Transcriber's Note:
Obvious typographic errors have been corrected.

YUMBO INDIAN. INDIAN OF THE COLORADS.

A

HISTORICAL

AND

DESCRIPTIVE NARRATIVE

OF

TWENTY YEARS' RESIDENCE
IN
SOUTH AMERICA,

IN THREE VOLUMES;

CONTAINING TRAVELS IN ARAUCO, CHILE, PERU, AND COLOMBIA;
WITH AN ACCOUNT OF
THE REVOLUTION, ITS RISE, PROGRESS, AND RESULTS.

BY W. B. STEVENSON,

FORMERLY PRIVATE SECRETARY TO THE PRESIDENT AND CAPTAIN GENERAL OF QUITO,
COLONEL, AND GOVERNOR OF ESMERALDAS, CAPTAIN DE FRAGATA, AND LATE
SECRETARY TO THE VICE ADMIRAL OF CHILE,—HIS EXCELLENCY
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD COCHRANE, &c.

VOL. II.

LONDON:
HURST, ROBINSON, AND CO.
CONSTABLE & Co. AND OLIVER & BOYD, EDINBURGH.
MDCCCXXV.

CONTENTS OF VOL. II.

CHAPTER I.

Farm of Vinto, Cattle, Grain, &c....First Wheat in Peru....Tapiales, Fences....Trees, Shrubs, and Plants....Fruit....Animal....Birds, Fish....Appearance of the Villages....Balsas....Indian Feast....Indian Burial....Paramonga....Palace or Fortalice.

On the side of the river opposite to Huaito I visited the farm of Vinto, which from the purposes to which it is dedicated may be considered as something like an English farm. Horned cattle are bred in considerable numbers; the cows rear the calves, and are seldom milked. Dr. Robertson speaks of a degeneration of animals in America, "in the Spanish colonies within the torrid zone, or bordering on it;" but he certainly was misinformed with respect to Peru; the cattle is not so large as in Lincolnshire, but, taking the average, it is as large as the English, French, and Spanish cattle: when fed on lucern the meat is well-flavoured, fat, and juicy, and the bones are very small. At Vinto great numbers of pigs are reared, and are said to pay very well. Barley is sown at a time which allows it to be in ear in the littering season, when the sows are turned on it, and remain until it is all eaten down: the young pigs are then separated from the old ones, and driven to a field of lucern, where they are kept till they are fit for market; this takes place when they are from ten to sixteen months old, at which age they sell at from six to nine dollars each, if of a good breed for fattening. Few sheep are bred on the coast, to which during some months of the year large flocks are driven from the interior, and fattened for the Lima market; many of these are ewes in-lamb, particularly those brought down in November and December; and the common bargain between the drover and the farmer is, to give the lambs for the pasturage, by which means the farmer obtains a sufficient number of sheep to supply him with mutton, calculating on receiving a hundred and fifty lambs for every hundred ewes. Besides this increase in sheep, which is greater than in England, the ewes bear twice a year in South America—in general the lambing season is in June and December.

The breed of horses and mules at Vinto was of little extent, but some of the latter were very good; the ordinary ones for carriers would sell for forty-five or fifty dollars each, while the prime mules would fetch a hundred or a hundred and fifty.

A considerable quantity of wheat is harvested at Vinto, as well as on the neighbouring farms and near the surrounding villages; it is sown and ploughed in, and irrigated three or sometimes four times during its growth; after it is cut, it is thrown into a heap, and the grain trodden out by horses; it is then cleared from the chaff, by throwing it up in the wind, as in Chile, and it generally yields from fifty to seventy-fold.

The first wheat was carried to Lima in the year 1535, by Doña Maria de Escobar, wife of Doñ Diego de Chares; the quantity consisted of but a few grains, which she cultivated herself. In the true spirit of the age and country, she invited all her friends to celebrate the first harvest of new wheat in the new world, not knowing that it had been produced in Mexico in 1528, by a negro slave belonging to Cortes, who accidentally found a few grains mixed among the rice which was supplied to the army. To commemorate the happy event in Lima, Doña Maria presented to each of her friends a few grains, and it is said that some ears were laid as an offering on the altar of the Dominican church. The first wheat at Quito was sown near to the Franciscan convent, by Father Jose Rixi, who carried his seed thither from Europe in a small earthen jar, which yet exists in the convent, and is exhibited to visitors; it is of baked clay, and will hold about a quart. Among the relics shown to me, in 1809, I admired none so much as this: a circumstance which rather disconcerted the pious sacristan who shewed them to me. The historian, I should think, must feel greater pleasure in recording the name of the individual who has promoted the welfare and contributed to the comforts of his fellow creatures, than in sounding the trumpet of fame to that of a hero whose glory reposes on the mangled bodies of thousands of his comrades, slaughtered to add a letter to the name of the victor, and not unfrequently to bind the chains of thraldom round the necks of the vanquished.

Maize, beans of five or six varieties, lentils, garbansos, camotes, yucas, and potatoes are cultivated by the farmer for home consumption, as well as for the Lima market; the slaves also grow the same articles, and on a Sunday take their produce to the neighbouring villages to sell.

The fields on these plantations and farms are generally divided by walls, called tapiales: these are formed of large square masses of clay or earth, sometimes mixed with stones, each being about four feet long, two thick, and two broad, and are called adobones; the walls are sometimes four and sometimes six feet high, being composed of two or three layers of adobones. They are made by laying a frame of wood on the ground, composed of two sides and one end, the sides being secured at the other by thongs of raw hide; the earth on one side the box or frame is then wetted with water, dug over once or twice, and put into the frame, adobera, where it is trodden hard, or beaten with a heavy rammer; more earth is thrown in, and again pressed down, until the frame is quite full, when the top is smoothed over with a wooden trowel and some water. The frame is removed by untying the thongs, which allows the sides of the adobera to open a little, and to separate freely from the adobon, which is smoothed with the trowel or hand with a little water; the frame is now placed with its open end to the adobon which is finished, and another is made and placed adjoining to it by the same process. When a second or third tier is raised, two pieces of plank or scantling are laid on the lower adobon, to support the frame, which is filled as before; the scantlings are then drawn out and the frame removed; the holes are sometimes filled up, and sometimes left open. When stones are mixed with the clay or earth they are usually placed along the sides of the frame, the centre being filled up with earth, to which cut straw is occasionally added, particularly when the soil is rather sandy. These fences are very durable; a ditch is formed on one or both sides, according to the will of the master, and the earth dug out serves to make the wall, and at the same time secures it from being undermined by the water, which would be injurious to the foundation. In those parts of Peru where it rains, small bundles of brush wood are put across the top of the tapial, and clay laid on them to prevent the rain from penetrating: if tiles were substituted they would answer much better.

I have been rather minute in describing these walls, being convinced that with a few improvements they would be found preferable to some fences used in England; indeed the easy method of building them deserves to be communicated to those who are in the habit of constructing fence walls instead of hedges, a common practice in our hilly countries. As a proof of their duration, many of these clay fences are now standing on the coast of Peru, and of those cased with stone in the interior, built more than three centuries ago, by the indians, before the Spaniards discovered their country.

The trees that afford any timber in this neighbourhood are the molle and espino, or huarango; from the latter excellent charcoal is made, and considerable quantities are carried to Lima. Senna is found in abundance in the hedges, and willows and poplars become very lofty. The indigo plant grows spontaneously in the fields; I have sometimes observed cochineal on the cactus, cultivated for its fruit, the prickly pear, but of an inferior quality; in the interior it is called pilcay, and from some cotton cloth which I have found in the huacas, it is evident that the ancient Peruvians were acquainted with its colouring principle, this as well as the indigo being among the fillets taken out of the huacas. They procure the yellow tint at present by steeping the berries of the molle in water, and afterwards a quantity of maize; wool dyed in this water takes a bright and permanent yellow. A tree of the mimosa tribe, called Tara, bears a quantity of pods which contain a large portion of tanin; ink is generally made from an infusion of these pods, by adding to it some sulphate of iron. The fragrant floripondio grows in many of the hedges, assisted by the odorous ñorbo, a small species of passion flower, which emits in the evening a most delightful fragrance. The prickly apple, holy thistle, and many other medicinal plants grow wild, with the virtues and applications of which the indians are well acquainted. The maguey is very common; it makes a good hedge, no animal daring to pass it, on account of the large prickles with which the point of each leaf is armed. It may be said, that this is one of the most useful plants at present known. Of the flower stalks the indians build their houses, and cover them with its large leaves; the fibrous part may be converted into thread and woven for clothing, while its sharp pointed prickles are a good substitute for needles. Before the flower stem makes its appearance, if the heart of the plant be cut out, and a hollow place made in the centre, it will be filled in ten or twelve hours with a thick syrup, which may be used instead of sugar; when this is mixed with water and fermented, it forms the favourite Mexican beverage pulque; of this juice vinegar may be made, or brandy distilled from it: if the leaves are bruised and pressed, they produce by boiling a balsamic syrup, used to cleanse and cure ulcers; the leaves are also used instead of soap: the clothes are wetted, and then beaten with a leaf which has been crushed; a thick white froth is produced, and after rincing, the clothes are quite clean. The flower buds are very delicate eating when boiled or pickled. Of the aloes this is the largest species; here are two varieties, the leaves of the one being of a deep green inclining to black, while those of the other are of a beautiful pale green; the latter is the more useful of the two varieties.

A tree called del jaboncillo grows in the hedges; it has the appearance of the laurel, and produces a quantity of round fruit, of the size of small plums; a hard kernel is enclosed in a tough rind, which when ripe contains a pulpy matter; this, on being mixed with water, produces a white froth, and is used instead of soap for washing.

In some gardens the achote is cultivated; this tree is seldom above ten feet high, the leaves are heart-shaped, and the seeds are enclosed in a prickly capsule about three inches long; they are covered with an unctuous matter, of a vermilion colour, and are thrown into hot water, and afterwards strained, when the liquor is boiled to the consistency of paste, and forms the annotta dye. The natives often use it as a spice, or as a colouring matter for their food.

Mani is also cultivated; the plant is very frondiferous, is about two feet high, and has white flowers; but the mani, or nuts, are attached to the roots; they are about the size of horse beans, and when roasted or boiled are delicate eating; they contain a considerable quantity of oil, of a beautiful green colour, which is obtained by pressure; it is equally palatable with the best olive oil. The root is remarkably nutritive, and very agreeable to eat when on a long journey.

A tree called pilco grows in the hedge rows; the leaves are lancet formed, and the branches very straight; the fruit is like that of the common laurel. If a person remain but a short time under the shade of this tree when the sun shines, swellings and pustules make their appearance on the face and arms, or any other naked part of the body. The juice is extremely caustic, and ulcerates the skin wherever it touches; on which account it is called in the Quichua language capsicarancha, the itch tree. When it is necessary to cut down any of these trees, a fire is made at the foot of them, and their offensive property is destroyed.

The plant which produces the castor bean, from which the castor oil is obtained, grows wild; the oil is often extracted by the natives, and on some sugar plantations it is used for the purpose of burning in lamps. One variety of this plant produces very large beans, which are called piñones: it grows about six feet high; the leaves are somewhat like those of the vine; the beans are enclosed in prickly capsules, each containing two beans, which have a thin black shell, and very white kernel; two or three of these chewed and swallowed prove a violent purgative. The natives extract the oil and apply it to the abdomen in cases of dropsy; they also dilute a small quantity in urine, and pour one or two drops into the ear, in cases of deafness or a pain in the ear.

During the damp season, in foggy months, a species of cactus grows on the lomas or sand hills which produces a fruit called caimito; this resembles in shape a large cucumber; it is first green, afterwards brown, with yellow stripes, and when ripe it is red. The taste is an agreeable subacid; but after eating the fruit a very disagreeable feeling is left on the lips, which is removed by rubbing them with a piece of the rind. The fruit is remarkably fragrant, and on this account it is frequently kept in the houses.

In the garden at Huaito there were a few plants of coffee; they were very healthy and bore fruit abundantly. Cotton of a good quality grows near the cottages of the indians, who always cultivate a few plants for their own consumption; among these plants I have observed many bearing cotton of a nankeen colour, but of this they seldom make any use.

Quantities of small lizards are to be seen on every heap of rubbish or stones, particularly when the sun shines, busily employed in catching flies, on which they appear to subsist; I have frequently watched them while seizing their prey. As soon as they observe a fly on the sand they creep out of their holes and make their advance with a slow and almost imperceptible motion; they place themselves in a right line with the object, and then make a dart at it open mouthed, and swallow it in a moment, very rarely missing it. They are often beautifully striped with green, yellow, and brown, and are generally about eight inches long. On some parts of the coast the indians eat them; they cut off the tail and the feet and fry the body, which has then the appearance of a fried smelt. I ate some at San Pedro, and believed them to be the peje rey until I was undeceived. The indians consider them as a medicinal food for persons afflicted with cutaneous diseases.

The opossum is found in all the valleys of the coast; it is about two feet long including the tail, which is as long as the body; the nose is pointed like that of a hog, and has no hair on it from the eyes to the mouth; the ears are thin, without any hair on them, and stand erect; the feet are also naked and small, and it holds its meat with its fore paws, like a monkey; the body is covered with hair, black at the roots and white at the points, which gives it a shady grey colour; the tail is slender and naked, and by it the animal can hang suspended to the branch of a tree. The female brings forth four or five young ones at a time, not larger than mice when first born, and they immediately betake themselves to the pouch under the belly of their mother. The pouch is formed by a fold of the skin, hairy on the outside and covered with a very soft down or fur on the inside; the nipples are so situated, that the young ones can suck them as they are carried about by their mother; when about the size of full grown mice they leave the pouch by an opening in the centre, and bask in the sun, but if any danger threaten them they immediately take refuge in their natural home. I one day caught an old opossum by the tail, when four of her young ones ran out; I chased and captured two of them; they immediately hid themselves by running up the inside of my coat sleeves; I took them home, reared them, and they became perfectly domesticated, were very tame, and would sleep on the same mat with a dog. They feed on fruit or esculents, will eat flesh, and are particularly fond of eggs. The indians esteem them as food, but I never had an opportunity of eating any. The natives sometimes call the opossum mochilera, from mochila, a knapsack; the indians call it mucamuca.

The añas of Peru is a species of pole cat, and is nearly the size of a domestic cat; its colour is a deep brown approaching to black, with a line of round white spots extending from the nose to the tail; the head is long, the ears broad and covered with hair, the eyes large with small black pupils, the nose sharp like the opossum; the upper lip is shorter than the lower one, which projects, and the mouth contains twelve incisorial, four canine, and sixteen grinding teeth. The hind legs are longer than the fore, and each foot has five toes, armed with long sharp nails, with which it burrows into the ground, and forms a place of security for its young. When walking it carries its head down, and its tail, which is bushy, is turned on the back like that of a squirrel.

Under the tail and above the vent is a small vesicle, which contains a remarkably fetid oily liquid. When attacked or in danger this animal elevates its posteriors and forcibly ejects upon its assailant this pestiferous fluid, the loathsome effects of which nothing can exceed. Clothes that are in the least sprinkled with it become totally useless, for no washing will take off the stench; in the same manner, it will not leave the body, if any part happen to come in contact with it, until the cuticle or surface skin comes off. If a dog by chance receive any of it on his body he immediately runs to the water, rolls himself in the mud, howls, and appears almost mad, nor will he eat any thing for several days, or until the stench begins to abate—this defence is the only one of which the añas ever avails itself.

Conscious of his offensive powers, the añas is not alarmed at the approach of either men or dogs; it always passes them fearlessly, indeed both generally make way, lest by opposition they might subject themselves to its nauseous and abominable filth, and become disgusting even to themselves by being wetted with its matter.

The skin of the añas has a beautiful long soft fur, and is quite free from any disagreeable smell. The animal feeds on poultry and eggs, and is very annoying, for no one chooses to risk the killing of it: when this is effected, it is generally with a trap, but should it be killed in a village or near a house, the smell is quite a nuisance to the neighbourhood for several days.

Some few snakes are found in the hedges, but they are quite harmless. The alacran, scorpion, is venomous, but not more painful than the sting of a wasp.

Of the feathered tribe the majestic condor stands most conspicuous, whether on the ground extending its wings, which often measure fourteen feet from tip to tip, or soaring among the clouds, in appearance not larger than a swallow. The flight of this bird is truly majestic; it rises with an almost imperceptible tremulous motion of the wings, and falls to the ground in the same manner; it pounces on its prey, if a lamb or any other small animal, and bears it off in its talons to some neighbouring mountain; if the prey be too large, the condor will feed on it till unable to fly, when it becomes itself the easy prey of the villagers, who run it down and kill it with clubs.

The gallinaso, or turkey buzzard, as it is sometimes called, from its resemblance to a turkey, is a very useful bird; it is the public scavenger, devours all kinds of carrion, and on this account is seldom or never killed.

A few small eagles and hawks are troublesome among the poultry, and destroy great numbers. Wild ducks frequent the mouths of the rivers, where we find gulls and other aquatic birds, among which we frequently discover the pelican.

The singing birds are the cilguero, a kind of linnet; the blackbird, resembling in size and note the English blackbird; the titupuying, which is something like the cardinal. A species of wood pigeon is very common, and in allusion to its note is called coo coo lee; it is easily tamed, and will coo at any hour of the night, if a candle be lighted, but never more than three times before it ceases or rests.

Some of the rivers have plenty of lisa, a species of mullet, peje rey, and camarones; the sea fish on the coast are corbina, chita, jureles, a kind of mackerel, peje rey, and lenguado, a species of turbot. Shell fish is scarce, but small muscles and limpets are generally found. The natives cook and eat a sea weed which grows on the rocks, known by the name of yuyo de la mar. On the shore among the sand a small white stone is found, called piedra del ojo, or limpia ojos; it is about the size of a lentil, and of an opaque white colour; the natives pretend that by putting one of them under the eyelid, it will travel round the eye, and then fall out, bringing with it any extraneous matter that may have been lodged in this delicate organ.

The villages along the coast have a very neat appearance; the houses are but one story high, with a capacious corridor in front; some of them are supported by pillars made of sun-dried bricks, some round, others square; while others are composed of bundles of canes lashed together and covered with clay, with arches made of the same materials. The whole front is white-washed, and a comfortable promenade is produced under the grotesque piazzas, a range of seats sometimes extending the length of ten or twelve houses; and here in the cool of a summer evening the villagers sit, or lay their mats on the ground and sleep. In those villages where the population consists of creoles and indians few of the latter build their houses in the busy part of the village; they prefer living on their own small chacras, or the allotments of land which they possess.

A low table, a few pots and pans to cook in, and some calabashes to eat and drink out of, compose the furniture of an indian's cottage. Mats of totora, a long rush which grows in swampy ground, are their seats, of which rushes they sometimes make the walls of their cottages, by tying them up in small bundles, putting these close together, and securing them with canes placed horizontally on each side, and tied together at certain distances. They also form balsas of them; for this purpose, they tie together as many as make the middle of the balsa, about two yards in circumference, which they taper to a point at each end; they then shape it like a crescent by winding round it ropes of the totora. Seated on the centre of this original boat, they take their nets and go two or three leagues out to sea, and I never heard of any accident happening to the fishermen. As the person who navigates in this manner must sit astride, the indians often call their balsas potrillos, colts; and the appearance of a fleet of them floating on a smooth sea in a calm evening is very beautiful.

