Introduction

Summary

In 1911 Major Joseph Orton Kerbey (1841–1913) published An American Consul in Amazonia. In the book he added a poem ‘What People Think about a Consul’, by an unknown author. The poem reviews the many functions and duties of consuls, but despite this he is not much respected by society, not even after his death.

In fact, a consul must know and do everything, or

The general cry is, ‘What's a consul good for?’

He must not be old, or young, single or married;

And I really believe that when he is buried

They will still continue to vent all their spleen

Denying him heaven, Sambo or Fiddler's Green.

Kerbey was consul for the United States in the Brazilian port Belém do Pará. As Kerbey explains in the following extract, he was appointed in 1891 by Secretary of State James G. Blaine (1830–93):

‘I think you are the right man to send out there, as you are a telegrapher and a practical electrician, and we want to know something about the rubber insulation in this electric age, in its relation to reciprocity.’ When I intimated that I did not know anything of Para, he replied: ‘That's the trouble with all of us. I am sending you out there to learn something about it, as you have a good nose for news and your training as a newspaper scout qualifies you for collecting and reporting intelligently on the prospects for American business.’