PUBLISHED MONTHLY AT FIVE DOLLARS PER ANNUM-THOMAS W. WHITE, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. VOL. V. RICHMOND, AUGUST, 1839. SONNET.—A PORTRAIT. BY PARK BENJAMIN. Born in the North, and reared in Tropic lands,— In the soft sunshine on some sheltered lea. No coldness in her deep, melodious words,- Of some delicious morn, and taste those flowers, No. VIII. The coast presented a picture of arid sterility; it was scorched, fiery, volcanic. The sierras were brown and ferruginous, "whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass." No verdure carpeted their slopes-no trees shaded their brows. The eye swept along an iron-bound coast, unindented by bay or harbor. From Quilca, north, to Arica in the south, there was no "soft green" to repose the vision. Peru must be the land of metals; her hills seem to be the scoriæ of Nature's unworked furnace. All around is igneous, plutonic, ashy. Such a land might have been the inheritance of Tubal-Cain, the "instructor of every artificer in brass and iron." On the 10th of April we sailed from Callao, the port of Lima. Our destination was the port of Islay, where our arrival has just been announced. I had already passed ten days in the sybaritic city of Lima, when the exigences of the service with which I was charged, required me to proceed to the distant republie of Bolivia, to confer with the Supreme Protector of the PeruBolivian Confederation, General Don Andres Santa Cruz. The English and Americans in Peru generally called him the Holy Cross, which is the translation of Santa Cruz. He was supposed to be at that time on the southern confines of Bolivia, where existing hostilities with Bucnos Ayres and Chili demanded his presence. His migratory head-quarters in this posture of affairs would be ubi-ibi; at La Paz, Cochabamba, or Potosi. The Confederation had not yet been finally organized. For this object, a Congress of Plenipotentiaries were soon to meet in Arequipa. Meanwhile, no seat of the federal government had been adopted. The habital of the Supreme Protector was virtually the federal capital, an apt illustration of the French monarch's L'état c'est moi! The protectoral government was consequently nomadic; the Peruvians termed it a gobierno á caballo-a government on horseback. General Santa Cruz had the reputation of being well suited to this Tartar administration, in his wonderful powers of physical endurance. He was lately at Lima, and now he is eighteen hundred miles distant, at Tarija. He is said to admire the sentiment of Béranger: The night was passed in anxious expectation. The morrow was to end a tedious voyage, and to be the commencement of a long journey. At the dawn of day, the port of Islay, in South Peru, was distant from our ship eight leagues. A white and dense cloud of vapor rested on the coast; but above and beyond rose the "Andes, the giant of the western star." The Cordilleras, with their indistinct masses of azure, became more defined as the sun rose to the horizon. The fleecy vapor, which veiled the coast from view, was gradually lifted by his rays. Saffron light spread over the distant horizon, threw into relief, the serried Cordilleras. High above the surrounding sierras, rose in majestic grandeur, the volcan of Arequipa. It was distant, about one hundred and ten miles; yet there stood this towering cone, painted upon the violet-colored sky, sharp and defined. The town of Arequipa, our first resting place in the prospective journey to Cochabamba, nestles at the foot of the volcano. It is a noble landmark, like the pyra-ral." mid of Cheops, which marks the site of Cairo to the impatient traveller who ascends the valley of the Nile. The sun had not long gilded the crests of the sierras, before the intensity of light obscured the fainter azure of the Andes, and this mountain pyramid melted into air. "Vie errante, Chose enivrante!" To the Cholos and Indians of the country, this Tartar government brought one advantage. Their ranchos or huts were termed protectoral palaces; for wherever the protector fixed his head-quarters, his official acts and proclamations were issued from the "Palacio protecto Cochabamba, the actual capital of Bolivia, is eighteen hundred miles distant from Lima, as computed by Gen. Miller. This journey over burning deserts, abrupt and rugged sierras, would have deterred hardier horsemen than myself. In Peru the traveller has less accommodations than in Turkey, and the climate is, to a degree, VOL. V.