The Cordillera and the Andes--Signification of the terms--Altitude
of the Mountains and Passes--Lakes--Metals--Aspect of the
Cordillera--Shattered Rocks--Maladies caused by the diminished
Atmospheric Pressure--The Veta and the Surumpe--Mountain Storms--The
Condor--Its habits--Indian mode of Catching the Bird--The Puna or
Despoblado--Climate--Currents of Warm Air--Vegetation--Tuberous
Plant called the Maca--Animals of the Puna--The Llama, the Alpaco,
the Huanacu and the Vicuna--The Chacu and the Bolas--Household
Utensils of the Ancient Peruvians--The Viscacha and the
Chinchilla--Puna Birds and Amphibia--Cattle and Pasture--Indian
Farms--Shepherds' Huts--Ancient Peruvian Roads and
Buildings--Treasure concealed by the Indians in the Puna.
Two great mountain chains, running parallel with each other, intersect
Peru in the direction from S.S.W. to N.N.E. The chain nearest the coast
of the Pacific is at the average distance of from sixty to seventy
English miles from the sea. The other chain takes a parallel direction
but describes throughout its whole course a slight curve eastward. These
two ranges of mountain are called the Cordilleras, or the Andes: both
terms being used indiscriminately. Even the creoles of Peru confound
these two terms, sometimes calling the western chain by one name, and
sometimes by the other. Nevertheless, a strict distinction ought to be
observed:--the western chain should properly be called the Cordillera,
and the eastern chain the Andes. The latter name is derived from the
Quichua word Antasuyu; _Anta_ signifying metal generally, but especially
copper, and _Suyu_ a district; the meaning of Antasuyu, therefore, is
the metal district. In common parlance, the word Suyu was dropped, and
the termination _a_ in _Anta_ was converted into _is_. Hence the word
_Antis_, which is employed by all old writers and geographers; and even
now is in common use among the Indian population of Southern Peru. The
Spaniards, according to their practice of corrupting the words of the
Quichua language, have transformed Antis into _Andes_, and they apply
the name without distinction to the western and the eastern chain of
mountains.[65]
The old inhabitants of Peru dwelt chiefly along the base of the eastern
mountain chain, where they drew from the mines the metal which afforded
material for their tasteful and ingenious workmanship: those mountains
consequently retained the name of Antis or Andes. In the time of the
Incas, both chains were called Ritisuyu (Snow-Districts). The Spaniards,
on the invasion of the country, advancing from the sea-coast, first
arrived at the western mountains, and to them they gave the name of
_Cordillera_, the term commonly employed in the Spanish language, to
designate any mountain chain. Most of the earlier travellers and
topographists named the western chain the _Cordillera de los Andes_, and
regarded it as the principal chain, of which they considered the eastern
mountains to be merely a branch. To the eastern range of mountains they
gave the name of _Cordillera Oriental_. I will here strictly observe the
correct denominations, calling the western chain the Cordillera, or the
coast mountains; and the eastern chain the Andes, or the inner
Cordillera.
These two great mountain chains stand in respect to height in an inverse
relation one to the other; that is to say, the greater the elevation of
the Cordillera, the more considerable is the depression of the Andes. In
South Peru the ridge of the Cordillera is considerably lower than that
portion of the Andes which stretches through Bolivia. The medium height
of the Cordillera in South Peru is 15,000 feet above the sea; but here
and there particular points rise to a much more considerable elevation.
The medium height of the Andes is 17,000 feet above the sea. In central
Peru the Cordillera is higher than the Andes. There the altitude of the
latter along the body of the chain is 13,000 feet above the sea: on the
ridge there are a few points some hundred feet higher. Between Pasco
and Loxas the average height of the Cordillera is between 11,000 and
12,000 feet above the sea; and the average elevation of the Andes at the
corresponding point is about 2000 feet lower.
The passes do not run through valleys, but always over the ridges of the
mountains. The highest mountain passes are the Rinconada (16,452 feet
above the sea); the Piedra Parada (16,008 feet); the Tingo (15,600
feet); the Huatillas (14,850 feet); the Portachuelo de la Viuda (14,544
feet); the Altos de Toledo (15,530 feet); and the Altos de los Huesos
(14,300 feet). In both chains there are innumerable small lakes; these
are met with in all the mountain passes, and most of them are the
sources of small rivers.
Both the mountain chains, as well as their lateral branches, are rich in
metallic produce; but in the principal mountains gold is rare. Some rich
mines on the coast, and in the province of Arequipa, are now nearly
exhausted. Wash gold is plentiful in the rivers of North Peru, but it is
not carefully collected. Silver, which constitutes the principal wealth
of Peru, is found in greatest abundance in the principal chains, viz.,
in Northern and Central Peru, in the Cordillera; and in Southern Peru in
the Andes. It presents itself in all forms and combinations, from the
pure metal to the lead-ore mixed with silver. Even in the highest
elevations, in parts scarcely trodden by human footsteps, rich veins of
silver are discovered. It is scarcely possible to pass half a day in
these regions without encountering new streaks. Quicksilver is likewise
found, but in such small quantities, that the gain does not pay the
labor of the miners. The only quicksilver vein of any magnitude is at
Huancavelica. Both mountain chains are very rich in copper-ore; but it
is extracted only from the Cordillera, for the distance of the Andes
from the coast renders the transport too expensive. The lead and iron
mines, though amazingly prolific, are not worked; the price of the metal
being too low to pay the labor.