When dry, the balsa only weighs a few pounds, so that on one mule the fisherman can carry his boat, his net, and even sufficient materials to build his hut: in this manner they range up and down the coast in search of fish, which they often salt and take either to Lima or some other market. One kind of net is perfectly round when laid open on the ground; the circumference has several pieces of lead attached to it, and in the centre a rope is tied: when used they collect about half the net on the right arm, throw it into the water, and allow it to sink to the bottom; they then draw the line fastened to the centre, and as the net rises, the leads close by their own weight, and the fish are thus secured. With this umbrella net, as I used to call it, they often catch large quantities of fish in the rivers, lakes, and among the surf on the sea shore—the indians name the net ataraya.

When an indian celebrates the feast of some particular saint, he provides a dinner for all who choose to partake of it; mats are laid on the ground, and the cloth along the middle of them; large calabashes of chicha, some holding five or six gallons, are placed on the cloth, with a number of smaller ones, holding about a pint, ranged on each side; the men seat themselves, and the women bring in large dishes of beef, cut into pieces about two inches square, and stewed with lard, a quantity of capsicum, and the juice of sour oranges. Spoons are placed on the table, if I may so call it, but the fingers supply the place of forks—knives are very seldom wanted, and small calabashes serve instead of plates: when these dishes are removed the chicha goes merrily round. The second course of dishes is generally filled with fowls stewed with some kind of vegetables, but not picante, seasoned with agi, capsicum pods; after this course follows a pepian, consisting of turkey stewed with rice flour, water, onions, garlic, cayenne pepper, and lard; sometimes peje reyes, smelts, merely laid for five or six hours in the juice of sour oranges, and green capsicum pods are brought in; and, lastly, the favourite dish of cuyes, guinea pigs, highly seasoned with cayenne pepper. Between each course the chicha circulates freely, and the company often rise pretty merry; after which they mount their horses and call for the stirrup cup; the mistress of the feast then goes out with a large pongo, calabash of chicha, and distributes a small one to each of the guests, who frequently joke with her about love affairs; indeed, I have often heard very witty repartees on such occasions. After the men are gone, the women sit down and enjoy their dinner in some other room—not unfrequently in the kitchen; but they abstain almost entirely from the chicha or any other intoxicating liquors.

On the death of an indian, his relatives immediately repair to the house, and place themselves round the corpse, which is laid on the ground, and wail over him in a kind of plaintive ditty; they mourn his departure, asking him "Why he left them so soon?" with other similar questions, enumerating also all his actions, kindnesses, &c. If the deceased leave a widow, she will sing over him, and recount the tales he told when he courted her, say where they first met, mention other things that would be as well forgotten, and conclude with, "Why have you gone and left me? But some other loved you as well as myself, and she has bewitched you to death, she has sucked your blood, and she will now be happy." When this lamentation ceases, a relative will approach the house, and begin the wail again, all the company joining, and repeating theirs; the dirge is continued with little interruption until the corpse is buried.

About five miles from Patavilca, and a hundred and twenty from Lima, is a place called Paramonga, or the Fortalesa. The ruins of a fortified palace of very great extent are here visible; the walls are of tempered clay, about six feet thick; the principal building stood on an eminence, but the walls were continued to the foot of it, like regular circumvallations; the ascent winded round the hill, like a labyrinth, having many angles, which probably served as outworks to defend the place. It is supposed to have belonged to the Chimu or King of Mansichi, and was a frontier palace during the time of the Incas. The oral tradition of the indians says, that at this place the Chimu did homage to Pachacutec, the tenth Inca. Near these ruins is a high rock, which overhangs the sea, called el serro de la horca, gallows' hill, because from the top of it all criminals were formerly thrown into the sea. Near the Fortalesa is a very extensive ruin of a town, and a manufactory of saltpetre is established. The salt is obtained by filling large cisterns with the sand taken from the graves or huacas; water is poured on it, and having filtered through the sand, it is drawn off; this is next evaporated and put into large canoes, in which the salt crystallizes. The nitre is very pure, and is carried to Lima and sold at the powder mills. Considerable treasure, both in gold and silver ornaments, has been found, when taking the sand out of the huacas; beside which many curiosities in earthenware, porphyry, basalt and other stones, as well as cotton and woollen garments, have been collected. The value of treasure dug up by different individuals in the year 1813 exceeded twenty thousand dollars.

CHAPTER II.

Visit to Caxatambo....Roads....Manner of Travelling....Village of Ocros....Cura of Ditto....Indian....Road to Chiquian....Town of Chiquian....Crimes....Mining Laws....Method of working the Ores....Frauds in Plata Piña....Taonas and Ingenios....Caxatambo....Repartimientos....Manufactures....Inhabitants....Amusements....Road from Caxatambo, Cuesta....Farm House and Family....Town of Huara....Productions of Huailas....Manufactures of Ditto....Huaras, excellent Mercantile Situation....Province of Conchucos....Produce, &c....Mines....Oca....Medicinal Plants....Character of Inhabitants....Procession of St. Peter....Localities in the Province....Enter Huamalies....Productions....Coca....Charquis....Cinchona....Mines....Eagle Stones....Fruits....Mulitas and Quiriquineihos....Character of Inhabitants....Death of the Inca represented....Observations.

In 1806 I visited Caxatambo, the capital of a district, partido, bearing the same name. My route was by the quebrada, ravine of Barranca, which contains two large sugar plantations and several large farms. I rested the first night at Cochas, a small village, and was most hospitably treated by Don Manuel Requena, a man who had amassed considerable property by purchasing cattle in the interior and driving it down on the coast to fatten on lucern, for the Lima market. The following morning I began to wind up the ravine, which, after traversing the bridge of cords already described, becomes much narrower, sometimes so much so, that the passes are dangerous; a gallery is cut in the rock at one of them a hundred and seventy yards long, but so narrow, that it would be impracticable for two mules to pass each other; nor is it possible to make room in the emergency of meeting a traveller. On one side the mountain is either perpendicular, or it hangs over the heads of those who pass, threatening to fall and crush them; while on the other hand, about four hundred feet below the path, the river foams and roars as it descends towards the coast, having another lofty mountain on the opposite side. What man could travel on a road like this, and not shudder to hear the name of an earthquake mentioned; particularly when he looks on the broken and rugged rocks, and supposes that one of those dreadful convulsions of the earth may have opened the road on which he treads, and that such another shock would bury him in the ruins!

Our mode of travelling would have been regarded in England as a curiosity; a friend and myself were mounted on two mules, with huge deep saddles covered with red woolly rugs, large wooden box stirrups, broad girths, and straps attached to the saddles both behind and before; these straps passed round the breasts and hams of the mules to prevent the saddles from slipping as we rode up and down the cuestas, some of which are exceedingly steep. I had two mules laden with my luggage; on the one was placed my mattress and bedding, put into a large leather case, called an almaufres; on the other were two petacas, or square trunks, made of untanned bullocks' hides, and curiously wrought with thongs of the same material. My comrade had two mules also laden in a similar manner; for, when travelling in any part of South America that I visited, it is almost always necessary to take a bed, because no inns or houses of accommodation are found on the roads, or even in the towns or cities. Our peon or muleteer generally followed the mules, while we proceeded on before; but on approaching a village or hamlet, the peon alighted, and tied the mules together, fastening the halter of one to the tail of another, to prevent them from straggling.

About four o'clock in the afternoon we arrived at Ocros, a small village, where the indians were all prepared to go to Cochas the following day, to repair the bridge. This task is annually imposed on them jointly with those of the neighbouring villages, who pass it toll free, while other passengers pay a real or one-eighth of a dollar: the money is kept to provide food for the indians who assemble to assist in the repairs; they employ a week at the work, although it might be finished in a day; but it is rather a week of feasting than of labour. About thirty mules, all laden with cabulleria, as it is called, made from the maguey, were collected in the plasa, or square, and there appeared to be as much bustle as if an army had been removing its camp.

My companion was known to the cura, rector, to whose house he took me, and we were entertained with his best cheer and most cheerful hospitality. The cura complained bitterly of a want of society in his place of exile, destierro, as he called it, and jocosely said, that if the Pope himself were cura of Ocros, he would wish to have a wife to keep him in good humour: excepting, said he, when a traveller passes this way, I hear no news, and know of nothing that occurs in the world which I have left. I often welcome the arrival of a pedlar, to whom I would not even have spoken at Lima, but here he seems to me like something dropt from the clouds, and his words and actions delight me, because they savour of my beloved Lima.

The village or rather hamlet of Ocros is situated on an eminence; the climate is cold, and although but eleven leagues from the coast, it is subject to heavy rains. The inhabitants are for the most part indians, who have some few small flocks of sheep and goats; they labour on the neighbouring farms, and on the whole live miserably. Barley, maize, and milk from their goats are their principal food, and a coarse suit of clothes will generally wear out the life of its owner; the contrast between these indians and those on the coast in regard to their manner of living surprised me not a little:—more ragged and dirty in their appearance, their small huts containing but one room having the fire in the middle of it, without any windows, and the absence of every thing that might contribute to their comfort:—indeed their stock of household goods made a most miserable shew. I inquired into the cause of this penury, and was informed by the cura, that their vicinity to the coast allowed them, if they could purchase a mule, to fetch small quantities of brown sugar, chancaca, and fruit, and to take them to Chiquian and other towns in the interior, to sell, and that they usually spent in eating and drinking the small profits which they derived; they thought, he said, but little of their homes; but left the women to till their plots of ground, to tend their sheep and goats, and to provide for their families. Here the Quichua language begins to be spoken; the indians use no other among themselves, and many of the women cannot speak a word of Spanish.

On the following morning, after a very hearty breakfast, we left Ocros, with an earnest entreaty to call at the house of the cura, should we ever pass through the village again; but the invitation was almost useless, as there was scarcely a hut, rancho, in the village that would have held me and my almaufres. We continued our journey by descending into a deep ravine, where there was no appearance of vegetation, except a few tunas and the giganton rising twelve or fourteen feet high; these, instead of enlightening, gave the scene a more dreary appearance; for these vestiges of vegetation, as they seemed to be, stood on the rocks like way-worn travellers, while their naked trunks craved that moisture from the clouds which they sought for in vain from below. After travelling three dreary leagues, we began to ascend the cuesta of Chiquian; at first we perceived the whole extent of the ravine, quebrada, but the clouds soon began to roll beneath our feet, and intercept the view of the road we had just travelled over. Our ascent was very laborious to the mules, but I alighted twice and led mine; in some places steps were cut in the rock, and hollowed out by the feet of the mules and other cattle that had passed.

When we reached the top I expected to have an extensive view of the country, but I was very much mistaken; towards the coast all seemed to be enveloped in a thick mist, and on every other side the mountains rose one above another, or their proximity blocked up the whole view at once. At a distance we could at times see the summit of some mountains belonging to the principal chain of the Cordillera, covered with snow, and we appeared as if completely isolated—the bed of clouds behind us looked like the sea, limited only by the horizon, and before us the mountains reared their towering heads, as if to oppose our progress.

The top of the mountain was covered with some short grass and moss, with a few horned cattle feeding on it; but after travelling about two leagues we began to descend, and our eyes were once more cheered with the view of some straggling ranchos and patches of cultivated land. At two o'clock we arrived at Chiquian, a comfortable looking town, or village, as it would have been called in England. We found here many white families, and some agreeable people; but the whole village was in an uproar, being divided into parties respecting a law suit with the cura; we however went to his house, where we were received with a most hearty welcome.

The population of Chiquian is composed of white creoles, indians, and mestizos; their principal occupation is farming and grazing; ponchos of wool and cotton are manufactured by the women, some of which are very fine. Near to Chiquian is a silver mine, formerly worked with tolerable advantage, but at present abandoned. The ore contains iron, arsenic, and sulphur, and is always roasted before it is mixed with the mercury; it was calculated, that if a caxon, fifty quintals, of ore produced eight marks of silver, that the proprietor lost nothing; but this calculation is very erroneous, because different ores require different portions of labour, and the loss of mercury is also much greater in some ores than in others; the paco, red oxide of silver, pays much better if it yield six marks each caxon, than the bronce, micaceous pyriferous ores, if they yield ten. Some few small veins of ore had produced forty marks; but this may be looked upon generally as a mere temptation to the miner to carry on the work, often to his own ruin.

According to the mining laws, the discoverer has one hundred and sixty square yards of surface, and must not extend his works beyond the perpendicular limits of his share; he must first present a sample of ore to the Tribunal de Mineria, and take out a document called registro, before he can begin to work; the limits are marked out by the Subdelegado, political governor of the district, and the proprietor takes possession by rolling himself on the ground, digging holes, throwing stones, and shouting three times, possession! Other persons who solicit as hare petition the Tribunal de Mineria, and receive a registro of eighty yards only, half the quantity to which the discoverer is entitled.

Some proprietors pay the labourers, who are indians and mestizos, daily, but others allow them a bonus of twenty-four hours in each week, during which time the ore which they extract belongs to themselves; and purchasers are always ready on the Saturday night to buy it of them. In this case a great deal of roguery is generally practised. If the labourers find a rich vein they endeavour to hide it till the Friday night and then extract it for themselves; and it is no uncommon thing for this ore to yield twenty or thirty marks to the caxon, when that taken out during the week will not average above eight or ten. The ore is carried to the mouth of the mine in bags made of hide, called capachos, on the shoulders of men called capacheros; it is there received by the mayor domo, and laid on the ground in a heap; hence it is conveyed on the backs of mules or llamas to the taona or ingenio. The first is a mill similar to a bark mill, a stone, like a mill stone, is placed vertically on a wooden axletree, on which it revolves; to the end of this a mule or bullock, or sometimes two, are fastened, and drag the stone round. The stone moves in a groove, into which the ore is thrown; a small stream of water runs along the groove, and washes away many of the impurities, particularly the earth. When the ore is ground sufficiently small it forms a mass with the water, and is taken out of the taona and mixed with a quantity of quicksilver; it is thus allowed to remain a few days, when it is turned over with a spade, and trod on, in order to incorporate the mercury with the mass. This operation is repeated two, three, or more times, till the amalgam is formed; more mercury is added when necessary, which is known by taking a small portion of the mass and washing away the extraneous matter; if the amalgam, pella, be hard and granulous, more is added; if not, the whole mass is thrown into a cistern, and a small stream of water allowed to run into it. A man keeps this in motion with a pole till the water has washed away all the earth and other impurities when the amalgam has collected into one mass; it is then put into a strainer of coarse linen or hair, and the superabundant mercury is pressed out; the silver, containing some mercury, is placed in a heated furnace, by which means the remaining quicksilver is evaporated, and the porous ball is called plata de piña. Before this can be sold it is carried to the callana, royal office, where it is melted, the royal fifth paid, and the bar marked with the initials of the treasurer, the date of the year, and the weight. The exportation of plata piña was strictly forbidden by the Spanish colonial laws, and some persons who have run the risk of purchasing it have been most miserably deceived; for, on cutting the lumps, they have found adulterated silver in the centre, lead, and even stones, which could not be discovered except by cutting the lumps into pieces. Another method of cheating was, by allowing part of the mercury to remain in the mass, which increases its weight, and can only be detected by subjecting it to the heat of a furnace. Base metals were sometimes included in the bars which had not the mark of the treasury on them; but by putting these into a proper box containing water, and comparing the quantity of water displaced with the weight of the bar, the trick might easily be discovered.

The ingenio differs from the taona only in the operation being performed with the aid of a water-wheel instead of mules or bullocks. Some of the taonas are so rudely constructed, that they have two or three stones lashed to the horizontal pole or axletree, and these are dragged round by mules or bullocks, and grind the ore on a stone floor laid below them. Some ores require roasting in a furnace before they are crushed; but others are carried from the mine to the mill. The silver is extracted from a few kinds of ore by smelting, which has induced several foreigners to try various experiments, as the saving of labour and other expensive operations would be of serious advantage; but universal failures have been the result; for the ore always came out of the furnaces converted into a hard black ponderous cinder, and was sometimes vitrified.

The town of Chiquian has a very neat appearance: a large square forms the centre of it, on one side of which there is a well built stone church, and the house of the cura; on another stands the cabildo, and two or three respectable looking houses with stone doorways, large folding doors, white walls, and the roofs tiled—but they are only one story high. The other two sides are filled with houses and shops, and in the centre of the square is a large wooden cross on a stone pedestal. Streets lead from the corners of the square, in which there are some neat small houses with pretty gardens. Excellent cheese is made on some of the farms in the neighbourhood—not surpassed in richness of flavour by the best parmesan: the butter here is also good, but it is churned from boiled milk, and has a peculiar taste, which, however, is not disagreeable.

During my stay, I visited Cajatambo, the capital of the district, and the residence of the subdelegado: the town is larger than Chiquian; but not so pleasantly situated. The corregidores, as the governors were formerly called, had the privilege of repartimientos, or distributions, which was certainly the most oppressive law that was ever enacted. The corregidor, according to this establishment, monopolized the whole trade of the province or district; he had a store of goods and distributed them among the inhabitants, particularly the indians, telling them the price, and when the payment would become due; at which time the debt was exacted with the greatest rigour. It was in vain for any person to resist either to receive the goods, or to pay the value of them. During the repartimientos, that of Cajatambo amounted to a hundred and thirty thousand dollars annually; and the alcavala, or duty on sales of property, to twelve hundred dollars; but this tax was never paid by the indians, because they were exempted by law.

The order for the establishment of repartimientos of goods was obtained in the same manner as Ovando obtained his from Isabella for that of the indians at Hispaniola. The laziness and slothful habits of these unfortunate beings were urged to procure an order or edict, allowing the corregidores to distribute such articles among them as were necessary for their comfort, and oblige them to pay at a reasonable time, leaving to the distributor a necessary profit; but the abuse of this institution became so great as to be almost beyond description. Many corregidores, who were not possessed of property to purchase what they wanted of the merchants, would receive on credit their most miserable stock of commodities, and then distribute them to the indians, laying on an enormous profit. Gauzes, stained velvets, muslins, unfashionable calicoes, and all the dregs of a draper's store were sent to the houses of the indians, probably in a climate severely cold, where these suffering wretches had not a blanket to cover themselves, nor perhaps a shirt on their backs. Spirituous liquors were distributed in the same manner; a jar worth forty dollars would be sent to the house of an indian who had a few mules, horses, or other cattle, which, when the time of payment arrived, were often sold to meet the demand of the governor. I was assured, that a corregidor of Huamalies took on credit several large cases of common spectacles, and issued an order in his district, that no indian should present himself before him, in his judicial capacity, without having a pair on his nose; by which means he obliged them to purchase such useless articles, and to advance the sale, whenever a complaint was made, he would summon as many witnesses as he possibly could.

A considerable quantity of wool, some of which is of a short staple, but very fine, is carried to Lima, where it is principally made up into mattresses: this district sends also large flocks of sheep and some oxen to the Lima market. Copperas is found in several parts of it, and great quantities of gypsum, yeso, which is carried to different places on the coast, and used in whitewashing the houses.

