Travels to the North of Lima....Village of Pativilca....Of
Huarmey....Of Casma....Cotton Mill....Santa....River Santa....
Nepeña....Farm of Motocachi....Vineyard....Port of Santa...._Tambo
de Chao_....Viru....Truxillo....Itinerary between Lima and Truxillo
....Description of Truxillo....Buildings....Inhabitants....Climate
....Commerce....Jurisdiction....Arms....Plain de Chimu...._Huaca de
Toledo_....Tradition of....Huanchaco Port....Valleys of Chimu,
Chicama, and Viru....Productions....Road to Caxamarca....Contumasa
....Magdalena....Gold Mines....View of Caxamarca....Origin of Name
of....Description of....Buildings....Inhabitants....Arts and
Manufactures of....Visit to San Pablo....Market of Caxamarca
....Trade of....Hot Baths....Description of.
As soon as the political affairs of South America rendered it safe for
an Englishman to travel unsuspected, I visited some of the northern
provinces. I remained at Pativilca a few days, and then prosecuted my
journey to Huarmey: this is a small indian village, famous only for
chicha, which is remarkably strong, eighteen gallons only being made
from three bushels of jora, malted maize. The next village is Casma,
where a considerable quantity of cotton is grown, and where a mill for
separating the seeds is established by Don Benito Canicova. The
machinery is very simple--a large drum or hollow cylinder is put in
motion by two mules or oxen; straps pass round this drum and round a
small wheel attached to a fluted steel cylinder, about half an inch in
diameter; in the same horizontal line there is another similar steel
cylinder: when put in motion, the cotton is applied to the steel
cylinders, which drag it between them, separating the seeds from it, and
these fall down on the side next the workmen, while the cotton is thrown
out on the opposite side. A very powerful screw-press is used for
packing the cotton, which is generally exported to the European market.
The soil here is sandy; the climate, owing to the position of the place,
which is enclosed on three sides by high mountains, is hot, and the
cotton is very fine; on this account Casma will probably become more
populous than it is at present, and a town of more note. The pine-apples
which grow here are very fine, and many of them are carried to Lima.
Our next stage brought us to Santa, having passed the small hamlet of
Huambacho. Santa is the residence of the Subdelegado, and capital of the
district of the same name; it is the poorest in Peru, for when a
corregimiento its distribution, repartimiento, amounted only to
twenty-five thousand dollars, and its alcavala to two hundred. The town
is composed of about thirty ill-built houses and ranchos; the old town
stood near to the sea coast, and was much larger than the present one,
but it was destroyed in 1685 by Edward David, a Dutch pirate; the
inhabitants afterwards established themselves about half a league
further from the coast. The King granted to this hamlet the title of
city, on account of the gallant resistance which the inhabitants made
against David, and particularly for their having preserved from the
hands of the pirate a miraculous image of Christ crucified, the gift of
the Emperor Charles the Fifth, and which is still venerated in the new
church.
About two leagues to the northward of the town is the river Santa; it
rises in the province of Huailas, and enters the Pacific in 8° 57´ 33´´
south latitude. At the mouth it is about one thousand eight hundred
yards wide, and its current, during the rainy season in the interior,
often flows at the rate of seven miles an hour; at this time of the year
it cannot be forded without great risk. In 1795 a rope bridge was thrown
across it, about a league from the mouth, but this was destroyed in 1806
by an unprecedented rise of the water, which caught the bridge and
dragged it away.
The valley of Santa contains some good farms, which are principally
covered with lucern, and great numbers of horned cattle are fattened
here for the Lima market. Some maize is also cultivated for the feeding
of hogs, the lard of which is carried to Lima; here also they have fine
crops of rice; indeed such is the heat, the natural dampness of the
earth, and the abundance as well as the quality of the water (which like
that of the Nile enriches the soil) used for the purpose of irrigation,
that three successive crops are often procured from the same seed.
About six leagues to the eastward of Santa is a very neat town, called
Nepeña; the climate is far more agreeable than at Santa, and the
inhabitants are not incommoded with musquitos, which are very annoying
at the former place, owing to the low swampy ground, where they breed in
such prodigious quantities, that it is sometimes almost impossible to
breathe without inhaling them. Their bite is very troublesome, and many
of the inhabitants, from continually scratching themselves, become
almost covered with an eruptive disease similar to the _carati_ at
Huaura; along the coast it is common to hear the Santeños called
_sarnosos_, from _sarna_, the itch. In the neighbourhood of Nepeña there
are several sugar plantations and vineyards. The farm called Motocachi
is famous for producing excellent wine, which in flavour is not
inferior to the best muscatel of Spain, or the frontignac of France. The
brandy made from the same grape is also peculiarly delicate, possessing
all the flavour of the wine; it is in great demand, and is called
_aguardiente de Italia_.
