The Darkest Jungle: The True Story of the Darien Expedition and America's Ill-Fated Race to Connect the Seas

by Todd Balf, Ray Childs (Read by)

Commit yourself to the Virgin Mary, for in her hands is the way into the Darien--and in God's is the way out.
The Darkest Jungle tells the harrowing story of America's first ship canal exploration across a narrow piece of land in Central America called the Darien, a place that loomed large in the minds of the world's most courageous adventurers in the nineteenth century. With rival warships and explorers from England and France days behind, the 27-member U.S. Darien Exploring Expedition landed on the Atlantic shore at Caledonia Bay in eastern Panama to begin their mad dash up the coast-hugging mountains of the Darien wilderness. The whole world watched as this party attempted to be the first to traverse the 40-mile isthmus, the narrowest spot between the Atlantic and Pacific in all the Americas.
Later, government investigators would say they were doomed before they started. Amid the speculative fever for an Atlantic and Pacific ship canal, the terrain to be crossed had been grossly misrepresented and fictitiously mapped. By January 27, 1854, the Americans had served out their last provisions and were severely footsore but believed the river they had arrived at was an artery to the Pacific, their destination. Leading them was the charismatic commander Isaac Strain, an adventuring 33-year-old U.S. Navy lieutenant. The party could have turned back except, said Strain, they were to a man revolted at the idea of failing at a task they seemed destined to accomplish. Like the first men to try to scale Everest or reach the North Pole, they felt the eyes of their countrymen upon them.
Yet Strain's party would wander lost in the jungle for another sixty nightmarish days, following a tortuously contorted and uncharted tropical river. Their guns rusted in the damp heat, expected settlements never materialized, and the lush terrain provided little to no sustenance. As the unending march dragged on, the party was beset by flesh-embedding parasites and a range of infectious tropical diseases they had no antidote for (or understanding of). In the desperate final days, in the throes of starvation, the survivors flirted with cannibalism and the sickest men had to be left behind so, as the journal keeper painfully recorded, the rest might have a chance to live.
The U.S. Darien Exploring Expedition's 97-day ordeal of starvation, exhaustion, and madness--a tragedy turned triumph of the soul due to the courage and self-sacrifice of their leader and the seamen who devotedly followed him--is one of the great untold tales of human survival and exploration. Based on the vividly detailed log entries of Strain and his junior officers, other period sources, and Balf's own treks in the Darien Gap, this is a rich and utterly compelling historical narrative that will thrill readers who enjoyed In the Heart of the Sea, Isaac's Storm, and other sagas of adventure at the limits of human endurance. From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Adventure, Travel, Survival, American History, Audiobook

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Daren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Todd Balf provides a thorough review of the 1854 U.S. Darien Exploring Expedition, led by navy lieutenant Issac Strain, charting its failures and successes in equal parts. Additionally it provides a biography of its main players, and also explains the previous, and subsequent expeditions on a similar theme.

At the time the British and the Americans were both competing to chart a route for a canal to join the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. Disingenuous behaviour, personal agendas and blatant breaking of agreements lead to various expeditions - some authorised and some not, all occurring within a few years of each other. Even some rescue attempts are really just further attempts at route finding. Perhaps worst were the falsified reports of crossings and falsified maps, which only led the explorers astray.

For the main part of the book we follow Strain's expedition. It turns out to be a real ordeal of survival. Food - always problematic, climate, insects, a lack of game to hunt, navigation and misinformation on maps, and untrustworthy Indians are all contributing factors to the trouble the expedition found them selves in. Really, leadership was not a fault - which must be quite uncommon in these types of disaster stories.

Without too many spoilers - there were numerous deaths on the expedition - mostly of starvation and illness. However being able to reach to the coast, and raise a rescue party for those left behind was really a triumph in this situation.

