Expeditions

Jacques Huber lived in Brazil for nineteen years (from 1895 to 1914). During this time, he made nearly forty trips, both within and outside the country, resulting in large botanical collections. Furthermore, Huber also created visual records of the places he visited, including photographs, maps and drawings. In this section, we present seven of his expeditions: Marajó Archipelago (four trips between 1896 and 1902), state of Ceará (1897), Ucayali River (1898), and Purus River (1904). In the maps below, you can navigate through the tabs to view the itinerary of each trip, the routes he followed, the collections he gathered (preserved at the Goeldi Museum), the photos and drawings he created along his journeys, as well as a few notes on the places he visited.

Lucas Monteiro de Araújo

To navigate through the tabs, click on the icon   located in the upper left corner of the map window.

Expedition to the Brazilian Guyana (Amapá)

Period: October/1895 to November/1895

Expedition members: Emil Göldi (zoologist and director of the museum in Belém); Jacques Huber (botanist and photographer); Max Tänner (taxidermist); Lieutenant Colonel Aureliano Pinto de Lima Guedes (contributor to the museum); Manoel Pinto de Lima Guedes (plant preparator, son of Lieutenant Colonel Lima Guedes); Manoel (assistant).

Logistics: The museum team took a regular steamboat of the Companhia do Amazonas to sail from Belém to Cunani and the village of Amapá. They explored both regions on foot and by canoe. In Cunani, the team was hosted by José da Luz (whom Huber referred to as the governor of the place), while in Amapá their host was Francisco Xavier da Veiga Cabral. The expedition members hired some local guides (such as Manoel, the only one named by Huber) to explore the surrounding areas of both villages. The trip resulted in more than two hundred botanical specimens for the museum, as well as zoological, geological, archaeological and photographic collections.

Expeditions to the Marajó Island (Brazil)

Period:

- Expedition to Cachoeira do Arari: June/1896 to July/1896
- Expedition to Cape Maguary: August/1896 to September/1896
- Expedition to Aramá River: February/1900 to March/1900
- Expedition to Jutuba: June/1902 to July/1902

 

 Expedition Members:

- Expedition to Cachoeira do Arari: Members from the botany section of the Goeldi Museum.
- Expedition to Cape Maguary: Members from both the first (zoology) and second (botany) sections of the Goeldi Museum.
- Expedition to Aramá River: Jacques Huber (botanist), Karl von Kraatz-Koschlau (geologist), and Gottiried Hagmann (assistant zoologist).
- Expedition to Jutuba: Jacques Huber (botanist) and Rodolpho de Siqueira Rodrigues (assistant botanist).

 

Logistics: Huber relied on regular steamboats to access the main cities of Marajó, such as Soure, Breves, and Cachoeira do Arari. He received assistance from numerous farmers and landowners who provided accommodation, as well as canoes and horses for smaller expeditions within the archipelago. Additionally, he benefited from the support of various local guides who gave valuable information about the region's flora. During these trips, Huber explored two distinct areas of Marajó: the natural fields (northeast and east) and the forests (west, northwest, and south). His four expeditions resulted in more than five hundred specimens for the Goeldi Museum’s herbarium.

Expedition to the Capim River (Brazil)

Period: June 1897 to July 1897

Expedition Members: Jacques Huber, Emil Goeldi, Ludwig Tschümperli and João Batista de Sá

Logistics: The expedition sailed from Belém to Aproaga mill on a state government steamer. From Aproaga to the Capim rapids (Cachoeira do Capim), the team travelled on a steamer provided by Vicente Chermont de Miranda, the owner of Aproaga mill, who also accompanied the expedition. In addition to exploring the Capim River, the team visited numerous streamlets, lakes, and some tributaries of the Capim River by canoe. They were assisted by local guides, all of them indigenous and Afro-descendants (for example, a Tembé man named Martin appears in some photos taken by Jacques Huber; and an Afro-descendant hunter named Tito is mentioned in Tschümperli’s travel report). Huber and Goeldi returned ill from this trip, which led them to travel to other states for treatment (Huber went to Ceará and Goeldi to Rio de Janeiro). Tschümperli arrived in such bad health that he returned to his homeland, Switzerland. The expedition resulted in numerous botanical and zoological collections for the museum, including more than three hundred plant specimens.

Expedition to Ceará

Period: September/1897 to October/1897

Expedition members: Jacques Huber (botanist and photographer).

Logistics: Huber sailed from Belém (Pará, Brazil) to Fortaleza (Ceará, Brazil) on a regular steamboat. After exploring the costal dunes, he took a train from the “Baturité Railway” to reach Baturité and Quixadá. He rode a horse to ascend Baturité mountain (Serra de Baturité) and used donkeys to visit several farms around Baturité and Guaramiranga, as well as to travel from Quixadá to Cedro Lake (Açude do Cedro) and Serra Riscada. The expedition received assistance from some landowners and local residents who worked on the farms. Along this trip, Huber collected and photographed three different biomes: the coast, the Atlantic Forest, and the Caatinga (semiarid vegetation).

Expedition to the Ucayali River (Peru)

Period: September/1898 to January/1899

Expedition members: Jacques Huber (botanist and photographer) and Edouard Marmier (geographer and photographer)

Logistics: Huber and Marmier sailed from Belém (Brazil) to Contamana (Peru) on regular steamboats (such as "Esperança" and "Bolivar"). They hiked up the Canchahuaya mountain (Cerro de Canchahuaya), assisted by some local guides (mostly indigenous), and explored the region of the "Pampas del Sacramento" and the Huallaga River using canoes they hired. Huber documented this trip in four diaries, along with numerous drawings and photographs.

Expedition to the Purus River (Brazil)

Period: February/1904 to May/1904

Expedition members: Jacques Huber (botanist and photographer). When Huber reached "Bom Lugar" (upper Purus River), he met Andreas Goeldi and João Batista de Sá.

Logistics: Huber sailed from Belém (Pará, Brazil) to Seringal Ponto Alegre (Amazonas, Brazil) on regular steamboats. The expedition encountered numerous obstacles (the boat broke down several times, a suspected case of bubonic plague infection resulted in the ship being quarantine, etc.) that caused delays and made it impossible for Huber to reach the Iaco River as he had intended. The botanist also hired some canoes to visit places around "Bom Lugar" (such as "Monte Verde" and "Lago Mapongapa"). The trip resulted in botanical collections, two diaries (the second volume is missing), and photographs.