved by those Indians who camefrom the fever-stricken jungles in the lower valleys, was allowed toremain, and finally became a trusted friend and adviser of Titu Cusi. 

One day a Spaniard named Romero, an adventurous prospector for gold, was found penetrating the mountain valleys, and succeeded in gettingpermission from the Inca to see what minerals were there. He was toosuccessful. Both gold and silver were found among the hills and heshowed enthusiastic delight at his good fortune. The Inca, fearingthat his reports might encourage others to enter Uilcapampa, put theunfortunate prospector to death, notwithstanding the protestationsof Friar Diego. Foreigners were not wanted in Uilcapampa. 

In the year 1570, ten years after the accession of Titu Cusito the Inca throne in Uiticos, a new Spanish viceroy came toCuzco. Unfortunately for the Incas, Don Francisco de Toledo, anindefatigable soldier and administrator, was excessively bigoted, narrow-minded, cruel, and pitiless. Furthermore, Philip II and hisCouncil of the Indies had decided that it would be worth while to makeevery effort to get the Inca out of Uiticos. For thirty-five yearsthe Spanish conquerors had occupied Cuzco and the major portion ofPeru without having been able to secure the submission of the Indianswho lived in the province of Uilcapampa. It would be a great featherin the cap of Toledo if he could induce Titu Cusi to come and livewhere he would always be accessible to Spanish authority. 

During the ensuing rainy season, after an unusually lively party, the Inca got soaked, had a chill, and was laid low. In the meantimethe viceroy had picked out a Cuzco soldier, one Tilano de Anaya, whowas well liked by the Inca, to try to persuade Titu Cusi to come toCuzco. Tilano was instructed to go by way of Ollantaytambo and theChuquichaca bridge. Luck was against him. Titu Cusi's illness wasvery serious. Friar Diego, his physician, had prescribed the usualremedies. Unfortunately, all the monk's skill was unavailing and hisroyal patient died. The "remedies" were held by Titu Cusi's motherand her counselors to be responsible. The poor friar had to sufferthe penalty of death "for having caused the death of the Inca. "

The third son of Manco, Tupac Amaru, brought up as a playfellow ofthe Virgins of the Sun in the Temple near Uiticos, and now happilymarried, was selected to rule the little kingdom. His brows weredecked with the Scarlet Fringe of Sovereignty, but, thanks to thejealous fear of his powerful illegitimate brother, his training hadnot been that of a soldier. He was destined to have a brief, unhappyexistence. When the young Inca's counselors heard that a messengerwas coming from the viceroy, seven warriors were sent to meet him onthe road. Tilano was preparing to spend the night at the Chuquichacabridge when he was attacked and killed. 

The viceroy heard of the murder of his ambassador at the same timethat he learned of the martyrdom of Friar Diego. A blow had beenstruck at the very heart of Spanish domination; if the representativesof the Vice-Regent of Heaven and the messengers of the viceroy ofPhilip II were not inviolable, then who was safe? On Palm Sunday theenergetic Toledo, surrounded by his council, determined to make waron the unfortunate young Tupac Amaru and give a reward to the soldierwho would effect his capture. The council was of the opinion that"many Insurrections might be raised in that Empire by this youngHeir. " "Moreover it was alledged, " says Garcilasso . .. . "That by theImprisonment of the Inca, all that Treasure might be discovered, whichappertained to former kings, together with that Chain of Gold, whichHuayna Capac commanded to be made for himself to wear on the greatand solemn days of their Festival"! Furthermore, the "Chain of Goldwith the remaining Treasure belong'd to his Catholic Majesty by rightof Conquest"! Excuses were not wanting. The Incas must be exterminated. 

The expedition was divided into two parts. One company was sent by wayof Limatambo to Curahuasi, to head off the Inca in case he should crossthe Apurimac and try to escape by one of the routes which had formerlybeen used by his father, Manco, in his marauding expeditions. The othercompany, under General Martin Hurtado and Captain Garcia, marched fromCuzco by way of Yucay and Ollantaytambo. They were more fortunatethan Captain Villadiego whose force, thirty-five years before, hadbeen met and destroyed at the pass of Panticalla. That was in thedays of the active Inca Manco. Now there was no force defending thisimportant pass. They descended the Lucumayo to its junction with theUrubamba and came to the bridge of Chuquichaca. 

The narrow suspension bridge, built of native fibers, sagged deeplyin the middle and swayed so threateningly over the gorge of theUrubamba that only one man could pass it at a time. The rapid riverwas too deep to be forded. There were no canoes. It would have beena difficult matter to have constructed rafts, for most of the treesthat grow here are of hard wood and do not float. On the other sideof the Urubamba was young Tupac Amaru, surrounded by his councilors, chiefs, and soldiers. The first hostile forces which in Pizarro'stime had endeavored to fight their way into Uilcapampa had neverbeen allowed by Manco to get as far as this. His youngest son, Tupac Amaru, had had no experience in these matters. The chiefs andnobles had failed to defend the pass; and they now failed to destroythe Chuquichaca bridge, apparently relying on their ability to takecare of one Spanish soldier at a time and prevent the Spaniards fromcrossing the narrow, swaying structure. General Hurtado was not takingany such chances. He had brought with him one or two light mountainfield pieces, with which the raw troops of the Inca were littleacquainted. The sides of the valley at this point rise steeply fromthe river and the reverberations caused by gun fire would be fairlyterrifying to those who had never heard anything like it before. Afew volleys from the guns and the arquebuses, and the Indians fledpellmell in every direction, leaving the bridge undefended. 

Captain Garcia, who had married the daughter of Sayri Tupac, wassent in pursuit of the Inca. His men found the road "narrow in theascent, with forest on the right, and on the left a ravine of greatdepth. " It was only a footpath, barely wide enough for two men topass. Garcia, with customary Spanish bravery, marched at the headof his company. Suddenly out of the thick forest an Inca chieftainnamed Hualpa, endeavoring to protect the flight of Tupac Amaru, sprang on Garcia, held him so that he could not get at his sword andendeavored to hurl him over the cliff. The captain's life was savedby a faithful Indian servant who was following immediately behind him, carrying his sword. Drawing it from the scabbard "with much dexterityand animation, " the Indian killed Hualpa and saved his master's life. 

Garcia fought several battles, took some forts and succeeded incapturing many prisoners. From them it was learned that the Inca had"gone inland toward the valley of Simaponte; and that he was flying tothe country of the Mañaries Indians, a warlike tribe and his friends, where balsas and canoes were posted to save him and enable him toescape. " Nothing daunted by the dangers of the jungle nor the rapids ofthe river, Garcia finally managed to construct five rafts, on which heput some of his soldiers. Accompanying them himself, he descended therapids, escaping death many times by swimming, and finally arrivedat a place called Momori, only to find that the Inca, learning oftheir approach, had gone farther into the woods. Garcia followedhard after, although he and his men were by this time barefooted andsuffering from want of food. They finally captured the Inca. Garcilassosays that Tupac Amaru, "considering that he had not People to makeresistance, and that he was not conscious to himself of any Crime, or disturbance he had done or raised, suffered himself to be taken;choosing rather to entrust himself in the hands of the Spaniards, than to perish in those Mountains with Famine, or be drowned in thosegreat Rivers . .. . The Spaniards in this manner seizing on the Inca, and on all the Indian Men and Women, who were in Company with him, amongst which was his Wife, two Sons, and a Daughter, returnedwith them in Triumph to Cuzco; to which place the Vice-King went, so soon as he was informed of the imprisonment of the poor Prince. " Amock trial was held. The captured chiefs were tortured to death withfiendish brutality. Tupac Amaru's wife was mangled before his eyes. Hisown head was cut off and placed on a pole in the Cuzco Plaza. Hislittle boys did not long survive. So perished the last of the Incas, descendants of the wisest Indian rulers America has ever seen. 

Brief Summary of the Last Four Incas

1534. The Inca Manco ascends the throne of his fathers. 

1536. Manco flees from Cuzco to Uiticos and Uilcapampa. 

1542. Promulgation of the "New Laws. "

1545. Murder of Manco and accession of his son Sayri Tupac. 1555. Sayri Tupac goes to Cuzco and Yucay. 

1560. Death of Sayri Tupac. His half brother Titu Cusi becomes Inca. 

1566. Friar Marcos reaches Uiticos. Settles in Puquiura. 

1566. Friar Diego joins him. 

1568-9 (?). They burn the House of the Sun at Yurac Rumi inChuquipalpa. 

1571. Titu Cusi dies. Friar Diego suffers martyrdom. Tupac Amarubecomes Inca. 

1572. Expedition of General Martin Hurtado and Captain Garcia deLoyola. Execution of Tupac Amaru. 

CHAPTER X

Searching for the Last Inca Capital

The events described in the preceding chapter happened, for the mostpart, in Uiticos [6] and Uilcapampa, northwest of Ollantaytambo, aboutone hundred miles away from the Cuzco palace of the Spanish viceroy, in what Prescott calls "the remote fastnesses of the Andes. " One looksin vain for Uiticos on modern maps of Peru, although several of theolder maps give it. In 1625 "Viticos" is marked on de Laet's map ofPeru as a mountainous province northeast of Lima and three hundredand fifty miles northwest of Vilcabamba! This error was copied bysome later cartographers, including Mercator, until about 1740, when "Viticos" disappeared from all maps of Peru. The map makershad learned that there was no such place in that vicinity. Its reallocation was lost about three hundred years ago. A map published atNuremberg in 1599 gives "Pincos" in the "Andes" mountains, a smallrange west of "Cusco. " This does not seem to have been adopted byother cartographers; although a Palls map of 1739 gives "Picos" inabout the same place. Nearly all the cartographers of the eighteenthcentury who give "Viticos" supposed it to be the name of a tribe, e. G. , "Los Viticos" or "Les Viticos. "

------FIGURE

Part of the Nuremberg Map of 1599, Showing Pincos and the AndesMountains------

The largest official map of Peru, the work of that remarkable explorer, Raimondi, who spent his life crossing and recrossing Peru, does notcontain the word Uiticos nor any of its numerous spellings, Viticos, Vitcos, Pitcos, or Biticos. Incidentally, it may seem strange thatUiticos could ever be written "Biticos. " The Quichua language hasno sound of V. The early Spanish writers, however, wrote the capitalletter U exactly like a capital V. In official documents and lettersUiticos became Viticos. The official readers, who had never heardthe word pronounced, naturally used the V sound instead of the Usound. Both V and P easily become B. So Uiticos became Biticos andUilcapampa became Vilcabamba. 

Raimondi's marvelous energy led him to penetrate to more out-of-the-wayPeruvian villages than any one had ever done before or is likely to doagain. He stopped at nothing in the way of natural obstacles. In 1865he went deep into the heart of Uilcapampa; yet found no Uiticos. Hebelieved that the ruins of Choqquequirau represented the residence ofthe last Incas. This view had been held by the French explorer, Countde Sartiges, in 1834, who believed that Choqquequirau was abandonedwhen Sayri Tupac, Manco's oldest son, went to live in Yucay. Raimondi'sview was also held by the leading Peruvian geographers, includingPaz Soldan in 1877, and by Prefect Nuñez and his friends in 1909, atthe time of my visit to Choqquequirau. [7] The only dissenter was thelearned Peruvian historian, Don Carlos Romero, who insisted that thelast Inca capital must be found elsewhere. He urged the importanceof searching for Uiticos in the valleys of the rivers now calledVilcabamba and Urubamba. It was to be the work of the Yale PeruvianExpedition of 1911 to collect the geographical evidence which wouldmeet the requirements of the chronicles and establish the whereaboutsof the long-lost Inca capital. 

That there were undescribed and unidentified ruins to be found in theUrubamba Valley was known to a few people in Cuzco, mostly wealthyplanters who had large estates in the province of Convencion. Onetold us that he went to Santa Ana every year and was acquainted witha muleteer who had told him of some interesting ruins near the SanMiguel bridge. Knowing the propensity of his countrymen to exaggerate, however, he placed little confidence in the story and, shrugging hisshoulders, had crossed the bridge a score of times without takingthe trouble to look into the matter. Another, Señor Pancorbo, whoseplantation was in the Vilcabamba Valley, said that he had heard vaguerumors of ruins in the valley above his plantation, particularlynear Pucyura. If his story should prove to be correct, then it waslikely that this might be the very Puquiura where Friar Marcos hadestablished the first church in the "province of Uilcapampa. " Butthat was "near" Uiticos and near a village called Chuquipalpa, whereshould be found the ruins of a Temple of the Sun, and in these ruinsa "white rock over a spring of water. " Yet neither these friendlyplanters nor the friends among whom they inquired had ever heard ofUiticos or a place called Chuquipalpa, or of such an interesting rock;nor had they themselves seen the ruins of which they had heard. 

One of Señor Lomellini's friends, a talkative old fellow whohad spent a large part of his life in prospecting for mines inthe department of Cuzco, said that he had seen ruins "finer thanChoqquequirau" at a place called Huayna Picchu; but he had never beento Choqquequirau. Those who knew him best shrugged their shouldersand did not seem to place much confidence in his word. Too often hehad been over-enthusiastic about mines which did not "pan out. " Yethis report resembled that of Charles Wiener, a French explorer, who, about 1875, in the course of his wanderings in the Andes, visited Ollantaytambo. While there he was told that there were fineruins down the Urubamba Valley at a place called "Huaina-Picchu orMatcho-Picchu. " He decided to go down the valley and look for theseruins. According to his text he crossed the Pass of Panticalla, descended the Lucumayo River to the bridge of Choqquechacca, andvisited the lower Urubamba, returning by the same route. He publisheda detailed map of the valley. To one of its peaks he gives the name"Huaynapicchu, ele. 1815 m. " and to another "Matchopicchu, ele. 1720m. " His interest in Inca ruins was very keen. He devotes pages toOllantaytambo. He failed to reach Machu Picchu or to find any ruinsof importance in the Urubamba or Vilcabamba valleys. Could we hopeto be any more successful? Would the rumors that had reached us "panout" as badly as those to which Wiener had listened so eagerly? Sincehis day, to be sure, the Peruvian Government had actually finisheda road which led past Machu Picchu. On the other hand, a HarvardAnthropological Expedition, under the leadership of Dr. WilliamC. Farrabee, had recently been over this road without reportingany ruins of importance. They were looking for savages and notruins. Nevertheless, if Machu Picchu was "finer than Choqquequirau"why had no one pointed it out to them?

------FIGURE

Peruvian Expedition of 1915------

To most of our friends in Cuzco the idea that there could be anythingfiner than Choqquequirau seemed, absurd. They regarded that "cradleof gold" as "the most remarkable archeological discovery of recenttimes. " They assured us there was nothing half so good. They evenassumed that we were secretly planning to return thither to digfor buried treasure! Denials were of no avail. To a people whoseancestors made fortunes out of lucky "strikes, " and who themselveshave been brought up on stories of enormous wealth still remainingto be discovered by some fortunate excavator, the question oftesoro--treasure, wealth, riches--is an ever-present source ofconversation. Even the prefect of Cuzco was quite unable to conceiveof my doing anything for the love of discovery. He was convincedthat I should find great riches at Choqquequirau--and that I wasin receipt of a very large salary! He refused to believe that themembers of the Expedition received no more than their expenses. Hetold me confidentially that Professor Foote would sell his collectionof insects for at least $10, 000! Peruvians have not been accustomed tosee any one do scientific work except as he was paid by the governmentor employed by a railroad or mining company. We have frequently foundour work misunderstood and regarded with suspicion, even by the CuzcoHistorical Society. 

The valley of the Urubamba, or Uilcamayu, as it used to be called, maybe reached from Cuzco in several ways. The usual route for those goingto Yucay is northwest from the city, over the great Andean highway, past the slopes of Mt. Sencca. At Ttica-Ttica (12, 000 ft. ) the roadcrosses the lowest pass at the western end of the Cuzco Basin. At thelast point from which one can see the city of Cuzco, all true Indians, whether on their way out of the valley or into it, pause, turn towardthe east, facing the city, remove their hats and mutter a prayer. Ibelieve that the words they use now are those of the "Ave Maria, "or some other familiar orison of the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, the custom undoubtedly goes far back of the advent of the firstSpanish missionaries. It is probably a relic of the ancient habitof worshiping the rising sun. During the centuries immediatelypreceding the conquest, the city of Cuzco was the residence of the Incahimself, that divine individual who was at once the head of Church andState. Nothing would have been more natural than for persons coming insight of his residence to perform an act of veneration. This in turnmight have led those leaving the city to fall into the same habit atthe same point in the road. I have watched hundreds of travelers passthis point. None of those whose European costume proclaimed a white ormixed ancestry stopped to pray or make obeisance. On the other hand, all those, without exception, who were clothed in a native costume, which betokened that they considered themselves to be Indians ratherthan whites, paused for a moment, gazing at the ancient city, removedtheir hats, and said a short prayer. 

Leaving Ttica-Ttica, we went northward for several leagues, passedthe town of Chincheros, with its old Inca walls, and came at lengthto the edge of the wonderful valley of Yucay. In its bottom are greatlevel terraces rescued from the Urubamba River by the untiring energyof the ancient folk. On both sides of the valley the steep slopesbear many remains of narrow terraces, some of which are still inuse. Above them are "temporales, " fields of grain, resting like apatch-work quilt on slopes so steep it seems incredible they couldbe cultivated. Still higher up, their heads above the clouds, arethe jagged snow-capped peaks. The whole offers a marvelous picture, rich in contrast, majestic in proportion. In Yucay once dwelt the IncaManco's oldest son, Sayri Tupac, after he had accepted the viceroy'sinvitation to come under Spanish protection. Here he lived three yearsand here, in 1560, he died an untimely death under circumstanceswhich led his brothers, Titu Cusi and Tupac Amaru, to think thatthey would be safer in Uiticos. We spent the night in Urubamba, the modern capital of the province, much favored by Peruvians ofto-day because of its abundant water supply, delightful climate, and rich fruits. Cuzco, 11, 000 feet, is too high to have charmingsurroundings, but two thousand feet lower, in the Urubamba Valley, there is everything to please the eye and delight the horticulturist. 

Speaking of horticulturists reminds me of their enemies. Uru is theQuichua word for caterpillars or grubs, pampa means flat land. Urubambais "flat-land-where-there-are-grubs-or-caterpillars. " Had it been namedby people who came up from a warm region where insects abound, it wouldhardly have been so denominated. Only people not accustomed to landwhere caterpillars and grubs flourished would have been struck by sucha circumstance. Consequently, the valley was probably named by plateaudwellers who were working their way down into a warm region wherebutterflies and moths are more common. Notwithstanding its celebratedcaterpillars, Urubamba's gardens of to-day are full of roses, lilies, and other brilliant flowers. There are orchards of peaches, pears, and apples; there are fields where luscious strawberries are raisedfor the Cuzco market. Apparently, the grubs do not get everything. 

The next day down the valley brought us to romantic Ollantaytambo, described in glowing terms by Castelnau, Marcou, Wiener, and Squiermany years ago. It has lost none of its charm, even though Marcou'sdrawings are imaginary and Squier's are exaggerated. Here, as atUrubamba, there are flower gardens and highly cultivated greenfields. The brooks are shaded by willows and poplars. Above themare magnificent precipices crowned by snow-capped peaks. The villageitself was once the capital of an ancient principality whose historyis shrouded in mystery. There are ruins of curious gabled buildings, storehouses, "prisons, " or "monasteries, " perched here and thereon well-nigh inaccessible crags above the village. Below are broadterraces of unbelievable extent where abundant crops are stillharvested; terraces which will stand for ages to come as monuments tothe energy and skill of a bygone race. The "fortress" is on a littlehill, surrounded by steep cliffs, high walls, and hanging gardens soas to be difficult of access. Centuries ago, when the tribe whichcultivated the rich fields in this valley lived in fear and terrorof their savage neighbors, this hill offered a place of refuge towhich they could retire. It may have been fortified at that time. Ascenturies passed in which the land came under the control of the Incas, whose chief interest was the peaceful promotion of agriculture, itis likely that this fortress became a royal garden. The six greatashlars of reddish granite weighing fifteen or twenty tons each, andplaced in line on the summit of the hill, were brought from a quarryseveral miles away with an immense amount of labor and pains. Theywere probably intended to be a record of the magnificence of an ableruler. Not only could he command the services of a sufficient numberof men to extract these rocks from the quarry and carry them up aninclined plane from the bottom of the valley to the summit of the hill;he had to supply the men with food. The building of such a monumentmeant taking five hundred Indians away from their ordinary occupationsas agriculturists. He must have been a very good administrator. To hispeople the magnificent megaliths were doubtless a source of pride. Tohis enemies they were a symbol of his power and might. 

------FIGURE

Mt. Veronica and Salapunco, the Gateway to Uilcapampa------

A league below Ollantaytambo the road forks. The right branchascends a steep valley and crosses the pass of Panticalla nearsnow-covered Mt. Veronica. Near the pass are two groups of ruins. Oneof them, extravagantly referred to by Wiener as a "granite palace, whose appearance [appareil] resembles the more beautiful partsof Ollantaytambo, " was only a storehouse. The other was probably atampu, or inn, for the benefit of official travelers. All travelers inInca times, even the bearers of burdens, were acting under officialorders. Commercial business was unknown. The rights of personalproperty were not understood. No one had anything to sell; no onehad any money to buy it with. On the other hand, the Incas had anelaborate system of tax collecting. Two thirds of the produce raisedby their subjects was claimed by the civil and religious rulers. Itwas a reasonable provision of the benevolent despotism of the Incasthat inhospitable regions like the Panticalla Pass near Mt. Veronicashould be provided with suitable rest houses and storehouses. Polo deOndegardo, an able and accomplished statesman, who was in office inCuzco in 1560, says that the food of the chasquis, Inca post runners, was provided from official storehouses; "those who worked for theInca's service, or for religion, never ate at their own expense. " InManco's day these buildings at Havaspampa probably sheltered theoutpost which defeated Captain Villadiego. 

Before the completion of the river road, about 1895, travelers fromCuzco to the lower Urubamba had a choice of two routes, one by wayof the pass of Panticalla, followed by Captain Garcia in 1571, byGeneral Miller in 1835, Castelnau in 1842, and Wiener in 1875; andone by way of the pass between Mts. Salcantay and Soray, along theSalcantay River to Huadquiña, followed by the Count de Sartiges in1834 and Raimondi in 1865. Both of these routes avoid the highlandsbetween Mt. Salcantay and Mt. Veronica and the lowlands between thevillages of Piri and Huadquiña. This region was in 1911 undescribedin the geographical literature of southern Peru. We decided not touse either pass, but to go straight down the Urubamba river road. Itled us into a fascinating country. 

Two leagues beyond Piri, at Salapunco, the road skirts the base ofprecipitous cliffs, the beginnings of a wonderful mass of granitemountains which have made Uilcapampa more difficult of access than thesurrounding highlands which are composed of schists, conglomerates, andlimestone. Salapunco is the natural gateway to the ancient province, but it was closed for centuries by the combined efforts of nature andman. The Urubamba River, in cutting its way through the granite range, forms rapids too dangerous to be passable and precipices which canbe scaled only with great effort and considerable peril. At onetime a footpath probably ran near the river, where the Indians, by crawling along the face of the cliff and sometimes swinging fromone ledge to another on hanging vines, were able to make their wayto any of the alluvial terraces down the valley. Another path mayhave gone over the cliffs above the fortress, where we noticed, invarious inaccessible places, the remains of walls built on narrowledges. They were too narrow and too irregular to have been intendedto support agricultural terraces. They may have been built to make thecliff more precipitous. They probably represent the foundations of anold trail. To defend these ancient paths we found that prehistoricman had built, at the foot of the precipices, close to the river, a small but powerful fortress whose ruins now pass by the name ofSalapunco; sala = ruins; punco = gateway. Fashioned after famousSacsahuaman and resembling it in the irregular character of the largeashlars and also by reason of the salients and reëntrant angles whichenabled its defenders to prevent the walls being successfully scaled, it presents an interesting problem. 

Commanding as it does the entrance to the valley of Torontoy, Salapunco may have been built by some ancient chief to enable himto levy tribute on all who passed. My first impression was thatthe fortress was placed here, at the end of the temperate zone, to defend the valleys of Urubamba and Ollantaytambo against savageenemies coming up from the forests of the Amazon. On the other hand, it is possible that Salapunco was built by the tribes occupying thefastnesses of Uilcapampa as an outpost to defend them against enemiescoming down the valley from the direction of Ollantaytambo. They couldeasily have held it against a considerable force, for it is powerfullybuilt and constructed with skill. Supplies from the plantations ofTorontoy, lower down the river, might have reached it along the pathwhich antedated the present government road. Salapunco may have beenoccupied by the troops of the Inca Manco when he established himselfin Uiticos and ruled over Uilcapampa. He could hardly, however, have built a megalithic work of this kind. It is more likely thathe would have destroyed the narrow trails than have attempted tohold the fort against the soldiers of Pizarro. Furthermore, itsstyle and character seem to date it with the well-known megalithicstructures of Cuzco and Ollantaytambo. This makes it seem all themore extraordinary that Salapunco could ever have been built as adefense against Ollantaytambo, unless it was built by folk who onceoccupied Cuzco and who later found a retreat in the canyons below here. 

------FIGURE

Grosvenor Glacier and Mt. Salcantay------

When we first visited Salapunco no megalithic remains had beenreported as far down the valley as this. It never occurred to us that, in hunting for the remains of such comparatively recent structures asthe Inca Manco had the force and time to build, we were to discoverremains of a far more remote past. Yet we were soon to find ruinsenough to explain why such a fortress as Salapunco might possiblyhave been built so as to defend Uilcapampa against Ollantaytambo andCuzco and not those well-known Inca cities against the savages ofthe Amazon jungles. 

