central and south america

Igo CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA

CHAPTER VI

THE REPUBLICS OF THE ANDES—PERU

The countries of the Pacific side of South America aremarked out for distinction by the mighty Andes, one of thegreatest topographical features of the earth's surface. Thegreat Cordillera, which parallels the coast of South Americafor its entire length of 4,000 miles, is the main sourceof wealth and utility of the dominion which it overlooks;which it fertilises from its snows and enriches with itsminerals. The Andes of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chileappeal to the imagination of the traveller and stimulate themind of the inhabitant. They are at the same time a mightyengine, carrying out the atmospheric and hydraulic functionsof nature of a whole continent, a storehouse of resources,a thing of beauty and mystery. The "treasures of thesnow" are translated into terms of corn, wine and oil, ofmeats, drink, and clothing, upon the great lands upon itsbase on both sides; which are enjoyed by the dwellers incountries far afield, even across the seas. No other mountainrange of the world equals the Andes in magnitude, nor islikely to be of greater service to mankind, as it is learnedmore fully to develop the resources of the earth. TheAndes are replete with strange and curious things, phenomena,effects, and conditions, many of which are still unstudied.

Peru, above all the lands of South America, stands out forits romantic history and strongly marked topography.Its past has been mightier than its present ; the glamourof the Conquistadores still enshrouds it; the fallen templesof the old Incas, the mystery of its great mountains, deserts,and valleys, its unknown rivers and unexplored forests,its fabulous wealth of mines, and the vast expanses of

THE REPUBLICS OF THE ANDES—PERU xi

uninhabited territory are fraught with possibilities for theadventurous, and never fail to appeal, even to those towhom this strange land is little more than a name.

The western side of the South American continent thuspresents, topographically, a marked contrast with theeastern side ; and the four republics occupying the region:of Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Bolivia, fall into a naturalgroup, having much in common as regards their physicalconditions. These conditions have induced a certainsimilarity in the composition and social regimen of thepeople, except that Chile varies in its national characteristicsfrom the other republics who share the Pacific slope andAndean highlands.

The predominating natural feature of the region—theAndes—has determined in the main the formation andclimatic conditions of the littoral, and has created the long,dry, narrow zone of the Pacific slope, which parallels themountain chain, extending throughout the whole seaboardof Peru and a great part of Chile; forming a coast arid,rainless, treeless, and almost without vegetation, exceptthat grown under artificial irrigation. Beheld from thesea, the Pacific littoral unfolds to the view as a series ofdeserts, some of the most sterile upon the earth's surfaceintersected at wide intervals by valleys and rivers whichdescend from the Cordillera, from eighty to a hundred milesdistant. The valleys are irrigated and cultivated fromthese torrential rivers, and in these oases are situated theprincipal towns of the coast, adjacent generally to the sea-ports.

The phenomenon of the absence of rain upon this coastzone, more than 2,000 miles long, and the consequent lackof vegetation, is due to the interception and "blanketing"of the trade winds from the east by the Andes ) the moistureheld in suspension being deposited on the summit of theCordillera, in the form of snow and rain, and failing to reachthe coast. A further circumstance influencing the climateof the littoral is the Humboldt or Peruvian current, a greatbody of water cooler than the surrounding sea, which sweepsup the coast from the south; its lower temperature pre-

192 CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA

venting the evaporation of the sea water. A certain amountof moisture is, however, afforded to the coast lands by theheavy mist which at certain seasons lies upon the coast,and which gives rise to a slight drizzle, known as garua.This mist-drizzle is sufficient to wet the pavements andchill the atmosphere in Lima and the coast towns, andto stimulate the growth of the vegetation on the foothillsat certain seasons, bringing forth a crop of herbage and wildflowers, upon which cattle feed. The lack of rainfall, whichrenders the coast of Peru arid, carries with it certain com-pensating circumstances, of comparative freedom fromfevers and other tropical disorders, which afflict the seaportsof Peru to a far less extent than is the case with Ecuador,to the north. Light malaria, or paludzsino, is common,but yellow fevers and plague rare. The coast of Ecuadorlies beyond the influence of these climatic agencies of Peru,and is covered with dense, tropical vegetation; andGuayaquil, the principal seaport of the republic, suffersseriously from yellow fever and the other scourges whichattack tropical seaports, and will continue so to do untilsanitary science is brought to bear upon them. Thetemperate condition of climate, and the comparativeimmunity from diseases of this character in Peru and Chile,are noteworthy when comparison is made with places in thesame latitude on the Atlantic side of the continent. Thus,Lima, the capital of Peru, with an average temperature of66° F., lies almost upon the same parallel as Bahia, the hot,unhealthy seaport of Brazil, with an average of 770; andIquique is near the latitude of Rio de Janeiro, which formerlywas a hotbed of yellow fever.

The long bare coast of Peru stretches for vast distancesbetween the few havens of the seaports, surf-beaten undera blue sky; the sand dunes, escarpments, and barren slopesextending away far inland. Here and there the promon-tories and islands appear as covered with snow, the accumu-lation of guano from the palmipeds, the alcatraz, the gaviota,and other guano-producing birds who at times are seenin myriads flying low like a darkening cloud upon the faceof the water, and which are the source of considerable

THE REPUBLICS OF THE ANDES—PERU 193

wealth to the country. Millions of cormorants inhabit thesesilent stretches of coast, their presence undisputed by thefew, scattered habitations. In the rocky bays and islets,sharks and bonitos in large numbers exist, and the bleatingof the seals, or "lobos del mar," is heard; and quantities ofthese are seen in their peculiar haunts. The Indian fisherwith his net is the only human figure to be encountered forvast distances, as the traveller pursues his way on horse-back along the edge of the Peruvian shore.

The coast of Peru holds surprises in this barrenness forthe traveller who has pictured a region of tropical vegetation.There is not a tree except in the oases formed by the rivervalleys which intersect the deserts, where the green foliageof the algarrobo trees and willows, and in some regions theolives, with the alfalfa plantations, fruit gardens, fieldsof maize, cotton, and broad stretches of sugar cane, extend-ing to the foothills, prove the fertility of the coast landsunder irrigation. The deserts are often peculiar in character,and in some places the singular phenomenon of the medanosis encountered, as between Arequipa and the coast. Thesetnedanos are isolated dunes or hillocks of sand, of a uniformcrescent shape, varying from a few to twenty feet in height,having the convex face towards the prevailing wind and aninner vertical side. The dunes are set in slow motion whenthe wind blows, by the change of position of the sand par-ticles, the symmetrical form being preserved on theirslow "march" across the desert; and at certain statesof the atmosphere they give forth a peculiar musical noise,not unlike a distant drum, caused by the eddying motionof the sand particles. In some instances in the foothillsthere is a certain amount of wild vegetation, as mentioned,fertilised by the mists, and a growth of flowers during themisty season; but elsewhere there are areas of barren sand.In the south of Pen the ravages of tidal waves followingon earthquakes are visible, and old sugar-cane plantationswhich were inundated and destroyed.

These vast expanses of open coast are attractive in theirsolitude, and possess their own unique beauty, lying undera generally cloudless sky, and washed by the blue waves of

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the Pacific, whose long rollers, uninterrupted for thousandsof miles, throw up flotsam and jetsam proceeding perhapsfrom the coasts of Asia and Australia. Upon this coastmay have stranded prehistoric junks from China, andindeed there are traditions of such happenings. From thesea the Inca chasquis, the swift runners of the early PeruvianEmperor, bore up baskets of fish so swiftly that it wascarried /reslz into Cuzco for the royal table. Cuzco lies farbeyond the mountains, the maritime Cordillera, whoseserrated edge appears far off, flat against the horizon, thevalleys and canyons unmarked in the distance. But withthe exception of the mountain of Ancachs, in the north,known as the Huascaran, whose high, snowy summit isseen occasionally from the steamer's deck, the snow-cappedpeaks of the Cordillera are not visible from the coast, as isthe case in Chile. The name Ancachs, in the Quechualanguage of the Peruvian Indian, means "blue," and isapplied to one of the great provinces of the north.

If the junks of prehistoric Asiatics did reach the Peruviancoast, and gave rise to tribes of more or less civilised coastpeoples, it must have been in the very remote past. Theancient ruins of the Chimus and others, the considerableburying places and mummy cellars of the old coast peoples,reveal pottery of the most exquisite workmanship handi-work such as long periods must have been required toevolve. Along the northern coast from Tumbez it wasthat Pizarro and his band struggled so painfully, withrepeated disappointments and famine. It was at thatplace that the giant Pedro de Candia leapt ashore alonefrom a caravel, in view of an Inca town, with a great woodencross in one hand and a sword in the other, exclaimingthat he would explore yonder valley and town or die. Andfrom that inhospitable coast Pizarro and his men ascendedthe toilsome Cordillera, up rock-hewn steps and impossibletrails which had never before known the tramp of a horse'shoof; away to Cajamarca, lying, like Cuzco, far beyond theblue serrated edge of the great mountains which arose on theeastern horizon—a mysterious curtain stretched betweenthe sea and the stronghold of an unknown potentate, to

THE REPUBLICS OF THE ANDES—PERU i

whom battle must be given, according to the law anddevoir of that ocean chivalry. The associations of thisold land for the traveller hold much that is romantic andunique.

If, therefore, from the steamer's deck the coast of Peruseems to present an and and uninviting appearance, theimpression is lost upon entering the country. The topographyof the hinterland is peculiar, and the littoral is in realitythe seat of some of the largest towns, where theEuropeanised civilisation has taken root, and of consider-able agricultural wealth and prosperity. The very extensiveregions of the Pacific littoral and Andean highlands containmatters of interest and profit equal, in their particularsphere, to that of the Atlantic side of the continent.The mineral wealth is a permanent lure to foreign capital,and the archological field attracts an increasing number ofstudents. The stupendous mountain ranges and unclimbedsnowy peaks of Peru and Bolivia are a source of interest forthe adventurous traveller, as are the great unexplored andunsettled regions lying upon the eastern slopes of themountains, beyond the summits of the Cordillera, wherestretches the lake basin of Titicaca, and the great territorydrained by the headwaters of the many streams which formthe affluents of the Amazon.

The great mountain system of the Andes in Peru, runningsouth-east, consists broadly in three main chains or Cor-dilleras. The two western chains, parallel and relativelynear each other, are of similar geological origin, and the greateastern chain, which rises from the basin of the Amazon, isdistinct therefrom. The three chains are known respectivelyas the western or Maritime Cordillera, the Central Cordillera,and the Cordillera Real, or main Andes. On the westernchains are many volcanoes and thermal springs, and thevalley between, and the cold, lofty punas or plateaux containthe Alpine lakes which are the sources of the coast riversand the inland drainage basin of Titicaca. The MaritimeCordillera contains a number of high, snowy peaks, in Peruand Tarapaca, of striking and even sublime aspect, likethe colossal uplifts of Ecuador. There is a chain of volcanic


peaks overlooking Tarapaca, and further north the Mistivolcano which overhangs Arequipa ; but the volcanoesare generally quiescent. The Cordillera Nevada of Aiicachscontain a series of splendid snowy peaks, and during therainy season, from October to May, their magnificence iswell displayed, for the sky is clear at dawn. Of Peruvianpeaks Lirima rises 19,128 feet above sea level; Tocora 19,741feet, the Misti 20,013 feet, Sara Sara 19,500 feet ; Huas-caran 22,051 feet, and Huandoy 21,088 feet. The CentralCordillera forms the water-parting of the Andean system,with more than twenty coast streams rising therein, and onlyone—the Maranon—breaks through it, flowing to the Amazon.The coast streams have broken their way coastward throughthe Maritime Cordillera The geological formation of theCentral chain is mainly that of crystalline and volcanicrocks, on each side of which sedimentary and metamorphicrocks stand up in vast serrated strata, partly of jurassicage. Enormous fossils, great ammonites, are encountered inthe limestone strata at elevations of more than 14,000 feet.The Eastern Cordillera in the southern part of Peru, and onthe borders of Bolivia, of silurian formation, is of magnificentaspect. Liampu, or Sorata, reaches 21,709 feet, and Illimani21,014 feet. These great uplifts are fossiliferous to theirsummits. Talcose and clay slates constitute a large partof the formation of the range, with eruptions of graniticrocks and numerous quartz veins, and the whole chain isrichly gold-bearing. It differs from the Maritime Cordillerain the lack of volcanoes The enormous river system ofPeru has its birth in these ranges, the eastern range beingcut through by six great rivers: the Marauion, the Hual-laga, the Perene, the Mantaro, the Apurimac, the Vilcamayo,and the Paucartambo; the last five of which are tributarieson the broad Ucayali, one of the main affluents of theAmazon in Peru. These rivers break through the chain indeep canyons, or j5ongos, of remarkable form, all flowingnorth-westwardly in the deep valleys paralleling theCordillera, to where they turn to theeast to form the Amazon.There is perhaps no hydrographic system in any continentso remarkable as that of the Andes and the Amazon in Peru.


