State of Lima on the Arrival of the Chilean Squadron....Arrival of
at Huacho....At Supe....Chilean Naval Force, how composed....
Capture of the Maria Isabel by Commodore Blanco....Arrival of Lord
Cochrane....Appointed Admiral....Leaves Valparaiso....Arrives at
Callao, Huacho, Barranca, Huambacho....Proclamation of Cochrane,
San Martin, and O'Higgins....Description of Huambacho....Paita
taken....Proceed to Valparaiso....Arrival....Description of....
Road from Valparaiso to Santiago.
The arrival of the Chilean squadron on the coast of Peru produced at
once a dread that this part of South America would become the theatre of
war, and that retaliating fate would inflict on this part of the
colonies all the distresses which had been so universally spread among
the others: it was feared, that the calamities produced by invasion
would now be wreaked on it in return for those that had been experienced
in the provinces of Upper Peru, Quito and Chile. War was at the very
door, and the system of offence had almost rendered that of defence
nugatory. It was believed that an army accompanied the squadron; and
the patriots of Lima busied themselves in surmising which would be the
point of debarkation. On Wednesday, the third of March, a rumour arrived
at the capital, that the land forces would debark at Ancon, five leagues
to the northward of Lima; at midnight the report of rockets was heard in
the large street in the suburbs of San Lasaro, called Malambo; this was
supposed by the patriots to be a signal for reunion; and by the
royalists, of the landing of the army: upwards of a thousand of the
former immediately repaired to Malambo, and so completely filled the
street, that the cavalry sent by the government could not pass the mob,
and they retired to the bridge: both parties were anxiously inquiring
the cause of the reports, and both retired without obtaining any
satisfactory information: had the squadron landed five hundred more, and
marched to the city, there is not the least doubt but that with the
assistance of the native inhabitants, they would have entered and taken
possession of Santa Catalina and the different barracks, as the number
of Spanish troops at that time did not exceed three hundred.
On the 29th of March, part of the squadron anchored in the bay of
Huacho, for the purpose of obtaining news from the patriots on shore,
and also of landing two spies, sent down by the Chilean government, as
well as for the distribution of proclamations and other papers. Lord
Cochrane here received the intelligence, that a quantity of money,
belonging to the Phillipine company, had been sent down to Huarmey to be
embarked in the North American schooner Macedonia, and that another
considerable sum was on the road to the same destination; and as the
port of the Barranca was better calculated for the purpose of
intercepting the treasure than that of Huacho, the O'Higgins and the
brig Galvarino dropped down to it, and a party of marines were sent
ashore, and took the money in the river of the Barranca before the
muleteers could cross it. This was effected without any opposition from
the Spanish soldiers that were sent to protect it as a guard. Mr.
Eliphalet Smith, of the United States, at first claimed the money; but
he afterwards signed a document which specified the names of its true
owners; this was also corroborated by several documents which Mr. Smith
delivered to his lordship.
During the few days that the Chilean vessels of war remained at Huacho,
the indians were at first allowed by the governor to take down to the
beach their fruit and vegetables, and sell to them; but the commandant
of the county militia having collected about two hundred of his troops,
ordered the Indians to desist, and in the most insolent manner commanded
Lord Cochrane to depart, unless he wished to be driven out of the port.
On receiving this message his lordship immediately ordered the marines
to land and march to Huaura, which was done, and the town taken: indeed
the troops never attempted to defend it, but fled with their chief at
their head: the property belonging to the government at the custom house
and the _estanco_ of tobacco were taken on board: no private property
was touched. After this the trade with the indians was resumed; however,
on the departure of the squadron, five young indians were apprehended,
tried by a court martial, without their even having been soldiers; and,
contrary to the laws of the country, they were sentenced to death and
shot, without any other reason being assigned to their
protector-general, Manco Yupanqui, in Lima, than that it was necessary
to set such an example, because it might deter others from having any
communication with the insurgents.
