W. Barbrooke Grubb – The Livingstone of South America

The life and work of William Barbrooke Grubb [1865-1930] despite appearing in the standard mission dictionaries seems to be relatively unknown. Wikipedia, for example, contains no entry for him. To help remedy this I am making available four books this month by and about Barbrooke Grubb, who worked mainly in Paraguay, but also travelled extensively in Chile, Bolivia and Argentina.

R.J. Hunt [1874-1938], The Livingstone of South America. The Life & Adventures of W. Barbrooke Grubb among the wild tribes of the Gran Chaco in Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina, the Falkland Islands & Tierra del Fuego. London: Seeley, Service & Co., Ltd., [1932]. Hbk. pp.347. [Click to download complete book in PDF]

My thanks to Redcliffe College for making a copy of this book available for digitisation. This title is in the public domain.

Contents

• An Appreciation – H.T- Morrey-Jones
• Foreword
  Preface

1. Early Years 1865-1886
2. Appointed to Keppel Island 1886
3. Trains Yahgan Boys at Keppel 1886-1889
4. On the Banks of the River Paraguay 1890
5. Experiences at Riacho Fernandez 1890
6. Plunges into the Unknown Wilds 1890
7. Settles Inland 1891
8. Removes to Thlagnasinkinmith 1891
9. Trials and Travels 1892-1893
10. Perilous Days at Thlagwakhe 1893-1894
11. Acquires a Permanent Landing-Place 1895
12. Waikthlatingmangyalwa Founded 1895-96
13. Takes His First Furlough 1896
14. The March of Events in the Field 1896-1897
15. Lengthening Cords and Strengthening Stakes 1897
16. Poet’s Treachery and Murderous Attack 1897
17. Dread of Burial Alive 1897
18. Recovery and Convalescence 1898-1899
19. Trackling the Witch-Doctors 1900
20. The Cattle Ranch at the Pass 1901
21. The Christian Colony at Nakte-Tingma 1902-1904
22. The Garden Settlement of Makthlawaiya 1905-1908
23. An Expedition to Bolivia 1909-1910
24. The Cane-Fields of Argentina 1911-1913
25. Among the Sanapanas of Northern Paraguay 1914
26. Among the Matacos of the Bermejo River 1914-1915
27. Among the Suhin of the Monte Lindo 1915-1918
28. Nearing the End of His Travels 1918-1923
29. Last Links in a Noble Chain 1923-1930
30. The Passing of the Pioneer 1928-1930

• Index

An Appreciation by The Venerable Archdeacon H.T. Morrey-Jones

Some three months before the passing of “W.B.G.” as the subject of this biography was familiarly known to his colleagues, it was my privilege to spend a week-end with him in his home in Lasswade, near Edinburgh.

Many years had elapsed since we had lived and worked together in the Gran Chaco of Paraguay, where I knew him in his prime-the pioneer and hero of a missionary triumph he was so largely instrumental in building up in that then unknown land, and when he was capable of those great feats of physical strength and endurance so constantly demanded of one living under conditions so wild and primitive. [Continue reading]