Near to the anchorage is a small village, inhabited chiefly by mulattos; there is a Spanish church, and a house, called del rey, which, when vessels unload, serves as a custom-house. On the arrival of a person who is unacquainted with the beauties of a tropical climate, or who has been accustomed to the dreary scenery of the coast of Peru, he is almost enchanted with the luxuriant prospect presented to his view. The whole of the surrounding country is covered with woods, with here and there a few small houses, starting, as it were, from the green foliage on the margin of the river, which has here the appearance of an extensive lake. The houses are built of canes, and have an upper story, but are without a ground floor. They are constructed by placing four or more logs of timber in the ground, and at the height of ten feet a floor of large split canes is laid, supported by a frame-work of mangroves; a roof of palm or other leaves is then formed, which descends to within five feet of the ground-floor; a rude varanda of canes encloses the whole building, which, in the larger houses, is divided by canes into two or three apartments; but in the smaller houses they have only one room. The ascent is by a ladder, sometimes merely the trunk of a tree with steps cut in it. The houses in this village rise gradually behind each other, without any order or regularity, interspersed with some large and beautiful tamarind trees, equal in size to our largest oaks: beneath these the pompous banana waves its huge leaves, and droops with the weight of its golden fruit; while above towers the majestic cocoa palm, laden with its numerous branches of nuts, hanging beneath a cupola of feather-like foliage.
The inhabitants of Puná leave their houses during part of the year, and retire to other places, where they cultivate maize, pumpkins, tobacco, &c.; after which they return to sell such produce as they are possessed of, to the merchants who come to purchase it. They also employ themselves in cutting mangroves, which are sent to Lima and other parts of Peru, and in fishing. Owing to a want of water in the island, for irrigation, there being no rivers, and from the scarcity of rain during the last ten years, the plantations of cocoa have failed; and, although formerly upwards of twelve hundred quintals were collected here annually, not one, at present, is harvested. Owing to the same cause, all cultivation has ceased on the island, and the inhabitants are obliged to dig wells to supply themselves with good water in summer; for, although there is a small spring near to the village, for want of proper attention the water is undrinkable. It is only used for washing, which operation is performed on the margin; and by throwing near to it the soapy water, the spring is rendered useless, except for the purpose to which it is applied.
After waiting at the Puná for the following tide, we weighed, and stood up the river: we sometimes passed so near to the mangroves which grow on the different islands, and even in the water (the trees being supported by their almost innumerable roots, which cross each other in all directions), that it appeared as if the branches would become entangled with the ropes of the ship. On the roots, as well as on the branches of the mangroves, many beautiful white storks were perched, which contributed very much to heighten the novelty and beauty of the scene. Navigation in its primitive state was here presented to us on our passage:—the unwieldy and creeping balsa lagged behind us, and the next abrupt turn in the channel hid it from our view, the high trees, of some small island usurping its place in the prospect; while the light canoe skimmed along on the surface of the water, as if in mockery of our ship, which might justly boast its superiority over the balsa.
About seven leagues from the Puná there is a small battery, or rather a breast-work, formed of the trunks of the palo de balsa and the ceibo, mounting six guns. The projection of a small promontory, called sandy point, punta de arena, commands the channel for about two miles, and this point of defence might easily be made the protecting place of the city, even against large vessels; while boats and balsas might go up to the city by another channel of the river, formed by an island opposite to punta de arena, without any molestation from this battery. It was late in the evening when we came to an anchor off the city, and I never beheld a more brilliant view than the one before us. The long range of houses by the river side presented a double row of lights, one from the shops below, and another from the upper stories, where the inhabitants reside: in a few places three rows appeared, some of the houses having a low story between the shops and the dwelling rooms. At the extremity of this line of lights the houses in the old city, cuidad vieja, rose one above another, while the many balsas at anchor, or passing along the river, with fires on board, formed altogether a very dazzling but pleasing prospect.
