36 chapters
22 hour read
Selected Chapters
36 chapters
LETTER OF THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, COMMUNICATING A REPORT OF AN EXPLORATION OF THE VALLEY OF THE AMAZON AND ITS TRIBUTARIES, MADE BY LIEUT. HERNDON, IN CONNECTION WITH LIEUT. GIBBON.
LETTER OF THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, COMMUNICATING A REPORT OF AN EXPLORATION OF THE VALLEY OF THE AMAZON AND ITS TRIBUTARIES, MADE BY LIEUT. HERNDON, IN CONNECTION WITH LIEUT. GIBBON.
January 6, 1854. — Resolved , That there be printed, for the use of the members of the House, ten thousand extra copies of the report of the Secretary of the Navy communicating the reports of the exploration of the river Amazon and its tributaries, made by Lieutenants Herndon and Gibbon, with the accompanying maps and plates. April 13, 1854. — Resolved , That there be printed twenty thousand additional copies of the reports of the surveys and explorations of the river Amazon, with the plates and
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY.
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY.
U. S. ship Vandalia—Valparaiso—Santiago—Vicente Pazos—Preparatory orders—Lima—Means of information—Conquests of the Incas in the Montaña—First explorations of the Spaniards—Madame Godin. Attached to the U. S. ship Vandalia, of the Pacific squadron, lying at anchor in the harbor of Valparaiso, in the month of August, 1850, I received a communication from the Superintendent of the National Observatory, informing me that orders to explore the Valley of the Amazon would be sent me by the next mail s
40 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER II. INTRODUCTORY.
CHAPTER II. INTRODUCTORY.
Orders—Investigation of routes—Lake Rogoaguado—River Beni—Chanchamayo—Cuzco route—River Madre de Dios—Gold mines of Carabaya—Route through the cities of Truxillo, Caxamarca, Chachapoyas, Moyobamba, &c.—Preparations for the journey—The start. On the 4th of April, 1851, Lieutenant Lardner Gibbon, of the navy, arrived at Lima, and delivered me orders from the Navy Department, of which the following is a copy: Navy Department , February 15, 1851 . Sir : The department is about to confide to
44 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER III.
Passports—Means of defence—The road—Pacayar—Chaclacayo—Narrow pass—Yanacoto—Bridge—Cocachacra—Tribute money—Dividing line between the coast and the Sierra—Moyoc—Varieties of the potato—Matucana—San Mateo—Mines of Párac—Narrow valley—Summit of the Cordillera—Reflections. Before leaving Lima I had had several interviews with the President, General Castilla, who exhibited much interest in my mission; and the Hon. J. R. Clay, U. S. chargé d'affaires, had presented me to General Torrico, who at that
47 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER IV.
Mines of Morococha—A Yankee's house—Mountain of Puy-puy—Splendid view—Pachachaca—Lava stream—Chain bridge at Oroya—Descent into the valley of Tarma—Tarma—American physician—Customs—Dress—Religious observances—Muleteers and mules—General Otero—Farming in the Sierra—Road to Chanchamayo—Perils of travel—Gold mines of Matichacra—View of the Montaña—Fort San Ramon—Indians of Chanchamayo—Cultivation. We arrived at Morococha at 5 p.m. This is a copper mining hacienda, belonging to some German brothers
24 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER V.
Division of the party—Acobamba—Plain of Junin—Lake Chinchaycocha—Preservation of potatoes—Cerro Pasco—Drainage of the mines—Boliches. Gibbon and I had long and earnest consultations about the propriety of dividing the party; and I now determined to do so, giving to him the task of exploring the Bolivian tributaries, while I took the headwaters and main trunk of the Amazon. It was a bold, almost a rash determination, for the party seemed small enough as it was; and we might readily encounter diff
45 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VI.
