CORNELL UNWEBSII' L™' 3 1924 074 945 111 nil III 555 The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924074945555 %f f ' f lycs^'. ,Ui^ , OF BOLIVIA X Incorporated in Sd^ Francisco, California, January 25th, A. D. 1870. V JSAN FRANCISCO : Al.TA CALIFOKNIA PKINTING HOUSE, 529 CALIFOKNIA ST. 1870 Bolivian Colonization-. BEING PROSPEOTTJS OF THE O l« OF BOLIVIA. incorporated in San Francisco, Caiifornia, January 25th, A. D. 1870. SAN FRANCISCO : ALTA CALIFORNIA FEINTING HOUSE, 539 CALIFORNIA ST. 1870 OFFICERS OF THE COMPANY. President, A. D. PIPER. Secretary, H. H. BIGELOW. Assistant Secretary, WILLIAM MARTIN. Treasurer, Trustees; A. D. PrPER, B. H. Freemam, A. B. Stout, M. D. CQNTENTS. , Page. Maps List of Officers 2 Grant to A. D. Piper 5 Certificate of Incorporation 23 By-Laws 26 Conveyance to the Company 31 Power of Attorney to A.'D. Piper 38 Prospectus of the Company 35 Bolivia— by Col. Geo. E. Church 44 Meteorological Journal, 1852, by Lardner Gibbon, U. S. IST 52 From the Republic of Bolivia to A. D. PIPER. [seal.] [stamp.] Contract entered into between His Excellency, Don Juan de la Cruz Benavente, as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Pleni- potentiary of the Republic of Bolivia, in Peru, and Mr. A. D. Piper. " In Lima, on the thirtieth day of October, of eighteen hun- dred and sixty-nine, before me, a Notary Public and Recorder of public instruments, and the witnesses hereinafter named, did appear His Excellency, the Licentiate Don Juan de la Cruz Bena- vente, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Bolivia, near this Republic, a married man, and resident of this Capital ; and Mr. A. D. Piper, a married man acquainted with the Spanish language, both duly qualified, and whom I know per- sonally, and delivered to me the minute of a contract to be drawn into a public instrument, and complying with their request, the same is of the following tenor, to-wit : MINUTE. Mr. Secretary, Don Francisco Palacios: Please record in your book of public records an indenture by which shall be made to appear, that the Supreme Government of Bo- livia and Don A. D. Piper, president of a colonization company of California, have agreed to carry into effect a contract offered by the latter party and accepted by the Supreme Government, for the purpose of colonizing with foreign immigrants the north- ern and eastern regions of Bolivia. Wherefore, I, Juan de la Cruz Benavente, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipoten- tiary of Bolivia, near the Government of Peru, duly author- ized by the Government of Bolivia, and A. D. Piper, a native of the United States and president of a colonization company of California; by these presents we proceed to enter into an agreement of colonization in the most solemn and binding form, the terms of which agreement will appear in perpetuation of the proposal, the report, the Supreme Decree of, acceptation and modifi- cation, of the first of October instant, dated in the capital Mel- garejo, signed by the President of Bolivia, and by all the members of the Cabinet of Sucre. Likewise by the dispatch addressed to the Legation, under date of the ninth of October md -under the number sixty-eight, by the marginal decree of this Legation, dated the twenty-fifth of the same month, and by the acceptance of Mr. A. D. Piper, of same date, which be pleased to insert in full and in continuation. PEOPOSAL. Most Excellent Sir : The undersigned, A. D. Piper, having GRANT. territory, situated north of fourteenth parallel south latitude, and within the limits of the frontier delineated in the annexed map, during the term of twenty-five years from the date of signing the decree acceding to this proposal ; provided, that said Company shall protect, with preference, the Bolivian citizens, who may wish to settle upon the regions already indicated. ARTICLE THIRD. If, on the fourteenth parallel, south latitude, already men- tioned as the starting point in the foregoing article, or further north of said parallel, there should be any settlements already founded, it will he understood that the same do not belong to the colonizing enterprise, as the object of this is only to obtain the grant of vacant and uninhabited lands, or those at present settled by Indian tribes. ARTICLE FOURTH. The proposer, in reference to boundaries of lands that may be granted, leaves the same to be designated by the honorable Government of Bolivia as it may deem most convenient, should the boundaries designated in the map presented by the proposer be unacceptable. ARTICLE FIFTH. The Bolivian Colonization and Commercial Company shall dis- pose of all the said lands or any parts thereof to the colonists introduced by said company, as in the judgment of the Company should be deemed most convenient. ARTICLE SIXTH. The company shall have full liberty to navigate the rivers of the Republic, the exploration of which shall not have been grant- ed up to the present time by exclusive privilege. ARTICLE SEVENTH. In consideration of the immense expenditures that the Company will have to incur in establishing lines of communication ; in the fomenting of the colonies ; in the introduction of colonists, and, their maintenance while these immigrants may be unable to 8 GRANT. obtain the first crop; the said Company is hereby exonerated from paying duties of importation, upon utensils, machinery, seeds, blooded stock and supplies for the Colony, for the term of five years from the date of the arrival of the first immigrants. ARTICLE EIGHTH. The Company may make all the improvements it may deem proper for the shipping and landing of the materials, by means of wharves, railroads, bridges, rivers and lakes', and may fix the ta- riff for the use of all its structures or property, in conformity 'vrith the laws of equity and of justice. ARTICLE NINTH. The aforesaid Company is hereby fully authorized to circulate printed notes or bills of payment or other obligations, provided that the time, mode, and place of payment shall be expressed on the same. ARTICLE TENTH. The Company shall commence its operations eighteen months from the acceptance of their proposal, and shall forfeit all the rights to the same, if within that time it fail to fulfill this obliga- tion. ARTICLE ELEVENTH. In case the colonists should settle in the Republic of Bblivia, their immediate naturalization and incorporation into the Bolivian Nation are hereby irrevocably stipulated, and they will therefore be subject to the laws of the Country. ARTICLE TWELFTH. The Supreme Government shall have the right to appoint all the respective authorities for the colony or colonies that may be established ; and the colonists and immigrants, from the time of landing in the territory of the Republic, shall be subject to said authorities and to the laws of Bolivia. ARTICLE THIRTEENTH. The lands colonized or the colonies that may be established, shall be known by the name that the Supreme Government may GRANT. wish to give to the same, and the lands as well as the colonists are hereby exclusively subject to the laws of the Bolivian Nation. Such are, Most Excellent Sir, the bases that I propose, and trust will be accepted by the illustrious government of Your Excellency. Therefore I pray Your Excellency to consider me as personally present, and to inform me at the earliest oppor- tunity of whatever resolution may be taken in this important affair. And I will for ever pray. Lima, July tenth, one thousand eight hundred and sixty nine. Most Excellent Sir: (Signed) A. D. PIPER. ADDITIOISTAL ARTICLE. As the Colonization Company will not wish to be an expense in any manner to the Supreme Government of Bolivia; therefore I propose to pay out of its own funds, during the first two years, the salaries that may be assigned by the government to the Pre- fect and judicial authorities of the colony. Valid. Same date. (Signed) PIPER. DECREE. Ministry of Foreign Relations. Melgarejo, September sixth, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine. In order to take into consideration the foregoing proposal, let a report be made previously by a special commission, com- posed of Messrs. Colonel Quintin Quevedo, Doctor Eusebio Tudela and Doctor Jos6 Pedro Nermuldes. By order of His Excellency, the President. (Signed) MUNOZ. REPORT. Most Excellent Sir : The undersigned appointed by Your Ex- cellency in the foregoing decree, for the purpose of reporting upon the proposal made by Mr. A. D. Piper for the colonization of Beni, beg leave to report that they have examined the same with the attention and care required by such an important matter, and take pleasure in stating that they have unanimously agreed in all its particulars, and beg leave to suggest to Your Excellency, 10 GRANT. that the proposal contains the conditions of justification and con- venience so desirable in matters of such magnitude as the pres- ent one ; that it is a great blessing for Bolivia, and an omen of its coming future if the colonization of Beni is realized, and that its attainment is so important and vital, that any sacrifices made would be of little consequence compared with the benefits result- ing therefrom. The exception in the proposal of all onerous or pecuniary pre- tentions against the government, the obligation of Bolivian nationality which is stipulated for and in behalf of the colonists, the immediate supremacy of our authorities, and the generous offer made in the proposal to pay the salaries for the first two years of those authorities, all concur with great force in leading us to form the aforesaid opinion. The said article fourth, which leaves the modification of the area of lands so located, to the discretion of the Honorable Government of Bolivia, is another precedent which speaks highly in tavor of the abnegation of Mr. Piper. No less modest are the exceptions for the term of five years, which the proposal in its seventh article solicits, in i espect to first materials, utensils, machinery, seeds, blooded stock and sup- plies ; all objects which are and ought to be exempt from chargie for a long time, as they favor the development and progress of our frontiers. In virtue of this, the Commission, saving certain modifications which soon will be specified, in anticipation of the eventualities Of the future, recommends very specially the important proposal of Mr. Piper, to the high and distinguished consideration of Your Excel- lency, whose love for the aggrandizement of Bolivia is so well known. In treating now of the said modifications, we are of opinion : Mrst: That the demarcation of the line of the fourteenth parallel of south latitude contained, in article second, compre- hends in its extension almost the entire department of Beni, since said parallel passes between the towns of Trinidad and San Javier, and as that absorption would prejudice beyond a doubt that de- partment, worthy as it is of the special protection of the Govern- ment. For this reason and in view of the immensity northern territory comprising that zone, the limit should be reduced in our opinion to the twelfth parallel only, that is to say, one and a haU GRANT. 