Of the notable fountains and rivers in these provinces, and how they
make salt of good quality by a very curious artifice.
Before I treat of the kingdom of Peru, or leave the government of
Popayan, it seems to me well to give some account of the notable
fountains there are in this land, and of the rivers of water from which
they make salt, for thus the people are sustained, having no salt pits
in these parts, and the sea being far distant.
When the licentiate Juan de Vadillo set out from Carthagena, we marched
over the mountains of Abibe, which are very rugged and difficult to
cross, so that we passed a time of no little hardship; most of the
horses died, and we were obliged to leave the greater part of our
baggage in the road; and, having reached the plain, we found many
villages, with great store of fruit trees, and broad rivers. But, as
the stock of salt which we had brought with us from Carthagena was
coming to an end, our food being herbs and beans for want of meat,
except that of horses and a few dogs we caught; we began to feel
distress, and many, from the want of salt, began to lose their colour,
and became yellow and thin. We procured some things in the Indian farms,
but there was only a little black salt mixed with the _aji_ that the
natives eat, and even this was very scarce, so that he thought himself
fortunate who could get any. Necessity teaches men notable things, and
we found a lake in a small mountain, the water of which was black and
salt. We put a quantity of this water into jars, which gave us a relish
for our food.
The natives of these provinces take the quantity of water they require
either from this lake or from others of the same kind, and boil it in
great jars. As soon as the fire has consumed the greater part of the
water, black salt remains at the bottom, with which, though not of good
taste, they season their food, and live without feeling the want that
would let itself be known if it were not for these fountains.
Divine Providence takes such care of his creatures that, in all parts,
he gives them what they require; and if men would always consider the
ways of nature, they would know the obligation they are under to serve
our true God.
In the province called Cori, which is near the town of Anzerma, there is
a river which flows with considerable force, and near it there are some
ponds of salt water, whence the Indians obtain the quantity they
require, and, making great fires, they place jars of this salt water on
them, and set the water to boil until from an _arroba_ there is not left
half an _azumbre_. Then their experience enables them to convert the
residue into as pure and excellent salt as is made from the salt-pits of
Spain. Throughout the districts of Antioquia there are many of these
fountains, and they make so much salt that they take it inland, and
exchange it for gold, cotton cloth, and other things which they may
require.
Beyond the great river which flows near the city of Cali, and near that
of Popayan, towards the north, we discovered a village called Mungia, in
company with the captain Jorge Robledo, whence we crossed the Cordillera
of the Andes, and discovered the valley of Aburra and its plains.
In this village of Mungia, and in another called Cenusara, we found some
other fountains in mountains near a river, and from these fountains the
natives made so much salt that their houses were full of it, moulded
into shapes exactly like loaves of sugar. They took this salt by the
valley of Aburra to the provinces to the eastward, which have not been
discovered or seen by the Spaniards to this day. This salt has made the
Indians exceedingly rich.
In the province of Caramanta, which is not very distant from the town of
Anzerma, there is a fountain which rises out of a river of sweet water,
and turns some of its water into a vapour resembling smoke, which
assuredly must arise from there being some metal in that part. The
Indians make good black salt from this water, and they also say that
they know of a lake near a great rock, at the foot of which there is the
same kind of water. They make salt from this water for their chiefs, for
they say that it makes better and whiter salt than in any other part.
In the province of Anzerma, and in all its districts, there are
fountains of the same sort, from which they make salt.
In the provinces of Arma, Carrapa, and Picara, they suffer much from the
want of salt, there being many inhabitants and few of these fountains,
so that the salt that is brought fetches a high price.
In the city of Cartago every citizen has his apparatus for making salt,
which is prepared in an Indian village called Consota, a league from the
city, where a small river flows. Near the river there is a mountain,
out of which comes a large spring of very black and thick water. The
water is taken from this spring and boiled in cauldrons until it is
nearly all evaporated, when a white-grained salt remains, as good as
that of Spain. The citizens of that city use no other salt than that
which is obtained from this spring. Further on there is another village
called Coyusa, near which flows several rivers of very remarkable water.
I noticed in them a thing which astonished me not a little. This was
that certain brackish pools were formed by these streams, and also at
the source whence they take their rise; and that the Indians, with much
industry, had certain pipes, made of the stout canes of these parts,
fixed in them after the manner of ships’ pumps, so that they could pump
up the quantity of water they required, and make their salt from it.
In the city of Cali there are none of these springs, and the Indians get
their salt by barter from a province near the sea, called Timbas. Those
who cannot make the exchange boil fresh water, and mix a certain herb
with it, by which they make a bad salt of very evil smell. The Spaniards
who live in this city do not feel the want of salt because the port of
Buenaventura is near, and vessels arrive there from Peru with large
blocks of salt.
In the city of Popayan there are some of these fountains, especially
among the Coconucos, but not so many, nor of such good quality as those
of Anzerma and Cartago. At Pasto all the salt is obtained by trading,
and it is better than that of Popayan. I have seen many springs, besides
those which I have now described, with my own eyes, but it seems to me
that I have said enough to make the reader understand the manner of
procuring salt from these springs. Having declared the method of making
salt in these provinces, I shall now pass on to the great kingdom of
Peru.