IQUITOS, THE CHIEF PERUVIAN PORT OF THE AMAZON
[Illustration: HOSPITALITY IN THE RUBBER COUNTRY.]
All the commerce of the Department of Loreto passes through its capital,
Iquitos, which is the chief port of the Amazon in Peru, and is one of
the important rubber-exporting centres of the world. It is a city of
about twenty-five thousand inhabitants, and is situated on the left bank
of the great river, over two thousand miles from its mouth and a few
leagues below the confluence of the Marañon with the Ucayali. Iquitos
overlooks a broad expanse of water, more like an inland sea than a
stream, the channel at this point being nearly three miles wide; in
front of the city lies a large island. The depth of the river makes it
possible for ocean steamers to anchor in the port, which has an average
of twenty-five feet of water, and, in summer, when the rainy season is
at its height, has twice that depth.
Not only does all the commerce of Loreto pass through Iquitos, but the
largest share of the imports and exports of the entire region of the
upper Amazon is distributed from this point. Merchandise for the rubber
camps is brought up the Amazon from foreign ports to Iquitos and is here
reshipped on smaller river steamers to the various interior towns along
the tributaries of the upper Amazon,—ports of the Ucayali, Huallaga,
Pastaza, Morona,—from which they are again reshipped in launches and
canoes to towns on the smaller branches of these waterways. Sometimes
the river boats carry enterprising explorers, gold hunters, rubber
gatherers, and commercial travellers in a strangely mixed company, with
usually but one idea in common—the prospect of fulfilling long-cherished
dreams. Material for adventure, romance, and scholarship is mingled in
the characters that one sees on such a trip, conversation on board
bringing out the most unexpected revelations.
Several steamship lines make regular trips between Iquitos and European
and North American ports. The Booth Steamship Company has been engaged
in this trade for some years, and has a line of commodious steamers for
carrying passengers and cargo. Bi-monthly trips are made from England,
returning by way of the United States, and _vice versa_, calling at Pará
and Manaos en route. This company recently built its own docks at
Iquitos, and other improvements are under consideration which will
greatly benefit the interests of trade in this port. The Red Cross Line
has monthly steamers to Iquitos; and a number of Peruvian merchants have
smaller fleets on the rivers from Iquitos to the interior. The
_Liberal_, a trim little steamer of a hundred and fifty tons, with a
speed of ten miles an hour, is one of the best of these river boats; it
is of modern construction, is lighted by electricity and is provided
with excellent accommodations for a limited number of passengers.
[Illustration: THE BOOTH PIER, IQUITOS.]
Iquitos is quite cosmopolitan, its population including representatives
of many nations; North American and European importers have branch
houses here, and the growing prosperity of the city has attracted
enterprising merchants from other parts of Peru and from neighboring
republics. The climate is healthful and not so oppressive as one might
suppose, considering the locality, less than four degrees south of the
equator and only a hundred and fifty feet above the level of the river.
It represents the aspect of a growing commercial centre with its new
wharves, warehouses and modern buildings that are rapidly replacing the
straw-thatched cottages and comfortless _chozas_, or huts, which were
features of the town a dozen years ago. Brick and iron are now largely
used in the construction of buildings, the roofs being of zinc or tiles.
The government house, the municipal chambers, churches, hospital, and
other public edifices, reflect the spirit of progress which is beginning
to animate the people. A flourishing Chamber of Commerce gives further
evidence of local enterprise. The city is surrounded by thick _bosques_,
or woods, in which every variety of vegetation abounds, and tropical
foliage is riotous in color and luxuriance. The frequent and heavy rains
of the summer season keep the verdure fresh and beautiful, though it is
a welcome relief to the inhabitants when winter comes and with it a
lessening of the heavy rainfall. In reality, very little change may be
noted in the thermometer, which averages from eighty-five to ninety
degrees Fahrenheit, all the year round.
[Illustration: ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL STREETS OF IQUITOS.]
[Illustration: CALLE DE MORONA, IQUITOS.]