11 degrees of latitude, and in longitude the entire extent of our frontier. And in order to compensate for this reduction of two degrees in the department of Beni, the following portion of vacant lands to the west of the Beni River, might he ceded also, to wit : the lands lying within the same latitude in the Province of Caupolican as far as the Peruvian frontier, which section of land, although it may not be of equal extension, is very superior for its fertility and richness, to which might be added the triangle of lands, also unoccupied, embraced between the departments of Beni and Santa Cruz, which lays between the rivers Zapacani and Guapai, or Rio Grande, as far as the latitude of the port of Cuatro Ojos, where the tribe called Siriones reside. Second: In the event of this modification, article third should be reformed, and for the security of the towns of Cabinas, and Exaltacion, and San Joaquin, whose territories would come within the grant in the twelfth parallel, it ought to be stipulated, that a special commission should mark out the territorial area of each one of these towns, as well for their habitations as for their culti- vated lands. I%ird: As the company has by article second a term of twenty- five years in which to introduce colonists, and as by article fifth the company may dispose of every portion of the territory which may be granted it, there should be an additional article explanatory and protectory for the future in the following terms, to wit : "After the twenty-five years of this contract shall have expired, the lands so distributed and which may have been utilized shall become the property of the company or of its colonists ; but all lands remaining vacant or in a notorious state of abandonment will revert to the Government." Fourth : Notwithstanding that no doubts are entertained of the equitable and generous objects of the proposer, the commission is of the opinion, that article eighth which authorizes the company to adjust tariff rates for the use of the establishments made by it, should contain a clause for the protection and security of said colonists and the interest of commerce, in these terms, to wit : " The tariff to be fixed should be adjusted in conjunction with the local authorities, and consequently with the approbation of the Supreme Government." Fifth : Article ninth authorizes the Colonization Company to 12 GRANT. circulate printed notes or other obligations, etc.; this full author* i^ation might at some time, if not suflSciently explained, be supposed to authorize the company to make a forced emission of paper money, by implication, although such authority does not appear in detail : for this reason, and judging that it was not vithin the scope of the intentions of the Government to make such an ample and dangerous concession without the conditions imposed upon a private or National bank, the Commission believes that the ninth article should be extended by adding to it these lines, to wit : " These printed notes or obligations, neverthe- less, shall not have the character of a forced circulation." Sixth : The additional article, as generous as interesting, would r'emain incomplete in our opinion by its limitation to the Prefect and judical authorities, unless modified in the following manner, to wit : " The Colonization Company not wishing in any manner to be a burden upon the Supreme Government of Bolivia, offers to pay, from its own treasury, the salaries for the first two years, "w^hich the Government may assign to all the authorities and public force of the Colony." Seventh : The Commission deems it somewhat remarkable that lie proposal does not indicate even the minimum number of fam- ilies which in the twenty-five years, or in the first quinquennial, the company is obliged to introduce, so that upon such basis the magnitude of the enterprise and its proportion in the extent of territory ceded might be calculated. In virtue of this, it would be very proper to insert another article in the following terms: '^The Colonization Company is obligated to place in the colonies at least one thousand farailies before the expiration of the first five years, being responsible for the failure in a proportionate degree, and according to the judgment of the Government of Bolivia." These are, Most Excellent Sir, the modifications that we have judged proper and necessary in the "proposal" of Colonization of Mr. A. D. Piper, modifications which, if they reduce, they com- pensate with an equivalent, which, if they alter anything, they do not prejudice in any manner the enterprise, and which if , they ipcrease any exigency, it is for the welfare of the colony itself and in anticipation of future difficulties. , After this exposition, the Commission deems it to be its duty to manifest to Tour Excellency an incidental coincidence closely GRANT. 13 related to the proposal, the matter of this report, and iwhich strengthens in great degree the character of the Colonization enter-, prise and that of the locality itself selected by the Company. Ac-. cording to authentic information, there arrived last year in our De-, partment of " Beni," by the northern route of the " Madeira," three or four North American explorers, sent by a great company to explore the very regions which Mr. Piper desires to colonize. Among these explorers was a doctor, an engineer and a naturalist or botanist. That exploration, whose favorable judgment was ex:- pressed in the very Department of " Beni," in an aifirmat>ve report respecting the easy canalization of the Cachuelas,- appears in im- mediate connection with the present proposal by its common origin aind the similarity of its views. From this fact it may be deduced, that the proposal of Mr. Piper is a work that has been studied and calculated for a long time, with expenses and disbursements, which the enterprising genius and boldness alone of the North Americans knows how to realize. Therefore, the conditions of formality and security of the enterprise, now well assured by the genius of the, sons of North America, will be strengthened and superabundantly consolidated, so that Your Excellency may see in it another assured element of National prosperity, which your lucky star brings to the Republic in the epoch of Your adminiS' tration. Such is the opinion of the Commission, saving the better and more exact judgment of Your Excellency and of the illustrious Grovernment of December, whom we felicitate in anticipation, in the acquisition of a new element of progress in the realization of the proposal of Mr. Piper. Cochamba, September tenth, eighteen hundred and sixty nine. (Signed) QUINTIN QUEVADO, (Signed)' EUSIBIO TUDELA, (Signed) JOSE P. NERMULDES. DECREE. • ' Ministry of Foreign Relations of Bolivia. Melgarejo, October &st, eighteen hundred and sixty nine. In view of the proposal of Colonization, made by Mr. A. D. Piper, a citizen of the United States of North America, and of the report of the Commission ad hoc stating the advantages offered 14 GRANT. in said proposal for the development of the population, industry and commerce in the northern and eastern regions of the Republic, and. considering : That the Executive is fully authorized, by law of thirteenth of November, eighteen hundred and fprty four, to protect the territory of the Republic, and for that purpose has the power of granting all the franchises, privileges, exemptions and premiums it may deem convenient : That the proposal of Mr. Piper, offers all the desired conditions to attract Foieign and National immigration, to the fertile and exuberant region now deserted, lying in the North of the Depart- of Bent, and of the province of Caupolican : That the enterprise- does not make any charge upon the public treasury nor solicit any pecuniary aid, that otherwise would have embarassed the grant, due to the difficulties now presented on ac- count of the deficiency of the National revenue : That therefore, there is no reason why the proposal should not be accepted, with some necessary modifications. Indicated in the report of the Commission. And in view of the affirmative opinion of the Council of Minr isters, which will be reported to the next congress, let the pro- posal of Mr. A. D. Piper be accepted, under the following form and conditions, to wit : ARTICLE FIRST. Mr. A. D. Piper, of the City of San Francisco, California, is hereby authorized to form and incorporate a joint stock company under the laws of California, and under the name of the "Bolivian Colonization and Commercial Company." ARTICLE SECOND. Said Company shall have the right to introduce emigrants from the United States and from Europe, to that part of the Bo- livian territory which is indicated in the next article, for the term of twenty-five years from the date of the acceptance of this con- tract, by both contracting parties ; provided that said company shall protect with preference the Bolivian citizens who may wish to settle upon the regions set apart for colonization. GRANT. 