SOUTH AMERICAN DOMINIONS.
Spanish South America Spanish South America.
Sidy Hall sculpt. 14, Dury Stt. Bloomsby
Published as the Act directs. Augt. 20, 1818, by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Browne, Paternoster Row, London.
SPANISH AMERICA.
PART II
SOUTH AMERICAN DOMINIONS.
The dominions of Spain in North America having been described as fully as the nature of the work permitted, our attention is now to be turned to the acquisitions of that power in the southern division of the American continent.
The territories acquired by Spanish enterprise in South America are more extensive than those which have just been treated of; they reach from the Canataguan chain of mountains, between the provinces of Veragua and Panama, in the isthmus of Darien, to the gulf of Chonos; but Cape Vela, the extreme northern point of South America, being in a higher latitude than the Sierra de Canatagua, it is usual to reckon the total length from it. This cape is in 12° north, and the gulf of Chonos in 44° south latitude[A]: thus the Spanish colonies extend through a space equal to 3360 geographical miles, while their breadth, taken at a medium, is about 900 of the same miles. In fact, nearly the whole of that vast division of the New World, called by the general name of Southern America, is divided between two European powers, the Spaniards, and the Portuguese; the Portuguese holding the eastern, the Spaniards the northern, western and most of the southern part; the colonies of Great Britain and France being only slips of coast; and even the unconquered countries are very small, when compared with those belonging to the two powers first named.
Adding to this immense tract the kingdoms of Mexico and Guatimala, it appears that Spain possesses in the Americas an empire reaching from the 39th degree of north, to the 44th degree of south latitude; or a space included in eighty-three degrees, which is greater than the length of Africa, or more than five thousand miles.
BOUNDARIES.
The boundaries of the South American dominions are the province of Costa Rica, in the kingdom of Guatimala on the north-west; the Caribbean sea on the north; the Atlantic Ocean, British and French Guiana on the north-east; the Portuguese territories on the east; the Pacific Ocean on the west; the Atlantic and native tribes on the south-east; and the native tribes, and desert countries on the south.
POLITICAL DIVISIONS.
Spanish South America is divided into five governments; viz. the viceroyalty of New Granada; the Capitania General of Caraccas; the viceroyalty of Peru; the viceroyalty of La Plata, or Buenos Ayres; and the Capitaneria General of Chili; these are again subdivided into numerous provinces, which will be detailed in the descriptions of the different governments.
ERA OF DISCOVERY.
The discovery of the Spanish South American continent may justly take its date from the period at which Columbus landed on the coast of Paria, near the island of Trinidad, and the mouths of the Orinoco; which event took place in the month of August in the year 1498, and will be related hereafter at length. The discoveries of particular portions, the conquests and colonizations, will also be duly noticed in treating of the different governments; commencing with the most northern, and proceeding gradually, to those which occupy the southern portion of this great continent; concluding the whole with a description of the islands of most note on the coasts.
The viceroyalty of New Granada will therefore first engage our attention.
VICEROYALTY OF NEW GRANADA.
BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT.
New Granada is bounded on the north by the Caribbean Sea, and the province of Costa Rica in the kingdom of Guatimala; on the east by the government of Caraccas, Spanish Guiana, and Portuguese Guiana; on the west by the Pacific Ocean; and on the south by the river Maranon, and the viceroyalty of Peru: its extent from 3° 30' south latitude to 12° north latitude, is about 930 geographical miles, its mean breadth being 240.
TERRITORIAL AND POLITICAL DIVISIONS.
This extensive viceroyalty is divided into numerous provinces, governed by intendants and governors under the orders of the viceroy.
These provinces are named Jaen de Bracamoros, Quixos, Maynas, Quito, Tacames, Popayan, Antioquia, Santa FÉ, San Juan de los Llanos, Merida, Santa Marta, Carthagena, Choco, Darien, Panama, and Veragua; the three last of which are known by the distinctive appellation of Tierra Firme.
DISCOVERIES.
The coasts of New Granada which border on the Caribbean Sea were first visited by Columbus during his fourth voyage. Sailing from Spain to the West Indies, he arrived with his fleet at St. Domingo, in Hispaniola, where the governor Ovando, from private pique, refused him permission to enter the harbour and refit his vessels. This unforeseen occurrence obliged the admiral to stand to the west; after sailing in this direction for a few days, he discovered a little island, off the coast or cape of Honduras, where his brother landed, and traded with the natives. Prosecuting their voyage, they touched at the Cape itself, then called by Columbus Cape Casinas, and on which the admiral's brother landed to take formal possession for the crown of Spain: after this ceremony the fleet proceeded along the shore, and was compelled by the easterly winds to double a cape, which the pilots performing with difficulty, gave it the appellation of Gracias À Dios (thanks to God), because they could now take advantage of those winds in navigating along such unknown coasts with comparative safety.
Columbus touched at many places in this voyage, at Veragua, Nombre de Dios, Belem, Porto Bello, &c. At Veragua he sent his brother up the country to search for gold, and Don Bartolomeo returning with a considerable quantity; the admiral wished to have planted a colony, but having made several fruitless attempts, and finding that the ships were very rotten and worm-eaten, he set sail for Hispaniola to procure new vessels and supplies; in this attempt he was forced by storms to run on shore in a creek in the island of Jamaica, where he propped up the worn-out hulls with shores, building huts on the decks for the crews. Columbus remained almost a year in this condition, and from the mutinous behaviour of his men, his life was several times in danger; this, combined with the fatigue and vexation he had undergone, seriously affected his health, and at length, worn out with watching for succour, he determined as a last resource, to send over a canoe to Hispaniola, with one of his most faithful followers, and some Indians. These men after encountering great dangers, succeeded in reaching that island, and there procured a small ship, (but not without much opposition from the enemies of Columbus,) in which this great and unfortunate man returned to Spain, where he fixed his abode at Valladolid, and closed his illustrious career on the 20th of May, 1506, at the age of 64. His body was interred in the church of the Carthusians at Seville, and a handsome monument pointed out the spot where his remains were deposited; on which was engraven this inscription:—
“A Castilla y a Leon,
NuÉvo mundo dio Colon.”
“To Castile and Leon Columbus gave a new world.”
Ojeda, and Amerigo Vespucci, as well as many other adventurers, followed Columbus in exploring parts of the coast of New Granada, and Amerigo gave the first regular description of the people who inhabited its shores. In the year 1508, Alonzo de Ojeda and Diego Nicuessa obtained from the Spanish crown, extensive grants in the territories now known by the names of Guatimala and New Granada; Ojeda had the country from Cape de la Vela to the Gulf of Uraba, or Gulf of Darien, included in his charter, which tract was to be styled New Andalusia; and Nicuessa was appointed to govern from the Gulf of Darien to Cape Gracias À Dios; the territory included between these points, to be named Golden Castile, and they left Hispaniola in the latter end of the year 1510, to assume the functions assigned to them. Soon after the arrival of Ojeda at Carthagena, (then called Caramari by the Indians,) he imprudently attacked the natives, and after a severe action, lost the greater part of his men, but was fortunately relieved by the arrival of the fleet of Nicuessa; he then went to the gulf of Darien, and established a colony on the eastern promontory, which place was named St. Sebastian; but being soon reduced to great extremity for want of provision, Ojeda sailed for Hispaniola, having dispatched another vessel before him to procure supplies and reinforcements for his new establishment; suffering shipwreck on the voyage, and losing all his property, he died shortly after of want.
The colony being reduced to great distress, went back to Carthagena, to endeavour to fall in with the reinforcements; by great good fortune they met two vessels with their supplies, and returning to St. Sebastian, found their town destroyed by the natives; to augment their misfortunes, they run their ships ashore, but by dint of great exertion they were at last floated, when the whole colony, by the advice of Vasco Nunez de Balboa, sailed to the river of Darien, where they attacked and conquered an Indian tribe, and founded a town which was named Santa Maria el Antigua del Darien, where they received a further reinforcement by accident, in November 1510.
In the mean time, Nicuessa, who also suffered great misfortunes, had endeavoured to establish a colony at Nombre de Dios; a deputation was sent to him here, to request him to come and assume the government of Santa Maria; he accordingly departed, but on his arrival, found that great dissensions had arisen amongst the colonists, who, instead of appointing him to the government, put him into a rotten vessel, and sent him to sea, where it is conjectured, that himself and his crew perished. The province of Tierra Firme, including both the grants of Nicuessa, and Ojeda, was given by a subsequent charter, in the year 1514, to Pedro Arias de Avila, under whose government Vasco Nunez de Balboa was beheaded on account of a revolt. It was this man who, in 1513 on the 25th of September, first descried the Pacific Ocean, from the mountains of Terra Firma, and embarking on its waters in a canoe, explored part of its shores, on his return making known to the Spanish nation, the existence of another sea beyond the Atlantic. The first discoveries of Ojeda in New Granada took place in 1502; in 1503, Roderigo Bastidas of Seville visited the coast from Santa Marta to the river of Darien. Thus in these years, the whole shore from the Gulf of Venezuela to Cape Honduras, had been explored by different navigators and adventurers.
In 1504, Bastidas resumed his discoveries, and proceeded to the gulf of Darien to procure gold and slaves; he here found grains of gold in the sands, which was the first time the metal had been sent in that state to Spain.
In 1515, the western coast of Panama, Veragua, and Darien, was explored under the orders of Avila, as far north as Cape Blanco; and the town of Panama was founded; from this city issued the conquerors of Peru, Francisco Pizarro, and Diego Almagro, of whom we shall have occasion to speak at length in the description of that country; they are mentioned at present, because the discovery, the conquest, and the colonization of most of the internal provinces of New Granada was achieved under their orders, by Sebastian de Benalcazar, one of the officers of the army who accompanied Pizarro and Almagro in their expedition.
In 1536, Benalcazar attacked the southern provinces from Quito, whilst Gonzalo Ximenes de Quesada, who had been sent by Lugo, the admiral of the Canaries, over-run the northern districts from Santa Marta; they met with considerable opposition from the natives, but finally succeeded in reducing the country, and the whole was formed into a kingdom, and governed by a captain-general, in the year 1547; to check whose power, the royal audience was established, of which he was made president.
In the year 1718, a viceroy was appointed; this office was suppressed in 1724, and again finally established in 1740.
In the viceroyalty of New Granada, at present, there are two royal audiences, or supreme courts of judicature. The audience of Santa FÉ has jurisdiction over Veragua, Panama, Santa Marta, Maracaybo in Venezuela; Antioquia, Choco, and the Llanos, with some others. The royal audience of Quito has all the southern provinces of New Granada under its superintendance.
The power of the viceroy is as great as that of the same officer in New Spain, but his revenue only amounts to the annual sum of 8400l. sterling. In the kingdom he governs, the population has been estimated at 1,800,000, of which there are upwards of 200,000 souls more in the audience of Santa FÉ, than in the audience of Quito. The value of the gold and silver produced in the mines, annually amounts to 650,000l. sterling.
At Santa FÉ de Bogota, the capital, besides the royal audience, there is a treasury, a tribunal of accounts, a royal mint, with many other judicial and state offices; the court of the royal audience is formed of five supreme judges, a fiscal, a protector of the Indians, and numerous subordinate officers. Santa FÉ is also an archbishopric, founded in 1562, having Popayan and Carthagena as suffragans. This archbishopric is of great importance, the viceroyalty having been occasionally confided to its jurisdiction both in civil and religious matters. The president of the royal audience of Quito is governor of all the southern provinces, and is subordinate only to the viceroy.
Of the commerce of the viceroyalties in South America, we have very little correct information; the value of the import trade of New Granada has been stated as amounting to 1,235,000l. sterling, and its agricultural produce at 433,330l. The greatest revenue which the mother country receives during the most plentiful times, and when the mines are in the highest state of activity, amounts only to 108,330l.; but very frequently the expences of the administration render it impossible to remit even this small sum.
The gross revenue does not exceed 823,340l., as the contraband trade greatly injures the receipts of the customs in this kingdom; the vicinity of powerful neighbours who are all of great mercantile spirit, renders it utterly impossible for the agents of the government to check this traffic altogether. The Portuguese goods are poured in from their frontier by the great rivers; the British from the West India islands, and from Guiana; and thus, even before the present unhappy struggle, the existence of the viceroyalty depended entirely on the produce of the mines and of some few manufactures, with the native products which Europe could not dispense with. The manufactures are of utility only in its internal trade, and consist chiefly of carpets, cotton cloths, blankets, woollens, counterpanes, &c. The natural productions are the excellent dye-woods of the northern shore, which are reckoned even superior to those of Yucatan, timber for ship building, the mahogany of Panama, better and more beautiful than that of Guatimala or New Spain, chocolate and cacao, from the borders of the great river Magdalena, and the marshes of Guayaquil; excellent cotton, some tobacco, cochineal, coffee, and medicinal drugs, amongst which are the celebrated cinchona, or Jesuits bark, and contrayerva.
The mines of New Granada are however the objects of the greatest importance to its commerce. It may be said, that this kingdom is as rich in mineral treasures as any of the Spanish transatlantic colonies. In the provinces of Antioquia and Choco, it is alone richer in gold than any other, and the silver procured here is remarkably pure; lead and copper are also found, but little sought after; emeralds and other precious stones are sent to Europe. Platina, that valuable metal, was long thought to be peculiar to the province of Choco. Mercury, so useful in a mining country, has been lately discovered to exist in the province of Antioquia, in the valley de Santa Rosa, in the mountains of Quindiu, and near the village of CuenÇa, in the province of Quito. Salt is obtained in great quantity, and the kingdom produces many other valuable mineral substances.
Cassava or manioc root, and maize, form the bread of the Indians. European wheat is cultivated by the Spaniards and their descendants, and the tropical and European plants and vegetables are produced in as much abundance as they are in New Spain. The rivers and lakes are well stored with fish, and the woods and plains with game. The animals are such as are common to all South America, and will be noticed in the provincial descriptions; in this kingdom the inhabitants breed immense numbers of horses and mules, which they sell in Peru.
The native Indians are divided into numerous tribes, which inhabit the provinces, and the widespread forests and savannahs, between the Andes and the Portuguese dominions. When this country was first conquered by Benalcazar and Ximenes de Quesada, they were very numerous, and those who inhabited the ridges of the Andes were nearly as far advanced in improvement and civilization, as the Mexicans and Peruvians; from both of whom they were however totally distinct, being unknown to the former, and but recently subjugated by the latter. They defended themselves with great perseverance and resolution against the Spaniards, and it was very long before they were totally subdued.
Of all the tribes who then inhabited this country, the people of Quito and the Moscas, or Muyscas, were the most civilised and the most numerous. The traditions of the Muyscas reached to very early ages, and the most remarkable point in their history was the mysterious appearance of their great legislator Bochica, son of the Sun, who came suddenly amongst them whilst they were disputing about who should be their king. He is represented as a white man, clothed in long garments, with a venerable beard, who having patiently listened to the contending parties, advised them to choose Huncahua, which they accordingly did; and this chief subdued the country extending from the plains of San Juan, to the mountains of Opon. Bochica lived amongst them two thousand years, and then suddenly disappeared near the town called Hunca, since named by the Spaniards, Tunja. The kingdom of Huncahua was called Cundinamarca, and the ruler had the title of zaque, analogous to that of inca among the Peruvians; but the high priest who succeeded Bochica was in fact the supreme governor; and his authority has aptly been compared to that of the Tartarian Lama. The other princes, or chiefs of tributary tribes were called zippas. Bochica invented the calendar of the Muyscas, and regulated all their festival; he divided the day and night into four parts. Their week he made of three days, and the year was separated into moons; the common year consisting of twenty moons, whilst that of the priests, by which the festivals were regulated, contained thirty-seven; and twenty years formed a cycle.
The language of the Muyscas, which has been grammaticized by Bernardo de Luga, is now nearly extinct. It is called the Chibcha, and has neither the l or d; its chief characteristic being the frequent repetition of the syllables, cha, che, chu; they had words to express the ten numerals, beyond which they added the word foot, (counting by the toes in addition).
These people were sanguinary in their worship of Bochica and the gods. At the end of every fifteen years, they sacrificed a boy, who had been previously educated in the chief temple until he was fifteen. On this occasion, the priests led the victim with much ceremony to a column erected in a sacred spot, to which they bound him, and in the presence of the assembled nation, he was dispatched by the arrows of the warriors, after which, his heart was torn out, and offered on the altars of Bochica.
They appear to have known the use of a rude sort of dial, by the columns which were erected in various places, and to one of which, the boy victim was always attached; they had also attained some knowledge in sculpture, as their calendar was engraved on a stone, and other specimens of the progress they had made in this art have been occasionally found.
The ancient state of the town of Quito, and the first discoveries and settlements of the southern and eastern regions of New Granada, by Benalcazar and his followers, will be treated of under the head of the presidency of Quito.
Climate.—The climate of New Granada presents great variety; the elevated Cordillera of the Andes, and the eternal snows which cap its summits, render this country, though it lies partly under the equator, subject to all the cold of the polar regions; whilst on its low savannahs, the tropical heats are felt with all their ardour. The elevated plains between the ridges of the Andes, enjoy a temperate and unvariable climate, and it is in these delightful spots, that the European colonists have chiefly fixed their abodes.
FEATURES OF THE COUNTRY.
The great feature of the kingdom of New Granada or Santa FÉ, is that amazing range of mountains denominated the Cordillera of the Andes, which crosses the country from the south to the north, and as some of the most sublime scenes in that astonishing chain exist in this viceroyalty, a general description of the whole will be given here from the latest sources of information.
The Andes run nearly parallel to the coast of the Pacific Ocean, at the general distance of about 150 miles, and may be satisfactorily traced from the river Atrato, in 8° north latitude, on the isthmus of Panama, as far south as Cape Pilares, at the western entrance of the Straits of Magellan, in 53° south latitude, being a length of 4200 miles. Their greatest altitude is conjectured to take place nearly under the equator, where the cone of Chimborazo rises to the amazing height of 7147 yards above the level of the sea, but they insensibly decrease in elevation towards the province of Darien, and in running through the isthmus of Panama are nearly lost; after passing the province of Darien, they again begin to evince their majestic forms, and dividing North from South America, enter the province of Veragua, pass to that of Costa Rica, and through the kingdom of Guatimala, where they again attain considerable elevation, and in which they are thickly set with volcanic cones.
Leaving Guatimala, the Andes ascend through the viceroyalty of New Spain, near the capital of which, their summits are scarcely inferior to Chimborazo, and continuing their immense course, they pass the confines of New Spain by the province of New Mexico; entering a wild and unfrequented country, where the elevation of their peaks is still very great; and they are supposed finally to lose themselves in the icy ocean of the Arctic regions.
That part of the Andes which crosses New Spain and Guatimala has been already described. Three secondary chains are thrown out in the known parts of South America; the first of these is in the kingdom of New Granada; the second is known by the name of the Cordillera of the cataracts of the Orinoco; and the third is the Cordillera of Chiquitos, which province it traverses.
The first branch, or Cordillera of New Granada and Caraccas, bends eastward from the river Atrato, forming the Sierra of AbibÉ, and of Cauca, and the high plains of Tolu, and crosses the river Magdalena. It then forms a narrow chain along the coast to Cape Vela, where it separates into two parallel ridges; but joining again, and forming lofty summits, it stretches along the whole government of the Caraccas, and loses itself in the Atlantic ocean, at the cape of Paria. Its highest points are in the provinces of Santa Marta and Merida. The Nevada of the former is 16,000 feet, and that of the latter 15,000 in altitude, and their heads constantly enveloped in snow. These parallel ridges form vast plains between their summits, elevated to great heights above the sea; the plain of the Caraccas being 2660 feet in height. The greatest elevation of the chain after it crosses the boundary between New Granada and the Caraccas is near the metropolis of the latter government, where the Silla de Caraccas raises itself to the height of 8420 feet, and forms an enormous and frightful precipice fronting the Caribbean sea.
In New Granada, the main chain also separates itself into parallel ridges, three of which exist between 2° 30' and 5° 15' of north latitude. The eastern ridge divides the great river Magdalena from the plains of the Meta; none of its summits are covered with snow. The central ridge separates the Magdalena from the Rio Cauca; this is the most lofty of the three, and its most elevated peaks enter the region of eternal frost; the three highest are named Quindiu, Baragan, and Guanacas.
The western ridge separates the Rio Cauca from the province of Choco; it attains scarcely 4500 feet in altitude, and nearly loses itself in the province of Darien. These three ridges unite in the district of Pastos in Popayan, and continue single till they have far past the equator; when they again separate themselves into two parallel chains, in the province of Quito, by a valley near their summits. It is here that they are seen in their most sublime forms, Chimborazo, Pichincha, Illinissa, Antisana, and Cotopaxi ascending to the very skies, their white cones being beautifully contrasted with the dark blue of the surrounding firmament.
The second branch of the Andes, called the Cordillera of the Cataracts of the Orinoco extends itself from the great chain eastward between the 3d and 6th degrees of north latitude, where the high plains of Tuquillo and St. Martin, with the peaks of Canavami and Umama are formed; it contains the sources of the Guaviari, the Meta, Zama, and Ymerida rivers, and forms the tremendous cataracts of MaypurÉ and AturÉ; beyond these it acquires still greater elevation, and occupies an immense space, stretching southward to the boundaries of the Portuguese dominions, where it is lost in vast and nearly impenetrable tracts of woody country, over which no European ever trod, as the tribes who inhabit the region are of a ferocious and sanguinary disposition. In this gloomy country exist the sources of the magnificent Orinoco, which have never been seen, either by the civilised Indians, or the Spaniards. The chain has again been observed issuing from forests farther to the eastward; it is, however, neither so elevated nor so broad, and is called Sierra de Quineropaca and Pacaraimo, near the lake of ParimÉ and the Amazons. It again extends its breadth a few degrees further east, and bends southwards along the Mao, where the hill of Ucucuamo, which being formed of shining yellow mica, deceived the venturous travellers, who fancied they at last found a mountain of gold. From this hill, called El Dorado, or the Golden Mountain, the branch stretches eastwards towards the mountains of French Guiana, where its form is little known, as the interior of that country is inhabited by Caribs and negroes, who keep the settlers at bay. The rivers of Berbice, Surinam, Marony, and Essequibo rise in this part of the chain.
The mountain of Duida is the highest point which has yet been seen of the Cordillera of the Cataracts; this volcano has not hitherto been explored, but its height has been found to be 8465 feet above the sea.
The Cordillera of the Cataracts is remarkable for the abrupt descent of its southern face.
It is said to exhibit no rock of secondary formation, or to contain any petrifactions or organic remains, consisting only of granite, gneiss, mica, slate, and hornblende; this however applies only to the part visited by M. de Humboldt, from the Rio Negro to the frontier of the Grand Para, a distance of 600 miles.
The third great branch from the main body of the Andes, is that of Chiquitos, between the 15th and 20th degree of south latitude, which, sweeping from the main chain in a semicircular shape, traverses the province of the same name, connecting the heights of Paraguay and La Plata with those of Chili and Peru. The great rivers which fall into, and form parts of the La Plata and the Maranon, rise in this branch, but as no satisfactory accounts of it have been published, it is impracticable to give any general description of its particular properties and forms.
