Inca Land eBook

Hiram Bingham
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 330 pages of information about Inca Land.

Inca Land eBook

Hiram Bingham
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 330 pages of information about Inca Land.

Modern Cuzco is a city of about 20,000 people.  Although it is the political capital of the most important department in southern Peru, it had in 1911 only one hospital—­a semi-public, non-sectarian organization on the west of the city, next door to the largest cemetery.  In fact, so far away is it from everything else and so close to the cemetery that the funeral wreaths and the more prominent monuments are almost the only interesting things which the patients have to look at.  The building has large courtyards and open colonnades, which would afford ideal conditions for patients able to take advantage of open-air treatment.  At the time of Surgeon Erving’s visit he found the patients were all kept in wards whose windows were small and practically always closed and shuttered, so that the atmosphere was close and the light insufficient.  One could hardly imagine a stronger contrast than exists between such wards and those to which we are accustomed in the United States, where the maximum of sunlight and fresh air is sought and patients are encouraged to sit out-of-doors, and even have their cots on porches.  There was no resident physician.  The utmost care was taken throughout the hospital to have everything as dark as possible, thus conforming to the ancient mountain traditions regarding the evil effects of sunlight and fresh air.  Needless to say, the hospital has a high mortality and a very poor local reputation; yet it is the only hospital in the Department.  Outside of Cuzco, in all the towns we visited, there was no provision for caring for the sick except in their own homes.  In the larger places there are shops where some of the more common drugs may be obtained, but in the great majority of towns and villages no modern medicines can be purchased.  No wonder President Giesecke, of the University, is urging his students to play football and tennis.

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Figure

Towers of Jesuit Church With Cloisters and Tennis Court of University, Cuzco ------

On the slopes of the hill which overshadows the University are the interesting terraces of Colcampata.  Here, in 1571, lived Carlos Inca, a cousin of Inca Titu Cusi, one of the native rulers who succeeded in maintaining a precarious existence in the wilds of the Cordillera Uilcapampa after the Spanish Conquest.  In the gardens of Colcampata is still preserved one of the most exquisite bits of Inca stonework to be seen in Peru.  One wonders whether it is all that is left of a fine palace, or whether it represents the last efforts of a dying dynasty to erect a suitable residence for Titu Cusi’s cousin.  It is carefully preserved by Don Cesare Lomellini, the leading business man of Cuzco, a merchant prince of Italian origin, who is at once a banker, an exporter of hides and other country produce, and an importer of merchandise of every description, including pencils and sugar mills, lumber and hats, candy and hardware.  He is also an amateur of Spanish colonial furniture as

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Inca Land from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.