How there are large salt lakes and baths in this kingdom; and how the
land is suited for the growth of olives and other fruits of Spain, and
for some animals and birds of that country.
Having concluded what I have to say concerning the founding of the new
cities in Peru, it will be well to give an account of some of the most
noteworthy things in the country, before I bring this first part of my
work to a conclusion.
I will now make mention of the great salt lakes in this country, a thing
very important for the sustenance of the people. I have mentioned how
there were no salt lakes throughout the government of Popayan, and how
God our Lord has provided salt springs, from the water of which the
people make the salt for their support. Here in Peru there are such
large and fine salt lakes that they would suffice to supply all the
kingdoms of Spain, France, Italy, and other parts. Near Tumbez they get
large rocks of salt from water near the sea shore, which they take in
ships to the port of the city of Cali,[520] and to the Tierra Firme. In
the sandy deserts, not very far from the valley of Huara, there are some
large and valuable salt lakes, and great heaps of salt which are lost,
for few Indians take advantage of this supply.[521] In the mountains
near the province of Huaylas there are other still larger salt lakes;
and half a league from the city of Cuzco there are wells, where the
Indians make enough salt to supply all the province. In Cunti-suyu, and
in parts of the Anti-suyu, there are some very large salt deposits. In
short it may be said that Peru is well supplied with salt.
There are also baths in many parts of the country, and fountains of warm
water, where the natives bathe. I have seen many of these, in the parts
through which I have travelled.[522]
Many places in this kingdom, such as the coast valleys and the land on
the banks of rivers, are very fertile, and yield wheat,[523] maize, and
barley[524] in great quantities. There are also not a few vineyards at
San Miguel, Truxillo, the City of the Kings, Cuzco, and Guamanga, and
they are beginning to plant them in other parts, so that there is great
hope of profitable vine cultivation. There are orange and pomegranate
trees, and other trees brought from Spain, besides those of the country;
and pulses of all sorts.
In short Peru is a grand country, and hereafter it will be still
greater, for large cities have been founded, and when our age has passed
away, Peru may send to other countries, wheat, meat, wool, and even
silk, for there are the best situations in the world for planting
mulberries. There is only one thing that has not yet been brought to
this country, and that is the olive tree, which, after bread and the
vine, is the most important product. It seems to me that if young plants
were brought from Spain, and planted in the coast valleys, and on the
banks of rivers in the mountains, there would soon be as large olive
woods as there are at Axarafe de Sevilla. For if they require a warm
climate it is here; if they want much water, or none, or little, all
these requirements can be found here. In some places in Peru it never
thunders, lightning is not seen, nor do snows fall in the coast valleys,
and these are the things which damage the fruit of olive trees. When the
trees are once planted, there will soon come a time when Peru will be as
well supplied with oil as with everything else.[525] No woods of oak
trees have been found in Peru, but if they were planted in the Collao,
in the district of Cuzco, and in other parts, I believe that they would
give the same result as olive trees in the coast valleys.[526]
My opinion is that the conquerors and settlers of these parts should not
pass their time in fighting battles and marching in chase of each other;
but in planting and sowing, which would be more profitable. I have to
mention a thing here, that there is in the mountains of Peru. I allude
to certain foxes, not very large, which have the property of emitting so
foul and pestiferous an odour, that there is nothing with which it can
be compared. If one of these creatures, by any accident, comes in
contact with a lance or anything else, the evil smell remains for many
days, even when the lance is well washed.[527] I have not seen wolves,
nor other mischievous animals, in any part, except the great tigers
which I have mentioned as frequenting the forests of the port of
Buenaventura, in the province of the city of Cali, which have killed
some Spaniards, and many Indians. Ostriches[528] have been met with
beyond Charcas, and the Indians value them very highly. There is another
kind of animal called _huis-cacha_,[529] of the size and shape of a
hare, except that the tail is like that of a fox. They breed in stony
places, and amongst rocks, and many are killed with slings and
arquebuzes. They are good to eat, and the Indians make mantles of their
skins, which are as soft as silk, and very valuable. There are many
falcons, which would be prized in Spain. I have already said that there
are two kinds of partridges, one small, and the other the size of
fowls.[530] There are the best ferrets in the world in this country.
There are also certain very obscene birds, both in the coast valleys and
in the mountains, called _auras_, which eat dead bodies, and other
noisome substances.[531] Of the same kind are the enormous condors,
which almost appear like griffins, and carry off the lambs and small
_huanacus_ in the fields.