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42 chapters
PREFACE.
PREFACE.
In this refined age and country, to make a graceful appearance as an author requires endowments to which the writer of the following pages has no pretension: neither would he have intruded himself on the public notice, had he not thought it a duty incumbent on every one who travels, to give his own country the benefit of his observation and experience. He will venture to assert, that he has had ample means of making himself acquainted with his subject, and that he has treated it with candour and
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ERRATA.
ERRATA.
Transcriber’s Note: The errata have been corrected but otherwise the original spelling (in both English and Spanish) has been preserved....
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CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER I.
Boundaries of the Peruvian Republic.—General appearance and climate of the coast.—Seasons divided into Wet and Dry.—Vegetation.—Lunar influence.—Enervating effects of the climate of Lima. Modern Peru is bounded on the north by the Republic of the Equator; on the south by the Republic of Bolivia; on the east by the Portuguese territories, or Brazil; and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. The coast of the Republic of Peru extends along the shores of the Pacific from the river Loa, which is the sout
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CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER II.
Chances of life in Lima diminished by neglect of medical police.—Statements showing the proportion of deaths to the population of Lima.—Proportion between the different sexes and castes of the inhabitants. If the mildness of contagious epidemic diseases were to afford a fair test by which to judge of the climate of any particular locality, or the medical police of its community, that of Lima would surely rank as one of the most favourable. But, however open and spacious be the construction of th
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CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER III.
Food, fruit, and water used in Lima. As the degree of health, and vigour of constitution, enjoyed by individuals, depend in a great measure upon the diet, as well as on the air they breathe, climate, and caste, we shall offer a few general observations on the dietetic habits of the Limenians. Besides maize, which is more generally cultivated than wheat, the latter being to a considerable extent an article of importation from Chili and other foreign parts, the staple food of the poor on the coast
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CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER IV.
Remarks explanatory of certain Dietetic maxims, and established notions or prejudices, illustrative of the physical constitution and domestic habits of the Limenians. In Lima there are certain opinions and rules, relating to the nature and cure of diseases, so very popular and well received among the vulgar, and at the same time so habitually countenanced by many of the native practitioners, that, for any one who proposes to practise in that part of the world, and hopes to be honourably acquitte
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CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER V.
Condition of Slave population, and its influence on the family economy and moral sentiments of the European race. Such is the influence which slave domestics exercise over the feelings and comfort of private families, and, we would even add, over the moral and physical features of the community, that it would be impossible to give a correct picture of the state of society in Lima without first cursorily viewing the condition of the slave population in Peru. In article 152 of the Political Consti
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CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VI.
Social state of the Limenians under the Spaniards and Patriots.—Spanish colonists.—Style of conversation.—Improvements in female education.—Zamba attendants.—Omnipotence of the ladies at fifteen.—Esprit de corps of the fair sex.—Forgiving temper of public opinion.—Defective administration of justice.—Prerogative called Empeño.—God-fathers and god-mothers.—Saint-day parties.—Flowers and perfumes.—Limenian women excel in attention to the sick.—General character of the white women and dark races.—B
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CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VII.
Religious prejudices.—No faith with heretics.—Corpse of an Englishman cast into the street by the pious mob.—English supposed to have been buried with money in the island of San Lorenzo.—New cemetery, and Latin inscription for the English burial-ground.—Religious disadvantages of the British in Peru. Among a people who suffer so large a privation of moral discipline as the Peruvians, we naturally look for a corresponding prevalence of religious prejudices. Some years ago, when we lived in one of
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CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER VIII.
Clergy and lawyers more honoured than physicians or surgeons.—University of St. Mark.—Anatomical amphitheatre.—College of San Fernando.—State of the medical schools and profession on the coast and in the Sierra.—General remarks on Limenian education. During the continuance of the royal authority in Peru, when military titles were only conferred on men of Spanish blood, the honour of the church and civil courts of judicature was pre-eminently fostered by the government, and the duties of those hi
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CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER IX.
General features of the Sierra.—Roads.—Wilds of San Mateo.—Indian’s eyrie.—Mountain curate.—Enterprise of a priest engaged in inland traffic.—Pastoral life of Indians.—Ancient ruins.—Royal road of the Incas.—Tarma, a pretty Sierra town, or pueblo.—Various sorts of bridges.—Balsa, or canoe of rushes.—Ancient aqueducts and terraced gardens of the aborigines.—Pagan edifices among the rocks near the coast.—Vale of Rimac.—Temples of the ancient Sun-worshippers of the land. The space enclosed between
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CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER X.
