344 



GEOGRAPHICAL EXPLORATIONS AND DISCOVERIES IN 1866. 



until 1866, was that of M. Liais, a French en- 

 gineer, to explore the Rio San Francisco, one 

 of the most important rivers of Southern Bra- 

 zil, which passes for nearly a thousand miles 

 through the province^of Minas-Geraes, the great 

 mining and diamond district of Brazil. 



Professor Agassiz spent ten months on the 

 Amazons and its tributaries, and, either in per- 

 son or by members of his corps, explored most 

 of its larger tributaries, penetrating to the 

 boundaries of Peru. He also explored some 

 other portions of the empire. He has added 

 materially to our knowledge of this mighty 

 river and the broad valley or plain through 

 which it flows. The remarkably level region 

 through which the Amazons passes is an inter- 

 esting feature, and one which makes it emi- 

 nently a highway of the nations. In a distance 

 of 3,000 miles from its mouth the elevation is 

 only 210 feet, less than nine inches in ten miles. 

 Owing to this fact, and to its great breadth and 

 depth, it is navigable for the largest steamers 

 for a greater distance than any other river on 

 the globe. Some of its tributaries, especially 

 those on the south, at a distance of four or five 

 hundred miles above their junction with the 

 Amazons, have rapid cataracts or falls ; but far 

 beyond the boundaries of Peru the main river 

 has none. Professor Agassiz states that the 

 river bears three different names in different 

 parts of its course : from the mouth of the Rio 

 Negro to the Atlantic it is the Rio Amazonas or 

 Amazons ; from Tabatinga, on the borders of 

 Ecuador, through the territory of Ecuador, and 

 to the mouth of the Rio Negro, it is called the 

 Solimoes or Solimoens ; that portion of the river 

 above Tabatinga, from its source in the Andes 

 downward, is called the Maranon. The Ama- 

 zons, throughout the greater part of its length, 

 at least to the junction of the Napo in Ecuador, 

 varies very little, not more than two or three 

 degrees from a due west to east course, and is 

 therefore almost wholly in the same latitude ; 

 this is not the case with any other river of 

 the first class. All the other great rivers of the 

 world pass over many degrees of latitude, and 

 are of course in different climates in different 

 portions of their course. The Amazons is 

 wholly within the tropics, and within three or 

 four degrees of the equator ; but it is not on 

 this account so hot and sickly a climate as would 

 be supposed ; the average temperature of the 

 year is 84 F., the extremes 72 and 92, and 

 the climate is very healthful. The waters of 

 the river are turbid and of a milky color, from 

 the white clay which they hold in suspension. 

 The tributaries which rise in the mountains are 

 all of this milky color ; bnt those which rise in 

 the woody plains have their waters black, or 

 rather of a dark amber color, or, in some cases, 

 of a deep green. The Rio Negro derives its 

 name from this dark color of its waters. The 

 vegetable life of the valley of the Amazons is 

 abundant, almost excessive, but it is peculiar. 

 The palms are very abundant and of great va- 

 riety. The lianas or parasitic plants are exceed- 



ingly numerous, and many of them belong tc 

 the orchid family. The fruits, instead of being 

 as with us of the rose family, are almost all 

 myrtles. The variety of beautiful and durable 

 woods is very great, several hundred species 

 fit for ship-building, for furniture, and for build- 

 ing houses having been observed. One hun- 

 dred and seventeen distinct species, all of ex- 

 cellent quality, were procured from a lot half a 

 mile square. The aromatic and medicinal trees, 

 plants, and shrubs, abound. The cinchona, tho 

 india rubber, the pepper, and other valuable 

 trees, are found in large tracts. Animal life is 

 equally abundant. Previous to his visit to Bra- 

 zil, but little over one hundred species of fishes 

 were known to exist in Brazil. During his stay 

 he discovered over 'eighteen hundred new spe- 

 cies, many of them belonging to genera and 

 classes elsewhere unrepresented. Among the 

 quadrupeds there were many new species. 

 There were about sixty species of monkeys, all 

 differing from those in other parts of the globe 

 in having prehensile tails. The intercommuni- 

 cation throughout this whole region, the pro- 

 fessor thinks, must be always by water ; fast 

 steamers can, in consequence of the interfacings 

 of the rivers, visit almost every portion of the 

 valley of the Amazons, and the annual floods 

 will not permit in that region of any extended 

 railroads. 



Mr. Chandless's exploration of the River Pu- 

 rus was deemed of so much importance and 

 value that he was presented by the Royal Geo- 

 graphical Society with the founder's medal. 

 The Purus is one of the southern affluents of 

 the Amazons, discharging itself into that river 

 by four mouths, near the 61st meridian west 

 from Greenwich. Repeated attempts had been 

 made to explore it previously, by commissions 

 from the Brazilian Government, but they had 

 proved failures. Mr. Chandless, however, suc- 

 ceeded, with a crew of Bolivian Indians, in as- 

 cending it for 1,866 miles, or to within about 

 20 miles of its source, and mapped it accurately. 

 He found the river very tortuous in its course, 

 but unobstructed by rapids, and navigable about 

 to its source. The Madre de Dios, the Peru- 

 vian river, proved not to be the head waters 

 of the Purus, that river having its source two 

 degrees farther north. The small tribes of In- 

 dians near its sources had never been in com- 

 munication with the semi-civilized tribes lower 

 down, and still used their primitive stone 

 hatchets. They had dogs, but no fowls. Ta- 

 pirs and capibaras were extremely numerous 

 in this remote solitude, and very tame. As 

 Mr. Chandless approached the sources of the 

 stream, the river forked, and both forks were 

 obstructed by rocks and rapids, the farthest 

 point reached on the north fork was 10 36' 

 44" south latitude ; 72 9' west longitude from 

 Greenwich. On the south fork, 10 52' 52" 

 south latitude ; and 72 17' west longitude. The 

 height above the sea level was at this point 

 1,088 fe<jt. In a second voyage Mr. Chandless 

 explored the Aquiry, the principal branch of 



