The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1914-01-02


Bingham becames Interested and took
the Indian at his word A few hours
later the Tlifhss were discovered, but
flfeff real Importance was not fully
faea5izsd until weeks later when extern
sive excavations were in progress.
THE fact -that-onee of the most I'M
portant buildings was marked by three
large windows, q rare feature In Pc
1uvian architecture, and that many
OF the other buildings had windows,
added TO the significant circumstances
that the city was located IN the most
inaccessible part of the Andes, in
clined me to feel that there was q
chance that AIachu Picchu might prove
to be 'Tampu Tocco. that mythical
place from which the Incas had come,
when they started out to find Gllzco
and to make the beginnings OF that
great empire which was to embrace a
large part of South America, = reports
Prof. Bingham. According to the old
legend, the Incas became crowded In
their mountain home. to which they
had been driven by barbarian hordes.
.~-1 eventually recovering their mill
aaEy strength, they left Ta.mpu Toeeo
- leadership of three brothers
going out OF, three windows. and start
ed for Cuzco. The presence at Machu
Picchu ofsthFees large windows in one
structures led me to swonder whether
it might not be possible that the Incas
had purposely deceived the Spantaras
in telling them Tampu Tocco was
southwest of cuzco when It was actin
ally north. Ii
I .sMachu Plcch1 Is essentially city ef
refuge. 1t is perched on "a tmounta1p
top in the most inaccessible corner OF
.the most inaccessible section of the
Urubanba river. So far as know
there is no part OF the Andes that has
been better defended by nature. Here
on Aa.inarrow ridge, fianked on all sides
by precipitous or nearly PERCEPTIONS
slopes. a highly civilized people-artts-
tic. inventive and capable of sustained
endeavor-at some time in the remote
past built themselves a, city. of refuge.
Since they had no iron or steel tools
only stone hammers-its construction
must have cost many genera ionss II
not centuries r Of effort. ACROSS the.
ridge, ana defending the buildings
from attack on the side of the main
mountain range. they constructed two
walls. Within the outerwau they con-
structed an extensive series of agri-
culture terraces. Between these and
the city is a steep, dry moat and the
inner wall. when the members OF an
Attacking force had safely negotiatea
the precipitouS and easily os4e4ttAeN
sides of the moat, they would stin md
themselves outside the inner defences
NJ the city, which consisted OF a wall
from 4ifteen tostwenty feet high. com
posed of huge boulders. many OF which
weighed many tons.
ut is not very profitable to specu-
tate on the habits OF these ancient peg
pie until we have had mors pRpogt19sss
Iaity to study the finds made in the
burial caves and,to compare these WITH
finds made in otiler parts Issf =, y 81
know that they were masters In the
art of stoue-cutting. that they knew
how to make bronze and that they
had considerable artistic sense. orlsi-
naiity and Ingenuity. Their pottery IS
varied in form and attractive IN onna-
nnentation They understood how 70
ntan great architectural and engineer
ing works and to carry them to q sat
isfactory conclusion"
prof iBingham's final report of the
expedition, dealing with the sctenti1ic
data obtained, will be made to the
National Geographic society In the
near future and through the Society
win be given TO the world.