A Bit of History
Every one has heard of the Incas and of the conquest of Peru by Pizarro, but a few particulars of the remarkable subjugation of a great people will here be recalled. As early as 1524 Francisco Pizarro, incited by rumors at Panama of a country at the south marvellously rich in gold, for the purpose of exploration only, made his first expedition to Peru. Landing at Tumbes on the south shore of the Gulf of Guayaquil, he found an opulent city, whence he proceeded along the coast as far as Trujillo. Satisfied by this reconnoissance as to the great wealth of the country, he was obliged to return to Spain to procure royal warrant for the invasion. This gained he set out from Panama in January, 1531, upon his extraordinary career of conquest. Partners in his adventure were Diego de Almagro and a priest, Hernando de Luque.
Again landing at Tumbes he advanced overland southward and in a fertile valley founded the present city of Piura. Some months were here passed, a vain delay for reinforcements; Pizarro meanwhile learning of the quarrel between the two Inca princes, the brothers Atahuallpa and Huascar, and that the former, victorious, was now with a large retinue, ten days’ journey from Piura, at the town of Cajamarca whither he had gone to take the baths.
To attempt the conquest of a great empire with an army of less than 200 men seems preposterous indeed, but the bold, one would say insane, Pizarro, had he not succeeded, at length set out with 180 men, 67 of whom were cavalry. However, these last were equivalent to a mighty host; for horses, never before seen in this country, struck terror to the stoutest hearts. It was a hard march across the desert, then up over the great coast range of the Andes down to the longitudinal valley in which Cajamarca is situated. On the way they were met by messengers bearing royal gifts, with an invitation to visit the powerful ruler of this immense empire. Through narrow defiles where a large force might easily have been annihilated, the little army was permitted to march in safety. Upwards in bitter cold and rarefied air they toiled to a height of 12,000 feet or more until they looked down upon a beautiful valley, a prosperous city, and the camp of a great army.
With bold faces if quaking hearts they descended, November 15, 1532, to the city which they found deserted: that better accommodations, it was said, might be furnished to the distinguished guests. The next day, accepting the invitation of Pizarro that he should dine with him, Atahuallpa with a large retinue, unarmed, came in royal state to the Plaza. In place of the courteous greeting from Pizarro which was here due, a priest, Father Valverde, came forward. Having expounded the chief doctrines of the Christian religion he thereupon demanded the Inca’s allegiance to the Pope and to the Emperor Charles V. Upon Atahuallpa’s indignant rejection of this piece of bold and insolent presumption, Valverde called on Pizarro to make an assault. The signal was given, guns boomed, the cavalry charged upon the defenseless throng. Instead of the hospitality that had been proffered there was a scene of terrible slaughter. The Inca was seized and imprisoned, after which a ransom was arranged. The collection for this purpose of more than $15,000,000 worth of gold dishes, plate, and other objects was followed by a second act of perfidy. Accused of various crimes, Atahuallpa, instead of being released, was condemned to be burned at the stake; or if he would consent to embrace Christianity to have the easier death of strangulation. This he chose. Thus the courtly monarch of this highly civilized empire, one of the first on that continent to be baptized (revolting mockery) into the Christian faith, was ignominiously put to death after the most shameless betrayal of the rites of hospitality, the most brutal treachery, to be found on the pages of history.
Thus was accomplished the conquest of Peru. The Inca executed, his humble subjects made but little and sporadic resistance. Cuzco, the capital city, was visited and stripped of many of its treasures. For the conciliation of the populace, Manco, a younger brother of Atahuallpa, was crowned; but the real power was placed in the hands of one of Pizarro’s brothers.
Francisco then descended to the coast and, on January 6, 1535, founded on the banks of the Rimac, a capital which he named City of the Kings in honor of the Epiphany, although Lima, a corruption of Rimac, is the title by which it has been called. Such a beginning was naturally followed by a period of dissensions and murders, which lasted twenty years. For nearly three centuries a Spanish Viceroy ruled over the country, until in 1824, at Ayacucho on the highlands of Peru, the last battle of independence was fought, the whole of South America was liberated from the domination of Spain, and the realms of the Inca became free to develop a new civilization.
