The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-06-11

big around as your arm, hut they are as
tall as a six-story house, extending from
the ground to the top without branches
and ending with great tassel of leaves
There are Others which sprout out in
great punches from the ground There
are palms loaded with cocoanuts, each
nut In its green husk as big as a foot ball
There are palms which branch out like
fans, and there are royal palms hun
dred feet tall, which tower high above
the smaller varieties e4ses
But the most striking trees of the Am
AEON are not the palm trees. We look in
vain for forest of palms. Palms grow
among the other trees of the woods, and
you seldom see many palms close togeth-
er. The other forest trees in the distance
look much like our trees 1T home
When you get close to the shore how
ever, you see the trees are matted to-
gether with vines. The bark of many of
them Is silver gray, and long creepers
hang down from their branches to the
ground, SO that it would be Impossible
to make your way through without the
aid of an axe.
Some of the trees are enormous. The
one which bears the Brazil nut towers
high above the rest of the forest. 1t
has foliage of rich, dark green, and this
extends out in the shape of a great hill
or mound of green away Up there in the
air. The Brazil nuts are like walnuts,
only each nut is about twice as big as a
base ball. 1t has great husk upon it,
and inside of 1t there are from fifteen to
twenty of the Brazil nuts of commerce.
Some of the Amazon trees are covered
with flowers. Over there at the right
there is a hay stack of Vio1ets poised up
on the top Of that trunk sixty feet high
Further over you may see a tree whose
blossoms look just like buttercups Build,
stack of buttercups big as a circus
tent away up in the air surrounded by
green, and you have the effect.
The most beautiful things, however, are
the little things, the orchids which cling
to the dead branches, the fern trees and
plants which have leaves busted with
silver and copper and gold.
NUTS OF THE AMAZON.
I have seen but few people on my way
up the Amazon. Para, at the mouth, is
the metropolis Of the whole region. 1t
has 100000 population and is a big BUSH
ness center Obydos has about 500 peo-
pie, although it is put down in the books
as much larger. There are few other
scattering towns, such as Santarem and
Porte Allegro, but none have many peo-
pie
Along the banks you see here and
there cut out of the woods a clearing
just about big enough for a hut and a
garden. The hut is made of poles and
palm leaves and the garden consists of
few banana plants, an orange tree or
SO and some palm trees. The huts are
matched with palm leaves. They are
so rude that the wind whistles through
| them and the roof merely serves to keep
out the rain and the sun.
They are built close to the edge of the
river Naked babies play on the shore in
A.
women, many of whom are mulattoes or
negroes, stand and look at the steamer
as it goes by. The most of these people
! are rubber hunters, a few own cacoa or
| chards, but all seem to be thriftless and
! poverty stricken.
FLOODS OF THE AMAZON.
Many of the people can live in their
huts only part of the year They have
to go to the higher lands during the
floods. The Amazon valley is the rainiest
region of the world. 1t is estimated that
100000 cubic feet of rain falls upon 1t
every day the year through This is an
average of seventy-two inches of rain
| per annum. In other words, if the water
| lay where 1t fell the whole valley would
| be covered with rain SO deep that 1t
would hide the crown of the average
| man.
In many parts of the valley 1t rains
| every day. In Para 1 had to make my
appointments to call after the usual
afternoon shower, and here up the Anna
zon the air is full of moisture and mist.
! Everything is rusty. My knife has rusted
| in my pocket. l have to keep my re-
volver well oiled, and If leave my gun
loaded over night it is sometimes so
damp that it will not go off In the morn
ing. My camera is freckled with rust
and my typewriter looks as though 1t
came from junk shop
The greatest rains are in our winter.
In Noeer'ber and February the Amazon
rises from thirty to fifty feet above it's
usual level. At this time vast part of
the valley Is flooded, and thousands of
square miles are covered with water for
| months. Many of the islands are SUBJ
merged The water flows out and in
among the tops of trees, and the valley
for thousand miles and more is vast
| inland sea, from fifteen to hundred
| miles wide.
AS you go up the river you see here