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M32
TRAVELS OF RUIZ, PAVON, AND DOMBEY
IN PERU AND CHILE
(1777-1788)
BY
HlPOLITO RUIZ
WITH AN EPILOGUE AND OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS
ADDED BY
AGUSTIN JESUS BARREIRO
TOE LIBRARY OF THE
APR 13 1940
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
TRANSLATION
BY
B. E. DAHLGREN
CHIEF CURATOR, DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY
V NATURAL
HISTORY
BOTANICAL SERIES
FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
VOLUME 21
MARCH 28, 1940
PUBLICATION 467
TRAVELS OF RUIZ, PAVON, AND DOMBEY
IN PERU AND CHILE
(1777-1788)
BY
HlPOLITO RUIZ
WITH AN EPILOGUE AND OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS
ADDED BY
AGUSTIN JESUS BARREIRO
TRANSLATION
BY
B. E. DAHLGREN
CHIEF CURATOR, DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY
THE LIBRARY OF THE
APR 13 1940
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
NATURAL
HISTORY
BOTANICAL SERIES
FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
VOLUME 21
MARCH 28, 1940
PUBLICATION 467
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BY FIELD MUSEUM PRESS
CONTENTS
PAGE
Preface 5
Foreword of Spanish edition 6
Title page of Spanish edition 7
Hipolito Ruiz, Travels in Peru and Chile ". 9
Epilogue by Augustin Jesus Barreiro 243
Appendices: Documents from Spanish Archives 277
Index of chapters in Ruiz, Travels in Peru and Chile .... 333
Index of chapters in Epilogue v 338
Index of Appendices 340
Index of Botanical Names 341
Index of Vernacular Names of Plants 360
Index of Geographical Names 366
MAPS
FACING
PAGE
Provinces of Peru visited by Ruiz, Pavon and Dombey with
itinerary of Ruiz and companions 8
Provinces of Chile visited by Ruiz, Pavon and Dombey . . 112
ERRATA
p. 27 last line L., read R. & P.
p. 28 line 18 Cujute, read Cujete.
p. 30 last line Parkinsonia, and glandulosa, read Parkinsonia glandulosa.
p. 43 line 7 caerulea, read coerulea.
p. 46 line 13 coccinia, read coccinea.
p. 48 line 13 Sepium, read Sapium.
p. 67 line 32 huaura, read huanucara.
p. 78 line 17 allata, read alata.
p. 118 line 11 continu-, read continued.
p. 136 line 30 amentos, read aments.
p. 182 tisaceiro, read tisackeiro.
p. 211 line 30 picna, read picma.
p. 232 line 36 Mais, read Mays.
p. 367 Index & pp. 116, 126 Concura, Corcura, read Colcura.
p. 368 Index & pp. 136, 138, 140, 149 Huilguelemu, read Huilquilemu.
p. 367 Index & p. 152 Collumo, read Coliumo.
Questions of orthography of place names on the maps generally may be
settled by reference to the Index of Geographical names at the end of the volume.
Note on the Ms. of Ruiz (cf. Chapter X of Epilogue). British Museum
(Natural History) Library Catalogue, p. 1765 lists a Ruiz Ms. as follows: Ruiz
Lopez (H.) [original manuscript] Relation historica del viaje que hizo a los Reynos
del Peru y Chile el botanico H. Ruiz en el ano de 1777 hasta el de 1788, en cuya
epoca regreso a Madrid, fol. [ ].
[Revised transcript of about the first half, fol.] There is the beginning of an
English translation bound in at the end.
PREFACE
The various botanical expeditions dispatched to the Western hemisphere
in the last quarter of the 18th Century unquestionably deserve high rank among
Spanish contributions to science. Undertaken at a time when botanical work had
received a powerful stimulus through the publications of Linnaeus, these expedi-
tions mark an important epoch in the botanical history of this continent. To
students of the flora of the former Spanish possessions the names of Peter Loefling,
Sess6 & Mocino, Ruiz and Pavon, and Mutis and his collaborators will always
remain enduring landmarks.
Unfortunately the preparation of the reports of these expeditions and the
publication of their results did not always fulfill the magnificent intentions of
their promoters and patrons, nor correspond with the diligent and often elaborate
performance of the botanists in the field. An outstanding exception is furnished
in the published works of Ruiz and Pavon. Their Quinologia, Systema, Prodromus,
and three splendid folio volumes all that were actually completed of the Flora
form a monument to the zeal, industry and persistence of the botanical explorers
of Peru.
A brief outline of their travels is given in the Quinologia (1792) and again in
the Prodromus (1794). The existence of a more detailed account of their excursions
among the mountains and valleys of Peru and Chile was generally unknown and
even unsuspected until the discovery of the manuscript of a Relation del Viaje
which Ruiz had prepared from his diaries and completed for publication in 1793.
The circumstances of its discovery after the lapse of almost a century and a half
are set forth by Father A. J. Barreiro in the Epilogue provided by that eminent
member of the Academy of Sciences of Madrid, who edited and annotated the
original and appended pertinent official documents from Spanish archives.
The fact that this work of Ruiz awaited publication for a hundred and forty
years detracts but little from its present value or interest. His original account
of the historic botanical expedition, on which he and his famous companions
spent more than ten years, must be considered a major addition to the still
relatively meager literature of Peruvian botany.
In view of the fact that Field Museum has undertaken to publish a new
Flora of Peru, it is considered appropriate to call attention to this recently dis-
covered account of the botanical explorations of the early Spanish students and
to provide an English translation. For permission to do so, the Museum is under
obligation to the Royal Academy of Sciences of Madrid, particularly to Dr. Jose
Cuatrecasas, through whose offices authorization was obtained during the trouble-
some period of the recent Spanish civil war.
The text of the work is mostly of botanical interest, and the translation is
intended primarily for botanical readers. It follows the original as faithfully
as the English language permits and at times perhaps even more closely. No
literary graces have been added in the translation; no attempt has been made to
alter the style or to improve the author's more rambling sentences. In the
matter of scientific names, only obvious typographical errors of the Spanish
edition have been corrected, generally with reference to the other published
works of Ruiz and Pavon; however, many of the names that appear in the text
seem not to have been published elsewhere. No attempt has been made to modern-
6 PREFACE
ize terminology; thus, for example, Jatropha Manihot, Pinus chilensis and Platanus
otahetianus are transcribed without footnotes. The spelling of vernacular and
geographical names also follows closely that of the Spanish edition, sometimes
to the point of inconsistency. Doubtless some typographical errors remain, and
in spite of all care, others have crept into the translation.
Ruiz was not a zoologist and one looks in vain for a single scientific name for
any of the relatively few animals mentioned. A zoological index to the volume
would consist of a list of vernacular names; but the author must be credited with
some zoological knowledge such as of the life history of the liver fluke of the
sheep, and with one of the earliest of existing accounts of the habits of leaf-cutting
ants. Curiously enough, he evinces no suspicion of the true nature of the almost
unbearable irritation of the skin that robbed him and his companions of sleep after
excursions into the forest.
For assistance in the task of preparing the present publication, acknowledg-
ments are made to Mrs. Pura Ferrer for making a first draft of translation, to Miss
Sophia Prior for checking the botanical names and preparing the index of plant
names which substitutes that of the Spanish edition, to Miss Lilith Butler for
typing, proofreading, and work on the geographical index, to Mr. Albert Frey
for the production of the maps, and especially to Mr. David Gustafson for his
careful and scholarly editorial work and close attention to diction.
B. E. DAHLGREN
FOREWORD OF THE SPANISH EDITION
Thanks to the diligence and interest of R. P. AcusTfN JESUS
BARREIRO, it has been possible to recover the manuscript of the
Report of the Journey of Ruiz and PAV6N in Peru and Chile which,
unpublished, remained in the hands of an individual of the family
of the former; and the Commission has decided to begin with it the
publication of documents concerning the naturalists of past centuries
who contributed so much to clarify our knowledge of the American
flora, in consideration of the interest it has because of the many
facts that it contains relative to the state of the countries that
were surveyed by these naturalists at the time their journey was
made. The manuscript has been edited by said member of this
Commission, supplied by him with explanatory notes, and divided
into chapters preceded by short titles indicating the contents of
each one of them, for the convenience of the reader.
Madrid, June, 1930.
THE COMMISSION
COMISION DE ESTUDIOS RETROSPECTIVOS DE HISTORIA NATURAL
DE LA REAL ACADEMIA DE CIENCIAS EXATAS, FISICAS Y NATURALES
RELACION DEL VIAJE
HECHO A LOS REYNOS DEL PERU Y CHILE
FOR LOS BOTANICOS Y DIBUXANTES EN-
VIADOS PARA AQUELLA EXPEDICION,
EXTRACTADO DE LOS DIARIOS
POR EL ORDEN QUE LLEVO
EN ESTOS SU AUTOR
DON HIPOLITO RUIZ
Publicada por primera vez por la Comisidn de EstudlOS
retrospectivos de Historia Natural de la Real Acade-
mia de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicas y Naturales de
Madrid y revisada y anotada por el vocal de la misma
R. P. A. J. BARREIRO, 0. S. A.
MADRID
EST. TIPOGRAPICO HUELVES Y COMPANIA
CALLE DE HiLARi6N ESLAVA, 5
1931
Lima to Huaura
Lima to Lurin
Lima to Tarma
Tarma to Concepcion
Tarma to Huasahuasi
Tarma to Lima
Lima to Huanuco
Huanuco to Cochero
Huanuco to Quivilla
Huanuco to Pasco
Huanuco to Lima
Lima to Huaura
Lima to Huanuco
Huanuco to Pozuzo
Huanuco to Macora
Huanuco to Muria
Huanuco to Pillao e
Huanuco to Lima
iz and Companions in
of the Provinces of
ted by Ruiz, Pavon and Dom
ftiusuH oJ smij
nnuJ oJ smij
nooqsonoO oi srmsT
izaurtszeuH oJ emicT
emij oJ einT
oisrtooO o oounftuH
slliviuO o) 03un6uH
ooaS oJ oauneuH
6(T1|J OJ ODUMKoH
eiueuH o) mij
oounsuH oJ smij
oiuso9 o) oounsuH
stoo*M oJ oounbuH
fcOuM oJ ODunsuH
oi9 o) oounsuH
mij oJ oounsuH
Map of the Provinces of Po,ru
Visited by Ruiz, Pavon and Domb
1H LIBRAKt
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
CHAPTER I
Organization of the expedition Gomez Ortega consulted Botanists and drafts-
men Addition of Dombey From Madrid to Cadiz Preparations for the voy-
age Departure Good voyage Arrival at Callao.
REPORT OF THE JOURNEY
Our Majesty, the Catholic Monarch Dn. Carlos, eager for his
subjects to receive the benefits and profits that could be obtained
from the vegetable kingdom by methodical investigation, and also for
the promotion of botany throughout all his domains in America,
and thus to make it possible to discover and increase the number
of medicinal plants and others of commercial, industrial, artistic,
and economic interest, issued, on April 8, 1777, royal orders that two
botanists, disciples of his Royal Garden of Madrid, should go to the
said kingdoms with two draftsmen to observe, describe, and draw,
and to form herbaria of the plants that they might discover in those
parts of South America.
The King was informed by the first professor of botany, Dn. Ca-
simiro Gomez Ortega, about the most studious and advanced pupils
in this science. He named me as first botanist and chief of the
expedition, and as second Dn. Jose* Pavon, and as first draftsman
Dn. Jos Brunete, and Dn. Isidro Galvez as second. Likewise, he
gave permission to the French botanist Dn. Jose" Dombey to go in
our company to said kingdoms of Peru as commissioned by his King
for the purpose, and with the definite condition that on his return
from Peru, before going to France, he should leave in Spain a copy
of his observations so that the Spanish botanists could incorporate
them in their works; this he apparently never did, or only in part,
submitting some specimens of dried plants with very few notes and
a few descriptions. 1
FROM MADRID TO CADIZ
On September 19, 1777, the five individuals mentioned above
departed from Madrid for Cadiz, where we arrived the 2nd of
October without having experienced any setbacks of importance;
on the contrary, I, who left Madrid sick, had recovered when we
reached Cadiz, to my surprise and that of the doctors who had
1 Dombey, J., French naturalist, born in Macon in 1742, died in 1794; was
commissioned by Minister Turgot for the exploration of Peru, in the company
of the learned Spaniards, and sent to France a precious herbarium that is pre-
served in the Jardin des Plantes of Paris.
10 HIP6LITO RUIZ
predicted for me in accordance with the dangerous character of the
disease that I had been suffering from for more than four months.
In the 18 days that we lived in Cadiz we equipped ourselves with
the things most necessary for the voyage and were ordered to make
it by way of Cape Horn in H. M. S. "Peruano," which was com-
manded by Dn. Jose de Cordova. On October 18, 1777, we, the two
Spanish botanists and the second draftsman, passed in taking on
board the boxes of paper, books, presses, and so forth, but returning
a little late to Cadiz we found that the port was closed for the night,
so that, after the sailors had carried us out of the boat on their
shoulders for a long distance, and a little wet, we had to spend the
night, dressed, in the poor house of the keepers. The French bota-
nist and draftsman Brunete, who missed us in the lodgings, were
convinced, by what was said that night in Cadiz, that the boat had
set sail, and they spent a very anxious night; before dawn they
brought all the equipment to the Puerta de Bahia, having forgotten
in the lodgings some of our things that we could not find later, and
with an order of the president that as soon as it was daylight they
should be permitted to board a boat to overtake our vessel if this
had already set sail.
