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Title: Travels in Peru and India

Author: Sir Clements R. Markham

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Most recently updated: October 23, 2024

Language: English

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PERU AND INDIA ***

Transcriber's Notes
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HINCHONA-PLANTS AT OOTACAMUND,
In August 1881 (from a Photograph). A flowering branch of Chinchona
in the foreground.
FRONTISPIECE. Page 487

T R AV E L S
IN
PERU AND INDIA.
WHILE SUPERINTENDING THE COLLECTION OF CHINCHONA
PLANTS AND SEEDS IN SOUTH AMERICA, AND
THEIR INTRODUCTION INTO INDIA.

By CLEMENTS R. MARKHAM, F.S.A., F.R.G.S.,

CORR. MEM. OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHILE;
AUTHOR OF 'CUZCO AND LIMA.'

WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.

1862.

The right of Translation is reserved.

LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET,
AND CHARING CROSS.

PREFACE.

The introduction of quinine-yielding Chinchona-trees into India, and the
cultivation of the "Peruvian Bark" in our Eastern possessions, where that
inestimable febrifuge is almost a necessary of life, has for some years
engaged the attention of the Indian Government. In 1859 the author of the
present work was intrusted, by the Secretary of State for India in Council,
with the duty of superintending all the necessary arrangements for the
collection of Chinchona-plants and seeds of the species esteemed in
commerce, in South America, and for their introduction into India. This
important measure has now been crowned with complete success, and it is
the object of the following pages to relate the previous history of the
Chinchona-plant; to describe the forests in South America where the most
valuable species grow; to record the labours of those who were engaged in
exploring them; and to give an account of all the proceedings connected
with the cultivation of Chinchona-plants in India.
In the performance of this service it was a part of my duty to explore the
forests of the Peruvian province of Caravaya, which has never yet been
described by any English traveller; and the first part of the work is occupied
by an account of the various species of Chinchona-plants and their previous
history, a narrative of my travels in Peru, and a record of the labours of the
agents whom I employed to collect plants and seeds of the various species
of Chinchonæ in other parts of South America.
The traveller who ascends to the lofty plateau of the Cordilleras cannot fail
to be deeply interested in the former history and melancholy fate of the
Peruvian Indians; and some account of their condition under Spanish
colonial rule, and of the insurrection of Tupac Amaru, the last of the Incas,
will, I trust, not be unwelcome. I have devoted three chapters to these
subjects, which will form a short digression on our way to the Chinchona
forests. I am indebted to the late General Miller, and to Dr. Vigil, the
learned Director of the National Library at Lima, for much new and very
curious material throwing light on that period of Spanish colonial history
which includes the great rebellion of the Peruvian Indians in 1780.

The second part of the work contains a narrative of my travels in India, a
description of the sites selected for Chinchona-plantations, and an account
of the progress of the experimental cultivation of those inestimable trees,
from the arrival of the plants and seeds, early in 1861, to the latest dates.
In conducting the operations connected with the collection of Chinchona-
plants and seeds in South America, I obtained the services of Mr. Spruce,
Mr. Pritchett, Mr. Cross, and Mr. Weir; and it affords me great pleasure to
have this opportunity of publicly recording their perseverance in facing
many dangers and hardships, and in doing the work that was allotted to
them so ably, and with such complete success.
To Mr. Richard Spruce, an eminent botanist who has for eight years been
engaged in exploring the basin of the Amazons, from Para to the peaks of
the Quitenian Andes, and from the falls of the Orinoco to the head-waters of
the Huallaga, the largest share of credit, so far as the South American
portion of the enterprise is concerned, undoubtedly belongs. I have
endeavoured to do justice to his untiring energy and zeal, and to the
important service which he has rendered to India.
But the collection of plants and seeds in South America, and their
conveyance to the shores of India, would have been of little use if they had
not been delivered into competent hands on arriving at their destination. To
the scientific and practical knowledge, the unwearied zeal, and skilful
management of Mr. McIvor, the Superintendent of the Government Gardens
at Ootacamund, on the Neilgherry hills, is therefore due the successful
introduction of Chinchona-plants into India. His care has now been fully
rewarded, and the experiment has reached a point which places it beyond
the possibility of ultimate failure.
I am indebted to Sir William Hooker, who has, from the first, taken a deep
interest in this beneficial measure, for many acts of kindness, and for his
readiness to give me valuable advice and assistance; while he has rendered
most essential service in successfully raising a large number of Chinchona-
plants at Kew. To Dr. Weddell my thanks are due for much information
most promptly and kindly supplied; and to Mr. Howard for the important
suggestions and information with which he has frequently favoured me, and
which no scientific man in Europe is better able to give. It is a fortunate
circumstance that his invaluable and superbly illustrated work on the

Chinchona genus should have been published just at the time when the
Chinchonæ are about to be planted out in India and Ceylon, for from no
other source could the cultivators derive so large an amount of valuable
information. Mr. Howard has likewise done good service by presenting the
Indian Government with a fine healthy plant of Chinchona Uritusinga, a
species which had not previously been introduced. I take this opportunity of
expressing my thanks for much assistance from Dr. Seemann, the able
Editor of the 'Bonplandia;' from Mr. Dalzell, the Conservator of Forests in
the Bombay Presidency; from Dr. Forbes Watson, the Reporter on the
vegetable products of India, at the India Office; from Mr. Veitch, of the
Royal Exotic Nursery at Chelsea; and from many kind friends both in Peru
and India. I am also indebted to Mr. Alexander Smith, son of Mr. John
Smith, the Curator of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, for an
interesting note on the principal plants employed by the natives of India on
account of their real or supposed febrifugal virtues, which will be found in
an Appendix.
The botanical name for the plants which yield Peruvian bark was given by
Linnæus, in honour of the Countess of Chinchon, who was one of the first
Europeans cured by this priceless febrifuge. The word has been generally,
but most erroneously, spelt Cinchona; and, considering that such mis-
spelling is no mark of respect to the lady whose memory it is intended to
preserve, while it defeats the intention of Linnæus to do her honour, I have
followed the good example of Mr. Howard and the Spanish botanists in
adopting the correct way of spelling the word—Chinchona.[1] The Counts
of Chinchon, the hereditary Alcaides of the Alcazar of Segovia, do not hold
so obscure a place in history as to excuse the continuance of this mis-
spelling of their name.
After much anxiety, extending over a period of three years; after all the
hardships, dangers, and toils which a search in virgin tropical forests
entails; and after more than one disappointment, it is a source of
gratification and thankfulness that this great and important measure, fraught
with blessings to the people of India, and with no less beneficial results to
the whole civilized world, should have been finally attended with complete
success, in spite of difficulties of no ordinary character. How complete this
success has been, will be seen by a perusal of the two last chapters of the
present work, and of Mr. McIvor's very interesting Report in the Appendix;

it is sufficient here to say that it has exceeded our most sanguine
expectations.

CONTENTS.

T R AV E L S I N P E R U .

Page
Preface.
v
CHAPTER I.
Discovery of Peruvian Bark.
The Countess of Chinchon—Introduction of the use of bark into
Europe— M. La Condamine's first description of a chinchona-
tree—J. de Jussieu— Description of the chinchona region—The
different valuable species—The discovery of quinine 1
CHAPTER II.
The Valuable Species of Chinchona-trees—their History, their
Discoverers, and their Forests.
I. The Loxa region and its crown barks 21
II. The "red-bark" region, on the western slopes of Chimborazo 26
III. The New Granada region 27
IV. The Huanuco region in Northern Peru, and its "grey barks" 30
V. The Calisaya region in Bolivia and Southern Peru 35
CHAPTER III.
Rapid destruction of chinchona-trees in South America—Importance
of their introduction into other countries—M. Hasskarl's mission
— Chinchona plantations in Java 44
CHAPTER IV.
Introduction of Chinchona-plants into India.
Preliminary arrangements 60
CHAPTER V.
Islay and Arequipa 69
CHAPTER VI.

Journey across the Cordillera to Puno 88
CHAPTER VII.
Lake Titicaca.
The Aymara Indians—Their antiquities—Tiahuanaco—Coati—
Sillustani —Copacabana 108
CHAPTER VIII.
The Peruvian Indians.
Their condition under Spanish colonial rule 117
CHAPTER IX.
Narrative of the insurrection of José Gabriel Tupac Amaru, the last of
134
the Incas
CHAPTER X.
Diego Tupac Amaru—Fate of the Inca's family—Insurrection of
158
Pumacagua
CHAPTER XI.
Journey from Puno to Crucero, the capital of Caravaya 180
CHAPTER XII.
The Province of Caravaya.
A short historical and geographical description 199
CHAPTER XIII.
Caravaya—The valley of Sandia 216
CHAPTER XIV.
Coca cultivation 232
CHAPTER XV.
Caravaya.
Chinchona forests of Tambopata 240
CHAPTER XVI.
General remarks on the chinchona-plants of Caravaya 267
CHAPTER XVII.
Journey from the Forests of Tambopata to the Port of Islay.
Establishment of the plants in Wardian cases 275
CHAPTER XVIII.
Present Condition and Future Prospects of Peru.

Population—Civil wars—Government—Constitution—General
Castilla and his ministers—Dr. Vigil—Mariano Paz Soldan—
Valleys on the coast—Cotton, wool, and specie—The Amazons
—Guano—Finances—Literature—Future prospects 288
CHAPTER XIX.
Mr. Spruce's expedition to procure plants and seeds of the "red bark,"
or C. succirubra—Mr. Pritchett in the Huanuco region, and the
"grey barks"—Mr. Cross's proceedings at Loxa, and collection
of seeds of C. Condaminea 313
CHAPTER XX.
Conveyance of Chinchona-plants and Seeds from South America to
India.
Transmission of dried specimens—Voyages of plants in Wardian
cases—Arrival of plants and seeds in India—Depôt at Kew—
Treatment of plants in Wardian cases—Effects of introduction of
chinchona-plants into India on trade in South America—
Neilgherry hills 331

T R AV E L S I N I N D I A .

CHAPTER XXI.
Malabar.
Calicut—Houses and gardens—Population of Malabar—Namburi
Brahmins—Nairs—Tiars—Slaves—Moplahs—Assessment of
rice-fields, of gardens, of dry crops—Other taxes—Voyage up the
Beypoor river—The Conolly teak plantations—Wundoor—
Backwood cultivation—Sholacul—Sispara ghaut—Blackwood—
Scenery—Sispara—View of the Nellemboor valley—Avalanche
—Arrival at Ootacamund 341
CHAPTER XXII.
Neilgherry Hills.
Extent—Formation—Soil—Climate—Flora—Hill tribes—Todars—
Antiquities—Badagas—Koters—Kurumbers—Irulas—English
stations—Kotergherry—Ootacamund—Coonoor—Jakatalla—
Government gardens at Ootacamund and Kalhutty—Mr. McIvor
—Coffee cultivation—Rules for sale of waste lands—Forest
conservancy 358
CHAPTER XXIII.
Selection of Sites for Chinchona-Plantations on the Neilgherry Hills.
The Dodabetta site—The Neddiwuttum site 379
CHAPTER XXIV.
Journey to the Pulney Hills.
Coonoor ghaut—Coimbatore—Pulladom—Cotton cultivation—
Dharapurum—A marriage procession—Dindigul—Ryotwarry
tenure—Pulney hills—Kodakarnal—Extent of the Pulneys—
Formation—Soil—Climate—Inhabitants—Flora—Suitability for
chinchona cultivation—Forest conservancy—Anamallay hills 390
CHAPTER XXV.
Madura and Trichinopoly.
Arrive at Madura—Peopling of India—The Dravidian race—Brahmin 408
colonists in Southern India—Foundation of Madura—Pandyan

dynasty—Tamil literature—Aghastya—Naik dynasty—The
Madura pagoda—The Sangattar—The Choultry—Tirumalla
Naik's palace—Caste prejudices—Trichinopoly—Coleroon anicut
—Rice cultivation—The palmyra palm—Caroor—Return to the
Neilgherries—Shervaroy hills—Courtallum
CHAPTER XXVI.
Mysore and Coorg.
Seegoor ghaut—Sandal-wood—Mysore—Seringapatam—Hoonsoor
—The tannery—Fraserpett—Mercara—The fort—The Rajahs of
Coorg—The Coorgs—Origin of the river Cauvery—Coorg—
Climate—Coffee cultivation—Sites for chinchona-plantations—
Caryota Urens—Virarajendrapett—Cardamom cultivation—
Kumari—Poon, blackwood, and teak—Pepper cultivation in
Malabar—Cannanore—Nuggur and Baba Bodeen hills—The
Beebee of Cannanore—Compta—Sedashighur—Arrive at
Bombay 432
CHAPTER XXVII.
The Mahabaleshwur Hills and the Deccan.
Journey from Bombay to Malcolm-penth—The Mahabaleshwur hills
—The village and its temples—Elevation of the hills—Formation
—Soil—Climate—Vegetation—Sites for chinchona-plantations—
Paunchgunny—Waee—Its temples—The babool-tree—Shirwul—
The village system—Village officials—Barra-balloota—
Cultivators—Festivals—Crops and harvests—Poona—The Bhore
ghaut—Return to Bombay 458
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Cultivation of the chinchona-plants in the Neilgherry hills, under the
superintendence of Mr. McIvor 483
CHAPTER XXIX.
Chinchona Cultivation.
Ceylon—Sikkim—Bhotan—Khassya hills—Pegu—Jamaica—
Conclusion 509
APPENDIX A.
General Miller and the Foreign Officers who served in the Patriot
Armies of Chile and Peru, between 1817 and 1830 521
APPENDIX B.

Botanical descriptions of the genus Chinchona, and of the species of
Chinchonæ now growing in India and Ceylon 530
APPENDIX C.
Notes on the principal plants employed in India on account of their
real or supposed febrifuge virtues: by Alexander Smith, Esq. 546
APPENDIX D.
Report, by Mr. McIvor, on the cultivation of Chinchona-plants in
Southern India 566
APPENDIX E.
Note on the export-trade in Peruvian bark from the South American
ports, and on the import-trade into England 571

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Chinchona-plants at Ootacamund Frontispiece.
Chinchona Micrantha to face 32
Arequipa " 75
Arequipa Cathedral " 76
A Cholo of Arequipa 87
Balsa on Lake Titicaca 107
The Towers of Sillustani to face 111
Genealogical Table of the Family of the Incas of Peru " 134
The Sondor-huasi, at Azangaro " 193
Chinchona Nitida Trees " 323
Chinchona Chahuarguera " 329
Canoe on the Beypoor river 520
Capsules and parts of the flower of Chinchona Chahuarguera
532
—magnified and natural size
Capsule and parts of the flower of Chinchona Succirubra 534
Parts of the flower and fruit of Chinchona Micrantha 539
Map to illustrate Mr. Spruce's journeys to the forests on the
to face 313
Western slopes of Chimborazo
Map of part of Peru, to illustrate Mr. C. Markham's journey
at the end.
to the Chinchona forests of Caravaya

P O S T S C R I P T.
Oct. 16, 1862.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE OF THE CHINCHONA PLANTS, FROM THE
NEILGHERRY HILLS.
Number of Chinchona plants on the Neilgherry Hills on August 31st, 1862.
Species. Number.
C. Succirubra 30,150
C. Calisaya 1,050
C. Condaminea (var. Uritusinga) 41
C. Condaminea (var. Chahuarguera) 20,030
C. Condaminea (var. Crispa) 236
C. lancifolia 1
C. nitida 8,500
C. micrantha 7,400
C. Peruviana; 2,295
Species without name 2,440
C. Pahudiana 425
Total 72,568[2]

The total number of plants permanently placed out in the plantations, on
August 31st, 1862, was 13,700, and, although only recently transplanted,
they are in a very promising condition. The number placed out, at the same
date, in the nurseries in the open air, and in the hardening-off frames, was
18,076, all in the finest possible state of health. The number of small plants
under glass, including those used for the production of wood for
propagation, was 40,792.
There are four plantations for Chinchona cultivation, either cleared and
planted, or about to be cleared, at Neddiwuttum and Pycarrah; besides the
loftier one at Dodabetta. At Neddiwuttum the "Denison Plantations" will

contain about 210 acres of planted land, the "Markham Plantation" about
200 acres; and near Pycarrah about 250 acres are to be planted, of fine well-
watered land, completely sheltered from the west winds, to be called the
"Wood Plantation," after the Secretary of State for India: altogether about
660 acres, besides the Dodabetta site.
Plants are to be disposed of to private individuals who may be desirous of
undertaking the cultivation, and 22,000 had already been ordered in the
beginning of September.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE FROM DARJEELING.
Dr. Anderson, who is in charge of the Chinchona cultivation in Bengal,
brought the plants to the Darjeeling Hills early in May 1862. He then had
84 plants of C. succirubra, 44 of C. micrantha, 48 of C. nitida, 2 of C.
Peruviana, 5 of C. Calisaya, and 53 of C. Pahudiana. On July 26th these
had been increased, by layers and cuttings, to 140 of C. succirubra, 53 of C.
nitida, 43 of C. micrantha, 7 of C. Calisaya, and 3 of C. Peruviana. See
page 512.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE FROM CEYLON.
On July 29th, 1862, Mr. Thwaites had raised 960 young plants of C.
Condaminea from seeds. At the same date the plants of C. succirubra were
thriving admirably, several being planted out in the hill garden, and a few at
Peradenia. The other species were doing well, and Mr. Thwaites was
propagating as fast as possible from cuttings. See page 509.

C. PAHUDIANA.—The Dutch Species.
The C. Pahudiana, which forms the bulk of the Java plantations, is now
generally acknowledged to be worthless. A tree of this species has been
chemically analyzed by Professors G. F. Mülder and F. A. W. Miquel, and,
in consequence of the joint report of these gentlemen, the Dutch
Government have determined to put an entire stop to its cultivation. See
page 56. See letter from M. Hasskarl, dated May 23rd, 1862.

T R AV E L S I N P E R U .

CHAPTER I.
DISCOVERY OF PERUVIAN BARK.
The Countess of Chinchon—Introduction of the use of bark into Europe—M. La Condamine's
first description of a Chinchona-tree—J. de Jussieu—Description of the Chinchona region—
The different valuable species—The discovery of quinine.

The whole world, and especially all tropical countries where intermittent
fevers prevail, have long been indebted to the mountainous forests of the
Andes for that inestimable febrifuge which has now become indispensable,
and the demand for which is rapidly increasing, while the supply decreases,
throughout all civilized countries. There is probably no drug which is more
valuable to man than the febrifugal alkaloid which is extracted from the
chinchona-trees of South America; and few greater blessings could be
conferred on the human race than the naturalization of these trees in India,
and other congenial regions, so as to render the supply more certain,
cheaper, and more abundant.
It will be the principal object of the following pages to relate the measures
which have been adopted within the last two years to collect plants and
seeds of these quinine-yielding chinchonæ, in the various regions of South
America, where the most valuable species are found; and to give an account
of their introduction into India, and of the hill districts in that country where
it is considered most likely that they will thrive. But it is necessary that the
reader should have a general knowledge of these precious trees, and of their
history, before he accompanies the explorers who were sent in search of
them over the cordilleras of the Andes, and into the vast untrodden forests.
It would be strange indeed, if, as is generally supposed, the Indian
aborigines of South America were ignorant of the virtues of Peruvian bark;
yet the absence of this sovereign remedy in the wallets of itinerant native
doctors who have plied their trade from father to son, since the time of the
Incas, certainly gives some countenance to this idea. It seems probable,
nevertheless, that the Indians were aware of the virtues of Peruvian bark in
the neighbourhood of Loxa, 230 miles south of Quito, where its use was

first made known to Europeans: and the Indian name for the tree quina-
quina, "bark of bark," indicates that it was believed to possess some special
medicinal properties.[3] The Indians looked upon their conquerors with
dislike and suspicion; it is improbable that they would be quick to impart
knowledge of this nature to them; and the interval which elapsed between
the discovery and settlement of the country and the first use of Peruvian
bark by Europeans may thus easily be explained.[4] The conquest and
subsequent civil wars in Peru cannot be said to have been finally concluded
until the time of the viceroy Marquis of Cañete, in 1560; and J. de Jussieu
reports that a Jesuit, who had a fever at Malacotas,[5] was cured by Peruvian
bark in 1600. M. La Condamine also found a manuscript in the library of a
convent at Loxa, in which it was stated that the Europeans of the province
used the bark at about the same time. Thus an interval of only forty years
intervened between the pacification of Peru and the discovery of its most
valuable product.
It may be added, however, that though the Indians were aware of the
febrifugal qualities of this bark, they attached little importance to them, and
this may be another reason for the lapse of time which occurred before the
knowledge was imparted to the Spaniards. Referring to this circumstance
La Condamine says, "Nul n'est saint dans son pays." This indifference to,
and in many cases even prejudice against the use of the Peruvian bark,
amongst the Indians, is very remarkable. Poeppig, writing in 1830, says that
in the Peruvian province of Huanuco the people, who are much subject to
tertian agues, have a strong repugnance to its use. The Indian thinks that the
cold north alone permits the use of fever-bark; he considers it as very
heating, and therefore an unfit remedy in complaints which he believes to
arise from inflammation of the blood.[6] Humboldt also notices this
repugnance to using the bark amongst the natives; and Mr. Spruce makes
the same observation with respect to the people of Ecuador and New
Granada.[7] He says that they refer all diseases to the influence of either heat
or cold; and, confounding cause and effect, they suppose all fevers to
proceed from heat. They justly believe bark to be very heating, and hence
their prejudice against its use in fevers, which they treat with frescos or
cooling drinks. Even in Guayaquil the prejudice against quinine is so strong
that, when a physician administers it, he is obliged to call it by another
name.

In about 1630 Don Juan Lopez de Canizares, the Spanish Corregidor of
Loxa, being ill with an intermittent fever, an Indian of Malacotas is said to
have revealed to him the healing virtues of quinquina bark, and to have
instructed him in the proper way to administer it, and thus his cure was
effected.
In 1638 the wife of Luis Geronimo Fernandez de Cabrera Bobadilla y
Mendoza, fourth Count of Chinchon, lay sick of an intermittent fever in the
palace at Lima. Her famous cure induced Linnæus, long afterwards, to
name the whole genus of quinine-yielding trees in her honour chinchona.
The godmother of these priceless treasures of the vegetable kingdom has,
therefore, some claim upon our attention.
This Countess of Chinchon was a daughter of the noble house of Osorio,
whose founder was created Marquis of Astorga by Henry IV., King of
Castille. The eighth marquis, who died at Astorga in 1613, had a daughter
by his wife Dona Blanca Manrique y Aragon, named Ana,[8] born in 1576;
and the ruins of the palace in the curious old town of Astorga, in which she
passed her childhood, are still standing.[9] At the early age of sixteen she
was married to Don Luis de Velasco, Marquis of Salinas, who was about to
assume the important office of viceroy of Mexico. She probably
accompanied her husband to Mexico, and afterwards to Lima, as he was
viceroy of Peru from 1596 to 1604. In the latter year he resumed his former
office in Mexico, and, on his return to Spain, he became President of the
Council of the Indies from 1611 to 1617.[10] The lady Ana had thus been a
great traveller, when, in the latter year, she found herself a widow. In 1621
she was married, in the city of Madrid, to her second husband the fourth
Count of Chinchon, who was descended from a long line of proud and
valiant Catalonian ancestors. One of his forefathers, Don Andres de
Cabrera, who was created Marquis of Moya in 1480, married Beatriz de
Bobadilla, so well known in history as the faithful attendant and
confidential friend of Queen Isabella the Catholic. The Emperor Charles V.,
remembering the services and ancient dignity of the illustrious families of
Cabrera and Bobadilla, created the second son of the Marquis of Moya, by
Beatriz de Bobadilla, Count of his town of Chinchon, in the kingdom of
Toledo, in 1517.[11] The third Count was one of the over-worked ministers
of that most indefatigable of "red-tapists" Philip II.; and his son became the
husband of the widow Ana, who accompanied him to Lima on his

appointment as viceroy of Peru in 1629. Thus, for the second time, this lady
entered the City of the Kings as Vice-Queen.
While the Countess Ana was suffering from fever in 1638, in her sixty-third
year, the Corregidor of Loxa, Don Juan Lopez de Canizares, sent a parcel of
powdered quinquina bark to her physician, Juan de Vega, who was also
captain of the armoury, assuring him that it was a sovereign and never-
failing remedy for "tertiana." It was administered to the Countess and
effected a complete cure; and Mr. Howard is of opinion that the particular
plant which had this honour, and which, therefore, yields the true and
original Peruvian bark, is the Chahuarguera variety of the C. Condaminea.
[12]
This kind contains a large percentage of chinchonidine, an alkaloid, the
great importance of which is only now just beginning to be recognised, so
that it is to chinchonidine, and not to quinine, that the Countess's cure is
due.[13]
The Count of Chinchon returned to Spain in 1640, and his Countess,
bringing with her a quantity of the healing bark, was thus the first person to
introduce this invaluable medicine into Europe.[14] Hence it was sometimes
called Countess's bark, and Countess's powder. Her physician, Juan de
Vega, sold it at Seville for one hundred reals the pound. In memory of this
great service Linnæus named the genus which yields it Chinchona, and
afterwards the lady Ana's name was still further immortalized in the great
family of Chinchonaceæ, which, together with Chinchonæ, includes
ipecacuanhas and coffees. By modern writers the first h has usually been
dropped, and the word is now almost invariably, but most erroneously, spelt
Cinchona.
After the cure of the Countess of Chinchon, the Jesuits were the great
promoters of the introduction of bark into Europe. In 1639, as the last act of
his viceroyalty, her husband did good service to the cause of geographical
discovery, by causing the expedition under the Portuguese Texeira to
proceed from Quito to the mouth of the Amazons, accompanied by the
Jesuit Acuña, who wrote a most valuable account of the voyage.[15] From
that time the missionaries of Acuña's fraternity continued to penetrate into
the forests bordering on the upper waters of the Amazons, and to form
settlements; and Humboldt mentions a tradition that these Jesuits
accidentally discovered the bitterness of the bark, and tried an infusion of it

in tertian ague. In 1670 the Jesuit missionaries sent parcels of the powdered
bark to Rome, whence it was distributed to members of the fraternity
throughout Europe by the Cardinal de Lugo, and used for the cure of agues
with great success. Hence the name of "Jesuits' bark," and "Cardinal's
bark;" and it was a ludicrous result of its patronage by the Jesuits that its
use should have been for a long time opposed by Protestants and favoured
by Roman Catholics. In 1679 Louis XIV. bought the secret of preparing
quinquina from Sir Robert Talbor, an English doctor, for two thousand
louis-d'ors, a large pension, and a title. From that time Peruvian bark seems
to have been recognised as the most efficacious remedy for intermittent
fevers. The second Lord Shaftesbury, who died in 1699, mentions in one of
his letters—"Dr. Locke's and all our ingenious and able doctors' method of
treating fevers with the Peruvian bark:" he declares his belief that it is "the
most innocent and effectual of all medicines;" but he also alludes to "the
bugbear the world makes of it, especially the tribe of inferior physicians."
There can be no doubt that a very strong prejudice was raised against it,
which it took many years to conquer; and the controversies which arose on
the subject between learned doctors were long and acrimonious. Dr.
Colmenero, a professor of the University of Salamanca, wrote a work in
which he declared that ninety sudden deaths had been caused by its use in
Madrid alone.[16] Chiflet (Paris, 1653) and Plempius (Rome, 1656), two
great enemies of novelty, prophesied the early death of quinquina, and its
inevitable malediction by future ages; while the more enlightened Badius
(Genoa, 1656) defended its use, and quoted more than twelve thousand
cures by the aid of this remedy, performed by the best doctors of the
hospitals in Italy. In 1692 Dr. Morton, one of the opponents of its use, was
obliged to retract all he had said against quinquina; and it was then that it
began to be generally admitted as a valuable medicine. It still, however,
remained a subject of controversy, and as late as 1714 two Italian
physicians, Ramazzini and Torti,[17] held opposite views on the subject.
Ramazzini wrote against its use with much violence, while Torti maintained
that, in proper doses, it would arrest remittent and intermittent fevers.[18]
Whilst the inestimable value of Peruvian bark was gradually forcing
conviction on the most bigoted medical conservatives of Europe, and whilst
the number and efficacy of cures effected by its means were bringing it into
general use, and consequently increasing the demand, it was long before

any knowledge was obtained of the tree from which it was taken. In 1726
La Fontaine, at the solicitation of the Duchess of Bouillon, who had been
cured of a dangerous fever by taking Peruvian bark, composed a poem in
two cantos to celebrate its virtues; but the exquisite beauty of the leaves,
and the delicious fragrance of the flowers of the quinquina-tree, with
allusions to which he might have adorned his poem, were still unknown in
Europe.
The first description of the quinquina-tree is due to that memorable French
expedition to South America, to which all branches of science owe so
much. The members of this expedition, MM. De la Condamine, Godin,
Bouguer, and the botanist Joseph de Jussieu, sailed from Rochelle on the
16th of May, 1735, to measure the arc of a degree near Quito, and thus
determine the shape of the earth. After a residence at Quito, Jussieu set out
for Loxa, to examine the quinquina-tree, in March, 1739, and in 1743 La
Condamine visited Loxa, and stayed for some time at Malacotas, with a
Spaniard whose chief source of income was the collection of bark. He
obtained some young plants with the intention of taking them down the
river Amazons to Cayenne, and thence transporting them to the Jardin des
Plantes at Paris; but a wave washed over his little vessel near Para, at the
mouth of the great river, and carried off the box in which he had preserved
these plants for more than eight months. "Thus," he says, "I lost them after
all the care I had taken during a voyage of more than twelve hundred
leagues."[19] This was the first attempt to transport chinchona-plants from
their native forests.
Condamine described the quinquina-tree of Loxa in the 'Mémoires de
l'Académie;'[20] he was the first man of science who examined and
described this important plant; and in 1742 Linnæus established the genus
Chinchona, in honour of the Countess Ana of Chinchon. He, however, only
knew of two species, that of Loxa, which was named C. officinalis, and the
C. Caribæa, since degraded to the medicinally worthless genus of
Exostemmas.
Joseph de Jussieu, whose name is associated with that of La Condamine in
the first examination of the chinchona-trees of Loxa, continued his
researches in South America after the departure of his associate. He
penetrated on foot into the province of Canelos, the scene of Gonzalo
Pizarro's wonderful achievements and terrible sufferings; he visited Lima

with M. Godin; he travelled over Upper Peru as far as the forests of Santa
Cruz de la Sierra; and he was the first botanist who examined and sent
home specimens of the coca-plant, the beloved narcotic of the Peruvian
Indian. After fifteen years of laborious work he was robbed of his large
collection of plants by a servant at Buenos Ayres, who believed that the
boxes contained money. This loss had a disastrous effect on poor Jussieu,
who, in 1771, returned to France, deprived of reason, after an absence of
thirty-four years. Dr. Weddell has named the shrubby variety of C. Calisaya
in honour of this unfortunate botanist C. Josephiana.
For many years the quinquina-tree of Loxa, the C. officinalis of Linnæus,
was the only species with which botanists were acquainted; and from 1640
to 1776 no other bark was met with in commerce than that which was
exported from the Peruvian port of Payta, brought down from the forests in
the neighbourhood of Loxa. The constant practice of improvidently felling
the trees over so small an area for more than a century, without any
cessation, inevitably led to their becoming very scarce, and threatened their
eventual extinction. As early as 1735 Ulloa reported to the Spanish
Government, that the habit of cutting down the trees in the forests of Loxa,
and afterwards barking them, without taking the precaution of planting
others in their places, would undoubtedly cause their complete extirpation.
"Though the trees are numerous," he added, "yet they have an end;" and he
suggested that the Corregidor of Loxa should be directed to appoint an
overseer, whose duty it should be to examine the forests, and satisfy himself
that a tree was planted in place of every one that was felled, on pain of a
fine.[21] This wise rule was never enforced, and sixty years afterwards
Humboldt reported that 25,000 trees were destroyed in one year.
The measures adopted by the Spanish Government towards the end of the
last century, in sending botanical expeditions to explore the chinchona
forests in other parts of their vast South American possessions, led to the
discovery of additional valuable species, the introduction of their barks into
commerce, and the reduction of the pressure on the Loxa forests, which
were thus relieved from being the sole source whence Peruvian bark could
be supplied to the world.
The region of chinchona-trees extends from 19° S. latitude, where Weddell
found the C. Australis, to 10° N., following the almost semicircular curve of
the cordillera of the Andes over 1740 miles of latitude. They flourish in a

cool and equable temperature, on the slopes and in the valleys and ravines
of the mountains, surrounded by the most majestic scenery, never
descending below an elevation of 2500, and ascending as high as 9000 feet
above the sea. Within these limits their usual companions are tree ferns,
melastomaceæ, arborescent passion-flowers, and allied genera of
chinchonaceous plants. Below them are the forests abounding in palms and
bamboos, above their highest limits are a few lowly Alpine shrubs. But
within this wide zone grow many species of chinchonæ, each within its own
narrower belt as regards elevation above the sea, some yielding the
inestimable bark, and others commercially worthless. And the species of
chinchonæ, in their native forests, are not only divided from each other by
zones as regards height above the sea, but also by parallels of latitude. In
Bolivia and Caravaya, for instance, the valuable C. Calisaya abounds, but it
is never found nearer the equator than 12° S. Between that parallel and 10°
S. the forests are for the most part occupied by worthless species, while in
Northern Peru the important grey barks of commerce are found. In each of
these latitudinal regions the different species are again divided by belts of
altitude. Yet this confinement within zones of latitude and altitude is not a
constant rule; for several of the hardier and stronger species have a wider
range; while the more sensitive, and these are usually the most precious
kinds, are close prisoners within their allotted zones, and never pass more
than a hundred yards beyond them. All the species are, of course, affected
by local circumstances, which more or less modify the positions of their
zones, as regards altitude.
Thus, to give a geographical summary of the chinchona region, beginning
from the south, it commences in the Bolivian province of Cochabamba in
19° S., passes through the yungus of La Paz, Larecaja, Caupolican, and
Munecas, into the Peruvian province of Caravaya; thence through the
Peruvian forests, on the eastern slopes of the Andes, of Marcapata,
Paucartambo, Santa Anna, Guanta, and Uchubamba, to Huanuco and
Huamalies, where the grey bark is found. It then continues through Jaen, to
the forests near Loxa and Cuenca, and on the western slopes of
Chimborazo. It begins again in latitude 1° 51´ N. at Almaguer, passes
through the province of Popayan, and along the slopes of the Andes of
Quindiu, until it reaches its extreme northern limit on the wooded heights of
Merida and Santa Martha.

Humboldt remarks that, beyond these limits, the Silla de Caraccas, and
other mountains in the province of Cumana, possess a suitable altitude and
climate for the growth of chinchona-trees, as well as some parts of Mexico,
yet that they have never been found either in Cumana or Mexico; and he
suggests that this may be accounted for by the breaks which take place in
Venezuela on the one hand, and on the isthmus of Panama on the other,
where tracts of country of low elevation intervene between the lofty
mountains of Cumana and Mexico and the chinchona region of the main
Andes. In these low districts the chinchona-trees may have encountered
obstacles which prevented their propagation to the northward: otherwise we
might expect to find them in the beautiful Mexican woods of Jalapa,
whither the soil and climate, and their usual companions the tree ferns and
melastomaceæ, would seem to invite them.[22]
Be this how it may, the chinchona-plant has never been found in any part of
the world beyond the limits already described.
The chinchonas, when in good soil and under other favourable
circumstances, become large forest trees; on higher elevations, and when
crowded, and growing in rocky ground, they frequently run up to great
heights without a branch; and at the upper limit of their zone they become
mere shrubs. The leaves are of a great variety of shapes and sizes, but, in
most of the finest species, they are lanceolate, with a shining surface of
bright green, traversed by crimson veins, and petioles of the same colour.
The flowers are very small, but hang in clustering panicles, like lilacs,
generally of a deep roseate colour, paler near the stalk, dark crimson within
the tube, with white curly hairs bordering the laciniæ of the corolla. The
flowers of C. micrantha are entirely white. They send forth a delicious
fragrance which scents the air in their vicinity.
The earliest botanists gave the name of Chinchona to a vast number of
allied genera, which have since been separated, and grouped under other
names.[23] There are three characteristics by which a true chinchona may
invariably be known; the presence of curly hairs bordering the laciniæ of
the corolla, the peculiar mode of dehiscence of the capsule from below
upwards, and the little pits at the axils of the veins on the under sides of the
leaves. These characters distinguish the chinchona from many trees which
grow with it, and which might at first sight be taken for the same genus.
The fact, established by the investigations of chemists, that none of these

allied genera contain any of the medicinal alkaloids, has confirmed the
propriety of their expulsion from the chinchona genus by botanists; and Dr.
Weddell gives a list of seventy-three plants, once received as Chinchonæ,
which are now more properly classed under allied genera, such as
Cosmibuena, Cascarilla, Exostemma, Remijia, Ladenbergia, Lasionema,
&c.[24]
Thus thinned out and reduced in numbers, the list of species of Chinchonæ
has been established by Dr. Weddell at nineteen, and two doubtful;[25] but
even the classification of this eminent authority, published in 1849, already
requires much alteration and revision. For instance: Dr. Weddell gives no
place to the "red-bark" species, the richest in alkaloids, and one of the most
important, which, through the recent investigations of Mr. Spruce, will now
probably be admitted by botanists as a distinct species, the C. succirubra
(Pavon). A new grey bark now introduced into India as C. Peruviana
(Howard), and the C. Pahudiana (Howard), a worthless kind, cultivated by
the Dutch in Java, will also be received as additional species. It seems likely
also that the C. Condaminea requires to be divided into two or three distinct
species; while the C. Boliviana (Weddell) will sink into a mere variety of
the C. Calisaya.
The commercially valuable species, however, comprise but a small
proportion of the whole; and, as all these have now been introduced into
India, they alone deserve our attention. They are as follows:—

These species yield five different kinds of medicinal barks, which are
collected from five different regions in South America; and in the following
chapter I propose to give a brief account of each of these regions, of their
chinchona-trees, and of the investigations of botanists down to the time
when measures were taken to introduce these inestimable plants into Java
and India. Such an account will naturally divide itself into five sections:—

I. —The Loxa region, and its crown barks.
II. —The red-bark region, on the western slopes of Chimborazo.
III. —The New Granada region.
IV. —The Huanuco region in Northern Peru, and its grey barks.
V. —The Calisaya region, in Bolivia and Southern Peru.

Before entering on this subject, however, it will be well to cast a hasty
glance at the progress of those investigations which ended in the discovery
of the febrifugal principle in Peruvian bark.
The roots, flowers, and capsules of the chinchona-trees have a bitter taste
with tonic properties, but the upper bark is the only part which has any
commercial value.[26] The bark of trees is composed of four layers—the
epiderm, the periderm, the cellular layer, and the liber or fibrous layer,
composed of hexagonal cells filled with resinous matter and woody tissue.
In growing, the tree pushes out the bark, and, as the exterior part ceases to
grow, it separates into layers, and forms the dead part or periderm; which in
chinchonas is partially destroyed, and blended with the thallus of lichens.
The bark is thus formed of the dead part, or periderm, and the living part, or
derm. On young branches there is no dead part, the exterior layers
remaining entire, while the inner layers have not had time to develop. In
thick old branches, on the contrary, the periderm or dead part is
considerable, while the fibrous layer of the derm is fully developed. In
preparing the bark the periderm is removed by striking the trunk with a
mallet, and the derm is then taken off by uniform incisions. The thin pieces
from small branches are simply exposed to the sun's rays, and assume the
form of hollow cylinders, or quills, called by the natives canuto bark. The
solid trunk bark is called tabla or plancha, and is sewn up in coarse canvas
and an outer envelope of fresh hide, forming the packages called serons.
The character of the transverse fracture affords an important criterion of the
quality of the bark. Cellular tissue breaks with a short and smooth fracture,
woody tissue with a fibrous fracture, as is the case with the calisaya bark.
The best characteristics by which barks containing much quinine may be
distinguished are the shortness of the fibres which cover the transverse
fracture, and the facility with which they may be detached, instead of being
flexible and adhering as in bad barks. Thus, when dry calisaya bark is

handled, a quantity of little prickles run into the skin, and this forms one of
its distinguishing marks.[27]
Until the present century Peruvian bark was used in its crude state, and
numerous attempts were made at different times to discover the actual
healing principle in the bark, before success was finally attained. The first
trial which is worthy of attention was made in 1779 by the chemists Buguet
and Cornette, who recognised the existence of an essential salt, a resinous
and an earthy matter in quinquina bark. In 1790 Fourcroy discovered the
existence of a colouring matter, afterwards called chinchona red, and a
Swedish doctor named Westring, in 1800, believed that he had discovered
the active principle in quinquina bark. In 1802 the French chemist Armand
Seguin undertook the bark trade on a large scale, and found it necessary to
study the means of discovering good barks, and distinguishing them from
bad ones. He found that the best quinquina bark was precipitated by tannin,
while the bad was not precipitated by that substance. In 1803 another
chemist found a crystalline substance in the bark which he called "sel
essentiel fébrifuge" but it was nothing more than the combination of lime
with an acid which was named quinic acid. Reuss, a Russian chemist, in
1815, was the first to give a tolerable analysis of quinquina bark; and about
the same time Dr. Duncan of Edinburgh suggested that a real substance
existed as a febrifugal principle. Dr. Gomez, a surgeon in the Portuguese
navy, in 1816, was the first to isolate this febrifugal principle hinted at by
Dr. Duncan, and he called it chinchonine.[28]
But the final discovery of quinine is due to the French chemists Pelletier
and Caventou, in 1820. They considered that a vegetable alkaloid,
analogous to morphine and strychnine, existed in quinquina bark; and they
afterwards discovered that the febrifugal principle was seated in two
alkaloids, separate or together, in the different kinds of bark, called quinine
and chinchonine, with the same virtues, which, however, were much more
powerful in quinine. It was believed that in most barks chinchonine exists in
the cellular layer, and quinine in the liber, or fibrous layer; but Mr. Howard
has since shown that this view is quite incorrect.[29] In 1829 Pelletier
discovered a third alkaloid, which he called aricine, of no use in medicine,
and derived from a worthless species of chinchona, growing in most of the
forests of Peru, called C. pubescens.[30]

The organic constituents of chinchona barks are—
Quina. ¦ Kinovic acid.
Chinchonia. ¦ Chinchona red.
Aricina. ¦ A yellow colouring matter.
Quinidia. ¦ A green fatty matter.
Chinchonidia. ¦ Starch.
Quinic acid. ¦ Gum.
Tannic acid. ¦ Lignin.
These materials are in different proportions according to the barks. Grey
bark chiefly contains chinchonine and tannin; Calisaya, or yellow bark,
much quinine, and a little chinchonine; red bark holds quinine and
chinchonine in nearly equal proportions; while the barks of New Granada
chiefly contain chinchonidine and quinidine. The two latter alkaloids were
definitively discovered in 1852 by M. Pasteur; although the Dutch chemist
Heijningen had, in 1848, found what he called β quinine or quinidine.
Chinchonidine is only second to quinine itself in importance as a febrifugal
principle.
Quinine is a white substance, without smell, bitter, fusible, crystallized,
with the property of left-handed rotatory polarization. The salts of quinine
are soluble in water, alcohol, and ether. Of all the salts the bisulphate of
quinine is preferred, because it constitutes a stable salt, easy to prepare, and
containing a strong proportion of the alkaloid. It is very bitter and soluble,
and crystallizes in long silky needles. It is prepared by adding sulphuric
acid to the sulphate.[31]
Chinchonine differs from quinine in being less soluble in water, and being
altogether insoluble in ether. It has the property of right-handed rotatory
polarization.
Quinidine also has the property of right-handed rotatory polarization, and
forms salts like those of quinine. It becomes green by successive additions
of chlorine and ammonia.
Chinchonidine has not the property of turning green, and forms a sulphate
almost exactly like sulphate of quinine.[32]

The discovery of these alkaloids in the quinquina[33] bark, by enabling
chemists to extract the healing principle, has greatly increased the
usefulness of the drug. In small doses they promote the appetite and assist
digestion; and chinchonine is equal to quinine in mild cases of intermittent
fever; but in severe cases the use of quinine is absolutely necessary. Thus
these alkaloids not only possess tonic properties to which recourse may be
had under a multitude of circumstances, but also have a febrifugal virtue
which is unequalled, and which has rendered them almost a necessary of
life in tropical countries, and in low marshy situations where agues prevail.
Many a poor fellow's life was saved in the Walcheren expedition by the
timely arrival of a Yankee trader with some chests of bark, after the supply
had entirely failed in the camp.[34] Dr. Baikie, in his voyage up the Niger,
attributed the return of his men alive to the habitual use of quinine; and the
number of men whose lives it has saved in our naval service and in India
will give a notion of the vast importance of a sufficient and cheap supply of
the precious bark which yields it. India and other countries have been vainly
searched for a substitute for quinine, and we may say with as much truth
now as Laubert did in 1820—"This medicine, the most precious of all those
known in the art of healing, is one of the greatest conquests made by man
over the vegetable kingdom. The treasures which Peru yields, and which the
Spaniards sought and dug out of the bowels of the earth, are not to be
compared for utility with the bark of the quinquina-tree, which they for a
long time ignored.[35]

CHAPTER II.
The valuable species of Chinchona-trees—their history, their discoverers, and their forests.

I.—THE LOXA REGION, AND ITS CROWN BARKS.
The region around Loxa, on the southern frontier of the modern republic of
Ecuador, is the original home of the Chinchona, and nearly in the centre of
its latitudinal range of growth. On the lofty grass-covered slopes of the
Andes, around the little town of Loxa, and in the sheltered ravines and
dense forests, those precious trees were found which first made known to
the world the healing virtues of Peruvian bark. They were most plentifully
met with in the forests of Uritusinga, Rumisitana, Cajanuma, Boqueron,
Villonaco, and Monje, all within short distances of Loxa.
Linnæus had named these trees Chinchona officinalis; but when Humboldt
and Bonpland examined them, the discovery of other species yielding
medicinal bark had rendered the name inappropriate, and they very properly
re-christened them, after the distinguished Frenchman who had originally
described them, Chinchona Condaminea. Humboldt says that they grow on
mica slate and gneiss, from 6000 to 8000 feet above the sea, with a mean
temperature between 60° and 65° Fahr. In his time the tree was cut down in
its first flowering season, or in the fourth or seventh of its age, according as
it had sprung from a vigorous root-shoot, or from a seed. He describes the
luxuriance of the vegetation to be such that the younger trees, only six
inches in diameter, often attain from fifty-three to sixty-four English feet in
height. "This beautiful tree," he continues, "which is adorned with leaves
above five inches long and two broad, growing in dense forests, seems
always to aspire to rise above its neighbours. As its upper branches wave to
and fro in the wind, their red and shining foliage produces a strange and
peculiar effect, recognisable from a great distance."[36] It varies much in the
shape of the leaves, according to the altitude at which it grows, and bark-
collectors themselves would be deceived if they did not know the tree by
the glands, so long unobserved by botanists. The C. Condaminea described
by Humboldt is the same as the C. Uritusinga of Pavon. It once yielded
great quantities of thick trunk bark, but, owing to reckless felling through a

course of years, it is now almost exterminated, and its bark is rarely met
with in commerce. The distinguished botanist Don Francisco Caldas
examined the chinchona forests of Loxa after Humboldt, between 1803 and
1809. He says that the famous quina-tree of Loxa grows in the forests of
Uritusinga and Cajanuma, at a height of from 6200 to 8200 feet above the
sea, in a temperature of 41° to 72° Fahr.; but that it is only found between
the rivers Zamora and Cachiyacu.[37] He describes the tree as from thirty to
forty-eight feet high, with three or more stems growing from the same root;
the leaves as lanceolate, shining on both sides, with veins a rosy colour, a
short and tender pubescence on the under side when young, and when past
maturity a bright scarlet colour; the bark black when exposed to the sun and
wind, a brownish colour when closed in by other trees, and always covered
with lichens;[38] and the rock on which the trees grow, a micaceous schist.
Don Francisco José de Caldas, a native of New Granada, was one of the
most eminent scientific men that South America has yet produced. He was
associated with Mutis in the botanical expedition of New Granada; he
explored the chinchona region as far as Loxa; and thus takes his place as
one of those to whom we are indebted for throwing light on the nature of
the trees yielding Peruvian bark. Caldas was born at Popayan in the year
1770; and, from early youth, devoted himself to the pursuits of science with
untiring energy, especially studying botany, mathematics, meteorology, and
physical geography. He constructed his own barometer and sextant, and,
ignorant of the methods adopted in Europe, he discovered the way of
ascertaining altitudes by a boiling-point thermometer. He has left many
memoirs on botanical and other subjects behind him, and his style is always
animated, clear, and interesting; but many of the productions of this
remarkable man are still in manuscript,[39] and others are lost to us for ever.
Above all, it is to be regretted that his botanical chart of the chinchona
genus, which he promised in one of his memoirs, has never seen the light.
After the declaration of independence Caldas was nominated by the
Congress at Bogota to publish the works of his friend the botanist Mutis.
When the brutal Spanish General Morillo entered Bogota in June 1816, he
perpetrated a series of savage massacres, in which more than 600 of the
most distinguished men in the country fell victims. Among them was
Caldas, who was shot through the back on the 30th of October 1816.[40]

The Spanish botanists Ruiz and Pavon also examined the chinchona-trees of
Loxa; and the latter described two species, C. Uritusinga, named from the
mountain on which it was once most abundant, and C. Chahuarguera, so
called from a fancied resemblance of the bark to a pair of breeches (huara
in Quichua) made from the fibre of the American aloe (chahuar). To these
the botanist Tafalla added the C. crispa. These three species are all included
in Humboldt's C. Condaminea, which is readily known by the little pits,
bordered with hairs, at the axils of the veins on the under side of the leaf. It
would appear that at one period of growth these little pits or scrobicules are
wanting, but when the plant is in full vigour they are markedly prominent.
The C. Chahuarguera[41] is described by Pavon as growing from eighteen
to twenty-four feet in height; although now the trees, which yield the Loxa
bark of commerce, do not attain a height of more than four to nine feet. It is
met with on the grassy open crests of mountain ridges, in light sandy soil
interspersed with rocks, amongst shrubs and young plants. The barks of
Loxa were called crown barks, because they were reserved for the exclusive
use of the royal pharmacy at Madrid; and they originally sold at Panama for
five and six dollars, and at Seville for twelve dollars the pound; but in later
times they were much adulterated, and the price fell to one dollar the pound.
The C. Chahuarguera is the rusty crown bark of commerce,[42] and the C.
crispa is the quina fina de Loxa or crespilla negra of the natives. A parcel
of it has quite recently sold at a higher price than Calisaya quills. With this
rusty crown bark are mixed larger quills particularly rich in the alkaloid
called chinchonidine.[43] The C. Uritusinga grew to the height of a lofty
forest tree, but it is now nearly exterminated. The leaves assume a red
colour before they fall, acquiring the most beautiful tints, and the tree is one
of the finest in those forests.[44] It is said that there is a great difference in
the bark, according as it is grown on the sides of mountains most exposed to
the morning or evening sun; and its position is believed to have a great
influence on the quality of its alkaloids. The usual yield of the large quills is
3.5 to 3.6 per cent.[45]
The bark-collectors of Loxa are said to show some little forethought, a
quality which is entirely wanting in most of their fraternity. To save the
trees they occasionally cut off the whole of the bark, with the exception of
one long strip, which gradually replaces its loss; and the second cutting is
called cascarilla resecada. This practice was in use in the days of the

botanist Ruiz, who protested against it, and declared that it was very
injurious to the trees, many having been destroyed by it.[46] Later accounts,
however, show that the bark-collectors of Loxa are as thoughtlessly
destructive as those in other parts of South America. They often pull up the
roots, while the annual burning of the slopes, and the continual cropping of
the young shoots by cattle, assist the work of destruction.[47]
It is, therefore, well that the C. Chahuarguera and C. Uritusinga, the
earliest known and among the most valuable of the chinchona-trees, should
have been saved from extinction by timely introduction into India.
The annual export of Loxa bark, from the port of Payta, is from 800 to 1000
cwts.

