Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1865-12-23

We ind the following interesting let
ters in yesterdays Providence Journal,
from one of the party accompanying Pro-
fessor Agassiz
TABATIEeER,
Frontier OF PERU, Sept. ISL
You will see by this letter that l am
now far up the Amazon. I wrote you
last from Manassas of my doings and ad-
ventures since leaving Paris. w stayed
at Manassas only four days, during which
time we worked very hard arranging ana
packing the specimens we had collected
This is the very worst kind of work.
The fish, of which we have an immense
number, ara all to be packed, the small
ones in kegs and the large ones IN hogs
heads, and then they are to be filed with
alcohol. As both kegs and hogs.
heads are very poor, and nearly all
leak, our work has to be done over many
times, which, with the thermometer at
80 or 100, is very hard indeed.
This town of T~abitinger is, 1 do believe
the vilest hole that exists on the footstool.
The Professor had intended to keep on
from this point up to the Andes in order
to study the glaciers, but he has decided
to send Major Cotenio, a Brazilian, who is
with us, and young j.. So he and the
rest of us will return down the river in q
day or two, and shall stop at Ega, which
town is about two-thirds of the way be-
tween here and Mahasus, where we shall
remain for a week, until the return of the
Major and his companion.
i was anxious to go on this ~expeditfon,
but the Professor wished me to remaIh
with him, so 1 gracefully yielded. Ega Is
a verv pleasant place, and there L can have
some first rate shooting. From Ega we
return to Mahasus, where we shall meet q
government steamer placed at the PROBES
sor's disposal by the Brazilian Govern
ment in which we shall proceed to explore
the Rio Negro and then the Rio Madeira,
which will occupy us until December.
Then coming down the Amazon, we shall
explore some of the lower rivers, and
reach Para some time in January. lshall
remain in Para a month.
The Professor and his wife will return
down the coast to Rio Jansiro, where he
has promised to go to report to the Empe-
ror what he has done, and also to deliver
a course of lectures. This will occupy
him until May, when he will return home
Having finished my work in Para, l pro-
pose going to the great island of Mario
lying in the mouth of the river, where
there is said to be very fine shooting
water fowl, tigers, deer, &c.
TEFFE, October 20, 1866.
Since 1 last wrote you from the interior
of Peru, we have returned to this place
having left a portion of u party to go UP
among the mountains. We have been al
this place nearly a month, and during this
time l have had a chance to make a very
good collection of birds, &C., besides hay
ing some very good shooting at a species
of wild goose found about here, about the
size of a black duck, and at another large
duck, the wild muscoVy, as large as our
common wild goose.
J. have made, 1 believe, a discovery of
my own, which will surprise you and all
sportsmen. The other day, as l came out
of the forest behind the village, which
stands upon an open plain about a mile
square, having on my back a load of mon
keys, toucans, parrots and such like deer,
1 saw a flock of birds flying around which
looked familiar, and getting a shot into
them knocked out five, and on picking
them up 1 found four of them to be Green
heads and one Esquimaux Curlew. Just
fancy meeting such old friends in this re-
mote corner OF the world.
The next day 1 went again to the same
place, and to my still greater establishment
killed a grass plover, a Hudsonian godivit
and come pectoral sandpipers, just such as
We kill at home. Of course l shall bring
the skins home to prove these facts. The
Professor was very much delighted with
this discovery. This is a frst-rate place
to collect birds, and 1 have some very
curious ones. l can go out any morning
between daylight and sunrise and kill
dozen toucans as large as hens, and any
quantity of parrots and monkeys.
If you want to experience a new sensa-
ton, you should get among a drove of
monkeys when they are all screaming and
about you, and the woods are so
thick you can't see the muzzle of your
gun. l thought that hell had broken loose
the first time l got among them with no
one to tell me what it was all about.
MANASSAS, Oct. "a.
We arrived here last night from the
upper part of the river, where we have
been for the last six weeks. We have had
very rough time of it lately-much wet
weather and hosts of insects-but I fatter
myself that the worst is over as the lower
1art of the river is freer from flies and
mosquitoes than the upper. We have al
'eady obtained specimens of more han
even hundred heretofore entirely I'M
fishes. We are now going to
pend some six weeks in exploring the
Rio Negro.