INTRODUCTORY. 



THE great and universal need of an encyclopedia of travel and 

 discovery, and a compendium of the most remarkable natural 

 wonders of the world, has prompted the production of this 

 book. In it I have attempted to combine the discoveries and 

 adventures of all the noted travelers and explorers in Tropical 

 and Arctic fields, and in so doing to also furnish a history and 

 description of the animals, reptiles, birds, and savage races of 

 men, in all parts of the world, not omitting the natural phe- 

 nomena peculiar to the Tropics and the Arctic regions. 



In the restless and ambitious disposition of mankind there is 

 more than curiosity, or a misdirected desire for familiarity with 

 remote or insular phases of nature, for there is also that more 

 wisely considerate wish for such extended knowledge as not alone 

 gratifies curiosity, but which stimulates and energizes an am- 

 bition to extend the domain of civilization, with its attendant 

 resources and comforts. 



In the preparation of a work so comprehensive in scope, it 

 was necessary to give careful perusal to scores of standard publi- 

 cations, and to collate with critical discrimination from them all ; 

 for condensation was imperative, and yet every interesting or 

 valuable incident found in the histories from which this is com- 

 piled, must needs find place in its appropriate narrative. The 

 principal authors consulted on Tropical discovery are : Dr. Liv- 

 ingstone, Sir Samuel Baker, Capts. Speke and Grant, Stanley, 

 DuChaillu, Wallace, Squier, Long, Cummings, and many others 



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