WHOLE VOL. THE WEST INDIES — VAZQUEZ DE ESPINOSA 50I 



and carved out of the Diocese of Cuzco in the year 1610, on account 

 of the wide jurisdiction of the latter, and for the lack of episcopal 

 visits in the days of the Marques de Montesclaros ; and as this is 

 new country, every day requires a new remedy, until things get 

 settled. At present it has wide jurisdiction and it is desirable that 

 another Bishop should be appointed for Arica. The first Bishop 

 installed over this church was Archbishop Don Fray Cristobal 

 Rodriguez, who had held that office in Santo Domingo ; he was on 

 his way to this church when he died, having entered his Diocese at 

 the town of Camana, 24 leagues from the city. Master Perea of 

 the Augustinian Order was immediately promoted to this post ; he 

 began his incumbency in the year 1619 and still governs his church, 

 with his Prebendaries and dignitaries who serve it. There are 

 Dominican, Franciscan, Augustinian, Mercedarian, and Jesuit con- 

 vents, all excellent and well supported; there is an [excellent] nun- 

 nery of Santa Clara, a hospital for the care of the sick, and other 

 churches and shrines. There are many runnels of water in the streets, 

 drawn both from the Rio Vitor and other streams flowing from the 

 villages and valleys which lie near the city to the S., for the cleansing 

 of the city and the irrigation of its gardens, orchards, and vegetable 

 plots. In fine, this city is one of the most attractive in the world, 

 and seems a bit of earthly Paradise [in its delightful lavishness] ; 

 it is full of flowers and fruit the whole year through. It has a fine 

 attractive riverside district, with many orchards or chacras of fruit 

 trees — pears, peaches, apples, and other Spanish and native varieties ; 

 in fact, when I was there it seemed to me the foremost and best 

 in the world, for its excellent site and climate and the pleasant waters 

 that it has in view of the city. Round about it there are many Indian 

 villages, at a distance of i or 2 leagues, more or less, in lovely fertile 

 valleys, down which flow streams of sweet and crystal-clear water. 

 Besides the gardens and orchards which it possesses, they plant and 

 reap much wheat, corn, chickpeas, horse beans, and other Spanish 

 and native cereals. The chief harvest is at Christmas time. I reached 

 the city at that time and saw a pile of wheat on a threshing-floor 

 made up of nothing but the heads, which is all they [cut and] reap, 

 as they have no use for straw in that country ; at the hour of Vespers, 

 I saw two groups of Indian men and women come in for the opera- 

 tion, singing and joking, many of them barefooted ; at the best they 

 wore ojotas, which are a sort of sandals ; and by Angelus time they 

 had the pile of wheat threshed and winnowed, and a heap [of wheat] 

 amounting to more than 100 fanegas — a sight which roused my 

 admiration. I saw this at the close of the year 1618. Besides this. 