Journey from Lima to Pasco by Obrajillo.—Diversity of air and climate.—Canta, a locality favourable to consumptive individuals.—Obrajillo, residence of muleteers.—Relay of mules, and payment in advance.—Cultivation and crops.—Ascent to and pass of the Cordillera—Veta, or Cordillera sickness.—Indian hut.—Muleteers’ lodgings on the Puna.—Wallay.—Diesmo.—Pasco. We left Lima about noon, and rode along a broad and stony road-way by the skirts of the hills, now, in the month of January, dry and steril
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CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XI.
Account of another route between Pasco and Lima, by Junin, Huaypacha, Pucara, Tucto.—Mines of Antacona, Casapalca, Pomacancha, San Mateo, San Juan de Matucana, Surco, Cocachacra, Santa Ana, and lastly, Chaclacayo.—Enumeration of a series of rocks, as they appear in succession from the pass of the Cordillera to the entrance into the Vale of Rimac. The most frequented route between Lima and Pasco is that which we have described in the foregoing chapter; but, before we offer any particular account
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ERRATA.
ERRATA.
Transcriber’s Note: The errata have been corrected but otherwise the original spelling (in both English and Spanish) has been preserved....
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CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER I.
Site, population, and climate of Cerro Pasco.—Houses.—Coal, and other kinds of fuel.—Timber for use of the mines, &c.—Where brought from.—Fruit and provisions.—Mines.—Mantadas.—Boliches.—Habilitador.—Mint.—Returns of the mines.—Banks of Rescate.—Pasco foundery. The town of Cerro Pasco, about fourteen thousand feet above the level of the sea, has its site in an irregular hollow on the northern side of a group of small hills, which commence at Old Pasco on the north-east limit of the high
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CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER II.
The Department of Junin.—The river Marañon.—General sketch of the form of internal Government of Peru.—Particular account of the Prefectorate or Department of Junin.—Mines.—Agriculture.—Manufactures.—Public Instruction.—Hospitals and Charitable Asylums.—Vaccination.—Junta of Health.—Public Baths.—Police.—Pantheons.—Roads.—Posts.—Public Treasury at Pasco.—Administration of Justice.—National Militia. Of the three inland departments of Peru, namely, Cuzco, Ayacucho, and Junin, the latter is peculia
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OF THE OFFICE OF PREFECTS AND GOVERNORS, &C.
OF THE OFFICE OF PREFECTS AND GOVERNORS, &C.
The superior political government of every department is vested in a prefect, under immediate subordination to the president of the republic; that of every province is entrusted to a sub-prefect, who is immediately subordinate to the prefect; that of the districts to a governor, who acknowledges the sub-prefect as his superior; and in every town, or Indian village, there is a still humbler officer called alcalde , who acts under the orders of the governor of his district, and is entrusted with t
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DEPARTMENTAL JUNTAS.
DEPARTMENTAL JUNTAS.
In the capital of every department there is a junta, composed of two members from each province. The object of these juntas is to promote the interest of the provinces in particular, and of the departments in general. The members are elected after the same manner with those of the Congress or Chamber of Deputies. [11] The prefects of the departments have to open the annual sessions of the juntas, to report to them in writing on the state of the public affairs of their respective jurisdictions, a
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MINES.
MINES.
We shall here pass over the subject of mines, regarding which we have said enough under the head of Cerro Pasco; though there is no province in the whole department in which silver and even gold mines are not to be found; but the chief source of production at present is Cerro Pasco....
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AGRICULTURE.
AGRICULTURE.
Of the agriculture of the Vale of Huanuco we have already treated; and, from what has been said, enough may be conceived of the general state of agriculture in the Sierra. We have also alluded to Jauja, in the preceding pages, as most productive in wheat; and abounding, as it does, in maize, lucern, peas, beans, &c. it is considered not only as the granary of the department to which it belongs, but also of all the central Sierra of Peru between the two great chains of the Andes. In the V
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MANUFACTURES.
MANUFACTURES.
The manufactures, we may cursorily remark, are in a very backward state; and though the natives, especially of Huanuco, have shown no small share of ingenuity in some of their mechanical contrivances, yet they want proper masters; and, however we may admire the progress they have made with such slender means of instruction, we cannot compare their performances with those of Europeans in the same line. In Tarma they make ponchos , or loose cloaks, of great beauty and fineness; and, on the colder
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PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.
PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.
Without the aid of science, the arts of active life cannot duly advance in the career of improvement, and thus society remains a stranger to the higher refinements of civilization: hence, as the prefect of Junin well observes, the education of youth becomes a leading object of national interest and desire. But though in the department of Junin there are three colleges, that of Huanuco alone fulfils its purpose of instruction to a limited number of pupils; and there is reason to fear that it will
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HOSPITALS AND CHARITABLE ASYLUMS.
HOSPITALS AND CHARITABLE ASYLUMS.
