UNKNOWN BRAZIL

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 306, 22 June 1912, Page 1 (Supplement)

UNKNOWN BRAZIL

I _^_— ' A PERILOUS JOURNEY. London, April &6. Mr. A. H. Savage Landor; the wellknown traveller, has just returned from an adventurous journey across South America and back, which occupied eigh-' teen months. Describing some'' of his* experiences he said: "My journey included the whole of. the unexplored part of Brazil between' Rio ami Manos, in the great central basin of the Xingu, Tapajoz and Madeira rivers, a region which the Brizilians themselves have always considered impenetrable. After crossing Brazil I went over the Andes through Peru, to Lima, ' thence to Cuzco and Lake Titicaca, to examine the Inca ruins. Next I went across Bolivia and Chili to Antofagasta, from this point to Valparaiso by steamer, and onee more across South America } to Buenos Ayres.

"I described enormous zig-zags in order to visit regions which interested me by reason that'they were absolutely unknown. With the exception of thirty hours in the train, all travelling was done on mule, canoe or. foot. For about half the distance we had to cut our own tracks through, the forest or proceed along the great eampos or by prairies over vast areas of absolutely uninhabited country. The object of my journey was scientific, and the expedition was my own venture. "At first the Brazilian Government took great interest in my plans, but it was unable to find any Brazilians who were willing to accompany me owing to fear of Indians and the density of the virgin forests, which they declared were impassable. I eventually succeeded in obtaining six native Brazilians, who only came as the result of the very heavy payment I offered. "During my journey I took careful observations, and have prepared! a map of a scale of one mile to the inch. In order to ensure accuracy I made daily astronomical observations with sextant and constant bearings with the prismatic compass, and took altitude observations with a boiling point thermometer and several aneroids. All my instruments were specially made. "When I left Rio in March of last year I took enough provisions to last for a year, but owing to wastage on the part of my men and loss, these eventually gave out, and towardls the end of that part of the expedition through the unexplored portion of Brazil, we remained for 16 days without a morsel of anything to eat. Happily there was plenty of water, but there was no game, no fruit, no fish, no inhabitants, and neither my men nor myself had sufficient food to cover a sixepnee. Our experiences were terrible, and it was one of the most tragic marches I have ever had." Mr. Savage Landor stated that he studied several new tribes, made vocabularies of their languages, and made some interesting geological, geographical and anthropological observations. Even when travelling in unexplored regions he met with no hostility on the part of natives anywhere, and declares with pride that he did not eveu carry a revolver or a knife with him. His zig-zag route over unexplored! or little-known country in Brazil was about 5000 miles, and the Brazilian Government are so astonished at the success of what they had regarded .as impossible that Congress voted a 'p'apt of £4OOO to the explorer. The expedition suffered a good deal from the presence of insects of all kinds, particularly mosquitoes, ants, the tiny piun, a species of gnat which makes life unbearable, and .frorti millions of bees which, although they didi not sting, swarm over every uiicdvered jßprtjon of tfce botor„. 81^,^.5nfiitfiaa.i'-tirifi i'- IT •'idtmiiifw'ii'niri