5'2 



Ruins of an Inca town. 

 Ponchorua. Caballeros. 



PERU. 



Yaso. Obrajillo. 

 Difficulty in procuring mules. 



At the distance of three leagues from Lima, they 

 passed through the ruins of an Inca town, situated 

 (as they uniformly found them afterwards) just on 

 the border of the irrigated valley. The walls of the 

 town were very thick, built of mud and unburnt 

 brick, at -right angles, very much after the modern 

 manner ; the hills also were seen covered with the 

 ruins of Indian buildings, some of them resembling 

 fortifications. 



They now turned up a beautiful valley, on the 

 irrigated fields of which were seen herds of 

 horned cattle, horses, and goats, a proof that 

 the irrigated land is not exclusively used for 

 tillage. 



At six leagues from Lima they reached Pon- 

 chorua, the first stopping-place ; but the party 

 concluded to go a league beyond it to Caballeros, 

 where they passed the night. They arrived there 

 in sufficient time to make a short excursion to the 

 banks of the Rio de Caxavillo, which appeared a 

 larger stream than the Rimac. 



Around Caballeros are very extensive meadows 

 and fields of clover. The posada was found occu- 

 pied by the guard and muleteers who acted as a 

 convoy of silver from Pasco. They gave up the 

 only room in the house for- our gentlemen, into 

 which they were shown, and where a good supper 

 was provided for them, while the guard took up 

 their quarters in the yard. The metal, it was ob- 

 served, was in large masses of pina, some of them 

 heavy enough to be a load for a mule, and an in- 

 convenient burden to run away with. 



They passed the night on the tables and rude 

 seats, under cover, a luxury they had not yet 

 learned to appreciate. 



At midnight they felt the shock of an earth- 

 quake. A distant hollow sound was at first heard, 

 which seemed to approach, increasing rapidly, and 

 before they could spring to their feet, the house 

 was rolled and shaken as if it had been on an agi- 

 tated sea. Mr. Rich says that it was with diffi- 

 culty he could hold himself on the table where lie 

 had been lying. The natives of the adjoining huts 

 ran out into the road, uttering horrible shrieks, 

 striking their breasts, and offering up prayers to 

 the Holy Virgin to protect them. The shock con- 

 tinued severe for forty seconds, but lasted alto- 

 gether about two minutes ; it produced a slight 

 nausea, like sea-sickness, which continued for some 

 time afterwards, and a bewildering sensation, that 

 rendered it difficult to collect their ideas to speak. 

 The sound resembled that produced by throwing 

 stones over precipices, so as to roll on hollow 

 ground beneath. This earthquake was the most 

 violent that had been experienced for some time, 

 and was felt sensibly at Lima and through all 

 Lower Peru. No material damage was done, in 

 consequence, according to the people of the coun- 

 try, of its not getting to the surface. 



Early on the 17th the party set out up the dry 

 mountain valley, the soil of which is composed of 

 stones and loose powdery earth. This kind of 

 ground continued for five leagues, with not a drop 

 of water, nor was a plant or bird collected ; no- 

 thing was seen growing but a few tillandsias. On 

 this route they passed many crosses, marking the 

 spots where there had been loss of life : a sight 

 .that was not calculated to excite pleasing thoughts, 

 and bringing to mind not only the great number of 

 murders that had taken place, but the daily occur- 



rence of attacks upon small parties of travellers by 

 the desperadoes of Peru. 



Immediately on the confines of this dreary waste 

 is Yanga, a deserted-looking place, but having 

 some good gardens and orchards. At noon they 

 reached Santa Rosa de Quivi, a small place, where 

 they procured some good fruit. After travelling 

 two leagues, they at dark reached Yaso, and 

 stopped at the postmaster's house ; he was not at 

 home, but they were permitted to sleep in the 

 porch or veranda. Nothing edible was to be found 

 in the village, except a few potatoes, after supping 

 on which, they disposed themselves on the clay 

 and stones, with their arms ready for service, a 

 precaution necessary at times, even in the most 

 frequented places in Peru. 



During the day, they had been much annoyed 

 by sand-flies and fleas ; besides these, they had a 

 few rnusquitoes, but the latter are seldom felt in 

 Peru. 



The screaming of parrots during the night, had 

 announced that some change had taken place in 

 the vegetation. In the morning they found this 

 to be the case. The land in the vicinity of the town 

 was cultivated, and some good orchards and fields 

 of clover were seen ; the mountains, which had 

 hitherto been gray with tillandsias, had now as- 

 sumed a greenish tinge. Agaves made their appear- 

 ance here, and a few miles beyond, the hills be- 

 came entirely green : all showed that a different 

 region had been entered. The inclined i-oofs of the 

 huts proved that rains were experienced, and that 

 it was found necessary by the inhabitants to pro- 

 tect themselves from them. 



The valley had now become more contracted, 

 and level ground was seldom seen ; the mountains 

 increased in elevation, the roads and scenery par- 

 taking of the character of Madeira. Cascades were 

 seen springing from almost the very summits of 

 the high peaks ; cattle were grazing, and occa- 

 sional cultivated patches were mingled with the 

 pasture-grounds ; the aid of irrigation was no 

 longer necessary ; and the Cordillera plants of the 

 Flora Peruviana, with the vegetation made known 

 by Humboldt and Bonpland, were recognised. At 

 noon, after travelling six leagues, they reached 

 Obrajillo, the rendezvous of the two celebrated 

 Spanish botanists, Ruiz and Pavon, authors of 

 the Flora Peruviana. 



There are three towns, Obrajillo, Canta, and San 

 Miguel, about a mile distant from each other, said 

 to contain three or four thousand inhabitants. At 

 Obrajillo, the general to whom they had letters of 

 introduction was not at home ; some difficulty in 

 getting mules occurred in consequence, and it was 

 not until much time and patience had been ex- 

 hausted, that our gentlemen understood the real 

 difficulty, which was, that the horses they had 

 brought from the low country, were not considered 

 capable of standing the cold and fatigue of the 

 mountains, the owners at Lima having refused to 

 allow their mules to cross the mountains. They 

 were assisted, however, in procuring mules and 

 guides by the general's son. 



Obrajillo, the largest of the three towns, con- 

 tains about one hundred cottages. It has a stone 

 church, with two towers, apparently of some age, 

 which fronts on the open square. The dwellings 

 are of one story, without floors, and almost with- 

 out furniture; yet it is said to be the residence of 



