UCATALI. 349 



alive with turtles. The Itaya, on the other side of Iquitos, 

 is navigable by steamer at least forty-five miles. 



The noble Ucayali has been navigated by a steamer of 

 500 tons for 600 miles in the dry season. A small steamei- 

 can ascend the Pichis to Rochelle-playa, lat. 9° 57' 11" S. ; 

 the Palcazu (in the rainy season) to Mayro, lat. 9° 55' 22" 

 S., or a hundred miles from the terminus of the Oroya Rail- 

 road ; the Urubamba for fifty miles above its confluence 

 with the Tambo; and the Tambo to lat. 11°. The Tambo 

 and Upper Urubamba are the most furious streams enter- 

 ing the Ucayali, the current being sometimes ten miles an 

 hour. Canoes can go up the Pichis to Puerto Tucker, lat. 

 10° 22' 55" S., 980 miles from the Maranon, and 300 from 

 Cuzco. The head of canoe navigation on the Tamaya is 

 within four days of the Javari, while the St. Catalina nearly 

 joins the Chipurana from the Huallaga ; in fact, this is a 

 common route for traders in salt. The current between 

 Sarayacu and the mouth of the Pachitea, a fall of one hun- 

 dred feet, is three miles an hour ; below Sarayacu, and for 

 some distance up the Pachitea, it is a trifle less. The only 

 settlements of importance are the three missions: Sarayacu, 

 once numbering 800 souls, now dwindled to 200, and situ- 

 ated 390 miles from the mouth of the river, and 408 feet 

 above the level of the sea. The temperature does not sen- 

 sibly differ from that of Iquitos. Farther up are Cashi- 

 boya, counting 700, and Calleria, 150. The Ucayali will 

 undoubtedly become the route from Lima to the Atlantic. 

 If volume and length decide the question, this river should 

 be called the "mother -stream" of the Amazons; but on 

 the ground that that branch is the true source on which 

 one can keep longest in the general east and west direc- 

 tion of the main trunk, the Maranon should have the honor. 



The Tigre, a black-water stream, has been ascended by 

 steamer 111 miles, but is probably navigable a much great- 



