The Forrest City times., 1891-04-10
A HARD ROADTO TRAVEL.
4 JOURNEY IN THE ANDES TO
 ANCIENT cUZCO.
Cazco is tho Ancient Capital of ths Incss, and the Trip Thither is surrounded With much In-
 terest-Wild Cattle.

lt WOuiu Dc t plty TUT tAo soyOuTHtr in this part of Peru to miss seeing Cuzco, the ancient capital of the Incas, writes Fannie E. Ward. in letter from Ariquipa to the Philadelphia Record. There arc no hotels along tho route, and one must depend upon private hospitality. which is freely accorded to those who bring letters of recommendation. Every village has it's tambo, however, similar to the inns of Egypt in Mary's time.
 The first day is by far the hardest of the entire trip, as much because one is not yet used to it as because the road is incomparably worse; and at all hazards one must reach Aguas Calientes before night-fall.
 To the right of a lofty, snow-clad mountain one follows for some miles and finally lords small water-course, which seems to rise In one of the hot springs so numerous in that locality. and which Peruvians regard as the mother spring of the great Amazonas river system
 The little stream which here takes the name of the nearby mountain is known as the Chalca further on, and afterward as the Urabamba. Many miles farther northward. having gained much strength and volume, it joins the Rio Tambo, and their united waters form the famous Ucageli. the largest of Peru's tributaries to the Amazons.
 The second night out one is booked to sleep at tho village of Licuain, a ride of only eighteen miles. through charming scenery. There is possible drawback however. in the Licuain river, which must be forded several times, and is likely to be rather high. There is road on the left of it. but travellers are warned to take to the water instead, for there are vast swamps on that side. with quicksands treacherous enough to ingulf an army; and, besides one must pass through the unfenced hacienda of Antacucca, which is celebrated far and wide for it's wild cattle. Nobody goes over that dangerous road if he can avoid 1t, there being no place of refuge should ilC bC dttuChcu py tAC toItpSe EHuCy II party of United States tourists. includ- ing two women, riding peaceably along on mule-back. when herd of wild bulls come charging full tilt upon them. and not wall or tree or bush to hide behind.
 In the vicinity of the hot springs therc arc acres of plump mushrooms. and no passer-by whose palate has bcen properly educated will fail to se- cure supply for his evening meal, whether he takes it at the tambo. or Ut the hospitable home of Don Pablo Mejias.
 The third night one sleeps at "Tinta" --a hacienda owned by an educated Italian, Senor Don Francisco Masciotta who is sure to give the pilgrim kind ly welcome. The road thereto lies through m ancient Indian village called Raccha- built within the crater of an extinct volcano. Among other clriosities. it contains Q remarkable wall. which is said to be the remains of palace built by an Indian prince, eldest son of Tupac Yupangi. who re- volted against paternal rule and here maintained his independence Near il Is one of the many small round towers @ frequently found in this part of Peru. which are believed to have been astronomical observatories wherein tho lncas determined the meridian passage of the sun.
 On the fourth day one may take a leisurely jaunt of on.y fifteen miles to Checacupe where he will be made to feel quite at home by Colonel Martin Aluasez. who is a regular king in his little world-a large landed proprietor. member of congress and n wealthy wool merchant We went out of the way a few miles to view the little lake called Urcos. famous in Peruvian tra- dition for being the burial place of that great gold chain of the Inca Huascar. We read that the celebrated chain was long enough to encircle the grand Plaza Mayor Of Cuzco, and that every link in jt was as heavy as u strong man could carry-all of pure gold.
 Of course tho story Is nonsense; nev- ertheless we spurred our beasts to the perilous brink and faithfully tried to believe that we saw gold shining through the dark waters. No securer hiding placo for tho heavy treasure could be found, because the lake has a bottom of unfathomable ooze. which speedily swallows anything thrown into it, and affords no footing for divers.
 Twelve miles beyond is Zucre hacienda where the traveller is advised to stop over night This very fine estate, mile or two from the village of Oropesa. belongs to the Garmendia family and includes n cloth manufac- tory. Only twelve miles beyond Oro- pesa Is Cu2co. In the midst o' tropical valley. After leaving the highlands the weather grows warm and warmer: paroquets and monkeys, palms and fig trees are seen; and one sultry afternoon (midwinter at home) -we came canter- ing into the stony streets of the old, old city that had seen several centuries, be- foro the United States was born. WhOlcHnn.s |