o-y^eJ THE LIBRARY* 1789 cuss..E.i4Q.9.. Book ..,JD.\.A ,,0 1-1123 *:f 7 •.=*^V> IJ ., DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Treasure 1(oom n'jT M^aJ^ MmL \p^ ^^?-.^-; < If ^t^ SPANISH AMERICA; OR A DESCRIPTIVE, HISTORICAL, AND GEOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT OF THE DOMINIONS OF SPAIN IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE, COA'^TIKEJ^AL ^- IJ^SULAR, ILLT7STBATED BT A MAP OF NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA, AND THE WEST INDIA ISLANDS ; AND AN ENGRAVING, REPRESENTING THE COMPARATIVE ALTITUDES OP THE MOUNTAINS IN THOSE REGIONS. BY nfH: BOJ^JVFCASTLE, CAPTAIN IN THE CORPS OF ROTAI. ENGINEERS. " Such of late Columbus found the American, so girt With feathered cincture, naked else and wild Among the trees, on iles and woody shores In spirit perhaps he also saw Rich Mexico the seat of Montezume, And Cusco in Peru, the richer seat Of Atabalipa, and yet unspoil'd Guiana, whose great city Geryon's sons Call El Dorado. " Pauadise Lost, PHILADELPHIA: PRLXTED AJ^'D PUBLISHED BT ABRAHAM SMALL, No. 112 CHESNtJT Street. 1819. 6- o V To COLONEL J. CARMICHAEL-SMYTH, Of the Royal Engineers, C. B., K. M. T., K.St.W., Commanding Royal Engineer of the British Army in France under his Grace the Duke of Wellington, and Aid-de-Camp to his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, ^c. ^c. §c. This Work is most respect- fully dedicated, by his most obedient and humble Servant, Richard Henry Bonnycastle, ^ CONTENTS. PART I. NORTH AMERICAK DOMINIONS, General Description, Era of Discovery and Colonisation, page 21 Extent and Boundaries - - - - 23 Political Divisions - - - - 24 Territorial Divisions - - - - 24 Florida (East and West) - - - - 25 Extent and Boundaries - - - - 25 Discovery and History - - - - 25 New Spain - . - - - 34, Political and Territorial Divisions - - 42 Boundaries - - - - 42 Extent - - - - - 43 Climate - - - - - 43 Features of the Country, Productions, &c. - 43 Capital ------ 58 New Mexico ----- 65 California (New and Old) - - - 70 Intendancy of Sonora - - - - 77 Pimeria ----- 77 Sonora ----- 78 Hiaqui and Mayo, or Ostimuri - - 79 Sinaloa, or Cinaloa - - - - 80 Intendancy of New Biscay, or Durango - - 81 — — San Luis Potosi - - - 83 Coaguila ----- 84 New Leon ----- 84 New Santander and Texas, and Panuco, or Potosi 84 Intendancy of Zacatecas - - - - 85 Guadalaxara - - - - 86 Guanaxuato - - - - 87 Mexico - - - - 88 " Valladolid, or Mechoacan - - 109 Tlascala, or Puebla - - - 111 Vera Cjruz - - - - 115 Province of Tabasco - - - - 117 Intendancy of Guaxaca, or Oaxaca - - 120 \ ucatan, or the Intendancy of Merida - - 122 V* CONTENTS. GUATIMALA - - - . PAGE 124 Capital .... 125 Guatimala Proper - - - 126 Chiapa .... 128 Province of Vera Paz - - - 129 ————— Nicaragua - - - 130 Honduras - - - 132 — — Costa Rica - - - 136 — — Veragua - - - 137 West India Islands belonging to the Crown of Spain 138 Political Divisions - - - 139 Puerto Rico - - - - 139 Cuba - , - - 141 Havannah - - - - , 144 Islands near the Coasts of New Spain and Guatimala 14? PART 11. SOUTH AMERICJW DOMINIOKS, General Description - _ - page 157 Boundaries - - - - 158 Political Divisions - - - 158 Era of Discovery ... 158 VlGEROYALTY OF NeW GrANADA - - 159 Boundaries and Extent - - - 159 Territorial and Political Divisions - - 159 Discoveries - - - - 159 Features of the Country, 8cc. - - 165 Tierra Firme ... 172 Province of Veragua - - 1 72 — Panama - - 172 Darien - - - 178 Province of Carthagena - • - 180 Santa Marta - - 187 Merida - - - 193 San Juan de los Llanos - . 194 Santa Fe - - - 195 — de Antioquia - 200 Choco - * - - 200 Government of Popayan - - 202 Government of Atacamcs - - 206 CONTENTS. Vll VicEROYALY OF New Granada (^Continued.) Presidency of Quito ... page 208 San Miguel de Ibarra - - 220 Otabalo - - - 221 Jurisdiction of Guayaquil - - 225 Government of Jaen de Bracamoros - 232 — ^ Maynas - - 234 — — Quixos - - 240 Captain Generalship of Caraccas, Boundaries and Extent - - - _ 241 Political and Territorial Divisions, Government 241 Discovery, History . , . 242 Capital ... - 243 Description of the Features, Sec. of the Country 247 Province of New Andalusia - - 253 — . New Barcelona - - 253 Features, Climate, &c. - - 258 Province of Venezuela and Coro - 270 Maracaybo - - 280 Varinas - - - 284 Spanish Guiana - - 287 Government of the Island of Margarita - 290 Viceroyalty of Peru - - . 291 Extent and Boundaries - - 291 Political and Territorial Divisions, Government, Sec. 292 Discovery, History, &c. - - 296 Intendancy of Truxillo - - 320 ■ Tarma - - - ' 325 Lima - _ . 327 Guancavelica - - 330 Guamanga - - 332 Cuzco - _ - 334 — — — Arequipa - - ♦ 338 Viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres or La Plata, Boundaries and Extent . - > S44 Political and Territorial Divisions - 344, Government, History, Discovery, &c. - 345 Features, Climate, &c. - - 348 Commerce and Resources - - 352 Government of Los Charcas or Potosi - 354 Paraguay - - 370 History, Discovery, &c. - - 370 ■ ■ Tucuman - - 376 Cuyo or Cujo - - 383 Buenos Ayres - - 386 History, &c. - - - 386 Climate, Features, &c. - - 388 Vai CON TEN IS. Captain Generalship OF Chili - - page 396 Extent and Boundaries - - 393 Political and Territorial Divisions and Government 394 Discovery and History - - 394- Climate, Features, &c. - - 403 Population - - - . 408 Animals . _ - . 408 Continental Provinces of Chili - - 416 Province of Copiapo ... 416 Coquimbo - - 417" . Quillota - - 417 Aconcagua - - 419 Melipilla - - 420 Santiago - - 420 «- — Rancagua - - 421 — Colchagua - - 421 • Maule - - - 422 Itata - - - 424 Chilian , . . 424 Puchacay - - 424 Huilquilemu •• - 426 Insular Chili - . - . 428 Archipelago of Chiloe - - - 428 Araucania, or Indian Chili - - 431 Islands on the Coasts of Spanish South America 436 List of Works on or relating to Spanish America, quoted in this Publication, &c. _ _ - 441 Table of the Latitudes and Longitudes of the Principal Places 444 Summary of the Population, Wealth, Revenue, &c. 451 Index ----- 453 Ij- ..11 -ifliiJ^ -I I ^3^ v^ ■ ■ UZj 1» / „ 12« ;^\S:^'>: X !■: jr M\i I A'. LiMhm/m- g' W///^/^/r:j ^U\wMDnS^\'li\SS:{^^ "_T7/jm^rA.rVr,of >y:^////.»/r^- v4.v/.// COMPARATIVE ALTITUDES OF THE MOUNTAINS IN SPANISH NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA. (^ The J^umbers refer to the Plate. Height in Feet of the Main Chain and Branches of the S. American Andes. FEET. 1 Chiraborazo - - 21,441 2 Cxys^mhe Varan, ^equator passes) 19,386 3 Antisana - . - 19,149 4 Cotopaxi - - - 18,891 5 El Altar - - - 17,256 6 Ilinissa - - . 17,238 7 Sangai - - - 17,136 8 Tunguragua - - 16,500 9 CataCatche - - 16,434 10 Nevada of Santa Marta - 16,419 11 Pichinca - - - 15,939 12 El Corazon - - 15,795 13 Carguirazo - - 15,540 14 Nevada of Merida - 15,201 15 Mines of Huanca Velica - 13,600 16 Farm House of Antisana - 13,434 17 Ruins of Los Paredones - 13,261 18 Plain and Road of Asfiuay - 13,123 19 Mines of Chota - - 11,562 20 City of Quito - - 9,514 21 City of Sta. Fe' de Bogota 8,694 22 Silla de Caraccas - - 8,420 23 Precipice of the Sa. de Caraccas 8,000 24 City of PoPATAN - - 5,905 25 Depth of the Crevice of Chota 4,922 26 Fort La Cuchilla - - 4,921 27 Depth of the Crevice of Cutaco 4,265 28 Natural Bridges of Icononzo 2,930 29 City of Caraccas • - 2,903 30 Depth of the Crevice of Icononzo 320 31 City of CcMATTA - - 18 32 Level of the Sea La Guayra Height in Feet of the Sier- ra de Anahuac and its Branches. FEET. 17,710 Popocatepetl 17,371 Picode Orizaba 15,700 Iztaccihuatl 15,159 Picode Frailes 13,514 Cofre dc Perote 12,05t Cerro de Axusco 10,498 Pico de Tancitaro - 10,249 El Jacal 9,766 Organos de Actopan 9,186 Volcan de Colima 9,057 Mine of Real del Monte 8,818 City of Toluca 8,513 Mine of Moran 8,481 Town of Isla Huaca 8,149 Town of Pachuca 7,723 Town of Perote 7,637 Mine of Valenciana 7,470 City of Mexico 7,224 City of Pascuaro 7,198 La Puebla de los Angeles Ci 6,847 City of Durango 6,836 City of Giianaxuato 6,489 Town of San Juan del Rio 6,404 City of Valladolid - 6,364 City of Queretaro 6,020 City of Celaya 5,852 City of Tasco 5 ,763 City of Salamanca - 5,433 City of Cuemavaca - 4,333 City of Xalapa 4,267 Volcan de JoruUo City of Vera Cruz - ty 1 2 3 4 5 C 7 S 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 IS 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2S 29 30 SI 32 References to tJie accompanying Plate of Comparative Altitudes. r-jywr- Inferior Limit of perpetual Snow under the Equator at 15,747 feet. vv^AA Inferior Limit of perpetual Snow in 19' and 20'' north latitude 15,091 feet. '"^' ' Inferior Limit of the cultivation of European grain in New Spain. .-.-.■.^--.-.-.T Greatest height of the New Road from Mexico to Vera Cruz, 10,386 feet. The Flames of Cotopaxi in the year 1738 rose to the height of more than 2,950 feet above the Crater. Depth of the mine of Valenciana 1,640 feet. DESCRIPTION Of the Plate of Comparative Altitudes of the Moun- tains in Spanish North and South America. The accompanying plate represents the elevations which some of the most noted summits attain in Mexico or New Spain, con- trasted with the altitudes of the higher peaks of the Southern An- des in Quito, Merida, Santa M arta and Caraccas, by which it will be readily seen, that the northern range of the Cordillera of the Andes^ is not very inferior in height to that part of the chain which has been considered, till very lately, to reath an elevation unequalled by any other mountains in the world. Recent enquiries, and the researches of zealous travellers and geographers, have not only disclosed the fact, that the Asiatic summits rival and surpass those of Peru, but have also made it questionable whether the continuation of the Andean chain, south of Cliimborazo^ Cotopaxi^ &c. is not far superior in altitude to those celebrated peaks. It is true, that the Cordillera sinks very much after it has passed the confines of Peru, and that it continues to lower its lofty crest in running through the vast deserts of Atacama^ in the kingdom of La Plata, and the upper districts of Chili ; but no sooner has it passed these provinces, than it again assumes the same majestic form, and continues it in three parallel ridges, as far ^ the forty- fifth degree of south latitude, beyond which scarcely any thing- is known of this enormous chain, excepting that its height is very great till it loses itself in the ocean of the south, opposite to Cape Pilares, the western entrance of the Straits of Magalhaens. From its quitting Copiapo, the most northerly province of Chili, till it arrives opposite to the great island of Chiloe and the archipelago of Guaytecas, is the space in which the Cordillera is conjectured to attain an elevation superior to that of the equatorial ridges of Popayan and Quito ; as in this space are the lofty peaks DB9CRIPTI0N, fijC. of the DescabezadOy the Tupungato^ Blanquillo^ Manfios^ Longavhy Chilian^ and the Corcobado or Gibbous mountain ; all of which rise so far superior to the lower limits of perpetual congelation, that not only Molina, but other travellers, have imagined they must be high- er than the equinoxial range, though unfortunately all those who have had the. opportunity of seeing them, have either been ignorant of the methods of determining their altitudes, or have been enga- ged in such active employments as to have precluded them from making any other than slight and general observations. One of the most curious circumstances attendant on the scenery of the Cordillera of the Andes, and which is, from local causes, in a great measure peculiar to those mountains, is the extreme regu- larity with which the inferior term of congelation or lower limit of perpetual snow, is described on their heads ; this feature has there- fore been introduced into the drawing, and that in such a manner as to show by the scales placed on its sides, the various heights at which the phenomenon takes place, in the different latitudes the mountains are situated in. Some of the principal cities, towns and volcanoes, and a few of the most extraordinary scenes in the Andes, have also been intro- duced, and a scale of miles has been adapted to the right hand, as well as a scale of feet to the left, in order to afford every facility to the reader of the work, in forming just notions of the singular situ- ations of those objects, which maybe better done in a graphic man- ner, than by any description ; but as the immediate object of this plate is to exhibit comparative magnitude, on a determinate scale, it is with this view only that it has been constructed, no regard having been paid to the effect as a drawing. In the centre is introduced the Mountain island of Socorro, one of the Revillagegido group, off the western coast of New Spain, which attains a great elevatian for so small a spot, and is remarka- ble as being nearly on the same parallel as the volcanic summits of Popocatepetl^ or the Smoky Blountain; Citlaltepetl^ or Pico de Ori- zaba^ or the Starry Mountain; Iztaccihuatly or the White Woman; Nauhcampatepetl^ or Cofre de Perote^ or the Square Mountain ; the Volcan de Xorullo and the Volcan de Colinia^ on the continent, and as being itself evidently the produce of an ancient eruption. PREFACE. A VARIETY of estimable works have appeared on the subject of America, which have certainly, in a great degree, extended the geographical knowledge of the New World. Many of them, however, were written long ago ; the political face of the country has changed; the journals of recent travel- lers have opened new sources of knowledge : and we find, among other things, that North America, which was supposed to contain mountains only of inferior altitude, has now been discovered to possess summits of superior elevation to those of the Alps, or the Peak of Teneriffe. The publications of the most celebrated writers, as well as those of recent travellers, on that country, are in general bulky and expensive, and the mixture of political and abstruse scien- tific subjects, renders many of them uninteresting to the ge- nerality of readers. This work has therefore been undertaken, with the object of forming a useful and amusing compendium of historical and §eographical information, with respect to the acquisitions of pain on the continent and in the islands of America, unmixed with political suggestions or reflections, and including a simple record of events, without comment. The Author's induce- ments to this undertaking have been principally his fondness for the Spanish language, and the idea, that the little know- ledge he possesses of it might be usefully employed in giving form to a work on the Spanish colonies. Authorities of the first eminence have been carefully con- sulted for this purpose, it is therefore hoped that the matter contained in the work will be found correct and interesting : to the labours of the enterprising M. de Humboldt, it is highly X PREFACE. indebted : his researches and indefatigable efforts have recently thrown so much light on the obscure geography of America, that the existence of a great part of the Spanish colonies would have been still unknown but for that able and scientific travel- ler, the most zealous, as well as the most interesting, of any that ever appeared on the shores of the western world. The situation of remarkable places has been laid down with the greatest possible accuracy, and a copious index at the con- clusion affords an easy reference. The History of the Invasion and Conquests is only touched upon, so far as it is deemed generally interesting; to have given extended details on this head, would have required volumes; such abridgments have therefore been made as will render all its remarkable points sufficiently known. The work is divided into two parts ; the First comprehends the Spanish dominions in North America, including the West India islands subject to the crown of Spain. The Second Part relates to Spanish South America, and the islands on its coasts. This is illustrated by a map, on -which the Author has be- stowed great pains to render as correct and as useful to the reader as possible. The French, the English and M. de Hum- boldt's maps, which are universally acknowledged to be the best, have been consulted; from the united positions of which, this has been constructed. A table, representing the relative heights of the moun- tains in Spanish North and South America, accompanies the work; in which table, some of the principal cities, volcanoes jind extraordinary features of those countries are designated upon a new plan. With these assistances, and from the consideration that no work of a similar nature exists in the English language, on the Trans-atlantic colonies of Spain, it is conceived that this will prove both instructive and useful to those w ho have not leisure to consult more voluminous writers on the subject. Previous to proceeding into the body of the work, it will be necessary to make some observations on the plan. The pos- sessions of the Spanish Crown in the Americas being natu- rally, as well as geographically, divided from each other by the Isthmus of Darien, and the two great portions of the New Continent being usually styled (according to this natural and geographical separation) North and South America, we have PREFACE. XI judged it proper to adopt this rational and clearly defined dis- tinction, in undertaking to give an account of the territories of a nation, which extend through the greater part of both divi- sions ; accordingly in the following pages, our plan will be found to be, that all the Colonies of Spain in North America will have been described before any thing shall have been ad- vanced concerning the colonies in South America belonging to that Power. It not being the intention of this work to give a dull and un- interesting recapitulation of all the circumstances attending the various discoveries and conquests of the Spaniards in different pai-ts of America, which have been detailed by numerous Au- thors at much length, and in so many different ways, those events will only be noticed as eras, occasionally illustrated by a summary of such circumstances as may be deemed the most interesting and remarkable. The longitudes of places throughout the work are invariably reckoned west of the Royal Observatory of Green\^'ich ; and, the principal positions are collected in a table of latitudes and longitudes which concludes the whole. INTRODUCTION. In this enliofhtened ao-e, Geography has assumed afoniz so new and interesting, that it has become the study, as well as the amusement of all ranks of society ; the philosopher peruses with admiring attention, the details of the localities of distant climes ; and the mere reader instructs as well as amuses him- self in turning over the pages of a geographical performance. This science, which till very lately, bore so low a rank in the scale of intellectual attainment, has arisen, by the exertions of men of genius, and the increasing commerce of the Atlan- tic states of Europe, to a proud elevation, amid the numerous objects of scientific research ; in fact, it blends itself so mi- nutely with almost all of them, that in order to acquire a thorough knowledge of it, it is necessary to study the whole circle of the arts and sciences. Philosophy enables the geographic traveller to account for the ever- varying appearances of nature which meet his wonder- ing sight. Mathematical knowledge gives him the means of calculating with accuracy the positions and forms of the places which ar- rest his attention in his progress ; and, with his apparatus of Astronomical instruments, whether he be in distant Inde, on the snow-capped summits of the Cordillera of the Andes, or in the frozen regions of the north, he is still able to fix the exact route which he intends to follow. Painting, or rather its twin sister, Drawing, is also an ac- quirement absolutely necessary for the man of research in this science, as by its assistance, he can point out to his brethren, the surprising features of those distant regions, which it is their k)t to hear of, but never to see ; and by this delightful art, XIV INTRODUCTION. which may well be ranked among the first of gifts to man, he can bring home to the imagination the forms of things un- known. Poetry is not without its share in assisting to give just no- tions of geographic details, as by its fascinating aid, the ideas which we form of distant objects are heightened and impressed on our memories; and without the fellowship of History, Geo- graphy would prove the most uninteresting of studies. But there are other branches of philosophy, which have of late given a form and stability to the pursuit of knowledge in this science, and by whose powerful co-operation the march of geographical acquisition is daily spreading over a wider and more noble field. Chemistry has within the last century, assumed a character so widely different from its ancient bounds, that the world is as it were a new region. We have become acquainted with phenomena, which were not before imagined to exist, and we can trace the causes, and consequently the effects of many of the operations of nature, which had hitherto bafHed all the ef- forts of man. Geology, Mineralogy, and Or}Xtology, have also, as a con- sequence of the advanced state of chemical knowledge, be- come so universally studied, that no modern writer of travels ought to be unacquainted with, at least, their leading princi- ples, and to render his labours very acceptable to the public, he should possess an accurate and extended knowledge of these branches of science. Zoography has a close connexion with the details of Mo- dern Geography, as without a description of the properties and forms of the various races of animals, which all-bounteous Providence has placed on the Earth, for the sustenance or the use of man, a mere outline of the features of kingdoms and states would be, though not useless, j^et uninteresting. Botany also takes an active part in the formation of works of this nature, and perhaps, no other science has a more pleas- ing share in such undertakings, for every day, and almost every hour, discloses to the phytologist some new and singular va- riety of Nature's performance. It is not our intention to enter into a disquisition on the Ori- gin and Progress of Geography ; this has been so ably per- formed in several very recent w^orks, that it would be useless to attempt it, nor in fact could any thing more be said, to the INTRODUCTION. XV purpose, on the subject fhan what has been already advanced ; but instead of considering the different periods in which the science became more clearly illustrated, from the early ages ; we shall content ourselves with looking only to its actual state, and to its connexions with the subject of the present work. Notwithstanding all the assistances which Geography de- rives from the maturity to which the sciences have arrived, yet it is still miserably deficient with respect to descriptions of some of the countries immediately surrounding us ; the vast extent of European and Asiatic Russia is also imperfectly known, Africa is yet unexplored, Tartar)* and the Chinese empire have a veil of darkness drawn over them ; New Holland is untraver- sed, and by far the greater portion of America remains to be visited by the European traveller. To other nations it is a matter of little consequence, except- ing as a source of curiosity-, whether Englishmen have a tho- rough knowledge of the various little groups that surround their isle : but to a Briton there is no corner of his land, with which he does not wish to have a minute acquaintance. Although we possess such an accurate knowledge of Eng- land, yet there are many parts of Scotland, and almost the whole of the western coast of Ireland, to which we are as much strangers as though they were situated beyond the Desert of Zahara. Of Shetland scarcely any thing more than the mere outline of its coast is known to the British geographer, although it offers some of the most singular scenes, both natural and artifi- cial, that can be found in the Northern Ocean. These scenes consist, in the natural part, of the most fantas- tic and exuberant workings of Nature's ever-varying pencil. Here she has grouped assemblages of the most extraordinarily formed islets, twisted and split in every direction; some reach- ing above the regions of the clouds, and showing, in their pointed or overhanging heads, the most dreadful precipices that can be imagined; such is the island of Foul a, between the Orkneys and Shetland. In another place, a large island, which rises gradually on all sides from the sea to a great height, in the form of a parabolic conoid, has its body severed from the apex to the base, as regularly as if it had been the work of art ; such is the islet Eglesha, on the west coast of Shetland. A third form is that of an immense islet rising perpendicularly on every side from the subjacent ocean to a great elevation, having XVI INTRODUCTION. its whole body perforated with an arch, of such dimensions that a large vessel could sail under it without lowering her top-gallant sails. In short it would require a volume to detail the astonish- ing operations of nature in these islands. The artificial scenery of Shetland consists in the numerous remains of ancient fortresses, hollow towers, castles, &c. Some of these scenes have been drawn by the author of this work; others which he had not an opportunity of visiting, he was furnished with sketches of, by a gentleman resident in Un ST, and the whole he has consigned to the author of a work on Shetland, who intends publishing them. But to recur to the primary object of this publication ; al- though the recent travels of Humboldt, Depons, Helms, &c., have considerably enlarged the circle of our knowledge of Spanish American Geography, yet there still remains a wide field for inquiry in those regions. When M. de Humboldt shall publish the remaining parts of his Personal Narrative^ we shall certainly, frQm what he has already said on the subject, be better acquainted with a very interesting portion of the Trans- atlantic colonies of Spain, the kingdom of New Granada, and the province of Guiana, as his route was through the latter in his exploratory voyage down the Apure to the Rio Negro, and along the Cassiquiari, down the vast stream of the Orinoco. The vice-royalty of New Granada was nearly traversed by that illustrious savan, as he passed through the cities of Bogota and Guayaquil to the capi- tal of Peru. Peru is, however, still imperfectly known on its eastern fron- tier; and the volcanoes, mountains and other striking features of that government remain yet to be explored and described. Chili is also very little known ; the immense barrier of the Andean chain, offers, with the difficulty of crossing the Pampas of La Plata, many almost insurmountable obstacles to the Eu- ropean traveller from Buenos Ayres, and the great length of the navigation round Tierra del Fuego affords a considerable draw- back to the adventurer who should wish to arrive in the Chi- lian regions by a sea voyage. The interior of the vast government of La Plata and the Sa- vannah of the Amazons is nearly involved in as much obscuri ty as the centi'al parts of Africa; inhabited by a tribe of fierce and untameable Indians, the European traveller cannot hope to make his way; and we must in all probability remain unar- INTRODUCTION. XVll quainted with those countries, till the increasing stride of co- lonial population from the governments of Brazil on the one hand, and from those of Peru and La Plata on the other, clears the forest of its ancient tenants. In North America, the kingdom of Guatimala, may be said to be unknown. A few ports on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts are faintly described ; but of the interior, of the inhabi- tants, and of the country itself we are in total ignorance. It is a curious circumstance to remark, in attentively ob- serving the present system of government, of population, and of colonisation in Spanish America, how nearly it resembles the same circumstances in the times when the sceptres of that country were swayed by their ancient and native kings. With the exception of Caraccas and Buenos Ayres, every thing remains in nearly the same state, and Power has univer- sally confined itself to the western region, seeming as if it wish- ed to verify the assertion, that empire constantly verges to the quarter of the setting sun. In South America, the Peruvians of old, were undoubtedly the most civilised of the tribes who inhabited the country, but their empire extended only to the verge of the eastern declivity of the Andes, and was bounded in the strip of teiTitory which stretches between those mountains and the Pacific Ocean. In Chili, the Chilese had advanced with rapid strides to- wards that degree of intellectual attainment which was mani- fested in their Peruvian neighbours, they were an independent people, forming a sort of Federal Republic acknowledging a su- preme chief, but this Republic did not include the tribes who wandered over the vast steppes of Patagonia, it was confined, as in Peru, to the country between the Andes and the sea. In new Granada, the Puruays and the Muyscas were also advancing with a gradual, though certain step, towards the re- finement of the people of the Sun, but they were also, until a very short period before the conquest, independent govern- ments, acknowledging kings, and resembling Monarchical States in their dispensation of the laws, and in the form of their political constitutions ; these races were however unmix- ed ; and, in fact, unknown to the people on the Savannahs of the Maranon and the Orinoco ; and also occupied the country stretching between the Cordillera of the Andes and the great Pacific Ocean. In Mexico, empire likewise verged towards the west : the C JCVm INTRODUCTION. different states and governments lay mostly to the west of the capital, which was itself to the west of the highest summits of the Northern Andes. No towns or kingdoms of any importance were discovered on the shore of the gulf of Mexico by Cortez or his followers, and it was not till after a painful march of many days from the coast, that he saw the symptoms of that extraordinary degree of civilisation at which the Mexicans had arrived. In our days, the Spanish empire in Peru is confined to the country intercepted between the Andes and the Ocean of the South. To the east of the great Cordillera the tribes still wan- der over the vast Savannahs of the Maranon in the same state of untutored nature. In Chili, the European sway is also confined to the same region over which the ancient Chilese toquis reigned, and the Patagonians of Terra Magellanica are yet in a barbarous con- dition ; but in Chili itself, is offered the singular spectacle of a remnant of the aboriginal race, who have preserved the man- ners, the customs, the dress, the language, and the indepen- dence of their forefathers ; these people having, hitherto, resist- ed every attempt which the Colonists have made to subdue them, and form with the surrounding tribes the same kind of Republican Government which existed before the w-hite and bearded strangers appeared amongst them. In New^ Granada, the Spaniards occupy nearly the same positions which the ti-ibes of old held, and what is still more singular, the tw o capitals of the Spanish colonies in that king- dom are precisely in the same situations which the Puruays and the Muyscas had chosen as the seats of their Conchocan- dos and Xaques, or kings. In Mexico, the Empire of the Whites is precisely within the same bounds as those in which it was discovered by Cortez and his followers ; and the capital is seated on the same spot on which the ancient Tenochtitlan stood. The Spanish acquisitions in the eastern parts of America, though we have held them up as forming an exception to the general rule, cannot certainly be said to stand out as very forci- ble arguments against it ; for the colonies in Florida have never flourished, and Caraccas has only a trifling population consi- dering its great extent, w hilst the whole of the vast country of Guiana is nearly untenanted by Europeans. America certainly offers very singular facts towards the sup- INTRODUCTION. XIX port of this mystical doctrine, in which, though we have no faith, yet there is considerable pleasure in tracing the analogy of events in the Continent, partially described in the ensuing pages; for not only has the circumstance of Spanish power ex- tending solely towards the western shores of the New World, a strong shade of likelihood to bear out the colouring which has been thrown on the assertion by those who strenuously ad- vocate it, yet there is probably a much stronger, and more re- cent event to give a deeper tone to the picture. This event which comes more home to our knowledge, is the actual migration of the Colonists of North America, towards the shores of the Pacific, for according to details which are re- cently published, it is placed almost beyond a doubt that the Government of the United States of America is shifting its local habitation over the lengthened summits of the Alleghany mountains. In Spanish America, a good and indeed an unansw erable reason may be given why the sway both of the aboriginal chieftains, and of their white successors has uniforml)^ pointed towards the west ; climate in that country is modified accord- ing to the situations of the States on the higher or lower re- gions of the immense chain of mountains which ti'averses its vast extent. On the elevated plains of Peru, the atmosphere is not charg- ed with that excessive heat which reigns in the low Savannahs of the Maranon, hence man is more capable of exertion, and his mental faculties become enlarged, in the same proportion as his physical powers ; and we accordingly find the Spaniard or the Indian of the higher region of the Andes, a very differ- ent being from his compatriot on the plains of Guiana, or Vera Cruz. It is an acknowleged maxim, that, in all countries in which the cold predominates over the heat, or in which they bear equal proportions to each other, civilisation, knowledge, and freedom universally spread themselves ; whilst on the contrary, in those climes where the heat is continual and excessive, or where cold constantly prevails, man is in a perpetual state of bai'barism, subjection, and ignorance ; the reasons are evident; unwilling to use any considerable exertion for fear of being parched or frozen to death, he suffers things to proceed always in the same train, and -will allow his government or even his religion to follow the dictates of those who with the strong XX INTRODUCTION. arm of power, or of intellectual attainment, bend him to their will. It is for the former reason that the modem Chilese, or Araucanians, resist the efforts of the Spanish colonists to sub- due them ; living in a country where the climate is always equable and mild, their bodily and mental faculties required only a strong motive to bring their full power into display and exertion, this motive was first given them by the Peruvian Emperor Yupanqui, who, marching with a powerful army in- to their territories, from the north, endeavoured to enslave them ; the first action overthrew two or three of the weakest tribes who inhabited the Avarmest parts of the country, but it stimulated the rest, and they became from that moment the warlike nation they have ever since remained. New Mexico offers the same picture, the Cumanches of that country are yet an unconquered race, holding an eternal war against their Spanish neighbours, and though from the un- cultivated state of their country, and the constant exertion they are obliged to make to secure their independence, they are not so far advanced in the arts of civilised life as the Araucanians, yet the Cumanches are a race far beyond their neighbours who are enslaved in the missions. From the latter cause, the tribes of Guiana, of Amazonia, of La Plata, and of Patagonia, have hitherto remained in the state of barbarism in which they existed when first discovered, and will in all probability long continue the only tenants of their scorching plains and humid forests, unless gold, or some equally powerful motive induces the European to enlarge his settlements in their country. This subject would lead us to a discussion which might occupy a volume ; it will therefore be necessary to close it, at the same time hoping that it may be resumed and enlarged upon by some abler hand. Woolwich, Juhj 15tb, 1818. SPANISH AMERICA. PART I. NORTH AMERICAN DOMINIONS. ERA OF DISCOVERY AND COLONISATION. THE discovery of the New World, has caused more discus- sion, arising from interest, curiosity and scientific motives, during a period of nearly three centuries, than any anterior extension of geographical knowledge, in the annals of mankind. Numberless have been the disputes concerning the probable duration, forma- tion and population of that vast continent ; as well as on the iden- tity of the individual, who fortuitously opened that immeasura- ble region and wonderful country to the admiring eyes of his brethren of the eastern hemisphere. This work professing solely to relate, from authentic documents, what regards that portion of the New World which is claimed by Spain, either by right of conquest or discovery, we shall, conse- quently, not touch upon any of those indeterminate questions : therefore, whatever may be the notions respecting voyages prior to those of Columbus, having been performed by European naviga- tors, it is universally admitted that Cristoval Colon, or as he is usually called Christopher Columbus, was the first who made the existence of America generally known ; accordingly we shall take our dates from the era of his discovery of the western world. In the year 1492, on the 3d of August, being Friday, Co- lumbus sailed from Spain, in a small vessel called the Santa Ma- ria^ having with her two others, and, after meeting with dif&cul- 22 NORTH AMERICA. ties which no one but a man possessed of the most extraordinary mind could have overcome, he made the land of the New World, at ten o'clock on the night of the 11th of October, in the same year ; having himself first observed a light moving about on the shore ; although the land itself was not visible until two o'clock, on the morning of Friday the 12th, when it was seen by Roderic de Triana in the ship Pinta : so that an interval of sixty-nine days, passed in the greatest anxiety, elapsed, from the time of quitting the Old to the arrival in sight of the New Hemisphere. The joy of the Europeans at this discovery, knew no bounds ; they lavished encomiums on their leader, whom they had hitherto looked on as a visionary ; they solicited his pardon for their infi- delity, and pressed him to land : he set his foot on the shore, amid the exultation of his companions, and the prostrations and astonish- ment of the natives, who regarded their unexpected visitors as a celestial people, and, accordingly paid them divine honours. Columbus took formal possession of the land in the name of the King of Spain, hoisting the royal standard, displaying a flag with a large green cross, and naming it San Salvador (The Holy Sa- viour) ; but it is now known by the native name Guanahani, and is the Cat Island of the British charts, one of the outermost of the Lucayos or Bahamas Group. He afterward discovered Cuba and St. Domingo, or Hispaniola, where he built a fort out of the tim- bers of his ship which was cast ashore, and then returned to Spain. This fort was afterwards destroyed, as well as its garrison, by the natives. ^ His next voyage lasted during the years 1493, 94, 95, when he founded a town in Hispaniola, or St. Domingo, which town he called Isabella. The natives styled this island Hayti (the Land of Mountains^ ; but Columbus chose to name it Hispaniola (Little Spain). This town, which Columbus founded about the 10th De- cember, 1493, was the commencement of Spanish enterprise and colonisation in the New World, as it was a permanent settlement. Columbus arrived in Europe in 1496, having spent the intermedi- ate time in researches amongst the Caribbean Islands. The third voyage of Columbus in 1498, was the means of dis- covering the island of Trinidad, and observing near it the mouth of a large river, he proceeded farther ; when, to his astonished view, the continent presented itself. He landed on that part of the South American coast, called Paria, which took place in the month of August in the same year. A person named Americo Vespucci, a Florentine, accompanied one of the officers of Columbus to the New World, in 1499, (this officer had been with Columbus during the second voyage), when they visited those places which the Admiral had previously ex- plored, and returned to Europe. Vespucci being a man of some science, published an account of IfORTH AMERICA. 23 the New Countries, which being the first description that had been given to the world at large, ungrateful Europe has decreed to hina the honour of allowing the New World to bear his name ; neglecting the genius whose daring imagination had dictated the Discovery, and whose arduous exertion had completed it ; he, re- ceiving for his reward, the disgraceful punishment of being con- veyed to Spain, in the year 1500, in fetters. An affecting proof of his sense of this indignity, is related by his son, who says, " These fetters Columbus ever after kept with him, and on his death-bed, ordered them to be deposited in the grave with his body !" In 1502, Columbus, having discomfited his enemies, made a fourth voyage, in which he discovered and explored a vast extent of the continent of America ; particularly the coast of Honduras, Verapaz, and Veragua, with the harbour of Porto Bello. Having thus briefly stated the voyages of Columbus, which has been done with the view of fixing the epoch of Spanish colonisa- tion in the New World, we shall not enter into the discoveries of parts of the Spanish American colonies by other navigators or ad- venturers, at present ; but reserving these subjects for the particu- lar provincial descriptions, we shall proceed to relate what extent of territory is claimed by the Spanish Crown in North America. EXTENT AND BOUNDARLES. In North America, the northern and eastern boundary of the Spanish territory is situated in north latitude 31«», where an ideal line, running through St. Mary's River, separates the United States from the Floridas. The Atlantic Ocean on the east, the Gulf of Mexico on the south, and the river Perdido on the west, complete the limit of that division which comprises the tract of territory known by the name of Florida. The northern and western boundary is much disputed, but ac- cording to the best information, it extends from Port St. Francisco on the Pacific Ocean in 27* 48' 30" north latitude, and 122° 36' 45" west longitude, (according to Vancouver); between which and Port Sir Francis Drake, there is a wild country. Port Sir Francis Drake is in about 39° north latitude, and to this port the British claims on the western coast of America extend. The Spanish government have set up an inadmissible claim to the whole western coast, but, as much doubt has existed on the claims of the two nations, 39° north latitude, has been usually ta- ken as the boundary of Spanish acquisitions in the New W^orld ; because they have some settlements in that latitude to the north of the town of Santa Fe, in New Mexico, as well as because the sources of the Rio Bravo are situated thereabouts. Therefore, commencing from the coast of the Pacific in 39" north latitude, we draw an ideal line from that parallel across the country, until we 24 NORtH AMERICA. have passed the province of New Mexico ; thence the line bend? southward and eastward, until it meets the River Mexicano, or Mermento, which it follows to the Gulf of Mexico ; where, in this quarter, the boundaries are again disputed by the government off the United States ; who, since Louisiana has been ceded to them, lay claim to the whole country, up to the eastern bank of the Rio Bravo del Norte ; the Spaniards, however, do not admit this, and fix their boundaries at the estuary of the Mexicano, or Mermento. A reference to the accompanying map will better explain those dis- puted limits than any verbal account. The western barrier of Spanish territory in North America, is the Pacific Ocean ; on the south east, the Gulf of Mexico, the Bay of Honduras, and the Caribbean Sea, are the boundaries establish- ed by nature ; and on the south, a chain of mountains called the Sierra de Canatagua, which run across the extremities of the two provinces of Veragua and Panama, in about 80° 50' west longitude. This chain divides the northern from the southern continent of America, and the country is here known by the geographical name of the Isthmus of Darien. The extent of these possessions may be computed, by taking 7* north latitude, as the southern extremity, and 39° as the northern, which will give about 1900 miles in length, whilst from the vary- ing form of the country in the Isthmus of Darien, the cutting out of Louisiana, the singular figure of the Floridas, and the immense inlet of the Californian Gulf, it may be computed at about 450 miles in mean breadth. POLITICAL DIVISIONS. This vast extent of continent, including the two West India islands of Porto Rico, and Cuba, is divided into four great govern- ments. The viceroyalty of New Spain, or Mexico, the Capitania General of Guatimala, and the two Capitanerias Generales of Port© Rico and Cuba, which last includes the Floridas. TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS. The face of the Spanish dominions in the North American Continent, is divided into three great sections ; on the east, Flo- rida ; in the centre, north and west, New Spain ; and on the south, Guitamala ; we shall therefore proceed to give a separate descrip- tion of each division, and its local divisions ; commencing on the east with the government of the Floridas. FLORIDA. FLORIDA. Florida is hounded on the north by the United States, an ideal line, commencing at the centre of the estuary of St. Mary's River, in the Atlantic Ocean, extending thence along the coast of that river, and across the Ekanfanega Swamp up to the junction of the Flint and Apalachicola rivers ; thence up the eastern bank of the Apalachicola, until it meets the 31° of north latitude, when it crosses the river, and follows the parallel of 31° to the river Per- dido, which separates the Floridas from the United States ; on the west, the line follows the river Perdido down into the Mexican Gulf; on the south, the Gulf of Mexico, and on the east, the At- lantic Ocean, complete the boundaries of Florida. JDiscovery. The Floridas were originally not restricted to the small tract of country now bearing that name, but extended over an immense region, which was discovered by Sebastian Cabot, in 1496 ; they certainly, however, had their designation from Juan Ponce de Leon, a Spanish navigator, who landed in Florida from Porto Rico, on Saturday, 2d April, 1512 ; when the country being in full verdure, and its appearance highly beautiful and pictu- resque, he gave it the name of Florida, or Fair. The British were masters of this country till the termination of the American war ; when it was included in the Charter, granted by Charles II. to Carolina, together with Georgia. The English founded their right to Florida on the discoveries of Cabot, who was a Venetian in the English service. In 1564, the French occupied several parts of this country, but being neglected by their government, the Spaniards sent out an expedition to dispossess them ; in which they succeeded, and such prisoners as were taken, were hung with labels attached to them, bearing the inscription, " Not as Frenchmen^ but as Heretics,^'' However, these unfortunate colonists were revenged soon after by their countryman Dominic de Gourges, an intrepid adventurer, who, having disposed of his property in Gascony, built some ves- sels, and choosing a band of restless spirits to assist him, sailed for Florida. He defeated the Spaniards at all points, and after acting with the most determined valour, to revenge the treatment of his compatriots, he hung his prisoners, with this sentence at- tached to their necks, " Not as Spaniards, but as Assassins .'" This affair had not the least effect towards resettling the Floridas by the French, who, unnoticed by their government, destroyed the forti- fied places, and left the country. The settlement by the Spaniards, after much bloodshed, on ac- count of the opposition of the natives, who were of a very warlike disposition, did not finally succeed until the year 1665 ; when thev D 26 NORTH AMERICA. fortified the capital, Saint Augustine. This phice suffered repeat- ed attacks from the neighbouring English colonists in Georgia, and by the buccaneers; in 1702, Colonel More, the governor of Caro- lina, besieged it with a body of five hundred troops, and seven hundred Indians ; the siege lasted three months, but they were forced to raise it, by the arrival of a reinforcement of ships and stores to the garrison. In 1 740, it was again besieged by General Oglethorpe, but he also was forced to retire with some loss ; so that the Floridas con- tinued under the domination of Spain, until the year 1763, when they were ceded to Great Britain, in exchange for the Havannah, which Lord Albemarle had taken from Spain. Whilst the British possessed the country, they first divided it into east and west Florida, separating them from each other, by the great river Apalachicola. East Florida extends much further to the south than West Florida, and is washed by the waters of the Mexican Gulf, in the 25th degree of north latitude ; while the southernmost point of West Florida, is only in 29° 30' north la- titude. The figure of East Florida is nearly that of a triangle ; the base towards Georgia being an imaginary line, as before described, of more than 160 miles in breadth ; the perpendicular being about 350 in length. West Florida has the figure of a parallelogram, and is about 120 miles in length from east to west, and from 40 to 80 in breadth. The river Perdido being its western, «nd the Apalachi- cola its eastern limit. The capital of East Florida is St. Augustine; that of West Flo- rida, Pensacola. During the struggle of Great Britain with her American colo- nies in 1781 ; Spain took forcible possession of Florida, and it was confirmed to that crown by the treaty of peace in 1783. The climate of the Floridas, is for the most part tolerably good ; in the summer it is very hot ; the winters cold, and the rivers are frequently frozen during that season. Inland, and on the moun- tains, the air is very pure and salubrious. The soil of the Floridas is sandy and barren on the coast ; but in the interior, and on the banks of the rivers, very fertile and good ; so rich indeed was the land thought to be by the first ex- plorers, and the climate so good, that the voyage of Ponce de Leon was undertaken, in tlie hopes of conquering, and making his for- tune in this part of the New World. A tradition which existed among the Caribs had also some weight ; they reported that on the southern part of the eastern continent, existed a spring, of which any person, advanced in life, tasting, they would become reno- vated, and enjoy eternal youth. The Spaniards, ever tond of ro- mance, greedily swallowed the miraculous tale, and undertook voyages to discover this invaluable fountain. Many Indians had FLORIDA. 27 embarked from time to time, but as they never returned, they were supposed to be so charmed with the country, and the all- healing water, that they preferred living there, allured by all the bounties of Nature, and the supreme bliss of perpetual youth. Ponce de Leon at last set out ; actuated by the motives before mentioned, as well as by these, he explored Florida, and returning with increasing years, and an increase of wisdom, made that coun- try known to the Spanish nation ; who however neglected it, until the massacre of the French settlers happened, excepting that in 1539, Ferdinand de Soto, had many actions with the native tribes, who were not however finally quelled until the year 1665. Luke Vasquez de Ayllon, and Pamphilo de Narvaez (the same who had been routed in Mexico by Cortez) made attempts to conquer Flo- rida, and both lost their lives ; and the adventurers who accom- panied them, as well as those who were with Soto, suffered incre- dible hardships after the death of their commanders. Rice and indigo are the chief productions of West Florida ; and in the eastern province the land is so fertile, that the inhabitants have sometimes three crops of Indian corn a-year. The interior of this pi'ovince is very hilly, a chain of mountains traversing it from north to south, the sides of which are covered with forests, and the valleys they form afford the richest pasturage. Oranges and lemons grow without the assistance of cultivation, and are finer than the European fruits of those kinds. Iinmense trees of the white and red oak, the splendid and beautiful magniola, the cy- press, red and white cedar, the crab-oak, mulberry, pine, hickory, &c. are here observed in grand masses, and form the most delight- ful shades in the heats of summer. Vines flourish and produce excellent fruit. They have also in these provinces the best sassafras in America, palms, Indian figs, chesnuts, walnuts, peaches, plums, cocoa nuts, and melons, in abun- dance, Olives, which are indigenous, thrive exceedingly, and are in great plenty. The cabbage tree affords the principal nutriment to the native Indians, and constitutes a food, at once pleasant and wholesome. Flax, hemp, and cotton, are produced in abundance ; cochineal forms a valuable article of the exports. The coasts and rivers furnish fish of every description known in these latitudes. Shell fish are found in the shallows, (which are so numerous along the shores) particularly large and small oys- ters, of excellent quality ; along the southern beach, amber is alsa occasionally found. Numerous flocks of sheep and herds of cattle are fed in Flori- da ; swine are had here in great perfection ; for as they feed chiefly on the chesnuts and acorns of the forests, their flesh is supposed to have a peculiar delicate flavour. In the woods and de&ert places, are wild animals of various descriptions, amongst which are the American tiger, the panther, loup cervier, racoon, buffalo, with the 28 KORTH AMERICA. ioXy hare, rabbit, goat, otter, flying squirrel, opossum, guano, ar- madillo, &c. with many species of snakes and serpents. The bird tribes are very extensive in Florida ; among which, the heron, crane, wild-goose, and duck, partridge, pigeon, macaw, hawk, thrush, jay, &c. are a few of the most noted. The alligator, or American crocodile, frequents the large rivers and lakes ; and the tribe of reptiles is also very numerous. The interior of the Floridas has not been explored by scientific travellers ; it is chiefly inhabited by the native Indians, the Euro- peans confining themselves mostly to the towns. The country in general is not very thickly populated, and requires much exertion to clear the forests, and drain the swamps, which, if done, would render it a salubrious and desirable residence, where the wants of man might be easily satisfied ; and where he would rest secure from some of those tremendous convulsions of Nature, which ter- rify and destroy his fellow creatures, in most other parts of the Spanish colonies in the western world. The capital of East Florida, St. Augustine^ is situated on the east coast of Florida, in St. Augustine Bay, west longitude 81' 10', and 30° north latitude, and contains a population of about 4000 souls. This city was founded originally by the Spaniards, in 1586, and fortified in 1665. Sir Francis Drake reduced the fort, and pillaged both it and the town ; Captain Davies also, and a body of bucca- neers, treated the place in a similar manner afterwards. Also, as has been before stated, the British and Indians attacked it under Colonel More, but were forced to retire, leaving their vessels and stores behind them ; in their retreat, they burnt the houses in the neighbourhood, and ravaged the country to a great extent ; Ge- neral Oglethorpe, in 1740, also bombarded the fort, but was obliged to retreat. The situation of this city, on the coast of the Atlantic, renders it healthy, as it has all the advantage of the sea breezes ; it is 316 miles south-west of Charleston, in South Carolina, 180 miles east of St. Mark's, in East Florida ; and £40 miles from the entrance of the gulf or straits of Florida. The figure of the town is an oblong, and it is built at the bottom of an eminence along the beach. There are four principal streets, running parallel to each other ; these are wide and perfectly straight, and intersected by others of a smaller size, at right angles. Ihe church of St. Augustine, is a well built edifice, and with the monastery forms the principal or- nament of the place. The fortress which protects the town, is called the Castle of St. Juan ; it is built of stone, having four bas- tions, the curtains between which are 180 feet in length, and the rampart is twenty feet in height. The buildings are very good, and the greater part are bomb-proof, and partly casemated : so that this fortification is reckoned strong. FLORIDA. 29 The other most noted towns of East Florida are, St. Mark^s, a sea-port, situated on St. Mark's river, near where it falls into Apa- lachia Bay, 180 miles west of the capital, in 30° 10' north latitude, and 84° 36' west longitude. Apalachia^ is also a sea-port on a bay of the same name, into which the Apalachia river empties itself. In the environs of this town, is a country inhabited by the Apalachia Indians ; it is 130 miles east of Pensacola, the capital of West Florida, and 90 miles west gf the river del Espiritu Santo, and situated in 29° 43' north latitude, and 84° 28' west longitude. St. Juan^ twelve miles north of St. Mark's. St. Francisco^ fifty-six miles east south-east of St. Mark's. St. Pedro^ forty-four miles east south-east of St. Mark's. Apalachicola^ on the Apalachicola river, 100 miles north-east of Pensacola, in West Florida. Neuvilla^ fifty-four miles south south-east of St. Mark's ; and TalahosochetCy an Indian town, 30 miles north of St. Mark's. In West Florida, the capital, Pensacola^ is situated on the west side of Pensacola Bay ; this harbour is one of the finest in the Flo- ridas, safe from every wind, and having from seven to eight fathom water, so that vessels drawing 21 feet may enter. Pensacola is in 30° 28' north latitude, and 87" 12' west lon- gitude. The city is of an oblong form, about a mile in length and a quarter of a mile in breadth, delightfully placed, and ac- counted a very healthy place. The entrance into the bay is for- tified by a small fort on Kosa Island, and a battery on the oppo- site shore. The Spaniards took this town on the 11th of May, 1781. When it was in the hands of the English, the houses were ele- gant and spacious ; it exported, in skins, furs, logwood, and dye- ing stuffs to England, to the amount of 63,000/. annually, and its imports from England were valued at 97,000/. for the same pe- riod. The town and forts were not surrendered to the Spanish troops, until the English garrison had made a most determined and protracted resistance. The whole province fell at the same time into their hands, since which, Pensacola has been on the decline. A river called the Escambia Coenecah runs near the town, and supplies it with water ; it falls into the bay, and is navigable for boats for fifty miles, and for sloops for twenty. The ©ther towns of most importance in West Florida are, St. Josefs or the bay of St. Josef, near Cape St. Blaz, in the Gulf of Mexico, situated in 85° 34' west longitude, and 29° 45' north la- titude. Wells^ a sea-port on the west side of St. Andrew's Bay, and in 30° 25' north latitude, and 85° 50' west longitude, and Campbeltown^ in Pensacola Bay, is seven miles north north-east of Pensacola. 30 NORTH AMERICA. Th6 rivers of East Florida are chiefly the Apalachicola^ which rises in the United States, and as before stated, forms the boun- dary between the two Floridas ; it is a considerable river, and falls into the Mexican Gulf near Cape St. Blaz. The mouth of the Apalachicola is encircled with a number of small islands, named St. George's Isles. Nassau Rive>\ a small stream which joins the ocean in 81° 42' west longitude, 30° 49' north latitude. St, Mary^s River^ famous only for its being a part of the north- ern boundary between Georgia and Florida ; it rises in a small lake in the great Ekanfanoga Swamp, and after a short course, runs into the Atlantic in St. Mary's Bay, in 81°41' west longitude, and 30° Z5' north latitude. The Americans have a town called St. Mary's, on their side of the mouth of the river. St. John's River., which rises in a swamp in the southern part of East Florida, and after running northerly for a short distance, forms several lakes ; the largest of which is Lake George ; it then again pursues its course to the northward, and turning to the east, joins the Atlantic in Sl^ 42' west longitude, and 30* 22' north lati- tude ; its mouth is encumbered with a bar, otherwise it is a broad and fine river, and being situated within ten leagues of the capital is very serviceable. Apalachia River., or Afalache., a small river which empties it- self into the Bay of Apalachia, in the Mexican Gulf, in 84° 28' west longitude, and 29© 43' north latitude. St. Johi'^s River, rises in Ekanfanoga Swamp, and after a wind- ing course of two hundred miles, falls into Apalachia Bay, to the east of Apalachia River. This is said to be the purest of American rivers, receiving in its course no tributary streams, but being fed solely by the springs which exist in its banks ; it is two hundred yards broad, and twenty feet deep at the Indian town of Talaho- sochete in East Florida. There are a few other rivers in East Florida, the names of which are, the Assilla, St. Mark's river, St. Matheo's river, which falls into Apalachia Bay, the Amajura, the Tampa and the Ma- natte ; the two latter of which fall into the Bay del Espiritu Santo^ and the Romano, which falls into Carlos harbour ; but of these so little is known, as indeed is the case with respect to every thing re- lating to the Floridas, that a particular description is impracticable. The latitudes and longitudes of many of the above places and rivers, are variously laid down in the maps, and different accounts are given of them by different authors ; so that it is not probable that they are exact ; the most correct sources of information have been sought, and as no late observations have been made in the country we have been describing, the. reader must unfortunately remain satisfied with the imperfect account we are enabled to give of a colony which belonged within the memory of the present ge- FLORIDA. 31 neratlon to Great Britain, but of which no British author has given an explicit account. The rivers of West Florida, are the boundary stream, the Rio Perd'ido^ or Lost River, so called by the Spaniards, because it loses itself for a short distance under ground, and then appears again and empties itself into the Mexican Gulf, in Perdido Bay, which is a large basin, though at its entrance not very wide, yet gradually enlarging till it meets the mouth of the river, which joins it in 87° 26' west longitude, and 30» 26' north latitude, ten leagues east of Mobile Point, and four leagues west of the line of Pensaco- la. This river stretches to the north-east, and in one place comes within a mile of the Great Lagoon, that is to the west of Pensacola harbour. The Rio Perdido, was formerly the boundary between the French and Spanish dominions, and is now considered by the treaty of 1783, as the limit between Mississippi territory and West Florida. By this treaty, the eastern and southern boundaries of Louisiania were fixed, and thus defined ; " south on the Gulf of Mexico, from "the Bay of St. Bernard, south-west of the Mississippi River, to ** the mouth of the Rio Perdido, up the Perdido to its source, and *' thence, (if it rise not north of the SI" of north latitude,) in a *' straight line north to that parallel, (31° north latitude,) thence *' along the southern boundary of the United States, west to the " Mississippi, then up this river to its source." The northern and western boundary of Louisiania will be spoken of under the head of New Mexico. The St. Andrezv^s River runs into a bay of the same name in the Gulf of Mexico, in 85° 40' west longitude, and 30« 17' north lati- tude. Swamps. — The great swamp of Ekanfanoga, called by the na- tives Ouaquaphenogaw, forms a striking feature of East Florida ; through which the boundary of this province runs by an imaginary line. This swamp is half in Georgia and half in Florida; it is 300 miles in circumference, and in the rainy season, bears the appear- ance of a vast lake, with several large spots of firm land, which may be denominated islands, as they are nearly always surrounded with water ; one of these the American tribes call a heavenly dwelling, which is peopled by a peculiarly gifted race, who enjoy all the pleasures and luxuries of the savage life in perfection ; whose women are very lovely, and supposed to be the children of the Sun. These people, who are conjectured to exist there, have been said, though with less of the marvellous, to be a tribe of Indians, who in some wars with the Creeks, had been nearly exterminated and fled here for shelter. The islands in the swamp are fertile ; in it rises the river St. Mary and some others. There are several large tracts of marshy ground in both the Floridas, which are ex- tremely fertilco 32 NORTH AMERICA. Lakes. — The lakes of Florida are more numerous than large,, the principal one is Lake George, or the Great Lake, and Mayaco, a large expanse of water and swampy land, in which, or near which, the river St. John rises. Lake George is formed by the river St. Juan, filling a large valley with its waters ; it is about fifteen miles in breadth, adorned with many beautiful and fertile islands, the largest of which is two miles long, commanding an extensive pros- pect ; on this island are the remains of an Iiadian town of consider- able size. The waters of Lake George, are from fifteen to twenty feet deep; the river St. John, forms in its course many other lakes, but none of them so large as are laid down in early maps, which are all, and even those of a later period, miserably defective with respect to Florida, although that country has been long in the pos- session of Great Britain. Another lake of some extent is laid down in the best maps near Apalachia Bay ; but of it little information has been given ; what is called Hillsborough River, may with equal propriety be termed a lake ; it cuts off a long slip of land parallel to the east coast, reaching from St. Augustine southwards. Islands. — The islands on the coast of Florida are numerous, but not, of any very great consequence. The chief ones are, Amelia Island^ near the north-west boundary of East Florida in the At- lantic ; extending from the mouth of the river St. Mary to the mouth of the Nassau River, and on which is a town called Fer- nandina, with a small fort. Come Island^ on the coast of West Flori4a, ten miles long and one broad, in 82° 32' west longitude, and 30" 11' north lati- tude. Roebuck Island^ near the same coast, in 84° 45' west longitude, 30° 17" north latitude. St. Anastas'ia Island^ on the east coast of East Florida, eighteen miles in length, and from one to three wide, in 81* 36' west longi- tude, and 29° 48' north latitude. Cluster of the Espiritu Sa?ito Islands, in a bay of the same name, on the west coast of East Florida. Santa Rosa Island, on the south coast of West Florida, thirty- six miles in length, and two wide, in 86° 50' west longitude, and 30» 26' north latitude. Talbot Island, on the coast of East Florida, eight miles long and fwo wide, in 84* 42' west longitude, and 30® 26' north latitude ; and some others. Bays. — The bays of Florida are chiefly the following. Espiritit Santo, or Nassau Bay, in East Florida or the west coast, a large and fine bay full of islands, which reaches from 82* 35' to 830 west longitude, and 27° 45' to 28° 10' north latitude. Santa Ros'ia Bay, on the coast of West Florida, in 86* 5' to 86° 32' west longitude, and 30" 33' north latitude. Pensacola Bay and thaBayofSt. Josef, in West Florida. FLORIDA. 33 The great bay Apalachia^ Carlos Baij, St. Mary's Bay^ and Bay of St. Aug-ustine, in East Florida. Capes. The most remarkable capes or head-lands are, CajDe St. Blaz or St. Blas^ near the mouth of the Apallachicola River, and situated in 85° 35' west longitude, and 35° 44' north latitude. Sandy Pointy the north part of Santa Rosia Bay in West Florida. Cape Cross^ in 84° 80' west longitude, 46° 25' north latitude, coast of West Florida. Cape Florida^ the most easterly point of East Florida, on the west side of the Gulf or Straits of Florida, in 80° 37" west longitude, 25° 44' north latitude. Cape Roman, in 82° 25' west longitude, and 25° 40' north latitude. Cape Sable, the most southerly point of East Florida, in 81° 49' west longitude, and 24° 57' north latitude, and Cape Carnaveral, Punta Larga, and the Promontory in East Florida. We shall close this account with some circumstances relating to the government, the late events which have taken place on the coast of Florida, and the funds allotted for the support of the adminis- tration. The Floridas are usually included under the government of the capitania-general of the Havannah, forming, with Cuba, one of the great governments of the Spanish American colonies. So little is known of the subdivisions of this captain-generalship, that it woulc- be futile to attempt an enumeration of them; as errors must inevi- tably occur, so thus it will be better not to state the uncertain knowledge we possess of them, than to run the risk of misleading the reader. The insurgents of Spanish America have lately been carrying on some operations in this quarter, and have established themselves in Amelia Island, at a town called Fernandina, where they have built batteries for their defence, and to whose port they carry many of the prizes they make of the Spanish merchant vessels in the West Indian seas. They are principally European adventu- rers, who have raised a flag in Amelia Island, which they display occasionally in their predatory incursions on the neighbouring con- tinent ; on this flag is a green cross, designated by them the green cross of the Floridas ; they have hitherto been unsuccessful in their efforts, and have not been assisted ! y the Colonists. The govern- ment of the United States have lately taken forcible possession of this port. The expenses of the administration of Florida are disbursed from the treasury of Mexico, the situado or annual remittance for this purpose being sent by way of the Havannah to Pensacola, and amounting in general to the sum of 62,700/. sterling. This sum 13 usually remitted to the intendant or governor of Pensaccla. E $4 NORTH AMERICA. NEW SPAIN. The most important of all the kingdoms of Spanish America, is New Spain ; therefore, before commencing with a detailed de- scription of its boundaries and situation, we shall give a concise view of those circumstances which are of most importance, with respect to its history, colonisation, &c. Under the title of Viceroy of New Spain, a Spanish officer of the highest rank governs a territory, which, in Europe, would be designated as an empire ; for it comprehends a surface extending from the thirty-ninth to the sixteenth degree of north latitude ; in its broadest part, occupying 22 degrees of longitude, and is wash- ed by the waters of the Great Pacific on its western, and by those of the Mexican Gulf, or Atlantic Ocean, on its eastern shores ; having unknown lands to its north ; the republic of the United States of America to its east ; and the government of Guatimala, as its southern limit ; thus occupying one of the most advantage- ously situated positions in the political world, whether for the fa- cilities afforded to its commerce, by the vicinity of two oceans, or by its stretching through part of the Torrid and Temperate Zones, affording from the heat of the one, the luxuries of the east, and from the mildness of the other, the necessaries of human existence :n the most profuse abundance ; here too exists more mines of sil- ver and gold, of copper, tin, Stc, than in any other part of Ameri- ca ; whilst its western shores afford the pearl muscle, equal, if not superior, to the celebrated produce of Ormus and Ceylon. That enterprising and enlightened traveller, M. le Baron de Humboldt, states the populaticti of this viceroyalty of Mexico, or New Spain, to have exceeded, in the year 1806, six millions five hundred thousand souls ; and its surface to extend over a space equal to 118,748 square leagues, at twenty-five leagues for each degree. Discovery^ ^^c. — The person who made the greatest figure in discovering and subjugating this extensive region, was Fernando CoRTEz, a native of Old Spain, born at a town called Medellin, in Estremadura, about thirteen miles south-east of Merida, in the year 1485, of a noble family whose fortune had declined. He was intended for the law, and studied at Salamanca ; but his restless disposition caused him to quit all prospects in this pursuit, and to follow the adventurers of the day in America ; he went according- ly to Hispaniola, where he obtained lucrative posts ; but, still dis- satisfied, quitted the Island in 1511, under the command of Velas- quez, in an expedition to the island of Cuba. Here he distinguish- ed himself by his bravery, and was chosen to undertake a voyage of discovery to the coasts of Mexico ; he spent the greater part of NEW SPAIN. ob his fortune in equipping his army and fleet ; and on the 18th of November 1518, set sail from Cuba, but anchored again, and sail- ed for the Havannah to complete his stores ; here he suffered much delay and vexation from the jealousy of Velasquez, and having se- cured the fidelity of his followers, by the promises of immense wealth, and his engaging qualities (for he was a man of the most insinuating address, and of great personal endowments, a robust and soldier-like appearance, and a dauntless mind), he completed by his own exertions, and those of his officers, amongst whom was Pizarro, then a youth, who afterwards rendered himself so famous in Peru, his armament, which consisted of eleven small vessels, containing 617 men, 508 being soldiers, and 109 sailors or work- men, with ample stores of provision. Cortez once more set sail from Cuba in the year 1519, on the 10th day of February, and steered for the Isle of Cozumel, on which he landed, and then proceeded to the River Tabasco ; where he forced the natives to acknowledge the Spanish king. His stand- ard bore a cross with this motto, " Follow zve this sign^for beneath it we shall conquer.'''' Procuring provisions, a present of gold, some cotton clothing, and 20 female slaves, he sailed to the west, and landed at the place now called St. Juan de Ullua, where he fortified himself, disembarked all his men, horses, and guns, having previously conciliated the natives. The Emperor of Mexico hearing of the arrival of the Spanish ships at this place, sent two embassadors to meet the strangers, to inquire their intentions, and to offer his assistance in furthering their voyage. They received from Cortez a haughty reply, that " he would confer with no other person than the emperor." The Tjilly Mexicans, alarmed at the unusual appearance of the troops, the horses, the ships, and the artillery, endeavoured to conciliate the commander by rich presents. The embassadors had painters in their train, who were busily employed in tracing these wonderful objects, during the interviews ; and Cortez, observing the circum- stance, to give a greater effect to his warlike show, made his troops go through their manceuvres, and fired his cannon at some trees. The poor Mexicans, astonished at this display, fell with their faces to the earth, being unable to withstand the alarm caused by the report of the guns. They returned to Mexico, and with incredible despatch, some presents which Cortez had given them, were transported to the capital, a distance of 180 miles ; and other messengers returned, accompanied by a train of one hundred Indians, bearing the most costly gifts of silver, gold, &c. An em- blem of the sun, in massive gold, and another of the moon, worth 5000/. in silver, were amongst the articles. These magnificent gifts, it was hoped, would conciliate the Spaniards, and make them consent to relinquish their idea of marching into the interior ; Montezuma, the emperor, declaring he would not permit their 36 NORTH AMERICA. Staying longer in his dominions ; but instead of attempting to eject them, he sent another and more costly present. The natives however discontinued supplying the troops with provision, and the embassadors of Montezuma left the camp in resentment ; the soldiers imagining that they should be attacked, came to open mutiny ; but Cortez, by promises, threats and pre- sents, gained their affections, and offered to lead them to the attack of the capital ; after having punished the ringleaders, he assembled a council, and laid his warrant before them, telling them he would only be chosen as their leader, by their united consent. This ex- periment succeeded ; they unanimously elected him commander in chief and president of the new Colony, and then formed a corpora- tion to govern the town they were about to found. This they im- mediately commenced, and called it Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz, " The rich City of the true Cross." Whilst employed in this work, Cortez received overtures from the Indian town of Zempoalla, to assist him in his enterprise against Montezuma ; he accordingly marched thither, and assisted by its inhabitants, founded another settlement, about 100 miles to the northward of Vera Cruz ; this was at the Indian town of Quia- baslan. The caciques or chiefs of Zempoalla and Quiabaslan, placed themselves under his protection ; and their example was fol- lowed by the Totonaques, a powerful and warlike tribe, who in- habited the mountain country. Whilst engaged in fortifying his new acquisition, and rendering it habitable, a second conspiracy was plotted against him ; to coun- teract this, he proposed two methods, the latter of which was the most extraordinary that ever entered the mind of man. In the first place, he proposed to the council, to send an account of the riches, fertility, &c. of the country, to Don Carlos of Austria, the Spanish monarch, and to request him to ratify their proceedings, and to appoint Cortez, by the sign manual, as they had already done, in the name and on the behalf of His Majesty ; this they consented to, and a vessel was despatched for Spain, with orders not to touch at Cuba, for fear of the intention being thwarted by Velasquez. The second proposal was " To burn the fieet^'' This, after great persuasion, and exhausting all his arts, he obtained their consent to do, and it was accordingly performed ; thus leaving between five and six hundred men, at the mercy of a powerful and populous empire. After obtaining this triumph over the adherents of Velasquez, who had no resource but in the capacity of their leader, and in their own courage, he marched from Zempoalla, on the l6th of August, 1519, with 500 soldiers, fifteen horses, and six cannon; the cacique of Zempoalla gave him 400 warriors and 200 slaves. The rest of the troops were left as a garrison, to defend Villa Rica. With this force, he entered the state of Tlascala, where he met NEW SPAIN. 37 with great opposition for fourteen days ; but after having beaten the Tlascalans at all points, without losing a man, these people made overtures for peace : he accepted their proposals, and they ever after acted as his best allies. He halted twenty days in Tlas- cala, where he endeavoured, as he had before done at Zempoalla, to convert the natives ; but succeeded only in abolishing the im- molation of human victims on the altars of their deities. It was by the intervention of a priest, Bartolomeo de Olvedo, his chaplain, whose name deserves to be recorded, that Cortez was restrained from converting the natives by the sword, when he found he could not otherwise attain that object. He next advanced against the state of Cholula, where he was treacherously received ; and to avenge himself, massacred six thousand of the Cholulans. Cholula was only sixty miles march from Mexico. In the course of his advance, he was aided by the rebellious state of the surrounding country ; and after a march of some days saw the capital of the empire from the Chalco moun- tain. His troops were invigorated at the sight; and beholding such a rich and fertile country, such an immense city, and so beau- tiful a landscape, they conceived their fortunes to be made, and that their toils would now be soon ended. They marched until they arrived within a very short distance of the entrance to the cityj when Montezuma, preceded by a train of a thousand nobles, him- self sitting on a chair richly adorned with gold, and borne by men, surrounded with his guards and courtiers, advanced to meet the Spaniards ; Cortez dismounting from his horse, saluted the empe- ror in an humble manner ; cloths of cotton were then spread along the road, and Montezuma, quitting his chair of state, walked to meet and salute the Spanish commander ; after much ceremony, the emperor conducted the general to a house prepared for the re- ception of himself and followers. No sooner had Cortez taken pos- session of his new habitation j than he set to work, and fortified it in the strongest manner he was able. The emperor shortly re- newed his visit, accompanied by people bearing rich presents to the troops. It was at this interview, that Cortez learnt, from the unguarded expressions of the Mexican ruler, the reason why he had not been attacked. It appeared, that the Mexicans had tradi- tions and prophecies, that a powerful race would come from the regions towards the East, where their deity, the Sun, rose, and that these people would overturn and chastise their country for the pu- nishment of their sins ; in this, Montezuma was a firm believer ; and it was from the motive of religion alone, supposing that the Sun would exterminate his people if violence was offered to his children, that the monarch was persuaded to act in the way he did. Cortez immediately seized the idea, and by his artful conduct was received as a child of the same universal Parent, the Sun, by the emperor and by his people. He spent several successive days 38 NORTH AMERICA. in viewing the city, and making his observations ; at the same time assuring Montezuma, that he was the embassador of the greatest monarch amongst the children of the Sun ; and that his master had sent him with the most friendly designs to his brethren the Mexi- cans. Having fortified his house, which was surrounded by a stone wall and turrets, and keeping a large body of his men con- stantly on the alert, he came to the resolute determination of seiz- ing Montezuma in his palace, and confining him in the Spanish quarters. He entered the palace, thirty men waiting outside of the audience hall, whilst Cortez, five officers, and five soldiers, placed themselves in the presence. He addressed Montezuma, and complaining of several things which he affected to dread, he requested the emperor would condescend to live in the Spanish quarters, until the alarm excited by some unusual appearances, had subsided. Montezuma reluctantly consented, and was escorted thither by the men. He was at first treated with all the attention and respect due to a mighty sovereign ; but, after a short interval, Cortez, with a soldier bearing fetters, came to his apartment, and told him that his garrison at Villa Rica had been attacked, and that he was the instigator of the insult ; that he had ordered the guilty to be executed, and that the emperor himself must feel the weight of his anger. Turning fiercely to the soldier, he command- ed him to fetter the legs of Montezuma. The unfortunate mo- narch and his attendants were sunk in grief and affliction, and Cor- tez left the room to attend at the execution of the sentence on the culprits. After this was ended, he repaired to the emperor's cham- ber, and with his own hands, took off the shackles. For six months Montezuma remained a prisoner, and Cortez during this time was employed in reconnoitring the country, pre- paring to build vessels on the lake, and dividing the spoils amongst his soldiers. In attempting to establish the Catholic faith, by throw- ing down the Mexican idols, he nearly ruined all his schemes, as the whole people were about to rise. At this juncture Montezu- ma requested he might be liberated, and declared that his power of saving the Spaniards was at an end, as his people would inevi- tably revenge the insult offered their Gods ; he concluded by re- questing that the embassy would withdraw from his territories, as he could no longer answer for their safety : previously however to this communication, the Emperor had acknowledged himself a vas- sal of the Spanish King, and had sent to Cortez his tokens of ho- mage, executed in all the prescribed forms, with a magnificent present, accompanied by others from his subjects. The Spanish commander had therefore good reason for not listening to the re- quest of Montezuma ; he replied, that he intended to send to his, master the presents, and in time to return himself, but that he must build new ships first. Whilst these discussions were going on, Velasquez, who had NEW SPAIN. 39 heard of the success of Cortez by the vessel which had touched at Cuba, (contrary to express command), had fitted out a fleet of eigh- teen vessels, with 800 infantry, eighty horse soldiers, twelve pieces of ordnance, and 120 arquebusiers, or cross-bow men. Pamphilo de Narvaez, was appointed commander of the force, with instruc- tions to seize Cortez and his staff, to conquer the empire in the name of Velasquez, and send the general and his officers prisoners to Cuba. Cortez hearing of the arrival of this armament, and that the troops under Narvaez, had marched to Zempoalla, determined to quit Mexico, leaving 150 men to guard Montezuma, and the capital J arriving at Zempoalla, he sent bribes to the officers of Narvaez' army, many of whom were seduced, and attacking his enemy in the night with only 250 men, completely defeated him. and was joined by his followers the next day ; receiving notice however, soon after the combat, that his little garrison in the capi- tal had been attacked by the Mexicans, he returned to that city with two thousand Tlascalan warriors, who joined him in his march. He entered the city without resistance, but was soon after attacked in his fortress in the most resolute manner, and having made a sal- ly in which he lost twelve men, and sixty wounded, he was forced to retreat ; he again sallied, and was wounded in the hand. He then had recourse to the stratagem ©f placing the Emperor in the view of his enraged subjects. Montezuma endeavoured to pacify them ; they listened with attention, but directly he had finished his speech, they again renewed the assault, and the forlorn monarch was wounded by an arrow. He refused all aid from the Spaniards, and tearing open hi? wounds, expired, frantic with rage and despair. After the death of the Emperor, Cortez found that he could no longer maintain his position ; he accordingly quitted it secretly in the night, and march- ed for the Tlascalan territories. On viewing his troops after se- veral hot assaults, which they experienced on the march, he is re- ported to have shed tears. Having recruited the spirits of his fol- lowers, and mustering the remainder of his forces, he again bent his course towards the capital, determined to perish or conquer. His infantry amounted to 550 men, his cavalry to 40, and he had 9 pieces of cannon : with this force of Spaniards, there marched 10,000 Indian allies, mostly Tlascalans, and on the 28th of Decem- ber, 1520, the whole army were in motion exactly six months aftei the evacuation of Mexico. He fixed his head quarters at Tezcuco, on the banks of the laka 20 miles from the capital. In this city, the natives adhered to his cause, and assisted him in building thirteen small ships, which he launched on the lake. At this juncture, four vessels, fitted out by his friends in Hispaniola arrived with two hundred infantry, eight horses, and supplies of arms and ammunition. He therefore im- mediately attacked the city on the east, west and south. It wa^; 40 NORTH AMERICA. defended by Guatimozin, the new Emperor, with undaunted cou- rage, and Cortez himself was once taken prisoner, but fortunately rescued, though wounded in the attempt. His soldiers who fell into the hands of the Mexicans, were immolated with horrid bar- barity on the altars of the god of war. His allies, the Indians, now amounted to 150,000, and his vessels kept possession of the lakes Tezcuco and Chalco. This siege continued with vigour for 7S days, and the town capitulated on the 21st August, 1521, when Guatimozin, the Emperor, was taken prisoner ; but the Spaniards had ruined three-fourths of the city in their attempts to take it ; they had, therefore, a barren triumph. Cortez stained his victory by ordering the Emperor to be put to the torture, in order to make him confess where he had hid his treasure ; which, in fact, he had caused to be thrown into the lake. It would be useless to detail the other proceedings of the army in the conquest of the provinces of the Mexican empire ; suffice it to say, that they all yielded with- out much opposition to the Spanish conquerors. Cortez now projected other discoveries, and named the country he had taken possession of, New Spain ; in his views of aggran- disement, he was much impeded by cabal both at home and abroad ; even an edict was issued by the King of Spain, to seize his per- son ; this was, however, revoked, and he was appointed Captain General of New Spain, by the Emperor Charles the Fifth. Other cabals being formed against him, and afresh order of seizure made out, which was only prevented being put into effect by the death of the commissioner, Ponce de Leon, Cortez, after settling his affairs in the New VVorld, returned to Spain, where his address and manners gained him the affections of Charles, who conferred on him the order of St. Jago, and the title of Marques del Valle de Guaxaca (still held by his descendants) together with the grant of a large district of New Spain. His unabated ardour for dis- covery caused him to return to the New World, which he did in 1530. Long previous to this event, the Spanish government determined that he should have only the situation of commander in chief, and hence arose the division of power which afterwards embittered his whole life. An audienza real^ or royal audience, was appointed for New Spain; through the hands of this Court, all the civil affairs of the country were administered. Having now, therefore, nei- ther the authority nor the influence he before held, he determined to remove himself from the scene of his disgusts : and accordingly, finding that the plans of discovery which he had prepared and sent people to put in execution, in 1522, had all failed, he determined, in 1536, to undertake them himself, and having fitted out some vessels, he discovered the vast Californian Gulf and part of its shores, when, after enduring incredible hardships, he returned to Mexico ; here his distresses were renewed, and once more to ob- >JEW SPAIK. 41 tain justice, he sailed for his native country, where he arrived in 1540; not being able to obtain his wishes, his vexation had so much effect upon his health, that his constitution, robust and vigorous as it had ever been, was unable to withstand the shock, and this extraordinary man quitted this transitory exist- ence on the 2d of December, 1547, in the sixty-second year of his age. During the absence of Cortez in California, in 1535, alter the new kingdom of Spain had been governed by Luis Ponce de Leon, Nuno de Gusman, and Ramirez de Fuenleal, a viceroy arrived from the Mother Country ; this was the first viceroy of New Spain, and the government has descended from one to another ever since ; the enumeration of them would be uninteresting and tedious ; we shall therefore pass them over, with the exception only of men- tioning that there have been fifty (up to the year 1808,) and that of these only one was an American, the Marquess de Casa Fuerte, who was a native of Peru ; a descendant of the unfortunate Mon- tezuma, Don Josef Sarmiento Valladares, Conde dc Montezuma, governed New Spain from the year 1697 to the year 1701 ; and of the descendants of that monarch, there are still three branches re- maining, all of whom are Spanish nobles. A descendant of Co- lumbus, Don Pedro Nuno Colon, Duke of Veragua, also held the viceroyalty of New Spain for six days, dying suddenly after he was invested. It is requisite for the nobleman who is advanced to this dignity to possess a lai'ge fortune, or there must be considerable emoluments attached to the vice-regal office sub rosa ; for the salary of an Ame- rican viceroy is only 12,600/. per annum, and with this he has to observe the state of a king ; he has his body giAards, who precede him whenever he goes out ; he is served by pdges, and allowed to eat only with the members of his own family, it being too great a condescension in the viceroy, to permit any inferior to sit at the same table with him. The nobles of New Spain are represented as extremely nume- rous ; the Creoles seeking with great avidity after Spanish honours ; the government have also ennobled the caciques or heads of the In- dian tribes, who are extremely proud of their distinction. It is a singular circumstance, that the descendants of the kings and great chiefs who were in alliance with Montezuma at the time of the conquest, should many of them at present hold the chief authority, by consent of the Spaniards, over the tribes which their ancestors governed, and which they now oppress still more than their fore- fathers did : the caciques being generally very proud, ignorant and vain of their fancied superiority. In describing the natives of this country, we shall relate the manner in vrhich they have been and are still governed ; at present F 45 NORTH AMERICA. it will be necessary to recur to the political divisions of the territory of New Spain. POLITICAL AND TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS. The viceroyalty of New Spain is divided into three provinces and twelve intendancies ; which again suffer also some other minute subdivisions, of which the enumerations will hereafter be given. ' The three provinces and twelve intendancies are as follow :-— The province of New Mexico ; two provinces of California, or Old and New California. The intendancies of New Biscay, or Du- rango, Sonora, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas, Guadalaxara, Guana- xuato, Valladolid or Mechoacan, Mexico, Puebla or Tlascala, Vera Cruz, Oaxaca, or Guaxaca, and Merida or Yucatan. The civil affairs of these great territories are under the controul of two su- preme councils, called Aud'ienzas Reales^ which govern the dis- tricts situated to the north and south of a certain line beginning thirty miles to the northward of the Panuco river, or Rio Tampico, in the Gulf of Mexico, and thence to St. Luis Potosi, along the southern boundary of the intendancy of Zacatecas and west side of the intendancy of the Guanaxuato, through the intendancy of Guadalaxara to Guatlan, a port on the Pacific. To the north of this line, the audienza of Guadalaxara exerts its authority, and the southern part, till New Spain is bounded by the kingdom of Guatimala, is subject to the audienza of Mexico. This immense viceroyalty is situated partly in the nothern tem- perate, and partly in the torrid zone ; and is politically governed by a viceroy nominated by the Court of Spain, and two captain-gene- rals or comandantes generales^ who are in some measure under his authority. These last-named governors have authority over, — Sono- ra, New Biscay, New Mexico, and the two Californias, which comprise the western captain-generalship ; and Coaguila, Texas, the colony of New Santander, and New Leon, in the intendancy of St. Luis Potosi ; which comprise the eastern captain-generalship: part of these ax-e, however, only subject to their authority as mili- tary commands, and to name those would afford no satisfaction, as the minute subdivisions of the governments of so vast a country are liable to constant changes. BOUNDARIES. New Spain is bounded on the north by an imaginary line in the 39° of north latituck, reaching to Port San Francisco on the Pacific ; the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of California bounds it on the west ; on the east the United States Territory of Louisiana, the Mexican Gulf and Bay of Honduras ; and on the south the king- dom of Guatimala completes its boundaries. NEW SPAIN. 43 EXTENT. The extent of this viceroyalty occupies a space equal to 118,478 square leagues, of twenty-five to a degree. CLIMATE. The climate of New Spain may be looked upon as the most ex- traordinary in the world, varying from the tropical heats to the mild and healthful climate of middle Europe, and to the frosts and snows of Siberia ; this phenomenon being observable in a journey of a few hours across the ridge of the Cordilleras. The sea coasts are hot and insalubrious in general ; the port of Vera Cruz, on the east, and that of Acapulco, on the west, the two great emporiums of Mexican commerce, being amongst the most unhealthy places in the world. The southern parts of this kingdom, which are not on elevated land, are, during the whole year, sub- ject to excessive heats ; even in December the heat exceeding that of the English summer. The plains which extend alone the ridges of the Cordillei-a are in general healthy, and their climate tempe- rate, and the yellow fever extends its ravages only to a small dis- tance from the coast to the interior : as soon as the land begins to rise this pestilence ceases. The whole province of Mexico is crossed by a vast plain at the height of from 2000 to 2700 yards above the level of the sea ; here the inhabitants enjoy a perpetual spring ; and, although they live under the Torrid Zone, they occasionally feel a considerable de- gree of cold in the nothern districts. The climate in the interior is so delightful that the natives sleep, with little covering, under the canopy of heaven. FEATURES OF THE COUNTRY, PRODUCTIONS, &C. The great Mexican plain above mentioned, may be said to ex* tend through the whole of New Spain. Carriages traverse a dis- tance of five hundred leagues on it from Mexico to Santa F^' in the north ; the whole road being made with little labour, and nearly level. This enormous plain, or table land, as well as several others of less dimensions, forms the ridge of the Cordilleras, which goes by the names of Anahuac, Sierra Madre, Topia, &c. and is of great breadth. On its bosom repose the summits of gigantic mountains, which reach the region of perpetual snow. On the east coast the land is generally flat and swampy ; and on the west, the descent of the central chain has four parallel valleys of great depth, which are richly cultivated. The Cordillera of New Spain is evidently a continuation of the Andes ; it traverses the captain-generalship of Guatimala, along 44 NORTH AMERICA. its western coast, throwing out arms into the province of Hondu- ras ; it then turns eastward, for a short distance, on entering the kingdom of New Spain, and sends an arm into the province of Yu- catan ; rising afterwards gradually to the north, and occupying the middle of the continent ; it then, in the province of Mexico, goes off to the east, where forming the vast plain of Anahuac, it has its greatest elevation, and is here called Sierra Madre ; the Popoca- tepetl, Iztaccihuatl, Pico de Orizaba, and Cofre de Perote being either in or on the borders of this province ; the Popocatepetl, the highest summit of New Spain, is 17,716 feet above the level of the sea. The Cordillera then passes on to the north-west, and throws out three branches, one into New Leon, one into Guadalaxara, and one to the province of Zacatecas ; it then continues northward, being of great breadth, till it passes the kingdom of New Spain, and on the borders assumes the names of Sierra de las Grullas, and Sierra Verde ; after which it joins the Blue Mountains, and Stoney Mountains of north-west America. Amongst the lofty masses we have mentioned are some volcanoes, which constitute a magnifi- cent part of the scenery ; no less than five existing in the provinces of Mexico, Puebla, and Vera Cruz, some of which are enveloped in perpetual snows. The sides of this great chain are covered with immense forests of every species of trees, which luxuriate according to their posi- tion : the hardy pine and fir occupying the upper, and the tropical productions the lower regions. In the valleys, on the plains, sides, and at the foot of the chain^ are observed beautiful cities, villages, and romantically situated farms, forests interspersed with rivers, cataracts, and extraordi- narily formed rocks. It is here that the painter might mature his taste for the wonderful, the rude, and the majestic features of na- ture. The soil, adapted to cultivation, is mostly a deep clay, which requires nothing more than irrigation to render it fertile in the extreme. The agricultural objects are principally wheat, maize, cotton, indigo, pimento, sugar, tobacco, the agave and cochineal plant. This applies chiefly to the southern portion, the more northerly being nearly in a state of nature. Sugar, cotton, cocoa and indigo flourish between 19° and 22° of north latitude, and are only abundantly produced at an elevation of from 1900 to 2600 feet ; as also European grains at the height of from between 4550 10 9750 feet. The oaks of Mexico grow to maturity only at from 2600 to 9750 feet of elevation ; pines reach, toward the lower term of congela- tion, to a height of 13,000 feet, and descend on the east coast as low as 6000 feet above the lev^el of the sea. The banana, the great support of the natives, is found no higher than 4600 in a state of perfection. This fruit forms the principal NEW SPAIN. 45 food of the natives ; when gathered green they cut it into slices, and lay them in the sun to dry, and pound it into meal, which they use Ibr the same purposes that flour is generally put to ; the fruit is also eaten. The plantations of the banana are kept up by suckers. The same region which matures the banana, is also favourable to the manioc, which is powdered and made into bread. Of this root there are two kinds, one sweet, the other bitter ; the latter is poi- sonous, unless carefully made into bread by separating the noxious juice. The bread of the manioc is called cassava, and is extreme- ly nutritive ; forming, when made up in a particular manner, by being smoked and grated, a substance which resists the attacks of insects, making one of the chief articles of provision on long jour- neys. They also make of the poisonous juice a sort of soy ; but it is sometimes dangerous to use this sauce. Manioc is cultivated by slips, and they have one harvest a-year, the whole process being nearly similar to that of potatoe planting. Maize occupies the same region, and reaches to maturity at the same elevation as the two former plants. This plant is of the ut- most importance to the colonies, and, being indigenous, thrives better here than any where. It grows to the height of nine feet, and yields a hundred-and-fifty fold. It succeeds better in the south- ern provinces than in the northern, and forms a principal article of food to the inhabitants, to the mules employed in the mines, and in conveying goods from one province to another, and to the poultry, See. When the harvest of maize fails, the unfortunate natives are re- duced to the greatest straits. It yields, in the most favourable si- tuations, three crops annually. This maize, or Indian corn, is eaten boiled and roasted, and, when ground, is made into bread. The meal is used for soups, under which form it is principally consumed. The Indians, also, by fermentation, make several in- toxicating liquors from this plant, as well as a sort of beer ; and, before the arrival of the Spaniards, the Mexicans made sugar of the stalks. Wheat was first introduced by the Spaniards, and promises to become, with the other European grains, when the great roads are completed, one of the most abundant articles of the commerce of New Spain, as it already enters into competition at the Havannah, with the flour of the United States ; but the means of transport are at present so bad in the interior, that no great quantity is cul- tivated for exportation. The potatoe, which was introduced by the Europeans, thrives very well ; for although it originally came from America, it was known only in the southern part at the time of the conquest. The capsicum, or pimento, the tomatas, rice, turnips, cabbages, salads of all sorts, onions, and every kind of European vegetable, are successfully cultivated. The table land produces all sorts of European fruits in great plentv ; plums, apricots, figs, cher- 46 NORTH AMERICA. lies, peaches melons, pears, apples, &c. The vine and olive also flourish equally well, but are not frequently to be seen, on account of the Spanish Government discouraging the culture of these plants, as the commerce of the Peninsula, in oils and wine, would cease, it they were allowed to be reared ; the climate of New Spain being more favourable for their production than that of Europe ; how- ever they are found in California, and some of the northern pro- vinces, in great abundance. The tropical fruits, of every species, are met with in New Spain, guavas, ananas, sapotes, mameis, &c. and the Europeans appear to take great delight in their gardens. The orange and lemon plants, of almost every species, grow in these delightful regions, where animal food forms the secondary article of human nourishment. The principal vegetable decoction which supplies the place of the brandies and strong liquors of Europe, is that produced from the agave, or maguey. The natives and Spaniards have large planta- tions of agave, for the purpose of forming from it their favourite beverage, called pulque, which is procured by wounding the plant at a particular season, from which there flows a ropy liquor, which they collect and ferment. Pulque, from being the great beverage of the Indians, and lower orders of Mexican Spaniards, yields an immense revenue to the government. The sugar cane is success- fully cultivated, and sugar already forms one of the principal arti- cles of export. Cotton is also an article of commerce, as is like- wise coffee, but neither of them to a great amount. Their cocoa and chocolate have long been famous ; the name of the latter be- ing originally Mexican, but the best chocolate comes from Gua- timala. Vanilla, of the finest quality, is imported into Spain from Mex- ico. Sarsaparilla and jalap, which takes its name from the town of Xalapa, near which it is found, are celebrated articles of its ex- port trade. Of tobacco, it does not grow enough for its own con- sumption, not owing to the soil, but to its culture being discouraged. The indigo from the Spanish colonies is raised chiefly in Guati- mala. Odoriferous gums, medicinal plants, and drugs ; the dying woods, particularly logwood ; the valuable woods used in making articles of furniture ; are the produce of this Viceroyalty ; which is as rich in the productions of the vegetable as of the mineral king- dom. Cochineal, and the plant on which the insect feeds and comes to maturity, are amongst the most singular of its products j they are principally managed by the Indians, who are most skil- ful in the mode of collecting the harvests of this extraordinary dye. The animals wild and domestic, are chiefly the horse, mules, of which thousands are employed in carrying goods over the crests of the mountains separating the two oceans, and in drawing the me- tals from the mines, &c. sheep, goats, and cattle : the cougar, or NEW SPAIN. 47 American tiger ; the puma, the tiger-cat, loup-cervier, wild-boar, swine, buffalo, bison, tapir, marmaclillo, and immense tribes of apes and monkeys, with birds of every variety and beauty, amongst which are wild and tame turkeys, ducks, domestic fowls, &c. The insects are as numerous as singular, and the serpents and reptiles thrive under the vertical " sun, and amid the humid exha- lations of the low-lands. The alligator is found in its rivers and swamps, and is nearly as formidable as the Egyptian crocodile. In the northern part of New Spain, horses, cattle, sheep and goats, are found in a state of nature, having multiplied to an ex- traordinary degree in the wide spread plains and Savannahs. The silk-worm is reared in some of the provinces ; but as the growing of silk would interfere with the commerce of the East In- dian possessions of Spain, this article is not much attended to. Honey and wax are procured in the greatest plenty, as may rea- sonably be imagined in a country abounding with aromatic herbs and flowers ; wax forms a great article of its home consumption, which is the case in all Catholic countries, where such immense quantities of it are burnt in processions and the churches. The pearl fisheries of the Californian Gulf, are not at present carried on with much activity, but pearls of great value have been found on its coasts. In the description of the different provinces of this kingdom, we shall occasionally give more particular relations of the animal and vegetable productions of New Spain. The gulf of Mexico, the bay of Honduras on the eastern side, the Pacific on the western, with the immense inlet or sea of Cali- fornia, afford to this rich and fertile viceroyalty the favourable op- portunities for the most extensive commerce, were it not that it is greatly impeded by the want of numerous roads across the ele- vated land ef the interior ; these, however, are gradually opening ; and in proportion as the Spaniards exert themselves in forming them, so will the commerce of Mexico increase in value above that of the neighbouring continental states, with whom, at present, it is, for this cause alone, unable to enter into competition. The dis- tance in some parts of New Spain, from ocean to ocean, is very inconsiderable ; and some rivers which run from opposite sides of the same mountain approach so near, at their sources, to each other, as to offer to an enterprising people every facility for internal na- vigation ; at present, the commerce of these colonies is tardily car- ried on from the coasts of the Pacific, to those of the Atlantic, by means of mules, which travel in cavalcades along the roads cross- ing the chain, or by Indians carrying burdens on their backs. The commerce of New Spain centres chiefly at the port of Aca- pulco in the Pacific, to which the vessels from Manilla bring the productions of the East Indies, which, with the commercial arti- 48 .VORTH AMERICA. cles of the country itself, are transported over the mountains to Vera Cruz, the Atlantic port, from whence they proceed to the Havannah, and to Europe. We have related what the vegetable and animal kingdoms chiefly furnish towards this trade ; it now remains to state the share which the mineral kingdom affords. New Spain is probably richer in productions of this nature than any other country of the world ; but for want of the mechanical means which are so extensively employed in raising the metals of Europe, the produce of the Mexican mines, as well as of all those of the New World, is not so great as has been usually imagined, many of the richest veins having been abandoned (after enormous expenses and labour employed in opening them) on account of water gaining on the operations of the miners. That useful and surprising instrument the steam-engine, requires to be introduced generally into the mining system of the Americans, before any great accumulations of the precious and useful metals Can be had on that continent ; then also will the terrible labour of those unfor- tunate people, who carry on their backs, in baskets, from the depth of these heated caverns, the ores which are there discovered, to the surface, be discontinued ; the human race will sensibly in- crease, and the sterile wastes and thick forests will give way to the arts of agriculture. The mining stations of gold and silver in New Spain amount to more than 450. They are divided into thirty-seven districts, each governed by a council of the mines. Humboldt supposes that near three thousand actual mines exist in these 450 stations. The principal and most valuable are those of the provinces of Gua- naxuato, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi, Mexico, Guadalaxara, Du- rango, Sonora, Valladolid, Oaxaca, Puebla, Vera Cruz, and Old California. The veins exist mostly in primitive and transition rocks, and the richest silver veins, which are single, run to an amazing breadth and length ; the poorest are those in which the silver is dispersed in small and numerous ramifications. The best and most productive of the silver mines of New Spain, are situa- ted at a height of from 5900 to 9840 feet above the level of the sea, and there are three which supply more than half as much again as all the rest put together ; these are the mines of Guanaxuato, Catorce, and Zacatecas. The quantity of silver exported from New Spain to Europe and India, per annum, is about one million six hundred and fifty thousand pounds in weight. After the three above mentioned, the mines of Real del Monte, Tasco, and Zima- pan in Mexico ; Guarisamez, Batopilas, and Parral in Durango ; Bolanos in Guadalaxara ; Sombrerete and Fresnillo in Zacatecas, and Ramos in San Luis Potosi, are those which afford the greatest quantity of ore. Gold is generally procured in the sands of torrents by washings. It is produced abundantly in Sonora, where it is found in the allu- XEW SPAIN. 49 vious grounds ; in the sands of Hiaqui and in Pimeria, where grains of very large size have been discovered. It is also procured from the mines of Oaxaca in veins, as well as in most of the silver mines, mixed with the silver, crystallised, in plates, &c. The produce of gold in New Spain is stated to amount, in the most favourable seasons, to a million of piastres, or 218,333/. sterling; the produce of silver at twenty-two millions of piastres, is 4,812,500/. ster- ling. Native silver is sometimes found in great masses in the mines of Batopilas, as well as in some others. The mines of Guanaxuato, of which the most celebrated is the one named Valenciana^ are said to produce double the quantity of gold and silver to that of the celebrated Potosi in South America. In this mine the great vein is twenty-two feet in breadth ; and, as the chasm is entirely dry, it is easier worked than almost any other American mine. The pits extend to the breadth of 4900 feet, and the lowest is 1640 in depth. The undertaking employs upwards of 900 men in carrying the ores to the surface up the stairs on their backs, 1800 workmen in procuring and sorting the ore, with 400 women and children, carrying the minerals to the sorters ; the total expenses of the materials, workmen, overseers, &c., is above 187,500/. sterling per annum, and the net profit during the same period, to the proprietors, after deductions of the king's fifth, and all expenses, is from 82,500/. to 123,759/. per annum. The mine of Sombrerete in Zacatecas yielded in one year a profit of above 833,400/. sterling to its proprietor. In San Luis Potosi, the mine of La Purissima Catorce yields annually to its owners a profit of upwards of 43,700/. sterling. The others we have mentioned, as being the richest, yield immense revenues to their holders and to the government. In these rich mines the miners and labourers contrive occasion- ally to steal the valuable metals. They, however, undergo a very rigorous search on leaving the pit ; nevertheless, like the Indians in the diamond mines of Golconda, they frequently are adroit enough to secrete the ores, notwithstanding many of them go near- ly naked. The greater part of the silver is procured by the means of mercury from the ores, smelting being not much used for want of fuel, the quantity of mercury used in the process of amalgama- tion is estimated at upwards of two millions one hundred pounds troy weight. Copper, of which the ancient Mexicans made their tools, is found both native and in the mines of Valladolid, as well as in those of New Mexico. Tin is found in grains and in wood tin in the clayey soil of Gua- naxuato and Zacatecas. The quantity of these metals which is brought to market is very G 50 NORTH AMERICA. trifling, as they are not much sought after ; as is also the case with iron, which exists in various parts of New Spain in great abun- dance, and under every form. Lead is chiefly found in New Leon and New Santander; and in Mexico, antimony, zinc, and arsenic. Mercury is procured in Mexico and Guanaxuato, particularly at Chica, Celaya, and Zimapan : but the mines are insufficiently work- ed, the mercury for amalgamation coming entirely through Spain to the northern colonies of Spanish America. Coal exists in New Mexico ; and salt is yielded from the lakes of the Mexican plains ; diamonds, topazes, emeralds, and other gems ; asphalt, amber, jasper, alabaster, and the magnet, are produced in New Spain. The afl'airs of the mining interest are directed by a council-general ; on this council, which has a president, the thirty-seven districts de- pend. The mines are wholly the property of individuals ; their councils are only erected to judge of the aflairs relating to the payment of the duties, and to the general ordering of the un- dertakings. At Mexico there is a college of mining, where young men are educated by the government, to instruct them in all the branches of science necessary to be attained, in order that the mines mav be worked in the best manner. The council-general receives a tithe on all metals, and with this, the salaries of the members, the expenses of the college, and advances to undertakers, are paid. Rivers. — New Spain does not contain such extensive and ma- jestic rivers as are to be found in her sister colonies of the south ; nevertheless some of the streams are by no means inconsiderable ; the Rio Bravo del Norte^ and the Rio Colorado^ roll a vast body of water to the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The Rio Bravo rises in the Sierra Verde, near the northern boundaries of the kingdom ; this noble river, after various intricate windings, and watering a tract of countrv, inhabited principally by the aborigines, loses it- self in the Gulf of Mexico, having performed a course of nearly two thousand miles ; which immense length of river'is obstructed by cataracts in the mountainous country of the interior, and by bars of sand in the flat and marshy lands towards the sea coast ; canoes navigate, however, a surprising distance up the stream. The Rio Colorado rises in the same mountains, and nearly in the same lati- tude ; but on the opposite side to the sources of the Rio del Norte, and running through a country either waste or inhabited only by the Indians, empties itself into the upper extremity of the Gulf of California, by a large estuary, after a course of a thousand miles ; canoes navigate this river for three hundred miles from its mouth. The other rivers of New Spain which are of the greatest impor- tance, are the Mexicana, Arighitas, Flores, Trinidad, Colorado de Texas, Medina or San Josef, Magdalena or Rio Guadalupe, the Nueces, the Gila near the Great Colorado, and almost equal- ling it in length ; the Hiaqui, Mayo, Nasas, Rio Grande de St. Jago, Panuco, Zacatula, Yopez, Alvarado, Tula, or Moetesuema, NEW SPAIX. 51 with many others of smaller note, the names of which will be men- tioned under the heads of the several provinces in which they are situated. Lakes. — The lakes of New Spain are chiefly the lakes of Mexi- co, near which the capital is built. Lake Chapala in New Galli- cia, a large sheet of water, the dimensions of which have not been accurately obtained ; it contains several islands, in one of which, some of the insurgents who had been routed by the Spanish troops, shut themselves up. Also Lake Cayman in New Biscay, in a de- sert country, called the Bolson de Mapimi, not so large as that of Chapala ; and lake Pascuaro near Valladolid. The lakes of this part of the American continent, are neither large nor very nume- rous ; the whole country descending rapidly from the central Cor- dillera, towards the east and west, throws off the deposits which may commence from the springs, into the form of rivers. The bays and coasts, cities, towns, &c. will be described in fol- lowing the provincial relations. The islands of Spanish North America are described at the end of the First Part. Temperature. — In order to give some notion of different re- gions inhabited by man in this extraordinary country, we shall ad- duce the temperatures of the coast and of the higher lands. On the coast and at the foot of the mountains under the tropical sun, the heat is excessive, and the temperature of the air is as great as in the hottest of the West India islands. This is called the hot region ; and above it is the temperate region, which enjoys a perpetual spring, and a temperature of from 60° to 70° Fahren- heit, at an elevation of from 3930 to 4920 feet above the sea ; they are, however, subject to thick fogs, as it is the height at which clouds usually float in the atmosphere. Above this and to the height of 7200 feet, is the cold region, where the mean heat is 62° Fahrenheit ; beyond which the cold becomes greater and greater till the region of perpetual snow commences, at the height in the 19° and 20° of north latitude of nearly 15,050 above the ocean. Population. — The extent of the population of New Spain may be said to be about six millions and a half, of which the Indians are conjectured to amount to nearly three millions ; the remainder consists of European Spaniards, Creoles, or people of Spanish ex- traction ; Mestizoes, from the Spaniards and Indians ; Mulattoes, irom whites and negroes ; Zambos, from negroes and Indians ; ne- groes, and the aboriginal race, or Indians, which are totally un- mixed, and are the descendants of the people who inhabited the country at the conquest. The European Spaniards hold the chief offices, civil, military and ecclesiastical j but the Creoles view with great jealousy this assumption of power, w hich causes these two casts too look with very little complacency on each other ; and as, by the cultivation of their minds, they hold the first rank in the 52 NORTH AMERICA. colony, it has been observed by a late Spanish writer, that the struggle which unfortunately exists against the mother country, has been materially favoured by the latter class. Humboldt re- lates, that the expression of " I am not a Spaniard, I am an Ame- rican,''' had been frequently heard during the time he was on the continent. The Europeans and Creoles, or whites, are computed to amount to 1,200,000; of whom, about 80,000 are European Spaniards. The whites in New Spain possess the greatest property, both in the mines and the land ; a descendant of Cortex, the Duke of Monteleone, a Neapolitan and non-resident, is amongst the richest who derive no advantage from mining operations ; the whites are those who principally cultivate their minds, though instances of scientific attainments are not uncommon in the other classes. New Spain can boast of several learned men of Creolian birth, who have considerably advanced the arts and mathematical sciences in their country ; many painters also of considerable talent exist in this portion of the New World. The manners and customs of the whites are nearly the same as those of their European brethren. The religion is Roman Catholic, and the clergy of New Spain are a mixture of all the casts, excepting the negroes ; the beneficed and dignified clergy being chiefly whites ; they consist of an arch- bishop of Mexico, and eight bishops of Puebla, Guadalaxara, Val- ladolid, Durango, Monterey, Oaxaca, Sonora, and Yucatan or Merida, with about 14,000 dignitaries, parish priests, missionaries, monks, lay brothers, and servants. The revenues of the archbishop and bishops amount to about 118,000/., out of which the archbishop has 27,000/., per annum. The negroes and slaves of New Spain form a very inconsidera- ble part of the population ; of the negroes, there are only about 6000, and many of them are free ; of slaves, about 10,000, who are negroes, and the Indians who are taken on the frontiers by the missionaries' troops ; these slaves are to be found only at Vera Cruz, Acapulco, and on the coasts, employed in the ports ; the cul- ture of sugar, indigo, &c. being almost entirely the work of the free people. The slaves are, with the exception of the Indian pri- soners, treated mildly, and gain their freedom by amassing, if they are of an active turn, a small sum which they give to their owner, who is forced to emancipate them ; this sum is from sixty to eighty pounds. The mestizoes, mulattoes, zambos, and people of mixed blood, amount to about 2,400,000. The mestizoes are represented as a mild and well conducted people, differing in hardly any thing from the whites. The mulattoes have that revengeful disposition, versatility of conduct, and voluble tongue, which they possess in all other quar- ters of the world. NEW SPAIN. OO The aboriginal race form a large section of the Mexican popula- tion ; their number, as before stated, amounts to about three mil- lions ; they inhabit chiefly the central and southern part of New- Spain, and in these regions they are mostly to be found concen- trated in towns and villages. Towards the north the Indians are, with the exception of a few, who have been converted by the mis- sionaries, wandering tribes who subsist by the chase, and by the plunder of the Spanish settlers. The military stations are in con- stant activity against these people, they frequently capture num- bers, who are sent to Mexico, as slaves. For the history of the migration of the Mexican race we must refer to the description of the province of Mexico, under which head will be found some in- teresting details of the principal events which have taken place in respect to these people, up to the period at which they were sub- jugated by the Spaniards. The Indians of New Spain are of a copper colour, and in gene- ral well made, with very little beard, but long, smooth, shining dark hair, prominent cheek bones, and thick lips. Their tempe- rament is melancholic, and their physiognomy indicating a great share of moroseness, strangely intermingled with gentleness. The Mexican Indians generally wear some hair on the upper lip, no doubt in imitation of the Spaniards ; they are extremely fond of an intoxicating liquor, made of the juice of the agave, and those who addict themselves to this practice, by taking very little solid food, greatly weaken their constitutions ; otherwise they are a ro- bust race, and attain in general a healthy old age. They are in their common demeanour, silent and reserved, and appear to en- tertain for the Spaniards a constant sort of distrust. In the Indian towns and villages, few whites settle, and they are governed by magistrates, elected from their own tribes, who are represented to be more severe, and fond of punishing their bretheren, than the Spaniards themselves. Very few of the Indians who are subject to Spanish power, are in any other situations than those of small cul- tivators, labourers, or artisans, and are a hard working people when urged by interested motives j otherwise they are idly disposed, as is the case with most people who live in a warm climate ; they are however free, and receive for their labour, when employed in the mines or other work, very good wages. They are, in some in- stances, forced to supply a certain number of labourers for particu- lar operations, but these are always paid. The women are more lively, and of a less reserved disposition than the men, and are kept by them in a state of much subjection. Carving on wood, and rough paintings, or rather designs, with the fabrication of pottery and cotton cloths, are the principal arts in which they excel, and they are represented as equalling the Chi- nese in their taste and ability in imitating objects of European v/orkmanship. Flowers are a part of the household goods of the 54 NORTH AMERICA. Mexican Indians ; their shops for the display of fruity &c. in Mexi- co, being completely lined with the most beautiful productions of the flower garden, in which they take great delight. The Indian tribes who inhabit the northern part of New Spain, are mostly free from the domination of the Spaniards ; they are a warlike people, and are a more noble race than their subjugated brethren, carrying on a constant warfare against the settlers, and only trading with them, when in absolute want of some articles of finery or nourishment. This trade never takes place personally ; the Indian leaves his goods at a stated place, and the Spaniard takes them, and deposits in return the articles the Indians are known to be in need of; this commerce is said to be carried on with a rectitude of principle highly honourable to both parties. The whole of the Indians are styled tributary by the Spanish laws, excepting only such as are descended from the ancient kings and nobles of the country ; these are called Caciques, who levy the tribute, and are appointed to the magisterial functions in the In- dian towns and villages ; but are not a jot better informed than their brethren. Many of them have embraced the rigid rules of the monastery, and their daughters are often devoted to the veil » in most of their towns or villages the curate is an Indian. At the conquest, these unfortunate people suffered very much, they were used as beasts of burden, in the working of the mines, the erection of buildings, and as slaves, in fact, in every thing where labour was required ; their conquerors disdaining to work. They "Were divided as spoil among the soldiers and the new settlers, par- ticularly the monks ; thus they languished for some time under the pressm-e of this burden, and it was not until the eighteenth century, that these poor people were in some measure freed from slavery. Charles III. abolished the right of possession, which had been granted over the Indians to the Spanish settlers ; intendancies were established, to watch over the welfare of the natives, and since that period they have gradually enjoyed a milder form of government, and, comparatively speaking, are very little oppressed. Many of the Indian families possess considerable wealth from their plantations. M. de Humboldt mentions Indian families at Cholula, where there are no Caciques, who possess from these sources, capitals from 33,000 to 50,000/. sterling ; but they live nevertheless very wretched, at least in exterior appearance. The Indian tribute levied on all individuals, amounts to about 9^. each per annum ; by paying which, they are exempted from all other taxes ; they are, however, looked upon by the law, as a sort of ir- rational beings, and consequently, great impediments to their ad- vancement in the arts ©f civilisation, and intermixture with Euro- peans, takes place ; they can enter into no contracts above a very small sum, and the whites are forbidden to settle in Indian towns, or to intermarry with that people. NEW SPAIN. 55 The laws are still more severe with respect to the blacks and their descendants. Antiquities, £ffc. — The ancient monuments of the Mexicans, at present remaining, are chiefly their teocallies or temples of a pyra- midal form ; these are generally divided into steps or separate plat- forms with a square top, on which the priests officiated ; the great- est and most striking of them, are those of Cholula, Mitla and Papantla, which will be spoken of in describing the provinces. The Mexican paintings are extremely singular, being on stag's skins prepared for the purpose ; on paper made of the agave, and on other substances. These people preserved by symbolical paint- ings, the memory of former events relating to their general and par- ticular historv ; the colours are extremely bright, and the designs, though rude, are well executed. Manufactures. — The manufactured articles of New Spain, con- sist chiefly in cottons, woollens, soap, and soda, plate, coin, pow- der, cigars, and snuff". The manufacture of tobacco is a royal mo- nopoly, and carried on by the government ; the others are princi- pally carried on by individuals, (coin and powder excepted,) who employ the Indians, mulattoes, negroes, &c., and are (in large esta- blishments) allowed a certain number of slaves. There are some trifling manufactories of crockery-ware and glass in the cities near the capital. The silver and gold taken from the mines, is either wrought in- to services of plate for the table, for the churches, in ornamental works, or is coined at the royal mint of Mexico, which was esta- blished by Antonio de Mendoza, first viceroy of Mexico, fourteen years after the conquest ; it is estimated that upwards of four hun- dred and eight millions of money has issued from this mint since that period. The Indians manufacture beautiful toys of bone, wood, &c. Ca- binet-ware and turnery are executed with great skill by the white artisans, the woods they are able to employ being cheap and beau- tiful; carriages are also made in New Spain, but most of those which are in use in the capital and great cities, by the nobility and gentry of fashion, are the productions of the London workshops. Commerce. — The commerce of New Spain has been of late years considerably augmented, both by the great additions made to agri- culture, and by the formation of good roads from the interior ; when these shall become sufficiently finished to admit of the con- veyance of merchandise by means of wagons instead of on the backs of horses, mules, and Indians, the commercial relations of New Spain, will embrace the most remote countries of the Old World. The internal traffic consists chiefly in maize, ingots of metal carried from the mines of the capital to be coined or assayed, hides, flour, tallow, woollens, European goods, of which iron and mercury form the most prominent articles ; cocoa, chocolate, cop- 56 NORTH AMERICA. per, woods for the cabinet-makers, cottons, wines, tobacco, sugar, rum, pulque, wax, powder for the mines, &c. The exterior traffic consists in coin, plate, ingots of the precious metals, cochineal, sugar, flour, indigo, provisions, hides, pimento, vanilla, jalap, sarsaparilla, mahogany, logwood, cabinet- woods, soap, cocoa, &c. ; these are exported from Vera Cruz and Cam- peachy. The imports from Europe, are cottons, linens, woollens, silks, paper, brandy, mercury, steel, iron, wines, wax, vinegar, rai- sins, almonds, olives, oil, saffron, corks, thread, crockery-ware, and cordage, with a variety of minor articles, such as fruits, medicines, toys, &c. The imports from the East Indies, at the port of Aca- pulco, are calicoes, silks, muslins, cottons, spices, gums, and jewel- lery, which trade is carried on by armed vessels, under the orders of officers of the Spanish royal navy ; New Spain returns to the East Indies, coined silver, iron, cochineal, cocoa, wine, oil, wool and hats. The imports from the other Spanish American colonies to Aca- pulco are chiefly in cinchona, or Jesuits bark, Chili, or long-pepper, oil, Chili-wine, copper, sugar and cocoa ; for which New Spain returns woollens of her own manufacture, cochineal, tea and some East Indian articles. The commerce of New Spain has suffered much since the war, from the heavy duties exacted at Vera Cruz, for articles the pro- duce of European soil, manufactured in the mother country, and by the want of encouragement to the introduction of goods manu- factured in countries which have carried the arts to a greater height than they have hitherto reached in Spain, as well as to the restric- tions put upon the cultivation of tobacco, the olive, and the vine. We shall not examine here the value of the export and import trade of this viceroyalty. It is well known, that the duties do very lit- tle more than support the administration, and that having subsidies to make annually to the islands of Cuba, Porto Rico, and to other of the Spanish colonies, Mexico affords very little towards the sup- port of Old Spain. Indeed amongst the whole of the Spanish Ame- rican colonies, none but the viceroyalties of Peru and Mexico, make any regular remittances of monies to Spain for the assistance of the mother-country ; the charges of government swallowing up all the revenues in the others. M. de Humboldt cites the public ac- counts of the colonies as his vouchers, and states, that the revenue of New Spain may be estimated at upwards of four millions ster- ling, of which about a million and a quarter are annually remitted to Spain, the remainder being consumed in the subsidies paid to Porto Rico, Cuba, &c., and in the interior administration. An anonymous writer, who styles him^tM Espagnol amante de su PatriOj has lately published a pamphlet in London, in which he shows that the revenue derived by the Spanish government, has very much de- creased since the period of M. de Humboldt's travels ; although a NEW SPAIK. 57 free trade has been conceded to the island of Cuba, by means of which, the administration of that island has been enabled to meet their expenses, and to have a small sum in reserve, without being- obliged to have recourse to the Mexican subsidy. The Revenue of New Spain consists in the duties paid on all gold and silver extracted from the mines, on the sale of quick- silver, the coinage, sale of tobacco and powder, duties of entry, and embarkation at the ports, the tribute imposed on the Indians, duty on pulque (the fermented liquor of the agave), sale of indul- gences from Rome, tax on the clergy, sale of powder, stamps, sale of snow, which is a royal right, and very productive in the hot regions, where so much cooling liquors are consumed, and some other minor taxes. With the amount of money collected under these heads, the expenses of the administration, of the missions to the northern provinces, the fortifications, dock-yards, ships of war, the militia, and regular ti'oops, are paid, together with the subsidies before mentioned. .- The Army of Nexu Spain consists of a regular force raised in the country, of ten thousand men, and more than 20,000 militia. In "the present time, the army and navy of New Spain must be consi- dered as a component part of the militar)- force of the Mother Country, as she is engaged in reinforcing them, by every means in her power, in order to quell the disturbances which have arisen to such a height in her more southern colonies. The insurgents have made no decided progress in New Spain ; they are seen only in the province of Puebla, or rather in the old province of Tlascala, in small bodies, and in -the district of Texas, on the northern part of San Luis Potosi, where they have formed a slight establishment in Galveston Bay, In Guadalaxara and Valladolid symptoms of disaffection have been shown; but it has been immediately quelled, and the discon- tented were dispersed by the Spanish troops ; the few who could get together taking shelter in an almost inaccessible island of the lake Chapala in Valladolid. The Indians are said to take no part with the insurgents, nor are the people of the interior at all willing to enter into the struggle ; on the contrary, they have formed themselves, in many of the districts, into military bodies for the preservation of the public tranquillity. It will be seen, on consulting the journals of the present time, that the Government of the United States lays strong claim to that portion of the kingdom of New Spain, east of the bay of St. Bernardo j it having been declared in Congress, that Galveston Bay, where the insurgents have been attempting to form settle- tlements in order to annoy, fi-om thence, the coasts of San Luis Potosi and Vera Cruz, is within the limits of the United States. Should this assertionj which is founded on the treaty of 1783, H 58 NORTH AMERICA. be well grounded, the Spanish government will have no other barrier to oppose to any future aggression of that power, than the great river Bravo del Norte, which will bring the Americans within a very short distance of the capital, and will leave them some of the richest silver mines in the government of San Luis Potosi. We shall now give a description of the capital of New Spain, as in it the commerce, the wealth, and the power of the country, isj as it were, concentrated. METROPOLIS OF NEW SPAIN, Mexico, the capital of the Spanish vice-royalty of New Spain, is situated in 19° 25' 45" north latitude, and 99° 5' 5" west longi- tude, in a beautiful valley near the banks of the late Tezcuco. The houses are mostly founded on piles, on account of the marshy nature of the ground, and the town is intersected by numerous ca- nals. The site of the city is the same as that of the ancient Mex- ico, which is said to have been so denominated from the god of war of the Mexicans, whose appellation was Mexitli, as he had a temple erected there to hi's worship. A palace was erected by Cortez, opposite to the site of the palace of Montezuma. This city is a very fine one, and it is asserted that, with the exception of some parts of Westminster, Petersburgh, Berlin, and Philadelphia, there is no city of the same magnitude which bears any comparison with Mexico for its great regularity, the extent of the public buildings and places, the level, and the general architecture. The railings and gates of the houses are of iron, ornamented with bronze, and the roofs of the houses are flat, and formed into terraces. The great breadth and length of its streets is an object of admiration to strangers, but it is said they are nevertheless dirty. The streets are paved and lighted by large reflecting lamps, and generally run in straight lines, from west to east, and from north to south ; the footpaths are guarded by little stone-pillars, and a covered sewer runs along the middle of the streets, as in France. The chief building is the vice-regal palace, built by Fernando Cortez, near the ruins of that of Montezuma ; it stands in the cen- tral square, near the cathedral, and is a massive stone edifice. The cathedral is a magnificent building, and cost the labour of upwards of ninety years. In it are two images of the Virgin, one of solid gold, weighing fourteen pounds, six ounces, eighteen pennyweights. There are upwards of 100 other churches, which are decorated in the usual glittering style of Catholic countries ; the monasteries and convents amount to twenty. Behind the palace of the viceroy stands the mint, where 100 workmen are employed, the bullion being here exchanged for coin by the proprietors of mines. The cathedral is so rich in plate, and gold, &c. that there is a solid silver l:iE\V SPAIN. 59 rail round the high altar, and an enormous silver lamp, enriched with gold embossed work, into which lamp, it is said, three per- sons might enter, and the images of the saints are mostly solid sil- ver enriched with jewels and gold. The inhabitants of the better sort are habited generally in silks, their hats having diamond or- naments and gold lace ; even the very slaves wear bracelets of gold, silver, and gems. The shops of Mexico make a profuse display of the most valua- ble articles, and every thing wears the appearance of great riches, and consequently of great luxury. There are thirteen hospitals, and many charitable buildings ; the population is estimated at 137,000 souls, of which 2,500 are Europeans, 65,000 white Creoles, 33,000 copper-coloured natives, 26,500 mestizoes, and 10,000 mu- lattoes. This great mass of people are abundantly supplied with pro- visions from the neighbourhood of the city, which is very fertile. Mexico is not fortified, having merely a ditch round it, without ramparts or walls ; there are however six gates for the great com- munications from the country, together with other smaller ones, for the immediate environs. The extent of this city is four miles from north to south, and three from east to west. There is a great market place, and a sort of bazaar after the eastern fashion, being a square of shops. Mexico is plentifully supplied with good water, by means of two aqueducts ; the police of the city have guarded against fires by wa- ter pipes, and they have lately built ten fountains with cocks, after the manner of the towns in France, &c. They have a regular watch, who take care of the lamps, and guard the streets ; besides which, the guard of the city, a species of troops, who are under the orders of a judge, (who has, besides those who act immediately in the city, about ten thousand spread through the kingdom,) pa- trol the streets constantly, and punish excesses in the most exem- plary manner. The municipal body consists of a corrigidor or mayor, twelve regidors or aldermen, and other inferior officers ; the alcades, or justices of the peace, sit for the judgment of civil and criminal cases ; their judgments, as well as that of the chief judge of the police, are reversible by the Audienza Real, which again refers to the viceroy, whose judgment is final, except in particular cases, which he deems necessary to refer to the king of Spain. The courts are the above-named Audienza Real, or royal au- dience, the chancery, tribunal of accompts, the strangers' court, the court of administrations for persons dying intestate, the tribu- nal of registers, the tribunal of the inquisition, the royal tribunal of mines, the tribunal of the descendants of Fernando Cortez, tho tribunal of the city, &c. Amongst the public offices are the royal mint, chancery, the royal coffers, the house of the Californian mis- 60 NORTH AMERICA. sions, the mount of [jiety, and the chapter and government of the city, which is styled illustrious. The city arms are a castle with three towers, an eagle on a tree, with a serpent in its beak, and the Lake Tezcuco at the foot of the tree ; supporters, two lions ; and crest, an imperial crown. These arms were granted by the Em- peror Charles V. whence the city has sometimes the title of Im- perial and Illustrious. In 1728, Philip V. granted it all the pri- vileges, 8ic. of a grandee of Spain, and in 1773 Charles III. grant- ed to the chapter of magistrates of the city, the distinction of pre- eminence over all other tribunals, excepting the royal audience and tribunal of accomptsj and the use of uniforms laced with gold. There are thirteen hospitals, and various charitable establishments under their jurisdiction. The viceroy of New Spain, a grandee of Spain, and of course alwajs a nobleman of high connexions and rank, is commander in chief, and president of the government, or in fact, king; and as Mexico is the seat of his government, it will not be improper to give an account of his command, &c. in a description of the city. He is regarded as the chief viceroy of Spanish America, his terri- tory being equal to an European kingdom of large size. The go- vernors of the provinces of his vice-royalty are not however all named by him, this power resting with the court of Spain. His patronage over all the churches makes no inconsiderable part of his power. The court of the viceroy is formed in the most splendid style ; he has body-guards both horse and foot, an immense train of at- tendants, &c. His salary is not great, but the patronage over lu- crative places, monopolies, and the presents he receives, are sup- posed to render it enormous ; as he however is obliged to support the style of a king, the greater part is spent in the payment of his household, equipages, he. He is commander in chief, and has under his orders, in the kingdom of New Spain, about 10,000 regular troops, and 20,000 militia, making a total of 30,000 men ; these are however so dispersed, and ineffective, that he can send no ver) large force into the field. Mexico is an archbishopric and metropolitan see ; it is very va- luable, as the income is inferior to none but that of the bishopric of Puebla de los Angelos ; the archbishop's annual income being 100,000 dollars. The clergy of Mexico are numerous and wealthy, the chapter of the cathedral containing twenty-six ecclesiastics. The income of the dean is 10,000 dollars, the canons from 7,000 to 9,000, and the sub-canons, from 2,000 to 4,000, and the parish curacies very va- luable. in general. The ecclesiastic courts of Mexico are comparatively as nume- rous as the clergy, the principal one being the Holy Tribunal of tl\e Faith, or, as it is better known, by the title of" the Inquisition." NEW SPAIN. 61 The university of Mexico was founded in 1551, and is called the Royal and Pontifical university of Mexico ; it is composed of two hundred and fifty doctors in all the faculties. It is under the government of a rector, who is annually chosen by the preceding rector, and eight of the council chosen by ballot from amongst the doctors and bachelors. It has a chancellor, who is the chief school- master of the city, and who presides at the conferring of degrees. The professors are nominated by a council, consisting of the arch- bishops, the chief-judge of the royal audience, the chief-inquisi- tor, the dean of the cathedral, the rector of the university, the chancellor, the senior professor of theology and the dean of fa- culty. The library of the university is in a bad condition, having been only lately endowed, and is filled chiefly with theological works ; it. is open to the public. The college of Santa Maria de Todos los Santos, is the princi- pal college of Spanish America; it was founded in 1682, by the archbishop of Mexico, and has a public library and thirteen pro- fessors; it received additional buildings in 1750, and has 400 stu- dents. The college of St. John is the oldest in New Spain ; it was en- dowed for children of Spanish and Indian parents. The Jesuits had formerly five colleges in Mexico; there are now two only remaining under the direction of the Viceroy. Like the colleges of this order in all parts of the world, these buildings are. strong, massive and magnificent; the great hall and chapel of one being the most beautiful pieces of architecture in the vice- royalty. The public schools are numerous, being chiefly conducted by the priests of the several religious orders. The royal academy of Arts and Sciences has a good establish-* ment of professors of architecture, sculpture, painting, engraving, and mathematics. There has also been lately erected a college of mines, in which young men are instructed in various branches of science, and in every thing that relates to mining. The botanical garden is another useful institution, lately much enriched. The patron saint of Mexico is St. Mary of Guadaloupe, who is also the patroness of Spanish America. The character of the people of Mexico, as given by late travel- lers, is that of a courteous and charitable people. The polite arts are their chief study, and they boast of their painters. They are great smokers, using cigars even at the theatre, and the ladies all smoke ; a part of their ornaments being a gold or silver cigar box sus- pended by a chain or riband, in which they keep their paper cigars; on the chain they wear little pincers to hold the cigar, which is nearly finished, whilst they light the new one. . The manufac 6:2 NORTH AMERICA. tory of cigars, a magnificent building, employs near 5000 persons ,' such is the demand for this article. They are fond of theatrical exhibitions, and have a handsome theatre. As in all Catholic countries, religious processions and shows occupy a great part of their attention ; amongst the most splendid of these, is the proces- sion of the Corpus Christi, the festival of the anniversary of the conquest of Mexico, and the publication of the bulls of indulgence ; which are hailed with eagerness, and looked for with earnestness. The great civil show, is the entrance of a new viceroy, on which occasion the city is all splendour and joy. The lower people are immoderately fond of a liquor named pulque, and the number of houses for the sale of it have of late become so numerous that the Police allow them only to remain open from ten till four in the day-time, on account of the riots and violence that happens in them ; this liquor is allowed to enter the city only by one gate, that of Guadaloupe ; and such is the consumption of it by the inhabitants, that the tax on it yields a revenue annually of a million of dollars. The shopkeepers of Mexico issue tokens of copper, iron and wood ; and even grains of cacao pass as current in the neighbour- hood; which arises from there being no bullion currency. The price of bread is regulated three times in the year by the price of grain. There are numbers of sugar mills in this capital, and from these numerous distilleries of rum are kept at work. Mexico is at present a place of immense commerce, and will be- come of more importance in a commercial point of view, when the great roads from Vera Cruz, &c. are completed ; as the transport of goods will then be easier and less expensive ; and the wheat, &c. of the fine plains of Mexico, will find a ready market all over the world. This city, though on a marshy soil, is in general healthy, and the black vomit or yellow fever is here hardly known ; but con- sumptions, apoplexy, agues, fever, and pleurisy, are not uncom- mon. The worst disorder to which the inhabitants of Mexico are subject appears to be what they denominate " flato" or " flatus ;'* the unhappy patients appearing in a state of madness, and have hot and shivering fits as in the ague ; convulsions, and hysteric affec- tions also accompany this strange disorder ; which has been sup- posed to arise from the great quantity of spice they use in their food, and from the excessive use of tobacco. This extraordinary city attracts the notice of Europeans from its curious situation, as well as from the remembrances attached to its name. It is placed on a plain, the height of which above the level of the sea is 6900 feet, near the banks of the lakes Tezcuco and Chalco, which are about ninety miles in circumference ; the waters of the latter are salt, of the former fresh ; they communicate with each other, and contain only two sorts of fish, one of which is of very pecular organisation. The city at a distance, appears to rise NEW SPAIN. 