Such were the feelings of the people in this part of Peru, that the
inhabitants of the village, called Supe, deposed the alcalde, who was a
Spaniard, and declared themselves independent; but after the departure
of the squadron, the principal ringleaders, Villanueva and Aranda,
retired to a farm in the interior, where they bade defiance to the
Viceroy and his powers. These two, with Reyes, a respectable farmer,
Franco, Requena, a priest, and myself, were summoned to a court martial;
but having embarked in the flag ship, we could not appear, in
consequence of which we were sentenced to death, declared contumacious,
and all justices were authorized to apprehend any or all of us, and put
the sentence into immediate execution.
Before I proceed with the operations of the Chilean squadron, I shall
give some account of its origin, and the arrival of Lord Cochrane to
take the command.
The brig Pueyrredon of fourteen guns was the first vessel of war that
the state possessed: the brig Araucana of sixteen, and the sloop
Chacabuco of twenty-two, were afterwards purchased. Captain Guise
brought out the brig Galvarino of eighteen guns, formerly in the British
service, and sold it to the government; the San Martin of sixty-four
guns, and the Lantaro of forty-four, were two East Indiamen, purchased
by the state, and converted into vessels of war. When Chile was
possessed of this force, the news arrived of the sailing of the
expedition from Cadiz, under the convoy of the Maria Isabel, and having
obtained possession of the orders given to the captains of the
transports from the Trinidad that entered Buenos Ayres, and of their
rendezvous in the Pacific, Don Manuel Blanco was appointed to command
the Chilean vessels of war, San Martin, flag ship, Captain Wilkinson,
commander; Lantaro, Captain Worster; and the Araucana: they had the good
luck to take the frigate, Maria Isabel in the bay of Talcahuano on the
twenty-eighth of October, 1818, and four of the transports off the bay
and at the island of Santa Maria. On the seventeenth of November the
victorious Blanco entered Valparaiso with his prizes, amid
manifestations of joy in this port. The government of Chile, to
commemorate the action, ordered a badge of honour to be presented to
Commodore Blanco and each of his officers: this was a scutcheon of a
pale green colour, having a trident in the centre, with the motto, "this
first essay gave to Chile the dominion of the Pacific"--_este primer
ensayo dió a Chile el dominio del Pacifico_.
The naval force of Chile having a native as commander in chief, and the
captains, officers, and crews composed principally of foreigners, must
of course have been conducted in a very irregular manner; and as Don
Manuel Blanco had never served in a situation higher than that of an
ensign, alferes, in the Spanish navy, it could not be expected that he
was competent to fill that of a commander in chief, and to conduct with
either honour to himself or profit to his country the operations of a
body composed of such discordant materials as the squadron of Chile then
was. It must be recollected, notwithstanding, that he added a page of
glory to the annals of South American naval triumphs by the capture of
the Maria Isabel of forty-eight guns, and part of her convoy.
For the future success of the Chilean navy, the welfare of the state,
the progress of independence, and the consummation of South American
emancipation, LORD COCHRANE arrived at Valparaiso, on the twenty-eighth
of November, 1818. The known valour of this chief, his love of rational
liberty, and the voluntary sacrifice which he had made by accepting a
command in the new world, had reached Chile before the hero himself, and
his arrival was hailed with every demonstration of jubilee by the
natives. Before his arrival, however, Captain Spry, an Englishman, and
Captain Worster, a North American, both in the Chilean service, had
been very loud in declaiming against him; without alleging any other
reason, than that it was quite contrary to all republican principles to
allow a "nobleman" to retain his title in the service; but the true
motive was too visible to escape the most blunted apprehension.
Commodore Blanco had then the command of the squadron, and these
gentlemen had assured themselves that they could controul him just as
they chose, on account of his indifferent knowledge of his duties as
commander in chief, and especially as he had to manage British seamen.
This with all possible delicacy had been mentioned to Blanco, together
with many whispers detrimental to the character of Lord Cochrane. On the
arrival of his lordship, Commodore Blanco was one of the first to hail
him as the preserver of the liberties of his country, and to offer his
services under the command of his lordship; and thus the patriotic
Chilean smothered dissention in the bud, and left its cultivators to
feel the rankling of those thorns which they themselves had planted.
