Journey from Guayaquil to Quito....Babaoyo....Road to Chimbo....
_Cuesta de San Antonio_....Arrival at Huaranda....Triumphal Arch
and Harangue....Description of Huaranda and Province of Chimbo....
Chimboraso....Accident at la Ensillada....Road to San Juan....
_Obrage_ of Indians....Arrival at Riobamba....Description of....
Remains of Old Riobamba......Visit to an old Cacique......Province
of Riobamba......Road to Ambato....Description of....Produce....
Arrival at Tacunga....Description of....Earthquakes at....Ruins of
Callo....Provincial Produce....Arrival at Chisinchi, Ensillada, and
Quito....Remarks.
The health of the count being re-established, we left Guayaquil under a
discharge of nineteen guns, some pieces of cannon having been placed in
front of the custom-house for this purpose. We remained two days at the
Bodegas de Babaoyo, a small village, where there is a custom-house for
the collection of the duties which are paid on goods, on entering or
leaving the province of Guayaquil.
The roads across the savana, notwithstanding the absence of rain for
three months, were in some places very bad, although a number of Indians
had been sent by the Corregidor of Huaranda to repair them; they were
mended by putting the trunks of trees in the deep, muddy places, and
laying the branches and leaves of trees on the top. A considerable
number of cattle were grazing on the open plains, some of which were
very fat. At noon we halted at a farm-house, where a splendid dinner was
provided for us by the cura of San Miguel de Chimbo, who had come here
to meet us. After dinner we proceeded on our journey to a small
farm-house, where every convenient accommodation had been prepared for
us, and we remained here during the night. On the following day we
arrived at the village of San Miguel, situated in a deep ravine,
commanding a beautiful prospect of the mountains, which gradually rose
above each other, till their heads were lost in the clouds. On our
arrival at this village we were met by about forty indian boys,
_cholos_, fantastically dressed; and the little fellows danced along the
sides of the street as we passed to the house prepared for our
reception.
On the following day, July 22d, a dreary prospect presented itself; this
was the ascent of the cuesta de San Antonio; we began to ascend at nine
o'clock in the morning, and at every step new difficulties and greater
dangers presented themselves; in some places the road ran along a narrow
ridge, with a precipice on each side; in others we had to travel along
_ladcras_, or narrow skirts of the mountain beaten down by travellers
into a path, with a deep valley on one side, and a perpendicular rock on
the other--a fall on one side threatening inevitable death, and on the
other broken arms or legs against the rough sides of the rock. In other
parts there was a narrow gully formed by the heavy rains and the transit
of mules, the perpendicular sides rising ten or fifteen feet above our
heads. To these may be added, that the whole of the road for six leagues
is composed of abrupt acclivities or rapid descents, while the track in
which the mules tread was composed of deep furrows, called _camellones_,
filled with mud; some of them were more than two feet deep, so that the
belly of the mule and the feet of the rider were dragged over the ridges
that divide the furrows: these indeed serve as steps, and in some degree
may be accounted a security; but if a mule should happen to fall, or
even to stumble, the danger of being thrown headlong down a precipice is
rather frightful. In some places there are two roads; the one by which
the mules descend has no camellones, or furrows, down which the mules
seem to prefer sliding to stepping down the others. When at the top,
these sagacious animals halt for a short time, shake themselves, and
snort, as if conscious of the hazard of the undertaking; they then draw
their hind feet forward, place their fore legs in a slanting position,
and approach very gradually to the beginning of the descent, when with
uncommon velocity they slide on their haunches to the bottom. Their
dexterity in the crooked places is truly astonishing; for by a motion of
the body they incline themselves first to one side then to the other,
keeping the most perfect equilibrium, which is the only means of saving
them and their riders from being hurled headlong forward, or dashed to
pieces by a fall. During all this time the rider has only to sit still,
to lay the reins on the mule's neck, and trust to its sagacity and the
recommendation given by its master; for many mules are kept in this
neighbourhood, and are highly esteemed for their dexterity in sliding
down this part of the road; fortunately for us, being in company with
the Captain-general of the kingdom, all the best mules were collected
for our use.
At two o'clock in the afternoon we were cheered with _se ha acabado la
cuesta_, we are at the end of the mountain road. This place is called
_parcara_, a gate or entrance; it also signifies a fortified place; such
this probably was before the conquest, and such it was made in 1811 by
the Quiteños, to prevent the entrance of the Peruvian troops. We all
alighted, and shook some of the dirt from our clothes, after which we
were politely received by Don Gaspar Morales, the Corregidor of
Huaranda, the two alcaldes, several officers, and other gentlemen of the
province; but what proved far more welcome, was a relay of horses.