These branches form three immense plains between their bases, open to the southern Atlantic Ocean on the east, and shut out from the Pacific by the great trunk of the Andes on the west; the most northerly is the Savannah, or Plain of the Orinoco, noted for its luxuriant herbage, and possessing only a few scattered trees. The plain of the Amazons, or Maranon, succeeds to that of the Orinoco on the opposite side of the central branch. On this widely extended tract, forests, coeval with the soil they are nourished by, extend their gloomy and nearly impenetrable fastnesses, inhabited only by tribes of savage and wandering Indians, whose ferocity allies them to the beasts of prey which roam in every part of the savannahs of the Maranon.
The third great plain is that distinguished by the appellation of the Pampas, or the Plains of the La Plata, resembling in some measure the valley of the Orinoco, being covered with a strong and luxuriant growth of herbage, and occupied by countless herds of wild cattle, which are hunted solely for the sake of their hides, these forming one of the chief articles of the export trade of the viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres.
The mother chain of the Andes is rich beyond description in metallic productions, and furnishes several sorts of the precious stones; but with all this profusion of treasure, it contains within its bosom the materials of destruction; earthquakes of the most tremendous nature swallow whole cities, the activity of the internal fires frequently destroys entire mountains, and leaves sheets of water in their place, by which provinces are devastated, and thousands of the animal creation destroyed. Forty volcanoes have been counted from Cotopaxi to the shores of the Straits of Magellan, that discharge lava, enormous rocks, showers of ashes, great quantities of water, liquid mud, sulphur, or devastating blasts of heated air from their craters.
The most striking features of the southern Andes are these volcanic cones, whose flanks, beset with frightful crevices of immeasurable depth, are crossed by the fearless natives, by means of pendulous bridges, formed of the fibres of equinoctial plants. Over these frail and tremulous passages, the natives carry the traveller in a chair attached to their backs, and bending forward the body, they move with a swift and equal step; but when they reach the centre, the oscillation of the bridge is so great, that were they to stop, inevitable destruction must ensue; the native and his burden would be dashed to the bottom of a precipice to whose profound depth the eye can hardly reach.
These bridges are, from the nature of their materials, frequently out of repair, presenting to the shuddering European, who visits these countries, frightful chasms, over which the Indians step with undaunted confidence. Volcanoes and crevices are not the only surprising circumstances which attract the notice of the adventurous traveller; cataracts of magnificent forms are every where observed, that of Tequendama, near the city of Santa FÉ, dashing a volume of water from the plains of Bogota, through an opening in the Cordillera, to the depth of six hundred feet, into a dark and unfathomable gulf. In these mountains, the largest rivers in the world derive their sources; the La Plata, the Maranon, and the Orinoco; of which, as well as of some of the peculiar scenery of the Andes, we shall treat more at large in the local descriptions of the governments and provinces of South America, resuming the subject of the present section, we shall describe the capital of the kingdom of New Granada.
Capital.—The metropolis of the viceroyalty of Santa FÉ, or New Granada, is the city of Santa FÉ de Bogota, in north latitude 4° 6', and west longitude 78° 30', near the river Funza, or Pati. It was founded in 1538 by Ximenes de Quesada when he conquered the tribes who then inhabited this country.
Santa FÉ is situated in a spacious and luxuriant plain to the east of the great chain of the Andes, and between it and its first parallel branch; though only four degrees from the equator, the elevation of 8694 feet above the level of the sea renders its climate rather cold. The city is large, and handsomely built, containing four great squares, with wide, regular and well laid out streets. Two small rivers, the San Francisco, and San Augustin, run through the town, and join the main stream of the Funza at a short distance; over these rivulets, five handsome bridges are erected. The cathedral is a magnificent structure, and forms the chief ornament of the place, which also contains three other churches, eight convents, four nunneries, and an hospital; the university was founded in the year 1610, since which time two colleges have been endowed for public education; and a library was established in 1772. Besides the above mentioned churches, there are several others, as well as numerous chapels, all of which are tolerably well built. There is also a royal mint, several courts of justice, and state offices, necessary for the government of the viceroyalty.
The city is governed by six regidores and two alcaldes, with some subordinate officers; their jurisdiction extending over fifty-two villages in the neighbourhood, which are divided into seven districts. The inhabitants, amounting to 30,000, are in general not very wealthy, and most of them are occupied in the internal trade of the country. They are represented as possessing agreeable manners, and much good sense, combined with a considerable degree of industry; the latter quality is manifested by the appearance of the plain surrounding the city, which they take so much pains with, as to cause it to produce two harvests in the year. The elevation of this plain renders the temperature of the air so equable, that the Bogotians enjoy a perpetual spring.
The viceroy of New Grenada has a palace in Bogota, which is also the seat of the archbishopric, founded by Pope Julius III. in 1554, and the court of the royal audience of Santa FÉ. In the environs are some mines of gold, as well as of Peruvian emeralds; salt and coal are found also in considerable quantities, but the difficulty of carriage renders the latter very expensive.
The cataract of the Tequendama, by which the river Funza joins the Great Magdalena, is the most noted object in the surrounding country. The Funza or Bogota, after receiving the waters of the numerous small rivers which flow through the great plain, is about 140 feet in breadth, a short distance above the fall; approaching the crevice through which it dashes, its breadth is diminished to thirty-five, when, with accumulated force, it rushes down a perpendicular rock at two bounds, to the astonishing depth of 600 feet, into a dark, unfathomable gulf, out of which the river again issues under the name of Rio Meta, and continues its course, by an immense descent, till it joins the great river Magdalena.
In the fall of this river may be observed a strange variety of climate. The plain of Bogota is covered with crops of wheat, with oaks, elms, and other productions of a temperate region. At the foot of the fall are seen the palms of the equinoctial low-lands. The face of the rock, which finishes and borders the vast plain of Bogota, near the cataract, is so steep, that it takes three hours to descend from the river Funza to the Rio Meta; and the basin or gulf cannot be approached very close, as the rapidity of the water, the deafening noise of the fall, and dense mass of vapour, render it impossible to get nearer the edges of the abyss than four or five hundred feet. The loneliness of the spot, the dreadful noise, and the beauty of the vegetation, render this situation one of the wildest and most picturesque scenes that are to be observed in the Andes.
When Quesada first arrived at Bogota, he discovered that the inhabitants, whom we have spoken of under the name of Muyscas, were rapidly approaching to civilization. The xaque or prince was absolute; his people carried him about in a sort of palanquin, attended by his guards and courtiers; whilst flowers were strewn along the ground over which he was to pass. They never approached him but with an averted countenance, as if they imagined that he was a divinity, in whose face they dared not look.
These people subsisted chiefly by agriculture, were clothed in cotton garments, and lived in regular society. Crimes were punished by judges appointed to watch over them, and they possessed, property independent of each other, on which taxes were levied for the support of the government. They had temples, altars, priests and sacrifices, but their religion, which consisted in the adoration of the sun, moon, Bochica, his descendants, and the evil deities, was intermixed with barbarous and bloody ceremonies; they resembled the Mexicans, with whom they had no connection, in a particular point of these immolations; the heart of the living victim was torn out, and supposed to be the most grateful offering to their gods.
One of their notions of the power of Bochica, and of the formation of the moon, is singular; and as it relates to the cataract of the Tequendama, we shall give it at length.
In remote times, when the sun alone gave the earth light, and the people of the plain of Bogota were savage barbarians, an old man, totally unlike the natives, suddenly appeared amongst them from the east, with a white beard and flowing garments.
This was Bochica. He instructed them in agriculture, &c., and with him came a woman, who, as well as himself, had three names, one of which was Chia; she was very beautiful, very malevolent, and overturned every thing Bochica attempted; by her magic she swelled the rivers and overflowed the plain, so that the people, with the exception of a few, who escaped to the mountains, perished in the waters. Bochica, exasperated at her conduct, drove Chia from the earth, and she became the moon. He then, by the mighty force of his arm, broke a passage through the rocks, and constituted the fall of the Tequendama, by which means the lake formed by Chia was drained; and the plain of Bogota rendered more fertile and beautiful than it had been before.
The appearance of the plain of Bogota at this moment justifies the tradition of its having been formerly a lake; low summits appear here and there like islets; and the whole plain is rendered marshy by the numerous streams which cross it in every direction.
In the kingdom of New Granada there are two mints, one in Popayan and the other in Santa FÉ. The coinage of the capital is greater than that of Popayan; the total coined produce of the gold mines in 1801, was 455,000l.; whilst wrought gold and ingots were exported to the amount of 52,000l.; making the value of the gold found during that year 507,000l. This gold is not found by digging, although many mines with auriferous veins exist, but by washing the alluvious grounds, and is chiefly collected by negroes.
The provinces governed by the viceroy of New Granada have been already enumerated. The most northerly of these are the three which are distinguished by the name of Tierra Firme, or Terra Firma, we shall therefore commence the provincial descriptions with them.
TIERRA FIRME.
PROVINCE OF VERAGUA.
The northernmost of the provinces, which are governed by intendants, nominated by the viceroy of New Granada, under the general designation of Tierra Firme, is the province of Veragua, situated to the south of the kingdom of Guatimala, in North America. This, from its geographical situation, has been already described in the first part; it will therefore be unnecessary to repeat any observations on its history or statistics; our attention must consequently be turned to the province of Panama, on the south, or rather east of the Canatagua mountains.
PROVINCE OF PANAMA.
Panama constitutes the second province of Tierra Firme, and is sometimes called Tierra Firme Proper. The most plausible conjecture which can be formed, as to the reason of its having received this name, is, that the original explorers, having an idea that a strait existed in this part of the world, by which a communication might be had from the Atlantic to the South Sea, were, after much research, disappointed in their expectations and gave the country the name of Tierra Firme (analogous to continent.)
The province of Panama is bounded on the north by the Caribbean Sea, or Spanish Main; on the west, by the province of Veragua; east, by Darien; and on the south, by the Pacific Ocean.
Of the discoveries of this country, we have already spoken. Tello de Guzman, in 1513, is said to have given the country the name of Panama, from having observed the natives engaged in fishing; the word denoting a place abounding in fish.
Climate, &c.—The climate of Panama is hot, as may be well supposed, from its situation, the greatest heat being felt in the months of August, September, and October, when it is almost insupportable; the brisas, or trade winds, and the continual rains, ameliorate the excessive heats during the other months; but at the same time render the climate very unpleasant.
The soil of Panama is prolific, abundantly producing the tropical fruits and plants.
Great part of the country is still covered with thick forests, and the land between the two seas consists generally of abrupt and broken chains of mountains, one of which chains, the Sierra de Canatagua, on the borders of Panamo and Veragua, divides North from South America. On the tops of these craggy mountains, the land is sterile and uninhabited; the cities, settlements, plantations, and Indian villages, being mostly along the shores of the two oceans.
The trade of Panama consists in its relations with Veragua, and the ports of Peru and New Granada. From these it is supplied with cattle, maize, wheat and poultry; its exports are of no great importance or value. From Carthagena European goods are received, for which mahogany, cedar and other woods, with gums and balsams, are exchanged. The pearl fishery here is at present of little importance; it was anciently carried on amongst the small islands in the bay of Panama, and was very lucrative; an endeavour has lately been made to re-establish it, but hitherto without any beneficial results.
Part of the European trade of the western shore of South America is carried on by way of Panama and Porto Bello; but since the galleons were disallowed, the trade of these two cities has been comparatively trifling.
The mines of Panama produce so little gold or silver, that they are supposed not to answer the expence of working.
The river Chagre is the principal stream in this province, and may be called the high road of Panama, being used as the means of communication between the eastern shore and the capital. It takes its rise in the mountains near Cruces, which place is about five leagues from Panama; the Chagre has a considerable descent, but is nevertheless navigable for boats up to Cruces; its velocity is about three miles an hour; therefore the ascent from the coast is rather fatiguing.
The breadth of this river is about a quarter of a mile at the mouth, and 150 feet at Cruces; it requires four or five days to ascend it when the waters are not very high. The distance from the estuary to Cruces, the last navigable point in a straight line, is not above 36 miles; but the river winding frequently increases this length. If the water passage is counted, the sinuosities make it 43 miles, reckoning from Fort St. Lorenzo, which defends the entrance. It is by means of this river that a communication between the two oceans has been argued to be possible; the ascent from Cruces where the river is first navigable, towards the summit of the mountains is rapid for a short space, after which there is a gentle descent the whole way to the South Sea.
In the river Chagre are seen numberless caymans or aligators; they are observed either in the water or on the banks, but on account of the thorny shrubs and thick underwood, cannot be pursued on shore. On the borders of this stream, the luxuriancy of the soil is such, that the trees stand so thick, as to render it very difficult to penetrate the forests. The barks which navigate the stream are formed of those trees which grow nearest the water; some of which are so large, as to measure twelve feet in breadth. These forests are plentifully stocked with all sorts of wild animals peculiar to the torrid regions, among which, are innumerable tribes of monkeys. Many of these creatures are caught for food by the negroes and natives. To prepare this dish, the body is scalded in order to remove the hair; and after this operation has been performed, it has the exact appearance of a young dead child, and is so disgusting, that no one, excepting those pressed by hunger, could partake of the repast. It is not at all improbable, that many savage nations who have been accused of cannibalism, have been very unjustly charged with it; for according to Ulloa, the appearance of the monkey of Panama, when ready to be cooked, is precisely that of a human body.
The peacock, the turtle-dove, the heron, and various other sorts of beautiful birds, frequent the forests of the Chagre and of Panama, and the country is dreadfully infested with reptiles, insects, &c.
The province of Panama contains three cities, twelve villages, and numerous settlements of converted Indians. The capital is Panama, a city and sea-port, built near the bottom of a large bay of the Pacific which bears the same name. From this city, the isthmus of Darien has frequently taken its appellation; but at present is indifferently styled the isthmus of Panama, or of Darien. It stands in 9° 0' 30 north latitude, and 79° 19' west longitude. Tello de Gusman gave the country its name from this spot. In 1518, Pedro Arias de Avila, governor of Tierra Firme, settled a colony here, and in 1521, it was constituted a city by the Emperor Charles the Fifth. In 1670, it was sacked and burnt by Morgan, an English adventurer, who had already reduced Porto Bello and Maracaybo; he debarked at the mouth of the Chagre, reducing the fort there after an obstinate defence, and ascending the river, landed again at Cruces and marched to Panama, where after several skirmishes, he entered the city; the inhabitants flying to the woods. Soon after he left the place it was burnt down, but whether by accident or design is not known. The inhabitants resolved to rebuild the town at about a league and a half distance from where it first stood, and in a more convenient situation. It was then enclosed with a regular stone rampart; the houses were chiefly of wood with tiled roofs, having but one story, but of a very handsome appearance; and outside of the walls was a large suburb. In 1737, a fire commenced in a house where tar, naptha, and brandy, were stored; the devouring element was so rapid in its progress, that the city of Panama was entirely consumed in a very short time, with the exception of the suburb, which was saved, it being totally detached from the town. Panama was rebuilt shortly afterwards a second time, and the inhabitants having excellent quarries in the vicinity, erected their houses chiefly of stone; but it suffered again from fire in 1756, and in 1784 it was nearly destroyed by another dreadful conflagration.
The governor of Panama was formerly captain-general of Tierra Firme, and president of a court of royal audience, which has lately been removed to Santa FÉ de Bogota. The city of Panama is the see of a bishop, who is subject to the control of the archbishop of Lima; but as he receives no tithes, is paid out of the royal coffers. A municipal council governs the district of the city; a treasury, custom-house, &c. are established there, and when the galleons came from Lima, Panama, and Porto Bello, might be said to have been the Acapulco and Vera Cruz of South America.
The cathedral is a handsome edifice of stone, as are the churches, convents, monasteries, and an excellent hospital.
The streets are broad and paved, both in the city and its suburbs, but the houses of the suburbs are mostly of wood, intermixed with thatched huts. Such is the spirit of trade of this place, that every person is engaged in bartering. The people of Panama, have a disagreeable drawling method of speaking, and appear as if they were overcome by the great heat of the climate; they nevertheless are really healthy, and live in general to a good age.
One of the favourite articles of food among the lower classes, and much used with the higher, is an amphibious animal of the lizard tribe, called the guana, about three feet long, of a yellowish green colour, having a bright yellow belly, with strong claws on its toes, its back covered with thin scales, and a serrated ridge running along the superior surface of the body and tail. It lays from fifty to sixty eggs, as large as those of a pigeon, which are esteemed great delicacies; these eggs are attached to each other by a fine membrane, and form a string or chaplet. The flesh, when dressed, is as white as that of a chicken, and greatly resembles it in taste; it is served with lime-juice, cayenne-pepper, or other high sauces.
Panama is now only remarkable for its fine bay, which is studded with islands; and amongst these is formed the road where the ships from the southern ports anchor in safety, particularly before the islands of Perico, Naos, and Flamingos; the distance of this road is two and a-half, or three leagues from the town.
The tide rises and falls from thirteen to sixteen feet at Panama, whilst at Porto Bello, the flux and reflux amounts to only as many inches. The Bay of Panama is famous for the pearl oyster, and the shoals near the islands del Rey, Tabago, and about forty others which form a small archipelago, formerly produced pearls as fine as could be procured in any part of the world. On these islands, huts were built for the divers, who were mostly negroes, and boats holding from eight to ten people, went out to the banks, which were not more than fifteen fathoms under water. The divers, provided with a rope tied to their bodies, and a small weight attached, plunged into the ocean; on arriving at the bottom, they seized a shell in the left hand, which they put under the arm, a second in the same hand, a third in the right, and sometimes one in the mouth; they then re-ascended to breathe and to put the fish in a bag.
In this practice, the unfortunate slaves were frequently destroyed by the sharks, mantas, &c. The manta is a large, flat fish of great size, which wraps its fins round the object it seizes, and presses it to death. The negroes usually carry a knife to defend themselves, but notwithstanding this protection, as well as that of their comrades in the boats, numbers were annually devoured by these horrid fish.
The Isla del Rey, was first discovered by Pizarro; it was for a long time inhabited during the fishery, but whether it is or not at present, is not known.
The next city of importance in this province is Porto Bello, or Puerto Bello, on the shores of the Caribbean sea, or Spanish main, in north latitude 10° 27', and west longitude 79° 26'. The harbour of Porto Bello, as its name, (Fine Port,) indicates, is an excellent one, and was first discovered by Columbus, on the 2d of November 1502, who was so charmed with it, that he gave it the name it now bears.
The town of Porto Bello was founded by order of Philip II., who directed the settlers at Nombre de Dios, or Bastimentos, to remove to this spot in 1584, on account of its admirable situation for the commerce of the country; it stands near the sea, on the side of a mountain which embraces the harbour.
The entrance of the harbour is defended by a castle, called Todo Hierro, or all Iron, on the north point, where the channel is about three-quarters of a mile broad. The south side is covered with dangerous shoals, so that vessels are obliged to keep near the castle; and opposite to the anchoring ground on the south side, is another fort, called Castillo de la Gloria, between which and the town, a point of land projects into the basin, on which formerly stood Fort St. Jerome. Opposite to the town on the north-west, is another small and perfectly secure bay, where vessels are careened.
The whole town and harbour being surrounded with high land, renders it a very safe place for shipping, particularly as this part of the Spanish main is subject to terrible storms. The mountains in the neighbourhood are of such an elevation, that one of them, called Monte Capiro, is constantly covered with thick dark clouds on its summit.
A small river which discharges itself into the harbour near the town, is salt to the distance of a quarter of a league from its estuary; this river is called the Cascajal.
The country in the neighbourhood of Porto Bello is very thinly inhabited; a few farms are found in the valleys, but the mountains are covered with thick and impenetrable forests, tenanted solely by wild animals.
The climate of this city is very unhealthy, as the heat is excessive, owing to the stagnation of the air by the wall of mountains enveloping the harbour. The humid exhalations from the forests cause frequent rains, which, though of short duration, pour down with astonishing violence. The nights are as suffocating as the days, accompanied with torrents of rain, bursts of thunder, and flashes of lightning, which fill the mind of an European on his first arrival with dread and horror. The caverns in the adjacent rocks re-echo the percussions of the thunders, and add to the dreadful noise, which is accompanied by the howlings of animals, particularly the monkeys.
The natives, as well as the Europeans, are carried off in great numbers by the fevers generated by the unhealthiness of the air, and it is this which will ever prevent Porto Bello from becoming a large city; no one living here, but those engaged in government offices, or in trade.
It is supplied with provisions from Carthagena, and fish of every quality are caught in the bay. Its manufactures are unimportant; but there are some sugar-houses in the town, where an inconsiderable quantity of that article is made. The great luxury at Porto Bello consists in the numerous streams of fresh water which pour down from the hills into the town; they are said however to be unwholesome, and to produce dysentery, if too freely used. Little reservoirs are formed here and there, shaded by trees, and in these the inhabitants bathe themselves every day.
Jaguars, and other animals, are said to enter Porto Bello during the night, and to carry off any domestic animals they meet with. They are slain in the woods by the negroes and Indians, who hunt them for the sake of a trifling reward, which is paid on their destruction.
The sloth is an animal very common in the vicinity of this city. Its habits are well known. Serpents of every deadly nature are extremely numerous. Frogs and toads are seen in such numbers after the showers, that the natives say every drop of water is changed into one of those nauseous animals. The country about Porto Bello, resembles in this instance the British settlements in some parts of North America, where toads and frogs cover the land after any humidity.
The city of Porto Bello is also called San Felipe de Puerto Bello; it consists of one principal street, extending along the shore, and crossed by several others up the side of the mountain. In it are two squares, two churches, two convents, a custom-house, and some other public buildings; at the east end of the town, in the quarter called Guinea, are the habitations of the free and enslaved negroes.
Formerly, when the galleons were permitted, this place had an annual fair, and was then excessively crowded with people. The houses at present are chiefly of wood with a few of stone, and the better sort do not amount to 150. This city is sixty miles north of Panama, and its climate is said to have been wonderfully improved by a cut which has been lately made through a neighbouring hill to admit a current of air. The governor, Don Vincente Emparan, has also levelled great part of the forests which formerly reached to the very gates of the town.
Sir Francis Drake took this place in 1596, and died in a subsequent voyage in its harbour.
When Porto Bello was taken and plundered by John Morgan, the town was ransomed for a large sum, which prevented his burning it.
In 1739, Admiral Vernon with six ships entered the harbour and made himself master of the place, after demolishing the forts. He afterwards bombarded Carthagena, and took Fort Chagre, near the mouth of the river of that name.
The population of Porto Bello is inconsiderable, being chiefly negroes and mulattoes, with about thirty white families, and the garrisons of the forts.
The third city of Panama is St. Jago de Nata de los Cavalleros, or Nata, so named from the Prince, or cacique, who reigned over this part of the province when it was explored in 1515 by Alonzo Perez de la Rua.
It is situated near the extremity of the Canataguan chain, fifty miles south-west of Panama, in north latitude 8° 35', and west longitude 81° 6', in a bay on the borders of the Pacific, which extends to the island Iguenas; it was founded by Gaspar de Espinosa, but the Indians burnt and plundered it shortly after its first erection; he again rebuilt it with the title of city.
At present it is a large place, the houses of which are built of unburnt bricks and mud. The inhabitants are a mixture of Spaniards and Indians; near it is a town called Los Santos, which has been built by people from Nata, for the sake of the excellent soil in its vicinity, on which they have formed extensive plantations.
