PAITA, THE CHIEF SHIPPING PORT FOR PERUVIAN COTTON.
CHAPTER XXIII
THE COTTON FIELDS OF PIURA
A COTTON PLANT ON A PIURA PLANTATION.
When Pizarro chose the valley of Piura as the site on which to found the first Spanish city in Peru, he was especially attracted by its fertility and the abundance of water that supplied its flourishing farms and gardens. Agriculture was highly developed by the ancient inhabitants of this region, and cotton, which is the staple product of Piura to-day, was grown in the coast valleys centuries before the Spaniards visited these shores. Cotton materials have been found in the tombs of the people who ruled throughout this part of Peru before the Incas gained ascendancy, and the use of the product seems to have been known here from time immemorial. No doubt Pizarro and his followers passed through fields of cotton on their way from Tumbes to Piura, as the Conqueror gave an enthusiastic report of the prosperous farming communities seen during his march.
The founding of Piura preceded that of Lima by three years, and in recognition of its having been the first Spanish city in Peru, the sovereigns conferred on it the distinction of a coat-of-arms before that honor was bestowed on Quito. During the colonial period, Piura grew to be a centre of industrial activity, and under the republic it has become the flourishing capital of one of the richest departments of the coast. The city has several churches, good schools, and charitable institutions. Its citizens are progressive and are interested in the advancement of education and the improvement of material conditions. The Department of Piura, which shares with that of La Libertad the honors due to a patriotic and courageous people, was made an independent Littoral Province in 1837, and a department in 1861. Through the varying experiences of the republic, this department has borne an honorable share of the burdens and the triumphs, and some of the most distinguished men of Peru have learned their earliest lessons in patriotism under the training of its worthy matrons. The immortal hero, Admiral Grau, was born in Piura; and after this revered name follow those of statesmen and men of letters who rank with the best in their country.
A BUSY THOROUGHFARE OF CATACAOS.
The Department of Piura lies in the extreme north of the coast region, separated from the gulf of Guayaquil by the Littoral Province of Tumbes. It is divided into the coast provinces of Paita and Piura and the interior provinces of Ayabaca and Huancabamba. Paita is drained by the Chira River, which rises in the Cordilleras and crosses the southern districts of the province, fertilizing some of the most extensive plantations of northern Peru. The Piura River traverses the province of the same name, and in its winding course,—first northwestward, and then south and southwest,—it supplies irrigation to all the west and north of Piura province. The river is crossed by several bridges, the most important being that of the capital, a handsome iron structure. In the region fertilized by these two rivers are grown some of the finest qualities of cotton to be found on the globe, the “Peruvian” ranking next to the famous “Sea Island” in the European market. The territory under irrigation extends westward from the seaport of Paita along the northern bank of the Chira River to the foot of the Cordilleras, and from the port of Sechura to Piura, in the valley of the Piura River,—though the Piura valley is irrigated at intervals throughout its whole length. According to scientific authorities who have reported officially on the possibility of increasing the extent of cultivable territory on the coast, this fertile zone does not represent half the area of irrigable lands in the vicinity of these rivers; nor does it yield all the harvest that might be gathered if it were entirely under tillage.