THE ROAD TO BOLIVIA 215 



coast, below Lima, in the midst of the desert, are the ruins of the 

 ancient cit}^ of Pachacamac, the Rome and the Mecca of the Incas, 

 where several square miles of roofless and crumbling walls stand as 

 mute but im})ressive witnesses of the thorough manner in which the 

 Spaniards civilized the new world. 



Pachacamac was the Christ of the Incas, sent by his father, the Sun, 

 to redeem the world, to give life to mankind and all things necessary 

 for their well-being and happiness. But one temple in the entire 

 em])ire was dedicated to that supreme being, to which pilgrims were 

 continually coming and going, because it was the duty of every in- 

 habitant once in his lifetime to offer sacrifices and worship there ; 

 and to be buried in the neighborhood of the temple was the supreme 

 ambition^of all believers. Immense buildings, now in ruins, were 

 occupied by priests and nuns, who dedicated their lives to the service 

 of the god, and surrounding them was an assemblage of spacious edi- 

 fices adorned with enormous wealth, which furnished an irresistible 

 temjitation to the avaricious Spaniard. Francisco Pizarro sent his 

 In'other Hernando to plunder the city, and amazing stories are told 

 of the silver and gold that he carried awa^^ The ruins of Pacha- 

 camac remain as he left them, after he despoiled the temples and 

 palaces and butchered the inhabitants. The}'^ are the most accessible 

 as well as one of the most interesting examples of Inca architecture. 



Surrounding the cit}^ is a cemetery that extends for many miles, 

 where millions upon millions of pious Incas were buried during the 

 centuries that preceded the Spanish occu])ation. The theory of the 

 resurrection of the body and the immortality of the soul caused 

 them to preserve the dead with great care, and to bury with them the 

 utensils and ornaments which they used in life. Taking advantage 

 of this custom, archfcologists and treasure-seekers have excavated 

 large areas in search of mummies, gold and silver ornaments, and 

 other valuable o]:)jects that the graves contain. The cemeter}^ has. 

 been the scene of such vandalism that it is now a repulsive golgotha, 

 covered with skulls and bleached bones, l>roken pottery, and the 

 cerements which have Ijeen stripped from the dead. 



At the foot of tlie hill, where stood the Temple of the Sun, was a 

 vast l>ui]ding, supposed to have been a convent, in which thousands 

 of women spent their lives spinning and weaving rol^es for the royal 

 family and vestments for the priests. Its noble walls have made a 

 heroic resistance against time and decay during the four centuries 

 since the Spaniards stripp(!<l them of their treasures. Under their 