The Cordillera presents an aspect totally different from that of the
Andes. It is more wild and rugged, its ridge is broader, and its summits
less pyramidical. The summits of the Andes terminate in slender sharp
points like needles. The Cordillera descends in terraces to the level
heights, whilst the slope of the Andes is uniform and unbroken. The
summits of the calcareous hills which stretch eastward from the great
chain of the Cordillera are broken and rugged. Large cubical blocks of
stone become detached from them, and roll down into the valleys. In the
Quebrada of Huari near Yanaclara, which is 13,000 feet above the sea, I
collected among other fragments of rock some of a species which is found
at Neufchatel in Switzerland. This disintegration, which is the effect
of protracted rain and cold, imparts to the mountain ridges the most
singular and beautiful forms; their fantastic outlines appearing like
the work of human hands. Imagination may easily picture them to be
monuments of the time of the Incas; for viewed from a distance, they
look like groups of giants or colossal animals. In former times the
Indians viewed these masses of rock with devout reverence, for they
believed them to be the early inhabitants of the earth whom Pacchacamac
in his anger transformed to stone. I may here notice some very curious
forms of rock which have long been a subject of controversy among
Peruvian travellers. On the road leading from Ayacucho to Huancavelica,
on the level height of Paucara, about a league beyond the village of
Parcos, there is a considerable number of sand-stone pyramids from eight
to twenty-two feet high. They are of a reddish-white color; but in many
places the inclemency of the weather has overspread them with a blackish
crust. They are detached one from another. Ulloa, in his _Noticias
Americanas_, after fully describing these pyramids, declares himself
doubtful whether they are the work of man or of nature. He inclines to
regard them as human creations, and suggests that they may possibly have
been the tombs of distinguished curacas and caciques; but he admits that
he is not acquainted with any similar monuments in Peru. As each pyramid
consists of only one block of stone, and all are very regularly shaped,
Ulloa is not indisposed to believe that the Indians possessed the secret
art of melting stone. These blocks are, however, of sand-stone, and
their fractures are the result of the inclemency of the weather. They
are all pyramidal-shaped, and tolerably equal in size. In several of
them the points are as sharp and regular as though they had been wrought
by the chisel of the sculptor. These curious pyramids cover the plateau
along a distance of more than two miles: sometimes standing closely
together, and sometimes at considerable distances apart. The whole line
of chalk and slate mountains extending from Ayacucho to Huancavelica is
shattered, and presents similar, though less regular detritus.
I have, in my last chapter, observed that the Cordillera is the point
of partition between the waters of the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans.
All the waters of the eastern declivity of the Cordillera--all those
which have their source on the level heights and on the western
declivity of the Andes,--flow from thence in the direction of the east,
and work their way through the eastern mountain chain. Throughout the
whole extent of South America there is not a single instance of the
Cordillera being intersected by a river; a fact the more remarkable
because in Southern Peru and Bolivia, the coast chain is lower than the
Andes. This interesting phenomenon, though it has deeply engaged the
attention of geologists, has not yet been satisfactorily explained. I
concur in the view taken by Mr. Darwin, who observes that it would be
too rash to assign to the eastern chain of Bolivia and Central Chile, a
later origin than the western chain (the nearest the Pacific), but that
the circumstance of the rivers of a lower mountain chain having forced
their way through a higher chain seems, without this supposition, to be
enigmatical. Mr. Darwin is of opinion that the phenomenon is assignable
to a periodical and gradual elevation of the second mountain line (the
Andes); for a chain of islets would at first appear, and as these were
lifted up, the tides would be always wearing deeper and broader
channels between them.
In the heights of the Cordillera the effect of the diminished
atmospheric pressure on the human frame shows itself in intolerable
symptoms of weariness and an extreme difficulty of breathing. The
natives call this malady the _Puna_ or the _Soroche_; and the Spanish
Creoles give it the names of _Mareo_ or _Veta_. Ignorant of its real
causes they ascribe it to the exhalations of metals, especially
antimony, which is extensively used in the mining operations. The first
symptoms of the veta are usually felt at the elevation of 12,600 feet
above the sea. These symptoms are vertigo, dimness of sight and
hearing, pains in the head and nausea. Blood flows from the eyes, nose,
and lips. Fainting fits, spitting of blood, and other dangerous
symptoms, usually attend severe attacks of veta. The sensations which
accompany this malady somewhat resemble those of sea-sickness, and hence
its Spanish name _mareo_. But sea-sickness is unaccompanied by the
distressing difficulty of breathing experienced in the veta. This
disorder sometimes proves fatal, and I once witnessed a case in which
death was the result. Inhabitants of the coast and Europeans, who for
the first time visit the lofty regions of the Cordillera, are usually
attacked with this disorder. Persons in good health and of a spare habit
speedily recover from it, but on plethoric and stout individuals its
effects are frequently very severe. After an abode of some time in the
mountainous regions, the constitution becomes inured to the rarefied
atmosphere. I suffered only two attacks of the veta; but they were very
severe. The first was on one of the level heights; and the second on the
mountain of Antaichahua. The first time I ascended the Cordillera I did
not experience the slightest illness, and I congratulated myself on
having escaped the veta; but a year afterwards I had an attack of it,
though only of a few hours' duration. The veta is felt with great
severity in some districts of the Cordillera, whilst in others, where
the altitude is greater, the disorder is scarcely perceptible. Thus it
would seem that the malady is not caused by diminished atmospheric
pressure, but is dependent on some unknown climatic circumstances. The
districts in which the veta prevails with greatest intensity are, for
the most part, rich in the production of metals, a circumstance which
has given rise to the idea that it is caused by metallic exhalations.
I have already described the effect of the Puna climate on beasts of
burthen. Its influence on some of the domestic animals is no less severe
than on the human race. To cats, it is very fatal, and at the elevation
of 13,000 feet above the sea those animals cannot live. Numerous trials
have been made to rear them in the villages of the upper mountains, but
without effect; for after a few days' abode in those regions, the
animals die in frightful convulsions; but when in this state they do not
attempt to bite. I had two good opportunities of observing the disease
at Yauli. Cats attacked in this way are called, by the natives,
_azorochados_, and antimony is alleged to be the cause of the distemper.
Dogs are also liable to it, but it visits them less severely than cats,
and with care they may be recovered.
Another scourge of the traveller in the Cordillera, is the disease
called the _Surumpe_. It is a violent inflammation of the eyes, caused
by the sudden reflection of the bright rays of the sun on the snow. By
the rarefied air and the cutting wind, the eyes, being kept in a
constant state of irritation, are thereby rendered very susceptible to
the effects of the glaring light. In these regions the sky is often
for a time completely overshadowed by snow clouds, and the greenish
yellow of the plain is soon covered by a sheet of snow: then suddenly
the sun's rays burst through the breaking clouds, and the eyes,
unprepared for the dazzling glare, are almost blinded. A sharp burning
pain is immediately felt, and it speedily increases to an intolerable
degree. The eyes become violently inflamed, and the lids swell and
bleed. The pain of the surumpe is the most intense that can be
imagined, and frequently brings on delirium. The sensation resembles
that which it may be imagined would be felt if cayenne pepper or
gunpowder were rubbed into the eyes. Chronic inflammation, swelling of
the eyelids, dimness of sight, and even total blindness are the
frequent consequences of the surumpe. In the Cordillera, Indians are
often seen sitting by the road-side shrieking in agony, and unable to
proceed on their way. They are more liable to the disease than the
Creoles, who, when travelling in the mountains, protect their eyes by
green spectacles and veils.
