FURTHER EXPLORATIONS IN THE LAND OF THE INCAS 473 



agriculture, which is below 7,000 feet in 

 altitude. 



"The occupations of the highland In- 

 dian are stockherding and potato raising." 

 Writes Mr. Hardy, "the stock belongs to 

 the owner of the finca, but the Indian is 

 allowed to pasture his own sheep and 

 cattle with the rest. These are not many, 

 although I found one Indian who claimed 

 to own forty sheep, fifteen cows, and two 

 pigs. He paid ten soles, or $4.80 gold, a 

 year rental and had to work one week 

 each year for the finca owner. They 

 move as lack of pasture may demand, but 

 always to some spot as wild and desolate 

 as that from which they came. 



AN HONEST RACE 



"The Indians of the highlands have the 

 purest blood and are much more attract- 

 ive than those of the montaha or slopes. 

 Bronze skinned, of medium height, but 

 with huge chest expansion and wonderful 

 leg development, some of the men of the 

 highlands present a striking appearance. 

 Those of the lowlands, although lighter 

 in color, are generally more ill-favored 

 and lack the ruggedness of feature pos- 

 sessed by those of purer blood. They are 

 smaller, less healthy, and show more 

 marks of dissipation. The pure-blooded 

 women are rarely attractive, yet in Uru- 

 bamba they are more attractive than the 

 men and have more regular features. 

 Practically all the natives have dark hair 

 and eyes. 



"In the uplands both men and women 

 keep to their old styles of clothes, but 

 as one goes down modern styles ap- 

 pear, until in the tropical belt the stiff, 

 broad - brimmed hat and hand - woven 

 poncho have disappeared entirely. Skirts 

 get higher along with the altitude, until 

 at some places they scarcely reach the 



knee, and give a decidedly fashionable 

 effect. 



"In the highlands the woman's hat 

 closely resembles the man's (usually a bit 

 smaller in circumference), but she never 

 wears the woolen skull-cap. To match 

 the poncho she has a lliclla, or shawl, the 

 upper corners fastened in front with a 

 silver pin or topo, usually possessing the 

 shape of the bowl of a soup spoon. 



"I found the Indians quite honest. 

 Only two or three small articles were lost 

 during the construction of our house at 

 Yankihausi. It was the custom to pay 

 their wages in advance, and we never met 

 with very much disposition on their part 

 to fail us. 



"The Indians' only pleasures are 

 beastly carousals. The children have no 

 toys and are almost never engaged in 

 play. As soon as they are able to walk 

 they are set to work. They are early 

 taught to collect firewood and forage 

 wherever they can. Several times in 

 Ollantaytambo I saw a little girl, who 

 could not have been over three years old, 

 driving home a sheep loaded with small 

 branches which the child had collected 

 for firewood." 



The result of our four expeditions 

 leads me to conclude that the Peruvian 

 Indian is worth study and development. 

 While it must be admitted that they sel- 

 dom bathe and have some filthy habits, 

 this is partly the result of living in the 

 cold of the Andes and partly due to 

 ignorance. 



If the government of Peru would fol- 

 low the example of the United States 

 government in making it a crime to sell 

 alcohol and cocaine to the Indians, its 

 revenue would be greatly curtailed ; but 

 there is no question that ultimately the 

 country and the Indians would both be 

 far better off. 