The port of Santa has a safe anchorage, and is capable of containing a
considerable number of vessels; during the time of peace between England
and Spain many South Sea whalers touched here, for the purpose of
procuring fresh provisions; and considerable business in the smuggling
line has been carried on. This port and town will undoubtedly become
more known and more frequented, because its situation offers an easy
internation to the provinces which I have lastly described, and a saving
of upwards of a hundred leagues of land carriage to some of them. Callao
is now the only _Puerto abilitado_; but the newly-established
governments will not be so ignorant of their financial interests as to
suffer it to continue so.
We left Santa early in the morning, and arrived before noon at _Tambo de
Chao_, a house built of rushes in a sandy desert, nine leagues from
Santa; having refreshed ourselves a little, and fed the mules, we
proceeded to a small village called Viru, where we halted for the
night, and on the following day we arrived at the city of Truxillo.
The following short account of the road from Lima to Truxillo will
convey some idea of the nature of travelling, and the kind of
accommodations which travellers may expect who have to visit these
countries. Some persons have _literas_, litters, for this purpose: they
are square boxes, with an opening on each side which serve for
entrances; a small mattress made to fit is placed at the bottom; this
vehicle is then fastened to two poles, one on each side, and these are
secured on the backs of two mules, on the foremost of which a boy is
generally placed, to guide the animal. This mode of travelling is very
disagreeable, owing to the various motions communicated to the litera;
the elasticity of the poles causes it to rise and fall, while the steps
of the mules make it sometimes roll from side to side, and sometimes it
is jerked backwards and forwards; so that a person unaccustomed to this
mode of travelling is almost sure to experience all the effects of a
sea-sickness, besides a universal soreness in his limbs, occasioned by
the jolting of the litter.
From Lima to Chancay 14 leagues, 11 of sand.
Chancay to Huaura 13 ditto 9 of sand.
Huaura to Pativilca 13 ditto 9 of sand.
Pativilca to Huarmey 18 ditto 15 of sand.
Huarmey to Casma 8 ditto 7 of sand.
Casma to Santa 12 ditto 10 of sand.
Santa to Tambo de Chao 9 ditto 9 of sand.
Tambo de Chao to Viru 10 ditto 10 of sand.
Viru to Truxillo 10 ditto 8 of sand.
We have here one hundred and eight leagues of road, one-half of which
leads through a sandy desert country, the greater part of which must for
ever remain so: this is principally owing to the total absence of rain,
the scarcity of river water, or the impracticability of irrigation; but
wherever water can be procured, the scene is quite different;
comfortable farm houses, neat villages, and the most luxurious
vegetation enliven the views to the weary traveller; the eye soon
becomes tired with a dreary sandy prospect, or with now and then
beholding a few leagues of the sea coast; but it rests with pleasure and
is refreshed with the prospect of fertile valleys, clothed in the
luxurious garb of spring or autumn--where the evergreen sugar-cane, the
lucern, the hedges, and the ripe crops of grain are blended; which is
the case here during the greater part of the year.
The city of Truxillo stands on a sandy plain in lat. 8° 6´ 3´´ S.; it
was founded by Francisco Pizarro, Marquis of Charcas and Atavillos, the
conqueror of Peru, who named it after his native place in Estremadura;
its figure approaches to that of an oval, it is surrounded with a wall
of adobes or sun-burnt bricks, ten feet high, having fifteen bastions
and as many curtains; it was erected by order of the Viceroy of Peru,
Duke de la Palata. The streets of this city cross each other at right
angles in a north-east and south-west direction, and are generally about
forty feet wide. The houses, like those of Lima, are generally but one
story high; many of the fronts are white-washed, and some of them
fancifully painted. The principal mansions have large patios in front,
and an arched door-way or entrance; the insides are richly furnished,
but not in the English style; long sofas, high tables, and few chairs,
having an awkward appearance to a foreigner; the walls are hung with
crimson damask, and the sofa and table covers are of the same material,
as well as the curtains and the bed furniture. In many houses, large
paintings of saints, in richly embossed silver frames, adorn the walls,
and the wealth of many of the inhabitants is displayed in a profusion of
wrought plate. Some of the shops in _la Calle del Comercio_ are well
stored with European manufactured goods; but, as in Lima, no display of
them can be made for want of windows, a convenient enticement to
purchasers unknown in these parts of the new world. Although the streets
of this city are well laid out, of a commodious width, and lined with
neat houses, they are not paved, and consequently are very dirty; some
of them are nearly impassable on this account; indeed the shoes of a
passenger must be filled either with sand or dirt.
