CHAPTER XVI 
EXPLORATION OF THE EASTERN ANDES OF PERU I 
RESIDENCE AT TARAPOTO 
{June 2 2, 1855, to March 22, 1857) 
[During the period comprised in this chapter 
Spruce appears to have kept no regular Journal, 
and though there are many scattered notes referring 
to his various excursions, they are so imperfect, and 
sometimes so condensed and enigmatical, that I 
was at first in despair as to how I should find 
materials for an account of what was, to himself, 
one of the most enjoyable and interesting portions 
of his travels, as well as one of the best districts for 
a botanical collector which he met with during his 
fourteen years' residence in the equatorial regions of 
South America. 
Fortunately, his letters to Mr. Bentham and 
to his friend Mr. Teasdale were so full as, to some 
extent, to supply the place of Journals, while one 
of his most interesting botanical excursions was 
described in some detail in an article he contributed 
to the short-lived periodical the Geographical 
Magazine of July 1873. With these materials, 
and by making use of some of the descriptive notes 
mentioned above, and greatly assisted by a very 
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