Farm of Vinto, Cattle, Grain, &c....First Wheat in Peru....Tapiales, Fences....Trees, Shrubs, and Plants....Fruit....Animal....Birds, Fish....Appearance of the Villages....Balsas....Indian Feast....Indian Burial....Paramonga....Palace or Fortalice.

On the side of the river opposite to Huaito I visited the farm of Vinto, which from the purposes to which it is dedicated may be considered as something like an English farm. Horned cattle are bred in considerable numbers; the cows rear the calves, and are seldom milked. Dr. Robertson speaks of a degeneration of animals in America, "in the Spanish colonies within the torrid zone, or bordering on it;" but he certainly was misinformed with respect to Peru; the cattle is not so large as in Lincolnshire, but, taking the average, it is as large as the English, French, and Spanish cattle: when fed on lucern the meat is well-flavoured, fat, and juicy, and the bones are very small. At Vinto great numbers of pigs are reared, and are said to pay very well. Barley is sown at a time which allows it to be in ear in the littering season, when the sows are turned on it, and remain until it is all eaten down: the young pigs are then separated from the old ones, and driven to a field of lucern, where they are kept till they are fit for market; this takes place when they are from ten to sixteen months old, at which age they sell at from six to nine dollars each, if of a good breed for fattening. Few sheep are bred on the coast, to which during some months of the year large flocks are driven from the interior, and fattened for the Lima market; many of these are ewes in-lamb, particularly those brought down in November and December; and the common bargain between the drover and the farmer is, to give the lambs for the pasturage, by which means the farmer obtains a sufficient number of sheep to supply him with mutton, calculating on receiving a hundred and fifty lambs for every hundred ewes. Besides this increase in sheep, which is greater than in England, the ewes bear twice a year in South America—in general the lambing season is in June and December.

The breed of horses and mules at Vinto was of little extent, but some of the latter were very good; the ordinary ones for carriers would sell for forty-five or fifty dollars each, while the prime mules would fetch a hundred or a hundred and fifty.

A considerable quantity of wheat is harvested at Vinto, as well as on the neighbouring farms and near the surrounding villages; it is sown and ploughed in, and irrigated three or sometimes four times during its growth; after it is cut, it is thrown into a heap, and the grain trodden out by horses; it is then cleared from the chaff, by throwing it up in the wind, as in Chile, and it generally yields from fifty to seventy-fold.

The first wheat was carried to Lima in the year 1535, by DoÑa Maria de Escobar, wife of DoÑ Diego de Chares; the quantity consisted of but a few grains, which she cultivated herself. In the true spirit of the age and country, she invited all her friends to celebrate the first harvest of new wheat in the new world, not knowing that it had been produced in Mexico in 1528, by a negro slave belonging to Cortes, who accidentally found a few grains mixed among the rice which was supplied to the army. To commemorate the happy event in Lima, DoÑa Maria presented to each of her friends a few grains, and it is said that some ears were laid as an offering on the altar of the Dominican church. The first wheat at Quito was sown near to the Franciscan convent, by Father Jose Rixi, who carried his seed thither from Europe in a small earthen jar, which yet exists in the convent, and is exhibited to visitors; it is of baked clay, and will hold about a quart. Among the relics shown to me, in 1809, I admired none so much as this: a circumstance which rather disconcerted the pious sacristan who shewed them to me. The historian, I should think, must feel greater pleasure in recording the name of the individual who has promoted the welfare and contributed to the comforts of his fellow creatures, than in sounding the trumpet of fame to that of a hero whose glory reposes on the mangled bodies of thousands of his comrades, slaughtered to add a letter to the name of the victor, and not unfrequently to bind the chains of thraldom round the necks of the vanquished.

Maize, beans of five or six varieties, lentils, garbansos, camotes, yucas, and potatoes are cultivated by the farmer for home consumption, as well as for the Lima market; the slaves also grow the same articles, and on a Sunday take their produce to the neighbouring villages to sell.