The dress of the inhabitants is similar to the dress of those who reside on the coast; the poncho is seldom or never dispensed with among the men, indeed the cold makes it quite necessary. In Caxatambo and Chiquian, evening parties are very common; no invitation is necessary except the sound of the guitar, and I have spent many very agreeable hours in listening to the cachuas, and yarabis—it is delightful to hear both their merry tunes, and their doleful songs. To the former they generally dance, the figure ending with each verse; this dance is somewhat similar to the Spanish fandango, or boleras; two persons dance it; and with few variations it consists of tripping backwards and forwards, then forming a semi-circle, the man dancing towards the right, whilst his partner dances in the opposite direction; this is repeated two or three times, and the dance generally concludes with a sapateo, beating time to the music with their feet. The dance is something like a minuet, but the movements are quicker. If a couple dance a minuet, they generally receive the noisy applause of the lookers on, and not unfrequently a handful of money is thrown at the feet of the lady by some enamorado, when the boys and girls immediately run to pick it up; this creates a bustle, and it is not uncommon for the young lady to be almost unable to extricate herself from the rabble, even with the assistance of her partner. The following was the favourite cachua in Cajatambo, introduced, I believe, by an Andalusian:—

Yo tengo una cachucha, en que camino de noche

Y andando mi cachuchita, parece que ando en coche

Ah cachuchita mia, &c.

Yo tengo una cachucha, que compré a mi padre,

Y él que quiere cachucha, que lo compre a su madre,

Ah cachuchita mia, &c.

The yarabis, or tristes, as they are sometimes called, are peculiar to the cierra, and except by a mountaineer, serrano, I never heard them sung on the coast; they are plaintive ditties, and some of the tunes are peculiarly sweet. The following is a yarabi which I have often heard:—

Ingrato, cruel, e inhumano

Tus engaños causaron mi desvia,

Tu contento te rias, y yo lloro,

Ah alma mia.

Busca adonde quisieres placeres

Y cobra, sin jamas pagar el amor

El tiempo vendrá, para que llores

Con duro dolor.

La muerte dará fin a mi pesar

Tu vivirás con goso, y con risas,

Pero no, te ha or atormentar

Mi imagen, mis cenisas.

On leaving Caxatambo we had to pass over the mountains that border the district to the northward, and owing to the rain that had fallen, the ascent was very slippery. I frequently alighted, but my companions never did; they assured me that the mules were sure-footed, and that I need apprehend no accident. The morning was very cold, and on the tops of the mountains we perceived a considerable quantity of snow. During our ascent we observed the rapid decrease of vegetation; the lofty and luxuriant molles which we saw at the foot became more and more stunted, till they totally disappeared, and in their place some small plants of the cactus tribe were clinging to the rocks: on the summit the small patches of ground were covered with long dry grass, which the natives called pajon; the rugged rocks were white with moss, and all appeared dreary and lifeless; not a bird nor any living animal was either seen or heard, and the clouds below hid the surrounding scenery from our view. After travelling about six leagues, including the ascent, we began to descend, when the muleteer observed that we were in the province of Huailas. The clouds that rested on our heads threatened rain, so we resolved to pass the night at a farm house about a league from the border. The rain soon began to fall in torrents, and although our mules walked and slipped down the cuesta as fast as we dare venture to allow them, we were completely soaked through with the rain. On our arrival at the farm, about four o'clock in the afternoon, we were welcomed by the owner, who begged of us to ride under the corridor and alight; two young men, his sons, assisted us in dismounting, and three young women, his daughters, helped us to take off our wet ponchos and hats, which they hung upon pegs in the corridor. We entered the house and seated ourselves on the estrado, which was covered with very neat home-made carpets, and a row of low stools were placed near the wall; a large brass pan, brasero, full of burning wood embers was immediately placed before us by one of the daughters, who received it at the door from a female indian servant. The girls helped us to take off our boots and stockings, and offered us some of their own shoes as slippers; matte was immediately made, and I drank five or six cups, or rather sucked it, not with less pleasure when I observed that my pretty caterer (for very pretty she was) took the first suck at the tube before she handed it to me. My companion preferred a large glass of hot brandy and water, and as he was prepared with a bullock's horn, holding about two quarts of the former liquor, his appetite was soon satisfied.

Our host entered shortly afterwards, and informed us that he had sent for half a dozen lads and lasses to come and dance and be merry with us. But, said I, it rains, will they come? Yes, said he, to be sure they will, and they would come if they lived ten leagues off, whereas they only live at the distance of two:—not across such a road as that which we have just passed, I hope? Why, said he, they live in the quebrada, ravine, and all our roads are pretty much alike in such weather as this; but the sound of a guitar, and the pleasure they take in dancing with strangers, will bring them away; and surely they will be no worse for being a little wet and drabbled: the boys will bring partners too with them, because they cannot well dance with their sisters—bread and bread has no relish, but bread and cheese make a good meal.

All was now in a bustle of preparation: a lamb and several fowls were killed for supper; a large calabash of punch was made, containing about seven or eight gallons; but I being tired with my ride, threw myself down on the carpets to sleep, when Panchita, the pretty girl who made the matte, came and placed a pillow under my head and threw a white rug over me, and then removed the embers in the brasero, which she placed near enough to keep me warm. My companion, who was a clergyman, said, he must attend to his officio divino before the company arrived, so he took out his breviarium, and began to work at his trade, whilst I slept.

After enjoying my nap for about an hour, I awoke, and found an agreeable repast just ready—a salona, mutton slightly salted and smoked, and equal in flavour to venison, had been roasted, an agreeable sauce of the green pods of capsicum, aji verde, in vinegar had been prepared, and they were served up with some excellent roasted potatoes; after this, a chip box, holding about two pounds of preserved apricots, and another of quince marmalade, for which delicacies the province of Huailas is quite famous, were put on the table. This refreshment was placed before my companion and myself, on a low table, as we sat on the edge of the estrado. While we ate and drank, our host informed us that he was a native of Cadiz, but that he had lived in America upwards of twenty years. On his arrival at Callao, in the capacity of a sailor, he left his ship, and travelled into the interior in search of a wife with a fortune, for, said he, without such an appendage I could have found many maids willing to become wives at home. I chanced, continued he, on my way to Huaras, to call at this house to beg a lodging for the night; the old farmer had a daughter, an only one; I was soon convinced that his coffers were not empty, so I prolonged my visit, made love to his daughter, and married her. She has been dead twelve years, and I find myself happy with my five boys and girls, and they seem to be happy with me; but that will perhaps not last long, they will themselves soon want to marry, and I cannot object to it; their father and mother set them the example, and if I cannot then live with them I can live without them. You, father, addressing himself to the clergyman, would advise me perhaps to retire to a convent, and live a penitential life; but if I have given my flesh to the devil, he shall have my bones too. You tell us, continued he, that only our good works will accompany us to the other world; but I shall also take with me good eating and drinking, and a merry heart; for although you preach to us abstinence and other restrictions, yet you enjoy the good things of this world, and example, you know, is more persuasive than precept. But I am happy to see you, and you are welcome to my rancho, for it reminds me of my own arrival at it. In a short time our merry companions appeared, laughing most heartily as they jumped from the backs of their mules, to see each other bespattered with mud and dripping with rain.

Three healthy looking lasses, with rosy cheeks, and a stately youth, had braved the wind and rain to join our party, which, with this acquisition, was a very merry one. The young women had on hats and ponchos; but their shoes and stockings were kept dry in the pockets of the young man, who was their brother. In a very short time the guitar was tuned, and we began to dance—our kind host, Garcia, being the musician. I took Panchita as my partner, which caused a good deal of mirth, because our visitor, Eugenio, was passionately fond of her: he watched her steps with the anxious rapture of a lover, and no doubt envied me during the dance; at length, unable to suffer any longer the privation of dancing with her, he rose, made me a low bow, and took my place, to the no small satisfaction of the company, who lavished on him many an Andalusian joke. After the first dance one of the sisters rose and relieved Panchita, who came and sat down on my knee as I sat on one of the low stools; she very soon went to a table and brought me a glass of punch, which we drank; this appeared too much for poor Eugenio, but instead of being offended, as might have happened among civilized people, he retired to a seat, after finishing his dance, and placed his partner on his knee; she soon rose and brought him a glass of punch, which they drank together; and all parties appeared completely happy.

We made a most hearty supper of roasted and stewed lamb and fowls, sweetmeats and punch; after which several songs were sung, both cachuas and yarabis, and our host entertained us with some Andalusian chuladas. Day dawned, and found us merry, scarcely able to believe that the night was spent. The morning was very fine, and we expressed a wish to proceed on our way to Huaras: but my companion told me, that in all probability our mules were lost; lost, exclaimed I! Yes, said he, but they will be found again to-morrow morning, if Garcia will then consent to our leaving his house. This was really the case, for the mules were not found—for the best of all possible reasons—they were not sought for; the young men were sent in search of them, and soon returned with the news, that they could not be found. The girls began to console us with many promises of their being discovered during the day, and advised us to take our breakfasts and sleep an hour or two, to which we assented without much reluctance. We spent the day and the following night most agreeably—not without plenty of singing and dancing.

I learnt from our host, Garcia, that his property consisted of about eighty head of horned cattle, and twelve hundred sheep, besides a small farm, which he shewed us, of which about sixty acres were under the plough, and produced good crops of wheat, maize, barley, and potatoes. Purchasers for the cattle came annually from the coast. The surplus of wool, some of which is extremely fine, was generally bought by the owners of manufactories, obrages, in the province, at about one dollar the arroba, twenty five pounds; the grain, potatoes, &c. were carried to Huaras.

On the following morning our mules were found, and we proceeded through a country more beautiful at every step we took, and arrived in the evening at Huaras, the capital of the district. This town is pleasantly situated, though rather bleak; the houses have a neat and comfortable appearance, and some of the shops are stored with a considerable quantity of European manufactured goods, such as broad cloth, wide coloured flannels, linens, cottons, silks, hosiery, cutlery, and also home manufactured woollen and cotton cloths. In the square, plasa, a small market is held every morning of articles brought from the neighbouring country. The town contains a parish church, which is a neat stone built edifice; a convent of Franciscan grey friars, and a hospital, under the care of the Bethlemites. The Subdelegado resides here; the repartimiento of the corregidor amounted formerly to a hundred and seventy thousand dollars annually, and the alcavala to two thousand three hundred.

The population of Huaras consists of about seven thousand inhabitants, the greater part of whom are composed of mestisos; the people are rather fond of dress, and evening parties are very common. There is not an inn or public house in the town; but a traveller can be accommodated with lodgings, &c. in almost any house.

This district contains many towns and villages; the principal ones are Requay, Carhuas, Yungay, Caras, and Cotopará. The temperature of the centre and lower part of the district is warm, and extremely agreeable. Considerable quantities of sugar are manufactured here; it is of a very superior quality, but the cane, which is of the creole kind, is four years before it is ripe, and the first crop only is destined for the making of sugar; the second serves for the following plantation, and of the excess sweetmeats are made with peaches, pears, quinces, and apricots, many mule loads of which are annually taken to Lima. The fruits of temperate climates prosper extremely well in the valleys; but on account of the frosty night winds at certain seasons of the year tropical fruits do not thrive. Owing to part of the province being subject to a cold atmosphere, particularly on the east side, which is bounded by the Cordillera, and the valleys enjoying a very benign one, crops of wheat and barley, as well as maize, quinua, garbansos, lentils and other pulse, are harvested during every month of the year; it is common on the same day, when travelling, to see wheat put into the ground at one place, and under the sickle at another. In this province a great number of large and small cattle are bred, particularly goats, the skins of which are tanned for cordovans, and the tallow is used in the soap manufactories. The wool of the sheep is made into flannels, serges, and coarse cloths, bayetones, at the different manufactories, obrages, where coarse cotton cloths, tocuyos, are also woven; but the distaff and spindle are generally employed for spinning. The white yard-wide flannel sells at about half a dollar a yard; the blue at three quarters of a dollar, and the tocuyos at different prices, from a quarter to three quarters of a dollar. Very neat woollen table covers are manufactured in this province, of different sizes, and various prices; when wove they are white, and they are afterwards ingeniously dyed by first tying small patches with two, three, or more threads; the cloth is then dipped in a cochineal dye; more knots are tied in different parts, and an indigo dye is used; when dry, the knots are all untied, and as the colours could not penetrate where the strings were tied, circles of white, blue, and red, or of other colours, according to the fancy of the dyer, are formed in the different parts of the cloth, and if these are symmetrically placed the shades which they produce are pretty, and the whole effect is very pleasing.

Formerly several gold and silver mines were wrought in Huailas; there are upwards of thirty mills for grinding the ore in different parts of the province, but at present little attention is paid to mining; however, small quantities of gold and silver are extracted. At Yurumarca there is a mountain which contains large veins and strata of the loadstone; near to which is a copper mine, now abandoned, because the ore did not produce gold, as was expected, when it was first wrought. Large quantities of alum are prepared from a mineral near Yurumarca, by the process of solution and evaporation; but it is generally subjected to a second operation of refining at Lima.

On the whole, the province of Huailas is most bountifully supplied with all the necessaries, and many of the luxuries of life; the situation is commanding, and Huaras is calculated to become a large mercantile town, the general mart for the provinces of Huailas, Huamalies alto, Huamalies bajo, and Conchucos; but for the furtherance of such a project, the port of Santa ought to be opened; it is a secure harbour, and is the nearest of any to Huaras.

After visiting the principal towns in Huailas, I went to the province of Conchucos, which adjoins it to the northward. This province is more irregular than the former; some of the valleys are very low, and consequently very hot; in these the tropical and equatorial fruits come to perfection, and at Huari del Rey, the capital, I have seen very fine pine-apples, grown in the province. The valleys are generally small, being merely bottoms of the ravines, quebradas, and the soil is produced by the heavy rains which fall on the adjoining mountains: these carry down the decayed animal and vegetable matter, as well as the decombres of the stone of which they are composed, and hence the soil is remarkably productive. Some of the villages are situated in very cold climates, being from five to eight thousand feet above the level of the sea; they are generally small miserable places, inhabited chiefly by indians, who cultivate patches of barley and maize, which seen from the valleys appear to hang in the clouds. I have often beheld a man ploughing with a yoke of oxen lent to him by the farmers, where I should have imagined that a goat could scarcely have tripped along in safety. A few small sheep and goats are the only animals which they possess, excepting dogs, of which useless animals, each hut, rancho, contains at least half a dozen. Many of these indians are employed by the more wealthy inhabitants in manufacturing tocuyos, bayetones, flannels, and coarse cotton stockings. The females generally spin and knit at home, and the men go to the obrages to weave, dye, full, &c. Some very fine ponchos are made in Conchucos, and sold at the amazing price of a hundred or a hundred and fifty dollars each; others, made of brown wool, are called bordillos, and fetch from five to ten dollars each; of the coarse wool and all the refuse jerga is made, which is formed into wrappers for sugar, and common dresses for the slaves and the poorer sort of indians. This province manufactures more of this kind of cloth than any of the neighbouring districts, and some of the inhabitants are wealthy, but the poor indians are truly miserable.

Some silver mines are wrought in Conchucos, but the quantity of silver yielded by the ore being small, the hardness of the ore which renders the breaking of it expensive, and the loss of mercury during the process of amalgamation, contribute to render mining a losing speculation, and the mines are consequently almost abandoned. Several attempts have been made to smelt the ores, but without success; could this be accomplished there is no doubt but that mining would become profitable in Conchucos, particularly as there is coal in several parts of this and the neighbouring provinces.

Along the margin of the river Miraflores, in Conchucos, there are labadores, washing places, where gold of the finest quality is found in the sand, and after the rains subside many persons are employed in gathering it; but so little are they acquainted with the extensive and easy method adopted on the coast of Choco, that the profit derived from their labour is very small; notwithstanding, if proper means were employed, it is very probable that an abundance might be extracted.

In the parish of Llamellin is a mine of sulphur, great quantities of which are extracted, and carried to Lima, and sold at the powder mills. In the same parish is a spring which falls down the sides of a rock, forming in its course innumerable hard white stalactites, that look like candles hung in the water; the natives call them Catachi, and apply them, reduced to powder, in cases of violent hæmorrhage, bloody flux, &c.; they also mix the powder with lard or the fat of the puma, or condor, apply it to fractured bones, and consider the application as useful in promoting the union of the parts.

The oca is cultivated in some of the colder parts of this and the neighbouring provinces; this plant is of a moderate size—in appearance somewhat like the acetous trefoil; the roots are yellow, each about five or six inches long and two in circumference; they have many eyes, like the potato, and are seldom straight like the the carrot or radish, but curved in different directions: one plant produces several roots, and they are propagated in the same manner as potatoes. The oca when boiled is much sweeter than the camote or batata of Malaga; indeed, it appears to contain more saccharine matter than any root I ever tasted; if eaten raw it is very much like the chesnut, and it may be kept for many months in a dry place. The transplanting of the oca to England, where, I am persuaded, it would prosper, would add another agreeable and useful esculent to our tables.

Among the plants used medicinally by the natives is the contrayerba, which grows in the mountains in cold shady places: the stem is about two feet high, of a purple colour; it is divided by knots like a cane, where the leaves grow opposite to each other; these are three or four inches long, narrow, denticulated, and of a very dark green colour. The flower stalks spring from the same knots, and the flower bears a great resemblance to that of agrimony. It is used, the leaves, flowers, and stem, as a febrifuge, and particularly in the small-pox and measles, to facilitate the eruption; it is also used as a tonic, or stomachic, in cases of habitual indigestions, and also in dysenteries. It is pretended that it will counteract the effects of poison, on which account it has obtained the name which it bears. This plant is quite different to that called contrayerba, which grows in Chile, and which I have already described. The natives administer this herb in a simple decoction.

The calaguala is another herb which grows in moist swampy places, where the climate is mild. The plant is composed of leaves about ten or twelve inches long, and one broad; it bears no flowers. A decoction of the leaves is considered as an excellent dissolvent of the coagulated blood in severe contusions; it is believed to be efficacious in affections of the viscera, when ulceration has taken place, by evacuating the purulent matter; it is also given in the falling sickness. There are two varieties of this plant: the leaves of the one are green; this is considered inefficacious, and is called the female; the other bears leaves of a brown colour, is called the male plant, and is the one used.

Another medicinal herb, which is found in this and the neighbouring provinces, is the quinchimali; it grows in temperate parts, and resembles the herb of the same name which grows in Chile. A decoction of it is drunk in cases of severe contusion, if it be suspected that coagulated blood, or lymph, be lodged in the intestines, and in gonorrheas it is used to promote the discharge, and prevent strictures.

The inhabitants of Conchucos are said to be less civilized than those of the neighbouring districts; there is some reason for this assertion; they are indeed more uncouth and less kind in their manners. There appears to be a certain degree of licentious independence in their behaviour, and more robberies and murders are committed here than in any other part of South America: however, a stranger is generally treated with respect. When at Corongos, which is certainly the most disagreeable town I ever entered, I went to purchase some snuff—the shopman was asleep, and I awoke him, at which he became so enraged, that he jumped from his chair and struck at me; I ran into the street, and the man followed me, swearing most lustily, and threatening to strike me; but a person who was passing stepped in between us, pushed back the shopman, and clapping his breast with his hand, he said, with me, with me, that gentleman is a stranger, con migo, con migo, el señor es forastero. Finding myself thus unexpectedly relieved, I left my champion to settle matters as well as he could, and hastened to the house of the parish priest, cura, where I, as usual, had taken up my temporary residence. In a few minutes my friend, though entirely unknown to me, made his appearance, and inquired what quantity of snuff I wanted; on being informed, he immediately went to fetch it, and would not admit of any return for his kindness and trouble, except my thanks.

