Chapter VII: Part III (2)

Distant from the Atlantic 2445 miles; current, 3-1/4 miles per hour.

MOUTH OF THE PASTAGA RIVER.

Distance from the Atlantic, 2514 miles; current in the Amazon, 3-1/4 miles per hour. The Pastaga has a rapid current and is full of obstructions to navigation; it is with much difficulty that canoes even can be forced up the river for any distance. On its head waters the Indians wash a considerable quantity of gold from the sand of the bed of the channel.

BARRANCA.

Latitude, 4 deg. 59' 53" south; longitude, 76 deg. 38' 38" west of Greenwich; magnetic variation, 7 deg. 46' 26" east; thermometer, 78 deg.; elevation above sea-level, 453 feet; distance from the Atlantic, 2545 miles; current, 3-1/4 miles per hour. Barranca is situated on a red clay bluff, about seventy feet high, on the north or left bank of the river, which is here narrow. Communication is kept up between Barranca and Moyabamba by way of the Aypena river to its head and thence by land. Barranca has been used as, but is not well adapted to be, a military post; gunboats could lay out of sight below, around a bend of the river, and shell it without being themselves exposed to its fire.

MOUTH OF THE POTRO RIVER.

Distance from the Atlantic, 2564 miles; current, 3-1/4 miles per hour. The Potro is navigable for small steamers a distance of sixty miles from its mouth, and is of importance as a link in the projected route from Chachapoyas to Limon on the Amazon.

MOUTH OF THE MORONA RIVER.

Distance from the Atlantic, 2576 miles; current, 3-1/2 miles per hour. Steamers ascend the Morona 300 miles, and at some stages of the water a greater distance.

LIMON.

Distance from the Atlantic, 2588 miles; current, 3-3/4 miles per hour. Limon is the terminus of a projected route from Chachapoyas to the Amazon; it is a place of no importance whatever in any other respect.

PUNTA ACHUAL.

Latitude, 4 deg. 15' 27" south; longitude 77 deg. 1' 28" west of Greenwich; magnetic variation, 8 deg. 18' 18" east; thermometer, 80 deg.; elevation above sea-level, 509 feet; distance from the Atlantic, 2612 miles; current, 3-3/4 miles per hour. Two miles above Punta Achual, at the Vuelta Calentura, or Calentura passage, the first serious difficulty is encountered in navigating the Upper Amazon; the difficulty there encountered is a strong current combined with a whirlpool in the channel of the river, but, with full heads of steam on, steamers are able to pass the vuelta and proceed on to Borja. At Vuelta Calentura the course of the river is from N.N.W. to S.S.E.

BORJA.

Latitude, 4 deg. 31' 37" south; longitude, 77 deg. 29' 43" west of Greenwich; thermometer, 76 deg.; elevation above sea-level, 516 feet; distance from the Atlantic, 2660 miles; current, 3-3/4 miles per hour. At Borja the navigation of the Upper Amazon ends; the river in its whole course from Laracocha to Borja, a distance of 500 miles, is a mountain torrent, impracticable for navigation even by canoes. The length of the Amazon, from its source at Laracocha to the Atlantic ocean, is 3160 miles, but the distance from the Atlantic to the source of the Ucayali is still greater. It usually takes a steamer 69 steaming hours to ascend the river from Iquitos to Borja, and 35 steaming hours to descend from Borja to Iquitos.

DISTANCES.

In the following list of distances between places on the Amazon, from its mouth to its source in Lake Laracocha, the distances for the Lower Amazon are taken from the best Brazilian authorities that could be consulted; the distances for the Upper Amazon, from the Brazilian frontier to the head of steamer navigation at Borja, were measured by the Peruvian Hydrographical Commission of the Amazon; and the distance from Borja, the head of navigation, to the source of the river in Lake Laracocha, is given as estimated by the best Peruvian authorities.

LIST OF DISTANCES ON THE AMAZON.

