THE GRAVES. 2/ 



Sun ignited a tuft of cotton on the altar by concentrating the sun's rays with a concave bronze 

 mirror. Whether this can actually be done, I do not know of my own experience. To save 

 matches, a noonday pipe of tobacco can be lighted in a few seconds in these clear altitudes, 

 with a pocket magnifying lens, and a few simple experiments in the tropics with a brightly 

 polished concave mirror would at least be mentally enlightening. Without wishing in any 



Figure 23.— View of the Urubamba Caiion looking N.N.E. (up stream) from the Rock-sheltered Terrace. 

 Photograph by the author. 



way to dishonor the Cult of the Sun, one may recall that in many climes and many ages 

 the priesthood has practised minor deceptions upon the laity, in order to arouse or hold the 

 popular enthusiasm. Even if the Priestess failed to ignite the tuft of cotton by the reflected 

 rays of the Sun-God, the holy mystery might have been made to seem very real to the 

 assembled devotees, through a little legerdemain. Whatever the method pursued at the altar, 