The book shares, as noted above, the details of various expeditions. It covers in most detail the Strain expedition, and the subsequent lives of the expedition party. The final chapter details the authors attempt in 2001, to follow a route similar to Sprain. It is not the most flowing read. I found the various competing expeditions confusing, and the maps poor. They didn't offer as must visual support to the routes as I would have liked.

I had, the whole time while reading this book to find a chapter at the end dedicated to the final route of the canal - some vital statistics, some main points, even some comparison the the routes explored, but this book was strangely silent on the canal.

For me this was 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
Recommend only for those with a particular interest.

[Angela's Booked · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book was a bit dry at times, I love the adventure and how the author was able to piece so much of an expedition together that took place well over 100 yrs ago from surviving text from that time.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Darkest Jungle: The True Story of the Darien Expedition and America's Ill-Fated Race to Connect the Seas by Todd Balf looks at the history of an early but unsuccessful attempt by the US to plot out a possible route to build a canal across the isthmus of Panama. The military and civilian team that made the attempt in 1870 worked from written documentation from earlier explorations and hoped to build on that and determine the best route for a canal through Darien Province that lies between Panama and Columbia. This is considerably further south from where the canal was eventually built and also consisted of mostly swampy and nearly impassible jungle. It remains so even today and, other than native tribes that live there, is generally inaccessable. The expedition almost immediately ran into trouble when they realized that the written account they were relying on may have been done by someone who never actually traveled to Darien; many errors turned up and contributed to the team getting lost, splitting up, and many becoming sick, malnourished, and dying. Part of the expedition turned back while others pushed on not realizing the estimated distance to reach the Pacific was vastly underestimated. The story is heartbreaking and the loss of life or even survivors who had health issues for the rest of their lives is shocking. It is well told and descriptive. I did have trouble placing the actual location and still do not know the actual route taken by the expedition even after a thorough on line search. It was a page turner for me.

[Bettie · Rating 1 out of 5]

mp3 workaday

Read By..........: Scott Brick
Publisher........: Books on Tape; Unabridged edition (2003)

blurb - The Darkest Jungle tells the harrowing story of America's first ship canal exploration across a narrow piece of land in Central America called the Darien, a place that loomed large in the minds of the world's most courageous adventurers in the nineteenth century. With rival warships and explorers from England and France days behind, the 27-member U.S. Darien Exploring Expedition landed on the Atlantic shore at Caledonia Bay in eastern Panama to begin their mad dash up the coast-hugging mountains of the Darien wilderness. The whole world watched as this party attempted to be the first to traverse the 40-mile isthmus, the narrowest spot between the Atlantic and Pacific in all the Americas.

Leading them was the charismatic commander Isaac Strain, an adventuring 33-year-old U.S. Navy lieutenant. The party could have turned back except, said Strain, they were to a man "revolted at the idea" of failing at a task they seemed destined to accomplish. Yet Strain's party would wander lost in the jungle for another sixty nightmarish days, following a tortuously contorted and uncharted tropical river. Their guns rusted in the damp heat, expected settlements never materialized, and the lush terrain provided little to no sustenance. As the unending march dragged on, the party was beset by flesh-embedding parasites and a range of infectious tropical diseases they had no antidote for (or understanding of). In the desperate final days, in the throes of starvation, the survivors flirted with cannibalism and the sickest men had to be left behind so, as the journal keeper painfully recorded, the rest might have a chance to live.

Based on the vividly detailed log entries of Strain and his officers, other period sources, and Balf's own treks in the Darien Gap, this is a rich and utterly compelling historical narrative that will thrill readers who enjoyed In the Heart of the Sea, Isaac's Storm, and other sagas of adventure at the limits of human endurance.

nah - chewy, choppy and delivered as a lesson.

[Amerynth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Todd Balf's "The Darkest Jungle" is a wonderful account of the Darien expedition, which marched its away across a section of Panama jungle in the hopes of determining a route for the much hoped for Panama Canal.