The area of Peru is variously estimated between 440,000and 480,000 square miles, or including Tacna and Arica,and certain disputed territories in the Amazon valley,677,000 square miles. The three great zones into which thesurface of Peru is thus naturally divided are known as theCosta, or coast, the Sierra, or mountain region, and theMontana, or forest region. The first is 1,400 miles in length,by eighty to one hundred wide, and the second somewhatlonger, with a width of about 250 to 300 miles. The thirdregion has an irregularly shaped boundary line with Brazil,Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia, parts of which are indispute; and it embodies two-thirds of the whole area ofthe republic. The three regions offer very diverse condi-tions of climate and products; and the classes of inhabi-tants which occupy them vary equally. The topographyof Peru is one of the most remarkable of any country in theworld; and each of the three regions forms in effect aworld of its own, and the inhabitants of one adapt them-selves with difficulty to the climatic condition of the other.They are remote from each other, and, as regards the hinter-land, of difficult access. The great areas of territorylying upon and to the east of the Andes, broken and diver-sified, with a temperature and flora varying from theArctic to the tropical, are veritable storehouses of naturalwealth, a region of incalculable value for the future, whichwill be enjoyed by a generation that shall have learnedto approach it with efficient means of transport. Atpresent the Latin American civilisation and governmentof the republics which control them is but feebly exercisedtherein. The uplands are inhabited by the ChristianisedCholos and Indians, and a meagre ruling class of mestizos,inhabiting towns of Spanish American character, whoseamenities decrease in proportion with their distance fromthe coast. The forests are the abode of uncivilised Indians,who come within the regimen which obtains in the Amazonvalley, and have been more fully dealt with in the chapterdevoted thereto.

The inhabitants of Peru, like those of Ecuador, Bolivia,and their neighbours, are composed of the three classes;


the whites, the mestizos, and the Indians The white people,although the ruling class, are comparatively few in number,generally calculated at io to 15 per cent. of the popula-tion, but are less if a sharp dividing line be drawn. Morethan half the population of Peru are pure Indians; and theIndian element even more largely predominates in Boliviaand Ecuador. The mestizos in Peru number 35 per cent.of the total, and a greater proportion in the other twocountries. They form the active working element of theAndean republics and constitute the basis of the SpanishAmerican race, and must in time absorb both the whites andIndians. The white Peruvians are the more intellectual classand form the professional and governing element. The totalpopulation of Peru is given at the last census as 4,600,000;that of Bolivia and Ecuador very much less. The Indiansof Peru and the adjoining Andean republics are, as alreadyindicated, of two distinct kinds: the Cholos of the uplands,who are the descendants of the Quechuas and Aymaras,the original population of the Inca empire, and the forestIndians, known as Chunchos, barbaros or salvajes; a termvaried by that of injieles in Ecuador and Colombia. Probably,however, there is no fundamental difference of race betweenthe highland and forest Indians. The Cholos are little mixedwith Spanish blood, but merge into the mestizo class in thehighlands. They are Ifispanicised and Christianised, gener-ally understanding the Spanish language and worshippingin the Roman Catholic faith: a hardy, valuable race, andthe future of the great territories of the Andean uplands,as regards labour, depends upon them. These people have,in Peru, Bolivia, and elsewhere, suffered severely, and stillsuffer, at the hands of the white man; the conditions oftheir life in general are unworthy of the administration ofEuropeanised republics; and since the overthrow of theirnative rulers at the time of the Spanish Conquest they havegreatly deteriorated.

The negro and Asiatic elements in Peru are small, andare estimated at about 4 per cent, each of the total popula-tion. The negroes rarely leave the warm coast regions, butthe Asiatics, represented principally by the few Chinamen,

THE REPUBLICS OF THE ANDES—PERU '99

settle in the upland towns and engage in trade, generallythat of petty shopkeeping, in which their usurious talentsbring them success. The Japanese are being officiallyencouraged to settle in the Montana region as agriculturists,as they show a certain adaptability; and they havealso been imported for employment on the sugar planta-tions of the coast, where they are preferred to the nativelabour, both by reason of their steadier or more servilehabits, and as earning lesser pay. The negroes were earlyintroduced as slaves on the sugar plantations, and all theheavier manual labour was done by the Africans until 1855,when slavery was abolished. Like the Brazilian slaves inlater times, on obtaining their freedom they deserted theplantations for the towns. The beginning of the suppres-sion of slavery took place in 1849, and the sugar estatesthereupon imported Chinese coolies to supply the failingsource of black labour, but these Chinese immigrants weretreated with great cruelty; and due only to resultingscandals was their hard lot bettered. Slave raids were alsomade by the Peruvians upon the distant Pacific Islands,many of which lost large portions of their population, thenatives being carried away to furnish labour for the workingof the guano deposits. The admixture of the negro and theIndian has resulted in a type known as Zambos; and theprogeny of the Asiatic and the Indian is also distinct.The Chinaman is soon at home among the Cholos of theinterior, and there is no repugnance on the part of the womento mating with him. The ready assimilation of the China-man and Japanese with his surroundings in Peru, as inMexico, might seem to support the theory of some pre-historic peopling of Latin America from Asia, or affinitytherewith. The negro, on the other hand, is regarded withless favour, and is not an element which is ever likely to beabsorbed.

The upper classes of the people of the Andean countries,the white and the educated mestizo, present very similarcharacteristics in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile; andColombia and Venezuela might equally be included. Theirlanguage, appearance, social system, laws, and literature are


practically the same throughout the whole of these greatterritories ; and the circumstance is a witness to the vitalityand impress of the Spanish race and its institutions. Thereare local variations in this class, but they partake more orless of the same virtues and defects. The Chileans differmost from the general character on the Pacific coast-due tothe difference between the Quechua and Aymara natives ofPeru and the Araucanans of Chile, who form the basis ofthe native populace; also to a certain European admixture,as discussed elsewhere

Peru is divided into eighteen " departments," two littoralprovinces, and the "constitutional province " of Callao.This does not include Tacna, the debated territory, and itsthree provinces. The departments are subdivided into anaggregate of ninety-eight provinces, whose area, position, andapproximate population are as follows, beginning at thenorth

COAST DEPARTMENTS

Area Population Capital Town.Sq. miles

16,825 205,000 Piura4,614 112,000 Chielayo.

10,206 250.000 Trujillo.16,562 405,000 Huaraz13,310 280.000 Lima.8,718 80,000 Ica.

21,947 218,000 Arequipa.

SIERRA OR MOUNTAIN DEPARTMENTS

Departments

PiuraLambayequeLibertaciAncachsLimaIcaArequipa

Cajamarca .. .. 12,540 411,000 Cajamarca.Huanuco .. .. 14,024 114.000 Huanuco.Junin .. .. .. 23,350 390.000 Cerro de PascciHuancavelica .. .. 9,250 222.000 Huancavelica.Ayacucho .. .. 18,18 250,000 AyacuchoApurimac .. .. 8,187 170,000 Abancay.Cuzco .. .. ,. 156,270 420,000 Cuzco.Puno .. .. .. 41,200 500,000 Puno.

MONTANA OF FOREST DEPARTMENTS

Amazonas .. .. 13,940 66,000 Chachapoyas.Loreto .. .. .. 238,500 151,000 IquitosSan Martin .. .. 30,745 42,000 Moyobarnba.

LITTORAL PROVINCES

Tumbez .. .. 11990 10,000 Tumbez.Callao .. .. ,. 14f 46.000 Callao.Moquegna . .. 5,550 41,000 Moquegua.


These populations are estimates, and must be regarded asapproximate.

The government of Peru is a centralised, as opposed to afederal system. Its constitution provides for the popularcontrol of legislation and the carrying out of the laws bymeans of the free exercise of the ballot. Theoretically thepeople are possessed of sovereign rights in the election andchoice of their representatives; but these excellent idealsare, unfortunately, frequently defeated by reason of the dic-tatorial attitude of the governing classes and the ignoranceand poverty of the masses, and their dependence upon thegreat landed proprietors and industrial corporations. Thedestinies of the country, therefore, remain, generally speaking,at the disposal of a politically arbitrary class. Citizenshipis accorded to all Peruvians over twenty-one, and all marriedmen under that age, and the suffrage is extended to allcitizens who can read and write or who pay taxes. Thegovernment is divided into the three divisions customaryamong the Latin American republics, of Legislative, Execu-tive and Judicial, of which the executive is the dominantpower. A president and two vice-presidents, elected for aterm of five years, and a cabinet of six ministers constitutethe executive branch. In the departments the law is carriedout and government controlled by prefects, and in the pro-vinces by sub-prefects, all of whom are appointed by thePresident. The Legislative power is in the hands of Congress,formed of a chamber of deputies and a senate, elected bydirect vote, the senators by departments and the deputiesin proportion to the population. There are an equalnumbers of substitutes or "suplentes," who take officein case of vacancy, and all must be native-born citizens.The senators must have a yearly income of i,000 dollars,and the deputies 500 dollars. The Judiciary consists in asupreme court, superior courts, courts of first instance,and justices of the peace. The supreme court is situatedat the national capital, Lima, and the judges are selectedby Congress. Questions of jurisdiction between the superiorand supreme courts, or between the supreme court and theexecutive are settled by the senate sitting as a court. Courtsof first instance are established in the provinces.


The safeguards against electoral, official, and judicialabuses in Peru are theoretically impregnable, but in practicefew countries have suffered more from political disorders,often brought about by their contravention. The inde-pendence of the courts has not always been maintained, andthe republic has had to undergo much criticism for thesereasons. It is to be recollected, however, that many of thedepartments and towns are extremely remote from the seatof government, and that corruption and malpractices springspontaneously in the Peruvian character away from theinfluence of public opinion and the direct powers of theexecutive. Hundreds of miles of mountain, desert, andforest separate the outlying centres of population from thecapital, and to judge between truth and falsehood as concernsreports, and to distinguish between punishment and oppres-sion, is not always easy for a remote government, situated onthe Pacific coast, without means of communication in mostcases with the hinterland except by the execrable muletrails. Justice becomes largely a matter of position andinfluence, and must be looked upon as in a mediaeval stagein the remoter districts.

