THE PUXA. 351 



navigated by the Indians in their balsas ; and, secure in their 

 retreat, they contrived to make inroads on the Spanish towns 

 in the neighbourhood for a length of time. (These balsas are 

 composed of reeds, tightly fastened together on the sides, in 

 the form of boats, and are propelled both by sails and 

 paddles.) Several of the Indian chiefs were at length cap- 

 tured and executed. This, however, only exasperated the 

 rebels, who, under an enterprising leader, attacked the bridge 

 over the Desaguadero, and carried off the heads of their chiefs, 

 which had been stuck on poles above it. The Spanish troops 

 sent against them waded to some islets, but the Indians, 

 hovering round them in their balsas, prevented them from 

 advancing further. At length the Spaniards embarked in 

 twenty balsas, and came in sight of the native squadron. 

 The Indians, however, going in and out among the lanes and 

 rushes, baffled their oppressors, cutting off several Spanish 

 balsas. A party of cavalry also, advancing into the swampy 

 ground, was suddenly surrounded and cut to pieces, with a 

 loss to the Indians of only three men. 



These outbreaks, and the far more important rebellion 

 under Tupac Amaru, show that Spanish tyranny had not 

 entirely succeeded in crushing the spirit of the Indians. Dur- 

 ing the civil wars which for so long devastated the Spanish 

 provinces of South America, the Indians fought with a courage 

 fully equal to that of the whites. 



THE PUNA. 



An elevated region called by the Quichuas the Puna, or 

 " the uninhabited," must be described. A scanty vegetation 

 covers these vast plains. Man can with difficulty breathe on 

 them, or produce the means of existence. Barley, though cul- 



