The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1921-08-25

| of coast land that European blood and
culture have made themselves most
| strongly felt.
To the east rise the three towering
ranges Of the Andes their slopes,
peaks and intervening valleys and
plateaus constituting the Sierra" the
second Of the three great geographic
divisions of Peru. In this lofty region
the Inca civilization held sway with
n marvelously intricate hut efficient
governmental maa4ne, before the
Spanish came. Cttkssr the capital of
the Inca empire, wa situated in fer
tile, protected valley OF the Sierra re-
gion. and remains today one of the
| important Peruvian towns. Its popu-
| lation now, however. is only 1900,
about one-tenth that of the city when
It was the Babylon Of the western
! hemisphere.
In the almost inaccessible country TO
the northwest OF CuzcO. and less than
30 miles distant, hidden away among
! the mountains, was Machu Picchu, the
secret city where the forerunners of
! the IncaS, almost destroyed by bar
! barians. nursed their civilization and
/ culture for centuries before going out
into the valleys and founding their
great empire. This old city, whose
! existence had been only tradition
for hundreds of years, was discovered
i'm 1911 and uncovered In 1912 by ex-
| petitions of the National Geographic
society and Yale university.
The Sierra. or region of mountains,
valleys and plateaus. il still the land
/ of the heirs of the Tncas. I'm this por-
| ton Of Peru lives the largest single
| element in the population, the civil
! lied Indians descendants of the lncas.
Though the population of Peru is not
known accurately. il Is estimated to
be about 5.000.000. The Indians Of
! the Sierra number close to 2.000,00O.
Immense Mineral Resources.
In the Peruvian Sierra, too, are the
mining developments. Perus mineral
| resources are almost inexhaustible.
| Gold and silver are the minerals on
which most emphasis was placed by
| the Spaniards. Fortunes i'm both were
removed from the country hut rich
| deposits remain. In recent years cop
per has led other minerals in the value
Of production. The copper mines at
| Ccrre de Pasco are among the richest
| in the world. Almost every mineral
substance known is believed 10 have
been compounded In natures great
Andean laboratory. The list of prod
ucts from Peruvian mines covers much
Of the alphabet from antimony 10
vanadium. OF great Importance are
the petroleum wells of the northern
coast, whose production is next i'm
value to the country's copper output.
To the east of the Andes, cut off
from the more developed portion of
the country, lies the third geographical
division, the region known as the
Montana. Poru's land OF the future.
This part of the republic is made up
Of the wooded landward slopes Of the
Andes. grassy foothills, and the heavy
little-knOwn jungles and forests that
spread out 10 the east for thousand
miles or more along the broad valley
of the Amazon and it's tributaries. Be-
cause Of the heavy rainfall the growth
Of vegetation i'm This part Of Peru is
believed To be ms heavy as anywhere
else i'm the world. Even NJ midday In
some Of the forests the light issno
brighter than nj twilight in open
country. In n glade. with dense
vegetation on all sides, one feels that
he has been dropped down into the
bottom of deep green-lined pit.
The country on the eastern slopes
Of the Andes and on the foothills be-
fore the dense forest is reached has
been settled very sparSely; but over
thousands OF square miles of the
Jungle the foot If civilized man has
never trod A few tribes Of uncivil-'
lied Indians roam through these for
est depths.
Many large rivers rising on the east
ern slopes Of the Andes. flow across
the Montana region of Peru, into Bra
iii. and finally find their way into the
Atlantic 1000 miles away. through. the
mighty Amazon. Ocean vessels ascend
the Amazon to Iquitos. the metropolis
Of eastern Peru nearly 200 miles with
In Peruvian territory; and by river
boats the journey may be continued to
within 300 miles OF the Pacific. Along
many of tie rivers In eastern Peru are
towns Of some Importance which are