Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests Part 12

Five leagues south of Chilca, on the river of the same name, lies the village called Canete, which is the residence of a Sub-prefect. The very interesting province of Yauyos extends from this village in an easterly direction towards the Cordilleras. The inhabitants of this province are distinguishable by their faces and figures, and also by their manners and language, from the Indians of the coast and the mountains. In stature they are small. They have expanded foreheads, animated eyes, prominent cheek-bones, and wide mouths. Their limbs are slender, and their skin is of a swarthy brown. Their dialect, the Cauqui, contains many radical words of the Quichua language. After this nation was subjugated by the Incas their language was so intermixed with others, that it is now very difficult to trace out its origin. It appears to be totally different from the Chinchaysuyo language.

Some very considerable sugar plantations, and several villages, lie between Canete and Pisco. Among the villages, Lunahuana and Chincha (upper and lower) are celebrated for their great fertility. Two rivers, at the distance of five leagues from each other, flow in a parallel direction between Chincha and Pisco, and to their waters the valleys are indebted for their rich vegetation. On account of their width these rivers can only be pa.s.sed with the a.s.sistance of Chimbadores, and many travellers annually perish in their incautious attempts to ford them.

The little town of Pisco is on the left bank of the south river, and half a league from it there is a secure harbor with good anchoring ground. This town has acquired some importance by the exportation of brandy; and it has recently become more active and populous owing to the near vicinity of the Guano islands. The custom-house and the port captain's office are on the sh.o.r.e, where there is also a large building erected by Don Domingo Elias, for a brandy depot. The little town of Pisco has suffered much from the plundering attacks of European pirates, from earthquakes, and more recently from the War of Independence.

Several parts of it have been rebuilt. Within the few last years much has been done in the way of improving and ornamenting it. A broad trench has been dug round the town, serving the purpose of drainage, and thereby greatly contributing to preserve the health of the place. Pisco is merely the key to the large interior town of Yca, which is fourteen leagues distant. I visited it in the year 1842. The steamer conveyed me in eighteen hours from Callao to Pisco, where I hired horses and a guide. He was a Catalonian, who had frequently travelled to Yca.

At three o'clock, P. M., we left Pisco. At first the road pa.s.sed over very hard ground, then through deep sand, which continued till we got to Yca. Notwithstanding the heat, which in the month of February is insupportable, I was wrapped up in my woollen poncho. Experience had taught me that in the hotter districts the change of temperature which takes place at night, and causes fever, is least injurious when the traveller is protected in warm clothing. My Catalonian guide, who, with his arms covered merely by his s.h.i.+rt sleeves, nevertheless suffered greatly from the heat, could not comprehend why I had chosen such a dress. When I informed him that eleven days before I had, in the same clothing, pa.s.sed a night on the Cordilleras, in the midst of snow, he shook his head in token of incredulity. Whilst the bell rang for evening prayers we rode into the Huilla Curin Plantation, which is surrounded by a charming grove of palm trees. We stopped for a few moments to gather some excellent figs. About midnight a heavy fog spread over the plain, and veiled from our sight a cross on the south, which had hitherto served to keep us in the right direction. We, however, advanced about a league farther. The Catalonian then often alighted to smell the sand, in order to ascertain whether we were taking the proper course. This is a very good practical method; for in deserts through which caravans frequently pa.s.s, the dung of the beasts of burthen mixed with the sand affords a sure indication of the track.

When we had got about three quarters of a league farther on, we came close against a rock, which my guide--in whose acquaintance with the locality I had the most unbounded confidence--declared was quite unknown to him. There was therefore no doubt that we had got out of the right course. I lighted a cigar, and on examining, by its feeble light, my pocket compa.s.s, I discovered that instead of keeping to the south-east we had diverged to the west. As there was now no hope that the fog would clear away before day-break, we rolled ourselves in the warm sand, to await the coming morning.

