Aspects of Nature in Southern Peru. 333 



known as Don Jorge, beloved by all who knew him. He had 

 got used to these scenes, and his not quite so lively an organi- 

 zation as my own, had caused him to feel less in comparing the 

 lovely verdure of England with this dark frowning and desert 

 shore. 



I geologized, I dug into ancient Indian tombs, examined 

 with wonder the desiccated bodies of the children of the sun, 

 the clothing of the dead, the gold, silver, and copper figures of 

 deities, wonderfully-moulded pottery, and many other things ; 

 I botanized in the valley of Arica — for I found tropical plants 

 growing in the bed of the river ; I crossed the sandy desert to 

 Tacna, botanized up its valley to the base of the Cordillera, 

 taking note of its wondrous elevation. I looked at and ex- 

 amined the Indian of this locality, he was not the character I 

 had pictured to myself; no, the three centuries of submission 

 to the Spanish rulers had given even the young man an old 

 and downcast look. I could scarcely believe that these were 

 the descendants of those who had conquered for the Incas 

 so much of the length and breadth of this land. If the 

 country I was in was uncheering, the Indian was in conformity 

 with it. 



The present Peruanos are criollos, or descendants of Spanish 

 parents ; the mestizos are of the Spaniard and Indian female, 

 the great majority being a mixed people, but I found them all 

 kind and hospitable. 



My friend Don Jorge had to remain awhile in Arica whilst 

 I proceeded to Iquique, the port of the silver mines of 

 Huantajaya. It was many years later that steamers were 

 found plying along the coast from Panama to Valparaiso ; but 

 the voyage from Iquique to Arica was not difficult, in con- 

 sequence of the pretty general southerly winds and southerly 

 current j* it could even be made in an open boat or a seal-skin 

 balsa or float, and the only little difficulty likely to occur was 

 an upset by a ' ' school of whales," that come in shore at certain 

 times of the year. The return, if by boat, was made during 

 the night when the strong south wind had gone down, and 

 what remained had veered to the eastward — this being the 

 terral or land breeze ; anchorage was found in some caleta, or 

 cove, during the greater part of the day. 



At the beginning of 1826, 1 embarked onboard the balandra 

 "San Miguel," for Iquique, with mining and other implements. 



* This is sometimes called " Humboldt's current." In September, 1854, the 

 " Guise," Peruvian man-of-war, during a calm of twelve hours, was drifted fifteen 

 miles to the N.W. ; so when sailing vessels get to leeward of a port hereabouts, 

 they may be several days fetching into their destination. 



On my last voyage to Europe in a sailing vessel, on a S.S.W. course, the third 

 day from Arica, we got out of the cool water of this current, into warmer. 