The plasa mayor, or great square, is very large, and has a low fountain
built of stone in the centre. On the east side stands the cathedral,
which is a handsome building with one steeple; the inside is richly
ornamented, and a great profusion of plate and other costly articles is
exhibited on solemn festivals; but, like all the cathedrals in Spanish
America, the site occupied by the choir destroys the effect which would
otherwise be produced by the high altar standing in the central nave.
This church was consecrated in the year 1673, by the thirteenth bishop
of the diocese, Don Fray Juan de la Calle y Heredia. Attached to the
cathedral on the north side, is the Sagrario or principal parish church,
although always called a chapel; indeed it is the chapel of ease to the
cathedral, where all the parochial duties are performed, without
interfering with the choral and other religious ceremonies of the
matrix.
On the opposite side of the cathedral stands the palace of the bishop;
it is a large old decayed building, the inside of which is fitted up in
a style of antique magnificence, for every succeeding bishop has
generally purchased the furniture which belonged to his predecessor. The
palace has an upper story, which is occupied by the bishop and his
domestics; in the lower is the ecclesiastical prison, the different
offices, stables, &c.
On the north-west side of the plasa are the palace of the governor, and
the government offices, such as the royal treasury; the _callana_, where
the plata piña is melted and stamped and the royal fifth is paid; also
that of the secretary to the governor. The whole range of buildings has
a low and mean appearance. The two remaining sides of the square are
filled with the houses of private individuals, among which is that of
the Marquis of Bellavista, the only title in Truxillo.
Besides the cathedral there are three parish churches, Santa Ana, San
Sebastian, and San Esteban; five conventual churches of San Francisco,
Santo Domingo, San Augustin, La Merced, and the ex-Jesuits; and two
nunneries, the barefooted Carmelites, and Santa Clara. The convents are
governed by their prelates, who are subject to their respective
provinciales in Lima: in the college of ex-Jesuits a seminary is
established, and the college of San Carlos is subject to the bishop. The
nuns of Santa Clara are under the direction of the Franciscan prelate,
as belonging to that order; and the Carmelites are under that of the
ordinary, the bishop; there is also a hospital managed by the Bethlemite
friars.
The inhabitants of Truxillo consist of a few Spaniards, some white
creoles, indians, negroes, and the castes arising from the mixture of
these, amounting in the whole to about eight thousand souls. This city
is celebrated as being the birth-place and residence of some very
handsome _mulatas_ and other females of colour; indeed the features of
many are very pleasing, and the castes remarkably free from those stains
which not unfrequently render the complexion of coloured people so very
disagreeable. Truxillo is noted for its Quixotic nobility; it is often
said, that the body of this celebrated Don was buried here; I have
frequently seen in the house of a mulatto or a zambo a full-length
portrait of the individual, who by a kind of faux pas caused them to
emerge from the African race, and sable colour, and of whom they speak
with as much respect as the _montañeses_ do of Don Pelayo, whose
descendants they all pretend to be, or as any nobleman of England would
do of Ptolemy or Alexander, if he fancied that he could trace his
pedigree either to the Egyptian astronomer or the Macedonian hero.
There is nothing peculiar in the dress of the inhabitants; the men wear
their clothes nearly in the European style, with the addition of a cloak
or a poncho; the females, unlike to those of Lima, may be seen in the
streets in their in-door dresses, but seldom with either hat, cap, or
bonnet; their heads being usually covered with a shawl. The higher
classes, and all who can afford it, have _calesas_, a close carriage on
two wheels, drawn by a mule, on which the coachman rides. The general
_paseo_ for the ladies is to _Mansiche_, a small indian village to the
northward of the city, about half a league from the walls, where they
resort during the cool of the evening mounted on asses, having a kind of
pack-saddle covered with very gay trappings of crimson broad-cloth or
velvet, embroidered and fringed with gold or silk. The ladies ride
sideways, and frequently two are mounted on the same ass, with their
feet hanging on the opposite sides; one of the ladies generally wears a
small spur. At Mansiche they treat themselves with _picantes_, dishes
highly seasoned with aji, cayenne pepper; they also drink chicha, and
generally return to the city about sunset.
The climate of Truxillo is colder than that of Lima during the winter
season or the damp months, and much hotter during the summer. The market
is plentifully supplied with fish, flesh meat, poultry, bread,
vegetables and fruit; and is much celebrated for delicate sweetmeats,
among which the preserved muscadine grapes are most esteemed.
Little commercial business is here transacted, and the city owes great
part of its prosperity to its being the residence of the governor, the
bishop, and the several persons employed in the civil and ecclesiastical
departments.
The jurisdiction of the Gobernador Intendente extends along the coast
from the river Saña to the river Santa, and eastward to the Marañon. As
it includes many valleys and several mountainous districts, in it all
the various climates may be found. The civic jurisdiction of the
alcaldes is the same here as in other cities in the Spanish colonies.