63 from the waters of the former lake ; the banks of which are beauti- fied with the most enchanting village scenery ; on the opposite side of the lake, a luxurant and highly cultivated valley is contrasted with the towering summits of the enormous mountains, emitting flame and smoke, in regions where eternal snow and winter reigns. This extensive plain is covered with flax, hemp, cotton, tobacco, sugar, indigo, &c. ; and furnishes the markets of the city with abundance of vegetables, meat, fruits, and poultry, and reaches to the mountains, whose bases repose on its bosom. These moun- tains are diversified into every form that imagination can present, and are clothed with cedars, shrubs, and plants, and contain in their bowels precious jewels and minerals. The plain extends on all sides of the city and of the Lakes Tezcuco and Chalco ; but on the eastern-side of the latter it is not so prolific, owing to the saline exhalations from the waters. On the lower parts of the mountains, farais, country-seats and romantically situated cottages are seen ; and the whole plain appears well watered by numerous canals and rivulets. To the north of the town, near the suburbs, is the pro- menade, or Alameda; it is surrounded by a rivulet, and is in the shape of a large square, with a basin of water and fountain in the middle. From this basin eight walks strike out, each bor- dered by two rows of trees : there are also several other public walks, but the ground, in the immediate neighbourhood of Mex- ico, is full of rivulets and canals, and rather swampy. The cold at Mexico is not great in the winter, as the Lake Tezcuco seldom freezes thicker than a sheet of paper ; in the sum- mer it is very hot, but as there are regular showers, which fall in the evening, the air during the summer is much tempered. The rainy season occupies four months, from the middle of May to the middle of September. The houses of pilgrimage in the neighbourhood of Mexico arc singular; the chief one is the sanctuary of Neustra Senora de los Remedios, on the spot where Cortez retired when he was repul- sed. The sanctuary of Guadalupe has a college, church, &c. Just without the city is the sanctuary of Neustra Senora de los Angelos, formerly the retreat of an awchorite. The desert of the Carmelites is five leagues from the city, and here, in an inclosure of three miles, the most austere of these monks live in solitary cells. About half a league from the city is the i-ock of the warm-baths. The village of Traspana is also a place of great resort, the air being thought very wholesome and pure. On a hill in the envi- rons, where there was formerly a palace of iMontezuma, is the great aqueduct of Chapultepec, which conveys water to the city ; it is above 9000 feet in length. The water of this is, however, not so pure as that of the aqueduct of Sante Fe, which is 30,600 feet in length, and which runs along the Alameda, but is not so beauti- 64 NORTH AMERICA. ful a Structure as the former, as the water is not conveyed the whole way over arches. The surrounding scenery of the metropolis is in all respects highly beautiful and singular; from it are seen the summits of some of the loftiest mountains of North America, and the varied foliage of the cypress, the avenues of elms and poplars, which branch to the city from all quarters, the gardens of oranges and European fruits, the deep verdure of the plain, the golden tint of the ripening corn, and the different shades of the various Mexican plants, conveys, through the medium of a pure and cerulean at- mosphere, the utmost delight to the eye of the beholders. The val- ley in which the city and its neighbourhood rests, is fdled with villages and towns, and surrounded with enormous masses repo- sing on the great plain ; two of which, Popocatepetl and Iztacci- huatl, are the most remarkable of the gi-oup ; the first is continu- ally vomiting fire and smoke, though covered with snow. The Pi- co de Orisaba is also visible, and forms a grand feature of the scene. On the west of the city, the chain is very high and con- tinuous. The remains of the former city are inconsiderable ; some traces of the great dikes yet subsist, as well as of the aqueducts. The temples have been destroyed, but the foundations of the ancient Mexican habitations are numerous in the environs of the city, and prove that it was much larger than it is at present. I'he lake has retired a league from the city,' so that it is now situated in a marshy soil to the left of the southern extremity qf Lake Tezcuco, and between it and Lakes Xochimilco and Chalco. To the north it has two small lakes, one called Lake San Christo- val, and the other Lake Zumpango, The palace of Montezuma stood opposite to where the viceroy's palace now stands, and a palace was erected on the site of Monte- zuma's, by the descendants of Cortez, as they were obliged to re- sign the original building of the conqueror to the government ; this house still belongs to a descendant of Cortez, who is Marquis del Valle de Oaxaca, and is also Duke de Monte Leone in Naples. The building in which Cortez was stationed when he first enter- ed the city, still shows some of its remains behind the convent of Santa Teresa. Of the great temples nothing is to be seen ; that dedicated to the god of war was destroyed to make room for the cathedral. A fine modern equestrian statue in bronze, of one of the Spanish kings, ornaments the great square, which was cast and erected by a Spanish artist residing in the city. In this city, there are a set of people who resemble, in their ge- neral habits, the Italian Lazaroni. They pass the night under the arcades and porches, and work one or two days of the week, to gain enough to enable them to buy sufficient liquor and food. They NEW SPAIN. 65 amount to 30,000, and are designated by the names of Saragates, and Guachinangos ; they differ only from the Lazaroni, in not be- ing ferocious, and in never asking alms. After having given this extended description of the metropolis of New Spain, we shall return to the subject of its division into provinces, &c. These have been before enumerated ; we shall therefore commence at the northern boundaries of the viceroyalty, and proceed regularly to the southern limits of North America, on the isthmus of Panama or Darien. NEW MEXICO. The mostnortherly province of New Spain is New Mexico, which extends from the Spanish boundary in 39° of north latitude, and is terminated by an unknown country, inhabited by the savage tribes, and by ranges of lofty mountains which have been very little ex- plored ; on the east, it has unknown countries between it and the United States' territory of Louisiana, from which it is divided by an ideal line ; on the west by unknown lands and Indian nations ; and on the south by the intendancy of New Biscay; it is 175 leagues in length and 40 in breadth : the limits on the east and west are not, however, very accurately defined. This country has been subdivided into several districts ; but as few details of these have ever been published, it is impossible to ascertain their accuracy. Though very extensive, it is but thinly peopled, and that chiefly by the native tribes. Thi-oughout its whole western extent, the great chain of the Sierra Madre presents itself, running from south to north, and ex- tending nearly the whole length of North America; this chain changes its name after quitting the Spanish territory, and then re- ceives that of the Stony Mountains, Crane IMountains, Azure Mountains, &c. It is supposed, and with great probability, that this immense range is part of the same Cordillera as the Andes ; thus forming one continuous ridge from the Tierra del Fuego to the Icy Ocean in the north. It is the great barrier of the west, and interposes its awful front to the whole length of the world. In New Mexico, the climate is colder, generally speaking, than thai of any other part of the Spanish possessions. The summers are warm, but not intensely scorching, the winters cold, and fre- quently very severe, especially in the higher regions of the moun- tains ; and they are not deluged with those incessant rains that pre- vail in some other parts of New Spain. This country lies within the temperate zone. The soil is represented as, in some parts, ex- tremely fertile, which appears from the luxuriancy of the pastu- rages, where the herds of buffaloes and bisons are found ; in others, I 66 NORTH AMERICA. as very arid and barren. The country is, excepting on the Cordil- lera, agreeably diversified into hill and vale ; and the rivers and lakes are well stocked with fish ; great quantities of game frequent the mountains ; and the forests are stored with wild animals. Many of the writers on this country state, that it is amongst the most agreeable and the most plentiful colonies of America. LTnder these circumstances, it is wonderful that the Spaniards do not set- tle it more effectually ; their attention has, however, of late years, been so much distracted by the unhappy state of the mother coun- try, and by the struggle of the colonies for independence^ that they have not had leisure to extend their views to this desirable land. The capital of New Mexico is Santa Fe, which is in 36° 12' north latitude, and 104° 52' 45" west longitude, on a river which falls into the great Rio del Norte; it was founded in 1682, and is small and placed near the northern limits of the colony ; its popu- lation is 3,600. The other towns of most importance are ; — Santa Cruz, contain- ing 8900 souls, and Albuquerque 6000 souls ; both near the east bank of the great Rio del Norte. There are enumerated 26 villages and 19 missions in New Mexico. The Passo del Norte, or Fort, is the most noted of these, and is situated in a country which produces all sorts of fruits and a fine wine ; it is on the right bank of the Rio del Norte, 60 leagues south of Santa Fe. This countr}% which was discovered by a missionary in 1581, was finally subdued in 1644, and slightly settled by the mission- aries. The mines are generally of tin ; and the total population is about 40,000. The chief river of this country is the Rio Grande del Norte, (the great northern river,) called also Rio Bravo, rising in the Sierra Verde, beyond the extreme bounds of the province; and after a course of 2000 miles, this noble stream enters the Gulf of Mexico, traversing thc^ whole length of New Mexico, the province of Coaguila, and that of New Santander. In the province of Coa- guila it receives the Puerco River, a considerable stream, which vises south of Santa Fe, the capital. The Rio Grande is beautifully adorned in New Mexico by woody banks of poplar and oak. It is subject to periodical floods, which begin in April and end in June; the great road from the south to Santa Fe, runs along the east bank of this river in New Mexico, and crosses it at the Fort dtl Passo before mentioned, and is so level, that carriages of a light construction are used on it; but the wandering Indians render travelling unsafe in some points. In New Mexico, the Rio del Norte frequently is encrust- ed, during the winter, with ice thick enough to travel on. This NEW SPAIN. Oi river is fordable for horsemen in the droughts of summer ; the streams which join it in New Mexico, are of no moment, the coun- try being in general dry ; near the northern part some rivers rise which have been conjectured to be the Red River, and Arkansas of Louisiana ; but the geography of the countries to the west and east of New Mexico, remains in a very defective state. The eastern towns of New Mexico, as well as its villages, are in general thickly peopled, on account of the proximity of the coun- try to tribes of warlike Indians. On the west of the great river Del Norte, the Indians are of a comparatively peaceable character, and are on friendly terms with the natives of New Mexico.-— Of these western tribes. The Moqui Indians have towns well constructed, after the man- ner of the ancient Mexicans, for the purposes of defence ; and th? missionaries who have visited these tribes, say, that although their language is different from that of the ancient Mexicans, yet, from several concurrent circumstances, they appear to be part of the remnant of those people who scattered themselves at Cinaloa, on their march from the north. Their houses exactly resemble those of Casas Grandes, which the Aztecs built on their route near the Rio Gila. It is the Indians of the east country, from the great river Del Norte, that are so constantly engaged in disputes with the New Mexicans. Of these, the Cumanches are amongst the most warlike. They have no settled place of abode, but wander about, as the chase, or their inclinations dictate, in the immense extent of country from the rivers Trinidad and Brazos, across the Red River, to the heads of the Arkansas and Missouri, and beyond the Rio Bravo, over the ridge of the Great Cordillera ; they have, of course, from this unsettled life, no towns, or villages, and are subdivided into many hordes, who have so little communication with each other, as to be often supposed to be distinct tribes. They principally exist by the chase, the flesh of the bison and buffalo being their chief food j this, with some vegetables, which they procure from the tribes and settlements in their vicinity, constitutes nearly the whole of their nourishment. They carry about with them tents made of the skins of these animals, which they form like a bell, large enough to contain a dozen people ; but the heads of the tribes and other great persons, have them of a much larger size. The tents are pitched in regular order, in the manner of a town, having streets of communication. The wild horses which run about the country serve the Cuman- ches in their predatory excursions ; they know well how to ride and manage these animals, and pass nearlv all their time on horse- back ; their tents are removed on horses, and having few other goods to pack up, they perform marches with astonishing quick- 68 NORTH AMERICA. ness, and fall upon the unsuspecting settlers, whom they plunder of every thing, and carry off their children to serve them as slaves ; many Spaniards existing in a state of servitude amongst them. The chase of the buffalo is carried on by them on horseback, and they kill that animal either with arrows or with spears. In person the Cumanche Indian is strong and well made, un. commonly neat and clean ; the dress of the women is a long loose robe, tied round the waist with a fine girdle ; the whole is formed of leather, decorated with paintings in a rude manner: the men wear a close shirt and pantaloons of the same materials. Their language is totally different from that of the neighbouring Apaches. They cook their beef with a mixture of wild fruits and herbs, and particularly with a sort of bean which grows on a tree ; this mess they season with pepper, which grows abundantly in the coun- try they inhabit ; and the food, so prepared, is said to be very good and palatable. The great extent of uncultivated territory on both sides of New Mexico is subdivided amongst many other Indian tribes ; of these, however, a dry detail cannot prove interesting ; and so little is ac- curately known concerning those subdivisions, that errors would unavoidably arise in recapitulating them. The chief of these dis- tricts is named Apacheria, from the Indian tribes called Apaches, a warlike and restless race of Americans, who inhabit the country to the west and east of Santa Fc. They are denominated, towards the southern part of New Mex- ico, Apaches Mescaleros ; Apaches Llaneros, and Lipanes in the northern part ; and Apaches, Chicaraguis, Mimbrenos and Gilenos, on the eastern side. They are a brave, resolute and independent people, extremely attached to their primitive customs, and very jealous of the power of the Spaniards, with whom they are fre- quently at variance ; but this does not proceed to open war, as they style themselves the allies of Spain. They were subjugated on the first settling of the country, but revolted towards the close of the 1 7th century, since which time they do not acknowledge subjection to that power. In referring to what has been before observed concerning the great chain of mountains which pervade this country, it will be necessary to state, that the name Sierra Madre, or Topia, is more strictly applied to that elevated part of this immense ridge, which commences near Guadalajara, and extends 450 miles in a northerly direction into New Mexico; the breadth of all its ridges, or pa- rallel crests, at this part, is sometimes 120 miles, where the chain is called more distinctively by the appellation of Sierra Madre, or Mother Ridge, on account of its great altitude above the other parts : it has, by some writers, been compared with the Cordillera of Peru ; and the chasms and precipitous terminations of its sides, NEW SPAIN. 69 are said to exceed any of the most terrific and sublime mountain features of the world ; their aspect is terrible, their depths profound, and appear to the wondering traveller, to unite the concave of heaven and the valleys of New Spain, by everlasting w^lls of adamant. This part of the chain, and indeed nearly the whole of it, is in general densely covered with forests of the most gloomy appearance, composed principally of pines and oaks. In these impracticable wilds, birds of every description, peculiar to the country, inhabit; and their variegated and beautiful plumage throws a ray of lustre on the sombre scene. On the summits of some of these mountains snow eternally lodges, and the cold, in consequence, is intense. Many rivers take their rise in the sides and near the tops of this Cordillera, and rush with impetuous force into the valleys below, whence they take their courses to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. During the rainy season, (from June to September,) and when the upper snows lose their solidity and become fluid, these rivers, and the smaller streams, are turned into torrents, inundating the lowlands ; and their devastations, to the distance of 10 and 12 miles, are incon- ceivable. During this period, when the natives are forced to much manual labour and bodily exertion in the open air, to repress the ravages of the waters, these pests of warm climates, the musqui- toes, become intolerable. Bears, tigers, &c. with various beautiful species of squirrels, in- habit the thick forests on the sides of the Sierra Madre. This ridge is most prolific in silver, each quintal of earth in the mines yielding a mark (two thirds of a pound;) but these mines, on account of their distance from Mexico, have many of them been forsaken. This ridge received its other name of Topia, from the appella- tion of a tribe of savages who inhabited it, and who were convert- ed to the Catholic faith by the exertions of the Jesuit missionaries in 1590. So little was known of the existence of the Indians in some of the middle part of this chain, that the inhabitants were not converted till the year 1718. As before observed, nothing can be accurately advanced with respect to the termination of the continuation of the Topia, or Sierra Madre Cordillera on the north ; but it seems, without much doubt, to be continued to an amazing distance towards the north pole, and that the Stony Mountains aie certainly a part of it. In the immediate vicinity of the northern boundary of the Spanish territories, the tribe of Indians called the Moquis, are reckoned amongst the inhabitants of its regions ; they live under the same parallel as Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, and some distance to the westward of that place ; their houses have already been men- tioned. 70 NORTH AMERICA. The Sierra Madre sends off a branch in the west part of the pro- vince of New Mexico ; this ramification, the summits of which are very lofty, is called Gemes, and bears a south-easterly direction ; whilst^on the eastern side, it throws off another arm, called the ridge oi Nahmi; which is, however, of inferior height, and of shorter duration, than that of Gemes. From the shore of the Pacific to the great Topian ridge, the general distance may be computed at 140 miles ; in many places, however, it is greater, and in some, where the continent begins to straiten its bounds, not one half that distance. The Topian chain takes the name of Sierra de las Grullas, from 38° to 40° north latitude ; beyond that to 42° north latitude, it receives the name of Sierra Verde ; during its southern course, it bears several distinct names, besides the general one of Sierra Madre. It is in the Sierra Veide, that the great rivers, Colorado and Del Norte take their rise, and their sources are only separted from each other by the ridge of the mountain. The great tract of uncultivated country between the Colorado and Gila, is inhabited by tribes of wandering Indians whose names appear on the map. To the south of the Gila is a tract of uncul- tivated country, inhabited by the Apaches Tontos, and other tribes: it was in this country that two missionaries in 1773, at the distance of three miles from the Gila, discovered the ruins of a Mexican or Aztec city, the houses of which were similar to those that are mentioned in the account of Mexico. These houses were large, and the one most entire, consisted of five rooms three stories high^ and in length, was 445 feet by 276 broad, the walls being 3 feet 11 inches in thickness. A wall and towers surrounded the man- sion ; and the ruins of the city occupied more than a square league; fragments of pottery and domestic utensils were found in all di- rections ; and a canal had conducted the waters of the Gila to the city. This was supposed to be the second station of the Mexi- cans in their migration from the north ; the third is in New Bis- cay, near Fort Vanos. The Indians in the environs of these great buildings are more polished than their neighbours, and are in a more social state ; from which circumstance, it is conjectured, that they are a remnant of the Aztec nation, who settled here in their journey from the northern countries. CALIFORNIA. California is divided into two intendancies. New and Old California. Old California consists of the peninsula bearing that name. New California reaches from Port San Francisco to the isthmus, or NEW SPAIK. 71 down to the Colorado, and comprises a strip of land along the coast; as, however, neither of these countries are at present of any- great importance, we shall not divide them in our account, but describe them both together under the general head of Cali- fornia. The boundaries of this country are an imaginary line, in the 39th degree of north latitude ; on the north, the river Colorado and Indian tribes ; and the Vermillion Sea, or Californian Gulf on the east; the Pacific Ocean on the west and south. The bay of Sir Francis Drake, which runs some distance into the country, is the limit placed by nature between the claims of the British government and that of Spain in North America; and on the south-side of this bay is another, called the bay of St. Francis- co, where the Spaniards have a small town and fort ; this settle- ment is in 37° 48' north latitude according to the latest authorities, but some have made it near 39°. The length of California, may be however computed from Sir Francis Drake's harbour, in 39° north latitude, to Cape Lucas, in 22° 55' north latitude, and 109° 52' west longitude; the breadth varies so much, that a reference to the map will give a better idea of it than words. Fernando Cortez seems to have been the discoverer of this country ; he had sent several vessels in pursuit of the desirable object of making the coast of the Pacific known, when Hernando de Grijalva discovered the coast in February 1534: but they were so unsuccessful, that Cortez determined to undertake a voyage himself, which accordingly performing, he discovered the gulf of California, in the year 1536, after enconntering all sorts of misfor- tunes and perils ; it was however neglected, and the form of it re- mained unknown till long after. In 1540, the viceroy of Mexico sent a vessel to explore it, but nothing was done of consequence ; the same attempt was again made, but with like success. In 1578, the English navigator. Sir Francis Drake, explored the western coast of America, from 48* of north latitude, to 37° north latitude, and gave his name to the harbour, in 39° north latitude, which is the boundary of Californian lands. He called the country New Albion, and took possession of it in the name of Queen Elizabeth. In 1595, the Spaniards sent another vessel to explore the coast of California, but this vessel perished in Puerto de los Reyes. They were however determined to prosecute this object, on account of their wish to obtain a harbour for the JNIanilla galleons on their homeward voyage ; the viceroy therefore despatched Admiral Bis- caino, who discovered and explored the harbour and land, to which he gave the name of the Viceroy. This place, JNIonterey, is in 36° 36' north latitude, and has since become the chief settlement of the Spaniards in California. After a long interval, Spanish missions were sent to this country, and inland discoveries conse- quently made. In 1684, Father Caino, a Jesuit, discovered that 72 NORTH AMERICA. California was actually a peninsula ; he came from the east, and crossed the country in the 35th degree of north latitude. The Jesuits made many exploratory journeys in the latter part of the seventeenth century, and having converted many of the na- tives, they ruled with absolute sway, and continued in possession of what they gave out as a barren country, till their final expulsion from the territories of Spain. Some doubts having arisen as to their representations of the unfavourable nature of the country, the viceroy appointed Galv^ez, afterwards the minister of the Indies, to explore it, and from his accounts of the value of its productions, new regulations were ordered ; but it has not yet been colonised to any extent. In 1769, ships were sent to build forts at St. Diego harbour, in 32° 39' 30", on the west coast of California, and one at Monterey. This research occupied a whole year, and still nothing of consequence was achieved on the coast, and it was not till 1786, when that unfortunate but great navigator La Perouse, visited the west coast of America, that the whole of the coasts of California were made known. The inhabitants of the Old and New Californias, are chiefly the native Indians, the Spanish settlers not forming any considerable body. There are twenty-five missions or subdivisions of these countries, the principal of which are, Loretto, St. Domingo, St. Josef of Cape Lucas, and All Saints, El Rosario, St. Fernandez, St. Francisco de Borgia, St. Gertrude, St. Ignacio, La Guadalupe, Santa Rosalia, La Conception, St. Josef, and St. Francisco Xavier. Monterey is the capital and place where the governor lives. The natives of Old California are computed at about 6000 who live in the villages of the missions ; those who live a wandering life are not enumerated, but are supposed not to exceed 4000; of these the greater part are Roman Catholics, having been converted by the missionaries. The natives of New California are computed at 1 5,600 j they are a small race of people, and of an indolent character. Their complexions are dark, and they wear their hair long; the custom of eradicating the beard is prevalent amongst them, though not universally adopted. They are very expert at catching their game, and their principal weapon is the bow. Loretto is the chief town on the east coast. Old Caliibrnia appears not to be so estimable a province as New California, the climate not being so good or the land so fruitful ; it abounds, however, with fish and game. The habitations of the natives are as miserable as the wigwams of Northern America, and in some measure resemble them, being constructed of boughs ; they however will not alter them, prefer- ring a life of independence to a settled state ; they are much attach- ed to the priests, who rule them with the authority of fathers over their children. The women manufacture coarse stuiTs, and pre- pare the food, which is generally the objects of the chase, and corn or maize with pease and beens. They have caciques or chiefs of NEW SPAIN. 7o their own, but their power is very limited ; they wear skins niade in the forms of cloaks, and the women and men dress nearly alike ; the boys go naked, but the young women have girdles round their loins ; they all paint their bodies, and scalp their enemies, as the Canadians do, and they sometimes burn their dead with many ce- remonies ; the priests who settle amongst them are Europeans, who are sent from Mexico. The women are the best looking, but in general, are not hand- some ; they are mostly taller than the men, who have low foreheads, projecting cheek-bones and hollow eyes, with a large mouth, thick lips, and strong teeth, with bushy eyebrows ; the women are parti- cularly careful to eradicate the hair from their bodies, and pierce their ears for ear-rings ; the age of puberty in the women is as early as eleven and twelve, in the boys about thirteen ; they are rapid and violent in the expressions of the passions of anger and joy ; like other savage nations, they are divided into tribes, which move together from one place to another as fancy or necessity dictate. Their chiefs are chosen from the tallest, the strongest and the most warlike amongst them, and are distinguished by their head-dress. Such as are not under the immediate influence of the missionaries, practice polygamy ; but the men hold their women in servitude. Sore throats, colds, pleurisies and disorders, attendant on a va- riable climate, are their complaints in the severe seasons ; they make use of vegetable decoctions for the cure of these disorders ; fevers prevail in summer. The women suffer very little in child- birth, and the attendant in those cases, plunges the new-born in- fant into cold water, the mother bathing soon after, and is then covered up warm near a fire : she performs these ablutions and heatings successively for some time, and the infants are bandaged up in furs and pieces of bark, nearly in the same manner as in Ca- nada. Their religion, previous to the priests coming amongst them, was very similar to that of most savage people, having a faint idea of the Creator. A chain of mountains runs through the peninsula, the highest of which, called Cerro de la Giganta, is 4920 feet above the level of the sea. The peninsula, or Old California, is, as we before observed, more barren than the northern province ; it is mostly a rocky soil, and seems as if some concussion of nature had disjoined it from Sonora ; the climate is hot in the summer, but it is moderated by the sea breezes. Few trees of any consequence are found except on the south ; there are some small volcanoes in it, with a ridge of mountains ; vines and the Indian fig grow wild ; the coast of the gulf is low and marshy, and the pearl fishery is very valuable ; the gulf produces all sorts of shell-fish, turtles, oysters, lobsters. Sec. Peacocks, bustards, geese, ducks, cranes, vultures, and sea-fowls, are plenty on the coasts ; horses, asses, sheep, and goats, have been introduced and thrive very well. In New California the climate K 74 NORTH AMERICA. is nearly the same as in New Mexico, the western side being su- perior to the other parts, on account of the neighbourhood of the Pacific ; the soil of this province is very prolific. The harvests of maize, barley, wheat, pease, and beans, are comparable to those of Mexico and Chili, corn produces in a seventy-fold proportion, and the soil is favourable for nearly all sorts of fruit trees. The climate is compared by late travellers, to that of the south of France ; the forests, that great feature of American scenery, are extensive, and contain cypresses, pine-apple-firs, evergreen oaks, and the western planes and rose trees ; on which a singular kind of dew falling in the morning, and covering the leaves, candies, and has the appearance of manna, being as sweet as white sugar. Immense bodies, or plains of salt, are found in the interior, and there are some gold mines. The animals of the two provinces resemble each other, chiefly consisting of wolves, bears, wild sheep, bisons, buffaloes, rabbits, foxes, wild goats, and an animal peculiar to the country, called taye, as large as a young ox, and resembles the ox in its body, having a head like a deer, with horns as a ram. The great article of Cali- fornian commerce consists in the furs of the northern and pearls of the southern province, the pearls equalling in size and beauty those of Ormuz or Ceylon. The languages of the natives are too nu- merous for description, each tribe having a peculiar one of its own. The mission of St. Domingo is the most northerly of the New Californian settlements, and borders upon New Albion. This and the other northern missions of California were hastily settled, on account of the Russians having advanced their colonies consider- ably to the southward, on the northwest coast of America. The other missions or settlements, which are twenty-five in num- ber, are divided into four districts, the whole under the directions of the govenor of Monterey, the captain-general of the pi-ovince, and of the father president of the Franciscan order of missionaries. In each of these divisions, is a presidio or fort under the command of a lieutenant, with an ensign, sergeant, &c. The most northern fort is St, Francisco, which has under it, the missions of St. Fran- cisco and Santa Clara ; the town of St. Josef, and a settlement in the southern part of the bay, or Port Juan Francisco, or Bodega. The next clivision is that of Monterey, the capital of the pro- vince, under which is the mission of Santa Cruz, at Point Ana Nueva, established in 1789, and some others ; southerly, and eas- terly from this, are the missions of St. Carlos, St. Antonio, St. Louis, Santa Rosa, and La Purissima. The ensuing division is that of Santa Barbara, established in 1 786, which governs that of Buena Ventura, founded in 1784 ; south of which is the town of Los Angelos, founded in 1781 ; this last is under the government of the fort of St. Diego, which is the south- ernmost of the new settlements. NEW SPAIN. 75 The climate of the country from Port St. Francisco, in the thirty- eighth degree of north latitude, to the thirtieth, is subject to great drought ; the season of the rains is from December to March, after which the summer and autumn is dry ; however the dews are heavy, and in some measure supply this want. The air is on the whole healthy, the soil sandy, very ca'pable of improvement, and generally fertile, except in the upper and rocky country ; in these, the soil is of course naturally very barren. The Spanish settlers have large flocks of sheep, and much poultry near Santa Barbara. Buena Ventura is abundant in fruit, viz. apples, oranges, peaches, pomegranates, pears, plums, figs, grapes, the plantain, cocoa-nut, banana, sugar-cane and indigo, with the kitchen-garden produce. The towns are in general no larger or better than villages ; they contain from 500 to 1000 Spaniards and Creoles ; some late ac- counts say, that 20,000 natives have embraced the Catholic religion, but half that number may be judged as the fair proportion in both Californias. Their principal and best fur is the sea-otters, which abound on the noithern coast. Many of the natives cultivate com under the direction of the missionaries, but they refuse to become stationary. The trade in the above-mentioned skins has been mo- nopolised by the Spanish government, and these settlements fur- nish a yearly supply of about 10,000, The presidio or fort of St. Francisco was founded in 1776, and has a fine harbour, with a population of 820 souls ; it is the most northern fort of the Spanish American dominions, and as such, is worthy of note. M. de Humboldt, gives the population of the villages of the missions of New California, but they are of course liable to constant changes. The missions of Old California are not so thickly inhabited, and several of them are deserted. The presidio of Monterey, or San Carlos de Monterey, has a population of 700 souls, and was founded in June 1770. This town is in latitude 36° 36', and west longitude 121° 50' 43", at the foot of the chain of Santa Lucia. Monterey is the capital of the Cali- fornias, and in it resides the governor. In this settlement the soil is productive, but generally not very good, and the climate fine, though troubled with fogs. Unfortunately, the rains in the rainy season are excessive, and they have dreadful hurricanes and water spouts on the coast. Peltry is the principal article that is sought after. The European and American fruits have been propagated here by the missionaries, and yield very well j the mezcala is the chief plant, and like the maguay of the south, is the principal article of food of the natives, and at the same time supplies them with drink and raiment. Northward from this settlement there are immense torests of pines and firs. Their trade is with Manilla, in furs, chiefly of the sea-otter, which is of a fine glossy black. The man- ner of catching this animal is peculiar to the Indians ; they pursue 76 NORTH AMERICA. it in small canoes, capable of holding one man, in which they go to sea, with a long rope in them, with two hooks ; when they see the otters and their young, the Indian advances towards them, the old ones immediately dive, and the Indian catches a young one by the foot; he then paddles off, and the young one, struggling with the pain, soon brings the dam to its assistance, who in her turn be- comes entangled with the hook, and is killed by blows from the hunter. The natives massacred some of the settlers at the missionary dis- trict of Todos los Santos, at the station of St. Ann. This must have arisen from some oppression, as the Californians, in general, are very submissive and indolent. They are very dexterous at the chase and in fishing j their wigwams are generally two or three to- gether, and the women wear a head dress of rushes, whilst that of their chiefs have feathers ; the women have necklaces of little shells in the north, and pearls in the south. The furniture of their hovels consists of a quiver for arrows, two pieces of wood to light their fires, a pipe of clay, a net for seeds, tobacco, a bow and arrows, their lines and hooks for fishing, and a club to kill rabbits. They often pierce the nostril, and wear ornaments in it ; seaming their flesh, and painting horribly to inspire their enemies with fear. The women carry all the household goods when they move, and the men the weapons. They have magicians, who act as priests and physicians, and these magi are the great obstacles in the way of con- verting the natives. The bay of Monterey is formed by Point Ano Nueva on the north, and Point Pinos on the south ; it is twenty-four miles wide at its entrance, and six in length to the east ; the east shore is low and sandy, and the sea runs into the beach with a tremendous noise, that may be heard three miles off. The Spanish ships which stay at Monterey, anchor in six fa- thoms water, at two cables length from the shore, and moor to the beach ; ships putting in, keep the south shore aboard, and after doubling the south point, or Fir Point (Point Pinos,) which stretches to the north, they see the fort, and drop anchor in ten fathoms behind the point, where they are sheltered from the west winds — the south winds blow here very strong off shore. At full and change of the moon it is high water here at half-past one ; the tide rises seven feet. The whales, a species of finner, are numerous in the bay, and La Perouse says, that they came within half pistol-shot of the ship, and occasioned a disagreeable smell. The coasts of this bay are generally covered with fogs, which render it dangerous to approach, otherwise it is not at all hard to enter. Pelicans frequent the sea at a small distance from land, and are a good sign for seamen, never going more than six leagues from shore ; pelicans are very common on the coast of California; where thev are called Alcatras by the NEW SPAIN. 77 Spaniards. Late travellers who have visited Port Monterey, say, that a better harbour could not be found for ships coming from the west, and that the soil in its neighbourhood is good, though dry ; all sorts of grain succeed very well, and the cattle are very fine. The Manilla ships find this a good harbour to recruit in, when driven to the north by contrary winds. THE INTENDANCY OF SONORA, Is the next subdivision of New Spain which meets our attention in proceeding to the south. It is bounded on the north by the Rio Colorado, on the east by New Biscay, on the west by the great Californian gulf, and on the south by the intendancy of Guada- laxara. Under the title of Sonora, are comprehended the provinces of Pimeria, Sonora, Hiaqui, and Mayo, or Ostimuri, and Cinaloa. The capital of Sonora is Arispe ; and its provinces lie from the Colorado River in the north to Culiacan on the south, following the order above mentioned ; we shall begin therefore with Pime- ria; and the description of climate, soil, &c. of each subdivision, will best explain the general appearance of the whole of Sonora, or as it is called in modern maps, New Navarre. PIMERIA. PiMERTA is the most northern district of this extensive division, and is bounded on the north by the Rio Colorado, by New Biscay on the east, by the Californian gulf on the west, and by Sonora on the south. Pimeria received its name from the Pimas, a tribe of Indians who inhabit this tract of country. It is subdivided into high and low Pimeria, and extends about three hundred miles to the north of Sonora. The climate is cold and moist, and the rains often last a week without intermission in the winter season, and torrents from the mountains during that period descend in all directions. Pimeria is very little known, being inhabited chiefly by the na- tive tribes, the Spanish colonists frequently deserting it on account of the irruptions of a warlike race of savages, who inhabit the neighbouring country of Apacheria in New Mexico. The river Colorado is the principal river of the uncolonised country north of Pimeria. This river has been also called Rio Colorado de los Martyres. The course of the Colorado may be computed in a straight line at 200 leagues, or 600 miles, and it is generally from north-east to south-west. It is called Colo- rado or coloured, from the water being tinged red by the clay of its banks. This river rises in the Sierra Verde, it is navi- gable for a considerable distance, and very deep where it is joined by the Rio Gila, which issues from the same mountains in Pimeria, further to the south. This latter river, though broad 78 NORTH AMERICA. and large, has no depth, and the country which lies between these streams is a desert of high land, without water or grass. The sa- vages who inhabit the northern side of the Colorado, are termed Cotomaricopas, and are celebrated for their dexterity in swim- ming the river with a piece of wood in their left hand to support their goods and weapons above the water, and steering with their right, the women carrying their infants on a basket work attached to their bodies. Their side of the river is fertile, and they arc an industrious people. The Colorado meets many other rivers which rise in the same chain ; the chief of these is the Zaguananas, which rises in those mountains, in about 40° north latitude. There is a large lake near this branch, called Buenara, in 39° north lati- tude, on the frontier, but of this lake nothing certain is known. The Colorado empties itself by an immense estuary into the north- ern part of the gulf of California. The Rio Gila is the next river of importance of this country, but both this and the Rio Colorado are north of the actual intendancy of Sonora. There are several rivers in Pimeria, but so imperfect are the accounts relative to this province, that nothing can be advanced with certainty about them. The Rio Ascension is the chief, on whose banks live a tribe of warlike Indians, named Seris. Higher Pimeria contains the fort of Ternate, and lower Pimeria the fort of Buenavista. The province contains much gold in grains, but it is not sought after, owing to naany causes, amongst which the incursions of the warlike Indians of the neighbouring country is the principal one. SONORA. SoNORA is the next province in proceeding southward, but, Uo in all this part of the New World, its limits are not accurately, de- fined; it is however bounded by Pimeria on the north, the gulf of California and Hiaqui on the west. New Biscay on the east, and Hiaqui on the south. It is about 420 miles in length in a northerly direction, and 380 in breadth, from west to east. The soil of Sonora is good on the shore of the gulf, and very fertile, but no very extensive forests are found in this province. The climate is good, the air being reckoned very pure ; but on the immediate vicinity of the gulf, the air is indeed impregnated with marshy effluvia, and therefore not so conducive to health as in the interior. The gold and silver mines of Sonora are very numerous, the mines of gold being in the greatest proportion, and in which the chief value of the province consists. The trade of Sonora consists in the exchange of its natural productions with Mexico, both by land and by means of the gulf of California, as also with New Mexico and New Biscay. Sonora NEW SPAIN. -79 will in all probability become in time a very valuable province, its natural advantages being great. Sonora is in the diocese of the bishop of Durango. This country is famed for an excellent breed of horses, for its fine cheeses, and for its cattle, which are superior and numerous. The animals of Sonora are chiefly the deer, the bear, the goat, and an extraordinary species of large lizard, which the natives do- mesticate, and teach to hunt mice and vermin, I'he capital is Arispe, situated near the head of the Hiaqui River, 108° 58' 15" west longitude, and 30° 36' north latitude. This town is celebrated for its hospitality, and for the great quan- tity of gold used in the table services of the chief families, with a population of 7600 souls. Sonora is the next town of any importance, its population is 6400. The principal rivers of Sonora are the Hiaqui or Yaqui, which rises in the Sierra Madre, and falls into the gulf of California, (after watering the district of Hiaqui) in 28° north latitude, and the Ascension River, which falls into the same gulf in 31°. HIAqyi, AND MAYO, OR OSTIMURI. Hiaqui and Mayo are two small districts, situated between So- nora and Sinaloa. The district of Hiaqui is bounded on the north by Sonora, and on the south by Sinaloa, on the west by the Cali- fornian gulf, and on the east by the ridge of mountains. Hiaqui is so called from a river of that name, which flows through it from Sonora. It is not a very extensive district, and little is known concerning the climate and productions, though they are nearly the same as those of Sonora. The Rio Hiaqui is the principal river, a branch of which in the south east, divides that part of Sinaloa which lies on the eastern side of the ridge from Sonora ; it also overflows occasionally, and inundates in the rainy seasons part of Sonora and Mayo, rising in a southerly direction in a place called Tauramara, and bending in a north-west course for half its length, it pervades the grand chain of mountains, and then turns oflF to the south-west, and falls into the Californian gulf, at the village of Huiribis, and forms a good harbour, from which a trade in provisions is carried on to the op- posite shore of California. The banks of the Hiaqui are extreme- ly fertile, and produce abundance of maize, beans, pease, and ve- getables. The chief town is Riochico, situated fifty leagues north- north-west of Sinaloa. Mayo is a small district to the south of Hiaqui, and is bounded by that province on the north, on the east by the ridge of moun- tains, on the south by Sinaloa, and the west by the gulf of Califor- nia. Of it very little is known \vith accuracy ; it is fertile, and 80 NORTH AMERICA. watered by the river Mayo, from which it receives its name; this river falls into the Californian sea in north latitude 27° 40'. SINALOA OR CINALOA. SiNALOA is the most southern province which is comprehended under the intendancy of Sonera ; it is bounded by the gulf of Cali- fornia on the west, on the east by New Biscay, or the ridge or Cordilkra of Topia, also called Tepecouan, and Sierra Madre, on the north by Ma} o, and on the south by Culiacan. This country is about 300 miles in length from the south-east to the north-east, and 120 miles broad. Sinaioa was discovered by Nunez de Guzman in the year 1553. The climate is good, the air being very pure, the land fertile, and producing abundantly grain, cotton, and fruits. I'he rivers are numerous, though small, and well stored with fish. Sinaioa is chiefly inhabited by Indians, though there are num- bers of mining stations established ; and the province bids very fair to be well colonised. The natives are a warlike race, and were with great difficulty brought to submit to the dominion of the Spaniards. They have caciques or chiefs, whose authority is however very limited, being confined to heading warlike expedi- tions. It is chiefly by valour displayed in battle, or hunting, that they obtain this distinction j sometimes indeed the interest of a powerful family elevates one of their number to the caciqueship. They are fond of oratory, and if one of their number displays any great ability in this art, universal acclamations decree him their chieftain. These latter instances are however rare. Laws are unknown. Their weapons are bows, with poisoned arrows, heavy clubs of wood and shields. These people are more industrious than their Californian neighbours in manufacturing coarse cotton stuffs. Many of the tribes subsist entirely by hunting and fishing, and have no regular residences, neither do they till the ground. In the inland parts these tribes are chiefly found subsisting by the chase ; on the sea coast they live by their industry, and by the fishery. Those in the mountainous regions are reckoned to be in the most perfect state of nature of any of the American Indians, rely- ing solely on their skill in the chase, and on the bounty of nature in her produce of roots, fruits, and plants. During the rainy sea- son, they make a large cap of rushes like a pent-house or umbrella, which they wear on their heads to throw ofl" the water, by which means they keep themselves dry for a considerable time. They construct a sort of rude wigwam of branches, to shield themselves from the scorching rays of the summer sun, and in winter they NEW SPAIN* 81 constantly keep large fires, round which they sleep, eat, and drink, with no other canopy than Heaven. The heat in this country ex- ceeds the cold, and they have little other bad weather, than during the rainy months. There are many gold and silver mines in the mountainous parts of this district, and in one of these called Yecorato, there was found a piece of gold which weighed 16 marks and upwards, the mark being two-thirds of a pound, or eight ounces. This was sent to Spain and deposited in the royal cabinet of Madrid. The chief mining station is Sivirijoa. The principal town is Cinaloa., or .5*/. Felipey St. Jago^ on the river Cinaloa, in 106° west longitude, and 26° north latitude, 630 miles north-west of Mexico ; the stream on which it stands and the Rio del Puerto, form the two principal rivers of this province ; they both rise in the Cordillera of Topia, and receiving other streams in their course, enter the southern part of the Californian sea, very near each other, and a little to the northward of Maca- pule Bay. Cinaloa contains 9500 inhabitants. The chief place of the whole government of Sonora is the capital. Arispe^ which has the forts of Bacuachi and Bavispe on the south and west. Hosthnuri^ the chief place of Mayo and Hiaqui, has many rich mines in the vicinity, with a council of the mines situated at St. Xavier. Los Alamos is also another station of note for the mines, between the Mayo and Fuerte rivers, with a population of 7900. The towns of Sonora Proper, and Ostimuri, arc three in num- ber, the villages 46, and the missions 46 ; of these villages, many are mining stations. Cinaloa contains four towns, Cinaloa, Montes Claros, with 7900 souls ; and El Rosario 5600 ; with 92 villages, numerous distinct farms and missions, and many important mining stations. INTENDANCY OF NEW BISCAY OR DURANGO. In quitting Sonora, on the east, we find the province and inten- dancy of New Biscay or Durango, which is bounded on the north by New Mexico and Indian nations, on the east by a desert coun- try between it and Coaguila, on the west by Sonora, and on the south by Zacatecas and Guadalaxara, or New Gallicia. It is about 100 miles in medial breadth, and 690 in length. The great ridge or Cordillera of Sierra Madre crosses it in its whole length, and the whole country is very mountainous, well watered by small rivers, the climate temperate, the soil fertile, the cattle fine and numerous, and the mountains abounding in ores. This intendancy has a po- pulation of 159,000 souls. The country near New Biscay contains several small marshes, m the islands or firm ground of which the Indians bid defiance to L 82 NORTH AMERICA. their Spanish neighbours, and are so hostile, that many forts have been built along the country to prevent their incursions. The capital is Durango^ which is the farthest town of any con- sequence north of Mexico; it is situated on a river which empties itself into a lake, (the river is called Durango or Guadiana). The population of this city amounts to 12,000. It is the see of a bishop, which is very extensive ; in his jurisdiction all the west- ern interior provinces, comprehending those on the east shore of the Californian gulf, are included. It was erected in the year 1620. The tithes of this see are said to have amounted in ten years to 1,080,300 dollars. A branch of the royal treasury of Mexico is established here for collecting the duties on the mines. The climate in the neighbour- hood of this city is mild and healthy, and the country fertile, pro- ducing corn, maize and fruit, and pasturing fine cattle. It has three churches and four convents, and is 170 leagues from Mexico, and 298 from Santa Fe. Durango is elevated 6845 feet above the level of the sea, and the intendant or governor of the province re- sides here. The inhabitants of New Biscay are all whites, there being no In- dians amongst them; they are a people of robust constitution and good intellectual qualities. They live in a state of constant warfare with their neighbours the Indians, particularly with the Cumanches, a very warlike race of people, who bear an inveterate hatred to the Spaniards. A tract of desert country to the west, called the Bolson de Mapimi, is in- habited by the Acoclames, the Cocoyames, the Apaches Mezcle- ros, and Apaches Fardones. It is from this waste that the natives are principally annoyed by the Indians ; in it is a large lake called Cayman, and part of another called Parras. The Rio Conchos is the largest river of New Biscay, which ri- ses in the Sierra Madre, and after taking a southerly course, sud- denly turns to the east, and again to the north, and empties itself into the Rio del Norte, at the Fort de las Juntas. New Biscay has six towns and 199 villages, with innumerable stations antl farms. The towns of New Biscay of the greatest note after Durango, are Chihuahua, formerly the residence of the captain-general of all the interior provinces of the upper part of the viceroyalty of New Spain, and now the residence of the captain-general of the western interior provinces, which comprehend New Biscay, New Mexico, Sonora, and the two Californias. The population of Chihuahua is 11,600, and it is surrounded with mining stations, the principal of which is Santa Rosa de Cosiquiriachi, where that part of the Sierra IMadre, called De los Metales, has valuable and numerous silver mines; this mining station is peopled by 10,700 souls. Mapimis, on the south extremity of the desert of Mapimi, is a military port, with 2700 inhabitants. NEW STAIN. 83 St. Juan del Rlo^ south of Lake Parras, 10,200 souls. Saltilloy situated to the west of Monterey, in New Leon, on a barren dry soil ; 6000 people. Pasquaro^ south of Rio de Nasas ; 5600. Batopila.f, west of Rio Conchos, 8000, formerly a place of great repute for its mines. Farral, the seat of a council of mines, 5000, and the mining sta- tion of Guirisamey^ 3800. The population of this government is concentrated entirely in these towns and in the mining stations, as in New Mexico, the warlike Indians rendering this method of living necessary ; even the forts are well peopled, as the settlers choose to live under their protection, in preference to possessing large tracts of land at a dis- tance from any defence. INTENDANCY OF SAN LUIS POTOSI. The intendancy of San Luis Potosi, comprises the provinces of Coaguila, New Leon, Texas, and the colonies of New Santandcr, and forms the western captain-generalship of the interior provinces. It is bounded on the north by desert countries, inhabited by tribes of wandering Indians ; by the Bolson de Mapimi, an un- conquered desert on the west, as well as by part of New Biscay and Zacatecas ; on the south by the intendancies of Guanaxuato, Mexico, and Vera Cruz. On the east its limits are not defined ; by the Spaniards they are considered to reach to the river Mexica- no or Mermento, between the sixty-fifth and sixty-sixth degrees of west longitude, but the American Congress deny this being the boundary of Louisiana, and extend their claims as far as the bay of St. Bernardo. This intendancy is computed to have a population of 334,900 souls. That part of San Luis Potosi which joins Zacatecas, is a moun- tainous country; in New Leon the land is not high, consequently the summers are hot and the winters cold ; the land on the right, be- tween Coaguila and Louisiana, is represented as containing imper- vious savannahs and enormous deserts. The nearest post of the Americans to New Spain, is Fort Claiborne, on the Red River. In the greater part of this immense territory of San Luis the cli- mate is good, and the air pure and healthy. The coast which borders the Mexican gulf, is lined with long narrow islands, between which and the continent, are sheets of wa- ter denominated lakes. The mouth of the Rio Panuco, and the bar of New Santander, are the only ports of the coast from which vessels trade with the West Indian islands in provisions. The whole coast has remained verv little explored ; such parts as have been surveyed, are found to be shut out by sand bars, which pre- 84 NORTH AMERICA. vent large vessels from passing into the harbours, which are other- wise excellent. The southern parts contain the mines of Catorce, Guadal-Cazar and Charcas, in the mountain districts. There is a route which the Americans follow from New Or- leans, through this intendancy, to Mexico, for the purposes of traf- fic, which is represented to require ten weeks to perform it, under great perils and hardships. The great ridge of Anahuac, or plain of New Spain, gradually descends, and loses itself in this intendancy ; and on its slope is situated the capital, St. Luis Potosi, where the intendant or gover- nor-general resides ; it is a little westward of the source of the Pa- nuco River, and contains a population of 12,000 persons. COAGUILA. CoAGUiLA is a province of St. Luis Potosi, lying to the north of New Leon, and sometimes included in that division ; it is also called New Estremadura, and in some maps Cuvilla. It is bound- ed on the north by uncultivated countries, on the east by the pro- vinces of Texas, New Santander, and Leon, on the west by New Biscay, and the Bolson de Mapimi, and on the south by New Bis- cay. Its extent is 200 leagues from north to south, and 160 from north-west to north-east. This province is nearly a waste, peopled only by the Indians and some few missions, and if it possesses mineral treasures, they remain to be discovered. The capital is Monclova, situated in the south part, the residence of a military governor. The next town of importance is Castanuela, on the southern borders. The Rio del Norte prevades this district. NEW LEON, Is bounded on the north by Coaguila, on the west by Conguila and New Biscay, on the east by New Santander, on the south by Zacatecas and St. Luis Potosi, or Guasteca. It is a very moun- tainous country, thinly inhabited and possessing few other mines than those of lead. The chief town is Monterey, the see of a bishop ; there are also several villages and small stations ; but although it has been some- times designated by the high sounding title of the New Kingdom of Leon, it is only a small tract, of which scarcely any thing is known. NEW SANTANDER AND TEXAS.^ AND PANUCO, OR POTOSI. These provinces extend for an immense length along the shores of the Mexican gulf, and commencing at the estuary of the river NEW SPAIN. 85 Mexicano follow the course of that river ; Coaguila then bounds them on the north, New Leon on the east, Mexico on the south, and the gulf of Mexico on the west. The Rio Bravo del Norte flows through the centre of these provinces. Numerous herds of cattle feed in this country, which abounds in fruit, corn, &c. A chain of mountains, from the main ridge, runs through New Santander, and is called the Sierra Gorda ; from which the district has sometimes been named ; this chain abounds in mines. It was not till 1748, that this district or province was wholly subdued, in which year the capital was built. There is a fine harbour attached to it, which was first observed in 1739. The richest mines are in Panuco or Potosi, and the chief of these is Catorce, or La Purissima Conception ; it was discovered in 1773, and is said to yield annually to the amount of from seven to 800,000/. sterling of silver. Charcas is the next mining station of note, and is in the north of Panuco or Potosi. The remaining towns of most importance in the intendancy of San Luis Potosi, are Nexv Santander^ the capital of the province of that name, with its port of Soto la Marina^ which however does not admit vessels that draw more water than six feet. LinareSy in New Leon, between the Rio del Norte, and the Ti- gre, and San Antonio de Bejar^ capital of Texas, between the two rivers Nogales and St. Antonio. The most eastern fort of this intendancy is the Presidio of Na- cogdoch, which is 68 leagues from the United States Fort Clai- borne. The great river of this government is the Rio del Norte, which enters the Mexican gulf in about 25° 40' north latitude, and 97° 20' west longitude. The other rivers of most note are, beginning from the east, the Rio Mexicano, Rio de Sabina, Rio de la Trini- dad, Rio Colorado de Texas, Rio St. Antonio, Rio de las Nueces, Rio de Tigre, to the south of the great Rio del Norte, and the Rio Panuco or Tampico ; of all of which very little is known. INTENDANQY OF ZACATECAS. This intendancy is one of the smallest in New Spain, and is the first of those we are about to describe, which are under the imme- diate controul of the viceroy. It is bounded on the north by the intendancy of New Biscay or Durango, on the east by San Luis Potosi, on the west by Guada- laxara, and on the south by Guanaxuato. It is 85 leagues long, and 51 broad in its greatest dimensions. The population of this province is 153,300. Zacatecas consists almost entirely of mountain country ; so much so, as to have been said greatly to resemble Swisserland. The cli- 86 NORTH AMERICA. mate is very variable and inclement, and the soil far from fertile ; but all this is compensated by the riches of the mines, which are ' only inferior to those of Guanaxuato. Its chief town is Zacatecas^ where the great mines are situated. The population of this town is 33,000; it is a bishop's see, and is 240 miles north-north-east of Mexico. The next is Sombrerete^ the seat of the chief council of mines ; Fresnillo, near the latter, both of which are great mining stations. Sombrerete was formerly the richest of the whole, and there are many other mining stations of great importance in this district, most of which are very populous. THE INTENDANCY OF GUADALAXARA. This, with Zacatecas, formed New Gallicia, in the former di- vision of New Spain. It is bounded on the north by Sonora, and New Biscay, on the east by Zacatecas and Guanaxuato, on the west by the Pacific, and on the south by Valladolid, or Mechoacan ; it is 118 leagues long, and 100 broad. This province is of im- portance, from being the seat of a royal audience, or supreme court, which, as before observed, governs in civil affairs, more than one- half of New Spain. It was established in the year 1548. Guadalaxara contains a population of 630,500 souls, and its eastern side is a part of the declivity of the plain of Anahuac ; the western side is mountainous, and covered with extensive forests. On the sea coast, the air is hot and unhealthy, but on the heights, pure and wholesome. The chief productions of this country are wheat, maize, cotton, and cochineal, all of which are produced in very great abundance. Guadalaxara contains two cities, six towns, and 322 villages ; there are five mines of silver of great value, the chief of which is Copala. The great river of this country is the river Santiago, which crosses it from east to west, communicating with Lake Chapala. The volcano of Colima is the most striking feature in this pro- vince, and is the last of those which lie on the same parallel to the west. Its height is near 10,000 feet above the sea, and its crater continually ejects smoke and ashes. This volcano is isolated from the neighbouring chain. The Rio Santiago, or Rio Grande, is a noble stream, which rises in the Nevada de Toluca, near Mexico, and after traversing the extremity of Valladolid, or Mechoacan, and Guanaxuato, crosses the province of Guadalaxara, first going through the north- ern extremity of Lake Chapala; it throws itself into the Pacific, at the point of St. Bias ; in Valladolid it bears the name of Rio Lerma. Lake Chapala is a fine sheet of water of this province, much NEW SPAIN. 87 larger than the Mexican lakes, and has some islands in it ; it is about ninety miles long, and thirty broad, but its dimensions arc not accurately ascertained. The great towns of Guadalaxara, are Guadalaxara^ where the governor, the bishop, and the officers of the supreme court of the royal audience reside ; its population is 19,500 souls. It is placed on the Rio Esquitlan, or Santiago, Avhich flows from Lake Cha- pala. At the distance of twelve miles from the town, this Great River has a cataract, and is very rapid. The city stands on a plain, in which there are many rivulets, surrounded by mountains, and covered with oaks and pines. Handsome gardens are seen in all directions, which abound with every sort of fruits. There is an estate belonging to the Marquis of Altamira near it, which sends annually to the markets of Mexico, four thousand head of cattle, with numerous flocks of sheep and swine ; it also grows great quan- tities of pimento, maize, &c. of which it has been computed to yield to the value of 40,000 dollars per annum. The extent of the city is very gi'eat, and the population consists of Spaniards, mulattoes and mestizoes ; the native Indians inhabit the suburbs and villages adjacent. The people are celebrated for industry, and they have excellent artisans amongst them; they are a good looking and well made race. The streets are unpaved, and mules are used for their carriages ; this city is subjected to tempests of a very violent nature, but snow never lodges there. Here there is a manufactory of cigars, and the natives make a sort of jars of a fine scented earth, which are in much request. They have a fine aqueduct, many churches, convents, and two colleges, with eight fine squares. The revenues of the bishopric amount to 2,579,100 dollars an- nually. The jurisdiction of the royal audience has been already men- tioned in a former part. The other towns of most importance are, CoHma, six miles south of the volcano of the same name. Aguas Calientes^ near the mines of Asiento de Ibarra. Compostella Lagos ^ and San Bias ; the latter of which is a noted sea-port, where the marine department is stationed. San Bias is at the mouth of the river Santiago ; here there are magazines, dock-yards for the royal navy, and in the vicinity, all sorts of necessary timber for constructing ships ; but it is so un- healthy a place, that the officers usually reside in a village near it, where the air is better. THE INTENDANCY OF GUANAXUATO. This is one of the small but populous provinces of New Spain, and is situated on the great ridge of the Mexican Cordillera. Its $8 NORTH AMERICA. length is fifty-two, and breadth thirty-one leagues. The highest land is the mountain De los Llanitos, 9325 feet above the sea. The value of this province consists chiefly (although great part of it is very fertile) in its mines. They are the richest of North America, and exceed in produce and value that of Potosi in South America, or indeed, any mines in the world. The population of this province consists of 517',500 souls, of which 180,000 are Indians. The cities of Guanaxuato are three in number, with four towns, thirt}"-seven villages, and numerous settlements. Gicanaxiiafo^ or Santa Fe^ is the capital; it was founded in 1554. It is surrounded closely by the silver mines, six principal ones of which have been enumerated. The height of Guanaxuato is 6886 feet above the sea ; some of the mines have their entrance shafts even higher, the one called Valenciana^ having its mouth as high as 7'856 feet above the level of the ocean. In the city, and mining villages surrounding it, the population is estimated at 70,600 ; the other towns of most note are Salamanca^ at the height of 5762 feet, S'llao or Celaya^ which has a very fine church, still higher, and Villa de Zeon, celebrated for its neighbourhood producing fine maize and corn. INTENDANCY OF MEXICO. This province is the most important, though not the most ex- tensive of those which form the viceroyalty of New Spain; its his- torical relations, its splendid capital, extraordinary and beautiful appearances and situation, give it, independently of its chief place being the metropolis of New Spain, an advantage over the other states of this widely extended region ; we shall accordingly enter more at large into its history and description, than what the li- mits of this work will allow to be allotted to the other provinces. Mexico is bounded on the north by the intendancy of San Luis Potosi, on the east by the province of Tlascala, or Puebla, and Vera Cruz, on the west by Mechoacan, or Valladolid, and Guanaxuato, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. The government of the royal audience, in the capital, is the richest and most extensive of the three royal audiences established in North America. Mexico was formerly an empire of no great extent, but nume- rously peopled, and covered with towns ; it was surrounded by se- veral other states, either in alliance with it, or under its dominion. Of these the most noted were the Michuacan, Tlacopan, and the Acolhuacan kingdoms, the Cholollan, Huexotzincan, and Tlaxcal- lan republics, with several others of inferior note. The boundaries of the Mexican kingdom were the small state of Quauhtemallan on the south-east ; on the east, part of the above states and the Mexican gulf ; on the north Huaxtecas, a country NEW SPAIN. 89 inhabited by a tribe of that natr^e ; Tlacopan, and a savage tribe, called the Chichemicas, were on the north-west; Michuacan on the west; and on the south and south-west the Pacific. This kingdom was therefore situated between the fourteenth and twenty^first de- grees of north latitude, and between the ninety-seventh and the hundred and fifth degrees of west longitude. Of this extent, the most fertile and best cultivated portion was the vale of Anahuac, or of Waters, which embraced a beautiful district, comprised with- in mountains, the circuit of whose bases occupied 120 miles. From the name of this vale, the whole country received afterwards the appellation of Anahuac, previously to its settlement by the Spa- niards, who called it New Spain ; which title has since been given to the dominions of Spain, in North America, occupying the whole extent from the northern boundaries, to the kingdom of Guatimala, and often embracing that territory' also. In the centre of the vale of Anahuac are the lakes of Tezcuco and Chalco, on whose banks were the cities of Mexico, Acolhuacan, Tlacopan, Tezcuco, and forty others, with innumerable small towns. Michuacan, the westerly kingdom, had its capital on a lake, called Pascuaro, with four other cities. Tlacopan lay between Mex- ico and Michuacan, and its capital was Tezcuco, four miles west of INIexico. Acolhuacan, which was very extensive, as well as the most ancient of the kingdoms, had its capital on the eastern shore of Lake Tezcuco, at about fourteen miles from Mexico ; this king- dom was powerful, populous, and contained many cities ; it was amongst the most civilised of the territories of Anahuac. Tlax- callan or Tlascala was on the south of Mexico, and the chief of the republics; it was not large, and its capital was situated seventy- miles east of Mexico. The republics of Cholollan and Huexoti zinco lay to the south of Tlaxcallan. The origin of the Mexican nations, or the nations of Anahuac is very obscure, but it is supposed that the Toltecas, who inhabit- ed a country to the north of Mexico were the most ancient inhabi- tants, of whom any trace could be found ; and they had a tradition that they came from the north. A tribe of this nation being ba- nished from the country where they dwelt, journeyed to the south- ward in search of a favourable spot whereon to fix their residence ; it is asserted they commenced their migration in the year 596 A. D., but not finding a place which had charms enough to fix them, for any great length of time, they still kept removing to the south for the space of 104 years, when they came to a spot which pleased them. Here they erected a city, fifty miles eastward of the spot where Mexico the capital was afterwards founded. They rested twenty years in this place, when thev again removed and settled forty miles further west, building another city. They appear to have been an industrious people, well skilled in many arts, and living under the government of their kings in a M OO NORTH AMERICA. peaceable manner ; but, unfortunately in the year 1052, bufTered from a dearth and want of water, which pervaded their land ; and a great part of their people died of famine. Those who remained, dispersed themselves into Guatimala, Mexico, &c. For'the space of 100 years the Toltecan country w^as nearly a desert, very few having been left behind ; after this interval the Cachemecas, ano- ther race from the north arrived, whose manners were not so cul- tivated, and their way of living more savage than the Toltecans. They established themselves in a place about six miles from the present city of Mexico, and were governed by kings, who encou- raged their people to cultivate the friendship of the poor Toltecans ■»vho remained ; in return for which they instructed them in all the arts they knew. This monarchy lasted till the year 1520, or near- ly five centuries ; the Toltecan monarchy having endured nearly four. Some other tribes from the north, of which the Acolhuans, and the Otomies were the principal, entered into alliance with the Cachemecas. After them the Tarascas and the Nahuatlacas, also from the north, settled in Anahuac. The Aztecas, or Mexicans were the last ; they came from a country beyond the gulf of Cali- fornia ; this is said to have taken place in the year 1 160, when they moved southward, and traces of the buildings thej'^ left, are said to exist on the banks of the Rio Colorado, and on the Rio Gila, &c. They stopped for some time at a place in New Biscay, about 250 miles north-north-west of Chihuahua, and there raised some large buildings, from which the place is now called Casas Grandes, which signifies large houses, and is in 29° north latitude. This large building is constructed with three floors, and crowned by a terrace ; the lower floor has no door, and the upper is accessible only by a ladder, which is still the manner in which the buildings of New Mexico are constructed. This house, or fort has been surrounded by a wall, seven feet thick, and in which enormous stones were used ; the beams of pine are said still to exist. In the centre is a keep or mound ; the whole has had a ditch about it, and earthern pots, jars. Sec. with mirrors of the itzli stone, have been dug up in the neighbourhood. On leaving this spot, they crossed the mountains of Taraumara, and rested three years at Culiacan. When the Aztecas left their native country, they consisted of six tribes, viz. the Mexicans, Tepanecas, Chalcese, Tlahuicas, Tlascans, and Xochimilcans. At Culiacan they constructed the image of the deity Huitzilopochtli, with a throne to carry it on the shoulders of four priests. 'I'he Mexicans were deserted by the five other tribes on quitting Culiacan, and journeying with their image, arrived at Tula, the capital which the Toltecans had built, erecting altars at all their resting places on the road. They stay- ed here, and in the vicinity twenty years ; and in 1216 they came to Zumpanco, a large town in the vale of Anahuac ; here they were kindly received, and one of their cliief vromcn married Ilhuicatl, NEW SPAIN. 91 the son of the chief ; from which marriage the race of Mexican emperors descended. They roamed about the borders of the lake Tezcuco, settUng in different places, and at last engaged in wars with the Cachemicas and Acolhuans, and were obliged to take refuge in some islands, called Acocolo, in the southern part of the Mexican lakes. Here they existed fifty-two years, in great poverty, and were finally enslaved by the chief of a small state called Colhuacan. A few years after a war commenced between the Xochimilcans, one of the tribes who had sepai'ated from the Mexicans at Culia- can, and the Cholhuans, in which the Mexicans assisted their en- slavers, and behaved so valourously as to gain their liberty. Their conduct was however stained by the cruelty they committed in the action, by cutting off their prisoners' ears, and by a human sacrifice, which they made to their divinity after the battle, which consisted of four of the prisoners whom they had reserved. The chief of the Cholhuans commanded them to quit his territory', being dis- gusted at their barbarity ; they moved therefore to a place near the junction of Lakes Chalco and Tezcuco, which place they named Mexicaltzinco ; they removed however from this to Iztacalo, near- er the place where Mexico was soon after built. Here they re- joiced for their victory and subsequent liberation, and remained two years, when wandering about, they discovered on an island, in the lake, a sign which their oracles had declared to be the mark of their future resting place ; here they accordingly built some mi- serable huts of reeds, and having taken a Cholhuaii prisoner, sa- crificed him to their deity, built an altar, and prepared permanent- ly to fix their residence. To this town and island they gave the name of Tenochtitlan, and afterwards building their huts round the altar of Huitzilopochtli or Mexitli, they gave the town the name of Mexico, or the city of Mexitli, their god of war. This took place in the year 1325. The situation of their new town, chosen solely from the omen, was as uncomfortable and as ill-placed, as they could have found on a small island, in a lake without ground for cultivation, or much space for building. There they lived long in a very wretched manner, till at last, impelled by necessity, they drove stakes and made dykes to the neighbouring islets; by which means they shut out the water, and connected the islands, so as to gain considerable space from the lake. By industry they attained sufficient quanti- ties of materials from the neighbouring settlements to erect their habitations, and furnish themselves with necessaries, and construct- ed floating gardens on the water, with the mud of the lake, and branches of trees, on which they raised vegetables, &c. Struggling ^ith great distress and difficulties, they remained unanimous and constant in their exertions for thirteen years, when an old quarrel '.vas renewed amongst themselves, and they divided into two fac- 92 NORTH AMERICA. tions, who separated, one remaining on the spot, the other going to an island in the vicinity, which they named Tlatelolco, and which was afterwards united to the other by mounds. The original town was now divided into four quarters, and in the centre was built the teinple of Mexitli. Ihey remained in great barbarism for some time, and sacrificed a daughter of the king of Cholhuacan, whom they had invited into their tow n, under a specious pretext ; on which the king declared war against them, but they were now as powerful as himself. Their government had been hitherto an aristocracy ; the nation obeying a council of their great chieftains. At this era they found that a monarchy was best suited to their views, as well because their neighbours had mostly adopted that form of government, as because their territories consisting only of the city, one person was better able to perform the duties of the kingly office than se- veral. They therefore elected Acampatzin for their king and leader, who was descended from the race above mentioned. This prince took a daughter of Acolmiztli, king of Coatlican, for his consort ; their rival brothers, the 1 latelolcos also chose a king, the son of the king of the Tepanecans, and in consequence of their choosing the son of this prince, who had hitherto received tribute from both parties, they endeavoured to instigate him to njake war on the Mexicans ; he however, only doubled their tri- bute, and otherwise oppressed them very much, for fifty years ; during thirty-seven of which, Acamapitzin governed Mexico. He took another wife, and had by her a son Huiizilihiutl, and by his concubines several children, of whom Itzcoatl was afterwards one of the most renowned. Acamapitzin governed Mexico with great success, and in his reign buildings of stone Were constructed, and canals for the use and ornament of the place were commenced. He died in the year 1389, and after four months Huitzilihiutl his son, succeeded him by the universal choice of the people. He married a daughter of the king of the Tepanecas, as well as another princess ; they each brought him sons, and the son of the latter was the famous Mon- tezuma Ilhuicamina. Huitzilihuitl reigned twenty years, and died in 1409, and was succeeded by his brother Chimalpopoca, who, dying by his own hands in prison, to which he was treacherously conveyed by the king of Acolhuacan, was succeeded by Itzcoatl, the son of Acamapitzin, by a slave. In the mean time they were engaged in many disputes with the neighbouring kings and their rivals the Tlatelolcans, who were as rapidly advancing in power as the Mexicans. The first king of the Tlatelolcans died in 1339. On the ascension of Itzcoatl to the Mexican throne, who was accounted one of the most prudent of their kings, he built temples, &c. subdued some neighbouring provinces, and concluded an alli- ance with the exiled prince of Acolhuacan, whose father had been NEW SPAIN. 93 killed, and himself supplanted by a neighbouring king. This prince immediately declared war against the usurper, and took several towns. Itzcoatl sent Montezuma, the son of Huitzilihuitl to con- gratulate him. He was taken prisoner, but escaped by treachery, and got back to Mexico, when Maxtlaton, the usurping king of Acolhuacan, who had been only king of Tepanecas, declared war against Mexico, on account of the Mexicans joining the exiled prince Nezahualcajotl. This terrified the Mexicans, and they de- manded their king to make peace, but Montezuma, by his oratory persuaded them to commence hostilities. Montezuma undertook to carry the defiance, and was assailed in his return by some of the enemy, but got back after killing two or three. After this the exil- ed prince joined his army to the Mexicans, and a furious, battle took place. When night approached, the troops of the enemies still increasing, the Mexicans were discouraged, and began to give way ; but Montezuma, and the other chiefs, rushing to the front, redeemed the day. Montezuma took the general of the adversa- ries with his own hand ; the next day the battle was renewed, and the Tepanecans totally defeated, and their city taken. That nation was afterward totally subdued, and became subject- ed to Itzcoatl ; who, after reducing all the provinces which were refractory, replaced Nezahualcajotl on his throne ; in these actions Montezuma manifested his usual address and courage. Itzcoatl gave the Tepanecan country to Totoquihuatzin, with the title of king of Tacuba. These kings then formed a treaty of alliance, of- fensive and defensive. The Xochimilcans, fearing that they might be the next objects of Mexican power, declared war, but were de- feated, their capital and strong holds being taken by Montezuma. Thus, after twelve years, Mexico rose from its insignificancy, and became more powerful than all the surrounding states, and was no longer tributary. Itzcoatl died in 1436, at an advanced age, and Montezuma was called to the throne ; one of the fiVst acts of his reign was to build an immense temple, and he was no sooner pla- ced on the imperial seat, than he was called to a war between the Chalcese and the I'ezcucans; which terminated in the defeat of the former, and in this war he obtained the victims to be sacrificed at his coronation, which was the most splendid they had ever wit- nessed. The king of Tlatelolco having formed a conspiracy against Itzcoatl, and renewing bis designs against Montezuma, he depo- sed him, and put Moquihuix in his place. Two large provinces were also conquered, and added to the Mexican dominions about this period. He then engaged in a war with the king of the Mixtacas, the Huexotzincas, and Tlascalans, and after meeting with a reverse, he finally succeeded in defeating them, and again enlarged his do- minions. In 1457 he undertook the conquest of Cuetlachtlan, and sent Moquiliuix, king of the Tlatclolcos to subdue it, but hearing 94 NORTH AMERICA. that the Cholulans, the Tlascalans and Huexotzincas had joined the enemy, he ordered his army to return ; they however disobeyed his command, conquered the enemy, and despatched an immense number of them to be immolated in the Mexican temples. This so pleased Montezuma, that he forgave them, and married Moqui- huix to one of his own relatives. The Chalcese, who had again rebelled, were again reduced, and the whole of his reign was occupied in augmenting his dominions; so that at his death, in 1464, his territories reached from the gulf of Mexico nearly to the Pacific. During the reign of Montezuma, Mexico suffered by an inun- dation ; this happened in 1446, when, after a very long continu- ance of rain, the lake swelled, and overflowing the city, destroyed many houses ; to prevent its recurrence, he constructed a dyke of two parallel rows of stakes, filled in with mud and stones ; this dyke was nine miles long, and for the future, prevented that evil in a great measure. Six years after this calamity, the maize har- vest failed ; and, in 1452, after having suffered more or less, from the same cause, for three years, the people were become so redu- ced, that many sold themselves for slaves, and Montezuma was obliged to open the granaries, and issue edicts that no woman should sell herself for less than 400 ears of wheat, or any man for less than 500. They existed on fish, and were only restored by a plentiful harvest happening in 1454. On his demise, he was succeeded by Axaycatl, in 1468 ; which prince, after a great victory, built an immense temple called Co- atlan ; this was after conquering the natives of the province of Te- coantepec. The Tlatelolcos, in opposition, built another which they called Coaxolotl. This prince was not so fortunate as Mon- tezuma, for many of the districts he conquered, revolted, and the Tlatelolcos became again the enemies of the Mexicans. In 1469 and 1470, the*kings of Acolhuacan and Tacuba died, and thus the league was weakened. The Tlatelolcos now declared war, and the king Moquihuix, who had married a sister of Axayacatl, treated her so ill that she informed her brother of the enterprise, by which means he totally defeated the Tlatelolcos, penetrating, in the com- mencement of the action, into the market place, where he tore out the heart of Moquihuix, who had been taken prisoner ; he then united the city to Mexico, which it has ever since made a part of. Axayacatl then engaged in war with some other states, and was wounded, however, he gained a complete victory over the Matla- tzincas, and continued to extend his dominions till his death in 1477. He was succeeded by his brother Tizoc, after reigning thirteen years. Tizoc conquered fourteen cities, and after having collect- ed materials to build a larger temple than any of his ancestors, was poisoned by his subjects. This prince married one of his grand- daughters to the king of the Acolhuacans, who al<=o fell in love NEW SPAIN; 95 with her sister Xocotzin, and married her, by whom he had a son named Cacamatzin, who succeeded his father, and was taken pri- soner afterwards by the Spaniards. Ahuitzotl, the brother of Tizoc, succeeded him in 1482, after he had reigned five years. His first care was to finish the temple be- gun by Tizoc, which he completed in four years. This king was engaged in several wars, and the human sacrifices he caused to be made at the dedication of the new temple, were so enormous that they are said to have amounted to upwards of 70,000. Another temple was also dedicated in his reign, at which many unfortunate victims were immolated. The dedication of these temples took place in 1486 and in 1487", when there was a terrible shock of an earthquake felt at Mexico. This monarch's life was spent in war, he extended his dominions as far as Guatimala, 900 miles from his capital. The Mexicans were however defeated in 1476, by the Atlixcans, under the com- mand of a chief of the Huexotzincas. Ahuitzotl caused a channel or aqueduct to be made from a foun- tain into the lake, by which the waters were so much increased, that an inundation, followed by a famine took place. He died in 1502, after a reign of twenty years. At the period of his death, Mexico was precisely in the same state, with regard to territorial acquisitions, as when the Spaniards arrived. He em- bellished Mexico by building with a stone which he- discovered a quarry of in the neighbourhood, and his death was caused by a con- tusion on the head, which he received in rushing out of his palace, when the waters of the lake rose, by striking his head against the upper part of the door. The next sovereign was Montezuma, the second of that name, and the ninth in order ; he was called Montezuma Xocotzin, or the younger ; who was a priest, and a man of great bravery ; and on his election the people particularly valued themselves. Montezuma's attention was first directed to war, in order to pro- cure victims to be offered to the deities at his coronation, and the unfortunate Atlixcans were the sufferers, who, however, slew num- bers of the Mexicans before they were subdued. The pomp of Montezuma's coronation exceeded that of any pre- ceding emperor, and the people saw with regret, symptoms of a tyrannical and haughty disposition show themselves after this cere- mony, which they had before not suspected. Montezuma changed many of the rules adopted by his prede- cessors, and particularly favoured his nobles, at the expense of the other classes. His household were entirely composed of people of rank, and he kept a number of women confined in the palace, choos- ing those for himself and favourites, which he thought the most beautiful ; 600 neighbouring chieftains came to congratulate him, ind appeared themselves to be in the utmost dread of his ven- 96 NORTH AMERICA. geance. His attendants cast off their shoes on entering^ the palace, and he permitted none of them to be sumptuously dressed. On en- tering the audience hall, they made three obeisances, at each of which they addressed him with a higher title. He was carried in a litter on the shoulders of his nobles, covered with a canopy, and carpets were spread along the streets in which he walked ; the kitchen utensils of the finest earthenware, his table-cloths and nap- kins were never used more than once. His chocolate was prepared in golden vessels, and his state dinners were carried by three or four hundred young nobles, who respectfully retired when they set the dibhes down, each dish standing on a chafing dish, and the whole consisting of every variety of the game, fish, fruits and herbs of the country. He pointed out those which he preferred, and the rest were taken into the anti-chamber to the attendant nobility. Four women stood by him the whole time with ewers, and he was surrounded by his counsellors and carvers. He bathed every day, and changed his dress four times, never putting on the same dress again, they being reserved for his nobles and chief warriors. One whole city he appointed as a place of residence at his expense, for those who were worn out in his ser- vice. All his palaces and gardens were very magnificent, and he had palaces in Mexico appropriated to the kings and foreign no- bles, whenever they should choose to reside there ; with royal me- nageries ; an aviary that occupied the attention of 300 men and physicians ; five hundred turkeys were killed every day for the birds of prey, and the beasts were fed on deer, rabbits, and the entrails of human sacrifices. This Prince had many parks for hunting; he was the patron of the arts, and had many good qualities; but was bigoted in the ex- treme; so much so, that he afterwards lost his life and empire by his belief in vain predictions. Montezuma was not so fortunate as his predecessors had been, he indeed conquered a province which had not before been reduced ; but in his wars with the Tlascalans, he was unsuccessful. This small republic contained a brave and independent people, and though comparatively in small numbers to the Mexicans, they resisted all their attacks ; the Tlascalans forti- fied their territories, and built a wall six miles in length on the frontier they suspected would be attacked, and they repulsed the Mexicans and their allies in every attempt they made to subdue them. The resistance of these people to the power of Montezuma crea- ted several other rebellions which lasted during the remainder of his reign. In the year 1508, an expedition had been sent against Amatla, a distant region, and the Mexican army, in inarching over a mountain, encountered a furious snow storm, in which great numbers perished, and on arriving at Amatla, the remainder were almost all slain. A comet appearing at this time, and the empire NEW SPAIN. 97 suffering under rebellion and other calamities, Montezuma ever superstitious, was thrown into great alarm ; the king of Acolhua- can, Nezahualpilli, who was accounted a learned soothsayer, pre- saged, that the comet portended a calamity that was about to befal the nation, by the arrival of some strangers. This he was unwiU ling to believe, and an astrologer, who verified the predictions of his brother king, was slain in his house, which was razed to the ground. There are many other things related of the fore-knowledge the Mexicans had of the arrival of the Spaniards, these may be traced to two sources ; the Spanish priests who have invented most of them since, and to the following; the Spaniards at that time had become verv formidable in the West India Islands; settlements had even been attempted on the southern continent, and their uncommon arms and appearance must have been the universal topic of con- versation among the natives where they came ; many of the savap-es on the islands had escaped, and it is hardly possible to think, that from the year 1492, when Columbus discovered the American Isl- ands, to 1508, the period we are now speaking of, that such a peo- ple as the Mexicans would not have heard of these formidable neighbours, and that they would not have formed some idea that it might soon be their turn to be attacked. They, however, went on for some years in the usual manner, and although always dread- ing the arrival of the unknown people, they continued their inter- nal wars and human sacrifices. The stone, or altar, on which these unfortunate victims had been laid, was found too small, and the emperor ordered one of enormous dimensions to replace it; this was dragged by a multitude of people towards the temple, and in going over a bridge, broke the structure and precipitated the high priest and his attendants into the lake. It was, however, got out by immense labour, and, it is said, upwards of 12,000 victims were sacrificed on it. This was the period when Mexican splendour was at its height, and Montezuma on the pinnacle of his glory. The Spaniards hav- ing well settled themselves in the great islands of Cuba and His- paniola, turned their attention to explore the continent towards the west. Vasco Nunez de Balboa first landed on the coast, and from the mountains descried the Pacific; this was, however, near the Isthmus, in the year 1513. Juan de Grijalva was appointed to command a small expedition for discovery ; having four ships and 240 men, he first landed on the island of Cozumel, east of Yucatan, on the 3d of May, 1518, and retui"ned to Cuba without making any attempt to reduce the country, which he called New Spain. Velasquez, the governor, by the accounts he gave, entrusted Cortez with a commission to ex- plore and conquer the ncwlv discovered regions: the manner in N ^8 .VORTH AMERICA. which this was efTected has been related under the head of New Spain, as well as the cause of the death of Montezuma. The Mexican empire extended, at this time, 500 leagues from east to west, and 200 from north to south. On the death of Mon- tezuma, his brother Quetlavaca, or Cuitlahuitzin, succeeded him after he had reigned nearly eighteen years ; which event happened in June 1520. Quetlavaca gave promise of being an excellent king ; he prepared his capital to receive the Spaniards, when he heard they were returning from their last retreat, and caused it to be sup- plied with stores, and made spears headed with the daggers and swords taken from the Europeans who had fallen, to annoy the Spanish cavalry. He died of the small pox before he could bring his projects to bear, in July 1520, and was succeeded by his ne- phew and son-in-law, Guatimozin, who had the misfortune to ob- serve his people, dividing themselves from each other, and instead of aiding him to extirpate the Spaniards, many of them were as- sisting them to the utmost of their power. He was a man of un- daunted courage and great capacity, and defended his city with great resolution ; hut being at last nearly starved; want, wretched- ness, and disease, with the daily advance of the Spaniards and their auxiliaries, induced him to effect his escape, which he sought to do with his family in a canoe, accompanied by many of his faithful subjects ; whilst those whom he had left to guard the remnant of his once flourishing capital endeavoured to deceive the Spaniards, in order to favour it. The canoes being large and rowing very swiftly, with other suspicious appearances, attracted the attention of the Spanish vessel, and a brigantine commanded by Garcia Hoi- gain, was ordered to chase by Sandoval, one of Cortez's best offi- cers. On coming up with the canoes the rowers dropped their oars, (and the people with lamentations, begged the Spaniards not to fire^ $s the emperor was there. Garcia eagerly seized such a prize, and the emperor in an undaunted manner gave himself up, earnestly requesting them not to injure his wife and children. Appearing before Cortez, he, in a manly and majestic tone, addressed him, saying, " I have done my duty as a king, sheath your dagger in my body ; my life is now useless to myself and my subjects." He had, previously, ordered his treasures to be thrown into the lake; and the allies of Cortez, had, during the general bustle, car- ried off the most valuable of what remained ; this exasperated the Spaniards, and the rebellious spirit of his soldiers urged Cortez to a deed which has for ever stained his memory ; he directed that Guatimozin and his prime minister should be put to the torture, to make them reveal where the treasure had been deposited. The em- peror's fayourite or minister, overcome with pain, for they varied the torture in every possible manner, putting them on heated grates with live coals, Sec. threw a glance of supplication to Guatimozin, ;ts if he requested leave to explain. The emperor looked at him NEW SPAIN. 9^ sternly, and saying, " am I reposing on a bed of rases,*' checked all further solicitation. The unfortunate minister, worn out with agony, shortly after breathed his last. Cortez, who was present, ordered the torture to cease, and released the emperor, but only for fur- ther indignities ; he made him swear allegiance to the crown of Spain, and afterwards, pretending he had planned a revolt, order- ed him to be strangled. Thus died Guatimo2>in, who had reigned about nine months, and finished his imperial career on the 13th of August 1521, the day on which the city was taken. Here ended the race of Mexican emperors, after a period of 197 years, and 300 years from the emigration of the colony to Mexico. The memory of the events which happened in Mexican histdry was retained by means of paintings on cloth of a coarse and awk- ward appearance, and by historical songs which were handed from generation to generation j we shall not, however, enter into those discussions which have taken place with respect to the probability of many of the circumstances ; it is sufficient to say, that they were generally believed by the natives themselves. The Mexicans were assuredly an extraordinary people, and were acquainted with many arts unknown to more civilised nations ; they cast metals, made pic- tures in feather work, dyed their cloths with beautiful and perma- nent colours, fabricated mirrors of a stone called itzli, as well as razors of the same substance, cut and polished gems, made a strong and lasting cement for their architectural purposes, cultivated their land, and knew the uses of the cochineal insect, which they bred ; manufactured cotton cloth, and hewed wood into beams, &c* with instruments of copper. Their potters were adroit, and ma- nufactured beautiful articles ; above all, they knew the difference between the solar and civil year, and added 13 days to their cycles, or era of 52 years, as intercalary days. They divided their year into 18 months^ and gave these months appropriate names from the seasons, agricultural employments, &c. In their pictures, a month was represented by a circle divided into twenty parts or days j for a year, they divided a circle into eighteen parts or figures, and placed the moon in the centre. The era or century of fifty -two years, was similarly represented, and round the circle a serpent was drawn with four folds, to denote the commencement of the four periods of thirteen years each. Cacao nuts were the monies of the people of Anahuac ; anxl, for' large purchases, wei'e made up in bags, each bag passing for a cer- tain sum. (In Mexico, the poor people still make use of these nuts, to purchase articles at market.) Very few remains ol the Mexican structures exist; but Cortez asserted, that the great tem- ple of Mexitli, occupied a space, in which five hundred housesr might have stood. It appears, that the habitations of the Mexicans Were ri.idely constructed, and ill contrived. The ancient city stood 100 NORTH AMEUICA. nearly where the present stands ; though the waters of the lake have receded, owing to a drain having been formerly cut, to carry off some superabundant water. Its site was on some islands on the west side of Lake Tezcuco, north of its junction with Lake Chalco, accessible on the west side only, by three large causeways, thirty feet broad of earth and stone ; the lake covering the other sides. It is asserted that the circumference of the city was ten miles, and that it contained 60,000 houses. It was divided into four quarters, which had four broad roads leading from the four gates of the great temple ; a fifth quarter was added, when the city of Tlatelolco was taken, and the city was intersected by canals in every direction. It contained many temples and palaces, the better kind of which had parapets and balconies ; and many had even towers for de- fence. The largest square was that of Tlatelolco, where the great market was held, large enough to contain 40,000 people ; and the city had fountains and reservoirs for fish, with beautiful gardens and terraces. The population was immense, but no just account has been given of it. The Mexicans were a sanguinary people. The human beings they sacrificed on the altars of their gods were innumerable ; they laid the body on the altar, cut the breast open, and took out the panting heart to satisfy their chief deity. The priests practised all sorts of austerities ; puncturing their bodies with the spines of aloes, and mangling their flesh ; after which they bathed in a sacred pond, which was tinged with the blood of these self- tormentors. The dress of tlie Mexicans consisted, in the higher ranks, of iine cotton, dyed in fanciful colours, interwoven with hair and feathers, and painted with curious figures ; they wore two. or three mantles, one above another, the longest undermost, so that each might be visible. Their shoes were mere sandals of leather, or coarse fibrous cloth, tied with ribands : the rich people adorning them with precious stones, &c. Their hair was Avorn long ; the women allowed it to fall naturally in tresses ; the men tied it up, and adorned it with feathers and jewels. They wore ear- rings, pendants from the upper lip, as well as the nose ; necklaces, bracelets on the wrists and arms, and round their legs. Those ot the rich were of gold, pearls and gems ; the poorer sort wore crystal, amber and shells, and their habits were made of the thread of the mountain-pnlm, or coarse cotton. They used the pulp of a fruit, and a root, for soap, to wash their cotton garments. Having traced the Mexican people from the earliest known pe- riod of their history, to the conquest by Cortez, it is now timt to recur to the actual situation of the country. The climate of Mexico Proper varies according to the situation of the districts ; its sea coast is hot and unhealthy, the plains arc NEW SPAIN. 101 temperate and salubrious, and the high land cold and barren. Earth- quakes and dreadful thunder storms are common. This province abounds in mountains ; their principal summits have been described under the general head of New Spain ; four of them are within a short distance of the capital ; these mountains abound in ores and fossils, and are in general covered with thick forests, and in their upper regions, with snow. Some large rivers run from them into the two oceans. They occasionally furnish precious stones and marbles for sculpture, as well as different kinds of stone for builds ing. Mexico is cultivated with the lemon, orange, citron, cocoa, and plantain-trees, vanilla, chili, or long-pepper, achiote, cotton, indigo, pimento, wheat, maize, barley, rice, peas, beans, and all sorts of European vegetables and fruits ; also the plants useful in forming drugs, resins, gums, oils, as well as for their fruit, flowers, and roots, which are indigenous, have been enumerated as exceed- ing one thousand. The trees which afford timber in this province, are of every variety. Tigers, wild cats, or loup-cerviers, wolves, bears, foxes, deer, goats, badgers, weazels, pole-cats, martins, squirrels, rabbits, otters, and rats, are common in the forests, and usual haunts of the respective species. The cojotl, the tlacojotl, and three other spe- cies similar to dogs ; the wild cat, called ocotochtli ; the cajopol- in, resembling a mouse ; the tozan, a similar animal ; the porcupine and ahuitzotl, an amphibious creature ; the mitzli, a sort of lion, without long hair ; the polutaca, a flying rat; the Mexican hog, the opossum, the armadillo, the tapir, racoons, monkeys, and apes, are amongst the most noted animals of Mexico, and the adjacent regions. The birds of Mexico are numerous, and celebrated for the va- riety and splendour of their plumage. Eagles, falcons, hawks, ravens of two or three different kinds, of which one never touches carrion, but subsists on corn, and another which follows the alliga- lor, and destroys her eggs ; ducks, geese, swans, herons, quails, divers, king-fishers, pelicans, pheasants, pea-hens, the mocking- bird, cardinals, humming-bird, &c. &c. It would occupy a volume to describe their peculiarities as well as their number. Mexico has indeed been called the country of birds, celebrated for their song, their beauty, and for their feathers, of which the Mexican pictures were executed, and which had all the softness and bril- liancy of oil colours, and wei-e so skilfully done, as to be distin- guished only by the touch ; they having had the art of flattering them, in such a manner, as to give them an appearance of the finest painting. The reptiles are numerous; the cayman, or alligator being near- ly as formidable in appearance as the Egyptian crocodile. The serpents in the forests and marshes attain an enormous size, but are rarely found in the inhabited districts. I'he lizard tribe, from 102 NORTH AMERICA. the cayman down to the water lizard, are 'very numerous. The rattle snake and cenocoatl, or phosphorescent snake, are the most venomous ; and there are many harmless snakes, who devour the ants and other insects. Edible frogs of three species, which attain a great size, are found in Lake Chalco, and are eaten at Mexico. The rivers and lakes abound with fish, as do the seas which bound the province. Turtles are a principal article of food ; lobsters and other crustaceous animals also abound, and upwards of one hundred kinds of nutritious fish, have been enumerated as used by the in- habitants. Sharks of great voracity are found on the coasts ; and the almost tepid water of the Mexican gulf, seems highly natural for the production of the large aquatic animals. Beautiful shells are collected on the shores, and sponges and lithophytes are pro- duced in great variety. The insect tribe, terrestrial, aquatic and atmospherical are more numerous than can be conceived ; of these, the scolopendras, ants, scorpions, spiders of great size, are all dreadful and venomous ; hornets, wasps, bees, &c. common, and the fire-fly and lanthorn beetle, are singular and innumerable ; in- deed, the whole continent of America seems to be amply furnished with luminous insects, which are not to be found in Europe. A large fly, which is produced near the Mexican lake, lays innu- merable eggs on the flags which border the shores ; these eggs are collected by the natives, and made into a sort of paste for sale in the market, where it is eagerly purchased for food, and is said to resemble caviare. Mosquitoes and venemous gnats occupy the air in clouds, and are extremely tormenting, sometimes causing inflammatory ap- pearances on the bitten parts, which become dangerous. The capital, though on a lake, is however free from these pests, proba- bly owing to the circumambient atmosphere being charged with smoke ; the smoke or vapour of wood fires being destructive to these insects. Thus many towns in North America are free from mosquitoes, whilst, if you step across their boundaries, these in- sects immediately assail you, and it is remarkable that they are more troublesome to strangers than to the natives. Butterflies of every beautiful and elegant variety are natives of the Mexican forests and fields, and form rich articles in the collections of the virtuosi. A species of locust sometimes destroys the rising ve- getables, and great distress is felt from their ravages. A species of the tique or tick is as troublesome as the chigoe or jigger of the West Indies. Many of the insect tribe, after being reduced to powder, and made into paste, are eaten by the natives, as they were also before the conquest. The silk-worms of Mexico are in a state of nature, but produce a beautiful and strong cocoon. The cochineal insect forms one oi. the principal articles of Mexican commerce ; and great pains arc taken in rearing it, NEW SPAIN. 103 The mineral productions are gold, silver, copper, tin, the mines ■af which are near the capital ; lead, iron, quicksilver, sulphur, alum, vitriol, cinnabar, ochre, and a sort of earth resembling white lead. Asphaltum and amber are found on the coasts. Among the precious stones and gems of Mexico, are a few dia- monds, topazes, emeralds, amethysts, the stone called cats-eye, turquoises, cornelians, &c. Crystal is also found in the moun- tains. Jasper, and various marbles, alabaster in particular, and a red stone called tetzontli, which is porous and light, yet firm, is much used in the capital, where the foundations being marshy, they wish not, in many spots, to overload the piles on which they are erected. The loadstone is found to the north-west of the pro- vince ; mica is common, and a fine sort was, after being burnt and powdered, used by the Mexicans in their paintings. The itzli stone is the most curious of the productions of the Mexican quar- ries ; it has a glossy appearance, is semi-transparent, and generally of a black colour, though sometimes varying to dark blue and dirty white ; it has been assimilated to the obsidian of the ancients, and declared to be the obsidian, or volcanic glass of modern mineralogy. The Mexican artists fabricated it into mirrors, razors, spear-heads, knives, lancets, and all sorts of fine tools. The natives, that is to say, the aborigines or Indians are well made, above the middle size, with complexions of an olive colour, narrow foreheads, black eyes, firm, regular, and fine teeth, coarse, black shining hair, with very little beard or hair on the trunk, or legs and arms ; and it is remarked, that few deformed people are seen amongst them. The women are fairer than the men, and many of them hand- some. These people have generally good-health, and are long- lived. Ardent spirits, together with European disorders, have considerably thinned their numbers, and they have much degene- rated ; the modern Mexican possessing little of the fire and war- like spirit which characterised his ancestors, neither are they so industrious as their forefathers, being of a melancholic tempera- ment, and affecting mystery in all their actions. They are mostly of the Catholic persuasion ; their progenitors had an imperfect no- tion of the Supreme Being, and adored him under the appellation of Teotl ; they likewise called him Ipalnemoani, " He by whom we live," and Tloque Nahuaque, "He who has all in himself." Of the creator, they formed no image, and to him no set forms of religious worship were made ; they principally directed their pray- ers to Tlatecolototl, or the wise owl, an evil spirit ; they also be- lieved in the metemsychosis, and imagined, that the souls of their heroes went, after death, to the mansions of the Sun ; and, after living there four years in happiness, returned under the form of beautiful birds. The souls of their slaves and meaner people, pass- •"d into the bodies of animals, in the more abject scale of creation ; 104 NORTH AMERICA. but souls of those who died by disease, by water, by lightning, and other accidental causes, went with the souls of little children to an Elysium ; and those who died by punishment for crimes, &c. to a kind of Tartarus, which they called Mictlan, or the abode of utter darkness. It is said, that their historical pictures related the events of the creation, deluge, confusion of languages, and conse- quent dispersion of the people ; and that this is one proof of the Americans being of the same origin as their brethren of the Old World. They had thirteen chief deities. The creator; Tezcatlipoca, ever young, and supreme agent under the Invisible Being; the Sun, the Moon, the god of the air; Tlaloc, the god of water, of harvests, and of the household ; the god of fire, Centeotl ; the goddess of the earth ; the god and goddess of hell ; the god of night, and Mexitli, the god of war ; and the rational owl, or evil god, who was wor- shipped to avert his wrath. Besides these, they had many infe- rior deities, who presided over the hunters, fishers, &c. They had also 260 gods, who had each a day of service assigned them ; these were probably their heroes. They were adored under the form of images of clay, wood, stone, gold, silver, or copper, and gems. In their prayers, their faces were turned to the east; and the avenue to the sanctuary, where the image was placed, had its opening to the west. It is said, the temples in Mexico, amounted to 2000, and that the idol Huitzilo- pochtli, or Mexitli, was the most adored; having more sacrifices offered at his altar ; and that his image was formed of seeds glued together with human blood. The two high priests, in fact, go- verned the nation ; they were consulted on all occasions, and wore a distinctive habit. They ruled the inferior priests, whose dress consisted of a black mantle, thrown over the head ; their hair reach- ing down to their legs, as they never were shaved. They gave the names to new born children with many ceremonies, and assisted at all nuptials. They also presided on these occasions, and at the fu- neral ceremonies, placing by the side of the deceased, if he was buried, a jug of water, and pieces of their paper, with gems, and one of the deceased's domestic animals. The bodies of the dead were however generally burnt, and the ashes collected in a pot, which, in the case of people of high rank, were deposited in the temples. The priests had likewise the care of instructing the chil- dren, and preceded their armies in war. The language of the Mexicans bears some similarity to that of the Peruvians ; it is expressive and copious ; and the great feature of it before the conquest was, that an addition of respect, according to the rank of the person addressed, might be added to each word; the words are many of them of immense length, as in the more northern dialects of the American Indians. It has not the conso- nants b^ d^ /, g-^ r, s: — /, x^ f, z, ?/, tz^ are the most usual; but no NEW SPAIN 105 word begins with /, though it is the most common liquid of the lan- guage. The penultimate syllable of most of the words is long, yet no nasal sound occurs in speaking it; the aspirations are soft; it is also abundant in augmentatives and diminutives; and is as well supplied with verbs as with nouns. The colleges and university of Mexico admit the natives as freely as the Spaniards and their descendants, and are said to be well conducted, and to find considerable genius for the fine arts, and for some of the higher branches of science manifested in the pupils. The capital of this province or intendancy, and of the whole of New Spain, has been already described under the head of New Spain; and the province of Mexico is 136 leagues in length, and ninety-two leagues broad ; its population has been laid down at 1,511,800 souls; which at once shows its importance. The great features of this province are the immense plains on the ridge of the Cordillera, elevated from 6561 to 8857 feet above the level of the sea, and forming bases for still higher mountains, whose hoary heads repose on their bosom. These plains are from fifty leagues in length, to ten in breadth. The mountain of Toluca, the highest summit of the intendancy, is covered with snow, whence it is called Nevado de Toluca; the word nevado signifying a mountain which rises above the lowest term of congelation. The highest peak of this volcano is 15,156 feet in height, the plain on which it rests being itself 8857 feet above the level of the sea. The mountains surrounding the vale in which Mexico is situated, are all very high, but reach the great- est elevation on the south, where the intendancy of Puebla begins, in which are two great volcanoes close to the boundaries of Mex- ico, the Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl. Roads of communication cross the crest of the Cordillera, enclosing the valley in six direc- tions ; one road passes between the last named volcanoes, and con- sequently, through very sublime scenery; another road, which is not yet finished, leads from Mexico to Vera Cruz, and pi'omises to give great energy to the commerce of the interior countries. Some idea may be formed of the labour and art employed in open- ing these extraordinary communications, when we find that some of them are carried over summits elevated near 10,000 feet above the sea, at a greater altitude than the lower limit of perpetual snow in central Europe, and at nearly the height of Mont Perdu, the highest peak of the Pyrennean chain. The table shewing the comparative heights of the Am.erican Cordilleras, which accompanies this work, will suffice to point out these stupendous undertakings. The lakes of Mexico are fed by small rivers, which rise in the surrounding mountains. The Lake Tezcuco has retired since the period of the conquest, O 106 NORTH AMERICA. nearly three miles from the city of Mexico, and the city at prcstiit, instead of being enveloped by waters, stands solely on the margin of the strait or channel which connects the lakes with each other. Lake Tezcuco, the sheet of water nearest to the city, is saturated with salts, and hence was called by Cortez, who supposed that it ebbed and flowed, the sea of Anahuac ; it is 7468 feet above the ocean, and is only from ten to sixteen feet in depth. In the dry seasons it is so drained by evaporation, that the canoes find great difficulty in na\igating it; there is also another cause, v/hich ope- rates to decrease this celebrated lake; a cut has been made through the mountains to throw off the superabundant waters of the two upper lakcsof Zumpango and San Christoval, which prevents those lakes from nourishing Tezcuco. Lake Tezcuco covers a space equal to ten square leagues. A strait or channel connects Tezcuco with the lakes of Xochimilco and Chalco to the south of the city, which are not so broad as Tezcuco, but are more interesting ; in Chalco there are several islands of large size, famous for the re- treat of the ancient Aztecs. These lakes arc of fresh water; and occupy a space of six and a half square leagues; the first liamcd is the most pure ; on their surface are the celebrated floating gardens of the Mexicans, which supply the capital with fruits and vegeta- bles. They are formed on rafts of reeds and brush-wood covered with soil, which is constantly watered from the surrounding lake, and the earth, which is strongly impregnated with muriate cf soda, becomes by this continual washing, at last very free from salt and fit for vegetation. They are moved from one place to another by men with poles, and some of them contain watch-huts; where the proprietor or his deputy resides to overlook the gardens ; pease, beans, chilis, potatoes, artichokes, cabbage, &c. pimento and flow- ers of all sorts luxuriate on these moving gardens, and afford both pleasure and profit to the inhabitants of the metropolis; many of them have become fixed on the borders of the lake, on account of the general decrease of the waters. The remaining great lakes to the north, are San Christoval and Zumpango ; the former has an expanse of three and a half square leagues ; the latter of one and a quarter. There are two mineral springs near Mexico, at which baths have been constructed, and near one of them the earth is so impregnated with salts, that regular salt pans are established for the supply of the capital. One of the most extraordinary works in the neighbourhood of the capital executed by the Spaniards, is the cut or canal above mentioned, which has been made to carry off the superabundant waters of lake Zumpango. It is carried through a mountain, and cost the labour of fifteen thousand Indians for nearly a year ; its length is 21,653 feet, in breadth more than eleven feet, and in depth n^ore than thirteen ; it was completed in 1608. Beyond the moun- NEW SPAIN. 107 tain, this canal is carried on above 28,000 feet to the river Tula, which runs into the gulf of Mexico near Panuco. This canal was undertaken in consequence of the many and dreadful inundations the city had suffered, and it appears, that it may still be visited by this calamity, by the southern lakes being overflowed from the high mountains in the neighbourhood. This wonderful gallery was however inefficient; for want of proper arching the earth tell in and closed the passage, and Mexico was inundated for the space of five years. After much discussion and trials of various other means, the subterraneous cut was entirely uncovered and form- ed into an open trench; in many parts, upwards of 160 feet deep, and 300 in breadth at top, the old canal serving as the course for the water, and it yet docs not answer the purpose, the slope of the banks not being sufficient, and the soil so friable that it is constantly falling. This work was put a stop to in 1789; and cost above one million forty thousand pounds sterling, and is 67,535 feet in length. In digging, fossil bones of the elephant species were dis- covered. Many unfortunate Indians perished in this undertaking, which displays an astonishing effect of human industry, but very little science. Canals have since been executed at enormous expense, to conduct the water from the lake Zumpango and St. Christoval to the cut ; these, with the repairs, and the great cut itself, cost up to the year 1804, as computed by M. de Humboldt, the sum of 1,291,770/. It appears, that a new canal is about to be commenced from Lake Tezcuco to the cut just described, which is also to be in part deepened, the waters of Tezcuco being lower than those of Zumpango. In the vale of Mexico north-east of Lake Tezcuco, are two py- ramidal shaped masses, called the temples of San Juan de Teoti- huacan, which the Mexicans had built for the worship of the sun and moon. The temple of the sun is 180 feet in height, with a base of 682 feet; the temple of the moon is not so high or so large, their sides nearly correspond to the cardinal points, and around them are lines of smaller pyramids of about thirty feet in height, which branch off in streets from the faces of the pyramids, and were sup- posed to be dedicated to the stars ; of these there are many hun- dreds. Time has eradicated the exact forms of them all, but though covered with plants, they are still very apparent. To the south of the Nevado de Toluca is another curious monument called Xochi- calco, also a pyramid, with its sides to the cardinal points ; it is above 500 feet in height, and divided into five stages covered with stone, the whole being surrounded by ditches ; on the top are the ruins of a square building, and the stones of the several platforms are covered with figures ; it is supposed to have been an Aztec fortress. 10b NORTH AMERICA. The great causeways which led to the ancient Mexico, are now converted into paved roads, but still exhibit all the traces of their wonderful construction. An extended description of the capital of the intendancy having been given, we shall now briefly describe the most noted towns of the province. Of these, ^eretaro^ Tacubaya^ Cuernavaca, Tas- cho^ Acapulco^ Toluca^ Zacatula^ and Pachuca^ are of the greatest note ; there are also four mines of much consequence, of which, those of El Doctor and Zimapan, are the most productive. ^eretaro, in 20° 36' 39" north latitude, 100° 9' 15" west longi- tude, near the east boundary of Guanaxuato, is celebrated for its manufactures of cloth, its superb aqueduct, and the elegance of the buildings ; it is situated at the height of 6374 feet above the level of the sea, and contains 35,000 people, of whom 1 1 ,600 are Indians ; south of this city is a handsome town, called San yuan del Rio^ surrounded with beautiful vineyards and gardens. Tacubaya^ celebrated for its olive grounds and the archbishop's palace. Cuernavaca is in a delightful climate, on the southern edge of the Cordillera. TascQ or Tascho^ has a fine church founded by Laborde^ a Frenchman, which cost him mpre than 83,000/. ; he gained enor- mous riches by the mines, but was afterwards reduced to poverty. AcapukOy in 101° 40' 45" west longitude from Greenwich, and 16° 50' 29" north latitude, formerly the most famous sea-port of America, when the galleons came from Manilla with spices, mus- lin, china, silk, and other Asiatic productions, in return for cocoa, quicksilver, and silver j this trade still subsists, but in a different manner. It was formerly very populous, but is in so unhealthy a situation behind a chain of mountains, which reflect the heat to so great a degree, that the inhabitants made a cut through them to ad- rait the sea breeze. Its population is only four thousand, which is increased on the arrival of the Asian vessels, by people from the interior employed in the trade. Toluca^ at the base of a great mountain, in a fertile valley, pro- ducing abundance of maize and the agave, called also by the na- tive name of maguey. This town, though at the foot of a moun- tain, is elevated 8813 feet above the level of the sea. Zacatula^ the most northern sea-port of any consequence in the intendancy of Mexico, on the shores of the Pacific, is situated on the borders of the river Zacatula. Pachuca is one of the most ancient mines of New Spain, and the village dependent on this town, called Pachuquillo, is said to be the first Spanish village that was built in the vale of Anahuac. The height of Pachuca is 8141 feet above the sea. llie rivers of this province are the Rio Tula, which rises near the lakes, and receives several small rivers from the mountains, as NEW SPAIN. 109 well as the superabundant waters of the upper lake ; and after a course through the whole north-eastern part of the province, crosses the intendancy of Vera Cruz, and falls into the river Pan- uco, or Tampico, near the town of Panuco, close to the Mexican The great river Santiago also rises in this province, in the Ne- vado of Toluca, and is called Rio de Lerma, for a considerable length i it has already been described. The next and last great river of consequence is the Rio Zacatu- la, which rises in the Cordillera of Anahuac, and discharges itself into the Pacific, at the town of Zacatula, on the confines of the pro- vince of Valladolid. THE INTENDANCY OF VALLADOLID OR MECHOACAN, Is bounded on the north by the river Lerma, or Santiago, and Guanaxuato, east by Mexico, west by Guadalaxara and the Pacific Ocean, and south by Mexico ; its length is 78 leagues, its breadth 38. This country enjoys a salubrious climate, owing to its situation along the western side of the great Cordillera of Mexico ; on the coast of the Pacific the air is not so good, and the climate in some parts unhealthy. Travellers speak with much delight of this province ; it presents some charming scenery, and in the valleys surrounded by moun- tains, it has all the variety of hill, dale, water and forest. The land in some districts is very high, but no part of the coun- try offers so singular a feature, as the volcanic mountain of Jorul- lo, which rose from the plains in one night. The highest point of Valladolid is the Pico de Tancitaro, and a little to the east of it, is the volcanic production above-mentioned ; which, in the midst of the darkness of the night on the 29th of September, 1759, rose from the bosom of the plain. Previous to this wonderful event, the ground consisted of part of an immensely extended plain between some ranges of mountains. This plain was covered with cultivation, and elevated from 2460 to 2624 feet above the level of the ocean. The sugar cane and indigo were thrivibg, and the inhabitants of the district, or planta- tion, which was reckoned as the richest of the kingdom, looked forward with delight to the prospect of the fruits they were to de- rive from their labour. A confused noise under the surface of the plantation was distinctly heard in June, 1759; to which succeeding alarming earthquakes for a month, the inhabitants fled from the devastation they imagined was about to overwhelm them ; but these convulsions ceasing for a time, they thought that the effect was at an end, and returned to their beloved spot. For nearly the whole month of September nothing extraordinary appeared, when on the 110 NORTH AMERICA. night of the 28th and near the morning of the 29th, the dreadful rumbling noise again began beneath the plain. The affrighted na- tives fled to the mountains, and forsook their homes; an immense tract suddenly rose and swelled itself into an enormous convex hill, 524 feet in perpendicular height above the plain. This phenome- non continued to vomit fire to an amazing extent ; rocks of enor- mous magnitude were cast up, and two rivers were swallowed into the bosom of the burning entrails of the newly formed hill ; the land of the plain was also seen to undulate like the waves of the ocean. Thousands of small conical mounds, enveloped in basaltes, start- ed up, and studded the hill with their knobs; each of these is a little volcano, occasionally vomiting smoke ; amidst them, six large hills elevated themselves above the main body, from 312 to 1640 feet in height, above the mass of cones. The highest of these is called Volcano de XoruUo, and is 1695 feet above the level of the old plains ; it spouted forth fire, rocks, ashes, &c. and continued to terrify the people till February, 1760. The roofs of houses 48 leagues distance were covered with ashes during this time ; since then the mountain has been less furi- ous, and the natives have returned to reside in its vicinity. M. de Humboldt went down into the crater of Xorullo in 1803, and exa- mined the inside minutely; a sulphureous vapour issued from it, and the air was at 139° of Fahrenheit. He mentions that the hill begins to be covered with plants as well as the tumuli about it. The country filled with these volcanillos or brood of little volcanoes is not unaptly styled Malpays; and the air is so warm that in the shade the thermometer stood at 109°. The Indians inhabit this country even amidst these ovens ! The two rivers which were swallowed, it is said, may be heard running underneath the ground, and issue from it in the form of heated mineral springs. The above cited author, in concluding his account of Xorullo, remarks what is in reality a most singular circumstance. The vol- canic mountains of central New Spain do not follow the direction of the great Cordillera, which is from the south-east to the north- west, but cross this chain perpendicularly, beginning on the east or Mexican gulf-shore by the great Pico de Orizaba ; thence west to the Pacific, the two volcanoes of the Intendancy of La Puebla, the Nevado de Toluca, the Pico de Tancitaro, the volcano of Co- lima and the new volcano of Xorullo, all lying in a line east and west between 18° 59' and 19° 12' of north latitude. The Pico de Tancitaro is covered with snow, but accurate measurement has been made of it. The population of Valladolid is 376,400 souls. In it there are three cities, three towns and 263 villages. The Indians or natives exceed 120,000, and are of three tribes, the Otomies, Chichimecs and the Tarascs, inhabiting the whole of the southern part of the NEW SPAI.V. Ill province ; the Chichimecs retain the ancient Mexican language, and the Otomies their former savageness. The bishop of Valladolid governs the ecclesiastical affairs of this province ; his bishopric is not one of the most valuable of Ntw Spain, and many of the priests are Indians. Valladolid or Mechoacan^ the capital, is delightfully situated on a small river, which discharges itself intoa little lake on the north; it has also another small lake on the east, both famous for fish. It is a well built large town, and is at the height of 6396 feet above the level of the sea ; snow sometimes falls, but the climate is in general excellent. It has a handsome aqueduct, and is the see of a bishop, with a population of 18,0(K) souls. The other towns of note are Pasquaro on the banks of the little lake of that name on the west of Mechoacan, which has 6000 people. Huitzitzilla^ a village formerly the capital of the kingdom of Mechoacan, contains 2500 people ; there are many other villages and towns, some of which are very large, inhabited chiefly by In- dians. There are five principal mines in Valladolid, and the products of the province are gold, silver, copper, maize, corn, cotton, cacao, gums, sarsaparilla, vanillas, cassia, the root mechoacan, honey, am- bergris, balsam, odoriferous gums. Sec. The Indians are famous for their pottery ware, silks and orna- mental feather works ; they supply the capital with fruit, flowers, vegetables, &c. and possess some beautiful gardens. Valladolid is famous for an excellent breed of horses and fine cattle; the wild animals are principally the tiger, wild dogs, squir- rels and an innumerable tribe of foxes, which are very troublesome to the inhabitants in destroying their fowls, &c. There are no good ports on the coast of Valladolid, which causes most of the commerce of that province to be carried on by land. INTENDANCY OF TLASCALA, OR PUEBLA. Puebla or Tlascala^ is the next province to the south of INIexico, and is bounded on the north by Vera Cruz; on the east by Oaxaca, or Guaxaca ; on the south by the Pacific, and on the west, by the province of Mexico ; and is about 354 miles in length, and from 40 to 150 in breadth. The soil and productions are nearly the same with Mexico ; it is here that the continent begins to narrow very much ; and as we approach the southern boundary of North America, it gets conti- nually less and less, until it passes the dividing mountains in Pa- nama, when it again spreads into that immense extent of country, knov,'n in geography by the general name of South America. 112 NORTH AMERICA. Tlascala is crossed by the great chain of mountains called Coi'- dillera de Anahuac on the west, which is adorned by cultivation ; and on the north, by a range eternally overspread with snow ; these are constantly subject to violent hurricanes, terrible tempests and torrents, by which those habitations, situated in their vicinity, are often swept away, and even those which are built on the tops of little rising grounds endangered. Notwithstanding all this, and the dreadful earthquakes to which the country is subject, Tlascala is supposed to be one of the most populous provinces of New Spain. It is so fertile in maize, that it received its name from that produce of the soil ; Tlascala signifying the land of bread in the native language. This province was formerly a kingdom, but afterwards divided into different districts ; a chief, or cacique of each district residing at the court of Tlascala, where a council of the whole was held to promulgate laws. They were the enemies of the Mexicans, and maintained themselves against its kings for a length of time, and continued this form of government until the conquest of Mexico by Cortez. The towns and villages are filled with the native In- dians. Cortez obtained a grant of this kingdom from Charles VI., and it is consequently exempt from services and duties to the crown of Spain, on account of its having been his all)% in his ex- pedition against the Mexicans ; they pay solely a poll-tax to the Spanish king in kind, being a handful of Indian wheat each person, and this has been said to amount to the extraordinary quantity of 13,000 bushels in one year. The government of the caciques or chiefs was decreed by the inhabitants of the country after the close of some civil wars ; thus making many kings to abate the power of one. The capital of this province was anciently TlaxcalUm or Tlascala^ on the side of a great mountain, and on the banks of a small river which runs into the Pacific. If we are to believe the accounts of the Spanish adventurers when they first saw this city, its inhabi- tants amounted to 300,000 ; and it was adorned v/ith a large market- place, sufficient to contain 30,000 people ; the market was supplied with hardly ever fewer than 1500 sheep, 4000 head of cattle, and 2000 swine. In the year 1698 Gemelli says, that it was then a village with one church, in which hung the picture of the vessel it) which Cortez arrived at Vera Cruz. The Tlascalans offered hu- man sacrifices to their deities, and-, kept them in cages till their ex- ecution. It is situated twenty miles north of Puebla de los Ange- les, and now contains only 3400 inhabitants, of whom 900 are of the original tribe. Puebla de los Angelas^ is at present the capital of Tlascala, and one of the few cities entirely built by Spaniards in America ; it is situated in 19° 15' north latitude, and 102° 43' west longitude, cast-south-east of Mexico, on a small river which runs through NEW SPAIN. lis the town ; the number of good houses is very great. It has a fine cathedral, several churches and monasteries, which are all well built and beautifully decorated. The houses are mostly of stone, very lofty and tasteful, the streets broad and quite straight, cross- ing each other at right angles, which is a favourite method of build- ing the towns of the Spanish dominions in the New W^orld. The streets are generally very clean, and there is a fine square in the middle of the city, superior to the great square of Mexico, adorn- ed with porticoes or piazzas on three of its sides, and on the fourth, by the great cathedral built of stone, with two lofty towers, and an elegant front of modern aixhitecture. The piazzas are filled with shops for the display of all sorts of goods, which has an exceeding- ly rich appearance. It is a bishop's see removed from Tlascala, and is reckoned the richest in New Spain. There is a manufacture of fine felts, with a royal mint and glass house. The valley which adjoins this fine city, is extremely productive in corn and fruits, including all the European sorts. In the neighbourhood are many mineral springs ; it contains 67,800 inhabitants, and its height above the level of the sea is 7380 feet. The highest mountain in New Spain, or indeed in all the known parts of North America, is in this province, as the Popocatepetl is more elevated than any summit of Europe, its height being 17,716 feet above the level of the sea; it is constantly in action, throwing out smoke, ashes and fire ; and its figure is that of a trun- cated cone with a large crater ; but no great eruption has hitherto taken place. Iztaccihuatl is the next greatest elevation of the chain of Puebla, and is situated near the former on the north-west of it, and close to the boundaries of the province of Mexico ; this mountain is part of the Sierra Nevada ; its height is 15,700 feet above the level of the sea, and it appears to have been an active volcano ; and between these two, Cortez and his wondering army passed when he march- ed to attack the capital ; they are both constantly enveloped in snow on their upper peaks. The whole of Puebla is under the torrid zone ; the western part is a mere desert, and the east, from the aboved-named volcano to the borders of Vera Cruz, where there are beautiful plains filled •with fields of maize, corn, sugar, cotton, fruit, he, is the most populous, containing 813,300 souls. It is on this ridge or plain that the most ancient monuments of the former state of the Mt-xi- cans exist, of which the greatest and most astonishing, is the py- ramid or temple of Cholula, 177 feet high, with a base of 1420 feet in breadth. It is divided into four stages ; on the top the Spaniards have erected a temple to the Virgin, in which mass is constantly performed. This pyramid is built of layers of brick and clay, and has been injured by part of it having been destroyed to form a road, which has, however, shown that it was a place of bu- P 114 NORTH AMERICA. rial, as in the Egyptian pyramids ; the faces of this structure are directed to the four quarters of the globe, and as in the others be- fore-mentioned, vestiges, though not very perfect, are found of smaller pyramids around it. It had an altar on its summit dedi- cated to the god of the air, who was one of the most ancient Mexi- can lawgivers, and is represented to have disappeared suddenlv, promising to return to resume the reins of government ; the Mexi- cans imagined that Cortez and his Spaniards were the descendants and messengers of this mysterious being. The view from the summit of this pyramid is very superb ; the volcanoes of La Puebla, the Pico de Orizaba, and the stormy sum- mits of the Sierra de Tlascala being distinctly visible from it. It is covered with vegetation, which renders an accurate examination of its superfices impossible. There are some great salt works in Puebla, and some fine quar- ries of marble. Puebla contains six cities and 600 villages. The Tlascalan part of Puebla has been lately united to Mexico ; the chief town Tlascala, being governed by a cacique who is the king's lieutenant, and four Indian judges ; and the municipal body is composed entirely of Indians. Choiula, Tlascala, and Huexotzinco, are famous as having been the three republics which so long resisted the power of the Mexi- can kings ; Tlascala for having been the ally of Cortez, and Cho- iula as a holy city. Three distinct languages are spoken by the Indians; the Mexican being one, which is spoken only by the In- dians of the towns of Tlascala, Puebla and Choiula. The town of most note after the capitals Puebla and Tlascala, is Choiula^ which has a population of 16,000 souls. In ancient times this was one of the first of the Mexican cities, containing an im- mense number of inhabitants, and was deemed the sacred town of the empire ; it contained more than 400 temples and places of worship. Cortez was astonished at the sight of this city, and de- scribed it with admiration in his letters to the king. Huexotzinco^ now a small place, was formerly the capital of the republic of that name, and a very populous city ; as was also, At/ixco, celebrated for its pure air, and excellent fruits; with many others which the limits of this work forbid us to enumerate. The great mining inidertakings of New Spain are not paid so much attention to in this province as in many others ; however, it is not deficient in ores ; but the fertility of the soil renders agricul- ture and other branches of commerce to be the more attended to ; and where tillage once takes place in America, the produce of the interior of the earth is not so greatly sought after. The principal river of the intendancy of Puebla is the Rio Yopez, which rises in the mountains near La Puebla, and throws itself into the Pacific just below the boundary of Valladolid ; NEW SPAIN. ^ 115 there are also several others on the Pacific coast, but of no material moment. INTENDANCY OF VERA CRUZ. This Intendancy lies almost entirely along the shore of the Gulf of JVIexico, and may consequently be denominated the eastern maritime province of New Spain ; it contains, indeed, the most celebrated port in the viceroyalty, from the name of which that of the province is derived. Vera Cruz lies wholly within the tropics, and its coast is con- sequently subject to violent heats, whicli render it unhealthy; but in the interior the high mountains, and the declivity of the table land, or plain of the ridge of Anahuac, ameliorates the climate, and renders it suitable for European constitutions. The length of this province, from the salt water lake of Termi- nos to the mouth of the great Panuco River is 210 leagues, and its breadth twenty-six. It is bounded on the north by San Luis Potosi, or New Santander ; on the east by the Gulf of Mexico and Yucatan, or Merida ; west by Puebla, ()axaca, and Mexico, and south by Oaxaca, or Guaxaca, and the kingdom of Guatimala. Vera Cruz comprehends within its limits the former province of Tabasco. M. de Humboldt has given a very animated picture of the sen- sations excited in a traveller when he ascends the acclivity leading from the coast of Vera Cruz, the capital, to the Plain of Perote. Here, he says, nature may be observed in the course of a few- hours in all her variety; suffocating heat prevails on the coast j ascending, the air becomes gradually more pure and less heated ; the face of the country sensibly changes ; the productions of the torrid zone first meet the eye, then those of the temperate, and the eager step of curiosity advancing may place it amid the region of ever-during snow and ice. The mountains covered to a certain height above and below with a belt of oaks, of bananas, and trees of the liquid amber, denote that the climate is conducive to health; the hardy pine ascends the higher regions, and becomes more and more stunted in its growth, till it is lost in fields of snow. The majestic features of the volcanoes, the vast expanse of the ocean, the verdure of the forests, and the fall of the cataracts, rushing from the mountains, cause the most wonderful and gratifying va- riety in the coxip d\eil of this singular province. The pimento, the vanilla, jalap, cacao, tobacco, sarsaparilla, cotton, indigo, and sugar are amongst the principal productions of Vera Cruz, and in some of which a very lucrative and consider- able trade is carried on. The population of the intendency has been estimated at 1 56,000 j part of which is concentrated in the town of Vera Cruz, and in 116 NORTI{ AMERICA. the towns on the table land ; and the remainder thinly scattered over the extent of country between the coast and the mountains. The capital of this province is La Vera Cruz^ which is the seat of government, situated in 19° 11' 52" north latitude, and 96° 8' 45" west longitude, with a secure harbour sufficiently large for a great fleet, having from four to ten fathom water; the only danger being from the northerly winds, which are excessively violent, and have sometimes done much damage to the shipping in the port. This harbour swarms with aquatic birds. The defence of the port is principally Fort St. Juan de Ulua, situated on a small island at the entrance of the channel, strongly fortified, and mounting three hundred pieces of cannon. It was this island that Juan de Grijalva discovered in 1518. This city is neither the Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz, nor Vera Cruz el An- tigua of the followers of Cortez, both of which were deserted on account of their unhealthiness ; it stands on the spot where Cortez first set his foot on the continent, on the 21st of April 1519. Vera Cruz is the mart for the merchandizes of the East and West India islands. The situation of the city is bad, on account of the marshy soil and the barren tract round it. It projects in a semi-circular form into the sea, and is inclosed with a parapet six feet in height, and three broad at the crest, having a palisade. This rampart has six low bastions or square towers, twelve feet high. Along the lihore on the north-west is a redoubt mounted with cannon; and on the south-east is another, to defend the port. The houses of the city are built of stone, and have wooden balco- nies ; the streets being wide, paved, and in good order. The churches are numerous and richly decorated, and the inhabitants are chiefly merchants, very indolent, and very devout Catholics. The great luxury of their houses is porcelain ; trade is carried on here to a great extent, and the city is accounted to have seven or eight houses, each worth a million of dollars. The women are not reckoned very handsome, and are kept in great retirement; they are excused from going to mass during the north winds, which are very violent, and load the ramparts with sand from the beach. Processions and religious shows are the principal amuse- ment of the people, who, during the time there are no arrivals, are computed at about 16,000; but this amount is much swelled in the season when the fleet arrives from Spain ; at which time there is a fair here and at Xalapa, and lodging is not to be had. The display of riches on this occasion is immense ; but since the galleons have been done away with, and the restrictions of the other poi'ts taken off, Vera Cruz no longer enjoying the monopoly, has dwindled from its former importance ; it is, however, still a place of great trade. In the rainy season, the water falls chiefly during the night, and at this period the marshes and bogs on the south are infested with alligators of seven or eight feet in length, but which are said ■/ ilEW SPAIN. 117 to be innocent. The mosquitoes, during this season, are intolera- ble, and the country' subject to earthquakes, so that these evils, combined with its unhealthy situation, render it no very desirable residence. Commerce, all-powerful commerce, nevertheless, draws man to this abode, and in the middle of swamps, reptiles, venomous insects, tornadoes and earthquakes, he finds enjoyment in its pur- suit, and shortens his life to amass a few grains of dust to enrich those, who after he is gone, laugh at him for his pains. The Buccaneers and different powers having taken and sacked this city several times, the Spanish government built small forts along the line of coast near it. The black vomit, that dreadful malady which so often prevails in this town, has been supposed to be owing, in a great measure, to the want of good water, the richer people contenting themselves with what falls in for all the uses of the kitchen and table; the poorer class living on bad water collected from the ditches. An aqueduct is constructing, though very slowly, and at immense ex- pense, to bring a pure stream to the city. Old Vera Cruz is also a sea-port near the former city, at the distance of only fifteen miles to the north. Cortez landed here in 1518. It is also situated very unhealthily in a marsh, and on a river which is full of large alligators, said to be strong enough to manage an ox, and to draw him under water. They devour all the dogs which fall in their way. Xalapa^ on the north of Vera Cruz, is the place where almost all the business of the European commerce is transacted. It gives its name to the medicinal root commonly called jalap, but original- ly spelt Xalap. This town is the see of a bishop, and contains 13,000 inhabitants ; it is placed at the foot of a basaltic mountain, and its environs are highly picturesque; but it is sometimes sub- ject to thick fogs for weeks together, during the winter. The mer- chants of Vera Cruz reside mostly at Xalapa. This town is at the height of 4264 feet above the level of the port of Vera Cruz, and contains an excellent drawing academy for young mechanics ; the great road from JVIexico to Vera Cruz will pass by it. Cordova^ near the Pico de Orizaba, and Orizaba are famous for being the places where the tobacco for home consumption in New Spain is mostly produced. To complete the description of this intendancy, there remains only to notice a part of it, which was until very lately a distinct province, the coast of which is still designated the Tabasco shore. THE PROVINCE OF TABASCO, Occupied the southern portion of the present government of Vera Cruz, and was 100 miles long and 60 miles broad. The soil is not very fertile, neither Is the air healthy, as the country is in 118 NORTH AMERICA. general flat and marshy, filled with small lagoons or lakes ; and as it rains during greater part of the year, the climate is very damp. The coast is subject, from September to March, including both those months, to dreadful storms, the northerly gales prevailing during that period, which renders navigation dangerous and diffi- cult. In February, March and April, the heats prevail, which are insupportable, and accompanied with infinite swarms of mosqui- toes and other venomous insects. Notwithstanding all these dis- advantages, the inhabitants have good farms, well stocked with cattle, in which their principal traffic consists. To Vera Cruz they also export maize and cocoa nuts, and the Spaniards having brought vines, lemons, oranges and fig-trees here, they are now found in abundance, and thrive very well in most parts of the country. The natives reap from three to four harvests of maize in the year, and have rice, barley,- European garden herbs and fruits, as well as those common to America. The cacao tree grows so well in Ta- basco, that they formerly paid their tribute to the Mexican empe- rors in chocolate. The woods, which are principally of Brazil-wood and cedar, with thickets of bamboos, mangroves, &c. are infested with serpents, tigers, bears and apes ; and the rabbit, the deer, the squirrel, &c., find covert and shelter every where. The marshes and lakes are well stored with fish. The chief town, and one of the oldest of New Spain, is Tabasco, in 18* 34' north latitude, 93° 36' west longitude, called also Neus- tra Senora de la Victoria^ on account of a great victory which Cor- tez gained here on his first landing. It stands on an island at the mouth of the Rio Grijalva, which divides itself near the gulf into two arms ; the west arm falls into the Rio Tabasco ; and the other continues its course till within twelve miles of the ocean, where it again divides, and separates the island on which the city stands, from the continent. The town is not very extensive, but strongly and well built, and owes its prosperity to a sort of annual fair at Christmas. The island of Tabasco is about thirty-six miles in length, and seven or eight broad; near it, on the continent, are great plains abounding in cattle, sheep, &c. and a wild animal called the moun- tain cow, or tapir, which subsists on the moss that accumulates on trees near the great rivers, in marshy situations. Villa Hermosa and Tlacotalpan^ formerly the principal Indian town of Tabasco, ai'e the only remaining towns of note. The principal river of the Intendancy of Vera Cruz, is the Rio Tabasco, which rises in the mountains of Chiapa, and after a cir- cuitous course, and receiving the Grijalva and other streams, runs into the gulf of Mexico j it is said that some of the largest cabbage and cotton trees, which are known in the New World, grow on the banks of this fine river. NEW SPAIN. 