CHAPTER XV.

FOOTNOTES:[79]Bark-gatherers. The Peruvians call the barkcascarilla, and they point out the distinctions of a great number of species and varieties.[80]From Cuzco, the ancient residence of the Incas. It was discovered by the French chemists Corriol and Pelletier, in the Cascarilla which is shipped in Arica; hence this alkaloid is also calledAricin.[81]The Indian name for this animal isChaque chinca. The black varietyYana chincais called by the SpaniardsTigreorYaguar.[82]Rupicola peruviana, Ch. Dum. The color of the female is reddish brown, and she is named by the nativesTunqui mulato; the male is calledTunqui Colorado. In some parts of the Montaña theCephalopterus ornatusis calledYana Tunqui. Thus, even the Indians have observed the relationship of these birds, which, classed according to our system of natural history, actually belong to one family, theAmpelidæ. Their affinity is indicated very correctly by the Indian name.[83]The Organistas of Peru, Brazil, and Guiana, &c., mentioned by so many travellers, all belong to the family of the Troglodytinæ, to the two genera,Troglodytes, Vieill, andCyphorhinus, Cab. The Peruvian Organista above alluded to, is theTroglodytes leucophrys, Tsch. In Guiana it appears to be theCyphorhinus carinatus, Cab.[84]Xenops,Anabates,Dendrocolaptes, and many other kinds ofCapitoandPicus.[85]These are different kinds ofCassicusandIcterus.[86]Kinds of Pteroglossus. Those most frequently met with in the Montañas are thePt. atrogularis, Sturm;Pt. cœruleocinctus, Tsch. (Aulacorhynchus, Orb.); andPt. Derbianus, Gould.[87]Dios te designifiesMay God give it thee. The sound which is interpreted,Dios te deresembles very much the cry of most of the Toucans, or pepper-eaters.[88]Several kinds of Penelope.[89]The cry of this bird closely resembles the Spanish wordsVen acá(Come hither).[90]Seven species of Crypturus.[91]Sterna erythrorhynchos, Prince Max.,St. magnirostris, Licht.[92]Champsa fissipes, sclerops et nigra, Wagl.[93]Echidna ocellata, Tsch. This is the only species of the viper family belonging to South America, as yet known.[94]Sphenocephalus melanogenys, Tsch.;Lygophis Reginae, Wagl.;L. taeniurus, Tsch.;L. elegans, Tsch.[95]Fromñaui, the eye,huacay, to cry, andçiçi, the ant;—so called by the Indians, because the pain of its numerous stings brings tears into the eyes.[96]"Acabe la tarea" may be translated "My task is finished." But the Indians are not very consistent in their interpretations of the song of theCucarachero; for in some districts, they contend that it repeats the words—Casa te Soltera, "Go and get married, Maiden."[97]A. von Humboldt, von Martius, and, in particular, Pöppig, who has published a narrative of his journey through Peru, distinguished by its precision, and written in a style so elegant and simple that its perusal affords the utmost interest and pleasure.

FOOTNOTES:

[79]Bark-gatherers. The Peruvians call the barkcascarilla, and they point out the distinctions of a great number of species and varieties.

[80]From Cuzco, the ancient residence of the Incas. It was discovered by the French chemists Corriol and Pelletier, in the Cascarilla which is shipped in Arica; hence this alkaloid is also calledAricin.

[81]The Indian name for this animal isChaque chinca. The black varietyYana chincais called by the SpaniardsTigreorYaguar.

[82]Rupicola peruviana, Ch. Dum. The color of the female is reddish brown, and she is named by the nativesTunqui mulato; the male is calledTunqui Colorado. In some parts of the Montaña theCephalopterus ornatusis calledYana Tunqui. Thus, even the Indians have observed the relationship of these birds, which, classed according to our system of natural history, actually belong to one family, theAmpelidæ. Their affinity is indicated very correctly by the Indian name.

[83]The Organistas of Peru, Brazil, and Guiana, &c., mentioned by so many travellers, all belong to the family of the Troglodytinæ, to the two genera,Troglodytes, Vieill, andCyphorhinus, Cab. The Peruvian Organista above alluded to, is theTroglodytes leucophrys, Tsch. In Guiana it appears to be theCyphorhinus carinatus, Cab.

[84]Xenops,Anabates,Dendrocolaptes, and many other kinds ofCapitoandPicus.

[85]These are different kinds ofCassicusandIcterus.

[86]Kinds of Pteroglossus. Those most frequently met with in the Montañas are thePt. atrogularis, Sturm;Pt. cœruleocinctus, Tsch. (Aulacorhynchus, Orb.); andPt. Derbianus, Gould.

[87]Dios te designifiesMay God give it thee. The sound which is interpreted,Dios te deresembles very much the cry of most of the Toucans, or pepper-eaters.

[88]Several kinds of Penelope.

[89]The cry of this bird closely resembles the Spanish wordsVen acá(Come hither).

[90]Seven species of Crypturus.

[91]Sterna erythrorhynchos, Prince Max.,St. magnirostris, Licht.

[92]Champsa fissipes, sclerops et nigra, Wagl.

[93]Echidna ocellata, Tsch. This is the only species of the viper family belonging to South America, as yet known.