The provinces are further subdivided into districts, overwhich gobernadores and A icaldes are appointed by theprefects. There are many hundreds of these petty officialsthroughout Peru, who are naturally unsalaried. They aregenerally drawn from some prominent shopkeeper ortownsman of the villages, and their control of the Cholo andIndian population is an autocratic one. They not unfre-quently acquire local wealth at the expense of these classes,who have to suffer without redress or only that afforded bythe influence of the parish priest, whose authority itselfis often spoliation under the cloak of religion. In theMontana region, the uncivilised Indians have no civil rights,and are hunted and enslaved even by the petty authorities.On the whole, however, the gobernadores and their kind arenot ill-disposed towards the poorer classes, and there are evi-dences that, under growing enlightenment, they would availthemselves of better methods. Both the gobernador andthe cura are intelligent and hospitable as a rule towards


the traveller, and upon their good offices he is thrown, asthere are in the remote districts no public facilities of anykind. The principal cause of complaint of the Cholos andIndians is in the forced labour without pay, or with in-sufficient pay. The Indians and Cholos, however, are them-selves often lazy and deceitful. They have long been abusedby their white conquerors ; and the mestizo race, from whichthe gobernadores are drawn, are even harder upon them thanthe white man. The dominant note of the lower classesin the remote region is that of distrust, especially towardsthe military element, who have despoiled them in everyrevolution and even in times of peace by commandeeringtheir food and animals, and making free with their women.

The republic is divided into four military districts, atPiura, Lima, Arequipa, and Iquitos respectively. Formerlythe Indians were pressed into the service, with the whites asofficers, but service is now obligatory for all Peruviansbetween the ages of nineteen and fifty, in one or other of thevarious classes. A part of the troops are drawn from con-victs and other outpourings of the prisons. The reorganisa-tion of the army was brought about by a French "militarymission." The Peruvian soldier is generally hardy, patient,and brave.

The navy has grown little since its practical annihila-tion in the Chilean war, but two new cruisers have beenacquired on the Pacific coast, and on the Amazon, or Maraflon,and affluents are a few river boats engaged in the policeand survey work. Peru has fine national traditions con-cerning both her army and navy, which are worthy sources ofinspiration to her poets and to the present generation anda strong sense of patriotism animates all classes of thosewho hold civic rights and have the sensibilities wrought ofthe admixture of white blood. Even the abused Indians ofPeru have fought staunchly in the republic's wars, and thebrave upland natives perished in thousands on the coastduring the Chilean war, both in battle and from the changeof climate and general privations. Among those names whichalways stir the Peruvians to emotion are Grau, and hisfamous battleship the Huascar, and Bolognesi and his


fateful defence of the Mono of Arica—national heroes whosenames are wrapped in romance, remembered with gratitudeand spoken with reverence.*

Along the coast of Peru lies the more modern and energeticlife of the country. There are some goad harbours, but withthe exception of Callao, Chimbote, and Payta, the Peruvianseaports are generally small, open roadsteads, where landingis difficult. The coast towns generally he inland some distancefrom the parts, connected by short lines of railway, and theports are often little more than poor collections of habita-tions around the landing stage and customs house, of astraggling and unkempt appearance. Chimbote, in the north,has a fine sheltered hay of large size, but it is a minor port,with little traffic. In the country behind lies the valley ofHuaylas, of considerable agricultural and mineral resource,threaded by the torrential Santa river. Extensive coaldeposits exist in this valley, which is one of the mostpopulated in the country; and a railway has long been underconstruction to Huaraz, an important town near the headof the valley. North of Chimbote is Payta, the centre ofthe important cotton producing district of Piura, one ofthe principal agricultural regions of Peru. Payta is impor-tant in addition as being the terminus of a projected lineacross the littoral and the Andes down to the headwaters ofthe Maraflon, or Amazon, where steam navigation begins forthe Amazon valley. Such a line would be of much com-mercial and strategic importance to Peru. In the extremenorth is the desert of Sechura, which yields sulphur commer-cially; but none of the barren coast districts yield nitrate,such as forms the mineral wealth of northern Chile. Thecoast of Peru is more broken in the north, with broad desertplains, which form the westernmost part of the SouthAmerican continent. The desert region of Piura stretchesfor zoo miles northwards to the gulf of Guayaquil, and istraversed by the Tumbez, Chira, and Piura rivers, whichsupply water for the irrigation of some of the most valuablecotton plantations in the republic. Tumbez is the outletfor a petroleum-bearing district, which has given rise to an

* See the Author's "Peru.'


oil producing industry of considerable importance, knownas the Lobitos oilfields Coming southwards is the port ofSalaverry, connected with the important city of Trujillo,situated amid the fertile sugar-producing valleys of Chicama.This district is of archological interest as having been theseat of one of the most ancient peoples of South America:that of the Chimus of Chan Chan, the ruins of whosebuildings still exist, with an extensive acropolis from whichwere recently unearthed large quantities of beautifullymoulded and patterned pottery, whose age has been con-jectured at 7,000 years. Similar objects have been foundat the acropolis of Ancon, and that of Pachacamac, bothnear Lima, which have yielded ancient huacas, or relics, forcenturies. Eten, connected with Chiclayo, is one of the mostimportant towns in the north of the republic, the centreof fertile valleys producing sugar, rice, tobacco and" Panama"hats. To the south of Trujillo and Chimbote the small portsof Casma and Huarmey are the shipping points for the richsilver mines of the interior, especially those in the valleyof Huaylas, and for the products of the Montafia or forestregion beyond the Andes, with some food produce for thecoasting trade and Lima. Near Huacho, another minor port,are extensive salt pans, where pure salt is recovered fromthe sands by the process of evaporation, yielding someconsiderable revenue. The port is now connected by railwaywith Lima. Huacho is also a food-producing centre andhog-breeding district, but is additionally important as beingsituated at the mouth of a valley which gives ready accessto the Andes, in a district containing vast beds of coal, totap which and to give communication with the interior a lineof railway has been projected. Such a line, accordingto the surveys, could ascend the slopes of the Andes at amaximum gradient of z per cent.

The whole of the northern part of Peru is capable of muchgreater industrial development. The mines of the coastrange, such as those near Salpo, beyond Trujillo, wherecoal, copper, silver, and gold have long been worked, areworthy of greater attention. The district around Huarazis full of promise, and the region of Recuay has long been

2o6 CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA

famous for its mines, but suffers from lack of railwaytransportation. The roads are generally execrable, theinhabitants of the hinterland being without the initiativeto improve upon the rough mule-tracks that have servedthem for centuries, and over which all the considerablemerchandise from the seaports, and the ores and producebrought down, have to be carried by mule-trains at heavycost. There is no communication by rail at present betweenthis part of Peru and the capital, although the Cerro dePasco line, a continuation of the Oroya railway, might becontinued towards Huaraz, and beyond. The mule trailsfrom the coast to the Huaylas valley, and to the Montaflaregions beyond, are obliged to pass the summits of successiveranges of the Cordillera at elevations of 14,000 feet andmore, involving several days' journeying on mule back.Other important towns of this hinterland, equally difficultof access, are Yungay, Cajamarca, Chachapoyas, Huanuco,places practically unheard of by the outside world, but eachthe centre of districts full of possibilities for the future,enjoying generally an excellent, vigorous climate, andsurrounded by a numerous native mining and agriculturalpopulation. There are some short lines of railway fromsome of the seaports of the northern part of the littoral,but they all die out on approaching the Cordillera.

In the interior of the department of Ancachs appears someof the most stupendous scenery in Peru: the extensivesnowy range of the Cordillera Blanca, or white Cordillera,taking rank among the most striking mountain scenery ofthe world. Huaraz, which lies in the deep valley betweenthe black and white Cordilleras, was an old Inca centre,and many vestiges remain of its former people, both inthe town and scattered throughout the region extendingto the Marafion, as described elsewhere. Passing the whiterange, descent is made into the huge department of Loreto,part of the Peruvian Orient or Montafia, which so far iswithout railway communication of any nature, and ismuch isolated from the governmental activities of thecapital. The forests of Loreto, within a few days' ride ofHuaraz, contain extensive plantations of the coca shrub,


whose leaves are greatly prized by the Indians, who chewthem : and from which are extracted the salts of the drugcocaine, in the primitive factories in the district. The fallin the high price of the article, however, of recent years,lessened the local activity in its production. The capitalof Loreto is the fluvial port of Iquitos, but this lies uponits eastern verge, on the navigable Amazon, as describedin the chapter upon the Amazon valley, and is separatedfrom the inhabited districts of Huaraz and the other townsmentioned by great stretches of almost impassable forests,swamps, and broken country. Nevertheless there existvast areas of land, which, when communication may beestablished therewith, will be of great value as food-produc-ing and colonising centres. The conditions of soil andclimate are such that almost every kind of produce of thetemperate and tropical zones may be raised. Sugar-cane,cocoa, cotton, and coffee flourish, fruits of all kinds, grapes,figs, oranges, pineapples, bananas and all else grow and yieldabundantly; and there are vast grass plains, or pajanales,for cattle. Malaria is a serious disorder, but dependslargely upon local and sanitary conditions. Many of thevalleys merit the term of " regions of everlasting springwhich native writers are fond of bestowing upon them; butat present they are remote, and immigration does not yetfind its way thereto.

The Peruvian capital, Lima, lies seven miles inland fromCallao, and these governmental and commercial centres arefar separated from the hinterland : too far for its efficientgovernance, in certain respects Lima may be consideredthe most interesting city upon the South American coastprincipally as regards its history and traditions. The cityexemplifies the Spanish-colonial type of capital, with thecharacteristic broad plazas, abundant and massive ecclesias-tical edifices, and quaint domestic architecture, datingfrom the times of Pizarro and the viceroys. The greatPlaza de Armas, dominated by the massive, handsomecathedral, founded by Pizarro and containing his remains,is the centre of the city, and good streets run therefrom,with other plazas and alamedas. One of the most typical


parts of Lima is the Plaza de la Inquisicion, where the firesof the Romish church, in the Autos de fe, worked their willupon heretics and Lutherans—the first of which was prac-tised in 157, followed by the benumbing influence of theappalling institution until 1813, when the news of its aboli-tion in Spain was learned in Lima, and the populace de-stroyed the holy office, its instruments of torture, andall its works. The residential streets are of not unpleasingappearance, with their quaint and solid architecture, barredwindows, and wide doorways. The splendid carved oakbalconies and doors of the old mansions of the colonialperiod, and the houses of the viceroys, are fine examplesof a bygone house-building art: matters which are generallymore attractive than the somewhat garish modem style,in which showy structures of cement and stucco predominate.The fashionable drive and promenade of the Paseo deColon, with gardens and statuary running down its lengthand public monuments at either end, lined by handsomedwelling houses, ranks as one of the finest in South America.Life is largely lived in flats, or viviendas, rather than in largehouses, or at least by the middle class, and access to theseis gained by open patios often adorned with shrubs.

The modem public buildings of Lima do not reveal evi-dences of wealth such as characterise the capitals of Argen-tina, Brazil, and Chile, for Peru has suffered, since the timeof independence, serious impoverishment from which it hasnot yet recovered. Evidences of modern development areby no means lacking, and of late years public institutionshave shown marked improvement, and new buildings andstreets have grown up. The fine suburbs, residentialwatering places of Miraflores, Barranco, and Chorillos areevidences of some considerable wealth, and are reached byexcellent electric tramways and railways. The populationof Lima is about zoo,000. This is considerably less than thatof Santiago, the Chilean capital. Callao, the well-knownseaport, with 50,000 inhabitants, is second as a commercialcentre only to Valparaiso ; and its geographical position,central to an extensive range of seaboard, thousands of mileslong, ensures its importance in the future development of


western South America. Callao affords one of the few goodharbours on the coast, its artificial haven being protectedby the barren island of San Lorenzo. Business is thererepresented by about 400,000 tons of cargo annually,brought to or conveyed thence by ships of all nationalities,whose flags are seen in the harbour.

