TRUJILLO AND THE CHICAMA VALLEY
[Illustration: HUACO DEL SOL, TRUJILLO.]
As the valley of the Nile became the seat of Egyptian civilization when
all the rest of Africa was in barbarism, so, in the western world, the
valleys of the coast region of Peru formed the centre of social and
industrial development at a period more remote than is indicated by
existing evidences of any other culture on the South American continent.
In the primitive history of mankind it is under the most favorable
conditions of soil and climate that the greatest social development is
to be traced, and in no part of the world had the simple child of nature
apparently less to fear from the elements or more to hope from the
beneficent earth than in these smiling valleys. There is no doubt that
in ancient times the irrigation of this extensive area was more general
and its desert tracts were fewer than at present; and the efforts of the
Peruvian government, now directed toward a scientific investigation of
the subsoil of this region, aim especially to discover, if possible,
some means of restoring these sources of moisture, which were once
sufficiently abundant for the fertilization of a vast realm inhabited by
a population many times in excess of what it is at present.
Trujillo occupies the site on which flourished, long before the advent
of the Incas, the rich and powerful capital of the Chimus. Their palaces
and temples were spread over a great extent of territory, and the ruins
of their culture are to be seen in all the valleys of this part of Peru.
Whether the earliest builders of these prehistoric piles were the Chimus
or a still more ancient race has not been determined: but in the
neighborhood of Trujillo and in the valleys of Chicama, Santa Catalina,
and others, exist to this day evidences of an architecture of very great
antiquity, and of such a character as could only have been produced by
an intelligent and cultivated people. At the time of the Spanish
conquest, the Incas had gained the ascendancy in the valley of Chimu,
extending some two hundred leagues along the coast from Tumbes
southward, but its tribes were by no means willing allies of the
sovereign of Cuzco. When the Spaniards appeared, they were welcomed as
superior beings sent by heaven to avenge the injuries which the subjects
of the powerful Chimu Canchu—The Grand Chimu—had suffered at the hands
of Pachacutec’s son, the Prince Yupanqui.
[Illustration: GALLERY OF THE PALACE OF JUSTICE, TRUJILLO.]
According to colonial records, a small Spanish settlement already
existed on the site of the present city of Trujillo when Pizarro arrived
from Lima in 1535. Don Miguel de Estete, commissioned by Almagro the
year previous to find a suitable location for a town, had chosen this
place and settled a colony there. Pizarro approved and confirmed the
settlement already established, and formally founded the city of
Trujillo, giving it the name of his native town in Spain. The
Intendencia of Trujillo was defined at the same time to cover, not only
the present Department of La Libertad, but those of Lambayeque, Piura,
Cajamarca, and Amazonas. In 1537, the title of city was conferred on
Trujillo under the royal seal of the Emperor Charles V. and his mother,
the Queen Joana, and from the earliest days of its history the
municipality has been honored with the dignity of “Very Illustrious
Corporation of the City of Trujillo.” Throughout the period of the
viceroyalty, it was one of the most important centres of colonial
industry; many noble families had their estates in its fertile valleys,
and their descendants still retain possession. The people of Trujillo
are very proud of their ancestry, and conserve the courtly manner and
inherent grace distinctive of old Castile. Peruvians enjoy repeating, at
the expense of this hidalgo spirit, the humorous saying that “the bones
of Don Quixote lie interred in the Plaza of Trujillo.” There is an
atmosphere of refinement in the social life of the place that is as
charming as it is simple and genuine. Pride of race has proved no
disadvantage to Trujillo, whose people have other claims than heredity
on which to rest their merits.
[Illustration: CALLE DEL COMERCIO, TRUJILLO.]
Trujillo was the first city of Peru that proclaimed and took the oath of
Independence, on the 22d of December, 1820, the Cabildo being convened
under the presidency of the Intendente, the Marquis of Torre-Tagle.