A few days after the arrival of Lord Cochrane he received from the
government of Chile his commission as Vice-admiral of Chile, Admiral and
Commander in Chief of the naval forces of the Republic; and on the
twenty-second of December he hoisted his flag at the main of the
ex-Maria Isabel, now the O'Higgins, which flag Chile can exultingly say,
was never hauled down until the last Spanish flag in the Pacific had
acknowledged its empire, and either directly or indirectly struck to it.
At the close, when the fleet had finished its career of glory, it was
lowered by the same individual who hoisted it; it dropped like the sun
in the west, while the descendants of the Incas blessed it, for the
benefits they had received, with songs of heartfelt gratitude.
On the sixteenth of January, 1819, Lord Cochrane left the port of
Valparaiso on board the O'Higgins, Captain Forster, with the San Martin
bearing the flag of Rear-admiral Blanco, Captain Wilkinson, the Lantaro,
Captain Guise, and the Galvarino, Captain Spry; the Chacabuco, Captain
Carter, followed, but a mutiny taking place on board, he entered
Coquimbo, where the principal mutineers were landed, sentenced by a drum
head court martial, and shot.
Lord Cochrane chose the first day of the carnival for his first entrance
into the bay of Callao, suspecting that the whole of the inhabitants
would be engaged in the follies of the season--but he was deceived. The
Viceroy Pesuela had chosen that day for one of his visits to Callao,
and was sailing about the bay in the brig of war Pesuela; when the
Chilean squadron appeared off the headland of San Lorenzo, the captain
at first mistook the Chilean vessels for Spanish merchantmen expected
from Europe; however, fortunately for himself and the party, he
immediately came to an anchor under the batteries. The circumstance of
the visit of the Viceroy had caused the whole of the military force to
be under arms, and the whole of the batteries were manned. A thick fog
coming on, the San Martin, Lantaro, and Galvarino, lost sight of the
flag ship; however, without waiting for them, the admiral stood close in
under the forts, and dropped his anchor; a very brisk cannonading
immediately commenced, and the dead calm that followed obliged his
lordship to remain alone nearly two hours, under the continued
cannonading from ashore, besides a brisk fire from the two Spanish
frigates Esmeralda and Vengansa, brigs Pesuela and Maypu, and seven
gun-boats. As soon as the breeze sprang up, the O'Higgins stood out,
having sustained very little damage either in her hull or rigging, and
without a single person on board having been killed. The north corner of
the Real Felipe was considerably shattered by the shot from the
O'Higgins, and thirteen persons were killed on shore.
His lordship next entered into a correspondence with the Viceroy,
concerning the treatment which the prisoners of war (Chileans and Buenos
Ayreans) had received, and were actually receiving in the Casas Matas of
Callao; the Viceroy denied that they had received any ill treatment,
asserted that they were considered as prisoners of war, although rebels,
and traitors to their king, and concluded by expressing his surprise,
that a nobleman of Great Britain should so far have forgotten his
dignity, as to head a gang of traitors against their legitimate
sovereign, and his lawfully constituted authorities. To this his
lordship replied by saying, that the glory of every Englishman was his
freedom, and that this had entitled him to choose to command the vessels
of war of a free country, in preference to that of a nation of slaves--a
command which had been offered to him by the Duke de San Carlos in the
name of his master, Ferdinand VII.
The following proclamations were distributed along the coasts of Peru,
and sent also to the Viceroy.
Lord Cochrane to the inhabitants of Lima, and other towns of Peru:
COMPATRIOTS! I flatter myself, that ere long I shall address you more
cordially with this epithet. The repeated echoes of liberty in South
America have been heard with pleasure in every part of enlightened
Europe, and more particularly in Great Britain; I, not being able to
resist the desire of joining in the defence of a cause that was
interesting to all mankind, the felicity of half the new world to
thousands of generations, have determined to take an active part in it.
