Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the police that there was trouble, for soon several terribly excited 'vigilantes' arrived on the
scene, waving their arms, rifles and swords like actors in a stage version of the storming of
the Bastille. One who had come with a lantern led the procession back towards the town, a
few helping to carry the wounded man, who was evidently in a serious condition. Once at the
police station the jefe (chief) and a doctor were called, and everybody, excepting the Spaniard
and myself were thrown into the filthy calabozo . The jefe 's language was most apologetic for
what had happened to me, and the Spaniard, being a good friend of his, was told to embark
on a sailing vessel that was to leave the little port next morning, for in case the wounded man
should die it would be just as well if the guilty party could officially be announced as having
escaped.WhenIsawthelastofthatlittletown,Ipromisedmyselfneveragaintovisita'dance
hall' in Peru, and I did not find it difficult to keep that promise!
Stillfollowingthehot,sandycoast,wecametoalargesugarplantation,notfarfromwhich
standsafortressthatwasbuiltbytheancientChimuIndians.Itisacolossalpieceofwork,en-
tirely made of adobe and built in high terraces that appear like a square hill from the distance.
Near the main fortress are high walls, and the way everything was built leaves no doubt that
these ancients hadacertain scientific knowledge ofwarfare. Someofthepaint withwhichthe
walls were coloured still remains, neither weather nor centuries having been able to make it
fade or to destroy it. The colours that exist are red, black and yellow, the same as are found on
pottery that dates back to the Chimu period.
The fortress of Paramonga consists of two main strongholds. One of these is situated on
a hill, the waves of the Pacific Ocean beating against its inaccessible cliffs which face west.
The eastern side of that hill has a steep and sandy slope where numerous mummies, wrapped
in coloured cloths, were buried and have now become uncovered by the shifting and slid-
ing sands. The main fortress is roughly half a mile east from there, and the two were prob-
ably separated by a swamp in former times, but today the low flat stretch of land between the
two is dry, and sugar-cane is successfully cultivated by a Japanese settler who entertained me
splendidly when I happened to call at his place during my rambles among the ruins. Although
subterranean passages and burial places exist here, the natives are afraid to explore them, for
many strange tales and superstitions have been handed down from one generation to another.
As I had not time enough, I could not do more than have a general look over these interesting
relics of the past.
From Paramonga north there is a vast desert, close on a hundred miles from one river to
the next, and as there is no water to be found there I was obliged to make the crossing in one
journey. For this reason I had to wait for the full moon before I could, with a certain degree of
safety, attempt this long ride.
There was an outbreak of bubonic plague whilst I was there, and quite a number of planta-
tion workers died, whilst many more were ill. The authorities raided their filthy quarters, and
it was a pathetic yet amusing sight to see their owners howling and wailing as they walked
behind their filthy belongings which were being carted out to be burnt, together with some
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