Along The Whole Of That Length, A Vast Chain Of Exceedingly High And Desert Mountains Extends From North To South, In Some Places Fifteen Or Twenty Leagues Distant From The Sea, And Less In Others.

The whole country is thus divided into two portions, all the space between the mountains and the sea being denominated _the plain_, and all beyond is called the mountain.

The whole plain of Peru is sandy and extremely arid, as it never has any rain, and there are no springs or wells, nor any rivulets, except in four or five places near the sea, where the water is brackish. The only water used by the inhabitants is from torrents which come down from the mountain, and which are there formed by rain and the melting of snow, as there are even very few springs in the mountainous part of the country. In some places, these torrents or mountain-streams are twelve fifteen or twenty leagues distance from each other, but generally only seven or eight leagues; and travellers for the most part are under the necessity of regulating their days journies by these streams or rivers, that they may have water for themselves and cattle. Along these rivers, for the breadth of a league, more or less according to the nature of the soil, there are some groves and fruit-trees, and maize fields cultivated by the Indians, to which wheat has been added since the establishment of the Spaniards. For the purpose of irrigating or watering these cultivated fields, small canals are dug from the rivers, to conduct the water wherever it is necessary and where that can be done; and in the construction of these the natives are exceedingly ingenious and careful, having often to draw these canals seven or eight leagues by various circuits to avoid intermediate hollows, although perhaps the whole breadth of the vale may not exceed half a league.

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