Grace

Sincere and grateful thanks are due also to Mr. Edward S. Harkness for offering generous assistance when aid was most difficult to secure; to Mr. Gilbert Grosvenor and the National Geographic Society for liberal and enthusiastic support; to President Taft of the United States and President Leguía of Peru for official help of a most important nature To Messrs. W. R.

Grace and Company and to Mr. William L. Morkill and Mr. L. S. Blaisdell of the Peruvian Corporation for cordial and untiring cooperation; to Don Cesare Lomellini, Don Pedro Duque, and their sons, and Mr. Frederick B. Johnson of Yale University for many practical kindnesses; to Mrs. Blanche Peberdy Tompkins and Miss Mary G. Reynolds for invaluable secretarial aid; and last, but by no means least, to Mrs. Alfred Mitchell for making possible the writing of this book.

Hiram Bingham, Yale University, October 1, 1922.

Chapter 1 Crossing the Desert A kind friend in Bolivia once placed in my hands a copy of a most interesting book by the late E. George Squire entitled Peru, Travel and Exploration in the Land of the Incas.

His reply had never reached me, nor did anyone in Arequipa know anything about the barometers.

Apparently my letter had miscarried.

It was not until we opened our specially ordered mountain grub boxes here in Chuquibamba that we found, alongside of the pemmican and self-heating tins of stew which had been packed for us in London by Grace Brothers, the two precious aneroids, each as large as a big alarm clock.

With these two new aneroids, made with a wide margin of safety, we felt satisfied that once at the summit we should know whether there was a chance that Vandeleur was right, and this was indeed the top of America.

Perhaps in another volume, which is already underway, and in which I hope to cover more particularly Machu Picchu and its vicinity They will eventually find much of what cannot be told here.

Sincere and grateful thanks are due also to Mr. Edward S. Harkness for offering generous assistance when aid was most difficult to secure, to Mr. Gilbert Grosvenor and the National Geographic Society for liberal and enthusiastic support, to President Taft of the United States and President Leguía of Peru for official help of a most important nature, to Messrs. W.R. Grace and Company, and to Mr. William L. Morkill and Mr. L.S. Blaisdell of the Peruvian Corporation for cordial and untiring cooperation, to Don Cesare Lomellini, Don Pedro Duque, and their sons, and Mr. Frederick B. Johnson of Yale University for many practical kindnesses, to Mrs. Blanche Peberdy Tompkins and Miss Mary G. Reynolds for invaluable secretarial aid, and last but by no means least, to Mrs. Alfred Mitchell for making possible the writing of this book.

Hiram Bingham, Yale University, October 1, 1922.

Chapter 1 Crossing the Desert A kind friend in Bolivia once placed in my hands a copy of a most interesting book by the late E. George Squire, entitled Peru, Travel and Exploration in the Land of the Incas.

His reply had never reached me, nor did anyone in Arequipa know anything about the barometers.

Apparently my letter had miscarried.

It was not until we opened our specially ordered mountain grub boxes here in Chukibamba that we found, alongside of the pemmican and self-heating tins of stew which had been packed for us in London by Grace Brothers, the two precious aneroids, each as large as a big alarm clock.

With these two new aneroids, made with a wide margin of safety, we felt satisfied that once at the summit we should know whether there was a chance that Bandelier was right, and this was indeed the top of America.