TARMA. 



77 



dulces, or sweetmeats. A Limenian never thinks of taking water 

 during dinner, and always eats sweetmeats after dinner, that he may 

 then safely take water; so that "Tomar dulces, para beber agua" is a 

 sort of dietetic proverb with them. 



Junk 13. — Rode out on the Oroya road, with the intention of visiting 

 a cave, or what is reported to be a subterraneous passage made by the 

 Incas, and reaching as far as Jauxa, twenty-seven miles ; but after riding 

 about five miles, we determined that we were too late to explore the 

 cave for that day, and meeting Richards, from Morococha, we turned 

 back. I suspect that this cave is nothing more than the cafton, or 

 opening, of some long-deserted mine. 



June 14. — Rode out to the southward, in the direction of Jauxa. 

 This valley, which rises very rapidly, is thickly settled, and well culti- 

 vated. Road bad. Another valley debouches from this, about four 

 miles above Tarma, to the southward and eastward, leading to the 

 Montana of Vitoc. 



June 15. — Had a long visit from General Otero. The vivacious old 

 gentleman discoursed very pleasantly. He said that it was difficult to 

 get at the population of the town proper, the census being generally 

 taken of the Doctrina, or district over which the Cura had religious juris- 

 diction; that this was about ten or twelve thousand, of which one- 

 twelfth part were pure white, about one-half Mestizos, (descendants of 

 whites and Indians,) and the balance Indians, there being very few 

 negroes. I asked him to account for the number of blind people we 

 had noticed in the streets. He said that most of the blind people came 

 from Jauxa, in which country much wheat and barley are produced; that 

 they sifted these grains, and got rid of the chaff by throwing them up 

 in the air, and he believed that the blindness arose from the irritation 

 caused by the chaff and barbs flying into the eyes of the people who 

 sifted. 



He also said that he thought I should not attempt to cross the 

 Chanchamayo amongst the Indians, for that I would not be able to 

 defend myself against their attacks ; but thought that, if I wished to 

 descend the Ucayali, I had better take a more southern tributary, called 

 the Pangoa; (this is Biedma's route, by Andamarca and Sonomora;) 

 that there the Indians were not so much irritated against the whites, 

 and that the river was known to be navigable for canoes, for he himself 

 had known a friar of Ocopa who, in 1817, had descended it for the 

 conversion of the Indians of the Ucayali, and had afterwards estab- 

 lished a missionary station at Andamarca, where the Indians came at 

 stated periods to be baptized and receive presents of hatchets, knives, 



