Chapter VIII: Part II: South American Dominions (7)

Its most noted districts are Lampa, Carabaya, Ansangaro, Chucuito, Paucar-Colla, Pacajes, Omasuyos, Larecaja, La Paz, Sicasica, Oruro, Paria, Carangas, Porco, Chayanta, Charcas Proper, Pilaya, Cochabamba, Pomabamba, Tomina, Atacama, Lipes, Amparaes, Apolabamba, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Tarija, Chiquitos, Moxos and Chacos, the last three being countries inhabited by independent tribes, among whom there are a few missionaries and settlements.

This immense tract is covered with deserts, forests, vast plains and rivers, and its most populous parts are those which are called Provincias de la Sierra, and which lie on or near the Andes. The Inca Capac Yupanqui subjected these provinces to his sceptre; his son Inca Roca continued the conquests of his father, and greatly extended the dominions of Peru on the east, till he became master of all the nations as far as the place where the city of La Plata was afterwards built.

After the conquest of the western parts of Peru by the Spaniards, they turned their attention towards reducing the remote tribes. In 1538 Gonzalo Pizarro marched at the head of a body of troops from Cuzco, and advancing to Charcas, was opposed with such spirit by the natives, that it was not till after great efforts that they were subdued; this was the commencement of the Spanish colonization of La Plata; and the different conquests, and the descriptions of the numerous districts of this government will be treated of in describing their chief towns.

The capital of Charcas is _Chuquisaca_, or _La Plata_, in 19° 40' south latitude, and 66° 46' west longitude, in a small plain surrounded with mountains. In summer the temperature of the air is very mild, nor is there any very great difference throughout the year; but in winter, which commences in September and lasts till March, rains are very frequent, and are accompanied with thunder and lightning.

This town was erected into a bishopric in 1551, and in 1608 was raised to the metropolitan dignity. It was founded by Pedro Anzures, in 1539, by order of Gonzalo Pizarro, on the scite of the Indian town of Chuquisaca; which name it now generally bears, it having received its other appellation of La Plata, in consequence of the number of silver mines in its vicinity.

The houses are generally two stories high, and covered with tiles; they are large, convenient, and have beautiful gardens, in which grow all sorts of European fruits. The cathedral is also large and well ornamented, and there is a parish church appropriated solely for the Indians, who live in the suburbs, and amount to about 3000.

Besides these there are five convents, each of which has a handsome church, two nunneries, an university, and two colleges.

The greatest evil attending the situation of this city is the want of water, which is only scantily supplied by the public fountains, dispersed in different places.

Chuquisaca is famous as being the seat of the Royal Audience of Los Charcas, which is the supreme court of Buenos Ayres, and has the viceroy for its president; it was erected in 1559.

The magistracy of this city are chosen from among the first nobility, and consist of a corregidor, regidores, and alcaldes, who govern the district attached to the town, which includes a very large space around it, and contains, amongst others, the celebrated city and mines of Potosi.

The inhabitants of La Plata are computed at 14,000.

In the district surrounding the capital, and which is called CHARCAS, are several rivers, which form from their united streams the Pilcomayo. The names of these rivers are the _Tarapaya_, that runs from _Porco_; the _Potosi_, which is employed in washing the ores in the mines of that name; and the _Cachimayo_, which passes near La Plata; after the junction of this last, the united stream flows through the districts of Pilaya, Paspaya, and Tomina, from whence it enters Chaco, and runs 80 leagues as far as the Llanos de Manso, after which its channel is through thick forests to the south-east, and it enters the Paraguay, south of the city of Asuncion, in between 25° 40' and 26° 20' south latitude, by two mouths, after a course of 600 miles. Its banks are inhabited by independent nations, who are so warlike, that the Jesuits in vain sought for a passage by this stream, from Peru to Paraguay.

The city of _Potosi_, included in this jurisdiction, is in 19° 47' south latitude, and 67° 22' west longitude, east-south-east of Lima in Peru, in a country inclosed by the mountainous district of Porco; the climate is cold, and the environs very barren, the valleys being destitute of wood, the sides of the hills covered only with moss, and their summits capped with eternal snows. A few vicunas are now and then seen grazing in this elevated and desolate region, which would never have been frequented by man, had it not happened, that Diego Hualca, an Indian peasant, was pursuing some wild goats, and arriving at a very steep place, laid hold of a small shrub to prevent himself from falling, but the shrub being unable to support his weight, was torn up by the roots, and disclosed to the astonished hunter, a rich mass of silver, lumps of which adhered to the earth, that came away with the plant. The Indian who lived at Porco, made use of this inexhaustible fund of riches for a length of time, but his good fortune could not remain long concealed, as his friend Guanca, observing a considerable change in his manner of living, became anxious to investigate the cause, and pressing Hualca constantly to know the reason, he at last disclosed the mystery. They however kept their secret for some time, till Hualca, refusing to show his friend the manner of purifying the metal, the latter related the whole affair to Villaroel, his master, who also resided at Porco. Villaroel accordingly proceeded to the vein, on the 21st of April 1545, and procuring the necessary assistance, the mine was immediately opened.

The city of Potosi was founded in a narrow glen, on the river of the same name, on the south side of the mountain which contains the mines, in the year 1547. A royal mint was established in 1562, and so rapidly did its population increase, that in 1611, the town contained 160,000 inhabitants, but from various causes, the population of this city since that time has continually decreased, and at present it consists only of about 30,000 souls. Potosi has a mint, six convents, two nunneries, a college and an hospital; and its inhabitants are still chiefly concerned in the working of the mines, and consist of whites, mestizoes, and Indians, for the latter of whom there are six curates and chapels in the city and its district. The city of Potosi is 45 miles west-south-west of La Plata.

