352 



The Andes and the Amazons. 



it is astonishing how much might be done with a little en- 

 terprise and ingenuity. A good business remains to be 

 done in the export of preserxed fruits, plantain-meal, res- 

 ins, and oil-bearing seeds, in the discovery of vegetable 

 fibre for paper-manufacture, and in the improved culture 

 of cacao and coffee. 



The present trafiic in the riches of this inexhaustible 



region is far behind the 

 world's expectations ; but it 

 has wonderfully increased 

 since the introduction of 

 steamers in 1853. Sixty 

 thousand tons of freight 

 pass between Pani and Ma- 

 naos yearly, and this is the 

 trade of only 300,000 peo- 

 ple. When the Madeira is 

 made the outlet of Bolivia, 

 the trade of two millions 

 more will be added. 



It is impossible to ascer- 

 tain the number of sailing- 

 vessels on the river; but 

 the variety is extraordina- 

 ry, for the Indian is a car- 

 penter and shipwright by 

 intuition. Thus we see : 

 First, the canoe proper, or, 

 " dug-out." Second, the 

 montarm,* a small boat 

 made of five planks, or a canoe increased by two narrow 

 boards for the sides, and small triangular pieces for stem 



* So named because it takes the place of a horse, from montar a caballo, 

 to ride horseback. 