Departure from Cerro Pasco—Mint at Quinua—San Rafael—Ambo—Quicacan—Huanuco—Cerro de Carpis—Chinchao valley—Huallaga river. By cajoling, and threats of appeal to the military, (a small military force is stationed here as a police,) we got our drunken vagabonds to "load up" and set off by half-past 1 p. m. One of them gave us the slip at the outskirts of the town. The other wished to look him up, or at least to get the key of a tambo where two spare mules belonging to them were locked up; but we w
48 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VII.
Itinerary—Tingo Maria—Vampires—Blow-guns—Canoe navigation—Shooting monkeys—Tocache—Sion—Salt hills of Pilluana. The following table gives the distance between Lima and the head of canoe navigation on the Huallaga river: This distance of three hundred and thirty-five miles may be shortened twenty-eight by going direct from Lima to Cerro Pasco. (We passed round by Tarma.) The traveller will find that the distance is divided in the table into days' journeys nearly. Thus it will cost him, with loade
53 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER VIII.
Tarapoto—Pongo of Chasuta—Chasuta—Yurimaguas—Sta. Cruz—Antonio, the Paraguá—Laguna—Mouth of the Huallaga. August 19. —We started in company with a man who, with his peons, was carrying fish that he had taken and salted below Chasuta to Tarapoto. A smart walk of five hours (the latter part of it very quick, to avoid the rain that threatened us) brought us to the town. The road crossed a range of hills in the forest for about half the distance. The ascent and descent of these hills were tedious, b
45 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER IX.
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 Marañon as far as Tabatinga, 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 confusi
27 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER X.
Nauta—River Ucayali—Sarayacu—The Missionaries—The Indians of the Ucayali. Señor Cauper has four or five slaves in his house—blacks, which he brought from Brazil. This is contrary to the law, but it is winked at; and I heard the governor say that he would like much to have a pair. Mr. Cauper said they would be difficult to get, and would cost him five hundred dollars in money. A slave that is a mechanic is worth five hundred dollars in Brazil. Arebalo gave us specimens of the woods of the country
40 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XI.
Upper Ucayali—M. Castelnau—Length of navigation—Loss of the priest—Departure from Sarayacu—Omaguas—Iquitos—Mouth of the Napo—Pebas—San José de los Yaguas—State of Indians of Peru. I have the less regret, however, in that M. Castelnau has given so exact and interesting an account of the descent of this river. This accomplished traveller and naturalist left Cuzco on the 21st July, 1846. His party consisted of himself, M. D'Osery, M. Deville, M. Saint Cric, (who joined the party in the valley of St
45 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XII.
Cochiquinas—Caballo Cocha—Alligators—Indian Incantations—Loreto—Tabatinga—River Yavari—San Paulo—River Iça—Tunantins—Making manteiga—River Jutay—Fonteboa—River Juruá—River Japurá. Cochiquinas, or New Cochiquinas, is a miserable fishing village of two hundred and forty inhabitants; though at this time there did not appear to be forty in the village, most of them being absent fishing and seeking a livelihood. Old Cochiquinas is four miles further down the river, and seems a far better situation; b
48 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIII.
Egas—Trade—Lake Coari—Mouth of Rio Negro—Barra—Trade—Productions. Egas has a population of about eight hundred inhabitants, and is the largest and most thriving place above Barra. It occupies an important position with regard to the trade of the river, being nearly midway between Barra and Loreto, (the Peruvian frontier,) and near the mouths of the great rivers Juruá, Japurá, and Teffé. There are now eight or ten commercial houses at Egas that drive a tolerably brisk trade between Peru and Pará,
37 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XIV.
Town of Barra—Foreign residents—Population—Rio Negro—Connexion with the Oronoco—River Purus—Rio Branco—Vegetable productions of the Amazon country. The town of Barra, capital of the province of Amazonas, is built on elevated and broken ground, on the left bank of the river, and about seven miles from its mouth. Its height above the level of the sea is, by boiling point, one thousand four hundred and seventy-five feet. It is intersected by two or three ravines, containing more or less water, acco
34 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XV.
