Letter from Theodor Hartweg to the secretary of Horticultural Society of London [George Bentham]

Information

Title: Letter from Theodor Hartweg to the secretary of Horticultural Society of London [George Bentham]

Scope & content: Written from Popayan [Popayan, Colombia]

Letter No 65. Annotated in a different hand: 'Read to Council Febry 9 1843'

He left Quito [Ecuador] on 21 Jul and arrived on 17 Aug without encountering any difficulties on the journey; he did not find many seeds, as there was only grass growing on the mountains and plains; the location of the town is 'very agreeable', on the western declivity of the central cordillera [mountain] 6,000 feet high, with a mild climate similar to that in Guatemala; there is an active, snow-covered volcano Purace [Colombia] within a days' ride, and Sotara [Colombia] to the south: 'on their flanks I anticipate a rich harvest of novelties'; he is trying to find a servant and lodgings and then commence his 'operations'; he is staying in an old convent, 'an immense building without a person living in it, and which is considered as not secure during my absence'; he expects to stay for about three months, and visit the western cordillera [mountains] 'where nobody had been before'; he will travel to Bogota [Colombia] in December before the rainy season sets in

Hartweg's accounts for 13 Jul-13 Aug 1842 include 'mozo [servant] to return to Riobamba [Ecuador]' $1.4, 'keeping of three mules' $7.6, 'shoeing forefeet of three mules' $6, '4 baskets' $0.4 and '3 round boxes' $0.3 [here the list includes 7 more items]