MadDios-Markham 1896

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Recent Discoveries in the Basin of the River Madre De Dios (Bolivia and Peru)

Clements R. Markham

The Geographical Journal, Vol. 7, No. 2. (Feb., 1896), pp. 187-190.

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RECENT DISCOVERIES IN THE BASIN OF THE RIVER MADREDE DIOS (BOLIVIA AND PERU).By CLEMENTS R. MARKHAM. C.B., F.R.S.TWOBolivian expeditions and a Peruvian expedition have recently ex-

tended our knowledge of the navigable part of the great river Madre deUios, a principal t ribute of the Beni, draining the forests of Paucartambo,and the portion of the eastern cordillera of the Andes in the departmentof Cuzco, in Peru.

The previous history of the exploration of the river basins of theBeni and Madre de Dios (Amaru-mayu) was given in a paper read onApril 9, 1383 (Proceedings, N.S., vol. v. p. 313), introductory to thenarrative of the exploration of the Beni in 1880-81 by Dr. Edwin It.Heath. An account of the subsequent voyage of Fray NicolasArmentia in 1884 down the Beni, and up the river Madre de Diosfor about 200 miles, was communicated to the Society by our HonoraryCorresponding Member, Don Manuel V. Ballivian of La Paz, andappeared in the number of our Proceedings for March, 1891 (vol. xiii,N.S. p. 185).

Dr. Edwin Rent11 and Seiior Ballivian have now forwarded to us aletter from Colonel Pando to Father Nicolas Armentia, dated April 26,1893, and an official pamphlet * containing the report of Dr. Ramon Paz,who led an expedition up the river Madre de Dios in 1894.

Colonel Jose Manuel Pando, with an engineer named Muller andseveral young Bolivian volunteers, set out to explore the river Madre de-Dios in October, 1892. He was supplied with compass, sextant, andchronometer, and corrected his traverse-survey by daily obserr~';onsofthe sun. After some useful preliminary work on the Beni, Colonel Pandocommenced the exploration of the RIadre de Dios, in a steam-launchbelonging to Messrs. Roca Brothers, on February 2, 1853. But theengine broke down, and they had to continue their course in three canoes.A large affluent on the right bank, in 12' 24' S. and 73" 47' \V. (ofGreenwich), was named after Dr. Edwin Heath. Here Colonel Pando.formed a camp of seven men, under his assistant Ibarra. The engineerNuller proceeded to explore the river Heath in a canoe, and thecolonel himself continued the discovery of the main stream of the Madrede Dios. He passed numerous picturesque islands rising high out ofthe water, and a large tributary on the left bank was named after Lieut.Gibbon, U.S.N. At length the mouth of the river Inambari was reached in12' 42' S. and 74" 23' W. (of Greenwich). The width at the mouth was325 yards, and the depth over 15 fathoms. The Madre de Dios continuedin a north-west direction, flowing from the Andes, distant about a

* 'Minis ter io d e Gobierno J- Colonizacion. D e Ribe ra l ta a1 Innmbari , Informedel Doctor Ram on P a z , J e f e d e I n Expedicion ' ( L a P a z, 1895).


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188 RECENT DISC3VERIES I?u' T H E BASIY O F T H E RIVER MADRE DE DIOS.hundred miles, clear, majestic, and full of islands. The Inalnbari has asinuous; course, coming from the south-west, and receives illany tributaries,among them a river named the D'Orbignp, the mouth of which is in13" S. and 74" 34' \FT. (Greenwich).

Colonel Pando returned to his camp at the mouth of the river Heath ,and on &Parch 26, 1893, he set out on a most adventurous journey over-land, from the encampment a t the confluence of the Heath and Madrede Dios to the Madidi. II is way was through dense forest, and he reliedsolely on his gun for food. The party safely reached Ixiama, by descend-ing the JIadidi, on April 20, whence he addressed the letter to FatherArmentia at La Paz, a copy of which we have now received throughthe kindness of our Honorary Corresponding Member, Dr. Edwin R .Heath, of Kansas City. Colonel Pando, who is a scientific surveyor,deserves high credit for the able and resolute way in which he achievedsthis very interesting and important piece of geographical discovery.

