Chap. VI. PROSPECT OP WAR. 105 



change the whole face of the country, and tlie introducer 

 would confer an inestimable blessing on the inhabitants. 



I remained for some time at Puno, in order to collect 

 information, and come to a determination respecting the best 

 course to pursue in the performance of the service on which 

 I was employed. The supply of the bark of Chincliona 

 Calisaya trees is now entirely procured from the forests 

 of Munecas, ApoUobamba, Yuracares, Larecaja, Inquisivi, 

 Ayopaya, and the yungus of La Paz in Bolivia ; but 

 I found that the difficulties in the way of making a col- 

 lection of plants and seeds in these districts would be 

 very great, and it afterwards turned out that these dif- 

 ficulties would have been insurmountable. As a consider- 

 able part of the revenue of Bolivia is derived from the 

 bark trade, which is not the case in Peru, the Bolivians 

 are exceedingly jealous of their monopoly ; and the nature 

 of my mission was akeady suspected. Moreover there was 

 an imminent prospect of a war between Peru and Bolivia ; 

 a large army was massed in three divisions — at Pimo under 

 General San Roman, at Yilque under Beltrau, and at Lampa 

 under Frisancho ; and, as soon as hostilities commenced, it 

 would have been next to impossible for a private person to 

 preserve his mules from seizure. This war did not actually 

 take place, but Linares, the President of Bolivia, issued a 

 decree on May 14th prohibiting all traffic, or the passage 

 of travellers, from one country to the other f a decree which 

 was strictly enforced, and which would have rendered it 

 impracticable at that time to have conveyed myself and 

 compauion, with laden mules, from Bolivia to the coast, 

 without long delays and detentions. One of the pretexts 



* The Peruvian Government an- 

 swered this decree in a noble spirit, by 

 declaring that they woidd not retaliate, 

 but, on the contrary, would assist com- 



mercial traific between the tw^o coun- 

 tries by every means in their power. 

 Linares rescinded his barbarous edict 

 on October 17th. 



