Page:National Waterways A Magazine of Transportation, Volume 1.pdf/135

122 has been built by Americans. A few people outside of Brazil know something of the Soli- moes. the Purus. the _lurué. and the Negro: very few Bra- zilians. themselves. and few. even. of the rivermen. know all of the ﬁfty or sixty other "Rios." tributary to one or the other of the main streams. and all. in turn. tributary to the Amazon.

In considering the state- ments which follow. the fact should not be lost sight of that it is an American boatman. accus- tomed to American river boats and ways. that is making them

The main control of the navigation of the Amazon and its efﬂuents has rested for forty years and. until August of last year. in the hands of an English company. which means that English-built boats have. with but a very few exceptions. been the only kind of boats used: being willing always to "give credit where credit

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ild magniﬁcent ships for doe sea service. splendid lake

bay steamers. but if. in all their history as a maritime people. they ever built a good. serviceable light-draft. river steamboat. personal observa- tion. covering a fairly wide range of territory and a vastly wider ﬁeld of reading. has never beheld such.

For the Amazon and lower reaches of the important trib- utaries the English boats do fairly well. but in the extreme Altos Rios. where in dry seasons the channels get to six feet or less. they are not "in it" and the American sternwheeler. the premier light-draft boat of the world. is now. for the ﬁrst time in the history of North-Brazil navigation. to be used and will. undoubtedly. penetrate farther into the upper reaches of the rivers than any other steam craft has ever gone: that they will bring new rubber

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