EMBARKING IN THE BAY OF CADIZ
The 19th found us all aboard, and at nine in the morning, with
a moderate E. N. E. wind, we departed with all sails set. At 11:30,
the wind having died down, we anchored in 8 fathoms of water. On
the 20th we set sail, at 3 in the morning with a fair E. wind as before,
steering to the W. At noonday the wind came a little cooler from
the S.W., and the horizon became dark and windy; for this reason
the captain, with the approval of officers and pilots, decided to
return to Cadiz.
At 2 o'clock we raised flag and pennants; a little later we fired a
gun calling the harbor pilot, repeating this four times. At 3 o'clock
the weather cleared after several showers, and we could see the tower
of San Sebastian to the N.E. At 4:30, coming through the shoals
of San Sebastian, the pilot boat arrived and took charge of our
entrance into the bay. At 5:45 all sails were furled and we cast
anchor in 8 fathoms of water, mud bottom, the Punta de San Felipe
being to the W. % S.W. and the Castillo of Santa Catalina to the
N.N.E., all by the compass. At 6:30 we launched the boat and the
jolly boat. Dusk came with the horizon dark and showery.
A fresh wind came from the S.W. and thus we remained all
night, with the anchor to the larboard.
TRAVELS IN PERU AND CHILE 11
The 21st came with showers, and the pilots, having come aboard
at 10:30, decided that the weather was unfavorable for starting; for
this reason we stayed in port until November 4th, and at this
time the weather cleared and we set sail at seven in the morning
with the three maintopsails. At 8 o'clock we unfurled all sails;
at 8:30 we lowered the boat and the jolly boat, and the pilots left
when we had rounded the points. At noontime we sighted the
tower of San Sebastian at an angle of 82 1' 4" E.; according to this
observation in the latitude 36 34" and longitude 10 8' we were
4^ leagues from the tower by the French chart.
We continued our voyage, and on it we saw swordfish, many
ballenatos, tiburones, bonitos, bufeos, albacoras, lobillos, and other
fishes and a variety of birds that were seen also on the return from
Peru. On the 12th of November we saw the island of Salvajes and
Ascension, and on the 7th of February Tierra del Fuego, and Staten
Island on February 8, 1778, without having seen during the whole
voyage more than one vessel until we came to the vicinity of Pisco
where, about 25 leagues from the port of Callao, we met two small
packets that were carrying slaves of both sexes to Pisco. On April
20, 1778 at 8 o'clock in the morning, we discovered land at a dis-
tance of 10 leagues. The 6th of February we saw the island of San
Lorenzo, and we thought that we had run aground on one of the
banks in front of the pueblo of Lurin. We dropped anchor in the
port of Callao April 8th, 1778.
CHAPTER II
Presentation to the Viceroy Visited by the literati Survey of the environs
of Lima Surprise of the Indians Botanical work Extent and limits of the
province of Cercado Climate Parishes The stay in Carabaillo The robber
Uracan Hacienda of Torreblanca Work accomplished.
ENTRANCE TO THE CITY OF LIMA
We landed on the 9th and went to Lima with the officers of the
ship to present ourselves to the Viceroy of Peru, His Excellency
Sr. Dn. Manuel de Guirior, who received us with great affability
and offered us his protection in anything that was in his power.
We were later visited by the literati and by the most distinguished
people of Lima, visits which we all together returned at once.
FIRST HERBORIZATION
After having secured the license and passport from the Viceroy,
we started our botanical excursions the 4th of May of the same year,
about the ravines of Lima and the truck farms and villages of the
province of Cercado, walking on foot and with our portfolios under
our arms in order to collect in them any plants that we could find.
This work caused great curiosity among the natives, who were
not accustomed to go on foot in the country nor to see such activities
as ours; for this reason they stopped everywhere to observe us
with surprise and astonishment, pointing their fingers at us and
calling us herb doctors.
Nevertheless, we three botanists continued to look for herbs
and plants on foot through the fields of Lima and the towns near
the capital until the 22nd of July; during this time we dried, de-
scribed, and sketched various new plants and some already known
to botanists, but observed and described in a hurry and with less
care and exactness than by the method used by Linnaeus, which
was the one we had adopted as the most approved in all Europe
for determining and describing plants, new as well as those already
known, being satisfied to indicate the generic, specific, and trivial
names of the best described, and to record their local names and
their virtues.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROVINCE OF CERCADO
The province of Cercado is 13 leagues in length N.S. and 8 in
width. It is bordered on the north by the province of Chancay;
on the northeast by the province of Canta; on the east by the
TRAVELS IN PERU AND CHILE 13
province of Huarocheri; on the south by the province of Caneteand
on the west by the South Sea. Its climate exposes one to fevers,
colds, influenza, tetanus, diseases of the lungs, rheumatism, small-
pox, mal del valle, and much venereal disease.
The winter cold is not felt by people from other colder countries,
but it is penetrating for the natives, and in this season the atmosphere
is laden with a mist that lasts all morning until noonday and some-
times all day and night; they call it garua, which means drizzle.
There are no storms, but in the spring, which comes in October
and November, there are great earthquakes.
As it does not rain in this district nor along the coast, the houses
and ranches are roofed with wood, reeds, chacla, and so forth, and
a cement of a very sticky clay. All the fields give an abundance
of corn, beans, some barley, squashes, and various types of pumpkins,
vegetables, sweet potatoes, fruits, and flowers in the gardens and
orchards. The most important products are alfalfa and maizillo,
which are taken to market in Lima to sell for fodder for all kinds of
animals. Without these plants it would be impossible to maintain
so many animals, notwithstanding that in the winter many people
take their cattle 5 or 6 leagues from Lima, to the pasture grounds
of the farms, which some people own for that purpose.
There are a few haciendas where they make some sugar, but
what is manufactured mostly is atuarapo (sugar-cane juice), miel
(syrup), chancaca (bread prepared with molasses), and alfenique
(a paste of sugar and oil of almonds).
The rivers that water these fields are the Rimac, the Carabaillo,
and Lurin, that come from the cordilleras of Canta and Huarocheri.
When the snow melts, these rivers have abundant water, sufficient
to water the whole valley, but in the dry season the water is very
scanty.
In the towns of this province illness is treated with medicines
that come from Lima, but those who cannot afford to pay use herbs
administered by themselves.
The city of Lima, capital of Peru, belongs to this province, and of it we shall
give a separate description. 1 Aside from the parishes of Lima, there are seven
more in the province, which are that of Carabaillo with an annex called Lacosi;
of Late with an annex named Rinconada; of Lurigancho with its annex called
Huachipa; of Bellavista, founded after the event of October 28, 1746, when
a flood covered the town and garrison of Callao, a fourth of a league from this
port in direct line toward Lima.
1 Such description could not be found in the copy.
14 Hip6LiTO Ruiz
On the site of the town there is now the fort or garrison of San Fernando,
also called Callao. In this bay, which is protected at the southeast by an
island called San Lorenzo, there anchor all the vessels that come from the southern
parts of America and those that arrive from Spain.
The fifth parish is that of the town of Magdalena with an annex called Mira-
flores. The sixth is that of Surco with an annex named Chorrillos inhabited by
fishermen who sell their catch every day in Lima. The seventh parish is that
of Lurin with an annex at Pachacamac; the Indians of Lurin also are fishermen
who sell their catches in the capital.
FIRST TRIP TO THE PROVINCE OF CHANCAY
On July 22, 1778 we left Lima bound for the province of
Chancay. We stopped over night in the hacienda of Caravaillo
three leagues from the city, the Marques de la Rl. Confianza, owner
of the hacienda, and the lawyer Dn. Manuel Graso with two more
gentlemen having accompanied us from there. We spent the night
of the 23rd in the tambo or inn of Copacabana, where we were
attacked, a little after evening prayers, by robbers whose chief,
named Uracan, came in disguise to the tambo to ask for alfalfa
for his horses. He was accompanied by two negresses who remained
on horseback while Uracan entered into a dispute with the innkeepers
for the purpose of surprising us and taking our arms and every-
thing that could be found where we were lodging; but having seen
through his trick, we surprised him by pointing two pistols at his
chest, and the five of us surrounded him, making him give up a
long sword with which he scared the poor muleteers and passengers
that he met, robbing them of whatever gold and silver they had.
This the mayordomo of the Count of Villar told us when he arrived
with two negroes shouting to the innkeeper to tie that hardened
bandit, the captain of four others that had gone a little ahead, where
he knew they were waiting for him or his results. The negresses,
seeing Uracan tied, left on a run to inform their companions, but
the mayordomo with his negroes ran after them, and, when they did
not want to halt at his command, the mayordomo fired twice and
shot the mare on which one of the negresses was riding, and the
other, not daring to continue, stopped and was taken prisoner by
the negroes and the mayordomo. Tied with Uracan, they were
conducted to the hacienda of the Count of Villar and, the three of
them having been separated, they confessed that their intention had
been to come at 10 o'clock at night to rob us when we were asleep.
At this news we decided to stay awake and stand sentry in the
gate under a huarango tree near-by, changing sentries every half
hour. At 9 o'clock in the evening we heard the hoofs of the horses that
TRAVELS IN PERU AND CHILE 15
the four companions of Uracan were riding, and three times they
were asked in a loud voice "Who goes there?" The sentinel dis-
charged his gun in that direction with such good aim that the bullet,
having passed through the ear of one horse, struck Uracan's body-
guard, who fell to the ground badly wounded, and his companions
escaped leaving him helpless; all of this was discovered the next
morning when the mayordomo went to inspect the field in the
direction in which the shot was fired the night before, and found the
man with a broken thigh and weakened by much loss of blood.
That very morning the mayordomo took the two bandits and the
two negresses to Lima. The wounded man died on the third day.
Uracan was exiled to Valdivia, and the two negresses were given
back to their owners as no other offense could be proven against
them than that of having been carried off by the bandits to travel
in their company. The two bandits that were in jail were denounced
by public crier as fugitives from several prisons.
The 24th we arrived at Torreblanca, hacienda of Dn. Toribio
Brabo de Castilla and half a league from the town of Chancay.
This gentleman treated us with great generosity and ordered his
servants and mayordomo to give us food and anything that we
might need during our stay in his house, which lasted until the end
of August, and at this time we went to the town of Huaura where we
lodged in the beautiful hospital founded by the Illmo. Sr. Castaneda,
a short time before.
We stayed in Huaura until the 22nd of October, when we returned
to Lima with a quantity of dried plants, descriptions, and sketches
of plants gathered on the coast, hills, valleys, and ravines of the
province of Chancay, with not a little fatigue and difficulty because
of the excursions we made on foot through those mountains and
hills where the horses could not take us, and because of the intense
heat of the sun.
CHAPTER III
The town of Arnedo Jurisdiction of the province Limits and extension Ports,
coves, and small bays Rivers Animal and vegetable products Climate Fertil-
ity of the valleys The huano Silver mines Grave mounds Ancient monuments
Salt mines Parishes of this province.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROVINCE OF CHANCAY
At a distance of 12 leagues to the north of Lima, and half a league
from the sea, is the town of Arnedo, capital of the province and the
first settlement that one meets on the road from Lima. This town
is commonly called Chancay. It has been the residence of many
magistrates, but today they reside in Huaura.
The jurisdiction of this province starts six leagues from Lima.
It is divided into two territories: one to the east, with cold climate,
at the head of the cordillera is called Chacras, and the other warm
one, toward the sea to the south, is named Costa or Valles.
There are 30 leagues of road along the coast from south to north,
and 27 from west to east. It is bordered toward Lima by the pro-
vince of Cercado, to the north by that of Santa, to the north and
northeast by Caxatambo, and to the east by that of Canta. There
are several ports on its coast. The first one in the south is the most
spacious and calm, called Ancon, on the coast of which live a few
fishermen that take their fish to Lima. Traveling to the north, one
finds that of Arnedo or Chancay, where all the huano [guano] or fertili-
zer used in the province to fertilize the soil is landed, and some wood
brought from Guayaquil. A little farther on is that of Chancaillo;
at this small port very few vessels land huano. The port of
Huacho follows. It is also small, but nevertheless some vessels
usually anchor in it when they go or return from Guayaquil to Lima.
Besides these ports there are a few coves and small bays but they
offer little safety.
This province is irrigated by two rivers. In the southern part
is the Pasamayo river that comes from the Cordilleras of the province
of Canta and fertilizes the valley of Arnedo and Pasamayo, and in
the northern part the Huaura river that descends from the moun-
tainous country of Caxatambo and waters the beautiful sugar-cane
valley of Huaura. This river has more water throughout the year.
Near Huaura it passes under an arched bridge built between the
rocky banks that confine it for more than four hundred feet. To
one side of the town there is a small fort that was used in earlier
TRAVELS IN PERU AND CHILE 17
times to guard the town from the enemy. At the entrance to the
gate of the bridge, there are two columns under which are two stones
in the ground. On one, there are carved the royal arms of Spain,
and on the other is found this inscription, "Reynando Philipo 3o.
This bridge was begun and completed in the year 1611, the com-
missioner being Dn. Jose* de Rivera y Avalos." On two other stones
placed in the columns, one reads the following inscription: "His
Excellency Sr. Dn. Juan de Mendoza y Lima, Marques de Montes-
claros, built me, being Viceroy in 1611." And on the fourth stone
one reads the name "Juan del Corral," the artisan that directed
the construction.