The population of this town is greater than that of the city of Nata, and also consist of Spaniards and Indians.
In the province of Panama, there are many villages, and farms, some of which are inhabited by the Europeans and their descendants, and others by the Indians who have been converted.
PROVINCE OF DARIEN.
The third and last province of Tierra Firme is that of Darien, bounded on the north by the Spanish Main, or Caribbean Sea, on the east by Carthagena, west by Panama, and south by the Pacific Ocean, and the province of Choco.
Darien is one of the largest provinces of Terra Firma; it is about 200 miles long and 80 broad, but is very thinly inhabited, and that almost wholly by the native tribes. The unhealthiness of the climate and the impenetrable forests preventing the formation of European settlements.
The valleys in Darien are so marshy, from the overflowing of the numerous rivers that the savages build their habitations in the branches of high trees. These rivers are in many parts very large, but most of them are not navigable, owing to the shoals, bars, and rapids in which they abound; most of them, however, roll down grains of gold.
A small fort which protects the gold mines of Cana is the principal station of the Spaniards on the frontiers of Choco; its garrison is sent from Panama every month. Santa Maria el Antigua del Darien was the first settlement of the Spaniards on the Atlantic coast, but as it did not flourish, it was soon abandoned.
The chief products of this province are cotton and tobacco; it may, however, be said to be now wholly in the power of the natives, who are scattered over the whole country, and amount to about 30,000 souls, with whom the Spaniards have been frequently at war, but have as yet gained no sensible advantages. In 1786, the viceroy of New Granada sent a formidable expedition against them, but the troops being unable to bear the inclemency of the climate, the army returned to Bogota without effecting any thing.
The gulf of Darien which is the mouth of the Rio Atrato, or rather a large arm of the sea, is the most important part of the northern coast, and contains several islands of considerable size. The river Atrato though very wide, has many shoals at its mouth, yet serves to export much of the internal produce of some of the settlements in the neighbouring provinces; its mouth is a noted smuggling station, where European goods are exchanged for the gold of Choco.
The capital is Santa Cruz de Cana, which we have mentioned; it was formerly a very considerable place, and there were nine other towns or missions, with several farms and hamlets, but most of these have been abandoned, owing to the ferocity of the Indians, and other causes. The Scotch once endeavoured to form a permanent settlement in this country; a company was chartered at Edinburgh, called the Scots Darien Company in 1695. In 1698 they fitted out a small armament, in the vessels of which were embarked a numerous body of colonists, with a governor, &c. and arriving on the Isthmus, they formed a settlement in a fine port on the north-west shore, in north latitude 9° 30', west longitude 77° 36', to which they gave the name of New Caledonia. Here several families were settled, but the Spanish government being alarmed, the British court refusing to acknowledge this act, and the success of the adventurers becoming daily greater, a force was sent against them, by which means they were ejected from the country in the latter end of the year 1699, or beginning of 1700.
PROVINCE OF CARTHAGENA.
The next province of New Granada, in passing eastward from Tierra Firme, is Carthagena, so named from its capital: it is bounded on the north by the Spanish main, east by the great river Magdalena, south by the province of Antioquia, and west by the river and province of Darien. Its extent from east to west may be computed at fifty-three leagues, and from north to south at eighty-five.
This space is covered with mountains, savannahs and forests. The great plains or savannahs are those named Zinu, Zamba, Tolu, Mompox, Barancas, &c., all of which are highly fruitful valleys between the ridges of the hills. The settlements of the Europeans and natives are chiefly on the coast, or in these valleys; the hills and rivers are supposed to have formerly furnished much gold, with which a trade was carried on with the neighboring countries; and gold is said to have been so plentiful, that the natives were always ornamented with trinkets composed of that metal.
The soil of this province is very luxuriant, especially near the capital where it produces every thing in the greatest plenty. The trees attain an immense bulk, and form by their shades, pleasing retreats from the scorching rays of the sun. The mahogany or acajou, of which the canoes of the natives are formed, the white and red cedar, the maria, the balsam tree which yields an oil, the celebrated balsam of Tolu (so called from a town where it is gathered), the tamarind, the medlar, the sapote, papayo or papaw, guayubo, cassia, palm, and manÇanillo, are a few of the species whose wood, fruit or sap, are so precious. The manÇanillo derives its name from the Spanish word manÇan, an apple, the fruit resembling the European apple in shape, colour and taste, but is of a poisonous nature; the juice of this tree is so acrid, that it blisters the skin of those employed in felling it, and it is reckoned dangerous to remain under its shade after a shower, as the droppings of its leaves have the same caustic quality.
The palms are of many different species, and form, by their broad and spreading leaves, elevated on lofty trunks, the great beauty of the scenery; of these, the produce is chiefly cocoa-nuts, dates and palm wine. The sensitive plant grows to the height of a foot and a half in the woods of Carthagena.
In its vast forests numerous tribes of wild animals are found; of these the jaguar or tiger, and the American leopard are very destructive to the cattle and domestic animals; the former grows to an amazing size, and is extremely ferocious; wild boars, foxes, armadilloes, squirrels, deer, rabbits and monkeys are produced in great plenty, most of which are eaten by the Indians and negroes whenever they catch them. The cattle and swine of this province are very numerous; their flesh, when salted, forms the principal article of commerce and of food.
Wild geese are caught in the lakes by means of an entertaining stratagem; in the places they frequent, the Indians put calabashes or gourds, which constantly floating on the surface of the water, cause no alarm to the geese, and when they are sufficiently accustomed to see them, the Indian gets into the water at a distance from the flock with a gourd over his head; he then advances amongst them, and draws them by the legs under the surface, until he has procured as many as he wants.
The birds of this province are both numerous and beautiful; amongst them the toucan with its large bill, the gallinazo vulture, which clears the country of all carcases or offensive matter, and the guacamayo or macaw, with its beautiful plumage and disagreeable voice, are the most singular.
Bats are so numerous in the city that they cover the streets in an evening in clouds, and there is not a house in which these nocturnal birds are not found. Of these the most formidable is the vampyre, which, according to the authority of Ulloa and other travellers, has been known to suck the blood of a sleeping person, at the same time fanning its victim with its broad wings.
The insects and reptiles peculiar to the climate are as numerous as the birds and beasts. Of these the centipede, the scorpion, the spider; and amongst the serpents, the rattle snake, the dart, and the dreadful corales, or coral snakes, are the most venomous, the bite of the latter being rarely cured. Whilst the feet of the pedestrian are insecure from the attacks of these dreadful creatures, his face is exposed to the venom of the mosquitoes, which attain a great size, and are exceeding troublesome.
The beds of the inhabitants of Carthagena are surrounded with gauze curtains to protect the sleeper from these insects, but this is unavailing; for another and almost imperceptible enemy creeps in through the threads, and annoys any part of the body which may be exposed; these are called manta blancas, or white cloaks (by their forming a cloud in the air of that colour); they cause no other pain than an intolerable itching.
The pique is also another disagreeable insect of this country, which penetrates the skin of the feet or hands, and causes intolerable pain; this animal it well known in the West Indies under the name of jigger, or chigoe.
Goods which belong to the merchants of Carthagena are frequently destroyed in a short time by a sort of moth, which perforates, in a single night, through and through the finest bales of cloth, linen, silks or laces; the only way they have of preventing this is to place them on benches away from the walls, and to smear the feet or supports with naptha.
The country produces neither wheat nor barley, but maize and rice in great plenty. Of the maize they form a kind of bread called bollo, which is used by the natives and Europeans; the negroes make greater use of the cassava bread, made from roots; in fact it is their chief food; whilst the opulent families use the flour of European wheat, imported from Spain. Sugar-cane plantations are very common, and rum is distilled in small quantities. The cotton-tree is cultivated, and the cacao of Carthagena is said to excel that of the Caraccas, both in its size and goodness.
Besides melons, grapes, oranges, dates, and fruits of other climes; the pine-apple, the plantain, banana, papaws, yams, mameis, sapotes, &c., grow here in great luxuriance, and afford, during the whole year, a great part of the nourishment of the people. The banana is a fruit something resembling in shape and appearance a cucumber; they are roasted, sliced, and served with brandy and sugar. The papaws resemble a lemon with a green rind, very juicy, and of a gentle acid taste. This fruit grows on a tree. The banana and plantain, like the pine-apple, are the produce of a shrub.
The guanabana resembles a melon in appearance and taste, but grows on a tree; the sapote is round, and about two inches in circumference, with a loose thin rind of a brown colour streaked with red; the inside of a bright red, and containing a little juice of a viscid nature; but as this fruit consists in its edible parts of many tough fibres, it is far from excellent. The mameis are of the same colour with the sapotes, only rather lighter; their rind adheres more firmly; they also contain a hard stone, and are in taste not unlike a plum.
The sutiles, or limes, are well known; their chief use is in cooking, the meat used by the settlers being always soaked in their juice, if intended to be roasted, or the juice is put into the water, if it is to be boiled; by which means the flesh is so softened, that it can be thoroughly done in an hour at farthest.
The country abounds in tamarinds, and produces all the other fruits common to the West Indies.
The want of oil is felt occasionally in Carthagena, as well as that of wine, when the supply from Spain does not arrive at the expected times. The inhabitants always make use of tallow-candles instead of lamps, and hogs'-lard for most of the things which oil and butter are required for. The tables of the higher classes are served with great splendour.
The inhabitants of this class usually make two meals a day, and a slight repast. Their breakfast generally consists of fried meats, pastry made of maize-flour, with chocolate. The dinner is of a more substantial nature, consisting of several meats, birds, &c., all of which they season highly with pimento; fruits and wines finish that meal, whilst at night, the regale consists only of sweetmeats and chocolate.
The Magdalena and the Cauca are the most important rivers in this province; but the great river Magdalena, dividing the province of Carthagena from that of Santa Marta, we shall have occasion to mention it more particularly in the description of the latter province. The Cauca flows partly through Carthagena, and joins the Magdalena below Mompox.
This country was first discovered by Rodrigo de Bastidas, who in 1502 visited the bay and coast, then called Caramari by the natives; in 1504, Juan de la Cosa, and Cristoval Guerra, began the war against the Indians, whose martial disposition afforded insurmountable obstacles to the conquest of the country; even the women fought against the invaders; their arms were poisoned arrows, so that the slightest wound proved fatal.
Alonzo de Ojeda, and Juan de la Cosa, again attacked these devoted people, but made no impression; they were followed by Gregorio Hernandez de Oviedo, who met with the same fortune; Don Pedro de Heredia, at last undertook the conquest of this country, and after meeting with some reverses, finally subdued the Indians in the year 1533, when he established the city of Carthagena.
The small ridge of the Andes which divides the bed of the Magdalena from the river of Darien, or Atrato, loses itself in this province; it is no-where of any great elevation.
The capital of the province is Carthagena, situated on a small peninsula, or sandy island, joined to some others and the continent by two artificial necks of land, the broadest of which is about seventy yards wide. This city stands in north latitude 10° 26' 35, and in west longitude 75° 26' 45.
The suburb, which is almost as large as the city itself, is placed on an island near the town, and has communication with it by means of a bridge. This suburb is called Xexemani, and is surrounded as well as the city with strong fortifications of freestone, built in the modern manner: at a small distance from the town on the main land, on a hill which commands both the fortifications, is a strong fort called St. Lorzaro; this hill is near 150 feet in height, and communicates with several others towards the east, which are still more elevated; they terminate in a mountain 552 feet above the sea, on the summit of which is the convent of the Augustins called Nuestra Senora de la Popa. From this place there is a most delightful prospect over an immense tract of country.
The bay of Carthagena is one of the largest, as well as one of the best on the whole coast; it extends two leagues and a-half from north to south, has capital anchorage, and being completely landlocked, is so smooth, that vessels ride as if they were on a river; the only fault of this bay, but which constitutes its chief defence, are numerous shoals near its entrance; these render it necessary to secure a good pilot in coming in. The entrance to it was formerly a considerable distance to the south of the city, through the strait of Bocca Chica, (or narrow mouth,) but since the attempt of Admiral Vernon on this port, the pass has been filled up, and a more commodious one, which formerly existed, has again been opened close to the place, and strongly fortified. Carthagena Bay abounds with fish and excellent turtles; and sharks are so numerous, as to render bathing highly dangerous.
The climate of the city and its environs is exceeding hot during the whole year; the season called winter, lasts from May to November, during which time there is a continued succession of storms, thunder, lightning and rain, which falls in such torrents, that the streets look like rivers; there is, however, an advantage attending this dreadful season, for as there is no good fresh water in the vicinity, the cisterns and tanks are then filled for the supply of the remaining months; from December to April, the weather is fine, and there are no rains, the heat is also somewhat abated by the north-east winds, which blow during those months.
This heat is so great during the rains, that the people have a livid wan complexion, and appear sluggish and worn-out on the least exertion. This is, however, only in appearance, for they enjoy in general, good health, and live to an advanced age, when not cut off by the disorders incident to the climate, some of which generally attack the Europeans on their first landing, and others are peculiar to the natives; the vomito prieto, or black vomit, is sometimes as fatal in its progress as it is at Vera Cruz, carrying off whole families.
The inhabitants of Carthagena are also very subject to the leprosy; to prevent the spreading of which, they have an hospital, in which persons suffering under that disorder are confined for life, with every accommodation that can be afforded them.
The city and suburbs are well laid out, the streets being straight, broad and well paved; the houses are chiefly of stone, and of one story above the ground-floor, with balconies in front; instead of windows they have lattices after the Spanish fashion. There is a handsome cathedral and several churches, convents and monasteries. The population is estimated at 25,000; of these, the descendants from the Indian tribes who occupy the suburbs, form by far the greater portion; the rest are Chapetones, or Europeans, who seldom remain here, if they acquire a fortune sufficient to enable them to return to Spain; they are the most opulent persons in the city.
White Creoles, or descendants of Spaniards born in the country, possess all the landed property, and have large estates in the province; the mulattoes, and descendants from negroes, Indians and whites, form the labouring classes.
Negroes are the slaves, but some of them from the law established in their favour, are from time to time enfranchised; they wear no other dress than a cotton covering about the waist. The dress of the whites is similar to that worn in Spain, only of lighter materials; whilst the other classes affect the same style of clothing. The opulent females pass their days swinging in cotton hammocks, and the women of all the castes are noted for their charity to suffering strangers, and are of a mild amiable disposition. The men are celebrated for their acuteness, and the early maturity of their faculties; and their facility in acquiring the mechanical arts is very great. Drinking brandy and chocolate, smoking cigars, and eating sweetmeats, are the prevalent luxuries, intermixed with a great fondness for dancing.
The governor, and the bishop of Carthegena reside in this city, and there is a court of inquisition which has cognisance of all religious matters in the provinces north of Quito. Besides these, there are various public offices for the receipt of customs, &c. The city enjoys a great trade with the interior, and by means of its port, with Spain, the West Indies, and other parts of the world.
The goods of Santa FÉ de Bogota, Popayan, and Quito, are mostly transmitted to it; and Carthagena, from its advantageous situation, will most probably be a city of the first importance in Spanish America.
It has suffered since the year 1544, when it first became a place of note, from the attacks of European powers. It was then invaded by some French adventurers in 1585, and was pillaged and almost destroyed by Sir Francis Drake; but was rescued from the flames by a ransom paid by the neighbouring colonies. The French again pillaged it in 1597 under M. de Pointis and the Buccaneers. In 1741, Admiral Vernon and General Wentworth attacked Fort Bocca Chica, which was taken after eleven days siege, when they sailed up the bay, after removing all the obstructions in the channel with considerable difficulty; they destroyed several of the forts, and the enterprize was abandoned. It has lately been the scene of some actions between the insurgents and royalists.
The exports of this city, including that of the neighbouring ports of Santa Marta, Rio Hacha, and Porto Bello, which have all the most intimate connection with each other, without including the gold and silver, reaches annually to the value of 260,000l. in cotton, sugar, indigo, brazil-wood, cinchona of New Granada, balm of Tolu, and ipecacuanha; whilst the imports amount, in European goods, to the value of 866,000l. The towns of Carthagena are generally small; those of most note are,—
Mompox, in 9° 19' north latitude, 74° 11' west longitude, which is the most important town of Carthagena, next to its capital, and is situated on the Magdalena, 110 miles south-south-east of Carthagena, with a custom-house and fine quay built very high, on account of the periodical rises of the river in December, the floods then extending twelve or thirteen feet higher than its usual level. Mompox is about seven leagues above the confluence of the rivers Magdalena and Cauca.
Tolu, a small sea-port town, having a convenient harbour on the Spanish main, or gulf of Uraba, in 9° 32' north latitude, 75° 30' west longitude. In the environs of this town are found the trees which produce the balsam of Tolu, so excellent in pectoral complaints. Tolu is fifty miles south of Carthagena.
St. Sebastian de Buenavista, was formerly a town of much importance, but now decayed; it is situated 140 miles south-south-west of Carthagena, at the entrance of the Gulf of Darien.
Barancas, or Baranca del Malambo, a small sea-port near the estuary of the great river Magdalena, with a good harbour. This place has some commerce with the neighbouring ports, being a sort of magazine for the goods coming down the river from the interior; a branch of the river leading to Santa Marta, by which merchandize is transported thither. The principal article of its export consists in salt, plenty of which is procured close to the town. Barancas is twenty-five miles from Carthagena, in 11° 40' north latitude, and 74° 30' west longitude.
Santa Maria, thirty-two miles west of Carthagena.
Puebla de Samba or Zamba, and Zinu are sea-ports in the great gulf of Darien, noted for the fertility of the country which surrounds them.
Guamoco, on the southern boundaries of the province, thirty-five miles north of Santa FÉ de Antioquia; and—
The village of Turbaco, which is known from the circumstances of its being the resort of Europeans, who, arriving at Carthagena, find the summer heats too oppressive. This village, which is small, is situated a short distance inland from the capital, on the summit of a mountain nearly 980 feet above the level of the sea, at the entrance of a majestic forest of immense extent. The houses are built of bamboos, covered with palm leaves, and are plentifully supplied with water from numerous springs. The gardens are ornamented with beautiful trees and plants, and the whole place is so delightfully situated, and the air in general so cool, that it may be termed the paradise of Carthagena. It is also renowned for a singular marsh in its neighbourhood, which is embosomed amid a forest of palms, tolu trees, &c., having some little conical mounts rising twenty or thirty feet higher than the level of the swamp. They are eighteen or twenty in number, each one is formed of blackish clay, and has a small crater filled with water at its apex.
On approaching this pool a hollow moaning sound is heard at intervals, followed in fifteen or eighteen seconds, by an explosion of gas. Five of these detonations happen in about two minutes, frequently accompanied with an ejection of muddy water. These cones are called Los Volcanitos de Turbaco, and are situated about three miles and a half east of the village, at the elevation of more than 160 feet above it. The people say that the plain formerly sent forth flames, but that a priest of great sanctity, succeeded by frequently casting holy water towards it, in extinguishing the fire, after which it became a water volcano.
PROVINCE OF SANTA MARTA.
The province of Santa Marta is divided from that of Carthagena by the great river Magdalena; it is bounded on the north by the Spanish Main, or Caribbean sea; on the east by Maracaybo, and the Rio de la Hacha, on the south by Santa FÉ, and west by Carthagena; its extent is about 300 miles, whilst its breadth is only 200.
The discovery of this country dates from the third voyage of Columbus in 1497, when he explored the coast of the Spanish Main to Cape Vela.
This province was included in the grant made to Alonzo de Ojeda, his patent giving him authority over all the country situated between the Gulf of Darien, and Cape de la Vela, consequently including Darien, Carthagena, Santa Marta, and Maracaybo; these were then designated under the general name of New Andalusia.
His predecessor, Rodrigo de Bastidas, was as unfortunate as himself, for in 1524 he was murdered in his bed, by Pedro de Villaforte, one of his companions, because he would not allow his soldiers to plunder a certain Indian town. Pedro de Lugo, and his son Don Alfonso, succeeded Bastidas, but committed such crimes, that their authority soon ended.
The first regular system of government on this coast, was that of Pedro Arias de Avila, in 1514, but as no colonies were planted by him in Santa Marta, we must pass to that of Villaforte, which we have just mentioned; and as he proved unsuccessful, to that of Don Ximenes de Quesada, the conqueror of New Granada, who made this province the rallying place of his troops.
The climate is not so unhealthy or hot as that of Carthagena; the heat being moderated by the winds, which blow over the cold mountains of the Sierra de Abibe, and the Nevada of Santa Marta, whose summits reach far beyond the lower term of perpetual congelation.
The whole country of Santa Marta is full of lofty and impracticable mountains, which form part of the branch of the Caraccas; it produces some cotton, tobacco, palm wine, cacao, Brazil-wood, sugar, vanilla and maize, and a peculiar tree, whose unctuous leaves afford a substance used by the natives, as soap.
The mines are of very little importance; some gold is found in the river Ariguana, ninety miles from the capital; and at the village of Ocana copper ores are dug up.
The pearl fishery was formerly carried on at Carrizal, about forty miles east of the chief city, and was very productive. It is still followed on different parts of the coast, and yields some excellent pearls; but the undertaking appears to be badly conducted.
The valleys feed immense quantities of cattle, which are killed and salted for exportation; some mules are also reared.
The great features of the province of Santa Marta are the enormous height of its mountains, the most elevated of which is 16,000 feet above the level of the Caribbean sea, from which it is visible, and it is said to discharge streams of boiling sulphureous water from the crevices in its sides.
Long and very narrow vales, covered with thick forests, are formed by the Cordillera of Santa Marta; these vales usually run from north to south; at Cape Vela the mountains divide into two parallel ridges, forming three other valleys, ranging from east to west, and appearing to have been the beds of ancient lakes. The northern of these two ridges is the continuation of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta; and the southern that of the snowy summits of the province of Merida; they are again united by two arms, which prevented to all appearance, the issue of the waters in their vicinity. These three valleys extend to an immense distance, and are remarked for rising like steps one above the other, and for their elevation above the sea; that of Caraccas, the most easterly is the highest, being 2660 feet; the next, or basin of Aragua, is 1530; and the third, the reedy plain of Monai, or the Llanos, is only 5 or 600 feet above the level of the sea. The water of the lake of the plain of Caraccas has been drained through a cleft or crevice, called the Quebrada of Tipe; and the lake of Aragua appears to have gradually evaporated, leaving only ponds charged with muriate of lime, and small insulated masses of land.
The Rio Grande de la Magdalena, is a majestic navigable river, but of which there is at present very little known; for although M. Bouguer, the celebrated mathematician, travelled along the greater part of its banks, he has left a very imperfect memorial on the subject: it is said to rise about thirty miles east of Popayan, near the sources of the Cauca, in 8 degrees south latitude; and after a northerly course of immense length, receives the latter river, with which it has flowed in nearly a parallel line on the opposite side of the same chain of mountains. The river Funza or Bogota, after quitting the fall of the Tequendama, rushes with impetuosity through a long course into the bosom of this fine river, which also receives many others, and united with the Cauca, near Mompox, pours the confluent waters into the Caribbean sea by several branches, the great or main channel being in 11° north latitude, and 74° 40' west longitude.
