310 A VOYAGE TO Book VI. 



This assiento stands in the latitude of i° 41' 40" 

 south, and 22' west, of the city of Quito. In 1533 it 

 was an Indian town, of which Sebastian oe Belalc^zar 

 having made himself master, the following year mar- 

 shal Diego de Almagro laid the foundation of the pre- 

 sent assiento. It stands in a very large plain surrounded 

 by mountains J particularly on the north side, which 

 is bounded by Chimbcrazo, from the foot of which it 

 is at no great distance. On the south side is a lake, 

 called Colta, about a league in length and three quar- 

 ters of a league in breadth, where there are great 

 numbers of wild geese and gallaretas ; and its banks 

 covered with plantations. 



The principal square and streets are very regular, 

 straight, and airy; the houses ofa light stone, but some- 

 thing heavier than the pumice made use of at La- 

 tacunga. Some, especially ihose in and near the 

 square, have a story ; but the others are universally 

 without any, being built low, on account of the earth- 

 quakes, which this place has often felt, particularly 

 that already mentioned of 1698, when many of its 

 houses and public buildings were thrown down. The 

 Indians who inhabited this place, and all those to the 

 southward in this jurisdiction, before their conversion 

 to Christianity, were known by the name ofPuruayes; 

 and are to this day distinguished from all the other 

 Indians in the whole province. 



Besides the great church, here is another called 

 St. Sebastian, with convents of the same orders as at 

 Latacunga, and a nunnery of the Conception ; con- 

 tributions are still raised for the use of the hospital, 

 though it is in so ruinous a condition as not to admit 

 of patients. 



On the west side of the assiento is a river cut into 

 small channels or trenches, for watering the adjacent 

 fields; by which means they are rendered so remark- 

 ably fertile, that they produce clover the whole year. 



The 