Panama to Salaverry. For three days after leaving Panama the ship is out of sight of land, which is again approached near the northern extremity of Peru. This coast is unlike that of any other country in the world, to the uninitiated presenting a series of surprises. The first is the climate, which in the Torrid Zone one naturally expects to be hot, at least at sea level. On the East Coast of South America this is the case, but not on the West after reaching Peru. Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador have ordinary tropical weather, continuous heat with plenty of rain and luxuriant vegetation. Peru is in striking contrast. From Paita, 5° south of the equator, throughout the journey of 1200 miles along the coast, all within the tropics, the weather is so cool at least half of the year that exercise is a pleasure, while wraps and steamer rugs are frequently desirable. Of this moderate temperature the chief cause is the Antarctic or Humboldt current, which flows along the coast from the South Polar regions until, at Point Pariña, the western extremity of South America, it meets a hot stream and both turn westward across the Pacific. The proximity to the sea of the lofty range of the Andes also contributes to the coolness.
Another surprising phenomenon is the barren shore. The entire coast for 2000 miles, from Tumbes, to Coquimbo in Chile, is a genuine desert, save where, at considerable intervals, the fifty-eight streams in Peru, coming down from the mountains, afford opportunity for irrigation. The lack of verdure in Peru is not occasioned by the character of the soil; it arises simply from the absence of rain.
Paita. The fourth morning after leaving Panama the ship is likely to be at anchor in the harbor of Paita, having passed in the night the more northern Peruvian shore. Otherwise one might from a distance perceive near Point Pariña the pipes and derricks of many oil wells. For the petroleum industry is important in Peru. In this Department, Piura, the oil regions cover an area as large as Holland. It is said that the petroleum is superior to that of the United States, having little paraffine and no odor; that the kerosene gives a better light, and that the crude oil may be employed as fuel after merely standing a few days in the open air. For the last ten years the oil has been thus used in the locomotives of the Oroya Railway; it is now similarly employed on the Peruvian steamers. There is a great field for the development of the industry in this and other districts of the country.
After several days on board ship most of the passengers improve the opportunity of going ashore. The regular fare as at other ports is forty centavos (twenty cents) each way for each person. Paita is a curious place, a small village, yet the third port in Peru in the amount of exports and imports, serving a considerable district including the city of Piura, with which it is connected by a railroad of standard gauge. The walls of the houses are of bamboo, set perpendicularly, some overspread with plaster often partly peeled off, others destitute of covering. Climbing the hills back of the town you will perceive a genuine desert, in the distance fringed by low mountains. “Paita,” said the Captain on my first voyage in 1903, “is the dryest place on earth.” From its appearance I was not inclined to dispute the fact, but having heard that it rains there once in seven years and in Iquique not at all I inquired how this might be. “That is easy,” replied the Captain. “In Iquique there are heavy dews, here nothing, and now it has skipped one shower and it is almost fourteen years since it has rained.” This was no idle jest. The drought continued until February, 1910, when there was a heavy shower, the first in nineteen years. There are no wells, hence all water is brought by rail and sparingly used; therefore there is no green. The town of Piura, on the contrary, 60 miles distant, is in an irrigated valley where the finest cotton is a staple production and where new irrigation canals are increasing the possibilities for agriculture. A few miles farther is Catacaos, where half of the 20,000 inhabitants are engaged in making the 260,000 Panama hats here annually produced. While Ecuador is the chief seat of the industry, hats may be purchased at Paita to better advantage than at Guayaquil. The natives who come on board ship bring various articles for sale, paroquets, mocking-birds, fruit, pottery, ancient and modern, as well as the Panama hats. These of good quality may be purchased at from $2.00 to $12 or $15 gold, the latter of the Monte Christo quality, all at about one-fourth of the price commonly asked for a similar article in New York. The best are rarely found in the United States at any price.