Heavy falls of snow in the Cordillera are usually accompanied by
thunder and lightning. During five months of the year, from November to
March, storms are of daily occurrence. They begin, with singular
regularity, about three o'clock in the afternoon, and continue until
five or half-past five in the evening. After that time storms of
thunder and lightning never occur; but the falls of snow sometimes
continue till midnight. As evening approaches, cold mists are drifted
from the mountain-tops down upon the plains; but they are dispersed by
the rays of the morning sun, which in a few hours melt the snow. The
furious tempests in these regions exceed any idea that can be formed
of them, and can only be conceived by those who have witnessed them.
Some of these mountain districts have acquired an ominous character for
storms; Antaichahua is one of the places to which this sort of fearful
celebrity belongs. For hours together flash follows flash, painting
blood-red cataracts on the naked precipices. The forked lightning darts
its zig-zag flashes on the mountain-tops, or, running along the ground,
imprints deep furrows in its course; whilst the atmosphere quivers
amidst uninterrupted peals of thunder, repeated a thousandfold by the
mountain echoes. The traveller, overtaken by these terrific storms,
dismounts from his trembling horse, and takes refuge beneath the
shelter of some overhanging rock.
In these sterile heights, Nature withholds her fostering influence
alike from vegetable and animal life. The scantiest vegetation can
scarcely draw nutriment from the ungenial soil, and animals shun the
dreary and shelterless wilds. The condor alone finds itself in its
native element amidst these mountain deserts. On the inaccessible
summits of the Cordillera that bird builds its nest, and hatches its
young in the months of April and May. Few animals have attained so
universal a celebrity as the condor. That bird was known in Europe, at
a period when his native land was numbered among those fabulous
regions which are regarded as the scenes of imaginary wonders. The
most extravagant accounts of the condor were written and read, and
general credence was granted to every story which travellers brought
from the fairy land of gold and silver. It was only at the
commencement of the present century that Humboldt overthrew the
extravagant notions that previously prevailed respecting the size,
strength, and habits of that extraordinary bird.
The full-grown condor measures, from the point of the beak to the end
of the tail, from four feet ten inches to five feet; and from the tip
of one wing to the other, from twelve to thirteen feet. This bird feeds
chiefly on carrion: it is only when impelled by hunger that he seizes
living animals, and even then only the small and defenceless, such as
the young of sheep, vicunas, and llamas. He cannot raise great weights
with his feet, which, however, he uses to aid the power of his beak.
The principal strength of the condor lies in his neck and in his feet;
yet he cannot, when flying, carry a weight exceeding eight or ten
pounds. All accounts of sheep and calves being carried off by condors
are mere exaggerations. This bird passes a great part of the day in
sleep, and hovers in quest of prey chiefly in the morning and evening.
Whilst soaring at a height beyond the reach of human eyes, the
sharp-sighted condor discerns his prey on the level heights beneath
him, and darts down upon it with the swiftness of lightning. When a
bait is laid, it is curious to observe the numbers of condors which
assemble in a quarter of an hour, in a spot near which not one had been
previously visible. These birds possess the senses of sight and smell
in a singularly powerful degree.
Some old travellers, Ulloa among others, have affirmed that the plumage
of the condor is invulnerable to a musket-ball. This absurdity is
scarcely worthy of contradiction; but it is nevertheless true that the
bird has a singular tenacity of life, and that it is seldom killed by
fire-arms, unless when shot in some vital part. Its plumage,
particularly on the wings, is very strong and thick. The natives,
therefore, seldom attempt to shoot the condor: they usually catch him by
traps or by the laso, or kill him by stones flung from slings, or by the
_Bolas_. A curious method of capturing the condor alive is practised in
the province of Abancay. A fresh cow-hide, with some fragments of flesh
adhering to it, is spread out on one of the level heights, and an Indian
provided with ropes creeps beneath it, whilst some others station
themselves in ambush near the spot, ready to assist him. Presently a
condor, attracted by the smell of flesh, darts down upon the cow-hide,
and then the Indian, who is concealed under it, seizes the bird by the
legs, and binds them fast in the skin, as if in a bag. The captured
condor flaps his wings, and makes ineffectual attempts to fly; but he is
speedily secured, and carried in triumph to the nearest village.
The Indians quote numerous instances of young children having been
attacked by condors. That those birds are sometimes extremely fierce is
very certain. The following occurrence came within my own knowledge,
whilst I was in Lima. I had a condor, which, when he first came into my
possession, was very young. To prevent his escape, as soon as he was
able to fly, he was fastened by the leg to a chain, to which was
attached a piece of iron of about six pounds weight. He had a large
court to range in, and he dragged the piece of iron about after him all
day. When he was a year and a half old he flew away, with the chain and
iron attached to his leg, and perched on the spire of the church of
Santo Tomas, whence he was scared away by the carrion hawks. On
alighting in the street, a Negro attempted to catch him for the purpose
of bringing him home; upon which he seized the poor creature by the ear,
and tore it completely off. He then attacked a child in the street (a
negro boy of three years old), threw him on the ground, and knocked him
on the head so severely with his beak, that the child died in
consequence of the injuries. I hoped to have brought this bird alive to
Europe; but, after being at sea two months on our homeward voyage, he
died on board the ship in the latitude of Monte Video.