Lower Amazon. Miles. Atlantic ocean to Para 75 Para to Breves 146 Breves to Garupa 123 Garupa to Porto de Moz 48 Porto de Moz to Prainha 96 Prainha to Monte Alegre 44 Monte Alegre to Santarem 60 Santarem to Obidos 68 Obidos to Villa Bella 95 Villa Bella to Serpa 137 Serpa to Manaos 110 From the Atlantic to Manaos, 1002 miles. Manaos to Cudajos 155 Cudajos to Coary 84 Coary to Tefe (Ega) 107 Tefe (Ega) to Fonte Boa 133 Fonte Boa to Tonantius 140 Tonantius to San Paulo 95 San Paulo, mouth of the Yavari river 90 The mouth of the Yavari marks the boundary line between Peru and Brazil on the south side of the Amazon. Mouth of the Yavari to Tabatinga 14 Brazilian frontier port on the north side of the Amazon. From the Atlantic to Tabatinga, 1825 miles. Tabatinga to Letitia 3 Peruvian frontier post.

Upper Amazon. Miles. Letitia to Loreto 37 Loreto to Pebas 144 Pebas to Iquitos 117 Iquitos to Tamshiyacu 20 Tamshiyacu to mouth of the Ucayali river 43 Mouth of the Ucayali river to Nauta 6 Nauta to San Regis 50 San Regis to Santa Cruz de Parinari 28 Santa Cruz de Parinari to Parinari 20 Parinari to Vaca Marina 41 Vaca Marina to Elvira 18 Elvira to San Pedro 41 San Pedro to Fontevera 15 Fontevera to mouth of the Huallaga river 22 Mouth of the Huallaga river to Cedro Isla 15 Cedro Isla to mouth of the Pastaza river 69 Mouth of the Pastaza river to Barranca 31 Barranca to Mouth of the Potro river 19 Mouth of the Potro river to mouth of the Morona river 12 Mouth of the Morona river to Limon 12 Limon to Punta Achual 24 Punta Achual to Borja 48 From the Atlantic to Borja, the head of navigation, 2660 miles. Borja to Lake Laracocha 500 Source of the Amazon. Length of the Amazon river from its source to its mouth, 3160 miles.

HUALLAGA RIVER.

The Huallaga has its source in Lake Chiquicoba, flows by the important central city of Huanaco, and thence in a direction nearly north, for 450 miles, until its confluence with the Amazon. The mouth of the Huallaga is 2430 miles distant from the Atlantic, and its current is about 3 miles per hour. Eighteen feet of water can usually be carried up to Yurimaguas, and steamers ascend 40 miles higher to a place called Rumicallarina; above Rumicallarina the river is navigable for a great distance by canoes. About 8 miles below Yurimaguas the river is divided by an island, on each side of which there are sand-bars that steamers drawing more than 11 feet of water are sometimes unable to pass during the months of June, July and August.

LAGUNA.

Distance from the Atlantic, 2447 miles; current, 3 miles per hour.

SANTA LUCIA.

Distance from the Atlantic, 2473 miles; current, 3 miles per hour.

SANTA MARIA.

Distance from the Atlantic, 2528 miles; current, 3 miles per hour.

YURIMAGUAS.

Latitude, 5 deg. 5' 55" south; longitude, 75 deg. 59' 58" west of Greenwich; magnetic variation, 7 deg. 47' east; thermometer, 77 deg.; elevation above sea-level, 440 feet; distance from the Atlantic, 2554 miles; current, 3-1/4 miles per hour.

The advantage which Yurimaguas possesses over all the other river ports on the Upper Amazon is that of its being the point where travelers from Lima and articles of export from Moyubamba, a city of 10,000 inhabitants, meet the steamers from Para. Canoes ascend the Huallaga from Yurimaguas to Chasuta in eight days and make the return trip in three; from Chasuta there is a mule road to Moyubamba, Chachapoyas and Cajamarca, and from the latter place a railway runs to Lima. This is the best route from the Amazon to the Pacific coast, and the only one which does not involve long marches on foot. Steamers drawing five or six feet of water could make regular trips to Chasuta at any season of the year, even at lowest water, and meeting larger steamers at Yurimaguas would establish better communication with the rich country of the interior. On the Huallaga, above Yurimaguas and a little back from the river, are to be found the best locations for colonies. Thirty miles above Yurimaguas, on the right bank of the river, is situated Shucushiyacu, a place well known as commanding a fine view of mountain and river scenery.

