I visited the town of San Marcos, eight leagues from Caxamarca; it is most delightfully situated in a very fruitful valley, enjoying all the benefits of a tropical climate, and affording a rich variety of fruits: the apples, peaches, and other European fruits, are found in great perfection, as well as oranges, lemons, paltas, bananas, plantains, &c. My visit to this town happened at the time of the annual festival; on this account I was entertained with bull fights, indian dancers, and the representation of theatrical pieces; the town was full of visitors from the neighbouring country, and every countenance bore a smile of satisfaction, while mirth and pleasure appeared to reign in every breast.
I was present in the parish church, which is a large neat brick and stone building, very much ornamented within, at the celebration of the wedding of a son and daughter of two Caciques, the boy being eleven years old, and the girl thirteen. When they left the church, after the ceremony was over, they ran in different directions, the boy to play with his comrades, and the girl to join hers, as if they had merely been at church as spectators, and not the parties concerned. I afterwards asked the cura how it happened, that two such thoughtless children should be married? He answered me, "por rason de estado," giving me to understand, that as they were both of noble origin, their parents had married them at that age to prevent them marrying with their inferiors. The principal benefit derived from preserving the nobility of the families is, their children being admissible into the colleges, and to the three learned bodies, divinity, law, and physic.
Two leagues from San Marcos stands the village of Ichocan, on the top of an eminence, consequently its climate is very cold; the cura here was an indian, and from his corpulency might be known, according to an adage in Peru, that he was a Cacique; for when a person is very jolly, it is generally said, that he is as fat as a Cacique, tan gordo como un Cacique. This cura was for some time the vicar of the province, and was looked upon as an oracle in Latinity and Theology. He was a very cheerful companion, possessed an extensive library of Latin, Greek, English, and French books, which he had studied; and was more acquainted with general science than any other person I met with in this part of Peru.
The produce of the parish of Ichocan is confined almost entirely to wheat, but it is considered the best, and fetches the highest price of any in the whole district; it sells on an average for from three to three and a half dollars the fanega, which is nearly three bushels. I afterwards visited several other villages; but a description of them would only be tedious and uninteresting. The natives of this province are noted for industry and hospitality; the population of indians at the time of the conquest was very extensive, forming upwards of five hundred settlements; but they are now reduced to forty-six.
The capital of the province is so situated, that it is likely to become an important commercial town; it is now the great market for this province, as well as for those of Chota, Chachapoyas, and Guallubamba. Eighteen leagues from Caxamarca is the celebrated silver mine called Gualgayoc, which, from the slovenly manner in which it has been wrought, produces but little good ore at present (1812); although ten years ago it was considered superior to the celebrated mine at Pasco: quantities of ore were extracted from the two shafts called la mina del rey, and la del purgatorio, which yielded a hundred and forty marks per caxon of fifty quintals.
I left Caxamarca and returned to Truxillo, and thence proceeded along the coast to the northward. My first stage of eleven leagues was to Chocope, a neat village containing about forty houses, chiefly inhabited by white families; it stands on a part of the valley of Chicama. In the year 1746 this village was totally ruined by rain, which continued for thirty-four successive nights. The sky was clear during the day from sunrise to sunset, at which time it began to rain; and as such a phenomenon was totally unexpected, and the houses constructed of materials unable to resist it, the whole of the village was destroyed. In 1748 it rained in the same manner for eleven nights; but since that period there has been no repetition of so destructive an occurrence, nor is there any record of a similar one before that time on this or any other part of the Peruvian coast, from 18° to 4° of latitude. It is also extraordinary, that this rain did not extend six leagues either to the north or to the south.
My next stage of thirteen leagues brought me to San Pedro, after passing a small village called Payjan. San Pedro is composed of about a hundred and fifty houses, of baxareque, canes cased with clay: it is a parish belonging to the order of Augustin friars, who have a small convent here. The population is composed principally of indians, whose chief occupation is the cultivation of the lands in the valley of the same name, which is watered by the river Pacasmayo, and produces most abundant crops of wheat; it was formerly considered to be the granary of Lima; but after the earthquake in 1687 the crops entirely failed for almost twenty years; since which period the land has again resumed its usual fertility. This circumstance has been already mentioned when speaking of Lima and la Barranca. At this time the Peruvians began to send their vessels to Chile for wheat, which commerce has been constantly kept up ever since, and to which Chile is indebted for many comforts among the lower classes, and for many rich capitals among the higher. The indians of San Pedro are particularly cleanly in their persons and houses; but I had been told that their chicha was mascada, chewed; and although the natives assured me that they had of both kinds, I was fearful of being deceived—I did not wish to have a second-hand or rather a second-mouthed beverage, so I drank water. The indians appeared here to be perfectly comfortable and happy; and as their allotments of land produced them a reasonable competency, they seemed to be a people almost independent of their conquerors.
The next stage brought me to las Lagunas, a distance of nine leagues, having forded on the road the river Xequetepeque, about half a league below the village of the same name. Las Lagunas, the lakes, is a low swampy country, formed by the overflowings of the river Saña; the small lakes which are formed are filled with wild ducks, some of which are of a most beautiful plumage, and very delicate eating. Here are only a few huts, partly for the accommodation of travellers, and partly the residence of fishermen, who catch large quantities of very fine lisas, and dry them for sale; these are so very delicate when grilled, that travellers look forward to their arrival at Lagunas to eat them. Five leagues from this place is the village of Monsefu, which is a remarkably handsome place; the houses are very neatly built, with wide corridors in front, and whitewashed; several small streams of water cross the principal street; these are employed in irrigating the gardens and the orchards, which are attached to almost all the houses, and which produce most excellent grapes, quinces, pomegranates and other fruits, both European and tropical, particularly cambures, which are very small bananas, and are equal in flavour to the most delicate ripe pears. After dining here on gualdrapas, goat's flesh, taken from the upper part of the neck, slightly salted and dried, and which is very similar to venison, we proceeded to Lambayeque, travelling through a wood of algarrobas, carob trees, for more than three leagues.
Lambayeque is the capital of the province, and the residence of the Subdelegado; it has always attracted the attention of travellers, as being the most populous and the greatest trading town between Lima and Guayaquil. It is situated about two leagues from the sea, and four from its sea-port, called Pacasmayo, where the river of this name enters the Pacific, partly by which river and partly by the river Lambayeque the town and the surrounding country are watered.
The town of Lambayeque contains upwards of eight thousand inhabitants, Spanish, creoles, indians, negroes, and mixed breeds, or castes. Some of the houses are large and commodious; the parish church is of stone; it is a handsome edifice, and contains many costly ornaments. Attached to it are four chapels of ease, called ramadas; these are so many parishes of indians, each having a cura, independent of the cura of the matris, or parish church, of the white inhabitants. I was at this town in 1811, when the first mass was celebrated at the new altar, built at the expence of Dr. Delgado, and dedicated to Nuestra Señora del Carmen; at this time a most sumptuous feast was held during a whole week, attended with bull fights, mains of cocks, and horse racing during the day; with balls, tertulias, chit-chat parties, and gambling, at night; and the whole of the inhabitants seemed entirely devoted to mirth and pleasure.