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Review: A Journey in Southern ColombiaAuthor(s): G. E. ChurchReviewed work(s):

Miguel Triana. Por el sur de Colombia: excursión pintoresca y cientifica al Putumayo by S.Perez Triana

Source: The Geographical Journal, Vol. 34, No. 2 (Aug., 1909), pp. 201-202Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of The Royal Geographical Society (with theInstitute of British Geographers)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1777830

Accessed: 05/03/2009 11:01

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REVIEWS 201

A JOURNEYN SOUTHERNOLOMIBIA.'Mliguel Triana. Por el sur de Colombia:excursionpintorescay cientificaal

Putuma}o.' Prologode S. Perez Triana. Paris: GarnierHermanos.[1908.]WVithinhe past few years the Governmentsof Bolivia, Peri, Ecuador,and

Colombiahave recognizedthe importanceof openingtransitable oads between theAndean tablelandsand the navigableaffluentsof the Amazon. In all cases,how-ever, the limited resourcesof these countries have impeded the realizationof theprojects,althoughthe reportsupon them have invariablypictured the vast wealthof the districts penetrated. The lowest pass between the Pacific ocean and theAmazon valley is at 7? 45' S. lat., and only about 71'70 feet above sea-level.

Thence the cordillera graduallyrises, some of the passes in Ecuador reaching10,000 feet, at which elevation,moreor less, onemay also cross SouthernColombia

to the upper waters of the Putumayo and Caquetarivers by way of the sleepytown of Pastro. It is this route which was traversedby the Colombiancivil

engineer, the author of the book under review, his object being a somewhatinformal examination of the country, and to report to the Governmenton theadvantageswhich might accrue by connecting Pastro by a good road with the

rivers mentioned. His report,which is confined to only the last dozenpagesof hisbook,gives data of muchgeographical alue.

It should not be forgottenthat, in 1874, the present progressivePresident ofColombiadescendedthe Putumayo 1000 miles to its mouth by canoe, and soonafterwards establishedsteam navigation upon it. Codazzispent a long periodof

time among its headwaters. Dr. Crevauxmappedthe river as farup as Cuemby,ascendirngt 800 miles by steamer,findingno obstruction or craftdrawing6 feetof water. It is probably he most navigablebranchof the Amazon,and if southernColombiacould utilize it, it would becomea great boon to a vast area of the

republic. Doubtless Senor Triana'smissionhad this partly in view, but he madehis explorationswith the tcantiest resources;in fact,one may marvel at what he

accomplishedwith the meagremeansat his disposal.Senor Triana commenced his voyage at Tumaco, which, when I visited it

many years ago, seemed to be a dreamy tropical island which had drifted upagainst the mainlandof Colombia. Thencehe found his way by a little steamer

to the ancientportof Barbacoasby way of the riverTelembi, which cuts throughthe great swampydistrict bordering he outlying foothills of the coast cordillera.Then by the wretchedmule-trackwhich has for centuriesserved as the outlet ofthe interior,SenorTriana arrived at Pasto. It must be the centreof a thrivingdistrict,for"According to the census,there cannotbe a city in the world wherethereare morepriests."

At Pasto the real work of ourauthorbegan. South of the city about20 milesis La Cocha,orthe Laguna,as it is locally called. This lake is the sourceof theGuaimeds ranchof the Patumayo river,and is about 9000 feet abovesea-level.SenorTriana skirted the lake, reachedthe Guaimes, embarked in a canoe,anddescended this

torrentialand

much obstructed streamto its junctionwith thePutumayo. Thence, turning northward,he ascended the Guineo branchof thelatter river and crossed he very short, almostlevel water-divide to Mocoa, onthe Mocoa affluentof the Caqueta,which, by track,he ascendedto the valley ofSibundoy,separated rom Pasto by the narrowcordillera f Patascoy. Ee foundthe elevationof the pass to be 11,000 feet, and the junctionof the Guramies ndPilcomayo820 feetabove the sea, the latterbeing anotherconfirmation f the levelcharacterwhich the Amazon valley preserves rom the sea to the baseof theAndes.

No. II-AUGUST, 1909.] P

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2020202 REVIEWS.EVIEWS.EVIEWS.

Judgingfrom the author's barometric bservations nd descriptionof his route,the country between Pasto and the Caquetaand Putumayo presentsformidabledifficulties o the constructionand maintenanceof a cart road.

Senor Triana has the rare gift of making the readerof his book travel withhim. From every rock, stream,shrub, tree, hill, and mountain he evolves an

atmosphere o which he gives eloquent expression, and althoughin general his

pages s:em to lack hardfacts,the reader eels that he has been taken throughthe

countryand has learnedeverythingregardingts salientfeatures, ts resources, nd

its varied types of inhabitants,and that he has been the companionof a keen

observer,aphilosopher,and a many-sidedman.G. E. CHURCH.