119 There are some other streams in this country, viz. the Suma- sinta, which rises in the mountains of Chiapa, twenty miles south of Sacatulan, and falls into the gulf near the isthmus of Yucatan. The Rio Tula, under the name of Motesuema, pervades this province in the north, as do the Rio Panuco, or Tarhpico, the Rio Atopan, and the Rio Antigua, which rise near the volcano of Pe- rote, the Rio Blanco which rises near the Orizaba volcano, the Rio del Passo and Huasacualco, Avith many others, which all fall into the Mexican gulf, and form large and numerous islands, of which little is known. The lake, or enclosed bay, of Tamiagua, is an extraordinary' large basin, having a long and narrow outlet to the south, parallel with the shore ; it contains a large island called De Ramirez, and several others. Lakes, or lagoons, and indentations, are very frequent on this coast, as are islands ; but a bar extending all along, and the insalubrity of the climate, prevents the shore from being explored. The volcanoes of Vera Cruz form the most astgnishing feature of its scenery; of these, the highest is the great volcancj of Oriza- ba, visible from IVIexico ; it is the most elevated mountain of Spa- nish North America, excepting only Popocatepetl ; its form is that of a truncated cone, with a large crater, from which issues fire, smoke and ashes ; as it is considerably above the lower period of congelation in these latitudes, its summit is constantly covered with snow. The inferior limit of congelation is very distinctly marked on the Mexican summits ; at a distance, it forms so accu- rate a line on the cones, that it appears the effect of art rather than of nature, and adds greatly to the singularity of the landscape. This volcano is called, in the Mexican dialect, Citlaltepetl, or the Starry Mountain, its fire appearing like a star, when viewed from the capital, and is 17,371 feet above the level of the sea; its cone is a little inclined, at the summit, to the south-east. The next summit is Nauhcampatepetl, or the Square Mountain, which the Spaniards call Cofre de Perote, from the small square rock on the top. The Cofre de Perote is 13,414 feet above the level of the sea, and is to the north-east of Orizaba. It is seen at a great distance at sea, being a landmark for the harbour of Vera Cruz. There appears no crater at the top ; but from beds of lava, and the whole mountain being surrounded with pumice stones, and other sub- stances attendant on volcanoes, it is evident that it has formerly been one of a tremendous nature. There is another volcano on the coast, to the south of Tlacotal- pan, and in that part of the shore which projects considerably into the Mexican gulf; it is the highest summit of a small chain, called Sierra de St. Martin. The distance is twelve miles from the beach to the volcano, which is called Volcan de Tuxtla, from a small 120 NORTH AMERICA. village of the Indians in its vicinity. It is a very powerful volca- no, and some dreadful eruptions have lately taken place ; the last was not more than twenty years ago, when the houses and streets of Vera Cruz were covered with ashes, and the noise, resembling the firing of cannon, was heard 57 leagues distant. The heiglit of this volcano has not been ascertained, but it is c;onsiderablv inferior to those which we have mentioned, as cross- ing the Cordillera of Anahuac, in a transversal line. The next objects of curiosity which we have to turn our atten- tion to, in traversing the intendancy of Vera Cruz, are the pyra- midical remains of temples, of which that of Papantla has been recently discovered in the bosom of a forest ; this building is not of layers ot clay and stones, or brick, as those we have described are, but dift'ers from them in all its architectural points ; it is com- posed of enormous stones, cemented together, and well polished and finished, and is only 82 feet in base, with a height of about 160 feet. It has seven different platforms round it, and a square summit. In the middle of one of the faces a large and well-cut stair ascends the whole height. Niches are observed along the sides of each stage, regularly decreasing in number to the top ; and the whole is carved in relief with figures. XNTENDAKCY OF GUAXACA, OR- OAXACA. This province is bounded on the north by Vera Cruz and Pue- bla; on the west by Puebla; on the east by Chiapa and Guatimala, and on the south by the Pacific. I'his intendancy, the last of the viceroyalty of New Spain, to the south-west, is esteemed one of its most fertile districts, producing excellent chocolate and cochineal, sugar, cotton, rice, plantains, cassia and indigo. The mountainous parts abound in mines of gold, silver, lead and crystal ; and many of its rivers have particles of gold in their sands. The inhabitants are, however, not very in- dustrious, and there are but two manufactures of indigo, and five hundred looms in emplov for the weaving of cotton. It has also a manufacture, in its chief city, of black wax. Oaxaca may be styled the western maritime province of New Spain, as it embraces a great extent of coast along the Pacific ocean. The capital is Oaxaca^ in 17° 30' north latitude, at the opening of three large plains, one of which runs as far as Guatimala. This city stands on a river, which runs into the sea, near Vera Cruz, and aqueducts supply it with pure and wholesome water from the mountains on the north-east of the town. The form of Oaxaca is an oblong square, being two miles long, and one and a quarter wide, and surrounded by gardens and plantations of the cactus, which feeds the cochineal insect ; and it is at this city that the most abundant gatherings of that valuable insect take place. NEW SPAIN. 12i The streets are wide, uniform and well paved, and the houses mostly built of stone, two stories high. From a distance, the beau- tiful spires and numerous houses of stone, give it a magnificent appearance, and nothing seems to be wanting to render it a de- lightful abode, but superior industry; for the air is clear and healthy, and here reigns a perpetual spring, refreshed by westerly breezes in the evening, and the east winds in the morning. " The temperature of the climate causes the fruits of Europe to flourish luxuriantly in the gardens ; and thus, with the native trees, they have a constant succession for the luxuries of the table. The town house is a stone building, in the middle of one of the sides of the great square, and has not been long built ; the stone of this edifice is of a green colour, and has a pretty effect ; the cathe^ dral and bishop's palace occupy two of the other sides of the square ; which is surrounded with arcades. There are many mo- nasteries and churches of handsome architecture, and magnificently ornamented. The population, including mulattoes, Indians and negroes, which form the greater portions, (the whites not being very numerous) is estimated at 24,000. The governor of the province resides here, as well as the dio- cesan. Yet this beautiful city, so delightfully situated, in such a temperate clime, so fruitful a soil, and with such beautiful decora- tions, is sometimes visited by that tremendous scourge, an earth- quake ; and has a few years back suffered very much from the ef- fects of one which was felt over all this part of the continent. The other towns of the greatest importance, in the province of Guaxaca, are Tehuantepec^ a sea-port town, situated on the shore of the great bay of Tecoantapeque, at the foot of a mountain, whose summit is a volcano, in 16° 20' north latitude, 95° 1' west longitude, with a population of 2600 families of Indians, and fifty of whites. AguatulcOy or Guatulco^ is a sea-port of Guaxaca, with a large and well frequented harbour, in the Pacific, in 15° 44' north lati- tude, famed as having been plundered by Sir Francis Drake. Embarcadero is situated on the western side of the province in a small harbour of the Pacific. San Pedro, a sea-port 75 miles south of Guaxaca. San Antonio de los Cues, in the north, on the route from Orizaba and Vera Cruz to Oaxaca, with a large population, is famous for the remains of some Mexican fortifications, but which are in great dilapidation. There are four mines of silver, which are very valuable, in Oax- aca, and the population of the province, amounts to 534,800, Oaxaca, is described as the finest, healthiest and most produc- tive province of New Spain ; and its former inhabitants were amongst the most civilised of the people discovered by the Spanish conquerors. It is extremely mountainous, and is divided into Q 122 NORTH AMERICA. two highland districts, called Mixteca and Tzapoteca. The Cor- dillera, which runs through the province, falls to the oceans on either side ; and it is said the mountains are so high, that in one or two points, the Pacific and Atlantic may be observed at the same time, the summits are however not so high as those of Mexico, and their substance differs widely. In Oaxaca, granite and gneiss com- pose the ridges ; whilst in Mexico, basaltes, amygdaloid, porphy- ry, and grunstein, are the strata which form those tremendous ele- vations. The most singular monument of the ancient inhabitants of this province is the ruins of Mitla, which was the burial place of the chiefs or kings of the country, and is finely constructed of stone, covered with sculpture ; the excavations under the building are very large, and lined with large engraved stones. Six columns of porphyry, sixteen feet in height, of a single piece each, support the roof of a large room, and the whole is in good preservation ; many curious paintings having been found amongst the rubbish. These ruins are ten leagues south-cast of Oaxaca. The province is celebrated, as part of it forming a grant made to Cortez, for his services, with the title of Marquess. It consists of four towns and 49 villages, and now belongs to the Duke of Monte Leone, a descendant of the conqueror. 1 he rivers of Oaxaca are principally the Rio Verde, on which Oaxaca stands, which rises in the mountains of Higher Mixteca, and falls into the Pacific ; the river Chicometapea, after receiving others, falls into the Pacific, north of the former. The river Chimalapa, on the southern boundary, which falls into the bay of Tecoantepec, and several smaller ones along the coast, all of which proceed from the mountains, water the country, ren- der it fertile, and also fall into the Pacific. YUCATAN OR THE INTENDANCY OF MERIDA. < Yucatan is the most easterh'^ province of the kingdom of New Spain, and is in the form of a peninsula, jutting out into the gulf of Mexico from the main land of the isthmus ; it is surrounded on the north-west by the waters of the Mexican gulf; by the bay or gulf of Honduras on the south-east ; the province of Vera Cruz bounds it on the south-west, and Vera Paz in Guatimala on the south. Here it is connected with the continent of North America, by an isthmus of about 120 miles in breadth. The English have settlements extending a short distance along the east coast of Yu- catan, opposite Ambergris Key. The soil of this peninsula is very prolific, and when under pro- per cultivation, produces great crops of corn, maize, indigo and cotton. The climate is hot, their summer beginning in April and finishing in September, but January and February are very warm NEW SPAIN. 123 months, the rest of the winter cooler, and little or no rain falls throughout that season. The north side is the pleasantest, for al- though very hot, it is refreshed by gentle breezes ; on the whole the climate of Yucatan is not an unhealthy one. . It produces and sustains vast quantities of cattle, fowls, and bees ; honey and wax, are therefore plenty ; and its forests afford shelter to various kinds of wild beasts. It has no mines, for which reason it is not much settled by the whites, the chief part of its inhabitants being Indians, who are employed in making salt in Campeachy Bav, and are sub- ject to the Spaniards. On the coasts of Yucatan, large pieces of amber are fi-equently found. There is a ridge of considerable moun- tains pervades the whole extent of this province, Avhich extends from the eastei'n side at Merida to the western extremity of the peninsula ; on this range of mountains, the climate is very fine, and it is asserted that the natives live to a great age. On the north side of this chain the land is refreshed with breezes, and contains plenty of springs ; but the southern side is in want of good water, ill culti- vated and thinly peopled, the settlers being chiefly on the north. In Merida the nights and days are nearly of a length owing to its si- tuation. In Yucatan there are very few rivers of any consequence, but springs are numerous, especially on the north side, and in digging for their wells, in which they always find water at a little depth, shells are usually found, from which, with the shallowness of the sea near the coast, it has been supposed that the greater part of the peninsula was once submerged. The eastern coast of Yucatan is not inhabited by Spanish colonists, the English alone appearing there, except in the small fort of Bacalar, which has been built to prevent the British from going into the interior. The British log- wood cutters find that article in greatest perfection in Campeachy Bay, and in the Bay of Honduras ; but it has been said that the logwood of Campeachy is more plentiful, as well as greatly supe- rior to that of Honduras. Campeachy or St. Francisco de Campeche^ the principal trading town of Yucatan, is situated in 19° 50' 45" north latitude, and 90" 30' west longitude, on the west shore of the Bay of Campeachy, in the gulf of Mexico, in the river St. Francisco. It has some for- tifications which command the town and harbour, and has often been plundered and taken by the English and French buccaneers. In 1659 it was taken by the English under Sir Christopher Mims, in 1678 by the Buccaneers, and in 1685 by the pirates of St. Do- mingo ; the last named year they set fire to the town and fortifica- tion, and plundered the adjacent country to the distance of fifteen miles ; they also burnt 50,000/. worth of logwood because the go- vernor would not ransom the place for an enormous sum which they demanded. When the Spaniards first took this place, it con- tained three thousand houses, with many beautiful monuments of 124 NORTH AMERICA. the Indian arts. The houses at present are numerous, and well built of stone ; the harbour is large but not deep ; and the chief manufacture is cotton cloth, and wax. It used formerly to be the market for logwood till the British landed ; when they cut it at Trieste island, 120 miles from Campeachy, near the isthmus. Great quantities of logwood formerly grew all about Campeachy, but the British have nearly monopolised this trade. The logwood cutting establishments are under the Spanish governor ; but by the treaty of peace in 1783, the British were al- lowed the privilege of cutting it without being molested. The wood is felled at stated seasons, and in stated places, by permission of the intendant, and is dried for a year previous to ex- portation. This wood is not confined to Yucatan ; it grows in abun- dance on the coast of South America, near the mouths of the Orinoco. The town of Campeachy contains 6000 people. The language of the Indians is styled the Maya Tongue ; and Yucatan is remarkable for being the scene of the early conquests and discoveries of the Spaniards, who found the natives in a state of comparative civilisation ; as they had stone houses, temples, and cultivated fields ; some monuments of their industry still exist. The population, including Indians, is 465,800. We have given a description of Campeachy first, on account of its being the prin- cipal trading place, and formerly the metropolis. Merida de Tuca' tan is now the capital and residence of the intendant, who is also called captain-general. Merida is ten leagues from the coast ; its port is called Sisal, being in 21° 10' north latitude, 89" 59' 30" west longitude, with a castle and small harbour, having an immense sand bank opposite its entrance. Merida is situated in a plain al- most destitute of water ; the population amounts to 10,000. This with Campeachy and Valladolidy famous for its cotton plantations, are the most noted places of the country, with the large Indian villages of Zampolan and Equetchecan, between Merida and Cam- peachy. GUATIMALA. GuATiMALA is a general name for a portion of the territory on the narrow part of the continent, which reaches from Oaxaca and Vera Cruz, southward to Veragua, on the isthmus of Darien. This tract of land is subject to the government of a captain-gener- al, and is called the Capitania General of Guatimala, or as it is sometimes written, Gualtimala. The officer who exercises this command is independent of the viceregal court of Mexico, and is CUATIMALA. 125 appointed by the king of Spain, consulting the viceroy on impor- tant occasions only ; in what regards the immediate government of the captain-generalship, he is perfectly independent of any of the viceroys of the New World, acting solely on behalf and in the name of His Catholic Majesty. Of his power and resources, with his emoluments, &c. very little can be said, as this interesting por- tion of Spanish America has not attracted the serious attention of any contemporary writers. The territory of Guatimala is subdivided into numerous pro- vinces or districts, of which the following names are given as a list : Soconusco, Suchitepec, Sonsonate, St. Salvador, St. Miguel, Tiguesgalpa, Choluteca or Keses, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Vera Paz and Chiapa. The first seven of these are deno- minated Guatimala, in the most modern maps, which is however an error. The general appearance of the soil, (excepting the neighbour- hoods of the volcanoes) is fertile in the extreme j and Guatimala abundantly produces corn, cochineal, honey, wax, cotton, the su- gar-cane, indigo, maize, pimento and chocolate. There are plenty of cattle and sheep in the farming districts. The climate differs greatly according to the situation of the provinces on the eastern or western coasts ; the western side is in general the best and healthiest, as may be observed throughout the whole of North America. The whole country is mountainous, of which the par- ticular ridges are very little known. In the Guatimala of the maps, that is to say, on the western shore from Guaxaca to Vera- gua, the country is dreadfully subject to tremendous convulsions of the earth, which has at times involved whole cities in ruin, ex- terminated complete tribes of people, and reversed the order of peaceful nature. The volcanoes are extremely numerous, and some of them terrific ; no less than twenty are known to exist, which are constantly in action. The captain-general is commander of the troops, and Guatimala, the chief city, is the seat of a royal audience, which governs twenty-five districts. This Audienza Real, or Supreme Court of Justice, was first established in 1554. The capital of this extensive country is Guatimala, which is situated in 14° 28' north latitude, and 92° 40' west longitude. It is built near the Pacific Ocean, on the Rio Vaccas, and has a good harbour. It is the see of an archbishop, which was established in the year 1742, and seat of the Audienza Real, with that of the go- vernment of the Capitania General. This renders it a place of nearly as much importance as Mexico, or any other chief city of the Americas. It has an university, and its chief trade consists in chocolate, pitch and naptha. When this city was first built it was founded on the declivity of a mountain, at whose summit was a volcano, in a beautiful valley of three miles in width, and was then called St, Jago. This valley 126 NORTH AMERICA. opened to, and fronted the Pacific Ocean, and the town contained about 7000 families. In the year 1751, this unfortunate city was overwhelmed by an earthquake, and by the matter from the volcano, which is called the Volcan de Guatimala. Notwithstanding this awful calamity, the surviving inhabitants ventured to rebuild their favourite abode ; but direful to relate, another and a more tretnendous convulsion again destroyed the devoted place in the year 1775. The greater part of the inhabitants were buried in the ruins, and the whole circumstance was one of the most tremendous and calamitous ever known. The city was again rebuilt shortly afterwards, on the spot on which it now stands, which is twenty-five geographical miles to the southward of the Old Town. It is a magnificent place, adorn- ed with churches and monasteries, and an university reckoned one of the best in the empire. The women have been celebrated for their beauty, and the people altogether for their suavity of manners and courteous disposition. The moisture of the climate has been stated as a cause of the beauty and delicacy of the females. The number of inhabitants in this chy has been computed at about 19,000. GUATIMALA PROPER, Or the Guatimala of the maps, is a division of the above territo- ry, which is bounded on the north by Vera Paz, Chiapa, Guaxaca and Honduras ; on the south, by the Pacific ; on the east by Nica- ragua; and on the west, by Guaxaca and the Pacific Ocean. Gua- timala or St. Jago de Guatimala is its capital, as well as that of the whole audience. It is subdivided into the following districts, from the north to the south, along the coast of the Pacific, Socon- usco, Suchitepec, Sansonate, St. Salvador, St. Miguel, Tiguesgalpa and Choluteca, or Xeses, each of which we shall separately de- scribe, but in a limited manner, as no information that can be re- lied on is to be found with respect to these regions. SocoNUsco. — This province is situated in the northern part of Guatimala, and is bounded on the north, by Chiapa ; on the*east, by Vera Paz; on the south, by the Pacific; and on the west, by Guaxaca and the Pacific. The air in this district is exceeding hot, and the general state of the climate either rainy or sultry; the rains last from April till September, and violent storms are very frequent. Soconusco is neither a healthy nor a pleasant country, and the soil is not so fer- tile as in some other parts of Guatimala, the corn and maize not growing so abundantly ; but to compensate for this, it produces pimento, indigo, and cacao, in great quantities, and with these ar- ticles it carries on a great trade with the other North American colonies of Spain. The Spaniards are not numerous in Soconusco, G17ATIMALA. 127 it being chiefly inhabited by Indians, but the few Spaniards who reside there are very rich. The capital of this province is Soco- nusco or Guevetlan^ which is situated in 18° 30' north latitude, and 120' 40' west longitude, on a small river which runs into the Pa- cific Ocean; Soconusco is 460 miles south-east of the city of Mexico. SucHiTEPEC is a small district to the southward of Soconusco, and whose capital is St. Ajitonio de SuchitepeCy which is situated on a river running into the Pacific, in 14° 44' north latitude, 93° 36' west longitude, and 60 miles west-north-west of Guatimala. Its population amounts to 1480, all Indians of the Suhutil nation. Sansonate is another small district of Guatimala, to the south- ward of Suchitepec, having for its capital La Trinidad or Sanso- fiate^ situated on the river Sonsonate, at its mouth ; this town is a sea-port, and is situated 120 miles south-east of the city of JVIexico, with about 2000 iiJiabitants, of whom 400 are whites. The popu- lation of the district is about 40,000 souls, consisting almost entire- ly of Indians, Mulattoes and Negroes. St. Salvador is also a small district of Guatimala to the south- ward of the former, which produces sugar-canes and indigo in great abundance, the soil being very fertile ; the capital of this pro- vince is Cuzcatlan or St. Salvador^ which is situated in 13° 40 north latitude, 89° 20' west longitude, twelve miles from the coast of the Pacific Ocean, and 140 miles east-south-east of Guatimala ; it has a little trade, and is the residence of a governor : many maps have absurdly made this town the capital of Spanish North America. Its population is about 5,000 Indians, whites and Castes. St. Miguel, to the southward of the former, is another small district, having for its capital St. Miguel^ which is situated fifty miles east of St. Salvador or Cuzcatlan. TiGUESGALPA or TiGUAZALPA, is also a small district of the same country, situated near the province of Nicaragua, whose ca- pital of the same name is situated on a river which runs into Ama- palla Bay, eighty miles north of Leon de Nicaragua, in 13° 50' north latitude, and 87° 36' west longitude. Choluteca is also another and the last district of that division of the Audience of Guatimala, which is named Guatimala Proper, or Guatimala only in the maps ; of all these foregoing divisions little or nothing is known ; their climate is very hot, they have rains from April to September, and are bounded from the eastern or Atlantic provinces of Guatimala by a ridge of mountains which are very lofty, and in which there exists numerous dreadful volca- noes. The whole of this country is subject to earthquakes and storms, and although in general very fertile and productive, it has little commerce, there being no mines of any great importance in its whole range ; the number of its inhabitants has not been ascer 128 NORTH AMERICA. tained. Its rivers are not considerable, nor has it any lakes of con- sequence. SOLOLA, QUESALTENANGO, ToTANICAPAN, EsCUINTLA, &C. are the names of other districts in the interior, mostly inhabited by Indians living in missions or villages ; but as so little is accurately known concerning this kingdom, it is of no use to merely enumerate titles of districts. CHIAPA, Is the next province of Guatimala which occurs in tracing the map of that country ; it is situated inland, and is bounded on the north l)y the province of Tabasco ; on the south-east by Vera Paz; souih-west by Soconusco, and west by Guaxaca ; it is 255 miles in length from west to east, and 300 miles broad at its widest, and ninety at its smallest breadth. It is full of hills and mountains, but has no mines, nor is gold found in its rivers ; the Spaniards therefore only value it for its situation, which renders it the key to New Spain, as the river Tabasco, Puerto Real, and its vicinity to Yucatan render it the easiest of access of any part of their domi- nions. The principal river is the Chiapa, which rises inland, and running to the north through the Indian country of the Quelenes, falls into the Mexican gulf at Tabasco. This river is the great road of the inhabitants of Chiapa ; by it they carry on a considera- ble trade with the adjacent provinces, particularly in cochineal and silk, the Indian women making beautiful handkerchiefs of the lat- ter article, which are eagerly sought by the Spaniards for the Eu- ropean market. Chiapa abounds with magnificent forests of cedar, cypress, pine, oak, walnut, he. with trees which yield all sorts of aromatic bal- sams and gums, copal, &c. wild cochineal, maize, corn, cacao, and cotton are also extremely productive, and fruits are found here of every kind that is known in these regions. The natives colour the chocolate with a substance called achiotte. This province is famous for its fine cattle, and for a very excellent breed of horses, which are in such request that they often send them to Mexico, 500 miles distant. Wild beasts are very numerous in its forests, and wild hogs, foxes and rabbits are seen every where in its plains ; snakes of a formi- dable size, said to be twenty feet long, are found in the mountai- nous parts, also others of a red colour, streaked with black and white, which are tamed by the Indians, who carry them about their persons. The inhabitants of this country are a well made, fair people, very courteous in their manners and skilled in music and painting, with great knowledge of the mechanical arts. The chief town of this province is Chiapa or Cuidad Real^ or GUATIMALA. 129 Chiapa de las Espagnoles ; it is the see of a bishop, whose revenue is 8000 ducats per annum. It is also the seat of the courts of jus- tice, and is situated in 17" north latitude, and 96° 40' west longi- tude, in a beautiful plain environed with mountains, at nearly the same distance from the Pacific Ocean as from the gulf of Mexico, and 300 miles to the north of Guatimala. Chiapa Real is neither very populous nor very rich, and it is said that the upper orders of the Spaniards who inhabit it are proud, poor and ignorant to a proverb. The families amount to four hundred in the city, and the Indian families in the suburbs, to about one hundred. The cathedral is an edifice of beautiful appearance and the city has se- veral monasteries. It is governed liy a magistrate chosen amongst the burgesses, in consequence of a privilege granted the city by the king of Spain, and its principal commerce consists in cacao, cotton and cochineal. Chiapa de los Indios, or Chiapa of the Indians^ is the next town of rank in this province ; this is the largest city which they have in the country, and is situated 36 miles north-west of Chiapa Real, in a valley near the Rio Tabasco. The town is extensive and opulent, and is filled with Indians who hold a high rank amongst their tribes. It is asserted that this city contains 20,000 people of the native race. The climate is excessively hot during the day-time in this part of the countrv, but the evenings and nights are cool. There are many monaste- ries and churches in this town ; the first bishop was the celebrat- ed Bartolomeo de las Casas, who struggled so hard for the rights of the Indians, and whose memory is consequently very dear to them. On the river Tabasco the inhabitants amuse themselves in performing naval actions with boats ; and all around the town are farms which are plentifully stocked with cattle ; in the vicinity there are also some sugar plantations : wheat is sold here from Chiapa Real, and biscuits are made of it, which are bartered by the natives and Spaniards for cotton, wool and other necessaries. PROVINCE OF VERA-PA2. The province of Guatimala next to Chiapa is Vera-Paz ; it is bounded on the north by the provinces of Chiapa and Yucatan ; on the east by Honduras and the bay or gulf of Honduras ; on the south, by Guatimala; and on the west by the same and Chiapa. It is about 1£0 miles in length, and 74 in extreme breadth. The air in the higher parts of Vera-Paz is healthy; in the lowland insalu- brious. This district is subject to earthquakes, to nine months of rain, and st<5rms with dreadful thunder and lightning. The moun- tains which overspread great part of the country, are thickly co- vered with forests, of which cedars occupy the greatest part. It ,9 not much cultivated, and vields a little corn and fruits. The R i^O NORTH AMERICA. wild animals of America are very numerous in the extensive woods of Vera-Paz. Its trade consists chiefly in drugs, cotton, cacao, honey, wool. &c. ; and from its situation on the gulf of Honduras, might be rendered much more flourishing than it is. The gulf of Dolce or Dulce, a sort of large lake, but which communicates with the sea by means of the gulf of Amatique, lies on the eastern and southern part of Vera-Paz, and seems placed there by nature, to facilitate the commerce of the government of Guatimala. The chief town of Vera-Paz is Cohan or Vera-FaZy situated in north latitude 15° 50', west longitude 91° 14' ; 600 miles south-east of Mexico, on the HJo Coban which falls info the gulf or lake of Dulce. THE PROVINCE OF NICARAGUA, Is bounded on the north by Honduras, on the east by the Carib- bean sea, on the west by Guatimala and the Pacific, and on the south by Costa Rica. The climate is, generally speaking, salubrious ; the summers are hot, but not unhealthy, and in the winter they have much rain and storms. It is one of the most woody countries of Spanish North Ame- rica, and where cultivated, extremely fertile, so much so, as to re- ceive the name of the " Garden of America." When the Spaniards first discovered it, they called it Paraiso de Mahoma, Mahomet's Paradise, on account of the beauty of the country, and the perfume of the odoriferous plants, with which the soil is covered. Its chief products are flax, hemp, balsams, cotton, sugar, long-pepper, tur- pentine, liquid am.ber and Nicaragua- wood, which is a substance used in the dying trade ; these, with its silver mines, constitute the chief objects of the labour and traffic of its inhabitants, who carry on a great trade with Panama, &c. Wheat is not plentiful in Nicaragua, nor is there any great quan- tity of sheep, but black cattle and hogs are very numerous. Wild turkeys and parrots occupy, with wild animals, the exten- sive woods, whilst the sands of some of its rivers furnish gold, which is also found in lumps in this province. The natives are numerous, and reckoned an industrious and in- genious people, and are particularly skilled in the goldsmith's art. The capital of the province of Nicaragua is Leon, or Leon de Nicaragua^ situated on a lake of fresh water, abounding with fish, which is called by the same name, and communicates with the great lake ; this town has a mountain near it with a volcano, which has sometimes caused it to suffer by earthquakes. The town is not very large, containing about 1200 houses, with many convents, and four churches. It is the see of a bishop. Its port is Realexo, which is situated near it, gind is a fortified town with a good har- GUATIMALA. 131 hour, which has the same name, and is on the Rio Realejo. The river Realejo is so deep and commodious as to be capable of con- taining 200 sail of vessels. The town has good fortifications and fine docks for building and repairing ships. It has three churches and an hospital. Realexo is in north latitude 12° 45', 87" 30' west longitude, eighteen miles north-west of Leon. It suffered much from the Buccaneers, as they found it a commodious harbour; the Pacific is shut out by an island which lies across the mouth of the hay, and forms two channels.; but the one on the north-west side is the safest and best. The town of Realexo is unhealthy owing to the marshes and creeks in its neighbourhood ; its chief trade consists in cordage, pitch and tar, and in the little commerce it carries on for Leon, of which it is the embarcadero or port. Nicaragua, or Granada^ is another town near the great lake at its south-eastern extremity, in 86° 15' west longitude, 11° 15' north latitude. In the year 1680, this town as well as the capital was sacked by the Buccaneers. It has now a considerable trade in cochineal, hides and sugar, with the neighbouring provinces. St. Juan is a sea-port thirty miles south-east of Leon, in 12° 10' north latitude, 87° 38' west longitude, and there are some others of little note. The river St. Juan is the stream which affords an outlet to the lakes of Nicaragua and Leon into the Caribbean sea. Its length is about 100 miles ; this river is navigated by boats and canoes car- rying tallow and goods to Porto Bello, 240 miles distant, but they are obliged to miake three portages which is owing to some ob- structions in the course. These carrying places are defended, and at one of them is the Fort St. Juan, called also the Castle of Neustra Senora, on a rock, and very strong ; it has thirty-six guns mounted, with a small battery, whose platform is level with the water; and the whole is enclosed on the land side by a ditch and rampart. Its garrison is generally kept up at 100 infantry, sixteen artillery men, with about sixty of the militia, and is pro- vided with batteaux, which row guard every night up and down the stream. Some slaves are allowed for the menial services of the garrison, and this post is supplied with provisions, fowls, gar- den-stuff, &c. from Granada, distant 180 miles, being usually pro- visioned for six months. The climate is very unhealthy as it is always raining, and the place requires to be constantly recruited from Guatimala. This port is looked on as the key of the Ameri- cas, and with the possession of it and Realejo on the other side of the lake, the Spanish colonies might be paralysed by the enemy be- ing then master of the ports of both oceans. This river St. Juan has also been proposed as the means of joining the Atlantic and Pacific oceans ; its great length, the necessity for making only two or three cuts to avoid its obstructions, the immense depth of the 132 NORTH AMERICA. lakes Nicaragua and Leon, and a short canal of twelve or fourteen miles on the western side, would effect this object ; thus rendering an easy and safe communication from the West Indies, the coast of the Spanish main, and the eastern shore of New Spain to the Pacific Ocean, it is to be supposed that the Spaniards would not have neglected an opportunity thus afforded them by nature, had not political reasons suggested the impropriety of the undertaking. THE PROVINCE OF HONDURAS, Is a large province of the kingdom of Guatimala, and is bound- ed on the north by the gulf or bay of Honduras, which separates it from the province of Yucatan ; on the west by Vera-Paz ; on the east by the Caribbean sea ; and on the south by the province of Nicaragua. The length of Honduras from east to west is 390 miles, and its breadth from north to south about 150. Honduras was first discovered by Columbus, who landed on the Mosquito shore on Sunday the 14th of August, 1502, and took formal pos- session of the country. The climate of this country is good ; the air, excepting on the eastern shore, and near the morasses, being pure and wholesome. The soil in most parts is exceeding fertile, abundantly producing corn, vegetables and fruits. They have a three-fold crop of maize in the year, and the vines produce grapes twice in the same period. The pastures are excellent, and the country furnishes all kinds of provisions ; but for want of cultivation and settlements, the great- er part of it is in a state of nature. It has many good and servicea- ble small rivers, and is well watered. It has.several mountains in its extent, in which are gold and silver mines, and the face of the country is agreeably diversified into valleys, plains and eminences, overspread in most parts with thick foi-ests. Honey, wool, cotton, wax, mahogany and logwood, with other dyeing drugs, are its chief products ; the latter forming an immense part of its exports, and from which its chief importance is derived. The felling of the mahogany trees is performed twice in the year, in Autumn and at Christmas, This is done by slaves, who have one man called a finder, or huntsman, whose business it is to seek for the mahogany trees in the thick woods, and to point them out to the gang. This he does by penetrating the forest, and climbing the tallest trees to discover his object ; the mahogany trees gene- rally grow separately, and are much dispersed, so that the labour of procuring this valuable wood is very great ; the finder soon dis- covers them by the deep colour of their leaves, and he selects the place where they are most numerous to call his comrades to work at. The mahogany tree is cut at the height of ten or twelve feet from the earth j and for this purpose they erect a stage for the GUATIMALA^ 133 feller to stand conveniently on. The trunk is used for tables, and other articles of furniture, which require large planks of this wood ; but the branches are reckoned the best parts of the tree, as the grain in them is closer, and the streaks more beautifully varied. The trunks and branches are dragged by the negroes to the near- est river, and there made into rafts, for the purpose of being float- ed into the sea to the settlements. The growth of the mahogany tree is very rapid, but not so much so as that of the logwood, which comes to a state fit for use in five years. The slaves who are employed in cutting the logwood and mahogany have been brought either from the United States, or the West India Islands by their owners, and are not in such a degrad- ing state of subjection as their brethren of the last-mentioned- places. Logwood trees are cut in logs of about three feet in length, and sent to Europe in that form, where they afterward undergo many operations, and are principally used by dyers for the finest black and for purple colours. The Mosquito shore, a tract of country which lies along part of the northern and the eastern shore of Honduras, has been claimed by the British. The English held this country for eighty years, and abandoned it in 1787 and 1788. The Spaniards call it a part of Honduras, which it really is, and claim it as such. It is an im- healthy, hot country, inhabited chiefly by a race of people called the Mosquito Indians, who are excellent marksmen, and of a war- like disposition. They are employed by the British to strike the manati, or sea-cow, for the sake of the oil it affords, and bear an invincible hatred to the Spaniards, being much attached to the English ; as they were so cruelly treated on the conquest of this part of the country by the former people, that they have never for- given it, and they do not acknowledge any allegiance to them. Their ancestors, after long and exterminating contests with the Spaniards, retreated into the mountains, and there remained till the English took possession of the Mosquito shore. When the Duke of Albermarle was governor of Jamaica, they put themselves under his protection, and their king had a commis- sion granted him from Great Britain. It is asserted that since that time the new monarch always goes to Jamaica to receive this docu- ment ; and that the Mosquito Indians, his subjects, refuse to ac- knowledge his power till he does so. They trade with, and are fre- quently in the habit of crossing to Jamaica. The Spaniards are said to have no settlements on the Mosquito Shore ; which name has been given to this country, partly from the Indians, and from a bank and cluster of islands which lie near it, in 14° 30' north latitude, and 82° 10' west longitude. The Mosquito Indians were formerly a very powerful and nu- merous race of people ; but the ravages of rum and the small-pox 134 NORTH AMERICA. have diminished their numbers very much. They inhabit, how- ever, nearly the whole coast of Honduras ; and their most numer- ous tribe exists near the Cape Gracias a Dios. This tribe has, however, been the subject of many enquiries and disputes, as. they differ in their persons from the other natives, and it is confidently said by many authors that they are the descendants of the slaves of a Guinea ship, which was wrecked near this Cape. They are call- ed the Samboc Mosquitoes. Cape Gracias a Dios was the place where the British first established themselves in the Honduras ter- ritory, upon the banks of a navigable river, where the country is very fertile, and the harbour, formed by an inlet of the sea, is safe and commodious. This happened in 1730. They also fixed a colony about 78 miles from Cape Honduras, the colony at Cape Gracias a Dios being 162 miles distant. Seeking farther south- ward, at Bluefields River, 210 miles from the first colony, they found a fine harbour, an extensive river, and a natural situation for a fort, with spacious, beautiful and fruitful plains. The bay of Honduras, so celebrated for its trade in logwood and mahogany, is situated between Cape Catoche, the north-easternmost point of the province of Yucatan, and Cape Honduras. The land in the neighbourhood of this bay is inhabited by the Mosquito In- dians. The English factories in 1769 amounted to 200 whites, the same number of people of colour, and 900 slaves. They exported to Jamaica, mules, &c. and to Europe, 800,000 feet of mahogany, 10,000 pounds of tortoise-shell, and 200,000 pounds weight of sar- saparilla. This trade was much damped by smuggling : but in the year 1763 Great Britain obtained the privilege of the logwood trade. They have lately discovered that the Campeachy wood of Yucatan, which grows on drier ground, is better, and of a closer grain, than the Honduras wood : but the price of the former had been so long kept up, that the latter trade was the most flourishing. The best mahogany is now cut in Yucatan. The climate of the Honduras is superior to that of the West In- dies ; the sea-breezes being regular during the whole of the year, excepting in April, May and June, when the heats of summer pre- vail ; but the mean heat is 30°. Balize is the chief and only settlement of the British which is worth mentioning, situated at the mouth of a river of the same name, and consists of 200 habitations built of wood, and elevated on pillars. The shops, magazines, or offices, are on the ground- floor, and the habitable parts in the upper. The two floors have each piazzas, to which the people retire, from the heat of their in- ner apartments. The river on which Balize is situated, is naviga- ble for boats 200 miles up the country, and the wood cutters pro- ceed to that distance, in search of their article. The agriculture of this country has been neglected, on account of the wood trade, though the soil would produce the West Indian commodities of GUATIMALA. 135 sugar, coffee, or cotton, with rice and Indian corn in great abun- dance. The British government appoint an officer to the com- mand of this station, who is usually an officer of some rank in the army. Many of the turtle which are caught here, are exported to Eng- land ; and the hawks-bill (a particular kind) is consumed in the set- tlement ; its shell being an article of the commerce of Honduras. The bay of Honduras is full of shoals, rocks, and islands, which make its navigation dangerous. The fog, which is prevalent dur- ing the northerly winds, increases the difficulty, and the currents on the coast are very uncertain. The introduction of British manufactures has been impeded in- to the adjacent Spanish settlements by the jealousy of the Spaniards; but it is probable that it may in time become a very valuable sta- tion. The British government grant a convoy in January and July each year to the Honduras traders ; and the annual revf nue of the settlement is stated at about five thousand pounds. The Mosquitoes who have fallen under the observation of the British settlers, seem to have no other religion than the adoration of evil spirits ; and their conjurers are in fact the priests, the law- yers and the judges. Polygamy is practised; and all domestic offices are performed by the females. The crown is succeeded to hereditarily, and the king is a des- potic monarch. These people are warlike, keeping the other In- dian nations and their Spanish neighbours, in complete defiance ; they can support hardships and want of food with great heroism ; but, as all savages do, when they can indulge, they place no bounds to their excesses. The warriors of this tribe are accounted at fifteen hundred. The mosquitoes annoy these savages, who proba- bly have received their name from these insects being so plentiful on the coast, so much, that at particular seasons, they quit their dwellings, and pass their nights in their canoes. In Honduras, the rainy season is always accompanied by great flights of swallows, who remain at night at rest on the great sa- vannahs or plains, and at sun-rise rush in a body up into the aii", in quest of the flies, their nutriment; at dusk they return, and a traveller has described the noise which this immense body of birds make in their flight, as comparable to that of a waterfall. In the bay, cormorants and pelicans are very numerous, as well as many other sorts of sea-fowl, attracted by the abundance of fish. The chief towns of the Spanish part of Honduras are Vallado- lid, the capital, Truxillo, Gracias a Dios, and Omoa. Valladolid or Comayaguas, is the capital, and is a large and fine town, in 88° 19' west longitude, 14° 30' north latitude, on the banks of a river which falls into Honduras bay. It is said that there are rich silver mines in the vicinity of Valladolid ; this city 136 NORTH AMERICA. is the residence of the intendant, and the see of a bishop, who is styled Bishop of Honduras. Truxillo is situated on a hill near the sea, and in Truxillo bay ; this sea-port has very often been ravaged by the Dutch and British; it is at present a place of little account, though made, by some writers, the capital; and is in 15" 51' north latitude, and 86° 8' west longitude. Truxillo is ninety miles north of Valladolid. Gracias a' Digs is on the bay of Honduras, at the mouth of a small river ; and there are said to be some gold mines in its vicinity. It is in 14° 30' north latitude, and 90° 6' west longitude. Omoa, or St. Francisco de Omoa, is situated in 15° 50' north latitude, 89' 53' west longitude, and is a strongly fortified sea-port. The treasure and valuable commodities of Guatimala are received here to be embarked; and the European trade of the kingdom carried on through this port, which is so important as to be called the key of Honduras. PROVINCE OF COSTA RICA. CosTA Riga is the most southern province of Guatimala, and is bounded on the north by Nicaragua, east by the Caribbean sea, west by the Pacific, and south by the province of Ve^-agua. It is 150 miles long, and in its widest part about 140 broad. Its name, Costa Rica, " the Rich Coast," is derived from its valuable gold and silver mines, and a pearl fishery, which formerly existed on its shores. It is a very mountainous country, overspread with thick forests and waste lands ; its population is not extensive, and consequently, there is little or no agriculture practised. The na- tive tribes are its principal inhabitants ; the Spaniards only occu- pying some small towns and mining stations ; but the natives are not subjugated, and live independent of their Spanish neighbours. Its chief mine is Tisingal, reported to be nearly as rich as Potosi. The commerce of this province consists in cacao, cattle, honey, hides and wax ; and in its pearl fishery, with a species of shell-fish, which produces a purple dye. The pearl-muscle and the shell-fish alluded to, are found principally in a small bay, called the Gulf de la Salinas, or Nicoya. This is its principal port on the Pacific shore, while on the Atlantic, the port of Carthago is situated at a great distance from the town of the same name. Carthago the capital is situated in 9° 5' north latitude, and 83° west longitude, 360 miles west of Panama, the see of a bishop, and the residence of a governor ; it is not a place of much importance or any considerable population, having been lately much deserted, through it was formerly one of the first towns in this part of the world. NicoYA is the next town of any importance ; it is situated near the shore of the gulf of the same name, on the western or Pacific VERAGUA^ 137 coast, in 85° 53' west longitude, and 10° 42 north latitude. The pearl and dye fishery is situated in the bay of Salinas, thirty miles east of Nicoya. The trade of the inhabitants of Nicoya consists in salt, honey, Indian corn, wheat, fowls, and the. purple juice of the above mentioned fish, which they export to Panama ; and which was first discovered to produce so valuable a substance by the In- dian women, who stained their cotton garments with its fluid. PROVINCE OF VERAGUA. Veragua, though actually situated in North America, is an in- tegral part of the government or kingdom of Tierra Firma, in South America. The principle of this work being to oflFer descrip- tions of the whole of Spanish North America, as it is geographical- ly situated, before entering upon the description of the territorial possessions of the same power in the southern part of that vast con- tinent, we shall accordingly proceed with Veragua, as though it formed a part of Guatimala. It is bounded on the north, by the Caribbean sea ; east by the province of Darien in South America, which is separated from Ve- ragua by the ridge of Canatagua ; on the west, by Costa Rica, and on the south, by the Great Pacific ocean. It was first discovered by Columbus, in the year 1503, and this province was granted to him by the Spanish king, as a reward for his services, with the ti- tle of duke. He gave the river the appellation of Verdes aguas, which in Spanish is the same as Green Waters, on account of the colour of its waves ; this has gradually been corrupted into Vera- gua, and from this river the province takes its name. The Spa- niards were very long before they could make any permanent set- tlement in this province, on account of the hostility of the inhabi- tants. Caspar d'Espinosa, and Diego de Alvarez, endeavoured to conquer and explore Veragua, but being repulsed in all their at- tempts by the natives under their sovereign Urraca, they were obliged to form a settlement in the neighbourhood, and founded the city of Santiago ; but here they were assailed b}^ these valiant Indians, and were obliged to strengthen their position in every pos- sible manner to resist their frequent attacks. Veragua is a moun- tainous, rugged country, covered with vast forests, beautifully interspersed by luxuriant and fertile valleys ; the heat of this pro- vince is very great, though meliorated by the rains which are con- stantly falling ; thunder storms, accompanied with frightful light- ning, occur very frequently, and during these storms, the torrents rush with impetuous and overwhelming force into the vales from the surrounding mountains. The Indians, the principal tribe of whom are called Doraces, live in the forests and mountains, and are only partially converted by the missionaries, who have founded i'ome villages, where they reside with their flocks ; this has only S 138 . SPAJriSH WEST INDIA ISLANDS. been accomplished since the year 1760. The woods abound with monkeys and wild animals ; there is one kind of monkey of a deli- cate form and yellow colour with a white head, and it is said, they never live when removed from their native climate. The gold and silver mines of Veragua are not much wrought, owing to the rugged nature of the country in which they are situat- ed ; the natives being the only means they have to transport the produce over the mountains, which when a mine is worked they do on their backs. The labour and expense attendant on this mode of carrying the ores to be smelted, render the working of the mines, though they are very rich, almost impracticable. The capital is Veragua^ or St. Jago de Veragua^ a handsome town, situated in a moist and warm climate, and surrounded by a small district which produces Indian corn, a root called yucca, of which they make bread, and plantains ; cattle and hogs are here al- so very numerous. The Indians in the vicinity dye their cottons, manufactured by themselves, with the juice of shell-fish found at the bay of Salinas in Costa Rica, and on the coast of Veragua, af- fording a rich and delicate purple ; with this juice, and with gold, which they find in the hills, they carry on a trade with Panama and Guatimala. This city is the residence of a governor, and has four- teen villages under the jurisdiction of its magistrates ; there is al- so a fine hospital founded by the friars ; and its inhabitants are partly Spaniards, partly mulattoes. The next city is Niiestra Senora de Los Remed'ios^ or Puehla Nucva^ inhabited by Spaniards and their descendants. Santiago el Angel, or Alangi, is the third city of Veragua, and was founded by Benito Hurtado, governor of Panama. There are also several large villages, inhabited principally by the native Indians. Veragua is famed as having been the country where the first European colony was attempted to be planted by Columbus, on the continent of America. This happened on the 24th of February, 1503 ; but after building a fort and constructing some houses, they found themselves unable to resist the attacks of the Indians ; and from this, and other circumstances, Columbus resolved to embark the colony ; which he accordingly did. WEST INDIA ISLANDS BELONGING TO THE CROWN OE SPAIN. The West India Islands, colonised by Spain, are not numerous. Puerto Rico and Cuba, in the northern group, Margarita and some PUERTO RICO. 1.39 Others on the coast of Caraccas, unimportant in their nature, being mostly mere rocks, compose the whole of the islands in the West Indian seas which are possessed by Spain ; of these Puerto Rico and Cuba are the most important ; Cuba being the largest as well as one of the most fertile islands belonging to any European pow- er in the American seas. POLITICAL DIVISIONS. These islands are divided into three governments ; Puerto Rico is a capitaneria generale, as is the island of Cuba, including the adjacent continent of the Floridas ; under the title of Captain-Gen- eral of the Havannah, an officer of high rank governs this island and Florida ; his situation being the most important of any of the capitanias generales of Spanish America. The captain-general of Caraccas governs the island of Margarita and the others on the coast of his province ; we shall therefore de- scribe these.islands under the head of Caraccas, proceeding at pre- sent to the description of Puerto Rico. PUERTO RICO. The island of Puerto Rico, is situated in the Caribbean sea and Atlantic ocean, between the island of Hayti or St. Domingo, and the Virgin Islands. It occupies a space between 65° 30' and 67° 45' of west longitude, and between 18° and 18° 35' of north lati- tude. In shape, it is nearly a parallelogram, its length being about 120 miles by forty in breadth. Columbus discovered this island during his second voyage, in the year 1493. Juan Ponce de Leon, of whom we have spoken in the description of Florida, colonised Puerto Rico, in 1509 ; when he subjugated the country ; the native Indians were at that time very numerous, but have since disap- peared. Puerto Rico is an important island to the Spaniards ; its produc- tions are verj'^ valuable to their European commerce, and the cli- mate is more healthy and temperate than in the other islands of the Caribbean seas. The mountains of Puerto Rico are not of any very great altitude, but form a beautiful feature of the landscape, their gently undulating surface composing picturesque and well watered valleys. The rivers are of no size, but agreeably diver- sify the picture ; and being very numerous, are exceedingly useful to the purposes of agriculture. The interior, and part of the sea- shore to the north, is still covered with the original forests, in which roam large wild dogs ; these dogs are the remains of a race brought from Spain, by the first conquerors of the island, to assist in hunting down the natives, who fled for protection to the fast- nesses of the interior. 140 SPANISH WEST INDIA ISLANDS^ These forests also abound with parrots, pigeons and other birds, peculiar to the West India Islands, as well as with land-crabs, which are as numerous here as in any of the Caribbean Isles ; on whose flesh the wild dogs are supposed to subsist. The natural history of these crabs is highly singular ; they are the dread of colonists proceeding to the West Indies ; who are told, that should they die of the fevers so prevalent in that region, their bodies will not rest long in the earth to which it is commit- ted ; as the land-crabs burrowing to the grave, soon consume them. At certain seasons of the year, these singular animals, who greatly resemble the sea-crabs in shape and manner of moving, leave the mountains in which they have formed their burrows, and move in immense cavalcades down to the sea-coast, for the pur- pose of depositing their young in the waters. At this period nothing arrests their progress, as they move continually in the same line ; if they meet with a wall, they climb up one side and down the other ; and the clattering noise produced by the claws is said to be surprising. After depositing their young, they return to their haunts, in the same order, and are following by the young crabs, as soon as they attain sufficient strength to perform the jour- ney. Cattle of superior qualities, originally brought from the mother- country, are fed in this island ; poultry are also very cheap and plentiful, and the rivers and sea supply the inhabitants with every variety offish. The southern coast is the most healthy as well as the most fer- tile ; producing, for the commerce of the inhabitants, sugar, coffee, cassia, flax, cotton, ginger, and the odoriferous gums used in such great quantity in Roman Catholic countries ; these, with hides and tropical fruits, compose the chief articles of their trade with Europe, &c. They have here a fine breed of mules, which are sought after, from the British islands in the neighbourhood. The northern side, which is comparatively sterile, is supposed to contain in the higher lands, some gold and silver mines ; but of the existence or value of these, nothing certain is ascertained. With all these bounties so lavishly bestowed by the hand of Na- ture, Puerto Rico is subjected occasionally to a dreadful calamity. In the year 1742, a terrible tornado overturned the labour of years, and destroyed the plantations, which did not recover the shock they received for several years afterwards ; these hurricanes occa- sionally visit the island at present, but none of so calamitous a na- ture has been experienced since that period. The total population of the island is calculated at 136,000. The capital of the island, and residence of the jgovernor, is situ- ated on a peninsula on the northern shore. It was founded in 1514, and named Puerto Rkoi from whence the whole island has receiv- CUBA. 141 «d its appellation ; having been called Borriquen by the natives when first discovered. This town is also called St. Juan de Puerto Rico; and is situ- ated in 18" 29' north latitude, and 66° 0' west longitude; a fort called St. Antonio, protects it on the south-west ; and it has also a citadel and other fortifications, with a very good harbour. Puerto Rico is a bishopric, the bishop residing in the capital. The amount of its population is not well known, but is very great. This city has often been attacked ; in 1594, by Sir Francis Drake ; in 1597, by the Duke of Cumberland, (who took and plun- dered it and the island,) and again by the British in 1797 ; who were however as unsuccessful as Sir Francis Drake. The plantations and small towns of the island are very numer- ous, but mostly too insignificant for notice. The number of slaves in Puerto Rico is not considerable. Puerto Rico draws from Mexico for the expenses of its admi- nistration, the sum of 377,000 piastres annually. Its defence consist chiefly in the country militia. It has adhered to the royal cause. CUBA. Cuba, the largest as well as the most important of the islands in the West Indian seas, is situated to the south of Florida, be- tween the northernmost point of Yucatan, and the %vesternmost point of the island of Hayti, or Hispaniola. The western part of Cuba, nearly shuts in with the northern shore of Yucatan and the western coast of East Florida, that immense basin known by the name of the gulf of Mexico ; it is strongly suspected that Cape Catoche in Yucatan and the most western headland of Cuba, were formerly united by an isthmus, which has been gradually worn away by the pressure and action of the waters of the Caribbean sea. Should this have actually been the case, the Mexican gulf must have been very shallow, as we find that the passage of the waters of the South Atlantic, impelled by the trade-winds through the strait formed by Cuba and Yucatan, is, although it has con- siderable breadth, so very forcible, as to send a vast stream or cur- rent, with great impetuosity round the gulf and through the straits of Florida, as far as the banks of Newfoundland, and to the north- ern shores of Europe. This stream is distinguishable in the North Atlantic, by its superior heat to the rest of the waters of that ocean, and by a body of sea-weed which constantly accompanies it. This the author has observed considerably to the east of the great bank of Newfoundland, as well as small land birds, which he cannot imagine could have reached those latitudes by the aid of flight alone. Might they not have been conveyed on the masses of sea- 142 SPANISH WEST INDIA ISLANDS. weed (which also envelope wreck and trunks of trees) borne by this upper current from the Mexican gulf? The extent of Cuba is from 73° 50', to 85° 30' of west longitude from east to west ; its form is so curved, that it lies, although nar- row, between 2o° 20', and 19° 40' north latitude ; it is about 700 miles long, but not more than seventy in medial breadth. Its position gives it the command of the gulf of Mexico, by the Straits of Yucatan and Florida, as well as the navigation of the windward passage and channel of Bahamas. The fine harbour of the Havannah, and some other smaller ports, renders this island, with the before-mentioned advantages, the most important of the West India islands, particularly to Spain, possessing as she does the shores of the Mexican gulf. The Spanish Government, have accordingly spared no expense in fortifying the Havannah, on which they seem to place theii chief dependence for the security of their ultramarine colonies. Cuba was discovered by Columbus during his first voyage in the year 1492, on Sunday the 28th of October. The natives of San Salvador, the first land he made, called it by its present name, Cuba ; Columbus, however, named it after the king or queen of Spain ; but it retained this title only for a short time, the native name soon taking precedency of the other. Columbus appears to have made his research in this island, from the reports of the In- dians of San Salvador ; when he arrived with his ships at the estu- arj' of a large river, the inhabitants imagining some terrible event was about to befall them, fled to the interior j he, however, sent some of his people after them ; they fell down astonished at the feet of these men, whom they imagined to be gods, and gave them different articles the produce of the country, amongst which were golden ornaments, made, as they said, in the mountains ; and the Europeans imagined they had found the mines of gold and silver they were taught to imagine existed in this quarter of the world. Columbus visited the greater part of the north coast of the island, in search of the precious metals, but the Spanish adven- turers were disappointed in their hopes, gold being found only in very small quantities. They in some measure consoled themselves by the reflection, that the continent, as they imagined Cuba to be, might contain these valuable articles in some other part, and by the certainty, that the part they were now in, was fertile, beautiful and rich in the vegetable productions of nature. The Spaniards imagined that Cuba was a part of an immense continent, till the year 1508, when an officer of the name of Obando, circumnaviga- ted it, and by this means ascertained that it was the largest of the islands hitherto discovered in those seas. The brother of Colum- bus, in the year 1511, in his capacity of admiral, and governor of Hispaniola, sent Don Jago Velasquez with a force of 300 men, to conquer and colonise Cuba, which having performed,Velasquez was CUBA. 143 appointed governor of the island ; his principal town he founded on the southern coast, and called it St. Jago ; this situation he chose on account of the largeness and fineness of the harbour ; he then built the city of the Havannah, at first of wooden houses, and af- terwards with stone. The climate of Cuba is better than that of any other island in the West Indian seas, excepting Puerto Rico ; it is mild and tem- perate, and they have no winter ; the summer heat is moderated by the rains and sea-breezes ; the periodical rains lasting during the months of July and August. The fertility of Cuba is celebrated ; spices, among which are pepper and ginger ; cassia, manioc, cacao, maize, aloes, mastic, sugar, tobacco, the flavour of which is superior to that of any other part of the world, known in commerce by the name of Havannah, and sold to an enormous amount in cigars, with many other arti- cles the produce of tropical climates, constitute the riches of this fine island. Coffee, though cultivated, is so little attended to in the plantations, that not so much is grown for exportation as might easily be raised. Honey is one of the great articles of the export trade, and is annually produced to a great amount, as wax is also. Cattle, originally from Europe, have multiplied so much in Cuba, that they have become wild, and frequent, in immense droves, the forests and savannahs, or marshy plains ; they are hunted for the sake of their hides and tallow, which are exported to a great amount. The forests also abound with swine, which have multiplied in a similar manner ; and the inhabitants possess large stocks of mules, horses, fine black cattle, and sheep, all of which thrive very much. The woods chiefly consist of timber of valuable qualities, the red cedar, oaks, firs, palms, mahogany, ebony, lignum vitse ; woods producing gums, aromatic and medicinal, &c. The rivers and coasts abound with fish, and fine turtles frequent the shallows. The birds of Cuba are principally the parrot, and paroquet, American partridge, turtle-dove, and great varieties of aquatic birds. In this island there are supposed to exist veins of gold and sil- ver, because the inhabitants procure a small quantity of those me- tals in the sands of the rivers which descend from the mountains. The great metallic production of Cuba is copper, of which some valuable mines exist in the eastern part of the island, with which a trade is carried on amongst the West India islands, and the ports of the southern continent. About an hundredth part of the island of Cuba only is suppos- ed to be under a state of cultivation ; the inhabitants, consisting of Europeans and their descendants, and negroes ; the amount of the ■ former being 338,000, and of the latter 212,000, making a total of 550,000 inhabitants. A chain of mountains runs the whole length of Cuba, from east to v/^est, following the curvature of the country. 144 SPANISH WEST INDIA ISLANDS. This chain divides the island naturally into two parts ; though these mountains do not acquire any very considerable elevation, but give rise to numerous rivers which flow into the ocean on each side, and sometimes, during the rainy season, inundate the low lands. Cuba, as all the other islands of these seas are, is exposed oc- casionally to the devastating effects of hurricanes, but on the whole it is more free from these, as well as from disease, than any of the others, and may be looked upon as the healthiest, the most fertile, and the most secure of the West India islands. Cuba with the Floridas, comprises a capitaneria generale, styled of the Havannah. The officer who holds this command has a very arduous and extensive jurisdiction, during war particularly ; he has in the island eighteen subordinate governors, who preside over as many districts, into which Cuba is divided. An intendant super- intends the finances and commerce of the island, and is subordinate enly to the captain-general. The religious affairs of Cuba are su- perintended by a bishop, who resides at Havannah, and whose in- come is considerable. The revenues of the island of Cuba are said to amount to more than two millions of piastres per annum, but the expenses of ad- ministration are so great, that it receives from Mexico 1,820,000 piastres during the same period. We have observed more on this head under the article comnaerce, in the description of New Spain. The military force of Cuba consists chiefly in militia, the amount of which army is stated to exceed 26,000j most of whom are undis- ciplined. This island, notwithstanding the immense droves of wild cattle and swine which roam about it, is supplied from the Ca- raccas with provisions. Cuba has also adhered to the royal cause. HAVANNAH. The capital of this island is that well known town called the Ha- vannah^ founded by Velasquez, in the commencement of the six- teenth century, in 23° 12' north latitude, 82" 14' west longitude, on the north coast, opposite to the Floridas. The harbour is very fine, and capable of containing the largest fleet in safety. This harbour and the town have been fortified as strongly as possible ; the Spaniards looking on this port as the key of their North American possessions. The only fault in this excellent port is, that the entrance is very narrow and difficult ; so much so, that during war, vessels have been taken going in ; on account of only one being able to pass at a time, the rearmost vessels have fallen into the hands of the pur- suing ships, without their comrades being able to assist them. This channel is however so strongly fortified, during its whole CUBA. 145 hngth, that it would be hazardous in the extreme, for an enemy's fleet to enter. The mouth has a fort on each side ; that on the east, is called Moro Casde, on a high rock ; which is a triangular work, mounted with forty pieces of heavy cannon, having a battery near- ly level with the water at the foot of the rock ; that on the west is called Punta, and communicates with the city ; this is a square fort, strongly built, and well supplied with artillery. The city is surrounded with works, mounted with numerous heavy guns. A square citadel is erected, near the centre of the town, and is called El Fuerte ; this work has also heavy cannon, and on this the Spanish garrison and inhabitants place their chief dependence. The captain-general's palace is in it, and here the treasure is deposited ; and the fortifications are said to be comman- ded by hills in the immediate neighbourhood. The city contains eleven fine churches ; two hospitals, a dock yard, lazaretto, and numerous public buildings ; an aqueduct sup- plies the shipping with water, and turns the saw mills in the dock yard. The town stands in a plain on the west side of the harbour, and the houses, which are elegant, are mostly of stone. There are sev- eral convents ; and the great square is a fine ornament of the place. The churches are highly and magnificently ornamented with gold and silver lamps, images, &c. The manners of the inhabitants are said to be more polished than in most of the American cities, and they have societies for the encouragement of the arts and sciences. During the stay of the fleet from Mexico, an immense commerce is carried on, but at this time provisions are very dear ; they are in general high in price and difficult to obtain, owing to the indolence of the natives, and the number of persons constantly arriving here for the purposes of commerce from the interior, and the other American ports: all the vessels from the east coast of Spanish America, calling here on their way to Europe. The importance of this city and harbour, has caused it to be repeatedly attacked ; it was taken in 1536, by a French pirate, but ransomed for 700 dollars ; it v/as again taken by the English and by the French, and by the Buccaneers ; but the most memorable attack was that executed by the British in 1762. Admiral Sir George Pococke, and Lord Albemarle, conducted a fleet and troops to the Havannah, and after a determined resistance of two months and eight days, on the 14th of August, the Moro Castle and place surrendered, as well as a district of 180 miles to the west of the town. The victors captured nine sail of the line ; three more were sunk by the Spaniards ; two on the stocks were burnt, and a great many merchant vessels, loaded with valuable cargoes, completed the spoil. The valuable merchandise and specie found in the place, was supposed to amount to three millions sterling. Thus, after incredible hardships, efforts of extraordinary valour,^ and a displav T ' 146 SPANISH WEST INDIA ISLANDS. of unequalled judgment on the part of the commanders, did this gallant force take this strong fortress ; and were recompensed by the applauses of their nation, the paralysation of the enemy, and an immense booty. This city was restored to Spain at the peace of 1763 ; since which period, the government has been constantly employed in increasing its strength and resources. The trade of this port is computed to amount, by importations, (the exportations being chiefly in sugar, wax and coffee,) to twenty millions of piastres. The inhabitants of the Havannah amount to 25,000, whilst the total population of the island of Cuba is estimated to be about 550,000. The other principal towns of Cuba are St. Jago, Puerto del Principe, Bayamo, Trinidad, Batabano, Santa Cruz, Baracoa, and Cadiz. St. Jago^ was formerly the capital of the island ; it is situated in 20° north latitude, and 76° west longitude, 269 leagues from the Havannah. The country about St. de Jago de Cuba, or Cuba, is mountainous, and this part of the island is frequently visited by earthquakes, which are generally of a slight nature. The harbour of Cuba is very good, and extends six miles inland ; the entrance to it is similar to that of HavannaTi, very narrow and long, and de- fended by a castle called the Moro, and several batteries. Cuba is the see of a bishop, who was formerly the suffragan of that of St. Domingo ; the bishop residing at present almost always at Ha- vannah, and the trade of the island being concentrated there, has reduced St. Jago from its former splendour : It is still however a fine town, and well peopled. The women are said to excel in beauty. Puerto del Principe^ or Villa del Principe^ is 145 miles north- west of St. Jago, in 21° 17' north latitude, IT 45' west longitude, and is remarkable for the fertility of the country around it, where large droves of cattle are nourished by the luxuriancy of the pas- turage in the savannahs. Bayavio^ or St. Salvador., in 20° 46' north latitude, and 76° 55' west longitude, is situated in the eastern end of Cuba, and on the little river Estero, nearly twenty miles from the ocean. This town gave its name to the Bayamo channel, which runs amongst the land and low rocks, which Columbus called Jardin de la Reyna, or Queen's garden. Trinidad 15 in 21° 42' north latitude, and 80° 6' west longitude, on a bay in the south coast. Trinidad is a fine sea-port, but of lit- tle consequence. Batabano is nearly opposite the Pinos Islands, on the south side of the island of Cuba, near a very large ba}'', fifty miles south-west of the Havannah. ISLANDS ON THE COASTS OF NEW SPAIN, &C. 147 Baracoa is a sea-port, on the north-east shore of the island, with an excellent harbour for vessels of small tonnage ; it is situated in 21° 4' north latitude, and 76° 10' west longitude ; about seventeen leagues north-east of Cuba, or St. Jago. Santa Cru-z is a large town on the north coast, 30 miles east of the Havannah, and 115 north west of Cadiz. Cadiz^ is situated in Cadiz Bay on the north coast of Cuba, 164 miles east of Havannah, and fifty miles north of Espiritu Santo, in 23° 2' north latitude, 79° 55' west longitude, and about ten miles west of Cadiz river. Round the island of Cuba are several groups of rocks, and one large islet, named Pinos^ which is situated near the south coast of Cuba, and separated from it bv a channel, sixteen leagues long, and six wide ; this island has several good and secure roads, but is uninhabited, except by a few fishermen, who occasionally dwell on its coasts. The only animals on it are goats, but it abounds in pastures and large trees. Pinos is about 42 miles long, and 34 broad, in 21° 38' north latitude, and 82° 45' west longitude. ISLANDS NEAR THE COASTS OF NEW SPAIN & GUATIMALA. The islands belonging to Spanish North America neari ts coasts, are numerous, both in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but most of them are either uninhabited or unimportant from their being small. Commencing on the north-east shores of the Intendancy of San Luis Potosi, and proceeding along its maritime borders south- ward, we meet with very numerous long strips of insulated land, the very names of most of which are unknown ; but from their si- tuation, they must be very fertile and will probably soon become of some use ; such are the islands in the bays of Galveston, St. Bernardo, at the estuary of the great Rio Bravo del Norte, and on the coast of Nev/ Santander ; of these the island of St. Luis., which embraces the above-mentioned bays, is one of the largest, with the island of St. Josef., extending from the bay of St. Bernardo to Lake Espiritu Santo, and La Carbonera., reaching from the same lake to the Barra de Santander. On the coasts of the Intendancy of Vera Cruz are the island of Ramirez in the gulf or lake of Tamiagua, a large isle in the centre, and the smaller island of Tore. In the bay of Vera Cruz are the islands of Sacrifices., Juan de Ulna, and others, which are small and sandv. 148 ISLANDS ON THE COASTS Of NEW SPAIN, &C Juan de Ulua was first visited by Grijalva, in 1518, who gave it the name of Ulua, from having seen the remains of some human isacrifices, which the natives told him they were in the habit of of- fering here by order of the king of Acolhua. The interpreters, who only spoke the language of Yucatan called the Mayo, believed that Acolhua or Ulua was the name of the island. A very strong for- tress called the castle of St. Juan d' Ulua now covers nearly the whole rock, in the form of an irregular square, with advanced works towards the sea front ; the expense of finishing this fortress is said to have been upwards of eight millions sterling ; it contains fine barracks, cisterns, and a newly erected giratory light-house, placed at its eastern extremity, which was built according to the plan of M. Mendoza, the astronomer, who lately died in London. It consists of a high tower, on the top of which is the lantern with the lamps fixed on a triangle, turning by means of clock-work ; the lights disappearing alternately, are supplied with a current of air and reflectors. This beautiful building cost about 20,000/. and is worthy of notice, on account of its utility in so dangerous a na- vigation as the channel of Vera Cruz is at all times. The island of Sacrifices was so called, from the first discoverers observing the numerous remains of the victims immolated by tl\e Mexican priests. In the environs of the river Alvarado, several rivers descending from the interior, form numerous islands at their junction with the sea, and farther to the south are the islands of Guascualco at the mouth of the river of the same name, and the island of Tabasco on which that town is situated. Near the boundary of the provinces of Vera Cruz and Merida or Yucatan, in the lake or gulf of Terminos, are the islands of Triste and Port Royal; the former is on the south-west side of the gulf and west of Port Royal, from which it is separated by a nar- row channel only. Triste, or as it is sometimes written Trieste, is in north latitude 18° 20', and is eighteen miles in circumference, containing valuable mahogany and logwood, cut annually by the British. Port Royal is smaller, and is also called Puerto Escon- didp^ having a small harbour, in north latitude 18° 22', west longi- tude, 92° 36'. In the Intendancy of Merida, the western side has several small islands off its shores ; of these the dangerous rocks called the Ala- cranes, are the chief, the others, such as Arenas, Sisal, &c. are chiefly sand banks above water, most of which are well laid down in the charts of the Mexican gulf. To the north of Merida, and between Cape Catoche and False Cape, are a group of islands, of which Las Miigcres^ or Women's isle, is the most easterly ; this isle., is called Mohair Key in some maps, owing to the pronunciation of the Spanish word for M'omen having a similar sound. ISLANDS ON THE COASTS OF NEW SPAIN, &C. 149 These islands were explored by the fleet under Cortez, in a storm which drove one of his vessels into their harbours. On the east of Yucatan is the Island of Cozumel^ or Cosumely forty miles long, and from three to ten in breadth, in 19° 40' north latitude, 85° 51' west longitude ; which is very fertile, and abounds in cattle and fowls. It is inhabited by an Indian tribe, and was first explored by Juan de Grijalva, on the thirteenth of April 1518, when he gave it the name of Santa Cruz, because it was discover- ed on the day of the invention of the Holy Cross. On landing here the natives fled to the woods, but they took two old men in a field of maize ; here they found an Indian woman of Jamaica, who had been driven on the coast with her husband and nine men in a storm ; the natives had sacrified all her party to their gods, and she gladly placed herself under the protection of the Spaniards. The Island of Cozumel was again visited by Fernando Cortez shortly afterwards, in his expedition to Mexico ; he reviewed his troops here on shore, and found them to amount to 508, besides 109 seamen. Tlie 508 soldiers were now divided into eleven com- panies, with ten brass field-pieces, four falconets, thirteen muske- teers, thirty-two cross bowmen, and sixteen horses. Cozumel had at that time several temples, one of which was in the shape pf a square tower, hollow at top, with four large windows or openings, and galleries, in which were many idols ; at the foot was a wall with a sort of battlements, and on this was a cross three yards high, drawn with white lime. From these high buildings, and on ac- count of the resemblance of this white mark to a cross, Grijalva named the Island and adjoining coast New Spain. It was here they first saw the pecari or sus tajassu, a sort of hog, with its navel on the back, or rather an open glandular orifice, discharging an oily fetid liquor, which is cut out when the animal is killed, other- wise it would taint the whole carcass. The Spaniards having heard the word Castellano, repeated by the Indians in the former voyages, Cortez enquired of the Ca- ciques, if any whites existed among them, and learning that there were, he gave large presents to some of them, and despatched them to the neighbouring continent to search for and bring any Euro- pean who might be there to him ; he also sent two ships to Cape Catoche, where the word Castellano had been most frequently heard ; in consequence of these exertions, which he doubtless made to gain a knowledge of the interior from the captives, Jeronimo de Aguilar gained his liberty, and went to another Spaniard, Alonzo Guerrero, to obtain his freedom, and to solicit him to accompany him J but Alonzo having married an Indian woman, by whom he had several children, would not return to his countrymen ; and Aguilar lost so much time in endeavouring to persuade him, that the ships had already sailed, the appointed time for their stay be- ing only eight days i but one of the ships having sprung a leak. 150 ISLANDS ON THE COASTS OF NEW SPAIN, &C, the whole fleet returned to Cozumel a few hours after they had left it. Aguilar now crossed to the island in a canoe, and present- ed himself to Cortez. He had nearly forgotten his native language, ■was so dark from the burning climate, and almost naked, that it was with difficulty he was recognised as a Spaniard ; he carried a paddle in his hand, and had an old prayer-book in a tattered bun- dle on his back ; on coming before Cortez, he squatted down on his hams after the Indian fashion, and no one discovered that he was the Spaniard they were seeking for. He said at last, that he was a native of Ecija, and had been brought up for the church ; but had been wrecked eight years before, in a voyage from Hispa- niola to Darien. He and his companions in misfortune tried to reach Cuba in the ship's boat, but were drifted by the currents on this coast, where the Indians made them all slaves. Most of them had been sacrificed to the idols ; others, among whom were two women, were worn out with disease and fatigue, and soon died. Guerrero and himself were the only survivors ; Aguilar had been condemned to die, but had escaped to a friend- ly chief, who had ever since protected him. He knew nothing of the interior, being kept constantly employed in getting wood and water, and in the cultivation of maize. Guerrero had adopted the Indian manners, and had headed them in their attacks on the for- mer navigators. Aguilar was much employed by Cortez in the subsequent conquest of Mexico. The great temple of Cozumel was served by a priest in a long mantle, who addressed the people from the summit. They burnt incense before the idols, which so enraged Cortez, that he ordered his soldiers to destroy them, and made the Indians build an altar on the top, on which he placed an image of the Holy Virgin ; and a crucifix being erected, one of the chaplains said mass, to which the people paid much attention, and as it afterwards appeared, burnt incense before the image and cross. Cozumel was formerly inhabited by the Spaniards, as the ruins of several buildings, situated in a wood of palm-trees, indicate. Ambcrg-ris Key^ or Ubero Island, is the next of any consequence south of Cozumel. It lies in the Bay of Hanover, is seventy miles long, but narrow, and nearly shuts in the mouth of the bay. It is opposite to this island that the British logwood cutters are settled ; besides Ambergris Key, there are several smaller islands in Han- over Bay. The British settlements extend from the mouth of the river Hondo, to the north of Hanover Bay. This bay is in 18° 45' north latitude, and 89° 15' west longitude, where it receives the Rio Hondo. Turneff Island^ lies south of the former ; is in 17° 16' north lati- tude, 88° 20' west longitude ; twenty miles in length, and ten in breadth ; abounding in cocoa-nut trees, and constantly frequented ISLANDS ON THE COASTS OF NEW SPAIN, SlC. 151 by the fishermen of the adjacent coasts. This part of the coast, as well as that of Vera Paz, and the gulf of Amatique, is also stud- ded with islets. On the coast of Honduras, towards the northern part, lie the islands of Utila, Ruatan, and Bonacao, of which Bonacao is suppos- ed to be the Guanaia of Columbus, the first island discovered by him in his fourth voyage. He made his brother Bartholomew land here, who found lapis calaminaris, which some of the sailors sup- posing to be gold, concealed lumps of for a length of time. He took a canoe full of people on board his ship, which came from the adjacent continent, and obtained information concerning it from them ; but the land lying to leeward, he did not attempt to explore it, and therefore held on to the eastward, and discovered Cape Ca- sinas, or Honduras. Bonacao is about sixty miles in circumfer- ence, lying in 16° 30' north latitude, 86° 23' west longitude. Ruatan or Rattan^ in 16° 24' north latitude, and 87° 10' west longitude, is thirty miles long and twelve broad, with a fine hax'- bour. The island is surrounded with shoals ; it was settled by the British in 1741, for the purpose of carrying on the logwood trade, but was soon abandoned. Utila is a small island to the south-west of Ruatan. The Swan Islands are a group at some distance from the nortli- coast of Honduras, being chiefly barren rocks. O^ Cape Gracias a Dios, are a multitude of islets and shoals. Misteriosa and Santanilla are at a still greater distance, nearly in the middle of the gulf of Honduras. Santamlla consists of two small islands surrounded with rocks, in 17° 20' north latitude, 85° 30' west longitude. Misteriosa^ to the north-west of these, seems to be a considera- ble bank or shoal. Viciosas is a cluster of very small isles, in 15" 12' north latitude, and 84° 4' west longitude, opposite to the Bay of Carthago. Cocoa-?mt keijs and Carrantasca shoals are other small clusters, to the north of Cape Gracias a Dios. South of Cape Gracias a Dios are several groups of small islands and rocks. Tangulaco, Man of War Keys, Pearl Keys, Little Corn Island, Great Corn Island, and a multitude of little islets, line the eastern shore of Honduras. The Pearl Keys are a group of islets near Pearl Key lagoon, on the Mosquito shore, in north latitude 11° 15', west longitude 83° 12'. St. Andres and Santa Catalina, or Old Providence, lie farther out at sea than the last mentioned. St. Andres or Andero is situated in 12° 30' north latitude, 81' 40' west longitude, south south-east of Cape Gracias a Dios, and Avest south-west of Providence Island^ which lies 80° 45' west longi- tude ; and 13° 26' north latitude, is eleven m.iles long and four 152 ISLANDS ON THE COASTS OF NEW SPAIN, ^C. broad, with a good soil, excellent water and pleasant climate. It was formerly inhabited, as well as many other small isles in these seas, by the Buccaneers, who fortified it. It is said there are no serpents or venomous reptiles found here, although it is near a continent in which they are so plentiful ; at present this isle is un- inhabited. Roncador, Serranilla and Serrana, are to the north-east of the last. Roncador is in 13° 45' north latitude, and 79° 30' west longitude. Serranilla Isles, are a cluster of small islands, in north latitude 16° 10', west longitude 80° 10'. Serrana or Pearl Island^ so called from Serrana, a Spanish na- vigator, who was wrecked on it, is in 14° 5' north latitude, 78° 50' west longitude. All these which lie to the east of Honduras arc small. In the bay or lake of Chiriqui on the coast of Veragua, are several groups, of which Provision Island and Bocalero are the principal ones. The whole of the eastern coast of Spanish North America abounds with islets, rocks, shoals and sand-banks, and there are consequently but few good harbours ; for although there are many deep bays and gulfs, yet the entrances to them are in general block- ed up. The western coast is in the contrary extreme, very bold, and with few islands ; in describing these we shall commence on the north off the coasts of New California, where the first are the rocks, called in Spanish the Farallones^ in 37° 48' 10" north latitude, and 123° 1' west longitude. The next are the island of jfuan Rodriguez Cabrillo, in 34° north latitude, and 120° 31' west longitude. The island oi San Nicholas in 33° 16' north latitude, and 119° 30' west longitude. The island of San Salvador in 32° 43' north latitude, and 118° 30' west longitude. Island of St. Martin^ or de los Coronados^ a small group in 32* 25' north latitude, and 117° 18' west longitude. Island of San Bernardo in 29° 40' north latitude, and 115* 56' west longitude. Island of Guadalupe in 28° 53' north latitude, and 118* 17' west longitude. This last island is about thirteen miles long, composed of high, rocky and naked mountains with two small islands, one about a mile west south-west and the other two miles south of its southern point. The latitude and longitude ai^e that of its southern cape, the island itself running thirteen miles farther to the north. The island of San Benito is small and surrounded with shoals ; it is mountainous, and its highest part is in 28° 18' north latitude. 115° 46' west longitude. ISLANDS ON THE COASTS OF NEW SPAIN, &C. 15S Island of Cedros in 28' 2' north latitude, and 115° 23' west lon^- tude. To the south, off the coast of Old California, the islands are not so numerous ; there are, however, several very small ones in some of the bays, and near the bay of La Magdalena one large one, named La Margarita, of which nothing is known excepting that it is about forty or fifty miles in length, and hilly. On the east coast of Old California are several small islands, much used in the former pearl fishery ; of these, proceeding from Cape St. Lucas to the extremity of the Vermillion Sea, are the is- lands Cerralbo and del Espiritic Santo, near the Mission de la Paz ; islands of Sail Francisco, and San Jose, with several smaller ones. Island of Santa Cruz, island of Montserrat, and island of Cataliyia, near Puerto Escondido, and a large island near the coast of the Mission of Loretto ; of these Santa Cruz is famous, as having been the abode of Cortez during his expedition to California ; he re- mained on it a considerable time, suffering dreadful hardships, and losing the greater part of his followers by famine and disease. Santa Cruz is in 25° 23' north latitude, and 110° 47' west longitude. Island of St. Lorenzo opposite Tiburon isle, and the Island of Santa ^es, or Angel de la Guarda, a fine and extensive tract. In the estuary of the Gila and Colorado, at the extremity of the gulf, another large island appears, but of it nothing certain is known ; descending the gulf of California on the eastern shore, off the province of Sonora, are the islands of Tiburon, Tortuga, Lo- bos, San Jgnacio, and several smaller ones. Tiburon is the largest of these, and appears to be about sixty miles in length. Off the shore of the intendancy of Guadalaxara is the islet of Isabella in 21° 50' north latitude, and 105° 56' west longitude. Islet of Juanico in 21° 45' north latitude, and 107° 41' west longitude. Piedra Blanca at the mouth of the Rio Grande de Santiago, and in the port of San Bias, in 21° 33' north latitude and 105° 17' west longitude. Las Tres 3Iarias abounding with wood, water, salt-pits and game, which cause them to be frequented by the English and American whalers ; the French and English pirates used to winter in them, when they cruised in the South Seas. The south cape of the easternmost island is in 21° 16' north Latitude, and 106° 17' west longitude. They were named Islands de la Magdalena, by Diego de Mendoza in 1532, and are occasionally visited by the Spa- niards from Saint Bias, for the flax and lignum vitae they produce. South ol tliese, and near cape Corrientes, is the islet Isasvirivil m CO* 45' north latitude, and 105° 57' west longitude. The Kevi!lagic;edo islands, which are a considerable distancrj U 154 ISLANDS ON THL COASTS OF NEW SPAIN, ScC. from the coast, are four in number. Santa Rosa, Socorro, Rocca Partida, and San Benedito ; their origin seems to be volcanic, as pumice stones are found in them; Santa Rosa is in 18° S7' north latitude, 114" 3' west longitude. Socorro^ the highest summit of which is more than 3657 feet above the sea, is the largest of the group, but not above fifteen or twenty miles broad and long, and is situated in 18° 48' north latitude, llC 9' west longitude. RoC" ca Partida is in 19° 4' north latitude, 111" 5' west longitude. San Benedito in 19° 18' north latitude, and 110° 53' west longitude, Socorro was visited by Captain CoUnet, on the 20th September, 1793. He afterwards saw other islands of this group. At Socorro no anchorage could be found near the shore, the coast being exceeding bold and steep, except in a small cove where they had onlj^ ten fathoms ; which place he judged to be too inse- cure. On this island, which consists of one very elevated summit and several detached points, that have a singular and picturesque appearance, the creAv of his ship procured plenty of wild beans and prickly pears ; they also sowed all sorts of garden seeds and some cocoa nuts. Leaving Socorro they went to San Benedito, or San Berto, where they procured the same fruits : ^ they then explored Rocca Partida; its greates^length was fifty or sixty fathoms, its breadth, thirty five, with two separated pinnacles, which are about 120 feet in height, and look exactly like a ship under jury-masts, when seen from afar : its distance from Socorro is about forty- eight miles west. Here they saw a prodigious quantity of fish, but could only catch a few, owing to the multitude of sharks which destroyed their lines. A man reaching over the gun-wale of the boat, one of these ravenous animals attempted to bite his hand oflT, and they even seized the steering oar at the stern, so that they were obliged to lay it in. Man of war birds and seals were the only habitants of this dreary rock. They steered from hence to the coast of California, and returned to Socorro on the 25th of November, 1793 ; after ex- amining the coast they found a small bay on the south, with twenty- five fathoms water and good anchorage ; the surface of the island, on being explored, appeared to consist of a fine loose cinder, ex- cepting on the north-east, where the ground was more firm. Cap- tain CoUnett's crew being very weak, and his ship in a bad state, he staid here only long enough to procure fish and fruit, and before his departure named the group Revillagegido, out of compliment to the Viceroy of that name, who had treated him with kindness whilst a prisoner at^ Mexico. These islands were originally discovered by the Spaniards. The whole coast from hcn<;e to Guaxaca and along the shores of the kingdom of Guatimala present? no islands of any consequence until we reach the extremity of Veragua, towards the south, where, hetvv'een Cape Dulce and Cape Mariato are the isks Zcdzoncs, ISLANDS ON THE COASTS OF NEW SPAIN, &C. 155 Mentuosa, Quibo, or Caybo, and Quicaras ; the fust are merely small barren rocks. 3Ientuosa rises to a considerable height, covered with cocoa- nut and other trees, and is about five or six miles in circumfer- ence, in 7° 15' north latitude and 82° 40' west longitude. The ^icaras are two islets, one of which is seven miles, the other two or three in length, and about twelve miles south of Caybo ; they are also covered with ti'ees. Caybo^ or ^dbOy was visited by Lord Anson, in his celebrated circumnavigation of the world, on the 3d of December, 1741 ; when he came to anchor near Canal Bueno, and staid here until the 12th of the same month. They found plenty of water and wood. The island is of mode- rate height, and thickly covered with a forest of cassia, limes, &c. Tigers, monkeys, wolves, and deer, abound, but were all extreme- ly shy. Parrots, parroquets, macaws, hawks and vultures were seen in large flights ; guanos, alligators of enormous size, the hawk's-bill and green turtle were found in great numbers, and the shores abounded with sharks, sea snakes, and various sorts of fish Venomous reptiles were common, amongst which was the dread- ful hooded snake. This island was afterwards visited by Captain Collnett, in 1794, who was bitten in the knee by one of these ser- pents, and continued for a length of time in great danger. The writer of the voyage of Commodore Anson, speaks with great delight of the beauties of this isle, and mentions a cascade in the north-east part, which surpassed any thing of the kind they had ever observed ; it was formed by a river of transparent water, rushing between rocks, over a ledge forty \ards wide, and 150 in length, overhung by beautiful tropical plants ; a flight of macaws passing over, and hovering about whilst they were observing this fall, added, by the glittering appearance of their beautiful plumage, to the singularity of the scene. The cedar trees were of enormous size, and the place affords, from its good anchorages, every faci- lity to a distressed vessel cruising in the Pacific. The coast abounds with whales. These arc the last islands of Spanish North America in the Pa- cific Ocean ; with them we therefore conclude the description of that portion of the trans-atlantic colonies of Spain. :ND OF PART THE FIRST„ SPANISH AMERICA. PART II. SOUTH AMERICJiN DOMIMOJ^S. The dominions of Spain in North America having been de- scribed as fully as the nature of the work permitted, our attention is now to be turned to the acquisitions of that power in the south- em division of the American continent. The territories acquired by Spanish enterprise in South Ame- rica are more extensive than those which have just been treated of; they reach from the Canataguan chain of mountains, between the provinces of Veragua and Panama, in the isthmus of Darien, to the gulf of Chonos ; but Cape Vela, the extreme northern point of South America, being in a higher latitude than the Sierra de Cana- tagua, it is usual to reckon the total length from it. This cape is in 12° north, and the gulf of Chonos in 44° south latitude :* thus the Spanish colonies extend through a space equal to 3360 geogra- phical miles, while their breadth, taken at a medium, is about 900 of the same miles. In fact, nearly the whole of that vast division of the New World, called by the general name of Southern America, is divided between two European powers, the Spaniards, and the * The latitude of forty-four degrees south has been taken as the boundar}- of Spanish America, because it appears that in that pai-allel there are Spanish settlers dispersed amongst the islands on the v.est coasts of Terra Magellanica. 1S8 SOUTH AMERICA. Portuguese ; the Portuguese holding the eastern, the Spaniards the northern, western and most of the southern part ; the colonies of Great Britain and France being only slips of coast ; and even the unconquered countries are very small, when compared with those belonging to the two powers first named. Adding to this immense tract the kingdoms of Mexico and Guatimala, it appears that Spain possesses in the Americas an em- pire reaching from the 39th degree of north, to the 44th degree of south latitude ; or a space included in eighty-three degrees, which is greater than the length of Africa, or more than five thousand miles. -BOUNDARIES. The boundaries of the South American dominions are the pro- vince of Costa Rica, in the kingdom of Guatimala on the north- west ; the Caribbean sea on the north ; the Atlantic Ocean, British and French Guiana on the north-east; the Portuguese territories on the east ; the Pacific Ocean on the west ; the Atlantic and na- tive tribes on the south-east ; and the native tribes, and desart countries on the south. . POLITICAL DIVISIONS. Spanish South America is divided into five governments ; viz. the viceroyalty of New Granada; the Capitania General of Carac- cas ; the viceroyalty of Peru ; the viceroyalty of La Plata, or Bue- nos Ayres ; and the Capitaneria General of Chili ; these are again subdivided into numerous provinces, which will be detailed in the descriptions of the different governments. ERA OF DISCOVERY. The discovery of the Spanish South American continent may justly take its date from the period at which Columbus landed on the coast of Paria, near the island of Trinidad, and the mouths of the Orinoco ; which event took place in the month of August in the year 1498, and will be related hereafter at length. The disco- veries of particular portions, the conquests and colonisations, will also be duly noticed in treating of the different governments ; com- mencing with the most northern, and proceeding gradually, to those which occupy the southern portion of this great continent ; concluding the whole with a description of the islands of most note on the coasts. The viceroyalty of New Granada will therefore first engage our attention. NEW GRANADA. 159 VICEROYALTY OF NEW GRANADA, BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT. New Granada is bounded on the north by the Caribbean Sea, and the province of Costa Rica in the kingdom of Guatimala ; on the east by the government of Caraccas, Spanish Guiana, and Por- tuguese Guiana ; on the west by the Pacific Ocean ; and on the south by the river Maranon, and the vicercyalty of Peru : its ex- tent from 3° 30' south latitude to 12'' north latitude, is about 930 geographical miles, its mean breadth being 240. TERRITORIAL AND POLITICAL DIVISIONS. This extensive viceroyalty is divided into numerous provinces, governed by intendants and governors under the orders of the viceroy. These provinces are named Jaen de Bracamoros, Quixos, May- nas, Quito, Tacames, Popayan, Antioquia, Santa Fc, San Juan do los Llanos, Merida, Santa Marta, Carthagena, Choco, Darien, Panama, and Veragua ; the three last of which ai'c known by the distinctive appellation of Tierra Firme. DISCOVERIES. The coasts of New Granada which border on the Caribbean Sea were first visited by Columbus during his fourth voyage. Sailing from Spain to the West Indies, he arrived with his fleet at St. Do- mingo, in Hispaniola, where the governor, Ovando, from private pique, refused him permission to enter the harbour and refit his vessels. This unforeseen occurrence obliged the admiral to stand to the %est ; after sailing in this direction for a few days, he dis- covered a little island, off the coast or cape of Honduras, where his brother landed, and traded with the natives. Prosecuting their voyage, they touched at the Cape itself, then called by Columbus Cape Casinas, and on which the admiral's brother landed to take formal possession for the crown of Spain : after this ceremony the fleet proceeded along the shore, and was compelled by the easterly winds to double a cape, which the pilots performing with difficul- ty, gave it the appellation of Gracias a Dios (thanks to God), be- cause they could now take advantage of those winds in navigating along such unknown coasts with compai'ative safety. Columbus touched at many places in this voyage, at Veragua, Nombre de Dios, Belem, Porto Bello, &c. At Veragua he sem his brother up the country to search for gold, and Don Bartolomec 160 SOUTH AMERICA. returning with a considerable quantity, the admiral wished to have planted a colony, but having made several fruitless attempts, and finding that the ships were very rotten and worm-eaten, he set sail for Hispaniola to procure new vessels and supplies ; in this attempt he was forced by storms to run on shore in a creek in the island of Jamaica, where he propped up the worn-out hulls with shores, building huts on the decks for the crews. Columbus remained al- most a year in this condition, and from the mutinous behaviour of his men, his life was several times in danger ; this, combined with the fatigue and vexation he had undergone, seriously affected his health, and at length, worn out with watching for succour, he de- termined as a last resource, to send over a canoe to Hispaniola, with one of his most faithful followers, and some Indians. These men after encountering great dangers, succeeded in reaching that island, and there procured a small ship, (but not without much op- position from the enemies of Columbus,) in which this great and unfortunate man returned to Spain, where he fixed his abode at Valladolid, and closed his illustrious career on the 20th of May^ 1506, at the age of 64. His body was interred in the church of the Carthusians at Seville, and a handsome monument pointed out the spot where his remains were deposited j on which was engra- ven this inscription : " A Costilla y a LeoUy Nuivo mundo dio Colon'C " To Castile and Leon Columbus gave a new world." Ojeda, and Amerigo Vespucci, as well as many other adven- turers, followed Columbus in exploring parts of the coast of New Granada, and Amerigo gave the first regular description of the people who inhabited its shores. In the year 1508, Alonzo de Ojeda and Diego Nicuessa obtained from the Spanish crown, ex- tensive grants in the territories now known by the names of Gua- timala and New Granada j Ojeda had the country from Cape de la Vela to the Gulf of Uraba, or Gulf of Darien, included in his char- ter, which tract was to be styled New Andalusia ; and Nicuessa was appointed to govern from the Gulf of Darien to Cape Gracias a Dios ; the territory included between these points, to be named Golden Castile, and they left Hispaniola in the latter end of the year 1510, to assume the functions assigned to them. Soon after the arrival of Ojeda at Carthagena, (then called Caramari by the Indians,) he imprudently attacked the natives, and after a severe action, lost the greater part of his men, but was fortunately reliev- ed by the arrival of the fleet of Nicuessa ; he then went to the gulf of Darien, and established a colony on the eastern promontory, vihich place was named St. Sebastian ; but being soon reduced to NEW GRANADA, 161 great extremity for want of provision, Ojeda sailed for Hispaniola, having despatched another vessel before him to procure supplies and reinforcements for his new establishment ; suft'ering shipwreck on the voyage, and losing all his property, he died shordy after of want. The colony being reduced to great distress, went back to Car- thagena, to endeavour to fall in with the reinforcements ; by great good fortune they met two vessels with their supplies, and returning to St. Sebastian, found their town destroyed by the na- tives ; to augment their misfortunes, they run their ships ashore, but by dint of great exertion they were at last floated, when the whole colony, by the advice of Vasco Nunez de Balboa, sailed to the river of Darien, where they attacked and conquered an Indian tribe, and founded a town which was named Santa Maria el An- tigua del Darien, where they received a further reinforcement by accident, in November 1510. In the mean time, Nicucssa, who also suffered great misfor- tunes, had endeavoured to establish a colony at Nombre de Dios ; a deputation was sent to him here, to request him to come and assume the government of Santa Maria; he accordingly departed, but on his arrival, found that great dissensions had arisen amongst the colonists, who, instead of appointing him to the government, put him into a rotten vessel, and sent him to sea, where it is con- jectured, that himself and his crew perished. The province of Tierra Firme, including both the grants of Nicuessa and Ojeda, was given by a subsequent charter, in the year 1514, to Pedro Arias de Avila, under whose government Vasco Nunez de Balboa was beheaded on account of a revolt. It was this man who, in 1513, on the 25th of September, first descried the Pacific Ocean, from the mountains of Terra Firma, and embarking on its waters in a canoe, explored part of its shores, on his return making known to the Spanish nation, the existence of another sea beyond the Atlantic. The first discoveries of Ojeda in New Granada took place in 1502; in 1503, Roderigo Bastidas of Seville visited the coast from Santa Marta to the river of Darien. Thus in these years, the whole shore from the Gulf of Venezuela to Cape Honduras, had been explored by different navigators and adven- turers. In 1504, Bastidas resumed his discoveries, and proceeded to the gulf of Darien to procure gold and slaves; he here found grains of gold in the sands, which was the first time the metal had been sent in that state to Spain. In 1515, the western coast of Panama, Veragua, and Darien, was explored under the orders of Avila, as far north as Cape Blanco ; and the town of Panama was founded ; from this city issued the conquerors of Peru, Francisco Pizarro, and Diego Al- X 162 SOUTH AMERICA. magro, of whom we shall have occasion to speak at length in the description of that country ; they are mentioned at present, be- cause the discovery, the conquest, and the colonisation of most of the internal provinces of New Granada was achieved under their orders, by Sel)aslian de Benalcazar, one of the officers of the army who accompanied Pizarro and Almagro in their expe- dition. In 1536, Benalcazar attacked the southern provinces from Quito^ whilst Gonzalo Ximenes de Quesada, who had been sent by Lugo, the admiral of the Canaries, over-run the northern districts from Santa P^arta ; they met with considerable opposition from the Datives, but finally succeeded in reducing the country, and the whole was formed into a kingdom, and governed by a captain-ge- neral, in the year 1547 j to check whose power, the royal audience was established, of which he was made president. In the year 1718, a viceroy was appointed; this office was sup- pressed in 1724, and again finally established in 1740. In the viceroyalty of New Granada, at present, there are two royal audiences, or supreme courts of judicature. The audience of Santa Fe has jurisdiction over Veragua, Panama, Santa Marta, Maracaybo in Venezuela; Antioquia, Choco, and the Llanos, with some others. The royal audience of Quito has all the southern provinces of New Granada under its superintendence. The power of the Viceroy is as great as that of the same officer in New Spain, but his revenue only amounts to the annual sum of 8400/. sterling. In the kingdom he governs, the population has been estimated at 1,800,000, of which there are upwards of 200,000 souls moi'e in the audience of Santa Fe, than in the audience of Quito. The value of the gold and silver produced in the mines, annually amounts to 650,000/. sterling. At Santa Fe de Bogota, the capital, besides the royal audience, there is a treasury, a tribunal of accounts, a royal mint, with many other judicial and state offices; the coui't of the royal audience is formed of five supreme judges, a fiscal, a protector of the Indians, and numerous subordinate officers. Santa Fe is also an archbi- shopric, founded in 1562, having Popayan and Carthagena as suffragans. This archbishopric is of great importance, the vice- royalty having been occasionally confided to its jurisdiction both in civil and religious matters. Ihe president of the royal audience of Quito is governor of all the southern provinces, and is subordi- nate only to the viceroy. Of the commerce of the viceroyalties in South America, we have very little correct information; the value of the import trade of New Granada has been stated as amounting to 1,235,000/. ster- ling, and its agricultural produce at 433,3.30/. The greatest revenue which the mother country receives during the most plentiful times, and when the mines .are in the highest state of activity, amounts NEV/ GRANADA. 163 only to 108,330/. but very frequently the expenses of the admini- stration render it impossible to remit even this small sum. The gross revenue does not exceed 823,340/. as the contraband trade greatly injures the receipts of the customs in this kingdom ; the vicinity of powerful neighbours who are all of great mercantile spirit, renders it utterly impossible for the agents of the govern- ment to check this traffic altogether. The Portuguese goods are poured in from their frontier by the gi-eat rivers; the British from the West India islands, and from Guiana f and thus, even before the present unhappv struggle, the existence of the \ iceroyalty de- pended entirely on the produce of the mines and of some few ma- nufactures, with the native products which Europe could not dis- pense with. The manufactures are of utility only in its internal trade, and consist chiefly of carpets, cotton cloths, blankets, vvool- lens, counterpanes. Sec. The natural productions are the excellent dye-woods of the northern shore, which are reckoned even supe- rior to those of Yucatan, timber for ship building, ihe mahogany of Panama, better and more beautiful than that of Guatimala or New Spain, chocolate and cacao, from the borders of the great river Magdalena, and the marshes ot Guayaquil; excellent cotton, some tobacco, cochineal, coffee, and medicinal drugs, amongst which are the celebrated cinchona, or Jesuits bark, and contra- yerva. The mines of New Granada are however the objects of the grestest importance to its commerce. It may be said, that this kingdom is as rich in mineral treasures as any of the Spanish trans- atlantic colonies. In the provinces of Antioquia and Choco, it is alone richer in gold than any other, and the silver procured here is remarkably pure ; lead and copper are also found, but little sought after; emeralds and other precious stones are sent to Eu- rope. Platina, that valuable metal, was long thought to be pecu- liar to the province of Choco. Merpury, so useful in a mining country, has been lately discovered to exist in the province of An- tioquia, in the valley de Santa Rosa, in the mountains of Quindiu, and near the village of Cuen^a, in the province of Quito. Salt is obtained in great quantity, and the kingdom produces many other valuable mineral substances. Cassava or manioc root, and maize, form the bread of the In- dians. European wheat is cultivated by the Spaniards and their descendants, and the tropical and European plants and vegetables are produced in as much abundance as they are in New Spain. The rivers and lakes are well stored with fish, and the woods and plains with game. The animals are such as are common to all South America, and will be noticed in the provincial descriptions; in this kingdom the inhabitants breed immense numbers of horses and mules, which they sell in Peru. The native Indians are divided into numerous tribes, which in- 164 bOUTII AMERICA. habit the provinces, and the wide-spread forests and savannahs, between the Andes and the Portuguese dominions. When this country was first conquered by Benalcazar and Ximenes de Quesada, they were very numerous, and those who inhabited the ridges of the Andes were nearly as far advanced in improvement and civilisation, as the Mexicans and Peruvians ; from both of whom they were however totally distinct, being unknown to the former, and but recently subjugated by the latter. They defend- ed themselves with great perseverance and resolution against the Spaniards, and it was very long before they were totally subdued. Of all the tribes who then inhabited this country, the people of Quito and the Moscas, or Muyscas, were the most civilised and the most numerous. The traditions of the Muyscas reached to very early ages, and the most remarkable point in their history was the mysterious appearance of their great legislator Bochica, son of the Sun, who came suddenly amongst them whilst they were dis- puting about who should be their king. He is represented as a white man, clothed in long garments, with a venerable beard, who having patiently listened to the contending parties, advised them to choose Huncahua, which they accordingly did ; and this chief subdued the country extending from the plains of San Juan, to the mountains of Opon. Bochica lived amongst them two thousand years, and then suddenly disappeared near the town called Hunca, since named by the Spaniards, Tunja. The kingdom of Hunca- hua was called Cundinamarca, and the ruler had the title of zaque, analogous to that of inca among the Peruvians ; but the high priest who succeeded Bochica was in fact the supreme governor ; and his authority has aptly been compared to that of the Tartarian Lama. The other princes, or chiefs of tributary tribes, were cal- led zippas. Bochica invented the calendar of the Muyscas, and regulated all their festivals ; he divided the day and night into four parts. Their week he made of three days, and the year was separated into moons ; the common year consisting of twenty moons, whilst that of the priests, by which the festivals were re- gulated, contained thirty-seven ; and twenty years formed a cycle. The language of the Muyscas, which has been grammaticised by Bernardo de Luga, is now nearly extinct. It is called the Chibcha, and has neither the / or d; its chief characteristic being the frequent repetition of the syllables, c/za, che^ cliu ; they had words to express the ten numerals, beyond which they added the word foot, (counting by the toes in addition.) These people were sanguinary in their worship of Bochica and the gods. At the end of every fifteen years, they sacrificed a boy, who had been previously educated in the chief temple until he was fifteen. On this occasion, the priests led the victim with much NEW GRANADA. leS' ceremony to a column erected in a sacred spot, to which they bound him, and in the presence of the assembled nation, he was despatched by the arrows of the warriors, after which, his heart was torn out, and offered on the altars of Bochica. They appear to have known the use of a rude sort of dial, by the columns which were erected in various places, and to one of which, the boy victim was always attached ; they had also attain- ed some knowlege in sculpture, as their calendar was engraved on a stone, and other specimens of the progress they had made in this art have been occasionally found. The ancient state of the town of Quito, and first discoveries and settlements of the southern and eastern regions of New Grana- da, by Benalcazar and his followers, will be treated of under the head of the presidency of Quito. Climate. — The climate of New Granada presents great variety ; the elevated Cordillera of the Andes, and the eternal snows which cap its summits, render this country, though it lies partly under the equator, subject to all the cold of the polar regions ; whilst on its low savannahs, the tropical heats are felt with all their ardour. The elevated plains between the ridges of the An- des, enjoy a temperate and unvariable climate, and it is in these delightful spots, that the European colonists have chiefly fixed their abodes. FEATURES OF THE COUNTRY. The great feature of the kingdom of New Granada or Santa Fe, is that amazing range of mountains denominated the Cordillera of the Andes^ which crosses the country from the south to the north, and as some of the most sublime scenes in that astonishing chain exist in this viceroyalty, a general description of the whole will be given here from the latest sources of information. The Andes run nearly parallel to the coast of the Pacific ocean, at the general distance of about 150 miles, and may be satisfactorily traced from the river Atrato, in 8° north latitude, on the isthmus> of Panama, as far south as cape Pilares, at the western entrance of the straits of Magellan, in 53° south latitude, being a length of 4200 miles. Their greatest altitude is conjectured to take place nearly under the equator, where the cone of Chimborazo rises to the amazing height of 7147 yards above the level of the sea, but they insensibly decrease in elevation towards the province of Da- rien, and in running through the isthmus of Panama are nearly lost ; after passing the province of Darien, they again begin to evince their majestic forms, and dividing North from South Ame- rica, enter the province of Veragua, pass to that of Costa Rica, and through the kingdom of Guatimala. where they again attain 166 SOUTH AMERICA. considerable elevation, and in which they are thickly set with vol- canic cones. Leaving Guatimala, the Andes ascend through the viceroyajty of New Spain, near the capital of which their summits are scarcely inferior to Chimborazo, and continuing their immense course, they pass the confines of New Spain, by the province of New Mexico ; entering a wild and unfrequented country, where the elevation of their peaks is still very great ; and they are supposed finally to lose themselves in the icy ocean of the Arctic regions. That part of the Andes which crosses New Spain and Guatimala has been already described. Three secondary chains are thrown out in the known parts of South America ; the first of these is in the kingdom of New Granada ; the second is known by the name of the Cordillera of the cataracts of the Orinoco ; and the third is the Cordillera of Chiquitos, which province it traverses. The first branch, or Cordillera of Nerv Granada and Caraccas^ liends eastward from the river Atrato, forming the Sierra of Abibe, and of Cauca, and the high plains of Tolu, and crosses the river Magdalena. It then forms a narrow chain along the coast to Cape Vela, where it separates into two parallel ridges ; but joining again, and forming lofty summits, it stretches along the whole govern- ment of the Caraccas, and loses itself in the Atlantic ocean, at the cape of Paria. Its highest points are in the provinces of Santa Martaand Merida. The Nevada of the former is 16,000 feet, and that of the latter 15,000 in altitude, and their heads constantly en- veloped in snow. These parallel ridges form vast plains between their summits, elevated to great heights above the sea ; the plain of the Caraccas being 2660 feet in height. The greatest elevation of the chain after it crosses the boundary between New Granada and the Caraccas is near the metropolis of the latter government, where the Silla de Caraccas raises itself to the height of 8420 feet, and forms an enormous and frightful precipice fronting the Ca- ribbean sea. In New Granada, the main chain also separates itself into par- allel ridges, three of which exist between 2° 30' and 5° 15' of north latitude. The eastern ridge divides the great river Magdalena from the plains of the Meta ; none of its summits are covered with snow. The central ridge separates the Magdalena from the Rio Cauca J this is the most lofty of the three, and its most elevated peaks enter the region of eternal frost ; the three highest are nam- ed ^uiJidhi^ Baragan^ and Guanacas. The western ridge separates the Rio Cauca from the province of Choco ; it attains scarcely 4500 feet in altitude, and nearly loses itself in the province of Darien. These three ridges unite in the district of Pastos in Popayan, and continue single till they have far past the equator ; when they again separate themselves *nto two parallel chains, in the province of Quito, by a valley near NEW GRANADA. 167 their summits. It is here that they are seen m their most sub- lime forms, Chvnborazo^ Pichincha^ Illinissa^ Antisano^ and Goto- paxi ascending to the very skies, their white cones being beauti- fully contrasted with the dark blue of the surrounding firmament. The second branch of the Andes, called the Cordillera of the Cataracts of the Orinoco extends itself from the great chain east- ward between the 3d and 6th degrees of north latitude, where the high plains of Tuquillo and St. Martin, with the peaks of Cana- vami and Umama are formed ; it contains the sources of the Gua- viari, the Meta, Zama, and Ymerida rivers, and forms the tremen- dous cataracts of JMa\pure and Ature ; beyond these it acquires still greater elevation, and occupies an immense space, stretching southward to the boundaries of the Portuguese dominions, where it is lost in vast and nearly impenetrable tracts of woody country, over which no European ever trod, as the tribes who inhabit the region are of a ferocious and sanguinary disposition. In this gloomy country exist the sources of the magnificent Orinoco, which have never been seen, either by the civilised Indians, or the Spa- niards.. 'I'he chain has again been observed issuing from forests farther to the eastward ; it is, however, neither so elevated nor so broad, and is called Sierra dc §huneropaca ^nd Pacarai77to, near the lake of Panm6 and the Amazons. It again extends its breadth a few degrees further east, and bends southwards along the Mao, where the hill of Ucucuamo, which being formed of shining yellow mica, deceived the venturous travellers, who fancied they at last found a mountain of gold. From this hill, called El Dorado, or the Golden Mountain, the branch stretches eastwards towards the mountains of French Guiana, where its form is little known, as the interior of that country is inhabited bv Caribs and negroes, who keep the settlers at bay. The rivers of Berbice, Surinam, Marony, and Essequibo rise in this part of the chain. The mountain of Diiida is the highest point which has yet been seen of the Cordillera of the Cataracts; this volcano has not hi- therto been explored, but its height has been found to be 8465 feet above the sea. The Cordillera of the Cataracts is remarkable for the abrupt de- scent of its southern face. It is said to exhibit no rock of secondary formntion, or to con- tain any petrifactions or organic remains, consisting only of gra- nite, gneiss, mica, slate, and hornblende ; this however applies on- ly to the part visited by M. de Humboldt, from the Rio Negro to the frontier of the Grand Para, a distance of 600 miles. The third great branch from the main body of the Andes, is that of Chiquitos^ between the 15th and 20lh degree of south lati- tude, which, sweeping from the main chain in a semicircular shape, traverses the province of the same name, connecting the heights ot Paraguay and La Plata with those of Chili and Peru. The great 168 SOtJXn AMERICA. rivers which fall into, and form parts of the La Plata and the Ma- ranon, rise in this branch, but as no satisfactory accounts of it have been published, it is impracticable to give any general description of its particular properties and forms. These branches form three immense plains between their bases, open to the southern Atlantic Ocean on the east, and shut out from the Pacific by the great trunk of the Andes on the west ; the most northerly is the Savannah^ or Plain of the Orinoco^ noted for its luxuriant herbage, and possessing only a few scattered trees. The plain of the Amazons^ or Maranon^ succeeds to that of the Orinoco on the opposite side of the central branch. On this widely extend- ed tract, forests, coeval with the soil they are nourished by, extend their gloomy and nearly impenetrable fastnesses, inhabited only by tribes of savage and wandering Indians, whose ferocity allies them to the beasts of prey which roam in every part of the savannahs of the Maranon. The third great plain is that distinguished by the appellation of the Pampas^ or the Plains of the La Plata^ resembling in some mea- sure the valley of the Orinoco, being covered with a strong and luxuriaM growth of herbage, and occupied by countless herds of wild cattle, which are hunted solely for the sake of their hides, these forming one of the chief articles of the export trade of the viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres. The mother chain of the Andes is rich beyond description in metallic productions, and furnishes several sorts of the precious stones ; but with all this profusion of treasure, it contains within its bosom the materials of destruction ; earthquakes of the most tremendous nature swallow whole cities, the activity of the internal fires frequently destroys entire mountains, and leaves sheets of wa- ter in their place, by which provinces are devastated, and thousands of the animal creation destroyed. Forty volcanoes have been count- ed from Cotopaxi to the shores of the Straits of Magellan, that dis- charge lava, enormous rocks, showers of ashes, great quantities of water, liquid mud, sulphur, or devastating blasts of heated air from their craters. The most striking features of the southern Ancles are these vol- canic cones, whose flanks, beset with frightful crevices of immea- surable depth, are crossed by the fearless natives, by means of pen- dulous bridges, formed of the fibres of equinoxial plants. Over these frail and tremulous passages, the natives carry the traveller in a chair attached to their backs, and bending forward the body, they move with a swift and equal step; but when they reach the centre, the oscillation of the bridge is so great, that were they to stop, inevitable destruction must ensue ; the native and his burden would be dashed to the bottom of a precipice to whose profound depth the eye can hardly reach. These bridges are, from the nature of their materials, frequent- NEW GRANADA. 169 Iv out of repair, presenting to the shuddering European, who vi- sits these countries, frightful chasms, over which the Indians step with undaunted confidence. Volcanoes and crevices are not the only surprising circumstances which attract the notice of the ad- venturous traveller ; cataracts of magnificent forms are every where observed, that of Tequcndama^ near the city of Santa Fe, dashing a volume of water from the plains of Bogota, through an opening in the Cordillera, to the depth of six hundred feet, into a dark and unfathomable gulf. In these mountains, the largest rivers in the world derive their sources ; the La Plata, the Maranon, and the Orinoco ; of which, as well as of some of the peculiar scenery of the Andes, we shall treat more at large in the local descriptions of the governments and provinces of South America. Resuming the subject of the present section, we shall describe the capital of the kingdom of New Granada. Capital. — The metropolis of the viceroyalty of Santa Fe, or New Granada, is the city of Santa Fe de Bogota., in north latitude 4° 6', and w'est longitude 78° 30', near the river Funza, or Pati. It was founded in 1538 by Ximenes de Quesada when he conquer- ed the tribes who then inhabited this country. Santa Fe is situated in a spacious and hixuriant plain to the east of the great chain of the Andes, and between it and its first paral- lel branch ; though only four degrees from the equator, the eleva- tion of 8694 feet above the level of the sea renders its climate rather cold. The city is large, and handsomely built, contain- ing four great squares, with wide, regular and well laid out streets. Two small rivers, the San Francisco, and San Augustin, run through the town, and join the main stream of the Funza at a short distance ; over these rivulets, five handsome bridges are erected. The cathedral is a magnificent structure, and forms the chief orna- ment of the place, which also contains three other churches, eight convents, four nunneries, and an hospital ; the imiversity was founded in the year 1610, since which time two colleges have been endowed for public education ; and a library was established in 1772. Besides the above mentioned churches, there ai^e several others, as well as numerous chapels, all of which are tolerably well built. There is also a royal mint, several courts of justice, and state offices, necessary for the government of the viceroyalty. The city is governed by six regidores and two alcaldes, with some subordinate officers ; their jurisdiction extending over fifty- two villages in the neighbourhood, which are divided into seven districts. The inhabitants, amounting to 30,000, are in general not very wealthy, and most of them are occupied in the internal trade of the country. They are represented as possessing agreea- ble manners, and much good sense, combined with a considerable degree of industry ; the latter quality is manifested by the appear- ance of the plain surrounding the city, which thev take so much Y ' 17C i,DUTH AMERICA. )iains with, as to cause it to produce two harvests in the year. The elevation of this plain renders the temperature of the air so equable, that the Bogotians enjoy a perpetual spring. The viceroy of New Granada has a palace in Bogota, which is also the seat of the archbishopric, founded by Pope Julius III. in ;!554, and the court of the royal audience of Santa Fe. In the environs are some mines of gold, as well as of Peruvian emeralds ; salt and coal are found also in considerable quantities, but the dif- ficulty of carriage renders the latter very expensive. The cataract of the Tequendama, by which the river Punza joins the Great Magdalena, is the most noted object in the sur- rounding country. The Funza or Bogota, after receiving the wa- ters of the numerous small rivers which flow through the great plain, is about 140 feet in breadth, a short distance above the fall ; approaching the crevice through which it dashes, its breadth is diminished to thirty-five, when, with accumulated force, it rushes down a perpendicular rock at two bounds, to the astonishing depth of 600 feet, into a dark, unfathomable gulf, out of which the river again issues under the name of Rio Meta, and continues its course, by an immense descent, till it joins the great river Mag- dalena. In the fall of this river may be observed a strange variety of climate. The plain of Bogota is covered with crops of wheat, with oaks, elms, and other productions of a temperate region. At the foot of the fall are seen the palms of the equinoxial low-lands. The face of the rock, Avhich finishes and borders the vast plain of Bogota, near the cataract, is so steep, that it takes three hours to descend from the river Funza to the Rio Meta ; and the basin or gulf cannot be approached very close, as the rapidity of the wa- ter, the deafening noise of the fall, and dense mass of vapour, render it iiTjpossible to get nearer the edges of the abyss than four or five hundred feet. The loneliness of the spot, the dreadful noise, and the beauty of the vegetation, render this situation one of the wildest and most picturesque scenes that are to be observed in the Andes. When Quesada first arrived at Bogota, he discovered that the inhabitants, whom we have spoken of under the name of Muyscas, were rapidly approaching to civilisation. The xaque or prince was absolute ; his people carried him about in a sort of palanquin, attended by his guards and courtiers ; whilst flowers were strewn along the ground over which he was to pass. They never ap- proached hira but with an averted countenance, as if they imagin- ed that he was a divinity, in whose face they dared not look. These people subsisted chiefly by agriculture, were clothed in cotton garments, and lived in regular society. Crimes were pun- ished by judges appointed to watch over them, and they possessed property independent of each other, on which taxes were levied ]SfEW GRANADA. 171 for the support of the government. They had temples, altars, priests and sacrifices, but their religion, which consisted in the adoration of the sun, moon, Bochica, his descendants, and the evil deities, was intermixed with barbarous and bloody ceremo- nies ; they resembled the Mexicans, with whom they had no con- nexion, in a particular point of these immolations ; the heart of the living victim was torn out, and supposed to be the most grate- ful offering to their gods. One of their notions of the power of Bochica, and of the forma* tion of the moon, is singular ; and as it relates to the cataract of the Tequendama, we shall give it at length. In remote times, when the sun alone gave the earth light, and the people of the plain of Bogota were savage barbarians, an old man, totally unlike the natives, suddenly appeared amongst them from the east, with a white beard and flowing garments. This was Bochica. He instructed them in agriculture, &c., and with him came a woman, who, as well as himself, had three names, one of which was Chia ; she was very beautiful, very malevolent, and overturned every thing Bochica attempted ; by her magic sh6 swelled the rivers and overflowed the plain, so that the people, with the exception of a few, who escaped to the mountains, perished in the waters. Bochica, exasperated at her conduct, drove Chia from the earth, and she became the moon. He then, by the mighty force of his arm, broke a passage through the rocks, and constitu- ted the fall of the Tequendama, by which means the lake formed by Chia was drained ; and the plain of Bogota rendered more fer- tile and beautiful than it had been before. The appearance of the plain of Bogota at this moment justifies the tradition of its having been formerly a lake ; low summits ap= pear here and there like islets ; and the whole plain is rendered marshy by the numerous streams which cross it in every direction^ In the kingdom of New Granada there are t0UIH AMERICA. Mompox^ in 9° 19' north latitude, 74° 11' west longitude, which is the most important town of Carthageila next to its capital, and is situated on the JVIagdalena, 110 miles south-south-east of Car- thagena, with a custom-house and fine quay built very high, on account of the periodical rises of the river in December, the floods then extending twelve or thirteen feet higher than its usual level. Mompox is about seven leagues above the confluence of the rivers Magdalena and Cauca. Tolu^ a small sea-port town, having a convenient harbour on the Spanish main, or gulf of Uraba, in 9° 32' north latitude, 75° 30' west longitude. In the environs of this town are found the trees which produce the balsam of Tolu, so excellent in pectoral com- plaints. Tolu is fifty miles south of Carthagena. St. Sebastian de BueJiavista., was formerly a tov.^n of much im- portance, but now decayed ; it is situated 140 miles south-south- west of Carthagena, at the entrance of the Gulf of Darien. Bara?icas^ or Baranca del MalambOy a small sea-port near the estuary of the great river Magdalena, with a good harbour. This place has some commerce with the neighbouring ports, being a sort of magazine for the goods coming down the river from the interior ; a branch of the river leading to Santa Marta, by which merchandise is transported thither. The principal article of its ex- port consists in salt, plenty of which is procured close to the town. Barancas is twenty-five miles from Carthagena, in 11° 40' north latitude, and 74° 30' west longitude. Santa Maria^ thirty-two miles west of Carthagena. Piiebla de Samba or Zamba^ and Zinii^ are sea-ports in the great gulf of Darien, noted for the fertility of the country which sur- rounds them. Gitanioco, on the southern boundaries of the province, thirty-five miles north of Santa Fe de Antioquia; and. The village of Turbaco, which is known from the circumstances of its being the resort of Europeans, who, arriving at Carthagena, find the summer heats too oppressive. This village, which is small, is situated a short distance inland from the capital, on the summit of d mountain nearly 980 feet above the level of the sea, at the en- trance of a majestic forest of immense extent. The houses are built of bamboos, covered with palm leaves, and are plentifully supplied with water from numerous springs. The gardens are ornamented with beautiful trees and plants, and the whole place is so delightfully situated, and the air in general so cool, that it may be termed the paradise of Carthagena. It is also renowned for a singular marsh in its neighbourhood, which is embosomed amid a forest of palms, tolu trees, SiC, having some little conical mounts rising twenty or thirty feet higher than the level of the swamp. They are eighteen or twenty in number, each one is formed of blackish clay, and has a small crater filled with water at its apex. NEW GRANADA. 187 On approaching this pool a hollow moaning sound is heard at intervals, followed in fifteen or eighteen seconds, by an explosion of gas. Five of these detonations happen in about two minutes, frequently accompanied with an ejection of muddy water. These cones are called Los Volcanitos de Turbaco, and are situated about three miles and a half east of the village, at the elevation of more than 160 feet above it. The people say that the plain for- merly sent forth flames, but that a priest of great sanctity, suc- ceeded by frequently casting holy water towards it, in extinguish- ing the fire, after which it became a water volcano. PROVINCE OF SANTA MARTA. The province of Santa Marta is divided from that of Cartha- gena by the great river Magdalena ; it is bounded on the north by the Spanish Main, or Caribbean sea; on the east by Maracaybo, and the Rio de la Hacha, on the south by Santa Fe, and west by Carthagena ; its extent is about 300 miles, whilst its breadth is on- ly 200. The discovery of this country dates from the third voyage of Columbus in 1497, when he explored the coast of the Spanish Main to Cape Vela. This province was included in the grant made to Alonzo de Ojeda, his patent giving him authority over all the country situa- ted between the Gulf of Darien, and cape de la Vela, consequently including Darien, Carthagena, Santa Marta, and Maracaybo ; these were then designated under the general name of New Andalusia. His predecessor, Rodrigo de Bastidas, was as unfortunate as himself, for in 1524 he was murdered in his bed, by Pedro de Villaforte, one of his companions, because he would not allow his soldiers to plunder a certain Indian town. Pedro de Lugo, and his son Don Alfonso, succeeded Bastidas, but committed such crimes, that their authority soon ended. The first regular system of government on this coast, was that of Pedro Arias de Avila, in 1514, but as no colonies were plant- ed by him in Santa Marta, we must pass to that of Villaforte, which we have just mentioned ; and as he pi^oved unsuccessful, to that of Don Ximenes de Quesada, the conqueror of New Granada, who made this province the rallying place of his troops. The climate is not so unhealthy or hot as that of Carthagena ; the heat being moderated by the winds, which blow over the cold mountains of the Sierra de Abibe, and the Nevada of Santa Marta, whose summits reach far beyond the lower term of perpetual con- gelation. The whole country of Santa Marta is full of lofty and imprac- ticable mountains, which form part of the branch of the Caraccas ; it produces some cotton, tobacco, palm wine, cacao, Brazil-wood, 188 SOUTH AMERICA. sugar, vanilla and maize, and a peculiar tree, whose unctuous leaves afford a substance used by the natives, as soap. The mines are of very little importance ; some gold is found in the river Ariguana, ninety miles from the capital ; and at the vil- lage of Ocana copper ores are dug up. The pearl fishery was formerly carried on at Carrizal, about forty miles east of the chief city, and was very productive. It is still followed on different parts of the coast, and yields some ex- cellent pearls ; but the undertaking appears to be badly conducted. The valleys feed immense quantities of cattle, which are killed and salted for exportation ; some mules are also reared. The great features of the province of Santa Marta are the enor- mous height of its mountains, the most elevated of which is 16,000 feet above the level of the Caribbean sea, from which it is visible, and it is said to discharge streams of boiling sulphureous water from the crevices in its sides. Long and very narrow vales, covered with thick forests, are formed by the Cordillera of Santa Marta ; these vales usually run from north to south ; at Cape Vela the mountains divide into two parallel ridges, forming three other valleys, ranging from east to west, and appearing to have been the beds of ancient lakes. The northern of these two ridges is the continuation of the Sierra Ne- vada of Santa Marta ; and the southern that of the snowy summits of the province of Merida; they are again united by two arms, which prevented to all appearance, the issue of the waters in their vicinity. These three valleys extend to an immense distance, and are remarked for rising like steps one above the other, and for their elevation above the sea j that of Caraccas, the most easterly, is the highest, being 2660 feet ; the next, or basin of Aragua, is 1530 ; and the third, the reedy plain of Monai, or the Llanos, is only 5 or 600 feet above the level of the sea. The water of the lake of the plain of Caraccas has been drained through a cleft or crevice, called the Quebrada of Tipe ; and the lake of Aragua appears to have gradually evaporated, leaving only ponds charged with mu- riate of lime, and small insulated masses of land. The Rio Grande de la Magdalena is a majestic navigable river, but of which there is at present very little known ; for although M. Bouguer, the celebrated mathematician, travelled along the greater part of its banks, he has left a very imperfect memorial on the subject : it is said to rise about thirty miles east of Popayan, near the sources of the Cauca, in 8 degrees south latitude ; and after a northerly course of immense length receives the latter ri- ver, with which it has flowed in nearly a parallel line on the oppo- site side of the same chain of mountains. The river Funza or Bogota, after quitting the fall of the Tequendama, rushes with impetuosity through a long course into the bosom of this fine river, which also receives many others, and united with the Cauca, near NEW GRANADA. 189 Mompox, pours the confluent waters into the Caribbean sea by several branches, the great or main channel being in 11° north latitude, and 74* 40' west longitude. The Magdalena is subject to overflow in the month of Decem- ber, at which time it rises thirteen or fourteen feet above the usual level at its mouth, and inundates and fertilises the adjacent lands ; thus the country near the ocean is a succession of extensive marshes, famous for the fine cacao produced in them. The mountains bordering this river near Honda, are remarka- ble for the horizontal situations of their strata, which are clearly seen, on account of the faces of the rocks being so perpendicular as to resemble walls ; when any of these hills are insulated, they form such a regular cone, and the strata are so uniformly and cy- lindrically disposed, that they seem rather the work of art than of nature. One of these exists about a league from Honda, on the road to Mariquita, and is of such an extraordinary shape, and so symmetrical, that M. Bouguer forbears describing it minutely, for fear of being thought to take the usual liberty imputed to travel- lers. Other mountains in the vicinity of this river assume the shapes of ancient and sumptuous edifices ; of chapels, domes, cas- tles and fortifications, consisting of long curtains surmounted with parapets. From the circumstance of the strata of all these corres- ponding in a singular manner, the celebrated savan^ above men- tioned, supposes that the valley must have been sunk by some sudden convulsion of nature, leaving the sides of those hills un- covered whose bases were of more solid materials than itself. The same thing is observable on the banks of the Orinoco, though nothing of the kind is to be seen in Peru, where nature is so infi- nitely varied in her Alpine scenery. Most of the rivers which fall into the Magdalena are rapid, on account of the vicinity of the Cordilleras on each side. It may be easily imagined such streams cannot be crossed with stone bridges, in consequence of the immense pressure of the water, and because of the volumes of rock and earth which they roll from the inte- rior. Bridges of most singular construction are therefore adopt- ed, to facilitate the land journey from Santa Marta or Carthagena ; roots of plants, twisted together into the form of cables, as thick as a man's thigh, are placed across the torrent ; two of these are laid parallel to each other, at about four or five feet distance, and stretched on each side over a trestle of wood, having a windlass at one end to tighten them ; over these cables are placed fascines, or branches of trees, and a little higher than the two bottom ropes, are fixed two slighter ones, in order to serve as balustrades. When a large river is crossed in this manner, the weight of the cables causes the bridge to form a considerable curve or concavit)', and the traveller arriving in the centre, experiences a very unpleasant, and sometimes dangerous oscillation. 