In the mountainous country of this province and its cool ravines
the following products are gathered: arracachas, yacones, massuas,
potatoes, and ockas. In the ravines that are temperate in climate
there are produced beans, corn, and wheat. In the punas or high
cold grounds where there are only herbs, there is an abundance of
ichu and other grasses that feed many herds of sheep and cattle
that are consumed by the hacienda owners and their negroes.
From the Castilian sheep they get some wool with which they
manufacture xerga in the workshops, and from the milk of the cows
they make butter and cheese.
On the punas one finds vicunas, llamas, huanacos, and viscachas.
In the ravines and mountain ravines are found some deer, bears,
foxes, small pumas, and sheep.
In the coast and valleys the climate is milder and more pleasant
than that of Lima because the air does not allow the formation of
so many dense clouds, and thus the sun is not covered all day as
happens in Lima almost every day in the winter. In spite of its
general pleasantness there are a few places exposed to intermittent
fevers and other sickness due to the great humidity and stagnant
irrigation water, together with the excessive heat throughout the
year; these are also the reasons for the abundance of fleas, piques,
or jigger-fleas, and mosquitos, and all of these insects are insufferable.
These valleys are extremely fertile in wheat, barley, corn, and
sugar cane. There is an abundance of yucas [cassava], camotes
[sweet potatoes], several varieties of zarapayo [squash] or calabazas,
and all kinds of vegetables, like cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli,
lettuce, endives, onions, ynyus, and cashuas.
The following fruits are very common: sandias [watermelons],
pepinos [cucumbers] that are different from those in Europe,
18 HIPOLITO Ruiz
chirimoyas, anonas, huanabanas, huayabas, palillos, paltas, lucu-
mas, paeans, granadillas, tumbos, ciruelas de Fraile, agrias, and
peras, manzanas, membrillos, melocotones, and duraznos, which
are produced only in the foothills of the mountainous ranges.
There is a great abundance of oranges, limes, lemons, sweet and
sour citron, and grapefruits. In the gardens as in the orchards,
one finds a great variety of flowers such as arirumas, narcisus,
pilillas, amoncaes, coronillas del rey, flor de cuenta, feligranas,
pelegrinas, junquillos, tulipanes, azuzenas, margaritas white
and blue, lirios, alelies, flores de muerto or chinchi, taconcillos,
paxarillos, ambarinas, marimonas, piochas, narbos, claveles, roses,
jasmin, espuela de caballero, chochitos, albaca, oregano, mejorana,
manzanilla, aromas, suches, flowers of chirimoya and azar, and so
forth.
In the time of the garuas or rains, the hills and slopes of this
coast are covered with many different plants that in flower
present a beautiful carpet to the visitors as well as to the people
that go there for diversion and a few days in the country; the lomas
of Lachay, that are situated between Arnedo and Huaura, have
great name and fame in Lima for variety of plants and flowers.
As to the opinion of the people who think that it is a paradise
covered with a multitude of different plants, there are at most
some 40 species that cause this beautiful and varied ground cover
of Lachay, and only 12 species more conspicuous and more abundant
than in the other lomas of Lima, Lurin, etc., where the same plants
exist but without producing the beautiful sight of those at Lachay.
With these plants and their roots they feed great quantities of pigs,
horses, and cattle at the time they call the season of lomas, which
is in the winter. As these lomas are on the road along the coast,
the plants serve as pasture for the animals of the muleteers when,
tired from the heat and dust of the sandy grounds, they come
eager to refresh themselves on these juicy pastures.
Maize is the most abundant grain gathered in the valley of Arne-
do, because it serves for the maintenance of the negroes and workers
of these haciendas; in addition, the owners of these fatten about 30,000
pigs. The greater part of them come from the valley of Huaura and
are fattened in the valley of Arnedo, whence they are taken to
supply Lima.
Each hacienda owner slaughters his cattle mostly on Saturdays
and sells the lard and fat together at 2 rs., 2^, 2^, so that the money
TRAVELS IN PERU AND CHILE 19
that is collected each year in the province of Chancay from lard
alone comes to more than 340,000 pesos.
Formerly, the main harvest in these valleys was of wheat and
wine; at the present time there is none of the latter.
The valley of Huaura is more than 10 leagues in length and
more than 2 leagues in width at the site of the town but continues
beyond, becoming narrower near Sayan. It is occupied by sugar-
cane plantations. There is an hacienda in this valley that sends to
Lima 50,000 pesos worth of sugar of superior quality, each arroba
selling for 3}^ and 4 pesos.
In this province it has become so necessary to use huano or
manure to fertilize the maize plants that without it they produce
very little. The natives use two handfuls for each plant as they
plant it, and two more when it grows and they clear away the
weeds. In the whole province more than 60,000 fanegas of huano
are consumed per year, and each weighs 8 arrobas and is worth
4 rs. Each one of the vessels carries from 600 to 1,000 fanegas.
The pilots maintain, and apparently with good reason, that huano is
the true manure of birds called huanoes, and of others that sleep at
night on those small islands situated at 5 leagues from Pisco and near
Canete and Arica, towards the northern part of the coast. They assert
that so great is the multitude of birds that come and inhabit those
islands that there cannot be the slightest doubt that they produce
yearly as many fanegas of huano as are used in the provinces of
Chancay, Pisco, etc. Moreover, they affirm that some islands that are
buried in the manure have been bare of this soil for some years, as
some have thought, or of this huano, as is evidenced by the petrified
eggs that are found buried in the manure and the ground of bare
rock of which those islands of the southern sea generally are made,
and that after a certain time the carriers have returned to gather
and load innumerable fanegas of it.
The use of this huano has recently been discovered, and the
birds have been living on these islands since time immemorial, so
it is not surprising that it is only manure of birds reduced to the
consistency of yellowish soil of the color of ochre of Siena, by the
action of marine acid, wind, sun, and water. It gives off such a
heavy odor that it gives headaches to those unaccustomed to it.
In the hill of Jeguan near the town of Arnedo, there is a silver
mine that a few years ago was worked and produced from 50 to
80 marks [8 ounces] of silver per box.
20 HIPOLITO Ruiz
Between Jeguan and Torreblanca there are a multitude of huacas
or Indian graves from which we took several instruments and vessels
of clay and a thousand other trifles that accompanied the bodies that
had gone to waste there since paganism.
At a distance of one league from Huaura to the north, there are
some strong walls three yards in width at the base and gradually
narrower at the top; they extend about three leagues; apparently
they served as a boundary between the lands of some caciques.
Beyond the port of Chancaillo, there are found two lone stones that,
because they bear some remote resemblance to the "sea wolf" [sea
lion], the Indians call "the wolf" and "the she- wolf," and they are
convinced that they came out of the sea and were turned into stone.
The truth is, that they are two very peculiar stones and the only
ones found in those hills and sandy beaches on which there are many
sea lions and great quantities of carrion vultures that come to eat
the ones that perish. Four leagues to the south from Huaura, at
the edge of the sea, there are abundant deposits of salt which is taken
in rectangular blocks of 75 and 100 pounds. This salt, as has been
said in the survey of Lima, is a natural muriate of lime that, in the
damp climate, dissolves in great quantities in a short time; for this
reason, in the mountains, montafias, and other damp places, they
keep it near the fire so that it will not stick together. From these salt
deposits there are supplied the provinces of Cercado, Caxatambo,
Caritas, Huarocheri, Tarma, Xauxa, Huanuco, Huamalies, Con-
cuchos, and Huaylas, for cooking as well as for the extraction of silver.
They use large quantities for the sheep of Castille to preserve them
from an insect called alicuya in Peru and pixguin in Chile that,
damaging the liver, causes their death.
This province is divided into nine parishes that in all comprise 14,000 souls
of all classes. The first parish is that of the town of Arnedo or Chancay, capital
of the province; it was founded in 1563, the Viceroy then being the Conde de
Nieva, who destined it for the university which never was established. It is the
best city of the province, the one with most inhabitants of all classes, but with
few families that are fairly well-to-do. It has the best buildings and a very spacious
square in the middle of the town at one side of the parish house; the camino real
[royal highway] that goes to the coast and mountainous regions, passes" through
it; it is called the Calle Mayor, being very straight from one end of the town to
the other. Besides this there are other streets that cross without order.
There is a royal hospital and a convent of Franciscan monks. The pueblo
of San Juan de Huaral is the only one annexed to this parish, but there also belong
to this parish district the many haciendas in the valley which are owned by native
gentlemen who have their families living in Lima, though some of them stay the
greater part of the year on their chacras, that are cultivated by negro slaves.
TRAVELS IN PERU AND CHILE 21
The town of Arnedo is located a quarter league from the sea at the entrance
to the valley. It is surrounded by orchards and farms that beautify it with a
variety of vegetables and fruit trees.
The buildings are of one story only, like those in Lima; some have a second
one for grain. They are constructed of the same materials and in the same style
as those of Lima, as are also all the buildings along the coast. Near the salt
deposits there is a port where they land the huano.
The 2nd parish is that of Huacho, the first town that is found from Arnedo
to Huaura beyond the sands and hills of Lachay. It is located a mile from the sea,
at the beginning of the valley of Huaura. Although in the part of the town where
there is a church there is a large square, there are but few small buildings. Its extent
is about a league square and it is divided into chacarillas or orchards, each with
a rancho where the farmer and his family live; for this reason it is the most beauti-
ful and best cultivated town that can be found in the vicinity of Lima, and I am
of the opinion that of its kind it is the only one in Peru, as each Indian has around
his house or rancho his fields with grain, vegetables, and fruit trees in sufficient
abundance not only for his support and that of his family but for sale to travelers
and for transport to Huaura, Arnedo, and Lima.
There is no land without cultivation, so that the cattle must be fed in their
stables.
You find in this town the most exquisite anonas that are known in Peru,
and you find also the canafistola and tamarinds. In fact, Huacho is a small
garden where nothing in the vegetable kingdom is lacking for the amusement,
pleasure, and support of its inhabitants, all of whom are Indians, very industrious
and of good disposition, with an occasional half-breed.
The natives of Huacho supply the town of Huaura with all kinds of provisions;
in the morning they are brought for sale by the women who from maize make
a chicha among the best that are known in Peru.
The 3rd parish is that of the town of Huaura founded in 1608. It has two
annexes, Mazo and Vegueta, with few Indians near the sea; one convent of
Franciscan monks, rebuilt in the year 1781 and a royal hospital, finished in 1764
by the Illmo. Sr. Dn. Juan de Castaneda Velazquez de Salazar, bishop of Panama
and later of Cuzco. He died the in same year that the hospital was finished, and
for that reason he could not endow it in accordance with his charitable intentions.
The construction of this hospital was paid for by the King, and for its main-
tenance there was assigned the tomin [head tax] of the towns of Vegueta, Supe,
and Barranca, which meant that each Indian had to pay 5 reales a year.
In those times the Indians were numerous so that there was enough for the sub-
sistence and treatment of the sick. Today the tomin amounts to only 34 pesos
and some lands and annual pensions that make a total of 250 pesos. The main
church is a cross-vault in whose arms and head there are placed the beds of the
sick, and the rest serves as a chapel so that the sick can hear the Mass from their
beds, as the altar is placed in the center of the vault.
The town of Huaura has only one street, straight and wide and about a
quarter of a league in length. Its buildings are low and in the style of those of
Lima. The population is composed of Indians, criollos, mestizos, and other classes.
The main road passes through the same street.
22 HIPOLITO Ruiz
The 4th parish is that at Barranca, seven leagues from Huaura. Its
annex is Supe, five leagues distant from the village. The 5th is that of Aucallama,
founded in 1551. In this parish, they worship a miraculous image of Nra. Senora
del Rosario, that was donated with appropriate ornaments by Sr. Carlos V. The
6th is that of Sayan, with two annexes, Tapaya and Quintay. This last town belongs
to the province of Caxatambo. The 7th is that of Chanchas, Marayo Checras,
with ten annexes, Juraciaco, Picoy, Parquin, Yacul, Canin, Moyobamba, Punun,
Turpay, Tongos, and Chiuchin, where there are some baths of thermal waters,
where many people come crippled from rheumatism and venereal diseases, and
become well after bathing in and drinking those waters; our colleague Dn. Jose
Dombey analyzed them when he went there with a Sra. Oydora of Lima, who was
crippled and returned in the same condition to this capital. Here Dombey found
several plants of which we had gathered many in Tarma and other places at the
time when Dombey was in Chiuchin. The 8th parish is that of the pueblo of
Paccho with eight annexes: Ayaranga, Huacar, Musga, Llacsanga, Apache, Santa
Cruz, Huanangui, and Auquimarca. The 9th and last parish is that of the
pueblo of Yguari with six annexes: Llancao, Obeguet, Huachinga, Yunhuy,
Acotama, and Huaycho.
CHAPTER IV
Miraflores and Surco Picturesque landscapes The ruins of Pachacamac The
Lurin river Location of Lurin Form of the houses Administration Entertain-
ments and patrons Products Militia Manner of fishing Most common
fishes Fevers and their remedies Birds Plants.
JOURNEY FROM HUAURA TO LIMA AND FROM THERE TO LURIN
On October 22, 1778 we returned from Huaura to Lima, where
we finished the drying of the plants we had discovered in the province
of Chancay and put in order and boxed up for safe transportation
all the other natural products, and we provided ourselves with every-
thing necessary to go on to Lurin, because we had heard of the
fertility of its lomas and coasts.
