ing from 3,531 m.
(11,584 ft.) at Sicuani to 4,313 m. (14,150 ft.) at La Raya. The cold
seemed intense. I got quite frozen sitting on the engine.

Quantities of llamas and sheep grazing were now to be seen on the land,
foot-passengers and horsemen crossing the valley in all directions. At
the stations large crowds of picturesque women squatted down selling
pottery and fruit.

The farther we got into the interior the more picturesque the hats
became. The women there wore hats with rectangular gold-braided brims,
and with white, red or blue curtains at the sides. The men had pointed
woollen caps with ear-flaps. The women were garbed in ample pleated
skirts. Curiously enough, while the head and body were so well protected,
most of them had bare legs and feet, the skirts reaching only just below
the knee.

Near villages one saw neat patches of land turned, with trouble, into
vegetable gardens. Stone enclosures were used by the natives as shelters
for the animals during storms and to pen them up at night. The people
themselves lived in stone huts.

The country reminded me forcibly of Tibet, and so, in a way, did the
people--short and stumpy and smothered in clothes. I frequently noticed
cairns of stones like the _obos_ typical of Tibet and of the Himahlyas.
There, too, as in Tibet, it seemed the fashion for passers-by to place a
white stone on those cairns in order to bring good luck.

The men were curiously garbed in short, wide white woollen trouserettes,
reaching just below the knees and split behind just over the calf. Under
those they wore another pair of trousers, slightly longer. Their coats
were short and tight, resembling Eton jackets. They wore wide and much
embroidered belts, red and blue being their favourite colours.

An accident had happened to a bridge. It had collapsed, so that the
trains could not proceed. Thanks to the great thoughtfulness of Mr.
Mockill and his inspector of the line, Mr. Blaisdell, another private
car, equally comfortable, had been sent down from Cuzco to the bridge. My
baggage was transferred on men's backs to the opposite side of the
stream. With the delay of only an hour or so I was able to proceed on
another train to Cuzco, where I arrived that same evening.

[Illustration: Inca Pottery, Weapons and Ornaments of Gold and Copper.]

The city of Cuzco is situated at an elevation of 11,062 ft. above the sea
level. In its vicinity the most important remains of Inca civilization
hav