The Amazon Awakens

[Music] El Dorado fabulous City of Gold the glittering lure that centuries ago Drew ambitious men to the unknown land of South America El Dorado many men sought its Phantom riches most persistent of these were pizaro and his Lieutenant Ariana they combed the Andes seeking the Golden City but Eldorado was always just ahead just over the horizon in December 1541 here in the a country now called Ecuador pizaro made his Camp short of supplies he sent his lieutenant orano in search of food on a crude raft doriana floated down an Uncharted River the river became larger and larger certain that so much water must somehow reach the sea he drifted on through strange jungles inhabited by smooth skinned beardless Warriors these orano believed to be women he called them Amazons and thus the river got its name after a journey of 8 months through unknown Wilderness Oriana finally reached the Atlantic the first man to Traverse the Amazon from the Andes to the sea in the years that followed other men came and explored the tributaries of the Amazon seeking but never finding the golden city of El Dorado then came padre de aunia a simple priest looking at the fertile soil beneath his feet he saw something bigger than El Dorado the vast wealth of the Amazon itself this was the true El Dorado with inspiration and vision Padre deuna wrote The River has Rich reward for all who will come to the laborer it offers a return for his work to the merchant employment to the noble honors and to all mankind a new frontier four centuries of exploration have given us an accurate picture of South Amer America yet many parts of the Amazon basin are still unexplored this is by far the largest River Basin in the world if we superimpose the map of the United States we get an idea how tremendous this area is the basin's vast wealth of Natural Resources is shared by six great Nations Venezuela Colombia Ecuador Peru Bolivia and and Brazil physically the Amazon basin is formed by the mighty uplift of the Andes on the west and by other mountain ranges to the North and South fed by an average rainfall of 80 in per year the Amazon discharges a flow of water four times greater than the Mississippi the source of the Amazon Lake laic coocha in the Peruvian Andes lies only 85 miles from the Pacific and yet these water flow East to the Atlantic 3,800 M away however a river as great as the Amazon cannot be said to originate in a single Source there are many sources picture these scenes repeated a thousand times all around the vast perimeter of the Amazon basin this was well understood centuries ago by father diuna for these are the words he wrote the Amazon gathers her Waters wherever she finds them be it melting snow or heavy dewes be it trickle spring or Fountain each becomes a brook each Brook a stream each stream a torrent and these become a multitude of waters and finally after a tumultuous Journey Of A Thousand Miles The Roaring torrents burst through the last barrier of Foothills and roll on until they reach the floor of the Great Valley here the typical Amazon forest Begins the torrents become Mighty Rivers driving relentlessly on toward an endless Horizon the broad Rivers join hands and together they sweep on to become the Amazon mightiest of [Music] all seen from above the jungle is Sullen and lifeless yet within it's teeming with life in Myriad forms gay and colorful strange and fat [Music] fascinating here is the botanist's paradise orchids grow wild and may be had for the picking flowers of every Hue and variety are found in overwhelming [Applause] abundance to this Riot of color is added the gorgeous plumage of the birds for the jungle is literally alive with birds of a thousand different species here for instance is the white breasted Tuan nosy little fellow isn't he and this is his cousin the yellow breasted Tuan here is still another member of the Tuan family his scientific name is sanid gulai this is the Brazilian stor these are the Scarlet Ibis well what's this A Love Affair oh don't mind us we were just passing by the animal life of the Amazon is widely varied too take this fellow for instance the three-toed sloth now with those claws he looks like a pretty tough customer but actually he eats only leaves H had a bad night too didn't he well let's move on let him go back to bed this is the katti Munday a member of the raccoon family is often tamed and kept as a pet the giant taper is distantly related to the horse he's another vegetarian the creatures who live in the waters of the Amazon are said to outnumber those of all other rivers combined the freshwater otter is found here and the electric eel the Fantastic ribbon fish that swims forward or backward with equal ease and then there's the deadly p Ana so-called tiger of the Amazon he hunts in packs and is said that his powerful jaws can quickly strip the largest animal to the Bone there are people along the Amazon too not a great many perhaps when you consider the vast size of this country the Basin could easily provide food and shelter for countless millions and yet there's an average of only two inhabitants per square mile to the river folk the Amazon is a true friend and faithful servant here life is peaceful and good for the Great River serves its children well giving much asking nothing in [Applause] return the love of me music lives in the heart of every native even the remotest village has its little Orchestra say that looks like yep it's Donald Duck another Pioneer answers the call of the Amazon The Great River serves her children in many ways she is the broad Highway for their Commerce large Balsa rafts are the most common means of Transport on the long journey Downstream whole families live on them for weeks then of the market town is reached the raft is broken up and