The ecclesiastical jurisdiction contains thirty-one doctrinal curacies;
it is in the hands of the bishop, who is assisted by his vicar-general,
provisor, and the chapter, which is composed of the dean, the
archdeacon, the chanter, four canons and two prebendaries.
The arms of the city are a shield, azure, bearing a griffin; in the
centre two columns, one blue, the other white, over water, in which
there is a crown, Or, crossed by two bars, Argent, underneath which is
the letter K.
Truxillo suffered very much from earthquakes on the 14th of February,
1619--the 6th of January, 1625--the 20th of October, 1759--and the 2nd
of September, 1759. The last shock was very violent, and some of the
valleys near the coast, which, before it happened, produced the most
abundant crops of wheat, became quite sterile for more than twenty years
afterwards.
The plain on which the city of Truxillo is built is called _del Chimu_,
this being the title of the sovereign chief who resided here, and
signifying the powerful Lord: this chief, after resisting the Incas of
Peru from the time of Lloqui Yupanqui to that of Pachacutec, the tenth
Inca, at length subjected himself, swearing allegiance to the Inca at
the fortalice of Paramonga. In the plain are the ruins of the ancient
residence of the Chimu; they appear like the foundations of a large city
or the walks of a garden, crossing each other at right angles, and
denote the residence of the numerous tribe which formerly inhabited this
site, and prove, also, that their chief had a respectable force at his
command, with which he could oppose the incursions of the imperial army;
this he continued to do until the Incas, by gradually augmenting their
army with soldiers collected from the numerous tribes, which for nearly
a century they had been annexing to their empire, were able to subdue
this chief of the coast.
The custom of burying with the dead whatever belonged to them at their
decease seems to have been prevalent among the Chimu tribes, for their
huacas contain utensils, arms, clothing, and treasure, exactly in the
manner as those of the indians in other parts of Peru. The same
attention is also paid to economizing land fit for cultivation: the
ruins just mentioned being situated on an elevated plain, where water
could not be procured for the purpose of irrigation. In the year 1576, a
Spaniard, named Juan Gutierres de Toledo, opened a huaca, which was
supposed to have been that of one of the Chimus, in which he found so
large a quantity of gold, that he paid into the royal treasury of
Truxillo nine thousand three hundred and sixty-two ounces of gold, as
the royal fifth, the value of the whole being upwards of a hundred and
fifty thousand pounds sterling.
The tradition respecting the discovery of this treasure is as
follows:--Toledo was a poor Spaniard, who, on his arrival at Huanchaco,
the sea-port to Truxillo, took up his residence at the house of an
indian named Tello: Toledo was of a mild disposition, and endeavoured to
conciliate the good-will of his host, which he easily accomplished; he
afterwards removed to Truxillo, and with the assistance of Tello opened
a small store; the friendship of the Spaniard and the indian increased,
so that Toledo became godfather to one of the children of Tello, which
is considered to this day as the greatest favour that a white man can
show to an indian. Tello one day told his friend that it was in his
power to repay all the kindness which he had received, and to make his
friend rich by giving to him a huaca, which, after some preliminary
arrangements, he did. Toledo followed the directions of his friend, and
found the value already mentioned in bars, and some household utensils
of gold. Having thanked his guide who had conducted him to the wealth he
had acquired, Tello told him that on a future day he would give him the
great fish, the one which he had given him being only the little fish;
but he died without discovering it, or giving him any clue to find it.
Toledo, in gratitude to the memory of his benefactor, redeemed the
tribute of the indians of Huauchaco by paying a certain sum of money
into the treasury, the fruit of which just and generous action the
indians still continue to enjoy; and a native of the village always
carries with him, if he go to reside in any other part of the country, a
certificate of his birth, which every where frees him from the payment
of this tax. This action of Tello clearly proves that a South American
indian is not incapable of possessing those feelings which have been
denied to their character by some of their visitors and historians.
The great fish mentioned by Tello is generally believed to be a mountain
or large hill near to the huaca de Toledo, and visible at Truxillo. This
hill has every appearance of having been formed by art; it stands on the
sandy plain of Chimu, quite isolated, and seems to be nothing but a huge
portion of sand, which being poured down from an eminence would assume
the shape which this mound bears. Many persons have attempted
excavations, but the falling down of the loose materials, of which the
hill is formed, has prevented the continuation of the work. If an adit
were cut through it there is little reason to doubt but that an immense
treasure would be found. Humboldt speaks of the same experiment being
worthy of attention when describing the Teocalli of Cholula.
