26 A SAGA OF THE SEAS 
spent four months on mule-back in the Andes. Coming back 
by way of the Pacific, they crossed the isthmus of Panama 
partly by railroad and partly on mules. Church made many 
sketches of the tropical wilderness for his landscapes. 
While roughing it in the mountains, they became sepa- 
rated from their baggage by a flooded river and had to wait 
three weary weeks to regain it. Field became nervous at the 
delay, particularly because he wished to be back in Stock- 
bridge in time for the celebration of his parents’ golden wed- 
ding on October 31. He arrived just in time. Thirty-nine of 
the family dined in the old home, to which the father had re- 
turned from Connecticut. Cyrus and David had bought the 
house for the parents, now old but still active. 
One reason for the South American trip was to permit a 
search for a lost brother, ‘Timothy, who had enlisted in the 
navy and had sailed from New Orleans in 1835 on a ship 
never heard of again. There had been rumors that Timothy 
was living as a wealthy planter in South America. No trace of 
him was found, however, and he was finally given up as lost. 
On the voyage home, Cyrus met Marshall O. Roberts, a suc- 
cessful promoter of steamship and railroad lines, who after- 
ward joined him in the telegraph venture. 
Field brought back from the South a number of interesting 
exhibits, including native coats woven of grass, two dozen 
parrakeets, and a live jaguar. Most remarkable of all, was an 
Indian boy of fourteen—an impish son of a bull-fighter. ‘The 
plan was to educate this boy and send him back as a mission- 
ary, but he proved too intractable. He broke the arm of the 
cook and caused consternation by ambushing members of the 
family in a dark hall and flourishing a knife. When Field 
was in England in 1856, the family sent the boy back to 
South America. 
From these activities and attempts at recreation, it can be 
seen that Field was casting about for some worth-while inter- 