CHAPTER XV.
Departure from Barra—River Madeira—Serpa—Villa Nova—Maués—River Trombetas—Cocoa Plantations—Obidos—Santarem. Having had my boat thoroughly repaired, calked, and well fitted with palm coverings, called in Brazil toldos , with a sort of Wandering-Jew feeling that I was destined to leave every body behind and never to stop, I sailed from Barra on the eighteenth of February. The President had caused me to be furnished with six tapuios, but unwilling to dispossess himself at this time of a single wor
45 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
Fragments of travels from Itaituba to the cataracts of the Tapajos, and among the Mundrucus and Maués Indians.
Fragments of travels from Itaituba to the cataracts of the Tapajos, and among the Mundrucus and Maués Indians.
"As soon as the Brazilian —— (the principal authority of the little port of Itaituba) had procured me some Indians and a small canoe, called in the country canoa de Caxoeiras , I left this place for the purpose of visiting the great cataracts of the river Tapajos. "I was the only white man among nine Indians, none of whom, with the exception of the Indian hunter, could understand me. I cannot express what I at first suffered in thus finding my life at their mercy. The boat, under the efforts of
22 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVII.
Departure from Santarem—Monte Allegre—Prainha—Almeirim—Gurupá—River Xingu—Great estuary of the Amazon—India-rubber country—Method of collecting and preparing the India-rubber—Bay of Limoeiro—Arrival at Pará. M. Alfonse was more generous than the Tuchão, for I could do nothing for him; yet he gave me his parica, his Mundrucus gloves, and a very valuable collection of dried leaves and plants, that he had gathered during his tour. I spent a very agreeable day with him at the country house of M. Gou
32 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XVIII.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Pará. The city of Santa Maria de Belem do Graõ Pará , founded by Francisco Caldeira do Castello Branco , in the year 1616, is situated on a low elbow of land at the junction of the river Guamá with the river Pará, and at a distance of about eighty miles from the sea. A ship generally requires three tides, which run with a velocity of about four miles to the hour, to reach the sea from the city. Pará is not fortified, either by land or water. There is a very small and inefficient fort situated on
32 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XIX.
CHAPTER XIX.
RESUMÉ. My report would be incomplete were I to fail to bring to the notice of the department circumstances concerning the free navigation of the river that have occurred since my return from the valley of the Amazon. These circumstances are clearly the result of my mission, which appears to have opened the eyes of the nations who dwell upon the banks of the Amazon, and to have stirred into vigorous action interests which have hitherto laid dormant. They have an important and direct bearing upon
32 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
APPENDIX. NOTES.
APPENDIX. NOTES.
The elevations due to the atmospheric pressure, as indicated by the barometer, are extracted from tables calculated, after the complete formula of La Place, by M. F. Delcros, contained in a volume of meteorological tables prepared by Arnold Guyot, and published by the Smithsonian Institution. Those due the indications of the boiling-point apparatus are taken from a table in the same volume, calculated by Regnault, from his "Tables of forces of vapor," published in the Annales de Physique et de C
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
EXPLORATION OF THE VALLEY OF THE AMAZON
EXPLORATION OF THE VALLEY OF THE AMAZON
EXPLORATION OF THE VALLEY OF THE AMAZON, MADE UNDER DIRECTION OF THE NAVY DEPARTMENT, BY WM. LEWIS HERNDON AND LARDNER GIBBON, LIEUTENANTS UNITED STATES NAVY. PART II. BY Lt. LARDNER GIBBON. WASHINGTON: A. O. P. NICHOLSON, PUBLIC PRINTER. 1854. WASHINGTON: A. O. P. NICHOLSON, PUBLIC PRINTER. 1854....
24 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, TRANSMITTING THE SECOND PART OF LIEUTENANT HERNDON'S REPORT OF THE EXPLORATION OF THE VALLEY OF THE AMAZON.
