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Manco, the Peruvian Chief

by William Henry Giles Kingston · English · Gutenberg #21397 · 616,487 chars · public domain (US)

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Title: Manco, the Peruvian Chief

Author: William Henry Giles Kingston

Illustrator: Alfred W. Cooper


        
Release date: May 8, 2007 [eBook #21397]

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21397

Credits: Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MANCO, THE PERUVIAN CHIEF ***




Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England




Manco, the Peruvian Chief, An Englishman's Adventures in the Country of
the Incas, by W.H.G. Kingston.

________________________________________________________________________

Here is another Kingston novel about South America.  As usual he makes
the point that the Spaniards were very cruel, especially in the way they
oppressed the Indian tribes.

The family in the story are English, and they get pulled into helping an
Inca chieftain, Manco, in his flight from the Spaniards.  This seems to
mirror several other books by Kingston.  There is always a long trek
overland, the point of which usually eludes me, but which gives rise to
all sorts of difficult situations, with Spaniards, with serpents, with
dangerous bridges, with rafts on rivers and so forth.  Dated 1853 this
must be one of Kingston's earliest books, and certainly one of the
earliest with this theme: the style is impeccable.  This edition is
probably some years later, since there is an inscription in the version
I used dated 1900, and it might have been tidied up if it needed it.

It makes a good audiobook, though not a very long one, at 11 hours 30
minutes.

Enjoy reading the book or listening to it.

________________________________________________________________________

MANCO, THE PERUVIAN CHIEF, AN ENGLISHMAN'S ADVENTURES IN THE COUNTRY OF
THE INCAS, BY W.H.G. KINGSTON.



CHAPTER ONE.

MY FAMILY AND HOME--WE CONCEAL A FUGITIVE INDIAN.

It was evening.  The sun had just set beneath the waters of the Pacific,
which could be distinguished in the far distance; and the whole western
sky, undimmed by a cloud, was burning with a radiant glow of splendour
such as to the eyes of the untutored Peruvians might well appear an
emanation from the Deity they worshipped.

I was looking out, with others of my family, from the windows of the
country house we inhabited, on the glorious spectacle.  We were residing
in Peru, that romantic region with which the name of the conqueror
Pizarro must be for ever associated--the kingdom of the once powerful
and enlightened Incas, on the western shore of South America.  At the
time of which I speak, however, its greatness, its prosperity and
happiness, had passed away; it was a mere province of Old Spain, and
governed by a viceroy sent from that country, while the race of its
ancient sovereigns, though still existing, was humbled and disregarded,
and almost unknown.

My parents were English, and England was my native land.  My father, Mr
Henry Rexton, had been a soldier in his youth; but when he married my
mother, who was the daughter of an eminent British merchant, he quitted
the army; and my grandfather induced him, by advantageous offers, to
take a share in his house of business.  The firm traded with Peru; and
certain mercantile transactions of importance requiring for a time the
superintendence of a partner, my father and mother went out there,
taking with them me and a younger sister, their only children then born.
Year after year unexpected circumstances occurred which compelled them,
much against their wish, to remain in the country; and well do I
remember how frequently in our family circle the subject of conversation
was the happiness we expected to enjoy on returning home.  On first
going to Peru, we resided in Lima, the modern capital; but at length the
heat of the climate affecting my mother's health, in the hopes of it
being restored by a cooler atmosphere, my father engaged a house in the
country, at a considerable distance from the city.  It was situated
among the lower ranges of the lofty Cordilleras, one of those mighty
ranges of mountains which stretches from one end to the other of the
South American continent, the eastern portion of them being more
properly known by the name of the Andes.

Our house stood on a level spot on the summit of a spur of the main
chain.  To the east behind it rose range above range of mountains, the
more distant towering to the sky, and covered with eternal snows.  On
either side other spurs stretched out far towards the west, forming deep
gorges below us; while along the side of the ridge on which the house
was situated ran a narrow road, one of the few paths in that
neighbourhood, penetrating among the mountains into the regions on the
eastern side.  From our windows westward, over a wide extent of broken
ground among the mounds, many of which might in other countries be
called mountains, would be seen the fertile plains of Peru stretching
away to the ocean, distinguished on clear days by a silvery line in the
horizon.  The house was of one floor only, and built of brick and tiled.
The rooms were large and numerous, and it was surrounded by a
court-yard.  It was of ancient construction, indeed it appeared to have
been built originally for a fortification to command the pass through
the mountains; but the outer walls had fallen into decay or been pulled
down, though it still retained enough of its former character to enable
it to be speedily prepared to resist any sudden attack by undisciplined
forces destitute of artillery.  Around it were plantations of olive and
orange trees, on the slopes near it were vineyards, and on the level
spaces fields of maize or Indian corn, and many trees and plants of a
temperate clime.  At the bottom of the ravine rushed a broad and
powerful stream, fed by the snows of the neighbouring mountains; and on
its banks, in a wider part, some little way to the west, was a large
village inhabited chiefly by Indians, the descendants of the hapless
race conquered by the Spaniards.  In the neighbourhood, on the other
side of the river, was a silver mine, in working which many of the
inhabitants of the village were employed.

My father's house had, I believe, advanced money to the owners; and this
was one of the reasons which made him select the locality for his
temporary residence, besides its peculiar healthiness and beauty.  He
was a firm friend to the Indians, for he pitied their hard fate; and he
endeavoured by every means in his power to mitigate their sufferings
under the cruel tyranny to which, even at that time, they were
subjected.  As he did not own the mine, he could not prevent their
strength from being often overtaxed; but having some knowledge of
medicine, he used to prescribe for them when they were sick, and he to
the best of his means relieved them when overtaken by poverty, so that
they all learned to love and reverence the English stranger who had come
among them.  His conduct was uninfluenced by any expectation of a
return, but he afterwards had reason to know that the despised Indians
were not ungrateful for his kindness.  My father was a true Christian,
who looked upon all men helpless or suffering, whatever their hue, or
race, or religion, as brothers, whom it was his duty to aid and protect.
He received his reward; and my belief is, that no person ever performs
a good disinterested action without being rewarded for it even in this
world.  I, at all events, have met with numerous instances which tend to
show that such is the case.  The means of crossing the river to the
mines was by a large hanging bridge, called by the Spaniards "_Puente de
Soga_," which could be seen from the windows of our house.  On either
side of the river, some fifty feet above the water, stout posts were
driven into the steep bank, to which four ropes, formed of twisted
cow-hides the thickness of a man's arm, were fastened.  These ropes were
laid parallel to each other, a few feet apart; and were again fastened
by thinner ropes laid transversely, and forming a sort of network.  On
this foundation were spread roots of the Agave tree, branches of trees,
straw, and earth, so that even beasts of burden could walk across.  On
either side of the bridge, and about three feet above it, two other
ropes were carried across to serve as a balustrade; but as it had sunk
in the middle, and the ropes were very slack, it frequently swung from
side to side as passengers went across, in a most terrific way.  It
formed a very picturesque object in the landscape.

I have now given a sufficiently full description of our house and the
scenery surrounding it, to enable my readers to form a tolerably correct
idea of the picture I wish to present to them.

At the time when the adventures I have resolved to narrate commenced, I
had just attained my fifteenth year.  I looked older, for I had grown
rapidly in that warm climate; and, accustomed to exercise and athletic
sports, I was of a well-knit strong frame, and had a very manly
appearance, though possessed of the light hair and complexion of the
Saxon race, somewhat tanned, however, by constant exposure to the sun.
My brothers and sisters, for I had several, all bore the same marked
characteristics of our Northern ancestors, contrasting strongly with the
swarthy hue on the countenances of the people among whom we lived.  They
used to call us the fair-haired children of the North; and from the love
and respect with which they regarded us, I believe they associated us in
their minds with the revered race whom their traditions told them once
ruled the country with paternal sway--the family of the fallen Incas.

I shall have to tell more fully, in the course of my narrative, the
beautiful legend, for so I may call it, regarding the origin of the
Incas; how they appeared suddenly among the ignorant inhabitants of
Peru, claiming to be the children of the Sun, and, gathering their
scattered tribes together, formed them into one people, and gave them
laws and institutions, and brought peace and prosperity to the land,
which continued till the Spaniards arrived, and, with unexampled
treachery and cruelty, overthrew their monarchy and reduced the people
to abject slavery and misery.  The Indians around us were nominally
Roman Catholics; but though they conformed openly to the ordinances of
that Church, and partly believed in the power assumed by its priests,
they pertinaciously retained many of the superstitions of their
ancestors, and practised their rites in secret.

Having given a brief account of my family, and their position in the
country, I must begin to unwind the thread of my Tale.  We were seated,
as I have said, in our sitting-room, gazing on one of the most
magnificent of Nature's spectacles--the setting sun.  The younger
children were playing about the room, while my sister Lilly and I, with
our father and mother, were seated near the open window.  We were
talking, I well remember, about our distant home, when our conversation
was interrupted by seeing a man leap over the wall of the court-yard,
and rapidly approach the house.

"Who can he be?  What brings him here?" exclaimed my mother, while my
father rose to make inquiries on the subject.

Scarcely had she spoken, when the door was thrown open, and the person
we had seen rushed into the room.  He was a tall man, of well-knit,
active frame, and though he looked travel-stained and weary, there was
something in his appearance and manner which betokened that he was not
an ordinary being.  His complexion was dark, though scarcely darker than
that of a Spaniard; but the contour of his features and the expression
of his countenance showed that he belonged to the Indian race.  His
dress was simple, consisting of a pair of trowsers, and a shirt of the
cotton cloth of the country, of a dark blue colour; a poncho of alpaca
wool covered his shoulders, while a sash was fastened round his waist,
and his feet were protected by sandals, fastened on by leather thongs.
He threw himself on the ground before my father, who went to meet him,
and taking his hand, he looked up imploringly in his face.

"Save me, Senor!" he exclaimed in Spanish, "you have the power if you
will venture to do it.  I am flying from what they call justice--the
tyranny of our cruel task-masters.  If I am captured, my death is
certain.  You are noble and generous, and I throw myself on your mercy."

The appeal thus made, with all the energy of despair, was difficult to
resist.  My father's feelings were enlisted on the side of the fugitive;
but he looked round at my mother and us, who now stood grouped about
him, and remembered the difficulties to which we might be exposed,
should he yield to the promptings of his heart, from the anger of the
Spanish authorities.  The Indian divined his thoughts.

"You run no danger," he continued.  "Far be it from me to cause you to
suffer for your charity.  No one saw me approach your house; neither did
your servants observe me enter it.  I was on my way through the
mountains to the far interior, but not daring to enter any house for
food and rest, I felt that my strength was forsaking me, and that I
could not hope to combat with the difficulties of the road.  If you
cannot shelter me, noble Senor, either I must die from fatigue, or be
captured by my enemies."

"Of what crime have you been guilty, that you thus seek to fly from
justice?" asked my father.

"Of no crime, Senor, believe me," replied the Indian in a proud tone,
rising to his feet as he spoke.  "Of no crime in the sight of Heaven, or
even of men, if they had regard to justice.  I was selected for the
hated _Meta_, I, a descendant of the great Incas, was ordered to work as
a slave--a _Pongo_ in the house of a sub-delegado, a man noted for his
crimes and cruelty.  I refused to perform the disgraceful office--I was
dragged there by force--with a thong he endeavoured to frighten me into
performing the work he ordered.  His rage surpassed all bounds; he
struck me again and again.  Was I tamely to submit?  My dormant spirit
was aroused.  I at length struck him again; and when he rushed at me in
his fury, I felled him to the ground.  I attempted to fly, but I was
captured ere I could do so, and was borne off to prison, there to await
my doom, which would have been death.  My name was unknown.  They
thought I was an humble Indian; but some of my race were at hand, and,
aided by them, I effected my escape from prison.  My friends could not
conceal me, and my only course was instant flight into the mountains."

"Let us shelter him, Henry," exclaimed my mother, in English; "Heaven
surely will not allow us to suffer injury from doing what is right."

The Indian at once comprehended by her looks that she was pleading his
cause.

"May the blessing of the God of my fathers light on you and yours!" he
cried, kneeling at her feet.

My father thought as she did; but he had learned not to give way on a
sudden to the impulse of his feelings, and he wished to ascertain that
the Indian was not deceiving him before he promised his protection.

"Who are you?" he asked; "though your tale, alas! is too probable to be
doubted."

"I am one who would not be guilty of a falsehood to save my life,"
answered the Indian proudly; "I am the cousin of the Cacique Tupac
Amaru, the rightful heir of the last Inca of Peru.  You see in me one of
the children of the Sun; and though the blood of the conquerors of my
country is mixed in my veins, I feel that of my fathers still burning
strongly within me.  I had heard of your charity and kindness to my
people; and for long I have known you, hoping some day to repay you; but
I see that you fear my presence might risk the safety of your family,
and I will not trespass on you.  Give me but some food to sustain my
wearied body, and I will depart."

My father took the stranger's hand.  "You shall not go," he said.  "I
will trust you, and at all hazards I will endeavour to conceal you till
your strength is recruited.  David," he continued, speaking to me, "see
that the servants do not come into this part of the house till I have
concealed this poor fellow; and remember, children, do none of you on
any account speak of what has occurred.  Now, my friend," he added,
turning to the Indian, "follow me; I trust in the truth of your story,
and will endeavour to preserve you from injury."

While I went out to the end of the passage to send any of the domestics
back who might by chance have been coming to that part of the house, my
father led the Indian to a large unfurnished room, which the children
used as a play-room in rainy weather.  At one end was a deep recess in
the wall, with a door to it, and from the recess a narrow flight of
steps led to a vault of considerable depth, from whence there was a
passage to the side of the mountains.  In the roof of the chamber there
was a small trap-door, through which a thin ladder conducted to the roof
of the house.  It had evidently been constructed when the building was
used as a fortification, and was probably intended to enable the
garrison to make a sudden sortie on the enemy at an unexpected point.
The outside entrance was blocked up by rubbish overgrown with
vegetation; and my father had caused a strong door to be placed to the
vault, to prevent any intruder, who might by chance have found his way
through it, from entering the house.  He always kept the keys himself;
and as no one ever thought of wishing to enter the recess, a securer
place for the concealment of the fugitive could not have been found.
Our evening meal was, fortunately, spread in the parlour, so that we
were able to supply our guest with the refreshment he so much required,
without exciting the suspicion of the servants.  I must remark that
several of them, of the higher class, were Spanish, though the rest were
Indians; and though we believed them to be honest and faithful, my
father did not consider it right to trust them with a secret which might
compromise them as well as himself and all his family.

He was very sensible, even as it was, of the risk that he was running;
but he had resolved, at all hazards, to preserve the unfortunate man who
had thrown himself on his protection.  While I kept watch, my mother
collected some bedding, and took it into the closet; so that in a few
minutes our guest was made as comfortable as circumstances could allow.
He ate sparingly of the food placed before him, and then, expressing his
deep gratitude for the protection afforded him, he threw himself on his
couch, and sought the repose he so much needed.  My father having
secured the door, called me to him, and we all again assembled in the
sitting-room as if nothing had occurred, till summoned by the servant to
our evening meal.  The arrival of the stranger had, however, an
influence on my future fortunes.

While our servant Jose, who was a Spanish Creole, was waiting at table,
I could not help looking into his face to try and discover if he
suspected anything; but the look of perfect unconsciousness which his
countenance bore reassured me.  I was afraid also that the children
might betray it to their nurses; but our mother had kept them carefully
shut up in the sitting-room while our father was concealing the
stranger, so that they were under the impression that he had gone away.
Lilly and I were therefore the only ones in the secret.



CHAPTER TWO.

UNWELCOME VISITORS.

When we retired to rest, all night long I dreamed of the unhappy
descendant of the Inca who was beneath our roof.  Some of the incidents
of which I had read in Peruvian history were strongly mixed up in my
mind with the reality, with the indistinctness which generally occurs in
dreams.

I thought our guest was the mild and unfortunate Huascar, the rightful
Inca of Peru, who was a prisoner in the hands of his fierce brother
Atahualpa when the Spaniards attacked Peru with their small but
determined band of robber-warriors.  I thought I was aiding Huascar to
escape from among his brother's army.  We had passed the guards, who
were fast asleep, when we came to a broad river.  We attempted to swim
across, when I felt my strength failing me.  Huascar was bravely
buffeting the stream by my side.  Suddenly the bank was lined with
troops.  They shouted to us, and let fly a cloud of arrows at the Inca.
He stopped swimming.  I endeavoured to drag him on; but as I grasped at
him he sank below the water.  The shouts grew louder.  I awoke.  The
noise was real, for I heard the voices of some men calling in Spanish at
the court-yard gate, and desiring to be let in.

I trembled with alarm; for I at once suspected that the strangers must
be the emissaries of government come in search of our guest.  I jumped
up and began to dress myself, intending to go out to inquire who they
were; but before I had left my room I heard Jose, the servant, hold a
parley with them at the gate.

"Who are you," he asked, "who come at this unreasonable hour to disturb
a quiet family?"

"Open in the king's name, and we will let you know," was the answer he
received.

"I must get my master's leave first, and he is fast asleep," he replied.

"We are government officers in search of a fugitive malefactor, and are
benighted on our road; so you must awake your master whoever he is, and
he will not refuse to give us shelter," they exclaimed.

I now went out to join Jose.  He was afraid they were robbers; and I
suspected that they by some means knew that the fugitive was harboured
in the house, and only made this a pretext to gain an entrance.
Fortunately my father was not awakened by the noise, or he might have
had more difficulty than had the servant in answering the questions put
by the officers of justice.  Opening a slide in the gate through which
he could look out, Jose let the light of the lantern fall on the
strangers, and the inspection convinced him that they were what they
represented themselves to be.

"Be quick there," said the strangers, "for we have but a short time to
rest, and we must speedily be again on our road."

"What shall I do, Master David?" said Jose.  "If we do not let them in
they will batter down the door; but still I do not like to disturb the
Senor Rexton.  They do not look like robbers, so it is all right."  With
the knowledge that the Indian concealed in the house was in all
probability the fugitive the officers were seeking, I felt that it was
all wrong, and would have given much to have kept them out; but still I
saw that it would be equally dangerous to attempt to do so.  My heart
all the time was beating audibly with agitation; and I was afraid that
even Jose would suspect the secret.  However, I replied, "Let them in,
Jose, by all means, and do you attend to what they require."

He accordingly withdrew the bolts and bars of the gate, and two chief
officers--alguazils they are called--and four subordinates made their
appearance.

Two of them remained without to take care of their horses.  They were
all fierce, rough-looking fellows, armed with muskets, pistols in their
belts, and swords by their sides.  The officers of justice (though I do
not think the name is a proper one) were often pardoned banditti,
cut-throats and robbers of the blackest dye, who were glad to accept the
office as an alternative for the garotte; and I believe our visitors
were of that description.  The inferiors were Mestizos, half Indian and
half Spaniards by descent, with dark brown complexions and savage
countenances--altogether gentlemen of a very unprepossessing appearance.
They were accompanied by a dog, a huge, savage-looking hound, whom they
called by the very ugly name of Demonio.  If he was a bloodhound, as at
first I thought he was, I felt that the detection of the Indian would be
certain.

"You were a long time opening the gate, friend," observed, one of them
as they strode into the house.  "You took us for robbers, I suppose?"

"O no, Senor, not at all," said Jose; "but a servant should not let
strangers into the house without his master's leave."

"Is that young senor your master then?" inquired the alguazil.

"He is my master's son; my master is Senor Rexton, an Englishman, and he
is fast asleep," said Jose.

"Well, you need not disturb him then; all we want is food and shelter
for the night," replied the alguazil.  "Be quick with the former, some
straw and blankets will serve us for beds.  While, hark you, do you send
some one to show the way to the stables, that our beasts may be looked
after; they require food as much as we do."

