From Peru to the Plate, overland. With sketch map

Front matter

FROM PERU TO THE PLATE, OVERLAND. (WITH SKETCH MAP.) From an Illustration in the " South American Journal." BY PATRICK F. EVANS, LL.M., F.R.G.S. Published by BATES, HENDY & CO., 37, WALBROOK, LONDON, E.C. PRICE 2s. 6d. [ALL BIGHTS RESERVED.] 910KCI PKIL1F .V SON LONDON .V UVr'lM'nni. FROM PERO TO THE PLATE OVERLAND. (WITH SKETCH MAP.) BY,, PATRICK F. EVANS, LL.M., F.R.G.S. 'The scene was savage, but the scene was new," Eoiftion : BATES, HEND1T & CO., 37, WALBROOK, LONDON, E.C. 1889. [All Rights Reserved.']

Preface

. This little book is practically a reprint of articles which have recently appeared in the South American Journal and which were written from a joint diary kept by the late Mr. Llewellyn W. Mostyn and myself when we crossed the Andes in the year 1882. Having concluded the business which had brought us to Lima, we left that city on July 1st and arrived at Buenos Ayres on September 7th. The following is a rough outline of our route : — Lima to Mollendo by steamer; Mollendo to Arequipa by boat, horse and rail ; Arequipa to La Paz by train, steamer and diligence ; La Paz, via Oruro, Potosi, Tupiza and Jujuy, to Salta on mule and horse-back ; Salta to Tucuman by diligence ; Tucuman to Buenos Ayres by rail and steamer. As we travelled without either interpreter or baggage animals, we were frequently put to some inconvenience : on the other hand, we saved our pockets and were to a certain extent our own masters.

Anyone who reads these pages will see that hospitality is a virtue not confined to the northern portion of the continent. We experienced much kindness from many — to all of whom I feel grateful, more especially to M. Petot, of Oruro, for his generosity, and to Sefiora Aramayo for her womanly sympathy when my friend was prostrated with sickness at Tupiza.

PREFACE.

. To this friend, or rather to his memory, I would pay a simple tribute. It required but a short acquaintance to discover that he was a man of great energy and decision of character. Close companionship, however, revealed that he was generous, unselfish, fearless and steadfast, and imbued with sincere though unostentatious piety. He has gone on another journey— a solitary journey to The undiscovered country from whose bourn No traveller returns. But I shall always look back with pleasure upon this trip we made together, for on it I won not merely the friendship but the affection of as staunch a comrade as ever man had. Patrick F. Evans. 12, King's Bench Walk, Temple. September, 1889. TABLE OF CONTENTS. o

Chapter I. On The Ocean

PAGE Our Plans. -The Cerro-Azul Tragedy. — Aspect of the Coast. —Pisco.— Mollendo. — Difficulties Arise. — The " Vessel." — Our Fellow-Passengers. — Twenty-four Hours Drifting 9

Chapter II

A ROUGH RIDE TO AltEQUIPA. Quilca.— A Night Ride on the Pampa.— Detained in the Vitor Valley. — Bad Quarters. — Peruvian Officers aDd Soldiers. — Under Arrest. — An Andean "Special." — His Excellency to the Fore 14

Chapter III. Abjhquipa

Derivation of Name. — Situation. — Tambos. — Gringos. — Arrieros. — Earthquake of 1868. — Appearance of the City.— The Misti, Plaza and Cathedral. — Dryness of the Air. — Trade. — Excursion to Tiavaya. — A Peruvian Dinner. — State of the Army 26

Chapter IV. By Rail, Steamer And Coach On The Andes

Railway to Puno.— Scenery. — Game. — Vincocaya Hotel. — Effects of Soroche. — Puno. — Indians. — Lake Titicaca. — The Steamer. — A Voyage on High Altitudes. — Chilelaya. — By Diligence to La Paz TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE 39 45 53 61

Chapter V. Getting Under Weigh

A Politico-Religious Celebration. — An Indian Dance. — La Paz. — Llamas. — Kindness of our Fellow-Country men.— Preparations. — Bolivian Money. — Decide on Mode of Travelling.— Our Equipment.— " Saddling Up."-- Departure. — The Puna

Chapter VI. First Experiences Of Posting

An Early Check. — Aspect of the Puna.— A Cargo-Mule and his Scourge.— Postas. — Apartments and Kitchens. — Chupe. — Turning in for the Night. — Advantages of Posting. — An Appeal to the Law. — A Snowy Night. — Telegraph and League Posts. — Coca. — Arrival at Oruro

