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“He ran forward, closely followed by the others.”
INCALAND
A Story of Adventure in the Interior of Peru
AND THE CLOSING CHAPTERS OF THE WAR WITH CHILE
Preface.
Since the years of the Chile-Peruvian War—1879-1883—agreat change has come over the landwhere the Incas once held power. Military rulershave yielded place to men chosen from the civilwalks of life; the large standing army has beendisbanded, and the pick, hoe, and shovel replacesword, bayonet, and rifle.
Peru’s decline, from the days of Pizarro until nearthe close of the nineteenth century, was due to theease with which natural wealth could be acquired.The stages of the nation’s fall are marked by gold,guano, and nitrate of soda. Spaniards lived inopulence while Indian slaves unearthed the yellowmetal. Later, Peruvians lived in idleness whilecoolies and peons shovelled the most productive ofall fertilizers from the surface of the Chincha andLobos Islands. Then in the south was found anequally rich and equally accessible source of revenuein the nitrate of soda.
All gold that lay in sight was exhausted by theSpaniard; all guano was stripped from the treasureislands; and finally, Chile wrested from Peru thenitrate provinces.
It is this period of time—when Peru’s last visible6means of wealth was passing from her—that iscovered in “Fighting under the Southern Cross”and “Incaland.”
Peru emerged from beneath the war cloud staggeringunder the burden of a foreign debt. To herreli