JOURNEY ACROSS THE CORDILLERA TO PUNO.
IN the region of the cordillera of the Andes, in Northern and Central
Peru, the country is broken up into deep warm valleys and profound
ravines, separated by lofty precipitous ridges and snowy peaks, which
combine to form some of the most magnificent scenery in the world.
Vast flocks of sheep and alpacas find pasture on the upland slopes,
while abundance of wheat is grown lower down. Indian corn generally
flourishes at a still lower elevation, though it is grown as high
as 13,000 feet on the islands of lake Titicaca, and sugar-cane is
cultivated in the deep valleys. This is the nature of the country
between Ayacucho and Cuzco, and in the valley of Vilcamayu, which
extends from the foot of the Vilcañota range until it subsides into the
vast tropical plains to the north and east of Cuzco.
But the southern part of the interior of Peru, and the northern portion
of Bolivia, present a very different character. From the Vilcañota
mountains the Andes separate into two distinct chains, namely, the
cordillera or coast-range, and the Eastern Andes, which include the
loftiest peaks in South America, Illimani and Sorata, or Illampu. The
region between these two ranges contains the great lake of Titicaca,
and consists of elevated plains intersected by rivers flowing into
the lake, at a height never less than 12,000 feet above the sea. The
magnificent scenery of Northern and Central Peru is wanting in this
southern part of the country, which composes the department of Puno,
and is usually called the _Collao_. It, however, possesses features of
its own which are at once striking and imposing, while the land which
is drained by the lake of Titicaca was the cradle of the civilization
of the Incas.
The journey up the "Alto de los huesos" is very fatiguing, and the
change from the pleasant exhilarating air of Chihuata, to the chilling
icy blasts which constantly sweep over the upper region of the
cordillera, was severely felt. As the afternoon advanced a drizzling
mist came on, and added to the cheerless desolation of the plains
it was necessary to traverse before reaching the post-house of Apo.
Occasionally a drove of llamas, with their Indian driver, loomed for a
moment through the mist, and at nightfall we arrived at the post-house
of Apo (14,350 feet), tired, drenched, and cold.
The rainy season of the cordilleras commences in November, and
continues until the end of March, and during most of that time the
discomfort of travelling is so great, and the rivers so swollen, that
a journey is seldom undertaken by an ordinary traveller. In March,
however, the rain does not fall continuously or in any quantity. The
early morning is generally clear, but in the afternoon mists, rain, or
snow begin to fall, and continue until far into the night. From April
until October is the dry season, and in May, June, July, and August a
cloud is scarcely ever seen in the sky.
The post-houses in the desolate mountains between Arequipa and Puno
are all of the same character. They consist of a range of low stone
buildings surrounding a courtyard on three sides, and consisting of
five or six rooms with mud floors, a rough table, and a platform of
stone and mud at one end, which is intended for a bed-place. The roof
is badly tiled or thatched, and the doors are so roughly fitted that
it is impossible to close them. Both man and beast are subject to a
most distressing illness, caused by the rarefaction of the air at
these great altitudes, which is called _sorochi_ by the Peruvians. I
had suffered from a sharp attack of illness at Arequipa, so that I was
probably predisposed to a visitation from _sorochi_, which I certainly
endured to its fullest extent. Before arriving at Apo, a violent
pressure on the head, accompanied by acute pain, and aches in the back
of the neck, caused great discomfort, and these symptoms increased in
intensity during the night at the Apo post-house, so that at three
A.M., when we recommenced our journey, I was unable to mount my mule
without assistance.
A ride of seven hours across grassy plains covered with herbage, with
patches of snow here and there, and ranges of hills with fine masses
of rocks, forming a setting to the distant peaks of the cordillera,
brought us to the post-house of Pati. During this ride we had to ford
the river, which flows past Arequipa as the Chile, more than a dozen
times. The only living creatures are the _lecca-leccas_, a bird which
frequents the numerous streams, and the graceful flocks of vicuñas.
The _lecca-lecca_ is a large plover, with red legs, white head, grey
body, white under the breast and tail, and wings and tail broadly edged
with black. It incessantly utters a wild shrill scream. The vicuñas, a
species of llama with the habits of an antelope, are very beautiful and
graceful creatures. They have rich fawn-coloured coats, with patches
of white across the shoulders and inside the legs, and long slender
necks. They are constantly met with in the most desolate parts of the
cordillera, browsing on the tender shoots of the tufts of _ychu_, or
galloping along with their noses close to the ground, as if they were
scenting out the best pasture.