CAINARACHI.

Distance from the Atlantic, 2592 miles; current, 3-1/4 miles per hour.

RUMICALLARINA.

Latitude, 5 deg. 58' 32" south; longitude, 75 deg. 47' 32" west of Greenwich; magnetic variation, 8 deg. 8' 10" east; thermometer, 77 deg.; elevation above sea-level, 486 feet; distance from the Atlantic, 2600 miles; current, 3-1/2 miles per hour; depth of water, 36 feet; width of river, 200 yards.

Rumicallarina is at the head of navigation for steamers on the Huallaga. Any steamer which can ascend the river to Yurimaguas can continue on to Rumicallarina, beyond which place only five or six feet, at the season of low water, can be carried to Chasuta.

LIST OF DISTANCES ON THE HUALLAGA.

Atlantic ocean to mouth of the Huallaga, 2430 miles By the Amazon river.

Huallaga River. Miles. Mouth of the Huallaga to Laguna 17 Laguna to Santa Lucia 26 Santa Lucia to Santa Maria 55 Santa Maria to Yurimaguas 26 Yurimaguas to Cainarachi 38 Cainarachi to Rumicallarina 8 Rumicallarina to Chasuta 50 Chasuta to Lake Chiquicoba 300 --- Length of the Huallaga river 520 Distance from the source of the Huallaga to the mouth of the Amazon 2950

UCAYALI RIVER.

The Ucayali river has its origin in the Andean region, about Lake Titicaca, and flows, under various names, in a direction nearly north until it mingles its waters with those of the Amazon, to which river it bears the same relation that the Missouri does to the Mississippi; that is to say, like the Missouri, its length and volume of water entitles it to be considered a continuation and not a tributary of the main river. During the season of low water 24 feet can be carried from Nauta, at the mouth of the river, to Sarayacu; 18 feet from Sarayacu to the mouth of the Pachitea river; and 12 feet from the mouth of the Pachitea to the confluence of the Tambo and Urubamba. The average current from the mouth of the river to Pucacura is 2 miles per hour, and from Pucacura to the confluence of the Tambo and Urubamba 3 miles per hour. The Tambo is probably navigable for steamers drawing eight or ten feet of water to the confluence of the Ene and Perene, and thence the Perene would afford communication, at least by canoes, to San Ramon, a Peruvian military post; from San Ramon to Tarma, and from Tarma to Lima, would, of course, be the continuation of the route to the Pacific slope. The first step towards the opening of this most desirable of all the routes between the Pacific coast and the Amazon would be the establishment of a battalion post at the confluence of the Ene and Perene, communicating at regular and stated intervals with San Ramon. The distance between the two posts would be about 60 miles of canoe navigation, and would soon become a traveled route forming the connecting link between eastern and western Peru.

MOUTH OF THE UCAYALI.

Latitude, 4 deg. 28' 30" south; longitude, 73 deg. 21' 30" west of Greenwich; magnetic variation, 7 deg. 2' east; thermometer, 80 deg.; elevation above sea-level, 318 feet; distance from the Atlantic, 2180 miles; current, 2 miles per hour; the width of the Ucayali at its mouth is half a mile.

PUCACURA.

Latitude, 6 deg. 4' 45" south; longitude, 75 deg. 1' west of Greenwich; magnetic variation, 7 deg. 22' 10" east; thermometer, 79 deg.; elevation above sea-level, 377 feet; distance from the Atlantic, 2482 miles; current, 3 miles per hour.

SARAYOCU.

