The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1870-02-25

lHc AMAZON. lot US, following
in brief abstract the account of Mr..
Orion, touch upon somo prominent
characteristics Of this great o,can
river. 1t rises in the little Peruvian
Lake OF Lauricocha, just below the
limits Of perpetual snow. For 500
miles it flows swiftly through a deep
valley. Then, turning sharply east
ward, it runs $500 miles across the
great equatorial plain. Two thous-
and miles above it's mouth it's width
is a mile and half, increasing to
more than ten miles at the head Of
the delta, where it divides, and. after
running 400 miles, presents a front
Of $50 miles upon the ocean, For a
great distance it is bordcred by side
channels or bayous,'' as they are
called upon the Mississippi, named
by the Indians lyarapes, or "canoe-
paths.' From Santareiu, the prin-
cipal town above Para, one may pad
die thousand miles parallel to the
river without once entering the
stream. For twenty-five degrees of
latitude every river that f,ws dowr
the eastern slope Of the Andes is an
afluent OF the Amazon. 1t is as
though all the rivers from Mexico to
Oregon united their waters in the
Mississippi. \ half score of these
tributaries are larger--the Danube
cxcepted--tEan any European river
out Of Russia. The volume of its
waters is greater even than the
breadth Of the river would indicate.
At Nauta, 2200 miles from it's mouth,
the depth is 40 feet, increasing rap
idly as it approaches the ocean. The
largest ocean steamer could doubt
less steam 1000 miles up the ANA
zon.
The vegetation Of the valley is cx-
uhcrant. Thore is hewildcring di-
vorsity of grand and beautiful trees, |
a wild, unconqucred race of vegeta-
Bile giants, draped and festooned by
creeping plants. The moment yon
land upon the shore you are confront
ed by a solid wall of vegetation,
through which if You wish to proceed,
you must hew your way with axe or
macheta Palms. of which thirty
varieties are noted, constitute the
of trees Then there are
huodrcd and fifty feet
high, yielding milk Of the consist
ency of cream, used for tea, coffee,
and custards. The '.caucho' or rub
bcr-tree, though Of a, different spc-
cies from that of the East Indies,
produces gum which constitutes
most of the rubber Of commerce.
Agassiz puts this tree. forty or sigh-
ty feet high, in the same class with
he "milk 'wced' of our American
pastures. OF ornamental woods there
IS no end. Foremost among these is
the Moriu- PiniMa, or "tortoisc shell
wood. the most beautiful in grain
and color Of any in the world.
Enough Of this is wastod every year
10 veneer all the dwellings Of the
civilized world. For many years to
come the exports of tho Amazon
Valley must be mainly the products
IF its forests. Yet, strangely enough
,imber is now one of the chief arti-
lies of import at Para. A city of
81, 900 inhabitants. lying OH the verge
If great forest. buys pine boards
rom far-away Maine! This folly
viii in time come to an end. Con-
rary to all that we might expect,
he climate of the Amazon Valley is
rather than tropical. 1t
$ more equul than in any other re-
zion of the world. Year in and year
'ut it ranges from 747 to s7'--the
air mean being s00.--From 1.-The
Andes and The Amazon" by A II.
Guernsey, in Harper's NayaSine for
February.