ncas, give the names of many places
which as yet we have not been able to identify. Among them we may
finally recognize the temples of Machu Picchu. On the other hand,
it seems likely that if any of the Spanish soldiers, priests, or
other chroniclers had seen this citadel, they would have described
its chief edifices in unmistakable terms.

Until further light can be thrown on this fascinating problem it
seems reasonable to conclude that at Machu Picchu we have the ruins of
Tampu-tocco, the birthplace of the first Inca, Manco Ccapac, and also
the ruins of a sacred city of the last Incas. Surely this granite
citadel, which has made such a strong appeal to us on account of
its striking beauty and the indescribable charm of its surroundings,
appears to have had a most interesting history. Selected about 800
A.D. as the safest place of refuge for the last remnants of the
old regime fleeing from southern invaders, it became the site of the
capital of a new kingdom, and gave birth to the most remarkable family
which South America has ever seen. Abandoned, about 1300, when Cuzco
once more flashed into glory as the capital of the Peruvian Empire,
it seems to have been again sought out in time of trouble, when in
1534 another foreign invader arrived--this time from Europe--with a
burning desire to extinguish all vestiges of the ancient religion. In
its last state it became the home and refuge of the Virgins of the
Sun, priestesses of the most humane cult of aboriginal America. Here,
concealed in a canyon of remarkable grandeur, protected by art and
nature, these consecrated women gradually passed away, leaving no
known descendants, nor any records other than the masonry walls
and artifacts to be described in another volume. Whoever they were,
whatever name be finally assigned to this site by future historians,
of this I feel sure--that few romances can ever surpass that of the
granite citadel on top of the beetling precipices of Machu Picchu,
the crown of Inca Land.

Glossary

Anu: A species of nasturtium with edible roots.

Aryballus: A bottle-shaped vase with pointed bottom.

Azequia: An irrigation ditch or conduit.

Bar-hold: A stone cylinder or pin, let into a gatepost in such a way
as to permit the gate bar to be tied to it. Sometimes the bar-hold
is part of one of the ashlars of the gatepost. Bar-holds are usually
found in the gateway of a compound or group of Inca houses.

Coca: Shrub from which cocaine i