15 ARTICLE THIRD. The territory designated in the foregoing article is that which is embraced within the following boundaries, viz : On the south by the 12th degree of latitude, south of the equator ; on the east by the rivers Itenez and Mamore ; on the north by a line starting from the junction of the rivers Mamore and Beni, and prolonged to the sources of the river Yavari, according to the stipulations of the treaty of March 29th, 1867, ratified between the Brazilian and Bolivian Governments ; and on the west by the frontiers of the Republic of Peru. Besides, the company is at liberty to take possession of, and colonize all that territory at present occupied by the tribe known as Siriones, and which is embraced within the latitude of the port of Quatro Ojos and the rivers Mamore, (called also Chimore) on the west, and the Guapai or Rio Grande on the east, as far as their junction. Notwithstanding that the territories occupied by the natives or residents of certain towns of the department of Beni, of Santa Cruz, and of the Province of Caupolican are exempted from this grant, yet the places that the Government may designate for the ports, as well as those that hereafter may be occupied by the National Navigation Company of Bolivia, (as stipulated with Colonel George E. Church, by contract of the twenty-seventh of August, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight) and it is well under- stood as a settled point, that the Colonization Company shall occupy the vacant and uninhabited lands, or those at present ■ettled by Indian tribes. ARTICLE FOURTH. The Bolivian Colonization and Commercial Company shall dispose of all the lands granted, or any parts thereof, to the colon- ists introduced by said Company, as in the judgment of the Company should be deemed most convenient. ARTICLE FIFTH. The Company shall have full liberty to navigate the rivers of the Republic, the exploration of which shall not have been grant- ed up to the present time by exclusive privilege. W GRANT. AETICLE SIXTH. , In consideration of the immense expenditm-es, that the Company ■will have to incur in establishing lines of communication, in. the fomenting of the colonies, in the introduction of the colonists, and their maintenance, while they may be unable to obtain the first crop, the said Company is hereby exonerated from paying import duties upon utensils, machinery, seeds, blooded stock and supplies for the Colony, for the term of ten years frojn the date of the arrival of the first immigrants. ARTICLE SEVENTH. The Company may make all the improvements it may deem proper for the shipping and landing of the materials, by means of moles, railroads, bridges, canals and lakes, and may fix the tarifi for the use of all of its structures or property, in conformity with the laws of equity and of justice, in conjunction with the local authority, and consequently with the approbation of the Govern- ment. ARTICLE EIGHTH. The aforesaid Company is hereby fully authorized to circulate notes, or other obligations, provided that the time, mode and place of payment shall, be expressed on the same ; thesis printed notes or obligations, nevertheless, shall not have the character of a, forced circulation. ARTICLE NINTH. The company shall commence its operations eighteen months from the date, when this contract shall be definitely concluded, by the acceptance of the proposal before the Bolivian Legation in Peru; and it shall forfeit all rights, if, within that time, it fail to fulfill this obligation. ARTICLE TENTH. After the term of twenty-five years of this contract shall have expired, the lands so distributed and which may have been utilized, shall become the property of the company or of its colonists ; but all lands remaining vacant or in a notorious state of abandon- ment, shall revert to the government. GRANT. IT ARTICLE ELEVENTH. The Colonization and Commercial Company is obligated ta place in the colonies, at least one thousand families before the expiration of the first five years, and in the same proportion in each succeeding five years ; being responsible to the government by a conventional fine for any failure thereof If it should intro- duce in the first five years a greater number, it will be entitled to a compensation irom the government at the rate of fifty hard dol- lars for every additional family. ARTICLE TWELFTH. The Supreme Government shall have the right to appoint all the respective authorities for the colony or colonies that may be established ; and the colonists and immigrants, from the time of landing in the territory of the republic shall be subject to said authorities and to the laws of Bolivia, it being well understood, that their immediate naturalization and incorporation into the Bolivian nation are hereby stipulated. The salaries that may be assigned to said authorities and any public force which should be considered necessary, during the first two years, shall be paid by the company, according to the offer so generously made by Mr. Piper. ARTICLE THIRTEENTH. The lands colonized, or the colonies that may be established, shall be known by such name as the Supreme Government may wish to give the same, and the lands as well as the colonists are hereby exclusively subject to the Republic. Let a record be made ; transmit the original to the Bolivian! Legation in Peru, in order that it should notify Mr. Piper of the contents of this decree ; and that after having expressed his con- formity to the same, the necessary instrument be executed, and report the result to this office ; and let this decree be published in the official Register. By order of His Excellency, the Presi- dent. Rubrica of the President, MELGAREJO. (Signed) MUSOZ, Minister of Government and Exterior Relations. Chief of Cabinet. 18 GRANT. (Signed) LASTRA, Minister of Haciendas. (Signed) ROJAS, Minister of War.. (Signed) RIVERO, Minister of Justice and Instruction. DISPATCH. Ministry of Foreign Relations of Bolivia, Number Sixty-Eight. Cochabamba, ninth of October, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine. I remit to your Honoi; the original proposal addressed by Mr. A. D. Piper to the Legation of that city, for the foreign colonization of our northern and eastern regions, accepted by the Government with some modifications, May be pleased Your Honor to cause Mr. Piper to be notified of the Supreme Decree of acceptance, dated the first instant ; in order that after having expressed his conformity to the same, the execution of the proper instruments may be proceeded -with, and Your Honor will please report the result. Your Honor's most obedient servant. (Signed) M. D. MUNOZ. To the Honorable, the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Bolivia, in Peru, Lima. DECREE. Lima, October twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine. The Secretary of the Legation will notify Mr. Piper, to the end mentioned in this dispatch. (Signed) BENAVENTE. NOTIFICATION. Legation of Bolivia, in Lima, October twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine. On this date appeared before this Legation, Mr. A. D. Piper, a citizen of North America, and having heard read to him the Supreme Decree referred to in the foregoing note and resolution, he, the aforesaid Mr. Piper, declared that he accepted in all its parts, the said Supreme Decree of the first of October, GRANT. 19 eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, and that he was ready jto proceed to the execution of the contract or instrument. Which notifica- tion and acceptance are hereby certified to by the undersigned, and the said Mr. Piper signed in conjunction with me. (Signed) ' A. D. PIPER. (Signed) ENRIQUE BERCKEMEYER. Attached to, and Secretary of the Legation. DECREE. Lima, October twenty six, eighteen hundred and sixty nine. It appearing from the foregoing proceeding, that Mr. A. D. Piper has signified his conformity with the terms of the Supreme Decree of acceptance, of date the first of October instant, let the proper instrument be executed as therein ordered, and a report of the same be rendered to the Supreme Government accompanied by a certified copy of the instrument. Let Mr. Piper be notified of these presents, in order that he may appear before the Legation on the twenty-eighth instant. (Signed) BENAVENTE. I hereby certify, that at the date of the preceding decree, I gave notice, as ordered, to Mr. Piper, and he subscribed in con- junction with me. (Signed.) A. D. PIPER. (Signed.) ENRIQUE BERCKEMEYER, Attached to, and Secretary of the Legation. Now Therefore, the undersigned. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Bolivia, in Peru, binds the Republic of Bolivia and its most excellent Government to the faithful ful- fillment of this contract of foreign colonization ot the northern and eastern regions of the Republic ; and Mr. A. D. Piper coven- ants and agrees on his part with the Bolivian Republic and with its excellent Government, to carry the same into effect, according to the modified terms of the Supreme Decree of acceptance of first of October instant, to which he voluntarily has agreed, and which agreement he desires^ should appear in this proceeding as solemnly ratified, so that the same may have all necessary legal effects — And you, Mr. Notary Public, will be pleased to add there- to all the clauses which may be legal or customary, and may be 20 GRANT. conducive to the full perfection and validity of this instrument. Done at the Legation of Bolivia, in Lima on the twenty-eighth of Oetoher, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and sixty-nine. JUAN" DE LA CRUZ BENAVENTE, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Bolivia in Peru. A. D. PIPER, of San Francisco, State of Califor- nia. CONCLUSION. Under the terms contained in the preceding minute transcript, the contracting parties being well informed of the objects and ef- fects of this instrument of agreement, and having had the same read to them by me, they ratify the same in tenor and form, obli- gating themselves to its legal fulfillment. In testimony thereof, and in testimony of having complied with what is ordered in the articles seven hundred and thirty-nine and thirty-eight of Civil Code, the said contracting parties so affirmed, executed and signed the same, the witnesses being Don Felipe Santiago Vivanco, Don Juan Yraola, and Don Juan Gual- berto Mendez, of lawful age, residents of this city, and personally known to me : having added the minute to its respective file ; all of which I hereby certify. (Signed) JUAN DE LA CRUZ BENAVENTE, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Bolivia, ■ in Peru. (Signed) A. D. PIPER. Witness FELIPE S. VIVANCO. JUAN YRAOLA. JUAN G. MENDEZ. Belore me, FRANCISCO PALACIOS, Notary Public and Recorder of Public Instruments. The foregoing is a correct copy'of the original instrument exe- cuted and acknowleged before me, and recorded in my book of records, on page one thousand and seventy-one. ' In witness whereof, and in witness of having confronted GRANT. 