190 SOUTH AMERICA. In Other places, three or four thongs of leather are plied into a rope, which being made fast on the most elevated bank of the tor- rent, is carried over, and secured on the lower shore, so as to form an angle of fifteen or sixteen degrees ; the passenger is sus- pended on the higher side to a sort of pulley formed by the bifur- cation of two branches of a tree ; the cord of leather is then tight- ened, and the traveller descends with such rapidity that sparks of fire are emitted from the pulley in consequence of the friction, and he is obliged to keep his head averted to prevent these sparks from falling in his eyes ; a man is however placed on the upper bank, holding a long cord, which is attached to the body of the passenger, to check the too great rapidity of the descent. Numbers of these flying machines, which are called tarabitas, are established on all the rivers connected with the Magdalena ; and for the convenience of travellers, going and coming, they are placed alternately, as close to each other as the higher and lower shores of the streams afford proper opportunities. The river Magdalena is infested with alligators, from eighteen to twenty feet in length, but they are said generally to fly from man, and only to attack him if they have by accident fed on hu- man flesh. In Santa Marta, and Carthagena, the banks of this river, which has been styled the Danube of New Granada, are famed for the excellent cacao they produce. The cacao, or chocolate tree, is a native of Spanish America, about the size of a middling apple- tree, seldom exceeding the diameter of seven inches, and is ex- tremely beautiful, when laden with its fruit, which are dispersed on short stalks over the stem and round the great branches, resem- bling citrons, from their yellow colour, and warty appearance. The leaves are alternate, stalked, drooping, about a foot long, and three inches broad, elliptic-oblong, pointed, slightly wavy, entire, and very smooth on both sides ; with one mid-rib, and many trans- verse ones, connected by innumerable veins. The petals of the flower are yellow, the calyx of a light rose-colour, and the flowers themselves are small and placed on tufts on the sides of the branches, with single foot-stalks about an inch long. Its fruit is red, or a mixture of red and yellow, and about three inches in diameter, with a fleshy rind half an inch thick ; the pulp is whitish, and of the consistence of butter, containing the seed of which chocolate is made ; these seeds are generally twenty-five in number in each fruit, and when fresh gathered, are of a flesh- colour, and form a nice preserve, if taken just before they ripen. Each tree yields about two or three pounds of fruit aimually, and comes to maturity the third year after planting from the seed ; it also bears leaves, flowers, or fruit, all the year round, the usual seai;ons for gathering being June and December. NEW GRANADA. 191 In making chocolate, the seeds or kernels are first roasted, and then pulverised by mills or pounders ; after Avhich the fine pow- der is wrought into a paste with milk, orange-water, vanilla, spices, sugar, &c., and formed into cakes for sale. So great is the demand for the chocolate of the Magdalena, that enough cannot be raised in the provinces above-mentioned, to sup- ply the market, and they are obliged to import the cacao of the Caraccas and Guiana, in order to mix them with it. The excel- lence of the Magdalena chocolate, may be attributed to the marshy nature of the soil, as the plant never thrives where the ground is hard and dry, and they require to be shaded by other trees from the sun ; and their branches, Avhich commence from the ground, must never be allowed to exceed four or five, otherwise the fruit would not have sufficient nourishment. Weeds and shrubs must also be cleared away carefully from its roots, in order that it may derive as much humidity from the soil as possible. The other productions of this province are similar to those of Carthagena. The government of Santa Marta contains from 250 to 300,000 souls. Capital. — The chief city of this province is Santa Marta^ 100 miles north-east of Carthagena, in 11° 19' 2" north latitude, 74" 4' 30" west longitude, with a very large and convenient harbour, which is protected by lofty ridges, and has in front a round hill defending it on the side of the snowy mountains. This city, founded in 1554, was made the magazine of Ximenes de Quesa- da, from whence he explored and conquered New Granada. Sir Francis Drake reduced the place to ashes in 1596. The harbour has two forts for its defence, but the town has considerably declin- ed of late years, having only a trifling trade with Carthagena. and the other Spanish ports. The climate, though exceedingly hot, is not so unhealthy as that of Carthagena ; and the town is supplied with excellent water by the river Guayra, which pas- ses close to it ; the banks of this stream are adorned with beau- tiful trees, and are very fertile. Santa Marta is a bishop's see. The other towns of most note are, Puebla Cordova^ a small town on the coast, 20 miles south of Santa Marta. Puebla Nuevtty also a small town, 62 miles south of the capital. Teneriffe^ in 10° 2' north latitude, 74° 30' v/est longitude, 80 miles south-south-west of the capital. Ocana^ or Santa Antia, is a little town, near which copper is found, and situated on the Rio de Oro, 220 miles south of Santa Marta, in 7° 50° north latitude, 73° 26' west longitude. Puebla de los Reyes^ and Tamalameque^ are two other small towns of the province, which also includes a district named Rio de la Ha- :ha^ of which the chief town is Hacha. This district bounds the province of Maracaybo in Caraccas on the west. The town of Ha^ 192 SOiriH AMERICA. cha is situated in 11' 28' north latitude, 72° 46' west longitude, 210 miles east-north-east of Carthagena, on a river of the same name, and close to its junction with the Caribbean sea ; this river is navi- gable for light vessels, but the harbour is exposed to the north winds. Gold and precious stones are occasionally discovered in the district which bears the same name, the interior of which is covered with forests, and infested with jaguars and other wild beasts. The trade of this port, as well as that of Santa Marta, has been mentioned in treating of the commerce of Carthagena. The neighbourhood of Rio de la Hacha is inhabited by a tribe of warlike and unsubdued Indians, called the Goahiros ; their terri- tory extending from the river La Hacha, to the province of Mara- caybo along the coast for more than ninety miles, and equally far into the interior of the country. The Spaniards have found it impracticable to reduce this nation, but missionaries have endeavoured to convert them without much effect. They are supposed to be the most ferocious race of the South American aborigines ; and to amount, on a moderate com- putation, to 30,000 souls, being governed by a cacique, who lives in a fortified town on the summit of a small hill, called the Pap, or La Teta, some miles from the sea. The number of wild horses in this country is so great, that all their warriors are mounted, and armed with carabines and bows. They have been supplied with fire-arms by the contraband traders from Jamaica, with whom they carry on a very great traffic, particularly in time of war. Their principal aggressions are made on the Maracaybo side, so that the settlers in that province are obliged to be constantly on their guard. When they are inclined to barter with the Spaniards, they carry their goods to Rio de la Hacha, for which place they set out in bands accompanied by their women and children, who are the bear- ers of the merchandise, which is chiefly exchanged for spirituous liquors, as they are so fond of these, that when they commit hos- tilities upon the settlers, the usual present to appease them con- sists of brandy. Very few Spaniards dare to traverse this country, although the Goahiros frequent many of the Spanish towns. I'he English from the West India islands are the people they most respect, and with whom their chief connexions are formed ; they are supplied by them with arms, ammunition and clothing, for which they return pearls, dye-woods, horses, oxen and mules. Feathers, and shining metals form the chief ornaments of the dress of these people, who are also very fond of displaying golden- nose-rings, ear-rings and bracelets. It is said that the Goahiros are so exceedingly savage, that even the English will not venture much on shore, but carry on their traffic on board their vessels, and depart the moment it is conclu- ded. Ships which have the misfortune to be cast away on their NEW GRANADA. 19.3 coast, immediately become the prey of these Indians, who massa- cre the crews, and feed on their flesh. The Cocinas are another small nation, on the eastern part of the territory of the Goahiros, but are so pusillanimous, or probably so very infei-ior in strength, that the latter govern them with absolute power, and use them for slaves. Besides these tribes, there are many others, who inhabit the pro- vince of Santa Marta and those adjoining, but little is known of their numbers, manners, customs, or even in some instances of their names. PROVINCE OF MERIDA. Merida is bounded on the north by Maracaybo ; east by Ve- nezuela ; west by Santa Marta : and south by Santa Fe and Juan de los Llanos. Its great feature consists in the amazing elevation of a branch from the chain of the Andes, which entirely pervades this province on its western side, rising beyond the lower period of perpetual snow, and to the height of 15,000 feet above the level of the sea. The direction, &c. of this branch has been described in the gene- ral form of the Andes. The climate of this province is very variable, on account of the vicinity of the snowy mountains and the unequal heights of the land ; and when the westerly winds prevail, febrile diseases are common. The rainy season lasts from March to November, during which time the water descends in torrents ; and rains are also frequent, but not so heavy in the other months. Very little is ascertained concerning the interior of this coun- try, but it produces maize, beans, peas, potatoes, cassada, wheat of the finest quality, barley, rye, &c. as well as the Tropical and European fruits in great plenty; also containing several plantations of sugar, cacao, and cofiee ; and the cattle are in such numbers, that meat is purchased at a very moderate price. The Rio Apure, and some other rivers of considerable size, either rise or receive their tributary streams from the mountains of Merida, watering in their courses immense tracts of level and fertile land, which also extend from these mountains to the vicinity of the Orinoco. Capital. — The chief city of the province is Merida^ from which the whole district has taken its name ; this city is situated in 8° 10' north latitude, and 73° 45' west longitude, twenty-five leagues south-east of Varinas, 80 leagues south of Maracaybo, and 140 leagues south-east of Leon de Caraccas. It is the see of a bishop, and the residence of the governor, and is seated in a valley, three leagues long, and three quarters of a league in breadth, surrounded Bb 194 iOUTH AMERICA. by lofty mountains. This vale is peculiarly productive in the ne- cessaries and luxuries of life ; and contains three rivers, the Mu- cujun, Albaregas, and Chama, which encompass the city, but are none of them navigable. The chief plantations of the province are at a short distance from the capital, where a college and seminary for the priests is established, in which the inhabitants are educated ; besides these buildings, are a handsome cathedral and three convents, with se- veral chapels. The population of Merida amounts to upwards of 11,000, com- posed of Spaniards, mestizoes, mulattoes, &c. The whites are chiefly employed in agricultural pursuits, and the people of colour in the manufacture of articles of cotton, and woollens. This city was founded under the name of Santiago de los Ca- balleros, in 1558, by Juan Rodrigo Suarez; and at the period when the late dreadful earthquake overwhelmed the city of Caraccas, it shared the same fate, and was nearly destroyed, but has since been rebuilt, and become more populous than before. Pampeluna^ or Pamplona^ is another town of the province of Merida towards its southern boundaries, in 6° 30' north latitude, and T\° 36' west longitude. In its neighbourhood some gold is occasionally found. This place is 170 miles north-north-east of Santa Fe de Bogota. St, Christoval is also another town, situated between the tM'O latter, and La Grita is fifty miles south-south-west of Merida, where there is a chain of mountains called by the same name. TROVINCE OF SAN JUAN DE LOS LLAKOS. Tins province, which is the most easterly one of the kingdom of New Granada, is bounded on the north by Varinas and Meri- da ; on the east by Varinas ; on the west by Santa Fe and Popayan, and south by the government of Quixos. Its limits are not accu- rately defined, the name signifying the Province of the Plains, which extend their dreary surfaces to an immense length in these regions; some of those on which numerous herds of cattle are fed being more than 2 or 300 leagues in length. The capital of this province is the town of San Juan de los Llanos, at the distance of fifty miles east-south-east of Santa Fe de Bogota, in 3° north latitude, 73° 26' west longitude. It was formerly celebrated for the gold found in its neighbourhood. This town was founded in 1555, and contains very few inhabitants. In this province are several missions, established by the monks of Santa Fe de Bogota and the Jesuits ; but very little is known concerning them, being chiefly establishments for the conversion of the different scattered tribes which roam over the country in- tercepted between the Andes and the Orinoco. 'JEW ghanada. 195 The I^io Meta, the Vichada, the Casanare, and several other fine streams flow through these plains, many of them taking their rise in the main chain of the Andes, and others in the branch call- ed the Cordillera of the cataracts of the Orinoco. The northern portion of the Llanos is sometimes styled the pro- vince of Casanare^ of which Pore is the chief town, situated in a hot climate and unhealthy situation ; but its territory produces cacao, -xnaize, yuccas, plantains, &c. and it has some trade in dressed leather, manufactured by the inhabitants from the skins of the numerous herds of cattle which feed in the plains, and from those of the venados or deer, with which the province abounds. The rivers and lakes furnish abundance of fish, and are the means of transporting the goods of New Granada to Caraccas and Guiana. The city of Pore or San Josef de Pore^ is 133 miles north- east of Santa Fc de Bogota ; 82 south of Pamplona, and in 5° 40' north latitude, 72" 13' west longitude ; containing about 500 inha- bitants. The other places in the province or district of Casanare are chiefly missionary, and other villages, along the banks of the rivers which flow from the Andes of New Granada to the Orinoco. PROVINCE OF SANTA FE'. Santa Fe' or Santa Fe de Bogota, is bounded on the north by Santa Marta and Merida ; on the east by the lofty summits of the eastern part of the Cordillera of the Andes, and the province of San Juan de los Llanos ; south by Popayan ; and west by Santa Fe de Antioquia. This province, which is exceedingly mountainous, is situated in the very centre of the viceroyalty of New Granada, on the west of the eastern branch or parallel of the main chain of the Andes, and on both sides of the great river Magdalena, which pervades the whole province from south to north. The highest summits of this eastern branch are the Paramo de la Summa Paz, and that of Chingasa: it divides the valley of the river Magdalena from the plains washed by the Meta and the Casanare. None of the sum- mits of the chain of Santa Fe de Bogota, attain the regions of eter- nal snows, although they approach very near to it. The western slope of this chain is broken into numberless elevated plains and peaks, intersected with crevices of the most tremendous appear- ance.. The city of Santa Fe', which being the capital of the king- dom, has been already described, is situated to the west of the Paramo of Chingasa, at a great elevation ; on the western declivity of which is the celebrated fall of the Tequendama. The outlets from Popayan or Quito to Santa F^, are by means of roads tra- 196 ^OUfll AMERICA. versing an assemblage of broken ground ; and the pass of the Pa- ramo de Guanacas, which lies across the Cordillera of Antioquia, is the most frequented, from which the traveller crosses the Mag- dalena, and arrives at the metropolis by Tocayma and Meza, or the natural bridges of Icononzo. These bridges are however not much frequented excepting by the Indians and travellers whose curiosity inspires them to venture in such desolate regions ; they are the formation of Nature's ever varying hand, and are situated west of the Summa Paz, in the direction of a small river which rises in the mountain of that name. This torrent rolls through a deep and narrow valley, which would have been inaccessible, but for the arches thrown across it in so wonderful a manner. The little village of Pandi is the nearest inhabited place to this pass, being a quarter of a league distant, and the whole road from the capital is one of the most difficult in the Andes. The crevice of Icononzo is in the centre of the valley of Pandi, and appears to have been formed by some convulsion of nature, which has rent asunder the mountain ; at the height of near 300 feet above the torrent (which forms beautiful cascades, on entering and quitting the crevice) are seated these extraordinary bridges, one under the other, the breadth of the upper one being about forty feet, and its length upwards of fifty, composed of solid rock in the form of an arch, seven or eight feet thick at its centre. Below this and rather advanced on one side of it, at the depth of sixty feet, is another bridge formed still more singularly, for as the mountain appears to have been rent away or drawn from the upper, the in- ferior one seems to have fallen from the mountain, and three enor- mous masses of rock have descended from the opposite sides of the chasm in such a manner that the upper mass forms the key of the other two. This lower bridge cannot be visited without much risk, as a narrow path alone leads to it along the brink of the pre- cipice. In the centre is a hole, through which the abyss below can be seen, and numberless flights of nocturnal birds are observed hovering over the water, which flows through so dark a cavern that the sides cannot be distinguished. The rivers of Santa Fe are very numerous, but most of them are innavigable on account of the great declivity of the land towards the Magdalena. The Suarez, the Galinazo or Sogamozo^ the Rio Negro^ and the Bogota^ or Funza^ are the chief streams, which, rising in the east- ern Cordillera, descend into and swell the Magdalena. Lake Guatavita may be considered as one of the curiosities of this province, it is situated on the ridge of the Zipaquira moun- tains, north of the capital, in a wild and solitary spot, at the height of more than 8700 feet above the sea. It is a small oval piece of water, in a deep hollow of the same form, round which are cut ranges ef steps, reaching to the brink of the lake, having served, NEW GRANADA. 197 most probably, for some religious ceremonies in use among the an- cient possessors of this country. As it was supposed that a great quantity of treasure had been thrown into this lake, when Quesada conquered the kingdom of Cundinamarca, the Spaniards attempted to cut a canal through the mountain of which its banks are composed, in order to drain off the waters, but their design does not appear to have succeeded, for after considerable excavations, it has been left off at little more than half the requisite depth. This province was conquered, as has been already mentioned, by Gonzalo Ximenes de ^esada, who was sent in 1536, by Fer- nando de Lugo, Admiral of the Canaries, from Santa Marta to discover the countries along the banks of the great river Magda- lena. Ximenes travelled along the left bank of this river, meeting with great difficulties on account of the thickness of the forests, and the number of torrents and rivers he had to cross, which were frequently bordered with marshes and swamps nearly impassable. He was also constantly attacked by the numerous tribes of In- dians, who wandered about these deserts ; but overcame all these difficulties by perseverance and ardour, and by shewing a good example of personal fortitude, and disregard of danger to his fol- lowers. He at last came to a place called Tora, which he imme- ately called Puebla de los Brazos, on account of four rivers meet- ing there. At this place he raised huts and passed the winter with his men, having travelled by his own computation 150 leagues from the sea coast. In the spring, Quesada pursued his march, when the floods had abated, by going up the banks of another river, until he arrived at the foot of the lofty mountains of Opon, which were fifty leagues in breadth, steep and desert ; passing these heights, they arrived in a plain country,, well cultivated, and where they procured a great deal of salt from some springs. From these springs, they advanced into the province or kingdom of a powerful chief, named Bogota, whom they defeated after some actions. The towns and villages belonging to this chief contained many articles of value, among which, gold and emeralds were procured in abundance ; and after plundering these people, the troops of Quesada marched into the country of the Panchos, separated from Bogota by little hills, and entering a deep vale, fifteen leagues distant from a very high moun- tain, which was destitute of vegetation, and, on which they were informed the natives found their emeralds. Here Quesada pro- cured an immense booty of gold and precious stones. In three days subsequent marching, they overthrew two other chiefs ; and returning through Panchos to Bogota, forced the natives to submit and to make overtures for peace. The conqueror imagining that the adjacent country was sufficiently subdued, commenced the foundation of a city, which he named Santa Fe, (the present capi- 198 SOUTH AMERICA. tal) and because he was a native of the kingdom of Granada in Old Spain, he gave the name of New Kingdom of Granada to the districts which he had passed through. This title was, however, restricted for a long time to the country immediately in the neigh- bourhood of the capital, and New Granada embraced little more than the present province of Santa Fe. The state of the natives at the period of their subjugation, their civil and religious government, &c., has been already treated of; the province is noted at present for the production of a small quan- tity of gold, silver, gems, salt and coal, and for the fertility of the plain near the capital. The woods abound with game, wild beasts and birds ; the rivers with fish and alligators, and the plains breed numbers of horses and mules, which are exported to Peru. The towns of most note after the capital are, Honda^ San Gii^ Socorro^ Vetez^ Muzo^ Leiva^ Tiina^ Mariquita^ and Villa de la Pu- rijicacion ; which all lie in the different jurisdictions into which the province is divided. Honda is the first port on the upper part of the great river ; it is represented by M. Bouguer as a pleasant little town, " une petite ville tres ria«?^," lying in north latitude 5° 16', and 72° 36' 15" west longitude. The river is navigable for barks a great distance from Honda towards its sources, so that this town is the mart of the com- merce between the northern and southern provinces of New Granada. 3IariquJta is situated foui* leagues west-south-west of Honda, on the little river Guali, which passes through the latter place into the Magdalena. This town was formerly much celebrated for its gold mines, and its district contains at present, on the west, those of Bocaneme and San Juan de Cordova, with the mines of Hervi, Malpasso, Guarino, and Puano ; and on the east are the silver mines of Sta. Anna, Lojas, and Frias, the silver in these being mingled with the purest gold which is extremely difficult to sepa- rate from it. The town was formerly exceedingly rich and popu- lous, but owing to the want of exertion in the working of the mines, is now reduced to 300 inhabitants, and to comparative insignifi- cance. It is eighty miles south from Santa Fc, in 5" 16' north lati- tude, and 74° 6' west longitude. Mariquita is remarkable for having been the place where Xime- nes de Quesada, the conqueror of New Granada, died in the year 1597. His body was removed to the cathedral of the capital, where It is enclosed in a monument. Sa7i Gills a small town on the northern frontier, near the junc- tion of the rivers Sogamozo and Suarez, as is Socorro^ which lies a short distance south of San Gil, near the banks of the Suarez, and is 123 miles north-north-east of Santa Fe ; the inhabitants amounting to more than 3500. Felez is 100 miles north of Santa Fe, in 5° 50' north latitude and 73° 16' west longitude, on the river Suarez. . !^EW GRANADA. 199 Muzo is a small town near the banks of the IVIagdalena, and on those of the river Negro, which flows into the former. The Mu- zos or Musos, were, and still are, a race of Indians, who were noted for being at continual war with the Muyscas or Bogotians. Their country was extremely rich in emeralds, and is mountain- ous, hot and moist. They had a singular tradition, that there was in ancient times on the other side of the Magdalena, the shadow of a man called Ari, which amused itself with making wooden faces of men and women, casting them into the stream, from whence they issued in the form of human beings, and he taught them to cultivate the earth ; they then dispersed, and from this stock came the Indians who inhabit the surrounding regions. The Muzos had no gods, nor did they worship the sun and moon, as the Bogotians did ; as they said these bodies were crea- ted after the wooden faces, in order to give them light when they became living beings. Their marriage ceremonies were singular, the wife beating her husband during the honey-moon. Their dead were dried before a slow lire, and not buried till a year had passed after their demise; and the widow was obliged to cultivate the ground for her support until the interment, when her relations took her home. Leiva is a small town situate at the foot of the Paramo de Gua- cheneque, north of the capital. Villa de la Purijicacion is on the southern bounds of this pro- vince, on the west bank of the Magdalena. Tocaima is fifty-six miles west of the capital, at a little distance from the river Pati or Bogota, in 4° 16' north latitude, 74° 59' west longitude, and near the confluence of the Pati with the Magdalena. It was founded in 1544, in a bad situation, destitute of springs, ex- posed to violent heats, and infested with venomous creatures. It has however fertile plantations of cacao, tobacco, sugar, maize, yuccas, plantains and potatoes, and there are abundance of fish in the rivers Pati and Fusagasuga, which are however infested with alligators. The inhabitants are poor, and amount only to about 700. In its vicinity are some mines of copper, but these are at present un worked, Tunja or Tunia in 5° 5' north latitude, 72' 56' west longitude, sixty miles north-east of Santa Fe, is famous for the tradition con- cerning the disappearance of Bochica ; it was enlarged into a town by the Spaniards in 1539, and was formerly a very opulent place. The great church is so spacious that it might pass for a cathedral, and there are three convents of considerable dimensions remain- ing, but the present population of Tunja does not exceed 400 souls ; though it is the chief place of one of the districts, into ^'hich the province of Santa Fe is divided. 200 SOUTK AMERICA. PROVINCE OF SANTA FE DE ANTIO(^UIA. This province, also called Antioquia, is bounded on the north by Carthagena and Darien, east by Choco; west by Santa Fe ; and south by Popayan ; of which it is a district or government. It is famous for its mines of gold, &c., and consists almost en- tirely of mountainous land, having part of the central ridge of the Andes, which divides the valley of the Magdalena from that of the Cauca, within its limits. Quicksilver, that precious article, in a mining country, is occa- sionally discovered in Antioquia, as sulphuretted mercury is found in the valley de Santa Rosa on the east of the Rio Cauca. Gold is found in veins in micaceous slate at Buritoca San Pedro^ and Arenas^ but is not worked on account of the difficulty in pro- curing labourers, as the province is only accessible on foot ; gold is also collected in grains in great abundance on the alluvial grounds of the valley of Santa Rosa, the valley de la Trinidad^ and the valley de los Onos. It is chiefly found by negro slaves, em- ployed for that purpose, and sent to Mompox, which is the great mart where the gold found in this province is disposed of ; the gold of Antioquia is only of nineteen or twenty carats fineness, and it has been computed that 3400 marcs of this precious metal are annually exported. The silver of New Granada is chiefly produced in this province at Vega de Supia^ a mine which has been lately discovered twenty leagues from Carthago. The mountains of this country attain the greatest elevation of any of the three parallel chains in this part of the Andes. They reach the period of perpetual congelation, and in some of their summits greatly exceed it ; indeed the whole country is so thickly surrounded with these mountains, that those who are not strong enough to travel on foot, or dislike being carried on the backs of men, must pass their whole lives within its bounds. The capital of this province is Santa Fe de Antioquia, in 6* 48' north latitude, and 74° 36' west longitude ; but from the situation of the country, so little is known of it, that it is impossible to give any correct description. It was founded by Sebastian de Benal- cazar, in 1541, after he had conquered the country which was then inhabited by cannibals. The number of negroes who inhabit the gold district of the valley of Cauca, is said to be 8000, who are dispersed in small villages near the mining stations. PROVINCE OF CHOCO. This province, of which as little is known of its interior as of that of Antioquia, is bounded on the north by Darien and Car- NEW GRANADA. 201 thagena ; west bj' the Pacific, or district of Bihquete ; east by Antioquia, and south by Popayan. It is separated from the valley of the Cauca by the western chain of the Andes, which attains in this district the inferior ahi- tude of about 5000 feet, and gradually diminishes in height to- wards the Isthmus of Darien. In the interior of Choco, the ravine of the Raspadnra unites the sources of the river Noanama (or San Juan) with the river Quito, which forms, with the Andegada and the Zitara, the considerable river Atrato. The i-iver San Juan flows into the South Sea, and a monk of the village of Zitara, caused his flock to dig a small canal in the ravine above mentioned, by which, when the rains are abundant and the rivers overflow, canoes loaded with cacao, pass from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. This communication has existed since 1788, unknown to even the Spaniards them- selves ; the distance of the mouths of the Atrato in the bay of Panama, to the estuary of the river San Juan being seventy-five leagues. The province of Choco is still a wide continuous forest, without trace of cultivation, road or pasture ; it is inhabited chiefly by negroes and persons connected with the mines, and the price of commodities is so great, that a barrel of flour from North Ameri- ca, sells at from 10/. to 15/. ; the maintenance of a muleteer, is from five to seven shillings a day, and iron is so dear, even in peace, owing to the great difficulty of carriage, that it is almost impossible to procure it. The villages inhabited by the negroes are Novita^ Zitara, and Taddo ; the first settlers came to it in 1539, and it contains about 5000 persons at present. The gold washings of most consequence are Novita, Zitara, and the river Andegada ; all the ground be- tween this river, the river San Juan, the river Tamana, and the river San Augustin, is auriferous. The largest piece of gold ever found in Choco weighed twenty- five pounds ; but the negro who discovered it, did not even obtain his liberty. His master presented it to the King's cabinet, in hopes of obtaining a title, but it was with much difficulty that he even got the value of its weight, a just punishment for not emancipating his slave. Ten thousand eight hundred mai-ks of gold are the utmost an- nual produce of the washings of Choco, and the metal is generally about twenty-one carats fine. Platina is chiefly found in this and the neighbouring province of Antioquia. It is in Choco and Barbacoas, that this valual)le metal is only discovered in grains, in the alluvions grounds between the -second and sixth degrees of north latitude. In Choco, the ravine of Oro, between the villages of Novita Co 202 -oOUTH AMERICA. and Taddo, yields the greatest quantity ; the price on the spot being about thirty-three shillings the pound. The district of Birtqiiite, which is attached to Choco, lies along the coast of the Pacific ; in it is the village of Noaiiamas^ inhabited chiefly by Indians, and situated on a river of the same name, 170 miles north-west of Popayan. This country was discovered by Pizarro, who called the natives Puebh) Quemado (the burnt peo- ple.) It is thinly inhabited by some Indian tribes, who, as is the case with their neighbours in Darien, are perfectly indepen- dent. GOVERNMENT OF POPAYAN. This country, which is subordinate to the presidency of Quito, contains several districts, Cali, ^latro Chidades, Timana^ Guada- lajara de BugOy St. Sebastian de la Plata^ Almaguer^ Caloto^ San yuan de Pasto^ ElRaposo and Barbacoas. Of these the four northern ones are attached to the audience of Santa Fe de Bogota, and the others to Quito. Popayan is bound- ed on the north by the Llanos de Neiva, on the west by Choco and the Pacific, on the east by the government of Quixos, and on the south by that of Atacames. The country of Popayan possesses from the extent of its sur- face, a very unequal climate ; the district of Barbacoas being on the sea shore, is extremely hot, whilst in the interior, on the moun- tains, the cold is excessive ; but Popayan^ the capital, enjoys a temperate climate, and an eternal spring. Tempests and earthquakes are more frequent in this government than in Quito itself, though they occur often in the latter place ; and the district of Caloto is the one most subject to storms, thun- der and lightning. The soil of Popayan varies according to the situations of the districts ; it produces grains and fruits in great abundance ; and numbers of horned cattle, horses and sheep, are reared by the far- mers. Among the singular plants of this country is the coca or betel, which is chewed by the natives in the same manner, and for the same purposes that it is in the East Indies. And one of the gum- trees of Popayan yields a resin so remarkably tenacious, that when used to varnish ornamental work, it resists the application of boil- ing water, or even acids ; for which reason, tables, cabinets, &c., made by the Indians, and lacquered with it, are highly valued at Quito. The central branch of the three parallel chains of the Andes runs through the northern part of Popayan, in which they all com- mence ; this branch is, however, as before stated, the highest of the three, a,nd its summits are above the lower limits of congcla- NEW GRANADA. ^03 tion J of these, Baraiigan^ ^ihidhi^ and Guanacas^ are the most lofty. In order to go from Popayan to Santa Fe, the central Cor- dillera must be crossed ; the most frequented pass being that of Guanacas, in 2° 34' north latitude, between Popayan and the small town of La Plata, presenting every w here to the view, summits clothed in eternal snows. It is impossible to traverse this road without trembling, and care must be taken to encamp at night as near the top of the mountain as possible, or to stop at the village of Guanacas, which is on the eastern side, it being absolutely necessary to stop there, if the blackness of the clouds indicates that contrary weather appears to be at hand. The mules which convey passengers over this mountain pass, and which are made use of in preference to horses, for the secure- ness of their footsteps, not only partake the dangers, but run much greater risks than the traveller, as they have equally with their ri- ders to resist the effects of the extreme cold, and also to undergo the greater part of the fatigues. The whole road, for the space of two leagues, is so covered with the carcasses and bones of those animals, which have sunk under their exertions, that it is impos- sible to avoid treading over them. This pass has on the south, at the distance of five or six leagues, the snowy mountain of Coco- noco, an ancient volcano which is not at present in activity, and on the north another summit, called Houila, also covered with per- petual snows. At the top of the gorge, is a small lake or pond, of which the "water never freezes ; and at less than 700 feet distant from this on each side, are the sources of the Cauca and the Magdalena. Goods are often left in this place, because the muleteers will not run the risk of quitting it between suns, and therefore return to take them up the next morning. The distance from Popayan to La Plata (the town on the Magdalena, where the journey terminates) is about nineteen or twenty leagues, which generally occupies twenty or twenty-two days to travel ; but the time taken to pass the actual ridge is about a day, and there are habitations, at intervals on each side ; not so the other road, which leads from Popayan, by the mountains of Quindiu, between the cities, or rather towns of Ibague and Carthago, in 4° 36' north latitude ; and is the most difficult to scale, when taken in the sense of a road, of any in the whole Cor- dillera, crossing a thick untenanted forest, which, in the most fa- vourable weather, is not passable under ten or twelve days. No hut is to be seen, or any means of subsistence procured, and the venturous traveller must take with him at least a month's provi- sions ; as the sudden thaws and swellings of rivers render it fre- quently impracticable to go forward or return. The highest point of this pass is 11,499 feet above the level of the sea ; and is styled Garito de Paramo- 2()4 ■ SOUTH AMERICA. The path IS not more than a foot and a half broad, and has, in several points, the appearance of a gallery, whose surface has been taken off, and the whole is bottomed with muddy clay ; the tor- rents which rush down the rocks, forming every here and there narrow beds, from twenty to twenty-five feet in depth, along which the passenger must work his way in the mud, encompassed by a ■wall of rocks, covered with vegetation of luxuriant growth, which renders these places nearly dark. Along these galleries, many of which are a mile and a half in length, the oxen employed to carry baggage, and whose feet are better adapted than those of mules, for struggling through the tough and deep clay, can hardly force their way. The meeting with other travellers, in such a situation, is highly troublesome, as there is the greatest difficulty to pass. The roots of the bamboos, studded with strong prickles, project- ing from the sides of the mountains, are among the other inconve- niences, combined with the necessity of crossing the icy waters of the torrents, and of being deluged with the incessant rains which prevail here. The colonists, whose affairs oblige them to go by this route, are carried in chairs on men's backs, by a set of people who are bred to this business ; and who are generally either Creoles or mu- lattoes. The common price of carriage, from Ibague to Carthago, which occupies fifteen or twenty days, and even more, is from fifty to sixty shillings; a very inadequate sum for the labour they undergo, and which frequently renders their backs perfectly raw. Besides the chair and rider, they carry a roll of leaves of the vijao, a spe- cies of banana-tree, which they gather near Ibague, in order to form - the huts that it is necessary to construct at night, or, if overtaken by heavy rains ; each of these leaves is twenty inches long and fourteen broad; their lower surface is white, and covered with a sort of powder, which enables them to throw off the water. A few branches lopped from the forest, and set up on a dry spot, are speedily covered with these leaves, forming a cool and com- fortable retreat for the wearied people. The departments of Popayan, mentioned above, of most conse- quence, are Pasto, which is large and fertile ; Cali and Buga, ly- ing between Popayan and Choco, thrive on account of the trade they mutually carry on, and Caloto, which is fertile and rich, though the most subject to earthquakes ; none of these however deserve the names of provinces. Popayan carries on as much, if not more trade than any other part of the audience of Quito, as all the European goods from Carthagena are consigned to it, and sent to Quito ; and it exports cattle and mules there, receiving cloths, &c. in return. Its active commerce also consists in dried beef, salted pork, tobacco, lard, rum, cotton, &c. which are sent to Choco and other places, in NEW GRANADA. 205 barter for the precious metals ; sugar and snuff, are imported from Santa Fe- The exchange of silver for gold is also a great branch of traffic; for as gold abounds and silver is scarce, the latter is much sought for. The city of Popayan contains, amongst its inhabitants, many very wealthy persons, who have accumulated their fortunes by trade. The capital of this government is Popayan^ in the beautiful valley of the Cauca river, in 2° 28' 38" north latitude, and 76° 31' 30" west longitude, 195 miles S.S.W. of Santa Fe, is the most an- cient city erected by Europeans in this part of America, having been founded by Benalcazar, in 1537, after he had completed the conquest of the government we have described. It received its present name in July 1538, and is seated on a large plain, 5905 feet above the level of the sea, having an uninterrupted prospect to the north, and a mountain named AI from its resemblance to that letter, on the east. The west side of this plain is moderately elevated, and is covered as well as the mountain, with trees. On the summit of M is a convent, near which issues a river, that runs rapidly through the city, and serves to cleanse it of filth. This river has two bridges, one of stone and the other of wood, erected over it, and is called Molina. The Cauca flows about a league from Popayan, with a broad and quick current, subject to dreadful inundations, in June, July and August, when the torrents descend from Guanacas, and the neighbouring mountains ; and in the immediate vicinity of this city are the great volcanoes of Purace and Sotara. The streets of Popayan are broad, straight and level, the town being built in a rectangular shape ; the houses have mostly only one story, or a ground floor ; and though made of unburnt brick, are very handsome. The number of Indians is not considerable, most of the people being of the mulatto cast,owingto the great number of negroes who have always been employed here and in the neighbouring mines ; the inhabitants have been computed at above 25,000. The governor of the intendancy resides in this town, as does the bishop of Popayan, who is suffragan of the archbishop of Bo- gota. The cathedral was endowed in 1547, and there are several convents and churches, with two nunneries. It is also the seat of the royal mint, the annual coinage of which is estimated at a million of dollars. A tribunal of finance is also erected in this city, to receive the capitation tax on the Indians, the king's fifth on metals, the duties on goods, and other branches of the royal revenue. The remaining towns of note, are Carthago^ in the northern part, which is a small place on the road to 206 SOUTH AMERICA. Ibague^ also a place of little note, except for being the begin- ning of the passage of Quindiu, and is eighteen leagues south of Honda, and five or six leagues west of the Magdalena. Cali^ in 3° 15' north latitude, 73° 16' west longitude, the chief place of the district of the same name, was originally founded by Benalcazar, but afterwards removed, on account of the unhealthi- ness of its climate, to a short distance from its former site. Timana^ the chief town of that district, eighty miles east of Po- payan, in 2° 12' north latitude, 74° 46' west longitude. Neyva or Neyba^ in 3° 10' north latitude, 74' 16' west longitude, 120 miles N. E. of Popayan. Laplata^ or Sebastian del Oro^ in 2° 50' north latitude, TS" west longitude, 60 miles E. of Popayan. Mercaderes^ in 1° 45' north latitude, three leagues north of the Rio Mayo, and on the confines of the bishoprics of Quito and Po- payan, celebrated as having been the place where Huana Capac carried his conquests towards the north. St. Juan de Pasto^ chief town of the district of the same name, in which are the sources of the Caqueta, falsely supposed to be those of the Rio Negro or Orinoco ; this town is eighty miles S. S. W. of Popayan, in 1° 15' north latitude, 76° 46' west longi- tude, and contains 7000 inhabitants. The Indian village of PuracS^ near the capital, is celebrated as being situated on a plain above the city of Popayan, called the Llano del Corazon, 8694 feet above the level of the sea, on the side of the volcano of Purace ; this plain is carefully cultivated by the Indians, and is bounded by two deep ravines, on the brink of whose precipitous sides they have built their houses ; the appear- ance of this village is therefore highly picturesque, and the gardens are surrounded with hedges of euphorbiums, contrasting their ele- gant verdure with the black and disrupted mountains which sur- round the volcano. A small river, called Pusambio, forms, near this place, three considerable cataracts, one of the falls being more than 390 feet, and joins the Cauca in the valleys below. To add to the singula- rity of this fall, the water is warm towards the source, and so ve- ry acid, that it obtains the appellation of the Vinegar River ; the acidity destroying the fish in the Cauca, for more than four leagues after it joins that river. GOVERNMENT OF ATACAMES. T AC AMES, or Atacames, is a newly formed government, north of the presidency of Quito, and included in the jurisdiction of its audience. It is bounded on the north by the government of Po- payan, whose district of Barbacoas is its frontier ; westward, by the Pacific or South Sea ; southward, by the district of Guaya- NEW GRENADA- 207 quil; and east, by the western Cordillera of the Andes. It reach- es along the coast of the southern ocean, from the island of Tuma- co, in 1° 30' north latitude, to the bay of Caracas, in 0° 34' south latitude. This country lay neglected for a length of time after the conquest of Quito, and the Indians of the district are yet in a state of nature, coming only from their woods to sell fruits and drugs^ at the metropolis of Southern Granada. It was conquered by Sebas. tian de Benalcazar, but its importance remained unknown till 1621, when Delgadillo was appointed governor of the province of Taca- mes and Rio de Esmaraldas, in order to open a communication by land on the coasts, but failing in so doing, he was superseded, and Menacho was appointed in his place in 1626, with no better suc- cess. He was succeeded by two others, who were also unable to clear a communication between Quito and Terra Firma. In 1735 Maldonado effected a part of this object, by opening a road between the capital and the river Esmaraldas, for which service he was re- warded by the king ; as in 1747 this country was formally decla- red a government, and Maldonado was named the intendant. This intendancy contains twenty towns, which are small and poor, five being on the sea coast, and the others in the interior ; the coast towns are inhabited by Spaniards, Creoles and negroes ; the inland places by Indians, a very few Spaniards, mulattoes, and negroes ; and eleven priests, govern the spiritual aifairs of the whole, visiting the inland towns by turns. The climate of Atacames is hot, and resembles that of Guaya- quil, producing the same fruits, vegetables and grains. Vanilla, achiotte, indigo and sarsaparilla, are cultivated, or found in great abundance ; and the forests which cover the greater part of the country are famed for the noble and lofty trees they are composed of, which appear fit for all architectural pur- poses. Great quantities of wax are made and exported, and the cacao of Tacames is not infericu' to that of Guayaquil, yielding more profit, as from the higher situation of the sloping land it grows on, it receives all the necessary moisture, without being subject to be drowned. The capital of this government is Tacwyies^ in the bay of Ata- cames on the Pacific Ocean, 110 miles north-west of Quito, in 0° 52' north latitude, 62 degrees west longitude, having about twenty miles south of it, the famous mine of emeralds, which has been long supposed to have been lost. The other towns, which are of little importance, are, on the coast, Tumaco^ Tola^ San Mateo de Esmaraldas^ and La Canea, In the interior, Lachus, Cayapas^ Inta^ Gualxa^ Nanegal^ Tambilby Niguas^ Cachillacta, Mhido^ Tambe^ Coca7iiguas^ Cansa Coto^ Santo Domingo^ San Miguel and Nono. 208 SOUTH AMERICA. PRESIDENCY OF qUlTO. Quito was originally an independent country, which remained distinct from all the neighbouring states, until a very short time previous to the conquest of Peru by Francisco Pizarro ; but its limits were not the same as they are at present, nor is it of any importance to trace their ancient extent. It is now bounded by Santa Fc on the north, and has within its audience some districts of Popayan, which also forms a part of its northern frontier. On the east its jurisdiction extends over the governments of Maynas, Macas, and Quixos, which reach to the Portuguese frontiers. On the west the Great Pacific washes it from the gulf of Puna to the government of Atacames, and on the south the kingdom of Peru concludes its boundaries. Its length from north to south is about 600 miles, whilst its breadth exceeds 1800, In this immense extent the population is chiefly confined to the valley, which is formed on the very ridge of the main chain of the Andes, by the parallel summits making a prolonged series of small narrow plains extending from St. Miguel de Ibarra to Loja, and to the country between those and Popayan, and from the western slope of the Cordillera to the ocean. The eastern governments, which will be hereafter mentioned, being chiefly immense tracts, thinly scattered with missionary villages. Quito Proper is subdivided from north to south into nine dis- tricts, viz., San Miguel dc Ibarra^ Otubalo^ ^^t^t Latacunga, Rio- bamha^ Chhnbo^ Guayaquil^ Cue/ifa^ and Loxa or Loja. History^ £s?f. — This country had remained independent, till a very short time previous to the Spaniards appearing on the western shores of the Southern Pacific. The empire of Peru at that period, had fallen to Huana Capac^ (the young rich man,) who being of a very warlike disposition extended his conquests to all the countries bordering on his kingdom, but had particularly directed his opera- tions against the state of Quito, which his predecessor Tupac Yu- panqui had already overrun. Quito was inhabited at that period by powerful tribes, who resembled the Peruvians in their manners and customs ; the most noted of these people were the Puruays, who were governed by a king under the title of conchocando, and by tributary chiefs called guastays, and whose country was known by the name of Lican. Huana Capac departing with an immense army from Cuzco, marched five hundred leagues towards the capital of this country, encountering at every step the greatest difficulties from bad roads, ravines, precipices, marshes and rapid rivers. These difficulties were apparently insurmountable, but nothing could damp the ar- dour of the Inca and his Peruvians, and they reached the metro- polis of their enemies, subduing both the kingdom and its adja- cent provinces. NEW GRANADA. 209 His subjects fancying they could not offer him a more accepta- ble return for the benefits he had showered upon them, by remov- ing all dread of the future incursions of their warlike neighbours, prepared a magnificent causeway from Quito to Cuzco, in order that the monarch might travel back to his capital with the greatest facility and ease. This road was carried with indefatigable la- bour over mountains and through swamps. Valleys were filled up, and rocks excavated to an immense extent, and so smooth and level was its surface, that a coach might have been driven along it; with the greatest safety. It has since suffered considerable di- lapidations from the wars between the Spaniards and Peruvians, but enough is still left to show the magnificence of the under- taking. After returning to Cuzco, the Inca projected another road by the low lands to Quito ; in order that he might go by one and re- turn by the other in his visits to the conquered province ; high mounds of earth were laid across all the small valleys formed by the torrents from the mountains, in order to make the road level ; and it was forty feet in width, which was marked v/herc it crossed any wide plains, by stakes on each side, to prevent the travellers from losing their way. This second causeway was five hundred leagues in length, as was that of the mountains, and many of the mounds over the valleys yet exist, attesting to the most ignorant spectator, the astonishing perseverance and labour of these singu- lar people. ■ When the Inca travelled on these roads, his subjects strewed the way with branches of trees and flowers of the most ex- quisite perfume ; and on the mountain road were erected at a day's journey from each other, large palaces or buildings, ^vith conve- nient apartments for the monarch and his suite. On the road of the plains these erections were also continued, but at greater inter- vals, and always on the sides of rivers. They were called tambos, and the inhabitants of the neighbouring districts were bound to supply them with provisions, clothing and arms. Over the rivers were built bridges of wood, but if the stream proved too rapid for these frail constructions, cables of the fibres of the maguey or aloe were stretched across and interwoven with a close netting covered with branches : some of these were ninety feet broad and four hundred long, and made of cables as thick as a man's body. Huana Capac continued to reside for a long while at Quito, where he married the daughter of the king he had deposed, by whom he had a son, AtabaUpa or Atahualpa ; to this son the Inca was exceedingly attached, and left him at Quito to be educated, when he found it necessary to return to the capital, v/here he re- mained no longer than was necessary to settle some affairs of state ; and becoming daily more fond of Quito, he finally settled there for the remainder of his life, on his death bed appointing Atahual- pa to wield the sceptre of his ancestors, independent of his eldest Dd 210' SOUTH AMERICA. , son, whom he desired should govern the kingdom of Peru alone. This event happened about the year 1529, Atahualpa finding that this decision of his father was likely to be contested by the other children, distributed large presents to the army from the treasures of Quito, and sent ambassadors to Huascar the monarch of Peru, his elder brother, informing him of their father's demise, and requesting that his decision might be adhered to, and that if allowed to assume the reins of government in Quito, he should still remain a tributary of the Peruvian Inca. Huascar refused to listen to these overtures, desiring Atabalipa to give up the command of the army in Quito, under pain of be- ing considered as an enemy to the state if he refused. The mo- narch of Quito consulted Quizquiz and Cilicuchima, two of his bravest warriors on this occasion, who advised him to take up arms, assert his right, and march against the Inca, assuring him, that the army was so devoted to him, that he would not only gain the kingdom of Quito, but the whole empire of Peru. Atahualpa followed this advice, and marched into the Inca's territories, who immediately collected a strong army at Tumbi- bamba on the Peruvian frontier, which place became the scene of a sanguinary batde that lasted three days, when Atahualpa was taken prisoner, as he was attempting to escape over a bridge. He was immediately confined in one of the tambos, whence he contrived to escape by boring through a wall with a bar of copper which was given to him for that purpose by a woiiian. Returning to Quito, he told a miraculous story of his escape, which he asserted had been performed through the assistance of the spirit of his father ; this so encouraged his people, that they again collected, and at- tacked the Inca's army, defeating it with prodigious slaughter. Marching further into Peru, they destroyed the 'cities, and wasted the provinces with fire and sword, and arrived at Caxa- marca, where they waited for a second army which Huascar had collected ; Atabalipa having posted ambushes in every quarter, one of his generals contrived to take the emperor prisoner by sur- prise ; but being attacked on their way back to their own camp, they would have been cut to pieces, had they not terrified the In- ca, by threatening him with instant death if he did not order his people to retire. This he consented to, and he was carried as a captive to Atahualpa at Caxamarca. It was at this period that the Spaniards arrived in Peru ; and Huascar imagining that if he could persuade them to join him, the terror of their arms would once more restore him to the regal fillet ; he accordingly despatched ambassadors to Pizarro, to implore his assistance. What that warrior afterwards performed, will be shown in the history of Peru, but the unfortunate Huascar suifered for the confidence he had thus reposed in the Spaniards, as he was put to death by the orders of Atahualpa, for having entered into alliance with the common enemv. NEW GRANADA, 211 It will be needless to detail the further operations of Atahualpa, now become the sole emperor of Peru, as his subsequent history is so intimately connected with that of the Spanish conquests, that it must be reserved for the history of those memorable occui- rences. Atahualpa being slain by the orders of Pizarro, the kingdom of Quito was forcibly taken possession of by Ruminagui, one of the chiefs who had served under the unfortunate prince in his expedi- tions against Huascar ; he put to death all the surviving children and relatives of the Inca, and caused his brother to be flayed alive. The remains of Atahualpa were, however, respected by this as- sassin, as they were interred with much pomp in his native city of Quito. On the departure of Pizarro in his various expeditions from Cuzco, he left Sebastian de Benalcazar to defend the town he had founded near the Peruvian frontiers ; the Indians of the neigh- bouring districts complained to this officer, that Ruminagui, and his troops from Quito, were constantly harassing them. Benalca- zar thinking this a favourable opportunity for subjugating the country, marched to Quito with 200 soldiers, eighty of which were cavalry. Ruminagui advanced to meet him with more than 12,000 men, but afraid to face the Spaniards in the open field, contented himself with taking advantage of all the difficult passes, in which he displayed much judgment, but was always driven backward by the superior tactics of Benalcazar. In this skirmishing method, the usurper's troops were gradually forced to retire upon the city, which having a large plain in its vicinity, afforded an excellent place to show the Peruvians the superiority of the Spanish cavalry; and Benalcazar accordingly endeavoured to bring him to action there, but the usurper, instead of offering battle, contented himself with digging pits in his front, in which he placed sharp stakes, and constructed pit-falls covered with grass, upheld by slight twigs, in hopes that he might destroy the horses. The Spanish captain was aware of these, and as nothing could put him off his guard, he at last drove the Peruvians into the city itself. Finding that he could not defend himself in this position, Ruminagui set fire to the most valuable moveables of the late Inca, slew his wives to prevent their falling into the enemy's power, and after an ineffectual sally, re- treated to the interior. At this juncture, Don Pedro de Alvarado, governor of Guati- nnala, arrived with a strong reinforcement to Benalcazar at Quito; and assuming the command, took several important places ; but not. finding the treasure he expected, he went to Cuzco, leaving Pizarro's captain with the army. Alvarado had been sent to this country by the emperor Charles, who granted him a commission as governor of certain territories not included in Pizarro's patent. :212 iSOUril AMIiRlCA. Previous to his leaving the army for Cuzco, he was attacked by Almagro, who imagined that he was infringing on the territories of himself and Pizarro ; but a convention took place between them, and they afterwards were concerned in several battles against the Peruvians. Quizquiz, the Peruvian general, attacked Benalcazar after Alvarado had left him, but was defeated with great loss, and was slain by one of his officers in a council when he had proposed to retreat to the mountains. Benalcazar now engaged hinself in conquering and colonising the districts and provinces to the north of Quito, which he accom- plished in a very able manner, founding towns, and encouraging settlers. It was at this period, that the wars broke out between the followers of Almagro and Pizarro ; and when the latter had defeated the Almagrians, he sent his brother Gonzalo to explore a tract to the east of Quito called Los Canelos, the cinnamon country, as it was conjectured that it contained great quantities of that va- luable shrub. Pizarro conferred at the same time, the chief com- mand of the whole country of Quito on his brother, and the new governor set out with 100 horsemen, and an equal number of foot, taking the city of Quito in his route eastward, toward the district of Quixos, which had been discovered by Gonzalo Diaz de Pine- da, in the year 1536, when, among the officers sent from Popayan, (which had been settled by Benalcazar) to trace the course of the river IVIagdalena, and survey the country adjacent to the conquer- ed provinces, he found that this district was extremely fertile, abounding in gold, and producing excellent cassia ; he reported these circumstances, and they were laid before Pizarro, who im- mediately sent his brother to explore it, and to push his discove- ries to the east, for the purpose of finding the cinnamon country. Arriving at Quito in the latter end of 1539, Gonzalo Pizarro remained only time enough to receive a further supply of the necessary stores, and departed from this city in 1540, attended by 4000 Indians, carrying provisions, arms, and materials for bridges. Peruvian sheep or llamas, and 4000 swine accompanied the army, which soon arrived in the country of the Quixos, where they met with little opposition, and where they remained several days, on account of the tempestuous weather and a dreadful earthquake. On quitting this country they crossed some very high mountains, on which the Indians suffered so much from cold, that many of them died. Proceeding to the river Coca, and thence to another river, Pi- zarro built a vessel to enable part of his army to penetrate with less fatigue ; and finding the river become broader as he proceeded, he determined to pursue its course as far as he could, but having na- vigated about 200 leagues down its stream, and there appearing no probability of procuring provisions, and not being able to advance the men, who were obliged to follow the vessel on the banks, on NEW GRANADA. 213 account of the increasing imperviousness of the forests, he deter- mined to send Francisco de Orellana forward with the vessel, to see if he could find any country where eatables could be procured, the stock he brought from Quito being now completely exhausted. Fifty men accompanied the bark, with orders to load the vessel with what they might find, and to stop at a place where two great rivers joined, as well as to leave two canoes at a river which cross- ed the route to this place by land, and of which information had been given by some Indians. The ship was soon carried to the junction of the two great rivers; but Orellana finding it difficult to remount the current, determined to push his fortune and explore the country in the direction of the stream ; neglecting therefore the orders he had received, he sail- ed beyond the appointed place, and being much crowded, and fre- quently attacked by the Indians on the shores, he constructed a smaller vessel in a convenient spot, and dividing his soldiers, pro- ceeded to a country inhabited by women, who made war upon and defended themselves agamst the neighbouring tribes. Following the stream for a long while, Orellana's barks at last reached the Atlantic Ocean, and with great difficulty and many dangers he na- vigated the seas to the island of Trinadad, where purchasing a vessel, he went to Spain, and obtaining an audience of the king, he got a grant of Amazonia, (the country he had seen, and which was so called, on account of the warrior women,) and equipped a force of five hundred men for its conquest ; but died on the out- ward voyage ; his men dispersing themselves among the Canaries and West India islands. Gonzalo Pizarro was terribly straitened by the defection of Orellana, and arriving at the rendezvous, found a Spaniard whom Orellana had put ashore for disobedience ; this person informed Pizarro of what had happened. In the vessel were all the baubles intended to be bartered with the Indians, so that as they were now four hundred leagues from Quito, and with no hopes of relief, they determined on endeavour- ing to return. Suffering incredible difficulties, and eating all their dogs and horses, they arrived at last on the confines of that king- dom, having lost forty of their companions by famine ; and the whole party were nearly naked, and so altered, that it was with difficulty they were recognised by their acquaintances. This unfor- tunate expedition lasted nearly two years ; two hundred and ten Spa- niards, and two thousand Indians perished, only eighty Europeans returning to Quito out of the whole force ; and those who did re- turn, having ate toads, snakes, and other reptiles, after they had consumed their horses. In consequence of the dissensions among the Spaniards in Peru at this period, Vaca de Castro was sent to assume the government. In 1541 J this officer was driven by stress of weather into the har- 214 SOUTH AMERICA. hour of Buenaventura, at the bottom of the Bay of Choco, at thai time a port of Popayan; and after a difficult journey by land he arrived at Quito. His commission was immediately recognised by Benalcazar, lieutenant-general and governor of Popayan, and by Pedro de Puelles, who commanded in Quito in the absence of Gonzalo Pizarro. He then left this city to march against the ad- verse party in Peru, in which he was joined by Pedro de Verga- ra, who was occupied in conquering the present province of Bra- camoros. Vaca conquered the insurgents, and was proclaimed governor of Peru. The subsequent history of the viceroys and go- vernors belongs to the description of that kingdom, of which Qui- to continued a dependent province till the year 1708, when a new vicero3alty being erected at Santa Fe de Bogota, under the name of the New Kingdom of Granada, Quito was taken from the Pe- ruvian government, and attached, with all its provinces, to that of Granada. The royal audience of Quito was suppressed until 1722, when it was restored, and the province^ of Quito erected into a presidency, under the controul of the vice-regal court of Santa Fe. Since that period, it has remained under the same form of govern- ment, the president of the court of royal audience being governor of Quito and its dependencies. Capital. — The capital of this presidency is Quito, which was rebuilt from the Indian town by Benalcazar, in 1534, who then called it San Francisco de ^ito; seven years after which it was made a royal city. It is situated in 78° 10' IS" west longitude, and O" 13' 27" south latitude, on the eastern slope of the western branch of the equatorial Andes, thirty-five leagues distant from the coasts of the South Sea. The volcanic mountain Pichincha is the basis on which this celebrated city rests ; and its crevices are so numerous in the environs, that many of the suburbian houses are built on arches, and from the acclivity of the ground the streets are very irregular and uneven. The city has in its vicinity the great plains Turubamba and Inna Quito, covered with country-seats and cul- tivation, and the junction of these plains forms a neck of land on which some of the streets are built. The temperature of the climate is such, that neither heat nor cold are felt in extremes ; though this may be experienced in a very short journey from it. The whole year is a perfect spring, with little or no variation ; pleasant gales constantly waft the odours of the cultivated plains towards the town, and these are seldom known to fail or to become boisterous. The rain alone descends occasion- ally with impetuosity, and prevents the usual out-of-door avoca- tions ; but with such a climate, and in the midst of plenty, the city is hourly liable to earthquakes, and its inhabitants are frequently occupied in noticing, with the most awful apprehensions, the slight- est variations in the phenomense of the heavens ; for from these f^hey affect to judge of the approach of the subterraneous concus- NEW GRANADA. 2i5 sians which have so frequently destroyed the place j of these, a very destructive one was experienced in 1775. In 1797, on the 4th of February, the face of the whole district was changed, and in the space of a second, forty thousand persons were hurled into eternity. This earthquake affected the temperature of the air, which is now comnaonly between forty and fifty-five degrees, where- as it was usually sixty-six or sixty-eight degrees ; and since which violent shocks have frequently been experienced. During this tre- mendous scene, the ground opened in all directions, and vomited out sulphur, mud and water. Notwithstanding these horrors, and the constant state of anxiety they must feel, the inhabitants are gay, lively, and much addicted to pleasure, luxury, and amuse- ment. The population is estimated at 7t),000 persons ; among whom are many of high rank, descendants of the conquerors, or persons who came in the early periods from Spain. The whites compose about a sixth part, the mestizoes a third, the Indians of the sub- urbs another third, and the mixed race from negroes, Indians, &c., the remaining sixth. The European v/hites are, with the excep- tion of the nobles and merchants, generally very poor; the mesti- zoes follow the handicrafts, and excel in some of the higher branch- es of the arts, appearing to possess considerable talent and very lively imaginations. The Indians also follow several trades, which they are remarkable for gaining a knowledge of with comparative ease. Great magnificence of dress is affected by the Spanish gentry, whose habiliments shine with gold and gems ; but those of the middle rank are usually very neat, and covered with a long black cloak ; the Indians wearing white cotton drawers, and a black cotton frock or shirt. The ladies of Quito are generally handsome and well educated, and the men a good looking race. The instruc- tion given to young people of rank consists chiefly in the polite arts, and in philosophy and divinity. The language of the whites and most of their descendants is Spanish, but the Quichua and other dialects of Indian origin are no less common. Idleness, drunkenness and gaming, are the most prevalent vices, and the common people and Indians are addicted to theft ; and these indulge very freely in the use of rum and brandy. The matte, an herb which grows in Paraguay, is vised here as a sort of tea, and forms the most favourite beverage of all classes. The principal square of Quito is oi-namented with the cathe- dral, the bishop's palace, the town-hall, and the palace of the royal audience, and with a beautiful fountain in the centre. Four streets terminate at the angles of this square, which are broad, straight and well built for about four hundred yards, when the ac- clivities and breaches commence ; on this account, the luxury of wheel-carriages is not to be had. Besides the great square, there 216 oOUllI AMERICA. are two others of considerable size, and several small ones; in these the churches and convents are situated, which are generally fine buildings. The principal streets are all paved, and the houses are large and convenient, being mostly of one story in height, built of unburnt bricks and clay, and cemented by a sort of mortar, which was made use of anciently by the Indians, and which becomes exceed- ingly solid. The city has seven parishes, with numerous convents, nunne- ries, &c. The hospital is a fine structure, and there are several courts for the administration of justice ; the exchequer, treasury, &c. The cathedral which was endowed in 1545, has a very extensive jurisdiction, and the revenue of the bishop is 24,000 piastres. In this church are held two annual festivals in honour of the Virgin, by whose assistance it is said the city was delivered when Lata- cunga, Riobamba, Hambato, and other places in its neighbourhood, were entirely destroyed by an earthquake and an ejection from Pichincha, of pumice, basalt, porphyry and liquid mud. The clay and hot water vomited from this volcano diffuses such fertility, that a constant succession of fruits, flowers, and leaves, appear during the whole year, and even on the same tree. Corn is reaped and sown at the same time, and such is the goodness of the pasture, that excellent mutton, beef, &c, are to be had at Quito. Fine cheese is also made in the dairies, and so much is used, that 70 or 80,000 dollars worth is annually consumed. Good butter is also found, and for the service of the table, whether in luxuries or necessaries, nothing appears to be wanting. The height of Quito above the level of the sea is 9510 feet, and it is backed, by the conical summit of Javirac, immediately under that of Pichincha ; Javirac being 10,239 feet above the ocean, con- sequently 729 feet higher than the city. Quito is plentifully supplied with water from several streams which flow from the sides of the mountains, and are conducted into the town by means of conduits. Several of these brooks unite in one spot, and form the small river Machangara, which washes the south parts of the city, and is crossed by a stone bridge. In the church of the Jesuits is an alabaster slab, on which is engraven a Latin inscription, commemorating the labours of the French and Spanish mathematicians in 1736, and the following years till 1742, and enumerating the signals, angles, and other cir- cumstances connected with the great undertaking of the measure- ment of a degree of the meridian which was performed in those years. In this province some cotton goods are manufactured ; tliese are exported to Peru, for which gold, silver, laces, wine, brandy, NEW GRANADA. 217 oil, copper, tin, lead and quicksilver are returned ; the wheat of Quito is exported to Guayaquil, and the coast of Guatimala sends indigo, iron and steel, for which some of the products of Quito are returned by way of Guayaquil. The commerce of Quito is how- ever mostly internal, and this province contains no metallic veins which are worked, though many rich ones are supposed to exist, and some mercury has been found between the villages of Cueni^a and Azogue. Quito is celebrated as having been the scene of the measure- ment of a degree of the meridian by the French and Spanish ma- thematicians, in the reign of Louis the XV. The plain made choice of for the mensuration of the great base is situated 1592 feet lower than the city of Quito, and four leagues north-east of it, near the village of Yuranqui, from which it has its name. It was in this desert valley, surrounded by the lofty summits of the central An- des, that these geodesic operations were carried on, and which were attended with constant peril and labour ; some idea of which may be formed from the following description of the chain of the Andes which pervades Quito; this chain after having been divided near Popayan into three branches, unites in the district of Pastos, and stretches far beyond the equator. Its most lofty summits form two lines, separated by a series of valleys, from 10,600 to 13,900 feet in height, as far as the third degree of south latitude, in which the chief towns of Quito are si- tuated. On the west side of this vale or plain rise the mountains of Casitagua, Pichincha, Atacazo, Corazon, Ilinissa, Carguirazo, Chimborazo and Cunambay; and on the east are the peaks of Cay- ambe, Guamani, Antisana, Passuchoa, Ruminavi, Cotopaxi, Que- lendama, Tunguragua and Capa Urcu, or the altar, all of which, excepting three or four, are higher than JMont Blanc, but on account of the great elevation of the plain on which they rest, their ap- pearance is not so lofty as may be imagined; the summit of Chim- borazo, the most elevated, not being more than 11,942 feet above the plain of Tapia, which itself is 9481 feet above the level of the sea. The constant temperature of the air is such, that the summits of those mountains which enter the region of perpetual snow have the line of congelation distinctly marked, and the road to Quito from Guayaquil leads along the northern declivity of Chimljorazo, amid scenes of the most majestic nature, and near the regions of eternal frost. Chimborazo^ the most lofty of the American summits is in the form of a dome, and towers over the conical peaks and heads of the adjacent mountains, to an amazing altitude ; its height above the level of the sea being 21,441 feet. Pichincha^ which surmounts the city of Quito was formerly a veiy active volcano, but since the conquest, its eruntions have not been E e 218 60UTH AMERICA. frequent; three peaks rise from the edge of its crater, which are generally free from snow, on account of the heat of the ascending vapours; at the summit of one of these is a projecting rock twelve feet long, by six broad, hanging over the precipice, and generallj- strongly agitated by convulsive shocks. M. de Humboldt lay on his breast on this stone, and looked down into the abyss of the crater below, which was so vast (being three miles in circumfer- ence) that the summits of several mountains were seen in it. Its sides were of a deep black, the tops of the mountains he observed in this awful situation were six hundred yards beneath him, and he supposes the bottom of the crater is on a level with the city of Quito. Its edges are always covered with snow, and flames rise from its surface, amid columns of dark smoke. Pichincha is 15,939 feet above the level of the sea. Of all the American volcanoes Cotopaxi is the most noted, and is situated to the south-east of Quito, twelve leagues distant from that cit)', and five leagues north of Latacunga, between the moun- tains of Ruminavi, the summit of which is rugged and jagged with separate rocks, and Quelendama, whose peaks enter the re- gions of eteraal frost. The form of Cotopaxi is very beautiful, being that of a perfect cone, covered with snow, and the crater appears surrounded with a wall of black rock, which is impossible to be reached by reason of the immense crevices in the sides of the mountain. In viewing this volcano every thing conspires to afford the most majestic and awful scene that can be imagined ; the pyramidal summits of Ilinissa, the snowy ridges of the other mountains, the singular regularity of the inferior line of snow, and the luxuriancy of the great plains offer an unparalleled assemblage of the grand and picturesque features of nature. Cotopaxi is the loftiest volcano at present in activity in the world, being 18,891 feet above the level of the sea. It has ejected such masses of scoriae, and immense pieces of rock on the plain below, that they would, of themselves, if heaped together, form an enor- mous mountain ; and in a violent eruption in 1774 its roarings were heard at Honda at the distance of 200 leagues. In 1768, it sent forth such a volume of ashes, that the light of the sun was obscured in Hambato, till three in the afternoon, and then the people were forced to use lanthorns ; at the same time, the cone was so heated, that the mass of snow which covered it suddenly melted away ; and at Guayaquil, 150 miles distant, its eruptions were as audibly distinguished, as if there had been re- peated discharges of cannon close to the tov/n. Cayambe Urcu, the summit of which is crossed by the equator, is noted as being the highest mountain of this range which has been yet measured, excepting only Chimborazo, as it is 19,386 feet above the level of the ocean. Its form is that of a truncated NEW GRANADA. 219 cone, and it is one of the most majestic and beautiful of those which surround the city of Quito. El Corazon^ covered with perpetual snow, is so called from its summit having a heart-like shape. Bouguer ascended this mountain, and describes the frost as so great near the top, that his clothes, beard and eyebrows were co- vered with icicles ; it is 15,795 feet above the level of the sea. Rinmnavi and I/inissa^ihe latter of which is 17,238 feet above the level of the sea, and has its summit divided into two pyra- midal peaks, join each other by a transvei'se chain, called the Alto de Tiopullo, Ilinissa being on the west, and Ruminavi on the eastern crest of the equatorial Andes. This chain bounds the valley of Quito on the south and separates it from the plains of Hambato and Latacunga ; and the pyramids of Ilinissa are visible from the plain of Las Esmaraldas in Atacames. A most singular monument is observable on the top of the dvke or chain of Tiopullo, consisting of a tumulus, and the ruins of one of the Teruvian palaces called tambos, situated in a plain covered with pumice stones. The tumulus, if it be one, is upwards of two hundred feet high, and is supposed to have been the burying place of a chief. The palace is south-west of this hillock, nine miles from the crater of Cotopaxi, and thirty from Quito. It is in the form of a square, each side being about 100 feet in length, with four great doorways and eight chambers. Its walls are more than three feet thick, formed of large stones regularly cut and laid in courses, and the whole is in tolerable preservation. It is called the palace of Callo, but the great curiosity of this edifice consists in the beauty of the workmanship, as all the stones are cut into parallelopipedons, and laid in regular courses, and so nicely joined, that were it not that each stone is convexly and obliquely cut on the outside, their joints would not be visible. The volcano of Scmgai or Mccas^ is the most southern mountain of Quito, and is covered with snow, but a continual fire issues from its summit attended by explosions^ which are heard 120 miles dis- tant, and when the wind is fair, are audible even at Quito. The country adjacent to this volcano is totally barren, being covered with cinders ; in this desert the river Sangay rises, and joining the Upano, flows into the Maranon under the name of the Payra. Sangai is 17,131 feet above the level of the sea. The Altar ^ or El Altar ^ is on the eastern crest, in the district of Riobamba, joining itself by a high desert, to another peak called CoUanes. The Indians have a tradition, that El Altar was for- merly more lofty than Chimborazo, but that its summit suddenly fell in ; by the latest observation it is found to be 1 7,256 feet above the level, of the sea. 1^20 ^OUtH AMERICA. Twiguragua is seven leagues north of Riobamba. The figure of this volcanic mountain is conical, and very steep, and Riobamba was destroyed by its dreadful eruptions. Some hot springs gush out through crevices in its sides, which has caused warm baths to be erected for the accommodation of invalids. Tunguragua is 16,500 feet above the level of the sea. North-west of Riobamba is Carguirazo^ which just enters the lower period of congelation. Near this mountain and Chimbo- razo is the road leading to Guayaquil, passing over such lofty deserts and such dangerous places, that many people perish in at- tempting to travel over it in bad weather or in winter. The height of this mountain is 15,540 feet above the level of the sea. In these mountainous regions, the wind is often so violent that it tears off fragments of rocks, and the academicians in measuring their base, and taking the necessary angles, were often in the most imminent danger, by having their tents and huts suddenly blown over. The violence of the wind also hurled the snow about in so furious a manner, that they were often in danger of being buried under it. Though their huts were small and crowded with peo- ple, yet every person was forced to have a chafing-dish of coals before him, owing to the intensity of the cold, and this under the equator ; their feet swelled, their hands were covered with chil- blains, and their lips were so chopped, that speaking aloud always brought blood. In some places, even the Indians deserted their villages to prevent being forced to accompany the survey ; such was the rigour of the climate. The districts of Quito having been previously mentioned, we shall include a short sketch of each in the description of its chief town, commencing with that of SAN MIGUEL DE IBARRA. San Miguel de Ibarra is the chief place of a district of the same name, and is situated in north-latitude 0° 25', and 77" 40' west- longitude, forty-five miles north-east of Quito, with a population of about 10,000 souls. The town stands on a large plain between two rivers. The houses are built of stone with tiled roofs, and it con- tains several convents, a fine church, a college and a nunnery. The temperature of the air in this district is variable, but gene- rally warmer than at Quito. The soil is fertile, producing the tro- pical fruits, cotton, maize, great quantities of sugar, wheat and barley ; and the Indians weave cotton and cloth, and work some large saltmines, which supply the northern districts. Few sheep are seen in Ibarra, but it abounds in goats, and near a village call- ed Mira, with a multitude of wild asses, extremely fierce, which are hunted for their skins. In passing from Pastes, through Ibarra, the traveller views with NEW GRANADA, 221 astonishmentythe deep valley or crevice of Chota, 4922 feet in depth, covered with luxuriant vegetation. Ibarra contains within its district, eight principal villages or small towns. OTA BALD. Otabalo is the next jurisdiction, containing eight towns or vil- lages, the lands of which are laid out in plantations, principally of the sugar cane ; but the wheat and barley sown in this district thrive very much ; a great number of small rivers fertilise the country, and it abounds with sheep, black cattle and horses. Great quantities of butter and cheese are exported, and the native In- dians are industrious, weaving quilts, cottons, bed furniture, and carpets, which, having very brilliant colours, are much valued in Quito and Peru. The chief town is Otabalo^ thirty miles north of Quito, in 0° 15' north latitude, and 77° 56' west longitude, containing 15,000 souls, a great portion of whom are whites j the other villages or towns are mostly inhabited by Indians. This district contains two lakes, one called San Pablo, is three miles long, and a mile and a half broad, abounding with wild geese, and gives rise to the Rio Blanco. The other lake has nearly the same size, and is called Cuicocha, being situated at the foot of a mountain of that name ; it produces a sort of cray-fish much esteemed at Quito, as it is the only fresh water fish that can be had there. The Indians of Otabalo j-esisted Huana Capac in his expedition against Quito, which so exasperated him, that he ordered all that could be found to be beheaded, and cast into a small lake in Ibar- ra, called Yagarcocha, signifying the bloody lake. The villages of Cayambe and Catacatche in this district, are situ- ated at the feet of the mountains of those names, the latter of which is 16,434 feet above the level of the sea; near Cayambe are the ruins of an ancient circular temple on an eminence, and about fifty feet in diameter ; of this nothing remains but the walls, which are about five feet thick and fifteen feet high ; the whole is of unbaked brick, cemented with a sort of earth. In the plain near this vil- lage are numerous tumuli, or burying places of the ancient inhabi- tants of the province, which are generally in the form of sugar loaves ; many of these are of great size, and have been perforated for the sake of the gold utensils which were buried with the chief- tains. Some Spaniards have enriched themselves in this manner, for in making a gallery through the tumulus, they have found golden idols and jewels to a great amount ; but the contents generally con- sist only of the skeleton, earthen drinking vessels, tools of copper 222 SOUTH AMERICA. or Stone, with mirrors of obsidian, and of a sort of flint, curiously made and perfectly polished. The golden ornaments and images they occasionally discover, are, in general, beautifully wrought, but always very thin and hollow ; the emeralds are cut into all shapes, and perforated with the greatest nicety, but how these were executed without any other than hardened copper and stone tools, is almost inconceivable. The jurisdiction of Quito, independent of the city, contains twenty-five villages or parishes j the lands are covered with plan- tations, in the plains breaches or valleys, and up the sides of the mountains, as far as vegetation will reach, so as to be productive of any return to the cultivator ; the valleys being hot grow sugar canes and cotton ; the plains, maize ; and the higher regions, wheat, barley, &c. European grain was introduced into Quito by Father Jose Rixi, a native of Ghent in Flanders, who sowed some near the convent of St. Francis, and the monks still show the vase in which the first wheat came from Europe, as a sacred relic. Above the regions which produce wheat, barley, potatoes, &c., are fed numerous flocks of sheep, which yield great quantities of wool ; and cows are reared also in great numbers, for the sake of cheese and butter ; most of the villages of Quito are inhabited by Indians. South of Quito, and divided from it by the mountains of Tio- pullo and Chisinche, is the district of Lactacunga, or Lata- CUNGA, the chief town of which is Latacunga^ in 0° 55' 14" south latitude, and 78° 16' west longitude, fifty miles south of Quito, a large and well-built place, the streets being straight and broad, the houses of stone, arched, and of one story, on account of the fre- quency of earthquakes ; but in 1698 the whole of the town was overturned, excepting the church of the Jesuits, which was much damaged, and almost all the inhabitants perished. The stone of which the houses are built is a sort of pumice, extremely light, and which has been ejected from the neighbouring volcanoes ; that of Cotopaxi being only six leagues distant. This district contains seventeen large villages, and the climate is cold, on account of the vicinity of several snowy summits. The first eruption of Cotopaxi, witnessed by the Spaniards, was when Benalcazar invaded these provinces ; the natives had a tradition, that when the volcano should burst they would be subdued by an unknown people ; this event, combined with the appearance of the white and bearded strangers, struck such terror into the poor In- dians, that they quietly submitted to the Spanish arms. The villages are in general large and populous, inhabited by a mixture of whites and Indians, although the Indians always live in a separate quarter. The town of Latacunga contains from 10 to 12,000 inhabitants ; a parish church, several convents, and a college, formerly belong- ing to the Jesuits. NEW GRANADA. 225 Cloth, baize, &c. are manufactured in this city, and great quan- tities of salt pork are exported to Quito, Guayaquil, and Riobamba. The Indians of two villages in this jurisdiction, are noted for making fine earthenware ; the clay which they use emitting a fra- grant smell, and being of a lively red colour, causes these articles to be much valued. Riobamba is the next jurisdiction southward, adjoining that of Latacunga, and separated from the vale of Quito, by the same dyke or chain, the chief town of which is Riobamba. This district is divided into two departments, Riobamba and Havibato, In the former are eighteen villages ; in the latter, six. The town of Riobamba was destroyed by the dreadful earthquake of the 4th February 1797, when the peak of Sicalpa, falling on the place, stopped the course of two rivers, so that not a vestige of the town remained ; and of 9,000 inhabitants 400 only escaped. Thirty or forty thousand Indians are supposed to have perished at the same time, in this and the neighbouring districts. Lata- cunga, and most of the villages in its jurisdiction, were destroyed. Near Hambato the mountains split ; and a village called Quero, with all its inhabitants, was buried under a cliff that gave way ; another place, called Pelileo, was overwhelmed in a torrent of heated water and mud, the plains were completely altered, and in a few hours after the commencement of this calamity, a deadly silence alone indicated the general ruin. This terrible event ap- pears to have been caused by an internal eruption of the volcano of Tunguragua, between Latacunga and Riobamba, as tremendous subterraneous thunders proceeded from that quarter, and the de- vastation was all in its vicinity, Riobamba produces silver and gold, but the mines are not work- ed, and cochineal, cotton, flax, wheat, sugar, barley, &c. The town of Riobamba has been rebuilt in a more convenient spot ; at present it contains 20,000 souls, and is large and hand- some with two churches, four convents, two nunneries; and an hos- pital ; and its jurisdiction carries on a brisk trade with Guayaquil. The village of Lican, in this division, is noted as having been an- ciently the residence of the kings of Quito. The town of Hambato is situated in an extensive plain, having a large river crossed by a bridge on its northern side. The num- ber of its inhabitants is about 9000. Its houses are built of un- burnt bricks, and very low, and the parish church and a convent, with two chapels, are the principal public buildings. This place suffered severely in the earthquake which destroyed Latacunga, as the volcano of Carguirazo, part of which fell in, vomited forth torrents of mud, ashes and water ; and the heat of the crater melting the snow, it precipitated down the sides of the mountain, sweeping away every thing before it. In Riobamba, the llamas, or Peruvian camels, are seen ; they 224 SOUTH AMERICA. are indeed so common, that hardly any Indian has less than out to carry his goods when he travels ; we shall however have further occasion to describe these singular animals, in treating of the colo nies farther south of the equator, which seems to be their natural clime, as they are rarely seen north of the line. The final junction of the two parallel ridges of the Andes, which we have before mentioned, ends near this district ; it is called by the general name of Paramo del Assuay, and across this chain lies the road from Riobamba to Cuen^a, the journey over which is at all times formidable, particularly in June, July and August, when there are great falls of snow, and the icy winds of the south sweep over it. This road is almost the height of Mont Blanc, and the cold is often so great, that many travellers perish every year, in crossing. The plains of Assuay contain several small lakes, sur- rounded with coarse grasses, but in which there are no fish. In the midst of this elevated road is a marshy plain, at the height of 13,123 feet above the ocean, on which is situated the re- mains of a causeway, lined with freestone, and constructed by the Incas. It is quite straight for more than four miles, and may be traced to Caxamarca in Peru, 120 leagues south of Assuay. Close to this road, and at 13,261 feet of elevation, are the ruins of one of the mountain palaces, or tambos of the Peruvian sovereigns ; these ruins, which are much dilapidated, are called Los Paredones^ or the thick walls. In descending towards Cuen(;a, are seen the remains of another of these structures, which deserves notice ; it is called the fortress of Cannar, and is built of large blocks of free- stone, in an oval form, 124 feet in length, having a house in the centre, containing two rooms. Behind this oval is a continued chain of fortifications, nearlv 500 feet in length, built also of fine freestone ; and the ruins of several other buildings show that this fort was capable of containing the Inca and his whole army. The chambers and walls on the inside have a series of niches, between which are projecting cylindric stones with knobs, said to be used for hanging the arms of the warriors on ; all these, as well as the stones of the building, are beautifully cut. I'his fort is on the top of a small hill, the superior surface of which is cut into terraces and esplanades; a river named Gulan flows at its foot. On descending to this river, by means of steps cut in the rock, the traveller sees a fissure, called the Ravine of the Sun (Inti Gu- aicu) in which rises a solitary mass of sand-stone, sixteen or eighteen feet high. One of the sides of this rock is cut perpendicularly, and is remarkably white ; on it is traced concentric circles, repre- senting the sun; and a few steps lead to aseat directly opposite this image. All around the temple are pathways cut in the rock, lead- ing to a place called the gardens of the Inca, in which is a singu- lar mount, artificially raised, on whose summit is an inclosed seat, big enough for one person only, commanding a most delightful NEW GRANADA. 225 view of several beautiful cascades. This seat has arabesques sculptured in the form of a chain, on the walls which form its back,, and defend it from a precipice, on the brink nf which it is placed. The ensuing district of Quito is that of Chimbo, whose princi- pal town has the same name ; but the chief magistrate resides at Guaranda, one of the seven villages of which the district is com- posed. Ch'imbo^ the capital, is a small place, containing only about eighty families. Guayaquil being separated only by the ridge of the mountains from this district, carries on all the trade of Quito to the Pacific through it, the bales of cloth, stuffs, meal, corn and other products of the interior passing over this ridge, to the port of Guayaquil, whence comes wine, brandy, salt, fish, oil and other goods necessary for the internal provinces; this traffic can however only be carried on in summer, the roads being impracticable in the winter season for mules or other beasts. The temperature of the air in Chimbo is generally cold, from the proximity of the snowy summits of Chimborazo. The chief objects of the farmers in this district, is the breeding of mules, for the purposes of the trade before mentioned. TPIE JURISDICTION OF GUAYAQUIL. Guayaquil follows that of Chimbo on the west, and is the largest and most important district of Quito : it begins at Cape Passado, 21' south of the equinoxial line, and stretching, south, includes the island of Puna, and is terminated by Piura in Peru. This country is mostly a continued plain, and is divided into seven departments, Puerto V'lejo^ Punta de Santa Elena, the island of Puna, Taguache, Babahoyo, Baba, and Daule. During the winter months, this district is infested by insects and vermin, and is subject to dreadful storms and inundations, which oblige the farmers to send their cattle to the Andes. In the rainy season, fevers, dysenteries, diarrhoeas, the black vomit, or yellow fever, and other disorders are common, and carry off great numbers of people; at this period also, snakes, scor- pions, vipers and scolopendras find their way into the houses, and are sometimes even found in their beds. The boba, a serpent of immense size, is also common. These, with swarms of mosqui- toes, and other venomous insects, render the towns very unpleasant during this season ; and alligators, of an enormous size, cause the rivers and flooded places to be very dangerous. In the summer, the heat being moderated by the sea and land breezes, the number and activity of all these creatures is much de- creased ; and this season, which is the coldest, renovates the inha- bitants who have been rendered listless and indolent by the suffo- cating heat which prevails during the rains. Ff 226 SOUTH AMERICA. The inundations spread to such an extent in some parts, that Babahoyo, one of the dt-partments, is converted into a large lake, and the villages, which are always on heights, can only be ap- proached with boats. These floods add, however, very greatly to the fertility of the country, as the cacao plantations and meadows thrive exceedingly when the water subsides. Guayaquil grows cacao, tobacco, wax, cotton, timber for naval and architectural purposes, sugar, maize and plantains, and rears great quantities of cattle. The rivers furnish fish in great plenty, but the city is scantily supplied, owing to the putridity which so soon takes place in trans- porting fresh fish. The coasts abound with lobsters, oysters and most kinds of salt-water fish. The department of Puerto Viejo^ which bounds the government of Atacamcs southward, has five principal towns, but these arc, however, thinly inhabited ; this department grows some tobacco and cotton, which, with wax and fine timber, form its chief re- sources, as nearly the whole district of Guayaquil is covered with immense forests of the largest trees, which render travelling in many parts impracticable. Punta de Santa Elena has five towns, besides the chief place of the same name, which is celebrated for its salt-works, capable of supplying all Quito. The purple dye-fish is found in great plenty on the coasts of this division, and the productions of the district are wax, fruits, and cattle. The port of Punta is much frequented by vessels trading to Panama and Peru, and carries on a great trade with them in provisions and salt. The island and district of Puna is situated at the mouth of the river Guayaquil, and is between six and seven leagues long and broad. It was formerly very populous, and is famous in the his- tory of the conquest of Peru ; containing at present one town, which is built in a convenient harbour on the north-east, but has very few inhabitants. To this district belong the towns of Machala^ and Narangal^ on the continent near the river Tumbez. The port of Puna serves for the lading-place of large ships which cannot get over the bar to Guayaquil, and the island abounds in wood, particularly mangrove-trees. Taguache is a district at the mouth of the river of the same name which joins the Guayaquil. This division contains three towns, thinly inhabited, and produces cacao, cotton and wood, with great herds of cattle. The division of Bubahoyo contains five towns, and is the high road to the interior of Quito, famous for its cacao plantations, pro- ducing also rice, cotton, pepper and a great variety of fruits, with immense droves of black cattle, horses and mules. This country is overflowed every winter by the sv/elling of the three rivers, Co- luma, Ujiba and Caracol. The custom-house of the maritime dis- tricts of Quito, and the royal arsenal, is situated at Babahoyo^ the NEW GRANADA. 227 cliief town, in IMT' south latitude, which renders this district a place of considerable commerce. On account of the periodical inundation, the cacao trees thrive so much, that many of the plan- tations are so productive, that part of their fruit is left ungathered ; and the monkeys and other animals availing themselves of this, an- nually destroy great quantities. The largest district of Guayaquil is Baba^ reaching to the Cor- dillera of the Andes, and bounded by the jurisdiction of Latacun- ga. It contains only three towns, two of which are inhabited by Indians, and are seated on the sides of the mountains. Its inha- bitants are estimated at 4000. The cacao also thrives exceedingly in Baba, and the quantity of this fruit gathered annually in Guayaquil for exportation and home- consumption, amounts to 50,000 loads, at eighty-one pounds the load. The last district of Guayaquil is that of Daiile^ so called from a river of that name, which flows by its principal town, also called Daule. This town contains some fine houses, to which the inhabi- tants of Guayaquil retire in the hot seasons ; and by its river it sends fruits and plantains to the capital. Daule also exports cattle, horses and mules, with cacao, cotton, and sugar, and much Indian corn. The tobacco grown in this district is the best of Guayaquil. It contains two other towns of no great size. The river Guayaquil is not only the largest but the most impor- tant of all the streams in the jurisdiction. It rises in the Andes, and pursuing a serpentine course, flows into the Pacific in the Bay of Puna. The torrents which flow in all directions from the moun- tains, contribute to swell this river, and in winter it inundates the country to a great extent. Its mouth is about three miles wide, at Isla Verde and at Guayaquil still broader ; the distance on it from this city to the custom-house of Babahoyo is twenty-four and a half leagues, and it is navigable four leagues further. The tides reach as far as the custom-house in summer, but in winter the current is so strong, that the tides are often imperceptible. The mouth of the river is so full of shifting sands, that the passage of large vessels is rendered very dangerous. Its banks are decorat- ed with country-seats and cottages inhabited by fishermen. By means of this fine stream, Guayaquil exports the produce of its departments to Peru, Panama and Quito, receiving European goods from Tierra Firme ; from New Spain, and Guatimala, naptha, tar, cordage and indigo. The other large rivers are those called Yaguache, Baba, and Daule, along the banks of which most of the Indians have formed their habitations. The capital of the whole district is GuaijaquU^ a city of consi- derable importance, at the bottom of the gulf of Guayaquil, and 228 SOUTH AMERICA. at the mouth of the river of the same name, in 2* 12' south lati- tude, and 79* 6' west longitude. It was founded in the year 1534 or 1535,by Benalcazar ; but was destroyed after several furious at- tacks by the Indians. In 1537 it was rebuilt by Orellana at some distance from its first site, on the declivity of a mountain j and in 1693, great additions were made to it, on the other side of a branch of the river, which now divides the city into two parts, known by the names of the New and Old towns, communicating with each other by a long bridge. The houses are constructed mostly of wood or whitened earth. It has suffered repeatedly by conflagrations, and was reduced to ashes in 1764, since which, the government have forbid the inha- bitants to thatch their houses with straw. The streets of the new town are straight and wide, and well paved ; arcades run along before all the houses, so that the people can walk protected from the rain and sun. It is now one of the handsomest towns of South America, but the marshes in its neighbourhood, combined with the heat of the climate, render it very unhealthy. It has a hand- some church, college, convents, and an hospital, and is governed by a corregidor, who is named by the king of Spain, and who holds his office for five years. There is also a treasury and re- venue office, for the receipt of the Indian capitation-tax, the duties on imports and exports and other taxes ; and the bishop of Quito sends a vicar to govern the church. The city is defended by three forts, two on the borders of the river, and the other inland, to guard the entrance of a deep ravine which leads to it. The number of inhabitants is 10,000, most of whom are engaged in commerce, the Spaniards and Creoles being the merchants, and the Creoles and castes the artizans and labourers. The trade of this town is gradually increasing, and from the situation of its port, it will in all probability become a place of the first conse- quence, notwithstanding the insalubrity of its climate, and the dreadful tempests it is subject to in winter. The women of Guaya- quil are proverbially handsome, which causes many Europeans to marry and settle here. The island of Puna has a fort or rather battery on it, where all ships coming in and going out are brought to. Guayaquil was named a royal dock-yard, in 1767, and the abun- dance of excellent timber produced in its neighbourhood, renders it very fit for this purpose. The balsam-tree and several others yield excellent knees, and are celebrated for resisting worms and rot. Notwithstanding these advantages, the building of vessels is neglected, and the river and coasting trade is carried on in balsas, which receive the cargoes of the vessels arriving from Europe, Lima, or Panama. These balsas or rafts are peculiar to the coast of the provinces of New Granada ; they are made of five, seven, NEW GRANADA. 229 or nine trunks, of an exceedingly light tree, called balsa. A little boy can carry a log of this wood twelve feet long, and a foot in diameter, with great ease. The rafts are made larger or smaller, according as they are wanted for fishing, for the coasting trade, or for the rivers, and they go as far as Payta in Peru from Guayaquil with safety. The logs of which they are made are sixty feet in length, and two, or two and a half, in diameter, so that a large one of nine logs, is between twenty and twenty-four feet in breadth. These logs are fastened to each other by bejucos, (a sort of para- site plant,) or withies, and have cross logs lashed so firmly with these pliable plants, that they rarely give way, though the sea in their coasting voyages runs very high. The thickest log of the balsa is put so as to project beyond the others in the centre, and the others being lashed in equal number on each side to this, the number of logs is always uneven. A large balsa will carry twenty-five tons, and that as free from wet as possible, for the sea never breaks over them, nor does the water rise between the logs, as the whole machine adapts itself to th6 motion of the waves. They work and ply to windward like a keeled vessel, and keep their course extremely well before the wind, by means of a contrivance peculiar to them, which consists of some planks erected vertically, three or four yards long, and a foot and a half in breadth at the stern, and forward between the main logs. By pushing down some of these, and raising others up more or less, the float sails large, tacks, bears up, or lies to ; and what renders this more astonishing, is that the machine is the contrivance of Indians unversed in the mechanical arts. On many of these rafts, the owners erect little huts for their accommoda- tion, and on some of them in the rivers they have small gardens with beautiful flowers and vegetables. All the rivers in the vicinity of Guayaquil abound with large al- ligators, some of which are five yards in length; they destroy vast quantities of the fish, and are usually seen basking on the marshy shores, or employed in catching their food ; they feed also on flies, mosquitoes, &c. which they catch by keeping their huge mouths open until filled with these insects, which soon happens in a country where the air swarms with them. The female alligator lays her eggs in a hole in the sand ; these eggs are quite white and very solid, and she generally deposits a hundred at a time, which occupies a day or two, she then covers them over, and rolls herself about near them to accumulate the sand over her deposit. At the proper season the old one returns to the spot, and tearing up the sand, breaks the eggs to let the young animals out ; the female then takes them on her neck and body and puts them into the water ; but while doing this, the gal- linazo vulture destroys great numbers of them, and the male alli- gator is said to devour as many as he can, while the female herself 230 SOVTH AMERICA. eats those which fall off her back or do not swim, so that only four or five remain alive out of the hundred. The scales of the alli- gator's back are impenetrable to a musket-ball, and they are only vulnerable in the belly between the fore legs. Vultures and other birds, frequently discover the nests by watch- ing the female till she retires, and then claw up the sand, and de- vour the eggs ; which are also eaten by the mulatto fishermen wh© frequent these rivers. Calves and colts in the meadows, as well as dogs and other small animals, often fall a prey to these amphibious creatures, who ap- proach the pastures in which they feed in the night, and carry them off; young children, and even men, have occasionally met with the same fate; but the American crocodile rarely attacks mankind, for which reason the Indians are emboldened to engage them when- ever they meet them ; but these creatures are usually killed by means of a snare, consisting of a strong piece of wood, pointed at both ends, and covered with flesh ; this is fastened to a thong se- cured on shore, when the animal seeing the flesh on the water, darts at it, and shutting his mouth, the points run into his jaws, and he is caught. • Many of the small rivers on the coasts of apanish America are said to contract a musky smell and taste, from the vast numbers of alligators with which they aboiind, and it is even asserted that sea- men are aware of the presence of these animals, by the peculiar white colour of the water which they frequent, but nevertheless, do not refrain from supplying their ships with that article, from such streams, as it has never been discovered that the change in taste, smell and colour, imparts any noxious quality to the fluid. We shall conclude this account of Guayaquil, with a statement of the amount of its annual domestic and foreign trade. The exportations, of which the principal article is cacao, are va- lued in good seasons, at 119,170/, whilst the importations in a like period, arise to 260,000/. sterling. The adjoining district of Cuen^a is the next of the presidency of Quito, that comes under our notice, the chief town of which is the city of Crienfa^ founded in 1537, by Gil Ramirez Davalos ; it stands in 2° 53' 49" south latitude, and 79° 14' 40" west longi- tude, on a spacious plain, about half a league from the river Ma- changara; on the south side is another river called Matadero, and about a quarter of a league distance are two others, named Yanun- cay and Banos. These rivers are fordable in summer, but in winter can be crossed only by the bridges. The plain of Cuenga is about six leagues long, and in it these four rivers unite and form a large stream. The streets are straight and broad, the houses mostly of adobes, or unburnt bricks ; the Indian suburbs, consisting of low NE 4r GRANADA. 231 mean huts ; but the place is well supplied with water, and the en- virons are extremely fertile and pleasant. It contains three churches, two of which are appropriated to the Indians ; there are also four convents, two nunneries, and a college formerly belonging to the Jesuits, with an hospital. Its public offices are the chamber of finance, and those of the government of the city ; and the tithes and taxes of Loja and Jaen de Bracameros, are collected here. The men are said to be very indolent, the manufactures of baize and cottons, being carried on by the women, who transact most ol the business. Its inhabitants exceed 20,000. The district of Cuen^a is subdivi- ded into two departments, Cuenfa^ and Alaizsi; the former including ten villages, and the latter, which borders on Riobamba, has four. They produce sugar, cattle, cotton, and grain, and a great quan- tity of cloth is manufactured in them. The mines in this country are very numerous, but from want of capital, and other causes arc not worked. This district is famed for the many remains of Peruvian archi- tecture it contains, the ruins of the Fort of Cannar before men- tioned, being near the village of Atun-cannar, or Great Cannar, which village is also noted for its corn fields, affording very rich harvests. The unfortunate inhabitants of the district were inhumanly mas- sacred by Atabalipa, on account of their siding with his brother Huascar; and it is stated, that he caused 60,000 to be slain after the victory he gained over that monarch. The climate of the city of Cuenca is mild, the cold being little felt, and the heat very moderate. It is subject, however, to dread- ful storms of rain, thunder and lightning, and in the department of Alausi, to earthquakes ; the whole of that part of the district being full of chasms and crevices, caused by these events. In this part the air is also cold, on account of the neighbourhood of the snowy mountains. Alausi^ the chief place of the second department, is an inconsi- derable town, containing a few Spaniards of rank, mestizoes and Indians, with a good parish church, and a Franciscan convent, in 2° 12' north latitude, and 78" 39" west longitude. The last jurisdiction of Quito on the south, which is not a se- parate province, is LojA, or Loxa the chief town of which has the same appellation, and was founded in 1540, by Alonzo de Mercadillo, resembling, in extent, form and manner of building, the city of Cuenca, but the climate is much hotter. In Loja are two churches, several convents, a nunnery, an hospital, and an ancient college of the Jesuits ; its population is about 10,000 souls who are an industrious people, governed by an officer of high rank, having some peculiar titles and privileges. 232 SOUTH AMERICA. In this district are fourteen villages, and it is famous for pro- ducing great quantities of the best quinquina, or cinchona, so well known as a medicine; the forests of Loxa contain three kinds of this substance. The trees which produce this bark are not of the largest size, the usual height being about fifteen feet; the largest branches do not always yield the best; and in order to collect the bark, the Indians cut down the trees, then strip them and dry the rind in the sun, after which it is packed for exportation. Cochineal of an extreme good quality is bred in this country, but so little care is taken, that enough is only produced to serve the dyers of Cuen(;a. Nu- merous droves of cattle and mules are sent from this district to Peru and Quito ; and the manufacture of carpets, in which the co- chineal dye is used, is very considerable. The village of Zeruma is celebrated for having some rich gold veins in its neighbourhood, which have failed, owing to the want of proper exertion being made to clear them. This town or vil- lage was one of the first which was built in the province, and con- tains five or six thousand inhabitants. GOVERNMENT OF JAEN DE BRACAMOROS. This government following that of Loja on the south, we shall describe it before those of Quixos and Maynas, although it is the most southern of the provinces of Quito. It is bounded on the north by Loja and Quixos, or Macas, on the east by Maynas, on the west by Piura, and on the south by Caxamarca, or Chacha- poyas in Peru. Its southern and western frontiers limit the terri- tories of the viceroyalty of Peru. Bracamoros was first discovered and explored in 1538, by Pedro de Vergara, who was appointed to command an expedition by Hernando Pizarro. Juan de Salinas was sent afterwards to this province with the title of governor ; by courage and artifice he con- quered the native tribes, and built several villages, some of which are dignified with the names of cities. The Indians of the country, known at that time by the names of Yaguarsongo, and Pacamoros revolted and destroyed all the principal settlements, and those which escaped, dreading a return of a similar calamity, united themselves into one town called Jaen, from which the whole pro- vince has now taken its name. The town, or city of Jaen^ lies in nearly the same longitude as Quito, and in about 5° 25' south latitude ; it was founded in 1549, by Diego Palomino, on the river Chinchipe at its conflux with the false Maranon. Its inhabitants amount to about 4000, being chiefly mestizoes, a very few Indians, and still fewer Spaniards. There are three other villages called Valladolid^ Loyola^ and Santiago de las Montanas^ which are styled cities, but contain very HEW GRAJ6JADA. 235 few inhabitants to support this title. The other villages, which are about ten in number, are mostly peopled by Indians. Ihe Pongo de Manseriche, or strait by which the False Mara- non passes the Andes, is partly in this district. The embarkation on the Lauricocha, the present name for a river which was until very lately supposed to be the JNIaranon, is usually at Chuchunga, a village of Bracamoros, in 5" 29' south latitude, four days' journey from Jaen ; the river not being navigable nearer than this, on account of the rapids. In Jaen, the climate is hot, though the rains are not so violent or lasting as in Quixos ; the summer is the pleasantest season, as the heat, the rains, and the tempests abate during that period. Such parts of this country as are under cultivation, are very fer- tile, but nearly the whole government is covered with forests. The cacao flourishes very much, but owing to the difficulty of carriage, oannot be exported with profit; tobacco seems peculiar to the soil, as great quantities are produced, which being prepared in a pe- culiar manner, by soaking the leaves in decoctions of fragrant herbs, acquires so pleasant a taste, that the cigars of Jaen are universally sought after in Peru, Chili, and Quito. Cotton-trees are very abundant, and their produce constitutes a great part of the traffic of the inhabitants. The rivers of Bracamoros for- merly produced a great deal of gold, but no exertions are made to procure the grains at present. Its commerce consists in cotton, tobacco and mules, with which a brisk trade is carried on with the provinces of Peru and Quito, in return for European articles. The animals peculiar to the wilds of Jaen are the cougar, or pu- ma, jaguar, and the great black bear of the Andes, which equally inhabits all the mountain regions of Quito. They have also a very large animal called danta, which is as big as an ox ; its skin is white, and it has a horn in the middle of its head bending back- wards J and the woods are abundantly stocked with reptiles and birds. All the rivers of Jaen flow into the Lauricocha, or descend into the deserts of the Maranon to join that noble stream on the east. The communication by post is carried on down these rivers, and the Indian, who carries the letters, wraps them in his dress which he ties round his head, and with a great knife in his hand, to clear the underwood which may obstruct his road when obliged to land, he descends swimming for two days the river of Guacabamba, or Chamaya, and then the Amazons to Tomependa, a village of Jaen. The Chamaya is full of rapids, but the postman passes these by land, and generally carries with him a log of bombax or balsa, in order to rest himself on in the water. In the huts of the natives, which mostly lie along the shores, he finds food and welcome, and 234 SOUTH AMERICA. none of these rivers are infested with alligators, which generally prefer water whose stream is not-rapid. The Indians who inhabit Bracamoros are usually in large hordes, and on their migrations from one hunting ground to another, they generally travel in this manner, excepting when the)'- ascend the country ; then the forests offer the only paths ; and through these (in which cinchona of the finest quality is found) they are forced to hew their way with their long knives. THE GOVERNMENT OF MAYNA8. The government of Maynas is the most eastern territory of Qui- to ; it extends to the Portuguese frontiers on the Great Maranon, and is bounded on the north by Quixos, west by Bracamoros and Varxx J south by Peru, and eastward by Portuguese America, and the missions north of the Maranon. The extent of Maynas cannot be computed, as the greater part of it consists of the immense forests of the vale of the Amazons. Its capital is St. Fraiicisco de Borja^ or Borja^ in 4° 28' south latitude, and 76° 24' west longitude. The inhabitants are not nu- merous, being mostly Creoles and Indians ; but the governor re- sides here, who is styled governor of Maynas and Maranon. The western district of Maynas contains, besides the city of Borja, the town of Santiago de la Laguna or Cocamas on the eastern bank of the river Guallaga. This is the seat of the superior of the missions, which are spread among the Cocames, the Maynas, Xibaros, Panos, Omaguas, Chamicuros, Aguanos, Muniches, Otanabes, Roamay- nas, Gaes, Napeanos, Yurimaguas, and several other Indian tribes. On the river Napo these missionaries have twelve villages, and on the False and True Maranon, as far as the Rio Negro, upwards of tv/enty-four, with many infant settlements. In the interior, and on the banks of other rivers which flow into the Maranon, they have also many populous and flourishing places, among various tribes of Indians, but most of which are little known. All these nations of Indians have a great affinity to each other in appearance and manners, but their languages differ as much as those of the northern continent ; many of them have also very sin- gular customs ; the Omaguas flattening the heads of their infants, by compressing them constantly between boards, and fancying that this gives them a very beautiful appearance ; these people were converted by father Fritz, in 1686. Other tribes bore holes in the septum of the nose, in the lips, or in their chins, sticking in these fine feathers or other ornaments, whilst some extend the lobes of their ears, by constantly hanging weights to them till they descend to the shoulders. Maynas is chiefly remarkable as being the country which was supposed to contain such invaluable forests of cinnamon, that the NEW GRANADA. 235 brother of Pizarro nearly lost his life in endeavouring to find it» This exploratory march of the governor of Quito led to the disco- •very of one of the finest rivers in the world ; a part of which tra- verses this district. The river Maranon rises in the southern Andes of Peru, and if its length is estimated from its known parts only, to the Atlantic, it rolls its waters through a space equal to 4500 miles, and it is said that a vessel of 4 or 500 tons, might actually navigate it throughout this immense extent. It receives on every side along its majestic course, streams which are themselves longer and deep- er than most of the great rivers of Europe ; the Beniy the Laurico- cha or Tunguragna^ the Madera or Llavari^ and the Negro^ are all of this description ; besides which, as a late traveller in Brazil has observed, it may be said to receive thousands of others into its bosom. Near its supposed sources, this noble stream, or rather inland sea, is called the Apurimac, and rises to the south of the mountains of Cailloma, between 16 and 1 7 degrees of south latitude, near the city of Arequipa, where it is joined by the Monigote or Pangitana^ and is so deep that on entering the province ©f Canes, a rope bridge becomes necessary. Eight miles below this bridge it passes through the Andes, amid awful precipices, and is joined by the Pampas or Charcas in 13° 10' south latitude from the west. The Vilcamayo^ nearly equal in size to the Apurimac, falls into it at 12° 15' south latitude, and the Rio Jauja or Mantaro in 12''6' south latitude. At the junction of this stream with the Apurimac, the current which had before run from north-west, changes to the north-east. The Perene at 11° 13', and the Tnambari^ or Paiicar-^ tambo^ at 10° 45', augment its swellings waters, after which, from hence to 8° 26' south latitude, it receives forty large streams, but none so considerable as the Beni, whose sources lie in the province of Sicasica, in 19° south latitude. At its confluence with this river, the Apurimac is called the Grand Para, and is two miles in width ; and at 8° 26' south latitude ; the Pachitea throws in its tri- butary waters. Northward of this last the Piachiz joins it, and here the river changes from north to north-east. At 7° 35' south latitude, the Aguaytra falls into it, and in 7° south latitude, the Manoa or Cux- niahatay^ the Sariacue at 6° 45' south latitude, and the Tapichi at 5° south latitude. The stream has now borne for some time the name of Ucayale, and proceeding under this appellation, with an immense volume, it receives at 4° 55' south latitude, the TungU' ragua^ Lauricocha^ or False Maranon. It now divides into three branches, the largest of which is 55 fathoms in depth, and turns directly to the east. Before describing its farther progress, it is necessary to say that some authors have doubted whether the Beni is not the true Maranon, as its sources are farther south than those Qf the Apurimac ; ^nd it is of such force, and has such an immense 236 :.0U1H AMERICA. width on its junction with that river, that it actually drives the Apurimac towards the west for some distance. The Tunguragua was formerly considered to be the real Ama- 70ns, but that opinion is now quite exploded ; it rises in the pro- vince of Tarma in Peru, in the lake Lauricocha, near the city of Guanuco, in 11° south latitude, and flows through Peru to Braca- moros, where passing by Jaen, it turns to the east, and pours itself, after intersecting the Andes at the Pongo de Manseriche into the Maranon by an immense mouth, below the village of St. Regis. The Tunguragua receives many large tributary streams, in the kingdom of Peru, one of which, the Guallaga^ rising in the south- ern Andes, east of Guamanga, is at its conflux with the Laurico- cha, 450 yards wide, and thirty-four fathoms deep. The Ucayale, or True Maranon, is navigable at all seasons ; it was explored in 1794 by father Girval, who ascended it from St. Regis to the river Pachitea, and found its current gentle, abound- ing with fish, and its banks crowned with superb forests stored with wild animals. The native tribes on its shores were generally of a pacific nature, and in the course of 300 leagues he found 132 islands. From the confluence of the Ucayale and Tunguragua, the river decidedly receives the name of Maranon, and flows with a gentle cunent, and with an increasing expanse of waters into the Atlantic Ocean ; its course lies mostly through the Portuguese territories of Amazonia, Guiana, and Grand Para. It receives from the Cordillera of Quito, the Caqueta and Apapures^ which running into each other, become a noble river under the name of the Tapu- ra. The Napo^ which was the river on which Orellana first em- barked, also rises in Quito, as does the Putumayo., or /ca, which flows into the Maranon, between the Napo and the Yapura. East of these rivers, besides an immense number of smaller streams, the Maranon receives the great Rio Negro^ by which it communicates with the Orinoco. Between the junction of the Negro and the Atlantic Ocean, innumerable streams rising in the desarts of Por- tuguese Guiana pour in their tributary waters from the north ; on its south side this amazing river receives, commencing from the west after the conflux of the Lauricocha, the Tavari^ the Jutay^ the Juruay^ the Tefe^ Carori, Furos^ and the great Madera^ which has its sources in Potosi, far south of the Apurimac, and falls into the Maranon by numerous mouths ; and the Topayos, Zingu, Dos Bocas^ the Tocantins and the Miigu^ issuing from the mining dis- tricts of Brazil, pay their tribute to the Maranon, until it rushes into the vast bosom of the Atlantic, In breadth and depth the Maranon answers almost every where to its immense length, and it forms throughout its course, innu- merable islands, especially between the mouths of the Napo and the Carorij which are picturesque in the extreme, from the great NEW GRANADA. 237 variety of their figures, and from the beautiful straits they form between their banks. The depth of the branches formed by these islands, near St. Pablo, or St. Paul de Omaguas, the western Por- tuguese fort, on the frontiers of New Granada and Peru, is more than a mile. At Coari, where the groups of isles terminate for a short space, the river is nearly a mile and a half broad, and M. de la Condamine, after taking every precaution against the effect of the current, found no bottom with 100 fathoms of line ; 400 miles below the mouth of the Negro, the shores of the Maranon approach each other, and this place is called the Strait of Pauxis ; the breadth here is only a mile, and the tides are perceptible, tKt)ugh the ocean is still 200 leagues distant. Proceeding onward, with a majestic course, and forming nume- rous islands and straits, the river directs its course, after receiv- ing the Zingu, towards the north-east, and enlarging its boundaries in the most astonishing manner, it runs, with accumulated force to its final destination, forming as it glides along, several very large insulated places ; one of these dividing it at last into two mouths, by which it enters the Atlantic Ocean. This island, called Joanes, is 150 leagues in length, and from its Cape Maguari to Cape Norte, on the opposite continent, the largest of the two estuaries is forty-five leagues in breadth, whilst the lesser is twelve leagues broad, from the same Cape Maguari to Tigioca point, on the southern continent. The Maranon is subject to periodical floods during the rainy seasons, at which times it overflows, and fertilises the country adjacent to its banks. The descent of this river in a straight course of 1860 miles, was found by M. de la Condamine, (who embarked on the Tunguragua and joined the Maranon) to be about 1020 feet, or rather more than six inches in a mile ; and the place where the tides are first perceptible, is 90 feet above the level of the sea. Its banks are adorned with every variety of plants peculiar to tropical countries ; immense and stately forests are every where observed, inhabited only by the wild animals, or by man in a state of nature. The settlements of the Portuguese, extend only a very short distance from the Atlantic, where they have here and there a fort, in the most open situations of the interior ; the rest of the valley of the Amazons is in the possession of its ancient ten- ants. A history of the discovery of this river from the interior, has been already given ; but Orellana was not the first who explored it. Vicente Yanez Pinzon, who accompanied Columbus in his first voyage, was the person by whom this was achieved. At his own expense, he fitted out four vessels in Spain, in 1499, and sailed to the Canaries ; passing Cape Verde, he steered directly west, till on the 26th January I50n, when he saw the land, which he named 238 SOUTH AMERICA. Cabo de Consolacion (now called Cape St. Augustine) ; landing here, and viewing the country, he determined to coast along its shores, until he at last found himself in afresh water sea, and ad- vancing further, he discovered the islands at the mouth of the river, and trading with the Indians who inhabited its banks, he called it by what he heard them name it, the Maranon. This discovery was followed by that of Orellana from the inte- rior, in 1540. In 1559, Pedro de Orsua endeavoured to trace the route of Orellana, but was killed by the Indians. In 1602, Rafael Ferrer explored the river for a short space, and gave the first account of the nations on its shores. In 1616, some soldiers, pursuing the Indians, fell in with the False Maranon, and went down it in canoes ; on their return, and in consequence of what they reported, Baca de Vega was appoint- ed governor of Maynas, in 1618. Some missionaries afterwards proceeded as far as Para in Brazil, from whence they were despatched with a flotilla of boats, to re- ascend and explore the banks of the river. They departed on the 28th of October 1637, and reached Palamino in Quixos, on the 24th of June 1638. In consequence of this voyage, the flotilla was ordered to return to Para, with several intelligent persons on board, who were to make a further survey, and then proceed by way of the Portu- guese territory, to Spain. They accordingly set out from Quito, on the I6th of February 1639, and reached Grand Para, after a voyage of ten months ; whence they crossed the Atlantic to Europe. The missionaries now exerted themselves to form settlements, but none so arduously as father Fritz, who sailed down the river from Maynas to Para, in 1689, and returned by the same route, in 1691 ; he subsequently visited most of the rivers which flow into the False Maranon, as well as some of those down to the Negro, which fall into the genuine river, and drew a map of these ; which was engraved at Quito, in 1707". Father Girval explored the Ucayale, or True Maranon, in 1794, extracts from whose account will appear in the description of Peru. The voyage of M. de la Condamine, in 1793, down the Mara- non, from the province of Jaen de Bracamoros, to the Atlantic Ocean, threw a great light on the geography of this famous river, since which period no traveller of any note has undertaken this dangerous and fatiguing journey, for scientific purposes alone. A stronger motive than the mere love of science induced a lady to venture herself on the immeasureable expanse of the Maranon. Madame Godin des Odonnois, the wife of M. Godin, a brother of the celebrated mathematician of that name, had received advices from her husband, that it would be necessary to embark with her NEW CRAVADA. 239 » ftittiiiy on this perilous voyage. Actuated by the spirit of conjugal affection, she committed herself to the bosom of the river, in 1769. In this expedition the greater part of the company who went with her perished, having lost their way in the trackless forests of the country ; after the most inconceivable struggles, she regained the borders of the river, and sailed down it to the ocean. The narra- tive of the disasters which befel her is one of the most affecting re- lations ever penned by the hand of man ; and her conduct exhibits a picture of the fortitude which woman is capable of exerting, in situations under which the mind of the bravest of the other sex fails. From Madame Godin alone, this noble river might be na- med the Amazons. One of the extraordinary circumstances respecting this river, is the pororoca, or bore, a sudden efflux of the waters, which rush like a moving wall, twelve or fifteen feet in height, and sweep every thing before them ; the noise of this irruption may be heard for eight miles ; it is chiefly observable at the Cape del Norte, at its confluence with the Arowary. This rising of the waters is ob- servable in several rivers and arms of the sea, in the New and Old Worlds ; the river Severn in England, and the bay or basin of Mi- nas in Nova Scotia, are, with that of the Ganges in India, among the most remarkable. The waters of the Maranon run with such velocity, that they are unmixed with the salt of the ocean, 80 leagues from the mouth. Maynas contains several other rivers besides the Lauricocha, the most noted of which are the Napo^ issuing from Cotopaxi, which receives several other streams, and after a course of 200 leagues, falls into the Maranon. Father de Acuna insisted that this was the true Amazons. The river Ica^ or Putamayo^ rising in the district of Ibarra, falls into the Maranon, east of the Napo, after a course of 300 leagues. The Tapura^ which rising in Popayan, under the name of Caqueta^ runs into the Maranon, by several mouths. One branch of this river was formerly thought to be the great Rio Negro, the junc- tion of which, with the Orinoco, is so exactly laid down in a map of Father Ferreira, of the city of Gran Para, that it differs in very few respects from the late discoveries of M. de Humboldt on the Cassiquiare. The Portuguese penetrated from the Amazons to the Orinoco, by means of canoes, as early as 1774; and M. de la Condamine, also gives a very reasonable description of this famous junction. The Rio Negro rises a short space north of the Caqueta or Yapura, and after an amazing course, sends off one branch to the Orinoco, directly north, and another south-easterly to the Maranon, The northern branch is now known by the name of the Cassi- quiare: these afford an inland communication betvreen two of the 240 SOUTH AMERICA. ^ most celebrated rivers in the world ; and as the settlements of the Spaniards in Caraccas, and the Portuguese in Guiana, approach each nearer and nearer every year, this natural canal will shortly become of great importance. The most remarkable natural curiosity in Maynas is the Pongo ©r strait, through which the Lauricocha passes the Andes. The river above the Pongo, runs down a mountain channel, forming rapids, cataracts, he. approaching the eastern ridge of the Andes, where it suddenly contracts its bounds, from 1600 to 600 feet, and rushes through a crevice of tremendous height for the space of eight miles. The vortices are so powerful here, that a missionary was kept in one for two days, and would have perished with his raft, if the river had not suddenly swollen and carried him out of it. Balsas are always used in this strait, as the spring they have resists the shocks which they experience when dashed against the rocks ; in such cases, a canoe or boat would be broke to pieces. La Condamine was carried through on his balsa at the rate of nine miles an hour, and emerging from the jaws of the mountain, he found himself in a new world, separated from all human inter- course, on a fresh water sea, surrounded by a maze of rivers and lakes, which struck in every direction into the gloom of an im- mense forest, impenetrable but for them. New plants and animals were exhibited to his view, the soil covered with a dense mass of vegetation now appeared, and nothing was to be seen but verdure and water. Below Borja, and four or five hundred leagues beyond it a stone or a pebble is as rare as a diamond. In Maynas the Indians are great adepts in fishing, and the rivers swarm with tortoises on their shores and islands, which they catch in great numbers. The manati or sea-cow is also sought after by them for food ; it is about three or four yards long, and very broad, with two large wing fins. This animal feeds on the herbage growing along shore, and has obtained its name from its great size, and from its suckling its young in the manner of a cow, and its flesh tastes also like beef. This country, particularly along the rivers, is infested with large snakes, or boa constrictors, and in the places where these abound, the air is generally hot and unhealthy, as is the case along the whole range of the vast river Maranon, which likewise swarms with alligators, venomous reptiles, and insects. THE GOVERNMENT OF qUIXOS. The government of Quixos and Macas is the last and most easterly of those of the audience of Quito and kingdom of New Granada j it 'k bounded on the north by Popayan and the plains ; NEW GRANADA. 241 east by Portuguese Guiana ; on the west it is separated from La- tacunga and Ibarra by the Cordilleras of Cotopaxi, Cayambe, &c. and on the south, it is limited by Maynas and Bracamoros. This country was first discovered by Gonzalo de Pineda, as before related, in 1536. The viceroy Canete, commissioned Da- velos to govern the province, reduce the Indians, and found towns. He accordingly erected Baeza the capital, in 1559, and this was soon followed by the building of Archidona, Avila, and other places. In Quixos the climate is very hot and moist, the rains being almost continual. It is covered with thick forests, some of the trees in which are of prodigious magnitude. In the south-west of Quixos, is the country called Los Canelos^ a sort of spice resem- bling cinnamon growing there. The south part of Quixos is called Macas, and is separated into a distinct district, under that appel- lation, of which the chief town is the city of Macas^ or Sevilla de Oro. The climate of Macas is better than that of Quixos, as the proximity of the Andes occasions it to be much cooler. The win- ter here begins in April, and lasts till September, the summer then commences, and the north winds blowing constantly, renders it very mild. The chief occupation of the settlers is the cultiva- tion of tobacco, which is exported to Peru ; sugar canes thrive very well, as do cotton, grain, &c. Among the infinite variety of trees, which the forests are composed of, is the storax, distin- guished by the exquiste fragrancy of its gum. Great quantities of copal are brought from Macas as well as wild wax, and the district contains eight principal villages, and numerous mission- ary settlements, two priests or superiors governing the spiritual affairs. At the conquest, this country was very populous, ov/- ing to the quantity of gold drawn from the neighbourhood of Macas. Baeza^ the capital of Quixos y Macas, is a miserable village, of only eight or nine houses, the governor residing always at Archi- dona. Macas ^ the chief town of Macas, lies in 2° 30' south latitude, and 78° 5' west longitude. Its houses are built of wood and thatched ; the inhabitants, who amount to 1200, are generally mestizoes or Spaniards. Archidona is a small place, in 0' 45' south of the line, and 76° 48' westlongitude. Its houses are of wood with thatched roofs, and the inhabitants amount to about 700, being a mixture of all castes. It was almost ruined in 1744, by an explosion of Cotopaxi. Avila is in 0° 44' south latitude, and 76° 25' west longitude ; its inhabitants amount to about 300, and its curate has six other vil- lages under his jurisdiction. The number of regular villages in Quixos are twelve, with numerous missions. The independent Hh 242 SOUTH AMERICA. Indians are Still the chief occupiers of Quixos and Macas ; their irruptions are frequent and much dreaded, most of them being of a warlike disposition. This prevents these countries from being colonised rapidly, but a few Spanish troops properly managed, might however soon quell these people, and reduce them to a state of insignificance. The missions oi Sucu>?ibios^fiye in number, also be- long to this government. Quixos and Macas are intersected by the rivers mentioned as flowing into the Maranon through parts of Maynas ; but little is known of the state of the country on their banks, as the aborigines are there the sole and undisputed masters. CAPTAIN GENERALSHIP OF CARACCAS. Caraccas isaname taken from that of a tribe of Indians, and given to a country v/hich includes New Andalusia, or Cumana, with Margarita, Barcelona, Venezuela, or Caraccas Proper, Mara- caybo and Coro, on the coast of the Caribbean sea, Varinas and Spanish Guiana in the interior. BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT. It is bounded on the north by the Caribbean sea, east by the Atlantic, south by Peru and Dutch Guiana, and west by the king- dom of Santa Fe or New Granada ; its extent may be computed from the twelfth to the eighteenth degrees of north latitude, and occupies a space extending over a surface equal to 48,000 square leagues. POLITICAL DIVISIONS AND GOVERNMENT. The Caraccas are subdivided into seven provinces ; viz. New Andalusia or Cumana ; Barcelona, Venezuela or Caraccas Proper, containing Venezuela and Coro, Maracaybo, Varinas and Guiana, with the detached government of the island of Margarita ; the whole of these are under the particular superintendance of an officer of the highest rank, who is styled captain-general of the provinces of Venezuela, and the city of Caraccas. The popula- tion amounts to nearly one million, of whom sixty thousand are slaves, and about one-ninth Indians. CARACCAS. 243 DISCOVERY AND HISTORY. The coast of this country was originally discovered by Colum- bus in 1498, during his third expedition. Several adventurers succeeding in exploratory voyages on this part of the continent, the Spanish government came to the determination of endeavouring to place colonies on its soil. These being chiefly ill conducted, and managed by priests unacquainted with the manners and cus- toms of the natives, did not succeed, and it was found necessary to endeavour to subdue the inhabitants by force. When this was partially eflected, and Spanish settlers were placed in some secu- rity, the management of the new colonies was intrusted to the care of the Welsers, a German mercantile company. These people exercised, for a length of time, an uncontrolled sway over the unfortunate Indians and the colonists. Their excess of punish- ment and their fraud becoming at last notorious, the king of Spain deprived them of their power, in 1550, and appointed an officer of the crown to administer justice to the oppressed. This office, under the title of captain-general of the Caraccas, has subsisted ever since, and with some few variations in the ter- ritorial divisions, and some abridgments of the authority of the person who fills it, it existed in the same form, until the year 1810. At this period, the mother country, subdued in part by the victorious arms of the French nation, had no time to attend to the situation of her trans-atlantic colonies. Engaged in a destruc- tive and terrible struggle herself, she little knew of the events which were taking place in the Americas, or if she did know them, was unable to assist those subjects devoted to her cause, or to quell the insurgent and ambitious. Taking advantage of the shackled state of the resources of Spain, the disaffected raised the standard of rebellion, and formed z junta supretna (a congress, or supreme council) in Caraccas. At first they published their acts in the name of Ferdinand the Seventh ; but soon, however, on the arrival of Miranda with some troops, declared themselves independent of the mother country, and appointed Miranda to the chief command. Spain now placed their ports in a state of nomi- nal blockade. They have since been daily engaged in hostile measures, and junta has succeeded to junta, royal power to insurgent government, and vice versa^ with little interval up to the present moment, The Caraccas may indeed be styled the focus of the Spanish American revolution. Numerous and bloody actions have taken place be- tween the Spanish troops and the Caraccanians, Miranda has been beheaded, and the captain-general has reinstated himself. Don Simon Bolivar, a native of the country, possessing much property and considerable influence, has been the great leader of 244 SOUTH AMERICA. this revolt, styling himself president and commander in chief of the united provinces of Venezuela. Obtaining from the congress of a neighbouring state (New Granada) an army of 600 men, he marched against Monteverde, the captain-general who had be- headed Miranda and punished his colleagues, and meeting with few obstacles to surmount, entered the city of Caraccas as conquer- or, on the 4th August, 1813. The captain-general fled, and refu- sing to treat with the insurgents, as derogatory to the honour of the master he represented, remained quiet until he received from Spain a reinforcement of 1200 men ; he then attacked the city, but was repulsed with the loss of nearly his whole army, and himself se- verely wounded. In discussing the historical facts relating to South America in general, we have entered more at large upon this sub- ject. At present Bolivar occupies the lower parts of the Orinoco, having made the town of Angostura his head-quarters. We have chosen the description of the kingdom of Peru as the proper place to give a detail of the general historical facts relating to the whole of South America, as it was in that kingdom that the Spanish government first took a consolidated form ; we shall, there- fore, at present recur to the metropolis, description, and political divisions of the captain-generalship we are now engaged in treat- ing of. CAPITAL. The city of Caraccas, or as it is written by the Spaniards, Caracas, is the metropolis of this vast region, and has given its name, within a late period, to the whole government. It is situ- ated in 10° 30' 15" north-latitude, and 67* 4' 45" west longitude, the highest square being elevated 2903 feet above the level of the sea, at the commencement of a fine plain or valley, which extends nine miles to the eastward, and has nearly the same breadth, through which runs the river Guayra ; the site of the town is an uneven ground with a steep slope; it was fovmded by Diego de Losada, in 1567, and called Santiago de Leon de Caracas, in order to have a permanent settlement in the neighbourhood of some gold mines, which were imagined to be very productive. The ground is so pre- cipitous, that the few carriages which the inhabitants possess are little used. The Anauco, the Catache, and the Caraguatu, three small streams, run through the city from north to south ; the se- cond of these furnishes the water used by the labouring classes, the rich inhabitants having that useful fluid brought from a stream about three miles off", supposed to possess peculiar medicinal qualities. The streets of Caraccas are straight, wide, and intersect each other at right angles ; the houses very handsome and spacious ; there are some, fine squares, and a handsome cathedral, with eight churches and five convents. This city is the seat of the metropa- CARACCAS. 