II.—THE "RED-BARK" REGION, ON THE WESTERN SLOPES OF
CHIMBORAZO.
The species yielding "red bark," the richest and most important of all the
Chinchonæ, is found in the forests on the western slopes of Mount
Chimborazo, along the banks of the rivers Chanchan, Chasuan, San
Antonio, and their tributaries. So early as 1738 Condamine spoke of "red
bark" (cascarilla colorada) as being of superior quality;[48] and Pavon sent
home specimens of the "red bark of Huaranda," and named the species C.
succirubra. Some of these are now in the British Museum; and in the
collection of Ruiz and Pavon, in the botanical gardens at Madrid, I found
capsules, flowers, and leaves marked "cascarilla colorada de los cerros de
San Antonio." In 1857 Dr. Klotzsch, an eminent German botanist, read a
paper at Berlin,[49] elaborately describing the "red bark" as a product of C.
succirubra, from a very good specimen of Pavon's in the Berlin Museum.
Mr. Howard has also received a specimen from Alausi, and he is inclined to
the belief that there are several varieties of C. succirubra, and one or two
allied species, as yet undescribed.[50] Much light was thrown upon the
history of this valuable species by Mr. Spruce, when he penetrated into the
forests to collect seeds and plants for transmission to India in 1860.
Though little was known of the tree until quite lately, there was never any
doubt concerning the value of the bark. In 1779 a Spanish ship from Lima,
bound to Cadiz, was captured off Lisbon by the 'Hussar' frigate, and her

cargo consisted chiefly of "red bark," part of which was imported into
England. In 1785 and 1786 Ruiz states that the collectors began to gather
the bark of C. succirubra, and sell it at Guayaquil, and from that time it
continued to be found in the European markets. It contains a larger
proportion of alkaloids than any other kind, amounting to as much as from
3 to 4 per cent. of the substance of the bark, and of this a fair share is
quinine. Fine samples yield 3.9 per cent., selling at 8s. 9d. per lb.; and the
quill bark from the smaller branches 3.6 per cent.[51] Mr. Howard has
recently procured 8.5 per cent. of alkaloids from a specimen of "red bark."
A large supply of plants of this species is flourishing in India and Ceylon,
and, from the richness of the species, the comparatively low elevation at
which it thrives, and its hardy nature, it may be expected to become a
cultivated plant of great value and importance.
In 1857 the export of bark from the port of Guayaquil, the place of
shipment for the C. succirubra, amounted to 7006 quintals, valued at
23,353l.[52] In 1849-50 Dr. Weddell gives the amount at 1042 quintals.

III.—THE NEW-GRANADA REGION.
The importance of the chinchona-trees was fully established in the middle
of the last century, and, Don Miguel de Santistevan, the director of the mint
at Bogota, having addressed a memorial on the bark trade (estanco de
cascarilla) to the Viceroy Marquis of Villar in 1753, the attention of the
Spanish Government was seriously turned to the subject. When the Viceroy
Don Pedro Mesia de la Cerda, Marquis de la Vega de Armijo, went out to
Bogota in 1760,[53] he was accompanied by the botanist Don José Celestino
Mutis, a native of Cadiz, who was appointed to conduct a botanical survey
of New Granada, and especially to investigate the bark of the chinchona-
trees.[54]
In 1772 Mutis found these trees in the neighbourhood of Bogota, and
described four kinds in 1792, which he called C. lancifolia, C. cordifolia, C.
oblongifolia, and C. ovalifolia, yielding four kinds of barks—anaranjada,
amarilla, roja, and blanca, or orange-coloured, yellow, red, and white.[55]
He declared the C. lancifolia to be excellent for intermittent fevers, in
which he was right, and to be identical with the C. Condaminea of Loxa, in

which he was wrong; the C. cordifolia he recommended for remittent
fevers, and the other two for inflammatory diseases. In reality the two last
are not chinchonas at all, but belong to the genus Ladenbergia, and contain
no fever-dispelling alkaloids whatever; while the C. Cordifolia is so poor in
alkaloids as to be practically worthless.
While Mutis, and his disciples Caldas and Zea, were prosecuting their
researches in New Granada, an expedition under the botanists Ruiz and
Pavon was sent to Peru; and an acrimonious paper war sprang up between
the rivals, as to the respective merits of the barks of New Granada and Peru.
Ruiz declared the New Granada kinds to be inferior to those of Peru, while
Mutis contradicted him, and Zea[56] went so far as to maintain that the
species found by Ruiz and Pavon in Peru were mere varieties of the four
chinchonas of Mutis, growing near Bogota.[57]
The C. lancifolia of Mutis is dispersed in wild inaccessible forests, while
the other three kinds grow in partly cultivated and inhabited regions, and
their barks are therefore much more easy to collect. These worthless barks
were, therefore, largely exported from Carthagena and Santa Martha, while
the valuable C. lancifolia was neglected; and the consequence was that the
barks of New Granada fell entirely into discredit for many years. In about
1849, however, Dr. Santa Maria of Bogota discovered the C. lancifolia
afresh, producing the quina anaranjada, and it has recently been found in
the whole cordillera from Bogota to Popayan, and largely exported between
1849 and 1855, when the supplies began to fail.
Dr. Karsten, a distinguished German botanist, has lately returned from a
residence of some years in New Granada, where he thoroughly examined
the region of C. lancifolia. His remarks on the production of alkaloids in
chinchona barks are very important. He came to the conclusion that the
content of alkaloids was not always the same in the same species of
chinchona, and that the soil and relations of climate, on which the
nourishment of the plant depends, exercise considerable influence. He also
assumes, what is undoubtedly true, that the chinchonæ with the capsule
opening from the base and crowned by the calyx, with a corolla of delicate
texture and bearded edges, and generally unindented seed-lobes, give
febrifugal barks; but his further position that the short oval or elliptic
capsules are a sign of a regularly larger content of alkaloids, while long
capsules show a small quantity or total absence of quinine and chinchonine,

though doubtless correct so far as Dr. Karsten's personal observation
extended, will not bear general application. The C. succirubra, the richest
of all the barks in alkaloids, would certainly come under the latter head. Dr.
Karsten's observations on the differences in the structure of the false and
true barks are also exceedingly valuable.
The C. lancifolia of New Granada has been found to contain as much as 2½
per cent. of quinine and from 1 to 2 per cent. of chinchonine. The trees are
found in forest-regions veiled in fog and rain, and often exposed to frost,
where the temperature ranges from freezing-point to 77° Fahr., at heights of
7000 feet and upwards above the level of the sea. They attain a height of 80
feet and 5 feet in diameter, but the average size is 30 or 40 feet high and 3
feet in girth.[58] Seeds of this species, collected by Dr. Karsten, were sent to
Java, and there are now several plants raised from these seeds in India.[59]
I find that between 1802 and 1807 the export of New Granada bark from
the port of Carthagena was 3,340,000 lbs.; the largest quantity in one year
being 48,330 lbs. in 1806. The first arrivals in Spain sold at 5 to 6 dollars a
pound, but in 1808 they were worth next to nothing, owing to the damaged
state in which the bark arrived.[60]

IV.—THE HUANUCO REGION IN NORTHERN PERU, AND ITS GREY
BARKS.
The chinchona-trees, in the forests of the province of Huanuco, in Northern
Peru, were discovered by Don Francisco Renquifo in 1776, on the mountain
of San Cristoval de Cuchero or Cocheros; and Don Manuel Alcarraz
brought the first sample of bark from Huanuco to Lima.
At almost the same time the Spanish government was organizing a
botanical expedition to explore the chinchona forests of Peru; composed of
the botanists Don José Pavon, Don Hipolito Ruiz, the Frenchman Dombey,
and two artists named Brunete and Galvez. They embarked at Cadiz on
November 4th, 1777, and reached Callao April 8th, 1778. Having made a
large collection of plants in the neighbourhood of Lima, and despatched
them to Spain,[61] they crossed the Andes, explored the forests of Tarma,
and then proceeded to Huanuco. They traversed the valley of Chinchao,
explored the hill of Cuchero or Cocheros, near Huanuco, and discovered

seven species of chinchona-trees,[62] returning to Lima laden with the
precious spoils of their expedition. They then sailed for Chile, and, after
exploring the greater part of that province, they returned to Lima, and sent
off their botanical collections in fifty-three boxes, which were all lost in the
shipwreck of the 'San Pedro de Alcantara,' off the coast of Portugal, in
1786. M. Dombey returned to Europe at about the same time.
Ruiz and Pavon then returned to Huanuco, explored the courses of the
rivers Pozuzu and Huancabamba, and eventually established themselves at
the farm of Macora, near Huanuco, where they resided for two months with
Don Francisco Pulgar and Don Juan Tafalla, who, by order of the king, had
joined them as pupils and associates in their labours—the first as an artist,
the second as a botanist. In August, 1785, a fire broke out in their house,
which destroyed all their journals and collections; and they then undertook
journeys through the forests of Muña, Pillao, and Chacahuasi, examining
new species of chinchonæ.[63] On April 1st, 1788, taking leave of Pulgar
and Tafalla, they sailed from Callao, and reached Cadiz in September, when
they commenced the publication of their great work the 'Flora
Peruviana.'[64]
Tafalla continued his researches in the province of Huanuco, and discovered
the C. micrantha in 1797, in the cool and shady forests of Monzon and
Chicoplaya. Pavon calls him "noster alumnus."
The expeditions and discoveries of the Spanish botanists induced the
merchants of Lima to speculate in bark, and brought the grey barks of
Huanuco into the European markets.[65] In 1785 Don Juan de Bezares, a
Lima merchant, devoted 2000 dollars to the exploration of the forests of
Huamalies. He penetrated along the banks of the Monzon to Chicoplaya,
passing mountains thickly covered with chinchona-trees, and engaged
people to collect bark. Thousands of arrobas were thus obtained of the bark
of C. glandulifera; and having been appointed Governor of Huamalies by
the Viceroy Don Teodoro de Croix in 1788, Bezares commenced the
construction of a good road down the valley of the Monzon.[66] Up to 1826
the principal supplies of grey bark were derived from C. nitida, but since
that time they are believed to have come chiefly from C. micrantha.
Science owes much to the labours of Spanish botanists: the Spanish nation
has every reason to be proud of her sons who explored the forests of the

Andes with such untiring energy and distinguished ability; and the names of
Mutis, Ruiz, Pavon, and Tafalla occupy no unimportant place in the history
of botanical research. Nor, in this respect, have the natives of South
America been behindhand. Caldas and Zea were worthy successors of
Mutis; Franco Davila[67] represents the botanical learning of Peru; while in
more modern times the name of the South American Triana is not unworthy
to stand side by side with those of the best botanists in Europe.

CHINCHONA MICRANTHA.
(From Howard's 'Nueva Quinologia de Pavon.') Page 32.

After the days of Ruiz and Pavon, our chief authority on the grey barks of
Huanuco is Dr. Poeppig, now a professor in Leipsic, who travelled in Chile
and Peru between the years 1827 and 1832.[68] He says that, as in New
Granada, the grey barks of Huanuco soon fell into discredit in the European
markets, owing to the adulterations of small speculators, and that after 1815
the trade almost entirely ceased.[69] In 1830 scarcely 1250 lbs. of bark
found their way from Huanuco to Lima.
In the flourishing times of the Huanuco bark trade the cascarilleros, or
bark-collectors, entered the forests in parties of ten or more, with supplies
of food and tools. They penetrated for several days into the virgin forest
until they came to the region of the chinchona-trees, when they built some
rude huts and commenced their work. The cateador, or searcher, then
climbed a high tree, and, with the aid of experience and sharp sight, soon
discovered the manchas or clumps by their dark colour, and the peculiar
reflection of the light from their leaves, easily observable even in the midst
of these endless expanses of forest. The cateador, then, with never-erring
instinct, conducted the party for hours through the tangled brushwood, to
the chinchona clump, using the wood-knife at every step. From a single
clump they often obtained a thousand pounds of bark, which was sent up to
be dried beyond the limits of the forest. All depended on the success of this
operation, for the bark easily becomes mouldy and loses its colour. The
cascarilleros got two rials for every twenty-five pounds of green bark
stripped, from the speculator, and, as they could easily strip three hundred
pounds, they made two dollars a day. The bark cost the speculator about
four dollars, and the price at Lima was sixteen to twenty dollars the arroba
of twenty-five pounds.[70]
Dr. Poeppig makes some important remarks on the supposed danger of the
total extirpation of the chinchona-trees by reckless felling. Condamine and
Ulloa believed that this would be the case in the Loxa forests, and Poeppig
thinks that their apprehensions were well founded, because there the trees
are not felled, but left standing deprived of their bark, in which case they
are attacked by rot with extraordinary rapidity in tropical forests, hosts of
insects penetrate to the stem, and the healthy roots become infected. But it
is only necessary to observe the precaution of hewing the stem as near as
possible to the root, in order to be sure of its after-growth. After six years,
near Cuchero, the young stems may already be felled again; but, at higher

altitudes, where the most effective chinchonas are found, it requires twenty
years.[71]
The C. micrantha abounds in the province of Huanuco, and the bark is
known as Cascarilla provinciana. It yields 2.7 per cent. of chinchonine, and
is much sought after for the Russian market.
The C. nitida is a lofty tree growing in the higher regions of Huanuco, and
is known by the natives as quina cana legitima (genuine grey bark). It
grows at a greater height than the former species, and yields 2.2 per cent. of
chinchonine.
The C. Peruviana, so named by Mr. Howard, is the Cascarilla de pata de
gallinazo of the natives. It grows in the forests at a lower elevation than C.
nitida, and yields 3 per cent. of chinchonine and chinchonidine,
consequently indicating a considerable amount of febrifugal power. Quinine
has also been found in samples of grey bark.[72]
The name of grey bark refers to the striking effect of the overspreading
thallus of various Graphideæ, forming groups, and indicating that the tree
has grown in an open situation, exposed to rain and sunshine. A large
supply of all the best kinds of grey bark is now growing in India.[73]

V.—THE CALISAYA REGION IN BOLIVIA AND SOUTHERN PERU.
The chinchona region of Bolivia and Southern Peru, although one of the
most important, was the last to contribute supplies of bark to the European
markets. The trees first became known through the investigations of the
German botanist Thaddæus Haenke, and a Spanish naval officer named
Rubin de Celis, who drew the attention of the inhabitants to the valuable
forests on the eastern slopes of the Bolivian Andes in 1776, though the
unfortunate French naturalist Joseph de Jussieu had previously explored
some portions of those forests.[74] But it was not until 1820, when quinine
was first discovered as the febrifugal principle of bark, that the Chinchona
Calisaya[75] was recognised as containing more of that alkaloid than any
other species.
After 1820 the demand for calisaya bark increased enormously; great
numbers of cascarilleros, or bark-collectors, entered the forests, and in a

short time scarcely a tree remained in the vicinity of the inhabited places;
and the bark was exported in such quantities that the price fell very much.
[76]
It was not, however, until 1830 that the Bolivian Government interfered
in the bark trade. It was then considered necessary by General Santa Cruz's
administration to check the drain of this precious source of wealth by
limiting the quantity of bark to be cut or exported; and in November, 1834,
the Bolivian Congress decreed a law on the subject, which, however, never
took effect. Finally, the cutting was prohibited for five years, but before the
expiration of that period the decree was abrogated, and an export duty of
twelve dollars to twenty dollars the quintal, or cwt., was imposed.
In 1844 the Bolivian Congress authorized the President, General Ballivian,
to negotiate for the establishment of a national bank of bark, with the
requisite capital, to export all the quinquina bark produced in the country.
This Bolivian legislation on the chinchona bark, which is considered, with
justice, the most important product of their country, is very curious, and
sufficiently demonstrates the futility of attempting a system of protection
and monopoly. Instead of taking measures to prevent the reckless
destruction of the trees, to establish extensive nurseries for young plants,
and thus ensure a constant and sufficient supply of bark, these Bolivians
have meddled with the trade, attempted to regulate European prices by the
most barbarous legislation, and allowed the forests to be denuded of
chinchona-trees. In 1845 the bark monopoly was given to Messrs. Jorge
Tesanos Pinto and Co., for five years, for the sum of 119,000 dollars, during
which time not more than 4000 quintals of bark were to be exported
annually. This company gave such iniquitously low prices to the
cascarilleros for their bark, that a clamour was raised against it, and the
President, General Belzu, put an end to its existence in March 1849.
Free trade, with a duty of twenty dollars the quintal, was then established
during one year; but in 1850 exclusive privileges were again granted to
Messrs. Aramayo Brothers and Co., who were to pay the Government
142,000 dollars a year for the right of exporting 7000 quintals of bark
annually, to be purchased of the cascarilleros, the tabla or trunk bark at
sixty dollars the quintal, and the canuto or quill bark at thirty to thirty-six
dollars the quintal. The Pinto company had only paid eighteen to twenty-
two dollars the quintal for tabla, and eight to ten dollars for canuto bark.
The favourable conditions thus offered to cascarilleros induced so great a

number of persons to undertake the business, that at the end of the first year
more than 20,000 quintals of bark arrived at La Paz—that is to say, more
than twice as much as the company had agreed for, and more than the Pinto
company had exported in five years. The Government then issued a decree
to prevent the smuggling of bark, and another that no bark should be cut
except for the company: but these measures caused much discontent, and in
1851 the Congress voted that the Executive had exceeded its powers in
making these arrangements with the Aramayo company, and declared them
to be null and void. The Aramayo company purchased 14,000 quintals of
the bark, and agreed to take the same quantity during the two following
years, paying only a third of the price in ready money; but a new company,
formed under the name of Pedro Blaye and Co., engaged to purchase all the
bark that was for sale, both at La Paz and Cochabamba, for ready money. It
was evident that one or the other of these companies must break, and finally
that of Blaye fell. The Government then determined to export the bark
which remained in store on its own account, paying the same price as had
been agreed on by the company.
These two companies lasted for two years, during which time the Bolivian
forests yielded 3,000,000 lbs. of bark. Such was the result of the high prices
which followed the fall of the Pinto monopoly; but it was the rich
contractors, and not the poor bark-collectors, who derived benefit from the
change.[77]
In 1851 Government prohibited the cutting of bark entirely, from the 1st of
January, 1852, to the 1st of January, 1854.[78] In 1858 a decree was issued
to regulate the transition of the system of monopoly to that of free-trade in
bark, which caused an improvement in the prices in European markets; and
in November, 1859, Dr. Linares, then President of Bolivia, declared the
right to cut bark in the forests to be free, and reduced the duty 25 per cent.
on the current prices, to be fixed at the beginning of each year.[79] This is
the law which now regulates the bark trade in Bolivia, and, after a course of
short-sighted meddling legislation, extending over twenty years, in 1850 it
still brought 142,000 dollars annually into the public treasury, being a
fifteenth part of the whole revenue of the Republic.
For exportation the bark is wrapped in fresh bullock-hides, having been
previously sewn up in thick cotton bags containing 155 lbs. each. These

hide packages are called serons, a mule-load being 285 lbs., and the
transport to the coast costing about ten dollars for each mule-load.
It is to the persevering energy and great talent of that distinguished French
botanist Dr. Weddell that we owe our knowledge of the chinchona regions
of Bolivia and Southern Peru, and especially of the inestimable quinine-
yielding species which he identified as the C. Calisaya. Dr. Weddell
accompanied the scientific expedition of the Count de Castelnau, which was
sent out by Louis Philippe to South America, and, after crossing the vast
empire of Brazil, entered Bolivia by the country of the Chiquitos in August,
1845. It was Dr. Weddell's chief object to examine the chinchona region of
this country, and his first step was to proceed to Tarija, to ascertain the
extreme southern limit of the chinchona-trees, which he discovered in 19°
S. lat. He named the species C. Australis. Dr. Weddell then commenced a
thorough exploration of the Bolivian chinchona forests, making his way
over the most difficult country, from Cochabamba, through Ayopaya,
Enquisivi, and the yungus[80] of La Paz; where the species of chinchonæ
continued to multiply under his eye. In Enquisivi he first met with and
studied the C. Calisaya, which he named and described, collecting much
information respecting the trade, and the methods of collecting bark. In
1847 he entered the province of Capaulican, descending the river Tipuani,
where he was attacked by fever, and ascending the Mapiri. At Apollobamba,
the centre of the most ancient bark-collecting district, he found that the
surrounding forests were quite cleared of chinchona-trees, and that it was
necessary to seek for them at a distance of ten or twelve days' journey from
any inhabited place. In June 1847 Dr. Weddell entered the Peruvian
province of Caravaya, examined the chinchona forests of the valleys of
Sandia (San Juan del Oro) and Tambopata, and concluded his investigations
by a visit to the lovely ravine of Santa Anna, near Cuzco.
Dr. Weddell was accompanied in his visit to the valleys of Santa Anna by
M. Delondre, a manufacturer of quinine at Havre, who, after contemplating
the project of paying a personal visit to the chinchona forests for twenty
years, had at length set out, landed at Islay in July, 1847, and proceeded by
way of Arequipa to Cuzco. M. Delondre appears to have employed a
contractor to supply him with bark, who failed in his engagements, and of
whom the French quinine manufacturer bitterly complains as a second
Dousterswivel.[81] MM. Weddell and Delondre finally left the chinchona

forests in September, 1847, and set out for the coast of Peru. Dr. Weddell's
valuable monograph on the chinchona genus, 'Histoire naturelle des
Quinquinas,' the most important work that has yet appeared on the subject,
was published at Paris in 1849.
In 1851 Dr. Weddell undertook a second voyage to South America, and in
1852 he entered the Bolivian chinchona region of Tipuani by way of Sorata.
In descending the eastern slopes of the Andes he describes the vegetation as
taking new forms at every mile of the descent. The undergrowth was
formed of Melastomaceæ with violet-coloured flowers (Chætogastra),
myrtles, Gaultherias, and Andromedas; lower down there were many
superb species of Thibaudias; and, where the great forests succeed to the
smaller growth of the more elevated region, the predominant trees were
Escallonias, arborescent Eupatorias, Bocconias, and a fruit-bearing
Papilionacea with a scarlet corolla. He encountered the first forest
chinchona-trees at an elevation of 7138 feet, being the C. ovata var. α
vulgaris. Descending still, he came to paccay-trees (Mimosa Inga) in
flower, and met with the first plant of the shrubby variety of C. Calisaya, on
an open grassy ridge or pajonal, at an elevation of 4800 feet.
Dr. Weddell descended the river Tipuani to Guanay, a mission of Lecos
Indians, and ascended the Coroico in a canoe made of the wood of a species
of Bombax. The forests bordering on the river Coroico abounded in many
species of palms, chiefly Maximilianas and Iriarteas, the latter a singular
kind with a trunk supported on long aërial roots. There were also many trees
of C. micrantha on the banks of the Coroico, a species of chinchona, the
peculiarity of which is its fondness for the bottoms of valleys and banks of
rivers, while most of the others prefer elevated ridges or slopes of the
mountains. With it were growing trees of the beautiful Cascarilla
magnifolia, an allied genus with deliciously fragrant flowers.
The cascarilleros of Bolivia lead a hard and dangerous life. They only value
the C. Calisaya, the other species being for them carhua-carhua, a name
given to all the inferior kinds. Those who carry the bark on their shoulders
from the interior of the forests receive fifteen dollars for every quintal, and
they also have to carry all their provisions and covering for the night. If by
any accident they are lost, or their provisions are destroyed, they die of
hunger. Dr. Weddell, on one occasion, while ascending the Coroico, landed
with the intention of passing the night on a beach well shaded by trees. Here

he found the hut of a cascarillero, and near it a man stretched out on the
ground in the agonies of death. He was nearly naked, and covered with
myriads of insects, whose stings had hastened his end. His face was so
swollen as to be wholly unrecognisable, and his limbs were in a frightful
state. On the leaves which formed the roof of the hut were the remains of
this unfortunate man's clothes, a straw hat and some rags, with a knife, and
an earthen pot containing the remains of his last meal, a little maize, and
two or three chuñus. Such is the end to which their hazardous occupation
exposes the bark-collectors—death in the midst of the forests, far from all
friends—a death without help, and without consolation.
Dr. Weddell returned to La Paz by ascending the Coroico, and the results of
his second visit to the chinchona forests appeared in an entertaining book of
travels.[82] To this able botanist and intrepid explorer science is indebted, to
no small extent, for the present state of our knowledge of the chinchona
genus.
The C. Calisaya species has been divided by Dr. Weddell into two varieties,
namely, a vera and β Josephiana. The former, when growing under
favourable circumstances, is a tall tree, often larger round than twice a
man's girth, with its leafy head rising above all the other trees of the forest.
The leaves are oblong or lanceolate-obovate, pitted in the axils of the veins,
with a shining green surface, and reddish veins. The flowers, which hang in
large panicles, are a rosy-white colour, with laciniæ rose-colour, and
bordered by marginal white hairs. The capsule is smooth, and about twice
as long as broad. This tree grows on declivities, and steep rugged places of
the mountains, from 4900 to 5900 feet above the sea, in the forests of
Enquisivi, Capaulican, Apollobamba, and Larecaja in Bolivia, and of
Caravaya in Peru. The trunk may be known by the periderm of the bark,
sometimes of a greyish-white, sometimes brown or blackish, being always
marked by longitudinal ridges or cracks, a characteristic remarked of no
other tree of these forests, excepting one or two of the same family. The
taste is strongly bitter, which is apparent directly the tip of the tongue
touches it, and, when the exterior receives a cut, a yellow gummy resinous
matter exudes from it. The bark comes off with great ease, like peeling a
mushroom, while, in the inferior kinds, and above all in the false
chinchonas, it strips transversely, and with much greater difficulty. A good
tree yields 150 to 175 pounds of dried bark.

The other variety of C. Calisaya, called ychu cascarilla, or cascarilla del
pajonal, by the natives, was named Josephiana by Dr. Weddell after the
unfortunate French botanist Joseph de Jussieu. It is a shrub, not attaining a
greater height than six and a half to ten feet, and growing on open grassy
slopes, at much higher elevations than the tree Calisaya. There is another
tree variety with a somewhat darker leaf, which Dr. Weddell classed as a
distinct species, and called C. Boliviana in 1849, but which he now
considers to be a mere variety of C. Calisaya. The other good kinds in the
forests of Bolivia and Caravaya are C. micrantha, and two varieties of C.
ovata.
Dr. Weddell brought seeds of C. Calisaya to Paris, which were raised in the
Jardin des Plantes in 1848, and others in the garden of the Horticultural
Society in London, where one of the plants flowered.[83] Many of these
plants were given away, and some of them were sent by the Dutch
Government to Java.
Plants of C. Calisaya are now flourishing in India. The yield of quinine for
the best kinds of calisaya bark is 3.8 per cent., that for the Josephiana
variety 3.29.[84]
Arica and Islay are the ports for the shipment of calisaya bark; and in 1859
the quantity and value exported were:—
From Arica 1926quintals, worth £17,334
" Islay 1365 " " 12,383
3291 29,717
Jan. 1st to Nov. 30th, 1860, Arica $160,260 = £35,000 (about).
1860, Islay, 1077 quintals.

CHAPTER III.
Rapid destruction of chinchona-trees in South America—Importance of their introduction into
other countries—M. Hasskarl's mission—Chinchona plantations in Java.

The collection of bark in the South American forests was conducted from
the first with reckless extravagance; no attempt worthy the name has ever
been made either with a view to the conservancy or cultivation of the
chinchona-trees; and both the complete abandonment of the forests to the
mercy of every speculator, as in Peru, Ecuador, and New Granada, and the
barbarous meddling legislation of Bolivia, have led to equally destructive
results. The bark-collector enters the forest and destroys the first clump of
chinchona-trees he finds, without a thought of any measure to preserve the
continuance of a supply of bark. Thus, in Apollobamba, where the trees
once grew thickly round the village, no full-grown one is now to be found
within eight or ten days' journey:[85] and so utterly improvident are the
collectors that, in the forests of Cochabamba, they bark the tree without
felling, and thus ensure its death; or, if they cut it down, they actually
neglect to take off the bark on the side touching the ground, to save
themselves the trouble of turning the trunk over.[86]
A century ago Condamine[87] raised a warning voice against the destruction
that was going on in the forests of Loxa. Ulloa[88] advised the Government
to check it by legislation; soon afterwards Humboldt reported that 25,000
chinchona-trees were destroyed every year, and Ruiz[89] protested against
the custom of barking the trees, and leaving them to be destroyed by rot.
But nothing was ever done in the way of conservancy, either by the
Government, or by private speculators whose subsistence depended on a
continued supply of bark. Dr. Weddell, alluding to this recklessness as
regards C. Calisaya, observes that "the forests of Bolivia, rich as they are,
cannot long resist the continued attacks to which they have been recently
exposed. He who, in Europe, sees these enormous and ever-increasing
masses of bark arrive, may perhaps believe that they will continue to do so;
but he who sees the chinchona-trees in their native forests, and knows the
real truth, is obliged to think otherwise."

There is, however, no danger of the actual extirpation of the trees unless the
plan is adopted of leaving them standing, and stripped of their bark, as in
the Loxa forests. Poeppig says that, in these cases, the trees in the tropical
forests are attacked by rot with extraordinary rapidity; hosts of insects
penetrate the stem to complete the work of destruction, and the healthy root
becomes infected. Thus the valuable species called C. Uritusinga has really
been almost exterminated.
But where the trees are felled it is only necessary to observe the precaution
of hewing the stem as near as possible to the root, in order to be sure of its
after-growth.[90] Under these circumstances, after six years the young trees
are ready to be felled again in the milder regions, and after twenty years in
cold and exposed localities. From the base of the stems, when not barked, a
number of shoots spring out between bark and wood; and Dr. Karsten says
that, though an interval of rest of twelve or fifteen years must be given to
the forests where the chinchona-trees have thus been felled, this only
promotes further investigation in the endless untrodden forests, while, in the
mean time, the younger generation is growing up in those which have
already been exhausted.[91]
The danger, therefore, is not in the actual annihilation of the chinchona-
trees in South America, but lest, with the increasing demand, there should
be long intervals of time during which the supply would cease, owing to the
forests being exhausted, and requiring periods of rest. In many districts this
is already the case. The bark which comes from Loxa is in the minutest
quills, and in the forests of Caravaya, after an interval of rest of several
years, the root-shoots had scarcely grown to a sufficient size to yield
anything but quill bark. Then again the supplies of bark from South
America are not nearly sufficient to meet the demand, and the price is kept
so high as to place this inestimable remedy beyond the means of millions of
natives of fever-visited regions. For these reasons the incalculable
importance of introducing the chinchona-plant into other countries adapted
for its growth, and thus escaping from entire dependence on the South
American forests, has long occupied the attention of scientific men in
Europe.
In 1839 Dr. Royle, in his 'Illustrations of Himalayan Botany,'[92]
recommended the introduction of the chinchona-plants into India, pointing

out the Neilgherry and Silhet hills as suitable sites for the experiment, and
Lord William Bentinck took some interest in the project. M. Fée had
previously recommended the introduction of these plants into the French
colonies;[93] and in 1849 both Dr. Weddell[94] and M. Delondre[95] strongly
urged the adoption of this measure. The former declared that posterity
would bless those who should carry this idea into execution.[96]
The Dutch, who possess in the island of Java a range of forest-covered
mountains admirably adapted for chinchona cultivation, were, however, the
first to take active steps for its introduction into the Eastern Hemisphere;
and their praiseworthy exertions deserve, what they lay claim to with
justice, the approbation of the whole civilized world. The experiment in
Java, however, has only been tried with a very limited number of valuable
species of chinchonæ, and has met with very limited success, owing to the
introduction of worthless kinds, and to mistakes in the cultivation,
committed during the first few years.
For the last thirty years Dutch scientific men, among whom the name of the
botanist Blume may be mentioned, had urged their Government to
undertake the introduction of chinchona-plants into Java. But it was not
until the year 1852 that M. Pahud, the Dutch Minister of the Colonies, was
authorized to employ an agent to collect plants and seeds of valuable
species in Peru, and to convey them to Java. He selected, for this important
mission, M. Justus Charles Hasskarl, a botanist who had for some time
superintended the gardens in Java, but who was a stranger to South America
—ignorant of the country, the people, and the languages—unacquainted
with the forests where the chinchona-trees are found, and who had never
seen them growing in their natural state. He sailed for Peru in December,
1852, with orders not to confine himself to the Calisaya plant, but to collect
plants and seeds of as many different species as possible. His original
orders were to proceed from Guayaquil to the chinchona-forests of Loxa in
the first instance; but he changed his plan, and, landing at Lima, crossed the
cordilleras in May, 1853.
It would be difficult, in making a chance journey from the coast to the
forests of the Eastern Andes, to hit upon a part where valuable species of
chinchona-trees are not known to exist. There are such spaces—forest tracts
—intervening between the more favoured regions, where only species of
little value are found, such as C. pubescens, C. scrobiculata, &c.; and on

one of these, between the region of grey barks in Huanuco and that of C.
Calisaya in Caravaya, M. Hasskarl, through being unacquainted with the
localities, was so unfortunate as to stumble. He crossed the Andes by the
road from Lima to Tarma, and descended the eastern slopes into the
montañas of Vitoc, Uchubamba, and Monobamba; returning thence by
Xauxa into the loftier region of the Andes. Near Uchubamba he saw trees
which he believed to be C. Calisaya; but that species is never found to the
north of the province of Caravaya. He however collected a quantity of seeds
of this imaginary C. Calisaya, and four packets of a species which he called
C. ovata, with smaller quantities of C. pubescens and C. amygdalifolia.
The species called by M. Hasskarl C. ovata now forms the bulk of the
chinchona-plantations in Java. He found it on dry sunny hills, without much
shelter from the sun, in a very sandy micaceous soil, at an elevation of 5500
to 6000 feet above the sea. It is sometimes a mere shrub, but occasionally
rises to fifteen or twenty-five feet, with elegant pink flowers and reddish
fruit. The native name is cascarilla crespilla chica; and as the crespilla
grande is the C. ovata of Weddell, it is probable that M. Hasskarl was thus
led into the mistake of calling his new species C. ovata. The leaves are
smooth above, with a felt-like pubescence on the under surface, and the
hairy capsules are probably an indication of the worthlessness of the
species.[97] In fact, no good kinds are found in this part of the country, and
all the seeds sent home by M. Hasskarl were equally valueless. He collected
specimens of C. lanceolata of Pavon, at a place called "Escalera de San
Rafael," on the road between Uchubamba and Xauxa.[98]
From Xauxa M. Hasskarl went to Cuzco, and thence in September to
Sandia in the province of Caravaya; but finding that the seeds of chinchona-
trees are ripe in August, and that he had arrived too late, he returned to
Lima, and finally took up his abode at Arequipa until the following year. In
March, 1854, he again set out, crossed the Andes to Puno, and, after
wandering over part of Bolivia, at length reached the little village of Sina in
Caravaya, near the frontier between Peru and Bolivia, in April. He had
assumed the feigned name of José Carlos Müller, and had printed it on his
cards, one of which he presented to the governor of Sina, Don Juan de la
Cruz Gironda, requesting him to procure a supply of chinchona-plants for
him. Gironda refused, but introduced the stranger to a Bolivian named
Clemente Henriquez, a clever and intelligent, but dishonest and

unscrupulous man. Henriquez agreed to procure 400 plants of C. Calisaya
for a certain sum, part of which was to be paid down, and the remainder on
delivery of the plants. M. Hasskarl then went on to the village of Sandia,
where he took up his abode, without entering the chinchona forests, and
waited there until the plants should arrive. Meanwhile Henriquez employed
an Indian to collect the stipulated number of plants, round a place called
Ychu-corpa,[99] on the frontier of Bolivia; and when they were brought to
him he went to Sandia, delivered them to M. Hasskarl, and received his
money. An outcry was afterwards raised against Henriquez, by the people
inhabiting villages bordering on the chinchona forests, who considered that
their interests would be injured by the exportation of the plants: they
declared they would cut his feet off if they caught him, and he has ever
since been obliged to live at Pelechuco, in Bolivia.[100] This feeling has
rendered any future operations of a like nature exceedingly difficult.
M. Hasskarl left Sandia with these plants in June, 1854, but they were not
placed in Wardian cases at the port of Islay until August, and on the 27th of
that month he finally left the coast of Peru in a sailing vessel, and shaped
his course direct for Java.[101] He arrived at Batavia with twenty Wardian
cases on December 13th, but all his plants have since died except two.[102]
On his arrival M. Hasskarl was intrusted with the cultivation of chinchona-
plants in Java, with the rank of Assistant-Resident, and was made a Knight
of the Netherlands Lion, and Commander of the Order of the Oaken Crown.
[103]

Besides the plants brought by M. Hasskarl, a plant of C. Calisaya, raised in
Paris from seeds sent home by Dr. Weddell, had arrived in Java; as well as
plants raised from seeds previously sent from Peru, and seeds of C.
lancifolia sent by Dr. Karsten from New Granada, through the Governor of
Curaçoa; and thus the experimental chinchona cultivation in Java was
commenced.
Although through various circumstances the mission to South America was
not very successful, yet M. Hasskarl deserves the greatest credit for the zeal
and determination displayed by him in his journeys, during which he was
surrounded by no ordinary amount of difficulties and dangers. He certainly
proved himself to be a most indefatigable and courageous traveller.

M. Hasskarl, and his associate M. Teysmann, selected the site for the first
chinchona plantation, at a place called Tjibodas, thirty miles south of
Batavia, on the northern slope of the volcanic range which traverses Java
from east to west, and 4400 feet above the sea. Ground was also prepared at
Tjipannas, half a mile above Tjibodas, and 4700 feet above the sea. These
sites were covered with rasamala-trees of immense size (Liquidambar
Altingia,[104] Blume), which had to be felled. The superintendents, deceived
by the sight of such large trees, imagined that the soil was deep and good,
but in reality it was not more than six inches deep, and underneath there
was a formation completely impenetrable to roots, called tjadas, composed
of sand and small stones of trachytic origin, strongly cemented together by
crater slime, the whole being as hard as rock. Not one of the huge rasamala-
trees in reality pierced this tjadas with their roots, but ran along its surface
horizontally for hundreds of feet. In these localities the chinchona-plants
continued to languish during the year 1855, and in the end of that year the
experiment presented a most hopeless appearance.
The causes of this failure are sufficiently evident. After the felling of the
rasamala-trees, the young chinchona-plants were exposed to the full force
of a burning sun, without any shade whatever, in an extraordinarily thin soil
upon a rocky bank impenetrable to roots. The dead and rotted roots of the
rasamala-trees were allowed to remain, developing fungi which attacked the
chinchona-roots; and the sites themselves were in much too low and warm a
climate. In consequence of the combined effects of these adverse
influences, there were only 300 chinchona-plants in Java, in a sickly
unpromising condition, after the lapse of the first eighteen months.
In December, 1855, Dr. Franz Junghuhn came to Java with 139 chinchona-
plants, raised from seeds in Holland. They were delivered over to M.
Hasskarl, and in six months seventy-six of them were dead. In June, 1856,
M. Pahud, who had been Minister of the Colonies, and was then Governor-
General of Netherlands India, relieved M. Hasskarl of his duties, and gave
the entire charge of the chinchona experiment to Dr. Junghuhn, an
experienced scientific botanist. Dr. J. E. de Vry, a chemist of some
eminence, was also sent to Java, charged with the special duty of applying
chemical tests to the barks of the chinchona-plants, to ascertain their
intrinsic value.

When Dr. Junghuhn took charge the prospects of the experiment were very
far from promising, and he has displayed an amount of intelligent
perseverance, combined with much practical knowledge, which is deserving
of all praise. He found the 139 chinchona-plants which he himself brought
out reduced to sixty-three; the seeds of C. lancifolia represented by three
sickly plants; the collection of plants of C. Calisaya brought by M. Hasskarl
from Peru, also reduced to three; two plants of C. Calisaya raised from
seeds sent home by Dr. Weddell; and the remainder, consisting of the
worthless species collected by M. Hasskarl in Uchubamba, making a total
of only 300 plants.
In 1856 a new system was introduced, money was lavishly expended, an
efficient establishment was formed, and a great effort was commenced to
secure the successful cultivation of the chinchona-plants. The
superintendent receives 1350l. a year, the chemist 1100l. a year, and under
them there are eight Dutch overseers; the total amount paid in salaries being
3256l. a year.[105] It was ordered that, until the cultivation is considered as
quite successful, it should remain under the management of scientific men,
but that finally it should be handed over to the ordinary direction of the
chiefs of the provincial government, under the Director of Cultures; and a
memorandum of instructions, consisting of eighteen articles, was drawn up
for the guidance of Dr. Junghuhn and his subordinates.
Finding the chinchona-plants in so deplorable a condition, one of Dr.
Junghuhn's first measures was to transplant them from Tjibodas to a more
suitable site on the Malawar mountains, a very delicate and hazardous
operation, which was, however, successfully performed: in 1857 plants both
of C. Calisaya and of the worthless species blossomed, and in 1858 bore
fruit. Dr. Junghuhn found that the latter could not be the C. ovata as named
by M. Hasskarl; but he was himself equally mistaken in naming it C.
Lucumæfolia, from a fancied resemblance to that species of Pavon.[106] The
great mistake of the Dutch has been in propagating this worthless species,
and spending vast sums of money on its cultivation, tempted by finding that
its nature was hardy, and that it required less care than the delicate C.
Calisaya.
In 1858 several of the plants sickened from the attacks of destructive insects
(Bostrichus or Dermestes), not larger than the head of a pin, which pierced
horizontally into the bark and wood of the stem and branches, where they

laid their eggs and died. Dr. Junghuhn conjectures that they were imported
from Peru; as they are not natives of the Java forests, and I found these
boring insects in the wood of chinchona-trees in the forests of Caravaya.
Twenty-nine trees were thus attacked in Java, and died.
Dr. Junghuhn established his new plantations on the slopes of the Malawar
mountains, where he has found that the C. Calisaya is much more sensitive
than his so-called C. Lucumæfolia; and that very slight differences in
temperature, in elevation, in light, in shade, and in moisture, exercise a very
evident influence on the former, while the latter remain quite unaffected by
them. He considers that the best conditions for the growth of C. Calisaya on
the Malawar mountains (between latitude 7° and 8° S.) are good loose
forest soil and moderate shade, at an elevation from 5000 to 5700 feet
above the sea. The C. Calisayas, when they receive light only on their
crowns, and are surrounded by the dark wood, have a rapidly rising,
slender, tall stem, devoid of side branches; whilst, when they stand on clear
open spots, they grow much stronger in width and thickness, but are shorter,
and have numerous side branches.
The following is Dr. Junghuhn's method of cultivation. Pots, made of
bamboo-joints, are loosely filled with finely-sifted earth, composed of one-
fourth part of black volcanic sand (felspar, hornblende, and magnet iron)
mixed with brown forest soil. The pots are then placed in the interior of the
forests, on beds of heaped-up earth laid out in the form of terraces, on the
declivities of the mountains. A roof of dry grass, supported by stakes, and
high enough to admit a side light, protects the pots from the falling rain-
drops. These seed-beds are from 200 to 500 feet long, and extend in parallel
lines between the trees, like the steps of an amphitheatre. Each pot receives
only one seed, and the earth is kept constantly moist by watering twice
daily with the squeeze of a sponge.[107]
The pots remain standing on the seed-beds until the plants are about half a
foot high, which takes about eight months; and during this time they are
turned every five or eight days, in order to prevent the crooked growth of
the plants, which always turn to the side where most light falls on the beds.
For the purpose of planting out, a few principal broad roads are made along
the mountain ridge through the wood, united at intervals by cross footpaths,
twenty-five feet asunder. At the side of these footpaths, and twenty-five feet
from each other, wide trenches are dug, and filled up with cleansed earth, so

as to make slightly raised mounds, with gutters to carry off the rain-water.
The young plants are placed in the loose earth on these mounds, and four
strong stakes, driven into the ground round them, are fastened together four
or five feet above their heads. This protects them from falling boughs, drip,
and wild animals, for some years. Thus thousands of paths have been cut in
the forests, and planted with chinchona-trees, which are growing well.
There are now nine nurseries in Java—Tjibodas on Mount Gêdé; Tjiniruan
on the south-west slope, and Tjiborum on the southern slope of Mount
Malawar; Genting; Reong Gunung; Kawah Tjirvidei in the Kendeng
mountains; one on Mount Patna; and two others.
Dr. Junghuhn, in adopting the above method of cultivation, and in altering
M. Hasskarl's arrangements, has run into an opposite extreme. His system
of planting the young chinchonas in the forests under dense shade[108] is
most erroneous; and the way in which the seeds are treated quite accounts
for the small number which germinate.
On the 31st of December, 1860, the number of chinchona-plants in Java
was as follows:—
C. Calisaya 7,316 plants, and 1030cuttings.
C. lancifolia 80 " " 28 "
Species procured by M. Hasskarl 939,809 " " 18 "
Total 947,205plants. [109]

Besides 700,264 seeds in stock, or sown. The extreme height attained by the
tallest C. Calisaya was, at the same date, fifteen feet, and by the worthless
species twenty-eight feet. One of the trees of C. lancifolia had also attained
a height of fifteen feet.
Dr. de Vry, the eminent chemist who is associated with Dr. Junghuhn, and
who had for two years previously occupied himself with the study of the
chinchona alkaloids, has been actively engaged in careful investigations of
the chinchona barks in Java. With regard to the C. Calisaya his results have
been very satisfactory. From the trunk-bark of a plant of this species, six
years old, he obtained, in August, 1860, 5 per cent. of alkaloids; and from
that of the branches, 2½ per cent. But the specimens of C. Calisaya bark
from Java, which have been sent to the Exhibition of 1862, have a very
different appearance, and are much thinner than those from South America.

This circumstance leads to the inference that the present system of
cultivation in Java is erroneous. With the species introduced by M.
Hasskarl, Dr. de Vry was not so successful. The leaves, flowers, fruit, and
bark of this species were sent to Mr. Howard by Dr. Junghuhn; and it was
found that the names of C. ovata, given it by M. Hasskarl, and of C.
Lucumæfolia by Dr. Junghuhn, were equally erroneous. It was clear that it
was one of the numerous worthless species, not previously described, and
Mr. Howard, in the seventh number of his work, has named it C.
Pahudiana,[110] after M. Charles F. Pahud, who, as Minister of the
Colonies, sent M. Hasskarl to South America in 1852, and who, being
appointed Governor-General of Netherlands India in 1855,[111] did so much
to ensure the success of the chinchona experiment in Java. Up to 1860 Dr.
de Vry had only obtained 0.4 per cent. of alkaloids from the bark of C.
Pahudiana, and Mr. Howard's examination coincides with the analysis of
Dr. de Vry in pronouncing it an inferior sort. In 1861, however, he obtained
3 per cent. of alkaloids from the bark of the roots of a C. Pahudiana plant
eight years old, and 1¼ per cent. from the trunk-bark. From a tree aged two
years and three months he only got 0.09 per cent. from the trunk-bark, and
1.9 per cent. from the root-bark, of which he states the greater part to be
quinine; while in the trunk-bark there was not a trace of that alkaloid. This
result leads Dr. de Vry to conjecture that the quinine, once formed in the
roots, is employed in the growth of the plant, and that, when it attains its
full growth, the trunk-bark will also be rich in quinine. If this should not be
the case, he hopes that the roots of the young plants may be used profitably
for the manufacture of quinine. It is to be feared that the quinine in the
trunk-bark will not increase with age, for, while in the younger tree there
was 1.9 per cent. of alkaloids in the roots, chiefly quinine, and 0.09 in the
trunk-bark, in the older one there was 3 per cent. in the roots, of which 1.8
was quinine, and 1¼ per cent. in the trunk-bark, in which there was only the
minutest trace of quinine. Thus, while the quantity of quinine decreased or
remained stationary in the roots, the trunk-bark was still destitute of that
precious alkaloid.
It is possible that Dr. de Vry, in his earnest desire to discover quinine in a
species upon which so much labour and anxiety, and such vast sums of
money, had been expended, may have been deceived by appearances. Both
from the form of the capsules, the absence of quinine in the upper bark, and

the locality whence it was procured, there is every reason to fear that the C.
Pahudiana is a worthless kind; and the bark of this species, which has been
sent to the Exhibition of 1862, is so evidently valueless that no dealer
would buy it. In all valuable species there is a good percentage of alkaloids
in the upper bark, and a very much smaller proportion, which, too, is
amorphous and of little commercial value, in the bark of the roots. This law
of nature, the existence of which is proved by all experience, would have to
be reversed in order to enable the Dutch to extract large supplies of quinine
from the roots of a species, such as C. Pahudiana, which contains none in
the upper bark.
It is much to be regretted that the scientific men in Java, instead of exerting
all their skill and talent in the work of cultivating C. Calisaya and C.
lancifolia, of the value of which there is no doubt, should have filled the
forests of Java with a kind which from the first was known to be of very
doubtful value, was unknown in commerce, and the cultivation of which
will, it is to be feared, only end in loss and disappointment.
The valuable species were found to be much more tender, and more
sensitive to external unfavourable influences, than the C. Pahudiana; the
latter was therefore propagated rapidly, and unwisely allowed to outstrip the
other kinds in the race, and the consequence has been that it has gained an
immense preponderance. Thus, so far as valuable species of chinchona-
plants are concerned, the Dutch experiment in Java has been attended by a
very small measure of success. After three years the Dutch gardeners only
had forty plants of valuable species in Java, and after six years they had
only increased their stock to seven thousand plants. It will presently be seen
that far greater results were attained in India within eighteen months of the
first introduction of the chinchona-plants.

