The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1892-09-17

rVans OF That sortare apt TO occur day
after day for series of weeks, and
their effect on the lowlands can be only
imperfectly indicated by the fact that
the Amazon river drains an area of more
than two million square miles The
Mississippi too, drains half the eastern
slope Of country larger than Brazil,
but its largest afiluents are dwarfed by
the third-class tributaries of the South
American father of waters Not such
flowing lakes only as the Rio Negro and
the Medera but the Pprus, tho YavAri,
the Qurua, the lingo, the Papajos and
dozen OF other streams rarely mentioned
on this side of the isthmus, enter the
main river through a delta miles in
width and deep enough for the largest
river steamers of the st, Lawrence.
About the middle of summer these
streams begin to rise, those from the
southwest first, those from the north
west and north few weeks later and
u fortnight after the arrival of the sec
ond supplement the valley of the ANA
zon becomes paradise of swainp-loving
brutes. The tnpir, the peccari, the fish
otter, celebrate the picnic season of
their summer life and herds of wild
deer begin their westward exodus.
Near Monte Beira, in the province Cnow
"state") of Matto Frosso, the woods In
midsummer get full OF game, as hun
dred years ago the foothills of the
southern Allcghanics swarmed with
wild pigeons when the forests of the
north were buried in snow. A more
than usually sudden rise of the flood
cuts off many of these fugitivcs, who
are thus reduced to the alternative of
making for the highest accessible
ground further east, till every knoll be-
comes hill of refuge, crowded with
timid brutes, whose survival depends
on their escape from the giant cats and
boas who may approach their strong
hold by swimming If the water should
have submerged too large portion of
the continuous forest.
About two months after the begin
ming of the rainy season the deluge of
the lowlands reaches its maximum.
Thousands of square miles are sub
merged 90 effcctuaily that canoes can
be padded through forests apparently
free from underbrush, since only the
taller trees, with their network of
climbing vines, rise like islands above
the surging waters. The swollen rivers
have found new currents, and broad,
gurgling streams twist and eddy
through the leafy wilderness, tearing
off whole groups of trees with all their
roots, but making amends by depositipg
hillocks of driftwood, which soon get
covered with tufts of new vegetation.
The pressure of the surging flood against
these mounds of alluvium soon becomes
enormous but the deep-rooted stems of
the abansonia and the canoho tree may
resist till new deposits of driftwoodc C n
solidate number of mounds, thus form
ing good-sized islands, with a down
stream base of perhaps half u mile, but
narrow head DETECTING the current
left and right, like the wedge-shaped
front of stout bridge pier.
The climbing talent of the great cat
saves them the trouble of emigration
The iaguar and the ocelot become en-
tirely aboreal, travelling like monkeys
from branch to branch, and making
themselves at home in the tree-tops; SO
81, lhNCCSls oOliC VA OllClu RO
to housekeeping and raise a litter Of
cubs in the cavity of a hollow tree.
A swimming deer in these submerged
tangle woods has no chance at all
against the pursuit of an enemy that
can leap from branch to branch or
climb along the viaduct-lile cables of
the great Llama vines, and jaguar
would not begin to regret phenomenal
deluge till the waters had closed over
the tops of the tallest palms
The Brazilian ant bear survives the
rainy season in a peculiar way of his
own. His favorite hunting grounds,
the big ant hills of the uuderbrush, are
soaking under twenty feet of water and
tree ants hug the hooks of their dens
during the season of constant showers.
In spite of his big claws their enemy is
not prepared to rip big trees in quest of
his food and his proficiency in climbing
cannot compare with that of the big
cats, but his talent for long fasts is un-
rivaled, even in this era of Tanner
freaks. One drink per week will dc
| him for a period of ten or twelve weeks,
| during which he husbands his vital re-
sources, on the principal OF minimum
expenditure. With his bush tail coiled
about his neck, he dozes away the rainy
day under the roof of fallen tree, while
his physical torpor is not apt to be off.
set by an excess of mental activity.
1t has be en- asserted that an ant
bears forelegs are powerful enough to
hug panther to death, but it is proba-
BILE that jaguar could break his head
at the first blow, and at all events the
tyrant of the Brazilian forests must
find it much harder to cope with the
agility of the tree-elimbing monkeys.
In daytime they elude the pursuit so
easily that they will finish u good meal
of wild grapes before deignins to no
tice his approach, and in the eXuber.
ance of his confidence the ring tailed
Capuchin monkey will often turn upon
this would-be murderer and follow hin
for hours with jeers and whoops of de
fance. Francisco Chronicle.
An Important Branch.
Bunker-I thought your son, afte
! cr,.a dina tiuC from aollapa wa. noin,