CHAPTER XI
The Cordillera and the Andes—Signification of the terms—Altitude of the Mountains and Passes—Lakes—Metals—Aspect of the Cordillera—Shattered Rocks—Maladies caused by the diminished Atmospheric Pressure—The Veta and the Surumpe—Mountain Storms—The Condor—Its habits—Indian mode of Catching the Bird—The Puna or Despoblado—Climate—Currents of Warm Air—Vegetation—Tuberous Plant called the Maca—Animals of the Puna—The Llama, the Alpaco, the Huanacu and the Vicuña—The Chacu and the Bolas—Household Utensils of the Ancient Peruvians—The Viscacha and the Chinchilla—Puna Birds and Amphibia—Cattle and Pasture—Indian Farms—Shepherds' Huts—Ancient Peruvian Roads and Buildings—Treasure concealed by the Indians in the Puna.
Two great mountain chains, running parallel with each other, intersect Peru in the direction from S.S.W. to N.N.E. The chain nearest the coast of the Pacific is at the average distance of from sixty to seventy English miles from the sea. The other chain takes a parallel direction but describes throughout its whole course a slight curve eastward. These two ranges of mountain are called the Cordilleras, or the Andes: both terms being used indiscriminately. Even the creoles of Peru confound these two terms, sometimes calling the western chain by one name, and sometimes by the other. Nevertheless, a strict distinction ought to be observed:—the western chain should properly be called the Cordillera, and the eastern chain the Andes. The latter name is derived from the Quichua word Antasuyu; Anta signifying metal generally, but especially copper, and Suyu a district; the meaning of Antasuyu, therefore, is the metal district. In common parlance, the word Suyu was dropped, and the termination a in Anta was converted into is. Hence the word Antis, which is employed by all old writers and geographers; and even now is in common use among the Indian population of Southern Peru. The Spaniards, according to their practice of corrupting the words of the Quichua language, have transformed Antis into Andes, and they apply the name without distinction to the western and the eastern chain of mountains.[65]
The old inhabitants of Peru dwelt chiefly along the base of the eastern mountain chain, where they drew from the mines the metal which afforded material for their tasteful and ingenious workmanship: those mountains consequently retained the name of Antis or Andes. In the time of the Incas, both chains were called Ritisuyu (Snow-Districts). The Spaniards, on the invasion of the country, advancing from the sea-coast, first arrived at the western mountains, and to them they gave the name of Cordillera, the term commonly employed in the Spanish language, to designate any mountain chain. Most of the earlier travellers and topographists named the western chain the Cordillera de los Andes, and regarded it as the principal chain, of which they considered the eastern mountains to be merely a branch. To the eastern range of mountains they gave the name of Cordillera Oriental. I will here strictly observe the correct denominations, calling the western chain the Cordillera, or the coast mountains; and the eastern chain the Andes, or the inner Cordillera.
These two great mountain chains stand in respect to height in an inverse relation one to the other; that is to say, the greater the elevation of the Cordillera, the more considerable is the depression of the Andes. In South Peru the ridge of the Cordillera is considerably lower than that portion of the Andes which stretches through Bolivia. The medium height of the Cordillera in South Peru is 15,000 feet above the sea; but here and there particular points rise to a much more considerable elevation. The medium height of the Andes is 17,000 feet above the sea. In central Peru the Cordillera is higher than the Andes. There the altitude of the latter along the body of the chain is 13,000 feet above the sea: on the ridge there are a few points some hundred feet higher. Between Pasco and Loxas the average height of the Cordillera is between 11,000 and 12,000 feet above the sea; and the average elevation of the Andes at the corresponding point is about 2000 feet lower.
The passes do not run through valleys, but always over the ridges of the mountains. The highest mountain passes are the Rinconada (16,452 feet above the sea); the Piedra Parada (16,008 feet); the Tingo (15,600 feet); the Huatillas (14,850 feet); the Portachuelo de la Viuda (14,544 feet); the Altos de Toledo (15,530 feet); and the Altos de los Huesos (14,300 feet). In both chains there are innumerable small lakes; these are met with in all the mountain passes, and most of them are the sources of small rivers.
Both the mountain chains, as well as their lateral branches, are rich in metallic produce; but in the principal mountains gold is rare. Some rich mines on the coast, and in the province of Arequipa, are now nearly exhausted. Wash gold is plentiful in the rivers of North Peru, but it is not carefully collected. Silver, which constitutes the principal wealth of Peru, is found in greatest abundance in the principal chains, viz., in Northern and Central Peru, in the Cordillera; and in Southern Peru in the Andes. It presents itself in all forms and combinations, from the pure metal to the lead-ore mixed with silver. Even in the highest elevations, in parts scarcely trodden by human footsteps, rich veins of silver are discovered. It is scarcely possible to pass half a day in these regions without encountering new streaks. Quicksilver is likewise found, but in such small quantities, that the gain does not pay the labor of the miners. The only quicksilver vein of any magnitude is at Huancavelica. Both mountain chains are very rich in copper-ore; but it is extracted only from the Cordillera, for the distance of the Andes from the coast renders the transport too expensive. The lead and iron mines, though amazingly prolific, are not worked; the price of the metal being too low to pay the labor.
