In the state of Ceará there are two railways. One connects the port and capital city, Fortaleza, with Senador Pompeu, a couple of hundred miles inland; another line runs from the port of Camocim to the interior town of Ipu. A short railway connects Caxias, on the river Itapucurú, with Floris, on the Paranahyba River. This is the only railway in the state of Maranhão, the sixth state in the republic and as large as Texas. Its natural resources have hardly been investigated, but they are no doubt very rich. St. Luiz is the capital and one of the ports. The adjoining state of Piauhy has no railroad. There is, however, excellent river communication with the seaports. A railway is projected from the port of Santo Luiz to run down and connect with the line now running from Bahia north. From Belem, or Pará, there is one short railroad that runs to Braganca, a distance of about one hundred miles. The Madeira-Mamoré railroad is an isolated railroad, being built in the western part of Brazil by an American company under contract with the Brazilian government. One must go a thousand miles up the Amazon, and then six hundred and sixty miles up the Madeira River to Santo Antonio de Rio Madeira, where this line begins, and which is in the very heart of South America. Above the rapids there are several hundred more miles of navigable waters, upon which a service of steamers is maintained. There are few people in that section of the country, and it may never be popular with immigrants. The line is being constructed in pursuance of an agreement with the Republic of Bolivia when the Acre (pronounced Ack´ray) territory was ceded by that government to Brazil. The rich eastern slope and fertile plains of Bolivia are practically bottled up. Its products, including a large rubber and cacao production, either had to be transported over the Andes, or around a couple of hundred miles of rapids and cataracts on the Madeira River, to the part of the stream where navigation is uninterrupted. From there they were carried down on steamers to Manaos, or Pará, and then to the markets of the world by ocean-going vessels. This line will be about two hundred miles in length, and will open up one of the richest sections of Bolivia, a part of Peru, which also borders on the Acre territory, and the rich territory itself, which produces a large amount of rubber and cacao, and much of which has never been exploited at all. Many native Indians inhabit this section, and their little rafts and row boats navigate all the streams. In these the Indian rubber gatherers visit the different sections, tap the trees, and bring the rubber to the establishments of the various companies engaged in the rubber trade, which may be found in many places.