STARTING from Lima, the capital of Peru, and crossing the Andes in a north-easterly direction for one hundred and twenty miles, the traveller reaches the famous silver mines of Pasco, the most elevated city in the world. Close beside it, in the very heart of the Cordilleras, there is a little lake, nearly 14,000 feet above the sea-level, and just below the limit of perpetual snow. To this little lake belongs the honour of giving birth to the mighty Amazon, the king of rivers.
At first a comparatively small stream, it flows in a series of cataracts and rapids, through rocky valleys, northwards, till it reaches the frontier of Ecuador, at a distance of eight hundred miles from its source. From this point the eye of the traveller may range, in imagination, over a vast valley clothed with impenetrable forests, stretching eastwards to the far distant Atlantic. Behind him, on the west, tower the lofty peaks of the Cordilleras; on his left, in a northerly direction, appear the highlands of Venezuela and Guiana; while to the south rise the sierras and table-lands of Brazil. In the valley beforehim more than half of Europe might be contained; and thetributaries alone of the mighty stream which drains it, exceed in bulk of water all the European rivers put together. Thelength of the main river, with its windings, is not less than four thousand miles.
The valley of the Amazon is divided into an upper and a lower basin by the Rio Negro. The region of the Upper Amazon, as the great river is called above that boundary line, is a magnificent wilderness, where civilized man as yet has scarcely obtained a footing. Though the atmosphere, from the absence of regular winds, is stagnant and sultry, the climate is wonderfully healthy; and the rich alluvial soil produces vegetation even more luxuriant than on the lower river. The Upper Amazon is navigable at all seasons by large steamers for upwards of fourteen hundred miles above the Rio Negro; but during the rainy season the navigation is dangerous, as the tearing current, one or two miles in width, bears along a continuous line of up rooted trees, and often undermines the banks, which fall into the river with a terrific crash.
The chief feature of the Lower Amazon is its vast expanse of smooth water, of a pale yellowish colour, often bearing on its bosom detached islets of floating vegetation. Sometimes the timid stag takes refuge upon one of these treacherousislands, when pursued by the fierce jaguar;and the hunterand his prey, thus entrapped, are carried out to sea together. At morn and even, flocks of parrots and yellow macaws fly backwards and forwards, uttering their hoarse cries; while all night long the screams of gulls and terns sweep over the sandy banks, where they make their home. Now and then, dolphins and sea-cows show their backs above water, as they glide up the stream. Huge alligators, with open jaws, are basking in the sun on the banks, or leisurely swimming across the river.
The Rio Negro, the largest northern tributar y of the Amazon, has a course not much inferior to that of the Danube, the greatest river of Central Europe. Rising in the highlands of New Granada, and traversing the llanos of Venezuela, it has already, before reaching the Amazon, flowed over fifteen hundred miles. As one of its tributaries is an offshoot from the upper waters of the Orinoco, a complete circuit is established, uniting the basins of two mighty rivers in one vast system of interior navigation.
About sixty miles below the mouth of the Rio Negro, the gigantic Madeira-the largest southern affluent of the Amazon-unites its milky waters with the turbid stream of the main river. The whole length of this tributary, from the centre of Bolivia, where it has its source, is nearly as great as that of the Amazon itself; but owing to the occurrence of falls, it is not navigable for large vessels for more than five hundred miles above its mouth.
Thus enriched by vassal tributaries on the right hand and on the left-each a river in itself-this monarch of waters flows on between its low, forest-clad banks, till, four hundred miles from its mouth, it reaches the Strait of Obydos, where it is narrowed to two thousand paces. Through this channel its waters rush with a force so irresistible as to have defied all efforts to fathom its depths, and with a volume sufficient to fill all the streams in Europe, and swell them to overflowing. Before it reaches the Atlantic its vast flood is fifty miles wide; and, in mid-channel, the opposite banks are entirely lost to view. Indeed, it resembles an ocean-current, or a constantly- rolling Baltic, rather than an inland river.
At its mouth a fierce struggle takes place between thegiant river rolling down and the tideflowing up. Twice every
day they strive for the mastery; and in the meeting of the enormous masses of water a ridge of surf and foam is raised to a height of 180 feet! Victory may be said to be fairly divided between them; for while the tide makes its way nearly five hundred miles up the river, the influence of the latter is felt three hundred miles out at sea. Hence the seaman approaching the shores of South America, when still out of sight of land, may lower his bucket, and draw up the fresh waters which have issued, it may be weeks before, from the rocky sides of the Andes!
So uniform is the level, in the plain of the Upper Amazon especially, that many of its tributaries are interlaced with it and with one another by a net-work of mazy channels, or water-paths,with the intricate navigation of which the nativesalone are acquainted. So narrow are these water-paths in many places, that the branches of the lofty trees meet overhead, andform a canopy, which, for miles together, shelters the traveller in his canoe from the noon-day sun. Here and there, a glimpse of the sky may be obtained through the thick foliage; while birds of gay plumage flit to and fro enjoying the cool shade, or sit on the branches trimming their feathers, and uttering strange and varied cries.
Sometimes the water- path broadens into pools and lakes, filled mostly by the overflowing of the main river during the rainy season. These pools swarm with a great variety of fishes, with many kinds of turtles and alligators, with electric eels, and other curious water-creatures. Waterfowl and other aquatic birds dwell on their banks; while on the surface of their placid waters float the wide-spreading leaves and magnificent blossoms of theVictoria Regia,and other lilies and water-plants.
The inland navigation of the Amazon and its tributaries available for commerce extends to no less than fifty thousand miles. Flowing, however, through a region ver y scantily peopled by indolent natives and not very active colonists, there are fewer vessels upon its waters in a year than may be seen on the bosom of the Mississippi every hour of the day.
Yet there is no nobler field of enterprise in the world than the great valley of the Amazon-none which is richer in natural resources, or which holds out a more certain rewardTHE VICTORIA REGIAto energy and perseverance. You have only to look at the map to see that, with the exception of Chili and Patagonia, every country in South America is brought, directly or indirectly, within the range of its interior navigation.
So varied and so abundant are the products of this wide region, that it might well become the garden and the store- house of the world. There is scarcely one either of the necessaries or of the luxuries of life which, if all other sources of supply were cut off, might not be obtained from the valley of the Amazon in sufficient abundance to supply the wants of the whole habitable globe. The supply of flesh, fish, and fowl, of every description, is simply unlimited. There is plenty of coffee and cocoa and sugar; of maize and rice; of cotton and tobacco; of bananas and grapes; of spices, drugs, and dyes; of silver and gold; of every variety of fancy-wood for the finest cabinet-work, and of timber for building houses and ships.
Yet this prolific region remains still unused, and in greatmeasure unexplored. Here, if anywhere, is a field in which modern enterprise and enlightenment may achieve the grandest results.
QUESTIONS
Where has the Amazon its source? How far from Lima? What is the character of its higher waters? Give some idea of the great size of the valley, and of the volume volume of its water? Whit is the length of the river? What is the region above the Rio Negro called? What is the character of the Upper Amazon? What makes its navigation dangerous? What is the chief feature of the Lower Amazon? What connection has the Rio Negro with the Orinoco? What is the largest southern tributary or the Amazon? What is the Strait of Obydos? What width does the river attain before it reaches the Atlantic? What takes place at its mouth? How far up the river does the tide extend? How far out at sea are the waters of the river perceptible? What causes the net-work of water-paths in the Upper Amazon? What is remarkable about them? What is the extent of the inland navigation of the Amazon? Why is so little use made of it? What to its varied products at it for becoming? Mention some of these products.