Between the Cordillera and the Andes, at the height of 12,000 feet
above the sea, there are vast tracts of uninhabited table-lands. These
are called in the Quichua language the _Puna_; and the Spaniards give
them the name of the _Despoblado_ (the uninhabited). These table-lands
form the upper mountain regions of the South American Highlands. They
spread over the whole extent of Peru, from north-west to south-east, a
distance of 350 Spanish miles, continuing through Bolivia, and
gradually running eastward into the Argentine Republic. With reference
to geography and natural history, these table-lands present a curious
contrast to the _Llanos_ (plains) of South America, situated on the
other side of the Andes to the north-east. Those boundless deserts,
full of organic life, are, like the Puna, among the most interesting
characteristics of the New World.
The climate of these regions is not less rigorous than that of the high
mountain ridges. Cold winds from the west and south-west, blow nearly
all the year round from the ice-topped Cordillera; and for the space of
four months these winds are daily accompanied by thunder, lightning, and
snow-storms. The average state of the thermometer during the cold season
(which is called summer, because it then seldom snows) is, during the
night, -5 deg. R.; and at midday, +9 deg. 7' R. In winter the mercury seldom
falls during the night below freezing point, and it continues between
+1 deg. and 0 deg. R.; but at noon it ascends only to 7 deg. R. It is, however,
quite impossible to determine with precision the medium temperature of
these regions. For the space of a few hours the heat will frequently
vary between 18 deg. and 20 deg. R. The transition is the more sensibly felt on
the fall of the temperature, as it is usually accompanied by
sharp-biting winds, so keen, that they cut the skin on the face and
hands. A remarkable effect of the Puna wind is its power of speedily
drying animal bodies, and thereby preventing putridity. A dead mule is,
in the course of a few days, converted into a mummy; not even the
entrails presenting the least trace of decomposition.
It frequently happens that, after being long exposed to these cold
winds, the traveller enters warm atmospheric currents. These warm
streams are sometimes only two or three paces, and at other times,
several hundred feet broad. They run in a parallel direction with each
other, and one may pass through five or six of them in the course of a
few hours. On the level heights between Chacapalpa and Huancavelica, I
remarked that they were especially frequent during the months of August
and September. According to my repeated observations, I found that these
warm streams chiefly follow the direction of the Cordillera; namely,
from S.S.W. to N.N.E. I once travelled the distance of several leagues
through a succession of these currents of warm air, none of which
exceeded seven-and-twenty paces in breadth. Their temperature was 11 deg. R.
higher than that of the adjacent atmosphere. It would appear they are
not merely temporary, for the mule-drivers can often foretel with
tolerable accuracy where they will be encountered. The causes of these
phenomena well merit the investigation of meteorologists.
The aspect of the Puna is singularly monotonous and dreary. The
expansive levels are scantily covered with grasses of a yellowish-brown
hue, and are never enlivened by fresh-looking verdure. Here and there,
at distant intervals, may be seen a few stunted Quenua trees
(_Polylepis racemosa_, R. P.), or large patches of ground covered with
the Ratanhia shrub[66] (_Krameria triandria_, R. P.). Both are used by
the Indians as fuel, and for roofing their huts.
The cold climate and sterile soil of the Puna are formidable impediments
to agriculture. Only one plant is cultivated in these regions with any
degree of success. It is the _maca_, a tuberous root grown like the
potatoe, and like it used as an article of food. In many of the Puna
districts the maca constitutes the principal sustenance of the
inhabitants. It has an agreeable, and somewhat sweetish flavor, and when
boiled in milk it tastes like the chestnut. As far as I am aware this
plant has not been mentioned by any traveller, nor has its botanical
character yet been precisely determined. Possibly it is a species of
Tropaeolum, but of this I am uncertain. The root is about the size of a
large chestnut. Macas may be kept for more than a year, if, after being
taken from the earth, they are left a few days to dry in the sun, and
then exposed to the cold. By this means they become shrivelled and very
hard. From these dried macas, the Indians prepare a sort of soup or
rather syrup, which diffuses a sweet, sickly sort of odor, but which,
when eaten with roasted maize, is not altogether unpalatable. The maca
thrives best at the height of between 12,000 and 13,000 feet above the
sea. In the lower districts it is not planted, for the Indians declare
it to be flavorless when grown there. Besides the maca barley is reared
in the Puna. I saw there fields of barley 13,200 feet above the sea. It
does not, however, attain full maturity, seldom even shoots into ears,
and is cut whilst green as fodder for horses.
But poor and scanty as is the vegetation of the Puna, the animal
kingdom is there richly and beautifully represented. Those regions are
the native home of the great Mammalia, which Peru possessed before
horses and black cattle were introduced by the Spaniards. I allude to
the llama and his co-genera the alpaco, the huanacu, and the vicuna.
On these interesting animals I will subjoin a few observations.[67]
The two first are kept as domestic animals; the llama perfectly, and
the alpaco partially tame.
The llama measures from the sole of the hoof to the top of the head, 4
feet 6 to 8 inches; from the sole of the hoof to the shoulders, from 2
feet 11 inches to 3 feet. The female is usually smaller and less strong
than the male, but her wool is finer and better. The color is very
various; generally brown, with shades of yellow or black; frequently
speckled, but very rarely quite white or black. The speckled brown llama
is in some districts called the moromoro.
The young llamas are left with the dam for about the space of a year,
after which time they are removed and placed with flocks. When about
four years old, the males and females are separated; the former are
trained to carry burthens, and the latter are kept in the pastures of
the level heights. Most of the flocks of llamas are reared in the
southern Puna provinces, viz.:--Cuzco and Ayacucho, and from thence
they are sent to the silver mines of North Peru. The price of a strong
full-grown llama is from three to four dollars; but if purchased in
flocks in the provinces above named, they may be had for one and a
half or two dollars each. Shortly after the conquest the price of one
of these animals was between eighteen and twenty ducats; but the
increase of horses, mules, and sheep, lowered their value. The burthen
carried by the llama should not exceed one hundred and twenty-five
pounds, and the animal is seldom laden with more than a
hundred-weight. When the llama finds his burthen too heavy he lies
down, and cannot be made to rise until some portion of the weight is
removed from his back. In the silver mines the llamas are of the most
important utility, as they frequently carry the metal from the mines
in places where the declivities are so steep that neither asses nor
mules can keep their footing.