During my stay at Corongos, the cura related to me several anecdotes concerning his parishioners, one of which was the following. The titular saint of the town is Saint Peter, and on the day of his festival an image of a natural size is carried in procession through the principal streets; when, on his return to the church, he arrives at the corner of the plasa, the inhabitants of the upper and lower part of the town place themselves in two rows, having large heaps of stones at their feet, and not unfrequently the boys and women stand behind them with a supply in baskets. The carriers of the image rest here for a few minutes, and then run towards the church in a sort of gallopping procession; but the moment that the saint enters the plasa, he is assailed by volleys of stones from each side, and pursued to the church door. If the saint enter the church with his head on his shoulders, it augurs a bad year, failure of the harvest, death of cattle, and other calamities; but if the contrary happen, which is generally the case, the augury is quite changed; and if the fishes be knocked out of his hand likewise, every good thing is expected in abundance during the year. After the decapitation, a scuffle ensues for the possession of the head, between the inhabitants of the two barrios, or wards of the town, in which many bones are broken, and generally two or three lives are lost. The victors carry off the head in triumph, and, like that of a malefactor, place it on the top of a high pole, and pretend that it averts all damage that might be done to them by lightning, while the other half of the town, they say, receives no benefit. The cura told me that his predecessor had endeavoured to do away with this irreligious practice, and wrote to a friend at Lima, to charge the sculptor not to finish the new head for Saint Peter, hoping that if one year passed without such impiety, the practice would be relinquished; but, to his great surprise, on the 30th of June, the indians informed him, that the procession would take place in the evening, for which purpose they had dressed an image of the Virgin Mary in the garments of Saint Peter, and that she looked very much like the saint, but rather younger, as she had no beard. The procession took place; but, to the disappointment of the inhabitants, the female apostle entered the church with her head on her shoulders, and from that time she was called Our Lady of the Miracle.

In the year 1817, two Englishmen, sent from Pasco by Mr. Trevethick, who afterwards followed with the intention of working some of the silver mines in Conchucos, were murdered by their guides at a place called Palo seco. This horrid act was perpetrated by crushing their heads with two large stones, as they lay asleep on the ground; the murderers were men who had come with them from Pasco.

It is a well known fact, that many young Conchucanos go to Lima, and enlist in the army, for the purpose of obtaining possession of a musket, and then desert with it on the first opportunity that offers; indeed there is scarcely a white family in the province that is not possessed of one or more of these muskets.

I have observed, that those persons who are employed in the mines in South America are generally the most vile characters; they become inured to every kind of vice, and as they form a kind of body, or rather banditti, they almost defy the arm of justice, and deny the power of the law. This may in some measure account for the character of the Conchucanos; many mines were formerly wrought by them, but since the discovery of Pasco and Gualgayoc, which produced more ore, and of a very superior quality, the miners of Conchucos have resorted to them, abandoning their own less profitable ones; but they have, unfortunately, left the seeds of their evil actions behind them, and their example is too frequently followed.

The province of Conchucos might be one of the most agreeable in Peru, if the inhabitants were but more kind to each other, and more happy among themselves. The various climates, assisted by the various localities of the soil, would produce all the necessaries and all the luxuries of life; for in the small compass of fifty leagues, a traveller experiences the almost unbearable heat of the torrid zone, the mild climates of the temperate, and the freezing cold of the polar regions.

To the eastward of Conchucos lies the district of Huamalies: it is a very extensive valley, generally very narrow at the bottom, where a river runs, which takes its origin at the lake of Lauricocha, in the province of Tarma, and is called the Marañon, as it is considered the stream most distant from the mouth of the great river Marañon, or Amazons. The temperature of this province is very irregular; to the south it is cold, as well as on each side, according to the local height of the different places, but to the northward, particularly in the parish of Huacaibamba, it is extremely hot during the whole year; and the people are here of a much darker colour, and are often called zambos.

Huamalies produces wheat, barley, maize, and the different vegetables, fruits, and pulse of the neighbouring provinces. Near to Huacaibamba some coca is cultivated. This is a small tree, with pale bright green leaves, somewhat resembling in shape those of the orange tree. The leaves are picked from the trees, three or four times a year, and carefully dried in the shade; they are then packed in small baskets. The natives, in several parts of Peru, chew these leaves, particularly in the mining districts, when at work in the mines or travelling; and such is the sustenance that they derive from them, that they frequently take no food for four or five days, although they are constantly working; I have often been assured by them, that whilst they have a good supply of coca they feel neither hunger, thirst, nor fatigue, and that, without impairing their health, they can remain eight or ten days and nights without sleep. The leaves are almost insipid; but when a small quantity of lime is mixed with them they have a very agreeable sweet taste. The natives put a few of the leaves in their mouths, and when they become moist, they add a little lime or ashes of the molle to them, by means of a small stick, taking care not to touch the lips or the teeth; when the taste of the coca diminishes, a small quantity of lime or ashes is added, until the taste disappears, and then the leaves are replaced with fresh ones. They generally carry with them a small leather pouch containing coca, and a small calabash holding lime or ashes; and one of these men will undertake to convey letters to Lima, a distance of upwards of a hundred leagues, without any other provision. On such occasions they are called chasquis, or chasqueros, and this epithet is also given to the different conductors of the mails. The Incas had men stationed on all the principal roads for the transmission of any article belonging to the Inca, who, according to the quality of the road, had to carry it to different distances, some one league, others two, and others three. These men were continually employed, and when one of them arrived, he delivered to the one in waiting whatever he was charged with, and gave him the watchword, chasqui; this man ran immediately to the next post, delivered his charge, and repeated chasqui; and then remained to rest until the arrival of another. By these means the court of the Incas was supplied with fresh fish from the sea near Pachacamac, probably from the bay of Chilca, where a village of indians employ themselves at present in fishing: it is the place to which Pizarro was directed by the indians when in search of a good harbour, before that of Callao was discovered. The distance from this part of the coast to Cusco is more than a hundred leagues, yet so vigilant and active were the indians, that Garcilaco affirms, that the fish often arrived at Cusco alive. The communication between the most distant parts of the empire and the capital was maintained, and it is asserted, that by the chasqui news could be conveyed from Quito to Cusco, a distance of six hundred leagues, in six days; while in their route they had to cross several parts of the Cordillera, and many rapid rivers. This, I think, proves a policy in the ancient government of Peru, which does not well accord with the epithet of barbarians.

Large quantities of bark are brought from the woods to the eastward of Huamalies, and is known by the name of the Arancay bark. It is considered equal in quality with that called Calisaya, from the woods to the eastward of La Pas. It is much to be lamented, that the destruction of this invaluable vegetable is making great progress, wherever it has been found; the indians discover from the eminences where a cluster of the trees grow in the woods, for they are easily discernible by the rose-coloured tinge of their leaves, which appear at a distance like bunches of flowers amid the deep green foliage of other trees. They then hunt for the spot, and having found it out, cut down all the trees, and take the bark from the branches. If the roots sprout again, as they generally do, no trees of any large size grow up, for they are either smothered by the lofty trees which surround them, or else they are choaked by other young trees, which spring up near to them, and are of quicker growth. If the government of America do not attend to the preservation of the quina, either by prohibiting the felling of the trees, or obliging the territorial magistrates to enforce the cutters to guard them from destruction, before a sufficient population will allow of those tracts of woodland becoming personal property, this highly esteemed production of the new world will be swept from the country. After the indians have stripped off the bark, they carry it in bundles out of the wood for the purpose of drying it.

There is undoubtedly a great loss of the medicinal matter of the cinchona or quina, for all the bark of the trunks and of the smaller branches is left to decay in the woods; whereas, if an extract, or the quinine, were made from them on the spot, these drugs would become incomparably more cheap in the European markets; besides which, the consumption of the trees would be retarded in the same ratio, and the useful portion which is now lost according to the present system would be preserved.

In a mountain in this province, called Chonta, several veins of cinnabar were discovered, and the hope of extracting considerable quantities of quicksilver from them elated the inhabitants for some time: the working of the mine, however, has been discontinued, but for what reasons I could never learn; the specimens of ore which I saw were certainly very rich. Several silver mines are wrought in this district, and at certain periods of the year many of the inhabitants attend the lavaderos, and collect the gold.

Near the settlement of Llacta is a bed of stones, called piedras del aguila, eagle stones. The natives pretend, that one is always found in the nest of an eagle, for the purpose of causing the female to lay, and that during the time of ovation they become heated, and retain the heat longer than the egg does, so that when the bird leaves the nest in quest of food, the warmth which is retained by the stone is communicated to the eggs, and prevents them from becoming addled, and that the first trial of the strength of the talons of the young birds is exercised in endeavouring to carry the stone. Whether this fiction had its origin among the indians or not I never could learn; however, some ancient naturalists have related the same tale respecting other ætites.

These stones are found loose, as if thrown into a heap; they are of a ferruginous nature, composed of black and reddish lamina, and are all of them dodecaedrons, although of different sizes; some weighing only a few ounces, and others from two to three pounds each.

The woods to the north abound in excellent timber: there are cedars, a kind of mahogany, laurel, and a wood called nasareno; it is very hard, and of a beautiful bright purple colour, with numerous veins of different shades.

The wild indians bring from the woods many delicious fruits, pine-apples, plantains, bananas, nisperos, mamays, guavas, &c. as well as sweet potatoes, camotes, cabbage palm, palmitos, and yucas.

A great difference may be observed in the character and manners of the inhabitants of Huamalies; those who border on Conchucos partake of the unruly disposition of their neighbours; but the more we advance to the northward, the milder and more kind we find the inhabitants; in the warm climates they are remarkably attached to festive sports and rural amusements. They were so much delighted with some country dances which I taught them, that the sun often peeped over the Cordillera and convinced some of us that it was time to go to rest, while others were apprized that it was time to go to their work.

A disease very prevalent in this province is the coto, bronchocele, which greatly disfigures some of the pretty females, and for which they possess no antidote. The Subdelegado told me, that during the stay of a detachment of troops destined to Maynas, one of the natives, who had a very large coto, offended a drummer, who drew his sword and gave the man a severe cut across the neck; it happened that he recovered, when he applied to the commanding officer for some remuneration for his loss of wages during the time that he was unable to work; the drummer was called, and observing that the man was freed from the swelling on his throat, very wittily remarked, that he was willing to pay him for his loss of time, if he would pay him for performing an operation which had relieved him from a disease, that would otherwise have accompanied him to his grave.

While in Huamalies I was twice entertained with the representation of the death of the Inca. The plasa or square had a kind of arch erected at each corner, adorned with plate, flowers, ribbons, flags made of handkerchiefs, and whatever could be collected to ornament them; under one of these sat a young indian, with a crown on his head, a robe, and other emblems of monarchy; he was surrounded by his coyas or princesses, who sang to him in the Quichua language. Presently several indians came running from the opposite corner of the plasa, and after prostrating themselves, informed the Inca of the arrival of the viracochas, white men, or children of the sun. At this time drums and trumpets were heard, and Pizarro, with about a dozen indians, dressed as soldiers, made his entry on horseback, and alighted at the arch opposite to that of the Inca. An ambassador was now sent to the Inca by Pizarro, requesting an interview, and the Prince immediately prepared to visit him. A kind of litter was brought, which he entered, and, surrounded by a number of indians and his coyas, he was carried to where Pizarro stood, and waited for him. Pizarro first addressed the Inca, promising him the protection of the King, his master; the answer was, the acceptance of the promise. Pizarro then told him, that he must become a Christian, but to this he objected, when he was immediately seized by the soldiers, and carried to another corner of the plasa; Pizarro followed him, and ordered him to deliver up all his treasures; he now took from him his crown, sceptre, and robes, and then ordered him to be beheaded. The Inca was dragged to the centre of the plasa, and laid on the ground, which one of the soldiers struck with an axe, and a piece of red cloth was thrown over the head of the Inca; the Spaniards then departed, and the Indians began to wail and lament the death of their king.

Although this representation was destitute of what may be called theatrical beauty or elegance, yet the plaintive ditties, yarabis, sung by the coyas, particularly after the death of their beloved Inca, were, to a feeling mind, superior to the sweetest warblings of an Italian cantatrice. The surrounding scenery, the view of the Cordilleras, the native dresses, the natives themselves, and the very earth which the Inca had trod on, all seemed to combine to hush the whisper of criticism, and were well calculated to rouse sympathy and compassion from their slumbers—for however they might be opiated with misrepresentations, or encumbered with fiction, they were not bolstered up with flattery or hypocrisy. After three centuries have elapsed, the memory of the ancient monarchs of this country is kept alive by the annual representations of the cruel and unmerited death of the last of the race; and I flatter myself that those who are the most prejudiced in favour of the blessings that civilization has produced since the discovery and conquest of this country, and its ill fated aborigines, by a Christian prince, must still confess, that the preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ have sold to them the title of Christianity at too usurious a price; they have been taught religion by precept, and vice by example; promised liberty in theory, and received slavery in reality; protection, prosperity, and tranquillity were pictured to them in gaudy colours by their crafty invaders; but persecution and degradation have been the reward of their unsuspecting confidence, and they have only found tranquillity in the grave.

The enormities committed by the first Spaniards who arrived in America were certainly unauthorized by the Spanish Monarchs, they were the effects of their own lust for riches. Isabella and her successors have been actuated by a zeal for the propagation of the Christian faith, and the most earnest charges respecting religious instruction and mild treatment to these their inoffensive subjects have been given to all persons in authority in the new world, and the same mild spirit breathes out in almost every page of the Recopilacion de leyes de Indias. Not only the civil magistrate and the military governor were charged with the protection of the Indians, but the bishops and other ecclesiastics; these injunctions are set forth in the tenth book of the Recopilacion, which points out the duty of these individuals, as guardians of the indians, commanding them to defend their persons and property against any oppression or usurpation. The bishops and other ecclesiastics are by the same Recopilacion empowered to inform and admonish the civil magistrates, in cases of oppression, and some of them have refused absolution to those Spaniards whom they knew to have treated the indians as slaves.

The avarice of individuals placed at a great distance from the personal control of their masters is however too violent to be restrained by laws and enactments; and many of the governors sent to the new world were as mercenary and rapacious as their countrymen over whom they presided; the lot of the oppressed was never regarded, if put in competition with their own private views, which led only to the amassing of riches, and of afterwards returning to old Spain loaded with the gold of America: this they often effected at the expence of incurring, as they richly deserved, the curses of the Americans.

CHAPTER III.

General Mode of Travelling from Lima to the different Provinces....British Manufactures fit for the last Provinces visited....General Character of the Inhabitants....Animals in the Provinces of Huailas, Caxatambo, Conchucos, and Huamalies....Pagi or Puma....Ucumari....Viscacha....Comadreja....Ardillas....Gato Montes....Alco....Llama....Paco....Huanaco....Vicuña....Mulita....Birds....Condor....Vegetable Productions....Mineral ditto....Antiquities....Diseases and Remedies....Hydrophobia.

During my stay in Huamalies, the news of the invasion of the province of La Plata, by the English, arrived; this induced me to return to Lima, instead of travelling through the country to the northward, because I knew that in the capital I should be less suspected by the government, than by the petty governors and magistrates in the inland towns. Before I quit the subject of the foregoing chapter I shall however make a few general observations.

The total absence of inns, or any similar establishment on the roads, or in the towns and villages, would present to an English traveller an almost insurmountable obstacle; and as this country is now (1824) likely to be frequented by many of my countrymen, I think it will not be uninteresting to those who may stand in need of some information, nor unentertaining to the public at large, if I give a concise description of the general mode of travelling in Peru.

If a resident in Lima wish to go to any considerable distance from the capital, the best plan he can pursue is to inquire at the tambos for requas, mules, which are from the country he intends to visit, and agree with the muleteers or carriers for the number of mules he may want. With an eye to comfort, the traveller must provide himself with a mattress, bedding, and an almaufres, leather bag, already described, sufficiently large to hold, besides the bed, his wearing apparel, because the cargo would be otherwise too light.

I always formed another load with a trunk, containing linen, books, and writing materials; also a canteen, holding two or three small pans, oil, vinegar, salt, spices, sugar, coffee, tea, knives and forks, spoons, &c., and thus equipped, having a good poncho, saddle, al uso del pais, bridle and spurs, a traveller has little to apprehend from the want of inns. The plan I usually followed was, to go to one of the principal houses in the town or village, and to ask if I could remain there during my stay in that place; this request was never denied me, and nine times out of ten I have had nothing to pay, with the addition, perhaps, of letters of recommendation, or kind messages, to persons residing in the town or village to which I was going. If it happened to be from one cura to another, I was not the less pleased, because their society in such places is generally the best, and their fare is certainly not the worst. It is much to be feared, that the political changes likely to take place in South America will be inimical to the general feeling of hospitality in the inhabitants; civilization will teach them refinements superior to such barbarous practices.

The locality of Huaras, as I have already observed, is admirably well calculated for mercantile speculations: this town might constitute the general mart for the sale of European manufactured goods, as well as for the purchase of the produce of the provinces of Huailas, Caxatambo, Conchucos, Huamalies, Patas, and part of Huamachucos. Among European saleable manufactures may be counted broad cloths, coarse woollen cloths, both single and double widths; linens, such as common Irish, or imitation of German platillas and sheeting; fine duck for trowsers, and some lawn resembling French linen, estopillas; narrow ribbons from half an inch to an inch broad; some silks and velvets; cottons of all descriptions, both white and coloured, particularly if an imitation of the tocuyos were sent; these are yard-wide unbleached cottons, having the thread more twisted than is generally practised, and velveteens, plain and corded; broad flannels, green, red yellow and brown; hosiery, both cotton and woollen; cutlery, bone-hafted knives with points are in considerable use, and large common scissors for sheep-shearing, as the natives are unacquainted with the kind of shears used in England; hardware, such as pots and pans; these last ought not to be flat-bottomed, but deeper in the middle than along the sides, with two small rings instead of a handle; braseros from eight to twenty-four inches diameter, and from three to five inches deep, according to the size, with three feet, and two large rings to carry them with; those used in the country, and their use is universal, are of copper, principally manufactured at Lambayeque, but they are very clumsily wrought, and sell very high; substitutes of iron and brass would find an extensive sale; but they ought to be as light as is possible; copper and bell-metal pans, holding from two to thirty gallons each, are articles in great demand; chocolate pots of brass, copper, or iron, holding from one to three quarts, would also find an extensive sale; paper of a quality similar to the Spanish paper has a considerable consumption, as it is used for making segars; but wove paper is always rejected, because its softness induces the natives to suppose that it is made of cotton, the smoke of which they consider injurious.

The produce of these provinces is, for the Lima market, cattle, sugar, bayetones, tocuyos, coarse stockings, ponchos, bordillos, jerga, sweetmeats, tobacco, some timber for particular uses, cheese, which is of an excellent quality, butter, and other minor articles; for exportation, bark (cinchona) of Arancay, wool, hides, and the precious metals.

The inhabitants of these provinces are industrious, and generally speaking kind and hospitable; among the indians poverty is very visible, and the shyness which they show to white people who arrive at their huts, ranchos, may be attributed to several causes—the universal oppression which they experience from the whites—their abject state in society—their incapacity of affording any accommodation to travellers—and their ignorance of the Spanish language:—all these contribute in some degree to render the accusation of invincible stupidity, as Ulloa says, apparently true; but if an indian is in what may be termed easy circumstances, though, alas! this very rarely occurs, he is equally kind, generous, and hospitable with the creoles or Spaniards.