The expedition, led by Isaac Strain, relied on bad information and marched its way in the wrong direction, following the wrong river through a dense tract populated by terrifed natives (who fled their villages, burned their homes and hacked apart their canoes to keep them out of the white man's hands) and apparently little food.

Exhauted and weakened by starvation and a variety of exotic, jungle ailments, the party split up and men started to die. Amazingly, another man marched across the isthmus (taking a different route) and yoyo-ed back again in short order, while the Darien expedition members were still entrenched in the jungle fighting for their lives.

Balf's account of Strain's difficulties is great -- it's a good mixture of jungle lore, history and expedition story. I was just a little disappointed there wasn't more information about the Kuna, both in Strain's time and today (as the final chapter is about Balf's trip to the area) but otherwise I found this to be a fine expedition book.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had never heard about the Darien Expidition but decided to give this book a try. It's not a bad book. Interesting and educational. A good little bit of history. If I had a stronger interest in the subject matter I probably would have found the book very good. It's not a bad book though. I definitely learned a few hings about this event and don't regret my decision to read it.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was surprised that this wasn't more interesting. Seems like just the kind of adventure story I'd love but I never really connected with the characters in this one.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with Kim; I had a hard time connecting with the characters in this book. Nevertheless, I found the history and many challenges faced by the party pretty interesting.

[Laurent Reinhardt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of great personal interest because of having lived in Panama and a longtime fascination for the still largely impenetrable the Darién Gap. A few oversights, but I found it a good read overall. Curiously, he mentions young Ohio men like Isaac Strain (1821-1857) riding for the Pony Express, which was founded in 1860 and did not go through the state. Also misspells indigenous canoes (piraguas) as piroguas and mentions the Kuna, but not the Chocó/Embera-Wounan, who live along the rivers the expedition followed. Mentions shares being sold in London for the Atlantic and Pacific Ship Canal Company to build a canal across the Darién in the 1850's. That was actually the name of the company founded by American Cornelius Vanderbilt to build a trans-isthmian canal in Nicaragua, not Panama. Minor flaws in the historical narrative are more than offset by a gripping account of a challenging expedition in what is still an extremely hostile environment. To this day, the Darién doesn't have a road directly connecting Colombia and Panama. Yet thousands of refugees a year from around the world feel compelled to take the dangerous journey across its jungle to try to reach to the USA. A recent development that makes The Darkest Journey all the more relevant today.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Spoilers** There are fascinating details in this book, which enrich the story beyond being a dry factual account. I never considered that back in the mid - 1800s anyone in a wilderness would need to be concerned with prohibitions by local indigenous tribes, against harvesting bananas to survive on. But I guess there were cumbersome rules, regulations, and restrictions back then, just as there are now.

This story also dispels a widespread belief that it is easy to survive in the jungle by hunting wildlife and collecting edible plants. We forget that the locals manage to do so, but they know what they are doing, and even at that it is a struggle to live.

Finally, I could feel frustration, for the expedition members, of poor planning. One example was the humidity rendering useless the percussion caps of their Jenks Navy carbines, which used a system similar to a roll of toy cap pistol caps, on strips of paper. I love details like that.

[Tom Oman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book simply because I live in Panama and I have been looking for obscure histories of this country. However, as other reviewers say, the subject of this expedition is quite interesting but you could not present it in a more dull way than the author has managed to do here.

That jungle is a harsh place, especially for such unprepared people. It’s hard to believe that the government could sanction such a ramshackle expedition as this one. I recently read a book on Lewis And Clarke, which was on US soil but 50 years earlier than this trip to Darien. Two similar expeditions with drastically differing outcomes.

Would I recommend this book, no, not even if you are interested in the Darien or jungle exploration. However I’m glad I read it, just to have heard about this obscure episode in Panama/US history.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently took a two-week cruise that eventually went through the Panama Canal historic locks (there is a set of new locks to accommodate the larger cargo ships). Prior to the canal transit, on board the ship there was a forty-five-minute lecture on the canal. This book was mentioned. Sounded like a good read.

