another attempt to reach 

 the top of Iluayna Picchu. 

 This hkewise ended in fail- 

 ure ; but on the following 

 day he returned to the at- 

 tack, followed his old trail 

 up some 1,700 feet, and, 

 guided by the same half- 

 breed who had told us 

 about the ruins, eventually 

 reached the top. His men 

 were obliged to cut steps in 

 the steep slope for a part 

 of the distance, until they 

 came to some of stone 

 stairs, which led them prac- 

 tically to the summit. 



The top consisted of a 

 jumbled mass of granite 

 boulders about 2,500 feet 

 above the river. There 

 were no houses, though 

 there were several flights 

 of steps and three little 

 caves. No family could 

 have wished to Hve there. 

 It might have been a signal 

 station. 



After Mr. Heald had left 

 Machu Picchu we set our- 

 selves to work to see 

 whether excavation in the 

 principal structures would 

 lead to discovery of any 

 sherds or artifacts. It did 

 not take us long to discover 

 that there were potsherds 

 outside of and beneath the 

 outer walls of several of 

 the important structures, 

 but our digging inside the 

 walls of the principal tem- 

 ples was almost without 

 any results whatsoever. We 

 did find that the floor of 

 the principal temple had 

 been carefully made of a 

 mixture of granite gravel, 

 sand, and clay, laid on top 

 of small stones, and these 

 again on top of a mass of 

 granite rocks and boulders. 

 When the temple was in 

 use this clean, white floor 

 must have been an attract- 

 ive feature. 



439 



