INTRODUCTION. 



intercourse between the different districts of the vice- 

 royalty. It is somewhat surprising, that the African 

 camel, has never been introduced for the purpose of 

 travelling over these sandy plains, although in use in 

 Mexico. The communication between different places 

 on the Pacific, is therefore carried on by water; but 

 there is great difference between the voyage north, and 

 that to the south; the latter having to encounter ad- 

 verse wind and current. Although the coast of the 

 Pacific is not so well supplied with commodious har- 

 bors, as that of Brazil and Terra Firma, there is by no 

 means a deficiency in this respect. It is remarkable, 

 that the satne difficulties exist in the internal commu- 

 nication between different places on the opposite sides 

 of the continent, but for different reasons; on the At- 

 lantic, the extraordinary mass of vegetation, which 

 covers the ground, opposes the most serious obstacle 

 to the opening of roads; obstacles that in this country 

 we can scarcely conceive; the thickest cane brakes 

 in the southern parts of the United States are trifles 

 compared to them; besides the facilities of navigation 

 on that delightful coast, where dangers by sea are al- 

 most unknown, take away all inducements to any ex- 

 traordinary labor in opening roads. Between the 

 two great cities of St. Salvador, and Rio Janeiro, 

 there is no land communication, and much of the in- 

 termediate space is occupied by ferocious and unsub- 

 dued Indians. To make amends for the difficulties of 

 internal intercourse by land, there is no part of the 

 world which possesses such a number of fine navigable 

 rivers as South America. An elegant writer has ob- 

 served, "that of all the portions of the globe, America 



