struck by such
a circumstance. Consequently, the valley was probably named by plateau
dwellers who were working their way down into a warm region where
butterflies and moths are more common. Notwithstanding its celebrated
caterpillars, Urubamba's gardens of to-day are full of roses, lilies,
and other brilliant flowers. There are orchards of peaches, pears,
and apples; there are fields where luscious strawberries are raised
for the Cuzco market. Apparently, the grubs do not get everything.

The next day down the valley brought us to romantic Ollantaytambo,
described in glowing terms by Castelnau, Marcou, Wiener, and Squier
many years ago. It has lost none of its charm, even though Marcou's
drawings are imaginary and Squier's are exaggerated. Here, as at
Urubamba, there are flower gardens and highly cultivated green
fields. The brooks are shaded by willows and poplars. Above them
are magnificent precipices crowned by snow-capped peaks. The village
itself was once the capital of an ancient principality whose history
is shrouded in mystery. There are ruins of curious gabled buildings,
storehouses, "prisons," or "monasteries," perched here and there
on well-nigh inaccessible crags above the village. Below are broad
terraces of unbelievable extent where abundant crops are still
harvested; terraces which will stand for ages to come as monuments to
the energy and skill of a bygone race. The "fortress" is on a little
hill, surrounded by steep cliffs, high walls, and hanging gardens so
as to be difficult of access. Centuries ago, when the tribe which
cultivated the rich fields in this valley lived in fear and terror
of their savage neighbors, this hill offered a place of refuge to
which they could retire. It may have been fortified at that time. As
centuries passed in which the land came under the control of the Incas,
whose chief interest was the peaceful promotion of agriculture, it
is likely that this fortress became a royal garden. The six great
ashlars of reddish granite weighing fifteen or twenty tons each, and
placed in line on the summit of the hill, were brought from a quarry
several miles away with an immense amount of labor and pains. They
were probably intended to be a record of the magnificence of an able
ruler. Not only could he command the services of a sufficient number
of men to extract these rocks from the quarry and carry them up an
inclined plane from the bottom of the valley to the summit of the hill;
he ha