Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests

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Title: Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests

Author: Johann Jakob von Tschudi

Translator: Thomasina Ross

Release date: October 3, 2008 [eBook #26745]

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26745

Credits: Produced by Julia Miller and the Online Distributed
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRAVELS IN PERU, ON THE COAST, IN THE SIERRA, ACROSS THE CORDILLERAS AND THE ANDES, INTO THE PRIMEVAL FORESTS ***

Produced by Julia Miller and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

[Illustration: NATIVES OF VALPARAISO.]

[Illustration: CHILIAN HORSEMANSHIP.]

TRAVELS

IN PERU,

ON THE COAST, IN THE SIERRA, ACROSS THE CORDILLERAS
AND THE ANDES, INTO THE PRIMEVAL FORESTS.

BY DR. J. J. VON TSCHUDI.

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN

BY THOMASINA ROSS.

NEW EDITION, COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME.

NEW YORK:
A. S. BARNES & CO., 51 JOHN-STREET.
CINCINNATI: H. W. DERBY.
1854.

PREFACE.

The Work from which the present Volume is translated consists of
extracts from the Author's Journal, accompanied by his recollections
and observations. The absence of chronological arrangement will be
sufficiently accounted for, when it is explained that the zoological
investigations for which the journey was undertaken frequently
required the Author to make repeated visits to one particular place or
district, or to remain for a considerable time within the narrow
circuit of a few miles; and sometimes to travel rapidly over vast
tracts of country. Disclaiming any intention of making one of those
travelling romances, with which the tourist literature of the day is
overstocked, the Author has confined himself to a plain description of
facts and things as they came within the sphere of his own observation.
But though Dr. Tschudi lays claim to no merit beyond the truthfulness
of his narrative, yet the reader will no doubt readily concede to him
the merit of extensive information, and happy descriptive talent. His
pictures of Nature, especially those relating to the animal world, are
frequently imbued with much of the charm of thought and style which
characterizes the writings of Buffon.

Lima, the oldest and most interesting of the cities founded by the
Spaniards on the western coast of South America, has been frequently
described; but no previous writer has painted so animated a picture of
the city and its inhabitants, as that contained in the following volume.
After quitting the capital of Peru, Dr. Tschudi went over ground
previously untrodden by any European traveller. He visited the Western
Sierra, the mighty chain of the Cordilleras, the boundless level
heights, the deep mountain valleys on the eastern declivity of the
Andes, and the vast primeval forests. Whilst recounting his wanderings
in these distant regions, he describes not only the country and the
people, but every object of novelty and interest in the animal,
vegetable, and mineral creations.

Those lovers of Natural History who are familiar with the German
language, and who may wish to make themselves extensively acquainted
with the animal world, in those parts of Peru visited by Dr. Tschudi,
will find abundant information on the subject in his work, with plates,
entitled "Untersuchungen ueber die Fauna Peruana." The present
Publication, though containing a vast deal to interest the naturalist,
is addressed to the general reader, and will, it is presumed, gratify
curiosity respecting the highly interesting and little known regions to
which it relates. It may fairly be said that no previous writer has
given so comprehensive a picture of Peru; combining, with animated
sketches of life and manners, a fund of valuable information on Natural
History and Commerce.

T. R.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
PAGE

Embarkation at Havre--The Voyage--Arrival at the Island of
Chiloe--Landing--The Gyr-Falcon--Punta Arena--The Island of
Chiloe described--Climate and Cultivation--Cattle--The Bay--San
Carlos--The Governor's House--Poverty and Wretchedness of the
Inhabitants of the Town--Strange method of Ploughing--Coasting
Vessels--Smuggling--Zoology--Departure from Chiloe 1

CHAPTER II.

Valparaiso and the adjacent country--The Bay--Aspect of the
Town--Lighthouses--Forts--Custom House--Exchange--Hotels and
Taverns--War with the Peru-Bolivian Confederation--First
Expedition--Preparations for the Second Expedition--Embarkation
of the Troops--Close of the Port--July Festival in honor of
the French Revolution--The _Muele_, or Mole--Police--_Serenos_,
or Watchmen--Movable Prisons--Clubs--Trade of
Valparaiso--Santiago--Zoology 15

CHAPTER III.

Juan Fernandez--Robinson Crusoe--Passage to Callao--San
Lorenzo--Rise and fall of the coast--Mr. Darwin's opinions
on this subject--Callao--The Fortress--Siege by the
Spaniards--General Rodil--Siege by the Chilians--The
Colocolo--Pirates--Zoology--Road to Lima 26

CHAPTER IV.

Lima--Situation and extent of the City--Streets,
Houses, Churches and Convents--San Pedro--The
Jesuits--Nunneries--Beatarios--Hospitals--San Andres--The
Foundling House--The Pantheon--The Palace--The Plaza
Mayor--Pizarro--The Cabildo--Fountains--Palace of the
Inquisition--The University--National Library--Museum of
Natural History and Antiquities--Academy of Design--The
Mint--The Theatre--Circus for Cock-fighting--The Bridge--The
City Wall--Santa Catalina--Barracks 42

CHAPTER V.

Population of Lima--Its diminution--Different races of the
Inhabitants--Their characteristics--Amusements--Education--The Women
of Lima--Their Costume--the _Saya y Manto_--Female domestic
life--Love of dress--Beatas--Indians--Slaves--Bosales--Free
Creoles--Negroes--Negresses--Black Creoles--Their
varieties--Mestizos--Mulattoes--Pelanganas--Zambos--Chinos--Foreigners
in Lima--Corruption of the Spanish language 63

CHAPTER VI.

Primary Schools--Colleges--The University--Monks--Saints--Santo
Toribio and Santa Rosa--Religious Processions--Raising the Host--The
Noche Buena--The Carnival--Paseos, or Public Promenades--Ice--Riding
and Driving--Horses--Their Equipments and Training--Mules--Lottery
in Lima--Cookery--Breakfasts, Dinners, &c.--Coffee-houses and
Restaurants--Markets--The _Plazo Firme del Acho_--Bull Fights 89

CHAPTER VII.

Geographical Situation of Lima--Height above Sea
level--Temperature--Diseases--Statistical Tables of Births and
Deaths--Earthquakes--The Valley of Lima--The River Rimac--Aqueducts,
Trenches, &c.--Irrigation--Plantations--Cotton--Sugar--Various
kinds of Grain--Maize--Potatoes, and other tuberous
roots--Pulse--Cabbage--Plants used for Seasoning--Clover--The Olive
and other Oil Trees--Fruits--Figs and Grapes--The Chirimoya--The
Palta--The Banana and other Fruits 111

CHAPTER VIII.

Robbers on the coast of Peru--The Bandit Leaders Leon and Rayo--The
Corps of Montoneros--Watering Places near Lima--Surco, Atte and
Lurin--Pacchacamac--Ruins of the Temple of the Sun--Difficulties of
Travelling on the Coast of Peru--Sea Passage to Huacho--Indian
Canoes--Ichthyological Collections--An old Spaniard's recollections
of Alexander Von Humboldt--The Padre Requena--Huacho--Plundering of
Burial Places--Huaura--Malaria--The Sugar Plantation at
Luhmayo--Quipico--Ancient Peruvian Ruins--The Salinas, or Salt
Pits--Gritalobos--Chancay--The Piques--Mode of extracting
them--Valley of the Pasamayo--Extraordinary Atmospheric
Mirrors--Piedras Gordas--Palo Seco 137

CHAPTER IX.

The Coast southward of Lima--Chilca--Curious Cigar cases made
there--Yauyos--Pisco--Journey to Yea--A night on the Sand
Plains--Fatal Catastrophe in the year 1823--Vine Plantations at
Yea--Brandy and Wine--Don Domingo Elias--Vessels for transporting
Brandy (Botijas and Odres)--Cruel mode of skinning Goats--Negro
Carnival--Peculiar species of Guinea Pig--The Salamanqueja--Cotton
Plantations--Quebrada of Huaitara--Sangallan--Guano--Retrospect of
the Peruvian Coast--Rivers--Medanos--Winds--Change of Seasons--The
Garuas--The Lomas--Mammalia--Birds--Amphibia 160

CHAPTER X.

Roads leading to the Sierra--Chaclacayo and Santa Ines--Barometrical
observations--San Pedro Mama--The Rio Seco--Extraordinary Geological
Phenomenon--Similar one described by Mr. Darwin--Surco--Diseases
peculiar to the Villages of Peru--The Verugas--Indian mode of
treating the disorder--The Bird-catching Spider--Horse-Shoeing--Indian
Tambos--San Juan de Matucanas--The Thorn-apple and the Tonga--The
Tambo de Viso--Bridges--San Mateo--Passports--Acchahuari--Malady
called the Veta--Its effects on horses--Singular tact and caution
of Mules--Antarangra and Mountain Passes--Curious partition of
Water--Piedra Parada--Yauli--Indian Smelting Furnaces--Mineral
Springs--Portuguese Mine owners--Saco--Oroya--Hanging
Bridges--Huaros--Roads leading from Oroya 179

CHAPTER XI.

The Cordillera and the Andes--Signification of the terms--Altitude
of the Mountains and Passes--Lakes--Metals--Aspect of the
Cordillera--Shattered Rocks--Maladies caused by the diminished
Atmospheric Pressure--The Veta and the Surumpe--Mountain Storms--The
Condor--Its habits--Indian mode of Catching the Bird--The Puna or
Despoblado--Climate--Currents of Warm Air--Vegetation--Tuberous
Plant called the Maca--Animals of the Puna--The Llama, the Alpaco,
the Huanacu and the Vicuna--The Chacu and the Bolas--Household
Utensils of the Ancient Peruvians--The Viscacha and the
Chinchilla--Puna Birds and Amphibia--Cattle and Pasture--Indian
Farms--Shepherds' Huts--Ancient Peruvian Roads and
Buildings--Treasure concealed by the Indians in the Puna 203

CHAPTER XII.

Cerro de Pasco--First discovery of the Mines--Careless mode of
working them--Mine Owners and Mine Laborers--Amalgamating and
Refining--Produce of the Mines--Life in Cerro de Pasco--Different
Classes of the Population--Gaming and Drunkenness--Extravagance
and Improvidence of the Indian Mine Laborers--The Cerro de San
Fernando--Other Important Mining Districts in Peru--The Salcedo Mine
Castrovireyna--Vast Productiveness of the Silver Mines of Peru--Rich
Mines secretly known to the Indians--Roads leading from Cerro de
Pasco--The Laguna of Chinchaycocha--Battle of Junin--Indian
Robbers--A Day and a Night in the Puna Wilds 229

CHAPTER XIII.

The Sierra--Its Climate and Productions--Inhabitants--Trade--Eggs
circulated as money--Mestizos in the Sierra--Their Idleness
and Love of Gaming and Betting--Agriculture--The Quinua Plant,
a substitute for Potatoes--Growth of Vegetables and Fruits
in the Sierra--Rural Festivals at the Seasons of Sowing and
Reaping--Skill of the Indians in various Handicrafts--Excess of
Brandy-Drinking--Chicha--Disgusting mode of making it--Festivals of
Saints--Dances and Bull-Fights--Celebration of Christmas-Day,
New-Year's Day, Palm Sunday, and Good Friday--Contributions levied
on the Indians--Tardy and Irregular Transmission of Letters--Trade
in Mules--General Style of Building in the Towns and Villages of
the Sierra--Ceja de la Montana 253

CHAPTER XIV.

Road to the Primeval Forests--Barbacoas, or Indian Suspension
Bridges--Vegetation--Hollow Passes--Zoology--the Montana
Plantations--Inhabitants--Trade in Peruvian Bark--Wandering
Indians--Wild Indians or Indios Braves--Languages,
Manners, and Customs of the Indios Bravos--Dress--Warlike
Weapons and Hunting Arms--Dwellings--Religion--Physical
formation of the Wild Indian Tribes--Animals of the Aboriginal
Forests--Mammalia--Hunting the Ounce--Birds--Amphibia--Poisonous
Serpents--Huaco--Insects--Plants 271

CHAPTER XV

Montana of San Carlos de Vitoc--Villages--Hacienda of
Maraynioc--the Coca Plant--Mode of Cultivating and Gathering
it--Mastication of Coca--Evil Consequences of its excessive
Use--Its Nutritious Qualities--Indian Superstitions connected
with the Coca Plant--Suggestions for its Introduction in
the European Navies--Fabulous animal called the Carbunculo--The
Chunchos--Missions to Cerro de la Sal--Juan Santos Atahuallpa--The
Franciscan Monks--Depopulation of Vitoc 309

CHAPTER XVI.

Oppressions exercised by the Spaniards upon the Peruvian Indians--The
Repartimiento and the Mita--Indian Insurrections--Tupac Amaru--His
Capture and Execution--War of Independence--Character of the Peruvian
Indians--Music--Dress--Superstitions--Longevity--Diminished Population
of Peru--Languages spoken by the Aboriginal Inhabitants--Specimen of
Quichua Poetry--The Yaravies--The Quipu--Water Conduits--Ancient
Buildings--Fortresses--Idols--Domestic Utensils--Ancient Peruvian
Graves--Mode of Burying the Dead--Mummies 329

TRAVELS IN PERU.

CHAPTER I.

On the 27th of February, 1838, I sailed from Havre-de-Grace on board the
"Edmond." This vessel, though a French merchantman, was freighted with a
cargo of Swiss manufactured goods, suited to any commercial transactions
which might be entered into in the course of a circumnavigatory voyage.
It was a boisterous morning. A fall of snow and heavy clouds soon
intercepted our view of the coast of France, and not one cheering
sunbeam shone out to betoken for us a favorable voyage. We passed down
the British Channel, where the multitude of vessels, and the flags of
all nations, presented an enlivening picture, and we finally cleared it
on the 5th of March. Favored by a brisk north wind, we soon reached
Madeira and came in sight of Teneriffe, the peak being just perceptible
on the skirt of the horizon. Easterly breezes soon brought us to the
island of Fogo, which, having passed on the 35th day of our voyage, we
received the usual marine baptism, and participated in all the
ceremonies observed on crossing the equator. We soon reached the tropic
of Capricorn, and endeavored to gain the channel between the Falkland
Islands and Patagonia; but unfavorable winds obliged us to direct our
course eastwards, from the Island of Soledad to the Staten Islands. On
the 3d of March we made the longitude of Cape Horn, but were not able to
double it until we got into the 60th degree of south latitude. In those
dangerous waters, where it is admitted by the boldest English sailors
that the waves rage more furiously than in any other part of the world,
we encountered great risk and difficulty. For twenty-two days we were
driven about on the fearfully agitated sea, southward of Tierra del
Fuego, and were only saved from being buried in the deep, by the
excellent build and soundness of our ship.

We suffered much, and were long delayed by this storm; but when it
subsided, a smart breeze sprang up from the southward, and we held our
course along the Pacific to the coast of Chile. After a voyage of 99
days we cast anchor on Sunday the 5th of June, in the Bay of San Carlos.
Like the day of our departure from Europe, that of our arrival off
Chiloe was gloomy and overcast. Heavy clouds obscured the
long-looked-for island, and its picturesque shore could only be seen,
when, at intervals, the wind dispersed the dark atmospheric veil. We had
no sooner cast anchor than several boats came alongside rowed by
Indians, who offered us potatoes, cabbage, fish, and water, in exchange
for tobacco. Only those who have been long at sea can form an idea of
the gratification which fresh provisions, especially vegetables, afford
to the weary voyager. In a couple of hours, the harbor-master came on
board to examine the ship, the cargo, &c., and to give us permission to
go ashore. The long-boat being got out, and well manned, we stepped into
it, and were conveyed to the harbor. The Bay of San Carlos being
shallow, large ships, or vessels, heavily laden, are obliged to go three
English miles or more from the landing-place before they can anchor. Our
boat was gaily decorated and newly painted; but this was mere outside
show, for it was in a very unsound condition. During our passage through
the tropics, the sun had melted the pitch between the planks of the
boat, which lay on the deck keel uppermost. In this crazy boat, we had
scarcely got a quarter of a league from the ship, when the water rushed
in so forcibly through all the cracks and fissures, that it was soon
more than ankle deep. Unluckily the sailors had forgotten to put on
board a bucket or anything for baling out the water, so that we were
obliged to use our hats and boots for that purpose. Fourteen persons
were crowded together in this leaky boat, and the water continued
rising, until at length we began to be seriously apprehensive for our
safety, when, fortunately, our situation was observed by the people on
shore. They promptly prepared to send out a boat to our assistance, but
just as it was got afloat, we succeeded in reaching the pier, happy once
more to set our feet on _terra firma_.

Our first business was to seek shelter and refreshment. There is no
tavern in San Carlos, but there is a sort of substitute for one, kept
by an old Corsican, named Filippi, where captains of ships usually
take up their quarters. Filippi, who recognized an old acquaintance in
one of our party, received us very kindly, and showed us to apartments
which certainly had no claim to the merits of either cleanliness or
convenience. They were long, dark, quadrangular rooms, without
windows, and were destitute of any article of furniture, except a bed
in a kind of recess.

As soon as I got on shore, I saw a multitude of small birds of prey.
They keep in flocks, like our sparrows, hopping about everywhere, and
perching on the hedges and house-tops. I anxiously wished for an
opportunity to make myself better acquainted with one of them.
Presuming that shooting in the town might be displeasing to the
inhabitants, who would naturally claim to themselves a sort of
exclusive sporting right, I took my gun down to the sea-shore, and
there shot one of the birds. It belonged to the Gyr-Falcon family
(_Polyboriniae_), and was one of the species peculiar to South America
(_Polyborus chimango_, Vieil). The whole of the upper part of the body
is brown, but single feathers here and there have a whitish-brown
edge. On the tail are several indistinct oblique stripes. The
under-part of the body is whitish-brown, and is also marked with
transverse stripes feebly defined. The bird I shot measured from the
point of the beak to the end of the tail 1 foot 6-1/2 inches. Though
these Gyr-Falcons live socially together, yet they are very greedy and
contentious about their prey. They snap up, as food, all the offal
thrown out of doors; and thus they render themselves serviceable to
the inhabitants, who consequently do not destroy them. In some of the
valleys of Peru, I met with these birds again, but very rarely and
always single and solitary. I continued my excursions on the
sea-shore, but with little satisfaction, for the pouring rain had
driven animals of every kind to their lurking-holes. After a few days,
I went on board the "Edmond," for the purpose of visiting PUNTA ARENA,
a town on the side of the bay, whither our boat used to be sent for
fresh water. The ground surrounding the spring whence the ships obtain
supplies of water, is sandy, and it becomes exceedingly marshy further
inland. After wandering about for a few hours, I found myself quite
lost in a morass, out of which I had to work my way with no little
difficulty. The whole produce of my hard day's sport consisted of an
awlbeak, a small dark-brown bird (_Opethiorhyncus patagonicus_), and
some land-snails. On our return, as we were nearing the ship, we
killed a seal (_Otaria chilensis_, Muell.), which was rising after a
dive, close to the boat.

On the 22d of June, all our ship's company were on board by order of
the captain. We weighed anchor, and cruized about for some time. At
length, about five in the afternoon, we returned, and the ship was
anchored again precisely on the spot she had left a few hours before.
It was set down in the log-book that the wind was not sufficiently
favorable to allow the ship to pass out safely through the narrow
entrance to the bay. But all on board were well aware that this was
merely a pretence on the part of the captain, who, for some reason or
other, wished to stop longer at San Carlos.

I was very much pleased at this opportunity of prolonging my stay at the
Island of Chiloe, hoping that better weather would enable me to make an
excursion into the interior. But the sky still continued overcast, and
the rain poured incessantly. One day, however, I undertook a journey to
Castro, in company with the French Charge d'Affaires to Peru, one of my
fellow passengers on the voyage. A merchant accommodated us with two
horses, saddled in the Chilian manner; but he warned us to be on our
guard, as horses were often restive when just returned from their summer
pasturage. We set off very promisingly. The commencement of our ride was
pleasant enough, though the road was steep and very difficult. It
sometimes lay over smooth slippery stones, then through deep marshes, or
over scattered logs of wood, which bore evidence of attempts to render
the ground passable, by this rude kind of paving. After we had ridden
for several hours in the forest, the rain checked our further progress,
and we turned, to retrace our way back. Our horses seemed well pleased
with the project of returning home. For a time they proceeded with
wonderful steadiness; but on coming to a part of the road where the
ground was comparatively level and firm, they quickened their pace, and
at length dashed forward through the wood, uncontrolled by the bridle.
The long narrow saddle, with its woollen covering, the crescent-shaped
wooden stirrups, and the heavy spurs, with their clumsy rowels, baffled
all our skill in horsemanship, and it was with no little difficulty we
kept our seats. We thought it best to give the animals the rein, and
they galloped through the umbrageous thickets, until at last, panting
and breathless, they stuck in a morass. Here we recovered our control
over them, and pursued the remainder of our journey without further
accident, though we were drenched to the skin on our return to the town.

