253 
might be led to thinks that at some other epocha 
they could have raised monuments far more 
considerable. • ? 
The Inga-Chungana, at a distance^ resembles 
a sofa, the back of which is decorated with a 
sort of arabesque in form of a chain. On enter- 
ing the oval enclosure, we perceive, that there is 
no seat but for one person ; but that this person 
is placed in a commodious manner, so as to enjoy 
the most delightful prospect over the valley of 
Gulan. A small river winds along this valley, 
and forms several cascades, the foam of which is 
seen through tufts of gunnera and melastomas. 
This rustic seat would be an ornament to the 
gardens of Richmond or Ermenonville ; and the 
prince, who had chosen this site, was not insen- 
sible to the beauties of nature ; he belonged to 
a people, whom we have no right to style bar- 
barous. 
I beheld in this fabric only a seat placed in 
a delightful spot, at the brink of a precipice, on 
the steep declivity of a hill that commands the 
valley : some old Indians, who are the historians 
of the country, find this explanation too simple . 
they assert, that the hollow sculptured chain on 
the edge of the enclosure was formed to receive 
little balls, which were rolled along it for the 
amusement of the prince. We must admit, that 
the edge, on which is the Arabesque, has some 
slope ; and that the ball, at the place where th® 