The Indians frequently proceed with large flocks of llamas to the coast,
to procure salt. Their daily journeys are short, never exceeding three
or four leagues; for the animals will not feed during the night, and
therefore they are allowed to graze as they go, or to halt for a few
hours at feeding-time. When resting they make a peculiar humming noise,
which, when proceeding from a numerous flock at a distance, is like a
number of AEolian harps sounding in concert.
A flock of laden llamas journeying over the table-lands is a beautiful
sight. They proceed at a slow and measured pace, gazing eagerly around
on every side. When any strange object scares them, the flock
separates, and disperses in various directions, and the arrieros have
no little difficulty in reassembling them. The Indians are very fond
of these animals. They adorn them by tying bows of ribbon to their
ears, and hanging bells round their necks; and before loading, they
always fondle and caress them affectionately. If, during a journey,
one of the llamas is fatigued and lies down, the arriero kneels beside
the animal, and addresses to it the most coaxing and endearing
expressions. But notwithstanding all the care and attention bestowed
on them, many llamas perish on every journey to the coast, as they are
not able to bear the warm climate.
Some old travellers have stated that the Indians employ the llama for
riding and for draught; but these accounts are quite erroneous. It
sometimes happens that when crossing a river an Indian lad, to avoid
getting wet, may mount on the back of one of the llamas; but in such a
case, he immediately dismounts on reaching the opposite bank. The flesh
of the llama is spongy, and not agreeable in flavor. Its wool is used
for making coarse cloths.
The alpaco, or paco, is smaller than the llama. It measures from the
lower part of the hoof to the top of the head only three feet three
inches, and to the shoulders two feet and a half. In form it resembles
the sheep, but it has a longer neck and a more elegant head. The fleece
of this animal is beautifully soft and very long; in some parts it is
four or five inches in length. Its color is usually either white or
black; but in some few instances it is speckled. The Indians make
blankets and ponchos of the alpaco wool. It is also frequently exported
to Europe, and it sells at a good price in England. The alpacos are kept
in large flocks, and throughout the whole of the year they graze on the
level heights. At shearing time only they are driven to the huts. They
are in consequence very shy, and they run away at the approach of a
stranger. The obstinacy of the alpaco is remarkable. When one of these
animals is separated from the flock, he throws himself on the ground,
and neither force nor persuasion will induce him to rise;--sometimes
suffering the severest punishment rather than go the way the driver
wishes. Few animals seem to require so imperatively the companionship of
its own species, and it is only when brought to the Indian huts very
young, that the alpacos can be separated from their flocks.
The largest animal of this family is the huanacu. It measures five feet
from the bottom of the hoof to the top of the head, and three feet three
inches to the shoulders. In form it so nearly resembles the llama, that
until a very recent period, zoologists were of opinion that the llama
was an improved species of the huanacu, and that the latter was the
llama in its wild state. In the "Fauna Peruana" I have explained the
erroneousness of this opinion, and described the specific differences
existing between the two animals. On the neck, back, and thighs the
huanacu is of a uniform reddish-brown color. The under part of the body,
the middle line of the breast, and the inner side of the limbs are of a
dingy white. The face is dark grey, and the lips of a clear white. Of
the huanacus there are not those varieties which are found among the
llamas and the alpacos. The wool is shorter and coarser than that of the
llama, and it is of nearly uniform length on all parts of the body.
The huanacus live in small herds of five or seven, seldom exceeding
the latter number. In some districts they are very shy, and retreat
when any one approaches. If taken very young they may be tamed; but
they are always ready to fall back into their wild state. It is with
great difficulty they can be trained as beasts of burthen. In the
menageries of Europe, huanacu brought from Chile are frequently
represented to be llamas.
The vicuna is a more beautiful animal than any of those just
described. Its size is between that of the llama and the alpaco. It
measures from the sole of the foot to the top of the head four feet
one inch, and two and a half feet to the shoulders. The neck is longer
and more slender than in either of the other relative species; and
from them the vicuna is also distinguished by the superior fineness of
its short, curly wool. The crown of the head, the upper part of the
neck, the back, and thighs, are of a peculiar reddish-yellow hue,
called by the people of the country _color de vicuna_. The lower part
of the neck, and the inner parts of the limbs, are of a bright ochre
color, and the breast and lower part of the body are white.
During the rainy season the vicuna inhabits the ridges of the
Cordillera, where some scanty vegetation is to be found. It never
ventures up to the naked rocky summits, for its hoofs being accustomed
only to turfy ground, are very soft and tender. It lives in herds,
consisting of from six to fifteen females, and one male, who is the
protector and leader of the herd. Whilst the females are quietly
grazing, the male stands at the distance of some paces apart, and
carefully keeps guard over them. At the approach of danger he gives a
signal, consisting of a sort of whistling sound, and a quick movement of
the foot. Immediately the herd draws closely together, each animal
anxiously stretching out its head in the direction of the threatening
danger. They then take to flight; first moving leisurely and cautiously,
and then quickening their pace to the utmost degree of speed; whilst the
male vicuna who covers the retreat frequently halts, to observe the
movements of the enemy. The females, with singular fidelity and
affection, reward the watchful care of their protector. If he is wounded
or killed, they gather round him in a circle, uttering their shrill
tones of lamentation, and they will suffer themselves to be captured or
killed, rather than desert him by pursuing their flight. The neigh of
the vicuna, like that of the other animals of its class, resembles a
short, sharp whistle. But when the shrill sound vibrates through the
pure Puna air, the practised ear can readily distinguish the cry of the
vicuna from that of the other animals of the same family.
The Indians seldom employ fire-arms in hunting the vicunas. They catch
them by what they term the _chacu_. In this curious hunt, one man at
least belonging to each family in the Puna villages takes a part, and
women accompany the train, to officiate as cooks to the hunters. The
whole company, frequently amounting to seventy or eighty individuals,
proceeds to the Altos (the most secluded parts of the Puna), which are
the haunts of the vicunas. They take with them stakes, and a great
quantity of rope and cord. A spacious open plain is selected, and the
stakes are driven into the ground in a circle, at intervals of from
twelve to fifteen feet apart, and are connected together by ropes
fastened to them at the height of two or two and a half feet from the
ground. The circular space within the stakes is about half a league in
circumference, and an opening of about two hundred paces in width is
left for entrance. On the ropes by which the stakes are fastened
together the women hang pieces of colored rags, which flutter about in
the wind. The chacu being fully prepared, the men, some of whom are
mounted on horseback, range about within a circuit of several miles,
driving before them all the herds of vicunas they meet with, and forcing
them into the chacu. When a sufficient number of vicunas is collected,
the entrance is closed. The timid animals do not attempt to leap over
the ropes, being frightened by the fluttering rags suspended from them,
and, when thus secured, the Indians easily kill them by the _bolas_.