On subsequent days, I took my rambles on foot, and found myself richly
rewarded thereby. The long evenings we spent in the company of our host
and the harbor-master, from both of whom I obtained some useful
information respecting the island.

Chiloe is one of the largest islands of the Archipelago which extends
along the west coast of South America, from 42 deg. south lat. to the
Straits of Magellan. It is about 23 German miles long, and 10 broad. A
magnificent, but almost inaccessible forest covers the unbroken line of
hills stretching along Chiloe, and gives to the island a charming aspect
of undulating luxuriance. Seldom, however, can the eye command a
distinct view of those verdant hills; for overhanging clouds surcharged
with rain, almost constantly veil the spreading tops of the trees. At
most parts of the shore the declivity is rapid. There are many inlets,
which, though small, afford secure anchorage; but there are no harbors
of any magnitude. While Castro was the capital of the island, Chacao was
the principal port; but San Carlos having become the residence of the
governor, this latter place is considered the chief harbor; and with
reason, for its secure, tranquil bay unites all the advantages the
navigator can desire on the stormy coast of South Chile. At Chacao, on
the contrary, reefs and strong currents render the entrance dangerous
and the anchorage insecure.

Chiloe is but little cultivated, and scantily populated. If the
statement of my informant, the harbor-master, be correct, Chiloe and the
adjacent small islands contain only from 48,000 to 50,000 inhabitants,
part of whom live in _ranchos_ (huts), and part in a few villages. Next
to San Carlos, and the half-deserted Castro, to which the title of
"City" is given, the chief places are Chacao, Vilipilli, Cucao, Velinoe.
It is only in the neighborhood of these towns or villages that the
forest trees have been felled, and their removal has uncovered a fertile
soil, which would reward by a hundred-fold the labor of the husbandman.

The climate of the island is moist and cool, and upon the whole very
unpleasant. During the winter months, the sun is seldom seen; and it is
a proverbial saying in Chiloe, that it rains six days of the week, and
is cloudy on the seventh. In summer there are occasionally fine days,
though seldom two in succession. The thick forests are therefore never
dry, and beneath the trees, the vegetation of the marshy soil is
peculiarly luxuriant. The constant moisture is one of the greatest
obstacles to agriculture. To clear the ground for cultivation, it would
be necessary to burn the forests, and as the trees are always damp, that
could not be done without great difficulty. To some kinds of culture the
soil is not favorable. The cereals, for example, seldom thrive in
Chiloe; the seed rots after the ear is formed. Maize grows best; though
it shoots too much into leaf, and bears only small grain. The damp soil,
on the other hand, is favorable to potatoes, of which vast quantities
are planted. There is a degenerate kind of potato, very abundant in
Chiloe. On bisection it exhibits a greater or lesser number of
concentric rings, alternately white and violet; sometimes all of the
latter color. It is well known that southern Chile is the native land of
the potato. In Chiloe and also in the neighboring islands, potatoes grow
wild; but, both in size and flavor, they are far inferior to the
cultivated kind. Like the maize, they shoot up in large leaves and
stalks. The climate is also very favorable to the different kinds of the
cabbage plant; but peas and beans do not thrive there.

In the forests there are often clear spots on which the grass grows to a
great height, and supplies excellent pasturage for numerous herds of
cattle. The inhabitants of Chiloe breed for their own use, horses, oxen,
sheep, and swine. The horses are small, and not handsomely formed, but
very spirited and strong. Some are scarcely twelve hands high. The cows
are small and lank, and the same may be said of the swine and sheep. It
is remarkable that all the rams have more than two horns; the greater
number have three, and many are furnished with four or five. I
afterwards observed the same in Peru. The domestic animals on this
island, notwithstanding the abundance of food, are small, and
sickly-looking. I believe the cause to be want of care, for they remain
all the year round exposed to every sort of weather and discomfort.

The population of Chiloe consists of Whites, Indians, and people of
mixed blood. The Indians are now few in number, and those few are
chiefly in the southern part of the island, and the adjacent islets.
They are of the Araucana race, and appear to be a sept between that
race and the people of Tierra del Fuego, on the one side, and the
Pampas Indians on the other. People of mixed races form by far the
greater portion of the population. They are met with in every variety
of amalgamation. Taken in general, they are the reverse of handsome.
They are short and thick-set, and have long, straight coarse hair.
Their faces are round and full, their eyes small, and the expression
of their countenances is unintelligent. The whites are either
Chilenos or Spaniards: the latter are almost the only Europeans
who have become settlers here.

The principal town, San Carlos, called by the natives "Ancud," lies on
the northern coast of a very fine bay. Without a good chart, the
entrance to this bay is difficult. Numerous small islands form a
labyrinth, out of which vessels, if not commanded by very experienced
pilots, cannot easily be extricated. Besides, near the land, the sky is
usually obscured by clouds which prevent any observation for the
latitude, as the sun's altitude cannot be taken even at noon; and when
the sun gets lower, the hills, which would serve as guiding points,
cease to be distinctly seen.

Several whalers, which for some days vainly endeavored to work through
this passage, were afterwards obliged to direct their course northward,
and to cast anchor in Valivia. One of the largest islands at the
entrance of the bay is San Sebastian, where there are numerous herds of
cattle. Cochino is a small island, distant only a few miles from San
Carlos. It is hilly, and thickly crowned with brush-wood. It has only
one landing-place, and that is rather insecure for boats. The water of
the bay is remarkably clear and good; only round the little island of
Cochino, and along the harbor, it is covered with an immense quantity of
sea-moss, which often renders the landing difficult. It frequently
happens that commanders of ships, wishing to go on board to make sail
during the night, get out of the right course, and instead of going to
the ship, steer to Cochino and get into the moss, where their boats
stick fast, till returning daylight enables them to work their way out.

The poor inhabitants boil this sea-moss and eat it. It is very salt
and slimy, and is difficult of digestion. Among the people of Chiloe,
this sea-moss occupies an important place in surgery. When a leg or an
arm is broken, after bringing the bone into its proper position, a
broad layer of the moss is bound round the fractured limb. In drying,
the slime causes it to adhere to the skin, and thus it forms a fast
bandage, which cannot be ruffled or shifted. After the lapse of a few
weeks, when the bones have become firmly united, the bandage is
loosened by being bathed with tepid water, and it is then easily
removed. The Indians of Chiloe were acquainted, long before the French
surgeons, with the use of the paste bandage.

The town of San Carlos is dirty; the streets unpaved, narrow, and
crooked. The houses, with few exceptions, are wretched wooden huts, for
the most part without windows; but there is a board divided in the
middle horizontally, the upper part of which being open, it serves for a
window, and when both parts are open, it forms a door. The flooring
usually consists merely of hard-trodden clay, covered with straw
matting. The furniture, like the apartments, is rude and inconvenient.
These remarks of course apply to the habitations of the very poor class
of people. The richer families live in more comfortable style. Of the
public buildings, the custom-house and the governor's residence are the
most considerable, but both make a very indifferent appearance. In front
of the governor's house, which occupies a tolerably large space of
ground, in the upper part of the town, a sentinel is constantly
stationed. This sentinel parades to and fro, without shoes or stockings,
and not unfrequently without a coat, his arms being covered only by his
shirt sleeves. As to a cap, that seems to be considered as unnecessary a
part of a well-conditioned uniform, as shoes and stockings. After sunset
every person who passes the governor's house is challenged. "Who goes
there?" is the first question; the second is _Que gente?_ (what
country?) The sailors amuse themselves by returning jocular answers to
these challenges; and the sentinel, irritated by their jeers, sometimes
runs after them through part of the town, and when weary of the chace
returns to his post.

Poverty and uncleanliness vie with each other in San Carlos. The lower
class of the inhabitants are exceedingly filthy, particularly the women,
whose usual dress is a dirty woollen gown, and a greasy looking
mantilla. In their damp gloomy habitations, they squat down on the
floor, close to the _brasero_ (chafing pan), which also serves them as a
stove for cooking. They bruise maize between two stones, and make it
into a thick kind of soup or porridge. When employed in paring potatoes
or apples, or in cutting cabbages, they throw the skins and waste leaves
on the ground, so that they are frequently surrounded by a mass of
half-decayed vegetable matter. Their favorite beverage is _mate_ (the
Paraguay tea), of which they partake at all hours of the day. The mode
of preparing and drinking the _mate_ is as follows: a portion of the
herb is put into a sort of cup made from a gourd, and boiling water is
poured over it. The mistress of the house then takes a reed or pipe, to
one end of which a strainer is affixed,[1] and putting it into the
decoction, she sucks up a mouthful of the liquid. She then hands the
apparatus to the person next to her, who partakes of it in the same
manner, and so it goes round. The mistress of the house and all her
guests suck the aromatic fluid through the same pipe or _bombilla_.

The poverty of the people is extreme. Specie is seldom current, and is
exclusively in the hands of a few traders, who supply the Indians with
European articles, in payment of their labor, or in exchange for the
produce of the island, which is sent to Chile and Peru. With much
surprise I learned that there is no saw-mill in Chiloe, where the vast
abundance of trees would furnish a supply of excellent deals, for which
ready and good payment would be obtained in Peru.

The inhabitants direct their industry chiefly to agriculture and
navigation. But rude and imperfect are their implements for field labor,
as well as their nautical vessels. To a stranger nothing can appear more
extraordinary than their mode of ploughing. As to a regular plough, I do
not believe such a thing is known in Chiloe. If a field is to be tilled,
it is done by two Indians, who are furnished with long poles, pointed at
one end. The one thrusts his pole, pretty deeply, and in an oblique
direction, into the earth, so that it forms an angle with the surface of
the ground. The other Indian sticks his pole in at a little distance,
and also obliquely, and he forces it beneath that of his fellow-laborer,
so that the first pole lies as it were above the second. The first
Indian then presses on his pole, and makes it work on the other, as a
lever on its fulcrum, and the earth is thrown up by the point of the
pole. Thus they gradually advance, until the whole field is furrowed by
this laborious process.

The Chiloe boats are merely hulks. They obey the helm reluctantly, but
they bear away before the wind. Several individuals usually join
together, and convey in these boats, the produce of their respective
localities, in the southern villages, to San Carlos. Women as well as
men take their turn at rowing the boats, and after being out all day,
they run into some creek, where they pass the night. When a favorable
breeze springs up, they hoist a sail, made of _ponchos_. The poncho is
an important article of male clothing in this country. It consists of a
piece of woollen cloth, measuring from 5 to 7 feet long, and from 3 to 4
feet broad. In the middle there is a slit from 12 to 14 inches long;
through this slit the wearer passes his head. The poncho thus rests on
the shoulders, and hangs down in front and behind as low as the knees.
At the sides, it reaches to the elbow, or middle of the forearm, and
thus covers the whole of the body. The carters and wagoners in Swabia
wear, in rainy weather, a covering somewhat resembling the poncho, which
they make out of their woollen horse-coverings. When a Chiloe boat is on
its passage on the coast, and a sail happens to be wanted, the men give
up their ponchos and the women their mantillas. The slits in the ponchos
are stitched up, and both ponchos and mantillas being sewn together are
fixed to a pole or bar of wood, which is hoisted to a proper position on
the mast. This patchwork sail can only be serviceable when the wind is
fresh. At nightfall, when the boat runs into one of the creeks for
shelter, the sail is lowered, and the sewing being unpicked, the ponchos
and mantillas are returned to their respective owners, who wrap
themselves in them, and go to sleep.

There is but little trade in San Carlos, for Chile itself possesses in
superfluity all the productions of Chiloe, and the inhabitants of the
island are so poor, and their wants so limited, that they require but
few foreign articles. The port is therefore seldom visited by any
trading vessel from Europe. Some of the Chiloe boats keep up a regular
traffic along the coast. They carry wood, brooms, hams, and potatoes, to
Valparaiso, Arica, Callao, &c., and they bring back in return, linen,
woollen and cotton cloths, ironware, tobacco, and spirits.

North American and French whalers have for several years past been
frequent visitors to San Carlos, as they can there provide themselves,
at a cheap rate, with provisions for the long fishing season. All the
captains bring goods, which they smuggle on shore, where they sell or
exchange them at a high profit. A custom-house officer is, indeed, sent
on board every vessel to examine what is to be unshipped; but a few
dollars will silence him, and make him favor the contraband operations,
which are carried on without much reserve. A French captain brought to
Chiloe a quantity of water-proof cloaks and hats, made of a sort of
black waxed cloth, and sold them to a dealer in San Carlos. To evade the
duty, he sent his men on shore each wearing one of these hats and
cloaks, which they deposited in the dealer's store, and then returned on
board the ship, dressed in their sailors' garb. This was repeated so
often, that at length it was intimated to the captain that, if his men
had a fancy to come on shore with such hats and cloaks they would be
permitted to do so, but it must be on condition of their returning on
board dressed in the same costume.

The people of Ancud (San Carlos), formerly so simple and artless, have
gradually become corrupt and degenerate, since their frequent
intercourse with the whale-fishers. Among the female portion of the
population, depravity of morals and unbecoming boldness of manners have
in a great degree superseded the natural simplicity which formerly
prevailed. All the vices of the lowest class of sailors, of which the
crews of the South Sea Whalers are composed, have quickly taken root in
San Carlos, and the inseparable consequences of those vices will soon be
fatal to the moral and physical welfare of the inhabitants.

In the interior of the island of Chiloe there are few quadrupeds. The
largest, the domestic animals excepted, is a fox (_Canis fulvipes_,
Wat.), which was first discovered by the naturalists who accompanied
Capt. King's expedition. This is the only beast of prey. The coast
abounds in seals of the sea-dog species (_Otaria chilensis_, Muell.,
_Otaria Ursina_, Per., _Otaria jubata_, Desm.)--in sea-otters (_Otaria
chilensis_, Ben.)--and in the water mouse (_Myopotamus Coypus_, J.
Geoff). Among the birds, there are some very fine species of ducks, well
worthy of notice, which are also found on the continent of South
America. There is the little Cheucau (_Pteroptochus rubecula_, Kettl.),
to which the Chilotes attach various superstitious ideas, and pretend to
foretell good or ill luck from its song. The modulations which this bird
is capable of uttering are numerous, and the natives assign a particular
meaning to each. One day, when I wished to have some shooting, I took
an Indian lad with me. Having levelled my gun at one of these birds,
which was sitting in a low bush, and uttering its shrill _huit-huit_, my
young companion firmly grasped my arm, earnestly entreating me not to
shoot the bird, as it had sung its unlucky note. But my desire to
possess a specimen was too great to be thus baffled, so I fired my gun
and brought it down. I was engaged in examining the elegant little bird,
when a mule, probably alarmed by the shot, came running at full speed
towards the spot where we were, and we deemed it prudent to get behind a
hedge as speedily as possible. The infuriated mule made an attack on my
gun, which was resting against the hedge. It was thrown down, bitten,
and trampled on by the mule. The Indian boy turned to me, with a serious
countenance, and said:--"It is well if we escape further danger! I told
you the bird had piped bad luck!"

The day fixed for our departure from Chiloe now approached. The wind,
which had heretofore been unfavorable for leaving the port, promised to
change, and we began to ship provisions. Whilst I was waiting for the
boat which was to take me on board, I had an opportunity of observing
the dexterity with which the Indians slaughter their cattle. This
business is performed on the Mole, where, in the space of a quarter of
an hour, and by two men only, an ox is killed, and the carcase cut up
into the proper pieces. When it is necessary to ship live oxen, the
animals are brought to the shore, where their feet are bound together,
and then they are rolled over planks into the _lancha_ (boat). On
nearing the ship, the Indians tie a rope round the animal's horns, and
then the sailors hoist him up with a strong tackle. It is a curious
sight to behold a strongly-bound struggling ox, hanging by the tackle,
and swinging between wind and water. My little Chilotean pony, which I
intended to take to Peru, was dealt with more gently: he was got on
board with a girth, purposely made for hoisting horses on board ship.

At length we sailed out of the bay with a fresh easterly wind. Three
coasting boats, one of which was heavily laden with brooms, left the
roads at the same time, and their crews said they hoped to reach
Valparaiso before us. But they had too great confidence in their
round-bottomed keels, for they did not anchor in their place of
destination till five or six days after our arrival. The wind soon got
up, blowing W.N.W., but rather flat. In the course of the night, during
the second watch, we were roused from our sleep by a heavy shock,
followed by a peculiarly tremulous motion of the whole ship. We
concluded we had struck in passing over some hidden rock. The lead was
thrown, but no ground was found; the pumps were set a-going, but we were
free of water. The captain attributed the shock to an earthquake, and on
our arrival at Chile, his conjecture was confirmed. In Valdivia, in the
latitude of which place we were at the time, a severe shock of an
earthquake had been experienced.

After a pretty favorable passage of seven days, we anchored on the 30th
of June in the harbor of Valparaiso.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: _Bombilla_ is the name given to this pipe, and the cup or
gourd in which the decoction of the _mate_ is prepared, is called the
_macerina_.]

CHAPTER II.

Valparaiso and the adjacent country--The Bay--Aspect of the
Town--Lighthouses--Forts--Custom House--Exchange--Hotels and
Taverns--War with the Peru-Bolivian Confederation--First
Expedition--Preparations for the Second Expedition--Embarkation
of the Troops--Close of the Port--July Festival in honor of the
French Revolution--The _Muele_, or Mole--Police--_Serenos_,
or Watchmen--Moveable Prisons--Clubs--Trade of
Valparaiso--Santiago--Zoology.

The impression produced by the approach to Valparaiso on persons who see
land for the first time after a sea voyage of several months' duration,
must be very different from that felt by those who anchor in the port
after a passage of a few days from the luxuriantly verdant shores of the
islands lying to the south. Certainly, none of our ship's company would
have been disposed to give the name of "Vale of Paradise" to the
sterile, monotonous coast which lay outstretched before us; and yet, to
the early navigators, its first aspect, after a long and dreary voyage,
over the desert ocean, might naturally enough have suggested the idea of
an earthly paradise.

Along the sea coast there extends a range of round-topped hills, 15 or
16 hundred feet high, covered with a grey-brownish coating, relieved
only here and there by patches of dead green, and furrowed by clefts,
within which the bright red of tile-roofed houses is discernible.
Half-withered cactus trees, the only plants which take root in the
ungenial soil, impart no life to the dreary landscape. The hills
continue rising in undulating outlines, and extend into the interior of
the country, where they unite with the great chain of the Andes.

The bay of Valparaiso is open on the north and west; on the south it is
protected by a little promontory called the Punta de Coromilla. In this
direction the shore is steep and rocky, and the waves break against it
with great fury. From the Punta de Coromilla the bay extends from east
to north-west in the form of a gently curved crescent, having a sloping,
sandy beach, which rises very gradually towards the hills. On the north
side of the bay there are several small inlets, almost inaccessible and
edged with steep rocks. The bay is sometimes unsafe, for it is
completely unsheltered on the north, and the heavy gales which blow from
that point frequently end in storms. At those times the bay is furiously
agitated, the waves sometimes rising as high as in the open sea, and the
ships are obliged to cast their sheet-anchors. Many vessels have at
various times been driven from their anchorage, cast ashore, and dashed
to pieces on a rock called Little Cape Horn; for, when a violent gale
blows from the north, it is impossible to get out to sea. Sailors are
accustomed to say that in a violent storm they would rather be tossed
about on the wide ocean than be at anchor in the bay of Valparaiso. But
against the south wind, though sometimes no less boisterous than the
northern gales, the harbor affords secure refuge, being perfectly
sheltered by the Punta de Coromilla.

The town of Valparaiso looks as if built on terraces at the foot of the
range of hills above mentioned. Northward it stretches out on the level
sea shore, in a long double row of houses called the Almendral: towards
the south it rises in the direction of the hills. Two clefts or chasms
(quebradas) divide this part of the town into three separate parts
consisting of low, shabby houses. These three districts have been named
by the sailors after the English sea terms Fore-top, Main-top, and
Mizen-top. The numerous quebradas, which all intersect the ground in a
parallel direction, are surrounded by poor-looking houses. The wretched,
narrow streets running along these quebradas are, in winter, and
especially at night, exceedingly dangerous, Valparaiso being very badly
lighted. It sometimes happens that people fall over the edges of the
chasms and are killed, accidents which not unfrequently occur to the
drunken sailors who infest these quarters of the town.