The Magdalena is subject to overflow in the month of December, at which time it rises thirteen or fourteen feet above the usual level at its mouth, and inundates and fertilizes the adjacent lands; thus the country near the ocean is a succession of extensive marshes, famous for the fine cacao produced in them.
The mountains bordering this river near Honda, are remarkable for the horizontal situations of their strata, which are clearly seen, on account of the faces of the rocks being so perpendicular as to resemble walls; when any of these hills are insulated, they form such a regular cone, and the strata are so uniformly and cylindrically disposed, that they seem rather the work of art than of nature. One of these exists about a league from Honda, on the road to Mariquita, and is of such an extraordinary shape, and so symmetrical, that M. Bouguer forbears describing it minutely, for fear of being thought to take the usual liberty imputed to travellers. Other mountains in the vicinity of this river assume the shapes of ancient and sumptuous edifices; of chapels, domes, castles and fortifications, consisting of long curtains surmounted with parapets. From the circumstance of the strata of all these corresponding in a singular manner, the celebrated savan, above mentioned, supposes that the valley must have been sunk by some sudden convulsion of nature, leaving the sides of those hills uncovered whose bases were of more solid materials than itself. The same thing is observable on the banks of the Orinoco, though nothing of the kind is to be seen in Peru, where nature is so infinitely varied in her Alpine scenery.
Most of the rivers which fall into the Magdalena are rapid, on account of the vicinity of the Cordilleras on each side. It may be easily imagined such streams cannot be crossed with stone bridges, in consequence of the immense pressure of the water, and because of the volumes of rock and earth which they roll from the interior. Bridges of most singular construction are therefore adopted, to facilitate the land journey from Santa Marta or Carthagena; roots of plants, twisted together into the form of cables, as thick as a man's thigh, are placed across the torrent; two of these are laid parallel to each other, at about four or five feet distance, and stretched on each side over a trestle of wood, having a windlass at one end to tighten them; over these cables are placed fascines, or branches of trees, and a little higher than the two bottom ropes, are fixed two slighter ones, in order to serve as balustrades. When a large river is crossed in this manner, the weight of the cables causes the bridge to form a considerable curve or concavity, and the traveller arriving in the centre, experiences a very unpleasant, and sometimes dangerous oscillation.
In other places, three or four thongs of leather are plied into a rope, which being made fast on the most elevated bank of the torrent, is carried over, and secured on the lower shore, so as to form an angle of fifteen or sixteen degrees; the passenger is suspended on the higher side to a sort of pulley formed by the bifurcation of two branches of a tree; the cord of leather is then tightened, and the traveller descends with such rapidity that sparks of fire are emitted from the pulley in consequence of the friction, and he is obliged to keep his head averted to prevent these sparks from falling in his eyes; a man is however placed on the upper bank, holding a long cord, which is attached to the body of the passenger, to check the too great rapidity of the descent.
Numbers of these flying machines, which are called tarabitas, are established on all the rivers connected with the Magdalena; and for the convenience of travellers, going and coming, they are placed alternately, as close to each other as the higher and lower shores of the streams afford proper opportunities.
The river Magdalena is infested with alligators, from eighteen to twenty feet in length, but they are said generally to fly from man, and only to attack him if they have by accident fed on human flesh.
In Santa Marta, and Carthagena, the banks of this river, which has been styled the Danube of New Granada, are famed for the excellent cacao they produce. The cacao, or chocolate-tree, is a native of Spanish America, about the size of a middling apple-tree, seldom exceeding the diameter of seven inches, and is extremely beautiful, when laden with its fruit, which are dispersed on short stalks over the stem and round the great branches, resembling citrons, from their yellow colour, and warty appearance. The leaves are alternate, stalked, drooping, about a foot long, and three inches broad, elliptic-oblong, pointed, slightly wavy, entire, and very smooth on both sides; with one mid-rib, and many transverse ones, connected by innumerable veins. The petals of the flower are yellow, the calyx of a light rose-colour, and the flowers themselves are small and placed on tufts on the sides of the branches, with single foot-stalks about an inch long.
Its fruit is red, or a mixture of red and yellow, and about three inches in diameter, with a fleshy rind half an inch thick; the pulp is whitish, and of the consistence of butter, containing the seed of which chocolate is made; these seeds are generally twenty-five in number in each fruit, and when fresh gathered, are of a flesh-colour, and form a nice preserve, if taken just before they ripen. Each tree yields about two or three pounds of fruit annually, and comes to maturity the third year after planting from the seed; it also bears leaves, flowers, or fruit, all the year round, the usual seasons for gathering being June and December.
In making chocolate, the seeds or kernels are first roasted, and then pulverised by mills or pounders; after which the fine powder is wrought into a paste with milk, orange-water, vanilla, spices, sugar, &c., and formed into cakes for sale.
So great is the demand for the chocolate of the Magdalena, that enough cannot be raised in the provinces above-mentioned, to supply the market, and they are obliged to import the cacao of the Caraccas and Guiana, in order to mix them with it. The excellence of the Magdalena chocolate, may be attributed to the marshy nature of the soil, as the plant never thrives where the ground is hard and dry, and they require to be shaded by other trees from the sun; and their branches, which commence from the ground, must never be allowed to exceed four or five, otherwise the fruit would not have sufficient nourishment. Weeds and shrubs must also be cleared away carefully from its roots, in order that it may derive as much humidity from the soil as possible. The other productions of this province are similar to those of Carthagena.
The government of Santa Marta contains from 250 to 300,000 souls.
Capital.—The chief city of this province is Santa Marta, 100 miles north-east of Carthagena, in 11° 19' 2 north latitude, 74° 4' 30 west longitude, with a very large and convenient harbour, which is protected by lofty ridges, and has in front a round hill defending it on the side of the snowy mountains. This city, founded in 1554, was made the magazine of Ximenes de Quesada, from whence he explored and conquered New Granada. Sir Francis Drake reduced the place to ashes in 1596. The harbour has two forts for its defence, but the town has considerably declined of late years, having only a trifling trade with Carthagena, and the other Spanish ports. The climate, though exceedingly hot, is not so unhealthy as that of Carthagena; and the town is supplied with excellent water by the river Guayra, which passes close to it; the banks of this stream are adorned with beautiful trees, and are very fertile. Santa Marta is a bishop's see. The other towns of most note are—
Puebla Cordova, a small town on the coast, 20 miles south of Santa Marta.
Puebla Nueva, also a small town, 62 miles south of the capital.
Teneriffe, in 10° 2' north latitude, 74° 30' west longitude, 80 miles south-south-west of the capital.
Ocana, or Santa Anna, is a little town, near which copper is found, and situated on the Rio de Oro, 220 miles south of Santa Marta, in 7° 50' north latitude, 73° 26' west longitude.
Puebla de los Reyes, and Tamalameque, are two other small towns of the province, which also includes a district named Rio de la Hacha, of which the chief town is Hacha. This district bounds the province of Maracaybo in Caraccas on the west. The town of Hacha is situated in 11° 28' north latitude, 72° 46' west longitude, 210 miles east-north-east of Carthagena, on a river of the same name, and close to its junction with the Caribbean sea; this river is navigable for light vessels, but the harbour is exposed to the north winds. Gold and precious stones are occasionally discovered in the district which bears the same name, the interior of which is covered with forests, and infested with jaguars and other wild beasts. The trade of this port, as well as that of Santa Marta, has been mentioned in treating of the commerce of Carthagena.
The neighbourhood of Rio de la Hacha is inhabited by a tribe of warlike and unsubdued Indians, called the Goahiros; their territory extending from the river La Hacha, to the province of Maracaybo along the coast for more than ninety miles, and equally far into the interior of the country.
The Spaniards have found it impracticable to reduce this nation, but missionaries have endeavoured to convert them without much effect. They are supposed to be the most ferocious race of the South American aborigines; and to amount, on a moderate computation, to 30,000 souls, being governed by a cacique, who lives in a fortified town on the summit of a small hill, called the Pap, or La Teta, some miles from the sea. The number of wild horses in this country is so great, that all their warriors are mounted, and armed with carabines and bows. They have been supplied with fire-arms by the contraband traders from Jamaica, with whom they carry on a very great traffic, particularly in time of war. Their principal aggressions are made on the Maracaybo side, so that the settlers in that province are obliged to be constantly on their guard.
When they are inclined to barter with the Spaniards, they carry their goods to Rio de la Hacha, for which place they set out in bands accompanied by their women and children, who are the bearers of the merchandise, which is chiefly exchanged for spirituous liquors, as they are so fond of these, that when they commit hostilities upon the settlers, the usual present to appease them consists of brandy.
Very few Spaniards dare to traverse this country, although the Goahiros frequent many of the Spanish towns. The English from the West India islands are the people they most respect, and with whom their chief connections are formed; they are supplied by them with arms, ammunition and clothing, for which they return pearls, dye-woods, horses, oxen and mules.
Feathers, and shining metals form the chief ornaments of the dress of these people, who are also very fond of displaying golden-nose-rings, ear-rings, and bracelets.
It is said that the Goahiros are so exceedingly savage, that even the English will not venture much on shore, but carry on their traffic on board their vessels, and depart the moment it is concluded. Ships which have the misfortune to be cast away on their coast, immediately become the prey of these Indians, who massacre the crews, and feed on their flesh.
The Cocinas are another small nation, on the eastern part of the territory of the Goahiros, but are so pusillanimous, or probably so very inferior in strength, that the latter govern them with absolute power, and use them for slaves.
Besides these tribes, there are many others, who inhabit the province of Santa Marta and those adjoining, but little is known of their numbers, manners, customs, or even in some instances of their names.
PROVINCE OF MERIDA.
Merida is bounded on the north by Maracaybo; east by Venezuela; west by Santa Marta; and south by Santa FÉ and Juan de los Llanos.
Its great feature consists in the amazing elevation of a branch from the chain of the Andes, which entirely pervades this province on its western side, rising beyond the lower period of perpetual snow, and to the height of 15,000 feet above the level of the sea. The direction, &c. of this branch has been described in the general form of the Andes.
The climate of this province is very variable, on account of the vicinity of the snowy mountains and the unequal heights of the land; and when the westerly winds prevail, febrile diseases are common.
The rainy season lasts from March to November, during which time tide water descends in torrents; and rains are also frequent, but not so heavy in the other months.
Very little is ascertained concerning the interior of this country, but it produces maize, beans, peas, potatoes, cassada, wheat of the finest quality, barley, rye, &c. as well as the Tropical and European fruits in great plenty; also containing several plantations of sugar, cacao, and coffee; and the cattle are in such numbers, that meat is purchased at a very moderate price.
The Rio Apure, and some other rivers of considerable size, either rise or receive their tributary streams from the mountains of Merida, watering in their courses immense tracts of level and fertile land, which also extend from these mountains to the vicinity of the Orinoco.
Capital.—The chief city of the province is Merida, from which the whole district has taken its name; this city is situated in 8° 10' north latitude, and 73° 45' west longitude, twenty-five leagues south-east of Varinas, 80 leagues south of Maracaybo, and 140 leagues south-east of Leon de Caraccas. It is the see of a bishop, and the residence of the governor, and is seated in a valley, three leagues long, and three quarters of a league in breadth, surrounded by lofty mountains. This vale is peculiarly productive in the necessaries and luxuries of life; and contains three rivers, the Mucujun, Albaregas, and Chama, which encompass the city, but are none of them navigable.
The chief plantations of the province are at a short distance from the capital, where a college and seminary for the priests is established, in which the inhabitants are educated; besides these buildings, are a handsome cathedral and three convents, with several chapels.
The population of Merida amounts to upwards of 11,000, composed of Spaniards, mestizoes, mulattoes, &c. The whites are chiefly employed in agricultural pursuits, and the people of colour in the manufacture of articles of cotton, and woollens.
This city was founded under the name of Santiago de los Caballeros, in 1558, by Juan Rodrigo Suarez; and at the period when the late dreadful earthquake overwhelmed the city of Caraccas, it shared the same fate, and was nearly destroyed, but has since been rebuilt, and become more populous than before.
Pampeluna, or Pamplona, is another town of the province of Merida towards its southern boundaries, in 6° 30' north latitude, and 71° 36' west longitude. In its neighbourhood some gold is occasionally found. This place is 170 miles north-north-east of Santa FÉ de Bogota.
St. Christoval is also another town, situated between the two latter, and
La Grita is fifty miles south-south-west of Merida, where there is a chain of mountains called by the same name.
PROVINCE OF SAN JUAN DE LOS LLANOS.
This province which is the most easterly one of the kingdom of New Granada, is bounded on the north by Varinas and Merida; on the east by Varinas; on the west by Santa FÉ and Popayan, and south by the government of Quixos. Its limits are not accurately defined, the name signifying the Province of the Plains, which extend their dreary surfaces to an immense length in these regions; some of those on which numerous herds of cattle are fed being more than 2 or 300 leagues in length.
The capital of this province is the town of San Juan de los Llanos, at the distance of fifty miles east-south-east of Santa FÉ de Bogota, in 3° north latitude, 73° 26' west longitude. It was formerly celebrated for the gold found in its neighbourhood. This town was founded in 1555, and contains very few inhabitants.
In this province are several missions, established by the monks of Santa FÉ de Bogota and the Jesuits; but very little is known concerning them, being chiefly establishments for the conversion of the different scattered tribes which roam over the country intercepted between the Andes and the Orinoco.
The Rio Meta, the Vichada, the Casanare, and several other fine streams flow through these plains, many of them taking their rise in the main chain of the Andes, and others in the branch called the Cordillera of the cataracts of the Orinoco.
The northern portion of the Llanos is sometimes styled the province of Casanare, of which Pore is the chief town, situated in a hot climate and unhealthy situation; but its territory produces cacao, maize, yuccas, plantains, &c., and it has some trade in dressed leather, manufactured by the inhabitants from the skins of the numerous herds of cattle which feed in the plains, and from those of the venados or deer, with which the province abounds. The rivers and lakes furnish abundance of fish, and are the means of transporting the goods of New Granada to Caraccas and Guiana.
The city of Pore or San Josef de Pore, is 133 miles north-east of Santa FÉ de Bogota; 82 south of Pamplona, and in 5° 40' north latitude, 72° 13' west longitude; containing about 500 inhabitants.
The other places in the province or district of Casanare are chiefly missionary, and other villages, along the banks of the rivers which flow from the Andes of New Granada to the Orinoco.
PROVINCE OF SANTA FÉ.
Santa FÉ, or Santa FÉ de Bogota, is bounded on the north by Santa Marta and Merida; on the east by the lofty summits of the eastern part of the Cordillera of the Andes, and the province of San Juan de los Llanos; south by Popayan; and west by Santa FÉ de Antioquia.
This province, which is exceedingly mountainous, is situated in the very centre of the viceroyalty of New Granada, on the west of the eastern branch or parallel of the main chain of the Andes, and on both sides of the great river Magdalena, which pervades the whole province from south to north. The highest summits of this eastern branch are the Paramo de la Summa Paz, and that of Chingasa: it divides the valley of the river Magdalena from the plains washed by the Meta and the Casanare. None of the summits of the chain of Santa FÉ de Bogota, attain the regions of eternal snows, although they approach very near to it. The western slope of this chain is broken into numberless elevated plains and peaks, intersected with crevices of the most tremendous appearance.
The city of Santa FÉ, which being the capital of the kingdom, has been already described, is situated to the west of the Paramo of Chingasa, at a great elevation; on the western declivity of which is the celebrated fall of the Tequendama. The outlets from Popayan or Quito to Santa FÉ, are by means of roads traversing an assemblage of broken ground; and the pass of the Paramo de Guanacas, which lies across the Cordillera of Antioquia, is the most frequented, from which the traveler crosses the Magdalena, and arrives at the metropolis by Tocayma and Meza, or the natural bridges of Icononzo. These bridges are however not much frequented excepting by the Indians and travellers whose curiosity inspires them to venture in such desolate regions; they are the formation of Nature's ever varying hand, and are situated west of the Summa Paz, in the direction of a small river which rises in the mountain of that name. This torrent rolls through a deep and narrow valley, which would have been inaccessible, but for the arches thrown across it in so wonderful a manner.
The little village of Pandi is the nearest inhabited place to this pass, being a quarter of a league distant, and the whole road from the capital is one of the most difficult in the Andes.
The crevice of Icononzo is in the centre of the valley of Pandi, and appears to have been formed by some convulsion of nature, which has rent asunder the mountain; at the height of near 300 feet above the torrent (which forms beautiful cascades, on entering and quitting the crevice) are seated these extraordinary bridges, one under the other, the breadth of the upper one being about forty feet, and its length upwards of fifty, composed of solid rock in the form of an arch, seven or eight feet thick at its centre. Below this and rather advanced on one side of it, at the depth of sixty feet, is another bridge formed still more singularly, for as the mountain appears to have been rent away or drawn from the upper, the inferior one seems to have fallen from the mountain, and three enormous masses of rock have descended from the opposite sides of the chasm in such a manner that the upper mass forms the key of the other two. This lower bridge cannot be visited without much risk, as a narrow path alone leads to it along the brink of the precipice. In the centre is a hole, through which the abyss below can be seen, and numberless flights of nocturnal birds are observed hovering over the water, which flows through so dark a cavern that the sides cannot be distinguished.
The rivers of Santa FÉ are very numerous, but most of them are innavigable on account of the great declivity of the land towards the Magdalena.
The Suarez, the Galinazo or Sogamozo, the Rio Negro, and the Bogota, or Funza, are the chief streams, which, rising in the eastern Cordillera, descend into, and swell the Magdalena.
Lake Guatavita may be considered as one of the curiosities of this province, it is situated on the ridge of the Zipaquira mountains, north of the capital, in a wild and solitary spot, at the height of more than 8700 feet above the sea. It is a small oval piece of water, in a deep hollow of the same form, round which are cut ranges of steps, reaching to the brink of the lake, having served, most probably for some religious ceremonies in use among the ancient possessors of this country.
As it was supposed that a great quantity of treasure had been thrown into this lake, when Quesada conquered the kingdom of Cundinamarca, the Spaniards attempted to cut a canal through the mountain of which its banks are composed, in order to drain off the waters, but their design does not appear to have succeeded, for after considerable excavations, it has been left off at little more than half the requisite depth.
This province was conquered, as has been already mentioned, by Gonzalo Ximenes de Quesada, who was sent in 1536, by Fernando de Lugo, Admiral of the Canaries, from Santa Marta, to discover the countries along the banks of the great river Magdalena. Ximenes travelled along the left bank of this river, meeting with great difficulties on account of the thickness of the forests, and the number of torrents and rivers he had to cross, which were frequently bordered with marshes and swamps nearly impassable.
He was also constantly attacked by the numerous tribes of Indians, who wandered about these deserts; but overcame all these difficulties by perseverance and ardour, and by shewing a good example of personal fortitude, and disregard of danger to his followers. He at last came to a place called Tora, which he immediately called Puebla de los Brazos, on account of four rivers meeting there. At this place he raised huts, and passed the winter with his men, having travelled by his own computation 150 leagues from the sea coast.
In the spring, Quesada pursued his march, when the floods had abated by going up the banks of another river, until he arrived at the foot of the lofty mountains of Opon, which were fifty leagues in breadth, steep and desert; passing these heights, they arrived in a plain country, well cultivated, and where they procured a great deal of salt from some springs. From these springs, they advanced into the province or kingdom of a powerful chief, named Bogota, whom they defeated after some actions. The towns and villages belonging to this chief contained many articles of value, among which, gold and emeralds were procured in abundance; and after plundering these people, the troops of Quesada marched into the country of the Panchos, separated from Bogota by little hills, and entering a deep vale, fifteen leagues distant from a very high mountain, which was destitute of vegetation, and, on which they were informed the natives found their emeralds. Here Quesada procured an immense booty of gold and precious stones. In three days subsequent marching, they overthrew two other chiefs; and returning through Panchos to Bogota, forced the natives to submit, and to make overtures for peace. The conqueror imagining that the adjacent country was sufficiently subdued, commenced the foundation of a city, which he named Santa FÉ, (the present capital,) and because he was a native of the kingdom of Granada in Old Spain, he gave the name of New Kingdom of Granada to the districts which he had passed through. This title was, however, restricted for a long time to the country immediately in the neighbourhood of the capital, and New Granada embraced little more than the present province of Santa FÉ.
The state of the natives at the period of their subjugation, their civil and religious government, &c., has been already treated of; the province is noted at present for the production of a small quantity of gold, silver, gems, salt and coal, and for the fertility of the plain near the capital. The woods abound with game, wild beasts and birds; the rivers with fish and alligators, and the plains breed numbers of horses and mules, which are exported to Peru.
The towns of most note after the capital are, Honda, San Gil, Socorro, Velez, Muzo, Leiva, Tuna, Mariquita, and Villa de la Purificacion; which all lie in the different jurisdictions into which the province is divided.
Honda is the first port on the upper part of the great river; it is represented by M. Bouguer as a pleasant little town, “une petite ville tres riante,” lying in north latitude 5° 16', and 72° 36' 15 west longitude. The river is navigable for barks a great distance from Honda towards its sources, so that this town is the mart of the commerce between the northern and southern provinces of New Granada.
Mariquita is situated four leagues west-south-west of Honda, on the little river Guali, which passes through the latter place into the Magdalena. This town was formerly much celebrated for its gold mines, and its district contains at present, on the west, those of Bocaneme and San Juan de Cordova, with the mines of Hervi, Malpasso, Guarino, and Puano; and on the east are the silver mines of Sta. Anna, Lojas, and Frias, the silver in these being mingled with the purest gold which is extremely difficult to separate from it. The town was formerly exceedingly rich and populous, but owing to the want of exertion in the working of the mines, is now reduced to 300 inhabitants, and to comparative insignificance. It is eighty miles south from Santa FÉ, in 5° 16' north latitude, and 74° 6' west longitude.
Mariquita is remarkable for having been the place where Ximenes de Quesada, the conqueror of New Granada, died in the year 1597. His body was removed to the cathedral of the capital, where it is enclosed in a monument.
San Gil is a small town on the northern frontier near the junction of the rivers Sogamozo and Suarez, as is Socorro, which lies a short distance south of San Gil, near the banks of the Suarez, and is 123 miles north-north-east of Santa FÉ; the inhabitants amounting to more than 3500.
Velez is 100 miles north of Santa FÉ, in 5° 50' north latitude and 73° 16' west longitude, on the river Suarez.
Muzo is a small town near the banks of the Magdalena, and on those of the river Negro, which flows into the former. The Muzos or Musos, were, and still are, a race of Indians, who were noted for being at continual war with the Muyscas or Bogotians. Their country was extremely rich in emeralds, and is mountainous, hot and moist. They had a singular tradition, that there was in ancient times on the other side of the Magdalena, the shadow of a man called Ari, which amused itself with making wooden faces of men and women, casting them into the stream, from whence they issued in the form of human beings, and he taught them to cultivate the earth; they then dispersed, and from this stock came the Indians who inhabit the surrounding regions.
The Muzos had no gods, nor did they worship the sun and moon, as the Bogotians did; as they said these bodies were created after the wooden faces, in order to give them light when they became living beings.