-65 oppressive. I had, however, for my encouragement, the example of Mr. Belford Hinton Wilson, son of Sir Robert Wilson, now Her Britannic Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires in Lima. He performed this journey in nineteen days, and returned in a shorter time. This was certainly an equestrian feat; it would be so esteemed by the professional Tâtars of Asia Minor. Mr. Wilson was, at this period, aid-de-camp to General Bolivar. He told me that he long felt the ill effects of this ride. The road from Lima follows the sea coast to the valley of Arequipa, one hundred leagues. It then turns abruptly from the sea, and crosses the Cordilleras. The whole coast of Peru is a sterile desert, save where it is intersected by streams from the mountains. These streams are from thirty to a hundred miles apart, and it is only on their banks that any cultivation exists. No stranger can pass these sandy deserts without a guide. Nothing indicates that they have ever been trodden by man or beast, save the frequent skeletons of animals, that have perished from heat and thirst. The sands are as moveable as those of the African Sahara. By boat, whose Gringo accent would prove that he was not a Chilian. In the present state of hostilities, if I speak, said he, they may suspect us of being enemies, and give us a volley. A satisfactory parley ensued, in which we called ourselves Norte-Americanos, to which the guard replied, Ah, si!-Ingleses-English. analogy, our people usually call a South American, of whatever republic, a Spaniard. Colonial bondage affects language long after that condition has ceased. As an illustration of this, the following anecdote is not bad. The law of Colombia required colonials to pay a certain duty of importation. A cargo arrived at Guayaquil from the United States, and the discriminating duty on colonials was exacted. Mr. Bartlett was then United States Consul, and he protested to the collector or administrador, against the exaction. "Hombre! my dear sir! were not the United States colonies of Great Britain ?" said the administrador. "Yes!" replied Mr. B., " and so too was Great Britain a colony of Rome." The classic repartee had its effect. Our parley ended in a permission to land. We thus took tongue. Prendre langue was the term used at Malta, This part of the journey was rather uninviting. We under the Knights of St. John, for landing at the port. were relieved from it, by the consent of our commander The Templars were of seven languages or nations. We to convey us to Islay, one of the ports nearest to Boli- were conducted to the residence of the administrador or via. The government at Lima proposed to send an collector of the customs, where the Islenos assembled officer of the army in company with me to General | to learn the news. The Falmouth was suspected to be Santa Cruz, and he thus became a fellow passenger. a Chilian frigate. That our boat should look out for a This commissioner was Colonel R- lately in com- random shot from the guard, proved, therefore, not to mand, but now en disponibilité. be improvident. It was not known, certainly, where General Santa Cruz was. Our journey was therefore indefinite. There is no publicity in Peru, and the people hear of the movements of their chiefs much in the same way that the Turcoman hears of the doings of his | Agha, id est, from rumor. We were fifteen days in making a voyage of four hundred miles. The wind and current were combined against us. Of their powerful effect, the best illustration is the fact, that we returned to Callao in three days. To this Western Ocean, Vasco Nunez de Balboa, properly applied the appellation of Pacific. It is a summer's sea compared with the tumbling billows of the Atlantic. It is thus peculiarly suited to steam navigation; and our enterprising countryman, Mr. Wheelwright, has finally succeeded in forming a company in London for that object. One might then reach Lima, via Panama, in thirty or forty days from New York, whilst one hundred and twenty, or fifty, are now re-natives term it. The English Consul kindly took our quired. The morning of our arrival off Islay, we were becalmed. We were in the torrid zone, and the heat was not moderated by the sea-breeze. The village of Islay, with its straggling huts, dotting the white and ashy shore, lay before us. After meridian, a ship of war was discovered to leeward, which proved to be a United States ship of war. Signals were made, and our ship must "run down" to speak her. This might delay our landing for more than a day, and we accordingly accepted our commander's proposition to land us in a barge. At the setting of the sun, we left the ship with a long pull before us of twelve miles. The night was dark, but the stars twinkled brightly, as they ever do in the Southern hemisphere. We had taken the bearing of the port, and our safe voyage was then left to the stout arms of our crew. At twelve o'clock we had entered the port. Whilst looking about for the landing place, our movements were discovered by the guard on shore, and we were hailed with "quien vive," who comes there? My colleague had previously arranged that this challenge should be answered by the officer of our The night was wearing away, and it became a question where we were to lodge. In Peru there are no fondas, mesons or inns. There is an exception in favor of the large commercial towns. If a traveller have a letter, that recommendation procures for him hospitality; if he have not, "n'importe, some body will take him in," if his appearance be not anti-sympathetic, as the officer home with him, and the Colonel and myself were billeted upon the military commandante. Our room was in the upper part of a rattle-trap of a house, and was furnished with a table and two chairs. Beds were soon spread by Indian soldiers, and I soon sunk to rest, through the horny gate of