R. M. Ballantyne 
Martin Rattler Adventures of a Boy in he Forests of Brazil 

Martin Rattler is the story of a mischievous young boy with a good heart. By mistake, he winds up on the ship Firefly with his friend Barney O Flannagan, headed to the South Seas. Escaping pirates and surviving a shipwreck, the two explore South America in one frolicking adventure after another. A thoroughly delightful read, you will follow these young adventurers as they canoe down the Amazon, narrowly escape an alligator, eat an anaconda and turtle s eggs, and encounter a decidedly hostile band of Indians. Will the boys escape with their lives? (Amazon)