it Lumber sold along with the rest of the produce 2/3 of the Amazon's entire population lives scattered along the fringes of the river the other third lives in the widely separated Villages and cities here for instance is the little city of ikus tucked away in a remote corner of Peru although ikus is 2300 mil from the Atlantic oceangoing Steamers dock here while the Amazon is navigable across across 34s of the continent but let's stop here and pay the little city a visit this is the plaza the armas heart of the city's social and business [Music] life have you noticed that the walls of these buildings are practically covered with tile they say most of it was imported from Spain a good many years [Music] ago mhm I thought it was about time we met some people can they ke [Music] us well here's a young fellow who seems Mighty anxious to get into the movies yep he's just itching to find out what this is all about [Music] no that's not a chip on the lady's shoulder that's a marmoset they say he's the smallest monkey in the world only weighs about 3 o and here fresh from the jungle is a little bundle of dynamite we mean the kitten of course he's a baby Ocelot full grown he won't be quite so cuddly theas is mighty proud of its excellent school system with a population of 35,000 the city's literacy rating is 80% that's a very high average and now we're looking down on the picturesque malacon this beautiful Park is the people's tribute to the Amazon The Great River that links their City to the outside world all year round exports and imports flow across these floating steel docks especially designed to rise and fall with the changing levels of the Amazon and from the four corners of Peru down a thousand tributaries comes all kinds of produce and raw materials to be gathered here at aitos and then shipped off again to the scattered ports of the World by the way this is a very interesting export they're unloading right now it's the congealed latex of the Lei caspi tree this product like chickle is used as a base for chewing gum Lei caspi can't be cleaned by Machinery so before it's packed for reshipment all dirt particles must be removed by hand the next thing is to break open the latex cylinders and give each one a thorough inspection and then the product is packed in cedar boxes ready for the next outbound ship most important of all the city's exports is barbasco the plant grows wild in the jungle and is cultivated too only the roots are harvested they're rich in rotenone that's a drug used in the best grade of insect sprays like the well-known flip for instance today barbasco means a livelihood to many people in Akitas interest in the barbasco market runs so high that daily export figures are posted on a sign board in the Public Square High on the list of important exports is the Bark of the sinona tree from which quinine is made the use of this miracle drug dates all the way back to the ancient Incas they use quinine to combat fever and today quinine remains our most effective treatment for malaria many people have steady jobs in the local Industries like this button factory yes these are buttons in the rough tagwa nuts the fruit of a species of palm first job is to remove the tough outer shell of the nut mother keeps production moving all day long and works the swing shift too yes baby is happy and contented and so is baby number two patiently waiting his turn to be rocked you can see that working in tagua is a family affair brother here is an expert already they call tagwa Vegetable Ivory milky white stone hard the kernel of this nut makes the very finest kind of button tagwa buttons absorb and hold dyes of all colors they're tough and dur durable that's a very important point for buttons you know are given a considerable responsibility the interamerican Public Health Service Has a Field base in nikitas too this project under government control is supported by all the countries of the Amazon primary purpose of the public health program is to bring modern Medical Care to every corner of the Basin remote communities are served by power launches each a complete floating Clinic notices are posted in the rural districts explaining how Medical Care may be obtained a white flag displayed on the River Bank is the signal the doctor is needed when a flag is cited from the launch the doctor comes ashore it's as simple as that the fine work of these River doctors is paying dividends in human life already the infant mortality rate along the Amazon has shown a marked decline the doctor's patients are always glad to cooperate well there are exceptions but then the doctor's life always has its ups and downs now just hold still a minute Sunny there not so bad after all is it a mother will often show her gratitude with simple gifts yet it's the spirit Behind these gifts that's the real payment to the tireless doctor of the the Amazon the river offers many interesting sites here for instance is a giant raft made entirely of mahogany logs this Timber will find Journey's End at The Sawmill in atoria here not far from Mikus is the largest mahogany and Cedar Mill in the world now there are all kinds of mahogany but this Peruvian Timber is known botanically as Sania the finest species of mahogany in the world oddly enough Timber experts once believed that fine mahogany couldn't grow in the Amazon basin yet the asoria company has already exported millions of board feet of it and there are countless wild trees still untouched expert lumberman here at atoria can estimate the value of a rough log almost to the penny no that's not the price that's the catalog number when the mahogany boards reach the lumber yard they're graded and stacked in Long racks to dry it's this exposure to the Sun that brings out the rich deep color of the wood guiding genius