Pedro_, and _Arenas_, but is not worked on account of the
difficulty in procuring labourers, as the province is only
accessible on foot; gold is also collected in grains in great
abundance on the alluvial grounds of the valley of _Santa Rosa_,
the valley _de la Trinadad_, and the valley _de los Onos_. It is
chiefly found by negro slaves, employed for that purpose, and sent
to Mompox, which is the great mart where the gold found in this
province is disposed of; the gold of Antioquia is only of nineteen
or twenty carats fineness, and it has been computed that 3400 marcs
of this precious metal are annually exported.
The silver of New Granada is chiefly produced in this province at
_Vega de Supia_, a mine which has been lately discovered twenty
leagues from Carthago.
The mountains of this country attain the greatest elevation of
any of the three parallel chains in this part of the Andes. They
reach the period of perpetual congelation, and in some of their
summits greatly exceed it; indeed the whole country is so thickly
surrounded with these mountains, that those who are not strong
enough to travel on foot, or dislike being carried on the backs of
men, must pass their whole lives within its bounds.
The capital of this province is _Santa Fé de Antioquia_, in 6° 48ʹ
north latitude, and 74° 36ʹ west longitude; but from the situation
of the country, so little is known of it, that it is impossible
to give any correct description. It was founded by Sebastian de
Benalcazar, in 1541, after he had conquered the country which was
then inhabited by cannibals.
The number of negroes who inhabit the gold district of the valley
of Cauca, is said to be 8000, who are dispersed in small villages
near the mining stations.
_PROVINCE OF CHOCO._
This province, of which as little is known of its interior as
of that of Antioquia, is bounded on the north by Darien and
Carthagena; west by the Pacific, or district of Biriquete; east by
Antioquia, and south by Popayan.
It is separated from the valley of the Cauca by the western chain
of the Andes, which attains in this district the inferior altitude
of about 5000 feet, and gradually diminishes in height towards the
isthmus of Darien.
In the interior of Choco, the ravine of the Raspadura unites the
sources of the river Noanama (or San Juan) with the river Quito,
which forms, with the Andegada and the Zitara, the considerable
river Atrato. The river San Juan flows into the South Sea, and a
monk of the village of Zitara, caused his flock to dig a small
canal in the ravine above mentioned, by which, when the rains are
abundant and the rivers overflow, canoes loaded with cacao, pass
from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. This communication has
existed since 1788, unknown to even the Spaniards themselves; the
distance of the mouths of the Atrato in the bay of Panama, to the
estuary, of the river San Juan being seventy-five leagues.
The province of Choco is still a wide continuous forest, without
trace of cultivation, road or pasture; it is inhabited chiefly by
negroes and persons connected with the mines, and the price of
commodities is so great, that a barrel of flour from North America,
sells at from 10_l._ to 15_l._; the maintenance of a muleteer,
is from five to seven shillings a day, and iron is so dear, even
in peace, owing to the great difficulty of carriage, that it is
almost impossible to procure it.
The villages inhabited by the negroes are _Novita_, _Zitara_,
and _Taddo_; the first settlers came to it in 1539, and it
contains about 5000 persons at present. The gold washings of most
consequence are Novita, Zitara, and the river Andegada; all the
ground between this river, the river San Juan, the river Tamana,
and the river San Augustin, is auriferous.
The largest piece of gold ever found in Choco weighed twenty-five
pounds; but the negro who discovered it, did not even obtain his
liberty. His master presented it to the Kingʼs cabinet, in hopes of
obtaining a title, but it was with much difficulty that he even got
the value of its weight, a just punishment for not emancipating his
slave.
Ten thousand eight hundred marks of gold are the utmost annual
produce of the washings of Choco, and the metal is generally about
twenty-one carats fine.
Platina is chiefly found in this and the neighbouring province of
Antioquia. It is in Choco and Barbacoas, that this valuable metal
is only discovered in grains, in the alluvious grounds between the
second and sixth degrees of north latitude.
In Choco, the ravine of Oro, between the villages of Novita and
Taddo, yields the greatest quantity; the price on the spot being
about thirty-three shillings the pound.
The district of _Biriquite_, which is attached to Choco, lies along
the coast of the Pacific; in it is the village of _Noanamas_,
inhabited chiefly by Indians, and situated on a river of the
same name, 170 miles north-west of Popayan. This country was
discovered by Pizarro, who called the natives Pueblo Quemado (the
burnt people). It is thinly inhabited by some Indian tribes, who,
as is the case with their neighbours in Darien, are perfectly
independent.
_GOVERNMENT OF POPAYAN._
This country, which is subordinate to the presidency of Quito,
contains several districts, _Cali_, _Quatro Ciudades_, _Timana_,
_Guadalajara de Buga_, _St. Sebastian de la Plata_, _Almaguer_,
_Caloto_, _San Juan de Pasto_, _El Raposo_ and _Barbacoas_.
Of these the four northern ones are attached to the audience of
Santa Fé de Bogota, and the others to Quito. Popayan is bounded
on the north by the Llanos de Neiva, on the west by Choco and the
Pacific, on the east by the government of Quixos, and on the south
by that of Atacames.
The country of Popayan possesses from the extent of its surface, a
very unequal climate; the district of Barbacoas being on the sea
shore, is extremely hot, whilst in the interior, on the mountains,
the cold is excessive; but _Popayan_, the capital, enjoys a
temperate climate, and an eternal spring.
Tempests and earthquakes are more frequent in this government than
in Quito itself, though they occur often in the latter place; and
the district of Caloto is the one most subject to storms, thunder
and lightning.
The soil of Popayan varies according to the situations of the
districts; it produces grains and fruits in great abundance; and
numbers of horned cattle, horses and sheep, are reared by the
farmers.
Among the singular plants of this country is the coca or betel,
which is chewed by the natives in the same manner, and for the same
purposes that it is in the East Indies. And one of the gum-trees
of Popayan yields a resin so remarkably tenacious, that when used
to varnish ornamental work, it resists the application of boiling
water, or even acids; for which reason, tables, cabinets, &c., made
by the Indians, and lacquered with it, are highly valued at Quito.
The central branch of the three parallel chains of the Andes runs
through the northern part of Popayan, in which they all commence;
this branch is, however, as before stated, the highest of the
three, and its summits are above the lower limits of congelation;
of these, _Barangan_, _Quindiu_, and _Guanacas_ are the most lofty.
In order to go from Popayan to Santa Fé, the central Cordillera
must be crossed; the most frequented pass being that of Guanacas,
in 2° 34ʹ north latitude, between Popayan and the small town of
La Plata, presenting every where to the view, summits clothed in
eternal snows.
It is impossible to traverse this road without trembling, and care
must be taken to encamp at night as near the top of the mountain as
possible, or to stop at the village of Guanacas, which is on the
eastern side, it being absolutely necessary to stop there, if the
blackness of the clouds indicates that contrary weather appears to
be at hand.
The mules which convey passengers over this mountain pass, and
which are made use of in preference to horses, for the secureness
of their footsteps, not only partake the dangers, but run much
greater risks than the traveller, as they have equally with their
riders to resist the effects of the extreme cold, and also to
undergo the greater part of the fatigues. The whole road, for the
space of two leagues, is so covered with the carcasses and bones of
those animals, which have sunk under their exertions, that it is
impossible to avoid treading over them. This pass has on the south,
at the distance of five or six leagues, the snowy mountain of
Coconoco, an ancient volcano which is not at present in activity,
and on the north another summit, called Houila, also covered with
perpetual snows.
At the top of the gorge, is a small lake or pond, of which the
water never freezes; and at less than 700 feet distant from this on
each side, are the sources of the Cauca and the Magdalena. Goods
are often left in this place, because the muleteers will not run
the risk of quitting it between suns, and therefore return to take
them up the next morning. The distance from Popayan to La Plata
(the town on the Magdalena, where the journey terminates) is about
nineteen or twenty leagues, which generally occupies twenty or
twenty-two days to travel; but the time taken to pass the actual
ridge is about a day, and there are habitations, at intervals on
each side; not so the other road, which leads from Popayan, by
the mountains of Quindiu, between the cities, or rather towns of
Ibague and Carthago, in 4° 36ʹ north latitude; and is the most
difficult to scale, when taken in the sense of a road, of any in
the whole Cordillera, crossing a thick untenanted forest, which, in
the most favourable weather, is not passable under ten or twelve
days. No hut is to be seen, or any means of subsistence procured,
and the venturous traveler must take with him at least a monthʼs
provisions; as the sudden thaws and swellings of rivers render it
frequently impracticable to go forward or return. The highest point
of this pass is 11,499 feet above the level of the sea; and is
styled Garito de Paramo.
The path is not more than a foot and a half broad, and has, in
several points, the appearance of a gallery, whose surface has
been taken off, and the whole is bottomed with muddy clay; the
torrents which rush down the rocks, forming every here and there
narrow beds, from twenty to twenty-five feet in depth, along which
the passenger must work his way in the mud, encompassed by a wall
of rocks, covered with vegetation of luxuriant growth, which
renders these places nearly dark. Along these galleries, many of
which are a mile and a half in length, the oxen employed to carry
baggage, and whose feet are better adapted than those of mules,
for struggling through the tough and deep clay, can hardly force
their way. The meeting with other travellers, in such a situation,
is highly troublesome, as there is the greatest difficulty to
pass. The roots of the bamboos, studded with strong prickles,
projecting from the sides of the mountains, are among the other
inconveniences, combined with the necessity of crossing the icy
waters of the torrents, and of being deluged with the incessant
rains which prevail here.
The colonists, whose affairs oblige them to go by this route, are
carried in chairs on menʼs backs, by a set of people who are bred
to this business; and who are generally either creoles or mulattoes.
The common price of carriage, from Ibague to Carthago, which
occupies fifteen or twenty days, and even more, is from fifty to
sixty shillings; a very inadequate sum for the labour they undergo,
and which frequently renders their backs perfectly raw. Besides
the chair and rider, they carry a roll of leaves of the vijao, a
species of banana-tree, which they gather near Ibague, in order to
form the huts that it is necessary to construct at night, or, if
overtaken by heavy rains; each of these leaves is twenty inches
long and fourteen broad; their lower surface is white, and covered
with a sort of powder, which enables them to throw off the water. A
few branches lopped from the forest, and set up on a dry spot, are
speedily covered with these leaves, forming a cool and comfortable
retreat for the wearied people.
The departments of Popayan, mentioned above, of most consequence,
are Pasto, which is large and fertile; Cali and Buga, lying between
Popayan and Choco, thrive on account of the trade they mutually
carry on, and Caloto, which is fertile and rich, though the most
subject to earthquakes; none of these however deserve the names of
provinces.
Popayan carries on as much, if not more trade than any other part
of the audience of Quito, as all the European goods from Carthagena
are consigned to it, and sent to Quito; and it exports cattle and
mules there, receiving cloths, &c., in return. Its active commerce
also consists in dried beef, salted pork, tobacco, lard, rum,
cotton, &c., which are sent to Choco and other places, in barter
for the precious metals; sugar and snuff, are imported from Santa
Fé. The exchange of silver for gold is also a great branch of
traffic; for as gold abounds and silver is scarce, the latter is
much sought for.
The city of Popayan contains, amongst its inhabitants, many very
wealthy persons, who have accumulated their fortunes by trade.
The capital of this government is _Popayan_, in the beautiful
valley of the Cauca river, in 2° 28ʹ 38ʺ north latitude, and 76°
31ʹ 30ʺ west longitude, 195 miles S.S.W. of Santa Fé, is the most
ancient city erected by Europeans in this part of America, having
been founded by Benalcazar, in 1537, after he had completed the
conquest of the government we have described. It received its
present name in July 1538, and is seated on a large plain, 5905
feet above the level of the sea, having an uninterrupted prospect
to the north, and a mountain named M from its resemblance to that
letter, on the east. The west side of this plain is moderately
elevated, and is covered, as well as the mountain, with trees. On
the summit of M is a convent, near which issues a river, that runs
rapidly through the city, and serves to cleanse it of filth. This
river has two bridges, one of stone and the other of wood, erected
over it, and is called Molina.
The Cauca flows about a league from Popayan with a broad and
quick current, subject to dreadful inundations, in June, July
and August, when the torrents descend from Guanacas, and the
neighbouring mountains; and in the immediate vicinity of this city
are the great volcanoes of Puracé and Sotara.
The streets of Popayan are broad, straight and level, the town
being built in a rectangular shape; the houses have mostly only one
story, or a ground-floor; and though made of unburnt brick, are
very handsome.
The number of Indians is not considerable, most of the people being
of the mulatto cast, owing to the great number of negroes who
have always been employed here and in the neighbouring mines; the
inhabitants have been computed at above 25,000.
The governor of the intendancy resides in this town as does the
bishop of Popayan, who is suffragan of the archbishop of Bogota.
