LXXIX.
Lima, April, 1852.
My last was from Santiago, the capital of Chili. I now address you from the renowned city of Lima, the seat of government of Peru, having in the interim touched at many of the small ports along the coast from Valparaiso to Callao, spending part of a day at each. Our first landing-place was Coquimbo, where are some important copper mines and smelting furnaces. The town, which was the seat of the insurgents in the last civil war, is about two leagues from the little port. Our steamer was the Santiago, recently from England, and she proved rather a failure, making only one hundred and ninety miles in thirty hours. Her machinery became heated, the wheels dipped too much; they attempted to account for it, however, by the bad quality of the coals. We arrived the following day at Oasco, which is surrounded by a small valley, very grateful to the eye, in comparison with the volcanic and iron-bound coast. The next point was Caldeva, the port of Copiapo, fifty-two miles distant, where the first South American railway was during the past year put in operation by American mechanics. We landed there one hundred and forty passengers of mixed classes, bound for the mines. They were a noisy set, grasping at table, and continually dancing their Samba Queca on deck; there were also some amusing groups of half-Indian and Spanish races, in costume of the country.
We received there considerable quantities of silver in bars, destined for England. It was a great relief to find our passengers reduced down to twenty-five, as the living had been poor, and a change was much needed. No good excuse could be offered for neglect, as the price of passage was enormous; but nothing to warrant American competition, as the line is now firmly established, with large capital, and determined to drive off all opponents. Our next point of debarkation was Coliza, the only port of Bolivia, a miserable town of huts, with only three wells of water, which is divided out among the inhabitants in proportion, from small kegs on the backs of donkeys. The mountains about it are barren, and not the slightest sign of vegetation is seen. Silver and copper induce people to live there. We visited the guano deposits, where about one hundred state prisoners were at work putting it up in sacks for exportation. The following day we arrived at Iquique, where one of our fellow passengers is established, though he is now from Valparaiso on his way to England. He was evidently the Alcalde of his miserable town, which relies mostly upon saltpetre for its support; not a blade of grass or drop of water is to be seen, reminding one of the shores of the Red Sea; still about one thousand persons exist there. A small mill grinds the wheat brought from Chili; seventeen Chinese were employed on it. Many are brought over to the coast and sold for a limited period for their passage money. The escape steam from the machine distils the salt water, which is sold at six reals, or seventy-five cents per keg of eighteen gallons. Fruit and vegetables are brought from Arica, eighty miles further down the coast. The village looks like an Egyptian one, being composed of mud huts thatched with leaves. The mules and donkeys are the most miserable specimens, dying with thirst, and wading in the salt water, laving their mouths and picking up sea-weed. These animals come down laden with saltpetre, one day’s journey, and the mules return immediately; the donkeys generally rest a day or two, but frequently their drivers are unwilling to pay a real, or twelve and a half cents, for a bucket of water, so the poor brutes are compelled to return without a drink. Our friend’s house and stores were large frame buildings near the beach, two stories high, with balconies, and comfortably furnished and supplied.
I was particularly struck with his despidida, or farewell departure, after a residence of nineteen years. A handsome collation of fruits and wine of various kinds was served to his friends, and among the number appeared a lady of the country with her child. She was dressed in velvet, with a rich China shawl, diamond necklace and ear-rings, and fingers loaded with precious stones. While the champagne corks were flying I had a glance from the balcony over the desert with its heavy sands and rocky mountains in the distance, and could scarcely realize my position; but the figure of Commerce presented herself among the shipping and explained the circumstance. The town of Arica appeared like an oasis in the desert, the streets being paved and well laid out; the houses were built with flat roofs, and there were two churches, badly shaken by earthquakes. Our Consul had very comfortable quarters, with a fine garden of fruit and flowers. The country in the interior in many places is productive, but the chief fertility consists of silver mines. Islay, the next town, is difficult to access, being high and rocky; it has some decent houses, and is the port of Arequipa. Water is brought in by aqueducts, and it was a refreshing sight to see the donkeys drinking at will. I called with a friend upon an old Spaniard, whose two daughters gratified us with music upon the piano, even in this almost uninhabited country, and seemed contented with their home and climate. The following day we found ourselves at Pisco, celebrated for its wine and liquors. We mounted horses and rode in the country, visited some of the vineyards, and returned to town about two miles from the beach; it happened to be Palm Sunday, and we visited the cathedral built by the old Spaniards, saw the procession and entrance into Jerusalem, by knocking at the side-door, and heard some extraordinary music. Palm branches were distributed, and the motley group of half-castes, Indians, Negroes, and Spaniards dispersed. We had the day previous picked up a launch with six men, who had been out twenty-three days from Valparaiso, and without water and provisions for two days. We supplied them with biscuit, beans, candles, wood, and water; not forgetting cigars, which were among the first articles which they demanded.
