WOMEN IN THE NATURAL SCIENCES 263 



And still again she tells us: "The solitude of the virgin 

 forest has become a necessity for me ; it attracts me by its 

 mysterious silence, and only in the great woods have I the 

 impression of being at home. ' ' * 



Can we wonder that such an ardent lover of Nature and 

 such a strenuous votary of science was able to forget herself 

 in her work and was able, notwithstanding her toils and 

 her sufferings, to produce six quarto volumes of reports, 

 in as many years, on the unexplored regions which she had 

 so carefully surveyed and charted? Can we be surprised 

 that her labors received due recognition from learned soci- 

 eties in both the New and the Old World, and that she 

 was acclaimed as an explorer who had rendered distinct 

 service to the cause of natural science, as well as to geog- 

 raphy ? 2 



When we recall the labors of this lone daughter of 



1 Ibid., p. 1. 



2 In order that the reader may realize the immense extent of 

 territory that was covered by this strenuous woman's explorations, 

 during the twelve years she spent in Amazonia, it suffices to give 

 the titles of her books, all of which are profusely illustrated by 

 photographs taken by herself and by accurate charts of rivers, whose 

 courses were previously almost unknown. 



The books written in collaboration with her husband are Voyage 

 au Tapajos, Voyage au Xingu, Voyage au Tocantins- Araguaya, Voy- 

 age au Italoca et a I'Etacayuna, Voyage entre Tocantins et Xingu, 

 et Voyage au Yamunda. 



The books written by Mme. Coudreau after her husband's death 

 are Voyage au Trombetas, Voyage au Cumind, Voyage au Rio Curud, 

 Voyage a la Mapuerd and Voyage au Maycuru. 



When one remembers that many of the watercourses here named 

 would be considered large rivers outside of South America; that, 

 notwithstanding their countless rapids and waterfalls, necessitating 

 numberless portages, Mme. Coudreau explored all these rivers from 

 their embouchures to as near their sources as the water would carry 

 her rude dugouts, we can form some idea of the miles she traveled 

 and of the stupendous labor that was involved in making these long 

 journeys in the sweltering and debilitating and insect-laden atmos- 

 phere of the Amazon basin. 