General Bolivar, in his message to Congress in 1825, said that the
provinces comprising the Intendencia of Trujillo had given liberty to
Peru; and in recognition of this patriotic movement, he bestowed the
name of La Libertad on the Department, which, under the republic,
replaced the Intendencia of the colonial government. Later, the limits
of La Libertad were encroached upon to form the Departments of Amazonas,
Cajamarca, Piura, and Lambayeque, each of these divisions being entitled
to share the honor of having led the way to national liberty. In 1824,
Trujillo was declared the capital of the republic, during the time that
Lima was occupied by the royalists. Its history as a republican city
reflects honor on the people, who have shown their patriotism and
courage upon every occasion when the needs of the country have called
them to action. In the war with Chile, the Trujillo regiment was
distinguished among all the troops of Peru for bravery on the field;
from this city most liberal contributions have been made for purposes of
national defence; and the public spirit of the citizens is constantly
shown by their generous encouragement of enterprises for the public
benefit, such as the installation of the water works system, the paving
of sidewalks, and the maintenance of public parks and buildings, all of
which have been effected through the coöperation of progressive
townspeople.
[Illustration: PICTURESQUE ROAD THROUGH A SUGAR ESTATE.]
During the viceroyalty, Trujillo was a walled city, of oval form, and
about two leagues in circumference; the attacks of pirates led the Duke
de la Palata, when viceroy of Peru, to provide this means of defence
against invasion, the wall being built in 1617, of adobe, five feet
thick and ten feet high, with a parapet above it and fifteen bastions.
Only a few traces of this structure still remain, the increased
population and industrial development having extended the city’s
boundaries greatly beyond its former limits. The present population is
about twenty thousand. The streets follow the usual plan of
Spanish-built cities, cutting each other at right angles and having an
average width of from forty to fifty feet. The houses are of the Spanish
colonial style, in appearance resembling those of Lima more than any
other Peruvian city. Everywhere one sees the little balconies encased in
ornamental _rejas_ or barred frames; spacious _patios_, paved with
ornamental tiles and adorned with plants and flowers,—presenting a most
attractive appearance as seen from the street,—and solid walls and
massive doors, telling of a period when durability was deemed as
important as architectural beauty. The houses built nowadays are mere
shells in comparison with the edifices constructed by the Spanish
conquerors and their successors, when a wall had to be made several feet
thick to be satisfactory, and a door must be large enough to admit a
mounted horseman, and massive enough to resist a battering-ram. From the
principal public square, called here, as elsewhere in Spanish-America,
the Plaza de Armas, the most important public buildings may be seen, the
Prefecture, municipal buildings and other government offices overlooking
this central _paseo_. The plaza covers five acres and is ornamented with
a garden of shrubs and flowers, in the midst of which stands a large
stone fountain. Beautiful shade trees border the great square, making it
an ideal place for a promenade, and here the social world congregates in
the evening. In the vicinity of the plaza are several interesting old
churches of the colonial period. When Pizarro founded the city, the
chronicler of that event tells us, “the convents of Santo Domingo, San
Francisco, and La Merced were the corner stones of that enterprise.” The
convent of San Agustin, situated a block away from the plaza, was
founded in 1558, and the first Jesuit college in 1627. The episcopal
diocese of Trujillo was created in 1577.
[Illustration: A CORRAL ON A SUGAR ESTATE, CHICAMA VALLEY.]
The church of San Agustin is particularly notable for the magnificent
carving of its main altar and pulpit, and the rich gilding that adorns
them. The Jesuit college building has been occupied by the University of
Trujillo since the inauguration of the republic, in accordance with a
decree of President Bolivar, dated the 10th of May, 1824. The convent of
Belem, founded in 1671, is now used as a hospital. The schools and
benevolent institutions of Trujillo receive especial attention, and the
best interests of both are made a subject of public and private
consideration. Besides the University and the National College of San
Juan, maintained by the government, the Institute Moderno, the Colegio
de La Independencia and other schools afford secondary instruction, and
primary training is given in ten or more municipal colleges.
The night schools of Trujillo are worthy of emulation in every city of
Peru. Not only is manual training given, but lessons in bookkeeping,
etc., are taught, and classes are instructed in the English language,
which is regarded as of especial importance because of its usefulness in
a commercial career. The Railway Society of Mutual Protection, the
Employés’ Union of the Department of La Libertad and similar societies
are doing a great work for the improvement of conditions among the
clerks and other working people of the capital. Not only are classes
formed for the benefit of men who wish to pursue a special study, but
free instruction is given to boys who would otherwise be spending their
evenings in idle company on the streets. It is interesting to visit
these schools and see them filled night after night with eager and
ambitious pupils. The teachers give their services free during certain
evenings each week.
