Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-02-21

of I'D the Rio Negro and perhaps sixi
It miles distant from its mouth you vi
n find a white water river tributary frol
, the Amazon flowing into one of its ow
n tributaties-a branch from the mai
a river fswing into one Of its tributerit
II sixty miles above It's mouth, movin
q with it and meeting the main river aftel
o ward or you may ma th9t irom Oh
e Parus there Is a communication extend
b ing across the lower portion OF it5 eours
a with the Madeira, or that from the Ma
e deira there Is communication wlln IN
D ropaios in such a manner that withou
e ever travelling in the main course OF th
/. river, II Is possible to pass from the BASH
{ of one Of It's tributaries into the basin o
I the other. When the country i
? more settled these channels will be o
. immense advantage for interc0mmuni
= cation. for they are limited TO the lOwel
} course Of the river. About 400 miles
f above its mouth the Purus sends q branch
! which goes into the Madeira, the Ma.
deira sends branches into the Tapa-
, los. the Tapajos sends branches which gC
into the Toeantius, and this occurs to a
, most extraordinary extent. If I had
before me a detailed map representing
the two arms of the Amazon you would
he surprised to see how a hundred
branches intereOmmunicate between the
northern and southern divisions Of the
riy e. and establish innumerable passes
from one part Of the cauntry to the other.
In fact, sH these passages between the
rivers are natural highways, which will
forever remain the principal means Of
communication from one part Of
the country TO the other. The
whole bnd is too much under the
power o. water TO ever be susceptible Of
sustaining inland travel over any
great extent. The patches ofland which
rise above the riverare limited in extent,
though they are sufficiently high and ex-
/ tensive 10 afford The most exquisite sites
! for settlements. But the main cOmmu-
nieatiOB throughout the river country
must forever be water communication,
and the rghOle country must be aim inis-
tered, iTay5rder to be well administered,
not as a land, but as a cluster Of islands,
between which the communication is
/ necessarily by water InaJ idea must be-
/ the preve lent idea with those who have
any intention of settling in that country.
The idea Of travel by horse and wagon,
I by stage, or by railroad, is an idea that
must ever he foreign 20 the future civiii-
= VI
boat Is the natural means Of conveyance
over the whole land, and there is some
thing charming in the character Of
this water communication, covered
with such luXuriant vegetation, so
varied, and yet so continuous that
nothing can give an idea of what such q
submerged country covered by forests
and interlOeked by plants Of all kinds Is.
1t must be seen to form an idea Of its
true appearance. / will try, however, Co
convey some idea by comparison rather
than by direct description. The whole
land is covered with vegetation and
forests. There are here and there small
spaces which are occupied by water, but
even those are encF0ached upon by the
vegetation, and there is no knowing
where the land ends and the water be-
gins. The aquatic vegetation is so dense
that it extends over the land into the
water, cOnaealing the limits of the one
and the beginning Of the other. When
ever there are extensive lakes their
margins are covered with this aquatic
vegetation, which extends sometimes
very far from the shore, and here and
there are extensive tracts covered with
water, which appear, nevertheless, as if
they were land, owing to the dense growth
Of all sorts or plants sufficiently high to
conceal entirely the surface Of the water.
1 have naVigated for miles and miles
among meadows which have presented
a variety Of flowers as great as our prai-
ries in the most fayOraD ole season of the
year, and over these large meadows COW
cred in this way with aquatic vegetation
the animal creation il as varied, the
water Oirds especially being so numerous
that the scene is one of the most varied
that can be conceived of. The forest
itself mas a character Of its own, entirely
different from the forest Of other parts
Of the world. With us in the temperate
zone, in the more naEthern iatituGes, all
the forests consists Cf q few kinds of
trees and these trees are clustered to- /
gether, a large number OF individuals oil
the same kind occupying exclusively a /
considerable tract Of land. MOI So with I
the tropical forests. Plants the most va /
ried, the most diversified from one an /
other, are mixed together in the most
profuse manner, so that you rarely see (
several stems of the same tree side by |
side, but mixture Of the most diversi- /
fed kind are crowded together, and form /
as dense Forests as our densest. And !
