s. Upon the whole they are not shy,
and they allow people to approach them pretty closely. The natives
call this little animal the _Cui del Montes_, and they believe it to
be the progenitor of the tame Guinea pig. This notion is, however,
quite erroneous.

Along the whole of the Peruvian coast there is found a small animal of
the lizard kind, of which the natives are very much afraid. They call it
the _Salamanqueja_. It lives in the fissures of walls, and is sometimes
seen creeping along the lime plaster of houses. Its bite is believed to
be mortal. From the descriptions given of this animal, I was curious to
see it, and I commissioned some persons to procure me one. At last, an
Indian brought me a specimen very much crushed, and I found that I had
already got several of them in my collections. I now obtained more of
them, and the natives beheld me with astonishment carrying them alive in
my hand. Of the Salamanqueja there are two species, the _Diplodactylus
lepidopygus_, Tsch., and the _Discodactylus phacophorus_, Tsch. They are
nearly related to each other, being only distinguished by one species
having an orifice in the thighs, serving as a passage for an issue from
a gland which secretes a very acrid fluid. This little animal never
bites; but it is possible that the fluid by touching a fresh wound, or
scratch, may cause very serious consequences.

To the south of Yca there are some large cotton plantations; the most
considerable of which belong to Don Domingo Elias. The cotton for
exportation is shipped at the port of San Nicolas. Many experienced
captains of ships declare the bay of San Nicolas to be the safest and
best along the whole of the western coast of South America.

The Quebrada of Huaitara, which stretches to the east of Yca, is the
principal channel of communication between this part of the coast and
the rich mountain provinces of Jauja and Huancavelica, and from the
latter places to Ayacucho and Cosco.

Opposite to Pisco and Chinca there is a group of small islands, of which
the largest, Sangallan, is six English miles distant from Pisco. These
islands have of late years become celebrated on account of the great
quantity of guano that has been exported from them.

Guano (or according to the more correct orthography, Huanu)[51] is
found on these islands in enormous layers of from 35 to 40 feet thick.
The upper strata are of a greyish-brown color, which lower down becomes
darker. In the lower strata