[Illustration: INDIAN WATER CARRIER, & FEMALE INDIAN BRUSH-WOOD CARRIER,
_OF QUITO_.
_Engraved for Stevenson's Narrative of South America._]
After our saddles had been placed on our new steeds we mounted, and
proceeded in regular procession, two indians, with silver trumpets,
going before. At the distance of a league from the town we were met by
the brawny vicar, mounted on the finest mule I ever beheld; indeed, such
an animal was quite necessary, when it is considered what an unwieldy
mass it had to carry: the circumstance made several of us smile, and we
could scarcely refrain from laughter when the corregidor presented him
to his excellency, saying, "the vicar of Huaranda, Don Juan Antonio
Maria de la Magdalena Jaramillo, Pacheco, y Tavera." Heaven help us,
said I, to an officer who stood near me, how I pity the parson's mule.
We had not proceeded far when a troop of militia cavalry met us; these
tatterdemalions would certainly have borne away the prize had they been
put in competition with the infantry of Sir John Falstaff; and could I
have chosen for myself, hang me if I would have entered Huaranda in
their company.
The next that made their appearance were the indian dancers, singing
their _cachuas_ in _Quichua_, welcoming the arrival of the governor with
the most discordant yellings, and such extravagant expressions as beggar
all description. At the entrance of the town there was a triumphal arch!
This was composed of canes, decorated with curtains of all colours and
descriptions of stuffs; ribbons for streamers, and flags made of pocket
handkerchiefs; silver plates, dishes, spoons, and forks were hung round
it. When his excellency had arrived close to it, a curtain was withdrawn
in the upper story, and an indian in the uniform of an officer, his
coarse black hair stiffened with tallow and flour, still incapable of
being turned into a curl, but standing upright in every direction,
advanced to the front, made a most profound bow, and then stepped back;
after this he looked up, and exclaimed, "_angil bello, daja el papel_,"
"beautiful angel, give me the paper," but in such a broken dialect, that
nothing, save an acquaintance with the Spanish language, can afford any
idea. Several white muslin handkerchiefs, which were tied in festoons
above his head in imitation of clouds, opened, and down fell, or rather
was lowered with a rope, an indian angel, his head as thickly cased in
tallow and flour as that of his invocater; he delivered a folded paper,
and was again dragged up into the muslin clouds, while the delighted
multitude expressed their approbation with shouts of joy. The orator
re-advanced, and read his harangue with all the rhetoric and graceful
attitudes of a Bombasto. His address was succeeded by the throwing up of
innumerable rockets, amid the sound of trumpets and other music
stationed on one side of the arch; this was followed by our arrival at
the house of the Corregidor, where a most sumptuous dinner was on the
table.
Huaranda is the residence of the Corregidor, or governor of the province
of Chimbo, and may be considered the capital of that province. The town
is large but poor, the inhabitants being chiefly occupied as carriers.
Their wealth consists in their droves of mules, which during the summer,
when the road is open, are employed in conveying merchandize between
Quito and Guayaquil. The climate at this place is remarkably cold, owing
to its elevation above the sea and the vicinity of Chimboraso, which is
seen from the town, and has the appearance of a huge white cloud
piercing the blue vault of heaven.
The province of Chimbo has an extensive breed of mules in the valleys;
barley, potatoes, and maize are cultivated by the indians in various
parts, and some sugar cane in the bottoms of the ravines. At a place
called Tomabela is a spring of salt water, which is so completely
saturated that it forms large crusts on the stones against which the
water dashes, and along the sides of the small stream; the indians also
put the water into troughs, and stir it with a wooden spatula; the salt
then crystallizes on the sides of the trough, and is taken out; this
salt is packed in small baskets and sent to different parts of the
kingdom, as well as to Peru; it is a specific for the _cotos_,
bronchocele, by merely eating food seasoned with it. This valuable
production is delicately white, easily pulverised, and very slightly
deliquescent.
Having taken some refreshment at Huaranda, we proceeded on the following
morning to the Pajonal, at the foot of the majestic Chimboraso, the
giant of the Andes. The day was beautifully clear, and the view of this
lofty mountain highly interesting; we had seen it at the mouth of the
Guayaquil river, as well as at that city, a distance of forty leagues,
where we were almost suffocated with heat; but now we felt almost
perished with cold: the kingdom of lofty palms and shady plantains was
in four days exchanged for a region where vegetation is reduced to its
lowest ebb--the dwarf pined mosses.