Viewed from the sea, Valparaiso has rather a pleasing aspect, and some
neat detached houses built on little levels, artificially made on the
declivities of the hills, have a very picturesque appearance. The
scenery in the immediate background is gloomy; but, in the distance, the
summit of the volcano Aconcagua, which is 23,000 feet above the level of
the sea, and which, on fine evenings, is gilded by the rays of the
setting sun, imparts a peculiar charm to the landscape.

The bay is protected by three small forts. The southernmost, situated
between the lighthouse and the town, has five guns. The second, which is
somewhat larger, called el Castillo de San Antonio, is in the southern
inlet of the bay. Though the most strongly fortified of the three, it is
in reality a mere plaything. In the northern part of the town, on a
little hillock, stands the third fort, called el Castillo del Rosario,
which is furnished with six pieces of cannon. The churches of Valparaiso
are exceedingly plain and simple, undistinguished either for
architecture or internal decoration.

The custom-house is especially worthy of mention. It is a beautiful and
spacious building, and from its situation on the Muele (Mole) is an
object which attracts the attention of all who arrive at Valparaiso. In
the neighborhood of the custom-house is the exchange. It is a plain
building, and contains a large and elegant reading-room, in which may
always be found the principal European newspapers. In this reading-room
there is also an excellent telescope by Dollond, which is a source of
amusement, by affording a view of the comical scenes sometimes enacted
on board the ships in the port.

The taverns and hotels are very indifferent. The best are kept by
Frenchmen, though even those are incommodious and expensive. The
apartments, which scarcely contain necessary articles of furniture, are
dirty, and often infested with rats. In these houses, however, the table
is tolerably well provided; for there is no want of good meat and
vegetables in the market. The second-rate taverns are far beneath the
very worst in the towns of Europe.

On our arrival in Valparaiso, a vast deal of activity and bustle
prevailed in the harbor. Chile had declared war against the
Peru-Bolivian confederation, and was fitting out a new expedition for
the invasion of Peru. At its head were the banished Peruvian president
Don Augustin Gamarra, and the Chilian general Bulnes. The growing power
of Santa Cruz, who set himself up as protector of a confederation
between Bolivia and Peru, had given alarm to the Chilian government. It
was apprehended, and not without reason, that the independence of Chile
might be threatened by so dangerous a neighbor. Santa Cruz had given
umbrage to Chile by several decrees, especially one, by which merchant
vessels coming direct from Europe into a Bolivian or Peruvian port, and
there disposing of their cargoes, were subject to very low duties,
whilst heavy imposts were levied on ships landing any part of their
cargoes in a Chilian port. This law greatly increased the trade of Peru;
but it was prejudicial to Chile. This and other grounds of offence,
joined to the representations of the fugitive Ex-president Gamarra and
his adherents, determined the Chilian government to declare war. An
expedition under the command of General Blanco was sent to Peru; but
Santa Cruz was prepared to receive the invaders, and in the valley of
Arequipa he surrounded the Chilian forces so completely that they were
obliged to surrender without striking a blow. Santa Cruz magnanimously
allowed General Blanco to make a very favorable capitulation. The
soldiers were sent home to their country; but the horses were detained
and sold by the conquerors to the conquered.

The generosity of Don Andres Santa Cruz did not meet its due return on
the part of the Chilian government. The treaty of peace concluded by
Blanco was not ratified in Santiago, the minister declaring that the
general was not authorized to negotiate it. Hostilities were kept up
between the two states, and at length a second and more important
expedition was fitted out. It sailed whilst we were lying in the harbor.

No sooner had we cast anchor than several officers of the Chilian army
came on board to inquire whether we had any swords to dispose of,
assuring us that they, together with the majority of their comrades,
were yet unprovided with arms, and knew not where to procure them. The
captain informed them that there were no swords in our cargo; but that
he had a few sabres, &c., which he was very willing to sell. They were
immediately produced, and some were purchased; among the number was a
heavy broad-sword, about five feet in length, which had once belonged
to a cuirassier in Napoleon's guard. The Chilian officer who bargained
for it was a delicate-looking stripling, who, with both hands, could
scarcely raise the heavy weapon. He, nevertheless, flattered himself
that it would enable him to achieve great deeds in battle and deal death
among the Peruvians. Ten months afterwards I met this hero on a march
among the mountains of Peru. He had, girded on, a light little sword,
like a tooth pick or a bodkin compared with the formidable weapon he had
discarded, and which a sturdy negro was carrying behind him. I could not
refrain from asking the officer whether the trusty broad-sword had not
done good service in the battle of Yungay; but he candidly acknowledged
that he had not attempted to use it, as he found it much too unwieldy.

The Chilian squadron sent to Peru consisted of twenty-seven transport
ships, and eight ships of war. Almost all were in a wretched condition,
having but few guns, and manned by very insufficient crews. The largest
vessels were the three corvettes, Confederacion, Santa Cruz, and
Valparaiso. Only one ship, the schooner brig Colocolo, was distinguished
for solidity and swift sailing. The fleet was commanded by an admiral of
little judgment and experience.

Among the crew there were but few Chilenos: most of the men were
Chilotes and French, English and American deserters. The officers
commanding the ships were almost all Englishmen. The transport ships
were heavily laden, some carrying troops, and others provisions. These
provisions consisted of sesino (dried beef), chalonas (whole sheep
dried), maize, potatoes, dried fruits and barley, together with hay for
the horses. The embarkation of the horses was most clumsily managed:
many were strangled in being hoisted up the ships' sides, others slipped
through their girths and were severely hurt by falling, and a
considerable number of the poor animals died before the ships left the
port. Every morning we saw dozens of dead horses thrown over board. The
continued lurching of the vessels in which the cavalry was embarked,
bore evidence of the inconvenient situation of the horses between decks.

At the beginning of July the whole squadron sailed for the harbor of
Coquimbo, where the troops were decimated by the small-pox.

There prevailed in Chile a feeling very adverse to this campaign; so
much so that most of the troops were embarked by force. I was standing
on the _muele_ when the Santiago battalion was shipped. The soldiers,
who were in wretched uniforms, most of them wearing ponchos, and
unarmed, were bound together two-and-two by ropes, and absolutely driven
into the boats.

This war proved most unfortunate to Peru, a result which, however,
cannot certainly be ascribed either to the courage of the enemy's troops
or the judgment of their commanders. We shall presently see the
circumstances which combined to secure triumph to the Chilenos.

I and my fellow-voyagers were also sufferers by the war, our captain
having imprudently announced his intention of selling the Edmond to the
protector Santa Cruz, as she might easily have been transformed into an
excellent corvette. She was a quick sailer, tight-built, carrying ten
guns of moderate calibre, and she might easily have mounted ten more.

The captain's intention having reached the knowledge of the Chilian
government, the natural consequence was, that the port was closed, a
measure deemed the more necessary inasmuch as an American captain was
suspected of entertaining the design of selling his ship to the
Peruvians. It was not until the fleet had had time to reach Peru, and
the first blow was supposed to be struck, that the embargo was raised,
and we obtained leave to depart. We lay in the port of Valparaiso
five-and-forty days. To me the most annoying circumstance attending this
delay was, that I could not absent myself from the port longer than
twenty-four hours at a time, as the ship was constantly in readiness to
get under weigh, as soon as we should receive permission to sail, which
was hourly expected. My excursions were, therefore, confined to the
immediate neighborhood of the town; and even there my walks and rides
were much impeded by constant stormy and rainy weather.

On the 29th of July, preparations were made on board our ship for
celebrating the Paris revolution of 1830. At eight o'clock in the
morning we fired three guns, and the Edmond was soon decorated from her
deck to her mast-heads with flags and streamers. At the fore-mast gaily
floated the Swiss flag, probably the first time it had ever been seen in
the Pacific. When the guns on board the French ship-of-war had ceased
firing, we began our salute; but, as we had only ten guns, it was
necessary to load a second time. Our seamen, being unused to this kind
of duty, did not observe due precaution, and the consequence was that
one of them had his hand so dreadfully shattered that immediate
amputation was indispensable. The day's rejoicing was thus suddenly
brought to a melancholy close.

The mole in front of the custom-house is exceedingly dangerous; so much
so, that, during the prevalence of stormy north winds, it is impossible
to pass along it. From the shore a sort of wooden jetty stretches into
the sea, at the distance of about sixty paces. This jetty has been
sometimes partially, and at other times completely, destroyed by the
waves. The harbor-master's boats, and those belonging to the
ships-of-war, land on the right side; the left side is allotted to the
boats of the merchant ships. On the shore there are always a number of
boats ready to convey persons who wish to go on board the different
ships. Each boat is generally rowed by two Indians. Whenever any person
approaches the shore he is beset by the boatmen, who throng round him,
and alternately, in English and Spanish, importune him with the
questions,--"Want a boat?" "Vamos a bordo?"

Day and night, parties of custom-house officers go round the port for
the purpose of preventing smuggling. In this, however, they only
partially succeed; for they detect only petty smugglers, whilst those
who carry on contraband trade on a large scale elude their vigilance.
The captains of French vessels are notorious for this kind of traffic,
and they frequently succeed in landing vast quantities of goods
surreptitiously.

The police of Valparaiso is probably as good as it is in any part of
South America. _Serenos_ (watchmen) perambulate the streets on foot and
on horseback, and continually give signals one to another by blowing
small whistles. For personal safety there is little risk, probably not
more than in the most populous cities of Europe. It is true that
nocturnal murders sometimes take place; but the police speedily succeed
in capturing the criminals, who, after a summary trial, are shot.

In Valparaiso, as in most of the towns on the western coast of South
America, the _serenos_ go about all night, calling the hours and
announcing the state of the weather. At ten o'clock they commence with
their--"_Viva Chile!_"--"_Ave Maria purissima!_"--"_Las diez han dado y
sereno!_" (past ten o'clock and a fine night!) or _nublado_
(cloudy),--or _lloviendo_ (raining). Thus, they continue calling every
half-hour till four o'clock in the morning. Should an earthquake take
place it is announced by the _sereno_ when he goes his round in the
following half hour. However, the phenomenon usually announces itself in
so positive a way, that the inhabitants may easily dispense with the
information of the _serenos_.

Among the most remarkable objects in Valparaiso may be numbered the
moveable prison. It consists of a number of large covered wagons, not
unlike those used for the conveyance of wild beasts. In the inside of
each wagon, planks are fixed up like the board bedsteads in a
guard-house, affording resting-places for eight or ten prisoners. A
guard is stationed at the door, which is at the back of the wagon; and
in the front a sort of kitchen is constructed. These wagons are drawn by
the prisoners themselves, who are for the most part destined to work in
the streets and roads, and, accordingly, they take their prison with
them when they are ordered to any considerable distance from the town.
To a country in which there may be said to be no winter, this sort of
nomad prison is exceedingly well-suited, and the prisoners may be
conveyed from place to place at very little expense.

I went into some of these moveable prisons, and I must confess that I
never beheld such an assemblage of ill-looking faces as were collected
within them. In the countenances of some of the prisoners unbridled
passion and degrading sensuality were so plainly and so odiously
portrayed, that one shuddered to reflect that such features could be
an index of the human mind. Most of them were Creole Indians; but
there were a few Europeans among them. To me it was melancholy to
behold the European, who might be supposed to possess some little
share of education, mounting the prison steps chained to his
fellow-criminal, the uncivilized Chileno.

In Valparaiso, as in all seaports, there is a heterogeneous mixture of
different countries, nations, languages, and manners, amidst which the
national character of the country is entirely lost. The trade in
European goods is very extensive, but almost exclusively in the hands
of a few great North American and English houses, who supply the whole
country with the articles they import. At times, such is the overstock
of importations, that goods are sold at lower prices in Valparaiso
than in Europe. The warehouses are so filled with some sorts of
merchandise, that without any fresh supplies there would be sufficient
for some years to come.

Among the clerks in the mercantile houses I met with a great number of
Germans, who all maintain an intimate association with each other. They
have formed themselves into a union, and they have a very commodious
place in which they hold their meetings. Following their example, the
English have united together and established several clubs. The French
have not gained any considerable footing in this part of South America,
in which there are scarcely two French mercantile houses of any
consequence. On the other hand, there is abundance of French
hairdressers, tailors, shoemakers, jewellers, confectioners, and
_Chevaliers d'industrie_. Neither is there any want of _Modistes
Parisiennes et Bordelaises_.

Valparaiso is yearly increasing in extent and in the numbers of its
inhabitants; but the town makes little improvement in beauty. That
quarter which is built along the Quebradas is certainly susceptible of
no improvement, owing to the unfavorable locality, and it is only the
newly-built houses on the heights that impart to the town anything like
a pleasing aspect. In laying out buildings in a place like Valparaiso,
the aid of art should make amends for the defects of nature. My visits
to Valparaiso did not produce a very favorable impression on me. The
exclusively mercantile occupations of the inhabitants, together with the
poverty of the adjacent country, leave little to interest the attention
of a mere transient visitor. The case may be different with persons
who, having longer time than I had to stay in the town, may enjoy
opportunities of entering into society, and occasionally visiting the
pleasant valley of Quillota and the interesting capital Santiago.

The latter is thirty leagues distant from the port; but a very active
communication is kept up between the two places, and better roads would,
no doubt, increase the intercourse. A few years ago the roads were very
unsafe; but now the journey may be performed without danger if the
_Birlocheros_ (coach-drivers) are in the least degree careful.

The zoology of the neighborhood of Valparaiso is not very interesting,
though more so along the sea-shore than in parts further inland. Among
the Mammalia are sometimes seen the fox (_Canis Azarae_, Wild.), and
the pole-cat. In the immediate vicinity of the town a very large mouse
is seen in the burrows of the ground; it is of the eight-toothed
species (_Octodon Cummingii_, Benn.), and has a brush-formed tail. As
the fields round Valparaiso are not cultivated these animals do no
harm, otherwise they would be the plague of agriculture, and probably
are so in the interior parts of the country. Now and then a sea-dog
may be observed in the bay; but the whale is seldom seen, and whenever
one appears he is immediately killed, as there is always a whaler at
anchor and not far off.

In the market, live condors are frequently sold. These birds are caught
in traps. A very fine one may be purchased for a dollar and a half. I
saw eight of these gigantic birds secured in a yard in a very singular
manner. A long narrow strap of leather was passed through the nostrils
of the bird and firmly knotted at one end, whilst the other end was
fastened to a wooden or iron peg fixed in the ground. By this means the
motion of the bird was not impeded: it could walk within the range of a
tolerably wide circle; but on attempting to fly it fell to the ground
head foremost. It is no trifling matter to provide food for eight
condors; for they are among the most ravenous of birds of prey. The
owner of those I saw assured me that, by way of experiment, he had
given a condor, in the course of one day, eighteen pounds of meat
(consisting of the entrails of oxen); that the bird devoured the
whole, and ate his allowance on the following day with as good an
appetite as usual. I measured a very large male condor, and the width
from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other was fourteen English
feet and two inches--an enormous expanse of wing, not equalled by any
other bird except the white albatross. (_Diomedea exulans_, Linn.).
The snipes (_Scolopax frenata_, Ill.) found on the little plain
between the bay and the light-house are in color precisely like those
of Europe, from which, however, they differ in having two more
feathers in their tails. Small green parrots, little bigger than
finches, are tamed and brought to Valparaiso from the interior of the
country. These parrots are very docile, and are easily taught to
speak; but they cannot endure cold, and require to be tended with very
great care. In the bay itself there are numerous cormorants, and
occasionally penguins and large flights of the cut-water or shear-bill
(_Rhynchops nigra_, Linn.). The latter is distinguished by a
sharp-pointed bill closing laterally, the under mandible being about
double the length of the upper one. But the most beautiful bird in the
bay of Valparaiso is the majestic swan (_Cygnus nigricollis_, Mol.),
whose body is of dazzling white, whilst the head and neck are black.

On the 13th of August we at length obtained leave to sail. Early on
the morning of the 14th we weighed anchor; and, as we sailed out of
the Bay of Valparaiso, the summit of Aconcagua soon disappeared in
the blue horizon.

CHAPTER III.

With a favorable east wind we reached, in thirty-six hours, the island
of Juan Fernandez, which lies in the latitude of Valparaiso. Ships from
Europe, bound to Peru, which do not go into Chile, usually touch at Juan
Fernandez to test their chronometers. It consists in fact of three
islands, forming a small compact group. Two of them, in accordance with
the Spanish names, may be called the Inward Island and the Outward
Island, for the most easterly is called _Mas a Tierra_ (more to the main
land), that to the west is called _Mas a Fuera_ (more towards the
offing). That to the south, which is almost a naked rock, is the _Isla
de Lobos_, which we may call Sea-dog Island. The two first are covered
with grass and trees. _Mas a Tierra_ is much longer, and better suited
for cultivation than _Mas a Fuera_. In form the two islands have a
striking resemblance to Flores and Cordua, islands of the group of the
Azores. Until within these twenty years, _Mas a Tierra_ was the place of
exportation for convicts from Chile; but as it was found that the
facility of escape is great, none are now sent there. In 1812 a number
of prisoners of war were confined there, but the rats, which had
increased in an extraordinary degree, consumed all the provisions sent
from Chile. Several fruitless attempts have been made to populate the
island, but that object is now given up, and it is only occasionally
visited by sea-dog hunters. Ulloa speaks of the great number of
sea-calves or dogs with which the island was frequented, and
distinguishes kinds which belong to the short-eared species. Their skins
are excellent, and they sell at a good price in England. Wild goats are
numerous, and their propagation would be excessive were it not for the
multitude of dogs, also wild, by which they are destroyed.

There is yet another kind of interest attached to Juan Fernandez. It was
on Mas a Tierra that, in 1704, the celebrated English navigator,
Dampier, landed his coxswain, Alexander Selkirk, with whom he had
quarrelled, and left him there with a small quantity of provisions, and
a few tools. Selkirk had lived four years and four months on this
uninhabited island, when he was found there by the bucaneers Woods and
Rogers, and brought back to Europe. From the notes which he made during
his solitary residence, the celebrated Daniel Defoe composed his
incomparable work, ROBINSON CRUSOE.

The weather continued favorable, and in about a week we doubled the west
point of San Lorenzo Island, where some Chilian cruizers were watching
the coast. We soon entered the fine bay of Callao, and cast anchor in
the harbor of the _Ciudad de los Reyes_. While rounding the island, an
American corvette spoke us. She had left Valparaiso on the same day with
us, and sailed also through the strait between San Lorenzo and the main
land; yet, during the whole passage, we never saw each other.

No signals were exchanged between us and the shore, and no port-captain
came on board. We were exceedingly anxious to know the issue of the
Chilian expedition. Hostile ships of war lay off the port, but the
Peruvian flag waved on the fort. At last a French naval cadet came on
board, and informed us that the Chilians had landed successfully, and
had taken Lima by storm two days previously. They were, at that moment,
besieging the fortress. We immediately went on shore.

The town presented a melancholy aspect. The houses and streets were
deserted. In all Callao we scarcely met a dozen persons, and the most
of those we saw were negroes. Some of the inhabitants came gradually
back, but in the course of a month scarcely a hundred had returned,
and for safety they slept during the night on board merchant ships in
the bay. At the village of Bella Vista, a quarter of a mile from
Callao, the Chilians had erected their batteries for bombarding the
fortress. As it was difficult to obtain provisions, the commanders of
the foreign ships of war sent every morning a small detachment of
sailors with a steward to Bella Vista, to purchase meat and
vegetables. The merchant-ships joined in the practice, so that early
every morning a long procession of boats with flags flying proceeded
to the Chilian camp. But a stop was soon put to this, as an English
butcher in Callao found means to go with the boats for the purpose of
purchasing large quantities of meat, which he afterwards sold at an
immense profit, to the fortress. Though the besieged did not suffer
from want, they were far from having superfluity.

Having sufficient time to make myself acquainted with the country in the
immediate vicinity of Callao, I took advantage of every opportunity for
excursions; going from place to place by water, which was more safe than
journeying by land.

The bay of Callao is one of the largest and calmest on the west coast of
South America. On the south-west, it is bounded by the sterile island of
San Lorenzo; on the north it flows into the creeks, which are terminated
by the Punta Gorda, the Punta Pernal, the Punta de dos Playas, and the
Punta de Dona Pancha. The beach is flat, for the most part shingly, and
about the mouth of the Rimac, somewhat marshy. Between the mouth of the
Rimac and that of the Rio de Chillon, which is a little southward of the
Punta Gorda, there is a tract of rich marshy soil. A small boot-shaped
tongue of land stretches from the fortress westward to San Lorenzo. On
this spot are the ruins of old Callao.

