THK TEMPIvE OF THE THREE WINDOWS 



Phuto by Hiram Bine 

 MACHU PICCHU 



It was this extraordinary temple, whose most characteristic feature is three large win- 

 dows, a unique occurrence in early Peruvian architecture, that led us to the belief that 

 Machu Picchu might be Tampu Tocco, the mythical place from which the Incas came when 

 they started out to found that great empire which eventually embraced a large part of 

 South America (see also pages 410, 414, 431, and 489). 



On the other side we had a hard chmb ; 

 first through the jungle and later up a 

 very stiff, almost precipitous, slope. 

 About noon we reached a little grass hut, 

 where a good-natured Indian family who 

 had been living here for three or four 

 years gave us welcome and set before us 

 gourds full of cool, delicious water and 

 a few cold boiled sweet potatoes. 



Apart from another hut in the vicinity 

 and a few stone-faced terraces, there 

 seemed to be little in the way of ruins, 

 and I began to think that my time had 

 been wasted. However, the view was 

 magnificent, the water was delicious, and 

 the shade of the hut most agreeable. So 

 we rested a while and then went on to 

 the top of the ridge. On all sides of us 

 rose the magnificent peaks of the Uru- 

 bamba Canon, while 2,000 feet below us 

 the rushing waters of the noisy river, 

 making a great turn, defended three sides 

 of the ridge, on top of which we were 

 hunting for ruins. On the west side of 

 the ridge the three Indian families who 

 had chosen this eagle's nest for their 

 home had built a little path, part of 



which consisted of crude ladders of vines 

 and tree trunks tied to the face of the 

 precipice. 



Presently we found ourselves in the 

 midst of a tropical forest, beneath the 

 shade of whose trees we could make out 

 a maze of ancient walls, the ruins of 

 buildings made of blocks of granite, 

 some of which were beautifully fitted to- 

 gether in the most refined style of Inca 

 architecture. A few rods farther along 

 we came to a little open space, on which 

 were two splendid temples or palaces. 

 The superior character of the stone 

 work, the presence of these splendid edi- 

 fices, and of what appeared to be an 

 unusually large number of finely con- 

 structed stone dwellings, led me to believe 

 that Machu Picchu might prove to be the 

 largest and most important ruin discov- 

 ered in South America since the days of 

 the Spanish conquest. 



A few weeks later I asked Mr. H. L. 

 Tucker, the engineer of the 191 1 Expe- 

 dition, and Mr. Paul Baxter Lanius, the 

 assistant, to go to Machu Picchu and 

 spend three weeks there in an effort to 



408 



