INTRODUCTORY. 



37 



Mr. Gibbon's advice and earnest personal solicitation,) I determined to 

 take the responsibility of dividing the party, and did so, furnishing Mr. 

 Gibbon with the following instructions, and verbally calling his atten- 

 tion to the river Beni: 



Tarma, June 30, 1851. 



Sir : From a careful perusal of my instructions from the Navy De- 

 partment, it appears to be a matter of importance that as much of 

 the great South American basin, drained by the Amazon and its 

 tributaries, should be explored as the means placed at my disposal will 

 allow ; and having now arrived at a point where, if the party is kept 

 together, some objects of much interest will have to be abandoned to se- 

 cure others, I have determined to divide the party, and confide a portion 

 of it to your direction. 



You will, therefore, with " Mr. Richards " and a guide, proceed to 

 " Cuzco," and examine the country to the eastward of that place. It is 

 said that a large and navigable river, called the Madre de Dios, has its 

 source in the mountains of Carabaya, and may be approached at a 

 navigable point by descending the Andes from " Cuzco." Many argu- 

 ments have been adduced to show that this river is the " Purus," which 

 is known to empty into the Amazon. 



It is desirable that this should be determined ; and you will make 

 such inquiries in Cuzco as will enable you to decide whether it is 

 practicable to descend this river. I am under the impression that its 

 shores, near where you would be likely to embark, are inhabited by 

 tribes of savage and warlike Indians, who have committed frequent 

 depredations upon the " haciendas " established in the neighborhood. 

 You will constantly bear in mind that your loss will deprive the 

 government of the after-services expected of you in the prosecution of 

 our important and interesting enterprise. You will therefore run no 

 unnecessary risk, nor expose yourself or party to unreasonable danger 

 from the attacks of these savages. The inhabitants of Cuzco are said to 

 be so much interested in this discovery that they may furnish you an 

 escort past the point of danger. 



Should you find this route impracticable, you will proceed south, to 

 Puno, on the banks of the " Lake Titicaca ;" thence around the south- 

 ern shores of this "lake" to La Paz, in Bolivia; thence to Cocha- 

 bamba; and, descending the mountains in that neighborhood, embark 

 upon the "Mamore," and descend that river and the "Madeira" to the 

 Amazon. You will then ascend the Amazon to the " Barra do Rio 

 Negro," and, making that your headquarters, make excursions for the 