Passing Salapunco, we skirted granite cliffs and precipices and entereda most interesting region, where we were surprised and charmed by theextent of the ancient terraces, their length and height, the presenceof many Inca ruins, the beauty of the deep, narrow valleys, and thegrandeur of the snow-clad mountains which towered above them. Acrossthe river, near Qquente, on top of a series of terraces, we saw theextensive ruins of Patallacta (pata = height or terrace; llacta =town or city), an Inca town of great importance. It was not known toRaimondi or Paz Soldan, but is indicated on Wiener's map, although hedoes not appear to have visited it. We have been unable to find anyreference to it in the chronicles. We spent several months here in1915 excavating and determining the character of the ruins. In anothervolume I hope to tell more of the antiquities of this region. Atpresent it must suffice to remark that our explorations near Patallactadisclosed no "white rock over a spring of water. " None of the placenames in this vicinity fit in with the accounts of Uiticos. Theiridentity remains a puzzle, although the symmetry of the buildings, their architectural idiosyncrasies such as niches, stone roof-pegs, bar-holds, and eye-bonders, indicate an Inca origin. At what date thesetowns and villages flourished, who built them, why they were deserted, we do not yet know; and the Indians who live hereabouts are ignorant, or silent, as to their history. 

At Torontoy, the end of the cultivated temperate valley, we foundanother group of interesting ruins, possibly once the residence ofan Inca chief. In a cave near by we secured some mummies. The ancientwrappings had been consumed by the natives in an effort to smoke outthe vampire bats that lived in the cave. On the opposite side of theriver are extensive terraces and above them, on a hilltop, otherruins first visited by Messrs. Tucker and Hendriksen in 1911. Oneof their Indian bearers, attempting to ford the rapids here with alarge surveying instrument, was carried off his feet, swept away bythe strong current, and drowned before help could reach him. 

Near Torontoy is a densely wooded valley called the Pampa Ccahua. In1915 rumors of Andean or "spectacled" bears having been seen here andof damage having been done by them to some of the higher crops, ledus to go and investigate. We found no bears, but at an elevation of12, 000 feet were some very old trees, heavily covered with floweringmoss not hitherto known to science. Above them I was so fortunate asto find a wild potato plant, the source from which the early Peruviansfirst developed many varieties of what we incorrectly call the Irishpotato. The tubers were as large as peas. 

Mr. Heller found here a strange little cousin of the kangaroo, a nearrelative of the coenolestes. It turned out to be new to science. Tofind a new genus of mammalian quadrupeds was an event which delightedMr. Heller far more than shooting a dozen bears. [8]

Torontoy is at the beginning of the Grand Canyon of the Urubamba, and such a canyon! The river "road" runs recklessly up and downrock stairways, blasts its way beneath overhanging precipices, spanschasms on frail bridges propped on rustic brackets against granitecliffs. Under dense forests, wherever the encroaching precipicespermitted it, the land between them and the river was once terracedand cultivated. We found ourselves unexpectedly in a veritablewonderland. Emotions came thick and fast. We marveled at the exquisitepains with which the ancient folk had rescued incredibly narrow stripsof arable land from the tumbling rapids. How could they ever havemanaged to build a retaining wall of heavy stones along the very edgeof the dangerous river, which it is death to attempt to cross! On onesightly bend near a foaming waterfall some Inca chief built a temple, whose walls tantalize the traveler. He must pass by within pistol shotof the interesting ruins, unable to ford the intervening rapids. Highup on the side of the canyon, five thousand feet above this temple, are the ruins of Corihuayrachina (kori = "gold"; huayara = "wind";huayrachina = "a threshing-floor where winnowing takes place. " Possiblythis was an ancient gold mine of the Incas. Half a mile above us onanother steep slope, some modern pioneer had recently cleared thejungle from a fine series of ancient artificial terraces. 

On the afternoon of July 23d we reached a hut called "La Maquina, "where travelers frequently stop for the night. The name comes from thepresence here of some large iron wheels, parts of a "machine" destinednever to overcome the difficulties of being transported all the way toa sugar estate in the lower valley, and years ago left here to rust inthe jungle. There was little fodder, and there was no good place forus to pitch our camp, so we pushed on over the very difficult road, which had been carved out of the face of a great granite cliff. Partof the cliff had slid off into the river and the breach thus made inthe road had been repaired by means of a frail-looking rustic bridgebuilt on a bracket composed of rough logs, branches, and reeds, tied together and surmounted by a few inches of earth and pebblesto make it seem sufficiently safe to the cautious cargo mules whopicked their way gingerly across it. No wonder "the machine" restedwhere it did and gave its name to that part of the valley. 

Dusk falls early in this deep canyon, the sides of which areconsiderably over a mile in height. It was almost dark when we passeda little sandy plain two or three acres in extent, which in this landof steep mountains is called a pampa. Were the dwellers on the pampasof Argentina--where a railroad can go for 250 miles in a straightline, except for the curvature of the earth--to see this little bitof flood-plain called Mandor Pampa, they would think some one had beenjoking or else grossly misusing a word which means to them illimitablespace with not a hill in sight. However, to the ancient dwellers inthis valley, where level land was so scarce that it was worth whileto build high stone-faced terraces so as to enable two rows of cornto grow where none grew before, any little natural breathing spacein the bottom of the canyon is called a pampa. 

------FIGURE

The Road Between Maquina and Mandor Pampa Near Machu Picchu------

We passed an ill-kept, grass-thatched hut, turned off the road througha tiny clearing, and made our camp at the edge of the river Urubambaon a sandy beach. Opposite us, beyond the huge granite boulderswhich interfered with the progress of the surging stream, was a steepmountain clothed with thick jungle. It was an ideal spot for a camp, near the road and yet secluded. Our actions, however, aroused thesuspicions of the owner of the hut, Melchor Arteaga, who leases thelands of Mandor Pampa. He was anxious to know why we did not stay athis hut like respectable travelers. Our gendarme, Sergeant Carrasco, reassured him. They had quite a long conversation. When Arteaga learnedthat we were interested in the architectural remains of the Incas, hesaid there were some very good ruins in this vicinity--in fact, someexcellent ones on top of the opposite mountain, called Huayna Picchu, and also on a ridge called Machu Picchu. These were the very placesCharles Wiener heard of at Ollantaytambo in 1875 and had been unable toreach. The story of my experiences on the following day will be foundin a later chapter. Suffice it to say at this point that the ruinsof Huayna Picchu turned out to be of very little importance, whilethose of Machu Picchu, familiar to readers of the "National GeographicMagazine, " are as interesting as any ever found in the Andes. 

When I first saw the remarkable citadel of Machu Picchu perched ona narrow ridge two thousand feet above the river, I wondered if itcould be the place to which that old soldier, Baltasar de Ocampo, a member of Captain Garcia's expedition, was referring when he said:"The Inca Tupac Amaru was there in the fortress of Pitcos [Uiticos], which is on a very high mountain, whence the view commanded a greatpart of the province of Uilcapampa. Here there was an extensive levelspace, with very sumptuous and majestic buildings, erected with greatskill and art, all the lintels of the doors, the principal as wellas the ordinary ones, being of marble, elaborately carved. " Couldit be that "Picchu" was the modern variant of "Pitcos"? To be sure, the white granite of which the temples and palaces of Machu Picchuare constructed might easily pass for marble. The difficulty aboutfitting Ocampo's description to Machu Picchu, however, was that therewas no difference between the lintels of the doors and the wallsthemselves. Furthermore, there is no "white rock over a spring ofwater" which Calancha says was "near Uiticos. " There is no Pucyurain this neighborhood. In fact, the canyon of the Urubamba does notsatisfy the geographical requirements of Uiticos. Although containingruins of surpassing interest, Machu Picchu did not represent thatlast Inca capital for which we were searching. We had not yet foundManco's palace. 

CHAPTER XI

The Search Continued

Machu Picchu is on the border-line between the temperate zone and thetropics. Camping near the bridge of San Miguel, below the ruins, bothMr. Heller and Mr. Cook found interesting evidences of this fact inthe flora and fauna. From the point of view of historical geography, Mr. Cook's most important discovery was the presence here of huilca, a tree which does not grow in cold climates. The Quichua dictionariestell us huilca is a "medicine, a purgative. " An infusion made fromthe seeds of the tree is used as an enema. I am indebted to Mr. Cookfor calling my attention to two articles by Mr. W. E. Safford inwhich it is also shown that from seeds of the huilca a powder isprepared, sometimes called cohoba. This powder, says Mr. Safford, is anarcotic snuff "inhaled through the nostrils by means of a bifurcatedtube. " "All writers unite in declaring that it induced a kind ofintoxication or hypnotic state, accompanied by visions which wereregarded by the natives as supernatural. While under its influencethe necromancers, or priests, were supposed to hold communicationwith unseen powers, and their incoherent mutterings were regarded asprophecies or revelations of hidden things. In treating the sick thephysicians made use of it to discover the cause of the malady or theperson or spirit by whom the patient was bewitched. " Mr. Safford quotesLas Casas as saying: "It was an interesting spectacle to witness howthey took it and what they spake. The chief began the ceremony andwhile he was engaged all remained silent . .. . When he had snuffed upthe powder through his nostrils, he remained silent for a while withhis head inclined to one side and his arms placed on his knees. Thenhe raised his face heavenward, uttering certain words which musthave been his prayer to the true God, or to him whom he held as God;after which all responded, almost as we do when we say amen; and thisthey did with a loud voice or sound. Then they gave thanks and saidto him certain complimentary things, entreating his benevolence andbegging him to reveal to them what he had seen. He described to themhis vision, saying that the Cemi [spirits] had spoken to him and hadpredicted good times or the contrary, or that children were to be born, or to die, or that there was to be some dispute with their neighbors, and other things which might come to his imagination, all disturbedwith that intoxication. " [9]

Clearly, from the point of view of priests and soothsayers, the placewhere huilca was first found and used in their incantations would beimportant. It is not strange to find therefore that the Inca name ofthis river was Uilca-mayu: the "huilca river. " The pampa on this riverwhere the trees grew would likely receive the name Uilca pampa. If itbecame an important city, then the surrounding region might be namedUilcapampa after it. This seems to me to be the most probable originof the name of the province. Anyhow it is worth noting the fact thatdenizens of Cuzco and Ollantaytambo, coming down the river in searchof this highly prized narcotic, must have found the first trees notfar from Machu Picchu. 

Leaving the ruins of Machu Picchu for later investigation, we nowpushed on down the Urubamba Valley, crossed the bridge of San Miguel, passed the house of Señor Lizarraga, first of modern Peruvians towrite his name on the granite walls of Machu Picchu, and came to thesugar-cane fields of Huadquiña. We had now left the temperate zoneand entered the tropics. 

At Huadquiña we were so fortunate as to find that the proprietress ofthe plantation, Señora Carmen Vargas, and her children, were spendingthe season here. During the rainy winter months they live in Cuzco, but when summer brings fine weather they come to Huadquiña to enjoythe free-and-easy life of the country. They made us welcome, notonly with that hospitality to passing travelers which is commonto sugar estates all over the world, but gave us real assistancein our explorations. Señora Carmen's estate covers more thantwo hundred square miles. Huadquiña is a splendid example of theancient patriarchal system. The Indians who come from other parts ofPeru to work on the plantation enjoy perquisites and wages unknownelsewhere. Those whose home is on the estate regard Señora Carmen withan affectionate reverence which she well deserves. All are welcome tobring her their troubles. The system goes back to the days when thespiritual, moral, and material welfare of the Indians was entrustedin encomienda to the lords of the repartimiento or allotted territory. 

Huadquiña once belonged to the Jesuits. They planted the first sugarcane and established the mill. After their expulsion from the Spanishcolonies at the end of the eighteenth century, Huadquiña was boughtby a Peruvian. It was first described in geographical literature bythe Count de Sartiges, who stayed here for several weeks in 1834 whenon his way to Choqquequirau. He says that the owner of Huadquiña "isperhaps the only landed proprietor in the entire world who possesseson his estates all the products of the four parts of the globe. Inthe different regions of his domain he has wool, hides, horsehair, potatoes, wheat, corn, sugar, coffee, chocolate, coca, many mines ofsilver-bearing lead, and placers of gold. " Truly a royal principality. 

------FIGURE

Huadquiña------

Incidentally it is interesting to note that although Sartiges wasan enthusiastic explorer, eager to visit undescribed Inca ruins, he makes no mention whatever of Machu Picchu. Yet from Huadquiñaone can reach Machu Picchu on foot in half a day without crossingthe Urubamba River. Apparently the ruins were unknown to his hostsin 1834. They were equally unknown to our kind hosts in 1911. Theyscarcely believed the story I told them of the beauty and extent ofthe Inca edifices. [10] When my photographs were developed, however, and they saw with their own eyes the marvelous stonework of theprincipal temples, Señora Carmen and her family were struck dumbwith wonder and astonishment. They could not understand how it waspossible that they should have passed so close to Machu Picchu everyyear of their lives since the river road was opened without knowingwhat was there. They had seen a single little building on the crestof the ridge, but supposed that it was an isolated tower of no greatinterest or importance. Their neighbor, Lizarraga, near the bridgeof San Miguel, had reported the presence of the ruins which he firstvisited in 1904, but, like our friends in Cuzco, they had paid littleattention to his stories. We were soon to have a demonstration ofthe causes of such skepticism. 

Our new friends read with interest my copy of those paragraphs ofCalaucha's "Chronicle" which referred to the location of the last Incacapital. Learning that we were anxious to discover Uiticos, a place ofwhich they had never heard, they ordered the most intelligent tenantson the estate to come in and be questioned. The best informed of allwas a sturdy mestizo, a trusted foreman, who said that in a littlevalley called Ccllumayu, a few hours' journey down the Urubamba, therewere "important ruins" which had been seen by some of Señora Carmen'sIndians. Even more interesting and thrilling was his statement that ona ridge up the Salcantay Valley was a place called Yurak Rumi (yurak ="white"; rumi = "stone") where some very interesting ruins had beenfound by his workmen when cutting trees for firewood. We all becameexcited over this, for among the paragraphs which I had copied fromCalancha's "Chronicle" was the statement that "close to Uiticos" is the"white stone of the aforesaid house of the Sun which is called YurakRumi. " Our hosts assured us that this must be the place, since noone hereabouts had ever heard of any other Yurak Rumi. The foreman, on being closely questioned, said that he had seen the ruins once ortwice, that he had also been up the Urubamba Valley and seen the greatruins at Ollantaytambo, and that those which he had seen at Yurak Rumiwere "as good as those at Ollantaytambo. " Here was a definite statementmade by an eyewitness. Apparently we were about to see that interestingrock where the last Incas worshiped. However, the foreman said thatthe trail thither was at present impassable, although a small gang ofIndians could open it in less than a week. Our hosts, excited by thepictures we had shown them of Machu Picchu, and now believing thateven finer ruins might be found on their own property, immediatelygave orders to have the path to Yurak Rumi cleared for our benefit. 

While this was being done, Señora Carmen's son, the manager of theplantation, offered to accompany us himself to Ccllumayu, where other"important ruins" had been found, which could be reached in a fewhours without cutting any new trails. Acting on his assurance that weshould not need tent or cots, we left our camping outfit behind andfollowed him to a small valley on the south side of the Urubamba. Wefound Ccllumayu to consist of two huts in a small clearing. Denselywooded slopes rose on all sides. The manager requested two ofthe Indian tenants to act as guides. With them, we plunged intothe thick jungle and spent a long and fatiguing day searching invain for ruins. That night the manager returned to Huadquiña, butProfessor Foote and I preferred to remain in Ccllumayu and prosecutea more vigorous search on the next day. We shared a little thatchedhut with our Indian hosts and a score of fat cuys (guinea pigs), thechief source of the Ccllumayu meat supply. The hut was built of roughwattles which admitted plenty of fresh air and gave us comfortableventilation. Primitive little sleeping-platforms, also of wattles, constructed for the needs of short, stocky Indians, kept us frombeing overrun by inquisitive cuys, but could hardly be called ascomfortable as our own folding cots which we had left at Huadquiña. 

The next day our guides were able to point out in the woods a fewpiles of stones, the foundations of oval or circular huts whichprobably were built by some primitive savage tribe in prehistorictimes. Nothing further could be found here of ruins, "important"or otherwise, although we spent three days at Ccllumayu. Such wasour first disillusionment. 

On our return to Huadquiña, we learned that the trail to Yurak Rumiwould be ready "in a day or two. " In the meantime our hosts became muchinterested in Professor Foote's collection of insects. They broughtan unnamed scorpion and informed us that an orange orchard surroundedby high walls in a secluded place back of the house was "a greatplace for spiders. " We found that their statement was not exaggeratedand immediately engaged in an enthusiastic spider hunt. When theseHuadquiña spiders were studied at the Harvard Museum of ComparativeZoölogy, Dr. Chamberlain found among them the representatives of fournew genera and nineteen species hitherto unknown to science. As areward of merit, he gave Professor Foote's name to the scorpion!

------FIGURE

Ruins of Yurak Rumi near Huadquiña. Probably an Inca Storehouse, wellventilated and well drained. Drawn by A. H. Bumstead from measurementsand photographs by Hiram Bingham and H. W. Foote. ------

Finally the trail to Yurak Rumi was reported finished. It was withfeelings of keen anticipation that I started out with the foremanto see those ruins which he had just revisited and now declared were"better than those of Ollantaytambo. " It was to be presumed that in thepride of discovery he might have exaggerated their importance. Still itnever entered my head what I was actually to find. After several hoursspent in clearing away the dense forest growth which surrounded thewalls I learned that this Yurak Rumi consisted of the ruins of a singlelittle rectangular Inca storehouse. No effort had been made at beautyof construction. The walls were of rough, unfashioned stones laid inclay. The building was without a doorway, although it had several smallwindows and a series of ventilating shafts under the house. The lintelsof the windows and of the small apertures leading into the subterraneanshafts were of stone. There were no windows on the sunny north sideor on the ends, but there were four on the south side through whichit would have been possible to secure access to the stores of maize, potatoes, or other provisions placed here for safe-keeping. Itwill be recalled that the Incas maintained an extensive system ofpublic storehouses, not only in the centers of population, but alsoat strategic points on the principal trails. Yurak Rumi is on top ofthe ridge between the Salcantay and Huadquiña valleys, probably on anancient road which crossed the province of Uilcapampa. As such it wasinteresting; but to compare it with Ollantaytambo, as the foreman haddone, was to liken a cottage to a palace or a mouse to an elephant. Itseems incredible that anybody having actually seen both places couldhave thought for a moment that one was "as good as the other. " To besure, the foreman was not a trained observer and his interest in Incabuildings was probably of the slightest. Yet the ruins of Ollantaytamboare so well known and so impressive that even the most casual traveleris struck by them and the natives themselves are enormously proudof them. The real cause of the foreman's inaccuracy was probably hisdesire to please. To give an answer which will satisfy the questioneris a common trait in Peru as well as in many other parts of theworld. Anyhow, the lessons of the past few days were not lost onus. We now understood the skepticism which had prevailed regardingLizarraga's discoveries. It is small wonder that the occasionalstories about Machu Picchu which had drifted into Cuzco had neverelicited any enthusiasm nor even provoked investigation on the partof those professors and students in the University of Cuzco who wereinterested in visiting the remains of Inca civilization. They knewonly too well the fondness of their countrymen for exaggeration andtheir inability to report facts accurately. 

Obviously, we had not yet found Uiticos. So, bidding farewell toSeñora Carmen, we crossed the Urubamba on the bridge of Colpani andproceeded down the valley past the mouth of the Lucumayo and theroad from Panticalla, to the hamlet of Chauillay, where the Urubambais joined by the Vilcabamba River. [11] Both rivers are restrictedhere to narrow gorges, through which their waters rush and roar ontheir way to the lower valley. A few rods from Chauillay was a finebridge. The natives call it Chuquichaca! Steel and iron have supersededthe old suspension bridge of huge cables made of vegetable fiber, withits narrow roadway of wattles supported by a network of vines. Yethere it was that in 1572 the military force sent by the viceroy, Francisco de Toledo, under the command of General Martin Hurtado andCaptain Garcia, found the forces of the young Inca drawn up to defendUiticos. It will be remembered that after a brief preliminary firethe forces of Tupac Amaru were routed without having destroyed thebridge and thus Captain Garcia was enabled to accomplish that whichhad proved too much for the famous Gonzalo Pizarro. Our inspection ofthe surroundings showed that Captain Garcia's companion, Baltasar deOcampo, was correct when he said that the occupation of the bridgeof Chuquichaca "was a measure of no small importance for the royalforce. " It certainly would have caused the Spaniards "great trouble"if they had had to rebuild it. 

We might now have proceeded to follow Garcia's tracks up the Vilcabambahad we not been anxious to see the proprietor of the plantation ofSanta Ana, Don Pedro Duque, reputed to be the wisest and ablest manin this whole province. We felt he would be able to offer us advice ofprime importance in our search. So leaving the bridge of Chuquichaca, we continued down the Urubamba River which here meanders through abroad, fertile valley, green with tropical plantations. We passedgroves of bananas and oranges, waving fields of green sugar cane, thehospitable dwellings of prosperous planters, and the huts of Indiansfortunate enough to dwell in this tropical "Garden of Eden. " The daywas hot and thirst-provoking, so I stopped near some large orange treesloaded with ripe fruit and asked the Indian proprietress to sell meten cents' worth. In exchange for the tiny silver real she dragged outa sack containing more than fifty oranges! I was fain to request herto permit us to take only as many as our pockets could hold; but sheseemed so surprised and pained, we had to fill our saddle-bags as well. 

At the end of the day we crossed the Urubamba River on a finesteel bridge and found ourselves in the prosperous little town ofQuillabamba, the provincial capital. Its main street was lined withwell-filled shops, evidence of the fact that this is one of theprincipal gateways to the Peruvian rubber country which, with thehigh price of rubber then prevailing, 1911, was the scene of unusualactivity. Passing through Quillabamba and up a slight hill beyondit, we came to the long colonnades of the celebrated sugar estate ofSanta Ana founded by the Jesuits, where all explorers who have passedthis way since the days of Charles Wiener have been entertained. Hesays that he was received here "with a thousand signs of friendship"("mille témoignages d'amitié"). We were received the same way. Evenin a region where we had repeatedly received valuable assistance fromgovernment officials and generous hospitality from private individuals, our reception at Santa Ana stands out as particularly delightful. 

Don Pedro Duque took great interest in enabling us to get all possibleinformation about the little-known region into which we proposedto penetrate. Born in Colombia, but long resident in Peru, he wasa gentleman of the old school, keenly interested, not only in theadministration and economic progress of his plantation, but also inthe intellectual movements of the outside world. He entered with zestinto our historical-geographical studies. The name Uiticos was newto him, but after reading over with us our extracts from the Spanishchronicles he was sure that he could help us find it. And help us hedid. Santa Ana is less than thirteen degrees south of the equator;the elevation is barely 2000 feet; the "winter" nights are cool;but the heat in the middle of the day is intense. Nevertheless, our host was so energetic that as a result of his efforts a numberof the best-informed residents were brought to the conferences atthe great plantation house. They told all they knew of the towns andvalleys where the last four Incas had found a refuge, but that wasnot much. They all agreed that "if only Señor Lopez Torres were alivehe could have been of great service" to us, as "he had prospectedfor mines and rubber in those parts more than any one else, and hadonce seen some Inca ruins in the forest!" Of Uiticos and Chuquipalpaand most of the places mentioned in the chronicles, none of DonPedro's friends had ever heard. It was all rather discouraging, until one day, by the greatest good fortune, there arrived at SantaAna another friend of Don Pedro's, the teniente gobernador of thevillage of Lucma in the valley of Vilcabamba--a crusty old fellownamed Evaristo Mogrovejo. His brother, Pio Mogrovejo, had been amember of the party of energetic Peruvians who, in 1884, had searchedfor buried treasure at Choqquequirau and had left their names onits walls. Evaristo Mogrovejo could understand searching for buriedtreasure, but he was totally unable otherwise to comprehend our desireto find the ruins of the places mentioned by Father Calancha and thecontemporaries of Captain Garcia. Had we first met Mogrovejo in Lucmahe would undoubtedly have received us with suspicion and done nothingto further our quest. Fortunately for us, his official superior wasthe sub-prefect of the province of Convención, lived at Quillabambanear Santa Ana, and was a friend of Don Pedro's. The sub-prefect hadreceived orders from his own official superior, the prefect of Cuzco, to take a personal interest in our undertaking, and accordingly gaveparticular orders to Mogrovejo to see to it that we were given everyfacility for finding the ancient ruins and identifying the placesof historic interest. Although Mogrovejo declined to risk his skinin the savage wilderness of Conservidayoc, he carried out his ordersfaithfully and was ultimately of great assistance to us. 

Extremely gratified with the result of our conferences in SantaAna, yet reluctant to leave the delightful hospitality and charmingconversation of our gracious host, we decided to go at once to Lucma, taking the road on the southwest side of the Urubamba and usingthe route followed by the pack animals which carry the preciouscargoes of coca and aguardiente from Santa Ana to Ollantaytambo andCuzco. Thanks to Don Pedro's energy, we made an excellent start;not one of those meant-to-be-early but really late-in-the-morningdepartures so customary in the Andes. 

We passed through a region which originally had been heavily forested, had long since been cleared, and was now covered with bushes andsecond growth. Near the roadside I noticed a considerable number ofland shells grouped on the under-side of overhanging rocks. As a boyin the Hawaiian Islands I had spent too many Saturdays collectingthose beautiful and fascinating mollusks, which usually prefer thetrees of upland valleys, to enable me to resist the temptation ofgathering a large number of such as could easily be secured. None ofthe snails were moving. The dry season appears to be their restingperiod. Some weeks later Professor Foote and I passed through Marasand were interested to notice thousands of land shells, mostly white incolor, on small bushes, where they seemed to be quietly sleeping. Theywere fairly "glued to their resting places"; clustered so closely insome cases as to give the stems of the bushes a ghostly appearance. 

