The plain of Peladeros, Colombia, looking towards the Cordilleras. Coloured etching by C. Empson, 1836.

"On the verge of the extensive plain of Peladeros stands the house of Don Manuel Garcia, the owner of a princely domain, for which one of his ancestors paid a thousand doubloons, but which was offered in the year 1832 for five hundred dollars. The estate consists of upwards of three thousand acres, and includes almost every variety of soil and climate. The range of mountains which rise from this Savannah are called El Ruis, from the prevailing rusty hue of their lofty slopes. Nearly all the mountain-streams are rich in gold, and still prove a source of existence to a few miners. " (Empson. loc. cit.)