21 this first testimony according same the day of its execution. — ^in its — expressed in them — to law, I sign and mark the Amended — oflfered for this— even — valid. (Signed) FRANCISCO PALACIOS, Notary Public and Recorder of Pub- lic Instruments. Fees according to law. The undersigned, Notaries Public, certify that Don Francisco Palacios, by whom is signed and marked the preceding testi- mony, is at present a Notary Public and Recorder of Public Instruments of this Capital, and that the signature and mark therein contained are his own and the same he is accustomed to use in all public documents. Lima, October 30th, 1869. (Signed) JOSE DE SELAYA, FELIX SOTOMAYOR, FELIPE ORELLANO. The undersigned, Prefect of the Department, certifies that the three Notaries Public by whom the foregoing legalization appears to be signed, are in actual exercise of their functions as such Notaries. Lima, November 3rd, 1869. [seal] (Signed) ANDRES SEGRARA. Legalized in the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Peru. Lima, November 3rd, 1869. [seal] MARIANO DORADO, Minister of Foreign Relations. Legalized, Legation of Bolivia, in Peru, Lima, November 4th, 1869. [SEAL] BENAVENTE, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary ot Bolivia. Legation of the United States, Lima, Peru, November 5th, 1869. I, the undersigned. Charge cP Affaires of the United States of America, in Peru, do hereby certify that the foregoing signature of His Excellency, Mr. Benavente, Envoy Extraordinary of Bo- livia in Peru, is genuine and entitled to full faith and credit. 22 GRANT. In witness whereof, I hereunto set my hand, and affix my official seal of this Legation. [seal] (Signed) H. M. BRENT. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA : DEPARTMENT OF STATE. To all whom these presents shall come, greeting : I certify that H. M. Brent whose name is subscribed to the paper hereunto an- nexed, is now, and was at the time of subscribing the same Chwrge County op San Francisco ) ®^' On this twenty-third day of February, A. D. One Thousand eight hundred and seventy, before me J. W. Mc Kenzie, a Notary Public in and for said City and County, duly commissioned and sworn, personally appearred the within named A. D. Piper, whose name is subscribed to the aimexed instru- ment as a party thereto, personally known to me to be the individual described in and who executed the said annexed instrument, and who acknowledged to me that he executed the same freely and voluntarily, and for the uses and purposes therein mentioned. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my official seal, the day and year in this certificate first above written. J. w. Mckenzie, [seal.] Notary Public. POWER OF ATTORNEY. Know ail men bt these presents that La Compania Colonizadoka Y Commercial db Bolivia. [Tlie Colonization and Commercial Company of Bolivia] have made, constituted and appointed and by these presents does make, constitute and appoint, ex-officio, A. D. Piper, now President of the company aforesaid, true and lawful attorney, and agent of the said company, for it and in its name, place and stead, to do and perform all things, necessary to he done and performed, to carry out the objects for which the said company is formed, as set forth in the articles of incorporation of said company, that is to say : To colonize, form settlements upon, lease, sell, and dispose of, such lands on or near the principal rivers of South America, and their tributaries as the said Company may obtain by grant or concession from the Government of Bolivia, or by purchase or grant from individual owners, and more particu- arly the lands embraced in a certain grant or concession made by the Government of Bolivia to Don A. D. Piper, an American citizen, on or about the 28th day of October, 1860. To purchase, build, equip and navigate steamers, and other vessels. To establish, conduct and carry on the business of banking, and commercial busi- ness generally. To take and hold or dispose of such railroad or other franchises as may be procured from the said Government of Bolivia, and to construct, operate, sell and dispose of railroads and other internal improve- ments, made in pursuance of such franchises. To set apart and dedicate lands for roads and other public uses, and for the support of common schools and public charities. To appoint and remove at pleasure all officers and employees of the company, prescribe their duties, fix their compensation and require a faithful performance of their duties. To be the custodian of all deeds, mortgages and other papers of the Com- pany, and all funds except the general fund, and make and sign all deeds, mortgages and other instruments In writing necessary to accomplish the foregoing, and to affix the corporate seal of the Company where the same Is necessary. To borrow money with the consent of the holders of a majority of the stock of the Company, and give the obligation of the Company therefor. 34 POWER OP ATTOENET. Giving and granting unto our said Attorney, and agent full power and authority to do and perform all acts and things necessary to be done and performed, to carry out in the full meaning and intent, the objects for which the said "Colonization and Commercial Company of Bolivia" is organized, as expressed in the foregoing, and generally to say, do, act, transact, de- termine, accomplish and finish, all matters and things whatsoever, relating to the foregoing, as fully, amply and effectually, to all intents and purposes, as the Board of Trustees of the " Colonization and Commercial Company of Bolivia," might or could do if personally present, although the matters or things should require more special authority than is herein comprised ; hereby ratifying, confirming and holding valid all that our said Attorney and Agent, or his substitute or substitutes, shall lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue of these presents. In witness whereof, and in pursuance of a resolution of the Board of Trustees, passed this 32d day of February, A. D. 1870, the undersigned Trustees of said Company have hereunto aflixed their signatures and the seal of said Corporation, in San Francisco, this twenty-second day of February, A. D. 1870. H. H. BIGELOW, Secretary, [seal]. B. H. freeman, Trustee. STATE OF CALIFORNIA, ) City and County op San Fbancisco ( On this Twenty-sixth day of February, A. D. One Thousand Eight Hundred and Seventy, before me, J. W. McKenzie, a Notary Public in and for said City and County, duly commissioned and sworn, personally appeared the within named H. H. Bigelow, Secretary, and B. H. Freeman, Trustee, of the Coloniza- tion and Commercial Company of Bolivia, whose names are subscribed to the annexed Instrument as parties thereto, personally known to me to be the in- dividuals described in and who executed the said annexed Instrument, and each for himself acknowledged to me that he executed the same freely and voluntarily, and for the uses and purposes therein mentioned. In Witness Whekeop, I have hereunto set my hand and aflixed my Oflicial Seal, the day and year in this [seal.] Certificate first above written. J. W. McKBNZIE, Notary Public. PEOSPECTUS. Until the year 1867, the government of Brazil kept the river Amazon closed to commerce, thus compelling the countries on its headwaters, to seek an outlet to the Pacific across the great Andean chain of mountains, and the Republic of Bolivia, lying as it does almost entirely east of the mountains, has been almost cut off from the rest of the world, on account of the difficulty and expense of travel to the seaboard, and consequently the people ha^e been unable to develop to any considerable extent, the vast natural agricultural and mineral wealth of that country, and the more northerly and easterly portion are almost entirely unsettled, and in a state of nature. This portion, north of latitude 12° south from the equator, extending to the boundary of Brazil on the north, and from the Rivers Mamore and Itenez, on the east, to the boundary of Peru on the west, containing about ninety thousand square miles of land, together with another tract further to the south-east, containing about ten thousand square miles more, altogether about sixty millions of acres, have been conceded to the Colonization and Commercial Company of Bolivia, through its founder, Mr. A. D. Piper, an American citizen, for the purpose of enlisting private enterprise and capital, to people and improve the vacant lands of the country and assist in developing its won- derful resources. The government and people of Bolivia, ardently desire an emigration of industrious and enterprising people to their country, and are willing to do all in their power to aid such a movement. In addition to the grant of lands, they have authorized the company to import all that may be needed for the use of the settlers, duty free, for ten years ; also, have given the right to construct internal improvements, navigate the rivers, and 36 PEOSPBCTUS. establish banking business. They also confer on the settlers, all the rights and privileges of citizenship, as soon as they arrive in the country. Bolivia is a republic and the laws of the country are liberal, and each district and department are entitled to rep- resentation in Congress. In order to have a proper idea of the country, a partial view of the valley of the Amazon is necessary, as follows : The north- east and south-east trade winds, from 20° north to 20" south, blow steadily to the westward round the world, and from latitude 9° to 19° north and south of the equator the climate is so beauti- fiil that those two zones may justly be regarded as the paradise of the world. These winds take up the evaporation of the Atlantic and waft it across the continent of South Ainerica, distributing moisture as they go, to the extreme western verge of the conti- nent, where the Andean chain of mountains shoots far up above the snow line, wrings the last drop of moisture from them, and lets them pass over dry to the Pacific Ocean. This immense distribution of water, over thirty degrees of lat- itude and forty degrfees of longitude, is productive of a wonderful fertility and, also, in its drainage toward the great ocean fi-om vrhence it came, forms the most magnificent water courses in the World. The Amazon from where it breaks through the eastern spur of the Andes at. the Pongo de Manseriehe, flows on in silent solemn grandeur for three thousand miles to the sea, navigable in all this distance for ships of the largest class. On its way it receives the waters of great rivers flowing from the south and from the north, until it assumes most majestic proportions as it moves on toward the bosom of the broad Atlantic, from whence its waters primarily came. In the great valley of the Amazon we have the climates of every zone, from the warm, sultry but agreeable climate of the tropics, all the way through the more temperate climes to the Arctic temperature of perpetual snow. At the mouth of the Amazon, arid throughout the most of the course of the main river we have the climate of the tro]i)icS ; but, as we ascend its southern tributaries, and its headwaters, gaining in latitude and elevation, the temperature gradually changes until we find the sources of these streams at the melting line of perpetual snow, so that per. sons, contemplating a residence in these regions, have but to take PEOSPBCTUS. 