The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1866-10-31
TnE R1vrR AmAzoN.-Prof. Agassiz Las

. Features of the Amazon Basn, 70 tn
Young Mems Christian Association of Boston
He said:
, Tgt1t6untry of the Amazon is SO diferen
from ahy we are familiar with that it deserve
careful examination 1t is one vast plain
with no hills interrupting the view. The
Amazon flows 1000 miles through valley
1900 miles wide This valley is low plain
its slope not exceeding $50 feet, the river, il
5000 miles, having a descent Of only 21C
feet The mouth Of the Amazon is 1850 miles
wide, and the muddy water of the river car
be seen at sea long before the land is visible
and it even tinges the blue of deep water
The snow in the Andes begins to melt in
August and September, but it is not until
June that the Amazon is highest But the
principal part Of the water Of this river does
not come from the Andes, but from the vast
basin which it drains. And this water does
not all come at the same time, but the north
ern rivers are swelling when the southern ones
are empty. There is about so feet difference
in the height of the river, and the country
being so low of course it is entirely submerged
at times, and the natives traverse the entire
forest in their boats The narrow passage be-
tween the trees they call g boat paths
The waters Of the main stream are whitisb,
or rather the color Of coffee. in which is a
large amount of milk, and this color is visible
SO miles beyond its mouth All the tributaries
that rise in the mountains are Of the same
color, but those that have their source in the
forests have black tinge, the Rio Niger being
nearly the color Of ink Although this large
river enters the Amazon, it has no perceptible
effect upon the color Of the latter.
The climate of the Amazon basin is delight
! full, ranging from 72 to go degrees. It is
most healthy, yet no country has worse
reputation, and this is caused by the misrepre-
sensations Of the people and former rulers Of
that section. The whites degrade the Indians
and themselves, in order to make the former
serve them He had seen white men seated
on the ground in the midst of company Of
Indians, all eating with their fingers out Of the
same dish. At an exhibition in Brazil he saw
specimens of lit kinds Of costly lumber, vet
in this entire basin of the Amazon there is not
single saw mill and the professor had seen
4 the people cut down large tree, from which
! they would hew out enc board. A company
of eastern lumbermen, the lecturer thought,
ought to emigrate there
There is no delta to the Amazon, which is a
remarkable circumstance all other large
rivers of the world have them. Yet this river
bears immense quantities of mud to its mouth,
but the lack of a delta is owing to the fact
that the ocean is constantly encroaching upon
the land and $50 or 800 miles have already
disappeared. The lecturer then demonstrated,
from the geological formation of the country,
that this encroachment was fact.
Large steamers can traverse all the rivers
tributary to the Amazon, and no difficulty is
experienced in navigating the entire network
of rivers.
| STEALING AUToGRAPHs-AP Paris correspond
ent writes as follows to the Montreal Gazette :
Speaking of autographs, must not forget
to mention a curious fact that has lately come
to light In that vocabulary Of an enthusiastic
collector of the verb TO TAKE never means to
steal, or SO long as the action in question is
confined to articles of his prediction. You
would scarcely believe it, but it is fact that
in our public Libraries the officials are obliged
to keep an active watch upon certain persons,
men Of the fairest dealings in the ordinary
transactions of common life, who are in the
/ habit Of practising what is called "le vol la
mouille,'' or theft by means of wet string"
/ This kind Of theft, which is carried on by men
who would shudder at the idea of being called
thieves, is very easy, and can be effected
while the perpetrator appears to be absorbed
in profound study of the manuscript before his
! eyes. The modus operandi is as follows The
person DESTROYS Of approprating leaf con-
tanning a coveted autograph, we will say, pro-
! Yides himself before going into the library,
with a piece of wet string, which he places
among the inner margin Of the leaf in ques-
/ ton The moisture penetrates the paper and
renders its separation easy. In this manner
manga precious manuscript has been mudlated
and rendered almost yalueless. This practice
is frequently carried on by manufacturers Of
genealogies in order to procure the leaf con-
tanning what they require for their small traf-
6c. The manufacturer Of false autographs
which in place like Paris is naturally very
considerable, has given rise to many other
and curious branches of industry The prin-
cipal thing that guides a genuine connoisseur
in purchasing an ancient autograph IS the au-
thenticity of the paper; but even this is de-
ceptire, as it is well known that the indus
trious class in question procure the material
they require by washing old manuscripts, of
no value, with a preparation of chlorine, and
giving it the yelowisb tint by some other chem
iSaL n O0Soo'
EFFECT OF THE REMOVAL OF FoREsTs.-At
one season the earth parts with its warmth BY
radiation to an open sky-receiyes at another,
an immoderate heat from the unobstructed
rays Of the sun. Hence the climate becomes
excessive, and the sell is alternately parched
/ By the rigorous winter. Bleak winds sweep
unressted over its surface, drift away the
snow that sheltered it from the frost, and dry
up its scanty moisture. The precipitation be-
comes as irregular the temperature. The
melting SHOWS and vernal rains, no longer abb
sorbed by a loose and bibulous and vegetable
mould, rush over the frozen surface and pour
down the valleys seward instead Of filing a
retentve bed of absorbent earth, and storing
up supply Of moisture to feed perennial springs.
The soil is barred Of its covering Of leaves,
broken and loosened by the pillow, deprived Of
the fbrous rootlets which held it together,
dried and pulverised by sun and wind, and at
last exhausted by new combinations. The
face of the earth is no longer sponge, but a
dust heap, and the floods which the waters Of
I+l 49, al