is about 70° 30' W., 103 miles from Cuzco, and 740 from the mouth of the Purus.. Near this point the Tono, with all its tributaries from the W., the Cosni-pata from the S. W., and the Piña-piña from the N., having drained the wide forests of Paucartambo, unite and form that mighty river which I saw from a distance, and which is here called the Madre de Dios, or Amarumayu river, evidently the same as the Purus.

About 100 miles farther down, the Purus is supposed to receive as tributaries the two great rivers of Arasa or Marcapata, and Ynambari; the latter draining the rich and extensive province of Carabaya, famous for its gold-washings, and for producing the best known quality of Peruvian bark.

Several facts tend to authorise the belief that the Purus has no great obstructions or rapids, as is the case with the Madeira and other tributaries of the Amazons; foremost of which may be urged its distance from the Andes on one side, and from the mountains of Brazil on the other, and the immense size of its tributaries.

The Purus empties itself into the Amazons by four mouths,* at a point where the visible breadth of that queen of rivers is nearly 3 leagues. These mouths are called, respectively, the Foro † de Camara, de San Thome, and de Cuiuana; and the most easterly one, which is the principal mouth, Smythe judges to be a mile wide. Here the French geographer Condamine, in 1745, sounded in 103 fathoms (no bottom); and Smythe found the depth of the Amazons about this point, and from Coari to Barra, to be 25 fathoms. The base of the delta of the Purus, or the distance from the most westerly to the most easterly mouth, is not less than 86 miles.

Such is a brief account of all that is known of this great river, the principal affluents of which, and the beautiful country through which they flow, I had the pleasure of exploring in the May of last

year.

It is impossible to believe that the magnificent river system of South America is for ever destined to remain useless-the abode merely of the untamed savage and fierce jaguar. If once the Madre de Dios or Purus was thoroughly explored, the effects it would have on the industry and future prospects of Peru are incalculable. The people of the interior of that beautiful country,

* The smaller mouths are only navigable at high water in small canoes. + Foro means a bar.

Herndon gives the breadth at of a mile.

§ Herndon gives the depth, one mile up the river, at 18 fathoms, and at the mouth 16 fathoms; while the depth, at the same place, in the Amazons, was 23 fathoms. The current in the Purus, he says, was sluggish, running about of a mile per hour.—p. 265.

The shores of the mouth of the Purus are bold, and marked by bushes growing in the water.

the ancient empire of the Incas, would at length succeed in turning the granite barrier of the Andes; a port might be established near Paucar-tambo, and another at the mouth of the Purus; an inland navigation would waft the varied productions of the interior of Peru-its bark, sarsaparilla, copaiba, and India-rubber—its sugar, cocoa, cotton, and tobacco-its alpaca wool, silver, and precious stones-by a direct and easy route to the Old World, and the dangerous journeys across the Cordilleras and long and tedious voyages round Cape Horn would be avoided.

Already the enterprising spirits of the New World are turning their attention to this important subject. Treaties for the navigation of the Amazons, and the exploration of its affluents, have been entered into between the Governments of Peru and the Brazils; and a monopoly of the navigation has been granted, for thirty years, to an eminent Brazilian named De Souza, who already runs four steamers up and down the Amazons from Barra, near the mouths of the Purus, to Pará.*

NOTE. Sixty years ago Haenke drew attention to the future importance of the Purus, the sources of which, from information derived from the Indians, he was then enabled to fix between the Cordillera of Vilcañota and the east of the mountains of Carabaya-very much where Mr. Markham has laid them down.-See Journal Royal Geographical Society, Vol. V., p. 90. See also a paper by Lieut. Smyth, R.N., in Vol. VI. p. 11, &c., and one by Gen. Miller in the same volume, p. 174.-ED.

VII.-Abstract of a Report made by Dr. R. A. PHILIPPI to the Government of Chile, of a Journey into the Desert of Atacama in 1853-54.

Communicated by WILLIAM BOLLAERT, Esq., F.R.G.S.

Read, June 11th, 1855.

6

IN compliance with the Government decree of 10th November, 1853, confiding to me the exploration of the Desert of Atacama, I embarked in the schooner Janqueo' with M. Wm. Döll, my assistant, and two servants. We anchored on the 30th in the port of Caldera, whence I went to Copiapo, with the object of procuring all possible information about the Desert. The Intendente called together Messrs. Melendez, Tirapequi, Arànjo, and Almeida: the last had made the journey to Atacama some twenty-three years ago; he had formerly worked mines at various places on the coast, and had recently come from the Valley of Encantada, 60 leagues N. of Copiapo, and he decided upon accompanying us, although he was of an advanced age. The 7th December we

*The Government of Brazil guarantees him a bonus of $100,000, which grant will probably prevent competition.

sailed for the port of Chañaral de las Animas, which must not be confounded with the port of Chañaral much more to the S., in 29°. Chañaral de las Animas consists of some twenty habitations and a population of 120 to 150 souls.* Here we commenced our investigations of the Desert by visiting the mines of Las Animas, 3 leagues from the coast, in a branch of the large and dry valley of Salado. The mines are of copper, and are numerous, 21 being at work at present. Copper is abundant, and new veins are continually being discovered. From these mines we went to the establishment of the Salado, and visited the Boquerona copper-mine, the only one now at work.

December 12.-Left Chañaral, and, at sunset, got to the watering-place of Cachinal de la Costa, situated in a narrow quebrada or ravine, very picturesque and covered then with vege

tation.

The road from Cachinal to the Agua del Clerigo, in the Bay of Taltal, goes by the interior, and by places most miserable, arid, and stony, and entirely destitute of vegetation. We passed a night, without finding water or pasture, at our resting-place. Having arrived at the Agua del Clerigo, we had to rest our animals. This watering-place is 392 Spanish yards above the sea, at the foot of a great sienitic mountain. We continued our journey the 16th December. The road descends to the coast to Hueso Parado, so called in consequence of the rib of a whale being placed there to mark the boundary. We passed the night at Estancia Vieja, where a little water gave nourishment to some pear-trees, a fig-tree, and an algarobo, and the next day we arrived at Paposo. Here we remained awaiting the arrival of our vessel the 'Janqueo.' We employed our time in examining the neighbouring mountains, where we found some vegetation. Don Diego Almeida remained behind in Paposo, as well as one of my servants, so I prepared to start with M. Döll and one servant. We left Paposo 22nd December, arriving the 27th at the mines of El Cobre, anciently worked by the Indians before the conquest. At this place, not mentioned in any chart, and in 24° 17′ 50′′, Don J. A. Moreno was working rich copper-mines, and gave us much information about the Desert.

From here to the N. the watering-places are scanty and vegetation entirely disappears, so it would have been most difficult to continue our journey by land. Every one who knew this terrible part of the desert dissuaded us from attempting it, telling us that a few weeks since there had arrived, almost dead, a deserter from the Peruvian troops of Cobija, and whose companion had died of thirst on the road. M. Döll, notwithstanding, wished to examine 363.5 English yards.-ED.

Chañeral in the Admiralty charts. -ED.