The Cordillera presents an aspect totally different from that of the Andes. It is more wild and rugged, its ridge is broader, and its summits less pyramidical. The summits of the Andes terminate in slender sharp points like needles. The Cordillera descends in terraces to the level heights, whilst the slope of the Andes is uniform and unbroken. The summits of the calcareous hills which stretch eastward from the great chain of the Cordillera are broken and rugged. Large cubical blocks of stone become detached from them, and roll down into the valleys. In the Quebrada of Huari near Yanaclara, which is 13,000 feet above the sea, I collected among other fragments of rock some of a species which is found at Neufchatel in Switzerland. This disintegration, which is the effect of protracted rain and cold, imparts to the mountain ridges the most singular and beautiful forms; their fantastic outlines appearing like the work of human hands. Imagination may easily picture them to be monuments of the time of the Incas; for viewed from a distance, they look like groups of giants or colossal animals. In former times the Indians viewed these masses of rock with devout reverence, for they believed them to be the early inhabitants of the earth whom Pacchacamac in his anger transformed to stone. I may here notice some very curious forms of rock which have long been a subject of controversy among Peruvian travellers. On the road leading from Ayacucho to Huancavelica, on the level height of Paucara, about a league beyond the village of Parcos, there is a considerable number of sand-stone pyramids from eight to twenty-two feet high. They are of a reddish-white color; but in many places the inclemency of the weather has overspread them with a blackish crust. They are detached one from another. Ulloa, in his Noticias Americanas, after fully describing these pyramids, declares himself doubtful whether they are the work of man or of nature. He inclines to regard them as human creations, and suggests that they may possibly have been the tombs of distinguished curacas and caciques; but he admits that he is not acquainted with any similar monuments in Peru. As each pyramid consists of only one block of stone, and all are very regularly shaped, Ulloa is not indisposed to believe that the Indians possessed the secret art of melting stone. These blocks are, however, of sand-stone, and their fractures are the result of the inclemency of the weather. They are all pyramidal-shaped, and tolerably equal in size. In several of them the points are as sharp and regular as though they had been wrought by the chisel of the sculptor. These curious pyramids cover the plateau along a distance of more than two miles: sometimes standing closely together, and sometimes at considerable distances apart. The whole line of chalk and slate mountains extending from Ayacucho to Huancavelica is shattered, and presents similar, though less regular detritus.
I have, in my last chapter, observed that the Cordillera is the point of partition between the waters of the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. All the waters of the eastern declivity of the Cordillera—all those which have their source on the level heights and on the western declivity of the Andes,—flow from thence in the direction of the east, and work their way through the eastern mountain chain. Throughout the whole extent of South America there is not a single instance of the Cordillera being intersected by a river; a fact the more remarkable because in Southern Peru and Bolivia, the coast chain is lower than the Andes. This interesting phenomenon, though it has deeply engaged the attention of geologists, has not yet been satisfactorily explained. I concur in the view taken by Mr. Darwin, who observes that it would be too rash to assign to the eastern chain of Bolivia and Central Chile, a later origin than the western chain (the nearest the Pacific), but that the circumstance of the rivers of a lower mountain chain having forced their way through a higher chain seems, without this supposition, to be enigmatical. Mr. Darwin is of opinion that the phenomenon is assignable to a periodical and gradual elevation of the second mountain line (the Andes); for a chain of islets would at first appear, and as these were lifted up, the tides would be always wearing deeper and broader channels between them.
In the heights of the Cordillera the effect of the diminished atmospheric pressure on the human frame shows itself in intolerable symptoms of weariness and an extreme difficulty of breathing. The natives call this malady the Puna or the Soroche; and the Spanish Creoles give it the names of Mareo or Veta. Ignorant of its real causes they ascribe it to the exhalations of metals, especially antimony, which is extensively used in the mining operations. The first symptoms of the veta are usually felt at the elevation of 12,600 feet above the sea. These symptoms are vertigo, dimness of sight and hearing, pains in the head and nausea. Blood flows from the eyes, nose, and lips. Fainting fits, spitting of blood, and other dangerous symptoms, usually attend severe attacks of veta. The sensations which accompany this malady somewhat resemble those of sea-sickness, and hence its Spanish name mareo. But sea-sickness is unaccompanied by the distressing difficulty of breathing experienced in the veta. This disorder sometimes proves fatal, and I once witnessed a case in which death was the result. Inhabitants of the coast and Europeans, who for the first time visit the lofty regions of the Cordillera, are usually attacked with this disorder. Persons in good health and of a spare habit speedily recover from it, but on plethoric and stout individuals its effects are frequently very severe. After an abode of some time in the mountainous regions, the constitution becomes inured to the rarefied atmosphere. I suffered only two attacks of the veta; but they were very severe. The first was on one of the level heights; and the second on the mountain of Antaichahua. The first time I ascended the Cordillera I did not experience the slightest illness, and I congratulated myself on having escaped the veta; but a year afterwards I had an attack of it, though only of a few hours' duration. The veta is felt with great severity in some districts of the Cordillera, whilst in others, where the altitude is greater, the disorder is scarcely perceptible. Thus it would seem that the malady is not caused by diminished atmospheric pressure, but is dependent on some unknown climatic circumstances. The districts in which the veta prevails with greatest intensity are, for the most part, rich in the production of metals, a circumstance which has given rise to the idea that it is caused by metallic exhalations.
I have already described the effect of the Puna climate on beasts of burthen. Its influence on some of the domestic animals is no less severe than on the human race. To cats, it is very fatal, and at the elevation of 13,000 feet above the sea those animals cannot live. Numerous trials have been made to rear them in the villages of the upper mountains, but without effect; for after a few days' abode in those regions, the animals die in frightful convulsions; but when in this state they do not attempt to bite. I had two good opportunities of observing the disease at Yauli. Cats attacked in this way are called, by the natives, azorochados, and antimony is alleged to be the cause of the distemper. Dogs are also liable to it, but it visits them less severely than cats, and with care they may be recovered.
Another scourge of the traveller in the Cordillera, is the disease called the Surumpe. It is a violent inflammation of the eyes, caused by the sudden reflection of the bright rays of the sun on the snow. By the rarefied air and the cutting wind, the eyes, being kept in a constant state of irritation, are thereby rendered very susceptible to the effects of the glaring light. In these regions the sky is often for a time completely overshadowed by snow clouds, and the greenish yellow of the plain is soon covered by a sheet of snow: then suddenly the sun's rays burst through the breaking clouds, and the eyes, unprepared for the dazzling glare, are almost blinded. A sharp burning pain is immediately felt, and it speedily increases to an intolerable degree. The eyes become violently inflamed, and the lids swell and bleed. The pain of the surumpe is the most intense that can be imagined, and frequently brings on delirium. The sensation resembles that which it may be imagined would be felt if cayenne pepper or gunpowder were rubbed into the eyes. Chronic inflammation, swelling of the eyelids, dimness of sight, and even total blindness are the frequent consequences of the surumpe. In the Cordillera, Indians are often seen sitting by the road-side shrieking in agony, and unable to proceed on their way. They are more liable to the disease than the Creoles, who, when travelling in the mountains, protect their eyes by green spectacles and veils.