245 litan archbishop of Caraccas, and contains a royal audience, which governs the civil affairs of the captain-generalship, and of which court the officer holding the reins of government is always presi- dent, it being in fact a sort of legislative council, composed of the governor and great state officers. The number of inhabitants of this celebrated town are stated not to exceed 20,000 at present, owing to the tremendous loss sustained by the earthquake in 1812, and to the recent sanguinary events which have taken place. The theatre of Caraccas holds from fifteen to eighteen hundred persons, and is well frequented ; the female part of the audience occupy the pit, and are separated from the men. The pleasantest part of the year is during the months of November and December, when the air is cool, and the mornings very fine, but the evenings are foggy and damp. During the months of June and July, the nights are beautiful and serene ; in fact, the climate during the whole year is so good, that this city may be said to enjoy a perpetual spring. This state of the atmosphere is finely contrasted with the dreary and savage appearance of the mountains in the neighbourhood, the tremendous precipice of the Silla, or Saddle, and the confused ap- pearance of the country on the right of the plain ; which plain, called Chacao, is highly cultivated in many parts, and affords the principal objects of subsistence to the town. In it grows the plan- tain, the orange, the apple, the apricot, the coffee-tree, the sugar- cane, the pine-apple, the strawberry, vine, peach, quince, maize, corn, vegetables, rice, &c., and in this fertile valley, numerous herds of cattle abound, it having been computed that forty thou- sand head are annually brought to the market, for the purpose of being salted, and of immediate consumption. The only inconvenience felt during this eternal spring is from the effects of certain winds, which cause the weather to prove oc- casionally inconstant, and produce low nervous fevers, and other disorders incident to a variable atmosphere. The yellow fever sometimes, though rarely, extends its ravages to this place, and once lasted (in the year 1696) for sixteen months, and in 1802 was fatal to the garrison newly arrived from Europe. The season of periodical rain lasts during the months of April, May and June ; but hail is seldom or never known oftener than once in four or five years. This capital, placed in so charming a climate, compai'ed to many others in the same latitude, has been subjected to a scourge, which no beauty of situation, or salubrity of the air, can ever compen- sate. In the year 1812 the whole city was nearly destroyed by an awful earthquake. On the 26th of March, in that year, the popu- lation of Leon de Caraccas amounted to fifty thousand souls ; in a short space, even in the passing of a moment, these devoted peo- ple were reduced to thirty eight thousand, and as if an enormous mine had been exploded under the city, the earth was upheaved 246 SOUTH AMERICA. to a tremendous height, and twelve thousand persons were swal- lowed up, or perished amid the ruins of their houses. The survivors have been ever since busily engaged in repairing the damages, and rebuilding the city, which is now rapidly ad- vancing to its former state, and the population annually increasing. La Giioyra^ a small town situated on the coast of the Spanish Main, is the port of Caraccas, in 10' 36' 19" north latitude, and 67° 6' 45" west longitude, at the foot of the chain of mountains which terminate abruptly in precipices on the coast, and which form the sides of the valley in which the capital is built. From the city to the port, it requires a journey of two hours on the mules of the country, which are very safe and swift. The road is kept in excellent repair, and is fortified by draw-bridges, thrown over the natural clefts, and by small batteries. The harbour itself is rather a roadsted than a haven, and contains a newly formed mole, protected by strong batteries. The wall of rocks rise per- pendicularly from the back of the town, and forbid all access, ex- cepting by the regular road. At La Guayra the sea is always agitated, and the vessels are laden and discharged with much diffi- culty ; so much so, that mules are not embarked, the mulattoes and negroes carrying the cacao and other merchandises to the vessels, hy wading into the water. The flat space on which La Guayra stands is only about 900 feet in breadth, from the precipice at the back to the sea, and the whole aspect of the place is arid, gloomy and unpleasant. This town is surrounded on the sea side by works and batteries, some of which are very strong, and contain within their limits two streets, parallel to each other, with 8000 inhabitants. It may be said, that this port is one of the hottest places in Spanish America ; the yellow-fever had, however, only commenced its destructive ravages within ten or twelve years, before which time it was unknown ; some are of opinion, that it was brought there after the port was opened to foreign commerce, by the sea- men from the United States ; others that it was caused by the overflowing of the river Guayra, which filled the cellars and deep places with water, that soon became stagnant, and exhaled putrid eflftuvia. However it may be, the inhabitants and strangers who reside at La Guayra, have suflfered dreadfully of late years from this disorder. The annual amount of the commerce of this port, which is the principal one of the province, has been estimated (in peaceable times) to arise to the sum of 346,600/., in the exportation of cacao, indigo, cotton, coffee, and hides ; and the importations of Europear, and other goods to 511,700/. sterling in the same period. I CARACCAS. 24V DESCRIPTION OF THE FEATURES, &C. OF THE COUNTRY. The coast of Caraccas which extends for an immense length, is exceedingly rocky and mountainous, affording views of some of the most tremendous precipices in the world, that near the capital, called the Precipice of the Silla, being of the height of 8000 feet above the sea, which washes its base. The chain of the Andes, traversing the v/hole territory in the direction of its shores, elevates itself the most in the western parts, and is lost in the sea opposite to the great island of Trinidad, which is itself very mountainous. The average height of the Cordillera of Caraccas may be esti- mated at 4500 feet, though it occasionally exceeds 8000; its breadth varies from ten to twenty leagues, and it forms some extensive and beautiful valleys. Owing to this elevation of the land, the heat is not so insupportable as might be imagined from its situation ; along the coast it is very great ; but ascending gradually into the higher regions, the traveller finds it sensibly diminish, and observes with delight, the vegetable productions of different countries, concen- trated in a small space. The great valley or plain of the Orinoco bounds the Cordillera to the south, and far from possessing those elevated lands which characterise the southern portion of the New World, Nature has here spread the country into immense flats, or savannahs, known bv the name of Los Llanos, (the Plains). In these plains innumerable herds of cattle are fed, attended by the slaves or servants of the owners, who reside in the towns and villages. These people, living entirely in the desert, have become little better than so many wandering savages ; they pass the greater part of their time on horseback, and are said to infes* the roads on the borders of the savannahs with their robberies. The heat in the valley of the Orinoco is intense, the thermometer rising even to 115°. The seasons are divided into rainy and dry, the rainy season lasting from March to November, not, however, without ceasing, as there are many days in that period in which no rain falls , during the time of incessant rain, it does not descend in drizzling misty showers, but comes with such volume and rapidity, that streams, which have been dried to their very channels, now as- sume in the short space of a few hours, the appearance of large rivers; the plains bordering the Orinoco, and its tributary streams, are inundated by seas of fresh water extending three or four hun- dred miles in length. Rivers. — There is no country in the world which possesses more numerous rivers than Caraccas, most of which rise in the Andes and its dependent branches ; every valley is traversed by its river ; 248 iiOUXH AMEUICA. the ridge which divides the provinces as it were into two distinct portions, furnishes abundance of sources on both its declivities. Those which arise on the northern side of this ridge, run from south to north, and fall into the bosom of the Spanish main. Of these, the Manzanares^ Tuij^ Guiges^ TocuyOy Aroa^ Taracutfy Unara and Neveri are the largest. The southern flank and main chain of the Andes afford rivers which traverse the great Llanos in a southern direction, and swell, by their junction with the Orinoco the majestic body of that grand river; of these, the Alamo ^ Pariagou^ Pao^ ChivitOy Zoa^ Cachimamo^ AraiicOy Capanaparo^ Smaruco^ the Apura and the Meta are the principal ; and the Parhna^ Siaba^ Joa Parana and the Cassiquiari^ fall into this river on its southern bank, the latter forming a com- munication with the still more majestic stream of the Maranon. The Orinoco or Oronoco, is not only amongst the largest, but the finest of South American rivers, and is chiefly distinguished by its very singular and intricate course. Its sources are not well known, but according to La Cruz, it rises in a small lake called Ipava, in 5° 5' north latitude, and thence winding upon itself, enters the lake of Parima to the south-east, and issues by two outlets towards the north and south ; on the western shores of the lake, receiving the Guaviara, it bends north, then north-east, and embracing the Meta, the Apura, the Arauca, and the other large streams above mentioned, with thousands of smaller ones, falls into the Atlantic Ocean, by numerous estuaries, opposite the island of Trinidad, its chief mouth being considerably to the south-east of that island. This noble river communicates with the Maranon, and it is supposed, that a stream called the Siaba flows from the south-west of the lake Parima into the Negro, and that to the south-east of the same lake, the Rio Blanco, or Parima, joins the Rio Negro also, this last communicating with the Mara- non by means of the Joa Parana. The river Cassiquiari, long conjectured to be a strong branch of the Orinoco, but now known to be an arm of the Negro, com- municates also with the Amazons, its streams having been visited by M. de Humboldt, who encountered great perils in the under- taking, by the force of the current and other obstacles. The whole country for 300 miles was a complete desert, in which the ants and mosquitoes were so exceedingly troublesome as almost to deter the traveller from proceeding. He entered the Orinoco, by the Cassiquiari, in 3" 30' north latitude, and mounted the current •of the great river as far as Esmcraldas, the last Spanish settlement in that quarter. The mouths of the Orinoco are very dangerous to navigators ; the largest is six leagues in width, and seven of them are navigable for large vessels. The isles formed by these are of very great extent, and are inhabited by the Guaraounos and 3Iarhiscs Indians. On the banks of the Orinoco the magnificence CARACCAS. 249 «f the scenery is beyond description. Forests of the greatest ex- tent are filled with aromatic trees, which diffuse the most delight- ful odour ; birds of every singular variety of beautiful plumage are every where observed, and hordes of monkeys follow the astonished traveller. Passing these forests, enormous plains ex- tend their verdant surfaces further than the eye can reach, and the cataracts of the Orinoco give their name to the whole Cordil- lera, and are represented to be the most tremendous that have ever been observed ; but no good description of these falls has yet been given, though they constitute the only outlets from the coun- try situated on the east of the Andes to the vast plains of the Ma- ranon. These cataracts are at Maypura and Atures, two villages in about 6° north latitude, near the great bend of the river. The periodical inundation of the Orinoco begins in April and ceases in August ; in October the flood is low, arriving at its shal- lowest point in Februai-y ; the rise is equal to thirteen fathoms at the distance of ninety leagues from the ocean. The mouth of the great estuary is in 8° 30' north latitude, and 59° 50' west longi- tude. The caymans, or alligators, are very numerous, and very formi- dable throughout its whole length, which may be estimated at about 1250 miles. Indians. — On the banks of the Orinoco the Indian tribes are not numerous, consisting only of from 500 to 2000 warriors each ; of these, the Caribs are the most powerful as well as the most formi- dable. The Otomacs follow them, and all are nearly in the same state of nature. In this part of the Caraccas, the total number of the natives cannot be accurately ascertained ; but in the province of New Andalusia, they amount to 24,000, and in the two pro- vinces of Barcelona and Cumana to 60,000. In Cumana they live almost wholly under the missionaries in little towns or amongst the Europeans, each mission containing about five or six hundred. In the province of Barcelona, the Indian villages contain from two to even three thousand inhabitants. The Guaraounoes, who inha- bit the islands of the Orinoco, are independent of the Spaniards, and amount to about six thousand. To the north of the Orinoco, there are few natives in a state of absolute barbarism ; it is only to the south of this river that the efforts of missionaries have been ineffectual. The provinces of New Andalusia and Barcelona contain four- teen tribes, the Chaymas^ Guayquerias^ Pariagotoes^ ®iioquas^ Araucas^ Carribhees^ Guaraounoes^ Cumanagotoes^ Paknkas^ Firi- toos^ Tomoozas, Topocuares^ Chacopatas^ and Guarivas. The Guayquerias^ who are civilised Indians residing at Cumana and Araya, amount to 2000. The Chaymas, the Caribs of the Savannahs, and the Cumana- gotoes, are the most numerous. A fev/, and only a few, of the li ^50 iiOUTH AMERICA. savages of the islands of the Orinoco, who build their huts on trees, have been formed into missions on the left bank of the Orinoco. These four last possess languages which are the most universal in this part of the world, the Cumanagoto language prevailing in the western part of the captain-generalship, and the Caribbean and Chayman in the southern and eastern districts. The missions are not always formed of the same tribe, but often consist of families of different nations, speaking different lan- guages ; they all cultivate the land, their huts are all erected in the same style, and they have all a common field for the uses of the community, and are governed by fixed laws ; the magistrates are chosen from among themselves, and each village is superin- tended in its religious and civil affairs by a monk. The Chaymas were reduced to subjection in the seventeenth century, by Francisco of Pamplona, a monk who had been the captain of a ship ; and the oldest mission bears its date from 1660. Of these there are at present twenty-five, containing 15,000 souls. They suffered much from 1681 to 17'20 from the Caribs, who burnt the settlements. In stature, the natives of this tribe are short, being not more than five feet two inches, their body thick, with broad shoulders and flat chest, their colour a dull brown, and they are of a melan- cholic temperarpent. They have a great aversion to European clothing, and remain naked whilst in their houses, but when obliged to go out, they put on a vest with sleeves, which reaches almost to the knees ; the women wear this habit without the sleeves, and both sexes use a narrow bandage tied round the loins : they also carefully eradi- cate the hair from the chin, and are a neat people, keeping their persons, houses and utensils very clean. Their language, as well as those of the Caribs and Cumanago- toes, has each had a dictionary composed for the use of the mis- sionaries ; no word begins with /, and it is destitute ofy", b and d. The Far'iagolQts are mixed with the Chaymas, in the missions ; and exist in the villages on the banks of the Caroni. They speak a language peculiar to themselves. The Guaraounoes build their huts on the trunks of the mangrove and palm trees, to raise them above the waters in the great inun- dations of the Orinoco ; as we before observed, they are indepen- dent, with the exception of a very few, who have been converted by the monks. Sir Walter Raleigh describes them under the names of Aroottes, Trititivas and Warawites. They make their bread of the flour extracted from the palm tree, which they cut down for this purpose, just previous to the appearance of the flowers. Five or six hundred of this race quitted the islands a short time ago, and formed two villages on tiie north and south banks of the CARACCAS. 251 great river, twenty-five leagues distant from the sea, where they live independent of the missionaries. They are of a middle size, and very strong, and are able to run on the mud of the marshes, where no other Indians can -walk. These people are the pilots of the Orinoco, possessing a perfect knowledge of its navigation, and are concerned in the clandestine commerce carried on from Trinidad. The Giiaygtierias will be described in speaking of the town of Cumana which they chiefly inhabit. A tribe called the l^iaqiiafi are mixed with the Chaymas in the missions, and inhabit an immense tract of country as far as the main Cordilleras of the Andes. The Ciimanagotoes^ to the amount of 26,000, live in the west of Cumana, in the missions of Piritoo. The chief mission of the Piritoos (so called on account of a thorny palm of which pipes are made) was founded in 1556, and was named La Conception. In this country, the Caribbees are spread over a great extent, ex- isting also in French Guyana, and in Trinidad ; and the Guarivas, as well as many others are Carib tribes. A few missions are found in the great plains, in which some of these people are settled. The Caribs are distinguished in the Caraccas by their great size. A tribe on the banks of the Orinoco, named the Otomacs^ raise their dead at the end of twelve months, and place the bones in a general burying place; they cover their grain, fish, vegetables. Sec. with earth, to preserve them, and devour their food mingled with the soil in which it has lain. The substances become quite hard in these pits, by the incrustations of the soil, and some of them are said to eat a pound and a half of the earth in a day. The Indians of all these tribes, -who prefer a wandering life to the sub- jected state of their brethren in the missions, are frequently at- tacked in the night by the monks and their followers, and made prisoners. When the missionaries give the young people to the converted Indians as slaves, in which capacity they remain until of an age to marry, in consequence of this, the mission Indians frequently instigate the priests to attack these unfortunate people, being eager to possess them. Those who are thus taken, are call- ed Poitos, and in general consist only of children torn with unre- lenting severity from the arms of their terrified parents. The mo- tive assigned by the monks for such arbitrary measures, is the hope of their ultimate conversion. Lakes. — The lakes of Caraccas are chiefly those of Valencia and Maracaybo. Maracaybo is a body of water of an oval form, lying in a north and south direction, and communicating with the gulf of Venezuela by a very narrow channel. In length it is 150 miles, in breadth 90, and 450 in circumference ; its waters being always fresh, excepting when violent storms force the salt waters of the 252 SOUTH AMERICA. gulf into it. There is generally a considerable undulation on it& surface, and in some winds, particularly those from the north, the waves rise to a great height. The depth of this lake is very profound, and it is navigable for vessels of the greatest burthen, , The produce of the interior is conveyed by the rivers which feed it, to the town of Maracaybo, and thence shipped for Europe or the adjoining colonies ; and the various sorts of fish, common to the American rivers, are to be found in this lake. The shores in the immediate vicinity of its waters, are unhealthy, owing to the vapours arising in the night after the great heat of the day. When the Spaniards first landed in this country, they observed several villages built in the lake, which is the mode adopted by the Indians at present, considering this plan as the healthiest. The appearance of one of these little towns amid the waters, caused the Spanish adventurers to name it Little Venice, or Ve- nezuela, which title was afterwards transferred to the whole pro- vince in the neighbourhood. Four of these villages still remain, and are under the government of a monk, who has a church, and the spiritual charge of these people. The principal employment of the Indians of these towns is fishing and catching the aquatic birds which frequent the lake. To the north-west of Lake Maracaybo, is a vein, or mine of mineral pitch, (used by mixing it with grease, to grave vessels,) which is of such an inflammable nature, that (luring the hot wea- ther, and particularly at night, corruscations are seen arising from its surface, which have the appearance of quickly repeated light- nings. The Indians and Spaniards, who uavigate the vessels and canoes of the lake, called them St. Antony's lanthorns, or the Ian- thorns of Maracaybo, as they serve them to steer by during the dark nights, so prevalent in the torrid zone. The lake of Valencia, which though not so extensive as the last we have described, is far more beautiful and useful. Its banks are fertile and healthy, and clothed with the most luxurious vege- tation. It is situated three miles from the city of Valencia, and eighteen from the sea, from which it is separated by inaccessible mountains ; the lake of Valencia is of an oblong form, stretching- north-east and south-west, and is forty miles in length and twelve in breadth, in a valley surrounded by very high and steep land, excepting on the west. This extraordinary lake receives the waters of twenty rivers, and has no visible outlet. It has been diminishing for twenty years, and its waters are still receding, leaving behind them a rich and productive soil, but at the same time an unhealthy air ; and the cultivators are in some parts under the necessity, from the want of water, of drawing off the neighbouring streams to irrigate their plantations. CARACCAS. 253 The eastern side is laid out in tobacco grounds, which occupy 15,000 people, who are paid by the crown; and the islands in which it abounds are highly fertile, the largest called Caratapona, being well populated. The woods near this lake are famous for the diversity and beauty of the birds, and its waters furnish fish, and the guanas, or edible lizard, which are considered as a very delicious food ; of these, two species are common to the lake. The water of Lake Valencia is not so good for drinking as that of Maracaybo, being thick and nauseous. This lake bears the Indian name of Tacarigua, as does a bay or lake on the coast, which is situated a league and a half from the mouth of the river Tuy, of a circular form, and is twenty-one miles in length from the sea on the north-east to the south-east, it abounds in fish, and is remarkable for the great number of alligators it contains. The lake of Parima, or Paranapitinca, in Guiana, is said to be an oblong sheet of water, 100 miles in length, and 50 broad, in an island of which is a rock of glittering mica, celebrated as having been the seat of El Dorado, a suppositious city, the streets of which were paved with gold, alluded to by Milton in his Paradise Lost. " And yet unspoil'd Guiana Whose great city Geryon's sons Call El Dorado." This lake is in 3° 40' north latitude, and 45° 20' west longitude^ and gives birth to a large river, called Rio Blanco, or Parima, which we have before spoken of, PROVINCE OF NEW ANDALUSIA. This province, which is also known by the names of Cumana and Paria, is bounded on the north by the Caribbean sea ; on the east by the Atlantic ocean; west by Barcelona, and south by Spa- nish Guiana, or the river Orinoco. The government of Cumana usually includes the adjacent pro- vince of New Barcelona. We shall therefore describe these two under the same head, mentioning however the distinct boundaries of, NEW BARCELONA, Which is limited on the north by the Caribbean sea; east by Cumana ; west by Venezuela, or Caraccas Proper, and south by Guiana and the Orinoco. The great extent of the territory of Cumana and Barcelona, its being washed on two of its sides by the ocean, and by the broad 254 SOUTH AMERICA. expanse of the Orinoco on the third, render it one of the most im- portant governments of the captain-generalship. History^ ^c. — The eastern part of New Andalusia is famous as having been the scene of the first continental discoveries of Co- lumbus. The mouths of the Orinoco and the adjacent shores of Paria were visited by him during his third voyage. The first land discovered during this expedition, was however not the continent, but the island of Trinidad, which was so named because the ad- miral had vowed to give the appellation of the Trinity to the first land he should see, and also because three mountains were observ- ed at the same moment. This happened on Tuesday, 31st Julv, 1498, and having but one cask of water left, he landed at Punta de }a Playa, where he procured the necessary supply. On the first of August, whilst plying between Cape de la Galera (the first cape they made) and Punta de la Playa, he discovered the main land twenty-five leagues distant ; but imagining it another island, he named it Isla Santa. The channel between Trinidad and Isla Santa was named Boca del Sierpe, and the next day he sailed into the lower channel, and called it Boca del Drago. They were so styled on account of the furious hissing noise which the current of an immense river made in rushing towards the ocean. He coasted the supposed island until Sunday, the 5th of August, when he anchored and went on shore. Soon afterwards he took some of the natives into his ship, and landing further to the west, by the direction of these people, discovered that the supposed island was part of an immense continent, and that the natives call- ed it Paria. Being informed that pearls were found in great abundance among some islands to the west, he steered in that direction, and disco- vered the islands of Margarita, or of Pearls, Cubagua, and Los Testigos, or the Witnesses, &c. On the 16th of August he stood to the north-west, and anchored on the coast of Hispaniola soon afterwards. The admiral was followed by Ojeda, in 1499, who traced the coast as far as Cape de la Vela, entering several ports to procure information. Christoval Guerra, accompanied by Pedro Nino, who had been with Columbus on this coast, obtained a license to explore the continent and islands for gold and pearls. They pro- cured plenty of the latter in the bay of pearls, between Margarita and the main, and visited the coasts of Venezuela and Coro. Having got 1200 ounces of very fine pearls, these adventurers sailed back, along the shore to the gulf of Paria, whence they stretched over for Spain, in which country they arrived on the 6th of February, 1500. Vicente Yanez Pinzon having discovered the mouth of the great Maranon in 1500, sailed northwards from it, and explored the ^tuary of the Orinoco, and the coast of Paria, from which he CARACCAS. 255 sailed for St. Domingo, having first laden his vessels with Brazil wood. The report of the arrival of Guerra, with such a valuable cargo, soon spread over the whole kingdom of Spain ; and expeditions were fitted out in every part for the American continent. Charles the Fifth gave these adventurers permission to enslave the Indians who should resist them ; in consequence of this, avarice and rapa- city soon made a dreadful havoc among these unfortunate people ; a complaint of these proceedings at last reached the royal audience of St. Domingo, which court immediately took measures to punish the offenders. They appointed Juan Ampues, to the government of the country, who landed on the coast of Curiana, in 1527, with an armed force. The mildness of his measures gained him the affections of the In- dians, and the cacique of the Curiana nation took the oath of alle- giance to Spain, on the 26th of July, 1527. — This governor laid the foundation of the city of Coro. At this time the company of the Welsers, a German establish- ment of Augsburgh, having advanced great sums to Charles the Fifth, that Emperor granted them, at their earnest request, the sovereignty of the province of Venezuela from Cape Vela, to Ma- racapna, and with unlimited boundaries to the south. Their power did not last long, and Juan Perez de Tolosa was appointed go- vernor, with the rank of captain-general. New laws were made, and the Indians were declared free from involuntary servitude ; as soon as a nation or tribe was subjected, a town was built, and a hundred Europeans were sent to colonise it. The laws of the re- partimientos and encomiendos were established, and every thing went on properly at first, but the settlers abusing their authority over the natives, these laws were repealed, and Spanish America was declared a kingdom united to the Spanish crown. The coun- cil of the Indies was formed at Madrid, the legislative functions were declared to be vested solely in the king, aided by this coun- cil, and the executive was to belong only to officers appointed by the court ; accordingly, on the 4th of September, 1519, this act was decreed and promulgated, since which Caraccas has been go- verned by a captain-general, and subordinate officers. In treating of Cumana we must not oixiit mentioning the history of the visit paid to this coast by Las Casas, the bishop of Chiapa in Guatimala. Bartolemeo de Las Casas who was born at Se- ville in 1474, and when only nineteen years of age, accompanied his father and Columbus to the West Indies, returning to Spain after an absence of five years, took the habit of a monk, and again embarked with Columbus to Hispaniola ; on the setding of Cuba, he was appointed rector of Zaguarama, where he strenuously ob- jected against reducing the Indians to servitude, at the same time relinquishing his own share in the partition of these people among 256 SOUTH AMERICA. the whites. Meeting with great opposition, on account of his de- termined resistance to the oppression of the aborigines, he set out for Spain in 1516, for the purpose of laying the grievances, under which the newly-discovered nations laboured, before the king. Ferdinand promised that new laws should be made, but death pre- vented his resolves from being put into execution; Las Casas then applied to Cardinal Ximenes the regent, and that minister sent out three commissioners to inquire into the circumstances of the case. These three persons were monks of St. Jerome, and were accom- panied by a lawyer of great abilities, and Las Casas, who was granted the title of " Protector of the Indians." On their arrival at St. Domingo, these commissioners finding it impossible to do away with the enslavement of the Indians at once, they adopted some salutary measures to better their condition. Las Casas remonstrated with them, but found his efforts useless, and as he had made all the planters his enemies, he saw himself under the necessity of retreating to the protection of the convent from the effects of their malignity. He again set out for Spain, with a de- termination not to abandon the cause in which he had embarked. Ximenes being on his death-bed, and the Emperor Charles the Fifth having appointed his P'lemish ministers to the chief offices of state. Las Casas was obliged to endeavour to interest them in his favour ; in this he succeeded, and they recalled the monks of St. Jerome, and appointed a judge to examine the complaints of the Indians with ample powers to redress them. But Las Casas here tarnished the glory he would otherwise have enjoyed unsullied. To carry his favourite scheme the more certainly into execution, he proposed that a certain number of ne- groes should be purchased from the Portuguese in Africa, to re- place the Indians who were to be liberated. His plans, unfortu- nately for the poor Africans, were adopted, and ever since that period, these degraded people have suffered the most galling ser- vitude, which it is now the delight of an Englishman to know, that his nation have stepped forward to put a lasting stop to ; and the reign of the Prince Regent, would, independent of the brilliant events which have rendered it immortal, have been remembered, to the remotest ages by this magnanimous act alone. The empe- ror Charles granted a patent to one of his Flemish courtiers, con- taining the exclusive right of sending 4000 negroes to the West Indies ; this patent was sold to Genoese merchants for 25,000 ducats, and these people have the odium of being the first who brought this abominable traffic to a regular form. Las Casas pro- posed also to send mechanics and labourers to Hispaniola with the negroes, who should be allowed an advance to go thither ; but the bishop of Burgos, who was the great enemy of Columbus and his followers, defeated this project, as well as every other that Las Casas offered. CARACCAS. 257 Fearful that he should not succeed in relieving the Indians in the new settlements, he requested from the emperor the grant of a district, then unoccupied, from the gulf of Paria to Cape de la Vela, thus including Cumana, Barcelona, Venezuela, Coro and Maracaybo. In his memorial he proposed settling this country with a colony of priests, husbandmen and labourers ; he engaged in two years to instruct the natives in the arts of social life ; to civilise 10,000 of them, and that at the end of that time, the king should derive a revenue of 15,000 ducats, which was to increase to 50,000 in ten years. After much difficulty in consequence of the opposition of the meddling bishop, this extent of coast was granted to him, with liberty to extend it indefinitely into the inte- rior. He sailed from Spain with 200 followers in 1521. Many of these left him at Puerto Rico, others died, and he landed on the coast of Cumana, with a few only who still adhered to him , here he found the country in a state of great agitation from a rC' cent invasion of the Spanish islanders, who had attacked the na^ lives, for the purpose of procuring slaves and gold. He was ob- liged to go over to Hispaniola to procure a reinforcement, and during his absence, the Indians attacked the colony he had plant- ed, destroyed many of the people, and forced the remnant to take refuge in the little isle of Cubagua. This isle they soon abandoned, and not a Spaniard was then left in any part of the continent from Paria to Darien. Las Casas, mortified beyond everything, by the failure of his splendid schemes, shut himself up in the Dominican convent at Hispaniola. Here he devoted himself to the performance of religious duties, still keeping in mind the great object of his ambition. The sufferings of the Indians increasing daily, and a chapter of his order at Chi- apa in New Spain, having made him their messenger to Europe, on some important affairs, he once more revisited Madrid in 1542, and took a favourable opportunity of pleading the cause of the injured Indians before Charles V. He also composed a treatise^ which he called " A Brief Relation of the Destruction of the In- dians ;" in which was painted, in the most pathetic and forcible manner, the enormities which had taken place in every country of the New World which the Spaniards had visited. This work created the most lively sensations throughout Eu- rope, and such a general abhorrence of the cruel measures of the adventurers, that the Spanish court thought fit to adopt some mea- sures to silence the universal clamour. New regulations were adopted, some of which tended to ameliorate the condition of the unfortunate Americans ; and Las Casas was elevated to the dignity of bishop of Chiapa, in order to afford every relief in the power of the church to bestow. He returned to America in 1544, and continued in this see un- til 1551, exerting himself in every possible manner to attain tbt* Kk 258 SOUTH AMERICA. object of his wishes; in which he succeeded greatly, but his health failing in 1551, he resigned his bishopric, and once more revisited his native country; in the same year, and for live years subsequent to his return, he lived in Madrid, still exerting all his influence to consolidate the measures which had been taken for the prosperity of the people to whom he was so much attached ; at last nature be- came worn out, and this indefatigable and benevolent man, closed his career in 1556, in the 92d year of his age. Besides the work alluded to above, he wrote several others, among which, is a " General History of the Indies," of which An- tonio de Ilerrera is said to have availed himself in the compilation of his celebrated history of the New World. FEATURES, CLIMATE, hc. The provinces of Barcelona and Cumana are extremely moun- tainous ; the first branch from the main chain of the Andes run- ning through these districts, and terminating in the ocean at the gulf of Paria. This ridge gives birth to the rivers which flow into the Orinoco on the south, and into the Caribbean sea on the north, and contains some highly picturesque and singular scenery; the most noted parts of which will be hereafter described. The climate of this government varies according to the situation of its districts, on tlie high land of the mountains, or in the valleys or plains of the interior. Capitals. — The chief town of New Andalusia is Cumana, where the governor of the two provinces usually resides. The chief town of New Barcelona, is Barcelona. Cumana is situated in 10' 27' 52" north latitude, and 64° 9' 47" west longitude, a mile from the battery of the Boca, or mouth of the harbour, between which and the town extends a great plain called El Salado. The port is formed by the fine river Manza- nares, which runs through the town. East of the city is another extensive plain, and north of it a rocky mass, on which stands the citadel of St. Antonio. The city occupies the space between the citadel, the river Manzanares, and another smaller stream called the Santa Catalina, and the plains which surround it are highly cultivated ; that towards the sea having an Indian suburb and gardens filled with sapotes, mameis, plantains, &c. The suburb is divided into three parishes; on the east is that of Sarritos, on the south-east, St. Francisco, and the great town of the Guayqueria Indians. Cumana is one of the oldest cities of the continent, and Was built by Gonzalo Ocampo in 1520. In the city of Cumana are no very remarkable buildings, owing to the fatal effects of the last earthquake. There is only one parish CARACCAS. 259 church and two convents, but additions are daily making to it, which will render it a fine town. This city is remarkable for the purity and healthiness of its cli- mate, on account of the heat being moderated by the sea-breezes ; the most fatal disorders are fluxes, which carry off numbers of children annually, owing to the great use they make of green in- digestible fruits. The women, particularly the Indians, are very prolific, which in some measure compensates, for the loss annually experienced of the younger branches of society. The population of Cumana amounts at present to 16, or 17,000 souls, of which, two-fifths are Indians of the Guayqueria, Chayma, and other tribes. Of these, the Guayquerias are the most noted tribe not only of Cumana, but of Caraccas ; they are a branch of the Gua- rounoes; who inhabit the swampy island at the mouth of the Ori- noco ; but they have now become so incorporated with the Spa- niards, that for the last century they have spoken the Spanish lan- guage only. When Columbus yvas on this coast, his people saw these Indians fishing with long poles pointed at one end, and tied to a cord at the other ; demanding of them the name of their coun- try, they immediately replied Guiake, which signified pointed stick ; the sailors thought this was the name of the tribe, and ac- cordingly called them Guaikerias, which name they have since re- tained. These people, who also inhabit the islands, show to Europeans with pride the Punta de la Galera, so called, because Columbus's vessel touched there, as well as port Manzanillo, where they swore fidelity in 1498 to the whites, which vow they have never violated. The Guayquerias are the pilots of the coasts of Cumana, and their suburb is composed of rows of uniform low buildings disposed into the form of streets, which have a very neat appearance. On a naked rock which commands the city, 100 feet above the level of the sea, is the castle of St. Antonio, which commands the place. There is also another fort in ruins, on the south-west; and the entrance into the port is defended with inconsiderable batteries, but the military positions of Cumana are of little importance, as the citadel is commanded by a part of the same rock on which it stands ; the chief defence of this post being a thick wood of the cactus, whose thorny shoots defy admission into its re- cesses. The entrance of the harbour of Cumana is highly picturesque, the city rising out of the plain backed by the citadel, its rocks and groves, the plantations of cocoa-nuts, cassias, capers, and arbores- cent mimosas ; the shores covered with alcatras or brown pelicans, egrets, and flamingoes. The beauty of the river, and the clear blue of the sky, contrasted with the dark and gloomy appearance of the mountains in the interior, conspire to afford a landscape of the most captivating character. ij60 SOUTH AMERICA. Tlie European inhabitants, and the descendants of Europeans, aire noted for their great politeness and hospitality to strangers ; they are chiefly occupied in commercial enterprise, this and Bar- celona being ports where much trade is carried on. The manner and customs of these people is nearly allied to those of their bre- thren in the other great cities of Spanish America. One of the most singular of their customs is that of passing most of their even- ings sitting on chairs placed in the river. In this city, the first question in a morning is, *' Is the water cool ?" Their conversaziones are carried on in the rivers where the evening parties are mostly spent in talking about the weather, the news, and in smoking. All the inhabitants of the town it is said can swim, and the children pass the greater part of their time in the water. The alligator is not dangerous at Cumana, as they are seldom *seen, and are only of the smallest kind ; the chief fear that the women have whilst bathing is from the dolphin, which sometimes comes up the river and spouts like the whale. The port of Cumana is formed by the gulf of Cariaco, and its harbour by the river Manzanares. The gulf of Cariaco is thirty- eight miles In length and sixty-eight in breadth, with excellent an- choring ground ; and the ocean is always smooth and unruffled from Porto Cabello to the point of Paria ; so much so, that the coasting vessels are not decked ; the only danger in the port of Cumana being a shoal, called Morro Roxo, half a mile in breadth and very steep on all sides. This city has been repeatedly shook by subterrene convulsions j and the natives have a tradition that the gulf of Cariaco was form- ed by an earthquake, just before the third voyage of Columbus. In 1530, the whole coast was shaken, and the city, then called New Toledo, suffered by having its fort at the mouth of the river destroyed ; an immense rent was made in the coast, from which asphaltum and water issued. These shocks were very frequent towards the end of the l6th century, the sea often rising fifteen or twenty fathoms. On the twenty-first of October, 1766, the city was overthrown, and num- bers of persons perished ; the tremblings of the earth continued hourly for fourteen months; but in 1767, the inhabitants encamped in the streets, when the shocks only took place once a month ; a great drought had happened in 1766, but during 1767, the rains were so continual, that the harvest was very abundant. In this memorable earthquake the ground opened and thi^ew out hot water. In 1794, they experienced another tremendous convulsion, and on the 14th of December, 1797, four-fifths of the city were utterly destroyed, the earth heaving up with loud subterraneous noises ; but the, peoplf; got into the streets in time, and a small number only perished of those who sought for refuge in the churches. Half an CARACCAS. 261 hour before this happened, there was a strong sulphureous smell near the castle, and a loud noise under the ground ; flames were seen to rise from the banks of the river, and in several other pla- ces. These flames are frequently observed near the city on the plains, they do not burn the herbage, and issue from no apparent crevices, the people calling them the soul of the tyrant Aguirra, who took part in a revolt against Ursua, governor of Omaguas, and styled himself " the traitor." He descended the Amazons, and reached the island of Margarita by the rivers of Guiana. Though so continually exposed to this dreadful calamity, the in- habitants of Cumana are in a measure insensible to it, as they ima- gine that it never occurs but at particular intervals, and that they have always sufficient notice by the state of the weather and other occurrences. The neighbourhood of Cumana is infested with the rattle snake, the coral vipers, centipedes, &c. Farms and country-seats adorn the banks of the Manzanares ; at a little distance from the city these are beautifully situated, amid groves of cactus, tamarinds, brazilletoes, the enormous ceiba, palms, &c., and the soil is so rich for pasturage, that excellent milk and butter are produced. Near Cumana the most noted mountains are the Cerro or chain of the Brigantin, about eighteen miles distant, the highest summit of which has a flat top, and is elevated more than 5000 feet above the sea, and the sides of this chain are nearly perpendicular, the country about it being a mere desart. The inhabitants of Cumana attempted to cross these mountains with a road, but found it impracticable, and the passage to the plains of the interior lies over a part of the chain, known by the name of the Imposible, over which a new road is carrj'ing on, the present one being very steep. This chain is continued to the extremity of the gulf of Cariaco, and forms the barrier between it and the ocean. On the peninsula formed by this gulf are the salt works of Araya, which have been successively worked by most of the European na- tions who possess colonies in the West Indies. The Dutch were however expelled in 1605, when a fort or battery was built to pre- vent their return, and the mere or lake which these salt-works con- sist of, was overflowed by the sea in the great hurricane in 1 726, which also destroyed the battery ; but pits or reservoirs have been since dug, and the sea dyked out, so that great quantities of salt are still procured. The consumption of this article in forming tasajo, or salted pro- vision, amounts, in Barcelona and Cumana, to 9 or 10,000 fanegas (each 400lbs.) annually, of which the salt marsh or grounds of Araya, furnish 3000 fanegas, and the sea the rest. The Indians use very little salt with their food, but the Creoles and negroes live almost entirely on salted meat and fish. Salt 262 SOUTH AMERICA. being a royal monopoly, the revenue derived from Araya is con^ siderable. A small village is established on the peninsula of Araya, where the Indians keep large flocks of goats. This strip of land was the first place where the Spaniards began to found a town; and it con- tains springs and masses of petroleum; this substance existing also on its coasts, at Cape de la Brea, Punta Soto, and Guararitto. A stream of naptha issues from the bed of the sea, near these shores, and forms a visible spot, 1000 feet in diameter, among the weeds, with which the beach is covered. NuEVA Barcelona, the chief town of the province of the same name, is situated in a plain on the left bank of the river Neveri, half a league distant from the sea, in 10° 10' north latitude, and 64' 47' west longitude ; ten leagues by land from Cumana. This city was founded in 1636, by Juan de Urpin, who had been a canon, doctor, and counsellor of laws in St. Domingo, and a private soldier in the fort of Araya ; he gave the name of New Catalonia to the province, which was afterwards changed to that of the city. It is meanly built, though it has a regular appearance; the streets are very dirty in the rainy season, and very dusty in the hot weather ; and the immense quantity of hogs bred in this place renders the town disgustingly dirty, from the filth which they spread over the footways ; and it was not till the year 1 803, that some measures were taken to put a stop to this nuisance. Barcelona contains one parish church and a convent of Francis- cans, with a population of 14,000 souls, half whites and half mu- lattoes and negroes. Such is the trade in live and dead cattle in this city, that the inhabitants have not turned their attention to the cultivation of the land, though excellently suited for cotton, cacao, and maize. Bar- celona is the emporium for the contraband goods of Trinidad, and from hence they are dispers«i through all the inland pro- vinces. The value of this trade has been computed at 400,000 dollars annually. Hides, tallow, oxen, mules, jirked and salted beef, form the great commercial articles of this port ; this trade is chiefly carried on with the Havannah and West India Islands. In the jurisdiction of Barcelona, which declared itself indepen- dent in the year 1811, eommence those immense plains that stretch with those of Caraccas, as far south as the Orinoco. They are covered with excellent pasturage, and feed innumerable herds of cattle and mules, which are mostly kept on the banks of the ri- vers. Such immense quantities were killed before the breaking out of the present commotions, that the trade was at one time very considerable, the inhabitants of Barcelona being noted for their skill in salting meat ; but just after the first symptoms of this struggle, the plains became infested with robbers, who deprived I CARACCAS. 26J the owners ©f their beasts, and greatly lessened the value of the trade. The other towns of Cumana are chiefly missionary establish- ments seated near the rivers, and on the great plains, the greater part of the country being yet in a state of nature. Of these towns the principal one is Cumanacoa^ twelve leagues distant from Cuma- na, on a plain surrounded with lofty mountains, which was found- ed in 1717, by Domingo Arias, on his return from the Guaripiche river, where some Frenchmen had attempted to plant a colony , it was at first called San Baltazar de las Arias, but soon lost that appellation, for its present one. The climate of this place is mild, and even cold, although it is not more than 630 feet above the sea, owing probably to the abundance of rain, to the frequency of thick fogs, and to being surrounded by humid forests. The dry season begins here in the winter solstice, and lasts till the vernal equinox. Light showers are frequent in April, May and June ; the dry weather again commences, and lasts to the end of August, when the winter rains set in, which only cease in November j and during this interval, the country is deluged with water. The environs of Cumanacoa are very fertile, and are chiefly cultivated with tobacco, with which article it supplies the whole province. Indigo is also grown here and in this town ; the popu- lation amounts to about 2300 souls. The road from Cumana over the Imposible, through the forest, to Cumanacoa, passes by the mission of St. Fernando, of the Chayma Indians. It is described as highly picturesque. The forest consists of trees, whose trunks are of the largest dimensions, and which are clasped in every direction by creeping or parasitical plants, of which the lianas reach to the very summits of the trees, and pass from one to another, at the height of more than a hundred feet, displaying beautiful festoons of dark green leaves, intermixed with the most fragrant and splendid flowers. Under these arcades, which scarcely admit the rays of the sun, the traveller proceeds, viewing at intervals only, the deep blue of the sky. The parrots, macaws, and innumerable tribes of birds of the most brilliant plumage, are continually hovering about, and here the oriole builds his bottle-shaped and pendant nest. The screaming of the parrots actually drowns the roar of small cataracts which here and there fall from the rocky mountains. On quitting this forest path to go to St. Fernando, the country is open for a short space, and the road is now lined with the bam- boo or guadua, whose elegant form, agitated by the slightest winds, strikes the European traveller with the most agreeable sensations. We shall describe the village of St. Fernando, as a type of all the other missionary settlements, which are too numerous to name. The huts of the Indians are built of mud or clay, strengthened 264 SOUTH AMERICA. by the stems of the lianas, and are disposed into streets, very wide and straight, and crossing each other at right angles, the whole appearing very neat. The gardens are either in, or at a short distance from the village, and each family possesses one which they cultivate, together with a large plot of ground common to all, and called the conuco, at which the grown-up young men and women are obliged to work one hour in the morning and one in the evenin*^. In the missions near the coast, this conuco is gener- ally an indigo or sugar plantation, the profits of which are divided by the priest, for the support of the church and the village. The great square of San Fernando is situated in the centre of the village ; in it is placed the church, the priest's house, and the Casa del Rey, or king's-house, destined for the accommodation of travellers. The priest governs the people in their spiritual and temporal affairs, but the parish officers are always chosen from among the Indians ; a matter of necessity, as no whites are to be found in these settlements. They have their governor, alguazil, mayor and militia officers, and the company of archers have their colours, and perform their exercise at stated periods, shooting at a mark. The villages in which the Europeans or Creoles are settled, and in which Indians are occasionally found occupying a distinct part, are called doctrinas^ and differ entirely from the missions. Of these there are many on the side of the country nearest the coast, the missions being mostly in the interior. Near Cumanacoa, is the great mountain called Tumiriquiri, where an enormous wall of rock rises out of the forest, and is joined on the west by the Cerro de Cuchivano, where the chain is broken by an enormous precipice more than 900 feet in width, fil- led with trees, whose branches are completely interlaced with each other. The Rio Juagua traverses this crevice, which is the abode of the jaguar, or American tiger, of a very formidable size, being six feet in length. They carry off the horses and cattle in the night from the neighbouring farms, and are as much dreaded as the most ferocious of the feline race are in the East Indies. Two immense caverns open into this precipice, from which flames occa- sionally rush out that may be seen in the night at a great dis- tance. The great mountain of Tumiriquiri is situated on the road to Caripe, the chief mission of the Chaymas, which passes over the summit of a lower part of the chain, which bears the general name of the Cocollar. From the summit of this last chain, at more than two thousand feet in height, the eye wanders over the immense plains which reach towards the banks of the Orinoco, in the ra- vines alone of which can be distinguished any trees, and these but thinly scattered j the remainder of the surface is covered with an CARACCAS. 265 'juiform coat of long waving grass, intermixed with flowering shrubs. From this point th€ traveller ascends towards the Tumiriquiri ; the road is partly traversed on horseback, but s(3on becomes too steep and slippery for these animals. The round summit of the Tumiriquiri is covered with turf, and is elevated more than 4400 feet above the ocean. This eleva- tion gi-adually diminishes towards the west by a ridge of steep rocks, and is interrupted at the distance of a mile by an immense crevice, which descends towards the gulf of Cariaco. Beyond this two enormous peaks arise, the northernmost of which, named the Cucurucho of Tit7niriqni7-i^ is more than 6500 feet in height, surpassing that of the Brigantin with which it is connected. These peaks are covered with mahogany, javillo, and cedar trees, of an enormous size, whose shades are frequented by tigers and other wild beasts, which are hunted now and then for the sake of their beautiful skins. The view from the summit of this mountain is very fine ; the chain which extends from west to east is seen in all its forms; its ridges running parallel to each other at short dis- tances, form longitudinal valleys, intersected by crevices worn by the waters in their passage to the Orinoco or the sea. The sea bounds the prospect on the north, and the immeasurable plains form its horizon on the south. The rivers Colorado and Guari- piche rise in the chain of the Cocollar, and mingle their streams near the east coast of Cumana. The Colorado at its mouth is very broad, and the Guaripiche more than twenty-five fathoms deep ; and between this river and the Areo which falls into it, are some springs of petroleum. Beyond Tumiriquiri the road descends the mountains towards Caripe, by the mission of San Ant07iio across savannahs strewed with large blocks of stone, over a thick forest lying on two steep ridges called Los Yepes and Fantasma, into a valley in which are the missions oi San Antonio and Guana- guana^ which are separated by the rivers Colorado and Guari- piche. Guanaguana valley is divided from that of Caripe, by a ridge called the Cuchillo de Guanaguana^ which is difficult to pass, the path being often only fourteen inches broad and extremely slip- pery, as the slope is covered with grass. These paths are traversed on mules, whose footing is so sure, that accidents rarely occur. The height of the Cuchillo is about 3430 feet, and the descent to Caripe is by a winding path through a forest ; and as the valley is high, the journey is short and easy. Here the climate is mild and delightful, but in the valley of Guana- guana it is hot and unwholesome ; so great is the difference which is experienced in this country in passing from one side of a moun- tain to the other. The height of the convent of Caripe, in v/hich the missionarv monks reside, is 2575 feet above the sea, in 10' 10' LI 266 SOUTH AMERICA. 14" north latitude ; and this appears to be the only high valley of Cumana, which is well inhabited. The convent is seated on a delightful plain, backed wijh an im- mense wall of perpendicular rocks, covered with plants ; the ceiba and palms show their gigantic and elegant forms, numberless springs gush out on every side, and it is difficult to imagine a more picturesque spot than that which these priests have chosen. The cultivation of the valley adds to the natural beauty of the scene, as the gardens of the Indians are filled with plantains, papaws, and all the fruit-bearing plants, common to the tropical regions. The conuco or common plantation contains maize, the sugar cane, culinary plants, and coffee trees. Near this valley is the cavern of the Guacharo, three leagues from the convent towards the west. This cave gives its name to the range of mountains in which it is situated. The cavern is pierced in the face of the per- pendicular side of the lofty Guacharo mountain, the access to its mouth being rather difficult, on account of the numerous little tor- rents which cross the valley. Its entrance is towards the south, and forms an arch eighty feet broad, and seventy-two high, sur- mounted with rocks, covered by gigantic trees ; festoons of creep- ing plants throve themselves across the chasm, and variegate the scene with the beautiful and vivid tints of their flowers ^ a river issues from the vault which continues at the same height as at its entrance for a considerable distance ; and arums, heliconias and palms, follow the banks of the stream for thirty or forty paces into the interior. It is not necessary to use torches for 430 feet from the mouth, as the grotto keeps the same direction, and forms but one channel from south-east to north-west ; when the daylight fails, the hollow murmuring sound of a vast number of nocturnal birds, inhabiting the recesses of the cave, may be distinguished ; advanc- mg further by the help of lights the whole rock is seen covered with the nests of these birds, which are called Guacharoes, and are of the size of a fowl, with a crooked bill, feathers of a dark bluish grey, mixed with specks of black, the head, wings and tail being studded with large white heart-shaped spots edged with black; the spread of the wings is three feet and a half; its eye, which is blue and small, cannot endure the light of day, these birds quitting the cavern only at night in search of the fruits on which they exist ; their nests are seen by fixing a torch at the end of a pole, and are generally on the very highest parts of the arch. The Indians enter this cave once a year to destroy the young for the sake of a layer of fat, with which the abdomen is covered. These people construct temporary huts at the mouth of the cavern, and melt the fat in pots of clay, over brushwood fires ; this fat is called the butter of the guacharo, is transparent, half liquid, with- out smell, and so pure as to keep more than a year without be- coming rancid; the monks purchase this oil of the natives for en CARACCAS. 267 linary purposes. Notwithstanding this annual destruction of the birds, their numbers do not sensibly diminish, as it is conjectured that other guacharoes re-people the grotto from neighbouring caves, which are inaccessible to man. The river which runs through the cave, is from twenty-eight to thirty feet in width, and can be traced into the recesses for a con- siderable distance, the cave preserving its altitude and regular form for 1458 feet ; farther than this the river forms a small cas- cade over a hill covered with vegetation, and surrounded with stalactites ; after this ascent the grotto contracts its height to forty feet, still preserving the same dimensions ; here the bottom is co- vered with a black mould on which plants, deposited accidentally by the birds, have vegetated ; their characters are however so much changed by want of light and air that it is impossible to re- cognise the species. Beyond this spot the cries of the birds were so shrill and piercing that no persuasions could induce the Indians to proceed, and M. de Humboldt was obliged unwillingly to re- turn. This subterraneous river is the source of the Rio Caripe, which joining the river Santa Maria a few leagues distant, is navigable for canoes, and falls into the river Areo under the name of Canno de Terezen. The forests of this and of every other part of Cumana are peopled with numerous tribes of monkeys, of which the araguato is the most common and singular ; it is three feet in height from the top of the head to the tail, with a reddish brown bushy coat of fur which covers its whole body, being very fine on the belly and breast ; its face is of a blackish blue, and covered with a delicate wrinkled skin ; the beard long, and its eye, voice and gait, denot- ing melancholy ; when domesticated they have not that vivacity which most monkeys are celebrated for ; on the rains, or any sudden change of weather approaching, the howling noises made by this creature are beyond conception dismal, and add, during a storm, to the horrors of the uninhabited wilds in which the traveller finds himself alone, and unprotected. Near Cumana, at the farther end of the gulf of Cariaco, is the little town of Cariaco, in the middle of a large plain filled with plantations, huts and groups of cocoa and palms ; on a hill behind this town, at some distance, and named Buenavista, may be seen the range of mountains which stretch towards the east under the names of Sierra de Paria and Areo ; from this hill it is said the most extensive view is to be had which can be seen on the coast of Cumana. The town of Cariaco is small and very unhealthy, owing to the great heat of the climate, the humidity arising from the surround- ing plains and the exhalation* from the shallow mere or lake Campona. ^26B SOUTH AMERICA. The number of inhabitants of this town amounted in 1800 to 6000, and the population is on the increase. Its chief commerce is in cotton of a fine quality ; Cumana and Barcelona exported 18,000 quintals of this article in 1800, of which the town of Cariaco fur- nished six or 7000. Cacao is also attended to, but the cultivation of this plant does not flourish. The sugar cane has of late become an object of much speculation at Cariaco, where considerable quantities of it are now grown. From Cariaco the gulf stretches to Cumana, its northern shore being naked, dry, and rocky, while the south coast is covered the whole way with plantations of cocoa nut trees ; and between Cu- mana and Cariaco is the small village of Mariguitar^ seated in the midst of these plantations. Eastward of Cariaco the range of mountains continue to bend towards the promontory of Paria ; they contain in their bosom, a short distance from Cariaco, a large lake, four or five leagues in diameter, called Putacuao, which communicates with the river Areo. These mountains are visited only by the Indians, and are haunted by the great boa serpent. This part of Cumana, as well as all the country lying towards the east, is nearly uninhabited by Europeans, but a new town has lately been founded at Punta de Piedra, opposite Spanish harbour in Trinidad ; and people are dail)' forming settlements along the coast and in the fertile valleys of the interior ; of which, Concepcion del Pao^ forty-five leagues south of Barcelona, fifty -five from Cumana, and twenty-eight south- east of Caraccas, has lately been raised to the rank of a city, and contains 2300 persons, mostly proprietors of cattle and land in the northern plains of the Orinoco. The provinces of Barcelona and Cumana contain about 100,000 inhabitants, of which the Indians compose more than one-half, 24,000 inhabiting New Andalusia alone, without including the Guaraounoes of the islands of the Orinoco ; and who, as it were, command the mouths of this fine river, which extend along the sea-coast for more than sixty leagues. These mouths are very numerous, but seven of them only are navigable. The first of these is twelve leagues south of the mouth of the Rio Guaripiche, and is called Grande Manama. The second is two leagues south- east of the first, and is named Canal de Pedernalcs ; on the east of it is the island Guarispa, and three leagues south-west is Isla del Soldado, at the south entrance of the gulf of Paria ; these two channels are too shallow for large vessels. The third is called Capure^ and is a branch of the second, de- taching itself aboHt seven leagues inland. The fourth is Macareo^ six leagues south of Capure, navigable for schooners and brigs, and the principal outlet between Guiana and Xrinidad, its mouth being opposite Erin river in that island. The fifth is called 3IaruisaSy from the tribe which dwell on its CARACCAS. 269 shores ; it is twelve leagues south of the fourth entrance, but is little frequented. Eighteen leagues farther is a branch of the Maruisas^ which is the sixth mouth, and is navigable for small vessels. Eight leagues south of this is the Boca de los Navios^ or grand mouth of the Orinoco, which is navigable for large ships. The rivers of Cumana and Barcelona, which fall into the Carib- bean sea, beginning from the west, are chiefly the Unare^ which bounds the provinces of Venezuela and Barcelona. It is naviga- ble for six leagues from the sea, as far as the village of San Anto- nio de Clarinas. Its whole course from the mountains is about thirty leagues from south to north ; the small river ij&ire- joins this . last at about half its course from the interior. The next river eastward of any consequence is the Keveri^ on which Barcelona is built. The Indian name of the stream is Eni- pricuar ; it is infested with crocodiles, but by means of this river which rises in the mountains of the interior, the port of Barcelona carries on its trade in cattle and skins. The animals are brought from the plains behind the mountains by three days' journey, so easy is the road, whilst it requires eight or nine days to reach Cumana by a similar route, on account of the steepness of the Brigantin and Imposible ; this has greatly facili- tated commercial speculation, and will one day render New Bar- celona an important place. In 1800, eight thousand mules were embarked at Barcelona for the West India Islands, and it is computed that the plains of the government of Caraccas furnished annually 30,000 of these animals to the Spanish, English, and French islands. Barcelona has been lately fortified, by having a small fort erected on an eminence on the right bank of the Neveri, about 400 feet above the sea. But this is commanded on the south by a more lofty hill. The dis- tance by sea between Cumana and Barcelona is twelve leagues, but by land considerably more, and over a most difficult road. At Cumana the river Matizanares^ which is only navigable for canoes beyond the town, is noted only for having its shores lined with the most fruitful plantations. Beyond Cumana, the mountains approach so near the coast, that they leave no room for any streams of importance to flow ; and therefore proceeding round the point of Paria, and verging towards the Orinoco, the next river we find, of any consequence, is the Guaripiche which flows into the Atlantic by a broad mouth just above the first estuary of the Orinoco ; this river rises in the interior as has been before men- tioned. Of the rivers which join the Orinoco and flow through the plains of Cumana, the Mamo, the P«o, and the Siiara are the largest ; and on the banks of the-^e are some newlv erected settlements. 270 iOUTH AMERICA. PROVINCES OF VENEZUELA AND CORO- The government of Venezuela comprehends Venezuela, or Caraccas Proper and Coro. It is bounded on the north by the Caribbean sea ; cast by Bar- celona ; west by Maracaybo and Varinas ; and south by the great plains of Varinas, and the Orinoco. This extensive government was named Venezuela from the towns inhabited by Indians which were seen* by the Spaniards on the lake Maracaybo, having a resemblance to Venice. In 1801 the population of Venezuela, including Varinas, amount- ed to 500,000 persons. The soil of Venezuela is fertile^ and yields in abundance all the products of the West Indies, besides many others, which those islands do not possess. Its most noted commercial article is ca- cao, which is inferior to none in the Americas ; vanilla, maize, indigo, cotton, sugar, tobacco and coffee, are a few of the richest objects of cultivation^ wild cochineal, dyewoods, medicinal drugs, gums, resins, balsams, sarsaparilla, sassafras, liquorice, squills, storax, cassia and aloes, here find that climate the most favourable to their growth; and the immense plains in the interior feed multi- tudes of cattle, horses and mules, and in the valleys and mountains, sheep and deer are numerous. All kinds of game are found in this country, the rivers of which also abound with fish. The climate of Venezuela is modified according to the situation of its districts in the mountains, on the coast or on the plains; on the coast and in the plains a scorching heat prevails, accompanied in the latter with deluges of rain. In the mountain valleys the air is in general pure and mild, and in some elevated parts even cold. These mountains, which form a part of the great branch extend- ing from the west to the gulf of Parra, divide the lands of the coast from the plains of the valley of the Orinoco. Their surface is rent in every direction by the force of subterraneous convulsions ; it is on these mountains that the climate is so singularly altered that a traveller may observe the fruits of the tropics luxuriating at a short distance from those of Europe. To the south of this chain the Llanos or plains, which stretch to the Orinoco, are inhabited solely by herds of cattle tended by rtiulattoes, who are as nearly in a state of nature as the beasts they guard. On the plains of Venezuela, the rainy season commences in April, and continues till November. The rains fall oftener in the morning than in the evening, and on an average generally occupy three hours of each day ; during which period, the plains nearest the rivers are converted into lakes of immense extent. For about a century after this country was subdued by the Spa- CARACCAS. 271 nlards, ail their thoughts were turned towards its mineral produc- tions, and the pearl fishery on its coasts. But being disappointed in their expectations of finding immense riches from these sources, they at last turned their attention to the cultivation of the soil. They first planted cacao trees, and so abundant were the profits which this labour yielded, that cacao alone occupied their fields till a very late period. About the year 1774 indigo plantations appeared, and immense plains, hitherto desert, were soon covered with this plant, which was speedily followed by cotton, sugar, to- bacco, coffee, &c. but notwithstanding the aptitude of the soil, and the genial nature of the climate, agriculture still languishes in these fine regions, partly from want of enterprise, and active indus- try, and partly from a too great confidence in the prolific nature of the soil. Besides the articles before mentioned, the forests of Venezuela produce every species of timber fit for the purposes of the joiner, the cabinet-maker, the carpenter, or the shipwright. Cedar is used for their door-posts, window-frames, tables, &c. Black, red, and yellow ebony are common. Mahogany, brasiletto, and all sorts of ornamental woods are abundant, so much so that the work- man would be puzzled in his choice of the finest; but the immense forests which overspread the chain of mountains, remain unexplo- red, and continue to be the receptacles of ferocious animals and venomous reptiles. The lakes of Venezuela are not numerous, for we can hardly give that appellation to the sheets of wattr produced by the perio- dical swell of the Orinoco, or the rains, and which are generally without any depth; the lake of Valencia has been already descri- bed. The rivers of Venezuela are more numerous than in any othei part of Spanish America. Every valley has its stream, and though many of them are not of sufficient size to be navigable, yet all afford ample supplies of water to irrigate the plantations on their banks. The principal of these, which run from the mountains of Caraccas and Coro into the Caribbean sea, are the Guig-eSy Tocuyc^ Aroa^ Taraciiy^ and the Tuy. The Guiges falls into that sea sixteen leagues west of the city of Coro; the Tocuyo discharges its waters twenty-five leagues east of the Guiges or Gaigues; its source is fifteen leagues south of the town of Carora, at the distance of nearly one hundred miles from the ocean; and it is navigable as far as the village of Banagua, at the distance of forty leagues from its mouth ; its banks furnishing abundance of timber of the largest size, and fit for every kind of building. The Aroa rises in the mountains, west of the town of St. Felipe, and enters the ocean near Burburata bay. The Taracuy is another river which enters the Caribbean sea, near the latter ; and the Tuy discharges itself into the sea, thirty leagues east of 272 SOUTH AMERICA. La Guayra; it rises in the mountains of St. Pedro, ten leagues fi*om the capital,^ and being joined by the Guaijra^ becomes navigable, and serves to transport the produce of the cultivated plains or val- leys of Aragoa, Tacata, Cua, Sabana, Ocumara, Santa Lucia and Santa Teresa, through which it passes, and which particularly abound in cacao of the best quality. The rivers which rise on the southern side of the chain, and flow to the Orinoco, are the Guarico^ which receives some of the branches of the Apure, and then following a course parallel to that river, enters the Orinoco a short distance eastward of it. The islands formed by the junctions of the Apure and Guarico are three in number ; the first, near the town of St. Fernando dc Apure, is called Isla de Blanco ; the second, which is very large, and is north of the Indian town of Santa Barbara, is named Isla del Apurito ; and the third, which is between the mouths of the Guarico and Apure, is the Isla de las Garzitas. The Guarico, which is a very fine river, is joined near its confluence with the Orinoco, by the Rio Mancapra^ which flows through the plains of Calabozo. The Igiiane^ the Cachivamo^ and several others which fertilise the vast uninhabited plains of the Orinoco, flow into that river west of the junction of the great Apure. Most of these swell in the month of April, and continue to overflow their banks during three or four months, covering the low lands in their neighbour- hood; they abound in alligators and fish. The Portughuesa^ which is formed by the union of the two rivers, the Pao and the Bar- quisimeto^ flows through the greater part of Venezuela, and joins the Apure forty miles north-west of its mouth. Commerce. — The relation of the commercial undertakings of these provinces will necessarily comprehend those of all the go- vernments of Caraccas, the produce of each being nearly the same. The settlement of the Dutch at Cura^oa, in 1634, first roused the inhabitants of Caraccas to exert their minds in agricultural pursuits : cacao and hides were soon exported in sufficient quanti- ties to answer the purposes of carrying on an exchange trade with the Dutch for such articles of European produce as were necessar}' to the colonists of Venezuela. This trade became so brisk, that the mother country thought it time to interfere ; edicts were is- sued to suppress it, and two vessels were fi'eighted from Spain with merchandise for the colony, for which enormous duties were charged ; the Dutch accordingly commenced a contraband trade, and so greatly undersold the Spanisli merchants, that they were left until 1700, in quiet possession of the traffic. From 1700 to 1730 the merchants of Spain endeavoured to revive their specula- tions, but the activity of the Hollanders was so great that they were undersold in every article ; at this period, the annual produce of the Caraccas in cacao alone was 65,000 quintals (of CARACCAS. 27i i600 ounces to each quintal) ; the exports througii the royal cus- tom houses amounted to 21,000, so that the Dutch received the re- maining 44,000 quintals in their smuggling vessels. The court of Madrid viewing this decrease of its revenues, resolved to put a stop to the intercourse of the foreigners by forcible methods, and confiscations of property, fines and punishments were inflicted on every person discovered engaging in commerce with the Dutch. Notwithstanding these measures, the contraband trade still con- tinued, and the means taken not being found to answer the pro- posed end, it was at last suggested that a company should be cre- ated to monopolise the whole export and import trade of the cap- tain-generalship. This was accordingly done, and such was the vigilance of the members of this company, that the unlawful trade was soon destroyed, and they succeeded by their constant supplies, and by purchasing every article which could be turned to account, in giving complete satisfaction to the colonies. In 1742, this mer- cantile body, known by the appellation of the Caraccas and Gui- puscoa Company, obtained an exclusive grant of the monopoly of the trade ; but in consequence of the discontent which this conces- sion raised in the minds of the colonists, a board was appointed, composed of an equal number of members of the company and of planters, the governor-general being president; this board was to regulate the prices at which the planters and company should res- pectively exchange their merchandise, at the same time permitting the cacao growers to export one-sixth of their cacao to Spain, on their own account in the company's ships. To prevent all irregu- lar supply, ten armed vessels were built, carrying 86 guns and 518 men, and 102 men were equipped on shore, to guard the harbours. Immense warehouses were constructed at the different ports, and advances of money without interest were made to the cultiva- tors. Flourishing villages arose in every direction, and the land v/as converted from immense marshes and forests to smiling plan- tations. In 1735, 65,000 quintals of cacao were only exported, whilst in 1763, the amount of this article increased to 110,650 quintals. Cattle multiplied rapidly in the vast plains on the south, and hides were added to the other objects of the export trade. From this time the duties paid at the various custom houses, was so great, that Caraccas was no longer supj)lied with remittances from Mexico, to defray the expenses of its government. But with all these advantages, which lasted only a short time, the directors of the company assumed powers foreign to the intentions under which their grant was conferred, they became corrupt ; and such was the state of the trade from the abuses they daily committed., that in 1778 the court of Madrid opened the ports of Venezuela and Spain reciprocally to each other. New regulations were adopt- •^d, and the trade of the colony gradually increased till 1796, when Mm 274 • ^OUTH AilERICA. it experienced a check from the operations of the maritime warfare so vigorously carried on by Great Britain at that period. At pre- sent it is not in a ver}' flourishing state, owing to the dreadful strug- gle which has existed between the mother country and her colonies. Capitai.-^TYiG capital of Venezuela is Caraccas^ which is also the metropolis of the captain-generalship, and has already been described. Coro is the principal place of the province of that name, and is situated in 11° north latitude, and 72° 30' west longi- tude, on an isthmus which divides the gulf of Venezuela or Ma- tacaybo, from the Caribbean sea: it was founded in 1527, and was the second settlement made by Europeans on this coast. Coro was considered, for a long while, the capital of Venezuela, till in 1576, when the governor transferred his residence to Leon de Caraccas, since which time no person of high rank, excepting the bishop, remains at Coro. I'his city is placed on a dry sandy plain covered with Indian ftgs or plants of the cactus family ; it is supplied with fruit and vegetables from some fertile plains three leagues distant. The inhabitants, who amount to 10,000, are in general not rich, possessing little activity or enterprise ; many of them pride them- selves on account of being descended from the conquerors of the country. Some trade is carried on among them with the West India islands in mules, hides, goats, coarse pottery ware, cheese, &c. which are all brought from the interior. Their chief commer- cial relations are with Cura^oa, from which island they are distant only a day's sail. Coro contains but few negroes, as the laborious work is perform- ed by the Indians who inhabit the suburbs. Such is the scarcity of water, that the city is supplied from a distance of two miles, by means of mules and asses, laden with that necessary aliment. The streets of Coro are regular, but the houses are mean, and the city is not paved, its public buildings being a church, and a timall convent of Franciscans. The local government is lodged in a council, of which the commandant of the place is president. Its port lies open from north to north-east and neither its ac- commodations, nor the commodities it trades in, are sufficient to render it a place of much resort. The peninsula which lies to the north of Coro, is called Para- goana, and the isthmus is about a league in width, from which the peninsula stretches from south-west to north-west for twenty leagues. It is inhabited by people of colour and Indians, who breed great quantities of cattle on it, which they ship off clandes- tinely to Curagoa, that island being supplied from this place with meat and vegetables, by open boats, which cross over daily. Coro is 80 leagues west of Caraccas, 65 north of Maracaybo, and 2,Z north-west of Barquisimeto. The next place of note in the government of Venezuela, is Portv CARACCAS, 275 Cave/loy or Puerto Cabello^ 30 leagues north-east of Caraccas, in 10° 20' north latitude, and 69° 11' west longitude. It lies in a fine harbour, in the Golfo Triste, near Cura^oa, to the neighbom'hood of which island it owes its importance. Burburata^ a village and harbour, a league to the east of Porto Cavello, was originally the port of Venezuela, and vv'as founded for that purpose in 1549. The harbour of Puerto Cabello, being well adapted for carrying on a contraband trade with Burburata. its shores were soon settled by fishei-.nen, and maiiy Dutch smug- glers erected huts there. Such was the boldness and enterprising spirit of these people, that all the efforts of the Spaniards were un- able to check them, and they continued their unlawful trade under the eyes of the local authorities. When the Guipuscoa company ob- tained their final charter, they ejected the most troublesome of these people by force, built a town, a wharf, and forts for its defence ; and they also erected immense warehouses, some of which still remain. The site of this town was a small peninsula, the neck of which was almost under water ; this isthmus was cut through, a canal formed, and the town detached from the suburbs. The exterior buildings are by far the most numerous, they are however built very irregularly, and the island town is chiefly oc- cupied by the forts and warehouses ; the communication between the two being by a bridge over the canal, at the end of which is placed a gate that is always closed at night. The population of this town amounts to about 8000, their sole employment being navigation and commerce, and their principal connexion is with the continental harbours and the islands. About 60 vessels are employed in the coasting, and four or five in the European trade. It is the place of resort for ships requiring re- pair, and some vessels are built here j and it may also be said to be the entrepot of eastern Venezuela. The climate is very hot and unhealthy, which prevents its be- coming a place of importance. Puerto Cabello is supplied with water by canals from a river a league to the west, and distributed to the public in cisterns, built at proper distances. It has one parish church near the harbour, and two hospitals, one for the soldiers, and one for private persons ; and the local au,- thority is vested in the hands of the commandant. This place was attacked by the English in 1743, but they lost many men, and were obliged to relinquish the undertaking. Porto Cavello is 30 leagues from La Guayra by sea, 48 by land, from Caraccas, following the road thi"ough the towns of Valencia, Maracay, Tulmero, Victoria and San Pedro. Carora^ an inland town, in 10° north latitude, lying on the Mo- rera river, is 110 miles north-east of Gibraltar, on the lake Mara- 276" SOUTH AMERICA. caybo, and contains a population of 6200 souls, resembling »n its commerce, inhabitants, &c., Toanjo^ a large town, in 9° 35' north latitude, and 70° 20' west longitude, seated in a fine valley between two ranges of high moun- tains. The city of Tocuyo is very regularly built, the streets being all wide and straight, containing a church, chapel and two monasteries. In this city the climate is very fine and wholesome, owing to the vicinity of high mountains, but the air is occasionally cold. The inhabitants who amount to 10,200, are in general artisans, traders, graziers, and agriculturists. The wheat of Tocuyo is reckoned the best in the province, and furnishes flour to many towns of the interior. Manufactories of woollens are also established, in which, coverlids, blankets, 8cc., are made, and sent to Maracaybo, and even as far as Carthagena. Tanneries and taweries supply work to a great part of the inhabi- tants, who work up as much of the raw materials as they can find hands to do, and export the rest. Salt from the salt ponds of Coro affords a lucrative article of traffic to the merchants of this town. Tocuyo is 90 leagues south-west of Caraccas, and 20 north of Truxillo. Guanaray on a river of the same name, that flows into the Por- tughuesa, which furnishes the inhabitants with excellent water, and fertilises the land by its overflowings ; on the western parts of this stream, the country is very fruitful j and on the south and east arc the immense plains of Varinas. The chief wealth of the people of Guanara consists in cattle, of which they possess immense herds. They supply the provinces of Caraccas with vast numbers of oxen and mules, and export their sui"plus by Coro, Puerto-Cavello, or Guiana. This city consists of a number of streets disposed in an uniform and regular manner, and the houses, though not sumptuous, are well built. The church is large, handsome, and much adorned, and there is a very good hospital. The image of Nuestra Senora de Comoroto, which is supposed to have a particular virtue, at- tracts a great concourse of devotees from the neighbouring pro- vinces, and renders Guanara a lively place ; it is 93 leagues south- west of Caraccas, in 8° 14' north latitude, and 69" 54' west lon- gitude. Barquisimeto^ which contains a population of 11,300 souls, is situated in 8* 55' north latitude, and 66° 55' west longitude ; 120 miles west-south-west of Caraccas, 450 north-north-east of Santa Fe, 45 north-north-east of Tocuyo, 80 miles south of Valencia, and 175 north-west of Calaboza, on a small river of the same name, which joins the Portughuesa. It was founded in 1552, after the surrounding country had been reduced, and is one of the oldest cities of Venezuela; being placed on a plain at such an elevation. CARACCAS. 277 Lhat it enjeys every cool breeze from the river, and owing to this happy situation, the great heat of the climate becomes supportable. The north-east winds are the most constant, and whenever these do not blow, the thermometer rises to 82° and 84° of Fahrenheit. The inhabitants pasture the plains with herds of cattle, and find this a lucrative occupation, and an easy method of making use of their time ; but they also cultivate the valleys, which produde cacao of an excellent quality, owing to the periodical overflowing of the stream ; and the sides of the mountains are now planted with coffee-trees, which only require a little more care to be of the purest quality. The houses of Barquisimeto are well built, and the streets are on a wide, regular, and good plan. Its church is a handsome structure, and the luxury of its ornaments, as well as the general aspect of the city, show the ease and affluence in which the inhabitants, who are mostly Europeans and their descendants, live. The city is governed by a lieutenant-governor, and common council. Victoria is situated on the road leading from Caraccas to Puerto Cavello, six leagues east of Tulmero. It was founded by the mis- sionaries, and for a long time consisted wholly of Indians, till the fruitful nature of the valley of Aragoa drew a number of whites to it. The lands were soon cultivated, and Victoria was covered with houses instead of huts. The principal ornament of this place is a handsome church, so large that it might well be termed a cathedral ; the number of in- habitants of the town is about 8000. Tulmero is another town in the same fertile valley at six leagues distance west of the latter, and two from Maracay. This town is modern, well built, and the residence of a number of tobacco, cof- fee, indigo, cacao. Sec. planters, but has been peculiarly the abode of the officers appointed to the administration of the tobacco farm j it is embellished with a handsome church and neat private build- ings, and is governed by a lieutenant ; a vicar also resides here, for the direction of ecclesiastical affairs. The population is about 8000 souls. 31aracaif, forty miles south-west of Caraccas, is also seated in the same rich vale of Aragoa, and is a beautiful new town famous for the excellent chocolate made in its neighbourhood. The inha- bitants who are mostly descendants of Biscayan Spaniards, have been computed to amount to 8500, who cultivate indigo, cacao, cotton, coffee and grain. Valencia^ in 10° 9' north latitude, and 68° 25' west longitude, sixteen miles south-west of Caraccas, was founded in consequence of Faxardo, one of the conquerors, having greatly praised the sur- rounding country ; it was first built by Villacinda in 1555, with 278 SOUTH AMERICA. the view of establishing a port near the capital ; but Alonzo Dias Moreno afterwards preferred a site more distant from lake Taca- rigua (now Valencia,) and he accordingly removed the colony half a league west of the lake to a beautiful plain^ where the air was pure and the soil fertile. The population of this city is said to be about 8000 souls, mostly Creoles, of good families, with some Biscayans and Canarians; the streets are wide and well paved, and the houses built like those of Caraccas, but not of stone. This town has a beautiful square, in which the church, a very pretty structure, stands. In 1802 ano- ther church was built and dedicated to Nuestra Senora de la Can- delaria j and the Franciscans have a monastery which has also a neat church. The inhabitants were formerly noted for their indolence, but have lately become active and industrious, and the situation of the place is peculiarly favourable for trade, being separated from Pu- erto Cavello by only ten leagues of good road. Every commodity landed at that port for the consumption of the provinces of the interior passes through Valencia, which necessarily causes much traffic. The adjacent country produces every sort of provision and fruits in great abundance, and the plains feed immense herds of cattle, with sheep, horses and mules, so that its markets are well sup- plied. Near it is the lake of Valencia, which has been described already. Valencia, with the towns of Victoria and Barquisimeto, suffered very much from the earthquake which overthrew Caraccas, La Guyara, Merida and the villages of San Felipe and Maiqueta, on the 26th of March, 1812. Ocumara^ though only a village, is celebrated for having a very fine port, the entrance to which has a battery for eight pieces of cannon. Ocumara is five leagues east of Porto Cabello ; the port is excellent and well sheltered, with fine moorings. The village is about a league distant from the anchoring place on a small river of the same name, which, after fertilising a fine valley, enters the sea at the foot of the fort. Between this bay and La Guayra are the bays of Choroni^ Puerto^ La Cniz^ Los Arecifes and Catia^ and between Ocumara, or Seinega de Ocumara are the bays of Turia- wo, Burbiirata^ and Paranego^ from all of which the inhabitants of the coasts export their produce to La Guayra, Porto Cavello, or the West Indies, as each of these afford fine anchoring places for vessels. In the bay of Burburata there is a village, formerly a place of consequence, but principally of note for the number of mules which it exports. San Carlos was formerly a missionary village, which owes its present beauty to the luxuriancy of the surrounding country ; it is twenty-eight leagues south-south-weat of Valencia, in 9° 20' north latitude ; the climate is very hot, but owing to the prevalence of CARACCAS. 279 the north-east wind it is much ameliorated. The inhabitants amount to 9500, composed of Spaniards from the Canaries, and Creoles, and are engaged in rearing cattle, horses and mules, which form their chief riches; the quality of the soil is so good that it gives an exquisite flavour to the fruits, particularly to its oranges, which are celebrated throughout the province. Indigo and coffee are the chief articles cultivated at San Carlos, and the town is large, handsome, and well laid out. Araura on the shore of the river Acarigua is north-north-east of Truxillo, in a fertile country, where numerous herds of cattle are reared, and cotton and coffee are cultivated ; this town, which was, till lately, a missionary village, contains a fine square, a hand- some church, and several streets of well built houses. Calaboso was also a mission until lately ; it was formed into a town for the sake of those Spanish owners who wished to be near their cattle which roam on the vast plains of the same name. It is situated between the rivers Guarico and Orituco, which unite their waters four or five leagues below the town, and then flow into the Apure. The number of inhabitants in this new town is 4800, and it has 116 settlements in its jurisdiction, containing 1186 free Indians, 3100 people of colour, and 943 slaves. It is fifty-two leagues south of Caraccas, and about the same distance from the Orinoco, in 8° 40' north latitude. San Juan del Pao is also inhabited by the proprietors of the cat- tle on the plains, and consists of a church and several handsome streets on the Pao, which runs into the Orinoco. It contains 5400 souls, and is fifty leagues south-west of Caraccas, in 9° 20' north latitude. San Luis de Cura^ in 9° 45' north latitude, twenty-two leagues south-west of Caraccas, and eight leagues south-east of Lake Va- lencia, possesses 4000 inhabitants, and a miraculous image of the Virgin, to which votaries are constantly flocking. St. Sebastian de los Reyes.^ in 9° 54' north latitude, twenty-eight leagues south-south-west of Caraccas, and in a hot climate, contains 3500 souls. St. Felipe or Cocorota., in a very fertile soil, where cacao, in- digo, coffee, cotton and sugar are cultivated, contains 6800 inhabi- tants, and is well built. It stands in 10° 15' north latitude, 50 leagues west of Caraccas, 15 leagues north-west of Valencia, and seven leagues north-west of Nirgiia; which place was built in the early periods of the conquest, on account of its mines; but it is now in a decaying state, and is inhabited only by Sambos, or the race springing from the Indians and negroes; their number amounts to 3200. This town is in 10° south latitude, 48 leagues west of Ca- raccas. Besides the above, there are several other smaller towns, and 280 SOUTH AMERICA. some very large villages in this government, which are too nume* rous to describe. The country of Venezuela is not famous for mines of gold or tjilver, though some gold has occasionally been found in the streams, which rush from the mountains; the pearl fishery of its coasts will be described in treating of the island of Margarita, THE PROVINCE OF MARACAYBO. Maracaybo, or Maracaibo, surrounds the lake of the same oame. It is bounded on the west by Santa Marta, in New Gra- nada ; on the east by Corq and Venezuela ; on the north by Santa Marta, and the gulf of Maracaybo ; and on the south by Merida and Santa Marta. Owing to the great extent of the lake, this pro- vince extends but a short distance inland to the east and west, its length being about 100 leagues. The soil of Maracaybo is unfruitful on the banks of the lake. The east shore is dry and unhealthy, and on the west shore the land does not begin to be fertile for more than twenty -five leagues south of the city. South of the lake the country may vie with the richest lands of South America. In this province the population is estimated at about 100,000 souls. It was from the Indian towns built on posts of iron wood on the lake of Maracaybo that the Spaniards gave the country the name of Venezuela, or Little Venice. This country was long unknown after the conquest. Ampues, who was governor at Coro had en- gaged all the neighbouring nations of Indians, by his conciliatory measures, to swear allegiance to Spain, when, in 1528, Alfinger and Sailler, who had been sent, with 400 followers, to assume the government, under the authority of the company of the Welsers, landed at Coro. Unfortunately for the Indians, they dispossessed Ampues of his government, and began to search in every direction round the lake for gold ; finding that their hopes of suddenly ac- quiring riches from this source were not likely to be realised, Al- finger took the resolution of penetrating into the interior, to pillage the Indian towns, and make prisoners of as many as he could, in order to sell them for slaves. The Indian villages about the lake were soon destroyed ; carnage and havoc spread around ; the na- tives were sold to the merchants from the islands, and the whole province was a scene of horror and devastation. Alfinger did not long survive this inhuman conduct, he met his fate in a valley, six leagues from Pamplona, in Merida, the natives killing him there in a skirmish in 1531. Two other German agents succeeded him, and continued the same barbarous conduct towards the Indians, which coming to the knowledge of the king of Spain, they were formally dispossessed : 1 CARACCAS. 281 but it is asserted that the traces of the crimes they committed are visible to this day. Four villages of Maracaybo were all that escaped, and are yet standing, the iron wood on which they are founded becoming like a mass of stone from the petrif) ing quality of the water. These villages are situated on the east part of the lake, at unequal distances from each other, and have a church, which is also built in the water on piles, and to which the inhabi- tants of all the villages resort. Several small rivers empty themselves into this lake ; but as the country is uninhabited, excepting by Indians, and immediately on the shores, nothing is known with accuracy concerning them, the savage Goahiros from La Hacha preventing all access on the west- ern side, and keeping the settlers continually in alarm. The lake is navigable for vessels of any burden, but this advan- tage is sometimes rendered useless by a dangerous sand bank across the narrow entrance, on which vessels drawing twelve feet water will occasionally ground. Near the borders of the lake, on the west, are the only parts of this province which are cultivated, where, notwithstanding the heat of the climate, and the insalubrity of the air, some whites have fixed their habitations to cultivate cacao, and other plants. These settlers are much scattered, and have a chapel placed in the centre, to which they all occasionally resort. The climate of the province is in general hot and unhealthy, ex- cepting in the southern parts which border on the snowy mountains of Merida. Its chief town is the city of Maracaybo, in north latitude 10° 30', and west longitude 71° 46', on the western side of the narrow or strait which leads into the lake at about six leagues from the sea, on a sandy soil, and in a dry hot climate. In July and August the air is so heated, that it seems as if it issued from a furnace ; but the most usual preventive for the ill effects of this abomina- ble climate is constant bathing in the lake. Thunder-storms, hur- ricanes, and earthquakes, are common in this country. The city is built with some taste, but disfigured by having most of its houses covered with reeds. The principal part of the town is on the shore of a small gulf, a league in length, which extends towards the broad part of the lake on the south, and the other part is built on the neck to the north, where the lake is onlv three leagues in width. The place where the town begins is named Maracaybo Point ; that where the gulf commences Aricta Point ; opposite to which is Point Sta. Lucia. Maracaybo was founded in 1571 by Alonzo Pacheco, an inha- bitant of Truxillo, who gave it the name of Nev^ Zamora. It con- tains one parish church, a chapel of ease, and a convent of Fran- ciscans, and is supplied with water from the lake, which at times Nn 282 ^OUTH AMERICA. is brackish near this place, when the strong breezes, especially in March, impregnate it with salt from the spray of the sea. The population consists of about 24,000 persons, owing to the number of emigrants who fled hither from St. Domingo. The great families, or people of rank, are about thirty. The whites, or Europeans and Creoles, apply themselves to agriculture, com- merce, the fisheries and navigation, and live very comfortably. The slaves and freemen are composed of negroes and mulattoes, who exercise all the laborious trades and handicrafts, and the num- ber of slaves is about 5000. The best schooners which sail on the Spanish Main are built at this city, which possesses peculiar advantages for ship building. Though the air is so- hot, and the land so arid, yet the natives en- joy a good state of health, and live to an old age, owing, most pro- bably, to the custom of frequent ablutions, as the children may be said to live in the water, and most of the people pass their time in navigating the lake. I'he young people are celebrated for their wit and ingenuity; but the charge of a want of probity in their dealings with strangers is brought against these people. The fe- males are sprightly and modest, and are extremely fond of music ; the notes of the harp resounding through the streets of an evening. The great object of veneration at Maracaybo is an image of the Virgin, denominated Chiquinquira, the name of a village in New Granada, from whence she was brought. A temple was dedicated to her worship in 1586, and immedi- ately a fountain rose up under the altar where she was placed ; mi- raculous virtues were communicated to its waters, and this image has procured a lasting reputation in the surrounding country. The mariners of the lake invoke this holy shrine in all their undertakings, and it is placed in the chapel of ease of St. Juan de JDios. Three forts protect the harbour of Maracaybo. This place was plundered by Michael de Basco, and Francis Lolonois, in 1667, when they sailed up the gulf of Venezuela, with eight ships and 660 men ; they entered the strait, stormed and took the fort of La Barra which defended it, and putting to death the garrison, consisting of 250 men, they then advanced to Mai^acaybo ; on their arrival there, the inhabitants abandoned the city, and removed their most valuable goods. Here they remained a fortnight revelling in drunkenness and de- bauchery, and then proceeded to Gibraltar, which the people of Maracaybo had newly fortified ; after a severe contest this place was also taken, but proved a barren triumph, which so exasperated the Buccaneers, that they set fire to the place, and threatened Ma- racaybo with the same f&te ; the poor inhabitants collected as much property as they could, and ransomed the city, but not before it had been gutted of every thing. Soon after this, Henry Mongan a Welsh adventurer attacked CARACCAS. 283 Porto Bello, and succeeding in his expedition, fitted out in 1669, a fleet of fiiteen vessels, manned with 960 men, with which he sailed to Maracaybo, silenced the fort of the strait, reached the city, and found it deserted ; but following the people to the woods, he discovered their treasures ; he then sailed to Gibraltar, which was desolate j while engaged in torturing the people he had made prisoners, in order to make them produce their hidden treasures, he learnt that three Spanish men of war had arrived at the en- trance of the lake. Summoning all the impudence he was master of, Morgan sent an order to the commander of the vessels to ran- som the city. The answer was, as might be expected, a denial, and direction to surrender himself immediately ; to this he replied, that if the admiral would not allow him to pass, he would find means to do so; accordinglv dividing his plunder among his ves- sels, that each might have a share to defend, he sent a fire-ship into the enemy's fleet, and having burnt two, and captured a third ship, he made a show of landing men to attack the fort, which be- ing thus put off" its guard, Morgan passed the bar with his whole armament, without sustaining the slightest damage. Maracaybo is the seat of the governor of the province, who en- joys the same salary, and exercises the same authority as the go- vernor of Cumana. This district was at one time under the juris- diction of the governor of Merido, but since that province has been annexed to the viceroyalty of New Granada, and since the province of Varinas has been formed out of part of Venezuela and part of Maracaybo, the latter has been made a distinct govern- ment. On the east side of Maracaybo Lake are several small towns, of which Paraiite, Las Barbacoas^ Gibraltar^ and San Pedro, are the most considerable places. Paraute is eighty miles south of Coro, and is a small place on the banks of the lake. Las Barbacoas is situated a short distance farther south, and se- venty-five miles south of Coro. Gibraltar^ in 10° 4' north latitude, and 67° 36' west longitude, is 100 miles south-east of Maracaybo, and on the eastern banks of the lake ; it is a very old town, famous for the production of a par- ticular sort of tobacco, called tobacco of Maracaybo, from which the best sort of snufF, vulgarly called Maocabaw, is made. The country in the vicinity of this town is well watered with rivers, and consequently grows excellent cacao. Cedars of im- mense size are found in its woods, but the climate is very hot and insalubrious, especially during the rainy season, when the mer- chants and planters retire to Maracaybo or Merida. San Pedro is a short distance south of Gibraltar, and also on the banks of the lake. The other places being mere villages, or scat- tered plantations, are not worth mentioning. 284 SOUTH AIHERICA. Truxilloy on the confines of Merida, in 8° 40' north latitudt twenty leagues north of Merida, 105 south-west of Caraccas, and thirty west of Guanara, is in a country producing sugar, cacao, in- digo, coft'ee, &c., and in which wheat is cultivated in great abun- dance, and forms the chief article of the commerce of the inhabi- tants, who also carry the above fruits, sweetmeats, cheese, wool- lens, &c. to Maracaybo, by means of the lake, which is only twenty- five leagues distant, but the route to which lies across the desert and unhealthy plains of Llonay. The inhabitants of Truxillo are an active and an industrious race, and at present amount to 7600 souls, though the city, which is one of the oldest on the continent, was formerly also one of the best peopled, until it was destroyed and sacked by Francis Gra- mout, the Buccaneer, who, in 1678, traversed the province of Venezuela, with a small band of followers, attracted by the riches of this place. The scite of Truxillo is between two mountains, and it contains a good parish church, a chapel of ease, two monasteries, a convent of Dominican nuns, and an hospital. PROVINCE OF VARINAS. Varinas, the next province of Caraccas, divides the territories of this government from those of the kingdom of New Granada. It is bounded on the north by the provinces of Maracaybo and Venezuela, east by the plains of Caraccas and the Orinoco, west by Merida and New Granada, and south by Juan de Los Llanos, or Casanare. This proviiKe was formed in the year 1787, by separating the southern districts of Venezuela and Maracaybo, when it was also constituted a distinct government. The chief has the title of go- vernor, and his funtions are the same as those of Cumana and Maracaybo, in the civil, military and ecclesiastical departments. In order to defend this new province, a militia was raised in 1803, and a garrison allotted to the city of Varinas, consisting of seventy-seven men. The chief products of this extensive country are tobacco, well known in the European markets, and cattle, su- gar, coffee, cotton, indigo j and all the fruits of the torrid zone, find here a soil adapted to each ; and their qualities are unri- valled. The commodities of Varinas are exported chiefly by water to Guiana ; the place of embarkation being at a spot called Tocunos, five leagues below the city. The most remarkable features of this country are the extensive plains, of which it is mostly composed, and which are covered with a luxuriant herbage, feeding innumerable herds of cattle, CARACCAS. 285 flocks of sheep, and di'oves of mules and horses ; these are either used in the province, or exported by means of the Great Orinoco. Varinas is intersected by numerous large and navigable rivers, which occasionally inundate and fertilise its plains. Of these, the Apure^ the Portuguesa^ the Guanarito^ the Bocono^ the Guanapalo^ the Araiica, the Capanaparo^ the Sinaruco^ and the Meia^ are the most noted. I'he Apure rises in one of the ridges that diverge from the eas- tern branch of the Andes in New Granada, in the province of Sante Fe ; its length is 170 leagues, of which forty are from north- east to south-east, and the rest from west to east, where it joins the Orinoco by a number of mouths, after having received many very fine rivers, which will one day serve to render the carrying on of the trade from the eastern district of New Granada, and the countries bordering on the Atlantic extremely easy. These rivers are the Tinaco, San Carlos, Cojeda, Agiia Blanca, Acarigua, Arey- aruo, Hospicia, Abaria, Portuguesa, Guanare, Tucapido, BoconOy Masparro, La Tuca, the Santo Domingo, Paguay, Tisnados, ^c, which all come either from the mountains of Granada, or those of Venezuela, and mingle their waters with the Apure, in the im- mense plains of Varinas. The Santo Domingo, and Portuguesa, are the largest of these streams, almost the whole of which unite above Santiago, and form a great body of water, which enters the Apure twelve leagues below that place, and twenty leagues north of the Orinoco. This immense quantity of water gives such an impulse to the Apure, that it forces the Orinoco before it for the space of four miles, al- though the latter river is there a league in width. The shock of the meeting of these two noble rivers is so great, that it occasions a great agitation in the middle of the Orinoco, forming dreadful eddies and whirlpools, at which the most dextrous Indians shud- der. For the space of three leagues after the stream of the greater river has regained its force, the waters of the Apure are still dis- tinguishable by their bright and crystal appearance, after which they are lost in the muddy current of the Orinoco. The expor- tation of cattle by way of Guiana takes place along the banks of these two rivers, on account of the excellent pasturage which they every where afford. All the traders of the eastern portion of Car- accas, are induced by the easy means of conveyance afforded by so many confluent streams, to send their coffee, cotton and indigo to Guiana, instead of sending them on the backs of mules to Car- accas, or Porto Cavello, and travelling 300 miles in a country often almost impassable, from the inundations of the rivers. The Arauca is a river nearly as large as the Apure, and which rises in the mountains of Santa Fe, a short distance south of the sources of the latter, with which it holds a parallel course, through a country inundated by the Apure, and communicates with it near 286 SOUTH AMERICA. the Orinoco by several branches before it enters that river, thus forming some large and fertile islands. The Rio Capanaparo rises in the marshy country south of the Arauca, and enters the Orinoco, south of the latter river by two mouths, at some distance from each other. South of this is another named the Sinaruco, which also rises in the marshes, and receives an accession to its waters from the over- flowings of the Apure and the Arauca, entering the Orinoco be- tween the Capanaparo and the Meta. The Meta is a noble river, which rises in the mountain ridge opposite to Santa Fe de Bogota, and flowing through the province of Juandelos Llanos, and the district of Casanare, it receives many other large rivers, and enters the Orinoco, thirty leagues below the cataracts of Ature, and 125 leagues from Santo Tome of Guiana. The Meta receives the Pachiquiaro^ the Upioy the Cravo^ and the Pauto in Juan de los Llanos, and the Ar'tporo^ the Ch'ire^ and the Casanare (a fine river into which flow several others) in the province or district of Casanare. The Meta also receives several smaller streams in Varinas, and seems destined to form vast commercial relations between the kingdom of New Granada and the government of Caraccas. When the annual fleet of galleons was put a stop to, the govern- ment issued orders that all the interior produce of New Granada should be carried to Carthagena, and forbid every article, excepting coarse cottons and flour to be exported by way of the Meta, which considerably retarded the progress of the settlers in Varinas, the Llanos, and Guiana, and put a stop to the cultivation of many ar- ticles too bulky to be carried over such bad roads as those which descend to the Magdalena and the Cauca. The banks of the Meta are inhabited chiefly by Indians, of which the Guahibos tribe occupies the country near the Orinoco ; and in Juan de los Llanos, the missionary villages, are very nume- rous on both banks of the stream. The capital of Varinas is the city of Varinas in 7° 40' north la- titude, and 100 leagues south-east of Caraccas. It is a neat little place in a tolerable climate, with one church,- and an hospital. Its inhabitants amount to about 6000, the governor of the province re- siding here. The other towns of most consequence are San Jayme^ St. Fer- nando de Apure, and San Antonio. St. Jayme is situated on the west bank of the Portuguesa, above its junction with the Guanaparo and the Apure in 7° 50' north latitude on a sand hill. The town is so environed with water for three months, that the inhabitants cannot leave their houses but in canoes; it is seventy-five leagues south of Caraccas. St. Fernando de Apure is erected on the south bank of the Apure, near its junction with the Portuguesa. This town is Xvell built, CARACCAS. 287 in a hot but healthy climate, and contains about 6000 inhabitants, whose occupation consists in rearing mules and cattle, and their property is in large commons, lying south of the city. Sa7i Antonio is situated on the north bank of the Apure, just above where it divides itself into several branches to join the Arauca, in about 7° 30' north latitude, with a village called Banco- largo on the opposite bank of the river. South of this town and between the Capanaparo and the Sinaruco,the country is inhabited by tribes of wild and independent Indians, who allow no settlements to be made among them. The whole province of Varinas on its western and northern parts is covered with farms and small villages, mostly situated on the banks of the different rivers. A road leads from the plains of Calobozo, in Venezuela, through St. Fernando de Apura, and across the rivers to the junction of the Meta with the Orinoco. This province has lately become the scene of contests between the Spanish troops and the insurgents ; particularly in the vicinity of the Apure. PROVINCE OF GUIANA ; OR, SPANISH GUIANA. This immense province extends from the frontiers of Juan de los Llanos and Quixos, in New Granada to the frontiers of British, French and Portuguese Guiana. It is bounded on the north by the Orinoco and the plains of Cumana, Barcelona, and Caraccas ; on the east by unknown lands between the settlements of the Eng- lish and French ; west by the Orinoco and the provinces of New- Granada ; and south by the Portuguese possessions. It has been computed to be 1000 leagues in circumference ; but this vast extent is inhabited chiefly by warlike and savage tribes of Indians, who forbid all access into the interior. The population of those parts which are occupied by the Spaniards, their descend- ants, and the mission Indians, is computed at 34,000, this popula- tion being confined mostly to the banks of the Orinoco. The precise boundaries of this country cannot be laid down ; ou the west it is said to extend to the western mouth of the river Ya- pura, proceeding thence almost due north. On the east it has, from Cape Nassau, a shore of thirty leagues to the mouth of the Orino- co ; thence along that river to the Rio Portuguesa, an extent of more than 400 leagues. The Portuguese territories on the south, were formerly bounded by a line passing under the equator, but they have since acquired more settlements to the north in the wes- tern parts of Guiana. The population of Spanish Guiana is thus divided; 19,400 In- dians, under the care of missionaries; 8000 Creoles, mulattoes, Sec. scattered in the settlements, and the remainder in the capital ; the 288 SOUTH AMERICA. villages being more frequent at from fifty leagues from the Atlantic to about 130 up the Orinoco. Guiana is subdivided into Upper and Lower Guiana, the capi- tal being the point of separation. The most southern fort of the Spaniards is that of San Carlos, or the Rio Negro, in 1' 53' north latitude. Upper Guiana comprehends all the country west of the Caroni river ; few plantations are seen there, though the soil is rich be- yond imagination. Lower Guiana is east of the Caroni, or in the space bounded by the sea on the east, the Orinoco on the north, the Caroni on the west, and the Essequibo on the south; than which, a more fertile soil cannot be found, watered by numerous rivers, whose periodic overflowings deposit a slime as prolific as the Nile; but this fine district is nearly a waste, harbouring anthropophagical tribes, of whom the Caribs are the most formidable, as well as sanguinary. The riches of the few Spaniards and Creoles settled in this pro- vince, consists in cattle, of which the missionary Franciscans alone possess more than 150,000 head. The trade of Guiana consists entirely in the export of cattle and mules, with some tobacco, cotton, and indigo, and in 1803 they had thirty-four small vessels employed in trading to Trinidad and the neighbouring Spanish ports. In the history of the discovery of Guiana much obscurity pre- vails ; but Martin Silva, in 1568, obtained a patent to conquer some tribes to the westward of the present limits. After pene- trating through Venezuela, his people deserted him ; when he re- turned to Spain, and collected new followers. Silva then attempted to cross the country from the coast between the Maranon and Orinoco, but he and his followers were slain and devoured by the Caribs* The missionaries, Pizarro's brother, and Diego Ordaz, also attempted to enter and explore Guiana, but were all frustrated by the natives. Sir Walter Raleigh also twice tried to reach the pretended city of Manoa, or El Dorado, which is supposed to have been situated in lake Parima, and whose streets were paved with gold ; which marvellous story had most probably its origin in an Indian village, built on an island whose soil contained mica, which glittering, and appearing splendid in the sunshine, deceived the adventurers who had observed it. In later times the Spaniards have endeavoured to conquer these regions, but have always been unsuccessful ; one of them has had the courage to cross the greater part of the country in the dress of an Indian ; and from his researches, the direction of the ranges of mountains has been ascertained. Humboldt, also contrived to go a great distance along the chain of the cataracts, but was prevent- ed from exploring the sources of the Orinoco and the celebrated CARACCAS. 289 lake of Parima by the Guayecas^ a race of Indians who, though of very diminutive stature, display the utmost courage and activity in defending their possessions. These people resist all persuasion to become the converts of the monks who had visited their fron- tiers, and equally defy the armed force which generally accom- panies these priests. The rivers flowing through Guiana, which are best known, are the Orinoco^ into which, on the north, the Caroni^ the Aruij^ the Caura^ and several smaller ones empty themselves ; on the west the Suapure^ the Sippapu^ &:c., join that stream, while on the south the Guaviare, the Tnritta^ and the Atabapo also add to the magnificence of its course. The Rio Negro also flows through a part of Guiana, and forms, by means of the Cassiquzari, a junction between the Maranon and the Orinoco, thus constituting Guiana an immense island detached in every direction by a broad expanse of water from the continent of South America. The Tapura and the Uapes run through the southern or conti= nental parts of this province, and join the Maranon. Many large rivers issue from, or rise near lake Parima and the interior ; of which Rio Branco and the Siaba are the most noted, but as the lake itself, and all the surrounding country are as un- known as the internal parts of Africa, it will be useless to repeat names that are gathered from maps, often imaginary, and generally erroneous. The capital of Guiana is Sarito Toine^ or Angostura^ (the strait, so called, because situated in a narrow part of the Oiinoco ;) it was originally built in 1586, nearer the sea, at the distance of fifty leagues from the mouth of the river, but having suffeied succes- sively from the invasions of the English, French and Dutch, it was removed, in 1764, to its present site, ninety leagues from the At- lantic, on the right bank of the river, at the foot of a small moun- tain. Opposite the city is a village and fortress on the left bank of the Orinoco. This place was built for the defence of the passage of the Strait, and is called Port Rafael. Between this port and the city is the island Del Medio, a low rocky islet, covered during the floods The channel lies between this shoal and the town, the river being 200 feet broad at low water, Santo Tome is the seat of govern- ment, the bishop and governor of Guiana residing in it, but its buildings are said to be mean, and its appearance unworthy of a better title than that of a large village. The other towns of Guiana are also no better than villages, and it has many forts near. the Portuguese boundaries. Oo $29Q SOUTH AMtF.ICA; ISLAND OF MARGARItA, This island, which is about thirty leagues in circumference, fcrms a government separate from that of Cumana, on whose ahores it lies, and dependent on the captain-general of Caraccas. It lies in north latitude 10° 56', and in 64 and 65 degrees west longitude. It was first discovered by Columbus in 1498. The pearls found on the coasts of this and the neighbouring isle of Cubagua, soon rendered it famous, and the fishery was carried on at the ex- pense of vast numbers of Indians who lost their lives in the un- dertaking. The possession of Margarita is an object of some consequence to the Spaniards, as it is separated from the continent by a strait only eight leagues wide, and to windward of all the best ports of Caraccas. It forms the channel through which all vessels coming from Europe, or windward, to Cumana, Barcelona and La Guayra, must pass, though it is not navigable in its whole breadth, the rocky island Coche between it and the continent, leaving only a narrow pass of two leagues, but which is seldom dangerous, owing to the general calmness that reigns in this part of the Caribbean sea. In this island there are only three ports, Pampatar on the east- south-east ; Pueblo de la Mar^ a league to leeward of the preceding, and Pueblo del Norte on the north side. The population of Margarita has been estimated at 14,000 per- sons, consisting of 5500 whites, 2000 Guayqueria Indians, and 6500 Castes. The pearl fishery formerly constituted their princi- pal occupation, and is still attended to by the Indians, who also take numbers of turtles and fish, the latter of which they salt and export. They fabricate cotton stockings, and hammocks of a very superior quality. Fowls, turkeys, and all kinds of poultry are ex- ported to the continent b}- the lower classes, and the island is cele- brated for its beautiful parrots and other curious birds, which are so much esteeiTied that scarcely any trading vessel leaves the place without carrying away some of them. Along the coast of Mar- guarita the land is in general rocky and very steep, but the interior is fertile, producing maize and fruits, and covered with groves ; its climate, though very hot, is wholesome, the greatest inconve- nience experienced by the inhabitants being a want of good fresh water. The capital of this government is the city of Asuncion^ situated in the centre of the island, and which, excepting its being the chief place, is otherwise unimportant. This island has lately been the scene of some sanguinary actions betv/een the insurgents and the Spanish troops under General PERU. 291 Morillo ; the latter having been defeated in a severe battle, was obliged to retire to the adjacent continent. The chief scene of these operations was near the port of Pampatar. VICEROYALTY OF PERU. The viceroyalty of Peru is far from being the largest, or the richest of the Spanish American governments, as since the dis- memberment of several of its most important provinces it has be- come of very little comparative importance ; to its name is how- ever attached the most interesting recollections, and as the empire of its Incas was formerly the most renowned, the history of its conquest the most extraordinary, and its ancient splendour the greatest, we have judged it proper to place the general outline of the most important historical relations regarding ancient and mo- dern South America, with the particular description of those of Peru. BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT. Peru is bounded on the north by the southern provinces of Quito, Maynas, Jaen de Bracamaros, and Guayaquil ; on the west by the Pacific Ocean ; on the east, by the Portuguese possessions, and the provinces of Buenos Ayres ; and on the south, by the go- vernment of Chili and the viceroyalty of La Plata. It was formerly the most extensive kingdom of South America, but in the year 1718 the provinces of Quito in the north, as far as the river Tumbez, were annexed to the government of New Granada, and in 1778, Potosi, and several other of its richest districts on the east were annexed to the viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres j its present extent is therefore from the Rio Tumbez, in 3° 30' south latitude, to the chain of Vilcanota, in 15° south latitude, or 690 geographical miles, while along its coast this length may be prolonged to 375 more ; its medial breadth, not including the Pampas del Sacramento, is nearly eighty, so that its area may be estimated at 33,630 square leagues, or according to Humboldt, only at 30,000. Its eastern settlements bound on Colonna, or the land of the Missions, the Pampas del Sacramento, and the savage nations of the Pajonal, a vast steppe covered with long grass. 292 SOUTH AMERICA. POLITICAL AND TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS AND GOVERNMENT.' Peru is divided into seven intendancies, viz. Truxillo, Tarma, Huancavelica, Lima, Guamanga, Arequipa and Cuzco, each of which is governed by an intendant, nominated by the vicei-oy, a nobleman of the highest rank, who is sent from Spain, and whose appointment is one of the first consequence in Spanish America. The population of Peru maybe estimated at 1,300,000, of which 130,000 are whites, 240,000 mestizoes, and the remainder In- dians and negroes, the latter of whom are in very small num- bers. The missionary lands to the east have not been included in this statement; of them we shall have occasion to speak hereafter. In Peru the revenue is derived from the duties on imports, ex- ports, gold, silver, tobacco, liquors, the capitation tax on the In- dians, taxes on the clergy, &c. It is said to amount to 1,083,000/. annually, and it remits, in prosperous times, to Spain, for the royal coffers, 216,600/., to Panama, 70,000/., to Valdivia in Chili, 3750/., and to the island of Chiloe a similar sum, to defray the expenses of their several administrations. The net revenue of the colony, after defraying these situados, or remittances, does not amount to more than is sufficient to settle the expenses of its own internal go- vernment. The salary of the viceroy is 12,600/. a small sum, but which is assisted by the monopoly of certain manufactures, by grants, and by the colonial situations and titles he can confer. Peru is the seat of two royal audiences, that of Lima and that of Cuzco. The audience of Lima was established in 1543, and is composed of a regent, eight oidores or judges, four alcaldes, and two fiscals, the viceroy being president. It is divided into three chambers, and is the superior court of appeal for the whole government. The royal treasury is the next great office of state, composed of the viceroy, the regent of the council, the dean of the tribunal of accounts, and other officers, and the revenue appeals are determined by the tribunal of accounts. Commerce. — The commerce of Peru is important, and on ac- count of the number of fine ports along its coast, it may be styled i the maritime province of the South American states. The trade flows through three channels ; by the straits of Ma- gellan from Europe, through the North Pacific from India and Mexico, or Guatimala; and through the interior with the southern provinces of Chili and Buenos Ayres. Since the trade was un- shackled in 1778, its exports and imports have doubled, and the principal branch of its commerce is that carried on round Cape Horn. The .exports of Peru are chiefly gold, silver, brandies, sugar, PERU. $93 pimento, cinchona, salt, vicuna wool, coarse woollens, and other trifling manufactures. Its imports are European goods, linens, cottons, woollens, silks, iron, hardware, superfine cloths, mercury, wax, paper, glass, me- dicines, wines, liqueurs, books and furniture ; from Buenos Ayres it receives Paraguay tea, live stock and provisions, and from the other internal provinces, coca leaf, indigo, tallow, cacao, timber, cordage, pitch and copper. Chili also supplies Lima with grain and fruits in immense quan- tities, and salted meat, soap, wine, copper, saffron, &c. The ports of Peru which are most frequented, are those named Arica, Ilo, Iquique and Quilca, in the intendancy of Arequipa, and Pisco, on the south of Lima ; Chancay and Guacho in Lima ; and Guanchaco, Pacasmayo, and Payta, in Truxillo, on the north. With the southern ports, the trade is in wine, brandy, iron, dried fruits, copper, tin, lead, &c. ; with the northern in wool, cotton, leather, chocolate, rice and salted fish. To the Rio de la Plata, the exports are maize, sugar, brandy, pimento, indigo and woollens ; these exports are said to amount to 2,000,000 dollars annually, and the imports from that government, to 860,000, consisting in mules, sheep, hams, tallow, wool, coca leaf, Paraguay tea and tin ; and 20,000 mules arrive annually from Tucuman, for the service of the Peruvian mines. A great trade is also carried on with Guayaquil and Guatimala, but with Panama it is almost nothing. From the Philippine islands, muslins, tea, and other East Indian goods, are imported, amounting to 270,230 dollars annually, in return for about 2,790,000, exported to Asia, in silver and gold. The produce of the mines of Peru, including those of Chili, is about 1,730,000/. annually, whilst the value of European goods imported, is nearly 2,492,000/. in the same period ; and the value of the agricultural produce exported, of Peru and Chili, is 866,000/. In this country the population is much scattered, and composed of castes who have the greatest distrust of each other, the Indians being the most numerous, and leading a life of indolence and apathy ; the natural resources of this fine region are unheeded ; and its commerce, far from being restricted by the government, suffers only from the inactivity of its inhabitants. Mines. — The mines, which in general are very rich, are very ill worked, and often abandoned from trivial causes ; and the quicksilver necessary to obtain the metal from the ore, is procured in insufficient quantities, no exertions being made to clear the mines of that valuable substance, which exists in the greatest pro- fusion in the country. The mines which produce the greatest quantity of valuable me- tals, are those of Laiiricocha^ in the province of Tarma, common- ly called the mines of Pasco in the Cerro de Bombon^ or high-table- 294> SOUTH AMERICA. land, in which is the small lake De los Reyes, to the south of tiie Cerro de Yauricocha ; those of Gual^ayoCy or Chota^ in Truxillo, and the mines of Huantajaya. The mines of Pasco were discovered by Huari Capac, an In- dian, in 1630 ; they alone furnish two millions of piastres annual- ly, and are at an elevation of more than 13,000 feet above the level of the sea ; the metalliferous bed appears near the surface, the shafts being not more than from 90 to 400 feet in depth ; water then makes its appearance, and causes great expense in clearing it. The bed is 15,747 feet long, and 7217 feet in breadth, and would produce, if worked by steam, as much as Guanaxuato in Mexico; its average annual produce is however 131,260 lbs. troy. Gualgayoc and Mkuipampa^ commonly called Chota, were dis- covered in 1771, by Don Rodriguez de Ocano, a European; but in the time of the Incas, the Peruvians worked some silver vein, near the present town of Micuipampa. Immense wealth has been discovered at FuentestianCy at Como- iache and Pampa de Navar; at the last of which, wherever the turf is moved, for more than half a square league, sulphuretted and native silver, in filaments, are found adhering to the roots of the grasses, and it is also occasionally discovered in large masses. All the mines in the partido of C^ota^ comprehended under the name of Gualgayocy have furnished the provincial treasury of Truxillo, with 44,095/^^. troy of silver annually; these minerals are richer than those of Potosi, and are discorered mostly at the height of 13,385 feet. The mines of Huantajaya are surrounded with beds of rock salt, and are celebrated for the quantity of native masses of silver they produce. They are situated in the partido of Arica, near the small port of Yquique, in a desart destitute of water, and fur- nish an annual supply of from 42 to 52,000 lhs» troy. Two masses, which were discovered here lately, weighed, one two, and the other eight quintals. Gold was formerly procured by the Incas in the plains of Curi- mayo, north-east of the city of Caxamarca, at more than 11,154 feet above the sea. It has also been extracted from the right bank of the Rio de Micuipampa, between Cerro de San Jose., and the plain called Choropampa., or the Plain of Shells ; so named on account of a vast quantity of petrified sea shells, found there at the absolute height of more than 13,123 feet. At present the Peruvian gold comes pai'tly from Pataz and Hui- lieSy in Tarma, and is extracted from veins of quartz, traversing primitive rock, and partly from washings established on the banks of the Mar anon Alto^ in Chachapoyas. Cobalt, antimony, coal and salt, exist in this country ; but as they are, with the exception of the latter, chiefly found in the PERU. 295 mountain regions, the high price of carriage prevents their useful qualities from being brought into general use. The coinage of gold and silver in the royal mint of Lima, be- • tween 1791 and 1801, amounted to 5,466,000/. or !, 113,000 />er annum; of which 3450 marcs were gold, and 570,000 silver. The number of gold mines and washings worked in Peru is about 70, and the number of silver mines 680, which includes all the different works on the same spot. Of quicksilver, four mines exist, with four of copper, and twelve of lead. Emeralds and other precious stones are found in this country, with obsidian, and the stone of the Incas, a marcasite capable of the highest polish. Climate^ Features^ ££?c. — The climate of Peru is singularly va- rious. The mountains which extend on the west side of America, cause a division of this country into three distinct parts, the mari- time valleys, the barren summits, and the plains or uplands between the ridges. The chain of the Andes, arresting the clouds, which dissolve on the mountain districts into rain and vapours, accom- panied with storms of thunder and lightning, whilst between 5° and 15° south latitude, on the coast, rain is unknown, and the dry winds from the Antarctic constantly pervade this region, from the desart of Atacama to the gulf of Guayaquil, a distance of 400 leagues. In this tract, the houses are covered only with mats, sprinkled with ashes, to absorb the night dews, and the soil, being moistened only by these dews, is rather sandy awd barren. On the uplands vegetation flourishes, and to the height of 10,000 feet, the Sierra or High Peru, enjoys a climate composed of a mix- ture of perpetual spring and autumn. Beyond 14,000 feet, the Sierra is covered with eternal snows, and consequently an ever- lasting winter rtigns in its neighbourhood. The cultivation of these different tracts is little attended to ; along the coast, desarts of thirty or forty leagues in extent are fre- quent ; and the immense forests which cover the maritime plains, prove that the inhabitants are not numerous ; these forests contain acacias, mangle trees, arborescent brooms and ferns, aloes, and other succulent plants, cedars, cotton or ceiba trees of gigantic growth, many kinds of ebony, and other useful woods, ten or twelve species of palms, and the maria, an enormous tree used in ship building. These forests are thickest at the distance of seven or eight leagues from the coast, and the trees then become covered with parasitical plants, which reach to their very top, mixing their beautiful and lively flowers with the dark green foliage, so pecu- liar to the tropics. In the forests and in the plains of the coast, are found the cab- bage palm, the cocoa nut, the cacao nut, the cotton shrub, the pine apple, canna, amomum, turmeric, plantain, sugar cane, &c., on the sides of the Andes, and in its great plains, are the precious cin- 296 ;iOUTH AMERICA. chona, coffee tree, the cardana alliodora, a large tree, whose leaves and wood emit an odour resembling garlic. Twenty-four species of pepper, five or six of capsicum, and several of potatoe, tobacco and jalap exist in Peru, and the green and hot houses of Europe owe most of their beautiful flowers and plants to this country. The llama, the guanuco, the vicuna, and the alpaco, or the differ- ent species of American camel, find their native climate in the cold districts of Peru ; the jaguar, the cougar or puma, and several other wild animals, inhabit the thick forests; while the elk, the ant- bear, deer, monkeys, the great black bear -of the Andes, and arma- dillos, &c. are very numerous. The woods abound in beautiful birds, the rivers in fish and alligators, and numerous tribes of rep- tiles infest the warm districts of the coast, in which venomous in- sects are also common. The mountains of Peru do not yield in height to those of Quito, the great chain of the Andes dividing itself into several parallel branches, forming as in Quito, long and narrow valleys, near its summits; it is very precipitous towards the east, and seems to form a natural barrier between the kingdoms of La Plata and Peru. It here gives birth to the Maranon, the Guallaga, the Tunguragua, and a variety of smaller rivers, which either lose themselves in these or in the Pacific Ocean. HISTORY, DISCOVERY, &C. The history of Peru in the remote ages is not so clearly ascer- tained as that of Mejyco; traditions were not handed down to pos- terity as in that country by symbolical paintings, but were remem- bered only by means of the quippus, a knotted string of different colours, or by the priests who were brought up from their youth in temples, where the history of the nation was one of the objects of the care of their elders in their instruction. Although it is doubtful which nation had advanced to the great- est state of civilisation, it is certain that the Mexicans had the most correct chronological notions ; and accordingly, the aeras of their early history are the most to be depended on. From what country the ancient Peruvians migrated is not known; they were however of a character widely different from the Mexicans, and have been conjectured by some authors to have come froiti the south-east. They remained for a length of time without any decided form of government, until they were subdued by a tribe who were said to have come from an island in a great lake to the south of Peru. These people were warlike, and totally different in their manners; from the Peruvians, who were merely tribes of wandering inoffen- sive savages. According to some authors Manco Capac, and Mama Oello his v.ife were the conquerors of Peru, appearing PERU. ^97 on the banks of lake Cliucuito, clothed in flowing garments, and whiter than the natives whom they came amongst ; they gave themselves out as children of the sun, sent by that divinity to re- claim and instruct mankind. Awed by the presence of these peo- ple, the rude savages followed them till they settled at Cuzco, where they founcied a town, afterwards the capital of Peru. Per- suading the tribes who wandered over the country to collect around them, Manco Capac instructed the men in agricultural and other useful arts, while Mama Oello taught the females to weave and spin. After securing the objects of primai-y importance, those of providing food, raiment and habitations for his followers, Manco Capac turned his attention towards framing laws for their govern- ment, in order to perpetuate the good work he had begun. He constituted himself their sovereign and high priest, enacted a law that no one but his descendants were to fill this post, that they were to be held sacred, and looked upon as inferior only to the planet from whom they sprung. At first 'his territories embraced only a few leagues in extent round the capital, but these were rapidly enlarged from the mild and beneficent effects of his patriarchal government. He was now styled by his subjects Capac, or rich in virtue ; he founded the temple of the sun at Cuzco, which was to be served only by virgins of royal descent. This monarch lived among his people for a number of years and then suddenly disappeared. His successors increased the boundaries of their territories by the force of their arms, and by the greater force of persuasion, backed by the mildest exercise df their royal functions. These monarchs were styled Incas, and were distinguished by a peculiar dress and ornaments, which none of their subjects dared to assume; they were adored by the Peruvians, who looked upon them as the sons and vicegerents of the divinity they worshipped. This unbounded power of the Incas was unaccompanied by any ill effects, as their attention was uniformly exerted for the good of their subjects, in extending the benefits of civilisation, and know- ledge of the arts introduced by their founder. It seems highly probable that such a person as Manco Capac existed, and that he introduced the measures we have related, but it is also most probable that he was accompanied by followers who carried his dictates into effect among the rude Peruvians, and therefore the supposition that these people were conquered by a superior and warlike tribe from the south, is by no means impro- bable, as at the present day, there exist several tribes in the southern forests, who are more civilised than the modern Peru- vians, and who have successfully resisted the invasion of the Spaniards. The successor of Manco Capac, who died in the latter end of the twelfth or beginning of the thirteenth century, was his son Sinchi Roca^ or the brave, who extended his dominions sixty 298 SOUTW AMERICA, miles south of Cuzco. The third Inca was Lloqtie Tupanqui^ who further extended the territories of Cuzco and reduced several tribes ; the fourth was Ala'ita Capac^ who also added to the empire, and erected several splendid edifices ; the fifth, Capac Tupanqui^ was another conqueror ; the sixth, Iiica Roca^ subdued many small districts ; the seventh was named Tahuar Huacac ; the eighth, Inca Ripac^ and who had an army of 30,000 men ; he conquered many provinces, and obliged the chief of Tucuman to pay him homage ; the ninth was Inca Urea, who was deposed after he had reigned eleven days ; he was succeeded by Pachacutec, who subdued Jauja, Tarma, and other provinces ; the eleventh was Tupanqid , who car- ried his conquests to the river Maule, in Chili, and over the iVlo- jos far to the east of the Andes ; the twelfth, Tupac Tiipanqui, conquered several districts in Quito ; and the thirteenth, Hxiayna Capac^ subdued the kingdom of Lican or Quito, and established hiinself in the capital. His history has been related in the histori- cal description of that province. On his death-bed he divided Quito and Peru between his sons ; but Inti Ciisi Niiolpa, or Huas- ca>\ was declared Inca ; he fought a bloody battle with his brothef Atahualpa^ and was taken prisoner, on which Atahualpa or Ataba- lipa, invested himself with the regal fillet, and was proclaimed fifteenth Inca of the Peruvians. On his being killed by Pizarro, JIa7ico Capac wss crowned by permission of that general, but re- volted from the allegiance he had vowed to Spain, and retiring to the mountains, is supposed to have died about 1553. The seven- teenth and last of the Incas, was Saijri Tupac, who resigned his sovereignty to Philip the Eleventh of SjJain, and died a Christian, leaving only one daughter, who married Onez de Loyola, a Spanish knight, from whom descend the Marquesses of Oropesa and Alcanises. Manco Capac, the Second, left several children, one of whom, Tupac Amaru, was the oldest, and was beheaded by the Spaniards, On pretence of his having assumed the imperial fillet. The discovery of Peru by the Europeans takes its date from the latter end of the reign of Huana Capac in 1524, when three inha- bitants of the city of Panama entered into an association for the purpose of exploring the continent south of the isthmus of Darien. Don Francisco Pizarro, of Truxillo, Don Diego Almagro, of Ma- lagon, and a priest named Hernando de Luque, were at that time among the richest people of Panama, and proposed to themselves the employment of their fortunes in one common stock, to discover and conquer new countries on the south, after the model of Cortez in Mexico, with whom Pizarro had served, and to whom he was related. Having obtained permission from Pedro Arias de Avila, the governor of Terra Firma, Pizarro fitted out a vessel, in which he embarked in the port of Panama with 114 men. About fifty leagues from the harbour, he discovered a small PERU. "^299 barren district, named Peru^ and from this now unknown spot, the celebrated country we are describing received its name. Beyond Peru, he explored another district, which he called El Pueblo ^ie- mado. The Indians of that country were so rcsoUite, that Pizarro was obliged to return to the coast of Panama. In the mean time Almagro fitted out another vessel and sailed in search of Pizarro, as far as the Rio San Juan, a hundred leagues south of Panama, but not meeting with him, he returned and landed on the coast of Pueblo Quemado, where finding certain indications that he had been there, Almagro landed his men, who were immediately at- tacked by the natives, and forced to retire to their ship and put to sea ; in this action Almagro lost an eye. Following the shore to the north, he found Pizarro at Chinchama, near the Isla del Rey, in the gulf of Panama ; they had now by their junction an armed force ot 200 men, and again resumed their expedition, and sailed to the south, with their two vessels attended by three large canoes. They suffered very much in their attempts to land on the coast from the barren nature of the country, and from contrary winds and currents, as well as from the native tribes. Having lost several men from famine and the constant attacks of the Indians, Almagro was despatched to Panama for recruits and provisions. He soon rejoined Pizarro with twenty-four men and good supplies ; they therefore advanced to the coast of Tacames, beyond the river San Juan, which had hitherto been the extent of their voyages ; here they found a better peopled country and plenty of provision ; and the natives, who were still hostile, were observ- ed to wear ornaments of gold. Almagro was therefore detached a second time to Panama to procure more men, and Pizarro re^ mained at the Isla Gallo, near the shore of Barbacoas, to await his return ; in which island his men suffered great hardships from the want of food. On the arrival of Almagro at Panama, he found the governor, Pedro de los Rios, adverse to the plan, and he was not allowed to raise any recruits, while an order was sent to Gallo, for those to return who wished not to engage in such a dangerous enterprise. In consequence of this measure, the party of Pizarro was reduced to twelve men, who were the whole that chose to abide the issue of the voyage. They retired with their leader to a small uninhabited isle, named Gor^ona^ at a greater distance from, the coast, and seventy miles nearer Panama. This isle abounding with rivulets, the little band lived more comfortably than they had done at Gallo, and waited with great anxiety for a supply of provi- sions from Panama, which at last arrived in a small vessel. With this assistance, Pizarro and his faithful twelve, embarked on board the vessel, and putting themselves under the guidance of the pilot, Bartolomeo Bruye of Moguer, they reached with great labour, (from the adverse currents,) the coast of a district named Mostripe^ on which they landed and advanced a shor^way up the iiOO UOUTH AMERICA, river Amatape, which flows into the gulf of Payta, where they procured some Peruvian camels or sheep, and took some of the natives to answer as interpreters in their future progress. Leaving this place, Pizarro sailed for the port of Tumbez on the south side of the bay of Guayaquil, where he had learnt that a rich monarch who existed in the interior had a fine palace. At Tum- bez, three of his followers left him, and were afterwards slain by the Indians. Procuring the information he wanted, Pizarro re- turned to Panama, having spent three years in these discoveries, and from being the richest was now reduced to be the poorest of the colonists of Tierra Firma. In concert with Almagro, in the latter end of 1527, Pizarro raised some money, and was sent to Spain to beseech the king to forward the further discovery of the country, and to name a governor, which office he solicited for himself. His demands were complied with, and he returned to Panama, accompanied by his brothers- Ferdinand, Juan and Gonzalo. Besides these, he brought with him Francisco Martin de Al- cantara, his uncle, and as many men as he could procure ; he was assisted in raising these men, by a supply of money from Cortez. On his arrival in Panama, in 1530, a violent dispute broke out between Almagro and himself, the former complaining that he had unjustly procured the title of governor of Peru. Pizarro was obliged to soothe him, by assuring him that he would renounce all pretensions to that office, if Almagro could procure the consent of the Spanish monarch. Almagro being appeased by this conces- sion, exerted himself at first, to the utmost, in forwarding the ex- pedition, but owing to the jealousy he still entertained of the Pi- zarros, he at last endeavoured to thwart their efforts, and Pizarro sailed without him, with three small vessels, carrying 180 soldiers, thirty-six of whom weie horsemen, in February 1531; contrary winds obliged the general, after a voyage of thirteen days, to land 100 leagues more to the north than he intended, and the place of disembarkation was named the Bay of St. Mateo^ from whence the troops had to undergo a long and painful march, crossing rivers and other obstacles ; they at last reached Coaqiie^ a place in Ta- cames on the sea-side, where they procured fresh provision. After subduing the natives of this town, Pizarro sent one of the ships which had sailed along the coast, to Panama, and the other to Ni- caragua, with about 24,000 or 25,000 ducats worth of gold, which he had seized. This was destined for Almagro and others, in order to procure a farther reinforcement, with which he was gradually supplied, the first who joined him being Benalcazar, from Nicara- gua. He then continued his march along the coast, and met with scarcely any resistance, until he attacked the Isle of Puna^ in the bay of Guayaquil. Six months expired before he could reduce this island to subjection, and from hence he went to Tumbez, where. PERU. 301 on account of the disease which raged among his men, he remain- ed three months longer. From Tumbez, he advanced in May 1539, to the river Piiira^ and close to its mouth founded the first Spanish colony in Peru, to which he gave the name of San Mig-uel, having subdued all the curacas or chiefs in the vicinity. While engaged in founding this city, the general received a message from Huascar, the reigning Inca, informing him of the revolt of Atahualpa, and requesting his assistance in establishing the empire in the hands of its lawful so- vereign. Placing a garrison in San Miguel, Pizarro determined to peneti'ate into the interior, under the guidance of the Inca's messengers; his disposable force consisting at this time, of sixty- two horsemen and 102 foot soldiers, twenty of whom were armed with cross-bows, and three only carrying matchlocks, with two small field-pieces. The Peruvian ambassador directed his march towards the province of Caxamarca^ in which Atahualpa then was- On his route he received messengers from the usurper with costly presents, requesting also his assistance. Pizarro informed these people, that his views were entirely pa- cific, and that he meant merely to assist in reconciling the differ- ence between the brothers. On his arrival, after a distressing march, at Caxamarca, he was shown a house, in which himself and troops were to repose. This building, which was very extensive, was formed into a square, in which stood a temple and a palace, and the whole was surrounded with a strong rampart. Atahualpa, immediately after the Spaniards had taken posses- sion of their quarters, paid their general a visit, accompanied with an immense train of courtiers and warriors. Father Vicente Valverde, the chaplain to the army, and bishop of Peru, advanced to meet the usurping Inca, holding in one hand his breviary, and a crucifix in the other, and commenced a long harangue, in which he set forth the necessity of his immediately embracing the Christian religion, related its forms, and told him that the king of Spain had received a grant from the pope of all the regions in the New World, ending with desiring him to be baptised, to acknowledge the supremacy of the pope, and the au- thority of the king of Castile, promising in their names, that the general would favour his claims to the empire of Peru, if he sub- mitted, but denouncing war and vengeance if he refused. The reply of Atahualpa, to such parts of this speech as he could be made to comprehend, was temperate ; he said, " he was lord of the territories he had succeeded to by the laws of his country, that he could not conceive how a foreign priest could pretend to dispose of his dominions; he declared he had no intention to re- nounce the religion of his fathers, and he wished to know where the Spaniards had learnt all the wonderful things which Valverde had been relating;" the l)ishop ansv.'ered, "-in the book he held," 302 SOUTH AMERICA. on which Atahualpa requested it from him, and turning over a few leaves, and placing it to his ear, threw it on the ground, say- ing, " it is silent, it tells me nothing." Valverde turning to the Spanish troops, immediately exclaimed, " To arms ! to arms ! Christians ! the Word of God is insulted, avenge this profanation on these impious dogs.'