On the 5th of December we started together from Lima to Lurin,
passing to one side of the pueblos Miraflores and Surco, both
situated on level ground and with pleasant breezes; for this reason
and because of the luxuriance of the trees of the farms, orchards,
and gardens abounding in all kinds of fruits, vegetables, and flowers,
many families from Lima come for fifteen, twenty, or more days
of rest. At a quarter of a league from Surco we found the hacienda
called San Juan, where they manufacture a quantity of sugar, alfe-
niques, chancaca, miel, and huarapo from the sugar cane. Farther
on there is a beautiful olive grove; passing this, one enters on a sandy
stretch that extends to the Lurin river and in which not a trace
of plant life is found even in times of rain. To the left there are
the lomas of Lurin, which in winter are covered with small plants;
then many people from Lima come for recreation in the country.
On the right hand side near the river, there can be seen over a
bluff the ruins of the Castillo de Pachacamac, in which the Gentiles
[Incas] kept five thousand men in arms. At the foot of this castle
are also the ruins of a town very populous in the times of the Incas.
At a short distance from this, there flows through the reeds the river
called Lurin, which at times when it rains in the mountains increases
in volume so much that the fords are lost; and for this reason
they send chimbadores [guides] who look for the shallow parts
in a river to carry the travelers from one side of the river to the
other, but notwithstanding this help, many persons and cattle are
usually drowned every year. At times of drought, this river is almost
without water, but its banks are pleasant and beautiful with the
shrubbery and plants by which they are covered.
24 HIPOLITO Ruiz
A short distance from this river is situated the hacienda of the
fathers of San Pedro, which is a small sugar estate, as is that of
San Juan. It produces more than 10,000 pesos worth of sugar,
alfenique, etc.
LURIN
Beyond this hacienda there is found the pueblo of San Pedro
de Lurin, distant a short six leagues from Lima and a quarter of a
league from the sea in a luxuriant and beautiful valley with a mild
and much healthier climate than Lima and the other towns of the
vicinity; for this reason some viceroys and other gentlemen of
Lima and their families spend some holidays and amuse them-
selves there. This pueblo is inhabited by 120 well-to-do Indians
with as many houses or ranchos, mostly constructed of quincha or
wild cane and straight logs that generally are of willows and Ery-
thrinas called hauyros, green and frondose; many of them are
plastered in and out with mortar, and sometimes they are white-
washed, especially on the inside, with lime made of shells. They
are of one story only, square, with a flat roof. Each house has an
orchard with various kinds of flowers, and in each are found suches
or Plumarias of as many as five different and beautiful colors.
There are four principal streets named Calle de Malambo, Calle
del Mentidero, Calle Nueva, and Calle de la Costilla. The others
have no name, except one called de la Palma.
All the streets are straight and in the center of the town is
situated the main plaza, square and spacious, with the church at
one side and the assembly house on the other.
Every year they name three alcaldes [mayors]: two for the
pueblo and one for the country, with one alguacil [constable] each.
Furthermore, there is a cacique, governor and defender of the Indians.
This pueblo presents such a beautiful sight with its luxuriance
and variety of flowers that can be seen among the adobes in the
orchards, that it could be called "the Town of Recreation" because
all of it is a delightful place. Nevertheless, it has a walk called the
Una del Diablo [the devil's claw] because the shape of a hand is
stamped on a stone to be seen there.
On the day of San Pedro, the patron of the place, there are bullock
fights and fireworks. On the day of San Miguel there are the same
entertainments, and some years there are bullfights; for this reason
many people come from Lima and occupy themselves with diversions
and games for fifteen to twenty days.
TRAVELS IN PERU AND CHILE 25
They celebrate also the day of Ntra. Sra. de Guadalupe; and
on the day of San Nicasio, festivity of "precepto" for the Indians,
in the afternoon there are cock or duck races for which the birds
are hung by the legs, head downwards, so that the most dexterous
rider on horseback who pulls the head off the animal, is the winner.
When the races are over, they set off a few fireworks hung from the
same cord, while the Saint's procession enters the church. When
the procession is finished, all the Indians go to the houses of the
mayordomos, where they celebrate with several jugs of chicha.
Although the land of Lurin is very fertile and productive, the
natives are satisfied with sowing only what is necessary for their
support. Their most important commerce is in fish, which they take
to Lima to sell; nevertheless, with the fish, some of them also take
yucas, sweet potatoes, beans, and squash, the only foods with which
they maintain themselves, using instead of bread, boiled maize, of
which they raise a big crop for the chicha which is never lacking in
the town, and they make it in the following manner. They take as
much corn as they want and put it to soak for one night, then lay
it out on banana leaves, and cover it with other leaves until it
germinates. In this condition they spread it out to dry in the
sun so that they can reduce it between two flat stones into meal,
which they boil twice, each time with a suitable quantity of fresh
water. When it is almost cold, they strain it, squeezing it out well,
and put the liquor in earthen jugs to ferment for two or three days,
in which time a pleasant-tasting beer or intoxicating liquor is pro-
duced which they call chicha.
Of all the neighbors, there are formed two companies of militia
of fifty men each, whose duty it is to go to the port of Callao twice
a year for work on vessels and to take care of the sick in the hospital
of Bellavista. While they are on this duty they are paid two reales
a day.
The method of fishing used by these Indians is to sit on big
floats of Mora [a rush], well tied and capable of floating two or
three days in the water, and to go out to sea for a distance, where
they cast the net, and then they separate in opposite directions as
far as the rope allows. Afterward they return to shore, and when
they are near land the two fishermen approach each other to close
the net so that the fish within it may not escape. Then they land,
and by the strength of their arms pull the fish ashore. The most
common ones that are taken here are corbinas, lenguados, robalos,
chitas, cabrillas, cazones, chalacos, pintadillas, lornas, xureles,
26 HIPOLITO Ruiz
bonitos, anchovetas, pexe reyes, pexe sapo, pexe gallo. The an-
chovetas are greatly esteemed in Lima for their delicious taste
when fried.
Although Lurin enjoys a very mild climate the greater part of
the year, fever is common in winter; they cure this with a
concoction of yerba hedionda, apples, and the juice of lemons,
and cream of tartar, taken before breakfast for three days, half a
quart a day. Some years there is much smallpox. There is always
caracha or itch and gonorrhoea, and it also happens that some
women suffer from cancer and spasms. The medicines commonly
used are herbs administered according to the ability and experience
which they have acquired one from another.
In a little brook in the hills there is a spring between two rocks,
with very pure and clear fresh water.
Between the town and the sea, there are some small lakes from
which some of the fish already named are obtained and, in addition,
ducks, zambullidores, aradores, herons, flamingoes, and other aquatic
birds. In one of these lakes, called that of Sn. Pedro de Quilcai,
is the site of the ancient town of that name; but its inhabitants
had to abandon that place on account of the frequent overflow of
the sea caused by earthquakes, and those that were not drowned by
the sea moved to the present site of Lurin.
Opposite the shore at Lurin, and about three leagues out at sea,
there are a number of rocks or banks extending from N.W. to S.E.
in a straight line, the first about two leagues distant from the last.
The first rock is called Viuda [Widow] because it is alone and farther
distant from the rest; then follows the one named Pachacamac,
which is the largest of all. There are several caves in this barren
island inhabited by a variety of birds, among which are a mass of
nestlings. When a person approaches the entrance of one of these
caves, they set up such a clamorous squeaking that it sounds like
a multitude of braying asses that deafen you with their noise.
On this island they gather quantities of huano for the benefit
of the corn fields. Farther on there is another rock called Arenisco.
It is very small and has the shape of a pyramid. After that comes
one named San Francisco, a little smaller than Pachacamac and of
the shape of a tall pyramid, and finally, one finds the one named
"The Hunchback," for its shape, and the only one among the smaller
ones that has a name.
Besides the many fruit trees, seeds, vegetables, and ornamental
flowers that we mentioned from Chancay, there are found in Lurin
27
almost the same plants that have been noted at Lima, but there
is an abundance in the former place of species that are rare in these
fields, and there are also found some that are different, of which I
gathered and described the following. Dianthera repens. Heteranthera
reniformis. Lithospermum dichotomum, tiqui-tiquil. Nolana acutangu-
la, chaves. The chickens feed on the last-mentioned plant. Convol-
vulus secundus, campanulas de lomas. This is a plant which can
serve as an ornament in gardens because of its light blue flowers
and the size of its corollas; its root is purgative. Convolvulus sepium
L. The infusion of this milky plant also is used as a laxative. Con-
volvulus stipulatus. Cordia rotundifolia, tina and membrillejo, for the
shape of their leaves, which are much used in infusions for jaundice.
Lycium falsum, cachicasa, that is, salty espino, because of the taste
of its leaves. Potamogeton compressifolium. Atropa umbellata.
Asclepias sp., arbol de la seda, flor de la reina, and chuchumeca,
because you find it everywhere in abundance and always in bloom.
Asclepias haslata, amarra judios, because its shoot is very long and
branchy and is used to tie various things. Solanum variegatum,
pepino; they propagate this plant by the stems as the seeds do not
give fruit until the second year after it is transplanted from the
nurseries which they make for that purpose. This plant is laden
with fruits the size of eggplants, varying in color from yellowish,
whitish, and spotted with different colors: purple, violet, and some-
times reddish. Its excessive use causes tertian fevers and stools
with blood and is very harmful for the mal del vicho or dysentery.
Its taste resembles that of melons, but is not so sweet and
pleasing. Hydrocotyle vulgaris and umbellata L., orejas de abad
and patacones, for the shape of their leaves. The juices of these
two species are used to cure mouth sores and, if applied to
pimples, they clean, heal, and cure them. Plumeria rubra, suche,
purple and rose. P. tricolor, suche blanco-rosado, and carinata,
suche turumbaco. They are milky-juiced trees of beautiful luxuri-
ance and loaded in January, February, and March with thousands
of beautiful flowers. They grow to a height of 6, 7, and 8 yards.
They can hardly be distinguished from each other except by the color
and size of their flowers. They last two or three years without dry-
ing out after they are cut, and they take root easily, if planted
after one or two years. They bear leaves only at the tips of the
branches and flowers in the center, as if in flower pots. They
are beautiful trees for gardens and their shade is not harmful.
Alstroemeria peregrina L., pelegrina, for the beauty of its variegated
28 HIP6LITO Ruiz
flowers; it abounds in the ravines of the hills of Lurin and Chancay.
It is a plant that is cultivated in gardens for ornament. Amaryllis
aurea, amancae antiguo, a beautiful flower for gardening; its bulb
is surrounded by many smaller ones. Polyanthes tuber osa L.,
margaritas blancas. Its odorous flowers are used for ornament in
gardens and in mixtures, and its bulbs are applied as an emollient
in poultices. Pancratium flavum. A beautiful flower of an orange
color. Cassia mimosioides L., huarandillo, and Cassia Tor a L.,
canafistola cimarrona. With an infusion of one or the other of these
species, the natives purge themselves. Bauhinia aculeata, unas de
gato, for the thorns on its branches. Sapindus Saponaria, jabonera.
It is a tree of about 8 or 12 yards in height, of ordinary wood and
leafy. Its fruits, called cholocos and bolillos, with which the children
play, are covered with a rind that is used to wash baize cloth, as
it forms suds like soap. Sesuvium Portulacastrum L., litho. With
this plant, that resembles purslane, they make glass in lea and
it is used in some places for soap in place of the bars. Malva rotun-
difolia and sylvestris. Crescentia Cujute, tutumo, is a tree of 6 to
8 yards in height, with masses of branches erect like rods and
of a beautiful green. See the account of the plants of Chancay for
the use of its fruit called tutumas. Lantana salvifolia, maestrante.
Its decoction and infusion are used against jaundice. Dolichos
uncinatus L., trifolitos and taconcitos. Dolichos Lablab L., frijol
de Antibo, and in the mountains sencapuspu. Although the seeds
are somewhat bitter, the slaves on the plantations consume quanti-
ties of these beans, and remove the bitterness by leaving them in
hot water over night. Phaseolus vexillatus, frijol cimarron [wild
bean]. Crotalaria incana L., cascabelillos, for the noise that the
seeds make within the pods. Hedysarum asperum, pega-pega, because
with the stickiness and roughness of their leaves and pods, they
adhere to the clothes of those that pass near them. Erythrina coral-
lodendron L., huayro and huayruru. This tree grows to be 8 or 10
yards tall; it is covered with thorns and it bears so many flowers
that when these trees bloom, they form together the most beautiful
sight from a certain distance, because they appear like trees loaded
with coral the color of scarlet. The pods are eaten when green, but
are somewhat bitter. They are propagated by cuttings and root
very quickly, and in a short time they grow thick trunks; there-
fore they use them for straight posts in the corners of the ranches.
Hypericum angulare. Senecio scandens. Eupatorium scandens, yedra.
Bidens cuneifolia. Lobelia decurrens, contoya. The Indians use the
TRAVELS IN PERU AND CHILE 29
infusion and decoction of this plant as a drastic purgative, and when
they want to stop its action, they drink cold water. Pistia Stratiotes,
lechuga cimarrona. Passiflora minima, borbo cimarron. Passiflora
foetida L. Mimosa pernambucina L., cierrateputa, for the action of
closing its leaves when the plant is touched. It is abundant in the
grain fields. Mimosa punctata ? L., tapateputilla. It is the most sen-
sitive species that I have seen, for as soon as you touch a leaf
with a finger or any other object, all the other leaves of the plant
suddenly appear retracted and closed, so that in a whole after-
noon I could not gather an open leaf between sheets of paper in
spite of all the efforts I made. It is found spread on the ground where
it is dry and sandy between the huarancales. The powder of its
leaves is esteemed in Lurin as the best healing remedy for ulcers.