The fields on these plantations and farms are generally divided by walls, called tapiales: these are formed of large square masses of clay or earth, sometimes mixed with stones, each being about four feet long, two thick, and two broad, and are called adobones; the walls are sometimes four and sometimes six feet high, being composed of two or three layers of adobones. They are made by laying a frame of wood on the ground, composed of two sides and one end, the sides being secured at the other by thongs of raw hide; the earth on one side the box or frame is then wetted with water, dug over once or twice, and put into the frame, adobera, where it is trodden hard, or beaten with a heavy rammer; more earth is thrown in, and again pressed down, until the frame is quite full, when the top is smoothed over with a wooden trowel and some water. The frame is removed by untying the thongs, which allows the sides of the adobera to open a little, and to separate freely from the adobon, which is smoothed with the trowel or hand with a little water; the frame is now placed with its open end to the adobon which is finished, and another is made and placed adjoining to it by the same process. When a second or third tier is raised, two pieces of plank or scantling are laid on the lower adobon, to support the frame, which is filled as before; the scantlings are then drawn out and the frame removed; the holes are sometimes filled up, and sometimes left open. When stones are mixed with the clay or earth they are usually placed along the sides of the frame, the centre being filled up with earth, to which cut straw is occasionally added, particularly when the soil is rather sandy. These fences are very durable; a ditch is formed on one or both sides, according to the will of the master, and the earth dug out serves to make the wall, and at the same time secures it from being undermined by the water, which would be injurious to the foundation. In those parts of Peru where it rains, small bundles of brush wood are put across the top of the tapial, and clay laid on them to prevent the rain from penetrating: if tiles were substituted they would answer much better.

I have been rather minute in describing these walls, being convinced that with a few improvements they would be found preferable to some fences used in England; indeed the easy method of building them deserves to be communicated to those who are in the habit of constructing fence walls instead of hedges, a common practice in our hilly countries. As a proof of their duration, many of these clay fences are now standing on the coast of Peru, and of those cased with stone in the interior, built more than three centuries ago, by the indians, before the Spaniards discovered their country.

The trees that afford any timber in this neighbourhood are the molle and espino, or huarango; from the latter excellent charcoal is made, and considerable quantities are carried to Lima. Senna is found in abundance in the hedges, and willows and poplars become very lofty. The indigo plant grows spontaneously in the fields; I have sometimes observed cochineal on the cactus, cultivated for its fruit, the prickly pear, but of an inferior quality; in the interior it is called pilcay, and from some cotton cloth which I have found in the huacas, it is evident that the ancient Peruvians were acquainted with its colouring principle, this as well as the indigo being among the fillets taken out of the huacas. They procure the yellow tint at present by steeping the berries of the molle in water, and afterwards a quantity of maize; wool dyed in this water takes a bright and permanent yellow. A tree of the mimosa tribe, called Tara, bears a quantity of pods which contain a large portion of tanin; ink is generally made from an infusion of these pods, by adding to it some sulphate of iron. The fragrant floripondio grows in many of the hedges, assisted by the odorous Ñorbo, a small species of passion flower, which emits in the evening a most delightful fragrance. The prickly apple, holy thistle, and many other medicinal plants grow wild, with the virtues and applications of which the indians are well acquainted. The maguey is very common; it makes a good hedge, no animal daring to pass it, on account of the large prickles with which the point of each leaf is armed. It may be said, that this is one of the most useful plants at present known. Of the flower stalks the indians build their houses, and cover them with its large leaves; the fibrous part may be converted into thread and woven for clothing, while its sharp pointed prickles are a good substitute for needles. Before the flower stem makes its appearance, if the heart of the plant be cut out, and a hollow place made in the centre, it will be filled in ten or twelve hours with a thick syrup, which may be used instead of sugar; when this is mixed with water and fermented, it forms the favourite Mexican beverage pulque; of this juice vinegar may be made, or brandy distilled from it: if the leaves are bruised and pressed, they produce by boiling a balsamic syrup, used to cleanse and cure ulcers; the leaves are also used instead of soap: the clothes are wetted, and then beaten with a leaf which has been crushed; a thick white froth is produced, and after rincing, the clothes are quite clean. The flower buds are very delicate eating when boiled or pickled. Of the aloes this is the largest species; here are two varieties, the leaves of the one being of a deep green inclining to black, while those of the other are of a beautiful pale green; the latter is the more useful of the two varieties.

A tree called del jaboncillo grows in the hedges; it has the appearance of the laurel, and produces a quantity of round fruit, of the size of small plums; a hard kernel is enclosed in a tough rind, which when ripe contains a pulpy matter; this, on being mixed with water, produces a white froth, and is used instead of soap for washing.

In some gardens the achote is cultivated; this tree is seldom above ten feet high, the leaves are heart-shaped, and the seeds are enclosed in a prickly capsule about three inches long; they are covered with an unctuous matter, of a vermilion colour, and are thrown into hot water, and afterwards strained, when the liquor is boiled to the consistency of paste, and forms the annotta dye. The natives often use it as a spice, or as a colouring matter for their food.

Mani is also cultivated; the plant is very frondiferous, is about two feet high, and has white flowers; but the mani, or nuts, are attached to the roots; they are about the size of horse beans, and when roasted or boiled are delicate eating; they contain a considerable quantity of oil, of a beautiful green colour, which is obtained by pressure; it is equally palatable with the best olive oil. The root is remarkably nutritive, and very agreeable to eat when on a long journey.

