By Bolivia’s recent treaty with Brazil an exchange of territory was made between the two countries in accordance with which the Bolivian boundary was extended in one direction and cut off in another; and, as the areas exchanged were not equivalent, an indemnity of two million pounds sterling was, as previously stated, paid by Brazil in settlement of the negotiation. In conformity with this treaty, which was signed at Petropolis, Brazil, November 17, 1903, by Señores Don Fernando E. Guachalla and Don Claudio Pinilla on the part of Bolivia, and by Baron de Rio Branco and Don José Francisco de Assis-Brazil on the part of Brazil, the boundary line between the Territorio de Colonias, on the northern frontier of Bolivia, and Brazil is definitely established: on the eastern boundary, the Territorio is separated from Brazil by the Madeira River, from the confluence of the Beni and Guaporé Rivers northward to the confluence of the Madeira and Abuná Rivers. The northern boundary line of the Territorio extends from the mouth of the Abuná upward along its course to latitude ten degrees twenty minutes, this latitude marking the limit as it extends westward until the Rapirrán, or Ina, River is reached, when the dividing line ascends the course of that river to its main tributary, then turns due westward to the Iquiry, which it ascends to the source, again turning westward till it meets the Acre, or Aquiry River, which it ascends to latitude eleven degrees, continuing along this line of latitude to the frontier of Peru. On its western boundary, the Territorio de Colonias joins Peru, and its southern limit is marked by the course of the Madre de Dios River, which separates it from the neighboring department of La Paz.

The Madeira River, with its tributaries, famous for valuable rubber forests, is the longest and the most important of the Amazon branches. Historically and commercially it is of particular interest. For centuries it has been an object of investigation by scientific explorers, and a landmark in the progress of civilization, its course directing the itinerary of geographers, naturalists, and missionaries, who have furthered the cause of knowledge and truth by their labors in this remote field. Almost every book of travel, history, or botany which treats of tropical America contains some reference to the scenery, resources, flora, and fauna, as well as to the native inhabitants, of the Madeira region, and especially of that part which is watered by its great tributary the Beni, and by the abundant affluents of that mighty stream. The Madeira is formed by the confluence of the Beni with the Mamoré at the port of Villa Bella, where these two rivers together pour out a volume of thirty thousand cubic feet of water per minute, the Beni being about half a mile broad and the Mamoré a little less, at the point of entering the Madeira.

Villa Bella is a picturesque little city of a thousand inhabitants, situated on the triangular playa, or bank, formed by the junction of the Beni and Mamoré Rivers. It stands at an altitude of five hundred feet above sea level, and its climate is agreeable and healthful, modified by cooling breezes. The streets are broad and straight, and cut one another at right angles, those which run east and west extending right across the playa from one river bank to the other. All the houses are of one story, and the walls are built of reeds, called chuchíos, which are set up in rows and bound together at intervals with interlacing cords or fibres, the roofs being made of palm leaves. The richer people have their dwellings finished with a thin coating of plaster inside, which admits of being papered over or covered with muslin as an adornment and a guarantee of greater privacy. A Bolivian writer very amusingly describes what he calls the transparency of social life in Villa Bella, in contrast to the rigorous custom of other cities, where the thickest walls and most carefully barred windows conceal both the virtues and the defects of social modesty. The spectacle of this interesting town is unique, especially at the height of the rubber-gathering season, when the batelones, which carry rubber from the Beni and Guaporé regions down to San Antonio on the Madeira, in Brazil, are ranged along the sandy playa, awaiting inspection. These boats are employed to descend the nineteen cachuelas, or rapids, including Theotonio, Riberón, and others, which altogether constitute a fall of two hundred feet in a distance of a little more than a hundred miles, between Villa Bella and San Antonio. From San Antonio steamers and sailing ships transport the rubber to foreign countries. By the terms of the recent treaty with Bolivia, the government of Brazil agrees to build, on Brazilian territory, a railway which will extend from San Antonio to Guayaramerím, a few leagues south of Villa Bella, on the Mamoré River, above the cachuela, or falls, of the same name, the railway to have a branch line to Villa Bella.

