The Washington herald., 1912-11-03
EXPLORER TO SEEK TREASURE
TN THE "TfIIBET OF AMERICA"

- >Av>~AN ~ = -
power was near Truxillo. and found th1m-
selves opposed BY . people quite az var.
like ~ themselves, and even more ad-
vanced In some respects. History records
that Yupanqui. son of the ninth Inca.
demanded that the Chimu King should
become Q vassal of the Inca, and aban-
don the worship Of fishes and other ami
mails.
A defiance being returned, q great bat.
tie followed. in which Yupanqui was vics
torious- To confirm the story. the sandy
soil Of the ancient battlefield IL found
to-day literally stuffed with skeletons
all Of adult men. and mostly bearing
marks Of violence. such as cioven or
battered skulls This is near a ruined
fortress. inside Of which IL a cemetery
containing none but the skeletons of
young girls. carefully wrapped in hne
cotton cloth.
Population Overestimated.
It Is believed that estimates q ths
population of ancient Peru have been
greatly exaggerated. In all likelihood
1t did not exceed 100000. The people
were under the average height. Of .
light copper color. industrious and war
like. The Inca. 50 called. was the head
Of the government. and an absolute des-
pot. But the system seems to have been
a benevolent despotism on the whole. one
Of Its essential features being the re-
Quirement that each individual should
own a portion Of land The entire eoun-
try was divided into three parts-one for
the Sun. another for the inca, and tho
third for the people. This. being trans
lated. meant that one-third Of the tn-
come Of the state was expended in sup-I
porting the established religion: one-third'
maintained the government, and the re-
naming third was for the use and bene-
fit of the commonalty.
Scattered up and down the country were
granaries. into which were gathered all
sorts Of agricultural products. to be deal,
out to the people as they were required.
The potato was the greatest source of
food. In wild state no bigger than a
hazelnut. 1t was developed IN ancient Peru
into IS fine a tuber as the best system Of
modern gardening knows OF corn there
were at least thirty distinct varieties
each valley having its own kind. In the
valley Of the P1ura River was grown a
peculiar kind OF cotton. 80 like unto
wool as to be scarcely distinsuishabIe
from the latter. Within the last few
years, by the way. this wool cotton"
as IL Is called. has come into extensive,
use for making women's fine "merino'
underwear and stockings
On the pampas along the east shore Of
Lake Titicaca the aboriginal herders
pastured their hocks OF alpacas. Just as
they do to-day. The ancient Peruvians
dressed in garments Of alpaca wool,
which was made into yarns and fabrics
Of varying degrees of fneness. II is a
beautiful animal When the young one
is year old its wool Is a foot long and
az soft and fine as silk The llama was
likewise domesticated. partly for i,s
wool, but mainly to carry burdens II
vas. in fact, the only beast Of burden
employed IN the New World up to the
time OF the introduction Of European
To kill one was punishable
by death. At intervals the llmas and
alpacas were collected and shorn. and
the wool. which was the property of the
Inca. was dealt out as the people re-
dU.red II. As for the vicuna. its soft
fleece was the "ermine' Of Inca aristcc-
racy. and no one not of royal blood was
to use it-save only the high
priests and vestals Of the Sun.
AboriEine. in Bronze Age.
The ancient Peruvians. at the time Of
the discovery Of America by Columbus
were in the Bronze Age. Their knives.
needles. epearponts. lances. and even
v ar clubs wer. of bronze The remark
able bronze pins and T-clamps used for
fastening stones together were a pre-
ca ution against the overthrow Of build
ings by earthquakes. which in that part
Of the world are frequent and severe. In
the sciences these people OF antiquity
seem TO have been considerably ad-
anced. They had observeto tories for as
Economical purposes. with Cyiindri iCal
columns whose shadows were used for
adjusting the calendar. Apparently they
knew the law tas the Romans did notp
" hich causes water to seek its own level.
and utilized this knowledge to carry
water below the bed of the river at
CTzco by inverted s;phons to supply the
great temple and some of the palaces
The climate in that part OF the world
Is SO dry that there Is no putrefac ction.
Walled up in caves or buried in the sands,
bodies thousands Of years old are to-day
In as perfect a state of preservation a.
the mummies Of ancient Egypt. In fact.
they are natural mummies.
Among sthe mcst curious and interest.
ing objects found with such mummies
are toilet impliments and accessories used
by young women of Peru In prehistorio
times. These include short lengths Of
hollow bird-bones. made to serve as bot
lies by stopping them with wads Of cot
ton. and containing various pigments.
There are also cotton ''dabs." for apply
ng the pigments to the face. 4 small
stone with a cup-shaped hollow on the
upper side. in which its a round stona
for pestle, shows how the pig
nents in question were ground fresh
when wanted. But how did the Peruvian
'elle of long ago get on without a mirror,
n which to see her pretty face? Ths
answer is that her mirror was a piece OF
ron pyrites. the shape Of half an egg,
With the fiat side highly polished
RENE BACHE.
Pictures of GallopinE Horses.
'rnm thu Pail Mall Gazcffe