Chapter VII. Silver Mines

In Clover.— South American Servants. — Oruro.— Sardines and Beer.— Revolutions and Industries.— The Atocha Mine.— Visit to the President. — Smelting Works. — M. Petot's Kindness

Chapter VIII. Oruro To Potosi

Alentana. — Sulphur Springs. — A Night at a Hacienda. — Lake Poopo. — A Salt Plain. — Senatorial Conceit. — Indians and Postilions. — Guinea Pigs. — Animal Life. — A Deserted Village. — Sr. Arce.— A Good Gallop. — Warmer Climes. — Cheated by a Fiddler. — Obstinate Mules.— A Tambo. — A Hospitable Consul. — English Bedsteads. — Laying in Stores. — Potosi. — Soroche...

Chapter IX. Misfortunes

Tinned Oysters.- Quarrel with Postmaster. — Loss of Money Bag. — Floundering. — Indian Dread of Wet Feet. — Benighted and Stranded. — Caisa at last.— Mode of Stacking Maize.— General Flores.— Poncho Weaving.— TAP.LE OF CONTENTS. 7 PAstK 7fi 87 92 98 10.8 112 Footing it.— " No hay Nada Nunca." In Difficulties with my Mule. — Indian Shopping. — Cliicha. — Misadventures at Cotagaita CHAl'TEK X. LAID UP AT TUPIZA. A Midnight Ride. — Fantastically Shaped Rocks. — A Family Circle. — Mostyn's Illness. — Sefiora Aramayo" s Kindness. — Tupiza. — Church and Bell. — Diphtheria. — National Schools. — Arrangement with Arriero. — Provisioning

Chapter XI. Across The Frontier

The Sub-Prefect's Pinas. — Vinchucas. — Argentine Arrieros. — A Funeral Procession. — A Bolivian Squire. — Frontier Land. — Two Roads. — Sandstorms. — Desolation. — Arriero Encampments. — Ojo de Agnas ...

Chapter XII. Down The Argentina

Ewe Milking.— Warmth. — Cultivation.— Caldo.— Birds Wind and Dust. — Churches. — Mules. — Poncho Trousers.— St. Dominick's Day at Tilcara. — Horse-breeding. — On Fire. — Condition of Telegraph Wires. — Trees and Flowers. — Argentine Horsemen. — Jujuy. — Ostriches. — Off the Track. — Perico. — Salta and Civilization

Chapter XIII. Town Life

Tubbing. — Salta. — Coinage.— Cocktails. — Mate. —Pool. — Picnic at San Lorenzo

Chapter XIV. Diligence Travelling

The Coach and its Occupants. — The Road. — Rio Pasages Episode.— Forest. — A Sagacious Dog. — An Armadillo. — A Prairie Fire. — Postas and Postmasters. — Accidents. — Railway Workings. — Charge into Tucuman. — Resuscitating a Mule .«. .;. .i. ... TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Chapter XV. Tucuman To Buenos Ayres

PAGE Don Juan. — Tucuman. — Entrained. — Inexperienced Passengers. — Cordoba. — The Central Argentine. — Stoning Trains. — Rosario. — Basques. — Down the Parana. — Buenos Ayres. — Streets. — Cruelty to Tram Horses. — Estancia Negrette. — Homeward Bound

Chapter I On The Ocean

Our plans. — Tlie Cerro Azul Tragedy. — Aspect of the Coast. — Pisco. — Mollendo. Difficulties arise. — The " Vessel." — Our Fellow Passengers. — Twenty-four Hours Drifting. In the summer of 1882, my friend Mostyn and I, having completed the business that had brought us to Lima and not being pressed for time, decided to cross the Andes and travel down the continent to Buenos Ayres instead of returning home by the ordinary sea route. The war between Chili and Peru was still dragging on in lazy South American fashion, and, with the exception of the coast, which was almost entirely held by the Chilians, the country was in a very unsettled state. It was, therefore, difficult to obtain reliable information about the interior, but finally we determined to go by steamer to Mollendo, a Peruvian port 473 miles south of Callao ; thence by rail, via Arequipa, to Puno on the great Andean lake Titicaca ; and from there by steamer and diligence to La Paz, where we could better elaborate our plan of riding down through Bolivia to the Argentina.