A tree called pilco grows in the hedge rows; the leaves are lancet formed, and the branches very straight; the fruit is like that of the common laurel. If a person remain but a short time under the shade of this tree when the sun shines, swellings and pustules make their appearance on the face and arms, or any other naked part of the body. The juice is extremely caustic, and ulcerates the skin wherever it touches; on which account it is called in the Quichua language capsicarancha, the itch tree. When it is necessary to cut down any of these trees, a fire is made at the foot of them, and their offensive property is destroyed.

The plant which produces the castor bean, from which the castor oil is obtained, grows wild; the oil is often extracted by the natives, and on some sugar plantations it is used for the purpose of burning in lamps. One variety of this plant produces very large beans, which are called piÑones: it grows about six feet high; the leaves are somewhat like those of the vine; the beans are enclosed in prickly capsules, each containing two beans, which have a thin black shell, and very white kernel; two or three of these chewed and swallowed prove a violent purgative. The natives extract the oil and apply it to the abdomen in cases of dropsy; they also dilute a small quantity in urine, and pour one or two drops into the ear, in cases of deafness or a pain in the ear.

During the damp season, in foggy months, a species of cactus grows on the lomas or sand hills which produces a fruit called caimito; this resembles in shape a large cucumber; it is first green, afterwards brown, with yellow stripes, and when ripe it is red. The taste is an agreeable subacid; but after eating the fruit a very disagreeable feeling is left on the lips, which is removed by rubbing them with a piece of the rind. The fruit is remarkably fragrant, and on this account it is frequently kept in the houses.

In the garden at Huaito there were a few plants of coffee; they were very healthy and bore fruit abundantly. Cotton of a good quality grows near the cottages of the indians, who always cultivate a few plants for their own consumption; among these plants I have observed many bearing cotton of a nankeen colour, but of this they seldom make any use.

Quantities of small lizards are to be seen on every heap of rubbish or stones, particularly when the sun shines, busily employed in catching flies, on which they appear to subsist; I have frequently watched them while seizing their prey. As soon as they observe a fly on the sand they creep out of their holes and make their advance with a slow and almost imperceptible motion; they place themselves in a right line with the object, and then make a dart at it open mouthed, and swallow it in a moment, very rarely missing it. They are often beautifully striped with green, yellow, and brown, and are generally about eight inches long. On some parts of the coast the indians eat them; they cut off the tail and the feet and fry the body, which has then the appearance of a fried smelt. I ate some at San Pedro, and believed them to be the peje rey until I was undeceived. The indians consider them as a medicinal food for persons afflicted with cutaneous diseases.

The opossum is found in all the valleys of the coast; it is about two feet long including the tail, which is as long as the body; the nose is pointed like that of a hog, and has no hair on it from the eyes to the mouth; the ears are thin, without any hair on them, and stand erect; the feet are also naked and small, and it holds its meat with its fore paws, like a monkey; the body is covered with hair, black at the roots and white at the points, which gives it a shady grey colour; the tail is slender and naked, and by it the animal can hang suspended to the branch of a tree. The female brings forth four or five young ones at a time, not larger than mice when first born, and they immediately betake themselves to the pouch under the belly of their mother. The pouch is formed by a fold of the skin, hairy on the outside and covered with a very soft down or fur on the inside; the nipples are so situated, that the young ones can suck them as they are carried about by their mother; when about the size of full grown mice they leave the pouch by an opening in the centre, and bask in the sun, but if any danger threaten them they immediately take refuge in their natural home. I one day caught an old opossum by the tail, when four of her young ones ran out; I chased and captured two of them; they immediately hid themselves by running up the inside of my coat sleeves; I took them home, reared them, and they became perfectly domesticated, were very tame, and would sleep on the same mat with a dog. They feed on fruit or esculents, will eat flesh, and are particularly fond of eggs. The indians esteem them as food, but I never had an opportunity of eating any. The natives sometimes call the opossum mochilera, from mochila, a knapsack; the indians call it mucamuca.

The aÑas of Peru is a species of pole cat, and is nearly the size of a domestic cat; its colour is a deep brown approaching to black, with a line of round white spots extending from the nose to the tail; the head is long, the ears broad and covered with hair, the eyes large with small black pupils, the nose sharp like the opossum; the upper lip is shorter than the lower one, which projects, and the mouth contains twelve incisorial, four canine, and sixteen grinding teeth. The hind legs are longer than the fore, and each foot has five toes, armed with long sharp nails, with which it burrows into the ground, and forms a place of security for its young. When walking it carries its head down, and its tail, which is bushy, is turned on the back like that of a squirrel.