Heavy falls of snow in the Cordillera are usually accompanied by thunder and lightning. During five months of the year, from November to March, storms are of daily occurrence. They begin, with singular regularity, about three o'clock in the afternoon, and continue until five or half-past five in the evening. After that time storms of thunder and lightning never occur; but the falls of snow sometimes continue till midnight. As evening approaches, cold mists are drifted from the mountain-tops down upon the plains; but they are dispersed by the rays of the morning sun, which in a few hours melt the snow. The furious tempests in these regions exceed any idea that can be formed of them, and can only be conceived by those who have witnessed them. Some of these mountain districts have acquired an ominous character for storms; Antaichahua is one of the places to which this sort of fearful celebrity belongs. For hours together flash follows flash, painting blood-red cataracts on the naked precipices. The forked lightning darts its zig-zag flashes on the mountain-tops, or, running along the ground, imprints deep furrows in its course; whilst the atmosphere quivers amidst uninterrupted peals of thunder, repeated a thousandfold by the mountain echoes. The traveller, overtaken by these terrific storms, dismounts from his trembling horse, and takes refuge beneath the shelter of some overhanging rock.
In these sterile heights, Nature withholds her fostering influence alike from vegetable and animal life. The scantiest vegetation can scarcely draw nutriment from the ungenial soil, and animals shun the dreary and shelterless wilds. The condor alone finds itself in its native element amidst these mountain deserts. On the inaccessible summits of the Cordillera that bird builds its nest, and hatches its young in the months of April and May. Few animals have attained so universal a celebrity as the condor. That bird was known in Europe, at a period when his native land was numbered among those fabulous regions which are regarded as the scenes of imaginary wonders. The most extravagant accounts of the condor were written and read, and general credence was granted to every story which travellers brought from the fairy land of gold and silver. It was only at the commencement of the present century that Humboldt overthrew the extravagant notions that previously prevailed respecting the size, strength, and habits of that extraordinary bird.
The full-grown condor measures, from the point of the beak to the end of the tail, from four feet ten inches to five feet; and from the tip of one wing to the other, from twelve to thirteen feet. This bird feeds chiefly on carrion: it is only when impelled by hunger that he seizes living animals, and even then only the small and defenceless, such as the young of sheep, vicuñas, and llamas. He cannot raise great weights with his feet, which, however, he uses to aid the power of his beak. The principal strength of the condor lies in his neck and in his feet; yet he cannot, when flying, carry a weight exceeding eight or ten pounds. All accounts of sheep and calves being carried off by condors are mere exaggerations. This bird passes a great part of the day in sleep, and hovers in quest of prey chiefly in the morning and evening. Whilst soaring at a height beyond the reach of human eyes, the sharp-sighted condor discerns his prey on the level heights beneath him, and darts down upon it with the swiftness of lightning. When a bait is laid, it is curious to observe the numbers of condors which assemble in a quarter of an hour, in a spot near which not one had been previously visible. These birds possess the senses of sight and smell in a singularly powerful degree.
Some old travellers, Ulloa among others, have affirmed that the plumage of the condor is invulnerable to a musket-ball. This absurdity is scarcely worthy of contradiction; but it is nevertheless true that the bird has a singular tenacity of life, and that it is seldom killed by fire-arms, unless when shot in some vital part. Its plumage, particularly on the wings, is very strong and thick. The natives, therefore, seldom attempt to shoot the condor: they usually catch him by traps or by the laso, or kill him by stones flung from slings, or by the Bolas. A curious method of capturing the condor alive is practised in the province of Abancay. A fresh cow-hide, with some fragments of flesh adhering to it, is spread out on one of the level heights, and an Indian provided with ropes creeps beneath it, whilst some others station themselves in ambush near the spot, ready to assist him. Presently a condor, attracted by the smell of flesh, darts down upon the cow-hide, and then the Indian, who is concealed under it, seizes the bird by the legs, and binds them fast in the skin, as if in a bag. The captured condor flaps his wings, and makes ineffectual attempts to fly; but he is speedily secured, and carried in triumph to the nearest village.
The Indians quote numerous instances of young children having been attacked by condors. That those birds are sometimes extremely fierce is very certain. The following occurrence came within my own knowledge, whilst I was in Lima. I had a condor, which, when he first came into my possession, was very young. To prevent his escape, as soon as he was able to fly, he was fastened by the leg to a chain, to which was attached a piece of iron of about six pounds weight. He had a large court to range in, and he dragged the piece of iron about after him all day. When he was a year and a half old he flew away, with the chain and iron attached to his leg, and perched on the spire of the church of Santo Tomas, whence he was scared away by the carrion hawks. On alighting in the street, a Negro attempted to catch him for the purpose of bringing him home; upon which he seized the poor creature by the ear, and tore it completely off. He then attacked a child in the street (a negro boy of three years old), threw him on the ground, and knocked him on the head so severely with his beak, that the child died in consequence of the injuries. I hoped to have brought this bird alive to Europe; but, after being at sea two months on our homeward voyage, he died on board the ship in the latitude of Monte Video.