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, TRANSMITTING THE SECOND PART OF LIEUTENANT HERNDON'S REPORT OF THE EXPLORATION OF THE VALLEY OF THE AMAZON.
January 6, 1854. — Resolved , That there be printed, for the use of the members of the House, ten thousand extra copies of the report of the Secretary of the Navy communicating the reports of the exploration of the river Amazon and its tributaries, made by Lieutenants Herndon and Gibbon, with the accompanying maps and plates. April 13, 1854. — Resolved , That there be printed twenty thousand additional copies of the reports of the surveys and explorations of the river Amazon, with the plates and
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
PREFACE.
PREFACE.
Washington City , January 25, 1854 . Sir : A Passed Midshipman, suddenly drawn from duty at the National Observatory, in Washington, to enter upon an exploration of distant lands and rivers, among strange and divers people, will not be expected to furnish a polished report of observations made under many disadvantages. In revising notes, hastily scribbled upon a mule's back, on mountains, or in a canoe, the writer has endeavored to present familiar images of the objects he saw, as they impressed
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER I.
Tarma—Inca road—Juaga valley—Quichua Indians—Trade—Juaja river—Snow mountains—Stone bridge and stone coal—Temperature of springs—Llamas—Lieutenant of police—Quicksilver mines of Huancavelica—Wool growing—Molina Posta, or country tavern—Silver mines of Castro-Virreyna—Population of Huancavelica—Its mineral productions—Sand-stone pyramids—Chicha and chupe—A New-Englander among the Andes—Fruits and flowers of Huanta—Blacksmiths. Tarma, a small town in Peru, by alpha and beta, Centauri, in latitude
16 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER II.
Gold and silver ornaments—Bridal trip on the Andes—Manufacturers of bark rope—Cotton trees—Winds and currents of the mountains—Population—Cultivation—Flocks of sheep—Frosty nights—Reports of robbers—Shoemaker—Ancient fortification—Indians travelling—Condor's wings—A padre on the road—Sugar-cane patches—Spanish Creoles—An African slave—Apurimac bridge—Cabbage patch—Peruvian widow—Bullfight—Fish and horned cattle—Cuzco—Market place—Steamboat navigation—Eastern side of the Andes—Coca plantation—Hea
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER III.
College of sciences and arts at Cuzco—Students—Library—Popularity of Fenimore Cooper's works—Convents—Cock-pits—Procession—Condition of the aborigines anterior to the Incas—Manco Capac and his wife—Their language—Antiquities—Inca's fortress—Worship of the planetary bodies—Suspicion of intercourse between ancient civilized Asia and South Peru—Temperature of bull's blood—Reception of the prefect's family—Sham fight among the Quichua Indians—Barley and corn crops—Trade—Loss of Paititi—Thermal sprin
12 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER IV.
Manto silver mine—Trade—Shores of Lake Titicaca—Rush balsas—Animals—Loftiest mountains—Aymara Indians—Mode of cultivation—Bottled fish—Frontier of Peru—Rio Desaguedero—Rush bridge—Bolivian military and custom-house—Southeast trade winds—Tiahuanaco ruins—Evaporation and precipitation—Planting small potatoes—Difficulty among postillions—City of La Paz—Population—Cinchona bark—Beni river and Madeira Plata—Transit duty—Gold washings of Tipuani—Productions of Yungas—Dried mutton and copper mines—Arti
54 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER V.
Silver mines of Sicasica—Productions of the Puna or Table lands—An exile returning home—Department of Oruro—Silver, copper, and tin—Climate—A chicha factorer—The expedition out of Titicaca basin and into Madeira Plata—Department of Potosi—Population, climate, and productions—Rio Pilcomayo—Mint—Quicksilver trade—Imperfect mining operations—Smuggling of precious metals—Statistics of silver—Trade with the Argentine Confederation—Port of Cobija—Desert of Atacama—Eastern side of the Andes—Frosty moun
52 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VI.