Lima is an administrative and residential centre. Peruis not a manufacturing country, except as regards cottongoods and sugar, although the government policy, as cus-tomary in all Latin American countries, is to endeavour tobuild up home industries by tariffs and other protectivemethods. There is no special product in the region such ashas created the wealth produced by the nitrate beds inChile, or the pastoral and agricultural exports of Argentinaand Brazil. The soil in the vicinity of Lima is cultivableonly under irrigation, and although the city is surroundedby fruitful farms and ranches, the welcome green regionof the Rimac valley, these do little more than supply aportion of local requirements. The agricultural and mineralwealth of Peru is widely distributed, and not tributary tothe capital as a whole, for no railway lines connect it withthe outlying provinces as yet. Some of the most importantmining regions, however, have their outlet through the cityby means of the Oroya railway, which crosses the littoral andascends the Andes. Ramifications of this important line areslowly being pushed out into the adjoining Andean valleys,where the production of mineral and pastoral wealth isbeing stimulated. The most valuable exports of Peru,however, are the sugar and cotton from the irrigated coastlands lying both to the north and south of Lima some ofwhich have been described.

The educated classes of Peruvian society reveal pleasingcharacteristics and qualities of refinement, hospitality, andcourtesy. They are an artistic, musical, and literary people;and science and the professions are eagerly followed. Wereit not for a certain lack of sincerity and the easy falling intodouble dealing in commercial and political matters, whichis their gravest defect as a nation, the Peruvians might havebecome leaders of civilisation on the continent but they

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no CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA

lost their wealth in the war with Chile and squandered theproceeds of the great guano deposit. In the times of theirprosperity they became arrogant and corrupt. But thetraditions of culture and history which centre about Limaare such as no other South American capital possesses,although they have been sacrificed in former years to luxuryand lax methods, and to political enmities; which at thepresent time are far from being stilled. The women of theupper class are often strikingly handsome and attractive,and have indeed acquired fame for their vivacity: and theycompare favourably with the leisured caste of any country.The native refinement of the Latin American woman isstrongly typified in all classes in Peru. The poor are modestand respectful: the wealthy distinguished and charitably-disposed. Much is to be expected from this type of LatinAmerican woman in the future.

The Peruvians take considerable pride in their educationalestablishments, but these do not reach, except in smalldegree, the poorer and semi-Indian classes, and by far thegreater part of the population is illiterate. The middle andpoorer classes by no means lack intelligence, and deservea better lot. On the proclaiming of Independence, thehand of the Church, which had always been heavy, waslightened, and its anti-educational influence removed to someextent. Primary instruction is free and nominally com-pulsory, the schools being divided into two grades a freecourse of two years, and a higher one of three, in "scholasticcentres," the last including the learning of a trade. Theprivate schools, which are numerous, contain three times thenumber of scholars of the public primary schools. Forsecondary education there are twenty-three national col-leges for boys and three for girls in the various capital cities,with foreign instructors. For higher education there arefour universities, with full faculties for professional andscientific teaching: law, letters, philosophy, science, medi-cine, mathematics, administrative, theology, and politicaleconomy. The university of San Marcos at Lima is a famousinstitution, the oldest in South America. The other three,which were also established soon after the Conquest, are at


Arequipa, Cuzco, and Trujillo. The San Marcos universityoriginated in a grant from Charles V. in 1551 to the Domini-cans. The school of medicine, which is one of the foremosteducational institutions in Lima, was founded in 1792 ; theCuzco university in 1598, and that at Arequipa in 1616.There is a naval school at Callao and a military academy atChorillos—the handsome Lima suburb or watering place,and nine episcopal seminaries, one for each diocese ; anational agricultural school near Lima and some commercialschools; also a correctional school for youthful delinquents.There are professional schools of civil and mining engineer-ing of some importance, and young engineers are turned outin increasing numbers. The mining school is maintainedby the taxes on mining property.

Whilst it cannot be said that the Peruvians as a whole areeither great readers or producers of books—no SpanishAmerican people are yet—some valuable works have beenwritten in Peru, and there is a growing desire for information.There was a good deal of literary work done before thebeginning of Independence, and the list of Peruvian authorsin viceregal times is a long one. One author—Peralta--wrote more than sixty works, among them the epic poem

Lima Fundada." It is interesting to recollect, in thisconnection, that there is a native Quechua drama—pre-Hispanic—of 011anta, of the times of the Incas. Peru-vian geographers have done much in topographical work,especially Paz Soldan, 18zr-x 886, who wrote severalstandard books and a geographical gazetteer, also historiesof the country and the Chilean war. There is a long listof legal, topographical, poetical, naturalist, archological,literary, medical, and other Peruvian writers of more orless local or national fame, and much may be expected ofPeru in the future. Lima has indeed certain claims to beconsidered the foremost city in South America as regardsliterary history. It was the principal seat of the Spanishviceroys, from which that enormous littoral, extending fromChile to Mexico, was governed. The" Ciudad de los Reyes,"or City of the Kings, as it was named by Pizarro, its founder,after Juana and Carlos V. of Spain, was afterwards termed


"Lima," a corruption of the Indian name Rimac, of theriver flowing through it from the Andes to the coast ThePeruvians have always been of a literary cast of mind, andindeed at times have been accused of verging on the effem-inate—a characteristic derived not from the Spanish an-cestry so much as from the admixture of native Quechuablood. The Quechuas were, and their descendants in theAndean highlands still are, a pensive, melancholy race, andthese qualities were accentuated by the barbarous persecu-tion of their governing Inca rulers by the Spaniards afterthe conquest. Thus it is that the idealistic and romanticcharacter of the Spaniard was allied with the melancholy ofthe native, and the result is a strong literary tendency,sometimes quixotic, often neurotic, but capable of thoughtand aspiration which, in coming times, may be of much valueto the great world of Spanish American life.

In their writings in the Press and in their various dis-courses the Peruvians are extremely eloquent, though tothe Anglo-Saxon mind too much inclined to the grandilo-quent and unpractical. Exaggeration is one of the failingsof the Peruvian writer ; and another is the tendency tophilosophise upon commonplace matters. The Peruvianorator indulges in extravagant simile, and culls from theancient classics to illustrate contentions upon very ordinarymatters. Thus "glory " is generally "immortal glory""knowledge " becomes "profound knowledge" ; and soforth. This, however, is a general Latin American trait,similarly pronounced in Mexico, Brazil, or Argentina. Thenewspapers and magazines encountered upon the tablesof the clubs in Lima teem with sentimental love-verses, orwith verbose adulations of public personages. Notwith-standing this, a practical side shows itself in the Press andin business life. The Peruvian is ever saying, "We mustbe practical " ; and this spirit too often reverts to thematerialistic, and sometimes to a neglect of the commercialcode of honour. As to religion, it is strongly characteristicof these people that although such cities as Lima, Arequipa,and others are strongholds of Roman Catholicism, wherethe cult of any other religion is illegal, they plunge easily


from the mysticism of their own faith to the opposite ex-treme of materialism. This is also a condition of all SpanishAmerica, so far as the men are concerned ; the women neveror rarely secede from their faith.

The growing desire to be "modern " is now stronglyinfluencing the Peruvians and is reflected in their PressThere are several journals in Lima which are of a high class,moderate in tone—except as regards party politics—withexcellent news services and of refined literary character.In their way they are as good as many European newspapers,whilst the observer will miss with a feeling of refreshmentthe sensationalism of the Press of the United States. It is,however, to the 300 years of Spanish rule (and misrule) ratherthan to modern times that Lima owes her literary value andtraditions. In some respects Lima is a veritable storehouseof history and tradition of viceregal days. Notwithstandingthe crushing tendency of the Inquisition, the Peruvianswere writers and poets, and preserved a refined and literarycharacter. Printing was first introduced in the New World,it is to be recollected, in Lima, and the first printing presswas established by the Jesuits, who arrived in 1567.The education of the people, however, was kept in thehands of the priests. The numerous churches and otherecclesiastical institutions bear witness to the strength ofthe clerical regimen, as do the solid structures and air ofattractive medivalism of some of Lima's streets to the vice-regal influence Many of the old churches and conventualestablishments are exceedingly beautiful and interesting.There are various modern institutions of a literary andscientific character in Lima which show the Peruviansto be a thoughtful people, and that furnish evidence of adesire for a sounder character and development. Thepublic library, founded in 1822, was, and still is, among theforemost of such institutions in Spanish America. Theruthless havoc wrought in 1881 by the victorious Chileanarmy, which used the building as a barracks and permittedthe destruction or sale as waste-paper of valuable booksand priceless manuscripts, was largely remedied by the workof a Peruvian man of letters, Ricardo Palma, who re-formed


the library. Lima possesses a Geographical Society, whichdoes important topographical work in the exploration anddescription of the enormous territories of the Republicthe Athenaeum, or literary club, an Historical Institute,which, among other work, investigates and records mattersconcerning the early Inca and Aymara civihsations; and, asdescribed, societies of industry, engineering, medicine, min-ing, music, literature, agriculture, and kindred subjects. Asregards their language, the Peruvians speak possibly thebest and most pleasing Spanish, or Castellano, encounteredin Spanish America, in great contrast with the brusque butmore virile accent of their neighbours, the Chileans.

Among famous names in the literary and scientific field,that of Antonio Raymondi stands out prominently, and hisworks on the natural history, resources, and topography ofPeru are still the standard authorities. Now, however, thegovernment is earnestly endeavouring to explore and surveythe country, the greater part of which consists in inhospitablemountain ranges and uplands and dense forests, in contrastwith which Lima, in its peaceful setting in the equableclimate of the Pacific littoral, stands out sharply.

Religious practices in Peru must be regarded as in a moreor less medieval condition. Religion is a strong force inthe life of the educated classes, or at least among the women,and the influence of the priest and the Church still paramount.Among the Indians this priestly influence is extremelystrong. The exercise of any other religion or attempts atproselytism is against the Peruvian constitutional code,under which, as enacted in x86o "the nation professes theApostolic Roman Catholic religion the state protects it,and does not permit the public exercise of any other." Itis time that Peru should throw off this bigotry. A certainamount of tolerance in Protestant worship exists, and inLima and Cuzco there are Anglican churches belonging tothe diocese of the bishop of the Falkland Islands, whichembraces the whole Pacific coast of South America. Butthese, in reality, are illegal, and their existence 15 ignoredrather than permitted. Their representatives in Cuzcohave sometimes gone in fear of their lives, and even in


villages near Lima representatives and colporteurs of foreignBible Societies have been hounded out of the place by mobsaroused by fanatic priests, who toll the church bell and warnthe populace. It is not necessarily Peruvian statesmen,or even the upper enlightened class, who oppose the advanceof Evangelical teaching, but the priests, who fear the loss oftheir influence and power. After the Puturnayo occurrencesvarious missionary organisations came to being in Englandwith the purpose of sending out missions to the rubberforests ; but great difficulties were anticipated by the Pro-testant Mission, due to the illegality of the establishment ofsuch in Peruvian territory. As indicated elsewhere, thecharacter of the native cura in the uplands and his modeof life have been subject to strong criticism. Celibacy ishonoured in the breach more than in the observance; acondition which, however, need scarcely call forth thecensure, save as a matter of principle, of the common-senseobserver. To condemn man to live without woman,especially under the social conditions existing in LatinAmerica, ought to call forth now the condemnation ofmoralists, hygienists, and all practical thinkers.

As regards its ecclesiastical organisation Peru is dividedinto nine dioceses: Lima, which is an archbishopric, Are-quipa, Puna, Cuzco, Ayacucho, Huanuco, Huaraz, Trujillo,and Chachapoyas: subdivided into more than ôoo curacies,whose officiating heads are the town and village curas, orcurate-vicars. In each diocese is a seminary for the edu-cation of the priesthood. Arequipa is a stronghold of cleri-calism, and, like several other such centres in South America,exercises an influence in politics as well as religious matters.The monasteries and nunneries are numerous and areoften the seat of much charitable work. Indeed, religionin Peru greatly inculcates charity, as in all Latin Americanlands, and others where the Romish Church holds sway: andthis and other good elements, such as the considerablegood home influence, must be weighed in the balance againstthe palpable evils of the system. The educational work ofthe convents is to some extent an obstacle to the betterdevelopment of the public school system in Peru There


are various charitable institutions in Lima, and hospitals:but the regimen of the latter often leaves much to be desired.The Church fiestas or feast days are kept with pomp andceremony in the towns, and in the capital, on such occasions,the president and his suite, attended by the military andsurrounded by mule-batteries, are special evidences of Eastertime in the great plaza of Lima.