The sea-port to Truxillo is called Huanchaco; it is a roadstead in which
the anchorage is not good, and where the landing, owing to the surf, is
attended with considerable inconvenience; this, however, might be partly
removed by the erection of a pier, which will probably be effected when
the commerce with this part of Peru becomes interesting. The latitude of
Huanchaco is 8° 6´--the church, which stands on an eminence, is an
excellent land-mark.
The valleys of Chimu, Chicama, and Viru, may be considered as one, being
separated from each other only by the branches of the Chicama river.
United they are about twenty-eight leagues long and eleven broad; their
soil, irrigated by the waters of the river, is very fertile, producing
most abundant crops of wheat, maize and other pulse, as well as grapes,
olives, sugar-cane, plantains, pine-apples, lucumas, guavas, mamey
apples, custard apples, tumbos, chirimoyas, guanabanas, together with a
variety of esculents, potatoes, camotes, yucas, radishes, &c. Formerly
the valley of Chicama was called the granary of Peru, and until the
great earthquake in 1687, the wheat produced its seed two hundred fold;
this valley alone harvested annually two hundred thousand bushels of
this grain. Here are many sugar plantations, but for want of hands they
are not so well cultivated, and consequently not so productive as those
in the valleys in the neighbourhood of Lima and Pisco. Little doubt can
be entertained but that this beautiful and fruitful valley, at some
future period, will become one of the most interesting settlements on
the coast of Peru, on account of its great extent, the quality of its
soil, and the abundance of water. Cotton and rice appear to claim
particular attention, but their cultivation has hitherto been little
promoted.
I left Truxillo with the _chasquero_, postman, which is a commodious and
quick way of travelling, and especially if the person has no luggage, or
can trust it to a muleteer to follow him; because the postman demands a
horse or a mule at each stage, for which is paid a real, or one-eighth
of a dollar per league. After travelling along the valley of Chicama
about eight leagues, we stopped at a small village, called Simbal,
changed horses for mules, and then began to ascend the _cuesta_; we
continued to travel in this manner, with now and then a small descent or
a little level road, till we arrived at Contumasá, at ten o'clock at
night, having ridden twenty-one leagues in eleven hours. Although the
latter part of the road appeared rugged from the frequent stumbling of
the mules, I was obliged to allow mine to take its own choice, because
for the last three hours the darkness prevented me from seeing how to
direct it.
The village of Contumasá is situated on an eminence where the climate is
much colder than that which I had just left; the houses are either
thatched or tiled, and the whole of the country, habitations and people,
appear different. The glow of a tropical sky at sunrise and sunset was
changed to a pale blue, with light white clouds, or more dense ones
charged with rain; the houses were so constructed as to exclude the rain
and the cold; the clothing of the inhabitants was calculated to answer
the same end, and all indicated a change like that from summer to
winter; but the transition was so sudden, although expected, that in the
morning, when I went into the corridor of the house where I had slept, I
could not help looking on all around me with a certain degree of
surprize. This village is composed of a long street, a plasa, and a
church; some of the houses have a neat comfortable appearance, but the
inhabitants are said to be somewhat akin to the Conchucanos. After
taking mate, with some bread and cheese, we left Contumasá, and arrived
in the evening at a hamlet called la Magdalena, situate in the bottom of
a deep valley; the climate is very hot, and is considered unhealthy;
small patches of sugar-cane, yucas, camotes, and some of the fruits of
the coast, are here cultivated. At a small distance from the hamlet
there are some abandoned gold mines, called _de los Portugueses_: it is
said that they were formerly wrought by some natives of Portugal, and
belonged to the unfortunate Juan Bautista, a Portuguese Jew, who was
burnt by the inquisition of Lima in 1705.
We changed mules at la Magdalena, and immediately began to ascend the
cuesta by a winding road, some parts of which are very steep; having
gained the summit, and travelled about three leagues across the top of
the mountain, covered with long dry grass, _pajon_, we reached the
cumbe, an eminence from which the valley and city of Caxamarca form a
most beautiful prospect.
The valley of Caxamarca is about five leagues long, and three broad in
its widest part, forming an irregular oval. Many white country houses
present themselves, and numberless ranches of the indians; the whole
plain is intersected with green hedges, which divide it into several
hundreds of small plots of ground, all apparently in the highest state
of cultivation, at least all bearing most luxurious crops: the river
winds along the valley from one extremity to the other, bursting as it
were from the embraces of the hills at one end; after gambolling along
the valley, distributing health and vigour to the vegetable tribes, it
again sinks into the arms of the mountains at the other. The city
presents a most delightful prospect in the foreground at the foot of the
cumbe; the spacious streets, intersecting each other at right angles,
the large plasa mayor in the centre of the city, the spires and domes of
the churches, and the neatly tiled houses, all contribute to enhance the
beauty of the view; while at a short distance from the city, in the back
part, vapours are continually rising from the hot baths. Not only is the
sight of Caxamarca very interesting, but feelings of sympathy swell the
bosom of the stranger who looks on it;--it brings to his recollection
the unmerited sufferings and death of the Inca Atahualpa, who here fell
a sacrifice to the unparalleled treachery and detestable cruelty of the
Spanish conqueror, Pizarro.