The republic of Chile has confided to me the command of her naval
forces. To these the dominion of the Pacific must be consigned; by their
co-operation your chains of oppression must be broken. Doubt not but
that the day is at hand, on which, with the annihilation of despotism,
and the infamous condition of colonists which now degrades you, you will
rise to fill the rank of a free nation; that august title to which your
population, your riches, your geographical position in the world, and
the course of events naturally call you. But it is your duty to
co-operate in preparing for this success, to remove obstacles, and to
pursue the path to glory: under the assurance that you will receive the
most efficacious assistance from the government of Chile, and your true
friend,
COCHRANE.
Don Jose de San Martin, to the soldiers of the army of Lima:
Soldiers of the army of Lima!--The object of my march towards the
capital of Peru is to establish an eternal reconciliation for the
happiness of all. Nine years of horror have inundated America with blood
and tears. You have been oppressed and fatigued with the evils of war,
undertaken by the proud agents of Spain, to satisfy their own passions,
and not for the good of the nation. The opinions and the arms of this
part of the world will soon be presented before Lima, to put an end to
so many misfortunes. You will only prolong the sterile sacrifice, if,
blind to the irresistible force of the general will, you attempt to
support so rash an enterprize. Each of you has belonged to the cause of
the people; each of you belongs to the cause of humanity; the duties of
a soldier cannot alter those of nature. The soldiers of the Patria, as
faithful in the path of honour as in that of victory, are terrible only
to the enemies of liberty. They set a higher price on the value of a
victory, more from the injustice which it prevents, than for the glory
they acquire. Fly then from the ignominy of perishing with your
detestable tyrants. In the ranks of your brother patriots you will find
the path to honour, to felicity and peace. A general who has never
asserted a falsehood ensures this to you.--Head quarters, Santiago de
Chile, 30th December, 1818.
Jose de San Martin.
The Supreme Director of Chile, to the inhabitants of Peru:
Liberty, the daughter of Heaven, is about to descend on your fertile
regions; under her shade you will occupy among the nations of the globe
that high rank which awaits your opulence. The Chilean squadron, now in
sight on your coasts, is the precursor of the great expedition destined
to establish your independence. The moment desired by all generous
hearts approaches. The territory of Chile, and her adjacent islands are
free from the yoke of the oppressor. Our naval forces may compete with
those of Spain, and destroy her commerce; in them you will find a firm
support.
It will be an inexplicable enigma to posterity, that enlightened Lima,
far from aiding the progress of Columbian liberty, shall endeavour to
paralyze the generous efforts of her brothers, and deprive them of the
enjoyment of their imprescriptible rights. The time is arrived for you
to wash out the stain, and in which to revenge the innumerable insults
you have received from the hand of despotism, as the reward of your
blindness. Fix your eyes on the havoc occasioned by the tyrants in your
delightful country; at the sight of them engraved in its depopulation,
want of industry, monopoly and oppression; observe the insignificancy
under which you have so long groaned; fly to arms, and destroy in your
just indignation the standard of that despotism which oppresses you, and
you will then soon arrive at the summit of prosperity.
Believe not that we wish to treat you as a conquered country; such an
idea never had existence except in the heads of our enemies--of your
common oppressors; we only aspire to see you free and happy. You[4]
shall establish your own government, selecting that which is most
analagous to your customs, situation, and inclination; you shall be your
own legislators, and of course you will constitute a nation as free and
independent as we are.
Peruvians! why do you hesitate? Hasten to break your chains; come and
sign on the tombs of Tupac Amaru and Pumacachua, the illustrious martyrs
of liberty, the contract that must ensure _your_ independence, and _our_
everlasting friendship.
Bernardo O'Higgins.
On the twenty-sixth a Spanish merchant ship, called la Victoria, laden
with cedar planks and horses, from Chiloe, was taken by the San Martin,
and on the twenty-eighth the attack was made on Callao, and two of the
gun-boats were taken, after which his lordship dropped down to Huacho,
and ordered rear admiral Blanco to continue in the blockade of Callao
with the San Martin and Lantaro, and any other vessels that might arrive
from Chile; but Blanco, after remaining a few days, raised the blockade,
and sailed to Valparaiso, where he was immediately placed under an
arrest by the government until the arrival of the admiral, when he was
tried by a court martial for a dereliction of duty, but acquitted. Lord
Cochrane proceeded from Huacho to Barranca, and thence to Huarmey and
Huambacho, where he found a French brig that had received on board part
of the money belonging to the Phillipine company, and which the captain
immediately delivered up.
