Manual Arts High School - Artisan Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

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O R G A N I Z A T I O N S 21 i v « ' . FROM MISS HANNA ' S VISIT TO THE INCA TREASURE HOUSE. PERU

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20 T HE ARTISAN W - 39 HIGH IN THE PERUVIAN ANDES By Jesse Rav Hanna Flying in a big Pan American Douglas DC 3 from Lima over deep canyons and rugged jutting foothills, between the mountains and the sea, watching the barren desert turn to green fields of cotton sugar cane, and grapes under the genius of American engineers and water works, we landed at Arcquipa. This oasis at 7000 feet lies in a bow-like depression surrounded by white topped mountains. Water from the glaciers flows in a deep river bed, through the town, making the lawns fresh and the eucalyptus and pepper trees green. It is a paradise to the homesick mining men and engineers when they come down from the barren heights and great valleys farther back in the Cordillera chain. From Arequipa we took a little train over the hill enroutc to Cuzco, the capital of the ancient Inca Empire. We travelled two days on this meter gauge R.R. through the wide, cold high valleys to the divide at Juliaca, 14000 feet. Along the way we watched the Indian woman tend- ing great flocks of sheep, llamas, and alpacas, with a few cattle mixed in. Sometimes the woman carried a baby in the shawl on her back, and sometimes at her signal a small barefoot boy or girl, sitting on a grass hummock would run swiftly to chase the llamas, feeding too near the rushing train. Always the women were spinning the raw wool into balls of yarn. They held the wool in loose strips around the left arm and drew it into thread by twisting between the third finger and thumb. The grow- ing ball of dirtv yarn dangled from a crude spindle at the right side. Now and again we saw the low, grass-thatched huts, some bunched to- gether and some alone on the wide plain, usually with a mudwalled corral for the animals at night. Across the valley at the foot of the mountain wall the ancient Inca road followed the contours up, clown, and around. Some- times we could see a llama pack-train loaded with ore, trotting along, sometimes a man on horseback, huddled into his black blanket, galloping swiftly, and sometimes, much to our amazement, a Ford truck. At Juliaca across the dusty square from the station we spent the night in a rather primitive inn. The stairway to the second floor sitting room and the floor of the room were covered with thick furry rugs made of the skins of llamas and alpacas. Some were black or white and others a soft tan color. The proprietor did his best to make us comfortable, though his English was as limited as our Spanish. The agua ealicnte for washing up came at once in tall enamel pitchers. There was no heat in the building so after a supper of boiled chicken, stewed fruit and coffee in the cold dining room on the inner court, we went upstairs again and crawled into our beds to keep warm and avoid altitude sickness, soroche. The next morning after a hot cup of hard boiled coffee we took our seats on the cold black leather of our rambling little train and were off clown another wide valley of a river running toward the Amazon. This val- lcv was the granary of the Incas. There were similar flocks and herds, but

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22 THE ARTISAN W 39 more signs of cultivation. As the valley narrowed, we could see on the steep hillsides, vellow patches of yellow broom, on the canyon sides, and a feathery leaved shrub growing along the tracks. To my surprise I discov- ered thev were scotch broom and our familar pepper tree. Evidently brought in by the Spaniards, these hardy plants had taken to the country. As we approached Cuzco, we saw more signs of Spanish haciendas with plantings of eucalyptus trees around the building;. It seldom rains and there is no native wood in these high barren valleys, so the people have solved their problem with the fast growing eucalyptus. Wherever it would grow, in short lines or small groves, it had been planted. Most of the trees were about four or five years old, so the idea is quite new. We rolled into Cuzco, the ancient Inca capital, after dark, and were conducted into the Farrocarril hotel right at the edge of the tracks, and outside the city proper. This was a substantial concrete building with large bedrooms on the second floor, but praises be, there was a bathroom attached with hot and cold running water. In the morning I looked out my window toward the gates of Cuzco. With a squatty native guide whose English had to be expanded largely with imagination, we walked up a broad brick-paved avenue and under the old arch into the native city. In the time of the Incas, Cuzco was a well- built walled and fortified city containing much in the way of treasure. The dream of the Spaniards was to conquer and possess this great wealth. On the foundation stones of the temple of the sun, the Spaniards have built a monastery and college. The great circular foundation stones, so large that nobody knows how thev could be placed in position and put together without mortar, can still be seen. The beautiful garden which was in the river bed below the wall was said to contain main statues and imitations of nature, flowers, and trees in gold and silver. A bit of the old wall is still there, but the beautiful garden is gone. We walked through steep, narrow streets where we could touch the walls on either side with our hands. One great wall surrounded a square that would cover about four of our city blocks. It is still in a good state of preservation. This wall surrounded the palaces of the princes. There is just one gateway in the outer wall, and under this can be seen some record carvings in the stone. This wall, too, is made of huge solid blocks of hewn stone, put together without evidence of mortar. The stones had been laid so carefully and the corners and edges set so beautifully that not even a knife blade could be forced between them. The Spanish have built places and Government buildings inside and on these ancient foundations. The Cathedral is built of great blocks of grey stone taken from ancient Inca Fortress. The Indians were forced to tear down their own works and build this great church for the Spaniards. (continued on page 194)