sleep, Quâ, facilis datur, exitus umbris. Early on the morrow we were making our preparations for the journey to Arequipa. Mules and horses were procured for ourselves. Our luggage was to follow us by the requa or caravan. We also hired a sagacious vaquiano, or guide, Don Pepe Sanchez, to accompany us. I was yet to learn how indispensable is a vaquian in traversing the Pampas of sand. My companion had providently brought with him his horse harness, and equipments for himself, from Lima. He was an old stager, and he made his preparations accordingly. He had his ponchos or cloaks, his polainas or leggings, and a broad brimmed vicuna hat, with flaunting ribband. With his cigarillo in his mouth, I must say the Peruvian horseman was quite picturesque. My wants were all to be supplied, and Islay was not the place for that. The Colonel became impatient, and said, "Hombre! vmd tiene mil dificuldades," "my dear fellow, you make a thousand difficulties!" However, I mounted with my Xipixapa grass hat, and a Macintosh cloak from Charing cross, although the costume was not legitimate. Pepe's figure was rather quixotic, with two hats, one above the other, for easier transportation, and a cartouche with a brace of horse-pistols, strapped round his waist. Thus equipped, we gave spur and sallied out of Islay, somewhat before two o'clock. By leaving at this hour, we would cross the desert Pampas during the night, and thus avoid the fearful heat of the day. the clefts of rocks, to the height of ten feet. Our rate of travelling was about a league the hour, and without distressing our beasts. At the hour of twilight we finally emerged from the quebrada, and stood upon a desert, sandy plateau or Pampa. It extends to the next range of the Cordillera, and is thirty miles in breadth. the mouth of the defile into which we had entered, where it debouches from the sierra upon the desert plateau, called the Pampa. It was five or six leagues distant, and the road was fatiguing. A vaquiano is not only your guide, he is also your time-piece, if you will, and your dromometer. He measures the road for you, and he is correct to a degree. He establishes the pace at which the traveller must move, and he puts out, sometimes at a slapping pace, leaving you to follow. At the distance of one league, is the pueblicito of Cangallo, consisting of three or four Indian huts. Here the requas rest; and here we took a traguito—a little sup of chicha, a fermented beverage of maize. We were to ride fifty-four miles to the next habitation of Islay is the port of entry for Arequipa, and contains man, and we were to see in that space no living waters, perhaps eight hundred inhabitants. The houses or huts and no green grass. I made some inquiry about the are slightly constructed. There is a church distin- commissariat, and Pepe smilingly opened his alforjas or guished by a cross on the roof, which recalled to my cotton saddle bags, to show me several bottles of chicha, mind, Ruschenberger's visit to this place. His book is aguardiente and water. Again we set out. The ravine as correct as it is humorous. Of what advantage, he is broad, and the acclivities of the hills, which wall it asked, would the priest's indulgence be to the port. up, are sharp. The road is deep with white ashes, and "Ninguno," none, was his friend's reply? Of what ad- they lie like drifted snow upon the dark brown hillsvantage to the people? "Ninguno pues-none I tell" dusky and huge, nature's volcanic amphitheatre." you; but those who accept it, think their stay in pur-The cactus is the only plant which defies this universal gatory will be shortened by it, and that you know," barrenness; and I was astonished to see it shoot out of said his friend, with a sly cast of his eye, "is a consideration." The visit of Commodore Stewart, to this coast, in the Franklin seventy-four, is still alluded to by the natives. An American line-of-battle ship was a novelty, and the presence of an accomplished American lady, Mrs. Stewart, was equally so. Whilst the Franklin was laying off Quilca, the Subdelegado invited the Commodore and his officers to dine. The company of Peruvian and American officers was large. The Subdelegado's hospitalities were generous, and they brought forth the spirit of conviviality. The indigenous wine of the val-refresh ourselves and cattle. Pepe performed his vesper ley circulated freely, and many patriotic and personal toasts were drunk. A gallant young Virginian, late in the feast, rose, and said: “I propose the health of the Subdelegado! Tell him, somebody, that he is a man of the true grit, and that if he will come to Richmond, he shall pass over Mayo's bridge free of toll." There was evidently no interpreter for this sentiment. The anecdote amused me much it was strictly Virginian. The road from Islay gradually ascends the slope of the Sierra. At the distance of a league it suddenly plunges into a quebrada or ravine of the mountain. Through this gorge we were to pass the first range of the Cordilleras, which stretched across our road like some Cyclopean wall. We were already elevated several hundred feet above the level of the sea, and before we entered the quebrada, I