It is affecting to think that, notwithstanding the wealth of which this department is the seat, the sick and invalid in general cannot find a home or place of assistance under their sufferings. In Huaras, as well as in Huanuco, there were formerly well-endowed hospitals, but these are now fallen into such decay for want of funds for their support, that few indeed are the sick who can be accommodated or relieved in them; and, consequently, those in charge of these once useful establishments are d
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VACCINATION.
VACCINATION.
In the year 1832, it was found that the small-pox had just left dismal traces of its ravages in the department: fathers mourned their children now dead, or so disfigured and mutilated as to become unfit for the active business of life; the widow, too, wept for her lost husband, and the offspring of a mutual affection were left to feel the want of a father’s care. Curates, and municipal bodies, most particularly intrusted with the frequently repeated charge of preserving the vaccine fluid, unhapp
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JUNTAS OF HEALTH.
JUNTAS OF HEALTH.
It has been proposed by the same active and intelligent prefect, Don Francisco Quiros, that juntas of health should be established in the capitals or principal towns of the provinces of his jurisdiction, with a view to prevent the spread of contagious diseases;—to ascertain, and if possible correct, those physical causes and sources of disorder which are hostile to the healthy operations of the vital functions, and destructive to the growth of population. It is, as we have seen, the duty of the
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PUBLIC BATHS.
PUBLIC BATHS.
In the dry and equable climate of Huanuco, bathing is not so necessary either to cool or to refresh the body as it is found to be in more humid and warm situations; for there is a bracing property in the dry air, which carries off the natural perspiration almost as rapidly as it is produced, and prevents that languor and discomfort experienced in a sultry atmosphere, where one perspires more than the air readily absorbs. The inhabitants of this interesting province, and especially of the town of
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POLICE.
POLICE.
Few of the municipalities of the department possess public rents and revenues calculated to answer the purpose to which they should be applied. But, in the absence of adequate funds and resources to forward all the objects of a general and well-regulated municipal police, there exists a valuable decree, which is very worthy of proper observance; for, in virtue of it, blasphemers, and those who, by their habitual indulgence in vice and vicious language, insult the better feelings of the community
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PANTHEONS OR CEMETERIES.
PANTHEONS OR CEMETERIES.
It has been long an established practice in Peru to bury the dead within the churches; a practice which, on the coast more especially, gave rise to a heavy exhalation, which very naturally rendered the incense burnt on the altar, independently of its mystical virtue, an agreeable and seasonable corrective for the sepulchral vapours of the rich and well-adorned temples of the metropolis. This very unwholesome and improper custom has ceased in Lima since the erection of its Pantheon, and the examp
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ROADS OF JUNIN.
ROADS OF JUNIN.
Regarding the roads of the Sierra in general, enough has been said in the preceding pages; but of Junin, in particular, it remains for us to observe that very laudable efforts have been lately made for improving the roads of this department: yet no regular post-houses, with suitable accommodations for the traveller, are anywhere established; and the communication between the more remote provinces and Pasco is exceedingly bad. This is a great hinderance to commerce, and leads to inevitable delay
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POSTS.
POSTS.
The inhabitants of Cerro Pasco have the advantage of a weekly post between their town and the capital of the republic; and a direct correspondence twice a month with Huanuco, the capital of the department. By these arrangements an immediate communication is also held with the government, and the spirit of mercantile enterprise is thereby increased; Cerro being, as the reader may readily imagine, when the mines are highly productive, a most stirring place, visited by men of all climes, and full o
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PUBLIC TREASURY AT PASCO.
PUBLIC TREASURY AT PASCO.
The prefects in general are, as we have seen, not only entrusted with the maintenance of public order and security, but they are also at the head of financial affairs in their respective departments. In times of intestine warfare it has always happened that the Patriot government has exceeded the natural resources of the country, crippled as they are in all their branches by want of security, and consequently of capital. Thus there were, at the commencement of the year 1834 particularly, heavy a
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OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.
OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.
Justice, in all the departments, is administered in the name of the republic; and in every town there are justices of the peace, whose business it is to hear both sides of the question at issue, and to endeavour to bring about an amicable termination without going formally to law: no demand, civil or criminal, save fiscal cases and others excepted by law, being admitted, unless this essential preliminary attempt at reconciliation has been put into practice. In some of the provinces of the Junin
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NATIONAL MILITIA.
NATIONAL MILITIA.
By the articles of the political constitution of Peru, there are supposed to be in every province bodies of national militia as the guarantee of the internal order of the state; but, by the same constitution, the armed force of the nation has no power of political deliberation, as it is declared to be essentially obedient . Happy, indeed, might the state be, if its army of the line and naval squadron were always obedient to the laws, and were proof against the influence of corruption, the wily l
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CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER IV.
