Peru as It Is, Volume 2 (of 2) A Residence in Lima, and Other Parts of the Peruvian Republic, Comprising an Account of the Social and Physical Features of That Country

High in the Andes, a bustling settlement clings to a hollow surrounded by rugged ridges, where the thin air carries the scent of coal and timber from nearby mines. The narrator walks through streets of modest stone houses, watching herds of sheep graze on steep pastures while miners haul silver‑rich ore down steep gullies. Alongside vivid sketches of the climate and geography, the account details the daily rhythms of trade, food supplies, and the modest comforts that sustain a community perched fourteen thousand feet above sea level.

Beyond the mining town, the voice drifts down river valleys and through remote agricultural districts, describing the humble colleges, nascent steam vessels, and the persistent efforts of missionaries among Indigenous peoples. Observations of public health measures, local governance, and the uneasy stir of political change give a textured portrait of a nation on the cusp of modernity, without revealing how these tensions will later unfold.