. Review of reviews and world's work. appearance in the Americannavy, nor, in fact, in any navy. And she is theonly man-of-war that ever ascended the Amazon settlements, but they are generally temporary,being erected for the convenience of the rubbergatherers. The dreary solitude arid monotony of the in-terminable stretch of low banks and the knowl-edge that back of these shores lay hundreds ofmiles of unexplored, almost impenetrable forest,swampy, stagnant, fever-breeding, and pestilent,gave the journey up the great river a weird,mysterious tone. About 500 miles from Para, at the junction oft
. Review of reviews and world's work. appearance in the Americannavy, nor, in fact, in any navy. And she is theonly man-of-war that ever ascended the Amazon settlements, but they are generally temporary,being erected for the convenience of the rubbergatherers. The dreary solitude arid monotony of the in-terminable stretch of low banks and the knowl-edge that back of these shores lay hundreds ofmiles of unexplored, almost impenetrable forest,swampy, stagnant, fever-breeding, and pestilent,gave the journey up the great river a weird,mysterious tone. About 500 miles from Para, at the junction ofthe Tapajos River with the Amazon, the town ofSantarem was reached. The original settlementhere was made by a colony of Americans in1866, though all traces of the Yankee settlershave been removed. On March 24, five days from Para, the Wil-mington reached the end of the main trunk ofthe Amazon. Here the Rio Negro joins withthe Solimoes to form the Amazon. Ten milesup the Rio Negro lies Manaos, the capital of thegreat state of MAP SHOWING THE WILMINGTONS COURSE. (iQUITOS WAS THE WESTERNMOST POINT REACHED.) beyond Manaos. Not even a Brazilian gunboatcan claim that feat. The cabled consent of the Navy Departmentreached the Wilmington at Para, and from thatport the ship had to steam 280 miles, throughthe Para River and a network of narrow streamsknown as the Passes, to reach the main channelof the Amazon. At the junction with the Passes the riverseems more of an elongated lake or arm of thesea. It was fully eight miles in width and pre-sented a muddy surface, which appeared scarcelyto move, although in places the presence of float-ing islands and drifting logs indicated an actualand rather swift current. March and April beingthe end of the rainy season, the gunboat foundthe great river at its highest. From the Passes to Manaos, which was to beCommander Todds first stop, the distance is 700miles. In all tliis length there are not a halfdozen towns containing more than 500 t
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