Market place—Cinchona bark—Funeral ceremonies—Longevity—Kindness of British and Brazilian ministers—French schoolmistresses—Ancient habitation—Sucre, the capital—Departments of Chuquisaca and Tarija—River Bermejo—Distribution of vegetable life—Visit to Lake Uarauara—Snow line—Balls—Theatre—Department of Santa Cruz—Creole population—Daily life—Province of Chiquitos—Indians—Labors of the Jesuits—Paraguay river. On the regular days the market place is crowded with Indians selling, while creoles are
50 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VII.
Diamonds—Animals of Chiquitos—Decree of 1837, and act of Congress—Señor Oliden's voyage on the Paraguay river—Salt—Fall of trees—Descending the mountains—Monkey meat—Coca plant—Espiritu Santo—Creole workmen—A night in the wild woods—Yuracares hunting—River San Mateo—Province of Yuracares. It is a singular fact that no diamonds have been found on the Bolivian side of the Madeira Plate or La Plata basin, while among those streams, in Brazil, which flow into these rivers diamonds abound. The genera
53 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER VIII.
Cinchona forest—Indians shooting fish—Department of the Beni—Vinchuta—Small pox—Canichanas boat's crew—Cotton cloth and silver coins—Our faithful servant José Casas and the mules—Trade at Vinchuta—A night on Coni creek—Embarkation at the base of the Andes—Chaparé river—Canoe life—Floods—Bark cloth—Pick up the sick—Indians at prayers in the wilderness—Lassoing an alligator. The cinchona trees of Bolivia are found in that boisterous uninhabited region on the east side of the Andes which we have ju
55 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER IX.
Pass the mouth of Chimoré river—White cranes—Rio Mamoré—Woodbridge's Atlas—Night watch—"Masi" guard-house—Pampas—Ant-houses—Cattle—Religion—Sugar-cane—Fishing party of Mojos Indians—River Ybaré—Pampas of Mojos—Pasture lands—City of Trinidad—Prefect—Housed in Mojos—Don Antonio de Barras Cordoza—Population of the Beni—Cotton manufactures—Productions—Trade—Don Antonio's Amazonian boats—Jesuits—Languages—Natural intelligence of the aborigines—Paintings—Cargoes of foreign goods in the plaza. We ran d
48 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER X.
Horned cattle and horses—"Peste"—Salt trade—Church service—Bull-fight—Mariano Cuyaba—Rules and regulations of the town—Laws and customs of the creoles—A walk through the plaza at midnight—Scenes on the road to the town of Loreto—Annual deluge—The beasts, birds, and fishes—Loreto—Inhabitants—Grove of tamarind trees—Winds of the Madeira Plate—A bird-hunter—Trapiche—A black tiger burnt out—Departure in Brazilian boats—Enter the Mamoré river again—An Indian overboard. Horned cattle and horses are sc
50 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XI.
Exaltacion—Cayavabo Indians—Descending the Mamoré river—Indians shooting fish—Houbarayos savages and birds at midnight—Ascend the Itenez river—Forte do Principe da Beira in Brazil—Negro soldiers—Kind attention of the commandante—Favorable notice of the expedition by the President of Matto Grosso—The wilderness—Friendship of Don Antonio, his boat and a crew of negro soldiers—Departure for the Madeira river—Birds and fishes congregated at the mouth of the Itenez—On the Mamoré river again—A negro s
53 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XII.
Jacares savages—Mouth of Beni river—Obstructions to steamboat navigation—Madeira river falls—Lighten the boat—Pot holes—Granite—Pedreneira falls—Caripuna savages—Pedro milks a savage woman—Bilious fever—Arrive at the foot of San Antonio falls—The impracticability of navigating by steamboats the falls of the Mamoré and Madeira rivers—Proposed road through the territory of Brazil to Bolivia—Physical strength of the white, black, and red men, compared under a tropical climate—Tamandua island—Turtle
12 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter