PERU. 235 



We had a good opportunity of visiting the far-famed fortress. It is 

 said to be able to contain ten thousand troops, and from its extent, 

 would appear capable of accommodating that number with ease. 

 What engaged our attention most, was a review of the soldiers of the 

 garrison. They are about eight hundred strong, and every one seemed 

 to be " acting on his own hook," as they are said to have done in the 

 late battle. The officers, instead of swords, carried cowhides, about 

 five feet in length, which they applied with earnestness to the men, 

 and indeed, from appearances, they seemed to require it, if they were 

 ever to be changed into soldiers. 



The situation of old Callao is still visible under the water, and though 

 an interesting object, becomes a melancholy one, when one thinks of 

 the havoc a few minutes effected. The very foundation seems to have 

 been upturned and shaken to pieces, and the whole submerged by a 

 mighty wave. The wonder is that any one escaped to tell the tale. 



Two crosses mark the height to which the sea rose. The upper 

 one, one-third of the way to Lima, indicates the extreme distance to 

 which the water flowed ; the lower one marks the place whither the 

 Spanish frigate was carried. I very much doubt the truth of either. 

 I can easily conceive that a great wave would be sufficient to carry a 

 large vessel from her moorings half a mile inland, but I cannot imagine 

 how the water should have reached the height of one hundred and 

 fifty feet at least above the level of the sea, and yet permitted two 

 hundred inhabitants of old Callao to have escaped on the walls of a 

 church which are not half that height. 



Outside the walls of the fortress arc several large vaults, filled with 

 the dead, in all stages of decay, and on which the vultures were 

 gorging themselves : this was a revolting spectacle. Indeed, it is 

 truly surprising that the higher classes, and those in immediate au- 

 thority, should not feel the necessity of appearing more civilized in 

 the disposition of their dead. Many are thrown in naked, and covered 

 only with a few inches of sand. Great numbers of skeletons are still 

 seen with pieces of clothing hanging to them. Dogs and vultures in 

 great numbers were every where feeding upon the dead, or standing 

 aloof fairly gorged with their disgusting repast. If any thing is calcu- 

 lated to make a people brutal, and to prevent the inculcation of proper 

 feeling, it is such revolting sights as these. 



Callao is said to contain between two and three thousand inhabi- 

 tants, but this number, from the appearance of the place, seems to be 

 overrated. Several new buildings are going up, which proves, that 

 notwithstanding the times of revolution, they still persist in carrying 

 on improvements. The principal street is about a third of a mile in 



