Peruvian Expedition of 1915
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To most of our friends in Cuzco the idea that there could be anything
finer than Choqquequirau seemed, absurd. They regarded that "cradle
of gold" as "the most remarkable archeological discovery of recent
times." They assured us there was nothing half so good. They even
assumed that we were secretly planning to return thither to dig
for buried treasure! Denials were of no avail. To a people whose
ancestors made fortunes out of lucky "strikes," and who themselves
have been brought up on stories of enormous wealth still remaining
to be discovered by some fortunate excavator, the question of
tesoro--treasure, wealth, riches--is an ever-present source of
conversation. Even the prefect of Cuzco was quite unable to conceive
of my doing anything for the love of discovery. He was convinced
that I should find great riches at Choqquequirau--and that I was
in receipt of a very large salary! He refused to believe that the
members of the Expedition received no more than their expenses. He
told me confidentially that Professor Foote would sell his collection
of insects for at least $10,000! Peruvians have not been accustomed to
see any one do scientific work except as he was paid by the government
or employed by a railroad or mining company. We have frequently found
our work misunderstood and regarded with suspicion, even by the Cuzco
Historical Society.

The valley of the Urubamba, or Uilcamayu, as it used to be called, may
be reached from Cuzco in several ways. The usual route for those going
to Yucay is northwest from the city, over the great Andean highway,
past the slopes of Mt. Sencca. At Ttica-Ttica (12,000 ft.) the road
crosses the lowest pass at the western end of the Cuzco Basin. At the
last point from which one can see the city of Cuzco, all true Indians,
whether on their way out of the valley or into it, pause, turn toward
the east, facing the city, remove their hats and mutter a prayer. I
believe that the words they use now are those of the "Ave Maria,"
or some other familiar orison of the Catholic Church. Nevertheless,
the custom undoubtedly goes far back of the advent of the first
Spanish missionaries. It is probably a relic of the ancient habit
of worshiping the rising sun. During the centuries immediately
preceding the conquest, the city of Cuzco was the residence of the Inca
himself, that divine individual who was at once the head of Church and
State. Nothing would