The missionaries of Saint Dominic were among the first to come to America, the venerable Las Casas being of this order as well as Fray Valverde, Bishop of Cuzco. Las Casas had been named for the diocese of Cuzco, but he was too intent on his work of reform to desire a benefice, and Fray Solano of the Franciscan order was appointed to the office. The Franciscans were prominent during the entire period of the viceroyalty for their extensive pioneer work in the wilds of America, their devout pilgrims traversing the southern continent from Panamá to Cape Horn. The saintly Fray Francisco Solano, who was a contemporary of Saint Toribio and Saint Rose of Lima, made a journey, barefooted, walking the whole distance, from Paraguay, through the Chaco—which is still inhabited by savage tribes, the terror of travellers—and across what is now Bolivia to the headwaters of the Amazon; his life was spent in Christianizing the savage tribes of the remote interior, a task much more difficult than that of instructing the cultured Indians of the Inca’s country. He died in 1610 and was canonized by the Church. [Illustration: CHURCH OF SAN AGUSTIN, LIMA.] The church, chapels, and convents of the Franciscans are the largest and handsomest in Lima. It is said that more than two million dollars were spent in the construction of their principal edifice, which was built in the sixteenth century and reconstructed after the earthquake of 1746, the interior being richly ornamented; the high altar was encased with silver and the niche of the Madonna beautifully wrought of the same material. The cloisters of the convent are supported on stone pillars, the roof being of panel-work, and, with the beams, exquisitely carved. In colonial days it used to be said that the four best offices in Lima were the viceroyalty, the archbishopric, the ecclesiastical province of the Dominicans and the office of the Mother Abbess of Concepcion. This nunnery commanded an income of one hundred thousand dollars annually, the dowry of each nun, on taking the veil, being three thousand dollars. The order of San Agustin built many handsome churches and convents during the viceroyalty, and the church of Nuestra Señora de la Merced (Our Lady of Mercy) is still among the most attractive of the city’s sacred edifices. There are at present sixty-six religious establishments existing in Lima, twelve of which are nunneries, each with its respective church. [Illustration: CHOIR OF THE CATHEDRAL OF CUZCO.]