The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-02-10
ma Am..on.

| The main course of the Amazon Is from
west to east, running very nearly under
the equator, bat its upper waters and
main tributaries pursue, for the nlostpart.
a. northeriy direction. From the great
falls to the. mouth, a distance Of 2,00o
miles, It is uninterrupted BY either cata-
racts or rapids. and is nasigable for frig-
aies at all. OF nearly all, seasons Of the
year. By the Rio Negro connection is
made with the 0rinoco and the Caribbe-
an Sea. which is available for large boats
in the rainy season. at which time a COM
munieatioa could probably be effected
with the Magdalena and tho Gulf of Mar
acaibo. Thus, besides the Internal COM
municatioh, two outlets are afforded to the
north aud northwest On the east the
mouths of the river open to the great
ocean, though the main channel Of the
Amazon is frequently rendered periious
| By the rush of the tremendous tides.
The sources of the Ucayale interloek with
those of the Paraguay, the Pilcomayo,
aud the feeders of the Rio de In Plata,
and furnish an escape TO the south: while
they are at no great distance from the
streams that descend into the Pacific on
the west though separated from them BY
the intervening chain of the Andes, where
| it is broken by its highest peaks. If the
country were settled by an industrious
and enterprising people. it would not be
difficult to open,a regular and direct line
of communication between the Atlantic
and Pacific shores, and between the Gulf
of Mexico and the Bay of La Plata.
while all parts of the interior would be
rendered accessible by the numerous nav
igable affiuents of the Amazon.
In country watered by the longest
river in the world, there is necessarily
diversity of climate, soil. and production
but the valley of the Amazon, lying
mainly in the interior. and the river run
ming. during the principal part Of Its
course nearly under the equator, aad fall
ing with very slow and almost imper-
ceptible descent for the last fifteen hun
dred miles of its course, the diversity is
much less than it could be under any
other circumstances. The upper part Of
the Amazon, with the exception of sona
desert tracts, would probably be found
admirably adapted for grazing purposes,
uniting the requisites of a grain growing.
t a cattle-raising, and vine planting coun-
try, with the mildness of a tropical eli
mate. 1t is difficult TO say what desire
, would be left ungratifed by the country
1 below the great falls. No winter there
E chills with its frosts, no summer scorches
: with its burning heat the thermometer
e fiuctuates but slightly above or below the
average of 80 degrees, and nature eoa-
: tinually smiles in the fragrance, the fresh
, ness, and the splendor of q tropical spring,
, and pours forth the choicest productions
of earth with profusion unexampled
elsewhere. The orange, the shaddock,
the lemon, the pineapple. the banana, the
eocoanut, the cacao, the sage, the arrow-
root, cimetoo, sapadillo, the manioc, the
mango, the gauva, the plantaiil, the bread
fruit. the strawberry tree, the sawarra-
nut, the eashew, freely offer their pro-
duee, and many of them during .all the
changes of the year. Commerce is in
Yited by the seringa or India-rubber tree,
coffee, sugar, cotton, and the silk cotton,
| (6on,bar eetba. sarsaparilla, and many
other valuable products OF medicinal
herbs, and by an endless variety Of the
most available timber for ship building
or cabinet work, frequently surprising
both rosewood and mahogany in beauty,
and possessing durability, asin the case
of the green heart, with which even the
locust is unable to compete.