In Search of Human Heads

Ernest T. Morris (1856-1891), known as the “Boy Naturalist” or “Boy Explorer,” made seven trips to the Amazon valley between 1875 and 1884. He was a Special Correspondent for the New York World, writing many columns describing his journeys. This text covers his first and second journeys, including (starting in Chapter IV) his 1876-1877 trek up the Tapajos and Cururu rivers to reach the villages of the Campineiros, an isolated sub-group of the Munduruku tribe. Morris made this trip on a shoestring budget, when he was just twenty years old.

I have spent the past few months transcribing, editing, and annotating this previously unpublished manuscript, passed down through his family to the current owner, Marianne Lanman Salaymeh. Now it’s available to the world!

In Search of Human Heads by Ernest T. Morris at Archive.org