At first, there was a prospect of our being able to travel with Senhor Riviera del Ponte, who was going to La Paz in the capacity of Brazilian Minister to Bolivia. Unfortunately, owing to that gentlemen being too unwell to travel on the day fixed for our departure, we were deprived of the pleasure and benefit of his company, a loss which we had subsequently good reason to regret. Bidding farewell to our many hospitable friends, we took the train to Callao and embarked on Saturday evening, July 1, on board the "Laja," a most comfortable and well appointed vessel, belonging to the Chilian " Compaiiia Sud Americana de Vapores." In the early morning, we passed Cerro Azul where a terrible tragedy had taken place the previous year. The negroes in the district, availing themselves of the disordered condition of affairs, rose against the Chinamen who were largely employed on the sugar plantations in the neighbourhood, and who were as unpopular there as elsewhere in consequence of their willingness to work hard at a low wage.

Seizing all upon whom they could lay hands, they tied them together in a long line and then forced their unfortunate captives to walk blindfolded the length of the pier until, having reached the end, they one by one dropped into the sea. Resistance was out of the question. Each falling wretch helped to drag down his fellows at a constantly accelerated pace, and at last the whole chain of miserables were struggling in the water. Some were drowned outright, others, while making frenzied efforts to escape, were shot by the blood-thirsty ruffians, and the remainder were drawn under by the weight of the dying and the dead. Our voyage was uneventful. We rolled along, skirting the barren coast with its bare cliff's, the monotonous grey of which was occasionally tinged with red, as was, at times, the sea also.

At the mouths of the fertile valleys, so many strips of green running eastwards to the mountains, were the various ports, off which we lay to allow the "lanchas," or lighters, to come alongside and discharge their cargoes of oranges, quinces, pineapples, bananas, pumpkins, watermelons, and cherimoyas, and numerous jars of " pisco," all intended for consumption in the colder south. The last named is, when unadulterated, an excellent spirit extracted from an imported Italian grape extensively cultivated in the valleys, especially in the vicinity of Pisco. But Pisco is also celebrated for an article less pleasing to the senses, though more profitable, than vineyards. Opposite the port are the Chinca islands from which large quantities of guano were exported until the Chilians put an end to a trade already showing signs of exhaustion, by destroying the " shoots " down which the precious fertilizer was discharged into the ships.

By eleven o'clock on Tuesday morning we anchored off Mollendo, which, like nearly all the so-called ports on this rocky and inhospitable coast, was merely an open roadstead. A mole projected into a little cove, the entrance to which was guarded by a mass of sunken rock over which the waves often broke with great fury. As elsewhere, everything had to be transhipped into " lanchas," but when the sea was at all rough it was impossible to land at the slippery steps, and passengers had to be hoisted up by a crane, like so many bales of mer chandise. The town itself was a dusty little place, consisting of a fort and a few whitewashed houses perched irregularly on the top of the steep cliffs that overlooked the sea, while in the background lay the bare rolling hills which formed the base of the mighty Cordillera.

Being the ocean terminus of the great railway to Puno and Santa Rosa, it was of considerable commercial importance, and had quite outstripped the older established port of Islay, eight miles to the north. Armed with an introduction from General Lynch, the Commander in-Chief of the army of occupation, and accompanied by Mr. Smart, agent to the Pacific Steam Navigation Company, we called on Colonel Salvos, who commanded the Chilian forces that had recently occupied the place. The Colonel was most courteous ; but our interview was unsatisfactory, for he informed us that the train-service had been dis continued, the Peruvians who were in force under General Bellarde at Tambo (a station 19 miles distant) having taken up a portion of the rails. What were we to do ? It was first suggested that we should wait for the Brazilian Minister, for whom the line would be repaired and a special train run under a flag of truce.

He could not, however, arrive before another two days, at the earliest, and we were anxious to get on as soon as possible. Or, we could continue our voyage down the coast in the " Laja" as far as Arica, take the train to Tacna and proceed from there on muleback to La Paz. But this would have involved missing Lake Titicaca, which we were anxious to see. Thirdly, the Colonel suggested that we should be pushed on a hand-car to the end of the Chilian lines and walk the rest of the distance, four or five miles, to Tambo, carrying our baggage- There were several objections to adopting this course. Constant shots were being exchanged by the opposing outposts, so there was the risk of being hit en route, assuming that we could procure men to push the car, which was doubtful, since General Bellarde was in the habit of im pressing every one he could lay hold of.

