Callao described. Market. 

 Situation of old Callao. 



PERU. 



Population of new town. 

 Approach to Lima. 



there the Chilian troops had possession of the 

 country, which they had held since the battle of 

 Yungai. Most of the buildings are undergoing 

 repairs since the late contest. 



It is said that the fortress is to be demolished, 

 and thus the peace of Callao will in a great mea- 

 sure be secured. 



The principal street of Callao runs parallel with 

 the bay. There are a few tolerably well-built two- 

 story nouses on the main street, which is paved. 

 These houses are built of adobes, and have flat 

 roofs, which is no inconvenience here, in conse- 

 quence of the absence of heavy rains. The interior 

 of the houses is of the commonest kind of work. 

 The partition walls are built of cane, closely laced 

 together. The houses of the common people are of 

 one story, and about ten feet high ; some of them 

 have a grated window, but most of them only a 

 doorway and one room. Others are seen that 

 hardly deserve the name of houses, being nothing 

 more than mud walls, with holes covered with a 

 mat, and the same overhead. 



The outskirts of Callao deserve mentioning only 

 for their excessive h'lth ; and were it not for the 

 fine climate it would be the hot-bed of pestilence. 

 One feels glad to escape from this neighbourhood. 



The donations to the clergy or priests, at two 

 small chapels, are collected on Saturdays from the 

 inhabitants. On the evening of the same day, the 

 devotees of the church, headed by the priest, carry 

 a small portable altar through the streets, decorated 

 with much tinsel, and various-coloured glass lamps, 

 on which is a rude painting of the Virgin. As they 

 walk, they chant their prayers. 



The market, though there is nothing else re- 

 markable about it, exhibits many of the peculiar 

 customs of the country. It is held in a square of 

 about one and a half acres. The stands for selling 

 meat are placed indiscriminately, or without order. 

 Beef is sold for from four to six cents the pound, is 

 cut in the direction of its fibre, and looks filthy. It 

 is killed on the commons, and the hide, head, and 

 horns are left for the buzzards and dogs. The rest 

 is brought to market on the backs of donkeys. 

 Chickens are cut up to suit purchasers. Fish and 

 vegetables are abundant, and of good kinds, and 

 good fruit may be had if bespoken. In this case it 

 is brought from Lima. Every thing confirms, on 

 landing, the truth of the geographical adage, " In 

 Peru it never rains." It appears every where dusty 

 and parched up. 



The situation of old Callao is still visible under 

 the water, and though an interesting object, be- 

 comes a melancholy one, when one thinks of the 

 havoc a few minutes effected. The very foundation 

 seems to have been upturned and shaken to pieces, 

 and the whole submerged by a mighty wave. The 

 wonder is that any one escaped to tell the tale. 



Two crosses mark the height to which the sea 

 rose. The upper one, one-third of the way to Lima, 

 indicates the extreme distance to which the water 

 flowed; the lower one marks the place whither the 

 Spanish frigate was carried. I very much doubt 

 the truth of either. I can easily conceive that a 

 great wave would be sufficient to carry a large 

 vessel from her moorings half a mile inland, but I 

 cannot imagine how the water should have reached 

 the height of one hundred and fifty feet at least 

 above the level of the eea, and yet permitted two 

 hundred inhabitants of old Callao to have escaped 



on the walls of a church which are not half that 

 height. 



Outside the walls of the fortress are several 

 large vaults, filled with the dead, in all stages of 

 decay, and on which the vultures were gorging 

 themselves: this was a revolting spectacle. Indeed, 

 it is truly surprising that the higher classes, and 

 those in immediate authority, should not feel the 

 necessity of appearing more civilized in the dispo- 

 sition of their dead. Many are thrown in naked, 

 and covered only with a few inches of sand. Great 

 numbers of skeletons are still seen with pieces of 

 clothing hanging to them. Dogs and vultures in 

 great numbers were every where feeding upon the 

 dead, or standing aloof fairly gorged with their 

 disgusting repast. If any thing is calculated to 

 make a people brutal, and to prevent the inculca- 

 tion of proper feeling, it is such revolting sights 

 as these. 



Callao is said to contain between two and three 

 thousand inhabitants, but this number, from the 

 appearance of the place, seems to be overrated. 

 Several new buildings are going up, which proves, 

 that notwithstanding the times of revolution, they 

 still persist in carrying on improvements. The 

 principal street is about a third of a mile in length, 

 and is tolerably well paved, with side-walks. Bil- 

 liard-signs stare you in the face. This, 1 presume, 

 may be set down as the great amusement, to which 

 may be added the favourite monte" at night. 



Coaches, or rather omnibusses, run several times 

 a day to Lima. The old accounts of robberies on 

 the road to Lima, are still fresh in the mouths of 

 strangers. In times of revolution it was infested by 

 robbers, but the steps taken by government have 

 effectually put a stop to them. 



On the road to Lima is Bella Vista ; but it is in 

 ruins, and has been so ever since the revolution. It 

 was generally the outpost or battle-ground of the 

 two parties, and although the soil in the plain 

 which borders the sea is extremely fertile, consist- 

 ing of decomposed rock, containing the elements of 

 fertility in the greatest abundance, it now appears 

 a neglected waste. Attention to its cultivation and 

 irrigation would make it a perfect garden. On 

 approaching Lima, the gardens and fields are found 

 to be cultivated and well irrigated. Fields of Indian 

 corn are seen, some fully ripe, some half-grown, 

 and others just shooting up, a novel sight to us. 

 This bears testimony not only to the fineness of the 

 climate, but to the fertility of the soil. The gardens 

 near the city are filled to profusion with fruits of all 

 descriptions. 



The road, on its near approach to the city, forms 

 an avenue of about a mile in length. This, in its 

 prosperous days, was the usual evening drive, and 

 afforded a most agreeable one. On each side are 

 gardens filled with orange-trees, the fragrance of 

 whose flowers, and the beauty and variety of the 

 fruit, added to its pleasures. It is now going to 

 decay from utter neglect. Its rows of willows, and 

 the streams of running water on each side, though 

 forming its great attraction, will, if suffered to 

 remain without attention, be completely destroyed. 

 No one seems to take interest in the public works. 

 So marked a difference from Chili could not but be 

 observed. 



At Lima I was struck with the change that had 

 taken place since my former visit. Every thing 

 now betokens poverty and decay ; a sad change 



