176 



THE AMAZON. 



CHAPTER IX, 



Entrance into the Amazon— Nauta — Upper and Lower Missions of Mainas— 

 Conversions of the Ucayali — Trade in sarsaparilla— Advantages of trade with 

 this country. 



The river upon which we now entered is 'the main trunk of the 

 Amazon, which carries its Peruvian name of Maraiion as far as Taba- 

 tinga, at the Brazilian frontier ; below which, and as far as the junction 

 of the Rio Negro, it takes the name of Solimoens ; and thence to the 

 ocean is called Amazon. It is the same stream throughout, and to avoid 

 confusion I shall call it Amazon from this point to the sea. 



The march of the great river in its silent grandeur was sublime ; but 

 in the untamed might of its turbid waters, as they cut away its banks, 

 tore down the gigantic denizens of the forest, and built up islands, it was 

 awful. It rolled through the wilderness with a stately and solemn air. 

 Its waters looked angry, sullen, and relentless ; and the whole scene 

 awoke emotions of awe and dread — such as are caused by the funeral 

 solemnities, the minute gun, the howl of the wind, and the angry tossing 

 of the waves, when all hands are called to bury the dead in a troubled 

 sea. 



I was reminded of our Mississippi at its topmost flood ; the waters 

 are quite as muddy and quite as turbid ; but this stream lacked the 

 charm and the fascination wdiich the plantation upon the bank, the city 

 upon the bluif, and the steamboat upon its waters, lends to its fellow of 

 the North ; nevertheless, I felt pleased at its sight. I had already 

 travelled seven hundred miles by water, and fancied that this powerful 

 stream would soon carry me to the ocean ; but the water -travel was 

 comparatively just begun ; many a weary month was to elapse ere I 

 should again look upon the familiar face of the sea ; and many a time, 

 when worn and wearied with the canoe life, did I exclaim, " This river 

 seems interminable I" 



Its capacities for trade and commerce are inconceivably great. Its 

 industrial future is the most dazzling ; and to the touch of steam, settle- 

 ment, and cultivation, this rolling stream and its magnificent water-shed 

 would start up into a display of industrial results that would indicate 

 the Valley of the Amazon as one of the most enchanting regions on the 

 face of the earth. 



