New telegraph and telephone lines connect Cuzco with other cities of the department, long distance wires having been established between the capital and Paucartambo, Abancay, and other points, in addition to the national telegraph lines. New public buildings have been constructed during the present administration, and improvements have been made in many institutions. The Prefecture, which occupies the site where Pizarro lived when in Cuzco, was remodelled and beautified a short time ago.
Public instruction has received greater attention within the past few years than ever before, and, from the primary school to the university, the tendency is in favor of special training with a view to its practical uses. The University of Cuzco is one of the oldest educational institutions of Peru, and in its cloisters some of the most noted Peruvian scholars found inspiration. Cuzco was the birthplace of the great historian of the Incas, Garcilaso de la Vega, and of the learned writers Castro, Espinoza Medrano, Heras; Perez, who was called “the bishop of epigrams,” Leonardo Villar, a famous physician and scholar; Antonio Lorena, the anthropologist; David Matto, learned in bacteriology; Narciso Arestegui, the novelist; as well as the military leaders, General Gamarra, La Puerta, and many others who were proud to claim the old Inca capital as their native city.
In the new era of progress on which Peru has entered with so much promise, the ancient Cuzco, that was held in reverence as the “centre of the universe” ages before America was discovered by the European, will hold its own among its more modern sister cities. The treasure of its ancient ruins but adds interest to a city that knows how to keep in line with the march of modern civilization.
A RELIGIOUS PROCESSION IN CUZCO.
A RUBBER ESTABLISHMENT IN THE DEPARTMENT OF LORETO.
CHAPTER XXXI
THE MONTAÑA AND ITS PRODUCTS—THE RUBBER LANDS OF LORETO
INDIANS CARRYING COCA TO MARKET.