On board the Ganges I experienced a not less cordial and kind reception, and Admiral Baines, as commander-in-chief of the British fleet in the Pacific, did me the honour of granting me an official pass to all captains of British ships, setting forth my scientific pursuits, and recommending me to their particular attention.
On the morning of the 14th June, the good steamer Valparaiso, commanded by that courteous model of a British sailor, Captain Bloomfield, reached Huanchaco, the principal harbour of Truxillo, which is only six miles distant, and was once the capital of the northern portion of the empire of the Incas. The export of silver, wool, and cochineal from this port is pretty considerable. Here came on board a Scotchman named Blackwood, who for some years past had been cultivating cochineal in Truxillo, but was now, as he confessed, unable any longer to compete in its production with other countries, in consequence of the price of labour being so high, and the uncertain state of labour-supply. Mr. Blackwood intended proceeding viâ California to the East Indies, where he hoped to light upon a more suitable field for cochineal-growing, the cost of labour there being still low, and there existing a constantly-increasing demand for that substance[154].
On the 15th June we anchored in the roads of San José de Lambajeque in the department of Chola. The position of this village is so unsuitable, that it is only possible to effect a landing by means of what are called Balsas(rafts with sails), consisting of huge thick trunks of trees bound together. One of these curious contrivances conveyed on shore in safety 76 passengers at once, together with all their miscellaneous effects!
Fifteen miles north of Lambajeque lies the Indian village of Iting (Repose), with 5000 inhabitants, whose language is totally different from the Quichua dialect, usually spoken in the province. One Peruvian on his return from his travels even went so far as to say that the idiom of the Iting Indians strongly resembled that of the Chinese! In Monsefú, not quite two miles from Iting, lives an Indian population which speaks nothing but Spanish, and consequently can neither understand nor be understood by its neighbours! This singular state of things almost entitles us to conjecture that the Spanish conquerors have adopted here the same tactics as those they put in practice in Central America, where they repeatedly were at the pains to introduce among the subjugated tribes, colonies of another race frequently hostile to the aborigines, in order by difference of customs and language to render any united action against the common enemy almost impossible. I have myself frequently observed in the Central-American State of San Salvador, that, for instance, the Tlascaltecas, who speak the language of Montezuma, had been settled in the midst
of foreign races. Such colonizations have almost invariably been effected for political purposes, and were compulsory, instead of being undertaken voluntarily.
On 16th June we anchored in the beautiful and sheltered harbour of Payta. The little town itself has about 4000 inhabitants, who carry on a pretty brisk trade with the interior and along the coast. The principal article of export is hides, especially goat-skins, chinchilla fur (Eriomys Chinchilla), cotton, fruit, oil, herb-archel (Roccella tinctoria—used occasionally as a medicine, but more commonly as a dye,—the well-known litmus, used for chemical test papers, being prepared from it), and straw hats. Forty-five miles distant from Payta, in a beautiful and fertile neighbourhood, lies the town of Piura with 10,000 inhabitants, which carries on an extensive trade in fruit and vegetables along the coast, and indeed supplies Lima with its excellent produce.
Payta harbour is visited annually by from fifty to sixty whalers, who take in fresh provisions here, do their repairs, and give their crews a little repose after long and heavy labours. The climate is very healthy and exceedingly dry. At the same time there is no lack of good water, which the Indians bring to the city from the river Chirar, 18 miles distant, in casks on mule-back. This mode of transport is so cheap, that the erection of a distilling apparatus in Payta would not pay. The cargo of one mule, about 12 gallons, would sell for about 2 reals (about 1s. 5 1⁄2d.). Ships take in their supplies of water at Tumbez, a little further north.
When I was at Payta, there were some twenty merchant ships in the harbour. The trade of the place was evidently increasing. This was indicated not alone by the energy of the inhabitants, but by a general well-to-do air. Large, round, broad-brimmed straw hats are annually exported to the value of 400,000 dollars. Of goat-skins, the annual stock is about 1200 cwt.; of herb-archel from 1500 to 2000 cwt. There are also at Payta some very remunerative manufactures of castor oil (from the Ricinus communis), and its cognate from the piñon bean (Jatropha curcas), both of which are found in large quantities in the interior. By an iron machine worked by steam some 85 gallons of the oil are made daily, part of which is used in the country for lamps and in the preparation of soap; but by far the largest portion is exported to the United States.