Some day Paita with its excellent harbor will become a port of great importance. A railroad 400 miles long is planned and has been surveyed to Melendez on the Marañon, the larger of the two rivers (the other, the Ucayali) uniting to form the Amazon. Crossing the Andes in one of its lowest sections, where a short tunnel at 5000 feet altitude will serve instead of the long ones, above 10,000 and 15,000 feet, through the mountains farther south, this road will bring the rubber country in the neighborhood of Iquitos, the chief port on the upper Amazon, within two weeks of New York, instead of the four or five weeks by way of Pará. On this route, too, are said to be millions of tons of iron, as well as coal and other minerals.
On leaving Paita, if not before, the tourist will be likely to feel the need of heavier underwear. The air in winter is damp and chilly. The temperature in my cabin was 60°. At this season clouds generally conceal the sun, making a gloomy sea, and the little patches of blue sky are small.
Etén, the next port, 161 miles farther south, the ship is likely to reach the next morning. An iron pier 2000 feet long is noticeable, though a good distance away. Callao is the only seaport below Panama having docks which may be approached by large ships. The slope of the beaches is so gradual that even for the use of the lighters long piers are necessary. Etén has an especially poor anchorage, an open roadstead where there is often a moderate swell, so that the passing traveler seldom goes ashore. Frequently passengers must be taken on board by means of a sort of barrel or hogshead destitute of one side. One person sits, another stands on the edge. Thus they are raised with windlass, chain, and pulley, and gently deposited on deck.
Pacasmayo, 34 miles farther, is usually visited the same day. This is quite a town with a railroad running 85 miles up country, some day to be prolonged to Cajamarca, now rather difficult of access.
The coast presents for the most part a study in browns, diversified by occasional patches of green, the size of which varies with that of the stream coming down from the mountains and the extent of irrigation in the valley. The great mountain range is surprisingly near the sea. There are indeed foothills, and in the northern and southern sections of Peru, back of the high bluffs which generally line the coast, a plain stretches away to lofty mountains. These, however, are near enough to be always in sight if it were not for another peculiarity of this rainless coast, the low clouds or mist which too often conceal or obscure them. Along the central portion of Peru beginning with Salaverry, the mountains come down to the shore in many bold headlands and are sometimes so disposed as to present an appearance of several ranges of varying altitudes, the rearmost, a frowning almost perpendicular black wall, which, back of Chimbote and Samanco, rises to the extraordinary height of 15,000 to 18,000 feet. Barely, a snow-crowned summit is there seen peeping over a depression in the Black Range, the north peak of the great Huascarán, 21,812 feet above the sea, first ascended in 1908 by Miss Annie S. Peck with two Swiss guides. At present Huascarán is called the second highest measured mountain in America, but it is far more difficult to climb than Aconcagua, now holding first place. Had one a clear view of these great ranges, the voyage to the mountain lover would be of real fascination. As it is, the long halts at the various ports to discharge and receive freight become a trifle monotonous. Possibly, after the opening of the Canal, there will be through service with direct express to Callao from Panama.
CHAPTER VII
SALAVERRY—CHAN CHAN—CHIMBOTE—THE HUAILAS VALLEY
Salaverry, 66 miles from Pacasmayo, is usually reached during the night. At this port a few tourists may be tempted to disembark, perhaps with two objects in view; one to visit the ancient city of Chan Chan, the flourishing city of Trujillo, and the great sugar plantations of the valley; the other, for the purpose of transferring to the caletero boat, in order to land at Chimbote or Samanco, thence to visit the Huailas Valley to admire its magnificent scenery, including the peerless Huascarán. By taking at Panama the Sunday steamer (fortnightly) of the Peruvian Line, one may land at Chimbote or Samanco without change.
Salaverry, with one or two hundred houses on the desert shore, is a port merely, near a bold bluff which helps to make a fair harbor. A great quantity of sugar from the Chicama and Santa Catalina Valleys is the chief export.