Among the animals indigenous to the new world, the lion, so called by the Spaniards, by the Peruvians pagi, and by some others the puma, is found in the mountainous parts of the aforementioned provinces. I have already, when speaking of the province of Conception, given a description of this animal, together with the depredations it commits, and the manner of killing it. The habits of the puma in Peru are similar to those of the same animal in Chile; any further description therefore becomes unnecessary.

The name of puma was given by the ancient Peruvians to some of their most illustrious families, whose descendants are still called Caciques; it seems as if there were two orders of distinction among them, bearing the titles of the particular attributes of the puma and the condor. Of these families the unfortunate Puma-cagua, or lord of the brave lion, was a Cacique; Colqui-puma, lord of the silver lion, is another; of the condor here are the families of Apu-cuntur, the great condor, Cuntur-pusac, of eight condors, and Condor-canqui, condor by excellency, or master of the order; this last family resides in the province of Caxatambo.

The oso, or ucumari, so called by the indians, is a black bear, which frequents the mountainous parts of these districts. I never saw but one domesticated; it stood two feet five inches high, and was four feet nine inches long, the forehead flat, muzzle yellowish, two fawn coloured spots above the eyes, and a larger one on the breast; the fur black, long, and smooth; the small teeth placed behind the canine teeth. The indians are more afraid of this animal than they are of the puma, and relate many extraordinary tales about its ferocity; however I never knew an individual who had ever seen it attack a human being, nor could I obtain any correct account of a person being attacked by it. The natives hunt the ucumari with the same dogs with which they chase the puma, and the stuffed skins of these animals often adorn the corridors of the farm houses; the indians eat the flesh of the puma—that of the bear I have tasted, and found it very delicate. The bear usually feeds on wild fruits and roots, and is destructive to the crops of potatoes and maize. It seldom leaves the mountainous parts of the country, and when chased will roll itself down the sides of the steepest mountains to elude its pursuers.

The viscacha inhabits the higher ranges of the mountains, and feeds principally on the moss which is nearest to perpetual snow: it is easily domesticated, and the heat of the valleys does not seem prejudicial to its health. This animal very much resembles a hare in its shape, but it has a bushy tail as long as that of a cat; the body is covered with very soft hair of a white and ash colour, which is as soft as silk; it was formerly spun by the indians, and made into cloth for the use of the Incas: thus it was the royal ermine of Peru. The flesh of the animal is very savoury, and is considered a great delicacy.

The comadreja, weasel, is found in different parts of these provinces; it is about nine inches long, not including the tail, which is long and well covered with hair; the body is round and very slender, covered with short softish fur, of a pale yellow colour, except under the throat and on the breast, where it is white; its legs are short and thick, and its toes armed with sharp claws. This animal is remarkably active, runs very fast, and seems almost to fly when it jumps; it is very destructive to poultry, which it kills, and sucks the blood; it is also a constant customer for eggs. When the natives kill one, which but seldom happens, they preserve the skin whole, and use it for a purse.

The ardillas, red squirrels, have a red stripe along the back; their sides are grey, inclining to white near the belly, which is itself beautifully white. This species is often found in the colder regions of these provinces: it feeds on the seeds, and sometimes on the buds of the molle and espino, called here huarango; it forms its habitation in a hole among the rocks, which it furnishes with leaves, moss, and wool. The grey squirrel is larger than the red; some of this species are almost black, which the natives fancy are young ones, calling the lighter coloured canosos, grey haired. These generally choose the valleys or warm climates, and make their nests in hollow trees; they are very destructive to mani, or ground nuts, plunder the plantations and gardens of them, and carry their booty to their nests. They sometimes go in bodies on marauding excursions, and if a river oppose their progress, they embark on pieces of wood or the bark of trees, and cross it. I have been assured at Pichiusa, that if the current drifts them down the river, they will dip their tails in the water, so as to form a rudder, and thus steer their fragile flotillas to the opposite shore.

The mountain cat, gato montes, is found in the province of Huamalies, in the woods bordering on the Marañon; it is about three and a half feet long, the skin is of a dirty yellow colour, with black spots and stripes; the male has a black stripe running from between the ears along the back. This small tiger is extremely beautiful, but it is very savage; however it never attacks a man, and seldom molests the horses or horned cattle; but it sometimes leaves the woods, and visits the farms on the mountains in search of sheep and goats. The opossum, called by the natives muca muca, and a species of armadillo, called mulita, from the length of its ears, are found in the valleys; also a field rat of a dark brown colour, having the tail rather club-shaped and somewhat flattened: the flesh is considered very delicate eating.

The alco is the constant companion of the indians: it is a dog of a middling stature, of a black colour, the body covered with woolly hair, except on the breast and tail, where it is stiff and straight. They bark on the approach of any noise, and will defend their charge, whether it be the horse or cattle, against men or beasts of prey. Two kinds of these dogs are known here, the one just mentioned, and another smaller one, about the size of a lap dog, which the indians frequently carry. They seldom or never bark, which circumstance perhaps gave rise to the origin of the assertion, that "the dogs of South America do not bark." The large alco is called thegua in Chile, and the small one kiltho.

Among the indigenous quadrupeds of Peru, the species of camel, by the Spaniards called carneros de la tierra, demand the attention of a traveller. These animals in many respects resemble the camel of the old continent, but differ from them materially in others. They are less in size, but of a more elegant form; they have a small head without horns, but a large tuft of hair adorns the forehead; a very long, slender neck, well proportioned ears, large round full black eyes, a short muzzle, the upper lip more or less cleft; the body is handsomely turned, the legs long and rather slender, the feet bipartite; the covering of the body is a mixture of hair and wool, in different proportions, according to the kind of animals.

The lower jaw of each is furnished with six incisors, two canine teeth and several grinders; the upper jaw with grinders only. Under the skin the body is covered with fat, somewhat like the hog and the polar animals, intended by nature to preserve a necessary degree of warmth, because these animals inhabit the cold regions of the Cordillera. They are all ruminating, and have four ventricles; the second, which is composed of two, contains a number of cavities calculated for a deposit of water. The animals are retromingents; the time of gestation is about twenty-two weeks, and the female seldom brings forth more than one, which she suckles, having two teats and an abundance of milk. They have a callous covering on the breast or sternum, on which they fall, when reclining, either to sleep or to receive a burden; this substance appears to be destined to defend the part against any injurious contusion among the rocks; when sleeping they have their legs completely folded under the belly, and they rest on the breast. Their only means of defence is an ejection of viscous matter from the mouth, which some persons pretend acts as a caustic, producing small pimples, and a species of psora, but this is false.

The varieties are the llama, paco, or alpaca, guanaco, and vicuña, or vicugna. The size of a full-grown llama is as follows:—

The llama is by far the handsomest and most majestic animal of the four; in its portly appearance it is somewhat like a stag, but the gracefulness of its swan-like neck, its small head, and mild countenance add much to its beauty. The colour of the llama is generally a pale bright brown, but some are nearly white, others black, and others mottled. The wool is coarse, but very abundant on the body, and precludes the necessity of using pack-saddles. Nothing can exceed the beauty of a drove of these animals, as they march along with their cargoes on their backs, each being about a hundred pounds weight, following each other in the most orderly manner, equal to a file of soldiers, headed by one with a tastefully ornamented halter on his head, covered with small hawks' bells, and a small streamer on his head: thus they cross the snow-covered tops of the Cordillera, or defile along the sides of the mountains. This sight is peculiarly interesting to a stranger, and has in it what may be justly considered as something characteristic of the country, where the mountainous tracts are ill calculated for the service of horses or even mules. Indeed, the animal itself seems to partake of the docility of its driver; it needs no whip nor spur to urge it onward; but calmly paces on to its destination. Its only means of defence, as before mentioned, is to spit in the face of its oppressor; if too heavily laden with what it kneeled to receive, it will refuse to rise until relieved of part of its load.

The paco or alpaca of Peru is the chilihueque of Chile: it differs considerably from the llama—its head is rounder, its legs are shorter and thicker, and the body more plump; the skin is of a darker colour, and the hair much longer and softer: like the llama it is used as a beast of burden, kneels to receive it, and lies down if it be too heavy. The paco bears more resemblance to a sheep than to a stag, and from its great apparent strength seems better calculated to be used as a beast of burden than the llama; but it is not so docile and tractable, it will not follow the captain or leader, but generally requires to be led with a string, passed through a small aperture made in the ear;—nor is it more sure-footed on the ridges of the mountains. The pacos vary in colour more than the llamas.

The names of these two kinds are derived from alppaco—beast of the country; and llamscani—that of burden, which the Spaniards translated into carnero, sheep. It appears both from the names of these two varieties, as well as from Garcilaso, Acosta, Sandoval, and other Spanish writers, that they were domesticated before the arrival of the Spaniards, yet the breeds have never been mixed, nor will they mingle, for a very visible aversion exists between them, which, with the striking difference in their construction and appearance, induces me to believe them to be different species. They are certainly more alike than the vicuña and the huanaco, or to either of those; so that Buffon and Linnæus were wide of the truth when they asserted, that the llama and the vicuña were of the same species, and equally so with respect to the paco and the huanaco.

The shape of the huanaco is very different from that of the paco—the back of this is straight, while that of the former is hunched or arched—the one being proper for a beast of burden, the other quite improper. The height of the huanaco, from the fore foot to the tip of the shoulder, is seven inches less than from the bottom of the hind feet to the top of the rump or os sacro, on which account, when pursued it immediately descends the mountains, leaping like the buck or the deer; whereas, the other three species always endeavour to ascend the mountains to escape the pursuit. The huanacos are of a dark brown colour, inclining to white under the belly, where the hair is coarse and shaggy. The forehead is rounder than that of the paco, the nose more pointed and black, the ears straight like those of a horse, the tail is short, and turned back like that of the stag. This species seems more inclined to frequent warmer regions than the other three, and leaves the mountains for the valleys, particularly in the winter season. The huanaco is naturally gentle, and easily domesticated; but this is rarely attempted, for in such a state it is of very little use to its owner.

The vicuña is the smallest species; it is about the size of a goat, the back less arched than the huanaco's, the neck slender, and about twenty inches long. The body is covered with a remarkably fine soft wool, of a pale brown colour, which is sometimes woven; it makes an exceedingly fine cloth, but it can only be used in its native colour, or when dyed darker: very fine hats are also manufactured of it in Lima and other places. The vicuña seems to abound most in the Cordilleras, in about eighteen degrees south latitude.

The llama is now never found in a wild state, and the paco very seldom; the huanaco is rarely domesticated, and the vicuña scarcely ever, owing partly to its natural timidity, and to the effect which a warm climate has on it, often producing a kind of mange, of which the animal dies. As already mentioned, the huanaco leaves the cold regions during the winter, but the vicuña never, always preferring to live among the snow and the ice. All the four species like best to feed on the ichu that grows at the elevation of fourteen thousand feet above the level of the sea, even in eighteen degrees of south latitude. The huanaco is caught with dogs and the laso, or with a sling; this is made of a strip of leather five or six feet long, to each end of which a stone weighing about two pounds is fastened; the huntsman takes one of these stones in his hand, and whirls the other round his head, then throws it at the legs of the huanaco he has singled out, which becoming entangled with the rope, the animal falls. The vicuñas being remarkably timid, fly to the mountains, and it becomes impossible to follow them; so that for the purpose of catching them several persons assemble, and take the side of a mountain above the place where the vicuñas are seen feeding, and then descending, drive them into a ravine, where they have previously stretched a line with some rags tied to it; on approaching this the affrighted animals collect into a cluster, and are generally all caught and killed for the sake of their wool; this is not shorn; but the skins are taken off, and sent to market.

The meat of the llama and alpaca is often jerked and sold; but it is coarse and dry; that of the young huanaco, however, is very good, and that of the vicuña is equal to the finest venison.

The wool of the llama and the huanaco is only applicable to very ordinary purposes; but that of the paco is manufactured into the most beautiful blankets, which are as soft as silk—that of the vicuña is used as already mentioned.

The mulita and quiriquincho are caught in the temperate and hot valleys of Huamalies; the former is the eight-banded armadillo; it is called mulita, or little mule, on account of its long ears, which resemble those of that animal; this species is about eight inches long. The quiriquincho is sometimes called bolo; it is the eighteen-banded armadillo, and is about thirteen inches long from the snout to the end of the tail. The bands are composed of a shell or shells lying transversely on the upper part of the body, forming a kind of cuirass, of a greyish or lead colour; the bottom part of the body is also covered with a shell, and united at the sides with the upper shell like those of the tortoise; they have four feet, short legs, a pointed snout, like that of the hog, and a tail covered with scales, like that of the lizard tribe. They form holes in the ground, in which they bring forth their young, three or four every month, and feed them on fruits and vegetables. When pursued, if on the mountains, they roll themselves up and fall down the precipices, thus eluding their pursuers; but on the plains they are easily caught, although they run very fast, and always in a straight line; because their armour does not allow them to turn round, except in a circular manner. When taken out of the shell their flesh is very white, with a layer of fat similar to that of a hog. The natives dress them in a curious manner; they separate the two shells, clean the meat and season it with capsicum, salt, onions, and herbs, place it in the upper shell, and cover it with the underneath one; they then stew it in an oven, and it is certainly most delicious eating. The children often twist the intestines into strings, and form small guitars of the shells.

The birds in these provinces consist of several species of eagles, hawks, falcons, and kites; the gallinaso, several kinds of wild pigeons, finches, a kind of thrush, blackbirds, and on the borders of the Marañon a great variety of parrots, but these never pass the mountains into the valleys or ravines. The picaflor, humming bird, is found in all the warm climates of these districts. I have counted five varieties, and have often caught them with my hat, when the fairy-like creatures have been employed in sipping the honey of the plantain flower.

The majestic condor holds his court in the mountainous parts of South America, and makes excursions in search of food to the valleys and the coast. Three varieties inhabit these provinces, the largest is called moro moro; the ruff which encircles the neck and back is of a dark grey colour; the latter is produced from some feathers in the wings of this colour, which when folded fall on the back, and form what the natives call the cloak; but the short feathers on the back as well as the rest of the body are of a deep black colour. The male of this species is distinguished from the female by a large crest on the head like a crown; the neck being covered with short hairs appears naked, of a dark blue colour; the skin forms folds or curls round the neck of the bird, at the bottom of which is a ruff of grey feathers, each about ten inches long and rather curled. This bird measures from thirteen to fifteen feet from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other.

The second variety has the ruff and cloak of a light brown or pale coffee colour; it measures from eleven to thirteen feet; the third has the ruff and cloak white, and measures from nine to eleven feet; this variety abounds most, and is the most elegant.

Dr. Unanue says, that in a dissection of this bird he found no vessel of communication between the lungs and the spongy substance of the clavicles; and he affirms that there is no communication between the stomach and the trachea; that the superior cavity of the body is lined with a delicate transparent pleura, divided into several small cells; that the lungs descend to the lower cavity of the body, and the posterior part of them adhere to the spine and ribs, and that these are perforated at the union, which perforation communicates with the spongy body in the inside of them. The texture of the lungs is very porous, and when inflated by blowing through the trachea, a quantity of air escapes, and fills the large and small apertures that surround them, as well as those of the sternum and ribs.

From this construction, it would appear, that the bird is endowed with the powers of forming a vacuum in a considerable portion of the body, to assist in rendering the whole lighter, and thus to enable it to soar to the enormous height of nineteen thousand feet, where the atmosphere is of much less density than at the earth's surface.

The beak of the moro moro is four inches long, very thick, and curved; black at its base, and white towards the point. The thigh is ten inches and a half long, the leg only six inches; the foot is furnished with four strong toes; the middle toe, which is almost six inches, is terminated with a whitish curved talon, two inches long; the two lateral toes are not so long; and the three have each three joints; the hind toe is two inches long, the nail one, and this toe has only one joint. The tail is entire, but small in proportion to the size of the bird. The large quills in the wings are commonly two feet nine inches long, and the barrel more than three-quarters of an inch in diameter. The three varieties all build their nests on the most inaccessible cliffs, and lay two large white eggs.

The condors feed either on carcases, or on animals which they themselves kill; lambs and kids always require the care of the shepherd or the dog; and calves, if at a distance from the cows, frequently become their prey. They generally make their first attack on the head, and tear out the eyes. I once saw some condors attack a cow which had sunk into a quagmire and could not extricate herself; the first attack of these animals was on the anus, whence they drew out the intestines, and thus killed the animal, without regarding the noise that we made, as if sensible that we should not venture to rescue her from the mire. They are so voracious, and will feed to such a degree, that they cannot rise from the ground, but run in search of an eminence whence they can throw themselves on the wing. They soar aloft and swim in the air without any motion of the wings being visible.

The vegetable productions are wheat, barley, maize, pease, beans, lentils, quinua, potatoes, camotes, yucas, arracachas, ocas, radishes, turnips, cabbages, cauliflowers, lettuces, mangle wurzle, beet, apples, pears, guinds, peaches, almonds, apricots, grapes, melons, pine-apples, plantains, bananas, and several other equinoctial fruits; the woods are molle, cedar, huarango, alerce, and in the forests bordering on the Marañon cascol, caoba, nasareno, with many other varieties, and excellent cinchona bark near to Arancay.

The mineral productions are gold, silver, mercury, tin, iron, coal, sulphur, ætites, and several kinds of marble; but as no quarries have been wrought, and only some few samples are found in the possession of different persons at Huaras, Corongos, and in that of various parochial curates, the extent of the veins remains unknown, as well as the peculiar qualities of the stone. Many other mineral productions, unknown at present, will undoubtedly become objects of importance to the geologist, mineralogist, and chemist, now that the revolution has secured the independence of the country, and scientific individuals may visit it, which was not the case when the Spanish colonial laws were in force. To the botanist and florist the same opportunity presents itself, and South America may almost as justly be termed a new world, as it was when discovered by the indefatigable, ill-rewarded Columbus.

The remains of antiquity in any country attract the notice of a traveller; different individuals view them through different mediums, but all observe them in some light or other; some for their beauty and symmetry, as monuments of extraordinary genius and labour; others as merely picturesque, romantic ornaments in the prospect, relieving the dreary, or enlivening the interesting scenery; others search for combinations of features, and endeavour to account for the origin in the imitations; and others merely wonder how and for what purpose such immense labour was undertaken. Notwithstanding this diversity of tastes, all examine, and each in his particular province admires; but alas! though philosophical researches are of the highest importance to history, yet in South America the monuments which present themselves only serve to evince the intolerant spirit of the European nation which invaded this part of the new world: a people who demolished the temples, labouring under the influence of superstition; and destroyed the palaces and other public buildings under the influence of cupidity, in search of hidden treasure; and this with such wanton barbarity, that only vestiges remain to shew where the works of nations and of ages once stood—to exact the tear of the surviving native, the sigh of the sympathizing visitor, and to reproach the Spaniard and the creole with the lawless havoc of their forefathers.

The remains of the Incas' road, or the military causeway, which Humboldt says "may be compared to the finest Roman roads I have seen in Italy, France or Spain," passes through Huamalies alto, and in some places is perfectly straight for more than half a league; it is generally lined with freestone, and evinces the labour of an industrious obedient people, and is scarcely to be equalled except by the Chinese wall; especially if we consider the extent of it, from Cusco to Quito, which is a distance of not less than seven hundred leagues. It was most probably built at different periods, by the orders of the different reigning Incas, as they enlarged their conquests; and the continuation might possibly be the first tax or duty imposed on the conquered nations. Some parts of this road are at the astonishing elevation of twelve thousand four hundred and seventy-five feet above the level of the sea; indeed it is almost every where so situated, that the marches of the army, or the Inca on his passage, might not suffer from the hot climates in the valleys.

