Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
15
Argonauts of the Amazon
The Marching Orders
The orders arrived at the end of March, and in April the joint boundary commission em-
barked in crafts that were modest for a such a formidable journey: the Peruvian launch
Cahuapanas ; the Brazilian Manoel Urbano and Cunha Gomez , named after the Brazili-
an explorers of the Purús and the Juruá; and light canoes— ubás —for the inevitable time
when channels would not permit even the three-foot draw of their vessels. The Peruvians
had also five smaller craft among them: batelões and ubás —which became key elements
of later intracommission conflict.
Both groups included about twenty-two of their own recruits: the Peruvians relied on
those from their Navy based at Iquitos, while the Brazilian ranks were composed of
praça s (enlisted men) from the Thirty-Sixth Battalion from Manaus, the human engines
ofthetrip.Theexpeditionincludedaspecialized crew(mechanics,photographers,cooks,
thedoctor,includingEuclidesdaCunha'scousinArnaldodaCunha)inadditiontothetwo
principals, Euclides da Cunha and Navy Capitan Alexandre Buenaño. They traveled with
theodolites,chronometers,compasses,barometers,andthermometerstomeasurealtitude,
latitude, longitude, relief, and river depths and to make basic weather observations.
Their main tasks were outlined in the simple language of their marching orders:
1. The parties charged with the exploration of the Purús River will leave from Manaus, verifying the
course of that river, carrying out a simple hydrological reconnaissance up to the trading post at Cataí,
whose geographic coordinates they will determine, as well as any other interesting points of their
journey.
2. They will explore areas above Cataí in their entire extension, and the varadouros that must exist to
the Ucayali.
3. An expedited survey of the Purús will be carried out to determine the approximate coordinates of
the mouths of all the principal affluents, especially those called the Curanjá, Curiujá, and Manoel
Urbano.
4. The Joint Commission will, insofar as possible, correct and complete the map developed by Willi-
am Chandless and will verify the correspondence between the geographic nomenclature used in his
chart with names currently in use. On your return you will determine the coordinates of the confluen-
ces of the Purús.
5. The commission will present a map documenting this work and a descriptive memorandum of the
zones through which you traveled. 1
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