A fascinating story that combines the secrets of longevity derived from a plant in a remote village in the Andes, the clinical efforts of a dedicated Savannah medical group and the criminal attempts of a powerful international consortium bent on acquiring the rights to exploitation of the magic herb.
INTRODUCTION
From the New York Times edition of March 21, 1915
“After searches conducted for over a year by a joint Ecuador-US Army Team, US Professor Owen Armbruster has been declared lost. Professor Armbruster, a prominent Health Historian, member of Atlanta’s Emory University, adviser to the National Institute of Health and the Center for Genetics, disappeared in Ecuador during an expedition in the Andes Mountains East of Quito.
Professor Armbruster is remembered as one of the key members of Hiram Bingham’s expedition to the Peruvian Andes, who in 1911 discovered Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas, 80 miles north of Cuzco, the ancient capital of the Inca Empire.
Professor Armbruster’s expedition in Ecuador was prompted by rumors that the inhabitants in a region South of Quito, Ecuador’s capital, lived beyond 120 years of age without loss of their physical or mental faculties.“
From the Prologue
Charming Corner in the South
There are many cities in the United States that make lasting first impressions on visitors. Savannah, on the banks of the Savannah River and the State of Georgia’s main seaport on the Atlantic, delivers a pleasant recall to the charm and elegance of Antebellum days. Its busy port brings to mind the days when cotton bales crowded the piers accompanied by the rhythmic chants and bustling activity of merchants and cotton workers.
The founders of the city of Savannah and later its city planners, decided to build the city around squares, or symmetrical parks, next to a riverside port whose ample waterfront provided facilities for maritime traffic, warehousing and had sufficient space to accommodate the open markets of that time. The square parks, once surrounded by stately mansions and charming homes, added to the peculiar attraction of a busy port in the midst of gardens and lovely homes.
The Armbruster family had lived in Savannah since the end of the 18th century, having moved there a few years after the War of Independence. They relocated from a small city in Northern Ohio where they had owned a small textile shop. Savannah at the time offered excellent opportunities in their sector as cotton production in the South of the United States had become a major export and had also stimulated the development of auxiliary industries like the manufacture of textiles, machinery and related accessories.
Excerpt
The Armbruster family had lived in Savannah since the end of the 18th century, having moved there a few years after the War of Independence. They relocated from a small city in Northern Ohio where they had owned a small textile shop. Savannah at the time offered excellent opportunities in their sector as cotton production in the South of the United States had become a major export and had also stimulated the development of auxiliary industries like the manufacture of textiles, machinery and related accessories.
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