Trujillo, eight miles by rail from the harbor, is a pretty city of 10,000 people. Founded by Pizarro in 1535 near the ruined capital of the Grand Chimu, it is one of the most aristocratic of Peruvian cities. First among these to proclaim independence, December 22, 1820, the Department received from Bolívar the name La Libertad. Trujillo possesses a pretty shaded plaza, fashionable for the evening promenade, several convents, and interesting churches, one of which, the San Augustín, is noteworthy on account of the excellent carving and rich gilding of the pulpit and high altar. It has a hospital, a university, a club, a hippodrome, a theater, and three daily papers; also, most important to the traveler, a respectable but far from luxurious hotel providing rooms, while fair meals may be procured at a Chinese restaurant close by.
Sugar Estates. Well worth a visit are the splendid sugar estates up the Chicama Valley, Casa Grande, Roma, Cartavio, and others. The first, an hour by rail from Trujillo, is said to be the largest sugar plantation in the world, containing a total population of 11,000, one-fourth of which is engaged in labor in the fields or mills. This valley, which in the time of the Grand Chimu supported a great population, was in the last century almost a barren desert up to 1873, when a German visiting the valley discovered the ancient irrigating canal, bought up land, and soon made the desert blossom as the rose. This valley produces more sugar than the entire island of Porto Rico, sugar of the finest quality. In the temperate, equable climate, the cane all along the coast matures early, is unusually rich in sugar, and may be cut all the year around. It may be raised at a profit if sold at 1½ cents a pound. The estates have the best of machinery, and expert managers who employ the latest and the most approved methods. Churches, schools, and hospitals are provided. The dwellings of the proprietors and superintendents contain most of the conveniences and luxuries of modern life, including telephones. The annual export of sugar from Salaverry amounts to 50,000 tons, and from Huanchacho near by to half as much more. Within 30 miles of Salaverry are also rich copper and silver mines, far more accessible than those on the plateau region above, and with a more agreeable climate. Their development on a large scale will not long be delayed.
Chan Chan. The tourist who is not a possible investor or looking after commercial interests may rather turn his attention to the great ruins north of Trujillo on the road to the small seaport, Huanchacho. Every one interested in antiquities should visit the ruins of Chan Chan, the largest and most important of the dead cities on our western coast. For a good pedestrian it is a moderate walk from Trujillo, though a horse may well serve the majority. Here the Grand Chimu once ruled over the twenty northern valleys of the Peruvian coast, from Tumbes on the north to Supe, well towards the Rimac valley on the south. Here was a civilization entirely distinct from that of the Incas, unhappily overthrown by them some four generations before the Conquest by Pizarro. A fertile plain 90 miles long was watered from three rivers by a remarkable system of irrigation. An aqueduct tapping the Muchi River high up in the mountains carried water across the valley on an embankment 60 feet high. Remains of a great reservoir between Trujillo and Casa Grande indicate a capacity, of two billion cubic feet of water. The city itself, open to the sea, was protected on the east from land invaders by a thick and lofty wall extending for miles along its borders. That it was at last compelled to succumb to the Incas is believed to be because these succeeded in diverting the water supply.
The site of Chan Chan, once probably the largest city in the New World, with an area of fifty or sixty square miles, is now a melancholy spectacle. What ruthless destruction has been wrought! What loss to the human race, through the overthrow of ancient civilization, again and again followed by relapses into partial or complete barbarism and toilsome progress upward! Will people ever learn to moderate their greed for wealth and power, and suffer others to dwell in peace after their own fashion!
For a cursory or careful inspection of the ruins a guide should be employed, as wandering at random one may miss or fail to understand the most important remains. In the labyrinth of walls with various enclosures containing numerous buildings, an immense mound is an occasional feature. One built of stone and rubble, 150 feet high, called Obispo, covers an area of 500 square feet. To the casual observer the design would not be obvious. Originally the mounds were in terraces, upon which buildings were erected with various passages leading to store rooms or burial chambers in the interior. With gardens around their base a splendid effect must have been created. The Spaniards early searched these mounds for treasure, with great success. From one called the Toledo three million dollars are said to have been taken; from the entire city $15,000,000. A broad lower mound proved to be a cemetery, where in niches were found mummies in elaborate garments of fine cotton adorned with gold and silver. In the center is a structure doubtless for the performance of the funeral rites.
