Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-12-14
The City of the Three Kings and Its
Wonderful History.
ITS DAYS OF SILVER AND GOLD.
An Odd Climate Made Tolerable by the Use
of Peruvian Bark.
THE DEATH RATE EXTREMELY HIGH

he had subdued one of the royal brothers
who claimed the Inca throne and treacher-
ously strangled the other, he found little
difficulty in conquering Cuzco, the splendid
"CIty of Cold" which was at that time the
capital of Peru. As soon as he and his few
European followers, band of drunken ad-
venturers whom Spain was glad.to be rid of,
had glutted themselves with the vast
treasures of the place, they marched west
ward, not so much in search of new worlds
to conquer as to find more convenient spot
in which to enjoy their ill-gotten gains.
They did not relish being surrounded on
all sides by the Indians, who, altho ugh con-
quered, outnumbered them hundred to
one, but preferred to be within sight of the
sea. the broad highway that led toward
home. This Emerald valley of Rimae, with
a river running through it, the ocean on
one side and the towering Andes on the
ether, combined all the advantages they
sought. So here they established the second
Spanish city in South America, which soon
grew to be one OF the proudest and most
luxurious capitals of those profigate days
and continued to be the seat of a corrupt
vice-regal court for three centuries.
THE STORY OF, A NAME.
It happened that Pizarro designated its
site on January 6, 1866 Gold style). the day
of the festival Of the Epiphany or the mani
festation of our Savior to the Magi. who in
King James version of the New Testament
are called ''the Wise Men" from the East,
but are known in all the old Spanish tradi-
tions as 'the Three Kings" Hence he
made tremendous celebration of that feast
of the Epiphany and christened his capital
accordingly. Then Carlos V. of Spain, sent
over not only his benediction and congratu-
lations but added some complimentary
words to its already ponderous title, max
ing it 1.-THE Most Noble and Most Royal
City of the Three Kings"-so it appears in
the original charter-and formally ceded
its appropriate coat Of arms; three golden
crowns for the three kings and rayed star
on an azure field III memory of the star
which led them to the spot where the young
Child lay.
But that was altogether too long title
for everyday use, and so the easy-going
Spaniards fell into habit OF calling it "the
city of Rimae," the latter being the name of
the valley in which it stands. Rimae is
Quichua word, the past participle Of the
verb rimay, to speak; and in this applica-
ton it referred to famous oracle of Inca
times, whose shrine was in the valley, prob
duIN LuOSc eAteHSlVG ruins LudL uidv
yet be seen near the present village of La
Magdalena, and in honor of whom the river
and surrounding country were named.
THE SOUND OF A LETTER.
TIE Quichua sound Of the letter ''r'' is
much like the Spanish 81" and so it Is not
strange that in the mouths of another race it
soon became transformed TO Limae and then
to Lima. For many years the river was
called Lima, too, but somehow it got back to
its ancient cognomen. 1t is small and
quiet stream through most Of the year ex-
cept during the summer months, the season
of melting SHOWS and rains among the
| mountains where it rises, when it swells into
| deep, swift and turbulent torrent, whose
yellow tide resembles the Missouri in spring
time 1t is as essential to the valley as is the
Nile to Lower Egypt, and indeed without it
Lima would long ago have dried up and dis
appeared from this rainless region. To the
Rimae, which furnishes ample irrigation,
the city owes its own water supply and the
fertility of its surrounding fields and gar
1 dens.
One walks about the streets of Lima as in
a dream, oppressed by a multitude of his
torical "reminiscences that crowd upon the
memory. Here, too, were centered the
| products of the mines. In 1851, 1
think it was, La Palata, the
Viceroy of Lima, rode through these
streets on horse whose name was strung
| with pearls and whose shoes were OF pure
| gold, over a pavement made of solid lngots
of silver. To its sea-gate, Calloa, came the
Galleons of the East, bringing silks and
spices from far Cathay and the Philippine
| Islands; and following fast In their wake
came the buccaneers Rogers, Ansou, Hawk
| ins, Drake and others, all eager tn snatch
from the treasure ships" the rich booty
which even the Virgin Queen did not dis
dain to share with her loyal free hooters of
the South Seas and the Spanish Main.
THE MODERN CAPITAL.
Modern Lima is about ten rnlles in cir.
cumference, but as large part of its area is
laid out in gardens and public squares, the
The old walls of the city which that ener-
| getic Vice King, La Palata, caused to be
built in 1888, described an irregular oval,
| on the left bank OF the Rimae about three
miles long by mile and a half wide. They
were from Is to "a feet high and twenty feet
thick, and were entered by IL gates. But
| they were never of much use except to facili-
tate the collection of local duties and to af-
ford an elevated pasco or bride path for
eauestrians, and were demolished long ago.
The city's present population is variously
!
| of the beautiful region round about was laid
waste by the Gillian army during the re-
| cent war, and has not yet been rebuilt. The
| invaders were as merciless and as needlessly
| cruel as they were completely victorious In
| the battle that decided the fate of Lima,
! hundreds Of country villas and all the
| suburban villages were burned to the
ground. Thus Chorillas, the Long Branch
of the coast was entirely destroyed. A
railway leads from Chorillas to Lima, pass
| ing through the once lovely village Of
| Mirafores, whose name literally translated
mean "See the fowers!' The ChIlians
landed at Chorillas, and having reduced
that town to ashes, they marched along the
| line of the railroad to Lima, ruthlessly de-
stroying everything on the route.
/ A NIGHT OF TERROR.
For one whole night Lima was in the
hands of mob OF armed soldiers, who had
broken loose from all restraint and were as
bloodthirsty and unfeeling as so many
| entirely burning and sacking the CITY bv the
energy of the British Minister and other
members of the diplomatic corps, backed by
the English and French admirals whose war
ships were in the harbor at Callao.
It is said that there are ], 500 foreigners in
Lima, and no fewer than G. 600 priests. The
latter gentry are met at every step, in black
robes and white, gray cowis and shovel
hats, monks OF all orders and varieties OF
habit, and clergy of every degree. Pro-.
Orton afirns that there are at least 25 diff.
ferent admixtures of blood in Lima. Be
that as it may, certainly q more mixed col.
lection of people would be hard TO find.
There are English, French, Spaniards,