284 PERU. 
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 bystanders to it ; his charge was reason- 
able, 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 above 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 conse- 
quence they were obliged to take up with a filthy hut. 
At Obrajillo good crops of Indian corn, rye, and beans are raised, 
but none of these grow higher up. 
A singular and rather amusing custom was witnessed 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 appearance, and were not long in creating a 
prodigious dust. They swept the dirt up into small heaps; then 
taking their coarse shawls from their shoulders, they spread them 
upon the ground and put the dirt they had collected into them, to be 
carried away. 
The Chilian officers called upon them with oifers of service, and 
were very civil and polite. 
At Obrajillo it was said that the wealthy men of the place kept 
very quiet, being much alarmed at the presence of the Chilians. 
The guides now demanded a settlement, but requested their money 
might be kept for them until the party reached Lima, as they cer- 
tainly would be robbed if they took it themselves. This incident 
proves how little security there is in this country, for any class of 
persons having any thing valuable about them. 
The preparations that had been made in the town were for a 
festival, and the guides were disinclined 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 horseback. The bridegroom's hat and person 
were decorated with carnations and pinks; the bride and brides- 
