birds were very beautiful, but my limited
knowledge of ornithology refused to afford
me their names. There was one. a bright
crimson, with dark brown wings; there were
others of a pale green, with a scarlet tuft;
others of azure blue: woodpeckers bright
green, and red; flocks of noisy, green parrots;
a large black pie, with a tail like a pair of
scissors, called tixera; a bird with a tail
spreading like a fan, at an acute angle with
its back; and vast varieties of pretty little
humming birds. Brilliant butterflies were
also numerous; and herds of oxen, horses
and mules, goats and asses, and flocks of sheep
were spread over the fields, grazing on the
lucerne; the sky was cloudless, and all nature
was clad with its most cheerful and pleasing
aspect.

About a league outside Lima, the ruins of Inca
puellas or villages begin to appear, and afterwards
almost every gorge on both sides of the
valley is filled with these strange and interesting
remains. They are built of enormous adobes
(bricks baked in the sun) of prodigious dimensions,
and the cactus, or prickly pear, is
frequently seen to raise its ungainly and ugly
head amidst the now deserted dwellings. It
is remarkable that these dwellings are all
situated in the gorges of the hills, and not
in the valleys; an incontestible proof of
the formerly thickly peopled state of the
country, and how anxious its governors were
that every foot of ground should be retained
for cultivation where that was possible. As
the traveller draws near to Chocolacaya, the
magnificent Inca road steals upon his view,
running on the north side of the river. For
miles and miles this unparalleled work of
art continues on a perfectly dead level, no
obstacle opposing its progress, nothing breaking
the even uniformity of its course, and
causing it to resemble nothing more than a
modern railroad.

At equal distances, Tambos, or provision
houses for travellers, were discernible, built
of large adobes. The road itself (we are told
by Ciera de Leon) was formerly lined with
trees, whose branches, laden with flowers and
fruit, spread over the heads of the travellers.
Some of these were even yet standing. It
was made by order of Inca Yupangui, great
grandfather of Atahualpa, and was paved
with small stones of equal size, well blended
together—thus anticipating the works of Mac
Adam by some four hundred years, who little
thought, when he formed the road from London
to Holyhead, that he was treading in the
footsteps of an Inca of Peru.

I would have given worlds to have gone
across to examine it, but the impenetrable
canes, the foaming torrent, and above all the
two thousand dollars I was to help to defend,
were obstacles too great to be overcome.
Chocolacaya, which we reached in the afternoon,
consists of about a dozen ranches, built
with cane and plastered with mud; roses,
jessamines, figs and orange-trees growing
among them, and a vine twining its branches
over the verandahs of the little tambo, or inn.
These places of refreshment have always the
sign of the green bush on a long pole over
the door; and, in the verandah, a table with
bottles of pisco, bread, and fruits on it. We,
however, were obliged to press on. The
road became worse. Passing close along the
sides of the rocky hills that bound the valley,
which are covered with cacti, we travelled
slowly, wearily on; the great weight of silver
being an impediment to anything like speed,
till we reached the small village of Yanna-Cocha,
consisting of one rancho, where we
fell in with a youthful subject of the Celestial
Empire; not an uncommon animal now,
among the workmen and water-carriers of
Lima. A few miles beyond this spot the
valley becomes much narrower, and turns to
the south-east, while the road becomes
considerably more dangerous.

Thus we journeyed on, until we arrived at
the village of Coca-Chacra, situated in a lovely
spot, and reminding me of the happy valley
in Rasselas. A clear and rapid river runs
through the middle, bounded by delicious
gardens of fruit-trees and fields of maize; here
every description of fruit is to be found;
including pine-apples, the chirimoya and
alligator pears, in the greatest profusion. Horses,
cattle, sheep, and goats luxuriate in the
surrounding pastures. We were now forty
miles from Lima, at the point to which I had
agreed to escort the dollars on their way to
the mine; and here the steep ascent of the
Sierra commences. At the urgent request,
however, of my companion, I accompanied
him up the zig-zag ascent, high, high above
the happy valley of Coca-Chacra, until my
poor old horse could go no further; so,
bidding my friend adieu, I betook myself to the
tambo again, and to a nice repast of eggs and
potatoes, and a delicious cup of chocolate and
milk.

I travelled back without accident or adventure,
through the greater part of the day, and
considered myself pretty safe from molestation.
When within two miles of Lima, I
was suddenly attacked by a band of mounted
negroes, five in number, who all rushed upon
me at once, roaring out to me to stop. One
of them, without farther ado, clasped me
round the waist with one arm, drawing a long
knife with the other, which he would not
have hesitated to use, had I not instantly
seized, cocked my revolver and held it at
his breast, retaining still presence of mind
enough not to draw the trigger; for,
independent of my distaste to shedding blood, it
was prudent, with such odds against me, to
reserve my fire. I am glad I did so, for the
fellow, not liking the appearance of the six
barrels staring him in the face, sheared off;
and the others drawing on one side, left me
room to pass. This I did at a pretty rapid
pace, presenting my pistol at them to prevent
an attack from the rear. On arriving at