The Mapmaker's Wife (46 page)

145.
“Senièrgues alone has paid for all of us,”
Colloque International
. Article by Gabriel Judde, “Recherches sur Joseph de Jussieu botaniste (et médecin) de l’expedition La Condamine,” 28–42.

146.
“It seems that they were shewing some French gallantry,”
Jones, 113.

147
. The Cuenca church that La Condamine and Louis Godin used as a triangulation point is still standing; San Sebastián Plaza where Senièrgues was murdered is about one-half mile away from that spot.

148.
“series of sad and difficult observations,”
La Condamine,
Journal du voyage
, 87.

148.
“They had the talent of mimicking,”
La Condamine,
Journal du voyage
, 88.

Chapter Nine: Marriage in Quito

For a description of marriage practices in colonial Peru, see Socolow’s
Women of Colonial Latin America
, Lavrin’s
Sexuality and Marriage in Colonial Latin America
, Martín’s
Daughters of the Conquistadores
, and Descola’s
Daily Life in Colonial Peru
.

151.
“Creole women recognize the disaster,”
Juan and Ulloa,
Discourse and Political Reflections
, 220.

152.
“Don’t marry an old man,”
Descola, 116.

152.
“stir up immoral and lascivious desire,”
Leonard,
Books of the Brave
, 88.

153.
“so utterly absorbed in reading,”
Leonard,
Books of the Brave
, 22. 153. “She was always dressed,” Martín, 281.

153.
“an amatory conversation through the Venetian blinds,”
and “frantic desire to marry,” Descola, 116.

154.
“little kisses, raise the old-man,”
Socolow, 102.

154.
“after four years of a traveling life,”
La Condamine,
Journal du voyage
, 92.

155.
“I love my country,”
La Condamine,
Relación abreviada de un viaje
, 156.

156.
“Only the French members of the Academy,”
Journal du voyage
, La Condamine, 245–246.

156.
“a new comedy by Molière,”
La Condamine,
Journal du voyage
, 269.

157.
“put his affairs and his conscience in order,”
La Condamine,
Journal du voyage
, 103.

158.
“the most famous in all South America,”
and “never hazarded without the utmost dread,” Bouguer, 295–296.

159.
“reconnoitering the ground,”
Jean Godin, 1773 letter to La Condamine, as translated into English in
Perils and Captivity
.

160.
“His duties regarding the objective,”
La Condamine,
Journal du voyage
, 132.

160
. Dowry information is from Arellano, 41.

162.
“At a time when I was flattering myself,”
La Condamine,
Journal du voyage
, 131.

163.
“for the same purpose we use waxcloth,”
Wolf and Wolf, 28.

163.
“It matters not on what place of the earth we stand,”
Bouguer, 311.

164.
“One wishes that it would be universal,”
Vera, 21.

164.
“I tried in vain to keep moving,”
La Condamine,
Journal du voyage
, 151.

165.
“no one obeyed it,”
La Condamine,
Relación abreviada de un viaje
, 153.

165.
“insulted the nation of Spain,”
La Condamine,
Journal du voyage
, 242.

166.
“justice in Quito is constant,”
La Condamine,
Journal du voyage
, 270.

166.
“attracted the attention of the ladies,”
La Condamine,
Journal du voyage
, 164.

167.
“series of labors and hardships,”
Juan and Ulloa,
A Voyage to South America
, 229.

Chapter Ten: Down the Amazon

169.
“I reckoned on taking the same road,”
Godin, 1773 letter to La Condamine.

170
. Arellano describes the financial difficulties of Jean Godin in Quito.

171.
“Riobamba is situated,”
Ecuador: Insight Guide
, 251.

171.
“very careful not to diminish their wealth,”
Juan and Ulloa,
A Voyage to South America
, 311.

171.
“tallest in the viceroyalty,”
Mejía, 9.

172.
“landscape elegantly adorned,”
Juan and Ulloa,
A Voyage to South America
, 312.

173
. The folklore regarding Chimborazo, Altar, and Tungurahua is recounted by Anhalzer.

174.
“There are a great number of young people,”
Mejía, 52.

174-175
. Details about the Gramesón family during this period are from Arellano’s
Historia de amor
.