Missionary College of Ocopa.—Its foundation, utility, downfall, and decree for its restoration.—Introduction of Christianity along the rivers Marañon, Huallaga, and Ucayali, &c. by the Jesuits and Franciscans.—Letter from Friar Manuel Plaza, the last great missionary of Ocopa, to the prefect of Junin. Could the department of Junin boast of no other advantages than those which arise from the quantity of precious metal which it annually furnishes, it would be sufficient to substantiate its
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CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER V.
Christianized Indians of the Interior.—Their condition and character.—Hardships imposed on them.—Desire of revenge. Tangur, in the curacy of Caina, and department of Junin, is one of those villages so common on the elevated slopes which overlook temperate valleys in the interior of Peru. In this small village, as we are informed by a gentleman who for several years visited it in the character of curate, there are two distinct municipalities, each possessing its separate church and magistrates. T
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CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VI.
War of Independence.—Unsettled state of the country at the close of 1835 and early in 1836.—Gamarra’s Government.—Insurrections.—Guerilla and Freebooters.—Foreign Marines.—Lima invaded from the castles of Callao, under command of Solar.—Orbegoso enters Lima.—Castles of Callao taken by assault.—Battle of Socabaya.—Salaverry taken prisoner.—Execution.—Public tranquillity hoped for under the protection of Santa-Cruz. Having in the preceding chapters attempted to give a correct idea of the general a
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CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VII.
On Climate and Disease.—Panama, Guayaquil, Peru, and Chile. For those who propose to cross the Isthmus of Panama, or visit the shores of the Pacific, it may be interesting to be made in some degree acquainted with the influence of particular climates, and the sort of illness which they are most likely to experience at the principal commercial ports, particularly to the south of the line. On this account the author now offers some general hints on these subjects, having it in view to publish as a
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ON THE ZOOLOGY OF WESTERN PERU.
ON THE ZOOLOGY OF WESTERN PERU.
Under the head of the zoology of western Peru we beg leave to present to the reader a translation of a chapter on the influence of climate on animals, especially on domestic animals, taken from the work of the late Dr. Don Hipolito Unanue, entitled “Observaciones sobre el Clima de Lima.” Dr. Unanue was an ornament to society, and honoured by his country, as well under the Spanish as the Patriot government: by the former, as the reader already knows, he was appointed chief of the medical tribunal
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GEOGNOSTIC DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY IN THE ENVIRONS OF AREQUIPA, WITH AN ANALYSIS OF THE MINERAL WATERS IN THE VICINITY OF THE SAME CITY.
GEOGNOSTIC DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY IN THE ENVIRONS OF AREQUIPA, WITH AN ANALYSIS OF THE MINERAL WATERS IN THE VICINITY OF THE SAME CITY.
According to the “Guia Politica, Eclesiastica, y Militar del Peru,” edited by Dr. Unanue of Lima, the city of Arequipa is situated at 16° 13´ 20´´ south latitude; and it stands at the distance of about thirty leagues from its present sea-port, Islay. In making from seaward to the port of Chule, the burning mountain of Arequipa, (which now emits no smoke,) described as resembling a sugar-loaf with the top broken off, used to be taken as a landmark by the Spanish pilots on the South-Sea coasts. Th
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STEAM NAVIGATION.
STEAM NAVIGATION.
We have in Vol. I. p. 173, alluded to the prospects of a Steam Navigation along the shores of the Pacific Ocean; and we are now happily able to subjoin a few statements on this subject, for the perusal of such of our readers as may not have seen the report of the British merchants and residents at Lima and Callao, upon the subject of opening through Panama a direct communication between Great Britain and the western coast of South America. [66] The first meeting on this interesting subject was h
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ECCLESIASTICAL JUBILEE.
ECCLESIASTICAL JUBILEE.
The following authentic document we have carefully translated from the Spanish; and, having already referred to it, (vol. i. p. 132,) we now offer no comment on its contents. We, Dr. Don Jorje de Benavente, Archbishop Elect of Lima, &c. to our clergy, religious communities, and all the faithful residing in and inhabiting this our diocese. Forasmuch as our most holy father Gregory XVI, Roman Pontiff, and visible head of the Universal Church, moved by the pastoral vigilance and paternal lo
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LANCE’S ADIEU TO LIMA.
LANCE’S ADIEU TO LIMA.
The following lines, with the notes annexed, were written under circumstances of great bodily and mental suffering in the year 1833, when the learned and very accomplished gentleman who penned them proposed to return to his native country. They were inscribed by him to his friends, among whom it has long been the author’s happiness to have occupied a favoured place. The notes are not only illustrative of the “Adieu to Lima,” but also of several incidental remarks contained in the preceding pages
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