Early Years 



A faint idea of this long and solitary sojourn in lonely 

 places is given in a letter to his old friend Bates, dated 

 December 24th, 1860, in which he says : '^ Many thanks for 

 your long and interesting letter. I have myself suffered 

 much in the same way as you describe, and I think more 

 severely. The kind of twdium vitce you mention I also 

 occasionally experience here. I impute it to a too mono- 

 tonous existence.'' And again when he begs his friend to 

 write, as he is ^* half froze for news.'' 



As already stated, Wallace, at no time during these 

 wanderings, had any escort or protection, having to rely 

 entirely upon his own tact and patience, combined with 

 firmness, in his dealings with the natives. On one occasion 

 he was taken ill, and had to remain six weeks with none 

 but native Papuans around him, and he became so attached 

 to them that when saying good-bye it was with the full in- 

 tention of returning amongst them at a later period. In 

 another place he* speaks of sleeping under cover of an 

 open palm-leaf hut as calmly as under the protection of 

 the Metropolitan Police! 



Up to that time, also, he was the only Englishman who 

 had actually seen the beautiful ^* birds of paradise in their 

 native forests," this success being achieved after " five 

 voyages to different parts of the district they inhabit, each 

 occupying in its preparation and execution the larger part 

 of a year." And then only five species out of a possible 

 fourteen were procured. His enthusiasm as a naturalist 

 and collector knew no bounds, butterflies especially calling 

 into play all his feelings of joy and satisfaction. Describ- 

 ing his first sight of the Ornithoptera croesuSj he says that 

 the blood rushed to his head and he felt much more like 

 fainting than he had done when in apprehension of imme- 

 diate death; a similar sensation being experienced when 

 h^ c^uxe across another large bird-winged butterfly, Ornith- 