After a rather tedious descent, we arrived at the city, and as I
determined to remain here for some time, for the purpose of visiting
whatever might appear to me interesting, I took apartments in a private
house, where I remained during my stay in this part of America, and
where I soon became like one of the family--enjoying every kindness my
good host could lavish on me, for all which he would only accept a
trifling recompense.
The name of this city is derived from _cassacmalca_, place of frost;
however, the climate is very benign, the maximum of the thermometer
during my stay being 72° of Fahrenheit, and the minimum 40°; but it more
probably obtained its name from the blights occasioned by the frosty
winds from the east, which are very injurious to vegetation.
Here is a parish church, called _la Matris_, belonging to the white
inhabitants, dedicated to Santa Catalina; it is a handsome edifice of
stone, neatly wrought; the front is very much ornamented with carved
work, in good sand stone; it has three doors opening into the three
naves of the church. The interior is neat, but not rich; the whole
expence of the building was defrayed by an order of Charles II. from the
royal treasury, during the Viceroyalty of the Duque de la Palata. The
two parishes of indians are San Jose and San Pedro: to the former in
1810 was given the beautiful conventual church of San Antonio, which
formerly belonged to the Franciscans. Here are the conventual churches
of San Diego and la Merced; the nunnery of la Concepcion, and a hospital
belonging to the Bethlemites. The church of San Antonio is a fine
structure, approaching to the chaste gothic style; the two rows of
pillars in the interior that support the roof, which is composed of some
light groined arches, are slender, and the whole effect is very
pleasing; it has much the appearance of a small cathedral, unencumbered
with the central choir; the whole building is of white stone, dug from a
quarry near to the city. The church and convent of San Diego are
remarkably neat stone buildings; the cloisters, cells, kitchens, and
other offices are arched with stone; and the extensive gardens belonging
to them are enclosed with walls of the same wrought material. It belongs
to the grey friars of San Francisco, but seldom more than two or three
reside here. It once happened, that there were no other residents than
the guardian, or prelate, and a lay brother, who was an Andalusian; the
former thought proper to threaten the latter with corporal punishment;
when he immediately replied to his superior, that if he did not
moderate his anger, he would deprive him of his superiority. But how?
exclaimed the enraged prelate: by hanging my habit on a peg, and leaving
your fathership without an inferior, replied the _donado_.
The church belonging to the nunnery _de la Concepcion_ is a handsome new
structure; at the time of my present visit to Caxamarca it was not
finished, but when I returned in 1812 it had been consecrated, and
divine service was then performed in it. The church belonging to the
hospital is built of carved stone, and a profusion of workmanship
ornaments the front of the building. Here are two wards, or rather two
hospitals; that for men is within the cloisters of the convent, and that
for women is a separate stone building, divided from the convent by a
street. The surgeon is paid from the indian tribute, and few but indians
go to the hospital.
The population of this city is composed of white people and indians, a
small number of negroes, and the mixed breeds; the excess is in favour
of the indians and mestisos, called here quinteros; the total amount is
about seven thousand. Here are some descendants of Spanish nobility,
particularly the family of Bonifas, who are the lineal descendants of
the family of Ximenes, to which the Cardinal Ximenes, Regent of Spain
to the Emperor Charles V. belonged, and who are in possession of many
interesting papers, which were the property of that celebrated
statesman. Among the Indians is the family of the Cacique Astopilco;
they claim a lineal descent from the Inca Atahualpa, and inhabit part of
the palace which was formerly occupied by the imperial family, the place
where Atahualpa was murdered. The generality of the inhabitants are
industrious, and their workmanship in silver and iron is deserving of
much praise. I have seen many very handsome sword blades and daggers
made here, pocket steels, and bridle bits most curiously wrought, beside
several well finished pistol and gun locks; on this account the
Caxamarquinos are often called the Biscayans of South America.
Literature would prosper here were it properly cultivated; the natives
are fond of instruction, and scholars are not rare; many of the richer
inhabitants send their children to Truxillo and Lima to be educated.
Kindness, hospitality, and innocent amusements, characterize the
citizens of Caxamarca, and some of the most agreeable hours of my life
have been spent in this town.
I cannot avoid giving the description of a visit to a most eccentric
character, a native of this place, who resided at a sugar plantation,
of which he was proprietor, about nine leagues from Caxamarca. I had
often been pressed by my friend to visit San Pablo; and having appointed
the day, two mules arrived the preceding evening, one for myself and one
for a nephew to my host, Don Mariano Alvites. On the following morning,
at five o'clock, we mounted, with two black men as an escort, carrying
their long lances, as if any danger could be apprehended on the road.