[94]Sphenocephalus melanogenys, Tsch.;Lygophis Reginae, Wagl.;L. taeniurus, Tsch.;L. elegans, Tsch.

[95]Fromñaui, the eye,huacay, to cry, andçiçi, the ant;—so called by the Indians, because the pain of its numerous stings brings tears into the eyes.

[96]"Acabe la tarea" may be translated "My task is finished." But the Indians are not very consistent in their interpretations of the song of theCucarachero; for in some districts, they contend that it repeats the words—Casa te Soltera, "Go and get married, Maiden."

[97]A. von Humboldt, von Martius, and, in particular, Pöppig, who has published a narrative of his journey through Peru, distinguished by its precision, and written in a style so elegant and simple that its perusal affords the utmost interest and pleasure.

Montaña of San Carlos de Vitoc—Villages—Hacienda of Maraynioc—the Coca Plant—Mode of Cultivating and Gathering it—Mastication of Coca—Evil Consequences of its excessive Use—Its Nutritious Qualities—Indian Superstitions connected with the Coca Plant—Suggestions for its Introduction in the European Navies—Fabulous animal called the Carbunculo—The Chunchos—Missions to Cerro de la Sal—Juan Santos Atahuallpa—The Franciscan Monks—Depopulation of Vitoc.

The Montaña of San Carlos de Vitoc is, without exception, one of the most interesting districts of Peru. It has on the one side, and at a short distance, the populous villages of the Sierra, and on the other it borders on the forests, through which the wild Indians range in their hunting excursions. It was formerly the principal key to the missionary stations of the Pampa del Sacramento, the Chanchamayo, Perenc, and Upper Ucayali. It is only twenty leagues distant from Tarma, from whence the road leads through the fertile valley Acobamba, to Palca. Eastward of the latter place are the ruins of a fort, which in former times must have been a place of considerable importance. The wild Indians have repeatedly made hostile sallies from their forests, and it is only by this bulwark, which, with four small field-pieces, completely defends the narrow valley, that they have been checked in their advance on Tarma. An exceedingly steep path runs about a league and a half up the acclivity; then, becoming somewhat more level, it extends to the base of the crest, which at that part is about 14,000 feet above the level of the sea. Here the aspect of the Andes is by no means so imposing as that of the Cordillera, for the glaciers and steep rocky summits are wanting. The highest peaks rise only about 200 feet above the crest. As in the Cordillera, the eastern declivity inclines much more gently than the western, but the road is marshy, and is interspersedwith large hollows, into which the mules often fall and are killed. After passing over the Andes, two leagues further, we come to the hacienda Maraynioc, where numerous herds of cattle are kept. Round the hacienda there are potato plantations, and the potatoes reared here are so excellent, that they are celebrated throughout the whole Sierra. Every morning the sky is obscured by heavy clouds; it rains regularly two days in the week, and there are frequent falls of snow; yet notwithstanding this excessive humidity, a bad harvest is an event never to be apprehended. The cultivation of maize is, however, found to be impracticable here, for soon after germination the ears rot. A small stream flows past the hacienda, and after a course of about three leagues, it reaches the Montaña de Vitoc. Formerly, the road ran close along the bank of this stream, but in consequence of the repeated depopulation of Vitoc, it became neglected, and at length impassable. The way is now over the Cuchillo, or sharp edge of a mountain ridge, and it must be at least four times longer than the course formerly taken. From Maraynioc the road proceeds, for the length of a league, through a valley overgrown with brushwood, and then rises to a lateral branch of the Andes, which is almost as high as the main chain. The Indians call this ridge,Manam rimacunan("Thou shall not speak!"), for a heavy wind, accompanied by drifting snow, blows constantly, and renders it scarcely possible to open the mouth to utter a word. From Manarimacunan, downwards, to the lower Montaña, the road passes over stones laid inechelonform, and through a very slippery hollow way, which descends rapidly downward, and is surrounded by almost impenetrable woods; the only open and level place is the field of Chilpes, which is a few hundred paces long.

Here it is highly interesting to contemplate the rapid increase of vegetation, and the varied changes in the animal world. From the brink of a ridge where only feeble vegetation can be seen, we descend a few leagues and speedily find ourselves in the region of the Cinchona tree, and in the evening we are among lofty palms. The first human dwellings seen on entering the Montaña are half a dozen small huts, forming the hamlet Amaruyo, formerly called Sibis, and immediately after we come to the village of Vitoc. It consists of about fifty wretched huts, and has asmall church, in which worship is performed twice a year for the inhabitants of the whole valley.

