The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-10-02
the city. and is intersected by avenues

the city, and is intersected by avenues
leading to the Largo do Quartet and the
| Palace square. The bark of these trees is
silver gray, and they produce a coarse cot
ton which is used for various purposes.
just beyond the Estaba dos Mangabeiras,
which is always filled with carriages and
pedestrians, one may plunge at once into
the primeval forest, and in five minutes
stroll become lost to every trace of the
! near residence of man. Stories are told of
persons who, even within the present year,
have become bewiIdered in the mazes of
| these iungles and though but so short dis
lance away, were utterly unable to find
their way back to town, and many are
known TO have perisned in that manner.
All important posts throughout the city
and the approaches thereto are regularly
guarded by soldiers and whoever ap-
proaches alter o'clock is hailed by the
harsh call: QUEEN val la? {who goes there q
The proper answer ia "Un. Amigo''-a
| friend; ana then the guardian of the peace
retorts "Passa Largo''-go along.
PRIMEvAL FORESTS.
Baron Humboldt says
IF the name of primeval forest can
properly be given to any spot or the face
Of the earth it is in the basin of the Anna
zon. There is a sea of verdure in which
one may draw a circle of 1000 miles In
unbroken forest. The variety of grand
and beautiful trees is bewildering-a wild
race of vegetable giants, all draped, fes-
tooned corded, matted and ri0boned with
elm bling and creeping plants in endless
variety. But these tangled forests offer q
bar to civilization almost as great as the
sterilty of the African DESERTS"
This part of Brazil, known as the Anna
zones district-its name derived from the
we'll prevailing river-which has Para for
its capital, is indeed q Wonderland. Its
soil is so extremely fertile that the great
difficulty in making any agricultural use
of it is to repress nature, and it requires
eternal vigilance to prevent cultivated lands
from going back to primeval forests. From
it at least seven-eights of the worlds pro-
duction of India rubber is imported; and
though its rich territory covers an area
equal in extent to all that part of the
United Statea east of the Rocky mountains,
practically nothing else is produced, be-
cause rubber gathering Is 80 much more re-
munerative than any other employment
that it absorbs almost the entire labor of
the country.
THE WAYS OF COMMERCE.
The great Amazonian valley has already
about 900 miles of available river navi-
CATION, and another 10000 might be added
to the vast system of waterways by con-
OIL uCbluS q low HuHuFcu lliito u EallWdy
around the rapids of the MADEIRA, Tapajos
and Tocautins rivers. Para, the gateway
which opens all this to the world, is the
nearest port in South America to the
United States, commercially speaking if
not geographically, the distance to New
York being little less than 1900 miles bv
the direct route now regularly traversed
by the United States and Brazil line of
steamers. At present, there is only one
steam railway in sll Amazonia-the Bar
aganca river line, which runs forty miles
out from Para and ends in the Wilderness
It's prospective terminus is Baraganca, a
large, new town about eighty miles north
east of Para, but it is doubtful if it ever
gets there. The road has never yet paid
half of its running expenses, and the deficit
is made up from the public treasury, ex-
cept in very small portion Of Southern
Brazil there is no population back of the
coast to support railways, along the rivers,
where water transportation is cheapest.
We spent pleasant day going over the
Baraganca road. 1t is narrow gauge, with
rolling stock Of English make, and sends
but one train day. And that is quite
enough, for there is only one village of any
consequence along the hner and the district