CHAPTER XVIII 



THE JOURNEY TO THE AMAZON 



What decided our going to Para and the Amazon rather 

 than to any other part of the tropics was the publication in 

 1847, in Murray's Home and Colonial Library, of " A 

 Voyage up the Amazon," by Mr. W. H. Edwards. This little 

 book was so clearly and brightly written, described so well the 

 beauty and the grandeur of tropical vegetation, and gave 

 such a pleasing account of ■ the people, their kindness and 

 hospitality to strangers, and especially of the English and 

 American merchants in Para, while expenses of living and 

 of travelling were both very moderate, that Bates and myself 

 at once agreed that this was the very place for us to go to 

 if there was any chance of paying our expenses by the sale 

 of our duplicate collections. I think we read the book in 

 the latter part of the year (or very early in 1848), and we 

 immediately communicated with Mr. Edward Doubleday, 

 who had charge of the butterflies at the British Museum, 

 for his advice upon the matter. He assured us that the 

 whole of northern Brazil was very little known, that some 

 small collections they had recently had from Para and 

 Pernambuco contained many rarities and some new species, 

 and that if we collected all orders of insects, as well as land- 

 shells, birds, and mammals, there was no doubt we could 

 easily pay our expenses. Thus encouraged, we determined to 

 go to Para, and began to make all the necessary arrange- 

 ments. We found that by sailing in early spring we should 

 reach Para at the beginning of the dry season, which is both 

 the most agreeable for new-comers and the best for making 

 collections. We arranged, therefore, to meet in London 



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