Between the Cordillera and the Andes, at the height of 12,000 feet above the sea, there are vast tracts of uninhabited table-lands. These are called in the Quichua language the Puna; and the Spaniards give them the name of the Despoblado (the uninhabited). These table-lands form the upper mountain regions of the South American Highlands. They spread over the whole extent of Peru, from north-west to south-east, a distance of 350 Spanish miles, continuing through Bolivia, and gradually running eastward into the Argentine Republic. With reference to geography and natural history, these table-lands present a curious contrast to the Llanos (plains) of South America, situated on the other side of the Andes to the north-east. Those boundless deserts, full of organic life, are, like the Puna, among the most interesting characteristics of the New World.
The climate of these regions is not less rigorous than that of the high mountain ridges. Cold winds from the west and south-west, blow nearly all the year round from the ice-topped Cordillera; and for the space of four months these winds are daily accompanied by thunder, lightning, and snow-storms. The average state of the thermometer during the cold season (which is called summer, because it then seldom snows) is, during the night, -5° R.; and at midday, +9° 7´ R. In winter the mercury seldom falls during the night below freezing point, and it continues between +1° and 0° R.; but at noon it ascends only to 7° R. It is, however, quite impossible to determine with precision the medium temperature of these regions. For the space of a few hours the heat will frequently vary between 18° and 20° R. The transition is the more sensibly felt on the fall of the temperature, as it is usually accompanied by sharp-biting winds, so keen, that they cut the skin on the face and hands. A remarkable effect of the Puna wind is its power of speedily drying animal bodies, and thereby preventing putridity. A dead mule is, in the course of a few days, converted into a mummy; not even the entrails presenting the least trace of decomposition.
It frequently happens that, after being long exposed to these cold winds, the traveller enters warm atmospheric currents. These warm streams are sometimes only two or three paces, and at other times, several hundred feet broad. They run in a parallel direction with each other, and one may pass through five or six of them in the course of a few hours. On the level heights between Chacapalpa and Huancavelica, I remarked that they were especially frequent during the months of August and September. According to my repeated observations, I found that these warm streams chiefly follow the direction of the Cordillera; namely, from S.S.W. to N.N.E. I once travelled the distance of several leagues through a succession of these currents of warm air, none of which exceeded seven-and-twenty paces in breadth. Their temperature was 11° R. higher than that of the adjacent atmosphere. It would appear they are not merely temporary, for the mule-drivers can often foretel with tolerable accuracy where they will be encountered. The causes of these phenomena well merit the investigation of meteorologists.
The aspect of the Puna is singularly monotonous and dreary. The expansive levels are scantily covered with grasses of a yellowish-brown hue, and are never enlivened by fresh-looking verdure. Here and there, at distant intervals, may be seen a few stunted Queñua trees (Polylepis racemosa, R. P.), or large patches of ground covered with the Ratanhia shrub[66] (Krameria triandria, R. P.). Both are used by the Indians as fuel, and for roofing their huts.
The cold climate and sterile soil of the Puna are formidable impediments to agriculture. Only one plant is cultivated in these regions with any degree of success. It is the maca, a tuberous root grown like the potatoe, and like it used as an article of food. In many of the Puna districts the maca constitutes the principal sustenance of the inhabitants. It has an agreeable, and somewhat sweetish flavor, and when boiled in milk it tastes like the chestnut. As far as I am aware this plant has not been mentioned by any traveller, nor has its botanical character yet been precisely determined. Possibly it is a species of Tropæolum, but of this I am uncertain. The root is about the size of a large chestnut. Macas may be kept for more than a year, if, after being taken from the earth, they are left a few days to dry in the sun, and then exposed to the cold. By this means they become shrivelled and very hard. From these dried macas, the Indians prepare a sort of soup or rather syrup, which diffuses a sweet, sickly sort of odor, but which, when eaten with roasted maize, is not altogether unpalatable. The maca thrives best at the height of between 12,000 and 13,000 feet above the sea. In the lower districts it is not planted, for the Indians declare it to be flavorless when grown there. Besides the maca barley is reared in the Puna. I saw there fields of barley 13,200 feet above the sea. It does not, however, attain full maturity, seldom even shoots into ears, and is cut whilst green as fodder for horses.
But poor and scanty as is the vegetation of the Puna, the animal kingdom is there richly and beautifully represented. Those regions are the native home of the great Mammalia, which Peru possessed before horses and black cattle were introduced by the Spaniards. I allude to the llama and his co-genera the alpaco, the huanacu, and the vicuña. On these interesting animals I will subjoin a few observations.[67] The two first are kept as domestic animals; the llama perfectly, and the alpaco partially tame.
The llama measures from the sole of the hoof to the top of the head, 4 feet 6 to 8 inches; from the sole of the hoof to the shoulders, from 2 feet 11 inches to 3 feet. The female is usually smaller and less strong than the male, but her wool is finer and better. The color is very various; generally brown, with shades of yellow or black; frequently speckled, but very rarely quite white or black. The speckled brown llama is in some districts called the moromoro.
The young llamas are left with the dam for about the space of a year, after which time they are removed and placed with flocks. When about four years old, the males and females are separated; the former are trained to carry burthens, and the latter are kept in the pastures of the level heights. Most of the flocks of llamas are reared in the southern Puna provinces, viz.:—Cuzco and Ayacucho, and from thence they are sent to the silver mines of North Peru. The price of a strong full-grown llama is from three to four dollars; but if purchased in flocks in the provinces above named, they may be had for one and a half or two dollars each. Shortly after the conquest the price of one of these animals was between eighteen and twenty ducats; but the increase of horses, mules, and sheep, lowered their value. The burthen carried by the llama should not exceed one hundred and twenty-five pounds, and the animal is seldom laden with more than a hundred-weight. When the llama finds his burthen too heavy he lies down, and cannot be made to rise until some portion of the weight is removed from his back. In the silver mines the llamas are of the most important utility, as they frequently carry the metal from the mines in places where the declivities are so steep that neither asses nor mules can keep their footing.