The celebrated mines of Potosi are in the same mountain on which the city is built. This mountain is three miles in circumference, and is of a sharp conical figure, rising to the height of 4360 feet above the plain, and is known by the name of _Hatun Potocsi_; its summit is crowned by a bed of porphyry, which gives it the well defined conical form it possesses. This famous mine has caused the destruction of thousands of human beings, for in the latter end of the 16th century, 15,000 Indians were constantly forced to work in it; but at present, there are not more than 2000 miners, who are well paid, and usually work from choice alone; 15,000 llamas and 15,000 asses, are constantly employed in carrying the ore to the amalgamation works in the city. The mint of Potosi coined in 1790, 299,246 piastres of gold, and 3,293,173 of silver, or 886,620_l._ sterling. From the discovery of these mines, till the year 1803, they have supplied 1,095,500,000 piastres, or 237,358,334_l._ sterling, which has paid the royal duties; and this also only includes silver, consequently the gold and smuggled metals must have swelled the total furnished by the works to a much greater amount. At present, the minerals are poor, and their abundance only causes the Spaniards to work them; but according to Helms, if they were properly managed, they would still produce from twenty to thirty millions of dollars yearly. The mountain is perforated by about 300 rude shafts; and the numerous furnaces which surround it, form at night a very singular spectacle. Potosi is distant from its metropolis, Buenos Ayres, 1873 miles across a road, which for 400 miles, lies over a rocky mountainous country, very difficult to pass.

The annual produce of this mountain at present, is not more than five or 600,000 marcs of silver (each marc being two-thirds of a pound). The richest shafts or workings are in the north-side of the mountain, and are named, _La Descubridora_, _Del Estaño_, _La Rica_, and _La Mendieta_, their direction running south.

Other causes occasionally conspire to render the vicinity of these mines more populous than the mere riches they contain; as some hot medicinal baths are found here, called Don Diego, to which many people from the neighbouring towns resort; there is also a great concourse of peasants and merchants to the city, to supply it with provisions, &c., with which articles the district around it is totally unprovided.

The district of TOMINA begins about eighteen leagues south-east of La Plata, and borders eastward on the _Chiriguanos_, a nation of independent Indians; it is twenty-four leagues in length from north to south, and seventy in circumference, containing a mountainous country, in the valleys of which there are some sugar plantations, and in its higher parts, it feeds large and small cattle and horses. The climate is in general hot, and in some of the valleys excessively so.

The rivers which water Tomina are small and unite into one stream, named _El Dorado_, and it is separated from Santa Cruz de la Sierra, by the _Rio Grande_, which joins the Mamore. There are some small lakes in this province, two of which are in a district, named Mayocaya.

In this province, the inhabitants who are mostly Indians, amount to 12,000, and the town of the same name, is fifty-five miles east of La Plata, in 19° 10' south latitude, and 65° 46' west longitude, but is inconsiderable; the vicinity of the warlike Indians, rendering the province an insecure place of abode.

The town of _Porco_ or _Talavera de la Puna_, in 19° 40' south latitude, and 67° 56' west longitude, is the capital of the province of PORCO, which commences on the west side of the town of Potosi, and extends twenty leagues.

The coldness of its situation, amid the high ridges of the Andes, occasions a scarcity of fruits and grain; but it abounds with fine cattle, and the mountain of Porco in this province is celebrated, as having been the place from whence the Incas of Peru drew the greater part of their silver, and was the first mine worked by the Spaniards after the conquest; the district still producing great quantities of that metal, particularly at _Tomahave_, and the mines of the Porco mountain, which are twenty-three leagues from Chuquisaca.

The inhabitants amount to 22,000.

Thirty leagues south of La Plata, lies the province of CHICHAS Y TARIJA; it is a very fertile territory, and produces wheat, maize, oil, wine and fruits; it also contains excellent pastures, abounds in cattle, and has several gold and silver mines. The river _Tipuanis_, which flows on its eastern side, carries much gold in its sand, which the natives employ themselves in collecting.

The greatest extent of this province is thirty-five leagues, and the eastern parts are only separated from the independent tribes, by the above mentioned river. Its chief town is _San Bernardo de Tarija_, which was founded by Don Francisco de Toledo, to repel the incursions of the warlike Indians, and to defend the high road to Tucuman, in 1591. It has four convents and a college, formerly belonging to the Jesuits; in one of its convents, a cross is adored, which it is pretended, was found by the conquerors of Peru in a cave in this country; and that it was made by one of the Apostles, who had preached the Gospel to the Peruvians.

Joining Tarija, and on the south-west, is the province of LIPES which extends 35 leagues.

Its capital of the same name is 150 miles south-south-west of Potosi, in 21° 40' south latitude, and 68° 16' west longitude.

The climate of this country is excessively cold, and its chief commerce consists in the produce of its mines, of which it possesses two of gold, one of silver, and one of copper.

The silver mine of _St. Christoval de Acochala_ was formerly the most valuable in Peru, but at present is not worked owing to the want of hands. Lipes abounds in cattle, and with vicunas, alpacas and llamas, the high chain of the Andes pervading this province.

AMPARAES or YAMPARAES is a district to the east of La Plata, and bounds the province of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Its productions are chiefly grain in its warm plains, and cattle on its high lands and cold districts.

