Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-06-04

the imprisoned, but rightful. proprie-
tors buzzed and ragged beneath.
First Gundy satisfied his own ap-
petite, and that took some time. Then
being very comfortably full of honey,
he did not feel minded to search much
farther for the cattle.
But, thinking perhaps it would be
| we'll to propitiate the people at the paeSto
! for his failure TO fetch the stock home,
he concluded TO carry back good mess
of the honey.
SO peeliug the leathery skin off one
| Of the great tuna leaves, he constructed
! tray, or boat, of it capable of holding
half hushcl.
This he speedily filled with the lus-
cious, dripping comb, from out the
capacious depths of the carbon and
then without troubling himself to I'M
cork the bees, he proceeded 10 his
hCrse.
But either tho bec-stoppcr had fallen
ont, or else by some other means of
exit some few of the enraged insc cts
had escaped and were darling about in
vrathful gyres and while Gundy "
was swaddlipg up his tray Of honey
comb in his pcncho getting ready to
mount, one Of them suddenly stung
| the horse.
With snort the animal jerked up
the ca'ot sprout and galloped off, the
sapling dam ling after it, at the end of
the Ytdtt.
Now, between Gundy" and his
horse there never existed the very best
understanding.
In vain he shonted YeJud! Yeguar-
ito! aud growied Casram6a!' under
his breath.
His faithless steed, tired perhaps of
the long delay, struck out for the
puesto and home, and was soon far
away on the " camp, leaving his sweet
tDothed master to utter maledlctions in
tue empty desert.
In no very good humor, Gundy "
at length shouldered his honey basket
and set off to follow suit, ON foot In
addition to a trudge of seven or eight
miles, he had before him the unpleas-
ant necessity Of wadiug through three
or four swollen arroyos (creeks): while
the plain was everywhere numbered by
Thistle rlUkS.
Bot something worse. than arroyos
and thistle-ricks was IN store for
"Gundy that night.
He had not got very far out from the
thicke.. upon the plain, when he heard
Il cry that caused him suddenly to catch
his breath and listen intently.
1t NOS a sound like the sudden, sharp
screech of hog, shrill and piercing at
first, but ending in a muffiad roar; and
it seemed to come from the woods a
mile or more up the parana. "Gundy "
there was tiger, or j4suar, prowling
in the timber, by the river.
But he hoped the animal had not
seen him, and instantly dropped be-
hind heap of tuna leaves, resolved to
wait there till dark and then steal away
For from the jungles on the river,
there was nothing to hinder the tiger
from seeing him out on tho bare plain.
Nj more than a month before, a
pufstero from neighboriDg estancia had
been chased 10y jaguar ut nightfall,
and barely saved his life by climbing a
large tuna stalk.
The hower-stem of this plant was
twenty. five feet in height.
With his hands and knees the poor
fellow had clam bered up nearly to the
top of it, and contrived to hold on till
his shouts drew the attention OF some
of his brother herdmen, who, like him.
self, were out searching for sheep.
At our 2uesto there are always stories
rife of man-eaters," jaguars. which,
when once they have tasted human flesh
are ever afterwards very dangerous.
For, from that moment, they lose
their natural fear of man, and lie in
wait for human beings instead of other
game,
As in India, great many persons, in
the vicinlty of Grand Chaco, are killed
every year by jaguars.
The lad had not been lying hidden
many minutes, when he heard the an
iwal again.
1t had come nearer. I" Gundy" lay
and trembled. listening intently; from
the sound he thought the creature must
now be out near where he found the
bees nest.
Scarcely a minute after, particularly
ugly screech convinced him that the
fierce brute had taken his track.
1t was useless to lie hidden now.
Leaping to his feet, "Gundy sped
away for home, though with little hope
of ever reaching the puesto, for the
tiger was not, he felt sure, half mile
behind.
But as he ran he caught sight of one
of those odd, solitary trees, peculiar t.
these open plains, which the natives
call an ombu, standing off to his left.
These ombuS have trunk as short as
an apple-tree, though often four or five
feet in diameter, with huge, clumsy
branches.
| Whether the tree would afford a &C.
cure retreat from the jaguar was uncer.
tain.
'.Gunay" ran to it, however.
The trunk rose from a gnarled mas:
of roots which lay exposed above
ground, and was cracked open its en-.
tire length and hollow inside, so that q
little Widening of the crevice would
have enabled the lad to get into it.
He was half inclined to widen i,
enough with his knife to c, eep in fol
ombu wood is 80 soft that it can readily
he cut, even with spade.