The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-04-01

sharp shr. twittcr,ng OF the jaranas, the screams
OF the wild turkey. startled IRON his lofty perch to
completed chorus ut once strange and thor0ulh
characteristic OF tropical cline. Here ana there
basking in the sun, resembling log much more
than reptile OF such hideols proportions. Its tall
Is probably LIS most efficient weapon OF deience and
attack. II any animal u seeks for prey IL standing
upon The edge OF the water. the alligator WIN take
ITS bearing and swim noisoessly occasionally bring
Ing ala eye 10 the surface for reconnaissance. then
suddenly rising within striking distance VIII wnir
round ITS tall with llVhtnlngke faptdity and gene
speaking OF aiiiqstors there is not unlreiucnily a
disposition to magnify their proportions. Tney ave-
rage IN this pari Of the sthnus from twelve TO SIX
teen feet long. I'd to the present they nave kept
shy Of all members Of the expedition. and l believe
they would recoil from any human being unless
hit them repeatedly, but the balls glanced harm
essly on their thick coat o. mall. Under the fore leg
appears to DE the vulnerable spots but there IS little
satisfaction In shooting ut them as they plunge ini0
the wafer with lightning speed and are lost 10 view.
In making the nest the female In the spring elects
a dry place IN the swamp, not liable 10 overflow,
where she makes unlock OF dried leaves and pieces
OF sticks IN the centre OF which size from twenty
70 forty eggs. several nests found Dy tue men,
who ate Tie eggs with evident relish.
THROUGH THE FivE-MILE SWAMI.
hner.o We nan procee n w,sa
with energy through lh.ck morass; had cut their
way through brlmbics aad fallen logs; had poiei
fact, done wonders with their knives and paddles.
But now tha we were IN this king OF swamps they
air win shrug and "carracnon Thai foreDodcL
ILL., and verify were their anticipations realized.
Were It my province TO dwell upon the horrors Of
this place instead OF tracing the route Of the pro-
posed canals To depict its slckenng aspect aud paint
In true colors the loatnesoneness Of It's sur
roundings; the tororn ana bligh,ed pros
pect; to SPECIFY. even 10 the remoest way, the
species o. gnaw!ng insects thai Iel upon
the party once welded In the mcsnes OF thus stab-
born swamp, q faint idea might perhaps De 0On-
veyed OF the misery OF the noalng desert. SIX
fa.homs beneath the current lowed rapidly ON top
Al ntIV a n
hind swamp Oil round Tugging aud swayInG,
roing and pushing, the canoe male little way
towering blades cent reluctantly by tue combined
and per everily Efforts vi the men. Down stfeaineu
dancing on ihe Sluggish pcols. which We're made
wider by the progress Of the boat out quickly CLOS
ing after u.s. leaving no trace behind. Ahead there
WAS no Openng-n0ne to the eye OF the stranger;
but here and there dropping blade or the fa;ntest
arching OF The grass was su iicent for the guide,
and he knew that boats lad gone that way De-
Isre. For hours they toleJ increasingly. stopping
but an instant to chase away the In .ecLs that drew
their blood. Regiments OF ants paraded over US.
sand flies lunchel neely on US, but The Congo files
stung deeply ami deyoured. Fast aud thick they
came, willing to suffer death rather than be DIS
turbed al their meas. Like the mosquitoes lney
preferred the human neck, upon which they dined
suinp .uOusiy. and would pay hurried visit TO tho
extreme and the combined efforts Ol o hundred
MOSQUITOES coulL not cause one.third the amount OF
proiane language which the lncision Of one OF
these monster elicits l aliude to these matters
chiefly 10 show the terrible annOyanceS 10 which al
the exploring parties are subjected, and that their
labors In the great undertaking may be The more
thoroughly comprehendcd and appreciated. the
sunerings Incidental to journey through one OF
these sWamps would break the temper Of the most
patient man IN the universe. 1t was long past mid
day when we successfully cleared IT. but not before
having narrowly escaped an assault from battalion
OF ferOci0u wasps. Obeylng the guides we Kept
perfectly sui rs we tremblingiy stole past their for
tress on the trees. The poles were now LAID aside
entered beautiful portion OF the river, deep, clear
and refreshing and Ornamented on either Side 0y
dees Oh sn whose tne ANN
halted In q sheltered nook and preparations
were made for dinner. Falcons wild DUCKS. turkeys
lowered around In all directions, and the
scene generally, compared TO what. we had
already passed through, was one Of pleasing
solitude and repose. raw bacon, hard tack
anu draught from the lfmpld stream com.
