The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-07-18
HIDDEN INCA TREASURES,

The Efforts That Have Been Made During
the Last Three Centuries to Locate
Them,
The Spaniards under Pizarro landed
first on the Island of Puma, at the mouth
of the harbor of Guayaquil, and after
ward upon the main coast at Tumbez
in Peru, few miles southwark. Here
they found that the Incas, for the first
time in the history of that remarkable
race, were at war, Huayna-Capac, the
greatest of the Incas, made Quito his
capital and there lived in splendor
unsurpassed in ancient or modern times.
AT his death he divided his kingdom
into two parts, giving to Atahuallpa
the northern half, and to Huscar what
IS now Bolivia and the southern part of
Peru. The two brothers went to war
and while they were engaged in it Pr
Zarro came. Everybody who has read
Prescott's fascinating volumes knows
what followed With the aid of the
Spaniards, Atahuallpa conquered his
brother and then the Spaniards con-
quered him. When he lay a prisoner
in the hands of the guests he offered to
fill his prison with gold if they would
release him. They agreed, and his
willing subjects brought the treasure,
but the greedy Spaniards, always
treacherous, demanded more, and Alta
huallpa sent for it, Runners were hur-
ried all over the country, and the sim
pie, unseltiSh people surrendered all
their wealth to save their King But
Pizarro became tired of waiting for the
treasure to come, and the men in charge
of it, being met by the news that Alta
huallpa had been strangled, buried the
gold and silver in the mountains of
Llauganati, where the SpaniardS have
been searching for it ever since.
No amount of persuasion, temptation
or torture could wiring from the Indians
the secrets of the buried gold. Two
men of modern times are supposed to
have known its hiding place. One of
them, an Indian, became mysteriOusly
rich, and built the church of San Fran
cisco in Quito. On his death bed he is
said to have revealed to the priest who
confessed him that his wealth came
from the hidden Inca treasure, but he
died without imparting the knowledge
of its location. Another man. Valverde
by name, Spaniard, married an Inca
woman, and is supposed to have learned
the secret from her, for he sprang from
abject poverty to the summit of wealth
almost in a single night, without visi-
bic means of support" Nalverde when
he died left as a legacy to the King of
Spain a guide to the buried treasure.
Hundreds of fortunes have been wasted
and hundreds of lives have been lost in
a vain attempt to fellow Valverdc's di-
rections. They are perfectly plain to
certain point, where the trail ends, and
can not be followed farther because Of
deep ravine, which the crcdulous assert
/ has been opened since Nalverde died by
an earthquake. These searches have
been prosecuted by the Government as
well as by private individuals, and if
all the money that has been spent hunt
ing for Atahuallpa's ransom had been
invested in roads and other internal i'm
| proyements the country would be much
richer and the people much more pros
porous than they are.
The devotion of the Indians to the
memory oftheir King who was strangled
| $50 years ago is very touching. When.
1.-The last of the Incas' fell he left his
people in perpetual mourning, and the
women wear nothing but black to-day
1t is pathetic custom for the race not
to show upon their costumes the
| slightest hint of color. Over y
short black skirt they wear sort of
mantle, which resembles in its appear
ance as well as in its use the ''manta''
that is worn by the ladies of Peru, and
the '-mantilla' of Spain. 1t is drawn
over their foreheads and across the
chin and pinned between the shoulders.
| This sombre costume gives them a nun
| like appearance, which is heightened
! by the stealthy, silent way in which
they dart through the streets. The
cloth is woven on their own native
| looms of the wool of the llama and the
yicutfas, and is a soft, fine texture.
| While the Indians have accepted the
Catholic religion, $50 years of submits
sion has not entirely divorced them
from the ancient rites they practiced
under their original civilization. Sew
eral times year they have feasts or
celebrations to commemorate some
event in the Inca history, and like the
Aztecs in Mexico, they still cling to
| hope that future ages may restore the
| dynasty under which their fathers lived
and destroy the hated Spaniards.
| quito Cor. Boston Herald.