San Lorenzo is a small, long-shaped island, about 15 English miles in
circumference. It is intersected throughout its whole length by a ridge
of sharp crested hills, of which the highest point is about 1387 feet
above the level of the sea. On the north-eastern side, the declivity is
less steep than on the south-west, where it descends almost
perpendicularly into the sea. Seals and sea-otters inhabit the steep
rocks of the southern declivity, and swarms of sea-birds nestle on the
desolate shore. San Lorenzo is separated on the southern side by a
narrow strait, from a small rocky island called El Fronton, which is
also the abode of numerous seals.

The coasts of Callao and San Lorenzo have undergone very remarkable
changes within a few centuries. Mr. Darwin, the English geologist, is
of opinion that this part of Peru has risen eighty-five feet since it
has had human inhabitants. On the north-eastern declivity of San
Lorenzo, which is divided into three indistinctly marked terraces, there
are numbers of shells of those same species of conchyliae which are at
the present time found living on the coast. On an accurate examination
of these shells, Mr. Darwin found many of them deeply corroded. "They
have," he says, "a much older and more decayed appearance than those at
the height of 500 or 600 feet on the coast of Chile. These shells are
associated with much common salt, a little sulphate of lime (both
probably left by the evaporation of the spray, as the land slowly rose),
together with sulphate of soda, and muriate of lime. The rest are
fragments of the underlying sand-stone, and are covered by a few inches
thick of detritus. The shells higher up on this terrace could be traced
scaling off in flakes, and falling into an impalpable powder; and on an
upper terrace, at the height of 170 feet, and likewise at some
considerably higher points, I found a layer of saline powder, of exactly
similar appearance, and lying in the same relative position. I have no
doubt that the upper layer originally existed on a bed of shells, like
that on the eighty-five feet ledge, but it does not now contain even a
trace of organic structure."[2] Mr. Darwin adds, that on the terrace,
which is eighty-five feet above the sea, he found embedded amidst the
shells and much sea-drifted rubbish, some bits of cotton thread, plaited
rush, and the head of a stalk of Indian corn.

San Lorenzo does not appear to have been inhabited in very early ages.
The fragments of human industry which have been found mixed in the
shells have probably been brought thither by fishermen who visit the
island, and often pass the night on it.

Darwin further remarks:--"It has been stated that the land subsided
during this memorable shock (in 1746): I could not discover any proof
of this; yet it seems far from improbable, for the form of the coast
must certainly have undergone some change since the foundation of the
old town," &c.--"On the island of San Lorenzo there are very
satisfactory proofs of elevation within a recent period; this, of
course, is not opposed to the belief of a small sinking of the ground
having subsequently taken place."

But satisfactory evidence of the sinking of the coast is not to be
obtained in a visit of a few weeks' duration; nor must that evidence
rest solely on geological facts, though doubtless they furnish much
important data. History must aid the inquiry. Tradition and the
recollections of old persons must be attended to. According to these
authorities, a change more or less considerable has taken place in the
level of the coast, after every great earthquake. If we refer to the
account given by Ulloa, and compare the plan of the harbor of Callao,
drawn by him in 1742, with the most correct modern charts, we do not
find much difference in the representations of the distance between
the main-land and San Lorenzo. Four years afterwards the great
earthquake occurred, which destroyed the city of Callao, and plunged
it into the sea. Subsequently there was a rising of the coast, which
could not be inconsiderable, for according to the statements of old
inhabitants of Callao, the distance from the coast to San Lorenzo was
so inconsiderable that boys used to throw stones over to the island.
At present the distance is nearly two English miles. I have no doubt
of the general correctness of those statements, for a careful
investigation of facts leads to the same conclusion; so that within
the last sixty or seventy years the sinking must have been
considerable. It must be observed, however, that the ruins on the
small tongue of land are not, as Darwin supposes, the remains of the
city of Callao, swallowed up by the sea in 1746, but of the Callao
which was destroyed by the great earthquake of 1630.

Another proof of the sinking exists in the extensive shallow between
the coast of the main-land and San Lorenzo, called the Camotal. In
early times this shallow was dry land, producing vegetables, in
particular _Camotes_ (sweet potatoes), whence the name of this portion
of the strait is derived. The inundation took place in the time of the
Spaniards, but before 1746, either in the great earthquake of 1687, or
in that of 1630.

Northward of the Bay of Callao, near the plantation of Boca Negra, there
is a shallow, where, according to records, there existed a sugar
plantation about fifty years ago. Turning to the south of Callao, in the
direction of Lurin, we find, at the distance of about two English miles
from the coast, two islands or rocks, of which one is called Pachacamac,
and the other Santa Domingo. At the time of the Spanish invasion these
rocks were connected with the main-land, and formed a promontory. On one
of them stood a temple or castle. At what period they were detached from
the coast I have not been able to ascertain authentically; but there
appears reason to suppose that the separation took place during the
violent earthquake of 1586. Attentive investigations to the north of
Callao--at Chancay, Huacho, Baranca, &c., would probably bring to light
further evidence on this subject.

Between the facts stated by Mr. Darwin and those here adduced, there
is considerable discrepancy. On the one hand they denote a rising, and
on the other a sinking. But it may be asked, might not both these
phenomena have occurred at different times?[3] Mr. Darwin's opinion
respecting the still-continued rising of the coast does not appear to
me to rest on satisfactory evidence. The relics of human industry
which he found embedded among shells, at the height of eighty-five
feet above the sea, only prove that the elevation has taken place
after the land was inhabited by the human race, but do not mark the
period at which that elevation occurred. Pieces of cotton thread and
plaited rush are no proofs of a very refined degree of civilisation,
such as the Spaniards brought with them to Peru, and cannot therefore
be taken as evidence that the elevation took place at any period
subsequent to the conquest. Garcilaso de la Vega traces the dynasty of
the Incas down to the year 1021, a period when the inhabitants of the
coast of Peru were tolerably well advanced in civilisation. Fernando
Montesinos furnishes facts connected with the history of Peru, of
several thousand years' earlier date; and, judging from the number of
dynasties, the nature of the laws, &c., it may be inferred that
civilisation existed at a period of even more remote antiquity. It
cannot therefore be determined with any accuracy at what time the
deposit at San Lorenzo, now eighty-five feet high, was level with the
sea, or whether the rise suddenly followed one of those frightful
catastrophes which have so often visited the western coast of South
America. Then, again, the different degrees of decay presented by the
beds of shells seem to indicate that the rising has been gradual; and
it may have been going on for thousands of years. Had the coast risen
eighty-five feet since the Spanish conquest--that is to say, within
the space of three hundred and sixty-two years--the Camotal would long
since have again risen above the surface of the sea; for it is very
improbable that it sank to a depth exceeding ninety or ninety-five
feet. It is evident that risings and sinkings have occurred at various
times, and that causes contingent on earthquakes have produced the
variations in the rising and falling of the coast.

It is probable that the accurate sounding of the depth of water in the
Camotal, at stated intervals, would furnish the best means of
ascertaining the rising and sinking of the coast. A variety of
circumstances combine to favor the practicability of calculation by this
method. For example, no river flows into that part of the bay in which
the Camotal is situated. The Rimac, whose mouth lies further to the
north, is not sufficiently large to carry any considerable deposit into
the bed of the bay: moreover, there is but little tide, and the bay is
always calm, being sheltered on the south by the island of San Lorenzo,
and north breezes are rare and never violent.

I may here mention a singular phenomenon which has in latter times often
occurred at Callao, and which, in 1841, I had myself the opportunity of
observing. About two in the morning the sea flowed from the shore with
greater force than in the strongest ebb; the ships farthest out were
left dry, which is never the case in an ebb tide. The alarm of the
inhabitants was great when the sea rushed instantly back with increased
force. Nothing could withstand its fury. Meanwhile there was no
commotion of the earth, nor any marked change of temperature.

In the earthquake of 1746 Callao was completely overwhelmed by the
sea. Several travellers have related that on calm days with a clear
sky the old town may be seen beneath the waves. I have also heard the
same story from inhabitants of Callao. It is doubtless a mere fable.
Under the most favorable circumstances I have often examined the
spot--the Mar brava, as it is called--without being able to discover a
trace of the ruins of old Callao.

The existing town of Callao is small, and by no means pleasant. In
winter it is damp and dirty, and in summer so dusty that in passing
through the streets one is almost choked. Most of the houses are very
slightly built, and they are usually only one story high. The walls are
constructed of reeds, plastered over with loam or red clay. All the
roofs are flat, being made of straw mats laid on a frame-work of reeds,
which is also plastered with loam on the under side. The windows are in
the roof, and consist of wooden trap-doors, which look very much like
bird-cages. They have no glass panes, but gratings made of wooden spars.
On the inside there is a window-shutter, and a string hangs down into
the apartment, by means of which the shutter can be opened or closed.

The most interesting object seen in Callao is the splendid fortress.
Though built on a flat surface close to the sea, it has a magnificent
appearance. It consists of two castles, the largest of which the
Spaniards named Real Filippe, but since the Revolution it is called
Castillo de la Independencia. It has two round towers, wide, but not
very high. The court-yards are spacious. The walls are thick, rather
low, and surrounded by a ditch, which can be filled with water from the
sea. To the south of this castle there is a smaller one, called El
Castillo del Sol. Before the War of Independence they mounted both
together four hundred pieces of cannon, many of which were of very large
calibre. At present they have only sixty pieces of cannon and
seventy-one carronades.

On the fortress of Callao the Spanish flag waved long after independence
was declared in all the countries of Spanish South America. The Spanish
general, Rodil, threw himself into the castle, and with wonderful
resolution held out against a siege of a year and a half. During the
last three months the Spaniards suffered all the privations and
miseries which a besieged army must endure within the tropics.

Lord Cochrane blockaded the fortress by sea, and General Bartolome Salom
drew up his army on the land side. More than 4,000 Spaniards fled to the
castle with all their valuable property, and took refuge under Rodil's
protection. The greater part of the fugitives belonged to the principal
families of the country. When provisions began to fail, the commandant
found it necessary to expel 400 women, and one morning they issued forth
in a long line of procession. The besiegers supposed that the enemy was
making a sortie, and directed the fire of their artillery against the
helpless beings, who, uttering loud shrieks, attempted to save
themselves by flight. As soon as the mistake was discovered the firing
stopped, and the women were conveyed to Lima. Insurrections were several
times attempted by the garrison of Callao; but the presence of mind and
cool resolution of Rodil in every instance enabled him to suppress these
mutinies. The guilty were punished with so much severity that the
soldiers soon gave up all further attempts. Horses, asses, dogs and
cats, became at length the food of the besieged. Rodil at this time
carried on a traffic which does no honor to his character. He had a
quantity of provisions stored, which he now sold at immense prices. For
a fowl he got from three to four gold ounces. He demanded proportional
prices for bread, &c. A contagious fever broke out, and, of more than
4000 persons who had taken refuge in the fortress, only about 200
survived the siege. Hunger and disease at last obliged Rodil to yield.
On the 19th of February, 1826, he obtained an honorable capitulation,
and embarked with his acquired wealth for Spain, where he was invested
with the rank of commander-in-chief of the infantry guards.

Since the independence of Peru this fortress has often been the seat of
partial revolutions. Its death-doom has been pronounced by different
governments, and it will be a fortunate event for the country when it
ceases to exist as a place of warlike defence. It has lately been found
useful for other purposes, and a great portion of its vast space has
been converted into custom-house warehouses.

The siege of Callao by the Chilians, of which we were eye-witnesses, was
by no means such a serious affair as that undertaken by the patriots.
The squadron was weak, and the land army inconsiderable. Callao was only
cannonaded during the night by some Chilian gun-boats commanded by
Englishmen. The artillery of the castle was inefficient, but the Chilian
bombs did considerable damage. One Sunday afternoon the little Chilian
brig, "Colocolo," sailed in close under the walls of the fortress, and
threw in some shot. The fire was immediately returned by all the guns
that could be directed to the sea-side; but in vain did the Peruvians
expend their shot. Every ball went over the "Colocolo," and fell among
the neutral ships. The commander of the French squadron then sent a boat
to the fortress, with a declaration that he would attack it in good
earnest if the fire was not discontinued. The message had due effect.

A few days after the affair with the "Colocolo," the Peruvians had an
opportunity of avenging the provocations they had received. The Chilian
admiral sent an officer, with seven sailors, to our ship to purchase
shoes. The garrison having observed the Chilian boat, sent out a shallop
with twenty-five men, which came close alongside of us. In spite of our
opposition the Chilian officer leaped into his boat and stood off. He
was, however, too late; for, just as he was leaving the ship's side, the
hostile shallop passed under our bowsprit, and fired a volley into the
Chilian boat. Five sailors fell into the sea, either killed or wounded.
Of three men picked up, one was the officer, who had received two wounds
from musket balls. We saved one of the wounded sailors by throwing him a
rope, by which we pulled him up, covering him with the French flag.

The Peruvians had no longer a fleet strong enough to keep at sea; but
soon after their government purchased the "Edmond," and some other
merchantmen, and fitted them up as privateers. The command was given to
M. Blanchet, who had been first pilot of the "Edmond" during our voyage
from Europe. After he had taken the "Arequipena," an old Chilian ship of
war, and burnt several transports, he attacked three Chilian corvettes
in the harbor of Casma. They had already struck their flags, when
Blanchet was shot while boarding one of them. His loss damped the
courage of the Corsairs, and the contest was soon given up. The shock of
Blanchet's death had such an effect on the crew of the "Edmond," that
they all went down between decks in great grief, except the cook, who
fired a gun he had charged to the brim, and killed some men who were on
a bowsprit of one of the hostile vessels. He then sprang to the helm,
and steered the ship safely into one of the inlets of the bay.

The lover of natural history finds in the bay of Callao numerous
opportunities for gratifying his curiosity. The mammalia are not very
numerous. Sea otters and sea dogs are found there, as on all parts of
the South American coast. Two species (the _Otaria aurita_, Humb., and
the _O. Ulloae_, Tsch.) inhabit the southern declivity of the Fronton.
I went to hunt seals on the rock with the officers of a French ship of
war. When we landed, which was difficult on account of the breakers,
we fired at the animals and killed a number of them. A sailor waded
through the breakers and bound the dead seals with a rope, by which he
drew them on board. As we shot a great number of birds, the Chilian
admiral, on hearing the firing, thought that one of his ships must be
engaged with the Peruvian Corsairs; and, therefore, sent out the "San
Lorenzo" brig of war to see what was going on.

The bay abounds in fine water-fowl. Amongst the most remarkable is
Humboldt's penguin (_Spheniscus Humboldti_, Mey.). A few are smaller
than the common grey penguin, and one is somewhat different in color on
the back and breast. The Peruvians call it _Paxaro nino_ (the child
bird). It is easily tamed, becomes very social, and follows its master
like a dog. It is amusing to see it waddling along with its plump body
and short legs, and keeping itself in equilibrium by moving its floating
wings. I had one completely tame, which I bought from an Indian. It was
named _Pepe_, and it answered readily to the name. When I was at my
meals he regularly placed himself beside my chair, and at night he slept
under my bed. When he wished to bathe he went into the kitchen and beat
with his bill on an earthen pan until somebody threw water over him, or
brought him a vessel full of water for a bath.

I brought away a few of the marine birds which appeared the most
remarkable. Among them was the banded cormorant (_Carbo Gaimardi_,
Less.). On the back it is grey, marbled by white spots; the belly is
fine ash-grey, and on each side of the throat there runs a broad white
stripe or band. The bill is yellow and the feet are red. The iris is
peculiar; I never saw its like in any other bird. It changes throughout
the whole circle in regular square spots, white and sea-green. Thousands
of the spotted gannet (_Sula variegata_, Tsch.) inhabit the rocks of the
island of San Lorenzo. This bird is the greatest producer of guano. The
inca tern (_Sterna luca_, Less.) is without doubt the finest of the
whole tern family. The color of the head is brown-grey; getting darker
towards the tail, and brighter on the lower body. From the root of the
bill on either side there shoot out some white feathers slightly
curving, so that they give the appearance of white moustachios. Among
the land birds are some very fine colibri (_Trochilus Amazilia_, and
_Tr. Cora_, Less.). The horse-protector (_Crotophaga sulcata_, Swains.)
is a singular animal. It is about the size of a starling, with a short,
compressed and curved bill, having several deep furrows along its sides.
The tail is long and fan-shaped. The whole body is of a deep blue color,
with a slight metallic brightness. The bird is very social with cattle
of all kinds, and more particularly with horses. It is fond of perching
on the back of a horse or an ass, and searching for insects which it
finds there in abundance. These animals are very sensible of the service
thus rendered to them, and by the manner in which they move about when
the bird is perched on their heads or necks, show how much they are
gratified by its presence.

Foreigners, when they visit the coast of Peru for the first time, are
much surprised at the immense number of birds of the vulture species
which they meet with about the roads and on the roofs of the houses. In
Callao and in all other ports the Turkey vulture (_Cathartes aura_,
Illig.) is frequently seen. It is called by the Spaniards _Gallinazo a
cabeza colorada_ (red-headed vulture). Further in the interior of the
country it is frequently seen, though there it is less common than the
black gallinazo (_Cathartes foetens_, Illig.). The color of the former
is dark brownish-black; the unplumed head and throat are red; the
throat is full of wrinkles and warts. The latter is very like it in size
and color, only the head and neck are greyish black. These birds are the
size of a turkey-cock; but they are lanker and more angular in form. The
black-headed gallinazo is inactive, heavy, and seldom flies far. When
seeking food he hops about on the ground in short, regular springs. When
he wishes to move faster forwards he helps himself with his wings, but
without flying. Its cry is seldom heard and never long continued. At
noon, sometimes from sixty to eighty of these birds perch themselves on
the tops of the houses or on the adjoining walls, and with the heads
under the wing they all go to roost. They are extremely voracious, and
devour every sort of animal substance they can find, however filthy it
may be. They are not in the least degree shy, for they hop about among
men and cattle in the most populous places. The Turkey vulture is far
more lively, and its movements are more light. It flies faster, and
continues longer on the wing than the black-headed gallinazo. It is,
however, more timid. It nestles in sandy rocks and uninhabited islands.
The female lays three or four whitish eggs, which are hatched in
February and March. The common gallinazo usually builds its nest on the
tops of houses, churches, ruins, and high walls. The female lays three
or four eggs, which are whitish brown and speckled, and are hatched in
the same months as the eggs of the Turkey vulture.

Among the amphibia in Callao, the iguana and land agama are numerous.
Snakes abound in the low bushes at the mouth of the Rimac, and some
kinds, which are venomous, live on the arid sand-banks. All the sea
tortoises have been driven out of the bay, and now inhabit the detached
creeks of the uninhabited parts of the coast.

The kinds of fish are numerous.--Sharks, rays, ballancers, corvinas,
bonitos, &c., are caught in abundance. Most of the corvinas and bonitos
are carried to market. The flesh of the latter is firm, dry, and less
savory than the corvina. The _Pexe-rey_ (king-fish) is superior in
flavor to the _Pexe-sapo_ (toad-fish), which is a little larger, and has
a thick, fleshy head. These fish are taken on rocks and under water,
where they are struck by a kind of harpoon hooks and drawn out.

When, on board the "Edmond," I first saw the towers of Lima gilded by
the beams of the setting sun, and the chains of hills behind, rising by
gradations, until in the farthest background they blended with the
cloud-capped Cordilleras, I felt an inexpressible desire to advance
towards those regions, that I might breathe the air of the Andes, and
there behold nature under her wildest aspect. But these wishes were
vain, and I was compelled to turn again to the desolate ocean; for it
was understood that our further voyage must be towards the north, and
from there that we should proceed to the coast of Asia. I did not then
foresee that my longing might be fulfilled, and that so much of
enjoyment, together with so much toil and danger, awaited me in the
mountainous regions of Peru.

Notwithstanding the insecurity of the road to Lima I resolved to proceed
thither. Carriages and horses were not to be procured in Callao, for the
latter were all either seized for the service of the government or
concealed. I could therefore travel only on foot. Don Manuel de la
Guarda, the commander of the fortress, observed, whilst giving me a
passport, that he would advise me to use speed, and to get as soon as
possible out of the range of the guns, for he expected every moment to
be obliged to order the firing to commence. I did not neglect to follow
his advice. However I had not got more than a hundred paces from the
castle when the artillery began to play, and balls fell around on every
side. I quickened my pace, and soon got near some fences, where men were
firing with muskets. There I was seized by some Chilian cuirassiers, who
sent me forward from post to post, until at last in one of the posts I
met with an officer with whom I had been acquainted in Chile. When I was
dining one day on board the corvette Confederacion in the bay of
Valparaiso, the young officer whom I have just alluded to sat next me.
The conversation happening to turn on phrenology, he insisted on my
examining his head, and pronouncing a phrenological diagnosis on it.
Though I assured him that I attached no value on this alleged science,
he continued to urge me to make the examination. After feeling his head
I observed to him, with great gravity: "Here is the organ of
mathematics pretty well developed, and it is probable that you may
distinguish yourself in that branch of knowledge." The fact was, I had
observed from his uniform that he belonged to the artillery, and since I
was obliged to say something, I thought it would be best to make my
remarks refer to his profession. Don Antonio had not forgotten it, for
as soon as he saw me at the outpost, he ran up to me quite overjoyed,
and told me that I had judged rightly of his talent, for the guns which
he commanded always sent their balls direct into the fortress, and did
more execution than any other. By following my advice and cultivating
his mathematical organ, he assured me, he was enabled to direct a gun
better than any other officer, and his aim could always be relied on. He
immediately procured me a pass, by which I was conducted all the
remainder of my journey.

