O Acre e suas possibilidades

Resumo

Lieutenant colonel Lima Figueiledo, d!stinguished officiel in the brazilian army, fellowship of the Compilement Delegation of this Review, presents in this article, a memory, of the remote Territory of the Acre, which he has visited in 1928 officialy comissionated.  

Initially the authon points out the two largest rivets of the region: - the Purús and Juruá, which ate developped In an extensive net of confluents and sub-confluents, with no transversal mean of communication joining the two basins, resulting so in isolation of the habitants of both basins

During the flood tide transportation is undertaken exclusively by livers One can sail on boat in the Purús untill the mouth of the Acre in the Amazon and then, in stern padle steamers, which are able to go up as long as the bolivian fiontiet, and, in summer season, just as far as Rio Branco 

Motor launches tow the lighters In the sheds are used flat bottomed canoes, constructed of a single stem of tree, moved generally by motor (motogodille) wittily placed to the stern so as to allow the screw to be retired from water every time obstacles appear

The heavy rains from december to april (335,4mm in january) change the valley into a large lake obliging the use of canoes 

Buildings are constructed on piles, sheds in the caoutchouc centers, huts, in the wood, where the "seringueiro" (gatherer of caoutchouc latex) lives

Connecting the different huts to the shed there is a net of pathways which allows traveling on horse back

The author declares that the Purús river and its confluents: Chandless, Yaco and Acre, which he crossed, are by reasons he explains, in the table of those recently formed and that work continualy with energy in the erosion of an inconsistant and flat land The author reports, to the phenomenon known as "land slide", blocks of river· banks some of Km which desengage, trailing along all the exuberant flora that cover them up, constituting in· the river beds, all kind of difficulties

The author presents the transversal profile of the acrean valley by a depression of about fithten to twenty meters, which describes the bed of the rivers, and extends on one side by a channel, smooth or rough, followed of the firm horizontal land, and on other side by a  river shore that continues as Iarge fields of about one or two thousand meters of extension            

Sometimes, from this side a steep river bank changes the field in lakes, marsh etc     Describing the Purús river, he mentions its irregular course, covering the distance of 3.220 Kms, its beds great rapidity, almost inexistent in its mouth, changing constantly its direction In the aluvion land formed by this river.

He concludes from a table of distance, level differences, declivity etc which he publishes, that, designing a graphic reporting to the data of the mentioned table, a parable section is obtained with the concavity turned upward, showing this parable. an acclivous degree representing a declivity of 1,60 by Km

After, this hard slope the Purús declivity deereasses little by little, becoming nearly horizontal at its mouth

He describes the two caracteristic seasons: winter and summer During the winter the rivers overflow and remain almost dry in the summer Generaly every 4 years happens a destroying flood, The water swelling start in october and the ebbing in april

Studying the vegetation the author declares it is rich and varied, finding there from the smallest grasses to the enormous Samaumeira He ressaults the excellency of timbers, the great number of textil, gummy and medicinal plants, the clambers and palm-trees The decline of the caoutchouc price obliged the planting of the "roçados" (cut down and burned lands) where is cultivated indian corn, cofee, beans, etc and the "selingueiro" who imported everything he needed, began to produce all his own indispensable articles

Studying the climate, the author obtained data from the climacteric station of Sena Madureira reporting to the period of July 1927 to June 1928 He concludes that beeing the thermic equator inclined towards south hemisphere in relation to the properly known equator, and as the "Território do Acre" is situated generaly between the parallel 8° and 11°, one should expect the region to be extremely hot But the forest and river net accords an averagable temperature of 27"1, perfectly supportable In the month of September the author remarked rough oscillations suddenly declining to 10°

During the months of december and january it rains every day, inundating· all the region

During the thaw season of Andes moutains, usualy blows from the S E a cold wind, provoking death midst the habitants and even midst animals

The author upholds the Acre climate, stating he did not vetify there what is genetaly said about it's insalubrity

He analyses the production and commerce, describing the caoutchouc one, which shows itself very promising for the "seringueiro" takes great care with caoutchouc trees, planting and sparing them mostly in the cut, having gived up the use of axe. He explains the latex gathering: - the "seringueiro" scrapers an inch of the tree, makes and inclined cut with a proper knife and joines a small tin porringer to the extremity of this cut At day dawn he gathers the latex and in his hut smokes it

The author refers to the great number of chest nut trees in the region of the Acre and Abunã rivers and describes the peculiar manners of gathering and treating the "caucho", the cedar tree and the "aguano" 

Reporting to population he declares that during his permanence in the place the habitants were censured, making a total of 27 552 in all the visited region He studies this population by numbet, density, professions, ethnic origin, knowledgement, and mentality.

To realize this study he divides the region in: -- Purús river, from the Iaco mouth to the Chambuyaco one; Chandless river, from its mouth, In the Purús river to the frontiers; Yaco river, from the Igarapé Glória to the confluence of the Yaco with the Purús; Acre river, the most populated and, which has already has already; and the Abunã river little populated      

Studyng the habitants by sex he concludes: - there are 7 902 men above 30 years old and 8 278 less aged, making a total of 16 180; and women: 11 372 The strangers are about 1 519, principaly the syrius which are in number of 530, folowed by the peruvian with 306 and the portuguese with 157.

Remarking the habitants aglomeration in the rivers margin the calculation of their density was based by Km of river extension The smallest density was in the Abunã rivet, found 4 habitants by Km , and the greatest one in the Acre river, with 25,9 by Km The ethnic origin is generaly the same to all rivers, making difference the Abunã where in stead of Nordeast blood is noted the welding with bolivian blood. The few natives existing are completely domesticated, and belong to the Curunas, Tucurinas, Mainteneris, Catianas and Cachariris, groups

The average of ignorant people oscillates from 60,6% in the Purús to 44% in the Yaco, the most populated of all rivers, the Acre, presents 58% of incult people, the tendence beeing however to decline for the reason of new schools opening

Finishing hes observations, the author reports to rail roads studying the means of com munications of the sevetal confluents and, in hes last chapiter makes a rapid historie of the Purús river and the origin of its name