190 SOUTH AMEEICA— THE ANDES EEGIONS. 



Muyscas, stands at an altitude of 9,160 feot, near the sources of the Sogamoso. 

 Numerous churches and other buildings attest the former prosperity of this place, 

 which, although chosen as capital of the State of Boyaca, is a decayed town, out- 

 stripped in population and trade by several other cities in the province. Its 

 neighbour, Ramiriqiil, is inhabited by a community of industiious Indians, who 

 weave cotton and woollen stuffs, and occupy themselves with stock-breeding. 



The province takes its name from the village of Bof/aca, a little to the south- 

 east of Tunja, where Bolivar gained the famous battle which secured the indepen- 

 dence of Colombia (1819). The little bridge still exists which was so hotly 

 contested, and near which are some noteworthy rock inscriptions. Here the Cor- 

 dillera is crossed by some easy passes leading down to Turmeqiié, Uinhita, and 

 Giiateqne, which occupy the first cultivated terraces on the slopes draining to the 

 Orinoco. 



DuiTAMA — Sogamoso — Soata. 



Below Tunja the tortuous Rio Sogamoso flows at the foot of a terrace, on 

 which stands the ancient town of Dnitama, formerly inhabited by a Muysca tribe, 

 which under the powerful cacique Tundama offered a valiant resistance to the 

 Spaniards. Santa Rom de Viterho, on the same terrace, is noted for its meteorite, 

 weighing 1,540 pounds, which was discovered in 1810 on a neighbouring emi- 

 nence, and removed to a clump of trees in the middle of the square. But its extra- 

 terrestrial origin, vouched for by Boussingault and Rivero, does not appear to be 

 quite beyond suspicion, for similar ferruginous blocks are said to occur embedded in 

 the neighbouring rocks. 



Sogamoso (Suamoz), on the banks of the river to which it gives its name, was, 

 like Tunja, one of the historical cities of the Muysca empire. About a mile to 

 the south-east is shown the site of Iraca, where resided the sogamuxi, or high 

 priest of the nation, and where stood the richest temple of the land, a vast wooded 

 structure covered with plates of gold. During the sack of the town the Spaniards 

 inadvertently set fire to the building, which continued to burn for several days, 

 five years according to the local legend. 



Although visited by pilgrims from all quarters with their offerings of gold 

 and precious stones, Sogamoso is a flourishing centre of the cattle trade, exceeding 

 the capital in population. The surrounding plains, often under water, are little 

 suited for tillage, but they serve to fatten numerous herds imported from the 

 llanos of Casanare ; the local breed of horses is also highly esteemed. 



Soata, some 60 miles farther north, stands on a well-cultivated terrace (6,710 

 feet), dominating the west side of the deep gorge of the Sogamoso. It is an 

 important agricultural and trading centre, surrounded by fertile plains yielding 

 abundant crops of sugar, wheat, and other produce of the hot and temperate 

 zones ; even the date-palm, rare in Colombia, here arrives at maturity. 



North of Sogamoso the chief places in the valleys of the Eastern Cordillera are 

 Chifa and Cociii, the former south, the latter north of the main range, but both 

 within the cold zone at the respective altitudes of 9,765 and 9,045 feet. Chita 



