The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-06-09

Who Sold Himself to the Devil.
copyrighted, 1914, by Frank G.
Carpenter.)
! URCOS, Peru.
Have you ever heard of Urcos? 1t
is a little mud town on the railroad
etween Cuzco and Lake Titicaca. 1t
is more han two miles above the sea,
high up in the Andes and not far
from Lake Urcos, in which are said
to be buried treasures Of the Inas
worth many millions. When the
Spaniards, under Pizarro, had killed
the Inca King Atahualpa they march
ed upon Cuzco. The Indians knew
and they took most of their treasures
from the capital city and secretly
buried them. According to tradition,
they threw millions Of dollars worth
Of gold into this lake, and with other
things the great golden chain that
ran around their main plaza. This
plaza remained intact until a few
years ago. 1t was about 500 feet long
and several hundred feet wide, so
tina the length Of the chain was prob
ably between one and two thousand
feet. The chain was pure gold,
wrought into links about a foot long
and as large around as the wrist Of a
man. The links were so heavy that a
man could not lift more than one Of
them at a time, and it is said that
hundreds of Indians were required to
carry the chain. They took it up
the valley of CuZco and threw it into
the lake, and there it is supposed to
lie to this day, although many have
searched for it in vain. The treasure
hunters have dived into the waters
and clawed over the mud nea the
H. UNhory rIO olrn w. CnNd h
lake with graphing hooks. but in
places it is exceedingly deep, and SO
far the %treasure has not been discOv-
cred. At one time a syndicate was
organized to drain the lake. This
syndicate had a capital Of $4,000, 600
and its plan was to tunnel the noun
tainside. But the rock was too tough
and the enterprise was abandoned.
The treasures Of the IncaS were not
confined to Cuzco. / have heard sto-
ries of buried boards all along the
Andes from Panama to Lake Titlcaca
They had vast quantities of gold anC
silver in Quito, and at Cerro de PascC
found a party Of Americans an6
British who were prospecting for on
spent thousands 'of dollars. and arr
sinking more every day. While | wa!
before the vault Of the Cuzco Cathe
dral l was shown a golden boz
weighing t~hirty-six pounds, made o
the plates that were torn from tn
inca Temple Of the Sun, and was toll
that that cathedral was largely bull
by Inca gold.
I understand hat the treasures o
gold that were stored on the holy is
lands of the Sun and the Moon Wer
thrown into Lake Titicaca, n l hea
other traditions Of the vast amount
of gold n silver the S~paniards falle
Ul~.A I.o tInNy nhfoInon W.
greater than the wealth OF Croesu:
The amount taken from the temple
of Cuzco alone is said to have pee
worth more than $90,OOO,O0O and
part of his went to Cajamarca to fire
the inca Emperor A~tahua'pa When n
was treacherously imprisoned by II.
AFRO. The Inca emperor had come !
friendship. He was carried TO CaJs
marca in a litter of massive gOld COZ
cred with a cloth embroidered VIII
the plumes of tropical BIRDS. IN
cloth was studded with gold ana silV'
plates. Atahalpa's hair was decorate
with gold. He had on a golden Gro"
n around his neck was a collar
emeralds.
At the start PiZarro treated Atah'
alpa well. but a little later on charg'
him with treachery, and put MN II.
prison about fourteen feet square. L
Inca king took n stone n ScTa'c
ed a mark on the wall do HiSA ny
he could reach, telling PuZarro IN
he would fill the room to that meg
with gold if he could only De lre
This proposition was accepted, q
gold in the shape of vases, utensils d
plates was brought in from All Pa
Of the empire. 1t was melted do'
by the Indians under the direction
the Spaniards. When the PRISON Tot
was filed to above the mark maze
Atahualpa, he was released. But
was still kept under survlllance' ane
little later was accused of plotti
against the Spaniards. He was CIV
II mock trial, and was condemned
be burned, his execution pei
hro,oht about largely by Eriar \