ORURO, or _San Felipe de Oruro_, is a city thirty leagues north-west of La Plata, and capital of a jurisdiction or province of the same name. The greater part of this country lying on the Andes is exceedingly cold and barren, producing only herbage for the pasture of cattle and sheep, with numerous herds of Peruvian camels. It contains many gold and silver mines which were formerly very famous, but most of them have been abandoned, though the mountains of _Popo_ still yield much silver. The capital has five convents, and four churches, and is a populous place, with a revenue office for collecting the duties on the metals.

PILAYA Y PASPAYA, or CINTI, is a province lying forty leagues south of La Plata and bounded on the north by Tomina and Pomabamba, on the east by the Chiriguanos Indians, and on the west and south by Porco and Chichas. Its length is about thirty leagues and its width forty, and this province is intersected in all directions, by the Cordillera, among whose breaches and valleys its inhabitants are settled. They are dispersed in different estates, and amount to 12,000. The climate in the valleys is moderately hot, and the soil very productive. The grapes of this district are made into wine and brandies, which are much esteemed in the neighbouring provinces, and the river _San Juan_ which rises in Lipes, pervades this country. The _Toropalca_ and the _Cinti_ also fertilise the valleys through which they run, and the _Supas_ and _Agchilla_ form, by their united streams, the _Paspaya_ which divides the province from Pomabamba, and runs into the Pilcomayo.

The towns of Pilaya and Paspaya were destroyed by the incursions of the Indians from the east, so that the corregidor resides on an estate in the fertile valley of Cinti; but there are some abundant lead mines in the settlement of Pototaca.

The province of CHAYANTAS begins fifty leagues north-west of La Plata, extending for about forty leagues. This district is famous for its silver mines, of which it contains three, with one of copper, one of tin, and two of lead; and the _Rio Grande_ which flows through it deposits auriferous particles in its bed. The cattle in this province are barely sufficient to feed the inhabitants, who are not numerous.

Adjoining to Chayantas is the province of PARIA, which is bounded by that of Pacajes on the north, on the north-east, by Oruro, east and south-east by Porco, south-west by Lipes, and west by Caranjas. It contains several silver mines, and, lying among the mountains, is of a cold temperature.

There are also some salt mines in it, and a small lake from which that article is extracted.

A rapid river rising in lake Chucuito, runs through this province, and is called the _Desaguadero_, or drain, forming a lake four leagues long and two wide. The river ends in this basin, which has given rise to various conjectures concerning the manner in which the water finds a vent, as the lake is always of the same level; but in one part of it is a whirlpool which sucks down any rafts that get within its vortex. In the year 1748 this singular lake rose to a great height.

The inhabitants of Paria amount to 10,000, and employ themselves in farming; and the cheeses of this district are much sought after.

Its capital of the same name is 210 miles north-west of La Plata, in 18° 50' south latitude, and 68° 20' west longitude.

The province of CARANJAS commences 70 leagues west of La Plata, and extends above 50 leagues on the west bank of Lake Paria. The Andes pervading this district, the climate is very cold, and it produces no grain, but has abundant pastures for cattle, vicunas, &c. There are also many silver mines, two of which are very productive, and one of copper is worked.

A singular silver ore is found in the mines of Turco, which consists of beautiful fibres, penetrating the mass of stone in which they are contained. In the sandy desert parts of Caranjas that extend towards the Pacific are discovered lumps of native silver, which are called Papas, or potatoes, because they are dug out of the ground like that root.

These lumps have the appearance of melted silver, and many of them have been found weighing as much as 150 marcs, and more than a foot in length. The capital of this province, which is not populous, is a small town of the same name, on a rivulet which flows into the southern extremity of Lake Paria.

The city of _Oropesa_ is the capital of a province named COCHABAMBA, of about 40 leagues in extent, which is bounded by Sicasica on the north-west, La Paz on the west, Chayantas on the south, and Charcas, or La Plata, and Santa Cruz de la Sierra on the east, and lying 50 leagues south-east of Plata. It possesses one gold mine, and several of silver, but they are not productive. The chief wealth of this province is in its agricultural produce, as it is fertilized by so many rivers and streams, that it yields immense harvests of grain, &c. From this circumstance it has obtained the appellation of the granary of Peru. The climate is in general mild and healthful.

The _Rio Grande_ is its principal river, which rises in the Andes, west of the district of Sicasica.

_Oropesa_, the capital, is a very considerable place; it is seated on a small river, which is one of the streams of the Rio Grande, in a beautiful and fertile valley; and the chief occupation of its inhabitants, consists in supplying the neighbouring provinces with fruits and grain. It is 150 miles north-west of La Plata, in 18° 15' south latitude, and 67° 6' west longitude.

The province of SICASICA is a very extensive tract, of nearly a hundred leagues in length, and contains some silver mines, two of which are worked. The far greater part of this district lies among the mountains, and it has Cochabamba to its west, Oruro to the south, Paria to the east, and La Paz to the north. Those parts which consist of plains or valleys, are extremely hot, and produce great quantities of coca or betel, with which the neighbouring provinces are supplied. The mountains feed large herds of cattle, and flocks of vicunas, guanucos, &c.; and, the capital is _Sicasica_, 40 miles north-north-west of Oruro.

POMABAMBA is a province bounded on the north by Tomina; east by the lands of the independent tribes; west by Porco and Amparaes, and south by Pilaya y Paspaya. It is about 24 leagues in length, and has no other town than its capital, the inhabitants being dispersed in their plantations.