Vitoc is surrounded by two rivers, which unite in a sharp angle, called the Tingo, and which separate the valley from the territory of the wild Indians. The valley is deep, and the surrounding heights are broken by many quebradas. The soil is very fruitful, and the locality is less than some others infested with troublesome insects; yet it is but scantily peopled, for, besides the two villages and the Hacienda of Maraynioc, already mentioned, it contains only a few scattered chacras. The inhabitants of this, the most favored district of the Montañas, scarcely amount to 200. The villagers employ themselves chiefly in the cultivation of pines, which are sent to Lima. The Indians of Palca and Tapo bring them potatoes, salt, and butcher's meat, for which the villagers exchange their pine-apples. The fruit is conveyed by asses to the coast, where, however, it seldom arrives in good condition. The other productions of the Montaña are maize, oranges, bananas, paltas, Spanish pepper, &c.; but these articles are sold only in the Sierra. Each inhabitant of the village cultivates his own piece of ground, which he can enlarge when he pleases; but these people are too indolent to devote themselves seriously to agriculture. It is only when the governor in Tarma compels them to pay the annual contribution, that they make an effort to augment their earnings; they then seek a market for the products of their cultivation, and sell them for ready money. Vitoc and some of the villages in its neighborhood form altogether only one ecclesiastical community, whose pastor lives in Tarma the whole year round. He goes to Pucara only once in six or eight months, to read a couple of masses, and to solemnize marriages and christenings, but chiefly to collect fees for burials which may have taken place during his absence.

The plantation of Pacchapata is of considerable extent, but produces very little. The system of repartimientos, already described, by which the poor Indian is kept in a state of slavery by advances of clothing, meat, brandy, &c., is practised in this hacienda to a great extent. The laborer who is set down in the plantation-book as a debtor for ten or twelve dollars, has a good chance of remaining during the rest of his life a tributaryslave; for if he tries by prolonged labor to relieve himself from the debt the owner of the plantation causes brandy to be made, and this is too great a temptation to be resisted by an Indian. The butcher's meat given to the laboring Indians in general consists ofChalonas, that is, the dried flesh of sheep which have died in the haciendas of the hilly districts. For a meagre, tough, unwholesome chalona the Indian has to add a dollar and a half or two dollars to his debt, while a living sheep in the Sierra would not cost half the price. It is the same with other articles furnished by the haciendas. European importations, such as can be purchased at very low prices in the Sierra, are sold at high profits by the owners of plantations to the poor Indians, who have to repay them by long and severe labor.

At Pacchapata, besides maize, yuccas, and fruits, sugar, coffee, and coca are also cultivated. The sugar-cane grows in abundance, and is of good quality. An excellent kind of coffee is grown here; the bean is slightly globular, and its color is a greenish blue. In former times the viceroy used to send the coffee of Vitoc as a highly-esteemed present to the court of Madrid. The coca is also very fine, and yields three harvests in the year; which, however, is only the case in a few of the Montañas, as, for example, at Pangoa and Huanta. I may here subjoin some notice of this highly interesting plant.

The coca (Erythroxylon coca, Lam.) is a shrub about six feet in height, with bright green leaves and white blossoms. The latter are succeeded by small scarlet berries. It is raised from the seed, in garden-beds calledalmazigas. When the young shoots are one and a half or two feet high, they are removed to regularly laid out coca fields (cocales), where they are planted at the distance of about three spans from each other. The coca requires humidity; therefore, during the first year or two after it is planted in the fields, maize is sown between thematas, or young shoots, to screen them from the too great influence of the sun. When the leaves are ripe, that is to say, when on being bent they crack or break off, the gathering commences. The leaves are stripped from the branches, a task usually performed by women, and it requires great care lest the tender leaves and young twigs should be injured. In some districts, the Indiansare so very careful in gathering the coca, that, instead of stripping off the leaves, they cut them from the stem by making an incision with their nails. The plant thus rendered leafless is soon again overgrown with verdant foliage. After being gathered, the leaves are spread out on coarse woollen cloths and dried in the sun. The color of the leaves when dried is a pale green. The drying is an operation which likewise demands great care and attention, for if the leaves imbibe damp, they become dark colored, and then they sell for a much lower price than when they are green. The dry coca is finely packed in woollen sacks, and covered with sand. These sacks are of various sizes and colors, in different parts of the Montañas. In Huanuco they are grey or black, and when filled weigh from 75 to 80 pounds. In Vitoc they are grey and white, and contain 150 pounds. In Huanta and Anco they are small in size, and black or brown in color, and contain merely one aroba. In the Montañas of Urubamba, Calca, and Paucartambo, the coca leaves are put into small baskets calledcestos, and covered with sand. Great care is also requisite in the carriage of the coca, for if damp be allowed to penetrate the sack, the leaves become hot, or as the natives express it,Se calientan, and are thereby rendered useless.

The Indians masticate the coca. Each individual carries a leathern pouch, called thehuallqui, or thechuspa, and a small flask gourd, called theishcupuru. The pouch contains a supply of coca leaves, and the gourd is filled with pulverised unslaked lime. Usually four times, but never less than three times a day, the Indian suspends his labor, for the purpose of masticating coca. This operation (which is termedchaccharoracullicar) is performed in the following manner: some of the coca leaves, the stalks having been carefully picked off, are masticated until they form a small ball, or as it is called anacullico. A thin slip of damp wood is then thrust into theishcupuru, or gourd, and when drawn out some portion of the powdered lime adheres to it. Theacullico, or ball of masticated coca leaves, is, whilst still lying in the mouth, punctured with this slip of wood, until the lime mixing with it, gives it a proper relish, and the abundant flow of saliva thus excited is partly expectorated and partly swallowed. When the ball ceases to emit juice, it is thrown away, and a new one isformed by the mastication of a fresh mouthfull of coca leaves. In Cerro de Pasco, and in places still further south, the Indians use, instead of unslaked lime, a preparation of the pungent ashes of the quinua (Chenopodium Quinua, L.). This preparation is calledLluctaorLlipta. In using it a piece is broken off and masticated along with theacullico. In some of the Montaña regions the Llucta is made from the ashes of the musa root. The application of the unslaked lime demands some precaution, for if it comes in direct contact with the lips and gums, it causes a very painful burning. During a fatiguing ride across the level heights, where, owing to the cold wind, I experienced a difficulty of respiration, my Arriero recommended me to chew coca, assuring me that I would experience great relief from so doing. He lent me hishuallqui, but owing to my awkward manner of using it, I cauterized my lips so severely that I did not venture on a second experiment.

