Chapter 1

It was 1880 and America was still recovering from its Civil War and trying to come back together as a country. In an effort to help unite the country once more and rally the nation to one purpose, Boston University decided to embark on an expedition to search for the fabled Amazon capital, Choque Cota somewhere in the deepest regions of the Amazon jungle...

Dr. James Anderson was an anthropologist and the head of the university’s Archaeology and Antiquities Department. So the university had put him in charge of the expedition–an honor that he had worked hard for and was greatly pleased when he was selected. Funded by a generous grant from the government and backed by the university, it was hoped he would bring back relics and specimens to enhance the university’s Archaeology and Science Departments and add to the growing university museum.

Along with him on this expedition he had Dr. William Hope, an older faculty member and fellow scientist who heard about the expedition and had argued his way onto the crew by means of his knowledge of history and earth sciences. He was fascinated with native lifestyles and hearing the expedition was in the Amazon, he had to come along! Also accompanying the two doctors was Marcos Alvarez from the university’s Language Department. Marcos could speak a number of different languages and could serve as a translator for the party. There were four other men who came along as well doing various jobs and tasks to insure the expeditions success. One was a native guide they employed once they got to their starting point.

The expedition started by boarding the sailing ship the Independence, bound for Macapá, on Brazil’s northeast coast, at the mouth of the mighty Amazon River. Once there, they planned on unloading their supplies and equipment into two wood-fired steam paddlewheel riverboats similar to the ones used on the Mississippi River in the States, but about half the size. These boats had small cabins so the occupants could get out of the nearly everyday rains and where they could sleep safe from the dangers of the jungle.

Behind the cabin was a good-sized deck where the expeditions supplies were stored and lashed securely with netting to keep anything from getting lost on the long river journey they were about to undertake. Also on board each of the paddlewheel riverboats were a couple canoes that would be used if the river got too narrow or shallow for the bigger paddlewheelers. To power the big paddlewheelers they would cut the wood they needed as they went, trying to find dead wood if possible, but burning green wood if they had to.

The voyage left Boston harbor one spring day in mid-May. The temperature was a comfortable fifty-five degrees and it was sunny with calm seas. It would take fifteen days to reach Macapá by ship so the crew had lots of time to discuss and debate the various strategies and plans for the journey upriver.

Dr. Anderson pored over the maps and what precious little “research” he was able to gather before they set sail. Unfortunately South America was virtually unknown at this point in time–at least unknown to anyone in the United States. What little information he did have on the country came primarily from other ship captains and crews that had sailed to the coast of the country, there was no information at all about the interior of the continent.

The days dragged on, one day blending into the next. There were many tasks and chores to be done on board the ship. On a sailing ship like the Independence, everyone worked; there was no such thing as a passenger, and no one got a free ride! The weather for the most part was reasonable for a voyage this long.

There were some stormy days and the landlocked Dr. Anderson gave more than one meal back to the sea. The other crew members got a good laugh at the green doctor as he hung his head over the rail on those rough days. But by and large, the ship and crew had good weather for sailing. They sailed from Boston to Bermuda where they stopped to restock supplies, and then to headed to Barbados for another resupply before going on to Macapá.

One day as they approached Barbados to restock with supplies, Dr. Hope knocked on the cabin door of Dr. Anderson. “Come in,” Dr. Anderson said.

“Hi James, how are things going?” Dr. Hope said.

“Oh, hi William. Just fine. I was just going over the maps a bit more trying to figure out where we could stop for the night once we start heading upriver,” James said.

“I see. Well the captain says we will be stopping at Barbados to resupply and be there for a day at least. Then its another six days or so to reach Macapá,” William said.

“I will be glad to set my feet on solid ground again!” James said “This rolling ship’s deck is hard to walk on! I don’t know how these sailors do this!”

“I know how you feel. I, too, am used to the floor under me being stationary! It’s like a two week long earthquake!” William laughed. “Anyway, the reason I came by was to talk to you more about the story of this Choque Cota. It intrigues me very much, that’s why I was so adamant about wanting to come along! You know I am fascinated by native tribes and cultures.”

“Yes, I was pleased to learn you wanted to come along. Well, there isn’t a lot to tell about the legend, I’m afraid. All I know is that there is supposedly a city called Choque Cota somewhere in the Amazon jungle.

