“_The City of the Kings_”
About 1500 miles down the coast from Panama lies Callao, the principal
port of Peru, a large and busy town, by far the most imposing upon the
seaboard of that country. The first town, which stood about a mile from
the present one, was destroyed by an unusually violent earthquake shock
in 1746. The port of to-day is fast adopting modern improvements, and
most of the old mud and wickerwork houses have been replaced by
substantial modern dwellings, and the docks and shipping facilities have
grown to meet the increasing needs of the country. An electric tramway
line connects Callao with the capital, running over a beautiful, richly
cultivated plain. The road is wide and straight, and lined on either
side with walls constructed with great adobe bricks. Cattle and
husbandmen populate the fields, which are irrigated by many streams. “La
Ciudad de las Reyes” was the name bestowed by Pizarro on the city that
is to-day called “Lima,” a corruption of the Indian word “Rimac,” the
name of the river upon which the capital stands. Lima retains more than
any other city in Spanish America the subtle melancholy dignity so
characteristic of the towns of Andalusia. The whole atmosphere is
Spanish, and even the influence which the indigenous art of the
conquered race had upon most of the architecture that arose in other
cities after the conquest failed to make itself felt in “La Ciudad de
las Reyes.” Time has not wrought many changes in the city, and it still
preserves its ancient aspect. Even the architects of new buildings that
have arisen have not been able to escape entirely from the old
traditions, and they adopt timidly the cosmopolitan styles which have
been so largely made use of in such cities as Valparaiso, Buenos Ayres,
Rio, and São Paulo. The central and most important square in the city,
the Plaza de Armas, is full of the old atmosphere. The long, solid
building which occupies one side of the square continues to be the seat
of the Republican Government, as it was formerly that of the Viceroy of
Spain. The square is well shaded by leafy palms, which, in spite of the
scarcity of rain, have a freshness that is astonishing, and can only be
accounted for by the moist atmosphere which hovers over the city. Some
years ago all the trees and shrubs in this square were cut down by order
of nervous officials, who doubtless having in their minds the great
tragedy enacted on this spot when Pizarro fell a victim to the
conspiracy of his fellow-countrymen, saw a danger in the sheltering
trees which might conceal armed assassins and conspirators against the
Government. The cathedral, with its two towers and richly ornate façade,
occupies the eastern side of the Plaza. It is the oldest church in the
New World. The shocks of earthquakes and revolutions have failed to
shake its strong foundations or massive walls. Inside the spacious
aisles divided by plain and solid columns convey a sense of mysterious
dignity and strength which highly gilded and ornamental interiors lack.
A strong smell of burning incense pervades the silent building, and
brown-robed monks glide noiselessly through the gloom. One of the
brotherhood, a German, piloted me through the building, and showed with
pride the fine choir stalls, whose rich carving so excited the
admiration of an American millionaire that, according to my informant,
one was sold to him for a hundred dollars, an act of vandalism which it
is to be hoped will never be repeated, although my guide seemed to think
it was good business. An old illuminated Psalter of the late sixteenth
or early seventeenth century standing on the reading-desk in front of
the choir was pointed out, its leaves all scribbled over with the
sprawling autographs of tourists, and anyone wishing to add his name
could doubtless have done so without any remonstrance from the priest.
Of all the relics this ancient edifice contains, perhaps the most
extraordinary is the actual body of Pizarro, contained in a glass case,
which permits the visitor to inspect the very bones of the illustrious
founder of the city.
