I have already mentioned, that the gold is found in a stratum of yellow or orange-coloured earth, of different dimensions, but seldom more than five or six feet deep, the inferior limit being a stratum of indurated clay, called by the miners laxa. The first object after the site is selected is, to form an embanked reservoir at the highest part of the capa or stratum, for the purpose of collecting the rain water; the next is to throw aside all kinds of rubbish to the lateral limits of the stratum; the slaves then begin to dig the ground or pick it over, throwing aside all the large stones, after which the water which is collected is allowed to run over the ground, while the slaves are employed in forming with it and the earth a kind of puddle; after this the stones and rubbish are again collected and separated, the water is turned on, and in its course washes away the earth: these operations are performed till the laxa begins to appear. The water is then conducted along the sides by small channels cut for this purpose, and it is kept running along the sides while the slaves are continually stirring it, so that the earth is carried off by the water. When the whole is nearly washed away the laxa is carefully swept, and every small crevice closely examined, and a small channel is formed along the middle of the lavadero, where the water is allowed to run down it; but particular care is necessary not to make any perforations in the laxa or indurated clay, as it might be the cause of a great loss of gold. The last washing is generally performed in the presence of the master, as the larger grains, pepitas, begin to be visible. After all the earth has been separated by the repeated washings, the gold mixed with sand, iron sand, and platina, is swept into the small channel, and collected by placing a piece of board across it at a short distance from the reservoir, and allowing a small portion of water to run for the purpose of cleaning out all the crevices; the first quantity is then put into a trough or canoe, and carried to the house of the miner; and another operation similar to the last takes place with another portion of the earth, and so on till the whole of the gold is collected. After the miner has allowed what was carried to his house to dry, he then spreads it on a table, and with a loadstone or magnet he separates from it all the iron sand, which is always very abundant, and placing the gold, platina, and sand in a shallow trough, he allows a small stream of water to pass over it, keeping the trough in motion till the water has washed away the sand. The last operation is to separate the gold from the grains of platina, which is done with a small stick, a pen, or a piece of wire, with which the platina is picked from the gold. Owing to the enormous duty imposed by the Spanish government on the platina, which rendered it almost invaluable, the miners usually throw it away.
After visiting Playa de Oro I left the coast, and proceeded on my journey towards Quito. The first part of the road is by the river Tola to Carondolet, or Naris de Peña, which was formerly the name of the landing place. The river is not so rapid as that of Esmeraldas; but it has the disadvantage of being so shallow near a place called the Porquera, that loaded canoes are forced to stop there, or unload, pass the sand banks, and load again. Carondolet is a small village, bearing the name of its founder; from this place a road forty feet wide was opened to Malbucho, a small village at the foot of the Cordilleras, thirteen leagues from Carondolet; tambos, or lodging-houses, are built on the road, four leagues from each other, and at Licta, four leagues from Malbucho, two negroes and their families, belonging to the government, are stationed in charge of the repairs of the tambos.
Owing, as I have before mentioned, to the inadvertency of cutting down the large trees for the formation of this road, the brush-wood sprang up with increased vigour, and the roots of the large trees produced numberless young suckers, so that in a very short period what was intended as a road became quite impassable, and was entirely abandoned by travellers.
At Licta the river Mira presents itself on the north side of the road, dashing along with astonishing rapidity, while a dense mist rises from the foam; in some places the river is six hundred feet wide, and in others, where the rocks have opposed its ravages, it is not more than one hundred. The Mira derives its first waters from the lake San Peblo, and afterwards receives those of Pisco, Angel, Taguanda, Escudillas, Caguasqui, and Chiles, which flow from the mountains of Pelliso; it afterwards receives those of Camunixi, Gualpi, Nulpi, and Puelpi, and enters the Pacific Ocean by nine mouths, between the Point de Manglares and Tumaco. The Mira divides the province of Esmeraldas from that of Barbacoas.
On the sides of the river Mira there are many farms and plantations of sugar cane, scattered along from the Villa de Ibarra to San Pedro, and on the north side there are many small houses and plantations, even lower down the river, and as the road is on the south side, the natives have to avail themselves of puentes de maroma, and taravitas. The puentes de maroma, or swing bridges, I have described at Cochas, on a general principle, but those used to cross the Mira are merely for foot passengers; they are formed of the stems of the creeper called piquigua, which are generally about half an inch in diameter, and sometimes from fifty to a hundred yards long; they generally spring up under large trees, or creep up the trunk and along the branches, and hang down again to the ground, but do not take root; they then ascend another, or perhaps the same tree again, or, carried by the wind, stretch along from a branch of one tree to that of another; so that where they are common, the trees in a forest have the appearance of the masts of ships with their rigging. The stem is remarkably fibrous and tough, and for the purpose of constructing bridges, it is first beat, and then twisted, by which means it forms a kind of cord, and five, six or more of these combined make a rope, the duration of which is almost indefinite, for the age of some of the bridges across the Mira is unknown. Some of these puentes de maroma are from one to two hundred feet long, and only three feet wide; the bottom is generally covered with pieces of bamboo, huadhua, laid crosswise; hand ropes made of piquigua are also fastened to the side of the bridge to prevent passengers from falling into the river; this would otherwise be inevitable from the motion of the bridges when any one crosses them, for some of them not only spring under the feet, but by hanging loose they swing; the ends are generally fastened to trees standing near the river side, or else to large posts placed for this purpose. I have seen some of these puentes formed just like a ladder; and they are crossed by stepping from one bar to another, with the assistance of one hand rope, while a foaming stream is roaring at the depth of eighty or a hundred feet below.