turned, with a longing lingering look, to the glassy ocean. The eye swept over a wide horizon; but yet our noble ship was not in sight. Before I could again see her, and the gallant spirits who guided her march on the mountain wave, weeks would elapse, and many a mile of rugged travel must be performed. I was gazing on the blue and infinite space, yielding to my sympathies and melting thoughts of home and country, when I was aroused by Pepe's abrupt exclamation, Vamosnos, Cabelleros! Let us be off, Cavaliers! and accordingly off we went. Piquemos! let us spur up, continued Pepe; we shall hardly reach the Santa Cruz-holy cross-before night. This cross stands at By the faint light of remaining day, I discovered the wooden cross, which was both a terminus and the commencement of our journey. Here we dismounted to orisons, and then brought out the chicha and cigars. Night had now fully spread out its dark mantle, but the southern constellations shone with their accustomed brilliancy. The mule track in the sand was scarcely visible; and yet, by this track, we were to cross the Pampa. We again mounted. Piquemos! said Pepe, and off he started. My macho, accustomed to the business in hand, followed his leader at a hand-gallop, and before I had gathered up the long lash of my bridle. I felt insecure in the dark at this rapid pace, and pressed upon the reins; my macho snorted, as if indignant at being held in, and away he scampered, in pursuit of his leader. It was some time before I could relieve myself from the apprehension of falling or stumbling over some obstruction. The freshness and vigor with which our beasts attacked the Pampa, was truly surprising. They had already travelled over a fatiguing road of twenty miles, nor had they been baited or watered—yet they gave no signs of fatigue. They could get no feed nor water till the Pampa was crossed. They seemed to know this, and to their work they went with good grace, which was the true philosophy. We continued our sweeping gallop. Both riders and beasts were animated; it was very important that the latter should be so. One felt the "exulting sense-the pulse's maddening play,” whilst carried along over an even plain, by vigorous, untiring beasts. I was soon to make an ungracious acquaintance with a phenomenon of this desert, of whose existence I was the sand and smelt it. He then put his hands into the extirely ignorant. The whole surface of the Pampa hollows of the sand, to determine if they were the is covered with hillocks of white sand of impalpable tracks of beasts. How much necessity sharpens our fineness, called medanos. When I first saw them, I was wit! If one of our Indians, I reflected, can discover a descending the second range of the Cordilleras on my re-trail, why should not our vaquiano detect a track? I had turn to Islay. In the gray mist of morning they resembled a Bedouin douar or encampment, on the plains of Baalbec. These medanos are shifting sands, like those of the Sahara, and they consequently obliterate the track, and perplex the guide. They are irregularly disposed over the Pampa, and among them the Arriero winds his tortuous way. They have the form of a demi-lune, or horse shoe, and they all face towards the north east, as the winds blow unchangingly, across the desert from the south west. Some of these crescents are twelve or fifteen feet, and others not more than three inches high. The light sands are borne along by the wind, until they meet with some obstacle, and then is formed a medano. I saw one rising upon the scapular bone of an ass; another was perking itself upon a stray bit of rag. These crescents stretch out their attenuated horns, and the track passes near them. Under my guidance, the mule deviated a little to the right of the track, where the horn of the medano was somewhat elevated. He stumbled, and over his head I was near being pitched, to find a bed in the sand. My first impulse was to bawl out for the guide; for although there were no beasts of prey, and no cannibals in the desert, yet it was certain death to be left in the Pampa without water. Santa Maria! exclaimed the Colonel, who was passing near me; and the vaquiano hearing the noise, came to a halt, and returned towards us. This was fortunate enough, for they might have soon been beyond hearing, at their careering pace. I here thought of the amiable Stevens, who was thrown over his camel's head, when he had crossed the Red Sea, in the track of the Israelites, and who concluded that his journey was to end there, where it had just commenced. great faith in Pepe, but yielded to despair, and talked about passing the night on the sand, in the hollow of a medano. The guide was a man of reticence, and said nothing. Whilst he was alighted, his horse moved round him, and I saw at once that his bearing was lost. To preserve this, I took special care to keep the head and tail of my macho bearing at right angles to our former course. Pepe had been steering, he said, by a star; and he was, doubtless, a Chaldean of the Pampa. But the stars were rising to the zenith, and he might mistake his cynosure. I therefore preserved a point of departure. The aspect of