Identifier: explorationofval00hern (find matches)
Title: Exploration of the valley of the Amazon
Year: 1853 (1850s)
Authors: Herndon, William Lewis, 1813-1857 United States. Navy Dept Thoreau, Henry David, 1817-1862 Mann, Horace, 1796-1859 Gibbon, Lardner
Subjects: Amazon River Valley -- Description and travel Brazil -- Description and travel Peru -- Description and travel Bolivia -- Description and travel America -- Discovery and exploration
Publisher: Washington, R. Armstrong (etc.) Public Printer
Contributing Library: Brown University Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Brown University

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heavy iron guns mounted, which pointeddown the river towards the territory of Bolivia. The date over the mainentrance of the fort was nearly erased by the weather. We could withdifficulty make out Joseph I, June 20, IV/G. The commandante wasunable to give us much of its past history. The Portuguese engineerswho built it came up the Madeira river from the Amazon, bringing withthem a small colony, who settled here by order of the King of Portugal,and, after building the fort, moved away, leaving none but the garrisonwithin its immense walls, which enclose over an acre of land. The stoneof which it is built was quarried near by. The magazine on the south-east side, half a mile distant, also built of stone, has gone to ruin and isnot used. A subterraneous passage leads from the fort to it. The country around is low and overflowed in the wet season, with theexception of three small hills in sight, to the northeast. These aresituated to the southwest of that ridge of mountains marked on the
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CUYAVABOS CREW. 275 common atlas— Geral mountains. The situation of this fort is usuallycalled Lamego, and the river Guapore. There are a few wild Indiansroaming about the country on both sides of the river, of which very littleis known.* They never make their appearance at the fort, and thecommandante never troubles himself about them. He sits in his castlefor months without seeing a stranger, grumbling at the cold southeastwinds. His rheumatic pains are better when the warm northwest windsclear away the clouds. The negro soldiers plant sugar cane, pine apples,and produce a few oranges. The government rations are farinha, sentfrom Matto Grosso, and beef when they can get it from the BaureIndians, in Bolivia, whence this portion of the inhabitants of Brazil re-ceive their coffee^ chocolate^ and sugar, by the rivers Machupos and Mag-delina. This side of the Madeira Plate presents a very different appearancefrom the Andes side. The commandante tells me he^ has navigated thelow lands b

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