Their marriage ceremonies were singular, the wife beating her husband during the honey-moon. Their dead were dried before a slow fire, and not buried till a year had passed after their demise; and the widow was obliged to cultivate the ground for her support until the interment, when her relations took her home.
Leiva is a small town situate at the foot of the Paramo de Guacheneque, north of the capital.
Villa de la Purificacion is on the southern bounds of this province, on the west bank of the Magdalena.
Tocaima is fifty-six miles west of the capital, at a little distance from the river Pati or Bogota, in 4° 16' north latitude, 74° 59' west longitude, and near the confluence of the Pati with the Magdalena. It was founded in 1544 in a bad situation, destitute of springs, exposed to violent heats, and infested with venomous creatures. It has however fertile plantations of cacao, tobacco, sugar, maize, yuccas, plantains and potatoes, and there are abundance of fish in the rivers Pati and Fusagasuga, which are however infested with alligators. The inhabitants are poor, and amount only to about 700. In its vicinity are some mines of copper, but these are at present unworked.
Tunja or Tunia in 5° 5' north latitude, 72° 56' west longitude, sixty miles north-east of Santa FÉ, is famous for the tradition concerning the disappearance of Bochica; it was enlarged into a town by the Spaniards in 1539, and was formerly a very opulent place. The great church is so spacious that it might pass for a cathedral, and there are three convents of considerable dimensions remaining, but the present population of Tunja does not exceed 400 souls; though it is the chief place of one of the districts, into which the province of Santa FÉ is divided.
PROVINCE OF SANTA FÉ DE ANTIOQUIA.
This province, also called Antioquia, is bounded on the north by Carthagena and Darien, east by Choco; west by Santa FÉ; and south by Popayan; of which it is a district or government.
It is famous for its mines of gold, &c., and consists almost entirely of mountainous land, having part of the central ridge of the Andes, which divides the valley of the Magdalena from that of the Cauca, within its limits.
Quicksilver, that precious article, in a mining country, is occasionally discovered in Antioquia, as sulfuretted mercury is found in the valley de Santa Rosa on the east of the Rio Cauca.
Gold is found in veins in micaceous slate at Buritoca, San Pedro, and Arenas, but is not worked on account of the difficulty in procuring labourers, as the province is only accessible on foot; gold is also collected in grains in great abundance on the alluvial grounds of the valley of Santa Rosa, the valley de la Trinadad, and the valley de los Onos. It is chiefly found by negro slaves, employed for that purpose, and sent to Mompox, which is the great mart where the gold found in this province is disposed of; the gold of Antioquia is only of nineteen or twenty carats fineness, and it has been computed that 3400 marcs of this precious metal are annually exported.
The silver of New Granada is chiefly produced in this province at Vega de Supia, a mine which has been lately discovered twenty leagues from Carthago.
The mountains of this country attain the greatest elevation of any of the three parallel chains in this part of the Andes. They reach the period of perpetual congelation, and in some of their summits greatly exceed it; indeed the whole country is so thickly surrounded with these mountains, that those who are not strong enough to travel on foot, or dislike being carried on the backs of men, must pass their whole lives within its bounds.
The capital of this province is Santa FÉ de Antioquia, in 6° 48' north latitude, and 74° 36' west longitude; but from the situation of the country, so little is known of it, that it is impossible to give any correct description. It was founded by Sebastian de Benalcazar, in 1541, after he had conquered the country which was then inhabited by cannibals.
The number of negroes who inhabit the gold district of the valley of Cauca, is said to be 8000, who are dispersed in small villages near the mining stations.
PROVINCE OF CHOCO.
This province, of which as little is known of its interior as of that of Antioquia, is bounded on the north by Darien and Carthagena; west by the Pacific, or district of Biriquete; east by Antioquia, and south by Popayan.
It is separated from the valley of the Cauca by the western chain of the Andes, which attains in this district the inferior altitude of about 5000 feet, and gradually diminishes in height towards the isthmus of Darien.
In the interior of Choco, the ravine of the Raspadura unites the sources of the river Noanama (or San Juan) with the river Quito, which forms, with the Andegada and the Zitara, the considerable river Atrato. The river San Juan flows into the South Sea, and a monk of the village of Zitara, caused his flock to dig a small canal in the ravine above mentioned, by which, when the rains are abundant and the rivers overflow, canoes loaded with cacao, pass from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. This communication has existed since 1788, unknown to even the Spaniards themselves; the distance of the mouths of the Atrato in the bay of Panama, to the estuary, of the river San Juan being seventy-five leagues.
The province of Choco is still a wide continuous forest, without trace of cultivation, road or pasture; it is inhabited chiefly by negroes and persons connected with the mines, and the price of commodities is so great, that a barrel of flour from North America, sells at from 10l. to 15l.; the maintenance of a muleteer, is from five to seven shillings a day, and iron is so dear, even in peace, owing to the great difficulty of carriage, that it is almost impossible to procure it.
The villages inhabited by the negroes are Novita, Zitara, and Taddo; the first settlers came to it in 1539, and it contains about 5000 persons at present. The gold washings of most consequence are Novita, Zitara, and the river Andegada; all the ground between this river, the river San Juan, the river Tamana, and the river San Augustin, is auriferous.
The largest piece of gold ever found in Choco weighed twenty-five pounds; but the negro who discovered it, did not even obtain his liberty. His master presented it to the King's cabinet, in hopes of obtaining a title, but it was with much difficulty that he even got the value of its weight, a just punishment for not emancipating his slave.
Ten thousand eight hundred marks of gold are the utmost annual produce of the washings of Choco, and the metal is generally about twenty-one carats fine.
Platina is chiefly found in this and the neighbouring province of Antioquia. It is in Choco and Barbacoas, that this valuable metal is only discovered in grains, in the alluvious grounds between the second and sixth degrees of north latitude.
In Choco, the ravine of Oro, between the villages of Novita and Taddo, yields the greatest quantity; the price on the spot being about thirty-three shillings the pound.
The district of Biriquite, which is attached to Choco, lies along the coast of the Pacific; in it is the village of Noanamas, inhabited chiefly by Indians, and situated on a river of the same name, 170 miles north-west of Popayan. This country was discovered by Pizarro, who called the natives Pueblo Quemado (the burnt people). It is thinly inhabited by some Indian tribes, who, as is the case with their neighbours in Darien, are perfectly independent.
GOVERNMENT OF POPAYAN.
This country, which is subordinate to the presidency of Quito, contains several districts, Cali, Quatro Ciudades, Timana, Guadalajara de Buga, St. Sebastian de la Plata, Almaguer, Caloto, San Juan de Pasto, El Raposo and Barbacoas.
Of these the four northern ones are attached to the audience of Santa FÉ de Bogota, and the others to Quito. Popayan is bounded on the north by the Llanos de Neiva, on the west by Choco and the Pacific, on the east by the government of Quixos, and on the south by that of Atacames.
The country of Popayan possesses from the extent of its surface, a very unequal climate; the district of Barbacoas being on the sea shore, is extremely hot, whilst in the interior, on the mountains, the cold is excessive; but Popayan, the capital, enjoys a temperate climate, and an eternal spring.
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° 34' 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° 36' 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 month's 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 men's backs, by a set of people who are bred to this business; and who are generally either creoles or mulattoes.
The common price of carriage, from Ibague to Carthago, which occupies fifteen or twenty days, and even more, is from fifty to sixty shillings; a very inadequate sum for the labour they undergo, and which frequently renders their backs perfectly raw. Besides the chair and rider, they carry a roll of leaves of the vijao, a species of banana-tree, which they gather near Ibague, in order to form the huts that it is necessary to construct at night, or, if overtaken by heavy rains; each of these leaves is twenty inches long and fourteen broad; their lower surface is white, and covered with a sort of powder, which enables them to throw off the water. A few branches lopped from the forest, and set up on a dry spot, are speedily covered with these leaves, forming a cool and comfortable retreat for the wearied people.
The departments of Popayan, mentioned above, of most consequence, are Pasto, which is large and fertile; Cali and Buga, lying between Popayan and Choco, thrive on account of the trade they mutually carry on, and Caloto, which is fertile and rich, though the most subject to earthquakes; none of these however deserve the names of provinces.
Popayan carries on as much, if not more trade than any other part of the audience of Quito, as all the European goods from Carthagena are consigned to it, and sent to Quito; and it exports cattle and mules there, receiving cloths, &c., in return. Its active commerce also consists in dried beef, salted pork, tobacco, lard, rum, cotton, &c., which are sent to Choco and other places, in barter for the precious metals; sugar and snuff, are imported from Santa FÉ. The exchange of silver for gold is also a great branch of traffic; for as gold abounds and silver is scarce, the latter is much sought for.
The city of Popayan contains, amongst its inhabitants, many very wealthy persons, who have accumulated their fortunes by trade.
The capital of this government is Popayan, in the beautiful valley of the Cauca river, in 2° 28' 38 north latitude, and 76° 31' 30 west longitude, 195 miles S.S.W. of Santa FÉ, is the most ancient city erected by Europeans in this part of America, having been founded by Benalcazar, in 1537, after he had completed the conquest of the government we have described. It received its present name in July 1538, and is seated on a large plain, 5905 feet above the level of the sea, having an uninterrupted prospect to the north, and a mountain named M from its resemblance to that letter, on the east. The west side of this plain is moderately elevated, and is covered, as well as the mountain, with trees. On the summit of M is a convent, near which issues a river, that runs rapidly through the city, and serves to cleanse it of filth. This river has two bridges, one of stone and the other of wood, erected over it, and is called Molina.
The Cauca flows about a league from Popayan with a broad and quick current, subject to dreadful inundations, in June, July and August, when the torrents descend from Guanacas, and the neighbouring mountains; and in the immediate vicinity of this city are the great volcanoes of PuracÉ and Sotara.
The streets of Popayan are broad, straight and level, the town being built in a rectangular shape; the houses have mostly only one story, or a ground-floor; and though made of unburnt brick, are very handsome.
The number of Indians is not considerable, most of the people being of the mulatto cast, owing to the great number of negroes who have always been employed here and in the neighbouring mines; the inhabitants have been computed at above 25,000.
The governor of the intendancy resides in this town as does the bishop of Popayan, who is suffragan of the archbishop of Bogota. The cathedral was endowed in 1547, and there are several convents and churches, with two nunneries. It is also the seat of the royal mint, the annual coinage of which is estimated at a million of dollars.
A tribunal of finance is also erected in this city, to receive the capitation tax on the Indians, the king's fifth on metals, the duties on goods, and other branches of the royal revenue.
The remaining towns of note, are
Carthago, in the northern part, which is a small place on the road to
Ibague, also a place of little note, except for being the beginning of the passage of Quindiu, and is eighteen leagues south of Honda, and five or six leagues west of the Magdalena.
Cali, in 3° 15' north latitude, 73° 16' west longitude, the chief place of the district of the same name, was originally founded by Benalcazar, but afterwards removed, on account of the unhealthiness of its climate, to a short distance from its former site.
Timana, the chief town of that district, eighty miles east of Popayan, in 2° 12' north latitude, 74° 46' west longitude.
Neyva or Neyba, in 3° 10' north latitude, 74° 16' west longitude, 120 miles N. E. of Popayan.
La Plata, or Sebastian del Oro, in 2° 50' north latitude, 75° west longitude, 60 miles E. of Popayan.
Mercaderes, in 1° 45' north latitude, three leagues north of the Rio Mayo, and on the confines of the bishoprics of Quito and Popayan, celebrated as having been the place where Huana Capac carried his conquests towards the north.
St. Juan de Pasto, chief town of the district of the same name, in which are the sources of the Caqueta, falsely supposed to be those of the Rio Negro or Orinoco; this town is eighty miles S.S.W. of Popayan, in 1° 15' north latitude, 76° 46' west longitude, and contains 7000 inhabitants.
The Indian village of PuracÉ, near the capital, is celebrated as being situated on a plain above the city of Popayan, called the Llano del Corazon, 8694 feet above the level of the sea, on the side of the volcano of PuracÉ; this plain is carefully cultivated by the Indians, and is bounded by two deep ravines, on the brink of whose precipitous sides they have built their houses; the appearance of this village is therefore highly picturesque, and the gardens are surrounded with hedges of euphorbiums, contrasting their elegant verdure with the black and disrupted mountains which surround the volcano.
A small river, called Pusambio, forms, near this place, three considerable cataracts, one of the falls being more than 390 feet, and joins the Cauca in the valleys below. To add to the singularity of this fall, the water is warm towards the source, and so very acid, that it obtains the appellation of the Vinegar River; the acidity destroying the fish in the Cauca, for more than four leagues after it joins that river.
GOVERNMENT OF ATACAMES.
Tacames, or Atacames, is a newly formed government, north of the presidency of Quito, and included in the jurisdiction of its audience. It is bounded on the north by the government of Popayan, whose district of Barbacoas is its frontier; westward, by the Pacific or South Sea; southward, by the district of Guayaquil; and east, by the western Cordillera of the Andes. It reaches along the coast of the southern ocean, from the island of Tumaco, in 1° 30' north latitude, to the bay of Caracas, in 0° 34' south latitude. This country lay neglected for a length of time after the conquest of Quito, and the Indians of the district are yet in a state of nature, coming only from their woods to sell fruits and drugs, at the metropolis of Southern Granada. It was conquered by Sebastian de Benalcazar, but its importance remained unknown till 1621, when Delgadillo was appointed governor of the province of Tacames and Rio de Esmaraldas, in order to open a communication by land on the coasts, but failing in so doing, he was superseded, and Menacho was appointed in his place in 1626, with no better success. He was succeeded by two others, who were also unable to clear a communication between Quito and Terra Firma. In 1735, Maldonado effected a part of this object, by opening a road between the capital and the river Esmaraldas, for which service he was rewarded by the king; as in 1747 this country was formally declared a government, and Maldonado was named the intendant.
This intendancy contains twenty towns, which are small and poor, five being on the sea coast, and the others in the interior; the coast towns are inhabited by Spaniards, creoles and negroes; the inland places by Indians, a very few Spaniards, mulattoes, and negroes; and eleven priests, govern the spiritual affairs of the whole, visiting the inland towns by turns.
The climate of Atacames is hot, and resembles that of Guayaquil, producing the same fruits, vegetables and grains.
Vanilla, achiotte, indigo and sarsaparilla, are cultivated, or found in great abundance; and the forests which cover the greater part of the country are famed for the noble and lofty trees they are composed of, which appear fit for all architectural purposes.
Great quantities of wax are made and exported, and the cacao of Tacames is not inferior to that of Guayaquil, yielding more profit, as from the higher situation of the sloping land it grows on, it receives all the necessary moisture, without being subject to be drowned.
The capital of this government is Tacames, in the bay of Atacames on the Pacific Ocean, 110 miles north-west of Quito, in 0° 52' north latitude, 62 degrees west longitude, having about twenty miles south of it, the famous mine of emeralds, which has been long supposed to have been lost.
The other towns, which are of little importance, are, on the coast, Tumaco, Tola, San Mateo de Esmaraldas, and La Canea. In the interior, Lachas, Cayapas, Inta, Gualxa, Nanegal, Tambillo, Niguas, Cachillacta, Mindo, Yambe, Cocaniguas, Cansa Coto, Santo Domingo, San Miguel and Nono.
PRESIDENCY OF QUITO.
Quito was originally an independent country, which remained distinct from all the neighbouring states, until a very short time previous to the conquest of Peru by Francisco Pizarro; but its limits were not the same as they are at present, nor is it of any importance to trace their ancient extent. It is now bounded by Santa FÉ on the north, and has within its audience some districts of Popayan, which also forms a part of its northern frontier. On the east its jurisdiction extends over the governments of Maynas, Macas, and Quixos, which reach to the Portuguese frontiers. On the west the Great Pacific washes it from the gulf of Puna to the government of Atacames, and on the south the kingdom of Peru concludes its boundaries. Its length from north to south is about 600 miles, whilst its breadth exceeds 1800.
In this immense extent the population is chiefly confined to the valley, which is formed on the very ridge of the main chain of the Andes, by the parallel summits making a prolonged series of small narrow plains extending from St. Miguel de Ibarra to Loja, and to the country between those and Popayan, and from the western slope of the Cordillera to the ocean. The eastern governments, which will be hereafter mentioned, being chiefly immense tracts, thinly scattered with missionary villages.
Quito Proper is subdivided from north to south into nine districts, viz., San Miguel de Ibarra, Otabalo, Quito, Latacunga, Riobamba, Chimbo, Guayaquil, CuenÇa, and Loxa or Loja.
History, &c.—This country had remained independent, till a very short time previous to the Spaniards appearing on the western shores of the Southern Pacific. The empire of Peru at that period, had fallen to Huana Capac, (the young rich man,) who being of a very warlike disposition extended his conquests to all the countries bordering on his kingdom, but had particularly directed his operations against the state of Quito, which his predecessor Tupac Yupanqui had already overrun. Quito was inhabited at that period by powerful tribes, who resembled the Peruvians in their manners and customs; the most noted of these people were the Puruays, who were governed by a king under the title of conchocando, and by tributary chiefs called guastays, and whose country was known by the name of Lican.
Huana Capac departing with an immense army from Cuzco, marched five hundred leagues towards the capital of this country, encountering at every step the greatest difficulties from bad roads, ravines, precipices, marshes and rapid rivers. These difficulties were apparently insurmountable, but nothing could damp the ardour of the Inca and his Peruvians, and they reached the metropolis of their enemies, subduing both the kingdom and its adjacent provinces.
His subjects fancying they could not offer him a more acceptable return for the benefits he had showered upon them, by removing all dread of the future incursions of their warlike neighbours, prepared a magnificent causeway from Quito to Cuzco, in order that the monarch might travel back to his capital with the greatest facility and ease. This road was carried with indefatigable labour over mountains and through swamps. Valleys were filled up, and rocks excavated to an immense extent, and so smooth and level was its surface, that a coach might have been driven along it with the greatest safety. It has since suffered considerable dilapidations from the wars between the Spaniards and Peruvians, but enough is still left to show the magnificence of the undertaking.
After returning to Cuzco, the Inca projected another road by the low lands to Quito; in order that he might go by one and return by the other in his visits to the conquered province; high mounds of earth were laid across all the small valleys formed by the torrents from the mountains, in order to make the road level; and it was forty feet in width, which was marked where it crossed any wide plains, by stakes on each side, to prevent the travellers from losing their way. This second causeway was five hundred leagues in length, as was that of the mountains, and many of the mounds over the valleys yet exist, attesting to the most ignorant spectator, the astonishing perseverance and labour of these singular people. When the Inca traveled on these roads, his subjects strewed the way with branches of trees and flowers of the most exquisite perfume; and on the mountain road were erected at a day's journey from each other, large palaces or buildings, with convenient apartments for the monarch and his suite. On the road of the plains these erections were also continued, but at greater intervals, and always on the sides of rivers. They were called tambos, and the inhabitants of the neighbouring districts were bound to supply them with provisions, clothing and arms. Over the rivers were built bridges of wood, but if the stream proved too rapid for these frail constructions, cables of the fibres of the maguey or aloe were stretched across and interwoven with a close netting covered with branches: some of these were ninety feet broad and four hundred long, and made of cables as thick as a man's body.
Huana Capac continued to reside for a long while at Quito, where he married the daughter of the king he had deposed, by whom he had a son, Atabalipa or Atahualpa; to this son the Inca was exceedingly attached, and left him at Quito to be educated, when he found it necessary to return to the capital, where he remained no longer than was necessary to settle some affairs of state; and becoming daily more fond of Quito, he finally settled there for the remainder of his life, on his death bed appointing Atahualpa to wield the sceptre of his ancestors, independent of his eldest son, whom he desired should govern the kingdom of Peru alone. This event happened about the year 1529.
Atahualpa finding that this decision of his father was likely to be contested by the other children, distributed large presents to the army from the treasures of Quito, and sent ambassadors to Huascar the monarch of Peru, his elder brother, informing him of their father's demise, and requesting that his decision might be adhered to, and that if allowed to assume the reins of government in Quito, he should still remain a tributary of the Peruvian Inca.
Huascar refused to listen to these overtures, desiring Atabalipa to give up the command of the army in Quito, under pain of being considered as an enemy to the state if he refused. The monarch of Quito consulted Quizquiz and Cilicuchima, two of his bravest warriors on this occasion, who advised him to take up arms, assert his right, and march against the Inca, assuring him, that the army was so devoted to him, that he would not only gain the kingdom of Quito, but the whole empire of Peru.
Atahualpa followed this advice, and marched into the Inca's territories, who immediately collected a strong army at Tumbibamba on the Peruvian frontier, which place became the scene of a sanguinary battle that lasted three days, when Atahualpa was taken prisoner, as he was attempting to escape over a bridge. He was immediately confined in one of the tambos, whence he contrived to escape by boring through a wall with a bar of copper which was given to him for that purpose by a woman. Returning to Quito, he told a miraculous story of his escape, which he asserted had been performed through the assistance of the spirit of his father; this so encouraged his people, that they again collected, and attacked the Inca's array, defeating it with prodigious slaughter.
Marching further into Peru, they destroyed the cities, and wasted the provinces with fire and sword, and arrived at Caxamarca, where they waited for a second army which Huascar had collected; Atabalipa having posted ambushes in every quarter, one of his generals contrived to take the Emperor prisoner by surprise; but being attacked on their way back to their own camp, they would have been cut to pieces, had they not terrified the Inca by threatening him with instant death if he did not order his people to retire. This he consented to, and he was carried as a captive to Atahualpa at Caxamarca.
It was at this period, that the Spaniards arrived in Peru; and Huascar imagining that if he could persuade them to join him, the terror of their arms, would once more restore him to the regal fillet; he accordingly dispatched ambassadors to Pizarro, to implore his assistance. What that warrior afterwards performed, will be shown in the history of Peru, but the unfortunate Huascar suffered for the confidence he had thus reposed in the Spaniards, as he was put to death by the orders of Atahualpa, for having entered into alliance with the common enemy.
It will be needless to detail the further operations of Atahualpa, now become the sole emperor of Peru, as his subsequent history is so intimately connected with that of the Spanish conquests, that it must be reserved for the history of those memorable occurrences.
Atahualpa, being slain by the orders of Pizarro, the kingdom of Quito was forcibly taken possession of by Ruminagui, one of the chiefs who had served under the unfortunate prince in his expeditions against Huascar; he put to death all the surviving children and relatives of the Inca, and caused his brother to be flayed alive.
The remains of Atahualpa were, however, respected by this assassin, as they were interred with much pomp in his native city of Quito.
On the departure of Pizarro in his various expeditions from Cuzco, he left Sebastian de Benalcazar to defend the town he had founded near the Peruvian frontiers; the Indians of the neighbouring districts complained to this officer, that Ruminagui, and his troops from Quito, were constantly harassing them. Benalcazar thinking this a favourable opportunity for subjugating the country, marched to Quito with 200 soldiers, eighty of which were cavalry. Ruminagui advanced to meet him with more than 12,000 men, but afraid to face the Spaniards in the open field, contented himself with taking advantage of all the difficult passes, in which he displayed much judgment, but was always driven backward by the superior tactics of Benalcazar. In this skirmishing method, the usurper's troops were gradually forced to retire upon the city, which having, a large plain in its vicinity, afforded an excellent place to show the Peruvians the superiority of the Spanish cavalry; and Benalcazar accordingly endeavoured to bring him to action there, but the usurper, instead of offering battle, contented himself with digging pits in his front, in which he placed sharp stakes, and constructed pit-falls covered with grass, upheld by slight twigs, in hopes that he might destroy the horses. The Spanish captain was aware of these, and as nothing could put him off his guard, he at last drove the Peruvians into the city itself. Finding that he could not defend himself in this position, Ruminagui set fire to the most valuable moveables of the late Inca, slew his wives, to prevent their falling into the enemy's power, and after an ineffectual sally, retreated to the interior.
