"He happened to arrive at the time the Indians were engaged in celebrating the _chuno_, or potato festival; they were dancing in the public square, beating on drums or tambourines, and wearing head-coverings that resembled enormous umbrellas. Each group of men was accompanied by several female dancers, the latter wearing hats with broad, stiff brims, and ornamented above the brims with semicircular representations of the rays of the rising sun, that closely resembled an open fan. There were three of these semicircular pieces above the brim of the hat, and each of the dancers wore a scarf over the left shoulder; the scarf was of variegated colors, but the rest of the costume was blue. [Illustration: HEAD-DRESS OF INDIAN FEMALE DANCERS.] "The dance was kept up all day and all night, and, as the whole population took part in the festival, it was impossible for Mr. Squier to hire the laborers he desired to assist in making his explorations. The festival is a curious mingling of the customs of the ancient Peruvians and of the modern church; it was under the control of the priests of Tiahuanaco, and the ceremonials were so closely blended that it was impossible to draw a dividing-line between them. The chuno dates far back before the conquest by the Spaniards, and it is probable that the early settlers found it to their advantage to combine it with some of their own ceremonials. "The ruins are about fifteen minutes walk from the village, and cover an area of two or three miles. They are on a level plain, and consist of several mounds of earth, one of them larger than any of the others, and the remains of numerous buildings and enclosures. The most conspicuous part of the ruins is about a mile square, and includes the large mound just mentioned. [Illustration: PLAN OF PART OF RUINS OF TIAHUANACO.] "This mound is generally called 'The Fortress,' and was originally terraced, each terrace being supported by a massive wall of cut stones, and the top of the mound covered with stone structures of which considerable portions are in their original places. Close by the mound are the ruins of a building or enclosure known as 'The Temple,' which was 445 feet long by 388 feet wide. The stones composing it are sunk into the ground like gate-posts; the part that appears above the earth varies from nine to fourteen feet in height, and the blocks are about thirty inches thick. Mr. Squier calls this enclosure 'The American Stonehenge,' from its resemblance to Stonehenge, one of the famous monuments of England. [Illustration: THE AMERICAN STONEHENGE.] "Scattered in the vicinity are many highly finished stones, which seem never to have been placed in the walls for which they were intended." "How much like Baalbec!" exclaimed Frank. "You remember we found the people using the stone from the temple for constructing their buildings, and the greatest stone of all was in the quarries, and not quite detached from the bed where it was hewn."