THEPANAMA ANAL.'The PanamaCanalandits Makers.' By VaughanCornish. London:FisherUnwin. 1909. Pp. 192. Map andlustrations. 5s.

This volume is an outcomeof Dr. Cornish'sndependentourof inspectionover

the Panamacanal works,and is no less interestinga study than wouldbe expectedfrom him. He deals with the history of the enterprise,with the presentworks,at special length with that importantsection theCulebra cut, with the conditionsof

labour nd healthon the sthmus,with theeffect of theopeningof thecanal

onmaritime communicationsand trade, andwith that somewhat problematicalquestion,

thecost of

thework. The mapprepared or this Journalinds aplacein

the book,ahdtherearenumerousphotographs, notalways quite uccessful; butengineeringorks

inprogressarea difficultsubject

for theamera.

GENERAL.

EVOLUTIONOF CIVILIZATION.TheRise

of Man.'By ColonelC. R.Conder,LL.D. London:Murray. 1908.viii.

+ 68 pp. 12s. net.

Themainobjectof this workis indicated, not by he title, but bythe amiliar

lines quotedrom In Memoriamn thetitle-pageabout the"one far offdivine

evento which

thewhole creationmoves." Colonel Condersfavourably knownsadistinguishedarchaeologist,or many yearsconductorof the Surveyof Palestine.

But,lthough there

aresome

commendableeatures n thepresentwork, theandof

he amateuris toofrequently betrayedn its general treatment, not nly of the

early,but

even ofthe ater (historic)periods. What, for instance,will anthropo-

logistssay to thetatementsthat "skulls of prehistoric man re s yet only known

inhewest of Europe,and;all these belongto the Neolithicge," andthat of his

palaeolithic redecessorswe have no nformationat all,ince nota single skullorbone

has beenound"

(italicsmine).Thenthe long-exploded Finno-Basqueelations are evived, and we are old

that the asque tongue is "nearest akin to the Finnish," with which it hasreallyo connection. The suggestion that "blubber lips among negroesandMongols

may havedevelopedfrom exclusive

(sic) eating of flesh"may pass sannatomicalcuriosity; butstrongprotestmustbe enteredagainstthe assumptionthat

the NewWorldwas discoveredby the Chinese"a thousandyears before theadvent

ofColumbus." Herehe referenceobviously is to the early Buddhistmigration

othe shadowy landof

Fusang, hich wasronglysupposed o be ome

part fAmerica, and on which were based manywild theoriesregardingAsiaticinfluences

onAmerican civilized peoples. Thus our author first states that the

HindusthroughJapanandthe south lefttheir markn later imes inbothMexico

andPeru,"ndthen says that thencas "introducedMongolcivilization and the

Judgingfrom the author's barometric bservations nd descriptionof his route,the country between Pasto and the Caquetaand Putumayo presentsformidabledifficulties o the constructionand maintenanceof a cart road.

Senor Triana has the rare gift of making the readerof his book travel withhim. From every rock, stream,shrub, tree, hill, and mountain he evolves an

atmosphere o which he gives eloquent expression, and althoughin general his

pages s:em to lack hardfacts,the reader eels that he has been taken throughthe

countryand has learnedeverythingregardingts salientfeatures, ts resources, nd

its varied types of inhabitants,and that he has been the companionof a keen

observer,aphilosopher,and a many-sidedman.G. E. CHURCH.

THEPANAMA ANAL.'The PanamaCanalandits Makers.' By VaughanCornish. London:FisherUnwin. 1909. Pp. 192. Map andlustrations. 5s.

This volume is an outcomeof Dr. Cornish'sndependentourof inspectionover

the Panamacanal works,and is no less interestinga study than wouldbe expectedfrom him. He deals with the history of the enterprise,with the presentworks,at special length with that importantsection theCulebra cut, with the conditionsof

labour nd healthon the sthmus,with theeffect of theopeningof thecanal

onmaritime communicationsand trade, andwith that somewhat problematicalquestion,

thecost of

thework. The mapprepared or this Journalinds aplacein

the book,ahdtherearenumerousphotographs, notalways quite uccessful; butengineeringorks

inprogressarea difficultsubject

for theamera.

GENERAL.

EVOLUTIONOF CIVILIZATION.TheRise

of Man.'By ColonelC. R.Conder,LL.D. London:Murray. 1908.viii.

+ 68 pp. 12s. net.

Themainobjectof this workis indicated, not by he title, but bythe amiliar

lines quotedrom In Memoriamn thetitle-pageabout the"one far offdivine

evento which

thewhole creationmoves." Colonel Condersfavourably knownsadistinguishedarchaeologist,or many yearsconductorof the Surveyof Palestine.

