In Far Bolivia: A Story of a Strange Wild Land

In Short

Gordon Stables' 1901 imperial adventure yarn follows young Roland St. Clair, his companion Dick Temple, and a loyal cast of hunters as they venture into the untamed South American wilderness. When Roland's adopted sister Peggy is abducted from their Brazilian estate by hostiles connected to a dark domestic conspiracy, the boys launch a desperate rescue mission. Tracking her trail deep into the unexplored riverways and forests of Bolivia, they navigate wild beast attacks, treacherous white villains, and warring indigenous tribes to secure her freedom and reclaim their birthright.

The Story

The narrative opens on the sprawling Amazonian estate of Burnley Hall, where former plantation owner Tom St. Clair lives comfortably alongside his wife, his nephew Roland, and his adopted daughter Peggy. Far from their ancestral home in Cornwall, the family prospers through timber rafts, quinine, and local rubber works. Yet darkness lingers in the form of Don Pedro—or "Peter"—a newly hired overseer who wins over the household while secretly plotting against them. Only the hound Brawn, the Indian guide Benee, and young Peggy sense the man's underlying cruelty.

Tragedy strikes when Tom St. Clair succumbs to his weak heart, leaving the estate vulnerable. Soon after, Peggy disappears overnight from her bed. When Roland and his dog search the perimeter, Brawn returns carrying Peggy's blood-soaked boot and stocking. The trail points west toward the uncharted wild lands of Bolivia. Roland and Dick assemble a heavily armed expedition, placing thirty white men and native allies under the command of the dependable sailor Burly Bill. Don Pedro joins the search party, claiming innocence, but Roland places secret guards over him after noticing the villain's failed attempts to poison or placate Brawn.

The rescue party undertakes a grueling journey across rivers, rapids, and dense jungle, enduring mosquito swarms, deadly whirlwinds, and attacks from wounded jaguars and alligators. Meanwhile, Benee—motivated by his devotion to Peggy and the Christian teachings she shared with him—strikes out on his own parallel track through the wilderness. Guided by the stars, Benee reunites with his child-love Weenah and survives violent encounters with hostile cannibal tribes.

In the Bolivian interior, the young captive Peggy—rechristened "Queen Leeboo" by a native tribe—manages to survive her imprisonment through sheer courage and grace, winning over her captors while resisting their brutal practices. As the search party closes in, Roland and his officers coordinate a massive counter-attack against six hundred native warriors, using tactical outflanking maneuvers and forest fires set by their ally, Charlie the ex-cannibal. Roland's forces smash the hostile army, liberate Peggy, and expose the conspiracy orchestrating her theft: Don Pedro was working in league with Roland's scheming "Uncle John" back in England to eliminate the children and seize the family fortune. With their enemies defeated and Peggy safely restored, the party sells off the South American enterprise and returns triumphant across the Atlantic, where Peggy marries Dick and the survivors settle into a peaceful life on their Cornwall estate.

How It Unfolds

A beast in the path While searching the woods for missing ponies near the Amazon, Roland and Peggy encounter a fierce jaguar leaping across their trail, forcing Peggy to open revolver fire before Roland downs the creature with his rifle.

Blood on the lawn Following the death of plantation master Tom St. Clair, Peggy vanishes from her room, leaving Roland to find her blood-stained boot brought back from the forest edge by his faithful Irish wolf-hound.

Navigating the rapids Roland's rescue expedition launches a fleet of light-draft canoes onto the treacherous Madeira River, battling deadly whirlpools, sunken snags, and the terrifying Misericordia rapids.

The jungle ablaze Trapped by hostiles along the riverbank, the expedition relies on their ally Charlie, an ex-cannibal, who sets fire to the surrounding forest under cover of nightfall to break the enemy siege.

Queen of the wilderness Deep in unexplored Bolivia, the captive Peggy earns the reverence of her captors, adopting the title Queen Leeboo and maintaining her spirits alongside her young native companion Weenah until relief arrives.

A night of reckoning Roland executes a brilliant tactical ambush under the harvest moon, sending two hundred and fifty armed men to outflank the hostile forces and permanently secure his sister's release.

The People

• Roland St. Clair: The courageous young protagonist and leader of the expedition. Driven by fierce devotion to his family, Roland transforms from a bright estate youth into a decisive military commander when his sister is stolen. He successfully leads his men back to England to claim his heritage.
• Peggy St. Clair (Queen Leeboo): Roland's brave adopted sister. Subjected to terrifying wilderness encounters and eventual kidnapping, Peggy shows cool courage under fire, holding her own with a firearm and later winning the hearts of her captors through compassion. She ends the story happily married to Dick.
• Dick Temple: Roland's steadfast best friend and co-adventurer. Equal parts companion and foil, Dick provides crucial tactical support during the river voyage and combat engagements, ultimately returning to Cornwall to build a life with Peggy.
• Don Pedro ("Peter"): A duplicitous overseer who infiltrates the St. Clair estate. Posing as a friendly worker while plotting with Roland's evil uncle, Peter's deceit is constantly sniffed out by the family dog before his villainy is fully exposed.
• Burly Bill: A former Royal Navy sailor with a booming voice and a love for his meerschaum pipe. Bill serves as the rugged muscle and practical commander of Roland's river forces.
• Benee: A loyal Indian guide who bridges the gap between wild nature and the St. Clair household, using his star-navigation skills and tracking prowess to save Peggy.

In Its Own Voice

"Keep up your heart, Peggy; if your courage and your feet hold out we shall reach the river before dusk."

Roland reassures his frightened young companion as they attempt to navigate back through the beast-trodden forest paths before dark.

"Benee had all the cunning, all the daring, and all the wisdom of a true savage, and for weeks he felt a proud exhilaration, a glorious sense of freedom and happiness, at being once more his own master..."

The narrator describes the lonely Indian guide striking out alone across unexplored terrain on a dangerous rescue journey.

"There is excitement enough in money-making, it is like an exhilarating game of billiards or whist, but it is apt to become tiresome."

The author reflects on Tom St. Clair's growing exhaustion with his profitable tropical plantations as he yearns for his native Cornwall.

What It's Really About

Beneath its standard pulp-adventure scaffolding, In Far Bolivia examines the Victorian ideals of Christian morality, domestic loyalty, and imperial resourcefulness when pitted against untamed nature and human malice. Gordon Stables contrasts the greed of "civilized" villains like Don Pedro and Uncle John with the instinctual loyalty of figures like Benee and the dog Brawn. The plot treats the South American wilderness as a testing ground where British grit, Christian kindness, and tactical discipline inevitably conquer lawlessness. It explores themes of home and exile, showing that material riches in foreign lands mean little compared to family honor, safety, and a quiet return to the English countryside.

Why Read It Today

In Far Bolivia offers modern readers an unfiltered, high-energy window into late-Victorian juvenile fiction. Fans of classic imperial adventure writers like R.M. Ballantyne or G.A. Henty will appreciate its relentless pace, colorful nautical jargon, and theatrical wilderness set-pieces. The narrative moves briskly from jaguar hunts and canoe crashes to tactical gun battles and forest fires, maintaining an earnest, storytelling warmth throughout.

However, modern readers should approach the text prepared for its period attitudes. Typical of popular fiction from 1901, the book features heavy-handed racial caricatures, exaggerated phonetic dialects for native characters, and an unabashedly colonial worldview that frames native populations through a lens of either savage menace or grateful servitude. The prose can also lean heavily on Victorian theatricality and rapid narrative coincidences. For those interested in literary history or classic adventure tropes, it remains a vivid, fast-moving period piece that wears its antique thrills and Victorian moralizing directly on its sleeve.