During my stay on the coast I visited the new village of Cayapas: it is composed of indians, living entirely free from the controul of any Spanish governor or any authority. So ignorant were they of the forms of the Spanish administration, that they only considered the royal audience to be superior to their own alcalde. They did not even know what the royal audience was, and they repeatedly called me the royal audience, having mistaken the expression of the lieutenant-governor of La Tola, who told them the royal audience expected they would attend on me, and procure for me whatever I might want.
After a tedious journey up the river Tola, in a canoe, managed by four indians, I arrived at New Cayapas, and was received by the alcalde, who insisted on my taking possession of his baston, insignia of authority, and retaining it as long as I remained with them: he ordered the indians to obey me, and they advanced one after another to kiss the head of the baston, and accompanied me to the house of the alcalde, which was situated about thirty yards from the river side.
Cayapas scarcely deserves the name of a hamlet, there being only a small church, the house for the parish priest, and two others; but the situation is most beautiful: the small river, navigable for canoes, the rich foliage of the large trees which overhang it, the branches in some parts meeting each other, the enormous banana leaves, the stately coco palm, and the verdant gamalote, every where enrich the scene. Houses are scattered along the sides of the river, each having its small plantation of sugar-cane, yucas, and camotes, its hogs and its poultry.
The indians are low in stature, very muscular, and of a lighter colour than those of the interior. The dress of the men is a pair of drawers, reaching from the waist to the middle of the thighs, and sometimes a poncho. The women have a piece of blue cloth wrapped round the waist, which reaches down to their knees, and a profusion of glass beads hangs round their necks; but the children to the age of eight or nine years are all naked. Both men and women paint their bodies with achiote, to which they sometimes add a few dots or stripes of indigo, manufactured by themselves from the plant which grows wild in every part of the country where the shade of the trees does not destroy it.
The furniture of their houses is composed of a long bench made of canes, which serves as a table, a sofa, or a bed; damajaguas, which serve as in Esmeraldas, and the never-to-be-dispensed-with toldo, with curtains to avert the attacks of the mosquitos at night. Their cooking utensils are manufactured by themselves; their plates and dishes are the shells of calabashes, their cups those of the tutuma, and their spoons of the muscle: nature having thus provided them with the necessary equipage for their food, in the same manner as she has with the ground for a table, and the plantain leaves for cloths and napkins, which without any expence may be renewed at every meal.
The principal employment of the natives is hunting, fishing, and cultivating their small patches of sugar-cane, yucas, camotes, and gourds. From the leaves of the aloe they make very fine thread, pita, in considerable quantities. This article is either sent to Quito or to the coast, where it finds a ready market, and procures for the indians the few clothes which they require, as well as salt, which is brought from the Punta de Santa Elena, in large canoes, and piraguas, (canoes with planked sides and a sail), by the inhabitants of La Tola, Atacames, and other places.
From the information which I had of the existence of a tribe of wild indians, called Malabas, who reside on the river de San Miguel, which joins that of Cayapas, I determined on visiting them, contrary to the advice of my friends at La Tola. I accordingly requested a small canoe, and two indians at Cayapas, and my request was reluctantly complied with; however, on promising the alcalde a reward in the name of the royal audience, I was equipped with what I wanted. Having with me a considerable quantity of beads and hawks' bills, I was not afraid of meeting with a kind reception: my servant declined accompanying me, and remained at Cayapas.