1857.[9] December, December,
At Tjibodas. 1859.[112] 1860.[113] 1861.
C. Calisaya 37 3,201 7,316 ?
C. lancifolia 3 45 80 ?
C. Pahudiana 60 96,838 939,809 Millions.
Yet, so great are the difficulties of this most important undertaking, that, in
spite of the comparative failure in Java, the highest praise and admiration

are due both to M. Hasskarl and to his successors. They have devoted great
ability, no ordinary amount of scientific knowledge, and untiring
perseverance to this good work; and, now that they have received plants of
other really valuable species from India, there is a prospect that the
chinchona cultivation in Java may eventually attain such a measure of
success as will entitle Dr. Junghuhn and Dr. de Vry to the gratitude of their
countrymen.[114]

CHAPTER IV.
INTRODUCTION OF CHINCHONA-PLANTS INTO INDIA.
PRELIMINARY ARRANGEMENTS.

The distribution of valuable products of the vegetable kingdom amongst the
nations of the earth—their introduction from countries where they are
indigenous into distant lands with suitable soils and climates—is one of the
greatest benefits that civilization has conferred upon mankind. Such
measures ensure immediate material increase of comfort and profit, while
their effects are more durable than the proudest monuments of engineering
skill. With all their shortcomings, the Spaniards can point to vast plains
covered with wheat and barley, to valleys waving with sugar-cane, and to
hill-slopes enriched by vineyards and coffee-plantations, as the fruits of
their conquest of South America. On the other hand, India owes to America
the aloes which line the roads in Mysore, the delicious anonas, the arnotto-
tree, the sumach, the capsicums so extensively used in native curries, the
pimento, the papaw, the cassava which now forms the staple food of the
people of Travancore, the potato, tobacco, Indian corn, pine-apples,
American cotton, and lastly the chinchona: while the slopes of the
Himalayas are enriched by tea-plantations, and the hills of Southern India
are covered with rows of coffee-trees.
It is by thus adding to the sources of Indian wealth that England will best
discharge the immense responsibility she has incurred by the conquest of
India, so far as the material interests of that vast empire are concerned. Thus
too will she leave behind her by far the most durable monument of the
benefits conferred by her rule. The canals and other works of the Moguls
were in ruins before the English occupied the country; but the melons
which the Emperor Baber, the founder of the Mogul dynasty, introduced
into India, and which caused him to shed tears while thinking of his far-off
mountain-home, still flourish round Delhi and Agra. Centuries after the
Ganges canal has become a ruin, and the great Vehar reservoir a dry valley,
the people of India will probably have cause to bless the healing effects of

the fever-dispelling chinchona-trees, which will still be found on their
southern mountains.
The introduction of the chinchona-plant into India was surrounded by
difficulties from which all other undertakings of a similar nature have been
free. When tea was introduced into the Himalayan districts, it had been a
cultivated plant in China for many ages, and experienced Chinese
cultivators came with it. But the chinchona had never been cultivated; since
the discovery of its value in 1638 it had remained a wild forest tree; all
information concerning it was solely derived from the observations of
European travellers who had penetrated into the virgin forests; and the only
guidance for cultivators in India is to be found in the reports of these
travellers, and in the experience slowly acquired by careful and intelligent
trials.[115] Great as these difficulties were, they were probably exceeded by
the perils and risks of every description which must be encountered in
collecting plants and seeds in South America, and conveying them in safety
to India.
But the vast importance of the introduction of these plants into our Indian
empire, and the inestimable benefits which would thus be conferred on the
millions who inhabit the fever-haunted plains and jungles, were
commensurate with the difficulties of the undertaking. The subject had
occupied the attention of the Indian Government from time to time, ever
since Dr. Royle in 1839 advocated the introduction of quinine-yielding trees
into India, in his work on Himalayan Botany; but it was not until twenty
years afterwards, in 1859, that any adequate steps were taken to effect this
most desirable end, and to bring an antidote within the reach of the fever-
stricken people of India, while adding a new source of wealth to the
resources of that great dependency.
The proposal to introduce the chinchona-plants into India was first made
officially in a despatch from the Governor-General, dated March 27th,
1852. It was referred to the late Dr. Royle, the reporter on Indian products
to the East India Company, who drew up an able memorandum on the
subject, dated June, 1852:—"To the Indian Government," he said, "the
home supply of a drug which already costs 7000l. a year would be
advantageous in an economical point of view, and invaluable as affording
means of employing a drug which is indispensable in the treatment of
Indian fevers. I have no hesitation in saying that, after the Chinese teas, no

more important plant could be introduced into India." The only result of this
application from India was that the Foreign Office was requested to obtain a
supply of plants and seeds from the consuls in South America, and
instructions to that effect were sent out to them in October, 1852. In the
autumn of 1853 Mr. Mark wrote from Bogota that some delay would be
necessary, and nothing more was heard from that quarter; Mr. Sullivan, the
consul-general in Peru, replied that it would be impossible to accomplish a
successful result, through the jealousy of the people; but Mr. Cope, the
excellent and venerable consul-general at Quito, made a more satisfactory
and substantial answer, in the shape of a box of chinchona plants and seeds
from Cuenca and Loxa. They, however, did not long survive the voyage to
England. Seeds of C. Calisaya, procured through Mr. Pentland, were sent to
the botanical gardens at Calcutta, but did not germinate; and in 1853 six
plants of the same valuable species, contributed by the Horticultural
Societies of Edinburgh and London, raised from seeds sent home by Dr.
Weddell from Bolivia, were taken out to Calcutta by Mr. Fortune. They
arrived in good order, but all died through gross carelessness in their
removal to Darjeeling. In May, 1853, Dr. Royle drew up a second long and
valuable report upon the subject, and the question was then allowed to drop
for some years.
It is a curious coincidence that at the very time when Dr. Royle was writing
this report I was actually exploring some of the chinchona forests of Peru.
But the object of my travels was of an antiquarian and ethnological
character, and I was in ignorance of the desire of the Indian Government to
procure supplies of those plants, which I then only admired for their beauty.
In March, 1856, Dr. Royle made a final attempt to induce the East India
Company to take efficient steps to procure supplies of chinchona plants and
seeds from South America; and proposed to employ Dr. Jamieson, the able
Professor of Botany in the University of Quito, for this purpose. The
lamented death of that eminent botanist Dr. Royle, to whom India owes so
much, again put an end to all discussion of the subject for some time; but in
1859 energetic measures were set on foot, which at length effected the
desired object fully and completely. Dr. Royle is well known as the author
of works on Himalayan botany, on the cotton cultivation and on the fibres
of India, and of a 'Materia Medica' containing a valuable article on the
chinchona genus, which he caused to be printed separately for circulation in

India. For several years he took the warmest interest in the proposed
measures for the introduction of chinchona-plants into India, and used every
influence at his command to effect this most important object. But he was
not destined to see the final achievement of a design which he seems to
have had so much at heart.
In 1859 my services were accepted to superintend the collection of
chinchona plants and seeds in South America, and their introduction into
India; and I was authorised by Lord Stanley, then Secretary of State for
India, to make such arrangements as should best ensure the complete
success of an enterprise, the results of which were expected to add
materially to the resources of our Indian Empire. The urgent necessity of
this measure had become more apparent since Dr. Royle's time. Then the
Government of India expended 7000l. a year upon quinine; but in 1857 the
expenditure had risen to 12,000l., and continued to increase during the
following years.[116]
I at once determined to take measures for obtaining plants and seeds of all
the valuable species of chinchonæ described in a former chapter; to arrange
so that, if possible, they should be collected simultaneously in the different
regions separated by many hundreds of miles from each other; and that,
warned by the fatal error of the Dutch in Java, no species should be
introduced into India which did not possess bark of well-established
commercial value. In one of his reports Dr. Royle had most truly said that
"the greater the number of species obtained, as well as the greater the extent
of country over which the seeds are collected, the greater is the probability
of finding soils and climates in India for their successful culture." It was
thus necessary to employ competent persons to collect in New Granada,
Ecuador, the Huanuco forests of Northern Peru, and Caravaya or Bolivia at
the same time. I considered that it was essential that the proceedings should
be completed during the first year if possible, in order to give as short a
time as was practicable for the awakening of that narrow-minded jealousy
in the people of the South American Republics, which I was well aware
would sooner or later be aroused. It was also my duty to get the work done
economically, and there could be no doubt that the employment of several
agents for a few months would cost less than the mission of a single
traveller, who would have to make his way over thousands of miles, for

three or four years. Time also was an object with regard to the
establishment of plantations in India.
The Secretary of State for India sanctioned all the details of my plan, with
the exception of the expedition to New Granada,[117] and the provision of a
steamer to convey the plants direct across the Pacific to India. But it was no
easy matter to find agents possessed of the necessary qualifications for the
work. A personal acquaintance with the chinchona forests, a knowledge of
the country, of the people, and of the languages, were essential, as well as
of the particular species of chinchona-trees growing in each region; and, as
the service was to be performed without delay, no time could be spared for
acquiring any of these qualifications.
For the chinchona forests in Ecuador I was so fortunate as to secure the
services of Mr. Spruce, an excellent botanist and most intrepid explorer,
who had been engaged for several years in the examination of the wilds of
South America, and who was actually on the spot. Of his qualifications
there could be no doubt, but I could scarcely have ventured to hope that the
service which he undertook to perform would have been done so
completely and so thoroughly, and would have been crowned with such
undoubted success. It is perhaps invidious to make distinctions, where all
have worked so zealously; but it is due to Mr. Spruce to say that by far the
largest share of credit is due to him, and that his name must take the most
prominent place in connection with the introduction of these precious plants
into India. The region assigned to him was the most important, as it yielded
the "red-bark" tree (C. succirubra), containing a larger percentage of
febrifugal alkaloids than any other species; and I felt more sanguine of
success in this quarter than in any other, because the country of the "red
bark" was more accessible than any of the others, the forests being on the
western slopes of the Andes, navigable rivers flowing through them to the
Pacific Ocean, and there being, therefore, no necessity of conveying the
plants over the snowy wilds of the cordilleras. I also requested Mr. Spruce
to make an arrangement for procuring seeds of the valuable species from
the forests of Loxa.
For the forests of the Peruvian province of Huanuco I procured the services
of Mr. Pritchett, a gentleman who had passed some years in South America,
and who was well acquainted with that particular region. He was to collect
plants and seeds of the species yielding grey bark.

I myself undertook to explore the forests either of Caravaya or Bolivia, and
to collect the C. Calisaya and other important species of that more distant
region. This part of the enterprise was surrounded by peculiar difficulties,
arising from the jealousy of the people, habitual with the Bolivians, and
recently excited in the minds of the Peruvians of Caravaya by the
proceedings of M. Hasskarl, the Dutch agent; while the forests are far more
inaccessible, and the journey to the coast is longer and more formidable.
It was the opinion of Sir William Hooker, who gave me the advantage of his
valuable advice, that a good practical working gardener should accompany
both Mr. Spruce and myself, and he considered this an imperative
requirement, in order that they might attend to the packing of the plants in
the forests, their establishment in Wardian cases, and have charge of them
during the voyage to India. I appointed Mr. Cross, at his recommendation,
to act under the orders of Mr. Spruce; and Mr. Weir, who was recommended
to me by Mr. Veitch, accompanied me to the chinchona forests of Caravaya.
In employing several agents in districts widely removed from each other,
my chief object was to effect the introduction of as many valuable species
as possible; but I also reflected on the extreme difficulty of the undertaking,
and the overwhelming chances against success which confronted a single-
handed attempt. In such wild unfrequented regions all is uncertainty. Along
the dizzy paths of the Andes a single false step may dash the fairest hopes,
disappoint the most careful calculations. Add to these dangers the
probability of obstacles raised by the natives, and it will at once be seen that
three independent expeditions materially increased the chances of ultimate
success.
By the end of 1859 I had completed all the preliminary arrangements; and
there was at length a prospect of securing the successful introduction into
India of a plant the inestimable value of which had been felt, and the
importance of its cultivation discussed, for twenty years. On December
17th, 1859, we sailed from England, and, crossing the isthmus of Panama,
arrived in Lima, the capital of Peru, on January 26th, 1860. Thirty Wardian
cases for the plants had been sent out round Cape Horn, and I forwarded
fifteen to Guayaquil for Mr. Spruce's collection, and fifteen to the port of
Islay in Southern Peru, to await my return from the chinchona forests. After
a month's residence in Lima we embarked on board one of the mail-
steamers for the southward, and on the 2nd of March, 1860, we landed at

Islay, which is more conveniently situated than any other port for a journey
to the chinchona forests of Southern Peru or Bolivia.

CHAPTER V.
ISLAY AND AREQUIPA.
The port of Islay is the commercial outlet of the departments of Arequipa,
Cuzco, and Puno, in Southern Peru; and thus a small town, dating from
about 1830,[118] has risen up on the rocky barren coast, surrounded by a
sandy desert, and shut in from the interior by a range of sterile mountains.
The coast consists of inaccessible cliffs, perforated with deep caves by the
incessant surge of the ocean, with several rocky islets off the shore. The
anchorage[119] is formed by a slight indentation of the coast, and the landing
is effected at a small iron jetty clamped to the rocks, under which the swell
breaks and chafes with a ceaseless roar. A very steep path leads up the cliff
to a custom-house, forming one side of the little plaza, which is constantly
filled with droves of mules from the interior. A single street leading up from
the plaza, with a few lanes off it, forms the town of Islay; and a brief
statement of the trade of this port will give an idea of the importance of the
country to which it forms an outlet.
The principal articles of export are alpaca and sheep's wool, vicuña wool,
copper, bark, and specie; the total value in 1859 being 336,842l.,[120] and
the value of the imports, consisting chiefly of European goods, is about
equal to that of the exports.
The country round Islay is as dreary and arid a waste as the eye could rest
on; yet from July to October, when there is the greatest amount of moisture
on the coast, the otherwise barren mountains, which rise up abruptly from
the desert, at a distance of about three miles from the sea, are green and
carpeted with flowers, while the plain nearer Islay is also dotted over with
vegetation. This maritime range is called the "Lomas." In consequence of
the unusual quantity of rain which fell in the early part of 1860, the Lomas
had broken out in renewed freshness in March. The country, close to Islay,
was covered with a scattered growth of Compositæ, wild tobacco, Nympha,
Oxalis, Salvia, an Umbellifer with a large white flower, Verbena,
Heliotrope, a purple Solanum, an Amaranth, and other flowers. It is broken
up into abrupt ravines; and, near the foot of the mountains, some of them

contain deposits of soil washed down by little streams which flow during
the wet season, sufficient to sustain small groves of fig and olive trees, the
abodes of numerous flocks of doves. Such is the case in the ravines called
Catarindo, Yutu, and Matarani, from the latter of which the water is led in
pipes to supply the town of Islay. The guardian of this water-supply is an
Irishman, generally known as Juan de la Pila (John of the fountain), an
active obliging man, who also follows the trades of carpenter, cooper, and
blacksmith; and to whom we were indebted for much valuable assistance in
procuring soil for the Wardian cases, and in giving us the use of his yard.
The soil in the richest parts of these ravines, which had been washed down
from the higher slopes of the Lomas, is several feet deep, and appeared
sufficiently good to be used for the Wardian cases, in the event of its being
found impossible to obtain soil from any more promising locality; and the
great number of wild flowers which were growing in it convinced me that it
could not contain anything very pernicious.[121]
The formation consists of granite, with veins of very pure quartz; but the
plains are covered with large patches of fine dust, consisting chiefly of
silica, containing potash and mica, with small quantities of the débris of the
rocks associated with the soil, which Admiral FitzRoy suggests may have
been the ashes ejected, at some remote period, from the volcano of
Arequipa. Near the sea-shore, and about half a mile south-east of Islay,
there is a very curious result of the constant action of the weaves, in two
immense cavities hollowed out of the rock, called the Tinajones (jars). They
are circular holes about thirty yards across, and of great depth, separated
from the sea by a wall of cliffs not more than four yards wide, the lower
part of which is undermined, and forms a passage by which the waves rush
into the great tinajon, or bowl, with a mighty roar; and, dashing themselves
against the rocky sides, throw back clouds of white spray. The only
vegetation near the coast consists of lowly little Mesembryanthema,
scattered about at long intervals, and an occasional stonecrop (Sedum).
During our stay at Islay we enjoyed the hospitality of Mr. Wilthew, H.B.M.
Consul, and his wife, to whom we were indebted for much thoughtful
kindness. The rest of the inhabitants consist of Peruvian officials, agents of
commercial houses in Arequipa, and a few shopkeepers and artisans,
besides the muleteers and other birds of passage, and the porters and
boatmen of mixed Indian and negro extraction. The supplies for the market

come almost entirely from the rich valley of Tambo, some leagues down the
coast.
On March 6th, our mules and horses having arrived, we started for
Arequipa in the morning, a distance of ninety miles, and, crossing the
country near Islay, entered a gorge in the mountains, which winds up to the
great desert above, at the commencement of which there is a grove of dusty
olive-trees. This dismal ravine, with arid scarped mountains rising up on
either side, here and there a tall gaunt cactus, and everywhere a dense cloud
of white dust, leads up to a little post-house built of canes, called the
"Tambo de Guerreros," eighteen miles from Islay.
Guerreros is at the head of the gorge leading down to Islay; and, from a
rising ground a little beyond the tambo,[122] the great desert of Arequipa
opens upon the view, bounded by a range of mountains which are crowned
by the snowy peak of the volcano. At this point there is a wooden cross
which marks the grave of a poor soldier belonging to the fugitive army of
Salaverry, in 1836, who, worn out with fatigue and thirst, had here sunk
down to die, and had been lightly covered over with sand. The flesh was in
perfect preservation. We then entered the great desert of Arequipa,
extending to the horizon on the right and left, and ending in front at the foot
of the rocky range of mountains separating the sandy waste from the fertile
campiña of Arequipa. The desert consists of hard ground, without a blade of
vegetation, affording good riding; but it is covered at short intervals with
mounds of the finest white sand, from twenty to thirty feet high, all in the
shape of a half-moon, with their horns pointing north-west, and thus
denoting the prevailing wind. They are called Medanos. These Medanos
shift their positions, and the breeze, whirling the sand in eddies on their
summits, often causes a singing noise in the early dawn. Frequently they
form athwart the road, which has to deviate in a half-circle, and rejoin the
old track on the other side; but they all resemble each other exactly, and
afford no landmark to the lost or benighted traveller.
In the centre of the desert is the post-house or tambo of La Joya, twenty
miles from Guerreros, kept by an Englishman, whose homely name of
Jimmy Eyres has been converted into the more grandiloquent and
euphonious Spanish one of Don Santiago Casimiro de los Ayres. Water and
fodder for the beasts are brought from a great distance, and their price is of
course proportionately high; but, considering its position in the midst of a

desert and many leagues from all supplies, the little tambo, consisting of
several rooms of deal planking roughly knocked together, was very
comfortable.
Starting at four on a bright starlight morning, the perfect stillness and the
wild grandeur of the boundless desert were very impressive, while there
was a delicious freshness in the cool air. As the sun rose behind the mighty
cordilleras which bounded the view, the whiteness of their snowy peaks
became quite dazzling. Immediately in front was the perfect cone of the
volcano of Arequipa; to the right the glorious peaks of Charcani and
Chuquibamba; to the left the remarkable range of Pichupichu. It is probable
that in no part of the world is so sublime a view of mountain peaks to be
found as is presented at early dawn from this desert. But its sublimity is
similar to that which is witnessed in a sunrise at sea; it fills the mind with
an idea of vastness and grandeur, while it wants all the details which usually
accompany and form no small part of the enjoyment derived from ordinary
mountain scenery. Yet here, while gazing on those magnificent peaks, with
no middle distance and no foreground, save the flat sea-like wilderness, we
felt that any addition would have marred the simple glories of this
unparalleled view. The desert is between 4000 and 5000 feet above the sea,
and the cordillera peaks are, some more, some a little less, than 20,000 feet
in height; so that, within a distance of under forty miles, we beheld
mountains rising upwards of 16,000 feet from the point on which we stood:
of no other mountains in the world could such a view be obtained. In this
land of the Incas Nature has done her work on a truly gigantic scale.
The desert, from Guerreros to the entrance to the gorge leading through the
rocky hills which divide it from the plain of Arequipa, is upwards of forty
miles across, while its length from the transverse valley of Tambo to that of
Vitor must be about sixty. During the greater part of the day we were
threading our way through arid mountain gorges, and up and down zigzag
rocky paths strewn with the bones and carcasses of mules, under a
scorching sun. A little pale purple Nemophila, a small Crucifer, and the
weird Cacti, the appropriate inhabitants of the desert, are the only plants of
this cheerless region; and a few obscene gallinazos, floating lazily in the
upper air, with their keen-piercing eyes watching for some luckless mule to
sink under its burden, were the sole representatives of animal life.

AREQUIPA.
Page 75.

At length our eyes were gladdened by the sight of the green vale of Tiavaya,
in the campiña of Arequipa. The rows of tall willows, the bright green fields
of lucerne, and white farm-houses, were a blessed relief after the
monotonous glare of barren rocks and sand; but it was not until late at night,
and after a ride of more than fifty miles, that we reached our hospitable
lodging in the city of Arequipa.
Arequipa, the second city in Peru, is built on the banks of the rapid river
Chile, and at the foot of the great volcano, called Misti, which rises up in a
perfect cone to the height of 17,934 feet, its upper half covered with snow.
Arequipa itself is 7427 feet above the sea, so that the mountains ascend in
one unbroken sweep upwards of 10,500 feet. The climate, during my stay
from March 11th to March 22nd, was as follows:—
Mean temperature 64⅓
Mean minimum at night 60½
Highest observed 67
Lowest 58
Range 9

The town is built of a white stone of volcanic origin, being a trachytic tuffa
containing pumice and lava, dug out of quarries at the foot of the volcano.
The houses are usually of one story, built solidly and substantially, with
vaulted stone ceilings, the better to resist the shocks of the frequent
earthquakes. Like almost all Spanish American cities, the streets are straight
and at right angles to each other, with an azequia flowing down the centre.
Wheeled vehicles of any description are unknown, and the traffic consists
of horses, droves of mules, donkeys laden with lucerne, and flocks of
llamas. The principal streets all lead to the great square, which forms a busy
and most interesting scene in the morning, the time for marketing. It is then
filled with gaily-dressed Indian women, some sitting under shades, with
their goods spread out on the ground before them, and others, in constant
movement, threading their way amongst the sellers. Their dresses are of
baize, manufactured at Halifax,[123] of the gayest colours—consisting of a
skirt and mantle of the two most brilliant colours they can find, red and
blue, green and crimson, or purple and orange. The effect of these bright-
coloured groups, in constant motion, as they move about buying fruit or
vegetables, potatoes, earth-nuts, medicinal drugs, corn, articles of dress, and
other necessaries, is very pleasing. The background is formed by the
handsome new cathedral of whitest stone, behind which the noble volcano,
and the peaks of Charcani (18,558 feet above the sea) dazzle the eyes by the
brilliancy of their snowy covering.
The campiña of Arequipa, which surrounds the city, is about five miles
broad from the foot of the cordillera to the arid range of hills which
separates it from the wilderness of the coast; and about ten or twelve miles
long, being bounded at each end by a sandy desert. It is watered by the river
Chile,[124] coming from a chasm in the cordillera, on the north-west side of
the volcano, and by the streams called Posterio and Savandia, which flow
from the Pichu-pichu mountains to the eastward of the volcano. These
several streams unite on leaving the campiña, and finally fall into the river
of Quilca. The campiña contains, besides the city of Arequipa, a number of
small villages, and numerous farm-houses. In March the view from the hills
above the city is most beautiful. The brilliant green of the campiña, with its
fields of maize and alfalfa, its rows of tall willows, and orchards of fruit-
trees, is dotted with houses and villages, while it forms an emerald setting
to the white city. Looking from the other side of Arequipa, the view, though

not so beautiful, is more imposing: the snow-capped volcano rearing its
majestic head above the stunted towers of the town. There is a great deal of
maize grown in the valley, and guano is extensively used as manure; but the
wealth of the campiña is chiefly derived from its mules, which monopolize
the carrying-trade from the coast to Arequipa, and from Arequipa to the
interior. A quantity of lucerne or alfalfa is raised for their sustenance, and
the arrieros or muleteers are a wealthy class of men, generally possessing a
chacra or farm of their own, besides considerable sums in ready money.
They are, as a rule, good-looking, well-grown men, with fresh complexions,
and little mixed blood, which is also made evident by the comparatively fair
complexions of their wives and daughters.

AREQUIPA CATHEDRAL.
From a Photograph. Page 76.

The families of the upper classes of Arequipa usually own estates in the
neighbouring warm valleys of the coast, such as Vitor, Tambo, Siguas,
Majes, and Camana, where the rich vineyards yield them a profitable return
by the sale of aguardiente. Their houses in the city are built round a patio or
courtyard, on which the principal rooms open. Their sons are frequently the

leaders of the turbulent Cholos in revolt, and follow the professions of
abogados, lawyers or politicians, traders, and haciendados or farmers,
while the more ambitious adopt a military life, the carrera de armas. The
ladies are considered the most beautiful and intelligent in Peru, and, at
Lima, the most attractive women are usually Arequipeñas. Perhaps the
majority have never moved beyond the campiña, and adjacent warm
valleys, and many have never seen the sea. Yet they are sprightly and
agreeable in society, full of intelligent curiosity, and almost invariably
excellent musicians. They frequently sing the plaintive despedidas, and
other sonnets of their native poet Melgar, whose love for a fair
townswoman was unrequited, and whose melancholy fate has surrounded
his name with a halo of romance. He was barbarously shot, after having
been taken prisoner by the Spaniards, at the battle of Umachiri in 1815, the
first attempt which the Peruvians made for their independence.
During the winter months the wealthier families remove to villages in the
campiña, either to Tingo, Tiavaya, or Savandia, taking furniture with them.
At the commencement of the season droves of mules leave the city laden
with beds, chairs, and tables, to render the country houses habitable. Here
the Arequipeños enjoy the delights of the country and of bathing in large
swimming-baths faced with masonry, and planted round with rows of tall
willows. The rides in the country which surrounds these villages are
exceedingly pretty. The trees consist chiefly of tall willows and of the
Schinus molle with its bunches of red berries, while bushes of fragrant
white Daturas and of the beautiful Bignonia fulva fill the hedges, and the
streams are bordered by masses of Nasturtiums. The fields either bear crops
of vivid green alfalfa, or tall Indian corn, six to eight feet high, over which
the Tropæolum canariensis creeps in golden masses, and at whose feet the
bright blue lupins, and a Solanum with rich purple flowers, grow as weeds.
From many points of view the rapid waters of the river Chile complete the
picture, while far away the snowy peaks of Chuquibamba, Charcani, and
the volcano glisten in the beams of the sun. Above Arequipa the river flows
through the valley of Chilinos, the steep sides of which are lined with
andeneria, or terraced maize-gardens, with here and there a picturesque
group of the stone huts of the Indians, often completely hidden by the dark
green leaves and golden flowers of the gourds which cover them. The
courtyards of the houses are frequently ornamented with a beautiful
passion-flower, which creeps over the trellised verandahs, and is covered

with flowers. It is a species of Tacsonia, called by the natives tumbo. The
flower has a very long tube, and is of a deep rich rose-colour: and a
delicious fresco, or sherbet, is made of the egg-shaped fruit.
In addition to the baths of pure spring-water at Tingo and Savandia, the
medicinal baths of Yura are a great resort during the winter months. Yura is
thirty miles to the north-west, and is situated, like Arequipa, just under the
range of the cordilleras. The road leads over very broken ground, where the
rugged spurs from the Andes project out into the desert. In March the weary
arid wilderness was enlivened by wild flowers, bushes of yellow and purple
Solanums, bright orange Compositæ, and, in one place, a carpet of little
purple dwarf iris. The baths are in a green ravine, with tall willow-trees and
maize-fields, watered by a little rivulet. In this narrow glen, bounded on one
side by sandstone mountains, which here form the base of the volcano, and
on the other by a ridge of trachyte, there are two places where thermal
waters bubble out of the rocks, one being ferruginous and the other
sulphurous. At the sulphurous baths there are some solid stone buildings,
intended as lodgings for the bathers, with heavy arcades, and long vaulted
rooms with no windows, and without furniture, for, as at Tingo and
Savandia, all visitors bring their beds, tables, chairs, crockery, and cooking
utensils with them. In the bath-room there are four square basins, faced with
stone, of different temperatures, and called the Vejeto (87° Fahr.), the
Desague (88°), the Sepultura (89°), and the Tigre (90°). They are said to
cure dysentery, rheumatism, and cutaneous diseases. The rivulet flows
down the glen and joins the river of Yura near a village called Calera, where
most of the soap is manufactured which is consumed in Arequipa. Great
quantities of carbonate of soda are collected from the sandstone rock, which
gives employment to the people of the village. The land is divided into
topos (5000 square yards), each valued at a thousand dollars, and every six
weeks a harvest of salitre (carbonate of soda) is reaped. From Calera there
is a fine view of the green valley of Yura, and of a grand range of
porphyritic mountains.
The population of the campiña and town of Arequipa is reckoned at about
50,000.[125] The place was first colonized by the Inca Mayta, who
established a body of mitimaes or colonists there, from the village of
Cavanilla, near Puno, and ordained that they should remain and settle there.
Hence the name "Ari quepay," "Yes! remain:" or more probably it is derived

from the words "Aric quepa," "Behind the sharp peak." These mitimaes
were the ancestors of the present Indians, or Cholos as they are called, and
were established in villages in the campiña, occupied in the cultivation of
maize; but the city is purely Spanish, and was founded by Pizarro in 1540,
at which time the stone-quarries first began to be worked.
The Cholos or Indians of Arequipa have long been notorious for their
turbulence, and for the eagerness with which they join any attempt at
revolution, apparently from mere love of excitement. They are addicted to
the use of chicha—a fermented liquor made from Indian corn—to such an
extent that it is said that nearly all the maize which is raised in the campiña
is used in brewing this liquor; under the influence of which the Cholos have
established the fame of Arequipa as the grand focus of Peruvian
revolutions. But this habit of drinking to excess has rendered the Cholos,
though capable of fighting desperately behind walls, quite worthless as
soldiers in a campaign; and their habit of body becomes so bad that a slight
wound is frequently fatal.
Though the received idea in Europe, that Peru is constantly in a state of
civil war, is erroneous in fact, as well as unjust,[126] yet it is true that the
period of tranquillity which had lasted from 1844 to 1854 was broken in the
latter year by the successful revolution of General Castilla—the result of the
discontent caused by the dishonest financial measures and the
embezzlements of his predecessor; and two years afterwards the Cholos of
Arequipa commenced a rebellion against Castilla. A brief account of the
siege of that city, which followed, will give a good idea of the endurance
and fighting qualities of the Cholos.
In October 1856 two young men of good family, named Gamio and Masias,
collected a handful of Cholos, and sent a message to the Prefect Canseco,
telling him that he must either evacuate the city with his troops, or lay down
his arms. The prefect marched out, and left Arequipa in the hands of the
insurgents, who proclaimed the exiled General Vivanco President of Peru,
and appointed Don José Antonio Berenguel prefect of the town; and most of
the soldiers who had marched out with Canseco returned on the following
day to join the rebels. Vivanco was an exile in Chile, but, on receiving the
news, he started for Islay by the English mail steamer, and reached
Arequipa in December; while General San Roman, who had been sent from
Lima to propose terms of accommodation with the rebels, was dismissed,

and retired into the interior to collect forces for the support of Castilla's
government.
While the Cholos of Arequipa were maturing their rebellion, a fortunate
event placed the Peruvian navy at the disposal of Vivanco. Their largest
frigate, the 'Apurimac,' was lying off Arica, and, while her captain, a rough
old Chilian seaman named Salcedo, was on shore, the crew, led by Lizardo
Montero, one of her lieutenants, a young man and native of Piura, mutinied,
declared for Vivanco, and steamed away, leaving Salcedo storming on the
beach. The 'Apurimac' went at once to Islay, where Montero captured the
port, and where he was joined by two smaller steamers, the 'Loa' and
'Tumbez.'
Vivanco, meanwhile, had proclaimed himself "Regenerator" of Peru, and
offered his services as a lawgiver and restorer of prosperity to his country,
which were not accepted or appreciated, as none of the other great towns
followed the example of Arequipa. Leaving a ministry consisting of young
inexperienced lawyers, who had nothing to lose and all to gain, in charge of
affairs at Arequipa, he embarked on board the 'Apurimac,' in the end of
December, 1856, and sailed for Callao, but did not venture to disembark.
He then went on board the 'Loa,' leaving the 'Apurimac' to watch Callao,
and proceeded to Truxillo; while the 'Apurimac' went down to the Chincha
Islands, and began shipping off the guano to any one who would buy it, thus
leaving the port of Callao open.
General Castilla is an old Indian, possessed of great military talent and
extraordinary energy and intrepidity; while Vivanco is a native of Lima, of
pure Spanish descent, indolent, dilatory, and without personal courage; but
eloquent and persuasive, and possessed of qualities which have surrounded
him with numerous warm partisans and personal friends. Between such men
the issue could not be doubtful.
The veteran Castilla, as soon as the 'Apurimac' had sailed for the Chincha
Islands, formed the daring plan of attacking his enemy in the north; and, in
spite of the Navy, which had declared against him, he bought an old
steamer, the 'Santiago,' belonging to the English Steam Navigation
Company, and boldly steamed away in search of the Regenerator. On
hearing of his approach, Vivanco was seized with a panic, and, evacuating
the places he had occupied, retreated to his ships. He now thought that, in

the absence of Castilla, he might succeed in an attempt on the capital, and,
collecting all his vessels, he retraced his steps southward, and arrived in
Callao bay on April 22nd, 1857. A night attack was then made on the fort,
but, after some hard street fighting, Vivanco's party were obliged to retire to
their ships; and, his expedition having proved a complete failure, the
Regenerator returned to Islay, and proceeded at once to Arequipa.
While Vivanco was absent in the north, General San Roman had collected a
considerable force in the interior, with which he marched towards Arequipa.
The warlike Cholos came out to meet him, and a skirmish followed, which
they call the battle of Yumina. It consisted of a considerable waste of
powder, the two parties firing at each other, at very long ranges, across a
ravine; and in the afternoon the Cholos returned in triumph to Arequipa.
Having missed Vivanco in the north, old Don Ramon Castilla steamed away
to Arica in the same old 'Santiago,' safely passing the rebellious fleet at
Islay, collected a force at Tacna, and, marching by land, arrived in the
campiña of Arequipa in the end of July; soon afterwards establishing his
head-quarters at the village of Sachaca, some miles below the city, on the
banks of the river Chile. A detachment occupied Tiavaya, to cut off
Vivanco's communication with Islay.
The people of Arequipa were now hard at work to place the city in a proper
state of defence; barricades were erected in the most important streets, and
day and night the Cholos were under arms. But, supplies having now
entirely ceased from the custom-house at Islay, Vivanco found himself in
great difficulties; for people, having little faith in the success of his
revolution, were unwilling to advance money in exchange for his vales or
promissory notes, even at a discount of fifty per cent. The needy
Regenerator then resorted to more violent methods of raising money, and,
breaking open several of the principal shops, began to sell their contents to
the highest bidder.
Castilla made constant sham attacks upon the town, which kept the
inhabitants in a continual state of alarm; but all his supplies were derived
from Arica, by way of Tacna, as the port of Islay remained in the hands of
Vivanco's party. This was his weak point; and when the 'Apurimac' arrived
off Arica, and her commander Montero, after a sharp street fight, got
possession of that port in February, 1858, Castilla found himself in a
position of great difficulty. His supplies were entirely cut off, and it became

necessary for him to assault Arequipa at all hazards. Accordingly he moved
from his quarters at Sachaca and Tiavaya, marched round the south side of
the city, and early in the morning of March 5th, 1858, commenced an attack
on the eastern suburbs. His troops first stormed the church of San Antonio,
and then advanced to the attack of San Pedro, which had also been occupied
by the besieged. Here the Cholos held their ground for four hours, from
eight to twelve A.M., in spite of the desperate attacks of Castilla's best
troops, and the well-directed fire of his artillery. At length, overpowered by
numbers, they were forced to retire, disputing every inch of the ground.
They rallied at the convent of Santa Rosa, and obstinately defended the
position for several hours, until night closed in upon the combatants. Next
morning, being the 7th of March, some further resistance was made, but the
troops of Castilla finally stormed the barricades, and drove everything
before them. Vivanco escaped in the disguise of a friar to Islay, and thence
to Chile, while his officers looked after themselves, leaving the gallant
defenders of Arequipa to their fate. Tacna and Arica at once returned to their
allegiance, and the 'Apurimac' was given up to Castilla's ministers at Lima
by the mutinous Montero.
The Cholos of Arequipa thus defended their position, with great bravery
and resolution, against Castilla's disciplined army for upwards of eight
months; and during the assault, which lasted for two days, their desperate
valour was as remarkable as their extraordinary endurance, for, such was
the negligence of Vivanco and his officers, that they were kept without
refreshment or even water during the many hours in which they sustained a
deadly and unequal struggle against Castilla's troops. It should also be
recorded to their credit, that, although the town was on several occasions
entirely in their hands, there was no instance of any act of pillage or excess
being committed by them; and, when all authority was withdrawn, they
showed no disposition to take advantage of their power, but displayed a
regard for order which would not be found among the lower orders of most
other countries during periods of great excitement.
There is a very striking difference, however, between the Cholos of
Arequipa and the Inca Indians of the interior, who appear in the streets with
their llamas laden with silky vicuña-wool: the former a turbulent, excitable
race, who will fight desperately behind walls, but who are without stamina
and quite unable to endure fatigue; the latter a patient, long-suffering

people, capable of extraordinary endurance, and, as soldiers, in the habit of
marching distances which appear incredible to those whose experience is
confined to the movements of European troops. There is an evident mixture
of Spanish blood in the people who inhabit Arequipa and its campiña, while
the Indians of the interior are for the most part of pure descent.
The road over the cordilleras to Cuzco and Puno leaves Arequipa by the
southern suburb, and, after a few miles, ascends a rocky ridge to the more
elevated valley of Chihuata or Cangallo (9676 feet above the sea[127]), at the
foot of the southern spur of the volcano. A wretched stone hut with a mud
floor is here the only shelter for the traveller. At one end a fire of sticks,
where an old hag acted as cook, filled the interior with smoke, and at the
other each wayfarer, as he arrived, made a shakedown of blankets and
ponchos, sipped his chocolate, and, after a short conversation, composed
himself for the night. The fire gradually smouldered and went out, and the
old woman, with a brood of children, made a heap at the further corner.
At early dawn of the 23rd of March we were all in motion, and our
companion of the previous night, a Spaniard with a large tropa of mules
laden with aguardiente, was busily preparing for a start. As the sun rose, the
dazzling white of the snowy peaks of Pichu-pichu and the volcano, with
fleecy clouds above their summits, gave a glorious effect. The rest of the
sky was blue, gradually clouding over as the morning advanced; and the
valley was covered with alfalfa-fields of the richest green, with the pretty
little village of Cachimarca perched on a rounded hill to the southward. The
flowering shrubs by the roadside are the same as in the campiña of
Arequipa, except that a small yellow Calceolaria is more abundant. The
morning air was fresh and bracing as we mounted our mules and faced the
long zigzag path up the "alto de los huesos," the southern spur of the
volcano, so called from the bones of thousands of mules which are met at
every turn. This ascent conducts the traveller from the temperate valley of
Cangallo to the bleak and chilling plains of the upper cordillera.

A CHOLO OF AREQUIPA.
From a Photograph. See page 80.

CHAPTER VI.
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.

BALSA ON LAKE TITICACA.
See page 95.

CHAPTER VII.
LAKE TITICACA.

The Aymara Indians—Their antiquities—Tiahuanaco—Coati—Sillustani—Copacabana.

The region which is drained by rivers flowing from the maritime cordillera
and the eastern range of the Andes into lake Titicaca consists of elevated
plateaux, seldom less than 13,000 feet above the sea, which were originally
inhabited by the Aymara race of Indians, a people differing in some respects
from the Indians of Cuzco and further north, and whose civilization dates
from a period far anterior to that of the Incas. Their language is different
from the Quichua of the Incas, though evidently a sister tongue, and it is
still spoken by the Aymara Indians from Puno to the central parts of Bolivia,
including all the shores of lake Titicaca. I did not, however, observe much
difference between the Indians of Puno, who speak Aymara, and the
Quichua Indians of Cuzco. The men are, perhaps, somewhat stouter; but
they are the same race in all essential points.
The lake of Titicaca, the great feature in the region inhabited by the Aymara
Indians, is about eighty miles long by forty broad; being by far the largest
lake in South America. It is divided into two parts by the peninsula of
Copacabana; the southern division, called the lake of Huaqui, being eight
leagues long by seven, and united to the greater lake by the strait of
Tiquina. A number of rivers, which are swollen and of considerable volume
during the rainy season, flow into the lake. The largest of these is the
Ramiz, which is formed by the junction of the two rivers of Pucara and
Azangaro, and enters the lake at its north-west corner. The Suchiz, formed
by the rivers of Cavanilla and Lampa, also flows into the lake on its north
side, as well as the Yllpa and Ylave; while on the eastern side are the rivers
Huarina, Escoma, and Achacache, all flowing from a low lateral chain,
parallel with the great eastern Andes, whose gigantic peaks of Illimani and
Sorata form the principal feature of the views from all parts of the lake.
Much of the water thus flowing in is drained off by the great river
Desaguadero, which flows out of the south-west corner, and disappears in

the swampy lake of Aullagas, in the south of Bolivia; and perhaps a greater
quantity is taken up by evaporation; for the volume of water which flows in
during the rainy season, when the sun travels north, is drunk up again when
the tutelar deity of the lake returns, between April and September.[147]
Indeed it is evident that the waters are steadily receding, under the
combined influence of evaporation and of the sediment brought down by
the rivers. Lake Titicaca is very deep in some places, the deepest part being
on the Bolivian side; but in others it is so shoal that there is only just room
to force the balsas through the rushes. The winds blow from the eastward all
the year round, sometimes in strong gales, so as to raise a very heavy sea,
during the day-time; but at night they are occasionally westerly. Along the
western shore there are acres of tall rushes, and the east winds blow all the
dead rushes to the western side, mixing with the living beds, and forming a
dense tangled mass. The lake abounds in fish of very peculiar forms, and in
aquatic birds.
The principal islands of the lake are those of Titicaca and Coati, near the
peninsula of Copacabana; that of Campanario in the east, opposite the town
of Escoma, and nine miles from the shore; Soto, also in the northern part,
which is said to contain coal;[148] and Esteves, in the bay of Puno, where the
patriot prisoners were confined by the Spaniards during the war of
independence; besides a small archipelago in the lake of Huaqui.
A very ancient civilization existed on the shores of lake Titicaca long before
the appearance of the first Inca of Peru; the principal remains of which are
to be found at Tiahuanaco,[149] near the southern shore of the lake of
Huaqui. An extensive tract is here covered by huge blocks of carved stone.
It was with much regret that I was obliged, by my duty, to give up my
intention of visiting these interesting remains. M. de Castelnau mentions
two colossal statues of a man and a woman, crowned with a kind of turban;
a colossal head and a lizard carved on blocks of stone; a great conical
artificial hill; and a monolithic doorway, the upper part of which is covered
with very curious sculpture. In the centre there is a figure, probably
representing the Sun, and on each side a number of figures all turned
towards it, with wings, and sceptres in their hands: those on one side with
their heads crowned, and those on the other with heads of griffins, and the
bodies adorned with garlands of human heads.[150] All who have visited
these ruins consider them to be of a distinct character from those of Cuzco,

and other works of the Incas. The stones are more richly carved, and many
of them have been united by means of a metal poured into transverse
grooves. M. de Castelnau considers that the chief characteristic of Aymara
ruins is the minute detail in the carving on the stones, while that of the Incas
consists in the grand simplicity of the masonry.[151]

THE TOWERS OF SILLUSTANI.
Page 111.

On the islands of Titicaca and Coati there are also extensive ruins, the
remains of temples and convents of virgins dedicated to the worship of the
Sun and Moon; and Dr. Weddell mentions that there is a kind of phlox on
these islands (Cantua buxifolia), its very elegant long scarlet flower being
called by the Aymara Indians the "flower of the Incas."[152]
Although I was unable to visit either the ruins at Tiahuanaco or those on the
islands, I found time to examine ruins of the same character on the shores of
the lake of Umayu near Vilque, where the great cemetery of the chiefs of

the Aymara tribes of the Collao appears to have been. These ruins are at a
place called Sillustani, on the north side of the lake of Umayu, where a high
rocky table-land juts out so as to form a peninsula, which is literally
covered with places of sepulture. Four of them are towers of finely-cut
masonry, equal to that of Cuzco, with the sides of the stones dovetailing
into each other. On climbing up the steep rocky path which leads to the
table-land, the first on the right-hand side is perched on the very edge of the
northern precipice. Half of it is destroyed, the other half is of well-cut
stones, with a broad rounded cornice near the summit, and a vaulted roof,
part of which remains entire. In the interior, near the foundation, there is a
vaulted chamber entered by a small aperture, and full of human bones. The
rest of the tower was filled up with small stones and earth, leaving a narrow
shaft which ascended from the chamber to the summit, down which the
bodies may have been lowered into the chamber.
On the left there is another smaller tower of exactly similar construction.
Further on, and near the verge of the southern precipice, there are two other
towers close together. One is thirty-six feet high, and built of the same well-
cut masonry, with a cornice and vaulted roof, and a great lizard carved in
relief on one of the stones near the base, which measures six feet by three.
[153]
The other tower was apparently exactly similar, but it is now in a very
ruinous state.
Besides these more remarkable edifices, the table-land is covered with other
towers of rough unhewn stone and earth, and there are the remains of two
square edifices built of cyclopean stones. The fallen parts of the towers
were covered with masses of bright yellow compositæ called suncho, and a
purple solanum; and they were frequented by the creepers called haccacllo,
little green paroquets, a small quail called pucupucu, and the little ground-
dove cullca; numbers of biscache rabbits burrowed in the ruins, while two
or three lordly coraquenques soared in circles over the table-land. After
carefully examining the old towers of Sillustani, I passed the night in a very
small hut, close to the lake of Umayu, the waters of which were smooth as
glass, an island in the centre, and blue ranges of mountains capped with
snow in the distance. To get into the hut it was necessary to go on hands and
knees, the doorway being only three feet high, with a hide door stretched on
a wooden frame. The hut was built of rough stones and thatched with
barley-straw; but inside there was a hospitable welcome and good cheer: the

old Indian who dwelt there, and his young daughter, providing excellent
boiled potatoes, cream-cheese, and fresh milk.
The ruins of Tiahuanaco, and on the islands in the lake, and the towers of
Sillustani, are the principal remains of ancient Aymara civilization. Nothing
is known respecting the people who raised these imperishable monuments,
except that, in the middle of the eleventh century, a man and woman,
declaring themselves to be children of the Sun, are said to have first
appeared on the shores of the great lake, and, marching north, to have
founded the empire of the Incas. The circumstance that Manco Ccapac, the
first Inca of Peru, originally appeared in the country of the Aymaras, has led
to the belief that he was himself a chief of that nation; but I am more
inclined to the opinion that he was one of a band of adventurers who had
been brought from Asia, or her vast archipelago of islands, by the westerly
winds of the South Pacific, and the southerly breezes of the coast, to the
port of Arica; that he thence made his way to the banks of the great lake,
where he became indoctrinated in the religion of the people; and that, for
some reason, he continued his wanderings, until he finally collected a
sufficiently numerous following to found an independent state at Cuzco. It
seems certain, from emblems found carved upon the ruins, and from
tradition, that the worship of the Sun and Moon was established amongst
the Aymaras for ages before the conquest of their country by the Incas of
Cuzco.
It was not for several generations after the foundation of the empire of the
Incas, that their conquests were extended over the Aymara nation of the
Collao; and it was not until about the middle of the eleventh century that the
country on the shores of lake Titicaca became part of the great empire
whose centre and capital was at Cuzco. From that time the islands of
Titicaca and Coata, and the peninsula of Copacabana, became the most
sacred and venerated spots within the dominions of the Incas; as the
localities where their great progenitor Manco Ccapac was believed to have
made his first appearance.
Copacabana means "the place of a precious stone," copa being a precious
stone, and cavana a place where anything is seen.[154] A rock called Titicaca
gave its name to the island and lake: titi being Aymara for a cat, and caca a
rock, for on this rock a cat is said to have sat with fire shooting from its
eyes.[155] In Quichua titi means lead. On this rock, which is at the west end

of the island of Titicaca,[156] there was an altar where the Aymaras adored
the Sun, and near it there were three idols joined in one, called Apu Ynti (the
Chief Sun), Churip Ynti (the Son's Sun), and Yntip Huauqui (Brother of the
Sun). The Inca Tupac Yupanqui (A.D. 1439-75) founded a palace and a
village about half a league from the rock, and established a convent of
virgins there.[157]
The island of Coata, a league to the eastward of Titicaca, was dedicated to
the Moon, the name being derived from Coyata, the accusative of Coya, a
queen; the Moon ranking as wife to the Sun. The ruins of the Accla huasi,
or convent of virgins, on Coata island, are 120 feet long, the interior being
divided into numerous cells, with rows of niches in the walls. They are now
overshadowed by queñua-trees, whose dark foliage adds to the sombre
melancholy of these silent memorials of the past. On both the islands there
were, in the time of the Incas, large establishments of Virgins of the Sun,
who were divided into three grades, according to their beauty. The most
lovely were called Guayruro; the next Yurac Aclla, or white maidens; and
the plain ones Paco Aclla, or beast maidens. Each grade was governed by a
Mamacona or nurse, and an Apu-panaca or governor lived near the
convent, who guarded it, and supplied its inmates with provisions. The
occupations of the virgins were weaving, embroidery, and brewing
sacrificial chicha, to be poured out on the altar of the deity.[158]
After the conquest, the Spanish Viceroys handed over the province of
Chucuito, and the islands in the lake, to the Dominican friars, who
succeeded in introducing far grosser and more degrading superstitions
amongst the Indians than they had ever practised on the islands of Titicaca
and Coata; and in establishing, on the adjacent peninsula of Copacabana, a
shrine, the pretended sanctity of which attracted devotees and rich presents
from all parts of Spanish America.
Its origin appears to have been as follows:—A member of the family of the
Incas, named Francisco Titu Yupanqui, not having money enough to buy an
image of the Virgin for his church, painted a very bad picture, and the cura,
Antonio de Almeida, either to please the Indian, or because there were few
images or pictures in the country, allowed it to be placed near the altar. But
the next cura, Antonio de Montoro, seeing that it caused more laughter than
devotion, ordered it to be put in a corner of the sacristy. The poor artist then

went to Potosi to learn to paint, and, after much labour, he succeeded in
completing a picture which, the moment it was placed in the church at
Copacabana, began to work miracles. It was set up in 1583, and the Inca
painter died in 1608. The first thing the picture did was to banish all devils
out of the province, and to cure many Indians of their diseases; and its fame
became so great that in 1588 the Count of Villar, viceroy of Peru, solemnly
delivered it to the care of the Augustine friars by a royal edict. Between
1589 and 1652 it is said to have performed 186 miracles. One Alonzo de
Escote, for favours received, saved up money for the purpose of giving the
Virgin a lamp, and at length he presented the richest then to be found in the
Spanish colonies, twenty feet long, with sockets for as many candles as
there are days in the year, all of solid silver. Even as late as 1845, when Dr.
Weddell saw the church, it was very richly gilt.
"Other images," says Father Calancha, "in Europe and Asia perform
miracles in their own towns or provinces, but this picture of Copacabana
performs them all over the new world, and in parts of Europe!"[159]
Thus the Spanish conquerors supplied the Aymara Indians of the shores of
lake Titicaca with an object of devotion in the shape of this old picture;
which was to replace their former simple worship of the Sun and Moon on
the sacred islands of the lake. It will be interesting to examine briefly the
way the Spaniards treated the people they subjected, in other respects, and
to glance at the kind of government which they substituted for the mild rule
of the Incas.
The forefathers of the present Aymara Indians established a civilization of
which we have no record save the silent evidence of those cyclopean ruins
which have just been described. Subsequently, for nearly four centuries,
from the middle of the twelfth to the sixteenth, they formed a part of the
empire of the Incas, and their land was then called Collasuyu. During this
period the Incas followed their constant policy of superseding the language
of the conquered land by their own more polished Quichua; and they so far
succeeded that the Aymara, which once extended and was spoken all over
the Collao, as far as the pass of Ayaviri, on the road to Cuzco, has been
entirely superseded in all parts north of Puno by the Quichua, and is now
only spoken between Puno and La Paz, and farther south. Nevertheless the
people enjoyed a long period of tranquillity and prosperity during the happy
rule of the Incas, and the population continued to increase. With the

introduction of Spanish rule a blight fell upon them: and we shall now see
how the beneficent laws of the sovereigns of Castile were administered by
their unworthy servants.