At Pati a range of abrupt porphyritic cliffs rises from the plain, up
which a rough zigzag pass leads to the "Pampa de Confital,"[128] the
loftiest part of the road over this pass of the cordillera. A storm of
hail began to fall, which turned into snow as we reached the pampa, and
a ride of many hours over a succession of wild desolate plains, in an
incessant snow-storm, brought us to the "alto de Toledo," the highest
part of the road, and 15,590 feet above the level of the sea.[129]
Some glorious snowy peaks appeared through the gloom at sunset, and
after several weary hours in the darkness we at length arrived at the
post-house of Cuevillas.
In the neighbourhood of Cuevillas there are large sheep-farms, one
called Toroya, near the "alto de Toledo," and another called Tincopalca
farther on. The sheep, at this enormous height, lamb in March and July,
and, of the March lambs, usually about fifty per cent. survive. Beyond
Cuevillas there are two large Alpine lakes, whence a river flows down
into Titicaca, and we thus passed the watershed between the Pacific
and the great lake. The scenery is grand and desolate, reminding me,
in some respects, of the interior of Cornwallis Island in the Arctic
regions. The road passes between the two lakes, and we reached the
post-house of La Compuerta as the afternoon rain commenced. The hills
are covered with tufts of coarse grass (_Stipa ychu_), of which the
llamas eat the upper blades, while the sheep browse on the tender
shoots underneath; and with two kinds of shrubby plants, one a thorny
_composita_ called _ccanlli_, and the other called _tola_ or _ccapo_,
which is a resinous _Baccharis_,[130] and is used for fuel.[131]
The gorge in which the La Compuerta post-house is situated is the only
outlet for the waters of the lake. Mountains of great height rise up
on either side, clothed, at this season, with herbage of the richest
green, while ridges of scarped cliffs of dark porphyritic rock crop
out at intervals. The river dashes noisily over huge boulders, and
near its left bank are the rough stone buildings of the post-house.
Great quantities of ducks, gulls, coots, godwits, and sandpipers
frequent the shores of the lake. The postmaster supplied _alfalfa_ for
the mules, and a _chupé_ consisting of potatoes and salt mutton for
the travellers, at exorbitant prices; the mules were freed from their
cargoes, which were placed within the porch, ready lashed up in their
_redecillas_ or hide nets; and we were soon rolled up in blankets and
ponchos, while the snow continued to fall unceasingly through the early
part of the night. When we got up next morning the thermometer was at
31° Fahr. indoors.
Starting at dawn, we descended the gorge, passing two ruined mining
establishments, San Ramon and Santa Lucia, into green plains with large
flocks of sheep scattered over them.
In these uninhabited wilds it is an event to meet a traveller, and his
appearance is the signal for a succession of questions and answers. We
here passed a _cavallero_, in whose dress and general appearance we
saw a reflection of our own, excepting the comforters. He wore a large
poncho of bright colours, reaching nearly to his heels; a broad-brimmed
felt hat with a blue cotton handkerchief passed over it, and tied in
a knot under his chin; an immense woollen comforter passed round his
throat and face, until nothing appeared but his eyes; a pair of woollen
gaiters, bright green, with black stripes; and huge spurs. He was an
officer on his way to Arequipa, and complained of the severity of the
weather and the heaviness of the roads. After a short conversation the
traveller passed on, followed by his cargo-mules, and soon became a
speck in the distance.
In the afternoon we came to the first signs of cultivation, since
leaving the valley of Cangallo, in the neighbourhood of the great
sheep-farm of Taya-taya--patches of quinoa, barley, and potatoes, with
the huts of Indians scattered amongst them; and, crossing a rocky
ridge, we came in sight of a vast swampy plain, with the little town
of Vilque, at the foot of a fine rocky height, in the far distance,
which we reached at sunset. The long rows of thatched brown huts
dripping with rain, and the muddy streets, looked melancholy. But at
the time of the great fair, in June, Vilque presents a very different
appearance. The plains, for several miles beyond this little town,
were so swampy as to be rendered almost impassable. It was with the
greatest difficulty that we made our way across them, constantly wading
and splashing through water, and in some places sinking so deep in the
adhesive mud, that it was not without desperate exertions that the
mules could extricate themselves. At length we came to a rocky ridge
which bounded the vast pampa of Vilque, and continued our journey over
rather drier ground.