The flavor of coca is not unpleasant. It is slightly bitter, aromatic, and similar to the worst kind of green tea. When mixed with the ashes of the musa root it is somewhat piquant, and more pleasant to European palates than it is without that addition. The smell of the fresh dried leaves in a mass is almost overpowering; but this smell entirely goes when they are packed in the sacks. All who masticate coca have a very bad breath, pale lips and gums, greenish and stumpy teeth, and an ugly black mark at the angles of the mouth. An inveteratecoquero, or coca chewer, is known at the first glance. His unsteady gait, his yellow-colored skin, his dim and sunken eyes encircled by a purple ring, his quivering lips and his general apathy, all bear evidence of the baneful effects of the coca juice when taken in excess. All the mountain Indians are addicted more or less to the practice of masticating coca. Each man consumes, on the average, between an ounce and an ounce and a half per day, and on festival days about double that quantity. The owners of mines and plantations allow their laborers to suspend their work three times a day for thechacchar, which usually occupies upwards of a quarter of an hour; and after that they smoke a paper cigar, which they allege crowns the zest of the coca mastication. He who indulges for a time in the use of coca finds it difficult, indeedalmost impossible, to relinquish it. This fact I saw exemplified in the cases of several persons of high respectability in Lima, who are in the habit of retiring daily to a private apartment for the purpose of masticating coca. They could not do this openly, because among the refined class of Peruvians the chacchar is looked upon as a low and vulgar practice, befitting only to the laboring Indians. Yet, Europeans occasionally allow themselves to fall into this habit; and I knew two in Lima, the one an Italian and the other a Biscayan, who were confirmed coqueros in the strictest sense of the word. In Cerro de Pasco there are societies having even Englishmen for their members, which meet on certain evenings for the chacchar. In these places, instead of lime or ashes, sugar is served along with the coca leaves. A member of one of these clubs informed me that on the few first trials the sugar was found very agreeable, but that afterwards the palate required some more pungent ingredient.

The operation of the coca is similar to that of narcotics administered in small doses. Its effects may be compared to those produced by the thorn-apple rather than to those arising from opium. I have already noticed the consequences resulting from drinking the decoction of the datura.[98]In the inveterate coquero similar symptoms are observable, but in a mitigated degree. I may mention one circumstance attending the use of coca, which appears hitherto to have escaped notice: it is, that after the mastication of a great quantity of coca the eye seems unable to bear light, and there is a marked distension of the pupil. I have also observed this peculiarity of the eye in one who had drunk a strong extract of the infusion of coca leaves. In the effects consequent on the use of opium and coca there is this distinction, that coca, when taken even in the utmost excess, never causes a total alienation of the mental powers or induces sleep; but, like opium, it excites the sensibility of the brain, and the repeated excitement, occasioned by its intemperate use after a series of years, wears out mental vigor and activity.

It is a well known fact, confirmed by long observation and experience, that the Indians who regularly masticate coca requirebut little food, and, nevertheless, go through excessive labor with apparent ease. They, therefore, ascribe the most extraordinary qualities to the coca, and even believe that it might be made entirely a substitute for food. Setting aside all extravagant and visionary notions on the subject, I am clearly of opinion that the moderate use of coca is not merely innoxious, but that it may even be very conducive to health. In support of this conclusion, I may refer to the numerous examples of longevity among Indians who, almost from the age of boyhood, have been in the habit of masticating coca three times a day, and who in the course of their lives have consumed no less than two thousand seven hundred pounds, yet, nevertheless, enjoy perfect health.[99]The food of the Indians consists almost exclusively of vegetable substances, especially roasted maize and barley converted into flour by crushing, which they eat without the admixture of any other substance. The continued use of this farinaceous food occasions severe obstructions, which the well known aperient qualities of the coca counteract, and many serious diseases are thereby prevented. That the coca is in the highest degree nutritious, is a fact beyond dispute. The incredible fatigues endured by the Peruvian infantry, with very spare diet, but with the regular use of coca; the laborious toil of the Indian miner, kept up, under similar circumstances, throughout a long series of years; certainly afford sufficient ground for attributing to the coca leaves, not a quality of mere temporary stimulus, but a powerful nutritive principle. Of the great power of the Indians in enduring fatigue with no other sustenance than coca, I may here mention an example. A Cholo of Huari, named Hatun Huamang, was employed by me in very laborious digging. During the whole time he was in my service, viz., five days and nights, he never tasted any food, and took only two hours' sleep nightly. But at intervals of two and a half or three hours, he regularly masticated about half an ounce of coca leaves, and he kept an acullicocontinually in his mouth. I was constantly beside him, and therefore I had the opportunity of closely observing him. The work for which I engaged him being finished, he accompanied me on a two days' journey of twenty-three leagues across the level heights. Though on foot, he kept up with the pace of my mule, and halted only for thechacchar. On leaving me, he declared that he would willingly engage himself again for the same amount of work, and that he would go through it without food if I would but allow him a sufficient supply of coca. The village priest assured me that this man was sixty-two years of age, and that he had never known him to be ill in his life.