"All shall be done you request, Senores; in the mean time, follow me,"
said Jose; and what was my dismay to see him lead the way to the large
empty room I have spoken of, close to which the Indian was concealed!  I
dared not interfere, lest I might excite their suspicions; so I thought
it best to let Jose follow his own course.  Having dragged in a table
from one of the other rooms, he placed a lighted candle on it, and then
hurried off to call up some of the other servants to help him, leaving
me alone with the officers.  I was afraid of speaking to them, lest they
should ask me questions; so I made signs that the servant would quickly
return with what they required.  I dared not even look towards the door
of the secret passage, to which every instant I expected to see some of
them go for the purpose of examining it.  However, somewhat to my
relief, they seemed not to notice the door, but throwing themselves on
the ground, stretched out their limbs to rest themselves, while their
hound Demonio crouched down at their feet with his head between his
fore-paws, ready to spring up in a moment.  I saw by the glare of his
half-closed eyes that he was all the time wide awake, and eager to
spring upon any one who might molest him or his masters.

My anxiety made me fancy that Jose was a long time absent, but he had
really been away only a few minutes, when he returned with another
servant, bringing a supply of bread and meat, and wine.  Some chairs
were carried into the room; and the officers being joined by their
companions, they attacked the viands with a good will.  Had Jose been in
the secret, he might have betrayed it, but his perfectly collected
manner gave no cause for suspicion.

"You do not chance to have seen or heard anything of an Indian, an
atrocious villain who has escaped from justice, and is supposed to have
taken the path by this up the mountains?" asked one of the officers.

O how my heart did beat as I heard this!  Jose assured them with an air
of perfect disembarrassment that he knew nothing of any Indian fugitive.
His answers seemed to satisfy them.  He next brought in some bundles of
straw and blankets to serve as bedding.

"There, Senores, I hope that you will make yourselves at home, and sleep
soundly after your supper," he observed, as he deposited them in
different parts of the room.

"No fear of it, friend; we will not forget your hospitality," said the
chief alguazil, as he helped himself to a large tumbler of wine.

I was glad to see them apparently so well satisfied; but at the same
time I thought I detected a sinister expression in the eye of the
speaker, with which I was not altogether satisfied.  The hound Demonio,
too, gave me some uneasiness; for though he came back to catch the
pieces of meat thrown to him by the officers, he employed himself
meanwhile in snuffing round the room in a very suspicious manner.  Jose
stood quietly by to attend to their wants.

"Can I do anything more for you, Senores!" he asked.

"Another flask of this wine will not be objectionable, and a bundle of
cigars would be welcome," answered the chief alguazil, laughing at the
thought of the comfortable quarters into which he had fallen, and
determined to make the most of them.

"Certainly, Senores; I am sure my master would not object to afford all
you require," said Jose, going out to fetch what was asked for.

While he was absent, what was my horror to see the dog, who had now
finished his meal, begin to snuff vehemently under the door of the
secret passage, and then to work away with his paws, as if to try and
open it!  I turned pale with alarm, for I knew that all must be
discovered; but still I thought it best to take no notice of the
circumstance.

"What does the dog want there?" said one of the men.

"Rats are there, I suppose," remarked another, whose wits the wine had
somewhat dulled.

"Demonio has a strange fancy for rats," said a third.

"Rats or not, I should like to have a look behind the door," observed
the chief alguazil, as the dog's excitement increased.

I said nothing, and the officers seemed to fancy that I could not
understand Spanish, so they did not trouble me with questions.  Just
then Jose returned.

"What is inside that door?" asked the chief alguazil abruptly.

"Nothing that I know of but an empty cupboard," he answered quietly.
"The room is little used, so that I never saw it opened."

"Bring the key, and let us see," said the alguazil.

"I have not the key; and if there is one, my master must have it, and I
cannot disturb him for such a fancy," replied Jose.  "The dog smells a
rat; there are many in the house, and he will soon be quiet."

But the dog would not be quiet, neither was the alguazil satisfied; and
at last Jose was obliged to say that he would go and ask my father for
the key.  I followed him out of the room.

"Jose, I will go to my father and get the key, while you stay with the
strangers," I said to him.  "Give them plenty of wine, and amuse them as
long as you can."

I hurried to my father's room to consult what was to be done; though I
intended not to mention that the key had been asked for till he had come
into the passage, as of course my mother would be very much alarmed at
hearing of it.

I had got him out into the passage, and was mentioning the unwelcome
arrival of the Spaniards in as calm a tone as I could command, when it
struck me that I might prevent his being implicated in the secretion of
the fugitive if I took the whole blame upon myself.  I at last told him
of the suspicions the behaviour of the horrid dog had aroused in the
minds of the officers; and entreated him, by every argument I could
think of, to let me manage the affair as best I could.

"They can scarcely inflict any severe punishment on me," I observed,
"while they might drag you off to prison, and leave my mother and
brother and sisters without a protector."

"I must take the consequences of what I have done," he returned.  "At
the same time I do not repent having endeavoured to save the poor
fellow.  The act was right, and that must be my consolation."

But I was not so easily to be turned aside from my purpose; and at last
he consented to let me take the key, and to use it if driven so to do,
while he remained in his room.  I returned, as may be supposed, in no
great hurry to the hall; and as I got close to it I heard, amid the loud
talking of the Spaniards and Jose, who was doing his best to amuse them,
the scratching and snarling of the savage brute at the door.

"My master is incapable of breaking the laws; that I can assure your
Excellencies," I heard Jose say.  "If the man you seek is inside there,
he did not put him in, you may depend on it.  If you find anything, it
will be a rat or a little mouse, perhaps, for which all this fuss is to
be made."

"What you say may be true, friend; but if the key is not brought we must
break open the door," observed one of the Spaniards.  "The dog is not a
pure bloodhound; but he has enough of the race in him to know the
difference between an Indian and a rat."

At last I thought it better to go in with the key.  When I reached the
door of the passage, the brute snarled at me savagely, and I fully
believe would have sprung upon me and torn me limb from limb, had not
his masters called him off.  I trembled so with agitation that I could
scarcely apply the key to the keyhole.  Luckily the light did not fall
on me, or it would have been perceived.

"Come, young Senor, be quick about it; somebody is in there--of that I
can be sworn," exclaimed the alguazil.

"There, take the key yourself, and try and open it," I answered, hoping
that as he did so the Indian would rush out and make his escape, though
his chance was a forlorn one.  The officer took the key; some of his men
approached with lights, while others held their swords and pistols ready
for use.  Jose looked very much astonished, though in no way alarmed at
the proceedings; but I knew too well what was about to be revealed.  The
door flew open, and the men and their hateful dog rushed in.  The fate
of the poor Indian was sealed, I thought.  I followed, expecting to see
them tearing him to pieces.  What, then, was my astonishment and
satisfaction to find not a trace of him remaining!  The bedding, and
even the dishes in which his food had been carried to him, were nowhere
to be seen.

"There, I told you so," exclaimed Jose triumphantly, "there were nothing
but rats."

But the dog was not so easily satisfied; and to my horror he rushed down
the narrow flight of steps leading to the secret outlet.  The door at
the bottom I knew was locked, and I too justly feared that the Indian
would be found there.  The officers hesitated about descending; for as
only one could go at a time, they saw that a determined man might kill
them in detail, if so inclined; so they sent their inferiors forward to
make the experiment.  I stood by, waiting the result with increased
anxiety; for I felt that if the Indian should kill some of the officers,
the difficulties of our position would be still more increased.  The dog
led the way, and I hoped would be the only victim; the others followed
very reluctantly.  Some time passed; but still there was no sign of
their having discovered the fugitive.

"Have you found the rat?" shouted Jose, laughingly, from above.

"Bring the key of the other door," thundered the alguazil in return from
below.  I had got it, but I did not say so.

"Of what door do you speak?" asked Jose, in real ignorance of the fact
that there was a door.  I was anxious to gain all the time possible,
believing that the Indian must have made his escape through the passage;
so I let them talk on till the alguazil peremptorily ordered me to open
the door, threatening me with all sorts of pains and penalties if I
refused to obey.

"I have heard that there is a long passage leading no one knows where,"
exclaimed Jose; "so, Senores, if you are going to explore it, you had
better take some torches, or you may chance lose your way."

"Bring them here instantly," shouted the alguazil.

"If you are wise men you will amuse yourselves with the wine flasks
while I go to prepare them," said Jose.  The advice was too agreeable to
be neglected, and I was very glad to see the men return and again seat
themselves at the table.  While they were drinking and Jose was absent,
the dog however continued running up and down the steps, and smelling in
every direction.

The officers seemed to enjoy their wine so much that I was in hopes that
their suspicions were lulled, and at all events I rejoiced that the
Indian would have more time afforded him for making his escape.  Jose at
last returned with the torches, which were composed of twisted straw
dipped in pitch; and the chief officer descending with less caution than
before, led the way, the rest following.  At the bottom of the steps was
a tolerably broad space, which enabled me to pass the men so as to reach
the door, where the hound, snarling at me as I approached, stood ready
to rush through at his prey as I supposed.  How the Indian could have
escaped, still, however, remained a mystery to me.  After several
attempts I succeeded in turning the rusty lock, and a dark passage cut
through the solid rock opened before us.  The wet dropped from the roof
as we proceeded, and, combined with the noxious exhalations which
proceeded from the farther end, almost extinguished the torches.

"It is folly in me accompanying these men," I thought to myself; and
just then a recess appearing in the rock, I stepped into it and let the
rest pass me.  Jose was the last; I touched him as he reached me, and
whispered to him to return.

He either did not hear me, or wished to watch the proceedings of the
alguazil and his subordinates.  As I had no torch, I groped my way with
no little difficulty to the foot of the stairs, thinking Jose was
following me.  To my horror, just as I was about to ascend, I heard the
low-muttered growl of the savage hound, and the next instant I found my
leg seized in his jaws.

"Help, Jose, help!"  I cried out, but not loud, lest the officers should
hear me; "the brute will kill me else."

But Jose was not, as I supposed, at hand.  I felt the dog moving his
jaws higher up my leg, as if he evidently was about to pull me to the
ground, while the pain he inflicted almost paralysed me.  I certainly
was no coward, but I shrieked in my agony.  In another moment he would
have mastered me, when, by the faint light which came through the door
of the room above, I saw a dark figure spring down the steps.  The dog
let go his hold of me to fly at the new-comer but was met by the point
of a sharp dagger, which pierced his breast, and uttering a low yell of
pain and rage, the brute fell dead at my feet.  The Indian--for my
preserver was the fugitive--without speaking, assisted me in dragging
the dog out of sight under the steps, and then whispering, "Say not a
word about the dog, he will not be discovered," again sprung up the
steps.

I followed him, fearing that the men in the room above would discover
him.  I caught sight of him as he ascended to the roof of the alcove, by
means of a single rope which hung to the ground.  In the roof was a
trap-door, through which he disappeared, and closed it silently after
him, having first drawn up the rope.  Again going below, I met Jose, and
told him that the dog was dead, charging him to ask no questions, and to
say nothing about it.

I was much afraid lest the men should discover the dog; for the fact of
his remaining near the stairs might make them suspect that the Indian
was concealed near at hand.  My trousers were fortunately only a little
torn, though, as the brute's teeth had met in the calf of my leg, I felt
a considerable amount of pain; but I did my best to conceal it, lest the
men should accuse me of killing the dog.  I might with truth have
replied that I had not killed him, but they would then have asked who
did, to which question I could not have replied.  As the life of a
fellow-being was at stake, I felt the importance of being very
circumspect in everything I did.

When we returned to the room, the two men who had been left there
inquired what had become of their comrades.

"Hunting rats or spirits, for they will find nothing else down there I
am sure," answered Jose, unconcernedly.  "They will be back soon, I
warrant, after their fool's chase, begging your pardon, Senores."

His words were verified more speedily than he expected, for at that
moment cries and shouts were heard, and the officers came tumbling up
the steps as fast as their legs could carry them, with their hair almost
standing on end, and their eye-balls starting from their heads.  One had
lost his cap, another his sword, and all their torches; they were also
wet and dirty from scraping against the sides of the cavern.  They
declared that they had been set upon by a whole legion of demons, who
had blown out their torches and attacked them with teeth and claws, so
that they were glad to escape with their lives.

"For the love of heaven shut the door, or they will be up here after
us!" shouted the last of the men, as he rushed into the room.

I, as may be supposed, hurried down with joyful alacrity to obey the
order, and coming back without encountering any of the demons, closed
the upper door after me.

"I said you were going on a fool's errand," said Jose; "your pardon for
the remark, Senores.  But let me fill up your glasses, the wine will
soon make you forget your mishaps."  The men were easily induced to
apply the proposed remedy.

"But what has become of the dog?" asked the chief.

"Carried off by the demons," observed Jose.

"Let him go," growled one who was the most bruised and dirty.  "He led
us into the scrape, and deserves his fate; if it had not been for him,
we should not have known of that horrid vault."

The chief, notwithstanding these remarks, ordered his men to go and look
for the dog; but as he showed no readiness to set the example, none of
the others would obey him, declaring that they would rather be shot at
once than venture again among such horrors.  I felt very much relieved
at the turn events had taken.  The Indian had escaped, the means of the
bloodhound's death was not suspected, and the officers would probably at
early dawn continue their search after the fugitive.

"Ask them if they wish to return to the vault; for if not, I will take
the keys up to my father," I whispered to Jose.

"No, no," answered the men.  "We have had enough of the vault, and
demons, and monsters, and spirits it contains.  Tell your master all we
want is plenty of this good wine to keep them away."

Telling Jose to give them as much as they required and to keep a careful
watch over them, I hurried back to my father to inform him that the
danger was over.

"I never fear the consequence of having performed a good action, my
boy," he replied; "yet we should be grateful to Providence for having
preserved us from much suffering, both of mind and body.  The poor
Indian is for the present safe.  I can guess the way he escaped; but we
will talk on the matter more to-morrow.  Now, David, go to your room and
rest, for you look pale and fatigued."

I did not tell my father that the dog had bit me, though I should have
been wiser had I done so, as he would have had proper remedies applied,
had the wounds required them.  Jose, however, soon after came into my
room and fomented my leg with a mixture which he said was very
efficacious in preventing inflammation from the bite of an animal.  It
at all events relieved me from the pain I was suffering; and when Jose
left me to keep watch with the other servants on the officers, I threw
myself on my bed in the hopes of obtaining some sleep.  Whenever I
dropped off, my mind recurred to the unfortunate descendant of the
Incas, and the scenes I had just witnessed; and every instant I was
jumping up, fancying I heard the shout of the officers as they
discovered his place of concealment.



CHAPTER THREE.

A JOURNEY AND THE ADVENTURES WE MET WITH.

I awoke to perfect consciousness (for I could scarcely be said to have
been asleep all night) just as the first faint streaks of dawn were
appearing in the sky; and hearing the voices of men, and the stamping of
horses in the court-yard, I looked out of the window to learn what was
occurring.  At first my mind misgave me that the alguazil and his
myrmidons had by some means seized the Indian; but as I scrutinised the
dark forms which appeared in the cold grey light of the morning, I could
not distinguish his among them.

The men mounted one after the other apparently in good humour, for Jose
was there among the other servants with a huge flagon of wine to serve
out to them the stirrup-cup at parting, a custom observed in most
countries.  It was a great relief to my mind when the gates were opened
and I saw them fairly outside the walls.  As the light increased, I
watched them slowly winding along the steep path which led up the
mountain, till they disappeared in a dark gorge which opened before
them.

"You will have a long ride if you do not intend to halt till you have
caught the fugitive in that direction," said I to myself, just as Jose
entered.

"I have sent the rogues off in good humour," he observed.  "Wine is a
fine thing to raise the spirits, though to my mind last night they took
enough to raise more than they expected--ha, ha, ha!  They thought they
were attacked by ghosts and goblins, when in reality only a number of
bats flew out against them after the foul air had already damped their
ardour.  The place swarms with the vermin.  By the by, if the Senor, my
master, will give me the key of the vault, I will get up that beast of a
dog, and bury him or hang him up to feed the condors."

I thought Jose suspected something, and said this to learn the truth.  I
was inclined to confide the secret to him, but I felt that I ought not
to do so without my father's permission; so I answered that my father
would give him the keys when he required them.  When I met my father, he
told me that I was right in not telling Jose, both for our sake as well
as his own, though he was doubtless trustworthy.

I then asked him what had become of the Indian.

"He is safe on the roof," he replied.  "I have just seen him; he tells
me that he heard the alguazils arrive, and that at first he thought he
was betrayed, especially when the dog began to snuff under the door.  He
soon, however, learned from their conversation that his presence was not
suspected; but still, to make sure, he descended the stairs in the hopes
of discovering a means of escape,--finding none, he ascended the ladder,
and forcing open the trap-door, he got through to the roof.  He then
returned, when hearing the key asked for, he knew that his bedding would
betray his having been there, so he carried everything up to the roof,
lifting the ladder up after him.  His doing so puzzled the dog, and
saved him his life probably, and us from very considerable annoyance."

We afterwards met at breakfast, when Jose gave my father and mother a
full account of all that occurred.  My father having given the Indian
notice to retire to the roof, the body of the hound was removed and
buried, and the family resumed their usual routine of life.  Either I or
Lilly twice a day, when no one was observing us, carried food to the
Indian.  Upwards of a week had passed since his arrival, when he
expressed a strong desire to resume his journey, saying that he thought
by this time the search for him must be over.  My father was very
unwilling to let him go; but he assured us, that now his health and
strength were completely restored, he had not the slightest fear of
again falling into the hands of the Spaniards.  All the provision he
would accept was a little maize, and sufficient cacao to replenish his
pouch.  The cacao has been in use among the Peruvians from the earliest
times.  Its peculiar qualities enable those who take it to undergo great
and continuous exertion, without any other food.  It is a plant somewhat
like the vine, and grows to about seven or eight feet in height.  The
leaves have a bitter flavour, and are aromatic.  Among other qualities,
they act as a sudorific, preserve the teeth, and prevent sleep.  On
first awaking in the morning, an Indian will put a quid of his favourite
leaf into his mouth, and he performs the same operation three or four
times in the day.  To give it a relish he mixes a little pulverised
unslacked lime, which he carries in a gourd for that purpose.  He takes
the lime out the gourd with a thin slip of damped wood, and conveys what
adheres to it to his mouth.  The operation of chewing is called
_chakchar_.  Many even of the whites indulge in it in secret, though it
would be considered derogatory to chew in public, because the despised
Indian does so.

The Peruvians, in their love and admiration for this plant, used to pay
it a religious respect, and considered it the most grateful offering to
the spirits they might wish to propitiate.  It has certainly a most
wonderful effect in sustaining nature; and I have known people
undergoing great fatigue, exist four or five days, without tasting any
other food, or suffering the slightest inconvenience.  The ignorant
conquerors, from observing the reverence paid by the Indians to cacao,
fancied that it must possess some demoniacal properties, and not only
refused to use it themselves, but endeavoured to prevent it being used
by the natives; and a royal decree was actually issued, declaring that
the idea entertained by the Indians that cacao gave them strength, is an
"illusion of the devil."  The mine-owners, however, perceived its
importance in enabling the slaves to undergo fatigue; and its use,
therefore, rather increased than diminished.  It, however, excites the
brain, somewhat as does opium, and thus its intemperate use for any
length of time would probably wear out mental vigour and activity.
Having procured a supply of this valuable leaf for the Indian, he filled
his pouch with it, while the maize he fastened up in a corner of his
poncho.

"I am ready to depart," he said, "though my heart yet lingers with you;
and believe, O children of a Northern land, that, though fallen and
despised his race, Manco Tupac Amaru is truly grateful for your generous
hospitality, and more for preserving his life.  The time may come, and
shortly too, when he may have the opportunity of proving his gratitude--
till then, farewell!"

Taking my father's hand and mine, he pressed his lips to them, and burst
into tears.  His words made an impression on me, though at the time I
did not comprehend their meaning.  I afterwards had good reason to do
so.  It was again evening, the hour at which he had arrived; and when it
was perfectly dark, I went out to see that none of the servants were
near.  He then let himself drop from the window, and crossing the
court-yard, scaled the wall, and took his way up the mountain.  I had
reason to believe that none of the servants suspected that he had been
with us.  This was the first of the many adventures in which, at that
period of my life, I was engaged.  We often talked of the Indian Manco,
and were anxious to know his fate; but for long heard no more of him.