Since leaving La Compuerta we had been continually descending; the
vicuñas had disappeared, as they confine themselves to the loftiest
and wildest parts of the cordillera; but, in the lower region between
Vilque and Puno, the feeling of desolation and solitude is dissipated
by the numbers of birds which enliven the country, and by the increased
quantity and variety of wild flowers.
The _lecca-leccas_ or plovers were very numerous, screaming shrilly
as they flew in circles, or ran along the ground. In the clefts of
the rocks there were many birds, like creepers, called _haccacllo_ by
the Indians, and _pito_ in Spanish--beaks curved downwards, black on
the top of the head, white underneath, red at the back of the neck,
speckled wings, white breast, and a black line from the beak to the
back of the neck. We also saw many small green paroquets, bright yellow
finches called _silgaritos_, a kind of partridge called _yutu_, and,
above all, the glorious _coraquenque_ or _alcamari_, the royal bird of
the Incas, whose black and white wing-feathers surmounted the imperial
_llautu_ or fringe of the sovereigns of Peru. The _alcamari_ is a
large and noble-looking bird of prey, with a scarlet head, black body,
and long wing-feathers of spotless white. Wherever the plains are
intersected by ridges of rocky cliffs, which is frequently the case,
there are swarms of large rodents, called _biscaches_, which sat on
their hind legs, and looked about inquisitively as we rode past.
Riding over several wide grassy plains, and passing the village of
Tiquillaca, we arrived at the banks of the river Tortorani, which was
so swollen as to be quite impassable. By following its course for
about half a mile, we came to a place where the whole volume of water
precipitates itself down a sheer declivity of 250 feet, and forms a
magnificent cascade. A league below the falls we found a bridge, and,
at sunset, we came in sight of the great lake of Titicaca, with the
snowy range beyond. A steep zigzag descent leads down to the city of
Puno, which is close to the shores of the lake, and hemmed in by an
amphitheatre of argentiferous mountains.
Puno, the capital of the department, owes its origin and former
prosperity to the rich veins of silver-ore in the surrounding country.
It is approached, from the north, by a stone archway built over the
road by General Deustua, who was prefect in 1850; and the streets
slope by a gradual descent towards the lake. The houses are built
of small-sized brown _adobes_, with roofs of thatch or red tiles,
and courtyards very neatly paved with round pebbles and llama's
knuckle-bones in patterns. There are scarcely any with more than a
ground-floor, and the rooms open on to the court; but, though at this
elevation, 12,874 feet above the sea, it is extremely cold at night,
stoves are unknown; and the unusual luxury of a fireplace, which exists
in one house, is merely a luxury to the eye, for it is never lighted.
The streets are clean and well paved, and the stone church in the
_Plaza_, dating from 1757, has an elaborately carved front and two
towers. In another plaza is the college, a large building with an upper
story, also built by General Deustua; and both these public squares
have bronze fountains erected by the Government of General Echenique,
the late President, besides drinking fountains in the corners of
several of the streets. The water is excellent.
Puno is surrounded by heights covered with patches of potatoes,
barley, and quinoa (_Chenopodium quinoa_), the huts of Indians being
interspersed amongst them; and immediately over the town there is
an isolated rocky ridge of carboniferous limestone perforated by
several natural caverns, called the Huassa-pata. The shores of the
lake are a few hundred yards from the town, and at the little port
there are always a number of balsas, made of large bundles of reeds
tied together, with a reed sail.[132] The view to seaward is, however,
confined by the peninsula of Capachica, and two islands at the mouth of
the bay of Puno. A canal to enable balsas to come up nearer the town
was made by the Spanish Intendente Gonzalez Montoya in the beginning of
the present century.[133]
The flora of a country which, though within the tropics, is at an
elevation of nearly thirteen thousand feet above the sea, must
necessarily be meagre, and the few plants are lowly and inconspicuous.