I afterwards learned that in this very spot numerous travellers had lost their way, and had perished of thirst. In the year 1823, a s.h.i.+p stranded on this coast, with three hundred and twenty dragoons on board, under the command of Colonel Lavalle. The soldiers succeeded in getting ash.o.r.e, but thirty-six hours afterwards they were lost in this sandy desert. When intelligence of the s.h.i.+pwreck reached Pisco, a cavalry regiment was despatched to search for the sufferers, and to supply them with provisions and water; but when they were found it was discovered that one hundred and sixteen men had died from fatigue and thirst, and a few days after fifty more perished from exhaustion. It is generally supposed that a healthy man can live four or five days unsupplied with food and drink. In the temperate climate of Europe, and with bodily rest, this, perhaps, may be the case; but in the burning wastes of Peru to be deprived of nourishment for only forty-eight hours, and at the same time to wander about in deep sand, would be followed by certain death. Severe thirst is the most horrible of torments, especially when the body is surrounded by a medium altogether of an arid nature. At sea it can be much longer endured than on a surface of sand.

When the grey dawn of morning appeared we again mounted our horses, and rode by my compa.s.s in the direction of E.S.E. After riding a few leagues, we turned an acute angle, which brought us into the main road, and we arrived that forenoon in Yca.

On my return I so arranged my journey as to pa.s.s the night in Huilla Curin, where the horses were supplied with forage, consisting of the shoots and leaves of the Mastick-tree (_schinus molle_).

Yca is a moderately large and very agreeably situated town. Like most of the larger towns on the coast it is peopled with inhabitants of all colors, particularly Mestizos. It is the residence of a sub-prefect and many rich planters. Scarcely anything but the vine is cultivated in the Haciendas of the environs; and this branch of husbandry contributes greatly to enrich the province. It is astonis.h.i.+ng to see with what facility the vine thrives in a soil apparently so unfruitful. The young shoots are stuck into the sand almost half a foot deep, then tied up and left to themselves. They quickly take root and shoot forth leaves.

Whilst the surrounding country bears the appearance of a desert, the vineyards of Yca are clothed in delightful verdure. The grapes are of superior quality, very succulent and sweet. The greater part are used for making brandy, which is extremely good and very well flavored. All Peru and a great part of Chile are supplied with this liquor from the Vale of Yca. The common brandy is called _Aguardiente de Pisco_, because it is s.h.i.+pped at that port. A kind of brandy of superior quality, and much dearer, made from Muscatel grapes, is called _Aguardiente de Italia_. It is distinguished by a very exquisite flavor. Very little wine is made at Yca. In some plantations they make a thick dark-brown kind, which is very sweet, and much liked by the Peruvians, though not very agreeable to a European palate. Only one planter, Don Domingo Elias,[49] the richest and most speculative cultivator on the whole coast, makes wine in the European manner. It is very like the wine of Madeira and Teneriffe, only it is more fiery, and contains a more considerable quant.i.ty of alcohol. Specimens which have been sent to Europe have obtained the unqualified approbation of connoisseurs. The flavor is considerably improved by a long sea voyage.

The brandy, which is exported by sea, is put into large vessels made of clay, called _botijas_. In form they are like a pear, the broad ends being downwards. At the top there is a small aperture, which is hermetically closed with gypsum. The large _botija_ when filled weighs six or seven arobas. Two are a load for a mule. To the pack-saddle, or _aparejo_, two baskets are fastened, in which the _botijas_ are placed with the small ends downwards. These _botijas_ were formerly also used for conveying the brandy across the mountains; but, in consequence of the dangerous, slippery roads, over which the mules often fell, many were broken. Still greater damage was sustained at the springs and wells on the coast, for the poor animals, after their long journeys through the sandy wastes, rushed, on perceiving water, in full flight to the springs. As it happens that there is often room for only five or six mules, and from seventy to eighty were often pressing forward, a great number of the _botijas_ were unavoidably dashed to pieces in spite of all the caution the arrieros could exercise. The annual loss of brandy was immense, and to counteract this evil, bags of goatskin were introduced. These skins are now generally used for the conveyance of brandy across the mountains. The method of skinning the goats is the most horribly cruel that can be conceived. A negro hangs the living animal up by the horns, and makes a circular incision round his neck, which, however, goes no further than to the flesh. He then draws the skin from the body of the writhing animal, which utters the most frightful cries. When the skin is completely removed, and not till then, is the suffering animal killed. The negroes a.s.sert that the skin is most easily removed in this manner, and that the _odres_[50] become thereby more durable. It is to be hoped that humanely disposed planters will soon put an end to this barbarous and unreasonable practice.

