Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-11-23
A LAND OF WONDERS.
Remains of Inca Engineering in Irri-
eating Western Peru.
RUINS ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDES.
An Indian Race That Has Withstood Civil
ization's Ravages.
TALE OF GIANTS FROM THE PACIFIC
CORRESPONDENCE OF THE DISPATCH,

OBJECT In Larrylng at tnlS Out-O1-Lne-Way
Acadia was to make it the starting point of
several excursions; for the little oasis, sur
rounded on all sides by desert sands, is in
the midst of a most interesting region.
First we paid visit to San Xavier, one of
finest estates on the ocean-side of Peru,
which lies about IL miles from Palpa,
beyond range of low and sandy hills.
In former times San Xavier belonged to
the Jesuits, as did also the plantations 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 S. to 81 the arroba, the pres
ent price being only 81. 1t was under the
highest possible state of cultivation and
enormously valuable when seized by the
colonial authorities in 1767, by order OF the
Spanish Viceroy Amanda; but since that
death blow its productIveness has steadily
decreased, and few years ago it was pur-
chased from the Government by Senor Don
Domingo Elias, gentleman famous In Peru
for owning pretty much all this part OF the
country.
SOME RARE OLD WORK.
The San Xavier manor house is large and
we'll furnished, with apartments as long and
lofty as so many public halls, surrounded
by stone corridor whose massive columns
support series of round arches. On one
side are extensive wine presses and store
rooms and on the other handsome old
church. which was built by the Jesuits
about the middle of the last century. There
is some remarkably fine wood carving on the
pulpit and altars OF this now seldom-seen
sanctuary, while score of old portraits of
fathers of the order in splendid gilt frames
and 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 is interesting
only on account of its peculiar mode oil irrI-
cation. Though covered with rich hacien-
das, 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 a
region where rain never falls, except tiny
river which is dry during about IL months
of the year. But for the industry and en-
gineering skill of the aboriginal Indians
the lovely valley would have been no better
than the surrounding deserts. Long before
the arrival of the destroying Spaniards they
had contended with the arid obstacles and
executed work here which is almost un-
equaled in the history of irrigation.
IRRIGATION OF THE 1NcAs.
Cutting deep trenches along the whole
length OF the valley, they extended them 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 1ncas, are at
the upper end of the valley, and each is
about four feet deep, the sides and roof lined
with cemented stones. These descending
branch off into smaller puquios which
ramify all over the valley in every direc
ton, plentifully supplying every farm with
| pure cool mountain water and feeding the
little bitches that irrigate and fertilize the
soil. The main trenches are several feet be-
low 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.
Diverging 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 ex-
! hausted In the valley of Nasca no fewer
| than Is extensive vineyards 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.
|
| Going little nearer to the sea, one comes
to the most profitable cotton estates in Peru,
named respectively "Lacra" and "San
jose" Both contain mills propelled by
water, with machinery for separating the
seed, and presses for packing the cotton.
| The product is all sent to Lomas, a little
port that has been opened expressly for il,
across so or more miles of desert 1t goes
on mule back, each animal carrying 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 II, 900 quintals of it are annually
shipped here from San Jose and Lacra
| alone.
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 the long-deserted gold mine
| of Cerro Blanco. 1t was built in terraces on
the steep hillside, near the southern edge Of
| the valley. The walls are all of stones, un-
| like most of the ruins in this part of Peru,
| the houses were large, and many of the spa
! cious rooms seem to have been surrounded
| by queer little inches, each doorless closet,
| Just large enough to hold traditional skel-
| eton.
A PICTURE OF DEsoL ALTON.
On an isolated hill, perhaps artificial,
precisely in the middle OF the main group OF
ruins, was the fortress, whose massive walls,
part of which are still standing, inclose what
was evidently q vast palace or temple.
| Such a picture of hopeless desolation it
would be hard to find elsewhere, but the
view from the parapet wall is striking. Not
a 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. There
are no traditions OF the place beyond the
historical fact that this valley, in common
with the rest of them, from Pisco down to
the dominions of the great China. were first
| subiupated by the Incas in the time of
Pachacutec, whose son, the renowned Prince
Yupauqui, proved the superiority of the
armies of the Sun in many fierce battle
with the Yuma Indians.
Not many miles distant is the much
larger collection of ruins which arcb@olo-
qists have dubbed "The Fortress Of
Hervey." They are on the summit of a
steep hill, covering a projecting point of
land that overlooks the sea. The extensive
remains are distinctly divided into two
parts. that farthest from the ocean inclosed
with an enormous wall, wide enough on top
for two men to walk abreast, with a parapet
outside about five feet high. This parapet
stands at the edge of cliff, rising perpen-
dicularly some 40 feet above the plain. and
is partly faced with huge bricks of adobe.
WHERE THE INCAs DwELT.
Entering through a breach in the wall,
r l.. e. Al