Its population is only 3000 souls, who gain a scanty subsistence from their farms, which are often plundered by the Chiriguanos Indians. It has the river _Parapeti_ on the north, and the _Rio Nuevo_ on the east, which separates it from the Indian territories.

The capital of the same name is on the shore of the Parapeti, in 19° 55' south latitude, and 64° 8' west longitude, nine miles east of La Plata.

The province of La PAZ lies north of Sicasica, and consists only of a small district round the city of the same name, in the vicinity of the western Cordillera of the Andes. The produce of this country is barley, coca or betel, and papas. It is chiefly noted for the city of _La Paz_, or _Chuquiavo_, or _Pueblo Nuevo_, which was first founded by Mayta Capac, the fourth Inca, who subdued this country; but the Spaniards thinking this an advantageous place, as a post between Arequipa and La Plata, built the city under the presidency of Pedro de la Gasca, who ordered Alonzo de Mendoza to place it midway between Cuzco and Charcas, and to call it _Neustra Senora de la Paz_, in memory of the public tranquillity being settled by the defeat of Gonzalo Pizarro and his adherents. Accordingly a valley in the country, called Las Pacasas, was pitched upon, in which the city was begun, on the 8th of October 1548, the place abounding in cattle, grain, &c.

This city is in 17° 15' south latitude, and 68° 25' west longitude, and 120 miles east-south-east of Arequipa; 288 south-east of Cuzco; 612 south-east of Lima; and 234 west of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, on a fine river, which flows through the valley.

The adjacent Cordillera, which is only 12 leagues distant, is very high, and one of its summits, called _Illimani_, is covered with perpetual snow, which exposes the district to so cold a climate, that hard frosts, storms of hail, &c., are not uncommon. But the city is not subject to these, enjoying a salubrious air, and considerable heat.

The unequal ground on which La Paz is seated, the snow-clad mountains, the fertile valleys and the fine river give peculiar charms to its scenery. The inhabitants in the district around the city are mostly confined to the valley, as the higher grounds are covered with forests which afford shelter to bears, jaguars, pumas, &c.

They find some gold in the river, when it is increased by the melting of the snow, which forces large masses of rock from the mountain of Illimani. In 1730, an Indian discovered in this stream a lump of gold of such size, that it was bought for 12,000 piastres, and sent to the king.

La Paz has a fine cathedral and four churches, four convents, a college, three nunneries, and an hospital, and contains 20,000 inhabitants, who are chiefly engaged in trading in Paraguay tea. A late traveller represents it to be an elegant and clean place.

It is a bishop's see, whose revenues are very considerable.

This city had formerly the five following provinces or districts under its jurisdiction, and its bishop still holds ecclesiastical sway over them; _viz._ Omasuyos, Pacages, Laricaxas, Chucuito and Paucarcolla.

The district of OMASUYOS begins at the gates of La Paz, and extends 20 leagues, being bounded on the west by lake Chucuito or Titicaca. Its climate is very cold, so that it produces little corn; but its pastures feed a great number of cattle; and it has four gold mines. It is chiefly inhabited by Indians. Near the borders of this province is the town or village of _Tiahanuaco_, in which are colossal pyramids and gigantic figures cut out of stone; and these, though much injured by the weather, are highly singular, and are conjectured to have existed before the times of the Peruvian Incas. This place is thirty-six miles north-west of La Paz, in south latitude 17° 17' and very near the south-east coast of lake Titicaca.

Unfortunately no traveller has given a detailed account of these images, which are supposed to be the most ancient and singular in America.

PACAJES is bounded on the north by Chucuito and the great lake; north-east, by Omasuyos; east, by La Paz and Sicasica; south, by Oruro, Paria and Carangas, and south-west and west, by the Peruvian province of Arica, which is separated from it by the lofty chain of the Andes.

Its length from the bridge over the river Desaguadaro, which divides it from Chucuito to the province of Paria, is fifty-six leagues, and its greatest width forty. From the neighbourhood of the Andes, its climate is cold, and its soil not very productive. Its inhabitants are dispersed in small settlements, and consist chiefly of Indians, who are employed in tending cattle and sheep, with which it abounds.

There were formerly several mines of silver and emeralds, but they are not worked at present. A mine of talc supplies the whole of Peru with plates of that substance to serve instead of window glass for the churches and houses.

Including Tiahanuaco, there are fifteen settlements in Pacajes, which has a capital of the same name, eighty miles south-west of La Paz, in a variable climate, and whose chief commerce consists in the sale of cattle to the neighbouring towns.

LARICAXAS, north of La Paz, is a district which extends 240 miles from east to west, and 75 from north to south; it bounds that of Carabaya on the north, and most of its products are the same as those in that province. It contains many gold mines, the metal found in which is of a superior fineness, and four of these mines are in work. The mountain of _Sunchuli_ in this province is celebrated as having been the situation of a gold mine which was discovered in 1709, and was worked with immense profit till 1756, when it was inundated by a spring which suddenly burst in it, and all attempts to get the water under have since proved in vain.

CHUCUITO commences twenty leagues west of La Paz, and borders the western shore of lake Titicaca. The extent of this province from north to south is about twenty-eight leagues, its climate, from the high mountains of which it is composed, is cold, and its chief trade consists in the cattle which are pastured in its elevated plains.

