450 



PERU. 



July, 1835. 



few willows ; and the presence of an occasional clump of bana- 

 nas and of oranges, alone reminded one that the landscape of 

 a country in latitude 1 2° might have boasted of a far more 

 splendid vegetation. The city of Lima is now in a wretched 

 state of decay : the streets are nearly unpaved, and heaps 

 of filth are piled up in all directions ; where the black gaUi- 

 nazos, tame as poultry, pick up bits of carrion. The houses 

 have generally an upper story, built, on account of the earth- 

 quakes, of plastered woodwork ; but some of the old ones, 

 which are now used by several families, are immensely large, 

 and would rival in suites of apartments the most magnificent 

 in any place. Lima, the City of the Kings, must formerly 

 have been a splendid town. The extraordinary number of 

 churches, even at the present day, gives it a peculiar and 

 striking character, especially when viewed from a short dis- 

 tance. 



One day I went out with some merchants to hunt in the 

 immediate vicinity of the city. Our sport was very poor ; 

 but I had an opportunity of seeing the ruins of one of the 

 ancient Indian villages, with its hill-like mound in the 

 centre. The remains of houses, enclosures, irrigating streams, 

 and burial mounds, scattered over this plain, cannot fail to 

 give one a high idea of the condition and number of the 

 ancient population. When their earthenware, woollen clothes, 

 utensils of elegant forms cut out of the hardest rocks, tools 

 of copper, ornaments of precious stones, palaces and hy- 

 draulic works, are considered, it is impossible not to respect 

 the considerable advance made by them in the arts of civi- 

 lization. The burial mounds, called Huacas, are really stu- 

 pendous ; although in some places it is only a natural hill 

 which appears to have been incased and modelled. 



There is also another and very different class of ruins, 

 which possesses some interest, namely, those of old Callao, 

 overwhelmed, by the great earthquake of 1 7 46, and its accom- 

 panying wave. The destruction must have been more com- 

 plete even than at Concepcion. Quantities of shingle almost 

 conceal the foundations of the walls, and vast masses of 