Our present objective was the valley of the river Vilcabamba. Sofar as we have been able to learn, only one other explorer hadpreceded us--the distinguished scientist Raimondi. His map of theVilcabamba is fairly accurate. He reports the presence here ofmines and minerals, but with the exception of an "abandoned tampu"at Maracnyoc ("the place which possesses a millstone"), he makes nomention of any ruins. Accordingly, although it seemed from the storyof Baltasar de Ocampo and Captain Garcia's other contemporaries thatwe were now entering the valley of Uiticos, it was with feel-hags ofconsiderable uncertainty that we proceeded on our quest. It may seemstrange that we should have been in any doubt. Yet before our visitnearly all the Peruvian historians and geographers except Don CarlosRomero still believed that when the Inca Manco fled from Pizarro hetook up his residence at Choqquequirau in the Apurimac Valley. Theword choqquequirau means "cradle of gold" and this lent color to thelegend that Manco had carried off with him from Cuzco great quantitiesof gold utensils and much treasure, which he deposited in his newcapital. Raimondi, knowing that Manco had "retired to Uilcapampa, "visited both the present villages of Vilcabamba and Pucyura andsaw nothing of any ruins. He was satisfied that Choqquequirau wasManco's refuge because it was far enough from Pucyura to answer therequirements of Calancha that it was "two or three days' journey"from Uilcapampa to Puquiura. 

A new road had recently been built along the river bank by the ownerof the sugar estate at Paltaybamba, to enable his pack animals totravel more rapidly. Much of it had to be carved out of the faceof a solid rock precipice and in places it pierces the cliffs ina series of little tunnels. My gendarme missed this road and tookthe steep old trail over the cliffs. As Ocampo said in his story ofCaptain Garcia's expedition, "the road was narrow in the ascent withforest on the fight, and on the left a ravine of great depth. " Wereached Paltaybamba about dusk. The owner, Señor José S. Pancorbo, was absent, attending to the affairs of a rubber estate in the junglesof the river San Miguel. The plantation of Paltaybamba occupies thebest lands in the lower Vilcabamba Valley, but lying, as it does, well off the main highway, visitors are rare and our arrival wasthe occasion for considerable excitement. We were not unexpected, however. It was Señor Pancorbo who had assured us in Cuzco that weshould find ruins near Pucyura and he had told his major-domo to beon the look-out for us. We had a long talk with the manager of theplantation and his friends that evening. They had heard little ofany ruins in this vicinity, but repeated one of the stories we hadheard in Santa Ana, that way off somewhere in the montaña there was"an Inca city. " All agreed that it was a very difficult place to reach;and none of them had ever been there. In the morning the manager gaveus a guide to the next house up the valley, with orders that the manat that house should relay us to the next, and so on. These people, all tenants of the plantation, obligingly carried out their orders, although at considerable inconvenience to themselves. 

The Vilcabamba Valley above Paltaybamba is very picturesque. Thereare high mountains on either side, covered with dense jungle and darkgreen foliage, in pleasing contrast to the light green of the fields ofwaving sugar cane. The valley is steep, the road is very winding, andthe torrent of the Vilcabamba roars loudly, even in July. What it mustbe like in February, the rainy season, we could only surmise. Abouttwo leagues above Paltaybamba, at or near the spot called by Raimondi"Maracnyoc, " an "abandoned tampu, " we came to some old stone walls, the ruins of a place now called Huayara or "Hoyara. " I believe them tobe the ruins of the first Spanish settlement in this region, a placereferred to by Ocampo, who says that the fugitives of Tupac Amaru'sarmy were "brought back to the valley of Hoyara, " where they were"settled in a large village, and a city of Spaniards was founded. .. . This city was founded on an extensive plain near a river, withan admirable climate. From the river channels of water were taken forthe service of the city, the water being very good. " The water hereis excellent, far better than any in the Cuzco Basin. On the plainnear the river are some of the last cane fields of the plantationof Paltaybamba. "Hoyara" was abandoned after the discovery of goldmines several leagues farther up the valley, and the Spanish "city"was moved to the village now called Vilcabamba. 

Our next stop was at Lucma, the home of Teniente GobernadorMogrovejo. The village of Lucma is an irregular cluster of about thirtythatched-roofed huts. It enjoys a moderate amount of prosperity due tothe fact of its being located near one of the gateways to the interior, the pass to the rubber estates in the San Miguel Valley. Here are"houses of refreshment" and two shops, the only ones in the region. Onecan buy cotton cloth, sugar, canned goods and candles. A picturesquebelfry and a small church, old and somewhat out of repair, crown thesmall hill back of the village. There is little level land, but theslopes are gentle, and permit a considerable amount of agriculture. 

There was no evidence of extensive terracing. Maize and alfalfa seemedto be the principal crops. Evaristo Mogrovejo lived on the little plazaaround which the houses of the more important people were grouped. Hehad just returned from Santa Ana by the way of Idma, using a muchworse trail than that over which we had come, but one which enabledhim to avoid passing through Paltaybamba, with whose proprietor hewas not on good terms. He told us stories of misadventures which hadhappened to travelers at the gates of Paltaybamba, stories highlyreminiscent of feudal days in Europe, when provincial barons wereaccustomed to lay tribute on all who passed. 

We offered to pay Mogrovejo a gratificación of a sol, or Peruviansilver dollar, for every ruin to which he would take us, and doublethat amount if the locality should prove to contain particularlyinteresting ruins. This aroused all his business instincts. Hesummoned his alcaldes and other well-informed Indians to appear and beinterviewed. They told us there were "many ruins" hereabouts! Beinga practical man himself, Mogrovejo had never taken any interest inruins. Now he saw the chance not only to make money out of the ancientsites, but also to gain official favor by carrying out with unexampledvigor the orders of his superior, the sub-prefect of Quillabamba. Sohe exerted himself to the utmost in our behalf. 

The next day we were guided up a ravine to the top of the ridge backof Lucma. This ridge divides the upper from the lower Vilcabamba. Onall sides the hills rose several thousand feet above us. In placesthey were covered with forest growth, chiefly above the cloud line, where daily moisture encourages vegetation. In some of the forests onthe more gentle slopes recent clearings gave evidence of enterpriseon the part of the present inhabitants of the valley. After an hour'sclimb we reached what were unquestionably the ruins of Inca structures, on an artificial terrace which commands a magnificent view far downtoward Paltaybamba and the bridge of Chuquichaca, as well as in theopposite direction. The contemporaries of Captain Garcia speak of anumber of forts or pucarás which had to be stormed and captured beforeTupac Amaru could be taken prisoner. This was probably one of those"fortresses. " Its strategic position and the ease with which it couldbe defended point to such an interpretation. Nevertheless this ruindid not fit the "fortress of Pitcos, " nor the "House of the Sun"near the "white rock over the spring. " It is called Incahuaracana, "the place where the Inca shoots with a sling. "

Incahuaracana consists of two typical Inca edifices--one of tworooms, about 70 by 20 feet, and the other, very long and narrow, 150 by 11 feet. The walls, of unhewn stone laid in clay, were notparticularly well built and resemble in many respects the ruins atChoqquequirau. The rooms of the principal house are without windows, although each has three front doors and is lined with niches, fouror five on a side. The long, narrow building was divided into threerooms, and had several front doors. A force of two hundred Indiansoldiers could have slept in these houses without unusual crowding. 

We left Lucma the next day, forded the Vilcabamba River and soonhad an uninterrupted view up the valley to a high, truncated hill, its top partly covered with a scrubby growth of trees and bushes, its sides steep and rocky. We were told that the name of the hill was"Rosaspata, " a word of modern hybrid origin--pata being Quichua for"hill, " while rosas is the Spanish word for "roses. " Mogrovejo saidhis Indians told him that on the "Hill of Roses" there were more ruins. 

At the foot of the hill, and across the river, is the village ofPucyura. When Raimondi was here in 1865 it was but a "wretched hamletwith a paltry chapel. " To-day it is more prosperous. There is a largepublic school here, to which children come from villages many milesaway. So crowded is the school that in fine weather the childrensit on benches out of doors. The boys all go barefooted. The girlswear high boots. I once saw them reciting a geography lesson, but Idoubt if even the teacher knew whether or not this was the site ofthe first school in this whole region. For it was to "Puquiura" thatFriar Marcos came in 1566. Perhaps he built the "mezquina capilla"which Raimondi scorned. If this were the "Puquiura" of Friar Marcos, then Uiticos must be near by, for he and Friar Diego walked withtheir famous procession of converts from "Puquiura" to the House ofthe Sun and the "white rock" which was "close to Uiticos. "

Crossing the Vilcabamba on a footbridge that afternoon, we cameimmediately upon some old ruins that were not Incaic. Examinationshowed that they were apparently the remains of a very crude Spanishcrushing mill, obviously intended to pulverize gold-bearing quartz on aconsiderable scale. Perhaps this was the place referred to by Ocampo, who says that the Inca Titu Cusi attended masses said by his friendFriar Diego in a chapel which is "near my houses and on my own lands, in the mining district of Puquiura, close to the ore-crushing mill ofDon Christoval de Albornoz, Precentor that was of the Cuzco Cathedral. "

------FIGURE

Pucyura and the Hill of Rosaspata in the Vilcabamba Valley------

One of the millstones is five feet in diameter and more than a footthick. It lay near a huge, flat rock of white granite, hollowedout so as to enable the millstone to be rolled slowly around in ahollow trough. There was also a very large Indian mortar and pestle, heavy enough to need the services of four men to work it. The mortarwas merely the hollowed-out top of a large boulder which projecteda few inches above the surface of the ground. The pestle, four feetin diameter, was of the characteristic rocking-stone shape used fromtime immemorial by the Indians of the highlands for crushing maize orpotatoes. Since no other ruins of a Spanish quartz-crushing plant havebeen found in this vicinity, it is probable that this once belongedto Don Christoval de Albornoz. 

Near the mill the Tincochaca River joins the Vilcabamba from thesoutheast. Crossing this on a footbridge, I followed Mogrovejo to anold and very dilapidated structure in the saddle of the hill on thesouth side of Rosaspata. They called the place Uncapampa, or Incapampa. It is probably one of the forts stormed by Captain Garciaand his men in 1571. The ruins represent a single house, 166 feetlong by 33 feet wide. If the house had partitions they long sincedisappeared. There were six doorways in front, none on the ends orin the rear walls. The ruins resembled those of Incahuaracana, nearLucma. The walls had originally been built of rough stones laid inclay. The general finish was extremely rough. The few niches, allat one end of the structure, were irregular, about two feet in widthand a little more than this in height. The one corner of the buildingwhich was still standing had a height of about ten feet. Two hundredInca soldiers could have slept here also. 

Leaving Uncapampa and following my guides, I climbed up the ridge andfollowed a path along its west side to the top of Rosaspata. Passingsome ruins much overgrown and of a primitive character, I soon foundmyself on a pleasant pampa near the top of the mountain. The viewfrom here commands "a great part of the province of Uilcapampa. " Itis remarkably extensive on all sides; to the north and south aresnow-capped mountains, to the east and west, deep verdure-clad valleys. 

Furthermore, on the north side of the pampa is an extensive levelspace with a very sumptuous and majestic building "erected with greatskill and art, all the lintels of the doors, the principal as well asthe ordinary ones, " being of white granite elaborately cut. At lastwe had found a place which seemed to meet most of the requirementsof Ocampo's description of the "fortress of Pitcos. " To be sure itwas not of "marble, " and the lintels of the doors were not "carved, "in our sense of the word. They were, however, beautifully finished, as may be seen from the illustrations, and the white granite mighteasily pass for marble. If only we could find in this vicinity thatTemple of the Sun which Calancha said was "near" Uiticos, all doubtswould be at an end. 

That night we stayed at Tincochaca, in the hut of an Indian friend ofMogrovejo. As usual we made inquiries. Imagine our feelings when inresponse to the oft-repeated question he said that in a neighboringvalley there was a great white rock over a spring of water! If hisstory should prove to be true our quest for Uiticos was over. Itbehooved us to make a very careful study of what we had found. 

CHAPTER XII

The Fortress of Uiticos and the House of the Sun

When the viceroy, Toledo, determined to conquer that last stronghold ofthe Incas where for thirty-five years they had defied the supremepower of Spain, he offered a thousand dollars a year as a pensionto the soldier who would capture Tupac Amaru. Captain Garciaearned the pension, but failed to receive it; the "mañana habit"was already strong in the days of Philip II. So the doughty captainfiled a collection of testimonials with Philip's Royal Council ofthe Indies. Among these is his own statement of what happened on thecampaign against Tupac Amaru. In this he says: "and having arrivedat the principal fortress, Guay-napucará ["the young fortress"], which the Incas had fortified, we found it defended by the PrincePhilipe Quispetutio, a son of the Inca Titu Cusi, with his captainsand soldiers. It is on a high eminence surrounded with rugged crags andjungles, very dangerous to ascend and almost impregnable. Nevertheless, with my aforesaid company of soldiers I went up and gained thefortress, but only with the greatest possible labor and danger. Thuswe gained the province of Uilcapampa. " The viceroy himself says thisimportant victory was due to Captain Garcia's skill and courage instorming the heights of Guaynapucará, "on Saint John the Baptist's day, in 1572. "

The "Hill of Roses" is indeed "a high eminence surrounded with ruggedcrags. " The side of easiest approach is protected by a splendid, longwall, built so carefully as not to leave a single toe-hold for activebesiegers. The barracks at Uncapampa could have furnished a contingentto make an attack on that side very dangerous. The hill is steep onall sides, and it would have been extremely easy for a small forceto have defended it. It was undoubtedly "almost impregnable. " Thiswas the feature Captain Garcia was most likely to remember. 

On the very summit of the hill are the ruins of a partly enclosedcompound consisting of thirteen or fourteen houses arranged so as toform a rough square, with one large and several small courtyards. Theoutside dimensions of the compound are about 160 feet by 145 feet. Thebuilders showed the familiar Inca sense of symmetry in arrangingthe houses, Due to the wanton destruction of many buildings by thenatives in their efforts at treasure-hunting, the walls have been sopulled down that it is impossible to get the exact dimensions of thebuildings. In only one of them could we be sure that there had beenany niches. 

------FIGURE

Principal Doorway of the Long Palace at Rosaspata------

------FIGURE

Another Doorway in the Ruins of Rosaspata------

Most interesting of all is the structure which caught the attentionof Ocampo and remained fixed in his memory. Enough remains of thisbuilding to give a good idea of its former grandeur. It was indeed afit residence for a royal Inca, an exile from Cuzco. It is 245 feet by43 feet. There were no windows, but it was lighted by thirty doorways, fifteen in front and the same in back. It contained ten large rooms, besides three hallways running from front to rear. The walls were builtrather hastily and are not noteworthy, but the principal entrances, namely, those leading to each hall, are particularly well made; not, to be sure, of "marble" as Ocampo said--there is no marble in theprovince--but of finely cut ashlars of white granite. The lintelsof the principal doorways, as well as of the ordinary ones, arealso of solid blocks of white granite, the largest being as much aseight feet in length. The doorways are better than any other ruins inUilcapampa except those of Machu Picchu, thus justifying the mentionof them made by Ocampo, who lived near here and had time to becomethoroughly familiar with their appearance. Unfortunately, a verysmall portion of the edifice was still standing. Most of the reardoors had been filled up with ashlars, in order to make a continuousfence. Other walls had been built from the ruins, to keep cattle outof the cultivated pampa. Rosaspata is at an elevation which places iton the borderland between the cold grazing country, with its root cropsand sublimated pigweeds, and the temperate zone where maize flourishes. 

On the south side of the hilltop, opposite the long palace, is the ruinof a single structure, 78 feet long and 35 feet wide, containing doorson both sides, no niches and no evidence of careful workmanship. Itwas probably a barracks for a company of soldiers. 

The intervening "pampa" might have been the scene of those gamesof bowls and quoits, which were played by the Spanish refugees whofled from the wrath of Gonzalo Pizarro and found refuge with the IncaManco. Here may have occurred that fatal game when one of the playerslost his temper and killed his royal host. 

Our excavations in 1915 yielded a mass of rough potsherds, a few Incawhirl-bobs and bronze shawl pins, and also a number of iron articles ofEuropean origin, heavily rusted--horseshoe nails, a buckle, a pair ofscissors, several bridle or saddle ornaments, and three Jew's-harps. Myfirst thought was that modern Peruvians must have lived here at onetime, although the necessity of carrying all water supplies up the hillwould make this unlikely. Furthermore, the presence here of artifactsof European origin does not of itself point to such a conclusion. Inthe first place, we know that Manco was accustomed to make raidson Spanish travelers between Cuzco and Lima. He might very easilyhave brought back with him a Spanish bridle. In the second place themusical instruments may have belonged to the refugees, who might haveenjoyed whiling away their exile with melancholy twanging. In thethird place the retainers of the Inca probably visited the Spanishmarket in Cuzco, where there would have been displayed at times aconsiderable assortment of goods of European manufacture. FinallyRodriguez de Figueroa speaks expressly of two pairs of scissors hebrought as a present to Titu Cusi. That no such array of Europeanartifacts has been turned up in the excavations of other importantsites in the province of Uilcapampa would seem to indicate that theywere abandoned before the Spanish Conquest or else were occupied bynatives who had no means of accumulating such treasures. 

Thanks to Ocampo's description of the fortress which Tupac Amaru wasoccupying in 1572 there is no doubt that this was the palace of thelast Inca. Was it also the capital of his brothers, Titu Cusi and SayriTupac, and his father, Manco? It is astonishing how few details we haveby which the Uiticos of Manco may be identified. His contemporariesare strangely silent. When he left Cuzco and sought refuge "in theremote fastnesses of the Andes, " there was a Spanish soldier, Ciezade Leon, in the armies of Pizarro who had a genius for seeing andhearing interesting things and writing them down, and who tried tointerview as many members of the royal family as he could;--Mancohad thirteen brothers. Ciezo de Leon says he was much disappointednot to be able to talk with Manco himself and his sons, but they had"retired into the provinces of Uiticos, which are in the most retiredpart of those regions, beyond the great Cordillera of the Andes. " [12]The Spanish refugees who died as the result of the murder of Mancomay not have known how to write. Anyhow, so far as we can learn theyleft no accounts from which any one could identify his residence. 

Titu Cusi gives no definite clue, but the activities of Friar Marcosand Friar Diego, who came to be his spiritual advisers, are fullydescribed by Calancha. It will be remembered that Calancha remarks that"close to Uiticos in a village called Chuquipalpa, is a House of theSun and in it a white stone over a spring of water. " Our guide hadtold us there was such a place close to the hill of Rosaspata. 

On the day after making the first studies of the "Hill of Roses, " Ifollowed the impatient Mogrovejo--whose object was not to study ruinsbut to earn dollars for finding them--and went over the hill on itsnortheast side to the Valley of Los Andenes ("the Terraces"). Here, sure enough, was a large, white granite boulder, flattened on top, which had a carved seat or platform on its northern side. Its westside covered a cave in which were several niches. This cave had beenwalled in on one side. When Mogrovejo and the Indian guide said therewas a manantial de agua ("spring of water") near by, I became greatlyinterested. On investigation, however, the" spring" turned out tobe nothing but part of a small irrigating ditch. (Manantial means"spring"; it also means "running water"). But the rock was not "overthe water. " Although this was undoubtedly one of those huacas, orsacred boulders, selected by the Incas as the visible representationsof the founders of a tribe and thus was an important accessory toancestor worship, it was not the Yurak Rumi for which we were looking. 

------FIGURE

Northeast Face of Yurak Rumi------

Leaving the boulder and the ruins of what possibly had been the houseof its attendant priest, we followed the little water course past alarge number of very handsomely built agricultural terraces, the firstwe had seen since leaving Machu Picchu and the most important ones inthe valley. So scarce are andenes in this region and so noteworthy werethese in particular that this vale has been named after them. They wereprobably built under the direction of Manco. Near them are a number ofcarved boulders, huacas. One had an intihuatana, or sundial nubbin, on it; another was carved in the shape of a saddle. Continuing, wefollowed a trickling stream through thick woods until we suddenlyarrived at an open place called ñusta Isppana. Here before us was agreat white rock over a spring. Our guides had not misled us. Beneaththe trees were the ruins of an Inca temple, flanking and partlyenclosing the gigantic granite boulder, one end of which overhung asmall pool of running water. When we learned that the present nameof this immediate vicinity is Chuquipalta our happiness was complete. 

It was late on the afternoon of August 9, 1911, when I first saw thisremarkable shrine. Densely wooded hills rose on every side. There wasnot a hut to be seen; scarcely a sound to be heard. It was an idealplace for practicing the mystic ceremonies of an ancient cult. Theremarkable aspect of this great boulder and the dark pool beneath itsshadow had caused this to become a place of worship. Here, withoutdoubt, was "the principal mochadero of those forested mountains. " It isstill venerated by the Indians of the vicinity. At last we had foundthe place where, in the days of Titu Cusi, the Inca priests faced theeast, greeted the rising sun, "extended their hands toward it, " and"threw kisses to it, " "a ceremony of the most profound resignation andreverence. " We may imagine the sun priests, clad in their resplendentrobes of office, standing on the top of the rock at the edge ofits steepest side, their faces lit up with the rosy light of theearly morning, awaiting the moment when the Great Divinity shouldappear above the eastern hills and receive their adoration. As itrose they saluted it and cried: "O Sun! Thou who art in peace andsafety, shine upon us, keep us from sickness, and keep us in healthand safety. O Sun! Thou who hast said let there be Cuzco and Tampu, grant that these children may conquer all other people. We beseechthee that thy children the Incas may be always conquerors, since itis for this that thou hast created them. "

------FIGURE

Plan of the Ruins of the Temple of the Sun at Ñusta Isppana FormerlyYurak Rumi in Chuquipalpa Near Uiticos------

It was during Titu Cusi's reign that Friars Marcos and Diego marchedover here with their converts from Puquiura, each carrying a stick offirewood. Calancha says the Indians worshiped the water as a divinething, that the Devil had at times shown himself in the water. Sincethe surface of the little pool, as one gazes at it, does not reflectthe sky, but only the overhanging, dark, mossy rock, the water looksblack and forbidding, even to unsuperstitious Yankees. It is easy tobelieve that simple-minded Indian worshipers in this secluded spotcould readily believe that they actually saw the Devil appearing"as a visible manifestation" in the water. Indians came from the mostsequestered villages of the dense forests to worship here and to offergifts and sacrifices. Nevertheless, the Augustinian monks here raisedthe standard of the cross, recited their orisons, and piled firewoodall about the rock and temple. Exorcising the Devil and calling himby all the vile names they could think of, the friars commanded himnever to return. Setting fire to the pile, they burned up the temple, scorched the rock, making a powerful impression on the Indians andcausing the poor Devil to flee, "roaring in a fury. " "The cruel Devilnever more returned to the rock nor to this district. " Whether theroaring which they heard was that of the Devil or of the flames wecan only conjecture. Whether the conflagration temporarily dried upthe swamp or interfered with the arrangements of the water supply sothat the pool disappeared for the time being and gave the Devil nochance to appear in the water, where he had formerly been accustomedto show himself, is also a matter for speculation. 

The buildings of the House of the Sun are in a very ruinous state, but the rock itself, with its curious carvings, is well preservednotwithstanding the great conflagration of 1570. Its length isfifty-two feet, its width thirty feet, and its height above the presentlevel of the water, twenty-five feet. On the west side of the rock areseats and large steps or platforms. It was customary to kill llamas atthese holy huacas. On top of the rock is a flattened place which mayhave been used for such sacrifices. From it runs a little crack inthe boulder, which has been artificially enlarged and may have beenintended to carry off the blood of the victim killed on top of therock. It is still used for occult ceremonies of obscure origin whichare quietly practiced here by the more superstitious Indian women ofthe valley, possibly in memory of the ñusta or Inca princess for whomthe shrine is named. 

On the south side of the monolith are several large platforms and fouror five small seats which have been cut in the rock. Great care wasexercised in cutting out the platforms. The edges are very nearlysquare, level, and straight. The east side of the rock projectsover the spring. Two seats have been carved immediately above thewater. On the north side there are no seats. Near the water, stepshave been carved. There is one flight of three and another of sevensteps. Above them the rock has been flattened artificially and carvedinto a very bold relief. There are ten projecting square stones, like those usually called intihuatana or "places to which the sunis tied. " In one line are seven; one is slightly apart from the sixothers. The other three are arranged in a triangular position abovethe seven. It is significant that these stones are on the northeastface of the rock, where they are exposed to the rising sun and causestriking shadows at sunrise. 

------FIGURE

Carved Seats and Platforms of Ñusta Isppana------

------FIGURE

Two of the Seven Seats Near the Spring Under the Great White Rock------

Our excavations yielded no artifacts whatever and only a handful ofvery rough old potsherds of uncertain origin. The running water underthe rock was clear and appeared to be a spring, but when we drainedthe swamp which adjoins the great rock on its northeastern side, wefound that the spring was a little higher up the hill and that thewater ran through the dark pool. We also found that what looked likea stone culvert on the borders of the little pool proved to be thetop of the back of a row of seven or eight very fine stone seats. Theplatform on which the seats rested and the seats themselves are partsof three or four large rocks nicely fitted together. Some of theseats are under the black shadows of the overhanging rock. Since thepool was an object of fear and mystery the seats were probably usedonly by priests or sorcerers. It would have been a splendid place topractice divination. No doubt the devils "roared. "

All our expeditions in the ancient province of Uilcapampa havefailed to disclose the presence of any other "white rock over aspring of water" surrounded by the ruins of a possible "House ofthe Sun. " Consequently it seems reasonable to adopt the followingconclusions: First, ñusta Isppana is the Yurak Rumi of FatherCalancha. The Chuquipalta of to-day is the place to which he refersas Chuquipalpa. Second, Uiticos, "close to" this shrine, was oncethe name of the present valley of Vilcabamba between Tincochaca andLucma. This is the "Viticos" of Cieza de Leon, a contemporary of Manco, who says that it was to the province of Viticos that Manco determinedto retire when he rebelled against Pizarro, and that "having reachedViticos with a great quantity of treasure collected from variousparts, together with his women and retinue, the king, Manco Inca, established himself in the strongest place he could find, whence hesallied forth many times and in many directions and disturbed thoseparts which were quiet, to do what harm he could to the Spaniards, whom he considered as cruel enemies. " Third, the "strongest place"of Cieza, the Guaynapucará of Garcia, was Rosaspata, referred to byOcampo as "the fortress of Pitcos, " where, he says, "there was a levelspace with majestic buildings, " the most noteworthy feature of whichwas that they had two kinds of doors and both kinds had white stonelintels. Fourth, the modern village of Pucyura in the valley of theriver Vilcabamba is the Puquiura of Father Calancha, the site of thefirst mission church in this region, as assumed by Raimondi, althoughhe was disappointed in the insignificance of the "wretched littlevillage. " The remains of the old quartz-crushing plant in Tincochaca, which has already been noted, the distance from the "House of the Sun, "not too great for the religious procession, and the location of Pucyuranear the fortress, all point to the correctness of this conclusion. 