The Indians maintain that coca is the best preventive of that difficulty of respiration felt in the rapid ascents of the Cordillera and the Puna. Of this fact I was fully convinced by my own personal experience. I speak here, not of the mastication of the leaves, but of their decoction taken as a beverage. When I was in the Puna, at the height of 14,000 feet above the level of the sea, I drank, always before going out to hunt, a strong infusion of coca leaves. I could then during the whole day climb the heights and follow the swift-footed wild animals without experiencing any greater difficulty of breathing than I should have felt in similar rapid movement on the coast. Moreover, I did not suffer from the symptoms of cerebral excitement or uneasiness which other travellers have observed. The reason perhaps is, that I only drank this decoction in the cold Puna, where the nervous system is far less susceptible than in the climate of the forests. However, I always felt a sense of great satiety after taking the coca infusion, and I did not feel a desire for my next meal until after the time at which I usually took it.

By the Peruvian Indians the coca plant is regarded as something sacred and mysterious, and it sustained an important part in the religion of the Incas. In all ceremonies, whether religious or warlike, it was introduced, for producing smoke at the great offerings, or as the sacrifice itself. During divine worship the priests chewed coca leaves, and unless they were supplied with them, it was believed that the favor of the gods could not be propitiated. It was also deemed necessary that the supplicator for divine grace should approach the priests with anAcullicoin hismouth. It was believed that any business undertaken without the benediction of coca leaves could not prosper; and to the shrub itself worship was rendered. During an interval of more than 300 years Christianity has not been able to subdue the deep-rooted idolatry; for everywhere we find traces of belief in the mysterious power of this plant. The excavators in the mines of Cerro de Pasco throw masticated coca on hard veins of metal, in the belief that it softens the ore, and renders it more easy to work. The origin of this custom is easily explained, when it is recollected, that in the time of the Incas it was believed that theCoyas, or the deities of metals, rendered the mountains impenetrable, if they were not propitiated by the odor of coca. The Indians, even at the present time, put coca leaves into the mouths of dead persons, to secure to them a favorable reception on their entrance into another world, and when a Peruvian Indian on a journey falls in with a mummy, he, with timid reverence, presents to it some coca leaves as his pious offering.

Soon after the conquest of Peru, when the Spaniards treated the Indians and all their customs with contempt, coca became an object of aversion to the whites. The reverence rendered by the natives to the coca plant induced the Spaniards to believe that it possessed some demoniacal influence. The officers of the government and the clergy, therefore, endeavored, by all possible means, to extirpate its use, and this is one cause, hitherto overlooked, of the hatred with which the Indians regarded the Spaniards. In the second council held at Lima, in 1567, coca was described "as a worthless object, fitted for the misuse and superstition of the Indians;" and a royal decree of October 18, 1569, expressly declares that the notions entertained by the natives that coca gives them strength, is an "illusion of the devil" (una elusion del Demonio). The Peruvian mine owners were the first to discover the importance of thechaccharin assisting the Indians to go through their excessive labor, and they, together with the plantation owners, became the most earnest defenders of coca. The consequence was, that, in defiance of royal and ecclesiastical ordinances, its use increased rather than diminished. One of the warmest advocates of the plant was the Jesuit Don Antonio Julian, who, in a work entitled, "Perla de America," lamentsthat coca is not introduced into Europe instead of tea and coffee. "It is," he observes, "melancholy to reflect that the poor of Europe cannot obtain this preservative against hunger and thirst; that our working people are not supported by this strengthening plant in their long-continued labors."[100]In the year 1793, Dr. Don Pedro Nolasco Crespo pointed out in a treatise the important advantages that would be derived from the use of the coca plant, if introduced into the European navies, and he expresses a wish that experiments of its utility in that way could be tried. Though it is not probable that Dr. Crespo's wish will ever be realized, yet there is little doubt that the use of coca as a beverage on board ship would be attended with very beneficial results. It would afford a nutritious refreshment to seamen in the exercise of their laborious duties, and would greatly assist in counteracting the unwholesome effects of salt provisions. As a stimulant it would be far less injurious than ardent spirits, for which it might be substituted without fear of any of the evil consequences experienced by thecoqueros. After a long and attentive observation of the effects of coca, I am fully convinced that its use, in moderation, is no way detrimental to health; and that without it the Peruvian Indian, with his spare diet, would be incapable of going through the labor which he now performs. The coca plant must be considered as a great blessing to Peru. It is an essential means of preserving the nationality of the Indians, and in some measure mitigating the melancholy fate of that once great race which disease and excessive labor now threaten to destroy.