175
. The fact that Jean and Isabel’s first three children died shortly after birth is from research by Saint Amand librarian Hélène Touzel.

175
. Pierre Godin’s “Génealogie de la famille Godin” provides the date for the death of Jean’s father.

177.
“They were like madmen, without sense,”
Hanson, 154.

177-184
. Hemming’s
Red Gold
provides a very thorough and disturbing history of the exploration of the Amazon River and the slave trade that depopulated it.

181.
“most intelligent, the best governed on the river,”
Anthony Smith, 150.

181.
“settlements are so close together,”
Hemming, 231.

182.
“They killed them as one kills mosquitoes,”
Hemming, 411.

184.
“As for the discomforts,”
La Condamine,
Journal du voyage
, 123.

185.
“The famous straight known under the name,”
La Condamine,
Journal du voyage
, 174, and “Abridged Narrative of Travels through the Interior of South America,” 215.

186.
“should die en route,”
La Condamine,
Journal du voyage
, 187.

186.
“on rafts constructed on the spot,”
La Condamine, “Abridged Narrative of Travels,” 216.

187.
“Ever since, secluded in accessible woods,”
La Condamine, “Abridged Narrative of Travels,” 219.

187.
“The waters seem to hurl,”
La Condamine, “Abridged
Narrative of Travels,” 219.

187.
“I found myself,”
La Condamine, “Abridged Narrative of Travels,” 220.

189.
“grows in the flesh of men,”
La Condamine, “Abridged Narrative of Travels,” 247.

189.
“By a strong puff of the breath,”
La Condamine, “Abridged Narrative of Travels,” 225.

190.
“nothing but a thirst for gold,”
La Condamine, “Abridged Narrative of Travels,” 238.

190.
“probably exaggerations or inventions,”
La Condamine, “Abridged Narrative of Travels,” 234.

191.
“While thus torpified,”
La Condamine, “Abridged Narrative of Travels,” 245.

192.
“On the banks of the Marañón,”
La Condamine, “Abridged Narrative of Travels,” 229.

192.
“The chief decoration,”
La Condamine, “Abridged Narrative of Travels,” 229.

192.
“Of all the savages,”
La Condamine,
Journal du voyage
, 189.

192.
“to make them more perfectly resemble,”
La Condamine, “Abridged Narrative of Travels,” 226.

193.
“without coming across any signs of life,”
La Condamine,
Journal du voyage
, 190.

193.
“native women all clad in Britany linen,”
La Condamine, “Abridged Narrative of Travels,” 230.

194.
“In dull, distant places,”
Jones, 153.

194.
“furnishes a new argument and demonstration,”
La Condamine, “
Relation abrégée de un voyage
,” iii.

196.
“By all appearances,”
LaFuente and Delgado, 285.

197.
“Bouguer could not disguise,”
eulogy for La Condamine.

197.
“One of the best and most useful,”
Hanke, 169.

198.
“No other wish but,”
La Condamine,
Journal du voyage
, 218.

199.
“heart covering itself with a black veil,”
eulogy for Jussieu.

200.
“never hazarded without the utmost dread,”
Bouguer, 296.

200.
“Anyone but you, Sir,”
Godin, 1773 letter to La Condamine.

201.
“With no other recommendation,”
Godin, 1773 letter to La Condamine.

201.
“He received me with open arms,”
Godin, 1773 letter to La Condamine.

202.
“a large pirogue of fourteen oars,”
Godin, 1773 letter to La Condamine.

202.
“by following the same route,”
Froidevaux, 95–96.

202.
“It doesn’t appear that his time,”
Froidevaux, 96.

Chapter Eleven: A Continent Apart

206
. The two memoires by Jean Godin cited in this chapter were published in a nineteenth-century book,
Extraits des auteurs et voyageurs qui ont écrit sur la Guyane de 1596 à 1844
, edited by Victor de Nouvion.

206.
“France’s interest in navigation along the Amazon,”
Godin, “Mémoire sur la navigation de l’Amazone,” in
Extraits
, 88–91.

208.
“owing to it being light and pliable,”
Godin, “Mémoire sur différents bois dans l’ile de Cayenne,” in
Extraits
, 91–93.

