with a broad, embossed panel,
from which hang little trappings reminiscent of medieval harness. The
bridle is usually made of carefully braided leather, decorated with
silver and frequently furnished with an embossed leather eye shade or
blinder, to indicate that the horse is high-spirited. This eye shade,
which may be pulled down so as to blind both eyes completely, is more
useful than a hitching post in persuading the horse to stand still.

The valley of the Huatanay River is divided into three parts, the
basins of Lucre, Oropesa, and Cuzco. The basaltic cliffs near Oropesa
divide the Lucre Basin from the Oropesa Basin. The pass at Angostura,
or "the narrows," is the natural gateway between the Oropesa Basin and
the Cuzco Basin. Each basin contains interesting ruins. In the Lucre
Basin the most interesting are those of Rumiccolca and Piquillacta.

At the extreme eastern end of the valley, on top of the pass which
leads to the Vilcanota is an ancient gateway called Rumiccolca (Rumi =
"stone"; ccolca = "granary"). It is commonly supposed that this was
an Inca fortress, intended to separate the chiefs of Cuzco from those
of Vilcanota. It is now locally referred to as a "fortaleza." The
major part of the wall is well built of rough stones, laid in clay,
while the sides of the gateway are faced with carefully cut andesite
ashlars of an entirely different style. It is conceivable that some
great chieftain built the rough wall in the days when the highlands
were split up among many little independent rulers, and that later one
of the Incas, no longer needing any fortifications between the Huatanay
Valley and the Vilcanota Valley, tore down part of the wall and built
a fine gateway. The faces of the ashlars are nicely finished except
for several rough bosses or nubbins. They were probably used by the
ancient masons in order to secure a better hold when finally adjusting
the ashlars with small crowbars. It may have been the intention of the
stone masons to remove these nubbins after the wall was completed. In
one of the unfinished structures at Machu Picchu I noticed similar
bosses. The name "Stone-granary" was probably originally applied to
a neighboring edifice now in ruins.

On the rocky hillside above Rumiccolca are the ruins of many ancient
terraces and some buildings. Not far from Rumiccolca, on the slopes
of Mt. Piquillacta, are the ruins of an extensive city, also called
Piquillacta. A large number of its houses have