Several Of These Torrents Are So Large And Deep, Such As Those
Of Santa, Baranca, And Others, That Without The
Assistance of the Indians,
who break and diminish for a short time the force of the current, by means
of
Piles and branches forming a temporary wear or dike, the Spaniards
would be unable to pass. In these hazardous passages, it was necessary to
get over with all possible expedition, to avoid the violence of the stream,
which often rolled down very large stones. Travellers in the plain of Peru,
when going north or south, almost always keep within sight of the sea,
where the torrents are less violent, owing to the greater flatness of the
plain as it recedes from the mountain. Yet in winter the passage of these
torrents is extremely dangerous, as they cannot be then forded, and must
be crossed in barks or floats like those formerly mentioned, or on a kind
of rafts made of gourds inclosed in a net, on which the passenger reclines,
while one Indian swims before pulling the raft after him with a rope, and
another Indian swims behind and pushes the raft before him.
On the borders of these rivers there are various kinds of fruit-trees,
cotton-trees, willows, and many kinds of canes, reeds, and sedges. The
watered land is extremely fertile, and is kept under continual cultivation;
wheat and maize being sown and reaped all the year through. The Indians in
the plain seldom have any houses, or at best a kind of rude huts or cabins
made of branches of trees, often dwelling under the shade of trees,
without any habitation whatever. The women are habited in long dresses of
cotton which descend to their feet; while the men wear breeches and vests
which come down to their knees, and have a kind of cloak or mantle thrown
over their shoulders. They are all dressed in a similar manner, having no
distinctions except in their head-dresses, according to rank or the
different districts of the country; some wearing a tuft of wool, others a
single cord, and others several cords of different colours. All the
Indians of the plain are distributed into three orders; the first named
_Yungas_, the second _Tallanes_, and the third _Mochicas_. Every province
has its own peculiar language or dialect, different from all the rest. But
all the caciques or principal people and nobles of the country, besides
the language peculiar to their respective countries or districts, were
obliged to understand and speak the language of Cuzco. One of the Peruvian
kings, named Huana Capac, the father of Atahualpa or Atabalipa, was much
displeased that the caciques and principal people of his empire should be
under the necessity of employing interpreters when they had occasion to
speak to him; and gave orders that all the caciques and their relatives
should send their children to reside at court, to be instructed in the
language of Cuzco which was spoken by the Incas. This was the ostensible
reason of the measure; but in reality he wished to have these children in
his power, to serve as hostages for the loyalty of their parents. By this
means, all the nobles of the land came to understand the peculiar language
of Cuzco which was spoken at court; just as in Flanders all the nobles and
persons of any rank speak French. Owing to this circumstance, as the
Spaniards have learnt the language of the Incas, or of Cuzco, they are
able to converse with all the principal natives of Peru, both those of the
mountain and of the plain.
It may appear difficult to some of my readers to comprehend why no rain
should fall in the plain of Peru, considering that the country is bounded
along the whole of one side by the sea, where many vapours are constantly
ascending, and on the other side by a vast range of mountain which is
always enveloped in rain or snow. Those who have carefully considered this
singular phenomenon, allege that it is occasioned by the continual
prevalence of a strong south-west wind all along the coast and over the
whole plain of Peru, which carries off all the vapours which rise from the
sea and the land, without allowing them to rise sufficiently high in the
air to gather and fall down again in rain. From the tops of the high
mountains, these vapours are often seen far beneath on the plain in thick
clouds, while all is quite clear and serene on the mountain. By the
perpetual blowing of the same wind, the waters of the South-sea have a
constant current along the coast to the northward. Others allege a
different reason for this current; saying, that the water of the
South-sea having only a narrow outlet at the straits of Magellan, which
are only two leagues broad, and being there opposed by the Atlantic Ocean,
they are forced to return to the northward along the coast of Chili and
Peru. This constant wind and current render the navigation exceedingly
difficult, from Panama to Peru for the greater part of the year; so that
vessels are obliged always to tack to windward against wind and current.
The whole coast of Peru abounds in fish of various kinds, among which are
great quantities of sea-calves or seals, of several species. Beyond the
river of Tumbez there are no caymans or alligators, which is supposed to
be owing to the too great coolness of the sea and rivers, as these animals
delight in heat; but it is more probable that their absence from the
rivers of Peru is occasioned by their great rapidity, as they usually
frequent rivers that are very still. In the whole extent of the plain
there are only five cities inhabited by the Christians[20]. The first of
these, Puerto Viejo, about one degree south of the line, has very few
inhabitants, as it stands in a poor and unwholesome country, in which the
principal production of value is a few emeralds.
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