Trujillo has a theatre, a hippodrome, and social clubs, the Club de La
Libertad being an important organization which directs the amusements
and festivals held every season in the Park of La Libertad, the most
beautiful _paseo_ of Trujillo, and one of the finest parks in Peru. The
Central Club, the leading social organization of the city, counts among
its members many prominent men of the department. The press is
represented by three daily newspapers—of which _La Industria_ is the
largest—and a number of monthly periodicals. _The Torch_ and _The
Shoemaker_, both labor journals, are an expression of the interest taken
by the workingmen in the affairs of the day. A novel enterprise is the
publication of an illustrated almanac of three hundred pages, called _El
Mercurio_, devoted to a description of the Department of La Libertad,
its history, government, schools, and industrial development, and issued
at the publisher’s cost, in the interests of his commercial house and as
a propaganda of the department.
Two widely different attractions claim the attention of all visitors to
Trujillo,—the wonderful archæological ruins and the famous Chicama
Valley. Between the city and the sea extend the crumbling walls of
Chan-Chan and the Huacas of Moche, while northward, after a railway
journey of less than an hour, the traveller enters the blooming gardens
and green-mantled fields of a country overflowing with the bounties of a
perennial harvest. Chan-Chan covers a desert tract about fifty square
miles in circumference less than a league north of the capital, and just
beyond the little Indian village of Mansiche, on the road to the seaport
Huanchaco. It is said that rich treasure lies buried somewhere under the
modest little cluster of huts named Mansiche in honor of a great cacique
of the place. But one hears constantly of buried treasure in Trujillo.
The _peje chica_ and the _peje grande_—“little fish” and the “big
fish”—are magic words to those who understand. Every traveller who
possesses an imagination susceptible to the influence of mystery and
tradition must succumb to the glittering charm of the _peje chica_, and
feel the gold-hunter’s enthusiasm when brought into the realm of the
_peje grande_. As the horses jog along the road that leads from the city
to the ruins, visions of hidden treasure throw a glamour over the most
commonplace scenes, and every mound by the roadside is an object of
curiosity as a possible repository for treasure. It is a matter of
history that soon after the Conquest a vast fortune was unearthed at
Chan-Chan, of which the king’s fifth amounted to a million dollars in
value, this treasure being known as the _peje chica_. One version of the
story tells that the cacique of Mansiche, who had observed with
particular attention the kindness of a young Spaniard toward the people
of the conquered race, and had noticed also that he was very poor,
revealed the secret of the hiding-place of the _peje chica_, on
condition that a portion of the wealth should be used to advance the
interests of the Indians. The most valuable article discovered was in
the form of a fish, of solid gold, and so large that the Spaniards
considered it a rare prize; but the cacique assured his young friend
that it was only the “little fish” and that a much greater treasure
existed in the “big fish,” worth many times the value of this one. The
sequel to the story is that the Spaniard forgot his promise, went off to
Spain and spent all his gold, and was returning to get the _peje
grande_, of which he made great boasts, when he was thrown from his
horse and killed. From that day to the present, treasure hunters have
dug into the _huacas_ of Chan-Chan and Moche with faith and
persistence,—but without finding the _peje grande_. Many interesting
relics of the ancient civilization have been unearthed, and the present
prefect of Trujillo, Dr. Carlos Velarde, has accomplished a notable work
in the excavation of the great wall of Chan-Chan, covered with carvings
of fishes, turtles, pelicans, and other animals of the seashore. Dr. Max
Uhle is now engaged in making excavations at Chan-Chan and at Moche, the
latter offering a study of much archæological importance in its “Huaco
del Sol.”
[Illustration: A LOAD OF CANE READY FOR THE FACTORY.]
[Illustration: MAIN ENTRANCE TO A SUGAR HACIENDA NEAR TRUJILLO.]
Moche is an Indian town situated midway between Trujillo and the port of
Salaverry, to the south. Its inhabitants preserve their primitive
costumes, and wear a distinctive dress, the women’s garb consisting of a
chemise and a single piece of dark blue cloth wrapped round the body and
fastened at the waist, reaching to the ankles. The municipal ordinance
forbids the wearing of this costume in the city, but at Moche it is
everywhere seen. The Moche Indians never intermarry with other races,
and they are as proud of their unmixed pedigree as any “belted earl.”
