FURTHER EXPLORATIONS IN THE LAND OF THE INCAS 443 



dogs and guinea-pigs roamed with im- 

 punity all over the premises. 



The only building materials that could 

 be obtained were adobe bricks of sun- 

 baked mud, to be made from the earth 

 and litter dug up in the courtyard, rough, 

 unsawed Eucalyptus, grown in the vicin- 

 ity, corrugated iron roofing, and Oregon 

 pine, both of which had to be brought at 

 great expense on muleback from Cuzco. 



As a sample of the difficulties encoun- 

 tered in the construction of Yankihausi, 

 Mr. Hardy writes in part : 



"At the beginning of the work I had 

 an hallucination that I could apply Yan- 

 kee methods to the building of 'Yanki- 

 hausi,' but this faded away after an un- 

 successful attempt to teach the peons to 

 use a wheelbarrow ! The earth for the 

 mortar was dug up with a short-handled, 

 acute-angled hoe. Much treading served 

 to mix straw with the mud and give it 

 the right consistency. Both mortar and 

 stones were carried to the wall in goat- 

 skins, where they were put in place by a 

 mason whose utensils were a plum-line 

 and a trowel. Two Indians mixed the 

 mortar, three carried it to the wall, and 

 two brought stones ; so that seven labor- 

 ers were employed in tending the mason. 



"Furthermore, I was never able to 

 overcome the waste caused by frequent 

 interruptions for meals. Arriving with- 

 out having breakfasted, the laborers 

 ceased work for an hour in the forenoon 

 to eat. Again at noon work stopped, this 

 time half an hour for chicha and coca. 

 About 4 in the afternoon supper was the 

 excuse for still another rest ! 



"Throughout the work I was blessed 

 with the friendly criticism of all the 'cav- 

 aliers' in the immediate vicinity. Some 

 of this was constructive, but for the most 

 part it was merely destructive and served 

 only to test my powers of courtesy. All 

 agreed that the house could not be fin- 

 ished in the time at my disposal. 



"However, in spite of these 'Job's com- 

 forters' and such delays as feasts, which 

 made it impossible for the Indians to 

 work certain days, and the excommuni- 

 cation put upon our laborers by the local 

 cura, who had conceived some wrong 

 ideas as to the purpose of our coming to 

 Ollantaytambo, the work went steadily 



on, and by April first, after five weeks' 

 work, Yankihausi was finished and ready 

 for occupancy." 



A DAILY VARIATION IN TEMPERATURE OE 

 50 DEGREES 



"While the health of the party was 

 generally good," writes Surgeon Ford in 

 his report, "with no serious illness, there 

 were numerous disorders due to or modi- 

 fied by climatic conditions, or by the un- 

 usual mode of living. 



"Our life was constantly in a country 

 which varied in altitude from 2,000 feet 

 to 17,000 feet ; temperatures were en- 

 countered varying from 119 °F. to22° F. 

 Even in the highest altitudes there was a 

 daily variation of as much as 55 ° F. 



"Fleas, lice, and three varieties of bit- 

 ing flies were sources of much discom- 

 fort. The prevalence of typhus among 

 the Indians toward the end of the sea- 

 son — one case among our own men — 

 caused some anxiety. Affections of the 

 respiratory passages seem to be the most 

 prevalent diseases in the higher alti- 

 tudes. There is a universal dread of 

 'lung trouble.' Typhoid is always present 

 in the towns. Summer diarrhea among 

 the children and dysentery are common. 



"Typhus is endemic in the Urubamba 

 Valley. It was epidemic during- the latter 

 part of our stay there. I had twelve 

 cases. 



"Smallpox is always present and no 

 precautions are taken against it. Most 

 of the adults (of Spanish blood as well 

 as Ouichuas) having had it in childhood,, 

 are immune, but it is a great cause of in- 

 fant mortality. 



"Open ditches in the streets are sew- 

 ers, drinking-water supplies, and baths 

 for pigs. Once at our base camp we 

 found a fresh cowhide in our well ! It 

 had been put there, as part of a tanning 

 process, by men who had been with two 

 previous expeditions. These men, most 

 intelligent of their class, could not be 

 made to realize that the water might be 

 injured." 



There were many narrow escapes occa- 

 sioned by landslides and bad trails. We 

 lost several mules, but no men. One of 

 our military escorts, Tomas Cubinas, shot 

 himself accidentally through the foot in 