never was a banquet more heartily rellsned The
canoe was padded brisSiy away there being no
snags or gramalote to interrupt the passage SPLEEN
did timber lowered high on each side, and the banks
gradually began 10 rise. AT this portion OF the pro-
posed route The canal Is almost perfect, tut further
perseverance the part OF the faithful maceteros
brought u SAFELY through, and NJ hve O'CLOCK we
DESERT OF PALMS.
which presented most wonderful appearance. The
water became extremely shallow ana the course of
the RIVER very tortuous. 50 that 1t was with no
little difficulty that progress was made. The
pace was woful and abandoned looking, anu
about the last locaiy wherein to pass the night
luxurious, the parasites were terribly destructive
aud the nnest LOOKING trees were robbed OF all Their
Crash after crash resoundeu on their ears as
gigantic branch fell from It's support At
half-past five O'Clock the canoe passed the first
had commenced operations The wafer began to
fail AMI the assent gradually became more apparent.
Leaving the encampments which the surveying
party had occupied some days before. the canoe
with much difficulty poled on, the breadth vi the
stream III some places not exceeding six ieet At
length finding 1t Impossible tOlproceed. owing 10 tie
snalowness OF the river the party cheerfuy jump
out Of the canoe, which was heavily laden,
aud hauled II along with Will. Walking along the
banks was OF course out Of the question, as the
underDrush was very thick. and the ground Itself OF
marshy character, SO that TO wade through the
stream was much more preferable BY the COM
bined and persistent EFFORTS OF all hands the tiny
craft was pushed ahead, but not without accom-
panylng troubles OF various kinds, Of which q tho
Bound to move to the front, however, with the pro-
and although the shades Of night began to fall the
prospects OF remaining IN the desert were too gloomy
to permit. o. delay h0salng short s Of downright low
marks on the way additional energy was given to
the march. 1t was evident from surrounding symp.
toms That the surveyors could not be lar ahead and
now and then the sharp report OF carbine sgnalled
our approach. Floating logs were cleared away,
snags were thrust aside and the canoe was forced
on at . lively pace. Darkness had already set in,
but the river having become somewhat wider the
party resumed their seats. sudden bend In the
stream and the full glare Of the cracking logs upon
distant bank burst upon our view. Now ring ne
cheer from the canoe was answered by an almost
few moments the troubles OF the day al end.
HaDdshaking all round, anxious inquiries here,
merry laughter there and soup and boullet for o
The res burned brightly, and when all tho prcpara
tons for the accommodation OF the new party hal
been completed the appearance OF the little camp
was very cheerful Groups sat adjacent 10 the banks.
and OF course the prospects Of the expedition were
discussed at length, the unanimous opinion being
that IL was destined TO achieve a triumph,
But their deliberations were not destined
10 be long continued for the mosquito es,
more raveDous, II possible, than any that had been
vQf led al IN lfpr
themselves under their and endeavor to repose.
Countless mlilt1 OF the voracious insects Duzzed
In all directions aud the torment to which the men
and officers were subjected really terrible. Next
to actual starvation tuere can be no doubt that q
raid or these horrible pests IL about the greatest
lamity that can befall an expedition OF this kind.
have seen men here driven almost insane by tier
persistent attacks. The Preparations made for re-
firing for the night. though presenting an amusing
spectacle fully demonstrated the dread that all
tertaned Of their relentless fury. There were some
among the party who had bravcly withstood the