behind this Enterprise is seor Carlos Bonia it was he who discovered Peruvian mahogany and gave it to the world through Bono's efforts to reforestation has begun and these cultivated seedlings are the guarantee of Fine Furniture for the generations to come to the east kito's nearest Metropolitan neighbor is the Brazilian city of manous 1500 M away and located in the very heart of the Basin theous lies several miles north of the mainstream on the bank of the Rio negro one of the Amazon's larger tributaries here again is a paradox of the jungle for manow surrounded by tropical Wilderness is an up to-the minute 20th century Community they call this city the pearl of the river but uh let's browse around a little for ourselves and see if it's as beautiful as they say well here's something you don't see every day a plaza completely paved in mosaic tile this by the way is called the square of s Sebastian you know Manas isn't by any means a small town 100 th000 people live here here's the customs house a fine example of the city's early architecture and this imposing edifice is the Palace of [Music] [Applause] Justice in the background over there is the manous cathedral here's something of an oddity a clock tower right on the main [Music] Boulevard across the plaza there is one of the most unusual buildings in all the Amazon basin the theatro amazonus better known as the manow opera house this beautiful theater in the very heart of the Jungle has often been host to the world's finest concert artists incidentally the total cost of this building was over $5 million there are some excellent schools in manous this one is a Teachers College and here's a fine modern hospital the Rio negro Athletic Club is the Swank meeting place for the city's smart set in the public parks of manow are recreational facilities free to all here in the residential section are the elaborate homes of a bygone year and close beside them in Mark contrast are the Sleek modern houses and apartments of [Music] today outside the city men and machines push back the jungle to make way for a new airport it'll be one of the largest in South [Applause] America sometimes a jungle giant will stubbornly resist the encroachment of man but it's a losing [Applause] battle a of the map shows how manow could easily become the hub for Airborne Commerce throughout the continent immeasurably speeding up Freight Transportation throughout the Basin here at manow is a large assembly camp where volunteer rubber workers gather from all over Brazil it's part of the national rubber program to send these men into the jungle to gather latex from the basin's countless wild trees before the workers leave for the different districts an elaborate outdoor ceremony is held at which they are addressed by the governor of amazonus and later by his grace the bishop well they're off and these men tireless in their search for more and more rubber to meet the ever increasing demand will long be remembered as the Pioneers who did much to open the Amazon BAS the Last Frontier of the [Music] Americas these rubber tappers are called serenos their methods of tapping are very interesting so let's watch this old timer at work the incisions made in the bark are just deep enough to draw the latex without injuring the tree itself doesn't look like much does it yet these tiny trickles of raw latex multiply applied millions of times are the life blood of one of the most vital Industries in the world when the latex of several trees has been collected it's mixed with water to prevent premature coagulation and now the Sereno sets up his small homemade processing plant he uses the seeds of a palm tree to create a dense smoke for rubber like ham is treated by smoking the latex is worked on a stout pole as each day Gathering is added the ball grows steadily in size when it becomes Hard to Handle it's removed and the process starts all over again although freshly cured rubber has a very light color exposure to the air and smoke soon turns the outer surface of the ball black at manous the rubber balls are cut apart for inspection and Grading splitting the Lively bouncing rubber makes it a lot easier to handle too Pride of the city is manow great Harbor here is truly the heart and center of the basin's commercial life across these busy docks flows every product known to the Jungle rubber cocoa Brazil nuts leather skins dried and salted fish vegetable Ivory fruits many kinds of lumber and countless others and speeding up the movement of this Freight is the best of modern mechanical equipment like this overhead cableway for instance which rapidly shuttles produce back and forth between the floating Ducks and the shore but here's a young fellow who has his own ideas about transporting produce yes these are familiar scenes on the Rio negro and its Smooth Dark Waters mirror the colorful river life with reflections of passing Beauty [Music] [Music] on the mainstream a few miles west of man house the Brazilian government has set up an experimental agricultural Colony known simply as Boa Vista still in its infancy this project is tremendous in its scope here are half a million Acres of fertile Rolling Land the raw material for the great experiment already 80 families have settled here but this is only the beginning 4,000 more families are to come and each is to be granted 63 Acres of choice land land on which to build their homes land to farm and to keep them free from want the jungle falls back to make way for a model Community the ground has been broken crops have been planted and between between the harvests the jungle does its share to fill the human needs for practically every kind of fruit and nut known to the Basin grows wild on this vast Colony tract the mandioca plant is found here staff of Life throughout the Basin