PERU 



79 



fiiiiillntu, several ducks, a gull, flamingoes, and 

 other wading-birds frequent Lake Titicaca and 

 the banks of the rivers. In the valleys there are 

 many kinds of finches, and a green parrakeet has 

 been seen at a height of 12,000 feet above the sea. 



The Montana is the region of tropical forests 

 within the basin of the river Amazon, including 

 the wooded slopes of the eastern watershed of the 

 Andes, which may be called the subtropical 

 portion of the Montana. This part of Peru is 

 traversed by great navigable rivers. Here the 

 Maraiion and Huallaga, after separate courses of 

 600 and 400 miles respectively, unite and flow east- 

 ward to the Brazilian frontier. At 150 miles from 

 their point of junction they are increased by the 

 waters of the Ucayali, a great navigable river with 

 a court- e of 600 miles. The foresta drained by the 

 Maraiion, Huallaga, and Ucayali form the northern 

 portion of the Peruvian Montana. The southern 

 half is watered by streams flowing down from the 

 eastern Andes in the Sierra sections of Cuzco and 

 Titicaca, and forming the Madre de Dios, a great 

 tributary of the Bolivian river Beni, which has not 

 yet been fully explore*!. The whole length of the 

 Peruvian Montana, from the Maraiion to the 

 Bolivian frontier, is 800 miles. In the subtropical 

 portion, comprising the eastern slopes of the Andes, 

 which sometimes extend for a distance of 60 or 80 

 miles before they subside into the Amazonian 

 plain, there are very important products. This is 

 the region of the quinine-yielding cinchona-trees, 

 and of the coca (Erythroxylon coca), and here coffee 

 and cacao of the finest quality are cultivated. 

 From the forest-covered plains come india-rubber, 

 sarsaparilla, and a great variety of useful and 

 ornamental timber. The fauna of the forests is 

 naturally much more numerous and varied than 

 that of tne Sierra. Here is the silver-gray monkey, 

 the largest in South America, and other species. 

 Bats of several kinds are numerous, and there are 

 flocks of coatis. The Andean bear, called ucumari, 

 is found on the upper borders of the forests. The 

 puma also roams over the higher slopes, where he 

 has an almost undisputed hunting-ground. Lower 

 down there are jaguars, and several kinds of wild 

 cate. Squirrels and other rodents swarm, and the 

 heavy tapir, called danta or gran bestia, reposes in 

 the soft, marshy lands. Deer frequent the open 

 ground, and herds of peccaries traverse the forests. 

 The chief game-bird is the large black curassow, 

 and there are several pigeons. Spoonbills, ibis, 

 cranes, snipe, and curlew frequent the lagoons, 

 while parrote, toucans, and other birds of bright 

 plumage are innumerable. Snakes abound among 

 the dense underwood, frogs raise their far-sounding 

 voices through the night, and insects swarm in 

 myriads. But the knowledge of the fauna of the 

 Peruvian forest* is still very incomplete. 



Productions and Commerce. The chief crops 

 of the fertile valleys on the coast of Peru are 

 sugar, cotton, and grapes. The exportation of 

 sugar amounted to 45,000 tons in 1889, but it was 

 double that figure in 1879, previous to the dis- 

 astrous war with Chili. Peruvian cotton is chiefly 

 grown in the valleys of Piura and lea, and is a 

 perennial. In 1889 the quantity of cotton exported 

 from 1'iura and lea was 2,946,400 Ib. The vine 

 has been a profitable industry ever since the Spanish 

 conquest, in several valleys on the coast, and also 

 in tne Sierra. Good wine is made at Pisco and 

 lea, and also a famous spirit from the grape, 

 called I'inro and Itnlin. The yield of wine in 1889 

 was 17,600,000 pints, and of spirit*! 5,280,000 pints. 

 Kii' of excellent quality is raised in the; coast - 

 valley of Lambayeque, and there are establish- 

 MBta for preparing it at Lambayeque and Fer- 

 rciiaf.-. In 1889 the crop was 24,750,000 Ib. 