Mimosa Inga L., pacae, is a very frondose tree of about 15 or 20
yards in height. From its thick trunk is obtained wood valued
for various purposes, and the pulp of its fruits or pods is like white
cotton, juicy and sweet, of pleasant flavor, and it is much esteemed
by the fair sex because real of pacaes serves for entertainment at
the holidays. Laurus Persea L., palto, is a very stout and frondose
tree of about 12 to 28 yards in height. Its wood is valued for several
uses, and the flesh of its fruits, called paltas, which is of a light
green-yellowish color, is very tender, and buttery, and partakes of
a flavor very similar to that of fresh nuts, especially if eaten with
bread; but the more usual way to eat this fruit is to add some salt
to it; nevertheless, it is very good with honey and not to be despised
in salads. These fruits do not ripen so that they can be eaten
until a few days after they have been cut from the tree; then they
are seasoned. The largest and best paltas that are known in
Peru are the ones from Sta. Olalla and Chavin. The seeds from the
palta are used as astringent in dysentery and give a red ink that is
indelible and is used by many to mark white clothes. The meat
of this fruit relieves the burning sensation of piles when applied by
itself to the parts and without the need for the addition of oil,
saffron, and egg yolk that some people add to it. Sagittaria sagitti-
folia L. Gentiana Conchalaguala, conchaguala. It grows only six
inches high and is found in the hills in the time of lomas or in winter.
CHAPTER V
Stay in Surco Plants collected and their uses First shipment of plants and
drawings sent to Spain (1779) Shipment by Dombey.
JOURNEY FROM LURIN TO SURCO AND TO LIMA
On February 3, 1779 we went from Lurin to Surco without
any misfortunes on the way. We stayed there until March 6th. Dur-
ing our excursions in the fields of Surco, a pueblo of few Indians and
with some houses and orchards belonging to gentlemen from Lima, we
gathered several plants, and among them I observed and described
the following. Utricularia aphylla. Sagittaria dulcis, escobilla.
Heliotropium pilosum. Cynoglossum pilosum. Ipomoea acuminata and
subrotundifolia. Cedrela odorata L., cedro. A few trees of this kind
are found transplanted from the forest. In some orchards they
are up to 20 yards in height, leafy and beautiful for the short time
that they have been planted. Illecebrum Achyrantha L. This plant
is preferred to others for leaves in which to wrap fruits that
mature or become soft, so that they can be eaten, such as the
chirimoyas, anonas, huanabanas, paltas, lucumas, ciruelas de
Fraile, platanos, and so forth. Cynanchum racemosum?, piochas.
Plant well suited to cover summerhouses and lanes in gardens as
it spreads and tangles very much. Its milky juice is reputed to be
a strong cathartic, and with the flowers women embellish their
hair. Anethum parvum, heneldo cimarron. This plant is used in
place of the heneldo. Pancratium maritimum L., coronas de Rey
and caribaeum?, pilillas. Women adorn their hair with both flowers;
they are also used as ornaments in gardens. Achras mammosa,
lucumo. Tree of about 15 to 20 yards in height, thick, leafy, and
of beautiful green color; gives abundant fruit called lucumas,
globose with a small point and weighing 4 to 10 ounces, green on
the outside and with dark yellow flesh; the fruit cannot be eaten
until a few days after they are gathered and covered with cloth,
bran or chaff, plants, or other materials, to keep them warm
and to start vinous fermentation. The wood is of excellent
grain, flexibility, color, and resistance for various kinds of con-
struction. Tropaeolum majus L., mastuercillo. This plant is used
against scurvy, and the buds of the flowers are often pickled like
capers. Innkeepers and people of refined tastes also add the flow-
ers to salads, which attain a not unpleasant taste. Larrea glauca,
Parkinsonia, and glandulosa. Poinciana bijuga, tara. Shrub, about
TRAVELS IN PERU AND CHILE 31
4 to 6 yards high, of beautiful appearance when in bloom. Its
pods are used instead of galls for making ink, and with them, as well
as with the wood, they tan and dye leather. Triglochin paluslre.
Euphorbia hirta, hypericifolia, and Chamaesyce, yerbas de la golon-
drina. They make use of the milky juice of these three plants in
Peru to destroy cataracts of the eyes, and with infusions they
purge the bowels. Spondias Mombin L., ciruelo agrio. This tree
grows to almost 6 yards, is a handsome tree with bunches of fruits
called ciruelas agrias, which are bittersweet and not at all unpleasant
to the taste. Cleome triphylla L. Cassia tenuissima, Malva coro-
mandelina? Escoba cimarrona. Corchorus siliquosus L. Melochia
corchorifolia L. Dolichos suberectus, Geoffraea spinosa L., azofaifo.
Ageratum conyzoides, huarmi-huarmi, i.e. woman-woman, because of
the property that this plant has of correcting menstruation. Bi-
dens tripartita L. Sisyrinchium palmifolium. Acalypha indica L.
Ambrosia maritima L., artemisa, which is used instead of Artemisia
officinalis. Zizania octandra. Juglans nigra L., nogal de la tierra,
native walnut; this is a tall tree, frondose, and with very good wood
for many purposes. From its fruits, when they are tender, they
make candies like those of limoncillos and from its small nuts, with
honey, peanuts and other seeds, they make an alfajor of very good
taste. Castiglionia lobata, pinoncillo: this shrub grows almost to
5 yards; it has leaves four months of the year; the rest of the time
it is bare, but not of fruits, for these stay a long time afterwards,
and each one of the fruits encloses three seeds called pinoncillos,
a little larger than pine-nut kernels; they contain a small almond,
white and sweet but very laxative, and for this reason people use
them to play mean tricks, preparing them as candies or extracting
the milk and mixing it with cow's milk so that the deceit cannot be
detected. The way to check the bowels is by drinking a lot of cold
water. Some have the habit of purging themselves with three or
four of those seeds or almonds, especially those that suffer from
venereal troubles. Even the boys know its properties, and it is
perhaps to their curiosity and pranks that we owe our knowledge
of this and many other plants. Erigeron philadelphicum, Samolus
Valerandi, Psoralea capitata, yerba de San Agustin, de la Trinidad,
del carnero, and huallicaya. In Peru they frequently use the fresh
leaves of these plants to cleanse dirty ulcers and produce new flesh,
and afterwards they heal them with the powder made of dry leaves.
We went to Lima to put in order the collections made up to
this time, and we sent them to Spain in the vessel "El Buen
32 HIPOLITO Ruiz
Consejo" that left the port of Callao for Cadiz, in the month of
April (1779). This first shipment of dried plants and other produc-
tions of the vegetable kingdom was composed of seventeen boxes
of live plants, 242 drawings, and 11 boxes of dried plants in which
there were included 300 different species.
On March 11, 1779 Dn. Jose Dombey left us to accompany
Sra. Oydora from Lima, who was going to the baths at the thermal
waters of Chiuchin. For this reason he asked me to ship together
with our boxes, seven that he had packed with dried plants, hun-
queros, and other curiosities from the mineral kingdom.
After we had made the shipment of 18 boxes and 17 containers
of live plants, we asked permission and passport from the Viceroy
to go to the forests of Tarma and Xauxa, for we had been informed
of their fertility and abundance of rare and valuable plants. After
securing everything that we asked and being equipped with all we
might need for the trip, we decided to start on the 12th of May.
CHAPTER VI
Journey to Tarma Incidents of the journey Yauliaco Pucara Dangerous
ridges The encanada of San Mateo The province of Huarocherl Fauna of the
punas and lagoons Flora The parishes.
FROM LIMA TO TARMA
On May 12th, 1779 we left Lima for Tarma. We traveled
6 leagues and passed the night in a dilapidated ranch house, without
undressing, for fear that we might be surprised by a band of negro
bandits that were committing atrocities and robberies in that terri-
tory. The mosquitoes and fleas tormented us to their satisfaction.
On the 13th we reached Surco, a town of the province of Huarocheri
with a population of about 100, without any other incident than the
excessive heat and the plague of mosquitoes, over the troublesome
and dangerous road that starts from San Pedro de Mama. On the
14th we passed through San Juan de Matucana, a town of about
160 people, and reached San Mateo, where the corregidores
[magistrates] of Huarocheri often reside; we had walked long stretches
on foot, along those dangerous inclines, ravines, and walks of steps
made of small stones from the river put one on top of the other, with-
out the use of lime, plaster of Paris, mud, or any other equivalent
material to hold them together, so that in parts the road is a wall
of stones brought together on the mountain side and the top is
covered with soil tramped down by foot. If one stone gives way
on those roads, it is certain that the rest will follow, likewise any
beast or person traveling there at the moment.
On the 15th we waited in San Mateo for the mayors and other
persons that were at their little farms, so that on the following day
they might give us beasts of burden; we finally obtained them by
force of insistence with the mayors, and at eleven we left San Mateo
and passed the night at San Juan de Chicla.
On the 17th we were informed that the muleteers and peons that
the mayors had given us had gone back to San Mateo taking with
them three transport mules, and we were left with only one muleteer
unable to load and conduct so many loads of baggage over those
roads. Although we were in a district of 60 people, we found only
with great difficulty three pack mules instead of those that had
been taken by the muleteers to San Mateo. After having searched
in all the ranches of Chicla, we found only one man that was going
to the mill at Yauliaco; we asked and begged him kindly to help
34 Hip6LiTO Ruiz
the muleteer to load the beasts, which he would not do until we
used force and threats; then we all helped those two men to load.
We again begged the Indian to accompany us to the next town
with the loads, paying him in advance what the muleteer told us
to pay him, but we were unable to make him take even double pay.
We had walked barely 50 yards when the Indian that we had
begged and forced to aid us disappeared; for this reason we
all had to act as muleteers until we reached Yauliaco, where
the Indian had preceded us and told the mayordomo all he pleased
about us. This man came with several Indians to the road, and
he had the first load that came along brought to his room and
unloaded to pay for what he thought was our insolence in forcing
his worker to help our muleteer. My three companions that reached
Yauliaco first, received the volley of threats from the mayordomo
and, being unable to contradict him, they decided to abandon the
load and to continue on their way.
They were already about one-eighth of a league distant when
I arrived at Yauliaco with the last loads and, finding the mayor-
domo with the two chests by his side and surrounded by all
his workers, I greeted him with courtesy and asked him what those
chests were doing there; he answered me with such imperiousness
and such words that the whole world seemed too small for him at
that moment. Thinking that he was Andalusian, I answered him even
more strongly, and I told him all that had happened to us, and
he not only yielded but begged me to call my friends and pass the
night in the rancho, and he promised to give us for a guide the In-
dian that had caused all the trouble, and all the aid that we might
need to continue our trip. The good Vizcayno, ashamed of that
Andalusian temper, served us an excellent supper and breakfast,
and next day he provided us with the three mules required, taken
from the field, and the same Indian to help the muleteer. So
ashamed was this mayordomo that he did not dare dine or
breakfast with us, as we found out later from his employer, Dn.
Pablo Carreras, owner of that mill.
On the 18th we left Yauliaco with only two muleteers. We crossed
the snow-covered ridge of the cordillera without mishap, although
with some difficulty, because of the small number of muleteers for
so many loads. We had just reached the punas when night de-
scended, and for that reason one of our mules was stuck in
the mud and drowned with two loads in a channel of Lake
Huacracocha, where the ford is. At that time, notwithstanding
TRAVELS IN PERU AND CHILE 35
the excessive cold, my servant went in to cut the straps from the
loads, and with a rope we succeeded in getting them to solid ground
where we left them, and we walked alone through those punas and
where the mules wanted to take us, until, stumbling here and falling
there, we came to Pucara at 10 in the evening very cold and very
hungry. At 11 at night the miners of Pucara sent two men and
two he-mules to bring the chests that had been left on the banks of
the laguna, and they returned at 12:30. The 19th we stayed in
Pucara so that I could dry in the sun my clothes, books, papers,
and so forth, all of which I found tinted with several colors that the
artists had put in loose in papers in the chests at the time the clothes
were packed.
In all these silver mines that are found from San Juan de Chicla
to Pucara and that are in very cold mountains and punas, they use
the llamas or sheep of the region to carry the metals from the mines.
Instead of wood they use champas or turf that they get from the
swamps in which many plants grow, very small although with
many-branched, strong roots which, with the soil that they hold,
form a kind of material suitable for fuel; but it gives off much
smoke of a very unpleasant odor, and harmful especially to persons
not used to its odor and continuous smoke, because it produces a
a choking sensation with bad headaches and irritation of the eyes,
and causes nosebleed and inflammation of the throat when one goes
out into the fresh air to get rid of the headache.
In the midst of all these difficulties these men live engaged in
extracting the treasures hidden under the snow in these moun-
tainous regions.
The most common plants that exist in these damp places from
which they get champas, are gentians, geraniums, valerians, and
some grasses, all very small plants that spread or adhere to the
spongy ground; the beasts become stuck there very easily, and then
one sees the water that is covered with the champas.
We four travelers left Pucara on the 20th, with headaches,
watery eyes, rash on the face, and open or cracked lips, and more
or less dizzy from the smoke that is continually present in all the
rooms of the houses.
