NAVIGATION AND EXPLORATION ON THE AMAZON WATERWAYS
[Illustration: AN ENGINEERS’ CAMP AT PUERTO BERMUDEZ ON THE PICHIS
RIVER.]
Large steamers ascend the Amazon for three thousand miles, passing the
boundary line between Brazil and Peru at the port of Tabatinga and
continuing beyond Iquitos for hundreds of miles up the Marañon and the
Ucayali, Huallaga, or other tributaries. Yurimaguas, which is the most
important port on the Huallaga, five hundred miles above Iquitos, is
connected with the latter by a regular service of steamers of four
hundred tons, nearly all the trade of the Departments of San Martin and
Amazonas passing over this route. On the Ucayali are the commercial
ports of Contamina and Masisea, the latter noted as the first station in
the Montaña of the wireless telegraph system that connects Puerto
Bermudez with the port of Iquitos. Steamers of four hundred tons ply
between Iquitos and Contamina, seven hundred miles up the river; and,
during the rainy season when the waterways are deeper than at other
times, they ascend as far as Masisea, two hundred miles beyond
Contamina. From Masisea, steam launches convey passengers and cargo up
the Pachitea for two hundred miles to the Pichis—which unites with the
Palcazu to form the Pachitea—and along the Pichis for about a hundred
miles to the port of Bermudez, at the head of navigation on this branch
of the Ucayali and the point of embarkation for travellers between Lima
and Iquitos over what is known as the Central Route.
The length of time required to make the journey between Lima and Iquitos
varies greatly according to the season and the condition of the rivers,
the voyages up the water courses taking much longer than the descent.
The trip may be made, under favorable circumstances, in fifteen or
sixteen days. An interesting description of this trip, given in a recent
report of one of the Peruvian government engineers, shows the kind of
travelling one experiences in the Montaña and affords valuable
information as to the equipment necessary for such a journey. As the
route lies first across the Cordilleras, and the railway takes one only
from Lima to Oroya, where it is necessary to take mules for the ride
across the _puna_ and down the eastern slope to the river, passengers
are advised not to carry bulky luggage, about a hundred pounds being the
heaviest that any single piece should weigh; the same rule applies in
all mountainous regions where the path is narrow and pack-mules are the
freight carriers. It is also recommended that trunks, bags, and
everything holding perishable effects, be wrapped in waterproof
material, as rain falls daily and in a deluge throughout the region of
the lower Montaña.
But, if the traveller goes well equipped and prepared to make the best
of an experience that has its agreeable features as well as its
discomforts, the journey is likely to prove most interesting. One should
be provided with an army cot, a _mosquitero_, or netting, as a
protection from the prevailing pest of some sections of the river
course, a waterproof coat and cap, and a small medicine case containing
quinine, antiseptics, and ammonia. This precaution is advised as a
general rule, and it does not mean that medicine is sure to be needed,
nor that mosquitoes will torment the passenger throughout the entire
journey. As has been said elsewhere, the railway trip from Lima to Oroya
may be made in a day. After spending a night at Oroya, the traveller
proceeds on muleback to Tarma, about twenty miles away, over a road that
gives an excellent idea of Andean highways; the sturdy mules bred in
these altitudes are the only safe animals for such a journey, which is a
succession of steep ascents and narrow curves until the highest point is
reached, after which the downward road begins, as hazardous and
uncomfortable as the other. As the railway is nearly finished between
Oroya and Tarma, this part of the trip will soon be made under less
trying conditions. At present, it requires five or six hours to cover
these twenty miles. From Tarma to the Pichis River, the road is less
difficult, and, after passing Huacapistana, twenty-five miles northeast
of Tarma, the region of the Montaña is soon reached, the traveller being
then obliged to discard the heavy wraps required during the ride across
the high sierras, and to put on summer clothing.
The third day’s ride brings one to La Merced, on the banks of the
Chanchamayo River. This part of the journey is made over a fairly good
road, the distance from Huacapistana to La Merced, about twenty miles,
being covered easily in five hours. _Puentes colgantes_, or suspension
bridges, cross the Tarma and other rivers of this region, the route to
La Merced crossing at least half a dozen of these primitive-looking, but
generally serviceable, structures. La Merced is situated at an altitude
of about three thousand feet above sea level, and belongs to what may be
called the upper Montaña, to distinguish it from the region of the
plains, or the lower Montaña. The road from La Merced to Yapaz, a
distance of thirty miles, may be travelled in one day, though many
prefer to stop midway, at Pueblo Pardo, to break the journey, which is
more fatiguing as the rains become heavier, soaking the ground and
making progress difficult. But one learns to take life very leisurely in
the tropics, and it is pleasanter to jog along for a few hours, enjoying
the charm of the forest with its impressive silence, and resting when so
inclined, than to make an extra effort to accomplish in one day what may
be done just as well in two. If “Poor Richard” had lived in the
Chanchamayo valley, he would probably have reversed his advice to read:
“Never do to-day what you can put off till to-morrow.” A short distance
beyond Pueblo Pardo, the Camino de Pichis, as the road to the river is
called, crosses a suspension bridge over the Paucartambo River, built by
the English colony of the Perené, whose haciendas may be seen at
intervals between Pueblo Pardo and Yapaz.
[Illustration: THE CONFLUENCE OF THE CHUCHURAL AND PALCAZU RIVERS.]
