El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-12-09
Ell PAS0 TEXAS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9. 1899
UNDER THE EQUATOR
The Condition OF the Land OF the
InCas Before the Conquest
Compared With Its Condition To-

l
| Day
Special Correspondence of the HERALD.
| WASHINGTON, Dec. 5.-Senor Ra-
mon Estacia, who is a visitor to this
country from Peru, can talk very in
terestingly about his home under the
equator, the land of the 1ncas as
ISOLATED with Pizsrro and his Spanish
Conc uistadores. 81 am in the United
States" said Senior Estacia, 'to study
the results of your plunginR civiliza-
tion and to note those American inven-
tions which would help US in my coun-
try. The discovery of America de-
stroyed Peru as it did Mexico. The
Peru of today is q small part of the
| ancient empire. At the time of the
conquest, the Spaniards found the land
in high state of cultivation. While
naturally in large part a desert. owing
to very scant or no rainfall between
the mountains and the cosst, the
natives by the superior wisdom and
foresight of their Incas had brought
water immense distances and rendered
arabic vast stretches of country. The
ancient irrigation of Peru was very
wonderful.
''Water was conducted by means OF
canals and subterranean aqueducts ex-
ecutsd on q grand scale. They were
built of large slabs of freestone nicely
fitted together without cement. The
water supply came from some elevated
lake or natural reservoir in the heart
of the mountains and was fed at inter-
walls by other basins which lay on the
routs along the slopes of the Sierra.
Passages we're cut through rock land
the Peruvians had no iron tools), al
most imI assable mountains were tun-
neled; great rivers we're crossed and
apparently impossible feats of en-
cheering we're accomplished simply
to secure water for irrigation purposes.
Some of these canals were very long.
That of Condesuyu was between 400
and 500 miles in length.
"By latent ducts or sluices. the life
giving fluid was led to the tillable
lands along the line of the canals. In
some instances the land was flooded,
while in others .the water was made
to run in furrows between the rows of
growing maize, tobacco and other
crops. Each occupant Of land was al
lowed certain quantity of water by
the law of the empire. Overseers for
the government had charge of each
district and saw that every man re-
ceived his proper amount. and that the
canals were kept in repair.
"That the government understood
the danger of floods and took steps to
prevent them is shown by some of the
works still extept. Notable is the still
visible tunnel near Cassmasca. While
the waters of this lake were used for
the heavy rains and melting
SHOWS of the mountains would cause an
overflow. To protect the irrigation
= orks and the settlements along the
to give an outlet, in anoth er
direction, to the waters of the lake |
when they rose to q height to threaten |
nundstion.
cat the coming OF the Spaniard the |
and everywhere teemed with evidence
If agricultural wealth." said Senor
Gstacia, refiectively. "Today the
greater part of this paradise has re-
'erted to it's original arid condition.
Here and there where some old dirt
llled and long forgotten tunnel Il axis
title moisture, the rank vegetation of
'ur tropics, in contrast with the sur
'ounding arid wastes, shows the pow
n of irrig ation."
This gives rise to the reflection that
he Spanisrds, wherever their star of
hivalry or .rapacity for wealth led
hem, have destroyed and never Great
ID. Their coming has always been a
urse to the people they conquered.
and recklessly brave. they
ret considered the civilization and
population of the New World as but
arbaric and pagan and fit only for
But these native tribes, peoples, gov
nments-benighted and heathen-
ad battled with nature, learned the
ecret of success and conquered under
he most adverse circumstances. They
lade use of mountain lakes and nat
raj reservoirs, wherein were stored
be waters of the rainy season and the
,elting SHOWS, to be used during the
ry season.
We have today in California, Colo :
ado, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and .
ne North estern states, millions of .
cres of land, the productive capacity |.
which is beyond compute, which can
nd will be reclaimed eventually.
Ireat mountain gorges' forming nat