* Pizarro being of opinion that the num- bers of the Peruvians would overpower him if he waited their at- tack, gave the signal of assault, advancing at the head of his band to the charge, he pushed directly for the litter in which Atahualpa was borne, the people who carried it were repeatedly slain, and as repeatedly replaced by others, anxious for the honour of rescuing their sovereign. Pizarro at last cut his way through the crowd to the unfortunate prince, and seizing him by the long hair of his head, he dragged him from his seat. In doing this, several sol- diers cutting down the people who supported the golden litter, and a sword glancing off, wounded Pizarro in the hand, but regardless of the pain, he held fast his rich prize in spite of the multitude of Peruvians who surrounded him. As soon as the monarch was secured beyond redemption, uni- versal panic seized his army, and they fled in every direction, night alone putting a period to their pursuit, by the cavalry; 4000 Indians fell in this memorable battle, which decided the fate of a mighty empire ; not a single Spaniard was killed, and the plunder of the Indian camp was immense. This action took place on the tOth of November 1532. The captive Inca finding he had no chance of escape, offered a ransom, which was to be so great a quantity of gold that it would fill the apartment in which he was confined, as high as he could reach. This chamber was twenty-two feet in length, and sixteen in breadth, and a line was drawn around the walls, to indicate the height to which the treasure was to rise : and Pizarro, acceding to this proposal, the Inca immediately despatched emissaries to Cuz- co, to procure the ransom ; with these messengers two Spanish officers were sent, to see that the gold in the treasury of Cuzco was sufficient to answer the demand, as some doubts had been shown by the Europeans on that subject. On their route, they met the captive Inca Huascar, escorted by a party of Atahualpa's troops^ conferring with Huascar, they discovered that he possessed trea- sures to a much greater amount; but as they were concealed, he alone knew where they were; he informed the officers, that if Pi- zarro would reinstate him in his dignity, he would give three times as much gold as his brother, and promised to swear allegiance to the Spanish king. Soto and Barco, the two officers, told him it was out of their power to return to Caxamarca, as they were ordered to go to Cuz- co, but that they would faithfully relate all that had passed to the general, when they had executed their mission ; this they did, but PERU. 303 in the interval, the whole conference had been detailed to Atahu- alpa, who foreseeing, that if Pizarro once got possession of the enormous treasures of Huascar, he should become of no impor- tance, ordered his emissaries to kill his unfortunate brother ; and as his will was a law, the order was speedily carried into execution. Whilst these>event were passing, Almagro arrived from Panama, with a large reinforcement, to the great joy of the Spaniards ; the treasure from Cuzco also arrived, and consisted of golden utensils and ornaments, used in the temples of the Sun; these, .excepting a few which were reserved as curiosities, were melted down ; a fifth was set aside for the king ; 100,000 dollars were distributed to the followers of Almagro j and the remainder, amounting to 1,528,500 dollars, an enormous sum in those times, was divided among Pizarro and his troops, each horseman receiving 8000 dol- lars, and each foot-soldier 4000. After this ransom was paid, instead of releasing his prisoner, Pizarro, who was alarmed on one hand by the exaction of an equal share of the ransom by the troops under Almagro, and on the other by the accounts of large armies forming in the interior, deter- mined to kill Atahualpa, which fate that monarch hastened, by professing his contempt of the general, on account of his want of learning. The Inca seeing and admiring the method which the Europeans had of communicating their ideas by writing, was for a long time unable to conceal his astonishment and doubts, whether it was not managed by evil spirits ; accordingly he directed a sol- dier to write the name of God on his thumb nail, and showed it to every Spaniard he saw, in order to obserye whether they all gave a similar account of its meaning. At length he showed it to Pizarro, who blushing, acknowledged that he was ignorant of the art of writing, which was an acquire- ment that most of his nation possessed. From that time the Inca, who now clearly saw the whole mystery, looked upon the general as a person of low birth, less instructed than the meanest of his sol- diers, and not having the address to conceal his sentiments, for- feited any good opinion which Pizarro might have had for him. A mock trial was instituted, and the Inca formally arraigned, be- fore the self-constituted tribunal, which consisted of Pizarro, Al- magro, and two assistants ; he was charged by Philipillo, an In- dian, who had been to Spain with Pizarro, with attempting to seize the empire of Peru from his natural sovereign ; with putting him to death; with idolatry ; permission and encouragement of human sacrifices; with having many wives ; with waste and embezzle- ment of the royal treasure, and with inciting his subjects to take up arms against the Spaniards. Witnesses were examined, to whom Philipillo served as an in^- terpreter, and gave their evidence as he pleased. On these char- ges the Inca was condemned to suffer death, by being burnt alive. 304 SOUTH AMERICA. Valverde signed the warrant, and attended the monarch to the stake, which wao immediately prepared. Actuated by the fear of a cruel death, and tormented by the infamous bishop, Atahualpa consented to be baptised, in hopes of obtaining a release from so dreadful a punishment. Valverde crossed and confessed his royal victim, baptised him, and then fed him to be strangled ! On the death of Atahualpa, his son was invested with the royai insignia by Pizarro, who hoped to retain the Indians in subjection, by the command he held over their sovereign. Quizquiz, a Peruvian general, had made head in a province named Xauxa, so that it was necessary for Pizarro to march against him ; this was accordingly done ; and Hernando de Soto, moving forward with a strong advanced guard, Quizquiz retreated, being unable to withstand Soto ; but that leader followed him, and obli- ged the Peruvians to retreat on Quito. So great was the fame of Pizarro's conquests at this time, that numerous bodies of troops joined him from Ticrra Firma, Guati- mala, &c., and he was now enabled to take the field with 500 men, besides leaving sufficient garrisons in the conquered towns. He accordingly hastened his march on Cuzco, the capital, in the route to which he met Paiilii Inca^ a brother of Atahualpa, who had been solemnly invested with the regal fillet by the Peruvians. He told the Spanish general that he had a large army at Cuzco, who were ready to submit to his orders. On the arrival of the Spa- niards they were however attacked ver)' vigorously by the Peruvi- ans, and a battle ensued which lasted till night. The next day the general entered the metropolis without oppo- sition, where he found an immense booty ; his thoughts were now turned on colonising the country, and placing such a force in Cuz- co as should insure a permanent settlement ^there ; this he effected with much difficulty, as many of his followers were determined to return to Spain in order to enjoy in their native country the fruits of their hard-earned wealth. San Miguel, the first town built by the Spaniards, being poorly garrisoned, Pizarro now sent Benalcazar with ten horsemen to re- inforce the place. This officer receiving complaints from the neigh- bouring Indians of the exactions and vindictive proceedings of the Peruvians at Quito, took with him a number of soldiers who had then arrived from Panama and Nicaragua to subdue that country ; his success was complete. Quito and Cuzco the two capitals being now reduced, Fernando Pizarro was despatched by his brother to Spain, to lay an account of the proceedings of the Spanish army before the king, carrying with him an immensely valuable present in gold and silver. He was favourably received, Pizarro was confirmed in his government, and a further addition of seventy leagues to the south made to his territories ; on Almagro was con- ferred the government of the countries 200 leagues south of tht PERU. 305 limits prescribed to Pizarro, who was created Marquess of Ata- villos. While the negotiations were going on, Alvarado the govemcr of Guatimala had landed on the Peruvian coast with a large force, and gone into the interior with the intention of dispossessing Al- xnagro of his command, and Pizarro of the possession of Cuzco, but marching against the army of the former who was employed in reducing the provinces between Quito and Peru, his men refused to fight their brethren, and the leaders after much parleying be- came reconciled ; Alvarado promising to deliver over his troops to the two generals for a stipulated sum, which was honourably paid him by Pizarro. These troubles being at an end, Pizarro founded the city of Lima, on the 18th of Januar)', 1533, and trans- ferred the colonists he had placed in Xauxa thither. While he was thus employed Almagro having heard of the king's grant, determined to take possession of Cuzco, which he consi- dered within his limit ; in this attempt he was defeated by the mu- nicipal body of that place, and Pizarro arriving in good time, put a stop to his further proceedings. It was then agreed that Alma- gro should have 500 men, and proceed southward, conquering such countries as he deemed expedient, in which he was to be as- sisted by every means in Pizarro's power; this was the commence- ment of the conquest of Chili. After the departure of Almagro on this scheme, Pizarro re- sumed his task of giving a regular form to his government, by making the necessary distributions of land to the colonists who were continually arriving, by instituting courts of justice, and by founding towns, &c. Manco Capac the reigning Inca revolted at this period, and entered, with Philipillo and others, into a conspi- racy to exterminate the armies of Pizarro and Almagro ; he ob- tained possession of Cuzco, which was not taken from him until after eight days hard fighting, and with the loss of Juan Pizarro, who was killed by a stone. The brothers of Pizarro, who was at Lima, had much difficulty to maintain possession of the capital ; all communication between them and the governor being cut off, and the place was vigorously besieged by Manco Capac and his brothers PauUu and Villaoma, for eight months, during which time the Spaniards lost many men. Almagro hearing of these disasters, thought this a conve- nient time to assert his old pretensions to the government of Cuzco, and accordingly marched from the frontiers of Chili to that place in 1537. He was met by the Inca, who under pre- tence of making overtures to him, drew him into a snare from which he narrowly escaped, with the loss of several of his men. The brothers of Pizarro finding they had now a new enemy to withstand, prepared Cuzco to undergo a formidable siege ; but having lost six hundred men during the attacks of the Peruvians, 906 iiOUTH AMERICA. they were surprised by the troops of Almagio, who JForced them to submit, and declared himself governor of the place, imprisoning Fernando and Gonzalo Pizarro, and quartering Philipillo, .who was taken prisoner in the ambush of the Inca. Manco Capac finding that Almagro was too strong to be easily ejected, retired to the mountains, but his brother PauUu remain- ing at Cuzco was raised to the throne of Peru by Almagro. It was some time before all these untoward tidings reached the ears of the new Marquess Pizarro ; he first heard of the attack of the city by the Inca, and imagining it to be a trivial affair, detach- ed small parties at different periods to the assistance of his bro- thers ; none of these reached their destination, being always cut off by the Peruvians in the narrow and difficult passes of the mountains. Some few of these people, escaping from the massa- cre, which always took place on their being surprised, returned to Lima, and related the fate of their companions to the Marquess, who recalling all his outposts, nominated Alvarado to the com- mand of the army, and sent him towards Cuzco, with 500 men ; but being closely invested at Lima by the Peruvians, under Titu Yupanqui, a brother of Manco Capac, he sent off all his vessels to Panama, fearful that the troops might otherwise desert, and by these ships he implored assistance from the governors of New Spain and the West Indies. Alvarado, after a harassing march, and fighting severe battles with the Peruvians, halted near the bridge of Abaiicay on the Apurimac ; at which place he was met by a messenger from Al- magro, insisting on his acknowledging the title he bore to the go- vernment of Cuzco. An unsatisfactory reply being sent, Alma- gro advanced to attack the army under Alvarado, and by dint of bribery, corrupting the greater part of it, obtained a bloodless vic- tory on the 12th of July, 1537. Pizarro hearing nothing of his general, and receiving a strong reinforcement from Hispaniola, marched from Lima with 700 men to relieve his brothers at Cuzco from the Peruvians, not having yet heard of the usurpation of Almagro. Having marched twenty- five leagues, he received the intelligence of the death of one of his brothers, the imprisonment of the other two, and of the de- termined opposition of Almagro ; this news so much alarmed him that he immediately returned to Lima, and despatched a messen- ger to Cuzco to treat with Almagro ; but that officer instead of returning an answer marched to within twenty leagues of Lima, where he was met by Pizarro who seemed earnest to heal the breach amicably; but after various endeavours to obtain this end, he found it necessary to have recourse to force ; and Almagro, finding himself unable to cope with him, retreated to Cuzco, whither Ferdinand Pizarro pursued him : a dreadful battle then took place near that city, on a plain called Salinaa or Cachi^ampaj PERU. 307 in which Almagro was defeated and taken prisoner, and was soon afterwards brought to trial and beheaded. This important affair being settled, the marquess despatched troops in all directions to conquer and subdue those provinces which remained under the domination of the Indians. In these expedi- tions, and in settling the affairs of his government, Pizarro was fully occupied for two years, during which time he was much dis- tressed by the mutinous conduct of the Almagrian party, who at last assassinated him on the 26th of June, 1541. Soon after the untimely death of Pizarro, Vaca de Castro was appointed governor, while the court of Madrid were employed in taking measures to put a stop to the contentions of the colonies. He was removed to make room for Blasco Vela, who was nomi- nated the first viceroy of Peru, and who landed at Turabez in the month of February, 1543. The conduct of this viceroy increased the disaffection and contention of the colonists, many of whom siding with Gonzalo Pizarro, chose him as their leader. After various actions with the royal troops, Gonzalo at last utterly de- feated them in a pitched battle, ia which the viceroy was slain. Upon this occasion Gonzalo Pizarro was advised to assume the sceptre of Peru, but he chose to treat with Spain. During the interval which elapsed before the return of his ambassadors, Pedro de la Gasca, a priest, was sent over as president: finding he could not persuade Pizarro to any terms, he gave him battle, in which the latter was taken, and being brought to trial by the president, was beheaded on the 10th of April, 1548. After this action, Gasca set himself about to reform abuses, and render the government more stable ; he was occupied in this work till 1550, when wishing to return to a private station, he quitted Pe- ru, and entrusted the command of the presidency to the royal court of audience, till the pleasure of the king should be manifested. After the departure of Gasca, till the arrival of the second vice- roy, Mendoza, Peru continued to be in a state of continual ferment, which lasted more or less until his death. The next viceroy was the Marquess de Canete, who arrived in Lima, in July 1557. He was suceeded in July 1560, by the Conde de Neiva, who, dying suddenly, w^as replaced by Lope Qarcia de Castro with the title of president, until Francisco de Toledo arrived from Spain, to as- sume the viceregal government, who had been only two years in Peru, when he attacked Tupac Amaru, the son of Manco Capac, who had taken refuge in the mountains. A foixe of two hundred and fifty men was detached to Vilcapampa under Martin Garcia Loyola, to whom the Inca surrendered himself, with his wife, two sons, and a daughter, who were all carried prisoners to Cuzco. This unfortunate prince was brought to trial for supposed crimes, and at the same time, all the sons of Indian women by the Spa- niards v/ere committed to confinement, under the charge of en- 308 SOUTH AMERICA. deaVouring to asbist Tupac Amaru in overturning the Spanish government. Many of these poor people were put to the torture, others were banished, and all the males who were nearly related to the Inca, or who were capable of succeeding to the throne, were ordered to live in Lima, where the whole of them died. Tupac Amaru was sentenced to lose his head ; previous to the execution, the priest baptised him in the prison, from whence he was led on a mule to the scaffold, with his hands tied, and a halter about his neck, amid the tears of his people. Thus ended the line of the emperors of Peru ; than whom, a more beneficent race of monarchs, in a barbarous state, has never been known. The viceroy, Toledo, after continuing sixteen years in Peru, amassed a large fortune and returned to Spain, when falling under royal displeasure, he was confined to his house and his property sequestered, which preyed so much on his mind, that he died of a broken heart. Martin Garcia Loyola, who had made Tupac Amaru prisoner, married a Coya, or Peruvian princess, daughter of the former Inca Sayri Tupac, by whom he acquired a large estate ; but being made governor of Chili, he was slain in that country by the natives. After the death of Tupac Amaru, the royal authority was gra- dually established as firmly in Peru as in the other Spanish colonies, and that country has continued to be governed by viceroys appoint- ed by the Spanish king, up to the present time. The only event of any particular importance, which has occurred till very lately. Was the insurrection of the natives in 1781, under Jose Gabriel Condorcanqui, a descendant of, and styling himself Tupac Amaru. He was born in Tongusuca, a village of Tinta, and had been care- fully educated by his family at home ; on the death of his father he petitioned the Spanish court to restore him the title of Marquess of Oropesa, which had been granted to Sayri Tupac, his ancestor; but finding his request unattended to, retired to the mountains, and giving himself out as the only and true sovereign of Peru, the Indians flocked to his standard, especially those in the neighbour- hood of Cuzco, who had suffered severely from the tyranny of the corregidor Arriaga. With every mark of the most profound submission, they bound the imperial fillet on his brow, and he was proclaimed Inca by the title of Tupac Amaru the Second: collecting an immense army he appeared before the walls of Cuzco, and in the beginning of his campaign, he protected all ecclesiastics and people born in America, vowing vengeance solely againt the European Spaniards ; but his followers, elevated by the success which every where attended them, began a war of extermination against all but Indians, the consequences of which were dreadful, and will ever be remem- bered in Peru. His brother Diego, and his nephew Andres Condorcanqui, fa= PERU. 309 voiired this disposition of the Indians, and committed enormities which it was out of the power of Tupac Amaru to repress. This insurrection lasted two years, and he made himself master of the provinces or districts of Quispicanchi, Tinta, Lampa, Asangara, Caravaja, and Chumbivilca ; but was at last surprised and taken prisoner with all his family, and a short time after this event, they were all quartered in the city of Cuzco, excepting Diego, who had escaped. So great was the veneration of the Peruvians for Tupac Amaru, that when he was led to execution, they prostrated themselves in the streets, though surrounded by soldiers, and uttered piercing cries and execrations as they beheld the last of the children of the sun torn to pieces. Diego surrendered voluntarily, and a convention was signed between him and the Spanish general, at the village of Siguani, in Tinta, on the 21st of January, 1782; from which time he lived peaceably with his family, but was taken up twenty years after- wards on suspicion of being concerned in a revolt that happened at Riobamba, in Quito, in which great cruelty was exercised against the whites. His judges condemned him to lose his head, and since that period, Peru has been in a state of profound tranquillity, though now surrounded by states torn with the most dreadful convulsions. Having now related the principal occurrences concerning the history of Peru, we shall give a concise description of the people of that kingdom ; and in so doing, shall be led to the general rela- tion of the manner in which the vast continent of Spanish America has been governed, and to a summary of the history of the present struggle. The Peruvians, at the time they were discovered by Pizarro, had advanced to a considerable degree of civilisation ; they knew the arts of achitecture, sculpture, mining, working the precious metals and jewels, cultivated their land, were clothed, and had a regular system of government, and a code of civil and religious laws. The lands were divided into regular allotments, one share being consecrated to the sun, and its products appropriated to the support of religious rites ; the second belonged to the Incas, and was devoted to the support of the government, and the last and largest share was set aside for the people. These were cultivated in common, no person having a longer title than one year to the portion given him. In their agricultural pursuits they displayed great diligence and ingenuity, irrigating their fields, and manuring them with the dung of sea fowls procured from the islands on the coast ; they also turned up the earth with a sort of mattock formed of hard w^ood. In the arts of architecture they had advanced far beyond the other nations of America, The great temple of the sun at 310 SOUTH AMERICA. Pachacamac, with the palace of the Inca, and the fortress, were so connected together as to form one great building half a league in circuit, and many ruins of palaces and temples still existing, prove the extent of the knowledge and perseverance of these people. The immense obelisks of Tiahuacan, and the town of Chuluna- cas^ with the mausolea of Chachapoyas^ which are conical stone buildings supporting large rude busts, are among the most singu- lar, though unfortunately the least known of the Peruvian remains ; and are equally curious as the great military roads with their ac- companying palaces or posts ; together with the buildings still ex- isting in the province of Quito, which have already been des- cribed. Their skill in polishing stones to form mirrors, in sharpening them to sei"ve as hatchets and instruments of war, was as admira- ble as the ingenuity they displayed in all their ornamental works of gold, silver and precious stones. In the religion of the Peruvians few of those sanguinary traits which so forcibly marked the character of the worship of the Mexicans were found ; they adored the Sun as the supreme Deity, under whose influence they also acknowledged various dependent gods ; and instead of offering human victims on the altars, they presented to that glorious luminary a part of the productions of the earth, which had come to life and maturity through his genial warmth, and they sacrificed as an oblation of gratitude some ani- mals before his shrine, placing around it the most skilful works of their hands. Next to the sun they beheld their Incas with the greatest rever- ence, looking upon them as his immediate descendants and vice- gerents upon earth. The system universally adopted by these pa- triarchal kings, bound the affections of their people more firmly to them, than even this their supposed divine legation ; and as they never intermarried with their subjects, they were kept at so great a distance that their power was unbounded. The only sanguinary feature displayed in the Peruvian rites, was in their burials ; as, on the death of the Incas, or of any great curaca or chief, a num- ber of his servants and domestic animals were slain and interred around the guacas or tumuli, that they might be ready to attend them in a future state, in which these people fully believed. When Huana Capac, the greatest of the Incas, was buried, 1000 victims were doomed to accompany his body to the tomb. In ancient Peru the only very large city was Cuzco or Couzco; every where else the people lived in villages or in scattered habi- tations : and as the palaces of the Incas and their fortresses, which were built in all parts of the country, were rarely surrounded with the houses of the natives, very few distinct towns remain. The ancient Peruvians had traditions concerning a deluge, in PERU. 311 which their ancestors were all drowned, excepting a few who got into caves in the high mountains; they also adored two beings na- med Con and Pachacamac, who created the race of Peruvians in an extraordinary manner; and they asserted that Pachacamac dwelt amongst them till the Spaniards came, when he suddenly disap- peared. But the Peruvians of the present day are a very diiferent people from their progenitors, as they are timid and dispirited, melancholy in their temperament, severe and inexorable in the exercise of authority, wonderfully indifferent to the general concerns of life, and seeming to have little notion, or dread of death. They stand in awe of their European masters, but secretly dislike and shun their society, and they are said to be of a distrustful disposition, and though robust and capable of enduring great fatigue, yet they are very lazy. Their habitations are miserable hovels, destitute of every convenience or accommodation, and disgustingly filthy; their dress is poor and mean, and their food coarse and scanty ; their strongest propensity is to spirituous liquors, and to that they sa- crifice all other considerations, but which is unmixed with any love for gaming: they follow all the external rites of the catholic religion, and spend large sums in masses and processions. Soon after the conquest of America, the country and the Indians were parcelled out into encomiendas^ a sort of feudal benefices which- were divided among the conquerors, and the priests and lawyers who arrived from Spain ; the holder of this property was obliged to reside on his estate, to see the Indians properly instructed in religious duties, and to protect their persons. In return the natives were bound to pay the eiicornendero a certain tribute, but they were not reduced to absolute slavery. This system was variously mo- dified and changed by the successors of Charles V. who introduced it, till the reign of Philip V. when it was entirely abolished on ac- count of the continual complaints which were made to that sove- reign of the exactions of the Spaniards, and their total neglect of the Indians. This plan was followed by one still more fatal, that of the re- partvnientos ; according to which the governor or judge of the district was directed to supply the Indians in his department with cattle, seed corn, implements of agriculture, clothes and food at a fixed price. The abuses attendant on such a system were enor- nious, and so grievously were the natives afflicted that it at last was abolished in 1779. Spanish America was incorporated to the crown of Castile by Charles V. on September 14th, 1559, at a so- lemn council held in Barcelona; but notwithstanding this decree declared that the white inhabitants of America were to have no personal contrpul over the Indians, the greatest enormities were atill committed. •In Caraccas the natives were enslaved, and carried to the plan- 312 SOUTH AMERICA. tations in t^e West Indies, from which they were not freed till after the repeated remonstrances of Las Casas, Montesino, Cordova and others ; these remonstrances gave rise to the establishment of the royal audiences and the council of the Indies ; the jurisdiction of the latter extending to every department ; all laws and ordi- nances relative to the government and police of the colonies origi- nate in it, and must be approved by two-thirds of the members ; all the offices, of which the nomination is reserved as a royal pre- rogative, are conferred on this council, and to it every person em- ployed in Spanish America is responsible. It receives all despatches, 8icc., and is in fact the government of the Indies. Since the establishment of this council, the royal audiences or superior tribunals, and the regular succession of viceroys and cap- tain-generals, the Americas have been governed, if not with less rigour, at least with more beneficial results to the Indians. They are left to manage their own concerns as they please, and no one can interfere in the disposal of their property. In Peru alone they are subjected to the jnita^ a law obliging them to furnish certain quotas for the mining operations, but for which they are well paid, and generally become resident miners ; they are not under the con- troul of the inquisition, and pay no other tax than a capitation tri- bute, which is very moderate, and rather a mark of vassalage or distinction from the other classes, than a burden. In their towns the Indians are always the magistrates, and they are allowed to enter into holy orders : but no Spaniard or white is permitted by the law to intermarry with them or to settle in their towns, the Indians always residing in a distinct quarter from the Europeans, and other castes. Ihe Indians and their descendants are the only people in this part of the world who can endure the unwholesomeness and fatigues attendant on the mining operations, as the Spaniards and Negroes sink under the toil in a short time ; but the number of Indians has decreased since the conquest to an alarming extent from the ravages of the small-pox, and from the fatal effects of intoxicating liquors, though according to the state- ments of late travellers this branch of the population is again on the increase, probably owing to the general introduction of vaccina- tion, and to the gradual abolition of the ?nita in most of the go- vernments. The total population of Spanish America is reckoned at about 15,000,000, of which three millions are Creoles, or the descendants of European whites, 200,000 are Spaniards, and the rest are In- dians, negroes, and the mixed descendants of these and the whites, the Indians bearing the greatest proportion, as Peru alone contains 600,000 ; but the negroes are not very numerous, and exist prin- cipally in the provinces of Caraccas and New Granada. Till the end of the last century the ports of Spanish America \ PERU.- 313 were shut against the whole world, the commerce of the country being carried on exclusively by two or three large ships called gal- leons from Manilla, and by an annual fleet to Spain ; but these ves- sels falling continually into the hands of enemies, and generally containing all the treasure on which the Spanish court relied, they were at last abolished, and special licenses were granted by some of the governors to carry on a trade with the Antilles, and in 1797 the court of Madrid was obliged to open some of the ports. Urged by extreme necessity, Cisneros the Viceroy of La Plata in 1809, declared the port of Buenos Ayres free to all nations in alliance with Spain. The power of Spain was maintained for a long while in her trans- atlantic colonies, by a very small number of Spanish troops, who acted with the national militia on any unforeseen drsturbances ; the most profound tranquillity reigned in these happy regions till the year 1797, with the exception of the revolt of Tupac Amaru in 1780, and some other ti-ifling occurrences. Three prisoners of state, who had been banished from Spain for revolutionary crimes, arrived at La Guayra, the port of Caraccas, in the first mentioned year; by dint of argument these men gained over the soldiers by whom they were guarded, and they were permitted to hold forth the doctrines at that time so dangerously afloat in Europe, to the people who came from all parts to hear them, and finding many ad- mirers among the Creoles and mestizoes, formed at last the daring plan of revolutionising the country. These men, instead of remaining to head the revolt, retired to the islands in the Caribbean sea, on which active measures being taken by the government, the plot was discovered ; several who were concerned in it were executed, and others banished. Previ- ous to this, in 1781, some reforms and additional taxes which were introduced in New Granada created such dissatisfaction that 17,000 men collecting themselves together marched against the city of Santa Fe de Bogota exclaiming "Long live the King, but death to our bad governors," but this insurrection was soon quell- ed by politic measures. After the disturbances in 1797, the country was again tranquil, until the period when Napoleon Buonaparte, assuming upon the numerous victories which the French troops had gained, grasped at the sceptre of Europe. After subduing, in part, the mother' country, and depriving the king of his liberty, he despatched his emissaries in every direction to America ; these men were, in ge- neral, of acknowledged talents, and endeavoured by every means in their power, under assumed characters, to widen the breach which had gradually been opening between Spain and her colonies. The Americans, instigated by such advisers, and finding them- selves cut off from all communication with Spain, now intent solely on her own preservation, were dubious how to act ; but the ma?;?. Rr ^1* SOUTH AMiiRIuA. of the people resisted all idea of throwing off their allegiance, and would not consent to their country being under French controul. Accordingly, they established juntas in Caraccas, New Granada and Buenos Ayres, in imitation of similar acts on the part of their Spanish brethren. In Caraccas and other places, Ferdinand the Seventh was pro- claimed with all due solemnity, and when it was announced in July 1808, that Joseph Buonaparte had usurped the throne of Spain, 10,000 of the inhabitants of Caraccas flew to arms, surrounded the palace of the captain-general, and demanded the proclamation of their sovereign ; this he promised to do next day, but such was their ardour, that they proclaimed him immediately themselves. In Buenos Ayres, the viceroy, Liniers, receiving intelligence of the events in the peninsula, in July 1808, exhorted the people in the name of Buonaparte to remain quiet ; but Xavier Elio, the go- vernor of Monte Video, accused him of disloyalty, and separated his government from that of Buenos Ayres ; and this officer after- wards ineffectually endeavoured to persuade that city to acknow- ledge the title of vicero), which he had received from the mother countrv. In Mexico, the news of the Spanish affairs was not known, till the 29th July 1808, when a junta was immediately established^ and the city of La Paz in Charcas, in the beginning of 1809, formed a similar junta for its government; but the viceroys of Buenos Ayres and Peru opposed this motion, and both sent armies to quell the insurrection, in which they were successful. In Quito a junta was established on the 10th of August, 1809, but the viceroys of Peru and New Granada, with the greatest promptitude, detached a force against this city, which compelled the insurgents to abandon their project. At this time affairs wore a serious aspect in America ; numei'ous adventurers appeared on her shores, eager to enrich themselves on the spoils of Spanish pow- er. The partisans of revolution in Caraccas, the coast of which was more accessible to emissaries from Europe, formed themselves into a junta suprema, assumed the reins of government, but still published their acts in the name of the Spanish monarch. At Buenos Ayres a similar measure was taken; in Chili, the junta was organised in September, and an insurrection breaking out in the town of Dolores, near Guanaxuato in Mexico, the whole con- tinent was now in a state of alarm and tumult. In the mean time these proceedings were related to the council of the regency in Spain, which determined that body to take such active steps as their circumstances enabled them to do, and the coasts of the captain-generalship of Caraccas were declared in a state of vigorous blockade. From this period, the revolt in that province and the northern parts of New Granada, became daily more alarming; General Miranda was the commander of the Ve- PERU. 315 nezuclian army, in which capacity he achieved one victory, the result of which can never be forgotten in the Caraccas. The in- habitants of Valencia were for the royal cause, and though of very inferior force, resisted the insurgent party in two actions, in the first of which they were victorious, but in the second were subdued. The 4th of July 1811, was the day on which the congress of Venezuela proclaimed themselves the representatives of the free provinces of Caraccas; and the little village of Mariara, close to the beautiful lake of Valencia, saw the first blood that was spilt in the civil war of these unfortunate countries. Cn the return of the king to his throne, on which he was placed by the glorious and ever-memorable conduct of the British and Spanish troops com- manded by the Duke of Wellington ; he issued a decree on the 4th of June 1814, announcing to the Spanish Americans, his arri- val in his kingdom, ordering them to lay down their arms, and promising oblivion of the past; to enforce this mandate, he also sent general Moriilo from Cadiz with a well equipped army of 10,000 men. This army landed on the coast of Caraccas in April 1815 ; but the insurgents not paying attention to His Majesty's commands, the general immediately commenced active measures. From Campano, where he landed, he proceeded to Margarita, from thence to Caraccas, and in the following August he besieged Carthagena. Previous to his arrival, Boves, a Spaniard by birth, but a person of low rank, collected a handful of men, attached to the royal cause, and although destitute of assistance from the Spaniards, who were besieged in Puerto Cabello, he found means to raise a large body of troops in the interior, and seeking the insurgent army command- ed by Bolivar, he fought several battles with them, in all of Avhich his band was victorious, so that he was enabled to overthrow the new government established at Caraccas. This valiant individual, following the career he had so fortu- nately begun, dispersed the army of the independents in every di- rection, but was killed in storming their last strong-hold, at the moment of victory. On the arrival of General IVIorillo he found the province free from the independent troops, and therefore commenced his march for Carthagena, joined by the natives of the country who had formed the army of Boves, and who assisted him materially in taking Cartha- gena, and re-conquering the revolted provinces of New Granada. Castillo and Bolivar were at this time the leaders of the indepen- dent forces in this country, but dissensions occurring between them, Carthagena was supplied with only 2000 troops ; the siege lasted from August to the 5th of December, 1815, when the go- vernor and garrison evacuated the place, and the royal army took possession of it, but 3000 persons perished through famine' during this siege. 316 ' SOUTH AMERICA. General Morillo now advanced through the provinces of Ne« Granada to the city of Santa Fe de Bogota, which place he entered in June; 1816, remaining in it till the following Novennber : during his stay the leaders of the insurgents, and all who had been crimi- nally engaged, were imprisoned, shot or exiled. From this period Bolivar, who had gone to Jamaica, turned his attention again to- wards Venezuela, planned an expedition to assist the people of Margarita, and joining Borion, an affluent native of Cura^oa, as- sembled the emigrants from Venezuela, and part of the garrison which had evacuated Carthagena. Borion was appointed commander of the naval forces, and sail- ing from Aux-Cayes they landed in the beginning of May 1816, at La Margarita, From this island Bolivar pi'oceeded to Campano, five leagues west of the city of Cumana, of which he dispossessed the royal forces, and having armed many light troops who joined him, again embarked and proceeded to Ocumare ; landing at this port, he is- sued a proclamation, enfranchising all slaves, but was soon after- wards defeated by the royalists in a severe and hard fought action, after which he retired to Aux-Cayes, from whence he again brought new reinforcements in December 1816, to Margarita. On this island he published another proclamation, convoking the represen* tatives of Venezuela to a general congress, and went afterwards to Barcelona, where he organised a provincial government. At this place he repulsed the royalists under Generals Real and Morales, with great loss, but in the month following, on the 7th of April, 1817, the city of Barcelona was taken by the Spanish troops, and Morillo received an addition of 1600 men from Spain, in the month of May ; since this period the actions between the Spanish troops and the insurgents have been frequent ; the congress of Venezuela has been established by Bolivar, and again over- thrown by Morillo; the islanders of Margarita have repulsed the Spanish forces, and at this moment the army of the Independents is concentrated near the shores of the Orinoco, and the Spanish troops are in possession of the capital and all the principal towns. While these events were going on in Caraccas, the congress of Buenos Ayres declared its independence. The town of Monte Video was taken possession of by the Portuguese, and the march of insurrection spread itself into the remote government of Chili, Mina who had been concerned in the Caraccas revolution, under- took an expedition against New Spain, in which, after sometimes repulsing, and at others being repulsed, by the Spanish generals, he was at last taken prisoner and beheaded at Mexico. The United States have ejected the adventurers who had esta- blished themselves on Amelia Island in the government of East Florida, and it appears, that the revolutionary cause is only suc- rf'ssfiil in Buenos Ayres and Venezuela, in both \vhich provinces PERU. 317 it cannot however be said to be established, as a large Spanish army occupies part of one, and the Portuguese troops have partial possession of the other. In New Granada, Florida, Quito, Peru and Mexico, the insurgents have very little sway, and in the islands of Puerto Rico and Cuba they are unknown; consequently the colonies of Spain, so far from being wrested from her, are still un- der her dominion ; and it appears extremely probable, that they will remain so. Recurring to the subject of the kingdom, which it is the primary object of this section to describe, we must now treat of its capital, a city which, from its former as well as from its present importance, may well justify its pretensions to be the metropolis of Spanish South America. Capital. — Lima is situated in 12° 2' 25" south latitude, and 77° 7' 15" west longitude, in the spacious and fertile valley of Rimac, whence by corruption, the name Lima is derived. This city was formerly called Ciudad de los Reyes, and was founded by Pizarro on the 18th of January, 1535. The name of the valley was de- rived from that of an idol of the Peruvians, who was called by way of distinction Rimac, " he who speaks." This city is anarch- bishopric, the rental of which is valued at 30,000 dollars. The site of Lima is very advantageous, as it commands a view of the whole valley in which it lies. A river of the same name washes the walls of the town, over which there is an elegant and spacious bridge of stone. On the north are the vast mountains of the Cordillera of the Andes, from which some branches extend towards the city ; those of St. Christoval and Amancaes being the nearest. At the end of the bridge is a gate of noble architecture which leads into a spacious square, the largest in the place, and beautifully ornamented. In the centre of this square is a fine fountain with bronze figures ; the form of the city is triangular, its base lying along the banks of the river. This base is two- thirds of a league in length, whilst the perpendicular may be esti- mated at two-fifths of a league, the whole being surrounded with a brick wall, flanked with thirty-four bastions; it is entered by seven gates and three posterns. Opposite to the river is the suburb of St. Lazarus ; and its streets, like those of the city, are broad, re- gular, parallel, and crossed at right angles; they are also well paved, and the drains are supplied from the river, thus rendering the place exceedingly clean. The number of streets has been stated at 355. Towards the east and west within the walls are many fruit and kitchen gardens, and most of the principal houses have gardens watered by canals. The city abounds with churches, chapels, con- vents, nunneries, colleges, and hospitals, and it has a noble univer- sity founded in 1576. All the churches are magnificently decorated, and are in general large, and adorned with paintings of value. 318- SOUTH AMERICA. The viceroys of Peru usually reside at Lima and keep their court there, giving public audience every day, for which purpose there are three fine rooms in the palace. The tribunals of account, of justice, of the treasury, &c. are also held there, which, with the royal mint, the court of the municipal body, and the police, afford employment to numbers of persons, and render Lima the most lively and magnificent place in South America. The viceroy's palace, formerly a fine structure, but which was damaged by the great earthquake in 1687, the city prison, the ar- chiepiscopal palace, the council house, and the cathedral, stand in the great square, and occupy three sides of it. In the suburbs, as well as in most parts of the city, the houses are of wood-work, interlaced with wild canes and osiers, both with- in and without, plastered over with clay and white washed ; the fronts being painted to imitate stone. Most of the houses are onlj- one story high with a flat roof, covered on the top with slight materials to keep out the wind and sun, as it never rains violently in this part of Peru, and the rafters which support the roofs are carved and decorated within side, and covered with clay on the outside. This mode of building has been adopted, in consequence of the destructive effects of the earthquakes which have so often devastated Lima. On solemn festivals, or on the entrance of a new viceroy, the riches and pomp displayed in this city are astonishing, the churches being loaded with massive plate, consisting of tables, candlesticks, statues of saints of solid silver, the holy vestments and chalices covered with gold, diamonds, pearls and precious stones, and even on the common days of office, the decorations of the churches is richer than can be seen at the most splendid catholic festival in Europe. Luxury in dress and splendid retinues are the prevailing passion of the gentry and people of Lima, so that the public walks and malls are crowded with carriages. The dress of the ladies is ex- tremely rich, and even those of low rank never appear without bracelets, rosaries, and gold images about their necks and arms. The white females are in general of a middling stature, handsome, of a very fair complexion, with beautiful dark hair and bright eyes ; they are naturally gay, sprightly and without levity in their outward behaviour, though taxed with vicious propensities ; and all the women of Lima have a great fondness for music : the dress of the men is also very superb, but they are said to be in general fonder of gallantry than of following any useful avocations, though they occasionally show great ardour for the acquisition of know- ledge. The theatre of Lima is a neat building, but the performers are said to be very wretched ; coffee-houses were only established here in 1771 y cock-fighting and bull-baiting are the favourite PERU. 319 amusements of the populace, who are also grektly addicted to ga- ming. In Lima the number of inhabitants has been estimated at 54,000, the monks and clergy being 1390, the nuns 1580, the Spaniards at 17,200, with 3200 Indians, and 9000 negroes, the rest being mes- tizoes and other castes. The rich priests, proprietors of estates, militaiy and civil offi- cers, physicians, lawyers and artisans, compose a body of 19,000, and the remaining 35,000 are slaves, domestics and labourers; but the population has declined since the erection of the viceroyalty of La Plata. The climate of this city is agreeable, and though the variation of the four seasons is perceptible, yet they are all moderate; spring begins in November, winter in June or July, when the south winds cease, and this season continues, with the intervention of a second spring or autumn until November; rain is seldom or never known at Lima, tempests rarely happen, and the inhabitants are strangers to thunder and lightning ; but they are infested with vermin and insects during the summer months, and are always subject to the recurrence of earthquakes, several of which have nearly ruined the city at diiferent times in the 16th 17th and 18th centuries; the one which happened in 1746, being the most tremendous and destruc- tive, and which took place on the 28th of October at half after ten at night, continuing for many weeks. The city was nearly destroy- ed, numbers of the inhabitants perished, and the port of Callao was submerged by the sea ; twenty-four vessels were lying in the harbour, nineteen of which were sunk, and a frigate, and three others carried up by the rise of the waves into the country a con- siderable distance from the beach ; out of 4000 people, the number which escaped at Callao was only 200, while at Lima 1300 were buried under the ruins, and numbers wounded and maimed. In Lima, the most common disorders are malignant, intermit- tent, and catarrhous fevers, pleurisies and constipations. The small-pox was formerly ver^' fatal; but in 1802, a merchant vessel, the Santo Domingo de la Calzada put into Callao, in a voyage from Spain to Manilla ; a philanthropic individual in Spain had sent some vaccine matter on board of this ship for the Philippines; but as the small-pox was raging at that time in Lima, Don M. Unanue, the professor of anatomy, hearing of this precious cargo, and instantly availing himself of it, vaccinated his patients, which he performed with the greatest success, and since that period, the Jennerian system having been followed, the virulence of the small- pox gives way. The great wealth of the citizens of Lima is mostly derived from the mines in the internal provinces, but agricultural pursuits are much followed, and the pastures in the vicinity feed multitudes of horses, mules and cattle. The ancient Peruvians had rendered 320 SOUTH AMERICA, the valley of Rimac very fertile by intersecting it with small canals, and this plan has been adopted by the Spaniards, who irrigate their spacious fields of wheat and barley, their meadoMS, plantations of sugar-cane, olives, vines, as well as their gardens, which are thus rendered very productive, but the frequent earthquakes having tended to alter the good quality of the soil, it consequently re- quires much care to manage. Bread, butter, milk, beef, mutton, pork, poultry, Sec, are all ex- cellent in Lima, and the place is plentifully supplied with fish from the bay of Callao, and the adjacent villages, as well as from the river Lima. The wines used in this city are generally the produce of Chili and the southern provinces, from which the brandies arc also brought; most of the European and dried fruits are also sup- plied by Chili, but no manufactures are carried on in the place itself, as it depends entirely on being the emporium of the com- merce of Peru with Chili, New Granada, Guatimala and New Spain. I'he port of Lima is Ballavista or Callao^ the former name being that of the new town which was founded at the distance of a quar- ter of a league from the remains of Callao, which had been totally destroyed by the earthquake in 1 746. At the present port there is a fort named San Fernando, with a garrison to protect the bay, which, on the south-west is fenced by a barren island called San Lorenzo. Here all the vessels anchor about two leagues from Lima ; and the harbour of Callao is one of the finest in the South Sea, the anchorage being deep, but the ocean always tranquil, and the largest vessels lying in perfect safety. The river Riinac or Lima^ discharging itself into the sea here, furnishes an abundant supply of fresh water for the vessels, and every thing can be procured of which a ship may be in need ; as in Callao it may be said that the productions of the four quarters of the world are exchanged for each other ; the ships from Europe meeting those from the East Indies, from Africa, and from the northern shores of America. Callao is situated in 12° 3' 42" south latitude, and 7T 14' west longitude, at about five English miles distant from the city of Lima. INTENDANCY OF TRUXILLO. This province is the most northerly of those in Peru ; it is bound- ed by the river Tumbez and Guayaquil, on the north-west ; Jaen de Bracamoros on the north-east ; the Lauricocha or Tunguragua on the north ; the Rio Guallaga and Pampas del Sacramento on the east ; the Pacific on the west ; and the province of Tarma ou the south ; containing within its limits seven jurisdictions ; viz. Sana, Piuru, Truxillo, Caxamarca, Chachapoyas, Llulia, and Chi- loas and Pataz. P£Rl/. 22i Tiie province of Truxillo along the coast, has a climate in which excessive heat predominates j whilst in the interior it varies ac- cording to the high or low situation of the districts, from temper- ate to frigid. The first district of Truxillo, towards the north, is PiuRA, through which passes the road from Guayaquil to Lima; the whole countr)'^ from the northern borders of Piura to Lima being named the Valles. The climate of Piura is hot, though not unhealthy ; but the greater part of the country is uninhabited. The chief towns are Piura, Tumbez, the frontier of New Granada, Sechura and Paytaj and it contains 11,000 inhabitants, in 26 set- tlements. Piura^ the capital, is situated in south latitude, 5° 11' and in 80" 36' west longitude. It was the first Spanish settlement in Peru, and was founded in the year 1531, by Pizarro, who built the first church in it. The city then stood in the valley of Targasala, near the sea, and was called San Miguel de Piura, but was removed, on account of the unhealthiness of its situation, to its present site, on a sandy plain. The houses are constructed of bricks, or cane and wood-work, and have generally only one story. The corregidor, and an officer employed in collecting the royal revenue, reside here and at Payta alternately, and the town contains about TOOG inhabitants. It has an hospital and church ; the climate is hot and dry, but not unwholesome, and water is sometimes scarce in the heats of summer. It is 25 miles south-south-east of Payta, its port ; 208 north-north-west of Truxillo ; 480 north-north-west of Lima, and seven from the ocean ; and its territory is fertile, and produces some cotton, sugar, maize and has extensive woods of Sarsaparilla. Tiimbez is situated in 3° 6' south latitude, and 80° 6 west lon- gitude, 280 miles north of Truxillo, and 62 leagues N. of Piura, on the Rio Tumbez, which discharges itself into the bay of Gua- 3'aquil, opposite the isle of Santa Clara. It is seated a short dis- tance from the mountains, in a sandy plain, and consists of about 70 houses, scattered without any order, in which there are about 150 families, mostly mestizoes and Indians, and along the banks of the river there are many farms, where they continually employ themselves in rural occupations. Tumbez was the place where the Spaniards first landed in 1526, and where they were astonished at the immense temples and pala- ces they every where observed, no vestiges of which now remain. The road from this town to Piura is extremely unpleasant, owing to its Tunning along the sea-coast, and being only passable, at low water in some points. The village of Amotape, the only inliabited place on the road, is 48 leagues from Tumbez, after which the way lies over a sandy desert, where even the most experienced guides occasionally lose their way; and as no water is to be pro- cured here, it is necessary to carry that article in skins on the Ss 322 yOUtH AMERICA. backs of mules ; near the last stage is a deposit ot mineral tar, which is exported to Callao, for the purposes of ship-building. Sechura is the last town of Piura on the south ; it is situated on the banks of the river Piura, a league from the ocean, and 180 miles north-north-west of Truxillo, in 5° 32' S3" south latitude. It contains about 200 houses, with a handsome brick church, and the inhabitants, who are all Indians, compose about 400 families, being chiefly employed in fishing, driving mules, or guiding pass- engers to Morrope, across the desart of Sechura, which is a waste of sand extending 30 leagues, of difficult and dangerous passage. Paifta^ or San Miguel de Paijta^ in 5"" 5' south latitude, and 80' 50' west longitude, was founded by Pizarro. It is a small place, consisting of mud houses, having a church and chapel, with the corregidor's house built of stone. The number of inhabitants is inconsiderable, and the town is noted only for its port, which is the chief place at which the ships from New Spain touch, on their voyage to Lima. Southward of this town is a higb mountain, call- ed the Silla de Payta ; the soil of the surrounding country is bar- ren and sandy, and there being no river, the inhabitants have to fetch their fresh water from Colan, a village in the bay, four leagues to the north, the Indians of Colan being obliged to send one or two balsa loads every day. The occupations of the inhabi- tants of Payta, who are whites and mulattoes, is chiefly in landing the cargoes of goods sent from Panama and Lima. The bay of Payta is famous for its fishery, in which the Indians of the surrounding villages are constantly employed ; a miserable battery mounting eight guns, defends this harbour and town, which lias been repeatedly taken and plundered by the English ; and I*ord Anson's squadron pillaged and burnt it, in the year 1741. The principal rivers of Piura are the Tumbez^ the C'atamayu^ and the Piura ; in this district a branch of the Andes turns to- wards the coast, and under the name of Sierra de Pachira, forms Cape Blanco, and the Punto de Purma. Sana is the next district of Truxillo, and extends about 75 miles along the sea-coast. Its soil is level, and, excepting in the desert of Sechura, fertile; the heat is however at times insupportable. The town of Sana is in a state of decay, in consequence of an inundation which almost destroyed it, and it was sacked by Davis, the Enghsh adventurer, in 1685. The river Sana runs through the town, which has obtained the name of Mira-jiorcs^ on account of the beautiful flowers in its neighboui-hood, as well as for being situated in a fertile and pleasant valley. Sana is 80 miles N. of Truxillo. Morrope, Lambayeque and St. Pedro are the other most noted towns of this district, which contains 22 settlements. Morrope consists of about 60 or 70 houses, and contains 160 fa- milies of Indians. It is seated on the banks of the river Po^uelox^ 105 miles north-west of Truxillo. PERU. "• 323 Lambaijeque^ in 6° 40' south latitude, r9° 56' west longitude, is at present the capital of Sana, in a pleasant and fertile spot, con- taining about 1500 houses. The inhabitants, who amount to 8000, consist of Spaniards, mestizoes and Indians. The parish church of stone is elegant and much ornamented, and the river Lambay- eque runs through the town, and fertilises its environs. Some wine is made here, and the poorer classes manufacture coarse cottons. The road to Lima passes through this place, which is 95 miles west-north-west of Truxillo. St. Pedro contains 120 Indian families, thirty families of whites, and twelve of mulattoes. It stands on the river Pacasmaijo^ and its environs produce grain and fruits in abundance. St. Pedro is twenty leagues from Lambayeque on the high road, and stands in T 25' 49" south latitude. The Andes elevate their crests on the west of the districts of Piura and Sana. The jurisdiction of Truxillo, extends twenty leagues along the coast, and as far in the interior, being composed throughout of beautiful valleys. In its climate there is a sensible difference be- tween winter and summer, the former being attended with cold, and the latter with excessive heat. The country is extremely fruitful, abounding with sugar canes, maize, fruits and vegetables ; also with olives and vineyards : the parts nearest the Andes produce wheat, barley, &c., so that the in- habitants export corn to Panama. On the coast the sugar cane is cultivated with success. The chief town of the district is Truxillo, which is also the capital of the whole province, and stands in 8° 8' south latitude, and 78° 53' west longitude, 480 miles south of Quito, 268 north-nortli-west of Lima, in a pleasant situation surrounded with gardens, groves and de- lightful walks. It was founded in 1535, by PizaiTo, at the dis- tance of half a league from the sea, on the banks of a small river ; the houses which are chiefly of brick, have a very neat appearance, but are low on account of the frequency of earthquakes ; an inten- dant and the bishop of Truxillo reside here. The inhabitants amount to 5800, and consist principally of rich Spaniards, some In- dians, mestizoes and mulattoes ; the greatest luxury in this city is that of equipages, few of the Europeans being without a carriage. A revenue office for the province of Truxillo is established in this town, and it also contains a cathedral, several convents, a col- lege, hospital and two nunneries. Truxillo is surrounded with a low brick wall, flanked by fifteen bastions ; and carries on its commerce by means of its port of Gitan- chaco, v/hich is about two leagues to the northward, and is the only- good harbour on the coast from Callao to Turnbez. Chocope and Biru are the most noted places of this district. Chocope contains sixty or s^vr^nty white familes, and twenty or »)24- SOUTH AMEIIICa, thirty of Indians. It has a fine brick church, eleven leagues nortii of Truxillo. Biru in 8° 24' 59" south latitude, contains about seventy families; of whites, Creoles and Indians, and its situation is pleasant, on the high road to Lima, in a fertile vale, well watered with small canals. The district of Caxamarca lies to the eastward of that'^f Trux- illo, and extends an immense distance between two parallel branches or crests of the Andes. It is extremely fertile, produ- cing corn, fruits and all kinds of esculent vegetables, as well as cattle, sheep and hogs ; with the latter of which a thriving trade is carried on with the lowland districts. There are also the celebrat- ed silv'er mines of Gaulgayoc or Chota near Micuipampa, the gal- leries of which are above 13,287 feet higher than the sea. The Indians of this extensive district manufacture cotton for sails, bed- curtains, quilts, hammocks, &c., and the chief town is Caxamarca, celebrated as having been the point from which Pizarro carried on his operations, and for being the place where Atahualpa was stran- gled. The palace of Atahualpa is now inhabited by the family of the Astorpilcos, the poor but lineal descendants of the Incas. It is seated in 8° south latitude, and 76° 10' west longitude, seventy miles from the ocean, on the western slope of the Andes, at the height of 9021 feet. Micuipampa is celebrated for its silver mines, its height above the sea being 2296 feet more than that of the city of Quito. Chachapoyas is the next district towards the east and north of Caxarmarca situated on the eastern slope of the Andes, and em- bracing an immense extent of country, in a warm climate. It is very thinly inhabited ; but the Indians are ingenious in manufacturing cottons, to which they give beautiful and lasting colours. Chachapoyas and Llulia bound the government of Jaen de Bra- camoros in Quito. The chief town is Juan de la Frontera^ or Chachapoyas^ in 6° 12' south latitude, and 72° 28' west longi- tude. East of Chachapoyas is the district of Llulia and Chiloas, a low, warm, moist country, covered with forests, so that the greater part is uninhabited. The principal commodity of this country is tobacco and fruits ; and the river Moyobamba flows through the district in its course to join the Guallaga. The chief town of this district is 31oyohamha^ 300 miles north of Lima, in 7° south latitude, and 76° 56' west lon- gitude ; and some gold washings exist on the banks of the Moyo- bamba. The last jurisdiction of the Intendancy of Truxillo is that of Pataz, including Huamachucho ; its situation on the slope and summit of the mountains causes it to enjoy different climates, fa- yERU. 325 vourable for many kinds of grain and fruits ; but the chief occupa- pation of the inhabitatants is in working the mines of gold with which it abounds, and its great commerce consists in exchanging gold for silver coin. The chief towns are Caxamarquilla and JIu~ amachucho^ both of little note excepting for the gold washings in their neighbourhood. THE INTENDANCY OF TARMA, Comprehends several minor districts, of which Caxatambo, Huimalies, Conchucos*, and Huailas, are the principal. It is bounded by Truxillo on the north, the Pacific on the east, the Apurimac on the west, and Lima and Guanca Velica on the south. On xht sea-coast its climate is hot, but in the interior it varies, according to the height of the land. We shall not follow the minute divisions of this province, as we have done those of Truxillo, on account of its being the boundary between New Granada and Quito, merely describing the chief towns and the country in their neighbourhood. Tarma contains the sources of the Xauxa and Guallaga rivers, the former of which falls into the Apurimac. The yuaja or Xauxa rises in the little lake of Chinchay Cocha, in about eleven degrees south latitude, and after a long and precipitous course, it throws itself into the small river Mantura, by which it joins the Apurimac. The Guallaga rises a short distance north of the Xauxa, in a little lake, called Chiguiacoba, on the opposite side of the mountains, which form the Cerro de Bombon, v/hence it flows north, receiv- ing several rivers, till it passes the town of Guanuco, when it be- comes very rapid, and receives the Monzon from the west, in 9° 22' south latitude, after which, it follows its original course, and becomes more tranquil. At 7° 10' it receives the Moyobamba, and after this, four dangerous rapids present themselves before it reaches Ponquillo at the foot of the mountains. Its breadth is now 1200 feet, and running through the province of Maynas ; at 5° 4' south latitude, it falls into the False Maranon, being 450 yards -wide, and 34 deep. At the confluence, the Guallaga is divided into two branches, and a lake is formed half a league in breadth and 70 fathoms deep. During the course of a league, the two rivers seem of equal force, but at length, the Tunguragua overcomes the Guallaga. The banks of this fine river are clothed with beautiful trees, enlivened with a great variety of birds, and one tree produces a sort of tallow or grease, which is used by the natives for the same purposes as candles. Besides these, the beautiful river Pachitea rises in Tarma, in 10° 46' on the east side of the Andes, first running east, ther. 326 SOUTW AMERICA. north, and called the Pozuzo at its confluence with the Mayrc, where it forms a fine haven, from which there is a direct and open navigation to the Maranon, which it joins in 8° 46' south latitude. The Laur'icocha or False Marancn^ also rises near Caxatambo in this province ; but as this river has been already spoken of, it is merely necessary to observe, that the lake in which it rises, is near the city of Guanuco, in 11 degrees south latitude, from which it directs its course southwards towards Xauxa, forming a circle, when, after precipitating itself over the east-side of the Andes, it flows northwards, through Chachapoyas to Jaen de Bracamoros, and thence to the Ucayale or True Maranon. The course of the Lauricocha is about 200 leagues from Lauricocha lake to Jaen, and about 150 from thence to its junction with the Ucayale. The in- tendancy of Tarma contains many gold and silver workings, par- ticularly the celebrated mines of Taur'icocha^ in the Cerro de Bombon. The chief towns of Tarma are Tarma, Huimalies, Huialas, Caxa- tambo, Conchucos, Guanuco and Pasco. Tarma is 103 miles east-north-east of Lima, in 11° 2,5' south latitude, and 75° 17' west longitude, in a temperate climate, and surrounded by a large district, in which the soil is every where fertile, excepting on the higher mountains, where it is very cold. The land is chiefly applied to feeding cattle, but many veins of silver of great importance being found and worked in the district, agriculture is neglected. Of these mines, the Tauricocha^ two leagues north of Pasco^ the Chaupimarca^ Arenillapata^ St. Cata- RnOy Caya Grande^ TanacaJichc^ Santa Rosa^ and Cerro de Colqiii- sirca^ are the most productive ; there are however many others, which are either unworked, or produce but feebly. The city of Tarma contains 5600 inhabitants. Huamalies is 150 miles east of Truxillo, and is the chief town of a jurisdiction of the same name, situated in the centre of the Cor- dilleras, commencing at the distance of 240 miles north-east of Lima, and mostly situated in a cold climate extending 120 miles. The towns are chiefly inhabited by Indians, who apply themselves to weaving, and manufacture a great quantity of serges, baizes, and stuffs, with which they carry on a considerable trade, and there is a silver mine, named Guallana^ in this district. Huialas is the chief place of a district in the centre of the Andes, beginning fifty leagues from Lima, in the same direction as Con- chucos. The low parts produce grain and fruit, and the upper abound in cattle and sheep, which form the great branch of iti trade. Some gold is found in the mines of this district. Caxatambo is also the chief town of a district commencing thirty- five leagues north of Lima, and extending twenty leagues partly among the mountains, so that the climate is various, but the whole ■ PERU, 327 district is very fertile, producing abundance of grain. The In- dians irranufactux"e baize, and work some silver mines, of which those of the towns of Caxatambo and Chanca are the most produc- tive. Conchucos^ the chief place of a district or partido of the same name, beginning forty leagues north-north-east of Lima, and ex- tending along the centre of the Andes, is noted for its cattle and grain, and for the great number of looms worked by the Indians. It contains also the mines of Conchucos^ Siguas^ Tambillo^ Poma- pamba^ Chacas, Giiari^ Chavin^ Guanta and RuriquiJichai). Guanuco is the chief town of a partido, commencing 120 miles north-east of Lima, in a mild and pure climate, with a fertile soil producing excellent fruits. This town is 120 miles north-east of Lima, in 9° 59' south latitude, and 75° 56' west longitude, and was founded in 1539, under the name of Leon de Guanuco ; the first in- habitants being those who favoured the royal party in the wars between Pizarro and Almagro. It was formerly a large city, but is now a small village, containing the remains of a palace of the Incas, a temple of the sun, the ruins of the houses built by the con- querors, some marks of the great road from Cuzco, to Quito, a church and three convents. Pasco is on the borders of the small lake de los Reyes, and is chiefly noted as being the place in which the office of the provincial treasury is held, and from which the mines of the Cerro de Bombon r»r Yauricocha are named. INTENDA^XY OF LIMA. This province contains several districts ; it is bounded on the north by Truxillo, east by Tarma and Guancavelica, west by the Pacific, and south by Arequipa. Its principal districts are Chancay, Huarachiri, Lima, Canta. Canete, lea, Pisco and Nasca. Lima is the seat of the royal audience, which was established in 1542, and contains one archbishopric and four bishoprics in its jurisdiction, viz. those of Truxillo, Guamanga, Cuzco, and Arequipa. The revenue of the archbishop of Lima is 30,000 dollars per annum; he has, besides the above bishops, those of Panama, May- ^as, Quito, and Cuen^a, as suffragans. In this province rain is seldom or never known to fall on the west of the Cordillera of the Andes, which runs along its eastern side; on the sea-coast it is very hot, but as the land rises towards the interior, the air becomes cooler and milder. The wealth of the province consists chiefly in the produce of 'he mines of Tarma, v/hich are worked by proprietors in Lima; but ii28 bOUTH AMERICA- agricultural pursuits are not neglected, and the whole vale may be said to be cultivated. Lima is noted as being the place where the grains of Europe were first planted, as Maria de Escobar, the wife of Diego de Chaves, carried a few grains of wheat to Lima, then called Rimac, shortly after the conquest. She sowed these grains, and the pro- duce of the harvests she obtained, was distributed for three years among the colonists ; so that each farmer received twenty or thirty grains. It increased rapidly, but in 1547, wheat bread was still a luxury in Cuzco that was hardly to be obtained. Some idea may be formed of the difficulty in procuring articles of utility or luxury in the early periods of the settlement of these countries, from the circumstance of Benalcazar, the conqueror of Quito and Popayan, purchasing a sow at Buza, for a sum equal to 166/. sterling; which 530W was killed for a feast; the riches of the conquerors must con- sequently have been immense. In the middle of the l6th century, two hogs were worth 300/.; a camel from the Canaries, 1400/.; an ass, 320/.; a cow, 50/.; and a sheep, 8/. The camels that were in- troduced both in Peru and Caraccas, did not thrive, and their utility was superseded in the former country by the vicunas, llamas, &c.; and in both by mules. The chief town of the intendancy of Lima is Lima, which being also the capital of Peru has been already described. The other towns of most note are Guara, Guarachiri, Chanchay, Canta, Canete, lea, Pisco and Nasca. Guara consists of a single street containing 200 houses, and many Indian huts, with a parish church and convent, and is chief town of a district of the same name, which is covered with planta- tions of sugar canes, corn, maize, &c. At the south end of Guara stands a large tower and fortified gate, which protects a stone bridge under which flows the river Guara, and separates the sub- urb of the Indians from the town. Guara is in 11° 3' 36" south latitude, near the Pacific Ocean. This town lies on the high road to Lima from Truxillo, and on this road are many magnificent remains of the Tambos, or palaces of the Incas. Guarachiri is the chief place of a partido, commencing in the Andes, six leagues east of Lima, in which the valleys and lower grounds are the only inhabited parts ; and these being very fertile, produce wheat, barley, maize and other grain in great abundance. The high mountains of Guarachiri, and the neighbouring dis- trict of Canta, contain excellent coal, but on account of the diffi- culty and high price of carriage, it cannot be used in Lima ; cobalt and antimony have also been found in Guarachiri, which likewise contains several silver mines of which that of Conchapatu is the most noted. This town is situated in 11° 55' south latitude, and 76° 18' west longitude, 50 miles east of Lima. ^£RU. 329 Chanoay^ in 11" 33' 47" south latitude, is also the chief town of 3 district lying in the valley north of Lima, having the river Pas- aamayo running through it, and fertilising its plantations ; the chief growth of which is maize, for the purpose of fattening hogs for the market of Lima. Chancay is fourteen leagues from Guara and twelve from Lima, on the high road from Tumbez ; the dis- tance from Tumbez to Lima being 264 leagues. Chancay contains about 300 houses, and many Indian huts, with a large population, most of the inhabitants being very rich. Canta is the chief town of a jurisdiction of the same name, be- ginning five leagues north-north-east of Lima, terminating on the district of that city, and extending above thirty leagues to the north, over the eastern branch of the Andes ; so that its climate differs according to its situation, on the tops, sides, or valleys of the Cor- dillera. It supplies the markets of Lima with fruits ; the upper plains affording pasturage for innumerable flocks of sheep, which belong to the rich inhabitants of the capital of Peru. Canete is the chief place of a district of the same name, com- mencing six leagues south of Lima, and extending along the coast for about thirty leagues ; the climate is the same as that of Lima, and the soil being watered by several small streams, produc.n vast quantities of wheat, maize and sugar canes j these plantations are mostly the property of the inhabitants of Lima. At a place called Chiica, ten leagues south of Lima, salt petre is found in great quantities : the Indians of this district trade with the capital in poultry, fish, fruits and vegetables. Icaj Pisco and Nasca compose a jurisdiction bordering on Canete and extending sixty leagues along the coast, but interspersed with sandy deserts. Great quantities of wines are made in this district, which is fertile wherever the lands can be irrigated from the ri- vers. Brandy is also an object of export, chiefly to Guamanga, Callao, Guayaquil and Panama. Olive plantations are numerous, as well as those of maize, corn and fruit trees. The country round lea is noted for abounding in carob trees, with the fruit of which vast numbers of asses are fed. The Indians on this coast live by fishing, their salted fish being eagerly sought after in the interior. The town of lea or Valverde is situated in a valley, and contains about 6000 inhabitant, its principal commerce consisting in glass, wine and brandy; it stands in 13° 50' south latitude, and 75" 28' West longitude, 140 miles east-south-east of Lima. Pisco was formerly situated on the shore of the South Sea, but in 1687, an earthquake, accompanied by an inundation, destroyed the old town, and it was rebuilt by the inhabitants a quarter of a league further inland. It contains about 300 families, most of whom are mestizoes, mulattoes and negroes ; the whites being the least predominant: the road of Pisco is a fine anchoring ground, -apable of holding a large navy, and sheltered from the south-east Tt 330 'SOUtH AMERICA. and south-west winds, which are the most violent in this quarter. Pisco is 118 miles south-south-east of Lima, in 13° 46' south lati- tude, and 76° 9' west longitude. Nasca has a fine harbour, but the town is in a state of decay; the surrounding country is fertile in vines and sugar canes, and is watered by a river of the same name. Nasca is 190 miles south- east of Lima, in 14' 48' south latitude, and 75° 6' west longitude. INTENDANCY OF GUANC AVELIC A. This province lies almost entirely in the mountains, and is bounded on the north by Tarma, east by Lima, west by Cuzco, and south by Guamanga. The climate of this country is in general cold, oM'ing to the high situation of the land, which is surrounded by the lofty peaks of the Andes ; its districts are chiefly those of Xauxa and Anga- raes^ the latter of which is about seventy-two miles in length from east to west, and twelve in width, of a very irregular figure, being bounded by the Cordillera on the west; this district produces wheat, maize and other grains, although its climate is in general cold, being temperate only in the valleys ; in these are cultivated the sugar-cane, some fruits and herbs, and a strong grass which serves for fuel in the ovens in which the quicksilver is extracted ; from the sale of this fuel great emolument is derived when the mines are in work. The district abounds in cattle, and as mercury is found in it, it also produces various earths used in painting. The head waters of some of the streams which join the Apurimac arc in this jurisdiction, which contains about thirty Indian vil- lages. The intendancy of Guancavclica is chiefly of note on account of the mercury mines it contains, there being only one silver mine of any importance. The quicksilver of Peru is only found near Val- divui in the district of Pataz near the great Nevado de Pelagato ; in the district of Conchucos, to the east of Santa ; in the district of Huamalics, to the south-east of Guarachuco, at the Banos de Jesus ; in the district of Guialas near Gaaraz, and ym^^y Guanca- vclica; of all those places Guancavelica is the only one which has ever produced that useful mineral in great abundance, the principal mine being situated in the mountains of Santa Barbara^ south of the town of Guancavelica at the distance of more than a mile ; it was discovered by the Indian Gonzalo de Abincopa, in the year 1567; but appears to have been known in the time of the Incas, who used cinnabar in painting themselves, and they are said to have procured it in this neighbourhood. The mine was opened in Sep- tember 1570; it is divided into three stories, named Brocal^ Comc- d'lo and Cochapata^ the last of which the government forbid to be worked, the bed containing red and yellow sulphui'ctted arsenic or orpiment, which was the cause of many deaths. PERU. 331 This mine is free from water, and contains galleries cut in the oolid rock at an immense expense. There has been extracted from it up to the year 1789, 1,040,452 quintals, or 136,573,162 pounds troy, being 4 or 6000 quintals annually ; 50 quintals of tolerable mineral containing and yielding by distillation eight or twelve pounds of mercury. The cinnabar is found in a bed of quartz freestone of about 1400 feet in thickness, in strata and in small veins, so that the metalliferous mass averages only from 196 to 229 feet in breadth. Native mercury is rare, and the cinnabar is accompanied with red iron ore, magnetic iron, galena and pyrites, the ci'evices being frequently variegated with sulphat of lime, cal- careous spar, and fibrous alum, and the bottom of the mine is 13,805 feet above the level of the sea. This mine employed seven thousand Peruvian camels, or alpacas, and llamas in carrying the ore to the furnaces of the town ; which animals were governed by dogs trained for the purpose. Carelessness, or rather the avidity of the overseers destroyed this celebrated mine for a time, as this being the only royal mine in Spanish America, these men were anxious to obtain as much profit and credit as they could by sending great quantities of the mineral to the royal office. The gallery of the Brocal^ which was the uppermost, was supported by pillars of the rock containing the ore ; as the mineral became scarcer in the body of the mine, these pillars were thinned, and at last cut away, so that the roof fell in and hindered all communication with the other parts. At present, it is said, some attempts are making, owing to the dearth of mer- cury from China, to re -open the gallery ; but the silver works of Peru are mostly supplied from small veins which are found in other parts of the same chain of mountains, near Silla Casa; these veins generally traverse alpine limestone, are full of calcedony, and although thin, they cross and form masses, from which the Indians, who are allowed to work them, are said to obtain 3000 quintals annually by merely uncovering the surface. The chief town of this intendancy is Guancavelzca^ thirty miles north-west of Guamanga, in 12° 45' south latitude, and 74° 46' west longitude. It was founded in 1572, by the viceroy Toledo, and stands in a breach of the Andes, being one of the largest and richest cities of Peru. The temperature of the air at Guancavelica is verj' cold, and the climate changeable, as it often rains and freezes on the same day, in which there are tempests of thunder, lightning and hail. The houses are generally built of tufa found near a warm spring in the neighbourhood, and there is a dangerous torrent near the city which is crossed by several bridges. This town was founded on account of the quicksilver mines of Santa Barbara, from the working of which the inhabitants derived all their subsistence. In this intendancy with its dependencies of Castro Virei/na and '632 i>OUlH AMERICA. Lircay there is one mine of gold, eighty of silver, two of quicksil- ver, and ten of lead. Guancavelica is 12,308 feet, and the neighbouring mountain of Santa Barbara 14,506 feet, above the level of the sea. The number of its inhabitants is now only 5200, probably owing to the abandonment of the mine. The other towns of most note are Xauxa and Castro Vireyna. Xauxa or Jaiija is the chief town of a district on the southern extremity of Tarma, reaching to about forty leagues from Lima, in the spacious valleys and plains between two parallel chains of the Andes. The river Xauxa runs through this district, in which there are several pretty towns or large villages well inhabited by Spaniards, Indians and Mestizoes. The soil produces plenty of wheat and other grains, together with a great variety of fruits, and the city is on the great road oi the mountains to Cuzco, Paz, and La Plata ; it borders on the east, as well as the district of Tarma, with the country between the Andes and the Apurimac, inhabited by fierce and wild Indians, some of whom have made inroads into these jurisdictions ; the missionaries have however succeeded in establishing villages amongst them, the nearest being the town of Ocopa. Castro-Vireyna is the chief town of a district of the same name, which lying on the Cordillera, has a very various climate, and produces the fruits of the tropic and temperate regions. On its great plains, which are in the highest and coldest parts, are numerous flocks of the Vicuna, or Peruvian sheep, whose wool the chief article of commerce. This animal prefers the coldest and highest parts of the Andes, and is rarely seen north of the line ; they formerly were very nu- merous in all the mountains of Peru, till they were so much hunted for the sake of their fleeces, that they are now caught with great difficulty, and are only to be seen wild in the most inaccessi- ble parts of the southern Andes. The town of Castro Vireyna is 125 miles south-east of Lima, in 12° 50' south latitude, and 74* 45' west longitude. THE INTENDANCY OT GUAMANGA, Is bounded on the north by Guancavelica and the uncultivated countries on the banks of the Apurimac, east by the same and Cuzco, west by Lima, and south by Arequipa. It contains several fine districts, of which Guanta, Vilcas-Gua- man, Andagualas, Parina Cocha and Lucanas are the chief, with that of Guamanga itself. The capital is Guamanga^ situated in 12° 50' south latitude, and 77° 56' west longitude, in a wide and beautiful plain, watered by a fine river, and having a healthful climate. The buildings are of PERU. 333 stone, and are equal to any in Peru, and the city is decorated with fine squares, gardens and walks, which render it a very pleasant residence. The seil in the surrounding district is fertile in grain and fruit, the chief articles of commerce being cattle, hides and sweet-meats, with the produce of several mines ; sixty of gold, 102 of silver, and one of quicksilver, having been wrought in this and the dependent district of Lucanas. Guamanga was founded by Pizarro in 1539, and is the see of a bishop, whose annual revenue is 8000 dollars. This city has three churches, one for the whites, and the others for the Indian* ; as well as the cathedral, several chapels and con- vents, and a university, with a good revenue, in which the study of divinity, philosophy and law is followed. The number of inha- bitants is 26,000, including Spaniards, mestizoes, mulattoes and Indians. Guamanga is also called San Juan de la Victoria, in memory of the precipitate retreat which Manco Capac made from Pizarro, when the armies were drawn up for battle, and Pizarro founded the town in order to keep up the communication between Lima and Cuzco. About three leagues from Guamanga is the town of Aiico ; the territory around which is infested with jaguars and reptiles. Anco stands in 13° 14' south latitude, and 73° 10' west longitude. Guanta is the chief town of a jurisdiction of the same name, and is twenty miles north of Guamanga, in 12° 30' south latitude, and 74° 16' west longitude ; the district begins four leagues from Gua- manga, and stretches for thirty leagues north-north-west of it. It enjoys a temperate climate, and is very fertile, but its mines, which were formerly very rich, are abandoned. In an island formed by the Tayacaxa or Xauxa grows the coca or betel nut in great plenty, in which, and with the lead produced in the mines, the commerce of Guanta consists. It also carries on a trade with the capital, which it supplies with corn and fruits. Vilcas Giiaman is a district south-east of Guamanga, beginning six or seven leagues from that city and extending above thirty leagues ; Vilcas Guaman or Bilcas is the chief town, in which is a church, built on the ruins of a Peruvian fortress. The climate is temperate and the district furnishes vast quanti- ties of cattle. The chief commerce is in woollens, &c. manufac- tured by the Indians, and which they carry to Cuzco. East of Guamanga, and verging to the south, is the district of Andagualas with its town of the same name. This district extends along the valley or plain between two branches of the Andes for about twenty-four leagues. It is the most populous partido of Guamanga, having large plan^ tations of sugar canes belonging to the inhabitants of the capital. The river Pampas which runs into the Apurimac, and several 334 SOUTH AMERICA; Others flow through this territory, contributing greatly to its fer- tility ; and the number of its inhabitants is about 12,000. Parina Cocha and Lucanas are districts lying between that part of the chain of the Andes which stretches down in a circular form towards Arequipa ; they abound in mines of silver and gold, and though in a cold climate, produce grain, herbs and fruits in abun- dance. The chief towns of these districts have the same names excepting that of the first, which is called Pausa. In the mountains are found herbs of huanucos or Peruvian camels, and the plains and valleys are filled with sheep, goats and cattle, in consequence of which most of the inhabitants are drovers or woollen manufacturers. In the former district which contains 11,300 inhabitants dis- persed in thirty settlements ; there is the lake of Parina Cocha seven leagues in length and one in width, in which a white bird of the name of Panuira breeds. This name has been corrupted to Parina, and the word cocha or lake being added, has given rise to the designation of the department. INTENDANCY OF CUZCO. Cuzco contains a number of partidos or districts lying on the west of the great Apurimac, and on the eastern Cordillera of the Andes ; it is bounded on the north by the Apurimac and the An- des of Cuzco, on the west by unconquered countries, east by Tar- ma, Guancavelica, and Guamanga, and south by Arequipa and the viceroyalty of La Plata, the boundary line of which runs between the lake Chucuito or Titicaca and along the chain of Vilcanota, and bounds the district of Paucartambo on the south. The capital of this extensive province is the celebrated city of Cuzco, which has a peculiar jurisdiction around it, over which its magistrates exercise their authority. This district extends only two leagues, but in it the climate is various, and on the highlands the cold is intense, though in general the temperature is mild. It con- tains, with the partido of Carahuasi^ nineteen mines of silver. The city of Cuzco or Couzco is situated in 13° 25' south lati- tude, and 71° 15' west longitude, on uneven ground in the skirts of mountains watered by the small river Guatanay, its north and west sides are surrounded by the mountains of Sanca, and on the south it borders on a plain, in which are several beautiful walks. Cuzco was originally founded by Manco Capac and his consort Mama Oello, who were supposed to have reigned in tlie 12th or 13th century. He divided it into high and low Cuzco, the former having been peopled by the Peruvians whom he assembled, and the latter by those whom his consort had prevailed upon to leave their wandering mode of life. The first tract forms the north, the latter the southern divisions of the city ; here he founded a temple of the sun and appt>inted his daughters to serve as priestesses. PERU. 335 The Spaniards who took possession of Cuzco, under Pizarro, in October 1534, were astonished at the extent and splendour of the city, the magnificence of the temples and palaces, and the pomp and riches M'hich were every where displayed. Cuzco was besieged by Manco Capac the Second, who took it, but was soon driven out by the Europeans, and afterwards blockaded the place for eight months ; in this and the subsequent contest between the followers of Pizarro and Almagro, Cuzco suffered very much, great pat;t of the city having been destroyed. On the mountain which surrounds the north part of this cele- brated city, are the remains of the fortress of the Incas, by which it appears that they intended to encompass the mountain with a wail, constructed in such a manner, that the ascent would have been impracticable, though it could be easily defended within. It was strongly built of freestone, and is remarkable for the immense size of the stones, as well as for the art with which they are joined. The internal works of the fortress itself are in ruins, but great part of the wall is standing. A subterraneous passage of singular construction led from this fort to the palace of the Incas, and with these ruins, are the remains of a paved causeway which led to Lima. One of the stones designed for the wall lies on the ground near it, and is so large that it has obtained the name of Cansada, allud- ing to the apparent impracticability of bringing such a mass from the quarries, by a people unacquainted with machinery, or even by those who are. Most of the houses of Cuzco are covered with red tiles, and built of stone ; their interior is spacious, and those of the rich highly decorated ; the mouldings of the doors being gilt, and the ornaments and furniture of the most costly kind. The cathedral is a noble building of stone, and is erected on the spot where the Spaniards rescued the place from the Inca Manco Capac the Second ; it is served by three priests, one for the Indians, and two for the whites ; Cuzco also contains six parish churches, and nine convents, one of which, the Dominican, is built on the spot where stood the Temple of the Sun, the stones of that build- ing serving to erect its church, the altar being placed on the same ground where the golden image of the luminary was formerly fixed. These convents contain hospitals for the sick Indians and whites. There are also four nunneries, and the government ot the city consists of a corregidor and alcaldes, who are chosen from the first people in the place. There are four hospitals, two universities, and a college, the iatter being for the children of Indian caciques ; and the courts are those of the royal audience, revenue, inquisition, cruzada, he. The bishop of Cuzco is suffragan of the archbishop of Lima, and enjoys a revenue of 24.000 ciollars annually. oJ6 SOUTH AMERICA. This city contains 32,000 inhabitants, of whom three fourths are Indians, who are very industrious in the manufacture of baize, cotton and leather, and have a great taste for painting. It formerly contained many Spanish families, but at present the Indians and castes prevail. QuispicANCHi is a district of Cuzco, beginning close to the city, and extending thirty leagues from east to west, and thli"ty-five from north to south, producing maize, wheat and fruits. Part of this district borders on the forests inhabited by independent Indians, and which contain great quantities of coca or betel. The chief town is Urcos^ 12 miles south of Cuzco, and the partido has 26 other settlements, which only contain 7200 inhabi- tants. Abancay is another district and town of Cuzco, extending about 26 leagues east and west, and fourteen broad, and commencing four leagues north of the capital. It forms, on its northern boun- dary, an extended chain of mountains covered with snow. Its cli- mate is in general hot, so that it contains great plantations of sugar canes, in which fine sugar of a superior whiteness is made. It has seventeen villages or towns, the chief of which, Abancay^ is seated in a fertile and spacious valley, 60 miles north of Cuzco, in 31° 30' south latitude, and 72° 26' west longitude, on the river Abancay, over which is thrown one of the largest bridges in Peru. In this province is the valley Xaquijagnana^ in which Gonzalo Pizarro was taken prisoner by Pedro de la Gasca. The river Aban- cay joins the Apurimac, which runs through this district ; the junction being to the north of the town. On the north of Abancay, and on the east of the Cordillera, na- med the Andes de Cuzco, the Vilcamaya., Uriibamba^ or ^illa- hamba river, at about 12° 30' south latitude, throws itself into the Apurimac, which, having pursued a north-west course through Cuzco, Quispicanchi and Abancay, suddenly turns, after meeting the Vilcamayo, to the north-east ; and on the eastern shores of the Apurimac, are the small towns Vilcabamba, Urubamba^ and Galea. The Andes de Cuzco divide the valley of the Vilcamayo from that of the Paucartambo river. ThedistrictofPAUCARTAMBO begins eight leagues east of Cuzco, and is of great extent, having indefinite bounds on its northern, western and southern sides. It is mostly uninhabited, its ctiief town of the same name lying in 72° west longitude, and nearly in the same latitude as Cuzco, between the Andes de Cuzco acd the chain of Vilcanota, which separates it from La Plata. The river Paucartambo takes its rise in this chain, and flows northerly, to meet the Apurimac, which it enters in 10° 45' south latitude, after a course of 200 miles. The junction is only a short distance south of that of the Beui, with the Apurimac ; and the country in th'^ pERUe 337 vicinity of these mouths, is inhabited by several independent tribes of Indians. West of Paucartambo, and between it and the river Beni, is the country called Chuncho'i^ also peopled by warlike tribes. The inhabitants of Paucartambo amount to 8000, dispersed in eleven settlements. Calcaylares is another district, beginning four leagues west of Cuzco, and between it and Paucartambo. The climate is ex- ceedingly fine, and the chief town is Calca above mentioned. Chilqices y Masques is also a district at the distance of seven or =5ight leagues south-east of Cuzco, and extending above thirty leagues, noted for its producing abundance of grain, and feeding great quantities of cattle and sheep ; but it is chiefly inhabited by Indians, who manufacture coarse woollens. The jurisdiction of Cotabamba begins twenty leagues south- west of Cuzco, and extends thirty leagues between the rivers Aban- cay and Apurimac, which are separated from each other by a ridge of mountains. It abounds in cattle, and the temperate parts produce maize, wheat and fruit. There are also several gold and silver mines j but most of them are abandoned. Its chief place is an unimportant town named Co- tabambas. The district of Tinta, or Canas y Canches, commences fif- teen or twenty leagues from Cuzco, and extends in breadth and length about twenty leagues ; the Cordillera dividing it into two parts, the highest being called Canas^ and the lowest Canches. The latter yields all kinds of grains and fruits, while the former feeds numerous flocks and herds ; and in the valleys between the mountains, 20 or 30,000 mules are annually pastured from the neighbouring provinces. There is also a great fair for mules at Tinta, which draws people from all parts of Cuzco. In Canas is the mine of Condonoma^ formerly noted for yielding much sil- ver. Tinta is the chief town on the west of the Vilcamayo river, at sixty miles distance south of Cuzco. The district of Aymaraez commences forty leagues south-west of Cuzco, and is bounded on the north-west and west by Andahu- ailas, east by Cotabamba, west by Parinacocha, and south by Chumbivilcas. It is 120 miles long from north to south, and 26 miles from east to west, full of mountains ; the Andes here taking a circuitous turn towards the coast, in the southern part of this district, their summits frequently entering the limits of perpetual congelation. Its valleys are productive in grain and sugar, and afford suste- nance to numerous herds of cattle, and it is intersected by three rivers which unite and form the Pachachaca^ that flows into the U u J38 SOUTH AMERICA. Abancay, and is crossed by no less than 40 bridges of ropes and wood. Numerous veins of gold and silver in its mountains are not worked owing to the poverty of the inhabitants, of whom it con- tains 15,000. There are fifty settlements in Aymaraez, and lake Chinchero is in this district. The jurisdiction of Chumbivilcas begins forty leagues south- cast of Cuzco, and extends about thirty leagues. It is chiefly noted for feeding large herds of cattle, and contains many unworked mines. Lamp A the last district of the intendancy, commences thirty leagues south of Cuzco, and is of great extent among the moun- tains, but its climate being cold, it produces little else than pastu- rage for numerous herds of cattle ; but this district contains many valuable silver mines, and the chief town is Lampa^ ninety miles south of Cuzco, in 14° 55' south latitude, and 81° 44' west longi- tude. Lampa is bounded by the chain of Vilcanota^ which separates it from Asangara on the east, in the kingdom of La Plata, and whose crests also constitute a part of the barrier between the viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres and the kingdom of Peru. The last great division of the Peruvian territories towards the south, is THE INTENDANCY OF AREQUIPA, Which is bounded on the north by those of Lima, Guamanga, and Cuzco; on the east, by Cuzco and the viceroyalty of La Plata ; on the west by the South Sea or Great Pacific Oceao ; and on the south bv the desert of Atacama in the vicerovalty of La Plata. It contains several districts, of which Arequipa, Camana, Con- desuyos, Cailloma, Moquehua, and Arica, are the most impor- tant. The district of Ap.equipa Proper, contains the capital of the intendancy, also called Arequipa^ which is situated 217 leagues south-east of Lima, sixty south-west of Cuzco, and fifty north of Arica, and is the last town of any note in Peru. The city of Are- quipa stands in 16° 16' south latitude, and 71° 58' west longitude, in the valley of Quilca, twenty leagues from the Pacific. It is one of the largest towns in the Peruvian government, containing 24,000 inhabitants, and was founded in 1539 by order of PizaiTO in a bad situation, but was soon afterwards removed to its present site. This tov/n is well built, most of the houses being of stone and vaulted, and are much decorated on the outside. It is watered by the Rio Chile, which is conducted by sluices over the neighbour- ing fields, and by canals through the city, serving at once for PERU. 359 convenience and cleanliness. The climate of Arequipa is remark- ably good, though frost is sometimes known, but the cold is never intense, nor the heat troublesome. The surrounding district, which is about sixteen leagues in length, and twelve wide, is always clothed with verdure, and presents the appearance of a perpetual spring, its plantations producing sugar, wheat, maize and potatoes, and it carries on also a commerce with the neighbouring provinces in wine and brandy. The port of Arequipa is Aranta^ at twenty leagues distance, the harbour of which is deep, but difficult of access. Arequipa is the see of a bishop, who enjoys a revenue of 16,000 dollars. This bishopric was erected on the 20th of July 1609. The public buildings consist of a cathedral with a parish-church for the Indians, six convents, a college, seminary, hospital, and three nunneries, with the revenue office, &c. This city has been repeatedly devastated by earthquakes, which have four times totally ruined it; and a volcano in its vicinity, named Guayna Patina^ contributed to destroy the devoted town by a tremendous eruption, on the 24th of February 1600. The district of Camana lies along the shore of the South Sea, north of Arequipa, and is very large, but contains many deserts, extending on the east to the chain of the Andes. Its temperature is nearly the same as the former, excepting on the mountains, where it is cold. It contains many old silver mines, but these be- ing neglected, its chief trade consists in supplying the mines of the neighbouring district with asses and other beasts of burden. The principal town of the same name is seventy miles north-west from Arequipa, on the river Camana near its confluence with the South Sea. The next district to the north and bounding Lima, is Conde- suYos DE Arequipa, extending about thirty leagues. It is chiefly inhabited by Indians who breed the cochineal insect, with which they supply the woollen manufactures of the adjacent districts. Condesuyos abounds in gold and silver mines, but they are un- worked. Ocona is situated in this district, and is a port on the Pacific, ninety-six miles west-north-west of Arequipa, in sixteen degrees south latitude, on the Rio Ocona, which rises in the interior, and receives a small river flowing from lake Parina Cocha. Caylloma is the next jurisdiction bounding the kingdom of La Plata on the east, and Cuzco on the north ; it lies entirely among the Cordilleras of the Andes, which here divides its western branch into several ramifications, approaching very near the South Sea. Caylloma is famous for containing a very high mountain of the same name, and the sources of the Apurimac or Genuine Ma- ranon, which rises in a small lake formed bv the curvature of the chain of the Andes, and flows through a long valley made by two 340 oOVTU AMERICA. parallel ranges oF the same mountains which divide its bed from that of the Vilcamayo on the east. The source of the Apurimac is in about 16° 10' or 20' south latitude. Caylloma contains several badly worked mines of silver ; but the cold is so intense, owing to the great height of the Andes, that the inhabitants who have settled in it, are obliged to have re- course to the neighbouring districts for grain, fruits, &c. ; and the country abounds with wild asses and beasts of prey. Caylloma^ the principal place, is a village on the eastern range of the Andes, at the silver mines of the great mountain of the same name. It contains an office for receiving the king's-fifths, and for selling the quicksilver necessary in the extraction of the metals. South of Arequipa, at the distance of forty leagues, lies the dis- trict of MoQUEHUA, at sixteen leagues from the Pacific. This ju- risdiction extends forty leagues to the south, in a fine climate and fertile soil, adorned with large vineyards, producing great quanti- ties of wine and brandy, which constitute its whole commerce, and with which it supplies all the provinces as far as Potosi on the Andes by land carriage, and by sea to Lima j and the fruits of Moquehua are also numerous and good, among which are olives of excellent quality. - The chief town of the same name is principally inhabited by Spaniards and mestizoes, who are in general opulent j it is seventy miles south of Arequipa, in 1 7° 20' south latitude, and 70° 56' west longitude. The most southerly district of the intendancy of Arequipa, and the last of the kingdom of Peru, is Arica; it is bounded on the north by Arequipa and Moquehua, west by the Pacific, east by the Cordillera and Charcas, and south by the desert and province of Atacama in the kingdom of La Plata. It is eighty-two leagues in length, north-west and south-east; and sixteen wide, east and west, composed of valleys commencing from the Andes and run- ning to the Pacific. The ranges separating these valleys are arid and unfruitful, while the vales themselves grow maize, wheat, £ic. Long-pepper is also cultivated, and a thriving trade is carried on with this, and with cotton, sugar, olives, wines and brandies. The mountains feed numerous herds of cattle, and are famed for the vicunas, llamas, &c. ; but the climate is hot, and in the higher parts inclement. The chief town is Arica, in 18° 26' south latitude, and 70° 18' west longitude, 210 miles north-west of La Plata, and 270 north- west of Atacama, in a beautiful valley on the shore of the Pacific, with a good port, much frequented by the coasting vessels. It v/as formerly a large place, but having been destroyed by an earth- quake in 1605, and sacked by the English in 1680, most of the in- habitants removed to Tacna twelve leagues distant, where the ell- PERU» 341 mate is better. Near the small port of Yquique are the celebrated silver mines of Huantajaya already mentioned. Having now treated of xh^ known provinces of Peru, we shall give some account of those countries which lie on the east of the Andes, between the intendancies and the frontier of Portuguese America. By the most recent authorities it appears that the viceroyalty of La Plata is supposed to extend to the frontiers of Jaen de Braca- moros and Maynas in New Granada ; but as it is not distinctly stated where its limits in this quarter are, it will be better to follow the old boundary of Peru on the north-east and east. Within the confines of that extensive territory, lying between the Andes, the Guallaga, the Maranon, or Ucayale, and the west- ern frontiers ef the Portuguese settlements, are several immense tracts of land known by the names of Pampas del Sacramento; COLONNA, or THE LaND OF THE MISSIONS ; ChUNCHOS, SjC. The Pampas del Sacramento, in their restricted sense, in- clude all the country between the Guallaga en the east, Maynas on the north, the Ucayale on the west, and the Apurimac on the south. It consists of immense plains, and was so called by the Jesuits ; but it is now usual to give the same name to the whole country denominated the Land of the Missions, and extending from the Ucayale to the Portuguese limits, bounded only by the Amazons on the north, and embracing 8000 square leagues. The Jesuit missionaries succeeded in establishing several villages among the numerous nations who inhabit this region, through which flows the Ucayale. Father Girval is the most recent traveller in this great steppe, and the information he has given concerning the country is not uninteresting. Embarking on the lake of the Great Cocama, at the junction of the Guallaga and Tunguragua, in Maynas, he went to the con- fluence of the true and false Maranons, near St. Joachin de Oma- guas, (a Spanish fort, at the distance of 180 miles from St. Pablo de Omaguas, the most westerly Portuguese settlement). Having two canoes with 14 Omaguan Indians to row them, he soon passed into the Ucayale, which he ascended with great resolution, fre- quently meeting with little fleets of canoes, manned by unknown tribes, from whom it required all his address to escape ; and after 14 days rowing, there appeared on the west a chain of mountains running south-east and north-west. In two days after this, he reached the little settlement of Sariacu, among the Panos, then the habitation of Anna Rosa, an Italian lady, educated at Lima ; passing this, he reached the river Manoa, which he ascended, with a view of seeing if a passage could be had to Maynas, but it was found almost impracticable, on account of the thick forests, and the precipices,: therefore again descending 342 SOUTH AMERICA. the Maranon, he arrived at the missions of Maynas, after an ab- sence of four months. In this voyage. Father Girval found that there existed several singular tribes of Indians, of whom the Combos were nearly as fair as Europeans, but that they were discoloured by the bites of mos- quitoes, and by painting their skins. Their customs were much the same as those of the other American Indians, in a state of nature. In the second voyage of Girval, in 1791, he was unaccompanied by any soldier or white person ; and again ascending the Ucayale, found the Casibos, a fierce tribe on the eastern banks, but the Co- nibos still appeared to be the principal navigators of this part of the stream, and were the most humane ; the sound of their rude flutes indicating peace, and a desire to show hospitality. After passing the Conibos, they met the canoes of the Panos^ and sixty of these accompanied him to Anna Rosa's village, where he found that she had built a little convent, and that the tribe obey- ed her as their chief, with great devotion. In twenty days' navigation from Sariacu, in the latitude of Tarma, he found the Piros^ whose country produces a species of cinnamon, and in which a settlement has since been made. Father Girval is said to have passed 400 miles up the Genuine Maranon, from its confluence with the Tunguaragua; to have dis- covered twenty-five tribes, and to have partly persuaded the PiroSy the Chipeos^ the Panos, and the Conibos^ to become Christians. He found the worship of most of these tribes to consist in the adoration of the moon, and evil spirits. In war they always choose a chief noted for his courage and capacity, and make prisoners of the women and children of their enemies, slaying the men. Some tribes were gentle and humane, while others resembled tigers more than human beings ; of these the Casibos^ and Carapochas^ were anthropophagi. The Capaguas^ a tribe on the Mague, were said to cook and eat their dead, and yet to be one of the most humane of the savages on the Maranon. The Pampas del Sacramento are divided from Peru by a lofty chain of mountains, from which they appear so level as to resem- ble the ocean ; they are covered with trees and verdure, and pro- duce balsams, oils, gums, resins, a sort of cinnamon, cacao, cas- carilla, and many other excellent drugs, spices, &c. In these vast levels the trees are very lofty, and form impenetra- ble forests unexplored by man, in which wander all the animals peculiar to the torrid climate of America. The heat is very great, and is accompanied with much humidity, and thick fogs, so that till the forests could be cleared, the Pampas would not be a desira- ble residence for Europeans ; the missionaries have nevertheless been very active in founding villages in the most accessible parts,. PERU. 343 several of which now exist, and new communications are opened constantly with Peru. South of the Pampas del Sacramento is a district named Monta- 7ia Reale^ through which runs a chain east from the Andes, named the Cerro de la Sal, which gives birth to the Pachitea and several other rivers, and divides their streams from the Perene, and some others which flow into the Apurimac ; a branch from this Cerro, runs to the north, under the name of Sierra de San Carlos, and se- parates the Maranon, after receiving the Beni, from the Pachitea. There are some missions in this country, on the banks of the Pa- chitea, but it is in general inhabited only by the Maijros^ a fierce nation, and several other wandering tribes. The Land of the Missions, or Colonna, now included in the Pampas, is that territory on the Amazons, through which flow the Cassiquin and the Yvari, part of which serves as the boundary of Brazil ; the Yutay, the Yurba, and several other large rivers, joining the Maranon, and of which little, or in fact nothing is known. Chunchos is a district between the Beni and the Paucartambo, in which are many wandering tribes, who are very imperfectly known, and whose country forms the barrier between Brazil and Peru. We shall conclude the description of this vice-royalty, by some few remarks upon the language of the natives, &c. The number of dialects totally differing from each other, which are spoken by the Indian inhabitants of this kingdom, is very great, and it was the same during the time of the Incas ; to remedy which inconvenience, those sovereigns instituted a general language, which they ordered all the chiefs who came to their courts to speak ; it was called the Quichuan, or language of the Incas ; and was that which prevailed in the capital ; and so un- bounded was the power of these princes, that the Quichuan was soon learnt, even in the most remote provinces, and continues to the present day to be the general tongue of the Peruvians, who are averse to making any efforts to obtain a knowledge of the Spanish ; so that the priests consider it as indispensibly necessary to become acquainted with the Quichuan, in order to retain the Peruvians in their power. The sounds h^ d^ f^ g^ r, are wanting, but the language is har- monious, and its grammar as variegated and artificial as the Greek. A work has been published at Lima on this subject ; and great pains have been used to render it well known. At the time of the conquest, Peru was named by its inhabitants Tavantin-suyu, or the Four Parts. That on the east, in which was Cuzco, was named Colla-suyu^ or the east part ; that of the west or coast, Chiyichay-suyu; that of the north, Anti-snyu; and that of the south, Co«fi-5wt/My which titles, with some alterations, 344 SOUTH AMERrCA. were retained till very lately, in the best maps. The names of most of the principal places, are still ^ichuan^ and so little is the Spanish language and power spread in this country, the first of their conquests, that upwards of sixty unsubdued nations or tribes are said to exist within its territorier ; though these have been greatly straitened by the formation of the new government, of which it now becomes necessary to give a description. VICEROY ALTY OF BUENOS AYRES, OR LA PLATA. BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT. This government is the most extensive and one of the rich- est kingdoms of the New World. It is bounded on the north by the Vast steppe of the Amazons, or, according to some authorities, by that noble river itself; on the east the territories of the Portu- guese and the Atlantic ocean are its limits ; on the west it is di- vided by the Andes from Peru and Chili, having also a province bordering on the South Sea; and on the south its bounds are the Pampas and Patagonia. From Cape Lobos in the Atlantic to the most northerly settle- ments on the Paraguay its extent may be estimated at 1600 miles ; and from Cape St. Antony, the mouth of the Plata, to the Andes oS Chili, its breadth is at least 1000 miles. POLITICAL AND TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS, &C. This country was erected into a viceroyalty in 1778, and at that time several provinces were added to it from Peru and Chili. At present it is divided into five governments, Los Charcas, Para- guay, Tucuman, Cuj o, and Buenos Ayres, which are again subdi- vided into departments and districts. The whole is governed by a viceroy, whose title is at present disputed, by the capital being in possession of the insurgent gov- ernment; and the ecclesiastical affairs of the country are under the guidance of the archbishop of La Plata, in Charcas, who has six suffragans. Its population is estimated at 1,100,000 Creoles and Spaniards ; but the Indians have not been numbered. BUENOS AYHES. 345 HISTORY, DISCOVERY, &C. The Spaniards claim the honour of first discovering this coun- try. Juan Dias de Salis, having sailed from Spain with two ships, in 1515, to explore Brazil, arrived at the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, and took formal possession of the land : but, deluded by the friendly appearance of the Indians, and being ofl' his guard, he was slain, with the few attendants who had landed with him. In 1526, Sebastian Cabot, then in the Spanish service, also endeavouring to make the coast of Brazil, entered the same river, and discover- ed an island, which he called St. Gabriel ; advancing about 120 leagues, he found a fine river flowing into the great stream, this he named St. Salvador, and causing his fleet to enter this river, disembarked his men, and built a fort, in which he left a garrison, while he poceeded farther up, and also discovered the Paraguay. Having procured much silver from the Indians, particularly the Guaranies, who brought the metal from the eastern parts of Paru, he imagined that mines existed in the country he was in, and ac- cordingly gave the name of River of Silver, or Rio de la Plata, to the great stream he had sailed up. The Spaniards soon came to a determination of colonising this valuable acquisition ; and to prevent any interference on the part of the other nations of Europe, Don Pedro de Mendoza was sent from Spain, and founded the city of Buenos Ayres, in 1535. From the early times of the colonisation of this country till the esta- blishment of a viceroyalty, the government was dependent on that of Peru ; though the chief of Buenos Ayres had the title of captain- general. Buenos Ayres continued for along time almost unknown, all the inhabited parts of the kingdom lying at a distance from the ocean, and by the restrictions put upon its commerce having no other communication with Europe than by the annual flota from Spain, it languished in indigence and obscurity : but the resources of so extensive and so fertile a territory could not remain for ever concealed ; as the population, and consequently, in an agricultural country, the riches increased, the constant remonstrances of the people at last opened the eyes of the Spanish government to the importance of the colony, a relaxation took place in the system of commercial monopoly which had been hitherto rigorously adhered to, and at last, in order to put a stop to a contraband trade that had been carried to an alarming height, register ships were allowed to sail under a license from the council of the Indies at any time of the year. The annual flota dwindled away from 15,000 to 2000 tons of shipping, and in 1748, they sailed for the last time to Cadiz, after having carried on, for two centuries, the trade of Spanish America. The register ships now supplied the market with European com- Xx 34-6 SOUTH AMERICA. itiodities at a cheaper rate, and at all times of the year ; and Buenos Ayres became from that time a place of importance. Other relaxations in the mercantile system followed soon after : in 1774 a free trade was allowed between several of the American ports, and in 1778, seven Spanish sea-ports were declared free, to which in 1788, five others were added, and these were allow- ed an open trade to Buenos Ayres, and the ports of the Pacific. The city and the captain-generalship was now advancing with rapid strides into political importance ; this was rendered stable by the erection of the government into a viceroyalty in 1778; and since that time its trade has progressively increased. Previous to this epoch, not more than fifteen registered vessels traded to South America, and these not oftener than once in two or three years ; but in 1778, their number ^at once augmented to 170. They kept gradually increasing till 1797, when the memo- rable war began between Spain and Great Britain, and a death blow was given to the commerce of Spanish America, for in 1798, it was calculated, that three millions of hides were rotting in the warehouses of Buenos Ayres and Monte Video, for which no vent could be had, so active and vigilant were the British cruisers. Va- rious causes have since contributed to fluctuate the commerce of this government ; sometimes it has risen to an amazing height, whilst at others, owing to foreign causes, or to its own internal convul- sions, it has been totally at a stand. Nothing of any material moment occurs in the political history of Buenos Ayres, till the year 1806, when there appeared a British squadron in the Rio de la Plata, from which a body of troops was landed for the purpose of taking the capital ; and this object General Beresford accomplished in a very spirited manner. He had not however had possession of the city for more than six weeks, when he was assailed by such a superiority of force, that his garrison was obliged to surrender on the 12th of August. Reinforcements arriving under Sir Home Popham, from the Cape of Good Hope, Fort Maldonado at the mouth of the La Plata was taken, and Monte Video unsuccessfully besieged. Other troops commanded by Sir Samuel Ajuchmuty, coming to the assistance of their com- panions, Monte Video was eventually taken by storm, and here the combined forces waited for a further succour, to resume the attempt on the capital. In May, 1807, these succours arrived, under General Whitelocke, who assumed the chief command, and was joined on the 15th of June by General Crawford. The army now amounting to 8000 men sailed up the river, and disembai'king below the capital, marched towards it. But no sooner had they entered the place, than they were assailed from all quarters, with a tremendous fire of grape and musquetry. The subsequent re- sults are well known; a convention was entered into, and the Bri- tish troops evacuated the territories of the viceroyalty. . BUENOS AYRES. 347 When Sir Samuel Auchmuty took Monte Video, the people of Buenos Ayres were in a state of ferment. They assembled an ex- traordinary junta, and deposed their viceroy, Sobremonte, placing in his seat, Don Santiago Liniers, a French emigrant, who had headed the military force, which retook the metropolis, on the 12th of August, 1806. This man had sunkhimself by a propensity for gambling into a state of great obscurity ; but when the British landed in the country, his superior military talents at once placed him above the inactive and ignorant Spanish officers who composed the army of the viceroyalty, and by his success in retaking the capital, the populace looked upon him as the only man fit to guide them to repel the second attack, which they were in constant ex- pectation of; thus rose Liniers to the highest station, which could be obtained in a country, where a very short time before, he had been unknown. But his reign lasted not long, attempting to thrust on the people the yoke of Buonaparte, they began to doubt his sinceri- ty; and aided by Xavier Elio, who had been despatched from the junta of Cadiz, to assume the vice-regal title, and who had suc- ceeded in getting possession of Monte Video, they became turbu- lent. To quell this spirit, Liniers sent an expedition against Monte Video ; but while this was going on, Don Josef de Goyeneche ar- rived from Spain, to endeavour to mediate between the newly formed parties. He caused the inhabitants of Buenos Ayres to proclaim Ferdinand the Seventh ; advising at the same time that a junta should be immediately formed. So powerful were his mea- sures, that on the 1st of January, 1809, the people rose in all parts of the city, and demanded the establishment of a junta. They were however dispersed, and the leaders punished by the troops who remained faithful to Liniers. But this temporary triumph was not of long continuance, as in August 1809, Cisneros, the new viceroy, arrived from Spain, and Liniers was deposed by the junta, which now solemnly declared their rights. Liniers was then exiled to Cordova, but the spirit of insurrection had spread itself too widely by this time to admit of the new viceroy continuing long in the exercise of his functions ; commotion succeeded to commotion, and on the 26th of May, 1810, a provisional government assembled itself, deposed the new viceroy, and sent him to Spain ; against this measure the interior provinces and Monte Video protested. Liniers formed an army in the neighbourhood of his retreat, and in Potosi another assembled under General Nieto. To check these, aforce marched from Buenos Ayres : Liniers and Nieto were defeated, and themselves and six of their principal officers beheaded. This violent measure did not extinguish the loyal feelings of the natives of the kingdom ; a force was put in motion in Paraguay, under the governor Velasco, who was however taken prisoner and 348 SOUTH AMERICA. sent to Buenos Ayres, but Monte Video still remained firm m hci' allegiance to Spain; and repelled every attempt of the new govern- ment. Since this period Monte Video has been taken possession of by the Portuguese. Buenos Ayres, though threatened with a counter-revolution, still retains its provisional government ; the mines of Potosi are in the hands of the viceroy of Peru ; the great- er part of Paraguay is quiet, and the spirit of insurrection is chiefly confined to the capital, which furnishes a great number of priva- teers that much annoy the Spanish merchant vessels trading to Peru and the coasts of the Pacific. It would be endless to recount the different actions which have taken place between the royal troops and the insurgents, or between the city of Monte Video, and that of Buenos Ayres ; but the latter have been generally vic- torious, and the privateers of this new government still dare to show their flag in the Pacific, and to keep the coasts of Chili and Peru in constant alarm. FEATURES, CLIMATE, &C. Buenos Ayres presents on its eastern territories a tract of land so nearly level that many of its principal rivers, unable to roll them- selves forward with sufficient impetus, form large shallow lakes, and it has been calculated that the great Paraguay in its course southward does not fall above one foot in height between the 18th and 22d degrees of south latitude. These immense levels are covered with a strong and luxuriant herbage, which pastures innumerable herds of half-wild horses and cattle. No hill or swelling rises in this expanse to a greater eleva- tion than 600 feet above the plain, so that if placed on one of these eminences, the eye wanders over a space resembling the ocean, uninterrupted, save by the dark spots formed here and there by the grazing cattle, or by the travelling wagons and escorts. But on the west the viceroyalty offers a very different scene, a vast chain of mountains, whose summits are lost in the frozen regions of the air, elevate their eternal barriers between the plains of the La Plata and the kingdoms of Peru and Chili. From this the main chain of the Andes, a secondary Cordillera, branches out between 15° and 20° of south latitude, and traversing the province of Chiquitos, it appears to, and in fact does connect the Andes oi Peru and Chili with the mountain country of Brazil and Para- guay. From it flow, on the north, the rivers that empty themselves into the Maranon, whilst its southern flank supplies the streams which swell the La Plata. This chain, named the Cordillera of Chiqtiitos^ has not been explored by any scientific traveller, and being inha- bited by savage nations, its structure and disposition are almost unknown. BUENOS AYBfiS. 349 The next i-emarkable features of this interesting country are its lakes and rivers. In the flat plains of La Plata the Los Xarayes is formed by the collected waters of the torrents which flow, dur- ing the rainy season, from the mountains of Chiquitos, and the Pa- raguay swelling over its banks at that period, inundates an expanse of flat land under the 17° of south latitude to an extent of 330 miles in length, and 120 in breadth ; but when the waters of the Paraguay abate, this lake becomes a marsh infested with multitudes of alli- gators. Its banks swarm with jaguars, pumas, monkeys, stags, &c, and with venomous reptiles and insects. It is never navigable for any other vessels than canoes and small barks, in which the Portuguese cross it from their settlements in Cuyaba. Besides this lake there are many others of great size, formed in a similar manner, such as Aguaracatay^ in the 25th degree, Tpoa in the 26th degree, and Neembuco in the 27th degree of south latitude. There are also several smaller ones which are formed by the inability of the rivers to continue their course without inundating the land in the vicinity of their banks to find an outlet ; these are permanent, but generally of no depth, such as Mandiha in 25° 20', Tpacary in 25° 23', and the Iberi between the 20th and 29th de- gree of south latitude. This last lake gives rise to three rivers which fall into the Great Parana ; viz. the Sta. Lucia, the Batela and the Corrientes from. its south-west extremity, and to the Mirinay, which taking a south- east course falls into the Uruguay. Lake Iberi is shallow and filled with aquatic plants, but is diver- sified with islands, on which feed deer and other animals ; these islands are unlike the plain surrounding the lake, being in general covered with wood, and many settlements have been made on its banks, which are ill beautiful situations, supplied with plenty of game, and fish, and it overflows twice a year. Titicaca or Chucuito is not only among the largest but the most remarkable lakes of La Plata. It is situated between the two Cor- dilleras of the Andes, in the north-west part of Los Charcas, and being formed by the surrounding mountains, has no out-let, and is in some parts from 420 to 480 feet in depth : its circumference is about 240 miles, containing many islands, of which Titicaca the largest, is three leagues long and one wide, and is famous as hav> ing been the supposed residence of Manco Capac. This lake is navigable for the largest vessels, but is subject to dreadful storms owing to the tremendous gusts of wind which rush from the Andes. The rivers of Buenos Ayres are innumerable, but the largest and the most noted is the Rio de la Plata, which may be term- ed the great channel by which the south-eastern part of America is drained. This noble stream is the conjunct flood of the Paraguay, the Pikomayoy the Parana^ the Uruguay, and a multitude of 350 SOUTH AMERICA. minor rivers which rise either in the Andes or the mountaiHS of Brazil. It was first discovered by Juan de Salis in 1515, who sailed up as far as an island in 34° 40' south latitude. The distance from the confluence of the Parana and Paraguay to the mouth of the La Plata is 600 miles ; but if the length of any of the three great streams is added, the La Plata will not yield in magnitude of course to the Amazons or to the Orinoco. The Paraguay is generally supposed to be the original river ; this stream rises in 13° south latitude in the mountains, forty leagues north of the Portuguese town of Cuyaba, and on the op- posite side of the chain in which rises the Arinos, a broad naviga- ble river flowing into the Maranon. The sources of the Paraguay are very numerous, forming, soon after their issue, large rivers, and successively joining into one stream, under the name of the Paraguay. In 16° 24' south latitude, seven leagues from Villa Bella, the Jauru flows into this river, and is noted as being the point where a fine marble pyramid is erected, which was brought from Lisbon, and denotes by several inscriptions, that this place is the boundary of Brazil and Spanish America. From its sources to this point the Paraguay has a navigation interrupted only by one fall ; and the lofty chain of mountains in which this river rises, are terminated seven leagues below the pyramid, in south latitude 16° 43' by a point called Morro Excalvado. East of this cape all is marsh ; nine leagues further south, the Rio Nuevo joins the Para- guay ; this river was only discovered in 1786. In 17° 33' the west or Spanish banks of the great river again become mountainous, and three leagues to the south of this parallel there is a deep break in the chain which forms the mouth of lake Gaiba^ which is con- nected with another named Uberava; six leagues and a half below the mouth of the Gaiha, and opposite the mountain bank the St. Lourenfo or Porrudos enters the Paraguay from Brazil. This river receives several very large ones, such as the Cuyaba, the Paraiba, the Jaquari, and the Itaquiri. The liaquiri rises near the great Parana in Brazil, and allowing only for a short portage, canoes actually circumnavigate the country included between the Parana and the Paraguay. The mountains continue on the western banks under different names ; on the eastern bank the river receives the Taqiiari by many estuaries, the largest of which is in 19° 15' south latitude and 54" degrees west longitude. Five leagues lower, and on the same side, the Embotctieu or Mondego^ flows into the Paraguay, one league below the mouth of which two high capes front each other, and here, at the foot of the mountain, on the west, is Fort Nueva Coimbra, the last and southernmost Portuguese settlement on the Paraguay, which, after bounding the possessions of the two nations from the pyramid of Jaura, becomes wholly a Spanish river, after BUENOS AYRES. 351 passing Bahia Negrg^ a large inlet eleven leagues south of Co- imbra. Thence the river continues to south latitude 21% where, on the west bank, on a hill named Miguel Josef, the Spaniards have a station with four pieces of cannon, named Fort Bourbon^ and pre- vious to reaching this fort, the little river Guirino flows into it from the east. In south latitude 21" 22' the river fonns two channels by passing an island, and the banks are here high on both sides, the interior being very mountainous. At this point the great in- undations of the river which commenced at the mouth of the J aura, and have received the name of Lake Los Xarayes^ termi- nate.. During the rainy season, the channel of the Paraguay is here confounded with those of its tributary streams, in such a manner that it is difficult to find. The banks of the river continue high ; and in 22* 5' south latitude, it receives a large river from the west, and twenty leagues south of this, the Corientes joins its streams. The Xexiiy flows into it from the east in 24° 11'; from thence the Paraguay runs southwards for thirty-two leagues to the city of Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay. Six leagues below Asuncion, the first mouth of the great Pilco- maijo joins the main river, its second mouth being fourteen or six- teen leagues lower. In the intermediate space on the eastern side several small rivers join, and on one of them, the Tibiquari at 20 leagues south-east of Asuncion is Villa Rica, a fine Spanish town. The Rio Vermelho enters the west bank of the Paraguay in 26° 50', on which, in the interior, is the town of Salto. The stream of the • Paraguay, being now augmented by the Pilcomayo, proceeds with increased rapidity and volume to 27° 25', where the immense body of waters, (much larger than itself) of the Parana join it, and their united streams take the name of the Rio de la Plata., and continue their course by an immense channel to the south, forming several islands, and receiving many noble streams, till it has passed the thirty-fourth degree of south latitude, when it begins to take an easterly course, and after receiving the great Uruguay or River of the Missions above Buenos Ayres, it flows with a steady and ma- jestic course, and by an immense estuary into the Atlantic ocean. The cape Santa Maria on the north, and St. Antonio on the south side of its mouth are 180 miles distant from each other, in 35° 30' south latitude ; but the navigation of this fine river is interrupted by banks, rocks and islands, and is rendered dangerous by violent winds, which, sweeping with great velocity over the plains, cause perfect hurricanes in the La Plata. It is even said that the storms are more frequent than at sea, and it requires very little nautical knowledge to know that they must be infinitely more dangerous than on that element. The water of the ocean is fresh at a great 352 SOUTH AMERICA. distance from the La Plata, owing to the rapidity with which that river discharges itself. The other noted streams and features of Buenos Ayres will be noticed in the description of the different provinces. COMMERCE AND RESOURCES. Since the attachment of several of the Peruvian provinces to this government, the commerce and resources of the country arc greatly enlarged and altered. From being merely an agricultural state, it has now become possessed of some of the richest mines in America. The districts which supply the most considerable quan- tities of the precious metal are Potosi, Changata, Porco, Oruro, Chucuito, La Paz and Carangas, and the mountains of Anauca, near Carabaya, and Asangara, north-east of lake Titicaca, were celebrated in the first years of the conquest for their gold mines. The annual produce of the mines of Buenos Ayres is estimated at 882,000/., including those of Caylloma in Arequipa, which are said to be attached to the government of La Plata. I'his produce is nearly all silver. The quantity that has annually paid the fifth being in fine gold 2200 marcs, and in fine silver 414,000 marcs, or 4,212,400 piastres. Its contraband trade in these metals has also been estimated at 67,000 marcs, most of which passes to Europe by the Rio de la Plata, while in Peru, by the Amazons and the South Sea, the same unlawful trade carries away 100,000 marcs. The trade of Buenos Ayres consists in these metals, and in exports of salt beef, tallow, fine furs, sea-wolf skins, wool, sheep- skins, flour, oil, copper, hides, &c.; to the interior provinces of Peru it sends Paraguay tea, swan skins, negro slaves, thread, &c., in exchange for sugar, cacao, cinnamon, rice, indigo, cotton, oil, pimento, wax, baize, woollen goods, quicksilver, &c. From Europe La Plata receives linens, woollens, silks, cottons, hats, iron, &c., and the imports may be estimated, in average years, at 758,400/., whilst its exports amount, in agricultural produce, to 434,000/., and in gold and silver to 1,183,400/., thus forming a tmal of 1,617,400/. sterling. It formerly remitted 700,000 pias- tres, at 4fS, 4d. each, to the royal coffers: but since the late struggle jts expenses have been so great in maintaining the insurgent cause, that it can hardly defray them ; especially since the viceroy of Peru has taken possession of the richest mines for the king. Capital. — The capital of this viceroyalty is the city of Buenos Ayres, containing a population of sixty thousand souls, or, ac- cording to Estalla, of forty thousand, of whom the greater part are Creoles. This city is situated in 34° 35' south latitude and 57' 24' west longitude, on the south side of the Rio de la Plata, ad- joining to a small river, from which the plain it is built on, gently ascends. It was founded in 1 J35 by Don Pedro de Mendoza, who BUENOii AYRES^ o5J gave it the name of Buenos Ayres, on account of its fine climate, but was abandoned soon after, and not rebuilt until 1582, after which it speedily increased, and was erected into a bishopric in 1620, and into the capital in 1776. Buenos Ayres is well fortilied, and its streets are straight, handsome, and clean, being paved on each side. The principal square is very large, and contains the residence of the governor, and the houses are built of brick or chalk, consisting generally of two stories, with a tiled roof. The cathedral is a spacious and elegant structure, and there is a church appropriated for the Indians, with several convents, chapels, &c. The distance from Cape Santa Maria, the entrance of the La Plata, to Buenos Ayres, is 200 miles : but the navigation is very dangerous, owing to rocks and shallows. In consequence of these dangers, large vessels generally come to an anchor every night in sailing up, and on the most moderate days it is necessary to be very vigilant, owing to the sudden effects of the blasts from the plains. After arriving within three leagues of the city, the cargoes are put into light vessels, and the ships go to the bay of Barragan, about twenty-four miles below, to refit and wait for freights. The principal streets of this town are the Calle de4a Santa Trini- dada, and the Calle de San Benito. The former runs almost the whole length of the city, and is occupied by the richer classes, who have also splendid villas in the country ; almost evei-y house has a garden both before and behind, and many have balconies latticed for odoriferous shrubs and flowers. The Interior of the houses display great wealth, but not much cleanliness ; and in summer they cover their floors with fine Indian matting, and in winter with carpets. The gardens are watered by small canals, and there is generally a large basin or reservoir in each, from which water is conducted by pipes into the houses. That part of the city inhabited by the negroes and castes has a very mean appeai*ance, and, being very dirty, presents a great contrast to the external show of the other parts. The churches are covered \Vith cupolas and steeples, which give them a handsome look, and the town-hall is a fine building in the great square ; the convents, nunneries, the hospital for men, that for women, and those for foundlings and orphans, being edi- fices of stone, of a beautiful whiteness, which is quarried in the plains near the city. Buenos Ayres is well supplied with provisions, particularly with fish and flesh ; there is no place in the world where butcher's meat is better, more plentiful, or cheaper ; and it is frequently distri- buted to the poor, as the merchants often buy the animal for the sake of the hide alone. Poultry is dear, a couple of fowls costing- as much as an ox, Buenos Ayres was taken by the British in Yy 354 SOUTH AMERICA. 1806, but retaken after six weeks by the inhabitants j the subse- quent events have been already noticed. Its port is the great out- let for all the produce of the interior, and, in times of war, much of the produce of Peru and Chili pass to Europe by it, as well as Vicuna wool from the Andes, copper from Coquimbo, gold from Chili, silver from Potosi, and from Paraguay, the finest tobacco, sugars, cotton, yellow wax and threads. 7'he commerce carried on with Peru is chiefly returned in mules and cattle, with matte, or Paraguay tea. Goods are conveyed in covered wagons over the vast plains to Mendoza in one month ; from this place they cross the ridges of the Andes on mules to Santiago, a distance of eighty leagues ; and thence in carts to Valparaiso, a distance of thirty leagues, which occupies fifteen days more. The climate of the city of Buenos Ayres is hot during the sum- mer season, and during the winter so much cold is felt that water generally freezes slightly; but if this happens often the season is reckoned very severe. Ihe north and east winds are the most common ; a north-east wind always brings heat, and a south-east cold ; and these winds are generally violent, and when the westerly winds begin they blow with extreme force, and are known by the name of Pamperos, from their having their origin in the great Pampas or plains. The atmosphere is very moist, and those rooms which have a southern aspect are always damp, as the walls to the south are covered with moss, and the roofs with long bushy grass, which grows nearly three feet high, and which requires to be cleared away occasionally to prevent its injuring the houses. Dur- ing summer, rains are common, and are often accompanied with dreadful thunder and lightnings. In the year 1793, the electric fluid struck the city of Buenos Ayres in thirty-seven different places, by which nineteen persons were killed. This city is a bishop's see, suffragan of the archbishop of Charcas. A court of I'oyal audience for the eastern provinces of Buenos Ayres was erected here soon after the establishment of the vice- regal form of government, but at present is superseded by other regulations which the independent government have adopted. GOVERNMENT OF I.OS CHARCAS, OR POTOSI. This government is one of the recent acquisitions of Buenos Ayres, and in point of mineral produce is the most valuable of its terriiories. It is bounded on the north by the chain or Cordillera of Vilcanota, which separates it from the Peruvian provinces, and by countries inhabited by \vandering tribes ; on the east it has the mountains of Arequipa, the Pacific ocean and the Chilian Andes ; on the west the governments of Paraguay and Buenos Ayres ; and on the south that of Buenos Ayre's. BUENOS AYRES. .^i>D Its most noted districts are Lampa, Carabaya, Ansangaro, Chu- cuito, Paucar-Colla, Pacajes, Omasuyos, Larecaja, La Paz, Sica- sica, Oruro, Paria, Carangas, Porco, Chayanta, Charcas Proper, Pilaya, Cochabamba, Pomabamba, Tomina, Atacama, Lipes, Am- paraes, Apolabamba, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Tarija, Chiquitos, JVIoxos and Chacos, the last three being countries inhabited by in- dependent tribes, among \vhom there are a few missionaries and settlements. This immense tract is covered with deserts, forests, vast plains and rivers and its most populous parts are those which are called Provincias de la Sierra, and Avhich lie on or near the Andes. The Inca Capac Yupanqui subjected these provinces to his sceptre ; his son Inca Roca continued the conquests of his father, and greatly extended the dominions of Peru on the east, till he became master of all the nations as far as the place w'here the city of La Plata was afterwards built. After the conquest of the western parts of Peru by the Spaniards^ they turned their attention towards reducing the remote tribes. In 1538 Gonzalo Pizarro marched at the head of a body of troops from Cuzco, and advancing to Charcas, was opposed with such spirit by the natives, that it was not till after great efforts that they were subdued ; this was the commencement of the Spanish colo- nisation of La Plata ; and the different conquests, and the des- criptions of the numerous districts of this government will be treat- ed of in describing their chief towns. The capital of Charcas is Chiiquisaca^ or La Plata^ in 19° 40' south latitude, and 66° 46' west longitude, in a small plain sur- rounded with mountains. In summer the temperature of the air is very mild, nor is there any very great difference throughout the year ; but in winter, which commences in September and last* till March, rains are very frequent, and are accompanied with thunder and lightning. This town was erected into a bishopric in 1551, and in 1608 was raised to the metropolitan dignity. It was founded by Pedro An- zures, in 1539, by order of Gonzalo Pizarro, on the site of the Indian town of Chuquisaca ; which name it now generally bears, it having received its other appellation of La Plata, in consequence of the numberpf silver mines in its vicinity. The houses are genei-ally two stories high, and covered with tiles J they are large, convenient, and have beautiful gardens, in which grow all sorts of European fruits. The cathedral is also large and well ornamented, and there is a parish church appropri- ated solely for the Indians, who live in the suburbs, and amount to about 3000. Besides these there are five convents, each of which has a hand- some church, two nunneries, an university, and two colleges. The greatest evil attending the situation of this city is the want 356 SOUTH AMERICA. * of water, which is only scantily supplied by the public fountains dispersi-d in different places. Chuquisaca is famous as being the seat of the Royal Audience of Los Charcas, which is the supreme court of Buenos Ayres, and has the viceroy for its president; it was erected in 1559. The magistracy of this city are chosen from among the first no- bility, and consist of a corregidor, regidores, and alcaldes, who govern the district attached to the town, which includes a very large space around it, and contains, amongst others, the celebrated city and mines of Potosi. The inhabitants of La Plata are computed at 14,000. In the district surrounding the capital, and which is called CriARCAS, are several rivers, which form from their united streams the Pilcomayo. The names of these rivers are the Tcirapaya^ that runs from Porco ; the Potosi^ which is employed in washing the ores in the mines of that name ; and the Cachimayo^ which passes near La Plata ; after the junction of this last, the united stream flows through the districts of Pilaya, Paspaya, and Tomina, from whence it enters Chaco, and runs 80 leagues as far as the Llanos de Manso, after which its channel is through thick forests to the south-east, and it enters the Paraguay, south of the city of Asun- cion, in between 25° 40' and 26" 20' south latitude, by two mouths, after a course of 600 miles. Its banks are inhabited by indepen- dent nations, who are so warlike, that the Jesuits in vain sought for a passage by this stream, from Peru to Paraguay. The city of Po?05?, included in this jurisdiction, is in 19° 47' south latitude, and 67° 22' west longitude, east-south-east of Lima in Peru, in a country inclosed by the mountainous district of Por- co ; the climate is cold, and the environs very barren, the valleys being destitute of wood, the sides of the hills covered only with moss, and their summits capped with eternal snows. A few vicunas are now and then seen grazing in this elevated and desolate region, which would never have been frequented by man, had it not hap- pened that Diego Hualca, an Indian peasant, was pursuing some wild goats, and arriving at a very steep place, laid hold of a small shrub to prevent himself from falling, but the shrub being unable to support his weight, was torn up by the roots, and disclosed to the astonished hunter, a rich mass of silver, lumps of which ad- hered to the earth, that came away with the plant. The Indian who lived at Porco, made use of this inexhaustible fund of riches for a length of time, but his good fortune could not remain long concealed, as his friend Guanca, observing a considei'able change in his manner of living, became anxious to investigate the cause, and pressing Hualca constantly to know the reason, he at last dis- closed the mystery. They however kept their secret for somle time, till Hualca, refusing to show his friend the manner of purify- ing the metal, the latter related the whole affair to Villarotil, his • BUENOS AYRES, 357 master, who also resided at Porco. Villaroel accordingly proceed- ed to the vein, on the 21st of April 1545, and procuring the ne- cessary assistance, the mine was immediately opened. The city of Potosi was founded in a narrow glen, "on the river of the same name, on the south side of the mountain which contains the mines, in the year 1547. A royal mint was established in 1562, and so rapidly did its population increase, that in 1611, the town contained 160,000 inhabitants, but from vai-ious causes the popu- lation of this city since that time has continually decreased, and at present it consists only of about 30,000 souls. Potosi has a mint, six convents, two nunneries, a college and an hospital ; and its inhabitants are still chiefly concerned in the working of the mines, and consist of whites, mestizoes, and Indians, for the latter of whom there are six curates and chapels in the city and its dis- trict. The city of Potosi is 45 miles west-south-west of La Plata. The celebrated mines of Potosi are in the same mountain on which the city is built. This' mountain is three miles in circum- ference, and is of a sharp conical figure, rising to the height of 4360 feet above the plain, and is known by the name of Hatun Potocsi ; its summit is crowned by a bed of porphyry, which gives it the well defined conical form it possesses. This famous mine has caused the destruction of thousands of human beings, for in the latter end of the l6th century, 15,000 Indians were constantly forced to work in it; but at present, there are not more than 2000 miners, who are well paid, and usually work from choice alone ; 15,000 llamas and 15,000 asses are constantly employed in carrying the ore to the amalgamation works in the city. The mint of Po- tosi coined in 1790, 299,246 piastres of gold, and 3,293,173 of sil- ver, or 886,620/. sterling. From the discovery of these mines, till the year 1803, they have supplied 1095,500,000 piastres, or 237,358,334/. sterling, which has paid the royal duties j and this also only includes silver, consequently the gold and smuggled me- tals must have swelled the total furnished by the works to a much greater amount. At present, the minerals are poor, and their abundance only causes the Spaniards to work them ; but according to Helms, if they were properly managed, they would still produce from twenty to thirty mjillions of dollars yearly. The mountain is perforated by about 300 rude shafts ; and the numerous furnaces which surround it, form at night a very singular spectacle. Potosi is distant from its metropolis, Buenos Ayres, 1873 miles, across a road, which for 400 miles, lies over a rocky mountainous country, very difficult to pass. The annual produce of this mountain at present, is not more than five or 600,000 marcs of silver (each marc being two-thirds of a pound). The richest shafts or workings are in the north side of the mountain, and are named La Descubridora^ Del Estano^ La jRica^ and La MendietQy their direction running south. 