BOOKS.

BIAX'S WANDERINGS IN CHILI AND PERU.* LAST year Mr. Byam sent forth a small but various and interest- ing volume, descriptive of his adventures in Central America ; whither he had gone from Chili in pursuit of some mining specu- lations, which were put an end to by the bad faith of the Govern- ment. The freshness of the subject and the spirit of the narrative drew so much attention to the book, that Mr. Byam has been in- duced to publish an account of his experiences in Chili, a visit to Lima, and a yacht voyage along the Western coast of South Ame- rica; to which he has added some chapters on Central America, with a bearing on the proposed ship-communication through that region, discussing in detail the site and means of its execution. The volume is not a continuous narrative of travels, but a series of descriptive chapters, giving the result of the author's Chilian experience ; illustrated, however, by particular incidents when necessary. Ajourney to the silver mine at the sum- mit of the lofty mountain called. San Pedro Nolasco, enables him to present a picture of travelling in the higher Andes. A visit to a large agricultural establishment, serves to mingle rural economy with personal action as it were. In short, whether it is the cli- mate, the people, their classes or races, the wild animals and the method of people, them, the horses and the mode of riding them, Mr. Byam imparts life and variety to a general account by the introduction of anecdote and personal adventure. The book possesses the fresh, real, and solid matter which dis- tinguished the author's Central America. It has the same uncul- tivated vigour and spirit ; the want of cultivation showing itself rather by the absence of certain conventionalities of art than any- thing rough or coarse in manner. Far above any mere tricks or cleverness of composition, the sketches have that distinctness and truth which arise spontaneously when the sketcher is impressed by the nature before him.

Military service, travel in various quarters of the globe, and scientific knowledge at least sufficient for mining purposes, have 'ven Mr. Byam a readiness of resource which is seldom at a loss. Thus, after seeing a sunrise in the higher Andes, he was able to teach the natives in that lofty region how to boil their broth. "Feeling very cold, we determined to make some soup to warm us ; and as we had plenty of meat and onions, cut them up, put them into a sauce- pan with salt and cayenne pepper, and set them to boil. I only relate this for the inforiftation of those who have not been to great heights, those who wish to go there, and also of those who, perchance, may believe that boiling must be the same boiling all over the world. After our soup had bubbled away, in the most orthodox style, for more than two hours, we naturally concluded that our bouillon' was ready and the meat perfectly done, es- pecially as the last had been cut into rather small pieces ; but, to our great surprise, we found the water almost colourless, and the meat almost as raw as when it was first put into the pot. One of the miners told us it was of no use trying to boil anything, as nothing could be cooked by water on the top of that mountain ; for although the water bubbled away very fast, the heat was not great enough to boil a potato.

" At great altitudes the water begins to boil long before it arrives at the heat of 212° of Fahrenheit ; and as water cannot get hotter than boiling-point, except by the compression of the steam, nothing can be cooked except by some means of confining (with safety) the steam.)

"I saw directly how the matter lay, and, sticking the lid tight on the pan, made it fast with heavy lumps 9f silver ore that were lying about, attaching them to the handle, and putting others on the top of all. In a very short time the steam got up, and, though it made the lid jump a little, I managed to get a good broth ; to the great surprise of the miners, who could not con- ceive what I was about."

The following account of the Chilian bean reads well as a use- ful hint for feeding the poor ; but to change a national habit is very difficult. New articles of diet and new modes of cookery are continually recommended. Sometimes it is a method of seeking potatoes so as to make the juices of the joint do one day's duty for the joint itself; sometimes it is Indian corn, sometimes haricot beans, sometimes Soyer's soups. Yet in despite of recipes, nations still grub on with their old food: the Spaniard takes his chocolate, the Italian his macaroni, the Frenchman his coffee, the Englishman his tea at starting, with bread and cheese and beer, and beef if he can get it, in preference to soup maigre and " foreign kickshaws." There may be prejudice, and the stolidity of habit, in this aversion to change at the bidding of philosophic and chemical philanthropy ; but the reason may lie deeper than projectors can see. Climate may have something to do with the preference • so may a constitution formed for many generations on a particular nourish- ment, the habit of the living stomach, peculiarities of domestic eco- nomy, and lastly, the national genius for cookery, or eating with as little trouble as may be. We give a portion of Mr. Byam's well-inten- tioned recommendation of Chili= beans, but without hope that they will supersede the diet he denounces, even if we had them. What throws a further doubt upon the matter is, that Mr. Byam recom- mends roasted corn as a substitute for coffee : but there we can speak, and we must own to a low estimate of that man's judgment in comestibles who prefers " Hunt's patent roasted" to the genuine article.