209.
“He was well regarded,”
Froidevaux, 103.

209.
“I had the honor,”
letter from Godin to Rouillé, April 8, 1751. Froidevaux, 125–126.

210.
“We have not yet responded to him,”
Froidevaux, 98.

211.
“facilitate, on my account,”
letter from Ignatius Visconti, January 16, 1754. Copy obtained from the municipal library in Saint Amand-Montrond.

211.
“I write, Sir, to Monsieurs d’Orvilliers,”
letter from Rouillé to Godin, March 19, 1752. Froidevaux, 98.

211.
“I inquired [about the passport] of the governor of that place,”
Froidevaux, 98.

212.
“would be a source of riches,”
and “I implore you, Sir,” letter from Lemoyne to Paris, June 14, 1752. Froidevaux, 127.

214.
“Only a small portion of the costs,”
joint letter from Lemoyne and d’Orvilliers to Paris, June 19, 1752. Froidevaux, 128.

215.
“Godin asked me for permission,”
letter from M. Dunezat to Paris, May 10, 1755. Froidevaux, 129.

215.
“mouth of the Amazon,”
and “poor state,” Froidevaux, 141.

215
. The name of Isabel and Jean’s daughter does not appear in genealogical records; Carmen del Pilar is as cited by Arellano.

217
. Arellano describes the financial problems of the Gramesón family during the 1950s in his
Historia de amor
.

217.
“I will always better your fortune,”
Arellano, 55.

218
. Information about Indian uprisings in the 1760s can be found in
Encyclopedia del Ecuador
and Mejía’s
Riobamba: La villa peregrina
.

218
. Mejía describes the importance of the Virgin of Sicalpa in Riobamba during this period.

219.
“I renewed my letters every year,”
Godin, 1773 letter to La Condamine.

221.
“I provided [Choiseul] with a very detailed account,”
letter from Godin des Odonais to Fiedmont, October 25, 1765. Froidevaux, 134–136.

221.
“In December 1763, I had the honor,”
letter from Godin des Odonais to Choiseul, June 1, 1764. Froidevaux, 130.

222.
“I was, Sir, associated with the gentlemen,”
letter from Godin des Odonais to d’Herouville, September 10, 1764. Froidevaux, 130–132.

222.
“This behavior by our touchy and cruel neighbor,”
letter from Fiedmont to Paris, October 18, 1765. Froidevaux, 132–133.

223.
“in the midst of a nation against which,”
Godin, October 25, 1765, letter to Fiedmont.

223.
“something is going on in this boat,”
letter from Godin des Odonais to Fiedmont, October 25, 1765.

223.
“The whites that I would have brought,”
letter from Godin des Odonais to Fiedmont, October 28, 1765. Froidevaux, 137–139.

224.
“I’ve worked against this nation,”
Godin, October 28, 1765, letter to Fiedmont.

224.
“nasty fall in the woods,”
Godin, October 25, 1765, letter to Fiedmont.

224.
“He’ll hear nothing of going ahead,”
Godin, October 25, 1765, letter to Fiedmont.

224.
“This man wants to overpower me,”
Godin, October 28, 1765, letter to Fiedmont.

224.
“Please do me the honor,”
Godin, October 28, 1765, letter to Fiedmont.

224.
“to whom I might entrust,”
Godin, 1773 letter to La Condamine.

225.
“a knight of the order of Christ,”
Godin, 1773 letter to La Condamine.

226.
“give credit to [it], while others dispute,”
Godin, 1773 letter to La Condamine.

226
. The date for Carmen’s death is from Arellano.

227
.
“live in a debasement of human nature,”
Juan and Ulloa,
A Voyage to South America
, 479.

227.
“wholly covered with scales,”
Juan and Ulloa,
A Voyage to South America
, 362.

228.
“It is a serpent of a frightful magnitude,”
Juan and Ulloa,
A Voyage to South America
, 397.

228.
“extremely troublesome and fatiguing,”
Juan and Ulloa,
A Voyage to South America
, 370.

229.
“Her father and her brothers,”
Grandmaison, “Un drame inconnu.”