From Yapaz to Enenas, eighteen miles, is another day’s journey, of five
or six hours; from Enenas to Porvenir, twenty-seven miles, the ride is
so fatiguing and difficult that it usually requires nine or ten hours to
cover the distance. This part of the journey leads the traveller through
the heart of the Montaña; and during the eighth day’s ride, which takes
one from Porvenir to San Nicolas, not a single house is seen, nor any
sign of human habitation. From Yapaz to San Nicolas, the climate is cool
and pleasant, but, after passing the Azupizu River ten miles below, the
heat becomes uncomfortable. Two days’ journey from San Nicolas is still
required to bring one to the river Pichis, which is reached at a point
called Puerto Yessup, where a canoe is in waiting to convey passengers
to Puerto Bermudez. The muleback trip need not take more than ten days
under ordinary circumstances. Most of the tambos, or lodging places,
along the route from Oroya to Puerto Bermudez, have telephone connection
with each other; and telegraphic stations are established at Oroya,
Tarma, La Merced, Enenas, Puerto Bermudez and other points. The railway
will be completed to Puerto Bermudez within a short time, and then the
trip overland to Iquitos will be a question of days instead of weeks, as
at present. A steamer makes the voyage from Puerto Bermudez to the port
of Iquitos in five or six days, calling at Masisea and other ports en
route.
[Illustration: PUERTO CLEMENT.]
The northern route from the coast to Iquitos has two starting points,
and reaches the upper Amazon at two separate ports. The route most
generally taken is that from Pacasmayo, _via_ Cajamarca, Chachapoyas and
Moyobamba to Yurimaguas; though the new railway will extend from Paita
to Puerto Limon, on the Marañon, with a branch to Yurimaguas.
Explorations have been made throughout this region, and reports have
been sent to the government dealing with the question of railway
building and road making in this part of the republic. The European
explorer Zaham, who travelled from Lima to Iquitos by way of Moyobamba
recently, wrote an enthusiastic letter in praise of this region, saying:
“In no country of the world have I seen a more fertile land or a more
suave and enchanting climate: nowhere have I seen such a variety of
fruits, nor a more exuberant vegetation: wheat, maize, rice, sugar-cane,
cacao, coffee, potatoes, and coca, equal to the products found in any
other part of the globe, and the silkworm flourishing, as I have seen
for myself.” The same writer adds that the only need of this region is
good roads and colonists. The government is doing all in its power to
secure both these advantages.
[Illustration: FORDING THE INAMBARI RIVER.]
The navigation of the vast river system of the Montaña is a question
that bears directly on the two important problems of transportation and
immigration. It has been proved in the history of both North and South
America that the tide of immigration is ever borne toward the sections
of country traversed by railways or reached by steamers; and it is
important that means of transportation should be guaranteed to colonists
before they establish themselves in a new country. With this object in
view, the Peruvian government is employing commissions to explore and
examine rivers that have hitherto been known only as a name, and the
results are most satisfactory. Voyages of discovery have been made up
the main stream and branches of the Yurúa, Purús, Putumayo, Napo, Tigre,
Morona, Pastaza, and others, and valuable knowledge has been gained
regarding these waterways. Along all the rivers of the Amazon system on
which lines of steamers and small craft are maintained, improvements
have been inaugurated with a view to facilitating transportation so that
more rapid and regular service may be secured. Merchant steamers,
engaged in the rubber trade, and in the shipment of products from the
forests of northern Cuzco to Iquitos and foreign ports, can ascend the
main stream of the Ucayali for three hundred miles above the mouth of
the Pachitea, and beyond the confluence of its great tributaries, the
Tambo and the Urubamba, continuing along the latter river for another
hundred miles until they reach the port of Mishagua, in the Department
of Cuzco. A line of railway is projected from the city of Cuzco to this
port, in accordance with the general plan of commercial development
which the Peruvian government has adopted.
The port of Mishagua lies at the mouth of the Mishagua River, which,
with its tributary, the Sarjali, is navigable for canoes for a distance
of more than two hundred miles, to what is known as the portage of
Fitzcarrald, a narrow isthmus across which the rubber shippers have made
a path through the forest to the headwaters of the Madre de Dios. This
important affluent of the Amazon’s mightiest tributary, the Madeira, has
its rise very near the source of the Purús, another of the Amazon’s
great branches. About twenty miles from its source, the Madre de Dios,
known by the name of the Manu, is navigable for steam launches; and
below its continence with the Pilcopata, where it takes the name of the
Madre de Dios, merchant steamers of five hundred tons serve the purposes
of transportation. If the channels of these rivers were dredged and
cleared of obstructions, it would be possible to navigate them all the
year round, in the dry as well as the wet season.
Under existing conditions, the extent of the Amazon waterways in Peru
that are navigable all the year round,—including the main stream, which
is navigable for four hundred miles above Tabatinga for vessels drawing
twenty feet of water,—is estimated at over five thousand miles. Of this
mileage, about one-third is navigable for steamers drawing from four to
eight feet of water, and the remainder for lighter steamers, not
requiring more than from two to four feet of depth for navigation. At
high water, the river transportation facilities cover an extent of ten
thousand miles for steamers, and about thirty thousand miles for light
craft such as canoes and rafts, which penetrate the immense forests of
the Montaña in every direction, along innumerable streams that feed the
mighty current of the main waterway from a thousand sources.
[Illustration: TABATINGA, ON THE FRONTIER BETWEEN PERU AND BRAZIL.]