Sullivan republican. [volume] (Laporte, Pa.) 1883-1896, 1891-01-09
IN A STRANGE COUNTRY
A SOUTH AMERICAN CITY OLDER
THAN THE INCAS.

A SOUTH AMERICAN CITY OLDER
THAN THE INCAS.
Some Wonderful Ruins of an Ancient
Race = A Magnificent Temple of
the Sun Worshipers.
The traveller should not bid goodbye
to Bolivia, writes Fannie B. Ward, in
the Washington Star, without having
paid some attention to an ancient town
near the northeastern edge of Lake Titi-
caca, which Professor Squier has dubbed
'sthe Baalbec of America" 1t is named
Tiahuanaco pronounced -uha-nah-
COY, and is believed 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 incas that all knowledge of
it was lost before the Spaniards came;
for when the latter questioned the In
dians of those days about the origin of
these mighty monuments they were told
that before ever the sun appeared in the
heavens race of giants inhabited the
earth for thousands of years; that they
grew so numerous the gods became jeal-
Gus and turned them all to stone; and
what appear to be the remains of huge
buildings are, in reality, some of the pet
rified giants themselves. The principal
ruins lie on level plain within walking
distance from the village and cover an
area of about three miles. There are
several artificial mounds made of earth
and stones. numerous edifices and the re-
mains of massive walls that probably
served as forts or Enclosures. The high
est of the mounds was once terraced,
each terrace supported by wall of cut
stone, and is completely covered and sur
rounded by ruins, with an enormous
structure on top, which modern visitors
have named "The Fortress"
Not far from this hill is the finest edi-
fee of all, so far as decoration is con-
cerned, now known as 1.-The Temple"
1t is 445 feet long, 3SS feet wide, made
of cut and polished 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 varying in height from nine to
fourteen feet. Those ancient architects,
whoever they may have been, seem to
have not understood the use of mortar,
or maybe they did not need it, being able
to build so we'll without. Like King
Solomon's 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 dis
tances, 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 dis
turbed in their work and left it incom-
plete.
Among the most most beautiful sculp-
tured and curious rellcs is an enormous
block of sandstone, one single slab, thir-
teen feet five inches long, eighteen inches
thick and standing little over seven
feet above the ground, which, though
badly cracked (the natives say by light
ning), is still upright. 1t must be sunk
deeply into the earth, to have stood so
long without external support, and was
doubtless meant for doorway, as it has
central cutting four feet six inches
high by two feet nine inches wide.
Across the upper face above this door
way figures in low relief 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,
cannot be found anywhere in the world.
Within the temple inclosure is hori-
zontal slab, about fourteen feet square,
with a deep hollow in the middle, cut
out like square trough, which is sup
posed to have served in some of the
ceremonies of sun worship. The great
temple is composed of huge blocks of
red sand stone, each fourteen feet long
and of corresponding width and thick
ness, all precisely alike, cut and laid
with incest care. This is the more re-
markable, as those early people must
have been entirely unacquainted with
iron and steel, and could have had no
mechanical apparatus for carrying or
working heavy bodies, every bit of the
labor having to be accomplished by hu-
man strength. Neither could they have
had any knowledge of gun powder or
other explosives. but that they were ia
miliar with the use of bronze is prove by
the pins above mentioned and few
weapons that have come to light. From
some cliffs of red sand stone, more than
fifteen miles away, every one of these
enormous temple blocks must have been
carried, but no basalt or trachyte is
e I r.
There seems, besides, to have been a
palace, prison, hall of justice and
other institutions, which show that the
long-past race possessed some degree of
civilization and refinement. None can
gaze upon these monuments without be-
ing filled with wonder concerning the
mysterious people who lived and died
cenfiiries before Columbus or anV other