trade of Cordova is in mules, which are brought from the southern provinces, and sold at Salta. Provisions are here very cheap. The environs yield grain and excellent pastures; and animal food of various kinds is to be had in great abundance *.

Sixteenth Day's Instruction.

PERU CONTINUED.

I WILL now read to you an account of the adventures of two eminent travellers, Don George Juan and Don Antonio de Ulloa, who were engaged in philosophical investigations in this part of America, between the years 1736 and 1746. They had been commissioned by the Spanish government to measure the degrees upon the equator, with a view towards ascertaining the true form of the globe. And an account of their arduous and indefatigable labours, will not only furnish you with some important geographical information, but will, I think, excite no inconsiderable degree of interest for the travellers themselves.

Narrative of the Travels in Peru of DON GEORGE JUAN and DON ANTONIO DE ULLOA.

THESE gentlemen arrived at Carthagena in the month of July, 1735. They thence proceeded first to Porto Bello, and afterwards, across the isthmus of Darien, to Panama. From the latter place they embarked on the 22d of February, 1736, for Guayaquil, and were landed on the shore of that bay.

* See Helms' Travels.

Shortly after their arrival the corregidor, or principal officer of Guayaquil, at their request, issued orders that carriages should be furnished to convey them toward the mountains. The passage thither was, however, at that time impracticable, as the winter had just closed, the roads were extremely bad, and many of the rivers had overflowed their banks.

At Guayaquil the winter commences in December, and lasts till April or May. During this season the elements, the insects, and vermin, seem to unite in annoying and incommoding the human species. The heat is very great: the rains continue day and night, and are accompanied by frequent and dreadful tempests of thunder and lightening: the river, which flows into the bay, and all those that join it, overflow their banks, and lay a great part of the country under water; and serpents, scorpions, and centipedes, during this season, crawl in great numbers into the houses. These are not, indeed, freed from them during any part of the year, but in the rainy season they are more infested by them than at any other. Hence it is always necessary to examine carefully the bed before any one goes to sleep, in order to ascertain whether some noxious animal may not have found its way thither. Musquitoes and other insects are seen in swarms; and all persons, even the negro slaves and Indians, have their beds defended by a kind of curtains, which these insects are unable to penetrate. So great is the number of insects which infest this country, that if, at night, a candle were left burning in the open air, the light would almost instantaneously be extinguished by their flying into it. Another inconvenience at Guayaquil arises from the myriads of rats with which the houses are infested. When night comes on, these quit their holes, and make so much noise in running along the ceiling of the apartments, clambering up and down the sides of the rooms, and over the canopies of the beds, that they disturb the rest of all persons who are not accustomed to them. So little fearful are they of man

kind, that, if a candle were to be set down, without being in a lantern, they would immediately carry it off. Hence it is requisite to take the utmost care lest, by want of caution, the houses should be set on fire. All these inconveniences render Guayaquil a place almost insupportable to strangers. In this country the least troublesome season is the summer, as then both the number and the activity of every species of vermin are much diminished; and the heat is moderated by south-westerly breezes, which constantly begin about noon, and continue to refresh the earth till five or six o'clock the following morning. During this season, the sky is always serene and bright. Provisions are here in great abundance; and fruits, especially melons and water melons, are very common.

On the 3d of May the travellers proceeded up the river towards Caracol, but, in consequence of the opposition of the currents, they did not arrive at that place till more than a week afterwards. The tortures they sustained from the musquitoes in their progress were almost beyond endurance. During the whole day they were incessantly in motion, endeavouring to keep off these insects: and at night their torments were excessive. Their gloves, in some degree, defended their hands, but their faces were exposed, and their clothes were not a sufficient defence for the rest of their bodies, for the stings of the insects penetrated even through the cloth. Their whole appearance became excessively disfigured, and their bodies, in nearly all parts, were covered with painful and tormenting

tumours.

Mules had been ordered to meet them at Caracol. These arrived; and, on the 14th of May, the travellers set out on their journey towards Quito. After having proceeded four leagues, through savannas and woods of plantain, and cacao or chocolate-nut trees, they reached the river Ojibar, and continued their journey, during the whole day, along its banks. Its course was so winding, that they had to ford it nine

times, though with no small danger from its rapidity, breadth, depth, and rocky bottom.

The travellers took up their abode for the night, in an unoccupied house near the river. It seemed to be only an immense nest of musquitoes. Some persons of the party thought they might be able to escape the torture of these insects, by stripping themselves, going into the river, and keeping only their heads above water. But the face, being the only part exposed, was immediately covered with them. Consequently, such as had recourse to this expedient, were compelled to deliver up their whole body to these

tormentors.

On the 15th they continued their journey through a thick forest, the termination of which brought them once more to the banks of the river. This they again forded four times, and, about five o'clock the same evening, they halted at an Indian settlement on the bank of the river. They did not here find any house to lodge in; but this defect was soon supplied by the dexterity of the Indians, who, running into the woods, soon returned with branches and leaves of palm trees; and with these, in the course of an hour, they erected several huts, large enough to accommodate the whole company.

On the ensuing day the travellers passed a beautiful cataract. The rock from which the water fell was nearly perpendicular, and one hundred and seventy feet in height, and was on each side bordered by lofty and spreading trees. From the foot of the rock, the water continued its course in a bed along a gentle descent, and was crossed by the road. The travellers twice afterwards crossed the river, below the cataract, on bridges, but not without great danger; for these structures are formed of wood, are very long, and shake much when passed over: their breadth is not more than seven or eight feet, and they are without any rail, so that a single false step would precipitate both the mule and his rider into the torrent beneath. Their

journey this day was extremely fatiguing. The road, in some places, extended along the edge of dreadful precipices, and, in others, was so narrow as scarcely to afford a passage for the mules.

They now ascended the mountains; and, having, for some time, been accustomed to a hot climate, they sensibly felt the cold. It is remarkable, observes Don Antonio, to see the effects of two opposite temperatures in persons who here happen to meet. Those coming from Guayaquil, find the heat so excessive that they are scarcely able to bear any clothes; whilst persons proceeding in an opposite direction, wrap themselves up in all the garments they can procure. One party is so much delighted with the warmth of the river, that he bathes in it; the other thinks it so cold, that he avoids even being sprinkled by the water. Nor is the case very different in the same person, who, after a journey to the mountains, is returning to Guayaquil; or the contrary, provided the journey and the return be made in the same season of the year. This sensible difference proceeds from the change naturally felt at leaving a climate to which a person has been accustomed, and entering another of opposite tempe-` rature.

In the mountains the road was excessively rugged and bad; and the trouble and inconvenience which the travellers here experienced, and the dangers to which they were exposed, were very great. In some parts the acclivity was so steep, that the mules could scarcely keep their footing. The paths also were full of deep holes. The descent from these heights was not less difficult and dangerous than the ascent. The mules themselves are sensible of the caution that is requisite, for, when they come to an eminence, they stop, and, having placed their fore-feet together, they draw their hind feet up to them, as if they were about to lie down. In this attitude, having taken a survey of the road, they slide along with almost the swiftness of a meteor. All that the rider has to do is to keep himself firm on