Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-11-22
A RAINLESS REGION,
A Section Of Peru Where No Rain
Ever Falls.
A REAL VALLEY OF DEATH
And with All This Arid DesoDatiou
There Arc Alternate SpOss 81 Ferssl.
isy-An Ancient SYSTEM Of lrrfgation-
lucas, Rcmaius.
From TIE Stars Travelling Commissioner.

From TIE sTAa's Travelling Commissioner
PALPA, PERU, August 10.
IN OR main object in tarrying at this out
1lkT of-the-way Acadia was to mako 1t the
1lHl starting point of several excursions; for
nv the little oasis, surrounded ON all sides
by desert sands. 10 in the midst Of q most in
teresting region. First We paid q visit to San
Xavier, one Of the finest estates on the ocean
side Of Peru. which lies about twelve miles
from Palps, beyond o range Of low and sandy
hills.
In former times San Xavier belonged to the
Jesuits. AS did also the plan tations of Yea and
Canate. and all their property was worked by
negro slaves. In those days this one vineyard
produced never less than 10000 arrobas Of
liquor per annum, which sold for from IS to
81 the arroba. the present price being only 90.
1t was under the highest possible state of cui-
tivaton and enormously valuable when seized
by the colonial authorities in 17G7 by order Of
the Spanish viceroy Amanda. but since that
death blow its productivencss has steadily de-
creased and a few years ago it was purchased
from the government by Senior Don Domingo
Elias. gentleman famous in Peru for owning
pretty much all this part of the country.
THE SAN XAVIER MANOR HOUSE.
The San Xavier manor house is large and
well furnished. with apartments as long and
lofty as SO many public halls, surrounded by a
stone corridor. whose massive columns support
a series of round arches. On one side are OK
tensive wine presses and store rooms aud ON
the other a handsome old church which was
built by the Jesuits about the middle Of the
last century. There is some remarkably fine
wood carving Oh the pulpit and affairs of this
Sell whi1p n
old portraits of fathers of the order in splendid
gilt frames add an air OF grandeur to the place.
Thirty miles south of this estate, over rocky
hills and arid sands. lies the valley of Nasca,
which descends from the Sierras by an easy
slope and gradually widens as it approaches
the sea. This place il interesting only on ac-
count of its peculiar mode of irrigation
Though covered with rich haciendas yielding
marvellous crops of grapes. cotton, corn, sugar
cane melons. potatoes and all kinds OF fruits
and vegetables, nature has provided nothing
for its watering in region where rain never
falls, except tiny river which il dry during
about eleven months of the year. But tor
the industry and engineering skill of the
aboriginal Indians, the lovely valley would
have been no better than the surrounding
deserts. Long before the arrival OF the de-
stroying Spaniards they had contended with
the arid obstacles and executed q work here
which is almost unequaled in the history OF
irrigation. Cutting deep trenches along the
SO high up Into the mountains that to this day
the inhabitants do not know how far they were
carried. The main trenches, known as puquios
in the language Of the lucas, are az the upper
end of the valley and each is about four feet
deep. the sides and roof lined with cemented
stones. These descending branch of into
smaller puquios which ramify all over the val
ley in every direction, plentiiully supplying
every farm with pure, cool mountain water and
feeding the little bitches that irrigate and fer
| tilize the soil. The main trenches are several
feet below the surface and at intervals OF
about 200 yards there are ojos or small holes
by which workmen may go down into the
vault and clear away any obstruction. Diverg-
ing in every direction the puquios often cross
one another and by the time they have reached
the southern limit of cultivation every drop of
water has been exhausted. In the valley of
Nasca no fewer than fifteen extensive vine
yards and cotton plantations are thus watered
by artificial means and at Ala small mill for
cleansing the cotton is also turned from the
bitches of the Incas
PROFITABLE COTTON ESTATES.
Going little nearer to the sea one comes to
the most profitable cotton estates in Peru.
named respectively "Lacra" and "San Jose. 81
Both contain mills propelled by water, with
machinery for separating the seed and presses
to Lomas, a little port that has been opened
expressly for it across thirty or more miles of
desert. 1t goes on mule back. each animal car
rying two bales weighing It's pounds apiece.
The cotton is then piled on a large raft,
which Is launched in the heavy surf and so
brought alongside the waiting vessel Not less
than AZ, 900 quntals Of it are annually shipped
hero from San Jose and Lacra alone. few
miles from the little port, the mysterious Cerro
de las Bruxas or Hill Of the Witches" rises
abruptly in the midst Of the desert Among
many blood-curdling traditions connected with
this Cerro that are kept alive through genera
ton after generation Of superstitIous Indians,
| concerning bloody spectres and headless spooks
that wave their hands to warn intruders away
is one OF an old man, named "Don Manuel"
living ghost who, having several murders on
his conscience, came TO live on Witches HILL
and used to run about in the dead OF night
screaming as II pursued by demons.
On the side OF one OF the mountains that
overhang Nasca are some aboriginal ruins
which are well worth visiting. A lane, shaded
by orange and fig trees, leads up from the
modern town to the ancient city OF the dead
near tho long-deserted gold mine of Cerro
Blanco. 1t was built in terraces ON the steep
hillside near tbs southern edge Of the valley
The walls are all OF stones, unlike most of the
ruins in this part of Peru; the houses were
large, and many of the spacious rooms seem to
have been surrounded by queer little inches
each doorless closet just large enough to hold
traditional skeleton. On an isolated hill, per-
haps artificial. precisely in the middle of the
massive walls, part of which are still standing.
inclose what was evidently . vast palace or
temple.
HOPELESS DISSOLUTION.
Such picture of hopeless desolation it would
be hard to find elsewhere, but the view from
the parapet wall is striking. Not sign of
animal life is seen, and the silence of the grave
prevails The valley below looks like broad.
green river, winding Its way through sandy
deserts to the sea, and eastward the Andes
till their snowy submits reach the sky. There
are no traditions of the place beyond the his
torical fact that this valley, in commonwith the
rest OF them, from Pisco down to the domin-
ions of the great China, was first subiugated
by the Incas in the time Of Pachacutec, whose
son, the renowned Prince Yupanqui, proved
the superiority of the armies Of the Sun in
many fierce battle with the Yuma Indians.
THE FORTRESS OF HERvEY.
Not many miles distant 10 the much larger
collection Of ruins which arch@ologists have
dubbed "The Fortress Of Hervey." They are
on the summit Of steep hill, covering pro-
jecting point OF land that overiooks the sea-
The extensive remains are distinctly divided
into two parts, that farthest from the ocean
Enclosed within an enormous wall wide enough
on top for two men to walk abreast, with
parapet outside about five feet high. This
parapet stands at the edge of cliff, rising per-
pendicularly some forty feet above the plain,
and Is partly faced with huge bricks Of
adobe. Entering through breach in the
wall, the latter sixteen feet high measured
from the inside, one fluids nine large chambers,
all built Of adobe and still partly covered with
plaster. Each chamber is surrounded by
series OF deep inches or recesses, with passages