The distance from Callao to Lima is two Spanish leagues. The road is
covered with deep sand, and on either side are uncultivated fields and
low brushwood. After leaving Callao I came to Bella Vista, then to the
ruins of an old Indian village, and farther on inland reached some
plantations. Halfway between Callao and Lima is the convent of _la
Virgen del Carmen_, and also a chapel. The convent is now abandoned,
but in front of the chapel there constantly stands a monk, who begs
for alms. Close to the convent there is a Tambo,[4] in which brandy,
lemonade, and bananas are sold. This place, which is called La Legna,
is a Spanish league from both towns. The hired horses are so used
to put up at this place, that it is only with great trouble they
can be got to pass it.

Though much wearied by my journey on foot, I tried in vain to obtain
some refreshment here. Unluckily the Tambero, a Zambo, had decamped,
as his house had often been plundered.

In the most oppressive heat I wandered over the shadeless plain, and
at last reached the fine road called the _Alameda del Callao_, which
extends from the Callao Gate of Lima to nearly half a league beyond
the city. Don Ambrosio O'Higgins, an Irishman by birth, first a small
shopkeeper in Lima, then a soldier in Chile, and finally viceroy of
Peru, with the title of _Marques de Osorno_, built the fine Callao
Gate and laid out the Alameda. On the 6th of January, 1800, it was
solemnly opened. The whole undertaking cost 340,964 dollars.
Resting-places are made in the Alameda at regular distances; and there
are on each side charming gardens, with luxuriant fruit-trees. Happy
in having reached the end of my wearisome journey, I quickly passed
through the Callao Gate, and entered the City of the Kings.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 2: Natural History and Geology of the countries visited by the
Beagle.]

[Footnote 3: Mr. Darwin, in the work just quoted, says in reference to
this subject, "Since our voyage, Dr. Tschudi has come to the conclusion,
by the comparison of old and modern maps, that the earth both north and
south of Lima has certainly subsided."--T.]

[Footnote 4: _Tambo_ is an Indian word, signifying an _Inn_. _Tambero_
means _Inn-keeper_.]

CHAPTER IV.

Lima--Situation and extent of the City--Streets, Houses, Churches and
Convents--San Pedro--The Jesuits--Nunneries--Beatarios--Hospitals--San
Andres--The Foundling House--The Pantheon--The Palace--The Plaza
Mayor--Pizarro--The Cabildo--Fountains--Palace of the Inquisition--The
University--National Library--Museum of Natural History and
Antiquities--Academy of Design--The Mint--The Theatre--Circus for
Cock-fighting--The Bridge--The City Wall--Santa Catalina--Barracks.

Lima is built on both banks of the river Rimac, which divides the town
into two unequal parts.[5] The larger part (the town, properly so
called) is situated on the southern bank of the river; the smaller part,
consisting of the suburb San Lazaro, or the fifth section, is on the
northern bank. The greatest extent of Lima is from east to west; from
the Gate of Maravillas to the Monserrate. Between those two points the
distance is 4471 varas,[6] or two-thirds of a Legua, or Spanish league;
and the greatest breadth of the city, that is to say, from the Bridge
(the suburb of San Lazaro not included) to the Gate of Guadalupe, is
2515 varas, or two-fifths of a Legua. The utmost circumference of Lima
is about ten English miles. The plain on which the city is built, takes
rather a decided slope from east to west.

The streets of Lima intersect each other in right lines, and
consequently groups of houses form quadrangles: these are called
_manzanas_. Each side of one of these manzanas measures on the average
from 140 to 145 varas; and it may therefore be computed that,
collectively, they occupy a superficies of from 148,000 to 160,000.
There are in all 211 manzanas, of which those situated on the Periphery
are the smallest and most irregularly constructed. Lima is divided into
five sections, which are again subdivided into ten districts and
forty-six _Barrios_. It contains about 3380 houses, 56 churches and
convents (the latter occupying at least one-fourth of the superficies of
the city), 34 squares or open areas in front of the churches, and 419
streets. On the average the streets are about 34 feet wide and 386 feet
long. Most of them are very badly paved, but they have lateral
footpaths. According to the original plan for building Lima, it was
intended that all the streets should run in one direction, viz., from
southeast to northwest, so that the walls of the houses might afford
shade both morning and afternoon. Between the Plaza Mayor and Santa
Clara this plan has been pretty uniformly carried out; but in other
parts it has been less rigidly observed. At noon there can be no shade,
as the city is situated in 12 deg. of south latitude.

The impression produced at first sight of Lima is by no means favorable,
for the Periphery, the quarter which a stranger first enters, contains
none but old, dilapidated, and dirty houses; but on approaching the
vicinity of the principal square, the place improves so greatly that the
miserable appearance it presents at first sight is easily forgotten.

Most of the houses in Lima are only one story high, and some have only
the ground-floor. The larger class of houses correspond one with another
in the style of building. In front they have two doors: one is called
the _Azaguan_, and is the principal entrance to the house; and next to
it is the door of the _Cochera_ (coach-house). Either above the cochera
door, or on one side of the house door, there is frequently a little
chamber, having a window closed by a wooden railing. At this little
railed window the ladies are accustomed to sit and watch the
passers-by--nor are they very much displeased when some of the latter
occasionally make free to _reguardar la reja_ (to look at the railing).
The azaguan opens into a spacious court-yard called the _Patio_, on
either side of which there are little rooms. Directly facing the
azaguan, is the dwelling-house, round which there usually runs a
balcony. Two large folding-doors lead into the Hall (_Sala_), in which
the furniture consists of a sofa, a hammock, and a row of chairs: the
floor is covered with straw matting. From the sala a glazed door opens
into a smaller apartment, called the _Cuadro_, which is elegantly, often
splendidly furnished, and the floor is carpeted. This is the room into
which visitors are shown. Adjoining the cuadro are the sleeping-rooms,
the dining-room, the nursery, &c. These apartments communicate with a
second court-yard, called the _Traspatio_, the walls of which are often
adorned with fresco paintings. This _Traspatio_, a portion of which is
usually laid out as a little garden, communicates with the kitchen and
the stable (_corral_). A small avenue, called the _callejon_, forms a
communication from the first to the second Patio, and is used as a
passage for the horses. When there is no _callejon_, as is often the
case in the poorer class of houses, the horses are led through the sala
and the cuadro. In the upper story the arrangement of the rooms differs
from that of the ground-floor. Above the azaguan is the cuadro, opening
into a balcony, which is attached to most of the houses in Lima. The
sala in the upper story forms an ante-room to the cuadro; and the rest
of the apartments are built above the ranges of ground-floor rooms on
either side of the patio. Above the sala and cuadro of the ground-floor,
there are no upper rooms. The roofs of those two apartments form a kind
of large terrace called the _Azotea_, which is paved with freestone, and
surrounded by a railing. This _azotea_ serves as a play-ground for the
children of the family; it is ornamented with flower-pots, and covered
with an awning to shade it from the sun. The upper story has a flat
roof, composed of bamboos and mats, overspread with mortar or light
tiles. In the houses of Lima, as in those of Callao, the windows of some
of the rooms are made in the roofs. The other windows, of which there
are but few, are on each side of the house door; they are tastefully
ornamented, and often have richly gilt lattices.

The style of house-building here described must of course be taken
merely as a general example; that there are numerous deviations from it
may naturally be supposed. In the large houses the walls are of brick,
faced with ornamental tiles (_adobes_). In the smaller houses, the walls
consist of double rows of bamboos, covered with plaster, and afterwards
painted white or yellow. The fronts of the houses are usually quite
plain, but here and there may be seen a house with a finely ornamented
facade. The house of Torre Tagle, near San Pedro, and some others, are
remarkable for the beauty of their ornaments, which attract the notice
of all strangers visiting Lima.

Owing to the heat of the climate, the doors and windows are almost
always kept open, so that the houses have not the privacy and comfort
of European dwellings.

Of the numerous churches and convents in Lima, some are deserving of
particular mention. The cathedral occupies the whole eastern side of
the Plaza Mayor. The foundation stone of this edifice was laid on the
18th of January, 1534, by Don Francisco Pizarro, who named it the
Church of _Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion_. Ninety years elapsed
before the building was completed, and on the 19th of October, 1625,
it was consecrated by the Archbishop, Don Gonzalo de Ocampo. Such was
the pomp observed at this ceremony, that, though mass commenced at
six in the morning, it was five o'clock in the afternoon before the
host was raised.

The interior of the cathedral is exceedingly beautiful. The grand altar
is ornamented with seven Ionic columns of silver, twelve feet high, and
one and a half thick, and is surmounted by a massive silver gilt crown.
The tabernacle is seven feet and a half high, and composed of
exquisitely wrought gold, set with a profusion of diamonds and emeralds.
On each side of the altar there are massive silver candelabra, each
weighing four and a half arobas (712-1/2 pounds). On high festival days,
the gorgeous splendor of the cathedral of Lima probably exceeds that of
the principal churches in Rome. The robes and ornaments worn by the
priests correspond with the magnificence of the altar; they are
embroidered in gold, and set with precious stones. The cathedral service
is performed by the canons (Canonigos).

Among the Churches of Lima, San Lazaro is distinguished for its tasteful
exterior, and the chaste simplicity of its internal decoration. The
bodies of persons unknown, found dead in the streets, are conveyed to
the door of the church of San Lazaro, and there exposed for the space of
twenty-four hours.

The convent of San Francisco, the largest of the monastic
establishments in Lima, is an immense building, situated in the
vicinity of the Plaza Mayor. In this convent mass is read daily every
half-hour, from five in the morning till noon. A small chapel within
the convent is called the _Capilla de los Milagros_, and a
superstitious tradition records that during the great earthquake of
1630, the image of the Madonna, which surmounts the chapel door,
turned towards the grand altar, and with folded hands invoked the
divine grace in favor of the city. By this intercession it is
believed that Lima was saved from total destruction. The monk who
conducted me over the convent, and who related to me this miracle,
observed with much simplicity that it was singular that the Madonna
did not repeat her gracious intercession in the year 1746.

The carved work which adorns the ceilings in the corridors is admirably
executed, though not very beautiful in design. The cells of the monks
are very simple, but perfectly comfortable for habitation. The spacious
and well-arranged gardens within the area of the convent form a pleasing
contrast to the gloomy appearance of the external walls.

To the Franciscan monks also belongs the convent of _Los Descalzos_,
situated in the suburb of San Lazaro. A broad avenue planted with six
rows of trees leads to Los Descalzos. It is a neat but not large
edifice, and stands at the foot of a sterile hill. The extensive
garden which surrounds it, and which is in a very neglected
condition, contains three palm-trees, the only ones to be seen in the
near vicinity of Lima. The situation of the convent is not healthy,
and in consequence the monks frequently suffer from intermittent
fever. These monks go barefooted, and live entirely on alms. Every
morning two lay brethren ride on asses to the city, where they visit
the market-place, and obtain from the different saleswomen charitable
donations of fish, vegetables, or meat.

Another convent is the _Recoleta de San Diego_. During Lent, and
especially in Passion Week, many men retire to this place to prepare
themselves by mortification and prayer for confession and
participation in the Holy Sacrament.

The convent of Santo Domingo is very rich. It enjoys a yearly revenue of
from seventy to seventy-five thousand dollars, for the most part
accruing from the ground-rents of houses in the city. The steeple of
Santo Domingo is the loftiest in all Lima. It is 188 feet high, and is
visible at the distance of three leagues. It is built of wood, and
inclines so considerably in its upper part, that there is little
probability of its surviving another earthquake like that of 1746. The
interior of the church is splendid. The grand altar almost vies with
that of the cathedral.

San Pedro must, doubtless, at a former period, have been the principal
convent in Lima. It belonged to the Jesuits, and was their _Colegio
maximo_. This establishment possessed enormous revenues, for all the
finest plantations and best houses in Lima were the property of the
order. In 1773, the king of Spain, instigated by the celebrated Bull of
the 21st of June of that year (Dominus ac redemptor noster), dispatched
an order to the viceroys of the provinces of South America, directing
them to arrest the Jesuits all in one night, to ship them off to Spain,
and to confiscate their wealth. Of course the utmost secresy was
observed, and it is a well-authenticated fact, that in Peru, with the
exception of the viceroy, and those of his agents whose assistance was
indispensable, no one knew anything of the affair. But the same ship
which conveyed the king's commands to the viceroy, had on board the
necessary instructions to the vicar-general in Lima, from the superior
of the Jesuits in Madrid, who was fully acquainted with the king's
design. The preparatory arrangements were made under the seal of perfect
secresy, and at ten o'clock at night the viceroy assembled his council,
and communicated to them the royal commands. It was determined that no
one should be permitted to leave the council-chamber until the blow was
struck. At midnight some confidential officers, with the requisite
assistance, were despatched to arrest the Jesuits, an accurate list of
whose names lay on the table before the viceroy. The patrols knocked at
the gate of San Pedro, which was immediately opened. The commanding
officer desired to see the vicar-general, and the porter ushered him
into the great hall of the convent, where all the members of the order
were assembled, evidently expecting his visit. The holy brethren were
prepared for immediate departure, each being provided with a bag or
trunk containing such articles as were requisite on a sea voyage.
Similar preparations had been made in all the other convents belonging
to the Jesuits. The surprise and disappointment of the viceroy on
receiving this information may be easier conceived than described.
Without delay he ordered the whole brotherhood to be conducted under a
strong escort to Callao, where they embarked. In the course of a few
days inventories were made of the effects in the convents. At San Pedro
it was expected that vast treasures in specie would be found; but how
great was the dismay, when, instead of the millions which it was well
known the order possessed, only a few thousand dollars could be
collected. All the keys, even that of the treasury, were politely laid
out in the chamber of the superior. This was a cruel mockery! The
Jesuits could not have taken a more ample revenge on the treachery that
had been practised on them.

It was suspected that the treasures were concealed partly in the convent
of San Pedro, and partly in the plantations. According to the evidence
of an old negro, at that time in the service of the convent, he,
together with some of his comrades, was employed during several nights
in carrying heavy bags of money into the vaults of the convent. Their
eyes were bandaged, and they were conducted by two of the brethren, who
helped them to raise and set down the bags. The negro, moreover,
declared his conviction that there was a subterraneous spring near the
spot where the treasure was deposited. The searches hitherto made have
been very superficial, and it seems not impossible that by dint of more
active exertions this concealed wealth may yet be brought to light.

At present San Pedro is occupied by about a dozen lay priests. They
perform the spiritual service of the _Oratorio de San Felipe Neri_. They
live on the revenues derived from the rents of the few plantations which
have not been confiscated or sold. The chapel is prettily fitted up in
the interior, and the midnight mass at Christmas is performed there with
great solemnity. The external walls of both the chapel and the convent
are painted a reddish-brown color, which has a very sombre and ugly
effect.

The convents of _Nuestra Senora de la Marced_ and _San Agustin_ are
situated at the back of San Pedro. The former is spacious, but not
largely endowed; the latter is a poor-looking edifice, but it possesses
rich revenues. To San Agustin is attached the once eminent but now very
inferior college of San Ildefonso.

Besides the monastic establishments above named, Lima contains
several smaller convents for friars, and sixteen nunneries. Of the
latter the largest is the Monasterio de la Concepcion. It is very
rich, and has an annual revenue of upwards of 100,000 dollars; in
other respects it is remarkable for nothing except the not very pious
habits of its inmates. _Santa Clara_ and the _Encarnacion_ are also
large establishments, and well endowed. The nuns who observe the most
rigorous conventual rules are the _Capuchinas de Jesus Maria_, the
_Nazarenas_ and the _Trinitarias descalzas_. For extremely pious
women, who wish to lead a cloistered life without taking the veil,
there are three establishments called _Beaterios_, which may be
entered and quitted at pleasure:[7] these are the _Beaterio de
Patrocinio_, the _Beaterio de Santa Rosa de Viterbo_, and the
_Beaterio de Copacabana_. This last was originally established
exclusively for Indian females. The _Refugio de San Jose_ is a place
for the reception of married women who wish to withdraw from the ill
treatment of bad husbands. On the other hand husbands who are of
opinion that their wives may be improved by a little temporary
seclusion and quiet meditation, can, with the permission of the
archbishop, send them for a while to the _Refugio_. The _Recojidas_
is another institution of the same kind, but destined for females of
the poorer class.

Lima possesses a great many hospitals, but all are lamentably
defective in internal arrangement, and above all in judicious medical
attendance. The largest of the hospitals, San Andres, was founded in
the year 1552 by the Licentiate Francisco de Molina. Three years
afterwards, the Viceroy Don Andres Hurtado de Mendoza, first Marquis
de Canete, placed it under the direction of the Government. Down to
the year 1826 this hospital was exclusively destined for the
reception of sick Spaniards. San Andres contains five large and four
smaller wards, with 387 beds. One part of the establishment is set
apart for incurable patients. The annual outlay of the hospital
amounts to between 45,000 and 50,000 dollars. In the hospital of San
Andres insane patients are received, and their number is always
considerable. On the 30th of November (St. Andrew's Day) this
hospital is opened for the admittance of the public, and one of the
favorite amusements of the inhabitants of Lima is to go to San Andres
to see the lunatics. It is melancholy to observe these unfortunate
beings, thus made the objects of public exhibition, and irritated by
the idle throng who go to stare at them. The collection of alms from
the numerous visitors is, doubtless, the motive for keeping up this
custom, which, nevertheless, is exceedingly reprehensible.

The hospital _Santa Ana_ was founded in the year 1549, by Don Fray
Geronimo de Loyza, first Archbishop of Lima, and was destined for
Indians of both sexes. The benevolent founder, with the most earnest
self-devotion, attended the patients, and with true Christian charity
performed the humblest duties of a sick-nurse. He died in 1575 in the
hospital, to which he bequeathed a yearly revenue of 16,000 dollars.
The building contains five large wards, and 336 beds. Since the
declaration of independence no Indian has been received into it. This
hospital, alternately with those of San Andres and San Bartolome, was
used as a military lazaretto; but since 1841 it has been allotted
exclusively to female patients of all classes; for it was found
necessary to abandon the former female hospital of _La Caridad_, on
account of its damp situation.

_San Bartolome_ was an hospital founded in the year 1661, for negro
patients; but it has lately been closed. It contains eleven wards
and 217 beds.

Under the name of Santo Toribio an hospital for incurable patients was
established in the year 1669, by Don Domingo Cueto.

In 1702 it was consigned to the superintendence of an order of monks,
called the padres Belemitas, and in 1822 it was incorporated with the
hospital of San Lazaro. The latter establishment was founded by Anton
Sanchez, in the year 1563, and was exclusively destined for leprous
patients. Persons afflicted with cutaneous diseases, and especially
maladies of a contagious nature, are sent thither.

In the convent of San Pedro there is a small hospital for poor priests.
Attached to it is a dispensary, from whence the poor were supplied
gratuitously with medicines, at the time when the convent was in the
possession of the Jesuits.

Lima also possesses a Foundling Hospital. Luis Ojeda, who humbly took to
himself the title of _Luis el Pecador_ (Luis the Sinner), bequeathed all
his fortune to the foundation of this establishment, which received the
name of "Collegio de Santa Cruz de los ninos expositos."[8]

The refuge for female penitents was founded in the year 1670 by the
viceroy, Count de Lemos. The funds were derived from a legacy
bequeathed for that object by Don Francisco Arcain in 1572. The
establishment has but few inmates.