I noticed the following in the immediate vicinity of Puno. The
only tree was one of stunted growth, with a pretty pink and white
flower, and dark-green leaves, almost white underneath, called "oliva
silvestre" by the Spaniards, and _ccolli_ in Quichua (_Buddlea
coriacea_); and of these there were not more than a dozen, sheltered
behind walls. By far the greater number of plants are _Compositæ_: of
these I observed three species of _Tagetes_--one with a small yellow
flower; another very sweet, called by the Indians _huaccatay_ and
_chicchipa_, and used to flavour their chupes; and a large shrubby
marygold, called _sunchu_;[134] also the common sow-thistle, a
_Hieracium_, and the _tola_ and _ccanlli_ before mentioned, used for
fuel. I found two Verbenas and a Solanum, all with purple flowers;
a clover, a creeping cucurbitaceous plant, two Cacti, a large dock,
three Geraniums, all with pink flowers; three Crucifers, very small
herbs, one with a white flower, one with a yellow flower, and the third
the common shepherd's-purse; a Gilium with a minute white flower, a
small legume with tomentose leaves, a pretty little creeping Adoxa,
a Statice, a wild Chenopodium, a Veronica, a minute Stellaria, a
Rhinanthus, a mallow, a plantago, and three species of wild Oxalis, two
very minute with white flowers, and one with a yellow flower. There
were also two ferns, one a very beautiful Gymnogramma with silvery
fronds; nine grasses, the most abundant of which was the coarse _Stipa
ychu_; and a few mosses. On the shores of lake Titicaca I saw rushes
in great quantities, a Mimulus, a Ranunculus, a Rumex, and three
grasses. These plants, though lowly and unpretending, are in sufficient
abundance to cover the country with verdure and pretty wild flowers,
and brighten those parts which are not cultivated. The cultivation
consists of quinoa, cañahua (both _Chenopodia_), barley, potatos, ocas
(_Oxalis tuberosa_), and wheat in very small quantities, which does not
ripen.
Close to Puno, on the south, are the famous silver-bearing mountains
of Cancharani and Laycaycota, to which Puno owes her existence: and to
the discovery and working of the Laycaycota mine in the middle of the
seventeenth century a very curious history is attached; which is always
talked of by the people of Puno as one of the principal events in the
annals of their city.
In about 1660 an exceedingly rich vein of silver had been discovered
on the hill of Laycaycota, by one José de Salcedo, which was called
the "Veta de la Candelaria." One account says that the secret of its
existence was revealed to Salcedo by an Indian girl. José de Salcedo,
and his brother Gaspar, continued to work this vein, and several others
which were opened on the Cancharani and Laycaycota hills; enormous
quantities of silver were extracted; and the fame of his enormous
wealth, and its source, attracted crowds of unruly people to the spot,
from the various towns of Peru.[135] Salcedo is said to have been
generous and open-handed in finding employment for applicants, but,
from some unexplained cause, tumults took place at the mines in 1665,
which, from first to last, are said to have caused 450 violent deaths.
The governor of the district, Don Angelo de Peredo, seems to have taken
part against the Salcedos, who retired to the village of Juliaca,
with a body of armed followers, in November, 1665. In March, 1666,
they attacked the governor's people who had possession of the mines;
Salcedo neglected repeated orders to come to Lima; and was accused of
having threatened to extort a general pardon from the Viceroy, at the
head of a thousand men. Salcedo himself, however, appears to have been
absent at Cuzco when the attack was made on the mines. These tumults,
accompanied by much bloodshed, continued until 1669, when the Viceroy
Count of Lemos came to Puno in person, and settled the question by
sending José and Gaspar de Salcedo to Lima, where José was tried,
condemned, and executed. Gaspar was detained a prisoner in Callao
castle.
It was the general impression at the time, and is so still at Puno,
that jealousy and envy of their riches occasioned the persecution of
these men; for not only were the charges against them most frivolous,
but the Count of Santistevan, the predecessor of the Count of Lemos,
had caused the Bishop of Arequipa to publish a general pardon of all
offences in 1666. The accusations against José Salcedo were that he
went about with armed men, took a seat next to the corregidor at
a bull-fight in Cuzco, and neglected to obey the order to come to
Lima.[136]
A petition was afterwards sent to Spain, representing that the Salcedos
were the victims of injustice, and not guilty of disloyalty; that the
Viceroy's proceedings were irregular; and that the heirs of the Count
of Lemos were bound to make reparation for the evils caused to these
deserving men. The petition also prayed that the President of the
Council of the Indies might not be allowed to decide the case, because
he was related to the Count of Lemos.[137] This petition seems to have
received favourable consideration; for I find that the son of José de
Salcedo was afterwards created Marquis de la Villa Rica de Puno, and
that he took a leading part in subsequent mining operations.
