ULLOa's voyage to south AMEIIICA. • 46^5 



The air is very mild, lefs cold than that of Quito, and at the fame time the heat is 

 not at all inconvenient. The temperature of the air is different in all the villages of this 

 jurifdiftion, but in moft; warm, on account of their low fituation. Thefe parts are all 

 over this country called Valles, as I have already obferved ; and the names of thofe in 

 the jurifditlion of San Miguel de Ibarra are Chotar Carpuela, and feveral others. Moft 

 of the farms in them have plantations of fugar canes, and mills for extracting the juice, 

 from whence they n:iake great quantities of fugar, and very white : fome are planted 

 with the fruits common in a hot climate ; and in others cotton only is cultivated, and to 

 the greateft perfedion. 



The fugar canes do not ripen here fo late as in Quito ; but they may be committed at 

 any time to the mill, there being no neceflity for cutting them at any precife time, re- 

 taining all their goodnefs, even when fuffered to ftand two or three months after they 

 are ripe,; fo that they are cut every quarter, and the mills by that means kept at work 

 the whole year. 



The farms fituated in a lefs hot part are employed for cultivating maize, wheat, and 

 barley, in the fame manner as in the jurifdi6lion of Otabalo, and which we (hall explain 

 in its proper place. Here are alfo large numbers of goats, but not many Iheep ; and 

 though the manufaftures here are not fo numerous as in Otabalo, yet the Indians weave 

 a confiderable quantity of cloth and cotton. 



In the neighbourhood of the village of Salinas are fait mine?, which, befides the home 

 confumption, fupply the countries to the northward of it. This fait has fome mixture 

 of nitre ; and though it may thence be concluded to be lefs wholefome, yet it is attended 

 with no ill confequence to thofe who are accuftomed to it j but not anfwering the inten- 

 tion in faking, that from Guayaquil is ufed inft ead of it. 



Within the diftrid of the village of Mira are great numbers of wild afl'es, which in- 

 creafe very faft, and are not eafily caught. The owners of the grounds where they are 

 bred fuffer all perfons to take as many as they can, on paying a fmall acknowledgment 

 in proportion to the number of days their fport has lafted. The manner of catching 

 them is as follows : a number of perfons go on horfeback, and are attended by Indians 

 on foot. When arrived at the proper places, they form a circle, in order to drive them 

 into fome valley, where, at full fpeed, they throw the noofe, and halter them ; for thefe 

 creatures, on finding themfelves inclofed, make very furious efforts to efcape, and if 

 only one forces his way through, they all follow with an irrefiflible impetiiofity. But 

 when the hunters have noofed them, they throw them down, and fecure them with fet- 

 ters^ and thus leave them till the hunting is over j when, in order to bring them away 

 with the greater facility, they pair them with tame beafts : but this is not eafily per- 

 formed ; for thefe affes are fo remarkably fierce, that they often hurt the perfons who 

 undertake to manage them. They have all the fwiftnefs of horfes ; and neither acclivi- 

 ties nor precipices retard them in their career : when attacked, they defend themfelves 

 with their heels and mouth, with fuch activity that, without Hackening their pace, they 

 often maim their purfuers : but the moft remarkable property in thefe creatures is, that 

 after carrying the firft load, their celerity leaves them, their dangerous ferocity is lofl, 

 and they foon contract the ftupid look and dullnefs peculiar to the afmine fpecies. It is 

 alfo obfervable, that thefe creatures will not permit a horfe to live among them ; and if 

 one of them happens to ftray into the places where they feed, they all fall upon hmi, 

 and, without giving him the liberty of flying from them, they bite and kick him till they 

 leave him dead on the fpot. They are very troublefome neighbours, making a^ moft 

 horrid noife ; for whenever one or two of them begin to bray, they are anfwered in the 



VOL. XIV. 3 o *^"^® 



