HIDDEN TREASURE 517 



complete absence of detail in Guzman's map, which 

 contains nothing that might not have been derived 

 from observations made from the heights north of 



o 



the river, and from information given by wandering 

 Indians. 



It is also to be noted that only four sleeping-places 

 are mentioned in the " Guide," so that the whole 

 journey occupied five days. The last of the four 

 sleeping-places is before reaching the spot where 

 the path turns back round the Margasitas Mountain, 

 so that the whole distance from this place to the 

 " lake made by hand ' must be less than twenty 

 miles, a distance which would take us to the nearer 

 slopes of the great Topo Mountain. In this part of 

 the route the marks given in the " Guide " are so 

 many and so well-defined that it cannot be difficult 

 to follow them, especially as the path indicated 

 seems to be mostly above the forest-region. 



For the various reasons now adduced, I am con- 

 vinced that the " Route " of Valverde is a genuine 

 and thoroughly trustworthy document, and that by 

 closely following the directions therein given, it may 

 still be possible for an explorer of means and energy, 

 with the assistance of the local authorities, to solve 

 the interesting problem of the Treasure of the Incas. 

 The total distance of the route, following all its 

 sinuosities, cannot exceed ninety or a hundred miles 

 at most, fully three-fourths of which must be quite 

 easy to follow, while the remainder is very clearly 

 described. Two weeks would therefore suffice for 

 the whole expedition. 



I have written this in the hope that some one who 

 speaks Spanish fluently, has had some experience 