These bolas consist of three balls, composed either of lead or stone;
two of them heavy, and the third rather lighter. They are fastened to
long, elastic strings, made of twisted sinews of the vicuna, and the
opposite ends of the strings are all tied together. The Indian holds the
lightest of the three balls in his hand, and swings the two others in a
wide circle above his head; then, taking his aim at the distance of
about fifteen or twenty paces, he lets go the hand-ball, upon which all
the three balls whirl in a circle, and twine round the object aimed at.
The aim is usually taken at the hind legs of the animals, and the cords
twisting round them, they become firmly bound. It requires great skill
and long practice to throw the bolas dexterously, especially when on
horseback: a novice in the art incurs the risk of dangerously hurting
either himself or his horse, by not giving the balls the proper swing,
or by letting go the hand-ball too soon.
The vicunas, after being secured by the bolas, are killed, and the flesh
is distributed in equal portions among the hunters. The skins belong to
the Church. The price of a vicuna skin is four reals. When all the
animals are killed, the stakes, ropes, &c., are packed up carefully, and
conveyed to another spot, some miles distant, where the chacu is again
fixed up. The hunting is continued in this manner for the space of a
week. The number of animals killed during that interval varies according
to circumstances, being sometimes fifty or sixty, and at other times
several hundred. During five days I took part in a chacu hunt in the
Altos of Huayhuay, and in that space of time 122 vicunas were caught.
With the money obtained by the sale of the skins a new altar was erected
in the church of the district. The flesh of the vicuna is more tender
and better flavored than that of the llama. Fine cloth and hats are made
of the wool. When taken young, the vicunas are easily tamed, and become
very docile; but when old, they are intractable and malicious. At Tarma
I possessed a large and very fine vicuna. It used to follow me like a
dog whenever I went out, whether on foot or on horseback.
The frequent hunting seems not to have the effect of diminishing the
numbers of these animals. If in the vicinity of the villages where
chacus are frequently established, they are less numerous than in
other parts, it is because, to elude the pursuit of the hunters, they
seek refuge in the Altos, where they are found in vast numbers.
Several modern travellers have lamented the diminution of the vicunas,
but without reason. In former times those animals were hunted more
actively than at present.
Under the dynasty of the Incas, when every useful plant and animal was
an object of veneration, the Peruvians rendered almost divine worship
to the llama and his relatives, which exclusively furnished them with
wool for clothing, and with flesh for food. The temples were adorned
with large figures of these animals made of gold and silver, and their
forms were represented in domestic utensils made of stone and clay.
In the valuable collection of Baron Clemens von Huegel at Vienna, there
are four of these vessels, composed of porphyry, basalt, and granite,
representing the four species, viz., the llama, the alpaco, the
huanacu, and the vicuna. These antiquities are exceedingly scarce, and
when I was in Peru I was unable to obtain any of them. How the ancient
Peruvians, without the aid of iron tools, were able to carve stone so
beautifully, is inconceivable.
Besides the animals above mentioned, several others peculiar to the Puna
are deserving of remark. Among these are the Tarush (_Cervus
antisiensis_, Orb.); the timid roe, which inhabits the high forests
skirting the Andes; the Viscacha (_Lagidium peruanum_, May, and _L.
pallipes_, Benn.), and the Chinchilla (_Eriomys Chinchilla_, Licht.),
whose skin supplies the beautiful fur so much prized by the ladies of
Europe. The viscachas and chinchillas resemble the rabbit in form and
color, but they have shorter ears and long rough tails. They live on the
steep rocky mountains, and in the morning and evening they creep out
from their holes and crevices to nibble the alpine grasses. At night the
Indians set before their holes traps made of horse-hair, in which the
animals are easily caught. The most remarkable of the beasts of prey in
these high regions is the Atoc (_Canis Azarae_, Pr. Max.). It is a
species of fox, which is found throughout the whole of South America.
The warmer Puna valleys are inhabited by the Cuguar (_Felis concolor_,
L.), or, as the Indians call it, the Poma. When driven by hunger, this
animal ventures into the loftiest Puna regions, even to the boundary of
the eternal snow. The wild Hucumari (_Ursus ornatus_, Fr. Cuv.) but
seldom wanders into the cold Puna. The hucumari is a large black bear,
with a white muzzle and light-colored stripes on the breast.
Of the numerous Puna birds, the majority of which may be classed as
water-fowl, I will notice only a few of the most characteristic. Next
to the condor, the most remarkable bird of prey is the Huarahuau, or
the Aloi (_Polylorus megalopterus_, Cob.),[68] one of the gyr-falcon
species. This bird, which is a constant inhabitant of the level
heights, preys on the carcases of dead horses, mules, &c., but never
attempts to meddle with living animals. It is very harmless, and has
so little timidity, that it suffers itself to be approached near
enough to be knocked down with a stick. The Acacli, or Pito (_Colaptes
rupicola_, Orb.), flutters about the mountains; it is a woodpecker,
brown-speckled, with a yellow belly. This bird is seen in very great
numbers, and it is difficult to imagine how it procures food in the
Puna, where there are no insects. All the other woodpecker species
exclusively confine themselves to woody regions.
The thickets of rushy grass are inhabited by the Pishacas, or Yutu, a
species of partridge (_Tinamotis Pentlandii_, Vig.) which the Indians
catch by dogs. These dogs of the Puna Indians are a peculiar race
(_Canis Ingae_, Tsch.). They are distinguished by a small head, a
pointed muzzle, small erect ears, a tail curling upwards, and a thick
shaggy skin. They are in a half-wild state, and very surly and
snappish. They furiously attack strangers, and even after having
received a deadly wound they will crawl along the ground, and make an
effort to bite. To white people they appear to have a particular
antipathy; and sometimes it becomes rather a venturous undertaking for
a European traveller to approach an Indian hut, for these mountain
dogs spring up to the sides of the horse, and try to bite the rider's
legs. They are snarlish and intractable even to their masters, who are
often obliged to enforce obedience by the help of a stick. Yet these
dogs are very useful animals for guarding flocks, and they have a keen
scent for the pishacas, which they catch and kill with a single bite.
