NOTICES OF PERU. 



423 



quired, at very exorbitant prices. In each village of his juris- 

 diction, he established a shop, where all were forced to pur- 

 chase, because no other was allowed. These were termed 

 voluntary sales; but it must be borne in mind, that in the first 

 distribution, the most useless articles were given out, and those 

 of absolute necessity reserved for the second, and irregular dis- 

 tributions. 



The distribution of mules will serve to give an idea of the 

 repartimiento. A corregid&r generally purchased from five 

 to six hundred mules, at from fourteen to eighteen dollars each, 

 and allotted to each Indian from four to six, according as he 

 estimated his capacity to pay for them. He charged them 

 generally from forty to forty-four dollars each. The Indian 

 was prohibited from hiring his mules without permission from 

 the corregid&r, under the pretext of preventing illicit trade. 



When travellers or merchants required mules for transport- 

 ing their baggage or merchandise, they applied to the corre- 

 gidor, who looked over his list of those who had received 

 mules, and ordered those who were most indebted to him to 

 undertake the journey. He received the amount of the freight, 

 and reserved one-half on account of the debt ; one-fourth was 

 given to the traveller or merchant, to defray the expense of 

 food for the mules, and the remaining fourth was paid to the 

 peones or Indians, who accompanied the caravan to load and 

 feed the animals, so that nothing was left to the Indian to whom 

 the mules belonged. One-half of that fourth given to the pe- 

 ones was reserved, on account of the repartimiento or distri- 

 bution of goods. 



The Indian set out on his route, which in Peru was ge- 

 nerally a long and toilsome one, and it frequently happened, 

 that from fatigue one of the mules died. In this case, being 

 obliged to continue his journey, he was forced to sell one of 

 his mules at a very low price, and with the proceeds hire two 

 others, so that when he arrived at the place of destination, he 

 had two mules less, and nothing as an equivalent in their place. 

 He was left without means of subsistence, and a long and rug- 

 ged road between him and his home. A bare chance alone 

 relieved his distress j sometimes he met with a return freight, 



