Evening star., 1937-10-10
BY WILLIAM LAVARRE.

BY WILLIAM LAVARRE.
On the hill of Sacsahuaman, over
hooking Cuzco, the ancient Incan cap
ttal Of fabulous Andean empire,
stands mans outstanding accomplish
ment in manual masonry. 1t is one
Of the great wonders not only of the
primitive, but of the civilized world
The product of primitive mans physi-
cal strength and creative ingenuity,
no modern laborer will ever dupli-
cate it.
Today man doesn't bring stones "a
feet high, more than - feet thick, %
miles over ragged mountains to build
anything. He can build a metropoli-
tan skyscraper by pouring cement into
small molds and stacking brick upon
brick beside steel skeleton until the
last brick glistens in the high SUM-
light, but whether his modern handi-
craft will be still standing thousand
years from now is a moot question.
This cyclopean masterpiece has been
standing immovable, unblemished, for
terpiece now as it was in the fifteenth
century.
No scientist knows exactly under
what conditions, of labor or servitude,
the great stone wall of Cuzco was
built. A thousand men might have
died under the exertion of moving
just one stone. In the pioneering
enterprises of man, down through the
ages, many thousands of men have
died to build something tangible. 1
know railroad where, just 20 years
ago, one man died for each wooden
tie that was laid through the angry
miles OF virgin jungle, but the Fortress
OF Sacsahuaman is the working mans
great monument in the Western
Hemisphere.
Go to Peru.
Go first to Peru, then the mountain
railroad will take you from Mollendo
through climbing attitudes, pass Are
quipa, pass Juliaca, and finally to
Cuzco. You will see colonial mansions
built on top of monolithic Incan walls.
You will see countless other interesting
things. But the most interesting thing
any traveller, or philosopher, will see
Ii the great stone wall that had. in
ancient times, protected the prehis-
torlc city from outlandish attack.
Ihree decks OF massive stone masonry
encircle the hilltop of the ancient
metropolis. How many men. how
many thousands of men worked to cut
the gigantic stones out of flint like
distant mountain peaks and move
them into place, is not recorded in
Qulchua history, but having built a
golden city in the high Andes the
1ncas decided that it should be well
fortified, and you have no doubts that
exceedingly we'll fortified it was.
measured the stones at the base
At the fortress. Each stone stood 20
10 "a feet above the ground. Other
stones were carefully mortised togeth-
q above the first rampant in a second
and third monolithic strata. The faces
Of the giant stones were so smooth no
man could climb them. The stones
were mortised SO perfectly that not
even a finger could find a hold be-
tween the joints. I tried to climb the
face of the wall but could not. From
the cloud banked ramparts men could
have easily thrown javelins down and
killed me. Had I been an ancient
enemy, trying to get at Cuzco, should
have met defeat.
Today physical fortress no longer
guarantees protection. Even Pizzaro
was able to conquer the Incans with
out trying to batter down the fortress
b,y1 10
Worlds weapon of deceit to open the
fortress doors and let his Conuuista-
dores within the outer wall. But
however much our technique and craft
changes We can take off our hats,
at least momentarily, to men who
built a wall neither man nor time
could knock down.
Never Again.
Cuzco is the most interesting CITY
OF the Andean world. PHILOSOPHER.
historian, economist or photographer
will find there things which will keep
him on the jump. He can never
catch up completely with the past
centuries of its archaeology; he'll
be pretty tired hombre when his
coastal train pulls out of the modern
railroad station, but the man who
likes to build things with his own
hands will always remember Cuzco as
the Mecca of masonic craftsmanship.
Here men onoe worked with stones
that were stones! In those Andean
mountains there was no wood. 1t
might have been easier to have built
their homes and entertainments out of
grass clods as the Laplanders did.
But time and enemies would have
blown them away. They built with
mountain stone, which seems ever
lasting.
I sat looking at the walls with a
famous civil engineer. He shook his
head finally. Il wouldn't take the job
Of building an actual duplicate of the
Fortress of Sacsahuaman," he said,
"if I were offered two million dol
lars. The world has changed. Man
will never again build such monu-
ments of stone.> We are now people
Of a beaver board era. The age of
stone is passed. My sor- probably
will think more Of auto trailers than
. permanent sanctuary. B"t here in
old Peru man built his greatest man
uAl monument. Eighty foot walls of
monolithic stones! No cement. All
sheer masonic craftsmanship. I just
came up here" he added, ito see
something man will never do again."
(Copyright. 1879