The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1879-07-26
LIFE IN THE TROPICS.
Central American Lagoons and Forests
Their Rich Vendure and Silent Splendor. Jnne
Sail on Central American River.

tropical life are all-important, not so much
on account of their strange and varied beau
ty, rs the many types of life which, extinct
in the temperate, are now only to he found
in the torrid zones. Favored by clinlatet the
forest is Il prominent feature of the tropics.
There Il wcrd gloom and a solemn silence
prevail, which combine to produce a sense
of the vast, the primcval, almost of the in
finite" These virgin forests are a world in
which man seems 10 bear intruder, and the
great mass of vegetation overShadowS and
Expresses the earth. The first general I'M
preston of these mighty woods is uniform
Try: but when you look around more closely
it is the diversity which strikes you, for al
most no two trees within your sight are the
same in kind. The giants of the forest, such
Us the mahogany, teak cbo and ebony are
straight and stately, sprinsing aloft into mid
air like the columns of temple; some being
girt around with buttresscs of slabs, which
radiate from the main trunk and rise to
various heights on the tree. Under the
shade of these arboreal Titans, there rises
"A Oh w II Ioi>f-'l
of modcrate-Sized trees; and under these
there is another underground of palms and
herbaccous ferns. Another feature of the
equatorial forests is the variety and profu-
sion of climbing plants with tough, woody
stems, which pass from tree to tree, twist
ing and twining around their trunks like
monStrous SerpentS. The flowers of these
plants are often very beautiful; in the shade,
however, they display neither leaf nor bios
som, but twist on in high Serpentine coils
until they reach the top of some tree, when,
with air and sunshine, they burst at once
into bloom and beauty. Palms are another
special characteristic, and the natives put
them to a variety of uses. Among Towering
plants the ginger wortS and wild bananas
are conspicuous from their large size, hand
some foliage and beautiful flowers. The
plaintain, which is only large variety of
the banana, has been called the glory of
the tropics" This plant is annual, and pro-
duces an immense bunch of fruit four of
five feet long, containing nearly two hum
dred MAINTAINS, and weighing about 4 hum
bred weight. This fruit forms one of the
staple articles of food, and is very delicious.
In speaking of the bamboos, it is almost
impossible to enumerate their endless uses.
The posts, walls, floors and furniture of the
huts are entirely made of them; and the
siuuie Joint of a bamboo makes an excellent
pot. in which rice, fish and vegetables may
be boiled to perfection. MangrOvcS are also
very characteristic of the tropics, As are the
sensitive plants, which, in some places, ell
tirely carpet the ground and shrink into
ugly shapes at the slightest touch.
FLOWERS
strange to say, are scarce amidst these count
less leagues OF verdure-so scarce that you
may travel miles and see nothing but the
dense oversha,iowing green's of the great
woods, and then You may suddenly come
upon some climbing Llama which has Strug-
.uled into air and sunshine and is one vivid
mass of gorgeous color. AS rule these
forests are epprcSSivcly lonely and silent.
There is no cheerful song of birds, no pleas
ant hum of insect life: nothing breaks the
silence but the doleful shrieks of the howl
ing monkey or the sudden crash of a falling
tree: and vet animal life is very abundant,
though the living deniZens of the forests are
widely scattered and very shy of man. One
is struck with the great uum Der and variety
of butterflies that are constantly to be seen
living hither and thither, seemingly with
out any object, and yet seldom resting.
Monkeys make themselves prominent, and
they represent several species. They may
be heard in the morning and evening, at
which times they usually approach the sea,
entertaining each other with their bowling,
which, by one species, is very loud for so
small an animal, resembling the believing
of Il cow At all times they may he seen
springing from branch to branch, swinging
by their long arms and tails, occasionally
jumping to the ground and leapinS back
with lightning quicknesS. ! have yet TO
observe the practical veritication of the old
nursery tale, which represents these clever
f,.lln1yS ,s cha ipp her the
leaves of the Cocoanut trees, and tossing the
nuts at those who dare to attempt to gather
them. All that one sees in 4 journey through
Il tropical forest is neither beautiful nor
agreeable: sometimes in the hot dreamy,
silent noon, when not SO much as the rus
tie of the wind breaks the silence, the wan
dcrer in the jungle comes upon Shiny,
stagnant pool with an alligator basking in
its steaming waters, to all appearances fast
asleep, but all the while stealing wary
glances out OF its green, half-shut, death
: like eyes; or, stumbling over some running
vine, find ourself in close proximity to the
great coils of a huge snake, possibly a
a BOA OR ToBoBA;
or stopping TO rest, perhaps, on the decay
ing trunk of an old tree to behold myriads
of scorpions and centipedes crawling in all
directions, and am not quite sure but that
some of the repugnant things have chung
to our garments: and then one may be still
more fortunate and enjoy the pleasure of
avoiding the clutches of :; monstrous tiger,
whose sleek, shiny coat and piercing eye
CLEAN through the swaying boughs of a
near tree. lie may be awaiting the wari or
wild hog, but he will bear close watching,
for, without the movement of a leaf, he
may place himself Immediately above and
! leap at once upon your back
These mighty woods are penetrated by
many deep and narrow rivers 1t WAS on 4
bright June morning that we found our
selves ready for a journey up one of these
streams. With Il canoe and Indian guide
We started The cool breeze WAS blowing
fresh from the westward; the diamond
shaped dew drops danced from every ten
der leaf and twig. The river lay in the near
foreground; the suns rays tipping the wave
lets on the surface, brought them ont in
bold relief against the green of the messy
bank beyond. In the background us in Il
far distant and celestial ,lreamland, rose the
mountains. In that silent, wondrouS ina
iesty that speaks n language to the soul,
their submits lowered in the archway of
heaven; far in the shadowy distance they
rose, range upon range, peak upon peak,
stretched far across the western and the
eastern sky.
Once over the bar and into the river the
sweeping branches of the trees made abund-
ant shade as we padded beneath them
There Was endless variety: sometimes we
passed through 4 bit of Sombre wood, and
then again emerged upon slvered grove
with here and there 4 crimson flower inter
woven. Thus for miles we wound along
the glistening river, now and then passing
Il small settlement on the bank Suddenly
the stream opened into
A BROAD LAKE:
we had reached "agundi." The scene was
4 grand one: surrounded by an anphithra-
ter of hills, each rejecting anotherS SPLEEN
dor, the crystal tide Gibbs and fiows On
either shore the blended hues of tropic flow
ers, whose tiny petals kissed each advanc-
ing ripple, lend enchantment to the view,
and amidst their leafy bowers gay songs
stcrs MARBLE welcome lays. From the wood
ed submits of these giant hills break forth
miniature rivers which have their birth
place i'll the coudS and leap from rock to
rock in mirthful glee until they reach the
peaceful waters of the lake below. Guard
ed by the sharp, overhanging cliffs, dwell
the dusky natives of these fair scenes: cas-
ties they have not, nor desire: mean thatch
alike protects them from burning suns and
driving rains. Happy creatures, isolated
from care, befriended by nature, they move
in circles of melody around II common cen
ter of harmony.
This Indian settlement is about ten miles
from the sea, and consists of about thirty
wigwamS and five or six hundred souls.
We found them quite friendly with the
d" Americannici, they being mountain In
dams and hardly semi-civilized. After
spending some time in supping the "sago"
and smoking the inevitable peace-pipc with
the chief men. we were allowed to
CALL on THE LADIES