MY DEAR YOUNG READERS,
In presenting this book to you I have only to repeat what I have said inthe prefaces of my former works,--namely, that all the important pointsand anecdotes are true; only the minor and unimportant ones beingmingled with fiction. With this single remark I commit my work to yourhands, and wish you a pleasant ramble, in spirit, through the romanticforests of Brazil.
Yours affectionately,
R.M. BALLANTYNE.
[October, 1858.]
MARTIN RATTLER