Mountain Travel. 397 



Pacific, are cut by hand. There are signs of vakiable 

 mines of gold, cinnabar, lead, limouite, and a gray coppei- 

 ore containing silver, in the vicinity ; while mountains of 

 salt occur at San Carlos, twenty-five miles northwest. Ap- 

 ple-trees grow, but do not thrive, at Chachapoyas ; the one 

 I saw was covered with moss, yet it presented the singular 

 spectacle of bearing blossoms and ripe fruit at the satne 

 time. Unfortunately, this city is the head centre of the 

 garajpata, a grub-like insect whose bite not nnfrequently 

 leads to ulcers. If the road from Chachapoyas to the Ma- 

 ranon by the -way of Olleros and the Aichiyacu, recently 

 surveyed by Mr. Wetterman, is ever opened, it will bring 

 the city into easy communication with the outside world. 

 A Chinaman keeps a little fonda here; but I was quar- 

 tered in the Council Chamber, and dined at the university 

 with his holiness, good Bishop Solano. 



From Chachapoyas to the next great city, Cajamarca, is 

 about seventy miles. On. the maps, this intervening coun- 

 try between the coast -range and the central cordillera is 

 represented as a broad valley; in reality, it is a jumble of 

 precipitous mountains. The road, for the first two days, is 

 excellent, following the deep, romantic ravine of the IJtcu- 

 bamba. ]^o trees are in sight ; but the road is bordered 

 with aloe, whose tall stem resembles a gigantic asparagus. 

 This tributary to the Upper Maraiion washes the feet of a 

 few sleepy villages ; as Tingo, Magdalena, San Tomas, Chi- 

 lingote, and Leimebamba. Near Tingo is the lofty Cue- 

 lap mountain, which is crowned with ruins supposed to be 

 pre-incarial. These are the remains of a fortress, contain- 

 ing chambers and tombs, and consist of a wall of cut stone 

 560 feet thick, 3600 long, and 150 high, above which rises 

 another wall 500 feet thick, 600 long, and 150 high. It is 

 estimated that it would take 20,000 men five years to build 

 it. While the antiquarian is busy with this, the geologist 



