They are tolerably dressed in clothes of their
own manufacture, and they have plenty to eat. They seemed, however,
discontented, yet humble to a degree which it was quite painful to
witness. These feelings are, I think, chiefly to be attributed to
the harsh and authoritative manner in which they are treated by
their rulers. Our companions, although so very civil to us, behaved
to the poor Indians as if they had been slaves, rather than free
men. They ordered provisions and the use of their horses, without
ever condescending to say how much, or indeed whether the owners
should be paid at all. In the morning, being left alone with these
poor people, we soon ingratiated ourselves by presents of cigars
and mat?. A lump of white sugar was divided between all present,
and tasted with the greatest curiosity. The Indians ended all their
complaints by saying, "And it is only because we are poor Indians,
and know nothing; but it was not so when we had a King."
The next day after breakfast we rode a few miles northward to Punta
Huantam?. The road lay along a very broad beach, on which, even
after so many fine days, a terrible surf was breaking. I was
assured that after a heavy gale, the roar can be heard at night
even at Castro, a distance of no less than twenty-one sea-miles
across a hilly and wooded country.
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