In former times it was the custom in Lima to bury the dead in graves
dug within the churches; but the heat of the climate, and the
difficulty of making the graves sufficiently deep, rendering this
practice exceedingly objectionable, the viceroy, Don Jose Fernando
Abascal, determined on making a burial place beyond the boundaries of
the city. A piece of ground was allotted for the purpose, and it was
consecrated on the 1st of January, 1808. It is called the _Cementerio
general_ or _Panteon_, and is situated eastward of the city on the
high road leading to the Sierra de Tarma. It consists of two gardens,
very prettily planted, and inclosed by high walls. Along the walls,
on the inner side, there are niches, about a thousand in number,
ranged in sixteen different classes, and they may be purchased by
those who wish to possess them. Many of them belong to families and
convents. The graves are watched and kept in order by criminals who
are condemned to this duty as a punishment. It is calculated that it
will be five years before this cemetery is filled. When room is
wanting, the niches which have been first occupied will be cleared,
and the bones deposited in a bone-house, of simple but appropriate
construction. At the entrance of the Panteon there is a neat little
chapel, where the funeral obsequies are performed. Burials are
permitted to take place only in the morning; and when a funeral
retinue arrives too late, the body remains uninterred until the
following morning. The rich are buried in coffins, the poor merely in
winding sheets, which are made after the pattern of the habits worn
by the barefooted friars of the order of San Francisco.

The grand square of Lima, the _Plaza Mayor_, though not in the centre
of the city, is nevertheless the central point of its life and
business. It is 426 feet distant from the Rimac, and presents a
regular quadrangle, each side of which is 510 feet long. From each of
the four corners two handsome straight streets run at right angles.
There is no pavement, but the ground is covered with fine sand. The
cathedral and the archbishop's palace occupy the eastern side of the
square. The latter adjoins the sanctuary, and has rather a fine
facade. The windows of the principal apartments open into a balcony,
commanding a view of the Plaza.

On the north side of the square stands the government palace,
formerly the residence of the all-powerful viceroys. Its exterior
aspect is mean. It is a square building, and the front next the Plaza
is disfigured by a long range of shabby little shops (called _La
rivera_), in which drugs are sold.[9] These shops are surmounted by a
balcony. A large double door opens from the Plaza into the great
court-yard of the palace. Along the western side of the building there
are also a number of little shops occupied by saddlers and dealers in
old iron. The street, running in this direction, is called the Old
Iron Street (Calle del Fierro Viego). The principal entrance to the
palace is on this side. On the south the building has no entrance, and
it presents the gloomy aspect of a jail. On the east a door opens into
a small yard or court, within which are the office and prison of the
police. A few long flag-staffs, fixed on the roof of the palace, do
not add to the beauty of the edifice. The interior of the building
corresponds with its outward appearance, being at once tasteless and
mean. The largest apartment formerly bore the name of the _Sala de los
Vireyes_. It is now used as a ball room when entertainments are given
by the government. Under the Spanish domination this room was hung
round with portraits of the viceroys, the size of life.[10] The series
of vice-regal portraits from Pizarro to Pezuela, forty-four in number,
completely filled the apartment at the time when the patriot army in
Lima revolted, and consequently the last viceroy, Don Jose de la
Serna, who owed his elevation to the military revolution, could not
have a place assigned for his portrait among those of his
predecessors.[11] The other apartments of the palace are small and
inelegant. Some of the rooms are used as government offices.

The present palace was, as far as I have been able to ascertain, built
about the beginning of the seventeenth century. In the great
earthquake of 1687 it was almost totally destroyed, but it was
subsequently restored. The palace which Don Francisco Pizarro built
for his own residence, stood, not on the site of the existing edifice,
but on the southern side of the Plaza, on the spot where now a narrow
dirty alley, called the _Callejon de petateros_, forms a communication
between the Plaza and the Silversmith's street (_Calle de Plateros_).
It was in that old palace that Juan de Herada, the friend and partisan
of Don Diego de Almagra, carried into effect his plot against
Pizarro. On the 26th of June, 1546, the viceroy was seated at table
with a party of his friends, when the insurgents surrounded the
palace, shouting "Death to the tyrants!" Pizarro, though warned of his
danger, had scarcely time to seize his sword. One of his principal
officers, Don Francisco de Chavez, was killed at the door of the
apartment, and several of the viceroy's friends and servants escaped
by the windows. Among others who attempted to save themselves in this
way was Pizarro's counsellor, Juan de Velasquez. Only on the previous
evening this man had been heard to declare that no one would be found
bold enough to join in an insurrection as long as he held in his hand
his staff of authority. This declaration was in a certain measure
verified, for Velasquez, whilst descending from the window, held his
staff between his teeth, that he might be the better able to support
himself with his hands. Martin Pizarro, together with two noblemen and
two pages, were the only persons who remained faithful to the viceroy.
The latter, with the bravery of a lion, made a long stand against his
assailants. "Courage, brother! Down with the traitors!" exclaimed
Martin Pizarro, who, the next moment, lay dead at the viceroy's feet.
At length Pizarro, exhausted by his efforts to defend himself, could
no longer wield his hitherto victorious sword: he was overpowered, and
one of his assailants having stabbed him in the throat, he fell,
mortally wounded. With his last faltering accents he implored the aid
of a confessor; and after losing the power of utterance he traced with
his finger, on the ground, the sign of the cross, kissed it
repeatedly, and breathed his last. Such was the sad end of one of the
greatest heroes of his age;[12] a man guilty of many crimes, but also
unjustly accused of many of which he was innocent. His acts were
consistent with the spirit of his age, and were influenced by the
frightful circumstances in which he was placed. In short, there can be
little doubt that Pizarro was "better than his fame."

The west side of the Plaza Mayor is occupied by the _Cabildo_, or
senate-house (formerly called the _Casa Consistorial_), together with
the city jail, and a row of houses of no very handsome appearance.
The south side is filled by a range of private dwelling-houses, with
balconies looking to the Plaza. The houses, both on the west and
south sides of the square, are built above a colonnade, in which
there are numerous shops.

In the middle of the Plaza is a magnificent bronze fountain with three
basins. From the middle basin rises a pillar, surmounted by a figure
of Fame spouting the water from her trumpet. In the other two basins
the water is ejected from the mouths of four lions. The pillar and
figures for this triple fountain were cast in the year 1650, by the
able artist Antonio Rivas, by order of the then reigning viceroy,
Count de Salvatierra. Besides this principal fountain, there are
several smaller ones, from which the public are permitted to supply
themselves with water.

The second large public square in Lima is the _Plaza de la
Inquisicion_, which, since the war of independence, has received the
name of the Square of Independence (_Plazuela de la Independencia_).
It is of trapezi-form, widening in the eastern part, and is certainly
no ornament to the town, for it is always in a very dirty condition.
Being the public market-place, it presents a very busy aspect during
the fore part of the day. Two buildings on this Plazuela attract
attention, viz.--the Palace of the Inquisition and the University.
There are now but few remaining traces of the internal arrangements of
the fearful tribunal; for, on the suppression of the Inquisition by
the Cortes, the enraged populace forced their way into the building,
where they gutted the rooms, and destroyed the furniture. Lima was the
seat of spiritual jurisdiction for the whole western coast of South
America; and the rigor of its despotism was not far short of that of
the Inquisition of Madrid. Every year vast numbers of persons
convicted or suspected of crimes were brought from all the intervening
points between Chiloe and Columbia to the Tribunal of the Inquisition,
and most of them were doomed to the most dreadful punishments. _Autos
da fe_ were frequently held in Lima, and cases of other kinds of
martyrdom were exceedingly numerous. The lists, which have been only
partially preserved, present melancholy results. One part of the
Palace of the Inquisition is now converted into a store-house for
provisions, and the other part is used as a prison.

The University of Lima was once the most important seat of education
in South America. It owes its origin to a decree of the emperor
Charles V., issued at the solicitation of the dominican monk Maestro
Fray Tomas de San Martin. The decree was dated the 12th of May, 1551,
but it did not reach Lima until two years after that time. A papal
bull of Pius V. confirmed the imperial decree, and conferred on the
institution the same privileges as those enjoyed by the Spanish
university of Salamanca. The Lima university was originally
established in the convent of Santo Domingo, but after the lapse of
three years it was removed to the building now occupied by San Marcel,
and in 1576 it was installed in the site it now occupies. It received
the name of _Real y Pontificia Universidad de San Marcos_. In the year
1572 the first lay rector was elected in the person of Gaspar
Menendez, a doctor of medicine.

The building is situated on the east side of the _Plaza de la
Independencia_, next to the hospital of _la Caridad_. The facade is not
handsome, but is remarkable for a style not belonging to the age in
which it was erected. The building is entered by a lofty door, opening
into a spacious quadrangular court, along the four sides of which there
are pillared corridors. On the walls of these corridors the different
branches of science are allegorically represented in fresco paintings,
and beneath these paintings are inscribed quotations from ancient
classic authors. The lecture rooms open into the corridors which run
round the court. Facing the entrance door, in the left angle of the
court, are great double doors opening into the Aula, which is spacious,
and has rather an imposing aspect. In the middle of the wall, on the
right-hand side, stands the rector's chair in a sort of niche,
surmounted by a canopy. On either side of this chair are ranged the
seats of the professors, and the members of faculties. Opposite to the
rector's seat, on the left-hand side of the Aula, is an elevated chair
occupied by the president, when academic prizes are distributed. Below
it is an arm-chair for the candidate. On each side of the president's
seat are several rows of benches, for the members of the university and
visitors. Over the entrance door there is a gallery to which the public
are admitted, and which, on the occasions when prizes are distributed,
is usually occupied by ladies. On the walls of the Aula are hung
portraits of celebrated learned men.

The National Library, situated near the convent of San Pedro, was
founded by a decree, dated the 28th of August, 1821. The books belonging
to the university of San Marcos formed the nucleus of the National
Library. To them were added the libraries of several of the monasteries,
some sequestrated works, and the collections of a few private
individuals. Of these latter, the most considerable was the collection
of General San Martin, and a library of 7772 volumes bequeathed,
together with a legacy of a thousand dollars, by Don Miguel de la Fuente
y Pacheco. In November, 1841, the National Library of Peru contained
26,344 printed volumes, 432 manuscripts, and a small collection of maps
and copperplate engravings. It is particularly rich in old works on
religious and historical subjects. The books relating to the Conquest,
and to the early period of the Spanish dominion, form in themselves a
complete historical series. Of modern works there are but few. The
pecuniary support of the establishment is very inconsiderable. The
government exacts from it the import duty, three per cent., on European
books, making an average annual sum of 400 dollars. In addition to this
the salaries of the librarians amount annually to 2794 dollars. The
library is open to the public every day (Friday and Sunday excepted)
from eight in the morning till one in the afternoon, and from four in
the afternoon till six in the evening.

In the left wing of the same building is the museum, containing a
collection of objects of natural history, antiquities, and other
curiosities. This collection was first formed in the year 1826, in some
of the spare rooms of the palace of the Inquisition, and was afterwards
removed from one place to another, until at length the government
allotted to the purpose the two fine apartments in the building above
mentioned. As yet the establishment is quite in its infancy. It contains
nothing of scientific value, and but for the series of historical
portraits already described, it would differ but little from the
collections of curiosities frequently formed by amateurs, in which all
sorts of heterogeneous objects are jumbled together. The museum of Lima
bids fair to remain for some time to come on the footing on which it was
when I saw it, for the establishment has no funds, save a monthly
allowance of thirty-two dollars, and out of that scanty pittance the
expense of fitting up the rooms, the glass cases, &c., has yet to be
defrayed. The museum is open to the public four days in the week.

Two other apartments in the same building are set aside for the Academy
of Design (_Academia de Debujo_). On three evenings every week pupils
are admitted to this academy to receive gratuitous instruction in
drawing. The number of the pupils amounts to between 80 and 100; but
there is convenient room for 200. The collection of models and drawing
copies for the use of the students is but indifferent.

The mint is situated in the vicinity of the Plazuela de la
Independencia. It was founded in Lima in the year 1565; in 1572
transferred to Potosi, and in 1683 removed back to Lima. For the space
of seventy years this establishment was in the hands of private
individuals; but in the year 1753 the Spanish government took the
management of it, and erected the building in which it is still
located. It is a large and handsome structure, but very defective in
its internal arrangement. Until the year 1817 the machinery for
casting was worked by mules, ninety-two of those animals being
employed daily. Subsequently, under the direction of an Englishman,
water-power was introduced, by which expense was diminished and time
saved. A few years ago a French merchant made an arrangement with the
government for the use of a complex machine, which he proposed to
bring from Europe. The machine arrived, but by an unlucky fatality it
proved perfectly useless. For the space of four years repeated
attempts were made to work it, but in vain; it fulfilled none of the
required conditions. Its faults are manifold, and it reflects but
little credit on the person by whom it was contrived. It has cost no
less than 250,000 dollars, and has never been of the least use.

In the mint of Lima there are annually cast from two to two and a half
millions of dollars, which yield a profit of from 140,000 to 180,000
dollars, out of which are paid the salaries of the persons employed.
Under the Spanish government these salaries amounted annually to
48,906 dollars; now they make, together with other customary outlays,
the sum of 85,105 dollars.

The value of a mark of silver in the mint is 8 dollars 4 reales; that of
a mark of gold is 144 dollars 4 reales. The standard worth of the gold
is 21 carats; that of the silver 20 grains.

Next to the arena for bull-fights, situated in the Plaza firme del Acho,
the theatre is the principal place of public amusement in Lima. The
first theatre, erected in the year 1602, was situated near the convent
of San Augustin, in the street which still bears the name of "Comedia
vieja." It was destroyed in the earthquake of 1630, and rebuilt on the
same site. In 1662 it was pulled down to make room for a new street, and
afterwards the present building was erected. Its external appearance is
very ugly and the interior is not much better. Before the orchestra
there are some commodious inclosed seats or stalls. The boxes, which are
completely separated one from another by partitions, are narrow but
deep: the smaller ones are capable of containing eight persons, and the
larger ones twelve. In the centre of the first tier of boxes, and
fronting the stage, is the government box, which occupies the space of
two of the others. It contains seats for the prefect, the sub-prefect,
and the members of the Cabildo. The president's box is likewise on the
first tier, and on the left of the stage. Adjoining it there is a small
cabinet, closed on the side next the pit by a wooden railing. Into this
cabinet the president retires between the acts of the performance. The
stage is small, and the scenery very indifferent.

The performances are for the most part wretched, both as regards the
merit of the pieces and the talent of the actors. Nothing can be in
worse taste than the little farces called saynetes, which, according to
Spanish custom, always close the performances, whether the principal
piece be a tragedy or a comedy. Common-place intrigues form the subjects
of these _saynetes_, and their dialogue consists of vulgar jokes. They
are altogether calculated to banish any gratifying impression which
might by possibility be produced by the principal piece.

For some years past a company of Italians, settled in Lima, have given
operatic performances on a small scale. One of them, Signora
Pantanelli, is an excellent singer, and would be heard with pleasure
even in Europe. Some other members of the company have middling talents,
but the rest are decidedly bad. The operas performed are Giulietta y
Romeo, Parisina, Lucia di Lammermuir, Marino Faliero, La Sonnambula, and
Il Barbiere di Seviglia: these, together with a mutilated Norma, and a
much curtailed Semiramide, form almost the whole repertory. Want of
stage room is an obstacle to the representation of operas demanding
grand scenery and machinery. The costumes are for the most part
exceedingly elegant, though seldom historically correct. The orchestra
is defective, and ought to be much improved, to give satisfaction to a
public passionately fond of music.

But if the inhabitants of Lima are great lovers of music, dancing has no
less powerful attractions for them. Though the time is gone, when the
dress of any opera-dancer may be expected to reach below the knee, yet
the drapery of a Limanese Terpsichore appears to have attained even an
ultra degree of curtailment. The representation of ballets, properly so
called, is not attempted; but the Bolero, the Fandango, the Cachucha,
and Don Mateo, are favorite and often repeated performances.

During the long intervals between the acts, smoking is permitted in the
pit and in the outer court of the theatre. There is also a plentiful
supply of very bad and very dear refreshments.

An intolerable annoyance experienced in visiting the theatre at Lima is
caused by the swarms of fleas which infest every part of the house, but
most especially the boxes. Unfortunately, this nuisance is irremediable,
and the visitor must be blessed with a large amount of endurance who can
patiently sit out a whole evening's entertainments.

Not far from the theatre is situated the circus for cock-fighting
(_Coliseo de gallos_), where fights (_peleas_) take place daily. The
Coliseo is a large amphitheatre, with an arena in the middle. The
game-cocks trained for this sport have the spur removed from the right
foot and in its stead is substituted a small sharp steel blade, curved
and shaped like a scythe. One or other of the animals is frequently
killed at the first spring; and when that is not the case they continue
fighting until they die of wounds and exhaustion. It is a cruel sport,
and a worthy pendant to bull-fighting. The first Coliseo was erected in
1762, by Don Juan Garrial. The present building, in the Plazuela de
Santa Catalina, is a very handsome structure, and Lima may fairly boast
of possessing the finest circus for cock-fighting in all the world.

In the same square with the _Coliseo de gallos_ is the tennis-court,
a spacious area, surrounded by high walls. It is not now so much
resorted to as formerly, for the Creoles are not so fond of tennis
as the Spaniards.

A beautiful stone bridge unites the town with the suburb of San
Lazaro. This bridge was built in the years 1638-1640, when the Marquis
de Montes Claros was viceroy of Peru. The plan was designed by Fray
Geronimo Villegas, an Augustine monk. It is 530 feet long, and has six
arches rising thirty-seven feet above the surface of the water. The
foundation of the piers is composed of square blocks of stone, the
piers themselves are of brick, and the parapet of cemented stone work.
The erection of this bridge cost 400,000 dollars. A sufficient proof
of its strength and solidity is the fact that it survived the
earthquakes of 1687 and 1746, which shattered all other parts of Lima.
In the earthquake of 1746 the first arch, on which stood an equestrian
statue of Philip V., was destroyed, but it is now restored. It has on
one side two towers, with a dial in the middle.

The city of Lima, with the exception of a portion of the north side,
and the suburb of San Lazaro, is surrounded by a wall built of brick.
This wall was constructed in the year 1585, when the Duque de la Plata
was viceroy. It is the work of a Fleming, named Pedro Ramon. This wall
is between eighteen and twenty feet high. Its breadth at the base is
from ten to twelve feet, and at the top nine feet. It does not
therefore afford sufficient space for mounting large guns. Along the
whole extent of the wall there are thirty-four bastions. In the year
1807, this wall, which had fallen into a very ruinous condition, was
repaired by order of the viceroy Abascal, and put into a condition to
be mounted with artillery. On each side commodious pathways were made,
and along the inner side powder magazines were constructed. At present
these fortifications are in a state of complete dilapidation. The
paths, which are obstructed by rubbish, are almost impassable, and
the powder magazines are destroyed. The city wall of Lima has nine
gates (_Portadas_). Of these, six only are now open, viz., the
Portadas of Maravillas, Barbones, Cocharcas, Guadelupe, Juan Simon,
and Callao; the three others, the Portadas of Martinete, Monserrat,
and Santa Catalina, are walled up. At every one of the open gates
there are stationed custom-house guards, whose chief duty consists in
preventing the smuggled introduction of unstamped silver (_plata de
pina_). In the direction of the suburb of San Lazaro, the city cannot
be closed, as the wall does not extend to that part. Between San
Lazaro, and the high road to Cero de Pasco, is the _Portada de Guias_;
this, however, is not properly a gate, but a small custom-house. In
this direction it is easy to gain entrance to the city from the river,
and consequently it is here that most of the contraband silver,
brought from the mountains, is smuggled.

Among the fortifications of Lima may be included the pretty little
castle of Santa Catalina, situated at the eastern end of the city,
between the Portada de Cocharcas and the Portada de Guadelupe, at the
distance of about two hundred yards from the city wall. It is
surrounded by rather high walls, and is flanked by two bastions. The
interior of this citadel is very well arranged, and is kept much
cleaner than such places usually are in Peru. It contains stores of
arms and barracks for the artillery. The largest barracks in Lima are
those of the infantry, _Quartel de Infanteria_, in the Colegio. They
are remarkable for want of cleanliness, and like most of the public
buildings in this interesting city, going fast to decay.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 5: The city of Lima was founded by Don Francisco Pizarro on
the 6th of January, 1534. As it was the day of the Epiphany, Lima
received the title of _Ciudad de los Reyes_ (City of the Kings).
Historical records vary respecting the day and the year of the
foundation of Lima; but I have reason to believe that the date I have
mentioned above is perfectly correct.]

[Footnote 6: The _Vara Castellana_ is equal to 33 inches English
measure.]

[Footnote 7: The females who retire to these establishments are called
_Beatas_ (Bigots). The term _Beaterio_ signifies a house for
Bigots.--T.]

[Footnote 8: According to some accounts this establishment was
instituted in 1654, by Mateo Pastor de Velasco, a native of
Portollano in Spain.]

[Footnote 9: In these shops any one may purchase for a trifle one of
the most deadly poisons (Strichnos Ignatia, L.). It is made up into
what are called _Pepitas de Cabalonga_. It is used in Lima for
poisoning dogs.]