Moreover, there was the pro bability of our being detained as prisoners at Tambo, if we ever got there. Lastly, it appeared on further inquiry that the vehicle itself was broken and could not be repaired before " maiiana," a South American phrase which, literally, means "to-morrow," but, practically, signifies any time between the next day and eternity. In the end, Mr. Smart solved the difficulty by telling us that a vessel was to start that evening for Quilca, nine or ten miles up the coast, and only four-and-twenty hours ride from Arequipa. This seemed to be the very thing. We arranged to send our luggage round to Buenos Ayres, packing up our saddles and what few things we intended taking with us in a couple of sacks given to us by M. Robillard, the British Vice- Consul. The cost of our passage to Quilca was 20 dols., or about £3 7s., which we assumed would include one meal.

After a dinner at the hotel off German sausages and sardines, and a parting " copita " at Mr. Smart's, we strolled down to the pier and, having squeezed ourselves into a crowded boat, effected a funereal start at half-past five. It was a hard tug before we were well clear of the swirl over the rocks at the entrance, but gradually the lights of Mollendo and the shipping in the roadstead faded in the distance, and, beginning to feel very stiff, we thought it high time to inquire when we were to get on board our vessel. " Why this is the vessel," was the reply. This was a revelation to us and more than we had bargained for when we paid our twenty dollars. Here we were, three other passengers besides our two selves, like herrings in a barrel, doomed to pass the livelong night tossing on the broad Pacific in an open boat, scarcely bigger than a good sized wherry and loaded to within two inches of the water's edge, while the crew, a man and a boy, kept lazily dipping the unwieldy poles which served for oars.

After nearly capsizing the "vessel" in a vain attempt to get some 1 — o extra clothing out of the sacks, we wrapped ourselves in a large horse rug which Mostyn had fortunately not packed up. We did not long have the benefit of it, for his neighbour, an old Italian of commanding appearance but dirty habits, complained so volubly of the cold that we allowed him to share it : in a little time, by a series of dexterous rotatory motions, he secured possession of the whole, and then feigned slumber. Not having the heart to take it from the old man, we shivered in silence as we listened to the dull roar of the waves and the moaning of the sea-lions. The " duefio," or owner of the boat and the greater part of the cargo, a slightly built, sallow faced, indolent rascal, crouched beside the Italian with a greasy coat over his head.

Opposite to him, a sickly looking Peruvian clerk leant forward, his face buried in his arms, covered with a thin green and white table-cloth. As we kept rising and falling with the heavy swell, low groans proceeded from beneath the coat and the table-cloth, while the Italian, enveloped in our rug, expectorated indiscriminately over both and groaned incessantly. Tired of our cramped position, Mostyn stretched himself on the luggage piled amidships and I curled up on a kind of poop, astern. Awakened by the bitter cold, I discovered that my only hat had gone overboard. However, I rigged up a head dress with a red cotton handkerchief and, scrambling round the prostrate bodies of my fellow passengers, took the boy's place at the oars. The man was too fatigued to pull with any vigour and our course was most erratic.

At length he suggested that as there was a slight breeze we should try to sail. The mast was lashed to one of the seats ; two hide thongs fastened to the same, and a third to the bows acted as shrouds. It was nearly twenty minutes before the operation was completed and the tiny sail hoisted, by which time the slight puffs of wind had died away and we had eventually to resume the oars. When comfortably warmed by the exercise, I left the crew to keep the boat's head straight whde we drifted with the Antarctic current and was soon fast asleep on the poop. My friend, providentially, was more wakeful. Aroused by the sound of the waves dashing against the rocks, he saw that we were all but on the breakers. With a few hearty kicks he stirred up the slumbering man and boy and made them again pull out to sea.

The sun rose, most welcome sight, about six o'clock, and in another hour we passed through a narrow channel between the mainland and a little island, disturbing quantities of " lobos," or sea-lions, which glided into the water as we approached. The whole day long we hugged the coast, a line of dark cliffs spattered with the excreta of gulls and other sea-birds. Behind these, was a desert covered with a fine white dust, which in the distance resembled snow but which was really a kind of pearlash, and torn by innumerable " quebradas," or rocky gullies. The heat was intense, there was no shelter, no breeze. Some bread a few bottles of Bass, tepid water, and tobacco were all our provisions for we had never anticipated so long a voyage ; our companions were limp and sick, the crew quite done up, and we did little more than float with the current.

