Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1853-05-30

bAidFfts uHu a OHtftu u IIiIt VI
the master Of the first steamer that arrives Their
iron, the ocean.
Peru as caught The same spirit; she too !
abont To proclaim the freedom OF The s'as ior
her Ammonium wafer courses. She IS or
ganising territories there. and has placed IN
tie hands of The executive 100000 for the
purpose of encouraging immigration and SET
element.
Ecuador. too, IS moving IN the same direc
ton, and expect the next mail To bring me
good news from her, and from New Granadh
also.
Richards,ihe sailor lad whom Herndon pick
cd up in Lima 10 accompany his expedition,
went with that part oft which as ! have sad
was sent into Bolivia. 1t visited Cuzco and
passed through the Inca country, The classic
land Of South America.
Richards had been around Cape Horn among
the anhscions; he visited the great quicksllser
mines Of Huancavelica, and walked througi,
their magnificent galleries, roofed and hoorel
with cinnabar. and supported by pink stained
columns of the same mineral. He stood upon
he shores of Lake Titicaca, aud saw the Des
aguadero river, which sometimes emptles into
lint lake and sometimes runs from It. He as
cended the snow capped peaks of that noun
tain range. from whose sides more than two
thousand millions of silver dollars have been Ia.
ken. He saw the lama, the acuna, and the al.
paca tanned on one hand, and feeding wild IN
their mountain Businesses on the other. lie
descended into the glorious piedmont country
of Bolivia, which is drained by the tributaries
oflle Amazon. Passing through the region
Of silver, he approached the diamond districts
and the auriferous streams of Brazil; and, Oh
the descent from the Andes, his eyes compass
ed Mt one sweep the whole range OF the vege
tab!e gamut. from the region Of perpetual snow
on The Andes to the fields Of everlasting sum.
mer in the tropical plains below. He travel
ed through a country where one tree bears the
fruit of bread; another stands in the place OF a
COW, and yields to the native his favorite be.
verage, the juice ofthe milk tree;whcre anoth.
er produces a nut that he uses as a .andle:and
another yields him, at the same time, lood raj.
ment, fuel, and shelter.
These scenes, such development of mineral
wealth, such freaks OF nature, and her mlgni-
Ifcent display of vegetable forces in that tropi
cal country were well calculated 10 strike the
mind ofany untravelled youth, especially one
ike the young sailor Richards, who had been
brought up in the plain uiet life of a Virginia
farmer. with wonder and amazcment.
lie had seen the sun at h Ugh noon standing
in the north and casting shadows to the south.
He had been in those stormy and distant latl.
tades v here daylight itself was tut The longest
meteor Of a long night. He had seen a river
that turns about at times and runs up stream
He had taken in at enc view the vegetation oil
The three zones; and | therefore. wondering
which of all these things appeared TO him tn,
most curious, said the other day, pray Mr..
X chards,w hat. during this interesting trip oil
yours in the valley of the Amazon, struck yo,,
Nth most force as being the most curious thins
or remarkable circumstance met with in all
your trayels?'
The most remarkable thing sill? Why that
such a country as that of the Amazon shonlJ
in the middle of the nineteenth century he a
" ilderness."
What a commentary! thank that noble
young tar with all my heart for THIS most glow.
ing description of a glorious country. Ian
guage OF greater force and compass, or of more
eIoquence, is not 10 be found anywhere. That
the men Of the age, the statesmen of Europe
and America, the spilit of commercial enter
prise and adventure which marks the times
should all have ignored such climates with
N"N' S"PNu'iC'J SdPuOihtlco, anu ICSouiCeS DIS
are there, is and will hereafter he regarded as
the greatest of wonders.
This is the country, then, 10 which invite
the attention ofthe Convention. and towards
which wish to see the energies and e%nterpris
OF my fellow citizens directed that they may as
sist in developing its Resources, and reap foI
themselves and their country the rich harvest.
which commerce, at no distant day. is to gath
or there. | want it settled; | want il civilized
| want it christianized. Turn steam and com
merce upon it. and all this will be done.
Do you ask what the measures are that
propose? What the point TO which the con-
%ventIon should address itself, and what the en-
%terprise 10 which gentlemenshould direc, theil
encrgiesi
The measures that ! propose are, that W,
lay the foundations of direct trade and clos.
co nmertial relations with Brazil and the At
lantic slopes of South America generally, anc
with the Amazon in particular, and that we Sc
lbnut it now.
The point to which the Convention Shout
address itself is the Tree navigation of the Am
80. - Il