The most remarkable part of this story is that on the day of Salcedo's
death the mine became full of water, and the Viceroy was thus
disappointed in his expectation of succeeding to the wealth of which
he had deprived his victim. This curious coincidence made a great
impression on the Indians, which is not yet effaced; and they still
point out a small lake or pond that is said to cover the once rich vein
or "Veta de la Candelaria."
Salcedo's son, the Marquis of Villa Rica, attempted to reach his
father's source of wealth by cutting a horizontal adit or _socabon_ in
the side of the hill looking on lake Titicaca; and he is said to have
penetrated nearly 700 yards, and within sixty yards of his father's
perpendicular shaft; but his funds failed him, and he died mad. In
spite, however, of the filling up of the "Candelaria," great numbers
of other shafts were sunk, and much silver was extracted, both by the
Marquis, and by other speculators. A report, dated 1718, mentions as
many as forty-six shafts on the hills near Puno, which were then being
worked.[138] In 1740 a native company attempted to finish the _socabon_
which had been commenced by the Marquis, but their workmen were unable
to cut through the masses of porphyry, and, after vast expense, it was
abandoned a second time.
From 1775 to 1824 the mines near Puno yielded ores worth 1,786,000
marcs of silver, at seven to nine dollars the marc; the richest year
being 1802, when the yield was 52,000 marcs; but since 1816 it has been
steadily decreasing, and in 1824, the year after the expulsion of the
Spaniards, it had sunk very low. In 1826 the _manto_ mine, to which
the socabon leads, which was excavated by the Marquis of Villa Rica,
was granted to General O'Brien, a gallant and enthusiastic old Irish
hero of South American independence, who resumed the work, but without
any success. Mr. Begg, an enterprising English merchant, undertook the
completion of the _socabon_ in 1830. He imported expensive machinery
from England, employed an intelligent engineer named Patterson, and
continued to work the _manto_ mine until 1839. He built himself a house
furnished with every English comfort, and lived in very good style; but
the speculation was a failure, and he left the country a poor man in
1840, and died in Chile. After the departure of Mr. Begg, some Peruvian
speculators continued to work at the same mine, but without any energy;
and, at the time of M. de Castelnau's visit in 1845, only thirty
workmen were employed.[139] When Lieut. Gibbon, U.S.N., passed through
Puno in 1851, the _manto_ was still being worked, but at the time of my
visit it had been entirely abandoned since 1858.
It is one of the great evils arising from the political condition of
Peru since the independence that there is a complete want of confidence
in each other amongst the moneyed classes, and an absence, to a great
extent, of the spirit of enterprise; so that any combination on a
large scale for mining, or other purposes of a similar nature, is
almost impossible. Peru is still a very young country, and there is
reason to hope that this state of things will not continue; but now a
feeling of suspicion, added to a want of energy, prevents the formation
of native companies. Thus the _manto_ is abandoned, and the numerous
mines which once covered the hills of Cancharani and Laycaycota, and
actually created the city of Puno, which nestles at their feet, are
not worked. At present there is only one small mine at work, high up
on the hill of Cancharani, called the Cachi Vieja. Its proprietor, Don
Manuel Ferrandis, is an upright, intelligent, and most kind-hearted old
gentleman, who has had much experience in mining operations; and on the
29th of March he took me to visit the abandoned _manto_, and his own
works at Cachi Vieja.
About two miles south of Puno is the establishment built by Mr.
Begg, at the foot of the Laycaycota mountain, and facing the lake.
The buildings stand round a long courtyard, containing four trees of
the _oliva silvestre_, probably, as the only trees in the country,
once carefully tended by the former English residents. There is a
steam-engine which turns a large stone wheel, twelve feet in diameter,
for grinding the ores; and the quicksilver was separated by the heat of
fires of llama-dung and _tola_,[140] the only fuel to be had. In the
house there were papered rooms, fire-grates, and English conveniences,
now all in ruins, and the rooms used as stables for donkeys. At a short
distance from Mr. Begg's ruined house, and a little higher up the
mountain, is the entrance to the famous "_Socabon de Vera Cruz_" of the
_manto_ mine, commenced by the Marquis of Villa Rica, and finished by
Mr. Begg. The "_socabon_" penetrates into the mountain, in a generally
south-west direction, for a distance of a mile and a quarter; the first
900 yards having a depth of some feet of water, which is dammed up
at a little distance outside the entrance. This part of the gallery
is navigated by an iron canoe about a foot and a half wide; but the
canal is so narrow that the canoe frequently grates on both sides at
once against the rocks. The roof of the excavation, too, is very low,
and several times we actually had to crouch down in the bottom of the
canoe, to avoid knocking our heads. Thus we penetrated into the bowels
of the earth by this subterranean navigation, with an Indian holding
a burning torch in the bows. From the entrance, for about 300 yards,
the excavation traverses a mass of grey porphyry. In the 900 yards of
navigation there are six locks; and when the water terminates, the
gallery continues for a hundred yards, where there is an iron tramway
laid down. The metal was dragged down to the head of navigation in
cars, by two old mules, one of which had not seen daylight for fifteen
years when they ceased to work the mine. At the point where the tramway
comes to an end, the gallery still continues for 1200 yards; but this
part is very narrow and tortuous, and the metal was carried down to
the cars on the backs of Indians. The rock at the extreme end of the
excavation is a very hard green porphyry, with quartz and veins of
silver ore.
