tly
caparisoned Indians temporarily in from the country, where city
fashions do not prevail, than to those who through long residence
in the city had learned to adopt a costume more in accordance with
European notions. In 1870, according to Squier, seven eighths of
the population of Cuzco were still pure Indian. Even to-day a large
proportion of the individuals whom one sees in the streets appears
to be of pure aboriginal ancestry. Of these we found that many are
visitors from outlying villages. Cuzco is the Mecca of the most
densely populated part of the Andes.

Probably a large part of its citizens are of mixed Spanish and Quichua
ancestry. The Spanish conquistadores did not bring European women
with them. Nearly all took native wives. The Spanish race is composed
of such an extraordinary mixture of peoples from Europe and northern
Africa, Celts, Iberians, Romans, and Goths, as well as Carthaginians,
Berbers, and Moors, that the Hispanic peoples have far less antipathy
toward intermarriage with the American race than have the Anglo-Saxons
and Teutons of northern Europe. Consequently, there has gone on for
centuries intermarriage of Spaniards and Indians with results which
are difficult to determine. Some writers have said there were once
200,000 people in Cuzco. With primitive methods of transportation
it would be very difficult to feed so many. Furthermore, in 1559,
there were, according to Montesinos, only 20,000 Indians in Cuzco.

One of the charms of Cuzco is the juxtaposition of old and new. Street
cars clanging over steel rails carry crowds of well-dressed Cuzcenos
past Inca walls to greet their friends at the railroad station. The
driver is scarcely able by the most vigorous application of his
brakes to prevent his mules from crashing into a compact herd of
quiet, supercilious llamas sedately engaged in bringing small sacks of
potatoes to the Cuzco market. The modern convent of La Merced is built
of stones taken from ancient Inca structures. Fastened to ashlars which
left the Inca stonemason's hands six or seven centuries ago, one sees a
bill-board advertising Cuzco's largest moving-picture theater. On the
2d of July, 1915, the performance was for the benefit of the Belgian
Red Cross! Gazing in awe at this sign were Indian boys from some remote
Andean village where the custom is to wear ponchos with broad fringes,
brightly colored, and knitted caps richly decorated with tasseled
tops and elaborate ear-tabs, a