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By JAMES F. ANTHONY (Article 10 of a Series) Cures, Peru, the scene of the rise and fall of the ancient Inca Empire, has for nearly three centuries been a center of interest for students of civilization, archaeologists, and searchers after treasure. The city’s atmosphere is one of forgotten history, and the Indians carry with them an air of fasci nating mystery. TO ENTER THE CITY from the east by land is not too diffi cult. We left La Paz on an aft ernoon train that tank us to the shores of Lake Titicaca, an in Jand sea of 4500 square miles at an altitude of 12,500 feet, making it the world’s highest navigable body of water. Here we boarded the “Ollanta,”’ the steamer which was to take us the 92 miles across to Puno, Peru. There are two such steamers in service. Both were built in England, the parts being packed up to the lake by mule, then as sembled on Titicaca. The night crossing was quite comfortable, but quite cool. The next morn ing we left from Puno by train, arriving in Cuzco at sundown. By this time we were indeed high in the Andes, and the slightest exertion would leave me exhausted. Of course, the Incan ruins were an immediate object of interest In traveling in and around the city for some distance I was awed by these ruins which ac centuate the degree of civiliza tion reached in these rugged mountains before the coming of Pizarro and his destruction in the early 13's. These ruins, with those of Egypt, and to a lesser extent, those of Mexico, const rute one of the major archaeo logical wonders of the world. 2 % WE VISITED AT LENGTH near by Sacsaihuaman Fortress and the Oliantavtambo ruins 6 miles out from the city. Unfortunately, time did not permit a visit to the better preserved Machu-Picchu, the pre Incan ruins discovered only a few years ago which were ovtrlooked by the maraudering Spanish. The distinctive point about all the ruins, however, is the stone work. The Incas worked with huge stones, many wider than I could reach across. These stones were made to fit so perfectly that no mortar was necessary. At no place can you push a knife blade between the blocks, even at a four-stone intersection. Incan his tory is built on legend more than fact, but the supposed solu tion to this amazing feat is that these ancients had a way to partialy melt and chip stone in order to do such close work. When one considers the Incas did not have writing, nor the wheel, and that their system of mathe matics was questionable, these ruins become even more amazing. Fortresses and lookout posts stand on mountainsides to which it would seem impossible to take the stones without the use of the wheel. The ruins are so solid, and so beauti fully constructed, that it seems that a fine system of mathematics must have been available, yet archaeologists find no evidence of a reliable mathematics. * Y THE INT@ANS TODAY are still farming on terraced and irrigated mountainsides which were built and farmed long before Pizarro, prob ably in the pre Incan period be fore 1200 A. D. These terraces are built like great stairways in the mountains, each step built on a horgonal. The Indians did it by building up first with large rocks so maximum ventilation was pos sible, yet so the land could hold the water. Their irrigation sys tems, making use of the mountain streams, are still efficient by the 16th century, the In can Empire had spread all over Peru and into the surrounding countries. Each year, leaders of all the separate tribes would meet in Cuzco with the Inca, the head of the sun-worshipers, for the year's prophecy. The little plaza near the Tem ple of the Sun, and next to our hotel, was the supposed site of this ritual in which a young Ilama was slain and the Inca, the Sun's chosen leader, plunged his hands into the entrails of the animal. If the entrails quivered after death, it was the sign of a good year. This was the principal sac rificial rite of the Empire. * Hu man sacrifice was not practiced, although it was considered hon orable for a woman to be buried alive next to her mate when he passed on. The choice was hers, however. ¥ * ¥ THE INCAS practiced state s cialism to the utmost. Every man’s life was regulated to the life of the community by the wishes of the ruling Inca, who po sessed absolute power. We visit ed in some Indian villages where communal living under a patri archical plan was still practiced zealously. In the village of Pisae we at tended a yearly religious fes tival which brought Indians to gether from all over the region. The holiday was sadly reminis cent of a civilization that was destroyed and never rebuilt. They wieldly mixed their mass services (most are Roman Catholics now) with primitive ceremonies accompanied with blasts from monotone rams’ horns and rhythmic leather drums. They were free, yet banded together for survival; happy, yet pathetic In, their poverty and ignorance; and all were gloriously drunk. We regretfully left Cuzco and these descendants of the Incas for our last jaunt over the Andes into Lima. Days could be spent learning more of life in the top of the Andes. Hours could be spent in learning ancient legends and practices. But we had to move on. * * F THE TRIP TO LIMA by land is 700 miles and four days; by air it is two hours. With our time growing short, Dick and I chose to fly. Along with the Rockies, the Himalayas, and the Alps, South America’s Andes are an experience in themselves. Twenty minutes from the time that we were 22,000 feet in the air pass ing over clawed peaks that reached up under us, we were back at near sea level in Lima TOP QUALITY NO DEPOSIT Servings bop BUY maT ] PASTEURIZED ITS BETTER SOFT DRINKS NO RETURN Black .H Our trip across the continent was complete, and now from the west ern coast, it was time to start north, and home, commissioner for Precinct 2, the Hughes Springs section. Bun Hull led Bob Little by 13 votes in the Aug. 28 runof Little filed suit, claiming some meeter's living outside the precinct voted in the race. While the case was before District Judge Maxwell Welch, the candidates agreed to hold a special runoff at their own expense. HEL GI THY MATS iE WE EVER GET AROUND TO WRITING OUR BIG BOOK OF MEMOIRS, IIT WILL BE FILLED UP WITH A LIFETIME OF LITTLE MEMORIES, LIKE, uia JUST WATCHING THE OLD * GHOST TRAIN “Pass BY AT TWILIGHT g spaii Flavori
Newspaper Details
Amarillo Daily News
Amarillo, Texas, US
Fri, Sep 24, 1954
Page 28
Full Page
Clipped by
James A.
USA 17 Jun 2026
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