Some time after this, my father invited me to attend him on a journey,
which business required him to perform, to Cuzco, Lima, and other parts
of the country; and, as may be supposed, with no little alacrity I set
to work to make the necessary preparations.  We are fond of boasting of
the civilisation of Europeans of the present day; but, however
humiliating to our pride, it must be owned that in many important
respects Peru has retrograded since the time that the Christian Spaniard
took possession of the country, and superseded the mild though despotic
sway of the glorious Incas.  Under her ancient sovereigns, magnificent
roads traversed the kingdom from north to south, and from the sea-coast
into the distant interior, across the mighty Andes.  Inns for the
accommodation of travellers were built at convenient distances on the
roads, and stored abundantly with provisions, while at each relays of
couriers were stationed, who with wonderful celerity could carry
messages or small parcels through the country.  It is said that the
tables of the Incas, when at Cuzco, or still farther in the interior,
were supplied regularly with fish fresh caught from the sea, and other
quickly perishable luxuries, in a mode which has only been accomplished
in England since the introduction of railroads, or perhaps in the latter
days of quick coach travelling.  I mention this to show the contrast to
the means we possessed for performing our journey.

At last the day arrived for our departure.  My father rode a steady
mule, but I preferred a horse, though not so safe an animal for the
narrow tracks, up and down steep mountains, on the summit of terrific
precipices, and across rickety bridges which we were about to traverse.

They were caparisoned much in the same way.  Our saddles were huge and
deep, covered with red woolly rugs; our stirrups were of Moorish shape,
large wooden boxes strapped with iron; the girths were broad; and belts
fastened to the saddle, passed round the breast and haunches of the
animals, prevented it from slipping off when going up or down the almost
precipitous declivities in our way.  Our luggage was carried in huge
trunks, made of untanned bullocks' hides, fastened with thongs of the
same material, each mule carrying two slung on either side of his back.
In some our clothes were packed, in others our mattresses and bedding,
and in others our mess utensils and provisions; for as there were no
inns, it was necessary to take everything which would be required.  We
rode ahead, our peons or muleteers following the beasts of burden.
Before the introduction of horses and mules, the Indians employed the
delicate llama to carry goods through the country.  We had heavy spurs,
and sharp bits to our bridles, and wore broad-brimmed hats and ponchos.
The last named garment may be described as a large piece of cloth of
wool or cotton, of a round form, with a hole in the centre.  Through
this hole the head is put, while the cloth falls over the shoulders, and
forms a very effectual protection from the weather.  It was used by the
Indians before the conquest.

My mother and Lilly assisted in preparing and packing our provisions and
clothes; and with prayers for our safety, at an early hour one morning
they saw us mount and commence our journey.  "Good-bye, mother;
good-bye, Lilly," I exclaimed, as I seated myself in my saddle.  "I will
bring you back, like the princes in the Arabian Nights, all the most
wonderful things I can collect."  Their hearts were too full to answer,
and their eyes were moist with tears; for they could not conceal from
themselves that there were many very considerable dangers which we must
encounter on the road.  They stood watching us while we wound our way
down the steep path, and crossed the bridge which spanned the river at
the bottom of the ravine.  I propose giving a very brief sketch of our
journey, and shall dwell only on the more interesting incidents; or I
might otherwise fill my book with an account of what we saw in the
course of a few weeks.

We arrived one evening at a _tambo_, or post-house, which, from its
appearance and position on a portion of the great high road of the
Incas, we judged had been erected before the conquest.  The walls were
very thick, and composed of large blocks of stone.  It was divided into
two compartments; one had formerly been the storehouse and granary, the
other the common hall and kitchen.  The roof was thatched, as it had
been originally.

At a little distance off was a village of Indian huts, mostly small; but
some were of larger size, in which the cacique and some of the chief men
resided.  The _tambo_ stood in a beautiful valley, through which ran a
clear and rapid stream among meadows of ever verdant tints.  The
mountains which rose on either side were to their very summit cut into
terraces.  These terraces, or hanging gardens, as they are sometimes
called, were of no great width, but the walls which faced them were
built of large blocks of stone; and though in some places they were
crumbling into decay, in general they were in a perfect state, bearing
witness to the industry and intelligence of the ancient inhabitants of
the soil.  These terraces are called _Andenes_, and from thence the
conquerors derived the name Andes, which they bestowed on the whole vast
range of mountains.

Our peons having taken charge of our mules and horses, and led them to a
shed adjoining the grey and moss-grown _tambo_, we entered the building.
The interior was sombre in the extreme; everybody and everything wore a
subdued look; and even the dogs slunk about as if their spirits were
depressed.  The smoke of ages was on the walls and roof, and the tables
and benches at one side had a sadly dilapidated appearance.  The master
was an Indian of lightish hue, his long, lank hair already turning grey
with age, and perhaps with care.  Several Indian women were moving about
round a fire at the farther end of the room, preparing a meal for a
somewhat numerous company assembled there.  The women about the house
were all dressed in loose garments of dark coarse woollen cloth, which
extended from the neck to the ankles, and were secured round the waist
by a broad belt of some gay colour.  They wore, folded up on the crown
of the head, a small cloth mantle, a part of which drooped down to the
shoulders behind.  Each woman wore over her right shoulder a black
scarf, which I understood was a sign of mourning, not for any relation
lately dead, but for their Inca, long ago murdered by their conquerors.
The dress of most of the men was a dark woollen jacket, with breeches
open at the knees, a gaily embroidered woollen cap, a broad cotton belt,
woollen stockings without feet, and sandals of goatskin.  A
broad-brimmed hat, and a small poncho thrown over the shoulders,
completed their attire.  Our host soon placed before us a large deep
silver dish, containing some delicious mountain mutton, and a fat fowl,
cooked in the ashes, and garnished with small but very good potatoes.
There were neither knives nor forks in the dish, but one large wooden
spoon, with which it was intended all guests should help themselves.  We
had _chicha_, the beverage of the country, offered us in silver goblets;
but for a good reason neither my father nor I felt inclined to partake
of it, though our servants did most willingly.  To the taste of
Englishmen nothing can be more disagreeable than the mode in which
_chicha_ is prepared.  A quantity of Indian corn is pounded into a fine
powder, round which a number of old men and women sit and masticate it
into a paste.  They then roll it into balls, which are dried; and
afterwards water being thrown on them, they are allowed to ferment.

A number of Indians were sitting apart in a corner of the room.  One of
them was a tall, thin, emaciated man, of a yellowish copper hue.  His
only garment was a pair of dark trousers; and his long, lank, black hair
hung down over his bare shoulders, giving him a very wild and haggard
appearance.  I saw him swallow a large cupful of a mixture which I
thought was _chicha_; but soon afterwards he seemed to fall into a deep
stupor, and I fancied he was going into a fit.  His eyes were fixed on
the ground, his mouth closed convulsively, and his nostrils dilated.  As
I watched him, his eyes began to roll most horribly, foam issued from
his half-opened lips, and every limb and his whole body became distorted
in the most frightful manner.

"The man will die!"  I exclaimed, springing forward to assist him, and
disgusted with the apathy of his companions.

"No fear, my son," answered an old Indian, making a sign which checked
me; "our brother has but drunk the tonga; his spirit has departed for a
season to hold communication with the spirits of our ancestors, and when
it returns he will be able to tell us things of wonder, and perchance
they may show him the treasures which lie hid in their _huacas_--their
graves."

I afterwards found that the Indian had been drinking a powerful
narcotic, prepared from the thorn-apple, and which is called
_huacacachu_, or grave-plant, from the power it is supposed to possess
of enabling those who drink it to see the inhabitants of the graves.
After the Indian had been some time convulsed he fell into a profound
slumber, when his friends covered him up carefully with their mantles
and left him.

Our meal was scarcely over when the clattering of horses' feet was heard
on the road, and by the sound I judged that a band of horsemen had
ridden up to the _tambo_.  Our Indian host rushed out with dismay on his
countenance.  I followed him to learn what was the matter; and by the
light of the moon, just then risen over the mountains, I saw about as
ugly a set of fellows as I ever encountered.  Their countenances were of
every hue--black, yellow, and olive, disfigured by scars and savage
passions.  Their garments, I cannot call them uniforms, of many a shape
and colour, were in rags and tatters.  The horses were weary,
ill-conditioned and ill-groomed, and as miserably accoutred as their
riders, with a look in the eye full of vicious meaning.  They were armed
with short carbines and long swords, and some had pistols and daggers in
their belts.

"Los Montoneros, los Montoneros!" exclaimed several of the people behind
me, and rushed back into the _tambo_, the women trying to hide
themselves from the new-comers.

The horsemen threw themselves from their jaded hacks, and calling to the
Indians to take charge of them, with scant ceremony entered the
building.  They regarded, as they did so, my father and me, and our
servants, with no favourable eye; but after a moment's hesitation, they
threw themselves on the benches before the table at which we were
seated, crying loudly for food and liquor.  It was speedily placed
before them by the trembling hands of the host; and in silence they
addressed themselves to the tearing the meat with their fingers, as if
they had not eaten anything for a week.  After imbibing quantities of
_chicha_, they lighted their cigars; and then their tongues broke loose
in a style which made us anxious to escape their neighbourhood.  Some
were Spaniards, or Spanish Creoles, and others were negroes; but most of
them were of a variety of mixed races.  The Montoneros are notoriously
robbers in time of peace, and soldiers in war; but from the expressions
they let fall, we judged that these fellows were employed exclusively in
plundering all they met not likely to offer resistance.  My father told
the servant to keep a sharp look-out on our horses and mules, which the
gentlemen would with little ceremony have appropriated.

To avoid them we walked over to where the group of Indians were
collected round the tonga-drinker, who was now awaking from his sleep,
and sitting up, though apparently very much exhausted.  His companions
were listening attentively to the mysterious revelations which fell from
his mouth, the result of his spiritual communications with his
ancestors.  He spoke of a day of regeneration for the Indians; of
liberty and happiness not far distant, when the yoke of the Spaniard
would be thrown off their necks, and the race of their Inca should again
wear the crimson _borla_ of their monarchy.  There was an air of
earnestness and sincerity in his manner which convinced me that he at
all events was deceiving himself as well as his hearers.  In his dreams
he had truly seen what he hoped would come to pass.  I afterwards had
good reason to know that he had strong foundation for his prophecies.
He was still uttering his awful communications to his wondering and
credulous hearers; the Montoneros were still drinking, smoking, and
feasting; and some other travellers (Spanish, negro, and native, among
whom was a Spanish priest, a landowner near Cuzco, and a shopkeeper)
were either taking their suppers or seeking repose, when we retired to
the deserted granary.

We were actually provided with bedsteads of a rude construction, on
which we spread our bedding.  The noise made by the Montoneros prevented
me from sleeping for some time; till they themselves sought for rest, on
and under the table and benches where they had been sitting.  I was
awakened in the middle of the night by a scratching and hissing and
struggling noise under my bed, as if two animals were fighting.  I
sprung to my feet, and by the light of the full moon, which streamed in
through a hole in the wall, I saw a large tabby cat engaged in a fierce
combat with a glittering snake.  At first I thought it would prove a
hopeless one for poor pussy; but I soon saw by her manoeuvres, that she
had at all events an equal chance of victory.  Now the venomous monster
would dart out its forked tongue and try to spring at her; when she,
with equal agility, would leap aside and would sit watching her
antagonist with careful eye, endeavouring to find an opportunity of
catching it by the neck, while she avoided its deadly fangs.  The snake
seemed aware of its danger, and was not the less cautious.  Indeed puss
had already given it an ugly bite on the neck, which had somewhat
crippled its movements--probably catching it asleep.  The snake kept
turning round and round its baneful head, the cat always keeping beyond
the distance she knew it could spring.  At last she saw her opportunity,
and rushing in upon it, she seized it by the neck, so that it could not
bite her.  The snake wriggled violently, but all in vain; after a few
convulsive struggles even the tail ceased to move, and I left the eat
crunching the bones of her defeated antagonist.

I was glad to find that I had so good a guardian as puss had proved.  I
turned into bed again and went to sleep.  In the morning I discovered
that the snake was a very venomous adder, but that the cat was not a bit
the worse for eating it.  I afterwards learned that there are certain
sorts of poison which may be swallowed without danger, yet if it should
touch the slightest scratch or excoriation of the skin, would prove
fatal.

At daybreak the Montoneros were on foot; and to the satisfaction of all
the occupants of the _tambo_, they took their departure up the valley.
It was the direction in which we were going, but we hoped not again to
fall in with them.  As we were mounting to proceed on our journey, the
Indian soothsayer (for so I may call him) approached my father, and
whispered earnestly in his ear for some minutes.  My father looked
surprised and somewhat anxious, and told him he thanked him for his
advice.  The Indian retired into the _tambo_ apparently satisfied.  We
had begun to move on, when we were called back; and, turning our heads,
we saw the padre and the other Spaniards mounting their mules.

"Stay, Senors, for the love of charity," cried the padre; "we are going
your way, and if we go alone and meet with those villains, the
Montoneros, we shall all be robbed and murdered to a certainty.  Now you
Englishmen are known to fight bravely, so the rogues may not think it
worth while to attack us."

"We shall be happy to have your company, Senor Padre," said my father,
smiling; "but I hope our valour may not be put to the proof."

"I am sure I hope not either," ejaculated the padre, crossing himself.
"May the holy saints protect us; for those fellows care not for the
anathemas of the church, the laws of the realm, or the bullets of the
soldiers."

The other Spaniards seemed to partake of the alarm of the padre; and as
we rode along, I saw them casting anxious glances around, as if they
expected every moment to see the robbers start out from behind the rocks
which skirted the road.  After we had proceeded some distance, my father
called a halt, and summoning the guides, he inquired whether they were
acquainted with a road to the right, which he described.  They replied
that they were, but that it was longer and more difficult.

"Never mind," he replied; "it is the road I intend to pursue.  I shall
be glad of the company of those who wish to journey with me."

Though he did not give his reasons, the Spaniards saw that he had good
cause for his change of route, and agreed to accompany us.  They
probably, however, attributed it to the Montoneros; as I observed that
the expression of apprehension on their countenances gradually wore off,
and they no longer cast the same furtive glances at every bush and rock
as before.

We travelled along the valley for many miles, sometimes passing over a
high ridge, and then again descending to follow up the course of some
stream which had its birth among the snowy ranges above us.  My father
had formed the party into military order.  Four armed men took the lead,
then came the baggage mules, while the main body of those on horseback
brought up the rear.

For three or four days we travelled on, each night sleeping at one of
the wretched _tambos_ kept by Indians, similar to that I have before
described.  Every day we mounted higher and higher, the scenery becoming
more wild, barren, and desolate.  We were now traversing that part of
the Cordilleras called the Puna, a region of level heights, some
fourteen thousand feet above the sea; nearly the only vegetation being a
short, dark yellow grass, scarcely a tree or a shrub to be seen, except
cacti, gentiana, and a few other flowering plants.  There were animals,
however, in abundance--vicunas, huanacus, stags, and rock-rabbits; while
condors and other birds of prey hovered aloft, ready to pounce down on
any carcase they might scent from afar.  We next entered the region of
the Sierra, the name given to the extensive valleys which either
intersect the Puna, or lie between the Cordilleras and the Andes.  These
valleys are generally some thousand feet below the Puna, and the climate
is very pure and healthy.  The soil is also very fertile, so that they
were in the days of the Incas, and still are, more densely inhabited by
Indians than any other portion of Peru.  These valleys contain many
towns, villages, and hamlets; but as they are surrounded on all sides by
mountains, only to be crossed by dangerous and circuitous routes, their
trade is but limited, and they are seldom visited by the inhabitants of
other parts of Peru.  Among them are a few white people, but a
considerable number of mestizos live in the towns.  There is very little
money in circulation among them, and in some parts hens' eggs are used
instead of small coin, about fifty being counted for a dollar.  The
Indians are the sole cultivators of the soil, which produces wheat,
maize, and barley in abundance, as well as potatoes and other tuberous
plants, and most of the vegetables and fruits of Europe.

It must be understood that many of the scenes I have to describe took
place in this favoured region; while others, again, were among the
mountains and valleys to the east of the vast range of the Andes.
People when reading of mountains are so apt to picture to themselves the
molehills of Europe, which can mostly be crossed on foot in a day or so,
that I must remind them that the Cordilleras and Andes which I am
describing are an extensive region, the passage over which requires not
only days, but in some places even weeks to accomplish.  We had
traversed several of these valleys, and were now about to cross over the
highest ridge of the Andes.  Having travelled so far without
encountering the Montoneros, even the most timid of our party had lost
all apprehension on that score.

One afternoon we found ourselves ascending through a narrow and wild
gorge in the mountains.  For three hours we had been mounting higher and
higher, till our beasts began to show great signs of weariness.  At last
we saw before us a huge rock which, projecting from the side of the
mountain, completely overhung the road, and looked as if it would
overwhelm all who attempted to pass under it; while on the other side
was a precipice three or four hundred feet in perpendicular height, at
the bottom of which appeared a dark chasm with a wild roaring torrent
running through it.  The road, if so the mountain track could be called,
was barely wide enough to allow a loaded mule to proceed along it; and
it was next to impossible for two animals to pass one another, or for a
person to dismount without great risk of falling over the precipice.  We
had been scrambling up for a long way over places which it appeared
scarcely possible even goats would surmount, when one of the baggage
mules stopped short and refused to proceed.  Several others followed his
example, and the whole cavalcade in the rear was brought to a
stand-still.  Blows could not be administered, for the muleteers could
not get up to the beasts; and entreaties, coaxings, and persuasions were
all in vain.  I could not help laughing at the variety of expressions
the men made use of to induce the animals to move.  First they addressed
them by every endearing epithet they could think of, then they appealed
to their courage, their magnanimity, their perseverance--the deeds of
their ancestors.

"Have not I always treated you well?" exclaimed our muleteer Juan to his
beast.  "Have not I always seen you housed and fed before I thought of
caring for myself?  Have not I slept by your side and watched over you
as a father his son?  Ungrateful as you are thus to behave at this
pinch!  If we meet another party, we shall be all hurled headlong over
the rocks, or we shall have to fight desperately and have to hurl them
over, and all for your obstinacy, sons of donkeys that you are!"--and he
broke forth in a torrent of vituperation and abuse which it is not
necessary for me here to repeat.

"If the Montoneros should meet us now, what will become of us?" cried
the padre.

"It is the last place they would think of attacking us in," observed my
father.  "Their object is to get possession of our purses and our
beasts; now if they attacked us here, the greater number of us would be
tumbled over into the torrent below, so they would lose their booty."

"That's a satisfaction truly," observed the padre; "but I wish the
beasts would move."

The beasts, however, seemed not a bit inclined to stir, and we had no
remedy for it but to wait patiently, or throw them and our luggage over
the precipice.  As I looked up and saw the huge boulders of rock which
hung above our heads, appearing as if the touch of a vicuna's hoof would
send them rushing down to overwhelm us in their fall, I certainly did
feel anxious to get out of their way.  At last the leading mule,
somewhat rested, began to move, the others followed him for a few
minutes, and they all stopped again.  The same process of entreating,
coaxing, and abusing was gone over again; when the refractory cavalcade
moved on once more for a few paces, but only in like manner to try our
patience and our nerves by stopping at a worse spot than before.  After
resting a few minutes, the leading mule, which kept the others back,
appeared to gain strength, and his stoppages each time being of shorter
duration, he at length began to climb up the steep ascent before him,
the rest readily following.

The cold, at this great height we had now attained, was excessive to our
feelings, accustomed to the warmth of the lower country.  Great,
however, as was the elevation, the peaks which rose above us on every
side appeared not to have lessened in the least in height.  Snow of
brilliant whiteness was around us, some of which in the more lofty spots
had perhaps not melted since the days of the flood.  Mists were floating
about, and below our feet was collected a dense mass, which obscured the
view beyond.  A few flakes of snow began to fall, which every instant
increased in number.

"Forward, forward, Senores!" shouted our chief peon, who acted as guide.
"If a Cordillera storm catches us before we get under shelter, the days
of some of us may be numbered."

We did not neglect the warning.  The animals even seemed to perceive the
necessity of pushing on; and away we all went, tumbling, sliding, and
leaping over the rough track which led down the mountain.  The snow
increased in density, so that we could scarcely see the person
immediately preceding us; and the chilling wind blew stronger and
stronger from off the icy peaks above.  Not a moment was to be lost--the
guides shouted, "On, on, on!" and we whipped and spurred, and urged on
our weary beasts by word and bridle.  Still the ground was far too rough
to enable us to get them into a trot, far less to gallop; and besides, a
tumble would in many places have proved fatal both to horse and rider.
The descent was very rapid, for we were scarcely ever on a level.

