Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-10-18

W
about six miles distant is Coat island,
which was dedicated to the Moon and the
worship of Mama Della. Between the two
sacred islands lies smaller one, now known
as the Sugar Loaf A narrow strait, 700
yards long, separates the Sun island from
peninsula projecting ont from the Peruvian
mainland, in front of which lies the Sugar
Loaf, with Coat to the right of it. The
latter is about half as large as Titicaca
island, and is completely covered with
ruins. Besides the great Temple of the
Moon" and palace of the Virgins" are
other edi6ces supposed to have been used
for houses of purification and residences of
priestesses and their attendants. The
Moon temple occupies exactly the center
of the island, and most beautiful struet-
ure it must have been, judging by what
remains of its walls and terraces, whose
original character and extent can be dis
tinctly traced. The lower story is yet
standing, and its spacious inner court yard
is yet utilized by the few Indians who in
habit the island as an Enclosure for their
focks at night. Though the whole of
Coat is arabic land, the island is now
used merely as a sheep fold.
patio was the corral wherein the Incas, in
their days of imperial splendor, kept the
sacred llamas and vicunas. From the
wool of these the royal garments and the
hangings of the temples were made, the
work being done by the Virgins who were
clustered in the nearby palace. Pro-
lessor Orion affirms that the llama, guam
AGO, alpaca and vicuna, which all belong
to the same family, were ''the four sheep
of the early Peruvians;" the first clothing
the common people, the second the MOBILES,
the third the royal governors, and the
fourth the Imperial family So the
vicuna, timid, gentle, gazelle-like, erea-
ture whose long, silky, fawn-colored hair
changes its hues in different lights and has
peculiar gloss resembling that on Change
able silks" furnishes the royal ermine of
the Inca kings, and none below mobiles of
certain rank were permitted to wear it.
The animal was protected by law, as well
as by sacred traditions and allowed 10
roam unframed in the hills and forests,
where it accumulated in great numbers.
The Spanish invaders first began to
slaughter it for food and it is said that
the conquered Indians expected some
dreadful penalty to be visited on the in
vaders for destroying and eating the sacred
beast, but lost faith in the old traditions
when the slayers escaped divine retribu
ton.
The Moon Temple is elevated some dis
lance above the lake, and between it and
the waters edge is a succession of terraces,
all neatly built of cut stones. Each ter
race has a wall around its outer edge, about
four feet high; so that if any member of
the priesthood or theroyal household COM
mitted the modern indiscretion of imbib-
ing too much chicha, they were in no dan
ger of tumbling down the declivity. A
series of stone steps leads from one terrace
to another, so that even now, despite its
ruined condition, the ascent is not diff
cult.
If you want to know all about the "Pal
ace of the Virgins read Professor Squire's
'sPeru." which describes it far better than
| could hope to do. 1t was built in two
parts, around two shrines, dedicated re-
spectively to the Sun and the Moon. This
remarkable edifce is still well preserved
and is one of the most beautiful specimens
of aboriginal architecture extant. An ad
iacent island. now called Sofa, is supposed
to have been the ancient 'Isla de los Peni-
tenties" or Isle of Penitents, to which rep
resentatives of the ruling race were ex-
pected to retire, at least once year, for
season Of fasting and humiliation.
How old these monuments may be can
not be accurately determined, as the
ancient Peruvians had no system of writ
ing and therefore left no records, as did
the ancient Egyptians, by which we may
learn the dates of their history. Their
antiquity can only be guessed by traditions
that have come down to US and by the
effect of time upon their structures. The
guesses of these psychologists who have
given the. subject most careful study are
very wide apart concerning the date of
Capac's appearance and the building of
these temples. The Government of the
Incas, which the Spaniards found and de-
stroyed, had certainly existed not less
than five hundred years and some insist
that it must have been a thousand years
old or more at the time Of the conquest.
This great discrepancy of opinion no
doubt arises in part from the fact that
mi-civilized races, older than the lncas,
have left many monuments scattered
throughout the country and the remains
OF the two distinct epochs are sometimes
COMPOUNDED. Those earlier tribes, whoever
they may have been, were by no means
barbarians when the Sun Children set up
their dynasty. Indeed, some of the ma
lions which the Incas conquered appeared
to have been farther advanced in the use
full arts and occupations than they them
selves ever became.
Starting from the Sacred Rock on Tit
caca Island, the Children of the Sun pro-
ceeded on their beneficent errand, to unite
under one government all the tribes that
occupied the country and to instruct them
in a new religion. Manco-Capac carried a
golden staff, which his father, the Sun, had
given to him with instructions that he was
to continue his travels until the proper
place was reached for founding his capital
and seat of government, where as token
the rod would sink into the ground
He obeyed the divine behest, travelling
night and day along the western border of
the lake, through the broad, level puma
lands that lead up to the valley of Pucura;
continuing on to the end of the great Tit
caca basin and following the river Vilca-
note on its course from the little lake, La
Raya, to swell the waters of the Amazon.
Advancing down the valley of that river
he finally reached the spot in central Peru
where the city of Cuzco now stands-when
10 the golden staff Immediately disap-
pearedl So there he founded the splendid
city of the Sun, the capital of the Inca
empire.
In Cuzco (which we hope to visit by and
by stood the magnificent temple known as
Coricancha, the "Place of Gold" History
tells US that on its western wall was fasten-
ed colossal representation of the human
face, made of pure gold, from which golden
rays darted in all directions. In other
parts of the building were golden images,
vessels and figures of all descriptions, so
that when the sun, whom they adored,
shed his Golden beams nnnn the edifce the