At this juncture, Don Pedro de Alvarado, governor of Guatimala, arrived with a strong reinforcement to Benalcazar at Quito; and assuming the command, took several important places; but not finding the treasure he expected, he went to Cuzco, leaving Pizarro's captain with the army. Alvarado had been sent to this country by the Emperor Charles, who granted him a commission as governor of certain territories not included in Pizarro's patent. Previous to his leaving the army for Cuzco, he was attacked by Almagro, who imagined that he was infringing on the territories of himself and Pizarro; but a convention took place between them, and they afterwards were concerned in several battles against the Peruvians. Quizquiz, the Peruvian general, attacked Benalcazar after Alvarado had left him, but was defeated with great loss, and was slain by one of his officers in a council, when he had proposed to retreat to the mountains.
Benalcazar now engaged himself in conquering and colonizing the districts and provinces to the north of Quito, which he accomplished in a very able manner, founding towns, and encouraging settlers. It was at this period, that the wars broke out between the followers of Almagro and Pizarro; and when the latter had defeated the Almagrians, he sent his brother Gonzalo to explore a tract to the east of Quito, called Los Canelos, the cinnamon country, as it was conjectured that it contained great quantities of that valuable shrub. Pizarro conferred at the same time, the chief command of the whole country of Quito on his brother, and the new governor set out with 100 horsemen, and an equal number of foot, taking the city of Quito in his route eastward, toward the district of Quixos, which had been discovered by Gonzalo Diaz de Pineda, in the year 1536, when, among the officers sent from Popayan, (which had been settled by Benalcazar) to trace the course of the river Magdalena, and survey the country adjacent to the conquered provinces, he found that this district was extremely fertile, abounding in gold, and producing excellent cassia; he reported these circumstances, and they were laid before Pizarro, who immediately sent his brother to explore it, and to push his discoveries to the east, for the purpose of finding the cinnamon country.
Arriving at Quito in the latter end of 1539, Gonzalo Pizarro remained only time enough to receive a further supply of the necessary stores, and departed from this city in 1540, attended by 4000 Indians, carrying provisions, arms, and materials for bridges. Peruvian sheep or llamas, and 4000 swine accompanied the army, which soon arrived in the country of the Quixos, where they met with little opposition, and where they remained several days, on account of the tempestuous weather and a dreadful earthquake. On quitting this country, they crossed some very high mountains, on which the Indians suffered so much from cold, that many of them died.
Proceeding to the river Coca, and thence to another river, Pizarro built a vessel to enable part of his army to penetrate with less fatigue; and finding the river become broader as he proceeded, he determined to pursue its course as far as he could, but having navigated about 200 leagues down its stream, and there appearing no probability of procuring provisions, and not being able to advance the men, who were obliged to follow the vessel on the banks, on account of the increasing imperviousness of the forests, he determined to send Francisco de Orellana forward with the vessel, to see if he could find any country where eatables could be procured, the stock he brought from Quito being now completely exhausted. Fifty men accompanied the bark, with orders to load the vessel with what they might find, and to stop at a place where two great rivers joined, as well as to leave two canoes at a river which crossed the route to this place by land, and of which information had been given by some Indians.
The ship was soon carried to the junction of the two great rivers; but Orellana finding it difficult to remount the current, determined to push his fortune and explore the country in the direction of the stream; neglecting therefore the orders he had received, he sailed beyond the appointed place, and being much crowded, and frequently attacked by the Indians on the shores, he constructed a smaller vessel in a convenient spot, and dividing his soldiers, proceeded to a country inhabited by women, who made war upon and defended themselves against the neighbouring tribes. Following the stream for a long while, Orellana's barks at last reached the Atlantic Ocean, and with great difficulty and many dangers he navigated the seas to the Island of Trinidad, where purchasing a vessel, he went to Spain, and obtaining an audience of the king, he got a grant of Amazonia, (the country he had seen, and which was so called, on account of the warrior women,) and equipped a force of five hundred men for its conquest; but died on the outward voyage; his men dispersing themselves among the Canaries and West India islands.
Gonzalo Pizarro was terribly straightened by the defection of Orellana, and arriving at the rendezvous, found a Spaniard whom Orellana had put ashore for disobedience; this person informed Pizarro of what had happened.
In the vessel were all the baubles intended to be bartered with the Indians, so that as they were now four hundred leagues from Quito, and with no hopes of relief, they determined on endeavouring to return. Suffering incredible difficulties, and eating all their dogs and horses, they arrived at last on the confines of that kingdom, having lost forty of their companions by famine; and the whole party were nearly naked, and so altered, that it was with difficulty they were recognised by their acquaintances. This unfortunate expedition lasted nearly two years; two hundred and ten Spaniards, and two thousand Indians perished, only eighty Europeans returning to Quito out of the whole force; and those who did return, having ate toads, snakes, and other reptiles, after they had consumed their horses.
In consequence of the dissensions among the Spaniards in Peru at this period, Vaca de Castro was sent to assume the government. In 1541, this officer was driven by stress of weather into the harbour of Buenaventura, at the bottom of the Bay of Choco, at that time a port of Popayan; and after a difficult journey by land he arrived at Quito. His commission was immediately recognised by Benalcazar, lieutenant-general and governor of Popayan, and by Pedro de Puelles, who commanded in Quito in the absence of Gonzalo Pizarro. He then left this city to march against the adverse party in Peru, in which he was joined by Pedro de Vergara, who was occupied in conquering the present province of Bracamoros. Vaca conquered the insurgents, and was proclaimed governor of Peru. The subsequent history of the viceroys and governors belongs to the description of that kingdom, of which Quito continued a dependent province till the year 1708, when a new viceroyalty being erected at Santa FÉ de Bogota, under the name of the New Kingdom of Granada, Quito was taken from the Peruvian government and attached, with all its provinces, to that of Granada. The royal audience of Quito was suppressed until 1722, when it was restored, and the provinces of Quito, erected into a presidency, under the controul of the vice-regal court of Santa FÉ. Since that period, it has remained under the same form of government, the president of the court of royal audience being governor of Quito and its dependencies.
Capital.—The capital of this presidency is Quito, which was rebuilt from the Indian town by Benalcazar, in 1534, who then called it San Francisco de Quito; seven years after which it was made a royal city. It is situated in 78° 10' 15 west longitude, and 0° 13' 27 south latitude, on the eastern slope of the western branch of the equatorial Andes, thirty-five leagues distant from the coasts of the South Sea. The volcanic mountain Pichincha is the basis on which this celebrated city rests; and its crevices are so numerous in the environs, that many of the suburbian houses are built on arches, and from the acclivity of the ground the streets are very irregular and uneven. The city has in its vicinity the great plains Turubamba and Inna Quito, covered with country-seats and cultivation, and the junction of these plains forms a neck of land on which some of the streets are built.
The temperature of the climate is such, that neither heat nor cold are felt in extremes; though this may be experienced in a very short journey from it. The whole year is a perfect spring, with little or no variation; pleasant gales constantly waft the odours of the cultivated plains towards the town, and these are seldom known to fail or to become boisterous. The rain alone descends occasionally with impetuosity, and prevents the usual out-of-door avocations; but with such a climate, and in the midst of plenty, the city is hourly liable to earthquakes, and its inhabitants are frequently occupied in noticing, with the most awful apprehensions, the slightest variations in the phenomenÆ of the heavens; for from these they affect to judge of the approach of the subterraneous concussions which have so frequently destroyed the place; of these, a very destructive one was experienced in 1775. In 1797, on the 4th of February, the face of the whole district was changed, and in the space of a second, forty thousand persons were hurled into eternity. This earthquake affected the temperature of the air, which is now commonly between forty and fifty-five degrees, whereas it was usually sixty-six or sixty-eight degrees, and since which violent shocks have frequently been experienced. During this tremendous scene, the ground opened in all directions, and vomited out sulphur, mud and water. Notwithstanding these horrors, and the constant state of anxiety they must feel, the inhabitants are gay, lively, and much addicted to pleasure, luxury and amusement.
The population is estimated at 70,000 persons; among whom are many of high rank, descendants of the conquerors, or persons who came in the early periods from Spain. The whites compose about a sixth part, the mestizoes a third, the Indians of the suburbs another third, and the mixed race from negroes, Indian's, &c., the remaining sixth. The European whites are, with the exception of the nobles and merchants, generally very poor; the mestizoes follow the handicrafts, and excel in some of the higher branches of the arts, appearing to possess considerable talent and very lively imaginations. The Indians also follow several trades, which they are remarkable for gaining a knowledge of with comparative ease.
Great magnificence of dress is affected by the Spanish gentry, whose habiliments shine with gold and gems; but those of the middle rank are usually very neat, and covered with a long black cloak; the Indians wearing white cotton drawers, and a black cotton frock or shirt. The ladies of Quito are generally handsome and well educated, and the men a good looking race. The instruction given to young people of rank consists chiefly in the polite arts, and in philosophy and divinity. The language of the whites and most of their descendants is Spanish, but the Quichua and other dialects of Indian origin are no less common.
Idleness, drunkenness and gaming, are the most prevalent vices, and the common people and Indians are addicted to theft; and these indulge very freely in the use of rum and brandy. The mattÉ, an herb which grows in Paraguay, is used here as a sort of tea, and forms the most favourite beverage of all classes.
The principal square of Quito is ornamented with the cathedral, the bishop's palace, the town-hall, and the palace of the royal audience, and with a beautiful fountain in the centre. Four streets terminate at the angles of this square, which are broad, straight and well built for about four hundred yards, when the acclivities and breaches commence; on this account, the luxury of wheel-carriages is not to be had. Besides the great square, there are two others of considerable size, and several small ones; in these the churches and convents are situated, which are generally fine buildings.
The principal streets are all paved, and the houses are large and convenient, being mostly of one story in height, built of unburnt bricks and clay, and cemented by a sort of mortar, which was made use of anciently by the Indians, and which becomes exceedingly solid.
This city has seven parishes, with numerous convents, nunneries, &c. The hospital is a fine structure, and there are several courts for the administration of justice; the exchequer, treasury, &c.
The cathedral which was endowed in 1545, has a very extensive jurisdiction, and the revenue of the bishop is 24,000 piastres. In this church are held two annual festivals in honour of the Virgin, by whose assistance it is said the city was delivered when Latacunga, Riobamba, Hambato, and other places in its neighbourhood, were entirely destroyed by an earthquake and an ejection from Pichincha, of pumice, basalt, porphyry and liquid mud.
The clay and hot water vomited from this volcano diffuses such fertility, that a constant succession of fruits, flowers, and leaves, appear during the whole year, and even on the same tree. Corn is reaped and sown at the same time, and such is the goodness of the pasture, that excellent mutton, beef, &c., are to be had at Quito. Fine cheese is also made in the dairies, and so much is used, that 70 or 80,000 dollars worth is annually consumed. Good butter is also found, and for the service of the table, whether in luxuries or necessaries nothing appears to be wanting.
The height of Quito above the level of the sea is 9510 feet, and it is backed, by the conical summit of Javirac, immediately under that of Pichincha; Javirac being 10,239 feet above the ocean, consequently 729 feet higher than the city.
Quito is plentifully supplied with water from several streams which flow from the sides of the mountains, and are conducted into the town by means of conduits. Several of these brooks unite in one spot, and form the small river Machangara, which washes the south parts of the city, and is crossed by a stone bridge.
In the church of the Jesuits is an alabaster slab, on which is engraven a Latin inscription, commemorating the labours of the French and Spanish mathematicians in 1736, and the following years, till 1742, and enumerating the signals, angles, and other circumstances connected with the great undertaking of the measurement of a degree of the meridian which was performed in those years.
In this province some cotton goods are manufactured; these are exported to Peru, for which gold, silver, laces, wine, brandy, oil, copper, tin, lead and quicksilver are returned; the wheat of Quito is exported to Guayaquil, and the coast of Guatimala sends indigo, iron and steel, for which some of the products of Quito are returned by way of Guayaquil. The commerce of Quito is however mostly internal, and this province contains no metallic veins which are worked, though many rich ones are supposed to exist, and some mercury has been found between the villages of CuenÇa and Azogue.
Quito is celebrated as having been the scene of the measurement of a degree of the meridian by the French and Spanish mathematicians, in the reign of Louis the XV. The plain made choice of for the mensuration of the great base is situated 1592 feet lower than the city of Quito, and four leagues north-east of it, near the village of Yuranqui, from which it has its name. It was in this desert valley, surrounded by the lofty summits of the central Andes, that these geodesic operations were carried on, and which were attended with constant peril and labour; some idea of which may be formed from the following description of the chain of the Andes which pervades Quito; this chain after having been divided near Popayan into three branches, unites in the district of Pastos, and stretches far beyond the equator.
Its most lofty summits form two lines, separated by a series of valleys, from 10,600 to 13,900 feet in height, as far as the third degree of south latitude, in which the chief towns of Quito are situated. On the west side of this vale or plain rise the mountains of Casitagua, Pichincha, Atacazo, Corazon, Ilinissa, Carguirazo, Chimborazo and Cunambay; and on the east are the peaks of Cayambe, Guamani, Antisana, Passuchoa, Ruminavi, Cotopaxi, Quelendama, Tunguragua and Capa Urcu, or the altar, all of which, excepting three or four, are higher than Mont Blanc, but on account of the great elevation of the plain on which they rest, their appearance is not so lofty as may be imagined; the summit of Chimborazo, the most elevated, not being more than 11,942 feet above the plain of Tapia, which itself is 9481 feet above the level of the sea.
The constant temperature of the air is such, that the summits of those mountains which enter the region of perpetual snow have the line of congelation distinctly marked, and the road to Quito from Guayaquil leads along the northern declivity of Chimborazo, amid scenes of the most majestic nature, and near the regions of eternal frost.
Chimborazo, the most lofty of the American summits is in the form of a dome, and towers over the conical peaks and heads of the adjacent mountains, to an amazing altitude; its height above the level of the sea being 21,441 feet.
Pichincha, which surmounts the city of Quito was formerly a very active volcano, but since the conquest, its eruptions have not been frequent; three peaks rise from the edge of its crater, which are generally free from snow, on account of the heat of the ascending vapours; at the summit of one of these is a projecting rock twelve feet long, by six broad, hanging over the precipice, and generally strongly agitated by convulsive shocks. M. de Humboldt lay on his breast on this stone, and looked down into the abyss of the crater below, which was so vast (being three miles in circumference) that the summits of several mountains were seen in it. Its sides were of a deep black, the tops of the mountains he observed in this awful situation were six hundred yards beneath him, and he supposes the bottom of the crater is on a level with the city of Quito. Its edges are always covered with snow, and flames rise from its surface, amid columns of dark smoke. Pichincha is 15,939 feet above the level of the sea.
Of all the American volcanoes Cotopaxi is the most noted, and is situated to the south-east of Quito, twelve leagues distant from that city, and five leagues north of Latacunga, between the mountains of Ruminavi, the summit of which is rugged and jagged with separate rocks, and Quelendama, whose peaks enter the regions of eternal frost. The form of Cotopaxi is very beautiful, being that of a perfect cone, covered with snow, and the crater appears surrounded with a wall of black rock, which is impossible to be reached by reason of the immense crevices in the sides of the mountain.
In viewing this volcano every thing conspires to afford the most majestic and awful scene that can be imagined; the pyramidal summits of Ilinissa, the snowy ridges of the other mountains, the singular regularity of the inferior line of snow, and the luxuriancy of the great plains offer an unparalleled assemblage of the grand and picturesque features of nature.
Cotopaxi is the loftiest volcano at present in activity in the world, being 18,891 feet above the level of the sea. It has ejected such masses of scoriÆ, and immense pieces of rock on the plain below, that they would, of themselves, if heaped together, form an enormous mountain; and in a violent eruption in 1774 its roarings were heard at Honda at the distance of 200 leagues.
In 1768, it sent forth such a volume of ashes, that the light of the sun was obscured in Hambato, till three in the afternoon, and then the people were forced to use lanthorns; at the same time, the cone was so heated, that the mass of snow which covered it suddenly melted away; and at Guayaquil, 150 miles distant, its eruptions were as audibly distinguished, as if there had been repeated discharges of cannon close to the town.
Cayambe Urcu, the summit of which is crossed by the equator, is noted as being the highest mountain of this range which has been yet measured, excepting only Chimborazo, as it is 19,386 feet above the level of the ocean. Its form is that of a truncated cone, and it is one of the most majestic and beautiful of those which surround the city of Quito.
El Corazon, covered with perpetual snow, is so called from its summit having a heart-like shape.
Bouguer ascended this mountain, and describes the frost as so great near the top, that his clothes, beard and eyebrows were covered with icicles; it is 15,795 feet above the level of the sea.
Ruminavi and Ilinissa, the latter of which is 17,238 feet above the level of the sea, and has its summit divided into two pyramidal peaks, join each other by a transverse chain, called the Alto de Tiopullo, Ilinissa being on the west, and Ruminavi on the eastern crest of the equatorial Andes. This chain bounds the valley of Quito on the south and separates it from the plains of Hambato and Latacunga; and the pyramids of Ilinissa are visible from the plain of Las Esmaraldas in Atacames.
A most singular monument is observable on the top of the dyke or chain of Tiopullo, consisting of a tumulus, and the ruins of one of the Peruvian palaces called tambos, situated in a plain covered with pumice stones.
The tumulus, if it be one, is upwards of two hundred feet high, and is supposed to have been the burying place of a chief.
The palace is south-west of this hillock, nine miles from the crater of Cotopaxi, and thirty from Quito. It is in the form of a square, each side being about 100 feet in length, with four great doorways and eight chambers. Its walls are more than three feet thick, formed of large stones regularly cut and laid in courses, and the whole is in tolerable preservation. It is called the palace of Callo, but the great curiosity of this edifice consists in the beauty of the workmanship, as all the stones are cut into parallelopipedons, and laid in regular courses, and so nicely joined, that were it not that each stone is convexly and obliquely cut on the outside, their joints would not be visible.
The volcano of Sangai, or Mecas, is the most southern mountain of Quito, and is covered with snow, but a continual fire issues from its summit attended by explosions, which are heard 120 miles distant, and when the wind is fair, are audible even at Quito. The country adjacent to this volcano is totally barren, being covered with cinders; in this desert the river Sangay rises, and joining the Upano, flows into the Maranon under the name of the Payra. Sangai is 17,131 feet above the level of the sea.
The Altar, or El Altar, is on the eastern crest, in the district of Riobamba, joining itself by a high desert, to another peak called Collanes. The Indians have a tradition, that El Altar was formerly more lofty than Chimborazo, but that its summit suddenly fell in; by the latest observation, it is found to be 17,256 feet above the level of the sea.
Tunguragua is seven leagues north of Riobamba. The figure of this volcanic mountain is conical, and very steep, and Riobamba was destroyed by its dreadful eruptions. Some hot springs gush out through crevices in its sides, which has caused warm baths to be erected for the accommodation of invalids. Tunguragua is 16,500 feet above the level of the sea.
North-west of Riobamba is Carguirazo, which just enters the lower period of congelation. Near this mountain and Chimborazo is the road leading to Guayaquil, passing over such lofty deserts and such dangerous places, that many people perish in attempting to travel over it in bad weather or in winter. The height of this mountain is 15,540 feet above the level of the sea.
In these mountainous regions, the wind is often so violent that it tears off fragments of rocks, and the academicians in measuring their base, and taking the necessary angles, were often in the most imminent danger, by having their tents and huts suddenly blown over. The violence of the wind also hurled the snow about in so furious a manner, that they were often in danger of being buried under it. Though their huts were small and crowded with people, yet every person was forced to have a chafing-dish of coals before him, owing to the intensity of the cold, and this under the equator; their feet swelled, their hands were covered with chilblains, and their lips were so chopped, that speaking aloud always brought blood. In some places, even the Indians deserted their villages to prevent being forced to accompany the survey; such was the rigour of the climate.
The districts of Quito having been previously mentioned, we shall include a short sketch of each in the description of its chief town, commencing with that of—
SAN MIGUEL DE IBARRA.
San Miguel de Ibarra is the chief place of a district of the same name, and is situated in north-latitude 0° 25', and 77° 40' west-longitude, forty-five miles north-east of Quito, with a population of about 10,000 souls. The town stands on a large plain between two rivers. The houses are built of stone with tiled roofs, and it contains several convents, a fine church, a college and a nunnery.
The temperature of the air in this district is variable, but generally warmer than at Quito. The soil is fertile, producing the tropical fruits, cotton, maize, great quantities of sugar, wheat and barley; and the Indians weave cotton and cloth, and work some large salt mines, which supply the northern districts. Few sheep are seen in Ibarra, but it abounds in goats, and near a village called Mira, with a multitude of wild asses, extremely fierce, which are hunted for their skins.
In passing from Pastos, through Ibarra, the traveller views with astonishment the deep valley or crevice of Chota, 4922 feet in depth, covered with luxuriant vegetation.
Ibarra contains within its district, eight principal villages or small towns.
OTABALO.
Otabalo is the next jurisdiction, containing eight towns or villages, the lands of which are laid out in plantations, principally of the sugar cane; but the wheat and barley sown in this district thrive very much; a great number of small rivers fertilize the country, and it abounds with sheep, black cattle and horses. Great quantities of butter and cheese are exported, and the native Indians are industrious, weaving quilts, cottons, bed furniture, and carpets, which, having very brilliant colours, are much valued in Quito and Peru.
The chief town is Otabalo, thirty miles north of Quito, in 0° 15' north latitude, and 77° 56' west longitude, containing 15,000 souls, a great portion of whom are whites; the other villages or towns are mostly inhabited by Indians.
This district contains two lakes, one called San Pablo, is three miles long, and a mile and a half broad, abounding with wild geese, and gives rise to the Rio Blanco. The other lake has nearly the same size, and is called Cuicocha, being situated at the foot of a mountain of that name; it produces a sort of cray-fish much esteemed at Quito, as it is the only fresh water fish that can be had there.
The Indians of Otabalo resisted Huana Capac in his expedition against Quito, which so exasperated him, that he ordered all that could be found to be beheaded, and cast into a small lake in Ibarra, called Yagarcocha, signifying the bloody lake.
The villages of Cayambe and Catacatche in this district, are situated at the feet of the mountains of those names, the latter of which is 16,434 feet above the level of the sea; near Cayambe are the ruins of an ancient circular temple on an eminence, and about fifty feet in diameter; of this nothing remains but the walls, which are about five feet thick and fifteen feet high; the whole is of unbaked brick, cemented with a sort of earth. In the plain near this village are numerous tumuli, or burying places of the ancient inhabitants of the province, which are generally in the form of sugar loaves; many of these are of great size, and have been perforated for the sake of the gold utensils which were buried with the chieftains.
