The Portland daily press., 1867-09-21
Miscellany.
LosVIN THE JUNGLE.


traveller was pestered for news of Trarsit
projects: "Was the Company broken? How
much longer could the steamers run. and wha.
didsuryeyors say?' For San Juan lives and
has Its being In the q. A. T. Californian Ac-
cessory Transit) Company, and that enter
pli,e is somewhat speculative
rms particular panic, however, was 30 seri-
Gus, that not few officials OF the lower class
obtained furlough to prospect the coun-
try, in hopes Of finding some rich digglng,
which might enable them to return with gio-
ry and dollars to the States. 1t IS not my IN
tention. at this moment, to enlarge on the
auriferous qualities of the Mosquito Shore,
but to tell a camp story, the main portions of
which know are positively true. Let the
reader understand that my version. rough and
grotesque as it may seem to him, is but very
faint reflection of the humor. and extraya
gance which so amused and interested me by
the campfire on the Mosquito Shore.
L was only too glad to Join myself to par
ty' IN hopes OF seeing country almost un-
known. My companions were three In num-
Der: gigantic MissOurian, named Beasley;
quaint Yankee OF Dutch family, named Van
stem and a storekeeper OF Greytown, English
oy birth, named Frazer We ran up the
coast In canoes as far as the Rio Indio, which
my companions were anxious to prospect"
You were nigh lost to day." said Vansten
to me one night after we had got through
supper and were each making himself as COM
Portable as possible before slowing ourselves
away to sleep. 81 don't know as either OF us
would have found his way back more cool
and clever than you did. Ii needs right-down
pluck to keep the wits together when ones
lost"
" This was not the first time with me-"
said: "but don't know that the experience
becomes more agreeable by repetition"
"There's no man could describe what it is
to feel lost who hadn't tried it for himself.n
said Beasley. I've beea lost in many WAYS t:
once ON the Texan prairie; once on the Pam
pas; twice on the gold-mountans past Liber-
tad and I'd blush to know how many times
on ochnaps; but never were lost in green
wood yet, thank God! tR aH
''As to keeping ones senses, don't speak -
said Vansten; but I've kept myg life in for
seventeen days behind Castillo Vieio, and not
bite to eat, barring pinnela leaves am pig
apples. Seventeen days they tell me it were,
an no doubt their reckoning was right: /
weren't likely to be mindful. When was
getting spry agin, ii somewhiles seemed to
ha' ben ten years, an somewhiles only few
hours. I've heerd doctors say a man couldn't
live more than week without food but law
bless yer! them sumphs argue an argue
among themselves tor years, going on what
they call intarnal evidence and sound reason.
when they might have fixed the matter in a
minute by asking lis, who've made their ex-
round this fire could pass most doctors key
they aren't likely to find about their parlors.
not yet to discover by intarnal evidence. I
lived on pnuela pith an pig apples seventeen
days. an the scientific folk in New York told
me to my face it were downright impossible
Says the boss OF them: "Pinuela pith of no
wild kind air capable of supporting life by it,
find SIX in day. 3Tarnal thunder" saws T I
Il did 1t r Must be mistaken, my good man
you must have been deceived" '"lVal, I said
don't mostly like to call a man bad in his
own house, but il was to meet Won i'm an
asylum for incurable idiots, L should express
no rude astonishmelt." AN if l were prov
identially to encounter YOU" said he orinning
'arm-in- arm with the late Ananias and SaS-
phira his wife, should call it quite a family
partyv So pitied him, an left, Tor he w,lr
poor cuss to handle"
Wal! | should kind O risen against the
notion myself, if hadn't heard of il before
said Beasely. "You was the man was YOU ?,
There must be likely pile of twist in your
inside Ii yOn lived on pinulas for seventeen
days. But I've heard of that tale, and Won
was the man? | thought the ants had
knawed yer nose off What's the story?
