108 



RIO BENI RIO MADEIRA. 



Some parts of the Beni are navigated by wooden balsas ; but there are 

 many falls, and the river-bed is rocky and rough, with a rapid current. 

 The Beni is not navigable for steamboats. It flows through the wild 

 forests, inhabited by uncivilized Indian tribes. On the tributaries of 

 the Beni, gold is found, and the best quality of cinchona bark. By 

 referring to the map, it will be observed that the tributaries of the 

 Madre-de-Dios, in Peru, and those of the Beni, take their rise very near 

 each other, in a line between the gold-washings of Tipuani and Cara- 

 baya. The waters of the former flow into the Amazon, while those of 

 the latter go to the Maderia river. There is a ridge of mountains and 

 hills between them. 



A knot or hump seems to be raised in this part of the back-bone of 

 South America, from which the water flows in different directions. The 

 loftiest peaks of mountains are near, and the large lakes are found here. 

 "We see a cluster of wonders, from the hot springs of Agua Caliente post- 

 house to the frozen peaks of the Sorata ; extremes of heat and cold, 

 large mountains, and small streams, dry winds, and lakes of water, in 

 the richest gold region of South America. 



The Beni creeps along the ridge of mountains as though seeking an 

 outlet to the north. A passage letting the water through into the 

 Amazon basin at the base of the Andes would probably make the Beni 

 a tributary of the Madre-de-Dios, as it is erroneously laid down on some 

 maps. It finds no outlet until it reaches the Madeira, to which it is 

 obliged to pay tribute. Though the waters of the Beni do eventually 

 find their way to the Amazon through the Madeira, yet the Beni, prop- 

 erly speaking, does not flow through the Amazonian basin, but through 

 what we consider is correctly called the Madeira Plata. 



The map will show that all the water flowing north, from the edge 

 of La Plata river-basin, passes through this range of hills at one place— 

 the head of the Madeira river. The countries drained by the tributaries 

 of the Madeira comprise an area of 4*75,200 square miles — nearly as 

 large as the basin of the Nile, and more extensive than either the Dan- 

 ube or the Ganges. The Madeira Plata is a step between the Titicaca 

 and Amazon basins. It is separated from the Titicaca basin by the 

 Andes, and from the Amazon basin by the range of mountains and hills 

 at the foot of which the Beni flows. Its bottom is above the bottom of 

 the Amazon basin, and should be treated of independent of that water- 

 shed. With the exception of a small portion, which lies in the territory 

 of Brazil, it belongs exclusively to Bolivia. 



La Paz is a most busy inland city. The blacksmith's hammer is 

 heard. The large mercantile houses are well supplied with goods. 



