Huallaga River

“ PEREGRINATION BY THE RIVER HUALLAGA TO THE LAKE OF GRAN COCAMA, UNDERTAKEN BY FATHER MANUEL SOBREVIELA IN THE YEAR 1790. The failure of the missions to the Manoa tribes is the more to be lamented as it contributed to the loss of the celebrated Pampa del Sacramento. [7] There is not, perhaps, in any part of the two Americas a territory more advantageously situated, or which boasts an equal fertility. It is bounded to the south by the rivers Pozuzu and Mayro; to the west by the Huallaga; to the north by the Maranon; and to the east by the Ucayali. ”

“ It is now augmented in every direction by new rivers, receiving among others, to the east, the river of the Moon, in the altitude of 7 degrees 40 minutes south latitude. Continuing its rapid course to the north, it takes a bend at the town del Valle, in 7 degrees 50 minutes, and, forming two difficult passes named Sabaloyaco and Cachahuanusca, immediately before its confluence with the Huayabamba, it passes along the confines of the province of Lamas, where it changes its name of Huanuco to that of Huallaga. ”

“ In 1726, the converted Indians about the head of canoe navigation on the Huallaga, (the tidings of the gospel were first carried to these from Huanuco, by Felipe Luyendo, in 1631,) crossing the hills that border that river on its eastern bank, discovered a wooded plain, which was named Pampa del Sacramento, from the day of its discovery being the festival of Corpus Cristi. This was a new field for the missionary; and by 1760, the Fathers of the college at Ocopa had penetrated across this plain to the Ucayali, and re-established the missions of Manoa, the former spiritual conquests of Biedma. ”

“ The Central Cordillera is the true divide, forming the continental watershed. A single river, the Marañon, breaks through in its lower northern part, while 20 coast streams rising in the Central cut the Maritime range; the East Cordillera is fractured by six Peruvian rivers, the Marañon, Huallaga, Perené, Mantaro, Apurimac, Vilcamayu, and Paucartambo, all but the first being affluents of the Ucayali, which some authorities call a tributary of the Marañon. Oftener these two are said to unite to form the Amazon. ”

“ Immense plains covered by trees, which present no other limit to the view than the sky bounded by the horizon at the distance of some thousands of leagues, contain lakes and seas of fresh water, the islands, roads, and ports of which are inhabited by nations whose customs, usages, and manner of thinking are totally different from ours.
The Huallaga is one of the rivers which furnish the greatest quantities of water to these bays and lakes. ”

“ In a fine valley, about two short leagues from Huacho, the little town of Huaura is situated on the bank of a river of the same [Pg 151] name. This Rio de Huaura is formed by the union of two rivers. The larger of the two rises in the Cordillera de Paria, and flows through the wild ravine of Chuichin: the smaller river, called the Rio Chico de Sayan, rises from a lake of considerable size in the Altos de Huaquimarci. Both unite below the village of Sayan. In the vicinity of Huaura the river forms several marshes, in which malaria is generated. ”

“ People in Huanuco are fully alive to the importance of opening the navigation of the Huallaga to their city. They speak of it as a thing that would be of incalculable advantage to them; and their leaders and influential men have often urged them to be up and doing. But, although they cannot be stirred up to the undertaking themselves, they are jealous of the attempt by any other route. I had a visit this evening from my Cerro Pasco acquaintance, the Intendente of Pozuzu. The old gentleman discoursed long and earnestly about his route from the Cerro to Pozuzu, and thence to Mayro. ”

“ I was passing back over the Cordillera Central for the first time since Hays and I had traversed it by the Quindío pass. Not far below the arctic summit we sighted the Huancabamba river, born a few leagues to the north, its broad, swift-sloping valley-walls spotted with little green chacras, and gradually dropped into summer again. Trees grew up about us, birds began once more to sing, cultivated fields shut in by cactus hedges bordered the trail. When at last we sighted the town of Huancabamba from far off, the peon halted and asked to be allowed to turn back. ”

