TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 167 



his laudable purpose to initiate communication between two friendly empires of 

 such vast populations, was one of a series of such failures, dating from the first 

 quarter of the present century, when British ofiicers, having penetrated the Hima- 

 layas, naturally attempted to extend their explorations fm-ther into Central Asia. 

 From these cases it may be concluded that, if British intercourse is to be extended 

 from India into the Chinese Empire, it can only be done by a fresh treaty between 

 the two supreme governments. 



The Himalayas and Central Asia. By Tkelawnet "W. Sattitdees, 



Peruvian Explorations and Settlements on the Upper Amazons. 

 By Francis F. Seakle. 



Yquitos, a small town on the upper part of the Amazons, or Marafion, has 

 recently sprung into importance as the site of a Peruvian Government station. It 

 is situated on the left bank of the Maranon, below its jimction with the Ucayali, 

 and at the mouth of a small affluent, the Itaia. The place was fixed upon in 1862, 

 as affording the best station for a factory and floating dock, and the steamers ' Mo- 

 rona ' and ' Pastaza,' of 500 tons burthen each, proceeded thither from England, in 

 September, to commence the works. A difficidty was encountered at the outset 

 by the Brazilian authorities disputing the right of foreign vessels laden with cargo 

 and flying the pennant of men-of-war to ascend the Amazons. The ' Morona ' was 

 fired at from the fort at Obydos, and subsequently ran aground, when all the crew 

 ■were taken prisoners ; but the right of free passage being afterwards conceded, 

 two more steamers were sent up in 1865, with a floating-dock, and the materials 

 for constructing two smaller steamers, for river exploration. The author was sent 

 in charge of this portion of the expedition, and stated that one of the vessels, of 

 750 tons burthen, safely ascended to Yquitos, a distance of 2400 miles froni the 

 mouth of the river. Other vessels, and numerous mechanics with machinery, 

 soon after arrived from England, and the settlement was soon in full working 

 order. The larger steamers were then used as passenger and cargo vessels, 

 running monthly between Tabatinga, on the Brazilian frontier, and the little town 

 of Yurimaguas, on the river Huallaga ; the smaller steamers, a,t the same time, 

 were despatched up the various tributaiy streams, most of which were hitherto 

 unknown, except by name, to examine their capabilities for navigation and com- 

 merce. One of the principal objects of tlie Peruvian Government was to ascer- 

 tain the practicability of navigating the Ucayali and its affluents to within a 

 moderate distance of Lima, and of establishing a port at some point to which a 

 road might be made from Lima, with a view to its becoming an outlet to the 

 Atlantic for the trade of the rich provinces of Central and Southern Peru. In 



Sursuance of this grand idea, the ' Putomayo ' steamer was sent up the Ucayali in 

 une 1866. Passing with facility up this great stream and one of its western 

 tributaries, the Pachitea, the expedition encountered a ferocious tribe of Indians, 

 called Cachibos, and two of the officers, Tabara and West, were enticed ashore 

 and treacherously slain. Foiled for a time in the attempt to ascend the stream, 

 the vessel returned to Yquitos, and a larger expedition was despatched, in Decem- 

 ber of the same year (1866) in three steamers. On arriving at Chunta Isla, on 

 the Pachitea, the scene of the treacherous onslaught of the Cachibos, a severe 

 lesson was taught the savages. A party of soldiers was landed in the forest, toge- 

 ther with a number of friendly Conibo Indians to act as guides ; and the secret 

 path to the hostile villages being tracked in the silence of night, the Cachibos 

 were surjjrised and shot down without mercy. In the centre of a viLlage was 

 found a kind of altar, on which human sacrifices had been offered, and one of the 

 •women who were captured wore a necklace of human teeth, which she stated had 

 belonged to one of the officers, who had been roasted and eaten. This done, the 

 three steamers proceeded further up the river ; the two smaller succeeded in reach- 

 ing the port of Mayro, the nearest practicable point to Lima, from which the Pre- 

 fect of Loreto and his staff" passed by land to the capital. One of the vessels 

 remained in the Pachitea for several months, and received on board the Hydro- 