"I'll will it fare with any unfortunate fellow in the rear who falls,"
said my father.  "Remain close to me, David; I am afraid of your horse
stumbling."

"No fear," I answered, "I keep a tight rein on him, and he knows well
that he must not be careless."

There was little time to contemplate the scene as we rode along, but
still I could not help being struck by the solemn stillness, and the
wildness of the desolation around.  The voices of the men, as they
shouted out, appeared strange and unnatural from their very
distinctness, as did the tramp of the animals; while not another sound
was heard from any direction.

"On, on, Senores!" were the only words we could hear.  The snow had
ceased; but dark clouds seemed gathering around us, when, without
warning, a flash of forked lightning darted across our path, ploughing
up the ground before us, and followed by a peal of thunder which seemed
to rend the mountain tops.  Flash succeeded flash in every direction,
the very atmosphere quivering with the uninterrupted peals repeated a
thousand-fold by the mountain echoes; while cataracts of fire appeared
to be rushing down the rocks on either side.  Our trembling animals
refused to move; the Spaniards crossed themselves, and shrieking, as
they slid off the backs of the animals they rode, they called on their
saints for protection.

We dismounted and endeavoured to lead our horses under an overhanging
rock.  At last we succeeded in obtaining some shelter; and there we
stood, every instant expecting to be struck by the electric fluid, which
rushed zigzagging before us.  Feelings such I had never before
experienced came over me.  I was at the same time inspired rather with
awe than with terror.  It was as if the heavens were pouring out their
full wrath on man--as if the foundations of the world were about to be
uprooted, and the mighty mountains hurled over on the plains below.

Rocks and earth came hurtling down from the lofty peaks above us; crash
succeeded crash, and flashes of the most intensely vivid lightning
dashed before us without intermission, till the air itself seemed on
fire, and the faculties of sight and hearing both failed from
over-exhaustion of their energies.  It appeared as if the dreadful
strife of the elements would never end; but as we were despairing of
reaching a resting-place before night should set in, the thunder rolled
away, the lightning ceased, and our party emerging from the caves and
crevices where they had taken shelter, we found that providentially all
had escaped injury.  We mounted once more.  As we proceeded, the rays of
the setting sun came streaming along a beautiful valley which opened on
our right.  Descending rapidly, in little more than an hour we found
ourselves before a _tambo_.  It was wretched enough in appearance, and
neither food nor beds did it afford.  As, however, we had with us a
supply of provisions, and our cloaks and saddle-cloths spread on the
floor, with our saddles for pillows, served us for couches, we were not
worse off than we frequently had been; and I know that I slept soundly
till morning.



CHAPTER FOUR.

ATTACKED BY ROBBERS--A MERCIFUL DEED RETURNED WITH INTEREST.

The scenery we passed the next day was very similar to what I have
already described; but the valley, which, on being contrasted with the
snowy region we had just left, appeared so attractive, was, I found,
when seen by the morning light, owing to its high elevation, a very
barren and desolate place.

We rode on for some hours through scenery such as I have before
described, when in the afternoon, as we were beginning to fancy that we
were near the termination of our day's journey, we entered a deep gorge,
with the dark rocks towering up, wild and rugged, on either side of us.
It was just such a place as one might have expected an ambush to have
been placed in; as a few resolute men might have held the road, aided by
others sheltered by the rocks, against a whole army attempting to pass.
An oppressive gloom invaded the spot, and the air seemed damp and heavy,
as if the warming rays of the sun had never penetrated below the tops of
the cliffs.

I was riding on in advance of the main body, when, on reaching the spot
where the gorge opened somewhat, I saw at a considerable distance before
me what I took to be a mark on the cliff in the shape of a horse with a
rider.  As I advanced, however, I perceived that it was a lonely man on
horseback.  He was too far off, standing as he was in shade, for me to
distinguish his dress or appearance.  He seemed to be stationary, as if
watching our approach.  A sharp turn in the road shut out the view
beyond him.  Had I been an old soldier, I should have fallen back on my
companions and reported what I had seen; but I fancied that the horseman
was a traveller like ourselves, and so I continued to ride carelessly
on.  I was very nearly falling a victim to my neglect.  I had advanced
some two hundred yards farther, when my friends reached the spot from
which I had first caught sight of the horseman.  He was still there, but
no sooner did he see them than he wheeled round his horse and
disappeared behind the cliffs.  This I thought suspicious.  My first
impulse was to gallop on to overtake the man; but fortunately the chief
guide had just then come up with me, and urged me not to go on.  I
therefore shouted out to my friends to let them know what I had seen,
and reined in my steed till they came up.  The information did not
hasten the advance of any of the party; indeed some of them were
evidently anxious to cede the post of honour in the van to their
friends.  The cry of "The Montoneros, the Montoneros!" arose from every
mouth.  Some tumbled off their horses, as if to shelter themselves
behind them from the expected volleys of the dreaded banditti; others
sat still and began to count their beads; and not a few turned their
horses' heads preparatory to running away.  I must do the padre the
justice to say that he looked as brave as any of them, except a few who
advanced to the front.

"Where are the enemy, David?" asked my father, who led them on.

"I only saw one man, whom our friends here have multiplied into a band
of Montoneros," I replied.

"Come on, my friends, then!" exclaimed my father.  "If the man my boy
saw is a robber, he and his companions are more likely to run away than
to attack us, if we show a bold front."

His words and tone of confidence restored the fast evaporating courage
of the party; and having halted to get them into something like order,
with the armed men in front and the baggage mules and their drivers in
the rear, we again moved forward.  We had not, however, advanced far,
when the man I had before seen again appeared; and directly afterwards a
troop of horsemen wheeled round the sharp angle of the rock, and with
loud cries galloped rapidly towards us.

"Steady, steady, for your lives!" shouted my father, as he saw in many
of our companions strong evidence of a disposition to turn round and
fly.  "If we break our ranks, we are lost."

That the horsemen now approaching were banditti, I had no doubt, from
their varied and fantastic dresses, the different hues of their faces,
and their wild appearance.  We could not escape them, even had we been
better mounted than they were, as the baggage mules in the rear would
have prevented us.  This they probably calculated on, or perhaps they
would rather we had escaped and left them our baggage, which was what
they most wanted, with the exception, perhaps, of our horses.  They
invariably appropriate the best horses they can find, as it is important
for them to be well mounted.  My father and I, two Spaniards, a mestizo,
and our chief Indian guide, formed the first rank.  When we saw the
Montoneros, and could no longer doubt their intentions, we halted and
presented our firearms.  These were of various lengths and calibres, and
some were better fitted to frighten an enemy than to do harm.  When the
Montoneros saw the determined front we presented, they checked their
speed, but it was only for an instant.

"Do not fire until they get close to us," cried my father.

On came the banditti, their horses' hoofs clattering over the hard road,
while uttering loud and discordant yells, they waved their swords above
their heads.  They made their intentions very manifest of cutting us to
pieces if they could; so we felt perfectly justified in trying to knock
them out of their saddles.

Many of our party gave themselves up for lost; and certainly the
appearance of the banditti was enough to make a stout heart
uncomfortable, to say the least of it.  Their untrimmed moustaches and
long hair escaping from under their broad-brimmed hats, their fierce
countenances and dark flashing eyes, the many hues of their skins, and
their motley costume, gave them altogether a very savage look, which was
increased by the fiery bloodshot eyes of their horses, whose shaggy
manes and the fringe of their housing streamed in the wind, while their
riders shook their weapons, and shrieked out threats of destruction on
our heads.

"Steady, my men, and fire when I do," cried my father, levelling his
rifle; in which I, Jose, and the rest, followed his example.  The
Montoneros had got within a dozen paces of us, when we gave the word.
We fired together, our friends behind handing us their still loaded
weapons.  Two of the robbers rolled in the dust, and the horse of a
third was shot dead, and fell across the road, so as somewhat to impede
the progress of those behind.  On they came, however, and were up to us
as we fired our second round, and received a discharge of their carbines
in return.  Some of the shot took effect on our companions in the rear,
who, instead of reloading the firearms, threw them down and endeavoured
to escape.  In an instant the banditti were upon us.  My father's horse
was shot under him.  I saw Jose knocked over; and then I recollect
nothing that happened for some minutes, except a confusion of sounds,
shouts, and shrieks and groans.  When I returned to consciousness, my
first thought was for my father.  He was not near me, but I saw Jose at
no great distance, leaning on his arm, as if unable to move, and looking
along the road the way we had come.  I turned my eyes in the same
direction, towards which the tide of the fight had gone.  A few of our
companions were still contending against a greatly superior number of
the banditti, most of whom, however, were engaged in a work more
congenial to their taste, that of plundering our baggage.  I could not
doubt that my father was among the combatants; for without his example I
did not think the others would have fought, and I trembled for his fate.
I tried to rise, to rush to his assistance, or to die with him; but I
found I was too weak to stand, much less to use a weapon.  I gave up all
for lost, for I perceived that the resistance of the gallant little band
of my friends was every instant growing weaker; while the robbers were
quitting their plunder to join their assailants.  Meantime some of the
baggage mules were trotting off in the direction where Jose and I lay;
seeing which, some of the banditti came in pursuit of them.  On seeing
that I was alive, a savage-looking fellow lifted his carbine, and was
about to give me a quietus on my head with the butt of it, while another
threatened to perform the same office for Jose, when a shout, different
from any I had before heard, reached my ears.

"Los Indios, los Indios!--the Indians, the Indians!" cried the brigands;
"fly, fly, or we are lost!"

I looked up; for when I thought my brains were about to be dashed out, I
had instinctively shut my eyes.  What was my surprise to see the cliffs
on either side of the road, and which I had thought inaccessible,
swarming with Indians, mostly dressed in their ancient costume, and
armed with bows and slings, with which they sent a shower of arrows and
stones among our enemies!  Several of them were wounded; and the
suddenness of the attack threw them into confusion.  Before they could
recover from it, the Indians came leaping down the cliffs, and threw
themselves between the three parties of the robbers, while others
advanced along either end of the road, so as completely to hem them in.
With the wildest fury, animated apparently by the most deadly hatred,
the Indians rushed on our assailants, who, though they fought for their
lives, could not withstand the onset.

I mentioned that at some distance from me I had observed a few of my
friends, among whom I had no doubt was my father, hard pressed by a
number of the robbers, who seemed intent on their destruction.  The
latter had now to defend themselves from the Indians; and my father and
his party attacking them in return, they were either cut down at once,
or attempted to escape by flight.  A few of the more determined had
fought their way back to where I lay, and I fully expected to receive my
death-wound from some of them, as the fight passed over me, when I felt
myself lifted in the arms of an Indian who I saw was dressed in the
costume of a Peruvian chief; and just as the combatants reached me, he
carried me out of the _melee_, and bore me up the cliff to a spot which
none were likely to reach.  As he placed me on the ground, I caught a
sight of his countenance, and recognised the fugitive whom we had
protected, the Indian, Manco Tupac Amaru.  Before I had time to utter a
word of thanks, he had again leaped down the cliff and joined in the
combat.  Some ten or a dozen of the robbers, who were still on
horseback, and had kept together, were attempting to cut their way along
the road among the mass of Indians who opposed them.  Being well
mounted, and with superior weapons, they had a great advantage; but the
Indians were inspired with a courage I little expected to witness.  They
rushed in upon them, cut their bridles, and dashed their spears in their
faces; and seizing them by their clothes, hung on them, in spite of the
cuts and thrusts of their swords, till they dragged them from their
saddles.  No quarter was given; the instant a robber was unhorsed he was
speared; and before the tide of the fight had rolled on many yards, not
one was left alive.  Many of our party had fallen.  Indeed I was
surprised to observe, nor could I account for it, that the Indians took
no pains to preserve the lives of the Spanish travellers, though they
did their utmost to protect the Indian guides.  The padre and two or
three others alone escaped.  The road below me indeed presented a sad
spectacle; for, as far as I could see, it appeared strewed with the
corpses of my late companions--of robbers and Indians, many of whom had
fallen in the last desperate struggle.  I looked anxiously for my
father, and my heart beat with joy as I saw him coming along the road,
and evidently looking for me.  My preserver, Manco, had observed him;
the recognition was mutual, and they soon approached the spot where I
lay.  I need not describe my father's feelings at finding that I was
alive.  I endeavoured at first to conceal the pain I suffered, and which
made me fancy that my thigh must have been broken.  At length, however,
I could not help giving expression to the anguish I experienced.

"Wait a few minutes," said the Indian chief, "and when I have performed
some duties which are urgently required, I will cause my people to form
a litter to transport you to a place of safety.  What has occurred must
remain secret for a time.  I can trust you; but some of the people in
your company who have escaped, might betray our proceedings to the
authorities.  Their lives are safe, but we must keep them prisoners till
they can no longer injure us by being at liberty."

Neither my father nor I could understand what he meant, and before we
could ask an explanation, he had left us.  We watched his movements, and
saw him place each of the survivors of our party between a guard of four
armed Indians.  Some of his followers took charge of the baggage mules;
others lifted up the dead bodies of their friends; while the rest were
busily employed in collecting the arrows and the other Indian missiles
and weapons; and they then again formed in marching order.  A few had
constructed a litter, and brought it to the foot of the cliff, down
which Manco, with my father's aid, now conveyed me.

"I wish to have no sign of our having taken share in the fray," observed
the Indian.  "The lions and condors will take good care that none shall
discover how those men died."

As he spoke, I looked up, and observed several of those mighty monsters
of the air hovering above our heads, ready to pounce down on their prey
as soon as we should have left them to enjoy their banquet undisturbed.

At a sign from Manco, whom the Indians seemed to obey with the greatest
zeal and respect, they lifted up my litter, and bore it along at a rapid
rate.  My father mounted a horse which was brought him, Manco rode
another, and the priest was accommodated with a mule; but the rest of
the Spaniards were compelled to walk, except poor Jose, who was carried,
as was I, on the shoulders of some Indians; but they did not seem at all
to like the office, nor to regard the rest of their prisoners with any
feeling of good-will.  Every arrangement was made with great
promptitude; and as I watched from my litter the Indian warriors filing
before me, I could scarcely help thinking that I saw a portion of the
very army which the great Incas were accustomed to lead to victory.

We proceeded along what might be called the high road for some miles,
when we struck off across the mountains to the left, the latter part of
the time being guided by torches, for it had become too dark otherwise
to see our way.  At last we arrived at a small hut, built on the side of
a rugged mountain.  It afforded shelter from the cold night-wind; and as
many as it could hold took up their quarters within it, while the
remainder bivouacked without.

Fortunately for me, the padre was something of a surgeon, and on
examining my leg, he assured me that my leg was not broken, but only
severely bruised, and that perfect rest with fomentations would recover
it.  It was impossible, however, to obtain that rest, as we journeyed on
without stopping, except for our meals and a few hours' rest at night,
for several days; and though I was carried all the time, the jolting of
my litter, as we ascended or descended the steep hills, was very
inconvenient.  But the Indians collected a variety of herbs, and making
a decoction of them, fomented my leg whenever we stopped, so that the
swelling gradually subsided, and the pain diminished.

At length we reached a collection of deserted huts, among rugged and
inaccessible crags, with the snowy peaks of the Andes towering high
above us.  The lower parts of the mountains were clothed with pine
trees; and long grass grew on the borders of several streams which run
through the neighbouring valley.  With the pine trees the Indians formed
rafters to the cottages, and thatches with the long grass and reeds.  In
a short time they thus rendered them in some degree habitable.  I
observed that though my father was allowed to go where he liked, the
rest of the party were narrowly watched, so that they could not attempt
to make their escape.  When he spoke to Manco on the subject, and
expostulated with him on detaining the rest of the travellers, the
Indian chiefs reply was short but firm.

"It is necessary for the sake of Peru that they should be kept
prisoners," he observed; "had it not been for you and the padre, they
would probably have lost their lives.  I can trust you if you will give
me your oath not to betray what has occurred or what you suspect, but I
cannot trust them.  When your son is able to move, you shall proceed on
your journey; but they must remain here till it is safe to set them at
liberty."

"I do not seek to pry into your secrets, and should be guilty of the
greatest ingratitude by saying a word even to injure you or your
people," said my father.  "I am doubly anxious to reach Cuzco, lest my
family not hearing of me from thence, should become alarmed."

"Write a few lines to assure your family of your safety, and it shall
reach them long before they could hear from you were you to write from
our ancient capital.  Trust that to me," answered Manco, and he was
afterwards found as good as his word.

The observations which the Indian chief let fall made me suspect that
some plan was forming among the Indians to emancipate themselves from
the Spanish yoke; and when I mentioned my surmises to my father, I found
that he was of the same opinion, but he warned me not to mention my
thoughts to any one.

"The less we know on the subject the better for us," he observed.
"Living under the protection of the Spanish government, it might be our
duty to warn them of danger, while it is equally our duty not to betray
those who have trusted us."

"A curious sort of protection they afford us, when they allow bands of
robbers, who were near cutting our throats, to scour the country
unmolested," I answered.  "For my part, I think the Indians would be
perfectly right to emancipate themselves from the galling chains which
enthral them."

"But were they to make the attempt, they could not do so," said my
father.  "The discipline and gold of a civilised people will always in
the end prevail over a half savage one, in spite of their bravery and
resolution."

Our conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Manco.  No longer a
hunted fugitive, he now walked with the air of a chieftain, his costume
also being that of an Inca noble of old.  Although the dress had long
been disused, except on festive occasions, he had now assumed it to give
him greater authority among his countrymen.

We found at the huts a considerable number of women and children, some
of them belonging to the Indians who were with us, and some, I
concluded, related to others who were absent.  They were evidently
collected here to be beyond the reach of the Spaniards, and to avoid the
flagitious Repartimiento and Meta, the more rigid imposition of which
was about that time, I knew, causing great discontent among the people.
The Spaniards, long accustomed to treat the Peruvians as inferior
beings, destitute alike of feeling and courage, forgot that even a worm
will at times turn and attempt to bite the foot that presses it.

I had observed at times a larger number of persons than had accompanied
us to the village; and I remarked several strangers, dressed in skins
and feathers, who came and went, and again speedily returned, as if they
had gone only to a short distance.  I told our host that I had observed
this, and inquired where the people came from.

"From a place where the foot of a white man has never trod," he replied.
"If you were strong and well.  I might take you to it, and might show
you wonders you little expect to behold, so fully do I trust; but the
time may come when, free of danger, I may gratify your curiosity."

I expected that he alluded to one of those ancient villages which I had
heard of as existing in the heart of the mountains, and never discovered
by the Spaniards; where the inhabitants had continued in the enjoyment
of liberty, and the laws and customs of their ancestors.  I had often
wished to visit one of those remnants of antiquity, and I became doubly
eager to do so, on finding myself in the proximity of one of them; but
Manco assured me that it would be utterly impossible to conduct me there
for a long time to come.

We had now spent a week at the huts, and I was so far recovered as to be
able to mount a horse and move about on foot with the aid of a stick;
and as my father was very anxious to proceed on his journey, we agreed
to start the following day.  On hearing that we were about to depart,
the other travellers wished to accompany us; but the Indians would not
hear of it, and, I observed, kept a stricter watch than usual over them.
Manco showed great unwillingness to part with us.

"Go as you desire it, my friends," he said.  "You are at liberty to do
as you judge best; but for your own sake, as well as mine, I would have
had you remain.  However, as go you must, I will send some of my people
to escort you on your way; and one of them shall follow you as your
servant till you return home.  He will obey you in all things, but you
must not blame him if he is absent during a few hours at times from you.
You must pay him no wages, but you must not send him from you; and if
you are asked where you found him, say in a mountain village, and that
he wished to come with you to see the world."

The next morning our new attendant made his appearance.  He was a small,
active-looking man, of a lightish rusty-red colour.  His dress was much
as is usually worn at the present day, consisting of loose trousers of
coarse brown cloth, fastened round the waist by a girdle, and a woollen
shirt of a dark blue colour.  His poncho, which served as his outer
garment, was of alpaca wool of the same hue as his shirt; and on his
head he wore a broad-brimmed hat, while his sandals were of untanned
leather, just covering his toes, and secured by a thong round the ankle.
He took charge of a mule laden with our clothes and a supply of
provisions.