The taravitas are formed by securing the two ends of a rope, generally made of raw hide, but sometimes of piquigua, to rocks, trees, or posts, on the opposite sides of the river, the rope passing either over a pulley, or through a ring; to this they attach another rope, which first passes through a pulley or ring fastened on each side the river; to the pulley or ring, on the large rope, a basket made of raw hide is suspended, and is called a capacho; in this a person stands, and by pulling the small rope he drags himself along, or else he is drawn across by persons stationed on the other side of the stream; all kinds of goods are passed over in this manner, and for horses or cattle slings are used, being suspended by a hook to the ring or pulley.
Having arrived at Ibarra, circumstances obliged me to return to the coast; I sent my escort to Quito, being perfectly satisfied that a military guard was quite unnecessary, and taking two guides, I crossed by an almost unfrequented route some extensive forests to the mine of Cachiyacu, belonging to Don Pedro Muños. This is a gold mine similar to Playa de Oro, situated on the sides of a small river, whence the mine derives its name. I here added another guide to my party, and by a solitary path arrived at the Rio Verde, about two leagues from the mouth, where it empties itself into the Pacific Ocean. I proceeded on to Esmeraldas, and ascended the river to the mouth of the Quinindi, for the purpose of exploring the road from Santo Domingo de los Colorados to Quito. The river Quinindi is navigable for small canoes; it is generally about fifteen feet wide, the current neither rapid nor deep, and it abounds with excellent fish. To my great surprize and delight, on entering the mouth of this river, I saw two boa constrictors basking on a sand-bank, very near to the edge of the water, and we passed them at the distance of about twenty feet. One appeared to be at least twenty-five feet long, the other about half that length. They were both of them in the most beautiful posture that can be imagined, their heads raised, and their bodies forming festoons, or arches; those formed by the greater one were six, the largest in the centre being about two feet high; the smaller formed only five arches, and these much lower than the other. Their colours were a most brilliant yellow, a deep green, and stripes along the back of a dark brown hue. The tremulous motion of these animals, occasioned probably by the posture in which they had placed themselves, gave to their colours a most imposing effect; the brilliancy was heightened too by the rays of the sun darting full upon them; I felt as if under a charm, and I sat gazing on them in a transport of delight for more than half an hour. Two African negroes and my servant, a native of Quito, were almost frantic with fear; but the two Esmeraldeños, my palanqueros, expressed no other emotion than that of sorrow, at not being prepared to kill them, and to smoke their flesh, which, certainly, if as good eating as that of other snakes which I had several times tasted, was a great loss to them.
As we passed along the river almost innumerable monkeys of the small brown kind crowded the tops of the trees, dinning our ears with their unceasing chattering, and throwing down leaves upon us till the surface of the river was nearly covered; however the two Esmeraldeños with their sorbetanas killed upwards of fifty, out of which we chose the fattest, and made an excellent dinner, selecting it in preference to any of the dried provisions which I had with me. On the second day after our entrance on the Quinindi we landed, and in three hours arrived at the house of the cura of Santo Domingo de los Colorados.
The settlement or reduction of the Colorados is merely the house of the cura, and a small church; the indians live dispersed in different parts of the surrounding woods, generally on the banks of the small rivers, and only appear on the Sundays and holidays at mass. These indians, like the Malabas and Cayapos, trace their origin to the times of the Conchocandos of Lican: they also state, that they were never subject to the Incas, and only to the Spaniards within the last thirty years (1810). They are not tributary, but each indian from the age of eighteen pays one dollar annually to the parish priest, who has no other stipend. Including the two annexed semi paroquias of San Miguel and Cocaniguas, the curacy contains about three thousand indians, but the curate seldom receives more than eight hundred dollars a year, or rather the amount of eight hundred. The indians always pay their quota in raw wax, at half a dollar a pound, which is sent to Quito for sale; but a considerable profit is derived from it, because it is worth a dollar a pound when purified.
The indians of Santo Domingo are called red colorados from the quantity of achiote with which their bodies are besmeared; in their persons they resemble the Malabas; the dress of the men is composed of a pair of very short white drawers, and a white poncho about three-quarters of a yard square; their hair is cut round and hangs like a mop, but it is confined to the head with a fillet of silver lace, or a thin slip of sheet silver; round their necks, the small part of their arms, and below their knees, they wear other slips of silver, about an inch broad, and to the lower edge a great number of small silver drops hang loose, forming altogether a very pleasing appearance. The women wear a piece of flannel or cotton cloth, wrapped round the waist, and reaching below the knees, with a profusion of beads round their necks, wrists, and ankles; white and pale blue glass beads are held in great estimation among them; they plat their hair in long tresses, and allow them to hang loose.