The bay of Huambacho, about fifteen miles to the southward of Santa, is
one of the most convenient on the western shores of America: it is
completely land-locked: the anchorage is capital, and the landing is
very good: a small river of excellent water enters the bay, and in the
valley abundance of fire-wood may be procured. This valley formerly
belonged to the ex-Jesuits; but on account of the decrease of water in
the river at certain periods of the year, there not being sufficient for
the ordinary purposes of irrigation, the government has never yet found
a purchaser for it.
The soil is sandy, with a mixture of vegetable mould; but like the
generality of the lands cultivated in Peru it is extremely productive
when irrigated. This is evinced at the small indian hamlet of Huambacho,
about two leagues from the sea, and it would doubtlessly be a very fit
situation for a cotton plantation, which does not require so much water
as the sugar-cane or lucern. The hills that surround the valley are
covered with the remains of houses belonging to the indians before the
conquest; great numbers of huacas are found here, and probably much
treasure is buried in them.
Lord Cochrane, after the O'Higgins and Galvarino had wooded and
watered, proceeded down the coast to Paita, where having anchored, he
sent a flag of truce on shore, by Don Andres de los Reyes, a Peruvian,
who embarked at la Barranca, stating that the town and inhabitants
should receive no injury, and that nothing but the treasures belonging
to the government should be taken, as had already happened at Huaura. He
requested that no resistance should be made, as it would be unavailing,
and only subject the town to the destructive effects of war. The answer
was, that the town and the lives and property of the inhabitants
belonged to the king, and that all should be sacrificed in defence of
the Spanish flag. The same individual was sent a second time, to request
that the military force would not expose the town and its inhabitants;
but instead of receiving the message they fired on the flag, and opened
their battery on the Galvarino. This insult was immediately resented;
the marines were landed, and soon drove the Spaniards from the battery
and the town, which was then pillaged; the artillery was embarked, and
the fort blown up. The O'Higgins and Galvarino went to the port of
Barranca, and took some cattle, sugar, and rum from the farm of San
Nicholas, belonging to Don Manuel Garcia, a Spaniard. It was the
constant practice of Lord Cochrane to quarter on the common enemy, and
nothing was ever taken from a native by force, or without paying for it.
Hence we proceeded to Callao, and thence to Valparaiso, where we arrived
on the fifteenth of June.
Valparaiso, situate in latitude 33° 1´ 45´´ S., and longitude 71° 30´
56´´ west of Greenwich, is the principal port in Chile. The natives
flatter themselves, that this name was given to the port by the first
Spaniards who visited it, and that it is a syncope of Valle del Paraiso,
valley of Paradise; but it is equally possible, that the Spaniards, who
had received exaggerated accounts of the country, comparing it to
Paradise, on their first approaching this part of the coast, might have
exclaimed, valde Paraiso! vain Paradise! which designation its
appearance at present would better justify. The bay is of a semicircular
form, surrounded by very steep hills, which rise abruptly almost from
the edge of the water, particularly to the southward and about half of
the range to the eastward; the other half forms a kind of recess, and
the hills are not so perpendicular. During the winter season they are
covered with grass, with some stunted trees and bushes, such as molles,
myrtles, espino, and maytenes; but the soil being a red clay, the
verdure soon disappears when the summer sun begins to shine on them and
the rain ceases to fall.
