164 



PAYTA. " 



to the sea^ are also very frequent. There are 

 plainly enough^ the marks of water having once 

 flowed over the bed of these channels^ now 

 perfectly dry ; but no doubt some very ancient 

 revolution of nature must have altered the di- 

 rection or dried up the source of these torrents ; 

 as there is no tradition whatever^ of any water 

 having been ever seen or heard of nearer than 

 eighteen miles from the place. The frequency 

 of earthquakes indeed^ renders it very probable 

 that the course of streams and rivers have been 

 turned from Payta by some violent motion and 

 change of level. Such events have happened 

 in other places. The earthquakes and volcano 

 of Guana Putena^ induced the inhabitants of 

 Arequipa to change the situation of their town. 

 The houses of Lima have often been de- 

 molished^ and the present site of Callao is 

 farther inland than the old town^ which was 

 destroyed in 1747 in a terrible earthquake. 