37 a thermometer in their hands and ascend until they arrive at a climate that pleases them. All the varied plants and animals of the world may grow and flourish in some parts of these favored regions. Northern Bolivia is traversed by the tributaries of the *Ma- deira, the tPums, the Jurna and Jutay, and lies along near the base of the eastern Andean range, upon what may be termed the central plateau of South America. Its latitude and elevation give it excellent drainage and unrivalled climate, and it has a rich virgin soil with exhaustless capabilities of producing a succession of from two to three crops in each year. It is a fine rolling country, and on the margin of the rivers is timbered with the finest cabinet and dye-woods, and ship-timber. In other parts it spreads out in vast rolling prairies covered with a luxuriant growth of herds-grass, which grows to the height of from five to seven feet. The distance from New York to the mouth of the Amazon, by steam, is about ten or twelve days, and it is from twelve to fifteen hundred miles by the rivers from thence to the various portions of this district of Northern Bolivia, embraced in the concession of the " Colonization and Commercial Company of Bolivia.'' This distance may be made in from six to ten days, according to the steamer employed, or, an average altogether of about eighteen to twenty-two days from the United States or Europe. This region will find a good and ready market for all its pro- ductions in the United States and Europe, and also, can obtain from thence, ready and constant supplies of manufiactured ai'ticles, thus not only cffei'ing to the agriculturist one of the finest fields ever opened to labor, but, also, one of the best markets for the manufacturer and merchant. The following is a partial list of what may be produced in this reo-ion, to wit : Oranges, lemons, limes, citrons, figs, pomegranates, chirimoyas, pineapples, melons, grapes, tamarinds, apples, pears, peaches, papaya, sweet potatoes, cassave, yuccas, plantains of all varieties, potatoes, tapioca, arrow-root, maize, quinua, peas, rice, wheat, barley, beans, nuts of all kinds, cotton, hemp, coffee, cocoa, cacao, sugar cane,, tobacco^ indigo, Peruvian bark, sarsaparilla, vegetable wax, tonka-beans, isinglass, gum copal, nutmeg, cinna- * Gibbons. t Chandler's surrey. 38 PROSPECTUS. mon, ginger, pepper, and other spices, vanilla, gurajura, guarana, rocou, jalap, copaiba, copal, ipecacuanha, cascarilla, annatto, and india rubber, cabinet woods of the finest kinds, many kinds of ship timber of the most durable quality, dye woods in great variety, many species of palms, gums, resins, and drugs of great variety and value; the country abounds in almost every species of game, and the rivers are alive with fish. Sugai-cane* is propagated from the top joints of the old plant, and is planted in the commencement of the rainy season. It is ready for cutting in a year ; it yields again every ten months, im- proving in quality and size every crop for a number of years, according to the quality of the land and the care bestowed upon it. It will continue to spring up from the roots for fifty or sixty years. The field is set on fire after each cutting, to burn up rubbish, weeds, etc. The average height of cane is about ten feet, although it frequently grows much taller. Coffeet is propagated from suckers or slips, audit is necessary to protect the plants from the sun by cultivating the broad- leaved plantain among them till they have grown up to about four feet in height. They require no care except an occasional cleaning about the roots, and grow to the height of seven or eight feet. They commence to yield in about two years from the time of planting, are fully matured at four and yield well for about thirty ' years. Cotton is planted at any time, and grows on a tree some eight or ten feet high. It gives its first crop in a year, and then yields continuously for from three to seven years, when it must be replanted. The tree yields very largely and its quality is con- sidered by competent judges as very superior, there are two kinds, white and yellow, or Nankin. Cocoa yields in from three to four • years from the seed and gives two crops a year, for sixty or seventy years. Tamarinds begin to yield in five years. Maize produces three crops a year. Cassave produces in eight months ; there are two kinds, one a substitute for potatoes and bread, the other is used for making starch. Bananas produces in one year from the seed; there are agreat variety. * Hemdon, p. 87. + Hemdon, p. 89. .;■-." PROSPECTUS. 39 Rice produces in from five to six months ; there are two kinds, one red, the other white. There are three kinds of indigo cultivated, and one grows wild. The Indians plant a row of quinua around maize, sweet potatoes or other patches, the animals will not eat it, and are even afraid to touch it, this is the usual mode of fencing. The quinua plant grows from four to six feet high, and looks like a coarse weed. The grain is small like turnip seed, and when boiled and eaten with milk is very nutritious and palatable. The tobacco* plant yields from two to three years, from one planting. Orange trees grow as large as apple trees, and yield in the greatest abundance a fruit superior to that of any other part of the world. Bolivia is supposed to be the native country of the potato. t The cochineal insect, and honey bee, flourish in this region. Eight different kinds of mahogany are found, besides the other valuable woods of commerce. Clearing timbered lands for cultiva- tion, will be a source of profit to the farmer. Along the footrhills of the mountains adjoining the grant where the tributaries of the main rivers come out of the mountains are extensive gold placers, which, according to Herndon, Gibbon, and other writers, and also reliable private informants, are of great extent and almost fabu- lous richness, and higher up in the mountains are the mother veins, whence the gold has drifted. At an elevation above the gold, is the celebrated silver region of Bolivia, the ancient Peru of the days of the Spanish conquest, whence was derived the vast wealth that made Spain one of the most splendid and most powerftil of nations while she held the keys of that country. Some idea of the vast treasure extracted, may be formed, when from the single mountain of Potosi, there were taken out over *two thousand millions of dollars in silver, before getting down to water. There are at the, present time in this region, according to oflicial records, over feight thousand gold and silver mines which have been profitably- worked, 'bu;t ar&dow abandoned. Besides gold and silver, there are mines and de- posits of quicksilver, tin, copper, zinc, iron, pojiJ, and salt, dia- ♦ Gibbon, p. 251. t New Am. Eno'a vol. 3rd, p. 448. * New Am. Bneyolopedia, vol. 3, p. 448. t Gibbon's report. 40 PROSPECTUS. monds are also found in some parts. The great want of Bolivia has been roads by which heavy machinery could be introduced to this country, and without which her vast stores of mineral wealth cannot be extracted. In the past, when the pick of the miner struck below the water line, the mine had to be abandoned and thus large bodies of rich ore have been but partially skimmed over. When heavy machinery for pumping and hoisting, and the modern quartz mill and reduction works can be introduced, the story of California and Australia combined, can be repeated in the mountains of Bolivia. Those who locate and build up their homes upon the plains, will then have another market opened for, their productions and their ever-verdant fields will become to them as profitable as mines of gold and silver. Thopursuit of agi'iculture, in a region like that, is the most certain road to fortune, with the double advantage that all the comforts and luxuries ot a home may be enjoyed at the same time. The rigors of a northern winter will never be known there, and the cattle of the farmer can feed upon their pastures all the year round. The primary object of the Colonization and Commercial Com- pany of Bolivia, will be to dispose of their lands. Sound policy will'require that they use eveiy means in their power to promote the success of all who go there, and the farmer, the mechanic, and the merchant,- will have the assurance that all the advantages wbich a powerful combination can bring to their aid, will be sup- jjlied. Direct steam communication will be established with American and European ports on the Atlantic, banks will be established, the railroad and telegraph will be constructed", and all the navigable water courses will, in time, resound with the whistle of the steamboat, and those vast solitudes will be awakened by- the hum of industry and the light of modern civilization. When agricultural settlements are established, and light draught steamers are constructed for the upper rivers, and roads opened into the mineral r-egions, then will be the time for the miner, but, until then, it will not be advisable for persons to go to that country with a view to mining ; as only unnecessary suflfering, labor and difficulty, would , be encountered, and possible disap- pafntment resu,lt from premature haste. When the proper time arrives the company will take measures to have the fact become generally known. PROSPECTUS. 