Head Hunters Of The Amazon

by Fritz W. Up de Graff

Suddenly with a yell he broke cover and came sprinting down toward the water. At first we could think of nothing but a war-party of Huambizas. In another second, however, we spotted the cause of his terror. Not two yards behind him, skimming over the ground at the same pace as its quarry, came a black snake. With a howl Ambusha dashed into the water, just in time to escape the venomous fangs. The snake halted. At that moment, I seized my rifle and shot its head off.

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1923

About the author

Fritz W. Up de Graff (1873-1927) was an American adventurer who traveled throughout the Amazon Basin, Mexico, Cuba, and Spain, sometimes working as a mining engineer and other times seeking wealth mining rubber or prospecting for gold.

Reviews

[Christopher Chambers]

I confess I bought this book (only the second ever) solely on its title.

Recently having read The Storyteller brought this to mind. Though sharing only location with Mario Vargas Llosa's book, other recent reads, The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the Northwest Passage and the North Pole, 1818-1909 and Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest, chimed with the motif of exploration. Time then to blow away the shelf dust of the last umpteen years.

And I'm glad I did. This is a great read; of its time (1890s) but only clashing occasionally with modern sensibilities on race and gender. The anachronisms most apparent are economic or rather the candid admission of exploitations that perhaps are as commonplace now as then.

The author's nature and character emerge gradually, his honesty and self-effacement impressing. He regards himself as an accidental author but he does a clear, well researched job. Writing almost 20 years after the events describes he keeps the freshness in his narrative and he has the storyteller's gift providing nicely timed peaks in the yarn.

[Paky]

Interesante si te gustan estos libros de viajes y aventuras, a primeros del siglo XX, cuando todavía quedaban tierras vírgenes y tribus que no habían tenido contacto con la civilización europea. Alguna de las historias que cuenta resultan inverosímiles.

[kathleen]

I thoroughly enjoyed up de Graff's account of his time in the Amazon basin from the late 1890's to the early 1900's. His style of writing puts you there with him. It amazes me the intrepidness of explorers from that time. After I finished the book, I happened to see an article on the Smithsonian site about the loss of habitation to areas along the rivers of the Amazon as a result of gold mining. The pictures were startling in comparison to his descriptions. I cannot find any further information regarding his life once he returned to New York. The book is dedicated to his three sons but you are left wondering what happened to this person after so many years experiencing wanderlust.

[Koca Loca]

I enjoyed this book so much that I read it again. This is Up de Graff's account of his traveling along the Amazon River Basin and related tributaries. Very informative account.

[Cory Jackson]

Early true life adventure in the Amazon.

[RRex]

An extremely interesting account of adventure in the Amazon of the early 20th century.

[Jose Vidal]

Una historia de viajes por el Amazonas a finales del siglo XIX, curiosa, irregular y, a veces, desconcertante.