Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-08-14
A CONTINENTS HEART.
Trip Up the Amazon River a Thous-
and Miles From Its Mouth.
A PATH BETWEEN GREEN WALLS.
Steamers That Draw Eighteen Feet Of
Water Go Up to Nanaos.
THE SIGHTS IN AN ANCIENT CITY
rcoRRrspoNnrNcE oE THE n


MANAOs, BRAZIL, July 25.-If the reader
will first get his bearings by reference to
his map, it will quite materially assist the
writer in his efforts to explain his where
abouts In imagination am trying to talk
to our intelligent American people from
the heart of the 'Light Continent" or
Equatorial America, as distinguished from
Stanley's Ozark Continent" of Equatorial
Africa. 1t is light here in the sense that
the fierce, direct rays of an almost vertical
sun penetrate even the deep, dense and
silent solitudes of this tropical wilderness
of forest primeval of Amazonia, but it is
yet dark region to our people, because the
sunlight of the advanced civilization of
America de Norte is only now commencing
to reflect its bright beams upon this sister
Republic, which is closer to us geograph-
ically, commercially and politically than it
is to Europe, and of far greater interest to
America than is Stanley's Equatorial Africa
Tracing the Amazon river due westward
on the line of the Equator for 1000 miles
will locate Manaos at the confluence Of the
Rio Nigro and Solimoes, as the Upper
Amazon is here called Relatively Manaos
occupies the same position in the Amazon
Valley as does st. Louis in the Mississippi
Valley, Para, being the New Orleans or Gate
City, situated a 100 miles above the delta of
the Amazon, and singularly enough Para
like New Orleans, lies low, is quite un-
healthful, and in respect to its cosmopolitan
population resembles New Orleans while
Manaos like st. Louis is situated on high
rolling plateau.
Something About the Island City.
Manaos is not a new city in a new land,
having been located first by the Jesuits in
1867, but it did not attain to the dignity of
a settlement until 1855, and city in 1S4S.
1t is not possible to obtain any correct data
as to population, but the inhabitants are
about &C, 000 1t is the capital of the State
of Amazonas The principal business is
the export of crude rubber, which comes
down the river in canoes and small boats,
and here reload into large ocean steamers,
which sail directly from Manaos to all parts
of the world, returning laden with the
manufactures of other lands.
Cocoa, from which chocolate is manu-
featured, is produced in the Upper Amazon
region in large quantities, and great por-
tion is shipped directly to Menier in
France, and from whom we in America buy
the prepared chocolate in the different
forms. Castanhas, or Brazil nuts, hides,
the balsams, and the corresponding natural
tropical productions are shipped directly
by the Booth steamers from the docks of
Manaos to the Brooklyn warves, without
any changing of cargo. Though we take a
major portion of the productions of the
Amazon Valley in America, yet nothing is
done here to advance American trade by
paw gold coin through English banks, the
inn nIafi in nm
army of English brokers, who may be
described as suckers on the American trade.
No Telegraphic Communication.
There is not in the 40, 900 people of Manaos
a single American except your correspon-
dent. Unlike Para, where the foreigners
are principally English, in Manaos they
are mostly Germans with large sprinkling
of Hebrews The business houses are large
and in many respect excel those of Para,
because they are more modern in construc-
tion. The one thing which Manaos lacks is
telegraphic communication with the outer
world. The people seem to be entirely de-
pendent upon the quotations of Exchange"
that come to Para from London via Rio
over English cables, four or five days dis
tant from Manaos. The Rio Government
has appropriated sufficient money to extend
its line from Para to Manaos, but unluckily
for this people, there is little hope of its be-
ing speedily consummated.
The Chief Engineer of Telegraphs is a
Russian, who early came to Manaos where
he was married to a handsome mulatto wo-
man. As is frequently the case, the half
savage wife did not keep pace with the |
toward better civilization, and was aban- |
doned while the liege Russian lord took up |
with the handsome, young and fascinating |
Moroccos, to whom he attached himself |
only to abandon them later tor other victims |
Your correspondent has some personal |
knowledge of this officials acts, and tells |
the story to illustrate the peculiar ideas of |
present Brazilian Government officials at |
Rio, who can tolerate foreign aliens known
to be devoid of every particle Of honor and
A Good Deal of Government Jobbery.
The explanation seems to be that the Rio
officials themselves are in some way inter-
ested in tine disbursements of the large ap-
tor line of telegraph. The
route surveyed by this engineer, instead of
being direct covers one-third more of dis
tance than is necessary. Instead of being
in its prosecution, the foreign
chiet devotes his time to the fascination of
n fresh Morocco, who was recently brought
out from Portugal and sold to him the
highest bidder. Hairdressers, dressmakers,
jewelers. and others wait daily upon the
fortunate little receptacle, upon whom so
much money is being appropriated, that
the query everywhere is ''Where does the
money come from?" Nobody intimates
that the 80, 600 contos subject to the chiefs
hands are being misappropriated, but it is
1arkly limited that there must be consid-
erable fund to draw upon outside Of the
argest salary.
Great Boats on the Amazon.
Vessels drawing 1S or 20 feet come here
rom New York and Liverpool monthly.
A voyage up the lower Amazon is soon
described. 1t is indeed dull and monoto-
,ous, there being nothing to interest any,
,ne after the first hour. 1t is all alike-for
he entire thousand miles one vast expanse
If old gold colored water and a sea of green
orest and sky. There are but the three
'lements--sun, fierce and burning, and
ingularly bright broad seas or bays of
muddy water, fringed on all sides by
hings can only be In the tropics.
Instinctivelv we peer into the depths ex- ;
'ecting to see tigers and savage Indians,
md we look for arrows to drop on deck. 1t
las been my good luck to see monkeys
ump from tree to tree, chattering like
quirrels at the passing steamer. Parrots :
ly high, but paroquettes go in crowds aud ,
re as noisy as lot of blackbirds. Macaws
ly about lazily at the approach of the
teamer, while the beautiful white cranes
nd aigrettes are scarcely disturbed by tine :
well or swish of the steamers waves.
1t is indeed a marvelously beautiful pan
rama, especially in the early morning or
ate i'll the evening, when the descending
un rays try to penetrate the deep hedge Of !
orest, lighting.up the foliage and making !
a nicture of lioht and shodous The