Some Spaniards have enriched themselves in this manner, for in making a gallery through the tumulus, they have found golden idols and jewels to a great amount; but the contents generally consist only of the skeleton, earthen drinking vessels, tools of copper or stone, with mirrors of obsidian, and of a sort of flint, curiously made and perfectly polished. The golden ornaments and images they occasionally discover, are, in general, beautifully wrought, but always very thin and hollow; the emeralds are cut into all shapes, and perforated with the greatest nicety, but how these were executed without any other than hardened copper and stone tools, is almost inconceivable.
The jurisdiction of Quito, independent of the city, contains twenty-five villages or parishes; the lands are covered with plantations, in the plains breaches or valleys, and up the sides of the mountains, as far as vegetation will reach, so as to be productive of any return to the cultivator; the valleys being hot grow sugar canes and cotton; the plains, maize; and the higher regions, wheat, barley, &c. European grain was introduced into Quito by Father Jose Rixi, a native of Ghent in Flanders, who sowed some near the convent of St. Francis, and the monks still show the vase in which the first wheat came from Europe, as a sacred relic.
Above the regions which produce wheat, barley, potatoes, &c., are fed numerous flocks of sheep, which yield great quantities of wool; and cows are reared also in great numbers, for the sake of cheese and butter; most of the villages of Quito are inhabited by Indians.
South of Quito, and divided from it by the mountains of Tiopullo and Chisinche, is the district of Lactacunga, or Latacunga, the chief town of which is Latacunga, in 0° 55' 14 south latitude, and 78° 16' west longitude, fifty miles south of Quito, a large and well-built place, the streets being straight and broad, the houses of stone, arched, and of one story, on account of the frequency of earthquakes; but in 1698 the whole of the town was overturned, excepting the church of the Jesuits, which was much damaged, and almost all the inhabitants perished. The stone of which the houses are built is a sort of pumice, extremely light, and which has been ejected from the neighbouring volcanoes; that of Cotopaxi being only six leagues distant.
This district contains seventeen large villages, and the climate is cold, on account of the vicinity of several snowy summits. The first eruption of Cotopaxi, witnessed by the Spaniards, was when Benalcazar invaded these provinces; the natives had a tradition, that when the volcano should burst they would be subdued by an unknown people; this event, combined with the appearance of the white and bearded strangers, struck such terror into the poor Indians, that they quietly submitted to the Spanish arms.
The villages are in general large and populous, inhabited by a mixture of whites and Indians, although the Indians always live in a separate quarter.
The town of Latacunga contains from 10 to 12,000 inhabitants; a parish church, several convents, and a college, formerly belonging to the Jesuits.
Cloth, baize, &c. are manufactured in this city, and great quantities of salt pork are exported to Quito, Guayaquil, and Riobamba.
The Indians of two villages in this jurisdiction, are noted for making fine earthenware; the clay which they use emitting a fragrant smell, and being of a lively red colour, causes these articles to be much valued.
Riobamba is the next jurisdiction southward, adjoining that of Latacunga, and separated from the vale of Quito, by the same dyke or chain, the chief town of which is Riobamba.
This district is divided into two departments, Riobamba and Hambato. In this former are eighteen villages; in the latter, six.
The town of Riobamba was destroyed by the dreadful earthquake of the 4th February 1797, when the peak of Sicalpa, falling on the place, stopped the course of two rivers, so that not a vestige of the town remained; and of 9,000 inhabitants 400 only escaped. Thirty or forty thousand Indians are supposed to have perished at the same time, in this and the neighbouring districts. Latacunga, and most of the villages in its jurisdiction, were destroyed. Near Hambato the mountains split; and a village called Quero, with all its inhabitants, was buried under a cliff that gave way; another place, called Pelileo, was overwhelmed in a torrent of heated water and mud, the plains were completely altered, and in a few hours after the commencement of this calamity, a deadly silence alone indicated the general ruin. This terrible event appears to have been caused by an internal eruption of the volcano of Tunguragua, between Latacunga and Riobamba, as tremendous subterraneous thunders proceeded from that quarter, and the devastation was all in its vicinity.
Riobamba produces silver and gold, but the mines are not worked, and cochineal, cotton, flax, wheat, sugar, barley, &c.
The town of Riobamba has been rebuilt in a more convenient spot; at present it contains 20,000 souls, and is large and handsome, with two churches, four convents, two nunneries, and an hospital; and its jurisdiction carries on a brisk trade with Guayaquil. The village of Lican, in this division, is noted as having been anciently the residence of the kings of Quito.
The town of Hambato is situated in an extensive plain, having a large river crossed by a bridge on its northern side. The number of its inhabitants is about 9000. Its houses are built of unburnt bricks, and very low, and the parish church and a convent, with two chapels, are the principal public buildings.
This place suffered severely in the earthquake which destroyed Latacunga, as the volcano of Carguirazo, part of which fell in, vomited forth torrents of mud, ashes and water; and the heat of the crater melting the snow, it precipitated down the sides of the mountain, sweeping away every thing before it.
In Riobamba, the Llamas, or Peruvian camels, are seen; they are indeed so common, that hardly any Indian has less than one to carry his goods when he travels; we shall however have further occasion to describe these singular animals, in treating of the colonies farther south of the equator, which seems to be their natural clime, as they are rarely seen north of the line.
The final junction of the two parallel ridges of the Andes, which we have before mentioned, ends near this district; it is called by the general name of Paramo del Assuay, and across this chain lies the road from Riobamba to CuenÇa, the journey over which is at all times formidable, particularly in June, July and August, when there are great falls of snow, and the icy winds of the south sweep over it. This road is almost the height of Mont Blanc, and the cold is often so great, that many travellers perish every year, in crossing. The plains of Assuay contain several small lakes, surrounded with coarse grasses, but in which there are no fish.
In the midst of this elevated road is a marshy plain, at the height of 13,123 feet above the ocean, on which is situated the remains of a causeway, lined with freestone, and constructed by the Incas. It is quite straight for more than four miles, and may be traced to Caxamarca in Peru, 120 leagues south of Assuay. Close to this road, and at 13,261 feet of elevation, are the ruins of one of the mountain palaces, or tambos of the Peruvian sovereigns; these ruins, which are much dilapidated, are called Los Paredones, or the thick walls. In descending towards CuenÇa, are seen the remains of another of these structures, which deserves notice; it is called the fortress of Cannar, and is built of large blocks of freestone, in an oval form, 124 feet in length, having a house in the centre, containing two rooms. Behind this oval is a continued chain of fortifications, nearly 500 feet in length, built also of fine freestone; and the ruins of several other buildings show, that this fort was capable of containing the Inca and his whole army.
The chambers and walls on the inside have a series of niches, between which are projecting cylindric stones with knobs, said to be used for hanging the arms of the warriors on; all these, as well as the stones of the building, are beautifully cut. This fort is on the top of a small hill, the superior surface of which is cut into terraces and esplanades; a river named Gulan flows at its foot. On descending to this river, by means of steps cut in the rock, the traveller sees a fissure, called the Ravine of the Sun (Inti-Guaicu) in which rises a solitary mass of sand-stone, sixteen or eighteen feet high. One of the sides of this rock is cut perpendicularly, and is remarkably white; on it is traced concentric circles, representing the sun; and a few steps lead to a seat directly opposite this image. All around the temple are pathways cut in the rock, leading to a place called the gardens of the Inca, in which is a singular mount, artificially raised, on whose summit is an inclosed seat, big enough for one person only, commanding a most delightful view of several beautiful cascades. This seat has arabesques sculptured in the form of a chain, on the walls which form its back, and defend it from a precipice, on the brink of which it is placed.
The ensuing district of Quito is that of Chimbo, whose principal town has the same name; but the chief magistrate resides at Guaranda, one of the seven villages of which the district is composed.
Chimbo, the capital, is a small place, containing only about eighty families. Guayaquil being separated only by the ridge of the mountains from this district, carries on all the trade of Quito to the Pacific through it, the bales of cloth, stuffs, meal, corn and other products of the interior passing over this ridge, to the port of Guayaquil, whence comes wine, brandy, salt, fish, oil and other goods, necessary for the internal provinces; this traffic can however only be carried on in summer, the roads being impracticable in the winter season for mules or other beasts.
The temperature of the air in Chimbo is generally cold, from the proximity of the snowy summits of Chimborazo.
The chief objects of the farmers in this district, is the breeding of mules, for the purposes of the trade before mentioned.
THE JURISDICTION OF GUAYAQUIL.
Guayaquil follows that of Chimbo on the west, and is the largest and most important district of Quito; it begins at Cape Passado, 21' south of the equinoxial line, and stretching south, includes the island of Puna, and is terminated by Piura in Peru.
This country is mostly a continued plain, and is divided into seven departments, Puerto Viejo, Punta de Santa Elena, the island of Puna, Yaguache, Babahoyo, Baba, and Daule.
During the winter months, this district is infested by insects and vermin, and is subject to dreadful storms and inundations, which oblige the farmers to send their cattle to the Andes.
In the rainy season, fevers, dysenteries, diarrhoeas, the black vomit, or yellow fever, and other disorders are common, and carry off great numbers of people; at this period also, snakes, scorpions, vipers and scolopendras find their way into the houses, and are sometimes even found in their beds. The boba, a serpent of immense size, is also common. These, with swarms of mosquitoes, and other venomous insects, render the towns very unpleasant during this season; and alligators, of an enormous size, cause the rivers and flooded places to be very dangerous.
In the summer, the heat being moderated by the sea and land breezes, the number and activity of all these creatures is much decreased; and this season, which is the coldest, renovates the inhabitants who have been rendered listless and indolent, by the suffocating heat which prevails during the rains.
The inundations spread to such an extent in some parts, that Babahoyo, one of the departments, is converted into a large lake, and the villages, which are always on heights, can only be approached with boats. These floods add, however, very greatly to the fertility of the country, as the cacao plantations and meadows thrive exceedingly when the water subsides.
Guayaquil grows cacao, tobacco, wax, cotton, timber for naval and architectural purposes, sugar, maize and plantains; and rears great quantities of cattle.
The rivers furnish fish in great plenty, but the city is scantily supplied, owing to the putridity which so soon takes place in transporting fresh fish. The coasts abound with lobsters, oysters and most kinds of salt-water fish.
The department of Puerto Viejo, which bounds the government of Atacames southward, has five principal towns, but these are, however, thinly inhabited; this department grows some tobacco and cotton, which, with wax and fine timber, form its chief resources, as nearly the whole district of Guayaquil is covered with immense forests of the largest trees, which render travelling in many parts impracticable.
Punta de Santa Elena has five towns, besides the chief place of the same name, which is celebrated for its salt-works, capable of supplying all Quito. The purple dye-fish is found in great plenty on the coasts of this division, and the productions of the district are wax, fruits, and cattle. The port of Punta is much frequented by vessels trading to Panama and Peru, and carries on a great trade with them in provisions and salt.
The island and district of Puna is situated at the mouth of the river Guayaquil, and is between six and seven leagues long and broad. It was formerly very populous, and is famous in the history of the conquest of Peru; containing at present one town, which is built in a convenient harbour on the north-east, but has very few inhabitants. To this district belong the towns of Machala, and Narangal, on the continent near the river Tumbez. The port of Puna serves for the lading-place of large ships which cannot get over the bar to Guayaquil, and the island abounds in wood, particularly mangrove-trees.
Yaguache is a district at the mouth of the river of the same name, which joins the Guayaquil. This division contains three towns, thinly inhabited, and produces cacao, cotton and wood, with great herds of cattle.
The division of Babahoyo contains five towns, and is the high road to the interior of Quito, famous for its cacao plantations producing also rice, cotton, pepper and a great variety of fruits, with immense droves of black cattle horses and mules. This country is overflowed every winter by the swelling of the three rivers, Columa, Ujiba and Caracol. The custom-house of the maritime districts of Quito, and the royal arsenal, is situated at Babahoyo, the chief town, in 1° 47' south latitude, which renders this district a place of considerable commerce. On account of the periodical inundation, the cacao trees thrive so much, that many of the plantations are so productive, that part of their fruit is left ungathered; and the monkeys and other animals availing themselves of this, annually destroy great quantities.
The largest district of Guayaquil is Baba, reaching to the Cordillera of the Andes, and bounded by the jurisdiction of Latacunga. It contains only three towns, two of which are inhabited by Indians, and are seated on the sides of the mountains. Its inhabitants are estimated at 4000.
The cacao also thrives exceedingly in Baba, and the quantity of this fruit gathered annually in Guayaquil for exportation and home consumption, amounts to 50,000 loads, at eighty-one pounds the load.
The last district of Guayaquil is that of Daule, so called from a river of that name, which flows by its principal town, also called Daule. This town contains some fine houses, to which the inhabitants of Guayaquil retire in the hot seasons; and by its river it sends fruits and plantains to the capital.
Daule also exports cattle, horses and mules, with cacao, cotton, and sugar, and much Indian corn. The tobacco grown in this district is the best of Guayaquil. It contains two other towns of no great size.
The river Guayaquil is not only the largest but the most important of all the streams in the jurisdiction. It rises in the Andes, and pursuing a serpentine course, flows into the Pacific in the Bay of Puna. The torrents which flow in all directions from the mountains, contribute to swell this river, and in winter it inundates the country to a great extent. Its mouth is about three miles wide, at Isla Verde and at Guayaquil still broader; the distance on it from this city to the custom-house of Babahoyo is twenty-four and a half leagues, and it is navigable four leagues further. The tides reach as far as the custom-house in summer, but in winter the current is so strong, that the tides are often imperceptible. The mouth of the river is so full of shifting sands, that the passage of large vessels is rendered very dangerous. Its banks are decorated with country-seats and cottages inhabited by fishermen. By means of this fine stream, Guayaquil exports the produce of its departments to Peru, Panama, and Quito, receiving European goods from Tierra Firme; from New Spain, and Guatimala, naptha, tar, cordage and indigo.
The other large rivers are those called Yaguache, Baba, and Daule, along the banks of which most of the Indians have formed their habitations.
The capital of the whole district is Guayaquil, a city of considerable importance, at the bottom of the gulf of Guayaquil, and at the mouth of the river of the same name, in 2° 12' south latitude, and 79° 6' west longitude. It was founded in the year 1534 or 1535, by Benalcazar; but was destroyed after several furious attacks by the Indians. In 1537 it was rebuilt by Orellana at some distance from its first scite, on the declivity of a mountain; and in 1693, great additions were made to it, on the other side of a branch of the river, which now divides the city into two parts, known by the names of the New and Old towns, communicating with each other by a long bridge.
The houses are constructed mostly of wood or whitened earth. It has suffered repeatedly by conflagrations, and was reduced to ashes in 1764, since which, the government have forbid the inhabitants to thatch their houses with straw. The streets of the new town are straight and wide, and well paved; arcades run along before all the houses, so that the people can walk protected from the rain and sun. It is now one of the handsomest towns of South America, but the marshes in its neighbourhood, combined with the heat of the climate, render it very unhealthy. It has a handsome church, college, convents, and an hospital, and is governed by a corregidor, who is named by the king of Spain, and who holds his office for five years. There is also a treasury and revenue office, for the receipt of the Indian capitation-tax, the duties on imports and exports and other taxes; and the bishop of Quito sends a vicar to govern the church.
The city is defended by three forts, two on the borders of the river, and the other inland, to guard the entrance of a deep ravine which leads to it.
The number of inhabitants is 10,000, most of whom are engaged in commerce, the Spaniards and creoles being the merchants, and the creoles and castes the artizans and labourers. The trade of this town is gradually increasing, and from the situation of its port, it will in all probability become a place of the first consequence, notwithstanding the insalubrity of its climate, and the dreadful tempests it is subject to in winter. The women of Guayaquil are proverbially handsome, which causes many Europeans to marry and settle here. The island of Puna has a fort or rather battery on it, where all ships coming in and going out are brought to.
Guayaquil was named a royal dock-yard, in 1767, and the abundance of excellent timber produced in its neighbourhood, renders it very fit for this purpose. The balsam-tree and several others yield excellent knees, and are celebrated for resisting worms and rot. Notwithstanding these advantages, the building of vessels is neglected, and the river and coasting trade is carried on in balsas, which receive the cargoes of the vessels arriving from Europe, Lima, or Panama. These balsas or rafts are peculiar to the coast of the provinces of New Granada; they are made of five, seven, or nine trunks, of an exceedingly light tree, called balsa. A little boy can carry a log of this wood twelve feet long, and a foot in diameter, with great ease. The rafts are made larger or smaller, according as they are wanted for fishing, for the coasting trade, or for the rivers, and they go as far as Payta in Peru from Guayaquil with safety. The logs of which they are made are sixty feet in length, and two, or two and a half, in diameter, so that a large one of nine logs, is between twenty and twenty-four feet in breadth. These logs are fastened to each other by bejucos, (a sort of parasite plant,) or withies, and have cross logs lashed so firmly with these pliable plants, that they rarely give way, though the sea in their coasting voyages runs very high.
The thickest log of the balsa is put so as to project beyond the others in the centre, and the others being lashed in equal number on each side to this, the number of logs is always uneven. A large balsa will carry twenty-five tons, and that as free from wet as possible, for the sea never breaks over them, nor does the water rise between the logs, as the whole machine adapts itself to the motion of the waves. They work and ply to windward like a keeled vessel, and keep their course extremely well before the wind, by means of a contrivance peculiar to them, which consists of some planks erected vertically, three or four yards long, and a foot and a half in breadth at the stern, and forward between the main logs. By pushing down some of these, and raising others up more or less, the float sails large, tacks, bears up, or lies to; and what renders this more astonishing, is that the machine is the contrivance of Indians unversed in the mechanical arts. On many of these rafts, the owners erect little huts for their accommodation, and on some of them in the rivers they have small gardens, with beautiful flowers and vegetables.
All the rivers in the vicinity of Guayaquil abound with large alligators, some of which are five yards in length; they destroy vast quantities of the fish, and are usually seen basking on the marshy shores, or employed in catching their food; they feed also on flies, musquitoes, &c., which they catch by keeping their huge mouths open until filled with these insects, which soon happens in a country where the air swarms with them.
The female alligator lays her eggs in a hole in the sand; these eggs are quite white and very solid, and she generally deposits a hundred at a time, which occupies a day or two, she then covers them over, and rolls herself about near them to accumulate the sand over her deposit. At the proper season the old one returns to the spot, and tearing up the sand, breaks the eggs to let the young animals out; the female then takes them on her neck and body and puts them into the water; but while doing this, the gallinazo vulture destroys great numbers of them, and the male alligator is said to devour as many as he can, while the female herself eats those which fall off her back, or do not swim, so that only four or five remain alive out of the hundred. The scales of the alligator's back are impenetrable to a musket-ball, and they are only vulnerable in the belly between the fore legs.
Vultures and other birds, frequently discover the nests by watching the female till she retires, and then claw up the sand, and devour the eggs; which are also eaten by the mulatto fishermen who frequent these rivers.
Calves and colts in the meadows, as well as dogs and other small animals, often fall a prey to these amphibious creatures, who approach the pastures in which they feed in the night, and carry them off; young children, and even men, have occasionally met with the same fate; but the American crocodile rarely attacks mankind, for which reason the Indians are emboldened to engage them whenever they meet them; but these creatures are usually killed by means of a snare, consisting of a strong piece of wood, pointed at both ends, and covered with flesh; this is fastened to a thong secured on shore, when the animal seeing the flesh on the water, darts at it, and shutting his mouth, the points run into his jaws, and he is caught.
Many of the small rivers on the coasts of Spanish America are said to contract a musky smell and taste, from the vast numbers of alligators with which they abound, and it is even asserted that seamen are aware of the presence of these animals, by the peculiar white colour of the water which they frequent, but nevertheless, do not refrain from supplying their ships with that article, from such streams, as it has never been discovered that the change in taste, smell and colour, imparts any noxious quality to the fluid.
We shall conclude this account of Guayaquil, with a statement of the amount of its annual domestic and foreign trade.
The exportations, of which the principal article is cacao, are valued in good seasons, at 119,170l., whilst the importations in a like period, arise to 260,000l. sterling.
The adjoining district of CuenÇa is the next of the presidency of Quito, that comes under our notice, the chief town of which is the city of CuenÇa, founded in 1537, by Gil Ramirez Davalos; it stands in 2° 53' 49 south latitude, and 79° 14' 40 west longitude, on a spacious plain, about half a league from the river Machangara; on the south side is another river called Matadero, and about a quarter of a league distance are two others, named Yanuncay and Banos.
These rivers are fordable in summer, but in winter can be crossed only by the bridges. The plain of CuenÇa is about six leagues long, and in it these four rivers unite and form a large stream. The streets are straight and broad, the houses mostly of adobes, or unburnt bricks; the Indian suburbs, consisting of low mean huts; but the place is well supplied with water, and the environs are extremely fertile and pleasant. It contains three churches, two of which are appropriated to the Indians; there are also four convents, two nunneries, and a college formerly belonging to the Jesuits, with an hospital.
Its public offices are the chamber of finance, and those of the government of the city; and the tithes and taxes of Loja and Jaen de Bracameros, are collected here.
The men are said to be very indolent, the manufactures of baize and cottons, being carried on by the women, who transact most of the business.
Its inhabitants exceed 20,000. The district of CuenÇa is subdivided into two departments, CuenÇa, and Alausi; the former including ten villages, and the latter, which borders on Riobamba, has four.
They produce sugar, cattle, cotton, and grain, and a great quantity of cloth is manufactured in them. The mines in this country are very numerous, but from want of capital, and other causes, are not worked.
This district is famed for the many remains of Peruvian architecture it contains, the ruins of the Fort of Cannar before mentioned, being near the village of Atun-cannar, or Great Cannar, which village is also noted for its corn fields, affording very rich harvests.
The unfortunate inhabitants of the district were inhumanly massacred by Atabalipa, on account of their siding with his brother Huascar; and it is stated, that he caused 60,000 to be slain after the victory he gained over that monarch.
The climate of the city of CuenÇa is mild, the cold being little felt, and the heat very moderate. It is subject, however, to dreadful storms of rain, thunder and lightning, and in the department of Alausi, to earthquakes; the whole of that part of the district being full of chasms and crevices, caused by these events. In this part the air is also cold, on account of the neighbourhood of the snowy mountains.
Alausi, the chief place of the second department, is an inconsiderable town, containing a few Spaniards of rank, mestizoes and Indians, with a good parish church, and a Franciscan convent, in 2° 12' north latitude, and 78° 39' west longitude.
The last jurisdiction of Quito on the south, which is not a separate province, is Loja, or Loxa the chief town of which has the same appellation, and was founded in 1540, by Alonzo de Mercadillo, resembling in extent, form and manner of building, the city of CuenÇa, but the climate is much hotter. In Loja are two churches, several convents, a nunnery, an hospital, and an ancient college of the Jesuits; its population is about 10,000 souls, who are an industrious people, governed by an officer of high rank, having some peculiar titles and privileges.
In this district are fourteen villages, and it is famous for producing great quantities of the best quinquina, or cinchona, so well known as a medicine; the forests of Loxa contain three kinds of this substance.