Although Villa Bella is the largest port of the Territorio de Colonias, it is no longer the last Bolivian port on the northern border of the republic, the new boundary settlement making the town of Abuná, at the junction of the Abuná and the Madeira Rivers, the frontier port. The river Abuná, which now forms part of the northern boundary of the republic, is a picturesque and abundant stream, overhung by the foliage of tropical trees and vines, and presenting an interesting aspect as the canoes and cargo boats ply up and down its winding course. Several rapids occur at intervals to impede navigation, and the river is not a favorite with travellers, who tell thrilling stories of adventure in its cachuelas, and of narrow escapes from death as a result of wounds from its dangerously armed fishes, or shocks from its electric eels. It is not unusual for an incautious swimmer to be paralyzed by the electricity which the eel discharges, especially when aroused by fear or anger. Señor Don José Manuel Aponte, who accompanied the government delegation to the Acre in 1901, describes the many dangers encountered from the rayas, caimanes, palometas, and other habitants of this river. The forests of the Abuná are particularly rich in rubber trees, and along its banks paths may be seen to cross one another in all directions, indicating the many estradas that are under exploitation. The principal tributaries of the Abuná are the Rapirrán, the Caramanu, and the Rio Negro, all of which are, like the main river, rich in rubber trees. The Iquiry River, a branch of the Purús, rises in the Territorio de Colonias, and flows through that part of it which is generally known as the Acre district, the Acre River running in a parallel line with the Iquiry for a considerable distance. All this region is prodigiously rich in rubber of superior quality, the name “Acre rubber” being considered a guarantee of the best article. A number of small towns are scattered along the courses of the rivers, usually marking the site of a valuable property belonging either to some private individual or to a company, often some foreign syndicate. On all these rivers navigation is more or less impeded by frequent cachuelas, that of Riosiño interrupting the traffic on the Acre near the Bolivian border at some seasons. The town of Riosiño lies just north of the recently established limits, Capatará being the nearest town to the frontier on the Bolivian side. The Acre River is navigable throughout its course during six months of the year, from December to May, and steam launches from Pará make two trips each way at this season. For the remaining six months, navigation is limited to small batelones and monterías, especially in September and October when the waterways are practically useless. In addition to the Abuná, the Iquiry, and the Acre, with their tributaries, the Orton River also waters the central and southern districts of the Territorio. The Orton, named in honor of the celebrated naturalist, is formed by the confluence of the Tahuamanu and the Manuripi, and is navigable for steam launches during the summer months only. It flows into the Beni a few leagues below the junction of that river with the Madre de Dios.

The name Madre de Dios, meaning “Mother of God,” was given to this river by the Spaniards, the Indian name being Amarumayo, or “River of the Serpent.” The Madre de Dios rises in the Cordillera de Vilcanota, in Peru, near the source of the Ucayali, another great tributary of the Amazon, and in its long course to the Beni it waters a territory covering seven thousand square leagues. It is navigable for small boats almost throughout its entire length, and, in the rainy season, steam launches ascend from Riberalta to the mouth of the Pando, Chandless, Inambary, and Heath, its principal tributaries. Few rivers of the Amazon system have been more thoroughly explored within recent years than the Madre de Dios. In 1883 the Bolivian government voted a sum of money for its exploration and for the establishment of missions in that region, and in 1884 Father Armentia, now Bishop of La Paz, in company with the government delegate, Señor Don Antenor Vásquez, explored the river, ascending it in a small boat as far as latitude thirteen degrees and longitude seventy-one degrees forty-one minutes, where the reverend father planted a cross to mark the limit reached. Without including its navigable tributaries, the Madre de Dios is a continuous waterway for more than two hundred and fifty miles. It is not so deep as the Beni or the Mamoré. Within its immense curves, wide, sandy playas are formed, the favorite haunts of the turtle, whose eggs, found in vast numbers, constitute one of the delicacies of this region. Travellers in the Madre de Dios country must have waterproof clothing and waterproof coverings for their baggage, as the heavy rains play havoc with everything exposed to their penetrating force. The present governor, the delegado nacional of the Territorio de Colonias, ex-President José Manuel Pando, explored the Madre de Dios River in 1893, and discovered the tributaries Heath, Pando, and Inambary. In 1897 he continued his explorations, ascending these tributaries to the Peruvian boundary line.

