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Figure

Inca Storehouses at Chinchipampa, near Colta
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Colta has a few two-storied houses, with tiled roofs.  Some of them have open verandas on the second floor—­a sure indication that the climate is at times comfortable.  Their walls are built of sun-dried adobe, and so are the walls of the little grass-thatched huts of the majority.  Judging by the rather irregular plan of the streets and the great number of terraces in and around town, one may conclude that Colta goes far back of the sixteenth century and the days of the Spanish Conquest, as indeed do most Peruvian towns.  The cities of Lima and Arequipa are noteworthy exceptions.  Leaving Colta, we wound around the base of the projecting ridge, on the sides of which were many evidences of ancient culture, and came into the valley of Huancahuanca, a large arid canyon.  The guide said that we were nearing Parinacochas.  Not many miles away, across two canyons, was a snow-capped peak, Sarasara.

Lampa, the chief town in the Huancahuanca Canyon, lies on a great natural terrace of gravel and alluvium more than a thousand feet above the river.  Part of the terrace seemed to be irrigated and under cultivation.  It was proposed by the energetic farmers at the time of our visit to enlarge the system of irrigation so as to enable them to cultivate a larger part of the pampa on which they lived.  In fact, the new irrigation scheme was actually in process of being carried out and has probably long since been completed.  Our reception in Lampa was not cordial.  It will be remembered that our military escort, Corporal Gamarra, had gone back to Arequipa with Dr. Bowman.  Our two excellent arrieros, the Tejada brothers, declared they preferred to travel without any “brass buttons,” so we had not asked the sub-prefect of Cotahuasi to send one of his small handful of gendarmes along with us.  Probably this was a mistake.  Unless one is traveling in Peru on some easily understood matter, such as prospecting for mines or representing one of the great importing and commission houses, or actually peddling goods, one cannot help arousing the natural suspicions of a people to whom traveling on muleback for pleasure is unthinkable, and scientific exploration for its own sake is incomprehensible.  Of course, if the explorers arrive accompanied by a gendarme it is perfectly evident that the enterprise has the approval and probably the financial backing of the government.  It is surmised that the explorers are well paid, and what would be otherwise inconceivable becomes merely one of the ordinary experiences of life.  South American governments almost without exception are paternalistic, and their citizens are led to expect that all measures connected with research, whether it be scientific, economic, or social, are to be conducted by the government and paid for out of the national treasury.  Individual enterprise is not encouraged.  During all my preceding exploration in Peru I had had such an easy time that I not only forgot, but failed to realize, how often an ever-present gendarme, provided through the courtesy of President Leguia’s government, had quieted suspicions and assured us a cordial welcome.