The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1876-06-14
CAT HOME"
Ernest Morris, Our Own Natu-
ralist, Returns from His
Amazonian Expedition
Full of Enthu-
siaSm.
ADVENTURES ABROAD.


alarms, the juvenile Hoosier naturalist.
Ernest Morris, has actually arrived, and
an expectsnt public need no longer burst
with unsatished curiosity regarding his
South American exploits. With charac-
teristic enterprise and with keen spp'e-
citation of news, a Sentlnel reporter
swooped down upon him yesterday, the first
daV OF his return, and interviewed him,
shall we say?-rather was intervieEed by
him; sat for a solid hour stunned and sub
merged by the avalanche OF talk that flow
ed from his tireless lips, and feebly sought
with struggling pencil to EN- balm tor these
columns some OF the gems OF trsvei, ao-
venture and scientific research therein con-
tanned. This youth is
GENUINE BONANZA FOR INTEvIEwERs-
He has a good deal to talk about, and
doesn't hesitate to talk freely without
any application of the reportorisl piston.
Ernest looks well. With the exception OF
the added maturity brought by year of
eventful life, and face somewhat brown
ad bv the fervent kisses of tropical SUP,
he is little changed from the boy many oil
our citizens remember. He is full of en-
thusiasm as ever, and satisfied with the
result of his trip as a whole. He says he
took so kindly to life in the woods that he
finds q return to the customs OF civili-
cation irksome, and confesses to a certain
aWkwariness in the donning of hat and
boots aud in eating with q knife and fork.
At the request of the reporter, he gave an
outline of his perigrinations. Leaving
here on the 2lst of May, 1875, he took pas
sage from New York on schooner for
Para. the leading part of the AmsZon re-
gion, located about so miles from the
mouth of the mighty river. He was &C
companied by
ADOLPHUs wILKIN, ANOTHER ADVENTURE
Gus YOUTH
of this city, who also returned with him
yesterday. The enterprise of the boys
commenced somewhat unpropitiously, the
vessel in which they made the voyage be-
ing devastated by the yellow fever, which
carried off the ca plain, mate, steward and
two of the crew. Both our young sdven-
turers escaped the scourge, however, and
proceeded directly up the river
to Santerem, village some 600
miles up the Amazon, near the
mouth OF the infiowing 1spsjos. This is
q town of some 200 houses, and the first
considerable place after leaving Para.
Here the boys made their headquarters
for the entire year, making trips into the
surrounding country of from few weeks
to several months in duration. They
built them a hut in the outskirts of town
and lived there in high old bachelor style,
doing their own cooking and house
keeping generally. Their chief food
specimen of which, looking more like
chicken feed than anything else, was
shown the reporter-wIth such game as
fell
VICTIM TO THEIR UNERRING BLUNDER-
BUSES.
From this central point three trips of con-
siderable length were made into the sur
round ng country, with many shorter
ones, all for the purpose of geographical
exploration and the collection of specimens
of the Brazilian fauna. The first
of these trips occupied two or three weeks
and extended some thirty-fYe miles into
the unbroken forest to the river Curua.
This stream is not laid down on the map,
but Ernest stated it to be branch of the
Tspsjos, connecting the latter river with
the Amazon. This stream is navigsble for
q good portion of its length, and is lined
with rare trees, including those from
which sarsaparills and other valuable
drugs are obtained. On this stream is a
village inhabited by Indians and runaway
negroes. which they were prevented from
visiting by the timidity of their guides.
of monkey meat, which they pronounced
quite palatable. The next expedition,
which Ernest made alone, Mr.. Will
kin remaining in Santerem, was
to a chain of lakes called the
Lakes of Prsceii, which lie some
ten or fifteen miles south OF the Amazon,
and are connected with it. Here he saw
for the first time the famous Victoria regia
or enormous water lily, described by
botanists. All this country is compare
lively UNEMPLOYED, and
ERNEST FOUND MANY GRAVE ToPoeRAPH-
ICAL ERRORS
In the best maps of the region
extant. About two months were
spent in this trip, after which he
returned to Santerem where he spent
Christmas. Early in January, Ernest
started on an extensive trip to the great
lake of Villa Franco, lying south OF the
Amazon and 50 miles from Sauterem,
which covered the rest OF his sojourn in
Brazil. During this expedition he made
his home with a wealthy native living on
the shore OF the lake. who treated him
with great hospitality, and sent one of his
slaves a two days journey to get him q
spoon to eat with. Here he saw for the
first time the process of making butter by
stirring the milk In bowl with a spoon.
one hundred miles long and nsvigated by
steamers by which the product of the
country-mostly live stock-is exported.
While on this lake, our hero met with an
adventure which, though
NOT ADORNED WITH TIE GLITTER OF DIA-
MoNDs,
still has something of the romantic in its
composition. He took passage for jour-
ney of two or three days on small native
of the gentler sex. ALI went pleasantly
until the time came for retiring, when
Ernest found himself billeted in the
midst of three Brazilian bellies,
who were so enthusiastic in their
demonstrations of their mingled feelings
that he was compelled to rise in the midst
of the night and seek unmolested repose
outside. He said 1t took him ten minutes