Finally, Calancha says that Friar Ortiz, after he had securedpermission from Titu Cusi to establish the second missionary stationin Uilcapampa, selected "the town of Huarancalla, which was populousand well located in the midst of a number of other little towns andvillages. There was a distance of two or three days' journey fromone convent to the other. Leaving Friar Marcos in Puquiura, FriarDiego went to his new establishment, and in a short time built achurch. " There is no "Huarancalla" to-day, nor any tradition of any, but in Mapillo, a pleasant valley at an elevation of about 10, 000feet, in the temperate zone where the crops with which the Incaswere familiar might have been raised, near pastures where llamas andalpacas could have flourished, is a place called Huarancalque. Thevalley is populous and contains a number of little towns andvillages. Furthermore, Huarancalque is two or three days' journeyfrom Pucyura and is on the road which the Indians of this regionnow use in going to Ayacucho. This was undoubtedly the route used byManco in his raids on Spanish caravans. The Mapillo flows into theApurimac near the mouth of the river Pampas. Not far up the Pampas isthe important bridge between Bom-bon and Ocros, which Mr. Hay and Icrossed in 1909 on our way from Cuzco to Lima. The city of Ayacucho wasfounded by Pizarro, a day's journey from this bridge. The necessityfor the Spanish caravans to cross the river Pampas at this pointmade it easy for Manco's foraging expeditions to reach them by suddenmarches from Uiticos down the Mapillo River by way of Huarancalque, which is probably the "Huarancalla" of Calancha's "Chronicles. " Hemust have had rafts or canoes on which to cross the Apurimac, whichis here very wide and deep. In the valleys between Huarancalque andLucma, Manco was cut off from central Peru by the Apurimac and itsmagnificent canyon, which in many places has a depth of over twomiles. He was cut off from Cuzco by the inhospitable snow fields andglaciers of Salcantay, Soray, and the adjacent ridges, even thoughthey are only fifty miles from Cuzco. Frequently all the passes arecompletely snow-blocked. Fatalities have been known even in recentyears. In this mountainous province Manco could be sure of findingnot only security from his Spanish enemies, but any climate that hedesired and an abundance of food for his followers. There seems tobe no reason to doubt that the retired region around the modern townof Pucyura in the upper Vilcabamba Valley was once called Uiticos. 

CHAPTER XIII

Vilcabamba

Although the refuge of Manco is frequently spoken of as Uiticosby the contemporary writers, the word Vilcabamba, or Uilcapampa, is used even more often. In fact Garcilasso, the chief historian ofthe Incas, himself the son of an Inca princess, does not mentionUiticos. Vilcabamba was the common name of the province. FatherCalancha says it was a very large area, "covering fourteen degrees oflongitude, " about seven hundred miles wide. It included many savagetribes "of the far interior" who acknowledged the supremacy of theIncas and brought tribute to Manco and his sons. "The Mañaries andthe Pilcosones came a hundred and two hundred leagues" to visit theInca in Uiticos. 

The name, Vilcabamba, is also applied repeatedly to a town. Titu Cusisays he lived there many years during his youth. Calancha says itwas "two days' journey from Puquiura. " Raimondi thought it must beChoqquequirau. Captain Garcia's soldiers, however, speak of it asbeing down in the warm valleys of the montaña, the present rubbercountry. On the other hand the only place which bears this name onthe maps of Peru is near the source of the Vilcabamba River, not morethan three or four leagues from Pucyura. We determined to visit it. 

We found the town to lie on the edge of bleak upland pastures, 11, 750feet above the sea. Instead of Inca walls or ruins Vilcabamba hasthreescore solidly built Spanish houses. At the time of our visit theywere mostly empty, although their roofs, of unusually heavy thatch, seemed to be in good repair. We stayed at the house of the gobernador, Manuel Condoré. The nights were bitterly cold and we should have beenmost uncomfortable in a tent. 

The gobernador said that the reason the town was deserted was that mostof the people were now attending to their chacras, or little farms, and looking after their herds of sheep and cattle in the neighboringvalleys. He said that only at special festival times, such as theannual visit of the priest, who celebrates mass in the church here, once a year, are the buildings fully occupied. In the latter partof the sixteenth century, gold mines were discovered in the adjacentmountains and the capital of the Spanish province of Vilcabamba wastransferred from Hoyara to this place. Its official name, Condorésaid, is still San Francisco de la Victoria de Vilcabamba, and assuch it occurs on most of the early maps of Peru. The solidity ofthe stone houses was due to the prosperity of the gold diggers. Thepresent air of desolation and absence of population is probably dueto the decay of that industry. 

------FIGURE

Ñusta Isppana------

The church is large. Near it, and slightly apart from the building, is a picturesque stone belfry with three old Spanish bells. Condorésaid that the church was built at least three hundred years ago. Itis probably the very structure whose construction was carefullysupervised by Ocampo. In the negotiations for permission to movethe municipality of San Francisco de la Victoria from Hoyara to theneighborhood of the mines, Ocampo, then one of the chief settlers, went to Cuzco as agent of the interested parties, to take the matterup with the viceroy. Ocampo's story is in part as follows:

"The change of site appeared convenient for the service of God ourLord and of his Majesty, and for the increase of his royal fifths, as well as beneficial to the inhabitants of the said city. Havingexamined the capitulations and reasons, the said Don Luis de Velasco[the viceroy] granted the licence to move the city to where it isnow founded, ordering that it should have the title and name of thecity of San Francisco of the Victory of Uilcapampa, which was itsfirst name. By this change of site I, the said Baltasar de Ocampo, performed a great service to God our Lord and his Majesty. Through mycare, industry and solicitude, a very good church was built, with itsprincipal chapel and great doors. " We found the walls to be heavy, massive, and well buttressed, the doors to be unusually large andthe whole to show considerable "industry and solicitude. "

The site was called "Onccoy, where the Spaniards who first discoveredthis land found the flocks and herds. " Modern Vilcabamba is on grassyslopes, well suited for flocks and herds. On the steeper slopespotatoes are still raised, although the valley itself is given upto-day almost entirely to pasture lands. We saw horses, cattle, andsheep in abundance where the Incas must have pastured their llamasand alpacas. In the rocky cliffs near by are remains of the minesbegun in Ocampo's day. There is little doubt that this was Onccoy, although that name is now no longer used here. 

We met at the gobernador's an old Indian who admitted that an Inca hadonce lived on Rosaspata Hill. Of all the scores of persons whom weinterviewed through the courtesy of the intelligent planters of theregion or through the customary assistance of government officials, this Indian was the only one to make such an admission. Even he deniedhaving heard of "Uiticos" or any of its variations. If we were indeedin the country of Manco and his sons, why should no one be familiarwith that name?

Perhaps, after all, it is not surprising. The Indians of the highlandshave now for so many generations been neglected by their rulersand brutalized by being allowed to drink all the alcohol they canpurchase and to assimilate all the cocaine they can secure, throughthe constant chewing of coca leaves, that they have lost much if notall of their racial self-respect. It is the educated mestizos of theprincipal modern cities of Peru who, tracing their descent not onlyfrom the Spanish soldiers of the Conquest, but also from the bloodof the race which was conquered, take pride in the achievements ofthe Incas and are endeavoring to preserve the remains of the wonderfulcivilization of their native ancestors. Until quite recently Vilcabambawas an unknown land to most of the Peruvians, even those who live inthe city of Cuzco. Had the capital of the last four Incas been in aregion whose climate appealed to Europeans, whose natural resourceswere sufficient to support a large population, and whose roads madetransportation no more difficult than in most parts of the Andes, it would have been occupied from the days of Captain Garcia to thepresent by Spanish-speaking mestizos, who might have been interestedin preserving the name of the ancient Inca capital and the traditionsconnected with it. 

After the mines which attracted Ocampo and his friends "peteredout, " or else, with the primitive tools of the sixteenth century, ceased to yield adequate returns, the Spaniards lost interest in thatremote region. The rude trails which connected Pucyura with Cuzco andcivilization were at best dangerous and difficult. They were veritablyimpassable during a large part of the year even to people accustomedto Andean "roads. "

The possibility of raising sugar cane and coca between Huadquiña andSanta Ana attracted a few Spanish-speaking people to live in the lowerUrubamba Valley, notwithstanding the difficult transportation overthe passes near Mts. Salcantay and Veronica; but there was nothingto lead any one to visit the upper Vilcabamba Valley or to desireto make it a place of residence. And until Señor Pancorbo openedthe road to Lucma, Pucyura was extremely difficult of access. Ninegenerations of Indians lived and died in the province of Uilcapampabetween the time of Tupac Amaru and the arrival of the first modernexplorers. The great stone buildings constructed on the "Hill ofRoses" in the days of Manco and his sons were allowed to fall intoruin. Their roofs decayed and disappeared. The names of those whoonce lived here were known to fewer and fewer of the natives. TheIndians themselves had no desire to relate the story of the variousforts and palaces to their Spanish landlords, nor had the latter anyinterest in hearing such tales. It was not until the renaissance ofhistorical and geographical curiosity, in the nineteenth century, thatit occurred to any one to look for Manco's capital. When Raimondi, the first scientist to penetrate Vilcabamba, reached Pucyura, no onethought to tell him that on the hilltop opposite the village oncelived the last of the Incas and that the ruins of their palaces werestill there, hidden underneath a thick growth of trees and vines. 

A Spanish document of 1598 says the first town of "San Franciscode la Victoria de Vilcabamba" was in the "valley of Viticos. " Thetown's long name became shortened to Vilcabamba. Then the river whichflowed past was called the Vilcabamba, and is so marked on Raimondi'smap. Uiticos had long since passed from the memory of man. 

Furthermore, the fact that we saw no llamas or alpacas in the uplandpastures, but only domestic animals of European origin, would alsoseem to indicate that for some reason or other this region had beenabandoned by the Indians themselves. It is difficult to believe thatif the Indians had inhabited these valleys continuously from Incatimes to the present we should not have found at least a few of theindigenous American camels here. By itself, such an occurrence wouldhardly seem worth a remark, but taken in connection with the loss oftraditions regarding Uiticos, it would seem to indicate that theremust have been quite a long period of time in which no persons ofconsequence lived in this vicinity. 

We are told by the historians of the colonial period that the miningoperations of the first Spanish settlers were fatal to at leasta million Indians. It is quite probable that the introduction ofordinary European contagious diseases, such as measles, chicken pox, and smallpox, may have had a great deal to do with the destructionof a large proportion of those unfortunates whose untimely deathswere attributed by historians to the very cruel practices of theearly Spanish miners and treasure seekers. Both causes undoubtedlycontributed to the result. There seems to be no question that thepopulation diminished enormously in early colonial days. If this istrue, the remaining population would naturally have sought regionswhere the conditions of existence and human intercourse were lesssevere and rigorous than in the valleys of Uiticos and Uilcapampa. 

The students and travelers of the late nineteenth and early twentiethcenturies, including such a careful observer as Bandelier, are ofthe opinion that the present-day population in the Andes of Peruand Bolivia is about as great as that at the time of the Conquest. Inother words, with the decay of early colonial mining and the consequentdisappearance of bad living conditions and forced labor at the mines, also with the rise of partial immunity to European diseases, andthe more comfortable conditions of existence which have followed thecoming of Peruvian independence, it is reasonable to suppose that thenumber of highland Indians has increased. With this increase has comea consequent crowding in certain localities. There would be a naturaltendency to seek less crowded regions, even at the expense of usingdifficult mountain trails. This would lead to their occupying as remoteand inaccessible a region as the ancient province of Uilcapampa. Itis probable that after the gold mines ceased to pay, and before thedemand for rubber caused the San Miguel Valley to be appropriated bythe white man, there was a period of nearly three hundred years whenno one of education or of intelligence superior to the ordinary Indianshepherd lived anywhere near Pucyura or Lucma. The adobe houses ofthese modern villages look fairly modern. They may have been builtin the nineteenth century. 

Such a theory would account for the very small amount of informationprevailing in Peru regarding the region where we had been privilegedto find so many ruins. This ignorance led the Peruvian geographersRaimondi and Paz Soldan to conclude that Choqquequirau, the only ruinsreported between the Apurimac and the Urubamba, must have been thecapital of the Incas who took refuge there. It also makes it seemmore reasonable that the existence of Rosaspata and ñusta Isppanashould not have been known to Peruvian geographers and historians, or even to the government officials who lived in the adjacent villages. 

We felt sure we had found Uiticos; nevertheless it was quiteapparent that we had not yet found all the places which were calledVilcabamba. Examination of the writers of the sixteenth centuryshows that there may have been three places bearing that name;one spoken of by Calancha as Vilcabamba Viejo ("the old"), anotheralso so called by Ocampo, and a third founded by the Spaniards, namely, the town we were now in. The story of the first is given inCalancha's account of the trials and tribulations of Friar Marcosand the martyrdom of Friar Diego Ortiz. The chronicler tells withconsiderable detail of their visit to "Vilcabamba Viejo. " It wasafter the monks had already founded their religious establishmentat Puquiura that they learned of the existence of this importantreligious center. They urged Titu Cusi to permit them to visitit. For a long time he refused. Its whereabouts remained unknown tothem, but its strategic position as a religious stronghold led themto continue their demands. Finally, either to rid himself of theirimportunities or because he imagined the undertaking might be madeamusing, he yielded to their requests and bade them prepare for thejourney. Calancha says that the Inca himself accompanied the twofriars, with a number of his captains and chieftains, taking themfrom Puquiura over a very rough and rugged road. The Inca, however, did not suffer from the character of the trail because, like theRoman generals of old, he was borne comfortably along in a litter byservants accustomed to this duty. The unfortunate missionaries wereobliged to go on foot. The wet, rocky trail soon demoralized theirfootgear. When they came to a particularly bad place in the road, "Ungacacha, " the trail went for some distance through water. Themonks were forced to wade. The water was very cold. The Inca and hischieftains were amused to see how the friars were hampered by theirmonastic garments while passing through the water. However, the monkspersevered, greatly desiring to reach their goal, "on account of itsbeing the largest city in which was the University of Idolatry, wherelived the teachers who were wizards and masters of abomination. " Ifone may judge by the name of the place, Uilcapampa, the wizards andsorcerers were probably aided by the powerful effects of the ancientsnuff made from huilca seeds. After a three days' journey over veryrough country, the monks arrived at their destination. Yet even thenTitu Cusi was unwilling that they should live in the city, but orderedthat the monks be given a dwelling outside, so that they might notwitness the ceremonies and ancient rites which were practiced by theInca and his captains and priests. 

Nothing is said about the appearance of "Vilcabamba Viejo" and itis doubtful whether the monks were ever allowed to see the city, although they reached its vicinity. Here they stayed for three weeksand kept up their preaching and teaching. During their stay Titu Cusi, who had not wished to bring them here, got his revenge by annoyingthem in various ways. He was particularly anxious to make them breaktheir vows of celibacy. Calancha says that after consultation withhis priests and soothsayers Titu Cusi selected as tempters the mostbeautiful Indian women, including some individuals of the Yungas whowere unusually attractive. It is possible that these women, who livedat the "University of Idolatry" in "Vilcabamba Viejo, " were "Virgins ofthe Sun, " who were under the orders of the Inca and his high priestsand were selected from the fairest daughters of the empire. It isalso evident that "Vilcabamba Viejo" was so constructed that themonks could be kept for three weeks in its vicinity without beingable to see what was going on in the city or to describe the kinds of"abominations" which were practiced there, as they did those at thewhite rock of Chuquipalta. As will be shown later, it is possiblethat this Vilcabamba, referred to in Calancha's story as "VilcabambaViejo, " was on the slopes of the mountain now called Machu Picchu. 

In the meantime it was necessary to pursue the hunt for the ruinsof Vilcabamba called "the old" by Ocampo, to distinguish it fromthe Spanish town of that name which he had helped to found afterthe capture of Tupac Amaru, and referred to merely as Vilcabamba byCaptain Garcia and his companions in their accounts of the campaign. 

CHAPTER XIV

Conservidayoc

When Don Pedro Duque of Santa Aria was helping us to identify placesmentioned in Calancha and Ocampo, the references to "Vilcabamba Viejo, "or Old Uilcapampa, were supposed by two of his informants to pointto a place called Conservidayoc. Don Pedro told us that in 1902 LopezTorres, who had traveled much in the montaña looking for rubber trees, reported the discovery there of the ruins of an Inca city. All of DonPedro's friends assured us that Conservidayoc was a terrible placeto reach. "No one now living had been there. " "It was inhabited bysavage Indians who would not let strangers enter their villages. "

When we reached Paltaybamba, Señor Pancorbo's manager confirmed whatwe had heard. He said further that an individual named Saavedra livedat Conservidayoc and undoubtedly knew all about the ruins, but wasvery averse to receiving visitors. Saavedra's house was extremelydifficult to find. "No one had been there recently and returnedalive. " Opinions differed as to how far away it was. 

Several days later, while Professor Foote and I were studying the ruinsnear Rosaspata, Señor Pancorbo, returning from his rubber estate inthe San Miguel Valley and learning at Lucma of our presence near by, took great pains to find us and see how we were progressing. When helearned of our intention to search for the ruins of Conservidayoc, he asked us to desist from the attempt. He said Saavedra was "a verypowerful man having many Indians under his control and living ingrand state, with fifty servants, and not at all desirous of beingvisited by anybody. " The Indians were "of the Campa tribe, very wildand extremely savage. They use poisoned arrows and are very hostileto strangers. " Admitting that he had heard there were Inca ruins nearSaavedra's station, Señor Pancorbo still begged us not to risk ourlives by going to look for them. 

By this time our curiosity was thoroughly aroused. We were familiarwith the current stories regarding the habits of savage tribes wholived in the montaña and whose services were in great demand as rubbergatherers. We had even heard that Indians did not particularly liketo work for Señor Pancorbo, who was an energetic, ambitious man, anxious to achieve many things, results which required more laborersthan could easily be obtained. We could readily believe there mightpossibly be Indians at Conservidayoc who had escaped from the rubberestate of San Miguel. Undoubtedly, Señor Pancorbo's own life wouldhave been at the mercy of their poisoned arrows. All over the AmazonBasin the exigencies of rubber gatherers had caused tribes visitedwith impunity by the explorers of the nineteenth century to become sosavage and revengeful as to lead them to kill all white men at sight. 

Professor Foote and I considered the matter in all its aspects. Wefinally came to the conclusion that in view of the specific reportsregarding the presence of Inca ruins at Conservidayoc we could notafford to follow the advice of the friendly planter. We must at leastmake an effort to reach them, meanwhile taking every precaution toavoid arousing the enmity of the powerful Saavedra and his savageretainers. 

------FIGURE

Quispi Cusi Testifying about Inca Ruins------

------FIGURE

One of our Bearers Crossing the Pampaconas River------

On the day following our arrival at the town of Vilcabamba, thegobernador, Condoré, taking counsel with his chief assistant, hadsummoned the wisest Indians living in the vicinity, including avery picturesque old fellow whose name, Quispi Cusi, was stronglyreminiscent of the days of Titu Cusi. It was explained to himthat this was a very solemn occasion and that an official inquirywas in progress. He took off his hat--but not his knitted cap--andendeavored to the best of his ability to answer our questions aboutthe surrounding country. It was he who said that the Inca TupacAmaru once lived at Rosaspata. He had never heard of UilcapampaViejo, but he admitted that there were ruins in the montaña nearConservidayoc. Other Indians were questioned by Condoré. Several hadheard of the ruins of Conservidayoc, but, apparently, none of them, nor any one in the village, had actually seen the ruins or visitedtheir immediate vicinity. They all agreed that Saavedra's place was"at least four days' hard journey on foot in the montaña beyondPampaconas. " No village of that name appeared on any map of Peru, although it is frequently mentioned in the documents of the sixteenthcentury. Rodriguez de Figueroa, who came to seek an audience withTitu Cusi about 1565, says that he met Titu Cusi at a place calledBanbaconas. He says further that the Inca came there from somewheredown in the dense forests of the montaña and presented him with amacaw and two hampers of peanuts--products of a warm region. 

We had brought with us the large sheets of Raimondi's invaluable mapwhich covered this locality. We also had the new map of South Peru andNorth Bolivia which had just been published by the Royal GeographicalSociety and gave a summary of all available information. TheIndians said that Conservidayoc lay in a westerly direction fromVilcabamba, yet on Raimondi's map all of the rivers which rise inthe mountains west of the town are short affluents of the Apurimacand flow southwest. We wondered whether the stories about ruins atConservidayoc would turn out to be as barren of foundation as thosewe had heard from the trustworthy foreman at Huadquiña. One of ourinformants said the Inca city was called Espiritu Pampa, or the "Pampaof Ghosts. " Would the ruins turn out to be "ghosts"? Would they vanishon the arrival of white men with cameras and steel measuring tapes?

No one at Vilcabamba had seen the ruins, but they said that atthe village of Pampaconas, "about five leagues from here, " therewere Indians who had actually been to Conservidayoc. Our supplieswere getting low. There were no shops nearer than Lucma; no foodwas obtainable from the natives. Accordingly, notwithstanding theprotestations of the hospitable gobernador, we decided to startimmediately for Conservidayoc. 

At the end of a long day's march up the Vilcabamba Valley, ProfessorFoote, with his accustomed skill, was preparing the evening meal and wewere both looking forward with satisfaction to enjoying large cups ofour favorite beverage. Several years ago, when traveling on mulebackacross the great plateau of southern Bolivia, I had learned the valueof sweet, hot tea as a stimulant and bracer in the high Andes. Atfirst astonished to see how much tea the Indian arrieros drank, Ilearned from sad experience that it was far better than cold water, which often brings on mountain-sickness. This particular evening, one swallow of the hot tea caused consternation. It was the mosthorrible stuff imaginable. Examination showed small, oily particlesfloating on the surface. Further investigation led to the discoverythat one of our arrieros had that day placed our can of kerosene ontop of one of the loads. The tin became leaky and the kerosene haddripped down into a food box. A cloth bag of granulated sugar hadeagerly absorbed all the oil it could. There was no remedy but tothrow away half of our supply. As I have said, the longer one worksin the Andes the more desirable does sugar become and the more oneseems to crave it. Yet we were unable to procure any here. 

After the usual delays, caused in part by the difficulty of catchingour mules, which had taken advantage of our historical investigationsto stray far up the mountain pastures, we finally set out from theboundaries of known topography, headed for "Conservidayoc, " a vagueplace surrounded with mystery; a land of hostile savages, albeit saidto possess the ruins of an Inca town. 

Our first day's journey was to Pampaconas. Here and in its vicinity thegobernador told us he could procure guides and the half-dozen carrierswhose services we should require for the jungle trail where mules couldnot be used. As the Indians hereabouts were averse to penetratingthe wilds of Conservidayoc and were also likely to be extremelyalarmed at the sight of men in uniform, the two gendarmes who werenow accompanying us were instructed to delay their departure for a fewhours and not to reach Pampaconas with our pack train until dusk. Thegobernador said that if the Indians of Pampaconas caught sight of anybrass buttons coming over the hills they would hide so effectivelythat it would be impossible to secure any carriers. Apparently thiswas due in part to that love of freedom which had led them to abandonthe more comfortable towns for a frontier village where landlordscould not call on them for forced labor. Consequently, before thearrival of any such striking manifestations of official authority asour gendarmes, the gobernador and his friend Mogrovejo proposed toput in the day craftily commandeering the services of a half-dozensturdy Indians. Their methods will be described presently. 

Leaving modern Vilcabamba, we crossed the flat, marshy bottom of anold glaciated valley, in which one of our mules got thoroughly miredwhile searching for the succulent grasses which cover the treacherousbog. Fording the Vilcabamba River, which here is only a tiny brook, we climbed out of the valley and turned westward. On the mountainsabove us were vestiges of several abandoned mines. It was theirdiscovery in 1572 or thereabouts which brought Ocampo and the firstSpanish settlers to this valley. Raimondi says that he found herecobalt, nickel, silver-bearing copper ore, and lead sulphide. Hedoes not mention any gold-bearing quartz. It may have been exhaustedlong before his day. As to the other minerals, the difficulties oftransportation are so great that it is not likely that mining willbe renewed here for many years to come. 

At the top of the pass we turned to look back and saw a long chainof snow-capped mountains towering above and behind the town ofVilcabamba. We searched in vain for them on our maps. Raimondi, followed by the Royal Geographical Society, did not leave roomenough for such a range to exist between the rivers Apurimac andUrubamba. Mr. Hendriksen determined our longitude to be 73° west, and our latitude to be 13° 8' south. Yet according to the latest mapof this region, published in the preceding year, this was the veryposition of the river Apurimac itself, near its junction with the riverPampas. We ought to have been swimming "the Great Speaker. " Actuallywe were on top of a lofty mountain pass surrounded by high peaks andglaciers. The mystery was finally solved by Mr. Bumstead in 1912, whenhe determined the Apurimac and the Urubamba to be thirty miles fartherapart than any one had supposed. His surveys opened an unexploredregion, 1500 square miles in extent, whose very existence had not beenguessed before 1911. It proved to be one of the largest undescribedglaciated areas in South America. Yet it is less than a hundred milesfrom Cuzco, the chief city in the Peruvian Andes, and the site of auniversity for more than three centuries. That Uilcapampa could solong defy investigation and exploration shows better than anythingelse how wisely Manco had selected his refuge. It is indeed a veritablelabyrinth of snow-clad peaks, unknown glaciers, and trackless canyons. 