"From the President of the Republic to the lowest beggar, every one, even if he does not eat it, has a dish of porotos at his table, or stone at the corner of a lane or street.

"But hundreds of thousands dine upon this dish every day, without touching any other • and some almost live on it, except during the time when fruits, especially water-melons, are ripe.

"The poroto is a species of haricot beans ; but the bean is of a dark brown or reddish colour, and is as nourishing as can well be conceived, at the same time being very cheap, and, what is so important for a poor man, it per-

• Wanderings in some of the Western Republics of America; with Remarks upon the Cutting of the Great Ship-Canal through Central America. By George Byam, late Forty-third Light Infantry. Published by John W. Parker.

fectly satisfies him. He feels full and comfortable, feels strength to work, and when once he likes it, would never abandon it for other food, unless for a short change.

" It has often astonished me when I have seen an English labourer in his cottage eating his mid-day meal, which consisted of a piece of bread and cheese, washed down by a cup of weak tea, or rather a poor decoction of sloe-leaves and birch-ends--when I knew that, with a little management, he could get a hot, plentiful, and most healthy meal, for one quarter the price that the tea and sugar alone cost him. As it is, he goes back to his labour, perhaps in frost or snow, not only half empty, but feeling his dinner has done him little good ; whereas the price that his miserable fare has cost hint would procure, not only a good dinner, but a good hot supper for himself and whole family and they would go to bed full and comfortable, and rise in the morning fiete do their work however hard.

" With respect to the healthiness of the diet, it is proverbial that no na- tion can go through hard and long-sustained work bettor than the Chinaes, although 111 physical power they certainly are not on a par, or near it, with the Anglo-Saxon race : but the power and strength of the Chilian miners are well known ; and yet they have nothing for dinner, from one end of the year to the other, but these stewed beans. • • • "In Chili, they calculated a large double-handful of the dry bean as a good allowance for a man; but the beans swelling very much, makes the al- lowance a large plateful. I will give the recipe for cooking them, in the hopes it will meet the eye of some benevolent person who has the power and wish of seeing it tried among his poorer dependents..

"Put the beans in an iron pot, cover with water, and boil for half an hour. Throw out the water, draining it of with care, for the water is un- wholesome ; but leave the beans in the pot. Cover again with fresh water, and boil until the beans arc nearly done ; when drain the water off a second time. For the third time of heating up, keep the beans in the pot, but add no water; instead, add a little (this is for English cottages) dripping, kitchen- stuff, salt butter, or lard, according to the means. Season with salt, and if it can be afforded, pepper, and heat the mess up for a quarter of an hour, stirring gently now and then. I have often after a long day's work, sat down to a plateful of the above humble dish, with a relish I have scarcely felt at the Café do Paris or tho Trois Freres, and can add, that I was more fit for work after the first than the last. I will answer for it, that an English labourer would go back to his work with his inside in a more perfect state of content than on a scanty meal of bread and cheese, and moreover, do his work easier. Besides, the remainder may be heated up again for supper; and no labourer can eat a food more invigorating, and at the same time more satisfying. He will go to sleep full and contented, and rise in the morning fit for work. As to the usual growl of Try it yourself,' I never recommend anything unless I have tried it; and I can truly aver, that I was never more fit for real hard work than when I lived for many weeks upon these porotos:"

The remarks on the connexion of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans by means of artificial navigation possess more than an intrinsic interest, from the circumstance of the boasted treaty between. Great Britain and the United States. That treaty is little more' than a permission for men with the money to make a communica- tion where they can ; but even if it were more specific than it is, a paper treaty and a ship canal are two very different things. It seems to be the general opinion, that locks with an imprint- meat of the river San Juan, and a canal from the lake of Niea to the Pacific, is the best mode. From all that has comeblefoureL us upon the subject at various times, we believe this line is the easiest; but Humboldt, who knows the region, and has had all the official documents touching the various plans before him, is not satisfied, and calls for another survey in the direction he points outt But even if the river San Juan and the lake of Nicaragua be decided upon, there is still the work to do, and the labour to be found to do it.

" On each side of the river St. Alan is an immense dense forest, composed of most enormous trees, which overshadow as thick and impenetrable a jungle of matted underwood as can be met with in the whole world. For almost the whole length of the river, I doubt that any man has ever been twenty yards into the forest on either bank, and am pretty sure he could not have been one hundred.

