The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-07-17
CAPITAL OF THE INCAS.
CoRICANCHA--"PLACE OF GO D,;
 SPLENDID PALACES
OF semi-Barbarto Princes Displaced
 by Modern EquaIog.

| by Modern FqualoT.
 Especial Correspondence of the Journal l and Courier.)
 Cuzco. Peru, June 10, 190S l The principal charm of this extremely picturesque but uncomfortable city lies
 in it's antiquity, and in the glamour
 which history and tradition have
 thrown around it. So many centuries
 ago that the date is lost in the mists of i fable, this now comparatively empty
 portion of Peru was swarming with one of the richest and most powerful ma tions under the sun. Archaeologists
 estimate that the enormous population
 once herded in these narrow valleys
 was far more numerous than that I which to-day spreads over the whole area of the United States. Not only in the valley of Cuzco, but scattered over
 hundreds of miles in all directions, may
 be seen the remains of towns and cities | which, perhaps a thousand years ago,
 were much more nonflprs than. any
 that now exist in the country. A civil
 ization was here developed which has i left memorials of it's genius which their
 destroyers have never initiated.
 Tradition tells us that Cuzco was
 founded by the first Inca, Manco Papac
 "a supernatural parsonage who came
 down from the Sun-Heaven on purpose 1 to consolidate all the tribes of the sur rounding country under one form of re- 1 ligious government; and that he was
 accompanied and assisted by Mama ! n 1fee ;ctn rxy1on 1xyaSy all l1ic ] wife); and that the pair were derected l by their father, the Son, to make this l the Holy City for his worship. as well l as the royal capital of the new nation.
 The present plaza in the center of the I modern city is undoubtedly the same great central square of Manco's day, though a portion of it has since been
 built upon. The long, narrow streets
 cross each other at right angles, the i same as, in ancient times. Two rivrs l that run through the town were en-
 closed by the earliest builders between
 high walls, crossed by numerous
 bridges formed of projecting stones. Those ancient walls have never been
 renewed and most of the bridges are 1 yet in use, for modern engineers say l that they could not be improved upon. { Certainly their substantial character is
 proved by the fact that the winds and
 rains of many centuries have failed to injure them. At frequent intervals along the stone walls steps to lead down
 to the water, whose solid granite is
 worn into deep hollows by the feet of
 generations long gone to dust.
 I Rainor nrt fina ornrInd fha
 original architects were compelled to
 make many terraces in order to pro-
 vide sites for their immense structuree.
 They walled all the terraces after the
 fashion called "Cyclopean," with stones ltof irregular shape and size, carefully fitted :. together like the scraps of a tcrazy quilt; and some of these wells
 outEinet the streets to-day. The poorer
 idweiliags of the common people of an
 5clent times long since disappeared, but
 many of the great temples and palaces
 were converted by the conquerors into lchurches and convents. parts of which jstill remain. The old-time gateways
 were retained, and though most of the
 better buildings now to be seen in Cuz-
 so are of comparatively recent origin,
 one finds everywhere portions of Inca walls and strangely carved portals in ,corporated into the newer houses.
 Francisco Pizzaros casa is an example | of this patch work style of architecture, having an imposing portal that far iante-dates his own rather distant time. i Cuzcos great cathedral occupies the
 site of the ancient building which the l eighth Inca dedicated to the festivals of | the people, and which the early chroni- l clers tell us was large enough for an entire regiment to perform evolutions : under its roof. It was in this building I that the invaders, under Gonzalo Pig zaro, barricaded themselves for that I last battle with the Peruvians. which they knew would decide the fate of 4 their campaign, because defeat meant 4 death for every one of them. Accord \ ing to legend elaborately carved over I the main doorway of the cathedral, the I Spanish victory was due to San Jago I (St. James,, who appeared at the chiti-
 cal moment upon a n1ilk-white horse
 and took part in the conflict for the overthrow of the heather. 1%%
 \ The present convent of Santa Catali- na was established upon the site of the I palace Cor prison1, of the Virgins of the Sun, and now Roman Catholic nuns I take their daily airing in the very foot ! steps of the 1ong-dead Vestals. Part of I the walls of the Inca Huascar's palace were retained, and enough remains of
 the old building to give a good idea of I how it must have looked early in the I twelfth century. The carved and pol ished stones of the splendid palaces of l the Inca nobility, that once crowded their royal capital, have ever since served as an inexhaustable quarry for
 the descendants of those who overthrew I them. >a ~.. l The great size of these stones, the ill- ! finite variety of their shapes, and the
 inimitable workmanship they displayed, ! give to the city a most peculiar air of antiquity and romance. Besides the l central plaza, there are a dozen others | spacious squares, in which the old time population used to celebrate the curious festivals of their religion, and | where the people of to-day hold their ! church fiestas and public amusements. \ Being the Holy City" pilgrims from the farthest borders of the empire came I here to worship in the great Temple of ! the Sun, which, Judging from all ac- | counts, must have been the most man. nifcent structure in the new world, and = |