order. In all unhealthy countries the greatest risk is run by sleeping
on shore. Is this owing to the state of the body during sleep, or to a
greater abundance of miasma at such times? It appears certain that
those who stay on board a vessel, though anchored at only a short
distance from the coast, generally suffer less than those actually on
shore. On the other hand, I have heard of one remarkable case where a
fever broke out among the crew of a man-of-war some hundred miles off
the coast of Africa, and at the same time one of those fearful periods
[6] of death commenced at Sierra Leone.
No state in South America, since the declaration of independence, has
suffered more from anarchy than Peru. At the time of our visit, there
were four chiefs in arms contending for supremacy in the government: if
one succeeded in becoming for a time very powerful, the others
coalesced against him; but no sooner were they victorious, than they
were again hostile to each other. The other day, at the Anniversary of
the Independence, high mass was performed, the President partaking of
the sacrament: during the _Te Deum laudamus_, instead of each regiment
displaying the Peruvian flag, a black one with death's head was
unfurled. Imagine a government under which such a scene could be
ordered, on such an occasion, to be typical of their determination of
fighting to death! This state of affairs happened at a time very
unfortunately for me, as I was precluded from taking any excursions
much beyond the limits of the town. The barren island of St. Lorenzo,
which forms the harbour, was nearly the only place where one could walk
securely. The upper part, which is upwards of 1000 feet in height,
during this season of the year (winter), comes within the lower limit
of the clouds; and in consequence, an abundant cryptogamic vegetation,
and a few flowers cover the summit. On the hills near Lima, at a
height but little greater, the ground is carpeted with moss, and beds
of beautiful yellow lilies, called Amancaes. This indicates a very
much greater degree of humidity, than at a corresponding height at
Iquique. Proceeding northward of Lima, the climate becomes damper, till
on the banks of the Guayaquil, nearly under the equator, we find the
most luxuriant forests. The change, however, from the sterile coast of
Peru to that fertile land is described as taking place rather abruptly
in the latitude of Cape Blanco, two degrees south of Guayaquil.
Callao is a filthy, ill-built, small seaport. The inhabitants, both
here and at Lima, present every imaginable shade of mixture, between
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