m 



SOUTH COAST OF PERU. 



of thongs ; over all a platform of cane mats forms 

 a sort of deck, about four feet wide, and six or eight 

 feet long. At one end the person who manages 

 the balsa kneels down, and by means of a double- 

 bladed paddle, which he holds by the middle, and 

 strikes alternately on each side, moves it swiftly 

 along ; the passengers, or goods, being placed on 

 the platform behind him. The buoyancy of these 

 balsas enables them to cross the surf in safety, and 

 without wetting the passengers, at times when an 

 ordinary boat would inevitably be swamped. All 

 the goods which go to the interior, at this part of 

 the coast, are landed in this manner. The great 

 bars of silver, and the bags of dollars also, which 

 are shipped in return for the merchandize landed, 

 pass through the surf on these tender, though se- 

 cure conveyances. 



The Alcalde, or Governor, was a more digni- 

 fied personage than our friend at Ylo, in as much 

 as he had under him a guard of six soldiers, and 

 a population of nearly one hundred souls. As he 

 treated us in the best manner he could, it was but 

 common civility to give him and his friends a din- 

 ner in return. Such grotesque-looking company, 



