Head Hunters of the Amazon | Page 2

with only an occasional slit
of sky visible and never an horizon. Too few of the genuine "voor
treckers" have left us an account of their experiences. We owe a great
debt to Mr. Up de Graff.
KERMIT ROOSEVELT
* * *
INTRODUCTION
THIS is an old story, and yet a new one. Since the race of men first
began to move over the face of the Earth, the desire for fresh discovery
has been strong in the human breast. This longing to penetrate the
hidden depths of Nature, coupled with the sheer love of adventure for
adventure's sake, was perhaps what drove me to undertake the series of
journeys of which this book forms a simple tale. I claim for it neither
scientific nor literary value. It is a mere collection of disjointed records,
published in this form in the belief that the youthful, untamed spirits of
to-day will derive pleasure from the contemplation of the wanderings
of one of their predecessors, guided by an inscrutable Fate.
After twenty years of pressure from my friends, and several false starts,
I have at last succeeded in putting on record the story of my wanderings
in the little-known forests of the Upper Amazon basin. There, in the
greatest tract of virgin country in the world, I spent some of the most
fascinating-- as well as the most wretched-- days of my life, in the
company of as fine a set of fellows as a man could wish for at such a
time. Fortune threw us in each other's way, but before we parted we

were bound by insoluble ties of friendship.
As for their identities, I have concealed none but one-- the man whom I
have called Morse. Not only their names, but every detail mentioned in
connection with the characters who figure in this book is accurate. It is
a History, in the true sense of the word, for I have fulfilled to the letter
the first duty of the historian-- I have told the truth.
In all probability many of my friends and acquaintances of whom I
make mention are alive to-day. Nothing would give me more pleasure
than to hear from either themselves or others who know something of
their more recent histories, should this book fall into their hands.
The problem of putting into writing an unwritten language is bound to
present certain difficulties. These I have met in what appeared to me to
be the most practical way in the case of the Inca (or Quichua, which is
the Ecuadorian equivalent) and J’varo words, which I have introduced
for the sake of those who are interested in philology. In order to convey
as nearly as possible the exact sound of such words, I have spelled
them in accordance with the Castillian pronunciation of the alphabet,
which certainly renders them much more accurately than would the
English one with its numerous anomalies and variations. Those who
take pleasure in studying such matters should note the few important
points of distinction between the Spanish and English alphabets before
reading the text.
To my friend and collaborator, Roger Bacon, I give the credit for the
careful compilation of the complex data which form the basis of this
story, and take this opportunity of thanking him for his energetic and
painstaking assistance in putting the whole thing before the public in
readable form.
Greater still is the debt which I owe to my mother, who has carefully
preserved for me the numerous documents bearing on this narrative,
which have enabled me accurately to record many details which would
otherwise have escaped my memory.
F. W. UP DE GRAFF.

Barcelona, 1921.
* * *
CHAPTER I
THE BEGINNING OF THE TRAIL
The Call-- The "Theta Nu Epsilon"-- Colon-- The Grand Hotel,
Panama-- Guayaquil-- Alligators-- An appointment.
I HAD made the acquaintance of D. Enrique Domingo C—rdovez,
known among his friends as "the Count," at Union College,
Schenectady, N. Y., in the year 1890. He was one among the many rich
young South Americans who come to the United States to take
advanced courses at the universities, chiefly in the field of engineering.
The son of a wealthy Ecuadorian, he was actuated by a very real desire
to return to his native land equipped with the technical knowledge
which would enable him to install in its primitive towns some of the
many modern conveniences which were sadly lacking. And so it came
about that his serious nature and his real love of his work enabled him
to graduate with honours as a civil engineer.
My activities as one of the chiefs of the "Theta Nu Epsilon" led to my
"graduating" two years ahead of my class. Well do I remember how the
whole of my classmates hauled me down to the station in the