Manco took an affectionate farewell of us as we were mounting our horses
at the door of the hut.  He pressed our hands as he said--

"We may meet again, dear friends, at some future time, when the children
of the sun may dare to lift up their heads in the land where their
fathers ruled.  Till then, farewell."

We found, a little farther on, a band of a hundred men, well armed with
muskets and rifles, ready to escort us; and a young man of the Inca
family, their leader, told us that they were to accompany us to help us
to cross the difficult barriers which surrounded the spot we were in,
and to watch us till we reached the neighbourhood of Cuzco.

Accustomed as I was to mountain scenery, I should not before have
thought it possible for any four-footed animals to climb up the rugged
precipices, over which the Indians led and pushed our horses and mules.
In some places they were literally hauled up with ropes, and let down
again on the other side.  My kind guides assisted me up and down also,
though I had nearly recovered my usual strength.  A number of streams
crossed our path, adding not a little to its difficulties.

Our animals were generally driven into the water and compelled to swim
across, being then hauled up on the other side.  We passed by means of a
curious kind of bridge called a Huano.  It was formed of a thick rope,
which is carried by means of a lighter line across the chasm.  The
lighter line was carried across by some powerful swimmer, or by a man
holding on to the mane of one of the horses or mules.  On the rope ran a
roller, to which was fastened a piece of wood, and to the wood the
passenger was secured; the transit was made more easy by two light
lines, by which the piece of wood was drawn from side to side.  Several
of the Indians went first across.  I watched them in their dizzy
transit, and I thought, if the rope breaks, what will become of them?
When it came to my turn to cross, I held my head as high as I could, and
crossed my legs over the thick rope, which I grasped with my hands.  I
did not dare to turn to look into the deep gulf below; for strong as my
nerves were, I felt that if I did, I should have let go my hold.  I was
not sorry to find my head knocking against the shrubs and rocks on the
opposite side.  My father followed me; and then the whole body, one by
one, passed over.  Having got into rather less intricate country, the
captain of our escort told us that from this place forward we must no
longer remain in company, though he had orders from his chief to watch
us till all probability of danger was past.

Accordingly, my father and I, and our new Indian servant, prepared to
proceed alone.  We were still several days' journey from Cuzco.  We
slept as before at those most wretched of all inns the Indian tambos,
though wherever we stopped we could not help remarking that we were
treated with more than usual kindness and respect, which we suspected
was owing to our being under the special protection of their chief.
That also we were not deserted by our guardians, we had reason to know.
On more than one occasion I had observed one or two figures hovering on
the brow of some hill, or appearing from behind trees, bushes, or rocks.
I perceived once one of them started up close to us.  I pointed him out
to our attendant, who had likewise seen him.  With a significant look he
answered, "Fear not them--they will not injure us."

We encountered but few travellers, and I do not recollect any other
occurrence worthy of being narrated daring our journey.



CHAPTER FIVE.

CUZCO DESCRIBED--WE ARE MADE PRISONERS--ANXIETY FOR THOSE AT HOME.

"Behold Cuzco!" exclaimed our Indian guide, as, throwing himself from
his horse, he knelt in adoration of the glorious luminary, whose rays
were just then throwing a mantle of gold over the crumbling walls of a
mighty fortress, which protected the holy city of his ancestors, the
capital of the Incas.

We had just reached the brow of an elevated ridge which forms one side
of the fertile and extensive valley in which Cuzco stands, built, like
ancient Rome, on a number of hills or slight rises.  To the north of the
city, on the summit of a lofty eminence, appeared the still dark and
frowning fortress of Cyclopean architecture, composed of stones of vast
magnitude.  When I afterwards visited it, I was surprised to find the
extraordinary nicety with which, without any cement, they were joined
together; and I cannot tell with what machinery the Peruvians could have
raised blocks so enormous to such heights, or how they could have fitted
them, shaped as they are in so many various forms, with exactness so
remarkable.  Had I believed in the existence of giants, I should have
supposed that they alone could have lifted such vast masses into the
positions they hold.  Many of the modern residences of the conquerors
stand on the foundations of the ancient buildings of the Peruvians, and
from among them we saw towering upwards the spires and towers of the
magnificent cathedral, of the convents of Saint Augustine and La Merced,
and of a number of other fine churches.  We had not long to contemplate
this scene of the ruins of the past and of modern splendour, as it was
necessary to reach the city before dark; and the setting sun warned us
that we had not much time to lose.  We were questioned, when we entered,
whence we had come; but before we could speak, our Indian attendant
stepped forward and gave an answer that satisfied the guard, and we
passed on.

The inn we went to was the best in the city, but it could boast of
affording us little comfort, though, as we were accustomed to rough
fare, that mattered little.  At daybreak I was on foot, as I was anxious
to see the city; and with our Indian attendant as my guide, I wandered
through the larger portion of it before breakfast.  We reached a
collection of ruined walls, composed of huge masses of rock.

"On this spot," said the Indian, bending reverentially towards the sun,
just then rising over the walls of the city, "stood the great temple
where our fathers worshipped the God in whom they trusted; away to the
right, where now those convent walls appear, were the residences of the
beautiful virgins of the sun; and in these fields of corn and lucerne
which surround us were once laid out the magnificent gardens of the
temple, filled with menageries of all the animals of our country, with
aviaries of birds of many-coloured plumage, with fountains, and trees,
and flowers, and ornaments of vast size, of gold and silver and precious
stones, many in the form of the shrubs and plants among which they
stood, and of workmanship so admirable that they seemed to vie with them
in elegance and beauty.  But the greedy spoiler came, and behold,
stranger, what he made it!  Alas! this garden is but an example of the
condition to which our unhappy country has been reduced."

The Indian was silent, and seemed lost in gloomy reflection.  I, too,
thought of the past; and as I did so, the magnificent Temple of the Sun
appeared before me, with its walls resplendent with the golden ornaments
which surrounded them, and its wide courts crowded with votaries in
their many-coloured costumes and head-dresses and robes of feathers,
eagerly watching for the rising of the luminary they worshipped.  I
fancied I could hear their voices, and could see the mighty mass below
me, their plumes waving in the breeze as they joined the joyous shout
raised by their friends above them.

"Yes, a day of bitter retribution will ere long arrive," exclaimed my
companion.  The deep, low, and concentrated tone of his voice roused me
from my reveries, he appeared unconscious that he had spoken.  "Come,
sir," he said, "we will proceed."

As I walked through the streets of Cuzco.  I was struck with the air of
antiquity which many of the buildings wore; and I could not help
regretting the worse than Gothic cruelty and ignorance of the Spaniards,
which had destroyed the numberless magnificent edifices of its former
inhabitants.  We spent three days in the city, and on the fourth took
our departure, accompanied by Ithulpo.  I learned that twenty leagues
only from the city commence the territories of the unsubdued Indians,
who will allow no stranger to enter their country.  As I looked towards
the distant mountains which form their bulwarks, I fancied that it must
be a land full of romance and interest, and I longed to penetrate into
it.  I was before long to have my wish gratified, through means I little
contemplated.

Our course was, however, now in a contrary direction, north and west,
towards the sea.  We had proceeded two days' journey, when, at the
urgent request of Ithulpo, we turned aside to rest at a town among the
mountains.

"It is inhabited chiefly by my people," he observed.  "To-morrow they
perform a ceremony, at which I wish to assist, and which you will like
to behold."

We ascended by a narrow and winding path among the mountains to the
town, where we were lodged in the best house it possessed, and where the
inhabitants vied with each other in paying us attention.  The next
morning, when I went out, I was surprised to see the place crowded with
Indians dressed in the ancient costume of the country, of which
certainly the pictures I have since seen in England and France do not
give at all a correct idea.  They wore feather head-dresses, and their
cloaks and trains were likewise trimmed with feathers; and if not quite
so picturesque, were more suited to their convenience than the scanty
feather kilts in which they are made to appear.  Having breakfasted, my
father and I followed the crowd at a little distance to see what was
going to occur.  Among them we observed, raised above their heads, a
gaily ornamented litter or covered palanquin, in which sat a person
richly dressed with the regal border or red fringe of the Incas on his
head.  We learnt that he was intended to represent Atahualpa.  On
pressed the crowd with shouts and songs towards a large square before
us; there they halted, when from some buildings in which they had been
concealed, appeared another party dressed in armour with guns in their
hands, and one or two small pieces of cannon following them.  They all
wore masks, and were intended to represent Spaniards.  One more hideous
than the rest was evidently Pizarro, and by his side stood the priest
Vicente de Yalverde.  They approached the litter, and the monk addressed
the Inca in a long harangue.  Atahualpa replied, when a terrific shriek
was heard; the litter was overthrown, and the Inca was dragged among the
Spaniards.  A mock combat took place, but the Indians were driven back;
and then arose the most melancholy cries and groans ever heard.  It was
no imitated grief, for to such a pitch had they worked up their
imaginations, that they really fancied that their Inca was again torn
from them.  At last they retired, and a new scene in the drama
commenced.

A number of Spaniards came forth from the building to which they had
carried off the Inca, and seated themselves as if holding a council.
Atahualpa was next brought out.  He stood, with downcast looks and hands
bound, before his judges, waiting his doom.  One man only pleaded his
cause, the others brought forth numberless arguments for his
condemnation--a good satire on those by which the real Inca was judged
to be worthy of death.  At length one standing up, pronounced the
representative Atahualpa guilty, ordering him to immediate execution.
No sooner were the words uttered, than there arose from the crowd such
shrieks and cries, that I could scarcely believe them to be feigned.
Amid them the Inca was led to the place of execution, already prepared,
where stood a man with ferocious aspect with an axe uplifted in his
hands.  The axe fell, and while the cries and groans increased, as I saw
a bloody head lifted up before me, I thought for an instant that the man
had really been killed.  I soon, however, saw that the bloody head was
merely a block of wood, while a piece of cloth was thrown over the
person who had represented the Inca to conceal him from view.  The
Indians, however, appeared to be as deeply affected with grief as if
they had really just seen their beloved monarch slaughtered before their
eyes, to such a pitch were their imaginations worked up by the scene
which had been acted.  Had I not witnessed what I describe, I could
scarcely have believed it possible; and as the Cholas sang their songs
of mourning, the tears streamed down their cheeks, the groans seemed to
come from the hearts of the men, and every countenance wore an
expression of the most profound sorrow.  Just at that moment I saw a man
hurrying up the path which led into the village from the valley below.
Almost breathless with exertion, he uttered a few words to the first he
met.  His communication flew like lightning among the crowd.  They
scattered in every direction, as if a thunderbolt had fallen among them.
Masks were torn off and hastily concealed, dresses were changed, and
the block and axe, and all the things connected with the representation,
were carried away, while the people ran along the streets, and shut
themselves up in their houses in evident fright.

We were not long in ascertaining the cause of the commotion.  As I
watched the approach to the town, I caught sight of the bayonet and
shako of a soldier rising above the brow of a hill.  Another and another
followed, till about twenty men and two Spanish officers formed in the
square of the town.  That they had come for no good purpose, was soon
made manifest by their charging a small party of the Indians who had
neglected to escape from the square.  So unexpected was the attack, that
some were captured, while others were cruelly wounded before they could
conceal themselves.  The soldiers having thus whetted their thirst for
blood, hurried from cottage to cottage, breaking open the doors and
dragging out the terrified inmates.  Those who were found with a mask,
or any portion of the ancient Indian costume about them, proving that
they had taken part in the forbidden representation, were without mercy
shot, in spite of the entreaties and cries of their wives and children.
A considerable number were also dragged from their huts and bound
together with ropes, preparatory to being carried off as prisoners.

We had hitherto remained concealed in the house where we had rested for
the night, and which had been unvisited by the soldiers.  Had we been
able to leave the village unobserved, we would gladly have done so to
avoid contact with the troops, though we had no reason to apprehend
ill-treatment from them.  My father had desired Ithulpo to have our
horses and baggage ready to start at a moment's notice.  While we
remained shut up in the house, we could only judge of what was going on
by the sounds we heard.  The shots and cries had grown fainter, and
thinking that the soldiers must have got to a distance, we considered
this a good opportunity to set out.  Ithulpo had been watching them
through a hole in the wall of an enclosure, at a little distance from
the cottage within which our animals were to be kept ready.  I looked
cautiously out of the door of the cottage, and seeing no one near, I ran
round to where Ithulpo was posted.  I told him that we were ready to
start.

"I was coming to tell you that now is our time to start," he replied.
"I wish that I was certain that all the soldiers are together, for I am
afraid that some may be left to guard the outlet to the village; but we
must run the risk."

We accordingly brought the horses round.  Our baggage was soon strapped
on, and mounting immediately, we set off at a brisk pace, followed by
the well-wishes of our host, towards the only outlet to the village.
Several houses were in flames, and more than one apparently dead Indian
met our view.  A short hour had made a sad change in the peaceful
village, which now looked as if it had been stormed and sacked by a
cruel enemy.  We had no time to stop to examine whether any of the
prostrate forms we saw were still alive, so we pushed on.  Just,
however, as we reached the top of the pathway down the mountain, a party
of soldiers, with an officer at their head, appeared suddenly before us.
It was impossible to escape notice, so we attempted to pass them.

"Stop!" cried the officer, presenting a pistol.  "Who are you?"

"English travellers, on the road to Lima," answered my father.

"Say rather English abettors of rebels," exclaimed the officer fiercely.
"We find you in a village encouraging the ignorant people by your
presence to break the law.  You are our prisoners."

My father pleaded in vain that we had no intention of breaking the law,
or encouraging others to do so.

"You may make your excuse to the government of Lima," answered the
officer; and he ordered us to remain where we were on pain of being
shot.

A number of prisoners were collected together, and we had no doubt that
he had heard from one of them of our being present at the forbidden
ceremony we had witnessed.  The bugle now sounded the recall, and soon
afterwards the rest of the soldiers returned, dragging after them a
number more of wretched prisoners.  They appeared to be the principal
people in the village; and whether guilty or not of the crimes charged
against them, they were dragged away from their homes, to undergo more
suffering on their road to their place of trial than they would deserve
even if proved guilty.

The unhappy men were lashed together by the wrists two and two, all
being likewise joined by a single stout rope; while blows and curses
urged them on if they did not move fast enough to please their tyrants.
Had the inhabitants of the village united bravely, they might have
overpowered the soldiers and rescued their friends; but terror-stricken,
they were afraid to show themselves.

Neither my father nor I were in any way molested, but a soldier was
placed on each side of us and our Indian attendant, with orders to shoot
us if we attempted to escape, a command they seemed very ready to obey.
The word was then given to move on, and we commenced our descent of the
mountain, a body of eight soldiers bringing up the rear.  We addressed
the officers several times to learn why we were thus treated, but the
only answer the one in command deigned to make was--

"You are found in communication with rebel Indians, and there are
suspicions against you."

I thought of our having aided the escape of the Indian chief Manco, and
feared that by some means the circumstance might have become known.  If
such were the case, I trembled for the safety of my dear mother and
brothers and sisters.  I thought of all the insults and annoyance to
which they must have been subjected while our house was being searched,
and my father's papers and books being examined, which I knew they would
be, by the officers of justice.  I did not, however, communicate my
thoughts to my father, as I felt that if it suggested the same idea to
him, it would cause him much pain and anxiety.

I endeavoured therefore, as we rode on, to amuse him by conversation;
but I am afraid I succeeded very ill.  Ithulpo was very gloomy and
silent, evidently brooding over the wrongs his countrymen had so long
endured, and were still receiving, from their oppressors.  At the foot
of the mountain we found another party of soldiers concealed in a wood,
and guarding the horses of our escort.  The whole then mounted; and as
we proceeded at a more rapid rate, the captive Indians were goaded on
more cruelly to keep up with us.  Ithulpo still said not a word; but as
his eyes were now and then turned towards his countrymen, I observed
that looks of intelligence were exchanged between them.  Some shrieked
with pain; others returned glances of rage at their tormentors; a few
almost fainted, till stirred up again to proceed; and two, who had been
wounded, actually dropped down, and as they were left in the rear, the
report of musketry told what had been their fate.  The fear of a similar
catastrophe deterred others from giving in while they had any strength
remaining to drag onwards their weary limbs.

My father's kind heart was bursting with indignation and grief; but from
the surly answers he received, he saw that it would be hopeless to plead
for the unhappy beings.

"A day of bitter retribution will come, ere long, for this tyranny," he
observed.  "Such conduct must arouse even the most long-enduring from
their apathy.  Even as it is, how entirely has Spain failed to reap any
benefit from her apparently glorious conquest of this new world! or
rather, I may say, from the mode in which that conquest was conducted,
it has brought on her a heavy curse instead of a blessing.  Since she
gained America, she has gradually declined in wealth, intelligence, and
power; and if I mistake not the signs of the times, these beautiful
provinces will soon be wrested from her, though, alas, the seeds of
misgovernment and bigotry which she planted, will take ages more to
eradicate."

Subsequent events, as my readers know, proved the correctness of my
father's observations.  Spain no longer holds sway over any part of the
American continent; and the colonies she has planted, ever since
constantly plunged in civil war and anarchy, have been far outstripped
in civilisation by those peopled by the Anglo-Saxon race.



CHAPTER SIX.

ATTEMPT TO CROSS A DESERT--THE DISASTERS WE ENCOUNTERED.

Our journey was irksome and disagreeable in the extreme.  We marched on
each day as long as the horses and men could move; and we rested at
night, sometimes in farm-houses, or in the public _tambos_; but
frequently we took shelter within the ruins of forts or other buildings,
and often we were obliged to sleep on the hard ground, with our saddles
for our pillows and the starlit sky above our heads.  As it was the
height of summer, this mattered little.  We suffered, however, much from
the heat in the day-time, and we were compelled frequently to dismount
to lead our horses over the rugged places we had to pass.  Day after day
the poor captives dropped through fatigue, till their numbers were much
thinned; but still we pushed on.  We passed through a number of Indian
villages, the inhabitants of which looked out from their mat doors with
sad eyes on their unhappy countrymen; and we now discovered that the
object of the Spaniards in carrying them on was to strike terror into
the hearts of the people.  When governors cannot manage a people so as
to gain their love, they attempt to rule them through their fears; but
such a government is never of long duration, and must ultimately bring
destruction on itself.  We had marched for three days without finding
any habitations, when I saw the officers holding consultation together,
and evidently much perplexed.  A halt was ordered, and inquiries made if
anybody knew the road.  We had lost our way.  The Indians had no
knowledge of that part of the country, nor had any of the soldiers.  I
detected a gleam of intelligence in the countenance of Ithulpo, which
made me suspect that he could give the desired information if he chose;
but when asked, he denied all knowledge of the way.  We took shelter
that night within the walls of a ruined village, which, from its
appearance, I judged had not been inhabited since the time of the
conquest, except as a temporary abode in the same manner as we used it.
It must have been a place of some extent, but the greater part was
concealed by trees and shrubs, and creeping plants, which had grown up
among the walls.  Most of the buildings were of sun-dried bricks; but
others, within one of which we were placed, were of masses of stone,
like the fortress of Cuzco.  It had probably been the residence of a
chief or noble.  It seemed strange that the Spaniards should not have
known so remarkable a spot; but though they did not, I was certain that
the Indians were well acquainted with it.

The prisoners were all driven together like a flock of sheep within one
of the enclosures, and a sentry was placed over them, with orders to
shoot any who might attempt to escape.  After the horses had been
picketed in a grassy spot close to the ruins, the soldiers lighted their
fires to dress their evening meal, while the two officers sat themselves
down on a fragment of stone and smoked their cigars, taking no notice of
us.  Our horses and luggage mule had been placed with the others under a
guard; so they thought, I suppose, that we should not attempt to escape.
Meantime my father and I sat at a little distance, watching the
proceedings of our very unwelcome companions, while Ithulpo stood near,
casting every now and then towards them glances expressive of the most
intense hatred, and a desire of vengeance.  The sun was still low, but
his rays yet tinged the topmost branches of the trees and the lofty
ranges of mountains in the distance.  The soldiers had brought skins of
wine and plenty of good cheer with them; and when they had eaten, they
passed the wine-skins round right merrily, the officers joining in the
carouse.  Instead of pouring the wine into cups, they lifted the skins
high above their heads, and without touching the vessel to their lips,
allowed the wine to run down their throat in a gentle stream.  As we
were close enough to them to be easily watched, the officers, I suppose,
thought that we should not attempt to move away.  Ithulpo had stowed a
sort of knapsack he carried with some dried meat and bread, which he now
produced, and it served to satisfy our appetites; but we had no wine,
and our surly guards did not deign to offer us any.