In former times the cultivation of coca in the Montaña de Vitoc was very considerable. Upwards of 4,000 arobas used to be annually forwarded to the market of Tarma. Now only fifty arobas are sent. Vitoc produces no fodder for horses or mules; those animals, therefore, are very lean and feeble in this district, and are usually unfit for work after two years.Indeed, they suffer so much from the attacks of the blood-sucking bat and the gad-fly (tabano), that after being only a few weeks in the Montaña de Vitoc, their strength is exhausted, and they are scarcely able to reach the Puna. Black cattle, on the contrary, thrive excellently; but it is not possible to keep up herds, for the young calves are all devoured by the numerous animals of prey. The llamas, which the Cholos bring from Tapo to Vitoc, are so enfeebled and overcome by the journey, that on the second day after their arrival it is often found necessary to send them to a colder district.

In this Montaña the large animals of prey seldom approach human habitations, though sometimes the ounce pays them a visit, and the Cuguar descends from the Ceja. Other animals of the feline genus are very numerous, and their depredations render it impossible to breed poultry. Even the fabulous animal, called thecarbunculo, is said to have been seen oftener than once in Vitoc. In almost every place I visited on the coast, in the Sierra, and in the Montañas, extraordinary stories concerning this animal were related; and many persons even assured me they had seen him. The carbunculo is represented to be of the size of a fox, with long black hair, and is only visible at night, when it slinks slowly through the thickets. If followed, he opens a flap or valve in the forehead, from under which an extraordinary, brilliant, and dazzling light issues. The natives believe that this light proceeds from a brilliant precious stone, and that any fool hardy person who may venture to grasp at it rashly is blinded; then the flap is let down, and the animal disappears in the darkness. Such are the stories related by the Indians; and it appears that the belief of the existence of the carbunculo has prevailed in Peru from the earliest times, and certainly before the conquest, so that its introduction cannot be attributed to the Spaniards. It is even prevalent among many of the wild Indian tribes, by whom the early missionaries were told the stories which they in their turn repeated about the animal. As yet nobody has been fortunate enough to capture such an animal, though the Spaniards always showed themselves very desirous to obtain possession of the precious jewel; and the viceroys, in their official instructions to the missionaries, placed the carbunculo in the first order of desiderata. What animalmay have served as a foundation for those fabulous stories, it is certainly difficult to decide; probably a different one in each particular district. On the coast it may have been theañash(one of the mephitic animals), which seeks for his food only at night. I have often observed for a moment a singularly brilliant flashing in the eyes of that animal when irritated.

The worst enemies of the delightful Montaña de Vitoc are the wild Indians, who are only separated from the Christian Indians by the two rivers Aynamayo and Tullumayo. They belong to the ferocious race of theChunchos, and in their savage manners they somewhat resemble the Casibos and Campas. They have their chief residence in Chibatizo, nine leagues from Pucara. Only three leagues from Pacchapata, at the confluence of the Chanchamayo and Tullumayo, they have a pretty large village; and Palmapata, which they temporarily took possession of, is situated still nearer. They frequently extend their hunting excursions to the banks of the great rivers, and make inroads upon the territory of Vitoc, cruelly murdering all the Cholos they meet with. Any kind of friendly intercourse with them is impracticable. I took some pains to accomplish that object, but without success. While they were on their hunting expeditions I have left in their huts knives, fish-hooks, ear-rings, and other things. In return for these presents they left for me some of their edible roots, among which were yuccas, but all were poisoned, so that, had we not observed caution, I and my venturous companion, Klee, might have fallen victims to the treachery of these Indians. The Chunchos, when on their expeditions, are almost in a state of nudity. Sometimes they wear a short whitish-brown shirt without sleeves. This garment, when worn by the chiefs, is red. Most of them dye their hair with achote (Bixa Orellana, L.), a deep vermilion, and paint the face and breast of the same color. Their weapons consist of a bow of chonta (Guilielma speciosa), with which they use two kinds of arrows. One kind are very long, with round points and barbs of chonta; the others are shorter, and have points made of reed, which inflict deep wounds, very difficult to be healed. They also use the great wooden sword, themacana. A cross having been put up in the forest, they fastened to it a few days afterwards a macana and two arrows, assymbols of irreconcilable enmity to Christians. Their warlike instrument is a reed, two feet long and four inches broad, through which their howlings resound in horrible discord.

It is a custom with the inhabitants of Vitoc to undertake two expeditions every year against the Chunchos. They are the most laughable enterprises imaginable. All the Cholos of the valley, with the Alcalde at their head, or rather in the midst of them, proceed, armed with sticks, axes, forest knives, andtwomuskets,[101]to explore the banks of both rivers. The front ranks advance with drums beating, and a number of Indians carry large calabashes filled with guarapo, to which they pay their earnest devotions every half hour. When by accident some of the Chunchos are seen, the Cholos fly with all the rapidity that terror can inspire, and cannot be got together again till they reach their village; then they raise a tremendous shout, and when safe in their dwellings boast proudly of their heroic deeds.

