Previous journeys in search of treasure have taught me that a zigzag strategy is the best way to get ahead.

Any man who has ever led an army, an expedition, or a group of Boy Scouts has sadism in his bones.

If hot food is they key to maintaining an expedition's stamina, then low grade gut-rot alcohol is the key to sustaining its sense of pleasure.

The forest did not tolerate frailty of body or mind. Show your weakness, and it would consume you without hesitation.

There comes a stage at which a man would rather die cleanly by a bullet than by the unknown terror of the phantom in the forest.

I was no longer troubled when he pulled out a machete in a crowded bar, tried to pick up schoolgirls, or threatened to scalp us, then rip off our heads and scoop out our brains.

The inertia of a jungle village is a dangerous thing. Before you know it your whole life has slipped by and you are still waiting there.

The rain of Madre de Dios is similar to that of the Amazon, but there is a petrifying aspect to it, as if it seeks to wound rather than to nurture.

On a hard jungle journey nothing is so important as having a team you can trust.

On a harsh expedition, there's no space for anyone who does not intend to finish.

Searching for a lost city is a particularly European obsession.

Cosmic Ordering is your one way ticket to prosperity.

I looked in the mirror and realized that I was already dead. I let you kill me one piece at a time, starting when I was, what? Eight years old? Nine? You killed yourself and then you came after us.

I was born looking older... and I've been aging since I was a teenager.

If words could break souls, my words just broke his in two.

You don't have to lay an egg to know if it tastes good.

All of the penciling was consistently done by one person and the inking was whoever could finish on time.

Wealth is only a benefit of the game of money. If you win, the money will be there.

Great souls forgive not injuries till time has put their enemies within their power, that they may show forgiveness is their own.

She stared at me with concern a few moments longer and then relaxed a little. "Okay. But if you need anything—" "I know, I know. Call on the Love Phone.

Better have a black face than be worried about black deeds.