In the Spanish American countries at Easter time, andduring other important church functions, the streets andchurches present an animated scene. The people flock tothe churches, visiting as many as possible—as many asseven, if time and opportunity permit—and the buildings arecrowded, whilst the most elaborate and solemn ceremoniestake place. The atmosphere inside the temples becomessuffocating, especially when there are many of the workingor Indian class within. On ordinary occasions these lattersit upon the floor in the temple, with the utmost placidity,or bend low over the stone or earth pavement, or adore thewaxen images ; and holy processions take their way,heavy platforms with life-sized figures in tableaux thereon,carried by Indians concealed underneath by draperies, theheavy dais being borne by its invisible bearers through theprincipal streets, forming the main object in the processionof priests and people. In marked contrast is the resting-place of the dead in these communities. The publiccemetery, or " Campo Santo," is often in a dismal, barrenposition upon the and ground outside the town. Thegraves are uncared for, a few straggling and primitivewooden crosses mark the mounds, which soon fall away, andthe place is neglected. The . Latin American characterappears to regard tombs with little veneration. There areno green churchyards, such as are the delight of the Englishvillage , no ivied walls, or planted graves or headstones.The dead are put away and forgotten; and the CampoSanto strikes a note of melancholy which the foreigner doesnot soon forget. In the capital cities, however, in some in-stances, there are well-laid-out cemeteries.

The people of Lima are pleasure-loving, like all LatinAmericans. Theatres, bull-fights, lotteries, horse-racing, and


music are among their principal pastimes. The bull-fightsare eagerly attended, especially when some famous Spanishniatador or troop of toreros is announced Horse-racing,however, is replacing this sport among the upper classes tosome extent. The race-ground and grand stand of Lima isa fine and well-situated institution, and is crowded with thefashionable on race days, when a good deal of money changeshands. Lottery ticket vendors crowd the streets and deafenthe passers-by, thrusting the tickets into their faces. Oldmen and women of the poor or broken-down class, and youngboys and girls, are those who principally ply the trade, andthe whole public purchases tickets. The hope of winninga stake in a lottery is nourished by all classes. A show ofmorality or claim of extenuation is kept up for the practiceby awarding a portion of the proceeds of the affair to theBeneficencia Publica, or Public Benefit Institution.

The various clubs of Lima—the National, the British, theConstitutional and Spanish and Italian—are generally well-kept institutions, the first being housed in a handsomepalace, forming the main centre of polite club life. Thereare various modern hotels in the city, generally controlledby Italians and Frenchmen. The carnival is a singularsurvival of a form of amusement in Peru. For three daysevery year the whole of society and the populace appears asif demented Street passengers and tram-cars are delugedwith water and bags of flour from balconies as they pass,and indeed the streets are impassable. Riotous fun is per-mitted in private houses and between the sexes, which,whatever its defects, has the effect of bringing aboutan added intercourse among people who are often inclinedto be too formal. Carnival is equally carried on in theinterior towns. and even in remote hamlets bands of paintedand drunken Cholos and Indians are encountered marchingabout, to the accompaniment of primitive music: revellingfor the moment in organised disorder.

South of Lima and Callao are small ports serving ex-tensive sugar and cotton plantations, such as Caflete andPisco. Ica, a few miles inland from the last-named port,is surrounded by a broad, irrigated valley, forming one of the


best agricultural parts of the republic, producing cottonand wine, both of excellent quality. Pisco is one of the mostimportant seaports of Peru. Southward the ports andvalleys are smaller, although there are large valleys capableof increased irrigation and production. Wines and brandiesare produced in these valleys, and some minerals. Theimprovement of irrigation of these districts necessitates aconsiderable expenditure of capital. The engineers of thegovernment have made a detailed study of the irrigabletracts, and concessions are obtainable for their development.Peru is already one of the most advanced of the SouthAmerican countries in scientific irrigation. The port ofMoilendo in southern Peru is the outlet for an extensiveregion served by the southern railways system, and is theport of entry and outlet for Arequipa and the Titicaca dis-trict, and the vast Montana region beyond, with extensiveresources of goldfields, rubber forests, and coffee, chocolate,sugar, and other products. Mollendo, however, is one ofthe worst ports on the coast, and during rough weather land-ing is dangerous and at times impossible. It has long beenintended to remove the railway terminus to a moresuitable haven not far away. The selection of Mollendo asa terminus was partly due to financial corruption when theline was built—an error whose results have been long visitedupon the country. South of Mollendo are the valuabledistricts of Ilo and Moquegua, followed by the pleasingseaport of Arica, of terrible memory in the Chilean war.

The mild and equable climate enjoyed by the coast townsof Peru, gives place to more bracing and at times severeand inclement conditions of temperature in the rest of thePeruvian cities, which are situated at considerable elevationsabove sea level. Arequipa occupies a midway positionbetween the coast and the Sierra. It lies 75 miles fromMollendo, at an elevation of 7,850 feet, and enjoys an in-vigorating climate, with blue skies and generally healthfulenvironment. This, together with the character of itsdwellings, which are built of the volcanic freestone thatabounds in the region, creates a pleasing impression. Theother Peruvian cities, forming the capitals of the various


departments or states, generally lie in remote valleys amongthe mountains, and are in some cases very difficult of accessfrom the seaboard. Most of these towns are unserved byany means of communication except primitive mule-trails:but railway extensions in the last few years have reacheda few of the more important. The advent of the locomotivein the remote and difficult valleys of the Andes is regardedin those communities as a triumph of engineering skill,and greatly appeals to the imagination of the inhabitants.

Chief among the Andean cities of Peru are Cajamarca,Cuzco, Puno, Huancayo, Jauja, Abancay, Huancavelica,Ayacucho, and Cerro de Pasco; all of them being ofsome historic or peculiar interest. Cajamarca is in thenorth, 500 miles from Lima: a mountain town, at anelevation of nearly 9,500 feet above sea level, and was thescene of the conquest of Pent by Pizarro, and of thedeath of Atapualpa, the last Inca emperor. It was atCajamarca that Atahualpa, imprisoned by the Spaniards,reached up to a line upon his prison wall and promised tofill the room thereto with gold, if the Spaniards wouldrelease him : an offer he fulfilled, only, however, to bemurdered.

Cuzco, the capital of the old Inca empire, lies almost asimilar distance to the south of Lima at an elevation of about11 ,500 feet, and is a populous place, now reached by thesouthern railway extension from Puno, upon Lake Titicaca.Cuzco is surrounded on every side by mountain peaks, whichoverhang the old Inca capital, once the centre of perhapsthe most benevolent monarchial rule the world has everknown, as described elsewhere. The intensive cultivationof the soil, which was carried out on the terraces banked upon the mountain slopes around Cuzco, supported a largepopulation; and the old temples, seme of which remainin part, the walls, with their gigantic stones, the bridgesand fortresses are all witnesses to the development ofthat ancient regimen which the Spaniards overthrew.The population of Cuzco has decreased greatly sincethose times, but the city and province is still one ofthe most thickly peopled parts of Peru. The convent of


Santo Domingo is of religious interest, upon the site ofa former Inca temple, with an altar upon the spot onceoccupied by the sacred emblems of the sun-god. The cathe-dral of Cuzco, built at the beginning of the seventeenthcentury, is a notable specimen of Spanish-colonial churcharchitecture, with a high altar covered with silver. Cuzcois also the centre of a fertile agricultural region, andchocolate and coffee are brought in from the lower valleysof the Montana—a region of great possibilities.

The town of Puno lies 12,650 feet above sea level, on theedge of the lake, and 825 miles from Lima. Cerro de Pascolies north of Lima, near the terminus of the Oroya railway,175 miles from the capital, and is the greatest mining centrein the country. The mines were long famous for their pro-duce of silver, and at the present time are large producersof copper: the new smelting works being among the fore-most in South America. It has been asserted by the Ameri-can capitalists and experts who control the Cerro de Pascoenterprise that the mines form the largest deposits of copperore in the world. The town stands on the borders of lakeJunin, 14,400 feet above sea level, and suffers as to its climateby reason of the excessive cold and altitude.

The remaining large towns lie in the great longitudinalvalleys of the Andes, in some cases overtopped by the snow-crowned peaks, which near Huaraz rise to more than 22,000feet altitude. Huancavelica is the centre of the great quick-silver mines which were extensively worked in the time ofthe viceroys, and were described as " one of the brightestjewels of the Spanish crown " and the supplies of mercurythey yielded made possible the working of the silver minesthroughout Peru and Mexico during that period. Butthe great cavernous mines of Huancavelica fell in andburied 500 miners, whose bones remain there to this day.Urged by a jealous and incompetent viceroy to producemore quicksilver, the head miner removed the ore columnswhich supported the workings, and, these gone, the minecollapsed, bringing death to the great working population be-neath, crushing them and their underground chapels, galleries,and storehouses. At present the town of Huancavelica is


difficult of access, but the railway from Oroya and Huancayomay ultimately reach the city, which lies at anelevation of12,550 feet, 220 miles distant from the capital Huancayois an important place in the fine Jauja valley, now reachedby the railway from Lima and Oroya: it is one of the largestmarket towns in the republic, and the centre of a considerablepopulation, mainly engaged in agriculture.

The distant towns and communities of the Andes of Peru,like those of Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia, present tothe traveller who refuses to be overcome by their remote-ness and peculiar triste * aspect much of unique interest.Their picturesque aspect, the bright skies and invigoratingatmosphere which alternate with the heavy rains and coldwinds, and the primitive population of Indians and Cholos,with typical dress and primitive habits, are subjects ofstudy which counteract the melancholy atmosphere inducedby the half-ruined buildings and general Jack of comfort.The half-pathetic endeavours of the small upper class tokeep abreast of the knowledge of the outside world and toappear conversant with the doings of civilisation, togetherwith their pronounced trait of hospitality towards the well-informed traveller or foreigner, offset their tendency todouble-dealing in business and the other defects of theircharacter and environment. These people are not sunk inirreclaimable stupidity nor dominated by any form of socialor religious fanaticism, as are certain peoples and races ofthe Old World; and they may be regarded as communitieswaiting but the opportunity to germinate and develop.