Looking west, we saw in front of us a great wilderness of deep greenvalleys and forest-clad slopes. We supposed from our maps that we werenow looking down into the basin of the Apurimac. As a matter of fact, we were on the rim of the valley of the hitherto uncharted Pampaconas, a branch of the Cosireni, one of the affluents of the Urubamba. Insteadof being the Apurimac Basin, what we saw was another unexplored regionwhich drained into the Urubamba!

At the time, however, we did not know where we were, but understoodfrom Condoré that somewhere far down in the montaña below us wasConservidayoc, the sequestered domain of Saavedra and his savageIndians. It seemed less likely than ever that the Incas could havebuilt a town so far away from the climate and food to which they wereaccustomed. The "road" was now so bad that only with the greatestdifficulty could we coax our sure-footed mules to follow it. Once wehad to dismount, as the path led down a long, steep, rocky stairwayof ancient origin. At last, rounding a hill, we came in sight of alonesome little hut perched on a shoulder of the mountain. In front ofit, seated in the sun on mats, were two women shelling corn. As soon asthey saw the gobernador approaching, they stopped their work and beganto prepare lunch. It was about eleven o'clock and they did not need tobe told that Señor Condoré and his friends had not had anything but acup of coffee since the night before. In order to meet the emergencyof unexpected guests they killed four or five squealing cuys (guineapigs), usually to be found scurrying about the mud floor of the hutsof mountain Indians. Before long the savory odor of roast cuy, wellbasted, and cooked-to-a-turn on primitive spits, whetted our appetites. 

In the eastern United States one sees guinea pigs only as pets orlaboratory victims; never as an article of food. In spite of thecelebrated dogma that "Pigs is Pigs, " this form of "pork" has neverfound its way to our kitchens, even though these "pigs" live on avery clean, vegetable diet. Incidentally guinea pigs do not comefrom Guinea and are in no way related to pigs--Mr. Ellis ParkerButler to the contrary notwithstanding! They belong rather to thesame family as rabbits and Belgian hares and have long been a highlyprized article of food in the Andes of Peru. The wild species areof a grayish brown color, which enables them to escape observationin their natural habitat. The domestic varieties, which one seesin the huts of the Indians, are piebald, black, white, and tawny, varying from one another in color as much as do the llamas, whichwere also domesticated by the same race of people thousands of yearsago. Although Anglo-Saxon "folkways, " as Professor Sumner would say, permit us to eat and enjoy long-eared rabbits, we draw the line atshort-eared rabbits, yet they were bred to be eaten. 

I am willing to admit that this was the first time that I had everknowingly tasted their delicate flesh, although once in the capitalof Bolivia I thought the hotel kitchen had a diminishing supply! HadI not been very hungry, I might never have known how delicious a roastguinea pig can be. The meat is not unlike squab. To the Indians whosesupply of animal food is small, whose fowls are treasured for theireggs, and whose thin sheep are more valuable as wool bearers than asmutton, the succulent guinea pig, "most prolific of mammals, " as wasdiscovered by Mr. Butler's hero, is a highly valued article of food, reserved for special occasions. The North American housewife keeps afew tins of sardines and cans of preserves on hand for emergencies. Hersister in the Andes similarly relies on fat little cuys. 

After lunch, Condoré and Mogrovejo divided the extensive rollingcountryside between them and each rode quietly from one lonesome farmto another, looking for men to engage as bearers. When they wereso fortunate as to find the man of the house at home or working inhis little chacra they greeted him pleasantly. When he came forwardto shake hands, in the usual Indian manner, a silver dollar wasun-suspectingly slipped into the palm of his right hand and he wasinformed that he had accepted pay for services which must now beperformed. It seemed hard, but this was the only way in which it waspossible to secure carriers. 

During Inca times the Indians never received pay for their labor. Apaternal government saw to it that they were properly fed and clothedand either given abundant opportunity to provide for their ownnecessities or else permitted to draw on official stores. In colonialdays a more greedy and less paternal government took advantage ofthe ancient system and enforced it without taking pains to see thatit should not cause suffering. Then, for generations, thoughtlesslandlords, backed by local authority, forced the Indians to workwithout suitably recompensing them at the end of their labors oreven pretending to carry out promises and wage agreements. The peonslearned that it was unwise to perform any labor without first havingreceived a considerable portion of their pay. When once they acceptedmoney, however, their own custom and the law of the land providedthat they must carry out their obligations. Failure to do so meantlegal punishment. 

Consequently, when an unfortunate Pampaconas Indian found he had adollar in his hand, he bemoaned his fate, but realized that servicewas inevitable. In vain did he plead that he was "busy, " that his"crops needed attention, " that his "family could not spare him, " that"he lacked food for a journey. " Condoré and Mogrovejo were accustomedto all varieties of excuses. They succeeded in "engaging" half a dozencarriers. Before dark we reached the village of Pampaconas, a few smallhuts scattered over grassy hillsides, at an elevation of 10, 000 feet. 

In the notes of one of the military advisers of Viceroy Francisco deToledo is a reference to Pampaconas as a "high, cold place. " Thisis correct. Nevertheless, I doubt if the present village is thePampaconas mentioned in the documents of Garcia's day as being "animportant town of the Incas. " There are no ruins hereabouts. The hutsof Pampaconas were newly built of stone and mud, and thatched withgrass. They were occupied by a group of sturdy mountain Indians, who enjoyed unusual freedom from official or other interferenceand a good place in which to raise sheep and cultivate potatoes, on the very edge of the dense forest. We found that there was someexcitement in the village because on the previous night a jaguar, or possibly a cougar, had come out of the forest, attacked, killed, and dragged off one of the village ponies. 

We were conducted to the dwelling of a stocky, well-built Indian namedGuzman, the most reliable man in the village, who had been selectedto be the head of the party of carriers that was to accompany us toConservidayoc. Guzman had some Spanish blood in his veins, althoughhe did not boast of it. With his wife and six children he occupiedone of the best huts. A fire in one corner frequently filled it withacrid smoke. It was very small and had no windows. At one end was aloft where family treasures could be kept dry and reasonably safe frommolestation. Piles of sheep skins were arranged for visitors to situpon. Three or four rude niches in the walls served in lieu of shelvesand tables. The floor of well-trodden clay was damp. Three mongreldogs and a flea-bitten cat were welcome to share the narrow spacewith the family and their visitors. A dozen hogs entered stealthilyand tried to avoid attention by putting a muffler on involuntarygrunts. They did not succeed and were violently ejected by a boy witha whip; only to return again and again, each time to be driven outas before, squealing loudly. Notwithstanding these interruptions, we carried on a most interesting conversation with Guzman. He hadbeen to Conservidayoc and had himself actually seen ruins at EspirituPampa. At last the mythical "Pampa of Ghosts" began to take on inour minds an aspect of reality, even though we were careful to remindourselves that another very trustworthy man had said he had seen ruins"finer than Ollantaytambo" near Huadquiña. Guzman did not seem to dreadConservidayoc as much as the other Indians, only one of whom had everbeen there. To cheer them up we purchased a fat sheep, for which wepaid fifty cents. Guzman immediately butchered it in preparation forthe journey. Although it was August and the middle of the dry season, rain began to fall early in the afternoon. Sergeant Carrasco arrivedafter dark with our pack animals, but, missing the trail as he nearedGuzman's place, one of the mules stepped into a bog and was extractedonly with considerable difficulty. 

We decided to pitch our small pyramidal tent on a fairly well-drainedbit of turf not far from Guzman's little hut. In the evening, afterwe had had a long talk with the Indians, we came back through therain to our comfortable little tent, only to hear various and sundrygrunts emerging therefrom. We found that during our absence a largesow and six fat young pigs, unable to settle down comfortably at theGuzman hearth, had decided that our tent was much the driest availableplace on the mountain side and that our blankets made a particularlyattractive bed. They had considerable difficulty in getting out ofthe small door as fast as they wished. Nevertheless, the pouring rainand the memory of comfortable blankets caused the pigs to returnat intervals. As we were starting to enjoy our first nap, Guzman, with hospitable intent, sent us two bowls of steaming soup, which atfirst glance seemed to contain various sizes of white macaroni--a dishof which one of us was particularly fond. The white hollow cylindersproved to be extraordinarily tough, not the usual kind of macaroni. Asa matter of fact, we learned that the evening meal which Guzman'swife had prepared for her guests was made chiefly of sheep's entrails!

Rain continued without intermission during the whole of a verycold and dreary night. Our tent, which had never been wet before, leaked badly; the only part which seemed to be thoroughly waterproofwas the floor. As day dawned we found ourselves to be lying inpuddles of water. Everything was soaked. Furthermore, rain was stillfailing. While we were discussing the situation and wondering whatwe should cook for breakfast, the faithful Guzman heard our voicesand immediately sent us two more bowls of hot soup, which were thistime more welcome, even though among the bountiful corn, beans, andpotatoes we came unexpectedly upon fragments of the teeth and jawsof the sheep. Evidently in Pampaconas nothing is wasted. 

We were anxious to make an early start for Conservidayoc, but it wasfirst necessary for our Indians to prepare food for the ten days'journey ahead of them. Guzman's wife, and I suppose the wives of ourother carriers, spent the morning grinding chuño (frozen potatoes)with a rocking stone pestle on a flat stone mortar, and parching ortoasting large quantities of sweet corn in a terra-cotta olla. Withchuño and tostado, the body of the sheep, and a small quantity of cocaleaves, the Indians professed themselves to be perfectly contented. Ofour own provisions we had so small a quantity that we were unableto spare any. However, it is doubtful whether the Indians would haveliked them as much as the food to which they had long been accustomed. 

Toward noon, all the Indian carriers but one having arrived, and therain having partly subsided, we started for Conservidayoc. We were toldthat it would be possible to use the mules for this day's journey. SanFernando, our first stop, was "seven leagues" away, far down in thedensely wooded Pampaconas Valley. Leaving the village we climbed up themountain back of Guzman's hut and followed a faint trail by a dangerousand precarious route along the crest of the ridge. The rains had notimproved the path. Our saddle mules were of little use. We had togo nearly all the way on foot. Owing to cold rain and mist we couldsee but little of the deep canyon which opened below us, and intowhich we now began to descend through the clouds by a very steep, zigzag path, four thousand feet to a hot tropical valley. Below theclouds we found ourselves near a small abandoned clearing. Passingthis and fording little streams, we went along a very narrow path, across steep slopes, on which maize had been planted. Finally wecame to another little clearing and two extremely primitive littleshanties, mere shelters not deserving to be called huts; and thiswas San Fernando, the end of the mule trail. There was scarcely roomenough in them for our six carriers. It was with great difficulty wefound and cleared a place for our tent, although its floor was onlyseven feet square. There was no really flat land at all. 

At 8:30 P. M. August 13, 1911, while lying on the ground in our tent, I noticed an earthquake. It was felt also by the Indians in thenear-by shelter, who from force of habit rushed out of their frailstructure and made a great disturbance, crying out that there was atemblor. Even had their little thatched roof fallen upon them, as itmight have done during the stormy night which followed, they were inno danger; but, being accustomed to the stone walls and red tiled roofsof mountain villages where earthquakes sometimes do very serious harm, they were greatly excited. The motion seemed to me to be like a slightshuffle from west to east, lasting three or four seconds, a gentlerocking back and forth, with eight or ten vibrations. Several weekslater, near Huadquiña, we happened to stop at the Colpani telegraphoffice. The operator said he had felt two shocks on August 13th--oneat five o'clock, which had shaken the books off his table and knockedover a box of insulators standing along a wall which ran north andsouth. He said the shock which I had felt was the lighter of the two. 

During the night it rained hard, but our tent was now adjusting itselfto the "dry season" and we were more comfortable. Furthermore, campingout at 10, 000 feet above sea level is very different from campingat 6000 feet. This elevation, similar to that of the bridge of SanMiguel, below Machu Picchu, is on the lower edge of the temperatezone and the beginning of the torrid tropics. Sugar cane, peppers, bananas, and grenadillas grow here as well as maize, squashes, andsweet potatoes. None of these things will grow at Pampaconas. TheIndians who raise sheep and white potatoes in that cold region cometo San Fernando to make chacras or small clearings. The three orfour natives whom we found here were so alarmed by the sight ofbrass buttons that they disappeared during the night rather thantake the chance of having a silver dollar pressed into their handsin the morning! From San Fernando, we sent one of our gendarmes backto Pampaconas with the mules. Our carriers were good for about fiftypounds apiece. 

Half an hour's walk brought us to Vista Alegre, another little clearingon an alluvial fan in the bend of the river. The soil here seemed to bevery rich. In the chacra we saw corn stalks eighteen feet in height, near a gigantic tree almost completely enveloped in the embrace ofa mato-palo, or parasitic fig tree. This clearing certainly deservesits name, for it commands a "charming view" of the green PampaconasValley. Opposite us rose abruptly a heavily forested mountain, whose summit was lost in the clouds a mile above. To circumventthis mountain the river had been flowing in a westerly direction;now it gradually turned to the northward. Again we were mystified;for, by Raimondi's map, it should have gone southward. 

We entered a dense jungle, where the narrow path became more and moredifficult for our carriers. Crawling over rocks, under branches, alongslippery little cliffs, on steps which had been cut in earth or rock, over a trail which not even dogs could follow unassisted, slowly wemade our way down the valley. Owing to the heat, humidity, and thefrequent showers, it was mid-afternoon before we reached another littleclearing called Pacaypata. Here, on a hillside nearly a thousand feetabove the river, our men decided to spend the night in a tiny littleshelter six feet long and five feet wide. Professor Foote and I hadto dig a shelf out of the steep hillside in order to pitch our tent. 

The next morning, not being detained by the vagaries of a mule train, we made an early start. As we followed the faint little trail acrossthe gulches tributary to the river Pampaconas, we had to negotiateseveral unusually steep descents and ascents. The bearers sufferedfrom the heat. They found it more and more difficult to carry theirloads. Twice we had to cross the rapids of the river on primitivebridges which consisted only of a few little logs lashed togetherand resting on slippery boulders. 

By one o'clock we found ourselves on a small plain (ele. 4500 ft. ) indense woods surrounded by tree ferns, vines, and tangled thickets, through which it was impossible to see for more than a few feet. HereGuzman told us we must stop and rest a while, as we were now in theterritory of los salvajes, the savage Indians who acknowledged only therule of Saavedra and resented all intrusion. Guzman did not seem to beparticularly afraid, but said that we ought to send ahead one of ourcarriers, to warn the savages that we were coming on a friendly missionand were not in search of rubber gatherers; otherwise they might attackus, or run away and disappear into the jungle. He said we should neverbe able to find the ruins without their help. The carrier who wasselected to go ahead did not relish his task. Leaving his pack behind, he proceeded very quietly and cautiously along the trail and was lostto view almost immediately. There followed an exciting half-hour whilewe waited, wondering what attitude the savages would take toward us, and trying to picture to ourselves the mighty potentate, Saavedra, who had been described as sitting in the midst of savage luxury, "surrounded by fifty servants, " and directing his myrmidons tocheckmate our desires to visit the Inca city on the "pampa of ghosts. "

Suddenly, we were startled by the crackling of twigs and the soundof a man running. We instinctively held our rifles a little tighterin readiness for whatever might befall--when there burst out of thewoods a pleasant-faced young Peruvian, quite conventionally clad, who had come in haste from Saavedra, his father, to extend to usa most cordial welcome! It seemed scarcely credible, but a glanceat his face showed that there was no ambush in store for us. It waswith a sigh of relief that we realized there was to be no shower ofpoisoned arrows from the impenetrable thickets. Gathering up our packs, we continued along the jungle trail, through woods which graduallybecame higher, deeper, and darker, until presently we saw sunlightahead and, to our intense astonishment, the bright green of wavingsugar cane. A few moments of walking through the cane fields foundus at a large comfortable hut, welcomed very simply and modestly bySaavedra himself. A more pleasant and peaceable little man it wasnever my good fortune to meet. We looked furtively around for hisfifty savage servants, but all we saw was his good-natured Indianwife, three or four small children, and a wild-eyed maid-of-all-work, evidently the only savage present. Saavedra said some called this place"Jesús Maria" because they were so surprised when they saw it. 

It is difficult to describe our feelings as we accepted Saavedra'sinvitation to make ourselves at home, and sat down to an abundant mealof boiled chicken, rice, and sweet cassava (manioc). Saavedra gave usto understand that we were not only most welcome to anything he had, but that he would do everything to enable us to see the ruins, whichwere, it seemed, at Espiritu Pampa, some distance farther down thevalley, to be reached only by a hard trail passable for barefootedsavages, but scarcely available for us unless we chose to go agood part of the distance on hands and knees. The next day, whileour carriers were engaged in clearing this trail, Professor Footecollected a large number of insects, including eight new species ofmoths and butterflies. 

I inspected Saavedra's plantation. The soil having lain fallow forcenturies, and being rich in humus, had produced more sugar cane thanhe could grind. In addition to this, he had bananas, coffee trees, sweet potatoes, tobacco, and peanuts. Instead of being "a very powerfulchief having many Indians under his control"--a kind of "Pooh-Bah"--hewas merely a pioneer. In the utter wilderness, far from any neighbors, surrounded by dense forests and a few savages, he had establishedhis home. He was not an Indian potentate, but only a frontiersman, soft-spoken and energetic, an ingenious carpenter and mechanic, a modest Peruvian of the best type. 

Owing to the scarcity of arable land he was obliged to cultivatesuch pampas as he could find--one an alluvial fan near his house, another a natural terrace near the river. Back of the house wasa thatched shelter under which he had constructed a little sugarmill. It had a pair of hardwood rollers, each capable of being turned, with much creaking and cracking, by a large, rustic wheel made ofroughly hewn timbers fastened together with wooden pins and lashedwith thongs, worked by hand and foot power. Since Saavedra had beenunable to coax any pack animals over the trail to Conservidayoc hewas obliged to depend entirely on his own limited strength and thatof his active son, aided by the uncertain and irregular services ofsuch savages as wished to work for sugar, trinkets, or other tradearticles. Sometimes the savages seemed to enjoy the fun of climbingon the great creaking treadwheel, as though it were a game. At othertimes they would disappear in the woods. 

Near the mill were some interesting large pots which Saavedra was usingin the process of boiling the juice and making crude sugar. He said hehad found the pots in the jungle not far away. They had been made bythe Incas. Four of them were of the familiar aryballus type. Anotherwas of a closely related form, having a wide mouth, pointed base, single incised, conventionalized, animal-head nubbin attached to theshoulder, and band-shaped handles attached vertically below the medianline. Although capable of holding more than ten gallons, this hugepot was intended to be carried on the back and shoulders by means of arope passing through the handles and around the nubbin. Saavedra saidthat he had found near his house several bottle-shaped cists linedwith stones, with a flat stone on top--evidently ancient graves. Thebones had entirely disappeared. The cover of one of the graves hadbeen pierced; the hole covered with a thin sheet of beaten silver. Hehad also found a few stone implements and two or three small bronzeInca axes. 

On the pampa, below his house, Saavedra had constructed with infinitelabor another sugar mill. It seemed strange that he should have takenthe trouble to make two mills; but when one remembered that he had nopack animals and was usually obliged to bring the cane to the mill onhis own back and the back of his son, one realized that it was easier, while the cane was growing, to construct a new mill near the canefield than to have to carry the heavy bundles of ripe cane up thehill. He said his hardest task was to get money with which to sendhis children to school in Cuzco and to pay his taxes. The only way inwhich he could get any cash was by making chancaca, crude brown sugar, and carrying it on his back, fifty pounds at a time, three hard days'journey on foot up the mountain to Pampaconas or Vilcabamba, six orseven thousand feet above his little plantation. He said he couldusually sell such a load for five soles, equivalent to two dollarsand a half! His was certainly a hard lot, but he did not complain, although he smilingly admitted that it was very difficult to keepthe trail open, since the jungle grew so fast and the floods in theriver continually washed away his little rustic bridges. His chiefregret was that as the result of a recent revolution, with which hehad had nothing to do, the government had decreed that all firearmsshould be turned in, and so he had lost the one thing he needed toenable him to get fresh meat in the forest. 

------FIGURE

Saavedra and his Inca Pottery------

------FIGURE

Inca Gable at Espiritu Pampa------

In the clearing near the house we were interested to see a largeturkey-like bird, the pava de la montaña, glossy black, its moststriking feature a high, coral red comb. Although completely atliberty, it seemed to be thoroughly domesticated. It would make anattractive bird for introduction into our Southern States. 

Saavedra gave us some very black leaves of native tobacco, which hehad cured. An inveterate smoker who tried it in his pipe said it waswithout exception the strongest stuff he ever had encountered!

So interested did I become in talking with Saavedra, seeing hisplantation, and marveling that he should be worried about taxes andhave to obey regulations in regard to firearms, I had almost forgottenabout the wild Indians. Suddenly our carriers ran toward the housein a great flurry of excitement, shouting that there was a "savage"in the bushes near by. The "wild man" was very timid, but curiosityfinally got the better of fear and he summoned up sufficient courageto accept Saavedra's urgent invitation that he come out and meetus. He proved to be a miserable specimen, suffering from a very badcold in his head. It has been my good fortune at one time or anotherto meet primitive folk in various parts of America and the Pacific, but this man was by far the dirtiest and most wretched savage thatI have ever seen. 

He was dressed in a long, filthy tunic which came nearly to hisankles. It was made of a large square of coarsely woven cotton cloth, with a hole in the middle for his head. The sides were stitched up, leaving holes for the arms. His hair was long, unkempt, and matted. Hehad small, deep-set eyes, cadaverous cheeks, thick lips, and a largemouth. His big toes were unusually long and prehensile. Slung over oneshoulder he carried a small knapsack made of coarse fiber net. Aroundhis neck hung what at first sight seemed to be a necklace composedof a dozen stout cords securely knotted together. Although I did notsee it in use, I was given to understand that when climbing trees, he used this stout loop to fasten his ankles together and thus securea tighter grip for his feet. 

By evening two other savages had come in; a young married man andhis little sister. Both had bad colds. Saavedra told us that theseIndians were Pichanguerras, a subdivision of the Campa tribe. Saavedraand his son spoke a little of their language, which sounded to ourunaccustomed ears like a succession of low grunts, breathings, andgutturals. It was pieced out by signs. The long tunics worn by themen indicated that they had one or more wives. Before marrying theywear very scanty attire--nothing more than a few rags hanging over oneshoulder and tied about the waist. The long tunic, a comfortable enoughgarment to wear during the cold nights, and their only covering, mustimpede their progress in the jungle; yet they live partly by hunting, using bows and arrows. We learned that these Pichanguerras had runaway from the rubber country in the lower valleys; that they found ituncomfortably cold at this altitude, 4500 feet, but preferred freedomin the higher valleys to serfdom on a rubber estate. 

Saavedra said that he had named his plantation Conservidayoc, becauseit was in truth "a spot where one may be preserved from harm. " Suchwas the home of the potentate from whose abode "no one had been knownto return alive. "

CHAPTER XV

The Pampa of Ghosts

Two days later we left Conservidayoc for Espiritu Pampa by the trailwhich Saavedra's son and our Pampaconas Indians had been clearing. Weemerged from the thickets near a promontory where there was a fineview down the valley and particularly of a heavily wooded alluvial fanjust below us. In it were two or three small clearings and the littleoval huts of the savages of Espiritu Pampa, the "Pampa of Ghosts. "

On top of the promontory was the ruin of a small, rectangular buildingof rough stone, once probably an Inca watch-tower. From here toEspiritu Pampa our trail followed an ancient stone stairway, aboutfour feet in width and nearly a third of a mile long. It was built ofuncut stones. Possibly it was the work of those soldiers whose chiefduty it was to watch from the top of the promontory and who used theirspare time making roads. We arrived at the principal clearing just asa heavy thunder-shower began. The huts were empty. Obviously theiroccupants had seen us coming and had disappeared in the jungle. Wehesitated to enter the home of a savage without an invitation, but theterrific downpour overcame our scruples, if not our nervousness. Thehut had a steeply pitched roof. Its sides were made of small logsdriven endwise into the ground and fastened together with vines. Asmall fire had been burning on the ground. Near the embers were twoold black ollas of Inca origin. 