The sail was again hoisted and some feeble mirth created by the breaking of one of the Italian's trunks in the process of packing the mast. Still we only drifted. In disgust at our slow rate of pro gress, Mostyn and I seized the oars, much to the astonishment of the " duefio," who, proudly glancing at his long and dirty nails, expressed his surprise at the energy of the two "caballeros Ingleses" and muttered " caramba " when we testily replied that every English gentleman could row. After more than two hours of laborious tugging we entered a creek, from the sides of which great rocks jutted boldly out against the evening sky, whilst, overhead, the sea gulls winged their graceful flight. It was a wild and dreary spot, treeless and grassless. But it was Quilca, and we clambered on to the little jetty, rejoiced to stretch our legs after four and twenty hours confinement on the " vessel."

Chapter II

A ROUGH RIDE TO AREQUIPA. (fuilca. — A Night Ride on the Pampa. — Detained in the Vitor Valley. — Bad Quarters. — Peruvian Officers and Soldiers. — Under Arrest. — An Andean " Special." — His Excellency to the Fore. Quilca is a small town even for South America. Its population, ordinarily, consisted of about twenty families, but immigrants from Mollendo had nearly doubled the number. Nominally under Peruvian administration, practically it was then " No Man's Land," and the Pacific Steam Navigation Company's boats had ceased to call. The company's agent, however, Seiior Aru, still resided there and kindly placed an empty store-room at our disposal. While the "duefio" went off to visit friends, Mostyn and I stumbled about in the dark in search of something to eat. After several fruitless inquiries, we came across an old hag squatting before a fire of sticks in a shed built of bamboos and mud.

She cooked for us some coarse fish and a fowl, which she tore to pieces with her hands and boiled in an earthen pot. Our appetites were too sharp set to be spoilt by the filth of the surroundings and our chief regret, as we scalded our fingers in picking out the morsels, was that the Peruvian hen ran so much to bone. For this repast we paid the famine price of i dollars (about 13s. 6d.). Oh ! for the house dinner of a London club. On returning to our room, we found it occupied by bare-footed Quilcaites who were smoking cigarettes and spitting in all directions. The clerk was attempting to sleep on two chairs, and the Italian, seated on a mattress, was flirting with a tall negress who was engaged in the double task of suckling a baby and spreading two other mattresses on the ground. As soon as we had turned out the intruders, we rolled up in our rugs and, unconscious of insect gambols, slept peacefully until our dusky chambermaid roused us in the morning.

As Mostyn and I were attempting to wash in a scoopful of water, the " duefio " came to us with the news that he had discovered two "arrieros" who would take us to Arequipa for 10 dols. a beast. This seemed a great deal to pay for travelling what was reputed to be 30 leagues, and, in fact, we subsequently ascertained that we had been imposed upon and, in all probability, made to pay for the clerk and the Italian. We half suspected as much at the time from the latter's vehement denunciations, cautiously couched in French, of the Peruvians as thieves and robbers. No other animals were, however, obtainable so we had to make the best of a bad job and consoled ourselves with the reflection that it was cheaper than taking a trip in a " vessel." Breakfast was our next thought and we strolled up to the hut where we had dined on the previous night.

" Pejareyes," " Kings of fishes," beautiful in colour when first caught, like smelt in size but more delicate in flavour, followed by a soup made from the bones left over from our dinner, afforded a meal which would have been more palatable if the senses of sight and smell had not been invigorated by a good rest and daylight. My handkerchief being but a poor protection either by day or night, I endeavoured to purchase a hat. The only one for sale was a very second hand rush one still in use. A dollar was the lowest price, but both it and the owner were so dirty that it would have been dear at a gift. Loud shouts and a clattering of hoofs announced the arrival of the " arrieros." Two horses were allotted to Mostyn and myself and a mule apiece to the clerk and the Italian, while two mules and the greater part of a third, our sacks and the clerk's modest bundle completing the latter's burden, were set aside for the Italian's trunks, so that, including the animals ridden by the " arrieros," our cavalcade numbered nine beasts in all.

It was just after two in the afternoon when they arrived, but as a Peruvian never hurries, unless pursued by a Chilian, we were not ready to start till four o'clock. However, we were told that it was better to travel by night and that we should reach Vitor, a station on the Mollendo and Arequipa line where there was a good hotel, in ten or twelve hours. A sharp ascent up the hill at the back of the town brought us to Quilca Alta, a hamlet of three or four hovels, where we halted to purchase bread and a couple of chickens which the " duefio " had had cooked for us. The " arrieros " now insisted upon being paid in advance, but of course we declined to part with a single centavo until we got to Arequipa. This little difficulty settled, we bade good-bye to the rascally "duefio" who had profited at our expense, and descending by a steep track to the valley of the Vitor, pushed our way for half a mile through brakes of " cafia brava " (a kind of bamboo much used for building purposes) and dense clumps of bushes.

