The daily union., 1852-11-28
For The unlou
The Amazon and the Atlantic slopes OF SAM,
AmeriCa.-No. O.

drained BY the Amazon and lie tributaries For ,be vs'
OF steamboat navigation these waier.eoufses ,la
OF all these paris OF those countries goes west by e.,
OF Ianles to the Pacific There il is shipped and ,s.s
doubling Cape Horn and sailing egh, or len boa a'
miles, il is then only of the mouth Of the AMAZON ~ -
way 10 the United States Europe where's II -
navigation OF the Amazon We're free 10 these rasn,
the steamers on that river would land their ptoan,
the mouth OF the Amazon for what il costs 10 eonas
across the Andes on mules TO the Pacific
1 question, therefore, OF the greatest imnor,.no.
these republics is the free navigation OF that river IA
introduction OF the steamboat upon their tribn,a,;.
would be followed by the immigrant up The Anas.-
who would soon make perfect garden spot of ba"1'
did provinces that are on its banks flen'
/ The distance between the sources OF the n,
Peru and her Pacific coast is. at the nearest na ~
more than sixty seventy miles "' "ot
The province OF Caxanarca which is upon ,ha A.
zonan watershed IN Peru, has population OF 10 M
1t is said 10 be the heahiesi part of the world i, ,1on
there were eight persons in il whose respective ages -
ia, 1T, l2l, l3I, 1872 14l, and l47 and ope 49,
died there at the age of l4l years 7 months a,J :
days, leaving 500 living descendants The cy Of Cav.
There are upon this water shed in Bolivia the ei,es j
Chuquisaca Cocbabamba, and Santa Cruz; in par, a.
famous city of Cuzco, HuaRcayeca (celebraied III M
hchesi quicksilver mines in the word0 Tarma Caxam,
ca and Noyabamba /; and in Ecuador The ceebra,.Ja ~;
OF Qulo. besides numerous other towns villages "a
hame,s in them ALL ~ aiu
Ihe revolution which the discovery of The nass.n
around The Cape Of Good Hope made in the trade of M
East not greater than that which ,hs fraa
OF the Amazon would make in the trade Of ,hese ns
pnbhcs. II would make Of them new countries ard.
new people Total population at present estimated l.
tween seven and eight millions
In May, 1851, Lieut., Herndon set out from I;oo
his way 10 explore the Amazon and is througb bi
that derive most OF my information coneernins ,bo d.
ruvian watershed Of that river
therefore introduce the reader upon that water ba
by an extract from his journal, which he has kindly mar
ml,ted me TO make Standing in view Of three beauln
lakes-one OF them. Morococha or Painted lake y hs
ing that from which The head waters Of he Ama,o.
how-he remarks.
Though not yet sixty miles from The saa wa -,
crossed the great divide which separates The waters 81
the Facihc IRON the waters OF the Atlantic The las
Steps Q, our mules had made striking change in our
geographical relaons-so suddenly and so qacky had
we been cut of from all connexion with ihe paeeS
and placed upon waters that rpped and sparkeJ ioy
ha a. .ey danced oy on feet on their way join
Inc glad waves OF The dark blue ocean that washes h
shore OF our own dear land They Whispered 10 me oi
nome, and my heart went along with them | thought
o Iiaufy WIN ms researches concerning The currents
OF 'he sea ana fecoecng the close phy steal conney
ION pointed oul by him existing between these The wa
teFs OF The Amazon and those OF our own majestic Mis-
slsspp musingy pucked Bit OF green moss from m.
upon The bosom OF the placid lake Of Morococha
and as i hoaed along followed it, in maginaton down
through the luxurious cmes The beautiful skies and en-
scenery Tue UOpice the month Of The
Tver that this little lake feedog thence across tbe
Caribbean sea, through The Yucatan pass INTO The Guo
aieSlco thence along the Gull stream and so ou pon
the ocean of the shores of our own land M aowsrs
Here fanced might meet with silent ,,le messenser.
cast by the hands OF sympahzng friends and counirymen
hgn upon The head-waters OF the Mssissppi or away
in the far west upon the distant foun,a;ns ~ ~ Nj,
sour. 80 ~
1t was indeed but bill of moss lha, was floating upon
me water while mosed But fancy awakened and slim
uated by surrounding circumstance had alrea,ly con-
veried into skill manned by fairies and bound upon
mission OF high import bearing messages oil peace and
sooi wi' and telling of commerce and navisal on, Of
settlement and civilization. o religious and poli,i al lib.
eny, from the King of Rivers 10 the Father OF Waters
and probably meeting in the Florida pass and speakng
through trumpet louder than the tempest spres sent
Morococha.
Il was now, for the FIRST me fairly in III &, Ia of nv
operations
u had been sent 10 explore the valley OF the Amazon 10
sound s streams and 10 report TO their navgabily
was commanded to examine lis fields lis forests and
US rivers, that might gauge their capabilities active
ana Dormant Tor trade and commerce with The States OF
Chnstendom, and make known TO the spri and enter.
prise OF The age the resources which lie in concealment
mere waiting Tor the touch Of civilization and the breath
pable existence
Before as lay this immense field dressed in The robes
o. everlasting summer, and embracing area OF thou
SANDS upon thousands OF square miles, in which The foot
all oi civilized man had never been heard Behind d,
lowered IN fofbddng grandeur The crest and sum
mus 81 me Andes, clad 10 the garb Of eternal winter
VINO were the laboreFsi Gibbon and l. We were all
ihe rest were not even CLEANERS But il was we'll TIE
ekpfduon mad been planned and arranged al home with
almirahe judgment and conHmmate sagaciiy for hail
Oten on grand scale, commensurate with s impot.
,nce or even larger than 1t was, it would have broker
down with lis own weight
though the waters where stood were bound On their
way TO meet the streams OF our northern hemisphere
and to bring, for all the practical purposes of commerce
and navigation the mouth ol he Amazon and the mouth
o. me mississippi into one, and place il before our
DOORS yet from the head OF navigation on one stream
lhe head OF navigation on the other The distance 10 be
sailed could no, be less than ten thousand miles
" vast many, and great doubtless, are the varieties oil
climates, soils, and productions, within such a range
lhe Importance 10 the world OF settlement cultivation,
and commerce in The valley of the Amazon cannot be
ESTIMATED. With The climates oil India and of ali ,he
habsbe portions OF the earth, piled one above the other
70 quiek succession, tllage and good hnsbandry here
would transfer the productions of the east 10 tbis mag.
nlhcenl nver-basn, and place them within few days
easy sail OF Europe and the United States
"Only lew miles back we had irst entered The famous
mining district OF Peru. large portion OF the silver
which constitutes the circulation of the world was dug
from The range OF mountains upon which we were stand
ng, and most OF Il from that slope of them which
Is drained on lnio the Amazon. Is it possible for com
meee and navigation up and down this majestic water
course and lis beautiful tributaries 10 tnrn back this
stream ot silver from It's western course TO the Pacific,
ana Conduct y, with steamers, down the Amazon, TO the
United States, there TO balance the stream of gold with
shieh we are likely TO be flooded from California and
Australia
" Questions which could not answer and reflections
which could not keep back, crowded upon me- 0p.
pressed with their weight mud the magnitude OF the task
before me, ! turned slowly and sadly away, secretly
amentng my own want OF ability Tor This great under
aking and sincerely regeitng that the duty before me