"Do not repine, sirs, at the want," he observed.  "I will show you a
pure stream, the water of which, ere to-morrow's sun has set, those
soldiers will value more than the finest wine their country can
produce."

The sun went down, and the shades of night came rapidly on, but still
the Spaniards continued their debauch.  They had apparently forgotten us
and their other prisoners; for though by the light of their fires we
could clearly see them, sitting as we were under the shadow of a wall,
we were no longer visible to them.  Ithulpo came and sat himself down
beside me.

"Could we not manage to get away from these people?"  I asked in a
whisper.

"Not now," he answered.  "The sentries would give the alarm if we
attempted to take the horses, and without them we cannot move.
To-morrow we shall have a better opportunity, and we may help some of my
poor countrymen to escape at the same time."

"Why do you expect that a good opportunity to escape will occur?"  I
inquired.

"I cannot at present reply to your question," he said.  "Those who now
guard us will no longer be able to do so.  Trust to me.  You will enter
Lima as free men, and no one will appear as a witness against you, to
support the false accusation these people have made."

I forbore to question him further, but there was something very
mysterious in his look and manner; and at first the horrid idea occurred
to me that he had by some means contrived to poison the Spaniards, for
otherwise I could not account for the confidence with which he
pronounced his prediction.  However, I endeavoured to banish the
suspicion as too dreadful to be entertained.  At length the commanding
officer seemed to recollect that he had duties to attend to.  Fresh
guards were set over the prisoners and the horses, wood was collected
and the fires were made up, and a sentinel was posted near the spot,
under shelter of a wall, which we had selected for our place of rest.
Ithulpo got leave to bring us our saddles and horse-trappings to serve
us for beds, and he likewise brought us our portmanteaus and
saddle-bags, which he placed near us.  The soldiers threw themselves on
the ground, and were very soon fast asleep.  Our sentry also, from the
manner his head every now and then gave a sharp nod, was evidently very
drowsy.  The heat of the weather, the exertion he had undergone, and the
wine he had drunk, were quite enough to account for this.  I also at
last fell asleep.  My eyes had been closed for about a couple of hours,
when I was awakened by Ithulpo touching my shoulder.  I sat up, and
observed that he had the wine-skins emptied by the soldiers hanging on
his arm.

"Follow me," he whispered.  "We are not going to escape; but you are
thirsty, and I will show you a pure spring, where you may drink your
fill, and you will be better able to endure the heat of to-morrow's
sun."

Silently following him, as he led the way among the ruins, I found that
we had reached a thick and apparently impenetrable wood.  Without
stopping, however, he went direct to a spot where the branches yielded
easily to his hand.  A winding path appeared before us, proceeding along
which, we arrived in an open forest glade.  On one side rose a high
rock, which seemed part of a range of cliffs forming the side of a
mountain.  The murmuring sound of water met my ear, and by the faint
starlight I discovered a stream gushing forth from the rock, and finding
its way in a narrow rivulet through the glade.

"The white man thinks that the discovery of a gold mine will bring him
all the wealth he can desire; but the time has come when he would gladly
exchange all the gold and silver hidden within yon mountains for one
draught of that pure stream," muttered Ithulpo, as I stooped my head to
drink at the fountain.  "Drink--drink while you can," he continued in
the same low tone.  "It is more than wealth, it is life itself; it
fertilises, it invigorates, it cleanses, it blesses.  Without it the
world would be but a sterile desert, unfit for the habitation of man;
while gold, which the white men value so much, has ever proved the curse
of our country.  They value it because they think it scarce, while we,
who know the deep mines where in vast heaps it lies hid from their
sight, place it at its true worth, below iron and copper, or even silver
or tin."

While Ithulpo was thus speaking, he was employed in washing out and
filling the skins he had brought with water.  I also filled a couple of
flasks with the pure fluid.  We then retraced our steps by the way we
had come, I assisting him in carrying the somewhat heavy burden.  We
reached the camp unobserved by the drowsy sentries.  I was wondering
what the Indian intended doing with the skins, when, begging me to lie
down and rest, he took up two of the skins, and crept cautiously away
towards the enclosure where his countrymen were confined.  After a
little time he returned, and again took the path to the fountain to
replenish the skins.  I was afraid he would have been discovered, but he
went about the work so cautiously and silently, that he altogether
escaped the observation of the sentries.  After he had given the
prisoners all the water they required, he came back to where we were
lying, and threw himself on the ground near us.  The rest of the night
passed quietly away; and notwithstanding the painful position in which
we were placed, I slept soundly.  I was aroused by the sound of a bugle,
and found the soldiers getting under arms and preparing to march.  Our
baggage was replaced by Ithulpo, who I saw watched it carefully.  The
men mounted, the prisoners were dragged out from their resting-place,
and we commenced our day's journey.

An extensive plain was before us, with a few rugged and barren heights
scattered over it.  As we proceeded vegetation grew more and more
scanty, till after we had marched scarcely half a mile, it ceased
altogether.  We had slept, we found, on the borders of a desert.  The
ground was at first composed of a mixture of rock and clay, over which
the sea had evidently rolled in former ages; but as we proceeded it
became more loose and broken, till it changed into a soft shifting sand,
into which our horses' feet sank deep at every step they made.

The poor prisoners, already worn out with their long journey, appeared
scarcely able to drag on their weary limbs through it.  Of its extent we
were unable to judge, but the commander seemed to fancy that in a short
time we should reach firmer and more fertile ground, where we should
find water and halt to breakfast.  The sun, which rose in a cloudless
sky on our right, showed that we were proceeding in the direction we
wished to follow--towards the north.

"Forward, my men," shouted the officer.  "In an hour or two we shall be
out of this ill-conditioned spot, and find rest and refreshment."

The soldiers lighted their cigars and urged on their horses, while they
dealt their blows freely on the backs of the Indians to quicken their
speed.

I observed a peculiar smile on the countenance of Ithulpo, as the
officer spoke of soon reaching a place of rest.  Our attendant had, I
found, managed to distribute a supply of the highly prized cacao among
his countrymen; and while their features wore a look of sullen
indifference as they received the ill-merited blows, I remarked that
they seemed to bear up against the fatigue better than they had before
done.  As the sun rose higher the heat increased, till it became almost
insupportable.  The officers spoke earnestly together for some time, and
were evidently growing anxious as to the road we were taking.  At length
their voices grew louder and louder, as if disputing on the point, for
there was very little semblance of discipline among them.  Then they
called up several of their men one after the other, but could not gain
the information they required.  Some of the prisoners were next brought
up, but they either could not or would not say whether we were pursuing
the proper course, their countenances assuming an expression of the most
perfect ignorance and apathy.  Still we pushed on, the Spaniards trying
to urge their horses still faster through the heavy sand.  Before us
rose a bright glittering haze, through which objects every now and then
appeared seemingly in the far distance--hills, and trees, and rocks, and
lakes, and streams of pure water; but as we advanced they vanished, and
a few barren mounds and loose stones alone were found, while the
supposed water was altogether a mocking deception.  To the right hand
and to the left, the same inhospitable desert seemed to stretch out far
away; and we had already advanced so deeply into it, that the officers
probably supposed that there would be as much risk in returning as in
going on.  On therefore we went, the soldiers having no mercy on the
prisoners, whom they urged forward, whenever they attempted to slacken
their pace, with the points of their swords, till the blood trickled in
streams down the backs of these miserable beings.  We were riding just
behind the main body of the soldiers, followed by Ithulpo and the
baggage mules.  The generous, kind heart of my father was almost
bursting with indignation, as he saw this piece of cruelty.

At last, as an Indian more weary than the rest sunk to the ground, and a
soldier was about to plunge his sword into his body, he could restrain
himself no longer.

"Hold, wretch!" he exclaimed.  "Add not murder to your cruelty."

The soldier, taken by surprise, did not strike the fatal blow till his
horse had carried him past the fainting Indian; but, balked of his prey,
his anger was kindled against my father, and turning round, he made a
cut at him with his sword.  Fortunately I carried a heavy riding-whip,
with which I was able to parry the blow.  The man did not attempt to
repeat it, for the junior officer turning round, observed the act, and
called him to order; but it showed us what we were to expect if we
excited the anger of our captors.  I could not withstand the despairing
look the poor wretch cast on us as he thought we were about to pass him
and to leave him to his fate; so throwing myself from my horse, I lifted
his head from the ground.  My father stopped also, and so did Ithulpo.

"On, on!" shouted the rear-guard of the Spaniards.  "On, or we will fire
at you."

"We will follow immediately," replied my father.  "On my word of
honour--on the word of an Englishman."

The Spaniards had never known that word broken, so they allowed us to
stop to help the Indian.  One of our baggage mules was lightly laden,
and in spite of the threats of the soldiers we lifted him upon it.  I
had, as I mentioned, filled a small spirit-flask with water, and unseen
I poured a few drops down his parched throat.  This much revived him,
and by urging on our animals, we were soon able to overtake the already
weary horses of the Spaniards.

The time for breakfast had long since passed, but still no signs of a
resting-place appeared.  On the contrary, the sand became finer and
deeper, and the dreary expanse before us seemed to lengthen out to the
horizon.  As the sun also rose higher in the sky, his unobstructed rays
darted down with greater force upon our heads.  There had been a slight
breeze in the morning, blowing fresh from over the snowy summits of the
Cordilleras; but that had now died entirely away, and not a breath of
air stirred the stagnant atmosphere.  The heat at length became almost
insupportable, while our eyes could scarcely bear the glare of the sun
on the white glittering sand.

To do the Spaniards credit, they bore up bravely for a long time against
the heat and thirst and fatigue which assailed them.  The horses,
however, which had only been scantily supplied with water the night
before, began to knock up--their ears dropped, their heads hung down,
and their respiration became thick and fast.  Ithulpo had supplied my
father and me with cacao, by chewing a piece of which occasionally, we
avoided any feeling of hunger; and as we also wetted our lips, when they
became parched, with the water from our flasks, we did not suffer much
from thirst.  Still the sensation of oppression and fatigue was very
painful.  We received too, ere long, a warning of what might be our
fate, in the spectacle which met our sight.  The sun had reached his
meridian height, and was descending towards the waters of the Pacific,
and still it appeared that we had made no more progress than in the
morning, when we came upon the bleached bones of several mules and
horses, and by their side appeared, just rising above the sand, the
skeletons of three human beings.  It appeared as if they had all been
struck down together by the same fiery blast.  The soldiers, as we
passed, turned their looks aside, without uttering a word, each one
feeling that he might shortly become like those ghastly remnants of
mortality.  I observed that the heads of the animals were all turned
towards the south, by which I judged that thus they had probably
travelled over a greater distance of the burning desert than we had yet
passed, so that we were yet not half over our difficulties.

"Those skeletons show that we are on the high road across the desert," I
remarked to my father.

"I am afraid not, David," he answered.  "They may have lost their way,
and we have stumbled on them by chance."

Such, I at once saw, was too likely to be the case.

The gauze-like mist of which I had before spoken, now appeared to grow
more dense, and to lose its transparent appearance; at the same time
that the rays of the sun struck down with fiercer heat, and the
atmosphere grew more stagnant and oppressive.  Some of the soldiers had
lighted their cigars, in the hope that the fumes of tobacco would
alleviate their thirst; and as the tiny jets of smoke left their mouths,
they went straight up towards the sky, not a breath existing to blow
them aside.  Suddenly, as I turned my head to the left, I saw what
appeared to be a dark cloud rising from the earth.  I pointed it out to
my father.  Ithulpo had at the same time observed it.

"Muffle up your heads in your ponchos, and push on for the love of
life," he exclaimed.  "It is the sand-drift swept before a whirlwind.
On! on! or it will overwhelm us!"

It was indeed an object to appal the stoutest heart.  On it came, like a
black wall, rising higher and higher, and curling over our heads, till
the sky and the sun himself were obscured.  The soldiers saw it and
trembled, for they knew its deadly power; whole regiments had before
been buried beneath that heavy canopy.  Their only chance of safety,
they fancied, was to gallop through it.  With frantic energy they dug
their spurs into the sides of their panting steeds.  They no longer
thought of their miserable prisoners.  Without a sensation of
commiseration, they left them to the dreadful fate they themselves
strove to escape.  Neither could we do anything for them: if we stopped,
we also should lose our lives.  As we followed the soldiers, we found
the Indians all huddled together, with looks of despair on their
countenances, watching the approach of the sand-drift.  They had no
prospect of extricating themselves either; for the Spaniards had not
even cut the cords which bound them all together.  I glanced at the
black wall of sand; it was still some way off.  Could I leave my
fellow-creatures thus to perish horribly, without an attempt to save
them?  No burning thirst, thanks to Ithulpo's precautions, had yet dried
up the sympathies of my heart.

"What are you going to do, David?" asked my father, as he saw me throw
myself from my horse.

"To give these poor fellows a chance of life," I answered, drawing out
my knife, and cutting away at their cords.

"Your mother and sisters, my lad, must not be forgotten," he muttered;
"but stay, I will help you."

As he said this he set to work to release the Indians, in which we were
directly joined by Ithulpo; the rear-guard, as they passed by, bestowing
many curses and threats of vengeance on our heads for our interference;
but they were too anxious to save their own lives to prevent us.
Scarcely a minute was lost.

"Mount! mount! and ride on!" cried Ithulpo.

Throwing our knives to the Indians, we leaped on our horses, and again
followed the direction we supposed the soldiers had taken.  We had not
proceeded many yards when the wall of sand seemed to wheel round like an
extended line of infantry, and then to advance at double speed.  To
escape it by galloping from it was now hopeless; so we turned our
horses' heads to face it.  As we did so, a clear break appeared in one
part.

"Let us make for yonder lighter spot," shouted my father.

We did so.  On came the dark wall; the sand swept by us, whirling round
and round our heads, blinding our eyes, and filling our ears and
nostrils.  It was with difficulty even that we could breathe, as with
each respiration our mouths became choked with the sand.  I endeavoured,
as well as I was able, to keep close to my father, though for a time it
was only by our voices, as we shouted to each other, that we were aware
of each other's position.  We did our utmost to keep our horses' heads
in the direction the sand-storm came from, that we might the more
speedily pass through it.  They breasted it bravely, though their
thick-drawn breath showed the pain they suffered; but they seemed to be
as well aware as ourselves of the necessity of exertion.  It was with
difficulty, however, that we could even keep our seats, as, with our
hats pressed over our eyes, our ponchos drawn tight around us, and our
bodies bent down over their necks, we encouraged them to proceed with
bit and rein.  We were making all the time, in reality, but little real
progress, as I soon discovered; their utmost exertion being required to
lift their legs out of the sand, which was rapidly collecting round us.

On a sudden, a dark mass swept towards us.  I know not how it was,--I
believe I must have turned to my right,--I kept calling to my father as
before; but oh, what horror--what agony seized my soul when he did not
answer! and as I endeavoured to pierce the thick mass of sand which
surrounded me, I could nowhere see him.  I could not tell which way to
turn.  I felt lost and bewildered, and I believed that my last moment
had arrived--a dreadful death was to be my lot.  I did not regard
myself; it was for my noble father I felt.  "O that I could have died
with him!"  I thought.  My brave horse, however, still exerted himself
to save his own life and mine, when I had ceased to care what became of
me, by continuing to lift his feet above the overwhelming sand-drifts.
My only wish was to find my father; but so completely was I bewildered
that I knew not whether to turn to the right hand or to the left.  His
horse might have sunk down, I thought, and then in a few moments he
would for ever have been covered up from mortal sight; or, overcome with
fatigue and the suffocating atmosphere, he might have fallen, and been
unable to regain his steed.  Or happily he might have passed through the
sand-drift in safety, and have been all the time suffering with anxiety
for my sake.  But this hope was very transient; the predominant feeling
was that my father was lost, and that I was about to share his fate.  I
was thus giving way to despair, when I was aware of a considerable
decrease in the density of the sand-laden atmosphere; the last breath of
the fierce whirlwind passed by; the sun shone forth bright and clear,
and I stood alone amid a sea of glittering sand.  Oh, with what an
aching anxious heart I looked around, to see if the one object I sought
was visible on that dreary white expanse!  Before me, there was nothing;
a few mounds and rocks alone were to be seen between me and the horizon;
but as I turned round just as the column of sand swept on, not thirty
paces behind me, with joy such as I cannot describe, I saw my father
stooping down and endeavouring to extricate his horse from the sand,
which had partially covered him.  I hurried towards him, and leaping to
the ground, threw myself into his arms.  For the moment all sensations
of fatigue or thirst were forgotten in the joy of recovering him.

Knowing that my horse was strong, he had felt less anxiety on my account
than I had on his.  With some exertion we cleared away the sand, and
once more got his horse upon his feet, though the poor animal appeared
scarcely able to move, much less to bear a man of my father's weight.
We had still one flask of water untouched.  We drank a little, and with
a portion of the remainder washed the mouths and nostrils of our horses,
and poured a few drops down their throats, still keeping a little for
any further emergency.  This very much revived them; and once more
mounting, we endeavoured to find our way across the desert.

Since the sand-drift first overtook us, scarcely as much time had
elapsed as it has occupied to read the account I have given; but so
dreadful were the sensations I experienced, and so intense my anxiety,
that to me it appeared an age.  The heat soon became almost as great as
before the storm, and the atmosphere as oppressive, warning us that,
though thus far preserved, we were still placed in a position of great
peril.  It was now that I felt the benefit of the firm reliance in the
goodness of Providence, which my father had ever inculcated, and which
at this juncture supported him.

"Courage, my dear boy," he exclaimed.  "God has thus far preserved us.
He will still find the means of rescuing us."

As he spoke, the dark wall of sand, which had been receding from us,
after whirling in various directions, seemed to settle down in a line of
undulating mounds in the distance; and on every side the horizon once
more became entirely clear.

We naturally first tried to discover any traces of the Spanish cavalry;
and after straining my eyes for some time, I perceived a few dark
objects which seemed to be moving on towards the point which, from the
position of the sun, we judged to be the north.  Some other objects
beyond them afforded us a fair hope of being able to find our way out of
this dreadful desert.  I could not doubt that what I saw were the tops
of some tall trees, though at such a distance that their base was not
visible; indeed my father, who agreed with me that they were trees, was
of opinion that they grew on ground somewhat elevated above the sandy
plain.

Towards them, therefore, we steered our course, as the Spaniards were
also probably doing.  Our horses, we fancied, must have seen them
likewise, or their instinct told them that water was to be found in the
neighbourhood.  We looked round in vain for Ithulpo and the Indians.
Not a sign of them could we perceive, and it would have been madness to
have attempted to search for them.  Indeed, had we found them, we could
have rendered them no assistance.  I was in hopes, indeed, that Ithulpo,
whose horse was strong, and who I suspected knew the country better than
he pretended to the Spaniards, would have found some means of escaping,
and of aiding his countrymen.  We had, in truth, still too much to do in
attempting to preserve our own lives, to allow us to think much of
others.  It would be assuming to be above humanity, did I not confess
this.

The sun was already sinking low; and should we be unable to reach the
trees before dark, and be compelled to rest on the plain or wander about
it all night, we could scarcely hope to survive.  The ground we passed
over was as smooth as if the receding tide had just left it.  Not the
sign of a footstep of man or beast was to be seen, though here and there
a slight rise showed that some harder substance had offered an
impediment to the drifting sand.  After toiling onwards for half an hour
at a very slow pace, we came upon a horse's head just rising from the
sand.  He had died probably in attempting to extricate himself.  Several
heaps showed that others--human beings, too probably--also lay beneath.