CHAPTER VIII.
THE PERUVIAN INDIANS:
Their condition under Spanish colonial rule.

In reviewing the deplorable results of Spanish domination in South
America, it may at once be conceded that the legislation which originated
from the councils of the kings of Castile was always, except in matters
connected with religion, remarkable for beneficence and liberality in all that
concerned the natives; and that, in the words of Mr. Helps, "those humane
and benevolent laws, which emanated from time to time from the Home
Government, rendered the sway of the Spanish monarchs over the
conquered nations as remarkable for mildness as any, perhaps, that has ever
been recorded in the pages of history."[160] It may also be allowed that the
Viceroys of Peru were generally earnest and zealous statesmen, who
conscientiously strove to enforce the regulations which they from time to
time received from the council of the Indies.
But it was almost as impossible for the viceroys to exercise efficient
personal supervision over the government of so enormous a country, while
residing at Lima, as it would have been if they had remained at the council-
table in Seville; and their subordinates were, as a body, untrustworthy,
extortionate, rapacious, and often remorselessly cruel. Thus the benign laws
of the Spanish kings became a dead letter in South America, and the natives
groaned, for three centuries, under a yoke which crashed them to the earth,
and converted vast tracts of once thickly populated country into uninhabited
deserts.
Yet the humane intentions of the Spanish government, and the labours of
the Peruvian viceroys, were not wholly without results; and it is partly due
to them that a system of worse than African slavery was not established in
Peru, and that the native race has not long ago become entirely extinct.
At the time of the Spanish conquest Pizarro was empowered, in 1529, to
grant "encomiendas," or estates, to his fellow-conquerors, the inhabitants of
which were bound to pay tribute to the holders of the grants; and in 1536

these encomiendas were extended to two lives. The consequent exactions
and cruelties were so intolerable that the good Las Casas, and other friends
of the Indians, at length induced the Emperor Charles V. to enact the code
so well known as the "New Laws," in 1542; by which the encomiendas
were to pass immediately to the Crown after the death of the actual holders;
all officers under government were prohibited from holding them; all men
who had been mixed up in the civil wars of the Pizarros and Almagros were
to be deprived at once; a fixed sum was to be settled as tribute to be paid by
the Indians; and all forced personal labour was absolutely forbidden.
The promulgation of these beneficent laws excited a howl of furious
execration from the conquerors,—the wolves who were thus to be dragged
away, when their fangs were actually fixed in the flesh of their victims.
Gonzalo Pizarro rose in rebellion in Peru, and defeated and killed Blasco
Nuñez de Vela, the viceroy who had arrived to enforce these "New Laws;"
while the more politic Belalcazar, at Popayan, though professing obedience,
contrived to evade the execution of his orders, after a fashion which gave
rise to the well-known saying—"se obedece, pero no se cumple"—"he
obeys, but does not fulfil." Their unpopularity was so great that it was
considered unsafe to persist in the attempt to enforce them, and they were
revoked in 1545. The President Gasca re-distributed the "encomiendas" in
1550, and they were granted for three lives in 1629. Gasca, who showed
more regard for his own safety and convenience than for the public service,
arranged that his settlement of the encomiendas should not be promulgated
until he had sailed for Spain, and he suspended the law prohibiting the
forced personal service of the Indians. The latter enactment, however, was
boldly promulgated by the Judges of the Royal Audience in 1552, and was,
as might have been expected, immediately followed by a ferment amongst
the conquerors and a formidable rebellion. Finally the Marquis of Cañete
arrived in Peru, as viceroy, in 1554; and, by a mixture of severity and
prudent conciliation, trod out the last sparks of revolt amongst the
Spaniards.
In 1568 the viceroy Don Francisco de Toledo established the system under
which the native population of Peru was professedly ruled for the two
succeeding centuries. Toledo was a bigot, without pity, and inexorably
cruel. Justice or humanity had no weight with him if they stood in the way
of any policy which he deemed to be advisable, as was shown in the judicial

murder of the young Inca Tupac Amaru. But he was a faithful servant of his
sovereign, and resolutely determined to enforce the edicts of the Council of
the Indies; a statesman of considerable ability and untiring industry. He was
so prolific in legislation that, on the subject of coca-cultivation alone, he
issued seventy ordinances; and future viceroys referred to his rules and
enactments as to a received and authoritative text-book. The viceroy
Marquis of Montes Claros, in 1615, declared that "all future rulers of Peru
were but disciples of Francisco de Toledo, that great master of
statesmanship."
By his Libro de Tasas, or Book of Rules, Toledo fixed the tribute to be paid
by the Indians, exempting all men under the age of eighteen, or over that of
fifty. The Indians were governed by native chiefs of their own people,
whose duty it was to collect the tribute, and pay it in to the Spanish
corregidor or governor of the province, as well as to exercise subordinate
magisterial functions. These chiefs, called Curacas in the time of the Incas,
were ordered by Toledo to be named Caciques, a word brought from the
West Indian islands;[161] and under them there were two other native
officials—the Pichca-pachacas, placed over 500 Indians, and the Pachacas
over 100. These offices were inherited from father to son, and their
possessors enjoyed several privileges, such as the exemption from arrest,
except for grave offences, and they received a fixed salary. The native
Caciques were often men of considerable wealth; some of them were
members of the royal family of the Incas; they were free from the payment
of tribute and from personal service; and thus occupied positions of
importance amongst their countrymen.[162] They wore the same dress which
distinguished the nobles of the Inca's court, consisting of a tunic called
uncu, a rich mantle or cloak of black velvet called yacolla, intended as
mourning for the fall of their ancient rulers; and those of the family of the
Incas added a sort of coronet, whence a red fringe of alpaca-wool
descended as an emblem of nobility. This head-dress was called
mascapaycha. They had pictures of the Incas in their houses, and
encouraged the periodical festivals in memory of their beloved sovereigns,
when plays were enacted, and mournful music was produced from the
national instruments, drums, trumpets, clarions, and pututus, or sea shells.
[163]
All these customs were left unchanged by Toledo, and the system so far
resembles that which now prevails in the Dutch colony of Java.[164]

But, in addition to the tribute, the amount of which as established by Toledo
was not excessive, and which was rendered still less objectionable to the
Indians from being collected by their native chiefs, there was the mita or
forced labour in mines, manufactories, and farms,[165] which became the
instrument of fearful oppression and cruelty. Toledo enacted that a seventh
part of the adult male population of every village should be subject to the
mita, and ordered that the Caciques should send these mitayos, as they were
called, to the public squares of the nearest Spanish towns, where they might
be hired by those who required their services; and laws were enacted to
regulate the distance they might be taken from their homes, and their
payment.[166] It appears, however, that this seventh part of the working men
who were told off for forced labour was exclusive of those employed in the
mines, so that, even in theory, the mita condemned a large fraction of the
population to slavery.[167]
There was a class of Indians, numbering about 40,000 souls in the time of
Toledo (1570), called Yanaconas, who were scattered over Peru, and forced
to work on the lands of Spaniards, or as domestic servants. They may have
been descendants of captives in war, or of persons who had been
condemned to slavery in the time of the Incas, and thus became the property
of the conquerors; but in 1601 an enactment was promulgated to ameliorate
their condition, and fix the terms of their service.[168]
In matters connected with religion the Spanish legislators allowed of no
temporizing policy. All signs of idolatry must disappear, and with the new
religion came additional exactions, in the shape of fees for masses, burials,
and christenings. Toledo enacted many laws for the suppression of the old
religion of the Incas: any Indian who married an idolatrous woman was to
receive one hundred stripes, "because that is the punishment which they
dislike most;" the people were prohibited from using surnames taken from
the names of birds, beasts, serpents, or rivers, which was their ancient
custom; and no Indian who had been punished for idolatry, joining in infidel
rites, or dancing the dance called arihua, could be appointed to hold any
public office.[169]
On the whole, however, the legislation of the Spanish kings, and the reports
of the viceroys of Peru, display an earnest desire to protect the Indians from
tyranny, and to render their condition tolerable. In 1615 the Marquis of

Montes Claros impressed on his successor the importance of obliging all
classes of Spaniards to treat the Indians well, and of chastising oppression
with rigour. In 1681 the Count of Castellar states that one of the points most
dwelt upon in the instructions given to the viceroys, and in repeated royal
enactments, was the humane treatment of the Indians; and he declares that
he always sought to enforce these orders from the day that he landed in
Peru; and words to the same effect are to be found in the reports of most of
the other viceroys.[170]
But side by side with these evidences of the good intentions of the
Government, is the testimony of the viceroys that their efforts to comply
with these beneficent orders, and enforce these humane laws, were fruitless,
and rendered of no effect by the unworthiness of their subordinates; and
almost all complain of the rapid depopulation of the country. In 1620 the
Prince of Esquilache reported that "the arm of the viceroy was not powerful
against the negligence and maladministration of the corregidors;" in 1681
the Count of Castellar said that he had to correct and punish the excesses
both of the corregidors and the curas; in 1697 the Duke of La Palata speaks
of the depopulation of the villages and towns, caused by the forcible
detention of the Indians to work at the mines, in cloth and cotton
workshops, and in farms; and another viceroy attributes the rapid
depopulation of the country to the same causes, and also to drink, and urges
a closer supervision of the conduct of the corregidors and curas.
I have, in a former work, given a brief account of the treatment of the
Indians, and of the way in which the laws intended for their defence were
evaded; from the evidence of the brothers Ulloa, who were commissioned
to make a special and secret report on the subject to the King of Spain in
1740.[171] I have since collected abundant testimony to the same effect,
printed and in manuscript, both at Madrid and in Peru; but I have only space
for a few brief notes, which must serve to illustrate this part of the subject.
The mines of Potosi were supplied with labourers from the nearest
provinces, by enforcing a mita of a seventh of the adult male population. In
1573 this mita consisted of 11,199 Indians, in 1620 of 4249, and in 1678 of
1674,[172] a decrease which marks the rapid depopulation of the country;
and, at the latter date, when the authorities at Potosi failed to receive a
sufficient number of labourers by the ordinary mita, they kidnapped people

in their homes, and on the roads, and carried them off to forced labour in
the mines. The law was that the mitayos should be paid for coming and
going, and that they should not be forced to work at night; but these laws
were habitually set at nought, and Potosi became an exhausting drain to the
surrounding country.[173]
The mines of Huancavelica, which supplied the quicksilver necessary for
extracting the silver of Potosi from its ores,[174] also desolated the ten
adjoining provinces. In 1645 the mita or seventh part of the adult male
population amounted to 620, and in 1678 to only 354 Indians. The mita was
a service which was abhorred and dreaded by the people, and mothers
maimed the arms and legs of their children to deliver them from this
slavery. Don Juan de Padilla relates that, in 1657, when he was at Santa
Lucia, in the province of Lucanas, he saw the women of the village go out
to assist each other in sowing their fields, and, at the end of their labour,
they returned hand in hand, singing a most melancholy song, and lamenting
the cruel fate of their husbands and brothers, who were slaving in the mines
of Huancavelica, while they were obliged to work in the fields like men.
They declared that when a man was once taken for the mita his wife seldom
or never saw him again, unless she went herself to the place of his torments.
[175]

The oppression of the owners of obrajes or manufactories of coarse woollen
and cotton cloths, in enforcing the mitas, was as crushing as that of the
miners. These people employed men, called guatacos, to hunt the Indians,
and drive them into the obrajes. If they could not find the particular men for
whom they were in search, they took their children, wives, and nearest
neighbours, robbed them of all they possessed, and frequently violated the
women and young girls.[176] The masters, in the obrajes, then forced their
victims to get deeply in debt to them, and thus obtained an excuse for
keeping them in perpetual slavery. In many obrajes there were Indians who
had not been outside the walls for forty years and upwards. The law was
that the natives should be free from tribute and personal service until they
attained the age of eighteen; but it was the general practice to drag children
from their homes at the ages of six or eight, force them to work hard at
twisting woollen and cotton threads, and flog them cruelly.[177]

Thus the work of depopulation went on until, in 1622, many encomiendas
which originally contained a thousand adult male Indians, and yielded eight
thousand dollars of tribute, were reduced to a hundred; yet these
unfortunate survivors were forced to continue the payment of the original
tribute, or to render personal service instead. There was an encomienda in
Huanuco where the Indians had paid more than one hundred thousand
dollars over and above what was legally due, during fifty years.[178]
It may well be asked of what use were the humane and beneficent laws
enacted by the kings of Spain if this was the way in which they were
universally evaded by corregidors, curas, and Spanish settlers of all ranks?
The caciques sorrowfully watched the gradual extinction of their people,
perhaps secretly hoped for an opportunity of revenge, but were without
power to prevent the cruel oppression which they deplored, though they did
not neglect, from time to time, to protest against the lawless exactions and
cruelties of the Spaniards.[179]
But the Indians did not endure their fate without occasional attempts at
resistance. On one occasion the people on the western shore of lake Titicaca
rose against the mita of Potosi, and retreated amongst the beds of rushes on
the shores of the lake, which, in some places, are nine leagues long and one
broad. In the midst of these rushes there was an island, whence secret lanes
were cut through the tangled mass, which the fugitives navigated in their
balsas. Secure in their retreat, they continued to make inroads on the
Spanish towns near the lake, until at last, in 1632, the viceroy Count of
Chinchon ordered his nephew, Don Rodrigo de Castro, to chastise them.
Five of their leaders were captured and hung at Zepita, and their heads were
stuck on the bridge over the Desaguadero. This only exasperated the
Indians, who elected a brave and enterprising leader named Pedro Laime,
and, suddenly attacking the bridge over the Desaguadero, they carried off
the heads of their former chiefs. The Spaniards marched along the shore and
waded to some islets, while the Indians hovered round them in their balsas,
and prevented them from advancing further. At length the Spanish troops
were embarked in twenty balsas, and came in sight of the hostile squadron
commanded by Laime. The Indians went in and out of the lanes of rushes
only known to themselves, baffled their oppressors, and cut off several of
the Spanish balsas. A party of cavalry advancing into the swampy ground

was suddenly surrounded and cut to pieces, the Indians only losing three
men.[180]
Thus the fugitive Indians retained their liberty for many years in these
inaccessible fastnesses of lake Titicaca, and the Augustine friar Calancha
confesses that "the rebellion was caused by the injustice and tyranny of the
Spaniards, who forced the Indians to work without pay, and seized on their
goods."
This was not a solitary instance of rebellion, though, on the whole, the
Indians endured their cruel fate with meekness and long suffering. Yet they
are not a mean-spirited people, and at length they showed their oppressors
that it was possible to press the yoke down too hard even for their powers of
endurance.
The tribute, the mita, the exactions of the curas, and the alcabala, or excise
duties,[181] were all patiently borne; but another method of extortion, the
"repartimiento," or "reparto,"[182] at length exhausted the patience of the
over-tasked Indians. The reparto was a system, ostensibly for distributing
European goods to the Indians, which was converted into a means of
wholesale robbery by the Spanish corregidors, and finally led to a general
rebellion. An Indian chieftain thus describes the reparto system:
—"Abandoning their souls for their avarice, the corregidors have the
assurance to distribute (repartir) by force, and against all reason, baize and
cloths worth two rials for one dollar, and in the same proportion with
knives, needles, dice, pins, cards, trumpets, rings, and pewter mirrors,
which are all quite useless to the Indians; besides velvets and silks, which
the poor people cannot use; for they are obliged to dress in the coarsest
clothes, to sleep on beds of rags, and feed on roots; while the corregidors
and their dependants commit the most unjust extortions and outrages. They
even exceed the legal quantity of repartos assigned to their respective
provinces; for example, that of Tinta was ordered to be 112,500 dollars, and
the corregidor made it 500,000 dollars, as was proved by his books and
papers."[183] General del Valle, who commanded the troops employed to put
down Tupac Amaru's rebellion, complained that the avarice of the
corregidors, in recovering their claims on the Indians for repartos, was such
that they refused him the aid of their people in pacifying the country. Their
obstinacy and avarice, he declared, had reached to such a point that, if they

were informed that the rebels had reached the very suburbs of their towns,
they would rather see the defeat of the king's troops than send away a single
Indian who might owe them a yard of cloth.[184]
This unblushing dishonesty and extortion, which was winked at by the
Royal Audience at Lima, the highest court of judicial appeal, drove the
Indian population to a state of desperation, which only required a spark to
set it in a blaze. The humane laws, and the elaborate system of legislation
for the Indians, had, after 200 years of hopeless inefficiency, ended in this.
The careful enactments to limit the amount of tribute, to prevent the Indians
from suffering by forced personal service, the laws of ecclesiastical
councils to protect them from the exactions of the curas, the benevolent
intentions evinced in declaring all Indians to be minors in the eye of the
law, the "residencias," or arrangements for examining the conduct of every
official at the close of his term of office; all these provisions, which have
justly called forth the praise of Mr. Helps, Mr. Merivale,[185] and other
modern writers, had become dead letters, absolutely and hopelessly,
towards the end of the last century. The laws remained the same, but they
were habitually set aside by those whose duty it was to administer them.
The tribute fixed for villages when they contained a thousand men was
continued the same when the population had decreased to a hundred;[186]
the mita was enforced so mercilessly that whole districts were left without a
single adult male inhabitant;[187] the curas extorted exorbitant fees from
their victims, in spite of the law;[188] and the judges, who were sent to take
the "residencias," received bribes to overlook all offences, and usually
handed over the complaints which were submitted to them to the officials
who were complained of in exchange for a sum of money, the price of their
silence.[189] These evils were long borne patiently; but when the shameless
enormities of the Repartos were superadded, the poor remnant of the
descendants of the subjects of the Incas at length rose as one man against
their oppressors.
There were not wanting, amongst the Spaniards in Peru, as well as amongst
the native Caciques, many good and humane men who raised their voices
against the lawless cruelty of the majority of the officials, and earnestly
warned the Government of the inevitable consequences. Don Ventura
Santalices, the Governor of La Paz, devoted his time and fortune to the

cause of the oppressed Indians, and was appointed to a seat in the Council
of the Indies, but he was poisoned on his arrival in Spain: the energetic
remonstrances of Blas Tupac Amaru, a descendant of the Incas, caused him
also to be summoned to Spain, where he obtained promises of many
concessions, but he was assassinated at sea, during the return voyage: and
the names of other bold and fearless defenders of the Indians deserve to be
recorded, such as Don Manuel Arroyo, Don Ignacio Castro, Don Agustin de
Gurruchategui, Bishop of Cuzco, and Don Francisco Campos, Bishop of La
Paz.
But their remonstrances bore no fruit, and, in 1780, the Corregidor of
Chayanta having exacted three repartos in one year, an Indian chief, named
Tomas Catari, set the example of revolt; thousands flocked to his standard,
and to those of his brothers Damaso and Nicolas; in a few months the whole
of Upper Peru (the modern Bolivia) was in revolt, and an army of Indians
under Julian Apasa, a baker of Hayohayo near Sicasica, besieged La Paz.
[190]
At the same time there was an uneasy feeling at Cuzco and throughout
Peru, and whispers of a conspiracy amongst the Indians. Don Pedro
Sahuaraura, the Cacique of Oropesa, near Cuzco, reported that one
Ildefonso del Castillo had solicited him to join the conspiracy; suspicion
was thrown on several other influential Indians; and in June 1780 this
Castillo, Bernardo Tambohuacto, the Cacique of Pissac, and six others,
were put to death at Cuzco.[191] In the following November the Cacique
José Gabriel Condorcanqui, better known as Tupac Amaru, raised the
standard of revolt, and the last desperate struggle for liberty was
commenced by the descendant of the Incas.[192]
"It would be difficult," says Dean Funes, "to find in the history of
revolutions one more justifiable and less fortunate than that of Tupac
Amaru. America had, in those days, become the theatre of the most wide-
spread tyranny; but the Indians of Peru were those on whose necks the yoke
weighed heaviest. Mitas and repartos were, in Peru, the deadly plagues of
Spanish invention, which devoured the human race."[193]
I am enabled to give a more correct and circumstantial account of the great
rising of the Peruvian Indians in the end of the last century than has yet
appeared in Europe; although, as this interesting subject is a digression
from the main purpose of the present work, I shall be obliged to compress

my narrative within the narrow limits of one or two chapters.[194] In this
brief sketch of the state of the Peruvian Indians under Spanish rule, I have
endeavoured to establish the fact that Tupac Amaru's rebellion was justified
because the oppression of his people had become intolerable, and because
all law was set at defiance by the Spanish officials. He protested, not
against the tyranny of the laws, but against the infringement of laws, and
the oppressive acts done in spite of the laws, by those whose duty it was to
administer them.
In writing on this subject one is apt to be carried away by indignation
against the Spanish rulers in South America; yet, if we look round at the
systems of colonization pursued by other European nations, it will be found
difficult to say who has a right to cast the first stone. The Spanish colonies,
however, cannot properly be compared with those modern English
settlements, to which thousands of the labouring classes have emigrated,
and either annihilated the natives, or fenced them off by a system of
reserves and isolation. No European labouring class was introduced into
South America; the Indians still continued to be the cultivators, the
shepherds, and the artizans; and the Spaniards were merely the dominant
race. This state of things is more allied to the conditions which now exist in
British India or Dutch Java, and there is thus no analogy between the South
American settlements and any British colony in the proper acceptation of
the word.
Yet to Spain the credit is due, in spite of numerous shortcomings, and
notwithstanding the oppression of her subordinates, of having endeavoured
to establish the wisest, the most humane, and the only successful system of
treating natives of an inferior race. It is certain that such a race must either
continue to form the mass of the population, amalgamate with their
conquerors, or be annihilated. The two former of these three alternatives
were adopted in Peru, partly from natural causes, but partly also owing to
the incessant exertions of the earlier Spanish viceroys, and of the
"Defenders of the Indians;" and this result was achieved in spite of the
oppression and cruelty of their subordinates. The Indians have continued to
form the labouring class of Peru; amalgamation has taken place, to a very
large extent, with Europeans; and the native race has thus been preserved
from extinction.[195] In the English colonies, on the other hand, owing to the
influx of settlers of the labouring class, the aborigines have either been

exterminated, or, through a system of isolation, are rapidly and inevitably
advancing on the melancholy road to final annihilation.
But it was the intention of the Spanish system to do more for the aboriginal
race than merely to preserve it from extinction. By adopting a system of
tutelage, as regarded the Indians, the Spanish Government endeavoured to
defend them, in legal matters, from the superior intelligence of a more
civilized race; and Mr. Helps points out that it is hardly possible to carry
legislation further, in favour of any people, than by considering them as
minors in the eye of the law, in order to protect them from being imposed
upon in their dealings with their conquerors.[196] The opposite plan, which
has been adopted in some of the English colonies, of making native tribes
equal to Europeans in the eye of the law, is a mere mockery, and cannot by
any possibility exist in reality.[197]
It may then be readily allowed that the intentions of the Spanish
Government towards the Indians were humane and just; that their
legislation was invariably marked by tenderness and concern for the subject
race; and that their policy, had it been carried into effect, was far more wise
and generous than that by which modern nations have generally been
influenced in dealing with the aborigines of their colonies. But I think I
have clearly shown that, through the unworthiness of their subordinates,
this policy was only very partially enforced; that the cruelty and oppression
of the colonial officials at length became insufferable; and that no cause
could be more just than that in which Tupac Amaru, the last of the Incas, at
length drew his sword.

CHAPTER IX.
NARRATIVE OF THE INSURRECTION OF JOSÉ GABRIEL TUPAC
AMARU, THE LAST OF THE INCAS.
The basin of lake Titicaca is bounded on the north by the mountains of
Vilcañota, which unite the maritime cordillera with the Eastern Andes, and
the river of Vilcamayu rises in these mountains, and flows north through a
fertile and well-peopled valley, which is covered with fields of Indian corn.
The road from Puno to Cuzco, after crossing the Vilcañota range by the pass
of Santa Rosa, descends the valley of the Vilcamayu, passing through the
towns of Marangani, Sicuani, Cacha, Tinta, Checacupe, Quiquijana, and
Urcos; and then leaves the river near Oropesa, and ascends a valley for
three leagues to the city of Cuzco. On either side of the ravine of Vilcamayu
are lofty table-lands, which only yield potatoes and quinoa; the wild hills
are covered with coarse grass, often weighed down with snow; and in
several places there are large Alpine lakes. Uninviting as this bleak region
appears, it still contains several Indian villages, ruled in 1780 by native
caciques, who were subject to the corregidor of Tinta, in the valley. The
principal villages under the jurisdiction of Tinta in this cold and lofty
district are Sangarara, Lanqui, Pampamarca, Surimani, Yanaoca, and
Tungasuca—the latter of which was the home of Tupac Amaru. It is a small
village, with a few patches of potatoes and quinoa round it, near the banks
of a wild-looking lake, with rocky mountains rising abruptly from the water.

FAMILY OF THE INCAS OF PERU.
To face page 134.

José Gabriel Condorcanqui or Tupac Amaru,[198] the son of the Cacique
Miguel Tupac Amaru by his wife Rosa Noguera, was born at Tinta in the
year 1742, and baptized at Tungasuca, the birthplace of his father.[199] He
claimed to be the representative of the family of the Incas, as fifth in lineal
descent from Tupac Amaru, the son of the Inca Manco, who was judicially
murdered by the Viceroy Toledo in 1571.
The young José received the first rudiments of his education from two
neighbouring clergymen, Antonio Lopez, Cura of Pampamarca, a native of
Panama, and a man of considerable talent; and Carlos Rodriguez, Cura of
Yanaoca, a native of Guayaquil. At a very early age, however, he was sent
to the Jesuit college of San Borja at Cuzco, which had been established for
the education of young Indian chiefs. He is said to have been particularly
noticed by the professors for his close application, capacity, and excellent
disposition; and his scholastic acquirements were not inconsiderable. He

spoke Spanish with fluent accuracy, and his vernacular Quichua with
peculiar grace.[200]
Before he was twenty he succeeded his father as Cacique of Tungasuca,
Pampamarca, and Surimani, three villages situated on the cold and lofty
region which overhangs the valley of the Vilcamayu; and in 1760 he was
married to Micaela Bastidas, a beautiful Indian girl of Abancay.[201]
In person José Tupac Amaru was five feet eight inches in height, well-
proportioned, sinewy, and firmly knit. He had a handsome Indian face, a
slightly aquiline nose, full black eyes, and altogether a countenance
intelligent, benign, and expressive. His address, remarkable for
gentlemanlike ease, was dignified and courteous towards superiors and
equals; but in his intercourse with the aborigines, by whom he was
profoundly venerated, there was a sedateness not inconsistent with his
legally-admitted claims (de jure) to the diadem of the Incas. In mind he was
enterprising, cool, and persevering. He lived in a style becoming his rank,
and, when residing at Cuzco, usually wore a black velvet coat and small-
clothes in the fashion of the day, a waistcoat of gold tissue, embroidered
linen, a Spanish beaver dress hat, silk stockings, and gold knee and shoe-
buckles, and he allowed his glossy black hair to flow in ringlets which
extended down nearly to his waist.[202] The chief source of his income arose
from thirty-five piaras or troops of mules, each piara consisting of ten,
which were regularly employed or hired out in the transport of
merchandise, home-made stuffs, sugar, and quicksilver to Potosi and other
parts.[203] He had travelled over a considerable portion of Peru, and had two
or three times resided in Lima; and in his journeys he was always attended
by a small retinue of Indians, and sometimes accompanied by a chaplain.
In about 1770 Tupac Amaru went to Lima to establish his claim to the
Marquisate of Oropesa, which had been granted to his family by Philip II.
After some delay his claim was acknowledged by the Royal Audience, and,
in a judgment pronounced by the Fiscal Don Serafin Leytan y Mola, he was
declared to be the heir to the marquisate, as fifth in lineal descent from the
Inca Tupac Amaru; but it would appear that this judgment was withheld
from official publication. It was said that the fiscal paid the successful
suitor so many honours, and said so many complimentary things concerning
his nobility and royal descent, that he grew proud;[204] and it certainly

appears that he adopted a style of living in his mountain home at
Tungasuca, after his return from Lima, which he had not previously
assumed.[205] It is remarkable that, in 1618, the Viceroy Prince of
Esquilache wrote a despatch on the claims to jurisdiction of the members of
the Inca family, who were heirs to the marquisate of Oropesa. He
represented that very great inconvenience might arise from any descendant
of the Incas, particularly of the family of Oropesa, so closely representing
the direct line, holding any jurisdiction in Peru. The estates of the
marquisate were the richest and best in Peru, and situated near Cuzco,
where the memory of the Incas was most cherished. Many descendants of
the Incas, he added, were then living, subject to no tribute and no personal
service, and very rich and powerful; and he recommended that all claimants
to the marquisate should be obliged to live in Spain, and that an equivalent
should be paid them for their estates.[206] This advice was not adopted by
the Council of the Indies.
The young Inca at this time dropped his surname of Condorcanqui, and
assumed that of Tupac Amaru Inca. He governed his villages of Tungasuca,
Surinani, and Pampamarca exceedingly well, and was highly esteemed by
the corregidor of the province, Don Pedro Muñoz de Arjona, and his
successors, who admired his punctual attention to his duty, and therefore
distinguished him above all the other caciques. He habitually cultivated the
acquaintance of the Spanish curas and officials, and never let pass an
opportunity of representing to them, in impassioned language, the
deplorable condition of the Indians.[207] He assisted the distressed, paid
tribute for the poor, and sustained whole families which had been reduced
to ruin.[208] He cherished the traditions of his people, and such customs as
were not inconsistent with his profession of Christianity; and he especially
delighted in the dramatic representations which recalled the glorious
memories of the past. One of his most intimate friends was Dr. Antonio
Valdez, Cura of Sicuani, a perfect master of the Quichua language, and
author of a play called 'Ollantay,' founded on ancient tradition, which was
frequently acted before Tupac Amaru at Tungasuca.[209]
The oppression of the Indians by means of the mitas and repartos excited
the indignation of the Inca Tupac Amaru; but he exerted himself for years,
and exhausted every means of obtaining redress, before he was finally
driven to take up arms in their defence. Moved by his earnest and incessant

appeals, and his piteous account of the sufferings of his people, the Bishops
of Cuzco and La Paz forwarded them to the king through Don Ventura
Santalices; and Blas Tupac Amaru, the Inca's uncle, also undertook a
voyage to Spain; but death put an end to the humane missions both of the
Spaniard and the Indian. Nevertheless, Tupac Amaru persevered in
remitting renewed petitions; while the corregidors not only eluded
compliance with the royal decrees, but also increased the burdens of the
Indians. At length his patience came to an end, and he resolved to make an
appeal to arms, not to throw off the yoke of Spain, but to obtain some
guarantee for the due observance of the laws, and their just administration.
His views were certainly confined to these ends when he first drew his
sword, although afterwards, when his moderate demands were only
answered by cruel taunts and brutal menaces, he saw that independence or
death were the only alternatives.
The most merciless oppressor of the Indians of Peru was Don Antonio
Aliaga, Corregidor of Tinta, and therefore Tupac Amaru's immediate
superior; and the Inca determined to commence his revolt by punishing this
great culprit. The Inca's old tutor, Dr. Carlos Rodriguez, Cura of Yanaoca, in
celebration of his name-day, gave a dinner to the corregidor of Tinta, and
the Inca Tupac Amaru, on the 4th of November, 1780. The Inca, on pretence
that some person had arrived at his house from Cuzco, withdrew from the
banquet early, and placing himself in ambush on the road, with some
attendants, made the corregidor prisoner on his return, taking him to
Tungasuca,[211] and placing him in close confinement. Tupac then wrote a
letter marked reservadissima, which he obliged Aliaga to sign, ordering his
cashier at Tinta to remit the public money in the provincial treasury to the
Inca, assigning as a reason that it was necessary to set out forthwith to the
port of Aranta,[212] threatened by a descent from English cruisers. The Inca
thus received 22,000 dollars, some gold ingots, seventy-five muskets,
baggage-horses, and mules. Recruits were also ordered to be embodied, and
sent to Tungasuca.
Having thus drawn together a considerable force, he sent for his old master,
Dr. Antonio Lopez, the Cura of Pampamarca,[213] and ordered him to make
known to the corregidor that he must die, and to administer to him the
consolations of religion. A scaffold was then erected in the plaza of
Tungasuca, around which the retainers of the Inca were ranged in three

ranks, the first armed with muskets, the second with pikes, and the rear rank
with treble-loaded slings. Aliaga was then led out and publicly executed on
November 10th. Tupac Amaru at the same time addressed the astonished
multitude, in Quichua, as to his present conduct and ulterior views.
Mounted on a fiery charger, attired in the princely costume of his ancestors,
with a banner bearing the figure of an Inca encircled by embroidered chains
of gold and silver, and two armorial serpents,[214] he exhorted his followers
to lend an attentive ear to the legitimate descendant of their ancient
sovereigns, promising to abolish the mitas and repartos, and to punish the
extortionate corregidors.
The whole multitude, with one accord, vowed implicit obedience to his
orders, and he at once began to form the Indians into companies, and to
nominate officers. Next day he marched to Quiquijana, in the valley of the
Vilcamayu, the capital of the province of Quispicanchi, which he entered at
daybreak on the 12th, but the corregidor had fled. After hearing mass Tupac
returned towards Tungasuca, destroying the obraje of Parapuquio on his
way, where he found large quantities of woollen clothes, which were
distributed amongst his followers. He also demolished the obraje of
Pumacancha, where he found property valued at 200,000 dollars, consisting
of 18,000 yards of woollen cloths (bayeta), 60,000 of cotton cloths
(tocuyo), some fire-arms, and two pieces of artillery, belonging to the
Corregidor of Quispicanchi.[215] These obrajes were odious to the Indians,
their owners having enforced the mita far beyond the limits assigned by the
law, and perpetrated great cruelties on the women and children of the
mitayos. The Inca had now mustered 6000 troops, 300 armed with muskets,
and the rest with pikes, clubs, and slings. Nearly the whole population of
the provinces of Tinta, Quispicanchi, Cotabambas, Calca, and
Chumbivilicas rose in his favour, with the exception of a few whites.
The news of Tupac Amaru's revolt was brought to Cuzco on the 12th, by
Cabrera, the Corregidor of Quispicanchi, who had so narrowly escaped
capture. It created the greatest alarm, as the city was only garrisoned by two
regiments. The college of the expelled Jesuits was turned into a kind of
citadel, into which private and public property was taken for security; the
white part of the population was enrolled; requisitions for troops were sent
to the neighbouring provinces; and an express was despatched to Lima,
imploring speedy succour.

Next day 450 men, under the command of Don Tiburcio de Landa,
Governor of Paurcartambo, marched out of Cuzco, accompanied by the
Cacique of Oropesa, Juan Sahuaraura, with 700 Indians of his ayllu, or
tribe. Landa was ordered to wait for reinforcements at a place called
Huayra-pata; but the Corregidor Don Fernando Cabrera, who accompanied
him, enraged at the loss of property which he had sustained, induced him to
advance to the village of Sangarara, within five leagues of Tinta, which he
reached on the 17th. At dawn on the following morning it began to snow,
and, finding himself surrounded by a superior force of hostile Indians,
Landa retreated into the church. Tupac Amaru then wrote to him, offering
terms, which were refused; and he again wrote to the cura, who was also in
the church, urging him to retire with the women and children. The Spanish
troops, however, prevented them from coming out, a scuffle ensued, the
stock of powder ignited, and the roof and one of the walls were blown out.
The Spaniards then made a dash forward, and fought bravely until they
were nearly all killed.[216] Only twenty-eight wounded remained, who were
cured and set at liberty by order of the Inca. Landa,[217] his lieutenant
Escajadillo, Cabrera, and the Cacique Sahuaraura[218] were amongst the
slain.
The news of the disaster at Sangarara reached Cuzco on the 19th, and
produced indescribable confusion. The Cabildo immediately began to
collect arms, make powder, repair six old field-pieces, and on the 20th Don
Juan Nicolas de Lobaton y Zavala, Marquis of Rocafuerte, arrived from
Urubamba with reinforcements. Every citizen came forward to serve, and a
corps of volunteers was formed under Don Faustino Alvarez de Foronda,
Count of Vallehermoso. The Bishop ordered all the clergy to assemble,
formed them into four companies, and gave the command to the Dean, Dr.
Manuel de Mendieta. More troops soon came in from Calca, under Don
Pablo Astete, and from other parts, and by the end of November there were
3000 men in arms at Cuzco. Anxious to pacify the Indians, the Cabildo then
issued a proclamation abolishing the repartos, and the alcabala, or excise
on provisions, and declaring that the Indians should never again be forced
to work in the obrajes, if they remained faithful. Defensive works were
thrown up in the city and suburbs, and religious processions paraded the
streets.

At this moment Tupac Amaru might probably have entered Cuzco without
opposition; but unfortunately, relying on the justice of his cause, he
beguiled himself into the belief that he could accomplish by argument and
negotiation what could only be obtained by the sword. He threw up
embankments and entrenched himself in an encampment near Tinta,
throwing out videttes to within three leagues of Cuzco; and on the 27th he
issued an edict from his head-quarters at Tungasuca, setting forth the causes
of his revolt. In this document he recapitulated the grievances which his
people suffered, declared the tyranny of the Spanish officials to be impious
and cruel, and called upon the Indians to rally round his standard.
Early in December 1780 Tupac Amaru crossed the Vilcañota range, by the
pass of Santa Rosa, and, entering the Collao, advanced by Pucara to Lampa.
At every village he addressed the people from the church-steps, saying that
he came to abolish abuses and punish the corregidors; and that he was "the
liberator of the kingdom, the restorer of privileges, and the common father
of those who groan under the yoke of repartos." Nothing was heard
amongst the Indians but acclamations for their Inca and Redeemer.[219] On
the 13th of December he entered the town of Azangaro, where he destroyed
the houses of the Cacique Chuquihuanca, who had refused to join the
insurrection. A private letter, dated January 1781,[220] says that he rode into
Azangaro on a white horse, with splendidly-embroidered trappings, and that
two fair men, like Englishmen, of commanding aspect, were on his right
and left. He was armed with a gun, sword, and pistols, and was dressed in
blue velvet, richly embroidered with gold, with a three-cornered hat, and an
uncu, in the shape of a bishop's rochet, over all, with a gold chain round his
neck, to which a large golden sun was attached. Having received repeated
letters from his wife, reporting the threatening assembly of troops at Cuzco,
he retraced his steps, by Asillo and Orurillo, to the valley of the Vilcamayu,
obliging the curas of the villages through which he passed to receive him in
their churches under a canopy, and to chant the Te Deum.
On the 28th the heights of Picchu, overhanging Cuzco on the west, were
covered with his army. His cousin Diego Tupac Amaru was detached to the
eastward with 6000 men, to occupy the provinces of Calca and
Paucartambo. Another detachment under Antonio Castelo, one of the Inca's
most trusted followers, marched along the direct road to Cuzco, but was

defeated two leagues from the city at a place called Saylla, and finally
effected a junction with the main body on the heights of Picchu.
Before attempting to force his way into Cuzco, the Inca addressed a letter to
the cabildo, and another to the bishop, on the 3rd of January, 1781. To the
cabildo he said that, as the heir of the Incas, the ancient kings of the realm,
he was stimulated to endeavour by all possible means to put an end to
abuses, and to see men appointed to govern the Indians who would respect
the laws of the King of Spain. The punishment of the Corregidor of Tinta
was, he declared, absolutely necessary as an example to others: and he
announced the object of his rebellion to be the entire abolition of repartos;
the appointment of an alcalde mayor, or judge of the Indian nation, in every
province; and the establishment of an audiencia or court of appeal at Cuzco,
within reach of the Indians. "This," he concluded, "is at present the extent
of my wishes, leaving to the King of Spain his former dominion." To the
bishop he said that he had come forward, on behalf of the whole nation, to
put an end to the robberies and outrages of the corregidors; and he promised
to respect the priests, all church property, and all women and inoffensive
unarmed people.[221]
But the garrison of Cuzco had, in the mean while, been reinforced by
Pumacagua, the Cacique of Chinchero, and by 200 mulatto soldiers from
Lima under Don Gabriel de Aviles, who arrived by forced marches on
January 1st. The cabildo, therefore, refused to entertain any proposals from
the Inca. The Spaniards came out to attack him under Don Pablo Astete, and
the Caciques of Chinchero and Anta, Pumacagua and Rosas. There was a
long skirmish in the broken ground, which was brought to a conclusion by
the evening snow; but on the 8th a sanguinary battle was fought in the
suburbs and on the heights, which lasted two days, and during which a
Dominican friar, named Ramon de Salazar, concealed behind a rock, did
effective service with his musket, and contributed to throw the Indians into
confusion. The Inca finally retreated to Tinta, to re-organize his forces.
His cousin Diego Tupac Amaru was also unsuccessful to the eastward. His
division was detached from the main army at Checacupe, where he crossed
some mountainous country, and again descended into the valley of the
Vilcamayu, following the course of the river until he encountered the forces
under the command of the Marquis of Rocafuerte, consisting of the levies
of Pumacagua, Cacique of Chinchero, and those of the Caciques of Maras

and Huayllabamba. An engagement took place at Huaran, on the banks of
the river, near Calca, when Diego was defeated, many of his Indians being
drowned in the river; and he again suffered defeat at Yucay on December
23rd. The Indian chief then left the valley of the Vilcamayu, crossed a range
of mountains, and laid siege to the town of Paucartambo, on the banks of
the rapid river of the same name, while his videttes hovered over the
heights above the Vilcamayu valley, threatening the towns of Calca, Pissac,
and Taray. Don José Antonio Vivar was sent to occupy the bridge at
Urubamba, and watch the movements of the Indians. Paucartambo, and a
strong fort built on a rocky height on the opposite side of the river, were
desperately defended by the Spaniards under Don Lorenzo Lechuga, who
had fortified and garrisoned the place. Astete was sent across the bridge at
Urubamba, with 400 men, to relieve it; they had several encounters with the
Indians on the march, and on reaching the besieged town they found that
Lechuga had expended all his ammunition; but the besieging force, under
Diego Tupac Amaru, fell back towards Tinta, on the approach of Astete, on
the 18th of January, 1781. Having re-organized his army at Tinta, the Inca,
accompanied by his cousin Diego, made another attack upon Paucartambo
on the 11th of February; but, after several fruitless assaults, the Indian army
finally retreated to Tinta on the 14th.[222]
Tupac Amaru had now assembled a force of 60,000 men in and around
Tinta; but they were wholly undisciplined, and only a few hundreds were
armed with muskets. All the caciques in Peru, with the exception of sixteen,
[223]
had, however, declared in favour of the Inca; and the whole Indian and
mestizo population, except the ayllus or tribes of the sixteen Hispanicized
caciques, longed earnestly for the success of this truly national insurrection.
After the retreat from Paucartambo in February, the Inca occupied himself
in strengthening his position round Tinta, and in visiting the distant
provinces of Chuquibamba and Cotabambas, while one Isidro Mamani, an
Indian of ferocious character, born at Pomata, on the banks of lake Titicaca,
Pedro Vargas, and Andres Ingaricona, held the open country in the Collao.
The whole of the interior of Central and Upper Peru was in revolt, and the
viceroys of Peru and Buenos Ayres, Don Augustin de Jauregui and Don
Juan José de Vertiz, were thoroughly alarmed. The former despatched Don
José Antonio Areche, as "visitador," with extraordinary judicial powers, and
a force commanded by Don José del Valle as Mariscal del Campo, to

Cuzco; while the latter named Don Ignacio Flores, then Governor of
Moxos, as commandante-general, to put down the rebellion in Upper Peru.
Areche, accompanied by General José del Valle, and Don Benito de la
Matta Linares, a judge of the Royal Audience at Lima, arrived at Cuzco on
February 23rd, 1781, where an army of 15,000 men was collected,
consisting of the tribes of the recreant caciques, negroes and mulattos from
the coast, and a small force of Spaniards.
Early in March General del Valle prepared to commence the campaign. But,
before his army marched out of Cuzco, the visitador Areche received a
letter from Tupac Amaru, in which he represented the earnest endeavours he
had made to obtain justice for his people; the habitual violation of the law
by the Spanish officials; the cruel and intolerable oppression caused by the
repartimentos and the mita; and the absolute necessity of some reform in
the administration. He concluded by proposing a negotiation by which these
ends might be attained without bloodshed. This despatch is very ably
written, and is a monument of the noble and enlightened views of this great
but most unfortunate patriot.[224] The answer of the visitador Areche was a
brutal menace, better suited to a follower of Zengis Khan than to a Christian
judge. He refused all negotiation, vowed the most horrible vengeance, and
concluded by saying that, if the Inca surrendered at once, the cruelty of the
mode of his execution would be lessened. The Spanish General del Valle
protested against the brutality of this reply.[225]
Tupac Amaru now prepared to resist to the utmost, as it became evident to
him that complete independence or death were the only two alternatives
which were left by the barbarous policy of the bloodthirsty visitador; but his
edicts were still marked by humanity and good sense. It does not appear
that he ever actually proclaimed himself a sovereign independent of Spain;
yet the draft of an edict was found amongst his papers, in which he styles
himself "Don José I., by the grace of God, Inca, King of Peru, Quito, Chile,
Buenos Ayres, and the continents of the South Sea, Lord of the River of the
Amazons, with dominion over the Grand Paytiti." The document is headed
by a portrait of Tupac Amaru, crowned, with Spanish trophies at his feet. It
states that the King of Castille had usurped the crown and dominions of
Peru, imposing innumerable taxes, tributes, duties, excises, monopolies,
tithes, fifths; appointing officers who sold justice, and treating the people
like beasts of burden. For these causes, and by reason of the cries which

have risen up to Heaven, in the name of Almighty God, it is ordered that no
man shall henceforward pay money to any Spanish officer, excepting the
tithes to priests; but that tribute shall be paid to the Inca, and an oath of
allegiance to him be taken in every town and village. The document is
without date.[226]
On March 12th, 1781, the army under General del Valle marched out of
Cuzco. A detachment of 2000 men was sent against the insurgents,
commanded by the Caciques Parvina and Bermudez,[227] in the province of
Cotabambas, who were both killed in a desperate action. Tupac Amaru used
to call these brave chiefs his right and left arms. Meanwhile the main body
of the royalist army advanced slowly along the mountains to the westward
of the valley of the Vilcamayu, suffering much from the snow-storms, the
want of food and fuel, and the shameful neglect of all commissariat
arrangements by Areche. On the 18th the Inca sent a message to the Spanish
General, saying that the morrow, being the festival of San José, would be an
appropriate day for settling their differences; and that he should prepare his
troops for a movement of which, in compliment to the name-day of both
himself and Del Valle, he deemed it courteous to apprise his adversary. In
consequence of this message the Spaniard kept his men under arms all
night, but no attack took place, and in the morning the Inca's army was
found to be gone. Tupac had intended a stratagem, and had retired into an
unfrequented ravine: on the 21st a snow-storm favoured his design, and his
plan would have succeeded, had not a traitor, named Zunuario de Castro,
given Valle notice of his movements. The Spaniards changed their position,
and the Inca passed the night in vainly searching for it.
General del Valle was upwards of seventy years of age, and, unable longer
to endure the excessive cold of the mountains, he descended into the valley
of the Vilcamayu, and captured Quiquijana, hanging the Cacique Luis Poma
Inca, who defended it. On the 6th of April the Spanish army advanced up
the valley, meeting with considerable opposition, and reached Checacupe
early in the day. Near this village the Inca had taken up a position, defended
by a ditch and parapet stretching across the valley, and manned by 20,000
men, but he had neglected to provide any defence for his flanks. A Spanish
division stole unperceived to the back of the position, while the main body
assaulted it in front; and after an heroic defence the Indians, attacked both
in front and rear, fell back to another entrenched position at Combapata, a

league from Tinta, where the village was surrounded by a mud wall,
covered at the top with thorny bushes. The Spaniards, following up their
success, played upon the village with their field-pieces for several hours,
then carried the position at the point of the bayonet, and made a bloody
entry into Tinta.
Tupac Amaru, with his wife and three sons, fled to Lanqui, a village about
twenty miles to the westward, on the shores of a wild Alpine lake. Here he
intended to have rallied his disordered troops, but he was betrayed by one
of his own officers, named Ventura Landaeta, who, assisted by the cura of
the place, basely delivered the illustrious Inca and his family into the hands
of the Spaniards. On the same day General del Valle hung sixty-seven
Indian prisoners at Tinta, whose heads he stuck on poles by the road-side.
[228]
Diego Tupac Amaru, his nephew Andres Mendagure, and Mariano, the
second son of the Inca, fortunately escaped.
On the 8th of April Francisco, the aged uncle of the Inca,[229] was also
seized, and the prisoners were marched bareheaded into Cuzco, the
visitador Areche coming out as far as Urcos to meet them. They were all
separated from each other, and told that they would not meet again until the
day of execution.
The chief prisoners were the Inca Tupac Amaru, his wife, his two sons
Hipolito and Fernando, his uncle Francisco, his brother-in-law Antonio
Bastidas, his maternal cousin Patricio Noguera, his cousin Cecilia Tupac
Amaru with her husband Pedro Mendagure, a number of captains in the
Inca's army and other officials, and Aliaga's executioner named Antonio
Oblitas,[230] a negro slave.
It is necessary to record the diabolical cruelties of the visitador Areche, and
his assistant Matta Linares, in order to complete the narrative of the ill-fated
Inca's life, and to show into whose hands the fate of the Peruvian Indians
was placed by the Spanish viceroy, and of what devilish atrocities they were
capable. On the 15th of May, 1781, the visitador Areche pronounced a
lengthy sentence, in which he declared that it was necessary to hasten its
execution, in order to convince the Indians that it was not impossible to put
a man of such elevated rank to death, merely because he was the heir of the
Incas of Peru. He then accused the Inca of rebellion, of destroying the
obrajes, of abolishing the mita, and of causing pictures to be painted of

himself dressed in the imperial insignia of the uncu or mantle, and
mascapaicha or head-dress; and others representing the triumph of his arms
at Sangarara. He condemned his victim to behold the execution of his wife,
his son, his uncle, his brother-in-law Antonio Bastidas, and of his captains;
to have his tongue cut out, and afterwards to have his limbs secured to the
girths of four horses dragging different ways, and thus to be torn in pieces.
His body to be burnt on the heights of Picchu, his head to be stuck on a pole
at Tinta, one arm at Tungasuca, the other in Caravaya, a leg in
Chumbivilicas, and another in Lampa. His houses to be demolished, their
sites strewn with salt, all his goods to be confiscated, all his relations
declared infamous, all documents relating to his descent to be burnt by the
hangman, all dresses used by the Incas or caciques to be prohibited, all
pictures of the Incas to be seized and burnt, the representation of Quichua
dramas to be forbidden, all the musical instruments of the Indians to be
destroyed, all signs of mourning for the Incas to be forbidden, all Indians to
give up their national costumes, and dress henceforth in the Spanish
fashion, and the use of the Quichua language to be prohibited.
In the annals of barbarism there is probably not to be found a document
equalling this in savage wickedness and imbecile absurdity: and this was
written by a Spanish judge only eighty years ago.[231]
This hideous cruelty was literally carried into effect, in all its revolting
details. On Friday the 18th of May, 1781, after the great square had been
surrounded by Spanish and negro troops, ten persons came forth from the
church of the Jesuits. One of these was the Inca Tupac Amaru, who had, in
the early morning, been visited in prison by Areche, and urged to betray all
the accomplices in his rebellion.[232] "You and I," he replied, "are the only
conspirators: you for having oppressed the country with exactions which
were unendurable, and I for having wished to free the people from such
tyranny."[233] The Inca's companions in misfortune were his wife Micaela,
his sons Hipolito and Fernando, his brother-in-law Antonio Bastidas, his
uncle Francisco Tupac Amaru, Tomasa Condemaita the Cacica of Acos,
José Verdejo and Andres Castelo, captains in the Inca's army, and the
executioner Oblitas.
Verdejo, Castelo, Oblitas, and Bastidas were hung at once. The rest were
heavily chained, tied up in the bags which are used for carrying the maté or

