William Lewis Herndon, Lieutenant, U.S.N.

“ I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, your obedient servant,
JOHN P. KENNEDY.
WASHINGTON city, January 26, 1853.
To the Hon. JOHN P. KENNEDY, Secretary of the Navy.
SIR: I have the honor to submit part first of the Report of an Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon, made by me, with the assistance of Lieut. Lardner Gibbon, under instructions of the Navy Department, bearing date February 15, 1851. ”

“ The desire expressed by the department for an early report of my exploration of the Amazon, and the general interest manifested in the public mind with regard to the same, have induced me to lay before you at once as full an account of our proceedings as can be made before the return of my companion. he general map which accompanies the report is based upon maps published by the Society for the diffusion of Useful Knowledge, but corrected and improved according to my own personal observations, and on information obtained by me whilst in that country. ”

“ Nauta — River Ucayali — Sarayacu — The missionaries — The Indians of the Ucayali.
CHAPTER XI.
Upper Ucayali — M. Castelnau — Length of navigation — Loss of the priest — Departure from Sarayacu — Omaguas — Iquitos — Mouth of the Napo — Pebas — San José de los Yaguas — State of Indians of Peru. ”