178 



TOWN OF CALLAO. 



[1824 



and General Canterae, the second in command, found it necessary to 

 capitulate. 



By the terms of capitulation, all the Spanish possessions in Peru 

 were to be given up, including the castles of Callao ; and all the officers, 

 stores, military magazines, and arms were to remain in possession of 

 the patriots. But the commandant (Rodil) refused to surrender in com- 

 pliance with the capitulation, and continued to defend the castles of 

 Callao with unyielding obstinacy. Bolivar had therefore issued a 

 proclamation declaring the port to be in strict blockade ; and that Rodil, 

 by his conduct in holding the castles, should be considered as having 

 separated himself from the Spanish nation, and cut himself off from all 

 the rights of nations. Adequate forces were also assembled by sea 

 and land, and the castles closely invested. The patriots had erected 

 a battery within gun-shot of Callao, and the besiegers and besieged 

 were continually firing upon each other, but without much effect. 

 Rodil was well supplied with stores and ammunition, and rejected 

 every proposal for his surrender.* 



Such was the state of affairs when I entered the port of Callao on 

 the 26th of December, 1824, and anchored near the town. A United 

 States' squadron, under Commodore Hull, was lying in the roadstead, 

 consisting of the frigate United States, the sloop-of-war Peacock, and 

 schooner Dolphin : their object was the protection of North American 

 commerce, which had suffered much during the struggle of the revo- 

 lution. 



CHAPTER IV. 



The Port of Callao — Destruction of the Town in 1746 — Condition of the Place in 

 1824 — Closely invested by Land and Sea — Did not " catch a Tartar" — The City 

 of Lima — Sail from Callao — Arrive at Quilca — Visit the City of Arequipa— Sail 

 from Quilca — Arrive at Port Santa — Cruise along the Coast — Port of Guan- 

 chaco — City of Truxillo — Bay of Caraccas, and the surrounding Country — View 

 of Chimborazo — A Nation in the Clouds — Volcano of Pichinca — Eruption of 

 Cotopaxi — Sail from Caraccas Bay — Arrive at Cocos Island. 



Callao, as the reader probably knows, is a seaport town of Peru, 

 situated on the south-east side of a beautiful bay or harbour, which 

 forms the mouth of the River Rimac, or Lima ; on the south side of 

 which, seven or eight miles more inland, stands the celebrated city of 

 that name. Previous to the dreadful earthquake of 1746, Callao was 

 considered by the Spaniards to be impregnable : it was then fortified 

 by ten bastions and several batteries, and defended by a strong garri- 

 son. But that Callao was entirely destroyed by the visitation just 

 alluded to, and the present town stands farther from the water, con- 

 sisting of a single street, not more than half a mile in length, following 



* For a more particular description of this siege, see the Annual Register, published by G & C. 

 Carvill, for 1825-6, p. 183. 