then between them there are a variety /
of smaller plants and of parasites grow /
ing upon the trees and of vines climbing |
from one tree 10 another. and IL is diff !
cult soD atimes to determine 10 which /
plant, vine - tree the flowers or fruit /
you see belongs. The variety is the 1
more astonishing rs At all seasons there /
are some Of these plants in flower. /
Though there P+e somewhat marked |
seasons, yet there il never a period when /
the trees are destitute o. leaves. The /
forests are evergreen, and only a few /
Kinds OF trees, at particular seasons,
drop their leaves, but thew ara so B
few in number that they paly create /
the impression Of few dead |
trees in q thick growing forest. |
These forests are rich in all kinds oil
natural products, and it is in these pro- /
ducts that consists the wealth of the 4
continent. The valley of Inc Amazon |
as country IS not sicn IN mineral pro- |
ductiOns. . 1t Is only in the higher land !
Of the Go az and the MattO Crosse. that |
there are gold and dimond mines. and il I
is only in the lower parts OF the Andes /
that YOu find valuable productions of /
the mineral kingdom. Throughout this /
extensive valley, as l have stated be- /
fore, the mineral kingdom is represented /
only by sands, clays and loans to which .
l shall allude more in detail in a future
lecture, but there are no rocks except /
where the country hegins to rise, for in /
stance on the Rio Negro, above It's juno /
ton with the AmaZ8n and on the Tap /
alOs, the LOcaEJios, the Niuga and the I
Madeira above the waterfalls. There /
the solid rock begins, and there is land +
in which valuable mineral productions /
may be obtained, but tOf the whole ex- /
tent or lll5 plain the chief wealth of |
the country consists in tim Der, in /
textile h6ers, in various fruits, and |
all the various productions of the |
vegetable Kingdom. In the first place I
let me allude TO the timber The variety 4
is incredible. I have seen at Para, at .
pubiic exhibition, a collection of Brazilian /
timber, choice and varied, and suscepti-
ble of furnishing material for the most /
beautiful cabinet work, of III different /
kinds, collected over piece Of iaad half /
a mile square. we have not in the |
United States One-half of this number of /
different kinds of timber worth any
thing for building purposes, or for manu- /
featuring yet there tho variety is so
great that frOI2 q small area of half a
So guaTe mile III different kinds could be |
collected. / have brought home from
this short expedition of ten months sur |
vey, in which the study OF plants was
only ap ao9essorY part OF my eXamina-
tioAtf sDrtiintnS bt Dbb inherent klnUS [
of valuable timber, remarkable for
the beauty of their grain, fer their /
hardness, the variety Oi their tints
and their durability, which if intro
duced into the commerce of the world /
would change the art for which wood is /
supplied. And that wood is Rot YET used |
in any way; it is allowed 10 float down |
the river and the only impedment TO
that | have perceived at any
time was the quantity of floating timber /
So little have the Inhabitants made use
of it that they have 40 sawmiils, and
when they want timber for any purpose /
they cut down a tree Of sufficient length !
and then cut it the size they wish with a /
hatchet This waste is practiced IN refers I
ence to timber. VITA reference to tex
tile tihers there is an endless variety and /
We would be greatly benefited so far as
regards our shipping alone, if we would |
make use of those tissues which are so I
peculiarly adapted for making cables, /
ropes, and tho Ike. There are in par |
tieuiar several kinds of palm leaves which /
have a very resistant anu strong fiber. |
These may be obtained in any quantity |
eu the banks of the Rio Negro, and |
already the English have begun to ex-
port that Ii0sd6d, but l am not aware |
that the Americans have yes begun TO |
make use OF Il. i'he fiber is so light that |
1. 4.