Excerpt from The Amazon and Madeira Rivers: Sketches and Descriptions From the Note-Book of an Explorer In June 1867, my father and I, who had been studying the maps and plans of a former expedition in the province of Parana, were commissioned by the Minister of Public Works at Rio de Janeiro to explore the Madeira River, and to project a railroad along its bank where, by reason of the rapids, navigation was rendered impossible. Since the end of the last century, - when, in consequence of the treaty of Ildefonso in 1777, Portuguese astronomers and surveyors ascended the Madeira, no regular or reliable plans had been executed of the immense forest-covered valley. The bold descent effected some twenty years ago by the American naval officer, Gibbon, I may observe, was too hurried, and undertaken with too slender means; and another expedition, commanded by the Brazilian engineer, Major Coutinho, proved to be a complete failure, though certainly not for lack of means. Upon the ensuing of peace, after the long war with Paraguay, the old question of a way of communication between the Brazilian coast and the province of Mate Grosso came to the front; and as that clever diplomatist, Conselheiro Felippe Lopez Netto, had also succeeded in concluding a treaty of boundaries and commerce with Bolivia, by which was secured the prospect of a passage through the valley of the Madeira, it was thought necessary that a thorough exploration should be made. General attention was, moreover, directed to that remote comer of the vast realm by the sudden appearance of a new Steam Navigation Company on the Lower Madeira, and by the recent opening of the Amazon River to the flags of all nations; the realisation of the full benefit of which latter measure depends on its extension to the lateral rivers as well. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.