Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-08-13
The SumaSinta River Singular
Stream on which One Easily
Loses His Way.
A Party of Explorers Lose the Main
Stream and Become Entangled
in Swamp.
After Many Hardships they Return
Leaving the Secrets of Sumatra
River UnSOlyed.
FELIX I. OSWALD.

the Republic of Central America, and sew
eral hundred miles of the frontier line were
mapped out In few months The whole
work was to be completed in the course of
year, but the plan had to be relinquished
when the surveyors entered the swamp
wilderness of the Sumasinta river.
After hiring all the help thu could be Of
any possible use to them, and risking their
lives and the loss of all their maps and in
struments, the exploring party had to
thank heaven for being able to effect their
retreat, and the surveyor-in-ch1ef gave in
substance the following account of their
adventures:
They touched the Sumasinta at a point
known as Las Cascadas, or The Rapids,
where the water is shallow enough to be
forded In the dry season. The overland
road to Guatemala here crosses the river,
and fishermen in their light canoes ven
ture few miles down stream; but the
general belief of the neighboring settlers
was that the exploration of the lower
stream could not be attempted without
great risk. There were landings and fer
rles far down, and even river side set
Elements, but they could be reached only
by roundabout land roads. Travellers try
ing short cut by floating down the river,
had generally lost their way, and returned
after days of peril and hardships. Others
had never been heard from again-the
wilderness had swallowed them There
were other rapids below Cascades, and
the river is full of alligators; but such
trlhes would not have scared the Mexican
boatman. What they dreadee was the great
| number OF places where the stream,
| as 1t were becomes shoreless, and enters
the prlmeval forest on both sides, leaving
the navigator to find an outlet from the
labyrinth of water and tanglewood. A
current, seeming to indicate the course of
the main stream, may lose itself in cane
break; another channel my be lead miles
to the left or right, and then dispair in a
blockade of drift wood-snags as long as
ships mast wedged together and mingled
with floating brambles, vines and reeds.
The main stream may have an open ch an
mel, but how to distinguish it from the
thousands of branches, and how retrace
ones way In case of a mistake?
Still, the government surveyors resolved
to try. They had abundance Of provision
and camping outfit, and in the worst case
could rely on their instruments to retrace
their way, or get near enough back to
their starting point to be sure that some of
the settlers would hear their signal-shOt of
distress. You may try it, and take my
best pilot along" an old trader at the ferry
told them; but till you get back | shall
listen for signals every morning and every
sunset, for | am much afraid you will lose
your way below Arenas "a point some
fourteen miles from the ford.
-Four miles east of Arenas the river
divided into three branches, and their
pilot decided to try the northmost one, on
account of the numerous manatees or river
seals, sporting about in the current,
which seemed to have assembled from the
gulf shore. These creatures, which often
attain a weight of several hundred, raise
their young in the deep, sedgy lagoons
near the sea coast, and visit tie Vi per
river valleys only during the rainy season,
when small streams expand into broad
lakes.
For distance ofabout fourteen English
miles the northern channel was open
enough for steamboat to pass without
the assistance of boat hooks; but further
down island after island rose from the
waters till at last the progress of the voy-
ayers was INSTRUCTED by a large forest of
caucho trees, that seemed to extend from
shore to shore, and only here and there
opened a water gate between the shiny
trunks, that appeared to flourish under
twelve feet Of mud water and vegetable
sediment.
Night was coming on and thinking it
too risky to enter the swamp by torchlight,
their pilot advised them to moor their boat
in a little bay, where the eddies had formed
a perfect hill of driftwsod, that would
prove itself for cooking purposes. On both
sides of their little island the river cur
rent gurgled around deep-sunken snags;
still, dry land could not be far off, for
about three hours after sunset they heard
the loud screams of a peccari, or wlld hog,
that seemed to have come to grief at its
drinking place. A crashing through the
thicket followed, accompanied by the an
CRY grunts of the peccaris companion,
which seemed to huddle together to de-
fend themselves against the attack Of some
proving murderer-a jaguar, perhaps,
that had ambushed the herd at the waters
edge.
Alligators too could be heard splashing
from time to time, and once the boat
shook as If some large beast lad tried to
upset 1t by a push from below. Fish
ledped out of the water in all directions,
and three of the Indian boatnen trimmed
their torches and padded out on a little
raft IN the hope Of spearing pampano or
two, but the surveyors were too tired to
join in that sport.
At the first glimpse of daylight they got
under way again, and once more their
pilot tried his utmost to steer his craft
through the tangle of the swamp forest.
but after six hours Of desperate work the
attempt had to be given up as hopeless,
and council of their several guides de-
clded to return to the neig hborhood OF
Point Arenas, and try the south channel,
which, after all, might prove to be the
main stream, though the absence of mana
tees had seemed bad sign.
There used to be six-acre island over
yonder, said their pilot when they had
foated down the new channel for about
four miles; land one night, a couple of
years ago, the stream bore it off and car
RED 1t clean away, trees, brushwood, and
all. A settler who shoulo try to make
his home on one of those river islands
might get free ride to the coast some
fine day; | have known this river to rise
siv feet in two hours without any warn |
ing"
How do you account for those sudden |
hoods?" asked one of the surveyors.
The aIe naany good-sized lakes IN the
upper river valley said the pilot, land
lakes often get washed out, and the water |
comes down like a cloudburst into the |
next river, bringing down torn-up trees
enough to carry everything before it, and |
change the looks of the lagoons in way
haF l.