The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-11-19
Ancient Empire Was Made Rich
and Productive.
EMPLOYED CRUDE METHODS
Without Iron Tools They Accomplish
Wonderful Feats of Engineering
The Arid Lands of the West
May be Reclaimed

nor Ramon Estacia, who is a visitor to this
country from Peru, can talk very Interest,"
ingly about his home under the equator,
the land of the Incas, and associated with
Pizarro and his Spanish conquistadores. II
m in the United States said Senior Es-
study the results of your plung-
alton and to note those American
4aserr5ai which would help US in my coun-
~. discovery of America destroyed
Peru rs did Mexico. The Peru of today
| part of the ancient empire. At
ne nc of the conquest the Spaniards
64Gnl ~ land in high state of cultlva-
lille naturally in large part a des-
ng to very scant or no rainfall
he mountains and the coast, the
~ the superior wisdom and fore
heir Incas, had brought water i'm
ASA d stances and rendered arabic vast
etchez of country. The ancient irriga-
Lon cru was very wonderful.
Water was conducted by means of ca
as subterranean aqueducts executed
g scale. They were built of large
u freestone nicely lifted together
sement. The water supply came
I'M 2 elevated lake or natural reser-
81. = DIR heart of the mountains, and was
81 fncrvals by other basins which lay
- Tit tie along the slopes of the Sierra.
were cut through rock (and the
'2Hs had no iron toofs); almost i'm
fountains were turned; rivers
so aas les were crossed, and apparently
iz ,eats of engineering were accom-
slaply to secure water for the irri-
dds and gardens. Some of these
very long. That of Condesuyu
w. 400 and 800 miles in length.
Let in by Ducts
81 z1 ducts or sluices, the life-giving
azi1 - / to the tillable lands along the
laa annals. In some instances the
l5 was oded, while in others the water
~" n d. ID run in burrows between the
wing maize tobacco and other
lHsy- l.aeh occupant of land was allowed
alc.=a Uantity of water by the law of
apze Overseers for the government
charge Of each district, and saw that
man ,ceived his proper amount and
ID cs ais were kept in repair.
2rlf zae government understood the
us.4oot u hoods, and took steps to prevent
them is shown by some OF the works still
extant. Notable is the still visible tunnel
near Casamasca. While the waters of this
lake were used for irrigation, the heavy
rains and melting SHOWS of the mountains
would cause overflow. To protect the
irrigation works and the settlements along
the route a tunnel was excavated in the
mountains to give outlet, In another d.
rectlon, to the waters of the lake when
they rose to height to threaten inunda-
tion.
AT the coming of the Spaniard the land
everywhere teemed with evidence of agri-
fectively. To-day the greater part of this
paradise has reverted to Its original arid
condition. Here and there, where some old
dirt-filled and long forgotten tunnel leaks
a little moisture, the rank vegetation of
our tropics in contrast with the surround
ing arid wastes, shows the power of irri-
CATION
The Spaniard a Destroyer
This gives rise to the reflection that the
Spaniards, wherever their star of chivalry
or rapacity for wealth led them, have de-
stroyed, and never created. Their coming
has always been a curse to the people they
conquered. Chivalric and recklessly brave,
they yet considered the civilization and
population of the New World as but bar
barrie and pagan, and fit only for destruc-
tion.
But these native tribes, people. govern
ments-benighted and heathen-had battfed
with nature learned the secret of success,
and conquered under the most adverse cir
cumstances. They made OF mountain
lakes and natural reservoirs, wherein were
stored the waters of the rainy season and
the melting SHOWS, to be used during the
dry season.
We have today in California, Colorado.
Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and the north
western states millions of acres of land,
the productive capacity of which is beyond
compute. which can and will be reclaimed
eventually. Great mountain gorges form
ing natural reservoirs can be used for sto-
rage purposes, and the land, useless today,
will become an empire of agricultural
wealth worth far more fabulous sums than
the rich mines adjacent to them.