Near to the village of Baños in Huamalies is a spring of hot water, where some very capacious baths were built by the Incas, similar to those at Caxamarca, but more extensive. The ruins of a large building, called the palace of the Inca, are found at a short distance from the baths; it was built of stone, and is like those of Cañar and Callo, in the province of Quito. The situation is beautifully romantic; it is the summit of a mountain, and commands an extensive prospect of the river Marañon, the woods and forests to the eastward, and the mountains and valleys to the westward. The building can only be traced by the foundations and fragments of walls, all of stone, so exactly cut, or perhaps ground by rubbing the sides together, that the interstices are scarcely perceptible. It contained several enclosures, which were probably a kind of barracks for the army. Near to the palace are the ruins of a temple, of a circular form, and on the top of two mountains, one on each side of the river, are the remains of two fortresses, the sides of the mountains being divided into a sort of galleries one above another; in some parts these are formed by building breastworks, and in others they are cut out of the solid rock, the breastwork being left in the solid stone. The indians assert, that a subterraneous passage under the river opened a communication between the two fortresses; and however improbable the execution of such a work may appear to modern architects, yet the possibility and almost the proof exists in the very astonishing works of labour and art executed by the Peruvians.

The diseases most prevalent in these provinces are, pulmonic inflammations, inflammatory fevers, bicho, and pasmo. The indians have applied the name dolor de costado, pain in the side, to the pleurisy. When under the direction of a regular practitioner, the Spanish method of curing is by bathing the affected part with oil, and taking expectorants; but the method observed by the indians accords much better with the practice in England. They scarify the part with a sharp knife, and if the flow of blood be not sufficiently abundant, a person applies his mouth to the incisions and extracts the blood, this answering all the purposes of cupping. Some whip the side affected with nettles, and then bathe it with hot vinegar, applying afterwards a cataplasm of garlic, onions, and the flour of beans.

The inflammatory fever called tabardillo is common in the hot as well as cold climates. The curative method adopted by the indians may, in its prognostic, be considered an improvement on the cold affusion. Some clay is procured, and mixed with water until it acquire the consistency of batter, the patient is smeared all over his body with it; after an hour or two an examination takes place, and if the clay has become parched, and is peeled off, death is considered to be the inevitable result; but if it be cracked, and the pieces adhere to the body, a favourable result is expected. This is most probably the fruit of observation, as I believe the science of medicine among such people generally is; but the effect of the application in the latter case is a copious perspiration, which is absorbed by the clay, by which an adhesion to the cutis takes place, and prevents it from falling off; thus the experiment, if not at first founded on scientific principles, has been undoubtedly supported by practical facts.

The bicho is an endemical disease, known only in the hot valleys; it is an ulcer of a gangrenous tendency in the colon, and if not attended to in time is generally mortal. The indians use very stiptic injections, and believe the origin to be caused by a grub, bicho. Those who reside in cold climates, and when in the valleys eat abundance of fruit, are most subject to this disease.

The pasmo is generally brought on by wetting a wound, or ulcer, with cold water; it is particularly prevalent in the hot climates of the valleys; it is a general nervous convulsion; the first effects are a tetanus, after which the most excruciating pains afflict the patient, until relieved by death, for no remedy has as yet been found effectual.

The bronchocele, or goitres, is common in some parts of these provinces, particularly in the neighbourhood of Huacaibamba; it is a disagreeable affliction without any known antidote.

The syphilis, as I have before observed, is extremely virulent in the cold climates of the interior; the usual remedies applied are sarsaparilla, guaiacum, and sassafras, but very seldom mercury, owing to the dread that the natives have of its administration.

Madness in dogs was unknown in America until the year 1803, when it made its appearance along the coast between Paita and Lima; in 1807 many were affected with it in Lima, to the southward as far as Arica, and Arequipa, and to the northward of Lima in the valleys of the interior. Dr. Unanue says, "after having collected all the data, and having consulted those of the faculty, and other intelligent persons who had witnessed the effects, I have deduced,

"Firstly—That this spontaneous madness originated in the excessive increase of heat in 1803 and 1804, which caused almost all kinds of animals to throw themselves into the pits and lakes to refresh themselves.

"Secondly—That this disease attacked indiscriminately all kinds of quadrupeds, some of which, in the most furious manner, tore the flesh from their bones with their teeth: several men were also affected with symptoms of hydrophobia without having been bitten by any animal.

"Thirdly—It was most common among dogs; but some, although apparently affected, caused no symptoms in their bite except the ordinary ones; but from the bite of others on their own species, other quadrupeds, and men, the most dreadful symptoms of hydrophobia were propagated. On one of the plantations an overseer distributed among the slaves the meat of several animals which had died mad, believing that the meat was not contagious; but several of the negroes who ate of it died in a state of madness.

"Fourthly—In the cities of Ica and Arequipa the greatest number of persons died from the bite of mad dogs. At Ica one dog bit fourteen individuals in one night. Notwithstanding the advice of the surgeon Estrada, they all refused medical assistance except two—the remaining twelve died. The method of cure adopted was, a caustic applied to the part affected, suppuration was promoted, and mercurial unctions were applied until a copious salivation was established. Professor Estrada says, that forty-two persons died at Ica, at different epochs from twelve to ninety days after they were bit. The symptoms were convulsions, oppression in the chest, languor, difficult respiration, horror at the sight of liquids or any shining substance, atrabilious vomit, and great fury against the nurses. After the first appearance of these symptoms, death ensued within about five days."

CHAPTER IV.

Travels to the North of Lima....Village of Pativilca....Of Huarmey....Of Casma....Cotton Mill....Santa....River Santa....Nepeña....Farm of Motocachi....Vineyard....Port of Santa....Tambo de Chao....Viru....Truxillo....Itinerary between Lima and Truxillo....Description of Truxillo....Buildings....Inhabitants....Climate....Commerce....Jurisdiction....Arms....Plain de Chimu....Huaca de Toledo....Tradition of....Huanchaco Port....Valleys of Chimu, Chicama, and Viru....Productions....Road to Caxamarca....Contumasa....Magdalena....Gold Mines....View of Caxamarca....Origin of Name of....Description of....Buildings....Inhabitants....Arts and Manufactures of....Visit to San Pablo....Market of Caxamarca....Trade of....Hot Baths....Description of.

As soon as the political affairs of South America rendered it safe for an Englishman to travel unsuspected, I visited some of the northern provinces. I remained at Pativilca a few days, and then prosecuted my journey to Huarmey: this is a small indian village, famous only for chicha, which is remarkably strong, eighteen gallons only being made from three bushels of jora, malted maize. The next village is Casma, where a considerable quantity of cotton is grown, and where a mill for separating the seeds is established by Don Benito Canicova. The machinery is very simple—a large drum or hollow cylinder is put in motion by two mules or oxen; straps pass round this drum and round a small wheel attached to a fluted steel cylinder, about half an inch in diameter; in the same horizontal line there is another similar steel cylinder: when put in motion, the cotton is applied to the steel cylinders, which drag it between them, separating the seeds from it, and these fall down on the side next the workmen, while the cotton is thrown out on the opposite side. A very powerful screw-press is used for packing the cotton, which is generally exported to the European market.

The soil here is sandy; the climate, owing to the position of the place, which is enclosed on three sides by high mountains, is hot, and the cotton is very fine; on this account Casma will probably become more populous than it is at present, and a town of more note. The pine-apples which grow here are very fine, and many of them are carried to Lima.

Our next stage brought us to Santa, having passed the small hamlet of Huambacho. Santa is the residence of the Subdelegado, and capital of the district of the same name; it is the poorest in Peru, for when a corregimiento its distribution, repartimiento, amounted only to twenty-five thousand dollars, and its alcavala to two hundred. The town is composed of about thirty ill-built houses and ranchos; the old town stood near to the sea coast, and was much larger than the present one, but it was destroyed in 1685 by Edward David, a Dutch pirate; the inhabitants afterwards established themselves about half a league further from the coast. The King granted to this hamlet the title of city, on account of the gallant resistance which the inhabitants made against David, and particularly for their having preserved from the hands of the pirate a miraculous image of Christ crucified, the gift of the Emperor Charles the Fifth, and which is still venerated in the new church.

About two leagues to the northward of the town is the river Santa; it rises in the province of Huailas, and enters the Pacific in 8° 57' 33" south latitude. At the mouth it is about one thousand eight hundred yards wide, and its current, during the rainy season in the interior, often flows at the rate of seven miles an hour; at this time of the year it cannot be forded without great risk. In 1795 a rope bridge was thrown across it, about a league from the mouth, but this was destroyed in 1806 by an unprecedented rise of the water, which caught the bridge and dragged it away.

The valley of Santa contains some good farms, which are principally covered with lucern, and great numbers of horned cattle are fattened here for the Lima market. Some maize is also cultivated for the feeding of hogs, the lard of which is carried to Lima; here also they have fine crops of rice; indeed such is the heat, the natural dampness of the earth, and the abundance as well as the quality of the water (which like that of the Nile enriches the soil) used for the purpose of irrigation, that three successive crops are often procured from the same seed.

About six leagues to the eastward of Santa is a very neat town, called Nepeña; the climate is far more agreeable than at Santa, and the inhabitants are not incommoded with musquitos, which are very annoying at the former place, owing to the low swampy ground, where they breed in such prodigious quantities, that it is sometimes almost impossible to breathe without inhaling them. Their bite is very troublesome, and many of the inhabitants, from continually scratching themselves, become almost covered with an eruptive disease similar to the carati at Huaura; along the coast it is common to hear the Santeños called sarnosos, from sarna, the itch. In the neighbourhood of Nepeña there are several sugar plantations and vineyards. The farm called Motocachi is famous for producing excellent wine, which in flavour is not inferior to the best muscatel of Spain, or the frontignac of France. The brandy made from the same grape is also peculiarly delicate, possessing all the flavour of the wine; it is in great demand, and is called aguardiente de Italia.

The port of Santa has a safe anchorage, and is capable of containing a considerable number of vessels; during the time of peace between England and Spain many South Sea whalers touched here, for the purpose of procuring fresh provisions; and considerable business in the smuggling line has been carried on. This port and town will undoubtedly become more known and more frequented, because its situation offers an easy internation to the provinces which I have lastly described, and a saving of upwards of a hundred leagues of land carriage to some of them. Callao is now the only Puerto abilitado; but the newly-established governments will not be so ignorant of their financial interests as to suffer it to continue so.

We left Santa early in the morning, and arrived before noon at Tambo de Chao, a house built of rushes in a sandy desert, nine leagues from Santa; having refreshed ourselves a little, and fed the mules, we proceeded to a small village called Viru, where we halted for the night, and on the following day we arrived at the city of Truxillo.

The following short account of the road from Lima to Truxillo will convey some idea of the nature of travelling, and the kind of accommodations which travellers may expect who have to visit these countries. Some persons have literas, litters, for this purpose: they are square boxes, with an opening on each side which serve for entrances; a small mattress made to fit is placed at the bottom; this vehicle is then fastened to two poles, one on each side, and these are secured on the backs of two mules, on the foremost of which a boy is generally placed, to guide the animal. This mode of travelling is very disagreeable, owing to the various motions communicated to the litera; the elasticity of the poles causes it to rise and fall, while the steps of the mules make it sometimes roll from side to side, and sometimes it is jerked backwards and forwards; so that a person unaccustomed to this mode of travelling is almost sure to experience all the effects of a sea-sickness, besides a universal soreness in his limbs, occasioned by the jolting of the litter.

We have here one hundred and eight leagues of road, one-half of which leads through a sandy desert country, the greater part of which must for ever remain so: this is principally owing to the total absence of rain, the scarcity of river water, or the impracticability of irrigation; but wherever water can be procured, the scene is quite different; comfortable farm houses, neat villages, and the most luxurious vegetation enliven the views to the weary traveller; the eye soon becomes tired with a dreary sandy prospect, or with now and then beholding a few leagues of the sea coast; but it rests with pleasure and is refreshed with the prospect of fertile valleys, clothed in the luxurious garb of spring or autumn—where the evergreen sugar-cane, the lucern, the hedges, and the ripe crops of grain are blended; which is the case here during the greater part of the year.

The city of Truxillo stands on a sandy plain in lat. 8° 6' 3" S.; it was founded by Francisco Pizarro, Marquis of Charcas and Atavillos, the conqueror of Peru, who named it after his native place in Estremadura; its figure approaches to that of an oval, it is surrounded with a wall of adobes or sun-burnt bricks, ten feet high, having fifteen bastions and as many curtains; it was erected by order of the Viceroy of Peru, Duke de la Palata. The streets of this city cross each other at right angles in a north-east and south-west direction, and are generally about forty feet wide. The houses, like those of Lima, are generally but one story high; many of the fronts are white-washed, and some of them fancifully painted. The principal mansions have large patios in front, and an arched door-way or entrance; the insides are richly furnished, but not in the English style; long sofas, high tables, and few chairs, having an awkward appearance to a foreigner; the walls are hung with crimson damask, and the sofa and table covers are of the same material, as well as the curtains and the bed furniture. In many houses, large paintings of saints, in richly embossed silver frames, adorn the walls, and the wealth of many of the inhabitants is displayed in a profusion of wrought plate. Some of the shops in la Calle del Comercio are well stored with European manufactured goods; but, as in Lima, no display of them can be made for want of windows, a convenient enticement to purchasers unknown in these parts of the new world. Although the streets of this city are well laid out, of a commodious width, and lined with neat houses, they are not paved, and consequently are very dirty; some of them are nearly impassable on this account; indeed the shoes of a passenger must be filled either with sand or dirt.

The plasa mayor, or great square, is very large, and has a low fountain built of stone in the centre. On the east side stands the cathedral, which is a handsome building with one steeple; the inside is richly ornamented, and a great profusion of plate and other costly articles is exhibited on solemn festivals; but, like all the cathedrals in Spanish America, the site occupied by the choir destroys the effect which would otherwise be produced by the high altar standing in the central nave. This church was consecrated in the year 1673, by the thirteenth bishop of the diocese, Don Fray Juan de la Calle y Heredia. Attached to the cathedral on the north side, is the Sagrario or principal parish church, although always called a chapel; indeed it is the chapel of ease to the cathedral, where all the parochial duties are performed, without interfering with the choral and other religious ceremonies of the matrix.

On the opposite side of the cathedral stands the palace of the bishop; it is a large old decayed building, the inside of which is fitted up in a style of antique magnificence, for every succeeding bishop has generally purchased the furniture which belonged to his predecessor. The palace has an upper story, which is occupied by the bishop and his domestics; in the lower is the ecclesiastical prison, the different offices, stables, &c.

On the north-west side of the plasa are the palace of the governor, and the government offices, such as the royal treasury; the callana, where the plata piña is melted and stamped and the royal fifth is paid; also that of the secretary to the governor. The whole range of buildings has a low and mean appearance. The two remaining sides of the square are filled with the houses of private individuals, among which is that of the Marquis of Bellavista, the only title in Truxillo.

Besides the cathedral there are three parish churches, Santa Ana, San Sebastian, and San Esteban; five conventual churches of San Francisco, Santo Domingo, San Augustin, La Merced, and the ex-Jesuits; and two nunneries, the barefooted Carmelites, and Santa Clara. The convents are governed by their prelates, who are subject to their respective provinciales in Lima: in the college of ex-Jesuits a seminary is established, and the college of San Carlos is subject to the bishop. The nuns of Santa Clara are under the direction of the Franciscan prelate, as belonging to that order; and the Carmelites are under that of the ordinary, the bishop; there is also a hospital managed by the Bethlemite friars.

The inhabitants of Truxillo consist of a few Spaniards, some white creoles, indians, negroes, and the castes arising from the mixture of these, amounting in the whole to about eight thousand souls. This city is celebrated as being the birth-place and residence of some very handsome mulatas and other females of colour; indeed the features of many are very pleasing, and the castes remarkably free from those stains which not unfrequently render the complexion of coloured people so very disagreeable. Truxillo is noted for its Quixotic nobility; it is often said, that the body of this celebrated Don was buried here; I have frequently seen in the house of a mulatto or a zambo a full-length portrait of the individual, who by a kind of faux pas caused them to emerge from the African race, and sable colour, and of whom they speak with as much respect as the montañeses do of Don Pelayo, whose descendants they all pretend to be, or as any nobleman of England would do of Ptolemy or Alexander, if he fancied that he could trace his pedigree either to the Egyptian astronomer or the Macedonian hero.

There is nothing peculiar in the dress of the inhabitants; the men wear their clothes nearly in the European style, with the addition of a cloak or a poncho; the females, unlike to those of Lima, may be seen in the streets in their in-door dresses, but seldom with either hat, cap, or bonnet; their heads being usually covered with a shawl. The higher classes, and all who can afford it, have calesas, a close carriage on two wheels, drawn by a mule, on which the coachman rides. The general paseo for the ladies is to Mansiche, a small indian village to the northward of the city, about half a league from the walls, where they resort during the cool of the evening mounted on asses, having a kind of pack-saddle covered with very gay trappings of crimson broad-cloth or velvet, embroidered and fringed with gold or silk. The ladies ride sideways, and frequently two are mounted on the same ass, with their feet hanging on the opposite sides; one of the ladies generally wears a small spur. At Mansiche they treat themselves with picantes, dishes highly seasoned with aji, cayenne pepper; they also drink chicha, and generally return to the city about sunset.

The climate of Truxillo is colder than that of Lima during the winter season or the damp months, and much hotter during the summer. The market is plentifully supplied with fish, flesh meat, poultry, bread, vegetables and fruit; and is much celebrated for delicate sweetmeats, among which the preserved muscadine grapes are most esteemed.

Little commercial business is here transacted, and the city owes great part of its prosperity to its being the residence of the governor, the bishop, and the several persons employed in the civil and ecclesiastical departments.

The jurisdiction of the Gobernador Intendente extends along the coast from the river Saña to the river Santa, and eastward to the Marañon. As it includes many valleys and several mountainous districts, in it all the various climates may be found. The civic jurisdiction of the alcaldes is the same here as in other cities in the Spanish colonies.

The ecclesiastical jurisdiction contains thirty-one doctrinal curacies; it is in the hands of the bishop, who is assisted by his vicar-general, provisor, and the chapter, which is composed of the dean, the archdeacon, the chanter, four canons and two prebendaries.

The arms of the city are a shield, azure, bearing a griffin; in the centre two columns, one blue, the other white, over water, in which there is a crown, Or, crossed by two bars, Argent, underneath which is the letter K.

Truxillo suffered very much from earthquakes on the 14th of February, 1619—the 6th of January, 1625—the 20th of October, 1759—and the 2nd of September, 1759. The last shock was very violent, and some of the valleys near the coast, which, before it happened, produced the most abundant crops of wheat, became quite sterile for more than twenty years afterwards.

