Vol. XXIV, No. 4 



WASHINGTON 



APRIL, 1913 



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IN THE WONDERLAND OF PERU 



The Work Accomplished by the Peruvian Expedition of 



1912, under the Auspices of Yale University and 



the National Geographic Society 



By' Hiram Bingham, Director of the Expedition 



Prof. Hiram Bingham's explorations in South America, iQo6-igi i, and par- 

 ticularly his discoz'crics in iQi i, were so important that z>.'he}i he zvas seeking funds 

 for another Peruvian expedition in 1912, the Research Committee of the National 

 Geographic Society made him a grant of $10,000, Yale University contributing an 

 equal amount. His preliminary report to the Xational Geographic Society and 

 Yale University of the zvork done in iqij is printed herezvith, and forms one of 

 the most remarkable stories of exploration in South America in the past 50 years. 

 The members of the Society are extremely gratified at the splendid record z>.'hich 

 Dr. Bingham and all the members of the expedition have made, and as z\.'e study 

 the sjo marvelous pictures zchich are printed zvith this report, zve also are thrilled 

 by the zvonders and mystery of Machu Picchu. What an extraordinary people the 

 builders of Machu Picchu must have been to have constructed, zvithout steel imple- 

 ments, and using only stone hammers and zvedges, the zvonderful city of refuge on 

 the mountain top. — Editor. 



INTRODUCTORY The director, osteologist, and the two 



THE Peruvian Expedition of 1912, assistant topographers left New York 



under the auspices of Yale Uni- ^^ay 16. and were followed three weeks 



versitv and the Xational Geo- later by most of the others. The geolo- 



graphic Society, was organized with the 

 specific purpose of carrying on the work 

 l)egun by the Yale Peruvian Expedition 

 i)f 1911. It was not intended to cover 

 such a large area as had been done the 

 year before. l)Ut to do intensive work in 

 a part of the field where only reconnais- 

 sance work had been previously at- 

 tempted. 



The staff of the expedition consisted 

 of the following: Prof. Hiram Bingham, 

 director; Prof. Herbert E. Gregory, ge- 

 ologist ; Dr. George F. Eaton, osteologist ; 

 Mr. Albert H. Bumstead, chief topogra- 

 pher: Mr. Ellwood C. Erdis. archeologi- 

 cal engineer: Dr. Luther T. Xelson. sur- 

 geon : Messrs. Kenneth C. Heald and 

 Robert Stephenson, assistant topogra- 

 phers, and Messrs. Paul Bestor. Osgood 

 TTardy. and Joseph Tvittle, assistants. 



gist was not able to leave until .\ugust ; 

 but as the plans for his work called for 

 a study of a comparatively small region, 

 the three months that he was able to 

 spend in Peru were sufficient for his 

 needs. Practically the entire party re- 

 turned to New York in the latter part of 

 December, after an absence of seven 

 months. 



With one exception, the members of the 

 expedition enjoyed fairly good health 

 during their stay in the field. An occa- 

 sional acute gastritis or enteritis resulted 

 from indiscretions in diet. Assistant 

 Hardy and the soldier who accompanied 

 the topographical i)arty suffered a slight 

 attack of malaria, but this was soon over- 

 come by quinine. 



In making a reconnaissance of the ex- 

 tremely inaccessible and primitive ruins 



