How there are large salt lakes and baths in this kingdom; and how the land is suited for the growth of olives and other fruits of Spain, and for some animals and birds of that country.
HAVING concluded what I have to say concerning the founding of the new cities in Peru, it will be well to give an account of some of the most noteworthy things in the country, before I bring this first part of my work to a conclusion.
I will now make mention of the great salt lakes in this country, a thing very important for the sustenance of the people. I have mentioned how there were no salt lakes throughout the government of Popayan, and how God our Lord has provided salt springs, from the water of which the people make the salt for their support. Here in Peru there are such large and fine salt lakes that they would suffice to supply all the kingdoms of Spain, France, Italy, and other parts. Near Tumbez they get large rocks of salt from water near the sea shore, which they take in ships to the port of the city of Cali,[520] and to the Tierra Firme. In the sandy deserts, not very far from the valley of Huara, there are some large and valuable salt lakes, and great heaps of salt which are lost, for few Indians take advantage of this supply.[521] In the mountains near the province of Huaylas there are other still larger salt lakes; and half a league from the city of Cuzco there are wells, where the Indians make enough salt to supply all the province. In Cunti-suyu, and in parts of the Anti-suyu, there are some very large salt deposits. In short it may be said that Peru is well supplied with salt.
There are also baths in many parts of the country, and fountains of warm water, where the natives bathe. I have seen many of these, in the parts through which I have travelled.[522]
Many places in this kingdom, such as the coast valleys and the land on the banks of rivers, are very fertile, and yield wheat,[523] maize, and barley[524] in great quantities. There are also not a few vineyards at San Miguel, Truxillo, the City of the Kings, Cuzco, and Guamanga, and they are beginning to plant them in other parts, so that there is great hope of profitable vine cultivation. There are orange and pomegranate trees, and other trees brought from Spain, besides those of the country; and pulses of all sorts.
In short Peru is a grand country, and hereafter it will be still greater, for large cities have been founded, and when our age has passed away, Peru may send to other countries, wheat, meat, wool, and even silk, for there are the best situations in the world for planting mulberries. There is only one thing that has not yet been brought to this country, and that is the olive tree, which, after bread and the vine, is the most important product. It seems to me that if young plants were brought from Spain, and planted in the coast valleys, and on the banks of rivers in the mountains, there would soon be as large olive woods as there are at Axarafe de Sevilla. For if they require a warm climate it is here; if they want much water, or none, or little, all these requirements can be found here. In some places in Peru it never thunders, lightning is not seen, nor do snows fall in the coast valleys, and these are the things which damage the fruit of olive trees. When the trees are once planted, there will soon come a time when Peru will be as well supplied with oil as with everything else.[525] No woods of oak trees have been found in Peru, but if they were planted in the Collao, in the district of Cuzco, and in other parts, I believe that they would give the same result as olive trees in the coast valleys.[526]
My opinion is that the conquerors and settlers of these parts should not pass their time in fighting battles and marching in chase of each other; but in planting and sowing, which would be more profitable. I have to mention a thing here, that there is in the mountains of Peru. I allude to certain foxes, not very large, which have the property of emitting so foul and pestiferous an odour, that there is nothing with which it can be compared. If one of these creatures, by any accident, comes in contact with a lance or anything else, the evil smell remains for many days, even when the lance is well washed.[527] I have not seen wolves, nor other mischievous animals, in any part, except the great tigers which I have mentioned as frequenting the forests of the port of Buenaventura, in the province of the city of Cali, which have killed some Spaniards, and many Indians. Ostriches[528] have been met with beyond Charcas, and the Indians value them very highly. There is another kind of animal called huis-cacha,[529] of the size and shape of a hare, except that the tail is like that of a fox. They breed in stony places, and amongst rocks, and many are killed with slings and arquebuzes. They are good to eat, and the Indians make mantles of their skins, which are as soft as silk, and very valuable. There are many falcons, which would be prized in Spain. I have already said that there are two kinds of partridges, one small, and the other the size of fowls.[530] There are the best ferrets in the world in this country. There are also certain very obscene birds, both in the coast valleys and in the mountains, called auras, which eat dead bodies, and other noisome substances.[531] Of the same kind are the enormous condors, which almost appear like griffins, and carry off the lambs and small huanacus in the fields.