Under the tail and above the vent is a small vesicle, which contains a remarkably fetid oily liquid. When attacked or in danger this animal elevates its posteriors and forcibly ejects upon its assailant this pestiferous fluid, the loathsome effects of which nothing can exceed. Clothes that are in the least sprinkled with it become totally useless, for no washing will take off the stench; in the same manner, it will not leave the body, if any part happen to come in contact with it, until the cuticle or surface skin comes off. If a dog by chance receive any of it on his body he immediately runs to the water, rolls himself in the mud, howls, and appears almost mad, nor will he eat any thing for several days, or until the stench begins to abate—this defence is the only one of which the aÑas ever avails itself.

Conscious of his offensive powers, the aÑas is not alarmed at the approach of either men or dogs; it always passes them fearlessly, indeed both generally make way, lest by opposition they might subject themselves to its nauseous and abominable filth, and become disgusting even to themselves by being wetted with its matter.

The skin of the aÑas has a beautiful long soft fur, and is quite free from any disagreeable smell. The animal feeds on poultry and eggs, and is very annoying, for no one chooses to risk the killing of it: when this is effected, it is generally with a trap, but should it be killed in a village or near a house, the smell is quite a nuisance to the neighbourhood for several days.

Some few snakes are found in the hedges, but they are quite harmless. The alacran, scorpion, is venomous, but not more painful than the sting of a wasp.

Of the feathered tribe the majestic condor stands most conspicuous, whether on the ground extending its wings, which often measure fourteen feet from tip to tip, or soaring among the clouds, in appearance not larger than a swallow. The flight of this bird is truly majestic; it rises with an almost imperceptible tremulous motion of the wings, and falls to the ground in the same manner; it pounces on its prey, if a lamb or any other small animal, and bears it off in its talons to some neighbouring mountain; if the prey be too large, the condor will feed on it till unable to fly, when it becomes itself the easy prey of the villagers, who run it down and kill it with clubs.

The gallinaso, or turkey buzzard, as it is sometimes called, from its resemblance to a turkey, is a very useful bird; it is the public scavenger, devours all kinds of carrion, and on this account is seldom or never killed.

A few small eagles and hawks are troublesome among the poultry, and destroy great numbers. Wild ducks frequent the mouths of the rivers, where we find gulls and other aquatic birds, among which we frequently discover the pelican.

The singing birds are the cilguero, a kind of linnet; the blackbird, resembling in size and note the English blackbird; the titupuying, which is something like the cardinal. A species of wood pigeon is very common, and in allusion to its note is called coo coo lee; it is easily tamed, and will coo at any hour of the night, if a candle be lighted, but never more than three times before it ceases or rests.

Some of the rivers have plenty of lisa, a species of mullet, peje rey, and camarones; the sea fish on the coast are corbina, chita, jureles, a kind of mackerel, peje rey, and lenguado, a species of turbot. Shell fish is scarce, but small muscles and limpets are generally found. The natives cook and eat a sea weed which grows on the rocks, known by the name of yuyo de la mar. On the shore among the sand a small white stone is found, called piedra del ojo, or limpia ojos; it is about the size of a lentil, and of an opaque white colour; the natives pretend that by putting one of them under the eyelid, it will travel round the eye, and then fall out, bringing with it any extraneous matter that may have been lodged in this delicate organ.

The villages along the coast have a very neat appearance; the houses are but one story high, with a capacious corridor in front; some of them are supported by pillars made of sun-dried bricks, some round, others square; while others are composed of bundles of canes lashed together and covered with clay, with arches made of the same materials. The whole front is white-washed, and a comfortable promenade is produced under the grotesque piazzas, a range of seats sometimes extending the length of ten or twelve houses; and here in the cool of a summer evening the villagers sit, or lay their mats on the ground and sleep. In those villages where the population consists of creoles and indians few of the latter build their houses in the busy part of the village; they prefer living on their own small chacras, or the allotments of land which they possess.

A low table, a few pots and pans to cook in, and some calabashes to eat and drink out of, compose the furniture of an indian's cottage. Mats of totora, a long rush which grows in swampy ground, are their seats, of which rushes they sometimes make the walls of their cottages, by tying them up in small bundles, putting these close together, and securing them with canes placed horizontally on each side, and tied together at certain distances. They also form balsas of them; for this purpose, they tie together as many as make the middle of the balsa, about two yards in circumference, which they taper to a point at each end; they then shape it like a crescent by winding round it ropes of the totora. Seated on the centre of this original boat, they take their nets and go two or three leagues out to sea, and I never heard of any accident happening to the fishermen. As the person who navigates in this manner must sit astride, the indians often call their balsas potrillos, colts; and the appearance of a fleet of them floating on a smooth sea in a calm evening is very beautiful.