But,lthough there

aresome

commendableeatures n thepresentwork, theandof

he amateuris toofrequently betrayedn its general treatment, not nly of the

early,but

even ofthe ater (historic)periods. What, for instance,will anthropo-

logistssay to thetatementsthat "skulls of prehistoric man re s yet only known

inhewest of Europe,and;all these belongto the Neolithicge," andthat of his

palaeolithic redecessorswe have no nformationat all,ince nota single skullorbone

has beenound"

(italicsmine).Thenthe long-exploded Finno-Basqueelations are evived, and we are old

that the asque tongue is "nearest akin to the Finnish," with which it hasreallyo connection. The suggestion that "blubber lips among negroesandMongols

may havedevelopedfrom exclusive

(sic) eating of flesh"may pass sannatomicalcuriosity; butstrongprotestmustbe enteredagainstthe assumptionthat

the NewWorldwas discoveredby the Chinese"a thousandyears before theadvent

ofColumbus." Herehe referenceobviously is to the early Buddhistmigration

othe shadowy landof

Fusang, hich wasronglysupposed o be ome

part fAmerica, and on which were based manywild theoriesregardingAsiaticinfluences

onAmerican civilized peoples. Thus our author first states that the

HindusthroughJapanandthe south lefttheir markn later imes inbothMexico

andPeru,"ndthen says that thencas "introducedMongolcivilization and the

Judgingfrom the author's barometric bservations nd descriptionof his route,the country between Pasto and the Caquetaand Putumayo presentsformidabledifficulties o the constructionand maintenanceof a cart road.

Senor Triana has the rare gift of making the readerof his book travel withhim. From every rock, stream,shrub, tree, hill, and mountain he evolves an

atmosphere o which he gives eloquent expression, and althoughin general his

pages s:em to lack hardfacts,the reader eels that he has been taken throughthe

countryand has learnedeverythingregardingts salientfeatures, ts resources, nd

its varied types of inhabitants,and that he has been the companionof a keen

observer,aphilosopher,and a many-sidedman.G. E. CHURCH.

THEPANAMA ANAL.'The PanamaCanalandits Makers.' By VaughanCornish. London:FisherUnwin. 1909. Pp. 192. Map andlustrations. 5s.

This volume is an outcomeof Dr. Cornish'sndependentourof inspectionover

the Panamacanal works,and is no less interestinga study than wouldbe expectedfrom him. He deals with the history of the enterprise,with the presentworks,at special length with that importantsection theCulebra cut, with the conditionsof

labour nd healthon the sthmus,with theeffect of theopeningof thecanal

onmaritime communicationsand trade, andwith that somewhat problematicalquestion,

thecost of

thework. The mapprepared or this Journalinds aplacein

the book,ahdtherearenumerousphotographs, notalways quite uccessful; butengineeringorks

inprogressarea difficultsubject

for theamera.

GENERAL.

EVOLUTIONOF CIVILIZATION.TheRise

of Man.'By ColonelC. R.Conder,LL.D. London:Murray. 1908.viii.

+ 68 pp. 12s. net.

Themainobjectof this workis indicated, not by he title, but bythe amiliar

lines quotedrom In Memoriamn thetitle-pageabout the"one far offdivine

evento which

thewhole creationmoves." Colonel Condersfavourably knownsadistinguishedarchaeologist,or many yearsconductorof the Surveyof Palestine.

But,lthough there

aresome

commendableeatures n thepresentwork, theandof

he amateuris toofrequently betrayedn its general treatment, not nly of the

early,but

even ofthe ater (historic)periods. What, for instance,will anthropo-

logistssay to thetatementsthat "skulls of prehistoric man re s yet only known

inhewest of Europe,and;all these belongto the Neolithicge," andthat of his

palaeolithic redecessorswe have no nformationat all,ince nota single skullorbone

has beenound"

(italicsmine).Thenthe long-exploded Finno-Basqueelations are evived, and we are old

that the asque tongue is "nearest akin to the Finnish," with which it hasreallyo connection. The suggestion that "blubber lips among negroesandMongols

may havedevelopedfrom exclusive

(sic) eating of flesh"may pass sannatomicalcuriosity; butstrongprotestmustbe enteredagainstthe assumptionthat

the NewWorldwas discoveredby the Chinese"a thousandyears before theadvent

ofColumbus." Herehe referenceobviously is to the early Buddhistmigration

othe shadowy landof

Fusang, hich wasronglysupposed o be ome

part fAmerica, and on which were based manywild theoriesregardingAsiaticinfluences

onAmerican civilized peoples. Thus our author first states that the

HindusthroughJapanandthe south lefttheir markn later imes inbothMexico

andPeru,"ndthen says that thencas "introducedMongolcivilization and the