Latitude, 6 deg. 35' 15" south; longitude, 74 deg. 58' 30" west of Greenwich; magnetic variation, 7 deg. 52' 8" east; thermometer, 79 deg.; elevation above sea-level, 410 feet; distance from the Atlantic, 2578 miles; current, 3 miles per hour; depth of water, 20 feet.

The town of Sarayacu is situated on a small creek, about three miles from the place on the river which is called the Puerto del Sarayacu. Between Pucacura and Sarayacu is Esquina, a small settlement built on high land, which extends along the river for a mile or more. This place (Esquina) and Pucacura are about the only places on the banks of the Ucayali, below Sarayacu, that are not overflowed at high water. The floods of the Ucayali, which regularly recur every year at certain seasons, render the banks of the river an undesirable, perhaps even an impracticable, location for an agricultural population. It is possible that a crop might be raised and gathered during the dry season, but the farms would have to be abandoned whenever the river rose to its maximum height. At Paca, about twelve miles above Sarayacu, the banks on both sides of the river are high; such places are much more frequently met with above than below Sarayacu, but still they are the exception to the general character of the country near the river, which continues to be low and subject to overflow until the highlands are reached near the confluence of the Tambo and Urubamba.

PACAMASHI.

Latitude, 7 deg. 53' 15" south; longitude, 74 deg. 40' 45" west of Greenwich; magnetic variation, 7 deg. 51' 38" east; thermometer, 77 deg.; elevation above sea-level, 435 feet; distance from the Atlantic, 2733 miles; current, 3 miles per hour; width of the river, 600 yards.

YARINACOCHA.

Latitude, 8 deg. 15' south; longitude, 74 deg. 31' 30" west of Greenwich; magnetic variation, 7 deg. 38' 30" east; thermometer, 79 deg.; elevation above sea-level, 447 feet; distance from the Atlantic, 2800 miles; current, 3 miles per hour; width of river, 1200 yards.

MOUTH OF THE PACHITEA RIVER.

Latitude, 8 deg. 43' 30" south; longitude, 74 deg. 32' 30" west of Greenwich; magnetic variation, 8 deg. 45' 40" east; thermometer, 75 deg.; elevation above sea-level, 508 feet; distance from the Atlantic, 2891 miles; current, 3 miles per hour; width of the river, 600 yards.

VUELTA DEL DIABLO.

Distance from the Atlantic, 3091 miles. This strait is the first serious difficulty encountered in ascending the Ucayali; the current dashes with much violence against the trunks of large trees which lodge in, and almost block up, the passage.

CONFLUENCE OF THE TAMBO AND URABAMBA RIVERS.

Latitude, 10 deg. 41' south; longitude, 73 deg. 41' west of Greenwich; elevation above sea-level, 661 feet; distance from the Atlantic, 3142 miles; depth of water, 12 feet.

ESPERANZA.

Esperanza is situated on the Perene river about 11 miles above the junction of the Ene and Perene, which form the Tambo. The navigation for steamers drawing 10 feet of water terminates at the junction of the Perene and Ene. From thence to Fort San Ramon, a distance of sixty miles, canoes could navigate, but with some difficulty, owing to the swiftness of the current, which at San Ramon runs at the rate of 6 miles per hour. Small stern-wheel, flat-bottomed steamers, such as are in use on the swift, narrow and shallow rivers west of the Mississippi, could probably be employed with success in establishing communication between Fort San Ramon and the Ucayali.

LIST OF DISTANCES ON THE UCAYALI RIVER.

Ucayali River. Miles. Atlantic ocean to mouth of the Ucayali 2189 (Amazon River.) Mouth of the Ucayali to Pucacura 293 Pucacura to Sarayacu 96 Sarayacu to Pacamashi 155 Pacamashi to Yarinacocha 67 Yarinacocha to mouth of the Pachitea river 91 Mouth of the Pachitea to Vuelta del Diablo 200 Vuelta del Diablo to confluence of the Tambo and Urubamba 51 Confluence of the Tambo and Urubamba to the Ucayali, source of the Urubamba river, a continuation of the Ucayali 375 Ucayali river, from its source to the Atlantic 3517 Distance from the Atlantic to the head of steamer navigation on the Ucayali 3142

PACHITEA RIVER.