I happened to be in Yca at the time of the celebration of the negro carnival, which I will here briefly describe. In some of the princ.i.p.al streets of the town large arches are erected, and gaily decorated with ribbons. Round these arches negresses and mestizas dance, and endeavor to stop the negroes whilst riding at full gallop under the arches. The negroes start from the distance of about one hundred paces, and gallop straight to the boundary, where the women endeavor to seize the bridle, and to throw the rider from his saddle. The task of the men is to ride past the women without being stopped; and when they fail in so doing, they have to pay a fine, and are hooted into the bargain. It is hard to say which is most surprising;--the speed of the horses, the dexterity of the riders, or the courage of the negresses, who fearlessly throw themselves in the way of the galloping horses. During the race the negroes are pelted with unripe oranges and lemons, which, when thrown by the vigorous arm of a zamba, inflict a sufficiently heavy blow. I saw a negro gallop to and fro for the s.p.a.ce of an hour, at full speed, and every time he pa.s.sed under the arch he dexterously evaded the outstretched hands of the women; thus giving proof of uncommon bodily strength. While das.h.i.+ng at full speed through the arch of the bridge, and leaning forward on the horse's neck, he seized two negresses, one with each of his arms, and pulled them into the saddle beside him.

The climate of Yca is hot, and not altogether healthy, for the torrents of rain which fall from the hills swell the river so as to make it overflow its lower bank, where marshes are formed, in which malaria is developed. Most of the plantations in the environs are more healthy.

All the bushes in the vicinity of the town are inhabited by a kind of Guinea pig (_Cavia Cuttleri_, King). These animals are exceedingly numerous. After sunrise and towards evening, they leave their lurking places and play about in the gra.s.s. Upon the whole they are not shy, and they allow people to approach them pretty closely. The natives call this little animal the _Cui del Montes_, and they believe it to be the progenitor of the tame Guinea pig. This notion is, however, quite erroneous.

Along the whole of the Peruvian coast there is found a small animal of the lizard kind, of which the natives are very much afraid. They call it the _Salamanqueja_. It lives in the fissures of walls, and is sometimes seen creeping along the lime plaster of houses. Its bite is believed to be mortal. From the descriptions given of this animal, I was curious to see it, and I commissioned some persons to procure me one. At last, an Indian brought me a specimen very much crushed, and I found that I had already got several of them in my collections. I now obtained more of them, and the natives beheld me with astonishment carrying them alive in my hand. Of the Salamanqueja there are two species, the _Diplodactylus lepidopygus_, Tsch., and the _Discodactylus phacophorus_, Tsch. They are nearly related to each other, being only distinguished by one species having an orifice in the thighs, serving as a pa.s.sage for an issue from a gland which secretes a very acrid fluid. This little animal never bites; but it is possible that the fluid by touching a fresh wound, or scratch, may cause very serious consequences.

To the south of Yca there are some large cotton plantations; the most considerable of which belong to Don Domingo Elias. The cotton for exportation is s.h.i.+pped at the port of San Nicolas. Many experienced captains of s.h.i.+ps declare the bay of San Nicolas to be the safest and best along the whole of the western coast of South America.

The Quebrada of Huaitara, which stretches to the east of Yca, is the princ.i.p.al channel of communication between this part of the coast and the rich mountain provinces of Jauja and Huancavelica, and from the latter places to Ayacucho and Cosco.

Opposite to Pisco and Chinca there is a group of small islands, of which the largest, Sangallan, is six English miles distant from Pisco. These islands have of late years become celebrated on account of the great quant.i.ty of guano that has been exported from them.

Guano (or according to the more correct orthography, Huanu)[51] is found on these islands in enormous layers of from 35 to 40 feet thick.

The upper strata are of a greyish-brown color, which lower down becomes darker. In the lower strata the color is a rusty red, as if tinged by oxide of iron. The Guano becomes progressively more and more solid from the surface downward, a circ.u.mstance naturally accounted for by the gradual deposite of the strata, and the evaporation of the fluid particles. Guano is found on all the islands, and on most of the uninhabited promontories of the west coast of South America, especially in those parts within the tropics. I have often been a.s.sured that beds of Guano several feet high, covered with earth, are found inland at some distance from the sea; but I never met with any, and I have some doubt of the correctness of the statement. If, however, these inland strata really exist, I am inclined to believe that they can only be found on hilly ground; and in that case they afford strong evidence of a considerable elevation of the coast.