The Andes in this province contain many veins of silver, but none of them are worked at present, and the great lake _Chucuito_ takes its name from this district; it is supplied with water from ten or twelve large rivers, and has no other outlet than by the Desaguadero, which flows from it into lake Paria, and is there lost. It abounds with fish, though its waters are bitter and brackish, and numbers of geese and other wild fowl frequent its shores, which are covered with strong flags or rushes of which the bridges in the country are constructed.

It contains many islands, one of which, Titicaca, was formerly a mountain, but was levelled by the Incas. This island gave the lake one of its names, Titicaca signifying Leaden Mountain; and Manco Capac having first appeared here, the succeeding Incas raised a temple of the sun in memory of the event.

This temple was one of the most splendid in the empire, and contained the greatest riches, owing to the obligation which all the Peruvians were under of visiting it, and depositing an offering on the shrine. On the conquest of the country by the Spaniards it is said all these riches, and even the walls of the temple itself, were thrown into the lake.

Towards the south part of the lake the banks approach each other, and form a bay, which terminates in the Rio Desaguadero, or the Drain, and over this river is a bridge of rushes, invented by Capac Yupanqui, the fifth Inca, in order to transport his army across the stream, which is between eighty and one hundred yards in breadth, flowing with an impetuous under current, though its surface is smooth. The Inca caused four large cables to be made of the long grass which grows on the high Paramos or deserts of the Andes, two of these were stretched across the stream, bundles of dry rushes or flags from the borders of the lake were laid across them, and fastened together; on these the other two cables were laid, and they were again covered with other bundles of flags, smaller than the first and firmly fastened together in such a manner as to form a level surface, and over this marched the Peruvian army to the conquest of Charcas.

This bridge, which is five yards broad, and one and a half above the river, is repaired or rebuilt, as circumstances require, every six months, in pursuance of a law made by the Incas, and followed up by the Spanish government, on account of its great utility.

The island Titicaca contains several settlements, and, among others, that of _Copacavana_, celebrated for its sanctuary of Nuestra Senora de Copacavana. The island produces fruits, flowers and vegetables, pastures much cattle, and in its woods are found wild rabbits and pigeons.

The Indians navigate this lake on balsas or rafts, supported by inflated skins, and carry on by this means a considerable commerce with the towns on the banks.

_Chucuito_, a small town on the banks of the lake, is the capital of this province, which contains, as do the shores in general, many settlements, villages and towns.

PAUCARCOLLA, the last of the old provinces of La Paz, is bounded on the north-east by the lake; east by the same and Chucuito; north by Lampa; west by Moquehua in Peru; and south by Pacajes and Arica, also in Peru. It is eighty-six leagues long, and twenty-eight broad, and is watered by several streams flowing into the lake, of which the _Rio Suches_ and the _Taraco_ are the largest.

The climate is generally cold, and in the parts bordering on Lake Titicaca are cultivated Peruvian bark, papas, barley, &c. The chief occupation of the inhabitants consists in breeding cattle, sheep, pigs and llamas, and there are many vicunas, deer, partridges and lake fowl, which are caught or killed by the natives; the lake also supplies fish, and by means of it the Indians carry dressed hides, thread, &c., and take in exchange wines, brandies and other commodities from the adjacent districts. They fabricate their clothing and other articles from the wool of the Peruvian camel, and carry on a considerable traffic in that article.

The capital was formerly the present settlement of the same name, but it was transferred to that of Huancane, till the discovery of the mines of Laicacota, when that large village became the chief town; since that time it has again changed, and is now seated at _Puna_, from whence the whole province is sometimes called.

_Cancharani_ and _San Josef_, two mountains in this district, contain rich veins of silver, which have been worked with great effect; on the north of these is the mountain _Del Azogue_, or of quicksilver, which was formerly worked to such advantage that it exceeded the produce of the celebrated mines at Guancavelica: but the government suspended the operations at this place from some political motives.

The furnaces in the mines of this province are supplied by the natives, who breed cattle, with cow-dung, to serve as fuel, which is used instead of wood, on account of the scarcity of that article, and proves a good substitute.

The inhabitants of this province amount to more than 26,000 souls, dispersed in fifteen settlements and towns.

_Paucarcolla_, the old capital, is situated on the banks of Lake Titicaca, and inhabited by a few Spanish families. The Inca Yupanqui, third emperor of Peru, added this place to his territories, the natives submitting voluntarily.

_Puna_, the present capital, stands on the shores of the lake in 16° 20' south latitude, 70° 26' west longitude, and is a rich and populous place, containing many illustrious families, with a beautiful church for the whites, and another for the Indians. The mines in the neighbourhood of this town were among the richest in Peru, but were abandoned on the death of their owner, who built the Spanish church. It is, however, said, that the rich mines of _Salcedo_ or _Laycacota_ are again in work. Puna is fourteen miles north-west of Chucuito.

The remaining districts towards the Peruvian frontier, and which were under the jurisdiction of the audience of Cuzco, until the formation of the new kingdom of Buenos Ayres, are Asangaro, Carabaya and Lampa.

ASANGARO or ASANGARO Y ASILA, is bounded on the north-east and east, by Carabaya, south-east and south by Laricaxa, south-west by Paucarcolla and lake Chucuito, and west and north-west by Lampa. It is sixty miles in length and as many in breadth, containing about 3000 inhabitants.

