WHOLE VOL. THE WEST INDIES — VAZQUEZ DE ESPINOSA 393 



Chapter IV 



Continuing the Description of Trujillo and Its District. 



1163. At a quarter league from the city is the village of Mansiche, 

 with delicious fruit and vegetables. Its Peruvian cucumbers are the 

 best in the kingdom. The plant on which they grow is like a pepper 

 plant ; the leaves resemble tomato leaves. The cucumbers come in 

 many varieties and colors — small, large, round, the size and shape 

 of pears ; some are long, also ; they are purple, yellow, white, striped, 

 and in other colors ; [they are] smooth and very thin-skinned ; they 

 taste very good, are juicy and refreshing, and are good for the 

 kidneys and the digestion. They eat them ripe, not as we do, and 

 they are only to be found in the Kingdoms of Peru. 



1164. Near the city lie other villages, like that of La Magdalena, 

 Guanape, and that of Las Granadas, up the valley on the way to 

 Otuzco. It has jurisdiction for 16 leagues S. along the coast, up to 

 the Rio de Santa, which separates this Diocese from the Archdiocese 

 of Lima; and for 100 leagues along the coast and plains to the N., 

 up to the port of Paita and the village of Colan ; in this stretch there 

 are grand valleys with large Indian settlements. Along the sierra 

 it has extensive provinces rich in silver mines, with cattle, sheep, hog, 

 and mule ranches ; there are mills which manufacture cloth, blankets, 

 and grogram. 



1165. Two leagues from the city is the port of Mai Abrigo, dan- 

 gerous because it is a rough coast ; but that is where they ship their 

 products, viz, flour, sugar, and quantities of biscuit and preserves 

 which are put up for Lima, Panama, and other points. The country 

 is hot but healthy, with bright skies and salubrious breezes, and 

 although it never rains, it seems like a garden of Paradise because 

 of the irrigated gardens which surround all the houses and the city 

 itself ; in them they have all varieties of native and Spanish fruit, 

 so that the city is one of the pleasantest in the Indies. 



1166. The town of Safia or Miraflores is 28 leagues N. of Trujillo, 

 and 5 from the sea. It is situated in a fertile valley abounding in 

 wheat, corn, vineyards, fruit, and all else necessary for human life. 

 It has a parish church, Dominican, Franciscan, and Augustinian 

 convents, and a hospital with other churches and shrines. The town 

 does a lively trade in sugar and cordovan leather. 



Chapter IV 



Other Features of the District of Trujillo [etc.] and Its Provinces. 



1167. [The Indian village of Mansiche is a quarter league from the 

 city, with delicious vegetables and fruit, particularly Peruvian cucum- 



