Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-11-29

| local dealer would have given her.
| The northernmost town of Peru is Tum-
bez, interesting only from the fact that
here Pizarro was met by the. Inca messen-
gers whom King Atahualpa had sent out
| to inquire the object of the white mans
visit. Back of the town are some extern
siye petroleum deposits, which were known
to the Indians long before the coming of
| the Spaniards Since time out of mind the
| oil had been used for lubricating and col
oring purposes, but the natives were en-
! tirelv ignorant of its real character and
value until a Mr.. Larkins, from Western
New York, came down here to peddle
kerosene; and then it was Immediately
recognized as the same stuff.
A little farther down is Pai!a, or Payta,
as it is sometimes spelled, the ocean gate
of the fertile valleN~pf Piura, which, with
its town of the same name, lies sixty miles
away, across the desert of Sechura and close
to the cordillera. Being completely sur
rounded by bare sand bluffs, except the
little space to seaward, there is not trace
of vegetation anywhere in sight. All the
water that is used is brought from point
more than thirty miles away, formerly on
the backs of mules, but now through an
iron pipe Though lying within the So
called 'srainless belt" of Peru, it is said
that smart showers occasionally fall here,
say once in three or four years. To form a
tolerably correct idea of the appearance of
Paita, you have only to imagine collec-
ton of the mud nests of the barn swallow,
somewhat enlarged and turned bottom side
up. Its queer shops and houses are set
close together, mainly on one long street
near the beach, their wicker-work frames
so thinly plastered over with mud that a
passer-by might thrust his finger through,
and rooted with a mating of braided
rushes, tied on to the rafters. Some of
them are two-storied and very well fur
nished. being occupied by agents of foreign
commercial houses who are paid extraordi-
nary salaries for consenting to residence
here There is big bamboo cathedral
and the most notable objects in it are an
image of the Virgin with chains on her
wrists and an Ito me) unknown saint who
carries Ratchet.
Paita has no cemetery, and it is said that
none is needed, as nobody ever dies here
abouts-they dry up in course of centuries
and blow away into the desert. We are
informed that the public-spirited citizens
were very DESTROYS Of starting agrave-yard
few years ago, having heard that such an
institution is feature of all tirst-class
towns They laid out an Enclosure, but
even motives of patriotism could not in
duce anybody to be inferred alive. Finally
vessel came along which had man on
board at the point of death, and as he had
neither friends nor money the Captain was
easily persuaded to put him ashore, to
start the new cemetery. But no sooner
had he reached land than he began to mend,
and in a short time was as robust as the
rest of them. The term sold citizen" is no
misnomer in Paita, where the average age
is said to be well on into the second GEN.
tury. There are blooming maidens here of
20 and so, risky boys of 100 or more, and
''fower-gir of twice three score and ten
so they tell us!
One is struck by the extraordinary num-
Der of gaunt, halfstarved dogs that lie
sleeping upon the sand-heaps or go prowl-
ing about in the most dispirite1 manner.
A comical story is sometimes imposed upon
credulous travellers to the effect that what
has caused these CANNES to look so lean
and lazy is not lack of food, but the great
distance they have to go for water. / was
gravely assured by bare-footed native
that every morning before sunrise all the
dogs of the village assemble in the plaza,
they march togetherin body to the river,
thirty miles away, where they drink enough
to satisfy them for twenty-four hours, and
then slowly return, being quite worn out
by the time they have reached home!
Paita is place of considerable CONNER
cial Importance, chiefly on account of be-
ing the only outlet from Piura valley.
There is a commodious custom-house built
of iron and long mole. The piece used
to be a favorite resort for whalers and
their rendezvous for supplies and repairs
in days when those huge fish were more
numerous in these waters than now. Land
tourist should not fail to go ashore, if
only to see how well people may live in
swallows nests. One who tried it wrote
as follows: eve traversed the narrow,
pale-gray streets between the comical
houses of cane and mud; mounted the pale
gray-cliffs and looked out upon the vast
plain of pale-gray sand that stretches away
for sixty miles. We were thirsty on re-
turning from this pale-gray expedition and
were told that the water that we drank to
wash out our pale-gray "reminiscences had
Lo Wrought from a distance of thirty
miles nile On the nal, .t of pale-gray Donkey
A rather more interes..iing coast town is !
Pacasmayo, also surrounded by sand-hills |
and deserts, with no glimpse OF vegetation |
far as the eye can reach. The surf is ,
always heavy here and often dashes over
the lofty, half-mile-long pier. Going |
ashore in rough weather is no child's play, |,
but we ventured it. Or boatman was |
eoal-black jamaica negro with mouth |
like trap-door; but to his presence of
mind and trumpet-like orders to two or
three helpers we probably owe our lives at
the present moment. 4 sudden wind
sprang up, rendering the rudder of no
more use than a straw, and about the only
thing that could be done was to keep the
little boat, which was fearfully knocked
about by the pillows, from being driven to
the bottom by receiving one broadside.
Being thoroughly drenchel with spray
we sought the consulate to dry ourselves
here an agreeable surprise awaited us.
For more than twenty years Mr.. B. II.
Kaufman, brother of the owner Of the
Washington Euening Star, has been the
American Consul at Pacasmayo. He lives
in a big, airy house not far from the beach,
whose bamboo-roofed veranda commands
splendid view of the rolling surf and the
measureless blue beyond. 1t is coy
home, furnished with all that good taste
and money can buy in this part of the
world, including fine pictures, dainty china
and French piano, making one forget
that trackless deserts and treacherous
ocean environ on every side. Mrs. Kauf-
mann was a Lima belle, and there are sew
eral very pretty children who are being
educated at home by an English goyerness.
The young daughter, who excells in music,
is a striking specimen of the blending of
Il -. L. i