Recollections of an ill-fated expedition to the headwaters of the Madeira River in Brazil (1907) (14769970201)

The "Brazil" at Para.
Identifier: recollectionsofi00crai (find matches)
Title: Recollections of an ill-fated expedition to the headwaters of the Madeira River in Brazil
Year: 1907 (1900s)
Authors: Craig, Neville B., 1847-1926 Madeira and Mamoré Association
Subjects: Madeira-Mamoré Railway Mercedita (Ship) Collins Expedition (1878-1879) Brazil -- Description and travel
Publisher: Philadelphia & London : J.B. Lippincott
Contributing Library: Brown University Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Brown University



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makes me feel grave to look back, but I have nodesire to seek applause, or appear in the role of anapplicant for the laurel crown. In order that the reader may better appreciate thefeat performed by these little river tugs, the writerhas carefully com)3ared their actual running time withthat of ocean steamships, which traversed the samegeneral route during the year 1878. No allowance hasbeen made for delays at sea and no deduction has beenmade except for time spent at anchor in port. It mustbe remembered that the City of Rio de Janeiro, besidesbeing a perfectly new steamer, had a high wind anda strong current in her favor, which operated to re-tard the other boats. PHILADELPHIA TO PAEA. Mercedita 25 days, 13 hrs., 30 min. City of Richmond 21 17 50 Juno 3ind Brazil 16 6 15 PARA TO SANDY HOOK. City of Rio de Janeiro. ... 10 days, 4 hrs., 55 min.U, 8. 8. 8. Enterprise 21 approximately. After reaching Para, Mr. Hepburn, with his usualenergy and efficiency, at once turned his attention to
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AN ILL-FATED EXPEDITION 219 the work of towing vessels laden with railroad ma-terials and provisions to San Antonio. No one canproperly appreciate at the present day, the vexation,difficulties and dangers involved in this work. Thoughhis letters are replete with information regarding the1568 miles of river navigation, the character of thepeople he encountered, their methods of transactingbusiness, and with descriptions of the country throughwhich he passed, it is not the writers intention tonarrate the incidents attending a second trip up theAmazon and Madeira. We will, however, so far antici-pate succeeding events as to say that thirty days afterMr. Hepburn landed at Para, when sickness was every-where prevalent among the men at San Antonio andon the river above, when there were no medicines, noteven quinine, for the sick, when provisions were prac-tically exhausted, when deaths were of almost dailyoccurrence, the tug Juno suddenly appeared at SanAntonio with Mr. Hepburn on board, th