400 



THREE YEARS IN THE PACIFIC. 



One afternoon we visited some Huacas in the vicinity, which, 

 among the Indians, have the reputation of being enchanted. 

 They resemble fortresses more than anything else. In the in- 

 terior of one of them there is a wall, made of adobes of differ- 

 ent sizes, which appears as if it had been heavily rained on. 

 They are about thirty feet high, a hundred feet square, and of 

 a pyramidal shape. There is no trace of graves or bones any 

 where in their neighborhood. The age of these mounds is not 

 known, for we are told that seven hundred years ago, their 

 origin and use were as great a mystery as at the present day. 

 The term Huaca, in the Quichua language, signifies " to weep," 

 and hence the general impression that these mounds were 

 graves or places of interment. The amount of treasure taken 

 from them at different times, is very great. It is stated in the 

 <«Diario de Lima," for 1791, that, from the year 1550 to 1590, 

 the king's fifths amounted to nearly one hundred thousand Cas- 

 tellanos* of gold, worth about two hundred thousand dollars 1 

 Chicha was a liquor used by the aborigines before the con- 

 quest, which is proven by its having been found in their tombs, 

 Chicha of the present day is of the consistence of milk, of a 

 yellowish color, and when poured from one vessel into another, 

 froths like beer ; generally its taste is slightly acid, but when 

 very good, the acidity is scarcely perceptible. The process of 

 making it is simple. Indian corn is steeped in water till it 

 swells ; it is then dried, and ground ; the flour and bran are 

 boiled in water, strained, and left to ferment twenty-four 

 hours, when it is fit for use. Sugar is occasionally added, and 

 it is sometimes made into flip with eggs. Foreigners are gene- 

 rally disgusted with chicha, because they are told that it is 

 made by chewing the corn, and spitting the saliva into a com- 

 mon receptacle, where it is left to ferment 1 This is called 

 <^ chicha mascada," and 1 am assured that it is thus made in 

 several places, t 



* A Castellano is one hundredth part of a Spanish pound. 



•}• Chicha bears some resemblance, at least in its manufacture, to the Epeah- 

 la, made by some of the " HoUontontes" on the southern coast of Africa. See 

 Owen's Voyages, to explore Africa and Arabia. 



