altogether it was
still as much of a _terra incognita_ as in the days of Orellana. They
found that these notions were quite incorrect; that not only is there
the large town of Para near the mouth of the Amazon, but there are other
considerable settlements upon its banks, at different distances from
each other, all the way up to Peru. Even upon some of its tributaries--
as the Rio Negro and Madeira--there are villages and plantations of some
importance. Barra, on the former stream, is of itself a town of 2,000
inhabitants.

In that part of the Amazonian territory which lies within the boundaries
of Brazil, the settlements are, of course, Brazilian--the settlers being
a mixture of Portuguese negroes and Christianised Indians. The portion
of the great valley higher up towards the Cordilleras of the Andes,
belongs to the Spanish-American governments--chiefly to Peru. There are
also settlements of a missionary character, the population of which
consists almost entirely of Indians, who have submitted themselves to
the rule of the Spanish priests. Years ago many of these missionary
settlements were in a flourishing condition; but at present they are in
a complete state of decay.

Our young Russians found, then, that the great South American river was
by no means unknown or unexplored--though as yet no great observer has
given an account of it. The different travellers who have descended the
Amazon, and written books about it, have all been men of slight
capacity, and lacking powers of scientific observation; and one cannot
help feeling regret, that Humboldt did not choose the Amazon, instead of
the Orinoco, as the medium of his valuable researches into the
cosmography of South America. Such a grand subject was worthy of such a
man.

In ascending the Amazon--which our party did by the Brazilian steamer--
they were fortunate in finding on board a very intelligent travelling
companion; who gave them much information of the great valley and its
resources. This man was an old Portuguese trader, who had spent nearly
a lifetime in navigating not only the Amazon itself, but many of its
larger tributaries. His business was to collect from the different
Indian tribes the indigenous products of the forest--or _montana_, as it
is called--which stretches almost without interruption from the Andes to
the Atlantic. In this vast tropical forest there are many productions
that have found their way into the channels of commerce;