The Indians frequently proceed with large flocks of llamas to the coast, to procure salt. Their daily journeys are short, never exceeding three or four leagues; for the animals will not feed during the night, and therefore they are allowed to graze as they go, or to halt for a few hours at feeding-time. When resting they make a peculiar humming noise, which, when proceeding from a numerous flock at a distance, is like a number of Æolian harps sounding in concert.
A flock of laden llamas journeying over the table-lands is a beautiful sight. They proceed at a slow and measured pace, gazing eagerly around on every side. When any strange object scares them, the flock separates, and disperses in various directions, and the arrieros have no little difficulty in reassembling them. The Indians are very fond of these animals. They adorn them by tying bows of ribbon to their ears, and hanging bells round their necks; and before loading, they always fondle and caress them affectionately. If, during a journey, one of the llamas is fatigued and lies down, the arriero kneels beside the animal, and addresses to it the most coaxing and endearing expressions. But notwithstanding all the care and attention bestowed on them, many llamas perish on every journey to the coast, as they are not able to bear the warm climate.
Some old travellers have stated that the Indians employ the llama for riding and for draught; but these accounts are quite erroneous. It sometimes happens that when crossing a river an Indian lad, to avoid getting wet, may mount on the back of one of the llamas; but in such a case, he immediately dismounts on reaching the opposite bank. The flesh of the llama is spongy, and not agreeable in flavor. Its wool is used for making coarse cloths.
The alpaco, or paco, is smaller than the llama. It measures from the lower part of the hoof to the top of the head only three feet three inches, and to the shoulders two feet and a half. In form it resembles the sheep, but it has a longer neck and a more elegant head. The fleece of this animal is beautifully soft and very long; in some parts it is four or five inches in length. Its color is usually either white or black; but in some few instances it is speckled. The Indians make blankets and ponchos of the alpaco wool. It is also frequently exported to Europe, and it sells at a good price in England. The alpacos are kept in large flocks, and throughout the whole of the year they graze on the level heights. At shearing time only they are driven to the huts. They are in consequence very shy, and they run away at the approach of a stranger. The obstinacy of the alpaco is remarkable. When one of these animals is separated from the flock, he throws himself on the ground, and neither force nor persuasion will induce him to rise;—sometimes suffering the severest punishment rather than go the way the driver wishes. Few animals seem to require so imperatively the companionship of its own species, and it is only when brought to the Indian huts very young, that the alpacos can be separated from their flocks.
The largest animal of this family is the huanacu. It measures five feet from the bottom of the hoof to the top of the head, and three feet three inches to the shoulders. In form it so nearly resembles the llama, that until a very recent period, zoologists were of opinion that the llama was an improved species of the huanacu, and that the latter was the llama in its wild state. In the "Fauna Peruana" I have explained the erroneousness of this opinion, and described the specific differences existing between the two animals. On the neck, back, and thighs the huanacu is of a uniform reddish-brown color. The under part of the body, the middle line of the breast, and the inner side of the limbs are of a dingy white. The face is dark grey, and the lips of a clear white. Of the huanacus there are not those varieties which are found among the llamas and the alpacos. The wool is shorter and coarser than that of the llama, and it is of nearly uniform length on all parts of the body.
The huanacus live in small herds of five or seven, seldom exceeding the latter number. In some districts they are very shy, and retreat when any one approaches. If taken very young they may be tamed; but they are always ready to fall back into their wild state. It is with great difficulty they can be trained as beasts of burthen. In the menageries of Europe, huanacu brought from Chile are frequently represented to be llamas.
The vicuña is a more beautiful animal than any of those just described. Its size is between that of the llama and the alpaco. It measures from the sole of the foot to the top of the head four feet one inch, and two and a half feet to the shoulders. The neck is longer and more slender than in either of the other relative species; and from them the vicuña is also distinguished by the superior fineness of its short, curly wool. The crown of the head, the upper part of the neck, the back, and thighs, are of a peculiar reddish-yellow hue, called by the people of the country color de vicuña. The lower part of the neck, and the inner parts of the limbs, are of a bright ochre color, and the breast and lower part of the body are white.
During the rainy season the vicuña inhabits the ridges of the Cordillera, where some scanty vegetation is to be found. It never ventures up to the naked rocky summits, for its hoofs being accustomed only to turfy ground, are very soft and tender. It lives in herds, consisting of from six to fifteen females, and one male, who is the protector and leader of the herd. Whilst the females are quietly grazing, the male stands at the distance of some paces apart, and carefully keeps guard over them. At the approach of danger he gives a signal, consisting of a sort of whistling sound, and a quick movement of the foot. Immediately the herd draws closely together, each animal anxiously stretching out its head in the direction of the threatening danger. They then take to flight; first moving leisurely and cautiously, and then quickening their pace to the utmost degree of speed; whilst the male vicuña who covers the retreat frequently halts, to observe the movements of the enemy. The females, with singular fidelity and affection, reward the watchful care of their protector. If he is wounded or killed, they gather round him in a circle, uttering their shrill tones of lamentation, and they will suffer themselves to be captured or killed, rather than desert him by pursuing their flight. The neigh of the vicuña, like that of the other animals of its class, resembles a short, sharp whistle. But when the shrill sound vibrates through the pure Puna air, the practised ear can readily distinguish the cry of the vicuña from that of the other animals of the same family.