They, at all events, were beyond all help.  The horse I recognised, from
the head-trappings, as belonging to the officer commanding the party.
We were passing on, when we observed, a little on the right, a man
extended on his back.  A movement of his arm showed me that he was not
dead, and that probably he was endeavouring to call our attention to
himself.

"Though he is one of those who showed no pity to the poor Indians, we
must try what we can do for him," said my father; and we turned our
horses towards him.

As he saw us approach, he mustered all his strength and tried to rise.

"Water, water!" he muttered.  "In mercy give me a drop of water!"

It was the cruel officer himself.  Still he was a fellow-creature.  We
had a small portion of water in the flask.  We might want it ourselves,
but still we could not leave him thus to die.  So I dismounted, and
approached him with the flask, while my father held my horse, who showed
signs of an eagerness to rush on to the oasis we had discovered.  The
officer, when he saw the flask, would have seized it, and drained off
the whole of its contents; but I held it back, and pouring out a few
drops in the cover, let them trickle down his throat.  I thought of what
Ithulpo had said of water being of more value often than gold.  Truly
those drops were more precious to the dying man; they had the effect of
instantly reviving him.  Brightness came back to his glazed eyes, his
voice returned, and he was able to sit up, and even to make an attempt
to rise on his feet; but to do so was more than his strength would
allow.

"Give me more water or I shall die," he said as he saw me replacing the
flask in my pocket.  "My rascally troopers have deserted me, to try and
save their own worthless lives, and I have only you foreigners to depend
on."

"I cannot give you more water," I answered.  "I have but a few drops
left to moisten my father's and my own lips."

"O leave them for me.  I will give you your liberty, I will give you all
I possess in the world, for that small flask of water," he exclaimed.
"You will not require it, for beneath yonder trees, in the distance, you
will find a fountain where you may drink your fill.  Have mercy,
stranger, have mercy!"

It was difficult to withstand the poor wretch's earnest appeal.  I
poured out a little more water, which he drank off at once.  I then gave
him a small lump of cocoa; and scraping up a heap of sand, I placed him
leaning against it, so that he might feel any breath of air which might
blow; promising faithfully to return to bring him to the oasis, if we
were fortunate enough to reach it in safety.

"But the voracious condors and the lions will come and destroy me, if I
remain here during the night alone," he shrieked out.  "O take me with
you, generous Englishman, take me with you!"

To do this was utterly impossible.  My horse could scarcely carry me,
much less another person in addition.

"Come, David," said my father; "you have done your utmost for this
miserable man.  We risk our own lives by further delay."

In spite, therefore, of the entreaties of the Spaniard, I again mounted
my horse.  It just then occurred to me that if he had his pistols, he
might defend himself against any wild beasts.  On my offering to load
them for him, he told me that he had thrown them away.  So I gave him
one of my own, with a little ammunition, that he might reload it, if
required.  He seized the weapon eagerly as I presented it.

"Then you will not stay to help me, or carry me with you!" he exclaimed
fiercely as I rode off.  "You will not!--then take that;" and levelling
at me the pistol which I had just given, he fired.  The ball just grazed
my side, but did no further mischief.

"The poor wretch is delirious with fear," observed my father, when he
found that I was uninjured.  "Let us ride on."

On we rode, but though we made some progress, the oasis was still in
appearance as far off as when first seen.  The sun was sinking rapidly--
it reached the horizon--it disappeared; the short twilight changed into
the obscurity of night; and the beacon by which we had hitherto directed
our course was no longer to be seen.  The stars, however, shone brightly
forth; and I had marked one which appeared just above the clump of
trees.  By that we now steered, though, I had too soon strong proof, the
instinct of our horses would have led them towards the oasis without our
guidance.  Although it was night, the heat was intense; our throats were
dry, our lips were parched, and we were experiencing all the terrible
sensations of intolerable thirst.  We had kept the remnant of the water
for a last resource, in case we should not reach the fountain.

I think that for nearly another hour we had ridden on, my father not
having spoken a word all that time, when to my horror, without any
warning, he fell heavily from his horse.  His hands had let go the
reins, and the animal, relieved of his burden, set off towards the
oasis.  I threw myself from my horse.  To lift him up and to pour some
water down his throat was the work of a moment.  It instantly restored
him to consciousness.  He appeared to have suffered no injury from his
fall.  While I was thus engaged, my horse escaped from me and set off
after his companion.  So engrossed, however, was I in tending my father,
that I scarcely noticed the occurrence.  It was, of course, utterly
hopeless to attempt to recover the animals, and thus were we two left in
the middle of the desert without a prospect of escaping.

O the horrors of that night!  They can never be obliterated from my
memory.  At first I thought of attempting to reach the oasis by walking;
but my father, though having sufficient strength to sit up, and, had he
not lost his horse, to ride, felt himself utterly unable to accomplish
the distance on foot.  I had bitterly, indeed, to regret my momentary
carelessness in allowing my horse to escape from me.  It might have been
the cause of my father's and my destruction.  I have often since
thought, from being for one instant only off our guard, how much misery
and ruin may occur--how much wickedness and suffering may be the result!

The air was still very sultry, and even the sand, on which we rested,
was very hot.  Our last drop of water was consumed.  My father did not
know it, but I had given it to him.  I had begun to suffer dreadfully
from thirst.  My throat seemed lined with a coating like the face of a
file, and my lips were hard and cracked; while the skin, from the drying
effects of the sun, the wind, and the sand, was peeling off my face.  My
father did not feel so much pain as I did; but my strength, I fancied,
had in no way failed me, and I thought that, if I had kept my horse, I
could easily have walked by his side till we reached the fountain we
expected to find.  We sat for some time without speaking.  The stars
were shining in undimmed brilliancy above our heads from the dark blue
sky; not a breath of air was stirring, not a sound was heard.  I never
endured a silence so profound, so solemn, and so painful.  For a time I
almost fancied that I had become deaf.  At length my father's voice,
which sounded deep and hollow, convinced me of the contrary.

"David," he said, "I must not let you, my boy, remain here to die.  You
may still be able during the night to reach the oasis, and the cool of
the morning will bring you renewed strength.  If you reach it in safety,
you are certain to find our horses there, and you can return with them
and the flasks full of water to me.  I feel quite certain that I can
hold out till then."

I scarcely knew what to answer my father.  Though I thought that I might
possibly reach the oasis, I saw the great difficulty there would be in
again finding him, without any means in that vast plain of marking his
position; and I felt far from confident that his strength would endure
till my return.

"No, father," I answered; "I cannot leave you now.  I should not find
you again, so that my going would not preserve you; and I will therefore
stay and share your fate."

I need not mention all the arguments my father used to persuade me to
leave him, and how I entreated him to allow me to remain.  At last he
consented that I should stay with him till just before daybreak, which
is in that, as in most climates, the coolest time generally of the
twenty-four hours.  He then proposed that I should plant my whip, with a
piece of handkerchief tied to the end of it, on the top of the highest
rock or piece of ground I should find near, to serve as a mark for his
position, should he not by that time have sufficiently recovered his
strength to set out with me.

"Perhaps I may be able to accompany you part of the way, and then you
will have a less distance to return to look for me," he observed.

As he spoke, however, I could not help remarking, with grief, that there
was a hollow tone in his voice which betokened failing strength, while
his words were uttered with pain and difficulty.  I could too well judge
of his sensations by my own; and gladly would I have given the room full
of gold which the unfortunate Inca, Atahualpa, promised to the greedy
Spaniards, for a flask of water to quench the burning thirst which was
consuming us.

Hour after hour passed away, as we sat side by side on the sand.  We
spoke but little; indeed I soon fell into a state of dreamy
unconsciousness, which was not sleep, though at the same time I could
not be said to be awake.  All sorts of strange sights passed before me,
and strange noises sounded in my ears, though I was sensible that they
were not realities.  I saw horses galloping before me, some with riders,
and others wild steeds with flowing manes.  Troops of Indians came by in
their feathers and gay dresses, and soldiers marched past with colours
flying and bands playing; and hunters, and dogs, and animals of every
description.  Indeed there appeared no end to the phantom shapes which
met my sight.

In vain I endeavoured to arouse myself.  A weight I could not throw off
pressed me to the ground.  I cannot more particularly describe my
sensations; I only know that they were very dreadful.  I was aware that
my father was near me, and that I wished to preserve him from some
danger; but I thought sometimes that we were at sea on a raft; at
others, that we were sliding down a snowy mountain, and that, though I
tried to catch some of the snow in my hand to cool my tongue, it
vanished before it reached my mouth; and then I felt that we were
sinking into the earth, which, as we sunk, grew hotter and hotter, till
it scorched my skin, and I shrieked out with the pain.  I started and
lifted up my head; a pair of fierce glowing eyes met my view--a huge
jaguar or tiger stood before me!  We eyed each other for a moment with a
fixed gaze.  I was more astonished than alarmed; for owing to the state
of stupor from which I had been aroused, I had not time to be aware of
the peril in which we were placed.  Fortunately, when I lay down, I had
taken my pistol from my belt, and placed it by my side, ready to grasp
it at a moment's warning.  My first impulse was to seize it; and while
the jaguar still stood apparently considering whether he should spring
upon me and carry me off to the mountains to serve him as a banquet, I
lifted the weapon and fired it directly in his face.  Startled by so
unexpected a reception, instead of springing forward, he turned round
with a roar of rage and pain, and galloped off across the desert.

The report of the pistol aroused my father, who could scarcely believe
what had occurred.  I regretted not having been able to kill the brute;
for, driven to extremity as we were, we should eagerly have drunk his
blood to attempt to quench our thirst.  I reloaded my pistol in the
expectation of his return; and grown desperate as I was, I almost hoped
that he would do so, that I might have another chance of shooting him.
The possibility of this served effectually to prevent me from again
falling into a drowsy state, and I believe it was of essential service
to me.

Another risk now occurred to me.  Though at present perfectly calm, the
wind might suddenly arise, and should we fall asleep, the sand might be
drifted over us, and we should certainly be suffocated.  No mariner,
whose ship is drifting on an unknown lee-shore, ever more earnestly
wished-for daylight than I did for the appearance of dawn, though I was
afraid it could but little avail my poor father.

At length a faint streak appeared in the sky.  It was a sign that we
must attempt to proceed on our way or abandon all hope of escape.  I
called to my father, whose eyes were closed.

"Yes, my boy," he answered, "I will come;" but when he attempted to
rise, I saw that his strength was not equal to the exertion.

I felt also, when I tried, but little able to walk even by myself, much
less to help him onward.  Still the effort must be made.  I got myself
on my feet, and raised him also.  We staggered onward in the direction,
I supposed, of the oasis.  With a melancholy foreboding, however, I felt
that at the pace we were going we should never be able to reach it.
Still I resolved not to give in.  Onward we went like two drunken men.
Every instant I thought we should fall to rise no more.  I was certain
that if I quitted my father, it would only be to die apart from him,
when death would be doubly bitter.  I could no longer see the star which
had before guided us.  Either clouds had obscured it, or a mist had
arisen, or my eyes were growing dim.  My father was pressing more
heavily on my arm.  I tried to support him, but my strength was
insufficient.  In the attempt we both fell together.  All hope abandoned
me.

"O God, protect my wife and children!" murmured my father.

I also tried to pray, but with difficulty I could collect my thoughts
for a few moments together.  I lifted myself on my knees by my father's
side, and raised his head from the sand.  Daylight was now coming on,
and with anguish I saw by the expression of his features that if aid was
not speedily afforded, it would be too late to preserve his life.



CHAPTER SEVEN.

HOPE REVIVES--LIMA AND ITS SCENES AND CHARACTERS.

As a shipwrecked seaman, on the wild rock in the middle of the ocean,
anxiously scans the horizon to search for a sail in sight, so did I cast
my eager gaze over the barren sandy waste, to discover if providentially
any succour was at hand.  The shades of night melting away before the
rays of the sun, the wished-for oasis appeared in the distance; and by
the marks on the sand, I could not doubt that we had been wandering away
instead of approaching it.  How eagerly I looked towards the spot where
I believed the means of reviving our fast-failing strength could be
found!  As I gazed at it, it seemed to approach nearer, and tantalised
me the more that I knew that I could not reach it.

The sun rose slowly and majestically in the sky, and his burning rays
began again to strike down upon our heads.  Still I kept my senses; but
I felt that death must soon terminate my dear father's sufferings, and
mine as well.  Once more I cast my glance round the horizon.  I gazed
steadily--I saw a dark object moving in the distance.  O how earnestly I
watched it!  I could not be mistaken--it was approaching us.  As it came
on, I discerned the figure of a man on horseback.  He was leading
another animal with a load on his back.  Now he seemed to be verging off
to the right hand.  He might pass and not observe us.  I shouted; but it
was folly to fancy that my feeble voice could reach him.  Again he
turned.  I saw him dismount and stoop down on the sand.  He stopped,
however, but a minute, perhaps not so much, though to me it seemed an
age, and he again mounted and came on.  He was directing his course, I
judged, for the oasis.  As he came still nearer, I recognised Ithulpo,
and he was leading our baggage mule.  I could not doubt, also, but that
he was searching for us.  Again I tried to shout, but my voice failed
me.  I lifted up my hand and waved it above my head; but I could no
longer stand upright, or I should have attracted his attention.  He rode
on.  He had already passed, when he turned his head and caught sight of
the handkerchief I was waving in my hand.  He spurred on towards us.  To
spring from his horse, and to take one of the saddle-bags from the back
of the mule, was the work of a moment.  From the saddlebag he produced a
skin of water.  Without speaking, he poured out a cup, from which he
allowed a few drops to fall into my father's mouth.  When once I felt it
to my lips, I could not withdraw it till I had drained it to the bottom.
The pure draught so much revived me that I could sit up and help
Ithulpo to tend my father.  This he did with the greatest care; but
human care, alas! seemed to be of little avail.  He loosened his dress
to admit of perfectly free circulation; he then washed his mouth, and
after bathing his temples, he allowed a few more drops to trickle down
his throat.  This judicious treatment had, after a time, the most
beneficial effect.  My father languidly opened his eyes, and attempted
to sit up; and I saw that his first act of consciousness was to turn
them towards me with an inquiring glance.  Finding that I was alive, his
countenance brightened; and after slowly drinking some more water, in
the course of three or four minutes he revived sufficiently to propose
proceeding on our way.

"Wait a little longer, Senor," said Ithulpo.  "Water has restored you to
life, but you require food to give you strength; see, I have brought
some."

As he spoke, he opened a basket full of bread and dried meat, and
several sorts of the most delicious and cooling fruit.  There were figs
and grapes and pomegranates, fragrant chirimoyas, yellow bananas, and
several pine-apples; indeed many others too numerous to name.

Never shall I forget the exquisite delight with which I ate the first
fig Ithulpo handed to me.  It cooled my burning thirst more than all the
water I had swallowed, and served both for meat and drink.  It was a
large soft fig with a white pulp.  I instantly put out my hand for
another, and he gave me a black fig with a red pulp, which vied with the
first in excellence.  Then he handed me a bunch of juicy grapes, but I
still asked for more figs; and when I had finished as many as he thought
were good for me, he tore open a chirimoya, and let me eat its
snow-white juicy fruit.  Outside it did not look tempting, for the skin,
though green, was tough and hard, and covered with black spots.  The
platanos or bananas were cooked; and though I could not have swallowed a
piece of dry bread, I was enabled to eat some of them with much relish.
Altogether, never was a repast eaten with greater appetite, or, I may
add, with more gratitude; for it certainly was the means of preserving
my father's life as well as mine.  Ithulpo had taken the precaution to
tether the animals, so that they could not escape; and as he sat by us,
distributing the food, he informed us of what he had done after we had
lost sight of him in the sand-storm.

"You must know, Senores," he began, "I was so busy in liberating my poor
countrymen from the ropes which bound them, that I did not observe which
way you were taking.  I shouted after you to turn back, but you did not
hear me; and then the dreadful sand-cloud came on, and it was too late.
I am well acquainted with this dreadful desert, and I was aware that we
were out of the right path; but I also knew where that path was; so, as
soon as all the poor fellows were free, we set off towards it.  They
were all well able to run without the ropes, and out of sight of our
tyrants.  Fortunately the sand-cloud wheeled round before it reached us,
and we were safe.

"You must know that on the previous night I had stowed away the
wine-skins full of water in your portmanteaus, and I thus had enough to
give a good draught to each of the men, and to my beasts also.  Our
first care was then to get out of the desert.  I knew where the ground
was hard, so I led them to it, and we then could travel at a fast rate.
About a league beyond where we were, there is a fountain of pure water
gushing up out of a hard black rock.  Here we were all able to refresh
ourselves; and still a little farther on, marks are to be seen, by which
I could direct my companions how to escape from the desert.  They
quickly availed themselves of my advice, and are now on their way to
hide themselves among the mountains, where there is no fear of the
Spaniards searching for them."

"But what did you do, my friend?"  I asked, stretching out my hand for
another bunch of tempting grapes.

"Just as I was parting from them I saw a party of fruit-sellers crossing
the desert, with several mules laden with fruit.  I purchased some, as
also some bread and baked platanos, and then set off to search for you.
I knew, by the feel of the atmosphere, that there would be no more
sand-storms; and hoped, it you had escaped that of yesterday, to find
you.  I know my way across any part of the desert blindfold, for I can
tell by the smell of the sand alone where animals have before passed.
As soon as it was daylight I returned to where I last had seen you.  I
saw where the sand-cloud had settled down, forming huge mounds, beneath
which many of the Spaniards, I found, lay overwhelmed.  At last I fell
in with the tracks of your two horses.  I guessed they were yours, for I
thought the Spaniards would have kept together.  I followed them up
steadily.  I came to where you had found the Spanish officer, and given
him a pistol with which to defend himself."

"What, did he tell you so?"  I asked, interrupting Ithulpo.

"Oh no; his voice has ceased for ever," he replied, with a dark smile.
"He had been dead some time, and the fowls of the air were feeding on
him; but I knew him by his dress, and I recognised your pistol, which he
had fired.  Here it is.  I next reached the spot where you dismounted,
and your horses had run away.  I began to fear that I was too late to
save you; and when following up the track of your footsteps, I saw that
a number of the Spanish cavalry had escaped, and had gone towards yonder
clump of trees.  Several have fallen in the way, as the wings of the
condors I could see flapping above the ground, one beyond the other,
told me plainly.  And now, Senores, it is time to mount and proceed.
Two hours' riding beyond those trees will carry us free of the desert;
and may you never again enter it without a proper guide."

My father rode Ithulpo's horse; and while I clambered upon the back of
the baggage mule, he walked.  It was almost as hot as on the previous
day; but I kept my mouth cool by occasionally eating a grape, and
sometimes one of my favourite figs; and with little suffering we drew
near the oasis.

"Are you not afraid of falling into the hands of the Spaniards, and of
being accused of liberating their prisoners?"  I asked.

He looked up, and, smiling significantly, answered.  "I tell you, Senor,
not one of our enemies live to bear false witness against us.  I have
marked among yonder trees signs not to be mistaken of their fate."

I asked no further questions.  We passed, as we rode along, several
bodies of horses and men; and as we approached the trees, Ithulpo
shouting with all his might, several condors rose slowly on the wing,
and a huge tiger stalked slowly away, looking round every now and then
at us with an angry glance, for having disturbed him at his repast.  I
thought I recognised him as the monster who had paid us a visit during
the night; and I have no doubt that he was the same.

I can scarcely describe the dreadful scene which met our sight as we at
length reached the longed-for oasis.  In the centre existed a small
shallow pool, filled by a stream which bubbled up through the earth.  It
would allow scarcely more than a dozen horses to drink therein at a
time.  We at once perceived what had occurred.  The survivors of the
cavalry had reached it in a body.  Some of the front ranks, both horses
and men, overcome by weakness, had, in their attempt to drink, fallen
in, and prevented the others from getting their mouths to it.  The first
lay trampled on and drowned, making the once clear pool a mass of mud
and filth.  The rear ranks, rushing over them, had died of raging
thirst, in sight of the water which might have saved them.  Both men and
horses were mingled in a dreadful heap, torn and mangled by the birds
and beasts of prey.  We crossed as rapidly as we could to the other side
of the oasis, where Ithulpo produced a skin full of clear water from one
of the saddle-bags.

"We must not disappoint our poor beasts," he observed, as he gave them
to drink.