The principal part of the town is built between the cliffs and the sea,
forming a row of houses, or rather shops; a few good houses stand also
in a narrow street, but they cannot be seen from the bay, because a row
of low houses with their backs to the sea prevent the prospect. The
greater number of the inhabitants of this part of the town, called the
port, to distinguish it from the suburbs, called the Almendral, reside
in the ravines of San Francisco, San Augustin and San Antonio, where the
houses rise one above another, forming a species of amphitheatre; in
many of them a person may sit in his parlour, and look over the roof of
his neighbour's house; at night the appearance of this part of the town
is pleasing, the lights being scattered about the hills in every
direction. The Almendral, or suburbs, stands in a kind of recess in the
hills, on a sandy plain, and most probably was in times past a part of
the bay of Valparaiso; indeed it is now often inundated by the spring
tides. Some regularity begins to be adopted here in the formation of
streets, and some of the houses are neat. At the bottom of the Almendral
there is a small rivulet.
Valparaiso is defended by a fort on the south side of the harbour, one
at the residence of the governor, and one on the north side of the bay:
a citadel on the hill behind the governor's palace on an extensive scale
is and will perhaps remain unfinished. The places of worship are the
parish church, the conventuals of San Francisco, San Augstin, La Merced
(in the Almendral) Santo Domingo, and the hospital chapel of San Juan de
Dios. Some of the principal houses are built of stone, but the greater
part are of adoves; all of them are covered with tiles, and those that
have an upper story have a balcony in front.
Since the revolution many English conveniences and luxuries in dress and
furniture, as well as improvements in the manners and customs of the
inhabitants, have been adopted, and almost any thing _a la Inglesa_
meets with approbation.
The market of Valparaiso is well supplied with meat, poultry, fish,
bread, fruit, and vegetables at very moderate prices and of good
quality. The climate is agreeable except when the strong winds prevail.
In the months of June and July the winds from the northward are at times
very heavy; on this account the anchorage is insecure, because the bay
is not sheltered in that quarter.
From the time of the discovery to the year 1810 this port was only
visited by vessels from Lima, bringing sugar, salt, tobacco, a small
quantity of European manufactured goods, and some other articles of
minor importance; shipping in return wheat, charqui, dried fruits, and
other produce of Chile and Peru. The population amounted to about five
thousand souls; the commerce was in the hands of four or five merchants,
Spaniards, and the annual duties at the custom-house amounted to about
twenty-five thousand dollars. After the victory obtained by the Chileans
at Chacabuco almost two-thirds of the population of Valparaiso abandoned
their homes, or were forced on board Spanish vessels and taken to Peru,
and the town was nearly depopulated; but since the revolution it has
been constantly increasing in size, population, and riches. In 1822 it
contained about fifteen thousand souls, three thousand of whom were
foreigners. From 1817 to 1822 upwards of two hundred houses were built;
at the latter date there were thirty-one established wholesale
merchants, besides an incalculable increase of retail dealers: there
were also twenty-six inns, coffee-houses, &c. Besides the vessels of war
belonging to the state, forty-one traders bear the national flag; and
the bay, formerly empty more than half the year, contains on an average
fifty foreign vessels either of war or commerce during the whole year.
The hospital of San Juan de Dios has been transferred from the centre of
the town to the suburbs, and a Lancasterian school is established in the
old building.
A general cemetery for catholics is building by subscription, and
upwards of two thousand dollars have been collected for another for the
dissenters. As a proof of the increase of trade and speculation, a daily
post is established between the port and the capital.
DOLLARS.