[Footnote 10: This highly valuable and interesting collection of
portraits is now removed from the palace to the museum. It is curious
to mark the progressive changes of costume, and to observe the various
physiognomies, especially if we reflect on the history of the men whose
traits denote such striking differences of character. Almost all these
portraits are distinguished by an air of tranquil gravity which in some
is combined with true kingly dignity, and in others with an expression
of fierceness. The handsomest head of the whole series is decidedly
that of Francisco Pizarro. His features bear the stamp of manly energy,
and his whole countenance is characterized by courage and candor. The
nose has the prominent Arabic form, and the forehead is high and
expanded. The thick beard, covering the mouth and chin, gives a gloomy
and resolute character to the face. In this series of portraits there
is one representing a priest with the vice-regal insignia.]

[Footnote 11: By a singular coincidence, the title of Conde de los Andes
(Count of the Andes) was conferred on La Serna by King Ferdinand at
Madrid on the 9th of December, 1824, being the very day on which he
gained the battle of Ayacucho, the results of which gave the Spanish
dominion in South America its death-blow.]

[Footnote 12: The above particulars are collected from the _Historia
del descubrimiento y conquista de la Provincia del Peru_, by Augustin
de Zarate.]

[Illustration: CHILIAN INDIAN MOTHER.]

[Illustration: LADY OF LIMA.]

[Illustration: PERUVIAN MONK.]

[Illustration: PERUVIAN FARMER.]

CHAPTER V.

Population of Lima--Its diminution--Different races of the
Inhabitants--Their characteristics--Amusements--Education--The
women of Lima--Their Costume--The _Saya y Manto_--Female domestic
life--Love of dress--Beatas--Indians--Slaves--Bosales--Free
Creoles--Negroes--Negresses--Black Creoles--Their
varieties--Mestizos--Mulattoes--Palanganas--Zambos--Chinos--Foreigners
in Lima--Corruption of the Spanish language.

Proceeding from the shell to the kernel, we will now take a glance at
the inhabitants of the capital of Peru: first, surveying the native in
his fatherland, and next, the foreign settler in his adopted country.

The population of Lima has at various periods undergone remarkable
fluctuations. In the year 1764 the number of the inhabitants was stated
to be 54,000; in 1810, 87,000; in 1826, 70,000; in 1836, 54,600; and in
1842, 53,000. Of most of these estimates I entertain some degree of
distrust, as they are merely founded on general calculations, and are
not the results of careful numbering. Certain it is, however, that the
population of Lima has very considerably decreased since the declaration
of independence. This is sufficiently proved by the fact that several
parts of the city are now totally uninhabited: the houses falling to
decay, and the gardens lying waste.

The cause of this diminished population is easily explained by the
physical and political condition of the country. Earthquakes have, at
various times, buried thousands of people beneath the ruins of their own
dwellings; the war of independence was attended by vast sacrifices of
life; banishment and voluntary emigration have removed from Lima the
families of some of the principal citizens; and epidemic disease, the
natural consequence of defective police regulations, has swept away
countless multitudes of the inhabitants. The number of new settlers is
very inconsiderable; and for several past years the number of deaths
has nearly doubled that of the births. There appears no reason to doubt
that this decrease of population will continue; because, as will
presently be seen, the causes to which it is assignable cannot be
checked, inasmuch as they are intimately blended with the character of
the nation. Most of these causes operate not only in the capital, but
over the whole country; indeed, in the latter their influence is in some
instances much greater; for example, in the interior of Peru the loss of
life attendant on the war was relatively much greater than in Lima. This
favored country, which extends from the 3d to the 22d degree of south
latitude, and which contained at the time of its conquest by the
Spaniards an immense population, though its amount is not known with
numerical exactitude, now counts only 1,400,000 inhabitants.

In the tax registers, drawn up during the protectorate of Santa Cruz,
in 1836, the number of the inhabitants of Lima is represented as
follows:--

Male. Female. Total.

1. White Creoles (being the
descendants of foreigners,
but chiefly of Spaniards) 9,423 10,170 19,593

2. Indians 2,561 2,731 5,292

3. People of Color (mixed races) 11,771 12,355 24,126

4. Slaves 2,186 3,606 4,792

5. Ecclesiastics (Lay and Monastic) 475 350 825
------ ------ ------
In all 26,416 29,212 54,628

From the above it appears that in every class (No. 5 excepted) there is
a preponderance of females; and that on the whole population of 54,628
individuals there is a surplus of 2796 women. About one in every
sixty-six individuals belongs to the priesthood.

Possibly in no other place in the world is there so much variety of
complexion and physiognomy as in Lima. From the delicately fair creole
daughter of European parents, to the jet black Congo negro, people of
every gradation of color are seen living in intimate relation one with
another. The two extreme classes--the whites and blacks--are as
distinct in character as in color, and of either of those it is no
difficult task to give an accurate portraiture. But it is different
with the mixed races. To define their characteristics correctly would
be impossible, for their minds partake of the mixture of their blood.
As a general rule, it may fairly be said that they unite in themselves
all the faults, without any of the virtues, of their progenitors. As
men they are greatly inferior to the pure races, and as members of
society they are the worst class of citizens. Here, as well as in the
following delineations of the different races, I wish my observations
to be understood only in a general sense. I have met with some
honorable exceptions; though, unfortunately, they were mere solitary
luminaries, whose transient light has been speedily obscured by
the surrounding darkness.

The white Creoles, who, with very few exceptions, are the descendants of
Spaniards, constitute somewhat less than a third part of the population
of Lima. They are slender in figure and of middling height. Their
features are strongly marked, their complexions fair and pale, and their
hair is of the darkest black. The men are feeble and look prematurely
old. Their countenances, though not devoid of dignity, have a sort of
sensual expression. They are effeminate, and disinclined to any kind of
active exertion. If they ride the distance of ten miles, they think they
have performed a feat of heroism worthy to be recorded in the state
archives. If the white Creoles are inferior to the Spaniards in physical
organization, they are no less beneath them in qualities of mind. They
shrink from anything that demands intellectual exertion. In short, they
are sworn enemies to business of every kind, and those who are obliged
to work for their own support, make choice of some occupation which,
like that of a shopman, affords them ample time to smoke cigars and to
gossip with their neighbors. The richer classes give themselves up
wholly to idleness. They walk about and visit their acquaintances, or
they lounge in shops or at the corners of streets, and in that manner
they often amuse themselves for half a day. Those who are owners of
plantations occasionally ride through them to receive reports from their
mayordomos. Their afternoons are usually spent in the _Coliseo de
gallos_, in the coffee-houses, or at the gaming-table. The white Creoles
are as passionately fond of gaming as the Spaniards, and sums equal to
those staked at the gaming-tables of Mexico and the Havannah are daily
lost and won in Lima. Though games of hazard are prohibited, yet they
are very publicly played, and it is only now and then that the police
enforce the regulations of the law by the seizure of a bank.

Gaming in Lima is carried on very quietly, and the most determined
gamblers do not show themselves very much excited either by losses or
winnings. The discovery of false dice, however, creates bitter feelings
of animosity, which not unfrequently lead to assassination. Of this I
knew several instances when I was in the interior of the country.

The intellectual culture of the white Creole of Lima is exceedingly
defective. He is not wanting in talent; but an imperfect system of
education affords him no opportunity for the development of his
faculties, and innate indolence is a bar to his self-improvement by
study. He seldom rises above the level of every-day life, and is
ignorant of everything beyond the boundary of the city, or, at all
events, of the province in which he was born. I have often been amazed
at the monstrous ignorance of so-called educated Peruvians, respecting
the situation, the extent, the physical formation, and the productions
of their native country.

On the other hand, it must not be forgotten that Lima has been the
birthplace of several white Creoles, whose talents and learning have
honorably distinguished them from the rest of their countrymen. For
example, Don Tomas de Salazar, author of the "Interpretaciones de los
Leyes de Indias."[13] Don Miguel Nunez de Rojas, the learned Judge of
Confiscations in the Spanish war of succession, and Don Alonzo Conde de
San Donas, who in the reign of Philip IV. was Spanish Ambassador at the
Court of France. Among those eminent in literature may be named Don
Pedro de la Reyna Maldonado, and the poet Don Diego Martinez de Rivera,
of whom Cervantes in his "Galatea" says--

Su divina ingenio ha producido
En Arequipa eterna Primavera.[14]

Several monks distinguished for learning have been white Creoles,
and an eminent individual of that race was Don Hipolito Unanue, the
author of the "Guide to Peru," and "Observations on the Climate of
Lima, and its Influence on organized Beings, especially Man;"[15] a
Treatise on the Cocoa-tree, &c. In more recent times, Don Mariano
Eduardo de Rivero has zealously devoted himself to the study of
natural history and antiquities.

But in spite of his faults, the Lima Creole has his good qualities.
He is an enemy to strong drinks. When he takes wine it is usually of
some sweet kind, and of that he partakes very sparingly. A white
Creole in a state of intoxication would, indeed, be a rare sight. Not
so in the interior of the country, where the whites are remarkable
for intemperate drinking.

Far superior to the men, both physically and intellectually, are the
women of Lima. Nature has lavishly endowed them with many of her
choicest gifts. In figure they are usually slender and rather tall, and
they are especially remarkable for small, elegantly formed feet. Their
fair faces, from which the glowing breath of the tropics banishes every
trace of bloom, are animated by large, bright, dark eyes. Their features
are pleasing--the nose being well formed, though in general not
small--the mouth invariably adorned with two rows of brilliant white
teeth,[16] and their long black hair, arranged in plaits, falls
gracefully over the bosom and shoulders. Add to all this a captivating
grace of manner and deportment, joined to an exceeding degree of
gentleness and amiability, and it will be readily admitted that the
Limena is a noble specimen of female loveliness.

At home, especially in the summer season, the ladies of Lima dress
lightly and even negligently. For visiting, or going to the theatres,
they adopt the French fashion. When walking in the streets, attending
church, joining religious processions, &c., they appear in a very
singular costume, peculiar to Lima, and consisting of two garments
called the _Saya_ and the _Manto_. Of the saya there are two kinds.
The one called the _Saya ajustada_, was formerly in general use, but
is now seldom seen. It consists of a petticoat, or skirt of thick
stiff silk, plaited at top and bottom, in small fluted folds, drawn
very close together at the waist and widening towards the ankles,
beneath which the saya does not descend. It is tight to the form, the
outline of which it perfectly displays, and its closeness to the
limbs naturally impedes rapid movement. When wearing the _Saya
ajustada_, the ladies find it no very easy task to kneel down at
church, and at the termination of every genuflexion, they are obliged
to twist and twirl about for a considerable time before they can
again stand on their feet.[17]

The other description of saya is called the Saya _culeca_, or the
_Saya desplegada_. It is plaited close at the waist, and from thence
downwards it stands out like a hooped petticoat. This sort of saya is
made by first being plaited both at top and bottom like the _Saya
ajustada_; but, afterwards, the lower plaits are undone to form the
_Saya desplegada_. The saya is always made of some dark-colored silk,
black, green, blue, or cinnamon color.

The _Manto_ is a veil of thick black silk fastened by a band at the back
of the waist, where it joins the _saya_. From thence it is brought over
the shoulders and head, and drawn over the face so closely that only a
small triangular space, sufficient for one eye to peep through, is left
uncovered. A rich shawl thrown over the shoulders conceals the whole of
the under garment, except the sleeves. One of the small, neatly-gloved
hands, confines the folds of the _manto_, whilst the other holds a
richly embroidered pocket-handkerchief.

At first sight this costume has a very singular effect, and it is
long before the eye of a foreigner becomes reconciled to it. The
narrow saya is by no means graceful; the wide saya, on the other hand,
is very becoming, and sets off to great advantage a good figure and
elegant deportment. When I first arrived in Lima and saw the ladies
closely muffled up in their _mantos_, and carrying embroidered cambric
handkerchiefs and nosegays in their hands, it struck me that the nuns
enjoyed greater freedom in that country than in any other part of the
world. After vespers, that is to say half-past seven in the evening,
the police regulations prohibit any woman from appearing in the
streets dressed in the saya.

As this garment may be worn over a dress of the ordinary kind, it is
found to be very convenient, inasmuch as it saves the trouble of a
careful toilette. During short visits the ladies do not take off the
saya; but when making long visits they usually lay it aside.

The Saya y Manto are found to be very useful auxiliaries in the numerous
intrigues in which the Limenas frequently engage.

A _Tapada_[18] indulges in a vast deal of freedom when in the streets,
and scruples not to make satirical observations on anybody or anything
that strikes her as strange or ludicrous. The veil, or manto, is sacred,
and should a man attempt to remove it by force, he would run the risk of
being severely handled by the populace.

In intrigues of gallantry the Saya y Manto play a conspicuous part. A
lady has been known to arrange an assignation with a gentleman in the
street, whilst her husband, standing at the distance of a few yards
and conversing with a friend on some matter of business, has little
suspected that the _Tapada_ whose graceful figure he admired, was his
own faithful better-half. It frequently happens that Dona Mariquita
obliges Dona Merceditas, or Dona Panchita, with the loan of her saya,
for the purpose of hood-winking the Argus-eyes of a jealous
husband;--the lady being well convinced that her kind friends will
render her the like service in similar circumstances. Sometimes a
lady may be seen in an old tattered saya, such as scarcely the poorest
female might be expected to wear; but the costly shawl, the worked
pocket-handkerchief, the silk stockings, and satin shoes, betray the
rank of the _Tapada_, and plainly denote that she has sallied forth on
an adventure. It is difficult, nay almost impossible, to recognize a
lady thus muffled up. The one eye alone visible, is, as may be
supposed, a very uncertain token of identity, and the figure and walk
may be easily disguised.

It will readily be supposed that these concealments sometimes occasion
mortifying mistakes. On beholding a tall slender figure whose
symmetrical contour is discernible even through the unwieldy saya, and a
bright dark eye beaming beneath the folds of the manto, one may be
induced to imagine that the charms of a Hebe are concealed beneath the
disfiguring garb. But how great is the disappointment when an accidental
movement of the manto discloses the wide mouth of an ugly mulatta
grinning from ear to ear.

Most foreigners who marry Limenas stipulate that from the time of
betrothal, their wives shall no longer wear the saya y manto. The
condition is agreed to; but how far it is faithfully observed the
husbands best know. Many, no doubt, lull themselves in the confidence
of their wishes being implicitly obeyed; but female ingenuity readily
devises opportunities for deception. The women of Lima never willingly
renounce the saya y manto, for it is inseparably associated with
customs to which they are, heart and soul, devoted.

If we follow the Limena (the white Creole, be it understood) into the
retirement of domestic life, we find that she is an affectionate mother,
but not a very clever housekeeper. Every lady has at her command a great
many more domestics than are necessary: some are servants, but most of
them slaves. The establishment usually consists of a cook, a nurse-maid,
one or two house-maids, a needle-woman, several men-servants, and a
little negro or Indian, whose chief business is to carry a carpet behind
his mistress when she goes to church. These servants all do as they
please, and the lady of the house concerns herself very little about the
indolence which her want of vigilance encourages. She rises at a late
hour, and having dressed herself and decorated her hair with sprigs of
jasmine and orange blossom, she takes her breakfast. That meal being
ended, she goes out to make visits. During the sultry hours of mid-day
she reposes, either by swinging in a hammock or reclining on a sofa, and
meanwhile smokes a cigar. After dinner she again makes visits, and the
evening is spent in the theatre, on the plaza, or on the bridge. Some
few ladies employ themselves in needle-work, in which they are often
most accomplished adepts; they especially excel in embroidery and fancy
work; but they never pursue these employments before company.

The ladies of Lima are passionately fond of music. Most of them play the
piano-forte or the guitar, and also sing; but for want of good
instruction neither their playing nor their singing is above mediocrity.
Smoking is pretty general among females, at least those of mature age;
but they indulge in this practice only in their own apartments. Of late
years the custom of smoking has been on the decline in Lima, in
proportion as it has been increased on the continent of the old world.
Though snuff-taking is prohibited in the convents, yet the nuns practise
it to a great extent. They use an exceedingly fine kind of red snuff,
which has the effect of closing the breathing passage through the
nostrils, and of producing a peculiar nasal tone of voice.

With the ladies of Lima, vanity and the love of dress appear to have
reached their climax. To this passion for personal adornment they
sacrifice everything. Formerly, when none but _real_ pearls and diamonds
were worn, many a lady was known to have ruined her husband by the
purchase of those costly articles; now, however, thanks to French mock
jewelry, they are enabled to bedeck themselves in glittering ornaments
at trivial expense. Another of their passions is a fondness for
perfumes. They are continually besprinkling themselves with _eau de
Cologne_, _esprit de Lavande_, _agua rica_, or _mistura_. The latter is
a fragrant yellow-colored water, prepared from gillyflower, jasmine, and
flor de mistela (_Talinum umbellatum_). They perfume their apartments
daily with _Sahumerios_ (pastiles). When the lady of the house wishes to
show particular attention to her visitors, she offers them perfumed
water, dropping it into the bosoms of the ladies, and on the
pocket-handkerchiefs of the gentlemen. Considering their free use of
perfumes, it is not surprising that the fair Limenas should be
constantly complaining of headache, vertigo, and other nervous ailments,
or, to use their own phrase (_los nervios_).

Above all things the Limenas pride themselves in the excessive smallness
of their feet. Whether walking, standing, sitting, swinging in the
hammock, or reclining on the sofa, the grand object invariably is to
display to advantage the tiny foot. To praise her virtue, her
intelligence, her wit, or even her beauty, would be less complimentary
to a Limena than to admire the elegance of her feet. All possible care
is taken to preserve the small form of the foot, and the Lima ladies
avoid everything that may tend to spread or enlarge it. Their shoes are
usually made of embroidered velvet or satin, or of very fine kid, and
are so exceedingly small, that they cannot be drawn on and off without
difficulty. It is usual to have two new pairs every week, and the
expense of a lady's shoes not unfrequently amounts to two hundred
dollars per annum. A large foot is a thing held in horror by the
Limenas: they call it _una pataza inglesa_ (an English paw). I once
heard some Lima ladies extolling in high terms the beauty of a fair
European; but all their praises ended with the words:--"Pero que pie,
valgame Dios! parece una lancha." (But what a foot, good Heaven! It is
like a great boat.) Yet the feet of the lady alluded to would not, in
Europe, have been thought by any means large.

_Gourmanderie_ is one of the evil habits of the female inhabitants of
Lima. Between meals they are continually eating sweetmeats and a variety
of things. At one moment they order _tamal_,[19] next _omitas_,[20] then
_pan de chancay_ (a sweet sort of bread), and biscuits, then _masamorita
morada_,[21] or _frijoles coladas_,[22] &c.; and yet dinner is partaken
with as hearty an appetite as though none of these interludes had been
introduced. Can it be matter of surprise that the good ladies are
constantly complaining of indigestion and _mal de estomago_?

In the interior of the houses cleanliness does not extend beyond those
apartments which are open to visitors, namely, the _sala_ and the
_cuadro_. The other rooms of the house frequently bear more
resemblance to a stable than a human habitation, and their condition
reflects little credit on the domestic habits of the female inmates.
But even this is typical of the national character,--a great outward
show and little inward worth.

At first a stranger is struck with the singularity of the names of many
of the women of Lima. A child receives the name of the saint or of the
festival whose celebration falls on the day of its birth. Those who
happen to come into the world on the days on which the Romish Church
celebrates the several manifestations of the Virgin receive the most
extraordinary names. For example, a child born on the anniversary day of
the manifestation to St. Francis on the Snow Mountain, is named _Nieves_
(snow). _Pilar_ (fountain-basin) is another strange name, conferred in
honor of the manifestation of the Virgin at the Fountains in Saragossa.
Then there are _Conceptions_, _Natividads_, and _Asuncions_, without
number. A girl born on Candlemas-day is named _Candelaria_, and one born
on the first day of the year receives the name of Jesus. The singular
effect of these names is heightened by the Spanish custom of using
diminutives, formed by adding to the name the particle _ito_ or _ita_,
the former being the masculine, the latter the feminine. It may be
readily imagined that a foreigner is not a little startled on hearing a
young lady called Dona Jesusita. In some names the diminutive takes a
form totally different from the full name; as, for example, Panchita for
Francisca, Pepita for Josefa, Conchita for Concepcion. A married woman
does not take the family name of her husband, but retains her own,
adding to it her husband's name preceded by the particle _de_, as, for
example, Dona Maria Juana Rodriguez de Salazar.

