Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1904-08-18
TESTS OF THE NCAS
STRICT MILITARY TRAINING OF THE
ANCIENT PERUVIANS.

TO Perform DurinE Graduation
Exercises which LASTED IA Month.
Long before Columbus discovered the
western continent many interesting
peoples lived here, having their pecui-
lar customs ana training their children
carefully in the way they considered
best calculated to make them brave
and wise men.
Not only the red Indians OF the u2Fjh'
but the people of Mexico &ni Peru,
who had certain sort of CIVILIZATION
of their own, trained their children
carefully and made them pass through
a series OF trials which the American
boy of today may be thankful he does
not have to undergo.
Men Of today in digging in tine ruins
of the splendid cities of the IcrWiHus
have found almost a complete ryrC'd OF
some of their educational syatcus.
In Peru the king of the couulE was
called the inca, and his eldest SON, who
was always brought up to succeed him.
received a training especially elaborate
and trying. The prince was sent 10
one Of the big boarding schools where
young nOblemCn were educated almost
as soon as he could talk. There he
was treated In all respects as If he
were not the heir to the throne, but
Just n common, ordinary boy, who
would some day have TO work for
living
The school at which the prince was
educated was a military school, which,
according to records, was the Peru
vian West Point There, although
many other things were taught, the
chief stress was laid upon the art OF
war
All the princes relatives, boys Of
about his own age and called the Inca
mobiles, were at the school with him
and had their final examinations at
the same time.
The literary part of their education
was inquired into in private by the
wise men," which correspOnded to
the academic board" of West Point.
but these examinations were followed
by public exercises
The public exercises were conducted
by board consisting of the most
prominent of the old Inca mobiles, and
II corresponded to the board of Wis
ltors appointed by the president each
year to preside over the graduations
at West Point. The graduating eXer-
Cises at the royal Peruvian military
academy lasted for month.
rAArirnl IN IL
austrate by drills what they knew of
military tactics Then they had to
give exhibitions of boxing and wres-
tling. Running was also regarded as
q necessary accomplishment, for the
Peruvians had no horses and the men
who were destined to lead their armies
had TO prove that they could move
swiftly on foot over long distances and
not tire Therefore long courses were
laid out for the boys to run over, which
taxed their endurance and strength to
the utmost
Then for several days together the
boys We're compelled to fast, being
carefully examined during the time to
see how they bore going without food
for the Inca said that a soldier and a
gentleman should always be willing
and able to 90 without food and not
grumble when such abstinence was
necessary.
The cadets We're also matched against
each other in mimic battles, in which,
though the weapons were blunted,
many were wounded and some killed.
When this sort of thing had gone on
for a month those boys who had won
the best marks in their examinations
and had best stood the test Of the pub
tic exercises were selected for gradua-
ton, while the others were dropped or
turned back into the next class.
The king was always present at these
graduating exercises and delivered an
address to the graduates.
Garcilasso, a descendant Of the InCas,
has left us an account of these ad-
dresses from which we know that they
were almost exact countcrparts of the
addresses delivered today by proml-
nent men at high school graduations
and college commandments. Other
things change, but the graduation ad-
dress seems TO have been the same
thing in all ages.
After the address something took
place which does not happen at modern
American graduating exercises. The
king pierced the ears of each graduate
with a golden bodkin, or large pin,
which was allowed to remain there un-
til the wounds healed, leaving hole
into which a round ornament was in
serted.
The size of this ornament was grad
ually increased until in the case Of the
prince 1t was as large as an orange
Sandals were now bound on the feet
Of the boys, and they went barefoot no
longer; also sash was tied about
their waists and crowns of flowers
placed on their heads.
The prince was now allowed to put
on his royal robes, and, though only
sixteen, he was usually sent TO com
mand an army corps somewhere on the
border, where the king almost always
had a little war going on with the
ueighboring savagcs New York Press