The Cachi Vieja works are high up on the Laycaycota hill, and not far
from the famous "Veta de la Candelaria." The mouth of the shaft is in a
building opening on a courtyard, where women were sorting the ores in
small heaps. The most abundant ore is called _brosa_, containing forty
marcs of silver in the cajon of fifty quintals (cwts.); other ores are
called _rosicler_, _pavonado_, and _polvarilla_. The _rosicler_, or
ruby silver, is a most beautiful rose-coloured mineral, containing a
considerable quantity of silver.[141]
Besides Cachi Vieja in the immediate vicinity of Puno, there are some
very productive silver-mines at San Antonio de Esquilache, twenty miles
south-west of that town, which have been worked since 1847 by Don
Manuel Costas, one of the most influential citizens of Puno, and my
host during my stay in that city.
Wool and silver are the great staple products of the department of
Puno; the whole value of exported articles being about 1,200,000
dollars.[142] The population is rather under 300,000 souls; that of
the town of Puno 9000.[143] Upwards of 1,500,000 dollars come into the
department yearly, either in payments for wool, or in salaries for
officials, without counting the expenditure for the troops; and it is
calculated that more than half this sum eventually finds its way into
the hands of the Indians, who bury it. Thus, in considering the mineral
wealth of Peru, the enormous quantities of coined money, and vases or
other articles made of the precious metals, which have been buried
by the Indians, must be taken into consideration; for this practice
has been going on since the time of the Incas. Now that the currency
consists almost entirely of the debased half-dollars of Bolivia, if
a Spanish dollar or any other good coin is accidently received by an
Indian, it is immediately buried.
The principal people in Puno, during my visit, were General San Roman,
in command of the army of the South, an old man with the face and head
of a pure Indian, and plenty of white hair brushed off his forehead,
who has been mixed up in all the wars since 1822, and from whom I
received much information respecting the Indian rebellion of Tupac
Amaru in 1780, and of Pumacagua in 1815; Señor Garces, the Prefect; Don
Juan Francisco Oviedo; Don Manuel Costas; and Don Manuel Ferrandis,
the proprietor of the mine on the Laycaycota hill. Every evening there
was a party assembled at the house of the latter to drink coffee,
and talk over the news of the day. On these occasions, amongst other
topics of conversation, the possibility of forming a company for the
navigation of lake Titicaca was frequently discussed. Costas had first
been struck by the immense good that steam navigation on the lake would
bring to the department of Puno in 1840, and in 1846 he purchased a
small steamer called the 'Titicaca,' and had her sent out in pieces.
He sold her to the Government, on condition that they would defray the
expense of sending her up to the lake; but this was never done. It is
considered that any steamers which may hereafter be ordered for this
purpose should be about forty tons, drawing four and a half feet, with
paddles (as a screw would inevitably foul amongst the rushes), and
accommodation for passengers on deck. They would take all the products
of the Bolivian forests, bark, timber, chocolate, coca, fruit, and
arnotto, to Puno; European manufactured goods, sugar of Abancay, and
aguardiente of the coast, from Puno to Bolivia; provisions and traffic
of all kinds amongst the Indians of the shores; and copper of Coracora
to Puno. Timber in vast quantities might be felled in the forests of
Caravaya, and floated down the rivers of Azangaro and Ramiz during the
rainy season, which, with the coal on the island of Soto, would furnish
supplies of fuel. Markets and easy means of communication having been
formed, the trade would rapidly increase on all sides. The face of
the country would be entirely changed; the people, finding new wants,
would become more civilised; and Puno, instead of a city with empty
silent streets, and half a dozen balsas at its anchorage, would be a
flourishing and busy port.[144] These bright prospects, however, will
require time, and a total change in the political condition of Peru,
for their realization in a somewhat distant future.