The receipts at the custom-house in
1809, Chile being then a Spanish
colony, were 26738½
Do. in 1821, being a free port 464387¾
Number of vessels that entered and left
Valparaiso in 1809, all Spanish 13
Do. that entered and cleared out in 1821 142
That is:--Vessels of war 21
of commerce 121
It is quite unnecessary to dwell on the advantages of commerce to any
nation; but here the result is peculiarly apparent, not only among the
higher and middle classes, but among the lowest: the peasant who at the
time of my residence in Chile, 1803, if possessed of a dollar, would
bore a hole through it, and hang it to his rosary--the same peasant can
now jingle his doubloons in his pocket. Those who in 1803 wore only the
coarsest clothing, of their own manufacture, are now dressed in European
linens, cottons, and woollens; those who were ashamed to present
themselves to a stranger or who dared not even speak to a master, now
present themselves with confidence, as if conscious of the importance of
their civil liberty; they boast too of Christian patriotism, generosity,
and valour. The monopolizing Spanish merchants who purchased the wheat
and other produce before it was ready for market at almost any price,
especially if the owner were necessitated, or who lent the farmer
money, to be paid in produce at his own price--such merchants have
disappeared, and a regular market is substituted, where the natives of
every class enjoy an opportunity of speculating and of reaping the
advantages of experience. Labourers of every class have a choice of work
and of masters, and this secures to them a just remuneration for their
labour. The higher and middling classes now know their importance as
citizens of a free and independent country, in the prosperity of which
they are interested, because they are aware, that with it their personal
prosperity is connected; they can express and discuss their political
opinions, and in short, from the lowest order of colonial vassals they
have become the subjects of an elective government and citizens of the
world.
The road from Valparaiso to the capital, Santiago, crosses the first
range of mountains at the northern extremity of the Almendral, and after
passing over very uneven ground for about five leagues, a dismal looking
plain presents itself; the grass is entirely parched in summer, and in
winter the water forms itself into several small lakes or swamps; and
scarcely a tree is to be seen in the vicinity. A small number of horned
cattle is fed, but the prospect is cold and dreary. After crossing this
plain more uneven ground presents itself, but being covered with grass,
brushwood, and trees, forming several small ravines, quebradas, with a
few cottages straggling in different directions, the country appears
beautifully romantic.
The plain of Casa Blanca next presents itself, having the town of the
same name nearly in the centre.[5] The plain is perfectly level, about
two leagues broad, and two and a half long; it has the appearance of
having been at some remote period a large lake, but as the race of
Promaucian indians, who inhabited this part of the country before the
conquest, has become extinct, all oral traditions have been extinguished
with them. The soil is a hard clay, scantily covered with grass, and the
only trees are a considerable number of espinos. The town contains about
two thousand inhabitants, who are generally employed in the cultivation
of the surrounding farms. Having slept here I proceeded on the following
day to Bustamante, passing the cuesta de Prado, and the small town and
river of Curucavé. Some parts of the road are remarkably picturesque; in
the ravines or valleys the view of the mountain scenery is grand; from
the mountains the prospect of the ravines and valleys, as well as the
distant view of the snow-topped Andes, is magnificent. The myrtle, of
three or four varieties, the different species of cactus, the arrayan,
the peumos, the boldos, and the beautifully drooping mayten adorn the
sides of the ravines, offering a shade and rich pasture, on which a
considerable number of horned cattle, horses, and mules, are seen
feeding.
Bustamante is a post house, where travellers often pass a night when on
their journey to or from the capital; the accommodations are
indifferent, but a few years ago nothing of the kind existed: it must
therefore be considered an improvement. After leaving Bustamante the
road gradually ascends, and at the distance of about a league from the
house the cuesta de Zapata commences. From the top of this eminence the
view of the Andes is most enchanting; the snow-covered mountains rise
majestically, one range behind another, until their summits are lost in
the clouds, or, when the sky is clear, till they are most exactly
defined in the azure vault of heaven. When nearly at the foot of the
cuesta, the city of Santiago, the capital of Chile, makes its
appearance; it is situated in a large plain, having a small rocky
mountain, called Santa Lucia, almost in the centre of which is a small
battery.
The excellent road from Valparaiso to Santiago was made by the order and
under the direction of Don Ambrose Higgins, when president of Chile.
Before the formation of this road all goods were carried to and from the
capital or the port on the backs of mules, but the greater part is now
conveyed in heavy carts, _carretas_, drawn by two or three yokes of
oxen. A coach was established in 1820 by Mr. Moss, a North American; it
went from Valparaiso to Santiago, and returned twice a week. The
distance is thirty leagues.
FOOTNOTES:
[4] From the very first proclamation this promise was made to the
Peruvians; but we shall soon see how it was fulfilled by San Martin.
[5] This town was completely destroyed by the earthquake in 1823.