A _tambo_, resting house, stands on the plain at the foot of Chimboraso;
this had been prepared for our reception; and to contribute in a degree
to make it more warm, or rather to keep out some of the cold, the inside
had been neatly covered with long dry grass, called _pajon_, which grows
on this plain. Owing to an accident, the grass caught fire in one of the
rooms, at two o'clock in the morning; we immediately ran from our beds,
or rather ran with our beds, for we dragged them with us, not a little
pleased, in this dilemma, that we had all of us retired to rest without
undressing; notwithstanding this we were dreadfully pinched by the
frosty air blowing from Chimboraso on one side, or Carguairaso on the
other. After the first blaze of the pajon had subsided, the indians
entered the house, and dragged out a few things which had been placed
inside, but fortunately the principal part of our luggage had been left
on the outside. We waited till morning, sitting on our mattresses, and
wrapped up in our ponchos and blankets, as near the fire as we dared to
venture.
In the morning we proceeded on our journey, winding round the foot of
Chimboraso, till the valley of San Juan opened on our right; we
descended along a very rugged steep path, and at twelve o'clock arrived
at the _obrage_ of San Juan, belonging to Don Martin Chiriboga, where we
remained till the following morning. I here beheld the South American
indian reduced to the most abject state of servitude and bondage,
compared to which the slave belonging to the plantations on the coast of
Peru, is free indeed.
These unfortunate beings, robbed of their country, are merely allowed to
exist in it; because the plunderers would only possess a barren waste
without their labour: the fertility of the soil would be useless without
beings to harvest the crops and manufacture the produce; the gold and
the silver must sleep in the mountains if no human beings were employed
to extract it. Alas! these beings are the degraded original proprietors,
on whom the curse of conquest has fallen with all its concomitant
hardships and penury. A miserable pittance of fourteen dollars a year is
the wages of a man who works in this cloth manufactory; and ten that of
him who tends a flock of sheep; and for this miserable pay they are
subject to the whip and to other corporal punishments: their home is a
hut, composed of rude stones placed one upon another, and thatched with
the long grass from the foot of Chimboraso: here, hunger, misery, and
wretchedness seem to have fixed their abode, at the sight of which pity
would wring tears from the heart of oppression; but pity has no part in
the composition of the oppressors of the Children of the Sun!
Some of the cloth made at this obrage was the finest I had ever seen
manufactured in America, but this was by a transgression of the colonial
laws, which had established the precise quality of colonial
manufactures. Happy at leaving behind that misery which I could only
compassionate, we left San Juan in the morning, and arrived at two
o'clock in the afternoon at Riobamba, where some very neatly painted
triumphal arches had been erected.
Riobamba is the capital of the province of the same name; the old town
was founded in 1533, by the Adelantado Sebastian Benalcasar; it
contained twenty thousand inhabitants, two parish churches, four
convents, two nunneries, and a hospital; but it was completely destroyed
by an earthquake in 1797, when with very few exceptions the whole
population perished, besides a much larger number in different parts of
the province, and perhaps no remains of these terrible convulsions of
nature are more awful than those at Riobamba. Some of the ruins of the
old town may be seen on the acclivities of the mountains on each side
the valley, where the new town now stands, separated from each other at
least a league and a half; and I was shewn some ruins on each side of
the valley which the inhabitants assured me had formed part of one
edifice, particularly the two steeples which had belonged to the
Franciscan church; these were on one side, and a portion of the body of
the church on the other.
The face of the country was entirely changed, so much so, that after the
shock the surviving inhabitants, and those of the neighbouring
provinces, could not tell where their houses formerly stood, or where
their friends had formerly lived; mountains rose where cultivated
valleys had existed; the rivers disappeared or changed their course, and
plains usurped the situation of the mountains and ravines. The face of
the country was so completely altered, that no one knows the site of the
largest farm in the province, belonging to Zamora.
The new town is built on a sandy plain, much below the level of the
surrounding elevated plains, which are called _paramos_; its climate is
very agreeable, and calculated to produce all kinds of European fruits,
but at present only a few trees are to be seen in the orchards or
gardens. I spent the evening that we remained at Riobamba with an old
Indian Cacique, the only person whom I ever saw who could knot and
interpret the meaning of the knots of the quipus. He boasted of being a
descendant of the _huasta puncay_, the ancient lord of the surrounding
country. He had an account of the peopling of that part of the territory
of Maynas, to the eastward of the Cordilleras; first by a colony of
puncay indians, who had become too numerous for the country which they
inhabited; and secondly by part of the tribe, after they had been routed
by Benalcasar, on the plain of Trocajas, where they opposed the entrance
of the Spaniards. He also had a tradition that, a short time before the
arrival of the Spaniards, a colony of monkeys crossed the mountains from
the westward, and infested the country, till they were all destroyed by
the indians; and that on the arrival of the first Spaniards, the natives
considered them as a migration of destructive animals, and determined to
prevent their entrance; but on being defeated, many left the country
and joined the colony in Maynas. My kind host assured me, that the
province of Riobamba contained extremely rich mines of gold and silver,
and that from undoubted tradition this province sent more silver and
gold for the purpose of ransoming Atahualpa than any other in the
kingdom.