Guano is formed of the excrements of different kinds of marine birds, as mews, divers, sheerbeaks, &c.; but the species which I can name with more precision are the following:--_Larus modestus_, Tsch.; _Rhinchops nigra_, Lin.; _Plotus Anhinga_, Lin.; _Peleca.n.u.s thayus_, Mol.; _Phalacrocorax Gaimardii_, and _albigula_, Tsch. (_Peleca.n.u.s Gaimardii_, Less., _Carbo albigula_, Brandt), and chiefly the _Sula variegata_, Tsch.

The immense flocks of these birds as they fly along the coast appear like clouds. When their vast numbers, their extraordinary voracity, and the facility with which they procure their food, are considered, one cannot be surprised at the magnitude of the beds of Guano, which have resulted from uninterrupted acc.u.mulations during many thousands of years. I kept for some days a living _Sula variegata_, which I fed abundantly with fish. The average weight of the excrement daily was from 3-1/2 to five ounces. I have no doubt that when the bird is in a state of freedom the weight must be much greater, for these birds are constantly plunging into the sea, in order to devour the fishes which they find in extraordinary ma.s.ses around all the islands. When an island is inhabited by millions of sea-birds, though two-thirds of the guano should be lost while flying, still a very considerable stratum would be acc.u.mulated in the course of a year.

The marine birds nestle on the uninhabited islands, or on rocks near the sh.o.r.e; but they never settle on the flat beach, or any place distant from it inland. On this fact, I ground my conjecture that those beds of guano in the interior, which may have been removed from the sh.o.r.e by important elevations of the coast, are to be found only on hills.

During the first year of the deposit the strata are white, and the guano is then called _Guano Blanco_. In the opinion of the Peruvian cultivators, this is the most efficacious kind. It is found in the Punta de Hormillos, on the islands of Islay, Jesus, Margarita, &c.

As soon as the dealers in guano begin to work one of the beds, the island on which it is formed, is abandoned by the birds. It has also been remarked, that since the increase of trade and navigation, they have withdrawn from the islands in the neighborhood of the ports.

Much has recently been written on the employment and utility of guano; but the manner in which it is applied as manure in Peru, seems to be but little known. The Peruvians use it chiefly in the cultivation of maize and potatoes. A few weeks after the seeds begin to shoot, a little hollow is dug round each root, and is filled up with guano, which is afterwards covered with a layer of earth. After the lapse of twelve or fifteen hours, the whole field is laid under water, and is left in that state for some hours. Of the _Guano Blanco_ a less quant.i.ty suffices, and the field must be more speedily and abundantly watered, otherwise the roots would be destroyed. The effect of this manure is incredibly rapid. In a few days the growth of a plant is doubled. If the manure be repeated a second time, but in smaller quant.i.ty, a rich harvest is certain. At least, the produce will be threefold that which would have been obtained from the unmanured soil.

The haciendas of the valley of Chancay have, during the last fifty years, consumed annually from 33,000 to 36,000 bushels of guano brought from the islands of Chancha and Pisco. The price of the bushel of colored guano is one dollar and a quarter, and the price of the white from two to three dollars. The price has recently undergone many fluctuations, in consequence of the great exports to Europe.

The employment of this kind of manure is very ancient in Peru; and there is authentic evidence of its having been used in the time of the Incas.

The white guano was then chiefly found on the islands opposite to Chincha; so that for upwards of 600 years the deposit has been progressively removed from those islands without any apparent decrease of the acc.u.mulation. The uniformity of climate on a coast where there is not much rain, must contribute to render the Peruvian guano a more arid manure than the African, as fewer of the saline particles of the former being in solution, they are consequently less subject to evaporation.

From 3 35' to 21 48' south lat.i.tude, a plain of sand, 540 leagues long, and varying from 3 to 20 leagues in breadth, stretches along the coast of the Pacific Ocean. It is intersected by chains of small hillocks, which, extending westward from the Cordilleras, gradually diminish in height, and either become blended with the plain, or form abrupt promontories, which project into the sea. Between the river Loa, which marks the southern frontier of the Peruvian coast, and the Tumbez, on the northern boundary, fifty-nine rivers, great and small, pa.s.s through the line of coast. Proceeding from the avalanches of the Andes or the small alpine lakes, they force their way through narrow mountain-valleys, irrigate the waste grounds, and then, after brief courses, flow into the great ocean.

