The travels of Pedro de Cieza de Léon, A.D. 1532-50, / contained in the first part of his Chronicle of Peru

by Pedro de Cieza de León

BEFORE I treat of the kingdom of Peru, or leave the government of Popayan, it seems to me well to give some account of the notable fountains there are in this land, and of the rivers of water from which they make salt, for thus the people are sustained, having no salt pits in these parts, and the sea being far distant.

When the licentiate Juan de Vadillo set out from Carthagena, we marched over the mountains of Abibe, which are very rugged and difficult to cross, so that we passed a time of no little hardship; most of the horses died, and we were obliged to leave the greater part of our baggage in the road; and, having reached the plain, we found many villages, with great store of fruit trees, and broad rivers. But, as the stock of salt which we had brought with us from Carthagena was coming to an end, our food being herbs and beans for want of meat, except that of horses and a few dogs we caught; we began to feel distress, and many, from the want of salt, began to lose their colour, and became yellow and thin. We procured some things in the Indian farms, but there was only a little black salt mixed with the aji that the natives eat, and even this was very scarce, so that he thought himself fortunate who could get any. Necessity teaches men notable things, and we found a lake in a small mountain, the water of which was black and salt. We put a quantity of this water into jars, which gave us a relish for our food.

The natives of these provinces take the quantity of water they require either from this lake or from others of the same kind, and boil it in great jars. As soon as the fire has consumed the greater part of the water, black salt remains at the bottom, with which, though not of good taste, they season their food, and live without feeling the want that would let itself be known if it were not for these fountains.

Divine Providence takes such care of his creatures that, in all parts, he gives them what they require; and if men would always consider the ways of nature, they would know the obligation they are under to serve our true God.

In the province called Cori, which is near the town of Anzerma, there is a river which flows with considerable force, and near it there are some ponds of salt water, whence the Indians obtain the quantity they require, and, making great fires, they place jars of this salt water on them, and set the water to boil until from an arroba there is not left half an azumbre. Then their experience enables them to convert the residue into as pure and excellent salt as is made from the salt-pits of Spain. Throughout the districts of Antioquia there are many of these fountains, and they make so much salt that they take it inland, and exchange it for gold, cotton cloth, and other things which they may require.

Beyond the great river which flows near the city of Cali, and near that of Popayan, towards the north, we discovered a village called Mungia, in company with the captain Jorge Robledo, whence we crossed the Cordillera of the Andes, and discovered the valley of Aburra and its plains.

In this village of Mungia, and in another called Cenusara, we found some other fountains in mountains near a river, and from these fountains the natives made so much salt that their houses were full of it, moulded into shapes exactly like loaves of sugar. They took this salt by the valley of Aburra to the provinces to the eastward, which have not been discovered or seen by the Spaniards to this day. This salt has made the Indians exceedingly rich.

In the province of Caramanta, which is not very distant from the town of Anzerma, there is a fountain which rises out of a river of sweet water, and turns some of its water into a vapour resembling smoke, which assuredly must arise from there being some metal in that part. The Indians make good black salt from this water, and they also say that they know of a lake near a great rock, at the foot of which there is the same kind of water. They make salt from this water for their chiefs, for they say that it makes better and whiter salt than in any other part.

In the province of Anzerma, and in all its districts, there are fountains of the same sort, from which they make salt.

In the provinces of Arma, Carrapa, and Picara, they suffer much from the want of salt, there being many inhabitants and few of these fountains, so that the salt that is brought fetches a high price.