Dr. Ramon Paz was sent to take formal possession of the regionnewly discovered by Colonel Pando. He was accompanied by threeoEcers of the Bolivian topographical department, a naturalist, and anescort of ten soldiers. The expedition embarked on board a steam-launch built by &lessrs. Cochrane of Birkenhead, 58 feet long by 13,and 10 feet depth of hold, drawing 1 foot when unloaded, and 3feet with chrgo. She is propelled by a stern wheel, and fuel wasobtained, when necessary, from the fcrest on the river-banks.

Carmen is a settlement on the Beni, above the confluence of themadre de Dios, which may be considered as the port for the la tterriver basin. I t s district contains a population of about a thousandsouls, and has an annual yield of 225,000 lbs. of india-rubber. Theexpedition under Dr. Ramon Paz left Carmen on April 10, 1894,and entered the Madre de Dios. The ascent was successfully madebeyond the furthest point previously reached by Armentia, and theexplorers had the satisfaction of arriving a t the confluence of the greatriver Inambari, which drains the Peruvian province of Caravaya.This confluence had been previously discovered by Colonel Pando. Theheadwaters of the Inambari are famous for their rich gold-washings,and their sources are in the forests yielding the most valuable kindsof quinine-yielding chinchona trees. The return down stream to Carmenwas performed without difficulty in two days. The river Madre de Diosis broad and easily navigable, but full of islands. Commencing from theBeni, as many as sixty-three islands received the names of those who havebeen connected with the exploration of the basin of the Madre de Dios,such as Bovo de Revello, Maldonado, Terrazas, Cardenas, Xarkham,Church, Ballivian, Campero, Pando, etc. On the upper part of theriver's course the shores are lined with cliff8 of considerable height.There are numerous affluents, but only two of considerable size, theLHeath and the Inambari. The main stream of the Madre de Dios


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RECEKT DISCOVERIES I 5 THE BASIX O F THE RIVER MADBE DE DIOS. 189

averages a width of from half a mile to a mile, it s volume being nearlydouble that of the Beni a t the junction. The current was found to beflowing at the rate of 3 miles an hour. The rate of the launch indescending mas 7 knots, which, added to the 3 miles current,make 10 knots an hour during forty-four hours. Dr. Ramon Pazdescribes the flowers of the river-bank vegetation as beautiful beyondwords, and supplies of game and fowl were abundant. Carmen isplaced in 11' 57' S. and 73" TV.

The wild tribes met wi th on the Madre de Dios are the Araonas,Pacaguaras, Caripunas, Toromonas, and Guarayos, which are all de-scribed in the ' List of Tribes in the Valley of the Amazon,' publishedby the Anthropological Society in the present year. Dr. Ramon Pazsupplies a short vocabulary of the Araona language.

A Peruvian expedition has also descended the Madre de Dios fromits sources in the Andes, arriving at Carmen on the Beni in September,1894. I t was commanded by Don Carlos Fermin Fiscarrald, whosecompanions were two Peruvians named Zorrilla and Sarria; Mr. CharlesAlfred Cockbnrn, an Englishman ; and thirty men. They had ascendedthe Ucayali from the Amazon, and the Urubamba to the point wherei t receives the Camisea. Up to this point th e whole river system isnavigable by steamers. The Camisea is only suited for canoes. Theexplorers ascended it, crossed the ridge, and went down a streamcalled the Terjali, which conducted them to the river Manu. Thepassage of the ridge, dividing these streams, only occupied them fifty-five minutes. Here they constructed a large canoe 65 feet long andnearly 5 feet in width. While they were thus occupied, an advancedparty of eight of their men was attacked by the Chunchos Indiansof the Paucartambo forests, and one man was killed by their arrows.