On attaining a certain age, the Limenas totally alter their habits of
life. When their beauty fades, and they cease to be the objects of
compliment and flattery; or when weary of an idle, luxurious, and, in
too many instances, a no very virtuous life, they betake themselves to
piety, and become _Beatas_.[23] The Limena who thus renounces the
vanities of the world attends church two or three times every day,
confesses at least once every week, retires during Lent to a house of
penitence; fasts, prays, and receives the visits of her confessor, to
whom she sends presents of sweetmeats;--and should the holy man, as is
usually the case, prefer riding to walking, she shows her piety by
giving him the use of her _Calesa_ to convey him from place to place.

The women of Lima are gifted by nature with extraordinary natural
talent, though unfortunately it is rarely cultivated. They possess
shrewd and penetrating intelligence, clear judgment, and in general
very just views on the ordinary affairs of life. Like the women of the
southern provinces of Spain, they are remarkable for quickness and
smartness of repartee, and in a wordy contest a Limena is sure to come
off triumphant. They have a great deal of decision of character, and a
degree of courage which does not usually fall to the lot of the female
sex. In these respects they are infinitely superior to the timid,
spiritless men. In the various political revolutions of the country,
the women have often taken an active, and, in some instances, a more
decided part than the men.

The Indians in Lima form but a small portion of the population, being
about 5000 in number. Among them are as many emigrants as natives. Most
of the former are from the mountainous districts, and but few are from
places on the coast. Their character is, of course, much modified by
continual intercourse with the whites; but I will endeavor to describe
them as they show themselves in their original purity, marking the
distinctions observable between the _Indio Costeno_ (the Coast
Indian), and the _Indio Serrano_ (the mountain Indian). The Indians in
Lima are active and industrious. Many of them are shopkeepers, and by
the integrity of their dealings they stand on a footing of good credit
with the great commercial houses. Those who are employed as servants
are less remarkable for industry and honesty. They are reserved and
suspicious; qualities especially observable when they have but
recently emigrated into Lima. They combine personal vanity with an
inconceivable degree of dirtiness. Their intellectual faculties are
far beneath those of the white Creoles, of whom they stand in a
degree of fear, which is not easily eradicated.

At a former period there existed in Lima a college exclusively for
noble-born Indians; and the eldest sons of the families descended
from the Incas, when they wished to study, were received at the
expense of the State into the College of San Carlos; but since the
declaration of independence, all the privileges enjoyed by the
Indians have been annulled.

The negroes in Lima form one-fifth part of the population. Their
number amounts to upwards of 10,000, of which 4800 are slaves. Though
an article in the Charter of Independence declares that "in Peru no
person is born a slave," yet the National Congress has on various
occasions thought fit to deviate from this principle. In Huaura it was
decreed that children born in slavery shall be free on attaining the
age of twenty-five, and the Congress of Huancayo prolonged the period
to fifty years. There are no new importations of negroes from Africa,
for an article in the Charter just mentioned sets forth that "every
person who may be brought, as a slave, from another country to Peru,
is free from the moment when he sets foot on the soil of that
republic." Accordingly, if a Peruvian take his slave with him on a
journey to Chile, and brings him back again, the slave may, on his
return, claim his freedom. The only exception to this rule refers to
runaway negroes, who, even after years of absence, may be reclaimed on
their return. The value of slaves is not so high in Peru as in the
southern states of North America. In Lima, the average price of a
young, strong, and healthy negro is 400 dollars; the price of a
negress, especially a _Negra de Chavra_ (capable of field work), is
100 dollars higher. The value of those destined for domestic service
depends on character and qualifications. A negress who is a good cook
or needlewoman, is of course worth more than a negro who is to be
employed as a water-carrier or a footman. In the plantations their
value depends wholly on health and strength.

The treatment of slaves in Lima, especially by the Creoles, is
exceedingly mild, and generally much on the same footing as the
treatment of servants in Europe. It is seldom that a master inflicts
severe corporal chastisement on a slave. If the latter requires
punishment, he is sent into the _Panaderia_ (the bakehouse) to knead the
dough and bake the bread, which work they perform under the supervision
of a Mayordomo, who is usually a hard task-master. Owing to the heat of
the climate, working in the _Panaderia_ is more feared by the slaves
than any other kind of punishment.

In Lima the special laws for the protection of slaves are more
favorable to them than the similar laws of any other slave country.
The slaves bring their complaints before a particular judge, whose
business it is to protect them against ill-treatment. A slave is free
whenever he can pay the sum which his master demands for him,--which
sum, in disputed cases, is fixed by legal decision. The slave also
possesses the right of selling himself to another master, and the
latter may pay the purchase-money to the former owner, who, however
unwillingly, is obliged to conclude the bargain. The negroes have
ample opportunities for saving money. They are permitted, during five
or six hours of the day, to work for themselves; so that in the course
of a few years they may with ease save the sum requisite for
purchasing their independence. But in general they spend their
earnings in mere idle enjoyments, and care but little about obtaining
their freedom. As slaves they are provided with lodging, food, and
clothing, and they are nursed in sickness; but as soon as they become
free, they must supply all these wants for themselves; an undertaking
which their natural indolence renders them little inclined to. On the
whole, domestic negroes may be said to be willing slaves; it is
possibly different with those employed in the plantations, who are
liable to harder work and harsher treatment. I knew an old negro, who
had hoarded up 6000 dollars, and yet did not purchase his own
freedom, though he had paid for the liberation of his children and
his two sisters. He often observed to me, that he should not be half
so well off if he were free.

The negroes brought from Africa, who are called _Bosales_, are far
better than the Creole negroes. In physical strength they are inferior
to the latter, and are less lively; yet they are patient, and much more
faithful and attached to their masters than the Creole negroes born in
Peru. The Bosales all have a certain degree of pride, but especially
those who are of princely blood. A gentleman of old Spain bought a
young negro princess, who not without the greatest difficulty could be
brought to perform the duties of servitude. When she was directed to go
to market, she set her basket down on the ground, and signified that she
had been accustomed to be served, and not to serve. Some chastisement
was resorted to, with the view of compelling her to do the duty allotted
to her; but in vain. Her pride and obstinacy remained unconquerable.
Sometimes she would sit for hours gloomily, with her eyes fixed on the
ground, and muttering between her teeth, in her broken Spanish, the
words, "_Yo clavita! yo clavita!_"[24] Then suddenly springing up, she
would strike her head against the wall until she became almost
senseless. As she showed a fondness for the children of the family, she
was relieved from household work, and became the nursery-maid. In that
way she discharged the duties which devolved on her with the most
touching affection and fidelity; but she never would do anything,
however trivial, which she considered to be menial service, and her
master and mistress were reasonable enough not to require it.

When the number of the African negroes in Lima was more considerable
than it now is, the various races kept together, and formed
themselves into unions, called _Cofradias_. They used to meet
together at regular periods. At these meetings the negroes of
princely descent were treated with marks of respect which they could
scarcely have received in their native home. Speeches were delivered,
and religious ceremonies performed; whilst music, singing, and
dancing, revived recollections of past happiness, and of the
far-distant native land. These Cofradias were also conducive to
philanthropic ends; for when a slave had a hard master, the sum
requisite for purchasing his freedom was raised by a general
subscription in the union to which he belonged. Since the
independence of Peru, and the consequent prohibition of the
importation of negroes, the Cofradias have declined, and have lost
much of their original character. Creoles and free negroes have now
become members of them. The places in which these meetings are held
are situated in the suburb of San Lazaro. The walls of the rooms
are painted with grotesque figures of negro kings, elephants,
camels, palm trees, &c.

In Lima, and indeed throughout the whole of Peru, the free negroes are a
plague to society. Too indolent to support themselves by laborious
industry, they readily fall into any dishonest means of getting money.
Almost all the robbers who infest the roads on the coast of Peru are
free negroes. Dishonesty seems to be a part of their very nature; and
moreover, all their tastes and inclinations are coarse and sensual. Many
warm defenders of the negroes excuse these qualities by ascribing them
to the want of education, the recollection of slavery, the spirit of
revenge, &c. But I here speak of free-born negroes, who are admitted
into the houses of wealthy families, who from their early childhood have
received as good an education as falls to the share of many of the white
Creoles--who are treated with kindness and liberally remunerated, and
yet they do not differ from their half-savage brethren who are shut out
from these advantages. If the negro has learned to read and write, and
thereby made some little advance in education, he is transformed into a
conceited coxcomb, who, instead of plundering travellers on the highway,
finds in city life a sphere for the indulgence of his evil propensities.
What is the cause of this incorrigible turpitude of the negroes? To
answer this important question is not easy, if we admit the principle
that the negro is as capable of cultivation as the Caucasian; and in
support of it the names of some highly-educated Ethiopians may be cited.
Those who are disposed to maintain this principle, and who are at the
same time intimately acquainted with the social relations of the
countries in which free negroes are numerous, may solve the problem. My
opinion is, that the negroes, in respect to capability for mental
improvement, are far behind the Europeans, and that, considered in the
aggregate, they will not, even with the advantages of careful education,
attain a very high degree of cultivation; because the structure of the
negro skull, on which depends the development of the brain, approximates
closely to the animal form. The imitative faculty of the monkey is
highly developed in the negro, who readily seizes anything merely
mechanical, whilst things demanding intelligence are beyond his reach.
Sensuality is the impulse which controls the thoughts, the acts, the
whole existence of the negroes. To them freedom can be only nominal; for
if they conduct themselves well it is because they are compelled, not
because they are inclined to do so. Herein lie at once the cause of, and
the apology for, their bad character.

The negro women differ but little from the men, in their general
characteristics. They are, however, more active and industrious, and
better tempered. As domestic servants they are superior to the mixed
races. They are much employed as nurses, and in those situations they
discharge their duties well. Their personal vanity is boundless, and
every real they can save is spent in dress and ornaments. It is amusing
to see them, on festival days, parading about the streets, dressed in
white muslin gowns trimmed with lace, and short sleeves displaying their
black arms. Very short petticoats, seldom extending below the ankle,
serve to exhibit the tawdry finery of red silk stockings and light blue
satin shoes. From their ears are suspended long gold drops, and their
uncovered necks are not unfrequently adorned with costly necklaces. A
negress, who was a slave belonging to a family of my acquaintance,
possessed a necklace composed of fine Panama pearls, worth several
thousand dollars. The pure white of the pearls was wonderfully
heightened by the contrast of the jet-black skin of the wearer; and for
this reason they were more ornamental to the negress than they would
have been to the fairest lady in Europe.

Having noticed the principal races, we will now consider the variegated
mass of people of mixed blood, who in Lima form a considerable portion
of the population. Stevenson[25] gives a long list of these mixed races,
and specifies the proportionate degree, that is to say, how many eighths
or sixteenths of black, brown, or white color belong to each. But these
data respecting tint are fallacious, for, being founded solely on
external appearance, they are liable to endless modifications. Stevenson
falls into the mistake of giving to the children of a negro father and
a white mother, the name of Zambos; whilst to the offspring of a white
father and a black mother, he gives the name of Mulattos. By a similar
error, he terms the children of a white man and a Cuarterona, Quinteros;
and to those of a Cuarteron and a white woman, he gives the designation
Cuarterones. It is, however, an established rule, that the children bear
the designation, denoting the same degree of mixed blood, whatever may
respectively be the colors of the parents. Accordingly, the child of a
negro and a white woman is, properly speaking, a Mulatto; just the same
as though the relations of race on the part of the parents were
transposed. When a man of mixed blood marries a woman darker than
himself, and his children thereby become further removed from the white
tint, it is said to be _un paso atras_ (a step backwards).

In Europe it is very common to attach to the term _Creole_, the idea of
a particular complexion. This is a mistake. The designation Creole
properly belongs to all the natives of America born of parents who have
emigrated from the Old World, be those parents Europeans or Africans.
There are, therefore, white as well as black Creoles.[26]

The subjoined list shows the parentage of the different varieties of
half-casts, and also the proper designations of the latter:--

PARENTS. CHILDREN.

White Father and Negro Mother Mulatto.
White Father and Indian Mother Mestizo.
Indian Father and Negro Mother Chino.
White Father and Mulatta Mother Cuarteron.
White Father and Mestiza Mother Creole (only distinguished from
the White, by a pale-brownish
complexion).
White Father and China Mother Chino-Blanco.
White Father and Cuarterona Mother Quintero.
White Father and Quintera Mother White.
Negro Father and Mulatta Mother Zambo-Negro.
Negro Father and Mestiza Mother Mulatto-Oscuro.
Negro Father and China Mother Zambo-Chino.
Negro Father and Zamba Mother Zambo-Negro (perfectly bl'k).
Negro Father and Cuarterona or
Quintera Mother Mulatto (rather dark).
Indian Father and Mulatta Mother Chino-Oscuro.
Indian Father and Mestiza Mother Mestizo-Claro (frequently very
beautiful).
Indian Father and China Mother Chino-Cholo.
Indian Father and Zamba Mother Zambo-Claro.
Indian Father and China-Chola
Mother Indian (with rather short
frizzy hair).
Indian Father and Cuarterona or
Quintera Mother Mestizo (rather brown).
Mulatto Father and Zamba Mother Zambo (a miserable race).
Mulatto Father and Mestiza Mother Chino (of rather clear
complexion).
Mulatto Father and China Mother Chino (rather dark).

Besides the half-casts here enumerated, there are many others, not
distinguished by particular names, as they do not in color materially
differ from those above specified. The best criterion for determining
the varieties is the hair of the women: this is far less deceiving
than the complexion, for the color of the skin is sometimes
decidedly at variance with that characteristic of the race. Some of
the Mulatta females have complexions brilliantly fair, and features
which, for regularity, may vie with those of the most beautiful
women of Europe; but they bear the unmistakeable stamp of descent in
the short woolly hair.

The white Creole women of Lima have a peculiar quickness in detecting
a person of half-cast at the very first glance; and to the less
practised observer they communicate their discoveries in this way,
with an air of triumph; for they have the very pardonable weakness of
priding themselves in the purity of their European descent. Despite the
republican constitution, there prevails throughout Peru a strong pride
of cast, which shows itself at every opportunity. In quarrels, for
example, the fairer antagonist always taunts the darker one about his
descent. By all the varieties, the white skin is envied, and no one
thinks of disputing its superiority of rank. The Indian looks with
abhorrence on the Negro; the latter with scorn on the Indio. The
Mulatto fancies himself next to the European, and thinks that the
little tinge of black in his skin does not justify his being ranked
lower than the Mestizo, who after all is only an _Indio bruto_.[27]
The Zambo laughs at them all, and says "if he himself is not worth
much, yet he is better than his parents." In short, each race finds a
reason for thinking itself better than another.

In the commencement of the present chapter I made the observation that
the people of mixed blood unite in themselves all the faults without
any of the virtues of their progenitors. To this general remark,
however, the Mestizos form an honorable exception. They inherit many
of the good qualities both of the Whites and the Indians. They are
mild and affectionate. Their feelings are very excitable, and they
readily perform an act of kindness or generosity on the impulse of
the moment--but they are irresolute and timid. They attach themselves
affectionately to the Whites; but they are not partial to the
Indians, whom they regard with some degree of contempt. In Lima their
number is less considerable than in the interior of the country,
where whole villages are inhabited solely by Mestizos. In those
places they style themselves Whites, and hold themselves very much
aloof from the Indians. One cannot pay them a better compliment than
to inquire whether they are Spaniards, a question which they always
answer in the affirmative, though their features are plainly
impressed with the Indian stamp. The complexion of the Mestizos is
usually a clear brown; but in some individuals it has a very dark
tinge. Their hair is sleek, long, and very strong. The women
frequently wear their hair in two long plaits descending nearly to
the knees. The men are strongly made, have marked features and but
very little beard. In Lima they are chiefly handicraftsmen and
traders. Most of the hawkers (Mercachifles) in Lima are Mestizos.

The Mulattos differ very widely from the Mestizos. In person they are
less strongly made; but in intellect they are superior to any of the
half-casts. They possess a very great aptitude for mechanical
employments, great dexterity and a remarkable degree of imitative
talent, which, if well directed, might be brilliantly developed. They
are exceedingly impressionable, and all their feelings are readily
exalted into passions. Indifferent to all out sensual enjoyments, they
indulge in the fleeting pleasure of the present moment, and are
regardless of the future. There is a certain class of Mulattos, who,
in a psychological point of view, are very remarkable. They are
distinguished by the nick-name of _Palanganas_.[28] They are gifted
with wonderful memory, and after the lapse of years they will repeat,
word for word, speeches or sermons which they have heard only once.
With this extraordinary power of memory, they combine a fertile fancy,
and a boundless share of self-confidence. Wherever there is anything
to be seen or heard, the Palanganas never fail to attend, and they
repeat with the most ludicrous attitudes and gestures all that they
hear, be it a sermon in church, a speech in Congress, or an address
delivered at any public solemnity.

The Mulattos now study theology; for, since the establishment of
independence, the Indian law, which prohibited any person of mixed
blood from entering the ecclesiastical state, is no longer observed.
Many have devoted themselves to medicine; and most of the physicians
in Lima are Mulattos; but they are remarkable only for their
ignorance, as they receive neither theoretical nor clinical
instruction. Nevertheless, they enjoy the full confidence of the
public, who rank the ignorant native far above the educated foreigner.
The business of a barber is one that is much followed by the Mulattos
of Lima. In that occupation they are quite in their element, for they
possess all the qualifications for which the members of that
fraternity are distinguished in all parts of the world.

Among the Mulatto females many are remarkably beautiful--though they
are always wanting in that oval form of the face which is the first
condition of classic beauty. Their countenances are generally round
and broad, their features strongly marked, and their expression
impassioned. Their beauty soon fades; and as they advance in life the
negro character of their features becomes distinctly defined. Their
hair, which does not grow beyond a finger's length, is jet black and
frizzy. They plait it very ingeniously in small tresses, frequently
making more than a hundred. Their complexions vary from white to
dark-brown; but most of them are dark brunettes, with large black
eyes and pearl-white teeth.

Their vanity is quite equal to that of the Negresses, but it is
combined with a certain degree of taste, in which the latter are
wanting. The Mulatto women are passionately fond of music, singing
and dancing. They play the guitar and have pleasing voices, but
their singing is quite uninstructed.

The Zambos are the most miserable class of half-casts. With them
every vice seems to have attained its utmost degree of development;
and it may confidently be said that not one in a thousand is a useful
member of society, or a good subject of the state. Four-fifths of the
criminals in the city jail of Lima are Zambos. They commit the most
hideous crimes with the utmost indifference, and their lawless
propensities are continually bringing them into collision with the
constituted authorities. In moral nature they are below the Negroes;
for they are totally wanting in any good qualities possessed by the
latter. Their figures are athletic, and their color black, sometimes
slightly tinged with olive-brown. Their noses are much less flat
than those of the Negroes, but their lips are quite as prominent.
Their eyes are sunk and penetrating, and their hair very little
longer than that of the Negroes, but curling in larger locks. The
men have very little beard.

The Chinos are but little superior to the Zambos. Indeed, in physical
formation they are inferior to them, for they are small and
attenuated. Their countenances are hideously ugly. They have the Negro
nose and mouth, and the Indian forehead, cheeks and eyes. Their hair
is black, rough, but less frizzy than that of the Mulattos. They are
deceitful, ill-tempered, and cruel. They never forget an offence, but
brood over it till an opportunity, however distant, presents itself
for wreaking their vengeance. They are very dangerous enemies.

Respecting the half-casts of fairer complexion, especially the
Cuarterones and the Quinteros, there is but little to be said. Both
physically and morally they approximate closely to the whites, among
whom they almost rank themselves.

The majority of the foreigners in Lima, and indeed throughout the whole
of Peru, are the families of the Spaniards from Europe, who emigrated to
South America before the war of independence. Since the close of that
struggle there has been but little emigration, as the circumstances of
the country are not now very favorable to new settlers. The old Spanish
families are for the most part landed proprietors or merchants. They are
people of very temperate habits, but they are passionately fond of
gaming, and in this respect they have bequeathed a dangerous inheritance
to the Creoles. The pride and mercenary spirit which distinguished the
Spaniards before the independence are now broken, if not entirely
subdued. The intercourse between them and the natives, though still
somewhat constrained, is every year becoming more and more friendly, as
the privileges enjoyed by the Spaniards, which were a continued cause of
hostile feeling, are now removed.

Next to the Spaniards, the most numerous class of foreigners are the
Italians. These are chiefly Genoese, and the majority are run-away
sailors and adventurers. They usually begin by setting up a Pulperia (a
brandy shop), or a spice shop, and gradually extend their traffic until,
in the course of a few years, they amass money enough to return to their
native country. Some of them make good fortunes and possess extensive
warehouses.

The French in Lima occupy the same positions as their countrymen in
Valparaiso, viz., they are tailors and

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