They are an intelligent people, and the women are graceful and
ready-witted. Recently, two North American ladies were being shown the
sights of Trujillo, when their cicerone drew attention to a Moche girl
riding by on a donkey, evidently on her way to Moche. Seeing that she
was an object of interest, she smiled and bowed with the nonchalance of
a court belle, and asked the ladies’ escort, “_Gringas?_” As the
amusement of the strangers told that they understood this patronymic to
apply to themselves, she hastened to add, hospitably, “Bring them to
Moche!”
It is impossible to imagine a more complete transition than is made when
one leaves the enchanted realm of the _peje grande_ for the varying
sights and scenes of the Chicama valley. It is necessary to visit the
former in order to appreciate the full significance of the latter.
Everything around Chan-Chan is a temptation to live on dreams, to try
one’s luck at treasure hunting, or to dig _huacas_ in the hope of
getting a rare specimen for some archæological museum. The Chicama
valley affords proof that there are richer treasures in its fertile
fields than Chan-Chan ever had in hiding, and no uncertainty exists as
to their location. Its area is about a hundred square leagues, drained
by the Chicama River, which rises in the province of Otuzco, Department
of La Libertad, and flows into the Pacific. On its great plantations,
sugar-cane is grown that reaches a height of from twenty to twenty-five
feet, containing more than fourteen per cent of sugar. The broad estates
of Casa Grande, Roma, Cartavio, and others, are crossed by private
railways which carry the cane from the fields to the mills; and the
entire valley has direct communication with the port of Salaverry by
means of the state railway, now under the administration of the Peruvian
Corporation. From the port, the main line passes through Moche, Trujillo
(eight miles from Salaverry), and crossing the desert _pampa_ with one
stop only at the station of La Cumbre, enters the valley at the town of
Chicama, twenty miles north of the capital. About a mile above this
point, after passing Chiclín, the train crosses an immense iron bridge,
about three thousand feet long, over the Chicama River. The route then
lies entirely through the district of the sugar lands, the principal
stations being Chocope, Constancia Junction, Casa Grande Junction,
Facalá, and the terminal station of Ascope, fifty miles from Salaverry.
From all these stations, private railways connect with the sugar
plantations. The Hacienda of Roma is connected directly with the port of
Huanchaco by a private line, making an extension of thirty-five miles.
This immense property, like the estates of Casa Grande and Cartavio,
embraces many thousands of acres and supports large communities of
working people. Life presents a very pleasant picture on these large
plantations, where a good climate, healthful labor, comfortable homes
and ample provision for their needs contribute to make the employés
contented and happy. Churches, schools, and hospitals are provided, and
on some plantations there are free libraries, and night classes are
taught for the benefit of those who work during the day. Telephones
connect the haciendas with Trujillo, and, as most of them are situated
within a couple of hours’ ride by railway from that city, constant
communication is maintained. The Casa Grande Company owns one of the
most important sugar estates of the Chicama valley, covering nearly two
hundred thousand acres of land, and supports a population of about five
thousand, most of the number living in the vicinity of Casa Grande. The
machinery used in the sugar factory of this hacienda is of the most
modern manufacture, equal to the best in existence for the purpose.
Electricity is used for lighting, the hacienda having a dynamo for two
hundred lights of sixteen candle-power and a motor of twenty-five
horse-power. The new system of crushing and elaborating the cane in the
factory of Casa Grande is so complete that the process follows
automatically from the unloading of the cars as they arrive from the
fields, to the filling of the sacks with sugar, ready for market. Not
only in the factory, but in the fields, modern machinery is used, and
agricultural implements of the best manufacture are employed. This is
true of Roma and Cartavio as well as Casa Grande. The resident managers
of these haciendas enjoy every comfort that a well-ordered establishment
can provide, and they entertain with generous hospitality.
[Illustration: THE CHAPEL OF A HACIENDA AT GALINDO.]
Although the fame of the Chicama valley outshines that of other
sugar-growing districts of Trujillo, there are large and rich
plantations also in the valleys of Jequetepeque, or Pacasmayo, to the
north, and in Santa Catalina and Moche to the south. A railway connects
the seaport of Pacasmayo with the sugar lands and rice fields of the
interior, extending fifty miles to Guadalupe and Yonan, on the road to
Cajamarca. The province of Pacasmayo, which adjoins that of Trujillo,
has about five thousand acres under cultivation in sugar-cane, and its
rice harvest yields one hundred thousand sacks annually. The valleys of
Santa Catalina and Moche are connected with Trujillo by a branch of the
main railway from Salaverry, which extends from Trujillo to Laredo,
Galindo, and Menocucho, passing through plantations of sugar, rice, and
other products. The annual exports of sugar from the port of Salaverry
amount to about fifty thousand tons and those from Huanchaco average
between twenty-five thousand and thirty thousand tons. An important
share of these shipments goes to North American ports.
[Illustration: PARK OF LA LIBERTAD, TRUJILLO.]
The Department of La Libertad is composed of six provinces, those of
Trujillo and Pacasmayo bordering the Pacific Ocean, while the remaining
four—Otuzco, Santiago de Chuco, Huamachuco, and Pataz—are situated in
the region of the sierra. The Marañon River divides the province of
Huamachuco from that of Pataz, and in its lower valleys the climate of
the Montaña prevails, coffee, sugar, and cacao being produced. Coca is
one of the important products of this department, and cocaine is
manufactured in Trujillo for shipment to foreign ports. On the high
_puna_, abundant pasture is found, and, in the lower sierra, wheat,
barley, maize, and potatoes are cultivated. The southern districts of
the province of Trujillo contain saline deposits of importance.
[Illustration: ADMINISTRATION HOUSE OF A SUGAR ESTATE IN THE CHICAMA
VALLEY.]
Not only is the Department of La Libertad rich in agricultural products
of every zone, but the mines of its sierras abound in precious metals.
For the past few years, especial interest has been taken in the mineral
wealth of this region, small lots of gold, silver, and copper ores being
exported with most satisfactory returns. Quiruvilca, sixty-six miles
beyond the terminus of the railway which connects Trujillo with
Menocucho, is a mining district covering about a hundred square miles
rich in copper and silver. Veins having an average width of fourteen
inches contain from fifty to sixty per cent copper, and silver veins of
sixteen inches in width produce as much as a thousand ounces of silver.
The Quiruvilca mine is two days’ ride on muleback from the end of the
railway, which is twenty-seven miles from the port of Salaverry, where
all the steamers of the west coast call for cargo. Although the property
has not been developed on the large scale necessary to make it a famous
copper mine, it is worked successfully and yields good returns for the
small capital employed. Two hundred tons can now be exported daily, the
high and low grade ores together averaging forty-five per cent copper.
It is the purpose of the present owners, who are also the chief
proprietors of Casa Grande, to place this enterprise on a gigantic
basis, by constructing a railway, not only to Quiruvilca, but to another
mine, Araqueda, also enormously rich in copper and silver, and by
establishing smelting works and other improvements for which large
capital must be employed. The easy accessibility to a good port and the
mildness of the climate of this mining region, as compared with the
severity of the _puna_ where many of the most valuable mines of Peru are
located, are strong points in favor of its rapid development.
The subjects of the Incas worked the mines of the sierra throughout this
region and had thriving villages in the various mountain districts of
the present Department of La Libertad. The town of Huamachuco, now the
capital of the province of the same name, was a populous Indian
settlement at the time of the Conquest, when Hernando Pizarro discovered
it while leading his army southward from Piura in search of the treasure
which Atahuallpa had said would be found in the temple of Pachacámac.
The Conquerors were too intent on collecting the gold and silver of the
Inca’s palaces and temples to occupy themselves at that time with the
question of mining and of the wealth to be gained by such a laborious
process; they saw the coveted metal within their reach without having to
dig for it, and they little guessed the hidden treasures over which they
marched on their way to plunder the sacred halls of Pachacámac. Perhaps
the source of the rich gold and silver ornaments of the Chimus is to be
found in the sierras of Otuzco, Santiago de Chuco, Pataz, and
Huamachuco, the fountain-head of that precious stream down which the
_peje grande_ floated to lose itself among the _huacas_ of Chan-Chan and
Moche.
[Illustration: A SUGAR FACTORY OF THE CHICAMA VALLEY.]
[Illustration: PAITA, THE CHIEF SHIPPING PORT FOR PERUVIAN COTTON.]