Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-02-21

erence and awe, while the elements, the wind,
the rain, the earth, the air, mountains, rivers
everything which impressed them with ideas of
eubifnity and power, or which exercised
marked influence for the veal or woe of man,
came in for o share Of worship. They also
adopted notion not unlike tina. protested BY
some of the schools of ancient philosophy, that
everything on earth had its architype-its
snother, as they expressed (which must
be held sacred, rs being in some sort its spir-
itual essence And besides all these, their sys-
tenn embraced the countless deities of all the
conquered nations, whose images were trans
ferred to Cuzco.
THE MOON IN SOLID SILVER.
In the temple consecrated 10 the moon--the
deity considered second in importance a. be-
ing the mother Of the Incas-her cfhgy was rep
resented in the same manner as that of the sun,
on q vast plate that covered nearly one side Of
the'building. But this plate and al the other
OF gold, as being better suited to the paler eff
fu'gence OF that beautiful planet. One of the
three other temples was dedicated to the host Of
stars that formed her bright court another to
thunder ~ and lightning, and another to the rain
bow. There are several smaller edificcs and in
sulated apartments within the temple walls for
the accommodation Of numerous priests who
othciated in the various services All the plates,
ornaments and utensils Of every description ap-
propriated to the uses Of religion were of solid
q
latter metal stood on the floor Of the great salon
1ited with grains Of Indian corn grown in the
temple gardens and on the Sacred Islands Of Lake
lltlcaca, and Spanish historian who saw these
vases asserts that each was as high as good
lance, and SO large. that two men with out
spread arms could barely encompass them"
ALL APPOINTMENTS OF SILVER AND GOLD.
The censers for the perfumes, the ewers
which held the water for sacrifices, the pipes
which conducted it through subterraneous
channels into the buildings. the reservoirs that
received it, even the agricultural implements
used in the gardens Of the temples where the
sacred corn was cultivated, were all of silver
and gold. The gardens, like those belonging
70 the royal palaces, sparkied with silver and
gold and various ieweled limitations of the
vegetable kingdom. There were also statues
IN gold and silver, mainly those OF animals,
among which the llama, with golden fleece, was
conspicuous. All this we have on the word Of
such renowned historians as Sarmiento, Pedro
Plzarro, Garcllasso, Herrera and others. Pres
colt adds: IF the reader sees in this fairy pic
ture only the romantic coloring Of some fabu-
lous FL Dorado. he must recall what has been
written about the palaces of the Incas and con-
slider that these houses of the Sun were the
common reservoirs into which flowed all the
streams of public and private benefaction
throughout the empire"
CARRIED AWAY BY THE coNQuKRoRs.
Many of these costly articles were buried by
the natives to keep them from the cupidity Of
their conquerors, but enough remained to ex-
cite the Spaniards' profoundest admiration and
to stimulate their greed to the highest pitch.
They speedily removed everything portable,
and even tore away the golden frieze and cor
nices. On the very ground once occupied by
the gorgeous Coricancha now stands the stately
church OF Saint Dominic. one OF the handsom-
est structures in the three Americas. Fields Of
corn and alfalfa now ripen in the temple gar
dens which once glowed with golden statuary,
and where the children of the sun celebrated
their religious rites bare-footed friars chant
Ave Marias. Inside the court yard of the st.
Dominic monastery is still preserved an ancient
fountain Of Inca days, which has been conse-
Grated by the RoInish church for baptismal
purposes. 1t stands in the center Of an extern
sive patio, surrounded by long lines Of arched
and columned corridors, one story above an
other. 1t is of solid stone, long oval in shape,
rising above ground about four feet and sunk
into it six feet or more.
EVERYTHING HAD ITS TRADITION.
BesidfEf the great Sun Temple and its ad-
tuncts, IRE were large number Of inferior
tempiefahd religious edifces scattered all over
Cuzco and its environs to the number of three
or four hundred. An ancient writer says that
every pathway, hall or fountain OF the sancti-
fed city had its tradition and was regarded as
holy mystery. Unfortunate, indeed, was the
Indian noble, in whatever remote corner of the
kingdom he resided. who could not at some
period of his life make a pilgrimage to the
Peruvian Mecca. At "Coricancha' alone the
sacerdota. order numbered more than four
thousand. There wore many other temples and
religious houses in various parts of Incaland,
some OF them constructed OH q scale OF mag
nifcence that almost rivaied those of Cuzco,
and their attendants composed g vast army.
FANNIE B. WARD.