Chap. 3.]

Peruvian Vesscls.

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out experiencing that disagreeable gurglingwhich accompanies tlie emptying of a modernbottle. The openings are so arranged as toform a very shrill whistle —by blowing into themouth of the vessel, a sound is produced,

, equal to that from a boatswain’s call on1 board a man of war.

These vessels have been noticed by mostTT travelers in South America . They are some-

times found double—two being connected atNo. 3. Peruvian Bottle. - , . , i t i • • n

the bottom wxth only one dischargmg ormce.Some are of silver. Frezier, among others, gives a figure of one resemblingtwo gourds united. It “ consists of two bottles joined together, each aboutsix inches high, having a hole (tube) of communication at the bottom. Oneof them is open, and the other has on its orifice alittle animal, like a mon-key, eating a cod of some sort; under which is a hole which makes a whist-ling when water is poured out of the mouth of the other bottle, or whenthat within is but shaken; because the air being pressed along the surfaceof both bottles, is forced out at that little hole in a violent manner.” a

These whistles are so constructed, as to play either when the air isdraim in through them, or forced out . Perhaps the water organs of theancients, were originally little more than an assemblage of similar vessels.M. Frezier thought the smallest of these bottles were designed expresslyto produce music; if so, they are (we suppose) the only water instru-ments extant. b

The large earthen vessels used by the water carriers of Mexico , strict-ly resemble the gourd. Saturday Mag. vol. vi, 128.

The “ gurgulets” of the Persians , Hindoos, and Egyptians ofthe presentday, are rather larger, but of the same shape as the Florence flask, i. e.of the gourd. They are formed “ of a porous earth, and are so called,from the sound made when water is poured out of them to be drunk, as

a A Voyage to the South Sea, &c. in 1712, ’13, ’14. Lon. 1717. 274.b The following extract from a late newspaper afFords additional information respect-ing these vessels in remote ages:

“ThePeruvian Pompeii .—We recently gave a description of an ancient subterraneancity, destroyed by an earthquake, or some other sudden convulsion of nature, latelydiscovered near the port of Guarmey, in Truxillo, on the coast of Peru . The only ac-count of it which appears to have as yet been received in the United States , was broughtby Capt. Ray of Nantucket, who a few weeks since returned from the South Seas intne ship Logan, and who, having visited the spot whilst the inhabitants of Guarmeywere excavating the buried streets and buildings, obtained several interesting relics ofits ancient but unknown population. The Portland Orion describes some of these, ofwhich we did not find any mention in the Nantucket Inquirer from whom we derivedour former information, and they are of a character which may possibly atford the dili-gent antiquary some clue to the age and origin of the people to whom they belonged.They are two grotesquely shaped earthen vessels, somewhat rudely yet ingeniouslyconstructed, of a species of clay, colored orburnt nearly black. One of diese, whichis capable of holding about a pint, is shaped somew T hat like a quail, with a spout twoinches long, rising from the centre of the back, from which also a handle extends tothe side.

The other is a double vessel, connected at the centre, and also at the top,hy a handlereaching from the spout or nozzle of one vessel to the upper part ofthe other—the lat-ter not being perforated but wrought into the likeness of a very unprepossessing hu-man countenance. At the back of what may be considered the head of this face, is asmall hole, so contrived that on blowing into the mouth of the vessel a shrill note isproduced, similar to that of a boatswain’s call. From the activity with whicfr the cxca-vations were proceeding when Capt. Ray left the place, it may be hoped that discover-les will be made which will greatly add to the antiquarian history of this continent.”

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