JUNE 17, 1909'' 



NA TURF. 



459 



The first volume has for frontispiece an excellent 

 portrait of Spruce, and the biographical introduction 

 by the editor which follows is of great interest. 

 That a man so feeble in health as Spruce was in 

 his earlier years could have endured the privations 

 he experienced on the Amazon, or could have ever 

 .recovered from his illness at Maypures, or, again, 

 could have carried on his work in the Cinchona forests 

 with dogged determination when crippled with rheu- 

 matism, seems little short of marvellous; and yet 

 his botanical work, which was of the highest order, 

 was pursued with unflagging zeal, in spite of every 

 difficult}' either natural or physical. 



The two volumes are full, both of well-ordered 

 botanical information of great value, and contain also 

 tales of peril and adventure of stirring interest. The 

 voyage up the Rio Negro and the frequent passages 

 of the rapids show how often Spruce was in im- 

 minent danger of his life. In the first volume one 

 of the most interesting portions of the book is that 



On the return to Manaos from the Rio Negro, 

 Spruce continued his journey up the Amazon to Tara- 

 poto, where he spent a year and three-quarters 

 making various difficult excursions. His letters at 

 this period are full of graphic detail. While here 

 he was able to effect a cure for a serious case of 

 snake-bite, but had he failed his life would probably 

 have been taken by the Indians. 



Throughout his journeys on this side of the Andes, 

 Spruce encountered exceptionally heavy rains, which 

 severely hindered his botanical work, and rendered 

 his voyage up the Amazon, particularly from Tarapoto 

 to Canelos, very dangerous. He vividly describes 

 the storm at Puca-yacu, where the river, normally 

 only three feet deep and twenty-five yards wide, rose 

 eighteen feet during the night, and they had to hold on 

 to every creeper to prevent the canoes from being swept 

 away, and were in constant danger of being dashed to 

 pieces by the trees borne along by the surging waters. 

 The journey from Canelos to Banos through the 



dealing with the little-known region of the Casi- 

 quiari, the channel which unites the Rio Negro with 

 the Orinoco. Here, in the country where Humboldt 

 travelled, Spruce explored some rivers hitherto un- 

 mapped, and made extensive collections. He was 

 much harassed by the mosquitoes, which, at the time 

 of his visit, were making the region of Esmeraldas 

 almost impossible for human habitation. The slopes 

 of Duida and the Esmeraldas country are said to 

 be magnificent, and Spruce's sketch, which is here 

 reproduced, confirms his description. In addition 

 to his sketches of the scenery, he gives some in- 

 teresting drawings of the natives in this regjon, 

 with good accounts of the different types of Indians 

 with whom he met. .After the excursion to the 

 Duida mountains Spruce returned to the Rio Negro, 

 and, going up stream, made the short portage of 

 Pimichin, and then travelled down the ."Xtabapo 

 and Orinoco rivers as far as the falls of May- 

 pures. Thence he retraced his steps a short distance ; 

 but fever was upon him, and so severe was the attack 

 that for thirty-eight days he was unable to move. 



NO. 2068, VOL. 80] 



Montana, over a route which has hardly been 

 traversed since, was attended with many perils, which 

 were increased by the adverse weather conditions. 

 Despite difficulties, however great. Spruce never 

 ceased to add to his collections. Few people, we 

 venture to think, would have dared to cross the 

 foaming torrent of the Topo on improyised bridges 

 of three bamboos, too slender to bear the weight 

 of a man with his burden. The luggage and col- 

 lections, therefore, had to be left, but, fortunately, 

 they were recovered later. 



On this journey Spruce describes how he walked 

 through forests of giant Equisetums, 18 to 20 feet 

 high, with stems as thick as one's wrist; to quote 

 his own words, " a wood of young larches may give 

 you an idea of its appearance. ... I could almost 

 fancv mvself in some primeval forest of Calamites, 

 and if some gigantic saurian had suddenly appeared 

 . . . . my surprise could hardly have been in- 

 creased." 



.After a stav of some length in tlie Ecuadorean 

 .Andes at Riobamba and Ambato, whence numerous 