Paraguay tea, and dragged backwards into the centre of the square by
horses. Francisco and Hipolito Tupac Amaru, the one an old man verging on
fourscore years, the other a youth of twenty, then had their tongues cut out,
and, with Tomasa Condemaita, were garrotted by an iron screw, the first
that had been seen in Cuzco. Micaela, the wife of the Inca, was then placed
on the same scaffold, her tongue was cut out, and the screw was placed
round her neck in presence of her husband; but she suffered cruelly, because
her neck was so small that the screw failed to strangle her. The executioners
then placed a lasso round her neck, and pulled different ways, at the same
time kicking her in the stomach and bosom until they succeeded in killing
her. The Inca was then taken into the centre of the square, his chains were
taken off, and his tongue was cut out. He was then thrown on the ground;
lassos, secured to the girths of four horses, were fastened to his wrists and
ankles, and the horses were made to drag different ways, "a spectacle never
before seen at Cuzco." As the unfortunate Inca's body was thus raised into
the air, his youngest son Fernando, a child of ten years, who had been
forced to witness this horrible massacre of his relations, uttered a
heartrending shriek, the knell of which continued to ring in the ears of those
who heard it to their dying day.[234] The horses did not pull at the same
time, and the body remained suspended like a spider for many minutes,
until at last the brutal miscreant Areche, who was looking on from a
window in the College of the Jesuits, caused the head to be cut off.[235] The
child Fernando was then passed under the scaffold, and sentenced to be
banished for life to one of the penal settlements in Africa.
Many of the Spanish citizens were present, but not an Indian was to be
seen. They afterwards declared that, while the horses were torturing the
Inca, a great wind arose, with torrents of rain, and that even the elements
felt the death of the Inca, whom the inhuman and impious Spaniards were
torturing with such cruelty.[236]
The heads, bodies, and limbs of the victims were sent to the different towns
of Peru, and to the villages round Cuzco,[237] in order to strike terror into
the hearts of the Indians; but this proceeding of course had the opposite
effect, and goaded them to fury. By the humane exertions of the Inca the
war had hitherto been carried on without unnecessary bloodshed, and he
had always protected unarmed persons and women; but, after the
perpetration of these barbarities in Cuzco, it became a war of extermination,

and during the following year not less than 80,000 people fell victims to the
vengeance of the Indian and Spanish troops.
In the revolting cruelty of Areche may be traced the abject terror of a
dastardly and craven mind; and to this cowardice may also be imputed the
concessions which were afterwards wrung from him.[238] Tupac Amaru did
not die in vain; for, after the suppression of his revolt, the repartos were
abolished, and the mitas were much modified.
Thus fell the last of the Incas. He was a man of whom his nation might well
be proud, and will bear comparison with the greatest monarchs of his race.
Having enjoyed the best education which Spanish policy at that time
permitted to the people of the colonies, he brought a cultivated mind, a clear
understanding, untiring industry, and devoted zeal for the welfare of his
countrymen to his important duties as a wealthy and influential cacique.
When he afterwards undertook the office of defender of the oppressed
Indians he displayed an amount of patient perseverance, combined with
great ability in the advocacy of their cause, which excited the admiration of
the Bishop of Cuzco and others of the more enlightened Spaniards. Finally,
after he had unwillingly become convinced that all remonstrance was
useless, he, in his appeal to arms, combined promptitude of action with
great moderation in his demands; his edicts were remarkable for their good
sense and humanity; and had his efforts been met by the Spaniards in a
corresponding spirit, the viceroy of the King of Castille might at length
have succeeded in enforcing the practical observance of the humane laws of
his master.
But this was not to be. Instead of a calm and enlightened statesman, and
Spain had many such, the viceroy placed full powers in the hands of a
wretch whose conduct was a mixture of cowardice, atrocious cruelty, and
incapacity. Fortune decided in favour of the Spaniards, and the Inca fell into
the power of a man whose vile nature was excited to acts of unequalled
barbarity by the terror which his position and his incompetence had caused
him. I have felt obliged to relate the shocking circumstances of the death of
Tupac Amaru in justice to the Indians; for who can be surprised if
afterwards they frequently refused to give quarter to any of the hated race of
Chapetones, as they called the Spaniards? and no atrocity was ever
perpetrated by them which can be compared to the execution of the Inca

and his family, committed by the deliberate sentence of a Spanish judge.
[239]

CHAPTER X.
DIEGO TUPAC AMARU—FATE OF THE INCA'S FAMILY—
INSURRECTION OF PUMACAGUA.

While the events occurred in the valley of Vilcamayu which ended in the
capture of the Inca Tupac Amaru and his family, the whole of the Collao
was in a state of insurrection, and all Spaniards had to escape for their lives
to Puno, La Paz, or Arequipa.
Don Joaquim Antonio de Orellana,[240] Governor of Puno, made a most
gallant defence of that town, with a force consisting of 180 musketeers, 647
pikemen, 44 artillerymen with 4 guns, and 254 cavalry. He retreated behind
his entrenchments when the Inca advanced as far as Lampa, in December
1780; but in February 1781, in spite of the heavy rains, he marched to
Lampa, where he flogged an Indian until he confessed that his rebel
countrymen were on an adjacent mountain called Catacora. Orellana found
the rebel army drawn up in an almost inaccessible position, with colours
flying; and, while seeking for a place where his troops might ascend, they
suffered from a storm of hail and snow. The Spaniards were divided into
two assaulting parties, but the showers of stones which the Indians hurled
from their slings obliged them to retreat, and Orellana himself was
wounded in the jaw.
He found it prudent to fall back towards Puno, and, on the 16th, encamped
on the banks of the river of Juliaca, near a place called Mananchili. The
Indian army followed the Spaniards and offered them battle—the chiefs
sending a message to Orellana to tell him that they acknowledged no king
but their Inca Tupac Amaru. They formed their forces in a semicircle—the
right being led by the Cacique Andres Ingaricona, the left by Mamani, and
the centre by a chief of Caravaya named Alejandro Calisaya. The battle
began at four P.M., and, after a sharp fight, Mamani's division fled to the
adjacent heights, and Ingaricona was also routed. The Indians left 370 killed
on the field; among whom there were many women who came to fight by
the sides of their husbands and brothers, armed with bones sharpened at one

end. Notwithstanding this success, Orellana made a rapid retreat to his
entrenched position at Puno, collected provisions, and sent messengers to
Arequipa for reinforcements.[241]
On the 18th of March the Indian army came in sight, extending for three
miles along the heights round Puno, with colours flying and a great noise of
drums and clarions, entirely surrounding the town, except on the side of the
lake. It was commanded by the Caciques Andres Ingaricona and Pedro
Vargas. The dismal news of the capture of Tupac Amaru reached the
besieging Indians on April 12th, when they retreated, followed by a Spanish
force under Nicolas de Mendiosala of Chucuito. He overtook them posted
on a hill called Condorcuyo, to the left of the road to Cuzco, when a furious
struggle commenced; but the Indians fought most gallantly, and defeated
Mendiosala, who retreated in disorder. This success encouraged the rebels
as much as it disheartened the Spaniards, and Chucuito and the other towns
on the western banks of the lake of Titicaca fell into their hands. They
committed indiscriminate slaughter in revenge for the cruel death of the
Inca, and only a few Spaniards escaped to Puno. The governor Orellana sent
balsas to rescue some fugitives who were concealed in the rushes on the
shores of the lake, he himself being confined to his house[242] by a wound
in his foot. Meanwhile the Indians of Azangaro, by capturing the town and
peninsula of Capachica, completed the conquest of the province of
Chucuito, and the rebel chiefs prepared for a second siege of Puno.
Diego Cristoval Tupac Amaru the Inca's cousin, with his nephew Andres
Mendagure, Mariano the young son of the Inca, and Miguel Bastidas a
nephew of the Inca's wife, escaped when the rest of their family were
betrayed and captured at Lanqui. They now joined the rebel army in the
Collao, Diego took the command, and on the 9th of May he invested Puno
on all sides, and commenced the second siege.
The Indians were formed in a semicircle on the sides of the surrounding
hills; while Orellana had deepened his entrenchments, and occupied a very
strong position on the Huassa-pata hill, above Puno: he also built two forts,
one called Santa Barbara, where the triumphal arch now is, and the other
called Horca-pata, on the descent from the heights of Cacharani. The
corners of the plaza and of the streets were barricaded. On the 10th there
were skirmishes all day, and on the 11th the Indians carried the forts of
Santa Barbara and Horca-pata by assault, and penetrated into the streets, but

failed in their attack on the rocky height of the Huassa-pata.[243] On the
12th the besiegers suddenly retreated, at the approach of the army
advancing from Cuzco.
General del Valle, after defeating the Indians at Combapata, continued his
march up the valley of the Vilcamayu, crossed the pass of Ayaviri, and,
entering the Collao, advanced towards Puno, where he arrived in the middle
of May. But the Indians of his army were disgusted at the excessive rigour
with which the rebels were treated; they deserted in great numbers,[244] and
assisted the troops of Diego Tupac Amaru in harassing the Spaniards, and
cutting of all supplies. The army of del Valle had been shamefully neglected
by the visitador Areche, who was too busy in torturing his prisoners to
attend to the commissariat. The troops were wretchedly clad, unpaid,
without medical stores, or biscuit, or fresh meat. Under these circumstances
the General reluctantly determined to retreat to Cuzco, taking with him the
garrison and inhabitants of Puno, which place was evacuated by Orellana
on the 26th of May. The army which had left Cuzco in March 15,000 strong
was now reduced, by desertions and sickness, to 1443 men, with which
force General del Valle commenced the retreat, closely followed and
constantly harassed by the Indians. He reached Cuzco on the 4th of July,
when a paper war ensued between him and Areche, the latter blaming him
for evacuating Puno, while the General retorted that Areche had shamefully
neglected the wants of his army, and failed to make any attempt to subdue
the country round Cuzco.[245]
The Viceroy seems to have taken the part of the General in this controversy;
and the foul vulture Areche, with his companion Matta Linares, was
recalled. He reached Lima on August 23rd, 1781, and embarked for Spain
with the poor little Fernando, son of Tupac Amaru, who was sentenced to
imprisonment for life.
The Indians still remained in arms round Cuzco, especially in the heights
above Urubamba and Calca, and at Lauramarca and Ocungate. Those near
Calca fortified themselves in a place called Chayña-ccasa, against whom
the General sent a force of 400 men under Don José de Barela, and the
Indians were defeated with great slaughter; while Don Joaquim Balcarcel
kept the insurgents in check, who continued to threaten Paucartambo.

After the retreat of General del Valle from Puno, Diego Tupac Amaru
established his head-quarters at the town of Azangaro, while Andres
Mendagure and Miguel Bastidas overran the provinces on the eastern shore
of lake Titicaca, captured the town of Sorata, and placed themselves in
communication with the insurgent forces in Upper Peru. It is said that
fifteen mule-loads of treasure, consisting of spoils from the provinces of
Omasuyos and Larecaja, were brought into Azangaro at this time and
buried. Diego Tupac Amaru occupied a house near the plaza, where he gave
audience in a long sala; and he went from this house to the church every
night, wrapped in a large cloak. This story made people believe that he was
concealing treasure, and many a fruitless search has since been made for it.
[246]

The hopes of the Indians were now beginning to wane. Diego, though a
man of considerable talent, was not possessed of the same influence over
the people as his unfortunate cousin; and the Spanish officials were rapidly
receiving reinforcements from Buenos Ayres, while the slaughter of the
Indians had been prodigious. In August, 1781, Diego issued a decree,
ordering that all women, children, and priests, should be respected during
the war;[247] and on the 18th of October he promulgated a manifesto setting
forth the numerous violations of law habitually committed by the
corregidors, the exactions of the curas, and the extortionate duties imposed
by the aduaneros.[248] This is a very able and telling document, and,
together with the more detailed writings of the unfortunate Inca, forms a
most complete vindication of this memorable insurrection.[249]
On September 12th, 1781, the viceroy of Peru, Don Augustin de Jauregui,
had issued a proclamation offering pardon, on submission, to Diego Tupac
Amaru and all his followers.[250] It would swell this short narrative to an
undue length if I attempted to give any account of the events in Upper Peru
during this period;[251] but the final suppression of the revolt in that part of
the country by the Spanish commanders Flores, Reseguin, and Segurola,
induced Diego Tupac Amaru to accept the Viceroy's offer of pardon, give
up the cause, and place himself in the power of a faithless enemy. Dr.
Antonio Valdez, cura of Sicuani, the friend of the Inca, and author of the
Quichua play of 'Ollantay,' was sent to Azangaro by the Spanish authorities
to persuade Diego to adopt this course. They held their conferences on the

subject while walking up and down on the banks of the river; and there is a
tradition that Pedro Vilca Apasa, one of Diego's bravest officers, overheard
one of these conversations, and remonstrated violently against the madness
of trusting to the word of a Spaniard. But the advice of Valdez prevailed,
Diego sent young Miguel Bastidas to open a negotiation with the Spanish
Colonel Reseguin in November; and on December 11th he gave himself up
to Don Ramon de Arias, commandant of the column of Arequipa. At the
same time Mariano Tupac Amaru, the son of the Inca, Andres Mendagure,
and Miguel Bastidas, surrendered to Don Sebastian de Segurola at La Paz.
Bastidas was sent to Buenos Ayres.
Diego Tupac Amaru received his pardon at Sicuani, from General del Valle
in the name of the viceroy, on January 26th, 1782; and on the same day the
Bishop of Cuzco[252] solemnly absolved him in the church. But Vilca
Apasa, Alejandro Calisaya, and other chiefs of Diego's army, refused to
submit, and continued in arms in the provinces of Caravaya and Azangaro.
General del Valle marched against them in March 1782, and took most of
them prisoners. Vilca Apasa was captured in his native village of Tapa-tapa,
eighteen miles east of Azangaro, where his descendants still live. He was
torn to pieces by horses in the plaza of Azangaro, and his limbs were stuck
on poles by the road-side.[253] An old lady told me that she could remember
seeing one of his arms on a pole near her father's house. Calisaya, and many
others, were hung. The Spanish General had the cruelty to force Diego
Tupac Amaru to accompany him, and to witness the execution of his old
friends. Del Valle then marched over the cordilleras of Lauramarca and
Ausangate, where the Indians had been in rebellion, taking Diego with him
in a sort of triumph, and returned to Cuzco in August. The old general was
taken ill soon afterwards, and died at Cuzco on the 4th of September,
leaving the command of the troops to Don Gabriel de Aviles.
Diego Tupac Amaru was permitted to retire to Tungasuca; and young
Mariano Tupac Amaru, with his cousin Andres Mendegure, lived at Sicuani.
But it would appear that the Spanish authorities had no intention of keeping
their faith with these unfortunate Indians, and it was soon seen that the
distrust of Vilca Apasa was but too well founded. The Spaniards were only
waiting for an excuse before they completed the extirpation of the whole
family of the Incas. This was soon found in a rebellion of the Indians of
Marcapata and Lauramarca, who, on the approach of a force under the

Corregidor Necochea in January 1783, retired to the lofty and almost
impenetrable heights of Hapo and Ampatuni. In February their leader,
Santos Huayhua, was captured with his family, and torn to pieces by horses.
[254]

Thus the desired excuse for treachery and faithlessness was furnished. All
the surviving members of the family of the Inca Tupac Amaru were
arrested, by order of the viceroy of Peru.[255] The accusations against them
were frivolous, and, so far as appears in the sentences, without a shadow of
proof to support them. Diego was accused of calling the Indians his sons, of
living in a way unbefitting a pardoned rebel, and of performing funeral rites
for his cousin the Inca; young Mariano Tupac Amaru of rescuing his lady-
love on September 9th, who had been forced to become a novice in the
monastery of Santa Catalina in Cuzco; Andres Mendagure of conducting
himself in a suspicious way; Manuela Castro, the mother of Diego, of
keeping up disaffection amongst the Indians; and Lorenzo and Simon
Condori, the brothers-in-law of Diego, of assisting the rebels in Marcapata.
The rest of the family were accused of being relations.
Diego was imprisoned with his kindred on the 15th of April, 1783, by Don
Raymundo Necochea, Corregidor of Quispicanchi;[256] while Mariano
Tupac Amaru and Andres Mendagure were sent to Lima, put on board a
ship, butchered at sea, and their bodies thrown overboard. The vulture
Matta Linares, who was still an Oidor of the Audienica at Lima, scented
carrion from afar, and arrived at Cuzco on April 20th, with the same
extraordinary judicial powers as had previously been given by the viceroy
to Areche. On the 17th of July he sentenced Diego Tupac Amaru to be
dragged at the tail of a mule, with a rope round his neck, to the place of
execution in the plaza of Cuzco, there to be hung and quartered, his body
and limbs to be distributed amongst the towns of Tungasuca, Lauramarca,
Paucartambo, and Calca, his goods to be confiscated, and his houses
destroyed; his mother, Marcela Castro, to be hung and quartered, and her
body to be burnt in the plaza; Lorenzo and Simon Condori to be hung; and
Manuela Titu Condori, the wife of Diego, to be banished for life.[257] These
sentences were executed on the 19th of July 1783; and Matta Linares
obliged the good cura of Sicuani, Dr. Valdez, by whose persuasion, as the
ancient friend of the Inca Tupac Amaru, Diego had been induced to accept
the treacherous pardon, to witness the executions.[258] Matta Linares is still

remembered in Cuzco for his barbarous, immoral, and sneaking conduct.
He died in Spain in about 1818, having been one of the first among the
unworthy Spaniards who declared in favour of Joseph Buonaparte.
At about the time of Diego's execution, the last spark of insurrection was
trampled out in Huarochiri, a province in the Andes near Lima. The Indians
of the villages near Caramporna had risen under one Felipe Velasco Tupac
Inca Yupanqui, who declared that the Inca was not dead, but that he was
alive and crowned in the "Gran Paytiti."[259] Don Felipe Carrera, who had
been appointed Corregidor of Parinacochas, was sent to Huarochiri, and by
a rapid march succeeded in capturing the chief. Towards evening, however,
he was surrounded by a large body of Indians armed with slings and poles,
in a narrow and dangerous part of the road. He retreated to an eminence
with his prisoner, where he defended himself until dark against the storm of
stones, and then escaped to Lima. After daily fights with the Indians the
rebellion was put down in June, 1783. Felipe Velasco, and his lieutenant
Ciriaco Flores, were hung in the great square of Lima on July 7th, 1783.[260]
Having, after two years and a half, succeeded in quelling the insurrection, it
remained for the viceroy to extirpate all the innocent members of the family
of the Incas, and all who were connected with them by marriage. Ninety
members of the family were sent to Lima in chains, among whom were
Bartolomé Tupac Amaru, the venerable great-uncle of the Inca; Marcela
Pallocahua, the mother of the Inca's wife Micaela Bastidas; and Manuela
Condori, the wife of Diego. Soon after his arrival at Lima Bartolomé Tupac
Amaru died at the extraordinary age of 125. A life of temperance had given
this aged prince the strength to endure months of solitary confinement at
Cuzco, to sustain blows from muskets and staves in the plaza, to undergo a
cruel journey on foot and in chains of 400 miles, but the horrors of the Lima
prison at length killed him. The unhappy survivors were shipped off at
Callao, in two ships, the 'Peruana' and the 'San Pedro,' and thrown into cells
in Cadiz for three years, when Charles III. caused them to be distributed,
apart from each other, in prisons in the interior of Spain, until their
sufferings were relieved by death. Once during the voyage they were
allowed by the brutal captain of the transport 'Peruana,' named José
Cordova, to wash their tattered clothes at Rio; but their fetters were never
removed, and, though the captain gave his word of honour to a Frenchman
who mended his damaged rudder, that he would take them off, he

unblushingly perjured himself; and the horrors which were suffered by
these innocent persons, many of them aged women and young children,
were never relaxed until they arrived at Cadiz.[261]
Fernando, the youngest child of the Inca, "whose shrill cry smote every
heart with electric sympathy"[262] when he beheld the cruel tortures of his
parents, was taken to Spain by the visitador Areche in 1781. He was then
only ten years of age. In 1783 one Don Luis Ocampo, a citizen of Cuzco,
went to Spain, and heard that young Fernando was a close prisoner in the
castle of San Sebastian at Cadiz. Through the aid of an Irish gentleman,
who was intimately acquainted with the town major, Ocampo applied for a
pass to visit him, but was refused. He, nevertheless, made his way into the
fort, and, looking round at the iron gratings of the cells, at length caught
sight of a youth whose countenance bespoke his origin. He addressed him
in Quichua, and found that he was speaking to Fernando Tupac Amaru.
While talking to him Ocampo received a blow from the butt end of the
musket of a Swiss sentry, whom, however, he induced to permit him to
continue the conversation. It appeared that the government allowed
Fernando six rials a day, but that the soldiers of the guard cheated him of
half. Ocampo gave him two or three dollars a week during his stay in Cadiz;
and this is the last we know, for a certainty, of the last surviving child of the
unfortunate Inca.[263]
The fate of these poor Indians, the remaining descendants of those Incas of
Peru whose remarkable civilization, and great power and wealth, became a
proverb during the sixteenth century, will not fail to be interesting to those
who have become acquainted, through the pages of Robertson, Prescott, or
Helps, with the history of the Spanish conquest of Peru. The sufferings and
death of Tupac Amaru and his family form a very sad story, yet they did not
suffer and die in vain: and it must be recorded of them that, unlike other
dispossessed families, they sacrificed themselves, not for their own selfish
ends, but in the hope of serving their people. They did not die in vain, for in
their fall they shook the colonial power of Spain to its foundation. Not only
was the system of repartos at once abolished, and the mitas considerably
modified, but in 1795 the hated office of corregidors was replaced by that of
intendentes, and from the cruel death of the last of the Incas may be dated
the rise of that feeling which ended in the expulsion of the Spaniards from
Peru.

The rebellion which broke out in Cuzco, thirty-four years after the death of
Tupac Amaru, is historically important, not on account of the patriotism of
its leaders, for they were almost all men of small weight and selfish ends,
but because the great body of the Indians rose as one man at the first signal,
in the hope of freeing their country from a foreign yoke. In 1809 the people
of Upper Peru had formed an independent government, which they called
an "Institucion de Gobierno," and the viceroy sent General Goyeneche
against them with 5000 men from Cuzco. The rebels, ill-provided with
arms, were defeated at Huaqui, near lake Titicaca, and slaughtered without
mercy;[264] but General Pezuela, who succeeded Goyeneche in the
command, had to face a patriot army from Buenos Ayres under Belgrano,
which kept him fully employed. Then it was that the opportunity was seized
of commencing a rebellion at Cuzco; and this enemy in the rear of the royal
army placed Pezuela in a most critical position.
The leader of the rebellion was Mateo Garcia Pumacagua, Cacique of
Chinchero near Cuzco, then a very old men. In January 1781, when Tupac
Amaru occupied the heights of Picchu above Cuzco, he had marched from
Chinchero with Indians to join him, but, hearing that a large Spanish army
was advancing from Lima, he changed his mind, and took part against his
countrymen with such zeal, that the viceroy created him a brigadier in the
Spanish service. On August 3rd, 1814, this Indian Cacique Pumacagua,
with the three brothers Vicente, Mariano, and José Angulo, Don Gabriel
Bejar, Hurtado de Mendoza, Astete, Pinelo, Prado, and others, raised the cry
of independence in Cuzco; and so unanimous was the feeling against
Spanish rule, that the whole population of that city joined heart and soul in
the insurrection.[265] The brothers Angulo were men of low birth, and vulgar
both in their language and their persons;[266] but Astete and Prado were
gentlemen of good family and position. It is possible that they made use of
Pumacagua, as an Indian cacique, that his countrymen might more readily
be induced to join their cause.
Having occupied Cuzco, the insurgents divided their forces into three
divisions, which separated in different directions, to excite the other
provinces to revolt. Mariano Angulo, Bejar, and Mendoza, who was
nicknamed Santafecino, marched to Guamanga, assaulted the house in
which several Spaniards had taken refuge, and hung two officers in the
plaza. Colonel Vicente Gonzalez was sent against them from Lima, and

attacked the insurgents, who had been joined by a body of Morochuco
Indians, near Guanta, in September. The rebels were defeated, and several
Morochuco Indians were shot at Guamanga, but the country continued in a
disordered state until Santafecino was finally routed at Matara in April
1815.
Pinelo, and the cura of Munecas in Upper Peru, entered Puno without
resistance with another division on August 29th, advanced to La Paz, and
took it by assault after a siege of two days, on September 24th.
The main division, led by Pumacagua in person, and Vicente Angulo,
marched on Arequipa.
The position of the royalist army under Pezuela, with the Buenos Ayrean
army of independence in front, and this formidable insurrection in the rear,
was most critical: for the Indians, believing that the rule of their Incas was
to be restored, and that Pumacagua would succeed where Tupac Amaru had
failed, were flocking in thousands to the standard of the old cacique.
Pezuela organized a division of his army, 1200 strong, commanded by
General Don Juan Ramirez, who marched from Oruro in October, and fell
upon the rebels, numbering 4000 men, 500 armed with muskets, and the
rest with slings, who were encamped on the heights above La Paz. The
rebels retired in good order to Puno, and Ramirez entered La Paz, and,
having extorted 63,000 dollars from the citizens, continued his march to
Puno, which he occupied on November 23rd, and pressed on towards
Arequipa on the 26th.[267]
In the mean while Pumacagua and Angulo had been joined by many
caciques with their ayllus or tribes, and he organized his army at Cavanilla,
giving the rank of generals and colonels to the Indian chiefs.[268] From
Cavanilla the rebel forces marched along the road from Puno to Arequipa,
descended the "alto de los huesos," and encountered the Spanish troops
under Brigadier Picoaga in the plain of Cangallo. Picoaga was defeated and
taken prisoner, and the Indians entered Arequipa in triumph, where the
greatest enthusiasm prevailed for the cause of independence. Picoaga and
Moscoso, the Intendente of Arequipa, were shot by order of the Angulos,
who, early in December, issued a proclamation, declaring that Peru was
free; that there had been a revolution in Lima; and that the viceroy Don José
de Abascal was in prison. These falsehoods were intended to excite the

Spanish Americans to revolt; but, indeed, they required no such stimulus,
for the people of all races and classes were burning to throw off the yoke of
Spain.
It was at this time that Melgar, the enthusiastic young poet of Arequipa,
joined the national army, and became secretary to Vicente Angulo.
On the approach of Ramirez, Pumacagua evacuated Arequipa, and
manœuvred for some days on the lofty plains between Apo and the post-
house of Pati. Ramirez steadily advanced, and came in sight of the Indian
army at a little hut called Chillihua, near the head of the "alto de los
huesos;" but Pumacagua, avoiding a battle, retreated hastily into the
interior, and Ramirez entered Arequipa without opposition on December
9th. His first act was to shoot Don José Astete, and other patriots who had
compromised themselves during the time that Pumacagua was in the city.
The enthusiasm of the Indians was so great that, notwithstanding the affair
at Chillihua, which one authority describes as a retreat,[269] and another as a
disastrous defeat,[270] they again flocked to the standard of the old cacique
at Pucara, where he soon had another undisciplined half-armed force around
him, numbering 40,000 men. Ramirez organized a force at Arequipa of
1200 men armed with muskets, and fifty dragoons; and, commencing his
march on February 11th, 1815, he encamped round the town of Lampa on
March 1st. On that day he received a letter from Vicente Angulo, protesting
against the war being carried on in a savage and relentless spirit,
representing that, when a whole people rises in arms, the insurgents ought
to be granted belligerent rights; and urging the duty of concluding the war
by negotiation, and not by bloodshed. "It is not fear," Angulo continues,
"that induces me to write thus, but a feeling of humanity."[271] Ramirez
answered that he would accept nothing but unconditional surrender. On
March 4th he advanced to Ayaviri, on the Vilcañota range, which separates
the Collao from the valley of the Vilcamayu. Here he received a letter from
Pumacagua. The cacique asked the Spanish general for whom he was
fighting, seeing that Ferdinand VII. had been sold to the French, and that no
man knew where he had been taken to; he declared that there was now no
other king but the caprice of Europeans, and that, therefore, he desired to
establish a national Government; and he told him that he was ready to meet
the Spanish army on the field of battle.[272] Ramirez replied that a general

of the king's army would not waste words with vile and insolent rebels, and
that his bayonets would soon make them alter their tone.[273]
From the 6th to the 10th of March both armies marched in parallel lines,
separated by the rivers Umachiri and Ayaviri. On the 10th Pumacagua drew
up his army behind the river Cupi, which was much swollen by the rains.
He had 30,000 men, of whom 800 only were armed with muskets, and forty
field-pieces, said to have been cast at Cuzco by an Englishman named
George ——,[274] some of them of very large calibre, with which he
annoyed the Spaniards during the night before the battle. Ramirez had only
1300 men; but they were all disciplined and well-armed soldiers. He
crossed the river Cupi, near Umachiri, in spite of opposition; charged and
dispersed the Indians, killing a thousand men, and captured all their cannon.
The rout was complete, and the chiefs of the patriot army sought safety in
flight.[275]
The poet Mariano Melgar was taken prisoner, and immediately shot on the
field of battle. The fate of this young man was very melancholy: an
unrequited passion led him to join the desperate cause of the insurgents, and
he is now chiefly remembered by his melancholy love-songs and
despedidas.[276]
Ramirez, immediately after the battle of Umachiri, marched to Cuzco,
where he arrived on the 25th; but he detached a portion of his troops in
pursuit of the Indians, who were again defeated close to the town of
Azangaro. The Spaniards cut off the ears of all their prisoners, flogged them
cruelly, and sent them to tell their comrades that they would be treated in
the same way unless they instantly laid down their arms. The Indians fled
over the hills, followed by the Spaniards, who again defeated them on a hill
near Asillo, six leagues to the north. Amongst the prisoners at Asillo were
the mutilated Indians who had been sent to terrify the rest, still bravely
fighting against their tyrants. Of such heroism is the usually meek and
docile Indian capable.[277]
After the battle of Umachiri, Pumacagua had escaped to the heights of
Marangani; but he was betrayed by an Indian whom he had sent down to
buy some food, and brought a prisoner into Sicuani. After a sort of
confession had been extorted from him, he was hung, not even with a
respectable halter, but with a lasso, being seventy-seven years of age. José,

Mariano, and Vicente Angulo, Gabriel Bejar, and many others were shot at
Cuzco by Ramirez, who, in the following June, again united his forces with
those of General Pezuela, in Upper Peru. Thus ended the last great rising of
the Indians under one of their own chiefs, after a campaign which lasted ten
months.
Ten years after the death of Pumacagua every Spanish soldier had been
driven out of the country. Peru was independent, and the Indians received
equal rights with citizens of Spanish descent in the new Republic, at least so
far, and only so far, as the law could give them. The mita or forced labour
was entirely abolished in 1825; but the tribute or capitation-tax continued to
be exacted until 1854 in Peru, and is still the principal source of revenue in
Bolivia, the Upper Peru of Spanish times. It is not, however, quite exact to
suppose that this tribute was a capitation-tax; it was practically at least a
rent or tax on the produce of the land, and more resembled the land-tax of
India. The tribute was levied on every male between the ages of eighteen
and fifty; but, in point of fact, nearly every individual between those ages
cultivated his own piece of land, or shared the produce of a larger piece
with several others. Latterly the tribute paid by each Indian generally
amounted to five dollars a year; but, in some villages, the Indians paid
double that amount, the exact rule being handed down by tradition, and
known to the caciques. Those who paid most enjoyed a more dignified
position. The department of Puno yielded 300,000 dollars; that of Cuzco,
400,000. The entire abolition of the tribute by General Castilla in 1854 is a
portion of that mad and reckless system of finance by which the revenue of
Peru is made to depend almost exclusively on the yield of guano from the
Chincha Islands.
In Bolivia the tribute is still paid by men between the ages of eighteen and
fifty: the amount being six to ten dollars a year for proprietors of land, and
five dollars for strangers. The revenue from this source amounted, in 1850,
to 4,595,000 dollars.
But though the mita, the reparto, and the tribute have all been abolished by
law in Peru, the deplorable civil wars, and the system of keeping up a large
standing army, which is not only unnecessary, but most mischievous, have
entailed much oppression on the Indians in the shape of impressment for the
army. Villages are frequently surrounded by a party of soldiers, and all the
able-bodied men that can be caught are driven away to serve in the ranks.

This deplorable waste of human life is rapidly reducing the already scanty
population; and the system is more oppressive and cruel because it is done
in defiance of the law, by the military presidents and generals who have
hitherto been able to set the laws enacted by civilians at defiance, when it
suits their purpose.[278] Yet on the whole the condition of the Indians is
immeasurably more endurable under the Republic than it was when they
groaned under the mitas of the Spanish corregidors.
The history of these Peruvian Indians has been a very melancholy one. The
early accounts which the Spanish chroniclers gave of the great empire of
the Incas represented the Indians as a people ruled by laws and usages
which provided for almost every action of their lives; neither a thief nor a
vicious man was known amongst them; and they lived in happiness and
contentment, but under a most rigid system of tutelage and subjection. Then
came the Spanish conquerors, and, after a quarter of a century of bloodshed
and rapine, the people found themselves bowed down by a grievous yoke.
While the most beneficent laws were enacted by the Council of the Indies,
their humane provisions continued to be either entirely evaded, or converted
into pretexts for additional modes of oppression. From upwards of thirty
millions the population was reduced to three millions within the space of
two centuries; and all that can be said of the much-lauded colonial
legislation of Spain is that it prevented the Indians from being actually
exterminated; and that, when Peru gained her independence, there were a
few million survivors, scattered in villages at wide intervals over a region
once thickly peopled by their ancestors. The Council-room at Seville was,
like another place, thickly paved with good intentions.
I was thrown a great deal amongst the Indians, and at one time I had the
most excellent opportunities of judging of their character, and I was
certainly most favourably impressed. They now have many vices
engendered by centuries of oppression and evil example, from which their
ancestors were probably free: they are fond of chicha and aguardiente, and
are very suspicious; but I found that this latter feeling disappears when the
occasion for it is found not to exist. They have had but too good reason for
their suspicion generally. On the other hand, they are intelligent, patient,
obedient, loving amongst each other, and particularly kind to animals.
Crimes of any magnitude are hardly ever heard of amongst them; and I am
sure that there is no safer region in the world for the traveller, than the

plateaux of the Peruvian cordilleras. That the Indians are not cowardly or
mean-spirited when once roused was proved in the battles which they
fought under the banner of Tupac Amaru in 1781; and a people who could
produce men capable of such heroic constancy as was displayed by the
mutilated heroes of Asillo should not lightly be accused of want of courage.
When well led they make excellent soldiers.
Although there is so large a proportion of mestizos, or half-castes, in Peru, it
is very remarkable how isolated the Indians still remain. They have their
separate language, and traditions, and feelings, apart from their neighbours
of Spanish origin; and it is even said that there are secret modes of
intercourse, and even secret designs amongst them, the knowledge of which
is guarded with jealous care. In 1841, when General Gamarra was at
Pucara, on his way to invade Bolivia, it was reported that certain influential
Indians, from all parts of the country, were about to assemble in the hills
near Azangaro, for the discussion of some grave business; and that they
were in the habit of assembling in the same way, though in different
localities, every five years. The object of these assemblies was unknown—it
may have been merely to converse over their ancient traditions—but it was
feared, at the time, that it was for some far deeper and more momentous
purpose. It is believed that similar meetings have since taken place near
Chayanta[279] in Bolivia, near Quito, and in other parts, but the strictest
secrecy is preserved by the Indians themselves. The abolition of the tribute
has probably had the effect of separating the Indians still more from the
white and mixed races, for they used to have constant intercourse connected
with the payments to the authorities, which brought them into the towns,
while now they live apart in their solitary huts in the mountain fastnesses,
or in distant villages.
It may be that this unhappy people, descendants of the once mighty race
which, in the glorious days of the Incas, conquered and civilised half a
continent, is marching slowly down the gloomy and dark road to extinction;
"the fading remains of a society sinking amidst storms, overthrown and
shattered by overwhelming catastrophes."[280] But I trust that this may not
be so, and that a fate less sad is still reserved for the long-suffering gentle
children of the Sun.

CHAPTER XI.
JOURNEY FROM PUNO TO CRUCERO, THE CAPITAL OF
CARAVAYA.
On April 7th we left Puno on the road to the chinchona forests of Caravaya.
There are three modes of travelling in Peru: one by purchasing all the
required mules and employing servants; the second, by hiring an arriero, or
muleteer, who supplies the mules at so much for the journey; and the third,
by using the wretched animals which are provided at the post-houses, and
changing them at each stage, but this can only be done on the main roads.
The latter way, though the least comfortable, is by far the most economical,
and I therefore determined to adopt it, yet I should probably have hesitated
had I known the trouble it would entail. I bought a fine mule for a hundred
dollars, with the gentle paso llano, the easiest pace imaginable, for myself,
and sent to the post-house at Puno for beasts for Mr. Weir, the gardener who
accompanied me, and for the baggage. Four vicious-looking brutes
accordingly made their appearance, and we started; but no sooner had we
reached the plain at the top of the zigzag path leading out of Puno to the
north, than they all ran away in different directions, kicking violently. After
hours of this kind of annoyance I at last got one of the brutes into a corner
of a stone-fenced field, but, just as I was about to catch him, he gave a kick,
jumped over the wall, and went off again. It ended in our having to drag the
mules by their lassos until our arms were nearly torn out of the sockets; and
thus we ignominiously entered the village of Paucar-colla late in the
evening, a distance of only twelve miles from Puno. As for the scenery, or
the nature of the country, between Puno and Paucar-colla, I can remember
nothing but vicious mules with their hind legs kicking up in the air.
Paucar-colla is built on an eminence, surrounded by broad grassy plains,
which slope down to the shores of the lake of Titicaca. It consists of a few
streets of mud-built, red-tiled huts, ranged round a large plaza, with a
church in a dilapidated state, also of mud. At this place I saw the last of the
Aymara Indians, or at least of their women, who can always be
distinguished by their dress, which differs from that worn by the Inca or

Quichua Indians. The Aymara women wear an uncu, or garment brought
together over each shoulder, and secured in the mode of the classic Greeks,
with two topus, or large pins, generally in the shape of spoons. The head-
dress is a curiously-shaped, four-cornered red cap, the sides curving
outwards and stiff, with black flaps suspended from it, sometimes hanging
down, and at others thrown up over the top. The Quichua dress, used by the
women from here as far as Cuzco, is quite different: they have a full
woollen skirt, reaching down half-way between the knee and ankle; a
bright-coloured lliclla, or mantle, over the shoulders, secured across the
bosom by a single topu; and as a head-dress the broad-brimmed black
velvet montero, with red and blue ribbons.
I left Paucar-colla early next morning, and passed by several fields of
quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa), the harvest of which was just beginning.
The stalks are cut and tied up in heaps, and then the grain is beaten out with
sticks. It is used by the Indians in their universal dish, the chupe, and in
various other ways; but it is an insipid and not very nutritious grain. Just
beyond the village there is a stream called the Illpa, which, in the dry
season, scarcely wets the mules' hoofs; but at this time of year it was
swollen into a broad river, and it was necessary to cross it on reed balsas,
with the luggage, while the mules swam. A very large troop of mules, laden
with aguardiente, was passing over at the same time—a long and tedious
business. There are many streams crossing these roads, which are swollen
during the rainy season, and very serious delays are thus caused for want of
a few bridges. From the Illpa to Caracoto there is a broad plain extending to
the shores of the lake, with the town or village of Hatun-colla on one of the
last spurs of the cordillera to the west.[281] This wide expanse, in the rainy
season, is swampy and half submerged. It was covered with flocks and
herds, with huts and out-buildings scattered over it, and surrounded by mud
walls. Here and there we passed pretty little cow-girls and shepherdesses,
now dressed in the Quichua, not the Aymara, costume. Some of these little
maidens, as they stood by the wayside spinning wool, had such pretty faces,
with the rosy colour showing through their soft, brown skins, and their
figures were so graceful and dignified, that they strongly reminded me of
the pictures of young Inca princesses in the churches of Santa Anna, and of
the Jesuits, at Cuzco:—

"La vi tan fermosa
Que apenas creyera
Que fuese vaquera
De la Finojosa."