A fine light yellow drift sand covers hill and dale. It is only where rivers intersect the plain that oases of luxuriant vegetation are formed. The peril of traversing these plains is greatly increased by the movability of the sand and the _Medanos_. The strong winds raise immense clouds of dust and sand. The sand rises in columns of from eighty to a hundred feet high, which whirl about in all directions, as if moved by magic. Sometimes they suddenly overshadow the traveller, who only escapes from them by rapid riding.

The medanos are hillock-like elevations of sand, some having a firm, others a loose base. The former, which are always crescent-shaped, are from ten to twenty feet high, and have an acute crest. The inner side is perpendicular, and the outer or bow side forms an angle with a steep inclination downward. When driven by violent winds, the medanos pa.s.s rapidly over the plains. The smaller and lighter ones move quickly forwards before the larger ones; but the latter soon overtake and crush them, whilst they are themselves s.h.i.+vered by the collision. These medanos a.s.sume all sorts of extraordinary figures, and sometimes move along the plain in rows forming most intricate labyrinths, whereby what might otherwise be visible in the distance is withdrawn from the view of the traveller. A plain often appears to be covered with a row of medanos, and some days afterwards it is again restored to its level and uniform aspect. Persons who have the greatest experience of the coast are apt to mistake their way, when they encounter these sand-hills.

The medanos with immovable bases are formed on the blocks of rock which are scattered about the plain. The sand is driven against them by the wind, and as soon as it reaches the top point it descends on the other side until that is likewise covered; thus gradually arises a conical-formed hill. Entire hillock-chain with acute crests are formed in a similar manner. The small hillock-chain, by which the coast is intersected obliquely from east to west, is a boundary which arrests the progress of the wandering medanos; otherwise fruitful oases would soon be converted into barren sand-flats. A correct observation of these hillock-chains affords a most certain scale for ascertaining the direction of the prevailing wind. On their southern declivities are found vast ma.s.ses of sand drifted thither by the mid-day gales. The northern declivity, though not steeper than the southern, is only sparingly covered with sand. If a hillock-chain somewhat distant from the sea extends in a line parallel with the Andes, namely from S.S.E. to N.N.W., the western declivity is almost entirely free of sand, as it is driven to the plain below by the southeast wind, which constantly alternates with the wind from the south.

The movements and new formations in the deserts (like restorations from death to life) are only in full activity during the hot season; for then the parched sand yields to the slightest pressure of the atmosphere. In the cold season its weight increases by the absorption of humidity. The particles unite in ma.s.ses, and more easily resist the wind. In the meantime the hillocks also acquire more firmness or compression by the increased weight which presses on them from above.

In November, summer commences. The rays of the sun are refracted on the light grey sandy carpet, and are reflected back with scorching power.

Every living thing which does not quickly escape from their influence is devoted to certain destruction. No plant takes root in the burning soil, and no animal finds food on the arid lifeless surface. No bird, no insect moves in the burning atmosphere. Only in the very loftiest regions, the king of the air, the majestic condor, may be seen floating, with daring wing, on his way to the sea coast. Only where the ocean and the desert blend with each other is there life and movement. Flocks of carrion crows swarm over the dead remains of marine animals scattered along the sh.o.r.e. Otters and seals impart life to the inaccessible rocks; hosts of coast birds eagerly pounce on the fish and mollusca cast on sh.o.r.e; variegated lizards sport on the sand hillocks; and busy crabs and sea spiders work their way by furrows through the humid coast.

The scene changes in May. A thin veil of mist then overspreads the sea and the sh.o.r.e. In the following months the thickness of the mist increases, and it is only in October that it begins to disperse. In the beginning and at the end of the period called winter this mist commonly rises between nine and ten o'clock in the morning, and disappears about three, P.M. It is heaviest in August and September; and it then lies for weeks immoveable on the earth. It does not resolve into what may be properly called rain, but it becomes a fine minute precipitate which the natives call GARUA (thick fog or drizzling rain). Many travellers have alleged that there are places on the Peruvian coast which have been without rain for centuries. The a.s.sertion is to a certain degree correct, for there are many districts in which there never is rain except after an earthquake, and not always even then.

