"[6]
The early part of 1848 was occupied in making arrangements with Mr.
Samuel Stevens, of King Street, Covent Garden, to act as their agent in
disposing of a duplicate collection of specimens which they proposed
sending home; by this means paying their expenses during the time they
were away, any surplus being invested against their return. This and
other matters being satisfactorily settled, they eventually sailed from
Liverpool on April 20th in a barque of 192 tons, said to be "a very fast
sailer," which proved to be correct. On arriving at Para about a month
later, they immediately set about finding a house, learning something of
the language, the habits of the people amongst whom they had come to
live, and making short excursions into the forest before starting on
longer and more trying explorations up country.
Wallace's previous vivid imaginings of what life in the tropics would
mean, so far as the surpassing beauty of nature was concerned, were not
immediately fulfilled. As a starting-point, however, Para had many
advantages. Besides the pleasant climate, the country for some hundreds
of miles was found to be nearly level at an elevation of about 30 or 40
ft.
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