Potatoes, quinoa, and barley were cultivated in the skirts of the hills
bordering on the plain.
The village of Caracoto is at the extreme end of a long rocky spur, running
out across the plain; a street of neat mud huts, with a plaza and dilapidated
church. At the post-house a child had died, which was set out on a table
with candles burning before it, and the friends of the postmaster were
holding a wake, singing, fiddling, and drinking. Between Caracoto and the
next village of Juliaca there is another swampy plain: most of the road was
under water, and we encountered a heavy hail-storm. The lights and shades
on the cordilleras and nearer hills, the heavy black masses of cloud in one
part of the heavens, and the sun's rays breaking through in the other, were
very fine. Juliaca is a small town built under a spur of the mountains, with a
handsome stone church. It was Easter-Sunday, and I was invited to meet all
the principal families at dinner at the house of the cura. Several Indian
alcaldes were in attendance; consequential old fellows in full dress,
consisting of broad-brimmed black felt hats, sober-coloured ponchos, and
black breeches very open at the knees, no stockings, and usutas or sandals
of llama-hide. The distinctive mark of the alcaldes, of which they are very
proud, is their staff of office, with silver or brass head and ferule, and rings
round it according to the number of years the owner has held office. The
Indians here wear the hair in numbers of very fine plaits reaching half-way
down their backs. An Indian always accompanied the post-mules from one
village to another, in order to take back the return-mules; and at Juliaca,
while I was quietly enjoying the cura's hospitality, the Indians took my own
mule back to Caracoto, as well as the post-mules. Next morning, therefore,
I sent for it, and received an answer that the postmaster knew nothing about
it. I was eventually obliged, after seeing the gardener and luggage on their
way to Lampa, to go back to Caracoto, where the postmaster was drunk and
insolent; and at length I found it, with a troop of others, on the great plain
beyond Caracoto. Several Indians took much trouble for me in catching my
mule; and it was late in the afternoon before I got back to Juliaca, and was
ready to set out on my journey to Lampa. I mention this incident in order to

show the trouble and inconvenience of acting as one's own muleteer,
although such a mode of travelling is certainly four or five times as cheap
as hiring an arriero; and I may add that the travelling by post-mules caused
me incessant annoyance and trouble. Whenever they saw a chance the
vicious brutes always ran off the road in different directions, bumped their
cargo against rocks, and tried to roll, keeping us constantly employed in
galloping after them, and greatly increasing the fatigues of the journeys. On
several occasions, too, an animal was provided which was so weak or tired
that it sank under its cargo before it had gone a league, and obliged me to
return to the post-house for another. The adjustment and lashing of the
cargos, like everything else, requires considerable knack and skill, which is
only acquired by experience; the Indians were as ignorant in such matters as
we were; and during the first three or four journeys our troubles were
increased by the cargos constantly slipping on one side, when the mules
always seized the opportunity of rushing off the road and kicking furiously.
A few miles north of Juliaca there is a large river, formed by the junction of
those of Lampa and Cavanilla, the latter being the same which rises in the
lake on the road between Arequipa and Puno, and flows by the post-house
of La Compuerta. We crossed it in a reed balsa while the mules swam.
Beyond the river is the great plain of Chañucahua, which was covered with
large pools of water, at this season frequented by ducks and sandpipers.
Close under the mountains, which bound it on every side, were a few sheep-
farms, one of them the property of Don Manuel Costas of Puno, and the
sheep roamed at will over many leagues of pasture-land. At the northern
extremity of the plain the road ascends and descends a range of steep hills,
and, turning a rocky spur, I came in sight of the town of Lampa. It was just
sunset; the tall church-tower rising over the town, and a stone bridge
spanning the river, were clearly defined by the crimson glow in the western
sky, while the lofty peaked mountains forming the background were capped
by masses of black threatening clouds. At that moment a tremendous
thunder-storm, with flashes of forked lightning and torrents of rain, burst
over the town.
Lampa is the capital of a province in the department of Puno, and I was
hospitably received by the Sub-prefect, Don Manuel Barrio-nuevo, who
occupied a good house in the plaza. A portion of the army of the South was
quartered in the town; and the General came every evening to have tea with

the Sub-prefect and his lady, a handsome Arequipeña. On these occasions
the party consisted of General Frisancho and several officers, and ladies
who came attended by their little Indian maids, carrying shawls, and
squatting on the floor in comers during the visit. After tea and conversation
the company generally sang some of the despedidas and love-songs of their
national poet Melgar, in parts; and one young lady sang the plaintive
yaravis of the Indians in Quichua.
The church of Lampa is a large building of stone, dating from 1685, with a
dome of yellow, green, and blue glazed tiles, of which I was informed there
was formerly a manufactory in Lampa. The tower is isolated, and about
twenty yards from the church, apparently of a different date. Rows of Indian
girls, in their gay-coloured dresses, were sitting in the plaza before their
little heaps of chuñus, ocas, potatoes, and other provisions, amongst which,
at the season of Easter, there are always great quantities of herbs gathered
on the mountains, possessing supposed medicinal virtues. Among these a
fern, called racci-racci, is used as an emetic; churccu-churccu, a small wild
oxalis, is taken as a cure for colds; chichira, the root of a small crucifer, for
rheumatism; llacua-llacua, a composita, for curing wounds; quissu, a nettle,
used as a purgative; cata-cata, a valerian, as an antispasmodic; tami-tami,
the root of a gentian, as a febrifuge; quachanca, a euphorbia, the powdered
root of which is taken as a purgative; hama-hama, the root of a valerian,
said to be an excellent specific against epilepsy;[282] and many others, the
native names of which, with their uses, were given me, but I was
unacquainted with their botanical names. Generally when the name of a
plant is repeated twice in Quichua it denotes the possession of some
medicinal property.
On the morning of our departure from Lampa the ground was covered with
snow, which was slowly melting under the sun's rays. Immediately after
leaving the town the path winds up a steep mountain range called Chacun-
chaca, the sides of the precipitous slopes being well clothed with queñua-
trees (Polylepis tomentella, Wedd.), which are gnarled and stunted, with
dark-green leaves, and the bark of the trunk peeling like that of a yew. Their
sombre foliage contrasted with the light-green tufts of stipa, and the patches
of snow. The pass was long and dangerous, with little torrents pouring down
every rut; and on its summit was the usual pacheta, or cairn, which the
Indians erect on every conspicuous point. The path descends on the other

side into a long narrow plain, with the hacienda of Chacun-chaca on the
opposite side. The buildings are surrounded by queñua-trees, and in their
rear two remarkable peaked hills rise up abruptly, clothed with the same
trees, with ridges of rock cropping out at intervals. Their sides were dotted
with cattle, tended by pretty little cow-girls, armed with slings, and some of
them playing the pincullu, or Indian flute. The plain was covered with long
grass, in a saturated and spongy state, and groves of queñua-trees grew
thickly in the gullies of the mountains on either side. After a ride of several
leagues over the plain, latterly along the banks of the river Pucara, I turned
a point of the road, and suddenly came in sight of the almost perpendicular
mountain, closely resembling the northern end of the rock of Gibraltar,
which rises abruptly from the plain, with the little town of Pucara nestling
at its feet. The precipice is composed of a reddish sandstone, upwards of
twelve hundred feet above the plain, the crevices and summit clothed with
long grass and shrubby queñuas. Birds were whirling in circles at a great
height above the rock, which, in the Spanish times, was famous for a fine
breed of falcons, which were carefully guarded and regularly supplied with
meat. They tell a story at Pucara that one of these birds was sent to the King
of Spain, and that it returned of its own accord, being known by the collar.
Pucara means a fortress in Quichua; and here Francisco Hernandez Giron,
the rebel who led an insurrection to oppose the abolition of personal service
amongst the Indians, was finally defeated in 1554. The town is a little larger
than Juliaca, with a handsome church in the same style, and a fountain in
the plaza. I dined and passed the evening with the aged cura, Dr. José
Faustino Dava, who is famous for his knowledge of the Quichua language,
in its purest and most classical form. The fame of Dr. Dava's learning, in all
questions connected with the antiquities of the Incas and the Quichua
language, had reached me in England, and I was glad to obtain his valuable
assistance in looking over a dictionary of the rich and expressive language
of the Incas, on which I had been working for some time.
Owing to the diminution of the aboriginal population in Peru, and the
constantly increasing corruption of the ancient language, through the
substitution of Spanish for Quichua words, the introduction of Spanish
modes of expression, and the loss of all purity of style, that language, once
so important, which was used by a polished court and civilized people,
which was spoken through the extent of a vast empire, and the use of which

was spread by careful legislation, is now disappearing. Before long it will
be a thing that is past, or perhaps fade away entirely from the memory of
living generations. With it will disappear the richest form of all the great
American group of languages, no small loss to the student of ethnology.
With it will be lost all the traditions which yet remain of the old glory of the
Incas, all the elegies, love-songs, and poems which stamp the character of a
once powerful, but always gentle and amiable race.
Unlike the English in India, the half-Spanish races of Peru have paid little
attention to the history and languages of the aborigines, within the present
century; and, if left to them, all traces of the language of the Incas, and of
the songs and traditions which remain in it, would, in the course of another
century, almost entirely disappear. A few honourable exceptions must,
however, be recorded. The late Mariano Rivero paid much attention to the
antiquities of his country, and the results of his labours have been published
at Vienna.[283] The curas of some of the parishes in the interior, also,
especially Dr. Dava of Pucara, Dr. Rosas of Chinchero, and the Cura of
Oropesa, near Cuzco, are excellent Quichua scholars, but they are very old
men, and their knowledge will die with them.
Dr. Dava had a large collection of the finches, and other birds of the loftier
parts of the Andes, hanging in wicker cages along the wall of his house.
Amongst them were a little dove called urpi; the bright yellow little
songster called silgarito in Spanish, and cchaiña in Quichua; the tuya,
another larger warbler; the chocclla-poccochi or nightingale of Peru; and a
little finch with glossy black plumage, pink on the back, and whitish-grey
under the wings. He also had some small green paroquets, with long tails
and bluish wings, which make their nests under the eaves of roofs, at a
height of fourteen thousand feet above the sea. At Pucara some of the
inhabitants have small manufactories for making glazed earthenware basins,
pots, plates, and cups,[284] which find an extensive market in the villages
and towns of the department of Puno, and which will probably long hold
their own against the same kind of coarse wares from Europe or the United
States.
From Puno to Pucara I had travelled along the main-road to Cuzco; but, at
the latter place, I branched off to the eastward, to pass through the province
of Azangaro to that of Caravaya. The main-road continues in a northerly
direction, crosses the snowy range of Vilcañota near Ayaviri, and descends

the valley of the Vilcamayu to Cuzco. At Pucara I left post-houses and post-
mules behind me, for they only exist on the main-roads between Arequipa,
Puno, Cuzco, and Lima; henceforth I had to depend on being able to induce
private persons to let out their mules or ponies to me.
About 500 yards from the town of Pucara is the river of the same name,
which flows past Ayaviri in the mountains of Vilcañota. It was very full, and
eighty yards across. The mules swam, and we had to cross in a rickety balsa
made of two bundles of reeds, which had to go backwards and forwards
five times before all the gear and baggage was on the eastern side. After
riding over a plain which became gradually narrower as the mountains
closed in, I began the ascent of a rocky cuesta, with a torrent dashing down
over huge boulders into the plain. There was a splendid view of the distant
rock of Pucara, with the snowy peaks of the Vilcañota range behind. A
league further on there was an alpine lake, with a fine peaked cliff rising up
from the water's edge. There were many ducks and widgeons, and large
coots were quietly busy, swimming about and building their nests on little
reed islands; also jet-black ibises, with dark rusty red heads and long curved
bills. After a ride of several leagues over a grassy country covered with
flocks of sheep, I reached the summit of a range of hills, and got a distant
view of the town of Azangaro, in a plain with several isolated steep grassy
mountains rising from it, and the snowy Andes of Caravaya in the
background. After a very wearisome descent I reached the plain, and, riding
into Azangaro, was most hospitably and kindly received by Don Luis
Quiñones, one of the principal inhabitants.
The region which I had traversed between Puno and Azangaro is all of the
same character—a series of grassy plains of great elevation, covered with
flocks and herds, and watered by numerous rivers flowing into lake
Titicaca, which are traversed by several mountain-ranges, spurs from the
cordillera, which sometimes run up into peaks almost to the snow-line, and
at others sink into rocky plateaux raised like steps above the plain. What
strikes one most in travelling through this country is the evidence of the
vast population it must have contained in the days of the Incas, indicated by
the ruined remains of andeneria, or terraces for cultivation, rising in every
direction tier above tier up the sides of the hills. But it is now almost
exclusively a grazing country, and the Indians, employed in tending the
large flocks of sheep, only raise a sufficient supply of edible roots for the

consumption of their families, and the market of the nearest town.
Frequently the shepherds are what are called yanaconas, or Indians kept to
service by the owners of the flocks, which vary from 400 to 1000 head. The
condition of this class of Indians is very hard, as they get only a monthly
allowance of an arroba of chuñu (frozen potato) or quinoa, and a pound of
coca, or four dollars a month in money.
Puno, Juliaca, Lampa, Pucara, and Azangaro, are all between 12,800 and
13,000 feet above the sea. Between March 28th and April 15th, the
indications of the thermometer at these places were as follows:—
Mean temperature 52½°
Mean minimum at night 37¼
Highest observed 58
Lowest 37
Range 21
Azangaro is the capital of the province of the same name. There is a
tradition that, when the Indians were bringing gold and silver for the
ransom of the Inca Atahualpa, they received news of his murder by Pizarro,
at Sicuani, and at the same time orders came from Inca Manco, who was at
Cuzco, to remove the treasure to a greater distance; and that they buried it
near this town. Asuan is "more," carun "distant;" hence Azangaro. It is
generally believed that this treasure, worth 7,000,000 dollars, as well as the
fifteen mule-loads of church-plate brought into the town by Diego Tupac
Amaru in 1781, are concealed somewhere, and that some of the Indians
know the place well, but will not divulge it. Hence there have been
numerous attempts to discover it, and one sub-prefect made several
excavations under the pavement in the church, but without any success. On
one occasion, not long ago, an old Indian, who had been a servant in the
house where Diego Tupac Amaru lodged, told the sub-prefect that in the
centre of the sala, after digging down for about two feet, a layer of gravel
from the river would be reached; a little further down a layer of lime and
plaster; a little further a layer of large stones; and that beneath the stones
would be the treasure. The excavation was commenced, and great was the
excitement when all the different layers were found exactly as the Indian
had described them; but there was no treasure. It is not unlikely that the
Indian only knew or only told half the clue; and that these layers were some

mark, whence a line was to be measured in some particular direction, and to
a certain distance, to denote the spot under which the treasure was
deposited. Yet the searches have not been wholly unsuccessful. There are
several subterranean passages and chambers under Azangaro, and one was
discovered a few years ago which had been made by the Indians in ancient
times. It led towards the plaza, and ended in a recess, where there were
several mummies, adorned with golden suns and armlets, and golden
semispheres covering their ears—now the property of my host, Don Luis
Quiñones.
Azangaro is par excellence the city of hidden treasure. The houses are built
of mud and straw, and thatched with coarse grass (stipa ychu), the better
sort being whitewashed. To the north of the town there is a long ridge of
rocky heights; to the south an isolated peaked hill nearly overhangs the
town; to the east is the river; and to the west is a plain bounded by the
mountains towards Pucara. The church, in the plaza, is like a large barn
outside, with walls of mud and straw, and a tower with broad-brimmed red-
tiled roof; but on entering it I was astonished at its extraordinary
magnificence, so entirely out of proportion to the wealth or importance of
this little town. The nave is lined with large pictures on religious subjects,
by native artists, in frames of carved wood richly gilt. The elaborate gilded
carving was very striking; the leaves, bunches of grapes, and twisted
columns, being the workmanship of the famous carvers of Cuzco. Over the
arch leading to the chancel there is a picture representing the Triumph of the
Faith, in bright colours. The high altar is plated with massive silver, with
gilded columns, pictures, and images, in gorgeous profusion up to the roof.
On either side are two very remarkable pictures, filling the walls between
the altar and the chancel-arch. On the right an allegorical picture, and the
Shepherds worshipping. One figure, in the latter picture, a girl holding a
basket on her head, is of great merit, and exactly resembles the 'Santa Justa'
of Murillo in the Duke of Sutherland's collection. On the left is a picture of
the 'Woman taken in Adultery,' and an excellent copy of the well-known
'Worshipping of the Magi,' by Rubens, in the Madrid gallery. In a side
chapel there is a copy of Leonardo da Vinci's 'Last Supper,' with portraits of
two caciques—the heads of the two great families of Azangero—with their
wives, one of them very pretty, looking on in a corner. These copies, which
are excellent, must have been procured from Europe at very great expense.

THE SONDOR-HUASI, AT AZANGARO.
Page 193.

The author of all this magnificence, according to the inscription on his
portrait, which is fixed in a handsome gilt frame by the side of the chancel
arch, was the Bachiller Dr. Don Basco Bernardo Lopez de Cangas, a native
of Cuzco, and Cura of Azangaro. The interior decorations were completed
on January 12th, 1758, and the cura died in 1771. He must have been
possessed of enormous wealth, to have enabled him thus to beautify and
adorn his church with such lavish profusion.

In the days of the Incas the two great families of Azangaro, whose heads
ranked as Curacas, were the Murumallcucalcinas and Chuquihuancas; and
they retained the office of cacique until recent Spanish times. The
Murumallcucalcina family is now extinct: they lived in the town, and a
portion of their house still remains, called the Sondor-huasi, dating from the
time of the Incas, and the greatest curiosity in the place. It is a circular
building, about twelve feet in diameter, with walls twelve feet high, of mud
and straw, very strong and thick. The dome-shaped roof of thatch also dates
from the time of the Incas. The outside coating consists of a layer of stipa
ychu, two feet thick, placed in very regular rows, and most carefully
finished, so as to present a smooth surface to the weather. Next there is a
thick layer of the same grass placed horizontally, netted together with reeds;
and finally an inner perpendicular layer; the whole thatch being five feet
thick. The interior framework consists of twelve perfect circles of bent
wands, with others descending in curves from the apex of the roof to the
crest of the wall, and where they cross there are lashings of a tough reed.
The whole is finished with most admirable neatness, forming a perfect
dome. This is the only roof of the time of the Incas still remaining in Peru,
and hence its great importance in an antiquarian point of view. It has been
said that the colossal and highly-finished masonry of the Incas, and their
poor thatched roofs, formed a barbaric contrast; but the Sondor-huasi
proves that their roofs rivalled their walls in the exquisite art and neatness
of their finish. The Sondor-huasi is now in a very dilapidated state, and is
used as a kitchen by the degenerate collateral heirs of the old caciques.
The Chuquihuanca family had a country house about a league from
Azangaro, which was destroyed by the army of Tupac Amaru in 1780,
because the Chuquihuancas deserted their countrymen and adhered to the
Spanish cause. I accompanied Don Luis Quiñones, and the whole of the
society of Azangaro, to a picnic at the ruined house of the Chuquihuancas;
and it was amusing to see all the masters of families, the Sub-Prefect Don
Hipolito Valdez, the judge, the cura, and every one else, locking the great
folding-doors leading into their patios, and putting the keys into their
pockets. Azangaro was entirely deserted. We were all well mounted, and
there were fourteen young ladies of the party, fresh pleasant girls, who
thoroughly enjoyed a good gallop. The ruined house was in a corner of the
plain, and surrounded on three sides by steep overhanging cliffs. There are
the remains of a house, with a long corridor of brick arches, behind which

several broad terraces rise up the face of the cliff, which are still
ornamented with some fine oliva silvestre and queñua trees, a few ancient
apple-trees, and a dense growth of bright-yellow Compositæ, and Solanums
with a purple flower. A noisy torrent foamed down the cliffs and over the
terraces to the plain below. It was a very pretty spot, but in a most desolate
condition, and many small doves made their nests in the trees. Lupins
(ccerra[285]) and nettles (itapallu) were growing in the crevices of the rocks.
We had an excellent and very merry dinner; a large amount of Moquegua
wine, and of the better-clarified and more generous liquor from Don
Domingo Elias's vineyards at Pisco, were drunk; and guitar-playing and
samocueca-dancing finished the day's entertainment. We returned to
Azangaro after dark. Don Luis assured me that the people of this little town
were like one family; and that, though election-time or periods of civil
dissension sometimes caused estrangement amongst them, the habitual
concord and friendship always returned when the excuse for alienation had
passed away.
Azangaro is a great cattle-breeding province, and there is a considerable
trade in cheeses with Arequipa and other parts. I found very great difficulty
in procuring animals to enable me to continue my journey. At length I
succeeded in hiring four miserable-looking, vicious, undersized ponies; and,
having crossed the Azangaro on balsas, by far the largest river I had passed
over since leaving Puno, the way led over the rocky range of Pacobamba
hills into another plain, where there were several cattle and sheep farms;
and the village of Corruarini, consisting of a ruined church and a dozen
huts. The river Azangaro rises in the snowy mountains of Caravaya, forms
an immense curve of nearly half a circle in a course of about two hundred
miles, and, uniting with the river of Pucara, falls into the lake of Titicaca as
the river Ramiz, the largest of its affluents. After a ride of six leagues we
reached the little village of San José, under a conical hill, and close to the
snowy mountains of Surupana.
I dined with the cura, Fray Juan de Dios Cardenas, who gave me a list of
medicinal herbs used in Azangaro; and the beasts from that place were so
infamous that I was obliged to invoke his assistance to procure fresh ones.
It appeared that two Frenchmen had passed a few days before, on their way
to establish a saw-mill in the Caravaya forests, with a view to floating
timber down the river of Azangaro to lake Titicaca, and that they had ill-

treated some Indians. It was thus very difficult to induce them to furnish
ponies, but the alcaldes, with their great hats and long sticks, were
summoned, and, after some negotiation, they were induced to supply four
ponies to go as far as Crucero, the capital of the province of Caravaya. It
was most fortunate that I was enabled to do this, for, during the night, the
owners of the Azangaro ponies came out to San José, and stole them, so that
we should have been left without even this wretched means of conveyance.
From San José the path winds up a long ravine for several leagues, down
which a torrent dashes furiously over the rocks, descending from the snowy
peak of Accosiri. The mountain scenery, consisting of steep grassy slopes,
masses of rock, torrents, and distant snowy peaks, was very fine. The ravine
led up to the summit of the pass of Surupana, where it was intensely cold,
and the height of which I roughly estimated, with a boiling-point
thermometer, at 16,700 feet above the sea. Here I met an active young
vicuña-hunter, well mounted, and provided with a gun, who said he was a
servant of the Cacique Chuquihuanca of Azangaro, on his way to buy wool
in Caravaya. He continued in my company during most part of the day.
Loud claps of thunder burst out in different directions, and a snow-storm
was drifting in our faces. The ravines were covered with deep snow,
between high dark mountains, with abrupt cliffs cropping out. A flock of
vicuñas dashed across our path, disappearing again in the driving sleet.
After wading through snow and mud for several leagues the weather cleared
up, and we began to descend a splendid gorge, exactly like some of the
finest coombs on the north coast of Devon, on a gigantic scale. This led us
down into a valley, where I parted with my young vicuña-hunter, who had
been a very pleasant companion. Riding down the grassy valley, and
passing many flocks of sheep, I rode through the village of Potoni, a dozen
huts on the side of a hill; forded the river Azangaro, which is here but a
small stream even in the rainy season; and riding up the opposite bank, got
a magnificent view of the snowy mountains of Caravaya, with their sharp
needle-like peaks. Two leagues brought me to Crucero, the capital of the
province of Caravaya, so called from the cross-roads which here branch off
to the various villages in the forests on the other side of the snowy barrier
which rises up close to the town, to the eastward.
Crucero is a collection of comfortless mud-houses, with a small dilapidated
church in the plaza, on a very elevated swampy plain. It was intensely cold,

with heavy snow-storms during the nights, and the people sat wrapped up in
cloaks without fires, shivering in a dreary helpless way, and going to bed
soon after sunset, as the only comfortable place. I was most kindly received
by the sub-prefect, Don Pablo Pimentel, a veteran soldier, and an official
who had served many years at the head of the Government in Caravaya, and
in Lampa. Dr. Weddell had named a new genus of chinchonaceous plants
Pimentelia, in honour of the worthy old sub-prefect, which had pleased him
very much. I remained a few days in Crucero, before setting out for the
chinchona-forests in the valleys of Sandia and Tambopata; and during that
time I obtained a good deal of information from Don Pablo Pimentel, and
from Señor Leefdael the Judge, respecting the province of Caravaya. Don
Pablo had travelled over almost every part of it; and I also received much
information at Arequipa from Don Agustin Aragon, a former sub-prefect,
who has a large estate in the Caravaya forests. From these sources I am
enabled to offer some account of those parts of Caravaya which I did not
visit, and which will form the subject of the following chapter. Caravaya is
a region of which little is known to European geographers, and, so far as I
am aware, no traveller has yet given any account of it to the English public.
Puno to Paucar-colla 9miles.
" Caracoto 18 "
" Juliaca 6 "
" Lampa 21 "
" Pucara 27 "
" Azangaro 16 "
" San José 18 "
" Crucero 36 "
151 "

CHAPTER XII.
THE PROVINCE OF CARAVAYA.
A short Historical and Geographical Description.

The Peruvian province of Caravaya is drained by streams which form part
of the system of one of the largest and least known of the tributaries of the
Amazon—the river Purus.
The Purus is the only great affluent flowing into the Amazon from the
south, the course of which has never yet been explored. We have detailed
accounts of the Huallaga from Maw, Smyth, Poeppig, and Herndon; of the
Ucayali from Smyth, Herndon, and Castelnau; and of the Madeira from
Castelnau and Gibbon; but of the Purus, the largest apparently, and one
which, in course of time, will probably become the most important, we have
next to nothing. Its mouth, and the course of its tributaries, near the base of
the Andes, are alone described.
Condamine and Smyth, in descending the Amazon, mention the great depth
and volume of water at the mouth of the Purus: Herndon heard from a
Brazilian trader at Barra, who had ascended its stream for some distance,
that it was of great size, and without obstructions; and Haënke, in the last
century, arguing from reliable geographical data which he had collected
from Indians, stated his conviction that a very large river, flowing from the
Andes east of Cuzco, reached the Amazon to the westward of the mouth of
the Madeira.
This is the sum of our knowledge of the mouth and lower course of the
Purus. The tributaries which flow into it drain the eastern slopes of the
Andes, from the latitude of Cuzco quite to the frontier of Bolivia—that
frontier dividing the streams flowing into the Purus, on the Peruvian side,
from those which feed the Beni, on the Bolivian. These affluents of the
Purus are divided into three distinct systems: the furthest to the north and
west, consisting of the streams flowing through the great valley of
Paucartambo, which unite under the name of the Madre de Dios, or Amaru-
mayu; the middle system, draining the ravines of Marcapata and Ollachea;

and the southern and eastern, being the numerous rivers in the province of
Caravaya, as far as the Bolivian frontier, which unite as the Ynambari. The
Madre de Dios and Ynambari together form the main stream of the Purus.
The Paucartambo system is the only one which has, as yet, been described
by modern explorers. In Spanish times the streams which compose it were
explored, and farms of cacao and coca were established on their banks; and
in the end of the last century an expedition was sent to explore the course of
the Madre de Dios, under an officer named Don Tiburcio de Landa. This
must have been at some time previous to 1780, for Landa was killed in that
year in the great rebellion of the Indians under Tupac Amaru.[286] After the
declaration of Peruvian independence, General Gamarra, the first
Republican Prefect of Cuzco, sent an expedition to protect the farms in the
valley of Paucartambo from the encroachments of the wild Chuncho
Indians, and to explore the Madre de Dios. It was commanded by a Dr.
Sevallos, now a very old man, retired to a farm in the Caravaya forests, but
he has, unfortunately, lost his journal. General Miller made an expedition
into the same region in 1835, and penetrated to a greater distance than any
other explorer before or since. A very brief account of his journey was
published in the 'Royal Geographical Society's Journal' for 1836; but there
is a much fuller and most interesting journal kept by this gallant veteran,
which has never been printed. In 1852 Lieut. Gibbon, U.S.N., entered the
valleys of Paucartambo; and in 1853 I explored a part of the course of its
principal stream, the Tono.[287] Another expedition to explore this region,
under the sanction and with the aid of the Peruvian Government, was
undertaken by some native adventurers, accompanied by a few Americans,
and an English artist named Prendergast, in 1856, but it completely failed.
Since that time the wild Chuncho Indians have continued to attack and
encroach upon the few farms which existed in these valleys at the time of
my visit in 1853, and at the present moment there is not one remaining. The
rich valleys of Paucartambo, once covered with flourishing cacao and coca
farms, have again become one vast uncultivated tropical forest.
Following the eastern slopes of the Andes to the south and east, we next
come to the streams which drain the valleys of Marcapata and Ollachea, but
of these very little is known. These valleys are in the province of
Quispicanchi, in the department of Cuzco; and it is said that in times past
they were cultivated with advantage, and contained many coca farms. In the

beginning of the last century a Jesuit found gold in a hill called Camante, in
the Marcapata valley, situated between two ravines, in one of which, called
Garrote, a Spanish company established gold-washings. The leading man of
this company, named Goyguro, employed hundreds of Indians, and
extracted gold from the Camante hill in lumps; but one day an immense
landslip fell into the Vilca-mayu,[288] the chief stream of Marcapata, and all
the workmen ran away, and could not be induced to return. This was in
about the year 1788.
For forty years after this event coca-farms and gold-washings were alike
abandoned in Marcapata, until in 1828 the cura of the village of that name,
Dr. Pedro Flores, again opened a road into the valleys, and, with some
associates, established several farms for raising coca and fruit. In 1836 a
company was formed by several young adventurers, the chief of whom
were José Maria Pacheco of Cuzco and José Maria Ochoa[289] of Huara,
with the object of again discovering the long-lost golden hill of Camante.
The party assembled at Ocongate, in the cold region of the Andes, whence
the distance to Marcapata, at the commencement of the warm valleys, is
fourteen leagues over a bad road, which traverses the cordillera of
Ausungate and Pirhuayani. From Marcapata the two adventurers Pacheco
and Ochoa, both active and intrepid young men, advanced into the forests
with fourteen Indians, and a stock of chuñus and dried meat. These
explorers penetrated for several leagues, following the course of the Vilca-
mayu, but their expedition led to no practical results.[290] In 1851 Colonel
Bologenesi became the manager of an expedition for collecting chinchona-
bark in the forests of Marcapata, and proceeded to the scene of his labours,
accompanied by a young Englishman named George Backhouse. They
advanced into the forests until they fell in with parties of wild Chuncho
Indians, who were propitiated by presents of knives and other trifles, and
induced to assist young Backhouse and his party in collecting bark. Some of
the Chunchos, however, who had received knives, neglected to work, which
enraged the Indians in Backhouse's service, and a quarrel ensued, ending in
the massacre of Backhouse and all his party. Those who were out collecting
bark, on discovering what had happened, fled to Colonel Bologenesi; but in
their retreat, while fording a river, the Chunchos poured in a volley of
arrows amongst them, and killed forty of their number. Bologenesi then
collected a military force and advanced into the forests, where he suffered

great hardships, fighting with the Chunchos all day, and harassed by alarms
during the night. He, however, collected a thousand quintals of bark, at a
cost of fifty lives and three hundred thousand dollars. During this
expedition indications were met with of the ancient gold-washings.
It will thus be seen that fevers and perilous roads are not the only dangers to
be apprehended in a search for chinchona-plants.
Lastly, and extending for a distance of one hundred and eighty miles, from
Marcapata to the frontier of Bolivia, is the watershed along that part of the
eastern Andes known as the Snowy Range of Caravaya, where the
numerous streams take their rise which unite to form the Ynambari. The
Madre de Dios, Marcapata, and Ynambari are thus the three great sources of
the Purus. The tributaries of the latter drain the province of Caravaya.
The first mention of this region is to be found in the pages of the old Inca
historian, Garcilasso de la Vega, who says that "the richest gold-mines in
Peru are those of Collahuaya, which the Spaniards call Caravaya, whence
they obtain much very fine gold of twenty-four carats, and they still get
some, but not in such abundance."[291] The Jesuit Acosta also mentions "the
famous gold of Caravaya in Peru."[292] After the final overthrow of the
younger Almagro in the battle of Chupas in 1542, some of his followers
crossed the snowy range, and descended into the great tropical forests of
Caravaya,[293] where they discovered rivers, the sands of which were full of
gold. On the banks of these rivers they built the towns of Sandia, San
Gavan, and San Juan del Oro; large sums in gold were sent home to Spain,
and the last-named settlement received the title of a royal city from Charles
V. In 1553 these settlers received a pardon from the Viceroy Don Antonio
de Mendoza, in consideration of the gold they sent home to the Emperor. It
is said that they sent him a nugget weighing four arrobas, in the shape of a
bullock's head; and that afterwards another nugget, in the shape of a
bullock's tongue, was sent to Philip II., but that the ship which carried it
was lost at sea. Eventually the wild Chuncho Indians of the Sirineyri tribe
fell upon the gold-washers, and overpowered them. In the following century
certain mulattos occupied the gold-washings in Caravaya, and the king, as a
reward for their labours in extracting treasure, offered to comply with any
request they might make. The mulattos asked to be called Señores, and for
the privilege of entering every town on white mules with red trappings, and

the bells ringing. The Señores mulattos were finally expelled for knocking
the priest of San Juan del Oro on the head while he was saying mass, after a
drunken broil. There are many vestiges of washings, bridges, and cuttings
made by these mulattos, in different parts of Caravaya.[294]
The Spaniards, however, long continued to extract gold from the rivers of
Caravaya, and established coca-farms and coffee-plantations in some of the
ravines formed by spurs of the cordillera. Gold, however, was the product
for which Caravaya was most famous.
In 1615 the viceroy Marquis of Montes Claros spoke of the rich lavaderos
or gold-washings of Caravaya;[295] and his successor, the Prince of
Esquilache, wrote a long report upon them in 1620. It appears that, at that
period, the richest of the Caravaya mines was called Aporuma, and that it
had then been worked for fifteen years by a company of adventurers. These
men, the chief of whom were named Quiñones, Frisancho, and Perez, had
excavated very extensive works to drain off the water, and they petitioned
the Viceroy to grant them a mita of Indians to complete the works, for that
thus the royal fifths would be augmented. The Prince of Esquilache wrote a
marginal note, which may still be seen on the original petition, ordering
Don Pedro de Mercado, the "visitador-general" of Caravaya, to grant them a
mita of Indians within a circuit of twenty leagues of the Aporuma mine,
with three dollars a month each, besides salt-meat and other provisions.[296]
In 1678 the yield of the royal fifths from the Caravaya gold-washings was
at the rate of 806 dollars in three months.[297] From this time to the end of
the seventeenth century Franciscan missionaries were at work amongst the
wild Chunchos in the forests of Caravaya.[298] Towards the end of the last
century Caravaya was separated from Peru to form part of the new
viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres, and the population of whites and civilised
Indians was then only estimated at 6500 souls. Just before that period the
town of San Gavan, with four thousand families and a large treasure, had
been surprised and entirely destroyed by the Carangas and Suchimanis
Chunchos. This calamity took place on the 15th of December, 1767. The
viceroy Don Manuel Amat swore vengeance on the Chunchos; but his
famous mistress, Mariquita Gallegas, better known as La Perichola,
interceded for them, and eventually nothing was done. The other town of
San Juan del Oro had been abandoned some time before; and the very sites
where they stood are now uncertain.

In the great rebellion of Tupac Amaru the caciques and people of Caravaya
took part with the Indians, probably owing to the influence possessed by the
Inca, arising from the large coca estate which belonged to him near San
Gavan.[299] At the independence Caravaya became a part of the Peruvian
department of Puno.
In 1846 Don Pablo Pimentel was appointed Sub-prefect of Caravaya, and
he endeavoured, by giving a glowing account of its vast capabilities, to
induce the government to make roads and develop the resources of this
important province. Shortly afterwards, in 1849, Caravaya attracted notice
as a land rich in the precious metal, and it soon became the California of
South America. In July of that year two brothers named Poblete, in
searching for chinchona-bark, discovered great abundance of gold-dust in
the sands of one of the Caravaya rivers, and the news soon spread far and
wide. Up to 1852 crowds of adventurers, among whom were many
Frenchmen, continued to follow in the footsteps of the Pobletes, but most of
them returned empty, and the excitement has now died away. The trade in
chinchona-bark, which once was remunerative, and in which many
Peruvians displayed extraordinary energy and endurance of fatigue, ceased
to exist in 1847, owing to the habit of adulterating the Calisaya bark with
inferior kinds, which gave the Caravaya article a bad name in the market,
and at length rendered it unsaleable. This adulteration was practised either
through fraud or ignorance. If the former, it was certainly very short-
sighted; but Don Pablo Pimentel declares that it was done through
ignorance, the bark-collectors mistaking the motosolo (C. micrantha) and
carhua-carhua (Cascarilla Carua) for the Calisaya bark.[300]
The above meagre notices are all that I have been able to glean respecting
the history of Caravaya; and I will now give a brief description of the
geographical features of this interesting region.
The province of Caravaya consists of a narrow strip of lofty table-land,
bordering on that of Azangaro; the snowy range of the Eastern Andes for a
distance of 120 miles; and the boundless tropical forests to the eastward,
stretching away towards the frontier of Brazil. It is bounded on the east and
south by Bolivia, on the N.W. by the province of Quispicanchi in the
department of Cuzco, on the north and N.E. by the illimitable forests, and
on the west by Azangaro.

The lofty table-land to the westward of the snowy Andes extends for 120
miles, the whole length of Caravaya, but is only from five to ten miles
broad. It is 13,000 feet above the level of the sea, and here, about a century
ago, after the destruction of San Gavan, the town of Crucero was founded,
as a central position for the capital of the province, and as being free from
the attacks of wild Indians. It derives its name from the numerous roads
which branch from it to the villages on the eastern slopes of the Andes. This
narrow plain, on which Crucero[301] is situated, is very swampy, covered
with long tufts of ychu grass, and intensely cold. It yields pasture to
immense flocks of sheep; and to the curious hybrid, first bred by the cura
Cabrera in 1826, between an alpaca and a vicuña, called the paco-vicuña,
with a black and white fleece of long fine wool, which is wove into fabrics
like the richest silk.[302]
But the largest and only important part of Caravaya consists of the forest-
covered valleys to the eastward of the Andes. On the western side that
mountain-chain rises abruptly into peaks covered with snow, from an
elevated plateau 14,000 feet above the sea; but on its eastern side the
descent is rapid into tropical valleys. Long spurs run off the main chain to
the northward, gradually decreasing in elevation; and it is sometimes a
distance of sixty or eighty miles before they finally subside into the
boundless forest-covered plains of the interior of South America. Numerous
rivers flow through the valleys between these spurs, to join the Ynambari;
and in these valleys, near the foot of the main chain of the eastern Andes,
are the few villages and coca and coffee plantations of Caravaya. In these
long spurs and deep valleys Caravaya differs in geographical character from
the more northern region of Paucartambo, where the Andes subside much
more rapidly into the level plain.
In the warm valleys are to be found all the wealth and population of
Caravaya. The population consists of 22,000 souls, almost all Indians; and
the wealth, besides the flocks of sheep on the western table-land, is created
by the produce of coca, coffee, sugar-cane, and aji-pepper plantations, fruit-
gardens, and gold-washings. Correct statistical returns are unknown in Peru;
but, as near as I could make out, there is an annual yield of 20,000 lbs. of
coffee and 360,000 lbs. of coca.[303] I could obtain no reliable statements
respecting the yield of gold.

The Caravayan valley which is furthest to the north and west is that of
Ollachea, bordering on Marcapata, where there is a small village at the foot
of the Andes. Next come those of Ituata and Corani. The little village of
Ayapata, near the source of the river of the same name, comes next; and
thirty miles further in the interior, an intelligent and enterprising Peruvian,
named Don Agustin Aragon, has established a sugar-cane estate called San
José de Bella Vista. It is situated at the junction of two rivers, and he is thus
protected from the attacks of the savage Chuncho Indians who prowl about
in the surrounding forests. He has made a road practicable for mules from
the village of Ayapata to his estate; and he finds the manufacture of spirits
from the sugar-cane far more profitable than digging for gold or hunting for
chinchona-bark. He is a man full of energy and resource. His attempt to
establish a manufactory of india-rubber only failed through the refusal of
the Peruvian government to give him a contract for supplying the army, and
thus assist his first efforts; in 1860 he sent an expedition into the forests to
collect wild cacao-plants; any scheme for developing the resources of the
country is sure to receive his advocacy; and he looks forward with
confidence to the day when a steamer shall ascend the Purus and Ynambari,
and return to the Atlantic with a cargo of the produce of Caravaya. It would
be well for Peru if she contained many such men as Don Agustin Aragon.
It is supposed that the old Spanish town of San Gavan was situated near a
river of the same name, about twenty miles from Aragon's estate. The site is
now overgrown with dense forest, and it has never been visited since its
destruction; yet it is believed that vast treasure lies concealed amongst the
tree-covered ruins, because the attack of the Chunchos was sudden, and at
once successful; they care nothing for the precious metals, and San Gavan
contained a royal treasury, and was a central deposit for the gold of
Caravaya. The Chunchos, in former times, were in friendly communication
with, and even took service under, the Spaniards; but the tyranny of the
latter at length exasperated them, and led to the destruction of San Gavan.
Since that time the Chunchos have wandered in the forests in small tribes,
[304]
the implacable enemies of all white men and Inca Indians.
Following the eastern slopes of the Andes to the south-east, the next village
to Ayapata, at the head of another deep ravine, is Ccoasa, and next follow
Usicayus, Phara, and Limbani. Phara is in a ravine on the eastern slope of
the Andes, about thirty-five miles from Crucero. Here many gold-mines

were worked by the Señores Mulattos, and at no great distance is the
famous gold-mine of Aporuma, in the ravine of Pacchani. Phara is on the
road to the gold-diggings, which were discovered by the brothers Poblete,
and which attracted so many luckless adventurers between 1849 and 1854.
They are at a distance of fifteen leagues to the northward. The path lies
along a long ridge, gradually descending for six leagues to a little hamlet
called La Mina. Thence to the banks of the river Ynambari, here called
Huari-huari, is a distance of three leagues, down a very dangerous road,
covered with huge blocks of schist, and skirting along fearful precipices.
For this distance the road is passable for mules. The river is seventy yards
broad, and is crossed by an oroya, or bridge of ropes, traversed by a sort of
net or cage, into which the passenger gets, and is hauled over to the other
side, at a giddy height above the boiling flood. On the other side, at the
junction of the Huari-huari and the golden river of Challuma,[305] there is a
place which has been named Versailles by some French adventurers, of
whom the most daring and energetic is a M. La Harpe. The road, so far, was
opened by a party of soldiers of the batallion Yungay. From Versailles to the
lavaderos or gold-washings is a distance of six leagues up a narrow forest-
covered ravine; and, in this distance, it is necessary to wade across the river
Challuma no less than fifty-three times—the water coming up to the waist,
the feet constantly slipping over loose rounded stones, the only support a
long staff, and where one false step would be inevitable destruction. At the
end of this perilous journey there is a place called Alta-garcia, where the
administradores of the company of first discoverers were established in
1850. Thence to Quimza-mayu (three rivers) is half a league, and here the
lavaderos commence. In this part of its course the river is called Taccuma.
Many of the gold-seekers, such as the Señores Carpio, La Harpe, Valdez,
Tovar, Cardenas, and Costas, have been men who were formerly engaged in
the chinchona-bark trade, and who know the country thoroughly. The
tributaries of the Challuma, called Quimza-mayu, rise in hills completely
isolated from the Andes, and their sands are full of gold, both in dust and
nuggets. Immediately above the lavaderos rises a hill called Capacurco, and
by the French adventurers Montebello, formed of quartz and other primitive
rocks, with rich veins of gold. Here Don Manuel Costas of Puno erected a
house, and brought out machinery for crushing the quartz, but the
undertaking failed through the badness of the machinery, and the immense
cost and difficulty of transporting materials through such a country. A few

adventurers, however, still continue to wash for gold in the Challuma or
Taccuma. In the part of its course above the lavaderos this river descends
rapidly from an isolated range of forest-covered precipitous hills, and in one
place its waters plunge down in a cascade, with a sheer fall of forty feet.[306]
The gold-seekers of the Challuma have penetrated further into the forests,
and nearer to the main stream of the Purus, than any other explorers; and
their discovery of the Challuma, and of the auriferous hills near its banks,
has added something to our geographical knowledge of this region.
The remaining villages on the eastern slopes of the Caravayan Andes are
Patambuco, Sandia, Cuyo-cuyo, Quiaca, Sina, and the farm of Saqui, on the
frontier of Bolivia. The river of Sandia has one of its sources near the pass
twenty miles north-east of Crucero, whence it flows past Sandia, and for
many leagues down a narrow gorge, with magnificent mountains rising up
abruptly on either side. At a distance of twenty miles below Sandia, in a
part of the ravine called Ypara, the coca and coffee plantations commence,
at a height of 5000 feet above the sea. Beyond Ypara cultivation ceases, and
the river, now increased to double its former size by its junction with the
Huari-huari, flows for many leagues between mountains covered from their
summits with a dense tropical forest. This region is known as San Juan del
Oro, once famous for its gold-washings; and here the royal town of the
same name stood, founded by the fugitive Almagristas, and afterwards
tenanted by the Señores Mulattos, but long since destroyed and abandoned.
The forests contain chinchona-trees of valuable species, and, until the last
fourteen years, they were frequented by bark-collectors.
While flowing through the forests of San Juan del Oro the river takes a turn
to the westward, and, at a distance of sixty miles from Sandia, enters the
Hatun-yunca, or Valle Grande, where the people of Sandia have very
extensive coca and coffee plantations. The curve here made by the river is
so considerable that the people from Sandia reach their farms in the Valle
Grande by leaving the ravine above Ypara, and making their way across the
grass-covered mountains. The coffee-plants in these farms receive no
attention whatever from the time they are planted, so that, instead of the
dense well-pruned bushes of India or Ceylon, they grow into tall straggling
trees about twelve feet high, with a very small harvest of berries on each,
but each berry well exposed to the sun. The coffee is certainly excellent.

Passing through the Valle Grande the river flows on past Versailles, where it
receives the golden Challuma, and, uniting with all the other rivers of
Caravaya, becomes that great Ynambari which finally effects a junction
with the Madre de Dios, and forms the main stream of the mighty Purus.
The river Huari-huari, which is formed by two streams flowing from the
villages of Sina and Quiaca, joins the river of Sandia about thirty miles
below that town, and their united streams compose the Ynambari. Finally
the river Tambopata rises near a farm called Saqui, just within the boundary
between Peru and Bolivia, at the foot of a ridge of the Eastern Cordillera.
After a course of forty miles it receives the river of San Blas, on the banks
of which the people of the Sina village have their coca-plantations. Eighty
miles lower down the Tambopata unites with the river Pablo-bamba, on its
right bank, at a place called Putina-puncu. The Pablo-bamba rises in a hill
called Corpa-ychu on the very frontier of Bolivia, and is only divided from
the Tambopata, during its whole course, by a single range of hills. The
frontier between the two republics has never been surveyed. Below Putina-
puncu the united waters of the two rivers enter the vast forest-covered
plains into which the spurs of the Andes finally subside, and henceforth its
course is entirely unknown. I think it probable, however, that the Tambopata
finds its way direct to the Purus, without previously uniting with the
Ynambari.
The respective distances and populations of the villages of Caravaya are as
follows:—

But some of these villages are at greater distances from the foot of the
Andes than others; thus they are not in a straight line, and the direct
distance from Ollachea to the Bolivian frontier is a good deal under 180
miles. The valleys in which the Caravaya villages are situated are separated
from each other by spurs of the Andes, many of them so wild and
precipitous as to be quite inaccessible; and there is no means of passing
from village to village, in many instances, without crossing the Andes to
Crucero or Macusani, and descending again by another pass. For this reason
Crucero, being in the most central position, has been chosen as the site of
the capital of the province, though in a bleak and intensely cold region.
The geological formation of Caravaya is composed of non-fossiliferous
schists, micaceous and slightly ferruginous, with veins of quartz. It is a
portion of the extensive system of rocks which Mr. Forbes has grouped
together as belonging to the Silurian epoch, and which extends almost
continuously over an extent from north-west to south-east of more than
seven hundred miles, forming the mountain-chain of the Eastern Andes,
continuous from Cuzco, through Caravaya, to Bolivia. These rocks throw
off spurs along the eastern side of the main chain. Of this formation, too,
are the loftiest mountain-peaks in South America:—Illampu, or Sorata
(24,812 feet), and Illimani (24,155 feet). Illampu, Mr. Forbes assures us, is
fossiliferous up to its very summit.[307]

Such is a brief account of the geography of Caravaya, and especially of the
streams which combine to form the great river Purus, from the rivers of the
Paucartambo valley on the extreme north-west, to the Pablo-bamba on the
frontier of Bolivia. The streams flowing from the Eastern Andes to the
north-west of the Paucartambo system combine to swell the Ucayali, while
those to the south-east of the Pablo-bamba fall into the Beni, one of the
chief tributaries of the Madeira. The intermediate streams are the sources of
the unknown Purus, they are all more or less auriferous, they flow through
forests abounding in valuable products, and through countries of
inexhaustible capabilities. Yet the courses of very few of them have been
explored to distances of seventy miles from their sources, and the main
stream of the Purus, one of the principal affluents of the Amazon, may be
said to be entirely unknown to geographers.

CHAPTER XIII.
CARAVAYA.—THE VALLEY OF SANDIA.
On the 18th of April I left Crucero, on my way to the chinchona forests,
rather late in the afternoon, accompanied by Mr. Weir the gardener, a young
mestizo named Pablo Sevallos, and two cargo-mules. After a ride of three
leagues along the bleak plain of Crucero, covered with coarse Stipa and
stunted Cacti, we reached a little shepherd's hut, called Choclari-piña, at
dusk. It was built of loose stones, with a sheepskin hung across the
doorway, but with no plaster or mud between the interstices of the stones,
so that the piercingly cold wind blew right through the hut.[308] The poor
Indian family were kind and hospitable, and gave us plenty of fresh milk.
Next morning we continued the journey along the same plain, with the
snowy peaks of the Caravayan Andes on the left, and the glorious nevada of
Ananea ahead, whence rise the rivers of Azangaro flowing into lake
Titicaca, and of Ynambari finding its way to the Atlantic. A ride of twelve
miles brought us to a hut called Acco-kunka (neck of sand), at the foot of
long ridges of dark-coloured cliffs, with huge boulders of rock scattered
over the sides of the hills. A hard white frost covered the ground.
At Acco-kunka I met a red-faced man, about fifty years of age, who gave
his name as Don Manuel Martel. He said that he had been a colonel, and
had suffered persecution for being faithful to his party; that he had lost
much money in the cascarilla trade; and that he was now making a clearing
in the forests of Caravaya, for the purpose of growing sugar-cane. He talked
about M. Hasskarl, the Dutch agent, who was employed to obtain
chinchona-plants in 1854, under his assumed name of Müller; said that he
employed an agent named Clemente Henriquez to collect the plants; and
vowed that if he, or any one else, ever again attempted to take cascarilla
(chinchona) plants out of the country, he would stir up the people to seize
them and cut their feet off. There was evidently some allusion to myself in
his bluster; and I suspected, what afterwards proved to be the case, that
Martel had, by some means, got information respecting the objects of my
journey, and was desirous of thwarting them. I had always carefully avoided

any mention of the subject since leaving Arequipa. Martel said he was
going to buy gold-dust at Poti, so I soon got rid of him; and, passing an
alpine lake, full of water-fowl, we began the descent into the golden valleys
of Caravaya.
On the left a black cliff, perpendicular, and fully 2000 feet high, formed one
side of the descent, and the space on its inner side was occupied by a small
glacier, the only one I have ever seen in the Andes; whence descends, in a
long waterfall, the source of the little river Huaccuyo, which dashes down
the ravine. For the first thousand feet the vegetation continues to be of a
lowly alpine character, consisting of coarse grass and flowering herbs,
chiefly Compositæ, of which there were several Senecios, generally with
yellow flowers, a gentian with violet-coloured flowers, a Bartsia with a
yellow flower, a little Plantago, and a Ranunculus. As we continued the
descent, the scenery increased in magnificence. The polished surfaces of the
perpendicular cliffs glittered here and there with foaming torrents, some
like thin lines of thread, others broader and breaking over rocks, others
seeming to burst out of the fleecy clouds; while jagged black peaks,
glittering with streaks of snow, pierced the mist which concealed their
bases. After descending for some leagues through this glorious scenery, the
path at length crossed a ridge, and brought us to the crest of the deep and
narrow ravine of Cuyo-cuyo.
The path down the side of the gorge is very precipitous, through a
succession of andeneria, or terraced gardens, some abandoned, and others
planted with ocas (Oxalis tuberosa), barley, and potatoes; the upper tiers
from six to eight feet wide, but gradually becoming broader. Their walled
sides are thickly clothed with Calceolarias, Celsias, Begonias, a large purple
Solanum, and a profusion of ferns. But it was not until reaching the little
village in the bottom of the hollow that all the glories of the scene burst
upon me. The river of Sandia, which takes its rise at the head of the ravine,
flows by the village of Cuyo-cuyo, bordered by ferns and wild flowers. It is
faced, near the village, with fern-covered masonry, and is crossed by several
stone bridges of a single arch. Almost immediately on either side, the steep
precipitous mountains, lined, at least a hundred deep, with well-constructed
andeneria, and faced with stone, rise up abruptly. In several places a cluster
of cottages, built on one of the terraces, seemed almost to be hanging in the
air. Above all the dark rocks shoot up into snowy peaks, which stood out

against the blue sky. A most lovely scene, but very sad, for the great
majority of those carefully-constructed terraces, eternal monuments of the
beneficence of the Incas, are now abandoned. The alcalde of Cuyo-cuyo
received me most hospitably. In the early morning numbers of lambs and
young llamas were playing about in the abandoned terraced gardens near
the village. Besides Cuyo-cuyo, there are two small hamlets, called
Muchucachi and Sullanqui, and several scattered huts in the ravine, the
population of which is estimated at 2000 souls.
In the morning of April 20th I rode down the beautiful gorge to the
confluence of the rivers of Sandia and Huaccuyo. After this junction the
stream becomes a roaring torrent, dashing over huge rocks, and descending
rapidly down the ravine towards Sandia. On both sides vast masses of dark
frowning mountains rear themselves up for thousands of feet, and end in
fantastically shaped peaks, some of them veiled by thin fleecy clouds. The
vegetation rapidly increased in luxuriance with the descent. At first there
were low shrubs, such as Baccharis odorata, Weinmannia fagaroides, &c.;
which gradually gave place to trees and large bushes; while all the way
from Cuyo-cuyo there were masses of ferns of many kinds, Begonias,
Calceolarias, Lupins, Salvias, and Celsias. Waterfalls streamed down the
mountains in every direction: some in a white sheet of continuous foam for
hundreds of feet, finally seeming to plunge into huge beds of ferns and
flowers; some like driven spray; and in one place a fall of water could be
seen between two peaks, which seemed to fall into the clouds below.
A most glorious and enchanting scene, allowing little time to think of the
road, which was very bad, and in many places most perilous. In its best
parts it was like a steep back-attic staircase after an earthquake. Three
leagues from Cuyo-cuyo is the confluence of the torrent of Ñacorequi with
the river of Sandia; and after this point maize begins to be cultivated, where
the craggy jutting cliffs permit, between the river and the mountains. The
Indians live in eyrie-like huts, perched at great heights, here and there,
amongst the maize terraces. The village of Sandia is at a distance of fifteen
miles from Cuyo-cuyo, down this ravine, a dilapidated little place, with
more than half the houses roofless and in ruins. It is built along the banks of
the river, and has a church in the plaza. The mountains rise up all round it,
almost perpendicularly, forming a close amphitheatre; and in two places

glittering cascades foam down from their very summits, into the bushes on
a level with the town.
The descent from the summit of the pass over the Caravayan Andes to
Sandia is very considerable, nearly 7000 feet in thirty miles, from an arctic
to a sub-tropical climate. The height of Crucero is 12,980 feet; of the pass
13,600; of Cuyo-cuyo 10,510; and of Sandia 6930 feet above the sea.[309]
The four mountains closely hemming in the village of Sandia are mount
Chicanaco, which is beautified by a splendid cascade; mount Vianaco,
which ends in two fine wooded peaks, between which a long slender thread
of water descends into the foliage midway; mount Camparacani, on the
other side of the river, which rises up to a stupendous height, ending in a
jagged rocky peak; and mount Catasuyu, which completes the circle, rising
abruptly above the church. The name of Sandia is probably a corruption of
the Spanish word sandilla, the first settlers having mistaken the quantities
of gourds which grow here for sandillas or water-melons.
When I arrived in Sandia the governor was absent on his estate; the cura,
my good friend Dr. Guaycochea, was getting in his maize-harvest on his
land near Cuzco; and the principal remaining inhabitants were the Juez de
Paz, Don Francisco Farfan, and one Don Manuel Mena, who was drunk in
bed when I arrived, but who afterwards received me very hospitably. These
good people are, in manners and education, the roughest backwoodsmen,
much too fond of aguardiente, and addicted to chewing coca to excess; but
they are warm-hearted and neighbourly, while they display some energy in
working the coffee and coca estates in the distant montaña, and in making
roads, such as they are, from these estates to Sandia. The richer people of
Sandia all have more or less of Indian blood, and their wives and daughters
are unable to speak any language but Quichua; and thus they seem to be
more closely united in interests and feelings with the mass of the population
than in any other part of Peru. The Indians of the district of Sandia are
divided into six ayllus or tribes, besides the inhabitants of the villages of
Sandia, Cuyo-cuyo, and Patambuco. These ayllus are established on the
mountains around Sandia, living in scattered huts, some cultivating maize
and potatoes, others raising barley and alfalfa for mules. The ayllus are
called Laqueque, about a league up the river, on the right bank; Cuyo-cuyo
(not the village), behind mount Camparacani; Oruro, on the heights below
Cuyo-cuyo; Quiaca (not the village), near Oruro; Quenequi, about a league

down the river; and Apabuco, behind mount Catasuyu. The population of
the parish of Sandia is about 7000; 4000 in Sandia and its six ayllus, 2000
in the village and ravine of Cuyo-cuyo, and 1000 in Patambuco. As many as
1000 souls fell victims to the dreadful pestilence of 1855, which raged over
all parts of the Andes of Peru. Nearly every Indian family, besides land near
Sandia, owns a small farm of coca or coffee down in the montaña, to which
men, women, and children go at harvest-time. As in all parts of the Andes,
so in the Sandia ravine, I constantly found the Indians civil, obliging, and
respectful, always saluting with an "Ave Maria Taytay!" and a touch of the
hat in passing. They are reserved and silent, it is true, and superficial
observers take this for stupidity. Never was there a greater mistake: their
skill in carving and all carpenter's work, in painting and embroidery, the
exquisite fabrics they weave from vicuña-wool, the really touching poetry
of their love-songs and yaravis, the traditional histories of their ayllus,
which they preserve with religious care, surely disprove so false a charge.
The houses in Sandia are the merest barns, with mud-walls, and roofs which
let the water in. All the family sleep together in a promiscuous way; pigs
and fowls wandering over the floor at early dawn. The Juez de Paz,
Francisco Farfan, administers justice in such a place as this, lounging on a
sort of mud-platform at one end of the room, where his bed is made up,
while the culprit, and a crowd of alcaldes and spectators, stand before him.
Every one chatters at the same time for about ten minutes, and the prisoner
is sent to the lock-up. The Jueces de Paz have to render periodical accounts
of all their cases, attested by witnesses, to the Juez de Primera Instancia in
the capital of the province.
While upon the subject of these local authorities, it will be well to give an
account of the powers placed in their hands by the Constitution of 1856, by
which Peru is now governed; both because the measures then adopted will,
I believe, have a lasting and beneficial effect on the people, and because the
persons so vested with power endeavoured to display their patriotic zeal by
throwing obstacles in my way. By this constitution it was provided that in
the capital of each department there should be a Junta Departmental,[310]
the members of which should be elected in the same way and with the same
qualifications as those for the National Congress, to meet every year. These
Juntas were to deliberate and legislate for the advancement and material
progress of the departments, their decrees being null if contrary to any law

of Congress. The evident objection to this measure is its tendency to split
the country up into small communities with separate interests, which has
always proved to be most disastrous in thinly-peopled and half-civilized
states. This view is taken in a very able article on the constitution, in a
periodical published at Lima, where the Juntas Departmentales are declared
to be the initiation of a system of "federation," the result of which has
always been to dismember countries into so many small depopulated
districts, as in Mexico, Central America, New Granada, and the Argentine
Republic, introducing civil war, anarchy, and dissolution. The writer might
now add the dis-United States of North America also.[311]
But the institutions to which I before alluded, as having had a beneficial
effect, are the Juntas Municipales,[312] which were to be established in
every district where materials existed to form them, and to have the
regulation of the local funds and improvements. They were to consist of the
most influential citizens, elected by their fellow townsmen, and were to
attend to local interests, have charge of the civic registers, take the census,
&c. The same writer speaks of these municipalities in terms of unqualified
praise, and says that their establishment is a positive good, without in any
way promoting a federation which would be ruinous to Peruvian nationality.
[313]
They will give young men the opportunity of becoming acquainted
with public affairs, teach them habits of business, and gradually train them
for more important political duties. I look upon these institutions as one of
the sources of hope for a brighter future for Peru; and as long as they show
activity, whether in a right or wrong direction, they must be productive of
good. The habit of taking an active part in public affairs must be better than
the torpor and indifference which formerly prevailed. I saw several signs of
activity in these Juntas Municipales during my journey from Puno. At
Lampa they were actively engaged in an endeavour to re-establish a
manufactory of glazed tiles in that town; in Azangaro they were collecting
subscriptions for a bridge across the river, to which one of their body had
contributed half the required sum; and in Sandia they were drawing up a
report on the state of the roads, with an estimate of the sum required for
their thorough repair and bridging. I was happy to be able to assist the
Sandia Municipality, by preparing a map for them, to illustrate their report.
The Juntas Municipales of Sandia and Quiaca also, especially the latter,
took measures to prevent me from procuring a supply of chinchona-plants

or seeds, influenced by motives which exposed their ignorance of political
economy, while it displayed their activity and patriotic zeal.
In Sandia the municipal body consists of the Alcalde Municipal, who
presides, the Teniente Alcalde, the Syndic, two Judges of the Peace, three
Regidores, one of whom is Don Manuel Mena, and a Secretary.
My original plan had been to examine the chinchona forests during this
month, make as many meteorological and other observations as was
possible, and perhaps send down a small collection of plants to the coast;
but to make the principal collection of plants and seeds in August, the
month when the seeds of C. Calisaya are ripe. I had not, however, been two
days in Sandia before I discovered that Martel had already written to
several of the inhabitants, urging them to prevent me from taking chinchona
plants or seeds out of the country, and to bring the matter before the Junta
Municipal of the district. I heard also that he was busying himself in the
same way in other villages bordering on the chinchona forests. My mission
was becoming the talk of the whole country; and I at once saw that my only
chance of success was to commence the work of collecting plants without a
moment's delay, and, if possible, anticipate any measures which might be
taken to thwart my designs.
It was at Sandia that it became necessary to make final preparations for a
journey into the forests, for beyond this point the possibility of procuring
supplies of any kind is very doubtful. I here laid in a stock of bread to last
for about a month, which was toasted in the oven belonging to the cura, the
only one in the place, and which, together with some chocolate and cheese,
formed the provisions for myself and the gardener. I then persuaded the
judge to order the alcaldes of four of the ayllus to procure four Indians and
two cargo-mules, the Indians to bring their own provisions with them, for
which I advanced them money. After considerable delays my little
expedition was ready to start, consisting of myself, Mr. Weir the gardener,
Pablo Sevallos the mestizo, four Indians, and two mules. The supplies and
provisions were packed in six leathern bags, containing tea and sugar,
chocolate, toasted bread, cheese, candles, concentrated beef-tea, changes of
clothes, instruments, powder and shot, besides a tent, an air-bed, gutta-
percha robes, ponchos, a wood-knife and trowel, and maize and salt meat
for Pablo and the Indians. It took several days to complete these
preparations.