The plain on which the city of Truxillo is built is called del Chimu, this being the title of the sovereign chief who resided here, and signifying the powerful Lord: this chief, after resisting the Incas of Peru from the time of Lloqui Yupanqui to that of Pachacutec, the tenth Inca, at length subjected himself, swearing allegiance to the Inca at the fortalice of Paramonga. In the plain are the ruins of the ancient residence of the Chimu; they appear like the foundations of a large city or the walks of a garden, crossing each other at right angles, and denote the residence of the numerous tribe which formerly inhabited this site, and prove, also, that their chief had a respectable force at his command, with which he could oppose the incursions of the imperial army; this he continued to do until the Incas, by gradually augmenting their army with soldiers collected from the numerous tribes, which for nearly a century they had been annexing to their empire, were able to subdue this chief of the coast.

The custom of burying with the dead whatever belonged to them at their decease seems to have been prevalent among the Chimu tribes, for their huacas contain utensils, arms, clothing, and treasure, exactly in the manner as those of the indians in other parts of Peru. The same attention is also paid to economizing land fit for cultivation: the ruins just mentioned being situated on an elevated plain, where water could not be procured for the purpose of irrigation. In the year 1576, a Spaniard, named Juan Gutierres de Toledo, opened a huaca, which was supposed to have been that of one of the Chimus, in which he found so large a quantity of gold, that he paid into the royal treasury of Truxillo nine thousand three hundred and sixty-two ounces of gold, as the royal fifth, the value of the whole being upwards of a hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling.

The tradition respecting the discovery of this treasure is as follows:—Toledo was a poor Spaniard, who, on his arrival at Huanchaco, the sea-port to Truxillo, took up his residence at the house of an indian named Tello: Toledo was of a mild disposition, and endeavoured to conciliate the good-will of his host, which he easily accomplished; he afterwards removed to Truxillo, and with the assistance of Tello opened a small store; the friendship of the Spaniard and the indian increased, so that Toledo became godfather to one of the children of Tello, which is considered to this day as the greatest favour that a white man can show to an indian. Tello one day told his friend that it was in his power to repay all the kindness which he had received, and to make his friend rich by giving to him a huaca, which, after some preliminary arrangements, he did. Toledo followed the directions of his friend, and found the value already mentioned in bars, and some household utensils of gold. Having thanked his guide who had conducted him to the wealth he had acquired, Tello told him that on a future day he would give him the great fish, the one which he had given him being only the little fish; but he died without discovering it, or giving him any clue to find it. Toledo, in gratitude to the memory of his benefactor, redeemed the tribute of the indians of Huauchaco by paying a certain sum of money into the treasury, the fruit of which just and generous action the indians still continue to enjoy; and a native of the village always carries with him, if he go to reside in any other part of the country, a certificate of his birth, which every where frees him from the payment of this tax. This action of Tello clearly proves that a South American indian is not incapable of possessing those feelings which have been denied to their character by some of their visitors and historians.

The great fish mentioned by Tello is generally believed to be a mountain or large hill near to the huaca de Toledo, and visible at Truxillo. This hill has every appearance of having been formed by art; it stands on the sandy plain of Chimu, quite isolated, and seems to be nothing but a huge portion of sand, which being poured down from an eminence would assume the shape which this mound bears. Many persons have attempted excavations, but the falling down of the loose materials, of which the hill is formed, has prevented the continuation of the work. If an adit were cut through it there is little reason to doubt but that an immense treasure would be found. Humboldt speaks of the same experiment being worthy of attention when describing the Teocalli of Cholula.

The sea-port to Truxillo is called Huanchaco; it is a roadstead in which the anchorage is not good, and where the landing, owing to the surf, is attended with considerable inconvenience; this, however, might be partly removed by the erection of a pier, which will probably be effected when the commerce with this part of Peru becomes interesting. The latitude of Huanchaco is 8° 6´—the church, which stands on an eminence, is an excellent land-mark.

The valleys of Chimu, Chicama, and Viru, may be considered as one, being separated from each other only by the branches of the Chicama river. United they are about twenty-eight leagues long and eleven broad; their soil, irrigated by the waters of the river, is very fertile, producing most abundant crops of wheat, maize and other pulse, as well as grapes, olives, sugar-cane, plantains, pine-apples, lucumas, guavas, mamey apples, custard apples, tumbos, chirimoyas, guanabanas, together with a variety of esculents, potatoes, camotes, yucas, radishes, &c. Formerly the valley of Chicama was called the granary of Peru, and until the great earthquake in 1687, the wheat produced its seed two hundred fold; this valley alone harvested annually two hundred thousand bushels of this grain. Here are many sugar plantations, but for want of hands they are not so well cultivated, and consequently not so productive as those in the valleys in the neighbourhood of Lima and Pisco. Little doubt can be entertained but that this beautiful and fruitful valley, at some future period, will become one of the most interesting settlements on the coast of Peru, on account of its great extent, the quality of its soil, and the abundance of water. Cotton and rice appear to claim particular attention, but their cultivation has hitherto been little promoted.

I left Truxillo with the chasquero, postman, which is a commodious and quick way of travelling, and especially if the person has no luggage, or can trust it to a muleteer to follow him; because the postman demands a horse or a mule at each stage, for which is paid a real, or one-eighth of a dollar per league. After travelling along the valley of Chicama about eight leagues, we stopped at a small village, called Simbal, changed horses for mules, and then began to ascend the cuesta; we continued to travel in this manner, with now and then a small descent or a little level road, till we arrived at Contumasá, at ten o'clock at night, having ridden twenty-one leagues in eleven hours. Although the latter part of the road appeared rugged from the frequent stumbling of the mules, I was obliged to allow mine to take its own choice, because for the last three hours the darkness prevented me from seeing how to direct it.

The village of Contumasá is situated on an eminence where the climate is much colder than that which I had just left; the houses are either thatched or tiled, and the whole of the country, habitations and people, appear different. The glow of a tropical sky at sunrise and sunset was changed to a pale blue, with light white clouds, or more dense ones charged with rain; the houses were so constructed as to exclude the rain and the cold; the clothing of the inhabitants was calculated to answer the same end, and all indicated a change like that from summer to winter; but the transition was so sudden, although expected, that in the morning, when I went into the corridor of the house where I had slept, I could not help looking on all around me with a certain degree of surprize. This village is composed of a long street, a plasa, and a church; some of the houses have a neat comfortable appearance, but the inhabitants are said to be somewhat akin to the Conchucanos. After taking mate, with some bread and cheese, we left Contumasá, and arrived in the evening at a hamlet called la Magdalena, situate in the bottom of a deep valley; the climate is very hot, and is considered unhealthy; small patches of sugar-cane, yucas, camotes, and some of the fruits of the coast, are here cultivated. At a small distance from the hamlet there are some abandoned gold mines, called de los Portugueses: it is said that they were formerly wrought by some natives of Portugal, and belonged to the unfortunate Juan Bautista, a Portuguese Jew, who was burnt by the inquisition of Lima in 1705.

We changed mules at la Magdalena, and immediately began to ascend the cuesta by a winding road, some parts of which are very steep; having gained the summit, and travelled about three leagues across the top of the mountain, covered with long dry grass, pajon, we reached the cumbe, an eminence from which the valley and city of Caxamarca form a most beautiful prospect.

The valley of Caxamarca is about five leagues long, and three broad in its widest part, forming an irregular oval. Many white country houses present themselves, and numberless ranches of the indians; the whole plain is intersected with green hedges, which divide it into several hundreds of small plots of ground, all apparently in the highest state of cultivation, at least all bearing most luxurious crops: the river winds along the valley from one extremity to the other, bursting as it were from the embraces of the hills at one end; after gambolling along the valley, distributing health and vigour to the vegetable tribes, it again sinks into the arms of the mountains at the other. The city presents a most delightful prospect in the foreground at the foot of the cumbe; the spacious streets, intersecting each other at right angles, the large plasa mayor in the centre of the city, the spires and domes of the churches, and the neatly tiled houses, all contribute to enhance the beauty of the view; while at a short distance from the city, in the back part, vapours are continually rising from the hot baths. Not only is the sight of Caxamarca very interesting, but feelings of sympathy swell the bosom of the stranger who looks on it;—it brings to his recollection the unmerited sufferings and death of the Inca Atahualpa, who here fell a sacrifice to the unparalleled treachery and detestable cruelty of the Spanish conqueror, Pizarro.

After a rather tedious descent, we arrived at the city, and as I determined to remain here for some time, for the purpose of visiting whatever might appear to me interesting, I took apartments in a private house, where I remained during my stay in this part of America, and where I soon became like one of the family—enjoying every kindness my good host could lavish on me, for all which he would only accept a trifling recompense.

The name of this city is derived from cassacmalca, place of frost; however, the climate is very benign, the maximum of the thermometer during my stay being 72° of Fahrenheit, and the minimum 40°; but it more probably obtained its name from the blights occasioned by the frosty winds from the east, which are very injurious to vegetation.

Here is a parish church, called la Matris, belonging to the white inhabitants, dedicated to Santa Catalina; it is a handsome edifice of stone, neatly wrought; the front is very much ornamented with carved work, in good sand stone; it has three doors opening into the three naves of the church. The interior is neat, but not rich; the whole expence of the building was defrayed by an order of Charles II. from the royal treasury, during the Viceroyalty of the Duque de la Palata. The two parishes of indians are San Jose and San Pedro: to the former in 1810 was given the beautiful conventual church of San Antonio, which formerly belonged to the Franciscans. Here are the conventual churches of San Diego and la Merced; the nunnery of la Concepcion, and a hospital belonging to the Bethlemites. The church of San Antonio is a fine structure, approaching to the chaste gothic style; the two rows of pillars in the interior that support the roof, which is composed of some light groined arches, are slender, and the whole effect is very pleasing; it has much the appearance of a small cathedral, unencumbered with the central choir; the whole building is of white stone, dug from a quarry near to the city. The church and convent of San Diego are remarkably neat stone buildings; the cloisters, cells, kitchens, and other offices are arched with stone; and the extensive gardens belonging to them are enclosed with walls of the same wrought material. It belongs to the grey friars of San Francisco, but seldom more than two or three reside here. It once happened, that there were no other residents than the guardian, or prelate, and a lay brother, who was an Andalusian; the former thought proper to threaten the latter with corporal punishment; when he immediately replied to his superior, that if he did not moderate his anger, he would deprive him of his superiority. But how? exclaimed the enraged prelate: by hanging my habit on a peg, and leaving your fathership without an inferior, replied the donado.

The church belonging to the nunnery de la Concepcion is a handsome new structure; at the time of my present visit to Caxamarca it was not finished, but when I returned in 1812 it had been consecrated, and divine service was then performed in it. The church belonging to the hospital is built of carved stone, and a profusion of workmanship ornaments the front of the building. Here are two wards, or rather two hospitals; that for men is within the cloisters of the convent, and that for women is a separate stone building, divided from the convent by a street. The surgeon is paid from the indian tribute, and few but indians go to the hospital.

The population of this city is composed of white people and indians, a small number of negroes, and the mixed breeds; the excess is in favour of the indians and mestisos, called here quinteros; the total amount is about seven thousand. Here are some descendants of Spanish nobility, particularly the family of Bonifas, who are the lineal descendants of the family of Ximenes, to which the Cardinal Ximenes, Regent of Spain to the Emperor Charles V. belonged, and who are in possession of many interesting papers, which were the property of that celebrated statesman. Among the Indians is the family of the Cacique Astopilco; they claim a lineal descent from the Inca Atahualpa, and inhabit part of the palace which was formerly occupied by the imperial family, the place where Atahualpa was murdered. The generality of the inhabitants are industrious, and their workmanship in silver and iron is deserving of much praise. I have seen many very handsome sword blades and daggers made here, pocket steels, and bridle bits most curiously wrought, beside several well finished pistol and gun locks; on this account the Caxamarquinos are often called the Biscayans of South America. Literature would prosper here were it properly cultivated; the natives are fond of instruction, and scholars are not rare; many of the richer inhabitants send their children to Truxillo and Lima to be educated. Kindness, hospitality, and innocent amusements, characterize the citizens of Caxamarca, and some of the most agreeable hours of my life have been spent in this town.

I cannot avoid giving the description of a visit to a most eccentric character, a native of this place, who resided at a sugar plantation, of which he was proprietor, about nine leagues from Caxamarca. I had often been pressed by my friend to visit San Pablo; and having appointed the day, two mules arrived the preceding evening, one for myself and one for a nephew to my host, Don Mariano Alvites. On the following morning, at five o'clock, we mounted, with two black men as an escort, carrying their long lances, as if any danger could be apprehended on the road. Having arrived at the top of a mountain, which we were obliged to cross, it began to rain, and our descent on the opposite side was attended with considerable danger; however we arrived safely at the bottom; our mules had often to bring their hind feet close to their fore feet, and then resting on their haunches they would slide down a distance of from twenty to forty yards at a time. We halted a few minutes at the bottom, when one of the negroes pointing to a small house about two miles off, said, my amo, master or owner, waits your arrival at that house which stands on the border of his estate, where he intends to welcome you on your arrival, and where a breakfast is prepared. We walked our mules leisurely along, and shortly heard the report of a camareta; this is a small mortar, having a two or three inch bore, and about eight inches deep, at the bottom of which is a touch hole; it has a handle, and looks very much like a large tankard; it is loaded with powder, and then filled with dry clay, which is beat very hard with a mallet; it is then placed on its end with the mouth upwards, and a train is laid to it; when fired the report is equal to that of an eight pounder.

Such a report a little surprised me, and the sound, which re-echoed from the mountains on every side, had a very pleasing effect. Alvites now said to me, my uncle is in a good humour, prepare yourself to be more teased with his peculiarities than what we now are with the rain. About a mile from the small house we could see our friend Don Manuel de Verastegui, y Oliva, advancing slowly and majestically, like a Lord Mayor's procession, to meet us: had Cervantes witnessed this sight, there is no doubt but he would have taken him for the knight of his enchanting romance.

At the distance of eight or ten yards our friend alighted from his dappled charger, and approached to salute us; we remained on our mules, enjoying his profound bow, hat in hand, and "a more unpleasant morning," said he, "never brought to San Pablo, the humble residence of Don Manuel de Verastegui, two more welcome visitors than those whom I have now the honour to address; allow me to say, you are indeed welcome;" when, without waiting a reply, he remounted his steed, and we trotted along to his rancho. This kind old gentleman was dressed in a coat, waistcoat and breeches of blue velveteen; the coat being lined with Catalonian chintz, full of large red flowers on a white ground; the huge buttons on his coat and waistcoat were of silver; he had on a pair of high military boots, and had a small triangular cocked hat on his head; his hair was curled on the sides, and tied behind in a long cue, a lo militar de Carlos III.; a silver-hilted trusty toledano was girt to his side by a broad black belt, which passed round his waist; he appeared to be about sixty, and in stature he might be six feet; he was also remarkably slender and very upright. His saddle trappings were of crimson cloth, ornamented with silver lace and fringe. Two blacks accompanied him on horseback, the one held a huge crimson umbrella over his head, while the other rode before him with his lance, hasta de rejon: they were both in old liveries, and wore cocked hats with yellow worsted lace, but were bare-legged. On our arrival at the lodge, if so I may call it, we were saluted with another camareta, and shortly after we rode under the corridor and alighted. Several negro boys immediately took our ponchos and hats to the kitchen to dry, and we entered and sat down to a very sumptuous breakfast; a roasted kid hot, boiled turkey cold, collared pig, ham and tongue, with butter, cheese and olives, besides which, wine and brandy, pisco, and several liquers were on the table; tea, coffee, and chocolate, were afterwards brought in, and a cup of each was placed before every one of us.

After breakfast we again mounted, and the rain having ceased, our ride to the farm-house was very agreeable. On our arrival, the lady of the house came into the corridor to receive us, with her two daughters. Doña Casimira and Doña Rosaria, each upwards of thirty years old: we alighted, and after the first ceremonious salutations were over, we retired to two rooms prepared for us, and changed part of our dress, having taken the precaution of bringing linen with us from Caxamarca. When we returned to the drawing-room, our host had changed his dress also: he now wore a very old-fashioned green velvet full-dress, almost covered with embroidery and spangles. Doña Casimira sat down to a harpsichord, and played several pretty airs, and her sister afterwards sung some tristes to her guitar. As the ground was wet. Don Manuel proposed a dance before dinner and a walk afterwards; this was assented to, and I danced a minuet with Doña Rosaria; Alvites excused himself; but our host and hostess walked a minuet, to my no small diversion.

We had a very sumptuous dinner, walked out during the afternoon, and in the evening were joined by a party of about twenty persons; after which we continued dancing, singing, and feasting till daylight, when my companion and I returned to Caxamarca, Don Manuel accompanying us to the lodge, where he most ceremoniously thanked us for favouring him with our company, and then wished us a pleasant ride.

The market of Caxamarca is well supplied with flesh meat, poultry, bread, grain, vegetables, fruit, and every necessary, all of which are cheap: cheese and butter are plentiful; of the latter a fresh supply is brought from the country every day. Some very fine fruits are also obtained from the valleys, such as paltas, the vegetable marrow, chirimoyas, and pine-apples, particularly from that part called de las Balsas, where the road to Chachapoyas crosses the Marañon.

This city carries on a considerable trade with Lambayeque and other places on the coast, furnishing them with the different home manufactured articles; such as baizes, bayetones, pañetes, a kind of coarse cloth, blankets, flannels, tocuyos, &c., and receiving in return European manufactures, soap, sugar, cocoa, brandy, wine, indigo, hierba de Paraguay, salted fish, iron, steel, &c. The inhabitants of the interior resort to Caxamarca as a kind of mart, for the purpose of selling their own produce and manufactures, and for purchasing others which they may require; hence, a considerable trade is carried on, and some of the shops are well stored with European goods, similar to those which I mentioned when speaking of Huaras. Articles of a superior quality are in demand here, for the poorer classes wear their own manufactures; but the richer dress in European goods of the best quality.

At the distance of a league from Caxamarca are the baths of the Inca: two comfortable dwelling houses are built of stone on the two sides of a large patio, each having an extensive bath: that on the right hand is five yards square, and two deep. The sides and bottom are formed of roughly hewn stone, having steps at two of the corners, leading down from two doors, which open to different parts of the house; and others in the centre of the opposite side, communicating by a door with a large room. On the left is another bath, smaller than this; it is called de los pobres, and it has convenient rooms also attached to it. At the entrance to the patio is a corridor to the right and left, which serves as a stable; and in the front there are two kitchens, and a passage that leads through the building. It was at these baths that the unfortunate Atahualpa resided when Pizarro arrived at Caxamarca.

The spring of hot water, called el tragadero, is at the back of the building, and is at the distance of two hundred and thirty yards from it; it is circular, of five yards in diameter; I sounded it with fifty yards of rope, but found no bottom; the land all round it to the distance of more than a mile is almost level, declining a very little towards the river, which runs at the distance of four hundred yards from the tragadero. The water appears to boil, but having only one thermometer with me, and being fearful of damaging it where its place could not easily be supplied with another, I did not measure its heat. The natives scald their pigs here when they kill them, and as I have observed that boiling water rather fastens the bristles on the skin, I concluded that the heat of the water is below the temperature at which it generally boils when heated in the ordinary way. I filled two tin coffee pots, the one with water from the tragadero, the other with water from a cold spring; I placed them together on the same fire, and observed that the cold and the hot water began to boil precisely at the same time. I placed an egg in the tragadero, secured in a small net, and allowed it to remain eight minutes; it was then quite hard and the yolk dry. I allowed another to remain three minutes, which when broken was soft; I placed another in the hot water, allowed it to remain three minutes, and put it immediately into boiling water on a fire with a cold raw egg; after boiling five minutes they were both equally hard, and when cut no difference could be observed except in the taste;—the one which had been placed in the tragadero had a slight clayey taste, somewhat similar to that of water which has passed over a bed of clay.