The trees which produce this bark are not of the largest size, the usual height being about fifteen feet; the largest branches do not always yield the best; and in order to collect the bark, the Indians cut down the trees, then strip them and dry the rind in the sun, after which it is packed for exportation. Cochineal of an extreme good quality is bred in this country, but so little care is taken, that enough is only produced to serve the dyers of CuenÇa. Numerous droves of cattle and mules are sent from this district to Peru and Quito; and the manufacture of carpets, in which the cochineal dye is used, is very considerable.
The village of Zeruma is celebrated for having some rich gold veins in its neighbourhood, which have failed, owing to the want of proper exertion being made to clear them. This town or village was one of the first which was built in the province, and contains five or six thousand inhabitants.
GOVERNMENT OF JAEN DE BRACAMOROS.
This government following that of Loja on the south, we shall describe it before those of Quixos and Maynas, although it is the most southern of the provinces of Quito. It is bounded on the north by Loja and Quixos, or Macas, on the east by Maynas, on the west by Piura, and on the south by Caxamarca, or Chachapoyas in Peru. Its southern and western frontiers limit the territories of the viceroyalty of Peru.
Bracamoros was first discovered and explored in 1538, by Pedro de Vergara, who was appointed to command an expedition by Hernando Pizarro. Juan de Salinas was sent afterwards to this province with the title of governor; by courage and artifice, he conquered the native tribes, and built several villages, some of which are dignified with the names of cities. The Indians of the country, known at that time by the names of Yaguarsongo, and Pacamoros revolted and destroyed all the principal settlements, and those which escaped, dreading a return of a similar calamity, united themselves into one town called Jaen, from which the whole province has now taken its name.
The town, or city of Jaen, lies in nearly the same longitude as Quito, and in about 5° 25' south latitude; it was founded in 1549, by Diego Palomino, on the river Chinchipe at its conflux with the false Maranon. Its inhabitants amount to about 4000, being chiefly mestizoes, a very few Indians, and still fewer Spaniards.
There are three other villages called Valladolid, Loyola, and Santiago de las MontaÑas, which are styled cities, but contain very few inhabitants to support this title. The other villages, which are about ten in number, are mostly peopled by Indians.
The Pongo de Manseriche, or strait by which the False Maranon passes the Andes, is partly in this district.
The embarkation on the Lauricocha, the present name for a river which was until very lately supposed to be the Maranon, is usually at Chuchunga, a village of Bracamoros, in 5° 29' south latitude, four days' journey from Jaen; the river not being navigable nearer than this, on account of the rapids.
In Jaen, the climate is hot, though the rains are not so violent or lasting as in Quixos; the summer is the pleasantest season, as the heat, the rains, and the tempests abate during that period.
Such parts of this country as are under cultivation, are very fertile, but nearly the whole government is covered with forests. The cacao flourishes very much, but owing to the difficulty of carriage, cannot be exported with profit; tobacco seems peculiar to the soil, as great quantities are produced, which being prepared in a peculiar manner, by soaking the leaves in decoctions of fragrant herbs, acquires so pleasant a taste, that the cigars of Jaen are universally sought after in Peru, Chili, and Quito. Cotton-trees are very abundant, and their produce constitutes a great part of the traffic of the inhabitants. The rivers of Bracamoros formerly produced a great deal of gold, but no exertions are made to procure the grains at present.
Its commerce consists in cotton, tobacco and mules, with which a brisk trade is carried on with the provinces of Peru and Quito, in return for European articles.
The animals peculiar to the wilds of Jaen are the cougar, or puma, the jaguar, and the great black bear of the Andes, which equally inhabits all the mountain regions of Quito. They have also a very large animal called danta, which is as big as an ox; its skin is white, and it has a horn in the middle of its head bending backwards; and the woods are abundantly stocked with reptiles and birds.
All the rivers of Jaen flow into the Lauricocha, or descend into the deserts of the Maranon to join that noble stream on the east. The communication by post is carried on down these rivers, and the Indian, who carries the letters, wraps them in his dress which he ties round his head, and with a great knife in his hand, to clear the underwood which may obstruct his road when obliged to land, he descends swimming for two days the river of Guacabamba, or Chamaya, and then the Amazons to Tomependa, a village of Jaen. The Chamaya is full of rapids, but the postman passes these by land, and generally carries with him a log of bombax or balsa, in order to rest himself on in the water. In the huts of the natives, which mostly lie along the shores, he finds food and welcome, and none of these rivers are infested with alligators, which generally prefer water whose stream is not rapid.
The Indians who inhabit Bracamoros are usually in large hordes, and on their migrations from one hunting ground to another, they generally travel in this manner, excepting when they ascend the country; then the forests offer the only paths; and through these (in which cinchona of the finest quality is found) they are forced to hew their way with their long knives.
THE GOVERNMENT OF MAYNAS.
The government of Maynas is the most eastern territory of Quito; it extends to the Portuguese frontiers on the Great Maranon, and is bounded on the north by Quixos, west by Bracamoros and Peru; south by Peru, and eastward by Portuguese America, and the missions north of the Maranon.
The extent of Maynas cannot be computed, as the greater part of it consists of the immense forests of the vale of the Amazons.
Its capital is St. Francisco de Borja, or Borja, in 4° 28' south latitude, and 76° 24' west longitude. The inhabitants are not numerous, being mostly creoles and Indians; but the governor resides here, who is styled governor of Maynas and Maranon. The western district of Maynas contains, besides the city of Borja, the town of Santiago de la Laguna or Cocamas on the eastern bank of the river Guallaga. This is the seat of the superior of the missions, which are spread among the Cocames, the Maynas, Xibaros, Panos, Omaguas, Chamicuros, Aguanos, Muniches, Otanabes, Roamaynas, Gaes, Napeanos, Yurimaguas, and several other Indian tribes. On the river Napo these missionaries have twelve villages, and on the False and True Maranon, as far as the Rio Negro, upwards of twenty-four, with many infant settlements. In the interior, and on the banks of other rivers which flow into the Maranon, they have also many populous and flourishing places, among various tribes of Indians, but most of which are little known.
All these nations of Indians have a great affinity to each other in appearance and manners, but their languages differ as much as those of the northern continent; many of them have also very singular customs; the Omaguas flattening the heads of their infants, by compressing them constantly between boards, and fancying that this gives them a very beautiful appearance; these people were converted by father Fritz, in 1686.
Other tribes bore holes in the septum of the nose, in the lips, or in their chins, sticking in these fine feathers or other ornaments, whilst some extend the lobes of their ears, by constantly hanging weights to them, till they descend to the shoulders.
Maynas is chiefly remarkable as being the country which was supposed to contain such invaluable forests of cinnamon, that the brother of Pizarro nearly lost his life in endeavouring to find it. This exploratory march of the governor of Quito led to the discovery of one of the finest rivers in the world; a part of which traverses this district.
The river Maranon rises in the southern Andes of Peru, and if its length is estimated from its known parts only, to the Atlantic, it rolls its waters through a space equal to 4500 miles, and it is said that a vessel of 4 or 500 tons, might actually navigate it throughout this immense extent. It receives on every side along its majestic course, streams which are themselves longer and deeper than most of the great rivers of Europe; the Beni, the Lauricocha or Tunguragua, the Madera or Llavari, and the Negro, are all of this description; besides which, as a late traveller in Brazil has observed, it may be said to receive thousands of others into its bosom. Near its supposed sources, this noble stream, or rather inland sea, is called the Apurimac, and rises to the south of the mountains of Cailloma, between 16 and 17 degrees of south latitude, near the city of Arequipa, where it is joined by the Monigote or Panguana, and is so deep that on entering the province of Canes, a rope bridge becomes necessary. Eight miles below this bridge it passes through the Andes, amid awful precipices, and is joined by the Pampas or Charcas in 13° 10' south latitude from the west. The Vilcamayo, nearly equal in size to the Apurimac, falls into it, at 12° 15' south latitude, and the Rio Jauja, or Mantaro in 12° 6' south latitude. At the junction of this stream with the Apurimac, the current which had before run from north-west, changes to the north-east. The Perene at 11° 13', and the Ynambari, or Paucartambo, at 10° 45', augment its swelling waters, after which, from hence to 8° 26' south latitude, it receives forty large streams; but none so considerable as the Beni, whose sources lie in the province of Sicasica, in 19° south latitude. At its confluence with this river, the Apurimac is called the Grand Para, and is two miles in width; and at 8° 26' south latitude; the Pachitea throws in its tributary waters.
Northward of this last the Piachiz joins it, and here the river changes from north to north-east. At 7° 35' south latitude, the Aguaytra falls into it, and in 7° south latitude, the Manoa or Cuxniabatay, the Sariacu at 6° 45' south latitude, and the Tapichi at 5° south latitude. The stream has now borne for some time the name of Ucayale, and proceeding under this appellation, with an immense volume, it receives at 4° 55' south latitude, the Tunguragua, Lauricocha, or False Maranon. It now divides into three branches, the largest of which is 55 fathoms in depth, and turns directly to the east. Before describing its farther progress, it is necessary to say that some authors have doubted whether the Beni is not the true Maranon, as its sources are farther south than those of the Apurimac; and it is of such force, and has such an immense width on its junction with that river, that it actually drives the Apurimac towards the west for some distance.
The Tunguragua was formerly considered to be the Real Amazons, but that opinion is now quite exploded; it rises in the province of Tarma in Peru, in the lake Lauricocha, near the city of Guanuco, in 11° south latitude, and flows through Peru to Bracamoros, where passing by Jaen, it turns to the east, and pours itself, after intersecting the Andes at the Pongo de Manseriche into the Maranon by an immense mouth, below the village of St. Regis.
The Tunguragua receives many large tributary streams, in the kingdom of Peru, one of which, the Guallaga, rising in the southern Andes, east of Guamanga, is at its conflux with the Lauricocha, 450 yards wide, and thirty-four fathoms deep.
The Ucayale, or True Maranon, is navigable at all seasons; it was explored in 1794 by father Girval, who ascended it from St. Regis to the river Pachitea, and found its current gentle, abounding with fish, and its banks crowned with superb forests stored with wild animals. The native tribes on its shores were generally of a pacific nature, and in the course of 300 leagues he found 132 islands.
From the confluence of the Ucayale and Tunguragua, the river decidedly receives the name of Maranon, and flows with a gentle current, and with an increasing expanse of waters into the Atlantic Ocean; its course lies mostly through the Portuguese territories of Amazonia, Guiana, and Grand Para. It receives from the Cordillera of Quito, the Caqueta and Apapures, which running into each other, become a noble river, under the name of the Yapura. The Napo, which was the river on which Orellana first embarked, also rises in Quito, as does the Putumayo, or Ica, which flows into the Maranon, between the Napo and the Yapura. East of these rivers, besides an immense number of smaller streams, the Maranon receives the great Rio Negro, by which it communicates with the Orinoco. Between the junction of the Negro and the Atlantic Ocean, innumerable streams rising in the deserts of Portuguese Guiana pour in their tributary waters from the north; on its south side this amazing river receives, commencing from the west after the conflux of the Lauricocha, the Yavari, the Jutay, the Juruay, the Tefe, Carori, Puros, and the great Madera, which has its sources in Potosi, far south of the Apurimac, and falls into the Maranon by numerous mouths; and the Topayos, Zingu, Dos Bocas, the Tocantins and the Mugu, issuing from the mining districts of Brasil, pay their tribute to the Maranon, until it rushes into the vast bosom of the Atlantic.
In breadth and depth the Maranon answers almost every where to its immense length, and it forms throughout its course, innumerable islands, especially between the mouths of the Napo and the Carori, which are picturesque in the extreme, from the great variety of their figures, and from the beautiful straits they form between their banks. The depth of the branches formed by these islands, near St. Pablo, or St. Paul de Omaguas, the western Portuguese fort, on the frontiers of New Granada and Peru, is more than a mile. At Coari, where the groups of isles terminate for a short space, the river is nearly a mile and a half broad, and M. de la Condamine, after taking every precaution against the effect of the current, found no bottom with 100 fathoms of line; 400 miles below the mouth of the Negro, the shores of the Maranon approach each other, and this place is called the Straight of Pauxis; the breadth here is only a mile, and the tides are perceptible, though the ocean is still 200 leagues distant.
Proceeding onward, with a majestic course, and forming numerous islands and straights, the river directs its course, after receiving the Zingu, towards the north-east, and enlarging its boundaries in the most astonishing manner, it runs, with accumulated force, to its final destination, forming, as it glides along, several very large insulated places; one of these dividing it at last into two mouths, by which it enters the Atlantic Ocean.
This island, called Joanes, is 150 leagues in length, and from its Cape Maguari to Cape Norte, on the opposite continent, the largest of the two estuaries is forty-five leagues in breadth, whilst the lesser is twelve leagues broad, from the same Cape Maguari to Tigioca point, on the southern continent.
The Maranon is subject to periodical floods during the rainy seasons, at which times it overflows, and fertilizes the country adjacent to its banks. The descent of this river in a straight course of 1860 miles, was found by M. de la Condamine, (who embarked on the Tunguragua and joined the Maranon) to be about 1020 feet, or rather more than six inches in a mile; and the place where the tides are first perceptible, is 90 feet above the level of the sea.
Its banks are adorned with every variety of plants peculiar to tropical countries; immense and stately forests are every where observed, inhabited only by the wild animals, or by man in a state of nature. The settlements of the Portuguese, extend only a very short distance from the Atlantic, where they have here and there a fort, in the most open situations of the interior; the rest of the valley of the Amazons is in the possession of its ancient tenants.
A history of the discovery of this river from the interior, has been already given; but Orellana was not the first who explored it. Vicente Yanez Pinzon, who accompanied Columbus in his first voyage, was the person by whom this was achieved. At his own expence, he fitted out four vessels in Spain, in 1499, and sailed to the Canaries; passing Cape Verde, he steered directly west, till on the 26th January 1500, when he saw the land, which he named Cabo de Consolacion (now called Cape St. Augustine); landing here, and viewing the country, he determined to coast along its shores, until he at last found himself in a fresh water sea, and advancing further, he discovered the islands at the mouth of the river, and trading with the Indians who inhabited its banks, he called it by what he heard them name it, the Maranon.
This discovery was followed by that of Orellana from the interior, in 1540. In 1559, Pedro de Orsua endeavoured to trace the route of Orellana, but was killed by the Indians.
In 1602, Rafael Ferrer explored the river for a short space, and gave the first account of the nations on its shores.
In 1616, some soldiers, pursuing the Indians, fell in with the False Maranon, and went down it in canoes; on their return, and in consequence of what they reported, Baca de Vega was appointed governor of Maynas, in 1618.
Some missionaries afterwards proceeded as far as Para in Brasil, from whence they were dispatched with a flotilla of boats, to re-ascend and explore the banks of the river. They departed on the 28th of October 1637, and reached Palamino in Quixos, on the 24th June 1638.
In consequence of this voyage, the flotilla was ordered to return to Para, with several intelligent persons on board, who were to make a further survey, and then proceed by way of the Portuguese territory, to Spain. They accordingly set out from Quito, on the 16th of February 1639, and reached Grand Para, after a voyage of ten months; whence they crossed the Atlantic to Europe.
The missionaries now exerted themselves to form settlements, but none so arduously as Father Fritz, who sailed down the river from Maynas to Para, in 1689, and returned by the same route, in 1691; he subsequently visited most of the rivers which flow into the False Maranon, as well as some of those down to the Negro, which fall into the genuine river, and drew a map of these, which was engraved at Quito, in 1707.
Father Girval explored the Ucayale, or True Maranon, in 1794, extracts from whose account will appear in the description of Peru.
The voyage of M. de la Condamine, in 1793, down the Maranon, from the province of Jaen de Bracamoros, to the Atlantic Ocean, threw a great light on the geography of this famous river, since which period no traveller of any note has undertaken this dangerous and fatiguing journey, for scientific purposes alone. A stronger motive than the mere love of science induced a lady to venture herself on the immeasurable expanse of the Maranon. Madame Godin des Odonnois, the wife of M. Godin, a brother of the celebrated mathematician of that name, had received advices from her husband, that it would be necessary to embark with her family on this perilous voyage. Actuated by the spirit of conjugal affection, she committed herself to the bosom of the river, in 1769. In this expedition the greater part of the company who went with her, perished, having lost their way in the trackless forests of the country; after the most inconceivable struggles, she regained the borders of the river, and sailed down it to the ocean. The narrative of the disasters which befel her is one of the most affecting relations ever penned by the hand of man; and her conduct exhibits a picture of the fortitude which woman is capable of exerting, in situations under which the mind of the bravest of the other sex fails. From Madame Godin alone, this noble river might be named the Amazons.
One of the extraordinary circumstances respecting this river, is the pororoca, or bore, a sudden efflux of the waters, which rush like a moving wall, twelve or fifteen feet in height, and sweep every thing before them; the noise of this irruption may be heard for eight miles; it is chiefly observable at the Cape del Norte, at its confluence with the Arowary. This rising of the waters is observable in several rivers and arms of the sea, in the New and Old Worlds; the river Severn in England, and the bay or basin of Minas in Nova Scotia, are, with that of the Ganges in India, among the most remarkable.
The waters of the Maranon run with such velocity, that they are unmixed with the salt of the ocean, 80 leagues from the mouth.
Maynas contains several other rivers besides the Lauricocha, the most noted of which are the Napo, issuing from Cotopaxi, which receives several other streams, and after a course of 200 leagues, falls into the Maranon. Father de Acuna insisted that this was the true Amazons.
The River Ica, or Putamayo, rising in the district of Ibarra, falls into the Maranon, east of the Napo, after a course of 300 leagues. The Yapura, which rising in Popayan, under the name of Caqueta, runs into the Maranon, by several mouths. One branch of this river was formerly thought to be the great Rio Negro, the junction of which, with the Orinoco, is so exactly laid down in a map of Father Ferreira, of the city of Gran Para, that it differs in very few respects from the late discoveries of M. de Humboldt on the Cassiquiare. The Portuguese penetrated from the Amazons to the Orinoco, by means of canoes, as early as 1774; and M. de la Condamine, also gives a very reasonable description of this famous junction.
The Rio Negro rises a short space north of the Caqueta or Yapura, and after an amazing course, sends off one branch to the Orinoco, directly north, and another south-easterly to the Maranon. The northern branch is now known by the name of the Cassiquiare: these afford an inland communication between two of the most celebrated rivers in the world; and as the settlements of the Spaniards in Caraccas, and the Portuguese in Guiana, approach each nearer and nearer every year, this natural canal will shortly become of great importance.
The most remarkable natural curiosity in Maynas is the Pongo or straight, through which the Lauricocha passes the Andes. The river above the Pongo, runs down a mountain channel, forming rapids, cataracts, &c., approaching the eastern ridge of the Andes, where it suddenly contracts its bounds, from 1600 to 600 feet, and rushes through a crevice of tremendous height for the space of eight miles.
The vortices are so powerful here, that a missionary was kept in one for two days, and would have perished with his raft, if the river had not suddenly swollen and carried him out of it. Balsas are always used in this strait, as the spring they have resists the shocks which they experience when dashed against the rocks; in such cases, a canoe or boat would be broke to pieces.
La Condamine was carried through on his balsa at the rate of nine miles an hour, and emerging from the jaws of the mountain, he found himself in a new world, separated from all human intercourse, on a fresh water sea, surrounded by a maze of rivers and lakes, which struck in every direction into the gloom of an immense forest, impenetrable but for them. New plants and animals were exhibited to his view, the soil covered with a dense mass of vegetation never appeared, and nothing was to be seen but verdure and water. Below Borja, and four or 500 hundred leagues beyond it a stone or a pebble is as rare as a diamond.
In Maynas the Indians are great adepts in fishing, and the rivers swarm with tortoises on their shores and islands, which they catch in great numbers. The manati or sea-cow is also sought after by them for food; it is about three or four yards long, and very broad, with two large wing fins. This animal feeds on the herbage growing along shore, and has obtained its name from its great size, and from its suckling its young in the manner of a cow, and its flesh tastes also like beef.
This country, particularly along the rivers, is infested with large snakes, or boa constrictors, and in the places where these abound, the air is generally hot and unhealthy, as is the case along the whole range of the vast river Maranon, which likewise swarms with alligators, venomous reptiles, and insects.
THE GOVERNMENT OF QUIXOS.
The government of Quixos and Macas is the last and most easterly of those of the audience of Quito and kingdom of New Granada; it is bounded on the north by Popayan and the plains; east by Portuguese Guiana; on the west it is separated from Latacunga and Ibarra by the Cordilleras of Cotopaxi, Cayambe, &c., and on the south, it is limited by Maynas and Bracamoros.
This country was first discovered by Gonzalo de Pineda, as before related, in 1536. The viceroy Canete, commissioned Davalos to govern the province, reduce the Indians, and found towns. He accordingly erected Baeza the capital, in 1559, and this was soon followed by the building of Archidona, Avila, and other places.
In Quixos the climate is very hot and moist, the rains being almost continual. It is covered with thick forests, some of the trees in which are of prodigious magnitude. In the south-west of Quixos, is the country called Los Canelos, a sort of spice resembling cinnamon growing there. The south part of Quixos is called Macas, and is separated into a distinct district, under that appellation, of which the chief town is the city of Macas, or Sevilla de Oro.
The climate of Macas is better than that of Quixos, as the proximity of the Andes occasions to be much cooler. The winter here begins in April, and lasts till September, the summer then commences, and the north winds blowing constantly, renders it very mild. The chief occupation of the settlers is the cultivation of tobacco which is exported to Peru; sugar canes thrive very well, as do cotton, grain, &c. Among the infinite variety of trees, which the forests are composed of, is the storax, distinguished by the exquisite fragrancy of its gum. Great quantities of copal are brought from Macas as well as wild wax, and the district contains eight principal villages, and numerous missionary settlements, two priests or superiors governing the spiritual affairs. At the conquest, this country was very populous, owing to the quantity of gold drawn from the neighbourhood of Macas.
Baeza, the capital of Quixos y Macas, is a miserable village, of only eight or nine houses, the governor residing always at Archidona.
Macas, the chief town of Macas, lies in 2° 30' south latitude, and 78° 5' west longitude. Its houses are built of wood and thatched; the inhabitants who amount to 1200, are generally mestizoes or Spaniards.
Archidona is a small place, in 0° 45' south of the line, and 76° 48' west longitude. Its houses are of wood with thatched roofs, and the inhabitants amount to about 700, being a mixture of all castes. It was almost ruined in 1744, by an explosion of Cotopaxi.
Avila is in 0° 44' south latitude, and 76° 25' west longitude; its inhabitants amount to about 300, and its curate has six other villages under his jurisdiction. The number of regular villages in Quixos are twelve, with numerous missions. The independent Indians are still the chief occupiers of Quixos and Macas; their irruptions are frequent and much dreaded, most of them being of a warlike disposition. This prevents these countries from being colonized rapidly, but a few Spanish troops properly managed, might however soon quell these people, and reduce them to a state of insignificance. The missions of Sucumbios, five in number, also belong to this government.
Quixos and Macas are intersected by the rivers mentioned as flowing into the Maranon through parts of Maynas; but little is known of the state of the country on their banks, as the aborigines are there the sole and undisputed masters.
FOOTNOTES:
END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
Printed by A. Strahan,
Printers-Street, London