Riberalta is the headquarters for most of the expeditions up the Beni and Madre de Dios Rivers. Like Villa Bella, it overlooks the confluence of two rivers,—the Beni and the Madre de Dios,—and the name, Riberalta, “high bank,” indicates the position it occupies on the elevated cliff bordering the river Beni. A long avenue crosses the town, flanking which a row of houses is ranged in uniform style overlooking the confluence, the view of the Madre de Dios being rendered additionally picturesque by a beautiful island embowered in verdure. Steam propellers and side-wheel launches are used in these rivers, the mail steamer Tahuamanu being fitted up with convenient accommodations. From La Paz to Riberalta, the present route via Puerto Pando offers many difficulties, but it is being constantly improved, and the trip may be made entirely by steamer from Puerto Pando, where the Bopi River enters the Beni, small balsas, callapos, monterías, gariteas, and batelones being used on the upper streams. Numerous expeditions have recently made the journey, and a new bridle road of about one hundred and fifty miles in extent now connects La Paz with Puerto Pando, greatly facilitating this part of the trip. From Puerto Pando northward the Beni River has several short rapids and falls which impede navigation, especially at the points known as Chepite, Bala, and Atamarani, after which the route is clear as far as Rurrenabaque, the most important port of the Upper Beni. Situated on the opposite bank of the river is San Buenaventura, also a thriving shipping port. Continuing down the river, the next port is Salinas, a short distance below the rapids of Atamarani. From Rurrenabaque to Puerto Salinas the voyage is made in callapos, the steamer again receiving passengers at the latter port for Guarayos, Carmen, and other points until Riberalta is reached. From Guarayos down the river many rubber establishments are passed, both banks being marked at short intervals by signs of the rubber industry.

As before stated, Riberalta is the distributing point for the great rubber region of the Territorio de Colonias. From this port to the mouth of the Orton River is twenty miles, and eighty miles below are encountered the rapids of Esperanza, after passing which the river extends twenty miles further, when the port of Villa Bella is reached, and the Beni loses its course in the great Madeira. From La Paz to Villa Bella the distance is about nine hundred miles. Eight days are required for the trip from Villa Bella to Puerto Pando; and as soon as the railway is finished from Puerto Pando to La Paz, the entire journey can be made in nine days. A road has been opened from Puerto Pando to Rurrenabaque along the right bank of the river Beni, and from Rurrenabaque to Atamarani a road is also being built. It is the intention of the Bolivian government to contribute by every possible means to the development of all this part of the country, and to facilitate colonization, especially in the Territorio de Colonias. A new hospital is under construction, and means of improving sanitary conditions are eagerly considered. The climate, though tropical, is, with the exception of a few localities, generally healthful.

In the rubber country the work of the day is done in the early morning. During the epoca de fabrico, as the season for gathering is called, the workmen are already on their way to the estradas by four o’clock. As they pass each rubber tree on their route, they stop to make a slanting cut in its trunk, into which the edge of one of their little tin tichelas is easily fastened, so the cup remains there and receives the latex that slowly pours into it, while they continue their way until every tree of the estrada has been tapped and its tichela put in place. Some large trees have two or three, and even four, tichelas attached. By about nine o’clock in the morning this work is finished, and the seringuero, as the rubber gatherer is called, returns over the same route, carrying a large pail, into which he pours the contents of the tichelas. When he reaches his hut, he proceeds at once to smoke the latex until it takes the solid form of a bolacha, as elsewhere described. Sometimes the gatherings of several days are required to make a bolacha of a hundred pounds, more or less, and when it is completed the patron, or employer, sends to get it. The day’s work is ended at noon, and the seringuero is free to spend the remaining hours as he pleases. The industrious ones cultivate their little gardens, where they grow corn, plantains, yucca, and other food products. It is said that the women of this region are better rubber gatherers than the men, as they are more careful, do not cut too deeply into the tree when tapping it, are less wasteful of the latex, and never abscond, as the men sometimes do, when they are in debt to the patron. The life of the rubber gatherers is not so triste as it is sometimes painted. The people have many holidays here, as elsewhere, and when the daily working hours are over they frequently spend the rest of their time in little canoes on the river or stretched comfortably in a hammock under the trees.

Nearly two-thirds of the rubber exported annually from Bolivia is produced in the Territorio de Colonias, one of the richest rubber countries of the world. And the quantity which is taken out of its vast forests represents only a small proportion of the existing wealth. The industry is restricted by the scarcity of laborers, the population being only ten thousand, in a territory that covers an area of nearly two hundred thousand square kilomètres. The few explorers who have travelled in this region find it rich in a variety of tropical products, though little cultivated, and very sparsely settled, the population being centred in the towns and villages where the rubber gatherers live, or where there are establishments of large rubber companies, many of which have their shipping headquarters here.

Immigration and colonization are the most important factors to be sought in the development and prosperity of the Territorio, and the government of Bolivia is giving this matter especial consideration. Not only are the resources of the country being carefully studied and classified, but the means of transportation, the political security of the colonists, and the protection of health are receiving the most careful attention.