Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-11-20

y the forestsare found sixty varieties Of wood, valua
BILE for ship building, timber for cabinet work
Amfng them are the"' Sebo tree which, when green,
Is ponU and sot cork and be cut like apple,
by wAep ~ Is so hard almost to defy the action
ofSseA tAe fd dc picora, snake-tree whose leaves
arp A. cure for the poisonous bites of serpents
tre - she or milk tree, may be called vegetable
ctw; 4 80 fdo de borracho, drunken tree, vege-
uble &eny The cica resin is found at the roots OF
rces u14# GrDund and is natural PITCH ready pre-
pared IN The seams of vessels"*
IA I'm are said to yield gums and drugs Of the
raiae Ms andof the most exquisite perfume Though
cone country which commerce. in her loftiest
iglte yet been able to reach many Of these pro-
dudipaa gnet yet known pharmacy or the mechanic
artt /" 10y comprise," says Hopkins, some of the
mAse afltpcns perfumes and incense that can be i'm
aglda& Others again like amber, hard, brittle, and
insqssash y water. Some cedars yield gum equal to
r. gn Able; o<hers natural glue. which, wAsa@once
4 dried, is unaffected by wet dampnessa .ls
Here too in these wds flourish side by side the India
rubber tree the Vanilla with its sweetscented bean and
the PaosntO, from which the gum guiacum of our CON-
merce is gathered. sr. .e
Wild, too in those wonderful forests grow, mature,
and decay, annually and in large quantities. two or
three kinds of hemp, the soponca soap-nut the
ton with vegetable oils, and in quantities.
The pmpas grazed by immense herds of cattle and
horses and great quantities of hides, hair, HORNS
bones talow &C. lost for want of transportation"
"Upon the fertile alluvial banks of so many large
streams tugarcane, cotton tobacco of superior quail
ity, rice nandioca Indian corn and thousand other
productions vegetate with profusion; whilst seven
retes of the bamboo line the river banks and dot the
frequent lakes with islets of touching beauty."*
In shot, this traveller thus up his of this
glorious ialey:
We lave found the forests spontaneously producing
thing necessary for the comfort and luxury of
kind, from the beautiful coton-tree that affords him
clothing to the coors which suit his fancy dye; and
from the woods that furnish his ship and house.
ment his esoe to the herb that his sickness
the incerse that delights his ofactores 1t is only
cessary add that the climate is favorable to all the
useful grsns and table vegetables with delicious fruits
to support the frame and crafty the palate"
But from the Republic of Paraguay, where Hopkins
was to the mouth of the La Plata there only
l5O0 miles Of river navigation Let u.s. therefore, ascend
higher up the beautiful Paraguay into Brazil
ascend this river through the district Dos Diamanes,"
to the city of Diamasno and thence trace its sources
up their beds of bright jewels and golden sands to
their very Ountanhead they leap spanged and spark
ling from the /" Diamond mountains"
Standing these, may contemplate the great
Divide, which separates the watersf they be separa-
ted-of the Rio de La Plata from the waters Of the
Amazon.
This ridge extends from west the distance
in straight line of than 2 900 statute miles On
one side the streams south the other they
north and on both sides they wash down from this ridge
gold diamonds and other This aurferous
and RICH mser region smbrAces MARI d.grees Of la,-
tudc, and sxten through 8oo Of Longitude rpropo..
to speak Of it at another time.
question whether the waters of the La Plata and
the Amazon do not unite through natural canal those
Of the Amazon and the 0ronoco do through the Casqua
and thus afford inland navigation from Buenos Ayre
in $50 south, to the mouth Of the oronoco where il
empes in lo north into the Caribbean sea- Truly such
navigation would be bringing the commercial drainage
Of the Atlantic slopes Of South America only
feet but would be empyng its treasures into the very
lap inte which Mississippi pours its waters its
surplus produce, and its wealth.
AT any rate, whether there be natural canal there
now or not may look forward to the time when settle
ment steam and civilization shall have taken root upon
the great watershed to canals and channels
which, if nature have completed, art will by which
the La Plata will be turned upside down, and its mouth
placed for all the practical purposes Of commerce. under
the equator where the Amazon discharges itself into
the sea.
Philippe in S43 explore the interior of the country
and who went from Rio along this Divide to Bolivia
thence to Lima and then the Andes and down the
Amazon to its mouth gives much and valuable in
formation concerning this whole country. He was gone
four or FIVE years. and the first part Of his travels has just
been published
The principal object Of his expedition, he says was
to study in all its bearings the basin of the Amazon
which is destined to play grand part in the future his
tory Of America !" or he adds the utter neglect Of
this riyerbasin by the nations Of EUROPE will day
greatly astonsh the political and commercial world"
"An excursion in the northern parts Of the Province
of Matto Crosse says Castlenau afforded us an oppor
Paraguay, well as of the Tapajos; and could
template the time the Of the two greatest
rivers in the world the La Plata and the Amazon they
eaped from the bowels Of the earth at feet and inter-
locked with the other. Again, and IL to render
attractive TO this curious and interesting port
nature placed her mines Of diamonds in region Of
country where their value is small in comparison with the
great advantages which commerce is day to reap from
this marvellous junction Of waters"
II in this region that the intrepid old Sergeant
Joao de Souza found natural tunnel through which the
Sumidouroso called because II for about the quar-
ter Of league under a mountain-carres its waters to
pay tribute to the Amazon.
Setting out from Cuyaba, in 1746, he descended the
river Of that ts the Paraguay which he ascended to
the mouth Of the sepuuba Following this to its sources
he then cut with hatchet way through the forest for
three leagues which he transported his vessels and
embarked them upon the sumidouro. Following this
river till IL disappeared under a mountain, he then dis
across the mountain the place where the river
hc koI L.. l.,ol cnlL Lsow h.l