New-York tribune., 1911-04-16

these must be added a Quichua gram
mar and six more translatiOns of Span
ish chroniclers still in manuscript. 1t Is
to be regretted that advancing age has
caused Sir Clements 20 abandon the IDEA
of completing detailed history of the
Inca empire. based upon the results o1
his half century of research. Instead, ne
offers to both, the general reader and the
students Of to-day this volume of es-
saws on various aspects of the subject,
beginning with a detailed account OF
the Spanish writer's and their works.
This is the day Of the study of pre-
history, wherefore the chapter on the
cvclopean ruins Of Tiahanuacu, on the
plateau Of Lake Titicaca, is not among
the least important of this book. In
many ways it furnishes its point of de-
parture as well. These ruins point TO a
far earlier civilization than that of the
Incas, in whose long day, indeed. no
vestige of il remained except these
megalithic structures, surpassed in size
and weight Of the single stones used
| OnlN i1N liIF liOllOlllllS VI ls7S ~ - 80
not the enormous size and weight Of the
stones alone however, that make these
ruins so remarkable The excellence of
the workmanship expended upon them
points To a high degree of civilization.
The lines are accurately straight. the
angles correctly drawn the surfaces
level. The upright monoiths have NOR
ticcs and projecting lcdgcs L. retain the
horizontal slabs. The carvings and or
namentation are well designed and exc
cutod Stranger still these evidences of
n prehistoric city of vast size and Of
teemng population are found at an alti-
tudc of 1880 feet. where life is hard 20
support. After describing in detail these
ruins. which. according to a statement
made by an Indian in the sixteenth cent
ury. are of far greater extent under the
ground than above it-a statement that
is about to bc tested by an Austrian
sCientist-Sir Clements says:
This. then. is the mystery. \ vast city
containing palace, temple, judgment hall or
whatever fancy MAY reconstruct among In"
ruins, with statues. Cldhoratcly carved
stones ana many iflOniIlI~ Ol the masonic
art. was built in region where corn will
not ripen and which could not possibly sup
port a dense population. II ls quito certain
that i'm the time Of the lncas the people
were absolutely ignorant of the origin and
history of these cdihcce. They were to
them as they are to uS. mysterious ruins
We only have tradition to indicate
the direction whence the mcgalithic people
came Tradition points to the south
to countries beyond the southern trOpic. II
il Interesting 10 find Garcilaso de Ia Vega
describing himself In one of his letters as
AN "Antarctic Indian
The Andes are gcologcally very re-
cent, Sir Clements points out. When. he
goee on. these mountains were lower
they once furnished sustcnancc 10 the
mastodon and the extinct giant ant
eater-this civilization may already have
been in existence. Darwin found that
the land near Valparaiso had risen thir-
teen hundred feet within modern times.
a link with this prehistoric civilization
may possibly be found. according to our
in the list Of hundred kings
~ Peru. given i'm the writings Of Fer
nandO Muntcsnos. who lived i'm the |
country from 1920 To 1Gi2 Sir Glenn |
ents frequently refers appreciatively TO |
the researches Of contemporary Peru |
Wan and Spanish students. and II is on |
the authority Of one Of these that ne |