Its not much 10 tell" said Vansten after
long pull at the Schnaps bottle Hbut it were
awful enough TO feel. | was on my first WOW.
age and almost the earliest passage across
Tue Nlciua@uit. we embarked at New York
some fifty of us, steamed to Greytown and
there chartered every bongo about. the place
to take us up the river. 1t was a regulars IT.
tie fleet; and fine time we had as far as
Castillo-the livelest time ever see, There
was iashlns oil drink aboard, and cards. and
some OF them made very pretty plumber GO
ing up We were wild lot, boys, that Is a
TACT! Them was the days for adventure ON
the transit! It's lively now sometimes. but
s.. ic iI-at ~
rtlsalem beside OF what it once was. Half
the party was always down in the horrors
AID the other half was up in the same from
one minute to another, a man could NOT call
his life his own; every pistol was tiled in the
lock- SO that it nigh went off by looking al il !!
The hehtlng was right down iree: we lost
three men between Greytown and Castil-
To- ii, - %
"But was there no attempt to keep orderp
The natives must have suffered badly in those
bad times" asked -
1.-The greaSerS dare not say much now A.
days, guess, when the miners are on the riy.
er, and they were even higher-handed in the
days before Walker. Besides, your high NOR
al Queen of England undertook the police
business OF the San Juan at that time, and a
happy mess she made of it! There was one
policeman at Greytown to keep order amono
thousand San Francisco rowdies, and that
lonely official was allus down. with lever. The
English seemed to think their etarnal Union
jack was warrant to discount the milenni-
UNI. No! no one meddled much with ms in
those days, and don't think we can fairly
buster now. Where's the man who shot
those two brothers under the balcony of the
Union Hotel, last trip? You saw that muir
der only ten days ago, and cell you the man
as did it will be found in New York when the
passengers and discharged next MONTH We
reached Castillo at Shutdown, and Law quiet
all night at the foot of the rapids In the
morning, the bongOs were hauled up but ii
was long job, Tor one only could be taken at
q time, and that empty. We loafed about On
the bank watching the boats, and lending a
hand now and then, but it was slow work. an
etarnal hot, so most OF lis soon fell to poker
and monte in the shade | saw there was lit
Tie chance OF getting up for the next three
hours, so l strolled off by myself. Tor / was
young, and new to the tropics, and nature
kind OF interested me. | had walked half an |
hour through the bush. admiring the flowers
ana leaves, and birds, when suddenly tor
tus -rabbit armadilIO crossed in front of. NV
track, feeding and roofing about. He wes
nigh as big as a sheep, the heaviest sort. in |
TACT, and had heard what good eating such
are SO thought I'd go back quietly. borrow
rifle, and come for him again.
Accordingly, L turned in my track. an,
slipped through the bush, mighty clever. as
thought, without soaring the cretur Maybe
all hundred yards I'd got along, going as in
nocent as an added egg, when suddintlv came
to big rubber-tree, scored about like a cork
screw. Guess | didn't pass that before
thought l. an looked around. / tried right
and tried lett, but couldn't strike the trail.
for there was no trail to strike! III gone in
to that unpeopled forest as if there was roads
and slgn-boards in it. hadn't blazed a free
nor taken sights, an il man ever deserved |
TO De lost from right-down carelessness am |
folly, was that man. But it's an awful pen
atty to pay, sir, for a bit OF boyish stupiditv.
l wandered right an left roun the rubber |
tree until them thoughts came in mind. an
then my heart turned sickly Lets try bacS
OIL the rabbit | said out aloud, an nv voice.
sounded strange an lonely in The hot Stiffness |
OF the wood. So tried back. went ont a. /
thought, on the trail had come by: bnt /
after half an hour I'd not reached the pIade h
Lost! lost! kept buzzinS in nv ears: AM
pray ed. fought to keep cool: 6ut that was
impossible Tor boy like me. After a Will
tne mao III came on, an dashed through the
gu push shouting and rsving till my throat bled,
IN; me sweat poured down like cold ram. am
knew my wits were going. Every instant :
was wa Gown q headloDg, brC held on still, until
helpless &C. a." ay, leaving me weak an
me GET ba~ ,od LOrdr prayed then, 'et |
tbonc, TX to the rubber-tree' Somehow the /
e. at was in me I'd be saved if could get |
" any spot knew. Moren two hours / was |
creeping through the bush, an at last. Inv sim
Pile chances L reached the trunk, am sat down |