Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1878-06-20
THE BOY EXPLORER.


THE BOY EXPLORER.
A NaturaIIst's PArsdIss In Brazil,
Every Inch of Which He 1s
Bound 20 Explore.
New York World, 14th.l
On Saturday last Ernest Morris,
the boy naturalist and explorer who
last year entertained and delighted
the Historical Society with an ac-
count Of his researches on the
Amazon and Tapajos rivers, aud
who, after much complimentary
notice in the East, endeavored by
lecturing in the West to get money
enough to take him on another ex-
ploration into South American
wilds, returned to this city from
Para, Brazil, on the schooner
Henry Whitney, weak and thin
from the effects Of a long fever.
He is neither!daunted nor discour-
aged, and is going back again Just
as soon as possible. 81 believe" +"
said the lad, whose eyes are bright
blue and whose manner is energy
and ambition personi6ed, "that /
was born a naturalist. Pve made a
failure this time, but | think | can
convince you that it was not alto
gether my fault. Lock here (he
jerked open thelid of a big weather.
beaten trunk that stood in the
room); these (holding up pair of
canvas drawers and a checked shirt)
are all that is left of my outfit. |
knew | ought to have a boat to take
with me, but | couldn't get one, and
here Shaking the garments fercely)
is the result. | was wrecked in a
frightful storm on Lake Junuty. |
lost my gun, my watch, everything
but my life, But hold on-let's
begin at the beginning" So say
ing the young adyenturer dropped
into a chair, and, stretching out
his legs, began in an animated, i'm.
petuouS way that it is quite impos.
sibIe to reproduce on paper.
"Brazil is Gods own country,
and WHY'S it that the United States
fail to recognize its Importance in
the commercial worldH England
has been for years reaping the har-
vest that's to be gathered from the
shores Of the Amazon, while Amer
ica seems to have been asleep. The
people here have no idea of the
wealth of Brazil in staple articles
of commerce. Look at this (pro-
ducing an immense chunk of what
appeared to be resin). Can you
tell me what it is? This fairly
flows out Of the huge trees on the
banks of some of those beautiful
and as yet unexplored lakes. 1t
hardens and forms cakes as big as
barrels on the tree trunks. l pro-
pose to have this analyzed. And
this is only one of the hundred
kinds of gum that can be gathered
in ship loads for the taking"
Young Morris sailed from New
York for Para on q small schooner,
in company with Edward S. Rand,
a well.known botanist of Boston.
He went up the Amazon about 700
miles, to the town of 0bidos, on
the south bank, where the river is
but a little over mile in width.
Above 0bidos it is eight miles wide
and below it it broadens from twen-
ty to twenty-six miles. Morris has
theory that certain chain of lakes
lying at one side OF the Amazon
were formerly the course through
which the river flowed. He IN
tends, he says, to explore them thor
oughly before he is done with
Brazil. Tho town of 0bidos he
describes as a delightfully."- situated
collection Of palm tree huts, "a
vored with the most delightful eli
mate in the world, and destined
sooner or later to become a great
commercial port as the center Of all
tn. cacoa trade Of the province.
About the latter part of December
he left 0bidos and went further up
the Amazon, about fifty miles to
Junuty a little Indian settlement
founded about eight years ago by
q Catholic missionary, and now con-
tainlug a population of 125 souls.
Here he remained until the middle
Of March, when, procuring an In
dian canoe aud four Indians to ac-
company him Ito whom he paid Is
cents day., he padded up the
Amazon for two days, and then en-.
tered a narrow channel leading to