Spanish America, Vol. 1 (of 2)

by Sir Richard Henry Bonnycastle

Tempests and earthquakes are more frequent in this government than in Quito itself, though they occur often in the latter place; and the district of Caloto is the one most subject to storms, thunder and lightning.

The soil of Popayan varies according to the situations of the districts; it produces grains and fruits in great abundance; and numbers of horned cattle, horses and sheep, are reared by the farmers.

Among the singular plants of this country is the coca or betel, which is chewed by the natives in the same manner, and for the same purposes that it is in the East Indies. And one of the gum-trees of Popayan yields a resin so remarkably tenacious, that when used to varnish ornamental work, it resists the application of boiling water, or even acids; for which reason, tables, cabinets, &c., made by the Indians, and lacquered with it, are highly valued at Quito.

The central branch of the three parallel chains of the Andes runs through the northern part of Popayan, in which they all commence; this branch is, however, as before stated, the highest of the three, and its summits are above the lower limits of congelation; of these, Barangan, Quindiu, and Guanacas are the most lofty. In order to go from Popayan to Santa Fé, the central Cordillera must be crossed; the most frequented pass being that of Guanacas, in 2° 34ʹ north latitude, between Popayan and the small town of La Plata, presenting every where to the view, summits clothed in eternal snows.

It is impossible to traverse this road without trembling, and care must be taken to encamp at night as near the top of the mountain as possible, or to stop at the village of Guanacas, which is on the eastern side, it being absolutely necessary to stop there, if the blackness of the clouds indicates that contrary weather appears to be at hand.

The mules which convey passengers over this mountain pass, and which are made use of in preference to horses, for the secureness of their footsteps, not only partake the dangers, but run much greater risks than the traveller, as they have equally with their riders to resist the effects of the extreme cold, and also to undergo the greater part of the fatigues. The whole road, for the space of two leagues, is so covered with the carcasses and bones of those animals, which have sunk under their exertions, that it is impossible to avoid treading over them. This pass has on the south, at the distance of five or six leagues, the snowy mountain of Coconoco, an ancient volcano which is not at present in activity, and on the north another summit, called Houila, also covered with perpetual snows.

At the top of the gorge, is a small lake or pond, of which the water never freezes; and at less than 700 feet distant from this on each side, are the sources of the Cauca and the Magdalena. Goods are often left in this place, because the muleteers will not run the risk of quitting it between suns, and therefore return to take them up the next morning. The distance from Popayan to La Plata (the town on the Magdalena, where the journey terminates) is about nineteen or twenty leagues, which generally occupies twenty or twenty-two days to travel; but the time taken to pass the actual ridge is about a day, and there are habitations, at intervals on each side; not so the other road, which leads from Popayan, by the mountains of Quindiu, between the cities, or rather towns of Ibague and Carthago, in 4° 36ʹ north latitude; and is the most difficult to scale, when taken in the sense of a road, of any in the whole Cordillera, crossing a thick untenanted forest, which, in the most favourable weather, is not passable under ten or twelve days. No hut is to be seen, or any means of subsistence procured, and the venturous traveler must take with him at least a monthʼs provisions; as the sudden thaws and swellings of rivers render it frequently impracticable to go forward or return. The highest point of this pass is 11,499 feet above the level of the sea; and is styled Garito de Paramo.

The path is not more than a foot and a half broad, and has, in several points, the appearance of a gallery, whose surface has been taken off, and the whole is bottomed with muddy clay; the torrents which rush down the rocks, forming every here and there narrow beds, from twenty to twenty-five feet in depth, along which the passenger must work his way in the mud, encompassed by a wall of rocks, covered with vegetation of luxuriant growth, which renders these places nearly dark. Along these galleries, many of which are a mile and a half in length, the oxen employed to carry baggage, and whose feet are better adapted than those of mules, for struggling through the tough and deep clay, can hardly force their way. The meeting with other travellers, in such a situation, is highly troublesome, as there is the greatest difficulty to pass. The roots of the bamboos, studded with strong prickles, projecting from the sides of the mountains, are among the other inconveniences, combined with the necessity of crossing the icy waters of the torrents, and of being deluged with the incessant rains which prevail here.

The colonists, whose affairs oblige them to go by this route, are carried in chairs on menʼs backs, by a set of people who are bred to this business; and who are generally either creoles or mulattoes.