384 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[August i, 1910. 





Palace of Justice, Manaos. 



Falls Near Manaos. 



and a great fleet of steamers, big and little, that go to all the 

 upper rivers, even to the slopes of the Andes. 



The carrying trade of the Amazon is done, first, by ocean 

 going boats of such lines as the Booth, Hamburg-American, and 

 Lloyd Brasikiro, many of which visit Para and Manaos only, 

 while others go a thousand miles further up to Iquitos; second, 

 by a fleet of river steamers, several hundred in number, that be- 

 long some to individuals and some to companies. The Amazon 

 Steam Navigation Co., Limited, for example, the oldest, has 

 about forty steamers and many tugs and lighters. Their boats 

 are from 150 to 800 tons burden, and the company is subsidized 

 by both State and Federal governments to run regularly up some 

 of the great tributaries of the Amazon. 



Time was when the flat bottomed stern wheel Mississippi 

 type of steamer was very generally used, but it has practically 

 disappeared. The twin screw steamer is to-day the usual thing, 



that is for the better class of river boats. Some of these are 

 fitted with electric fans, ice machines and excellent accommoda- 

 tions for first class passengers. The boats are usually two deck- 

 ers, both being open. The lower deck is for the engine, cargo, 

 animals, crew and third class passengers. This deck is usually 

 loaded in layers — merchandise, mules and dogs at the bottom, 

 passengers in hammocks just above, with an animated top 

 layer of parrots, monkeys, and insects. The upper deck, reserved 

 for officers and first class passengers, has a few four bunk 

 cabins and a long table aft where meals are served, and is very 

 comfortable. 



Of the hundreds of individual steamers no two are exactly 

 alike. All types of engines are represented, and of propellers 

 one would not believe that so many patterns had ever been made 

 — a great handicap in repairing. The individual boats do not 

 pretend to run on schedule time. They leave when they get 

 ready, go where they choose, and arrive when they may. The 

 result is a great deal of wasted effort. It often happens, on the 

 main river or some of the great tributaries, that a party ex- 

 pecting the boat will wait for days and finally go back in dis- 

 gust to their seringal. Then a week or more later the boat 

 arrives and sends out an expedition to find the seringal and se- 

 cure its freight. 



According to Brazilian law any and every boat navigating 

 their waters must carry mail if requested to do so, and that 

 without recompense. A wise old Portuguese sea captain de- 



Church of St. Sebastian, Manaos. 



'Victoria Regia" (Victoria Water Lily.) 



