The chief town is Otabalo, thirty miles north of Quito, in 0° 15′ north latitude, and 77° 56' west longitude. It contains 15,000 persons, a great portion of whom are whites. The other villages or towns are mostly inhabited by Indians.

The villages of Cayambe and Catacatche, in this district, are situate at the foot of the mountains of those names, the latter of which is 16,434 feet above the level of the sea.

Near Cayambe, on an eminence, are the ruins of an ancient circular temple, about fifty feet in diameter. Of this nothing remains but the walls, which are about five feet thick and fifteen feet high. The whole is of unbaked brick, cemented with a sort of earth.

In the plain near this village are numerous tumuli, or burying places of the ancient inhabitants of the province, which are generally in the form of sugar loaves. Many of these are of great size, and have been perforated for the sake of the gold utensils which were buried with the chieftains.

Some Spaniards have enriched themselves in this manner; for, in making a gallery through the tumulus, they have found golden idols and jewels to a great amount; but the contents generally consist only of the skeleton, earthen drinking vessels, tools of copper or stone, with mirrors of obsidian, and of a sort of flint, curiously made and perfectly polished,

The golden ornaments and images they occasionally discover, are in general beautifully wrought, but always very thin and hollow. The emeralds are cut into all shapes, and perforated with the greatest nicety; but how these were executed without any other than hardened copper and stone tools, is almost inconceivable.

SECTION XL.

LATACUNGA.

SOUTH of Quito, and divided from it by the mountains of Tiopullo and Chisinche, is the district of Lactacunga, or Latacunga.

The climate is cold, on account of the vicinity of several snowy summits.-The first eruption of Cotopaxi witnessed by the Spaniards, was when Benalcazar invaded these provinces. The natives had a tradition, that when the volcano should burst, they would be subdued by an unknown people. This event, combined with the appearance of the white and bearded strangers, struck such terror into the poor Indians, that they quietly submitted to the Spanish arms.

This district contains seventeen large villages.

The villages are in general large and populous, inhabited by a mixture of whites and Indians, although the Indians always live in a separate quarter.

The chief town is LATACUNGA, in 0° 55′ 14′′ south latitude, and 78° 16' west longitude, fifty miles south of Quito.

It is a large and well built place, the streets being straight and broad, the houses of stone, arched, and of one story, on account of the frequency of earthquakes. In 1698, however, the whole of the town was overturned, excepting the church of the Jesuits, which was much damaged; and almost all the inhabitants perished. The stone of which the houses are built is a sort of pumice, extremely light, and which has been ejected from the neighbouring volcanoes; that of Cotopaxi being only six leagues distant. It has a parish church, several convents, and a college, formerly belonging to the Jesuits.

The town of Latacunga contains from 10,000 to 12,000 inhabitants.

The Indians of two villages in this jurisdiction, are noted for making fine earthen-ware. The clay which they use emitting a fragrant smell, and being of a lively red colour, causes these articles to be much valued.

Cloth, baize, &c. are manufactured in this city; and great quantities of salt pork are exported to Quito, Guayaquil, and Riobamba.

SECTION XLI.

RIOBAMBA.

RIOBAMBA is the next jurisdiction southward, adjoining that of Latacunga, and separated from the vale of Quito by the same chain.

This district is divided into two departments, Riobamba and Hambato. In the former are eighteen villages; in the latter, six.

The final junction of the two parallel ridges of the Andes, which we have before mentioned, ends near this district. It is called by the general name of Paramo del Assuay. Across this chain lies the road from Riobamba to Cuença, the journey over which is at all times formidable, and particularly so in June, July, and August, when there are great falls of snow, and the icy winds of the south sweep over it. This road is almost the height of Mont Blanc ; and the cold is often so great, that many travellers perish every year, in crossing. The plains of Assuay contain several small lakes, surrounded with coarse grasses, but in which there are no fish.

In the midst of this elevated road is a marshy plain, at the height of 13,123 feet above the ocean, on which is situate the remains of a causeway, lined with free-stone,

and constructed by the Incas. It is quite straight for more than four miles, and may be traced to Caxamarca in Peru, 120 leagues south of Assuay.

Close to this road, and at 13,261 feet of elevation, are the ruins of one of the mountain palaces or tambos of the Peruvian sovereigns. These ruins, which are much dilapidated, are called Los Paredones, or the thick walls.

In descending towards Cuença are seen the remains of another of these structures, which deserves notice, called the fortress of Cannar. It is built of large blocks of free-stone, in an oval form, 124 feet in length, having a house in the centre containing two rooms. Behind this oval is a continued chain of fortifications, nearly 500 feet in length, built also of fine free-stone. The ruins of several other buildings show, that this fort was capable of containing the Inca and his whole army. In the interior, the chambers and walls have a series of niches, between which are projecting cylindric stones with knobs, said to have been used for hanging the arms of the warriors on. All these, as well as the stones of the building, are beautifully cut. This fort is on the top of a small hill, the superior surface of which is cut into terraces and esplanades. A river named Gulan flows at its foot.

On descending to the river, by means of steps cut in the rock, the traveller sees a fis