At a distance of about half league from this smelter, we passed
a short natural bridge formed by the waters of a brook that passed
under it. Another half league from the hacienda Pachachaca we
crossed a plain called Chaplanga or Chaplamha that extends more
36 Hip6LiTO Ruiz
than 600 feet in length and as many in width. It is so level that a
a brook of very clear, petrifying water extends and runs over all of it,
and it is no doubt this quality that has made it form that
gentle and beautiful cascade, which looks like a single piece of
porcelain made and placed there on purpose. At a few feet from
Chaplamha there is another natural bridge under which the water
of this cascade runs rapidly, and the water from the brook of the
former bridge and from many other small brooks that descend from
the cordillera and punas. A little ahead, this brook unites with
the famous river Pari, the first bridge over which is of rope or cables,
so that with pulleys they pass the people in a wicker basket or in
a sack of leather from one side to the other. At 8 P.M. we reached
the Puente de la Oroya, built with cables made of hide and thin
vines. Beasts cannot be transported over this bridge, so that it
is necessary to carry all the loads on the shoulders and leave the
burdened animals to cross the river swimming; we started this work
at such a late hour that bunches of ichu grass, with which the two
roofs at the entrance of the bridge were covered, served us for lights.
Before we passed the loads, one of the party tried to get a mule
across the bridge, and as the hole where the cables are fixed had
only two boards, the mule fell in, and to get her out of it required
more than an hour; for this reason the others were taken across
at the ford and, as the river runs so rapidly, one of them was drowned.
It took us three hours to take the loads and saddles across the bridge,
so that it was 12 when we arrived at the pueblo of Oroya.
The above-mentioned bridge is about 40 yards in length and less
than two in width. When one crosses, it shakes and swings from
one side to the other so that with the noise of the river below, it
causes terror even to think of crossing it at night.
On the 21st, because the alcalde of San Mateo had sent us some
more muleteers who joined us before we reached the bridge of
Oroya, we four travelers were able to set out from this pueblo at
daybreak and entered the pueblo of Tarma, capital of the province
of that name, leaving the loads to the care of the muleteers that
arrived next day without any trouble.
On this trip we suffered many hardships and repeated tragedies,
as may be inferred from what has been said already and, to com-
plete our tribulation, after two mules had been lost by drowning,
another was stolen the day the muleteers arrived at Tarma.
All the way and specially around the quebrada of Huarocheri
we collected many of the new and rare plants which cover the margins
TRAVELS IN PERU AND CHILE 37
of the canon river and the frequent little brooks and falls that drain
into that river, with which we shall deal later.
From Lima to San Pedro de Mama, the grounds of which are
level on both sides of the river, you find in succession farms or
plantations of sugar cane, alfalfa, sweet potatoes, potatoes, cassava,
yacones, squashes, porotos or beans, maize, figs, plantains, and many
other seeds and fruit trees belonging to the country, which make
all of that large, luxurious meadow handsome and delightful.
From Chaclacayo to Cocachacra one can see, on the sides of the
hills, the ruins of several towns of the gentiles, most of them showing
that they had had but few houses. Near Surco, there is a little
brook that passes through the road and comes from a small cut in
the hills, and the natives assured us that the water of this brook
causes the sickness there called verrugas [papules] and is contracted
especially by those who, sweating, drink of it.
From Lima to Cocachacra the hills on both sides are arid and
bare, so that in most of them one cannot find a green thing at any
time of the year.
In the canon from San Pedro de Mama to the cordillera, night
comes one hour earlier and dawn an hour later than in the heights and
open places, because of the elevation of the mountains and the
narrowness of the gorge; into its depths the sun does not reach
until 9 or 10 in the morning and is concealed by the lofty crests
at 2 or 3 in the afternoon. While the rays of the sun pierce the
depths, one feels such an excessive heat that it would be intolerable
to walk in the gorge if it were not for a fresh breeze that comes down
from the mountains at the same time almost daily, tempering and
at times refreshing the whole gorge.
From Cocachacra on, the mountains and hills are covered with
various herbs and shrubs all year round, and in its valleys potatoes,
beans, corn, and arracachas are planted and harvested. The climate
of this gorge is generally mild and healthy; nevertheless, there are
some places where the people suffer from tertians at the beginning
or at the end of the rains, the seasons for which should be called
autumn and spring. The Indians cure themselves of this and other
maladies with herbs administered by themselves because there are
no doctors or surgeons.
From Surco to San Juan de Chicla, as the valley is very narrow,
there are very few farms and properties, except small fields of alfalfa,
38 HIPOLITO Ruiz
maize, potatoes, abas, and okas. From Chicla on, one finds only a
few rows of green barley that the miners plant to feed to their animals.
The road in this gorge is, throughout almost all of its length,
very narrow and dangerous, since it is near the river bank, and as
this river comes from the mountains to San Pedro de Mama by such
a narrow cut and with such velocity that it forms an almost con-
tinuous waterfall, in parts it is made frightful by the noise and
concussion of the water against the great rocks that are found in
the middle of the river, so that it is impossible for travelers to hear
each others' questions even if shouted, and with the fog or mist
and small drops of water that are scattered in the atmosphere and
around the circumference of the big rocks, necessarily, travelers
cannot avoid getting wet in many places along the way. In some
places the falls of the river are so serene and beautiful that they
charm and distract the imagination with the foamy, smooth water,
which at a distance appears like pure snow that is always in move-
ment or in total repose, forming extraordinary and beautiful designs.
Among the various declivities and narrow passes of the road there
is one called Punta de Diamante, situated between San Juan de
Matucana and the tambo called Viso. This declivity is so steep
and narrow that one shudders at crossing it, and the animals have to
climb it at a run and stop from time to time at the small offsets
to rest and recover their breath in order to continue to the summit.
If any person or animal should fall from this declivity, it would
be useless to look for him, for the force of the fall and the pounding
of the waters against the rocks would mangle him completely.
Many pieces of the road are formed from small rocks put one
over the other from the border of the river to the top of the road,
which, if any stone from its foundation should become dislodged,
would be entirely ruined. The resistance of these roads is particularly
worthy of admiration, as the rocks are not cemented together with
any lime, gypsum, mud, earth, or any other material used for that
purpose, and they resist those tall pilcas or walls the pounding
of the water and have endured since the time of the Incas unto the
present with no other care than some repairs when needed.
In this gorge of San Mateo there is an abundance of a species
of little parrots and other birds that with their singing and variety
of colors help to amuse the curious traveler and offer him dis-
traction from the sadness caused by that long, narrow, deep,
and murky gorge.
TRAVELS IN PERU AND CHILE 39
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROVINCE OF HUAROCHERf
This province borders to the west on the jurisdiction of Cercado,
which begins five leagues from Lima. On the north it is bordered
by the provinces of Canta and Tarma and on the east by that of
Xauxa. It is 30 leagues in length and 6 in width. It has two distinct
climates: one more or less temperate in the valleys, gorges, and
canons, and the other more or less cold in the mountains, punas,
and Cordilleras.
In the encanadas and temperate lower elevations as on some
slopes of the hills, they cultivate various roots, fruits, and seeds
such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, arracachas [apio], yucas [cassava],
yacones, okas, ullucas, massuas, plantains, pacaes, paltas, palillos,
guavas, lucumas, chirimoyas, soursops, membrillos, and frutillas,
corn, abas, and porotos or beans. Alfalfa is never lacking in
this district, and in those places that, even if they are valleys, are
near the punas and Cordilleras where frigid temperature does not
allow the production of alfalfa, it is replaced by alcazer, which can
be planted in some punas, but must be in enclosures made for this
purpose within the towns.
The mountain ridges are barren and during the greater part of
the year are covered with snow; for this reason there are very few
plants that can be seen in the crevices of the holes and rocks. In
the punas the grass and the ichu are abundant, and support great
flocks of sheep and many herds of cattle and horses, and the great
number of llamas or native sheep which, as has been said before,
the miners use to transport metals from the mines to the smelters
which are always situated in the creeks and canons.
In the punas there is an abundance of vicunas and huanacos
and a species of rabbit called viscacha [chinchilla].
There are many lakes in these punas; one of the largest is that
of Huacracocha, which is three quarters of a league in length and
about one league in width. In some of these lakes there are fish
called vagres and cachuelos, both delicious in taste. There is an
abundance of several species and kinds of birds, such as the huachas
(the maw of which applied to cotos or goitre, the Indians affirm has
the virtue of dissolving it), ducks, swans, freguilles, sarapicos domini-
canos (a kind of eagle), condors or vultures, neverillas llorones or
burladores, because they moan and later make a sound as if they
were laughing heartily. These and the ducks always inhabit the
lakes; the birds of prey are found in the rocks and punas; the swans,
40 HIP6LITO Ruiz
sarapicos, neverillas, freguillas, and huachas are always near the
border of the lakes and swampy places.
Near the towns some other birds are found, such as cascabeli-
llos, papamoscas, zorzales, and gorriones or pichuisas, and one species
of aloica or calandria.
Some small lakes that are met before one reaches Tuctu, give rise
to the Lima river, and others empty by way of the provinces of
Yauyos and Canete, and swell the Mala river, which like the Lima
has its outlet in the southern sea; the little brook of Sta. Olalla
joins the Lima river near San Pedro de Mama. The remaining
lakes of this province empty their waters to the north and form
the voluminous Pan river.
In the quebradas and heights are found various medicinal plants,
some of which are taken to Lima to be sold, such as the authentic
and true calaguala, the quinchamali, salvia, excorzonera, puma,
and santra, and several others of which they make frequent use.
In the gorge of San Mateo de Matucana, 3 species of loasas
abound, 2 calceolarias, 2 celsias, 2 saxifragas, 2 chilcas or molinas,
2 mespilus, 1 ferraria, 1 tropaeolum (which is cultivated and the
root is eaten), 1 duranta, 1 talictrum, 1 fuchsia, 2 euphorbias, 1
buddleia, 1 sapium, several species of cactus, and various other
plants of the Diadelphiae, Syngenesia, and Cryptogams, of which
individual mention will be made in the Flora Peruana.
Among the different silver ores of exquisite purity, the most
abundant are found in Pucara and in the Cerro del Nuevo Potosi
that is situated in Sauli, where there are thermal baths.
Between Cocachacra and Surco, there is, as has been stated before,
a brook that drains into the Lima river and the waters of which pro-
duce the trouble called verrugas. On the way between Pucara and the
Pari river, there are two small bridges of one arch each, cut by nature
in the rock, and a plain called Chaplamha, as is told in the account
of the journey from Pucara to Oroya.
This province is divided into eleven parishes that are : The 1st, that of Huarocheri
with two annexes named Calahuaya and Alloca. The pueblo of Huarocheri is
the head of the district. The 2nd parish is that of the pueblo of San Lorenzo de
Quinti with the four annexes of Huancayre, Quinti, Tantaranchi, and Carhua-
pampa. The 3rd is that of the pueblo of Olleros with the annexes of Mactara and
Chatacancha. The 4th is that of the pueblo of Chorrillos with 6 annexes, viz. : Chon-
tay, Cochahuayco, Huamansica, Sisicaya, Langa, and Lahuaytambo. The 5th par-
ish is that of San Cosme and San Damian, with the annexes of Sunicancha, Tupi-
cocha, and Santiago de Tuna. The 6th is that of Sta. Olalla [Eulalia] (where they
grow beautiful and large paltas [avocados], chirimoyas, and other fruits proper to
TRAVELS IN PERU AND CHILE 41
that country) with four annexes: San Geronimo de Punan, Chaclla, Xicamarca, and
Collata. The 7th that of Carampoma with the annexes of Laraos and Huanza.
The 8th is that of Sa"n Pedro de Casta with four annexes; San Juan de Iris, Hua-
chupampa, Chanca, and Otao. The 9th, San Juan de Matucana (pueblo of 160
inhabitants) with these annexes: Surco (town of 100 inhabitants), Nangos de
Cocachacra or Cochacra, San Pedro de Mama, San Bartolome, and Sta. Ines.
The 10th parish is of San Mateo de Huanchor. This pueblo, which is usually the
residence of the mayor, is divided into two suburbs called San Antonio and San
Mateo and has 100 inhabitants. This parish has 3 annexes, that are those of
San Miguel de Viso, San Antonio de Yauliaco, and Pumacancha. Between this
pueblo and San Mateo is found a district named San Juan de Chicla with 60
inhabitants. Some say it is a pueblo, but others say it is only the residence of
Indian peons that come from other towns to work in the mines.
The llth parish is that of San Antonio de Yaulia with 13 annexes, namely:
Pumacocha, the Asiento de Carahuacra, Pucara, Pachachaca (past Pumacancha
are the haciendas de Ingenio, called Bellavista, after which come Ciricamcha,
Yauliaco, Yanacolpa, Tingo, Casapalca; on the right-hand side one leaves Piedra
Parada, and beyond the ridge of mountains and in front of Pucara is the Ingenio
de Tuctu), Santa Rosa de Yaco or Saco, Conception de Pacha, San Cristobal
de Hucumarca, San Francisco Solano de Trapiche, San Geronimo de Callapampa,
Santiago de Huayhuay, San Antonio de Huari, and San Lucas de Chacapalpa.
The Indians of this province occupy themselves with mules
and work in the mines. The women generally work the fields,
though at the time of planting and harvesting the husbands help
them.
These women, on church holy days, take care of decorating the
altars and saints with flowers from the country and others that they
grow in the little gardens around their houses.
In each town there is usually no more than one church or chapel
with 3, 4, or 5 altars.
CHAPTER VII
Stay in Tarma Plants found in this province and their medicinal value
Landscapes The convent of Ocopa.
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BOTANISTS IN TARMA
On the 21st, as soon as we arrived in Tarma and since the governor
of the province was absent from the town, we went to the house of
the comandante, Dn. Francisco Gomez de Toledo, to ask for quarters,
which he arranged for immediately and with great activity, enter-
taining us that night and the next day at the table in his house.