Churches, monasteries, convents, and other religious houses abound in
Lima. Monks and nuns attached to the different orders promenade its
streets, which are lined with solidly built houses, through the
wide-open doorways of which interesting
[Illustration: A PERUVIAN GIRL.]
patios are visible, many of them surrounded by little galleries,
supported by turned and carved wooden pillars, whilst the fronts of some
are enriched with projecting wooden balconies, after the Moorish style,
only more substantially constructed, and having heavy tiled roofs and
buttressed sides; these features, together with the strong doors studded
with iron bosses and spikes, and the windows railed with solid bars,
betray an Eastern origin. The city is full of ancient houses and palaces
which have been converted into tenements, each doorway in the patio
giving entrance to a separate household. The city has a population of
about 140,000, and their wants are supplied by four market-places, where
a large variety of meats, birds, fish, vegetables, and fruits are for
sale. Electric cars run through the ancient streets, and brush past mule
trains, with their heavy loads and picturesque trappings, whilst the
milkwomen, who sit perched up between great shining tins slung across
the backs of their horses, have hardly recovered from the shock of
seeing motor-cars whir past them. The capital contains the oldest
university, as well as the oldest cathedral in South America, and for
over three centuries it has been the centre of learning and education.
The development of the latter in many of its branches has been steady,
if slow, and the establishment of the National Institute of Peru and the
Museum is doing much to further the study of the anthropology and
archæology of the country. In the museum, a handsome building lying at
the extreme south of the city, a collection of Inca curios has been
brought together. Mummies, swathed in vicuna cloth and highly decorated,
looking like a row of “Aunt Sallies,” occupy a prominent place, and the
well-preserved remains of bodies found in the nitrate fields are
interesting, although a little gruesome. Ancient fabrics with archaic
designs, probably hieroglyphics, pan-pipes, earthenware pots, gold
ornaments, all telling of vanished civilisation. The costumes of the
country since the conquest, bizarre and curious, whilst the finely
wrought specimens of vicuna gloves and masks used by travellers crossing
the cold heights of the mountains are very ingenious. The picture
gallery contains many portraits of illustrious Peruvians and historical
tableaux, but these are of more archæological than artistic value. The
National Library, which has been established about a hundred years,
contained originally many rare and valuable manuscripts and books, many
of which had been
[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL, LIMA.]
obtained from the monasteries in the country; but this nucleus of a fine
national collection was stolen by the Chilian army when they invaded the
capital in 1881, many items finding their way down to Santiago, the rest
being sold at upset prices to the shopkeepers in the capital. Nothing
daunted by this, the people of Lima started afresh to form the present
collection of over 50,000 works, all of the available portions of the
original library having been repurchased to restore in some measure the
unique character of the collection. The environs of Lima are very
pleasant. The vast plain upon which the city stands is well cultivated,
and sowing goes on for nine months of the year. Little villages and
hamlets with unpretentious houses and huts. The walls of the houses,
like those which divide the fields, have a very solid and antique
appearance. The brown mud colour is a feature which at once suggests the
dominant characteristic of the old Moorish cities.
[Illustration: A MILKMAID, LIMA.]
Peru is unfortunate in having much of her territory inaccessible from
the Pacific or from the capital, and the difficulties of administering
her wild forest lands on the eastern slopes of the Cordillera have led
to the rubber scandals recently brought to light. The difficulty of
communicating with the heart of their country is common to all the South
American republics. Brazil has her Matto Grosso and Acre territories;
Argentina and Chili the great desolate pampas of the south; and
Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, the same problems with regard to much of
their territory. Great tracts of the vast continent are still unknown
and unexplored; and even when they are, many of them will offer little
or no inducement for civilised settlement. Undreamt-of mysteries may
exist hidden in the depths of the almost impenetrable forests. Explorers
are busy in the country delimiting boundaries and investigating
untrodden regions, and the difficulties they encounter all point to the
almost impossibility of bringing many of the large tracts under the
influences of modern civilisation. The early conquistadors were
unrestrained by scruples in their treatment of native races, but the
modern Governments have the eyes of a more humane and censorious world
upon them. Immigrants are eagerly desired by the Peruvian Government to
develop the vast agricultural lands for the production of sugar, cotton,
linseed, rice, tobacco, coffee, vines, fruits, and vegetables. On the
high lands, where cattle can be raised, there is a great demand for
suitable labour. Indeed, from the north of the continent to the south
the cry is for workers. Nature having done her share to enrich the race,
now only waits for mankind to avail themselves of her bounty.