We forded the river, which was deep, and, having crossed to the other side of the valley, wound amongst low sloping mountains. It was very heavy goingfor the animals which sank up to the fetlocks at every step in a fine white earth, the snowy appearance of which had attracted our attention yesterday. After a stiff climb up a zigzag path, we jogged gaily up and down an uneven plateau, the clerk bumping along in front, until the " arrieros," who had ridden back in pursuit of two runaway baggage mules, rejoined us and called a halt. We dismounted and by the light of a wax taper made a hasty meal off our chickens, of which little remained, as our fellow travellers kindly assisted us. Before starting afresh, we wrapped up as well as we could, Mostyn in his rug, the Italian in a borrowed " poncho " (a woollen cloak universally worn in South America; in shape, like a blanket with a slit in the middle through which to thrust the head), I in a Scotch plaid and the clerk in his table cloth.

It was after seven o'clock and very dark. The road was narrow and rough. Riding, perforce, in single file, each followed as close as possible to the dim shadow before him that crawled, stumbled and slipped on the loose stones. In this fashion we rode, till four leagues, and very long ones they seemed, from Quilca, we reached the " Pampa," a desolate table-land of sand. About midnight the moon and stars appeared in all their glory and the cloudless heavens seemed studded with countless nails of burnished gold. On all sides round, the bleak and level plain lay in the quiet light like a calm unruffled sea from which rose islands in the guise of jagged peaks and sand hills. The shouting of the " arrieros " and the whirr of their leather thongs, succeeded by the lumbering charge of a straying mule, were the only sounds that broke the solemn silence as we plodded across the dreary waste, pierced to the very marrow by the biting air.

An irresistible drowsiness came over me. I rode on mechanically, seeing nothing, hearing nothing, but disturbed by visions of fearful precipices yawning beneath me. Once, indeed, my night mare all but resulted in a matter of fact roll on the " Pampa," owing to my steed having been suddenly urged into a canter by an angry "arriero" who had been dispatched to hurry me up. Roused for a time, I soon relapsed into dreamland, and the grey light of the coming dawn was stealing over the sky before I thoroughly awoke, just in time to catch a glimpse of the backs of my companions disappearing over a distant brow. No longer on the " Pampa," but amidst barren, stony hills, I came to where the track descended sharply to a narrow valley. The rising sun suffused with a soft and yellow glow the rugged outline of the bare, cold mountains opposite ; below, were two small huts, outside which our mules, relieved of their burdens, were rolling in the stones and dust ; but I looked in vain for signs of railway or hotel.

In one of the huts, the doorway of which had been formed by the simple expedient of leaving the fourth side unbuilt, Mostyn and the Italian lay before a crackling fire, while dogs barked, pigs grunted, and hens cackled and chattered as they rushed through the interstices of the bamboo walls. Gladly enough, I dismounted, for I had been on horseback, with only a few minutes rest, for over fourteen hours, and, stretching my legs, asked Mostyn when we were to get to the hotel. " The hotel ! " replied he. " These fellows say we are in the Vitor Valley but that the hotel and station are ten leagues further on." Ten leagues ! Well, that might mean anything, for by that time we knew that a league signified an indefinite distance. Strictly speaking, it should be something between three and four miles ; but where, as between Quilca and Arequipa, the distances have not been properly measured, it varies according to the nature of the country, the quality of your steed and the inaccuracy of your informant.

The hotel question was, however, soon solved, for the " arrieros," after watering the beasts, informed us that we were not to go to Vitor at all lest the Peruvians there should detain us, Englishmen being looked upon with much suspicion owing to their Chilian proclivities. We finished the scanty remains of our chicken, and, in spite of the unmannerly interruption of bird and beast, slept off and on till scorched into wakes ulness by the fierce rays of the noonday sun, which streamed through the chinks in the walls and roof. Being very hungry we went to the neighbouring hovel, which was similar to ours, only better built and with a real doorway though no door. There we found the cleik, who had taken up his abode with the old squaw and four or five young Indians who inhabited it. Ascertaining that she was the owner of the noisy fowls that so tormented us, we tried to persuade her to slaughter one, but she refused to do so at any price.