130 SELLING LATIN AMERICA 
4000 miles of this distance. About 600 miles 
up this river is situated the town of Ciudad 
Bolivar, formerly known as Angostura, where 
the bitters of that name were first made. 
Regular lines of ocean-going vessels and 
steamboats run to this inland port, the river 
being navigable for smaller vessels to San 
Fernando de Apuri, where the Apuri River 
joins it over a thousand miles from its mouth. 
It drains a territory of over 370,000 square 
miles. Other navigable rivers are the Meta, 
the Portuguesa, the Yaracuy, and the Escal 
ante. Along the coast of Venezuela there are 
about 30 harbors and 32 ports. 
For its size there are few railways in Vene 
zuela, the total mileage being about 550, and 
the chances are that it will be many years be 
fore there will be any marked activity in this 
field, due to the topography of the country, its 
lack of population and its tendency to revolu 
tions. Some idea of the conditions confront 
ing the engineer may be had when I state that 
the German railway from Caracas to Valencia, 
a distance of 111 miles, is cut through the