Though the _garua_ sometimes falls in large drops, still there is this distinction between it and rain, that it descends not from clouds at a great height, but is formed in the lower atmospheric regions, by the union of small bubbles of mist. The average perpendicular height over which this fog pa.s.ses does not exceed one thousand two hundred feet; its medium boundary is from seven to eight hundred feet. That it is known only within a few miles of the sea is a highly curious phenomenon; beyond those few miles it is superseded by heavy rains; and the boundary line between the rain and the mist may be defined with mathematical precision. I know two plantations, the one six leagues from Lima, the other in the neighborhood of Huacho: one half of these lands is watered by the garuas, the other half by rain, and the boundary line is marked by a wall.

When the mists set in, the chain of hillocks (_Lomas_) bordering the sand-flats on the coasts undergoes a complete change. As if by a stroke of magic, blooming vegetation overspreads the soil, which, a few days previously, was a mere barren wilderness. Horses and cattle are driven into these parts for grazing, and during several months the animals find abundance of rich pasture. There is, however, no water; but they do not appear to suffer from the want of it, for they are always in good healthy condition on leaving the Lomas.

In some parts of northern Peru, where the garuas are scanty, the fertility of the soil depends wholly on the mountain rains, for in summer most of the rivers are dried up. When there is a deficiency of rain, the cattle on the coast suffer greatly. A few years ago a haciendado, or cultivator, in the vale of Piura, lost 42,000 sheep; the usual flood, without which the necessary fodder could not be raised, did not come on at the proper time. At Piura there is such a total absence of dew, that a sheet of paper left for a whole night in the open air does not, in the morning, exhibit the smallest trace of humidity. In central and south Peru the moisture scarcely penetrates half an inch into the earth.

In the oases the garuas are much heavier than in the adjacent wastes.

Along the whole of the coast there is no rain, and no vegetation throughout a large circuit. The rain commences first in the north at Tumbez, and there extensive woods are seen. Towards the east it begins first in the valleys of the Cordilleras, which abound in vegetation.

These very extraordinary phenomena remain as yet unexplained; they, however, merit the closest investigation of meteorologists.

I may conclude this chapter by a brief view of the Fauna of the higher vertebral animals. In the region of the coast I have found twenty-six species of mammalia, only eight of which belong exclusively to the coast. Sixteen of the other species are to be found in the mountains or in the forests. The relation of this number to the whole of the mammalia of Peru is 1:4, 3. Distributed by single orders, they are in the following proportions:--Bats, four species, of which only one (_Vespertilio innoxius_, Gerv.) belongs to this region alone. Beasts of prey, ten kinds; among them one of the mephitic cla.s.s, known to the natives by the name of _zorillo_, or _anash_; an otter (_Lutra chilensis_, Ben.); a fox (_Canis azarae_, Pr. Max.), which abounds in the cotton plantations in the neighborhood of Lima and throughout all the Lomas, where he preys on the lambs; several of the feline race, among which are the two great American species--the puma and the ounce, which are seldom seen on the coast, but are considerably larger than those in the mountains. The American lion is timid, and shuns man. When caught young he is easily tamed. The Indians of the northern provinces sometimes bring these lions to Lima, and get money for showing them.

They lead them by a string, or put them in large sacks, and carry them about on their backs, until a show-loving crowd a.s.sembles around them.

The ounces are very bold and fierce. They penetrate into plantations, and attack children and horses. They very cunningly avoid the numerous snares laid for them by the Indians. An encounter with this animal is serious and dangerous. A hunt seldom ends without some of the pursuers being killed or wounded by the animal.

I have already spoken of the seals. There are three kinds of didelphic or marsupial animals on the coast. The natives call them _mucamuca_.

They live in bushes and shrubberies, and they often find their way into the store-rooms of the plantations.

Of the great section of the _Rodentia_, I know of only seven species in Peru; but I have no doubt that this number might be doubled by a careful search in the valleys on the coast. The common house-mouse is very numerous in Lima. The brown rat appears seldom. It came to Peru only a few years ago; but there is reason to apprehend that it will soon be very numerous. Probably it has been imported by Hamburgh s.h.i.+ps. In Callao I saw specimens of some that had been killed. I did not see the common black rat in Peru.

