The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1868-10-17
TIE AMA7oNs.
THE GREATEST RIvEa IS THE
WORLD.
Its Source and NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
ries and Tints.-voIume and Cur.
rent-Rise and FaII-NavISa.
tion.-ExpedItIons ON the
Great River.
Nrom tne Melp YorL 20.


In the silver mines of Cerro Pasco,
in the little Lake of Lauricocha, jusi
below the limit of perpetual winter
rises the liking of Waters" For the
hrst i've hundred miles it flows north.
| erly IN a;conunuous series of catracts
ana rapids through deep valley be.
tween the parallel Cordilleras of Peru,
Upon reaching the frontier OF
Ecuador, 1t turns to the right aaud
runs easterly two thousand eight hun
dred miles across the great equatorial
plain of the continent. No. other river
flows in the same latitude and retains,
therefore, the same climatic conditions
for 70 great a distance. The breadth
ofthe Amazons, also, is we'll proper
toned to It's extraordinary length. At
Tabatinga, two thousand miles above
its mouth 1T is a mile and a halfwile; at
the entrance of the Madeira it is three
| miles; below Santarem it is ten; and,
If the Para be considered part of the
great river, 1t fronts the Atlantic one
hundred and eighty miles. Brazilians
proudly call 1t the Mediterranean of the
New World. Its vast expanse present.
ing below Teffe magnificent reaches
with blank horizons, and forming q
barrier between different species oil
animals; its system of back channels
joining the tributaries and linking a
series of lagunes too many ever to be
named: its network of manageable wat.
ers stretching over one-third of the con-
tinent; its porpoises and manatis, gulls
and frlgate birds, remind the traveller
of gfeatInland sea with endless ram.
ifications rather than river. The side
channels through the forest called by
the Indians tgdrdpeS or canoe paths, are
one of the characteristic features ofthe
Amazons. They, often run to great
distance parallel to the Great River,
and interesting the tributaries, 80 thai
one can go from Santarem thousand
miles up the AmaZons without once
entering It. These natural highways
| will be ofimmense advantage for inter.
communications.
But extraordinary as is this network
of Ratural canals, the tributaries of the
Amazons are Still more wonderful
They are so numerous they appear on
the map like thousand ribbons
streaming from a main mast, and
many of the obscure nfhuents, though
large as the Hudson, are unknown tC
geography. From three degrees north
to twenty degrees south, every river
that flows down the eastern slope Of
the Andes Is a contributor-as though
all the rivers between Mexico and
Mount Hooker united their waters in
the Mississippi. While the great river
of the northern Continent drains an
area of one million two hundred thou
sand square miles, the Amazons (not
including the Tocautins) is spread
over a million more, or over surface
equal 10 two thirds of all Europe Let
us Journey around the grand trunk
and take glimpse at the main
branches,
The first we meet in going up theleiL
bank is the Rio Negro. 1t rises in the
Sierra Tunuhy, an isolated mountain
group in the Llanos OF Venezuela, and
,ar,k AfaW in.
sand miles from the sea. tits deep
but sluggish river, and in the annual
rise of the Amazons Its waters are stag
nant for several hundred miles up OF
actually flow back. Its extreme length
is one thousand two hundred miles
and in some places 1t is from twelve to
thirty miles wide. It is Joined to the
and portage OF only two hours di-
vides the head of Its tributary, the
Branco from the Essequito of Guiana.
The next great affIuent is the JdptTd.
It rises in the mountains of New Gren-
ada, and, flowing southwesterly
thousand miles, enters the Amazons
opposite Eva, six hundred miles above
Manaos. Its principal mouth is three
hundred feet wide, but 1t has host Of
distributing channels the extremes OF
which areitwo hundred miles apart. It's
current is only three-quarters of mile
an hour, and 1t has been assembled by
canoes five hundred miles.
Parallel to the Japura, is the Putu
,1naIo or ISSd, Its source is the Lake oil
san Pablo. at the foot of the volcano oil
Paste; its mouth, as given by Herndon
is half mile broad, and its current
two and three. fourths miles an hour.
Further west are Ndpo and PGStdSSG
starting from the volcanoes of Quito
The latter is an unnavigable torrent
about five hundred miles long. INT
Napo is over six hundred; navtgRbl'
i've hundred.
Crossing the Maranon and goinl
down the Amazons, we first pass th'
Huallago, rapid river OF the size Q
| the Cum erIand, coming down the re
ruyian Andes from an altitude OF $50
| feet. and entering the great river near
4 ly opposite the Pastassa, Its mouth !
a mile wide, and for hundred mile
mn Tia ayerage depth is three fathoms
IN JnIy. August and September tn
steamers are not able to ascend to Ynri
T6e next great tributary from tn
| sonfh is the Ucayali. This magnihcen
stream originates near ancient Cuzcc
and has a fall of .S7 of foot per mile
and a length nearly equal 70 tnat :
for at least seven hundred miles. Th
1 MnTona. a steamer of five hundred tons
hes been mn 10 the entrance of the Pa
| chitia In the dry season, q distance {
six hundred miles, and inthe wet ses
son ascended that branch to Mayro.
Leaving the UcaYalt, we pass by 81
rivers rising in the unknown lands
,,orthern Bolivia; the Javare, navtgf
hie nv steam tor two hundred and nit
miles. the sluggish Jutahe, half mil
i broad and four hundred miles long, tn
,Tnrna. four times the size OF our Cor
necticnt, and navigable nearly It's eI
tire length. the unhealthy, uttle-k know
Teffe and quarry, and the Purus, q deel
j slow river, probably a Thousand niue
Il long and open TO Navigation haIl wa
siSty miles below the confluence {
the Negro, the mighty Madeira, ii
iarpest tributary of the Amazon
hIs1,ds ita milky waters with the turbi
Ling oflriyers. 1t is about two thou
and miles in length: one branch, u
RenI. rising near Lake Iiucaca, VIM VIM.
NJ Chuo uisaea Within fifteen miles OF
sonrce of the Paraguay. Were Il nj
for the cascade, four hundred an
aJobty miles from its mouth, large We
sa1s might sail from the AmaZons In
the very heart of Bolivia. When ~
~ has n three-mile current, ana at !
linnction with the Amazons II Is w
miies wide and sixty-stx feat deep.
Contains numerous islands, and rul
IN = oomparativaly straight course.
receiyed its name from the vast quaint
~ OF driftWood often seen hoatil
w ~ Santarem the Amazons recety'
a1othsr great tributary, the TaPaJos,
: Thousand miles long, ana 1or Lhe II y
eJSbty miles from four to twelve mil
: in ,breadfhs 1t rises amid the gold al
diamond mines of Matto Crosse, on
a tWsnsy miles from the headwaters