The great variations in climate, fauna, flora, and all elsein Pen due to elevation, are very striking. The traveller,even within a day's ride on mountain trails, may pass fromthe cold plateaux and snowfields to valleys where orange andlemon groves abound; or, in a couple of days, from thehaunts of the condor and vicufla to the forests where tribesof monkeys dwell. In ascending from the warm coast landsupward to the temperate zones, and among the deepvalleys of the hinterland, a variety of valuable products anddelicious fruits is encountered under cultivation ; and a

The Spanish word tn ste is one used by the inhabitants in this connection.


flora including many plants familiar in Great Britain. Offruits. bananas, pomegranates, paltas—most delicate flav-oured of fruits, known in Britain as alligator pears (the anti-cardium occtdentahs)—chirimoyas, melons, grapes, oranges,peanuts, etc. A scanty pasture is encountered, and cactiof various forms: and scanty timber, such as the quishua,in the ravines. The warm zone is left at 6,000 feet, andabove it, up to 11,500 feet, maize, barley, wheat, potatoes,alfalfa, and quinua are found; and buttercups, violets,lupins, geraniums, pelargoniums, and other flowers growingwild , also apples, pears, cherries, and other familiar fruitunder desultory cultivation; and the mountain ash, oak,hawthorn—generally all stunted. The maguey—valuableplant—abounds, and the nopal or prickly pear; and theuplands are the home of the potato. The tunas are coveredwith the iclzu or long grass, so valuable to the natives:and in the lagoons are tall sedges or rushes, of which onTiticaca the Indians make their raft boats Above this,at 13,500 feet, the hardy barley no longer grows, and maizedoes not ripen. There is no alfalfa, no timber. The mightycactus giganton is seen, but is becoming very rare, and willsoon be lost to botanical science. The singular yareta,(azorella untbclliferae) especially on the Bolivian and northernChilean punas—appears, like a vast brown mushroom orcauliflower, up to three feet in diameter, of a woody texture,full of resin and forming a valuable fuel, growing upon thebare rocks, in monstrous lichen-like fashion. This strangeplant or fungus is rapidly disappearing, due to its use asfuel ; and it is of very slow growth. A few low, thornyshrubs are seen sparsely, and the lower limit of the snowis reached, with a few curious plants adapted to resist thecold, which open their humble petals in the snow, andsome cryptogams, the only vegetable inhabitants of thisAndean world, antarctic through its elevation. Above, allis bare. The rocks or the glaciers rise beyond: the organicworld is exhausted ; its only living creature is the occasionalmajestic condor; and the sun rises or sets upon an in-animate world.

But it is a world full, nevertheless, of splendid atmospheric


effects and curious phenomena. These vast high uplands arestorehouses also, of hydraulic powers, and of latent electricenergy, which is strongly manifested at times: and theremust be yet undiscovered uses, sources of power and ele-ments unsuspected at present, but some day to be available,upon the high plateaux of the Andes.

The Cholos of the uplands are an extremely hardy raceof people, forming a class of small peasant proprietors,perhaps among the hardiest and most independent in theworld. They s%Test a living from among rocks and thornsin their small chacaras or holdings, in a way which is averitable revelation of the possibilities of primitive agri-culture. Their life is of the simplest, and their habitationsand possessions of the most primitive and meagre: astone-built hut, its walls formed of unhewn blocks dug fromthe mountain strata or collected from the talus of the slopes,the roof of thatch on poles obtained with difficulty from thetwisted limbs of the quisltua trees, which grow scantily inthe ravines, or the dried stems of the cactus; the coveringof the ichu grass whose tall tufts cover the high punas.Notwithstanding the cold, there are no doors to these huts,but a blanket is hung across the aperture at night, or whenthe owner and his family are away at their toil or mindingtheir flocks, and this forms a sufficient protection for peoplewho do not fear the rigour of the climate, nor who wouldever dare to violate the sanctity of a dwelling by enteringwhen its guardians were away. These people, throughoutPeru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and part of Chile, retain many ofthe customs of their Inca forbears, inherited from thewonderful agrarian system, which is described in a subse-quent chapter. They still form and cultivate the terraceson the hill slopes, the " Andenes," which are so prominenta feature of the landscape, with their rough stone walls.The Cholo and Indian agriculturists are almost entirelyindependent of the Peruvian governing or mestizo class,whom they regard as "foreigners." Civilisation as inter-preted by Peru can give them little. Around the stone-built huts the cliacara produces maize and alfalfa, up tothose elevations where such will grow; barley, quinua, and


potatoes beyond; and no place is too inclement for theirlabours. They and their women weave all their clothesfrom the wool shorn from their own mountain sheep orllamas, spun in little hand spindles which the womenincessantly twirl, even when far afield minding their flocks;and woven in the looms which have come down from thetimes immemorial of the Incas. They are barefooted, orshod with sandals, home made. There is nothing for theirprimitive wants—except alcohol and tobacco—that they can-not produce from the soil. Bread they do not have: onlytoasted maize or cancha. They pay neither tax nor rent,and make no contribution to the corporate life of the re-public. They are veritable children of the soil. The Cholowoman at the time of childbirth may be alone in her hut,if that be situated in a very remote spot but she givesbirth, and herself gets up and even goes out to collect woodto make a fire and heat water wherewith to wash the babe.Fuel, in these places, consists in the scanty bushes of theravines, for timber does not grow to any size in the uplands;the ichu grass, and the dried dung of the llama, knownas taquia. This last-named material has remarkable calorificproperties, and in some of the mining districts is even col-lected in large quantities and used for the smelting of silverores, and forms in such situations the best and cheapest fuelavailable. This marked independence of the upland peopledoes not make for civic advancement. They work for thePeruvians if they wish, or let employment alone, accord-ing to their desire. They are amenable to kindness andjustice, to both of which they are strangers as a rule from thegoverning race, who regard them with a certain amount ofcontempt, and as subjects for mere service. What vicesthey have, have mainly been acquired from the whites andmestizos. The traveller—and he is a rare passenger inthe remote districts—who approaches their villages orsolitary huts, will often have difficulty in obtaining fodderfor his beasts or supplies of any nature for himself Moneyoften has no value, and in vain he will offer Bolivian orPeruvian silver coin in exchange for eggs, chickens, or al-falfa: and if he be a student of economy the lesson is not


without some value—that money is without purchasingprice among a self-contained and self-supplying people.To do them justice they will often bring out food or fodderfrom a sense of native hospitality, rather than from anycommercial instinct. These traits, however, disappear wheremore frequent contact with outside people occurs, and theybecome tricky and exorbitant, and even lying and deceitful—largely as a measure of self-protection. But, as observedelsewhere in these pages, the Cholos are a useful race, andnone other could replace them in their peculiar habitat, orperform work in these high regions, which can only becarried out by those who have paid nature the homage ofbeing born upon the soil. If they are to be encouraged toincrease and multiply—and they are naturally prolific,although infant mortality is very heavy due to their lack ofknowledge and the rigorous condition of life—it will be donenot by any system of commercialism or exploitation, butby kind example and precept in matters of the bettermentof their simple life. Nearer the larger towns the people,men and women, driving their donkeys or llamas, crowd inon market days and church days, or dias tic fiesta, with theirproduce to sell, clothed in bright-hued Ponchos. That isalso the harvest of the local cura, who reaps rich rewardin tithes and offerings from his flock, the simple and super-stitious Indian of the uplands

Typical of the Andean uplands is the Titicaca plateau.Lake Titicaca is a hydrographic system of much interest.With its sister lake Poopo or Aullagus and the connectingDesaguadero river, the system affords a valuable waterwayserving that part of Peru and Bolivia and the steamerswhich ply thereon run in connection with the railway systemsfrom the coast. Lake Titicaca is 165 miles long and morethan 6o wide, with a greatest observed depth of 892 feetlake Poopo is 55 miles long, and 25 wide, with a depth ofonly 4 to 13 feet. The first drains into the second throughthe Desaguadero, a system like a cup overflowing into asaucer with their brims at a level, so deep is Titacaca andso shallow is Poopo. The elevation of the surface of lakeTiticaca is 12,370 feet above sea level ; it is fed by the

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snows and streams of the higher Andes, in conjunction withother smaller lakes; and the whole lake basin is a survivingone of a series which formerly occupied other inter-Andeanvalleys and plateaux. Although a considerable volume ofwater constantly flows through the system into Lake Poopothere is no outlet to the sea, the waters being absorbedonly by the process of evaporation, which is very consider-able at that elevation, and by seepage. It has been sur-mised, however, that some subterrannean outlet might exist.In earlier times the lake must have been even more exten-sive, and, as described elsewhere, may have reached thefamous Tiahuanako ruins in Bolivia. Its outlet in formerperiods was to the east through the gorge of La Paz. Titi-caca is of vast archological interest, as later described.Mother high lake of Peru is that of Junin, close to Cerrode Pasco, 36 miles long and 13,230 feet above sea level;also Parinacochas, 12 miles long, near the base of the snowySara Sara peak, but it is little known. On the great tunasaround these lakes and elsewhere, the traveller journeys fordays through vast quartzite areas and treacherous bogs,often without sight of human habitation; and with itsbroken uplands, deep valleys, and snowy peaks Peru mightwell be termed the Tibet of America a comparison whichis heightened by the Asiatic physiognomy often of theQuechua and Aymara Indians, who are the inhabitants ofthese high regions: and who seem to bear out in their lacesthe theory of an early Tartar peopling of America.

Pen and the other Andean countries are singularly freefrom ferocious or noxious animals. The most aggressiveenemy of mankind, and this only in certain districts, is themosquito. The puma and a small black bear are occasion-ally encountered in the higher regions, and the jaguar inthe Amazon lowlands; and the vicuña and deer on theuplands. The scorpion or alacran and the centipede areencountered in the warmer zone. Snakes are rarely seen.The guinea-pig, or ciii, is an article of diet among the Indians,as also the viscachas or rock squirrels, which abound inplaces; and partridges are found in the uplands. There isno teeming animal life such as Africa affords, except in the


hot lowlands of the Amazon, upon the rivers. In thestreams upon the Pacific slopes the camaron, a large freshwater prawn, abounds, and is considered in Lima and else-where a great delicacy. Scarlet feathered flamingoes hauntthe upland lakes, and other wild fowl; some of edible value.The Chinchilla, especially towards the south, is a native ofthe cold lands, well known for its valuable fur. It isextremely prolific, like its relative the viscacha.

Except for a comparatively few adventurous spirits,mountain climbing among the great snowy peaks of theSouth American Cordillera has not attracted much atten-tion, nor become the pastime which the Alps furnish tothe European traveller. The Andes are too remote for theordinary ambition, and the general difficulties of travel inSpanish American countries such as deter any but those ofspecial aptitude. In the Alps, civilisation presses up to thefoot of the perpetual snows, and villages, hotels, and guidesare within easy reach. It is not so with the Cordillera ofEcuador, Bolivia, Peru, and Chile, where the snowy peaksrise from among uninhabited deserts in most cases, or sterileplateaux, where the primitive hut of the Indian often offersthe only hospitality to be secured after arduous leagues inthe saddle. The Andes offer their own peculiar attractionsin their magnificent solitudes, and what they lack in beingunclothed and treeless is made up by glorious cloud effectsand often cloudless skies, and a certain attractive environ-ment consequent upon the character of the native inhabi-tants, and the vestiges of an ancient civilisation. In Ecuadorthe completion of the Quito-Guayaquil railway has renderedof much easier access the great peaks of the Andes of Ecua-dor, such as Chimborazo and others, but in the four thou-sand miles of Cordillera stretching southward through Peruand Chile, there are extensive regions without any meansof communication except the primitive mule-trails, separ-ated by wide stretches of desert, as approached from thecoast.

Apart from the risks and discomforts of travel in theseregions is the added difficulty of mountain sickness, knownas soroc/te. This is partly due to the diminished pressure on


the brain and other organs, consequent on the rarefied air;for at such elevations there is but the weight of half an atmo-sphere. Soroche takes the form of severe vomiting and excru-ciating headache, in its worst phases, the nausea being some-what similar to sea-sickness. Persons of weak heart areadvised not to attempt elevations much above 8,000 toxo,000 feet in the Andean countries. Yet some of the largesttowns of the interior are situated at higher elevations, andthere are villages which might look down, as from theiraltitudes, upon the summit of Mont Blanc. The highestinhabited places on the globe are, in fact, encountered inPeru and Bolivia. Many people are immune from thesorothe, but others are unable to withstand it and are utterlyprostrated. Death has ensued in some cases. Bodilyand mental agitation should be avoided in expeditions atthese great elevations; alcohol should be used sparingly,or not at all, and the same may be said of tobacco. Theface and neck should be enveloped in some warm materialwhilst journeying, and the knitted masks made by theIndians, which they wear themselves, and the boas of vicuflafur are among the best means of protection from the keenatmosphere of these high inclement regions of sparselyinhabited plateaux and perpetual snow. The natives putforward various remedies against the soroche. One ofthese* is the nibbling of cakes of the native brown sugar,which forms an important part of the diet of the Indiansof the uplands. The chewing of the coca leaf, another ofthe most highly prized commodities of these people, is alsorecommended. The mastication of this, of course, liberatesa small portion of cocaine, the drug which is made from theseleaves. The powers of endurance which the Indians derivefrom the mastication of these leaves is remarkable. Sorochedoes not only depend upon elevation: it is more severein some places than others at similar altitudes, due to localcauses.