The Indians seldom employ fire-arms in hunting the vicuñas. They catch them by what they term the chacu. In this curious hunt, one man at least belonging to each family in the Puna villages takes a part, and women accompany the train, to officiate as cooks to the hunters. The whole company, frequently amounting to seventy or eighty individuals, proceeds to the Altos (the most secluded parts of the Puna), which are the haunts of the vicuñas. They take with them stakes, and a great quantity of rope and cord. A spacious open plain is selected, and the stakes are driven into the ground in a circle, at intervals of from twelve to fifteen feet apart, and are connected together by ropes fastened to them at the height of two or two and a half feet from the ground. The circular space within the stakes is about half a league in circumference, and an opening of about two hundred paces in width is left for entrance. On the ropes by which the stakes are fastened together the women hang pieces of colored rags, which flutter about in the wind. The chacu being fully prepared, the men, some of whom are mounted on horseback, range about within a circuit of several miles, driving before them all the herds of vicuñas they meet with, and forcing them into the chacu. When a sufficient number of vicuñas is collected, the entrance is closed. The timid animals do not attempt to leap over the ropes, being frightened by the fluttering rags suspended from them, and, when thus secured, the Indians easily kill them by the bolas. These bolas consist of three balls, composed either of lead or stone; two of them heavy, and the third rather lighter. They are fastened to long, elastic strings, made of twisted sinews of the vicuña, and the opposite ends of the strings are all tied together. The Indian holds the lightest of the three balls in his hand, and swings the two others in a wide circle above his head; then, taking his aim at the distance of about fifteen or twenty paces, he lets go the hand-ball, upon which all the three balls whirl in a circle, and twine round the object aimed at. The aim is usually taken at the hind legs of the animals, and the cords twisting round them, they become firmly bound. It requires great skill and long practice to throw the bolas dexterously, especially when on horseback: a novice in the art incurs the risk of dangerously hurting either himself or his horse, by not giving the balls the proper swing, or by letting go the hand-ball too soon.
The vicuñas, after being secured by the bolas, are killed, and the flesh is distributed in equal portions among the hunters. The skins belong to the Church. The price of a vicuña skin is four reals. When all the animals are killed, the stakes, ropes, &c., are packed up carefully, and conveyed to another spot, some miles distant, where the chacu is again fixed up. The hunting is continued in this manner for the space of a week. The number of animals killed during that interval varies according to circumstances, being sometimes fifty or sixty, and at other times several hundred. During five days I took part in a chacu hunt in the Altos of Huayhuay, and in that space of time 122 vicuñas were caught. With the money obtained by the sale of the skins a new altar was erected in the church of the district. The flesh of the vicuña is more tender and better flavored than that of the llama. Fine cloth and hats are made of the wool. When taken young, the vicuñas are easily tamed, and become very docile; but when old, they are intractable and malicious. At Tarma I possessed a large and very fine vicuña. It used to follow me like a dog whenever I went out, whether on foot or on horseback.
The frequent hunting seems not to have the effect of diminishing the numbers of these animals. If in the vicinity of the villages where chacus are frequently established, they are less numerous than in other parts, it is because, to elude the pursuit of the hunters, they seek refuge in the Altos, where they are found in vast numbers. Several modern travellers have lamented the diminution of the vicuñas, but without reason. In former times those animals were hunted more actively than at present.
Under the dynasty of the Incas, when every useful plant and animal was an object of veneration, the Peruvians rendered almost divine worship to the llama and his relatives, which exclusively furnished them with wool for clothing, and with flesh for food. The temples were adorned with large figures of these animals made of gold and silver, and their forms were represented in domestic utensils made of stone and clay. In the valuable collection of Baron Clemens von Hügel at Vienna, there are four of these vessels, composed of porphyry, basalt, and granite, representing the four species, viz., the llama, the alpaco, the huanacu, and the vicuña. These antiquities are exceedingly scarce, and when I was in Peru I was unable to obtain any of them. How the ancient Peruvians, without the aid of iron tools, were able to carve stone so beautifully, is inconceivable.
Besides the animals above mentioned, several others peculiar to the Puna are deserving of remark. Among these are the Tarush (Cervus antisiensis, Orb.); the timid roe, which inhabits the high forests skirting the Andes; the Viscacha (Lagidium peruanum, May, and L. pallipes, Benn.), and the Chinchilla (Eriomys Chinchilla, Licht.), whose skin supplies the beautiful fur so much prized by the ladies of Europe. The viscachas and chinchillas resemble the rabbit in form and color, but they have shorter ears and long rough tails. They live on the steep rocky mountains, and in the morning and evening they creep out from their holes and crevices to nibble the alpine grasses. At night the Indians set before their holes traps made of horse-hair, in which the animals are easily caught. The most remarkable of the beasts of prey in these high regions is the Atoc (Canis Azaræ, Pr. Max.). It is a species of fox, which is found throughout the whole of South America. The warmer Puna valleys are inhabited by the Cuguar (Felis concolor, L.), or, as the Indians call it, the Poma. When driven by hunger, this animal ventures into the loftiest Puna regions, even to the boundary of the eternal snow. The wild Hucumari (Ursus ornatus, Fr. Cuv.) but seldom wanders into the cold Puna. The hucumari is a large black bear, with a white muzzle and light-colored stripes on the breast.
Of the numerous Puna birds, the majority of which may be classed as water-fowl, I will notice only a few of the most characteristic. Next to the condor, the most remarkable bird of prey is the Huarahuau, or the Aloi (Polylorus megalopterus, Cob.),[68] one of the gyr-falcon species. This bird, which is a constant inhabitant of the level heights, preys on the carcases of dead horses, mules, &c., but never attempts to meddle with living animals. It is very harmless, and has so little timidity, that it suffers itself to be approached near enough to be knocked down with a stick. The Acacli, or Pito (Colaptes rupicola, Orb.), flutters about the mountains; it is a woodpecker, brown-speckled, with a yellow belly. This bird is seen in very great numbers, and it is difficult to imagine how it procures food in the Puna, where there are no insects. All the other woodpecker species exclusively confine themselves to woody regions.
The thickets of rushy grass are inhabited by the Pishacas, or Yutu, a species of partridge (Tinamotis Pentlandii, Vig.) which the Indians catch by dogs. These dogs of the Puna Indians are a peculiar race (Canis Ingæ, Tsch.). They are distinguished by a small head, a pointed muzzle, small erect ears, a tail curling upwards, and a thick shaggy skin. They are in a half-wild state, and very surly and snappish. They furiously attack strangers, and even after having received a deadly wound they will crawl along the ground, and make an effort to bite. To white people they appear to have a particular antipathy; and sometimes it becomes rather a venturous undertaking for a European traveller to approach an Indian hut, for these mountain dogs spring up to the sides of the horse, and try to bite the rider's legs. They are snarlish and intractable even to their masters, who are often obliged to enforce obedience by the help of a stick. Yet these dogs are very useful animals for guarding flocks, and they have a keen scent for the pishacas, which they catch and kill with a single bite.