41 The government of Bolivia, at the head of which stands the chivah-ic General Melgarejo, assisted by the talented minister of government, Munoz, and the other statesmen who form tfie cabi- net, and also gentlemen in other departments, and leading citizens, who all concur in desiring an influx of the industrious, intelligent and enterprising of other countries, to assist in developing the wonderful resources of their own country, and in the spirit of the largest liberality and wise statesmanship which has ever charac- terized the official acts of Bolivia, have thrown the gates of the country wide open, and have confided to the " Colonization and Commercial Company of Bolivia," the lands and privileges neces- sary to enable it to realize the desires and wishes of the govern- ment and people, and the company, sensible of the trust confided to its charge, will reserve the privilege of accepting as settlers only such persons as may be able to produce satisfactory evidence of good intentions and industiious habits, not only to subserve its own interests, but, also, the best interests of the country. The Indians of Bolivia, for the most part, are far advanced in the . arts of civilization, and engage to a considerable extent in agri- culture and other industrial pursuits. They readily engage in the service of the white race wherever they are kindly and justly dealt with, in occupations congenial to their natures that are not of too laborious a character. They are very useful on the rivers, and as packers and herdsmen, and will be valuable auxiliaries in the harvest season. Steady unremitting toil does, not suit the Indian nature, but, for many occupations, the settlei's will find them very serviceable. *They are strictly honest and truthful, and always impart such information as they can when applied to, and what they say may be relied upon as correct. There are many, however, who still adhere to the wandering life of the hunter, but, , when civilization is planted in their midst, they or their children may be induced to abandon their precarious methods of subsist- ence, for more certain and steady means of living and enjoyment, if proper inducements are offered. It will be the interest as well as the duty of the settlers, to invariably treat the Indian with kindness, and whenever he is inclined to industry, to give, him such employment as is best suited for him, and pay him justly and -promptly therefor, and any act of injustice or oppressioi*, should * Gibbon, p. 227. , . , 42 PROSPECTUS. be considered as a public outrage, tending to menace the safety and best interests of communities. In all that may be done for the improvement of the Indian race, the settlers will be ably seconded by the company, whose policy will be to set apart lands for their use, whenever they may be induced to build up homes and draw their principal subsistence from the soil, and on the other hand neither the company nor the authorities of the country, will look with indifference upon any act of oppression or injustice upon these people. The title to the lands will be clear and indisputable, being from the government to the company, and from the company to the settler, so that all who devote their labor and capital in building up homes and fortune upon the grant of the company, will do so with the absolute assurance of a perfect title to the soil, in them and their heirs or assigns forever, whenever the same passes to them from the company. The company, through its proper officers, propose to make arrangements so that the only expense and liability incurred, will be on account of the management and sale of its landed interests , so that Stockholders may confidently anticipate receiving divi- dends at a very early day, and their stock will at all times, be avail- able, the same as cash, in the purchase of lands at the current rates. The lands will be surveyed, and laid off in townships five miles square, equal to twenty-five square miles each, and the cen- tre squaremile or village of each township, will be dedicated, forever, to the support of common schools, and entrusted to the care of the people of each township for that purpose. It is also the intention of the company to give to each family, of the first one thousand families who go. there to settle, one hundred and sixty acres of land as a free gift, and, in addition, permit each family to take up, in form of pre-emption, a reasonable quantity of land besides, and pay for the same and receive their deeds at any time within several years after the date of settlement, at one dollar per acre ; it being the intention of the company to give all settlers time enough to take the price of the land out of the ground, provided, they are reasonably industrious. This is the country for young people just commencing life ; here, with a few years- of indastry, they can make. for .themselves a hoine and for- tune, that they could not expect to gain, in a lifetime of toil, in PROSPECTUS. 43 less favored countries. The mechanic, as in all new countries, ■will find a profitable field for his labor, for everything that is used will have to be made new. Steamboats, furniture, farming uten- sils, wagons and other vehicles, and mining implements will be wanted; and the natural products of the country, such as india- rubber, cabinet and dye woods, indigo, cochineal, peruvian bark, and hides of cattle, will make a basis for manufactures. The mer- chant will here find a large and increasing market for his wares, in exchange for the products of the country, and the industrious and enterprising of other lands cannot fail to find in this, all the elements of wealth, comfort and happiness, and, according to their talent, industry and management, they can surround them- selves with all that can contribute to their own happiness, and those dependent xipon them. It is the intention of the company to establish steam communication by way of the Amazon and Purus, as well as the other rivers, between Atlantic ports and their grant at as early a date as possible, of which due notice will be given through the Press. In the meantiiiie, parties desiring to go to that country, or in any way to interest themselves in the enter- prise, will address themselves to the President of the company, Mr. A. D. Piper. BOLIVIA. PUBLISHED BY COL. GEORGE E. CHURCH, A Gontleinan wbo has traveled extensively in Central and South America, in the N. Y. Hebalb, April 9th, 1869. Bolivia occupies a very peculiar geographical position. On the west she is almost cut oflF from the Pacific ; while on the east Brazil interposes a vast territory between her and the Atlantic. The Pacific shore line is nothing bat a desert, whose medanos, with their changing sands, render its transit very diffi- cult and even dangerous for both man and beast. Here, shut up in the very heart of South America, is Territory having an area of some 400,000 square miles, and containing about 3,000,000 inhabitants. Its area was formerly about 473,000 miles, but a late treaty with Brazil has cut off a large strip from the north, and leaves the northern boundary of the republic on a line with the junction of the Rio Beni with the Madeira. One very notable feature is that all its inhabitants are found upon the Atlantic slope of the Andes, while the inhabitants of all the other countries tributary to the Amazon valley have their population upon the slope of the Pacific or upon the Caribbean Sea. The people of Peru and Ecuador espe- cially are confined to a very narrow and steep mountain belt between the Cordillera and the ocean, leaving their magnificent and productive lands upon the Amazon virtually untouched. TOPOGHAPHT. The topographical features of Bolivia are notable for their grandeur. The great chain of the Andes here branches out into mighty parallel ridges and counterfort spurs. The latter shoot far to the eastward until they meet the parallel Andean ranges of Brazil in the great Province of Matogrosso. Inter- spersed among these cordilleras are great separate groups, swelling and tumbling aloft and crowned with eternal snow. A great elevated table-land, about 13,000 feet high, and held between the two grand ridges of the Andes, extends almost from the northern confine of the Argentine Republic north- BOLIVIA. 45 west to the frontier of Peru. Lakes Titacaca and Poopoo, situated on this plateau, receive its drainage. All the watercourses to the east of this tableland flow into the Atlantic. THE EIVBSS. To the south we have the Bermejo, forming in part the boundary with the Argentine Republic, and the Pilcomayo, running south-east and nearly parallel with the Bermejo, both emptying into the Paraguay branch of the Plata. To the north and east we find three great streams, affluents of the Madeira branch of the Amazon. They pour into the Madeira a wealth of waters in no way inferior to the volume of the Mississippi. Their names are the Beni Mamore, and Guipore, or Itenez. The Beni has seventy-two branches, all more or less navigable for canoes which freight from one to three tons each. Twenty inferior streams swell the volume of the Mamore, which, in a course of nearly nine hundred miles through the very heart of Bolivia, carries in the dry season from five to fifty feet of water, with a breadth varying from one hundred to five hundred yards. The Guaporej forming the boundary line between Brazil and Bolivia, has its headwaters almost in sight of the headwaters of the Rio de la Plata. It receives some thirty-seven affluents of various sizes; from those permitting large canoe navigation to rivers which can be ascended by large steamers. The aggre- gate length of these affluents of the Madeira with their tributaries cannot, at a roagh estimate, fall short of 5,000 miles. OF THEIR NATIG.^BILITY. Of the 5,000 miles mentioned, atleast 2,000 are suited to steamboat naviga- tion in the dry season, and in the wet season at least 1,000 miles more may be added for light draft steamers. For 500 njiles of the lower Mamore a steam- er, drawing twelve feet of water^ fould run the entire year. The banks of these rivers afford excellent natural landing places throughout almost their entire extent, like the Mississippi and the Parana. The Bermejo and Pilcomayo can scarcely be called navigable. The former carries but very little water in the dry season, and the former at a point about 350 miles from its mouth, is almost absorbed by a vast sandy plain. Above this some fifty miles a fall of twenty-one feet is found, with very little water beyond. Of the Paraguay branch of the Plata river it maybe said that it will prove a great outlet for Bolivian products when the immense wild lands of. south east Bolivia are settled and made to yield their wonderful natural wealth into commercial marts. Steamers can ascend to a point nearly opposite tl>e centre of the republic, on the Brazil frontier. Between this point and. the^ present centre of population it would be necessary to travel at least 800 miles of wilds, with no road. The Bolivians, therefore, very properly turn theij- eyes towards the Amazon as thfefijatural outlet for their products to the commerce of the world. 