WCP7060

[1]

Frith Hill, Godalming

Nov. 28th 1887

Dear Mr Haddon,

I would certainly not advise you to go to Torres Strait for what you want. Besides the great distance, which would cause you to aford nearly half of your travelling [1 word illeg.] (going [1 word illeg.]) you would probably be subject to great trouble & delay about men, boats &c. many of the islands are unhealthy.

It seems to me that you would get all you want, with many incidental advantages, in the West Indies. You have coral reefs and oceanic depths & great tropical [2] vegetation one of the islands. You would have the great advantage that of facility of locomotion, of the utmost importance if only to enable you to get away from the unproductive & unhealthy spot when you want to. I am would find servants & labour pretty cheap & be able to make the most of your times. But would probably meet with much protifability & be able to work in a comfortable house & with enlarged surroundings. In one of the larger Islands — Cuba & St. Domingo — these is. [3] offer a chance of getting something near, especially among islet and land shalls, — while you could if you looked take a trip in the mainland of South America, & ascend the Magdalena while over in Trinidad, you may see the richest tropical forests. The only other equally formatiable district of know of in the Moluccas — [1 word illeg.] & the adjacent islet especially. But the journey is three times as far and expesive & you would have to learn Malay to get on well.

The West indies are so well known commertially & anthropologically [?] [4] that you would actually get information as to healthy localities.

The Seychelles are beautiful good locality I would think, but your colleague Perceval Wright can tell you about that [1 word illeg.].

Believe me,

Yours very faithfully

[signature] Alfred R. Wallace