for its roots ground into finina have almost numberless uses it's eaten fried or boiled it's used to thicken soups or make a loaf of bread here too is Cacao the source of choc chocolate and trees heavy with Papaya a delicious tropical fruit these are andera trees termite proof and used for Lumber in the colony but the andoba has a double value for it also Bears a nut rich in medicinal oil the Basu Palm supplies another oil producing nut Basu oil is extremely valuable excellent for cooking illumination lubrication and here is the Brazil nut tree source of one of the nation's leading exports the rich hard shelled nut so familiar to us all this dainty little tree is the Saba from which kok is made fools you doesn't it and sometimes too the natives use its roots to Telegraph messages through the jungle here chugging up the river is the manow boat train these River folks Supply the City Markets with all kinds of produce and when Market day is over the boat train Towes the small boats back home again against the current Towing fees are small and it certainly beats rowing well looks like somebody got left behind uh-oh hey hey wait for [Music] junior LM is the largest commercial center in the Basin the Port of Entry and the major outlet for the vast Storehouse of the Inland regions supplying the port with Amazon's Myriad products are countless rivercraft of every size and description for these small boats BM reserves a special Anchorage called the harbor of verope peso the Waterfront here presents one of the most picturesque sites in the basin [Music] [Laughter] [Music] but there's work to be done and the cargo of the smallest boat plays a vital part in the commercial life of the port the Amazon and its network of tributaries offers 16,000 M of navigable water up and down these great highways throughout the basin's 2 million square miles flows an endless stream of Commerce exports and imports the wealth of the river in exchange for the modern tools and household goods of the outside world here the peers are of permanent Maritime construction and will accommodate Anything That Floats from the river Steamers that ply the Inland Waters to the giant freighter that sail the broad Atlantic but now it's time we left the Waterfront and dropped in for a look at the city and what a city it is too for 300,000 people live here the these have become familiar scenes to us now the picturesque plazas the modern buildings hardly a surprise anymore so while we taking in the SES let's talk about the weather it's about the only surprise we have left yes the climate throughout the length and breadth of the Basin is far different than most people expect the highest daytime temperatures rarely exceed 92° a lot more comfortable you might say than New York or Washington in the summer this this is the favorite haunt of the BM playgoer the tiatro deas or theater of peace and this is the Church of my lady of Nazareth remarkable for the beautiful artwork that Graces its portals here at BM the Brazilian government has established an agricultural project that will affect the whole future of the Basin the Instituto agronomic donor 7500 Acres have been set aside for the purpose of research and experiment with headquarters at BM The Institute has substations throughout the Basin and work is going forward on all the Amazon's products emphasis at present however is on rubber important in the institute's rubber program is the instruction of Children Here an expert explains the mysteries of Leaf Disease later he demonstrates one of the approved processing methods we see that the Stout round pole of the singar Arrow has disappeared to be replaced by a small flat paddle the raw latex is smoked just enough to congeal it thoroughly the youngsters are allowed to try it for themselves the use of a paddle here offers definite advantages over the old Ball Method of treating rubber the paddle method prevents the mixing of the different grades of latex by permitting each batch to be treated separately further more the latex may now be pressed into long thin sheets which greatly facilitates handling and shipping the training of children in these scientific methods is of prime importance for after all this is the generation that holds the key to Amazon's [Music] future this great fertile Valley is the challenge and the hope of the new world a paradise of riches Beyond man's Wildest Dreams what role will the Amazon play in the world of Tomorrow the answer comes echoing out of the past to Men Who come prepared to accept its challenge to overcome an arduous task spare no effort the Amazon offers unlimited opportunities for them acuna's Vision will at last take form key to the future is Amazon's soil much of it deep and Rich a challenge to the technicians who will find means to develop it key to the future is Amazon's produce and here indeed is the world's greatest Storehouse of tropical products Within Reach by air of every Market on earth a NeverEnding supply of these products for the new world that's to come key to the future is Amazon's water thunderous and mighty potential power for an empire in its headquarters ready to be harnessed and put to work ready to lighten man's labors ready to bring him Prosperity key to the Amazon's future is the sky above Amazon awakens to the stir of wings spinning propellers Quicken its pulse the jungle rolls back and runways take its place crisscrossing the continent with a network of super Airways that will annihilate distances key to the future is Amazon's plans plans for new buildings cool and sanitary plans for a better World of Tomorrow yes the Great River awakens eager ready for the touch of men with vision to men who will accept the exciting challenge to Pioneer to work and to build this then is El Dorado a true and Lasting El Dorado