HISTORICAL AND TOPOGRARHICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE MOUNTAINOUS TERRITORY OF LAURI-COCHA, VULGARLY DENOMINATED PASCO.
Nature, constantly admirable in her combinations, has counterpoised the value of her benefits with the difficulty of acquiring them. In conformity to this law, the oyster sinks into the abyss of the ocean, and clings to the sunken shelf, to hide the precious pearl it contains. The diamond is formed in the hard substance of the rock, or in the sandy beach, which the impetuous torrent laves. Gold and silver, those representatives of all human riches, independently of their stores being hidden in the bowels of the earth, are not in general produced unless in the most rigid temperatures, and in the most deserted soils. The richest mines are those which are comprehended in the rugged contexture of mountains seldom divested of snow, and surrounded by the dismal prospect of asteril and naturally uninhabitable country. Potosi, Cailloma, Piedra-Parada, Pasco, &:c. may be adduced in proof of this assertion. It is, however, best evinced by the latter, the description of which follows.
This mineral territory is properly entitled the mountain of St. Stephen of Lauri-Cocha. It is situated at the northern extremity of the plains of Bombon, and is surrounded by other small mountains which constitute a part of the great Cordillera. Its soil is unfertile, and the climate extremely rigid. The barley, the only grain that springs up, which is there sown, does not ripen in the blade. Rains and snows fall constantly during six months of the year; and the other six are marked by severe frosts, with storms of thunder at intervals.