The development of commercial traffic through the port of Iquitos may be
judged by a comparison of the trade of 1907 with that of preceding
years, the total duties on exports and imports of last year amounting to
nearly three hundred thousand pounds sterling, while those of the
previous year reached less than two hundred thousand pounds sterling,
and in 1895 the custom house receipts of this port did not exceed one
hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling. This rapid growth of trade
signifies that the region of the Montaña, particularly the Department of
Loreto, has been developing resources heretofore unexploited; and, when
the further possibilities of industrial activity in this part of Peru
are considered, the prospect for its future wealth appears very bright.
[Illustration: RIVER SCENE NEAR IQUITOS.]
The Department of Loreto includes the provinces of Alto Amazonas, Bajo
Amazonas, and Ucayali. At the time of the Independence, all this vast
territory belonged to the Intendencia of Trujillo, and was known as the
province of Mainas; it was made a province of the Department of La
Libertad, and, later, of Amazonas, until, in 1853, the Littoral Province
of Loreto was formed, with the city of Moyobamba as its capital. A few
years afterward, President Castilla raised the province to the dignity
of a maritime military department, with jurisdiction over all the Amazon
region bordering on the neighboring republics. At that time the
department consisted of the provinces of Moyobamba, Huallaga, Alto and
Bajo Amazonas; Huallaga was divided later to form the province of San
Martin, from which the present province of Ucayali was separated a few
years ago. The creation of the new Department of San Martin in 1905 took
from Loreto the provinces of Moyobamba, Huallaga, and San Martin, though
this still remains the largest political division of Peru, covering an
area of more than a hundred thousand square miles, according to Peruvian
claims.
[Illustration: A VIEW OF IQUITOS FROM THE RIVER.]
The provinces of Loreto are completely watered by the tributaries of the
Amazon; the main stream, under the name of Marañon, crosses Alto and
Bajo Amazonas through a territory of the greatest fertility, rich in
rubber, hardwoods, and tropical fruits; and along the eastern border of
Ucayali province, the river of the same name flows in a serpentine
course northward, receiving innumerable small streams that descend the
western slope of the central Cordilleras. The popular route from the
Pacific Coast to the forests of Loreto is by the Ucayali River to its
confluence with the Marañon, and thence along the great waterway down to
Iquitos; though a very interesting journey may be made by the northern
route, through Cajamarca, Chachapoyas and Moyobamba to the port of
Yurimaguas on the Huallaga River. Along both routes the luxuriance of
the Montaña is seen in all its glory; the forest is aglow with the
brilliant hues of a thousand birds and butterflies; the trees are alive
with chattering monkeys that swing back and forth by the long parasitic
vines which hang like ropes from the highest branches. In the heart of
the Montaña the trees become larger, the palms and ferns of denser
growth, and the creeping vines form a network about the overarching
boughs. Plantations of cacao, plantains, yucca, and other products
appear from time to time as a clear space separates the wooded tracts;
and, in the neighborhood of the great rivers, the _jebe_ and _caucho_
gatherers may be seen working their way through the _estradas_, or
journeying to some point on the river to take a boat down to Iquitos,
the metropolis of the rubber country. The sentiment of hospitality
prevails everywhere, and a traveller is usually treated with the
greatest kindness when he arrives at a settlement in the Amazon forest,
whatever his business or nationality. The men whose tasks keep them
buried for years in the heart of the rubber country are always glad to
have news from the outside world.
In the development of trade on the Amazon, the port of Iquitos has been
placed in direct communication with the head of navigation on all the
large tributaries of the great river, and explorations have been made
far up the smaller streams toward their source in the Cordilleras. The
expeditions sent out by the Peruvian government with this object in view
have added many interesting contributions to the knowledge already
existing in reference to the resources and wealth of Loreto and the
promising future of its chief port.
[Illustration: THE CUSTOM HOUSE AT IQUITOS.]
[Illustration: A ROAD THROUGH THE VIRGIN FOREST TO PUERTO BERMUDEZ.]