The cathedral was endowed in 1547, and there are several convents
and churches, with two nunneries. It is also the seat of the royal
mint, the annual coinage of which is estimated at a million of
dollars.
A tribunal of finance is also erected in this city, to receive the
capitation tax on the Indians, the kingʼs fifth on metals, the
duties on goods, and other branches of the royal revenue.
The remaining towns of note, are
_Carthago_, in the northern part, which is a small place on the
road to
_Ibague_, also a place of little note, except for being the
beginning of the passage of Quindiu, and is eighteen leagues south
of Honda, and five or six leagues west of the Magdalena.
_Cali_, in 3° 15ʹ north latitude, 73° 16ʹ west longitude, the chief
place of the district of the same name, was originally founded by
Benalcazar, but afterwards removed, on account of the unhealthiness
of its climate, to a short distance from its former site.
_Timana_, the chief town of that district, eighty miles east of
Popayan, in 2° 12ʹ north latitude, 74° 46ʹ west longitude.
_Neyva_ or _Neyba_, in 3° 10ʹ north latitude, 74° 16ʹ west
longitude, 120 miles N. E. of Popayan.
_La Plata_, or _Sebastian del Oro_, in 2° 50ʹ north latitude, 75°
west longitude, 60 miles E. of Popayan.
_Mercaderes_, in 1° 45ʹ north latitude, three leagues north of
the Rio Mayo, and on the confines of the bishoprics of Quito and
Popayan, celebrated as having been the place where Huana Capac
carried his conquests towards the north.
_St. Juan de Pasto_, chief town of the district of the same name,
in which are the sources of the Caqueta, falsely supposed to be
those of the Rio Negro or Orinoco; this town is eighty miles S.S.W.
of Popayan, in 1° 15ʹ north latitude, 76° 46ʹ west longitude, and
contains 7000 inhabitants.
The Indian village of _Puracé_, near the capital, is celebrated as
being situated on a plain above the city of Popayan, called the
Llano del Corazon, 8694 feet above the level of the sea, on the
side of the volcano of Puracé; this plain is carefully cultivated
by the Indians, and is bounded by two deep ravines, on the brink
of whose precipitous sides they have built their houses; the
appearance of this village is therefore highly picturesque, and
the gardens are surrounded with hedges of euphorbiums, contrasting
their elegant verdure with the black and disrupted mountains which
surround the volcano.
A small river, called Pusambio, forms, near this place, three
considerable cataracts, one of the falls being more than 390 feet,
and joins the Cauca in the valleys below. To add to the singularity
of this fall, the water is warm towards the source, and so very
acid, that it obtains the appellation of the Vinegar River; the
acidity destroying the fish in the Cauca, for more than four
leagues after it joins that river.
_GOVERNMENT OF ATACAMES._
TACAMES, or Atacames, is a newly formed government, north of the
presidency of Quito, and included in the jurisdiction of its
audience. It is bounded on the north by the government of Popayan,
whose district of Barbacoas is its frontier; westward, by the
Pacific or South Sea; southward, by the district of Guayaquil; and
east, by the western Cordillera of the Andes. It reaches along the
coast of the southern ocean, from the island of Tumaco, in 1° 30ʹ
north latitude, to the bay of Caracas, in 0° 34ʹ south latitude.
This country lay neglected for a length of time after the conquest
of Quito, and the Indians of the district are yet in a state of
nature, coming only from their woods to sell fruits and drugs, at
the metropolis of Southern Granada. It was conquered by Sebastian
de Benalcazar, but its importance remained unknown till 1621,
when Delgadillo was appointed governor of the province of Tacames
and Rio de Esmaraldas, in order to open a communication by land
on the coasts, but failing in so doing, he was superseded, and
Menacho was appointed in his place in 1626, with no better success.
He was succeeded by two others, who were also unable to clear a
communication between Quito and Terra Firma. In 1735, Maldonado
effected a part of this object, by opening a road between the
capital and the river Esmaraldas, for which service he was rewarded
by the king; as in 1747 this country was formally declared a
government, and Maldonado was named the intendant.
This intendancy contains twenty towns, which are small and poor,
five being on the sea coast, and the others in the interior; the
coast towns are inhabited by Spaniards, creoles and negroes; the
inland places by Indians, a very few Spaniards, mulattoes, and
negroes; and eleven priests, govern the spiritual affairs of the
whole, visiting the inland towns by turns.
The climate of Atacames is hot, and resembles that of Guayaquil,
producing the same fruits, vegetables and grains.
Vanilla, achiotte, indigo and sarsaparilla, are cultivated, or
found in great abundance; and the forests which cover the greater
part of the country are famed for the noble and lofty trees they
are composed of, which appear fit for all architectural purposes.
Great quantities of wax are made and exported, and the cacao of
Tacames is not inferior to that of Guayaquil, yielding more profit,
as from the higher situation of the sloping land it grows on, it
receives all the necessary moisture, without being subject to be
drowned.
The capital of this government is _Tacames_, in the bay of Atacames
on the Pacific Ocean, 110 miles north-west of Quito, in 0° 52ʹ
north latitude, 62 degrees west longitude, having about twenty
miles south of it, the famous mine of emeralds, which has been long
supposed to have been lost.
The other towns, which are of little importance, are, on the
coast, _Tumaco_, _Tola_, _San Mateo de Esmaraldas_, and _La
Canea_. In the interior, _Lachas_, _Cayapas_, _Inta_, _Gualxa_,
_Nanegal_, _Tambillo_, _Niguas_, _Cachillacta_, _Mindo_, _Yambe_,
_Cocaniguas_, _Cansa Coto_, _Santo Domingo_, _San Miguel_ and
_Nono_.
_PRESIDENCY OF QUITO._
QUITO was originally an independent country, which remained
distinct from all the neighbouring states, until a very short time
previous to the conquest of Peru by Francisco Pizarro; but its
limits were not the same as they are at present, nor is it of any
importance to trace their ancient extent. It is now bounded by
Santa Fé on the north, and has within its audience some districts
of Popayan, which also forms a part of its northern frontier. On
the east its jurisdiction extends over the governments of Maynas,
Macas, and Quixos, which reach to the Portuguese frontiers. On
the west the Great Pacific washes it from the gulf of Puna to
the government of Atacames, and on the south the kingdom of Peru
concludes its boundaries. Its length from north to south is about
600 miles, whilst its breadth exceeds 1800.
In this immense extent the population is chiefly confined to the
valley, which is formed on the very ridge of the main chain of the
Andes, by the parallel summits making a prolonged series of small
narrow plains extending from St. Miguel de Ibarra to Loja, and to
the country between those and Popayan, and from the western slope
of the Cordillera to the ocean. The eastern governments, which
will be hereafter mentioned, being chiefly immense tracts, thinly
scattered with missionary villages.
Quito Proper is subdivided from north to south into nine districts,
viz., _San Miguel de Ibarra_, _Otabalo_, _Quito_, _Latacunga_,
_Riobamba_, _Chimbo_, _Guayaquil_, _Cuença_, and _Loxa_ or _Loja_.
_History_, _&c._--This country had remained independent, till
a very short time previous to the Spaniards appearing on the
western shores of the Southern Pacific. The empire of Peru at
that period, had fallen to _Huana Capac_, (the young rich man,)
who being of a very warlike disposition extended his conquests to
all the countries bordering on his kingdom, but had particularly
directed his operations against the state of Quito, which his
predecessor Tupac Yupanqui had already overrun. Quito was inhabited
at that period by powerful tribes, who resembled the Peruvians
in their manners and customs; the most noted of these people
were the Puruays, who were governed by a king under the title of
conchocando, and by tributary chiefs called guastays, and whose
country was known by the name of Lican.
Huana Capac departing with an immense army from Cuzco, marched five
hundred leagues towards the capital of this country, encountering
at every step the greatest difficulties from bad roads, ravines,
precipices, marshes and rapid rivers. These difficulties were
apparently insurmountable, but nothing could damp the ardour of the
Inca and his Peruvians, and they reached the metropolis of their
enemies, subduing both the kingdom and its adjacent provinces.
His subjects fancying they could not offer him a more acceptable
return for the benefits he had showered upon them, by removing
all dread of the future incursions of their warlike neighbours,
prepared a magnificent causeway from Quito to Cuzco, in order that
the monarch might travel back to his capital with the greatest
facility and ease. This road was carried with indefatigable labour
over mountains and through swamps. Valleys were filled up, and
rocks excavated to an immense extent, and so smooth and level was
its surface, that a coach might have been driven along it with the
greatest safety. It has since suffered considerable dilapidations
from the wars between the Spaniards and Peruvians, but enough is
still left to show the magnificence of the undertaking.
After returning to Cuzco, the Inca projected another road by the
low lands to Quito; in order that he might go by one and return by
the other in his visits to the conquered province; high mounds of
earth were laid across all the small valleys formed by the torrents
from the mountains, in order to make the road level; and it was
forty feet in width, which was marked where it crossed any wide
plains, by stakes on each side, to prevent the travellers from
losing their way. This second causeway was five hundred leagues in
length, as was that of the mountains, and many of the mounds over
the valleys yet exist, attesting to the most ignorant spectator,
the astonishing perseverance and labour of these singular people.
When the Inca traveled on these roads, his subjects strewed the
way with branches of trees and flowers of the most exquisite
perfume; and on the mountain road were erected at a dayʼs journey
from each other, large palaces or buildings, with convenient
apartments for the monarch and his suite. On the road of the plains
these erections were also continued, but at greater intervals, and
always on the sides of rivers. They were called tambos, and the
inhabitants of the neighbouring districts were bound to supply them
with provisions, clothing and arms. Over the rivers were built
bridges of wood, but if the stream proved too rapid for these frail
constructions, cables of the fibres of the maguey or aloe were
stretched across and interwoven with a close netting covered with
branches: some of these were ninety feet broad and four hundred
long, and made of cables as thick as a manʼs body.
Huana Capac continued to reside for a long while at Quito, where
he married the daughter of the king he had deposed, by whom he
had a son, _Atabalipa_ or _Atahualpa_; to this son the Inca was
exceedingly attached, and left him at Quito to be educated, when
he found it necessary to return to the capital, where he remained
no longer than was necessary to settle some affairs of state; and
becoming daily more fond of Quito, he finally settled there for the
remainder of his life, on his death bed appointing Atahualpa to
wield the sceptre of his ancestors, independent of his eldest son,
whom he desired should govern the kingdom of Peru alone. This event
happened about the year 1529.
Atahualpa finding that this decision of his father was likely to
be contested by the other children, distributed large presents
to the army from the treasures of Quito, and sent ambassadors to
Huascar the monarch of Peru, his elder brother, informing him of
their fatherʼs demise, and requesting that his decision might be
adhered to, and that if allowed to assume the reins of government
in Quito, he should still remain a tributary of the Peruvian Inca.
Huascar refused to listen to these overtures, desiring Atabalipa
to give up the command of the army in Quito, under pain of being
considered as an enemy to the state if he refused. The monarch
of Quito consulted Quizquiz and Cilicuchima, two of his bravest
warriors on this occasion, who advised him to take up arms, assert
his right, and march against the Inca, assuring him, that the army
was so devoted to him, that he would not only gain the kingdom of
Quito, but the whole empire of Peru.
Atahualpa followed this advice, and marched into the Incaʼs
territories, who immediately collected a strong army at Tumbibamba
on the Peruvian frontier, which place became the scene of a
sanguinary battle that lasted three days, when Atahualpa was taken
prisoner, as he was attempting to escape over a bridge. He was
immediately confined in one of the tambos, whence he contrived to
escape by boring through a wall with a bar of copper which was
given to him for that purpose by a woman. Returning to Quito, he
told a miraculous story of his escape, which he asserted had been
performed through the assistance of the spirit of his father; this
so encouraged his people, that they again collected, and attacked
the Incaʼs array, defeating it with prodigious slaughter.
Marching further into Peru, they destroyed the cities, and wasted
the provinces with fire and sword, and arrived at Caxamarca,
where they waited for a second army which Huascar had collected;
Atabalipa having posted ambushes in every quarter, one of his
generals contrived to take the Emperor prisoner by surprise; but
being attacked on their way back to their own camp, they would have
been cut to pieces, had they not terrified the Inca by threatening
him with instant death if he did not order his people to retire.
This he consented to, and he was carried as a captive to Atahualpa
at Caxamarca.
It was at this period, that the Spaniards arrived in Peru; and
Huascar imagining that if he could persuade them to join him, the
terror of their arms, would once more restore him to the regal
fillet; he accordingly dispatched ambassadors to Pizarro, to
implore his assistance. What that warrior afterwards performed,
will be shown in the history of Peru, but the unfortunate Huascar
suffered for the confidence he had thus reposed in the Spaniards,
as he was put to death by the orders of Atahualpa, for having
entered into alliance with the common enemy.
It will be needless to detail the further operations of Atahualpa,
now become the sole emperor of Peru, as his subsequent history is
so intimately connected with that of the Spanish conquests, that it
must be reserved for the history of those memorable occurrences.
Atahualpa, being slain by the orders of Pizarro, the kingdom
of Quito was forcibly taken possession of by Ruminagui, one of
the chiefs who had served under the unfortunate prince in his
expeditions against Huascar; he put to death all the surviving
children and relatives of the Inca, and caused his brother to be
flayed alive.
The remains of Atahualpa were, however, respected by this assassin,
as they were interred with much pomp in his native city of Quito.
On the departure of Pizarro in his various expeditions from Cuzco,
he left Sebastian de Benalcazar to defend the town he had founded
near the Peruvian frontiers; the Indians of the neighbouring
districts complained to this officer, that Ruminagui, and his
troops from Quito, were constantly harassing them. Benalcazar
thinking this a favourable opportunity for subjugating the country,
marched to Quito with 200 soldiers, eighty of which were cavalry.
Ruminagui advanced to meet him with more than 12,000 men, but
afraid to face the Spaniards in the open field, contented himself
with taking advantage of all the difficult passes, in which he
displayed much judgment, but was always driven backward by the
superior tactics of Benalcazar. In this skirmishing method, the
usurperʼs troops were gradually forced to retire upon the city,
which having, a large plain in its vicinity, afforded an excellent
place to show the Peruvians the superiority of the Spanish cavalry;
and Benalcazar accordingly endeavoured to bring him to action
there, but the usurper, instead of offering battle, contented
himself with digging pits in his front, in which he placed sharp
stakes, and constructed pit-falls covered with grass, upheld by
slight twigs, in hopes that he might destroy the horses. The
Spanish captain was aware of these, and as nothing could put
him off his guard, he at last drove the Peruvians into the city
itself. Finding that he could not defend himself in this position,
Ruminagui set fire to the most valuable moveables of the late Inca,
slew his wives, to prevent their falling into the enemyʼs power,
and after an ineffectual sally, retreated to the interior.
At this juncture, Don Pedro de Alvarado, governor of Guatimala,
arrived with a strong reinforcement to Benalcazar at Quito; and
assuming the command, took several important places; but not
finding the treasure he expected, he went to Cuzco, leaving
Pizarroʼs captain with the army. Alvarado had been sent to this
country by the Emperor Charles, who granted him a commission as
governor of certain territories not included in Pizarroʼs patent.
Previous to his leaving the army for Cuzco, he was attacked by
Almagro, who imagined that he was infringing on the territories
of himself and Pizarro; but a convention took place between them,
and they afterwards were concerned in several battles against the
Peruvians. Quizquiz, the Peruvian general, attacked Benalcazar
after Alvarado had left him, but was defeated with great loss, and
was slain by one of his officers in a council, when he had proposed
to retreat to the mountains.
Benalcazar now engaged himself in conquering and colonizing
the districts and provinces to the north of Quito, which he
accomplished in a very able manner, founding towns, and encouraging
settlers. It was at this period, that the wars broke out between
the followers of Almagro and Pizarro; and when the latter had
defeated the Almagrians, he sent his brother Gonzalo to explore
a tract to the east of Quito, called Los Canelos, the cinnamon
country, as it was conjectured that it contained great quantities
of that valuable shrub. Pizarro conferred at the same time, the
chief command of the whole country of Quito on his brother, and
the new governor set out with 100 horsemen, and an equal number
of foot, taking the city of Quito in his route eastward, toward
the district of Quixos, which had been discovered by Gonzalo Diaz
de Pineda, in the year 1536, when, among the officers sent from
Popayan, (which had been settled by Benalcazar) to trace the course
of the river Magdalena, and survey the country adjacent to the
conquered provinces, he found that this district was extremely
fertile, abounding in gold, and producing excellent cassia; he
reported these circumstances, and they were laid before Pizarro,
who immediately sent his brother to explore it, and to push his
discoveries to the east, for the purpose of finding the cinnamon
country.
Arriving at Quito in the latter end of 1539, Gonzalo Pizarro
remained only time enough to receive a further supply of the
necessary stores, and departed from this city in 1540, attended by
4000 Indians, carrying provisions, arms, and materials for bridges.
Peruvian sheep or llamas, and 4000 swine accompanied the army,
which soon arrived in the country of the Quixos, where they met
with little opposition, and where they remained several days, on
account of the tempestuous weather and a dreadful earthquake. On
quitting this country, they crossed some very high mountains, on
which the Indians suffered so much from cold, that many of them
died.
Proceeding to the river Coca, and thence to another river, Pizarro
built a vessel to enable part of his army to penetrate with less
fatigue; and finding the river become broader as he proceeded, he
determined to pursue its course as far as he could, but having
navigated about 200 leagues down its stream, and there appearing
no probability of procuring provisions, and not being able to
advance the men, who were obliged to follow the vessel on the
banks, on account of the increasing imperviousness of the forests,
he determined to send Francisco de Orellana forward with the
vessel, to see if he could find any country where eatables could
be procured, the stock he brought from Quito being now completely
exhausted. Fifty men accompanied the bark, with orders to load the
vessel with what they might find, and to stop at a place where
two great rivers joined, as well as to leave two canoes at a
river which crossed the route to this place by land, and of which
information had been given by some Indians.
The ship was soon carried to the junction of the two great
rivers; but Orellana finding it difficult to remount the current,
determined to push his fortune and explore the country in the
direction of the stream; neglecting therefore the orders he had
received, he sailed beyond the appointed place, and being much
crowded, and frequently attacked by the Indians on the shores, he
constructed a smaller vessel in a convenient spot, and dividing
his soldiers, proceeded to a country inhabited by women, who made
war upon and defended themselves against the neighbouring tribes.
Following the stream for a long while, Orellanaʼs barks at last
reached the Atlantic Ocean, and with great difficulty and many
dangers he navigated the seas to the Island of Trinidad, where
purchasing a vessel, he went to Spain, and obtaining an audience of
the king, he got a grant of Amazonia, (the country he had seen, and
which was so called, on account of the warrior women,) and equipped
a force of five hundred men for its conquest; but died on the
outward voyage; his men dispersing themselves among the Canaries
and West India islands.
Gonzalo Pizarro was terribly straightened by the defection of
Orellana, and arriving at the rendezvous, found a Spaniard whom
Orellana had put ashore for disobedience; this person informed
Pizarro of what had happened.
In the vessel were all the baubles intended to be bartered with the
Indians, so that as they were now four hundred leagues from Quito,
and with no hopes of relief, they determined on endeavouring to
return. Suffering incredible difficulties, and eating all their
dogs and horses, they arrived at last on the confines of that
kingdom, having lost forty of their companions by famine; and
the whole party were nearly naked, and so altered, that it was
with difficulty they were recognised by their acquaintances. This
unfortunate expedition lasted nearly two years; two hundred and ten
Spaniards, and two thousand Indians perished, only eighty Europeans
returning to Quito out of the whole force; and those who did
return, having ate toads, snakes, and other reptiles, after they
had consumed their horses.
In consequence of the dissensions among the Spaniards in Peru at
this period, Vaca de Castro was sent to assume the government. In
1541, this officer was driven by stress of weather into the harbour
of Buenaventura, at the bottom of the Bay of Choco, at that time a
port of Popayan; and after a difficult journey by land he arrived
at Quito. His commission was immediately recognised by Benalcazar,
lieutenant-general and governor of Popayan, and by Pedro de
Puelles, who commanded in Quito in the absence of Gonzalo Pizarro.
He then left this city to march against the adverse party in Peru,
in which he was joined by Pedro de Vergara, who was occupied in
conquering the present province of Bracamoros. Vaca conquered the
insurgents, and was proclaimed governor of Peru. The subsequent
history of the viceroys and governors belongs to the description
of that kingdom, of which Quito continued a dependent province
till the year 1708, when a new viceroyalty being erected at Santa
Fé de Bogota, under the name of the New Kingdom of Granada, Quito
was taken from the Peruvian government and attached, with all its
provinces, to that of Granada. The royal audience of Quito was
suppressed until 1722, when it was restored, and the provinces
of Quito, erected into a presidency, under the controul of the
vice-regal court of Santa Fé. Since that period, it has remained
under the same form of government, the president of the court of
royal audience being governor of Quito and its dependencies.
_Capital._--The capital of this presidency is QUITO, which was
rebuilt from the Indian town by Benalcazar, in 1534, who then
called it _San Francisco de Quito_; seven years after which it was
made a royal city. It is situated in 78° 10ʹ 15ʺ west longitude,
and 0° 13ʹ 27ʺ south latitude, on the eastern slope of the western
branch of the equatorial Andes, thirty-five leagues distant from
the coasts of the South Sea. The volcanic mountain Pichincha is the
basis on which this celebrated city rests; and its crevices are so
numerous in the environs, that many of the suburbian houses are
built on arches, and from the acclivity of the ground the streets
are very irregular and uneven. The city has in its vicinity the
great plains Turubamba and Inna Quito, covered with country-seats
and cultivation, and the junction of these plains forms a neck of
land on which some of the streets are built.
The temperature of the climate is such, that neither heat nor cold
are felt in extremes; though this may be experienced in a very
short journey from it. The whole year is a perfect spring, with
little or no variation; pleasant gales constantly waft the odours
of the cultivated plains towards the town, and these are seldom
known to fail or to become boisterous. The rain alone descends
occasionally with impetuosity, and prevents the usual out-of-door
avocations; but with such a climate, and in the midst of plenty,
the city is hourly liable to earthquakes, and its inhabitants are
frequently occupied in noticing, with the most awful apprehensions,
the slightest variations in the phenomenæ of the heavens; for from
these they affect to judge of the approach of the subterraneous
concussions which have so frequently destroyed the place; of
these, a very destructive one was experienced in 1775. In 1797, on
the 4th of February, the face of the whole district was changed,
and in the space of a second, forty thousand persons were hurled
into eternity. This earthquake affected the temperature of the
air, which is now commonly between forty and fifty-five degrees,
whereas it was usually sixty-six or sixty-eight degrees, and since
which violent shocks have frequently been experienced. During this
tremendous scene, the ground opened in all directions, and vomited
out sulphur, mud and water. Notwithstanding these horrors, and the
constant state of anxiety they must feel, the inhabitants are gay,
lively, and much addicted to pleasure, luxury and amusement.
The population is estimated at 70,000 persons; among whom are
many of high rank, descendants of the conquerors, or persons who
came in the early periods from Spain. The whites compose about
a sixth part, the mestizoes a third, the Indians of the suburbs
another third, and the mixed race from negroes, Indianʼs, &c., the
remaining sixth. The European whites are, with the exception of the
nobles and merchants, generally very poor; the mestizoes follow
the handicrafts, and excel in some of the higher branches of the
arts, appearing to possess considerable talent and very lively
imaginations. The Indians also follow several trades, which they
are remarkable for gaining a knowledge of with comparative ease.
Great magnificence of dress is affected by the Spanish gentry,
whose habiliments shine with gold and gems; but those of the middle
rank are usually very neat, and covered with a long black cloak;
the Indians wearing white cotton drawers, and a black cotton frock
or shirt. The ladies of Quito are generally handsome and well
educated, and the men a good looking race. The instruction given
to young people of rank consists chiefly in the polite arts, and
in philosophy and divinity. The language of the whites and most of
their descendants is Spanish, but the Quichua and other dialects of
Indian origin are no less common.
Idleness, drunkenness and gaming, are the most prevalent vices,
and the common people and Indians are addicted to theft; and these
indulge very freely in the use of rum and brandy. The matté, an
herb which grows in Paraguay, is used here as a sort of tea, and
forms the most favourite beverage of all classes.
The principal square of Quito is ornamented with the cathedral,
the bishopʼs palace, the town-hall, and the palace of the royal
audience, and with a beautiful fountain in the centre. Four
streets terminate at the angles of this square, which are broad,
straight and well built for about four hundred yards, when the
acclivities and breaches commence; on this account, the luxury of
wheel-carriages is not to be had. Besides the great square, there
are two others of considerable size, and several small ones; in
these the churches and convents are situated, which are generally
fine buildings.
The principal streets are all paved, and the houses are large and
convenient, being mostly of one story in height, built of unburnt
bricks and clay, and cemented by a sort of mortar, which was made
use of anciently by the Indians, and which becomes exceedingly
solid.
This city has seven parishes, with numerous convents, nunneries,
&c. The hospital is a fine structure, and there are several courts
for the administration of justice; the exchequer, treasury, &c.
The cathedral which was endowed in 1545, has a very extensive
jurisdiction, and the revenue of the bishop is 24,000 piastres.
In this church are held two annual festivals in honour of the
Virgin, by whose assistance it is said the city was delivered
when Latacunga, Riobamba, Hambato, and other places in its
neighbourhood, were entirely destroyed by an earthquake and an
ejection from Pichincha, of pumice, basalt, porphyry and liquid mud.
The clay and hot water vomited from this volcano diffuses such
fertility, that a constant succession of fruits, flowers, and
leaves, appear during the whole year, and even on the same tree.
Corn is reaped and sown at the same time, and such is the goodness
of the pasture, that excellent mutton, beef, &c., are to be had
at Quito. Fine cheese is also made in the dairies, and so much is
used, that 70 or 80,000 dollars worth is annually consumed. Good
butter is also found, and for the service of the table, whether in
luxuries or necessaries nothing appears to be wanting.
The height of Quito above the level of the sea is 9510 feet, and
it is backed, by the conical summit of Javirac, immediately under
that of Pichincha; Javirac being 10,239 feet above the ocean,
consequently 729 feet higher than the city.
Quito is plentifully supplied with water from several streams which
flow from the sides of the mountains, and are conducted into the
town by means of conduits. Several of these brooks unite in one
spot, and form the small river Machangara, which washes the south
parts of the city, and is crossed by a stone bridge.
In the church of the Jesuits is an alabaster slab, on which is
engraven a Latin inscription, commemorating the labours of the
French and Spanish mathematicians in 1736, and the following
years, till 1742, and enumerating the signals, angles, and
other circumstances connected with the great undertaking of the
measurement of a degree of the meridian which was performed in
those years.
In this province some cotton goods are manufactured; these are
exported to Peru, for which gold, silver, laces, wine, brandy,
oil, copper, tin, lead and quicksilver are returned; the wheat of
Quito is exported to Guayaquil, and the coast of Guatimala sends
indigo, iron and steel, for which some of the products of Quito
are returned by way of Guayaquil. The commerce of Quito is however
mostly internal, and this province contains no metallic veins which
are worked, though many rich ones are supposed to exist, and some
mercury has been found between the villages of Cuença and Azogue.
Quito is celebrated as having been the scene of the measurement of
a degree of the meridian by the French and Spanish mathematicians,
in the reign of Louis the XV. The plain made choice of for the
mensuration of the great base is situated 1592 feet lower than the
city of Quito, and four leagues north-east of it, near the village
of Yuranqui, from which it has its name. It was in this desert
valley, surrounded by the lofty summits of the central Andes,
that these geodesic operations were carried on, and which were
attended with constant peril and labour; some idea of which may
be formed from the following description of the chain of the Andes
which pervades Quito; this chain after having been divided near
Popayan into three branches, unites in the district of Pastos, and
stretches far beyond the equator.
Its most lofty summits form two lines, separated by a series of
valleys, from 10,600 to 13,900 feet in height, as far as the third
degree of south latitude, in which the chief towns of Quito are
situated. On the west side of this vale or plain rise the mountains
of Casitagua, Pichincha, Atacazo, Corazon, Ilinissa, Carguirazo,
Chimborazo and Cunambay; and on the east are the peaks of Cayambe,
Guamani, Antisana, Passuchoa, Ruminavi, Cotopaxi, Quelendama,
Tunguragua and Capa Urcu, or the altar, all of which, excepting
three or four, are higher than Mont Blanc, but on account of the
great elevation of the plain on which they rest, their appearance
is not so lofty as may be imagined; the summit of Chimborazo, the
most elevated, not being more than 11,942 feet above the plain of
Tapia, which itself is 9481 feet above the level of the sea.
The constant temperature of the air is such, that the summits of
those mountains which enter the region of perpetual snow have the
line of congelation distinctly marked, and the road to Quito from
Guayaquil leads along the northern declivity of Chimborazo, amid
scenes of the most majestic nature, and near the regions of eternal
frost.
_Chimborazo_, the most lofty of the American summits is in the
form of a dome, and towers over the conical peaks and heads of the
adjacent mountains, to an amazing altitude; its height above the
level of the sea being 21,441 feet.
_Pichincha_, which surmounts the city of Quito was formerly a very
active volcano, but since the conquest, its eruptions have not been
frequent; three peaks rise from the edge of its crater, which are
generally free from snow, on account of the heat of the ascending
vapours; at the summit of one of these is a projecting rock twelve
feet long, by six broad, hanging over the precipice, and generally
strongly agitated by convulsive shocks. M. de Humboldt lay on his
breast on this stone, and looked down into the abyss of the crater
below, which was so vast (being three miles in circumference) that
the summits of several mountains were seen in it. Its sides were
of a deep black, the tops of the mountains he observed in this
awful situation were six hundred yards beneath him, and he supposes
the bottom of the crater is on a level with the city of Quito.
Its edges are always covered with snow, and flames rise from its
surface, amid columns of dark smoke. Pichincha is 15,939 feet above
the level of the sea.
Of all the American volcanoes _Cotopaxi_ is the most noted, and
is situated to the south-east of Quito, twelve leagues distant
from that city, and five leagues north of Latacunga, between the
mountains of Ruminavi, the summit of which is rugged and jagged
with separate rocks, and Quelendama, whose peaks enter the regions
of eternal frost. The form of Cotopaxi is very beautiful, being
that of a perfect cone, covered with snow, and the crater appears
surrounded with a wall of black rock, which is impossible to be
reached by reason of the immense crevices in the sides of the
mountain.
In viewing this volcano every thing conspires to afford the most
majestic and awful scene that can be imagined; the pyramidal
summits of Ilinissa, the snowy ridges of the other mountains,
the singular regularity of the inferior line of snow, and the
luxuriancy of the great plains offer an unparalleled assemblage of
the grand and picturesque features of nature.
Cotopaxi is the loftiest volcano at present in activity in the
world, being 18,891 feet above the level of the sea. It has
ejected such masses of scoriæ, and immense pieces of rock on the
plain below, that they would, of themselves, if heaped together,
form an enormous mountain; and in a violent eruption in 1774 its
roarings were heard at Honda at the distance of 200 leagues.
In 1768, it sent forth such a volume of ashes, that the light of
the sun was obscured in Hambato, till three in the afternoon, and
then the people were forced to use lanthorns; at the same time, the
cone was so heated, that the mass of snow which covered it suddenly
melted away; and at Guayaquil, 150 miles distant, its eruptions
were as audibly distinguished, as if there had been repeated
discharges of cannon close to the town.
_Cayambe Urcu_, the summit of which is crossed by the equator, is
noted as being the highest mountain of this range which has been
yet measured, excepting only Chimborazo, as it is 19,386 feet above
the level of the ocean. Its form is that of a truncated cone,
and it is one of the most majestic and beautiful of those which
surround the city of Quito.
_El Corazon_, covered with perpetual snow, is so called from its
summit having a heart-like shape.
Bouguer ascended this mountain, and describes the frost as so great
near the top, that his clothes, beard and eyebrows were covered
with icicles; it is 15,795 feet above the level of the sea.
_Ruminavi_ and _Ilinissa_, the latter of which is 17,238 feet above
the level of the sea, and has its summit divided into two pyramidal
peaks, join each other by a transverse chain, called the Alto de
Tiopullo, Ilinissa being on the west, and Ruminavi on the eastern
crest of the equatorial Andes. This chain bounds the valley of
Quito on the south and separates it from the plains of Hambato and
Latacunga; and the pyramids of Ilinissa are visible from the plain
of Las Esmaraldas in Atacames.
A most singular monument is observable on the top of the dyke or
chain of Tiopullo, consisting of a tumulus, and the ruins of one
of the Peruvian palaces called tambos, situated in a plain covered
with pumice stones.
The tumulus, if it be one, is upwards of two hundred feet high, and
is supposed to have been the burying place of a chief.
The palace is south-west of this hillock, nine miles from the
crater of Cotopaxi, and thirty from Quito. It is in the form of a
square, each side being about 100 feet in length, with four great
doorways and eight chambers. Its walls are more than three feet
thick, formed of large stones regularly cut and laid in courses,
and the whole is in tolerable preservation. It is called the
palace of Callo, but the great curiosity of this edifice consists
in the beauty of the workmanship, as all the stones are cut into
parallelopipedons, and laid in regular courses, and so nicely
joined, that were it not that each stone is convexly and obliquely
cut on the outside, their joints would not be visible.
The volcano of _Sangai_, or _Mecas_, is the most southern mountain
of Quito, and is covered with snow, but a continual fire issues
from its summit attended by explosions, which are heard 120 miles
distant, and when the wind is fair, are audible even at Quito. The
country adjacent to this volcano is totally barren, being covered
with cinders; in this desert the river Sangay rises, and joining
the Upano, flows into the Maranon under the name of the Payra.
Sangai is 17,131 feet above the level of the sea.
The _Altar_, or _El Altar_, is on the eastern crest, in the
district of Riobamba, joining itself by a high desert, to another
peak called Collanes. The Indians have a tradition, that El Altar
was formerly more lofty than Chimborazo, but that its summit
suddenly fell in; by the latest observation, it is found to be
17,256 feet above the level of the sea.
_Tunguragua_ is seven leagues north of Riobamba. The figure of
this volcanic mountain is conical, and very steep, and Riobamba
was destroyed by its dreadful eruptions. Some hot springs gush out
through crevices in its sides, which has caused warm baths to be
erected for the accommodation of invalids. Tunguragua is 16,500
feet above the level of the sea.
North-west of Riobamba is _Carguirazo_, which just enters the lower
period of congelation. Near this mountain and Chimborazo is the
road leading to Guayaquil, passing over such lofty deserts and such
dangerous places, that many people perish in attempting to travel
over it in bad weather or in winter. The height of this mountain is
15,540 feet above the level of the sea.
In these mountainous regions, the wind is often so violent that it
tears off fragments of rocks, and the academicians in measuring
their base, and taking the necessary angles, were often in the most
imminent danger, by having their tents and huts suddenly blown
over. The violence of the wind also hurled the snow about in so
furious a manner, that they were often in danger of being buried
under it. Though their huts were small and crowded with people, yet
every person was forced to have a chafing-dish of coals before him,
owing to the intensity of the cold, and this under the equator;
their feet swelled, their hands were covered with chilblains, and
their lips were so chopped, that speaking aloud always brought
blood. In some places, even the Indians deserted their villages to
prevent being forced to accompany the survey; such was the rigour
of the climate.
The districts of Quito having been previously mentioned, we shall
include a short sketch of each in the description of its chief
town, commencing with that of--
SAN MIGUEL DE IBARRA.
_San Miguel de Ibarra_ is the chief place of a district of the
same name, and is situated in north-latitude 0° 25ʹ, and 77° 40ʹ
west-longitude, forty-five miles north-east of Quito, with a
population of about 10,000 souls. The town stands on a large plain
between two rivers. The houses are built of stone with tiled roofs,
and it contains several convents, a fine church, a college and a
nunnery.
The temperature of the air in this district is variable, but
generally warmer than at Quito. The soil is fertile, producing the
tropical fruits, cotton, maize, great quantities of sugar, wheat
and barley; and the Indians weave cotton and cloth, and work some
large salt mines, which supply the northern districts. Few sheep
are seen in Ibarra, but it abounds in goats, and near a village
called Mira, with a multitude of wild asses, extremely fierce,
which are hunted for their skins.
In passing from Pastos, through Ibarra, the traveller views with
astonishment the deep valley or crevice of Chota, 4922 feet in
depth, covered with luxuriant vegetation.
Ibarra contains within its district, eight principal villages or
small towns.
OTABALO.
OTABALO is the next jurisdiction, containing eight towns or
villages, the lands of which are laid out in plantations,
principally of the sugar cane; but the wheat and barley sown in
this district thrive very much; a great number of small rivers
fertilize the country, and it abounds with sheep, black cattle and
horses. Great quantities of butter and cheese are exported, and
the native Indians are industrious, weaving quilts, cottons, bed
furniture, and carpets, which, having very brilliant colours, are
much valued in Quito and Peru.
The chief town is _Otabalo_, thirty miles north of Quito, in 0°
15ʹ north latitude, and 77° 56ʹ west longitude, containing 15,000
souls, a great portion of whom are whites; the other villages or
towns are mostly inhabited by Indians.
This district contains two lakes, one called San Pablo, is three
miles long, and a mile and a half broad, abounding with wild geese,
and gives rise to the Rio Blanco. The other lake has nearly the
same size, and is called Cuicocha, being situated at the foot of
a mountain of that name; it produces a sort of cray-fish much
esteemed at Quito, as it is the only fresh water fish that can be
had there.
The Indians of Otabalo resisted Huana Capac in his expedition
against Quito, which so exasperated him, that he ordered all that
could be found to be beheaded, and cast into a small lake in
Ibarra, called Yagarcocha, signifying the bloody lake.
The villages of _Cayambe_ and _Catacatche_ in this district, are
situated at the feet of the mountains of those names, the latter of
which is 16,434 feet above the level of the sea; near Cayambe are
the ruins of an ancient circular temple on an eminence, and about
fifty feet in diameter; of this nothing remains but the walls,
which are about five feet thick and fifteen feet high; the whole
is of unbaked brick, cemented with a sort of earth. In the plain
near this village are numerous tumuli, or burying places of the
ancient inhabitants of the province, which are generally in the
form of sugar loaves; many of these are of great size, and have
been perforated for the sake of the gold utensils which were buried
with the chieftains.
Some Spaniards have enriched themselves in this manner, for in
making a gallery through the tumulus, they have found golden idols
and jewels to a great amount; but the contents generally consist
only of the skeleton, earthen drinking vessels, tools of copper or
stone, with mirrors of obsidian, and of a sort of flint, curiously
made and perfectly polished. The golden ornaments and images they
occasionally discover, are, in general, beautifully wrought, but
always very thin and hollow; the emeralds are cut into all shapes,
and perforated with the greatest nicety, but how these were
executed without any other than hardened copper and stone tools, is
almost inconceivable.
The jurisdiction of QUITO, independent of the city, contains
twenty-five villages or parishes; the lands are covered with
plantations, in the plains breaches or valleys, and up the sides
of the mountains, as far as vegetation will reach, so as to be
productive of any return to the cultivator; the valleys being hot
grow sugar canes and cotton; the plains, maize; and the higher
regions, wheat, barley, &c. European grain was introduced into
Quito by Father Jose Rixi, a native of Ghent in Flanders, who sowed
some near the convent of St. Francis, and the monks still show the
vase in which the first wheat came from Europe, as a sacred relic.
Above the regions which produce wheat, barley, potatoes, &c., are
fed numerous flocks of sheep, which yield great quantities of wool;
and cows are reared also in great numbers, for the sake of cheese
and butter; most of the villages of Quito are inhabited by Indians.
South of Quito, and divided from it by the mountains of Tiopullo
and Chisinche, is the district of LACTACUNGA, or LATACUNGA, the
chief town of which is _Latacunga_, in 0° 55ʹ 14ʺ south latitude,
and 78° 16ʹ west longitude, fifty miles south of Quito, a large and
well-built place, the streets being straight and broad, the houses
of stone, arched, and of one story, on account of the frequency
of earthquakes; but in 1698 the whole of the town was overturned,
excepting the church of the Jesuits, which was much damaged, and
almost all the inhabitants perished. The stone of which the houses
are built is a sort of pumice, extremely light, and which has been
ejected from the neighbouring volcanoes; that of Cotopaxi being
only six leagues distant.
This district contains seventeen large villages, and the climate
is cold, on account of the vicinity of several snowy summits. The
first eruption of Cotopaxi, witnessed by the Spaniards, was when
Benalcazar invaded these provinces; the natives had a tradition,
that when the volcano should burst they would be subdued by an
unknown people; this event, combined with the appearance of the
white and bearded strangers, struck such terror into the poor
Indians, that they quietly submitted to the Spanish arms.
The villages are in general large and populous, inhabited by a
mixture of whites and Indians, although the Indians always live in
a separate quarter.
The town of Latacunga contains from 10 to 12,000 inhabitants; a
parish church, several convents, and a college, formerly belonging
to the Jesuits.
Cloth, baize, &c. are manufactured in this city, and great
quantities of salt pork are exported to Quito, Guayaquil, and
Riobamba.
The Indians of two villages in this jurisdiction, are noted for
making fine earthenware; the clay which they use emitting a
fragrant smell, and being of a lively red colour, causes these
articles to be much valued.
RIOBAMBA is the next jurisdiction southward, adjoining that of
Latacunga, and separated from the vale of Quito, by the same dyke
or chain, the chief town of which is _Riobamba_.
This district is divided into two departments, _Riobamba_ and
_Hambato_. In this former are eighteen villages; in the latter,
six.
The town of _Riobamba_ was destroyed by the dreadful earthquake of
the 4th February 1797, when the peak of Sicalpa, falling on the
place, stopped the course of two rivers, so that not a vestige
of the town remained; and of 9,000 inhabitants 400 only escaped.
Thirty or forty thousand Indians are supposed to have perished at
the same time, in this and the neighbouring districts. Latacunga,
and most of the villages in its jurisdiction, were destroyed. Near
Hambato the mountains split; and a village called Quero, with all
its inhabitants, was buried under a cliff that gave way; another
place, called Pelileo, was overwhelmed in a torrent of heated water
and mud, the plains were completely altered, and in a few hours
after the commencement of this calamity, a deadly silence alone
indicated the general ruin. This terrible event appears to have
been caused by an internal eruption of the volcano of Tunguragua,
between Latacunga and Riobamba, as tremendous subterraneous
thunders proceeded from that quarter, and the devastation was all
in its vicinity.
Riobamba produces silver and gold, but the mines are not worked,
and cochineal, cotton, flax, wheat, sugar, barley, &c.
The town of _Riobamba_ has been rebuilt in a more convenient spot;
at present it contains 20,000 souls, and is large and handsome,
with two churches, four convents, two nunneries, and an hospital;
and its jurisdiction carries on a brisk trade with Guayaquil.
The village of Lican, in this division, is noted as having been
anciently the residence of the kings of Quito.
The town of _Hambato_ is situated in an extensive plain, having a
large river crossed by a bridge on its northern side. The number
of its inhabitants is about 9000. Its houses are built of unburnt
bricks, and very low, and the parish church and a convent, with
two chapels, are the principal public buildings.
This place suffered severely in the earthquake which destroyed
Latacunga, as the volcano of Carguirazo, part of which fell in,
vomited forth torrents of mud, ashes and water; and the heat of
the crater melting the snow, it precipitated down the sides of the
mountain, sweeping away every thing before it.
In Riobamba, the Llamas, or Peruvian camels, are seen; they are
indeed so common, that hardly any Indian has less than one to carry
his goods when he travels; we shall however have further occasion
to describe these singular animals, in treating of the colonies
farther south of the equator, which seems to be their natural
clime, as they are rarely seen north of the line.
The final junction of the two parallel ridges of the Andes, which
we have before mentioned, ends near this district; it is called
by the general name of Paramo del Assuay, and across this chain
lies the road from Riobamba to Cuença, the journey over which is
at all times formidable, particularly in June, July and August,
when there are great falls of snow, and the icy winds of the south
sweep over it. This road is almost the height of Mont Blanc, and
the cold is often so great, that many travellers perish every year,
in crossing. The plains of Assuay contain several small lakes,
surrounded with coarse grasses, but in which there are no fish.
In the midst of this elevated road is a marshy plain, at the height
of 13,123 feet above the ocean, on which is situated the remains
of a causeway, lined with freestone, and constructed by the Incas.
It is quite straight for more than four miles, and may be traced
to Caxamarca in Peru, 120 leagues south of Assuay. Close to this
road, and at 13,261 feet of elevation, are the ruins of one of
the mountain palaces, or tambos of the Peruvian sovereigns; these
ruins, which are much dilapidated, are called _Los Paredones_, or
the thick walls. In descending towards Cuença, are seen the remains
of another of these structures, which deserves notice; it is called
the fortress of Cannar, and is built of large blocks of freestone,
in an oval form, 124 feet in length, having a house in the centre,
containing two rooms. Behind this oval is a continued chain of
fortifications, nearly 500 feet in length, built also of fine
freestone; and the ruins of several other buildings show, that this
fort was capable of containing the Inca and his whole army.
The chambers and walls on the inside have a series of niches,
between which are projecting cylindric stones with knobs, said
to be used for hanging the arms of the warriors on; all these,
as well as the stones of the building, are beautifully cut. This
fort is on the top of a small hill, the superior surface of which
is cut into terraces and esplanades; a river named Gulan flows at
its foot. On descending to this river, by means of steps cut in
the rock, the traveller sees a fissure, called the Ravine of the
Sun (Inti-Guaicu) in which rises a solitary mass of sand-stone,
sixteen or eighteen feet high. One of the sides of this rock is
cut perpendicularly, and is remarkably white; on it is traced
concentric circles, representing the sun; and a few steps lead to
a seat directly opposite this image. All around the temple are
pathways cut in the rock, leading to a place called the gardens of
the Inca, in which is a singular mount, artificially raised, on
whose summit is an inclosed seat, big enough for one person only,
commanding a most delightful view of several beautiful cascades.
This seat has arabesques sculptured in the form of a chain, on the
walls which form its back, and defend it from a precipice, on the
brink of which it is placed.
The ensuing district of Quito is that of CHIMBO, whose principal
town has the same name; but the chief magistrate resides at
Guaranda, one of the seven villages of which the district is
composed.
_Chimbo_, the capital, is a small place, containing only about
eighty families. Guayaquil being separated only by the ridge of the
mountains from this district, carries on all the trade of Quito
to the Pacific through it, the bales of cloth, stuffs, meal, corn
and other products of the interior passing over this ridge, to the
port of Guayaquil, whence comes wine, brandy, salt, fish, oil and
other goods, necessary for the internal provinces; this traffic can
however only be carried on in summer, the roads being impracticable
in the winter season for mules or other beasts.
The temperature of the air in Chimbo is generally cold, from the
proximity of the snowy summits of Chimborazo.
The chief objects of the farmers in this district, is the breeding
of mules, for the purposes of the trade before mentioned.
THE JURISDICTION OF GUAYAQUIL.
GUAYAQUIL follows that of Chimbo on the west, and is the largest
and most important district of Quito; it begins at Cape Passado,
21ʹ south of the equinoxial line, and stretching south, includes
the island of Puna, and is terminated by Piura in Peru.
This country is mostly a continued plain, and is divided into seven
departments, _Puerto Viejo_, _Punta de Santa Elena_, the island of
_Puna_, _Yaguache_, _Babahoyo_, _Baba_, and _Daule_.
During the winter months, this district is infested by insects and
vermin, and is subject to dreadful storms and inundations, which
oblige the farmers to send their cattle to the Andes.
In the rainy season, fevers, dysenteries, diarrh[oe]as, the
black vomit, or yellow fever, and other disorders are common, and
carry off great numbers of people; at this period also, snakes,
scorpions, vipers and scolopendras find their way into the houses,
and are sometimes even found in their beds. The boba, a serpent of
immense size, is also common. These, with swarms of mosquitoes, and
other venomous insects, render the towns very unpleasant during
this season; and alligators, of an enormous size, cause the rivers
and flooded places to be very dangerous.
In the summer, the heat being moderated by the sea and land
breezes, the number and activity of all these creatures is much
decreased; and this season, which is the coldest, renovates the
inhabitants who have been rendered listless and indolent, by the
suffocating heat which prevails during the rains.
The inundations spread to such an extent in some parts, that
Babahoyo, one of the departments, is converted into a large
lake, and the villages, which are always on heights, can only be
approached with boats. These floods add, however, very greatly to
the fertility of the country, as the cacao plantations and meadows
thrive exceedingly when the water subsides.
Guayaquil grows cacao, tobacco, wax, cotton, timber for naval and
architectural purposes, sugar, maize and plantains; and rears great
quantities of cattle.
The rivers furnish fish in great plenty, but the city is scantily
supplied, owing to the putridity which so soon takes place in
transporting fresh fish. The coasts abound with lobsters, oysters
and most kinds of salt-water fish.
The department of _Puerto Viejo_, which bounds the government
of Atacames southward, has five principal towns, but these are,
however, thinly inhabited; this department grows some tobacco and
cotton, which, with wax and fine timber, form its chief resources,
as nearly the whole district of Guayaquil is covered with immense
forests of the largest trees, which render travelling in many parts
impracticable.
_Punta de Santa Elena_ has five towns, besides the chief place of
the same name, which is celebrated for its salt-works, capable of
supplying all Quito. The purple dye-fish is found in great plenty
on the coasts of this division, and the productions of the district
are wax, fruits, and cattle. The port of Punta is much frequented
by vessels trading to Panama and Peru, and carries on a great trade
with them in provisions and salt.
The island and district of _Puna_ is situated at the mouth of the
river Guayaquil, and is between six and seven leagues long and
broad. It was formerly very populous, and is famous in the history
of the conquest of Peru; containing at present one town, which
is built in a convenient harbour on the north-east, but has very
few inhabitants. To this district belong the towns of _Machala_,
and _Narangal_, on the continent near the river Tumbez. The port
of Puna serves for the lading-place of large ships which cannot
get over the bar to Guayaquil, and the island abounds in wood,
particularly mangrove-trees.
_Yaguache_ is a district at the mouth of the river of the same
name, which joins the Guayaquil. This division contains three
towns, thinly inhabited, and produces cacao, cotton and wood, with
great herds of cattle.
The division of _Babahoyo_ contains five towns, and is the high
road to the interior of Quito, famous for its cacao plantations
producing also rice, cotton, pepper and a great variety of
fruits, with immense droves of black cattle horses and mules.
This country is overflowed every winter by the swelling of the
three rivers, Columa, Ujiba and Caracol. The custom-house of the
maritime districts of Quito, and the royal arsenal, is situated at
_Babahoyo_, the chief town, in 1° 47ʹ south latitude, which renders
this district a place of considerable commerce. On account of the
periodical inundation, the cacao trees thrive so much, that many of
the plantations are so productive, that part of their fruit is left
ungathered; and the monkeys and other animals availing themselves
of this, annually destroy great quantities.
The largest district of Guayaquil is _Baba_, reaching to the
Cordillera of the Andes, and bounded by the jurisdiction of
Latacunga. It contains only three towns, two of which are inhabited
by Indians, and are seated on the sides of the mountains. Its
inhabitants are estimated at 4000.
The cacao also thrives exceedingly in Baba, and the quantity of
this fruit gathered annually in Guayaquil for exportation and home
consumption, amounts to 50,000 loads, at eighty-one pounds the load.
The last district of Guayaquil is that of _Daule_, so called from
a river of that name, which flows by its principal town, also
called _Daule_. This town contains some fine houses, to which the
inhabitants of Guayaquil retire in the hot seasons; and by its
river it sends fruits and plantains to the capital.
Daule also exports cattle, horses and mules, with cacao, cotton,
and sugar, and much Indian corn. The tobacco grown in this district
is the best of Guayaquil. It contains two other towns of no great
size.
The river Guayaquil is not only the largest but the most important
of all the streams in the jurisdiction. It rises in the Andes, and
pursuing a serpentine course, flows into the Pacific in the Bay of
Puna. The torrents which flow in all directions from the mountains,
contribute to swell this river, and in winter it inundates the
country to a great extent. Its mouth is about three miles wide, at
Isla Verde and at Guayaquil still broader; the distance on it from
this city to the custom-house of Babahoyo is twenty-four and a half
leagues, and it is navigable four leagues further. The tides reach
as far as the custom-house in summer, but in winter the current is
so strong, that the tides are often imperceptible. The mouth of
the river is so full of shifting sands, that the passage of large
vessels is rendered very dangerous. Its banks are decorated with
country-seats and cottages inhabited by fishermen. By means of
this fine stream, Guayaquil exports the produce of its departments
to Peru, Panama, and Quito, receiving European goods from Tierra
Firme; from New Spain, and Guatimala, naptha, tar, cordage and
indigo.
The other large rivers are those called Yaguache, Baba, and Daule,
along the banks of which most of the Indians have formed their
habitations.
The capital of the whole district is _Guayaquil_, a city of
considerable importance, at the bottom of the gulf of Guayaquil,
and at the mouth of the river of the same name, in 2° 12ʹ south
latitude, and 79° 6ʹ west longitude. It was founded in the year
1534 or 1535, by Benalcazar; but was destroyed after several
furious attacks by the Indians. In 1537 it was rebuilt by Orellana
at some distance from its first scite, on the declivity of a
mountain; and in 1693, great additions were made to it, on the
other side of a branch of the river, which now divides the city
into two parts, known by the names of the New and Old towns,
communicating with each other by a long bridge.
The houses are constructed mostly of wood or whitened earth. It has
suffered repeatedly by conflagrations, and was reduced to ashes
in 1764, since which, the government have forbid the inhabitants
to thatch their houses with straw. The streets of the new town
are straight and wide, and well paved; arcades run along before
all the houses, so that the people can walk protected from the
rain and sun. It is now one of the handsomest towns of South
America, but the marshes in its neighbourhood, combined with the
heat of the climate, render it very unhealthy. It has a handsome
church, college, convents, and an hospital, and is governed by a
corregidor, who is named by the king of Spain, and who holds his
office for five years. There is also a treasury and revenue office,
for the receipt of the Indian capitation-tax, the duties on imports
and exports and other taxes; and the bishop of Quito sends a vicar
to govern the church.
The city is defended by three forts, two on the borders of the
river, and the other inland, to guard the entrance of a deep ravine
which leads to it.
The number of inhabitants is 10,000, most of whom are engaged in
commerce, the Spaniards and creoles being the merchants, and the
creoles and castes the artizans and labourers. The trade of this
town is gradually increasing, and from the situation of its port,
it will in all probability become a place of the first consequence,
notwithstanding the insalubrity of its climate, and the dreadful
tempests it is subject to in winter. The women of Guayaquil are
proverbially handsome, which causes many Europeans to marry and
settle here. The island of Puna has a fort or rather battery on it,
where all ships coming in and going out are brought to.
Guayaquil was named a royal dock-yard, in 1767, and the abundance
of excellent timber produced in its neighbourhood, renders it
very fit for this purpose. The balsam-tree and several others
yield excellent knees, and are celebrated for resisting worms and
rot. Notwithstanding these advantages, the building of vessels
is neglected, and the river and coasting trade is carried on in
balsas, which receive the cargoes of the vessels arriving from
Europe, Lima, or Panama. These balsas or rafts are peculiar to the
coast of the provinces of New Granada; they are made of five,
seven, or nine trunks, of an exceedingly light tree, called balsa.
A little boy can carry a log of this wood twelve feet long, and a
foot in diameter, with great ease. The rafts are made larger or
smaller, according as they are wanted for fishing, for the coasting
trade, or for the rivers, and they go as far as Payta in Peru from
Guayaquil with safety. The logs of which they are made are sixty
feet in length, and two, or two and a half, in diameter, so that
a large one of nine logs, is between twenty and twenty-four feet
in breadth. These logs are fastened to each other by bejucos, (a
sort of parasite plant,) or withies, and have cross logs lashed so
firmly with these pliable plants, that they rarely give way, though
the sea in their coasting voyages runs very high.
The thickest log of the balsa is put so as to project beyond the
others in the centre, and the others being lashed in equal number
on each side to this, the number of logs is always uneven. A large
balsa will carry twenty-five tons, and that as free from wet as
possible, for the sea never breaks over them, nor does the water
rise between the logs, as the whole machine adapts itself to the
motion of the waves. They work and ply to windward like a keeled
vessel, and keep their course extremely well before the wind, by
means of a contrivance peculiar to them, which consists of some
planks erected vertically, three or four yards long, and a foot
and a half in breadth at the stern, and forward between the main
logs. By pushing down some of these, and raising others up more
or less, the float sails large, tacks, bears up, or lies to; and
what renders this more astonishing, is that the machine is the
contrivance of Indians unversed in the mechanical arts. On many of
these rafts, the owners erect little huts for their accommodation,
and on some of them in the rivers they have small gardens, with
beautiful flowers and vegetables.
All the rivers in the vicinity of Guayaquil abound with large
alligators, some of which are five yards in length; they destroy
vast quantities of the fish, and are usually seen basking on the
marshy shores, or employed in catching their food; they feed also
on flies, musquitoes, &c., which they catch by keeping their huge
mouths open until filled with these insects, which soon happens in
a country where the air swarms with them.
The female alligator lays her eggs in a hole in the sand; these
eggs are quite white and very solid, and she generally deposits a
hundred at a time, which occupies a day or two, she then covers
them over, and rolls herself about near them to accumulate the
sand over her deposit. At the proper season the old one returns
to the spot, and tearing up the sand, breaks the eggs to let the
young animals out; the female then takes them on her neck and body
and puts them into the water; but while doing this, the gallinazo
vulture destroys great numbers of them, and the male alligator
is said to devour as many as he can, while the female herself
eats those which fall off her back, or do not swim, so that only
four or five remain alive out of the hundred. The scales of the
alligatorʼs back are impenetrable to a musket-ball, and they are
only vulnerable in the belly between the fore legs.
Vultures and other birds, frequently discover the nests by watching
the female till she retires, and then claw up the sand, and devour
the eggs; which are also eaten by the mulatto fishermen who
frequent these rivers.
Calves and colts in the meadows, as well as dogs and other small
animals, often fall a prey to these amphibious creatures, who
approach the pastures in which they feed in the night, and carry
them off; young children, and even men, have occasionally met with
the same fate; but the American crocodile rarely attacks mankind,
for which reason the Indians are emboldened to engage them whenever
they meet them; but these creatures are usually killed by means
of a snare, consisting of a strong piece of wood, pointed at both
ends, and covered with flesh; this is fastened to a thong secured
on shore, when the animal seeing the flesh on the water, darts at
it, and shutting his mouth, the points run into his jaws, and he is
caught.
Many of the small rivers on the coasts of Spanish America are said
to contract a musky smell and taste, from the vast numbers of
alligators with which they abound, and it is even asserted that
seamen are aware of the presence of these animals, by the peculiar
white colour of the water which they frequent, but nevertheless, do
not refrain from supplying their ships with that article, from such
streams, as it has never been discovered that the change in taste,
smell and colour, imparts any noxious quality to the fluid.
We shall conclude this account of Guayaquil, with a statement of
the amount of its annual domestic and foreign trade.
The exportations, of which the principal article is cacao, are
valued in good seasons, at 119,170_l._, whilst the importations in
a like period, arise to 260,000_l._ sterling.
The adjoining district of CUENÇA is the next of the presidency of
Quito, that comes under our notice, the chief town of which is
the city of _Cuença_, founded in 1537, by Gil Ramirez Davalos;
it stands in 2° 53ʹ 49ʺ south latitude, and 79° 14ʹ 40ʺ west
longitude, on a spacious plain, about half a league from the river
Machangara; on the south side is another river called Matadero, and
about a quarter of a league distance are two others, named Yanuncay
and Banos.
These rivers are fordable in summer, but in winter can be crossed
only by the bridges. The plain of Cuença is about six leagues
long, and in it these four rivers unite and form a large stream.
The streets are straight and broad, the houses mostly of adobes,
or unburnt bricks; the Indian suburbs, consisting of low mean
huts; but the place is well supplied with water, and the environs
are extremely fertile and pleasant. It contains three churches,
two of which are appropriated to the Indians; there are also four
convents, two nunneries, and a college formerly belonging to the
Jesuits, with an hospital.
Its public offices are the chamber of finance, and those of the
government of the city; and the tithes and taxes of Loja and Jaen
de Bracameros, are collected here.
The men are said to be very indolent, the manufactures of baize and
cottons, being carried on by the women, who transact most of the
business.
Its inhabitants exceed 20,000. The district of Cuença is subdivided
into two departments, _Cuença_, and _Alausi_; the former including
ten villages, and the latter, which borders on Riobamba, has four.
They produce sugar, cattle, cotton, and grain, and a great quantity
of cloth is manufactured in them. The mines in this country are
very numerous, but from want of capital, and other causes, are not
worked.
This district is famed for the many remains of Peruvian
architecture it contains, the ruins of the Fort of Cannar before
mentioned, being near the village of Atun-cannar, or Great Cannar,
which village is also noted for its corn fields, affording very
rich harvests.
The unfortunate inhabitants of the district were inhumanly
massacred by Atabalipa, on account of their siding with his brother
Huascar; and it is stated, that he caused 60,000 to be slain after
the victory he gained over that monarch.
The climate of the city of Cuença is mild, the cold being little
felt, and the heat very moderate. It is subject, however, to
dreadful storms of rain, thunder and lightning, and in the
department of Alausi, to earthquakes; the whole of that part of the
district being full of chasms and crevices, caused by these events.
In this part the air is also cold, on account of the neighbourhood
of the snowy mountains.
_Alausi_, the chief place of the second department, is an
inconsiderable town, containing a few Spaniards of rank, mestizoes
and Indians, with a good parish church, and a Franciscan convent,
in 2° 12ʹ north latitude, and 78° 39ʹ west longitude.
The last jurisdiction of Quito on the south, which is not a
separate province, is LOJA, or LOXA the chief town of which has the
same appellation, and was founded in 1540, by Alonzo de Mercadillo,
resembling in extent, form and manner of building, the city of
Cuença, but the climate is much hotter. In Loja are two churches,
several convents, a nunnery, an hospital, and an ancient college
of the Jesuits; its population is about 10,000 souls, who are an
industrious people, governed by an officer of high rank, having
some peculiar titles and privileges.
In this district are fourteen villages, and it is famous for
producing great quantities of the best quinquina, or cinchona, so
well known as a medicine; the forests of Loxa contain three kinds
of this substance.
The trees which produce this bark are not of the largest size, the
usual height being about fifteen feet; the largest branches do
not always yield the best; and in order to collect the bark, the
Indians cut down the trees, then strip them and dry the rind in
the sun, after which it is packed for exportation. Cochineal of an
extreme good quality is bred in this country, but so little care is
taken, that enough is only produced to serve the dyers of Cuença.
Numerous droves of cattle and mules are sent from this district
to Peru and Quito; and the manufacture of carpets, in which the
cochineal dye is used, is very considerable.
The village of _Zeruma_ is celebrated for having some rich gold
veins in its neighbourhood, which have failed, owing to the want of
proper exertion being made to clear them. This town or village was
one of the first which was built in the province, and contains five
or six thousand inhabitants.
_GOVERNMENT OF JAEN DE BRACAMOROS._
This government following that of Loja on the south, we shall
describe it before those of Quixos and Maynas, although it is the
most southern of the provinces of Quito. It is bounded on the north
by Loja and Quixos, or Macas, on the east by Maynas, on the west
by Piura, and on the south by Caxamarca, or Chachapoyas in Peru.
Its southern and western frontiers limit the territories of the
viceroyalty of Peru.
Bracamoros was first discovered and explored in 1538, by Pedro de
Vergara, who was appointed to command an expedition by Hernando
Pizarro. Juan de Salinas was sent afterwards to this province
with the title of governor; by courage and artifice, he conquered
the native tribes, and built several villages, some of which are
dignified with the names of cities. The Indians of the country,
known at that time by the names of Yaguarsongo, and Pacamoros
revolted and destroyed all the principal settlements, and those
which escaped, dreading a return of a similar calamity, united
themselves into one town called Jaen, from which the whole province
has now taken its name.
The town, or city of _Jaen_, lies in nearly the same longitude as
Quito, and in about 5° 25ʹ south latitude; it was founded in 1549,
by Diego Palomino, on the river Chinchipe at its conflux with the
false Maranon. Its inhabitants amount to about 4000, being chiefly
mestizoes, a very few Indians, and still fewer Spaniards.
There are three other villages called _Valladolid_, _Loyola_, and
_Santiago de las Montañas_, which are styled cities, but contain
very few inhabitants to support this title. The other villages,
which are about ten in number, are mostly peopled by Indians.
The Pongo de Manseriche, or strait by which the False Maranon
passes the Andes, is partly in this district.
The embarkation on the Lauricocha, the present name for a river
which was until very lately supposed to be the Maranon, is usually
at Chuchunga, a village of Bracamoros, in 5° 29ʹ south latitude,
four daysʼ journey from Jaen; the river not being navigable nearer
than this, on account of the rapids.
In Jaen, the climate is hot, though the rains are not so violent or
lasting as in Quixos; the summer is the pleasantest season, as the
heat, the rains, and the tempests abate during that period.
Such parts of this country as are under cultivation, are very
fertile, but nearly the whole government is covered with forests.
The cacao flourishes very much, but owing to the difficulty of
carriage, cannot be exported with profit; tobacco seems peculiar to
the soil, as great quantities are produced, which being prepared in
a peculiar manner, by soaking the leaves in decoctions of fragrant
herbs, acquires so pleasant a taste, that the cigars of Jaen are
universally sought after in Peru, Chili, and Quito. Cotton-trees
are very abundant, and their produce constitutes a great part of
the traffic of the inhabitants. The rivers of Bracamoros formerly
produced a great deal of gold, but no exertions are made to procure
the grains at present.
Its commerce consists in cotton, tobacco and mules, with which a
brisk trade is carried on with the provinces of Peru and Quito, in
return for European articles.
The animals peculiar to the wilds of Jaen are the cougar, or puma,
the jaguar, and the great black bear of the Andes, which equally
inhabits all the mountain regions of Quito. They have also a very
large animal called danta, which is as big as an ox; its skin
is white, and it has a horn in the middle of its head bending
backwards; and the woods are abundantly stocked with reptiles and
birds.
All the rivers of Jaen flow into the Lauricocha, or descend into
the deserts of the Maranon to join that noble stream on the east.
The communication by post is carried on down these rivers, and the
Indian, who carries the letters, wraps them in his dress which he
ties round his head, and with a great knife in his hand, to clear
the underwood which may obstruct his road when obliged to land,
he descends swimming for two days the river of Guacabamba, or
Chamaya, and then the Amazons to Tomependa, a village of Jaen. The
Chamaya is full of rapids, but the postman passes these by land,
and generally carries with him a log of bombax or balsa, in order
to rest himself on in the water. In the huts of the natives, which
mostly lie along the shores, he finds food and welcome, and none of
these rivers are infested with alligators, which generally prefer
water whose stream is not rapid.
The Indians who inhabit Bracamoros are usually in large hordes,
and on their migrations from one hunting ground to another, they
generally travel in this manner, excepting when they ascend the
country; then the forests offer the only paths; and through these
(in which cinchona of the finest quality is found) they are forced
to hew their way with their long knives.
_THE GOVERNMENT OF MAYNAS._
The government of Maynas is the most eastern territory of Quito; it
extends to the Portuguese frontiers on the Great Maranon, and is
bounded on the north by Quixos, west by Bracamoros and Peru; south
by Peru, and eastward by Portuguese America, and the missions north
of the Maranon.
The extent of Maynas cannot be computed, as the greater part of it
consists of the immense forests of the vale of the Amazons.
Its capital is _St. Francisco de Borja_, or _Borja_, in 4° 28ʹ
south latitude, and 76° 24ʹ west longitude. The inhabitants are
not numerous, being mostly creoles and Indians; but the governor
resides here, who is styled governor of Maynas and Maranon. The
western district of Maynas contains, besides the city of Borja,
the town of _Santiago de la Laguna_ or _Cocamas_ on the eastern
bank of the river Guallaga. This is the seat of the superior of the
missions, which are spread among the Cocames, the Maynas, Xibaros,
Panos, Omaguas, Chamicuros, Aguanos, Muniches, Otanabes, Roamaynas,
Gaes, Napeanos, Yurimaguas, and several other Indian tribes. On
the river Napo these missionaries have twelve villages, and on
the False and True Maranon, as far as the Rio Negro, upwards of
twenty-four, with many infant settlements. In the interior, and on
the banks of other rivers which flow into the Maranon, they have
also many populous and flourishing places, among various tribes of
Indians, but most of which are little known.
All these nations of Indians have a great affinity to each other in
appearance and manners, but their languages differ as much as those
of the northern continent; many of them have also very singular
customs; the Omaguas flattening the heads of their infants, by
compressing them constantly between boards, and fancying that this
gives them a very beautiful appearance; these people were converted
by father Fritz, in 1686.
Other tribes bore holes in the septum of the nose, in the lips, or
in their chins, sticking in these fine feathers or other ornaments,
whilst some extend the lobes of their ears, by constantly hanging
weights to them, till they descend to the shoulders.
Maynas is chiefly remarkable as being the country which was
supposed to contain such invaluable forests of cinnamon, that the
brother of Pizarro nearly lost his life in endeavouring to find
it. This exploratory march of the governor of Quito led to the
discovery of one of the finest rivers in the world; a part of which
traverses this district.
The river MARANON rises in the southern Andes of Peru, and if its
length is estimated from its known parts only, to the Atlantic,
it rolls its waters through a space equal to 4500 miles, and it
is said that a vessel of 4 or 500 tons, might actually navigate
it throughout this immense extent. It receives on every side
along its majestic course, streams which are themselves longer
and deeper than most of the great rivers of Europe; the _Beni_,
the _Lauricocha_ or _Tunguragua_, the _Madera_ or _Llavari_, and
the _Negro_, are all of this description; besides which, as a
late traveller in Brazil has observed, it may be said to receive
thousands of others into its bosom. Near its supposed sources, this
noble stream, or rather inland sea, is called the APURIMAC, and
rises to the south of the mountains of Cailloma, between 16 and
17 degrees of south latitude, near the city of Arequipa, where it
is joined by the _Monigote_ or _Panguana_, and is so deep that on
entering the province of Canes, a rope bridge becomes necessary.
Eight miles below this bridge it passes through the Andes, amid
awful precipices, and is joined by the _Pampas_ or _Charcas_ in 13°
10ʹ south latitude from the west. The _Vilcamayo_, nearly equal
in size to the Apurimac, falls into it, at 12° 15ʹ south latitude,
and the Rio _Jauja_, or _Mantaro_ in 12° 6ʹ south latitude. At
the junction of this stream with the Apurimac, the current which
had before run from north-west, changes to the north-east. The
_Perene_ at 11° 13ʹ, and the _Ynambari_, or _Paucartambo_, at
10° 45ʹ, augment its swelling waters, after which, from hence to
8° 26ʹ south latitude, it receives forty large streams; but none
so considerable as the BENI, whose sources lie in the province
of Sicasica, in 19° south latitude. At its confluence with this
river, the Apurimac is called the GRAND PARA, and is two miles in
width; and at 8° 26ʹ south latitude; the _Pachitea_ throws in its
tributary waters.
Northward of this last the _Piachiz_ joins it, and here the river
changes from north to north-east. At 7° 35ʹ south latitude, the
_Aguaytra_ falls into it, and in 7° south latitude, the _Manoa_
or _Cuxniabatay_, the _Sariacu_ at 6° 45ʹ south latitude, and the
_Tapichi_ at 5° south latitude. The stream has now borne for some
time the name of UCAYALE, and proceeding under this appellation,
with an immense volume, it receives at 4° 55ʹ south latitude, the
_Tunguragua_, _Lauricocha_, or _False Maranon_. It now divides into
three branches, the largest of which is 55 fathoms in depth, and
turns directly to the east. Before describing its farther progress,
it is necessary to say that some authors have doubted whether the
Beni is not the true Maranon, as its sources are farther south
than those of the Apurimac; and it is of such force, and has such
an immense width on its junction with that river, that it actually
drives the Apurimac towards the west for some distance.
The _Tunguragua_ was formerly considered to be the Real Amazons,
but that opinion is now quite exploded; it rises in the province of
Tarma in Peru, in the lake Lauricocha, near the city of Guanuco,
in 11° south latitude, and flows through Peru to Bracamoros, where
passing by Jaen, it turns to the east, and pours itself, after
intersecting the Andes at the Pongo de Manseriche into the Maranon
by an immense mouth, below the village of St. Regis.
The Tunguragua receives many large tributary streams, in the
kingdom of Peru, one of which, the _Guallaga_, rising in the
southern Andes, east of Guamanga, is at its conflux with the
Lauricocha, 450 yards wide, and thirty-four fathoms deep.
The Ucayale, or True Maranon, is navigable at all seasons; it was
explored in 1794 by father Girval, who ascended it from St. Regis
to the river Pachitea, and found its current gentle, abounding
with fish, and its banks crowned with superb forests stored with
wild animals. The native tribes on its shores were generally of
a pacific nature, and in the course of 300 leagues he found 132
islands.
From the confluence of the Ucayale and Tunguragua, the river
decidedly receives the name of MARANON, and flows with a gentle
current, and with an increasing expanse of waters into the Atlantic
Ocean; its course lies mostly through the Portuguese territories of
Amazonia, Guiana, and Grand Para. It receives from the Cordillera
of Quito, the _Caqueta_ and _Apapures_, which running into each
other, become a noble river, under the name of the _Yapura_. The
_Napo_, which was the river on which Orellana first embarked, also
rises in Quito, as does the _Putumayo_, or _Ica_, which flows
into the Maranon, between the Napo and the Yapura. East of these
rivers, besides an immense number of smaller streams, the Maranon
receives the great _Rio Negro_, by which it communicates with the
Orinoco. Between the junction of the Negro and the Atlantic Ocean,
innumerable streams rising in the deserts of Portuguese Guiana
pour in their tributary waters from the north; on its south side
this amazing river receives, commencing from the west after the
conflux of the Lauricocha, the _Yavari_, the _Jutay_, the _Juruay_,
the _Tefe_, _Carori_, _Puros_, and the great _Madera_, which has
its sources in Potosi, far south of the Apurimac, and falls into
the Maranon by numerous mouths; and the _Topayos_, _Zingu_, _Dos
Bocas_, the _Tocantins_ and the _Mugu_, issuing from the mining
districts of Brasil, pay their tribute to the Maranon, until it
rushes into the vast bosom of the Atlantic.
In breadth and depth the Maranon answers almost every where to its
immense length, and it forms throughout its course, innumerable
islands, especially between the mouths of the _Napo_ and the
_Carori_, which are picturesque in the extreme, from the great
variety of their figures, and from the beautiful straits they
form between their banks. The depth of the branches formed by
these islands, near St. Pablo, or St. Paul de Omaguas, the western
Portuguese fort, on the frontiers of New Granada and Peru, is more
than a mile. At Coari, where the groups of isles terminate for a
short space, the river is nearly a mile and a half broad, and M. de
la Condamine, after taking every precaution against the effect of
the current, found no bottom with 100 fathoms of line; 400 miles
below the mouth of the Negro, the shores of the Maranon approach
each other, and this place is called the Straight of Pauxis; the
breadth here is only a mile, and the tides are perceptible, though
the ocean is still 200 leagues distant.