Our final landing-place was the Chinchas Guano Islands, the present great source of wealth of the Peruvian government; a supply still exists for perhaps a century, sufficient to pay the interest on the national debt of some twenty millions of dollars, the bonds of which, from being almost valueless, have advanced to par in England. I was surprised to find ten ships and brigs waiting for loads. One can scarcely realize that the immense deposits or hills have been produced by birds, but the flocks which are seen, and which are prohibited from being destroyed, and the known voracity of the species, reconcile one’s doubts, particularly in a climate where it never rains.
The use of the guano has long been known in the interior of the country; it is transported on the backs of animals to the valleys, irrigated by the waters from the melting snows of the Andes. The people, I learn, are substituting negroes for the Chinese, as the latter, being disappointed in this kind of servitude, have frequently destroyed themselves by hanging, many in groups, joining hands and leaping over the precipice, in the belief of restoration to their happy homes. I arrived here at the commencement of the Passion Week, and found that all Lima had had the peste, or plague, a species of yellow fever; it had nearly exhausted itself for want of victims, but strangers of course were expected to take it. The Italian opera company, of seventeen persons, just arrived from the north, were all taken, save three, and out of our number of twenty-five at the hotel at table only five were left. I have been exposed, with my fellow-passengers, but in consequence of having had the original Yellow Jack, have thus far escaped. The churches of Peru are the finest in South America; there are about fifty-two in the city, with a population of ninety thousand persons. They date their riches and luxury in the time of the Spaniards. Some of the temples were decorated with a great variety of flowers, in vases furnished for the occasion, by private families, forming avenues of tropical vegetation through these deep edifices, while the light of a thousand candles illuminated the high altar, and disclosed the faces of hundreds of the beautiful Limanians of the Andalusian race, who were kneeling in their rays, in black shawls or mantillas; after a short prayer they rose and visited other churches. I visited twelve of the most important in the evening, and found, as in Havana, that at these festivals, some new attractions are held out for visitors, who continue the rounds until overcome with fatigue. In one church the last supper was represented by Christ and his twelve apostles, sitting at a well-covered table of fruits, flowers, and wine, the approach to which was difficult, on account of the rush of negroes and half-castes. In another church the figures of the soldiery and the crowning with thorns were represented; a grotesque zapatero, or shoemaker, in a crouching position, looking up with a huge pair of spectacles, seemed to excite the mirth of the common people. The balcony of my apartment faces the Plaza, or Cathedral Square; at the right is pointed out the spot where Pizarro lost his life, fighting nobly; in the crypt of the cathedral is shown what are called his remains.
On Noche Buena, the night after the Passion Week, the whole square was roasting and stewing. Negroes were there in great numbers, with fire and cooking utensils; hot fritters boiled in oil, sausages, garlic salads, and aguardiente; and there were booths, or stands, on three sides, with every variety of trinkets for sale, and an immense concert of Indians, negroes, and other races; while in front, respectable ice-cream and confectionery stands accommodated the gentlemen and ladies with seats, and cooling drinks, made from fruits and ice, brought from the mountains, seven leagues distant, on the backs of mules. The river Rimac flows through the city, and running water passes through many of the streets. The mountains around are arid and forbidding, without the least verdure; but by irrigation the gardens of the valleys are made productive. At a charge of four reals, or fifty cents, the railway, eight miles in length, brings passengers from the port of Callao. It is a new construction, and has an elevation of five hundred feet. The chief place of resort for the Limanians, are the ocean baths of Churillas, whither I propose going.