The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-01-30
IN THE HEART OF THE ANDES
A Talk with Ernest Morris About His
Proposed Exploring Expedition.
Value and Rarity of the Botanical Products
of South America-Wild Life
in the Jungles.

Yesterday morning Journal reporter called
upon Ernest Morris, the traveller and naturalist,
to ask him about his proposed voyage to South
America. II shall sail from New York, y said Mr..
Morris, ION the It'll of February, on the steamer
Orinoco, which will take me to Bermuda, the
island of Trinidad where 1 shall wait an oppor-
tunity to take the first vessel sailing to George
town, the capital of British Guiana to which
point my letters are to be directed, in care of the
American consul / am to be accompanied by
George Bowles of Chicago a young man five
years younger than myself, but fair geologist
and entomologist. Mr.. Bowles is private secre-
tary of Thomas c, Moore, formerly of this city,
of the Chicago pooled lines. This time 1
have what have never had before-a firstclass
outfit l have three guns of the best makes that
money can buy, with four thousand shells for
each gun, and l have also revolvers, and knives,
and scientific instruments, and quantity of
canned vegetables.
From Georgetown we shall go at once into the
interior, making for the mountain range, explor-
ing the country and the Essequibo river. From
there 1 shall go to the Rio Negro where l have
been before This journey will largely be taken
up with the collection of orchidaceous plants,
England, having made arrangements
to that end If nothing happens
l shall next fall, take collection of orchids to
England myself, where the prices paid are far in
advance of the highest prices paid in this coun-
try and where there is always ready sale. The
orchid mania recalls the tulip craze, but the
former plants are more wonderful and more adj
mirable in every way than those that cranked
the usually impassive Hollanders about the mid
die of the seventeeth century.
This is your fourth journey of exploration in
South America, isn't it," inquired the reporter
81 have been travelling in that country" said
Mr.. Morris, for the greater part of the past
seven years. / made nay first trip in 1875. 1
am now twenty-seven years old-so you see
was then quite boy. went on that trip up the
Amazon. 1t was my second trip that brought
me into notice. That was made Immediately
after my first trip, with rest of less than three
months between them. On that trip explored
the upper waters of the Tapaios and brought
back the ten dried Mundurucu Indian heads.
There was commercial feature connected with
that journey, but I familiarized myself with the
Indian dialects and customs and the knowledge
so gained was of incalculable benefit to me in
subsequent journeys. Out of the Tapajos trip
l made nearly SO, 900 on my collection
and out of my lectures. After staying
about three months in the United States l re
turned, this time going into the lake region of
the Amazon, in Brazil, only five hundred miles
from the mouth of that mighty river. On this
same trip l went up the Amazon to the river
Japuru that is eighteen hundred miles from the
mouth of the Amazon. l only explored the
mouths of this river. On this trip collected
and brought to the United States large and
valuable collection of Orchids which sold to
Erastus Corning of Albany, N. Y, on the pro-
ceeds of which l fitted myself out very well, and
in 1880 went further up the Amazon into east
ern Peru, over twenty-five hundred miles from
the mouth of the Amazon. l was for time in
the employ of Iquitos, a small city of eastern
Perm, and took the first steamer on two
months voyage of exploration on the Napo river,
for the purpose of finding how far that stream
was navigable for steamers. 1 assembled the
Napo river to the point where Orellano, one of
Pizarro's captains, in 1871 decended through the
Amazon to the sea, and gave the name of Anna
ION to the mighty river. l went up the Napo
five hundred miles in the lite steamer and
was almost within sight of Chmborazo, the
largest mountain in Ecuador, and Cay
ambi, the great fat-topped mountain near
Quito, the capital of Ecuador l could have
reached Quito on foot in six days journey.
brought down from this journey on the Napo
twenty ounces of gold dust for which l had
traded salt, beads and woorari, the Indian arrow
poison, to the natives. 1t is remarkable that
from nearly every one of the small streams flow
ing into the Napo from the west, and which have
their sources in the mountains, gold is to be OBJ
4oA~a / crofx1 1Af{l a TnA.
The valley eff the Napo is still in a state of I'M
civilization, and there towns or villages
upon the banks of the river except near its
source, where there are gold-washing stations.
| was treated with great kindness by these
natives, and am convinced that that wonderful
valley, with its gold dust India-rubher (which is
very abundant sarsaparilla (which grows in
the greatest profusion(, copaiba balsam, the veg
etable ivory, many dye stutfs and valuable woods,
could easily be opened to commerce. The river
itself reminded me strongly of the Ohio 1t is
about the same size, the water is clear crys
tal and the river is free from insect pests.
when l returned from this voyage on the
Napo was sent by the same steamboat com
pany to the river Ucayali, the largest stream
in Peru, of course emitting the Amazon 1t
rises near Cuzco, that old city Of the Incas, and
flowing north, empties into the Amazon about
two hundred miles west of the Napo. After the
exploration of the river returned to Brazil and
assembled the great Rio Negro to Venezuela five
hundred miles. This voyage included the dan
gerous passage of the Rio Negro rapids to San
Carlos, the frontier of Venezuela, near the
mouth of the Cassequiera, which connects the
Rio Negro with the Orinoco. Here | made
most valuable collection of orchids, which also
sold to Mr. Corning. 1 was laid up sixty miles
above the mouth of the Rio Negro at Taupasso
meaning old village with fever, the first real
sickness had had brought on by exposure in
the swamps.
81 came home to indianapolis in May, 1882,
and married. In August of that year. accom-
panied by my wife, returned to Brazil. loca-
ting my wife at the city of Manaos, at the
of 5000 inhabitants, Brazilians and In
dams, with two daily newspapers 1t
is the rubber depot of the upper
Amazon. Here we remained seven months. l
made numerous excursions over the flooded lands
of the Rio Negro, and brought to New York
collection of orchids that found no difficulty in