As it lies almost entirely on the Andes, which are here very high, its climate is cold, and the soil produces little else than grass to pasture the cattle, in which its trade consists. Papas, quinoas, and canaguas, grow plentifully in its plains; of the two last, the natives make an intoxicating liquor common in Peru, called chica, which is nearly the same as the spirit procured in Mexico from maize; and chica is also the principal beverage of the Indians inhabiting the Andes.

The chief towns of the same name are mere villages, but near _Asila_ is a lead mine, which has been very productively worked; and in the parts of this province bordering on Carabaya, there are several silver mines, three of which are worked.

CARABAYA is bounded on the north by the Peruvian frontier, east by the country of the independent Indians, and west and south by Asangara. The extreme parts of this province are sixty leagues from Cuzco, and its greatest extent is more than fifty leagues; but lying in a mountainous region, its climate is generally cold, though some of its valleys enjoy heat enough to mature the coca or betel; and it abounds in grain, vegetables, and rich pastures, which feed numerous herds of cattle. Carabaya contains silver and gold mines in great numbers, one of the former and two of the latter being in work.

The river which separates it from the Indian countries, contains much gold in its sand; and the Indians of Peru are said to come down in companies to this river, in order to collect sufficient metal to pay the capitation tax.

In the village of _Poto_ is an office for collecting the royal duties on the mines, and the most famous lavaderos or washing places, are _San Juan del Oro_, _Pablo Coya_, and _Monte de Anauca_, two leagues from Poto.

The greatest gold mine is that of Aporama; the metal being twenty-three carats fine.

_Carabaya_, or _San Juan del Oro_, is the capital of this province, 150 miles south-east of Cuzco, in 14° 40' south latitude, and 69° 36' west longitude.

LAMPA is bounded on the north and west by the Peruvian frontier, and on the south and east by Chucuito and Asangaro. It lies on the ridge named the Chain of Vilcanota, which separates Buenos Ayres from Peru; and its climate, though generally cold, is healthy. It carries on a considerable trade in cattle; and its silver mines are very numerous, but only two are worked to advantage.

The capital is a town of the same name, ninety miles south of Cuzco; in the vicinity of which are the richest mines of the province.

This town is in 14° 55' south latitude, and 81° 44' west longitude.

_Pucara_, a village in this province, is remarkable as containing the ruins of a fort built by the Peruvians, having two large stone reservoirs within it; some of the stones of which are three yards long and two broad, and not far from this fort is a fountain of warm water.

Having now described the northern and Andean districts or provinces of Charcas or La Plata, we must turn to those which lie on the coast of the Pacific, on the east, and those towards Paraguay on the west.

The viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres enjoys the advantage of possessing a province on the shores of the Great Southern Ocean, which, though at present nearly desert, may one day become of great importance. This province named ATACAMA, is bounded on the north by Arica in Peru, on the west by the Pacific or South Sea, on the north-east by Lipes, south-east by the government of Tucuman, and south by Copiapo, in the kingdom of Chili. It is divided into High and Low Atacama, and is of great extent, some parts of it being very fruitful, but intermixed with deserts, particularly towards the south, where there is an immense tract of untenanted land, which divides La Plata from Chili. The sea-coast of this province, is noted for the numerous fisheries established on it, and which supply a large fish, called Tolo, that forms the chief food of the inland districts of La Plata during Lent.

The inhabitants of Atacama are chiefly Indians, those who live in the settlements, amounting only to 2500.

Its chief town is _Atacama_, in a barren plain, surrounded by the lofty summits of the Cordillera, which are uninhabited, owing to the intense cold. This town is a small place, 100 miles from the South Sea, and 120 leagues from La Plata, in 23° 30' south latitude, and 69° 30' west longitude.

Crossing towards the east from this western boundary of Buenos Ayres, we find the provinces of Apolabamba, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Chiquitos, Moxos and Chacos.

APOLABAMBA is bounded on the east by the province of Moxos, and on the west by Carabaya, commencing about sixty leagues from Cuzco in Peru, and extending eighty leagues from south-west to north-east. The country is mountainous, and intersected with rocks and precipices, consequently the roads are very rugged and difficult.

The principal cultivation consists in rice, maize, plantains, &c., which are the common food of the inhabitants. In the plains or valleys, some cacao and cotton are raised, but more grows wild than in plantations, and the forests are numerous and filled with wild beasts and monkeys of every kind. The people carry their produce to La Paz, where they procure what is necessary for their comforts.

Apolabamba is a newly planted colony, and consists mostly of settlements of Indians, who have been converted by the Franciscan missionaries. Seven villages are in a flourishing condition, and in order to defend these from the incursions of the surrounding tribes, the inhabitants are formed into a militia, governed by a Spanish officer.

SANTA CRUZ DE LA SIERRA is a very large province including several districts; it is, as its name indicates, a mountainous country, and little inhabited by Spaniards, the chief places being the missions, which were first planted by the Jesuits. It borders on, or rather contains in its government, the countries of the Chiquitos, Guaranis, and other tribes, among whom a few missions are settled.

Its climate is warm, and the chief trade of its settlers consists in honey and wax.

The capital is _Santa Cruz de la Sierra_, eighty or ninety leagues east from La Plata. It was originally built farther to the south near the Cordillera of the Chiriguanos and was founded in 1548 by De Chaves; but the city having been destroyed, it was rebuilt on its present scite: it is however a place of little importance, though erected into a bishopric in 1605, the chapter consisting only of the bishop, dean, and archdeacon. The usual residence of the bishop is at _Mizque Pocona_, which is the chief town of a large district of the same name. This latter city, which is 100 miles south-south-west from Santa Cruz, is a small place in a valley about eight leagues in circumference, producing all kinds of grain and fruits, and in a warm climate; the woods and mountains affording large quantities of honey and wax, which constitutes a principal branch of the trade of the place.