the desert and sky is singular. You are in the centre of a circle, with a horizon around you. No where else than at sea, had I ever observed this phenomenon. Undique cœlum et undique æquor. In every direction we were hedged around with palpable darkness. Pepe had not read Plato; but he "reasoned" better than the Athenian would have done, in a Pampa. When all signs of dung and dirt had failed him, he quietly said, "esperen vmds," stand still, gentlemen! and off he whirled into the darkness visible. We were thus a point d'appui for the guide, for he could fall back upon us, by halloing pretty sharply. Away he rode, clattering in the distance. He, evidently, was making a circle, to judge by the sounds which floated upon the breeze. The direction in which we had been steering, thus far, kept the wind in our right eye. As we now stood, it was in our back. Presently we heard a shout from Pepe, and knew at once that he had discovered the trail. We soon joined him, and resumed our journey. men. The night was wearing away. Que hora? (what o'clock is it?) I asked of Pepe. He looked at the southern constellation of the cross, and said it was past midnight, for the cross begins to bend downwards. Humboldt says that midnight was often announced to him by the Indians who watched the Holy Cross. I too have watched this constellation with all the devotion of a Chaldæan worshipper, in the "plain of Shinar." I have felt the "sweet influences of the Pleiades," and gazed on the "bands of Orion." In the land of Canaan, as on the Pampas of Peru, I have bowed in humility and grateful admiration to Him who established these ordinances of the skies. The Colonel told me that it was not uncommon for the vaquianos to lose the track, and to pass the night on the Pampa. By day, the heat is most intense, and InOur macheros were brought out, and lighting our ci-dians on foot not unfrequently perish. He had led a gars, we sat down on the medano, and took a draught of company across this desert not long before, and lost six chicha. The adventure was amusing enough, whilst no bones were broke. So we mounted again, and I determined that, as my mule knew more about the question than I did, he should, for the future, have his own way, and dash on, right or left, at pleasure. In this case, my business was merely to keep fast to his back. On we swept. Suddenly the guide turned off, abruptly, at right angles to our course. "Bestia!" said the Colonel, addressing the guide; "you have lost the track." There was now every chance of our bivouacing for the night, sub dio frigido, and cold the night, in truth, was. When the track is lost in a sandy desert at night, he must be a sagacious guide who can again find it. I perceived that Pepe turned off from his course at right angles. He had been steering by a star. If the road were not to the right, it must be to the left; for, independently of our astronomy, we had kept the wind in our right eye. Pepe did not speak, but I intuitively understood his movements. When he had gone some distance to the right, he wheeled about, volte-face, head to tail, and recrossed his original track. I followed him closely. The Colonel was impatient, and rated Pepe rather roundly. Presently he dismounted, and putting his face close to the ground, he took up some of We had reached the second range of the Cordilleras, when the moon rose above the wavy ridges of the sierra, and threw her silver light upon our path. In the gorges of the mountain we passed tinkling requas, that had set out from the Tambo thus early for Arequipa, to cross the Pampa before the extreme heat of the day. A little before three o'clock we reached the Tambo. I hastily left macho to the care of Pepe, and threw myself upon a pallet, with my clothes and boots on, and slept till five o'clock. Two hours was an unrefreshing modicum of sleep, after sixty miles ride. I was aroused to renew my labors. "We must get through the Quebrada," said the Colonel, "before the heat of the day renders it impassable." I protested, and proposed to follow on to Arequipa in the evening. But there was no guide to accompany me, and the city was thirty miles distant. I saw my position, and with grace yielded to necessity. Tambo is a Qichua or Peruvian word, corresponding to caravanserai in Persian. When Pizarro conquered the country, he found royal Tambos on the road from Quito to Cuzco. Our Tambo was established and is maintained by the merchants of Arequipa for the convenience of commerce. Water and all provisions for men and beasts, are brought from Arequipa by night. It is here that one may utter the jeremiad, "our water is bought, and our wood is sold unto us." My bill, I think, amounted to two dollars, of which one dollar was for water, for macho and myself. A medio (six cents) the bottle, is the fixed price. A poor borrico or ass, will get only two bottles of water between Arequipa and Islay. This allowance is a law of the requa. Our host had our chupe ready at five o'clock. Chupe is a composite dish of eggs, potatoes and cheese, and very savory it is! The inmates of the Tambo, were our host and his "assistente," or help, who officiated chiefly as cook. Pedro, the "help," recognised in R. his former commandant. After an interchange of kindly | expressions, Pedro said, with a cunning expression of eye, "Senor Coronel, vmd no ha hecho todavia, una revolucion ?"