Having arrived at the top of a mountain, which we were obliged to cross,
it began to rain, and our descent on the opposite side was attended with
considerable danger; however we arrived safely at the bottom; our mules
had often to bring their hind feet close to their fore feet, and then
resting on their haunches they would slide down a distance of from
twenty to forty yards at a time. We halted a few minutes at the bottom,
when one of the negroes pointing to a small house about two miles off,
said, my _amo_, master or owner, waits your arrival at that house which
stands on the border of his estate, where he intends to welcome you on
your arrival, and where a breakfast is prepared. We walked our mules
leisurely along, and shortly heard the report of a camareta; this is a
small mortar, having a two or three inch bore, and about eight inches
deep, at the bottom of which is a touch hole; it has a handle, and
looks very much like a large tankard; it is loaded with powder, and then
filled with dry clay, which is beat very hard with a mallet; it is then
placed on its end with the mouth upwards, and a train is laid to it;
when fired the report is equal to that of an eight pounder.
Such a report a little surprised me, and the sound, which re-echoed from
the mountains on every side, had a very pleasing effect. Alvites now
said to me, my uncle is in a good humour, prepare yourself to be more
teased with his peculiarities than what we now are with the rain. About
a mile from the small house we could see our friend Don Manuel de
Verastegui, y Oliva, advancing slowly and majestically, like a Lord
Mayor's procession, to meet us: had Cervantes witnessed this sight,
there is no doubt but he would have taken him for the knight of his
enchanting romance.
At the distance of eight or ten yards our friend alighted from his
dappled charger, and approached to salute us; we remained on our mules,
enjoying his profound bow, hat in hand, and "a more unpleasant morning,"
said he, "never brought to San Pablo, the humble residence of Don Manuel
de Verastegui, two more welcome visitors than those whom I have now the
honour to address; allow me to say, you are indeed welcome;" when,
without waiting a reply, he remounted his steed, and we trotted along to
his rancho. This kind old gentleman was dressed in a coat, waistcoat and
breeches of blue velveteen; the coat being lined with Catalonian chintz,
full of large red flowers on a white ground; the huge buttons on his
coat and waistcoat were of silver; he had on a pair of high military
boots, and had a small triangular cocked hat on his head; his hair was
curled on the sides, and tied behind in a long cue, _a lo militar de
Carlos III._; a silver-hilted trusty toledano was girt to his side by a
broad black belt, which passed round his waist; he appeared to be about
sixty, and in stature he might be six feet; he was also remarkably
slender and very upright. His saddle trappings were of crimson cloth,
ornamented with silver lace and fringe. Two blacks accompanied him on
horseback, the one held a huge crimson umbrella over his head, while the
other rode before him with his lance, _hasta de rejon_: they were both
in old liveries, and wore cocked hats with yellow worsted lace, but were
bare-legged. On our arrival at the lodge, if so I may call it, we were
saluted with another camareta, and shortly after we rode under the
corridor and alighted. Several negro boys immediately took our ponchos
and hats to the kitchen to dry, and we entered and sat down to a very
sumptuous breakfast; a roasted kid hot, boiled turkey cold, collared
pig, ham and tongue, with butter, cheese and olives, besides which, wine
and brandy, _pisco_, and several _liquers_ were on the table; tea,
coffee, and chocolate, were afterwards brought in, and a cup of each was
placed before every one of us.
After breakfast we again mounted, and the rain having ceased, our ride
to the farm-house was very agreeable. On our arrival, the lady of the
house came into the corridor to receive us, with her two daughters. Doña
Casimira and Doña Rosaria, each upwards of thirty years old: we
alighted, and after the first ceremonious salutations were over, we
retired to two rooms prepared for us, and changed part of our dress,
having taken the precaution of bringing linen with us from Caxamarca.
When we returned to the drawing-room, our host had changed his dress
also: he now wore a very old-fashioned green velvet full-dress, almost
covered with embroidery and spangles. Doña Casimira sat down to a
harpsichord, and played several pretty airs, and her sister afterwards
sung some _tristes_ to her guitar. As the ground was wet. Don Manuel
proposed a dance before dinner and a walk afterwards; this was assented
to, and I danced a minuet with Doña Rosaria; Alvites excused himself;
but our host and hostess walked a minuet, to my no small diversion.
We had a very sumptuous dinner, walked out during the afternoon, and in
the evening were joined by a party of about twenty persons; after which
we continued dancing, singing, and feasting till daylight, when my
companion and I returned to Caxamarca, Don Manuel accompanying us to the
lodge, where he most ceremoniously thanked us for favouring him with our
company, and then wished us a pleasant ride.
