The Darkest Jungle: The True Story of the Darién Expedition and America's Ill-fated Race to Connect the SeasIn 1854, Leiutenant Isaac G Strain, an ambitious American explorer and U S Naval officer, was given command of Cyane, the first ship to voyage to the Darien Gap. Strain was a natural born leader, a wild-haired, wiry-strong frontiersman who had travelled extensively throughout the Southern Hemisphere. Greatly admired, Strain was expected to successfully cross the ithsmus of Central America through the Darien Gap. However, the expedition would prove to be perilous. Armed with fraudulent information about the areas rugged terrain, phony maps and only a small supply of food, Strain and his team of 29 men ventured far from their ship and became lost in this mountainous, steep-banked jungle, full of unfriendly natives that attacked the party. Beaten down by intense heat and days of walking, some of Strain's men contracted lurid mystery diseases, while others, despite the lush vegetation, were slowly starving to death. The situation was grim and Strain beleived that their best bet for survival was for him to force his way down river in search of help. When he did not return after 21 days, the detachment decided to back track and left Strain for dead. But Strain made it back to his men with help, though nine had perished and the rest were delirious. He managed to lead his enfeebled party nearly 200 miles to safety. |
Contents
PROLOGUE | 1 |
GALES of DECEMBER | 3 |
2 The SEA and the JUNGLE | 19 |
Copyright | |
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aboard American arrived Aspinwall Atlantic and Pacific Avery banks boat boatmen Boggs British Caledonia Bay canoes Captain Cartagena Chucunaque Chucunaque River coast Codazzi command cordillera course crew crossing cruise Cyane Cyane's DARIÉN GAP Darién Harbor day's dozens earlier Edward Cullen engineer Escoces fever forest Gisborne Gisborne's Granadian guides Gulf of San Headley Hollins Hossack Indians Isaac Strain Isthmus of Darién Joel Tyler Headley journal jungle Kettlewell knew Kuna later letter Lieutenant Lombard looked maps Maury miles months morning Morti mountain naval never night ocean officers Panama Panama City party Prevost raft Rancho reached rescue route Royal Geographical Society sail San Blas San Miguel Savana River seamen seemed ship canal ship's shore Spanish Sucubti survey survival Theodore Winthrop tion trees trip tropical Truxtun turned U.S. Navy village Virago volunteers weeks wilderness Winthrop Yaviza York