The daily sentinel., 1912-04-29
A LOST CITY IS FOUND;
WAS BUILT CENTURIES AGO

A hitherto undiscovered city of the
Incas, which has remained lost to his
tory and research for more than 400
years, has been discovered through
extensive explorations in Peru, con-
Quoted by Prof. Hiram Bingham, for
mer master of arts in the University
of California, who was director of
the Yale University scientific expedi-
tion in South America.
In a report received at the Univer-
sity of California, the lost city was
described as being located on a pla-
teau about 1000 feet above the val
ley of the river Urmbamba, and was
covered with a cornfield.
Prof. Bingham, in describing the
exploration, said
We found ruins of buildings al
most palatially constructed of white
granite, or. as the Spanish despoilers
called it, marble, some still more than
10 feet above ground. We were the
first white people, / fancy that had
ever seen this city since the time of
PiZarro, 400 years ago. The stones
of the houses were beautifully Joined
and the cutting was perfect.
The buildings were made without
mortar. The foundation stones were
very large. some being s feet wide,
6 feet deep and IL feet long. We
could not bring any of the specimens
with us, as the Peruvian government
will not let any of the ruins be taken
from the country.
"The city is called by the natives
Macchu Pichu. The pre-Inca remains
are much more interesting and denote
a higher condition of civilization
than the Inca relics. No marble
could be more exquisitely cut.
1--WE believe that the city is that
mentioned by the Peruvian explorer,
Sir Clements Robert Markham, as
the hill of the three-windowed tenn
pies The temples were three-win
dowed. The stones were carved in
the Egyptian style.
''As to whether or not they We're
built by races originally from the
far east We can say nothing; our OBJ
ject in going to Peru was to find
facts; we have nothing to do with
theories. We have learned that the
workmanship of these pre-lnca peo-
pies, preceding those whom Pizarro
conquered. exceeded in beauty the
work of the lncas of PiZarro's time.
How long they had been in this
plateau region We cannot say. Our
work has been purely one of eXplora
tion. We leave the speculative ar
ohaeologist to pronounce on the an
tiquity of Peruvian civiliza ton"
The ascent of the summit OF the
second highest mountain in South
America, Corupuna, was one of the
accomplishments of the expedition.
Only Prof. Bingham and the archae-
ologist engineer actually reached the
top. Concerning this climb, Prof.
Bingham said:
I'VE were practically without food,
living entirely on tea. Ordinary food
nauseated us. 1t was very much as
If we were suffering from seasick-
ness.
I'VE had difficulty in breathing
and sleeping also. We had taken
snowshoes along, but it was not ne
cessary TO use them. We wore cram
pons instead. We learned later that
Miss Annie Peck had made a rapid
climb of two peaks of the Corupuna.
They were not the highest peaks,
however, and she made no claim that
they We're.
1--WE We're at the absolute summit
of the volcanic mountain We found
out by leveling that we were higher
than any of the other peaks. We
were right on the verge of the crater.
which was clogged with ice and
snow. The mountain is 12 miles
long and has several peaks. No one,
so far as we could learn, had ever
gone to the top before"
The father OF Prof. Bingham was
missionary to the Gilbert islands
San Francisco Examiner.