“The city was the capital of this branch of the pre-Columbian Incas and was ruled by a King Pachacuti, reportedly a very great warrior and very good king to his subjects, but terrifying to his enemies. I am hoping to find the ruins of this once great city and perhaps bring back some relics for the museum. I don’t know if there is any gold or other treasures as some tales of Inca riches goes ... I would be happy with some pottery, arrowheads, or tools.”

“I am quite eager to get off this ship and get underway. I want to learn more about the people of this strange land and how they live,” William said. “Bermuda was interesting, although I already knew something of what to expect there. But the rest of this exploration will be a complete surprise, for all of us, I fear.

“There are no reliable maps showing anything but the coastline, and the cities and villages along it. The interior is a vast, unknown blank spot. I’m sure the natives know something of it, and I hope to employ one or two as guides for the trip into the heart of this strange new land. But we are sure to come upon sights and sounds that are as foreign to us as we are to them!”

A full seven days later, after they had restocked and resupplied the ship, they were nearing their landing port of Macapá. Macapá was a resupply port itself, used by several countries who traded back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean. The countries who sailed into the port city had built two very sturdy and spacious docks for the tall ships which made loading and unloading a lot easier than trying to use smaller service boats, like they’d had to use in Barbados a few days ago.

All hands were called upon to get the ship to the dock and get the expedition’s supplies and equipment offloaded and fresh supplies loaded on board so the ship could continue its journey.

Once they arrived and their supplies and equipment were unloaded and stacked on the deck, the men began organizing the paddlewheeler’s loads. They split the crew and the supplies between the two large riverboats, with Dr. Anderson on one of the riverboats and Dr. Hope on the other.

The expedition would head up the Amazon River, following it until they reached the Juruá River. They would follow the Juruá about halfway to its headwaters and then it would be a two day hike through the jungle to the spot where the legendary pre-Columbian civilization of Choque Cota supposedly lies. If they could locate these ruins, the party hoped they could find some interesting pieces for the museum there.

Of course, they expedition party didn’t know the names of these rivers or how far they would have to travel up them ... for them it would be a matter of leaving it up to their native guides and trusting that they knew where they were going. Marcos, the language expert from the university, found the Macapian people spoke a broken dialect of Portuguese that enabled him to converse rather well with them and he was able to procure a couple native men to serve as guides for the party.

Two days after the ship had arrived at Macapá, the expedition was ready to take up the next leg of their journey. But in order to get a fresh start and make the first overnight area, they decided to hold off until morning and get a full’s day travel. So with the American’s sleeping on the riverboats and the two native guides sleeping in their home one more night, the last night in “civilization” was a peaceful one.

The next day, just before dawn, the party pushed off the dock and the paddlewheeler’s mighty steam engines began powering the large riverboats upstream. The boats made good headway against the river’s current, as the paddlewheels churned the muddy brown water. Dr. Anderson stood, leaning against the gunwale as he watched the riverbank go by.

It would take nearly a month of daily travel up the river before the group would reach the point where they would leave the comfort of their steam powered boats to begin the arduous cross-country leg of their trip. During that time, they would pass many native villages, most of them small, although some were quite large and well-developed for such primitive peoples.

They would encounter wildlife such as crocodiles and capybara, anacondas and jaguar, a myriad of beautifully plumed birds and insects beyond their abilities to catalog. Unfortunately, photography was still in its infancy and the cameras of the day were big, cumbersome, and unreliable behemoths and far too delicate for the rigors of jungle exploration.

There were times when their progress was slowed river conditions–a hot spell would lower the river volume, resulting in more snags and shallow areas. Conversely, a lot of rainfall would swell the river and it would then have more force working against their progress. Also the Amazon river splits and separates in many locations and sometimes the channel they took wasn’t the main channel and they would have to stop and float back until they found the main channel.

They also had to stop on occasion to cut more wood for the boilers or to hunt for fresh meat. Capybara were a favorite of the crew–easily caught, they provided a lot of good meat with little expenditure of time or effort. They also fished and their native guides showed them which plants were good to eat as well so they could vary their diet.

Seven days journey upriver from Macapá was another large village known as Santarém. There they stopped to rest and talk to the locals. With Marcos as translator, Dr. Hope talked to them about life on the river and their culture and ways.

He scribbled furiously in his notebooks–he had brought along dozens of notebooks to take notes as well as many drawing books to sketch the things he saw. Dr. Hope was a fairly decent sketch artist and used his talent to record things he couldn’t take samples of.