The market of Caxamarca is well supplied with flesh meat, poultry,
bread, grain, vegetables, fruit, and every necessary, all of which are
cheap: cheese and butter are plentiful; of the latter a fresh supply is
brought from the country every day. Some very fine fruits are also
obtained from the valleys, such as paltas, the vegetable marrow,
chirimoyas, and pine-apples, particularly from that part called _de las
Balsas_, where the road to Chachapoyas crosses the Marañon.
This city carries on a considerable trade with Lambayeque and other
places on the coast, furnishing them with the different home
manufactured articles; such as baizes, bayetones, _pañetes_, a kind of
coarse cloth, blankets, flannels, tocuyos, &c., and receiving in return
European manufactures, soap, sugar, cocoa, brandy, wine, indigo, _hierba
de Paraguay_, salted fish, iron, steel, &c. The inhabitants of the
interior resort to Caxamarca as a kind of mart, for the purpose of
selling their own produce and manufactures, and for purchasing others
which they may require; hence, a considerable trade is carried on, and
some of the shops are well stored with European goods, similar to those
which I mentioned when speaking of Huaras. Articles of a superior
quality are in demand here, for the poorer classes wear their own
manufactures; but the richer dress in European goods of the best
quality.
At the distance of a league from Caxamarca are the baths of the Inca:
two comfortable dwelling houses are built of stone on the two sides of a
large patio, each having an extensive bath: that on the right hand is
five yards square, and two deep. The sides and bottom are formed of
roughly hewn stone, having steps at two of the corners, leading down
from two doors, which open to different parts of the house; and others
in the centre of the opposite side, communicating by a door with a large
room. On the left is another bath, smaller than this; it is called _de
los pobres_, and it has convenient rooms also attached to it. At the
entrance to the patio is a corridor to the right and left, which serves
as a stable; and in the front there are two kitchens, and a passage that
leads through the building. It was at these baths that the unfortunate
Atahualpa resided when Pizarro arrived at Caxamarca.
The spring of hot water, called _el tragadero_, is at the back of the
building, and is at the distance of two hundred and thirty yards from
it; it is circular, of five yards in diameter; I sounded it with fifty
yards of rope, but found no bottom; the land all round it to the
distance of more than a mile is almost level, declining a very little
towards the river, which runs at the distance of four hundred yards from
the tragadero. The water appears to boil, but having only one
thermometer with me, and being fearful of damaging it where its place
could not easily be supplied with another, I did not measure its heat.
The natives scald their pigs here when they kill them, and as I have
observed that boiling water rather fastens the bristles on the skin, I
concluded that the heat of the water is below the temperature at which
it generally boils when heated in the ordinary way. I filled two tin
coffee pots, the one with water from the tragadero, the other with
water from a cold spring; I placed them together on the same fire, and
observed that the cold and the hot water began to boil precisely at the
same time. I placed an egg in the tragadero, secured in a small net, and
allowed it to remain eight minutes; it was then quite hard and the yolk
dry. I allowed another to remain three minutes, which when broken was
soft; I placed another in the hot water, allowed it to remain three
minutes, and put it immediately into boiling water on a fire with a cold
raw egg; after boiling five minutes they were both equally hard, and
when cut no difference could be observed except in the taste;--the one
which had been placed in the tragadero had a slight clayey taste,
somewhat similar to that of water which has passed over a bed of clay.
The water of the tragadero empties itself into a channel three feet
wide, and on an average six inches deep, which from several experiments
I observed to run at the rate of three feet in a second. By this
experiment it appears, that about thirty hogsheads of water are
discharged in a minute. Along the sides of the channel the grass and
other vegetables, particularly the ichu, grow to the very margin of the
stream; and the fields of lucern which are irrigated with this water,
at the distance of five hundred yards from the tragadero, are the finest
in the valley. The fruit trees also that grow in the gardens belonging
to the baths, apples, pears and peaches, are never subject to the blight
from the frosty air so common in the neighbourhood; being apparently
protected by the steam which continually rises from the hot water. The
principal stream contains many small fishes of a black colour, very much
in shape like small shrimps; if these be put into cold water they
immediately die. They appear to be continually swimming up the stream,
as if to avoid being carried by it to the confluence of the cold stream
from the Santa Rosa springs with that of the tragadero, where they would
most certainly perish.
The water which flows from the spring called de Santa Rosa, which is
only seventy-two yards from the tragadero, is always at 41° of
Fahrenheit at the mouth of the spring, where it bursts from a rock. The
baths are supplied with water of any temperature, by mixing the hot from
the tragadero with the cold from Santa Rosa; and as there is an outlet
at the bottom as well as at the top of each bath, a constant supply of
fresh water is maintained.