PAYTA. 



143 



With the exception of a small number of 

 Europeans^ and of Spanish Creoles^ who main- 

 tain the trade^ and form the society of the 

 place^ the population is Indian. Some of the 

 most respectable houses are built of bamboo, or 

 cane, interlaced with strips of hide, so slight 

 that I hardly felt safe in walking heavily 

 across a room. These cages, for they are no- 

 thing more, are often covered with a mud 

 lining both inside and out, and then white- 

 washed. The common Indian hut at Payta 

 is generally a mere bird-cage^ through which 

 curiosity may pry into almost every domestic 

 movement. 



The Indians, as well as Creoles generally, live 

 to a very old age, preserving their faculties to 

 the last. In the province of Caxamarca, which 

 hardly contains seven thousand inhabitants, 

 the longevity is remarkable. In 1792 eight 

 persons were known to be from 114 to 147 