There is a very curious little bird in the Puna, about the size of a
starling. Its plumage is exceedingly pretty, being on the back brown,
striped with black; on the throat grey, with two dark stripes, and on
the breast white. This bird has the remarkable peculiarity of making a
monotonous sound at the close of every hour, during the night. The
Indians call it the Ingahuallpa, or Cock of the Inga (_Thinocorus
Ingae_, Tsch.), and they associate many superstitious notions with its
regular hourly cry. The Puna morasses and lagunas are animated by
numerous feathered inhabitants. Among them is the huachua (_Chloephaga
melanoptera_, Eyt.), a species of goose. The plumage of the body is
dazzlingly white, the wings green, shading into brilliant violet, and
the feet and beak of a bright red. The Licli (_Charadrius resplendens_,
Tsch.) is a plover, whose plumage in color is like that of the huachua,
but with a sort of metallic brightness. There are two species of ibis
which belong to the Puna, though they are occasionally seen in some of
the lower valleys. One is the Bandurria (_Theristocus melanopis_,
Wagl.), and the other is the Yanahuico (_Ibis Ordi_, Bonap.). On the
lagunas swim large flocks of Quiullas (_Larus serranus_, Tsch.), white
mews, with black heads and red beaks, and the gigantic water-hen
(_Fulica gigantea_, Soul.). The plumage of the latter is dark-grey, and
at the root of the red beak there is a large yellow botch, in the form
of a bean, whence the Indians give this bird the name of _Anash sinqui_,
or bean nose. Among the few amphibia found in these regions one is
particularly remarkable. It is a small kind of toad (_Leiuperus
viridis_, Tsch.), and inhabits the boundaries of the perpetual snow.
The grasses of the Puna are used as fodder, and in many of the sheltered
valleys there are farms (_Haciendas de Ganado_), where large herds of
cattle are reared. The owners of some of these farms possess several
thousand sheep, and from four to five hundred cows. During the rainy
season the cattle are driven into the Altos. They graze in those high
regions, often at the altitude of 15,000 feet above the sea. When the
frost sets in they are brought down to the marshy valleys, and they
suffer much from insufficiency of pasture. From the wool of the sheep a
coarse kind of cloth, called Bayeta, is made in the Sierra. Some of this
wool is exported, and is much prized in Europe. The old black cattle and
sheep are slaughtered, and their flesh, when dried, is the principal
food of the inhabitants of the Puna, particularly of the mining
population. The dried beef is called _Charqui_, and the mutton is called
_Chalona_. The bulls graze in the remote Altos, and most of them are
reserved for the bull fights in the Sierra villages. As they seldom see
a human being they become exceedingly wild; so much so that the herdsmen
are often afraid to approach them. In the daytime they roam about marshy
places, and at nightfall they retire for shelter beneath some
overhanging rock. These animals render travelling in many parts of the
Puna extremely dangerous, for they often attack people so suddenly as to
afford no time for defence. It is true they usually announce their
approach by a deep bellow; but the open plain seldom presents any
opportunity for escape. On several occasions a well-aimed shot alone
saved me from the attack of one of these ferocious bulls.
The walls of the haciendas are of rough unhewn stone. They are divided
into large square rooms, always damp, cold, and uninhabitable. Beneath
the straw roofs there usually hang long rows of the stuffed skins of
foxes; for every Indian who kills an old fox receives, by way of
reward, a sheep, and for a young one a lamb. The Cholos are therefore
zealous fox-hunters, and they may possibly succeed in altogether
extirpating that animal which in some districts is so numerous as to
be a perfect scourge.
As the sheep, even in the dry season, find pasture more easily than the
horned cattle, they are left during the whole year in the higher parts
of the Puna, under the care of Indian shepherds. At night they are
driven into _cerales_, large square roofless buildings, and are guarded
by dogs. The shepherds make a practice of every year burning the dry
grass of the Puna, in order to improve the growth of the fodder. A Puna
fire does not, however, present the imposing spectacle of the prairie
fires, as described by travellers in North America, possibly because the
Puna straw is shorter, and is always somewhat damp.
The dwellings of the shepherds are built in the same rude style which
characterizes all the huts in the Puna, and they impress the European
traveller with a very unfavorable notion of the intelligence of the
people. The architecture of these huts consists in laying down some
large stones, in a circle of about eight or ten feet in diameter, by
way of a foundation. These stones are covered with earth or turf, and
then with successive layers of stones and earth, until the wall
attains the height of about four feet: at the point most sheltered
from the wind, an opening of a foot and a half or two feet high serves
as a door. On this low circular wall rests the roof, which is formed
in the following manner. Six or eight magay[69] poles are fastened
together, so as to form a point at the top. Over these poles thin
laths are laid horizontally, and fastened with straw-bands, and the
whole conical-formed frame-work is overlaid with a covering of Puna
straw. As a security against the wind, two thick straw-bands are
crossed over the point of the roof, and at their ends, which hang down
to the ground, heavy stones are fastened. The whole fabric is then
completed. The hut at its central point is about eight feet high; but
at the sides, no more than three and a half or four feet. The entrance
is so low, that one is obliged to creep in almost bent double; and
before the aperture hangs a cow-hide, by way of a door.
Internally these huts present miserable pictures of poverty and
uncleanliness. Two stones serve as a stove, containing a scanty fire fed
by dry dung (_bunegas_), and turf (_champo_). An earthen pot for cooking
soup, another for roasting maize, two or three gourd-shells for plates,
and a porongo for containing water, make up the catalogue of the goods
and chattels in a Puna hut. On dirty sheep-skins spread on the ground,
sit the Indian and his wife, listlessly munching their coca; whilst the
naked children roll about paddling in pools of water formed by continual
drippings from the roof. The other inhabitants of the hut are usually
three or four hungry dogs, some lambs, and swarms of guinea-pigs.
