XXVIII HIDDEN TREASURE 517 
complete absence of detail in Guzman's map, which 
contains nothing that might not have been derived 
from observations made from the heiorhts north of 
the river, and from information given by wandering 
Indians. 
It is also to be noted that only four sleeping-places 
are mentioned in the " Guide," so that the whole 
journey occupied five days. The last of the four 
sleeping-places is before reaching the spot where 
the path turns back round the Margasitas Mountain, 
so that the whole distance from this place to the 
" lake made by hand " must be less than twenty 
miles, a distance which would take us to the nearer 
slopes of the great Topo Mountain. In this part of 
the route the marks given in the "Guide" are so 
many and so well-defined that it cannot be difficult 
to follow them, especially as the path indicated 
seems to be mostly above the forest-region. 
For the various reasons now adduced, I am con- 
vinced that the " Route " of Valverde is a genuine 
and thoroughly trustworthy document, and that by 
closely following the directions therein given, it may 
still be possible for an explorer of means and energy, 
with the assistance of the local authorities, to solve 
the interesting problem of the Treasure of the Incas. 
The total distance of the route, following all its 
sinuosities, cannot exceed ninety or a hundred miles 
at most, fully three-fourths of which must be quite 
easy to follow, while the remainder is very clearly 
described. Two weeks would therefore suffice for 
the whole expedition. 
I have written this in the hope that some one who 
speaks Spanish fluently, has had some experience 