In the little chacra, cassava, coca, and sweet potatoes were growing inhaphazard fashion among charred and fallen tree trunks; a typical milpafarm. In the clearing were the ruins of eighteen or twenty circularhouses arranged in an irregular group. We wondered if this could be the"Inca city" which Lopez Torres had reported. Among the ruins we pickedup several fragments of Inca pottery. There was nothing Incaic aboutthe buildings. One was rectangular and one was spade-shaped, but allthe rest were round. The buildings varied in diameter from fifteen totwenty feet. Each had but a single opening. The walls had tumbled down, but gave no evidence of careful construction. Not far away, in woodswhich had not yet been cleared by the savages, we found other circularwalls. They were still standing to a height of about four feet. Ifthe savages have extended their milpa clearings since our visit, thefalling trees have probably spoiled these walls by now. The ancientvillage probably belonged to a tribe which acknowledged allegiance tothe Incas, but the architecture of the buildings gave no indicationof their having been constructed by the Incas themselves. We beganto wonder whether the "Pampa of Ghosts" really had anything importantin store for us. Undoubtedly this alluvial fan had been highly prizedin this country of terribly steep hills. It must have been inhabited, off and on, for many centuries. Yet this was not an "Inca city. "

While we were wondering whether the Incas themselves ever lived here, there suddenly appeared the naked figure of a sturdy young savage, armed with a stout bow and long arrows, and wearing a fillet ofbamboo. He had been hunting and showed us a bird he had shot. Soonafterwards there came the two adult savages we had met at Saavedra's, accompanied by a cross-eyed friend, all wearing long tunics. Theyoffered to guide us to other ruins. It was very difficult for us tofollow their rapid pace. Half an hour's scramble through the junglebrought us to a pampa or natural terrace on the banks of a littletributary of the Pampaconas. They called it Eromboni. Here we foundseveral old artificial terraces and the rough foundations of a long, rectangular building 192 feet by 24 feet. It might have had twenty-fourdoors, twelve in front and twelve in back, each three and a halffeet wide. No lintels were in evidence. The walls were only a foothigh. There was very little building material in sight. Apparentlythe structure had never been completed. Near by was a typical Incafountain with three stone spouts, or conduits. Two hundred yardsbeyond the water-carrier's rendezvous, hidden behind a curtain ofhanging vines and thickets so dense we could not see more than a fewfeet in any direction, the savages showed us the ruins of a group ofstone houses whose walls were still standing in fine condition. 

------FIGURE

Ruins in the Jungles of Espiritu Pampa------

One of the buildings was rounded at one end. Another, standing byitself at the south end of a little pampa, had neither doors norwindows. It was rectangular. Its four or five niches were arrangedwith unique irregularity. Furthermore, they were two feet deep, anunusual dimension. Probably this was a storehouse. On the east sideof the pampa was a structure, 120 feet long by 21 feet wide, dividedinto five rooms of unequal size. The walls were of rough stoneslaid in adobe. Like some of the Inca buildings at Ollantaytambo, the lintels of the doors were made of three or four narrow uncutashlars. Some rooms had niches. On the north side of the pampawas another rectangular building. On the west side was the edge ofa stone-faced terrace. Below it was a partly enclosed fountain orbathhouse, with a stone spout and a stone-lined basin. The shapes ofthe houses, their general arrangement, the niches, stone roof-pegsand lintels, all point to Inca builders. In the buildings we pickedup several fragments of Inca pottery. 

Equally interesting and very puzzling were half a dozen crude Spanishroofing tiles, baked red. All the pieces and fragments we could findwould not have covered four square feet. They were of widely differentsizes, as though some one had been experimenting. Perhaps an Inca whohad seen the new red tiled roofs of Cuzco had tried to reproduce themhere in the jungle, but without success. 

At dusk we all returned to Espiritu Pampa. Our faces, hands, and clothes had been torn by the jungle; our feet were weary andsore. Nevertheless the day's work had been very satisfactory andwe prepared to enjoy a good night's rest. Alas, we were doomed todisappointment. During the day some one had brought to the hut eighttame but noisy macaws. Furthermore, our savage helpers determinedto make the night hideous with cries, tom-toms, and drums, either todiscourage the visits of hostile Indians or jaguars, or for the purposeof exorcising the demons brought by the white men, or else to cheerup their families, who were undoubtedly hiding in the jungle near by. 

The next day the savages and our carriers continued to clear away asmuch as possible of the tangled growth near the best ruins. In thisprocess, to the intense surprise not only of ourselves, but also ofthe savages, they discovered, just below the "bathhouse" where we hadstood the day before, the well-preserved ruins of two buildings ofsuperior construction, well fitted with stone-pegs and numerous niches, very symmetrically arranged. These houses stood by themselves on alittle artificial terrace. Fragments of characteristic Inca potterywere found on the floor, including pieces of a large aryballus. 

Nothing gives a better idea of the density of the jungle than thefact that the savages themselves had often been within five feet ofthese fine walls without being aware of their existence. 

Encouraged by this important discovery of the most characteristicInca ruins found in the valley, we continued the search, but all thatany one was able to find was a carefully built stone bridge over abrook. Saavedra's son questioned the savages carefully. They saidthey knew of no other antiquities. Who built the stone buildings ofEspiritu Pampa and Eromboni Pampa? Was this the "Vilcabamba Viejo"of Father Calancha, that "University of Idolatry where lived theteachers who were wizards and masters of abomination, " the place towhich Friar Marcos and Friar Diego went with so much suffering? Wasthere formerly on this trail a place called Ungacacha where themonks had to wade, and amused Titu Cusi by the way they handled theirmonastic robes in the water? They called it a "three days' journeyover rough country. " Another reference in Father Calancha speaksof Puquiura as being "two long days' journey from Vilcabamba. " Ittook us five days to go from Espiritu Pampa to Pucyura, althoughIndians, unencumbered by burdens, and spurred on by necessity, might do it in three. It is possible to fit some other details ofthe story into this locality, although there is no place on the roadcalled Ungacacha. Nevertheless it does not seem to me reasonable tosuppose that the priests and Virgins of the Sun (the personnel of the"University of Idolatry") who fled from cold Cuzco with Manco andwere established by him somewhere in the fastnesses of Uilcapampawould have cared to live in the hot valley of Espiritu Pampa. Thedifference in climate is as great as that between Scotland and Egypt, or New York and Havana. They would not have found in Espiritu Pampathe food which they liked. Furthermore, they could have found theseclusion and safety which they craved just as well in several otherparts of the province, particularly at Machu Picchu, together with acool, bracing climate and food-stuffs more nearly resembling those towhich they were accustomed. Finally Calancha says "Vilcabamba the Old"was "the largest city" in the province, a term far more applicableto Machu Picchu or even to Choqquequirau than to Espiritu Pampa. 

On the other hand there seems to be no doubt that Espiritu Pampa inthe montaña does meet the requirements of the place called Vilcabambaby the companions of Captain Garcia. They speak of it as the townand valley to which Tupac Amaru, the last Inca, escaped after hisforces lost the "young fortress" of Uiticos. Ocampo, doubtless wishingto emphasize the difference between it and his own metropolis, theSpanish town of Vilcabamba, calls the refuge of Tupac "Vilcabambathe old. " Ocampo's new "Vilcabamba" was not in existence when FriarMarcos and Friar Diego lived in this province. If Calancha wrotehis chronicles from their notes, the term "old" would not apply toEspiritu Pampa, but to an older Vilcabamba than either of the placesknown to Ocampo. 

The ruins are of late Inca pattern, not of a kind which would haverequired a long period to build. The unfinished building may havebeen under construction during the latter part of the reign of TituCusi. It was Titu Cusi's desire that Rodriguez de Figueroa should meethim at Pampaconas. The Inca evidently came from a Vilcabamba down inthe montaña, and, as has been said, brought Rodriguez a present of amacaw and two hampers of peanuts, articles of trade still common atConservidayoc. There appears to me every reason to believe that theruins of Espiritu Pampa are those of one of the favorite residencesof this Inca--the very Vilcabamba, in fact, where he spent his boyhoodand from which he journeyed to meet Rodriguez in 1565. [13]

In 1572, when Captain Garcia took up the pursuit of Tupac Amaruafter the victory of Vilcabamba, the Inca fled "inland toward thevalley of Sima-ponte . .. To the country of the Mañaries Indians, a warlike tribe and his friends, where balsas and canoes were postedto save him and enable him to escape. " There is now no valley in thisvicinity called Simaponte, so far as we have been able to discover. TheMañaries Indians are said to have lived on the banks of the lowerUrubamba. In order to reach their country Tupac Amaru probably wentdown the Pampaconas from Espiritu Pampa. From the "Pampa of Ghosts"to canoe navigation would have been but a short journey. Evidentlyhis friends who helped him to escape were canoe-men. Captain Garciagives an account of the pursuit of Tupac Amaru in which he says that, not deterred by the dangers of the jungle or the river, he constructedfive rafts on which he put some of his soldiers and, accompanying themhimself, went down the rapids, escaping death many times by swimming, until he arrived at a place called Momori, only to find that the Inca, learning of his approach, had gone farther into the woods. Nothingdaunted, Garcia followed him, although he and his men now had to goon foot and barefooted, with hardly anything to eat, most of theirprovisions having been lost in the river, until they finally caughtTupac and his friends; a tragic ending to a terrible chase, hard onthe white man and fatal for the Incas. 

It was with great regret that I was now unable to follow the PampaconasRiver to its junction with the Urubamba. It seemed possible that thePampaconas might be known as the Sirialo, or the Cori-beni, both ofwhich were believed by Dr. Bowman's canoe-men to rise in the mountainsof Vilcabamba. It was not, however, until the summer of 1915 that wewere able definitely to learn that the Pampaconas was really a branchof the Cosireni. It seems likely that the Cosireni was once called the"Sima-ponte. " Whether the Comberciato is the "Momori" is hard to say. 

To be the next to follow in the footsteps of Tupac Amaru and CaptainGarcia was the privilege of Messrs. Heller, Ford, and Maynard. Theyfound that the unpleasant features had not been exaggerated. They weretormented by insects and great quantities of ants--a small red antfound on tree trunks, and a large black one, about an inch in length, frequently seen among the leaves on the ground. The bite of the redant caused a stinging and burning for about fifteen minutes. One oftheir carriers who was bitten in the foot by a black ant sufferedintense pain for a number of hours. Not only his foot, but alsohis leg and hip were affected. The savages were both fishermen andhunters; the fish being taken with nets, the game killed with bowsand arrows. Peccaries were shot from a blind made of palm leaves afew feet from a runway. Fishing brought rather meager results. ThreeIndians fished all night and caught only one fish, a perch weighingabout four pounds. 

The temperature was so high that candles could easily be tied inknots. Excessive humidity caused all leather articles to become bluewith mould. Clouds of flies and mosquitoes increased the likelihoodof spreading communicable jungle fevers. 

The river Comberciato was reached by Mr. Heller at a point not morethan a league from its junction with the Urubamba. The lower courseof the Comberciato is not considered dangerous to canoe navigation, but the valley is much narrower than the Cosireni. The width ofthe river is about 150 feet and its volume is twice that of theCosireni. The climate is very trying. The nights are hot. Insectpests are numerous. Mr. Heller found that "the forest was filled withannoying, though sting-less, bees which persisted in attempting toroost on the countenance of any human being available. " On the banksof the Comberciato he found several families of savages. All the menwere keen hunters and fishermen. Their weapons consisted of powerfulbows made from the wood of a small palm and long arrows made of reedsand finished with feathers arranged in a spiral. 

Monkeys were abundant. Specimens of six distinct genera were found, including the large red howler, inert and easily located by its deep, roaring bellow which can be heard for a distance of several miles;the giant black spider monkey, very alert, and, when frightened, fairlyflying through the branches at astonishing speed; and a woolly monkey, black in color, and very intelligent in expression, frequently tamedby the savages, who "enjoy having them as pets but are not averse toeating them when food is scarce. " "The flesh of monkeys is greatlyappreciated by these Indians, who preserved what they did not requirefor immediate needs by drying it over the smoke of a wood fire. "

On the Cosireni Mr. Maynard noticed that one of his Indian guidescarried a package, wrapped in leaves, which on being opened proved tocontain forty or fifty large hairless grubs or caterpillars. The manfinally bit their heads off and threw the bodies into a small bag, saying that the grubs were considered a great delicacy by the savages. 

The Indians we met at Espiritu Pampa closely resembled thoseseen in the lower valley. All our savages were bareheaded andbarefooted. They live so much in the shelter of the jungle that hatsare not necessary. Sandals or shoes would only make it harder touse the slippery little trails. They had seen no strangers penetratethis valley for about ten years, and at first kept their wives andchildren well secluded. Later, when Messrs. Hendriksen and Tuckerwere sent here to determine the astronomical position of EspirituPampa, the savages permitted Mr. Tucker to take photographs of theirfamilies. Perhaps it is doubtful whether they knew just what he wasdoing. At all events they did not run away and hide. 

------FIGURE

Campa Men at Espiritu Pampa------

------FIGURE

Campa Women and Children at Espiritu Pampa------

All the men and older boys wore white fillets of bamboo. The marriedmen had smeared paint on their faces, and one of them was wearing thecharacteristic lip ornament of the Campas. Some of the children woreno clothing at all. Two of the wives wore long tunics like the men. Oneof them had a truly savage face, daubed with paint. She wore no fillet, had the best tunic, and wore a handsome necklace made of seeds and theskins of small birds of brilliant plumage, a work of art which musthave cost infinite pains and the loss of not a few arrows. All thewomen carried babies in little hammocks slung over the shoulder. Onelittle girl, not more than six years old, was carrying on her back achild of two, in a hammock supported from her head by a tump-line. Itwill be remembered that forest Indians nearly always use tump-linesso as to allow their hands free play. One of the wives was fairerthan the others and looked as though she might have had a Spanishancestor. The most savage-looking of the women was very scantily clad, wore a necklace of seeds, a white lip ornament, and a few rags tiedaround her waist. All her children were naked. The children of thewoman with the handsome necklace were clothed in pieces of old tunics, and one of them, evidently her mother's favorite, was decorated withbird skins and a necklace made from the teeth of monkeys. 

Such were the people among whom Tupac Amaru took refuge when he fledfrom Vilcabamba. Whether he partook of such a delicacy as monkeymeat, which all Amazonian Indians relish, but which is not eaten bythe highlanders, may be doubted. Garcilasso speaks of Tupac Amaru'spreferring to entrust himself to the hands of the Spaniards "ratherthan to perish of famine. " His Indian allies lived perfectly well ina region where monkeys abound. It is doubtful whether they would everhave permitted Captain Garcia to capture the Inca had they been ableto furnish Tupac with such food as he was accustomed to. 

At all events our investigations seem to point to the probability ofthis valley having been an important part of the domain of the lastIncas. It would have been pleasant to prolong our studies, but thecarriers were anxious to return to Pampaconas. Although they did nothave to eat monkey meat, they were afraid of the savages and nervousas to what use the latter might some day make of the powerful bowsand long arrows. 

At Conservidayoc Saavedra kindly took the trouble to make some sugarfor us. He poured the syrup in oblong moulds cut in a row along theside of a big log of hard wood. In some of the moulds his son placedhandfuls of nicely roasted peanuts. The result was a confection or"emergency ration" which we greatly enjoyed on our return journey. 

At San Fernando we met the pack mules. The next day, in the midstof continuing torrential tropical downpours, we climbed out ofthe hot valley to the cold heights of Pampaconas. We were soakedwith perspiration and drenched with rain. Snow had been fallingabove the village; our teeth chattered like castanets. ProfessorFoote immediately commandeered Mrs. Guzman's fire and filled ourtea kettle. It may be doubted whether a more wretched, cold, wet, and bedraggled party ever arrived at Guzman's hut; certainly nothingever tasted better than that steaming hot sweet tea. 

CHAPTER XVI

The Story of Tampu-tocco, a Lost City of the First Incas

It will be remembered that while on the search for the capital of thelast Incas we had found several groups of ruins which we could notfit entirely into the story of Manco and his sons. The most importantof these was Machu Picchu. Many of its buildings are far older thanthe ruins of Rosaspata and Espiritu Pampa. To understand just what wemay have found at Machu Picchu it is now necessary to tell the storyof a celebrated city, whose name, Tampu-tocco, was not used even atthe time of the Spanish Conquest as the cognomen of any of the Incatowns then in existence. I must draw the reader's attention far awayfrom the period when Pizarro and Manco, Toledo and Tupac Amaru werethe protagonists, back to events which occurred nearly seven hundredyears before their day. The last Incas ruled in Uiticos between 1536and 1572. The last Amautas flourished about 800 A. D. 

------FIGURE

Puma Urco, near Paccaritampu------

The Amautas had been ruling the Peruvian highlands for about sixtygenerations, when, as has been told in Chapter VI, invaders camefrom the south and east. The Amautas had built up a wonderfulcivilization. Many of the agricultural and engineering feats whichwe ordinarily assign to the Incas were really achievements of theAmautas. The last of the Amautas was Pachacuti VI, who was killed byan arrow on the battle-field of La Raya. The historian Montesinos, whose work on the antiquities of Peru has recently been translatedfor the Hakluyt Society by Mr. P. A. Means, of Harvard University, tells us that the followers of Pachacuti VI fled with his body to"Tampu-tocco. " This, says the historian, was "a healthy place" wherethere was a cave in which they hid the Amauta's body. Cuzco, thefinest and most important of all their cities, was sacked. Generalanarchy prevailed throughout the ancient empire. The good old daysof peace and plenty disappeared before the invader. The glory of theold empire was destroyed, not to return for several centuries. Inthese dark ages, resembling those of European medieval times whichfollowed the Germanic migrations and the fall of the Roman Empire, Peru was split up into a large number of small independent units. Eachdistrict chose its own ruler and carried on depredations againstits neighbors. The effects of this may still be seen in the ruins ofsmall fortresses found guarding the way into isolated Andean valleys. 

Montesinos says that those who were most loyal to the Amautaswere few in number and not strong enough to oppose their enemiessuccessfully. Some of them, probably the principal priests, wise men, and chiefs of the ancient régime, built a new city at"Tampu-tocco. " Here they kept alive the memory of the Amautas andlived in such a relatively civilized manner as to draw to them, little by little, those who wished to be safe from the prevailingchaos and disorder and the tyranny of the independent chiefs or"robber barons. " In their new capital, they elected a king, TitiTruaman Quicho. 

The survivors of the old régime enjoyed living at Tampu-tocco, because there never have been any earthquakes, plagues, or tremblingsthere. Furthermore, if fortune should turn against their new youngking, Titi Truaman, and he should be killed, they could bury himin a very sacred place, namely, the cave where they hid the body ofPachacuti VI. 

Fortune was kind to the founders of the new kingdom. They had chosenan excellent place of refuge where they were not disturbed. To theirruler, the king of Tampu-tocco, and to his successors nothing worthrecording happened for centuries. During this period several of thekings wished to establish themselves in ancient Cuzco, where the greatAmautas had reigned, but for one reason or another were obliged toforego their ambitions. 

One of the most enlightened rulers of Tampu-tocco was a king calledTupac Cauri, or Pachacuti VII. In his day people began to write onthe leaves of trees. He sent messengers to the various parts of thehighlands, asking the tribes to stop worshiping idols and animals, to cease practicing evil customs which had grown up since the fallof the Amautas, and to return to the ways of their ancestors. Hemet with little encouragement. On the contrary, his ambassadors werekilled and little or no change took place. Discouraged by the failureof his attempts at reformation and desirous of learning its cause, Tupac Cauri was told by his soothsayers that the matter which mostdispleased the gods was the invention of writing. Thereupon he forbadeanybody to practice writing, under penalty of death. This mandate wasobserved with such strictness that the ancient folk never again usedletters. Instead, they used quipus, strings and knots. It was supposedthat the gods were appeased, and every one breathed easier. No onerealized how near the Peruvians as a race had come to taking a mostmomentous step. 

This curious and interesting tradition relates to an event supposedto have occurred many centuries before the Spanish Conquest. Wehave no ocular evidence to support it. The skeptic may brush itaside as a story intended to appeal to the vanity of persons withInca blood in their veins; yet it is not told by the half-casteGarcilasso, who wanted Europeans to admire his maternal ancestorsand wrote his book accordingly, but is in the pages of that carefulinvestigator Montesinos, a pure-blooded Spaniard. As a matter of fact, to students of Sumner's "Folkways, " the story rings true. Some youngfellow, brighter than the rest, developed a system of ideographswhich he scratched on broad, smooth leaves. It worked. People werebeginning to adopt it. The conservative priests of Tampu-tocco didnot like it. There was danger lest some of the precious secrets, heretofore handed down orally to the neophytes, might become publicproperty. Nevertheless, the invention was so useful that it began tospread. There followed some extremely unlucky event--the ambassadorswere killed, the king's plans miscarried. What more natural thanthat the newly discovered ideographs should be blamed for it? As aresult, the king of Tampu-tocco, instigated thereto by the priests, determined to abolish this new thing. Its usefulness had not yetbeen firmly established. In fact it was inconvenient; the leaveswithered, dried, and cracked, or blew away, and the writings werelost. Had the new invention been permitted to exist a little longer, some one would have commenced to scratch ideographs on rocks. Then itwould have persisted. The rulers and priests, however, found that theimportant records of tribute and taxes could be kept perfectly wellby means of the quipus. And the "job" of those whose duty it was toremember what each string stood for was assured. After all there isnothing unusual about Montesinos' story. One has only to look at thehistory of Spain itself to realize that royal bigotry and priestlyintolerance have often crushed new ideas and kept great nations frommaking important advances. 

Montesinos says further that Tupac Cauri established in Tampu-toccoa kind of university where boys were taught the use of quipus, themethod of counting and the significance of the different coloredstrings, while their fathers and older brothers were trained inmilitary exercises--in other words, practiced with the sling, thebolas and the war-club; perhaps also with bows and arrows. Around thename of Tupac Cauri, or Pachacuti VII, as he wished to be called, is gathered the story of various intellectual movements which tookplace in Tampu-tocco. Finally, there came a time when the skill andmilitary efficiency of the little kingdom rose to a high plane. Theruler and his councilors, bearing in mind the tradition of theirancestors who centuries before had dwelt in Cuzco, again determined tomake the attempt to reestablish themselves there. An earthquake, whichruined many buildings in Cuzco, caused rivers to change their courses, destroyed towns, and was followed by the outbreak of a disastrousepidemic. The chiefs were obliged to give up their plans, althoughin healthy Tampu-tocco there was no pestilence. Their kingdom becamemore and more crowded. Every available square yard of arable land wasterraced and cultivated. The men were intelligent, well organized, and accustomed to discipline, but they could not raise enough foodfor their families; so, about 1300 A. D. , they were forced to securearable land by conquest, under the leadership of the energetic rulerof the day. His name was Manco Ccapac, generally called the first Inca, the ruler for whom the Manco of 1536 was named. 

There are many stories of the rise of the first Inca. When he had grownto man's estate, he assembled his people to see how he could secure newlands for them. After consultation with his brothers, he determinedto set out with them "toward the hill over which the sun rose, " aswe are informed by Pachacuti Yamqui Salcamayhua, an Indian who wasa descendant of a long line of Incas, whose great-grandparents livedin the time of the Spanish Conquest, and who wrote an account of theantiquities of Peru in 1620. He gives the history of the Incas as itwas handed down to the descendants of the former rulers of Peru. Init we read that Manco Ccapac and his brothers finally succeeded inreaching Cuzco and settled there. With the return of the descendantsof the Amautas to Cuzco there ended the glory of Tampu-tocco. Mancomarried his own sister in order that he might not lose caste and thatno other family be elevated by this marriage to be on an equality withhis. He made good laws, conquered many provinces, and is regardedas the founder of the Inca dynasty. The highlanders came under hissway and brought him rich presents. The Inca, as Manco Ccapac nowcame to be known, was recognized as the most powerful chief, the mostvaliant fighter, and the most lucky warrior in the Andes. His captainsand soldiers were brave, well disciplined, and well armed. All hisaffairs prospered greatly. "Afterward he ordered works to be executedat the place of his birth, consisting of a masonry wall with threewindows, which were emblems of the house of his fathers whence hedescended. The first window was called Tampu-tocco. " I quote fromSir Clements Markham's translation. 

------FIGURE

The Best Inca Wall at Maucallacta, near Paccaritampu------

------FIGURE

The Caves of Puma Urco, near Paccaritampu------

The Spaniards who asked about Tampu-tocco were told that it was at ornear Paccaritampu, a small town eight or ten miles south of Cuzco. Ilearned that ruins are very scarce in its vicinity. There are none inthe town. The most important are the ruins of Maucallacta, an Incavillage, a few miles away. Near it I found a rocky hill consistingof several crags and large rocks, the surface of one of which iscarved into platforms and two sleeping pumas. It is called PumaUrco. Beneath the rocks are some caves. I was told they had recentlybeen used by political refugees. There is enough about the caves andthe characteristics of the ruins near Paccaritampu to lend color to thestory told to the early Spaniards. Nevertheless, it would seem as ifTampu-tocco must have been a place more remote from Cuzco and betterdefended by Nature from any attacks on that side. How else would ithave been possible for the disorganized remnant of Pachacuti VI's armyto have taken refuge there and set up an independent kingdom in theface of the warlike invaders from the south? A few men might have hidin the caves of Puma Urco, but Paccaritampu is not a natural citadel. 

The surrounding region is not difficult of access. There are noprecipices between here and the Cuzco Basin. There are no naturaldefenses against such an invading force as captured the capital ofthe Amautas. Furthermore, tampu means "a place of temporary abode, "or "a tavern, " or "an improved piece of ground" or "farm far from atown"; tocco means "window. " There is an old tavern at Maucallactanear Paccaritampu, but there are no windows in the building tojustify the name of "window tavern" or "place of temporary abode"(or "farm far from a town") "noted for its windows. " There is nothingof a "masonry wall with three windows" corresponding to Salcamayhua'sdescription of Manco Ccapac's memorial at his birthplace. The word"Tampu-tocco" does not occur on any map I have been able to consult, nor is it in the exhaustive gazetteer of Peru compiled by Paz Soldan. 

CHAPTER XVII

Machu Picchu

It was in July, 1911, that we first entered that marvelous canyon ofthe Urubamba, where the river escapes from the cold regions near Cuzcoby tearing its way through gigantic mountains of granite. From Torontoyto Colpani the road runs through a land of matchless charm. It has themajestic grandeur of the Canadian Rockies, as well as the startlingbeauty of the Nuuanu Pali near Honolulu, and the enchanting vistas ofthe Koolau Ditch Trail on Maul. In the variety of its charms and thepower of its spell, I know of no place in the world which can comparewith it. Not only has it great snow peaks looming above the clouds morethan two miles overhead; gigantic precipices of many-colored graniterising sheer for thousands of feet above the foaming, glistening, roaring rapids; it has also, in striking contrast, orchids andtree ferns, the delectable beauty of luxurious vegetation, and themysterious witchery of the jungle. One is drawn irresistibly onwardby ever-recurring surprises through a deep, winding gorge, turningand twisting past overhanging cliffs of incredible height. Above all, there is the fascination of finding here and there under the swayingvines, or perched on top of a beetling crag, the rugged masonry ofa bygone race; and of trying to understand the bewildering romanceof the ancient builders who ages ago sought refuge in a region whichappears to have been expressly designed by Nature as a sanctuary forthe oppressed, a place where they might fearlessly and patiently giveexpression to their passion for walls of enduring beauty. Space forbidsany attempt to describe in detail the constantly changing panorama, the rank tropical foliage, the countless terraces, the towering cliffs, the glaciers peeping out between the clouds. 