" This forest is full of wild beasts and snakes of all sorts ; and Indian re- port says that some of the larger snakes are far more powerful than those nearer the Western coast. The vapours that arise from the banks of the river, where the leaves have been rotting for thousands of years, is pestilen- tial and deadly even to Central Americans. " The wood and forest must be cleared away for some distance on each side of the river, and that work may be very much aided by the native la- bourers, who are first-rate are-men and billhook workmen. The roots must be extracted, and the whole burnt; when, I believe, the ground on each side of the river will prove very nearly on a level, and only a few feet above the river. I judge from the to of the trees appearing so level in long reaches of the river. • " But the principal question is, What labour has been brought ? what workmen are there ?

" If the managers trust to the labourers of the country, they may just as well get up their anchors and go home again ; for I know the working class well, and I also know that the kindest and most liberal employer cannot de- pend upon them for a week together.

" Without doubt, good assistance may be obtained from native labour, but it cannot be depended upon. English or North American labourers are out of the question. There would not be one alive, or at least fit to work, in a week from the first spadeful of earth turned up—a Mississippi mud-lark

could not stand it. •

" You cannot depend upon native labour for a week together; and even when they do work it is lamentable to see how little they do : you cannot depend upon English or North American labour, for the work would kill the labourers in a week ; you cannot depend upon work from the West Indians, because they would not go to work, and would be great fools if they did, for they are pretty nearly at present in possession of their late owners' estates.

' What labour can, then, be really depended upon?

" I am afraid that there is only one answer. You must depend upon vo- luntary labour from the African coast. You may make use of native assist- ance as much as you please, and you will get more of it when it is olearly understood that you are not dependent upon it. " The Eroemen of the African coast would never volunteer for such work ; they prefer ship work on the coast, saving their money and buying two or three wives : but plenty of volunteer labour can be obtained on the coast; and if the labourers are made comfortable during the passage, and are faith- fully and well treated after their arrival, they are just the class of men to do the work, not only without injury to themselves but with much advan-

" No doubt, some kindhearted old lady will exclaim, when she hears of a ship-load of Black labourers being engaged to work, as she sweetens her cup

Spectator 1849, page 949.

of coffee with a lump of sugar from Cuba or Brazil—the said coffee and sugar, by the by, being manufactured out of Black blood, Black sinews, and Black sweat= oh, how horrible to take these poor dear Blacks and set them to work l it is a sort of slave-trade.'

" However, it is no such thing : those volunteer workmen, if they were engaged for a limited term—say three or four years—at fair wages, with an undertaking to give them a free passage home, and if the whole agreement was so well guaranteed as to render the execution of it certain to be honour- ably fulfilled, the condition of those labourers on their return to their own country would be far superior to their countrymen who remained at home. " This sort of free labour was tried to be carried into effect in some of our West Indian Islands, but through some spite in the Colonial Office it was forbidden, without any reason or justice. But in this undertaking, if free Black labour is required from the African coast, the Americans will not pay the Colonial Office the compliment of asking leave to pay a man a day wages for a day's work ; which was actually denied to our ruined planters."

Is this vaunted treaty only a blind to give rise to further diplo- matic discussions ; or will Government concede to the project of a ship-canal, what it would not grant to save our colonists from destruction? Well, if we do all this, let us take care that we really have a ship-canal. " It ought fully to be understood by all parties who contribute in any way, either by influence, personal cooperation, or subscription of capital, to a water communication between the Atlantic and the Pacific, that the said communication should be available to all nations ; not only with regard to the right of passage, but with respect to the size and depth of the canal, which ought to be able to float a first-class ship. 4' If English capitalists and merchants do not insist upon the latter point, they will find themselves deceived.

" A canal might be cut with English capital, and when finished might be found big enough only for vessels of two hundred tons ; while the beautiful fleets of Messrs. Green, or Wigram, Smith, or Somes, may continue to go the old way round the Cape, although those gentlemen may have subscribed to the undertaking.

" With a small canal, the whole ..of the transit trade would fall into the hands of the Americans, who would reap the profit sown by British capital, as they are now doing in Cuba.

i " It is for the interest of the North Americans that the canal should be email ; just accessible to their coasters, but not to our large East India and Chinamen. A large canal would be of incalculable benefit to commerce in general ; and the reader who has been kind enongh to accompany me on so long a voyage may now meditate on the probability of its accomplishment."

This is the more to be regarded because a small canal is useless to the world at large. Passengers and correspondence may, with good arrangements, be passed across almost any point of the neck of land that connects North and South America, without more diffi- culty than the Egyptian transit. But it would be a "smart trans- action" if Brother Jonathan could get Europe, more especially John Bull, to guarantee and pay pretty handsomely towards a ship- canal that should send European vessels still round Cape Horn, but furnish him a channel for a snug domestic and transit trade, or the equally snug transmission of warlike loafers or munitions of MT.