46 BOLIVIA. CLIMATE. To describe tlie climate of Bolivia would require too much space for tlie limits of this paper, for it only could be faithfully done province by province. Although almost entirely within the tropics it may be said that two-thirds of its territory is of the temperate zone. But even within this, almost any cli- mate desirable to man may be selected. Far over, towards the frontier of Brazil, rich tablelands, of from three to seven thousand feet elevation, are found, inviting the hand of man to unlock their dormant wealth. Very few diseases are known. In the east small-pox and diarrhoea are common, the former from lack of good physicians, the latter from want of good care. All travellers attest to the climate being one of the healthiest in the world — Humboldt, d'Aubigne, Haenke, Castlenau, Gibbon, and others, who, at different periods have made explorations in the country under direction of their respective governments. THE POPULATION .of the country is in great part upon the Amazon slope. Many populous centres are found upon the banlf s of the rivers far in the east and north-east. Among these towns are Santa Cruz, containing some 13,000 inhabitants, and Trinidad, capital of the great Beni province, having 6,000. The people may . be divided into two great sections — mining and agricultural. The valleys of the Beni and Mamore furnish their agricultural products to the mineral dis- tricts, and in exchange receive the foreign goods which find their way into the mineral centres, which have heretofore intercepted all commerce between the Bolivia valley of the Amazon and the outside world. One half of the 2,000,000 of the Bolivian people are of the Quichua and Aymara Indian races. The Jatter have their centre of population at La Paz. The former cover a greater extent of territory, and may be said to be scat- tered over three-fourths of the country. The Spanish is the dominant and most numerous race, and is gradually gaining ground over the Indian. In my experience and travels in South and Spanish America I think it may be justly said that the Bolivian people are among the most hardy, energetic, and industrious of all the Spanish American nationalities. THE PKODUCTIONS of the country are almost everything that can be found in the known world. To an elevation of 10,000 feet, the Eastern slope of the Andes is covered with lofty forest trees. From my own observations and those of Humboldl;, Haenke and others, I give the following as tjie principal valuable products : the potato, banana, Indian com, wheat, barley and rice. Corn sometimes produces 200 bushels to the acre and wheat 70 bushels. Cochahamba suppli^ great quantities of wheat to the cold districts of La Paz and Potosi. Of the fruits, there are found oranges, lemons, olives, figs, pineapples, Pears, apples, plums, chirimoyas, pomegranates, peaches, and, in fact, almo9t every variety of fruit. Delicious wine is also made from a native grape, and BOLIVIA. 47 in the province of Cinti I have found a wine in no way inferior to the best produced in France. This finds its way over the centre and south of the republic. The finest Peruvian bark is cut in northwest Bolivia, and three-fourtlis of the entire crop of the world comeS from this district. The crop from the Yungas valley varies from 700 to 1,000 tons annually. Santa Cruz, upon a branch of the Mamore, is the centre of » very extensive Peruvian bark district, but the transportation over the mountains is so costly that but fifty tons are produced yearly. Cinnamon of excellent quality is found. It grows wild in great abundance. Tobacco, equal to that of Cuba, is extensively grown in Santa Cruz and the Beni province. Cocoa or betel, very extensively cultivated in the Yungas valley, is sold in the La Paz market to the amount of about |4,000,000 annually. It is used by the Indians all over the country instead of tobacco. It enables them to undergo great hardships. The chocolate of the Beni has no superior in the world, and is produced abundantly. The coffee of the Yungas valley is said by all connoisseurs to surpass in the richness of its flavor the far famed Mocha. It is largely cultivated for home use, but is rarely exported, owing to the cost of transportation ma the Andes. Sugar is produced and largely manufactured from the cane in the Santa Cruz district, and is thence distributed even to the Argentine frontier. Its quality is excellent. The " Imperial," which I have tasted, is unsurpassed in purity, whiteness and sweetness. Cotton grows wild in great abundance. It is of two kinds — white and yellow — both of a fine, long staple. With the vast wild indigo fields, it covers an immense extent of the Bolivian territory. Flax, which was prohibited by old Spain, may be raised in any quantity. Silk of superior fineness I found was under cultivation at Cochabamba, by an Italian silk grower. He informed me that there was no better country in the world than the Cochabamba district, for the growth of the silkworm. Dyewoods and dyes are numerous. Cochineal may be cultivated extensively. The insect is found in its native state and abundant. Four kinds of black dye are made from the leaves and bark of plants and trees, also a beautiful Vermillion and yellow dye. Vanilla, wild sarsaparilla, wild almonds in immense quantities, saffron, laurel and white wax, yellow and black beeswax, rhubarb, gentian, jalop, aloes, valerian and ipecacuanha are abundant. Of gums there are many varieties — arable copal, storax, tragacanth, benzoin, and caoutchouc. The latter — India rubber — is very abundant and of superior quality. A great variety of balsams are also found — Copaiba, Peru, Tolu, and others unknown to commerce. Sixty-four different kinds of forest trees are counted upon the banks of the Beni, the Mamore, and the Itenez. Of these there are many whose wood I have seen polished and which is of exceeding beauty. They would famisii Europe and ourselves with rare cabinet woods. Mahogany, white and red cedar, red and bla6k ebony;- rosewoods, Brazil wood and numerous othei8 48 BOLIVIA. imknown to the world. Many of the numerous trees, Humboldt states, would he "incomparable for shipbuilding." Vast herds of cattle and horses roam in the Beni and Chiquitos provinces. On the higher lands are found the llama, the sheep, goat, and vicuna. The wool of the latter is nearly as fine and compares favorably with the Cash- mere. Great numbers of tiger skins are made a source of internal commerce; and upon the principal feast days the Indians of the mineral districts do not think themselves well dressed without a tiger skin vest. THE MINERAL WEALTH of Bolivia is already a proverb. From the single famed silver mountain of Potosi, has been taken nearly enough silver to pay our national debt. There were formerly opened in Bolivia, by the old Spaniards, some 10,000 silver mines, none of which have been worked with modern machinery. Even the great Potosi mines are simply burrows, wliich scarcely reach below the water line, where their wealth is the most prodigal. Besides silver, we find gold, cinnabar, talc, lead, tin, copper, iron, coal and fossil salts. The gold washings of the head waters of the affluents of the Madeira are very justly celebrated, and it is the prevailing opinion that the alluvial deposits are far richer than any in California or Australia. Across the whole north and northwest of Bolivia are these rich gold fields. The old Spaniards worked them quite extensively, and even to-day a large amount of gold from the northwest of Bolivia, purchased of the Indians at $10 per ounce, finds its Way to Peru across the Andes. Mount lUamani, near La Paz and east of it, is rich in this metal, while valuable washings are found in the streams that are fed from its snow-covered slopes. FOKKIGN TRADE. This has all passed heretofore through the Bolivian port of Cobija or the Peruvian port of Arica. To-day it passes through the latter, owing to a custom-house arrangement with Peru. Before this arrangement, there were imported at Cobija, according to the custom-house statistics before me, 84,801 tons of freight. This passed the desert of Atacama and the Andes on the backs of mules, and was distributed at an immense cost throughout the country. From Cobija to the nearest city of importance, Potosi, lie 480 miles of mountainous and desert sands, where water is hard to obtain, and food for man and beast still more difficult. It is bad enough from Arica inland ; and I have here paid at times, three silver dollars for 100 pounds of barley straw upon which to feed my mules All freight passing over on to the eastern slope has to climb to an elevation within a short distance of the Pacific, of .14>000 feet. With the scarciiy" of forage, the' length of the j ourney and the roughness of the road, it is no won. der that the average cost of introducing goods and distributing them over Bolivia by this route is 200 dollars, gold, per Jon, or 10 cents per pound. ' By the way of Cobija it costs moie. The foreign European trade in imports amounts to about 3,000,000 dollars annually. This is offset in exports by tlie BOLIVIA. 49 Peruvian bark crop, the guano of Mejillones, tlie copper product of tlie Pacific border and a few other articles which count but lightly. The balance of trade against the country is paid by a part of her silver product, which is, including coined, uncoined and smuggled silver, about 2,500,000 dollars annually. She has found it absolutely impossible to get her magnificent productions above enumerated into the markets of the world by the way of the Andes, owing to the excessive cost of transportation. Since her organization as a nation, she has watched her imports from Europe as they have passed the mouth of the Amazon and made the danger- ous and tedious passage of Cape Horn. She has then seen them landed in an open roadstead, and afterwards on mule back carried directly over the mountains, at an elevation of 14,000 feet, to be deposited, finally, upon the navigable branches of the river whose mouth they passed five months before. No wonder that Bolivia has ever turned her eyes towards the Amazon as the true outlet of her vast and fertile territory. Two millions of people, occupy- ing a territory one-third the size of our Mississippi valley, nine times the size of the State of New York, eight times that of England, and twice the size of France — a very paradise of wonderful productions, both mineral and vegetable — have been locked up upon the finest slope of the Andes for half a century. Brazil, up to 1867, kept the key in her jjocket and forced the trade over the mountains. Our own government made strenuous efforts for twelve years to break through this barrier and reach the five republics at the head waters of the Amazon, but all to no purpose. Brazil felt that its lower Amazon was too unsettled, and that the proper moment for opening the grand- father of waters had not arrived. Loftier ideas, broader and more liberal views finally animated thenow keen and able statesmen of that empire, and their far seeing Emperor broke the barrier in the decrees of December, 1860, and the still