Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-01-24

been minus two OF their most valent
brothers.
Our first stop was made at Chine
meque, a city of some 5000 or 6000 in
habitants. We spent the evening at
an amateur theatrical performance.
The admittanc fee was one ofthe most
novel things | ever encountered. IL
was as follows: Persons wearing
shoes, 2 reals persons without shoes,
l real; children, l real. The mana
gers we'll knew that all the better
class wore shoes and that those who
went b~arefooted belonged to the COM
mon herd, who generally occupy the
upper galleries in our theaters in the
States. Once in the house, however,
there was no distinction, both high
and low being promiscuously scattered
through the pavilion. The perform
ance consisted of a series of short
recitations and dialogues, all in Span
ish. The costumes were a COM
bination Of all the fancy eolors they
could obtain, and without the least
regard as to the adaptations to char
acter. The frequent hideous applause
animated and buoyed the actors, audit
was amusing to note the effects it pro-
dueed. Buenosl Buenosl was the
highest compliment they could wish,
si~gnifying the entire appreciation Of
the audience. To the natives this
granfuncioa was a complete success
and rivalod anything the city had wit
messed for many a day.
With the first gray strcaks of dawn
the next morning we were upon our
Journey. We encountered numerous
armadillos crossing our road, and later
in the morning observed a lot of vul-
lures feasting upon a dead ant-bear.
On approaching the village of La
Voca, we observed several brawny,
nude urchins formed in a wide circle,
throwing stones at some object on the
ground. On drawing up to the place
the object of their fearless sport
proved to be a
YENEMOUS TARANTULA,
which they had surrounded and were
putting to death. The spider would
rear its great hairy form on its long
legs and attempt TO leap, but being
wounded, was unable to make those
astonishing leaps which characterize
it in pursuit Of its prey or chasing an
intruder. Their bite is deadly poison.
and | shuddered at the careless sport
of these little Spanish boys. This
much | am confident: hat one taran-
tula could destroy the pleasure of the
best road in the world for me, and SC
far from molesting one, | would give
him as much territory as / could con
yeniently place between us.
We had now come in sight of the
Rio Lempa, the largest river in Cen
trail America, and from the hills of La
Farca we could survey its winding
course through the tangled morass of
great verdant valley-colossal mahog.
any and vine trees lined its banks
especially the latter tree, whose lonl
reaching arms, moved by a gent,
breeze, were dipping in the water.
will here give a minute description o
the
VINE TREE.
1t commences its growth a slende.
vine by the side Of some giganti,
wateroak or mangrOye. Gradually i
entwines itself about its great sup
port, elinging faster and faster, and a
it grows larger and stronger, begins, a
it we're, to usurp the place of the tree
and declare its own supremacy. Will
it is winding itself tighter and taste
about the body of the tree, its numer
Gus long-reaching tendrils are perform
ing the same office with its variou
branches. The vine has hundreds o
roots and these have myriads of tin.
fbres, so that the substance is gradu
ally taken from the tree, which sool
withers and dies. Often we saw til.
monster trunk of some tree. long sine.
dead, still held in the tight embrace
of the huge vine, which had sappe,
its vitality.
Our course lay for some d~istanc,
down the bank of the river, occasion
ally walking upon its very beach ant
then leaving the stream to 60 arount
some marshy point. Coming into on,
Of these openings where VIC coult
1 clearly scan the opposite shore we OBJ
served man stealthily creeping alonj
the other side, intently watching tn
margin Of the river. We looket
+ With all our eyes but could no
divine the object Of his %peculia
maneuvers. just then the lou,
report Of a musket revealed Al
ENORMOUS CROCODILE
Aoundering in the throes of death
lashing the water into a froth Will
his terrible tail and leaping with hi
! body almost entirely out Of the water
Twas sOon over aud his %lifeless car
cass hoated out into the channel an.
/ down the stream. The man with tn
musket proved to be the fcrrymar
/, who soon after told us that only tina
morning, a little Spanish boy Will
! bathing, was seized aud carried ava
/. by a crocodile. We were told tina
] they abound in vast numbers in thi
stream and the l%agoons and marshC
, adjacent to it.
! The next morning about II o'cloc
W reached San Vicente and agai
hung up u travelling bags for a 81
journ. A. j. MILLER.
FLnRInA,s PlprunnAYr