The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1910-07-01
Interesting Facts About the dreat-
est and Strangest River in
In the World.
LIKE THE OCEAN HIGHWAYS.
Big Steamers Leave Iquitos, 5000
Miles Inland, for Europe
Every Fortnight.

While the Amazon is the worlds
greatest river, II not in length, at
least In the volume of water which
flows through IL, Il is the worlds
strangest river as well, The few trav-
elers and explorers who have journey
ed up this water course to lbs many
sources I'm the glaciers Of the South
American mountains tell stories which
are almost incredible about the literal
maze Of streams which unite to form
it, each stream having its birth in
one Of the great ice masses. Yet a
few hundred miles below, where they
merge and create the river, the tenn
perature is such that it works its way
through a perfect labyrinth of tropi-
cal vegetation.
Take a map OF South America and
look out a place called Iquitos. It
lies four-ffths Of the way across the
continent from east to west. Yet from
Iquitos there is a fortnightly service
OF ocean-going steamers to Europe,
which descend some 5000 miles of the
river before they reach the sea. II
is not only one branch of the Amazon
but many that are thus to be regard
ed as the same as ocean highways.
The southern branches of the Amazon
are broken by rapids along a line
where a low continental shelf exists.
Above these rapids, however, there Is
again deep water Thus beyond the
F,lT 6
10000 miles Of navigable water on
that river and its branches and these
only await the making OF a short rail
way. less than 200 miles long, to be
brought into connection with the other
highways of the world.
The sources Of the Amazon are
countless. Like the web of a gigan-
tic leaf its tributaries divide and sub
divide into an infnity of threads at
the outer fringe. Some, perhaps al
most the remotest OF these from the
mouth, / have myself visited where
they quit the glacier tongues Of the
great snowy Cordilera Real in Bolivia
and Peru. Those glaciers themselves
are, in fact. branches of the great
Amazon and to it each snowflake be-
longs that falls within its watershed
Away in this remote part of the
South American continent nature has
been generous for in addition to the
wealth Of rubber there are known to
be deposits of gold and other precious
minerals. 1t is said that nearly every
,F h., g,1u g1 90, D., Inc
down the foothills of the mountain
carries sand laJn with gold which has
been accumulaNng in its bed for cen
turtles, but as yet none has been Sc
cured by the miner, owing to the dis
tance to these streams being so great |
and to there being no route by which |
or tools for getting the gold |
can be taken to these places. 1t re-
quires no little courage to explore |
these Businesses, for a man really |
takes his life in his hands, so un-
healthy are they Occasionally, how
ever, one can see the upper portion Of |
a forest where there is a little crevice |
in its roof of vines.
The glory Of color reigns supreme
color of flowers, Of butterflies, of birds
radiant in scarlet in gold and blue
You can see these bright creatures /
in a cavern below, but not in
all their glory as they must behold
me another above. Sometimes, as
hey fit about beneath, they will
'nance to cross a sunbeam slanting
through a hole in vegetation; then
FOR an instant they flash into view
like an explosion of burning color. 1t
IS thus that the great butterflies are
seen to the best effect. No one can
imagine what a picture they produce
n their native haunts as their wings
lash and close and flash again in the
as they fly.
This upper world of the Amazon
'orests has been closed to human be-
ngs and promises to remain a perpet-
Ial mystery unless with the aid of
some aerial craft one may be able to
-ici4 a.