“ It flows through the Lake of Izabal, and, as the Rio Dulce, empties into the Gulf of Amatique over a bar of sand. The Motagua is nearly parallel to the Polochic, and rises near Santa Cruz del Quiché. From Gualan it is navigable in canoes. Smaller streams are the Ulúa, Aguan, and Segovia in Spanish Honduras, which are navigable for pitpans. Finally we have the San Juan, known as one of the elements of the “Nicaragua Canal” route, but not at present navigable for boats of any size.
All the rivers of Central America that can be used for commerce require a special river service ”

“ The beds of the rivers were dry, or at the most contained only stagnant pools of water, until we reached the Juigalpa river, which rises far to the eastward; the north-east trade wind in crossing the great forest that clothes the Atlantic slope of the continent, gives up most of its moisture; and this range, rising about three thousand feet above the sea, intercepts nearly all that remains, so that only occasional showers reach Juigalpa. ”

“ And no wonder that the natives of this Elysian valley should be overjoyed at such prospects; since their long-continued communication with the canoe-men of the Huallaga on the one side, and in former times with those of the missionaries at the port or settlement of Mayro on the other, familiarise them with the notion of navigating the Huallaga and Ucayali; while the intervening plains of Sacramento they consider to be naturally the richest and most capable of improvement of any in the world. ”

“ The huge irrigation scheme now being carried out will utilize an enormous natural hollow formerly known as the Cuenca Vidal, now rechristened Lago Pellegrini (after a once prominent Argentine statesman) as a natural storage reservoir. The surplus water from the lake and river system, which makes a network over the whole of the western part of the territories of Neuquen and the Rio Negro, at the base of the Andes, will be utilized for the irrigation of their eastern plains. ”

“ Regarding Huajapam and the town of Oajaca as on the same line, we find a road running from each—the two gradually converging until they meet. The point of union is upon the banks of the Ostuta river, not far from the lake, and where a ford crosses the stream. Before arriving at this ford, the hacienda Del Valle lies to one side of the Oajaca road, while about an hour’s journey after crossing the river the domain of San Carlos is reached. ”

“ Near Huary the ravine opens into a wide valley, through which the river flows gently for about 380 miles, and is navigable for canoes. Its course is then interrupted by the rapids of the Pongo Rentema, and turns eastward, in which direction it runs nearly 180 miles, leaving the mountain region by the Pongo de Manseriche, a rapid seven miles long. In this part of its course the current is so strong that it can be descended only by floats; but from the rapids of Manseriche the river passes through an extensive plain, its entire length exceeding 3,000 miles. ”

“ In the evening the wind suddenly changed and blew a sharp gale from exactly the opposite direction, driving the mass of ice into the river and gorging it there, thus cutting off almost the whole water supply, and in the morning people awoke to find that the Niagara had departed. The American Fall was no more, the Horseshoe was hardly a ghost of its former self. Gone were the rapids, the fighting, struggling waters. Niagara's majestic roar was reduced to a moan. All day people walked on the rock bed of the river, although fearful lest the dam formed at its head should give way at any moment. ”

“ Along the banks of the Yangtse, and for many miles along the Hwang ho, great levees have been built, some-times in reinforcing series of two or three at different distances back from the channel where the stream bed is above the adjacent country, in order to prevent widespread disaster and to limit the inundated areas in times of unusual flood. In the province of Hupeh, where the Han river flows through two hundred miles of low country, this stream is diked on both sides throughout the whole distance, and in a portion of its course the height of the levees reaches thirty feet or more. ”

“ Another and grander South American fall, of comparatively recent discovery, is the Kaiteeur, so called, in the river Potaro, a large affluent of the Essequibo, the largest river in British Guiana. The volume of water is greater than that in the Bogota, and falls in a single column of dazzling whiteness seven hundred and forty feet into a vast basin below. The ascending cloud of spray, the solemn monotone of the descending flood, the extreme wildness of the primitive forest, and the luxuriant and abundant growth of tropical vines and shrubs, and their gorgeous colors, make the scene impressive. ”