A further malady to be guarded against in the snowyAndes is that of snow-blindness. The ordinary blue spec-tacles are the best preventative, but the natives often adopt

Found efficacious by the author.


the method of painting a dark circle round the eye, whichapparently has some beneficial effect against the glare. Asevere attack of snow-blindness causes the face to swellseverely under the eyes ; so much so that sight is temporarilylost. This malady is known locally as scrumpe, and a remedyis there used in a certain root boiled and mashed and appliedas a poultice. The mountain sickness or soroche is felt evenby passengers upon the high railways such as the Oroya andother lines, and whole car loads of passengers are afflictedat times, on reaching the higher elevations, with headacheand nausea.

The change from the bleak highlands of the Andes, thesterile, treeless tunas, to the warm intermontane valleys, andlowlands of the eastern slope, is very rapid. The Mon-tafla of Peru produces all the fruits of the tropics. Sugarcane, chocolate, cotton, and coffee are cultivated, but thedifficulties of transport have prevented rapid developmentof the region. The chocolate is of excellent quality, as isthe coffee. The sugar is consumed locally. In this Peru-vian Montana, in its upper regions, nature has been lavishof her products and opportunities. The rancher who maytake up his abode there, with a small amount of capital, mayrapidly acquire estates and wealth. Abundant harvests ofalmost every known product can be raised in a minimum oftime. It is sufficient to cut down and burn the brush andscratch the soil and sow with any seed, to recover returnsof a hundred for one. Sugarcane, vines, maize, cocoa, coffee,and a host of products can be raised. The sugar cane, onceplanted, yields perpetually: some existing plantations beingmore than a hundred years old. The cane frequently measures30 feet in height, and is cut seven to nine months aftersprouting.

The rivers of eastern Peru, which have been describedin the chapter on the Amazon valley, are valuable means ofcommunication for the Montafla region, and are indeedoften the only means of transport. This great network ofwaterways, navigable for canoe, raft, and steamer, intersectvast areas of territory at present uncultivated, but of muchvalue for the future. These great lands, some forest-


covered, others open plains, are capable of cultivation andfood production on a large scale. At present the difficultyof access and of getting in supplies or taking out producepresent a barrier to economise development and notwith-standing the possibilities of fluvial transport, the regioncannot progress until it is approached by railways. The costof roads and railways in such territory is naturally heavy,due to the broken nature of the ground and the considerablerainfall; but it is only a question of time, possibly the nearfuture, when these remote territories will be as valuablein their way as the lands of Canada and the United States, orthose of Argentina. Concessions from the government ofthese lands can be obtained under railway or road-buildingsobligations. The aggregate navigable length of the Peru-vian Amazon waterways is calculated, for all kinds of craft,at 20,000 miles in the rainy season as described in thechapter upon the Amazon valley, falling to 5,800 miles inthe dry season. A system of wireless telegraphy has beenestablished through the Montafla to Lima from Iquitos,upon a German plan.

The cocaine shrub is largely grown, both in the northernMontafla, as before mentioned, and in the southern, andno other part of the world produces it ; it being peculiarto the upper Amazon valley of Peru and Ecuador. Anotherfamous product is quinine, indigenous and peculiar to Peruand Bolivia. Quinine was just brought to notice from havingbeen used as a remedy for the wife of a Peruvian viceroy-Chinchon—who had fallen ill of a tertian fever, and it wasknown as chinchona afterwards. Its qualities, however, hadbeen earlier known to the natives as were the sustainingqualities of the coca shrub leaves. The price has fallen dueto the plantations made in Ceylon, at the initiative of theBritish government. Coffee is also a valuable product ofthe Montana, and in the Chanchamayo valley a Britishcoffee growing colony was established years ago, but didnot flourish very freely, due to difficulties of transport.

The rubber of the Montafla is one of the most valuableproducts of Peru, but the rubber forests are still of difficultaccess. The matter is more fully dealt with in the chapter


upon the Amazon valley. Peru has suffered greatly, asregards her national reputation, by reason of the Putumayoatrocities in this connection. It was something of a terribleirony of fate that in a land whose people for unknown cen-tunes, and up to only four hundred years ago, lived undersocial laws " so beneficent as had never been known underany ancient kings of Asia, Africa, or Europe, or under anyChristian monarch "—laws recorded by a reliable historianand capable of verification by the traveller and student to-day—should, in the twentieth century, have been the sceneof the ruination and wholesale torture and murder of tribesof its defenceless and industrious inhabitants. Under theIncas of Peru, as recorded by the Inca-Spanish historian,Garcilaso de La Vega* and other early writers, human bloodwas never shed purposely; every inhabitant was providedfor, and had a place in a well-ordered social economic plan;there was no such condition as beggary or destitution thepeople were instructed by statute to help each other co-operatively; injustice and corruption were unknown:and there was a belief in a Supreme Director of the Universe.Under the Peruvian republic and the regimen of capitalismto-day, tribes of useful people of this same land have beendefrauded, driven into slavery, and destroyed, and in somecases they were tortured to death under the mandates oftask masters in the employ of a foreign company—under arepublican government, in a Christianised country (in onecase at the behest of the native agents of a company withheadquarters in London). the "crime" of these unfortunatesbeing that they did not always bring in rubber sufficientlyfast—work for which they practically received no payment—to satisfy their taskmasters In order to obtain rubber, sothat the luxurious tyred motor cars of civilisation mightmultiply in the cities of Christendom, the dismal forests ofthe Amazon have echoed with the cries of despairing andtortured Indian aborigines. These were not things of theimagination, but actual occurrences, as set forth by thewitnesses. The Peruvian government had long known of

Vide "The Putumayo; the Devil's Paradise": matters not necessarilydiscredited by the notorious Casement affair.


the abuses committed upon the Indians of the mainland,but had neglected to remedy them; and through influenceor connivance the chief culprits escaped or were exonerated.Rubber has left a dark stain in Peru which it will takelong to eradicate; and Bolivian rubber has had a similarreputation, if in lesser degree; and under the curtain of theforest abuses still exist.

The principal source of Peruvian wealth is agricultural,not forestal or mineral the native population being essen-tially land-working, and the Cholo easily deserts the minefor the chacara or farm. Many of the Cholos of the interiorare, as described, "small holders," and have been so fromthe time of the Incas and they are protected to some extentby law, in order that their holdings may not be alienated.Most of the best land, however, of the coast and the valleysis in the possession of large wealthy landowners, who do notsell or subdivide. The value of the sugar export is morethan £2 ,000 ,000 per annum, and a very high yield isobtained from the soil, superior to almost all other lands.The cane can be cultivated on the Pacific slopes up to anelevation of 4,500 feet, but the lowlands show the bestplantations. and to 6,000 feet on the Amazon slope. Thecane growing is largely farmed out to small farmers, and thecane purchased by the mills; rent, tools, etc , being paid ona percentage of the produce. The rum manufacture is asource of considerable profit. British capital is largely in-terested in the sugar estates, especially near Caflete, at SantaBarbara, and in the north, near Chimbote. The BritishSugar Company at Caflete produce about 30,000 tons ofsugar per annum. Sugar machinery of the value of £25,000was imported into the Department of Lambayeque in 1911,from British sources.

Cotton, like sugar cane, requires artificial irrigation, asdescribed for the coast valleys. Peruvian cotton has anexcellent name in foreign markets, and the production isincreasing; new lands being placed under irrigation. Thevarieties of cotton cultivated in Peru are the Egyptian or

Gossypium herbaceum," grown in the Valley of Lima andIca, the plantations being found from the seashore to some


sixty miles in land; the" Gossypium Peruvianum," or nativecotton, grown near Piura and Ica; and the "Gossypiumcarbardense," with its varieties known as Sea Island andMitafifi, grown near Huacho and Supe. The kinds ofcottons from Peru best known on the British markets arethe full rough Peruvian, which comes from Piura, and themoderate rough, which is produced in lea and exportedfrom Pisco.

There are seven large cotton-producing mills in the re-public, which supply more than a quarter of the cottongoods consumed. British capital controls the Vitarte millsand plantations, which are situated a few miles to the eastof Lima, irrigated and actuated from the river Rimac.New appliances have recently been installed which willfurther curtail the imports, especially of dyed fabrics, fromEngland. The Piura region is, however, the most importantcotton producing centre. Peru ranks twelfth among thecotton producing countries of the world. The averageannual importation of cotton goods-1907-8-9----was of avalue of f600,000, of which 57 per cent, was of British origin,18 per cent. German, and 31 per cent. American.

Alfalfa, quinua, potatoes, olives are other importantproducts, and wheat and fruits might be more extensivelygrown.

The cattle, live stock, and wool industry of the uplandsis of some importance, with ranches containing manythousands of head of cattle. The cattle are small and bony,and the puma sheep small, but some attempts are being madeto improve the breed. Good mules are raised, and small,but wiry horses, both adapted for the mountain travel. Thefamous llama abounds in the uplands, its native home, andboth the llama and alpaca, which much resemble each other,are exceedingly valuable for their wool, whose export ismade principally from Arequipa. The llama is the mostprized possession of the upland Indian, who almost aloneunderstands its breeding and maintenance. The llama oflarge size reaches 64 feet to the head. It is a beast ofburden, and performs all the carrying trade in certain dis-tricts. It is exceedingly docile and costs nothing to keep,

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as it feeds on the natural pasture; and its peculiar andgraceful figure is the most common object of the high bleakuplands of Peru and Bolivia. The vicuila, a relative of thellama, is also encountered in large bands, but in a wild statecompletely, as it cannot be domesticated.

