The city of Puno lies on the border of Lake Titicaca, overlooking that picturesque body of water more than twelve thousand five hundred feet above the sea. It is an interesting town, with its great central plaza, its fine old churches, and the handsome stone arch gateway that was built under the viceroyalty. A statue in the plaza honors the memory of a brave patriot who exchanged his judicial robes for the uniform of a soldier and fell fighting for his country in the last war. The hospital and orphanage of San Juan de Dios, founded more than thirty years ago by the Benevolent Society, looks like a haven of comfort, surrounded by pretty flower gardens and directed by sweet-faced Sisters of Charity. The national college of San Carlos represents the city’s advancement in educational matters, its curriculum embracing practical as well as theoretical instruction. Puno has archæological interests also as it lies in the centre of a district in which are found stone monuments of great antiquity. Sallustani is the most famous of these ruins, with a round tower of unknown origin.
LLAMAS—SHOWING ONE RECENTLY SHEARED.
CUZCO, THE ANCIENT CAPITAL OF THE INCAS’ EMPIRE.
CHAPTER XXX
CUZCO, THE ANCIENT INCA CAPITAL
ANCIENT ADOBE ARCHWAY NEAR CUZCO.
As the Imperial City of the Children of the Sun, Cuzco was, four centuries ago, the metropolis of a vast domain, greater in extent and richer in treasure than most civilized countries of its day. Few capitals rivalled the chief city of the Incas in wealth and population at the time of the Spanish invasion, when, with its rural environs that stretched out for leagues in every direction, it numbered two hundred thousand inhabitants, and was the centre of religious and social influence in all Peru. Every subject of the Inca looked toward Cuzco with pride and reverence, glorying in its palaces and temples and bringing tribute to its sovereigns from the remotest provinces, in adoration of the royal grandeur and power. Gold, silver, precious stones, and fine textiles were constantly added to the storehouse of treasure which the sacred city guarded as the divine right of its princes. No wealth was ever permitted to leave its precincts. It is no wonder that the Spaniards were amazed at the magnificence of its temples and the abundance of its treasure. For centuries, the contributions had accumulated, and with each succeeding emperor the splendor of the royal palaces was enhanced by new gifts, and the golden disks in the Sun temples grew larger and of finer workmanship.