The Armadillo (_Dasypus tatuay, Desm._, L.) is seldom seen. It is found in some of the Yucca and Camote plantations. The negroes eat it, and its flesh is said to be good.

Of wild ruminating animals there is only one on the coast: it is a kind of Roe (_Cervus nemorivagus_, F. Cuv., the _venado_ of the natives). The venados chiefly inhabit the brushwood along the coast; but after sunset they visit the plantations, where they commit considerable damage. They are smaller than our European roe, and somewhat more brown. Englishmen at Lima go out to hunt them. The natives do not take much interest in the chase. This animal is also met with in the coldest regions of the Cordilleras; but it does not come down to the old forests, where the Red Deer (_Cervus rufus_, F. Cuv.) supplies its absence.

In the woods which surround some of the plantations in the valleys of Lima, wild boars (_Chanchos Simarones_) are occasionally found. They are of immense size. At the plantation called the _Hacienda de Caraponga_, one was killed, of which the head alone was an ordinary burthen for a mule.

The number of birds in this very extensive quarter of Peru (the marine and river fowl being excepted) is very inconsiderable. The scarcity of woods and high trees may probably account for this. Besides the carrion vulture, condors collect in great numbers on the sh.o.r.e to prey on the stranded whales. Falcons seldom appear, except the small Sparrow Hawk (_Falco sparverius_, L.), which is very numerous in Peru. One of the most common birds is the little Earth Owl (_Noctua urucurea_, Less.), which is met with in nearly all the old ruins scattered along the coast.

The Pearl Owl (_Strix perlata_, L.) is bred in several plantations, as it is found useful in catching mice. Swallows are not very common; they do not nestle on the housetops, but on walls at some distance from towns. The Peruvians give them the euphonious name, _Palomitas de Santa Rosa_ (Santa Rosa's little pigeons). Among the singing-birds the Crowned Fly King (_Myoarchus coronatus_, Cab.) is the most distinguished. The head, breast, and belly of this bird are deep red, the wings and back very dark brown. He always plants himself on the highest point of a tree, flies perpendicularly upward, whirls about in the air singing, and drops down again straight to his former perch. The Limenos have given this elegant bird a very unbecoming name, which I need not repeat here.

On some parts of the coast it is called _Saca-tu-real_ (draw out your real), because his song sounds like these words. Some fine Tanagers (_Tanagra frugilega_, Tsch.; _Tanagra a.n.a.lis_, Tsch.) visit the fruit gardens round Lima. I saw two birds, of the starling species, the red-bellied Picho (_Sturnella militaris_, Viell.), and the glossy-black Chivillo (_Ca.s.sicus palliatus_, Tsch.), which are kept in cages on account of their very melodious song. Three kinds of parrots, which abound in the valleys on the coast, commit great depredations in the maize fields. The largest (_Conurus tumultuosus_, Tsch.) is green, with a red forehead, and some red feathers scattered over the body. A second sort builds its nest chiefly on the sides of rocks (_Conurus rupicola_, Tsch.), and only occasionally visits the plantations. The third is the smallest, but at the same time the most beautiful of the whole (_Conurus sitophaga_, Tsch.). A fine green overspreads all the upper part of the body, a blue fringe borders the feathers of the wings; and a bright citron-yellow is diffused over the forehead, neck, breast, and belly. It is only seven inches long.

Pigeons, large and small, swarm in such mult.i.tudes over the corn-fields, and in the environs, that they may almost be called the great plague of the country. One of the finest is the little _Turtuli_ (_Chaemepelia gracilis_, Tsch.), on the wing of which there is a row of very beautiful s.h.i.+ning violet spots. The _Cuculi_, one of the largest pigeons, is a great favorite. It is kept much in cages. Its song, which is monotonous, yet very melodious, is kept up from the earliest hours of the morning until midday, and it begins again nearly at sunset. The song consists merely of a threefold repet.i.tion of _cu-cu-li_. After a pause, it resumes the song again.

There are, however, some of those birds which repeat the _cuculi_ oftener than thrice, and their price increases according to the number of their uninterrupted repet.i.tions, which seldom exceed five or six. In Cocachacra, however, I heard one of these birds which repeated its _cuculi_ fourteen times. The owner would not sell it under fourteen gold ounces.