Mining in Peru has already been touched upon. Theenormous gold-bearing deposits on the summit and slopes ofthe Peruvian and Bolivian Andes, contain probably as muchgold as was contained in California and Oregon, but whetherit lends itself equally to recovery remains to be seen. Thesedeposits are glacial, tertiary, and alluvial, and the result ofthe natural draining of lake-depressions. Whole areas ofpampa are impregnated with gold, and moraines miles inlength carry gold in apparently paying quantities, as alreadydescribed; and both" monitors" and dredges are employedin gold recovery. Water in abundance is the prime adjunctof their operations, however, and upon the very water-partingof the Cordillera this offers difficulties. Alluvial gold ismainly found in the districts of Sandia and Carabaya, ofwhich Poto, San Juan, Aporoma and others are examples:and upon the upper Maranon, east of Huaraz, and otheraffluents of the Amazon. Gold in the form of ore is gener-ally associated with other metals, largely as ferruginousquartz. Among the principal districts where such oresabound are on the uplands and eastern slope : Pataz,Huanuco, Chuquitambo, Huancavelica, Cuzco, Cotabamba,Aymares, Paucatambo, Santo Domingo, etc.; and on thePacific slope: Salpo, Otuzco, Huaylas, Yungay, Ocros,Cañete, Ica, Nazca, Andaray, Arequipa, etc. A very fewof these districts show profitable or any working of goldmines at present, although doubtless they will attractattention in the future. The broken nature of the country,whilst offering difficulties of transport, has certain compen-sations in the water-power in the ravines, and in the possi-bilities of adit-mining ; the lodes often crossing the hills,with their outcrop ascending thousands of feet above the floorof the ravines. Lodes are often miles in length; and 3 feetto 8 feet in width, carrying from i oz. to 5 oz. of gold per ton,often in conjunction with pyrites. In many cases the


oxidised ores at the surface have been extensively worked inprimitive manner by native miners—generally a proof ofvalue—and the ores crushed and treated with quicksilverin stone mills at the stream bed. Thousands of such work-ings exist. In Peru are some enormous mineral lodes:among the largest in the world. Copper and coal areboth exceedingly important in Peru, and offer consider-able field for industrial effort. The rapid advance of Peru asa copper-producing country is shewn by the increase in theoutput of the metal, mainly from the great Cerro de Pascomines. Quicksilver has been a famous product, both atHuancivelica and Chonta, near Huallanca; the latterplace being an important mineral centre not far fromHuaraz. The coal and copper bearing districts, which liein that part of Peru, extend over a considerable zone, butcopper exists in the south also. Lead is plentiful, generallyin conjunction with silver, and numerous small nativeoficinas or lixiviation establishments exist for the treatmentof ores ; as well as several modern smelting works ; notablythose of Casapalca and Cerro de Pasco. Silver ores areoften extremely rich, and great fortunes have been made byPeruvian mine owners, and even by poor miners. Theyoccur mainly as oxides and sulphides. Typical districts arethose of Huaylas, Yauli, Quespesisa, Santa Ynes, Caylloma,etc. Zinc is also plentiful. The coal is of various kinds,both anthracite and bituminous, and often occurs in enor-mous tilted or vertical strata, exposed at the outcrop, andcapable of mining by adits. Enormous visible quantities ofcoal exist , hundreds of millions of tons in certain districtsOn the coast, as at Paracas and near Trujillo there aredeposits upon which some prospect work has been done,close to tide water. Petroleum is found in two fieldsthat near Tumbez, and at Talara and Zorritos; and thatof Titicaca, in the Department of Puno, and is of consider-able importance. The rarer metals of wolfram, molybdenite,bismuth, cobalt, nickel, etc., abound, and many otherminerals of commercial value. Nitrate has been found atCaraveli.

The mining laws of Peru are by no means onerous, and


everything is done to attract capital to the industry: butthe methods of native mine-owners in negotiation oftenleave much to be desired. The mining tax is 30 dollarsper hectare: equal to f3 per 24 acres. Labour is moderatelyplentiful in certain districts, and earns a low rate of wage,from Is. to 35. per day; but contract work is generallypreferred by the native miner, who must be regarded as atolerably good worker Mining is not much affected bypolitical disturbance, and tenure is secure, as long as thetax is paid. The government has made a detailed investi-gation of the mineral resources of the republic, carried outby the students and graduates of the national mining school.

The means of communication and transport in the Andeancountries have been created under great expense and againstformidable natural obstacles. The railways on the westernside of South America consist mainly in isolated lines properto each republic. They are, however, growing now into ageneral system. In Peru the Oroya line, starting at Callao,passes through Lima and ascends the western slope of theAndes to an altitude of 15,660 feet, with a length of128 miles from tide-water to terminus. It throws out abranch line northwardly to Cerro de Pasco, the importantmining centre, about 130 miles long; and a branch southwards toHuancayo, about 6o miles long, designed ultimatelyto reach other towns of the highlands and ultimately tojoin at Cuzco, with the southern railway from Arequipa andLa Paz, which ascends from the coast at Mollendo. TheOroya railway ascends the valley of the Rimac, gaining itsgreat elevation by a series of switchbacks, and at its highestpoint crosses the perpetual snow-line The line was anexceedingly costly piece of work, and can never pay interestupon its original capital; which was rendered additionallylarge by fraudulent financial methods at the time of its in-ception: and in addition the cost of upkeep is very heavy.The Oroya line is perhaps the most audacious piece of railwayengineering in the world, and credit therefore must be givento its North American constructors. It is remarkable as ascenic line, and is one of the chief matters of interest in Peru.The line is now under construction eastwardly to the head


of steam navigation on the Ucayali river, which will givean outlet to the fluvial system of the Amazon, and be ofincalculable importance to Peru.

The Southern Railway of Peru, ascending from the coastat Mollendo, serves Arequipa, and crossing the Cordilleraat 14,660 feet elevation enters the great Titicaca basin: andextends northwardly to Cuzco. A steamer line upon thelake reaches La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, in the south.The southern railway of Peru has a total length of about450 miles, or with the Bolivian portion 711 miles: and it isa remarkable piece of engineering work, second only to theOroya line.

From Lima northwardly along the coast a line of railwayis being pushed slowly; and a southern coast-line is alsoprojected, towards Pisco and Ica. There are various shortlines running from coast ports across the flattish littoral, butthese, as before stated, all terminate at the foot of the Andes,to cross which is at present beyond the economic resourcesof the country. All the principal railways of Peru arecontrolled and, in general, efficiently operated by a Britishcontrolled company, known as the Peruvian Corporation.

The position of the Peruvian Corporation in 1911-12 wasshewn by the report of that company, which states thatafter provision of 7 per cent, for amortisation and interest onthe debenture issues of £5,400,000, the net revenue account,including £s,,soo brought forward, shewed a balance of£410,700. The total revenue, including the government'sguarantee payment, guano profits, etc., amounted to£647,000. For the year 1919-20 the income was nearly£600,000, but for igzi this was reduced by a sixth, duepartly to non-payment of the Peruvian government annuity.Guano shipments yielded £36,000. The enormous interestscontrolled by this company and the wide field covered aregreatly influenced by the growth and condition of Peru, andthe prosperity of the enterprise and the republic are muchbound up in each other. The capital of the Peruvian Corpora-tion, in debentures and shares, reaches nearly £22,000,000,held in many hands, both European and North American.Proposals were recently made to hand over the possession


of the railways—which are held under a long lease—per-manently to the corporation, but this was opposed, by thesenate, and wisely, the disinterested economist may consider.

The aggregate length of the railways in Peru is about 1,500miles, a small mileage for so vast an extent of territory asthe republic possesses.

Of foreigners in Peru there are few, in comparison withBrazil and Argentina. There are no colonies, with theexception of the small German settlement of Pozuzo, andthe British of the Perené, both in the Montana, existing underdifficult conditions. There is no considerable flow of immi-gration into Peru so far, notwithstanding the vast import-ance to the country of a supply of foreign labour, capital,ideas, and energy. This necessity is fully recognised byPeruvian statesmen, but conditions have not proved suffi-ciently favourable for the emigrant, or have not beenbrought to his notice. It cannot be said that there is afield for the foreign settler without means. On the coastlands irrigation works are necessary before agriculture canflourish; and all the good lands capable of such are underownership, except those that require large capital for suchhydraulic works. The British are mainly represented inPeru by the agents of the large trading houses, sugar plan-tations and cotton mills, steamer lines, cable company,mines, bank and other commercial and industrial enter-prises: and the total British community is a small, althoughimportant, one. German interests—especially banking—tendto increase Americans own and operate the great Cerro dePasco mines, and are engaged upon various railway worksand projects: and have a good deal of money invested there-in. Italians, French, and Spaniards have many good shops—articles of clothing, groceries and merchandise. The Italiancolony is the most numerous of any and Italians are metwith throughout the republic, generally engaged in smallerbranches of commerce. Foreigners are greatly welcomedand British and American gold greatly sought by mine-owners in the interior. To take up mining claims and sellto a foreign syndicate is often an ambition of the peopleof the interior.


The manufacturing industries of Peru are limited innumber, and are concerned mainly with the treatment ofagricultural material and mineral products. They aredistributed throughout the republic, and include themaking of sugar and rum, textile fabrics from cotton andwool, as elsewhere described, wines and spirits from grapes,chocolate from cacao, cigars and cigarettes, and the smeltingof ores. The Santa Catalina factory at Lima produces cloth,blankets, and underclothing; and is an institution of con-siderable local importance. There are cotton factories alsoat Lima, Ica, and Arequipa: and large woollen factoriesat Lima and Cuzco. The manufacture of counterfeit spiritsand liqueurs at Lima and Callao is carried on, but ought tobe suppressed. There are good breweries at Lima Callao,Cuzco, and Arequipa, and the consumption of beer tends toincrease. The making of "Panama" hats from the finetoquilla fibre, and the weaving of mats and ponchos is anexcellent industry of the natives of the interior, inheritedfrom Inca times. There can be no doubt that the futurewill shes' an increase of miscellaneous manufacture in Peru,with foreign capital and there is already a call for manybranches of small manufacture, in which capital can be wellemployed.

The financial record of Peru presents a picture as chequeredalmost as its physical character. Notwithstanding theenormous natural resources of the country, this record hasbeen, until very recent years one of disaster and discredit.Peru was once described as a " beggar sitting upon a moun-tain of gold," and the description is still applicable, if to aless extent. The internal strife which followed independ-ence prevented the development of the natural wealth ofthe land. Later, the export of guano and nitrate—a tooeasily gotten source of wealth— supplied the national treasurywith overflowing funds. These were squandered in corruptpractises, nepotism, and in extravagant enterprises, whichbrought in their train loss and confiscation, bankruptcy,and the surrender of the principal sources of revenue toforeign creditors, in satisfaction of the obligations enteredinto by the republic's often incompetent rulers and economists.

P


The history of the numerous loans and conversion of loanscontracted abroad is one of the most remarkable of anycountry, and in 1875 the enormous total of £49,000,000represented the foreign indebtedness of the nation, uponwhich the annual interest of £2,500,000 was beyondthe powerof the exchequer. In 1876 the payment of the interestwas suspended, with disasterous results to the nationalcredit. In the war of 1879-1882 the principal source ofincome: the guano and nitrate deposits: were taken byChile. In 1889 the foreign debt with arrear of interest hadamounted to £54,000,000, and relief was only secured at lengthby a contract entered into with the foreign enterprise knownas the Peruvian Corporation, a contract which took theburden from Peru, and had the effect of turning a threatenedheavy loss to the foreign bondholders into a profit.

Peru exhibits a steady if small growth as regards revenueand commerce. The revenue in 1910 was £2,800,000, andthe expenditure £2,655,000, and in 1911 £3,227,000 and£2,833,000, respectively. In 1902 the exports were of a valueOf £3,704,000 and imports £3,428,000: whilst in ign theyhad grown to £7,422,000 and £6,371,000. In 1919 they wererespectively £P26,goo,000 and £PI2,200,000.

At the close of 1912, Peru experienced a change of govern-ment and a new president was elected, or rather appointedby congress due to electioneering disturbances and illegalities.The retiring president went out with a shower of stonesand curses, and an attempt at lynching, notwithstandingthat he had done well by the country; and the incomingpresident was received with a shower of flowers and laudatoryenthusiasm. Such, however, is often the lot of the publicman in Latin America. At least, no political murders werecommitted, such as have too often marked the history ofthe republic. The ejected president was re-elected for thepresent period (1922). The port of Callao has suffered oflate from serious strikes for better pay and shorter hours.

The future of Peru depends upon the stability of itsgovernment, the better education and protection of itslower classes, and the more rapid development of the resources


and great land areas of the republic, coupled with a reason-able flow of immigration. Above all stands the necessityfor more fostering care of the working classes, especiallythe Cholos and agricultural and mining classes of the up-lands, and the Indian of the forests. These people,if they continue to deteriorate or are destroyed, cannot bereplaced. A country will not develop or prosper whichretains or monopolises in the hands of a small upper classthe wealth and education of the country The gtowth ofPeruvian democracy is not an impossible condition. Bothin her soil and in the character of her people Peru containsvaluable elements, which it is now time should begin toprogress. Something has been done, but much remains tobe done. Peru is one of the most interesting countries ofSouth America, and worthy of a fuller life than that it haslived in the past. Historically and topographically itsattractions are many, and it should command the sympathyof other nations.

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