“ The rivers of the Atlantic slope of Honduras are numerous and some of them of large size and navigable. The largest is the Ulua, with its tributary the Humuya. It rises in the plain of Comayagua and flows north to the Atlantic; it drains a wide expanse of territory, comprehending nearly one-third of the entire state, and probably discharges a greater amount of water into the sea than any other river of Central America, the Segovia excepted. It may be navigated by steamers of light draught for the greater part of its course. ”

“ The river is not now as it was ten years ago, nor the same to-day as it will be ten years hence. Channel and cut-off and island and main current go on in their juggling, and will do so when generations shall have been forgotten. When the floods are out, and when Messasebe is at his ancient game, there is no channel; there is no map, no chart; there is a wilderness.
It was across this watery wilderness that John Eddring and his ally, Captain Wilson, urged their way on the wildest journey ever known even in the mad times of this great river. ”

“ Fissure springs, from deep faults in the earth’s crust let out small streams of water from sources far remote; sometimes fit to drink; sometimes loaded with salts in solution and sometimes hot. Such a spring is that which gives rise to Willow Creek which rises among the niter hills of the Great Basin and empties into the Amargosa River a short distance below its source. Alas for the name! The Amargosa “River” turns out on examination to be a stream scarce large enough to turn a mill. After a run of less than 25 miles it sinks into the sands to rise no more. ”

“ The Marañon, and its tributary, the Huallaga, flowing northward from the Nudo of Cerro de Pasco, water a region of surpassing fertility, in the valleys of which are to be seen every variety of agricultural product. The Marañon receives a great many tributaries from the Occidental range as it flows northward across the Department of Huánuco, turning northwest between Loreto and Ancash, and traversing the Department of La Libertad. ”

“ The Chalchijalpa is a large river, whose different sources come from the direction of the Chimalapa Mountains. Señor Moro says: 'The Indians of Santa Maria ascend it on rafts to a point 38 miles distant from their village.'
Although it may be possible to utilize isolated portions of the river for the canal, even in these high points, it is my opinion that flood-gates and other accessory works will overbalance the economy of excavations. Be it as it may, future surveys must determine these points, with the study of details. ”

“ As the words Paragua and Parime signify water, great water, lake, or sea, it is not surprising to find them so often repeated among nations at a distance from each other, the Omaguas on the Upper Marañon, the Western Guaranis, and the Caribs. In all parts of the world, as I have already remarked, the largest rivers are called by those who dwell on their banks “the River,” without any distinct and peculiar appellation. Paragua, the name of a branch of the Caroni, is also the name given by the natives to the Upper Orinoco. ”

“ Looking down from the hill-tops one is able to appreciate the great extent of the river valley. It is a level-looking plain, thinly covered with pine-trees and seamed by steep-sided barrancas cut by the Motagua and its affluents. The hills on either side were cultivated in patches to their summits, and above the southern range we could still see the peaks of Agua, Fuego, and Atitlan. ”

“ On the left, high up between massive triangular cliffs, gleam glaciers of the sharper Huandoy, almost as high as the snowy coverlet peering over the edge of Huascarán. A beautiful lake half a mile long, near the center occupies the entire floor of the valley. One rides along the pathway, in places cut out of the solid rock, in others supported by tree trunks, where a horse’s stumble might easily precipitate his rider into the so-called fathomless lake 100 feet below; but the excellent horses climb veritable stairs with ease, and there is no occasion for disquietude. ”

“ John now noted on his map that this river, the outlet of Lake Athabasca, which received the combined floods of the Peace and the Athabasca, was known as the Slave River, or sometimes the Little Slave River.
As had been the Athabasca all the way down, this river was very much discolored and stained by the high waters of the spring.
“Now, young men,” said Uncle Dick to his charges as they stood on the fore deck of the steamer in the hot sun of midafternoon, “you can say that you are getting into the real wilderness. It runs every way you can look—west, north, south, and east. ”