We had camped at a place near the river, called Mandor Pampa. MelchorArteaga, proprietor of the neighboring farm, had told us of ruins atMachu Picchu, as was related in Chapter X. 

The morning of July 24th dawned in a cold drizzle. Arteaga shiveredand seemed inclined to stay in his hut. I offered to pay him well if hewould show me the ruins. He demurred and said it was too hard a climbfor such a wet day. When he found that we were willing to pay him asol, three or four times the ordinary daily wage in this vicinity, he finally agreed to guide us to the ruins. No one supposed that theywould be particularly interesting. Accompanied by Sergeant CarrascoI left camp at ten o'clock and went some distance upstream. On theroad we passed a venomous snake which recently had been killed. Thisregion has an unpleasant notoriety for being the favorite haunt of"vipers. " The lance-headed or yellow viper, commonly known as thefer-de-lance, a very venomous serpent capable of making considerablesprings when in pursuit of its prey, is common hereabouts. Later twoof our mules died from snake-bite. 

After a walk of three quarters of an hour the guide left the main roadand plunged down through the jungle to the bank of the river. Herethere was a primitive "bridge" which crossed the roaring rapids atits narrowest part, where the stream was forced to flow between twogreat boulders. The bridge was made of half a dozen very slender logs, some of which were not long enough to span the distance between theboulders. They had been spliced and lashed together with vines. Arteagaand Carrasco took off their shoes and crept gingerly across, usingtheir somewhat prehensile toes to keep from slipping. It was obviousthat no one could have lived for an instant in the rapids, but wouldimmediately have been dashed to pieces against granite boulders. Iam frank to confess that I got down on hands and knees and crawledacross, six inches at a time. Even after we reached the other sideI could not help wondering what would happen to the "bridge" if aparticularly heavy shower should fall in the valley above. A lightrain had fallen during the night. The river had risen so that thebridge was already threatened by the foaming rapids. It would nottake much more rain to wash away the bridge entirely. If this shouldhappen during the day it might be very awkward. As a matter of fact, it did happen a few days later and the next explorers to attempt tocross the river at this point found only one slender log remaining. 

Leaving the stream, we struggled up the bank through a dense jungle, and in a few minutes reached the bottom of a precipitous slope. Foran hour and twenty minutes we had a hard climb. A good part of thedistance we went on all fours, sometimes hanging on by the tipsof our fingers. Here and there, a primitive ladder made from theroughly hewn trunk of a small tree was placed in such a way as tohelp one over what might otherwise have proved to be an impassablecliff. In another place the slope was covered with slippery grasswhere it was hard to find either handholds or footholds. The guidesaid that there were lots of snakes here. The humidity was great, the heat was excessive, and we were not in training. 

Shortly after noon we reached a little grass-covered hut where severalgood-natured Indians, pleasantly surprised at our unexpected arrival, welcomed us with dripping gourds full of cool, delicious water. Thenthey set before us a few cooked sweet potatoes, called here cumara, a Quichua word identical with the Polynesian kumala, as has beenpointed out by Mr. Cook. 

Apart from the wonderful view of the canyon, all we could see fromour cool shelter was a couple of small grass huts and a few ancientstone-faced terraces. Two pleasant Indian farmers, Richarte andAlvarez, had chosen this eagle's nest for their home. They said theyhad found plenty of terraces here on which to grow their crops andthey were usually free from undesirable visitors. They did not speakSpanish, but through Sergeant Carrasco I learned that there were moreruins "a little farther along. " In this country one never can tellwhether such a report is worthy of credence. "He may have been lying"is a good footnote to affix to all hearsay evidence. Accordingly, I was not unduly excited, nor in a great hurry to move. The heatwas still great, the water from the Indian's spring was cooland delicious, and the rustic wooden bench, hospitably coveredimmediately after my arrival with a soft, woolen poncho, seemed mostcomfortable. Furthermore, the view was simply enchanting. Tremendousgreen precipices fell away to the white rapids of the Urubambabelow. Immediately in front, on the north side of the valley, wasa great granite cliff rising 2000 feet sheer. To the left was thesolitary peak of Huayna Picchu, surrounded by seemingly inaccessibleprecipices. On all sides were rocky cliffs. Beyond them cloud-cappedmountains rose thousands of feet above us. 

The Indians said there were two paths to the outside world. Of one wehad already had a taste; the other, they said, was more difficult--aperilous path down the face of a rocky precipice on the other sideof the ridge. It was their only means of egress in the wet season, when the bridge over which we had come could not be maintained. I wasnot surprised to learn that they went away from home only "about oncea month. "

Richarte told us that they had been living here four years. Itseems probable that, owing to its inaccessibility, the canyon hadbeen unoccupied for several centuries, but with the completion ofthe new government road settlers began once more to occupy thisregion. In time somebody clambered up the precipices and found onthe slopes of Machu Picchu, at an elevation of 9000 feet above thesea, an abundance of rich soil conveniently situated on artificialterraces, in a fine climate. Here the Indians had finally clearedoff some ruins, burned over a few terraces, and planted crops ofmaize, sweet and white potatoes, sugar cane, beans, peppers, treetomatoes, and gooseberries. At first they appropriated some of theancient houses and replaced the roofs of wood and thatch. They found, however, that there were neither springs nor wells near the ancientbuildings. An ancient aqueduct which had once brought a tiny streamto the citadel had long since disappeared beneath the forest, filledwith earth washed from the upper terraces. So, abandoning the shelterof the ruins, the Indians were now enjoying the convenience of livingnear some springs in roughly built thatched huts of their own design. 

Without the slightest expectation of finding anything more interestingthan the stone-faced terraces of which I already had a glimpse, andthe ruins of two or three stone houses such as we had encounteredat various places on the road between Ollantaytambo and Torontoy, I finally left the cool shade of the pleasant little hut and climbedfarther up the ridge and around a slight promontory. Arteaga had"been here once before, " and decided to rest and gossip with Richarteand Alvarez in the hut. They sent a small boy with me as a guide. 

Hardly had we rounded the promontory when the character of thestonework began to improve. A flight of beautifully constructedterraces, each two hundred yards long and ten feet high, had thenrecently rescued from the jungle by the Indians. A forest of largetrees had been chopped down and burned over to make a clearingfor agricultural purposes. Crossing these terraces, I entered theuntouched forest beyond, and suddenly found myself in a maze ofbeautiful granite houses! They were covered with trees and moss andthe growth of centuries, but in the dense shadow, hiding in bamboothickets and tangled vines, could be seen, here and there, wallsof white granite ashlars most carefully cut and exquisitely fittedtogether. Buildings with windows were frequent. Here at least was a"place far from town and conspicuous for its windows. "

------FIGURE

Flashlight view of Interior of Cave, Machu Picchu------

------FIGURE

Temple over Cave at Machu Picchu Suggested by the Author as theProbable Site of Tampu-Tocco------

Under a carved rock the little boy showed me a cave beautifully linedwith the finest cut stone. It was evidently intended to be a RoyalMausoleum. On top of this particular boulder a semicircular buildinghad been constructed. The wall followed the natural curvature of therock and was keyed to it by one of the finest examples of masonry Ihave ever seen. This beautiful wall, made of carefully matched ashlarsof pure white granite, especially selected for its fine grain, was thework of a master artist. The interior surface of the wall was brokenby niches and square stone-pegs. The exterior surface was perfectlysimple and unadorned. The lower courses, of particularly large ashlars, gave it a look of solidity. The upper courses, diminishing in sizetoward the top, lent grace and delicacy to the structure. The flowinglines, the symmetrical arrangement of the ashlars, and the gradualgradation of the courses, combined to produce a wonderful effect, softer and more pleasing than that of the marble temples of theOld World. Owing to the absence of mortar, there are no ugly spacesbetween the rocks. They might have grown together. 

The elusive beauty of this chaste, undecorated surface seems to meto be due to the fact that the wall was built under the eye of amaster mason who knew not the straight edge, the plumb rule, or thesquare. He had no instruments of precision, so he had to depend onhis eye. He had a good eye, an artistic eye, an eye for symmetryand beauty of form. His product received none of the harshness ofmechanical and mathematical accuracy. The apparently rectangularblocks are not really rectangular. The apparently straight lines ofthe courses are not actually straight in the exact sense of that term. 

To my astonishment I saw that this wall and its adjoining semicirculartemple over the cave were as fine as the finest stonework in thefar-famed Temple of the Sun in Cuzco. Surprise followed surprise inbewildering succession. I climbed a marvelous great stairway of largegranite blocks, walked along a pampa where the Indians had a smallvegetable garden, and came into a little clearing. Here were the ruinsof two of the finest structures I have ever seen in Peru. Not only werethey made of selected blocks of beautifully grained white granite;their walls contained ashlars of Cyclopean size, ten feet in length, and higher than a man. The sight held me spellbound. 

Each building had only three walls and was entirely open on theside toward the clearing. The principal temple was lined withexquisitely made niches, five high up at each end, and seven on theback wall. There were seven courses of ashlars in the end walls. Underthe seven rear niches was a rectangular block fourteen feet long, probably a sacrificial altar. The building did not look as thoughit had ever had a roof. The top course of beautifully smooth ashlarswas not intended to be covered. 

The other temple is on the east side of the pampa. I called it theTemple of the Three Windows. Like its neighbor, it is unique amongInca ruins. Its eastern wall, overlooking the citadel, is a massivestone framework for three conspicuously large windows, obviously toolarge to serve any useful purpose, yet most beautifully made with thegreatest care and solidity. This was clearly a ceremonial edifice ofpeculiar significance. Nowhere else in Peru, so far as I know, is therea similar structure conspicuous as "a masonry wall with three windows. "

These ruins have no other name than that of the mountain on theslopes of which they are located. Had this place been occupieduninterruptedly, like Cuzco and Ollantaytambo, Machu Picchu wouldhave retained its ancient name, but during the centuries when itwas abandoned, its name was lost. Examination showed that it wasessentially a fortified place, a remote fastness protected by naturalbulwarks, of which man took advantage to create the most impregnablestronghold in the Andes. Our subsequent excavations and the clearingmade in 1912, to be described in a subsequent volume, has shown thatthis was the chief place in Uilcapampa. 

It did not take an expert to realize, from the glimpse of MachuPicchu on that rainy day in July, 1911, when Sergeant Carrasco andI first saw it, that here were most extraordinary and interestingruins. Although the ridge had been partly cleared by the Indians fortheir fields of maize, so much of it was still underneath a thickjungle growth--some walls were actually supporting trees ten andtwelve inches in diameter--that it was impossible to determine justwhat would be found here. As soon as I could get hold of Mr. Tucker, who was assisting Mr. Hendriksen, and Mr. Lanius, who had gone down theUrubamba with Dr. Bowman, I asked them to make a map of the ruins. Iknew it would be a difficult undertaking and that it was essentialfor Mr. Tucker to join me in Arequipa not later than the first ofOctober for the ascent of Coropuna. With the hearty aid of Richarteand Alvarez, the surveyors did better than I expected. In the ten dayswhile they were at the ruins they were able to secure data from whichMr. Tucker afterwards prepared a map which told better than couldany words of mine the importance of this site and the necessity forfurther investigation. 

With the possible exception of one mining prospector, no one in Cuzcohad seen the ruins of Machu Picchu or appreciated their importance. Noone had any realization of what an extraordinary place lay on top ofthe ridge. It had never been visited by any of the planters of thelower Urubamba Valley who annually passed over the road which windsthrough the canyon two thousand feet below. 

It seems incredible that this citadel, less than three days' journeyfrom Cuzco, should have remained so long undescribed by travelersand comparatively unknown even to the Peruvians themselves. If theconquistadores ever saw this wonderful place, some reference to itsurely would have been made; yet nothing can be found which clearlyrefers to the ruins of Machu Picchu. Just when it was first seen by aSpanish-speaking person is uncertain. When the Count de Sartiges wasat Huadquiña in 1834 he was looking for ruins; yet, although so near, he heard of none here. From a crude scrawl on the walls of one of thefinest buildings, we learned that the ruins were visited in 1902 byLizarraga, lessee of the lands immediately below the bridge of SanMiguel. This is the earliest local record. Yet some one must havevisited Machu Picchu long before that; because in 1875, as has beensaid, the French explorer Charles Wiener heard in Ollantaytambo ofthere being ruins at "Huaina-Picchu or Matcho-Picchu. " He tried tofind them. That he failed was due to there being no road through thecanyon of Torontoy and the necessity of making a wide detour throughthe pass of Panticalla and the Lucumayo Valley, a route which broughthim to the Urubamba River at the bridge of Chuquichaca, twenty-fivemiles below Machu Picchu. 

------FIGURE

Detail of Exterior of Temple of the Three Windows, Machu Picchu------

------FIGURE

Detail of Principal Temple Machu Picchu------

It was not until 1890 that the Peruvian Government, recognizing theneeds of the enterprising planters who were opening up the lowervalley of the Urubamba, decided to construct a mule trail along thebanks of the river through the grand canyon to enable the much-desiredcoca and aguardiente to be shipped from Huadquiña, Maranura, and SantaAnn to Cuzco more quickly and cheaply than formerly. This road avoidsthe necessity of carrying the precious cargoes over the dangeroussnowy passes of Mt. Veronica and Mt. Salcantay, so vividly describedby Raimondi, de Sartiges, and others. The road, however, was veryexpensive, took years to build, and still requires frequent repair. Infact, even to-day travel over it is often suspended for several daysor weeks at a time, following some tremendous avalanche. Yet it wasthis new road which had led Melchor Arteaga to build his hut nearthe arable land at Mandor Pampa, where he could raise food for hisfamily and offer rough shelter to passing travelers. It was thisnew road which brought Richarte, Alvarez, and their enterprisingfriends into this little-known region, gave them the opportunity ofoccupying the ancient terraces of Machu Picchu, which had lain fallowfor centuries, encouraged them to keep open a passable trail overthe precipices, and made it feasible for us to reach the ruins. Itwas this new road which offered us in 1911 a virgin field betweenOllantaytambo and Huadquiña and enabled us to learn that the Incas, or their predecessors, had once lived here in the remote fastnesses ofthe Andes, and had left stone witnesses of the magnificence and beautyof their ancient civilization, more interesting and extensive than anywhich have been found since the days of the Spanish Conquest of Peru. 

CHAPTER XVIII

The Origin of Machu Picchu

Some other day I hope to tell of the work of clearing and excavatingMachu Picchu, of the life lived by its citizens, and of the ancienttowns of which it was the most important. At present I must restcontent with a discussion of its probable identity. Here was a powerfulcitadel tenable against all odds, a stronghold where a mere handfulof defenders could prevent a great army from taking the place byassault. Why should any one have desired to be so secure from captureas to have built a fortress in such an inaccessible place?

The builders were not in search of fields. There is so little arableland here that every square yard of earth had to be terraced inorder to provide food for the inhabitants. They were not looking forcomfort or convenience. Safety was their primary consideration. Theywere sufficiently civilized to practice intensive agriculture, sufficiently skillful to equal the best masonry the world has everseen, sufficiently ingenious to make delicate bronzes, and sufficientlyadvanced in art to realize the beauty of simplicity. What could haveinduced such a people to select this remote fastness of the Andes, with all its disadvantages, as the site for their capital, unlessthey were fleeing from powerful enemies. 

The thought will already have occurred to the reader that the Templeof the Three Windows at Machu Picchu fits the words of that nativewriter who had "heard from a child the most ancient traditions andhistories, " including the story already quoted from Sir ClementsMarkham's translation that Manco Ccapac, the first Inca, "orderedworks to be executed at the place of his birth; consisting of amasonry wall with three windows, which were emblems of the houseof his fathers whence he descended. The first window was called'Tampu-tocco. ' " Although none of the other chroniclers gives thestory of the first Inca ordering a memorial wall to be built at theplace of his birth, they nearly all tell of his having come from aplace called Tampu-tocco, "an inn or country place remarkable forits windows. " Sir Clements Markham, in his "Incas of Peru, " refersto Tampu-tocco as "the hill with the three openings or windows. "

The place assigned by all the chroniclers as the location of thetraditional Tampu-tocco, as has been said, is Paccaritampu, about ninemiles southwest of Cuzco. Paccaritampu has some interesting ruins andcaves, but careful examination shows that while there are more thanthree openings to its caves, there are no windows in its buildings. Thebuildings of Machu Picchu, on the other hand, have far more windowsthan any other important ruin in Peru. The climate of Paccaritampu, like that of most places in the highlands, is too severe to inviteor encourage the use of windows. The climate of Machu Picchu is mild, consequently the use of windows was natural and agreeable. 

So far as I know, there is no place in Peru where the ruins consist ofanything like a "masonry wall with three windows" of such a ceremonialcharacter as is here referred to, except at Machu Picchu. It wouldcertainly seem as though the Temple of the Three Windows, the mostsignificant structure within the citadel, is the building referredto by Pachacuti Yamqui Saleamayhua. 

------FIGURE

The Masonry Wall with Three Windows, Machu Picchu------

The principal difficulty with this theory is that while thefirst meaning of tocco in Holguin's standard Quichua dictionary is"ventana" or "window, " and while "window" is the only meaning giventhis important word in Markham's revised Quichua dictionary (1908), a dictionary compiled from many sources, the second meaning of toccogiven by Holguin is "alacena, " "a cupboard set in a wall. " Undoubtedlythis means what we call, in the ruins of the houses of the Incas, aniche. Now the drawings, crude as they are, in Sir Clements Markham'stranslation of the Salcamayhua manuscript, do give the impressionof niches rather than of windows. Does Tampu-tocco mean a tampuremarkable for its niches? At Paccaritampu there do not appear to beany particularly fine niches; while at Machu Picchu, on the other hand, there are many very beautiful niches, especially in the cave which hasbeen referred to as a "Royal Mausoleum. " As a matter of fact, nearlyall the finest ruins of the Incas have excellent niches. Since nicheswere so common a feature of Inca architecture, the chances are that SirClements is right in translating Salcamayhua as he did and in callingTampu-tocco "the hill with the three openings or windows. " In any caseMachu Picchu fits the story far better than does Paccaritampu. However, in view of the fact that the early writers all repeat the story thatTampu-tocco was at Paccaritampu, it would be absurd to say that theydid not know what they were talking about, even though the actualremains at or near Paccaritampu do not fit the requirements. 

It would be easier to adopt Paccaritampu as the site of Tampu-toccowere it not for the legal records of an inquiry made by Toledo at thetime when he put the last Inca to death. Fifteen Indians, descendedfrom those who used to live near Las Salinas, the important salt worksnear Cuzco, on being questioned, agreed that they had heard theirfathers and grandfathers repeat the tradition that when the first Inca, Manco Ccapac, captured their lands, he came from Tampu-tocco. They didnot say that the first Inca came from Paccaritampu, which, it seemsto me, would have been a most natural thing for them to have said ifthis were the general belief of the natives. In addition there is thestill older testimony of some Indians born before the arrival of thefirst Spaniards, who were examined at a legal investigation in 1570. Achief, aged ninety-two, testified that Manco Ccapac came out of a cavecalled Tocco, and that he was lord of the town near that cave. Notone of the witnesses stated that Manco Ccapac came from Paccaritampu, although it is difficult to imagine why they should not have doneso if, as the contemporary historians believed, this was really theoriginal Tampu-tocco. The chroniclers were willing enough to acceptthe interesting cave near Paccaritampu as the place where MancoCcapac was born, and from which he came to conquer Cuzco. Why werethe sworn witnesses so reticent? It seems hardly possible that theyshould have forgotten where Tampu-tocco was supposed to have been. Wastheir reticence due to the fact that its actual whereabouts had beensuccessfully kept secret? Manco Ccapac's home was that Tampu-toccoto which the followers of Pachacuti VI fled with his body after theoverthrow of the old régime, a very secluded and holy place. Did theyknow it was in the same fastnesses of the Andes to which in the daysof Pizarro the young Inca Manco had fled from Cuzco? Was this thecause of their reticence?

Certainly the requirements of Tampu-tocco are met at Machu Picchu. Thesplendid natural defenses of the Grand Canyon of the Urubamba made itan ideal refuge for the descendants of the Amautas during the centuriesof lawlessness and confusion which succeeded the barbarian invasionsfrom the plains to the east and south. The scarcity of violentearthquakes and also its healthfulness, both marked characteristicsof Tampu-tocco, are met at Machu Picchu. It is worth noting that theexistence of Machu Picchu might easily have been concealed from thecommon people. At the time of the Spanish Conquest its location mighthave been known only to the Inca and his priests. 

So, notwithstanding the belief of the historians, I feel it isreasonable to conclude that the first name of the ruins at Machu Picchuwas Tampu-tocco. Here Pachacuti VI was buried; here was the capital ofthe little kingdom where during the centuries between the Amautas andthe Incas there was kept alive the wisdom, skill, and best traditionsof the ancient folk who had developed the civilization of Peru. 

It is well to remember that the defenses of Cuzco were of little availbefore the onslaught of the warlike invaders. The great organizationof farmers and masons, so successful in its ability to performmighty feats of engineering with primitive tools of wood, stone, and bronze, had crumbled away before the attacks of savage hordeswho knew little of the arts of peace. The defeated leaders had tochoose a region where they might live in safety from their fierceenemies. Furthermore, in the environs of Machu Picchu they foundevery variety of climate--valleys so low as to produce the preciouscoca, yucca, and plantain, the fruits and vegetables of the tropics;slopes high enough to be suitable for many varieties of maize, quinoa, and other cereals, as well as their favorite root crops, including both sweet and white potatoes, oca, añu, and ullucu. Here, within a few hours' journey, they could find days warm enough to dryand cure the coca leaves; nights cold enough to freeze potatoes inthe approved aboriginal fashion. 

Although the amount of arable land which could be made available withthe most careful terracing was not large enough to support a verygreat population, Machu Picchu offered an impregnable citadel to thechiefs and priests and their handful of followers who were obligedto flee from the rich plains near Cuzco and the broad, pleasantvalley of Yucay. Only dire necessity and terror could have forced apeople which had reached such a stage in engineering, architecture, and agriculture, to leave hospitable valleys and tablelands for ruggedcanyons. Certainly there is no part of the Andes less fitted by natureto meet the requirements of an agricultural folk, unless their chiefneed was a safe refuge and retreat. 

Here the wise remnant of the Amautas ultimately developed greatability. In the face of tremendous natural obstacles they utilizedtheir ancient craft to wrest a living from the soil. Hemmed inbetween the savages of the Amazon jungles below and their enemieson the plateau above, they must have carried on border warfare forgenerations. Aided by the temperate climate in which they lived, and the ability to secure a wide variety of food within a few hours'climb up or down from their towns and cities, they became a hardy, vigorous tribe which in the course of time burst its boundaries, foughtits way back to the rich Cuzco Valley, overthrew the descendantsof the ancient invaders and established, with Cuzco as a capital, the Empire of the Incas. 

After the first Inca, Manco Ccapac, had established himself in Cuzco, what more natural than that he should have built a fine temple inhonor of his ancestors. Ancestor worship was common to the Incas, and nothing would have been more reasonable than the constructionof the Temple of the Three Windows. As the Incas grew in power andextended their rule over the ancient empire of the Cuzco Amautas fromwhom they traced their descent, superstitious regard would have ledthem to establish their chief temples and palaces in the city of Cuzcoitself. There was no longer any necessity to maintain the citadel ofTampu-tocco. It was probably deserted, while Cuzco grew and the IncaEmpire flourished. 

As the Incas increased in power they invented various myths to accountfor their origin. One of these traced their ancestry to the islands ofLake Titicaca. Finally the very location of Manco Ccapac's birthplacewas forgotten by the common people--although undoubtedly known to thepriests and those who preserved the most sacred secrets of the Incas. 

Then came Pizarro and the bigoted conquistadores. The native chiefsfaced the necessity of saving whatever was possible of the ancientreligion. The Spaniards coveted gold and silver. The most preciouspossessions of the Incas, however, were not images and utensils, butthe sacred Virgins of the Sun, who, like the Vestal Virgins of Rome, were from their earliest childhood trained to the service of the greatSun God. Looked at from the standpoint of an agricultural people whoneeded the sun to bring their food crops to fruition and keep them fromhunger, it was of the utmost importance to placate him with sacrificesand secure the good effects of his smiling face. If he delayed hiscoming or kept himself hidden behind the clouds, the maize would mildewand the ears would not properly ripen. If he did not shine with hisaccustomed brightness after the harvest, the ears of corn could not beproperly dried and kept over to the next year. In short, any unusualbehavior on the part of the sun meant hunger and famine. Consequentlytheir most beautiful daughters were consecrated to his service, as"Virgins" who lived in the temple and ministered to the wants ofpriests and rulers. Human sacrifice had long since been given up inPeru and its place taken by the consecration of these damsels. Someof the Virgins of the Sun in Cuzco were captured. Others escaped andaccompanied Manco into the inaccessible canyons of Uilcapampa. 

