Cuzco
they found to be a large and splendid city. The great temple of the Sun
was covered with plates of gold, which, by the Inca's orders, were being
torn off. There were seven hundred of these plates in all, and a cornice
of pure gold ran round the building. But this was so deeply set in the
stone that it could not be removed. On their return, these messengers
brought with them full two hundred loads of gold, besides great quantities
of silver.
Gradually the vast ransom offered by the Inca, far surpassing any paid by
any other captive in the world's history, was gathered in. The gold
received came in a great variety of shapes, being wrought into goblets,
ewers, salvers, vases, and other forms for ornament or use, utensils for
temple or palace, tiles and plate used to decorate the public edifices,
and curious imitations of plants and animals. The most beautiful and
artistic of these was the representation of Indian corn, the ear of gold
being sheathed in broad leaves of silver, while the rich tassels were made
of the same precious metal. Equally admired was a fountain which sent up a
sparkling jet of gold, with birds and animals of the same metal playing in
the waters at its base.
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