The banks of the Ucayali and Pachitea, at their confluence, are low, subject to overflow and unsuitable for settlement. About nine miles above its mouth we come to the first Indian village on the Pachitea, a male Conebo hamlet, with nothing to recommend it except that it is situated on ground a little higher than the flats which surround it. On the left bank of the Ucayali a few miles below the mouth of the Pachitea, there is a place called Hoje, which is not subject to overflow at high water, but in other respects it is not an eligible position for a town or post. The Pachitea is navigable at low water for steamers drawing nine feet of water to the confluence of the Palcazu and Pichis rivers.

MOUTH OF THE PACHITEA.

Latitude, 8 deg. 43' 30" south; longitude, 74 deg. 32' 30" west of Greenwich; magnetic variation, 8 deg. 45' 40" east; thermometer, 75 deg.; elevation above sea-level, 508 feet; distance from the Atlantic, 2891 miles; current, 3 miles per hour; width of the Pachitea at its mouth, 400 yards.

CUNUYACU.

Latitude, 9 deg. 5' 52" south; longitude, 74 deg. 48' 15" west of Greenwich; magnetic variation, 8 deg. 59' 26" east; elevation above sea-level, 557 feet; distance from the Atlantic, 2951 miles; current, 2-1/2 miles per hour; width of the river, 400 yards.

Cunuyacu means hot water, and is descriptive of the place, for there are here several thermal springs welling up from the sand beach. At Chunta Isla, between the mouth of the Pachitea and Cunuyacu, the Cashibo Indians frequently attack from ambush strangers who are ascending the river.

INCA ROCA.

Latitude, 9 deg. 9' 4" south; longitude, 74 deg. 55' 45" west of Greenwich; magnetic variation, 8 deg. 6' 26" east; distance from the Atlantic, 2963 miles; current, 2-1/2 miles per hour.

Inca Roca is a rocky beach overhung by sandstone cliffs sixty-five feet high; on the face of the cliffs are carved numerous figures, amongst them the figure of the sun and of the Llama are conspicuous, hence the place was named Inca Roca.

CONFLUENCE OF THE PALCAZU AND PICHIS RIVERS.

Latitude, 9 deg. 54' 9" south; longitude, 74 deg. 58' 45" west of Greenwich; magnetic variation, 7 deg. 34' 4" east; elevation above sea-level, 518 feet; distance from the Atlantic, 3082 miles; current, 2-3/4 miles per hour.

At the junction of the Palcazu and Pichis, the two rivers forming the Pachitea, there is high land suitable for a town or post.

LIST OF DISTANCES ON THE PACHITEA RIVER.

Miles. Mouth of the Pachitea to Cunuyacu 60 Cunuyacu to Inca Roca 12 Inca Roca to confluence of the Pichis and Palacazu 119 From the confluence of the Pichis and Palacazu, forming the Pachitea river, to the Atlantic 3082

PALACAZU RIVER.

The Palacazu is a somewhat narrow stream, with a current of 3-1/4 miles per hour and a depth which at low water will permit a steamer drawing seven feet of water to ascend to Puerto del Mairo.

PUERTO DEL MAIRO.

Latitude, 9 deg. 55' 22" south; longitude, 75 deg. 17' 45" west of Greenwich; thermometer, 75 deg.; elevation above sea-level, 795 feet; distance from the Atlantic, 3119 miles; current, 3-1/2 miles per hour.

Puerto del Mairo is 45 miles distant from the large city of Huanaco, which has constant communication and trade with Lima. At present the route between Huanaco and Puerto del Mairo is only a footpath through the forest, but it is probable that a good road for pack-mules could be constructed at little expense, and that a railway is not impracticable.