358 SOUTH AMERICA. Other causes occasionally conspire to render the vicinity of these mines more populous than the mere riches they contain ; as some hot medicinal baths are found here, called Don Diego, to which many people from the neighbouring towns resort ; there is also a great concourse of peasants and merchants to the city, to supply it with provisions, &c. with which articles the district around it is totally unprovided. The district of Tomina begins about eighteen leagues south-east ©f La Plata, and borders eastward on the Chiriguanos^ a nation of independent Indians ; it is twenty-four leagues in length from north to south, and seventy in circumference, containing a mountainous country, in the valleys of which there are some sugar plantations, and in its higher parts, it feeds large and small cattle and horses. The climate is in general hot, and in some of the valleys exces- sively so. The rivers which Avater Tomina are small and unite into one stream, named El Dorado^ and it is separated from Santa Cruz de la Sierra, by the Rio Grande^ which joins the Mamore. There are some small lakes in this province, two of which are in a district, named Mayocaya. In this province, the inhabitants who are mostly Indians, amount to 12,000, and the town of the same name, is fifty-five miles east of La Plata, in 19° 10' south latitude, and 65° 46' west longitude, but is inconsiderable ; the vicinity of the warlike Indians, render- ing the province an insecure place of abode. The town of Porco or Talavera de la Puna^ in 19° 40' south lati- tude, and 67° 56' west longitude, is the capital of the province of Porco, which commences on the west side of the town of Potosi, and extends twenty leagues. The coldness of its situation, amid the high ridges of the Andes, occasions a scarcity of fruits and grain ; but it abounds with fine cattle, and the mountain of Porco in this province is celebrated, as having been the place from whence the Incas of Peru drew the greater part of their silver, and was the first mine worked by the Spaniards after the conquest ; the district still producing great. quantities of that metal, particularly at Tomahave, and the mine? of the Porco mountain, which are twenty- three leagues from Chu- quisaca. The inhabitants amount to 22,000. Thirty leagues south of La Plata, lies the province of Chichac T Tarija; it is a very fertile territory, and produces wheat, maize^ oil, wine and fruits ; it also contains excellent pastures, abounds, in cattle, and has several gold and silver mines. The river Ti- puanis^ which flows on its eastern side, carries much gold in its sand, which the natives employ themselves in collecting. The greatest extent of this province is thirty-five leagues, and the eastern parts are only separated from the independent tribe- BUENOS AYRES. 359 ijy the above mentioned river. Its chief town is San Bernardo de Tarijo, which was founded by Don Francisco de Toledo, to repel the incursions of the warlike Indians, and to defend the high road to Tucuman, in 1591. It has four convents and a college for- merly belonging to the Jesuits ; in one of its convents, a cross is adored, which it is pretended, was found by the conquerors of Peru in a cave in this country ; and that it was made by one of the Apostles, who had preached the Gospel to the Peruvians. Joining Tarija, and on the south-west, is the province of Lipes, which extends 35 leagues. Its capital of the same name is 150 miles south-south-west of Potosi, in 21° 40' south latitude, and 68° 16' west longitude. The climate of this country is excessively cold, and its chief commerce consists in the produce of its mines, of which it pos- sesses two of gold, one of silver, and one of copper. The silver mine of St. Christoval de Acochala was formerly the most valuable in Peru, but at present is not worked owing to the want of hands. Lipes abounds in cattle, and with vicunas, alpa- cas and llamas, the high chain of the Andes pervading this pro- vince. Amparaes or Yamparaes is a district to the east of La Plata and bounds the province of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Its produc- tions are chiefly grain in its warm plains, and cattle on its high lands and cold districts. Oruro, or San Felipe dc Oriiro^ is a city thirty leagues north- west of La Plata, and capital of a jurisdiction or province of the same name. The greater part of this country lying on the Andes is exceedingly cold and barren, producing only herbage for the pas- ture of cattle and sheep, with numerous herds of Peruvian camels. It contains many gold and silver mines which were formerly very famous, but most of them have been abandoned, though the moun- tains of Popo still yield much silver. The capital has five convents, and four churches, and is a populous place, with a revenue office for collecting the duties on the metals. PiLAYA Y Paspaya, orCiNTi,is a province lying forty leagues south of La Plata and bounded on the north by Tomina and Poma- bamba, on the east by the Chiriguanos Indians, and on the west and scmth by Porco and Chicas. Its length is about thirty leagues and its width forty, and this province is intersected in all directions, by the Cordillera, among Avhose breaches and valleys its inhabi- tants are settled. They are dispersed in different estates, and amount to 12,000. The climate in the valleys is moderately hot, and the soil very productive. The grapes of this district are made into wine and brandies, which are much esteemed in the neigh- bouring provinces, and the river San Juaii which rises in Lipes, pervades this country. The Toropaka and the C'lnti also fertilise •■hf* v^allcys through which they run, and the Supas and Agch'illa 360 'oOUTH AMERICA, form, by their united streams, the Paspaya which divides the pro- vince from Pomabamba, and runs into the Pilcomayo. The towns of Pilaya and Paspaya were destroyed by the incur- sions of the Indians from the east, so that the corregidor resides on an estate in the fertile valley of Cinti; but there are some abundant lead mines in the settlement of Pototaca. The province of Chayantas begins fifty leagues north-west of La Plata, extending for about forty leagues. This district is fa- mous for its silver mines, of which it contains three, with one of copper, one'of tin, and two of lead; and the Rio Grande which flows through it deposits auriferous particles in its bed. The cattle in this province are barely sufficient to feed the inhabitants, who are not numerous. Adjoining to Chayantas is the province of Paria, which is bounded by that of Pacajes on the north, on the north-east, by Oruro, east and south-east by Porq:o, south-west by Lipes, and west by Caranjas. It contains several silver ^mines, and, lying among the mountains, is of a cold temperature. There are also some salt mines in it, and a small lake from which that article is extracted. A rapid river rising in lake Chucuito, runs through this pro- vince, and is called the Desagiiadero^ or drain, forming a lake four leagues long and two wide. The river ends in this basin, which has given rise to various conjectures concerning the manner in which the water finds a vent, as the lake is always of the same level; but in one part of it is a whirlpool which sucks down any rafts that get within its vortex. In the year 1 748 this singular lake rose to a great height. The inhabitants of Paria amount to 10,000, and employ them- selves in farming; and the cheeses of this district are much sought after. Its capital of the same name is 210 miles north-west of La Plata, in 18° 50' south latitude, and 68° 20' \vebt longitude. The province of Caranjas commences 70 leagues west of La Plata, and extends above 50 leagues on the west bank of Lake Pa- ria. The Andes pervading this district, the climate is very cold, and it produces no grain, but has abundant pastures for cattle, vi- cunas, &c. There are also many silver mines, two of which arc very productive, and one of copper is worked. A singular silver ore is found in the mines of Turco, which con- sists of beautiful fibres, penetrating the mass of stone in which they are contained. In the sandy desert parts of Caranjas that extend towards the Pacific are discovered lumps of native silver, which are called Papas, or potatoes, because they are dug out of the ground like that root. These lumps have the appearance of melted silver, and many of them have been found weighing as much as 150 marcs, and BUENOS AVRES. 361 more than a foot in length. The capital of this province, which is not populous, is a small town of the same name, on a rivulet which flows into the southern extremity of Lake Paria. The city of Oropesa is the capital of a province named Cocha- BAMBA, of about 40 leagues in extent, which is bounded by Sica- sica on the north-west. La Paz on the west, Chayantaa on the south, and Charcas, or La Plata, and Santa Cruz de la Sien-a on the east, and lying 50 leagues south-east of Plata. It possesses one gold mine, and several of silver, but they are not productive. The chief wealth of this province is in its agricultural produce, as it is fertilised by so many rivers and streams, that it yields im« mense harvests of grain, &c. From this circumstance it has ob- tained the appellation of the granary of Peru. The climate is in general mild and healthful. The Rio Grande is its principal river, which rises in the Andes, west of the district of Sicasica. Oropesa^ the capital, is a very considerable place ; it is seated on a small river, which is one of the streams of the Rio Grande, in a beautiful and fertile valley ; and the chief occupation of its inhabi- tants, consists in supplying the neighbouring provinces with fruits and grain. It is 150 miles north-west' of La Plata, in 18° 15' south latitude, and 67° 6' west longitude. The province of Sicasica is a very extensive tract, of nearly a hundred leagues in length, and contains some silver mines, two of which are worked. The far greater part of this district lies among the mountains, and it has Cochabamba to its west, Oruro to the south, Paria to the east, and La Paz to the north. Those parts which consist of plains or valleys, are extremely hot, and produce great quantities of coca or betel, with which the neighbouring pro- vinces are supplied. The mountains feed large herds of cattle, and flocks of vicunas, guanucos, &c. ; and the capital is Sicasica^ 40 miles north-north-west of Oruro. Pomabamba is a province bounded on the north by Tomina ; east by the lands of the independent tribes ; west by Porco and Amparaes, and south by Pilaya y Paspaya. It is about 24 leagues in length, and has no other town than its capital, the inhabitantE^ being dispersed in their plantations. Its population is only 3000 souls, who gain a scanty subsistence from their farms, which are often plundered by the Chiriguanos Indians. It has the river Parapeti on the north, and the Rio Nuevo on the east, which separates it from the Indian territories. The capital of the same name is on the shore of the Parapeti, in 19° 55' south latitude, and 64° 8' west longitude, nine miles east of La Plata. The province of La Paz lies north of Sicasica, and consists only of a small district round the city of the same name, in the vicinity of the western Cordillera of the Andes. The produce of this coun* Zz 362 tiOUTH AMERICA. try is barley, COca or betel, and papas. It is chiefly noted for the city of La Paz, or Chuquiavo, or Pueblo Nuevo, which was first founded by Mayta Capac, the fourth Inca, who subdued this coun- try; but the Spaniards thinking this an advantageous place, as a post between Arequipa and La Plata, built the city under the pre- sidency of Pedro de la Gasca, who ordered Alonzo de JVIendoza to place it midway between Cuzco and Charcas, and to call it Nuestra Senora de la Paz, in memory of the public tranquillity being settled by the defeat of Gonzalo Pizarro and his adherents. Accordingly a valley in the country, called Las Pacasas, M'as pitched upon, in which the city was begun, on the 8th of October 1548, the place abounding in cattle, grain, Stc. This city is in 17° 15' south latitude, and 68° 25' west longitude, and 120 miles east-south-east of Arequipa; 288 south-east of Cuzco; 612 south-east of Lima; and 234 west of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, on a fine river, which flows through the valley. The adjacent Cordillera, which is only 12 leagues distant, is very high, and one of its summits, called Illimani, is covered with per- petual snow, which exposes the district to so cold a climate, that hard frosts, storms of hail. Sec, are not uncommon. But the city is not subject to these, enjoying a salubrious air, and considerable heat. . The unequal ground on which La Paz is seated, the snow-clad mountains, the fertile valleys, and the fine river, give peculiar charms to its scenery. The inhabitants in the district around the city are mostly confined to the valley, as the higher grounds are covered with forests which afford shelter to bears, jaguars, pu- mas, &c. They find some gold in the river, when it is increased by the melting of the snow, which forces large masses of rock from the mountain of lllimani. In 1730, an Indian discovered in this stream a lump of gold of such size, that it was brought for 12,000 piastres, and sent to the king. La Paz has a fine cathedral and four churches, four convents, a college, three nunneries, and an hospital, and. contains 20,000 in- habitants, who are chiefly engaged in trading in Paraguay tea. A late traveller represents it to be an elegant and clean place. It is a bishop's see, whose revenues are very considerable. This city had formerly the five following provinces or districts under its jurisdiction, and its bishop still holds ecclesiastical sway over them ; viz. Omasuyos, Pacages, Laricaxas, Chucuito and Paucar-colla. The district of Omasuyos begins at the gates of La Paz, and ex- tends 20 leagues, being bounded on the west by lake Chucuito or Titicaca. Its climate is very cold, so that it produces little corn ; but its pastures feed a great number of cattle ; and it has four gold mines. It is chiefly inhabited by Indians. Near the borders erf £U£NOS AYRES. 362 this province is the town or village of Tiahanuaco^ in wiiich are colossal pyramids and gigantic figures cut out ef stone ; and these, though much injured by the weather, are highly singular, and are conjectured to have existed before the times of the Peruvian Incas. This place is thirty-six miles north-west of La Paz, in south lati- tude 17° 17', and very near the south-east coast of lake Titicaca. Unfortunately no traveller has given a detailed account of these images, which are supposed to be the most ancient and singular in America. Pacajes is bounded on the north by Chucuito and the great lake ; north-east, by Omasuyos ; east, by La Paz and Sicasica ; south, by Oruro, Paria and Carangas, and south-west and west, by the Peruvian province of Arica, which is separated from it by the lofty chain of the Andes. Its length from the bridge over the river Desaguadaro, which divides it from Chucuito to the province of Paria, is fifty-sij; leagues, and its greatest width forty. From the neighbourhood of the Andes, its climate is cold, and its soil not very productive. Its inhabitants are dispersed in small settlements, and consist chiefly of Indians, who are employed in tending cattle and sheep, with which it abounds. There were formerly several mines of silver and emeralds, but they are not worked at present. A mine of talc supplies the whole of Peru with plates of that substance to serve instead of window glass for the churches and houses. Including Tiahanuaco, there are fifteen settlements in Pacajes, which has a capital of the same name, eighty miles south-west of La Paz, in a variable climate, and whose chief commerce consists in the sale of cattle to the neighbouring towns. Laricaxas, north of La Paz, is a district which extends 240 miles from east to west, and 75 from north to south ; it bounds that of Carabaya on the north, and most of its products are the same as those in that province. It contains many gold mines, the metal found in which is of a superior fineness, and four of these mines are in work. The mountain of Sundmli in this province is celebrated as having been the situation of a gold mine which was discovered in 1709, and was worked with immense profit till 1756, when it was inundated by a spring which suddenly burst in it, and all attempts to get the water under have since proved in vain. Chucuito commences twenty leagues west of La Paz, and bor- ders the western shore of lake Titicaca. The extent of this pro- vince from north to south is about twenty-eight leagues, its climate, from the high mountains of which it is composed, is cold, and its chief trade consists in the cattle which are pastured in its elevated plains. The Andes in this province contain many veins of silver^ but none of them are worked at present, and the great lake Chucuito 364 SOUTH AMERICA. takes its name from this district ; it is supplied with water froiri ten or twelve large rivers, and has no other outlet than by the De- saguadero, which flows from it into lake Paria, and is there lost. It abounds with fish, though its waters are bitter and brackish, and numbers of geese and other wild fowl frequent its shores, which are covered with strong flags or rushes of which the bridges in the country are constructed. It contains many islands, one of which, Titicaca, was formerly a mountain, but was levelled by the Incas. This island gave the lake one of its names, Titicaca signifying Leaden Mountain ; and Manco Capac having first appeared here, the succeeding Incas raised a temple of the sun in memory of the event. This temple was one of the most splendid in the empire and con- tained the greatest riches, owing to the obligation which all the Peruvians were under of visiting it, and depositing an ofl'ering on the shrine. On the conquest of the country by the Spaniards, it is said all these riches, and even the walls of the temple itself, were thrown into the lake. Towards the south part of the lake the banks approach each other, and form a bay, which terminates in the Kio Desaguadero, or the Drain, and over this river is a bridge of rushes, invented by Capac Yupanqui, the fifth Inca, in order to transport his army across the stream, with is between eighty and one hundred yards in breadth, flowing with an impetuous under current, though its surface is smooth. The Inca caused four large cables to be made of the long grass which grows on the high Paramos or deserts of the Andes, two of these were stretched across the stream, bundles of dry rushes or flags from the borders of the lake were laid across them, and fastened together ; on these the other two cables v/ere laid, and they were again covered with other bundles of flags, smaller than the first and firmly fastened together in such a man- ner as to form a level surface, and over this marched the Peru- vian army to the conquest of Charcas. This bridge, which is five yards broad, and one and a half above the river, is repaired or rebuilt, as circumstances require, every six months, in pursuance of a law made by the Incas, and fol- lowed up by the Spanish government, on account of its great utility. The island Titicaca contains several settlements, and, among others, that of Copacavana^ celebrated for its sanctuary of Nuestra Senora de Copacavana. The island produces fruits, flowers and vegetables, pastures much cattle, and in its woods are found wild rabbits and pigeons. The Indians navigate this lake on balsas or rafts, supported by inflated skins, and carry on by this means a considerable commerce with the towns on the banks. ChucuitOj a small town on the banks of the lake, is the capital of BUENOS AYRES-. 365 this province, which contains, as do the shores in general, many settlements, villages and towns. Paucarcolla, the last of the old provinces of La Paz, is bounded on the north-east by the lake ; east by the same and Chu- cuito ; north by Lampa ; west by Moquehua in Peru ; and south by Pacajes and Arica, also in Peru. It is eighty-six leagues long, and twenty-eight broad, and is watered by several streams flowing into the lake, of which the Rio Suches and the Taraco are the largest. The climate is generally cold, and in the parts bordering on lake Titicaca are cultivated Peruvian bark, papas, barley, &c. The chief occupation of the inhabitants consists in breeding cattle, sheep, pigs and llamas, and there are many vicunas, deer, partridges and lake fowl, which are caught or killed by the natives ; the lake also supplies fish, and by means of it the Indians carry dressed hides, thread, &c., and take in exchange wines, brandies and other com- modities from the adjacent districts. They fabricate their clothing and other articles from the wool of the Peruvian camel, and carry on a considerable traffic in that article. The capital was formerly the present settlement of the same name, but it was transferred to that of Huancane, till the discovery of the mines of Laicacota, when that large village became the chief town ; since that time it has again changed, and is now seated at Puna^ from whence the whole province is sometimes called. Cancharani and San Josefs two mountains in this district, con- tain rich veins of silver, which have been worked with great effect ; on the north of these is the mountain Del Azogue^ or of quicksil- ver, which was formerly worked to such advantage that it exceed- ed the produce of the celebrated mines at Guancavelica ; but the government suspended the operations at this place from some po- litical motives. The furnaces in the mines of this province are supplied by the natives, who breed cattle, with cow-dung to serve as fuel, which is used instead of wood, on account of the scarcity of that article, and proves a good substitute. The inhabitants of this province amount to more than 26,000 souls, dispersed in fifteen settlements and towns. Paucarcolla^ the old capital, is situated on the banks of Lake Titicaca, and inhabited by a few Spanish families. The Inca Yu- panqui, third emperor of Peru, added this place to his territories, the natives submitting voluntarily. Puna, the present capital, stands on the shores of the lake in 16° 20' south latitude, 70° 26' west longitude, and is a rich and populous place, containing many illustrious families, with a beau- tiful church for the whites, and another for the Indians. The mines in the neighbourhood of this town were among the richest in Peru, but were abandoned on the death of their owner, who 366 SOUTH AMERICA. built the Spanish church, it is, however, said that the rich mines oi Sake do or Laycacota are again in work. Puna is fourteen miles north-west of Chucuito. The remaining districts towards the Peruvian frontier, and which were under the jurisdiction of the audience of Cuzco, until the formation of the new kingdom of Buenos Ayres, are Asangaro, Carabaya and Lampa. Asangaro or Asangaro y Asila is bounded on the north- east and east by Carabaya, south-east and south by Laricaxa, south- west by Paucarcolla and lake Chucuito, and west and north-west by Lampa. It is sixty miles in length, and as many in breadth, containing about 3000 inhabitants. As it lies almost entirely on the Andes, which are here very high, its climate is cold, and the soil produces little else than grass to pasture the cattle, in which its trade consists. Papas, quinoas, and canaguas, grow plentifully in its plains ; of the two last the natives make an intoxicating liquor common in Peru, called chica, which is nearly the same as the spirit procured in Mexico from maize ; and chica is also the principal beverage of the Indians in- habiting the Andes. The chief towns of the same name are mere villages, but near Asila is a lead mine, which has been very productively worked ; and in the parts of this province bordering on Carabaya, there are several silver mines, three of which are worked. Carabaya is bounded on the north by the Peruvian frontier, east by the country of the independent Indians, and west and south by Asangaro. The extreme parts of this province are sixty leagues from Cuzco, and its greatest extent is more than fifty leagues ; but lying in a mountainous region, its climate is generally cold, though some of its valleys enjoy heat enough to mature the coca or betel; and it abounds in grain, vegetables, and rich pastures, which feed numerous herds of cattle. Carabaya contains silver and gold mines in great numbers, one of the former and two of the latter being in work. The river which separates it from the Indian countries, contains much gold in its sand ; and the Indians of Peru are said to come down in companies to this river, in order to collect sufficient metal to pay the capitation tax. In the village of Poto is an office for collecting the royal duties on the mines, and the most famous lavaderos or washing places, are San Juan del Oro^ Pablo Coya, and Monte de Ajiauca^ two leagues from Poto. The greatest gold mine is that of Aporama ; the metal being twenty-three carats fine. Carabaya^ or San Juan del Oro is the capital of this province, 150 miles south-east of Cu7co, in 14° 40' south latitude, and 69' ^6' west longitude. BUENOS AYREb. 367 Lampa is bounded on the north and west by the Peruvian fron- tier, and on the south and east by Chucuito and Asangaro. It lies on the ridge named the chain of Vilcanota, which separates Buenos Ayres from Peru ; and its climate, though generally cold, is healthy. It carries on a considerable trade in cattle ; and its silver mines are very numerous, but only two are worked to advantage. Thjg capital is a town of the same name, ninety miles south of Cuzco ; in the vicinity of which are the richest mines of the pro- vince. This town is in 14" 55' south latitude, and 81° 44' west longi- tude. FucarOj a village in this province, is remarkable as containing the ruins of a fort built by the Peruvians, having two large stone reservoirs within it ; some of the stones of which are three yards long and two broad, and not far from this fort is a fountain of warm water. Having now described the northern and Andean districts or provinces of Charcas or La Plata we must turn to those which lie on the coasts of the Pacific, on the east, and those towards Para- guay on the west. The viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres enjoys the advantage of pos- sessing a province on the shores of the Great Southern Ocean, which, though at present nearly desert, may one day become of great importance. This province named Atacama, is bounded on the north by Arica in Peru, on the west by the Pacific or South Sea, on the north-east by Lipes, south-east by the govern- ment of Tucuman, and south by Copiapo, in the kingdom of Chili. It is divided into High and Low Atacama, and is of great extent, some parts of it being very fruitful, but intermixed with deserts, particularly towards the south, where there is an immense tract of untenanted land, which divides La Plata from Chili. The sea- coast of this province is noted for the numerous fisheries establish- ed on it, and which supply a large fish, called Tolo, that forms the chief food of the inland districts of La Plata during Lent. The inhabitants of Atacama are chiefly Indians, those who live in the settlements, amounting only to 2500. Its chief town is Atacmna, in a barren plain, surrounded by the lofty summits of the Cordillera, which are uninhabited, owing to the intense cold. This town is a small place, 100 miles from the South Sea, and 120 leagues from La Plata, in 23° 30' south latitude, and 69° 30' west longitude. Crossing towards the east from this western boundary of Buenos Ayres, we find the provinces of Apolabamba, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Chiquitos, Moxos and Chacos. Apolabamba is bounded on the east by the province of Moxos, and on the west by Carabaya, commencing about sixty leagues jrom Cuzco in Peru, and extending eighty leagues from south- 368 SOUTH AMERICA. west to north-east. The country is mountainous, and intersected with rocks and precipices, consequently the roads are very rugged and difficult. The principal cultivation consists in rice, maize, plantains, &c., which are the common food of the inhabitants. In the plains or valleys, some cacao and cotton are raised, but more grows wild than in plantations, and the forests are numerous and filled with wild beasts and monkeys of every kind. The people carry their produce to La Paz, where they procure what is necessary for their comforts. Apolabamba is a newly planted colony, and consists mostly of set- tlements of Indians, who have been converted by the Franciscan missionaries. Seven villages ai'e in a flourishing condition, and in order to defend these from the incui'sions of the surrounding tribes, the inhabitants are formed into a militia, governed by a Spanish officer. Santa Cruz de la Sierra is a very large province including several districts ; it is, as its name indicates, a mountainous coun- try, and little inhabited by Spaniards, the chief places being the missions, which were first planted by the Jesuits. It borders on, or rather contains in its government, the countries of the Chiqui- tos, Guaranis, and other tribes, -among whom a few missions are settled. Its climate is warm, and the chief trade of its settlers consists in honey and wax. The capital is Santa Cruz de la Sierra^ eighty or ninety leagues east from La Plata. It was originally built farther to the south near the Cordillera of the Chiriguanos and was founded in 1548 by De Chaves; but the city having been destroyed, it was rebuilt on its present site: it is however a place of little importance, though erected into a bishopric in 1605, the chapter consisting only of the bishop, dean, and archdeacon. The usual residence of the bishop is at Mizqite Focona^ which is the chief town of a large district of the same name. This latter city, which is 100 miles south-south- west from Santa Cruz, is a small place in a valley about eight leagues in circumference, producing all kinds of grain and fruits, and in a warm climate ; the woods and mountains affording large quantities of honey and wax, which constitutes a principal branch of the trade of the place. There is also a lake two leagues in extent near this town, and the district of Mizque is the most populous part of the pro- vince. The Rio Grande de la Plata is the finest river of Santa Cruz; it rises in some small lakes on the south, and running through the province into that of Moxos, enters the Piray by a broad mouth, and forms a good port at Pailas, north of the capital. The province of Chiquttos lies to the north and east of Santa BUEtJOfi AYHES. 369 Cruz de la Sierra, and embraces an immense extent of territory, 'Which reaches to the Brazilian frontier on the Paraguay. It was first colonised by the Jesuits who began their missionary establishments in this countty towards the close of the seventeenth century, and their success was so great that in 1732 they had seven settlements, each containing more than 600 families. The Indians who inhabit Chiquitos are small-sized, active and brave, and have always resisted the endeavours of the Portuguese to carry off members of their community to slavery; many of them live peace- ably in the missions, but others lead a wandering life amid the, piountains and plains of their native land. The forests in this country produce the cinchona, or Jesuifs bark, and many other useful substances ; and the great inundation of the Paraguay, called Laie Xaray es^extendsthrou^h the western parts of this province, which is also celebrated for containing the third great branch of the Andes, that leaves the main body between 15° and 20° of south latitude, and crossing the provinces of the Sierra sweeps round Chiquitos, between 15° and 23°, stretching from La Paz, Potosi and Tucuman, through Moxos, Chiquitos and Chaco, towards the government of the mines, and of St. Pablo in Brazil. The highest summits of this chain appear to be between 15° and 20° of south latitude, giving rise to many rivers which flow either into the La Plata or the Maranon. Sa7i yosef de Chiquitos, the chief settlement of this province, is thirty-six miles north-west of Santa Cruz; and south of the Chi- quitos Indians, are another tribe, named the Chirigitanos, whom the missionaries have in vain attempted to convert ; they are the terror of the western provinces of Buenos Ayres, and are conti- nually at war with the Chiquitos. In their country flows the river Parapiti, which rising near Cochabamba in 18° south latitude, is first called Conderillo, and receiving smaller rivers, assumes the name of Parapiti, and passing through a large lake it turns to the north ; having pursued hitherto a south-east course into this lake, which is in 19° 50' south latitude. It is now called St. Migud, and still running north assumes the name of Sara, and being joined by the united streams of the Piray and Plata, as well as several others from the province of Santa Cruz, it becomes a broad river, and in 14° south latitude, is called the Mamore, till 10° south latitude, when it leaves Peru or La Plata, and entering the Portuguese territories becomes the Madera, continuing under that name to south latitude, 3° 15' and 60° 40' west longitude, when It discharges its immense stream into the Maranon, after a course of 1400 miles. Moxos or Mojos is an extensive territory bounded by the Por- tuguese government of Matto Grosso on the east, Cuzco and the Peruvian provinces on the west, and Chiquitos and Santa Cruz on the southv It estends on each side of the Mamore, and is chiefly .3 A 370 uOUIH AMERICA. inhabited by warlike and wandering tribes of Indians, who I'orbid access to its interior. This country contains the lake RogagvalOy a' large body of water of an oval figure, formed by an arm of the Rio Beniy which rises near La Paz on the west side of the Andes^ in 18° south latitude, and flowing north, enters the l^cayale, their united streams joining the Apurimac. The banks of the B(fni have many settlements of the missionaries. This lake empties itself into the Mamore by a channel called De la Exaltacion^ thus form- ing an immense island of the country lying between the Maranon on the north, the Madera and Mamore on the east, and the Beni and Ucayale on the west. From lake Rogagualo three other rivers, take their rise and flow into the Amazons on the north; viz. the Jutay^ the Juruay and the Puros. There are several missionary villages in the province of Moxosa but the country is still under the power of the aborigines. Chacos is another large territory, bounded by Chiquitos on the north ; Paraguay on the east; the great plains of Manos on the south ; and Tucuman and Tarija on the west. It is of immense extent, and chiefly inhabited by tribes of wandering Indians, hav- ing on its east the great chain of mountains on the banks of the Pa- raguay, and contains the great Rio Pilcoynayo, which flows into the Paraguay near Asuncion. The Jesuits made several attempts to colonise Chaco, but did not succeed, and little is known concerning its products or fea- tures. The adjoining government to Los Charcas, which has now been described as fully as the nature of the work would admit, is, " • THE GOVERNMENT OF PARAGUAY. Paraguay is a very extensive government of Buenos Ayres, which is bounded by Chiquitos, Chacos, and Tucuman on the north- west and west ; on the north it extends to Lake Xarayes ; north- cast and east it bounds the Portuguese territories ; and south-east and south it is limited by the Parana, which separates it from the missions of Guayra in Buenos Ayres, its jurisdiction ending in the south of the city of Asuncion, in 26° 48' south latitude, and it is divided from Tucuman, or the Llanos de Manso, by the river Paraguay. HISTORY, DISCOVERY, &C. The history of this province commences with its discovery by Sebastian Cabot, in 1526, who sailed up the Parana. This navi- gator was the son of a Venetian pilot, who was much employed in England, and by some accounts is said to have been born at Bris- BUENOG ayre: 37i tol, in 1477, and having been brought up to the same profession, went with his father, John Cabot, to the discovery of Newfound- land, and from thence to Florida. They had the honour of being the first navigators who saw the continent of America, Columbus not having discovered it till a year afterwards. Sebastian, after this voyage, made another to Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, in the service of Henry VII. of England, and reached the coast of Brazil, but was hindered from exploring it by the timidity of his coadjutor Sir Thomas Pert. Owing to some opposition on his return to England, he went to Spain, and offered his service to the king; his request was graciously attended to, and on account of his great skill, he was appointed pilot-major of the kingdom, an office of great honour in those days. In 1524, the Spanish merchants entered into a treaty with Cabot, to command an expedition to the Moluccas, which was to pass through the newly-discovered straits of Magalhaens. He under- took this voyage, and proceeded to the coast of Brazil, coasting it southward from the bay of Todos Los Santos, till he arrived at the river La Plata, where he landed three of his chief officers, who had mutinied, on a desert island, and being unable, from want of provisions and the bad behaviour of his crew, to proceed farther to the south, he sailed thirty leagues up the river, and discovered an island, which he called San Gabriel; three leagues higher up he saw a large river, and named it Son Salvador; here he landed his people, and built a fort, from which advancing in his boats he discovered another river, thirty leagues distant, called Zarcacana by the natives, on the banks of which he constructed another fort, and named it Santi Spiritiis. He afterwards explored the river Parana, and sailing up it en- tered the Paraguay, where he found the natives tilling the ground. These people opposed his landing, and in a skirmish with them he lost twenty-five men who were killed and three who were taken prisoners. Cabot wintered, however, in this country, and was joined by another adventurer, Jayme Garcia, who had been sent from Europe to explore the river, and returning together to the fort Santi Spirilus^ they despatched a vessel with an account of their discoveries to Spain. So long were the ministry in sending the necessary supplies to Cabot, that, tired of waiting, he returned to Spain, after an absence of five years, in the year 1531: but not being well received at court, he continued a few years in the Spanish service, and re- turned to England in the latter end of the reign of Henry VIIL In the following reign he was made grand pilot of England, with a pension of 166/. 135. A^d. per annum ; a sum in those times equal to lOCX)/. at present. During the reign of EdWard, and that of Philip and Mary, ma- ny privileges were granted to Cabot; b** wns made govenror of tli<» 372 SOUTH AMERICA. Russian corapahy, and had the management of the expeditioii which sailed under Sir Hugh Willoughby to the North Seas. The variation of the compass was first observed by this celebra- ted man, though Ferdinand Columbus, in the life of his father, printed at Venice, in Italian, in 1571, asserts, that the admiral first noticed it on the 14th of September 1492. Cabot published a large map of his discoveries in North America, which was hung up in the gallery at Whitehall. He also wrote an account of his voyage in the North American seas, in Italian, which Avas printed at Ve- nice in 1583 in one volume folio ; and is very scarce. Juan de Ayolas followed up the discoveries of Cabot in Para- guay, having had a commission, troops, and stores given him, in 1536, for that purpose, by Don Pedro de Mendoza, the first go- vernor of Buenos Ayres. By the orders of Ayolas, Juan de Salinas founded the city of Asuncion, but the conquest of the natives being attended with much difficulty, and Ayolas and his party having been murdered by them, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, the second governor of Buenos Ayres, undertook their subjugation in person. He had arrived with 400 men to take the chief command, in case of the death of Ayolas, and finding that this event had happened, he col- lected all the* settlers in Buenos Ayres, and detaching Irala, who had acted as governor before his arrival, into the interior, with ninety men, to report on the state of the country, was so satisfied with what he had seen, that he set out with 200 Spaniards, and 1200 Guarani Indians, and entered Paraguay ; but meeting with reverses, owing to the mutinous conduct of his troops, who were corrupted by Irala, he was forced to return, when he was deposed and sent to Spain ; Irala then assumed the chief command, and by his conduct soon reduced the natives, and rendered the Spanish settlements secure. The Indians were parcelled out to the conquerors, and in 1547, the city of Asuncion was erected into a bishopric. Much cruelty was practised towards the unfortunate natives, till the arrival of the first bishop of Paraguay, in 1554, who brought with him laws and regulations for their protection ; but however wise and humane these ordinances were, they did not totally re- strain the colonists from ill using their vassals; and it being found that Paraguay and the territories then discovered, were not suf- ficient to supply Indians enough to work in the plantations, Parana or Guayra was conquered, and the city of Ciudad Real being foun- ded, 40,000 of the natives were reduced to slavery ; and in a few years after, the Spanish power was extended over Chiquitos, on the left of Paraguay, where 60,000 of the natives were compelled to labour for the profit of their employers. The year 1556 was anew era for the aborigines, as in that. epoch the Jesuits made their appearance in Paraguay, and taking a BUENOS AYRES. 373 method directly contrary to that of the conquerors, they reduced the natives by the arts of persuasion alone. They showed them how industry would conduce to their comfort ; sfnd having, by au uniform course of mildness and conciliation, reclaimed them from their native woods and wandering way of life, they settled them in towns and villages, which soon increased and flourished under their guidance. The number of these settlements was astonishing, and so com- pletely had these priests gained the affections of the natives, that their government and power was absolute and unlimited. The principal missions of the Jesuits, or rather the Jesuit government, was not however in Paraguay, but in Uruguay, an immense dis- trict of Buenos Ayres, on the south of the Parana ; and in describ- ing that country, some further account of their possessions will be given. Their order being expelled frotn the Spanish dominions in 1767, the countries they possessed in South America were divided int^ governments, and priests of other orders were appointed to take charge of the ecclesiastical affairs. Climate^ productions^ features^ ^c. — The climate of Paraguay is in general moist and temperate, though in some parts it is cold, and white frosts are common in those places in July and August. The temperate parts abound with all kinds of grain, beans, pease, melons, cucumbers, and European vegetables ; asparagus is found wild, and there is a remarkably fine sort of vine, of which good and healthy wine is made, magueys, sugar-cane, maize, from which the Indians make their favourite drink ; potatoes, a fruit re- sembling the almond, which produces an excellent oil ; the Euro- pean fruits ; tobacco, and cinchona, or Jesuit's bark, sarsaparilla, rhubarb, jalap, sassafras, guiacum, dragon's blood, cupay, whose oil is used in medicine, nux vomica, vanilla, cacao, the timbabi, supplying a fine yellow gum, which is run into moulds, and formed into beads, necklaces, crosses, &c. Cedar, the curi or pine, from whose red knots, which contain a varnish, . the Indians make images ; the algarrobo, or carob tree, which is converted into bread, and the Paraguay tea or matte, a plant which rises about a foot and a half high, with slender branches, and leaves something like those of senna ; of this there are two kinds, one called Para- guay, the other Caamina, or Yervacamini, which last sells for one- third more than the other. So useful is this western tea, that the mines would stand still, if the owners were to neglect to supply the workmen with it ; and every person in Peru, Chili, and Buenos Ayres, consider them- selves wretched, if not able to procure it ; two millions of piastres worth of this herb, being sold from the province of Paraguay every year. It is infused and made nearly in the same way as the Chinese tea, excepting that the branches are put in with the leaves, and 374 SOUTH AMERICA. that it is drank out of the vessel it is made in, through a silver or glass pipe, as soon as possible ; as if it stays too long, it is sup- posed not to be good. The smell and colour of this drink, is nearly as fine as that of the best Indian teas. The pomegranate, peach, fig, lemon and orange, flourish in Paraguay, as do the cocoa-nut and other palms. The native fruits have among them the jujuba, the chanar, the yacani, the quabira, from which candles are made for the churches ; the quembe yield- ing a delicious pulp ; the mammon growing on the trunk of a tree, and resembling a melon ; the tatay, having a fruit like the mul- berry ; the alaba, with a delicious fruit ; the auguay, whose pips are of a rich violet colour and triangular shape, are used by the Indian women for necklaces ; the tarumay reseinbling the olive ; the moUe, yielding a fragrant gum ; the bacoba, banana, anana, manioc, the cotton tree, which grows to a great size and is very common ; the zevil, whose bark is used in tanning ; the ceibo, with flowers of a purple colour ; the izapa, whose leaves distil a copious supply of water ; the ant-tree, which is the chosen resort of these insects ; the umbu, with an immense and spreading head; the willow ; the ambay, used in striking fire ; the arucuy, a shrub yielding a strong scarlet dye ; indigo, cochineal, nacalic, whose beautiful yellow is used by dyers and painters, and reeds of great size, besides an infinite number of other trees and plants, all useful in their kind, and an immense assemblage of beautiful flowers. The wild animals of Paraguay are chiefly found in the moun- tain regions bordering on the Great River, and on Brazil, where the forests are of impenetrable thickness. The jaguar, the puma or the cougar, and the black bear, are large and very fierce, destroy- ing the cattle whenever they are exposed to their ravages. The ant-bear is a common animal, feeding principally on ants, which it catches by placing its long tongue on their nests ; and the tapir, the water pig, or capibara, the river cavies, and various other am- phibious animals frequent its numerous rivers. Mosquitoes and other venomous insects are the great plagues of this fine country, and about twenty kinds of serpents, of which the rattle-snake is the most common, and the boa constrictor the largest, frequent its woods and plains. In Paraguay, the bird tribes are also very numerous, and pos- sess the charms of song and beauty of plumage, in a degree equal, if not superior to those of any part of South America. Of these, nine different kinds of the humming-bird alone have been enu- merated. But the largest bird seen in the plains of Paraguay, is the great cassowary, or American ostrich, remarkable for its immense size, fine plumage, and swift motion. The fertility of Paraguay is proverbial, and though no mines a-^e -lyorked in it, it is one of the most opulent governments of BUENOS AYRES. 375 Buenos Ayrfes, on account of its various vegetable productions, and the immense herds of horses, mules, cattle and sheep, which pasture on its extensive plains.' Of this government, the southern parts are those which are best known and most inhabited ; the northern bordering on the Brazilian frontiers, and reaching to the great inundation of the Paraguay, have been little explored, and are tenanted only by the aborigines and wild animals. The great features of this country are the numerous rivers, swamps, lakes, plains and woods, with which it abounds. Its largest and most noted rivers being the Paragtunjy the Parana, the Porrudos^ Mbotely^ Tobati, Ipane P'lray in the north parts, and in the south the Canabe and T'lbiquari^ the latter of which, divides the government from that of Buenos Ayres. Commerce. — The trade of Paraguay consists in the export of its tea, tobacco, sugar, cotton, hides, tallow, wax, honey, cattle, horses, , mules, wool, leather, &c. It is chiefly carried on by the river Paraguay ; the journey to Buenos Ayres by land, being seldom performed excepting by couriers, who are then obliged to wade and swim over many rivers, and are exposed to the attacks of the wandering Indians, even the navigation of the Great River not being free from them ; the Payaguas tribe often collecting sixty or seventy canoes, with five or six men in each, armed with long lances and clubs, who attack any vessel unprovided with the means of making resistance. Peace has been made with these people, but they sometimes commit depredations, and the whole government is surrounded by nations equally inveterate and ferocious ; on the west are the Tobas and Moscobtes^ on the south the Abipones^ on the north the Guaycurus or Mbayas^ and the Panaguas; but the east is free from any immediate neighbours of this description, though on the dis- tant mountains in this quarter called Terva^ are the Monteses^ who give great trouble to the people employed to collect the tea, which grows spontaneously in their vicinity. The Monteses also greatly annoy the Portuguese, who are constantly at variance with them. This tribe pushed its way lately across Cuyaba, and part of Matto Grosso, in Brazil, to make an incursion into the head settlements of Moxos, in order to open a path to plunder the country of Santa Cruz de la Sierra and La Paz. These unsubdued Indians frequently attack tlje settlements ot Paraguay, which has obliged the inhabitants to form a militia in order to repel their aggressions, which are always sudden, and at times when they are least expected. The forts of Paraguay are nineteen in number, and are generally near the riv^er, which is also furnished with guard boats. The number of Indian villages of the missions is very conside- rable ; they are governed by magistrates, chosen from among them- selves, and generally consist of stone or mud houses covered with 376 SOUTH AMERICA, lilee, having a large square in which is the priest's hquse, and ft good church, the number of inhabitants in each being seldom less than 600, and often exceeding 2000, and the total population of Paraguay is estimated at 97,480 Indians and Spaniards or whites, of which the latter do not form much more than a twentieth part. The only towns of importance are the capital, Asuncion, Villa- rica, Curuguaty, Concepcion and Neembucu. Asuncio7i, or Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion^ the capital, is situ- ated on an angle made by the eastern bank of the river Paraguay, eighteen miles above the first mouth of the Pilcomayo, and forty- eight above that of the second, in 59° 35' west longitude, and 24° 47' south latitude; it was originally a small fort, built in 1538, which soon became a town, and was erected into a bishopric in 1547. Its population consists of 500 Spanish families, and several thousand Indians and mestizoes. The adjacent country is rich and fertile, and the climate tem- perate ; the trees around it are always in bloom, foliage, or fruit, and the rich pastures in its neighbourhood nourish abundance of cattle. It exports hides, sugar, tobacco and Paraguay tea ; but the boats which trade to this place from the city of Buenos Ayres, take two or three months to ascend the river La Plata, though the only difficulty in navigating it is from the force of the descending cuirent, as the winds generally blowing from the south are favoura- ble for the passage. Villarica is 100 miles north-east of Asuncion, in 25° 48' south latitude, and 56° 31' west longitude, and was founded in 1576, and contains 3000 inhabitants. Concepcion, in 23° 23' south latitude, and 57° 16' west longitude, contains 1550 inhabitants, and was built in 1773. Curuguaty^ in 24° 28' south latitude, and 56° 54' west longitude, contains 2250 inhabitants, and was founded in 1715. Neembucu was built in 1779, in 26' 52' south latitude, and 58' 11 ' west longitude, and is peopled by 1730 souls. GOVERNMENT OF TUCUMAN. The third government of Buenos Ayres is that of Tucuman, which is bounded on the north-east by Chichas and Lipcs in Char- cas, north-west and west by Atacama, west and south-west by Cuyo, or Cujo, south-east by the Pampas or territories inhabited by the Aucaes, Huarcas, or Pampas, Pihuenches, Puelches, Uncos and other unconquered tribes which wander over the plains and mountains adjacent to Chili. On the south-east, it has the juris- diction of Santa Fe in Buenos Ayres, and on the east it has the uncultivated Llanos de Manso and the country of Chacos or Chaco Gualamba. Its extent is from 22° to 33° 10' south latitude, its length 3ir0 leagues, and its breadth 190 leagues from east to west. BUENOS AYRESc 377 ■ Tucuman was united to the empire of Peru, in the reign of Vira Cocha, the eighth Inca, by the desire of the inhabitants, who pro- bably intimidated by the conquest of the adjacent country of Char- cas, sent messengers to beg to be admitted under the Peruvian government. The Spaniards conquered this country after finishing the subju- gation of Peru, and Diego de Roxas was the first discoverer in 1543, but it was not subdued till the president Pedro de la Gasca, sent Juan Nunez de Prado in 1549, to establish settlements in Tucma or Tucuman. The inhabitants proving of a mild and peaceable nature, the expedition was unattended with any blood- shed, and four cities were immediately founded, namely, Santiago del Estero, San Miguel del Tucuman, Nuestra Senora de Tala- vera, and Cordova de la Nueva Andalucia ; but these being found insufficient in so large a territory, Rioja, Santa, and Jujui or Xuxui were soon afterwards added ; the Spaniards then divided it into three provinces, which they named after the nations they found in it, viz. Juries on the east, Diaguiras on the west, and Comichin- gones to the south j of which the Comichingones Indians dwelt in caves. Climate^ Features^ ^c. — The climate of Tucuman is hot in those parts farthest from the main chain and branches of the Andes, but in general the seasons are regular and the soil prolific and good ; and as an instance of the healthiness of some parts of the country, it is stated that Louisa Truxo, a negress, lived to the amazing age of 175, and was living on the 5th of October 1780. It produces all sorts of grain, esculent plants and fruits in abun- dance, with plenty of excellent pasture for the innumerable herds of cattle, mules and horses it contains. The forests, which overspread a great part of it, contained good timber for building, and which forms one great article of its trade, supplying Santa Fe, Buenos Ay res and its own towns with boards which are conveyed in carts drawn by oxen. It also supplies the timber so necessary in the mining operations at Potosi, and so dear is a peculiar hard wood of which axles for the wheels and engines are made, that 2000 dollars are given for a large axle, owing to the great labour and expence of transport. Box trees, laurels, pines, dragon trees, walnuts, palms and cedars, are a few of the useful plants of Tucuman ; and cotton, vmes, tobacco, cacao, cochineal, indigo and flax are also cultivated, but none of these articles enter into its export trade, which chiefly consists of cattle and timber ; honey and wax are also plentifully produced in the forests. Ill Tucuman, the desert places and woods abound with all kindr. of game and wild animals, as pumas, jaguars, ant bears, bears, wild hogs, elks, deer, hares, rabbits, armadillos, guanucos, vicunas, and many other kinds. The American ostrich or cassowary fre- quents the plains, and innumerable birds are seen in its woods, &c. 3B 37S SOUTH AMfiRiqA. The immense boa, called in this country ampolaba, destroys the smaller animals which come within its reach, and appears, when lying among the grass, like the huge trunk of an old tree ; besides the boa, there are also rattle-snakes, vipers and other reptiles com- mon to warm climates. In the rivers and lakes are found abundance of fish, tapirs, cavies, water-pigs, and other amphibious animals. The great chain of the Andes, which borders and sends forth branches into Tucuman, is so high in some parts as to reach the regions of eternal snow ; in it there are severel mines, which were formerly worked by the Spaniards, and there remain striking ves- tiges of the mining operations carried on by the Peruvians. The rivers of Tucuman are numerous, the principal ones being the Vermejo^ the Salado^ the Xuxmj^ the Didce^ and the :^tarto. The Verniejo^ or Rio Grande^ rises near Casabinda, and flows with a stately stream into the La Plata, near Corrientes. The Salado takes its waters from many streams which flow down from the mountains of Tucuman, in south latitude 24°, and chiefly from those of the valley of Calchaqui, where it receives a large stream which comes from the south-west ; it then runs into the valley of* Huachipas, which name it takes, but soon changes it for that of Charomores, from a place so called ; it then flows westward, and is called Pasage ; as being in the road from Buenos Ayres to La Plata, it must be here crossed by travellers with some risk, owing to the rapidity of its current ; it then is called De Balbuena, from passing through the settlement of that name, and is joined near this place by the Rio Piedras^ and passes down through the district of Santiago del Estoro, from whence it runs eighty leagues, under the name of Salado, and loses itself eighty-six miles north-north- west of the city of Santa Fe, in a lake named El Mar Chiquito. The Chacos, or Dulce^ runs by the side of the river, after it passes through Salta, and at last falls into it. Its whole course is 200 leagues, and it formerly reached Santa Fe, where it formed a peninsula with an arm of the La Plata, but having opened itself new channels by its great swellings, it now loses itself in the lake, which is the case with almost all the rivers of this province, as they generally form large sheets of water, from which they rarely issue. The numerous lakes in this province are generally shallow, and produced by the overflowing of the rivers : but they have the sin- gular quality of being mostly saline, particularly those in the neighbourhood of the Rio Vermejo. There is in these vast plains through which the rivers pass an immense tract of land, the soil of which is saturated with fossil halt. It extends to the south of Buenos Ayres, and is about 700 miles in length by 150 in breadth. It is said that in this extent, which reaches to the Rio Vermejo, there is not a river, well or BUENOS AYRES, :>i9 lake whose waters are not brackish. All the rivers which flow through it to the La Plata are fresh until they cross this waste, after which they become salt till they enter the great stream. Even the Pilcomayo and Vermejo, although they have a free course, have always a salt taste when the waters are low. This substance appears in the greatest abundance between Santa Fe and Cordova, and the salt quality of the soil reaches to St. Jago del Estero, where the whole ground is covered with a white incrustation even to the foot of the Cordillera. Natural saltpetre is also collected in this part of the country, after a shower the ground being whitened with it. Chaco contains many salt lakes, and to the south-west of Buenos Ayres, they are found at from 400 to 450 miles distance. To these, journeys are frequently made with carts, in order to collect the fine crystallised grains which cover their banks. I'he cattle of this country cannot subsist without this substance ; they devour with avidity the salted clay they find in the ditches ; and when this happens to fail, as is sometimes the case in Para- guay, they perish in the course of a short time. From Buenos Ayres, the great road to Potosi and Lima passes through Tucuman. In 1748, regular stages were built all the way, post-houses were erected, and relays of horses and carriages pro- vided. The method of travelling is in covered wagons drawn by oxen or horses, in which the traveller can recline, and must necessarily exercise much patience : but the silver and gold from the mines, as well as all kinds of merchandise, are conveyed along this road on the backs of mules. Its extent from Buenos Ayres to Potosi, is 1617, or according to some accounts, 1873 miles, 400 of which are over the elevated chains of the Andes, and are impassable for the wagons; from Potosi to Lima the route continues 1215 miles more, and passes over the highest ridges of the mountains, where the traveller undergoes all sorts of danger and privations, and is exposed to the utmost extremes of heat and cold. About the distance of 500 miles from Buenos Ayres, the country is one plain, covered only with cattle, horses and mules, and stretch- ing to the horizon ; the land then begins insensibly to rise, and in 500 miles more, the road lies over the branches of the chain of Chiquitos, to the town of Salta, where the grand and snow-covered tops of the central Andes present themselves. The thick woods orTucuman are then lost ; but the swarms of locusts, crickets, ants, mosquitoes, toads, frogs, serpents, and alligators, also disappear, the traveller having now entered the temperate region ; the road then winds amid abrupt and frightful precipices and chasms, and sometimes with so narrow a footway that the mules can scarcely move. The path is here indented with deep holes, in Which the ani- 380 SOUTH AMERIC4. mals place their legs, and thus prevent the danger of slipping over the precipices ; at other places where the road inclines at a great slope, these sagacious creatures place themselves with their iotc and hind feet close together, and inclining forward, as if about to lie down, they slide with inconceivable velocity to the bottom. I'hese mountains in some parts are traversed at the bottom of narrow and perpendicular clefts, where, if the animal falls, his rider must infallibly be crushed. The passage of the many torrents and rivers is also another dif- ficulty ; across those which are shallow, very large and high horses are used, which are trained for the purpose ; over the deeper ones, rope bridges are thrown ; and it is only in summer that this jour- ney can be attempted, as the swelling of the rivers and the winter torrents render them impracticable. Even in summer, when the snow in the higher regions suddenly melts, the torrents are swoln to such a degree, and dash with such force from the mountains, that many an unhappy traveller perishes. Mules constitute the great commerce of Tucuman ; these ani- mals are bought in Cordova, Santa Fe and Buenos Ayres, and be- ing fattened during the winter in the valleys and plains, are driven to Peru, where they sell from twelve to seventeen dollars each, 50,000 being thus sold every year, and with them are driven from 14 to 16,000 cows. It also sends soap wrapped in hides to Peru ; but the importation of all articles is subject to a toll, on passing the Peruvian frontier, the produce of which is applied to the pay of the troops, the repair of the forts, and the defence of the frontier against the unsubdued Indians ; for there is not a government in all America so liable to the incursions of these tribes as Tucuman, as they surround it on the east and south ; for which reason its po- pulation has not much increased, the settlers being continually lia- ble to lose their property from these irruptions. Of the forts built for the protection of the government, there are at present thirteen ; and the amount of the population, including the converted Indians, is 100,000. That singular order, the Jesuits, had some missions in Tucu- man, and formed about 24,000 of the natives into a militia, to repel the invasions of the Chaco Indians, of whom the Mataguayos are the most warlike j but the Indians of Tucuman at present are under the care of the monks of St. Francis, and are employed in cultivating maize, cotton, tobacco, &c. for their use, and those of the towns. The capital and chief towns of this government are Tucuman, Cordoba, Rioxa, Jujuy, Santiago, Londres, and Salta, with thirty- eight other towns and villages, and ten missions. Its capital, Tucuman^ or San Miguel del Tucuman^ is in 26° 49' south latitude, and 64° 36' west longitude, 1170 geographical miles in a direct line from Lima, 462 south of La Plata, and 200 miles BUENOS AYRES, 3Si east of Copiapo, in Chili ; it was founded by Diego de Villaroel, in 1685, but placed in another situation, its present site, by the then governor, in 1680, on account of an inundation which swept away the church and houses. It is in a pleasant plain, though much in want of water, having a mild climate, producing abundance of fruits and grain, and containing a cathedral, a convent of Fran- ciscans, one of La Merced, and a college, which was built by the Jesuits. It has a trade in mules, but its principal traffic consists in oxen for the travelling wagons, and in the wagons themselves ; there are also some unworked silver mines in its neighbourhood. San Miguel is the see of a bishop who resides at Cordova The bishopric is that of Tucuman, and was erected in 1570. In the jurisdiction which surrounds it, is found a tree, named Que- bracho, on account of its great hardness, which often breaks the axe, and becoming, when steeped in water, as solid as stone. The salt river Sali is about a league south of this city. / Cordoba^ or Cordova de la Niieva Andalucia^ is in 31° 30' south latitude, 63° 15' west longitude, 156 leagues from Buenos Ayres, at the foot of the Andes, and was founded, in 1550, by Juan Nunez de Prado. The river Primero^ so called because it is the first of five, is in its vicinity., and a hill of some height adjoins it, so that, although in the plain, the water easily passes off. This city approaches a square form, with many good houses, a large but irregular cathedral, three convents, and two colleges. Few places of the same extent display equal wealth, the Spaniards and Creoles being noted for their industry. The chief trade is to the fair at Salta, in mules, where they are sold for Peru, and the town of Cordova contains many slaves, who weave and make their own clothes. The bishop and chapter also reside here. Wine and grain are brought from Mendoza in Cuyo, brandy in leathern bags from St. Juan de la Frontera, and meat and fruits are abundantly supplied in the neighbourhood. Cordova is the capital of a province or district of the same name, extending about 100 leagues in length, and seventy in breadth, intersected by a chain of mountains, and celebrated for its woollen manufac- tures. The mountains which traverse this province are covered with perpetual snow, and at Ramauso, sixty miles from Cordova, they branch out, and are so far from each other that a saline plain, se- venty miles in length, extends to Tucuman, in which nothing grows but the salsola kali, nearly four yards in height, amid the white incrustations of fossil salt. The decayed city of St. Jago del Estero is in this plain, 650 miles north-north-west of Buenos Ayres, in 27° 46' south latitude, nnd 65° 12' west longitude, on the banks of the Dulce, which is 382 SOUTH AMERICA. large and navigable, and affords great variety of fish. It contain:- about SOO houses, or 500 families, of mulattoes and mestizoes of a dark yellow complexion and sickly appearance, from the great heat of the climate ; as surrounded on one side with the plain, and on the other with deep forests ; the place suffers from a stag- nation of the air. The women are subject to goitrous swellings, which much disfigure them, though they are generally handsome when not afflicted with this disease ; and the country near the woods produces wheat, rice, barley, and all sorts of fruits, parti- cularly figs and raisins ; the forests supplying game, but are in- fested with jaguars and beasts of prey. Rioxa^ or Todos Santos de Riojcy is a small city, founded, in 1591, by Juan Ramirez de Velasco, on a plain of great extent, bounded on the west by the mountains, in which the inhabitants breed some cattle. This territory produces cotton, grain and vines, but the soil if poor. This city contains a parish church, three convents and an an- cient college of the Jesuits, being in 29° 12' south latitude, and 70° west longitude, 240 miles west-south-west of St. Jago del Estero. Xuxuy^ or Jujuy^ or San Salvador^ is twenty leagues north of Salta, 174 miles north of Santiago del Estero, in 23° 5' south lati- tude, and 66° 2' west longitude, and is the chief place of a district of the same name on the frontier of Peru. This town is seated at the foot of a high mountain of the eastern Andes, contains about 300 houses, and is the most northerly city of Tucuman. Near it the river Xuxiii^ being joined by several others, flows towards the La Plata, after forming the Vermejo in Chaco. Londres, or London, is a village which was formerly founded by Juan de Zuriata, in honour of Mary Queen of England, in 1555, on the event of her marriage with Philip II. It is in 19° 12' south latitude, but is at present of little impor- tance. Salta, or San Miguel de Salta, is a city and district of this go- vernment, from which the cattle trade with Peru is carried on. This city stands in 24° 17' south latitude, and 64° 1' 30" west longitude, and was founded, in 1582, by Don Gonzalo de Obreu y Figueroa, under the name of San Clemente de la Nueva Sevilla, but was afterwards changed to its present site in the beautiful valley of Lerma, which is five leagues in circumference, and through which passes a river, on whose shore the city stands, having a fine bridge over it. It contains 400 houses, and 500 men capable of bearing arms, who have hitherto defended the city against the Indians, though it has no walls. In it are one church, two chapels, four convents, ind a college which belonged to the Jesuits, the inhabitants being BUENOS AYRJES. 383 ;hiefiy Spaniards and their slaves. Its environs are very fertile, abounding in wheat, rye and vines, with pastures for the cattle ex- ported from this place to Peru; and its commerce consists in corn, meal, wine, cattle, salt meat, fat hides and other commodities, which are sent to all parts of Peru. The cattle and mules of Tu- cuman also go from this place, which is situated on the high road from Buenos Ayres to Potosi. It is computed that the number of mules fattened in the valley of Lerma amount, during the months of February and march, when the annual fair is held, to 60,000, and besides these, there are ge- nerally 4000 horses and cows. The natives are subject to a species of leprosy, and nearlj' all the women, after they have attained the age of 20, have the coto, or goitrous swelling in the throat, which disfigures them very much, and which they take great pains to conceal. Salta is fifty miles south of Xuxui, and the river which wishes the town runs east, and enters the Vermejo. THE GOVERNMENT OF CUYO OR CUJO. CuYO was formerly a Chilian province j it is bounded on the north by Tucuman, on the east by the Pampas or deserts of Buenos Ayres, on the south by Patagonia or Terra Magellanica, and on the west by the Andes, which separate it from Chili ; it is com- prehended between the twenty-ninth and thirty-fifth degrees of south latitude, and extends about 111 leagues from north to south, its breadth being nearly 110. Climate^ Features, &c. — In this extensive tract, the climate is variable, during the summer months those parts which do not lie on the high Andes are excessively hot, and the winter is very cold. Storms of thunder and hail are also common, and in the parts nearest Chili, these storms are of short continuance, but very vio- lent. The soil consists of arid' plains, fertile valleys, and desert high lands; but those parts, which are the most barren, become extremely fertile, if irrigated by drawing over them the waters of the nume- rous rivers in which it abounds. Fruits and grains of Europe arrive at perfection much sooner in Cujo than In Chili, and the vines produce a rich and delicious wine. The history of this province is uninteresting ; the aborigines, of whom there are few remaining, and who are called Guarpes^ were conquered by the Peruvian Incas; and on the road over the Andes to Chili, are still to be seen some tambos or military stations of the Inca Yupanqui. The Spaniards who explored Cuyo were under the Command of 384^ SOUTH AMERICA. Francisco de Aguirre, who was sent by Valdivia from Chiii, but returned without effecting any thing of importance. In 1560, Don Carcia de Mendoza sent Pedro Castillo to con- quer this country ; he subdued the Guarpes and founded two cities. The principal rivers in this extensive province are the San yuan^ the Mendoza^ and the Tunujan, The San yuan rises in the Chilian Andes, and washes the walls of St. Juan de la Frontera. The Mendo'za also rises in the same chain, and the two, after receiving several smaller streams, and running twenty-five and thirty leagues, lose themselves in the chain of lakes called Guanasache, which extends more than fifty leagues from north to south, and also re- ceives the Tunujan. In these lakes, according to some maps, the great Rio Colorado rises, which flows into the Atlantic, in about 40" south latitude. The eastern part of Cujo is watered by several rivers, but of them very little is known, as these parts are mostly immense plains, in which the herbage is of such a height as to conceal the cattle and animals that feed in them. Unlike the savannahs of the Ori- noco and the La Plata, they possess lofty and beautiful trees ; of these a species of cocoa palm is the most singular, its leaves and branches commence from the ground, and though they bear some resemblance to those of the cocoa-nut, they are hard and sharp like the aloe, and the tree, which never exceeds eighteen feet in height, bears a fruit also resembling that of the cocoa, but containing no kernel or edible substance. Its trunk is very large, and consists of several concentric layers, each of which to the heart, are finer as they approach the centre, and from a yellow decrease by shades to a perfect white. Of these fibrous coats, the natives make cloth which is strong and flex- ible, but not so soft as that of flax. The other trees of Cujo are those which are peculiar to the warm regions of Chili and La Plata ; of them, the cactus family bear a large proportion, and the nopal or opuntia feeds the cochineal insect, of Avhich, however, none are exported. The animals of Cujo are similar to those of Buenos Ayres, or Tucuman, as jaguars, cougars or pumas, wild swine, deer, &c. The jaguars grow to a great size, even as large as an ass, and their skin, like that of the African tiger, is beautifully variegated with white, yellow and black. The natives hunt them for their skin, arming themselves in these encounters with long lances of hard wood ; but they seldom attack the animal singly, three Indians usually composing the hunting party, and exerting all their address and courage to kill it. The cold parts of this province abound with vicunas, llamas, &c. Alligators, iguanas and other amphibious animals, frequent thp lakes and rivers, which are abundantly supplied with fish. flU£NOS AYRES. 585 Birds are as numerous in Cuyo as in Paraguay, from the great ;:ondor to the beautiful little picaflor, or humming-bird. Ostriches, or rather cassowaries, frequent the plains, and are so fleet in their half-running half-flying motion, that the swiftest horse is soon tired of the pursuit. The insect and reptile tribes are as numerous as in the other warm tracts of America, and only disappear as the land elevates itself towards the cold regions of the air. Large grass-hoppers, or locusts, are so abundant in the plains that they frequently cover several miles of country, destroying every green thing they settle on. The northern parts of Cuyo furnish gold and silver, but the mines of these metals have been till lately unworked, owing to the poverty or rather want of numbers of the inhabitants. Its moun- tains also yield lead, sulphur, coal and gypsum, while the lakes and plains furnish salt. In the neighbourhood of St. Juan de la Frontera, the hills are wholly composed of strata ^f white marble of a beautiful grain. It is used by the inhabitants in making fine lime, and in building bridges over the small canals with which they irrigate their fields. In this country, through which the road from Buenos Ayres to Chili passes, besides the tambos of military posts of the ancient Peruvians, there are several singular monuments of a far more ancient date. These ai*e however very imperfectly known ; but one of them, on a low range of hills, between Mendoza and La Punta, has been repeatedly visited. It consists of a large stone pillar or obelisk, 150 feet in height, and twelve in diameter, on which are curious marks, supposed to resemble eastern characters ; and near a river is another stone, containing the same characters, the figures of several animals, and the print of a foot, of which the Spanish priests have availed themselves, to impress their converts with the idea, that it was the work of one of the apostles, who left this mark as a token of his mission. The commerce of Cuyo is of little importance, consisting chiefly in wines, brandy, and dried fruits, which it sends to Buenos A^res, Cordova, &c. Its European fruits, grapes, figs, pears and apples, are much sought after, and the wool of the vicuna is sent for ex- portation to Buenos Ayres ; its beautiful fawn colour, gloss and softness, rendering it of great value in Spain. Whatever commercial relation is established between the vice- royalty of Buenos Ayres and the kingdom of Chili, the goods must pass through Cuyo ; the passage over the Andes being in this go- vernment, which, although exceedingly difficult, will one day ren- der it an important district, especially should the trade of China or the east embrace the southern and western shores of America. The capital of Cujo is the city of Mendoza^ in 33° 25' south la- titude, and 69° 47' west longitude, in a plain at the foot of the An- 3 C 3^6 SOUTH AMERICA. des, the environs being adorned with plantations, which are water- ed by means of canals. It contains four convents, a college, formerly established by the Jesuits, and a church. A silver mine having been opened in its vicinity, named Uspal- latOy the number of inhabitants of Mendoza is constantly increas- ing ; at present they amount to about six thousand, who are em- ployed in these works, or in carrying on a productive trade with Buenos Ayres, in fruits, wool and wine. The river Mendoza flows by this town, which is fifty leagues from Santiago in Chili, and the district around it contains two silver, one copper, and one lead mines. The next town of note in Cujo is San yuan de la Frontera^ forty- five leagues north of Mendoza, in 33° 25' south latitude, and 68' 55' west longitude, near the Andes, from which circumstance it is also called San Jtian de la Cordillera. Th» neighbourhood of this city, which is washed by the river San Juna, has some gold mines ; but its principal trade consists in sending- wiue, brandy, fruits, and vicuna-wool to Buenos Ayres ; the pomegranates of San Juan be- ing greatly esteemed for their size and flavour. Its population is nearly the same as that of the capital, which it resembles in regard to the number of its public edifices. . Besides these two cities, Cuyo contains the towns of San Luis de Loyola^ or £>€ la Punta^ Jachal, Vallofertil, Mogua, Concorto, Leonsito, Calingarta, and Pismanta. San Luis de Loyola is the great thoroughfare for the commerce between Chili, Cujo, and Buenos Ayres ; it is situated sixty-two leagues east of Mendoza, and has a church, convent, and college, of the late order of Jesuits. The inhabitants amounting to about "200. The other towns are of little note or importance, and are at pre- sent mere villages. The fifth and last division of the viceroyalty of La Plata, is, THE GOVERNMENT OF BUENOS AYRES, Which is bounded on the north by the government of St. Paul, in Brazil ; on the north-west by the river Parana, which divides it from Paraguay ; on the west by the plains of Tucuman ; on the cast by the Portuguese frontier, which passes south through lake Mini ; on the south-west, by the Atlantic Ocean, and the line of demarcation between it and the independent tribes ; on the south- east by Cuyo, and on the south by an imaginary line, passing through she Pampas or Patagonia. Historij^ ^c. — The history of this government is that of the viceroyalty ; the most extraordinary part of it being that which re- BUENOS AYRES, S87 lates to the subjugation of the Indians by tlae Jesuits, who esta-- blished their principal stations in the country, embraced by the Parana on the north, the Uruguay on the east ; and the La Plata on the west and south. The road for these missionaries was prepared by Afvar Nunez de Vaca, in 1541, who conquered the country and named it Vera. Two monks of the order of St. Francis accompanied the governor in his expedition, and laboured very hard to convert the natives, which they succeeded so well in, that others of the same order were soon established in the country, in which they erected chapels and villages. Of these monks, Father Luis de Bolanos was the most zealous ; he stayed fifty years among the Guaranies, and made himself master of their language ; at last, bent down with age and fatigue, he went to welcome the arrival of some Jesuit brothers, who came to assist him in his labours ; these were with difficulty admitted into the country, owing to the aversion of the natives to have any other pastor than the venerable Bolanos. From this time the Jesuits laboured so effectually to convert the Indians, that in a very short period, the greater part of the country was in their power; they extended their dominion over Paraguay, and organised the Indians into a well disciplined body of militia, by which means they kept all persons, whether Spaniards or Portuguese, out of their territories. From Paraguay and Parana, they drew such great revenues, by making their converts work at stated periods in the plantations, &c., that they were enabled not only to supply every thing neces- sary for the comfort of the people from Europe, but were also en- abled to send immense sums to the superiors of their order. The Indians were studiously kept in ignorance of the Spanish language; they were instructed in all sorts of useful arts, and sedulously trained to the fatigues of a military life, being formed into large bodies of cavalry and infantry, and well supplied with arms and ammunition. Some hundred thousands of Americans were already under the power, and infatuated in their subjection to these fathers, when in 1750, the courts of Madrid and Lisbon, entered into a treaty for the purpose of definitively fixing the boundaries of their respective possessions in the western world. Commissioners were appointed in 1752, to carry this treaty into execution, when on account of the representation of the Jesuits, who were unwilling to allow the new Portuguese limits, a war en- sued between the two countries, and the Indians taking an active part against the Portugue«e, the court of Lisbon began to entertain suspicions of the real motive of the Jesuits, in forming such exten- sive governments in America. From thjs time, their influence in Europe began to decrease j a trial \va&_ instituted against one of the order in France, hy some of 386 iiOUTII AMERICA. the merchants concerned in speculations at Martinique ^hich had involved the society in debt ; on this trial, their constitution and books were examined, and found to contain matter so dangerous to the interests of the kingdom, that it was declared necessary to sup- press their order in France, and in the year following, the king of Portugal being assassinated, it was resolved to expel the Jesuits from that kingdom. This was followed by their expulsion from Spain and Naples, in ITC/, and in 1773 Pope Clement XIV. totally abolished the so- ciety. They were exiled from America soon after, and the care of the nations they had converted was given to priests of* other orders, but chiefly to the Franciscans, and their government placed in the hands of civil officers, in the same manner as in other parts of America. On their expulsion from the territories on the banks of the Pa- rana, there were discovered in thirty settlements alone, no less than 769,590 horses, 13,900 mules, and 271,540 sheep. Climate^ Features^ ^c The climate of Buenos Ayres is varia- ble according to the situation of the districts on the great Pampas or plains, the heat in summer being scorching, whilst at Buenos Ayres, and in the mountains of Parana or Guayra, the winter is cold. Nearly the whole of the southern, western, and some of the northern parts of this government consist of wide spread plains, on which immense herds of cattle are fed ; the road from the capital to Cuyo lying over one of these levels, called the Pampas^ which are ot an extent that would equal the size of a great European kingdom. On this plain the cattle range unowned and unvalued, being only hunted down occasionally for the sake of their hides and tallow; wild horses also abound in these deserts, and wander about in such troops that travellers are surrounded liy them for three weeks together ; sometimes they are observed in innumerable quan- tities passing over the road at full speed for hours at a time, and on these occasions it requires great exertion to prevent being tram- pled down by them ; but the same road is often travelled without one of these creatures being seen. The plains also abound in cassowaries, partridges, geese, ducks, deer and other game, and are uninhabited by man. No stages are fixed upon the route to Chili, as it is impossible in parts of it which are covered with sands to preserve a regular track, and it is also infested with the predatory incursions of the surrounding Indians, the method of travelling is therefore in co-i vered carts, made as commodious as possible, drawn by oxen, and accompanied with horses and mules to carry the baggage and goods ; merchants and others performing this journey, set out in companies, and generally in the evening two hours before sun-Set, BUENOS AYRES. 389 travelling all night till an hour after sun-rise in the morning, after •which they rest during the heat of the day, to partake of the pro- visions they bring with them, or the game they procure on the journey. In this course their whole dependence is on the compass, which guides them across the vast steppe, and the travellers are exposed to the dangers of being itiurdered by the Indians, of sinking under the scorching noon-day heat, or of dying for want of water, of which none is to be had, but by mere chance, besides what they carry with them in skins. The rains which fall in this plain are of short continuance but in great quantity, and when these happen, the conductors never fail to replenish their water bags ; but from these rains the caravan be- comes drenched through, and not unfrequently the goods and pro- perty of the passengers are spoilt. The westerly winds or pamperos are another source of inquietude to the persons undertaking this fatiguing journey ; they sometimes blow with such violence that it becomes utterly impossible to pro- ceed, as the carriages would inevitably be overturned. In this government the mountainous parts are chiefly those situ- ated to the north-west of the river Uruguay, and which border on the Portuguese frontiers ; they are little known, and are inhabited only by tribes of savage and warlike Indians, who set the mission- aries at defiance. The rivers of Buenos Ayres are the great La Plata already de- scribed, the Parana^ the Uruguay ^ and many others of less note, but generally very large. The Parana rises in the province of Minas Geraes to the south of the city of Joas del Rey, in Brazil, in some lofty mountains, and runs from north-east to west for 300 leagues, when it joins the Pa- raguay, receiving in its course innumerable streams ; at the dis- tance of 125 leagues from its mouth it has two falls of a tremen- dous nature, which render it necessary for the boats that navigate it to be carried a short distance over-land. The Parana is a con- siderable river before it enters the Spanish territories, and after passing the frontiers of Brazil in about 24° 40' it flows in a south- west course through the colonies of the Jesuits, in a coimtry of in- comparable fertility and of a delightful aspect. It seldom over- flows its banks, owing to the breadth and depth of its channel, and it is much more rapid than the Paraguay as it flows from higher ground : at its junction with the Paraguay it is nearly two miles broad, and incloses innumerable islands, which are overflowed in the annual inundations ; but it is not navigable in its whole extent, on account of the two falls and several rapids. This river was always supposed (and is still conjectured by some geographers) to be the main stream of the great La Plata. The third great river of Bueftos Ajn-es is the Urajs^uay, which 390 SOUTH AMERICA. rises about the 28"^ of south latitude, in the Portuguese province of Rio Grande, among the chain of mountains that run along the coast of the Atlantic. Its course is at first to the west, along a high val- ley, which is separated from the Parana by an elevated ridge, and it receives so many smaller streams that at eighty miles from its sources it is a large river. The great declivity of the ground over which it has passed gives it so much strength, that after emerging from the mountains it overflows the plain to such an extent, that it requires half an hour's timte to cross it in a ten-oared boat, though the current is not very strong. After leaving the mountains at the distance of 690 miles from its mouth it flows through a desert country for a considerable length, and then turning to the south it receives an increase from numberless streams, and enters the La Plata, in the 34° of south latitude. The banks of the Uraguay are romantic and fertile, after it quits the desert and turns southerly : but it is generally a rapid stream, though navigable for vessels two hundred miles from the La Plata ; beyond this it can only be ascended by canoes or rafts, as it is in- terrupted by frequent falls and rapids. On the southern confines of Buenos Ayres, the plains are drain- ed by the Salad'illo^ the Hueijque Leuva or Colorado^ and the Desa- guadero^ which descend from the Andes of Cuyo : but of these rivers very little is known. The chief town of this government is Bue?ws Ayres^ which being the metropolis of the viceroyalty, has been already des- cribed. Monte-Video is the next city of note in this province ; it is situated on the north side of the La Plata, in a small bay twenty leagues west of Cape Santa Maria, in 34° 54' 48" south latitude, and 56° 14' 30" west longitude, and has its name from a mountain that overlooks the place, and on which is a light-house that has a good view to leeward. Monte Video is a very recent town, and was erected on account of its harbour being one of the best on the coast. It stands on a gentle elevation at the end of a small peninsula, and is completely enclosed with fortifications. The harbour, which is the best in the La Plata, is shoal, and exposed to the north-east winds. This city is tolerably well built, the houses being generally of one story. The great square contains the cathedral, which is a handsome edifice, the town-house, and the public prison : but the streets are unpaved, and consequently either always dusty or mud- dy, and the inhabitants experience great inconvenience from the want of water, the spring which furnishes the place being two miles distant. Its climate is moist ; in summer the heat is very great, and the ^ky is frequently overcast by dreadful storms of thunder, lightning BUEN.OS AYRES. 391 and heavy rain : but the winter is cold, and the air, during the months of June, July and August, keen and piercing. The vicinity of this city presents an agreeable landscape of hill and valley, interspersed with small rivers ; but it wants trees, and so scarce, indeed, is wood, that almost all the houses of Monte- Video are floored with brick. The inhabitants do not attend to the cultivation of the fertile country that surrounds them, their principal property consisting in the numerous herds which feed in the plains towards the Portuguese frontier. The population of this city is between 15,000 and 20,000 souls, consisting of Spaniards, Creoles and slaves. Its commerce consists in exporting hides, tallow and salted beefj the hides and tallow being sent to Europe, and the salt beef to the Havanna and the West Indies. Monte-Video was taken by the British in their expedition against Buenos Ayres, a?.d was delivered up by treaty to its ancient mas- ters ; since which time it has declared its adherence to the cause of the mother country, and its citizens have had several conflicts with the insurgent government of Buenos Ayres. At present it is garrisoned and held by the Portuguese. Santa Ft is the third city of Buenos Ayres ; it is seated at the confluence of the Salado with the La Plata, about ninety leagues north-west of the metropolis. It is of a square form, surrounded with a ^vall, and tolerably fortified, to preserve it from the attacks of the Indians, who have pillaged it several times, always massa- creing the inhabitants. It contains a church and convent. The environs abound in game, and the soil being fertile produces corn, wine and fruits. It is the channel through which the Paraguay tea is sent to Peru, and is, on that account, of considerable im- portance. Maldonado ranks as the fourth town of this government. It is situated on the same shore of the La Plata as Monte-Video, in 34° 50' south latitude, and ^5" 36' west longitude, 100 miles west of Buenos Ayres, and nine leagues west of Cape Santa Maria, at the entrance of the river, and is a small place, chiefly noted as having a harbour, in which vessels trading to Buenos Ayres sometimes refit. - , Las CornV/jfe^, near the confluence of the Parana and Paraguay, on the east bank of the La Plata, 100 leagues north of Santa Fe, and 250 of Buenos Ayres, is a small town well situated for the trade between Paraguay, Peru and Buenos Ayres. It contains a church, three convents, and a small population, who are formed into a militia, to defend the place against the Indians. This city is in 27* 32' south latitude, and ST 50' west longitude. The trade carried on from this place with the capital is by means of the rivet", in fine tobacco, sugar, yellow wax, Paraguay tea, cotton, cloth and thread. Cj92 SOUtH AMERICA. Colonta del Sacramento^ in 34" 22' south latitude, and ^' 52' west longitude, was formerly a place of some importance, as. th^ small tract of country surrounding it, which is thirty-three miles north-east of Buenos Ayres on the opposite bank of the La Plata, having been colonised by the Portuguese, in 1678, they built a city on it. It was taken from them in 1684, they however recovered it, but were again driven out in 1704, and it was not re- stored till the peace. In ! 706, it was besieged a third time by the Spaniards, with 800 troops and 1500 Indians by land, and with four vessels by sea, but they could make no impression, so strong- ly was it fortified. It was however taken in 1762, but restored at the subsequent peace ; the Spaniards still viewing it with a jealous eye, took it for the last time in 1777, when they destroyed the city and fortifications. Its only importance, at present, consists in its having a tolerable harbour or bay, formed by the river, and it iis aaid, that the Portuguese have again recently occupied it. The above are the principal towns of this extended government, which contains many others, most of them are however either missionary or military stations ; the former abounding on the banks of the Parana and Uraguay, while the latter are chiefly on the north-west, towards the Llanos de Manso and Tucuman, and on the east towards the Portuguese frontier. The provinces of this government have not been enumerated, they are little known, and many of them are only divisions of the missions, such as Guarania^ which extends along the south shores of the Parana, and contains about thirty villages of the Guaranis Indians. On the south-east of Buenos Ayres, the country is named Tuyu; it however contains no Spanish settlements of any impor- tance, and seems to be a tract crossed by a chain of mountains, which divide it from the coast of the Atlantic j much has been written concerning the Abipons^ who occupy the north-west corner of this government ; they appear to be a tribe consisting of about 5000 souls, who are of a very warlike disposition, frequently dis- turbing the settlements. Their language is distinct from that of the neighbouring nations, and they exist by the chase, prefering the flesh of the jaguar or American tiger to any other animal, and retire to the islands and high trees, when the annual inundations commence in their country. The Patagontans on the southern frontier have also excited much curiosity ; but it seems to be prov- ed beyond a doubt, that they are merely a race of Indians of a stature rather above the middling size, and that they do not differ in their general habits from their neighbours. The limits of this work will not permit any farther description of the Indian nations who inhabit and surround Buenos Ayres. Of many of them, the Spanish settlers know nothing more than the names, and of the rest, it is observed, that the more the settlements spread, the less the Aborigines are seen, and the thinner their CHILI. . 3.93 numbers become ; most probably owing to the new diseases they acquire, and the more wandering and uncertain life they are obli- ged to lead ; not so the Indians who settle in the missions, their life becoming one of peace and tranquillity, their wants being sup- plied by their own labour, and not being constantly exposed to the burning sun or chilling rains of the southern regions, their numbers continually increase ; and though the Spaniards formerly used very harsh methods, to convert them either to their faith or their profit, it cannot be denied, that they have within the last century, wiped that blot from the historic page, and with a few exceptions, have conduced very materially to the welfare of a race, remarkable for their general inaptitude and unwillingness to assist in bettering their own condition^ Having therefore detailed every subject concerning the extensive governments of the viceroyalty of La Plata, which has been deem- ed interesting or novel, with the exception only of particular de- scriptions of the animals which are peculiar to it, and to the other southern regions of America, it now remains for us only to treat of the last great political division of the Spanish colonies in that country, and in so doing, we shall give a more extended account of some of the most singular zoological objects ; as they are equally common to the territory about to be treated of, as to Buenos Ayres. The kingdom of Chili will therefore now engage our attention.- CAPTAIN GENERALSHIP OF CHILI. The kingdom of Chili or Chile is the last and most southerly of the governments which compose the empire of Spanish America. EXTENT AND BOUNDARIES, It extends between the 24' and 45* of south latitude, and com- prises the continent bounded by the ocean on the west, and the Andes on the east; and the islands on its coasts. Its greatest length being about 1260 miles, and its greatest breadth 300. The extent has been estimated to be equal to 22,574 square leagues. It is bounded on the north by La Plata, and from Peru it is se- parated by the desert and province of Atacama ; on the east it is bounded by the Buenos Ayrean provinces of Tucuman and Cuyo, and by Terra Magellanica^ or Patagonia ; on the west, the South- 3 D 394 SOUTH AMERICA. em Pacific washes its shores ; and on the south, the unconquered and desert countries of Terra Magellanica complete its limits. POLITICAL AND TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS AND GOVERNMENT. Chili is governed by a Spanish officer, appointed by the court of Madrid, and holding the title of Captain General of the King- dom of Chili, having under his orders all the inferior governors of departments and military posts ; he is likewise commander in chief of the Chilian forces, and president of the court of royal au- dience of Santiago. The country he governs is divided into continental and insular partidos, or departments, over which intendants or lieutenants preside. The continental part, or Chili Proper, is divided into thirteen partidos, which extend from the twenty-fourth degree to the thirty- seventh degree of south latitude, and are named Copiapo, Co- quimbo, Quillota, Aconcagua, Melipilla, Santiago, Rancagua, Col- chagua, Maule, Itata, Chilian, Puchucay, and Huilquilemu ; from the thirty-seventh degree to the islands of Chiloe, the country is chiefly under the power of three native tribes, the Araucanians, the Cunches, and the Huilliches. Insular Chili, comprehends the archipelagoes of Chiloe, and Chonos or Guaytecas, and the Andean part of Chili is inhabited also by independent tribes. DISCOVERY AND HISTORY. The origin of the native inhabitants of Chili is involved in im- penetrable obscurity. They had traditions respecting their ances- tors which were so vague and uncertain as not to merit notice ; so that nothing can be advanced concerning the history of Chili, prior to about the the middle of the fifteenth century. In the year 1450, the country was occupied by fifteen indepen- dent tribes, governed by caciques or ulmens ; they were named Copiapins, Coquimbans, Quillotans, Mapochians, Promaucians, Cures, Cauques, Pencones, Araucanians, Cunches, Chilotes, Chi- quilanians, Pehuenches, Puelches, and Huilliches. The Peruvians were at this period governed by the Inca Upanqui, who having extended his empire to the borders of their country, was ambitious to possess a territory, of which his subjects gave a highly favour- able report. He accordingly moved southward to Atacama, and despatched Sinchiruca, a Peruvian prince, from thence with a large army, to the northern territories of Chili ; this general reduced the Copiapins, Coquimbans, Quillotans, and Mapochians, but was interrupted in his career by the Promaucians, who defeated his forces in a sanguinary battle. CHILI, 395 From henceforward the Peruvians were foiled in all their at- tempts to proceed southward, and a fort being erected on the Ra- pel river, the four first tribes became tributaries to the Incas. Though the Peruvian form of government was never introduced into their territories, which were still presided over by the ulmens or caciques. On the arrival of the Spaniards at Cuzco, the Chilese were mostly an agricultural nation, subsisting on the plants their labour had brought to perfection ; they had aqueducts to irrigate their fields, and they turned up the soil with a rude sort of plough, which they pushed forwards by a handle opposed to the breast. The Pe- ruvian camels were used as beasts of burden, and these people made bread, fermented liquors, and boiled or cooked their victuals in earthen pots of their own manufacture. The Chilese lived in large or small villages, and they knew and practised the laws and rights of hereditary property; they had also advanced so far in the knowledge of some of the useful arts, that they were able to form hatchets and implements of copper, vases of marble, and they worked mines of gold, silver, copper, tin and lead. Their religion consisted in the acknowledgment of a Supreme Being, whom they named Pillan, from pilli, the soul ; and for whom they had also names equivalent to the Great Being, the Thunderer, the Eternal, the Creator, the Omnipotent, &c. Pillan was said to be the king of Heaven, the lord of all the in- ferior spirits, who were both males and females, and whose offices consisted in guiding the destinies of man in battle, in peace, &c. ; and in producing harvests ; each person had his attendant spirit or genius, who protected them from Guecebu the evil one. Being extremely independent in their notions, their ulmens or caciques had no power to impose contributions on the people they governed, and were merely sages or warriors who guided the tribes in council or in the field. No temples were erected in Chili, the Great Being and his sub- ordinate agents were invoked in times of need, and on occasions of great distress sacrifices of animals and offerings of fruits were made. As well as their neighbours, the Peruvians, they had a tradition of a great deluge, in which only a few persons were saved. They had words to express units, tens, hundreds, and a thou- sand, with all the intermediate numbers, and preserved the memory of transactions by the Pron, a bunch of threads of several colours, resembling the Peruvian quippus. In treating of the Araucanians, we shall give some further ac- count of a people, who, though they had not attained the degree of civilisation acquired by their northern neighbours, were, neverthe- less, very far fr«m being in a state of barbarism, and who are SQ'O ' SOUTH AMERICA^ probably the only American nation, surrounded by European cole* nies, who have hitherto retained the same customs, manners, lan- guage and independence which they possessed before the con- quest of the New World, as the Spaniards have scarcely made more progress in subduing them than their predecessor, the Inca Yupanqui, did. From the determination of Almagro to conquer the country pos- sessed by the Peruvians south of Cuzco, in consequence of the reports constantly received by himself and Pizarro of the riches it contained, may be dated the discovery of Chili by Europeans. Don Diego de Almagro de Malagon having collected a force of 570 Spaniards, and 15,000 Peruvians, set out from Cuzco, in the year 1535, attended by Paullu Inca, and choosing the road of the mountains, reached the province of Copiapo in Chili, after a march in which they had to contend with the Indians at every step; this, together with the inclemencies of the weather, the rugged nature of the road, and the winter overtaking them on the summit of the Andes, caused the death of 150 of the Spaniards and 10,000 of the Peruvians. On the arrival of the army in Copiapo, Paullu Inca obliged the natives to deliver up all the gold in their possession, which amounting to the value of 500,000 ducats, he presented to Al- magro. The natives', every where received the Spaniards with respect, amounting almost to adoration, as they imagined the new comers were a divine race sent by their gods to govern them, till after the arrival of Rodrigo Orgonez, with a reinforcement from Peru, when two of the soldiers committing acts of violence near the river Hu- asco, were slain by the people. This, the first blood shed on either side, so irritated the Spa- niards, that Almagro ordered the ulmen, his brother, and twenty of the chief people to be brought before him, when warning the natives to beware of similar transgressions, he committed his un- fortunate victims to the flames ; but the army disapproving of this cruel step, the affairs of Almagro soon became unprosperous. At this juncture, Juan de Rada arrived with fresh troops from Peru, and with the letters of the king appointing Almagro gover- nor of the territory south of that claimed by Pizarro. The Inca •Paullu having reinforced his army with the Peruvian garrisons in Chili, Almagro penetrated as far south as the Rapel or Cachapoal, the boundary between the Independent Chilians and the Peruvian colonies : at this place the Inca endeavoured to persuade the gene- ral not to hazard an attack, as he was convinced, from what the Peruvians had experienced for a hundred years, that it would be unavailing; but Almagro persisted, a battle was fought, the Pro- maucians were victorious, and the Spaniards, disgusted with the event -find with their general, returned to Peru, to which Almagro CHILI. 3197 marched by the cdast road through the desert of Atacama, and ar=< rived near Cuzco, in 1538, with little loss ; his subsequent history has been already related. After the defeat and death of Almagro, Pizarro, wishing to ex- tend his conquests, ordered Pedro de Valdivia to undertake an expedition to Chili with 200 Spaniards, a numerous body of Pe- ruvians, women, monks and European quadrupeds, in order to set- tle such districts as he might deem proper. Valdivia departed from Cuzco in 1540, and pursued the moun- tain road, taking the precaution of passing it in summer, on his arrival in Copiapo, so far from receiving the hospitable reception which Almagro met with, his army was attacked by the natives with great resolution, but as they had been too long in subjection to the Peruvians to be able to aflFord an effectual resistance, Valdi- via soon reduced Copiapo, Coquimbo, Quillota and Melipilla, and with little loss arrived in the country of Mapocho, now called San- tiago, where he laid the foundation of the city of Santiago, on the 24th of February, 1541. The Promaucians assembling some forces to attack the Spaniards, Valdivia set out from Santiago to repel them, and left the new city in the care of Alonzo de Monroy ; he was no sooner gone than the Mapochians attacked the place, and burning the settlement, forced the inhabitants to retire into the fort, but the commandant was re- lieved after a desperate siege by the return of Valdivia, who, has- tening to the town, attacked the Mapochians and utterly defeated them. During this attack a woman named Inez Suarez killed several chieftains who were prisoners in the fort, with an axe; as she per- ceived they were about to take advantage of the distressed state of the Spaniards. The Mapochians continued at intervals to annoy the colony for six years, after which being utterly defeated they destroyed their crops and habitations and retired to the mountains. Valdivia being harassed by the natives as well as by the muti- nous conduct of his men, sent messengers to Peru for succour, and to show the riches of the country he caused the bits, spurs and stir- rups of his two messengers to be made of gold ; but they were in- tercepted in their route by the Copiapins, from whom they did not escape till after a length of time, and arriving in Peru where Vaca de Castro was governor, who immediately despatched succours by sea and land to Valdivia ; with this ftssistance he reduced some of the surrounding tribes and founded Serena or Coquimbo, in 1544. In 1545 he entered into a treaty with the Promaucians, who thenceforward became allies of the Spaniards, and in 1 546 he passed the river Maule, and reduced the natives from that river to the Itata ; here he was however attacked by the Indians, and forced to 398 SOUTH AMERICA. retreat to Santiago, from whence, hearing of the civil wars in Peru, he went to that country, leaving Francisco Villagran governor in his absence. Valdivia acted so meritoriously under De Gasca in Peru, that after Gonzalo Pizarro was subdued, the president sent him back to Chili, with the title of Governor, abundance of stores, and two ships filled with soldiers. The Coquimbans and Copiapins having revolted, the -governor sent Francisco Aguirre against them, who succeeding in his ex- pedition, re-built the city of Coquimbo, in a more convenient place in 1549. Nine years from this period M^ere passed in constant exertion by the governor, before he could consider his power as fully settled in the northern provinces of Chili; when having distributed the lands and Indians among his followers, he turned his arms against the southern portion of his government, and after a march of 250 miles, arrived at the bay of Penco or Concepcion, where he founded the city of Concepcion, on the 5th of October, 1550. No sooner had he colonised this settlement, than the Toqui or chief of the Arau- canians, attacked him with an army of 4000 men ; but after a battle of several hours, Aillavalu^ the toqui, was slain, and the Araucanians farced to retreat. In the following year, 1551, Val- divia was attacked in Concepcion, by Lincoyan^ the new toqui, or general of the Araucanians, but they retreated, after displaying much valour. Valdivia now occupied himself in strengthening his post, and having received succours from Peru, he marched into Arauco, where, arriving at the river Cauten, he founded the city of Imperial, after which he traversed the country to the territory of the Cunches, in which he founded the town of Valdivia ; and satisfied with his success, returned to St. Jago, having fought several battles with the natives, in which his troops were always victorious. He now despatched Aguirre, with 200 men to conquer Cuyo and Tucuman, and returning with fresh troops into Araucania, he built the city of La Frontera ; and having effected this object, re* tired to Concepcion, and despatched a messenger to Spain, with an account of his conquests, a solicitation of the government, and of the title of Marquess del Arauco, and he sent Francisco de Ulloa by Sea, to explore the Straits of Magellan, by which he hoped to carry on a communication with the mother-country, independent of Peru. Occupied with these affairs, he did not perceive the increasing power of the Araucanians, who having deposed Lincoyan, elect- ed Caupolkan, a warlike chief, to the supreme command of their army. Caupolican then attacked the fort of Arauco, which the Spa- niards abandoned in the night; he also compelled them to evacuate CHILI. 399 Tucapel, both of which he destroyed. Valdivia immediately col- lected what force he could, marched against him, but sending an advanced guard of ten horsemen to reconnoitre, they were cut off, and their heads fixed in the road through which the Spanish army was to pass. This army arrived in sight of the Araucanians, on the 3d of December, 1553, when a fierce contest immediately commenced. The Araucanians were put to flight, but in their confusion, a young chief who had been baptised and employed as page to Valdivia, suddenly deserted the Spanish army, and bran- dishing a lance, called out to his countrymen to turn and follow his example ; this so encouraged the enemy, that they immediately commenced a fresh attack, with such success, that the Spaniards and their Promaucian allies were cut to pieces, only two of the latttv escaping. Valdivia retired with his chaplain to a convenient spot, and having received absolution, prepared himself for death. He was soon taken prisoner, and his late page, begging that he might be spared, was on the point of obtaining his release, when an old Ul- men, indignant at the fate of his countrymen who had fallen in the battle, put an end to the conference, and the existence of Valdivia by a blow with his war-club. On the news of the defeat and death of the goverpor arriving at Concepcion, Villagran was appointed to the chief command, and marching with a force against the Araucanians, he was defeated by Lautaro^ the page before mentioned, and losing 700 men, was forced to retreat to Concepcion, which place he abandoned and proceeded to St. Jago. By his wise measures and resolute con- duct, as well as by the dreadful ravages of the small-pox which had been communicated to the Araucanians, the Spanish posses- sions were once more established, but battles were constantly fought between the natives and the settlers, which though they generally terminated in favour of the Europeans, were the means of their losing many settlements, and Lautaro the toqui, was slain in 1556, in an action with Villagran. In 1557 y the viceroy of Peru sent Don Garcia Hurtado de Men- doza his son to Chili, with a great force of cavalry, infantry and shipping. The new governor landed on an island in the bay of Concepcion in April ; here he remained during the winter, making overtures of an amicable nature to the Araucanians, but not receiv- ing a determinate answer, he landed 150 men at Monte Pinto, and erected a strong fort to command the harbour ; this place was im- mediately attacked by the Araucanians, under -Caupolican, when a tremendous battle ensued, in which the army of the toqui were defeated. Don Garcia then proceeded into Arauco, where he fought ano- ther desperate action, and defeating the Araucanians, marched to the southward, through the province of the Cunches, a tribe hi- 400 SOUTH AMERICA^ therto unsubdued. In this expedition, they discovered the Chiloc Islands, and returning from thence, he marched through the coun- try of the Huilliches, and founded the town of Osomo. About this time, Caupolicau the great toqui or general, was taken prisoner, impaled, and shot to death with arrows, but his son was elected to the chief command, and exasperated by the cruel death of his father, attacked the Spanish forces under the officer who had slain Caupolican ; in this attack the young chief was vic« torious, and immediately besieged Imperial, in which he was how- ever foiled. Many battles occurred in 1559, the last of which was peculiarly favourable for the Spanish cause, all the best leaders of the Arau- canians being slain in it. Don Garcia now rebuilt the cities which had been destroyed ; sent Castillo to conquer Cuyo, and at last embarked for Peru, in which country he had been advanced to the viceregal rank. Viilagran, who had been to Spain, returned to Chili, with the title of governor, but meeting with reverses, his spirits sunk, and dying soon after, he left his son Pedro as governor ; at which pe- riod, the Araucanians were once more getting the better of the Spaniards, who founded the town of Castro in Chiloe, in the year 1566. in 1567, the court of royal audience was established in the city of Concepcion, their first act was to depose Quiroga, who had dis- possessed the younger Viilagran in his government, and to appoint Ruiz Gamboa, to the command of the army. The natives had now become exceedingly powerful under the conduct of a Mestizoe, named Alonzo Diaz, who had been raised to the rank of toqui by the name of Foi/nenauca, and who had been joined by the Chiquillanians and the Pehuenches. This chief fought many actions with the Spanish troops, but was at last taken prisoner and beheaded. On his death, Cayancura was elevated to the dignity of toqui. In his time, the Araucanians besieged the fort of Arauco, and being defeated, the toqui resigned his command to Nan^oniel his son, who was killed in attacking another fortress. Cadaguela was then unanimously proclaimed general, and in his time, the English under Sir Thomas Canvendish landed on the coast of Chili, and endeavoured to enter into negotiations with the na- tives ; but being attacked by Molina, the corregidor of Santiago, they were forced to reimbark, after losing several men. Several chiefs succeeded Cadaguela, each of whom were engaged in desperate actions with the Spaniards. In 1593, Don Martin Loyola, nephew of the celebrated founder of the order of Jesuits, having married the daughter of Sayri Tupac, the last Inca of Peru, was appointed governor of Chili ; he was slain five years after his arrival, on the 22d of November 1 598, by Paillamachu the toqui, CHILI. 401 in whose country he had imprudently ventured with too small an escort. On this event, which had been previously planned, the whole Araucanian country, with the Cunches and Huilliches, their allies, suddenly rose, and put to death every Spaniard who had the misfortune to be without the forts ; the towns of Osorno, Val- divia, Villarica, Imperial, Canete, Angol, and Arauco, were all attacked, and Concepcion and Chilian were burnt. Amid all these misfortunes, the Dutch landed in the Chiloe Islands, plundered Chiloe, and put the Spanish garrison to the sword ; but landing in an island where the Araucanians were post- ed, these people attacked them and killed twenty-three of their men, mistaking them for Spaniards. All the Spanish cities above-named, were also taken by Pailla- machu the toqui, and the Spaniards were completely expelled from the territories of the Araucanian confederacy. Luis Valdivia, a Jesuit, who had been employed in converting the Chilese, finding it impracticable to prevail on the Araucanians to listen to him, went to Spain, where he instigated the emperor to take measures to procure a peace ; and returning to Chili, in 1612, this zealous missionary nearly effected the object he had taken so much trouble about, and in a short time peace was about to be proclaimed between the Spaniards and the Indians, when an un- foreseen circumstance occurred, which rendered the war more ac- tive than before. Battle succeeded battle, with no extraordinary result on either side, till the Dutch made a second attempt on the islands, in which they were repulsed as before, the natives again mistaking them for Spaniards. Some wars took place after this, till the arrival of X)on Francisco de Zuniga, Marquess of Baydes, who assumed the government in 1640. By his exertions, the preliminaries of a peace were arrang- ed and finally settled on the 6th of January 1641, between Linco- pichion^ the Chilese general, and the Marquess, by which the two nations mutually agreed to suspend all hostilities, and the Arauca- nians, on their part, engaged to prevent any foreign power whatever from landing in their territories. In 1643, the Dutch made a third and last attempt to colonise this country, by building two forts, and taking possession of Valdivia j but being deprived of provisions by the Cunches, and hearing that a powerful army of Spaniards and Araucanians were marching against them, they evacuated Chili. The peace thus happily settled, lasted until 1655, when war again broke out with all its former fury, being carried on by both parties for ten years with equal spirit. At the end of this period, Meneses, a Portuguese noble, who held the reins of government, again persuaded the turbulent natives to consent to a peace. This v/as raore lasting than the former, and the history of Chili pre- 3 E 40-2 SOUTH AMEiaCA. sents nothing worthy of notice till the commencement of the eigh- teenth century, when the inhabitants ofthe islands of Chiloe revolted, but were soon quelled. The famous war of the succession happen- ing in Europe at this epoch created much internal discussion in the Spanish colonies ; several governors were removed for favouring the Bourbon party, but when a prince of that house was at last placed on the Spanish throne, the ports of Chili were filled with French ships, and from 1707, to 1717, many persons of that nation settled in the country. About this time, the Araucanians began to show some symptoms of an inclination to break the treaty, and in 1722, they elected Fil- iwiilla their toqui or war-chief. So actively did this chief employ himself, that he gained to his party, nearly the whole of the In- dians from Peru to the river Biobio, causing them to agree to rise against the whites, at a certain moment, which was to take place when they should see the watch-fires on the mountains : accord- ingly on the 9th of March 1723, these fires blazed from Copiapo to Itata, but from some reason, which has not been related, the natives of the northern provinces did not join, and his scheme was put into execution by the Araucanians only, who took some places, and then made overtures of peace. The year 1742 was famous for the arrival of Don Josef Manso, the new governor, who collected all the scattered colonists, and placed them in several cities which he founded, and which are nbw the capitals, and chief towns of the different provinces. His successors continued this line of conduct, and in 1753, se- veral new towns were built, and Don Domingo Rosa sent a colony to occupy the island of Juan Fernandez, which had remained un- inhabited till that time. In 1770, the governor, Don Antonio Gil Gonzago, created a new war, by endeavouring to force the'Araucanians to live in towns, giving them materials to build with, appointing workmen to assist them, and sending a force to compel them to do so, and entering into a treaty with the Pehuenches, he attacked them on all sides. The Pehuenches were defeated, and instead of becoming the eter- nal enemies of their conquerors, they have since that time been their most faithful allies. The Spanish governor being thwarted by these warlike people in all his schemes, a peace was resorted to after a dreadful battle in 1 77i^ and on this occasion the Arauca- nians insisted on being^ allowed to retain a resident agent at San- tiago, which was granted. A native of Ireland, Don Ambrosio Higgins, was appointed captain-general of Chili, in 1787, and being still at peace with the natives, this governor built several new towns, opened the mines, and encouraged commerce and agriculture. In his government, the regular militia of Chili, amounted to 25,856 men. The veteran troops, or royal guard, was 1976 men ; CHILI, ^ 4tQ'^ and beside these, each city has an armed force, with a local militia;, the former being kept in constant pay. Since the year 1792, several governors have presided over Chili, and nothing material occurs in its history, until 1810, when a par- tial revolution took place. Spain being overrun by the French armies, the Creoles of this country judged it a favourable moment to throw off their allegiance, and accordingly, being the most nu- merous, they effected their object with little trouble. Since that period, the royal armies have subjected the kingdom, which has been thrown into fresh convulsions by the appearance of San Martin, with a detachment from the insurgent force of Buenos Ayres ; at present the government is decidedly Spanish, though the capital and several strong places are occupied by the revolu- tionist, but very little is known concerning what particular cities, towns and forts they hold. CLIMATE, FEATURES, &C. The climate of Chili is probably superior to that of any other country in Spanish America, as the air is remarkably salubrious, the inhabitants being troubled with few contagious diseases, and the extremes of heat and cold are not felt in continental Chili. The spring commences in September, summer in December, au- tumn in March, and winter in June. From September till March, south-east or south winds prevail, during which time the sky is clear and serene, but the north and north-west winds regularly occasion rain, and chiefly occur during the remaining months. A singular circumstance attends the difference of climate be- tween the countries lying on the eastern and western sides of the Chilian Andesj for though the winter is the rainy season of Chili, at that time Tucuman and Cuyo enjoy their finest weather. In the northern districts of Chili rain seldom falls ; whilst in the southern parts and in the isles it is frequent. The Chilian Andes being very high, and many of them entering the regions of eternal snow, the lands lying in their neighourhood are subject to occa- sional frosts, and the mountains themselves are impassable from April to November, on account of the frequent and overwhelming snowstorms. The want of rain in the northern provinces is supplied by abun- dant dews, and fogs are common on the coasts, but they are never of long continuance. On the whole it may be stated, that the cli- mate of this country is temperate, and favourable for bringing for- ward the productions of its fertile soil. This soil yields by cultivation all the grains common to Europe, and in the most uncultivated parts, is covered with a profuse and luxuriant vegetation. The crops are usually from sixty to eighty ^or one ; but in the rich valleys, thi'5 proportion is greatly exceed- 404 SOUTH AMERICA, ed ; but the sea-coast being the least productive, the harvests there do not give more than forty or fifty to one. The grains most commonly sown are maize, wheat, barley and rye. Hemp and flax give abundant returns, but are not so much attended to. European fruit trees find a genial clime in Chili, and in the southern provinces are woods of apple and quince trees, of several miles in extent, from which fruit of excellent quality is gathered. Pears, cherries, peaches, of which there are fourteen sorts, some v/eighing sixteen ounces ; oranges, lemons and citron, melons, &c. are every where to be seen in the fields growing without culture, and each in their kind yielding delicious fruit. Vines grow wild in the forests, and those which are planted give a red wine not in- ferior to the produce of any European vintage. The olive trees thrive exceedingly, some of them reaching to a great height, and being three feet in diameter. In the northern provinces the tropical fruits and plants grow in the greatest abundance ; of these the sugar cane, the cotton plant, the banana, the pine apple, the manioc, jalap, pimento, indigo, con- trayerva, tobacco, sarsaparilla, guiacum, cassia, tamarinds, pepper, canello, or white cinnamon, cocoa nut and date are the most com- mon. Besides the plants common to the other kingdoms of America, and the luxuriancy with which all kinds of European herbs, trees, grains and fruits, grow in Chili, this country has a long catalogue of vegetables peculiar to itself. The plains, the valleys, and the lower mountains, are covered with beautiful trees, and with an herbage so high that it con- ceals the sheep which graze in it, and 3000 species of non-descript plants were collected by an able naturalist, who has enumerated the properties of some of them ; of these the most singular are, a large strawberry, which is cultivated for the table, and also grows wild ; the madi, yielding a fine oil ; relbun, a species of madder ; panke, which gives a good black dye ; the cachanlahuen, a balsam equal to that of Peru; and the viravira, useful in intermittent fevers. Various kinds of creeping plants, whose flowers afford the most beautiful decorations to the gardens and forests ; and the puya, whose bark is used for the same purposes as cork. Ninety-seven kinds of trees are found in the Chilian forests, of which thirteen only shed their leaves; so that an everlasting ver- dure presents itself; of those resembling the European, the cy- press, pine, oak, laurel and cedar, are varieties of the same kinds. The other most curious ones are the theige or Chili willow, which yields a great quantity of manna ; the floripondio, whose flowers diffuse so great a fragrance that one is sufficient to perfume a gar- den ; the Chilian orange, whose wood is esteemed by turners, on account of its fine yellow colour ; the boighe, or white cinnamon, CHILI. 405 resembling the cinnamon of Ceylon, and esteemed a sacred tree by the Araucanians, who always present a branch of it to the em- bassadors, on concluding a peace. The Luma, a myrtle which grows to the height of forty feet, and whose trunk affords the best wood for the coachmakers of Peru ; the quillia, from whose bark a soap is manufactured; the palma Chilensis, or Chilian cocoa nut, whose fruit, though resembling that of the tropic nut, is not larger than an apple ; the gevuin, which is a sort of walnut tree, and the pihuen, a sort of fir or pine, which is the most beautiful tree in Chili. Its trunk is generally eighty feet in height, and eight in girth ; the limbs which branch from it begin at half its height, and leave it alternately by fours, decreasing in length as they approach the top. The fruit, like that of the pine, is very large, and has two kernels, which in taste nearly resembles the chesnut ; a gum, used as frankincense, exudes from the bark; and its timber is highly useful. Chili is as singular in its landscape as any, and perhaps more so than most other parts of America, as on the east it is shut out from La Plata by the Andes, which, rising to an enormous height, has its surface covered with pinnacles, which are in general volcanic. This Cordillera scarcely ever depresses itself in its course through the country, till it approaches Peru ; and it seems probable that it attains a greater elevation in this kingdom than in Quito ; no ac- tual measurement has however been made of its highest summits, though they are well known by name. The Chilian Andes are about 120 miles in breadth, taking a direction from the ArchipC' lago of Chonos to the frontiers of Tucuman, and consisting of an uninterrupted chain of ridges, constantly losing themselves in the snowy regions of the air ; their sides are interspersed with fruitful valleys and dreadful precipices, and give birth to rivers, exhibiting the most beautiful and the most terrific features of nature. The roads leading from Chili to Tucuman and Cuyo are not more than eight or nine in number, of which that leading from Aconcagua to Cuyo is the best. It is bordered on one side by the deep beds of the Chile and the Mendoza rivers ; on the other by lofty and impracticable precipices ; and is so narrow that in many places the rider is obliged to descend from his mule and proceed on foot ; nor does a year ever pass without some of those animals being precipitated into the thundering streams below. The precipices which accompany this route occasionally open and display beautiful and fertile plains. In these places are seen the tambos of the Incas, only one of which has been destroyed. This road requires eight days to pass in good weather, but in win- ter it is totally impracticable. That portton of the Andes between the 24° and 33° south latitude is wholly desert, and the remainder, as far as the 45°, is inhabited by the Chiquillanes, Pehuenches, Puel- ches, and Huilliches, tribes who are in amity with the Araucanians- 406. S6UTH AMERICA. The Chilian Andes form three parallel ridges, the centre being the most elevated, and flanked by the others at 20 or 30 miles dis- tance, and they are connected by transversal branches. The highest mountains of this chain are the ManfloSy in 28° 45' south latitude, the Tupungato^ in 33° 24', the Descabezado^ in 35' the BlanquillOy in Z5° 4', the Longavi^ in 2t5° 30', the Chilian^ in 36', and the immense Corsobado^ in 43° ; and it is said that all of these are more than 20,000 feet above the level of the sea, the lowest part of the chain being in the province of Copiapo. This Cordillera has no fewer than fourteen volcanoes, in a con- stant state of eruption, and a much greater number discharging only smoke. Fortunately for the inhabitants, these are with the exception of two, all situated on the very ridge of the Andes, and thus cover only a small space in their immediate vicinity with the devastating effects of the heated substances which are thrown from them. The greatest eruption ever known in this country was on the 3d of December 1760, when the volcano Peter oa burst forth by a new crater, and rent asunder a mountain in its vicinity. It formed a lake by stopping up the passage of a considerable river, and was heard throughout the whole country. The two volcanoes which are not on the ridge of the Andes, are that at the mouth of the river Rapel, which is inconsiderable, and ejects only vapour ; and that of Fillarica, near a lake of the same name in Arauco. Villarica is so high, that its summit is covered with snow, and may be seen at 150 miles distance. Its base, which is fourteen miles in circuit, is covered with thick forests, and many rivers flow from it ; and though in a constant state of activity, its eruptions are never very violent. Although the Chilese seldom suffer from the obvious eflfects of these volcanoes, their country is subjected to earthquakes, caused, in all probability, by the struggle in the bo- som of the earth amid the combustible materials which are striving to vent themselves. These earthquakes generally occur three or four times a year, but they are seldom of material consequence, and are not dreaded as in Peru and Caraccas. Since the arrival of the Spaniards only five violent shocks have occurred, in 1520, 1647, 1657, in 1730, when the sea rose over the walls of Concepcion, and in 1751, when that city was destroyed by the ocean ; but only seven persons pe- rished who were invalids and unable to move. These shocks are usually preceded by a noise under ground, which gives sufficient warning to the people to leave their houses, and as the earth rarely opens, few buildings are overthrown ; and the towns are erected with such broad streets, and with such spacious courts and gardens behind the houses, that even should these fall, the people are safe. Iiivers,'-^Ch\\i possesses more than 13* rivers, but as the die- CHILI. 407 tance from the Andes to the sea, is in no instance more than 300 miles, none of them are very large : they are however of great im- portance to the country, by affording the means of irrigating the iitlds, and of internal navigation. The finest rivers are the Maule^ the Cauten^ the Tolten^ Valdi- via^ Chaivin, Rio Bueno^ and the Sbifciido. The only lake of importance is that of Villarka, or Laquen^ which is 72 miles in circumference. Sheets of fresh and salt water are common throughout Chili. In the marshes of the maritime ports are the Lakes Bucalemu^ Caguil^ and Bogerecu^ which are salt, and from tweVve to twenty miles in length. Salt springs are common in Coquimbo and Copiapo, and in the latter province is the Rio Salado^ which, rising in the Andes, runs into the Pacific, and leaves a fine crystallised salt on its banks, which is so pure as not to need any preparation for use. Mineral springs and thermal waters also are common. Mines. — The mineral kingdom is not less rich in Chili than the vegetable one is. It produces all the known semi-metals; they are, however, neglected by the Spaniards, with the exception of mer- cury, so necessary for the refining of gold and silver : but the go- vernment having forbidden the two richest mines of quicksilver to be w^orked, that substance is only procured in a small quantity. Lead is found in all the silver mines, and in various parts it is worked for its own value, in others on account of the silver it al- ways contains. In the provinces of Copiapo, Coquimbo, Acon- cagua and Huilquilemu are rich iron mines, and the sands of the rivers and sea yield this metal abundantly. Tin is also plentiful in the sandy mountains ; and mines of cop- per are scattered over the whole country, the richest being between the 24° and 36° south latitude ; the ore usually containing gold. The copper mines of Coquimbo and Copiapo have been long known ; they are said to amount to more than 1000, all of which are in constant work ; and the richest mine of this metal was that of Fayen^ which the Spaniards were forced to abandon by the na- tives ; lumps of pure copper were found in it, weighing from fifty to one hundred pounds ; and it is said that the mine at Ciirico^ re- cently discovered, is equally rich, its ore consisting of gold and copper in equal proportions, and having an uncommonly brilliant and beautiful appearance. The silver mines are usually discovered in the highest and cold- est parts of the mountain- country, on which account it has been found necessary to abandon several very rich veins. The most cele- brated are those of Coquimbo, Copiapo, Aconcagua, and Santiago, In these the metal is found pure, as well as in ores mineralised with arsenic and sulphur. Uspallata, in the 33° south latitude, is the most productive. It M situated eight leagues north-west of Mendoza in Cuyo, and 408 OOUIH AMERICA. yields from forty to sixty marks per quintal. Gold is found, not only in the silver, copper and lead ores, but there is hardjy a moun- tain in the kingdom which does not contain some of this precious metal ; and it is found in the plains, and in the beds of the rivers. The most important mines and washings of gold in Chili being at CopiapQ^ Huasco^ Coquimbo^ Petorca^ ten leagues south of Chuapa, Ligua^ near Quillota, TUtil^ Llaom^ Putaeyido^ Tapel^ or Villa de Cuscus, Caen, Alhue, Chibato and Huill'tpatagua, and all but the three last have been wrought ever since the conquest. The quantity of gold and silver produced annually in Chili amounts, excluding that which is sent clandestinely out of the country, to the value of 357,000/. sterling annually; and there were 721,000 piastres of gold, and 146,000 of silver, coined at the mint of Santiago in 1790 : but since that period the plain of Uspallata has yielded a greater proportion of silver. The contraband silver exported from Chili is as three to two on that which pays the fifth; the annual average of the fine gold and silver which receives the royal stamp in Chili being 1,737,380 piastres, or 376,432/. sterling, of which 10,000 marcs are gold, and 29,700 silver : but the administration consumes the revenue of Chili, which, therefore, never remitted any sum to the royal coffers. Population, — The population of this. extensive country is com- posed of Europeans, Creoles, Indians, mestizoes and negroes ; of these the Creoles are by far the most numerous in the Spanish pro- vinces. The country is in general thinly inhabited ; the whites living in towns, and the independent Indians roaming in their na- tive woods and mountains, it is not probable that the Spanish part contains more than 800,000 inhabitants including all the classes. The Creoles are a well made, brave and industrious race, and have a frankness and vivacity peculiar to themselves ; being in general possessed of good talents, but which are not cultivated, owing to the want of proper places of education. The other classes are much the same as in other parts of Spanish America ; and the peasantry, though of European origin, dress in the Araucanian manner; and, dispersed over an extensive country, are perfectly free from restraint; they therefore lead contented and happy lives. The general language is Spanish, excepting on the borders of Arauco, where the ancient dialect, the Chili-dugu, or Chilese tongue, is cultivated by all classes. The females of Chili are as luxurious in their dress and equipages as those of Lima: but are noted for their kindness and hospitality towards strangers; and this virtue is practised in its greatest extent by all the inhabitants of the Spanish portion. In short the Chilians appear to be the most frank, courteous and generous people of Spanish America. Animals. — The animal kingdom is not so various as the vege- table in this country ; the indigenous species amounting only CHILI. 409 to about thirty-six; of these the vicuna, resembling the animal of* the same name in Peru, is a sort of camel, which lives in the highest regions of the Andes ; its body is the size of a large goat, with a long neck, round head, small straight ears, and high legs. Its coat is of a fine dirty rose-coloured wool, which will take any dye, and is used for manufacturing a variety of cloths ; they live in flocks on the highest heaths of the Andes, and are so timid, that they are taken by stretching a line across their path, to which pieces of cloth are tied, these fluttering in the wind terrify the vi- cunas, who stand still and suffer themselves to be caught. This animal has never been domesticated in Chili, but is chiefly sought after for its wool and flesh, the latter being esteemed equal to veal. The Chilihueques, or Araucanian sheep, which resemble the European sheep, were employed as beasts of burden by the natives, who now use them for the sake of their fine wool, and they are a variety of the former. The guanuco is another species of the American camel, exceed- ing the last in size; its length from the nose to the tail being about seven feet, and its height in front four feet three inches : many of them are however much taller ; the body is covered with long red- dish hair on the back and whitish under the belly ; its head is round, the nose pointed and black, the tail short and turned up, and the ears straight. They live during the summer in the mountains, but quit them on the approach of winter for the plains, in which they appear in herds of two or three hundred. They are hunted by the Chilians, whose horses are unable to keep pace with them, but the young being more feeble are generally taken. The Indians, who are excellent horsemen, sometimes get near enough to throw the laqui between their legs, and thus take them alive. This laqui is a strip of leather five or six feet long, to each end of which is fastened a stone of two pounds weight, the hunts- man holding one of these in his hand, and whirling the other, slings the string at the animal in so dexterous a manner that the stones form a tight knot round his legs. They have also longer strips of leather with a running noose at the end, which they carry coiled on their saddles, one end being made fast to them, and thrown with so sure an aim that the noose falls over the animal's head and neck, the rider then turning round, puts his horse into a full gal- lop, and such is the irresistible force with which he moves, that the game is compelled to follow. In this manner the Peons of Buenos Ayres, who are the natives of Paraguay that take, charge of the immense herds of cattle roaming on the plains, catch them when they have occasion for their hide or carcass. The guanuco is naturally gentle, and is soon domesticated ; it is used for the same purposes as the llamas and alpacos of Peru, which are only varieties of this animal. They resemble the camel in several par- ticulars, having reservoirs in their stomachs for water, they can go 3 F 410 SOUTH AMERICA. for a long while without food, are very docile, kneel in order to discharge or recei-ve their burdens, and have hoofs so £rm as not to require shoeing, with such thick skins that they are rarely gall- ed. Their step is slow but sure, even in the steepest parts of the mountains, and they pass the greater part of the night in rumina- ting, when they sleep folding their legs under them. The females produce one young-one at a time, and are five or six months m gestation. Their cry is like that of a horse, and to defend themselves they eject their saliva. The period of existence of these singular animals is about thirty years. Chilihueques were much used as beasts of burden before the in- troduction of mules, but these animals have now nearly superseded them, from their greater strength. The llama and alpaco, are not tnown in the Chilian Andes, and the three species we have descri- bed, though evidently of the same genus, never copulate with each other, and are seldom observed in the same place. The puda is a kind of wild goat of the size of a half grown kid, with brown hair, the male having small horns ; these creatures come down in very numerous flocks from the mountains as soon as winter approaches, in order to feed in the plains ; they are then killed in great numbers by the inhabitants for food, and caught for domestication, to which state they are very easily brought, and are said to be very fond of playing with children. The guemul inhabits the most inaccessible parts of the Andes. It resembles the horse in some particulars and the ass in others, but is not the produce of either, and is most probably another va- riety of the Peruvian camel. The vizcacha is an animal resembling the rabbit and the fox. It is larger than the latter, and its fur being very fine and soft, is used for the manufacture of hats. The cuy, is another species of rabbit, but much smaller, not exceeding the size of the field mouse, and it is occasionally domesticated. The armadillo, of which there are three kinds, in Chili, the four banded, the eight banded, and the eleven banded ; the eight banded being common in the valleys of the Andes, and are of various sizes, from six to thirteen inches in length, covered with a thick bony defensive armour which is so minutely jointed that they can roll themselves up as the English hedge-hog does. The armadil- loes are elegant and inoffensive little animals. The degu, is a kind of dormouse ; and the maulin wood-mouse is exactly like a mouse, but so large that it resists the attacks of the dogs ; and there are several other kinds of mice peculiar to the country, all of which differ in their habits, and in other points, from the European animals of the same name. The pagi, or Chilian puma, is nearly the same as the puma, or cougouar of La Plata, and the mitzli of Mexico ; it is named the American lion by the Spaniards, but it resembles that creature only in its shape and roar, having no mane. CHILl. 411 The" hair on the upper part of the body is ash-coloured with yel- low spots, and very long, and the belly is dusky white. Its length, from the nose to the root of the tail, is about five feet ; and its height, from the sole of the foot to the shoulder, near two feet three inches. The ears are short and pointed, the eyes large, the mouth wide and deep, and well furnished with sharp teeth ; the paws have each five toes, armed with very strong claws, and the tail is up- wards of two feet long. The female is less than the male, of a paler colour, carries her young three months, and brings forth two cubs at a time. It in- habits the thickest forests and the most inaccessible mountains, from whence it issues to attack the domestic animals roaming i^ the plains, preferring the flesh of the horse to any other. Its mode of seizing its prey is similar to that of the tiger ; and it is not un- common for this formidable creature to carry off two horses a^ time, as they are often linked together in the pasture. It kills onfe, and dragging it along obliges the other to follow by lashing it with its tail. The pagi is said never to attack man unless provoked, but it has been proved, by several intelligent travellers, that the lions and tigers of America are sometimes as ferocious and destructive as those of Africa. The guigna, and the colocola, are two species of wild cats which inhabit the woods. The culpeu is a large fox resembling the European wolf. It is said always to approach man, and stopping at a short distance, looks at him very attentively for some time, and then retires. Owing to this singular propensity the animal is frequently shot; and the race is much thinned. The American, or Brazilian porcupine is an inhabitant of the Chilian forests, in which there are several animals resembling the weasel, ferret, martin, &c. Many species of amphibious creatures are contained in the rivers of Chili, of which the coypu, is a water rat, as large as and resem- bling the otter in its habits and form ; and the guilUno is a species of the castor, or beaver. The shores of Chili throng with marine animals. The sea lion, the sea wolf, the chinchimen, or sea cat, a very formidable kind of otter, the lame, or elephant seal, which is frequently twenty-two feet in length and a proportionate bulkj and many other kinds ard killed by the natives for the sake of the oil they afford. In Arauco the lakes are said to contain a species of hippopota- mus, as large as a horse ; and the European quadrupeds which have been imported by the Spaniards, thrive exceedingly. Chili has also animals similar to the hare and the fox, but peculiar t« itself. Horses, asses, mules, cattle, sheep, goats, swine, dogs, eats and 412 SOUTH AMERIC4. even mice have been introduced into Chili by the Europeans, an J the first cat was given to Almagro by Montenegro, who received six hundred pieces of silver for it. The horses of Chili are fine, strong, and very active. Those bred in the plains are the fleetest, whilst those in the mountains are the best for draft. These noble animals are necessary to the very existence of the Chilians, as they never perform any journey on foot, and would be unable to catch their cattle without them. Chilian asses are stronger and taller than the European asses, from which they are derived; they exist chiefly in a wild state, and are hunted for their skins. The cattle are also large, excepting near the coasts, where the b/erbage is not so luxuriant ; and so numerous are these useful beasts, that many persons have 12,000 head on their estates. They require no care, and enough are usually killed at Christmas to serve for salt provision for the rest of the year, and for expor- tation. Sheep, in this country, are equal to those of Spain, and arc chiefly kept for the sake of their wool only. Goats have multiplied astonishingly, and are hunted in the mountains, for their skins. The birds of Chili are as numerous as in Mexico, the known species inhabiting the land amounting to 135, and the aquatic to far more. Parrots, swans, flamingoes, whose beautiful feathers are prized by the Indians for head dresses ; wild geese, ducks, pigeons, turtle-doves, plovers, curlews, divers, herons, kites, falcons, black- birds, crows, woodpeckers, partridges and European domestic fowls are common. An eagle named calquin, measures ten feet and a half from the extremity of one wing, when extended, to that of the other. The penguin inhabits the southern shores and islands ; the al- catraz or brown pelican is as large as a turkey-cock, and may be constantly seen on the rocks and islets in the sea. Humming-birds are very common in the fields and gardens ; of which, three species, the little, the blue-headed, and the crested, are peculiar to Chili. Thrushes and other birds of song are very plentiful, and enliven the dreary woods with their varied notes. The jacana is a kind of water-hen, about the size of a magpie, with a spur on each wing. The piuquen or bustard, is larger than that of Europe, and nearly white, inhabiting the great plains ; this bird lays two eggs larger than those of a goose, and is easily tamed. The cheuque, or American ostrich, is sometimes seen in the plaiiis of Chili, but chiefly inhabits that part of Araucania on the CHILI. 