/»/ . 9-iy . PRINCETON, N. J. % % Purchased by the Hamill Missionary Fund. z>™„v, E .'i 4-Z3 . rz4 Sec it on PERU ITS STORY, PEOPLE, and RELIGION Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/peruitsstorypeopOOtayl '■ • I } \ ► i f t [V i i r.. V PERU ITS STORY PEOPLE, AND RELIGION . . BY GERALDINE GUINNESS I ' IVIH w ILLUSTRATED BY Dr. H. GRATTAN GUINNESS FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY NEW YORK CHICAGO New York : 158 Fifth Avenue Chicago : 80 Wabash Avenue Toronto: 25 Richmond St., W. London: 21 Paternoster Square Edinburgh : 100 Princes Street Jc>-~edl^ hO c*\i^es^ *laces, and to p^ossess the faculty of vivid description. The accounts she gives are written in an agreeable literary style, and the facts are accu- rately recorded. These elements give to her story a PREFACE IX charm and attractiveness that can hardly fail to lead many to take a deeper interest in the needs of these yreat dark lands. It is with peeuliar pleasicre that 1 commend her narrative to the earnest consideration of all those tvho are interested in the eause of Christian missions, and who desire that the Gospel of the Graee of God may have free course throughout the whole ivorid. ALEX. MAC ALLS TEE. INTRODUCTION ■¥ S I write, the sounds of London begin to grow dim, and I live again in the sunny Southern continent. One of the scenes most vivid to my memory is a storm on Titicaca — that unique lake held two and a half miles high in the air by Andean peaks. A starlit sky, a crescent moon, a glassy lake — not a breath rippled the water, and the balmy night air played with our sail in a taunting way. Little did we guess this evening was to prove one of the most eventful in our lives ! It was a weird scene — the night blackness deepening as stars and moon were lost to sight, summer lightning playing round the horizon, a dark sail flapping above us, and the bronze faces of our Indian boatmen lit by their glowing pipes. The wind at last ! It was Ailing the sail in a restless way, and rustling the waves around us. The cold increased every minute, and the lightning was now so brilliant that we could see each other clearly. Ah, how we flew along, scudding before the gale ! The waves slapped the little open boat as she sped past, and cold spray cut our faces. Was ever such a wild run as we made that night, with the storm which we had not recognized following close on our trail ? We did not realize that we had to speak louder to make ourselves heard above the noise of the water ; we were not conscious that the low groaning which seemed to come over the lake was thunder. We only knew that our little boat lay over on her side, the sail danger- ously full, and that we fled before the wind, racing madly through the night. XI “FAR FROM HOME” xii Danger ! The word was in our hearts, but in the lightning flash every face was reassuring, though the Indians’ looked desperate as they hauled at the ropes and shouted to each other above the storm voices. Danger ! Every minute made it more apparent. The storm was on us. The furious lake disowned us ; her waves buffeted us without pity ; the angry winds disdainfully swept us on one side ; the thunder roared fearfully, shaking the very atmosphere about us ; whilst the livid lightning flashes revealed a very chaos of blackness — a combat of night passions — a storm on Titicaca. One minute our sail was to windward, and we were in danger of capsizing; then it had jibbed and was flapping wildly in the whirling wind, which seemed to have no direction, no aim but to daunt us. In puffs it came, and nearly accom- plished this cruel end ; but the voices of the deep and of the thunder-clouds were in such passionate confusion that it sped away again to join the quarrel, and our poor little boat still held her own. Any moment might have been our last, and as the slow seconds dragged along, thoughts of the end whirled through my mind : drowned at midnight on Titicaca — to sleep in the heart of the Andes, and no one ever know ! Then our voices sounded out the prayer of our hearts, and ever and again above the mad ravings of the elements the words might have been heard — “ Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom, Lead Thou me on, The night is dark, and I am far from home, Lead Thou me on.” Never before had I so realized the meaning of the words — “So long Thy power hath hle.ssed me, sure it still Will lead me on. O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till The night he gone ; And with the morn those angel faces smile. Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.” WAS IT WORTH WHILE ? xiii The storm seemed very far away ; the deafening thunder and complaining wave-voices were distant sounds ; the angel faces were smiling — oh, so near ! Was the night to end thus ? We were nearing the narrow passage which led through a rocky reef in a direct line for our destination. Every nerve was strained, and the crucial minutes seemed hours. “ To the oars ! To the oars ! Quick — or we are on the rocks ! ” The great waves were playing with us, and the reef was within a few yards. At last the tension was over; the sail was lowered ; we had turned and were rowing hard against the wind, trying only to keep off the rocks. The Indians said it was impossible to reach their home that night ; the reef was impassable. So we made for a narrow bay, and when we had escaped from the storm, ran in shore to the reeds, and dropped our anchor. I felt the rain fall softly ; I saw the Indians pull the sail over them in the bow ; but was too tired to think. We were safe now. The cold numbed all feeling, and movement was impossible on the narrow seat where I lay. Ah, but it is cold ! — raw, biting cold ! Listen to the waves lapping softly round the boat. Feel the wet reeds in your face as we swing with the breeze. It is raining more heavily now — rain, and snow, and sleet. Pull the rug further over your face. Ah, but it is cold ! The prayer which our hymn wafted heavenwards that furious night was answered, and through that, and many another peril, we were led safely home. Was it all worth while? I ask myself, and in the same breath answer, Yes — a thousand times — to have come to know and love the wonderful land of the Incas ! XIV MY FIRST BOOK In turning over some old papers a short time ago, I came across my first hook. It was compiled of waste scraps of paper from my Aunt’s study (Lucy Guinness Kumm); on the cover she had written my name in large hold capitals, fantastically intertwined ; and on the first page I had drawn a map of South America. That was twelve years ago, before I had entered upon my teens. But perhaps the prayers offered up in that room have more than a little to do with this other hook, which tells of the story, people, and religion of Peru. A bibliography shows the authors whose experience has confirmed and amplified mine. Father’s picture.s — and only those who have travelled in the Andes will fully appreciate the untiring patience and energy to which they wdtness — these make a stronger appeal for Peru than can any words. I should like to take this opportunity of tendering very earnest thanks to the many friends who have so generously helped me in my work. Amongst those who have revised parts of the manuscript I gratefully remember Principal Jackson and Professor Schofield of Harley College; Mr. Schuman of the Y.M.C. A., Buenos Aires ; Mrs. Strachan of the Argentine ; the Rev. John Bain of Ireland; Mr. J. S. Watson of Lima; and Dr. and Mrs. Guinness. Of the many who have given me valuable information I am especially indebted to Mr. Ritson, who made it possible for me to consult the library of the British and Foreign Bible Society; to Dr. T. Wood of the American Methodist Episcopal Mission ; to Mr. and Mrs. Stark of Lima ; and to the missionaries of the Regions Beyond Missionary Union with whom I stayed in Peru: Mr. and Mrs. Jarrett, IVIr. and Mrs. Payne, Mr. and Mrs. A. Stuart M“Nairn, Miss E. Pinn, Mes.srs. J. Ritchie and II. A. Job. For several illustrations I am indebted to those who worked in the Mi.ssionary Studio at Cuzco. “ Scenes on the Sierra,” PLEASURE AND HEARTACHE XV and “ A Cuzqueno Goddess,” were taken by Mr. Charles Derry, a former missionary of the Regions Beyond Missionary Union in Peru. “The Sweating Image” is by Mx’. James Watson; “ Llamas,” by Mr. T. E. Payne ; and “ A Monolith at Tiahuanuco,” “The City of the Volcano’s Shadow,” and “The Cathedral of Copacabana,” belong to Senor Vargas, a Bolivian photographer. Facts, not mere sentiment, will move hearts. If the facts are here sometimes told with lightness of style, it is not because they were learned with any lightness of heart. Smiles may come when tears are very near; and laughter cover a sob. Thus far inconsistency is sincerity, for pleasure and heartache alternate in the fascinating land of the Incas. GERALDINE GUINNESS. ‘ ^ ’ ■ • . ■ ^ . Tf ’ll ■ , ■ • yv-ff .j .4 ^ -T '■; J<..;q, ' 'f;lf ■•Sr'" i { • ' , ■ • . 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