Pachacámac kills her—as the year ends with the harvest. After the ingathering of the harvest and the autumnal decrease of the rivers, Pachacámac is unable to resume the struggle; his flight into the ocean to escape Wichama corresponds to the protecting cover of dense fogs which every winter overspread the parched fields. The Sun hero wreaks his vengeance on the fields of the fog region which even in winter are exposed to the arid sun. [Illustration: CURIOUS SYMBOLS OF PACHACÁMAC WORSHIP.] [Illustration: FAÇADE OF THE PALACE OF CHAN-CHAN, NEAR TRUJILLO.] Mythical legends are related of three principal deities that were worshipped by the ancient Peruvians. Of these, an important place is given to the great god Con, who, according to tradition, was invisible, possessing “no bones, nerves, or extremities,” and who “travelled with the swiftness of spirits.” He levelled the sierras, filled up the cañons, and covered the earth with fruits and everything necessary for the sustenance of men and women, so that they might enjoy abundance. But, unappreciative of their blessings, the people of the coast gave themselves up to all manner of evil and forgot their benefactor. Con, indignant over their corruption, transformed them into black cats and other ill-favored animals, denied them the blessing of rain, and changed their happy and fruitful land into an arid desert. According to the same legend, Pachacámac, restored fertility to the earth and created a new race of men, the ancestors of the present Indians. Besides Con and Pachacámac, there was also the mighty Viracocha, the god of the deluge, who rose from the waters of Lake Titicaca, made the heavens and the earth, and, before creating the light of day, peopled the earth with its first inhabitants. These were afterward changed to stone because of their disobedience; but in order that the darkness should disappear and Peru be peopled, Viracocha appeared again—this time with followers—and created the sun and the stars and formed models of the future Peruvians; the images, representing men, women, and children, he distributed throughout the different provinces. He then sent his followers to the different regions to animate these models, which was done by the invocation, “Arise and people this earth, which is barren and solitary! Thus commands Viracocha, who is the creator of the world!” In response to these words the images became possessed of life and appeared on the mountains, in the valleys, beside the rivers, everywhere. A few beings, created to fulfil a special destiny, were animated by Viracocha himself, and as soon as they recognized their creator, they erected a temple of worship in his honor. The Spanish historian, Sebastian Lorente, who relates the legends of Con, Pachacámac, and Viracocha in his interesting and valuable work on Peru, impressed by the evident relation existing between the three great deities, infers that in ancient Peru there were