148 MANUFACTURES. [1S39 



which, aside from the bridges constructed of osiers, would 

 compare favorably with the vias of ancient Rome, that 



" Time, and Goth, and Turk, have spared." 



In addition to these important and extensive thoroughfares, — 

 the remains of which, grand and imposing though in ruins, 

 are still visible, — various passes were cut in the steep pa, rd- 

 vios, or mountain ridges, of the Andes. But the deplorable 

 effects of the same want of spirit and energy, that, elsewhere 

 in Peru, have suffered her morning splendor to be prematurely 

 dimmed and overshadowed, may be witnessed here. The 

 roads built by the rude and unlettered aborigines have fallen 

 to decay under the auspices of their European masters; and 

 the passes excavated with so much labor and care, have dis- 

 appeared beneath the debris washed down from the Cordil- 

 leras. With a few exceptions in the neighborhood of the 

 large cities, the roads laid out by the Spaniards are mere 

 bridle tracks for horses or mules, and the gulleys and streams 

 that cannot be crossed or forded, are passed by means of hang- 

 ing bridges, in nine cases out of ten a very unsafe mode of 

 transportation. Quite recently, laudable efforts have been 

 made for the improvement of the roads, but the want of suit- 

 able means of communication constitutes the chief drawback 

 on internal commerce, and is a great obstacle in the way of 

 social and commercial progress. 



But little can be said in commendation of the manufactur- 

 ing industry of a country whose pedigree dates back so many 

 hundred years. Lima can boast only of her mint, some 

 smelting houses, and a glass house lately established. At 

 Cuzco, cotton, linen, and woolen stuffs, and leather and 

 parchment, are manufactured, in which considerable trade is 

 carried on with the neighboring provinces. There are flour- 

 ishing manufactures of woolens and cottons, and gold and 

 silver cloths, at Arequipa ; and at Guamanga is made the 

 fine filigree silver work for which inland Peru is celebrated. 

 Coarse straw hats, and mats called petdtes, are manufactured 

 at Huacho, and brought into Lima for sale. In Piura, cord- 



