^•^2 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 102 



settlement 7 leagues off which Gov. Alonso de la Ribera transferred 

 here in his time ; they are also called Las Juntas. The city will have 

 250 Spanish residents, with a parish church, Franciscan, Mercedarian, 

 and Jesuit convents ; in its district are a few Indian villages or settle- 

 ments. The residents of this city have large cattle and mule ranches, 

 and most of them are teamsters. They have soap factories which 

 make large amounts of soap which they take to Potosi, with other 

 native products, cotton cloth and candlewicks. 



1768. To the WSW. it is bounded by the Provinces of the Diaguitas, 

 warlike natives ; this is forested and mountainous country, all paved 

 with veins of silver ore. To the N. it borders on the provinces 

 known as the Chaco, in which country it is reported that there are 

 large heathen settlements rich in gold and silver and abounding in 

 foodstuffs ; hence that province is much coveted, and many have 

 desired to subdue it, and have tried and set out to do so, for they 

 feel sure that exploration will reveal in that quarter another kingdom 

 as important as that of Peru, judging by the information they possess 

 and the report current of the wealth of that country. 



Chapter XXXV [25] 



Of the City of San Miguel del Tucuman, etc. 



1769. The city of San Miguel del Tucuman, from which this 

 Kingdom takes its name, lies more than 50 leagues S. of the city of 

 Esteco. It has as many as 250 Spanish residents ; its climate is very 

 hot and damp. It has in its neighborhood some Indian parishes in 

 which are produced quantities of cotton cloth, canopies (pabellones), 

 bedspreads, and other elaborate products. There are mule and cattle 

 ranches in this district and it contains very fragrant and valuable 

 timber, and on its plains countless numbers of wild cattle. It is at 

 29° S. and occupies a pleasant site on the slopes of very high moun- 

 tains. It has an irrigation canal with which its vineyards, gardens, 

 and fields are watered ; on one side of it runs the Rio de la Quebrada 

 de Calchaqui, as well as others coming down from the Sierras. In 

 this country there are huge sluggish snakes over 4 fathoms long and 

 as large around as a man's body ; they are slow moving, and the 

 little progress they make is with many pauses ; but God provides 

 them meat, as with all His creatures. Since they are so ponderous, 

 they cannot chase their game, and so Nature gave them a faculty of 

 attraction, so that if a turkey or other large bird is perched on a 

 tree, no matter how high it may be, and the snake succeeds in seeing 

 or perceiving or hearing it, by merely turning its head and breathing 