There is also a lake two leagues in extent near this town, and the district of Mizque is the most populous part of the province.

The _Rio Grande de La Plata_ is the finest river of Santa Cruz; it rises in some small lakes on the south, and running through the province into that of Moxos, enters the Piray by a broad mouth, and forms a good port at Pailas, north of the capital.

The province of CHIQUITOS lies to the north and east of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and embraces an immense extent of territory, which reaches to the Brazilian frontier on the Paraguay.

It was first colonized by the Jesuits who began their missionary establishments in this country towards the close of the seventeenth century, and their success was so great that in 1732 they had seven settlements, each containing more than 600 families. The Indians who inhabit Chiquitos are small-sized, active and brave, and have always resisted the endeavours of the Portuguese to carry off members of their community to slavery; many of them live peaceably in the missions, but others lead a wandering life amid the mountains and plains of their native land.

The forests in this country produce the cinchona, or Jesuit's bark, and many other useful substances; and the great inundation of the Paraguay, called _Lake Xarayes_, extends through the western parts of this province, which is also celebrated for containing the third great branch of the Andes, that leaves the main body between 15° and 20° of south latitude, and crossing the provinces of the Sierra sweeps round Chiquitos, between 15° and 23°, stretching from La Paz, Potosi and Tucuman, through Moxos, Chiquitos and Chaco, towards the government of the mines, and of St. Pablo in Brazil. The highest summits of this chain appear to be between 15° and 20° of south latitude, giving rise to many rivers which flow either into the La Plata or the Maranon.

_San Josef de Chiquitos_, the chief settlement of this province, is thirty-six miles north-west of Santa Cruz; and south of the Chiquitos Indians, are another tribe, named the _Chiriguanos_, whom the missionaries have in vain attempted to convert; they are the terror of the western provinces of Buenos Ayres, and are continually at war with the Chiquitos. In their country flows the river _Parapiti_, which rising near Cochabamba in 18° south latitude, is first called _Conderillo_, and receiving smaller rivers, assumes the name of _Parapiti_, and passing through a large lake it turns to the north; having pursued hitherto a south-east course into this lake, which is in 19° 50' south latitude. It is now called _St. Miguel_, and still running north assumes the name of _Sara_, and being joined by the united streams of the Piray and Plata, as well as several others from the province of Santa Cruz, it becomes a broad river, and in 14° south latitude, is called the _Mamore_, till 10° south latitude, when it leaves Peru or La Plata, and entering the Portuguese territories becomes the _Madera_, continuing under that name to south latitude, 3° 15', and 60° 40' west longitude, when it discharges its immense stream into the Maranon, after a course of 1400 miles.

MOXOS or MOJOS is an extensive territory bounded by the Portuguese government of Matto Grosso on the east, Cuzco and the Peruvian provinces on the west, and Chiquitos and Santa Cruz on the south. It extends on each side of the Mamore, and is chiefly inhabited by warlike and wandering tribes of Indians, who forbid access to its interior. This country contains the lake _Rogagualo_, a large body of water of an oval figure, formed by an arm of the _Rio Beni_, which rises near La Paz on the west side of the Andes, in 18° south latitude, and flowing north, enters the Ucayale, their united streams joining the Apurimac. The banks of the Beni have many settlements of the missionaries. This lake empties itself into the Mamore by a channel called _De la Exaltacion_, thus forming an immense island of the country lying between the Maranon on the north, the Madera and Mamore on the east, and the Beni and Ucayale on the west. From lake Rogagualo three other rivers take their rise and flow into the Amazons on the north; _viz._ the _Jutay_, the _Juruay_ and the _Puros_.

There are several missionary villages in the province of Moxos: but the country is still under the power of the aborigines.

CHACOS is another large territory, bounded by Chiquitos on the north; Paraguay on the east; the great plains of Manos on the south; and Tucuman and Tarija on the west. It is of immense extent, and chiefly inhabited by tribes of wandering Indians, having on its east the great chain of mountains on the banks of the Paraguay, and contains the great _Rio Pilcomayo_, which flows into the Paraguay near Asuncion.

The Jesuits made several attempts to colonise Chaco, but did not succeed, and little is known concerning its products or features.

The adjoining government to Los Charcas, which has now been described as fully as the nature of the work would admit, is,--

_THE GOVERNMENT OF PARAGUAY._

Paraguay is a very extensive government of Buenos Ayres, which is bounded by Chiquitos, Chacos, and Tucuman on the north-west and west; on the north it extends to Lake Xarayes; north-east and east it bounds the Portuguese territories; and south-east and south it is limited by the Parana, which separates it from the missions of Guayra in Buenos Ayres, its jurisdiction ending in the south of the city of Asuncion, in 26° 48' south latitude, and it is divided from Tucuman, or the Llanos de Manso, by the river Paraguay.

HISTORY, DISCOVERY, &c.

The history of this province commences with its discovery by Sebastian Cabot, in 1526, who sailed up the Parana. This navigator was the son of a Venetian pilot, who was much employed in England, and by some accounts is said to have been born at Bristol, in 1477, and having been brought up to the same profession, went with his father, John Cabot, to the discovery of Newfoundland, and from thence to Florida. They had the honour of being the first navigators who saw the continent of America, Columbus not having discovered it till a year afterwards. Sebastian, after this voyage, made another to Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, in the service of Henry VII. of England, and reached the coast of Brazil, but was hindered from exploring it by the timidity of his coadjutor Sir Thomas Pert.

