Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-11-15
srbors shaded with passion vines. Adjoining

The negroes appear to be as happy aud con-
tented lot Of people as one can find IN long
Isy Journey. Though no longer slaves their
labor Is still forced. and while they receive lit
te mere than food, poor clothing and poorer
lodging they at least sure Of that. of medi-
cal Attendance when ill and exemption from
the taxes that so Cypress those who under take
TO be independent. Early in the morning, be-
| fore going to work. all tine women and girls re-
rair to the door of the chapel and chant a
hymn of praise upon their knees, and again al
sunset. when the labor of the day is concluded,
| thanking heaven for their lives OF servitude.
| GRADUAL EMANCIPATION OF THE SLAVES.
think it was in 1921 that the rather am
biguous law was passed that declared that all
those then in slavery should remain so during
life, but that their children. should be free
| when arrived at the age OF fifty and the grand
children were born free. The avowed object
| OF this slow process was to gradually accustom
the slaves TO the idea of liberty. and to lit them
| for 1t; while at the same time their owners
| might make ready for tho change by import
| ing Chinese, whose cheap labor, it was thought,
| would prevent the negroes from striking for
| too high wages. when entitled to any wages at
ell In 1885. however, Gen. Castillo. who was
then president of Peru, issued n decree pro-
claiming the freedom of all slaves As was
| anticipated, the majority OF them were unwill-
| ing to leave their former masters to whom
| they were endeared by almost paternd kind
| ness and the recollections of childhood and
| therefore the condition of things was not per-
| ceptibly changed. il is calculated that the
| keep" Of one OF these negroes costs his master
! not less than $40 n year. and few of them earn
| very mitch more than that amount. Ii left to
themselves, to work or play according to their
own desires, they would certainly earn much
| less.
| THE COTTON REGIONS OF YEA.
short line railway connects Pisco with the
| cotton regions OF Yea, running southwark with
the vine-bearing plain and across forty miles of
! desert. The capital of this department. which
is also called Yea, is the largest town between
Lima and Arequipa 1t lies inland about
twenty miles, separated from the sea by the
desert and range of sandy hills. About half
| way between Pisco and Yea the dusty land
| scape Is beautifed by forest of date palms.
| covering an area of several miles, in the midst
| OF which stands o deserted hacienda named
NHia-Ccuri. The word is of compound Spanish
| ana Culchua origin. and means city OF Gold"
| y good many Indian graves are found here
| abouts. each of them containing not only its
| mummy, but pottery, small idols. spindles and
\ golden ornaments; and the story has gone forth
| that the ghosts of the dead have driven the
| usurpers from the estate which occupies the
| site OF an ancient city.
The northern edge OF the valley of Yea is
| frlnSed with an enormous growth of carob
1 trees or algorba5. as they are sometimes called.
| l his curious tree grows to great size and re-
sembles the live oak. 1t bears pod which is
| highly priced as fodder for mules ana horses
| 50 very hard Is the wood that Its weight act
| uaiiy bends down the trunk, twisting ii round
| ana round INTO corkscrew shapes and making
| the branches tic knots in themselves till the
tree assumes most fantastic FORMS An i'm
aSlnatlve person may see Dore figures and
faces in every mlsshapen trunk and long arms
stretched forth in wild despair
TIE ESTATE OF MACACoHEs
Just beyond this enchanted wood" is the
valuable estate of Macacones, which formerly
belonged to the jesuit fathers, and was the
scene of one Of the bloodiest battles in the war
Tor independence. Then come VINEYARDS and
cotton fields. with Indigenous of fig trees les
samlne and roses; and then the neat little viii
laSe which +. persists in clubbing Yea and
Amen" 1t contains about ten thousand iuhab-
ltants and lies Ill the midst of a lovely plain
about SIX miles from the foot of the cordillera
The adobe houses are built in the prevailing
style OF the coast. their fiat roofs COW
cred with tiles. Peaceful as it looks
Dathed IN golden sunshine and enyironed
by fruitful fields, there is one every present
source OF terror, viz, tho earthquakes, whose
frequent visits have left fearful scars upon all
the surroundings. In 17i5 the older Yea,
which stood about six miles farther south was
completely destroyed scarcely one stone being
LETT upon anothe'. In the present town the
roof of the cathedral and the walls of one of the
churches have fallen In; the churches of San
MERGED and San Augustin are badly cracked
and there Is hardly house that has not suf-
fered more or less from the mysterious power
that none can Withstand.
DEwLEss NIGHT.
street leads from the central plaza down to
river, which. at this season of the year, must
be crossed by bridge made of ropes and will
low branches. They tell us that the bed of
the stream is dry and dusty road during more
than half the year but Just now il Is filled by
foaming torrent, which goes dancing through
the valley between lines of willow trees. Lead
ing from the picturesque bridge il an avenue
OF carobs and willows, which appears to be the
fashionable promenade. AT the close of
sult-y day the ladies OF Yea come out to eniov
the evening shadows; aud, having sent their
servants ahead with chairs, they often sit gos-
siping far into the devices night.
The valley of Yea, bounded on ono hand by
the snowy peaks of the Andes and by arid
sands on the other three sides, ID covered with
vineyards and cotton plantations. We visited
one OF the former. which is situated at the
mouth OF ravlne. through which n mountain
road winds up into the interior. Like others in
the neiShbOrhocd, 1t formerly belonged to the
Jesuits; and though the yield has fallen OFF
since their day, 1t now produces an average OF
ZOOOO arroDas OF wine III year. which sells for
- per arroba. The married workmen of this
model hacienda are each allowed a small piece
of ground rent free. on which they NAV raise
pigs, poultry and vegetables. which their wives
and children peddle in the market place thus
enabling the industrious to
EARN CONSIDERABLE EXTRA MONEY
South Of Yea the road crosses the river,
winds through several miles OF VINEYARDS and
then enters an extensive forest of carob trees.
| which have grown to great size and are twisted
and gnarled and crippled beyond account
Then comes the sandy desert of Guayuri forty
miles wide, which interyenes between this
| oasis and another called Palpa. For MANY
miles not trace OF vegetation is to be seen
| and tho scorching rays of the sun reflect a
painful glare, until suddenly, near the north
ern border OF Palpa valley, but separated from
1t about twelve miles by a range of barren hills,
| the traveller comes upon succession of vine
yards lying along mighty river known as tho
lilo Grande. This unexpected strip of fertility
| Is all owned by one man, who rents it in sew
eral small! haciendas.
Palpa Is also given up to vineyards and cot
| ton fields, excep: where wheat enough Is
grown TO supply the small population (about
4,OOO), and there are two mills worked by
water for reducing the grain to flour As the
valley approaches the Andean foothills il
| branches off into two fertile ravines named.
| respectively, Sara-Marca and MollaGue and on
| the range of hills that divides them is a cele-
| brated thermal spring and a very rich copper
| mine. The village of Palpa is surrounded by
| luxuriant gardens watered from a clear stream
| whose banks are Swallowed by willows and fig
| trees And here IN this Acadia We have con-
| cluded to rest awhile from our labors before
| climbing the desolate hills that separate 1t
from the next Sahara. FANNIE Il. WARD.
| At the Turn of the Road