On the 23rd of the same month of May, 1779, we wrote to the
governor, Dn. Juan Jose de Abellafuertes, who was at Pasco, giving
him notice of our arrival and the object of our commission, so that
with his consent we could go in search of plants in every place in
that province and be helped with food and beasts and all other
necessities for the excursions and journeys that we began on the
26th, and continued to the 24th of April, 1780, through the cuts,
canons, and hills of Tarma and through the montanas of Huasa-
huasi and Palca. During this time we discovered a considerable
number of trees, shrubs, grasses, and herbs, many of them of known
uses and virtues, all of which will be described extensively in the
Flora of Peru, and I restrict myself here to indicating their generic
and trivial names and the Indian ones, if they have any, together
with their medicinal and economic uses.
PLANTS DISCOVERED AND DESCRIBED IN THE PROVINCE OF
TARMA AND IN THE FRONTIERS OF ITS MONTANAS
Cassia undecimpiga, setacea, procumbens, and hirsuta, the first
two known by the names of hatumpacte and pachapacte. These
have been used for a long time as purgatives, and their leaves are
preferred to those senna leaves brought from Lima for the same
purpose by the doctors. Celsia (affinis) lanceolata, huayansacha.
Solanum calygnaphalum, nufiumya. Solatium lyciodes, foetidum, ama
de casa, aserplanatum, sericeum, quercifolium, menhas, havanense,
and tomentosum, hormis. Saxifraga tridactylites L., puchuppus and
siempreviva. Bignonia stans L., ciarhirachero. Limosella subulata.
Eupatorium aromaticum, chilca. They use this plant to dye green
and yellow, and the pounded leaves are used to clean and heal
ulcers and, above all, to soothe bruises and sprains. Buddleia incana,
quisoar, quishuara, and colle, the trunk of which is used for buildings
TRAVELS IN PERU AND CHILE 43
and plows, for its strength and durability and for the peculiarity of
being resistant to insects. The Indians boil the shoots and drink
the water as a cleanser for viscous humours and for colds, and from
the pounded shoots, with urine, cooked over the fire, they form
a poultice to banish toothache, applying it inside and outside.
Some people color their food with the little heads of the flowers.
G. n. Polygala aff. caerulea, chisp-huinac and pahuata-huinac,
that is, grows at night. The women wash their hair with an infusion
of this plant, rubbing it in water because its soapy substance cleans
the hair and makes it grow if the infusion is used frequently. Gar-
doquia canescens, sacconche, suyunmpai, and chinchi. They
make use of the infusion or decoction of this fragrant plant,
not only in Tarma but also in Lima and other places, against
melancholy, pain in the sides, and lassitude, for which it is boiled
in wine or rum with water. Psoralea punctata (Dalea? L.), with
which some of the hills are covered, forming a beautiful carpet
with the green of its small leaves and flower spikes, exhaling a certain
pleasant odor when the sun shines upon them in the morning.
Sisymbrium Sophia L. This plant is very common in this province
and in Huamalies. It is greatly esteemed by some for the virtue
they claim it has against the retention of the urine. They give it
the name of ucuspatallan. Hedyotis conferta, thymifolia, juniperi-
folia, and setosa. Krameria triandra, pumacuchu and mapato.
Briza media L. Sedum ceallu, ceallu, for the likeness of its leaves
to the human tongue. They use the juice of this plant to destroy
cataracts of the eyes. Salvia grandiflora, plumosa, andfragtostissima,
chenchelcoma and sal via menor. Salvia sagittata, huarnica and
salvia real. Some Indians eat the leaves to prevent worms. They
attribute remedial virtues to this plant in asthma and as a pectoral,
and they think that it makes sterile women fecund. They use it
as an aperitive plant, diuretic, vulnerary, consolidant, and as a
restorative of the appetite.
Periphragmos uniflorus. This shrub is found only at the edges
of orchards and plantations near the towns and in the ruins of the
towns of the pagans, who because of their superstitition regard
it as a magic plant; but today the Indian women decorate the
church altar's and saints with bunches of these flowers. Panicum
purpureum. Lupinus argenteus, quitatauri. Passi flora ciliata,
urra-purupuru. Passiflora mammosa and biflora. Pteronia spinosa.
Rhinanthus sagittata and glutinosa. Polylepis emarginata, quinhuar
or quinuar. The trunks of these trees are used by miners for
44 Hip6LiTO Ruiz
the beams of their factory buildings. It is a very strong wood and
is not spoiled by borers. Its bark peels off in many layers thin as
sheets of paper. Tillandsia recurvata, revoluta, coarctata, Huehle,
huehle, and usneoides L., sal vagina and sadcopra, millmahina and
cotalaura. The Indians make great use of this plant in hot baths
to invigorate the nerves, to recover lost strength, and to induce
sleep. They make mattresses with the leaves, because they claim
that it is shunned by fleas and other insects and that moreover it
benefits those who suffer from backaches and kidney trouble. They
apply this plant, pounded and with lard, to cure piles. Astragalus
capitatus, garbancillo. Animals die that eat too much of this plant.
Cleome glandulosa, tacma. Lycium obovatum, espino. Senecio nitidus,
revolutus, abrotanifolius, frutescens, and quercifolius. Acaena ovali-
folia and lappacea. Cacalia serrata. Polypodium serratum, lineare,
Calaguala, fine callahuala which is the true and authentic calaguala
of the shops and the Polypodium incopcam, cuca-cuca and incopcam
that is, coca of the Inca, because the Incas used it instead of coca.
Reduced to powder it is used to induce sneezing and to relieve the
head. Polypodium crassifolium L., puntu-puntu and lengua de
ciervo. They make use of the infusion and decoction of these roots
against pains in the sides, and they are gathered in Peru to send to
Europe under the name of calaguala gruesa. See my discourse about
the calagualas included in the 1st book of the Memoirs of the Royal
Academy of Medicine of Madrid printed in 1796. Acrostichum
palmatum, Marantae L., and Cuacsaro, cuacsaro. See the same dis-
course about this plant. Pteris ternata, culantrillo, lineata, tri-
angulata, tomentosa, and trifoliata. Polypodium coronarium, exalta-
tum, erecto-lineare,fibrosum, glabrum, nutans. Phylitidis L., repandum,
revolutum, rhombeum, obovatum, scolopendroides L., and virginianum
L. Acrostichum revolutum, lineare, and calomelanos L. Asplenium
caudatum, falcato-lineare, multifidum, and lineatum. Adiantum capil-
lus veneris L. Trichomanes crispum, lineare, and obovatum. Lycopo-
dium corymbosum and lanceolatum' Polytrichum subulatum. Bryum
nitidum. Lichen ruber, subulatus, cinereo-viridis, multifidus, oculatus,
palidoviridis, and pyxicatus L. Sessea dependens. Munnozia tri-
nervis. Justicia incana. Margyricarpus subfructicosus, yerba de las
perlillas, for the resemblance of its sweet and tasty fruits to pearls.
On the coast of Chile they are abundant, also Plantago hirsuta and
tomentosa. Acrostichum squamato-tomentosum, nitidum, sulphureum,
obovatum, squamatum. Asplenium cultrifolium, obovatum, praemor-
sum, fissum, acutifolium. Hemionitis rigida. Lycopodium subulatum.
TRAVELS IN PERU AND CHILE 45
Cervantesia tomentosa, whose fruits, that resemble the hazelnut in
taste and size, I ate several times without any harm, although
they are not used for that purpose in that country. Datura sanguinea,
floripondio encarnado and puca-campanilla. This tree is very
beautiful because of the abundance of its large red flowers. Its leaves
have emollient and anodyne properties, and its seeds stupefy and
cause insanity, and the natives say that some people have become
crazy by merely going to sleep under its shade. Galium mucronatum,
croceum, corymbosum, and ciliatum. Calceolaria scabra, uniflora,
tomentosa. Peperomia pubescens. Valeriana lanceolata, huarituru.
Its roots are used to heal fractures. Valeriana thyrsiflora, coronata,
pilosa, interrupta, globiflora, and oblongifolia. Pinguicula stellata.
Ipomoea subtriloba, papiru. Its tuberous root is used as a very
strong purgative. Jarava Ichu, ocssa and ichu. In Huancavelica
they use it in place of firewood to melt cinnabar. When tender
it furnishes excellent pasture for cattle, llamas, vicunas, alpacas,
venados, and huanacos all ruminant animals. They use this grass
as roofing for buildings and they fill mattresses with it; it is also
used as fuel for cooking and for warmth for, even if it is green,
it burns very well and gives good heat. Finally they make it
into rugs, mats, and many other similar things. Anchusa alba.
Gomphrena purpurea. Atropa biflora. Saracha biflora, the small fruit of
which is eaten by children. Gardenia spinosa, milluscassa. Oenanthe?
pedunculata. Celastrus triflorus, rurama and picma. From its wood
they make carpenter tools because of its strength. Anemone digitata,
arracacha cimarrona. Dichondra repens, fragosa, crenata, multifida,
reniformis, frutilla de monte, for the similarity of the leaves with
those of the strawberry. Anemone pubescens, polizones. Gentiana
maculata. Caucalis grandiflora. Viburnum verticillatum. Rhamnus
acuminatus. Lithospermum aggregatum and incanum. Cynanchum
minimum and glandulosum. Asclepias cordata. Illecebrum lanatum.
Achyranthes mucronata. Sambucus glandulosa. This small tree can
be found only in the mountain towns, and they use it as they do
Sambucus nigra. Stereoxylon resinosum, tiri encarnado and chacha-
coma. Its shoots are used to dye red and purple. Gentiana biflora,
subulata, umbellata, and quinquepartita. Desfontainia spinosa.
Alchemilla pinnata. Nicotiana Tabacum, true tobacco. Varronia
rugosa and obliqua. Tournefortia polystachya and virgata. Nerteria
repens? It is very abundant in Chile near Conception. Pancrati-
um coccineum, margaritas encarnadas. Crinum? sagittatum, marga-
rita. Pancratium viride. Its flowers are all green, like half of those
46 Hip6LiTO Ruiz
of the white lily. Berberis mucronata and tortuosa. Hydrocotyle
asiatica L. Ribes luteum and dependens. Swertia corniculata. Lo-
ranthus luteus and pentandrus. Piper scabrum and Churumayu,
churumayu. Cynoglossum revolutum. Triglochin ciliatum. Cheno-
podium tuberosum, ulluco. Its roots are used as food, and its decoc-
tion serves as an expectorant and is claimed to make childbirth
easier. Astronemia linearis. Ornithogalum pyrenaicum L. Cyperus
striatus. Tropaeolum tuberosum, massuas, the tuberous roots of which
are cultivated and eaten in Peru and are of an inverted conic shape
and of a golden or yellow color. Dodonaea viscosa L., chamisa and
chamassa. Its crushed leaves are applied effectively in poultices for
sprains, and its trunk and branches are used for fuel in Tarma and
many other towns. Alstroemeria trifida, pini-pini, coccinia, spiralis,
capitata, and crocea, chocllocopa. Coccoloba nitida and volubilis,
muyaca. The infusion is used as a superior diuretic in urinary
troubles. Gualtheria cordifolia, alba, hirsuta, rhinnin cussau. Colu-
mellia ovalis, ullus and usluss. A very bitter shrub, wonderfully
effective against tertian fevers. Used as an infusion. Fuchsia
apetala and verticillata, mollocanto; its ripe fruits are eaten by
children, and they often make of them an excellent preserve with
sugar. Embothrium emarginatum, catas and mastimpanrani, i.e.
priapus simiae, for the shape of the pistil and follicle, very similar
to the genital parts of monkeys. Its pounded leaves are used
for bruises; from its flowers the Indian women form sprays to
decorate the altars and arches that they erect for processions.
Vaccinium biflorum. Rhexia repens, ola-ola and olla-olla. It serves
as a yellow dye if mixed with other plants. Rhexia hispida. Wein-
mania oppositifolia. Arbutus multiflora. Andromeda affin. purpurea,
macha-macha. Its fruits eaten in excess are intoxicating; for this
reason they gave it the name. Vaccinium affin. trinerve, punctatum,
grandiflorum, uchu-uchu, i.e., aji-aji or pimiento-pimiento, for the
shape of its corollas, nitidum, lanuginosum, and alatum, pucssato. Its
fruit is eaten and is often sold in the market by the Indian women.
Polygonum subulatum. Portulaca pilosa. Cuphea cordata. Acunna
oblonga, rosa-rosa. Psychotria coerulea. Cacti species variae.
Potentilla prostrata. Rubus biserratus, salvifolius, and fructicosus L.,
siracas. Geum urbanum L. Loasa spiralis. Vallea cordata, cunhur.
Rubus roseus, chilifruta. Psidium nitidum, aseca. Duranta plumosa,
and tomentosa, sanacassa and tantarprieto. Gardoquia conferta.
Rhinanthus rugosa. Thalictrum polygamum L. Bartsia hirsuta,
purpurea, and prostrata. Mespilus uniflora, ferruginea, prostrata,
TRAVELS IN PERU AND CHILE 47
and subspinosa, millucassa. Its fruits are eaten. Geranium filiforme.
Slum biternatum. Hedysarum pubescens. Ruellia prostata. Cytisus
purpureus. Hypericum subulatum, chinchanho. This plant is
generally used as a yellow dye. Eupatorium angulatum and trinerve.
