Year: 1870




The Amazon cuts its way through dense forests
for more than two thousand miles, with chan
mel deep enough to float the largest ship, drain
ing in its course the greatest basin on the globe.
Its direction for the greater part of its course is
due east. From the head OF its delta almost to
the foot of the Andes, distance of $500 miles,


it nowhere varies more than degree from the
third parallel of south latitude the elevation in
no case exceeding 800 feet, so that its produc-
tions are all of the same species. The region
drained by the Amazon has an area of two and
half millions Of square miles-twice that of
the Mississippi. 1t is equal to all of the United
States east of the Rocky mountains, or nearly to
the whole of Europe, leaving out Russia. AL
most the whole of this region is capable of sup
porting dense population 1t is safe to say
that if fully peopled, it could feed four hundred
millions. Its present population cannot exceed
four hundred thousand The vegetation of the
valley is exuberant. There is bewildering
diversity of grand and beautiful trees, n Wild
unconqured race of vegetable giants, draped and
testooned by creeping plants. The moment you
land upon the shore you are confronted by
solid wall of vegetation, through which, if you
wish to proceed you must hew your way with
an mdchetd. Palms, of which thirty vare-
ties are noted, constitute the majority of trees
Then there are "cowtrees," d" n hundred and fifty
feet high, yielding milk of the consistency of
cream, used for tea, coffee and custards The


CuuCuO, OF ruoDer Tree, JuOuRn OF II ulUerent
species from that of the East Indies, produces n
gum which constitutes most of the rubber of
commerce. Agassiz puts this tree, forty or
eighty feet high, in the same class with the
"milk weed |" of our American pastures. OF
ornamental woods there is no end. Foremost
among these is the mora pinimd, or tortoise
shell wood" the most beautiful in grain and
color of any in the world. Enough of this is
wasted every year to veneer all the dwellings in
world n
the exports of the Amazon valley must be mainly
the products of its forests. Yet, strangely
enough, timber is now one of the chief articles
of import at Para. A city OF 80, 900 inhabitants,
lying on the verge of great forest, buys pine
boards from far away Maine This folly will in
time come to an end. Contrary to all tha: we
might expect, the climate OF the Amazon valley
is temperate rather than tropical 1t is more
equable than in any other region of the world
ear in and year out it ranges from 74o to s7o--
the fair mean being 800. The color of the native
races in this region, is mahogany hair black
straight and thick forehead low but broad ;
hands and feet small of medium stature but
thickset. Their dwellings are IL frame work of
poles, thatched with palm leaves the walls
sometimes latticed and plasered with mud fur
niture chiefly hammocks and earthen vessels
Along the middle Amazon the men wear trow-
sers and shirts of white cotton, the women short
calico petticoats and loose chemises the hair is
knotted at the crown of the head, where it is
confined by comb. The wilG tribes, north
and south, go nearly naked, or wear ponchos
made of cotton or the bark of trees. Saving
that they are quiet and peaceable, they come as
near to the pure savage state as any people on
the globe. The few who have come in contact
with the whites have acquired many of the vices
and none of the virtues of civilization 1t is
believed that the valley of the Amazon is not
their original home.