There is a very curious little bird in the Puna, about the size of a starling. Its plumage is exceedingly pretty, being on the back brown, striped with black; on the throat grey, with two dark stripes, and on the breast white. This bird has the remarkable peculiarity of making a monotonous sound at the close of every hour, during the night. The Indians call it the Ingahuallpa, or Cock of the Inga (Thinocorus Ingæ, Tsch.), and they associate many superstitious notions with its regular hourly cry. The Puna morasses and lagunas are animated by numerous feathered inhabitants. Among them is the huachua (Chloephaga melanoptera, Eyt.), a species of goose. The plumage of the body is dazzlingly white, the wings green, shading into brilliant violet, and the feet and beak of a bright red. The Licli (Charadrius resplendens, Tsch.) is a plover, whose plumage in color is like that of the huachua, but with a sort of metallic brightness. There are two species of ibis which belong to the Puna, though they are occasionally seen in some of the lower valleys. One is the Bandurria (Theristocus melanopis, Wagl.), and the other is the Yanahuico (Ibis Ordi, Bonap.). On the lagunas swim large flocks of Quiullas (Larus serranus, Tsch.), white mews, with black heads and red beaks, and the gigantic water-hen (Fulica gigantea, Soul.). The plumage of the latter is dark-grey, and at the root of the red beak there is a large yellow botch, in the form of a bean, whence the Indians give this bird the name of Anash sinqui, or bean nose. Among the few amphibia found in these regions one is particularly remarkable. It is a small kind of toad (Leiuperus viridis, Tsch.), and inhabits the boundaries of the perpetual snow.
The grasses of the Puna are used as fodder, and in many of the sheltered valleys there are farms (Haciendas de Ganado), where large herds of cattle are reared. The owners of some of these farms possess several thousand sheep, and from four to five hundred cows. During the rainy season the cattle are driven into the Altos. They graze in those high regions, often at the altitude of 15,000 feet above the sea. When the frost sets in they are brought down to the marshy valleys, and they suffer much from insufficiency of pasture. From the wool of the sheep a coarse kind of cloth, called Bayeta, is made in the Sierra. Some of this wool is exported, and is much prized in Europe. The old black cattle and sheep are slaughtered, and their flesh, when dried, is the principal food of the inhabitants of the Puna, particularly of the mining population. The dried beef is called Charqui, and the mutton is called Chalona. The bulls graze in the remote Altos, and most of them are reserved for the bull fights in the Sierra villages. As they seldom see a human being they become exceedingly wild; so much so that the herdsmen are often afraid to approach them. In the daytime they roam about marshy places, and at nightfall they retire for shelter beneath some overhanging rock. These animals render travelling in many parts of the Puna extremely dangerous, for they often attack people so suddenly as to afford no time for defence. It is true they usually announce their approach by a deep bellow; but the open plain seldom presents any opportunity for escape. On several occasions a well-aimed shot alone saved me from the attack of one of these ferocious bulls.
The walls of the haciendas are of rough unhewn stone. They are divided into large square rooms, always damp, cold, and uninhabitable. Beneath the straw roofs there usually hang long rows of the stuffed skins of foxes; for every Indian who kills an old fox receives, by way of reward, a sheep, and for a young one a lamb. The Cholos are therefore zealous fox-hunters, and they may possibly succeed in altogether extirpating that animal which in some districts is so numerous as to be a perfect scourge.
As the sheep, even in the dry season, find pasture more easily than the horned cattle, they are left during the whole year in the higher parts of the Puna, under the care of Indian shepherds. At night they are driven into cerales, large square roofless buildings, and are guarded by dogs. The shepherds make a practice of every year burning the dry grass of the Puna, in order to improve the growth of the fodder. A Puna fire does not, however, present the imposing spectacle of the prairie fires, as described by travellers in North America, possibly because the Puna straw is shorter, and is always somewhat damp.
The dwellings of the shepherds are built in the same rude style which characterizes all the huts in the Puna, and they impress the European traveller with a very unfavorable notion of the intelligence of the people. The architecture of these huts consists in laying down some large stones, in a circle of about eight or ten feet in diameter, by way of a foundation. These stones are covered with earth or turf, and then with successive layers of stones and earth, until the wall attains the height of about four feet: at the point most sheltered from the wind, an opening of a foot and a half or two feet high serves as a door. On this low circular wall rests the roof, which is formed in the following manner. Six or eight magay[69] poles are fastened together, so as to form a point at the top. Over these poles thin laths are laid horizontally, and fastened with straw-bands, and the whole conical-formed frame-work is overlaid with a covering of Puna straw. As a security against the wind, two thick straw-bands are crossed over the point of the roof, and at their ends, which hang down to the ground, heavy stones are fastened. The whole fabric is then completed. The hut at its central point is about eight feet high; but at the sides, no more than three and a half or four feet. The entrance is so low, that one is obliged to creep in almost bent double; and before the aperture hangs a cow-hide, by way of a door.
Internally these huts present miserable pictures of poverty and uncleanliness. Two stones serve as a stove, containing a scanty fire fed by dry dung (buñegas), and turf (champo). An earthen pot for cooking soup, another for roasting maize, two or three gourd-shells for plates, and a porongo for containing water, make up the catalogue of the goods and chattels in a Puna hut. On dirty sheep-skins spread on the ground, sit the Indian and his wife, listlessly munching their coca; whilst the naked children roll about paddling in pools of water formed by continual drippings from the roof. The other inhabitants of the hut are usually three or four hungry dogs, some lambs, and swarms of guinea-pigs.