Owing to some opposition on his return to England, he went to Spain, and offered his service to the king; his request was graciously attended to, and on account of his great skill, he was appointed pilot-major of the kingdom, an office of great honour in those days. In 1524, the Spanish merchants entered into a treaty with Cabot, to command an expedition to the Moluccas, which was to pass through the newly-discovered streights of Magalhaens. He undertook this voyage, and proceeded to the coast of Brazil, coasting it southward from the bay of Todos los Santos, till he arrived at the river La Plata, where he landed three of his chief officers, who had mutinied, on a desert island, and being unable, from want of provisions and the bad behaviour of his crew, to proceed farther to the south, he sailed thirty leagues up the river, and discovered an island, which he called _San Gabriel_; three leagues higher up he saw a large river, and named it _San Salvador_; here he landed his people, and built a fort, from which advancing in his boats he discovered another river, thirty leagues distant, called _Zarcacana_ by the natives, on the banks of which he constructed another fort, and named it _Santi Spiritûs_.

He afterwards explored the river Parana, and sailing up it entered the Paraguay, where he found the natives tilling the ground. These people opposed his landing and in a skirmish with them he lost twenty-five men who were killed and three who were taken prisoners. Cabot wintered, however, in this country, and was joined by another adventurer, Jayme Garcia, who had been sent from Europe to explore the river, and returning together to the fort _Santi Spiritûs_, they dispatched a vessel with an account of their discoveries to Spain.

So long were the ministry in sending the necessary supplies to Cabot, that, tired of waiting, he returned to Spain, after an absence of five years, in the year 1531: but not being well received at court, he continued a few years in the Spanish service, and returned to England in the latter end of the reign of Henry VIII. In the following reign he was made grand pilot of England, with a pension of 166_l._ 13_s._ 4_d._ per annum; a sum in those times equal to 1000_l._ at present.

During the reign of Edward, and that of Philip and Mary, many privileges were granted to Cabot; he was made governor of the Russian company, and had the management of the expedition which sailed under Sir Hugh Willoughby to the North Seas.

The variation of the compass was first observed by this celebrated man, though Ferdinand Columbus in the life of his father, printed at Venice, in Italian, in 1571, asserts, that the admiral first noticed it on the 14th of September 1492. Cabot published a large map of his discoveries in North America, which was hung up in the gallery at Whitehall. He also wrote an account of his voyage in the North American seas, in Italian, which was printed at Venice in 1583 in one volume folio; and is very scarce.

Juan de Ayolas followed up the discoveries of Cabot in Paraguay, having had a commission, troops, and stores given him, in 1536, for that purpose, by Don Pedro de Mendoza, the first governor of Buenos Ayres.

By the orders of Ayolas, Juan de Salinas founded the city of Asuncion, but the conquest of the natives being attended with much difficulty, and Ayolas and his party having been murdered by them, Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, the second governor of Buenos Ayres, undertook their subjugation in person. He had arrived with 400 men to take the chief command, in case of the death of Ayolas, and finding that this event had happened, he collected all the settlers in Buenos Ayres, and detaching Irala, who had acted as governor before his arrival, into the interior, with ninety men, to report on the state of the country, was so satisfied with what he had seen, that he set out with 200 Spaniards, and 1200 Guarani Indians, and entered Paraguay; but meeting with reverses, owing to the mutinous conduct of his troops, who were corrupted by Irala, he was forced to return, when he was deposed and sent to Spain; Irala then assumed the chief command, and by his conduct soon reduced the natives, and rendered the Spanish settlements secure.

The Indians were parcelled out to the conquerors, and in 1547, the city of Asuncion was erected into a bishopric.

Much cruelty was practised towards the unfortunate natives, till the arrival of the first bishop of Paraguay, in 1554, who brought with him laws and regulations for their protection; but however wise and humane these ordinances were, they did not totally restrain the colonists from ill using their vassals; and it being found that Paraguay and the territories then discovered, were not sufficient to supply Indians enough to work in the plantations, Parana or Guayra was conquered, and the city of Ciudad Real being founded, 40,000 of the natives were reduced to slavery; and in a few years after, the Spanish power was extended over Chiquitos, on the left of Paraguay, where 60,000 of the natives were compelled to labour for the profit of their employers.

The year 1556 was a new era for the aborigines, as in that epoch the Jesuits made their appearance in Paraguay, and taking a method directly contrary to that of the conquerors, they reduced the natives by the arts of persuasion alone. They showed them how industry would conduce to their comfort; and having, by an uniform course of mildness and conciliation, reclaimed them from their native woods and wandering way of life, they settled them in towns and villages, which soon increased and flourished under their guidance.

The number of these settlements was astonishing, and so completely had these priests gained the affections of the natives, that their government and power was absolute and unlimited. The principal missions of the Jesuits, or rather the Jesuit government, was not however in Paraguay, but in Uruguay, an immense district of Buenos Ayres, on the south of the Parana; and in describing that country, some further account of their possessions will be given.

Their order being expelled from the Spanish dominions, in 1767, the countries they possessed in South America were divided into governments, and priests of other orders were appointed to take charge of the ecclesiastical affairs.

_Climate, productions, features, &c._--The climate of Paraguay is in general moist and temperate, though in some parts it is cold, and white frosts are common in those places in July and August.