Historical and descriptive narrative of twenty years' residence in South America (Vol 2 of 3) / Containing travels in Arauco, Chile, Peru, and Colombia; with an account of the revolution, its rise, progress, and results

by active 1803-1825 William Bennet Stevenson

The principal manufactures here are soap, cordovans of goats' skins, cotton cloths, and sweetmeats. From the extensive flocks of goats which are fed in the algarroba wood which surrounds this town, the tallow is procured for the soap manufactories, and the alkali is obtained from the lico, salsola, which is found in abundance in this province, as well as in that of Saña, and the valley of Chicama. The soap is very hard, and is cut into cakes or small bars, four of which, and sometimes six, only weigh a pound; the average price is from twenty to twenty-five dollars the quintal. Its quality is far inferior to that of English soap, owing particularly to its hardness, and the quantities of impurities which it contains; notwithstanding which, it is preferred to any other soap—such is the obstinacy implanted by the habit of using it.

The skins of the goats are tanned with the bark of the huarango, and sometimes with that of the algarroba, and the cordovans are of an excellent quality. These articles have a very extensive sale, which extends to the whole coast of Peru and many of the provinces in the interior, as well as to the province of Guayaquil, and to different parts of the kingdom of Quito.

Quantities of tocuyo, counterpanes, table cloths, napkins and other articles of cotton, some of which are very fine, are manufactured here, as well as cotton canvass, or sail cloth; notwithstanding the extent of these works, all the yarn is spun with the distaff and spindle, so that all the females of the lower classes find constant employment. The tocuyos made here are not considered so good, and consequently are not in such demand as those of Conchucos, but an extensive trade is carried on in the other articles. Here is an extensive mill for cleaning the cotton from the seeds, similar to that at Casma, and some large remittances of cotton have been made from this place to Europe.

The manufacture of sweetmeats consists chiefly of marmalade and jelly, made from quinces, guavas, and limes. It is packed in chip boxes, each holding about two pounds, which sell at half a dollar each; they are sent to Lima, Guayaquil, and other places along the coast. Hats of palm and junco, fine rushes, are made here, and carried to the same markets as the other manufactures.

Oranges, limes, lemons, grapes, guavas, pacays, melons, paltas, huanabanas, chirimoyas, anonas, plantains, bananas, pomegranates, granadialls, tumbos, quinces, pine-apples, and many other fruits grow here and in the neighbourhood in great abundance, and they are of an excellent quality; apples, pears, and other European fruits do not thrive. Wheat, maize, beans, lentils, garbansos, and other pulse, also yucas, batatas or sweet potatoes, yams, and other esculents, as well as potatoes and all kinds of culinary vegetables, arrive at great perfection; hence the market is abundantly supplied with them, as well as with good beef, fish and poultry; mutton is scarce and not very good, but the young kid is superior to lamb.

The algarroba, carob tree, grows in the vicinity of Lambayeque in great abundance, and is of such utility, that a law exists to prevent the owners from cutting them down: they grow to the size of our largest oaks; the wood is very hard, the leaf small, and the branches bear an abundance of clusters of pods, about four inches long and three-quarters of an inch broad, containing five or six black seeds, like small beans. When ripe the pod is of a brown colour, and has a sweet taste; the cattle are very fond of it, and become very fat with eating it; the mules that feed on the carob pods, after a journey to Lima, a hundred and forty leagues, return apparently fat; but the greatest profit derived from this valuable tree is from the number of goats which are annually fed on the pods. These animals reach the lower branches of the trees themselves, and they are afterwards assisted in procuring their food by the goatherds, who climb the trees, and beat down the leaves and pods with long canes. At certain times of the year, when the pods become scarce, the goats will follow their goatherds any where, without the need of a driver, as if conscious that their existence depended on the assistance of their keepers. Some of the goats will become so plump, that it is not uncommon for one goat to yield a quintal, one hundred pounds weight, of tallow and fat; for the whole of the fat is separated from the flesh, this latter being considered of very little value, excepting that part which covers the bones of the neck, which is eaten as a delicacy, and is really equal to venison. A considerable share of superstition belongs to the goatherds, who are indians. They believe that some men have the power, by witchcraft, to convey the fat of one flock of goats to another, if care be not taken to prevent them from so doing; for the prevention of this mischief they have different amulets, which they tie round the necks or horns of the old goats, especially those which are called the Captains of the flocks. These charms consist of shells, beans, and a kind of nutmeg brought from the province of Jaen de Bracamoros. I was several times entertained by the tales told by the indians; they would assert, that a flock of fat goats had been placed under the care of an unskilful goatherd, and that in one night a wizard, hichisero, had deprived them of all their fat, and conveyed it to another flock, to the astonishment, of particularly one party, who in the morning found his fat flock reduced to skin and bone, bleating their lamentations for the loss which they had sustained.

From the pods of the algarroba the indians make chicha, by merely infusing them in water, straining it, and allowing it to ferment: at the expiration of three or four days it is very palatable, and if proper attention were paid to it, I believe that a very delicate wine would be procured. Small cakes called arepas are sometimes made by the indians from the pods reduced to powder; they are certainly not unpalatable, though very coarse.

Five leagues from Lambeyeque is a village called Chiclayo, which is the neatest and most social place along the whole coast; it contains several respectable inhabitants, its situation in the valley of Lambayeque is delightful; the productions and the market are good. It has a small convent of Franciscans, to which order the curacy belongs.

The trade of Lambayeque, owing to its productions and the industry of the inhabitants, is very extensive; the neighbouring provinces depend on its manufactories, and it will undoubtedly become the great mart for the inland provinces for European goods. Some of the shops and stores are well stocked with European manufactures, of which the sale is very extensive; and as its commerce extends to countries of such different climates, all kinds of useful foreign articles are in considerable demand. The town of Eten stands on a sandy plain, and is entirely inhabited by indians; these are the only people who speak the Chimu dialect which is the original language of the coast of Peru, and so different from the Quichua, that I could not understand a single word, nor trace any analogy between them, and beyond the limits of their town their language is unintelligible. It may very reasonably be expected that these people possess the true character of the indians; if they do, it is a very worthy one; they are temperate, industrious and kind; they do not allow any person except indians to reside among them, and a traveller is only suffered to remain three days in the town; but the Alcaldes always take care that he be provided with whatever he may require. Cotton cloths to a large extent are manufactured here, and the natives wear nothing that is not made by their own hands; hence many of them are possessed of considerable wealth, for the sale of their own goods is very extensive. They differ in their dress from the generality of the indians; the men wear white jackets and breeches, these having a slip of red cloth at the knees, in which the button holes are wrought; the females wear a kind of long black or blue tunic, without sleeves, girt round the waist; both sexes wear straw hats, and very seldom put on shoes.