356 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



to have reached the apex of its ascendancy. Under the 

 beneficent rule of their venerated sovereign the several tribes 

 lived contentedly, if not always peaceably; agriculture 

 thrived, arts and crafts were encouraged and, responsive 

 to the efforts of many thousands of laborers, numerous 

 mines poured a constant stream of precious metals into 

 the kingdom, adding to its wealth and splendor. 



We are all familiar with accounts of the advanced state 

 of civilization, governmental organization, and fabulous 

 riches of the ancient nation. Temples, palaces and forts 

 stately edifices of hewn stone dotted the mountainsides 

 and crowned the eminences; beautifully constructed high- 

 ways connected many of the remote districts with the cap- 

 ital; countless herds of llamas fed on the slopes, and streams 

 of water flowing through a system of aqueducts poured into 

 the heretofore arid wastes and transferred them into fruit- 

 ful fields capable of supporting a numerous population. 

 The present-day republics of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, as 

 well as a part of Colombia and Chile, were included within 

 the limits of the vast kingdom. 



Suddenly a dark cloud appeared on the horizon, and 

 omens of evil import presaged the downfall of all this great- 

 ness and splendor. The fatal apparition quickly assumed 

 the form of bearded strangers, some of whom were mounted 

 on terrible beasts which filled the ranks of Indian warriors 

 with panic, and who seemed to have succeeded in harnessing 

 the thunder and lightning for the furtherance of their wicked 

 designs. Suffice it to say, that before the avarice of the 

 Spaniards had been abated, eight million subjects of the 

 Inca perished and the organization of the nation was de- 

 stroyed. With the single exception of the Aztecs of Mexico, 

 who were practically exterminated by the same people, 

 there has never been another example of such rapid and 

 complete devastation in the history of the world. 



' The Quechua of to-day is a cowed, almost pathetic, in- 

 dividual; he has been kicked about by the descendants of 

 the conquistadores until he has learned to become reconciled 