more liberal measures of September, 1867. The whole Andean slope of the Amazon then turned eastward. Venezuela, New Granada, Ecua^ dor, and Peru felt the touch, and to-day have steamboat connection via the Amazon with the world. Bolivia was no less anxious. Following the decree of December, 1806, she in March of 1867, made a treaty of limits, commerce and navigation, with Brazil. This was, late in 1808, ratified by both nations, and the result is we fihall soon see steamers floating upon the great Bolivian affluents of the Madeira. PRICE OF BOLIVIAN PK0DUCTION8. On thie banks of the Beni and Mamore, the crop of Peruvian bark may be purchased for from 10 to 13 cents per pound ; worth a dollar, gold, in New York and Europe. India rubber for from 13 to 18 cents ; selling here for 80 cents gold in bond. Cocoa five cents per pound. Cattle from $2 to $5 per head. Large hides for 25 cents each. Tiger skins one dollar each. The prices of all the other productions are in the same ratio. The Peruvian bark, after being carried up the mountains on the backs of Indians, is then loaded on to mules and taken to Tacna, Peru, where its average price is 56 cents per 50 BOLIVfA. pound. Large shipments have lately been made by canoes via the Amazon to Para, and sold there for 35 cents per pound. When I left La Paz last September, the same parties were about to ship a large additional quantity over the same route. THE CANOE TRADE which has sprung up since Brazil opened the Amazon, is astonishing. The first year there were 1,276 Indians engaged in it. The voyage to Para and back consumes nine months ; but, notwithstanding this, there is a large trade springing up, and this year cannot be far from $700,000 to |800,000. The Indians receive |2 per month and found. They are tough, docile fellows, and of great endurance. The canoes are from 50 to 75 feet long, carry from two to three tons, and are manned by from twelve to twenty men. Once steamers are on the main Bolivian streams, the minor branches will swarm with these small craft. THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON VALLEY contains about 400,000 population. The total value of their exports in 1866 amounted to £799,983 sterling. The imports at Para for the same year were £510,439 sterling. Ten large Brazil steamers are plying the Amazon proper, while smaller steamboats ascend to Peru and Ecuador. In 1865 the BrazU packets transported, between Para and Manaos, goods to the value of £800,- 000 sterling, according to their returns made to the Brazilian government. In fifteen years, counting from 1850, the commerce tripled, even under the restrictive rule which characterized it. To-day the city of Para has a popu- lation of 36,000. Its imports and exports, last year, were over £1,500,000 ster- ling. This year they will very largely exceed that. It is within the limits of a practical imagination, to say that this city is destined to be one of the largest of the world, and at no distant day. The moment steamers tap the vast storehouse of Bolivian wealth it will give Para a mighty impulse. By a careful examination of the imports for 1867 into Spanish South Amer- ican countries, I find that they consume a little in excess of 9 dollars gold per head of population. Bolivia, from her sealed-up position, consumes but 1.50 dollars per head. Once her commerce by the Amazon is well opened, she ijiay be expected to consume at least the same amount as the above average. This will give her 18,000,000 dollars of imports annually ; an equal if not greater amount of exports will swell her entire foreign trade to 36,000,000 dollars annually. There is an internal trade in Bolivia amounting to about 50,000,000 dollars annually. The Yungas valley alone farnishes about 5,000,000 dollars of this. Of the foreign articles of import, cotton and woolen goods are the principal ; the former for the lowlands, the latter for the mountain districts. Few arti- cles except of absolute necessity, are impprted, owing to the excessive cost of mule-back freighting. WHO SHALL HAVE THIS TRADE i becomes a, very, important question. England and France do nearly the BOLIVIA. 51 whole Bolivian traflSc of to-day ; but it not only becomes a great mercantile, but a great political question to know who is to absorb and exchange wealth with a country holding already four-fifths of the population of the Amazon valley. We, of the United States, have long been blind to the fact that there is a perfect East Indies at our very doors. One-half our American merchants, who pass for well-informed men, can scarcely tell where Bolivia is, much less what there is within its boundary lines. And yet it is within easy reach of our commerce — not twice as far as from here to Liverpool. I have not room to give the numerous details, which I might multiply ad infinitum. Brackenridge, in his report to the United States upon the Bolivian valley of the Amazon, states : — " I do not imagine that a finer country can be presented to the human eye ; and when we consider that within its boundaries are mines of gold, the richness of which have never been explored ; that there are groves of costly wood and forests of the finest timber trees, with a soil of great fertility, and capable of yielding all the various productions of the earth, not excepting the cinnamon and spices of the Indian isles, and that all these things are seated at the head and borders of water navigable to the Atlantic Ocean, we must be satisfied that the brightest visions of fancy can scarcely portray to the future rulers of this famed country, its importance to the commerce of the United States — in short, the floods of wealth which must roll down the broad basin of the Amazon, and its tributary streams, to enrich the world. EXTRACT FEOM METEOROLOGICAL JOUENAL OP LARDNER GIBBON, LlEDT. U. S. N. At Trinidaa ae Moxos, in 1852. 1852. Fah. JnNE Thek. HOUB. WlNB— FOHCE. Eemaeks. 2 84^ 9 a.m. N. B. light. Clear. 2 87 3 P.M. N. E. light. Cumulus 5 3 84 9 a.m. N. E. light. Cumulus 2 3 88 3 P. M. N. E. light. Cumulus 7 4 83 9 A.M. N. B. fresh. Cumulus Strata 9 4 89 3 p.m. N.W. fresh. Cumulus Strata 4 ; cloudy night. 5 88 9 A.M. N.W. fresh. Cumulus Strata. 5 83 2 p. M. N.W. Rain. 5 86 3 p. M. N.W. Cumulus 9 ; and first part of night clear. 6 82 9 a.m. N.W. fresh. 90 3 p.m. N.W. Cloudy first part of the night; clear. 7 82 9 a.m. N. W. fresh. Cloudy. 7 84 3 p.m. 7 77 3.30 P. M. . S.B. Rain and Thunder. 9 S. First part of day clear and calm, latter part cool. 10 74 9 a.m. South. Cumulus Clouds. 12 81 3 p.m. North. Clear. 13 91 9 a.m. Calm. Clear. 13 1p.m. Shower from South-east. 13 88 3 p.m. S.B. Misty atmosphere. 14 81 9 a.m. S. B. light. Cumulus clouds ; night clear and pleasant. 15 84 9 a.m. N.B. light. Clear blue sky. 15 11 P.M. N. W. fresh. 15 89 3 p.m. N.W. fresh. Cumulus 4. 16 80 9a.m. S.E. At daylight a thick fog. 16 85 3 p.m. S. E. fresh. Hazy atmosphere. 17 71 9 a.m. South. 17 85 3 p.m. South, light. Night clear and cool. METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 53 1812. Fah. OUHE Theb. Hour. WlKD— FOKCE. Remabks. 18 73 9 A.M. Soutli, light. Overcast. 18 86 3 p.m. South, light. Clear. 19 71 9 A.M. S. E. light. At daylight foggy. 19 82 3 p.m. S. E. 20 69 9 A.M. S. E. Overcast. 20 70 3 p. M. S. E. 21 66 9 A.M. S. E. Overcast 21 78 3 p.m. S. E. 22 67 9 A.M. Calm. Misty. 22 13 m. N. W. 22 86 3 p.m. N. W. fresh. 23 73 9 A.M. S. E. fresh. Hazy. 33 79 3 p.m. S. E. fresh. First part of the night clear. calm and 34 76 9 a.m. S. E. Clear. 25 88 9 A.M. S. E. light. Clear. 26 76 9 a.m. N. W. light. 36 83 3 p.m. N. W. light. Hazy. 27 75 9 a.m. N. light. Cloudy. 37 82 3 p. m. N. E. light. Clear. 38 76 9 a.m. S. E. light. Clear. 28 81 3 P. M. S. E. light. Clear. 39 76 9 A. M. S. E. light. Clear. 29 83 3 P.M. N. E. fresh. Hazy atmosphc 30 80 9 A.M. N. E. light. Hazy. 30 81 3 p.m. Calm. 18.i2. Fah. Jolt. Theb. IlOUil. "WrND— FOBOE. Kemabes. 1 76 9 A.M. S. E. light. Cloudy. 1 84 3 p.m. N. W. fresh. Hazy atmosphere. 3 76 9 a.m. N. W. Hazy. 3 83 3 p.m. N. W. Hazy. 3 77 9 A. M. N. W. fresh. Clear. 3 85 8 p.m. N. W. fresh. Clear. 4 76 9 a.m. N. E. fresh. Cumulus Clouds. 4 85 3 p.m. N. B. fresh. Cloudy. 5 77 9 a.m. N. W. fresh. 5 88 3 p.m. N. W. fresh. Cloudy. 6 80 9 a.m. N. W. fresh. 6 74 3 p.m. S. E. Cloudy. 7 63 9 a.m. S. W. Cloudy. 7 64 3 P.M. S. W Overcast. 8 66 9 a.m. Calm Cloudy. 8 73 3 p.m. S. W. 54 METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 1852. Fah. Jdly. Theb. HOUB. "WlND- -FOKOE. Remakes. 9 65 9 a.m. s. w. light. Cloudy. 9 68 3 p.m. S. W. Cloudy. 10 64 9 A.M. S. E. Cloudy. 10 67 3 p.m. S. E. : fresh. Clear. 11 63 9 A.M. S. E. 11 67 3 p.m. S. E. 13 63 9 a.m. S. E. Pleasant. 13 73 3 p. M. S. E. Hazy. 13 67 9 a.m. S. E. Clear. 13 76 3 P.M. N. W. Heavy dew during the night. 14 72 9 A.M. N. E. 14 82 3 p. M. N. W. Hazy. 15 73 9 a.m. N. W. Clear. 15 84 3 p.m. Calm. Clear. 16 87 9 am. N. W. Cumulus clouds. 16 81 3 P. M. N. W. Clear. 17 74 9 A.M. N. W. Clear. 17 84 3 p.m. N. W. Hazy. 18 78 9 A, M. N. W. Clear. 18 88 3 p.m. N. W. fresh. Hazy Atmosphere. 19 72 9 a.m. S. E. fresh. Hazy. 19 78 3 p.m. S. E. Hazy. 30 72 9 a.m. Calm. 30 85 3 p.m. N. W. 31 79 9 a.m. N. W. Cloudy. •^ 31 84 3 p.m. N. W. Clear. 33 79 9 a.m. N. W. 33 86 3 p.m. N. W. 23 69 9 A.M. S. E. Hazy. 23 77 3 p.m. S. E. fresh. Hazy. 34 66 9 A. M. S. E. fresh. Clear. 24 70 3 p.m. S.E. 35 66 9 A.M. S. E. fresh. Clear. 35 76 3 p.m. S.E. Hazy. 36 67 9 A. M. N. W. Clear. 26 83 3 p.m. N. W. Cloudy. 27 74 9 A.M. S.E. Clear. 37 83 3 p.m. N.E. 28 73 9 a.m. S. E. fresh. Cloudy. 38 70 3 P.M. S. E. fresh. Hazy. 39 70 9 A.M. S. E. Cloudy. 29 78 3 p. M. S. E. Hazy. 30 74 9 a.m. S. E. Clear. 30 84 3 p.m. N. W. Clear. METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 55 July. Fah. Thee. HOUB. Wind— FoKCE. Remauks. 31 79 9 A.M. S. W. Hazy. 81 86 8 p.m. N. W. l&K. August. Fah. Theb. Hour. Wind— Force. Remaks. 1 79 9 A. M. Calm. Hazy. 1 88 3 p.m. Calm. 2 80 9 A.M. N.W. Clear. 3 90 3 p.m. N.W. 3 80 9 A.M. W. Clear. 3 89 3 p.m. N.W. Hazy atmosphere. 4 82 9 A.M. N. W. fresh. Clear sky. 4 88 8 p.m. N. W. fresli. Clear sky. 5 78 9 A.M. S. B. 5 81 8 p.m. S. E. Hazy. 6 73 9 A.M. S. E. 6 82 3 p.m. S, E. fresli. 7 75 9 a.m. S. E. Hazy atmosphere. 7 87 3 p.m. S. E. Hazy. 8 80 9 a.m. S. E. fresh. Clear sky. 8 85 3 p. m. S. E. Heavy dew during the night. 75 9 a.m. S. E. Clear. 9 84 8 P. M. S. E. Clear. y 10 76 9 A.M. S. E. Hazy. 10 84 8 P.M. S. E. 11 74 9 A.M. S. E. fresh. Hazy atmosphere. 11 81 3 P.M. S. E. fresh. 12 78 9 A. M. S. E. fresh. Hazy atmosphere. 12 83 3 p. M. S. E. Hazy atmosphere. 13 74 9 A. M. S. W. Clear. 13 85 3 p. M. N.W. Cloudy.