Mountain Home bulletin. (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1888-1889, 1888-12-29
ORGANIZED rH,eveRr.


Psruvias Company WAess object 10 the
Plundsring u the Dead. ),
A limited liability company has been y
,rmed at Mellendo. with capital OF !,
10000. It Is called the Compana !,
Exploradora do Las Huscas 4,
el Inca, and its business Is to be the /.
earching Of the old burial grounds OF ,
he Peruvian Incas. for buried treasure
n money or other valuables. 1t has |
eceived q concession from the Peru.
ian authorities, and proposes to 60 a,
Is work In systematic, business-like
ashton. The field Of the company has
,een pretty we'll worked over already
~ the horde OF hap-hszard plunder.
srs from all parts Of the world. who
have Aocked to Peru from the times OF
Pizarr0 till the present day. but there
are yet some very substantial legends
Of buried wealth that has not yet been
Under the old Castle Of
Cuzco. for isstance, Felipe de POmanes
tells that there is vault containing
figures Of all the Incas wrought in
fine gold, and that In his own day
they had been seen by q certain DOna
Maria de Esquevil. She, the story
goes, was married to q descendant Of
the Incas. and reproached him with
being too poor to support her properly.
This, at last, so irritated him that he
led her blindfolded through many
winding passages into a room where
she saw wealth such rs no mortal ever
dreamed Of, and asked her what she
thought Of that for a poor mans nest
egg. When Humboldt was exploring
the neighborhood OF the Temple OF
the Sun. at Cuzco, a poor lad, a do
scendant Of the ancient kings. told him
the story, which is still current among
the Indians. that the golden chair Of
the Incas was sunk in the baths at Pull
tamarac, and that there are gardens
with artificial trees OF the purest gold
beneath the temple. These gardens,
by the way, are mentioned by the ear
iiest historians Of the Conquest Hum
bolts lad, when asked why he did not
seek for this hidden treasure, said that
1t would do him no good If he found
it, but would only cause his neighbors
to hate and injure him. 1--WE have
little field" he said, land good wheat"
That contented him. This same spirit
seems to have animated all the de-
scendants OF the ancient race Of Peru.
and encourages people like those who
have just put $40, 900 into the Society
Exploradora to hope that only part
OF the ancient treasure has ever been
discovered. 1t is alleged that the In
dians can generally get gold when they
actually need it, as at the time of the
rebellion Of Pumacaqua, in 1914, when,
according to the story of an old
woman of the Astete family, told
to Mr.. Markham some thirty years
ago. her father having been col
league of Pumacaqua and present at
the time. Pumacaqua entered the coun.
Gil chambers laden with gold and drip.
, ping wet, from q journey he had made
I up the bed Of the Huatanay to a cave
, Glled with golden figures. 1t was al
ways believed then, according to the
historians, that the rebel chiefs haG
some such store to draw upon; and II
Is certain that after his final defea
, Pumacaqua offered tho thieves pill,
{ Of gold bigger than that Of Atahualpa
, the ancient chieftain, as ransom TO
i, his life. The offer was declined, ant
n he died with the secret unrevealed, a
o least to his conquerors.
: This Atahualpa, it is matter Of his
Tory, when In captivity, offered room
filed with gold a. q ransom. but Pizar
70 demanded double the amount, an
, the Incas agreeing, sent messengers al
over the kingdom to bring it. Thes
@ messengers, on their way to the cap
8 tal. heard that Atahualpa had bee
,trangled, and they threw down thei
loads of gold, and, 1t Is said. burie
3 them somewhere In the mountains
Llanganati, to the northwest of Quito
though no search has ever reveale
the spot. Then there is the golde
: chain of the Incas. every link as thic
as mans arm. and its length SO grea
that it went twice around the grea
square Of Huacapata, and whic
Is said to have been thrown int
> the deep lake Of Urcos to say
1t from the Spaniards. There can sti
be seen drift which the Spaniard
started through the mountains to drai
the lake. but which was never CON
pleted. While these and similar le
gends do very we'll to fire the ardor
dubious investors in the stock Of tn
Q Society Exploradora. it is highly prot
able that the actual work Of the com
pany will be In the less romantic lin
of digging up the bones OF ancient In
habitants for the sake Of the trinket
which may have been buried wit
them. This sort of petty thievery
= less attractive to the imagination tina
the exhumation of forests OF golde
> trees and conventions Of golden Incas
= but it will probably pay better in tn
= end.-N Y Sun.
= Village Destroyed BY Ice.