It is also a very important question whether larches, firs, and
birch-trees might not be naturalized in the more sheltered ravines
of these lofty treeless regions; where large plantations might be
formed for the supply of timber and fuel. The Indians are now entirely
dependent, for the framework of their roofs, on the crooked poles of
the _queñua_ tree (_Polylepis tomentella_); and for fuel on llama's
dung and the _tola_ shrubs (_Baccharis_). The winters, from May to
September, are not nearly so cold as in Scotland, though very dry;
and, during the summer or rainy season, though it is cold, there is
plenty of moisture. The introduction of these plantations would change
the whole face of the country, and the introducer would confer an
inestimable blessing on the inhabitants.
I remained for some time at Puno, in order to collect information,
and come to a determination respecting the best course to pursue in
the performance of the service on which I was employed. The supply of
the bark of _Chinchona Calisaya_ trees is now entirely procured from
the forests of Munecas, Apollobamba, Yuracares, Larecaja, Inquisivi,
Ayopaya, and the _yungus_ of La Paz in Bolivia; but I found that the
difficulties in the way of making a collection of plants and seeds in
these districts would be very great, and it afterwards turned out that
these difficulties would have been insurmountable. As a considerable
part of the revenue of Bolivia is derived from the bark trade, which is
not the case in Peru, the Bolivians are exceedingly jealous of their
monopoly; and the nature of my mission was already suspected. Moreover
there was an imminent prospect of a war between Peru and Bolivia; a
large army was massed in three divisions--at Puno under General San
Roman, at Vilque under Beltran, and at Lampa under Frisancho; and, as
soon as hostilities commenced, it would have been next to impossible
for a private person to preserve his mules from seizure. This war
did not actually take place, but Linares, the President of Bolivia,
issued a decree on May 14th prohibiting all traffic, or the passage
of travellers, from one country to the other;[145] a decree which was
strictly enforced, and which would have rendered it impracticable at
that time to have conveyed myself and companion, with laden mules, from
Bolivia to the coast, without long delays and detentions. One of the
pretexts for this threatened war is perhaps the most extraordinary
that has ever been alleged in modern times; namely, that the Bolivian
Government persisted in coining and deluging Peru with debased
half-dollars. A strange way of settling a financial difficulty!
While these objections weighed against an attempt to collect plants
in the forests of Bolivia, I found that, with regard to the chinchona
forests of the Peruvian province of Caravaya, on the frontier of Peru
and Bolivia, the facilities for such an enterprise would be much
greater. I had reason to believe, though I afterwards found myself in
error, that, as there was no bark trade in Peru of any importance,[146]
no jealousy would be felt at the nature of my mission. Any hostile
proceedings on the Bolivian frontier would not materially affect the
route between the Caravaya forests and the coast; and, above all,
Caravaya is much nearer and more accessible, as regards an available
seaport, than any part of the chinchona forests of Bolivia. This latter
point was of the very greatest importance, because success depended
chiefly on the rapidity with which the plants could be conveyed
across the frozen plains of the cordilleras. I knew from Dr. Weddell
that, though the bark trade from Caravaya has now ceased, and bark
from that district is of no market value, owing to a foolish habit
of adulteration amongst speculators in former times, yet that young
plants, and trees bearing fruit, of the _Chinchona Calisaya_, and other
valuable species, were abundant in the forests of that province, as far
north as the valley of Sandia.
I, therefore, after much anxious consideration, determined to proceed
direct from Puno to the forests of Caravaya.
During my stay at Puno I had opportunities of examining some
interesting ruins, and of collecting information respecting the Indian
population of Peru, especially with regard to the great insurrections
of Tupac Amaru and Pumacagua in 1780 and 1815. Much of this information
is quite new; and I, therefore, trust that a description of ancient
ruins near Puno, and an account of some of the most stirring events
connected with the Indians since the Spanish conquest, may prove of
sufficient general interest to justify a halt on the road to the
chinchona forests, and a brief digression from the principal subject of
the present work.
[Illustration: BALSA ON LAKE TITICACA. See page 95]