Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-09-27

bOlsVld WlLHOuI having pau SOiHS es''SH
ton to an ancient town near the north
eastern edge of Lake Titicaca, which Pro-
lessor Sauier has dubbed "the Baalbec OF
America" 1t is named Tiahuanaco (pro-
nounced Tee-ah-uha-nah-co), and is be-
lieyed by some scientists TO be the oldest
collection of ruins on the hemisphere. At
any rate it proves the existence of a race
SO far antedating the time of the 1ncas
that all knowledge of it was lost before
the Spaniards came; for when the latter
questioned the Indians of those days about
the origin of these mighty monuments,
they were told that before even the sun
appeared in the heavens, race of giants
inhabited the earth for thousands of years
that they grew so numerous the gods be-
came jealous and turned them all into
stone and what appeared TO be the re-
mains of huge buildings are, in reality,
some of the petriied giants themselves.
AN INTERESTING PLACE.
This highly interesting place may be
easily reached on horseback from Chilli
lava, and if visited during the westward
Journey from La Paz, it is best to come to
the former village a GSy or two ahead
of the daigencid, so as not to miss the
weekly steamer and be stranded too long
on this desolate coast. Modern Tiahua-
naco contains nothing whatever of in
terest except that its church and many of
its houses are built of beautiful cut and
polished stones taken from ancient temples
and palaces Even the pavements of its
streets and the bridges over which we
pass are set with them. The tall stone
cross in front of the church stands on a
lofty pedestal that is much better wrought
than the Catholic symbol above it, and in
scribed with undecipherable hierOglyphics
perhaps to other gods. The corral
where our animals are stalled has in its
adobe walls numerous blocks of slate
colored trachyte, with snakes, toads and
other mysterious emblems carved upon
them; in short, from time out of mind the
wonderful ruins have served as an mex
haustible quarry for the lazy and ignorant
people of the valley.
THE PRINCIPAL RUINS
Lie on a level plain within walking dis
lance from the village, and cover an area
OF about three miles. There are several
artificial mounds made of earth and stones,
numerous edifces, and the remains OF mass
i've walls that probably served as forts or
Enclosures. The highest of the mounds
was once terraced, each terrace supported
by wall of cut stone, and is completely
covered and surrounded by ruins, with an
enormous structure on top. which modern
visitors have named "The Fortress" Not
far from this hill is the finest edifce of all,
so far as decoration is concerned, now
known as "The Temple" 1t is 445 feet
long, 1888 feet wide, made of cut and pol
ished blocks of dark basalt, each thirty
inches thick. These stones are sunk into
the earth like gate posts, nobody knows
to what depth, the parts above ground
varying in hight from nine to fourteen
feet.
THOSE ANCIENT ARCHITECTS,
Whoever they may have been, seem to
have not understood the use Of mortar, or
may be they did not need it, being able to
build so well without Like King Solo,
mons temple, the stones were all made to
fit exactly into one another, having round
holes drilled into the top and bottom OF
each, at corresponding distances, into
which bronze pins were placed Scattered
all about are many highly polished blocks
which appear never to have been placed in
position, indicating that the builders were
disturbed in their work and left it incom-
plete. Among the most beautifully sculpt-
ured and curious relics is an enormous
block of sandstone, one single slab, Is feet
inches long, Is inches thick, and stand
ing a little over feet above the ground
which, though badly cracked (the natives
say by lghtning), is still upright. II must
be sunk deeply into the earth to have stood
so long without external support; and was
doubtless meant for a doorway, as it
has a central cutting feet 6 inches high
by feet inches wide. Across the upper
face above this doorway, figures in low re-
lief are carved, which closely resemble the
sculpture OF Egypt, and scientists say that
finer piece of cutting in the same kind of
stone by artisans, ancient or modern, can
not be found anywhere in the world.
WITHIN THE TEMPLE
Enclosure is a horizontal slab about four
teen feet square, with deep hollow in the
middle cut out like a square trough, which
Is supposed to have served in some of the
ceremonies of sun worship. The great
temple is composed of huge blocks of red
sandstone, each fourteen feet long and of
corresponding width and thickness, all
precisely alike, cut and laid with incest
care This is the more remarkable, as
those early people must have been en-
tirely unaequainted with iron and steel,
and could have had no mechanical appara-
tus for carrying or working heavy bodies,
every bit Of the labor having to be accom-
plished by human strength. Neither could
they have had any knowledge of gunpow-
der or otherexplosiyes but that they were
familiar with the use of bronze is proved
bv the pins above mentioned and a few
weapons that have come to light. From
some cliffs of red sandstone, more than if
teen miles away, every one Of these enor-
nous temple blocks must have been car
ried, but no basalt nor trachyte is found
nearer than forty miles. There seems,
besides, to have been a palace, a prison, a
hall of Justice, and other institutions,
which show that the long-past race pos
sessed some degree Of civilization and re-
tinement. None can gaze upon these mon
uments without being
FILLED WITH WONDER
Concerning the mysterious people who
lived and died centuries before Columbus
or any other European had sought the
Western Hemisphere 1t does not need
mighty stretch of imagination to rebuild
these fallen walls and re-people them with
dark-skinned men and women, going about
their daily avocations, worshiping the sun
god with barbarous rites in the great
temple, or toiling up the terraced mound
to look out from its fortress for the foreign
foes who seem to have come at length and
conquered them. Dig as you may, not
trace of grave or sepulcher can be found,
and the supposition is that the early Tiah-
uanacans either fed from their walled city
or were driven from it by invaders. The
stupid neighbors of to-day have no hints