" One extended four hundred and fifty miles across sierras
and over rivers. Think of a stone aqueduct reaching from the city of New
York to the State of North Carolina!
The public roads of the Peruvians were most remarkable; they were built
on masonry. One of the-se roads ran along the mountains through the
whole length of the empire, from Quito to Chili; another, starting from
this at Cuzco, went down to the coast, and extended northward to the
equator. These roads were from twenty to twenty-five feet wide, were
macadamized with pulverized stone mixed with lime and bituminous cement,
and were walled in by strong walls "more than a fathom in thickness." In
many places these roads were cut for leagues through the rock; great
ravines were filled up with solid masonry; rivers were crossed by
suspension bridges, used here ages before their introduction into
Europe. Says Baldwin, "The builders of our Pacific Railroad, with their
superior engineering skill and mechanical appliances, might reasonably
shrink from the cost and the difficulties of such a work as this.
Extending from one degree north of Quito to Cuzco, and from Cuzco to
Chili, it was quite as long as the two Pacific railroads, and its wild
route among the mountains was far more difficult.
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