The Chunchos are in possession of a very rich bed of salt, some twelve or fourteen leagues from Vitoc, from whence they permit the neighboring tribes with whom they are at peace, to supply themselves with salt. Hostile tribes, such as the Campas and the Callisecas, sometimes attempt to carry away salt, and then a sanguinary contest ensues. This stratum of salt comes from the top of a hill, called the Cerro de la Sal, and it runs in the direction from south-west to north-east, to the length of nearly three leagues, covering a breadth of about thirty ells. The salt is mixed with red earth. It is probably a continuation of the great salt bed of Maynas, stretching eastward along the left bank of the Perene. It may be presumed that it does not extend as far as the immense Pajonal, as the Campas go for their salt to the Cerro de la Sal.

In former times various attempts were made to convert theChunchos to Christianity; and these attempts were partially successful. The first missionary who ventured among them was the intrepid Fray Geronimo Ximenes. In 1635 he penetrated from Huancabamba to the Cerro de la Sal, and there preached the gospel in the language of the people. He built a chapel, and then directed his course south-west to Vitoc, where he founded the village San Buenaventura. Two years after he embarked on the Chanchamayo, with the intention of extending his mission to the Campas tribe, by whom he was killed, together with his companion, Fray Christoval Larios, and twenty-eight other Spaniards. Several missionaries subsequently proceeded to the Cerro de la Sal, and found favor with the natives, so that in 1640 they had no less than seven villages of converted Chunchos, Amagas, and Campas; but only a few years afterwards all the missionaries and soldiers were killed and the chapels were destroyed. The Franciscan monks, inspired by their indefatigable zeal, ventured in 1671, on a new mission to the fatal Cerro de la Sal; and they had the good fortune to found a village in which eight hundred Neophytes were collected. A second and smaller village was founded in the vicinity of the destroyed San Buenaventura, and named Santa Rosa de Quimiri; but the avarice of some Spaniards who fancied there were gold mines in the Cerro de la Sal, induced them to get the missions withdrawn from the superintendence of the priests, and to turn the whole into a political system. Then commenced the oppression of the Indians in those parts. The consequence was a great insurrection in 1674, when all the whites were massacred. Thus were the labors of the missionaries a second time annihilated. Every attempt for the conversion of Indians was for a long time fruitless, and the missionaries who ventured to approach them were shot. After the lapse of about thirty years, during which interval the Chunchos had fallen back to their original savage state, the founder of the Convent of Ocopa, Fray Francisco de San Jose, with four priests and two lay brothers, penetrated into the valley of Vitoc, and entered upon the territory of the Chunchos. At this time (1709) Vitoc was first peopled, and in the course of twenty years six large villages were built. In the year 1739 these missions, again flourishing, counted ten Christian villagesand three thousand baptized Indians. Three years afterwards the Indian insurrection, headed by the apostate Juan Santos, destroyed all the missions of Central Peru.

Juan Santos was an Indian born at Huamanga, and he claimed descent from the last of the Incas. This claim was probably well founded, for before the revolt he was called Atahuallpa, which was the name of the Inca put to death by Pizarro. Juan Santos was haughty, high spirited, and clever. In the year 1741 he killed, in a quarrel, a Spaniard of high rank, and to elude the pursuit of justice, he fled to the forests. There he brooded over plans for taking vengeance on the oppressors of his country. He first addressed himself to the tribes of the Campas, and having gained them over, he proceeded to Quisopongo in the Pajonal. From thence, in the year 1742, he made his first attack on the mission of the Cerro de la Sal. The Spaniards had already been warned of the intended rising, but they considered it too unimportant to call for serious measures of repression; and whilst lulling themselves in their imagined security, they were surprised and massacred by the Indians. The insurrection spread with incredible rapidity. Juan Santos himself led all the principal attacks. In one night he took the fortress of Quimiri with sixty-five men, all of whom were massacred in the most cruel manner. The well-defended fort of Paucartambo was next taken by a small number of Chunchos, commanded by Juan Santos. All the Christian churches were destroyed by the insurgents. The sacred images and the priests were tied together, and cast into the rivers; the villages were burned, and the cultivated fields laid waste. The number of Spanish soldiers killed in this insurrection was 245; the number of priests, 26. In the course of a few weeks all the missions of central Peru were completely destroyed, and terror spread even to the mountains. The Spanish government found it necessary to adopt the most vigorous measures, for there was reason to fear that the mountain Indians would revolt. Castles and forts were built on the frontiers of all the Montañas and strongly garrisoned; but the insurrection did not extend further. The ultimate fate of Juan Santos Atahuallpa has never been satisfactorily ascertained. Some assert that he became a powerful ruler, and that as longas he lived the races of the Chunchos, Pacañes, Chichirrenes, Campas, and Simirinches, were united. On an old manuscript in the monastery of Ocopa I found a marginal note, in which it was said, "As to the monster, the apostate Juan Santos Atahuallpa, after his diabolical destruction of our missions, the wrath of God was directed against him in the most fearful manner. He died the death of Herod, for his living body was devoured by worms."

Shortly after the tragical downfall of these missions, two priests, Fra Francisco Otasua and Fray Salvador Pando, visited the ruins of Quimiri, and endeavored to conciliate the rebels; but in vain. After three months, during which they suffered dreadful ill treatment from the Chunchos, they returned to the monastery of Ocopa.

