Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon

"Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon" is the book written by two young US Navy lieutenents William Lewis Herndon and Lardner Gibbon, whose orders were to report on the conditions in the Amazon region that they would traverse alone and traveling from the Pacific coast to the mouth of the Amazon. It was published by presidential order in 1854.

References

* Herndon, W. L., & Gibbon, L. (1854). "Exploration of the valley of the Amazon, made under the direction of the Navy Department". Washington: Robert Armstrong. (Robert Armstrong was the government printer.)
* Herndon, W. L., & Gibbon, L. (2000). "Exploration of the valley of the Amazon, 1851-1852". New York: Grove Press. ISBN 0802137040

Background documents

32D CONGRESS, } SENATE {EXECUTIVE2d Session No. 36.

EXPLORATION OF THE VALLEY OF THE AMAZON,

MADE UNDER DIRECTION OF THE NAVY DEPARTMENT,

BY

WM. LEWIS HERNDON AND LARDNER GIBBON,LIEUTENANTS UNITED STATES NAVY.

PART I.BY LIEUT. HERNDON.

WASHINGTON:ROBERT ARMSTRONG, PUBLIC PRINTER. 1853.

LETTER OF THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY,

COMMUNICATING

A Report of an Exploration of the Valley of the Amazonand its tributaries, made by Lieut. Herndon, in connectionwith Lieut. Gibbon.

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FEBRUARY 10, 1853. — Referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs and ordered to be printed.

MARCH 3, 1853. — ordered that 10,000 additional copies be printed for the use of the Senate.

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To the Senate and House of Representatives.

I herewith transmit a communication from the Secretary of the Navy, accompanied by the first part of Lieut. Herndon's Report of the Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon and its tributaries, made by him, in connection with Lieut. Lardner Gibbon, under instructions from the Navy Department.

MILLARD FILLMORE. WASHINGTON, February 9, 1853.

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NAVY DEPARTMENT, February, 1853.

To the President:

SIR, In compliance with the notice given in the annual report of this department to the President, and communicated to Congress at the opening of its present session, I have the honor herewith to submit the first part of the Report of Lieut. Herndon, of the Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon and its tributaries, made by him, in connection with Lieut. Lardner Gibbon, under instructions from this department, dated the 15th of February, 1851.

I am happy to be able to inform you that Lieut. Gibbon reached Pará on his homeward journey some weeks ago, and may very soon be expected to arrive in the United States. When he returns, Lieut. Herndon will have all the materials necessary to complete his report, and will devote himself to that labor with the same assiduity which has characterized his present work.

I would respectfully beg leave to suggest that, in submitting this report to the House of Representatives, it be accompanied with a request to that body, if it should think proper to direct the printing of this valuable document, that the order for that purpose may include all the remaining portions of the report which may hereafter be furnished; and that the order for printing shall include a suitable direction for the engraving and publication of the maps, charts, and sketches, which will be furnished as necessary illustrations of the subjects treated of in the report. I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, your obedient servant,

JOHN P. KENNEDY. ___________

WASHINGTON CITY, January 26, 1853.

To the Hon. JOHN P. KENNEDY, Secretary of the Navy.

SIR: I have the honor to submit part first of the Report of an Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon, made by me, with the assistance of Lieut. Lardner Gibbon, under instructions of the Navy Department, bearing date February 15, 1851.

The desire expressed by the department for an early report of my exploration of the Amazon, and the general interest manifested in the public mind with regard to the same, have induced me to lay before you at once as full an account of our proceedings as can be made before the return of my companion. The general map which accompanies the report is based upon maps published by the Society for the diffusion of Useful Knowledge, but corrected and improved according to my own personal observations, and on information obtained by me whilst in that country.

The final report of the expedition will be submitted as soon after Lieut. Gibbon's return as practicable. I am in daily expectation of intelligence from him. At the latest accounts (26th of July, 1852) he was at Trinidad de Moxos, on the Mamoré, in the republic of Bolivia, making his preparations for the descent of the Madeira.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

WM. LEWIS HERNDON, LIEUT. U. S. NAVY.