ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
Near villages one saw neat patches of land turned, 
with trouble, into vegetable gardens. Stone enclosures 
were used by the natives as shelters for the animals dur¬ 
ing storms and to pen them up at night. The people 
themselves lived in stone huts. 
The country reminded me forcibly of Tibet, and so, 
in a way, did the people — short and stumpy and smoth¬ 
ered in clothes. I frequently noticed cairns of stones like 
the obos typical of Tibet and of the Himahlyas. There, 
too, as in Tibet, it seemed the fashion for passers-by to 
place a white stone on those cairns in order to bring good 
luck. 
The men were curiously garbed in short, wide white 
woollen trouserettes, reaching just below the knees and 
split behind just over the calf. Under those they wore 
another pair of trousers, slightly longer. Their coats 
were short and tight, resembling Eton jackets. They 
wore wide and much embroidered belts, red and blue being 
their favourite colours. 
An accident had happened to a bridge. It had col¬ 
lapsed, so that the trains could not proceed. Thanks to 
the great thoughtfulness of Mr. Mockill and his inspector 
of the line, Mr. Blaisdell, another private car, equally 
comfortable, had been sent down from Cuzco to the 
bridge. My baggage was transferred on men’s backs to 
the opposite side of the stream. With the delay of only 
an hour or so I was able to proceed on another train to 
Cuzco, where I arrived that same evening. 
The city of Cuzco is situated at an elevation of 
11,062 feet above the sea level. In its vicinity the most 
important remains of Inca civilization have been found. 
The city itself was most interesting. Its handsome 
Spanish cathedral had a facade of beautifully designed 
columns and a fine central doorway. The great bell in 
one of the towers contained a large quantity of gold in 
the bronze, giving wonderful resonance to its vibrating 
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