These missionaries were all monks of the order of San Francisco. Their active zeal and heroic submission to any sacrifice in furtherance of the cause in which they were embarked must excite at once astonishment and admiration. Undaunted by incredible privations and laborious exertions in the pathless forests, without food or shelter; undismayed by the continual apprehension of a violent and cruel death, they courageously obeyed the inward impulse which inspired them to preach the gospel to the wild Indians. When intelligence was received of the violent death of one of the brotherhood, others immediately offered to supply the place of the victim, and the superiors of the order had much difficulty in restraining the zealous monks. In the central and northern missions of Peru, 129 Franciscan monks were murdered by the wild Indians. Those who compose that number are recorded by name, but many others disappeared without leaving a trace of what had become of them, and of course they are not included in the list. The number of lay brethren who perished is much greater. It is indeed melancholy to reflect how little advantage has been obtained by the sacrifice of so many valuable lives. The missions have nearly all disappeared, and the Indians have now retrograded into the savage state in which they were before the conquest of Peru.

The Franciscan monks were mild and patient teachers. They proceeded on the principle of leaving the Christianreligion to act for itself, and they scorned to promote it by any kind of compulsion. The Dominicans, on the other hand, who came to Peru with the conquerors, preached Christianity with fire and sword. The Jesuits, who headed the missions of Southern Peru, adopted the one way or the other, as they found most advantageous to the object they had in view. By this means they secured the attachment of the neophytes, and retained most of their conversions. Many of the Jesuit missionaries were highly intelligent and well-informed men. We are indebted to them for important geographical and statistical information, and in particular for some philological works of great value, viz., a grammar and dictionary of the language of every tribe they converted. The Dominican monks, who were mere ignorant fanatics, sacrificed to their blind zeal for conversion all the monuments of the early civilization of the Peruvians, and restrained, rather than promoted, the intellectual development of the people. The Franciscans, animated by pious inspiration, earnestly preached the doctrines of Christ to the wild inhabitants of the distant forests; but they communicated little information to the rest of world. A few imperfect maps, and some scanty notices on the manners and customs of the Indians, are the whole amount of their laical labors.

In the year 1779 an attempt was again made to penetrate to the Cerro de la Sal, and a road was opened leading from Palca to Chanchamayo, where a fort was built; but at the expiration of five years the government destroyed it, as continued irruptions of the Chunchos could not be checked. In 1784, the governor of Tarma, Don Juan Maria de Galvas, supported by the Superior of Ocopa, Fray Manuel Sobreviela, visited the valley of Vitoc, which had been abandoned since the Indian insurrection. The new village of San Teodoro de Pucara was founded, and the destroyed fort, Santa Ana de Colla, was rebuilt. The Montaña was soon peopled, and in a short time it contained upwards of forty haciendas and large chacras. The village of Sorriano, scarcely two leagues from Colla, was then inhabited by Chunchos, who showed a willingness to maintain friendly intercourse with the occupants of Vitoc, from whom they took meat, tools, and other things, which they repaid by agricultural labor. Unfortunately, the plantation owners soon began to take an undueadvantage of this friendly intercourse, and to charge exorbitant prices for the articles required by the Indians. For a pin or a needle they demanded two days' work, for a fishing-hook four, and for a wretched knife, eight, ten, or more. A rupture was the consequence. The Chunchos burned their own village, and returned again to Chanchamayo. Still, however, they continued on a sort of amicable footing with the Cholos, until one of the latter wantonly shot a Chuncho at a festival. The tribe then mustered in thousands to avenge the murder. They destroyed the Christian villages, and massacred all the inhabitants who were not able to fly. Thus was Vitoc once more depopulated: Cardenas, the military governor of Tarma, made a fresh endeavor to restore the cultivation of this fine valley. He made the road again passable, laid out the large plantation Chuntabamba, built and garrisoned the Colla fort. The site of the former Chuncho village, Sorriano, was converted into acocal(or coca field), and the Montaña began once more to assume a flourishing aspect. Still, however, the Chunchos continued to harass their neighbors, particularly during the time of the coca harvest, which could not be gathered without military protection. During one of the harvests a laborer was shot by the wild Indians, which so terrified the Cholos, that they all fled to Sorriano. Soon after, Cardenas died, and the coca plantation being neglected, became a waste. A few years afterwards the hacienda of Pacchapata was laid out. During the war of independence the Spaniards destroyed Fort Colla, and the inhabitants of Vitoc were left without any means of defence against their savage enemies. The last attempt to reduce the Chunchos to subjection and order was made by a military expedition under the command of General Don Francisco de Paula de Otero, but owing to ill-arranged plans it totally failed. No more than twenty-five years have elapsed since the valley of Vitoc, with its rich plantations, was in the most flourishing prosperity. Now only faint traces of its past cultivation are discernible.

The history of the Montaña of Vitoc is the history of all the Montañas of Peru. In all, we perceive the alternate rise and decline of cultivation and civilization, caused by the efforts of the missionaries, and the incursions of the wild Indians. Throughoutall these districts the present condition exhibits a marked inferiority to the past, a circumstance which may be accounted for by the long-continued civil war, during the contest for independence. Nevertheless, the internal tranquillity of the country, and the increasing population, suggest favorable prognostics for the future.

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