FROM PANAMA TO LIMA. 427 



long for a ramble by the side of its fertilizing river. The ruing of the ancient town of Chinm 

 UK- Let \\rcn Trujillo and the sea; and tin- ImueaH of the vicinity have yielded many trea- 

 iind nii-iuus anti.|nitic>. deposited hy tin- wealthy id-.l . LOI to their Kuhjection by the Inca 



Yu|)iini|iii. As '. '1 upwards during the afternoon an occasional glimpse was caught of 



th- distant Mi"\s |>< ,ik>: l>ui they were only momentary, for clouds hung perpetually over the 

 ridges ; and even when immovable, our change of locality would soon interpose them between us 

 and visihle ol.jeets. The night was cold and damp, accompanied by a sort of fog-cloud that 

 shut us out from the heavens. 



October 8. Close to the northern entrance of Casma bay, latitude 9 28' 8., I was startled 

 from slumber about 3 A. M. by a shock that nearly threw me out of the berth. Hastening on 

 deck, the captain told me we had struck a whale; though, as I passed to the opposite side to 

 look at the land we were approaching, the officer of the watch whispered, "More barnacles 

 than blubber on that chap's back, anyhow." Whether rock or whale, the ship was not detained 

 an instant, nor did she leak any more afterward ; but passed rapidly to an anchorage, pitchy 

 dark as it was, and speeded on her voyage an hour or two later, when daylight would have 

 ted investigation of a matter so important to navigators. Subsequently the surmise of the 

 chief O&OQI proved correct: a dangerous rock was found here. 



The weather was charming from 10 A. M. until sunset, after which there was a foggy mit 

 and low temperature. We coasted within a mile of the land all day, the ocean almost as 

 smooth as a lake. 



October 9. Anchored quite near to the mole in Callao bay at 8 A. M., some sixty vessels of 

 other nations imparting an air of maritime importance to the little townjjn the beach. This, 

 one of the largest and best sheltered anchorages on the west coast of South America, is protected 

 on the south and west by a long, narrow point, and two islands, of which San Lorenzo is the 

 principal. In a part of the space between San Lorenzo and the point the water is shoal, though 

 there is a passage at all times for the largest ships. The distance from the point to the island 

 is about a mile and a half, with a bank near midway on which the sea breaks very constantly. 

 San Lorenzo is only a mile wide, and fifteen in circumference, its sterile and sharp-crested 

 hills rising to a height of nearly 1,500 feet. Its northeast declivity is much less steep than 

 the opposite side, on whose almost vertical face seals and multitudes of sea-birds take up their 

 abode. Vessels to be quarantined, and ships of war refitting, find berths at the island; but 

 their crews or passengers have no sources of recreation unless in the study of its geology. It 

 is a barren spot, absolutely without verdure except during a few weeks of the winter season. 



The river Kimac, flowing from the eastward, empties into the bay a mile to the northward of 

 Callao ; and six miles farther in the same direction the Carabaillo discharges itself. Between 

 these streams there is a gently sloping plain to the eastward, whose fertile fields are covered 

 with trees and shrubbery, patches of wheat, and maize ; but to the south and southeast, bare 

 rock and sand alone greet the eye. Callao itself adds nothing to the charm of the view from 

 the water. Fortifications, barracks, and the custom-house, conceal more than half the dwellings. 

 The former consist of two castles built by the Spaniards, and capable of mounting nearly four 

 hundred pieces of ordnance. At present only sixty guns are serviceable. The principal, now 

 named La Independencia, has two round towers connected by a curtain, spacious court-yards, 

 and low, thick walls, surrounded by a ditch that can be filled from the sea. The other, on the 

 point that stretches towards San Lorenzo, is called El Sol. General Rodil threw himself into 

 the former during the revolution of independence ; and for a year and a half after Lima had 

 surrendered to the patriots he withstood all the privations and sufferings incident to a siege both 

 by sea and land. With the fall of Heal Felipe, as the castle was then called, fell the power of 

 the mother country in Peru. 



The Callao built during the reign of Philip IV. stood farther out on the point than the 

 present town. It was swallowed by an earthquake and the sea in 1746, at which time 4,000 

 people are said to have perished, and a part of the vessels at anchor in the bay were transported 



