A Frenchman partakes of their repast. 

 His subsequent faie. 



PERU. 



A bridal party. Unsettled state of th 

 country in Lower Peru. Yanga. 



them he had never eaten a worse meal in his 

 life. 



After this remark, a belief was entertained that 

 his saddle-bags contained edibles, and he was ac- 

 cordingly plied with questions until he confessed 

 he had a loaf of bread : this proved quite accept- 

 able, and a triumph over their fellow-lodger, who 

 promised them a further treat in the morning upon 

 some fine chocolate. 



On the morning of the 25th the Frenchman de- 

 parted early, and forgot all about his fine chocolate. 

 They regretted to hear, shortly after their arrival 

 at Lima, that he had been robbed and murdered 

 on his return. 



Our party set out early, and after an hour's ride 

 reached Culnai, where the villagers were busy 

 gathering in their potatoes. There were also se- 

 veral patches of oxalis cunata, tropseolum tubero- 

 sum, and a species of basella. The two former 

 when cooked are well-tasted, and all of them are 

 much esteemed by the natives. These patches are 

 enclosed by low stone dikes ; the plants, as they 

 advance, are earthed up, as we do potatoes, in the 

 early part of the season ; irrigation is necessary, 

 as the soil is light and open, and consists chiefly of 

 decayed rock and vegetable mould. Here some 

 very interesting seeds and roots of a species of 

 alstroemcria were gathered. 



Culnai and Banos are about on the same level, 

 ten thousand feet above the sea, and are the highest 

 points of cultivation ; they are both distant from 

 the crest, by the route of the water-course, about 

 nine miles. 



Dr. Pickering having preceded the party on foot, 

 reached Culnai after nine o'clock, when he entered 

 a store and was received with the utmost cor- 

 diality ; a meal was at once prepared for him, con- 

 sisting of eggs and potatoes, called chupe in the 

 country, which was kindly tendered ; the landlord 

 was very inquisitive, and examined his budget, 

 calling the attention of the by-standers to it ; his 

 charge was reasonable, and he gave the doctor a 

 hearty salutation at parting, with the " Adios per 

 Dios." 



At dark the party was reunited at Obrajillo. 

 Those who arrived first witnessed the slaughtering 

 of a bullock in the square, on which occasion great 

 numbers of condors and buzzards were collected in 

 the air above. The latter bird is seldom seen 

 higher up than Yaso. They stopped at the posada, 

 which they found occupied by the company of 

 Chilian troops whom they had met at Casa Cancha, 

 and in consequence they were obliged to take up 

 with a filthy hut. 



At Obraj illo good crops of Indian corn, rye, and 

 beans are raised ; but none of these grow at a 

 greater altitude. 



A singular and rather amusing custom was wit- 

 nessed in the morning, which does not speak much 

 for the gallantry of the male population. A town 

 officer was seen strutting with a spear about the 

 public square, calling all the women out to come 

 and sweep it. They soon made their appear- 

 ance, and were not long in creating a prodigious 

 dust. They swept the dirt up into small heaps ; 

 then taking their coarse shawls from their shoul- 

 ders, they spread them upon the ground, and put 

 the dirt they had collected into them, to be carried 

 away. 



The guides now demanded a settlement, but re- 



quested their money might be kept for them until 

 the party reached Lima, as they certainly would be 

 robbed if they took it themselves. This incident 

 proves how little security there is in this country 

 for persons of any class having any thing valuable 

 about them. 



The preparations that had been made in the 

 town were for a festival, and the guides were dis- 

 inclined to start for Lima. A little bribery, 

 however, and reminding them that one of the 

 greatest feasts in the Catholic Church, that of 

 Corpus Christi, was near at hand, induced them to 

 go forward. 



On their way from Obrajillo, which they left at 

 an early hour, they met a bridal party on horse- 

 back. The bridegroom's hat and person were 

 decorated with carnations and pinks ; the bride 

 and bridesmaid carried the same flowers, which 

 they presented to our gentlemen in passing. After 

 a hard day's ride they reached Taso, and took up 

 their quarters in the porch of the post-house ; the 

 landlord and postmaster's absence was now ac- 

 counted for, by saying that he had gone to church, 

 but would soon be back ; he of course did not 

 come, nor was he expected by our gentlemen. 

 They, in consequence, fared badly, for they had 

 nothing to eat. They found here a gentleman who 

 had been robbed the day before by three persons 

 in masks ; they had treated him with great polite- 

 ness, only proposing exchanges to his disadvantage; 

 he had nothing else to complain of ; they took his 

 purse, watch, spurs, and a drink of his brandy. 

 Much to their surprise, the guides, who had been 

 so scrupulous about their money, showed no signs 

 of alarm. A new difficulty arose with them : they 

 had been informed that a conscription was going 

 on, and they were afraid to proceed, lest they should 

 lose their liberty ; but the assurance, that they 

 would be protected while with the party, satisfied 

 them. 



The frequency of murder, highway robbery, and 

 a constant resort to the cuchillo, has not been ex- 

 aggerated in the accounts of Lower Peru. 



On the morning of the 27th they again set out, 

 having prepared themselves to encounter any 

 attack. The guides, knowing well the dangers 

 that were to be apprehended, showed much soli- 

 citude about keeping the company together. 



They reached Yanga without accident, and find- 

 ing the posada occupied by a party of soldiers, and 

 a recruiting officer, they were directed to a house 

 with a porch, but they found it shut up. They, 

 therefore, being assured that the owner would soon 

 return, deposited the saddles, &c. in the porch. 

 Soon after, a woman appeared, and on being in- 

 formed of their situation, and that they had fasted 

 for two days, she set about providing for their sup- 

 per, apparently from Christian motives, for during 

 the process she crossed herself several times. She 

 proved to be the owner of the estate, was somewhat 

 advanced in life, managed her own affairs, and was 

 seemingly well adapted to encounter the roughness 

 of the times. The heiress, a little girl, (Angelita 

 by name,) came galloping on a horse, driving the 

 cattle before her, with the air of a veteran, having 

 command over both the animal she rode and those 

 she drove; they were not much struck with her 

 beauty,for her well-plastered face, and wide-spread- 

 ing and matted hair, gave her the appearance of an 

 elf ; but she was a specimen of Peruvian nobility. 



