The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1877-05-17

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While Mr.. E. George Squier was acting
as United States Commissioner to Peru,
he was for some months 4 resident Of the
capital city, and during that time became
we'll acquainted with its characteristics.
In his recent work on Peru he has devoted
. chapter to the history Of the past and
| present condition Of Lima. from which we
make the following abstract.
The city was founded BY Pixafro id
| 1886, and named BY him the City Of tie
Kings. = Il was the residence of the Vice
roys Of the Spanish Government and the
capital Of its South American provinces.
! 1t was also the seat of the ecclesiastical
dependency of Rome, and churches and
converts endowed with enormous wealth
were established within its precincts. The
oldest university ia America, the College
Of San Marcos, was founded here In 1851
-" fifty-six years before the English set
| tiers landed at atJamsstUwn, fifty eight years
before Hudson sailed into the bay Of New
York, and sixty nine years before the May
flower touched upon the shores 6f New
England =
There are now about seyenty.six
tchlfches 10 Lima, beside The great CAthe-
dra1, The foundations 0f which were laid
! by Pizarfn. The original cost Of this edi-
| fee was 1894 600; and It was fiiiiety years
| in building. 1t was nearly destroyed by
earthquakes in 1746. and has since been
rebuilt. Mr.. Squier designates its style
of architecture as the = Eminently Mixed"
the lower part being constructed of
stone and brick, the towers Of cane and
mud, and the whole covered with stucco
and paint. The Church of San Francisco
| is said to have cost SD, ,OOO, 600. That uf
San Pedro is the fashionable church of
the city.
Lima is situated in the Valley of Rimac,
on the left bank of the river of that tian1e,
which here runs due east and west.
The population numbers about 100, 900
AN increase of above 81 900 since the in
dependence of Peru was accomplished.
| The city covers an area Of about three
miles in length by one and d half in
| breadth, which was in 1888 inclosed with
adobe walls from eighteen to twenty four
| feet high and about twenty four feet thick.
| The walls were nearly valueless as de-
! fense, and have lately been demolished.
| On the right bank of the Rimac there is
an extensive suburb called San Lazaro.
Lima is situated in region where rain
never falls and earthquakes are very fire.
/
| " influenced by these circumstances Its
private buildings are constructed of the
lightest materials "a framework of canes
plasrered with mud, and generally of a
single story, SO that, in case they are
| tumbled about the inmates ears by sub
terranean convulsions, the fall will occa-
sion the least possible peril to life and
| limb. The roofs are flat, and covered with
| boards, or with mating, support
| ing layer of sand or ashes. "The ap-
| parently massive towers and buttresses of
the churches says Mr.. Squier. :" are only
great wicker -baskets-deceptive combina-
tions of poles and canes tied together with
| hide.thoDgs, succeed over, and painted.
Under brisk shower, such as we often
experience in summer afternoon, the
| whole city would melt away, leaving only
a withered cane brake in a gigantic mud
puddle.''
Most of the dwellings are built around
| a court, and have open galleries running
| along the four sides. Shops fronting on
the street occupy the lower story, and the
apartments opening on the inside serve as
stables, kitchens and storeroonis. The
living rooms of the family are, among the
| better classes, in the upper stories. The
| flat roofs of these dwellings are used by
slovenIy servants as a receptacle for every
sort of rubbish and filth, and thus offer,
! from any eminence commanding them, a
most unsightly spectacle. They are some.
times converted into henneries, and gi-
gantc cages of fowls occupy their surface.
| They are also the favorite resort Of buzz
zards-the scavengers Of the city, which
make hunting ground of these heaped
| fields of garbage. The interiors of the
houses of the wealthy citizens are expen-
sively but showily furnished with the lux
| urious articles found in the mansions of
the rich in European cities. There are but
| few public buildings exclusive of the
churches, and of these the Palace of the
Government, occupying the whole of one
side of the principal square, is the least
| imposing.
The sidewalks are narrow and dirty, and
are ill-adapted for the comfort of pedes.
trians. The favolite places of promenade
| for ladies and gentlemen are the arcades
bordering two sides of the Grand Plaza,
| behind which are the chief shops of the
city.
Lima is situated at height of 512 feet
above the sea, and, although within little
more than IL deg. of the Equator. its
climate is decidedly cool. During the
winter months, from June to November
inclusive, the thermometer ranges between
SO deg and 81 deg, and in summer does
not 60 above 80 deg. This low tempera.
ture is partly owing to the proximity of
the Cordilleras, partly to the prevailing
southwest winds, and partly to the cold
current of the Pacific, which sweeps from
the Antarctic seas directly against the
coast. Lima. being only six miles inland,
| feels the chill influence of the sea and the
wind.
During the winter, Mr.. Squier found
life in Lima nearly unbearable from the
fog and damp that continually prevailed.
g. For days, and even weeks, he tells us,
"the sun is invisible, and drizzle, not
unlike Scotch mist, makes the sidewalks
slippery and pasty, and so permeates the
air that the sheets of ones bed are chill
and sticky; the walls drip; the hand
slips in endeavoring to turn TIE clammy
door. knobs; fcathery and almost ethe-
real fungus sprouts up in single night
from the depths of ones inkstand. or re-
places the varnish on ones boots with a
greeu and yellow mildew. Bone-aches
and neuralgias walk the streets, ransack
the houses and outrage their occupants
unchallenged; and the noise of the
church bells is stifled in the damp aud
lifeless atmosphere. We are assured that
/ it never rains in Lima but the dense,
permeating mist not unfrequently forms
itself into minute drops, when it is called
guard. These soak through the fiat
matched roofs, discoloring the ceilings,
| trickling upon tie floors, and rendering
an umbrella necessary for the pedestrian
| in the streets.''
| But the moisture which is inimical to
The health of human beings is most IA
vorable to the growth of vegetation. and
many fine public and private gardens
adorn the city. Roses are cultivated in
excessive profusion and luxuriance, and
display every variety Of lovely form and
4 tint. A passionate love of flowers is .
marked trait OF the Limenians, and the
houses Of the rich and the poor are enliv-
ened with them. -Chioago Trj6uns.
Sandwich lsland Society.
There are now some 81, 900 natives md