As soon as the canoe was finished, they descended the Manu to itsjunction with the Piiii-piFii, where the combined streams take the nameof Nadre de Dios. From that point they reached the mouth of thelnambari in six days, and thence descended the river to Carmen on theBeni. Secor Fiscarrald is an enterprising merchant, who has establisheda station on the Ucayali, at the j11nctio:l of the rivers Tambo andUrubamba, and employs twenty boats in collecting produce for export.His discovery of an easy and short route between the basins of theUcayali and the Madeira is not only of geographical interest ; i t willlead to great commercial results. The Madre de Dios is found to be amagnificent river without obstructions, and the region it traverses isone of the richest in the world. The slopes of the Andes yield coffeeand cacao of unequalled excellence; they are the home of the bestspecies of quinine-yielding chinchona trees, and they abound in gold.I n the lower forests there are inexhaustible supplies of india-rubber ofthe best quality, and many other valuable products.

Our Honorary Corresponding member, Seiior Ballivian, has been mostNo. 11.-FEBRUARY, o896.1


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1 9 0 PROFESSOR KAMSAY'S WORK ON PHRYG1A.-REVIEW.di l igen t in furn i sh ing us wi th geographica l in forma tion of g rea t va lue ,and the Soc ie ty has aga in to tha nk h im for the presen t in te re s t in gcommunica tion. T h e Socie ty is a lso indeb ted to our other H on ora ryCorresponding IKember, D r . Ed w in R. He a th , for t r ansm i t t ing a copyof Colonel Pando's im po rtan t le t te r .

PROFESSOR RAMSAY'S WORK ON PHRYG1A.-REVIEW."By Sir CHARLES W. WILSON, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., e t c .

PROF.Ramsay 's im por ta n t w ork on Ph ry gia i s dedica ted to thesuppor te r s of the Asia l l in o r Explora t ion Fu nd , amongs t whom theRo yal Geographica l Socie ty ha s ever been prominent . T h e l ibera lcontr ibutions of th e Society hav e been more th an justified, for rar ely i nt h e history of explora tion has so mu ch been accomplished a t such sm al lcost. It i s a lmost imposs ible to exagg era te th e va lue , to s tud en ts ofhis torica l geography, of th e resul ts obta ined b y Prof. Ramsay, Mr.Ho gar th , and th e gen t lemen who haye e i the r accompanied them orfollowed in their footsteps. A flood of l igh t has been t l l ~ o w n n th ehis tory an d geo graph y of Asia Minor ; on the art, social life, commercialrela t ions, an d rel igious customs of th e various races th a t hav e inha bitedth e c oun t ry ; on th e s ta tus of Chr i s t i ans and the Church in the Provincesun der the Roman emperors ; an d on t h e changing fortunes of the longs t rug gle t h a t ended in th e t r ium ph of the c rescent and supremacy of theT u r k .

Prof. R amsay ha s publ ished man y of th e resul ts of his labours i n his'Histo rical Geog raphy of Asia Minor '-a w ork issued b y th is Societya s one of i t s Sup plem entary Pape rs , and i n num erous communica tions tothe Hellenic and other societ ies . But these must , in some sense, ber e ga rde d as i n tr oduc to r y t o t he g r e a te r w or k w h ich he ha s a lv a y s ha din view, an d of wh ich the presen t volume is a f i rs t ins ta lment . H isscheme has been to m ake an absolute ly f resh w ork founded on theancient autho r i t ies a lone , i n which th e geographica l s i tua t ion, thena tura l sur roundings , an d th e commerc ia l adva ntages of each c i ty shouldbe se t for th in a n account of i t s h is tory. As geographers , we mayregre t th a t he has adopted the p lan of a ' local history.' We lose thebroad genera liza tion wh ich is of such impor tance to geographica lscience, b u t we have in i t s place well-drawn pictures of local l ife a ndscene ry , and w e m us t a l low th a t an h i s to r ian of Ph rygia would havefound a n y o ther course beset w it h difficult ies.

I n accordance w i th his scheme, Prof . Ramsay has parce lled outPh ry gia in to d i s t r ic t s , and h i s in t ima te knowledge of the cou nt ry hasenab led him to br in g c lear ly before us th e influence t h a t geographical

* 'The Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia.' By R. 11.Ramsay, D.c.L., LL.D., etc.Vol. i. ("The Lycos Valley and South-Western Phrygia "). Clareudon Press. 1895.

MadDios-Markham 1896

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