Proceeding onward, with a majestic course, and forming numerous
islands and straights, the river directs its course, after
receiving the Zingu, towards the north-east, and enlarging
its boundaries in the most astonishing manner, it runs, with
accumulated force, to its final destination, forming, as it glides
along, several very large insulated places; one of these dividing
it at last into two mouths, by which it enters the Atlantic Ocean.
This island, called Joanes, is 150 leagues in length, and from its
Cape Maguari to Cape Norte, on the opposite continent, the largest
of the two estuaries is forty-five leagues in breadth, whilst the
lesser is twelve leagues broad, from the same Cape Maguari to
Tigioca point, on the southern continent.
The Maranon is subject to periodical floods during the rainy
seasons, at which times it overflows, and fertilizes the country
adjacent to its banks. The descent of this river in a straight
course of 1860 miles, was found by M. de la Condamine, (who
embarked on the Tunguragua and joined the Maranon) to be about 1020
feet, or rather more than six inches in a mile; and the place where
the tides are first perceptible, is 90 feet above the level of the
sea.
Its banks are adorned with every variety of plants peculiar to
tropical countries; immense and stately forests are every where
observed, inhabited only by the wild animals, or by man in a state
of nature. The settlements of the Portuguese, extend only a very
short distance from the Atlantic, where they have here and there a
fort, in the most open situations of the interior; the rest of the
valley of the Amazons is in the possession of its ancient tenants.
A history of the discovery of this river from the interior, has
been already given; but Orellana was not the first who explored it.
Vicente Yanez Pinzon, who accompanied Columbus in his first voyage,
was the person by whom this was achieved. At his own expence,
he fitted out four vessels in Spain, in 1499, and sailed to the
Canaries; passing Cape Verde, he steered directly west, till on
the 26th January 1500, when he saw the land, which he named Cabo
de Consolacion (now called Cape St. Augustine); landing here, and
viewing the country, he determined to coast along its shores,
until he at last found himself in a fresh water sea, and advancing
further, he discovered the islands at the mouth of the river, and
trading with the Indians who inhabited its banks, he called it by
what he heard them name it, the Maranon.
This discovery was followed by that of Orellana from the interior,
in 1540. In 1559, Pedro de Orsua endeavoured to trace the route of
Orellana, but was killed by the Indians.
In 1602, Rafael Ferrer explored the river for a short space, and
gave the first account of the nations on its shores.
In 1616, some soldiers, pursuing the Indians, fell in with the
False Maranon, and went down it in canoes; on their return, and
in consequence of what they reported, Baca de Vega was appointed
governor of Maynas, in 1618.
Some missionaries afterwards proceeded as far as Para in Brasil,
from whence they were dispatched with a flotilla of boats, to
re-ascend and explore the banks of the river. They departed on the
28th of October 1637, and reached Palamino in Quixos, on the 24th
June 1638.
In consequence of this voyage, the flotilla was ordered to return
to Para, with several intelligent persons on board, who were to
make a further survey, and then proceed by way of the Portuguese
territory, to Spain. They accordingly set out from Quito, on the
16th of February 1639, and reached Grand Para, after a voyage of
ten months; whence they crossed the Atlantic to Europe.
The missionaries now exerted themselves to form settlements, but
none so arduously as Father Fritz, who sailed down the river from
Maynas to Para, in 1689, and returned by the same route, in 1691;
he subsequently visited most of the rivers which flow into the
False Maranon, as well as some of those down to the Negro, which
fall into the genuine river, and drew a map of these, which was
engraved at Quito, in 1707.
Father Girval explored the Ucayale, or True Maranon, in 1794,
extracts from whose account will appear in the description of Peru.
The voyage of M. de la Condamine, in 1793, down the Maranon, from
the province of Jaen de Bracamoros, to the Atlantic Ocean, threw
a great light on the geography of this famous river, since which
period no traveller of any note has undertaken this dangerous and
fatiguing journey, for scientific purposes alone. A stronger motive
than the mere love of science induced a lady to venture herself on
the immeasurable expanse of the Maranon. Madame Godin des Odonnois,
the wife of M. Godin, a brother of the celebrated mathematician of
that name, had received advices from her husband, that it would
be necessary to embark with her family on this perilous voyage.
Actuated by the spirit of conjugal affection, she committed herself
to the bosom of the river, in 1769. In this expedition the greater
part of the company who went with her, perished, having lost
their way in the trackless forests of the country; after the most
inconceivable struggles, she regained the borders of the river, and
sailed down it to the ocean. The narrative of the disasters which
befel her is one of the most affecting relations ever penned by the
hand of man; and her conduct exhibits a picture of the fortitude
which woman is capable of exerting, in situations under which the
mind of the bravest of the other sex fails. From Madame Godin
alone, this noble river might be named the Amazons.
One of the extraordinary circumstances respecting this river, is
the pororoca, or bore, a sudden efflux of the waters, which rush
like a moving wall, twelve or fifteen feet in height, and sweep
every thing before them; the noise of this irruption may be heard
for eight miles; it is chiefly observable at the Cape del Norte,
at its confluence with the Arowary. This rising of the waters is
observable in several rivers and arms of the sea, in the New and
Old Worlds; the river Severn in England, and the bay or basin of
Minas in Nova Scotia, are, with that of the Ganges in India, among
the most remarkable.
The waters of the Maranon run with such velocity, that they are
unmixed with the salt of the ocean, 80 leagues from the mouth.
Maynas contains several other rivers besides the Lauricocha, the
most noted of which are the _Napo_, issuing from Cotopaxi, which
receives several other streams, and after a course of 200 leagues,
falls into the Maranon. Father de Acuna insisted that this was the
true Amazons.
The River _Ica_, or _Putamayo_, rising in the district of Ibarra,
falls into the Maranon, east of the Napo, after a course of 300
leagues. The _Yapura_, which rising in Popayan, under the name of
_Caqueta_, runs into the Maranon, by several mouths. One branch
of this river was formerly thought to be the great Rio Negro, the
junction of which, with the Orinoco, is so exactly laid down in a
map of Father Ferreira, of the city of Gran Para, that it differs
in very few respects from the late discoveries of M. de Humboldt
on the Cassiquiare. The Portuguese penetrated from the Amazons to
the Orinoco, by means of canoes, as early as 1774; and M. de la
Condamine, also gives a very reasonable description of this famous
junction.
The _Rio Negro_ rises a short space north of the Caqueta or Yapura,
and after an amazing course, sends off one branch to the Orinoco,
directly north, and another south-easterly to the Maranon. The
northern branch is now known by the name of the _Cassiquiare_:
these afford an inland communication between two of the most
celebrated rivers in the world; and as the settlements of the
Spaniards in Caraccas, and the Portuguese in Guiana, approach each
nearer and nearer every year, this natural canal will shortly
become of great importance.
The most remarkable natural curiosity in Maynas is the Pongo or
straight, through which the Lauricocha passes the Andes. The river
above the Pongo, runs down a mountain channel, forming rapids,
cataracts, &c., approaching the eastern ridge of the Andes, where
it suddenly contracts its bounds, from 1600 to 600 feet, and rushes
through a crevice of tremendous height for the space of eight miles.
The vortices are so powerful here, that a missionary was kept in
one for two days, and would have perished with his raft, if the
river had not suddenly swollen and carried him out of it. Balsas
are always used in this strait, as the spring they have resists the
shocks which they experience when dashed against the rocks; in such
cases, a canoe or boat would be broke to pieces.
La Condamine was carried through on his balsa at the rate of nine
miles an hour, and emerging from the jaws of the mountain, he found
himself in a new world, separated from all human intercourse, on a
fresh water sea, surrounded by a maze of rivers and lakes, which
struck in every direction into the gloom of an immense forest,
impenetrable but for them. New plants and animals were exhibited to
his view, the soil covered with a dense mass of vegetation never
appeared, and nothing was to be seen but verdure and water. Below
Borja, and four or 500 hundred leagues beyond it a stone or a
pebble is as rare as a diamond.
In Maynas the Indians are great adepts in fishing, and the rivers
swarm with tortoises on their shores and islands, which they catch
in great numbers. The manati or sea-cow is also sought after by
them for food; it is about three or four yards long, and very
broad, with two large wing fins. This animal feeds on the herbage
growing along shore, and has obtained its name from its great
size, and from its suckling its young in the manner of a cow, and
its flesh tastes also like beef.
This country, particularly along the rivers, is infested with large
snakes, or boa constrictors, and in the places where these abound,
the air is generally hot and unhealthy, as is the case along the
whole range of the vast river Maranon, which likewise swarms with
alligators, venomous reptiles, and insects.
_THE GOVERNMENT OF QUIXOS._
The government of Quixos and Macas is the last and most easterly of
those of the audience of Quito and kingdom of New Granada; it is
bounded on the north by Popayan and the plains; east by Portuguese
Guiana; on the west it is separated from Latacunga and Ibarra by
the Cordilleras of Cotopaxi, Cayambe, &c., and on the south, it is
limited by Maynas and Bracamoros.
This country was first discovered by Gonzalo de Pineda, as before
related, in 1536. The viceroy Canete, commissioned Davalos to
govern the province, reduce the Indians, and found towns. He
accordingly erected Baeza the capital, in 1559, and this was soon
followed by the building of Archidona, Avila, and other places.
In Quixos the climate is very hot and moist, the rains being almost
continual. It is covered with thick forests, some of the trees in
which are of prodigious magnitude. In the south-west of Quixos,
is the country called _Los Canelos_, a sort of spice resembling
cinnamon growing there. The south part of Quixos is called MACAS,
and is separated into a distinct district, under that appellation,
of which the chief town is the city of _Macas_, or _Sevilla de Oro_.
The climate of Macas is better than that of Quixos, as the
proximity of the Andes occasions to be much cooler. The winter
here begins in April, and lasts till September, the summer then
commences, and the north winds blowing constantly, renders it very
mild. The chief occupation of the settlers is the cultivation of
tobacco which is exported to Peru; sugar canes thrive very well,
as do cotton, grain, &c. Among the infinite variety of trees,
which the forests are composed of, is the storax, distinguished by
the exquisite fragrancy of its gum. Great quantities of copal are
brought from Macas as well as wild wax, and the district contains
eight principal villages, and numerous missionary settlements,
two priests or superiors governing the spiritual affairs. At the
conquest, this country was very populous, owing to the quantity of
gold drawn from the neighbourhood of Macas.
_Baeza_, the capital of Quixos y Macas, is a miserable village,
of only eight or nine houses, the governor residing always at
Archidona.
_Macas_, the chief town of Macas, lies in 2° 30ʹ south latitude,
and 78° 5ʹ west longitude. Its houses are built of wood and
thatched; the inhabitants who amount to 1200, are generally
mestizoes or Spaniards.
_Archidona_ is a small place, in 0° 45ʹ south of the line, and 76°
48ʹ west longitude. Its houses are of wood with thatched roofs, and
the inhabitants amount to about 700, being a mixture of all castes.
It was almost ruined in 1744, by an explosion of Cotopaxi.
_Avila_ is in 0° 44ʹ south latitude, and 76° 25ʹ west longitude;
its inhabitants amount to about 300, and its curate has six other
villages under his jurisdiction. The number of regular villages
in Quixos are twelve, with numerous missions. The independent
Indians are still the chief occupiers of Quixos and Macas; their
irruptions are frequent and much dreaded, most of them being of
a warlike disposition. This prevents these countries from being
colonized rapidly, but a few Spanish troops properly managed,
might however soon quell these people, and reduce them to a state
of insignificance. The missions of _Sucumbios_, five in number,
also belong to this government.
Quixos and Macas are intersected by the rivers mentioned as flowing
into the Maranon through parts of Maynas; but little is known of
the state of the country on their banks, as the aborigines are
there the sole and undisputed masters.
END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
Printed by A. Strahan, Printers-Street, London
Transcriberʼs Notes:
Punctuation and capitalization which appear to be printing errors
have been fixed. Repeated spelling variations and inconsistencies
(e.g. Louisiania and Louisiana, scite and site, caste and
cast, Cape Gracias à Dios and Cape Gracios á Dios), as well as
inconsistent hyphenation and older spellings, have been retained
as printed in the original text. However, words that appear to be
printing errors have been corrected and are listed below.
“govenor” changed to “governor” on page 52. (under the directions
of the governor)
“runing” changed to “running” on page 136. (running underneath the
ground)
“Yutacan” changed to “Yucatan” on page 155. (the east coast of
Yucatan)
“isdivided” changed to “is divided” on page 188. (into which Cuba
is divided)
“sacrified” changed to “sacrificed” on page 195. (the natives had
sacrificed)
“coastsof” changed to “coasts of” in the footnote at the end of Part I. (the west coasts of
Terra Magellanica)
End of Project Gutenberg's Spanish America, by Richard Henry Bonnycastle