Norwich bulletin., 1913-02-26


 the reading of letter from one of ths former members, Luther K. Zabrislkie now assistant to the United States consul at Callao, Peru. As SoutI America is the general topic for the Round Table this year, the letter di- rect from that field and written by one who had been valued member of usual interest A vote of thanks was directed to be sent to the writer.
 The meeting opened with the roll call to which the responses were made in South America. This was followed by well written papers as follows: :: The Christ of The Andes, Mrs. Will liam P. Potter; Cape Horn and the ming: Roraimer and kaiteur, Mrs. H. J. Wyckoff; The Rocking Stone of Tandil, Mrs. s. Howard Mead. A pa per written upon Trinidad Island by Mrs. E. A. Tracy, who is at present absent from the city, was read by one of the members.
 Letter from Peru.
 The following was the letter from MT Zabriskie, who formerly resided in Preston. and was representative to the legislature from the town for one term:
 American Consulate General,
 Callao, Peru, Jan. Is, 1913. Dear Friends of the Norwich Round
 Table:-
 Two years have already gone down into the ages since I bade goodbye to the friends and associates of my hap piest days. made my last journey over the Preston hills, and took train from the Rose of New England" in my start for this far distant cline. They have proved Io be two years fraught with much hard work, yet with many en- Joyments and much that was profit able Most of all, during this period. South America, and more especially Peru. has come to mean to me vastly more than a mere name on the worlds map. It has become a living reality, with a wonderfully interesting past. and. if all the signs of the times are correct, possessing a future whose inn portance is even now impressing itself upon the world at large.
 It affords me great pleasure to com ply with the kind invitation of the Program Committee of the Round Table Club and present to you in this communication such first hand notes and comments regarding the Land Of the Incas'' as thought might prove of some interest
 Ophir of the oeeidsnt.
 An early historian of the days of the Spanish Conquest has styled Peru as the Ophir of the Occident'' and such a name appears signalIy appropriate. Prescott, in his description of the cap ital of the Republic, wrote Amidst the woe and destruction which Pizarro and his followers brought on the devoted land of the Incas, Lima, the beautiful City of the Kings. still survives as the most glorious work of his creation the fairest gem on the shores of the Pacific" The eulogy is deserved. since it's renowned cathedral, founded in the year 1536 by Francisco Pizarro, whose ,emains 1t guards today. the University of San Marcos. the oldest in the New S ,I.<. rT 11,r 1f. T it's narvellously beautiful private dwellings, with their exquisitt carvings, and it's quaint blend of to incfent, the mediaeval. and the mod srn, all unite in rendering Lima justla famous among the cities of the world The surrounding territory is of untol6 antiquity. rich in wonderful traditions md fascinating romance, and is in rel ty comparable to the febied land he East which afforded King Solomol 70 many luxuries. Indeed, erninen writers and students of the records Lncient times maintain that the cele orated Ophfr of the Bible and Peru { he olden days were one and the san tnd that its earliest founder. were none other than the adventurous ohoentcians who did so much toward spreading civilization everywhere.
 A Mighty Race.
 However this may be, 1t is quite cer- ain that, many ages before Colonlbus made his voyage of discovery to the New World in 1492, and centuries, even previous to the establishment of their empire by the Incas, whom he Conquistadores, under the lead of oizarro and Allnagro, confronted in 532, there was a mighty race, or sue ession of races, that dwe1t in Peru, whose dominion extended at one time yer the greater part of South America from time immenorial the name of Peru has suggested wealth unbounded, md, If the early chroniclers are to be redited, in the -Hispanic days gold vas but household untensil, preferred olely for its beauty and adaptability. Even," says the Inca Garcilasso, the ,ots, and pans and kitchen vessels | were of gold and plate" On all hands | he precious metal glittered and shone, l lnvalued ecept for it's brightness by vas not yet a need.
 The Inca Empire is but a distant | memory now. as are the days of the | Spanish possession, yet similar condi- | The same lust for wealth that charac- | erized their predecessors has been loted in foreigners and natives alike yer since the Republic was pro- 1 laimed in July, 1921. and these have l arried on wholesale pillagings. New 1 rtheless, Peru is still regarded as a wealthy country. of untold possibilities, l nd what effect the opening of the 1 'anama Canal will have on it's deVel- | pment remains to be seen.
 Sizs of Peru. The Republic of Peru has a total 1 req, of 695,916 square miles, and an l stin1ated population of four and ahaIf 1 million inhabitants. Its coast line ex- | ends along the Pacific a distance eo- al to that separating Boston, Mass, 1 nd Key West, Florida, while the gov l claims make it's territory xtended inland from the Pacific a dis l ance equivalent to that between San rancisco and Western Kansas. Par lleI with the cost extend the two ,n- roken chains of the Andes, the East i nd West Cordilleras, and these divide 1 he country into three great sections: | strip of land along the cost which is reeless and arid, except along the Iver courses. and where no rain ever alls, averaging less than 100 miles in ridth; an elevated plateau in the cart of the Andes, where are located | mong others, the famous Cerro de asco Copper and Silver mines. at an l ltitude of 14,197 feet above the i'm lense plains of the tropical Amazon sgion, the dominion of the almost 1 npenetrable forests, the home of the lonkey, the tapfr, and the beacon Lrictor, trees and flowers of marvel l JUS veriety, and the haunt of strange irds. of rare plumage, and great aiIed-wlnged butterflies. So far climate Is concerned all inds are to be found In Peru-fron l .apiraj ta srefip-fV assGndia.- rs..r,. 1