exported to the mountains, but which
sells at a lower price than the salt of Huacho.

Five leagues south of Chilca, on the river of the same name, lies the
village called Canete, which is the residence of a Sub-prefect. The very
interesting province of Yauyos extends from this village in an easterly
direction towards the Cordilleras. The inhabitants of this province are
distinguishable by their faces and figures, and also by their manners
and language, from the Indians of the coast and the mountains. In
stature they are small. They have expanded foreheads, animated eyes,
prominent cheek-bones, and wide mouths. Their limbs are slender, and
their skin is of a swarthy brown. Their dialect, the Cauqui, contains
many radical words of the Quichua language. After this nation was
subjugated by the Incas their language was so intermixed with others,
that it is now very difficult to trace out its origin. It appears to be
totally different from the Chinchaysuyo language.

Some very considerable sugar plantations, and several villages, lie
between Canete and Pisco. Among the villages, Lunahuana and Chincha
(upper and lower) are celebrated for their great fertility. Two rivers,
at the distance of five leagues from each other, flow in a parallel
direction between Chincha and Pisco, and to their waters the valleys are
indebted for their rich vegetation. On account of their width these
rivers can only be passed with the assistance of Chimbadores, and many
travellers annually perish in their incautious attempts to ford them.
The little town of Pisco is on the left bank of the south river, and
half a league from it there is a secure harbor with good anchoring
ground. This town has acquired some importance by the exportation of
brandy; and it has recently become more active and populous owing to the
near vicinity of the Guano islands. The custom-house and the port
captain's office are on the shore, where there is also a large building
erected by Don Domingo Elias, for a brandy depot. The little town of
Pisco has suffered much from the plundering attacks of European pirates,
from earthquakes, and more recently from the War of Independence.
Several parts of it have been rebuilt. Within the few last years much
has been done in the way of improving and ornamenting it. A broad trench
has been dug round the town, serving the purpose of drainage, and
thereby greatly contributing to preserve the health of the place. Pisco
is merely the key to th