It will be remembered that Father Calancha relates the trials of thefirst two missionaries in this region, who at the peril of their livesurged the Inca to let them visit the "University of Idolatry, " at"Vilcabamba Viejo, " "the largest city" in the province. Machu Picchuadmirably answers its requirements. Here it would have been veryeasy for the Inca Titu Cusi to have kept the monks in the vicinityof the Sacred City for three weeks without their catching a singleglimpse of its unique temples and remarkable palaces. It would havebeen possible for Titu Cusi to bring Friar Marcos and Friar Diegoto the village of Intihuatana near San Miguel, at the foot of theMachu Picchu cliffs. The sugar planters of the lower Urubamba Valleycrossed the bridge of San Miguel annually for twenty years in blissfulignorance of what lay on top of the ridge above them. So the friarsmight easily have been lodged in huts at the foot of the mountainwithout their being aware of the extent and importance of the Inca"university. " Apparently they returned to Puquiura with so littleknowledge of the architectural character of "Vilcabamba Viejo" thatno description of it could be given their friends, eventually tobe reported by Calancha. Furthermore, the difficult journey acrosscountry from Puquiura might easily have taken "three days. "

Finally, it appears from Dr. Eaton's studies that the last residentsof Machu Picchu itself were mostly women. In the burial caves whichwe have found in the region roundabout Machu Picchu the proportionof skulls belonging to men is very large. There are many so-called"trepanned" skulls. Some of them seem to belong to soldiers injuredin war by having their skulls crushed in, either with clubs orthe favorite sling-stones of the Incas. In no case have we foundmore than twenty-five skulls without encountering some "trepanned"specimens among them. In striking contrast is the result of theexcavations at Machu Picchu, where one hundred sixty-four skullswere found in the burial caves, yet not one had been "trepanned. " Ofthe one hundred thirty-five skeletons whose sex could be accuratelydetermined by Dr. Eaton, one hundred nine were females. Furthermore, it was in the graves of the females that the finest artifacts werefound, showing that they were persons of no little importance. Nota single representative of the robust male of the warrior type wasfound in the burial caves of Machu Picchu. 

Another striking fact brought out by Dr. Eaton is that some of thefemale skeletons represent individuals from the seacoast. This fits inwith Calancha's statement that Titu Cusi tempted the monks not onlywith beautiful women of the highlands, but also with those who camefrom the tribes of the Yungas, or "warm valleys. " The "warm valleys"may be those of the rubber country, but Sir Clements Markham thoughtthe oases of the coast were meant. 

Furthermore, as Mr. Safford has pointed out, among the artifactsdiscovered at Machu Picchu was a "snuffing tube" intended for use withthe narcotic snuff which was employed by the priests and necromancersto induce a hypnotic state. This powder was made from the seeds ofthe tree which the Incas called huilca or uilca, which, as has beenpointed out in Chapter XI, grows near these ruins. This seems to meto furnish additional evidence of the identity of Machu Picchu withCalancha's "Vilcabamba. "

It cannot be denied that the ruins of Machu Picchu satisfy therequirements of "the largest city, in which was the University ofIdolatry. " Until some one can find the ruins of another important placewithin three days' journey of Pucyura which was an important religiouscenter and whose skeletal remains are chiefly those of women, I aminclined to believe that this was the "Vilcabamba Viejo" of Calancha, just as Espiritu Pampa was the "Vilcabamba Viejo" of Ocampo. 

In the interesting account of the last Incas purporting to be by TituCusi, but actually written in excellent Spanish by Friar Marcos, he says that his father, Manco, fleeing from Cuzco went first "toVilcabamba, the head of all that province. "

In the "Anales del Peru" Montesinos says that Francisco Pizarro, thinking that the Inca Manco wished to make peace with him, triedto please the Inca by sending him a present of a very fine pony anda mulatto to take care of it. In place of rewarding the messenger, the Inca killed both man and beast. When Pizarro was informed of this, he took revenge on Manco by cruelly abusing the Inca's favorite wife, and putting her to death. She begged of her attendants that "when sheshould be dead they would put her remains in a basket and let it floatdown the Yucay [or Urubamba] River, that the current might take itto her husband, the Inca. " She must have believed that at that timeManco was near this river. Machu Picchu is on its banks. EspirituPampa is not. 

We have already seen how Manco finally established himself at Uiticos, where he restored in some degree the fortunes of his house. Surroundedby fertile valleys, not too far removed from the great highway whichthe Spaniards were obliged to use in passing from Lima to Cuzco, hecould readily attack them. At Machu Picchu he would not have beenso conveniently located for robbing the Spanish caravans nor forsupplying his followers with arable lands. 

There is abundant archeological evidence that the citadel of MachuPicchu was at one time occupied by the Incas and partly built by themon the ruins of a far older city. Much of the pottery is unquestionablyof the so-called Cuzco style, used by the last Incas. The more recentbuildings resemble those structures on the island of Titicaca said tohave been built by the later Incas. They also resemble the fortress ofUiticos, at Rosaspata, built by Manco about 1537. Furthermore, theyare by far the largest and finest ruins in the mountains of the oldprovince of Uilcapampa and represent the place which would naturallybe spoken of by Titu Cusi as the "head of the province. " EspirituPampa does not satisfy the demands of a place which was so importantas to give its name to the entire province, to be referred to as"the largest city. "

It seems quite possible that the inaccessible, forgotten citadel ofMachu Picchu was the place chosen by Manco as the safest refuge forthose Virgins of the Sun who had successfully escaped from Cuzco inthe days of Pizarro. For them and their attendants Manco probablybuilt many of the newer buildings and repaired some of the olderones. Here they lived out their days, secure in the knowledge thatno Indians would ever breathe to the conquistadores the secret oftheir sacred refuge. 

------FIGURE

The Gorges, Opening Wide Apart, Reveal Uilcapampa's Granite Citadel, the Crown of Inca Land: Machu Picchu------

When the worship of the sun actually ceased on the heights of MachuPicchu no one can tell. That the secret of its existence was so wellkept is one of the marvels of Andean history. Unless one accepts thetheories of its identity with "Tampu-tocco" and "Vilcabamba Viejo, "there is no clear reference to Machu Picchu until 1875, when CharlesWiener heard about it. 

Some day we may be able to find a reference in one of the documentsof the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries which will indicate thatthe energetic Viceroy Toledo, or a contemporary of his, knew ofthis marvelous citadel and visited it. Writers like Cieza de Leonand Polo de Ondegardo, who were assiduous in collecting informationabout all the holy places of the Incas, give the names of many placeswhich as yet we have not been able to identify. Among them we mayfinally recognize the temples of Machu Picchu. On the other hand, it seems likely that if any of the Spanish soldiers, priests, orother chroniclers had seen this citadel, they would have describedits chief edifices in unmistakable terms. 

Until further light can be thrown on this fascinating problem itseems reasonable to conclude that at Machu Picchu we have the ruins ofTampu-tocco, the birthplace of the first Inca, Manco Ccapac, and alsothe ruins of a sacred city of the last Incas. Surely this granitecitadel, which has made such a strong appeal to us on account ofits striking beauty and the indescribable charm of its surroundings, appears to have had a most interesting history. Selected about 800A. D. As the safest place of refuge for the last remnants of theold régime fleeing from southern invaders, it became the site of thecapital of a new kingdom, and gave birth to the most remarkable familywhich South America has ever seen. Abandoned, about 1300, when Cuzcoonce more flashed into glory as the capital of the Peruvian Empire, it seems to have been again sought out in time of trouble, when in1534 another foreign invader arrived--this time from Europe--with aburning desire to extinguish all vestiges of the ancient religion. Inits last state it became the home and refuge of the Virgins of theSun, priestesses of the most humane cult of aboriginal America. Here, concealed in a canyon of remarkable grandeur, protected by art andnature, these consecrated women gradually passed away, leaving noknown descendants, nor any records other than the masonry wallsand artifacts to be described in another volume. Whoever they were, whatever name be finally assigned to this site by future historians, of this I feel sure--that few romances can ever surpass that of thegranite citadel on top of the beetling precipices of Machu Picchu, the crown of Inca Land. 

Glossary

Añu: A species of nasturtium with edible roots. 

Aryballus: A bottle-shaped vase with pointed bottom. 

Azequia: An irrigation ditch or conduit. 

Bar-hold: A stone cylinder or pin, let into a gatepost in such a wayas to permit the gate bar to be tied to it. Sometimes the bar-holdis part of one of the ashlars of the gatepost. Bar-holds are usuallyfound in the gateway of a compound or group of Inca houses. 

Coca: Shrub from which cocaine is extracted. The dried leaves arechewed to secure the desired deadening effect of the drug. 

Conquistadores: Spanish soldiers engaged in the conquest of America. 

Eye-bonder: A narrow, rough ashlar in one end of which a chamferedhole has been cut. Usually about 2 feet long, 6 inches wide, and 2inches thick, it was bonded into the wall of a gable at right anglesto its slope and flush with its surface. To it the purlins of the roofcould be fastened. Eye-bonders are also found projecting above thelintel of a gateway to a compound. If the "bar-holds" were intendedto secure the horizontal bar of an important gate, these eye-bondersmay have been for a vertical bar. 

Gobernador: The Spanish-speaking town magistrate. The alcaldes arehis Indian aids. 

Habas beans: Broad beans. 

Huaca: A sacred or holy place or thing, sometimes a boulder. Oftenapplied to a piece of prehistoric pottery. 

Mañana: To-morrow, or by and by. The "mañana habit" is Spanish-Americanprocrastination. 

Mestizo: A half-breed of Spanish and Indian ancestry. 

Milpa: A word used in Central America for a small farm or clearing. Themilpa system of agriculture involves clearing the forest by fire, destroys valuable humus and forces the farmer to seek new fieldsfrequently. 

Montaña: Jungle, forest. The term usually applied by Peruvians tothe heavily forested slopes of the Eastern Andean valleys and theAmazon Basin. 

Oca: Hardy, edible root, related to sheep sorrel. 

Quebrada: A gorge or ravine. 

Quipu: Knotted, parti-colored strings used by the ancient Peruviansto keep records. A mnemonic device. 

Roof-peg: A roughly cylindrical block of stone bonded into a gablewall and allowed to project 12 or 15 inches on the outside. Usedin connection with "eye-bonders, " the roof-pegs served as points towhich the roof could be tied down. 

Sol: Peruvian silver dollar, worth about two shillings or a littleless than half a gold dollar. 

Sorocho: Mountain-sickness. 

Stone-peg: A roughly cylindrical block of stone bonded into thewalls of a house and projecting 10 or 12 inches on the inside so asto permit of its being used as a clothes-peg. Stone-pegs are oftenfound alternating with niches and placed on a level with the lintelsof the niches. 

Temblor: A slight earthquake. 

Temporales: Small fields of grain which cannot be irrigated and sodepend on the weather for their moisture. 

Teniente gobernador: Administrative officer of a small villageor hamlet. 

Terremoto: A severe earthquake. 

Tesoro: Treasure. 

Tutu: A hardy variety of white potato not edible in a fresh state, used for making chuño, after drying, freezing, and pressing out thebitter juices. 

Ulluca: An edible root. 

Viejo: Old. 

Bibliography of the Peruvian Expeditions of Yale University and theNational Geographic Society

Thomas Barbour:

Reptiles Collected by Yale Peruvian Expedition of 1912. Proceedings ofAcademy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, LXV, 505-507, September, 1913. 1 pl. 

(With G. K. Noble:)

Amphibians and Reptiles from Southern Peru Collected by PeruvianExpedition of 1914-1915. Proceedings of U. S. National Museum, LVIII, 609-620, 1921. 

Hiram Bingham:

The Ruins of Choqquequirau. American Anthropologist, XII, 505-525, October, 1910. Illus. , 4 pl. , map. 

Across South America. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1911, xvi, 405 pp. , plates, maps, plans, 8°. 

Preliminary Report of the Yale Peruvian Expedition. Bulletin ofAmerican Geographical Society, XLIV, 20-26, January, 1912. 

The Ascent of Coropuna. Harper's Magazine, CXXIV, 489-502, March, 1912. Illus. 

Vitcos, The Last Inca Capital. Proceedings of American AntiquarianSociety, XXII, N. S. , 135-196. April, 1912. Illus. , plans. 

The Discovery of Pre-Historic Human Remains near Cuzco, Peru. AmericanJournal of Science, XXXIII, No. 196, 297-305, April, 1912. Illus. , maps. 

A Search for the Last Inca Capital. Harper's Magazine, CXXV, 696-705, October, 1912. Illus. 

The Discovery of Machu Picchu. Ibid. , CXXVI, 709-719, April, 1913. Illus. 

In the Wonderland of Peru. National Geographic Magazine, XXIV, 387-573, April, 1913. Illus. , maps, plans. 

The Investigation of Pre-Historic Human Remains Found near Cuzco in1911. American Journal of Science, XXXVI, No. 211, 1-2, July, 1913. 

The Ruins of Espiritu Pampa, Peru. American Anthropologist, XVI, No. 2, 185-199. April-June, 1914. Illus. , 1 pl. , map. 

Along the Uncharted Pampaconas. Harper's Magazine, CXXIX, 452-463, August, 1914. Illus. , map. 

The Pampaconas River. The Geographical Journal, XLIV, 211-214, August, 1914. 2 pl. , map. 

The Story of Machu Picchu. National Geographic Magazine, XXVII, 172-217, February, 1915. Illus. 

Types of Machu Picchu Pottery. American Anthropologist, XVII, 257-271, April-June, 1915. Illus. , 1 pl. 

The Inca Peoples and Their Culture. Proceedings of NineteenthInternational Congress of Americanists, Washington, D. C. , pp. 253-260, December, 1915. 

Further Explorations in the Land of the Incas. National GeographicMagazine, XXIX, 431-473, May, 1916. Illus. , 2 maps. 

Evidences of Symbolism in the Land of the Incas. The Builder, II, No. 12, 361-366, December, 1916. Illus. 

(With Dr. George S. Jamieson:)

Lake Parinacochas and the Composition of its Water. American Journalof Science, XXXIV, 12-16, July, 1912. Illus. 

Isaiah Bowman:

The Geologic Relations of the Cuzco Remains. American Journal ofScience, XXXIII, No. 196, 306-325, April, 1912. Illus. 

A Buried Wall at Cuzco and its Relation to the Question of a Pre-IncaRace. Ibid. , XXXIV, No. 204, 497-509, December, 1912. Illus. 

The Cañon of the Urubamba. Bulletin of American Geographical Society, XLIV, 881-897, December, 1912. Illus. , map. 

The Andes of Southern Peru. Geographical Reconnaissance Along theSeventy-third Meridian, N. Y. , Henry Holt, 1916. Xi, 336 pp. , plates, maps, plans. 

Lawrence Bruner:

Results of Yale Peruvian Expedition of 1911, Orthoptera(Acridiidae--Short Horned Locusts). Proceedings of U. S. NationalMuseum, XLIV, 177-187, 1913. 

Results of Yale Peruvian Expedition of 1911, Orthoptera (Addenda tothe Acridiidae). Ibid. , XLV, 585-586, 1913. 

A. N. Caudell:

Results of Yale Peruvian Expedition of 1911, Orthoptera (Exclusive ofAcridiidae). Proceedings of U. S. National Museum, XLIV, 347-357, 1913. 

Ralph V. Chamberlain:

Results of Yale Peruvian Expedition of 1911. The Arachnida. Bulletin ofMuseum of Comparative Zoölogy at Harvard College, LX, No. 6, 177-299, 1916. 25 pl. 

Frank M. Chapman:

The Distribution of Bird Life in the Urubamba Valley ofPeru. U. S. National Museum Bulletin 117, 138 pp. , 1921. 9 pl. , map. 

O. F. Cook:

Quichua Names of Sweet Potatoes. Journal of Washington Academy ofSciences, VI, No. 4, 86-90, 1916. 

Agriculture and Native Vegetation in Peru. Ibid. , VI, No. 10, 284-293, 1916. Illus. 

Staircase Farms of the Ancients. National Geographic Magazine, XXIX, 474-534, May, 1916. Illus. 

Foot-Plow Agriculture in Peru. Smithsonian Report for 1918, 487-491. 4 pl. 

Domestication of Animals in Peru. Journal of Heredity, x, 176-181, April, 1919. Illus. 

(With Alice C. Cook:)

Polar Bear Cacti. Journal of Heredity, Washington, D. C. , VIII, 113-120, March, 1917. Illus. 

William H. Dall:

Some Landshells Collected by Dr. Hiram Bingham in Peru. Proceedingsof U. S. National Museum, XXXVIII, 177-182, 1911. Illus. 

Reports on Landshells Collected in Peru in 1911 by The YaleExpedition. Smithsonian Misc. Collections, LIX, No. 14, 12 pp. , 1912. 

Harrison G. Dyar:

Results of Yale Peruvian Expedition of 1911. Lepidoptera. Proceedingsof U. S. National Museum, XLV, 627-649, 1913. 

George F. Eaton:

Report on the Remains of Man and Lower Animals from the Vicinity ofCuzco. American Journal of Science, XXXIII, No. 196, 325-333, April, 1912. Illus. 

Vertebrate Remains in the Cuzco Gravels. Ibid. , XXXVI, No. 211, 3-14, July, 1913. Illus. 

Vertebrate Fossils from Ayusbamba, Peru. Ibid. , XXXVII, No. 218, 141-154, February, 1914. 3 pl. 

The Collection of Osteological Material from MachuPicchu. Trans. Conn. Academy Arts and Sciences, v, 3-96, May, 1916. Illus. , 39 pl. , map. 

William G. Erving, M. D. :

Medical Report of the Yale Peruvian Expedition. Yale Medical Journal, XVIII, 325-335, April, 1912. 6 pl. 

Alexander W. Evans:

Hepaticæ: Yale Peruvian Expedition of 1911. Trans. Conn. Academy Artsand Sciences, XVIII, 291-345, April, 1914. 

Harry B. Ferris, M. D. :

The Indians of Cuzco and the Apurimac. Memoirs, AmericanAnthropological Assoc. , III, No. 2, 59-148, 1916. 60 pl. 

Anthropological Studies on the Quichua and MachigangaIndians. Trans. Conn. Academy Arts and Sciences, XXV, 1-92, April, 1921. 21 pl. , map. 

Harry W. Foote:

(With W. H. Buell:)

The Composition, Structure and Hardness of some Peruvian BronzeAxes. American Journal of Science, XXXIV, 128-132, August, 1912. Illus. 

Herbert E. Gregory:

The Gravels at Cuzco. American Journal of Science, XXXVI, No. 211, 15-29, July, 1913. Illus. , map. 

The La Paz Gorge. Ibid. , XXXVI, 141-150, August, 1913. Illus. 

A Geographical Sketch of Titicaca, the Island of the Sun. Bulletin ofAmerican Geographical Society, XLV, 561-575, August, 1913. 4 pl. , map. 

Geologic Sketch of Titicaca Island and Adjoining Areas. AmericanJournal of Science, XXXVI, No. 213, 187-213, September, 1913. Illus. , maps. 

Geologic Reconnaissance of the Ayusbamba Fossil Beds. Ibid. , XXXVII, No. 218, 125-140, February, 1914. Illus. , map. 

The Rodadero; A Fault Plane of Unusual Aspect. Ibid. , XXXVII, No. 220, 289-298, April, 1914. Illus. 

A Geologic Reconnaissance of the Cuzco Valley. Ibid. , XLI, No. 241, 1-100, January, 1916. Illus. , maps. 

Osgood Hardy:

Cuzco and Apurimac. Bulletin of American Geographical Society, XLVI, No. 7, 500-512, 1914. Illus. , map. 

The Indians of the Department of Cuzco. American Anthropologist, XXI, 1-27, January-March, 1919. 9 pl. 

Sir Clements Markham:

Mr. Bingham in Vilcapampa, Geographical Journal, XXXVIII, No. 6, 590-591, Dec. 1911, 1 pl. 

C. H. Mathewson:

A Metallographic Description of Some Ancient Peruvian Bronzes fromMachu Picchu. American Journal of Science, XL, No. 240, 525-602, December, 1915. Illus. , plates. 

P. R. Myers:

Results of Yale Peruvian Expedition of 1911--Addendum to theHymenoptera-Ichneumonoidea. Proceedings of U. S. National Museum, XLVII, 361-362, 1914. 

S. A. Rohwer:

Results of Yale Peruvian Expedition of 1911--Hymenoptera, SuperfamiliesVespoidea and Sphecoidea. Proceedings of U. S. National Museum, XLIV, 439-454, 1913. 

Leonhard Stejneger:

Results of Yale Peruvian Expedition of 1911. Batrachians andReptiles. Proceedings of U. S. National Museum, XLV, 541-547, 1913. 

Oldfield Thomas:

Report on the Mammalia Collected by Mr. Edmund Heller during PeruvianExpedition of 1915. Proceedings of U. S. National Museum, LVIII, 217-249, 1920. 2 pl. 

H. L. Viereck:

Results of Yale Peruvian Expedition of1911. Hymenoptera-Ichneumonoidea. Proceedings of U. S. National Museum, XLIV, 469-470, 1913. 

R. S. Williams:

Peruvian Mosses. Bulletin of Torrey Botanical Club, XLIII, 323-334, June, 1916. 4 pl. 

NOTES

[1] Many people have asked me how to pronounce Machu Picchu. Quichuawords should always be pronounced as nearly as possible as they arewritten. They represent an attempt at phonetic spelling. If the attemptis made by a Spanish writer, he is always likely to put a silent"h" at the beginning of such words as huilca which is pronounced"weel-ka. " In the middle of a word "h" is always sounded. MachuPicchu is pronounced "Mah'-chew Pick'-chew. " Uiticos is pronounced"Weet'-ee-kos. " Uilcapampa is pronounced "Weel'-ka-pahm-pah. " Cuzco is"Koos'-koh. "

[2] A league, usually about 3 1/3 miles, is really the distance anaverage mule can walk in an hour. 

[3] Fernando Montesinos, an ecclesiastical lawyer of the seventeenthcentury, appears to have gone to Peru in 1629 as the follower ofthat well-known viceroy, the Count of Chinchon, whose wife havingcontracted malaria was cured by the use of Peruvian bark or quinineand was instrumental in the introduction of this medicine intoEurope, a fact which has been commemorated in the botanical nameof the genus cinchona. Montesinos was well educated and appears tohave given himself over entirely to historical research. He traveledextensively in Peru and wrote several books. His history of the Incaswas spoiled by the introduction, in which, as might have been expectedof an orthodox lawyer, he contended that Peru was peopled under theleadership of Ophir, the great-grandson of Noah! Nevertheless, onefinds his work to be of great value and the late Sir Clements Markham, foremost of English students of Peruvian archeology, was inclinedto place considerable credence in his statements. His account ofpre-Hispanic Peru has recently been edited for the Hakluyt Societyby Mr. Philip A. Means of Harvard University. 

[4] Another version of this event is that the quarrel was over a gameof chess between the Inca and Diego Mendez, another of the refugees, who lost his temper and called the Inca a dog. Angered at the tone andlanguage of his guest, the Inca gave him a blow with his fist. DiegoMendez thereupon drew a dagger and killed him. A totally differentaccount from the one obtained by Garcilasso from his informants isthat in a volume purporting to have been dictated to Friar Marcos byManco's son, Titu Cusi, twenty years after the event. I quote fromSir Clements Markham's translation:

"After these Spaniards had been with my Father for several years inthe said town of Viticos they were one day, with much good fellowship, playing at quoits with him; only them, my Father and me, who was then aboy [ten years old]. Without having any suspicion, although an Indianwoman, named Banba, had said that the Spaniards wanted to murder theInca, my Father was playing with them as usual. In this game, just asmy Father was raising the quoit to throw, they all rushed upon him withknives, daggers and some swords. My Father, feeling himself wounded, strove to make some defence, but he was one and unarmed, and they wereseven fully armed; he fell to the ground covered with wounds, and theyleft him for dead. I, being a little boy, and seeing my Father treatedin this manner, wanted to go where he was to help him. But they turnedfuriously upon me, and hurled a lance which only just failed to killme also. I was terrified and fled amongst some bushes. They lookedfor me, but could not find me. The Spaniards, seeing that my Fatherhad ceased to breathe, went out of the gate, in high spirits, saying, 'Now that we have killed the Inca we have nothing to fear. ' But atthis moment the captain Rimachi Yupanqui arrived with some Antis, and presently chased them in such sort that, before they could getvery far along a difficult road, they were caught and pulled fromtheir horses. They all had to suffer very cruel deaths and some wereburnt. Notwithstanding his wounds my Father lived for three days. "

Another version is given by Montesinos in his Anales. It is more likeTitu Cusi's. 

[5] A Spanish derivative from the Quichua mucha, "a kiss. " Muchanimeans "to adore, to reverence, to kiss the hands. "

[6] Uiticos is probably derived from Uiticuni, meaning "to withdrawto a distance. "

[7] Described in "Across South America. "

[8] On the 1915 Expedition Mr. Heller captured twelve new speciesof mammals, but, as Mr. Oldfield Thomas says: "Of all the novelties, by far the most interesting is the new Marsupial . .. . Members of thefamily were previously known from Colombia and Ecuador. " Mr. Heller'sdiscovery greatly extends the recent range of the kangaroo family. 

[9] Mr. Safford says in his article on the "Identity of Cohoba"(Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences, Sept. 19, 1916):"The most remarkable fact connected with Piptadenia peregrina, or'tree-tobacco' is that . .. The source of its intoxicating propertiesstill remains unknown. " One of the bifurcated tubes. "in the firststages of manufacture, " was found at Machu Picchu. 

[10] See the illustrations in Chapters XVII and XVIII. 

[11] Since the historical Uilcapampa is not geographically identicalwith the modern Vilcabamba, the name applied to this river and the oldSpanish town at its source, I shall distinguish between the two byusing the correct, official spelling for the river and town, viz. , Vilcabamba; and the phonetic spelling, Uilcapampa, for the placereferred to in the contemporary histories of the Inca Manco. 

[12] In those days the term "Andes" appears to have been very limitedin scope, and was applied only to the high range north of Cuzco wherelived the tribe called Antis. Their name was given to the range. Itsculminating point was Mt. Salcantay. 

[13] Titu Cusi was an illegitimate son of Manco. His mother was notof royal blood and may have been a native of the warm valleys.