The climate of Sandia, at this time of the year, is exceedingly agreeable, the
days being fine and clear until late in the afternoon, and not too hot. The
prevailing wind blows up the ravine from the north-east, being the trade
which comes across the vast forest-covered plains of the interior. It is this
warm trade-wind which produces a much milder climate and more tropical
vegetation in Cuyo-cuyo than in Arequipa, though the former place is three
thousand feet higher than the latter. In Sandia, just after sunset, it feels
rather chilly, and during the middle of the day the sun is exceedingly hot.
Light clouds generally hang about the highest peaks. The variety of most
beautiful and graceful ferns on the walls of the houses, and near the banks
of the river, is endless.
I had the satisfaction of seeing, in the house of Don Manuel Mena, before
leaving Sandia, a bundle of small branches of the ychu cascarilla (C.
Calisaya, var. β Josephiana), with leaves and flowers, which had been
collected as a tonic medicine for a little daughter of my host.
On the 24th of April, late in the afternoon, we left Sandia, and reached the
tambo, or travellers' hut, called Cahuan-chaca, before dark. The road leads
down the ravine, along narrow ledges overhanging the river, which dashes
furiously along, in most places between perpendicular cliffs. The path is
very narrow and dangerous, but the scenery is superb, and the vegetation
becomes richer and more tropical at every league of the descent.
One of the Indians traitorously fled on the first day, and my party was thus
reduced to three, who were barely able to carry the necessary provisions.
These three men proved faithful and willing fellow-labourers. Their names
were Andres Vilca of the Oruro Ayllu, Julian Ccuri of Cuyo-cuyo, and
Santos Quispi of Apabuco. They were fine-looking young fellows, wearing
their hair in long plaits down their backs, coarse canvas trousers and shirts.
They carry the cargos in large cloths tied in bundles, and placed in other
cloths, which are passed over one shoulder and tied across the chest, called
ccepis. They stoop forward and step out at a great rate; and it is in this way
that Indians carry their burdens along the roads, and women their children,
throughout Peru. The tambo of Cahuan-chaca is a shed, with one side open,
and we slept in company with three Indians and a woman on their way to
get in a coca-harvest in the Hatun-yunca, who were living very well on salt
mutton, eggs, and potatoes.

The river rushing down the valley winds along the small breadth of level
land, striking first against the precipitous cliffs on one side, and then
sweeping over to the other, so that a road in the bottom of the valley would
require a bridge at almost every hundred yards. It has, therefore, been
necessary to excavate a path in the sides of the mountains, high above the
river, which in some places has a breadth of three feet only, with a
perpendicular cliff on one side, and a precipice six or seven hundred feet
deep on the other; while, in others, it zigzags down amongst loose stones,
where one false step would be immediate destruction. But the scenery
continued to increase in beauty, and the cascades were really splendid:—

"A land of streams! some, like a downward smoke,
Slow-dropping veils of thinnest lawn, did go;
And some thro' wavering lights and shadows broke,
Rolling a slumbrous sheet of foam below."

The river dashed noisily through the centre of the gorge, and the masses of
green on either side were toned down by many flowers in large patches,
bright purple Lasiandræ, orange Cassiæ, and scarlet Salviæ. I also saw an
Indigofera growing in this part of the ravine.
A mile from the hut of Cahuan-chaca is the confluence of the river
Huascaray; and a league lower down is the little shed or tambo of
Cancallani. Here bamboos and tree-ferns first appear, and coca is cultivated
in terraces which are fringed with coffee-plants, with their rich green
foliage and crimson berries. I observed that the huts in the middle of these
patches of coca or maize had no doors, showing the confidence of the
inmates in the honesty of the numerous passers-by, who go to and fro
between Sandia and the more distant coca estates.[314] I passed the estate of
Chayllabamba, with terraces of coca at least fifty deep, up the sides of the
mountains; and Asalay, a coffee estate, with groves of orange and
chirimoya-trees, the extreme point reached by M. Hasskarl, the Dutch
collector, in 1854. At the confluence of the rivers Asalay and Sandia
perpendicular cliffs rise abruptly from the valley to a stupendous height on
both sides, and the path winds up in a serpentine slippery staircase, to creep
along the edge of the steep grassy slopes or pajonales, far above the tropical
vegetation of the ravine. Winding along this path, we came to the tambo of

Paccay-samana, on the grassy pajonal, the mountains rising up on the
opposite side of the ravine only about sixty yards distant; yet the river, in
the bottom of the gorge, was many hundreds of feet below. There were
thickets with masses of bright flowers in the gullies, and glorious cascades
shimmering in the sunlight on the opposite mountain-sides.
It was at this spot that we first encountered chinchona-plants. A number of
young plants of C. Calisaya, var. β Josephiana, were growing by the side of
the road, with their exquisite roseate flowers, and rich green leaves with
crimson veins. The rock is a metamorphic slate, unfossiliferous, slightly
micaceous, and ferruginous, with quartz occurring here and there: the soil a
stiff brown loam. Above the tambo there was a small thicket of gaultherias,
called ccarani in Quichua, and Melastomaceæ with bright purple flowers
(Lasiandra fontanesiana), in a shallow gully, surrounded by the rich broad-
bladed grass of the pajonal. Here there were some fine plants of the
chinchona named by Dr. Weddell C. Caravayensis; and further on more
plants of C. Josephiana, called ychu cascarilla by the natives. The height of
this spot is 5420 feet above the sea. A tree-fern and many Trichomanes were
growing with the chinchonæ. Paccay-samana is sixteen miles from Sandia.
Animal life did not appear to be very abundant. There were plenty of large
doves, some ducks near the river, and a brilliant woodpecker. I also saw
great numbers of large swallow-tailed butterflies, purple with light-blue
spots on the upper wings; and others with white upper wings edged with jet
black and rows of white spots, the lower wings orange.
Beyond Paccay-samana there were several more plants of C. Josephiana,
rising out of masses of maiden-hair and Polypodia. After following the edge
of the pajonal for about a mile, we descended by a precipitous zigzag path
and crossed over the river Pulluma, at its confluence with the Sandia. Here
the road to the Hatun-yunca or Valle Grande branches off up the mountain
of Ramas-pata, while our way continued down the ravine. The scenery is
here remarkably beautiful. Lofty mountains, with their bright cascades, are
clothed to their summits with rich grass, while their gullies are filled with
flowering trees and shrubs. Half-way up, in many directions, the stone
terraces of coca rise tier above tier, fringed with ferns and begonias, and
filled with the delicate coloured green coca-branches, diversified
occasionally by the darker hues of the coffee. The ravine is filled with

masses of purple Melastomaceæ, and the river is fringed with tree-ferns,
plantains, and bamboos.
This purple Melastomacea (Lasiandra fontanesiana), called in Quichua
panti-panti, in the brilliancy and abundance of its flowers, bears the same
relation to this part of the Peruvian Andes as the rhododendron does to the
Himalayas. The effect in masses is much the same, but the Lasiandra
appears to me to be a more graceful and delicate tree, with a more beautiful
flower. In this ravine we have the shrub chinchonæ on the high grassy
slopes, perhaps the finest coffee in the world near the banks of the river, and
a little galium by the road-side—all chinchonaceous plants.
At noon on April 26th we rested in the tambo of Ypara, in the centre of coca
cultivation, and in the afternoon, crossing the river by a wooden bridge, we
had to travel along the skirts of the mountains, at a considerable height, in
the region of the pajonales. No gullies or large cascades cut up the face of
these mountains, which were entirely exposed to the full glare of the sun,
and here, though there was a profusion of purple Melastomaceæ in some of
the shallow indentations, there were no chinchonæ. Towards evening we
came to a lofty spur of the mountain, called Estanqui, at a great height
above the ravine, whence there was a most extensive view. To the left was
the valley of Sandia, with little coca-farms nestling in all the sheltered
gullies; and I could just make out the boys and girls far far below, like
specks, busy with the coca-leaves in the drying-yards. In front there was a
distant view of the hills in the direction of San Juan del Oro, covered with
virgin forest; while at our feet, and a thousand feet below us, was the
confluence of the rivers Sandia, Llaypuni, and Huari-huari, which unite to
form the great river Ynambari.
It was my intention, after marking down all the eligible plants of the
shrubby Calisaya, to be taken up on our return, to make for the forest-
covered valley of Tambopata, which is full of chinchona-trees; and I
therefore left the ravine of the Sandia river at this point, and, by a rapid
descent, went down from the grassy uplands to a region of tropical forest,
full of palms and tree-ferns. We thus reached the banks of the Huari-huari.
This river flows through a deep and very narrow ravine, lined with forest,
for about 500 feet, above which rise grassy mountains to an immense
height. Though only 30 feet across, and confined by dark polished rocks,

the Huari-huari is very deep, and decidedly a more important stream than
the Sandia, at their junction.
We established ourselves under a rock, where there was no room to pitch
the tent, and thus our first night of camping out commenced, for previously
we had slept in the road-side tambos. The Indians carried little earthen pots
for cooking, in their ccepis, and got up a fire of dry sticks with great
rapidity. I had a delicious bath in the river, where the tall forest trees
overshadowed the water on either side. At night the moon streamed its
floods of light over the forest, and the brilliant sparks from myriads of fire-
flies shone from the trees in every direction up the side of the opposite
mountain; but in the early morning the sky clouded over, and a heavy
drizzling rain began to fall, which prevented sleep, and made us wish for
day.
From this encampment our way led up the precipitous sides of the
mountain, to the grassy pajonales which divide the valleys of Sandia and
Tambopata; but I will here halt awhile to give a brief account of the
cultivation of that plant, of which we had lately seen so much, and which
enabled me to ascend the mighty passes of the Andes on foot with ease and
comfort—the strength-giving, invigorating coca.
A general geographical description of all this country has been given in the
preceding chapter.
During my stay at Sandia the indications of the thermometer were as
follows, between the 20th and 25th of April:—
Mean temperature 63⅕°
Minimum temperature at night 50½
Highest observed 65
Lowest 47
Range 18

CHAPTER XIV.
COCA-CULTIVATION.
The coca-leaf is the great source of comfort and enjoyment to the Peruvian
Indian; it is to him what betel is to the Hindoo, kava to the South Sea
Islander, and tobacco to the rest of mankind; but its use produces
invigorating effects which are not possessed by the other stimulants. From
the most ancient times the Peruvians have used this beloved leaf, and they
still look upon it with feelings of superstitious veneration. In the time of the
Incas it was sacrificed to the Sun, the Huillac Umu or high priest chewing
the leaf during the ceremony; and, before the arrival of the Spaniards, it was
used, as the cacao in Mexico, instead of money. After the conquest,
although its virtues were extolled by the Inca Garcilasso de la Vega,[315] and
by the Jesuit Acosta,[316] some fanatics proposed to proscribe its use, and to
root up the plants, because they had been used in the ancient superstitions,
and because its cultivation took away the Indians from other work. The
second council of Lima, consisting of bishops from all parts of South
America, condemned the use of coca in 1569 because it was a "useless and
pernicious leaf, and on account of the belief stated to be entertained by the
Indians that the habit of chewing coca gave them strength, which is an
illusion of the devil."[317]
In speaking of the strength the coca gives to those who chew it, Garcilasso
do la Vega relates the following anecdote. "I remember a story which I
heard in my native land of Peru, of a gentleman of rank and honour, named
Rodrigo Pantoja, who, travelling from Cuzco to Rimac (Lima), met a poor
Spaniard (for there are poor people there as well as here) who was going on
foot, with a little girl aged two years on his back. The man was known to
Pantoja, and they thus conversed. 'Why do you go laden thus?' said the
knight. The poor man answered that he was unable to hire an Indian to carry
the child, and for that reason he carried it himself. While he spoke Pantoja
looked in his mouth, and saw that it was full of coca; and, as the Spaniards
abominate all that the Indians eat and drink, as though it savoured of
idolatry, particularly the chewing of coca, which seems to them a low and

vile habit, he said, 'It may be as you say, but why do you eat coca like an
Indian, a thing so hateful to Spaniards?' The man answered, 'In truth, my
lord, I detest it as much as any one, but necessity obliges me to imitate the
Indians, and keep coca in my mouth; for I would have you to know that, if I
did not do so, I could not carry this burden; while the coca gives me
sufficient strength to endure the fatigue.' Pantoja was astonished to hear
this, and told the story wherever he went; and from that time credit was
giving to the Indians for using coca from necessity, and not from vicious
gluttony."
The Spanish Government interfered with the cultivation from more worthy
motives, and mitas of Indians, for the purpose of collecting coca-leaves,
were forbidden in 1569, owing to the reputed unhealthiness of the valleys.
[318]
Finally Don Francisco Toledo, viceroy of Peru, permitted the
cultivation with voluntary labour, on condition that the Indians were well
paid, and that care was taken of their healths. This most prolific of Peruvian
legislators issued no less than seventy ordenanzas on this subject alone,
between the years 1570 and 1574. Coca has always been one of the most
valuable articles of commerce in Peru, and it is used by about 8,000,000 of
the human race.
The coca-plant (Erythoxylon coca)[319] is cultivated between 5000 and 6000
feet above the level of the sea, in the warm valleys of the eastern slopes of
the Andes, where almost the only variation of climate is from wet to dry,
where frost is unknown, and where it rains more or less every month in the
year. It is a shrub from four to six feet high, with lichens, called lacco in
Quichua, usually growing on the older trunks. The branches are straight and
alternate; leaves alternate and entire, in form and size like tea-leaves;
flowers solitary with a small yellowish-white corolla in five petals, ten
filaments the length of the corolla, anthers heart-shaped, and three pistils.
Sowing is commenced in December and January, when the rains begin,
which continue until April. The seeds are spread on the surface of the soil in
a small nursery or raising-ground called almaciga, over which there is
generally a thatch roof (huasichi). At the end of about a fortnight they come
up; the young plants being continually watered, and protected from the sun
by the huasichi. The following year they are transplanted to a soil specially
prepared by thorough weeding, and breaking up the clods very fine by
hand; often in terraces only affording room for a single row of plants, up the

sides of the mountains, which are kept up by small stone walls. The plants
are generally placed in square holes called aspi, a foot deep, with stones on
the sides to prevent the earth from falling in. Three or four are planted in
each hole, and grow up together. In Caravaya and Bolivia the soil in which
the coca grows is composed of a blackish clay, formed from the
decomposition of the schists, which form the principal geological features
of the mountains. On level ground the plants are placed in furrows called
uachos, separated by little walls of earth umachas, at the foot of each of
which a row of plants is placed; but this is a modern innovation, the terrace
cultivation being the most ancient. At the end of eighteen months the plants
yield their first harvest, and continue to yield for upwards of forty years.
The first harvest is called quita calzon, and the leaves are then picked very
carefully, one by one, to avoid disturbing the roots of the young tender
plants. The following harvests are called mitta ("time" or "season"), and
take place three times and even four times in the year. The most abundant
harvest takes place in March, immediately after the rains; the worst at the
end of June, called the mitta de San Juan. The third, called mitta de Santos,
is in October or November. With plenty of watering, forty days suffice to
cover the plants with leaves afresh. It is necessary to weed the ground very
carefully, especially while the plants are young, and the harvest is gathered
by women and children.
The green leaves, called matu, are deposited in a piece of cloth which each
picker carries, and are then spread out in the drying-yard, called matu-
cancha, and carefully dried in the sun. The dried leaf is called coca. The
drying-yard is formed of slate-flags, called pizarra; and, when the leaves
are thoroughly dry, they are sewn up in cestos or sacks made of banana-
leaves, of twenty pounds each, strengthened by an exterior covering of
bayeta or cloth.[320] They are also packed in tambores of fifty pounds each,
pressed tightly down. Dr. Poeppig reckoned the profits of a coca-farm to be
forty-five per cent.
The harvest is greatest in a hot moist situation; but the leaf generally
considered the best flavoured by consumers, grows in drier parts, on the
sides of hills. The greatest care is required in the drying; for too much sun
causes the leaves to dry up and lose their flavour, while, if packed up moist,
they become fetid. They are generally exposed to the sun in thin layers.

Acosta says that in his time the trade in coca at Potosi was worth 500,000
dollars annually; and that in 1583 the Indians consumed 100,000 cestos of
coca, worth 2½ dollars each in Cuzco, and 4 dollars in Potosi. In 1591[321]
an excise of 5 per cent. was imposed on coca; and in the years 1746 and
1750 this duty yielded 800 and 500 dollars respectively, from Caravaya
alone. Between 1785 and 1795 the coca traffic was calculated at 1,207,430
dollars in the Peruvian viceroyalty; and, including that of Buenos Ayres,
2,641,487 dollars.
In the district of Sandia, in Caravaya, there are two kinds of coca, that of
Ypara and that of Hatun-yunca, which has a larger leaf. The yield is 45,000
cestos a year. In the yungus of La Paz, in Bolivia, the yield is about 400,000
cestos. The coca-trade is a government monopoly in Bolivia, the state
reserving the right of purchasing from the grower, and reselling to the
consumer. This right is generally farmed out to the highest bidder. In 1850
the coca-duty yielded 200,000 dollars to the Bolivian revenue.
The approximate annual produce of coca in Peru is about 15,000,000 lbs.,
[322]
the average yield being about 800 lbs. an acre. More than 10,000,000
lbs. are produced annually in Bolivia, according to Dr. Booth of La Paz; so
that the annual yield of coca throughout South America, including Peru,
Bolivia, Ecuador, and Pasto, may be estimated at more than 30,000,000 lbs.
At Tacna the tambor of 50 lbs. is worth 9 to 12 dollars, the fluctuations in
price being caused by the perishable nature of the article, which cannot be
kept in stock for any length of time. The average duration of coca in a
sound state, on the coast, is about five months, after which time it is said to
lose flavour, and is rejected by the Indians as worthless.
The reliance on the extraordinary virtues of the coca-leaf, amongst the
Peruvian Indians, is so strong, that, in the Huanuco province, they believe
that, if a dying man can taste a leaf placed on his tongue, it is a sure sign of
his future happiness.[323]
No Indian is without his chuspa or coca-bag, made of llama-cloth, dyed red
and blue in patterns, with woollen tassels hanging from it. He carries it over
one shoulder, suspended at his side; and, in taking coca, he sits down, puts
his chuspa before him, and places the leaves in his mouth one by one,
chewing and turning them till he forms a ball. He then applies a small
quantity of carbonate of potash, prepared by burning the stalk of the quinoa-

plant, and mixing the ashes with lime and water; thus forming cakes called
llipta, which are dried for use, and also kept in the chuspa.[324] This
operation is called acullicar in Bolivia and Southern Peru, and chacchar in
the North. They usually perform it three times in a day's work, and every
Indian consumes two or three ounces of coca daily.
In the mines of the cold region of the Andes the Indians derive great
enjoyment from the use of coca; the running chasqui, or messenger, in his
long journeys over the mountains and deserts, and the shepherd watching
his flock on the lofty plains, has no other nourishment than is afforded by
his chuspa of coca, and a little maize. The smell of the leaf is agreeable and
aromatic, and when chewed it gives out a grateful fragrance, accompanied
by a slight irritation, which excites the saliva. Its properties are to enable a
greater amount of fatigue to be borne with less nourishment, and to prevent
the occurrence of difficulty of respiration in ascending steep mountain-
sides. Tea made from the leaves has much the taste of green tea, and, if
taken at night, is much more effectual in keeping people awake. Applied
externally coca moderates the rheumatic pains caused by cold, and cures
headaches. When used to excess it is, like everything else, prejudicial to the
health, yet, of all the narcotics used by man, coca is the least injurious, and
the most soothing and invigorating.
The active principle of the coca-leaf has, a few years ago, been separated by
Dr. Niemann, and called cocaine. Pure cocaine crystallizes with difficulty,
is but slightly soluble in water, but is easily dissolved in alcohol, and still
more easily in ether.[325]
I chewed coca, not constantly, but very frequently, from the day of my
departure from Sandia, and, besides the agreeable soothing feeling it
produced, I found that I could endure long abstinence from food with less
inconvenience than I should otherwise have felt, and it enabled me to
ascend precipitous mountain-sides with a feeling of lightness and elasticity,
and without losing breath. This latter quality ought to recommend its use to
members of the Alpine Club, and to walking tourists in general, though the
sea voyage would probably cause the leaves to lose much of their virtue. To
the Peruvian Indian, however, who can procure it within a few weeks of its
being picked, the coca is a solace which is easily procured, which affords
great enjoyment, and which has a most beneficial effect.[326]

CHAPTER XV.
CARAVAYA.
Chinchona forests of Tambopata.

On the morning of April 27th we crossed a rude bridge over the Huari-
huari, and began to make our way up the face of the steep mountain on the
other side, first through a thick forest, and then up into the grassy highlands,
until, after several halts, we at length reached the summit of the ridge,
though a mountain-peak still rose up in our rear. From this point there was a
most extensive panoramic view. A sea of ridges rose one behind the other,
with stupendous snowy peaks in the background, and, more than a thousand
feet below, the rivers of Sandia and Huari-huari, reduced to mere glittering
threads, could be seen winding through the tortuous ravines. We had now
reached the pajonales, and were on a ridge or back-bone between the rivers
of Laccani and San Lorenzo, two tributaries of the Huari-huari; a grass-
covered and comparatively cold region, interspersed with thickets, forming
the crest of the tropical forests which line the sides of the ravines through
which the rivers wind, far below.
When there is sunshine, these pajonales form a very pleasant landscape: the
broad expanse of grass, dotted over with a graceful milk-white flower
called sayri-sayri, is intersected by dense thickets, some in the gullies and
watercourses, and others in clumps, like those in an English park, the palms
and tree-ferns raising their graceful heads above the rest of the trees. Here
and there a black pool of sweet water is met with at the edge of the thicket,
with chinchona and huaturu-trees drooping over it. Everywhere there is an
abrupt boundary to the foreground in the profound forest-covered ravines,
with splendid views of mountain ranges in the distance.
The vegetation of the thickets in these pajonales consists of palms, tree-
ferns, Melastomaceæ (Lasiandra fontanesiana) with bright showy flowers,
exceedingly pretty Ericaceæ (Gaultheriæ), Vacciniæ, the huaturu or
incense-tree in great quantities, and Chinchonæ, chiefly consisting of C.
Caravayensis (Wedd.), with a few plants of Calisaya Josephiana, but the
latter are much more rare here than in the neighbourhood of Paccay-

samana. The C. Caravayensis, a worthless species, has panicles of beautiful
deep roseate flowers, large coarse hairy capsules, and lanceolate leaves,
above smooth with purple veins, and hairy on the under side. It can
probably bear greater cold than any other chinchona.[327]
The afternoon was passed in searching for plants of the shrubby Calisaya,
but with little success. During our examination of the thickets we found a
single specimen, evidently belonging to the Calisaya species, but in the
form of a tree, and not of a shrub. Its height was eighteen feet six inches; its
girth, two feet from the ground, eight and a half inches; and the position in
which it was growing was 5680 feet above the level of the sea. I was
uncertain whether it belonged to the tree variety (Calisaya vera, Wedd.), or
to the shrub (Calisaga Josephiana); for Dr. Weddell only gives the height of
the latter at eight or ten feet.
Near the banks of one of the black pools, overhung by spreading branches,
we found a shed, a roof of coarse grass raised on four sticks four and a half
feet high, and here we encamped for the night. It had been made by some
party of incense-collectors from Bolivia, who wander through these wilds.
Towards sunset it began to pour with rain, and continued through the night.
From this point to the Tambopata valley the road was unknown to my
Indians, and had not been traversed since the time of the bark-trade, which
came to an end fifteen years ago. It was supposed that any path which might
once have existed would be entirely choked up by the forest, and I therefore
started early in the morning, with Andres Vilca, to reconnoitre. The
backbone of the ridge along which we travelled was not level, but up and
down like a saw, and very rough work. After walking for a league the ridge
ended where a transverse range of hills, at a lower elevation, connects the
mountains on the further sides of the rivers of San Lorenzo and Laccani,
and, closing up the ravines, contains their sources. This range, at right
angles with the one over which we had journeyed, is called the Marun-
kunka, and is covered with dense forests. It was necessary to force our way
through this formidable obstruction, and we plunged into it at once. Our
progress was vigorously opposed by closely matted fallen bamboos for the
first few hundred yards, and afterwards we followed the course of a torrent,
deeply cut in the rock, and forming a passage four to six feet deep, and
about three feet across, with masses of ferns and the roots of enormous
forest-trees interlacing across overhead, and two feet of exceedingly

tenacious yellow mud underfoot. In many places it was almost dark at
midday, while in others the rays of the sun succeeded in forcing their way
through the ferns, and throwing a pale light across the otherwise gloomy
passage. It was a weird unearthly scene. After several hours of very
laborious travelling we at length forced our way across the Marun-kunka,
and came out upon another pajonal, on the eastern side, whence there was a
grand view of the forest scenery towards Tambopata, and the snowy peaks
of the cordillera above Quiaca and Sina to the right.
The afternoon was again devoted to searching for plants of Calisaya
Josephiana in the thickets; where the C. Caravayensis was very plentiful,
together with several plants of the shrubby Calisaya, and four or five trees
of the normal tree Calisaya, from 20 to 30 feet high. The elevation of this
place was 5600 feet above the sea. Later in the day the journey was
continued over a most difficult country, sometimes over grassy pajonales,
and at others painfully struggling through forests like those on the Marun-
kunka. In one of these forests I came upon a Calisaya-tree, 38 feet high, and
1 foot 3 inches in girth at a distance of 3 feet from the ground, which was
several feet deep in dead leaves, chiefly the smooth leathery leaf of the
huaturu-tree. At length we commenced the descent into the valley of
Tambopata, 1200 feet down slippery rocks and grass, then through a belt of
forest, until we suddenly emerged on an open space on the banks of the
large rapid river, where there was a bamboo hut. A little coca and sugar-
cane was planted, but the occupant was absent. With touching confidence
he had left his door open, so my Indians established themselves
comfortably, while Weir and I pitched the tent.
The river of Tambopata, descending from the farm of Saqui near the
frontier of Bolivia, here flows in a northerly direction. Up the stream I
could see a few little clearings, but looking down nothing appeared but the
virgin forest. A most magnificent range of mountains, with a fine growth of
forest trees, rises up on either side, and the rapid swollen river rushed
through the centre of the ravine. The rock of all the ranges of hills between
the Huari-huari and Tambopata rivers is a yellow clay-slate, with masses of
white quartz cropping out on the pajonales.
Early in the morning we continued our journey down the valley, through a
forest of grand timber, passing the little hut of Tambopata which Dr.
Weddell had mentioned to me as having been the great rendezvous for

cascarilleros or chinchona-bark collectors, at the time of his visit. After
wading across the rapid little river of Llami-llami, which enters the
Tambopata on the left bank, we came to a small clearing, planted with
sugar-cane, the property of a very energetic and obliging old Bolivian,
named Don Juan de la Cruz Gironda. He was living in a shed, open on two
sides, and with a young son, and two or three Indians, was actively clearing,
planting sugar-cane, and making rum in an extemporized distillery of his
own manufacture. This little farm was the extreme outpost of civilisation in
this direction, and had only been commenced since December 1859.
Gironda was cultivating sugar-cane, maize, and edible roots; and, at the
time of my visit, he was just commencing his michca, or small sowing of
maize. His people were driving holes in the ground with long poles, about a
foot deep, into which they drop four to six grains, and cover over. The holes
are four feet apart, for here the maize grows to an immense height. The
agricultural tools were of a most primitive kind. The ground is first broken
and cleared with a bit of old iron, fastened, at an acute angle, on a short
handle. It is further broken up by an attempt at a spade, an oblong piece of
iron, bent at one end round a long pole. The weeds and brushwood are
cleared away by an instrument like the first, only turned a different way,
both being secured to their handles by leathern thongs. They reap with the
blade of an old knife, and where the clods require to be broken up very fine,
as in coca plantations, it is done by hand. The only use that Gironda puts his
small supply of sugar-cane to, as yet, is making spirits and a small quantity
of treacle. The cane is expressed by a very primitive mill of three upright
rollers of hard wood, worked by a single capstan-bar and a mule, the juice
flowing into a gutter, and running thence, through a bamboo, into a large
jar. The juice is then placed in two long canoes, hollow trunks of trees,
where it is allowed to ferment. In about eight days the fermentation is over,
and it is ready for distilling. This sugar-beer is called huarapu, and is rather
good. The juice is then poured into a large jar, over an oven, and above the
mouth of this jar he places the broken side of another smaller one, covering
the joining round with mud. From the mouth of the second jar a bamboo is
led through a large canoe to the mouth of a third jar. The fire is lighted in
the oven, the canoe is filled with cold water to condense the vapour as it
comes up through the bamboo, and the work of distilling begins; the clear
colourless rum soon commencing to flow out of the bamboo into the

receiving-jar. The sugar-cane is of the purplish-brown kind, which is said to
ripen quickest.
Gironda also raises a few edible roots, such as yucas (Jatophra manihot),
aracachas[328] (Conium maculatum), camotes or sweet potatoes, and ocas.
He gave me the following information respecting the climate and seasons in
the valley of Tambopata, which is worthy of attention, as this is the very
centre of the C. Calisaya region.

January.—Incessant rain, with damp heat day and night. Sun never
seen. Fruits ripen.
February.—Incessant rain and very hot. Sun never seen. A coca
harvest.
March.—Less rain, hot days and nights, little sun. Bananas yield most
during the rainy season.
April.—Less rain; hot, humid nights, and little sun in the daytime.
May.—A showery month, but little heavy rain. This is the month for
planting coca and sugar-cane, and what is called the michca, or small
sowing of maize, as well as yucas, aracachas, camotes, and other
edible roots. Coffee-harvest begins.
June.—A dry hot month. Much sun and little rain. Coca-harvest early
in the month. Oranges and paccays ripen. Cool nights, but a fierce heat
during the day.
July.—The hottest and driest month, but with cool nights. Very few
showers. Time for sowing gourds, pumpkins, and water-melons.
August.—Generally dry. Trees begin to bud. A month for planting.
September.—Rains begin. Time for blossoming of many trees. Coca-
harvest.
October.—Rains increasing. Maize-harvest, and time for the "sembra
grande," or great sowing of maize.
November.—Heavy rains. A coca-harvest.
December.—Heavy rains. Pumpkins ripen.

The inhabitants of the valley of Tambopata consist of Gironda, his two little
boys, one Victorio Jovi, Villalba, and the cascarillero named Martinez.
Another cascarillero, named Ximenes, has lately died. They live with their
families at a place called Huaccay-churu, about half a mile up the Llami-
llami river, where there are a few huts, and a small clearing. Gironda's little
farm is the last inhabited spot; beyond is the illimitable virgin forest,
stretching away for hundreds, nay thousands of miles, to the shores of the
Atlantic. This forest has not been traversed since 1847, when the bark trade
ceased, and it is quite closed up.
By the desertion of one of my Indians on the day we left Sandia, the other
three and Pablo Sevallos were barely able to carry the provisions and other
necessaries, so that, on reaching Gironda's clearing, which is called Lenco-
huayccu,[329] I found that I had only sufficient food to last for six days.
Gironda himself was little better off, and was living on roots, and chuñus or
potatoes preserved by being frozen in the loftiest parts of the Andes. I
determined, however, to penetrate into the forest, in search of chinchona-
plants, for six days, and to trust to Gironda's kindness to supply me with
provisions to enable me to return to Sandia.
I was so fortunate as to secure the services of Mariano Martinez, an
experienced cascarillero, who had acted as guide to Dr. Weddell, on the
occasion of his visit to the valley of Tambopata in 1846. He was thoroughly
acquainted with all the different species of chinchona-trees, and, reared
from a child in these forest solitudes, he was a most excellent and expert
woodman, intelligent, sober, active, and obliging.
On May 1st we prepared to enter the dense entangled forest, where no
European had been before, and no human being for upwards of thirteen
years, except the Collahuayas and incense-collectors. Our party consisted of
seven: the three Indians, Weir, Pablo, Martinez, and myself. The Indians,
each with their chuspas of coca, and a chumpi or belt round their waists,
carried the ccepis or bundles of provisions; Pablo bore the tent; and we
were all armed with machetes, or wood-knives, to clear the way. My people
were all dressed in coarse cotton cloth, and I wore a leathern hat, red
woollen shirt, fustian trousers, and the indispensable polccos, or shoes made
of bayeta or felt, always used in these forests. We were all mustered and
ready to start on the verge of Gironda's clearing, which is surrounded by tall
forest trees, with the river rushing noisily past, and the opposite mountains

covered to their summits with fine timber, when half a dozen pale-faced
men emerged from the tangled thicket in our front. They looked wan and
cadaverous like men risen from the dead, and worn out by long watching
and fatigue. They turned out to be Collahuayas, collectors of drugs and
incense, who penetrate far into the forests to obtain their wares, and come
forth, as we then saw them, looking pale and haggard.
These Collahuayas, called also Chirihuanos on the coast of Peru, Yungeños,
and Charasanis, are a very peculiar race. They come from three villages in
the forest-covered ravines of the Bolivian province of Larecaja, called
Charasani, Consata, and Quirbe; and their knowledge of the virtues of herbs
has been handed down from father to son from time immemorial. They
traverse the forests of Bolivia and Caravaya collecting their drugs; and then
set out as professors of the healing art, to exercise their calling in all parts
of America, frequently being two and three years away from their homes,
on these excursions. With their wallets of drugs on their backs, and dressed
in black breeches, a red poncho, and broad-brimmed hat, they walk in a
direct line from village to village, exercising their calling, and penetrating
as far as Quito and Bogota in one direction, and to the extreme limits of the
Argentine Republic in the other. Their ancestors did the same in the time of
the Incas, and Garcilasso de la Vega gives some account of the medical
treatment adopted by the ancient Peruvian physicians. They were in the
habit of letting blood and purging, they administered the powdered leaf of
the sayri (tobacco) for headaches, mulli (Schinus molle) for wounds, and a
host of other simple herbs for other ailments. Both Garcilasso[330] and
Acosta[331] mention their knowledge of the virtues of sarsaparilla, yet it is
remarkable that the Collahuayas should never have discovered the
febrifugal qualities of chinchona bark.
We saluted these hard-working physicians, and then entered the forest from
which they had just emerged. A short walk brought us to the river
Challuma,[332] a tributary of the Tambopata, which we waded across.
Martinez told me that this was the extreme point reached by Dr. Weddell,
and that he came here to see a tree of C. micrantha growing.
Beyond the Challuma there is no road at all, and the really serious forest
work began; two hornets stinging me on the temple and back of the neck, as
I forced my way through the first bush. Martinez went in front as pioneer,

clearing away obstructions with his machete, and the rest of our little party
followed. Between lordly trees of great height the ground was entirely
choked up with creepers, fallen masses of tangled bamboo, and long
tendrils which twisted round our ankles, and tripped us up at every step. Ten
miles on open ground is only equal to one over such country as this. In
many places we had to scramble through the same dense forest, along the
verge of giddy precipices which overhung the river. Often we came upon
tracks where a giant of the forest had fallen, bearing all before it, and finally
dashing over the cliff into the river below. The Tambopata was boiling and
surging over a rocky bed, at times far below us, while at others we took
advantage of a short strip of rocky beach to escape the forest. Thus we
struggled on until sunset, when we reached a stony beach, and encamped
for the night. This had been a most fatiguing march. In some places we
were a quarter of an hour forcing and cutting our way through a space of
twenty yards, and the halt was most welcome. It was a wild scene as the
darkness closed round: the camp-fire and Indians on the beach, the dense
gloomy forest close behind, the boiling river in front, and forest-clad
mountains rising up on the other side.
From this, the first day of our forest-life, until the 14th of May, being just a
fortnight, we were actively engaged in the examination of the chinchona
region, and in the collection of plants. As the best way of recording the
results of our investigations, I now propose to give a detailed account of our
proceedings from day to day; and, in the following chapter, to recapitulate
our observations with special reference to the climate, soil, and general
habit of those species of chinchonæ which came immediately under our
notice. I owe much to the intelligent assistance of our guide Martinez, who,
to great experience in woodcraft, added a lynx's eye for a Calisaya-plant;
and it required no little quickness and penetration to distinguish these
treasures, amidst the close entanglement of the undergrowth, in the dense
forests. Martinez spoke Spanish very imperfectly, and, without a knowledge
of Quichua, I should have found much difficulty in conversing with him;
but he had a most complete and thorough knowledge of all forest-lore, and
was acquainted with the native name of almost every plant, and with the
uses to which they were or might be applied.
At dawn the Indians found the marks of a jaguar on the beach close to the
tent; and a huge snake wriggled through the fallen trees as we re-entered the

forest. The brilliant colours and great variety of butterflies were very
striking. I particularly noticed one, bright blue and crimson above, with the
underside marked with a pattern, as if drawn by a crow-quill on a snow-
white ground, edged with deep blue. After struggling through the forest for
about a mile we came to the foot of the tremendous precipices, one on
either side of the river, which Martinez called Ccasa-sani. That on our (the
western) shore rises up perpendicularly from the water to a height which we
estimated at 500 feet, ending in a rocky peak. Its sides are masses of bare
polished rock, except in the rear, and in some crevices, where vegetation
finds a foothold. Amongst other trees the paccay (Mimosa Inga), with its
cottony fruit, was drooping over the bubbling waves. The river, surging
furiously over and around huge masses of rock, dashed noisily on between
the two precipices.
We had to ascend the western precipice of Ccasa-sani by a frightful kind of
ladder, formed of ledges in the rock, or half-rotten branches of trees, here
and there having to cross a yawning chasm on the fallen stems of tree-ferns
rotting from age. Near the summit we had a glorious view of the forest-
covered mountains, running up into sharp peaks, with graceful palms rising
above the other trees on their crests, and standing out against the sky.
Several Calisaya-trees were growing on the summit, with bunches of young
capsules, in company with the leathery-leafed huaturu, and the Aceite de
Maria (Elæagia Mariæ, Wedd.). The latter is a tree about thirty feet high,
with bark covered with white lichens. Among the numerous ferns the most
conspicuous was a very large Polypodium, called calaguala. Descending
the rocks of Ccasa-sani, we had to continue the work of cutting our way
through the forest, our passage being opposed by matted entanglements of
bamboo, and a Panicum with blades, the edges of which cut like a penknife,
called challi-challi. On many of the trees there were hornets'-nests, globes
of mud fixed to the leaves, and covered with the insects. I was inadvertently
going to touch one, which was attached to the back of a large fern-frond,
when Martinez, with great dexterity, hurled the plants down the precipice,
before the savage creatures were aware of their danger.
We were now in the midst of the chinchona region; and passed several trees
of C. ovata (morada ordinaria) and C. micrantha (verde paltaya). There
were also great quantities of a false chinchona, called by Martinez Carhua-
carhua blanca. We passed through several large groves of this species,

which appeared to be a Lasionema, but differed in several respects from the
L. chinchonoides, mentioned by Dr. Weddell as growing in the Caravayan
forests. The tree is very common near the banks of the river Tambopata,
frequently with its boughs, large coarse leaves, and panicles of flowers,
drooping over the water.[333]
The magnitude and variety of the trees of the forest were very striking; and
the imposing character of the scenery, in these vast solitudes, was a source
of constant enjoyment, and lightened the fatigues of the journey. Among the
wonders of the forest there were enormous trees with great buttressed
trunks, others sending down rope-like tendrils from the branches in every
direction, the gigantic balsam-tree, the india-rubber tree, and many others.
A list of the ferns or mosses, endless in the variety of their shape and size,
would fill volumes. Of palms, also, there were many kinds. The tall chonta,
with its hard serviceable wood; the slender beautiful chinilla (Euterpe?);
the towering muruna (Iriartea?), with its roots shooting out in every
direction from eight feet above the ground, and triangular-notched leaflets;
the chaquisapa (Astrocaryum?), with its lofty stem thickly set with alternate
rings of spines, and thorny leaves; the sumballu (Giulielma?), a beautiful
palm with a slender stem covered with long sharp spines, numerous
graceful leaves, and an edible fruit; and above all the sayal, the monarch of
the palms of these forests, with a rather short thick stem, inner fibres of the
stalks like black wool, but with enormous leaves growing rather erect from
the stem to a length of at least forty feet—I should think they must be the
largest leaves in the whole vegetable kingdom. Among the bright flowers
there were crimson Melastomaceæ, called ccesuara, a scarlet Justitia, the
Manetia coccinea, and many beautiful orchids in the branches of the trees.
At length, after a very hard day's work, we reached the mouth of the Yana-
mayu[334] or Black river; and attempted to wade across the Tambopata, but
found it too powerful. I was particularly anxious to effect this, as Martinez
assured me that chinchona-trees were most abundant on the right or eastern
bank. We, however, managed to get upon an island, near the left bank, and
encamped for the night on a shingly beach. After sunset it came on to rain
very heavily, and the waters foamed furiously around us in the inky
darkness. The rain continued to pour down, and the waters to rise through
the night, and I hourly expected the island to be submerged; but,

fortunately, we escaped this danger, though the river came up to within a
very few feet of the tent-door. I served out a dram of brandy to all hands.
In the morning of May 3rd I continued my attempts to cross the river, by
stripping and trying the water for a ford at several points, with a long pole
as a support. But the water was deep, much swollen, and very rapid; and,
after having twice been as nearly as possible carried away by the fury of the
stream, I was obliged unwillingly to give up the attempt for the present. I
considered it prudent also to remove our encampment from the island, and
to establish it on a narrow beach overshadowed by the forest, at the point
where the muddy waters of the Yana-mayu unite with those of the
Tambopata.
These arrangements having been made, we devoted the day to an
examination of the adjacent forest. The spot on which we were encamped
was about 4600 feet above the sea. Our tent was pitched close to the
foaming torrent, and behind rose up the tall dark forests. In front were the
steep green sides of the Yana-mayu ravine, while looking down the river the
view was bounded by forest-covered mountains, surmounted by the lofty
peak of Corimamani. On the actual banks of the river there were trees of C.
micrantha, with large bunches of lovely and deliciously sweet white
flowers; many carhua-carhua blancas; and a chinchonaceous tree, which
Martinez called Huiñapu. The Huiñapu grows low down and near the banks
of rivers. Its capsules are three inches long; and the veins of the leaves are a
pale purple. Dr. Weddell tells me that he recollects gathering the leaves of
the Huiñapu, and that he took it to be a variety of Cascarilla magnifolia.
We commenced the day's work in the forest on the south-west slopes of the
Yana-mayu ravine, scrambling up the steep forest-covered declivity
amongst palms, tree-ferns, bamboos, and trees with buttressed trunks of
stupendous size. Here too were the vast leaves of the sayal palm. At a
height of 400 feet above the river the Calisaya region commences; while in
the lower belt, from the river banks to a height of 400 feet, the most
abundant chinchonaceous plant is the Carhua-carhua grande (Cascarilla
Carua, Wedd.), with very fragrant white flowers. I met with flowers and
capsules together on the same tree, which is forty feet high, with a thick
trunk, fine spreading branches, and masses of beautiful white flowers.

