Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-11-09


The northern route to the Amazon has
been given much prominence during lie
last few months through the adventure
some activity Of Senior M,sones Muro. A
Peruvian explorer. who has made MANY
trips through this region. 4 question was
raised as TO the possibility OF reaching
lquitos from some of the northern ports
of Peru b. the present means Of COM
munication within less than thirty DAYS.
Senior Muro said that i could be don.
within a fortnight or less if proper Ia
cili;ies we're provided. He covered the
ground in twelve days. Two DAYS having
been lost By the delay of the local Off
Gals in one of the interior departments in
providing boat When hc returned To
Lima lie made a fun report 10 the GOV
eminent This report has not Yet been
given to the public but ii has caused
renewed interest ia the northern route,
which contemplates starting from Eten.
Pacasmayo Q" Paita aud reaching tn.
headwaters of steam NAVIGATION Oh the
MardnNUn by railway line less than
400 miles in length
Senior Muro is understood to confirm
other travellers and explorers IN the in
formation that By this route thc crest oe
the continental divide can br crossed ~
about 1000 feet above sea level Ia tie
Andean country. whe'e the existing
transandn. road. the central. climbs to
1900 feet III order 10 get across til, di-
vide. comparatively low summit level
has considerable economic Importance.
Senior Muro is also said IA have located q
new port on the left bank al the Malsln-
yon more convenient for navigation than
any of the previous explorers While he
also has indicated The agricultural val
legs which the northern line would tap.
When Consul Eberharlt now one NJ
the travelling consulS- at-large OF the
United States. was stationed 1T Itiuitos.
he made various voyages OF exploration
on the tributaries Of tin, Muranyou. which
showed that the possibilities al steam
navigation were far greater than were
generally supposed. The result of lis
Investigations have since been confirmed.
The numerous explorations made, IL the
northern route have shown that a rail-
way could he constructed with TAR less
difficulty than tie Madeira MamcTe road,
which the brazilian government built n
order To improve communication with tine
enormous rubber area IN Brazilian AMI
Bolivian territory. In he national sense
it is as important for Peru 10 get to tho
Amazon as il was for Brazil To get to
the country for which the Madeira Ma
more line provided an outlet. There
should. however. be no misleading pl"ph-
ecieS as to how soon Peru Wlll d1k1'Ne
its ambition and have throH2 n. commune
ca ton to the Amazon.
The rivalry Of different sections - The
country is on. obstacle. Another aud =
more vital one is the present lack of
financial resources. President Billing
hursts railway policy is confined to a lew
extensions of existing lines Tor the pres
ent year and possibly Tor the remainder
OF his administration. ia the meantime
the government IS accommodating 4 large
amount OF useful information, which IS
detailed enough and technical enough u
furnish a proper basis TOR trunk-ine raj
way enterprises such as that to tn" Mar
anyon, which Is estimated 10 cost S-a,N@t-
coo to sg5.0nDubr. When all this lntoftna-
ton is disested and when the Peruvian
finances improve, II is quite likely that
measures Will be taken which will uti-
mately make Paita, In northern Peru, the
terminus of a railway system To the napi-
gable headwaters of the Maranyon. which
is, in effect, the upper Amazon.