The province produces annually about four thousand quintals of sheep's
wool, which is manufactured into different kinds of cloth; its other
productions are wheat, maize, barley, potatoes, arracachas, and European
culinary vegetables. The capital is so situated, that it is not likely
ever to become a place of commercial notoriety.
Our next stage brought us to the town of Ambato, the road we travelled
being very irregular and disagreeable, owing as well to the coldness of
the climate as to the difficult ascents and descents; but the view of
our resting place cheered us. As soon as we descended into the valley of
Ambato, we found a triumphal arch, covered with ripe strawberries; these
had been plucked with their stalks, and then fastened to cords of maguey
fibres; large bunches were hanging down from the top, and in different
parts festoons and other ornaments were tastefully displayed, and the
fragrance was peculiarly delightful. Here the Corregidor and other
gentlemen received us, and accompanied us to the town; part of the road
being confined with hedges of _tunas_, rosemary bushes, magueys, and
rose trees, with other vegetables belonging to the old and the new
world: the natives of such distant parts of the globe were here blended,
and were thriving in the most luxuriant manner. Before we arrived at the
town we passed under two other arches covered with strawberries, and for
more than a league the indian boys and girls danced along with us;
stopping till we had passed the arches, which they immediately pulled
down and stripped of their fruit, and then followed us running and
singing, with long wreaths of strawberries hanging about them.
The town of Ambato is very pleasantly situated on one side of a river;
the churches and houses are generally neat and all new, for the old town
was completely demolished by the earthquake in 1797. Ambato is the
capital of the province of the same name, which for the greater part
enjoys a very mild climate and a most fertile soil. The crops of wheat,
maize, barley, quinua, and other pulse are extremely abundant, and of an
excellent quality. Many exquisite fruits are grown here, such as
apples, pears, peaches, apricots, and strawberries; these are produced
in great abundance; indeed many of the plains are covered with the
plants, and any person who wishes to purchase some, pays to the
proprietor of the ground, medio real, one-sixteenth of a dollar, and
either goes himself, or sends a person to gather them for him during a
whole day. Sugar cane thrives extremely well here, although it is four
years before it is ripe: remarkably fine sugar is made from it, superior
to any other that can be procured in this neighbourhood; but the
quantity is small.
Cochineal, called here pilcay, is found in abundance in the leaves of
the cactus, and is collected by the natives for the purpose of dyeing.
The name given by the Spaniards to this valuable insect is _cochinilla_,
signifying a little pig; because it bears a resemblance to one, in the
same manner as in some parts of England it is supposed that the
woodlouse resembles a hog, and is hence called an "old sow." The cactus
on which the cochinilla feeds is not so prickly as the tuna, which in
the West Indies is called the prickly pear; the leaves are very green,
as well as the rind of the fruit, but the inside is of a most beautiful
red colour, similar to that of the cochinilla; it is very palatable, and
when eaten communicates its own colour to the urine. Little attention
is paid here to the cultivation of the cactus, or nopal, as it is called
in Mexico, or to the insect itself, consequently the quality of the dye
is not of the first rate; but were both properly attended to, there is
no doubt but the pilcay of Ambato would equal the cochinilla of Oaxaca.
Instead of killing the insect after taking it from the cactus, by
placing it in an earthen jar, and exposing it to a heat sufficiently
strong to destroy its vitality, and then preserving it in bags, as the
Mexican indians do, it is ground or bruised to the consistency of paste,
and often adulterated with a composition made of the juice of the fruit,
and flour; indeed the Mexican indians do the same, and they can imitate
the animal so perfectly, that it is difficult to discover the
counterfeit. The best method to detect it is, as an extensive dealer
informed me in Mexico, to put a quantity of cochinilla into warm water,
and let it remain twenty-four hours, then to stir it about, and strain
the liquor through a hair sieve sufficiently fine to prevent the passage
of the insect; allow the liquid to repose, and if any sediment be
deposited, the cochinilla contains a portion of counterfeit matter, the
quantity of which may be discovered by drying the sediment, and
comparing the weight to that of the cochinilla placed in infusion.