Although for the most part, the book was interesting. The first third of the book was rather dry. It really didn't get interesting until the expedition started. You really start feeling sorry for these guys that trekked through the jungle of Panama. You could almost feel the heat, humidity, mosquitos and other creepy crawly things attached to your body.

Mr. Balf knew is stuff when writing this book. It's too bad some of Strain's notes, property, etc... are nowhere to be found.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok. I read it bc I was interested in the Darien Gap as a treacherous part of the current U.S. migration routes. But it is your typical exploration story where Victorian civilized fellow is no match for the toughest parts of the globe (despite Strain being American). This was hard to follow without maps...I listened to the audiobook, if there are maps in the paper copy that would help. Also it took a weird Civil War pivot at the end that felt unnecessary. I did enjoy the part where the author himself traveled to Darien, I had wondered if his jungle description was based on the logbook or his own research.

[Steve Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook narration of this work, which I’d suggest avoiding. The narrative itself is highly detailed and winds about as much as the trails through the described jungle. Though it provides needful and fascinating information on the Darien expedition and the Herculean challenge it proved to be, there is so much information that it becomes impossible to track. Get the book, so you can flip through the pages, and if need be, take notes.

That aside, it is a worthy read. It was researched thoroughly and the author dug up a gold mine of information on an expedition that few people have heard of. I have every intention of finding a used copy somewhere.

[Eric Atkisson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this hoping to learn more about the Darién, the Kunas who live there, and some of the early attempts to cross it, and I wasn't disappointed. The central story about Isaac Strain's doomed expedition is particularly haunting. The author did a good job weaving in a lot of historical research but humanizing the story by focusing on Strain and some of the other central characters involved. Good stuff. Worth reading if you're interested in this sort of thing.

[Kayrene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I seem to be drawn to historical events, where "man" is taken to the very edge of survival: Everest, Bataan Death March, Unbroken...countless more. Amazed at what these men endured in this expedition to map out and discover a possible route for a link from the Pacific to the Atlantic; which eventually became the Panama Canal. Incredible difficulties; disease, unbelievable insect infestations, starvation, being very unsure of their location, and yet, with a glimmer of hope, they continued on. Loved It! Would like to read more about this area. <3

[Mira · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay. I had trouble keeping his narrative straight chronologically and geographically and kept flipping back to the map for more detail, places referred to in the narrative. The archival maps are cool, and I get that part of the mood is the impenetrability of the Darien jungle, but an updated map with key locations referred to in the narrative marked would have been a nice service to this reader.

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The middle part about the expedition itself was fascinating and a real page turner. But the beginning and end were a tad meandering. I found myself skimming a lot at the beginning when he was establishing the initial attempts to explore Darien. But it was still an interesting read though I would only suggest it to people who find the subject matter engaging.

[Steve Bera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best jungle exploration book I have read, but half of the book was very good and kept my attention. Not a main line exploration story, but certainly has some merits. I am surprised more people didn't die on this adventure. I did order another book by this same author, so that says something. I would read it again, and would give it 3 1/2 stars if I could.

[Rich Carney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I understand some of the criticism from the other reviews - for me, the last 50 pages or so were tough , it was kind of a clunky epilogue to document what happened to folks. That being said, I felt like this was a real life horror story, and I had a much more emotional reaction to it than many fictional stories. I appreciate the author being thorough.

[Abby Altshuler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great adventure story well narrated. Balf goes off on a number of related tangents to flesh out the story and its characters but tells an amazing tale of the 1854 American effort to discover an ocean to ocean canal route through the Darian jungle. I was riveted and in awe of the guts of these explorers.

[clancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love a good survival story but some of the political drama missed me i think

[TC Carter · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn’t finish, dragged on too long

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story however it tends to drag on in places, especially the trek through the jungle.