From all this it will readily be imagined that a Puna hut is no very
agreeable or inviting retreat. Yet, when worn out by the dangers and
fatigues of a long day's journey, and exposed to the fury of a
mountain storm, the weary traveller, heedless of suffocating clouds of
smoke and mephitic odors, gladly creeps into the rude dwelling. Taking
up his resting-place on the damp floor, with his saddle-cloth for a
pillow, he is thankful to find himself once again in a human
habitation, even though its occupants be not many degrees elevated
above the brute creation.
In the Puna there are many remains of the great high road of the Incas,
which led from Cuzco to Quito, stretching through the whole extent of
Peru. It was the grandest work that America possessed before European
civilisation found its way to that quarter of the world. Even those who
are unacquainted with the wise dominion of the ancient Peruvian
sovereigns, their comprehensive laws, and the high civilisation they
diffused over the whole country, must by this gigantic work be impressed
with the highest idea of the cultivation of the age; for
well-constructed roads may always be regarded as proofs of a nation's
advancement. There is not in Peru at the present time any modern road
in the most remote degree comparable to the Incas' highway. The best
preserved fragments which came under my observation were in the
Altos, between Jauja and Tarma. Judging from these portions, it would
appear that the road must have been from twenty-five to thirty feet
broad, and that it was paved with large flat stones. At intervals of
about twelve paces distant one from another there is a row of smaller
stones, laid horizontally and a little elevated, so that the road
ascended, as it were, by a succession of terraces. It was edged on
each side by a low wall of small stones.
Other remains of ancient Peru, frequently met with in these parts, are
small buildings, formerly used as stations for the messengers who
promulgated the commands of the Incas through all parts of the country.
Some of these buildings are still in a tolerably good state of
preservation. They were always erected on little hillocks, and at such
distances apart, that from each station the nearest one on either side
was discernible. When a messenger was despatched from a station a signal
was hoisted, and a messenger from the next successive station met him
halfway, and received from him the despatch, which was in this manner
forwarded from one station to another till it reached its destination. A
constant communication was thus kept up between the capital and the most
distant parts of the country. A proof of the extraordinary rapidity with
which these communications were carried on is the fact, recorded on
unquestionable authority, that the royal table in Cuzco was served with
fresh fish, caught in the sea near the Temple of the Sun in Lurin, a
distance of more than 200 leagues from Cuzco.
The messenger stations have by some travellers been confounded with
the forts, of which remains are met with along the great Inca road. The
forts were buildings destined for totally different purposes. They were
magazines for grain, and were built by the Incas to secure to their
armies in these barren regions the requisite supplies of food. Vestiges
of these forts are frequently seen in the Altos of Southern and Central
Peru. They are broad round towers, usually built against a rocky
declivity, and with numerous long apertures for the admission of air.
Even the broad level heights in which no trace of human habitations is
discoverable, have been excavated by the mercenary Peruvian mestizos and
creoles in search of hidden treasures. Their faith in the existence of
concealed riches is founded on the following tradition. When the last
reigning Inca, Atabiliba or Atahuallpa, was made prisoner by Don
Francisco Pizarro, in Caxamarca, he proposed to ransom himself from the
Spanish commander. The price he offered for his liberty was to fill with
gold the cell in which he was confined, to the height of a certain line
on the wall, which Pizarro marked with his sword. The cell, it may be
mentioned, was twenty-two feet long and seventeen broad. A quantity of
gold which the Inca ordered to be collected in Caxamarca and its
vicinity, when piled up on the floor of the cell, did not reach above
halfway to the given mark. The Inca then despatched messengers to Cuzco
to obtain from the royal treasury the gold required to make up the
deficiency; and accordingly eleven thousand llamas were despatched from
Cuzco to Caxamarca, each laden with one hundred pounds of gold. But ere
the treasure reached its destination, Atahuallpa was hanged by the
advice of Don Diego de Almangra and the Dominican monk Vicente de
Valverde. The terror-stirring news flew like wild-fire through the land,
and speedily reached the convoy of Indians, who were driving their
richly-laden llamas over the level heights into Central Peru. On the
spot where the intelligence of Atahuallpa's death was communicated to
them, the dismayed Indians concealed the treasure, and then dispersed.
Whether the number of the llamas was really so considerable as it is
stated to have been, may fairly be doubted; but that a vast quantity
of gold was on its way to Caxamarca, and was concealed, is a
well-authenticated fact. That the Indians should never have made any
attempt to recover this treasure is quite consistent with their
character. It is not improbable that even now some particular
individuals among them may know the place of concealment; but a
certain feeling of awe transmitted through several centuries from
father to son, has, in their minds, associated the hidden treasure
with the blood of their last king, and this feeling doubtless prompts
them to keep the secret inviolate.
From traditionary accounts, which bear the appearance of probability,
it would appear that the gold was buried somewhere in the Altos of Mito,
near the valley of Jauja. Searches have frequently been made in that
vicinity, but no clue to the hiding-place has yet been discovered.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 65: Some derive the word Andes from the people called Antis,
who dwelt at the foot of these chains of mountains. A province in the
department of Cuzco, which was probably the chief settlement of that
nation, still bears the name of Antas.]
[Footnote 66: From the most remote times the Ratanhia has been employed
by the Indians as a medicine. It is one of their favorite remedies
against spitting of blood and dysentery. Most of the Ratanhia exported
to Europe is obtained in the southern provinces of Peru, particularly in
Arica and Islay. The extract which is prepared in Peru, and which was
formerly sent in large quantities to Europe, is now scarcely an object
of traffic. For several years past no Ratanhia has been shipped from
Callao, and but very little from Truxillo.]
[Footnote 67: More lengthened information respecting them may be found in
the "Fauna Peruana." I have there noted all their specific varieties,
and have corrected the erroneous accounts given of them by some previous
travellers.]
[Footnote 68: _Phalcoboenus montanus_, Orb.]
[Footnote 69: The Magay is the stem of the American Agave. It has a sort
of spungy sap; but it is covered externally with a strong tough bast.
The Magay supplies the inhabitants of Upper Peru with an excellent kind
of light and strong building wood.]