—" Colonel, have you not yet got up a revolution ?" R. replied by a shake of the head and a spoonful of chupe. To me, who affected not to notice the question, it was full of meaning. It fully illustrated the character of the military men of this devoted country. One of our public agents was ordered to leave Buenos Ayres, because he used to ask, every morning, who was President? I have heard officers in Peru, when complaining of their grievances, exclaim, " Caramba! yo me haré Presidente”—by Jove! I'll make myself President. The Presidency is a sort of panacea for every ill. "Pedro!" I said, "are not you and Gregorio very lonely here in this desert ?" "Yes!" "Do you never quarrel ?" "A veces"-sometimes! "What do you do then?" The ravine which we had just passed was literally strewed with skeletons of beasts. It is a valley of dry bones. Now and then we passed a solitary borrico, which had been left behind to die, having been unable to keep up with the tropa. Poor beasts! as we passed them by the road side, standing listlessly, with their long ears drooping, they attempted to bray-perhaps they addressed our humanity. Their death is here at least undisturbed by birds or beasts of prey-for across this desert "the fowl findeth not a path." The smoky crater, and the snow-capped summit of the volcano, were now before us, and the town of Arequipa could not be far distant. We had ascended the last ridge of the sierra by a precipitous, zigzag path, when suddenly the valley of Arequipa fell upon the admiring and astonished vision. A meandering stream of limpid waters thridded a plain of emerald verdure. The green fields were dotted with white and sparkling cottages, | embosomed among umbrageous trees, whose leaves were playing with the lambent breeze. Beautiful picture! as it was first painted upon my enchanted view. In the deserts of Arabia, the sensual prophet could promise no greater attractions to his followers, in their Paradise, than "gardens, through which run rivers of water." An earthly paradise is the valley of Arequipa to the weary traveller of the Pampa! We plunged into the green fields; and at the first azequia or aqueduct for irrigation, we slaked our thirst in the glancing stream. Under the shade of a weeping willow, by the murmurs of the purling, laughing waters, I found an intensity of enjoyment, which sprung from recollections of the Sahara, which I had just passed. This moment will be among the most enduring and pleasurable recollections of my life. We rested at the village of Tiovaya. A Cholo farmer prepared us a chupe, and his pretty daughter served us with a picante and chicha. A picante is a sauce of cayenne pepper, which increases the taste for chicha. At a later hour of the evening we set off for the town of Arequipa, into which we proposed to enter at night. It had thus far been concealed from us by a low range of hills. Whilst winding round their base, the town gradually expanded to our view, the loveliest picture of imagination. Its white and sparkling houses were nestling at the foot of the volcano, and sportively reflecting back the last rays of the sun. The green, emerald fields smiled in freshness and abundance, pre "No le hablo mas, tampoco, no lo veo"-why then I nei-senting a pleasing contrast to the brown hills which ther see him, nor speak to him. walled in the happy valley. It was a scene for the The doctrine of Hobbes was rather sustained in this daguerroscope to seize its flitting lights. case of two isolated men in a desert. Amidst this scene of surpassing beauty, I forgot my fatigue; our beasts, strange to say, went over the last vigor. By twilight we crossed a stone-bridge over the river Chile, and entered the town. I alighted at the residence of J. Moens, Esq., United States Consul, to whose hospitalities I was warmly invited; whilst R. proceeded to embrace his lovely wife, the Senorita Tomasita. The quebrada, which opened our road through the second range of the Cordilleras, was six leagues in ex-miles of the road, at a hand-gallop, with astonishing tent. We reached its debouché at meridian, upon the extreme summit of a sierra. The Pacific was visible from this point, eighty miles distant. The edge of the sierra was here very sharp and narrow, and it sloped down on either side most precipitously. The wind blew strongly; and whilst I was looking down the mountain into the deep vallies below, vertigo seized me, and I sunk to the ground. To avoid a recurrence of this malady, I walked down to the next valley, whilst Pepe led my mule. I should infer, from comparison, that the Cordillera at this point is 10,000 feet above the level of the sea. Arequipa being the first stage in my journey across the Andes, I will also make it the first stage of my narrative. The passage of the Cordilleras, the Pampas and Quebradas, has been attended with so many difficulties and adventures, that I could scarcely be expected to think of statistics or history, moral and political. When |