WCP1656

Letter (WCP1656.1528)

[Letter from Herbert Edward Wallace to Richard Spruce]

[1]

Serpa1

Monday Dec[em]ber 29. 1850

Dear Sir,

I have just returned from a month[']s excursion among the lakes, and by-ways of the mighty Amazon, and whilst repairing my weary limbs amid the luxurious folds of a rede,2 drinking a fragrant cup of the sober beverage, and meditating (but cheerfully) upon the miseries of Human Nature, I received notice of your arrival in the Barra.3—

So you have at last gained that "Lodge" so long pictured in the vista of imagination! You are at last in that Promised Land; — a land flowing with Caxáca4 and Fariniha!5 [sic] — a land where a man may litterally [sic] and safely sleep [2] without breeches, a luxury which must be enjoyed to be appreciated.

I am now waiting for a passage to Pará,6 from thence to return to England, there is a vessel caulking here, I expect will go in two or three weeks; I have a small collection of birds and butterflies, new specimens of the latter are very scarce; I left in Barra with Henrique7 a small flat clothes box containing shirts &c, have the kindness to tell Henrique to forward it as soon as possible to me, at the house of Manuel Joaquin,8 Serpa.

The Christmas Festa [Portuguese: festival] is now over and, this little village has resumed its wonted tranquillity. — I suppose you intend soon to proceed up the Negro; no doubt my brother now is glorying in Ornithological [3] rarities, and revelling amid the sweets of Lepidopterous9 loveliness But enough! — a little while, and the winter sea is roaring around my pillow; then shall I envy you in your snug redes, far from the restless billow, — then whilst vainly endeavouring to swallow preserved salmon or other ship luxury, I shall long for my Amazonian appetite and roasted Periricu10 [sic] — then! — — but I will not anticipate, horrrors which are inevitable. — I hope yourself and Mr King11 are in good health, in this respect I have had no cause to complain; wishing both a prosperous and pleasant time

I must now remain | Yours sincerely | Edward Wallace12 [signature]

1
A town on the southern bank of the Amazon, about 30 miles below the mouth of the tributary Madeira. Now the city of Itacoatiara in the Brazilian state of Amazonas.
2
A type of Brazilian hammock.
3
Barra do Rio Negro (Manaus), capital city of the Brazilian state of Amazonas.
4
Or cachaça, a type of Brazilian spirit, similar to white rum, made from pure sugar-cane juice rather than molasses (OED).
5
Cassava meal (Wallace, A. R. 1853. Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro, With an Account of the Native Tribes, and Observations on the Climate, Geology, and Natural History of the Amazon Valley. London: Reeve & Co. [p. 17]).
6
Pará (Belém), the largest city in the Amazon Basin at that time.
7
Antony/Antonij, Henrique ( — ). Italian merchant based in Barra do Rio Negro (Manaus), Brazil (Wallace, A. R. 1853. A Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro, With an Account of the Native Tribes, and Observations on the Climate, Geology, and Natural History of the Amazon Valley. London: Reeve & Co.).
8
Spelt "Manoel Joaquim" by Bates. Possibly Captain of Workers of the Village of Serpa (Bates, H. W. The Naturalist on the River Amazons, A Record of Adventures, Habits of Animals, Sketches of Brazilian and Indian Life, And Aspects of Nature under the Equator, During Eleven Years of Travel. London: John Murray, 1863 [p.309]).
9
Referring to the Lepidoptera, the order of insects that includes butterflies and moths.
10
Pirarucu, a species of freshwater fish in the genus Arapaima, native to the Amazon, and referred to by ARW as Sudis gigas. See Wallace, A. R. 1853. Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro, With an Account of the Native Tribes, and Observations on the Climate, Geology, and Natural History of the Amazon Valley. London: Reeve & Co. [pp. 98, 144].
11
King, Robert ( — ). Companion and assistant to Richard Spruce. Referred to in Wallace, A. R. (Ed.). 1908. Richard Spruce. Notes of a Botanist on the Amazon and Andes, Vol. 1. London: Macmillan & Co. [p. 1].
12
Wallace, Herbert Edward ("Edward") (1829-1851). Brother of ARW and assistant to him in Brazil.

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP1656.1528)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by Parfitt, Elisabeth [2012-05-14] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-01-15] Transcription checked by Barton, Michael [2019-02-03] Transcription checked by Da Silva, Victor [2020-06-16]

Please cite as “WCP1656,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 19 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP1656