Omaha daily bee., 1914-06-07
Traditions of Lost Treasures of the Incas
Copyright 1914. by Frank G. Carpenter


Urcos, in which are said to be buried
treasures Of the Incas worth many mil
lions. When the Spanrards under Pizarro
had Killed the Inca king Atahualpa they
marched upon Cuzco. The Indians knew
their greed for the precious metals. and
they took most OF their treasures from
the capital city and secretly buried them.
According to tradition, they threw mil
lions 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
few years ago. 1t was about 500 feet
long and several hundred feet wide so
that the length Of the chain was prob
ably between 1000 and 1000 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 1t is
said that hundreds Of Indians were re-
quired to carry the chain They took 1t
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 water and
clawed over the mud near the shore.
graphing hooks. but in places It is ex-
ceedingly deep, and so far the treasure
had not been discovered At one time a
syndicate was organized to drain the
lake. This syndicate had a capital Of
$5,0OO.OOO and its plan was to tunnel the
mountainside. But the rock was too
tough and the enterprise was abandoned.
Once wealthy Tribe.
confined to Cuzco. I have heard stories
OF buried boards all along the Andes from
Panama to Lake Titicaca. Tiny had
vast quantities of gold and silver in
Quito and at Cerro ce Pasco 1 found a
party Of Americans and British who were
prospecting for one of these boards. They
have already spent thousands OF dollars
and are sinking more every day While
was before the vault of the Cuzco
cathedral l was shown a golden box
weighing thirty-six pounds made of the
plates. that were torn from the Inca
Temple Of the Sun, and was told that that
cathedral was largely built by Inca gold.
I understand that the treasures Of gold
that were stored on the holy islands of
the sun and moon were thrown into Lake
Titicaca, and 1 hear other traditions OF
the vast amounts of gold and silver the
Spaniards failed to get That which they
obtained was greater than the wealth of
Croesus. The amount taken from the
temples of Cuzco alone is said to have
been worth more than S90OO0,0Oo, and a
part of this went to Cajamarca to free the
Inca emperor who had come in friendship.
He was treacherously imprisoned by
Pizarro. He was carried to Cajamarca in
litter OF massive gold covered with a
cloth embroidered with plumes of tropical
birds. This cloth was studded with gold
and silver plates Atahualpas hair was
decorated with gold. He had on a golden
crown, and around his neck was a collar
of emeralds.
Gave Room Full of Gold.
At the start Pizarro treated Atahualpa
we'll but a little later on charged him
with treachery. and put him in a prison
about fourteen feet square. The Inca
king took a stone and scratched a mark
on the wall as high as he could reach,
telling Pizarro that he would fill the
room to that height with gold II he
could only be free. This proposition was
accepted and gold in the shape of vases,
utensils and plates was brought In from
all parts of the empire. 1t was melted
down by the Indians under the direction
OF the Spaniards. When the prison room
was filled to above the mark made by
Atahaulpa, he was released. But he was
still kept under surveillance. and a little
later was accused Of plotting against the
Spaniards. He was given a mock trial.
and was condemned to be burned. his
execution being brought about largely by
~ q a.
bishop of Cuzco.
During my stay In Cuzco visited the
Temple Of the Sun, upon whose founda-
tons now stand the church and convent
of the Dominicans. This was known by
the Incas as The Coricancha," or the
'place OF gold" 1t was rectangular on
three sides with great oval at the back,
and its walls were two stories high and
altogether about 100 feet long. These
walls were surrounded by thick cornice
or border OF gold about eight inches thick,
and where the wall Joined the roof there
was a broad golden band. The roof was
covered with gold. and the inner walls of
the temple were literally plated with it,
vegetables and vines of all sorts being
engraved upon them.
Precious Metal Galore.
Opposite the entrance to the temple
was a mighty plate OF solid gold. heavily
incrusted with emeralds and precious
stones. This represented a human face
surrounded with rays. 1t was the image
OF the sun whom the Incas worshiped.
and used gold in doing so. They consid-
cred that metal sacred to the sun, and
often referred to It as the tears Of that
heavenly body On both sides OF the
image were the embalmed bodies OF the
Incas Of the past. each seated on chair
of solid gold.
In addition to the Temple OF the Sun,
the Incas had temples to the stars and
moon. The traditions say that there were
chapels to these heavenly bodies in the
great temple at Cuzco, and IT is whispered
that evidences of these have recently
Iieen discovered. When 1 went through
the church my guide was not permitted
TO 60 with me The holy father in charge
performed this duty himself, and the
guide thought that It was to prevent me
from learning what they had recently
discovered.
All OF the ornaments and utensils de-
voted 10 the religion Of the Incas were
made OF gold and silver. In the great
hall OF the sun there were golden ewers
which held the water. used at the time