THE GOVERNMENT OF CUYO OR CUJO.
Cuyo was formerly a Chilian province; it is bounded on the north by Tucuman, on the east by the Pampas or deserts of Buenos Ayres, on the south by Patagonia or Terra Magellanica, and on the west by the Andes, which separate it from Chili; it is comprehended between the twenty-ninth and thirty-fifth degrees of south latitude, and extends about 111 leagues from north to south, its breadth being nearly 110.
Climate, Features, &c.—In this extensive tract, the climate is variable, during the summer months those parts which do not lie on the high Andes are excessively hot, and the winter is very cold. Storms of thunder and hail are also common, and in the parts nearest Chili, these storms are of short continuance, but very violent.
The soil consists of arid plains, fertile valleys, and desert highlands; but those parts, which are the most barren, become extremely fertile, if irrigated by drawing over them the waters of the numerous rivers in which it abounds.
Fruits and grains of Europe arrive at perfection much sooner in Cujo than in Chili, and the vines produce a rich and delicious wine.
The history of this province is uninteresting; the aborigines, of whom there are few remaining and who are called Guarpes, were conquered by the Peruvian Incas; and on the road over the Andes to Chili, are still to be seen some tambos or military stations of the Inca Yupanqui.
The Spaniards who explored Cuyo were under the command of Francisco de Aguirre, who was sent by Valdivia from Chili, but returned without effecting any thing of importance.
In 1560, Don Garcia de Mendoza sent Pedro Castillo to conquer this country; he subdued the Guarpes and founded two cities.
The principal rivers in this extensive province are the San Juan, the Mendoza, and the Tunujan. The San Juan rises in the Chilian Andes, and washes the walls of St. Juan de la Frontera. The Mendoza also rises in the same chain, and the two, after receiving several smaller streams, and running twenty-five and thirty leagues, lose themselves in the chain of lakes called Guanasache, which extends more than fifty leagues from north to south, and also receives the Tunujan.