 Olives are grown in the Tambo valley near 



Arequipa, and before the Chilian war mulberries, 

 silkworms, and cochineal were successfully culti- 

 vated. The rocky islets and barren deserts of the 

 coast were once a source of enormous wealth to 

 Peru, but are so no more. The exportation of 

 Guano (q.v. ) from the Chincha Islands began in 

 1846 and ended in 1872, the supply being exhausted ; 

 and the nitrates of Tarapaca were seized and 

 annexed by Chili, as the result of the war. 



The staple exports of the Sierra of Peru are 

 silver and wool. The silver-mines extend along 

 the whole length of the Cordilleras, and are worked 

 here and there, the great centre of mining industry 

 being at Cerro Pasco. In 1877 the Cerro Pasco 

 mines produced 1,427,592 oz. of silver, and there 

 are others of equal value round Puno, in the south 

 of Peru. In the above year the value of exported 

 silver was 575,000; of copper, 330,000. I p till 

 1891 there were no later returns ; in 1894 the total 

 mineral output was valued at 450,000. There are 

 rich gold-washings in the Caravaya province. 



Mollendo is the principal port for the export of 

 wool ; but wool is also shipped from Salaverry, 

 Pacasmayo, and Chala. There are no reliable 

 returns of the quantity and value. From the 

 Montana the exported products are cinchona 

 bark, coca (of which 3044 Ib. of leaves were ex- 

 |x>rted in 1889), coffee of the finest quality, cacao, 

 tobacco, india-rubber, sarsaparilla, and some other 

 medicinal roots. Maize is also exported to Chili, 

 and large quantities of wheat are imported from 

 Chili and the United States. 



I'ti/i/it: Works. The system of railways (91 1 miles 

 in 1897 ) consists of several short lines in the coast- 

 valleys from 20 to 80 miles in length, constructed 

 to bnng the produce down to the seaports with two 

 long trans- Andean lines The first of these, from 

 Callao and Lima to Oroya, in the lofty valley of 

 Jauja, is to be 136 miles long, and was commenced 

 in 1870. It threads the intricate gorges of the 

 Andes by a winding path along the edges of preci- 

 pices, through tunnels, and over bridges that seem 

 suspended in the air. It tunnels the Andes at an 

 altitude of 15,645 feet, and the bridge of Verrugas 

 (q.v.), finished in 1891 in succession to one destroyed 

 by a flood in 1889, is 250 feet high, and spansachasm 

 580 feet wide. Of this railroad 87 miles had been 

 completed at a cost of 4,625,887. The other great 

 line across the Andes connects the port of Mollendo 

 with Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca, passing 

 by Arequipa. The summit is crossed at a height 

 of 14,660 feet, and the line is 346 miles long. In 

 1874 steamers were first launched on Lake Titi- 

 caca. In order to supply the port of Mollendo 

 with water a pipe has been laid alongside the line 

 from Arequipa for a length of 85 miles, discharging 

 433,000 gallons in twenty-four hours the longest 

 iron aqueduct in the world. The construction of 

 these great public works, chiefly between 1868 and 

 1872, involved the finances of Peru in grave diffi- 

 culties. Previously the debt, mainly incurred 

 during the war of independence, was 4,400,000, 

 the interest of which was paid from the proceeds 

 of the guano. But by 1872 the debt had been 

 increased to 49,000,000, requiring an annual sum 

 of 2,450,000 to pay the interest. The payment of 

 interest was suspended from 1876 till 1896, having 

 been paid since 1849. The financial difficulties 

 culminated with the disastrous war with Chili, 

 when the nitrate of Tarapaca, the chief resource of 

 Peru, fell into the hands of the enemy. 



The People. The bulk of the Peruvian popula- 

 tion is composed of the aboriginal Inca Indians, 

 whose language, called Qtiichua, is still spoken in 

 the Sierra. The Incas had attained to a high state 

 of civilisation before the arrival of the Spaniards. 

 They cultivated many of the arts, and had some 

 knowledge of astronomy. They had domesticated 



