roduced. The chief industrial
development, however, is confined to the lands near the Caribbean coast.
Coffee, cacao, and tobacco are grown for export, the business of
cultivation being largely controlled by Americans and Europeans. Rubber,
copaiba, tolu, and vegetable ivory[59] are gathered by Indians from the
forests.

[Illustration: A PASS IN THE ANDES]

The montane region has long been famous for its mines of gold and
silver. The salt mines near Bogota are a government monopoly and yield a
considerable revenue. Near the same city are the famous Muzo emerald
mines.

The rivers are the chief channels of internal trade. During the rainy
season steamboats ascend the Orinoco to Cabugaro, about two hundred
miles from Bogota. About fifty steamboats are in commission on the
Magdalena and its tributary, the Cauca. Mule trains traversing wretched
trails require from one to two weeks to transport the goods from the
river landings to the chief centres of population. Improvements now
under way in clearing and canalizing these rivers will add about five
hundred miles of additional water-way. The railways consist of short
lines mainly used as portages around obstructions of the rivers.

An unstable government and an onerous system of export taxes hamper
trade. Coffee, a leading product, goes mainly to Europe. Cattle
products, and balsam of tolu are purchased mainly in the United States.
Great Britain purchases the gold and silver ores. The chief
imports--textiles, flour, and petroleum--are purchased in the United
States. _Bogota_ and _Medellin_ are the largest cities. The isolation of
the region in which they are situated shapes the indifferent foreign
policy of the government. _Barranquilla_, _Sabanilla_, and _Cartagena_
are the chief ports.

=Panama.=--This state, formerly a part of Colombia, includes the isthmus
of Panama. Geographically it belongs to North America, and practically
it can be approached from Colombia by water only. The secession of
Panama was brought about by the complications of the isthmian canal. A
treaty with the United States gives the latter sovereign control over
the canal and the strip of land ten miles wide bordering it. _Panama_
and _Colon_ are the two ports of the canal. The United States exercises
police and sanitary regulations in these cities, but it has no
sovereignty over them.

=Peru.=--Peru has great resources, both agricultural and mineral. Cotton
is one of the chief products. The ordi