theless the day's work had been very satisfactory and
we prepared to enjoy a good night's rest. Alas, we were doomed to
disappointment. During the day some one had brought to the hut eight
tame but noisy macaws. Furthermore, our savage helpers determined
to make the night hideous with cries, tom-toms, and drums, either to
discourage the visits of hostile Indians or jaguars, or for the purpose
of exorcising the demons brought by the white men, or else to cheer
up their families, who were undoubtedly hiding in the jungle near by.

The next day the savages and our carriers continued to clear away as
much as possible of the tangled growth near the best ruins. In this
process, to the intense surprise not only of ourselves, but also of
the savages, they discovered, just below the "bathhouse" where we had
stood the day before, the well-preserved ruins of two buildings of
superior construction, well fitted with stone-pegs and numerous niches,
very symmetrically arranged. These houses stood by themselves on a
little artificial terrace. Fragments of characteristic Inca pottery
were found on the floor, including pieces of a large aryballus.

Nothing gives a better idea of the density of the jungle than the
fact that the savages themselves had often been within five feet of
these fine walls without being aware of their existence.

Encouraged by this important discovery of the most characteristic
Inca ruins found in the valley, we continued the search, but all that
any one was able to find was a carefully built stone bridge over a
brook. Saavedra's son questioned the savages carefully. They said
they knew of no other antiquities. Who built the stone buildings of
Espiritu Pampa and Eromboni Pampa? Was this the "Vilcabamba Viejo"
of Father Calancha, that "University of Idolatry where lived the
teachers who were wizards and masters of abomination," the place to
which Friar Marcos and Friar Diego went with so much suffering? Was
there formerly on this trail a place called Ungacacha where the
monks had to wade, and amused Titu Cusi by the way they handled their
monastic robes in the water? They called it a "three days' journey
over rough country." Another reference in Father Calancha speaks
of Puquiura as being "two long days' journey from Vilcabamba." It
took us five days to go from Espiritu Pampa to Pucyura, although
Indians, unencumbered by burdens, and spurred on by necessity,
might do it in three. It is possible to fit some other