Unknown Tribes Uncharted Seas - Taschenbuch

UNKNOWN TRIBES UNCHARTED SEAS PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR, PREFACE As I write I am sitting under the shade of a breadfruit tree, surrounded by flowering hibiscus, the waves of the Caribbean almost lapping my feet, for the experiences related in this my book have given me a wanderlust which will not be denied and increases rather than diminishes. Surrounded by this tropical glory, and reading through these pages, I realise fully how colourless are many of my descriptions. My friends have often asked me whether I would have undertaken the journey so light-heartedly if I had known as I now do the dangers and privations which had to be faced. Weighing the intense thirst and burn ing heat, the fever and mosquitoes, the not being able to take off clothing for days on end, even the shortage of food, I can truthfully answer Yes. For I was not the same being sex had disappeared, It is strange what a metamorphosis takes place when deep within the virginal wilds one seems to fit in with the surroundings, I have talked with many women since my return, and one of the first questions they have asked me has been What did you live on And my answer was Anything at any time I could get it. Ones entire outlook changes one becomes part of the primeval jungle there is no money, no domestic worry, no thought of dress, no softening influence the thin veneer of civilisation disappears, and one reverts to the primitive. vii vm PREFACE I have seen a wild pig killed, its throat cut to bleed it, skinned and cooked, and within an hour or two have eaten it with more zest than I would the most carefully prepared dish at home. In Jamaica whenever we caught a turtle I invariably pleaded for its life, but a little later itonly stood for fresh food. I have once or twice felt revolted at descriptions of acts of desperate men following a shipwreck. But now I understand. The horizon of my vision is broadened and an indefinable something impels me to continue. Some gamble at the tables, others on the race-course, but the greatest of all gambles is with life. I am no author, and my only idea was to keep a personal diary for future reference. It was only when Mr. Milsted, whom I met in Panama almost immediately after my return from visiting the Chucunaque, urged me to write of my experiences, that I consented after much persuasion to endeavour to amplify what at the best were but rough notes made under most trying conditions. . I have just written Finis to the result, and send it out into the world with much diffidence. I would like to express my grateful thanks to Sir Sidney Harmer Director of the British Museum, Sir Arthur Keith Conservator of the Royal College of Surgeons Museum, Professor Eliot Smith University of London, Mr. T. A. Joyce British Museum, Mr. Henry Balfour Curator of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, Mr. Louis C G. Clarke Curator of the Museum of Ethnology, Cambridge, Mr. A. R. Hinks Hon. Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society, Mr. E, N. Fallaize Hon. Secretary, Royal Anthropological Society, Mr. F. D. Holcorabe Hon. Secretary, British Sea Anglers 1 Society, Mr. G. Gill, of Panama, and Mr Gordon Selfridge. It is largely owing to the help and encouragement PREFACE IX they have given me that the fascination of this work has gripped me. The sea to-day holds much that is undreamt of, and the world miles of virgin country waiting exploration. It is the dearest wish of my heart to devote therest of my life to other Voyages to the Unknown It is possible that some reader of this book may be able to advance a theory relative to the mystery which surrounds the primitive Indian tribes in Central and South America. All points of view will be gladly welcomed. M. RICHMOND BROWN. WHITE ROCK, BROCKENHURST, HANTS. ADDENDUM SINCE this book was written Mr. Mitchell Hedges and I have presented to the Nation the collection, numbering thousands of objects, which we brought back from the Chucunaque...