413 east of the Andes and the valleys of those mountains, and exactly resembles the cassowary of La Plata. Its stature is equal to that of a man, its neck being two feet eight inches long, with legs of the same height ; the plumage of the back and wing is generally dark grey, the other parts of the body being white, though some are seen all white, and others all black ; and it has not the callous substance on its wings or breast as the African ostrich has, but it is equally voracious. The note of this bird is a shrill whistle, and the female lays from forty to sixty eggs, in a careless manner, on the ground at a time ; they are |;ood eating, and as large as those of the eastern ostrich. The feathers are very beautiful, and by their great quantity on the wings, hinder the bird from rising ; its motion is a quick run, in which it is so much assisted by the wings, which are eight feet in length, that it outstrips the fleetest horse. The Indians make plumes, parasols, and many beautiful ornaments of the feathers, which are highly valued. There are also several kinds of owls, falcons, and vultures pe- culiar to this country, but the largest, as well as the most extraor- dinary of the winged tribe, is the condor or manque ; its wings when extended, measuring from fourteen to sixteen feet; its body is covered with black feathers, excepting the back, which is white, the neck is encircled with a white ruff, projecting an inch beyond the other feathers, and the head is covered with short thin hairs ; the irides of the eyes are of a reddish brown, and the pupils black. The beak is four inches long, very broad and crooked, white to- wards the point, and black at the base. The legs are short, and the feet are furnished with four strong toes, the hindmost being two inches long, with one joint and a black nail an inch in length ; the middle toe has three joints, is six inches long, and has a crook- ed whitish nail of two inches ; the other toes are shorter, and each armed with very strong talons. The general figure of the bird is that of an eagle, but the female is smaller than the male, has no rufl', but only a small tuft at the back of the neck, and builds her nest on the highest cliffs, laying two white eggs larger than a tur- key's. These immense eagles frequently carry off sheep and goats, and even calves, when they are separated from the cows. When they attack a calf, it generally happens, that several condors pounce upon it at once, tear out its eyes, and rend it in pieces. The pea- sants have several methods of taking and killing this bird, which possesses such strength, that it is rarely shot, owing to the great velocity with which it ascends into the higher regions of the air. The coasts of Chili and its rivers abound with many kinds of shell-fish common to the American seas, and others which are found on these shores alone. Oysters, craw-fish, crabs, lobsters. 414 SOUTH AMERICA. &c. are in great abundance, and the bays, harbours, and creeks swarm with fish, no less than seventy-six different species having been enumerated ; and all the rivers beyond the thirty-fourth degree of south latitude are remarkable for containing fine trout, &c. Insects are as numerous as the former ; the lanthorn fly, glow- worms, &c., illuminating the forest and plains during the dark nights, and the fields and gardens glittering in the day-time with thousands of the most beautiful butterflies. The wild bees pro- duce so much wax, that the churches are supplied with tapers from the collections of that useful substance made in the woods. Mosquitoes, gnats, and venomous flies are not known in Chili ; but a great spider is found near Santiago, whose body is as large as a hen's egg, and covered with soft brown hair, the legs are long and large, and armed with great fangs; though it is innoxious and lives under ground. Scorpions of a small size are also found in the Lower Andes and on the shores of the rivers, but they are said not to be dangerous. The reptiles of Chili consist only of sea and fresh water turtles, two kinds of frogs, the land and water toad, aquatic and terrestrial lizards, and one kind of serpent, but none of them are venomous. Commerce. — The external trading relations of this country are carried on by the straits of Magellan with Europe, and by the Pacific with Peru, particularly with the port of Callao ; with Pera it trades in fruits, preserves, grain, vegetable productions and cop- per, to the annual amount of 700,000 piastres, from which traffic it derives a net profit of 200,000 piastres. From Europe it receives linens, woollens, hats, steel, mercury, and most articles of European manufactures, in return for which Chili sends gold, silver, copper, vicuna wool and hides ; and this trade is said to amount annually to 1,000,000 of piastres. Between La Plata and Chili there is an internal traffic in favour of the former for Paraguay tea, &c. But the internal commerce of the Chilian provinces is trifling. The inhabitants make pon- chos, a sort of loose cloak universally worn, and principally ma- nufactured by the Indians, stockings, carpets, blankets, saddles, hats, cloths, Sec, which are chiefly used by the peasantry, the richer class employing European goods. These with grain, wine, brandy and leather, form the chief articles of home consumption and trade. On the whole the present state of commerce in Chili is not very flourishing, owing to the few inhabitants in proportion to the extent of the country. A late traveller has given for the united exportation and impor- tation of Peru and Chili, the following average, viz. for the impor- tation 11,500,000 piastres: for the exportation in agricultural pro- duce 4,000,000 of piastres, and for the exportation of gold and sil- ver 8,000,000 ; or 2,491,670/. sterling for the importations, and CHILI. 415 2,600,000/. sterling for the exports, leaving a clear profit of 108,330/. Capital. — The metropolis of Chili is the city of Santiago, founded by Pedro de Valdivia, in 1541, in an extensive valley in- closed on the east by the Andes; on the west by the hills of Prado and Poanque ; on the north by the river Colina, and on the south by the Mapocho or Tepocalma, which flows on the northern side of the city. It was first called Nueva Estremadura, but soon changed its name to that which it now bears, and its situation is the most delightful that can be imagined, in the midst of a fertile and abundant country, and in a serene and temperate climate. . Santiago stands fifty-five miles from its port of Valparaiso, in 33° 26' south latitude, and 70° 44' west longitude. Its population is supposed to exceed 36,000 souls, many of whom are people of noble descent, and whose families enjoy exalted stations in the colonies. They are in general robust, well made, and active ; the women are handsome, elegant in their manner, and graceful in their conversation. More than one half are Creoles, and in the other moiety, the Indians bear the largest proportion. The streets are very wide, paved, and built in straight lines forming small squares at intervals, each house having its garden, and though they are built low, yet they are in general convenient and Well finished. The river is conveyed by small canals into the gardens, and the chief square, which is in the centre of the town, has a magnificent fountain. This square contains the palace of the captain-general, the court of the Royal Audience, the town-hall, the prison, the bishop's palace and the cathedral. The suburbs are separated from the city by the river, over which a fine stone bridge is thrown, and are bounded by a hill, from the top of which the whole plain is descried. Besides the cathedral there are four parish churches, nine monasteries, four colleges, an university, several chapels, seven nunneries, a house for orphans, an hospital, and many other public buildings ; the cathedral was planned and commenced by two English architects, but finished by Indians whom they had taught. It is a fine building, and is 384 feet in length. The mint is also a fine stone structure, and was built by an artist from Rome. The governor of Chili and the bishop reside in Santiago, which being also the seat of the royal mint, and of all the public offices, renders it a place of great wealth and gaiety. It is frequently subject to earthquakes, which are however sel- dom very destructive. The Araucanians destroyed Santiago in 1602, but they have not disturbed its tranquillity of late, having been driven by the increasing white population of Chili to the more mountainous regions. Santiago is the see of the bishop of Chili, primate of the king- dom, whose reveuues are very considerable ; this bishopric was 416 SOUTH AMERICA. erected by Paul IV. in 1561, its immediate jurisdiction extends over all the provinces of Peru, from the river Maule. The capital being the centre of all the internal traffic, and having rich mines in its neighbourhood, contains more shops than any- other Chilian town ; but these shops are confined to a particular quarter of the city, and are stored with every kind of goods. It is asserted, that the population and commerce of Santiago and its port are increasing very rapidly, owing to the number of vessels trafficking in the Pacific, and by late writers this population is made to amount to between 40 and 50,000. CONTINENTAL PROVINCES OF CHILL Spanish Chili, or that part of the country which is colonised by Europeans, lies between the 24* and 36° 10' south latitude, and is divided into thirteen, or according to some accounts into fifteen partidos, or departments. These having been already named, we shall give a slight sketch of each, with its capital and chief towns. The first in proceeding from the north, southwards, is the par- tido, or, PROVINCE OF COPIAPO, Which is bt)unded on the north by the deserts of Atacama, on the east by the Andes, on the west by the Pacific, and on the south by Coquimbo ; its extent being about 100 leagues from north to south. This province is celebrated for its mines of gold and copper, it also furnishes fossil salt, sulphur and lapis lazuli. The great Volcano del Copiapo is on its south-east boundary, and it contains the rivers Salado^ Copiapo^ Castagno^ Totoral^ ^ebra- daponda, Guasco and Chollai. Copiapo is seldom subject to earth- quakes, and little or no rain falls in it, the want of which is sup- plied by heavy dews, and the many streams with which it abounds ; no part of Chili is richer in minerals than this, and turquoises and other gems are also found in it. The capital is Copiapo^ on the river of the same name, and which has a port at the mouth of the Copiapo, which is the best on the coast. The city itself is twelve leagues from the sea, the houses be- ing irregularly built, and containing about 400 families, in 26° 50' south latitude, and 70° 18' west longitude. At the mouth of the Guasco river is also a port of the same name, CHILI. 417 in 2T 20' south latitude, but it is a mere village, as is the case with most of the other towns of Copiapo. PROVINCE OF COqUIMBO. The second partido is that named Coquimbo; it is bounded on the north by Copiapo, east by the Andes, on the west by the Pacific, south-east by Aconcagua, and south-west by Quillota. It is forty- five leagues in length, and forty in breadth. This country is similar to Copiapo, it also is extremely rich in gold, copper and iron, and produces wine, olives, and every kind of European fruit, as well as several tropical plants. The rivers are the Coquimbo^ Ton^oiy Chuapa^ and Limari; and the volcanoes Coauimbo and Limari are on its western frontier. The climate is mild, and the air pure and healthy. The great copper mine of Coquimbo, is situated on the Cerro-verde, a hill which rises from the plain in a conical form, and serves for a land- mark to the port. The capital is La Serena, or Coquimbo^ which is pleasantly situ- ated on the river of the same name, in 29° 52' south latitude, and 71° 19' west longitude. It was the second town built by Vaidivia, in 1544, and stands about a mile from the sea, commanding a fine prospect of the ocean, the river, and the country, which presents a landscape of the most lively appearance. This city is large but not very populous, the families who inhabit it amounting to only 4 or 500, consisting of Spaniards, Creoles, mestizoes, and a few Indians. The streets are wide, straight, and intersect each other at right angles, so as to form squares and spaces for gardens ; every house having its garden, which are well filled with fruit trees and escu- lent vegetables. Besides the parochial church, there are three convents, a town-house, and a college which formerly belonged to the Jesuits. Its port is also called Coquimbo, and is at the mouth of the river, two leagues from the city; here, and at To7igoi, which is twenty-two miles to the south, in 30° 17' south latitude, and is a small harbour formed by the estuary of the Rio Tongoi, vessels load for Peru with copper, hides, tallow, fruit, &c. The bay of Coquimbo is the only good one on its coast ; ships lie very safely in it, and are defended from all winds by several islands which are near it. Coquimbo has been taken several times by English cruisers. PROVINCE OF qUILLOTA. This partido is bounded on the north by Coquimbo, south by Aconcagua and Melipilla, south-east by Santiago, west by the ocean, and north-east by the Andes. Its length from north to 3 G 4.18 aOUTH AMERICA. douth is twenty-five leagues, and its width from east to west twenty- one. The climate is mild, and the inhabitants cultivate grain of all kinds, vines and fruits, and feed immense herds of cattle. Gold and copper-mines are extremely numerous, and the natives manu- facture rope, cords and thread ; and these with soap and copper, constitute their principal articles for trade ; the number of inhabi- tants is said to be about 14,000. The rivers of Quillota are the Limache^ the Aconcagua^ the Lon- gotoma^ the Chuapa^ and the Ligua. Its harbours are El Papudo, Quintero, La Herradura, Concon, La Ligua and Valparaiso. This district contains the city of Quillota, and the towns of Val- paraiso, Plaza, Plazilla, Ingenio, Casa-Blanca, and Petorca. The capital, ^dllota^ or St. jllartin de la Concha., is situated in 32° 50' south latitude, and 71° 18' west longitude, in a fine valley on the banks of the river Aconcagua. It has a parish church, three conventual churches and a college formerly belonging to the Je- suits, but is not a place of much note; the towns of Valparaiso and Petorca drawing away most of the settlers, Valparaiso is situated in 33° south latitude, and 71° 38' west lon- gitude, 225 miles north of Concepcion, and sixty north-west of Santiago j and was formerly a very small village, with a few ware- houses, which the merchants of the metropolis erected for their goods, in order to ship them for Callao. Its only residents were the servants who had charge of the merchandise, but in process of time, the excellence of the harbour drew many foreign vessels to it, and the merchants built themselves houses, since which it has gradually increased, and is now large and populous. Its situation is inconvenient for the purposes of building, as it stands at the foot of a mountain, so near to its cliffs, that many houses are erected in the breaches and on the acclivities. Valparaiso has a parish church, a convent of Franciscans, and one of Augustins, but very few monks, and the churches of the convents are small and badly built. It is inhabited chiefly by whites, mestizoes and mulattoes who are engaged in the trade carried on with Peru and Europe ; and the governor of this city is nomina- ted by the king, being dependent only on the captain-general of Chili. The ships from Peru all touch here, and take in wheat, tallow. Cordovan leather, cordage and dried fruits : many of these vessels making three trips to Lima during the summer, which lasts from November until June. Valparaiso is well supplied with provisions from Santiago and Quillota, and there is such abundance of game in its vicinity, that the markets are always well stocked with it ; the partridges are so numerous in March, and three or four months after, that the muleteers knock them down with sticks without going out of the road. This circumstance is by no means singular. as it is observed, throughout America, that the birds of this Spe* cies are remarkably stupid, and suffer themselves to be easily taken. The rivers of the country around Valparaiso, as well as the coasts, are very indifferently stocked with fish, which is not so plentiful in the northern as in the southern districts of Ghili. The harbour is every where free from rocks and shoals, except to the north-east, where there is a rock within a cable's length of the shore, and this is dangerous, as it never appears above water. When the north winds set in, which usually happens towards the end of summer, they blow directly into the bay, and causing a very high sea, render it necessary for vessels to have good hold with their anchors towards the north-north-east, as they are, otherwise, liable to be driven on shore. Three miles from this port is a pleasantly situated and flourishing little town named Al" mendral. The last town of importance in Quillota is Petorca^ between the rivers Longotoraa and Qualimari, in 31° 45' south latitude and 76° 50' west longitude, which is very populous, on account of the number of miners who resort to work in the mines of its neigh- bourhood; but it is said, that of late the gold has been found to be so much alloyed with silver and other metals, that the works are not in so flourishing a condition as they were, though it has been one of the most productive undertakings in the kingdom. In the country around this town, which is near the Andes, the sides of the mountains produce palm trees of very large size, and the small cocoa nut is found amongst them. The merino sheep bred here, yield a wool from which excellent saddles, much esteemed in Peru, are made; and which form an extensive branch of Chilian commerce, THE PROVINCE OF ACONCAGtJA, Is bounded on the north by Quillota, east by the Andes, west by Quillota, and south by Santiago. It is about the same extent as Quillota, and is a level and well watered district, producing a great quantity of grain and fruits. In the mountains which bounds and may be said to belong to it, are the famous silver mines of Uspallata^ with several of copper. Its chief rivers are the Longotoma^ the Ligua^ the Chilt^ and the Aconcagua; the latter of which is a very fine stream which waters^ in its progress to the sea, from the Andes, the great valleys of the province and those of Curimon, Quillota, and Concon, forming numerous branches as it passes them. It enters the ocean in 33° south latitude. In this district is the high road leading to St. Juan de la Frontera, in Cuyo, by which the treasure and commo* dities are carried to Buenos Ayres. It is traversed, by the people *imployed in this traffic, only from November to April an4 May, 420. SOUTH AMERICA. the tambos and the other houses which have been erected by the government, are stored with meal, biscuit, hung beef, and fiiel, during the winter, for the couriers who are obliged to go once a month for the mails from Europe, and who are frequently detained by heavy falls of snow. The inhabitants of the partido of Aconcagua, amount to about 8000. Its capital is San Felipe^ on the river Aconcagua in 32* 48' south latitude, which contains several convents, a college built by the Jesuits, and a parochial church. South-west of this city, and on the central ridge of the Andes, is the volcano of Aconcagua. The village of Curimon, near the Andes, is noted for having a convent of Franciscans, who are extremely strict in their rules. THE PROVINCE OF MELIPILLA, Is bounded on the north by Quillota, east by Santiago, south by the river Maypo, which divides it from Rancagua, and on the west by the Pacific. Its sea coast is of little extent, and its breadth, from east to west, is about twenty-five leagues; its principal produce being wine and grain. Ihe chief rivers are the Maypo^ the Maypocha^ and the Po- anqiie. The chief town is Melipilla^ or St. Josef de Logrono, in 33° 28' south latitude, and 70° 7" west longitude, not far from the Rio Maypo, in a beautiful situation and fertile territory, but thinly in- habited, owing to its vicinity to the metropolis. It contains a parish church, two convents, and a college founded by the Jesuits. St. Francisco de Monte^ in which is a convent of Franciscans, and the port of St. Antonio^ at the mouth of the Maypo, both of which are inconsiderable places, are the only other towns of any note in this province. THE PROVINCE OF SANTIAGO, Is bounded by Aconcagua on the north, the Andes on the east. Melipilla on the west, and the Rio Maypo on the south. It is twenty-one leagues long and twenty-six wide. The gold mines of this district are chiefly in the mountains, and can be only worked during the summer ; but they are said to amount to 234, besides five lavaderos, or washing places, in the mountain of Guindo, and some other veins near Tiltil. Santiago also possesses many silver, several copper and tin, and one lead mine. I'he most celebrated of the first are those of Lampa. Jaspar has been lately found in the settlement of Montenegro, of which the people make vases, jars, pitchers and other articles. CHILI. .421 Santiago is watered by the Mapocho^ Colina^ and Lampa rivers, besides many beautiful rivulets. It also contains Lake Fudaguel, which is about three leagues in length. No part of Chili surpasses this district in fertility. It produces immense quantities of corn, wine, and fruits ; the peaches are par- ticularly fine, and of a very large size. The whole mass of the Andes, on its eastern borders, seems filled with metallic substances, which are washed down by the rivers, the sands of many containing gold. The capital has been already noticed by its being the metropolis of Chili. THE PROVINCE OF RANCAGUA, Is bounded on the north by the Maypo, which separates it from Santiago and Melipilla ; east by the Andes ; west by the Pacific, and south by the Cachapoal, which river divides it frotn Colcha- gua. Its length, from east to west, is about forty leagues, and its breadth, from north to south, thirteen. The country is fertile and is inhabited by about 12,000 persons of all the different castes, who live in a very dispersed manner in small farms and settlements, and are not numerous. It has several gold mines, and the mountainous parts contain fine rock crystal ; near its northern border are some good medicinal springs and baths, which are resorted to by the inhabitants of the metropolis. Rancagua is watered by the Maypo^ Codagna^ Cochalan and Ca- chapoal^ or Rapel^ near the mouth of which is a small volcano, and several smaller rivers which are of great benefit to the plantations, rendering them very productive. There are also some large lakes, which as well as the rivers con- tain fish in abundance. The two most celebrated of these are Aca- leu and Bucalemu, the first is six miles in circuit, near the centre of the province ; and the latter, near the sea, is from six to seven leagues in length ; near this is a smaller one, from which much salt is obtained. Its capital is Rancagua^ or Santa Cruz de Tr'iana^ a small town situated in 34° 18' south latitude, and 70"* 42' west longitude, on the north shore of the river Cachapoal, and fifty-three miles south of Santiago. It has a parish church, a convent of Franciscans and another of Mercedarii. A town named Algiie^ has been recently built, eight leagues from the capital towards the sea-coast, on ac- count of a very rich gold mine discovered in its neighbourhood. THE PROVINCE OF COLCHAGUA, Is situated between the Cachapoal on the north, the Andes on the east, the Pacific on the west, and the Teno river on the south. 422 SOUTH AMERICA. Near the Andes its breadth is twenty-five leagues, but on the coast it does not exceed fourteen, while its length, from east to west, is forty-three. Its climate is temperate, the soil fertile, and, being well watered by numerous rivers, produces grain, wine and fruits. Here are se- veral gold mines, and it is not wanting in other metallic substances. This province was formed out of part of the country of the Pro- maucians, who vigorously repelled the attempts of the first con- querors : but having been compelled to make peace they have ever since been the faithful allies of the Spaniards, and the enemies of the people of Arauco. Their name signifies the Nation of the Country of Delight, in the Chilese language, as they were so called by the other tribes, on account of the beauty of the territory they inhabited. The principal rivers are the Rio Claro^ Tmguiririca^ Chimba- rongo^ Teno and Nilahiie, and it contains several lakes, of which Taguatagua and Cagu'il are the largest ; the former is noted for the abundance of water-fowl which frequent numerous beautiful islands in it, and for its trout. This lake is fourteen leagues from Santiago, on the shore of the Tinguiririca. Caguil is small, and full of fish. The capital and chief towns are St. Fernando, Rio Clarillo, Roma, Malloa, Topocalma and Navidad. St. Fernando., the capital, is in 34° 18' south latitude, near Rio Tinguiririca; it was built in 1742, and contains about 1500 fami- lies, with a parish church, a Franciscan convent, and a college, with a handsome church built by the Jesuits. Topocalma is a port at the mouth of the river of the same name, which passes near the city of Santiago, and discharges itself into the ocean in 33° 31' south latitude. Rapel is a settlement near Lake Rapel, a sheet of water formed, by the sea. This village is noted for having a hill in its vicinity in which is a singular cavern, consisting of a single vault, fifteen yards long, and from three to four wide, to which there is a na- tural door- way two yards high. The other towns are of no note. PROVINCE OF MAULE. This partido is bounded on the nortH by Colchagua, on the east by the Andes, on the south-east by Chilian, south-west by Itata, and on the west by the Pacific, It is forty-four leagues in length, and forty in breadth, and, like the preceding, having formed part of Promaucia, is a delightful country, abounding in grain, fruits, cattle, sea and river fish, salt and gold ; and the cheese made in Maule is esteemed the best in Chili. It is watered by many rivers, of which the Lantue., R'lodara^ Panque, Lircay^ Hiienchullami^ Putugan., Achiguema, Longaviy LoncamiUa^ Purapelj Mataquito^ Liguay and Mauic are the largest- cHiii. 423 The inhabitants of this fine province are mostly Promaucian In- dians, who are tributary to the Spaniards, and live in villages go- verned by their ulmens or caciques. The great volcano of Peteroa is on its eastern'border, amid the Andes, and is the most dreadful of all Chilian volcanoes. Its greatest eruption happened on the 3d of December, 1760, when it formed itself a new crater. Peteroa is 105 miles south-south-east of Santiago, 192 north-east of Concepcion, in 34° 53' south latitude, and 60° 49' west longitude. The capital of this district is Talca, or ^S";*. Augustin^ founded, in 1742, in 55" 13' south latitude, and 71° 1' west longitude, 193 miles north-north-east of Concepcion, and 105 south of Santiago, on the shore of the river Maule. In its vicinity to the east is a fort to restrain the incursions of the Indians, and to the north-east is a small hill, which furnishes abundance of amethysts, and ano- ther which consists of a singular cement sand, known by the name of talc a. Its population is considerable, owing to the rich mines of gold in the mountains, and to the low price of provisions, which has induced many families to leave the other towns, and settle in Talca. It contains a parish church, two monasteries, and a college built by the Jesuits, and in its immediate n^eighbourhood are two chapels of ease. Maule contains several other towns, and large villages of Indians. Curico, Cauquenes, St. Saverio de Bella Isla, St. Antonio de la Florida, and Lora, are the principal ones. Curico, or San Josef de Buena Vista, was built in 1742, on a fine plain at the foot of a hill, from which there is a good view, in 34° 14' south latitude, and has a parish church and two con- vents. Cauquenes was built also in 1742, in 35° 40' south latitude, be= tween the rivers Cauquenes and Tutuben. It has a church and convent. St. Saverio and Florida were founded in 1735, the first in 35° 4', and the second in 35° 20' south latitude. Lora, near the mouth of the Mataquito river, is a large village of the Promaucians, a courageous, robust and warlike race ; and it is governed by an ulmen or chief. The port of the province is Asterillo, a small bay between the Maule and the Metaquito rivers: but the province of Maule is now said to be divided into three parts; the part southward of the river Maule being named the partido of Cauquenes, that on the north Maule, and on the north-east, some lands in Colchagua having been annexed, it is called the partido of Curico, with the town of shat name for its capital. 424 SOUTH AMERICA. THE PROVIKCE OF ITATA, Is bounded by Maule on the north, Chilian on the east, the Pacific on the west, and Puchacay on the south. From east to west its length is twenty leagues, and its breadth from north to south eleven. The river Itata intersecting this department, it had its name from it, and the only other stream of note is the Lonquen. The fertility of Itata is such that it produces the best wine in Chili ; which wine is called Concepcion, from its being made on the estates of persons belonging to that city. The sands of the rivers above-named, contain gold, and some is also found in its mountains. The capital of Itata is CoulemUy in 36° 2' south latitude, but it is merely a small place founded in 1743. THE PROVINCE OF CHILLAN, Is bounded on the north by Maule, east by the Andes, west by Itata, and south by Huilquilemu. Its length is twelve leagues and breadth twenty-five, and the whole district till it reaches the Andes is a plain, in which immense flocks of sheep are fed, that are highly esteemed on account of their fine wool. The soil being very fer- tile produces corn and fruits in abundance. Its chief rivers are the Cato^ Nuble^ and Chilian^ and on its eastern border is the great volcano, which bears the name of the district. The capital, St. Bartolomeo de Chilian^ was founded in 1580 on the river of the same name, in 36° south latitude, and has been frequently disturbed and destroyed by the inroads of the Arauca- nians ; in the year 1751 it was destroyed by an overflow of the Chilian, and in consequence, it was removed to its present site, which is a short distance from where it first stood, and less exposed to the inundations of the river in winter. This city has a nu- merous population, one parish church, three convents, and a col- lege founded by the Jesuits, 75 miles north-east of Concepcion. THE PROVINCE OF PUCHACAY, Is bounded on the north by Itata, on the east by Huilquilemu, on the west by the ocean, and on the south by the river Biobio, being twelve leagues in extent from north to south, and twenty- three from east to west. Puchacay is noted for the abundance of gold found in it, and for the fertility of its soil ; its large wild and garden strawberries are much sought after for making preserves. CHILI. 425 The Lirquerty the Andalieriy and the Biobio are its finest rivers. The capital is Gualqui^ founded in 1754, upon the north shore of the Biobio, in 36° 44' south latitude, and in which the Intendant or prefect usually resides ; but the city of Concepcion is the most important town in the province. Concepcion^ or Penco was founded by Valdivia in a valley on the sea-coast in 36° 47' south latitude, and 73° 9' west longitude ; at the commencement it flourished very much, owing to the pre- dilection which the founder had for it, and to the quantities of gold discovered in its vicinity, but after the battle of Mariqueno, in 1554, Villagran the governor abandoned the place and it was burnt by Lautaro the Araucanian toqui ; it was however rebuilt in No« vember 1555, but Lautaro returning with a great force took it, slew the inhabitants, and once more destroyed the town ; Don Gar- cia de Mendoza restored it and fortified it so strongly that it was enabled to resist a siege by the Indians for fifty days ; but Concepcion was doomed to be again taken and burnt by them in 1603. The consequence of the harbour to the Spaniards, and the ne- cessity of having a strong town on the frontier, caused it to be once more rebuilt, and as every means to increase its natural strength was taken, it soon became formidable enough to defy the Indians. This city continued to increase till 1730, when it was almost totally destroyed by an earthquake and inundation. It was again rebuilt, but in 1751 another earthquake, attended with a still more dreadful inundation, destroyed it totally. The inhabitants fled to the hills, and continued in an unsettled state for thirteen years, when they resolved to build their favourite city a league from its former site, in a beautiful valley named Mocha. Concepcion was erected into a bishopric after the total destruction of the city of Imperial in 1603. The corregidor of Penco is commander of the army on the Araucanian frontier, and assembles the militia when ordered out at this place. There are also several public offices in Concepcion, viz. the royal treasury for the payment of the troops ; the camp master general's office, &c. The royal audience was first estab- lished there in 1567, but was afterwards removed to Santiago. Besides the palace of the captain-general whd~ is obliged to re- side at Concepcion occasionally, it contains a cathedral, convents of all the religious orders established in Chili, a nunnery, a college founded by the Jesuits, public schools, and a seminary for the no- bility. The inhabitants amount to about 13,000; and the climate of this city is delightful, the temperature being always mild. The bishop of Concepcion has a jurisdiction extending over all the islands and continental settlements of the Spaniards south of the province of Santiago ; but what renders this city of the greatest 3. H 4^ SOUTH AMERICA. importance, is its bay, -which is one of the best in Spanish Amc rica. Its length from north to south is about three leagues and u half, and the breadth from east to west three. In the mouth of it lies the island of :^ari(jfi/iNa, forming two entrances, of which that on the east is the best, being two miles broad. In the bay are three anchoring grounds, that named Takag'uatia is the most frequented by all vessels, as they lie secure from the north winds. It has a small town at its termination two leagues from the capital, and to which it gives its name ; the two other roads are not so well sheltered from the north winds, and have not such good bottom as Talcaguana. The tides rise six feet three inches, but the water is smooth, and the current is scarcely felt. Though this celebrated harbour is so good, yet it is necessary to have an experienced pilot to conduct a ship into it, as there are se- veral reefs and shoals off the entrance. PROVINCE OF HUir.qUILEMU. HuiLqyiLEMU is the thirteenth and last department of Con- tinental Chili, and is bounded by Chilian on the north ; by the Cordillera of the Andes on the west, Puchacay on the east, and the Biobio on the south. The rivers Biobio^ Puchacay^ Itata^ Claro^ Laxo^ and Diiqueco are its chief streams, and the first named may be said to be the boundary between the Spanish possessions and the country of the Araucanian confederacy. It rises in the Andes near the volcano of Tucapel, and runs into the Pacific, a short distance south of the city of Concepcion, where at a league above its mouth it is four leagues in breadth. The Biobio may be forded on horse-back in summer, but in winter it is deep, and generally navigated with balsas or rafts. On the northern and southern shores of this river, the Spaniards have constructed a chain of frontier forts to restrain the Indians ; these works are generally strongly built, and well fur- nished with arms, ammunition, provisions, and a competent garri- son of cavalry, infantry, and artillery. The principal forts are Arauco^ where the commanding general resides Santcijuana^ Puren^ Los Angelas^ Tucapel^ Tumbel^ Santa Barbara^ St. Pedro^ Naschmento and Colcura. Huilquilemu is rich in gold, which is procured by washings in the numerous streams flowing from the Andes ; its plains are very fertile, and yield grains and fruits in great plenty, and an excel- lent muscadel wine in made from the vines grown in its settle- ments. The Indians are of the same tribe with those of Itata, and having been long accustomed to defend their country against the Arauca- nains, they are warlike and courageous. The capital is Estancia del Rey, or St. Luis de Gonzag-a, lately CHILI. 427 built near the Biobio in 36" 45' south latitude. It has a parish church, and a college erected by the Jesuits. The other places of Huilquilemu, are mostly small villages, and it contains the four frontier forts, Yumbel, Tucapel, Santa Barbara and Puren. The Spaniards possess no other part of Chili on the continent, in proceeding to the south of the Biobio river, till the 39° 58' of south latitude, where they hold the city of Vaidivia and the country in its vicinity, but as their tenure is by no means certain without the walls of the town, it cannot be called a province. Vaidivia is situated on the banks of the river of the same name, in south latitude 40° 5', west longitude 80° 5', at three leagues dis- tance from the sea. This city was founded in 1551, by Pedro de Vaidivia, who gave it his name, and amassed much gold in its vicinity, which tempted many Europeans to setde in it, so that it soon became a place of importance. In 1599, it was surprised by the toqui Paillamachu, who entered it at night with 4000 men, slew the greater part of the garrison consisting of 800 soldiers, burnt the town, and carried the inhabi- tants into captivity. It was, however, soon rebuilt more strongly, and resisted all the attacks of the Araucanians, but was taken by the Dutch in 1640, who abandoned it soon after. On the arrival of the Spanish fle^t which had been fitted out to attack the Dutch garrison, they found Vaidivia deserted, and there- fore set immediately about adding to its fortifications, erecting four new forts on both sides of the river towards the sea, and one on the north on the land front. These precautions have prevented it from falling into the hands of the natives or foreigners, but it has been twice nearly destroyed by fire. This town contains a college built by the Jesuits, several'con- vents, a parochial church, and a royal hospital ; and is governed by a military officer, nominated from Spain, who has a strong body of troops under his orders. The fortress is provisioned, bv sea, from the ports of Chili, and the troops are paid by the treasury of Peru. All the rivers in the vicinity of Vaidivia contain much gold dust in their sands, and the plains furnish fine timber. Its harbour is formed by a beautiful bay made by the river, which is navigable for large vessels a considerable distance from its mouth. The island of Manzera, lying in the entrance of the stream, divides it into two channels, which are bordered by steep mountains and strongly fortified. The Spaniards not possessing any other settlements important enough to excite notice on the main land, towards the south, we »hall pass to the description of their island territories in this quarter. 428 SOUTH AMERICA. INSULAR CHILI. No part of America has more islands on its coasts than Chili has, and many of these being inhabited, they form a political as well as a natural division of the kingdom. The following are the chief Chilian Isles : The three Coquhnbanes ^ Mug'illon^ Totoral and Pajaro^ which lie off the coast of Coquimbo, and are each six or eight miles in cir- cumference, but are uninhabited. ^iriquina^ at the entrance of the harbour of Concepcion, and Talca^ or Saiita Maria to the south of the harbour, which are two islands of about four miles in length, noted for the abundance of shell fish and sea wolves found on their coasts. In Santa Maria there are also fine springs, and many wild horses and hogs, the latter of which feed on the wild turnips which cover its valleys. Mocha^ in 38° 40', is more than sixty miles in circumference, and lies off the coast of Araucania ; is not inhabited, but is very fertile, and was formerly settled by some Spaniards ; at present it is frequented by the whalers from the United States and Eng« land, who begin fishing here, as it is well supplied with wild hogs; but the most important of the Chilian group are the isles com- prised in the ARCHIPELAGO OF CHILOE, Which is an assemblage of islands, forty-seven in number, si- tuated in a great bay or gulf, near the southern extremity of Chili, and extending from Cape Capitanes to Quillan, or from 41° 50' to 44* south latitude, and from 73° to 74° 20' west longitude. Of this group thirty-two have been colonised by the Spaniards or Indians, and the rest are untenanted. The largest of those which are inhabited is Chiloe, or Isla Grande, which in former times was called Ancud, but has since given its present name to the whole group. Chiloe is situated at the entrance of the gulf of Chiloe, or Ancud, having its western shore opposed to the continent, aud forming a channel, which is about three miles broad at the north entrance, and twelve leagues at the south. It lies between 41° 30' and 44° south latitude, being about sixty leagues in length and twenty in its greatest breadth. The climate of this, and of all the others, is mild and salubrious, and the extremes of heat and cold are unknown. Unlike the northern provinces of Chili, the rains in Chiloe are so frequent that it is only in the autumn they discontinue, and that but for a short time. The air is, therefore, humid, and grain and fruits are CHILI, 429 not so abundantly produced as on the continent. The corn raised in Chiloe is however fully sufficient for the consumption of the inhabitants ; and barley, beans and pease thrive very well. The vegetables principally cultivated, are cabbages and garlic ; but the gardens do not produce much fruit ; apples and some other hardy plants being the only ones which arrive to perfection. Horses and cattle are bred in considerable numbers, as are sheep and swine ; and in the two latter the commerce of the isl- anders principally consists. Deer, otters and foxes are natural to the soil, and there is no want of game. The seas around, and the streams which flow into them, swarm with fish of every kindj and the forests furnish abundance of tim- ber fit for every purpose. This group of islands was first discovered by Don Garcia de Mendoza, in his march to the south of Chili. In 1563, Don Mar- tin Ruiz Gamboa was sent to conquer them with 60 men, and with this trifling force he subjected the Indians, amounting, it is said, to as many thousands. He founded the town of Castro and the port of Chacao in Chiloe. The Chilotes, or native Indians, re- mained quiet for a long time, but at last threw ofl" the yoke of Spain ; and Don Pedro Molina was then sent with a strong force from Concepcion, and soon reduced them to their former obedi- ence. They are descendants of the Chilese of the continent, but far from resembling them in their warlike bent, are extremely ti- mid and docile. The Chilotes are remarkable for their ingenuity, and are particularly capable of carrying on the trades of carpenters, joiners, cabinet-makers and turners. Their manufactures of cloths, linen and woollen, display much taste, and are dyed with beautiful colours. The Chilotes are the best sailors in South America ; their little barks, or piraguas, are very numerous in the seas surrounding their island, and being navigated with sails as well as oars, give a lively appearance to the shores. In these barks, which only consist of a few planks sewed together and caulked with moss, they make voy- ages to Concepcion. Besides the Chilotes, there are several other natives of diflferent tribes in the islands, who have accompanied the missionaries from the neighbouring continent, and the Indian inhabitants of the Ar- chipelago are said to amount to 11,000, divided into seventy-six settlements or districts, each governed by a native chief. The number of persons of Spanish descent is about the same, dispersed in farms, in small setdements, and in four towns. The commerce of the Archipelago is carried on by a few ves- sels from Peru and Chili, which bring wine, brandy, tobacco, sugar, Paraguay tea, salt and European goods, and take in return red cedar and otherboardsjtimberof different kinds, ponchos or cloaks 430 SOUTH AMERICA. jnanufactured by the Indians, hams, dried and salted fish, toys and ambergris ; but their trade will probably never be very thriving, as the navigation of the numerous straits formed by the islands, is cxtreiv.ciy difficult and dangerous for large vessels. All the islands are mountainous and full of craggy and precipi- tous rocks, covered with impenetrable thickets, which render cul- tivation difficult, except in the valleys and on the shores ; the in- terior is therefore seldom inhabited ; on Chiloe there are forty settlements or townships, which are mostly on the coast. These townships have each their church or chapel, but the houses are very much dispersed. Earthquakes are as frequent in these islands as on the mainland, and it does not appear by any means improbable, from the conic formation of most of the mountains, and their scorified appearance, that they are the produce of some dreadful internal convulsion, which has disrupted them from the adjacent continent, on which is the lofty snow-capped summit of the great Corcobado, and se- veral active volcanoes; the range of the Cordillera approaching close to the coast in these latitudes. In 1737, the Archipelago suffered very much from the effects of an earthquake, and the islands of the Guaytecas group to the south, were covered with ashes which destroyed the vegetation for thir- teen years. The continent opposite to the northern extremity of Chiloe, has some Spanish settlements in the country of the Cunches and Hu- illiches, small but independent tribes ; these settlements are said to be three in number, of which Fort MauUin, opposite to Chaco Bay in Chiloe is the chief, and the Spaniards are engaged in form- ing communications from this settlement to Valdivia ; as the sea is rendered almost innavigable during the winter by the frequent and dreadful storms. Pedro de Agueros gives the names of twenty-four islands on the east of the Great Chiloe, which are inha- bited, but as so little is known concerning this group, and as seve- ral contradictory statements have been made about them, the mere names are uninteresting. The capital is Castro, in 42° 40' south latitude, on the eastern shore of the island of Chiloe, upon an arm of the sea, and was founded in 1566, by Don Martin Ruiz de Gamboa. The houses, as is the case with all the rest in the province, are of wood, and are inhabited by about 150 persons; it has a parish church, a convent of Franciscans, and another of Mercedarii, in which only two or three monks reside. This city was over- thrown by an earthquake soon after its foundation, since which it has never been in a flourishing state; it is 180 miles south of Valdivia. The other towns are the port of Chacao or Chaco, in the middle of the north coast of Chiloe, and opposite to Fort MauUin, which has a tolerable anchorage, but is difficult of access. » CHILI. 431 Sa7i Carlos is on the Bahia del Rey, and was built in 1767, on account of the difficulties attending the entrance to Chaco. It is in 41° 57' south latitude, and 73° 58' west-longitude, and is the most populous and flourishing town in the province, containing 1100 inhabitants. The harbour is good, but subject to tremendous squalls and hurricanes ; and the town is fortified, and has a regular garrison ; and from the advantages of its harbour, the governor and council always reside at San Carlos. The other islands have each one settlement and a missionary church on them, excepting Guinchuan^ which has six ; Lejnui and Llachi^ each four, and Calbuco three, but none of any material con- sequence. South of the Islands of Chiloe is the Archipelago of Guay- TECAS and Chonos, lying in a large gulf or inlet of the continent, from 44° 20' to 45° 46' south latitude ; they are comprehended by the Spaniards within the province of Chiloe, but are uninha- bited, being a mere mass of granite rocks, covered with thick forests. Some of these, namely, Tequehuen^ Ayaupa^ Menchuan and 2~quilaOy the Indians of Chiloe visit periodically, and put cows in them, for the sake of the pasture, which is luxuriant. Having now concluded the description of that part of Chili in- habited by Spaniards, and their descendants, we shall give a slight sketch of the country, reaching from the Biobio river to Fort MauUin; and which, on account of its being the territory of the Araucanians and of nations in confederacy and identified with those people, in manners and language, it may be proper to give the ge- neral name of Araucania. ARAUCANIA, OR INDIAN CHILI, Extends from the river Biobio in 36° to the south of Chiloe, ip the 45* of south latitude, exceeding 420 miles in breadth, and also occupying from the 33° to the 45° south latitude, both the central and eastern ridges of the Andes. The nations who inhabit this extensive tract are the Araucanians^ possessing the country between the Biobio and the Valdivia rivers, the Pacific and the Andes; the Puelches^ who inhabit the western flanks of the Cordillera and its central valleys ; and still farther north, on the Andes, adjoining Cuyo, the Pehuenches and the Chiquillanes^ their territory lying as far north as the thirty-third degree of south latitude, or opposite to Santiago, the capital of Chili, and extending, indefinitely to the cast. 432 SOUTH AMERICA. South of the Valdivia river, and as far as the forty-fifth degree, are the Clinches on the sea coast, and the Huilliches in the plains, near the western dt clivity of the Andes, which mountains are also occupied in this quarter by the Puelches. All this country, to the north of the Archipelago of Chiloe, is fertile and pleasant, consisting mostly of wide plains, agreeably di- versified with mountains. That part which lies on the Andes possesses some beautiful valleys, but as the chain attains a great elevation the climate is cold. In these valleys, towards the east, salt and sulphur is plentiful ; and the precious metals are by no means rare. Near Valdivia, immense quantities of gold were for- merly found in the sands of the rivers and in alluvious grounds, but they are not worked at present, as the Spaniards are kept from those places by the natives. In Araucania the vegetables and animals are the same as those of Spanish Chili; but the rivers and sea abound with fish in greater quantities than in the latter country. The Araucanian nation is the most considerable and the most noted of all those which have been named as inhabiting Indian Chili; the others resemble them in their customs and persons, but are in a more savage state ; we shall therefore only describe these extraordinary people, whose history forms so prominent a feature in the affairs of Chili. They are of a middling stature, well made, and of a strong muscular farm and martial appearance. Their colour is the same as that of the other native American tribes, only rather clearer, and they have round faces, small eyes, and small feet ; and many of their women are said to be beautiful. Accus- tomed to a hardy life, and breathing a pure air, these people live to an advanced age, and are not subject to many disorders. In character they are haughty, free, patient under fatigue, and very intrepid in danger; but are fond of strong liquors, which causes them to commit crimes. Their dress consists of clothes fitted close to the body, and ponchos, or cloaks, which are made of cotton, and are so beauti- fully worked that they are sometimes worth a hundred and fifty dollars. Their heads are girt with embroidered wool, in which is placed plumes of ostrich, flamingo and other beautiful feathers. The wo- men wear a robe of woollen stuff, descending to the feet, and tied round the waist with a girdle, over which they put a small cloak. The hair is allowed to grow long, and is formed in tresses orna- mented with a kind of false emerald and other gems ; necklaces, bracelets, and rings on every finger, complete the female toilet. The national colour, which is worn by both sexes, particularly among the lower classes, is greenish blue. These people never inhabit towns, but dwell in huts, occasionally placed near each other, though oftener dispersed on the banks of CHII.I. 433 the rivers and in the plains ; these habitations descend from father to son, and are not removed, except in case of absolute necessity. The cottages are remarkably neat, and are proportioned to the size of the family; they are surrounded with trees, under whose shades their repasts are made in summer ; and the rich people display much plate on these occasions. At their marriages, funerals, and feasts, the utmost profusion of provision appears ; and at these times fermented liquors are given in such quantities that they often occasion feuds. Polygamy is practised by these people, every man having as many wives as he can maintain, it being deemed reproachful to remain unmarried. Instead of the husband receiving a portion V'ith his wife, he pavs a considerable sum to the parents for their permission towed her; after he has obtained which, he carries off his bride without any further ceremony, excepting giving a feast to her relations. The first wife is regarded as the head of the family, the others being under her orders in respect to the management of the house ; each wife has a separate apartment where she prepares food for her husband every day, and all present him once a year with a poncho or embroidered cloak, but the women are in general condemned to the laborious occupations. Both sexes practise daily ablutions in the rivers, and are excel- lent swimmers. Oratory is held in the highest esteem by these people ; and their language, which is the ancient dialect of Chili, is very soft, har- monious and rich. Molina in his description of Chili has given a full account of it, and says that it differs essentially from all the languages of the American tribes. The government of that part of Chili inhabited by this nation is singular; they divide the territory into four parallel provinces, the maritime, the plains, the foot of the Andes, and that which lies on thw sides of these mountains ; each province is separated into five districts, and these are again subdivided into nine other por- tions. The four provinces are governed each by a toqin or general, subordinate to whom are the Apo Ulmens; and on these, as far as military affairs are concerned, the Ulinens are dependent, each sub- division having its Ulmen or Cacique. All these magistrates have distinctive badges ; the toqui a hatchet ; the Apo Ulmen a silver- headed rod encircled by a ring; and the LHmen a rod with a sil- ver head ; and these dignities are hereditary. The whole are oc- casionally combined in a general council, which meets on a plain ; the chief occasion to assemble this council being to electa supreme toqui for the command of the army when it is about to take the field ; and any native is eligible to this appointment. Their wars are terrible, and as they are excellent horsemen, the Araucanian cavalry is very formidable, their arms being swords 3 I 434' SOUTH AMERICA. and lances; those of the infantry, clubs and pikes ; their onset is furious, but always conducted with order, and though swept down in ranks by the cannon, they close with their Spanish enemies, and fighting hand to hand, are frequently victors in spite of the supe- riority of European discipline and arms. After a great victory they sacrifice a prisoner to the manes of their warriors who have fallen in battle ; and this ceremony is said to be attended with some disgusting circumstances, such as the to- qui and chiefs sucking the blood from the panting heart of the vic- tim, which is cut for that purpose from his breast. - These people have always resisted the attempts of the English and Dutch to land on the shores of Chili ; they were seen by Sir Francis Drake in his celebrated voyage round the world, in some of the islands near the coast, and subsequently they drove the Dutch from several points on which they had landed. They have hitherto frustrated all the attempts of the Spaniards to conquer their country, and being in strict alliance with the sur- rounding nations, keep the Europeans at defiance. The Araucanians are said to wander over the Andes with the Fuelches, in order to attack the convovs of merchandise and the travellers going from Buenos Ayres to Chili through the Pampas; and have even penetrated in the disguise of friendly Indians, as far as Buenos Ayres itself. We shall conclude this account of Spanish America with a short description of a Spanish settlement formerly made in the Straits of IVIagalhaens, and of the islands on the coasts of South America belonging to or claimed by that power. The Straits of Magalhaens and others in their vicinity being at present, though it is to be hoped that the voyage now performing by order of the British government will not long allow them to re- main so, the only passage from the Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean, it may not be uninteresting to state that they were discovered by Ferdinand Magalhaens, a Portuguese navigator, who having turned his mind to the circumstance of the extreme probability of there being a communication between the two oceans which had in vain been sought for by Columbus and his followers, offered to conduct an expedition to explore the southern part of America for this purpose. Meeting with a denial from his own court, he went to Madrid, where, from his known talents and previous voyages, he received the utmost favour ; a fleet was fitted out, and, being placed under his orders, Magalhaens sailed from the Guadalquivir on the 10th of August 1519, and discovering the coast of Patagonia, proceed- ed along its shores to the south, where the land bearing away to the west, the admiral followed it, till he found his squadron in the straits that now bear his name, through which he passed, and en- tered the great South Sea on the 28th of November, 1520 j pro- CHILI. 435 ceeding through it till he discovered the Ladrones, and in one of those isles was killed in a skirmish with the natives ; after which, one of his ships only arrived in Spain by way of the Cape of Good Hope, on the 7th of September, 1522, having been absent three years and twenty seven days ; and having had the honour of being the first to circumnavigate the globe. Sir Francis Drake, following Magalhaens by the same route into the South Sea, and taking much treasure and many ships from the people of Chili, Peru and Mexico, it was determined by the Spa- nish court that the newly discovered passage should be explored and fortified. With this view Sarmiento, the best naval officer in the service, was selected in Peru to pass the Straits from the South Sea into the Atlantic ; he accordingly performed this voy- age ; and so plausible were the representations he made to the cabinet of Madrid, that Philip II. ordered twenty-three ships to be fitted out, with 3500 men, under Don Diego de Valdez, and Sarmiento with 500 veterans was directed to settle and fortify such positions as he deemed the best. It was more than two years before this fleet arrived at its des- tination : but as soon as it entered the straits, Sarmiento built a town and fort at the eastern entrance, which he named Nombre de y^^MJ, and in which he left 150 men; fifteen leagues farther to the west he erected another fortress, in the narrowest part of the straits, and in 53° 18' south latitude, where he built his principal town, which he called Cittdad del Rey Felipe. This was a regular square, with four bastions, and is said to have been excellently contrived. In it was placed a garrison of 400 men and thirty women, with provisions for eight months : but on the return of Sarmiento into the Atlantic he was taken by an English ship. The garrison, for want of succour, fell a prey to disease and famine, and on January the Tth, Sir Thomas Cavendish found only one Spaniard, out of twenty-three who had remained alive, which were all that had escaped of the whole colony ; the twenty-two others had set out to find their way to the Rio de la Plata over land : but as they were never heard of, it is conjectured they must have perished miserably in the deserts of Patagonia. Thus ended this seemingly well-ordered expedition; since which time the Spaniards have not attempted to resume the colony; find- ing that the straits were too wide to fortify, and that other passages existed to the south, which were equally good for the purposes of the navigator, 436 SOUTH AMERICA ISLANDS ON THE COASTS OF SPANISH SOUTH AMERICA, Commencing the description of the Spanish South American islands from the coasts of Chili, our attention is first led to the islands of Juan Fernande?;, three in number ; the largest, which alone properly bears that appellation, is in 33° 40' south latitude, and 80° SO' west longitude, distant from Chili 110 leagues, and was discovered by a Spaniard, who gave it his name, in 1563. This island was so much spoken of by navigators in early times that it was supposed to be a terrestrial paradise. It is, however, in fact, merely a small spot, rising out of the ocean to a considerable height, not more than four leagues in length from east to west, and generally mountainous, but there are some fine vallevs and plains, which are full of trees and herbage. The hills towards the north are also covered with large woods, but those on the south are des- titute of timber ; every place is, however, overspread with coarse grass, v/hich grows to the height of six feet. Among all the spe- cies of trees there are few of the tropical kinds, owing to the cold- ness of the climate ; for being surrounded by the sea, it is even cooler here than on the coast of Chili, under the same parallel: but the European and American fruits peculiar to these latitudes flourish and grow abundantly. Juan Fernandez has been the abode of several English naviga- tors in the voyages round the world, and into the Pacific, from the circumstance of its being excellently adapted as a place of shelter and refreshment to squadrons or vessels cruising against the trade of Peru and Chili; but the government of the former country made a settlement here in 1750, which completely prevented all vessels from touching here excepting those belonging to powers in amity with Spain. Its western side is composed of cliffs rising perpen- dicularly out of the sea, but the north-west point is the first an- choring place, and here the Spaniards have a guard-house and bat- tery. About half a mile east north-east of this is the great bay, where the anchorage is close to the shore; and in this bay is seated the village or principal settlement, in a fine valley between two high hills. A battery of five guns on the right commands the road, and there is another on the left, with seven embrasures to the ancho- rage, and seven towards the town. In this village the houses amount to about forty ; but there are several dispersed over different parts of the island, - Each house ISLANDS ON THE COASTS. 437 has a garden, with grape-vines, fig, cherry, plum and almond trees, and plenty of vegetables. The officer who commands at this island is sent from Chili, in which government it is included, and the island is called La de Ti- trra by the Spaniards, on account of its lying nearer the shore of Chili than the next largest, which is distinguished by the name of Mas Afiiera^ or the farthest, and is 80 miles west from Juan Fer- nandez, in 80° 46' west longitude, and 33° 45' south latitude. This last is very high and mountainous, and at a distance appears one hill; its form is triangular, and seven or eight leagues in circuit ; the southern part is much the highest, and on the north end are some clear spots, but the rest is covered with wood. Several parts of the coasts of this isle afford good anchorage, but the bottom is generally deep ; and it abounds in goats, which are easily caught and afford a good supply of fresh provision. On the south-west point of the island is a pierced rock, which proves a good mark for the anchorage on the western shore. Mas-afuera contains plenty of wood and fresh water, falling ia cascades from the high ground of the interior ; but these articles cannot be procured without difficulty, on account of the rocky na- ture of the shore causing the surf to beat violently. Several birds, and amongst these large hawks, are seen on the land, and hover- ing over the fish which abound on the shores, and may be easily caught. Sea wolves, seals, and other aquatic animals, are also very common. Off the south-western extremity of Juan Fernandez is a small uninhabited isle, or rather rock, named Isla de Cabras, or Isle of Goats. These islands are noted for having been the residence of two persons whose adventures gave rise to the novel of Robinson Cru- soe. The one was a Mosquito Indian left there by the Bucca- neers, and the other Alexander Selkirk, a Scotchman, also left there by his ship, and who lived four or five years on Juan Fer- nandez, subsisting upon the goats he caught, which were introduced into the Islands by Fernandez, the discoverer, who settled and died in La de Tierra. In proceeding to the north from these, the next isles of any con- sequence off the coasts of Peru, are those named .5"^ Felix and St. Ambrose; but these are mere rocks of some extent and very high, on which innumerable seals and marine animals are found. They are not more than five miles in circumference, and are four leagues and a half distant from each other, between 26° 19' and 26° 13' south latitude, and between 79° 41' and 79° 26' west longitude. On the coast of Peru, opposite the town of Pisco, are the Isles of Lobos^ or the Sea Wolves, where numbers of seals and other aqua- tic animals may be caught : thev are also, hov/ever, mere rocks : north-norlb-west of these rocks is the small isle of Sangallan in 438 SOUTH AMERICA. 13° 45' south latitude, famous for seals and sea wolves, and north of this are the isles Chinca, Pachacamac and St. Lorenzo, all small, kut the latter of which is famous as forming the road of Callao, being the place where the Dutch fortified themselves in 1624, when they made an attempt against Lima. North of these are the Farelhnes de Huara, which are danger- ous rocks, and the isles de Saint Martin, de Santa, and de Chao^ also very small, and close to the coast of Peru. The next are the Lcbos de Mar, formerly the resort of the Buc- caneers, and the Lobos de Tierra, the first sixteen leagues from the shore, and the latter close to it ; they are twelve miles from each '•ther, in 6° 25' and 6° 45' south latitude, but are unimportant. North of these, in the gulf of Guayaquil, is the large island of Puna already mentioned. The next on the coast of New Granada is Salengo, a small isle near Cape Santa Elena, and still further is La Plata, the place where Sir Francis Drake divided his plunder, and is a very small isle close to the coast, in 1* 10' north latitude, which is followed at a considerable distance on the shore of Atacames, by the Isla del Gallo, a small uninhabited spot, furnishing good wood and water, in 2° 28' south latitude, and 76° 47' west longitude. The next is Gorgcna in 3° 36' south latitude, and 77" 52' west longitude, 10 miles in circumference, and eighteen from the coast; opposite to these, but at a great distance from the land, are the Gallapagos or Tortoise Islands, but as they are uninhabited, and more than 110 leagues from the land, a description will take us be- yond the limits we have prescribed to the work. From Plata there are no isles of any consequence on the coast, till those which lie in the bay of Panama occur, but they have al- ready been mentioned in the description of the isthmus. Crossing to the western side, and beginning at the northern boun- dary of Panama, we find several groups of rocky islets on the shores of that province, but none of them are of sufficient size or impor- tance to merit a detail of their figure or qualities ; passing there- fore along the northern shore, the island of Baru, or Varu, pre- sents itself near the southern part of that on which Carthagena is built. It is large, fertile, and inhabited ; its length is about sixteen miles, and breadth three, in 10° 12' north latitude, and 75° 25' west longitude. Oflf the coast of Caraccas are several large islands, of which Aves, Rocca, Orchilla, Blanco, Tortuga-Salada, Margarita, Cubagvd, Cocke, Los Testigos, and some others belong to the Spaniards, and are included within the limits of the captain-generalship of Caraccas. Aves and Rocca, are barren and uninhabited rocks ; Orchilla or Horchilla, is a small cluster, in 12° north latitude, and 55° 20' west longitude, the largest isle being in the form of a cres- -"ent. and is low. p::ccepting on the east and west capes, which are ISLANDS ON THE COASTi). 43& very hilly j on this part the trees and verdure abound, whilst the other sides are barren and salt. The only animals on it are goats and lizards, and it contains but little fresh water; Blanca^ or Blan- quillay in 11° 56' north latitude, and 64** 40' west longitude is also desert but higher and more rocky than the former. Tortuga-Salada is in 10° 53' north latitude, and 65° 18' west lon- gitude, ninety-five miles east-north-east of La Guayra on the main land, and forty-eight west of Margarita, being about thirty milei- in circumference, and abounding in salt ponds. The southern part contains some fresh-water springs, and is well covered with trees, but the rest is barren, naked and full of salt-pools, for which reason it was much frequented by vessels of all nations, in order to take in cargoes of that substance, but the Spaniards have lately laid these pools under water ; this island is, however, still used by foreign vessels in time of peace, and on it are some goats which have miS- tiplied very much. Margarita has been already noticed ; its western side is a noted sea-mark, on account of a cape in 64° 26' west longitude, named Cape Macanao, the mountains of which are 3500 or 4000 feet in height above the sea. Cubagua^ Coche^ Los Testigos and Los Frayles^ are small uninha- bited islands in the neigbourhood of Margarita, but were formerly noted for their pearl fishery, and they were first discovered by Columbus. On Cubagua a town was founded soon after by Ojeda, who named it New Cadiz ; but no vestiges of it now remain. At that time the coast from Paria to Cape Vela, was named Costa de las Perlas, the Coast of Pearls, the first Spaniards who landed on this shore, finding the natives every where decorated with those valuable jewels. So actively was the trade carried on in these islands, that at the conquest. Cache alone furnished to the value of 1500 marks a month ; and the King's annual fifth amounted to 15,000 ducats; till 1530, the pearl fishery averaged yearly 173,000/, while the American mines furnished only during the same period, 434,000/. sterling. But this fishery diminished rapidly afterwards, and was entirely at an end before 1683. The destruction of the oysters contributed to this decay, as well as the cutting and setting diamonds which had become common in the l6th century. At present the Indians are the only persons con- cerned in this traffic, and they sometimes procure a few pearls, but they are generally of the seed kind, and they sell them at Cu- mana for five shillings a dozen. The island of Cubagua is full of small deer, which are of a brownish red on the back, white under the belly, and beautifully spotted, some of them are quite white ; the Guayqueria Indians frequently land on the island to kill them for the sake of the veni- son and skins. Nearer the coasts of Caraccas, and between La Guayra and Cu- mana, in the bays of Mochima and Santa Fe, are some extraor- 440 SOUTH AMERICA. dinary islets named Caraccas and ChijnaJias^ the former being three, and the latter eight in number, but they are nearly barren rockSj some of which, as Picua^ Piciiifay Caraccas and Boracha which is the largest, rise to the height of 930 feet above the surrounding ocean. On one of them are large wild goats, which were origi- nally left there by a family who settled on it from the continent ; but the father outliving his children, and becoming rich enough to purchase slaves, he brought two blacks from Cumana, who mur» dered him, and living on the produce of the farm, were undisco- vered in so lonely a spot, for a length of time; but by some accident the affair becoming known, they were taken to Cumana, where one was beheaded, and the other turned public executioner in order to save his life. Between Cape Unare and Barcelona are the two Piritoo islands, which are low and covered with herbage, but are uninhabited and of small size. In the channel between the British island of Trinidad and Cape Paria are several small and desert isles which are of little impor- tance : and descending further to the south, the Islands of the mouths of the Orinoco present themselves, inhabited by a fierce and warlike tribe of Indians, named the Guarounoes. No island of any importance occurs on the Spanish coast of South America, till we reach the mouth of the La Plata, where the island of Lobos^ or wolves, in south latitude Z5°y and 15 miles south-west of Cape Santa Maria, is found ; it is small and chiefly noted for the qucs sur les Americains, 1769. Perocse (La), Voyage autour du Monde, 1785—1788, redige par M. L. A. Millet-Mu' reau, 4 vols. Paris, 1798. Perez de Roxas Historia de Cinaloa. Pinckard's Notes on the West Indies, 2 vols. PiiTKERTox's Modern Geography, 2 vols. 8vo. PiEDRAHiTA (LucAS Fernasdez, EL Osisro), Historia General de las Conquistas del Nue^ vo Reyno de Grenada. PoTERAT (Marquis de). Journal d'un Voyage au Cap de Horn, au Chili, auPeron, &cc. 1795 —1800, Paris, 1815. PuRCHAs' Pilgrim, a collection of curious voyages, in 5 vols. Ratn AX, Histoire Politique et Philosophique des Etablisseraens et du Commerce des Eurc« peens dans les deux Indes, 10 vols, et Atlas, Geneva, 1780. Relations des diverses Voyages curieux, par M. M. Thetexot. RoBERTSox's History of America. Robin*, Vovage dans I'interieurede la Floride occidentale, &c. 1802 — 1806, 3 voh ' Ruiz (Hrp.') y Jose Patox, Flora Peruviana, 3 vols. Madrid, 1798. 1802. Semple's Sketch of the present State of the Caraccas. Sir Francis Drake's Voyages, London, 1653, 4to. Skixxer on Peru. SoLTs, Historia de la Conquista de Mexico y de Nueva Espana, por JossE, 3 vols, SoLORZAXo Pereira de Indiarum jure. Solthey's Histoiy of Bi-azil, 4to. StedMax's History of Surinam. Thou (L A. de). Universal History, 1543 — ICIO, 16 vols. London, 1734. ToRftUEMADA, ^looarquia Indiana, 3 vols, folio, 1615. TouROx, Histoire Generale de I'Araerique depuis sa decouvertc, 14 vols. Paris, 1768-177C* Tucket's Maritime Geography. Ulxoa and Juax's Voyage to South America, 2 vols. 8vo. (English translation.) UxAXUE, Guia Politica del Pei-u (periodical.) Vater, Inquiries into the Population of the New Continent (German.) Vaxcouver's Voyage round the World. Vida del Padre Fray J. Serro, Mexico, 1787. Vida del Almirante Colon por Ferxaxdo Colox. ViDAURHE, Compendiodel Chili, 8vo. Bologna, 177G. VoEXET Tableau du Cliraat et du Sol des Etats Unis. Voyage a la Recherche de La Perouse, par M. D'Entrecaateaux. Voyage au Perou, 1791 — 1794, par les P. P. Manuel Sobreviella, etNarcisso J Barcel, £ vols, with an Atlas, in 4to. Paris, 1809. Vue de la Colonie Espagnole de Mississippi, en 1802, Paris, 1803. Water's Description of the Isthmus of Darien, 1699, Waltox's Present State of the Spanish Colonies, 2 vols. London. WiLcocKE's History of the Viceroyalty of Huenos Ayres, 1806. Ydea de una Nueva Historia General de la America Septentrional, par BoTOTil^. Zarate, Histoire de la Conquete du Perou, Pafis, 1742, ZoEGA de Origine et usu Obelisccrum. TABLE or THE LATITUDES AND LONGITUDES OF SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL PLACES IN SPANISH AMERICA, CORRECTED FROM THE LATEST INFORMATION, WITH THE NUMBER OF INHABITANTS IN THE CHIEF TOWNS. Government Latitude Longitude Places. or north or west of Number of Inhabitants. Situation. south. Greenwich. D. ar. s. D. M. s. Abancay Peru 13 30 OS. 72 2S Acapvlco - New Spain - 16 15 29 N. 99 48 18 4000. Aconcagua, or San ") Felipe - $ Chili 32 48 S. ^2750 families of Indians, Actopan New Spain - 20 19 30 N. 98 49 • 1 and 50 families of whites 'and castes. Adais, or Adayes ^ Fort - 5 New Spain - 32 9 ON. 93 35 rSOO families of whites, j and many castes ; fa- J mous for its hot springs 1 impregnated with cop- Aguas Calientes New Spain - 22 2 ON. 101 51 30 Lper. Aguatuko New Spain - 15 44 ON. Alatigi, or El Angel New Granada 8 12 ON. 80 40 Alausi New Granada 2 12 ON. 78 39 Albuquerque New Spain - 29 35 N. 79 40 6000. Almaguer New Granada ^ 1 56 ON. 76 54 Alvarado New Spain -' 18 40 ON. 96 36 * Amapalla Guatimala - 13 12 ON. 87 55 Amatiques Guatimala - 15 23 ON. 89 Amotape Peru 4 50 OS. 80 42 445 Places. Government or Situation. Latitude north or south. Longitude west of Greenwich. Number of Inhabitants. Amparaes Anco Andahuailas Antonio de Bcjar Antonio de los Cues Antoniode la Florida Apalachia Jlpurimac, source of Archidona ^requipa Arica Arispe Asuncion Atacama - Atrato, mouths of the Atunxauxa Avila Austria, San Pe-j lipe de - j Babahoyo Baracoa Baranca del Ma-^ lambo - " Barbacoas Barcelona Barquisimeto Batabano Bayamo Borja BCEirOS AlBES - Buga Cadiz Calaboza Call Callao Campeche Carabaya Caraccas Cariaco Carora Carthagcna Carthago Carthago Casas Grandes Castro Castrovireyna Caxamarca La Plata - Peru Peru New Spain - New Spain - Chili Florida Peru New Granada Peru Peru New Spain - La Plata - La Plata - Gulf ofDarien Peru New Grenada Caraccas - New Granada Cuba New Granada New Granada Caraccas Caraccas Cuba Cuba New Granada La Plata - New Granada Cuba Caraccas New Granada Peru New Spain - La Plata • Caraccas Caraccas • Caraccas New Granada New Spain - New Granada New Spain - Chiloe Peru Peru D. M. s. 19 12 OS. 13 14 OS. 13 25 OS. 29 50 N. 18 3 ON. 33 39 OS 29 43 N. 16 10 or 20 S. 45 OS. 16 16 S. 18 26 S. 30 36 ON 24 47 S. 23 30 S. 8 2 ON U 45 OS. 44 OS. 10 31 ON 1 47 OS. 21 4 ON. 11 40 ON. 1 42 OS. 10 10 N 8 55 ON 22 43 19 N. 20 46 N 4 28 N 34 35 26 S. 2 58 ON D. TS. S. 67 3 73 10 73 4 101 71 41 84 28 76 48 71 58 70 18 23 2 8 40 3 15 12 3 19 50 14 40 10 30 10 30 10 10 26 9 5 4 46 33 30 42 40 12 50 ON ON ON 42 S. 45 N OS. 15 N ON ON. 36 N ON. ON. ON. OS. OS. 8 OS, 108 58 15 59 35 69 30 77 6 75 48 76 25 63 41 76 10 74 30 78 8 64 47 66 55 82 25 41 76 55 76 24 57 24 79 55 7S 16 77 14 90 30 30 69 36 67 4 45 63 39 75 26 45 83 74 45 76 10 2000, C Populous, and an ancient (_ Aztec fortress. Near the city of Arequipa. 700. 24,000. 600. 500 white families, and several thousands of In- dians and mestizoes. Rises in the mountains of Choco, and runs 95 leagues. 300. 250 iamiiies. Populous. 14,000. 11,300, 60,000. 4800. 6000. 20,000. 6500. 6200. 25,000. 5 or 6000. Near the Rio Gila. 150. rCelebrated for the palace I of the Incas it contains, J which is at present in- \ habited by some of iheii* I descendants. Popula- L tion 2000. 41« , Government Latitude Longitude Places. or north or west of Number of Inhabitants. Situation. , south. Greenwich. D. M. s. D. M. s. Cayman, Grande > Isle, east point 3 Caribbean Sea 19 19 ON. 80 38 49 Caymanbiak, east 5 point - 5 Caribbean Sea 19 40 N. 79 47 22 Cerro de Axusco,5 mountain - 3 New Spain 19 15 27 N. 99 12 30 Chachapojas or ■% Juan de la Fron- ] . Peru 6 12 OS. 72 28 tera - 3 Chancay Peru 11 33 47 S. - - _ Populous. Chiapa Real - Guatimala « 17 ON. 93 23 500 familiesv Chiapa de los Indios Guatimala 17 5 ON. 93 53 20,000. Chihuahua New Spain 28 50 N. 104 29 45 11,600. Chilian Chili 35 56 OS. - - _ Populous. Cholula New Spain - 19 2 6N. 98 7 45 16,000. Cholula, Pyramid of, New Spain • 19 2 6N. 98 12 15 Chuqnisaca or La 7 Plata ' 5 La Plata - 19 40 S. C6 46 14,000. Cinaloa New Spain - 26 ON. 106 9500. Coche, Isle of, east ^ cape - 3 Caribbean Sea 10 45 ON. 63 51 38 Cofre de Perote,^ mountain - 3 New Spain - 19 28 57 N. 97 8 34 Colchagua or San 5 Fernando 3 Chili 34 18 OS. - - - 1500 families. Colonia del Sacra- ^ mento - 3 La Plata - 34 22 S. 57 52 Comayaguaso or ^ Valladolid 3 Guatimala - 14 30 N. 88 19 Concepcion del Pao Caraccas 8 42 ON. 65 10 2300. Concepcion Chili 36 47 S. 73 9 13,000. Concepcion La Plata 23 23 S. 57 16 1550. Copiapo Chili - 26 50 S. 70 18 400 families. Coquimbo or La^ Serena - 3 Chili 29 52 OS. 71 19 C500 families of whites, 'I &c. and some Indians. Cordova New Spain - 18 50 ON. 96 56 SOU families. Cordova - La Plata - 31 30 OS. 63 16 5500. Coro Caraccas 11 24 ON. 69 40 10,000. Corientes, Cape, Pacific 20 25 30 N. 105 38 45 Coulemu Chili 36 2 OS. _ _ _ Cuenga - New Granada 2 53 49 S. 79 14 40 20,000. Cumana Caraccas 10 27 52 N. 64 9 47 16,800. Cumana, port of. Caraccas 10 28 N. 64 9 45 Cumanacoa Caraccas - 10 16 11 N. _ _ _ 2S00. Curugurtty La Plata 24 28 S. 56 54 2250. Cuzcatlan Guatimala - 13 40 ON. 89 20 5000. Cuzco Peru - 13 25 S. 71 15 32,000. Dtirango New Spain 24 25 ON. 103 34 45 12,000. Fort Buenavista New Spain - 27 45 N. 110 7 15 Fort del Altar • New Spain - 31 2 ON. 111 45 45 Fort del Passage New Spain - 25 28 ON. 103 12 15 Foit Passo del Norte New Spain - 32 9 ON. 104 42 45 Gibraltar Caraccas - 10 4 ON. 67 36 Gracias k Dios - Guatimala - 14 SO N. 90 6 Granada Guatimala - 11 15 ON. 86 15 Guadalascara <■ New Spam 21 9 ON. 103 2 15 19,500 447 Government Latitude I Longitude Places. or north or WfSl ot" Number of Inhabitants. Situation. south. Greenwich. D. M. S. D. M. s. Clualqui Chili 36 44 OS. _ _ - Guamaiiga Peru 1-2 50 S. 77 56 26,000. Guanaia Daraccas 8 14 ON. 69 54 0* 12,000. Guanaxuaio - New Spain - 21 15 N. 100 54 45 70,600. Guancavelica • Peru 12 45 S. 74 46 5200. Guanta Peru 12 30 OS. 74 16 Guanuco Pera 9 59 OS. 75 56 C Near the sources 49 25 Mariquita New Granada 5 16 ON. 74 6 300. Mas-afura, Isle - Pacific Ocean 33 47 S. 80 41 Mayobaraba Peru - 7 OS. 76 56 Melipilla Chili 33 28 S. 70 7 JUendoza La Plata - 33 25 OS. 69 47 6000. ^ Limit of the Conquestfl Mercaderes New Granada 1 45 ON - -[ of the Peruvian lucaa (. to the north. Merida New Granada 8 10 ON 73 45 11,000. Mexico New Spain 19 25 45 N 99 5 15 137,000. Mompox New Granada 9 19 ON 74 11 SIo of, - - 5 Atlantic 8 30 N. 59 50 CBoca de los Navios or ^ Great Estuary. Oropesa La Plata - 18 15 S. 67 6 Otabalo New Granada 15 ON. 77 56 15,000. Pamplona New Granpda 6 30 ON. 71 36 Panama New Granada 9 SON. 79 19 Paria La Plata • 18 50 OS. 68 20 Pasquaro New Spain _ - . 101 19 45 6000. Payta Peru 5 5 OS. 80 50 Fensacola Florida 30 28 N. 87 It ^Boundary between the Perdido, mouth of, Mexican Gulf 30 25 N. 87 26 •\ United States and Flo- V. rida. Petatlan hill New Spain - 17 32 ON. 101 28 30 Petorca Chili 31 45 OS. 76 50 Populous. Pico de Orizaba,^ mountain of, 3 Niw Spain - 19 2 17 N. 97 15 Piedra Blanca, New Spain • 21 33 ON. 105 27 30 Pisco Peru 13 46 OS. 76 9 300 Families. Piura, or San Mi-^ guel - - 5 Peru 5 11 OS. 80 36 C7000. The oldest city of ^ South America. Pomabamba - La Plata - 19 55 OS. 64 8 Popayan New Granada 2 28 38 N. 76 31 30 25,000. Popocatepetl, ') mountain - 5 New Spain - 18 59 47 N. 98 33 Porco La Plata - 19 40 OS. 67 56 Pore New Granada 5 40 ON. 72 13 500. Porto Bello New Granada 10 27 N. 79 26 Potosi La Plata - 19 47 OS. 67 22 30,000. Puebla delosAngelos New Spain - 19 15 N. 98 2 30 67,800. Puerto Cabello Caraccas 10 20 ON. 69 11 SOOO. PuEnTo Rico - Puerto Rico 18 29 ON. 66 Populous. Puna La Plata - 16 20 OS. 70 26 Populous. Punta del Ana "^ Nueva, or Mis- •. sion of Santa C Cruz - -* New Spain - 37 9 15 N. 122 23 38 440. Queretaro New Spain - 20 36 39 N. 100 10 15 35,000. Quillota - Chili 32 50 OS. 71 18 Quito New Granada 13 27 S. 78 10 15 70,000. ifawca^z/a, or San- ^ taCruzdeTriana3 Chili 34 18 OS, 70 42 449 Places. Goverament or Situation. Latitude north or south. Longilude west of Greenwich. Number of Inhabitants. } Ileal del Rosario mine Real de los AIam(5s 7 mine - 5 Bealexo Riobamba Rio Bravo del Norte, mouth of, - - Rio de La Plata, 7 mouth of, - 3 Rioja Salamanca Salta §aint Mary's Ri- 2 ver, mouth of, \ Santander San Antonio Cape SaS At'GUSTIN San Bernardo de^ T^ija . ^ San Bias San Carlos San Carlos San Diego mission San Felipe, orCo- corata San Francisco mis- sion San Josef mission San Juan del Rio San Juan mission San Juan de la Frontei'a San Juan del Pao San Juan de Pasto San Lazaro, moun- tain, San Lucas, Cape, San Luis de Cura San Luis de Gon- zaga San Litis de Za- catecas San Miguel Ibarra San Salvador San Sebastian de "} los Reyes v San Sebastian del ^ Oro, or La Plata 5 Santa Barbara ^ mission • 5 Santa Buenaventura Santa Fe Sakta Fi,' or Bo- ? GOTA . 3 New Spain - New Spain - Guatimala New Granada Gulf of Mexico de 7 Atlantic La Plata - New Spain - La Plata - Atlantic New Spain - Cuba Florida La Plata New Spain - Chiloe Caraccas New Spain - Caraccas New Spain - New Spain New Spain - New Spaia - La Plata - Caraccas New Granada New Spain • New Spain - Caraccas Chili New Spain - New Granada Guatimala Caraccas ■ New Granada New Spain - New Spain - New Spain - New Granada s. M. s. 23 30 N 27 8 ON 12 45 ON 1 20 OS. 25 55 ON 35 30 OS. 29 12 OS. -20 40 N 24 17 OS. 30 35 ON. 23 45 18 N. 21 55 N. 29 58 N. 22 14 OS. 21 32 48 N. 41 57 S. 9 20 ON. 32 39 30 N. 10 15 ON. 37 48 30 N. 23 3 25 N. 33 29 33 25 9 20 1 15 ON OS. ON, ON. 24 47 ON. 22 55 23 N. 9 45 N. 36 45 S. 23 ON. 5 ON. 13 40 N. 9 54 ON. 2 50 ON. 34 26 ON. 34 17 ON. 36 12 ON. 4 6 ON. 3L 106 6 15 1U9 3 15 87 30 78 30 97 30 55 55 6 70 100 54 45 64 1 30 81 41 98 12 84 56 81 40 65 20 105 15 33 73 58 117 18 122 36 45 109 40 53 99 52 15 117 5 1 68 55 5 76 46 112 21 109 50 23 101 34 45 77 40 89 20 75 119 45 15 5600 7900. 20,000. 119 25 15 104 52 54 I 3600. 78 30 I 30,000, ('Cape Santa Maria, ISO .' miles north of tlie \ South Cape, St. Anto- t. nio. /■Boundaiy between the < LTniled Sutes and Flo- C rida. 4000. 1100. 9500. 1560. 6800. 820. 1000. 6000. 5400. 7000, 4000. 33,000. 10,000. 5000. 3500. 1090. 940, 450 - Government Latitude Longitude Places. or norti or west ot" Number of Inhabitants. Situation. south. Greenwich. L'. M. B. D. M. s. SantHFedeAntioquia New Granada 6 48 ON. 74 36 Santa Marta Xew Granada 11 19 2N. 74 4 50 • Santiago Chili .S3 26 OS. 70 44 36,000. Santiago del Estero La Plata - 27 46 OS. 65 12 500 Families. Sanlo Tomi Caraccas 8 8 11 N. 63 54 2 6 or 8000. Secliura Peru - 5 32 33 S. - 400 Families. Silla de Caraccas -, mountain, liigli-|- Caraccas 10 31 15 N. 64 40 55 estpeak _' Sisal New Spaia - 21 10 ON. 89 59 30 PortofMeridade Yucatan. Socoi>usco (4uatiiTiala - 15 28 ON. 94 36 Socorro, Isle, - Pacific - 18 48 ON. 110 9 Suchitepeque fiuatimala - 14 44 ON. 93 36 1480. Tahasco Xew Spain - 18 34 ON. 93 36 Tacami s New Granada 52 ON. 62 Taka, or San Au- 5 gustin - 5 Tarma Chili 35 13 OS. 71 1 Populous. Peru 11 35 OS. 75 17 5600. Tasco New Spain - 18 35 ON 99 28 45 Tehuantepeque New Spain - 16 20 ON. 95 1 C 2600 Families of IndiaiK ^ and 50 of whites. Teneriffe New Granada 10 2 ON. 74 30 Tezcuco New Spain - 19 30 40 N. 98 51 Tialiuanaco La Plata 17 17 OS. - S Famous for some singu- \ lar monuments. Timana New Grana , ,nnr»nn La Plata - 5 1.100,000, GUATIMAIA 19,000 Hat ANN AH - 25,000 Puerto Rico, very populous. C San Augustin, has 4000 \ Pensacola. 5 Santa Fe' de ■) ^ BoeOTA 3 Caraccas 20,000 Lima - 54,000 Santiago - 36,000 Buenos Ay res 60,000 30,000 Making 14,286,000. To which may be added 50,000 more for Cuba, as according to the latest inquiries that island possesses a population of 600,000 souls; thus there will be a total known population of 14,336,000, and allowing for the inhabitants of the Floridas, and the unnumbered Indians of the kingdom of La Plata, the actual number of persons existing under the government of Spain in the Americas, will not fall short of fifteen millions, while the Portuguese subjects in Brazil amount only to 3,300,000, of whom one million and a half are negroes, one mil- lion are Indians, and the rest whites. Of the above total of 14,336,000 souls, there are 3,000,000 whites bom in the country, 200,000 Europeans, and the remaining 11 ,136,000 are Indians, negroes, and mixed races, or castes, of which the Indians bear by far the greater proportion, the negroes in Caraccas amounting to 54,000, in Cuba to 212,000; the other states having compai-atively very few slaves. The spaces which this mass of people occupy, in the different governments, have been thus calculated : Square leagues. New Spain extends over a surface equal to GUATrMALA Cuba and Puerto Rico Floridas New Granada Caraccas - - Peru Chili Buenos Atbes or La Plata 118,748 26,152 6,921 8,555 64,520 47,856 30,390 22,574 143,014 468,730 Making an extent of country equal to 468,730 square leagues ; whilst Great Britain, w hich has a population of 12,596,800 souls, occupies a space equal only to 87,502 square miles. The Mines of the empire of Spanish America furnish annually in gold and silver in — Pounds sterling. New Spain to the value of - 5,030,800 New Granada - 507,000 Peru and Chili - 1,730,000 Buenos Aires or La Plata 882,000 8,149,800 Making a total of 8,149,800/. sterling for the contraband trade. to which mav be added more than another million 45£ The CoMBttBCE of these countries annually averages in— Pounds sterling. Importations ... 12,826,500 Exportations of agricaltural produce - 6,500,000 Exportations of gold and silver - - 8,149,800 And the annual Reyemue is eqoal to nearly eight millions of pounds sterling. INDEX To the Principal Places and Subjects treated of in this Work. ^iSANCAYy district and town of, Peru, 336. Abuncay, battle of the bridge of, 306. Adipons Indians, 392. Abolishment of the slave trade, 256. Acamapitzin, Kmg of Mexico, 92. Acapulco, city of Mexico, unhealthiness of, 43. Great mart for New Spain and India, 47. Description of, population, &c., 108. Aconcagua, city and province of. Chili, 419. Affave, or aloe, supplies the liquor most drank in Mexico, and method of makinr it, 46. Aguas Calientea, city of New Spain, 87. Aguaracatay, lake of La Plata, 349. Aguatulco, iown of New Spain, 121. Aguilar Jerenimo, found on the Isle of Cozumel, by Cortez, 149. Ahuitzotl, Mexican King, 95. Aillavalu toqui or war chief of Chili, 398. Alamos, mine of. New Spain, 81. Alangi, or St. Jago El .\ngel, town of Guatimala, 138. Alausi, city of New Granada, 231. Albuquerque, town of New Spain, 66. Alcolhuacan, kingdom, 88. Alfinger and Sailler, German merchants, cruelties practised by, in CaraccaB, 280. Alligator of New Spain, 47. Of New Granada, 190. 229. Almagro, revolt of, against Pizarro, 305. Conquest of Chili by, 396. Almendral, town of Chili, 419. Alpaco or Peruvian sheep, 410. Alto de Tiopullo, chain of the, 219. Alvarado, expedition to Peru by, 305. Amalgamation works of New Spain ; mercury consumed by the, 49. Amatiques, gulf. New Spain, 130. Amazonia, discovery of, by Orellana, 213. Ambergris Key or Ubero Island, 150- Amelia island, Florida, 33. America, Spanish, extent of, 158. America, Spanish, North, era of discovery of, 21. Extent of, 23. Political and territorial divisions, 24. America, Spanish, South, general idea of, 157. Boundaries, 158, Political divi.- sions, 158. Era of discovery, 158. America, Portuguese, population of, 451. 3 M 454* .imcrigo Vespucci, publishes the first regular account of America, 22. Voyages of, 160. .Imotupe, village of Peru, 321. Amparaes, district of La Plata, 359. Jim,'>olabii, or Boa Constrictor of Tucuman, 3f 7- Ampues, first governor of Caraccas, 255. Jlnalmac, anc:ent name of Mexico, 89. Anahaac, Cordillera of, 43. Plain of, 44. Anco, town of Peru, 333. Ancud, gulf of, 428. Andagualas, district and town of Peru, 333. Andalusia, New. See JVew Andalusia. Andero, or St. Andres Isle, gulf of Mexico, 151. Andes, Cordillera of, in New Spain, 43. 65, Description of the, 165. Andes de Citzco, 336- ^MJe« of Chili, 405. Angaraes, district of Peru, 330. Angelas Puebla de Los, city of New Spain, 112. Angostura, or Saiilo Tome, capital of Guiana, 243. Animal food, the secondary article of human nourishment in New Spain, 45. Animula of New Spain, 46. Antioqida, or Santa F^, province of New Granada, 200. City of ditto, 200 Antiquities of ^ew Spain, 55. Antonio, St-, Castle or Citadel of Cumana, 259. Apacheria, country of New Spain, 68. Apaches, Indians, 68. 70. Apalachia, town of, Florida, 29. lliver of, Florida, 30. ApriUiichicola, river, Florida, 30. Apo-Ubnens, chiefs of the Araiicanians, 433. Apolabumba, district of La Plata, 367- Ajnira, or Apure, river of Caraccas, 193. 285. Apurimac, river, 235. Sources of, in Peru, 339. Avaguato, singular monkey in Caraccas, 267. Aranta, town of, Peru, 339. ^ Araucania, or Indian Chili boundaries, extent, 431 Araucanian Indians, 432. Arauca, river of Caraccas, 285. Araura, town of Caraccas, 279, Araya, salt works of, in Caraccas, 261. Archbishopric of Mexico, 52. Of Lima, 327- Archido7iu, town of Quito, 241. Archipelago of Chiloe, 428. Arequipa, intendancy of, in Peru, 338. Arequipa, city of, Peru, site, population, foundation, rivers, climate, \icinity, trade, port, 338. Bishopric, public edifices, earthquakes at, 339. Ari, singular deity of the Muzos Indians, 199. Arica, district and city of, Peru, 340. Arispe, city of, New Spain, 79. Armadillo, 410. Army, of New Spain, 57- 60. Aroa, river of, Caraccas, 211. .^m'ua^of the Spaniards in Peru, 210. Asttngaro y Asila, district of. La Plata, 366. AsCerillo, port of Chili, 423. Astorpilcos, descendants of the Peruvian Incas, 324. Ascension, river. New Spain, 78. Asuncion, capital of Paraguay, 376. Atabalipa, or Atahualpa, History of, in Quito, 209- Fifteenth Inca of Peru, 298. .301. Death of, 304. Atacama, district and town of. La Plata, 367- 455 Atacamei, government of. See Tacames. Atavillos, marquess of, title granted to Pizarro, 305. Atlixco, town of, New Spain, 114. ACrato, river of, Darien, 179. Atures, cataract, 167. Audienza, Real, of New Spain, 42. 59. Audienza, Real, of Santa ¥6 de Bogota, 162. Of Quito, 162. Of Lima, 292. Of Buenos Ayres, 354. Of Los Charcas, 356. Au^tistin, San, capital of. East Florida, 28. Avila, town of Quito, 241. Axayacatl, King- of Mexico, 94. Ayanpa, Isle of the Archipelago of Chonos, 431. Aymaraez, district of, Peru, 337. Aztecas, ancient Mexican people, 90. BABA, district of Quito, 227. Babahoyo, district of Quito, 226, Town of ditto, 227. Bacuachi fort, New Spain, 81. Baexa, town of Quito, 241. Bnhia J^Tegra, Spanish boundaries on the Paraguay, 351, JBii^zze. British settlement in Honduras, 134. Balsas, or Rafts of Guayaquil, 228. Banana, uses of the, in New Spain, 45. 182. Baracoa, town of Cuba, 147. Baraffan, mountain of New Granada, 166- 203. Baranca del JMalambo, town of New Granada, 186. Barcelona, province of See JVew Barcelona. Barcelona, city of, in Caraccas, site, foundation, buildings, 262. Population, trade, 262, Barquisimeto, city of Caraccas, population, site, foundation, climate, trade, 276. Public buildings, &c., 277. Bastidas, discoveries of, 161, Batabano, town of Cuba, 146. Batopilas, native silver sometimes found in the mines of, 49. , raining town of New Spain, 83. Bavispe fort, in New Spain, 81, Bayamo, or St. Salvador, town of Cuba, 146. Benalcaxar, conquest of Quito by, 162.211. Beni river, 235. 336. 370. Eiriqvite, district of New Granada, 202. Biru, town of Peru, 324. Biscay, New. See A'ew Biscay. Bishops of New Spain, 52. Blanca isle, Caribbean sea, 439. Blanco, river of New Spain, 119, Blanqjtillo, mountain of Chili, 406. Bluejields river, Guatimala, 134. Boca de los A'avios, great mouth of the Orinoco, 269, Boca del Sierpe and Del Dra^o, names given by Columbus to the chanjicls between Trinidad and Caraccas, 254. Bochica, great lawgiver of the Bogotians, 164. 171. Bogota. See Santa F£. Bolanos mines, in New Spain, 48. Bolivar, leader of the insurgents in Caraccas, 242. Bolson de Mapimi, desert in New Spain, 82, Bonacao island, in the gulf of .Mexico, 151, Boracha, high rock of the Caribbean sea, 440. Bore or Pororoca of the Maranon, 239, Of other rivers, 239, Borja, town of Quito, 234. Borriquen, ancient name of Puerto Ricoj 141. 456 Boundary line between the United States and Florida, 31. £r .vo, itio del JYorte, desrriplion of, 50. 66 Estuary of, 85. Bridges, pendulous, !68. Rope, on the Magdalena river, 190. Natural, 1&6, Peruvian, over the Rio Desaguadero, 364. Bngantin, chain of mountains in Caraccas, 261. ^t/'canee-a, plunder of Maracaybo by, 282. B''etiara, lake of New Spain, "8. Bnenavista. mountain of Caraccas, 267. Buenos Jiyres, viceroyalty of Boundaries and extent, 344. Political and terri- torial divisions, 344. History and discovery, 345. Late events in, 347. Pre* sent condition of, 348. Features, climate, &c., 348. Lakes, 349. Rivers, 349. Commerce and resources, 352. Capital, 352 Provinces of, 354 — 393 , government of. Boundaries, history, &c., 386. Climate, features, &c., 388. Method of travelling over the plains, 388. Rivers, 389. Chief tovifn and cities, 390—392. Indian nations, 392 -, city of. Population, site, foundation, streets, squares, houses, ca- thedral and churches, 352. Navigation of the La Plata, buildings, gardens. 353. Markets, trade, climate, pamperos, royal audience, 353. Bng-a, department of New Granada, 204. Burburala,v\l\a.i!;e of Caraccas, 275. Bnyyingplaces of the ancient Peruvians, 221. Butter of the Guacharo, 266. CJIBOT, Sebastian, discovery of the Rio de la Plata by, 345. Cacao nv chocolate tree, 190. — — used as money by the Mexicans, 99. Cacfiemecan, kingdom, 90. Cachipampa, battle of, 306. Ciidques, of New Spain, 41. Cadagnela, toqui of the Chilese, 400. Cadiz town of Cuba, 147- Cahihoso, city of Caraccas, 279. Calbnco, island of the Archipelago of Chiloc, 431. Ca/cat/Zares, district of, Peru, 337' Calender of the Muyscas, 164. Cal/ao, port of, Lima. 320. Cult, department of, New Granada, 204. , town of. New Granada, 206 California, New and Old, extent, boundaries, and discovery, 70- Population, missions, 72. Natives, 73. Animals, commerce, 74. Description of the mis- sions, 74 Capital, 75- Callo, palace of the Incas, 219. Caloto, department of, New Granada, 204. Calquin, or large eagle of Chili, 412. Cawnnn, district and town of Peru, 339. Campeche, city of New Spain, 123- Site, fortifications, manufactures, logwood cutters, population, 124 Cana, town or fortress ofDarien, 179. Canal de\a. Raspadurain Choco, unites the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, 201. of Mexico, 106. — — de Pedernales, a mouth of the Orinoco, 268. Cunntagua, Sierra de, chain of mountains dividing North and South Americs, 137. Canas y Canches or I'inta, district of, Peru, 337. Canavumi, mountain, 167. Canete, town and district of, Peru, 329- Cannibalism, nations probably accused falsely of, 174. Cansada, immense stone of the wall of Cuzco, 335, Canta, town and district of Peru, 328 Capac Yupanqui, fifth Inca of Peru, 298, CapaguM Indians, 342. 457 Capanaparo, river of, Caraccas, 286. Cape Casinas, name given to Cape Honduras by Columbus, 155, — — Catoche, New Spain, 134. — — Cross, Florida, 33. —— Florida, 33. — — Gracias a Dio9, Guatimala, 134. , — — Honduras, 134. — — Roman, Florida, 33. Sable, Florida, 33. Si. Blaz, Florida, 33. Captain General of Caraccas, 242. Capure, a mouth of the Orinoco, 268. Caqueta, River, New Granada> sources of, 206. Caraccas, Captain generalship of, boundaries and extent, 241. Political divisions and government, 241. Discovery and history, 242. Capital, 243. Features of the country, rivers, &c., 247. Indians, 249. Lakes, 251. Provinces, 253. Commerce, 272. ■ — , city of, situation and foundation, 244. Streets, buildings, population, theatre, surrounding country, 244. Climate, earthquake, 245. Fort, 246. ■ , Islands, Caribbean sea, 440. Carabat/a, district and town of, La Plata, 366. Carahuasi, district of, Peru, 334. Caranjas, district of. La Plata, 360. Carapochas Indians, 342. Caratapona, isle in Lake Valencia, 253. Cargvirazo, mountain of Quito, 220. Cariaco, Gulf of Caraccas, 260. -, town of Caraccas, 267. Carib Indians, 167- 251. Caramari, Indian name of Carthagena, 160. Caripe, river of Caraccas, 267 — — , convent of Caraccas, 266. Carora, city of Caraccas, 275. Carthagena, province of New Granada, boundaries, extent, features, produce, fo- rests, animals, 180. Birds, Insects, reptiles, 181. Fruits, inhabitants, 182. Discovery, 183- Capital, 183. Towns, 186. ' , city of, in New Granada, situation, suburbs, 183. Fortifications, bay, climate, 183. Public buildings, inhabitants, 184. Offices, trade, history, 185. Exports and imports, 185. Carthago, town of Popayan, 205. , town of Guatimala, 136. Casanare, province of New Granada, 195, Caaaa Grandes de Rio Gila, 70. ■ Grandea in New Biscay, 90. Casibos Indians, 342. Cassava bread, 45. ' ' - or manioc forms the bread of the Indians, 163. Cassiquiari river, 239 Cassiquiari, river, 248. Cassiquin river, 343. Castro, town of Chiloe, 430. Vireyna, district and town of Peru, 332. Catacatche village, of New Granada, 221. Cataract of Tequendama, 169. Cataracts of the Rio Pusambio in Popayan, 206, Cataract of Maypures and Atures, 167. 249. Catoree, mine of New Spain, 85. Cauca, river of New Granada, 183. 205. Caiipolican, toqui of the Chilese, 398. Cauquenes, town of Chili, 423. Cflwsewpt/ of ancient Mexico, 100. 10§. Of the Incas in Quito, 209. 224, Cavern of the Guacharo in Caraccas, 266. Of Rapel in Chili, 422. Caxamarca, defeat and imprisonment of Huascar Inca at, 210. Battle of, 302- District and lown of Peru, 324- Caxaiambo, town and district of, Peru, 326. Cayumbe Urcu, mountain of Quito, 219. ■ ■ , village of New Granada, 221. Cuyancura, toqui of the Chilese,400. Caylloma, lown and district of Peru, 339- Cayman Lake, New Spain, 51- Cedros, lale. Pacific Ocean, 153. Celaya, city of, New Spain, 88. Cerro de la Giganta, chain of mountains in California, 73. Cerro del Brigantin, chain of mountains in Caraccas, 362. Cerro de la Sal, chain of mountains in Peru, 343- Cerro de Cucfavano, cham of mountams in Caraccas, 264. Chacao, town of the island of Chiloe, 430. Chacao, plain, near Caraccas, 245. Chachupoyas, district of, Peru, 324. Chachapoyaa, or Juan de la Frontera, town of, Peru, 324. Chacos, territory of. La Plata, 37Q. , river of. La Plata, 378. Chagre, river of. New Granada, 173. Chalco, lake, New Spain, 106. Ckancay, district and town of Peru, 329- Chapula, lake of. New Spain, 51. 87. Chapultepec, aqueduct of, Mexico, 64. Charcas, mines of. New Spain, 85. , or Potosi, government of, boundaries, and districts of, 354. History. capital of, 355. Provincial descriptions, 356. -, district of, La Plata, 356. Chayantas, district of, La Plata, 360. Chaymas, Indians, 249- Cheuque, or ostrich of Chili, 412- Chia, consort of Bochica, singular tradition concerning, IJT.. Chiapa, province of Guatimala, boundaries, extent, features, and rivers, 128. Pro- ductions, animals, inhabitants, capital, 128. , Beal, city of Guatimala, situation, government, inhabitants, cathedral, 129. de las Indies, city of Guatimala, site, description, inhabitants, climate. churches, amusements of the natives, vicinity, trade, 129. -, river of, Guatimala, 128. Chibcha, or language of the Muyscas, 164. Chica, an intoxicating liquor made by the Indians of Peru and La Plata, 366. Chicas y Tarijas, district. La Plata, 358. Chicometepec, river. New Spain, 122. Chihuahua, city of. New Spain, 82- Chilca, famous for saltpetre, town of, Peru, 329. Chilese, ancient, 395. Chilian, mountain, of, Chili, 406. Challan, town, and district of. Chili, 424. Chili, Captain-generalship of, extent and boundaries, 393. Political and territo- rial divisions and government, 394. Discovery, and history of, 394. Cli- mate, features, 403. Recent events in, 403. Rivers, and lakes, 407- Mines, 407. Population, 408. Animals, 408. Commerce, 408. Capital, 415. Conti- nental provinces, 416. Insular provinces, 428. Araucania, 431. Chili-dugu, or language of the Chilese, 408. Chilihueques, or Araucanian sheep, 409. Chiloe, islands of, 428. Chilotes, Indians, 429- Chilques y JMasques, district of, Peru, 337- 459 Chimalapa, river of, New Spain, 122. Chimbo, district and town of, New Granada, 225. Chirr.boruzo, mountain, 165. 117. Chingasa, mountain of. New Granada, 195. Chiquilkmes, Indians, 431. Chiquitos, Indians, 369. Chiquitos, district and town of, La Plata, 368'. Chiriguanos, Indians, 369. Chiriqui, bay of, Guatimala, 152. Choco, province of. New Granada, 200. Chocolate, name originally Mexican, 46. ■- — , manufacture of, 191. Chocope, town of, Peru, 323. Chollolan, republic, 89. Cholula, pyramids of, 113. , city of, New Spain, ancient capital of the republic of ChoUalan, popu- lation and history, 114. ■ Cholutecas, or Xeses, district and town of, Guatimala, 127. Choropampa, or the plain of shells, Peru, 294. Chota, mmes of, Peru, 294. 324. Chuchanga, town of. New Granada, 233. Chvcuito, district and town of. La Plata, 363. Chucuito, lake. La Plata, 349- 363. Chumbivilcae, district of, Peru, 338. Chunchos, country of Peru, 339. 343. Chuquisaca, or La Plata, sity of La Plata, site, climate, 355. Foundation, build- ings, Indians, royal audience, magistracy, and population, 356. Cinaloa, district. New Spain, 80. ■ — , city of New Spain, 81. Cinchona, or Peruvian bark, 232. Citlaltepetl, or Pico de Orizaba, 119. Claiborne, fort of, the United States, 83. Claim of the Spanish government to the west coast of America, 24. of ihe United States government to part of New Spain, 58. Clergy of New Spain, 52- 60. Climate oi Florida, 26. — — of New Spain, 43. . of Cuba, 143. of New Granada, 165. ' - of Caraccas, 245. of Peru, 295. of La Plata, 348. of Chili, 403. Ceaguila, city and province of. New Spain, 84, Coal of New Spain, 50. Coban, city of, Guatimala, 130. Coca, or betel of America, 202. Cochabamba, province of. La Plata, 361. Cache, Island, Caribbean Sea, 439. Cochineal, of New Spain, 46. Cocinas, Indians, 193. Cocollar, chain of the, in Caraccas, 264. Cocomaricopas, Indians, 78. Cofre de Perote, mountain, 44 119. Co/naj-e of the mint of Mexico, 56. of Santa F^ de Bogota, 171. ■ of Popayan, 171. of Lima, 295. ' of Potosi, 357. Cokhagua, province and city of, Chili, 421 . - 460 Colhuacan, kingdom, 91- Colima, »olcitno of, New Spain, 86. College of mines at, Mex co, 50. Colon, Don Pedro Nuno, Duke of Veragua, viceroy of New Spain, a descendant of Columbus, 41. Colonia del Sacramento, territory of La Plata, 392. Colorado, river of, New Spain, 50. 77- Colorado de Texas, river of, New Spain, 85. Colorado, river of, Caraccas, 265, CWwmAi/s, first voyage of, and discovery of America by, 21. Second voyage, 22. Third voyage, 22. Sent to Spain in irons, 23. Fourth voyage, 159. Wreck- ed on Jamaica, 160. Death of, at Valladolid, 160. Discovery of Caraccas, by 254. Comnvdantes Generates, of New Spain, 42. Comayaguas, or Valladolid, city in Guatimala, 135. Commerce of New Spain, 55. of Cuba, 146. ' — of New Granada, 162. of La Guayra, the port of Caraccas, 246. — — of Caraccas, 272. of Peru, 292. of La Plata, 352. ■ of Paraguay, 375. of Chili, 414. of the island of Chiloe, 430. Concepcion del Pao, city of, Caraccas, 268. , city of. La Plata, 376. ) or Penco, city of. Chili, 425. Conchocando, title of the kmgs of Quito, 208, Conchapatu, silver mine of, Peru, 328. Conchucos, city and district of, Peru, 327. Condor, 413. Condesvyoa de Jtrequipa, district of Peru, 339. Condonoma, mine of, Peru, 337- Conibos Indians, 342. Conquest of Mexico, 35. Continental provinces of Chili, 416. Continent of America, first discovered by Cabot, 371. Conuco, or public garden of a mission village, 264. Copacavana town, on an island in lake Chucuito, 364, Copala, mine of New Spain, 86. Copiapo, province and town of Chili, 416. Copper, ancient Mexicans made their tools of, 49< Coqnimbo, province and town of Chili, 417. Coquimbanes, Islands of Chili, 428. Corcobado, mountain of Chili, 406. 430. Cordilleras, of New Spain, 43. Cordilleras de los Jindes, description of, 165. Cordillera, of New Granada and Caraccas, 166. Cordillera of the cataracts of the Ormoco, 167. Of Chiquitos, 167. Of Santa Marta, 187. OfMerida, 193- Of Santa F6 195. Of Santa Fe, de Antioquia, 200. Of Popayan, 202. Of Quito, 217. Of Caraccas, 247. Of Chiquitos, 348, 369 Of the Chiriguanos, 368. Of Chili, 405. Cordova, city of New Spam, 117. Cordova, city of La Plata, site, edifices, trade, district surrounding, 381. Corientes, river of La Plata, 351. Cityof La Plata, 391. Cortex, Fernando, history of, 34. Conquest of Mexico by, 35, Sets sail from Cuba, and arrives at Tabasco, meets the embassadors of Montezuma, who are astonished at the Europeans, arms, horses, 8tc 35. Present from Montezuma, mutiny of the army, burns his fleet, 36. Marches for Mexico, conquers tihe 461 Tlascalaiis, 37. Arrives at Mexico, sfeizes the Emperor, marches to fight Nar vaez, .38. Relurns to and evacuates Mexico, Montezuma slain, 39. itecniits his army, and agam lavs siege to the oil)', which capiiulates on Giiatimozin being taken and put to death, 40. Discovery of Califurnia by, 71- Cosnmel Isle, discovery of, by Grijalva, history of, kc. 149. Costa Rica, province of Guaiimala, 136. Cotabumba, district of, Peru, 337. Cotapaxi volcano, 218. Coi lemu, town of Chili, 424. Coj/naY of the mines in New Spain, 50. Of the Indies, 312. Crater, of Pichinca, 217. Creoles, of New Spain, 5l. Crevice of Icononzo, 196. Of Chota, 221. Crevices of the Andes, 168- C/Mccff, town of Panama, 173. Cuba, island of, situation, 141. Supposed to have been part of the continent, gulf stream, extent, position, discovery, 142- History, climate, 142. Pro- d'lclions, forests, 143. Mines, cultivated part, population, mountains, 143. Government, revenue, army, capital, 144» Towns, 146. City of, 146. Pinos isle, 147. Cubagua, island, Caribbean sea, 339. Cuchillo de Gutmagnana, mountain of Caraccas, 265- Cucurucho de Tumiriquiri, mountain of Caraccas, 265. Cundinamarca, kingdom of, 164- Cwe^pa, district and city of New Granada, 230. Cuernavaca, city of New Spain, 108. Cues, St.Antomo de los, ancient Aztec fort, 121- Ciijo or Ciiyo, government of La Plata, 383- Boundaries, climate, features, his- tory, rivers, lakes, productions, 384. Commerce, capital, 385. Cuitlahuallzin, or Quetlavaca, King of Mexico, 98- Culpeu, or Chili fox, singular habits of, 411. Cumana, province of. See JV*ew Andalusia. CwmaMn, city of Caraccas, site, 258. Port, citadel, riversi suburbs, buildings, climate, population, 259- Indians, 259. Customs cf the inhabitants, harbour, earthquakes, 260. Environs, 261. Cumanacoa, town of Caraccas, 263. Cumanagoto Indians, 251- Cumanches Indians, 67. Cunches Indians, 432- CuraSoa Island, trade of with CaraccaSi 274. Curico, mine of Chili, 407- . town of Chili, 423- Curimayo, ancient gold manes of Peru, 294. Curuguaty, town of La Plata, 276. Cuzcatlan, or San Salvador, city of Guatimala, 127. Cuzco, intendancy of Peru, 334. , city of, site, foundation, 334. Ancient splendour, history, antiquities, buildings, cathedral, 335- Temple of the sun, public edifices, blshoprici po- pulation, trade, 335. DARIE^r, isthmus of, 174- , province of New Granada, extent, climate, inhabitants, 178. Rlvcrs; produce, population, capital, 179- Scotch colonisation of, 179- , gulf of, 179. Daule, district of New Granada, 227- Danta, large animal of Quito, 233. Degu, or Chilese dormouse, 410. Desaguadero, singular river of La Plata, 360. 2>e«caifra soner, and tortured, 40. 98. Guaxaca, See Ouxaca. Guayagitil, jurisdiction of New (Granada, 225. ' ■ w city, site, foundation, buildings, streets, 227- Fortifications, popu- lation, 228- Irade, 230. river, 227- Gnayecas Indians, 289. Guuyna Patinc, volcano of Peru, 339. Gtiut/Queria Indians, 249 259. Guciyra, river of Caraccas, 272- ———.port of Caraccas, 246. Guemul, singular Chilian animal, 410. Guerra, voyage of, to explore the coast of Caraccas, 254. Guiana, or Spanish Guiana, extent and boundaries, 287. Population, divisions, 287. History, El Dorado, Guayecas, and sources of the Orinoco 288. Rivers, capital, 289 Guiges, river of Caraccas, 271. Gmpuscou conipany, 273. Gw//" stream, 141. HAMBATO, town of New Granada, 223. Hatvn Potocsi. mountain in which the mines of Potosi are worked, 357. Btivannah, captain-generalship of, 144. ■ — city, site, harbour, 144. Fortifications, dock-yard, commerce, manners and customs of the inhabitants, 145. Attacks on, by different powers, and po- pulation, 145. harbour, 144. Hnyti, or Hispaniola, discovery of, 22. Hiaqui, district of New Spain, 79 River of New Spain, 79. Hispaniola, or St- Domingo, first settlement of Europeans in America, 22. //isiori/ of Florida 25. Of New Spain, 35 Of Mexico, 88- Of Caraccas, 242. Of Peru and of Spanish America, 296 — 317. Of the present disturbances in Spanish America, 313- Ot Buenos Ayres, 345. Of Paraguay, 370. Of the Jesuit settlements in Paraguay, 387. Of Chili, 394. Honda, town of New Granada, 198. Uanduras, province of, boundaries, extent, history, climate, 132. Productions, mahogany felling, and mahogany tree, 132. Logwood, mosquito, shore, Indians, 133. Chief town, &c., 135. — — — — , bay of, 134. — — — , English factories of, Balize, 134. Honey and wax, immense qnaniities produced in New Spain, 47. Horses, wild, in New Spain, 46. Hosiimuri, town of, New Spain, 81. Huailas, town and district of Peru, 326. Huamalies, town and district of Peru, 326. Huana Capac, 13th Inca of Peru, 298. .' Inca, conquest of Quito by, 208. Huuntajaya, mines of Peru, 294. HituBcar, or Inti Cusi Hualpa, 14th Inca of Peru, 298 , History of, 210- Huasacualco, river of New Spain, 119. Huexotzinco republic, 89. -^— , town of New Spain, 114. Hnilies, Peruvian gold works, 294. Huilquilemu, province of Chili, 426. Humboldt's journey to explore the Orinoco, 288. Huncahua, king of the Muyscas, 164. 4»5 JJIEJ^ DE BRACAMOn OS, government of New Granada, 232- — , eity of New Granada, 232. Jalap takes it name from Xalapa, 46. Jauru, river, and pyramid of La Plata, 350. Jaguar, or American tiger, 180- 264. 384. Jbague, town of New Granada, 206. Jberi, lake of La Plata, 349. Jca, or Putumayo river, 236. 239. — — , town and district of Peru, 329- Icononxo, natural bridges of, 196. J««U2M, discoveries of the, in California, 73. ■ , history of their settlements in Paraguay, 367. lUimuni, mountain of La Plata, 362. IlUnisia mountain, 219. Imposible mountain, road over, 261. Iricaa of Peru, 297. Inca Koca, 6th Peruvian monarch, 297. Ripac, 8th ditto, 298- r Urea, 9th ditto, 298. — — Yupanqui, partially subdues the Chilese, 394. Ittdiuni, independent, in New Spain, 53. tribute levied in Mexico, 54. Method of catching wild geese, 181. Me- thod of anaring the alligator, 230- -' Chili, or Araucania, 431. Indiana, numbers of, in New Spain, 53* Description of, 53. — — of Peru, 311. Of Caraccas, 249. Intcription on the tomb of Columbus, 160. , commemorative of the Geodesic operations in Quito, 217. Insular Chili, 428. Intendancies, number of, in New Spain, 42- Jounes, island, at the mouth of the Maranon, 237. Jovullo, volcano of, New Spain, 109. Ipava, lake, source of the Orinoco, 248. Ipire, river of Caraccas, 269. Itubella, first town founded in the New World, 22. Jmbella isle. Pacific, 153. Islandt, on the coasts of Florida, 32. On the coasts of New Spain and Guatimala, 147. In the Gulf of California, 153. Bevillagegide, 153. On the coasts of South America, 436. Itthmut of Darien, or Panama, 174. Itaquiri, river of La Plata, 350. Itata, province of Chili, 424. Itzcoatl, king of Mexico, 92. Itsli stone, 103. Juan Fernandez isle, 436. de Grijaha, discovery of Mexico by, 97. — - de Ulua isle. Gulf of Mexico, 148. — — Rodriguez Cabrillo isle. Pacific, 152. Juanico isle. Pacific Ocean, 153. Juruay river, 370- Jutay river, 370. Ixtaccihuatl, mountain of New Spain, 113. LA GUAYRA, port of, Caraccas, site, distance from Caraccas, fortifications, 245. Harbour, population, commerce, 246. La Paz, province of La Plata, 361. , or Chuquiavo, city of La Plata, foundation, site, 362. Climate, buildings, trade, population, 362. La Plata, viceroyalty of. See Buenos *jfjfr«. > town of New Granada, 206. 406 la Plata isle, in the Pacific, 438. La purissima Concepcion de Catorce mine, profits of, 49. - Serena, or Coquimbo, city of Chili, 417. - de Tierra isle, in the Pacific, 437. Lake Ipava, source of the Orinoco, 248. Putucuao, 268. Chucuito, or Titicacay 349. 363. " Maracaybo, 251. Piirima, 253- — - Parina Cocha, 334. . Valencia, 252. Xarayes, 349. - Guataviia 196. — ^ Georget 32. Tescuco, 105; Chalco, 106. St. Christoval, 106. — - Zumpango, 106. 4 -^— Cayman, 51. 82. Parras, 82. Chapala, 51. 87- jLa)fcesof New Spain, 51. . of Caraccas, 251. Lambayeque, town of Peru, 223. Lampa, district of Peru, 338. , city of La Plata or Peru, 367- Zundof the missions, or Colonna, 343- Lnnd-craba, natural history of, 140. Language of the Indians of Caraccas, 250. Of Peru, 343. Of Chili, 408. Lnnthonis of Maracajbolake, 252. Lr.qui, singular method of catching animals with, 409. Laricaxas, district and town of La Plata, 363. Las Casasy Bishop of Cbiapa, styled Protector of the Indians, history of, 255- Las Corientea, city of La Plata, 391. Latacunga, district and city of New Granada, 222. Lauricocha, or False Maranon, 235. 326. — — mines of Peru, 293. Laiitaro, toqui of the Chilese, 339. Lemui, isle of the Archipelago of Chiloe, 431. Leon, city of Guatiroala, 130. , New, province of New Spain, 84. Lerma, rirer of New Spain, 109- Lianas, beautiful parasitical plants, 263. Lican, ancient name of Quito, 208- Lima, intendancy of Peru, districts of, boundaries, history, chief to\yTi, and towns, 327,328. — — , site, foundation, 317. Public edifices, universities, viceroys, 317. Courts, of justice, palace, mint, suburbs, pomp of the church ceremonies, manners and customs of the inhabitants, population, climate, 318. Elarthquake> commerce-, port, river, 319. Linares, town of New Spain, 85. Lincopichion, toqui of the Chilese, 401. Lincoyan, ditto ditto, 398. Lipes, district and town of La Plata, 359. Llachi, isle of the Archipelago of Chiloe, 43 J Llamas, or Peruvian sheep, 410. Llano del Corazon, plain of Popayan, 206. Lloqite Ynpanqui, 3d Inca of Peru, 298. Llulia and Chiloas, district of Peru, ."24 Lobos isles. Pacific, 438. 467 Lohoi, isle of the Rio de la Plata, 440. Logwood trees, 133. Longavi, mountain of Chili, 406. Londres, town of La Plata, 382. Z,ora, town of Chili, 423. Loretto, mission of, California, 72. Los Choreas. See Charcas- Los Llanos, or the Plains of Caraccas, 247. Los Llanitos, mountains of New Spain, 88. Los Paredones, ruins of an ancient Peruvian palace, 224. Los Santos, town of New Granada, 178. Lucanas, district of Peru, 334. MACAJ^AO, Cape, Margarita isle, 459. Macareo, a mouth of the Orinoco, 268. Macas, town and province of New Granada, 241. jyfaccabaio snuff, origin of the name, 283. Jifadera river, 326. 369. Magalhaens, discovery of the passage into the South Pacific by, 435- Magdalena, Rio Grande de, 183. 188. Magnificent ^'lix sent to Cortez by Montezuma, 35. Maguey, or Agave, 46. 75, Mahogany trees, 133. Malta Capac, 4th Inca of Peru, 298. Maize, plantations of, support the Indians in New Spain, 45. Sugar made from its stalks, by the Mexicans, 45. Maldonado, city of La Plata, 391. Malpays, 110. Mama Oello, 296. Matneis, 182- Mamore river, 369. Manati, or sea cow, 240. Manganillo, or poison apple, 180. Manco Capac, 1st Sovereign of Peru, 296. , 16th Inca of Peru, 298. 305. Mandiha, lake of La Plata, 349. Manfios, mountain of Chili, 406. Manioc, cultivation of, in New Spain, 45. Manoa, or El Dorado, pretended city of Guiana, 288. Mania, flat fish, destructive to pearl divers, 176. • blancas, offensive little insects, 181. Manzanares, river of Caraccas, 269. Mapimis, Fortde, in New Spain, 82. Maracay, town of Caraccas, 277. Maracaybo, province of Caraccas, boundaries, soil, population, Ipdian towns oti the lake, 280. History, rivers, 280. Climate, capital, 281. Towns, 283. — — , city of Caraccas, site, climate, building^, 281. Foundation, popula- tion, slaves, ship-building, manners and customs of the inhabitants, 282* His- tory of the plunder of by the buccaneers, 282. -, lake, 251. 'Maranon river, description of, 235. Margarita island, Caribbean sea, situation, discovery, 290. Ports, population^ sommerce, climate, soil, capital, recent events, 290. — — island, Pacific Ocean, 153. Maria de Escobar, sows the first wheat tn Peru, 328. Marias, Las Tres, isles, Pacific Ocean, 153. Mariguitar, village of Caraccas, 268 Mariquita, town of New Granada, 198. Maruisas, a mouth of the Orinoco, 269. Marquess del Valle de Oaxaca, title granted to CorteZj 40. 468 Mas-afitera isle, Pacific Ocean, 437'- Mataffuayos Indians, 380- Mitte, or Paraguay tea, 373. Mtule, district of Chili, 422. tMansolea of Chacbapoyas in Peru, 310. JMnynas, province of New Granada, 4o4. Mayo, district and river of New Spain, 79- JUaypure cataract, 167. Jlliiyros Indians, 343- Measurement of a degree of the meridian in Quito, 217. Mechoacnn. See Valladolid. Medellin, birth-place of Cortez, 34. Melipilla, city and province of Chili, 420. Menchuan isle. Pacific, 431. Mendoza, city of La Plata, 385. Mentuosa, isle, Pacific, 155. Mercaderes, town of Popayan, limit of Pcrovian conquests> 206. Mercury of Antioquia, 200. , quantity used in the Mexican mines, 50. Merida, province of New Spain. See Yucatan. ■, city of New Spain, 124. , province of New Granada, 195. , city of New Granada, 193. Mestizoes of New Spain, 51. Meta river, 286. Method of travelling over the passes of Popayan, 203. The plains of La Plata, 379. 388. — of carrying the post letters in Quito, 233. Mcxicana river, 24. Mexico, viceroyalty of. See J^ew Spain. , intendancy of, boundaries, ancient and modern history of, 88. Climate, produce, animals, 100. Minerals, 103. Ancient inhabitants, 103. Features, 105. Antiquities, 108- Towns, 108. — , New, province of, extent, boundaries, features, 65. Climate, capital, towns, 66. Mines, population, rivers, 66. Indians, 67. Antiquities, 70. ' ■ ■ , city of, attack and capture of by Cortez, 40. Description of, site, ar- chitecture of the public edifices. Sic. 58. Population, 59. Market-plact, aque- ducts, police, municipal body, coHfts of justice, 59. Viceroy's court and splen- dour, 60. Troops, archbishopric, clergy, ecclesiastical courts, university, 60. Colleges, patron saint, character of the people, 61. Manners and customs, 62. Scenery in the vicinity, 62. Public walks, climate, 63. Antiquities, lakes, 64. Lazaroni, 64. Mexicans, ancient, 99. Modern, 103. Mexitli, the Mexican god of war, 58. Michuacan kingdom, 89. Micuipampa, mines of Peru, 294. Town of Peru, 324. Mimbrenos apaches Indians, 68. Minas, basin of, in Nova Scotia, subject to the bore, 239. Mineral pitch of Maracaybo, 252. Mines of New Spain, many abandoned for want of proper machinery, number of, 48. The most valuable of, 49. of New Granada, 162. of Peru, produce of, 293. Description of, 293. of talc in La Plata, 363. — — of La Plata, produce of, 352. of Potosi, 356. del Azogue, in La Plata, 365. of Salcedo, in La Plata, 366. of Chili. 407. Mint of Mexico> quaatity of coinage issued from since the conquest, 55. 469 .Itmt of Santa Fc de Bogota, coinage of, 171. — — of Popayan, coinage of, 171. •MtracafoKs fountain in Florida, 26. • Jtfission villages of Paraguay, 375. JUissionary town, description of one, 263. war with the Indians, 52. JMissions of California, 72. 74. Misteriosa island, 151. •Wita, a law obliging the Indians to work in the mines, 312- Mitla, temple of the ancient Mexicans, 122. JUixteca, country of New Spain, 122- JUizque Pocona, town and district of La Plata, 368. Jlfocha isle, Pacific Ocean, 428. Jifompox, town of New Granada, 186. Monciava, town of New Spain, 84. Mondego, river of La Plata, 350- jyiunkeys of Panama, eaten by the natives, 174. Montana Jleale, country of Peru, 343- JHonte Capiro, mountain of Porto Bello, 176. Monteleone, Dike of, a descendant of Cortex, 52. Monterey, town of California, 74. Bay of ditto, 7^- — — , town of New Spain, 84. Monteses Indians, 375. Monies Claros, town of New Spain, 81. Monte Video, city of La Plata, site, name, 390- Harbour, buildings, climate, vi- cinity, pop'ilation, commerce, 390. Taking of, by the British, 391. Montezuma Jlhuicamina, Emperor of Mexico, 93. Montezuma Xocotxin, Emperor of Mexico, magnificent reception of Cortez bv, 37. M;.de prisoner, 38- Slain, 39. History of, 95. Moquehua, district and town of Peru, 340- Moqui Indians, 6f. Moquihuix, Kmg of Tlatelolco, 93. Morgan the freebooter, sack of Panama by, 174. Taking of Porto Bello by, 178. Plunder of Maracaybo by, 283. Moro Castle, 145. Morrope, town of Peru, 222. Mosquito shore, 133- I Indians, 133. Mountains near the river Magdalena, curious structure of, 189. Mouths of the Orinoco, 248, 268. Moyobamba, town of Peru, 324. Moxos. territory of La Plata, 370. Mugillon Isle, in the Pacific, 428. Miduttoes of New Spain, 51. Musky smell and white colour of the rivers frequented by alligators, 230. Mvyscas or Moacas Indians, ancient tribe of New Granada, 164. 170. Muzo, town of New Granada, 199. Muzos, singular Indian nation* 199- J^ACOGDOCff, Fort of Texas, in New Spain, 85. JVarvaez, defeat of, by Cortez, 39. JVapo river, 239. J\raptha, spring of, in Caraccas, 262. JiTasca, town of Peru, 330. JVhfa, city of New Granadai 178. JiTauhcampatepetl, mountain of New Spain, 119. JiTeembucu, lake of La Plata, 349. , town of La Plata, 376. JVegToes in New Spain, 52. ' . in New Granada, 200. 3 470 JVeviida de Toluca mountains, 105. de Santa Murta, 166. de -Meridainountains, 166. JVtJwm, or Enipiriruar, river of Caraccas, 269. ^ew Mbien, explored and named by Sir Francis Drake, 71. JWw Andalusia, province of, boundaries, history, 253. Features, climate, capi- tal, 258. .Vew B'trcelona, province of, 253. .Aew Bhcay, or Durango, iiitendancy of, boundaries, extent, 81. Population, capital, 82. Inhabitants, towns. Sic. 82. JVew Caledonia, 179. JVew California. See Cnlifornia. J\'ew Granada, viceroyaity of, boundaries and extent, 159. Territorial and po- litical divisions, discovery and histoiy, 159. Audiences, viceroy, population, 162. Archbishopric, commerce, revenues, 162. Mines, produce, Indians, 163. Ancient inhabitants, 164. Climate, 165. Features of, 165. Capital, 169. Pro- vinces of, 171. JWw» Leon, province of New Spain, boundaries, extent and capital, 84. JV*ew J\texico, province of. See JVTexico- JVew Santander, province of New Spain, boundaries, extent and description of, 84. Mines, capital, towns and rivers, 85. ^IVew Santander, city of New Spain, 85. J\ t'-jy Spatn, viceroyaity of, j^overnment, l)istory and discovery, 34. PoliticaVand territorial divisions, 42. Boundaries, 42. Ex'ent and climate, 43. Features, productions and mines, 43. Uivars, 50. Lakes, 51. Temperature, 51. Po- pulation, 34. 51. Antiquities and maniifacinres, 55. Commerce, 55. Reve- nues, 57. Army, .57. Recent events, 57- Metropolis, 58. Provinces of, 65. J^eyva, town of New Granada, 206. JVicara^ua, province of Guatimala, boundaries, climate, features, 130. Produc- tions, trade, mines, population, animals, capital, 130. , town of Guatimala, 130. J\'icoya, town of Guatimala, 136. J\"icuessa, voyage of, 160. J^'irgua, town of Caraccas, 279. JVoanamas, village of New Granada, 202- J^'obles of New Spain, 41- J^orte, Rio Grande del, 50. 85. Mtestra Senoi'a de la Vitteria. See Tabasco- O^XACA, or Guaxaca, intendancy of, boundaries, 120. Mines, inhabitants, manufactures, capital and towns, 120. Mountains, antiquities, rivers, grant to Cortez, 122. Oaxaca, city of New Spain, site, vicinity, climate, 120. Public buildings and population, 121 Obelisks in Cuyo, 385. Ocana, town of New Granada, 191. Ocona, town of Peru, 339 Ocumara, town of Caraccas, 278. Olives, cultivation of, forbidden in New Spain, 46. Ojeda, voyages and discoveries of, 160. Omuguas Indians, 234. Omasuyos, district of La Plata, 362. Omoa, town of Guatimala, 136. Orchilla island, Caribbean Sea, 438. Orellana, discovery of the Maranon by, 213. Origin of the slave trade, 256. Orinoco river, 248- 269. Oro, platina mine in New Granada, 201. Oropesa, city of La Plata, 361. Orizaba, volcano of New Spain, 119. 471 Orizaba, town of New Spain, 117. Oruro, district oFLa Plata, 359. , city of La Plata, 359. Ostimuri, district of JJew Spain, 79. Ostrich of America, 412. Ofa6«/o, jurisdiction of New Granada, 221. , city of New Granada, 221. Otomacs Indians, 251. Ovundo refuses Columbus leave to refit his ships at Hispanlola, 159, PAC.iJES, district and town of La Plata, 363. JPachachaca, river of Peru, 337. Pachacamac, a deity of the Peruvians, 311. Temple of, in Peru, 309. , isle in the Pacific, 438. Pachacutec, 10th Fnca of Peru, 298- Pachitea, river, 325. Pachuca, town of New Spain, 108. Pachutfuilla, the most ancient village of the vale of Anahuac, 108. Pacific Ocean, discovered by Vasco Nunez de Balboa, 161. Pa^^i, or Puma, of Chili, 410. Pajuro, Chilian island, 428. Paillamachu, toqniof the Chilese, 400. Paintings, Mexican, 55. 101. Pampat of Buenos Ay res, 388. Pampas del Sacramento, 341. * Pampatar, in Margarita, recent events at, 291. Pamplona, city of New Granada, 194- Panama, province of, 172. Boundaries, discovery, climate, soil, forests, moun- tains, trade, produce, 172- Mines, rivers, animals, capital, 175- Bay, pearl fishery, and cities, 175. , city of New Granada, site, 174- History, government, public offices and buildings, inhabitants, bay, tides, 176. Panos Indians, 342. Panuco, river of New Spain, 109. 119. Papantla, pyramids of, 120. ^ Pupaws, 182. Paragoana, peninsula of, in Caraccas, 274. Paraguay, government of, boundaries, extent, history, discovery, 8ic. 370. Cli- mate and productions, features, &c. 373. Animals, 374. Rivers, commerce, 375. Missions, capital, and towns, 376. Paraguay river, small declension of, 348. Description of, 350. Paramo de Guanacas, pass of, 196. 203. ' de la Summa Paz mountain, 195. del Assuay, road over the, 224. Parana river, 351. 389. Paria, district and city of La Plata, 360, Paria, province of Caraccas, 253. Pariagoto Indians, 250. Parima lake, 253. Parina Cocha lake, 334. Parina Cocha, district of Peru, 334. Parral, town of New Spain, 83. Pasco, town of Peru, 327 f Pasco mines, in Peru, 294. Pascuaro, town of New Spain, 111. Pasquaro, town of New Spain, 83. Pass of Guanacas, 203- Passo del jYorte, fort of New Spain, 66. Pasto, town of New Granada, 206. Patagonians, 392. 47» Patax, pold works of Peru, 294. JPutas, d\s^r\c\ <>f Peru, 324. J'aucarcolla., d strict and (own of La Plata, 365. Paucartambo, district of Peru, 336. ■ river, 336. Puulhi, Inca, gives Pizarro battle, 304. Fausa, luwn of Peru, 334, Paynenauca, toqui of ihe Chilese, 400. Payta, town oi Peru, 222- Peurl fishery of Panama, 173' Pedro Ari^s de Avila, governor of Terra Firma, 161. Pedro de la Guscu, third governor of Peru, 307. Pehiienches Indians, 431. Pendulous bridtj^es in South America, 168. P^macola, city of Florida, 29. Perdido bay and river, boundary of the United States and Florida, 25. 31. Perote, plain of, 115. Peru, viceroyalty of, boundaries and extent, 291. Politicnl and territorial divi- sions, population and government, 292 Commerce 292. Produce of the mines, 293. Mines, 293. Climate, features, &c. 295. Hisio-y, discovery, &c. 296 An- cient Peruvians, 309. Antiquities, 310 Modern Peruvians, 311. Recent events in, 313. Capital, 317. Provinces ot, 320. Peruvians, ancient, 3U9. Peruvians, modern, 311. Peruvian sheep, 410. Peteroa, volcano of Chili, 406. 423. Pctorcu, city of Cili, 419. Pichinca volcano, 217. Pico de Oriziiba volcano, 44. 119. Pico de Tancitaro mountain, 109. Piedru Blunca, Pacific, 153. Pihuen, or Chilese pine tree, 405. Pilaya y Paspaya, province of La Plata, 359; «, Pikomuyo river, 351. 356. Pillan, name of the Deity in ancient Chili, 395. Pimeria, province of New Spain, boundaries, climate, inhabitants, 77. Rivers, 78. Forts, 78. Pinos isle, Cuba, 147- Pique, insect, 181. Pii-itoo isles, 440. Piros Indians, 342. Pisco, town of Peru, 329. Piura, district of, and oldest town in Peru, 321. Pixarro, history of the conquest of Peru by, 298. Pizarro Gonzalo assumes the government of Peru, 307. .— exploratory journey of, to the false Maranon,212. Plain of Xhe Maranon, 168. Plains of Barcelona, 263. Phuma of Choco, 201. Pottos, slaves of the mission Indians, 251. Pomabamba, province and town of La Plata, 361. Pongo de Manseriche, or crevice of the false Maranon, 233. 240. Ponce de Leon explores Fl-nda, 26- Popayan, government ot New Granada, 202. , city of New Granada, site, environs* rivers* 205. Volcanoes, buildings, population, 205. Popo. silver mmes of La Plata, 359. Popocatepetl vo\c3ino, 44. 113. Population of New Spain, 51. Of Mexico, SO. Of Puerto Rico, 140. Of Cubs, 143 Of New Granada, 162. Of Caraccas, 241. Of Peru, 292. Of Spanish America, 312. 251. Of La Plata, 344. Of Chili, 408. 473 Porco, city of La Plata, S58. •—— , mountains of La Plata, 358. Porcupine American, 411. Pore, city of New Granada, 195. Porrudos, river of La Plata, 350. Port Sir Francis Drake, 23. 71. Port San Francisco. 23. 71. Porto Bello, city of New Granada, site, foundation, 176. Fortifications, harbour, climate, 176. Inhabitants, commerce, 177. Edifices, &c. 177. Porto Cavello, city of Caraccas, site, history, 274. Buildings, population, trade, 275. Climate, &c. 276. Portu^esa, river of Caraccas, 285. Potatoe, not indigenous to Mexico, only found in South America at the conquest, 45. Polo mines of La Plata, 366. Pototaca lead mines of La Plata, 360. Potosi, mines of, 356. Potosi, city of La Plata, site, climate, environs, mines, 356. Foundation, mint^ population, buildings, 357'. Precipice of the Silla de Caraccas, 247. Price of provisions in Choco, 201. — given for European animals in the early times of the Spanish colonies of Peru, 328. Produce of the mines in the New World, not so great as has been imagined, 48. Actual amount of, 451. Pron, bundle of threads used to record events in Chili, 395. Protector of ihe Indians, title of Las Casas, 256. Pucara, remarkable ruins in La Plata, 367. Pvchacay, province of Chili, 424. Puda, or wild goat of Chili, 410. Puebla, La, province of New Spain, boundaries, extent. 111. Produce, history, climate, and ancient capital, 112. Present capital, 112. Mountains and anti* quities, 113. Towns, 114. Rivers, 114. — — de los Augelos, city of New Spain, situation, cathedral, buildings, bi- shopric, trade, environs, population, height, 112. -' ■ JVueva,c\ty of New Granada, 138. Puelches Indians, 431. Ptterto Rico island, situation, extent, history, 139. Land-crabs, produce, 140. P»<> pulation, capital, 140. , city of, 141. Viejo, district of New Granada, 226. Pulque, strong liquor made from the agavei 46. Puma, or American lion, 410. Puna, city of La Plata, 365- island, 226 Puma de la Gulera, so called on account of Columbus's ship touching at it, 259, — de Santa Elena, district of New Granada, 226- Puruce, volcano, 205. — — ^ — , village of Popayan, 206. Piirissima Concepcion de Catorce, mines of New Spain, profit of, 49- Puros river, 370. Puruiiys, ancient inhabitants of Quito, 208. Pusambio, or Vinegar River, 206 Putacuao, lake of'Caraccas, 268. Pyramid erected on the banks of the Paraguay, as a boundary mark between Spanish and Portuguese America, 350. QC;i^QCr.45 Indians. 251. Qxebrudu, or crevire of Tipe, 188. Quelendama mount«in, 218. 474. Quc/erjM, Indian country of Guatimala, 128. Quesaltenango, districi of Guatimala, 128. Qtteretaro, city of New Spain, 108- Qiiesada, Gonzalo Ximenes de, conquest of New Granada by, 162. 197. Quetlavaca, or Cuitluhuatzin King ot Mexico, 98. Qniabaslan, 36. Qnibo, or Caybo isle, 155. Qiiicaras isles, Pacific, 155. QwicAwan, languag-e of Peru, 343. Q'lillota, province and city of Chili, 418. Quinchuan, isle of Chiloe, 431- Qitindm mountain, 166. 203. Pass of, 203. Quirigidna, Isle of Chili, 428. Quispicanchi, district of Peru, 336. Quito, presidency of New Granada, boundaries, 208. Extent, districts, history, 208. Capital, 214. Features and mountains, 217- Provinces, 220. — — , city of, foundation, site, vicinity, 214. Climate, earthquakes, population* 215. Manners and customs of the inhabitants, public buildings, 215. Trade, height, 216. Rivers, 216. , jurisdiction of New Granada, 222. Quixoay Macas, government of New Granada, 240. RALEIGH, Sir Walter, voyage of. to Guiana, 288. Ramirez, isle in Lake Tamiagua, 147. Rancagua, province and city of Chili. 421. Ransom, immense, given by Atabalipa, 303. Rdpel, village and cavern in Chili, 422. Rospadura canal, unites the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, 201. Region of perpetual snow in Mexico, 51. Real de los Alamos, town of New Spain, 81. Reidejo, town and port of Guatimala, 131. Religion of New Spain, 52- Of ancient Mexicans, 103- Of the Muyscas, 164. 171. Of the ancient Peruvians, 311 Of the wandering tribes on the banks of the Maranon, 342- Of the ancient Cbilese, 395. Repartimientos, history of, 311- Revenue of New Spain, 57. Of New Granada, 162. Of Peru, 292- Of Spanish America, 451. Revillagigedo isle, 153. Rtobamba, district of New Granada, 223. city of New Granada, 223. Rio Bravo del J\,''orte, 50 66. — — Colorado, New Spain, 50. Conchos, or de Salinas, New Spain, 80. de la Hacha, district and town of Nt-w Granada, 191. de la Plata, discovery of, 344- Description, 349. Grande de la Jtfagdalena, See Magdalena, J\regro, 236. 239. 289 Santiago, or Rio Lerma, New Spain, 86. — — Vermelho, or Vermejo, 351. Verde, New Spain, 122. Riochico, town of New Spain, 79. Riora, city of La Plata, 382 Rivers of Florida, 30- Of New Spain, 50. Of Caraccas, 247- Of La Pata, 349- Of Chili, 406. Road of the Mexican plain, great length of, 43. From Cumanacoa> highly pic- turesque, 263. From B'lenos Ayres to Potosi, 379. Roads of New Spain, 47. Over the Andes, in Chili, 405- Roca Partida isle, 154. Roderic de Triana first sees the Americart land, 22. Roebuck isle, Florida, 32. 475 Hoguagualo lake of La Plata, 370. Jiencudor isle, 152. Rosurio, mine of, New Spain, 81. Utiatan isle, 151- JRtiminagni usurps the sceptre of Quito, 211. Ruminavi mountain, 218, 219. SACRIFICES of the Muyscas, 164- 170. , island of, 147. Salado, river of La Plata, 378. Salamanca, town of New Spain, 88. Satis, discovery of the Rio de la Plata by, 345. 349. Suit plains and lakes oi La Plata, 378. — — works of Araya, in Caraccas, 261. Salta, city of La Plata, 382. Saltillo, town ot New Spain, 83. Sana, town and district of Peru, 222- Sa7i Antomo, town of Caraccas, 287. -^— — de Bejar, fort of Texas, 85. de loa Cuyes, ancient fort, 121. Suit Bnrtolomeo de CMllan, town of Chili, 424. — Benedito isle. Pacific, 154. . Benito isle, Pacific, 152. — — Bernardo de Turija, town of La Plata, 359- ' -, hay in the gulf of Mexico, 152. -^— Bias, port of New Spain, 87. ■ Buenaventura mission, California, 75- — — Carlos, town of Caiuccas, 278. -, fort 0} Guiana, 288. , town of Chiloe, 431. San Christoval de Acochala, silver mine, 359- — ^-^— , lake of Mexico, 106. San Felipe, city of Chili, 420. - , town of Caraccas, 279- — — y San Jugo, town of New Spain, 81. San Fernando de Apiire, town of Caraccas, 286. , town of Chill, 422. San Frajicisco, mission of California, 74. ■ Jayme, town of Caraccas, 286. — — Joachin de Omaguas, Spanish fort on the Maranon, 341. Josef, town of Florida, 30. Jose, mission of California, 74. Jiian de la Frontera, city of La Plata, 386. . de los Llanos, province and town of Granada, 194. del Puo, town of Caraccas, 279. del Rio, town of New Biscay, 83. City of Mexico, 108. , river of Florida, 30. Town of Nicaragua, 131. River of Nicaragua, importance of, 132 San iaiaro, fort of Carthagena, 183. — — Lxiis de Cura, town of Caraccas, 279. , de Gonzaga, city of Chili, 426. — — , island in the bay of San Bernardo, 147. de Loyola, city of La Plata, 386. Poiosi, intendancy of New Spain, boundaries, extent, population, cli- mate, 83 Mines, capital, 84. ' , city of New Spain, 84. San Martin isle. Pacific, 152. Miguel, town and district of Guatimala, 127. de Ibarra, city and province of New Granada, 220. — - JVicolas, isle in the Pacific, 152. ^6 San Pablo de OmagTiai, Portuguese fort on the M aranon, 341, 1. Pedro, town of Caraccas, 283. Town of Peru, 323- - Salvador isle, Pacific, 152. , town and district of Guatimala, 127. — — Sebastian, colony founded by Ojeda, 160. ' Sebastian de Buenavista, town of New Granada, 186. de Los Reyes, town of Caraccas, 279- Santa ^na, mission of California, 76. —— ^or(f>ara, mission of California, 74. ' Santa Cntalina, or Providence Isle, l5l. — — Crux, mission of California, 74. isle, Pacific, discovered by Cortez, 153. — — , town of Cuba, 147. ■ , village of New Mexico, 60. — ^— ^— dela Sierra, province and town of La Plata, 365. Santa F^, province of New Granada, 195. — — de Bogota, capital of New Granada, site, foundation, buildings, height, population, 169 Climate, viceroy, archbishopric, environs, 170. Mint, 171. — , city of New Spain, 66. " — , city ©f Paraguay, 391. — — , aqieduct of Mexico, 63. de Antioquia. See Antioquia. Santa Maria, name of the ship in which Columbus sailed, 81. -^—^ el Antigua del Darien, colony founded by Balboa, 161. First set- tlement in Spanish North America, 179. Santa Maria, or Talca, isle of Chili, 428. Santa Marta, province of New Granada, boundaries, discovery, history, 187. Climate, productions, features of, 187. Rivers, 188. Cacao plant, 190. Po- pulation, capital, 191 Towns, 191. , city of New Granada, 191. Santa Rosa de Cosiquiriuchi, town o{ i^ew Spain, 82. Santa Rosa isle, Pacific, 153. Santanilla isle, 151. Santiago, capital of Chili, site, population, streets, buildings, squares, suburbs, 415. Cathedral, mint, governor, bishopric, trade, 416. Santiago, province of Chili, 420. Santiago del Estero, city of La Plata, 381. Santo Tome, capital of Guiana, 289. St. Anastasia isle of, Florida, 32. St- Augustine, city of Florida, 28. St- Felix and St- Ambrose isles. Pacific, 437. St- John's, river of Florida, 30. St- Lorenzo isle. Pacific, 438. St- Mark's, town of Florida, 29. St Martin, plains of, 167. St- Mary's river, boundary between Florida and the United States, 30. St Saverio, town of Chili, 423. Sangai, or Mecas volcano, 2l9. Sangallan isle. Pacific, 437. Sansonate, town and district of Guatimala, 127. Sapotes, 182. Sa'iacu, village on the Maranon, 341. Savannah of the Orinoco, 168. Sayri Tupac, 17lh and last Inca of Peru, 298. Scotch Darien Company, l/*9. 6VcA«ra, town of Peru, 322. Sensitive plant, 180. Serrano isles, 152. Serranilla isles, 152. Settlements formerly made in the Straits of Magellan, 234. ^77 Sicasica, province and town of La Plata, 361. Sierra de Canutagua divides Nor.h from South America, 24. 172. • Jlludre, range of mountains, 43. 65. 68. de las Grullas, 44. 70. Gorda, 85. Verde, 44. de San Martin, 120- ■ Piicaraimo, 167- Quineropaca, 167- Puriu, 267 Sa7i Carlos, 343. Sitla de Caraccas, 166. 247- Silla Casa, mercury veins in Peru, 331. Silva, exploratory journey of, m Guiana, 236. Silver exported from New Spain, 48. — — produced annually in New Spain, 49. native, found in Batopilas, 49. Sinaruco river, 286. Sinchi Roca, 2d Peruvian Inca, 297. Singnlur monuments in Cuyo, 385. Sir Francis Drake takes Porio Bello, 178. takes Carihajjena, 185. Sisiil, port of Yucatan, 124. Sieve trade, orig-in of, 256. iS/«t>es of New Spain, 52. Snoiv, limits of perpetual snow in Mexico, 51. Socorro, town of New Granada, 199. Socorro tsle, Pacific, 154. Soroniisco. district and town of Guatimala, 127- Sololu, district of Guatimala, 127- Sombrerete, town and mines of New Spain, 86. Sonera, intendancy of New Spain, boundaries, districts of, capital, 77 -, district of New Spain, 78. -, city of New Spain, 79. Sotara, volcano, 205. Sources of the .Apurimac or Maranon, 339. ■ of the Magdalena and Cauca, 203. Steam engine much wanted in the American mines, 48. Suchitepeque, town and province of Guatimala, 127. Sucumbios missions of New Granada, 242. Sumasinta, river of New Spam, 119. Sunchuli mountain, celebrated for its gold mines, 363. Sutiles, or limes, use of in cookery, 182. TABASCO, province of New Spain, former extent of, 117. Climate, productions, chief town, 118 Lakes, towns, rivers, 118. Volcanoes, 119. island, 118. 148. , city of New Spain, 118. — — , river, 118. Tacames, province of New Granada, 206. , city of New Granada, 207. Tacarigua, Indian name of Lake Valencia, 253. Tacna, town of Peru, 340. Taciibaya, town of New Spain, 108. Talca, or San Augustin, city of Chili, 423. Talcaguana, road of, in the Bay of Concepcion, 426 Tamho, or palace of tlie Incas, 219. Tatviagita lake, 119. Tampico river, 119. i3 P f78 Taquari, I'iver of La Plata, 350. Tuvahitas, ur flying brid^jes, 190. Tavmny intemiancy of Peru, 325. — , city of Peru, 326. TavanUn-suyu, ancient name of Peru, 343- Tasco, city of New Spain, 108. Tea of Paraguay, 573. Tehiiantep'que, city of New Spain, 121- Temperatiire of the air in Mexico, 51. Temple of the Su.x at Cuzco, 335. Ttnerife, town of New Granada, 191. « Tenocluitlan, original name of Mexico, 91. Teocailies, or Mtxican temples, 55. Teotikuacmi, San Juan de, temple, 107. Te.otl, name of the Deity in Mexico, 103. Teguelnien, isleof Chonos Archipelago, 431. Tequendomay cataract of, 169, 170. Tradition concerning, 171. Texan, province of New Spain, 84. Tezcuco, lake of Mexico, 105. Tiahiianaco, sing ilar monuments at, 363. Tibiqituri, river of La Plata, 351. Tihuron isle, Gulf of California, 153. Tides, great diflference of, at Panama and Porto Bello, 175. Tierra Fi>me, general name for Panama, Veragua, and Darien, 172. — — — Proper, or Panama. See Panama. , conjecture concerning the application of this name to Panama, 172. Ti^iiesg-aipa, district and town of Guatimala, 127- Tima}ia, town of New Granada, 206. Tintu, tosvn of Pern, 337- Tipuanis, river of La Plata, 358- Tisin^al, mine ofGuatimala, 136. Titicuca, or Chiicuito Lake, 349. 364- Tlacopan kingdom, 89. Tlncotalpan, town of New Spain, 118. Tlascala, city of New Spain, 112- Ttosco/an republic, 112. Tlatelolco town, 92. T/"xca//an republic, 88. Tocannfi, town of New Granada, 199. Tocnnos, river port of Varinas, 284. Tocvyo, city of Garaccas, 276. . , river of Garaccas, 271. Todo Hierro, castle of Porto Bello, 176. Tolosa, first Captain General of Garaccas, 255 Tolu balsam, 180. 186. , town of New Granada, 186. Tolnca, city of New Spain, 108. mountain, 105. Tomahnve, mines of La Plata, 358. Tomina, district of La Plata, 358- Topia, Cordillera, of, 68- Topocalma, part pf Chili, 422. Toqui, great chief of the Araucanlans, 43C Tortiiga Salada isle, 438. Totonicupan, district of Guatimala^ 125. Totoral, isle of Chili, 428 Toultecs or Toltecs, nation, 89. Traditions of the Muyscas, 171. m Trexo or Truxo, a negrcss, great age of, 377. Trinidad, discovery of, by Columbus, 254. ■ , town of Cuba, 146. Triste isle, Gulf of Mexico, 148. Truxillo, intendancy of Peru, boundaries, climate, districts, 320. Capital, 323. .jurisdiction of Peru, 323. , city of Peru, site, foundation, buildings, population, fortifications, 323. — — — , city of Caraccas, 284. , city of Guatimala, 136. Tiicuman, government of La Plata, boundaries, 376. Climate, features, history, 37r. Capital, 380. , city of La Plata, 380. Tula, river of New Spain, 108- 119. TnlmerOf town of Caraccas, 277. Tiimbcz, town of Peru, 321. Tumbibamba, battle of, 210. Tvmiriqitiri mountain, 264- Tumulus, singular one in Quito, 219. Twrnu^of Quito, 221. Tunguragua mountain, 220. ■ , or false Maranon river, 236. Tunja, disappearance of Bochica at, 164. 199- — — — , town of New Granada, 199. Tupac Amaru, the 1st, revolt of, and death, 307. — — — , the 2d, or, Jose Gabriel Condorcanqui, revolt of, crowned by the Peruvians, wages dreadful war against the whites, 308. Tvpac Yupanqui, 12th Inca of Peru, 298. Tupungato, mountain of Chili, 406. Tuquillo, plains of, 167- Turbaco, village and volcanitos of. New Granadsj 186 Turco, mines of La Plata, 360. Tumeff isle, 150 Tuy, river of Caraccas, 271. Tuyu, territory of Buenos Ayres, 392. Tuxtla, volcano of New Spain, 119 Tsapoteca, district of New Spain, 122. UCATALE, or true Maranon, 235. Ucucuamo mountain, a supposed El Dorado, 167. Ulmens, chiefs of the Araucanians, 433. Uhia, Si- Juan de, island of, fort of, light-house, 148. Umama, peak of, 167. Unare, river of Caraccas, 269. University of Mexico, 61. Urcos, town of Peru, 336. Urubamba river, 336. Uruguay, Jesuit's territories, 373. , or river of the Missions, 351. 389. Uspallata, silver mines of Chili, 385. 407. VACA BE CASTRO, government of Peru by, 213. 307. Valdivia, conquest of Cliili by, 397. — , fortress and city of Chili, history, buildings, fortifications, environs, harbour, 427. Valencia, city of Caraccas. 277. , lake of Caraccas, 252. Valenclana, mines of, the richest in New Spain, description of, expenses of, profit, 49. Height of, 88. ^alladoVd or Mechoacan, intendancy ef New Spain, boundaries and extent, 109. 4B0 l-ealures, 109. Volcano of Xorullo, 109. Population, 110. Capital, and towns, prodn' vions, 110. VaUudolid, ciiy ot' New Spam, site, description of, aqueduct, population, &c. 111. KuZ/f^ of Caraccas, 188. Ot Aragua, 188. Of Monai, or the Llanos, 188. Of the Oi :no.-o, 247. Valparaiso, city and port of Chili, site, history, 418. Buildings, trade, 418. Har- bour, 419. Vampyre bat, 181. Varinus, province of Caraccas, 284. , ciy of C;>raccas, 286. Vuru isle, Caribtiean Sea, 438. Venezuela, origin of the name, 252. 270. , province of> boundaries, population, soil, climate, 270. Features, 271. Conimerce, 272. Capital, 274. Vasco J\unez de Balboa, discovery of the Pacific by, 161. Vtffit de Supia, silver mines of New Granada, 200. Vela Blasco, fiist viceroy of Peru, 307. Vekz, town of New Granada, 198. Vera Cruz, inlendancy of New Spain, boundaries, extent, climate, 115. Singular features of, productions, population, 115. Capital, 116. Towns, 116. Vol- canoes, 119. Antiquities, l20- -m ■■ -, city of New Spain, situation, defence, port, history, buildings, 116. Population, vicinity, yellow fever, 117. Vera Cruz el Antigua, town of New Spain, 117- Veragua, first European colony established on the continent of America, 138. , province of New Granada, 172. Boundaries, discovery of by Columbus, 137- 159. Description of, climate, mines, capital, 137. Towns, 138. ■. — , Duke of, title of Columbus, 137- -, city of New Granada, 138. Verd-Paz, province of Guatimala, boundaries, 129. Extent, climate, features, trade, capital, 130. , or Cuban, city of Guatimala, 130. Vermelho, or Vermejo river. 351. 378. Vernon, AfJmiral, a.tack on Porto Bello by, 178. Attack on Carthagena by, 185. Vicente Yanez Pinzon, discovery of the Maranon by, 237. Explores Paria* 254. Vicerotjs of New Spain, 41- Of New Granada, 162. Of Peru, 307. Viceroyalti) of New Spain- See J^'e^u Spain. of New Granada, erection of, 214. of Peru, 291. of Buenos Ayres, or La Plata, 344. Victoria, town of Caraccas, 277- , or Tabasco, town of New Spain, 118. Vicuna, or Peruvian camel, 332. 409. Vilcamayo nver, 235. 336. Vilcanota, chain of, boundary between Peru and La Plata, 338. Vilcas Guaman, district and town of Peru, 333. Villa Ricade la Vera Cruz, founded by Corlez, 36. Villd Rira, town of Paraguay, 376. — — , volcano of Chili, 406. , lake of Chili, 407- Villa Hermosa, town of New Spain, 118. Villa de Leon, town of New Spain, 88. Villa del Principe, town of Cuba, 146. Vilumilla, toqui of the Chilese, 402. Vinegar r'wev, singular stream of Popayan,206. Violence of the winds on the .\ndes, 220. Vizracha, or Chilese fox, 410. Volcanitnn de Turbiico, 186. Volcano of Guayna Patina, in Pe^u^ 339- 48i Volcano of Peteroa, in Chili, 406. 423- of Villa Rica, in Cliili, 406. Volcanoes of New Spain, 44. of the Andes, 168. of Chili, 406. Voyages of Columbus. See Columbus- of different travellers on the Maranop, 238. -of Father Girval up the Maranon, 341. — of Magalhaens, 434. WELSEHS, a German company, to whom Caraccas was intrusted, 255. West Indin Isles of Spain, number of, politital divisions, 138. Wheats introduction of into Quito, 222. , quantity cultivated in New Spain, 45. Whites, number of, in New Spain, 51. , number of, in Spanish America, 451. Workmen and labourers in the Mexican mines often steal the metals, 49. XALAPA, city of New Spain, gives its name to jalap, 46. Population, site, cll- maie, height, 117. Xnquijaguuna valley, place where Gonzalo Fizarro was taken prisoner) 336. Xarayes, lake of La Plata, 349. Xauxa, district aud town of Peru, 332. , or .Jauja, river of Peru, 325. Xexemam, suburb of Carthagena, 183. Xeocny, river of La Plata, 351. Xochicalco lake, 106. — — — , monument of, 107. Xorullo volcano, singular formation of, 110. Xuxuy, or San Salvador, city of La Plata, 382. TAGUACHE, district of New Granada, 226. Tanos, fori of New Spain. See Janos- Y'l/iuar Huacac, 8th Inca of Peru, 298. Yapiira river, 236 239. Taracuy, river of Caraccas, 271' Tear of the Moscas, 164. Tecorato, mines of New Spain, 81. Yelloio fever at Caraccas, 245. At La Guayra, 246. Topez, river of New Spain, 114. " Tpacary, lake of La Plata, 349. rpoa, lake of La Plata, 349 Tquilao, isle of the Archipelago of Chonos, 431. Tvari river, 343. Yucatan or Merida, intendancy of, boundaries, extent, productions, climate, 122- Mountains, rivers, inhabitants, British settlers, 123- Logwood cutting, Indians, 124. Population, capital, towns, 124. Yupangui, 11th Inca of Peru, 298. Turanqui, plain of, place where a degree of the Meridian was measured by the Spanish and French mathematicians, 217. Tnrba river, 343. Yutay river, 343. ZACATECAS, intendancy of, boundaries, extent? population, mines, capital, and towns, 86. ■, city of New Spain, 86. Zacatnla, town of New Spain, 108. , river of New Spain, 109- Zamba, town of New Granada, 186. 488 Zague or Xaque, title of the prince of the Modeas* l64 Zeruma, town of New Granada, 232. Zinu, town of New Granada, 186. Zippat, chiefs of the Moscas, 164. Zitura, canal of, unites the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, 201. Zumpange, lake of ACezicoi 106. X|IB END. i '\'^ 9^ \Jf .^) H.t''" .f ■i^m.