Land of the Incas, 1950s

high up in the cordelia mountains of peru lies the land of the incas once a mighty nation rich in treasure advanced in culture the story of these people now so humble is a romance beginning no man knows where so ancient is their history so all their civilization nation flourished with its arts its industries until don francisco pizarro marched in from the coast with his spanish legions and reduced a proud race to servitude once almost inaccessible today this region of romantic mystery is easily reached by rail where once the invading armies of spain struggled through endless hardships on their march of conquest in the 16th century but tales were told of vast treasures and palaces and temples forbidden to the white man it was this that drew pizarro on holding the lives of his soldiers chief if these mysterious mountains disclosed the fabulous wealth he was determined to seize for the glory of spain and for personal considerations any one of the frequent stops of the train on the way toward the interior gives the traveler a chance to become acquainted with the natives and their customs they line the tracks at the station knowing that everybody on the train must pause here for a while because this is far beyond the luxurious appointments of modern transportation and tables will be spread for their refreshment while the little train waits nearby the natives hope to find americanos on every train because they're likely to buy llama wool blankets indian trinkets and white fox furs at the foot of the volcano el misti stands the second city of peru arequipa it suffers frequently as a result of the earthquakes that are common in such a region several in the past causing great destruction and loss of life the old indian sections of the city have been leveled and rebuilt time and again the city was founded in 1540 by pizarro architects and builders followed the army of spain to enhance this and other cities by beautiful structures that bide with native inca temples lovely places of worship such as the shrine of luck compania and arakipa cathedral on the plaza de armas the ruins of one of the great inca cities known as machu picchu sprawls across the mountain here was one great fortification never found by pizarro or others who came after him the incas managed to keep secret its location for centuries until the inca throne was uncovered in 1911. this flight of steps leads to one of the temples tombs and dwelling places and elaborate altars were discovered giving proof of a remarkable race of people who had achieved a degree of civilization almost as high as the mountains that sheltered them nearby is san sebastian and again the influence of the early spanish is seen in the inevitable cathedral the main street a llama train is being packed for a journey the llama found only in this part of south america belongs to the camel family and he looks like a small addition of the camel except that he's built closer to the ground and carries no hump on his back but the incas make the llama carry just about everything else on his back since very early times these strong animals have been all things to the indians beasts of burden suppliers of milk rich and nutritive values and the source of a woolly hair from which is woven almost everything the inca wears the spaniards built their cities on the ruins of inca fortresses and temples such as kruthko for example which was once the capital of the inca empire the cathedral one of the finest in south america occupies the site of the celebrated inca temple of the sun and the city abounds in ancient peruvian architectural gems when captured by pizarro in 1533 the spaniards were astonished to behold beautiful palaces temples and shrines loreto street was here when the incas were an unknown race never beheld by white men and an example of their skill with tools here stands a doorway of unrecorded age the ever-present llama is far more common in kufko than the automobile principally because he can get around the mountains under his own power a spanish balcony hangs on an ancient inca wall while on a sloping thoroughfare stone steps serve as sidewalks throughout its length and here is seen the famous street of the 12 angle stone built by the incas who knew nothing of the use of mortar but shaped their stones to stay in place all the atmosphere of ancient peru is here and the descendants of the incas are seen much as they've lived for a thousand years using pottery unchanged by any modern influences little that is modern has come into this land since the spaniards brought in their version of civilization sunday on the main plaza is market day the indians come from villages for miles around the women wearing their becoming flat top hats some are here to see and be seen and others with fruits and vegetables to sell here's a typical descendant of the incas who seems conscious of the fact that her people's history is a proud and superior heritage what if she is laboriously winding llama wool for a crude loom at home on which she will provide all the clothing and blankets for her family her hands are never idle and she has a pride of race that is reflected unmistakably in features stamped with character and intelligence vacavers and centuries of an inca civilization no less impressive than that of the ancient egyptians the mayors of four villages nearby attend the market in official regalia carrying silver mounted staffs of office the problem of what to do with the baby is solved on market day junior may not look exactly carried away by the excitement of his surroundings but this is the way he goes to town in all these smaller settlements there usually is but one source of water but that is likely to wear well that has served countless generations of incas in the village of san geronimo a troop of native dancers approach the plaza where on one day of the year the feast day of the village's patron saint they perform a dance obviously suggested by the bullfight but the incredible sport of their white conquerors is here interpreted with a childlike playfulness to the music of flutes and drums the matador awaits his cue while pikadors go through the motions of enraging the bull who is a symbol of evil and will be cast out throughout the peaks and valleys of the corllieres a people live today whose civilization was old when the tombs of the pharaohs were building here where they live is still the frontier for exploration this is the mysterious romantic land of the incas