PICHIS RIVER.

The Pichis is a branch of the Pachitea river. The Cashibos and Campas Indians inhabiting its banks are warlike tribes and fiercely oppose all attempts to examine their country. Nothing was known of the river, above its mouth, until it was explored and surveyed, in 1873, by the Peruvian Hydrographical Commission of the Amazon, accompanied by a military escort. It was necessary for the Commission to bestow names on notable places as they proceeded to discover them, and these names were afterwards used in making the chart of the river.

MOUTH OF THE PICHIS.

Latitude, 9 deg. 54' 9" south; longitude, 74 deg. 58' 45" west of Greenwich; magnetic variation, 7 deg. 34' 4" east; elevation above sea-level, 618 feet; distance from the Atlantic, 3082 miles; current, 2-1/2 miles per hour.

ROCHELLE ISLA.

Latitude, 9 deg. 57' 11" south; longitude, 75 deg. 2' west of Greenwich; magnetic variation, 8 deg. 35' 36" east; elevation above the sea-level, 630 feet; distance from the Atlantic, 3100 miles; current, 2-1/2 miles per hour.

Up to Rochelle Isla, named after the senior member of the Peruvian Hydrographical Commission, navigation is clear and unobstructed for any steamer that can ascend the Pachitea; that is, for any steamer not drawing more than nine feet of water. Beyond this island the navigation of the river becomes much more difficult, though not altogether impracticable. The River Trinidad, so named on account of its having been discovered on Trinity Sunday, empties itself into the Pichis ten miles above Rochelle Isla; it is a fine, large river, flowing from the eastward, with deep water and a current of 3 miles per hour at its mouth.

TEMPESTAD PLAYA.

Latitude, 10 deg. 5' 6" south; longitude, 74 deg. 55' 45" west of Greenwich; magnetic variation, 7 deg. 46' east; distance from the Atlantic, 3123 miles. Tempestad Playa received its name in consequence of a violent tempest which was there encountered by the namers.

MOUTH OF THE HERRERAYACU RIVER.

Latitude, 10 deg. 20' 3" south; longitude, 74 deg. 54' west of Greenwich; magnetic variation, 7 deg. 59' 26" east; distance from the Atlantic, 3156 miles.

The Herrerayacu river was named after the major who commanded the escort of soldiers accompanying the Hydrographical Commission; it has a current of 3-1/2 miles per hour, and is navigable for canoes a distance of four or five miles, up to Terminacion Playa in latitude 10 deg. 22' 33" south; longitude, 74 deg. 54' west of Greenwich. Mountain ranges are plainly in sight from Terminacion Playa, which is 3160 miles distant from the Atlantic.

PUERTO TUCKER.

Latitude, 10 deg. 22' 55" south; longitude, 74 deg. 49' west of Greenwich; magnetic variation, 9 deg. 7' 30" east; elevation above sea-level, 700 feet; distance from the Atlantic, 3167 miles; current, 3-1/2 miles per hour.

Puerto Tucker was named after the President of the Hydrographical Commission. It is at the head of canoe navigation, not far from the source, of the Pichis river; from it a range of lofty mountains, distant some twenty or thirty miles, bears from S. to S.W. This range must be the eastern Cordillera of Peru.

LIST OF DISTANCES ON THE PICHIS RIVER.

Miles. Mouth of the Pichis to the Atlantic ocean 3082 Mouth of the Pichis to Rochelle Isla 18 Rochelle Isla to mouth of Trinidad river 10 Mouth of Trinidad river to Tempestad Playa 13 Tempestad Playa to mouth of the Herrerayacu 33 Mouth of the Herrerayacu to Puerto Tucker 11 Puerto Tucker to Atlantic ocean 3167

[Footnote 2: The latitudes, longitudes and other data given in these notes are taken from the journal of the Peruvian Hydrographical Commission of the Amazon. Some of them have been published, by permission, in the third edition of Professor Orton's "Andes and the Amazon."]