When dry, the balsa only weighs a few pounds, so that on one mule the fisherman can carry his boat, his net, and even sufficient materials to build his hut: in this manner they range up and down the coast in search of fish, which they often salt and take either to Lima or some other market. One kind of net is perfectly round when laid open on the ground; the circumference has several pieces of lead attached to it, and in the centre a rope is tied: when used they collect about half the net on the right arm, throw it into the water, and allow it to sink to the bottom; they then draw the line fastened to the centre, and as the net rises, the leads close by their own weight, and the fish are thus secured. With this umbrella net, as I used to call it, they often catch large quantities of fish in the rivers, lakes, and among the surf on the sea shore—the indians name the net ataraya.

When an indian celebrates the feast of some particular saint, he provides a dinner for all who choose to partake of it; mats are laid on the ground, and the cloth along the middle of them; large calabashes of chicha, some holding five or six gallons, are placed on the cloth, with a number of smaller ones, holding about a pint, ranged on each side; the men seat themselves, and the women bring in large dishes of beef, cut into pieces about two inches square, and stewed with lard, a quantity of capsicum, and the juice of sour oranges. Spoons are placed on the table, if I may so call it, but the fingers supply the place of forks—knives are very seldom wanted, and small calabashes serve instead of plates: when these dishes are removed the chicha goes merrily round. The second course of dishes is generally filled with fowls stewed with some kind of vegetables, but not picante, seasoned with agi, capsicum pods; after this course follows a pepian, consisting of turkey stewed with rice flour, water, onions, garlic, cayenne pepper, and lard; sometimes peje reyes, smelts, merely laid for five or six hours in the juice of sour oranges, and green capsicum pods are brought in; and, lastly, the favourite dish of cuyes, guinea pigs, highly seasoned with cayenne pepper. Between each course the chicha circulates freely, and the company often rise pretty merry; after which they mount their horses and call for the stirrup cup; the mistress of the feast then goes out with a large pongo, calabash of chicha, and distributes a small one to each of the guests, who frequently joke with her about love affairs; indeed, I have often heard very witty repartees on such occasions. After the men are gone, the women sit down and enjoy their dinner in some other room—not unfrequently in the kitchen; but they abstain almost entirely from the chicha or any other intoxicating liquors.

On the death of an indian, his relatives immediately repair to the house, and place themselves round the corpse, which is laid on the ground, and wail over him in a kind of plaintive ditty; they mourn his departure, asking him "Why he left them so soon?" with other similar questions, enumerating also all his actions, kindnesses, &c. If the deceased leave a widow, she will sing over him, and recount the tales he told when he courted her, say where they first met, mention other things that would be as well forgotten, and conclude with, "Why have you gone and left me? But some other loved you as well as myself, and she has bewitched you to death, she has sucked your blood, and she will now be happy." When this lamentation ceases, a relative will approach the house, and begin the wail again, all the company joining, and repeating theirs; the dirge is continued with little interruption until the corpse is buried.

About five miles from Patavilca, and a hundred and twenty from Lima, is a place called Paramonga, or the Fortalesa. The ruins of a fortified palace of very great extent are here visible; the walls are of tempered clay, about six feet thick; the principal building stood on an eminence, but the walls were continued to the foot of it, like regular circumvallations; the ascent winded round the hill, like a labyrinth, having many angles, which probably served as outworks to defend the place. It is supposed to have belonged to the Chimu or King of Mansichi, and was a frontier palace during the time of the Incas. The oral tradition of the indians says, that at this place the Chimu did homage to Pachacutec, the tenth Inca. Near these ruins is a high rock, which overhangs the sea, called el serro de la horca, gallows' hill, because from the top of it all criminals were formerly thrown into the sea. Near the Fortalesa is a very extensive ruin of a town, and a manufactory of saltpetre is established. The salt is obtained by filling large cisterns with the sand taken from the graves or huacas; water is poured on it, and having filtered through the sand, it is drawn off; this is next evaporated and put into large canoes, in which the salt crystallizes. The nitre is very pure, and is carried to Lima and sold at the powder mills. Considerable treasure, both in gold and silver ornaments, has been found, when taking the sand out of the huacas; beside which many curiosities in earthenware, porphyry, basalt and other stones, as well as cotton and woollen garments, have been collected. The value of treasure dug up by different individuals in the year 1813 exceeded twenty thousand dollars.