The great palace of the Chimu enclosed a large hall 100 by 52½ feet. Its walls, containing a series of niches, were covered between with stucco relief work in arabesque patterns. Two structures of unusual form are believed to be factories. Arranged around a square which had a reservoir in the center were twenty-two recesses, probably for shops. Opening on smaller courts and passages were one hundred and eleven rooms, probably workshops for artificers in gold, silver, and bronze, and for designers, dyers, potters, and weavers. Wonderful ornaments of gold and silver have been found, fine textile fabrics, and most remarkable, the pottery, white, black, and pale red, which in immense quantities has been taken from the mounds called huacas, a name applied also to the objects. On the various specimens of this ceramic ware is portrayed every kind of fish, bird, mammal, and fruit, with which they were acquainted, also human beings, some in portraits, others as caricatures. There are groups engaged in war dances, in harvesting, and in other occupations. Some specimens of the pottery are said to be equal to any which has been fashioned, from the best days of ancient Greece up to the present time. Near the banks of the river Muchi at the south, stood a temple to the moon called Si An, where important religious ceremonies and processions took place.
Evidently the Grand Chimu was a powerful monarch with a magnificent court, ruling over subjects who lived in comfort. Their language, Mochica, is little known, as the race is practically extinct. When conquered by the Incas they were neither destroyed nor robbed of all their wealth. It was Pizarro and his followers who, though amazed at the greatness and beauty of the edifices, wantonly robbed and persecuted the inhabitants until the country was laid waste. The people and their civilization vanished and were forgotten. The language, wholly different from the Quichua, gives no hint as to the origin of the people. Neither does tradition lighten the mystery, nor their art, which relates wholly to their environment, though betraying some similarity to Mayo works. An exhaustive study of the language and of the archæological remains is required to reconstruct the history of this remarkable people whose ancestors are believed to have dwelt here long before the Christian Era.
Moche. Between the city of Trujillo and the port Salaverry is an Indian town called Moche, the inhabitants of which may be remnants of this old race. They wear a distinctive dress, are proud of their unmixed lineage, and do not intermarry with others. The costume of the women, merely a chemise with a piece of dark blue cloth wrapped around the body and fastened at the waist, to be seen anywhere in Moche, is not allowed in Trujillo.
Continuing from Salaverry by express steamer, one arrives the day following at Callao, a twenty-two hours’ run.
Chimbote and the Huailas Valley. The tourist who desires to behold the wonderful scenery of the Huailas Valley and magnificent Huascarán, surely repaying a little trouble, at present transfers at Salaverry to the weekly caletero boat for Chimbote or Samanco, unless he has sailed in the Sunday Peruvian steamer. With the completion of the railway to Caráz and beyond, promised within a year or two (as, alas! since 1906), Chimbote will doubtless become a primary port, receiving calls from the express steamers. When this happens, no one should omit the delightful railway journey of 135 miles to Yungay, at the foot of the great Huascarán. At the moment, the trip may be enjoyed by the robust traveler, as the three or four days’ horseback ride into the valley involves no hardship, save fatigue to those unwonted to such journeys.
