Discovering the Lost City
Sixty miles south, in Cusco, Hiram Bingham gazed thoughtfully at the old Incan stone wall. He had come to this place in search of Vilcapampa, the lost city of the Inca. But right here was the most beautiful stonework he had ever seen-huge stones cut so perfectly that not even a razor blade could be slipped between them.
The Inca had no iron tools to carve them, no wheel or animals to move them. The wall had endured time and earthquakes.
It was a mystery.
He walked through the cobbled streets of the old capital, Cusco. The Spanish had come to this city, conquered the Inca, taken their gold, and built churches over their temples. Suddenly, he stopped. Before him was the famous Temple of the Sun. He placed his hands on the sun-warmed stones so beautifully carved, as if they had grown together.
Would it hold gold and riches like the Spanish had found in Cusco? More than ever he was determined to find that city.
The next day Bingham began his search. He would look for ruins-that might be the key. He and his party, accompanied by the military man Sergeant Carrasco, left for the holy valley of the Urubamba River. They came to the sleepy old village in the valley, long ago an important city.
"Are there any ruins nearby?" Bingham asked. "Do you know of the lost city of Vilcapampa?" No one knew of it. Traveling north, the adventurers came upon a remote and wild canyon. In the distance were snowcapped mountains over three miles high.Bingham's determination to find the lost city grew with each turn of the increasingly wild path.
Far below in the valley, Bingham's party camped on a sandy beach alongside the thundering rapids of the Urubamba River. Days had gone by. No one knew of any ruins.
This time, through the interpreter, the farmer said, "Yes. There are very good ruins on top of the mountain called Machu Picchu." The farmer pointed straight up.
"Can you take us there?" Bingham asked.
...
A. Hidden in the mountains, the lost city would be built of stones like these.
B. What could he be thinking!
C. But now the adventurers aroused the curiosity of a local farmer named Arteaga.
D. How had they built them!
E. Cliffs rose thousands of feet above the roaring rapids of the Urubamba River.
F. Suddenly, the clouds drifted away and there it was.