[Todd Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Darkest Jungle is the story of an expedition led by Isaac Strain in 1854 to find a route across the Isthmus of Dariénin in Panama. This was at a time before construction of the Panama Canal as a shortcut was being sought between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans enabling people to avoid the lengthy, hazardous Cape Horn route around the southernmost tip of South America. Not only did Strain not discover a shortcut but, due to some unfortunate decisions, the trip turned into a struggle for survival as Strain’s party was faced with hostile natives, an inhospitable jungle, unbearable heat, disease, and starvation. Strain ultimately reached the Pacific, but not before the party became separated and several men died.
(Interestingly, the area remains wild to this day and is the present location of the Darién Gap … a 99 mile long break in the Pan-American Highway consisting of a large swath of undeveloped swampland and forest separating Panama from South America.)

The story should have ended there, but Balf inexplicably chooses to follow the lives of the men that took part in the expedition throughout the rest of their lives even though these histories shed little light on the Darien Expedition. I suspect this decision has more to do with a contractual page count obligation than a creative decision to further the narrative. The last part of the book recounts Balf’s own exploration of the area.

This is sort of an oddly structured book in that it’s part history part survival tale, unfortunately it doesn’t entirely work on either level. As a history book it fails to place the expedition within the broader context of a search for efficient shipping routes between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. As an adventure tale … it’s simply not that exciting (unless you consider slowly starving to death to be your idea of an edge-of-the-seat-white-knuckled thrillride). With no overarching theme to hold the narrative together we are left with a recounting of a context-less event that has proved to be of little historical significance.

As to the writing, the book shows that Todd Balf did a good deal of research, but I felt he performed only a serviceable job in telling the story. With little more than sketches of the principle characters he provides no cause to empathize with their suffering. The first lesson of any adventure tale is that it falls apart if the reader simply doesn’t care whether the protagonists live or die. I suspect there’s a decent story here, it just needs someone with sufficient skill to tease it out.

[Julian Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are looking for harrowing adventure and dramatic exploration then this is your book.

Sometimes a little wordy, this is an extraordinary tale of true grit and determination, political intrigue and social commentary and paints a clear picture of the difficulties of such physical extremes compared with polite society.

An extraordinary slice of history.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked a lot of things about this book, but I don't know that I'd re-read it or that I absorbed a lot from it. It was interesting and I loved a book about an expedition gone wrong. I just didn't feel like it grabbed me.

[Ruby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A trifle over-embellished, but the story is so fantastic that it would feel like a disservice to tell it in anything other than a shrouded, campfire mood. I started listening to the audiobook while we were in Panama and finished it off over several days when we returned. It allowed me to stretch the feeling of adventure I had visiting this mysterious and often contrary part of the world just one week longer, sneaking gradually back to my humdrum day-to-day existence.

I recommend it to anyone traveling to Central America or for fans of non-fiction tales of exploration and adventure. Without the added layers of personal interest the story held for me, I'm not sure I would have been so forgiving of the author's flair for drama.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shackelton in Central America. This book chronicles the tragic story of the Issac Strain expedition to find/survey a route for a possible canal across the Isthmus of Darien. Like Scott & Shackelton who followed later, this is a "Man against nature" story as the survey crew becomes lost, and then must battle the Central American jungle for survival.
Well written, it also provides a bit of historical perspective on the Central American Isthumus some 50 years or more before the building of the Panama Canal.
First and foremost, however, it is an adventure story, which somehow has escaped a good screen play. I think it would make an excellent film.

[Jimmy Tarlau · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be enjoyable though had to buy the book (used) so I could look at the maps while listening to it in the car (when I stopped!). This is a story of one of the early expeditions to try and find a water route through the Panama isthmus. It was 50 years before the building of the Panama Canal and ended up being somewhat of a disaster with a number of the people in the party dying during the trip. It is well written and is part of a genre that I enjoy - stories of those people who have investigated the then unknown parts of the planet.