The harbor of Chimbote, by some called the finest on the entire West Coast below Panama, is practically landlocked by a peninsula and several islands. It has an area of about 36 square miles, without a single rock below its placid surface. The usual pier extends from a sandy beach which affords splendid bathing facilities; but docks, approachable by the largest ships, could be arranged on one of the islands, which a bridge across a 200-yard channel would easily connect with the main land. The American capitalist, Henry Meiggs, the prime mover in the construction of the South and Central Peruvian Railways, had the foresight in the early seventies to perceive the great business possibilities of the Chimbote harbor, and planned the railway from Chimbote up the valley of the Santa River and along the Huailas Valley to Huaráz, 167 miles. A beginning was made, the road bed was constructed for 80 miles, the rails were laid for 60, when the Chilian war broke out. The invaders, having captured Chimbote, carried off the rolling stock and supplies, and destroyed whatever could not be removed. After the close of the war, Peru being bankrupt, the project remained for some years in abeyance, during which time the road was operated only to Tablones, a distance of 35 miles. Under recent concessions some work has been accomplished and the road is now open 30 miles farther. It is expected that the Peruvian Corporation, at present in control, will soon complete the line to Recuay, a little beyond Huaráz, when better accommodations for tourists will surely be provided. At present some of the towns have no hotels whatever, while in others those existing are very poor. Happily the residents are most hospitable, and strangers with letters of introduction, or in some cases without, are agreeably entertained by some of the best families. Naturally, with better facilities for travel this pleasant custom will cease. At Chimbote the small and poor hotel where I stayed in 1906, if not already enlarged and improved, will doubtless soon be superseded by a more adequate establishment. Back of the town, together with a mound and walls remaining from an ancient city, are vestiges of an aqueduct, presumably constructed in Chimu days. When these are repaired the desert plain near by, which bears an excellent soil, will be fruitful enough to support the great city laid out by Meiggs and expected to follow the completion of the railroad. This project was originally undertaken, not for the purpose of conducting tourists to the splendid scenery of the Huailas Valley, nor primarily for the convenience of its present large population and the export of its agricultural products. The chief value of the railroad lies in its opening up the immense coal fields of the region. Along the Santa River are millions of tons of excellent coal, which some persons believed worthless, because it is chiefly anthracite and semi-anthracite, therefore non-coking; ignorant of the fact that except for smelting purposes it is more valuable than soft coal.
This railroad has an advantage over the others leading into the interior, in being able to follow the Santa River through a cut in the Coast Range, instead of climbing 15,000 feet over it. Thus by a moderate grade it will reach the Huailas Valley. A serious impediment to the construction is the narrow gorge through the mountains, impracticable even for a pedestrian; yet the difficulty will soon be overcome. After ten miles on the desert the road passes near sugar plantations and haciendas. The region of coal deposits follows, extending through the mountain range and up the two lateral valleys beyond, the north in the direction of Cajamarca, the south, the Huailas Valley, to Recuay. The passage of the sombre gorge will be along the side of splendid cliffs with a foaming stream below, a continuous spectacle of superb grandeur. Turning south into the Huailas Valley, from one to four miles wide, the traveler has the White Range on the east, the Black on the west. The floor of the valley is beautiful with green fields of alfalfa and vegetables, with vineyards, fig and orange trees, chirimoias, and other tropical and sub-tropical fruits, and with hedges of fragrant flowers: above are rounded hillsides bearing the grains, green or golden, of temperate climes, higher are cliffs either gray or black, and on the east white peaks of dazzling splendor rising 14,000, 16,000 feet above the valley, which itself slowly ascends from 4000 to 10,000 feet above the sea. The lower western wall attains an altitude of from 15,000 to 18,000 feet. Travelers may always disagree as to the finest scenery in the world, but few visitors to this valley will deny that it is unsurpassed in the Western Hemisphere. In scenic splendor excelling Chamonix, in mineral riches it rivals the Klondike; for on both sides, the mountains are veined with gold, silver, and copper, as well as the more useful if plebeian coal.
MT. HUASCARÁN, FROM AN ALTITUDE OF 10,000 FEET
LLANGANUCO GORGE
Huascarán. Caráz, a pretty town with a delightful climate at an altitude of 6000 feet, is situated at the base of Huandoy, 21,000 feet, while Yungay, at 8300 feet, has a still finer location on the lower slope of the great Huascarán, one of the most beautiful of the world’s mountains, first climbed by Miss Peck on her sixth attempt, September 2, 1908, in company with two Swiss guides, her earlier efforts being rendered abortive through inability to provide other assistants than the inexpensive and incompetent natives. In recognition of this remarkable ascent to a summit 1500 feet higher than Mt. McKinley, Miss Peck was presented by the Government of Peru with a very beautiful gold medal. Of the twin peaks, the north was the summit attained: this, according to later measurement by French engineers, has an altitude of 21,812 feet; the south peak, 22,187 feet, pronounced by the guides impossible at the time, remains for some other mountaineer to conquer. Other snow mountains a little lower, of varying degrees of difficulty, afford opportunity for a number of first ascents of 20,000 feet and upwards.
