126 



MR. NATION. 



being a large ant that ate the coca leaves, and which, when once estab- 

 lished in a plantation, was difficult to get rid of ; and another was the 

 scarcity of labor — that it was barely to be had in the Quebrada ; that 

 he had six laborers on his hacienda; and that he was at least two 

 thousand dollars in advance to them. The money, of course, had been 

 advanced to them in the shape of supplies, and I suppose these laborers 

 are now as effectually slaves as if they were so by law. 



Nothing is sold from this valley but coca. Only sufficient coffee and 

 sugar cane are planted for the use of the inhabitants. Senor Martins 

 gave us some very good cacacha, or rum made from the cane, and some 

 tolerable pine-apples and plantains. A little cotton is cultivated, and a 

 coarse cloth is woven by hand from it. Every old woman goes about 

 her household avocations with a bunch of cotton in her hand, and a 

 spindle hanging below. I was surprised not to see any wild animals? 

 though I am told that there are deer, hares, tiger-cats, and animals of 

 the mink kind, that occasionally run off with the poultry. There are 

 not so many birds as I expected ; those I have seen are generally of a 

 gay and rich plumage. Insect life is very abundant, and nearly all sting 

 or bite. The climate is very pleasant, though the sun is hot in mid-day. 

 The diseases, which occur rarely, are cutaneous affections, tabardillo, 

 and sometimes small-pox. 



We met, at Cocheros, an English botanist, named Nation, upon whose 

 track we have been ever since leaving Lima. He was the gardener of 

 Souza Ferreyra, the Brazilian Charge in Lima, and I believe was collect- 

 ing plants for him. Poor fellow ! he had had a hard time of it ; he lost 

 his mule not long after leaving Lima, and walked from Surco to Moroco- 

 cha, where some kind person supplied him with another. He has also 

 had tertiana whenever he has gone into the Montana. He was alone, 

 and spoke no Spanish, but he had combatted obstacles and difficulties 

 with a spirit and perseverance deserving all praise. I was sorry for his 

 mishaps, but could not help laughing at him a little when I observed that 

 the bats had nearly eaten his mule up. The poor beast was covered with 

 blood all over, and had nearly lost an eye from their bites.. Mr. Nation 

 has sent a great many specimens of plants to Lima, and says that the 

 "flora" of this country is rich, and almost identical with that of Brazil. 



On our return from Cocheros we stopped at the house of a man who 

 had, the day before, promised to sell us a fowl ; with the usual want of 

 good faith of these people, he now refused. Ijurra took the gun from 

 my hand, and, before I was aware what he was about to do, shot a 

 turkey. The man and his wife made a great outcry over it, and he was 

 hurrying off, with furious gestures and menacing language, to report the 

 matter to his patron, when a few kind words, the helping myself to a 