The first town, called Guayaquil, was founded in 1533 in the bay of Charapotó, by Don Francisco Pizarro; and by the date of the title granted by Charles V. it was the second town founded in Peru; however the first was entirely destroyed by the Indians. In 1537, Francisco de Orrellana built another town on the west side of the river, which was afterwards removed to the site where cuidad vieja now stands; and, lastly, in 1793, to its present situation. Its name is taken from that of its original chief or Cacique, Guayas. The city is divided into two distinct wards, by a wooden bridge eight hundred yards long; this bridge crosses several estuaries, and some low ground that is flooded by the river. The new town, or that part called Guayaquil, extends half a league along the side of the river, on a plain, having the dock yard at the southern extremity on the same level; and cuidad vieja, or the old city, at the northern extremity; one part of which is built on the acclivity of the hill, and the other on the top of it, where the convent of Santo Domingo now stands. The principal street, called the Malecon, runs along the side of the river; about the centre of it stands the custom-house; at the back of this street another runs the whole length of the city, which, with the intersecting streets, forms the chief part of Guayaquil.
This city is the capital of the province, and the residence of the Governor; it has a municipal authority invested in two alcaldes, and other officers; the custom-house, aduana, has an accomptant, treasurer, and inferior officers. The military department is subject to the Viceroy of Peru; the civil to the Audience of Quito, and the ecclesiastical to the bishop of Cuenca.
Here are two parish churches, one in the new town, the other in the old; both dedicated to Santiago, the patron of the city; also a convent of Franciscans, one of Augstinians, and one of Dominicans; the hospital is under the care of the order of San Juan de Dios. The matris as well as the other churches are built principally of wood, and have tiled roofs. A custom prevails at the churches here on the days of particular festivals, which I never observed in any other part of the colonies. Men go up the belfries or steeples, with drums and trumpets, and accompany the tune rung on the bells by striking them, as the Chinese do their gongs, with hammers or stones, making a strange, but not altogether disagreeable kind of music; it is certainly ridiculous, however, to hear marches and dance tunes played in a church steeple, for the purpose of calling the people to prayers.
The greater part of the houses in the principal streets have an upper story, where the inhabitants reside, the ground floor being occupied as shops and warehouses. The upper stories have long balconies about four or five feet wide, with canvass curtains, which are very useful, because they form an agreeable shade against the scorching rays of the sun; and when a little breeze springs up, one end of the roller is passed between the ballustrades of the varanda, and the other end projects outward, so that the breeze is thus caught, and a current of air is guided into the apartments of the house, which at any time is very desirable; There are no buildings in Guayaquil that particularly attract the attention of a traveller, either by their size or beauty; but however the generality of the houses are large, commodious, and have a very good appearance, particularly those along the Malecon, which face the river; as they are all built of wood, the risk of being burnt is very great. In the years 1692, 1707, and 1764 the city was nearly reduced to ashes; besides which conflagrations it has suffered eleven other partial ones, which destroyed many houses and much property. Notwithstanding the danger to which the city is exposed, the dreadful examples which it has experienced, and the easy means by which water may be procured in any part of the town, for the prevention of general conflagrations, there is not one engine for the extinction of fire, nor any regular body of firemen.
An indispensable part of the furniture of a house is the hamaca, hammock; and I have frequently seen five or six in one room; they are made of pita, agave thread, or a kind of straw, dyed of various colours; they are so woven or matted, that they extend to a great width, and hold two, three, or four persons. They are stretched across the rooms, and along the sides and ends, and the inhabitants prefer them to any other seat: indeed, they possess peculiar advantages, for, by being put in motion, the current of air which is thus produced is refreshing; and the motion prevents the possibility of the person being bitten by the mosquitos, as the least draft or motion in the air obliges these blood-suckers to seek for safety in some quiet corner.
The population of Guayaquil amounts to about twenty thousand souls; the inhabitants are composed of all the different classes which are found in the various towns of South America, but there is an excess of mulattos. A phenomenon presents itself here which greatly surprises all foreigners; the complexion of some of the white natives is extremely delicate, the lily and the rose are blended as enchantingly as on the cheek of any European beauty, accompanied also with blue eyes and light coloured hair; yet the climate is extremely hot, and the town is surrounded with low swampy grounds. The ladies are not only remarkably fair, but they have also very delicate regularly formed features; they are tall genteel figures, have an elegant gait, walk well, and dance gracefully; they are also very lively and witty in their conversation, and on the whole the female society of Guayaquil exceeds that of any other town in South America that I visited;—their private characters being as free from levity as their public demeanour is from prudery. The men are more enterprising in their commercial concerns, and the lower classes are more industrious than the people generally are in the other colonies; indeed every thing here bears the marks of exertion and activity.