The tourist who is not a mountain climber will find ample reward for his journey in admiring these peaks from the valley. He should, however, take a few horseback rides, especially one from Yungay through the Llanganuco Gorge, by which there is a frequented pass between Huascarán and Huandoy to the mountainous and mineral region east of the White Range. This splendid excursion may be made in a single day from Yungay, but the feeble, or the novice in horseback riding may prefer to spend the night at a ranch house at the east end of the gorge, perhaps extending the excursion some distance beyond. In any case provisions should be taken from Yungay.
After a pleasant two hours’ ride over the green foothills, one enters the narrow gorge four miles long, and a quarter to a half mile wide, where a sublime spectacle is presented. Practically perpendicular cliffs, more lofty than those of the Yosemite, rise on either hand, until at the center of the gorge one gazes at the sheer north wall of Huascarán towering 10,000 feet above the floor of the cañon which itself has a height of 12,000 feet. On the left, high up between massive triangular cliffs, gleam glaciers of the sharper Huandoy, almost as high as the snowy coverlet peering over the edge of Huascarán. A beautiful lake half a mile long, near the center occupies the entire floor of the valley. One rides along the pathway, in places cut out of the solid rock, in others supported by tree trunks, where a horse’s stumble might easily precipitate his rider into the so-called fathomless lake 100 feet below; but the excellent horses climb veritable stairs with ease, and there is no occasion for disquietude. In the distant foreground a beautiful snowclad mountain is in brilliant contrast to the somber and awesome surroundings. A second lake follows; a silvery waterfall on the left leaps down a few thousand feet in a shimmering shower of spray. Beyond the lakes are meadows, then the ranch house. To continue thence to the south to behold the eastern face of Huascarán and other splendid peaks is well worth the sturdy traveler’s while. At least the Llanganuco Gorge should be traversed by every visitor to the valley, though many of the natives of Yungay have never admired its grandeur, as many residents of Buffalo have never seen Niagara Falls. Several delightful walks or rides should be taken to the hills back of Yungay, and to a buttress of the Black Range opposite. From one of the former, a little to the south, may be had the finest possible view of the mountain. A pleasant ride, of three hours each way (a whole day should be allowed for the trip), is to the gold mine Matarao (10,000 feet), above the village of Mancos. From this point Huascarán may be climbed; or one may walk up to the snow line and return the same day, if not affected by the altitude.
Before the completion of the railroad the tourist may adventure thither by riding up over the Black Range. Without letters of introduction to hospitable hosts, one should write a week or two in advance to the steamship agent at Samanco requesting him to have horses ready at the port, since none may be obtained there. One may ride on the day of arrival 30 miles to Moro where there is a poor hotel. The second day one may proceed to Pamparomás, where food and lodging of a sort are provided. A long third day’s ride will bring one at nightfall to Yungay. From the altitude of 14,700 feet at the top of the pass in the Black Range, there is a glorious picture of the Cordillera Blanca, a row of snowclad giants extending north and south as far as the eye can reach; while a gloomy cañon close in front leads down to the beautiful valley. A truly hardy traveler may enjoy pursuing his way up the Huailas Valley to Huaráz and on to Cerro de Pasco, from Yungay a ten days’ journey; either by way of Huánuco in the montaña section east of the mountains, or by Chiquián on the plateau near the foot of another splendid peak.
