Wanderings in South America

Charles Waterton was born in 1782 – the eldest son of Thomas Waterton and his wife Anne – at Walton Hall in Yorkshire. His family were one of the oldest in the North of England and well respected. He succeeded to the estate in 1806 and made his home there. His brief marriage in 1820 ended little more than a year later in the death of his wife, leaving him with an infant son. His overriding interest was natural history and it is obvious from Wanderings in South America that he was happier living with Indians and monkeys in the forest of Guiana than living the life of a gentleman in Yorkshire. The story of his wanderings starts with his first wandering in April 1812 and covers four journeys. However, it is the genuine zeal and inexhaustible delight with which he describes all the barbarous countries he visited that makes this remarkable book such a joyous record. He seemed to love the forests, the tigers and the apes and to rejoice in being the only Englishman there. His interest extends to the Indians and his strange fascination with the wourali poison the Indians use on their arrows gives another dimension to this marvellous chronicle of adventure and natural history.