Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-12-04
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER.
THE AMAZON AND THE ATLANTIC SLOPES OF
SOUTH AMERICANA. v.

About one-haK Of Bolivia, twothrds Of Peru, three
fourths Of Ecuador, and onehaf of New Granada are
drained by the Amazon and its tributaries For the want
Of steamboat navigation these water-courses the trade
Of all these parts Of those countries goes west by
vans Of mules to the Pacific There it is shipped
after doubling Cape Horn and sailing eight ten thou
sand miles it is then only of the mouth Of the Amazon
on its way to the United States Europe whereas, i'll
the navigation Of the Amazon free to these
tries the steamers that river would land their produce
at the mouth Of the Amazon for what it costs to convey
il across the Andes mules to the Pacific.
question, therefore, of the greatest importance to
these republics the free navigation of that river The
introduction Of the steamboat upon their tributaries of
it would be followed by the immigrant up the Amazon
who would make perfect gardenpot of the splendid
provinces that on its banks
The distance between the sources of the Amazon, in
Peru and her Pacific coast is at the nearest point not
more than sixty seventy miles
The province of Caxamarca, which upon the Amazo
nan watershed in Peru has population of 10000 1t
is said be the healhest part of the world In 1892
there were eight persons in it whose respective ages
1l4 IT. III, 49, 1872, l41, and l47; and person
died there the age of 144 years. months and days.
leaving 800 living descendants* The city Of Caxamarca
is in 70 south.
There are upon this watershed in Bolivia, the cities
Of Chuquisaca Cochabamba, and Santa Cruz; in Peru,
the famous city Of Cuzco Huancaveca celebrated for
the richest quicksilver mines in the world Tarma Caxa
marca and Moyabamba and in Ecuador, the celebrated
city Of Quito besides other towns villages and
hamlets in them all.
The revolution which the discovery of the passage
around the Cape Of Good Hope made in the trade of the
East was greater than that which the free navigation
of the Amazon would make in the trade of these four
publics. 1t would make Of them countries and
people. Total population at present estimated be-
tween and eight millions
In May, 1851, Lieut.. Herndon set out from Lima on
his way explore the Amazon and it is through him
that derive most Of my information concerning the Pc
ruvian water shed of that river.
therefore introduce the reader upon that watershed
by extract from his Journal which he has kindly per-
mitted to make Standing in view of three beautiful
lakes-onc Of them Morococha, Painted Luk." be-
ing that from which the of the Amazon flow
he remarks:
"Though not yet sixty miles from the sea, we had
crossed the great divide which separates the of
the Pacific from the waters of the Atlantic. The last
steps Of mules had made a striking change in our
geographical relatons-so suddenly and quickly had
we been of from all connexion with the Pacific and
placed upon waters that rppled and sparked joyousy
they danced by feet their way Join the glad
Of the dark blue that washes the shores
own dear land. They whispered to Of home, and my
heart went along with them thought of Maury, with
his researches concerning the of the
recoecng the close physical connexion pointed out by
him existing between these the waters Of the Amazon
and those of majestic Mississippi, musingy
dropped bit of green plucked from the hill side
upon the bosom Of the placid Morococha and II oated
along followed it, in imagination, down through the lux
urious cimes, the beautiful Skies and enchanting
ry the tropics the mouth Of the great river that this
little lake feeding; thence the Caribbean sea-
through the Yucaan pass into the Gulf of Mexco thence
along the Gulf Stream and out upon the ocean off the
of our oVn md of flows Here /
might meet with silent little messengers by the hands
Of sympathizing friends and countrymen high upon the
headwaters Of the mississippi away in the Far West
upon the distant fountains Of the Missouri.
II indeed but bit Of moss that floating upon
the water while mused But fancy awakened and stm
ulaed by surrounding circumstances had already
verted it into sk manned by fairies, and bound upon
mission Of high import bearing messages of peace and
good will, and telling of commerce and navigation, of
settlement and civilization of religious and political lib
erty from the King Of Rivers to the Father Of Waters
and possibly meeting in the Florida pass and speaking
through trumpet louder than the tempest with sprtes
sent down by the naiads Of Lake asca with greetings
Morocochn
al now for the first time fairly in the field Of my
operations.
81 had been sent explore the valley Of the Amazon
to sound it's streams and to report to their navgaby
was commanded to examine its fields, it's forests and
its rivers, that might gauge their capabilities active
and dormant for trade and with the States of
chrstendom and make known the spirit and enter
prise Of the age the which lie in conceament
toucn Oh the breath
OF the steam engine give them animation, e and pal
pable existence.
Before uslay this immense field dressed in the robes
OF everlasting summer and embracing Of thou
sands upon thousands Of square miles, on which the foot
fall Of civilized man had been heard. Behind
lowered in forbiddng grandeur the and peaked
SUBMITS OF the Ande clad in the garb Of eternal winter
" The contrast striking and the field inviting. But
who were the laborersf Gibbon and l. We were oil.
Inc rest were not cleaners But IL we'll The
expedition had been planned and arranged home with
admirable Judgment and sagacity; for had it
oeen on grand SCALE with its Importance
or even larger than 1t was 1t would have broken down
with it's own weight.
Though the waters where I stood we're bound on
their way TO meet the Of our nothern hemisphere
ana 70 Tor al the practical purposes Of commerce
ana hagauon the mouth of the Amazon and the mouth
OF tne Msssnppi into one and place it before our own
doors yet from the head of navigation on one stream to
the head OF navigation on the other the distance to be
sailed could not be less than ten thousand miles
Vast many and great doubtless are the varieties of
climates, soils and productions within such range The
Importance 70 the world Of settlement cultivation and
in the valley Of the Amazon cannot be over
estimated With the climates Of India and of ALI the
habiable portions of the EARTH piled one above the other
in quick succession, tlage and good husbandv here
would transfer the productions of the to this magn
hcent rverba and place them within few days easv
sail'cf Europe aud the United States.
"Only few miles back We had first entered the IA
nous mining districts Of Peru large portion Of the
silver which constitutes the circulation Of the world was
dug from the range Of mountains upon vhish We were
standing and most Of it from thAt slope Of them
which ID drained of into the Amazon II possible for
Montgomery Martin