CHAPTER VIII
CALLAO TO LIMA—HISTORY
Callao. The harbor of Callao, six or seven days direct from Panama, in contrast to the ports where the ship has previously called, presents an attractive picture. If the arrival is in the early evening the brilliant and extensive display of lights indicates a considerable city and a wide array of shipping. By day one will admire the varied landscape, the busy docks and the city in front, the verdure of the Rimac Valley at the left with its scattered enclosing heights often partly hidden by clouds, and the contrasting bluffs of the islands San Lorenzo and Fronton on the right, which, with the long sandy bar called La Punta extending a mile out from the city, form a well protected harbor. Of the few such on the West Coast this alone has been actively utilized. Unfortunately the other chief commercial ports are open roadsteads. In 1537, two years after the founding of Lima, a city was established at the port, where soon there was a busy harbor, with vessels bringing all kinds of merchandise from Europe, and departing laden with rich cargoes of gold and silver and a few other products. In the early colonial days Callao was several times pillaged by pirates, but later suffered a far greater calamity, exceeding the recent disasters at Valparaiso and San Francisco, and paralleled only by the fate of Port Royal. October 28, 1746, a terrible earthquake occurred, accompanied by a tidal wave which engulfed the city, destroying all, save one or two, of the 6000 inhabitants. The site sank beneath the ocean. The present city was rebuilt to the north of the earlier settlement. Many ships lie at anchor in its harbor, some at the docks, others outside: sailing vessels, large steamers, both passenger and freight, a half-dozen men of war, Peruvian, British, perhaps American, the last probably flying the only United States flag visible. Seldom does a ship approach the docks on arrival, and not at all if its stay is to be short. The freight is discharged into lighters, the passengers with their baggage into rowboats. As the water is always smooth, this, though inconvenient and an additional expense, is no great hardship. The fare to the shore is 40 centavos. A bargain should be made with the fletero, as the men are called who have numbers on their hats indicating that they are duly licensed. These men will take charge of your luggage, large pieces and small, delivering it safely at your hotel in Lima. They are likely to ask double what it is worth, not in comparison with New York prices, but with what it is needful to pay. The Lima Express Company has a fixed tariff of 1.50 soles for a large trunk, 80 centavos for each piece of hand baggage, although for several a reduction may be made. The figure agreed upon should include the fee for taking both passengers and baggage, except that the passenger will often make his own way from the dock to his hotel in Lima. Stipulation should be made for the delivery of the baggage within two or three hours, though it may then arrive much later. What one carries one’s self should not be counted. If undecided what hotel to patronize one may arrange with the fletero for half price to conduct him and to transport his baggage to the railway station, where it may be checked to Lima. Trains every half hour, fare 20 ctvs. Leaving it at the station Desamparados in Lima, a block from the principal plaza, the tourist may look about and arrange where to go. Persons who have decided in advance may go with the fletero to the railway station or, after passing the customs examination at the dock, may turn to the right, then left, and walk a block or so to the electric cars which run every ten minutes to Lima, a ride of about twenty minutes through the center of Callao, and along a broad boulevard to the larger city eight miles distant. From the end of the line in Lima it is a walk of four blocks to the left and one to the right to the Hotel Maury; or a cab may be taken (fare for one or two persons, 40 centavos), to the destination desired.
The tourist on landing will give Callao but a passing glance, and is likely to return only to embark on his departure; but a few points of interest may be mentioned. A floating dry dock belonging to the Peruvian Steamship Company will receive ships of 7000 tons within the space of two hours. The city is of foreign aspect, with buildings of one or two stories. Noticeable are the women with stands of strange and familiar fruits and other edibles. The newsboys seem natural; the electric cars are of the best quality, some with compartments of the first and second class, with prices to Lima, 20 and 10 centavos respectively. Among many narrow streets are some wide ones; two or three small but respectable hotels afford accommodation at modest prices, one sol a day for a room, or at double the rate and more. There are several large plazas, (open squares) and a few Clubs, the English with good quarters fronting the bay, and with a fine view from the balconies, the Italian, Centro Naval, Union, Boat Club, etc. Among the churches, hospitals, and public edifices, the most noticeable is the Aduana or Custom house, which is seen at the right from the car as it is passing through the first plaza. Of the churches, that of La Matríz is most important. The plaza in front is adorned with a statue of General San Martin; the Plaza Grau has a handsome monument to the celebrated Admiral of that name; while in the square called Dos de Mayo is a marble pillar surmounted by a bust of José Galvez, Minister of War, killed in the naval battle at Callao, May, 1866. Should one desire further information as to shops or other matters, inquiry may be made at the importing house of W. R. Grace of New York (ask for Casa Grace); or at one of the steamship offices, all of which are near the landing.