I found that the C. Calisaya region extended in a belt from 450 to 650 feet
above the banks of the river; bamboos, large palms, C. micranthas,
Huiñapus, Lasionemas, and the Cascarilla carua being found below that
line, and other species of chinchonæ and chinchonaceous plants above it.
We collected twenty-five Calisaya-plants, two of them fine strong
seedlings, and the remainder root-shoots springing up from trees which had
been cut down by cascarilleros in former times, but with good spreading
roots of their own. The search was exceedingly hard work, scrambling
through matted undergrowth, and up steep ascents, through masses of
rotting vegetation.
The afternoon was devoted to an examination of the heights on the north-
east side of the Yana-mayu, where, at an elevation of 450 feet, there is a
level table-land, covered with palms and bamboos. The search was chiefly
conducted along a ridge above this plateau, where the bamboos ended. We
obtained twenty more plants of C. Calisaya, one of which was declared by
Martinez to be a Calisaya morada (C. Boliviana, Wedd.), and the leaf
agreed well with Dr. Weddell's description, though that botanist believed
that the species was not found in this part of Caravaya, but only in the
valleys of Ayapata, further north. To-day we saw a couple of tunquis,[335]
birds with the most gorgeous plumage I ever beheld. They are the size of
large pigeons, with orange-scarlet feathers on the head, neck, breast, and
tail, black wings, light-grey back, and scarlet crest. They have a shrill, harsh
cry. The butterflies and moths were numerous and brilliant, but so tame, and
in such swarms, as to be a perfect plague. There was one bright swallow-
tail, with blue wings, fringed with crimson. The torments from venomous
insects were maddening; especially from a kind of fly which in a moment
raised swellings and blood-red lumps all over the hands and face, causing
great pain and irritation. During the night it rained heavily, with peals of
thunder, and vivid flashes of lightning, while the river increased in size, and
roared past the tent noisily.
The collection of chinchona-plants was deposited in a shady place, near the
tent, the roots being well covered over with soft moss.
On the morning of May 4th the river was so swollen as to destroy all hopes
of crossing it for the present. It frequently changed its colour, on one
morning the surging flood being black, on another tolerably clear, and on
another a light muddy colour. By these means Martinez could always tell

where the rains had been heaviest, and what stream was contributing an
unusual freshet to swell the waters of the Tambopata.
I devoted the day to examining the forest on the declivities overhanging the
left bank of the Tambopata, and this was by far the most toilsome and
dangerous forest journey we had yet made, rendered worse by a
comparative want of success. The whole way was along giddy precipices,
seeming to hang half way between the sky and the roaring torrent, with no
foothold but decaying leaves, nothing to grasp but rotten branches, every
motion a drenching bath from wet leaves, every other step a painful and
dangerous slip or fall, besides hornets, and endless thorns. Among the latter
I was struck by a tree called itapallu, with trunk and branches thickly set
with thorns, very large leaves, and the fruit in clusters, like bunches of
pearls with purple stalks. We met with large pigeons, flocks of green
parrots, paroquets, and tunquis. The forest peeps across the river were
superb, but it was difficult to enjoy them. Martinez pointed out a small
Asplenium, called espincu, which has a sweet taste, and is sometimes
chewed by the Indians for want of coca; and the panchi, a tall slender
malvaceous tree, with large round leaves on spreading branches at the top,
and very white wood. It is used by the Chunchos for procuring fire by
friction, and the bark, which peels off in long strips, is serviceable for
girdles. During this day we came to the largest Calisaya we had yet seen,
and Martinez operated on the bark to show his dexterity as a cascarillero,
which was remarkable.[336] Our collection only amounted to fourteen
plants, among them two fine seedlings of C. Calisaya, two of C. micrantha,
two of C. ovata, var. β rufinervis, and the remainder root-shoots of C.
Calisaya: seedlings of the latter species are exceedingly rare. We returned
to our camp dead beat, and drenched to the skin, only to find that my
Indians were mutinous, declaring that they had been away long enough, that
they had no maize or coca left, and that they must return to their homes at
once. Our only hope rested upon them, and, if they had deserted, all our
plans would have been entirely frustrated. It, however, required no little
persuasion and eloquence to induce them to change their minds, and, as
they had nothing left to eat, I sent Andres Vilca back to Gironda, to entreat
him to supply us with a few chuñus and a little coca. I then told the others,
in their own expressive language, that if they deserted me they were liars,
thieves, traitors, and children of the Devil, whose punishment would soon
overtake them; while if they were true to me they would be well rewarded,

and would enjoy the friendship of a Viracocha. After this great effort in
Quichua, the evening ended pleasantly. The Indians had built themselves a
little shed of palm-leaves near the tent door, a bright fire was lighted, and its
cheery reflection danced on the waves of the noisy flood.
It rained heavily through the night, and in the morning, hearing from
Martinez that the varieties of C. ovata, the collection of which had been
recommended to me by Dr. Weddell, were only found in a zone at a much
greater elevation than that of the C. Calisayas, I devoted the day to a search
in an almost vertical direction, on the north-east side of the Yana-mayu,
towards some heights called Pacchani.
Ascending the steep sides of the ravine of Yana-mayu for about two
hundred feet, we reached a narrow level shelf covered with ferns and the
huge leaves of the sayal palm. The locality was very damp and shady, and
the C. micrantha, Huiñapu, and Cascarilla Carua were in great abundance.
We continued to ascend through the forest which covered the sides of the
steep mountain, for several hours continuously; the footing consisting of
decayed leaves and rotten trunks, moss and ferns covering every tree, and
all the vegetation intensely humid. At a height of 750 feet above the river
we came to some trees of the beno-beno (Pimentelia gomphosia,[337]
Wedd.), with its bright laurel-like leaves and minute capsules; the C.
pubescens, called by Martinez cascarilla amarilla, still only in bud, which
was very abundant; and large trees of the morada naranjada (C. ovata, var.
α vulgaris, Wedd.). Near this place a troop of about twenty monkeys went
chattering along the tops of the trees, and while I was looking at them a
huge black hornet rushed up out of the moss and stung me on the chin.
These savage creatures make their nests under the earth, and are called
huancoyru.
After a long and wearisome but fruitless search for young plants of the
zamba morada (the β rufinervis variety of C. ovata) in these excessively
damp forests, we began the descent again. Nothing struck me so much as
the extraordinary variety of forms and shapes in which nature works in
these tropical forests. One is amazed to see enormous trees with their
gigantic roots separating at least twenty feet above the ground, and forming
perfect Gothic arches. In one place a giant of the forest had grown on the
edge of a ridge of rock, and the roots had combined with the stone to form a
spacious vaulted cave large enough to hold ten men comfortably. Beautiful

variegated leaves of Colocasiæ, and a scarlet-flowered Justitia, with bright
purple leaves, united with a profusion of ferns to ornament the opening,
while some tree-ferns, and a chinilla, the most slender and elegant of the
palms of the forest, guarded the entrance. Rays of the sun struggled through
a network of bamboos on an opposite bank, and penetrated into the recesses
of the cavern. While I gazed on this lovely scene, the plaintive mournful
notes of the little "Alma perdida" reached me from the boughs of the great
tree. This is a small bird of the finch tribe, of which there are two kinds, one
black, the other chesnut with black wings. Their loud clear note is
peculiarly sad. Such peeps as these into the secret beauties of the innermost
forest recesses are rewards for many hours of toil and disappointment.
Late in the evening I returned to the tent dead tired, sodden and wet to the
skin, covered with moss and fungus, bitten all over by mosquitos, stung by
a hornet, and with hands sliced in pieces by the sharp blades of a Panicum
called challi-challi, but with only three plants of the valuable variety of C.
ovata. It is most provoking that only the seedlings of all the worthless
species of Chinchonæ should be in great abundance; the reason is of course
connected with the general felling of the trees of valuable species by the
cascarilleros, years ago.
There was little rain during the night, and on May 6th we commenced the
search of a range of forest on the south-west side of the Yana-mayu ravine,
where we found a large supply of plants of C. Calisaya. At a height of 500
feet above the river there was a ridge of rock jutting out from the forest-
covered sides of the ravine. In this spot the ground was not nearly so thickly
covered with vegetation; there were no palms, tree-ferns, or plants requiring
extreme moisture, and young plants received shade from taller trees, while
they also enjoyed plenty of sunshine through the spreading branches. The
most abundant plants were Melastomas, huaturus, and Panica, which climb
amongst the branches to a height of thirty feet and upwards. These afford
but very slight shade, and below there is an undergrowth of ferns,
Colocasiæ, and young plants. In different parts of this ridge we collected
124 young C. Calisaya plants, most of them root-shoots, and a few
seedlings. There were also two young trees bearing capsules. The C.
Calisaya plants were all growing out of the moss which covered the rock to
a thickness of eight inches or a foot, together with beautiful Hymenophylla,
[338]
but there was scarcely any soil. The roots spread along the face of the

rock, which is a metamorphic clay slate, unfossiliferous, slightly micaceous,
and ferruginous;[339] and is easily broken up into thin layers by the growth
of the plants. In this situation the C. Calisayas were more numerous than in
any other we have yet seen.
Two bears had made themselves a comfortable and very carefully prepared
bed on the summit of the ridge, whence there was an extensive bird's-eye
view of the windings of the river, and of the forest-covered mountains
beyond. On the opposite mountains there were two or three long bare places
—tremendous landslips, not unfrequent occurrences in the forest. There is a
sudden crash, when masses of rock, huge trees, and underwood come
rushing down in one fell irresistible swoop. A beautiful white Stephanotis
was climbing over the rocks. We returned to the camp in a heavy fall of
rain, after a very severe but successful day's work, and found that both the
Indians and ourselves had come to the end of our provisions, and that
Andres Vilca Lad not returned.
On May 7th we rose to find only a few bread-crumbs in the corner of our
bag, and, as famine was thus knocking at the door, it became necessary to
beat a hasty retreat. The plants were carefully packed in layers of moss, and
sown up in two bundles of Russia matting, which we had brought with us,
containing about 200 chinchona-plants. In the absence of Andres Vilca, Mr.
Weir showed much zeal and energy in undertaking to carry one of these
bundles, four and a half feet in circumference, over the slippery and
dangerous road, in doing which he fell into the river.
On the morning of May 7th, when we commenced our retreat, it was
pouring with rain, and the forest was saturated, our bodies sodden, our
hands crumpled like washerwomen's, and our powder damp. We had to
wade across many little streams falling into the Tambopata. The first, after
leaving the Yana-mayu, was called Churu-bamba, because it empties itself
just opposite an island (churu, in Quichua). The next stream was Uma-yuyu,
uma being water in Aymara, and yuyu a plant with a large cordate dock-like
leaf, used in chupes. Thus every little stream and hill had received a name
from the cascarilleros of former times, from some peculiarity of position or
other similar circumstance, which would easily impress it on the memory.
What an improvement on the nomenclature in new countries discovered by
Englishmen, where we have an endless succession of Jones's rivers, Smith's
mountains, and Brown's islands! Near the banks of these streams there are

very large snail-shells, and Martinez described the snails as "large kind of
hornets, all made of flesh, which do not sting." He called them Mamachuru,
or "Mother of the Island."
On reaching the precipice of Ccasa-sani we scrambled along its slippery
sides, in the pouring rain, to collect plants of C. Calisaya, and obtained
twenty-one good ones. They were growing in a similar situation to those
above the Yana-mayu, in company with a number of Aceite de Maria trees
(Elæagia Mariæ),[340] and completely exposed to the sun, without any
shade whatever. Passing the precipice, we continued our damp weary
journey, Martinez pointing out everything that was noticeable by the way,
especially the palo santo (Guaiacum sanctum), a very tall tree, the stem 60
to 70 feet high, without a branch, with a few short horizontally spreading
branches at the summit, with pinnate leaves. When the bark is cut, a host of
stinging ants come forth. There was also a plant, which he called achira
silvestre (Canna achira?) with a rhizome, and bunches of rank red berries.
We passed through groves of paccays (Mimosa Inga), a creeping legume
with bright flowers, wild coca, many Lasionemas, with their large coarse
leaves drooping over the river, and a melastomaceous plant with a crimson
fruit. After having been nearly carried away by the force of the Challuma
river, in wading across it, I reached Gironda's hospitable shed, after a
journey of more than thirty miles, in pouring rain.
On May 8th I left Gironda's clearing, with Martinez, in order to examine the
forests above the hut of Tambopata, for plants of C. Calisaya. Here, in
almost exactly a similar ridge of rock to those which proved so prolific of
these precious plants on the heights above the Yana-mayu, and on the
precipice of Ccasa-sani, I found a number of plants of Calisaya morada (C.
Boliviana, Wedd.), growing out of moss, amongst the rocks, with scarcely
any soil. They were overshadowed by numerous trees, called by Martinez
"Compadre[341] de Calisaya" (Gomphosia chlorantha, Wedd.), one of the
most graceful and beautiful of the chinchonaceous plants, with deliciously
sweet flowers. Dr. Weddell exactly describes it as rising without a branch
above all the trees of the forest, and then spreading out in the form of a
chandelier, and attracting the attention of the traveller from afar. The bark
of this tree, with its transverse cracks, can with difficulty be distinguished
from that of C. Calisaya. Whilst climbing amongst these rocks, I nearly put
my hand on a small viper of a most venomous kind, 18 inches long, with a

black skin marked with yellow rings, edged with white. In the evening we
returned to Gironda's clearing at Lenco-huayccu, with eighty-seven
chinchona-plants, sixteen of Calisaya fina (C. Calisaya, var. α vera), and
sixty-nine of Calisaya morada (C. Boliviana, Wedd.).
We found Gironda, on whom we were now entirely dependent for food,
very little better off than ourselves. His supplies consisted of maize, yucas,
aracachas, chuñus or frozen potatoes, and quispiñas, made of boiled quinoa-
grains dried in the sun, ground, and preserved as little gritty hard lumps. He
also had some achocches, which are poor watery cucurbitaceous things,
squeezed, and served up in chupes. No salt.
Though frequently baffled, and more than once exposed to much risk in
making vain attempts, I had never given up my determination to have at
least one day's work on the right bank of the Tambopata. For some days the
volume of water had been gradually decreasing, but it was still 40 yards
across, and rushing with great velocity over a ford which Gironda believed
to exist a little below Lenco-huayccu. I stripped and went in, with the stem
of a young chonta palm as a support, but, on approaching the mid-channel,
the water came up above my middle, the large pebbles slipped and rolled
under my feet, and for some time it was with the utmost difficulty that I
held my own; but finally we all reached the right bank in safety.
We were rewarded by a very successful day's work. After ascending the
steep ravine, through the zone of bamboos, to a height of 400 feet, we
reached a ridge of rocks, where we collected 109 good chinchona-plants of
the Calisaya morada species. The leaves of the chinchonæ, and more
especially the Calisaya species, are invariably perforated by holes in every
direction. Much of this mischief is the work of caterpillars, but it may partly
be attributed to the effects of drip from the trees which overshadow them. In
this forest there were trees of great height, without a branch for a distance
of 50 or 60 feet from the ground, which Martinez called canela. The inner
bark had a strong taste of cinnamon, and they use it to scent and flavour
their huarapu, or fermented juice of the sugar-cane. On many trees, in the
forest, there are immense masses of earth fixed on the trunk, called
cotocuro. They consist of exceedingly thin layers, one added to another
until they are sometimes of an immense size, eight to ten feet high, and
three or four feet across. They are made by myriads and myriads of small
yellowish lice, which swarm between each thin layer.

In the evening we incurred the same risks in wading across the river again,
but arrived without any accident at Gironda's clearing, where we now had a
depôt of 436 chinchona-plants.
On May 10th I resolved to make a search on the heights immediately above
Lenco-huayccu, called Gloriapata, for the valuable red-nerved variety of C.
ovata. I first paid a visit to the poor little Indian wife and children of
Martinez at Huaccay-churu, in a hut of split bamboos, surrounded by
aracachas, yucas, camotes with their white convolvulus flowers, plantains,
frijoles or beans, and the Amaranthus caudatus, which they call jataccu and
cuimi, using the leaves in chupes. We then struck right up the steep declivity
of Gloriapata, making our way with difficulty through the dense bamboo
thickets, which, in spite of their obstinate obstructiveness, make excellent
cisterns, and their joints will always afford a good drink of cool water. For
some time we followed a pathway made by a herd of peccaries, until it
ended at the mouth of a cave which, though low, appeared to be of
considerable size. These peccaries come down in herds of thirty or forty to
the clearings, during the night, and do much damage amongst the roots.
Some are black and white, and others of a leaden colour.
After ascending for several hundred feet we came to trees of C. pubescens,
which appear to belong to a zone just below, but in contact with the C.
ovatæ. Their leaves were eaten by a caterpillar, red at both ends, with a
horn, red stripe down the back, and red spots on each side, body striped
green and yellow. Some hundred feet higher there were large trees of both
varieties of C. ovata, growing in very moist parts of the forest, where the
trees were covered with Hymenophylla and dripping moss, the former a
sure sign of extreme humidity. The ground was covered with fallen leaves
to a great depth, and there was a good deal of shade. We collected seven
plants of C. ovata, var. α vulgaris, and eleven of C. ovata, var. β rufinervis,
five of which were strong healthy seedlings, the remainder being suckers,
with spreading roots of their own. With the C. ovatæ grows the Carhua-
carhua chica (Cascarilla bullata, Wedd.).
In descending from these heights I came to a tree which Martinez called
copal, but the trunk rose to such an extraordinary height, without branches,
that I was unable to make out the appearance of the leaves or flowers. The
bark was covered with a milk-white fragrant resin, of a nature analogous to

gum thus or gum elemi. The forest also abounds in vegetable and bees' wax,
and in many varieties of gums and resins.
On May 11th, as we had now collected a sufficient number of chinchona-
plants, including those of the shrub Calisaya which we intended to take up
on our return across the pajonales, to fill the Wardian cases at Islay, Mr.
Weir began to make up the plants in layers, with plenty of moss between
them, ready for sewing up in the Russia matting. Having heard that a young
man, a nephew of Gironda's, had planted a C. Calisaya in a small clearing a
few leagues up the ravine, I went to examine it. The clearing was on a steep
declivity sloping down to the river, and had been partly planted with coffee
and coca by its solitary occupant. The tree was a Calisaya morada, having
been a root-shoot twelve inches high when it was planted in January, 1859.
It is now seven feet high, six inches and four-tenths in circumference round
the trunk, and three feet three inches across the longest branches from one
side of the stem to the other. It was growing on the side of a steep hill, quite
open to the south, east, and south-east, at the edge of a clearing, while
mountains covered with forest rise up close behind it, on the north and west,
to a great height. It is planted in a soil consisting of stiff yellowish loam,
composed of vegetable matter, mixed with the disintegration of the soft clay
slate. This is probably the only cultivated chinchona-tree in Peru. In
returning to Lenco-huayccu I saw a flock of Alectors, large birds analogous
to turkeys, and many parrots; and on my arrival I found that Mr. Weir had
already made up the chinchona-plants, in four Russia-matting bundles,
ready to start for Sandia on the following morning.

CHAPTER XVI.
GENERAL REMARKS ON THE CHINCHONA-PLANTS OF
CARAVAYA.
The range of my observations in the chinchona-forests extended for a
distance of forty miles along the western side of the ravine of Tambopata,
and one day's journey on the eastern side. This region is covered, with few
exceptions, from the banks of the river to the summits of the mountain-
peaks, by a dense tropical forest. The formation is everywhere, as I have
before said, an unfossiliferous, micaceous, slightly ferruginous,
metamorphic clay-slate, with veins of quartz, and the streams all contain
more or less gold-dust. When exposed to the weather this clay-slate quickly
turns to a sticky yellow mud,[342] and lower down it is very brittle, and
easily breaks off in thin layers. The soil formed by the disintegration of the
rock, mixed with decayed vegetable matter, is a heavy yellowish brown
loam, but there is very little of it on the rocky sides of the ravine, and no
depth of soil except on the few level spaces and gentle slopes near the
banks of the river. Mr. Forbes, in speaking of the extensive range of Silurian
formation, of which the Tambopata hills form a part, attributes the frequent
occurrence of veins of auriferous quartz, usually associated with iron
pyrites, to the proximity of granite, whence they have been injected into the
Silurian slates. In the cooling and solidification of granite the quartz is the
last mineral element to crystallize and become solid, and he suggests that,
during the cooling, the consequent expansion due to the crystallization of
the constituents has forced the quartz and gold, still fluid, into the fissures
of the neighbouring rocks, and so formed the auriferous quartz veins. These
are only developed in the slate rocks, which, when such veins occur, must
be at no great distance from granitic eruptions, either visible, or such as
may be inferred to exist.[343]
The chinchona forests which I examined in the Tambopata valley are
between lat. 13° and 12° 30´ S. The elevation above the sea, on the banks of
the river, is 4200 feet, while the loftiest crests of the mountains which
overhang it on either side attain an elevation of about 5000 feet. In the

preceding chapter I have given a general idea of the nature of the climate
throughout the year, and my stay was too short to enable me to give any
more detailed information for most of the months; but I did not fail to take
careful observations while I remained in the valley, which will give an
accurate idea of the climate during the month of May. During the fourteen
first days of May the results were as follows:—

The wind generally blows up the valley during the daytime, when the
clouds ascend, to be condensed by the colder night-air. Thus we almost
invariably had rain at night, generally in a heavy fall, but occasionally in
small drizzle, which usually continued until the forenoon. At noon it cleared
up for a fine afternoon, and only on two occasions did we have rain
throughout the day. The valley, and the course of the river, bear N.N.W. and
S.S.E.
The three valuable species of chinchonæ found in Tambopata grow in
distinct zones as regards elevation, together with other chinchonaceous
plants, up the declivitous sides of the ravine.
From the banks of the river to about 400 feet up the mountains, the forest
consists of bamboos, several genera of palms, tree-ferns, paccays, and other
Leguminosæ, Lasionemas, Cascarilla Caruas, and the Chinchona
micrantha, together with the chinchonaceous tree called by Martinez
Huiñapu. This is the lower zone. The C. micrantha, called by Martinez
verde paltaya and motosolo,[344] was in flower in May. I met with it
constantly in moist low places; and several trees, with their very large ovate
leaves, and bunches of white fragrant flowers, were actually drooped over
the waters of the river. It produces a good quality of bark, and I collected
seven fine seedling-plants of this species.
From 400 to 600 feet above the river is the middle zone, and that which
contains the Calisaya-plants. The vegetation chiefly consists of huge balsam
and India-rubber trees, huaturus, Melastomaceæ, Aceite de Maria (Elæagia
Mariæ), Compadre de Calisaya (Gomphosia chlorantha), and occasional

trees of Cascarilla Carua, which straggle up from the lower zone. Here the
young trees of C. Calisaya grow in great abundance, but the cascarilleros
had certainly done their work well in former years, for every single tree of
any size had been felled, though many of the young root-shoots were 20
and 30 feet high, and covered with capsule-bearing panicles. These precious
trees were most plentiful under the ridges of rock which crop out at
intervals, where the ground was not so thickly covered with vegetation, and
where the young plants obtained plenty of light and air, while they were
partially protected from the direct rays of the sun by the spreading branches
of taller trees. The Calisaya-trees, on the Ccasa-sani precipice, however,
had no shade whatever. They were covered with capsules. I observed that
when the young plants of C. Calisaya grew up the sides of the rocks, and
actually came in contact, they often threw out roots from their stems or
branches. The C. Calisaya is by far the most beautiful tree of these forests.
Its leaves are of a dark rich green, smooth and shining, with crimson veins,
and a green petiole edged with red, and the deliciously sweet bunches of
flowers are white, with rose-coloured laciniæ, edged with white marginal
hairs. But it was evident that we did not see them to advantage in these
forests; they ran up tall and straggling, as if seeking the sun, and seemed to
pant for more light and air, and a deeper and richer soil. Martinez told me
that, when the Calisaya is much overshadowed by other trees, it loses the
crimson colour on the petioles and veins of the leaves; and that fifteen
leagues lower down the river (I suppose at about four thousand feet above
the sea) the leaves of the Calisaya morada become quite bright purple all
over the under side.
Gironda and Martinez told me that there were three kinds of Calisaya-trees;
namely, the Calisaya fina (C. Calisaya, α vera, Wedd.), the Calisaya
morada (C. Boliviana, Wedd.), and the tall Calisaya verde. They added that
the latter was a very large tree, without any red colour in the veins of the
leaves, and generally growing far down the valleys, almost in the open
plain. A tree of this variety yields six or seven quintals of bark, while the
Calisaya fina only yields three or four quintals; and Gironda declared that
he had seen one, in the province of Munecas in Bolivia, which had yielded
ten quintals of tabla or trunk-bark alone.
My remarks respecting the position of C. Calisaya trees, on the sides of the
ravine, only apply to the forest below Lenco-huayccu; above that position

they are not found so high up the sides of the mountains, probably owing to
their greater proximity to the snowy region of the cordillera. The nearest
snow may be about forty miles from Lenco-huayccu, as the crow flies. I
also found that the Calisaya fina was most abundant about the Yana-mayu,
while the variety called morada was plentiful in the upper part of the
ravine. But it was very difficult for an unpractised eye to detect the slightest
difference between these two varieties, until their leaves were placed side
by side, when that of the morada appeared to be just a shade darker green.
Dr. Weddell has, in his work, named the Calisaya morada, as a distinct
species, C. Boliviana, but I understand that he is now of opinion that it is
scarcely more than a variety of the Calisaya vera, its bark being very
generally collected and sold as that of the latter. No plants which I saw in
the forests could be compared, for vigour and regularity of growth, with the
tree which I have already described as having been planted on the edge of a
clearing; and I think this tends to prove that plenty of light and air is
essential to the vigorous growth of the C. Calisaya, so long as there is a
sufficient supply of moisture, and protection from the direct rays of a
scorching sun for the first year or two. The C. Calisaya is undoubtedly the
most delicate and sensitive of all the species of chinchona.
Above the region occupied by C. Calisayas, in the forests, is the third or
upper zone, from 600 to 800 feet above the river. Here, amidst very dense
humid vegetation, covered with ferns and mosses, are first met the trees of
C. pubescens, and Pimentelia glomerata, and a little higher up are
numerous trees of the two valuable species of C. ovata, namely, α vulgaris
and β rufinervis, with very large ovate leaves, the latter being
distinguishable by the deep red of the leaf-veins. The Cascarilla bullata
grows with them, and extends still higher up the sides of the mountains. The
bark of the β rufinervis variety is habitually used to adulterate the Calisaya,
which it very closely resembles, and is called zamba morada by the
cascarilleros, while the α vulgaris variety is known as morada ordinaria.
Martinez said that the zamba morada was very tenacious of life, and that,
having once thrown away a branch amongst some moss, he found it a
fortnight afterwards, still throwing out shoots. Both varieties of C. ovata
yield valuable barks.
Above the zone of the C. ovatas, and nearer the snowy cordillera (for lower
down the valley the forests cover the crests of the mountains), commence

the open grassy pajonales, which I have already described. Here the
formation is exactly the same as that in the valley of Tambopata; and the
vegetation of the thickets which fill the gullies, and are interspersed over
the grassy glades, consists of huaturus, Gaultheriæ, Vacciniæ, Lasiandræ,
and other Melastomaceæ, Chinchonæ, palms, and tree-ferns. The
chinchonæ consist of C. Caravayensis, and of the shrubby variety of C.
Calisaya, which is called ychu cascarilla by the natives. The shrub
Calisaya (β Josephiana) is generally from six and a half to ten feet high, but
I met with an individual plant which I believe to belong to this variety,
which had attained a height of eighteen and a half feet; and this inclined me
to think, at the time, that this shrubby form could not even be considered as
a variety of the normal C. Calisaya, and that its more lowly habit was
merely due to the higher elevation and more rigorous climate in which it
grew. Dr. Weddell remarks that its appearance varies very much according
to the situation in which it grows, and that the colour and texture of the
different parts change according to the amount of exposure.
I found the shrub Calisaya in flower in the end of April.
We crossed two pajonal regions, one above the valley of Sandia, and the
other between the valleys of Sandia and Tambopata. The height of the
former above the level of the sea was 5422 feet, and of the latter 5600 feet.
The time of my visit was the end of April and beginning of May, and I
traversed both regions twice, so that an abstract of my meteorological
observations will give a tolerably correct idea of the climate at that time of
the year; although they only extend over the 25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th of
April, and a few days in the middle of May.
Mean temperature 59° Fahr.
Mean minimum at night 52
Highest temperature observed 67
Lowest temperature observed 49
Entire range 18
Mean of the dew-point 53.6(dry bulb as above).
In the early morning there were generally masses of white clouds lying in
the ravines, and in the afternoon a thick mist drifted across the pajonal, with
drizzling rain.

The shrub-Calisayas, which were growing plentifully by the roadside,
above the valley of Sandia, were entirely exposed, without any shade
whatever, and the hill on which they grew had a western aspect. There is a
difference in elevation of about 1000 feet between the locality where we
saw the shrub-Calisayas, and the region of the normal tree-Calisaya in the
Tambopata forests; and the shrubby form is also many leagues nearer the
snows of the cordillera. These circumstances are alone sufficient to account
for the difference in the habit of these two forms of C. Calisaya; and there
seems to be no doubt that the barks of the shrubby varieties of chinchonæ
are specially good when their stunted growth is owing to the altitude of the
locality.
Our collection of chinchona-plants in the Tambopata forests, and on the
pajonales, was completed on May 14th, as follows:—
No. of Plants.
C. Calisaya (calisaya fina) 237
C. Boliviana (calisaya morada) 185
C. ovata, var. α vulgaris (zamba ordinaria) 9
C. ovata, var. β rufinervis (zamba morada) 16
C. micrantha (verde paltaya) 7
C. Calisaya, var. β Josephiana (ychu cascarilla) 75
Total 529

CHAPTER XVII.
JOURNEY FROM THE FORESTS OF TAMBOPATA TO THE PORT OF
ISLAY.
Establishment of the plants in Wardian cases.

On May 11th Mr. Weir completed the packing of the plants, and we were
preparing for the journey up into the pajonales on the following day, having
previously fixed on the Calisaya-trees from which we intended to obtain a
supply of seeds in August, when Gironda received an ominous letter from
Don José Mariano Bobadilla, the Alcalde Municipal of Quiaca, ordering
him to prevent me from taking away a single plant; to arrest both myself
and the person who had acted as my guide; and to send us to Quiaca.[345] I
found that an outcry against my proceedings had been raised by Don
Manuel Martel, the red-faced man whom I had met on the road to Sandia,
and that the people of Sandia and Quiaca had been excited by assertions
that the exportation of cascarilla-seeds would prove the ruin of themselves
and their descendants. Gironda, though friendly and hospitable, feared that
the finger of scorn would be pointed at him, as the man who had allowed
the stranger to injure his countrymen. He wanted to throw away all the
plants, except a few which we might take without observation, and, if we
had not kept constant guard over them, he would have carried his views into
effect without consulting us. I saw that in an immediate retreat was the only
hope of saving the plants; and I explained to Gironda that his views were
incorrect, and that, if necessary, we were prepared to defend our property by
force.
At the same time I addressed a letter to Don José Bobadilla, stating that his
interference was an unwarrantable step which I would not tolerate; and that,
as I understood the provisions of the Constitution of 1856, the functions of
the Juntas Municipales were purely consultative and legislative, conferring
no executive powers whatever, concluding with an expression of my sense
of his patriotic zeal, and of regret that it should be accompanied by such
misguided and lamentable ignorance of the true interests of his country.
Nevertheless, I felt the imperative necessity of immediate flight, especially

as I obtained information from an Indian of Quiaca that Martel's son and his
party, who had brought the letter, were only the vanguard of a body of
mestizos, who were coming down the valley to seize me, and destroy my
collection of chinchona-plants.
Early in the morning of May 12th we took leave of our kind and hospitable
old friend Gironda, without whose assistance we should have been exposed
to much suffering from want of food; and of the honest forester Martinez. I
expressed my sincere regret to Gironda that any misunderstanding should
have arisen at the close of our acquaintance, and promised Martinez to
obtain guarantees that he should suffer no molestation on account of the
services he had rendered to me. The most melancholy part of travelling is
the parting with friends, never to meet again.
After a laborious ascent through the forest we found Martel's son and his
party stationed on the verge of the pajonal. They were evidently waiting for
us, but did not attempt to impede our passage, and a display of my revolver,
although it may have been very efficacious, was perfectly harmless, as the
powder was quite damp. The young Martel asked the Indians in Quichua
how they dared to carry the plants, and called after them that they would be
seized at Sandia; but he was civil to me, and we continued our journey
peaceably, though full of apprehensions at the turn affairs might take on our
arrival at Sandia.
We had to cross the same country as we had traversed in our journey to the
Tambopata valley; and, in skirting along the verge of a ridge, near the
Marun-kunka, the cargo-mule fell headlong down a precipice of twenty
feet, into a dense mass of trees and underwood. We could see the poor
beast's legs kicking in the air, but it was long before we could reach her, and
more than two hours before a circuitous path could be cut and cleared away
to extricate her. We encamped on the pajonal, and next day, after a very
laborious walk of twelve hours, we reached the Ypara tambo, in the valley
of Sandia, Mr. Weir having collected twenty plants of Calisaya Josephiana
on the way. On May 14th we continued our journey towards Sandia, and
collected fifty-five more plants of Calisaya Josephiana on the pajonal of
Paccay-samana, chiefly seedlings.
The water of the numerous cascades is very refreshing, and as beautiful in
its limpid transparency as when it dashes down the rocks in dazzling

streams of purest white. We were now too in the land of luscious oranges
and chirimoyas. The commonest bird in the valley of Sandia is the cuchu, a
kind of large crow, with a shrill weak caw. It has a long yellow bill,
greenish-brown body and wings, rump-feathers red, and a long bright
yellow tail, with a black line down the centre. The cuchus walk about the
fields eating the young maize, and perch upon the adjoining trees.
Humming-birds are numerous, and very beautiful; I saw also a little cream-
coloured hawk, and lordly eagles were soaring over the ravine, having their
eyries in the inaccessible parts of the lofty cliffs. Approaching Sandia in the
early morning of May 15th, I came upon many groups of Indians, with their
wives and daughters, who had slept in the road, on their way to and from
their coca-harvests. They were boiling their breakfasts of potatoes over little
fires of dry sticks, which crackled pleasantly. Grand precipices towered up
on either side of the valley, and in the bottom, where the bright river was
murmuring on its way, there was a hut in a field of maize, surrounded by
the drooping crimson flowers of the "love-lies-bleeding," with a girl in a
bright blue woollen dress sitting at the door.
On arriving at Sandia I went through the ceremony of paying off my
Indians, and taking leave; and Vilca, Ccuri, and Quispi returned to their
homes. I formed a very high opinion of the Indian character from my
experience with these my fellow-labourers. Suspicious they certainly were
at times, and with good reason after the treatment they have usually met
with from white men, but willing, hard-working, intelligent, good-
humoured, always ready to help each other, quick in forming the
encampments, conversing quietly and without noise round the camp-fires,
and always kind to animals; altogether very efficient and companionable
people.
I found things at Sandia in a very alarming state; most of the people had
been excited by letters from Quiaca to prevent me from continuing my
journey with the chinchona-plants, and a sort of league had been made with
other Juntas Municipales to protect their interests, and prevent foreigners
from injuring them. The tactics which were adopted would have succeeded
in their object, but for a great piece of good luck. I was prevented from
hiring mules, except to go to Crucero, where I knew Martel was stationed,
with the intention of raising obstacles to my further progress until the plants
had been killed by the frost. I was in despair, and meditated setting out on

foot, with all the four bundles of plants on my own mule, when Don
Manuel Mena told me confidentially that, if I would give him my gun, he
would get an Indian to supply beasts, and accompany me to Vilque, on the
road to Arequipa. I willingly agreed to this bargain, and sent Mr. Weir and
Pablo to Crucero, so as to throw Martel off the scent, while I hurried the
plants down to the coast by the most unfrequented line of country.
An alarm had, however, been spread through all the villages bordering on
the chinchona forests, both in Caravaya and Bolivia, and I ascertained that
effectual measures had been taken to prevent my return for seeds in August.
Martel had also written to the towns and villages between Crucero and
Arequipa, to put obstacles in the way of my retreat, so that I found it
necessary to avoid entering any town or village, and to shape a direct
compass-course over the cordilleras from Sandia to Vilque. I also
reluctantly abandoned my intention of returning to collect seeds in August,
and made the best arrangements in my power to obtain a supply, through a
reliable agent, in the ensuing year. Martel was a mischievous meddling
fellow, but the members of the Juntas Municipales may have been
influenced by misguided zeal for the interests of their country, and for the
preservation of a strict monopoly in a trade which has ceased to exist, for no
bark is now-exported from Caravaya.
In the morning of May 17th I left Sandia on my own trusty mule, driving
two others with the plants before me, and accompanied by their owner on
foot, an Indian named Angelino Paco, a middle-aged respectable-looking
man, who had been one of the Alcaldes of Sandia in 1859. Mr. Weir started
for Arequipa on the same day, by way of Crucero. Passing through Cuyo-
cuyo without stopping, I continued to ascend a mountain-gorge, by the side
of the stream, but Paco had never been out of the valley of Sandia before,
and was useless as a guide. All along the banks of the stream there were
square pools dammed up and filled with heaps of potatoes and ocas, placed
there to freeze into chuñus, the principal food of the Indians when in the
forests, or on the coffee or coca estates. Higher up the gorge all signs of
habitation cease, though there are still abandoned tiers of ancient terraces,
and the mountain scenery is quite magnificent. Night coming on without a
moon, I halted under a splendid range of frowning black cliffs, and
succeeded in pitching the tent in the dark, but there was no fuel, and on
opening the leathern bag I found that my little stock of food and lucifer-

matches had been stolen in Sandia. I was thus entirely dependent for
existence on Paco's parched maize, which proved uncommonly hard fare.
The cold was intense during the night, and penetrated through the tent and
clothes to the very marrow.
At daybreak Paco and I loaded the mules, and continued to ascend the gorge
by the side of the river of Sandia, which becomes a noisy little rill, and
finally falls, as a thin silvery cascade, over a black cliff. Reaching the
summit of the snowy cordillera of Caravaya, we commenced the journey
over lofty grass-covered plains, where the ground was covered with stiff
white frost. There were flocks of vicuñas on the plain, and huallatas, large
white geese with brown wings and red legs, on the banks of the streams; but
as we advanced even these signs of life ceased, and, when night closed in, I
looked round on the desolate scene, and thought that to make a direct cut
across the cordilleras to Vilque by compass-course was a very disagreeable
way of travelling, though, in this case, a necessary one. I had been eleven
hours in the saddle, when Paco found an abandoned shepherd's hut, built of
loose stones, three feet high, and thatched with ychu grass. The minimum
thermometer, during the night, was as low as 20° Fahr. by my side.
At daylight on May 19th Paco complained of having to rise before the sun,
although he must have been half-frozen. The mules had escaped, and we
were fully three hours in catching them. The ground was covered with a
crisp frost, and during the forenoon we were traveling over the same lofty
wilderness, consisting of grassy undulating hills, with ridges of cliffs, and
huge boulders here and there. The view was bounded on the north and east
by the splendid snowy peaks of the Caravayan range, and to the north-west
by those of Vilcañota. The only living things, in these wild solitudes, are the
graceful vicuñas, which peered at us with their long necks from behind the
grassy slopes, the guanacos, the biscaches burrowing amongst the rocks,
and the huallatas or large geese on the margins of streams or pools of water.
At about noon we began to descend a rocky dangerous cuesta, where there
was much trouble with the mules, which were constantly attempting to lie
down and roll with the plants. The steep descent led into the plain of Putina,
which was covered with flocks of sheep, with small farms, shaded by
clumps of queñua-trees, nestling under the sandstone cliffs which bound the
plain. Crossing another range, we reached a swampy plain, with sheep and
cattle scattered over it, and stopped at an abandoned shepherd's hut, the

exact counterpart of last night's lodging. I had been ten hours in the saddle,
and was faint from hunger, but had to go supperless to bed. Paco was nearly
breaking down from a bad wound in his foot, but I bandaged it with lint,
and he was able to proceed. He had an alco or Peruvian dog with him,
which was devotedly attached to its master. These dogs are something like
Newfoundlands, only much smaller, generally black or white, and seldom
bark.
On the morrow the way, for the first two hours, led over grassy hills
covered with flocks of sheep, with shepherd-lads playing on pincullus, or
flutes, the sound of which came floating pleasantly on the air, from every
direction far and near. We passed several blue mountain-lakes, with islands
of rushes, and many ducks. From 10 A.M. until sunset the whole day was
occupied in crossing a vast plain covered with sheep and cattle, and just
after sunset we reached a small estancia or sheep-farm. It was occupied by
a large family of good-tempered Indians, whose eyes glistened when I
offered them a cesto of coca which I had with me, in exchange for
unlimited supplies of milk and cheese. It was pleasant to see their happiness
at the acquisition of this treasure, which was shared by the children and
dogs. The place was full of guinea-pigs, which are considered great
delicacies. The extreme hunger from which I had suffered since leaving
Sandia was here relieved by plenty of milk, cheese, and parched maize.
Every night I had wrapped the Russian mats, which enveloped the plants, in
warm ponchos, and the tent. The crooked wriggling queñua-branches,
which formed the roof of the hut, looked like snakes in the dim light after
sunset.
At sunrise on May 21st there was a white frost, and the deep blue sky was
without a single cloud. Suddenly an immense flock of flamingos, called
parihuanas[346] in Quichua, rose in a long column from the margin of the
river of Azangaro, which flows through the plain. These birds, with their
crimson wings, and rose-coloured necks and bodies, whirring up in a long
spiral column, formed one of the most beautiful sights I ever saw.
Crossing a range of rocky hills, we entered a plain, which extended to the
banks of a large lake, with the little town of Arapa built along the shore.
Dark mountains rise up immediately in the rear. I believe that I am the first
English traveller who has ever visited this lake, and M. de Castelnau, who
obtained some information respecting it at Puno, says that it is not to be

found in any map.[347] Along the shores there were long rows of flamingos,
standing like a gigantic regiment, with a few skirmishers thrown out
fishing. There were also huallatas, ibises, ducks, and a stout-built stunted
sort of crane. Journeying on, we began to cross a vast plain which extends
for many leagues round the north-west corner of lake Titicaca, and is dotted
with walled estancias and flocks of sheep. At length we reached the ford
over the river of Azangaro, in sight of the little village of Achaya, to the
left. The water came above the mules' bellies, and, crossing half a mile of
swampy ground, we came to another ford over the river of Pucara. The two
rivers, uniting just below Achaya, form the Ramiz, the largest feeder of lake
Titicaca. We continued our way for many hours over the plain, until we
reached an Indian's hut long after dark, having been twelve hours in the
saddle, at the slow tedious pace of a tired mule. The cargo-mules had
played every kind of vicious trick throughout the day, running off in
different directions at every opportunity, and constantly trying to roll.
Starting at daybreak on the 22nd, we forded the river of Lampa, crossed the
road between Lampa and Puno, passed over a rocky cordillera and a wide
plain, and reached the little town of Vilque by four in the afternoon. The
place presented a very different appearance from the time when we passed
through it in March, on our way to Puno. It was now the time of the great
yearly fair, when buyers and sellers from every part of South America flock
to the little sierra town. This great gathering was first established in the
time of the Spaniards, and it is not improbable that the Jesuits, who once
possessed the great sheep-farm of Yanarico near Vilque, and who always
looked well after the improvement of their property, may have been the
great promoters of the fair.
Outside the town there were thousands of mules from Tucuman waiting for
Peruvian arrieros to buy them. In the plaza were booths full of every
description of Manchester and Birmingham goods; in more retired places
were gold-dust and coffee from Caravaya, silver from the mines, bark and
chocolate from Bolivia, Germans with glass-ware and woollen knitted
work, French modistes, Italians, Quichua and Aymara Indians in their
various picturesque costumes—in fact, all nations and tongues. In the plaza,
too, there were excellent cafés and dining-rooms, all under canvas; but
house-rent was exorbitant, and a lodging was not to be had for love or
money. There was much complaint of the injury done to trade by the

threatened war with Bolivia, and the edict of President Linares, prohibiting
all intercourse with Peru.
I placed the bundles of plants, carefully wrapped round with ponchos, in a
barley-field occupied by arrieros, covered over with their warm aparejos;
but the thermometer was down to 23° Fahr. in the night.
In the afternoon of the 23rd I left Vilque for the sheep-farm of Taya-taya, in
company with Dr. Don Camillo Chaves the superintendent. The road was
crowded with people coming from Arequipa to the fair at Vilque: native
shopkeepers, English merchants coming to arrange for their supplies of
wool, and a noisy company of arrieros on their way to buy mules, and
armed to the teeth with horse-pistols, old guns, and huge daggers, to defend
their money-bags. Many of them were good-looking fellows, the older ones
bearing signs of hard drinking.
The sheep-farm of Taya-taya,[348] four leagues from Vilque, is a large range
of mud-plastered buildings with thatched roofs, built round a large patio, on
a bleak plain surrounded by mountains. In the morning a flock of forty
llamas were being laden with packs of wool in the patio, at which they were
making bitter lamentations. We started early on May 24th, and encountered
a cold gale of wind, blowing in icy squalls over the cordillera. I reached the
posthouse of Cuevillas in the night, a distance of 45 miles; got as far as the
posthouse of Pati the next day; encountered a tremendous gale of wind on
the skirts of the volcano of Arequipa, but descended to the valley of
Cangallo on the 26th; and rode into the city of Arequipa, with my plants, on
the morning of the 27th of May. Mr. Weir arrived from Crucero on the 29th,
having, as I expected, found Martel in that town, whose designs were thus
baffled. From Sandia to Arequipa is a distance of nearly 300 miles. No
opposition was made to my departure from Arequipa, although the local
newspaper had something to say afterwards,[349] and on June 1st the plants
were safely deposited by the Wardian cases at the port of Islay.
"John of the Fountain" had provided plenty of soil, and by the 3rd all the
plants were established in the Wardian cases by Mr. Weir. But the
difficulties of getting the plants out of the country were not entirely ended
by my escape from Martel and the Juntas Municipales of the interior. The
Superintendent of the custom-house of Islay declared it to be illegal to
export cascarilla-plants, and refused to allow them to be shipped without an

express order from the Minister of Finance and Commerce at Lima. He had
probably received intelligence respecting the contents of the cases from
Vilque, where all news centres at the time of the fair. This obliged me to go
to Lima to obtain the necessary order from Colonel Salcedo, the Minister of
Finance, which, after much difficulty, I succeeded in doing, and returned
with it to Islay on June 23rd.[350]
Meanwhile, since the plants had been established in the Wardian cases, they
had begun to bud and throw out young leaves, which seemed to prove that
they had quite recovered from their journey across the arctic climate of the
Andes. In the evening of the 23rd the cases were hoisted into a launch,
ready to go on board the steamer on the following morning; and during the
night attempts were made to bribe the man in charge to bore holes and kill
the plants by pouring in boiling water, but without success. On the
following day they were safely lodged on board the steamer bound for
Panama.
It was impossible not to feel regret that H. M. steamer 'Vixen,' then lying
idle at Callao, had not been ordered to take the plants direct across the
Pacific to Madras, when a majority would have arrived in perfect order. But
this was not to be, and we had to look forward to long voyages, several
trans-shipments, and the intense heat of the Red Sea, before this most
valuable collection of plants could reach their destination in Southern India.
Yet it could not but be satisfactory to look back upon the extraordinary
difficulties we had overcome, the hardships and dangers of the forests, the
scarcity of the plants, the bewildering puzzle to find them amidst the dense
underwood, the endeavour to stop my journey first at Tambopata and then
in Sandia, the rapid flight across unknown parts of the cordillera, and the
attempts first to stop and then to destroy the plants at Islay: it was a source
of gratification to look back upon all this, and then to see the great majority
of the plants budding and looking healthy in the Wardian cases.
The climate at Islay, during the time that the plants remained there, was as
follows, from the 1st to the 24th of June:—
Mean temperature 69° Fahr.
Mean minimum at night 60
Highest temperature observed 73

Lowest 58
Entire range 15
The temperature is almost exactly the same as that of the Tambopata forests
in May; but the forests were always exceedingly moist, while Islay is
intensely dry. This, however, was unimportant to the plants in their cases.

CHAPTER XVIII.
PRESENT CONDITION AND FUTURE PROSPECTS OF PERU.
Population—Civil wars—Government—Constitution—General Castilla and his ministers—
Dr. Vigil—Mariano Paz Soldan—Valleys on the coast—Cotton, wool, and specie—The
Amazons—Guano—Finances—Literature—Future prospects.

After a sojourn of a few days at Lima we took a final farewell of the land
of the Incas, on June 29th, 1860. As we steamed along the coast, in sight of
the emerald-green valleys, surrounded by trackless wastes of sand, and of
the glorious cordilleras which towered up behind them, a long train of
memories passed in array before us. In this land alone, of all the nations of
the earth, did the ideal of a perfect patriarchal form of government become
a reality. Here, too, are the scenes of the most romantic episode in modern
history, comprised in the career of the Pizarros. The sufferings of the gentle
Indians excited the indignation of the Elizabethan chivalry; the fabulous
riches extracted from the mines of Peru attracted the adventurous spirit of
the buccaneers of a baser age; and the brave struggle for independence led
more than one gallant Englishman to shed his blood in the cause of
Peruvian liberty.[351] What is now the state of this famous land, and what
prospect is there of the glowing hopes expressed in Mr. Canning's well-
known speech ever being fulfilled, are questions which cannot fail to arouse
some passing interest.
In giving an account of the present condition and future prospects of Peru,
the invariable kindness and frank hospitality of its inhabitants impose an
obligation to speak with as much leniency and forbearance as the interests
of truth will admit. The South American Republics are peopled by races of
mixed origin, who are doubtless inferior to Europeans, both mentally and
physically; and the unsettled condition of those countries, which inevitably
succeeded the struggles for an independence for which the people were
unprepared, has continued longer than might justly have been expected. But
it appears to be a generally received idea in England, originating from the
accounts of travellers unacquainted with the people, and ignorant of their
language, that the South Americans are a mongrel degraded race, incapable

of improvement, and hopelessly degenerate.[352] So far as my experience
extends, and after a careful consideration of the subject, I can see no
grounds for resigning the hope that a brighter future is yet in store for the
land of the Incas.
It is true that, after a casual and superficial glance at the state of affairs in
South America since the expulsion of the Spaniards, the prospect appears
sufficiently gloomy. But a more intimate acquaintance with the subject, and
especially a knowledge of the tone of thought amongst the younger men, as
expressed in conversation and in their writings, would show that, under the
surface, noble aspirations and steady enlightened views prevail, which must
eventually yield fruit, and thus justify our hopes for the future. When
independence was established in South America, there were two principal
causes which led to the civil wars which ensued; namely, the question
between a federal or a centralized form of government, and the disputes
respecting boundaries. The power attained during the revolution by the
armies, and the selfish ambition, treason, and corruption of public men,
aggravated these sources of evil to a melancholy extent. But other countries,
far greater and nobler than these poor struggling republics, have had to pass
through as long and as degrading a crisis in their history. Englishmen must
remember the thirty years comprising the reigns of the two last Stuarts with
quite as much shame as the great-grandchildren of the present Peruvians
will experience when they learn the history of their country for the first
forty years after its independence. It is recorded that in a British House of
Commons there was but one Andrew Marvel. To my personal knowledge
there are now several Andrew Marvels in Chile and Peru. These young and
inexperienced countries have had to pass through a fierce ordeal, and, truth
to say, they have played their part but indifferently as yet. They indeed
require forbearance, but let us not turn from them with disdain and
contempt, in the pride of our present grandeur and prosperity. Were treason
and corruption and base selfish faction never rife in England's court and
parliament?
The fatal mistake of several of the old Spanish colonies was in establishing
a federal system of government, in imitation of the United States. This was
the case in Mexico, Central America, New Granada, and the Argentine
Confederation. No system can possibly be more entirely unsuited to a
thinly-peopled mountainous region, without roads, and unprovided with a