Just then the horse my father rode gave a neigh.  It was answered from a
distance; and to our no little satisfaction and astonishment, our two
horses were seen trotting up towards the oasis.  They had evidently been
prevented taking shelter in the oasis by the presence of the tiger, but
had kept in the neighbourhood, in the hopes of his taking his departure.
Ithulpo at once enticed them to him by the offer of water, which they
drank eagerly; and having secured them, after allowing them to crop a
little of the grass which grew beneath the shade of the trees, we
mounted, and prepared to recommence our journey.  As we left the now
polluted oasis, Ithulpo looked carefully round to examine the traces on
the sand, and declared that of all those who had reached the spot, not
one had left it.

"A just vengeance has overtaken the tyrants who yesterday so cruelly
ill-treated us, Senores," he remarked.  "I knew it would be so.  We may
now, without fear, proceed to Lima."

In two hours we reached the confines of the desert, and once more got
among streams, and trees, and cultivated fields.  We slept that night at
an Indian village, where Ithulpo's influence procured us a warm
reception; and after a rest of two days, we proceeded on our journey to
Lima.  As we rode along a fine straight road, shaded by an avenue of
lofty willows, peculiarly grateful in a hot climate, we at length came
in sight of the steeples and domes of the far-famed city of Lima, with
the blue ocean on one side of us, and the interminable ranges of the
snowy Cordilleras reaching to the sky on the other.

"What a magnificent city!"  I exclaimed.  "Well worthy, indeed, does it
appear of its great founder, the conqueror Pizarro."

"Wait till we get within the walls before you pronounce an opinion,"
remarked my father.  "Like the deeds of the founder, it gains more
admiration when observed at a distance than when examined closely.  We
admire Pizarro when we regard alone the wonderful conquest he achieved;
but when we learn the wrongs, the injustice, the misery he inflicted,
the blood he spilled, and the ruin he caused, he and his companions
appear monsters of iniquity, worthy of detestation rather than
admiration."

We entered the city by a handsome gateway, and immediately found
ourselves in a long street, with low, mean, ruinous houses on either
side.  The houses had porches in front, and _patios_ or court-yards.
The shops were small, with their goods placed on tables at the doors;
there was no glass to the windows, and no display of articles of
commerce.  The street was badly paved, though there was a rough footway
on each side.  The walls of many of the houses were composed of double
rows of bamboo, but some were of brick; the roofs were flat, and very
few of the houses had two stories.  As we rode on, however, the
appearance of the place improved; and in and near the principal square I
observed some fine buildings, with handsomely ornamented _facades_, and
many fine churches and convents; but altogether I had to own that the
outside beauty was sadly deceptive.

The streets were crowded with persons of every variety of costume, and
every hue of skin; from the people of Northern Europe, and the
bright-complexioned native of Biscay, to the red Indian and the
jet-black African.  Some were on horseback, and others in carriages of
very clumsy and antique construction; and of the lower order, some were
riding on mules and donkeys, and others were driving animals laden with
ice from the mountains, skins of brandy, and fruits and provisions of
every description.  Among this motley crowd we forced our way, till we
reached the house of my father's agent, a Spanish merchant, Don Jose
Torres de Santillan by name, a very honest and good man.

As the plan of his house was similar to that of most of the larger
dwellings in Lima, I will describe it.  In what may be called the front
of the house were two doors; one, the _azaguan_, was the chief entrance,
and the other led to the coach-house.  By the side of the _azaguan_ was
a small room with a grated window, where the ladies of the family were
fond of sitting to observe the passers-by.  This building formed the
street side of a spacious court-yard or _patio_, on either side of which
were a number of small rooms, and on the farther side was the
dwelling-house, round which ran a balcony.  In it were numerous doors;
the largest opened into the _sala_ or hall, which was furnished with
several net hammocks, a row of chairs, and two sofas; while
straw-matting covered the floor.  Inside of it was a smaller
well-furnished room, called the _quadro_, which was the usual
reception-room; and beyond it were the dining and sleeping rooms, and
the nursery.  They all opened into an inner court-yard, the walls of
which were ornamented with fresco paintings; and part of it was laid out
as a flower-garden, with a fountain in the centre.  From it one door led
to the kitchen, and another to the stable.  The windows were mostly in
the roof, as were those in Pompeii and many ancient cities; indeed it
was very similar to the plan of building followed in the south of Spain.

On hearing of our arrival, Don Jose hurried out and received us with the
greatest attention.  Our animals were led off to the stables by a number
of servants, and we were conducted to the _quadro_, where he instantly
ordered refreshments to be brought.  We begged leave in the mean time to
be allowed to change our dusty dresses.  On our return we found hammocks
slung, in which our host invited us to rest ourselves.  In a hot climate
there cannot be a more luxurious couch than a net hammock, as it allows
the air to circulate freely round the body in the coolest part of the
room.  The softly-stuffed sofa of an English or French drawing-room
would be insufferable.  A young negress slave then brought in a tray
with cups, into which she poured out some chocolate, making it froth up
till they overflowed, and then handed them round to us.  Cigars were
next offered to us, and we smoked them till suppertime.

For this meal we adjourned to the dining-room, where our host insisted
on waiting on us.  It was a repetition of dinner, which the family had
taken according to custom at two o'clock.  The wife of Don Jose, and her
maiden sister and three daughters, pretty, palefaced, black-eyed girls,
with hair like the raven's wing, were present, as were the family priest
and two gentlemen, cousins of our host.  We first had an insipid kind of
soup, and then their principal dish, called _puchero_.  It contained all
sorts of meats and vegetables mixed up together--beef, pork, ham, bacon,
sausage, poultry, cabbage, _yuccas camotes_ (a sort of potato),
potatoes, rice, peas, _chochitas_ (grains of maize), quince, and banana.
The meat was brought in on one dish and the vegetables on another, and
they were afterwards mixed to suit our individual tastes.

At the same time a dish of _picante_ was served.  It was composed of
dried meat and some pounded roots, highly seasoned with cayenne pepper,
and coloured with grains of the _achote_, which gave it a brilliant
vermilion tint.  After the meat, a sort of pudding was brought in,
consisting of a great variety of fruits stewed in water,--a dish I
cannot praise; and then followed a dessert of delicious fresh fruits and
sweet cakes, which were washed down by a tumbler of fresh water.  Such
is the usual dinner of a gentleman's family in Lima.  A little light
sweet wine was the only liquor drunk, though in compliment to the
supposed taste of our countrymen, strong wine, brandy, and other spirits
were placed before us.  After dinner the servant brought in a piece of
lighted charcoal and a tray of cigars, which the men and the elder
ladies smoked with much apparent relish; but my three fair friends
declined using them.

I soon became perfectly intimate with these young ladies.  They were
troubled with no tiresome bashfulness to keep them silent, and they were
full of life and spirits; so we rattled away in conversation in the most
agreeable manner, till it was announced that some guests had arrived,
and were waiting in the _sala_ to commence dancing.  Musicians appeared,
and, with much spirit, boleros, fandangos, and cachuchas, and other
dances, well-known in Old Spain, were commenced and kept up for some
hours.  As we were in the height of the amusement, the cathedral bell
struck three slow measured sounds, the signal of the _Oration_.  It was
repeated by the belfries of all the churches in the city.  Instantly, as
if by magic, every movement was suspended.  Each one said the evening
prayer in a low whisper, and then made the sign of the cross; those of
most consequence turning to the persons near them, uttering the words
_buenas noches_ (good night), which was repeated by all present.  It is
a simple but beautiful custom, and is intended to remind people of their
duty to God in whatever occupation they may be engaged.  It may often do
good; but unless people are possessed of the true spirit of piety,
custom will make them callous, and it will fail to have any beneficial
effect.

I have observed this custom in many other Roman Catholic countries.  In
a public place full of people of different ranks, the effect is still
more curious.  The lively conversation of the smart lady and the gallant
cavalier is cut short, the donkey-driver with uplifted arm ceases to
belabour his beast, the oath dies on the lips of the rough seaman or
uncouth black, the workman drops his tool, the shopman lays down his
measure, children refrain from their play, men quarrelling suspend their
dispute, lazy monks engaged in their constant game of draughts neglect
to make the intended move, vendors of fruit no longer utter their cries,
and one and all engage in silent prayer till the bell has ceased to
toll, and then in a moment the noise and bustle of active life once more
goes on.

When I retired to my room for the night, not a little tired with my
exertion, Ithulpo made his appearance.

"How long, Senor, may I ask, does your father purpose remaining here?"

"Some short time; a week or two perhaps," I replied, rather surprised at
his question.

He went to the door and looked cautiously out, and then, speaking almost
in a whisper, as if he were afraid the walls might convey the
intelligence, he said--

"You have a mother and sisters and young brothers at your home in the
mountains.  As you love them, press your father not to remain here
longer than you can help.  Two or three days at furthest is all you
should take, and then by travelling fast we may arrive in time.  My
orders are to accompany you to your home; but I tell you that it shortly
will no longer be a place of safety for you or those you love.  More I
may not say."

"You have already been of infinite service to us, Ithulpo; and I know
that you would not, without good reason, alarm us; but cannot you tell
me more particularly what sort of danger we have to apprehend?"  I
asked.

He shook his head as he answered--

"Indeed, Senor, I cannot; and you must caution your father not to give a
hint to any one of what I have said, or the worst consequences may
follow.  I rely on your discretion."

I promised to be cautious, and Ithulpo, saying that he would call me at
an early hour as I desired, left me.  Tired as I was, I could not for a
long time go to sleep, but continued thinking of what Ithulpo had told
me, and trying to discover to what he alluded.  I heard my father enter
his room, which was next to mine, but I would not run the risk of
depriving him of his night's rest by telling him of what I had heard.

As my object is not only to describe my own personal adventures, but to
present my readers with a picture of Peru as it was at the time I speak
of, I will now give a short description of Lima, the capital.  Lima
stands on the river _Rimac_, from a corruption of which word its name is
derived.  The valley through which the river runs is called by the
Indians _Rimac Malca_, or the place of witches; from the custom they had
formerly of banishing there persons accused of witchcraft.  The city was
founded by Pizarro soon after the conquest.  He there built a palace for
himself, in which he was assassinated by Almagro.  He called his beloved
Lima, La Ciudad de los Reyes, from its being founded on the day of the
Epiphany.  I always think of Pizarro with much more satisfaction when I
contemplate him engaged in the peaceful occupation of laying out the
city, and superintending the labours of the workmen, than when I regard
him as the blood-stained conqueror of a race who had given him no cause
of offence.  He laid the foundation of the city on the 8th of January
1534, and was murdered on the 26th of June 1541.

Besides the river Rimac, which runs through the city, there are a number
of small streams, which add much to the cleanliness of the streets, and
serve to irrigate the gardens, and to feed the fountains and canals
which adorn them.  The ground on which it stands slopes towards the sea;
the great square, or _plaza mayor_, near the centre, being about four
hundred and eighty feet above its level.

The climate is agreeable, as the heat is seldom very excessive; but as
there are several marshes and swampy places in the vicinity, fevers and
agues are common.  In summer a canopy of clouds hangs over it, which
mitigates the heat of the sun; but rain very seldom falls throughout the
year.  Earthquakes occur nearly every year, and some have caused most
devastating effects.

Lima is about two miles long from east to west, and a mile and a quarter
broad.  The streets are all straight, and about twenty-five feet wide,
and there are no less than one hundred and fifty-seven _quadras_ or open
spaces.  It is enclosed by walls built of _adobes_, sun-dried bricks
made of clay and chopped straw.  These bricks are considered better
calculated than stone to resist the shocks of earthquakes.  The walls
are about twelve feet high and ten thick at the bottom, narrowing to
eight at the top, with a parapet of three feet on the outer edge.  It is
flanked by thirty-four bastions, and has seven gates and three posterns.
On the south-east is the citadel of Santa Catalina, with small guns
mounted on it.  Across the Rimac is a bridge of stone with fine arches,
leading to the suburb of San Lazaro.  This bridge is the favourite
evening resort of the citizens.  There are a number of churches, with
handsome fronts of stone, and lofty steeples, which must be strongly
built not to be overthrown by the earthquakes.

Lima contained about 80,000 inhabitants, of whom 20,000 were whites, and
the rest negroes, Indians, and various half-castes.  There were
sixty-three noblemen who enjoyed the title of count or marquis, and
about forty who were noble without titles.  The Spaniards considered
themselves belonging to a race of beings far above the native Indians,
or even the Creoles; and would much more readily give their daughters in
marriage to a poor countryman of their own than to a rich American-born
person.  The people of Lima are much addicted to gambling, especially
the higher orders; but public gambling-houses are not allowed.  The
white inhabitants have sallow complexions, with little or no colour on
their cheeks.  The ladies have generally interesting countenances, with
good eyes and teeth, and a profusion of black hair.  The walking-dress
of females of all ranks is the _saya y manto_.  The _saya_ consists of a
petticoat of velvet, satin, or stuff, generally black or of a cinnamon
tint, plaited in very small folds.  It sits close to the body, and shows
the shape to advantage.  At the bottom it is so narrow that the wearer
can only make very short steps.  The skirt is ornamented with lace,
fringe, spangles, or artificial flowers.  The ladies of higher rank wear
it of various colours, purple, pale blue, lead colour, or striped.  The
_manto_ is a hood of thin black silk, drawn round the waist and then
carried over the head.  By closing it before, they can hide the face,
one eye alone being visible, or sometimes they show only half the face.
A gay shawl thrown over the shoulders and appearing in front, a rosary
in the hand, silk stockings, and satin shoes, complete the costume.  It
seems intended to serve the purpose of a domino, as the wearer can thus
completely conceal her features.  At the present day, however, the
European costume has been generally adopted.  They delight in possessing
a quantity of jewellery; but they appear to be still fonder of perfumes
and sweet-scented flowers, and spare no expense in procuring them.

The Indians who reside in Lima endeavour to imitate the Spanish Creoles
in dress and manners.  They are chiefly engaged in making gold and
silver lace, and other delicate gold work; while some are tailors and
vendors of fruit, flowers, and vegetables.

The African Negroes are numerous, and, though slaves, are well treated
by their masters.  Those of the same tribe or nation find each other
out, and form a sort of club or association, called a _Confradia_.  They
generally hold their meetings in the suburbs on a Sunday afternoon.  At
the time I speak of, there was an old slave-woman who had lived in a
family for nearly fifty years, and who was the acknowledged queen of the
Mandingoes.  She was called Mama Rosa; and I remember seeing her seated
at the porch of her master's house, when a number of her black subjects
who were passing knelt before her, and kissing her hand in a true loyal
fashion, asked her blessing.  Her mistress had given her a silver
sceptre, and the young ladies of the family would lend her jewels,
artificial flowers, and other ornaments; bedecked in which, on certain
days, she would be carried off by her subjects in great state, her
sceptre borne before her, to the house of the Confradia, where a throne
was prepared to receive her.  Here she held a regular court, when as
much respect was shown her as to any sovereign in Europe.  I shall have
to speak of her again.

The next morning at an early hour Ithulpo called me, and accompanied me
through the city.  On my return I took an opportunity of telling my
father what I had heard.  He treated the subject lightly, observing that
the Indians were very fanciful; at the same time, that he was anxious to
return home as soon as he could arrange the affairs for which he had
visited Lima.  However I observed the following day, either from some
information he had received, or from something Ithulpo had said to him,
that he had begun to think more seriously of the matter, and he desired
me to make preparations for our departure.

While strolling out in the afternoon, I happened to pass the abode of
Mama Rosa, the black queen of the Mandingoes.  A large crowd of negroes
were assembled before the door, decked in all the finery they could
command.  They wore garments of all fashions and of every gay-coloured
hue imaginable--the women with wreaths of flowers round their heads, and
necklaces of coral and beads on their necks and arms.  There were silk
coats a century old, and round jackets, and shirts, blue, red, yellow,
and white; and naval and military uniforms curiously altered to suit the
taste of the wearer--not an uncommon mode of wearing trousers being
round the neck instead of on the legs, with the upper part hanging down
the back, and the lower on either side in front like a shawl.  Some
acted the part of guards of honour, and others appeared as ministers of
state.  A select body bore a sort of _palanquin_ or litter, which they
placed before the door till Mama Rosa descended into the street, when
she was conducted with great ceremony to her seat in it.  She was very
old and ugly; but her subjects did not love her the less for that.  Her
dress was resplendent with flowers and jewels, and all the ornaments she
could hang about herself.

A band was in attendance, the instruments of which were somewhat
curious.  The most important was a drum, made of a section of the trunk
of a tree, with the skin of a kid drawn over one end.  Another was a
bow, the string being of catgut, which was struck with a small cane.  A
third was the jaw-bone of an ass with the teeth loose in the socket, and
which, when struck by the hand, made a capital rattle.  If there was not
much harmony in the music, there was plenty of noise, which was not a
little increased by the voices of a party of singers, who frisked about
before the sovereign's state carriage as she advanced.  The
sceptre-bearer stepped out with her majesty's insignia of office in his
arms, looking back as he did so to ascertain that the queen was
following.  Her people shouted, the palanquin-bearers moved on, the band
struck up a negro sort of "God save the Queen," and away they all went
towards the quarters of the Confradia.  I followed to see the end of the
ceremony.  After passing through a number of narrow and somewhat dirty
streets, with the houses built of bamboo and mud, we reached the palace,
for so I may call it.  The hall was of good size, and the walls were
ornamented with what I suppose were intended for likenesses of other
sable monarchs.  If they were correct, I am compelled to own that the
royal Rosa's predecessors, both ladies and gentlemen, were a very ugly
set of personages.  The band played louder, and the people shouted more
vehemently, as her majesty ascended the throne at the end of the hall.
She seemed perfectly at home, and sat down with right royal dignity.
The sceptre-bearer presented the sceptre.  She seized--it in her right
hand and waved it around to command silence.  Her ministers of state
formed on either side of the throne, and doffed their cocked hats, or
straw hats, or hats with three corners, or their red caps, or whatever
covering adorned their heads.  She then made them a speech, which I have
no doubt was much more original than the Queen's speech in England, but
as I did not know a word of the Mandingo language, I was not much the
wiser for it.  When it was concluded, her Chancellor of the Exchequer
made a report of the financial condition of her kingdom, while her Home
Secretary described the good behaviour of her subjects, and her Minister
for Foreign Affairs assured her that she was on good terms with all her
neighbours.  This part of the business being concluded, they squatted
down about the throne, and filling their pipes with tobacco, began to
smoke; while her other subjects, one by one, stepped forward, and
dropping on both knees, each one gave her hand a kiss, not bashfully as
if they were afraid of it, but with a hearty smack, which sounded
through the hall.  Her ancient majesty in return bestowed a blessing on
them, and told them all to behave well; and especially to be contented
with their lot, if their masters and mistresses treated them kindly.
After the speech, all the people shouted, and the musicians struck up a
magnificent flourish with the drums, and the bows, and the jaw-bones of
the asses; and if there was not much harmony, there was a great deal of
enthusiasm.  Several slaves then stepped forward, and preferred
complaints against their masters for ill-treatment.

The Queen listened to them attentively, and I thought seemed to judge
their cases very judiciously.  To some she replied, that it was through
their own neglect of their duty that they had been punished.  Others she
advised to bear their ill-treatment patiently, and to endeavour, by zeal
and attention to the wishes of their masters, to soften their tempers,
and to gain their good-will; but there were two or three who had been
treated so barbarously and unjustly, that she promised them that the
_Confradia_ should make every effort to purchase their freedom.

"You shall be freed," she observed; "but remember you will have to work
as hard as you have ever before done, to repay the _Confradia_ the money
they have advanced for your emancipation."

These were not exactly her words, but what she said was to this effect.

The serious business of the day being over, the negroes and negresses
set to work to dance; and though I cannot speak much of the grace they
exhibited, I never saw any human beings frisk and jump about with so
much agility.  Who would have thought they were for the most part
slaves, groaning under their chains?  Never did dancers enter more
thoroughly into the spirit of dancing.  The black beaus did not waste
their time in talking or doing the amiable to their sable partners; nor
did the latter seem to expect any such attention--they came to dance,
and their great aim seemed to be to get through as much of it as the
time would allow.  As I looked on I could scarcely refrain from rushin

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