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The Forest Exiles: The Perils of a Peruvian Family in the Wilds of the Amazon
The Forest Exiles: The Perils of a Peruvian Family in the Wilds of the Amazon
Chapter One.
The biggest Wood in the World
Boy reader, I am told that you are not tired of my company. Is this true?
“Quite true, dear Captain, – quite true!” That is your reply. You speak sincerely? I believe you do.
In return, believe me, when I tell you I am not tired of yours; and the best proof I can give is, that I have come once more to seek you. I have come to solicit the pleasure of your company, – not to an evening party, nor to a ball, nor to the Grand Opera, nor to the Crystal Palace, nor yet to the Zoological Gardens of Regent’s Park, – no, but to the great zoological garden of Nature. I have come to ask you to accompany me on another “campaign,” – another “grand journey” through the fields of Science and Adventure. Will you go?
“Most willingly – with you, dear Captain, anywhere.”
Come with me, then.
Again we turn our faces westward; again we cross the blue and billowy Atlantic; again we seek the shores of the noble continent of America.
“What! to America again?”
Ha! that is a large continent, and you need not fear that I am going to take you over old ground. No, fear not that! New scenes await us; a new fauna, a new flora, – I might almost say, a new earth and a new sky!
You shall have variety, I promise you, – a perfect contrast to the scenes of our last journey.
Then, you remember, we turned our faces to the cold and icy North, – now our path lies through the hot and sunny South. Then we lived in a log-hut, and closed every cranny to keep out the cold, – now, in our cottage of palms and cane, we shall be but too glad to let the breeze play through the open walls. Then we wrapped our bodies in thick furs, – now we shall be content with the lightest garments. Then we were bitten by the frost, – now we shall be bitten by sand-flies, and mosquitoes, and bats, and snakes, and scorpions, and spiders, and stung by wasps, and centipedes, and great red ants! Trust me, you shall have a change!