Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-11-15

idulig, III iOuS, iOity anu airy apartments,
all on the ground floor and extremely well
furnished. Adjoining the house is always
chapel, and resident priest is main
tanned, whose duty it is to look out for the
spiritual welfare of everybody on the es-
tate, from the lord of the manor to the
meanest dependent.
Life in these isolated communities is by
no means disagreeable Everybody rises
very early, takes bite OF bread and cup
of coffee, and goes about his or her es-
pecial avocation, the master. riding over
the fields and the mistress attending to
the house-servants At 10 o'clock A. NJ.
breakfast is served, and the meal invaria-
bly, consists of soup, eggs, poached or fried
and garnished with slices of fried banana,
various dishes of meat, and chocolate. AT
o'clock comes dinner-soup. fish, roast,
some vegetables we'll garnished with ali
or sauce of red peppers, dulces Sweet
meats, wine and coffee. About o'clock
P. NJ. there is supper of tea, bread and dull
ces. Attached to the house is beautiful
garden of fruits and flowers, with a stream
of water running through it, from which
the lesser irrigating bitches are filled. Be-
sides fruit-beariug trees, there are hedges
vi IbStS anu lllthSiS vi Hdbuo
bordered by pansies and forget-me- nots,
trellises covered with choicest grapes, and
arbors shaded with passion vines. Adjoin-
ing the garden is the gdlpon, or negro
quarters, a collection of huts ranged around
a central square, the whole surrounded by
a high wall.
The negroes appear to be as happy and
contented lot of people as one can find in
a long days journey. Though no longer
slaves, their labor is still forced; and while
they receive little more than food, poor
clothing and poorer lodging, they are at
least sure of that, of medical attendance
when i'll, and exemption from the taxes
that so Cypress those who undertake to be
independent. Early in the morning, before
going to work, all the women and girls re-
pair to the door of the chapel and chant
hymn of praise upon their knees; and
again at sunset when the labor of the day
is concluded, thanking Heaven for their
lives of servitude
think it was in 1921 that the rather
ambiguous law was passed which declares
that all those then in slavery should re-
main so during life; but that their chill
dren should be free when arrived at the
dSS VI wv dIlo tucI were
born free. The avowed object of this slow
process was to gradually accustom the
slaves to the idea of liberty, and to fit
them for it; while at the same time their
owners might make ready for the change
by importing Chinese, whose cheap labor,
it was thought, would prevent the negroes
from striking for too high wages, when en-
titled to any wages at all. In 1858, how
ever, General Castillo, who was then Pre-
sident of Peru, issued decree proelaiming
the freedom of all slaves. As was antici-
pated, the majority of them were unwill-
ing to leave their former masters, to whom
they were endeared by almost paternal
kindness and the recollections of child
hood; and therefore the conditions Of
things was not perceptibly changed. 1t is
calculated that the keep" of one of these
negroes costs his master not less than forty
dollars year, and few of them earn very
much more than that amount If left to
themselves to work or play according to
their own desires, they would certainly
earn much less.
A short-line railway connects Pisco with
the cotton regions of Yea, running south
ward through the vine-bearing plain and
iClOSo lOl vi QeSSTt. he 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 a range of sandy hills About half
way between Pisco and Yea, the dusty
landscape is beautiied by forest of date
palms, covering an area Of several miles,
in the midst of which stands deserted
hacienda named Villa Ceuri. The word
is of compound Spanish and Quichua
origin, and means "City of Gold" A good
many Indian graves are found hereabouts,
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 fringed with an enormous growth of
carob trees or algor6aS, as they are some
times called. This curious tree grows to
great size and resembles the live oak 1t
bears pod which is highly priced as fod-
der for mules and horses. So very hard is
the wood that its weight actually bends
down the trunk, twisting it round and
TOuIlu lutO hoSlCn olldfCo anu uldhIllS
the branches tie knots in themselves, till
the tree assumes most fantastic forms. An
imaginative person may see Dore figures
and faces in every misshapen trunk and
long arms stretched forth in wild despair
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 for independence. Then
comes vineyards and cotton fields, with
hedge-rews of fig trees, iessamine and
roses; and then the neat little village
which F. persists in clubbing "Yea and
Amen" II contains about ten thousand |
inhabitants, and lies in the midst of a |
lovely plain about six miles from the foot |
of the cordiIlera. The adobe houses are
built in the prevailing style of the coast, |
their fiat roofs covered with tiles. Peace |
full as it looks, bathed in golden sunshine |
and environed by fruitful fields, there is |
one represent source of terror, viz, the |
earthquakes, whose frequent visits have |
left fearful scars upon all the surroundings |
In 1745 the older Yea, which stood about |
six miles farther south, was completely de- |
stroved, scarcely one stone being left upon |
announcer. LII the present. to"h Tic IoOi VI /
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 suffered more or less from the |
mysterious power that none can Withstand.
A street leads from the central plaza
down to a river which at this season of the |
year must be crossed by bridge made of
ropes and willow branches. They, tell us
that the bed of the stream is dry and
dusty road during more than half the year.
which goes dancing through the valley be-
tween lines of willow trees. Leading from
the picturesque bridge is an avenue of
CAROLS and willows which appears to be the
fashionable promenade At the close of
a sultry day the ladies of Yea come out to
....o.x .Lo avan;por chadous. and having