Among the delicacies found at Ambato is excellent bread, equal to any in
the world, and several kinds of cakes, particularly one called
_allullas_, of which many are made and sent to Quito, Guayaquil, and
other places. All the necessary articles of food are reasonably cheap
and very good, owing to which, and to its agreeable climate, many
persons choose to make this their place of residence.
In the year 1698 the town was destroyed by an eruption of Cotopaxi,
accompanied by one of Carguairaso, which ejected torrents of a hot muddy
matter in such quantities as to inundate several of the neighbouring
valleys. On the south side of the present town there still remains a
monument of this dreadful visitation; a large chasm is seen in the rock
five feet wide, and more than a league in length.
On leaving Ambato, a short stage of five leagues brought us to
Llactacunga, or as it is commonly called Tacunga. On our entrance we
were shocked at the sight of heaps of ruins, caused by the earthquake in
1797; the churches and convents were quite demolished, and their remains
exist in the condition in which that frightful convulsion left them.
Tacunga is the capital of the province of the same name, and the
residence of the Corregidor; the plain on which it stands is evidently
of volcanic origin, or has been covered with volcanic productions thrown
from the neighbouring mountains. The town contains about three thousand
inhabitants; it has a parish church, and the remains of the convents of
San Francisco, Santo Domingo, San Augustin, and la Merced; of a college
of Jesuits, and a nunnery of barefooted Carmelite nuns; these after the
earthquake were removed to Quito. The churches and houses are built of
pumice stone, so light that it will float in water; it may be procured
in almost any part of the neighbourhood. Tacunga was completely ruined
by earthquakes, probably by shocks caused by the subterraneous
operations of the volcano of Cotopaxi, which is very near to the town;
these happened in 1698, when only one church out of nine, and four
houses out of seven hundred, were left standing; in the years 1743 and
1757 it was entirely demolished.
In the earthquake of 1743, a Jesuit, Father Vallejo, was in the church
when the roof fell in; he remained under the ruins till the third day,
when he was taken out unhurt; but his mental faculties were so
completely deranged, that he had forgotten his own name, nor did he
recollect any of his most particular friends, and although a priest,
when his breviary was presented to him he could not read it, but
appeared quite childish; he afterwards resided in the college of Quito,
but his memory had so entirely abandoned him, that he never could
recollect any thing that had occurred to him before the earthquake, not
even his studies, and he was afterwards taught to read and to celebrate
a votive mass. This extraordinary instance of the effects produced by
fright is so well authenticated in Quito, that the fact appears to be
indubitable.
On the same plain on which Tacunga stands are the remains of an indian
building, called the Inca's palace of Callo; but nothing except the
foundation can be traced. It appears to have consisted of a large court
and three extensive halls, forming three sides of an enclosure. It was
built of hard black stones, unlike to any now found in the
neighbourhood; owing to which, and to the similitude which the wrought
stone (having one convex surface) bears to that used in Peru, little
doubt exists of its having been built after the conquest of this country
by Huaina Capac.
Excepting in some few valleys the climate of this province is cold; its
productions are wheat, barley, maize, and potatoes. Here is but little
fruit beside wild cherries, called _capulis_, which grow in great
abundance, and when ripe constitute the principal food of the indians,
to which we may add a few apples and some peaches. Nitre is found in
several parts of the province, and a considerable quantity is
manufactured. Some of the estates in this district are very large, and
abound in horned cattle, from which good butter and cheese are procured.
We left Tacunga on the morning after our arrival, and remained at a farm
called Chisinchi, and the next day we arrived at a farm house, called la
Ensillada, belonging to the Marquis of Villa Orellana, where all the
authorities and persons of distinction of Quito were assembled to
compliment their President and Captain-general on his arrival. I shall
not give an account of the ceremonies observed on the following day,
because they in a great measure resembled those practised in Lima, on
the arrival of a Viceroy.
It will be observed, that the towns we passed through on our route from
Guayaquil to Quito are generally the capitals of the provinces or
districts; there are other roads, but the different Corregidors or
Governors wished to honour their President by receiving him at their
respective houses; indeed, care has been taken to establish the capitals
on the road, for the accommodation both of travellers and of the
Governors themselves.
The principal population of these provinces is composed of tributary
indians and mestisos, some few Spaniards, and white creoles. The natives
appear very industrious and hospitable; but I had not a good opportunity
of judging; however, this is the character which I have heard of them
from others.