Those Indians who inhabit the mountainous regions of Peru are entirely different from the inhabitants of the plain, whom they vastly exceed in strength, courage, and mental abilities. They live in a much less savage manner, having houses covered with earth, and being clothed in shirts and mantles made from the wool of their sheep127; but their only head-dress consists in a species of bands or fillets. The women wear a species of vestments like shifts without sleeves, and gird their waists with several turns of a woollen girdle, which give them a neat and handsome shape; covering their shoulders with a mantle or plaid of woollen cloth like a large napkin, which they fix round the neck with a large skewer or pin of silver or gold called topos in their language, with large broad heads, the edges of which are sharpened so as to serve in some measure the purposes of a knife. These women give great assistance to their husbands in all the labours belonging to husbandry and household affairs, or rather these things fall entirely to their lot. Their complexions are much fairer, and their countenances, manners, and whole appearance, are greatly superior in all respects to the natives of the plain. Their countries likewise differ entirely; as instead of the sterile sands which are everywhere interspersed over the plain, the mountain is covered through its whole extent with verdure, and is everywhere furnished with rivulets and springs of fine water, which unite to form the torrents and rivers which descend so impetuously into the plain country. The fields are everywhere full of flowers and plants of infinite varieties, among which are many species like the plants which grow in Spain; such as cresses, lettuce, succory, sorrel, vervain, and others; and vast quantities of wild mulberries, and other fruit-bearing shrubs are found everywhere. There is one particular plant with yellow flowers, having leaves like those of celery, of most admirable virtues. If applied to the most putrid sore, it makes it quite clean and sweet in a short time; but if laid upon a sound place it soon eats to the very bone. There are many fruit-trees in this country of various kinds, carrying abundant crops of fruit as good as those of Spain without having the smallest care taken of them.

There are great numbers of sheep in the mountainous region, part of which are domesticated by the Indians, but vast numbers of them are wild; likewise abundance of deer and roes, many foxes and other smaller animals. The natives often have public hunts of these animals, which they call chaco, in which they take great delight. Four or five thousand natives, more or less according to the population of the district, assemble together, and enclose two or three leagues of country by forming a circle, in which at first they are at considerable distances from each other, and by gradually contracting their circle, beating the bushes, and singing certain songs appropriated to the occasion, they drive all the animals of every kind before them to an appointed place in the centre. The whole company at length join in a small circle, holding each other by the hands, and hallooing loudly, by which the beasts are terrified from endeavouring to break through, and are easily taken in nets or even by the hand. Even partridges, hawks, and other birds, are often so astonished by the loud cries of the hunters as to fall down in the circle and allow themselves to be taken. In these mountains there are lions or pumas, black bears, wild cats of several kinds, and many species of apes and monkeys. The principal birds, both of the plain and the mountain, are eagles, pigeons, turtle-doves, plovers, quails, parroquets, falcons, owls, geese, white and grey herons, and other water fowl; nightingales and other birds of sweet song, many kinds of which have very beautiful plumage. There is one kind of bird very remarkable for its astonishing smallness, not being larger than a grasshopper or large beetle, which however has several very long feathers in its tail. Along the coast there is a species of very large vulture, the wings of which, when extended, measure fifteen or sixteen palms from tip to tip. These birds often make prey of large seals, which they attack when out of the water: On these occasions, some of the birds attack the animal behind; others tear out his eyes; and the rest of the flock tear him on all sides with their beaks, till at length they kill him, and tear him to pieces. Upon the coast of the South Sea there are great numbers of birds named alcatraz, somewhat like our ordinary poultry in shape, but so large that each individual may contain three pecks of grain in its crop. These birds feed mostly on fish which they catch in the sea, yet are fond of carrion, which they go in search of thirty or forty leagues inland. The flesh of these birds stinks most abominably, insomuch that some persons who have been driven to the necessity of eating it have died, as if poisoned.

It has been already said, that rain, hail, and snow, fall on the mountainous region of Peru, where in many places it is intensely cold: But in many parts of that region there are deep valleys in which the air is so hot, that the inhabitants have to use various contrivances to defend themselves from the excessive heat. In these vallies there is an herb called coca, which is held in very high estimation by the natives: Its leaf resembles that of the sumach, and the Indians have learnt from experience that, by keeping a leaf of that plant in their mouth they can prevent themselves for a long time from feeling either hunger or thirst. In many parts of the mountain there is no wood, so that travellers in those parts are obliged to use a species of earth which is found there for the purpose of fuel, and which burns very much like turf or peats. In the mountains there are veins of earth of various colours, and mines both of gold and silver, in which the natives are exceedingly conversant, and are even able to melt and purify these metals with less labour and expence than the Christians. For this purpose they construct furnaces in the mountains, placing always the door of the furnace towards the south, as the wind blows always from that point. The ores are put into these furnaces alternately with dried sheeps dung, which serves as fuel, and by means of the wind the fire is raised to a sufficient power to melt and purify the metal. In melting the vast quantities of silver which has been dug from the mines of Potosi, the furnaces constructed with bellows were found quite inefficient, while these furnaces, named guayras by the Indians, which signifies wind-furnaces, answered the purpose effectually.

The soil is everywhere extremely fertile, and gives abundant returns of all the kinds of grain which are there sown; insomuch that from one bushel of seed for the most part at hundred bushels are reaped, sometimes an hundred and fifty, and even as high as two hundred. The natives employ no ploughs, but labour the earth with a kind of hoes; and set their seed into the ground in holes made with a dibble, or pointed stick, just as beans are sown in Spain. All kinds of pot and garden herbs grow so luxuriantly that radishes have been seen at Truxillo as thick as a mans body, yet neither hard nor stringy. Lettuces, cabbages, and all other vegetables grow with similar luxuriance: But the seeds of these must all be brought from Spain; as when raised in the country the produce is by no means so large and fine. The principal food of the Indians is maize, either roasted or boiled, which serves them for bread, and venison of various kinds, which they salt up for use. They likewise use dried fish, and several kinds of roots, one of which named yuca resembles skirret; likewise lupines and many other leguminous vegetables. Instead of wine, they make a fermented liquor from maize, which they bury in the earth along with water in tubs or large jars, where it ferments. In this process, besides the maize in its natural state, a certain quantity of maize which has been steeped in a particular manner is used as a ferment; and there are men and women who are versant in the manner of steeping maize, and are hired for this purpose. When this kind of drink is made by means of stagnant water, it is reckoned stronger and better than when running water is used. In the West Indian islands this drink is called chica, but the Peruvian name is azua. It is either white or red, according to the kind of maize used for its preparation, and inebriates even more readily than Spanish wine; yet the Indians prefer the latter when it can be procured. They make another kind of liquor from the fruit of certain trees, which they call molles; but it is by no means so well liked as azua from maize.