The water of the tragadero empties itself into a channel three feet wide, and on an average six inches deep, which from several experiments I observed to run at the rate of three feet in a second. By this experiment it appears, that about thirty hogsheads of water are discharged in a minute. Along the sides of the channel the grass and other vegetables, particularly the ichu, grow to the very margin of the stream; and the fields of lucern which are irrigated with this water, at the distance of five hundred yards from the tragadero, are the finest in the valley. The fruit trees also that grow in the gardens belonging to the baths, apples, pears and peaches, are never subject to the blight from the frosty air so common in the neighbourhood; being apparently protected by the steam which continually rises from the hot water. The principal stream contains many small fishes of a black colour, very much in shape like small shrimps; if these be put into cold water they immediately die. They appear to be continually swimming up the stream, as if to avoid being carried by it to the confluence of the cold stream from the Santa Rosa springs with that of the tragadero, where they would most certainly perish.

The water which flows from the spring called de Santa Rosa, which is only seventy-two yards from the tragadero, is always at 41° of Fahrenheit at the mouth of the spring, where it bursts from a rock. The baths are supplied with water of any temperature, by mixing the hot from the tragadero with the cold from Santa Rosa; and as there is an outlet at the bottom as well as at the top of each bath, a constant supply of fresh water is maintained.

CHAPTER V.

Historical Sketch of Caxamarca, Huaina Capac, Huascar Inca, and Atahualpa....Arrival of Pizarro at Tumpis....At Caxamarca....Spanish Embassy....Harangue of Soto....Answer of Atahualpa....Visit of Atahualpa to Pizarro....Discourse of Friar Vicente Valverde, to Atahualpa....Answer of Atahualpa....Imprisonment of....Offered Ransom of....Cause of the Jealousy of Pizarro....Arrivals of Treasure....Accusation, for the Trial of Atahualpa....Sentence, Baptism, Execution, and Burial of....Interesting Remains in Caxamarca.

Caxamarca is a place interesting in the history of Peru; it was here that the Inca Atahualpa resided when Pizarro landed at Tumpis, now Tumbes, in the mouth of the Guayaquil river. The residence of Atahualpa at this place was accidental, as will appear from the following historical sketch, which I have endeavoured to make as correct as possible, with the assistance of the works of Garcilaso, Gomara, Zarate, and others; collated with the oral traditions of the indians of this province, and particularly the Cacique Astopilco, as well as those of Quito.

Huaina Capac having conquered the kingdom of Quito, married Paccha-chire, daughter of the Quitu, or King of that country; she bore him a son, who was named Atahualpa, whom some writers have erroneously called Atabalipa, Atalipa, and Atalpa. His eldest son, by his wife, the Empress Rava Ocllo, born at Cusco, was called Inte Guri Hualpa; but on the day of the Apu-ñaca, he was named Huascar, under which name he is always known as Inca of Peru. Huaina Capac died at Quito, and left to Atahualpa all that territory which had formerly belonged to the Quitu; and to Huascar the remaining part of the empire, on condition that Atahualpa should do homage to his brother Huascar, as legitimate descendant of the Sun.

The disappointment of Huascar at finding a brother whom he had considered a bastard thus elevated, made him determine on his destruction; but he first procured a delay which might allow him to assemble his troops, and at the same time to probe the intention of Atahualpa. He therefore sent a messenger to inform him, that by the will of their father, he and his kingdom were tributary to the Inca of Cusco; and that, as he intended, so soon as the great feast held on the day on which the sun passed the zenith of Cusco was over, to extend his conquests to the southward, he required a certain number of armed men from Quito, as a tributary quota. Atahualpa perceived the drift of the subterfuge, and determined to avail himself of this opportunity to forward his own views, and to acquire to himself the sole sovereignty, which he perceived was the aim of his brother. He sent a considerable force, with orders not to enter Cusco, but to remain in the neighbourhood, and to conduct themselves as men sent to assist Huascar in his future conquests; but on the day of the great festival, to enter the city, and when all were employed in the religious rites of the day, to possess themselves of the Inca, and to bring him as his prisoner. Atahualpa, with another army, proceeded to Caxamarca, to await the result of the expedition sent to Cusco; they succeeded in taking Huascar; and the imperial insignia, a red tassel, which the Inca always wore on solemn occasions, hanging on his forehead, was sent to Atahualpa, who was now considered as Inca of Peru.

At this time the Spaniards had landed in Peru, at Tumbes, and after possessing themselves, not without great opposition on the part of the natives, of that place, Pizarro began his march towards the south. Atahualpa was at Caxamarca, and his brother Huascar prisoner at Andamarca, about forty leagues from Pachacamac. Atahualpa immediately sent his brother Titu Atanchi as his ambassador to Pizarro, with most magnificent presents, including two golden bracelets worn only by the Incas, to welcome the arrival of the Viracochas, to solicit their protection, and to invite them to visit him at Caxamarca. Huascar at the same time, although a prisoner, found means to send his ambassadors to Pizarro, informing him of the situation in which he was placed by Atahualpa, and craving his protection.

Pizarro now found himself the arbiter of the fate of two monarchs, both soliciting his friendship and protection, and each alleging his own right to the empire of Peru; but Pizarro determined that it should not belong to either of them, and the only thing that engrossed his attention was the safest and easiest means of possessing himself of the treasures of both. He therefore determined to go first to Caxamarca, judging that the reigning Inca would be in possession of the greater wealth, and Hernando Pizarro was afterwards sent to Pachacamac.

Francisco Pizarro pushed forward to Caxamarca, where he arrived with a hundred and sixty soldiers. At this time Atahualpa was at the baths, and Pizarro sent to him as his ambassadors his brother Hernando Pizarro and Hernando de Soto, and as interpreter an indian named Felipe, a native of the Puná island, in the Guayaquil river; these were accompanied by two hundred noble indians, appointed by the Curaca of Caxamarca to attend on them; Atahualpa being informed of the approach of the two Spaniards, ordered one of his generals to form his troops and do them the honors due to the children of the Sun. On their arrival at the palace they were immediately presented to Atahualpa, who embraced them, and said, "welcome, great Viracochas, to these my regions!" and having two seats covered with gold brought in, he ordered them to sit down. Atahualpa then, speaking to his courtiers, said, "behold the countenance, the figure, and the dress of our god, the same which appeared to my antecessor Inca Viracocha, and whose arrival was also predicted by my father, Huaina Capac." A species of wine was brought, and the Inca taking one of the golden goblets, the other was given to Herando Pizarro, to whom the Inca bowed, and drank a small quantity, giving the goblet to his brother Titu Atanchi, who drank the remainder; two more were then brought, and the Inca taking one, sent the other to Soto, to whom he bowed, and drank a little of the beverage, and gave the goblet to his other brother, Choquehuaman. Different kinds of fruit were then presented to the ambassadors, of which they partook with Atahualpa.

Hernando de Soto rose, bowed to Atahualpa, resumed his seat, and delivered his embassy, stating, that "in this world there were two most potent princes, the one was the high Pontiff of Rome, Vicar-general to, and representative of God on earth, who governed his church and taught his divine law. The other was Charles V. Emperor of the Romans and King of Spain. These two monarchs," said Soto, "being informed of the blind idolatry of your highness and all your subjects, have sent our Governor and Captain-general Don Francisco Pizarro, his companions, and some priests, the ministers of God, to teach your highness and your vassals the divine truths of our holy religion, and to establish with your highness everlasting relationship, concord and peace."

To this harangue, interpreted by Felipe, the Inca answered to the following effect:—"Divine men, I am most heartily glad that you and your companions have arrived at these regions during the days of my life, for your arrival has fulfilled the vaticination of my forefathers, but my soul is sorrowful, because others must also be now fulfilled; notwithstanding, Viracochas, I welcome ye as the missioners of our God, and hope that the changes prophesied by my father, Huaina Capac, and now about to take place, will lead to the good of myself and my people; it was on this account that neither I nor my captains have opposed your progress, as the natives of Puná and Tumpis did, because we believe you to be the children of our great God Viracocha, and messengers of the eternal all-creating Pachacamac—in obedience to our laws, and to the orders and injunctions of my father, we have received ye, and will serve and worship ye; but have pity on me and on my people, whose affliction or death would be more distressing to me than my own."

Pizarro and Soto begged leave to retire to their own camp at Caxamarca, and Atahualpa embraced them, and said, that he should soon follow them, to enjoy the company of the children of his God, Viracocha, the messengers of the great Pachacamac. When the two Spaniards had mounted their horses, presents of gold were carried to them by several noble indians, who begged of their divinities to receive those humble marks of their respect and adoration. Pizarro and Soto then repaired to Caxamarca with their rich presents, astonished at the enormous quantities of gold which they had seen at the palace of Atahualpa.

On the following day, Pizarro placed his cavalry, composed of sixty men, on each side of the square of Caxamarca, behind some high walls: in the centre of the square he had built a small breastwork, behind which he placed his two field-pieces, and behind these he stationed his infantry, a hundred men, and thus awaited the arrival of the Inca.

Atahualpa made his appearance on a throne of gold, carried on the shoulders of his courtiers and favourites, with a guard of eight thousand of his soldiers in front, eight thousand on each side, and eight thousand more in the rear, besides an immense number of nobles and attendants. The troops were commanded by Rumiñavi, who advanced in front, and acted as herald. Friar Vicente Valverde stepped forward a short distance in front of the Spanish infantry, holding a cross of palm leaves in his right hand, and waited the arrival of Atahualpa, who was surprized to see a figure so different from the strangers whom he had seen the preceding day; and being informed by Felipe, the interpreter, that Valverde was the captain of words, and the guide to the supreme Pachacamac, and his messenger, Atahualpa approached, when Valverde began his most extraordinary harangue, requesting Felipe to translate it to the Inca as he proceeded to deliver it.

"Know, most famous and most powerful Inca, that it is necessary and requisite that thou and thine be taught the true Catholic faith, and that ye now hear and believe what follows.

"First, that God, trinity in unity, created the heavens and the earth, and all things in and on them; that he will reward the good with life everlasting, and the bad with interminable punishment. This God created man out of the dust of this earth, and gave him a soul, which is the likeness of God himself; so that every man has a body and a soul.

"The first man was called Adam, whose children we all are. This Adam sinned against the commandment of his Creator, and in him all men that have been born, and that shall be born, sinned also; excepting Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God, and the Virgin Mary, who came to redeem us from the bondage of sin, and at last died on a cross that we might live. The cross was like unto this which I hold in my hand and show to thee, that thou with all Christians may adore and reverence it.

"Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and after living again on earth the space of forty days, he went up into heaven, and sat himself down on the right hand of his Father; he left on earth his Apostles, who left their successors to teach the true religion, and guide all men to heaven.

"Saint Peter was appointed the prince of the Apostles and the vicar of Christ, and after him his successors the Pontiffs of Rome, whom the Christians call Popes, who have the authority of Christ on earth, and who always have and do preach to, and teach all men the word of God.

"Whereas the Pope who is now living on this earth, knowing that the people of these countries did not serve the true God, but worshipped idols and the likenesses of the devil, hath determined to bring them to the true knowledge of religion, and he hath given the conquest of these countries to Charles V. Emperor of the Romans, the most powerful King of Spain, and Monarch of all the earth, to the end that he, having subjected to himself all these people, their kings and lords, and destroyed all rebels, may reign and govern all these nations alone, and bring them to the knowledge of God and to obey his church. Our most powerful King, although employed in the government of his great kingdoms and provinces, accepted the gift of the Pope, for the sake of the health of these people, and has sent his captains and soldiers to execute his will, as they have done in former times, in the conquest of the great islands and countries of Mexico, having overcome them with his powerful arms, and brought them to the true religion of Jesus Christ, which he was ordered by God to oblige them to embrace.

"Wherefore the great Emperor Charles V. appointed as his lieutenant and ambassador Don Francisco Pizarro, who is here present, that these the kingdoms of your highness may receive the like benefits; as also to form a perpetual confederation, alliance, and friendship, between his majesty and your highness, in such manner, that your highness and your kingdoms may become tributary to him, that is, by paying tribute ye may become his subjects; also that you may surrender to him every part of your territory, and renounce the administration and government of it, in the same manner as other kings and lords have done. This is the first condition: the second is, that peace and friendship being established, and you subjected either by will or by force, shall truly obey the Pope, and receive and believe the faith of our God, Jesus Christ, and despise and totally abjure the abominable superstition of your idols; you will then soon observe how holy our religion is, and how false your own, which was invented by the devil. All this, oh King! if you believe, you must freely surrender yourself, because, to you and yours, it is of great importance; and if you object to it, know that you will be persecuted with a war of destruction: all your idols shall be thrown down upon the ground, and we will force you with the sword to abandon your false religion, whether ye will or not; and you shall receive our Catholic faith, and you shall pay tribute to our king. Should you obstinately resist this, believe me, that God will permit, as he formerly did when Pharaoh and his host perished in the Red Sea, that you and all your indians perish by the edge of our swords."

Felipe, the interpreter of this discourse, was a native of the Puná, where the Quichua language generally spoken in Peru was not understood; and what little he knew of it he had learnt of some Peruvians, who at different times had visited his native island. The Spanish that he spoke he had acquired during the time he had lived among the soldiers whom he served; thus it cannot be expected that he gave to Atahualpa a faithful translation of this absurd harangue, equally filled with incomprehensible matter, furious bombast, and unjust threats; indeed many mistakes are recorded, such as one God, trinity in unity, which he translated one God, and three, four Gods; that God made dust of man on the earth, which they could not possibly understand; and many other like passages were rendered equally ridiculous. The impossibility of translating the words trinity, unity, Jesus Christ, Virgin Mary, Roman Pontiff, Emperor of the Romans, &c. is quite obvious, for they could bear no translation at all, and a description of their meaning was as much above the powers of Felipe, and perhaps of Valverde himself to explain, as the comprehension of Atahualpa to understand, who now for the first time heard that such things did exist.

When Atahualpa had heard the conclusion of this rodomontade fulminated by Father Valverde, he sighed, and said, "ah! atay"—ah! how hard; and after a short pause, he addressed himself thus to Valverde: "I should feel happy, although every other request were denied me, if one were but granted: procure a better interpreter, that I may be enabled to understand what you have said; and that you may be better informed of what I wish to say. I make this request, because I am certain that this meeting ought to produce other things than what this fellow has repeated to me. From what I have heard, it appears that you have come to destroy the race of the Incas, and put to the sword all the indians who do not understand you. If you are the ministers of vengeance of Pachacamac, and come to destroy me and mine, fulfil his orders—none of us fear death, and the vaticination of my father brings us to meet you unarmed.

"Your interpreter has informed me of five great men, whom I wish to know, God, trinity in unity, four gods; Adam, on whom all men threw their sins; Jesus Christ, the only man that did not assist in loading Adam; Pope, Roman Pontiff; and Carlos Quinto, King of all the world; but he tells me, that I am to give my country and my people, and pay tribute to Carlos, and not to any of the other four. I am also told, that I must abjure my religion, and believe in Jesus Christ, who died. If this be true, I cannot forget the great Pachacamac, who made our God, the sun, immortal, unless I learn who has told you what I have heard from your interpreter."

This answer was translated by Felipe in short sentences, as Atahualpa spoke them; who perceiving the ignorance of Felipe, endeavoured by this method to prevent a misconstruction of his words. On hearing the last question, Valverde gave his breviary to Atahualpa, and told him through Felipe, that that book informed him of all that he wanted to know respecting the true God. The Inca folded over the leaves, examined the book, placed it against his ear and listened, then said, "it is false, it cannot and does not speak," when he let it fall. At this, Valverde cried out, "to arms, Christians! these infidel dogs have insulted the minister of your Redeemer, the word of God is thrown under foot—revenge! revenge!"

The soldiers immediately rushed on their unsuspecting victims; Pizarro flew to Atahualpa, well aware that the preservation of his life was of the utmost importance; but upwards of twenty thousand indians fell, before the fury of the Spanish soldiery could be restrained, or their more than barbarous thirst for blood was glutted. During this scene of horror, the afflicted Atahualpa exhorted his people to resign themselves to the will of Pachacamac, which he himself was willing to do, and not to lift up their hands against the Viracochas; thus, he exclaimed, will the vaticination of my forefathers be fulfilled.

What a contrast! a minister of the meek, the blessed Jesus, the Saviour of the Gentiles, calling on an unfeeling soldiery to satiate their blood-thirsty cruelty in murdering those very people whom his divine master said that he came to redeem! while a king and a father beholds the carnage of his people, and his children, and bows his head to the believed decree of his God, and the prophecy of his forefathers! Here the Christian calls aloud, "crucify him! crucify him!" while the pious Gentile seems to say, "forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do."

Pizarro and a soldier, called Miguel Astete, arrived at the same moment close to the throne of Atahualpa, when Pizarro caught hold of the robes of the Inca, and dragged him to the ground; Astete plucked the red tassel from his forehead, and kept it till the year 1557, when he delivered it to the Inca Sayritupac. After the slaughter, the Spanish soldiers proceeded to plunder, and while Pizarro was attentive to secure the Inca, part of his troops proceeded to the baths, where Atahualpa resided, and possessed themselves of all the gold and silver which they could find: the weight of gold taken at the baths, and accounted for, amounted to fifteen thousand ounces.

Atahualpa was directly removed to a room in his own palace at Caxamarca, and loaded with irons. Pizarro immediately sent his brother Hernando to visit Huascar in his prison, and to endeavour to secure the treasure that he might be possessed of; but whether the indians belonging to Atahualpa, who had heard of the situation of their Inca, suspected that Pizarro intended to put Atahualpa to death, and place Huascar on the throne; or whether Hernando Pizarro endeavoured to deprive the guard of their prisoner, is uncertain; but some misunderstanding having taken place, an indian struck Huascar with his axe, of which wound he immediately died.

Atahualpa having observed that the Spaniards were more covetous of gold than of any thing which his kingdom produced, proposed to Pizarro a ransom for himself; standing on his feet, he raised his hand, and placing it on the wall, he said, "to this mark will I fill this room with vessels of gold, if you will free me from these chains and from this prison." To this Pizarro agreed, and messengers were sent to Quito, Cusco, and different parts of the country, for the purpose of collecting the gold and sending it to Caxamarca. Some of the Spanish officers went with the messengers of Atahualpa, and when they returned they described the number of indians which the country contained, and the universal obedience to the Inca in such terms, that they fancied a general rising would take place, and instead of gold, they would bring their arms and put all the Spaniards to death; that Atahualpa had deceived them, and was a traitor, and as such ought to be punished. Pizarro opposed this for some time, till an accident occurred which touched his pride, and made Atahualpa personally odious to him. Some of the Spanish officers had written the word God on the hand of the Inca, and when he shewed it to any one, the person would point upwards; at length he shewed it to Pizarro, who could neither read nor write, and was therefore unable to make any sign of the meaning of the word. Atahualpa was surprised, and Pizarro was abashed; his feelings were wounded, and he began to hate the man who had discovered him to be more ignorant than his inferiors. Atahualpa began to forebode his doom, and became dejected; his own servants were not permitted to wait on him; their places were supplied with indians who had attached themselves to the Spanish camp; some of whom were unacquainted with the Quichua language, had never been the vassals of Atahualpa, and all of them were inclined to insult him.