From all this it will readily be imagined that a Puna hut is no very agreeable or inviting retreat. Yet, when worn out by the dangers and fatigues of a long day's journey, and exposed to the fury of a mountain storm, the weary traveller, heedless of suffocating clouds of smoke and mephitic odors, gladly creeps into the rude dwelling. Taking up his resting-place on the damp floor, with his saddle-cloth for a pillow, he is thankful to find himself once again in a human habitation, even though its occupants be not many degrees elevated above the brute creation.
In the Puna there are many remains of the great high road of the Incas, which led from Cuzco to Quito, stretching through the whole extent of Peru. It was the grandest work that America possessed before European civilisation found its way to that quarter of the world. Even those who are unacquainted with the wise dominion of the ancient Peruvian sovereigns, their comprehensive laws, and the high civilisation they diffused over the whole country, must by this gigantic work be impressed with the highest idea of the cultivation of the age; for well-constructed roads may always be regarded as proofs of a nation's advancement. There is not in Peru at the present time any modern road in the most remote degree comparable to the Incas' highway. The best preserved fragments which came under my observation were in the Altos, between Jauja and Tarma. Judging from these portions, it would appear that the road must have been from twenty-five to thirty feet broad, and that it was paved with large flat stones. At intervals of about twelve paces distant one from another there is a row of smaller stones, laid horizontally and a little elevated, so that the road ascended, as it were, by a succession of terraces. It was edged on each side by a low wall of small stones.
Other remains of ancient Peru, frequently met with in these parts, are small buildings, formerly used as stations for the messengers who promulgated the commands of the Incas through all parts of the country. Some of these buildings are still in a tolerably good state of preservation. They were always erected on little hillocks, and at such distances apart, that from each station the nearest one on either side was discernible. When a messenger was despatched from a station a signal was hoisted, and a messenger from the next successive station met him halfway, and received from him the despatch, which was in this manner forwarded from one station to another till it reached its destination. A constant communication was thus kept up between the capital and the most distant parts of the country. A proof of the extraordinary rapidity with which these communications were carried on is the fact, recorded on unquestionable authority, that the royal table in Cuzco was served with fresh fish, caught in the sea near the Temple of the Sun in Lurin, a distance of more than 200 leagues from Cuzco.
The messenger stations have by some travellers been confounded with the forts, of which remains are met with along the great Inca road. The forts were buildings destined for totally different purposes. They were magazines for grain, and were built by the Incas to secure to their armies in these barren regions the requisite supplies of food. Vestiges of these forts are frequently seen in the Altos of Southern and Central Peru. They are broad round towers, usually built against a rocky declivity, and with numerous long apertures for the admission of air.
Even the broad level heights in which no trace of human habitations is discoverable, have been excavated by the mercenary Peruvian mestizos and creoles in search of hidden treasures. Their faith in the existence of concealed riches is founded on the following tradition. When the last reigning Inca, Atabiliba or Atahuallpa, was made prisoner by Don Francisco Pizarro, in Caxamarca, he proposed to ransom himself from the Spanish commander. The price he offered for his liberty was to fill with gold the cell in which he was confined, to the height of a certain line on the wall, which Pizarro marked with his sword. The cell, it may be mentioned, was twenty-two feet long and seventeen broad. A quantity of gold which the Inca ordered to be collected in Caxamarca and its vicinity, when piled up on the floor of the cell, did not reach above halfway to the given mark. The Inca then despatched messengers to Cuzco to obtain from the royal treasury the gold required to make up the deficiency; and accordingly eleven thousand llamas were despatched from Cuzco to Caxamarca, each laden with one hundred pounds of gold. But ere the treasure reached its destination, Atahuallpa was hanged by the advice of Don Diego de Almangra and the Dominican monk Vicente de Valverde. The terror-stirring news flew like wild-fire through the land, and speedily reached the convoy of Indians, who were driving their richly-laden llamas over the level heights into Central Peru. On the spot where the intelligence of Atahuallpa's death was communicated to them, the dismayed Indians concealed the treasure, and then dispersed.
Whether the number of the llamas was really so considerable as it is stated to have been, may fairly be doubted; but that a vast quantity of gold was on its way to Caxamarca, and was concealed, is a well-authenticated fact. That the Indians should never have made any attempt to recover this treasure is quite consistent with their character. It is not improbable that even now some particular individuals among them may know the place of concealment; but a certain feeling of awe transmitted through several centuries from father to son, has, in their minds, associated the hidden treasure with the blood of their last king, and this feeling doubtless prompts them to keep the secret inviolate.
From traditionary accounts, which bear the appearance of probability, it would appear that the gold was buried somewhere in the Altos of Mito, near the valley of Jauja. Searches have frequently been made in that vicinity, but no clue to the hiding-place has yet been discovered.
FOOTNOTES:
[65] Some derive the word Andes from the people called Antis, who dwelt at the foot of these chains of mountains. A province in the department of Cuzco, which was probably the chief settlement of that nation, still bears the name of Antas.
[66] From the most remote times the Ratanhia has been employed by the Indians as a medicine. It is one of their favorite remedies against spitting of blood and dysentery. Most of the Ratanhia exported to Europe is obtained in the southern provinces of Peru, particularly in Arica and Islay. The extract which is prepared in Peru, and which was formerly sent in large quantities to Europe, is now scarcely an object of traffic. For several years past no Ratanhia has been shipped from Callao, and but very little from Truxillo.
[67] More lengthened information respecting them may be found in the "Fauna Peruana." I have there noted all their specific varieties, and have corrected the erroneous accounts given of them by some previous travellers.
[68] Phalcoboenus montanus, Orb.
[69] The Magay is the stem of the American Agave. It has a sort of spungy sap; but it is covered externally with a strong tough bast. The Magay supplies the inhabitants of Upper Peru with an excellent kind of light and strong building wood.