Tagetes odoratissima, chinchi. Bidens nasturcifolia. Artemisia
hirsuta. Lantana involucrata. Aster pinnatus, tomentosus, auri-
cularis, foliaceus, vira-vira del monte. Hieracium triflorum. Gnapha-
lium trinerve, and Vira-Vira, vira-vira, i.e. gordura-gordura, since
the plant is crushed and used for contusions and sprains. Melastoma
tomentosa, tiri bianco. This plant is used to make a yellow dye,
the color changing with the addition of other plants. Molina
scabra, taya. They make great use of this plant to fumigate the
rooms, and the Indians employ it also as a superior stomachic.
Helianthus glutinosus and lanceolatus. Molina uniflora, ferruginea,
caespitosa, and obovata, taya hembra, and emarginata, taya macho.
The same use is made of these species as of the preceding. Eupa-
torium subsessile and Huaramachia, huaramachia. Pteronia? gemina.
Polymnia resinifera, puhe and taraca. This plant is plentiful in
Xauxa, Chaclla, and Tarma, where many gather the resin that exudes
in transparent white drops which, when reunited, form a compact
mass that loses its transparency but not its odor, similar to that of
the goma de limon. They apply it as a plaster for fractures and
headache. Bacasia spinosa. Atragene villosa. Perdicium lanatum.
Cosmos laciniata. Bidens pinnato-multifida. Ranunculus cordatus.
Virgularia revoluta, mancapagui. Talinum ciliatum. Viola obliqua,
parviflora, and subulata. Lobelia purpurea, tomentosa, purpureo-
viridis, and bicolor. Maxillaria alata, bicolor, tricolor, grandiflora,
and cuneiformis. Humboldtia aspera, spiralis. Masdevallia uniflora,
rima-rima. Epidendrum maculatum, croceum, volubile, emarginatum,
biflorum, triflorum, acuminatum, lineare. Gongora quinquenervis,
angulata, uniflora. Sobralia dichotoma. Cypripedium grandiflorum.
Satyrium album, luteum, bicolor. This family of orchids is so plen-
tiful in the quebradas of Huasahuasi and Palca, that it would
be difficult to find any other place in which there are so many plants
of this kind, for it appears that nature has destined this land for
that purpose since the beginning of creation.
Notwithstanding the variety and abundance of these plants in
these parts, there is no lack of many other species at the other
entrance to the montana of Panatahuas, and even in the actual
mountains they grow upon the trees, rocks, and sunburnt ground.
48 HIPOLITO Ruiz
This family deserves a monograph upon these localities, and
the number of species would probably be more than 500. Among
the maxillarias there is bicolor which is called caeca, that means
pavement, because the land is so covered with its bulbs that it
looks like a pavement placed there on purpose. These bulbs are
so juicy and tender that they can be chewed very easily, and they
give so much tasteless juice that six of them are sufficient to quench
the thirst; the Indians do this very frequently when they pass
through those places in order not to go out of their way to drink in
the depths of the quebradas. Plazia conferta. Cissus obliqua. Croton
pulverulentum and striatum. Siegesbeckia occidentalis L. Clusia? thu-
rifera, arbol del incienso, for its exuding resin that is used in Peru
for incense. Sepium nitidum, chichis. Coriaria pinnata. With the
racemes of this plant the Indians dye their cotton and wool. Aralia
aff . digitata, Myrica sternutatoria, tuppassaire and ssaire. They use
this shrub to dye cordwain black, and its pulverized bark makes one
sneeze immediately on snuffing a little powder instead of tobacco.
Although this powder excites speedily to ten or twelve sneezes with-
out pause, it does not irritate or harm the nose as do other excitants,
for when the nose is blown and wiped with a handkerchief, the sneez-
ing stops and the stimulus also. It has been found that this powder
clears the head and relieves headaches, etc. Sisyrinchium luteum
and purgans, ossca purga and paja purgante, for the value of its roots
used by the Indians as one of the best and most active purgatives.
Its action is restrained by simply drinking cold water. Urtica spiralis.
From the incisions and cut branches of this little tree there flows a
clear gum like gum arabic. Urtica orbicularifolia and fumans.
When the rays of the sun strike this plant in the morning, it expands
such a multitude of flowers that the fine dust from the anthers fills
the air as if it were a dense pall of smoke, remaining for more than
two hours, and during this time it continues to open flowers and
anthers with marked elasticity greater than that of the other spe-
cies of the genus. Ephedra distachyd L. Atriplex monoica. Betula alba
L. Salix pyramidalis. Viscum luteum and sessile. Lycopodium dichoto-
mum. Mutisia acuminata, chimchiculma, chincumpa, and huincus.
It is a beautiful flower for gardens because of its size and color.
On the 13th of June the peons and train of pack animals in the
company of Dn. Juan Jos de Avellafuertes left the pueblo of Tarma,
governor of the province, to join the peons that P. San Jose, Apostolic
missionary of Ocopa, had taken with him on the 10th, and also the
P. Guardian of this convent, who had started from Tarma on the
TRAVELS IN PERU AND CHILE 49
llth with the idea of opening the road to Chanchamayo that was
impassable for many years, because the inhabitants of that town had
moved to Tarma after the last invasion by the Indians, and also with
the idea of establishing a fort with a corresponding settlement such
as there had been formerly.
On the 27th of July I went with draftsman Dn. Isidro Galvez
to the province of Xauxa, two leagues from Tarma. We found in
ruins the conspicuous castle of Tarmatambo, from which can be
seen the ruins of a pueblo of the pagans that is situated at the very
top of a hill. By this castle passes the royal highway of the Incas
that runs from Cuzco to Quito. We continued by this road a long
way and, leaving it after about two leagues, we turned to a wide,
barren plain or pampa of more than half a league and, crossing
a hill, we came to another pampa of more than one and a half
leagues, at the end of which there is a spring of abundant clear,
cool, soft, and very fine water, that probably comes under ground
from a lake that can be seen on the right-hand side of the road and
about a quarter league distant. With this water they irrigate two
small quebradas where they raise wheat and barley. From this spring
we passed to a wide plain very fertile in grass with which they feed
great numbers of sheep, cattle, horses, and pigs. Afterwards we
entered another plain also abounding with pasture. Having passed
a small ridge, we crossed the little brook that comes from the spring
already mentioned and came to a pampa in which there is a lake
about one league in length and a quarter of a league in width.
At the left-hand side of the lake are seen two towns, and various
haciendas extend all over the pampa, which on account of the climate
produces nothing but pasture that, although it is scanty, is good for
the cattle. There are, in this lake, an abundance of totoras or eneas
and various aquatic birds. At the end of this pampa one goes down
to another lake almost as large as the last, but with less water and
more marshy and muddy, and at a short distance there is seen the
pueblo of Xauxa, the capital of the province of this name, where
we stayed for the night.
On the 28th we went to the convent of Sta. Rosa de Ocopa, six
leagues distant from Xauxa, passing through the pueblos of Mojon de
San Lorenzo and Apata, in the vicinity of which a small lake is seen
to the west. We arrived in the convent after midday, and we
used the afternoon to inspect that magnificent construction and to
examine the neighborhood with the purpose of discovering a few
new plants, distinct from those produced in the province of Tarma,
50 HIPOLITO Ruiz
but we scarcely found any that were different; among them abound
the true calaguala, Calceolaria linearis, and Polymnia resinifera or
taraca.
DESCRIPTION OF THE CONVENT OF OCOPA
The convent of Sta. Rosa de Ocopa is situated at the foot of
some hills, not very high, that border on the montanas of the pagan
Indians, in a beautiful plain guarded by the hills that form a cove in
the form of a half-moon.
The architecture of this convent is of the best that is found in
Peru. It is whitewashed inside and out. It is surrounded by tall
and luxurious alders at the facade, which is of excellent modern
architecture. It has a spacious court with various rooms for the
travelers that come for religious exercises, and at the rear it is
adorned by a beautiful garden with an abundance of excellent vege-
tables. In the interior there are two cloisters, each one with its
little garden of different flowers and aromatic plants of Europe and of
the region.
In one of these cloisters there is painted the life of Saint Francis
of Assisi, done by a good painter in pictures that fill the recesses of
the four walls. In the other cloister are the paintings of the mar-
tyr missionaries that suffered martyrdom on various missions
and excursions into the montanas of the heathens. Among the
martyr missionaries, there are found several seculars that accom-
panied the missionaries in their preaching and martyrdom. An
extensive plan of converted pueblos is also to be seen. On the second
floor there is another cloister with a Calvary, and in each one of the
three angles a big cross with a crown of thorns and a clock with
an appropriate case.
The silence and retirement, and the care taken with the mystic
ornaments that are found in this convent edify and inspire to the
deepest devotion and meditation.
The church has only one single, spacious nave, very light and
beautifully decorated, as are its altars, dedicated to different Saints.
The vestry is a square room, decorated as much as the church,
with some beautiful cabinetwork for the ornaments and chalices
occupying the four walls. For each priest there is a vestment and a
chalice. The walls are adorned with beautiful paintings brought
from Europe. Among these there is a Passion of Our Lord, in pic-
tures covered with glass. This entire collection is of Roman paint-
ings. In another higher row, there is found the life of Sta. Rosa in
TRAVELS IN PERU AND CHILE 51
small squares of stone. This convent possesses an abundant library
of books on various subjects and arranged in alphabetical order.
Many windows in the vestry as well as in the cloisters are of
white and transparent stones resembling glass, for which they
are substituted.
On the days of the Porciuncula of Saint Francis, in Lent, and
on other religious days, many people come from the province of
Xauxa, from the province of Tarma, and elsewhere in the vicinity
to confess and to receive Holy Communion, and many come to en-
gage in spiritual exercises.
From this convent they send missionaries to all the towns border-
ing on the heathen Indians, in order to give them spiritual nourish-
ment and instruct them in Christian morality, providing the mis-
sionaries with all that they need for support and for the fulfillment
of their ministry; to the expenses for this, His Catholic Majesty
contributes a certain number of pesos.
In the orchard of Ocopa there is a birch (Betula alba L.), from
the root of which there rise nine new trunks, thick, very tall, straight,
and very luxuriant. The rest of the birches that surround the con-
vent are wont to produce two to four equal and very frondose trunks
from one root.
The brook that waters the orchard and the trees, even though
small, has sufficient water to irrigate much more ground.
After having examined this convent of Ocopa, we went on to
pass the night at the pueblo of Concepcion, distant a league from
Ocopa, crossing a brook that in time of rain carries much water and
is dangerous to ford.
On the bank of this brook I found the Calceolaria linearis, which
was sketched by Galvez in Concepcion, and I described it and put
it to dry.
In the pueblo of Concepcion a company of soldiers is stationed
as a garrison. The pueblo has many inhabitants, with an abundance
of food, with a large square plaza, and its jail is the most secure
one in the province, and for this reason prisoners of importance are
sent there.
On the 29th we returned to the pueblo of Xauxa, that is situated
at the foot of small hills, in a spacious and somewhat sloping plain.
The streets are straight and are paved only at the principal crossings.
When it rains, a mud forms that makes them impassable. The
buildings are of the usual kind, and some houses are very good and
52 HIP6LITO Ruiz
have two stories, but most of them have only one story. They are
built of mud, lime, and stone and roofed with tile. The largest
plaza is a large square and always supplied with provisions. In
this plaza is the principal church, served by two priests, and on the
other facade there is a beautiful, roomy chapel where masses are
celebrated daily.
The temperature of this pueblo is cool throughout the year, and
one feels the cold more here than in the rest of the valley.
The water that is used in this place comes from a chalky spring
to which everybody comes to fetch it, and to give the animals drink;
drink, for this reason the water is always muddy or turbid at the
first movement that the people make to get it and with the
hooves of the animals that come there to drink. The truth is that
this defect, of having water always turbid, could be remedied at a
very small cost by the numerous inhabitants of Xauxa by building
a reservoir and an aqueduct from that to the town.
CHAPTER VIII
Climate Seasonal differences in the vegetation Abundance of cattle The
Xauxa river Revolt of the Indians (1742) Plants Towns and annexes
Excursions of the naturalists Hardships and misfortunes Journey to Hua-
nuco Details of the landscape Dyeing processes The town of Reyes Its
products Origin of the Ucayali, Huallaga, and Maranon The town of Pasco
Its mines Caxamarquilla.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROVINCE OF XAUXA
The province of Xauxa is situated 45 leagues from Lima in a
level valley, or pampa, which extends for eighteen leagues from
east to west and twelve from north to south. To the north and
northwest it borders on the province of Tarma, to the east on the
montanas of the heathen Indians, to the southeast on the province
of Huanta, to the south on that of Angaraes, to the southwest on
that of Yauyos, and to the west on that of Huarocheri.
The climate of this beautiful valley is generally temperate, but
in the highest parts one feels the cold, especially at night, on account
of the winds that come from the nearby cordilleras. In winter there
are continual frosts, and for this reason vegetables become scanty,
and they cannot get the alfalfa that is raised in the vicinity of some
pueblos near Xauxa.
Six leagues away the climate is milder and on higher ground is
good for sugar cane, which in fact is produced ; from it they get some
sugar. They gather plentiful harvests of wheat and barley. There
is no lack of maize, potatoes, ockas, yucas, arracachas, yacones, and
some fruits, vegetables, and flowers in the gardens and orchards.
On the ridges and at the entrances to the montanas, coca, pine-
apples, plantains, papayas, and other fruits are gathered.
In time of drought one cannot find in the greater part of this
spacious valley any plant that measures any more than half a foot
in height, except in those few lower spots where sugar cane is pro-
duced, but in spring all
